imagination of the heart is evil continually; but when a child is free from proper control, the result is much the same in the end as if it were trained up to sin, since such a mode of life is sure to lead to the predominance of evil passions, forgetfulness of God, and selfishness of thought, word, and deed; and thus it proved with my young ladies, when having passed the more artless age of childhood, they created continual trouble and uneasiness from their wilful tempers and wayward fancies.

6

"After I had been at the great house' about three years, it pleased God to afflict my mistress with a serious illness, and finding herself dying, she became much troubled concerning her children. She therefore sent for them, and talked very long and seriously with them upon the subject of religion, begging them with much earnestness to love God and each other; and above all, to let no pursuit prevent their living for eternity. But alas! a mother should never leave such teachings as these until a dying hour, for then they are seldom heeded, and very rarely avail. I cannot describe to you the sadness of that scene, or the misery of that unhappy parent, so suddenly called to think of another life; her self-reproaches were many, and her expressions of despair so heart-rending, that none could listen without tears, while her poor children, what with grief for her illness, and surprise at the strangeness of her discourse, did not pay much heed so as to profit by what she said.

"After her death every thing went on pretty much the same, until the young ladies were of fit age to go to school. I felt very sorry to part with them, but my grief partly arose from the fear of being dismissed, for at that time selfishness predominated over every other feeling in my heart. However, as I was rather a favorite with the housekeeper, I still retained my situation. It was a great pleasure, you may be sure, for me to welcome home my young ladies for the vacation, to praise their improvement, and endeavor, by every means in my power, to make their holidays pleasant to them, but I soon found that in addition to more useful knowledge, they acquired other things at school; for they learned to be proud and vain, thinking much of themselves and meanly of others, which is just reversing the directions of the gospel, which says we are to be kindly affectioned one toward another, in honor preferring one another,

bearing each other's burdens, and seeking their good and pleasure in preference to our own. At length even I, of whom they professed to be very fond, felt their change of behaviour, since they no longer made me the sharer of their little secrets, but treated me with coldness and pride; however, as I was sincerely attached to them, I thought all they did was right; and as they increased in years, I grew prouder of being their attendant, shewing off many foolish airs, and holding myself much above my fellow-servants; thus even in my own case, exemplifying the evil effects of example."

"And were you happy, dear nurse?" asked my eldest sisterwere you a happy family?"

"No! my child," she replied, " for does not God's holy word declare, that happiness is far from the dwellings of the wicked, and ours was a God-forgetting household, from the least to the greatest, performing no sweet labors of charity, no works of love in remembrance of Him who had given us a commandment to feed his sheep. We were also a prayerless family, and as such, could not claim that precious promise of a holy presence, vouchsafed where two or three are met together. We had no sabbath observances-no gentle spirit of love and mutual forbearance, without which peace cannot exist, but each one lifted up his heart in pride and rebellion against God, and religion was only mentioned with mockery or contempt. How different would have been the influence of piety, not only in my master's house, but in the neighbourhood where he resided; but as it was, the example of ungodliness was followed by all within its influence; so much so, that even the appointed minister of God forgot his sacred vows, neglected his divine mission, and sacrificed his hopes of life eternal at the altar of mammon, while the constant exertions of a faithful few could scarcely keep alive even the semblance of religion, where its rulers conspired to throw their efforts into contempt and ridicule.

"When my ladies left school it was worse than ever, for our house became almost the constant resort of worldly people, while the evenings were passed in frivolous amusements, and the mornings in indulgence to recover the effects of fatigue. The uses of time were, in fact, perverted, and instead of the healthful happiness of a well-conducted household, we had unholy excitement,

and a troublous kind of pleasure, which truly illustrated the words, there is no peace to the wicked, for they are like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.' We were never at rest. My youngest lady, Miss Emily, was very talented --she drew well, played with much taste, and sang sweetly; there were, indeed, few things in which she did not excel, and she was, consequently, much noticed and admired; she cared less for society than her sister, and often passed many hours alone, pursuing some favorite study; she was also fond of sketching, and on such occasions I was her companion; and many were the walks and rides taken for this purpose.

"It was on one of these occasions that I accompanied her to a distant village, as she was desirous of sketching its church, which was one of considerable beauty and rare architecture; and having reached the churchyard, and selected a spot suitable for her purpose, she commenced her employment, while I stood near to shield her from the sun. I wish that I could convey to you some idea of that pretty churchyard, or that you could see it as I did on that bright morning, with the sun shining through the waving branches of the trees upon the quiet graves, while the rooks and starlings flew to and from their nests in the ivied tower, and a few lambs grazed upon the rich grass which grew beside one of the clearest little brooks I ever saw, and whose waters rippled near enough for us to hear their pleasant sound. But there was other music beside this, for the children of the Sunday school were practising their hymns in the church, and their young voices, mingled with the solemn tones of the organ, came ever and anon, like music too holy, too sweet, for this world, creating in my mind an indescribable longing to know more of that God to whose praise they were singing, while I experienced a feeling of awe and reverence impossible to define.

"At last my thoughts became oppressive, and I looked about in search of something to divert them, but no amusement offered, so I turned to the inscriptions near me, and read them with curious attention, making a sort of history of my own for each silent tenant of the tombs, whose names were recorded round me, and thus I proceeded until my eye fell upon a large grave stone exactly opposite my lady, with whose view of the church it must have materially interfered. In addition to the name and

age of the dead, there were sculptured on it emblems of death, underneath which the following words were written :—

"REPENT, OR YE SHALL LIKEWISE PERISH.'”

66 6 THE WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, AND ALL THE NATIONS THAT FORGET GOD.""

"Upon reading this, I began to wonder for what purpose such a warning was given, and to feel a kind of compassionate interest for him whose name the stone bore; but I was interrupted in my thoughts by Miss Emily, who desired me to throw something over the gloomy words which she said caught her eye, and interfered with her drawing; I arranged my shawl so as to hide the inscription, and my young lady said no more. Having completed her sketch, we wandered about until the carriage arrived to convey us home. Little was said during our ride homeward, Miss Emily only once remarking that a churchyard was a gloomy place for sketching, and wondering why people had inscriptions placed upon their tombs, while she censured the

custom.

“In a few days the drawing was completed, when Miss Emily kindly asked my opinion upon it, and as it was beautifully executed, and exactly like the original, my praises, for once, spoke the real feelings of my heart; ‘but,' I added, there is one great omission-the grave-stone and its inscription.'

"You are right,' was her answer, and taking a pencil, she soon sketched it in, but stopping at the word Repent,' she said, 'I will leave this until I have consulted my Bible, that I may be the more correct.'

"For some months after this Miss Emily withdrew herself very much from society, passing her time alone, and chiefly in her own room, yet this occasioned no surprise, as it was the general opinion that she was engrossed in some favorite pursuit or study. But this I could not believe, since I frequently found her deep in thought, and with the traces of tears still on her cheek, so that I was led to conclude she was suffering from some secret trial, of which we were all ignorant.

Thus matters continued, until the period when a dangerous fever broke out among the servants, creating such a panic as is impossible to describe. How forcible a lesson we might then

have learned of the danger arising from living in an unprepared state! all our household fled as before the presence of an enemy, for death was to them a king of terrors, an avenger, an angel of wrath, whose mission it was to perpetuate for eternity the punishment awarded to sinners.

“None were able to realize his presence with joy-to hail his approach as that of a friend appointed by God to open to his people the highest and purest enjoyment—to obliterate for ever all remembrance of sin, sorrow, and suffering, and to lead the ransomed soul to the home prepared for it in heaven. On the contrary, the only feeling in our house was, that of fear and anxious haste to depart, hoping thereby to prolong the season prescribed for the enjoyment of sinful pleasures, and to put off for a little longer period all reflection on an irrevocable doom. Yet amid the confusion and bustle amongst us, there was one who remonstrated, who lifted up her voice in condemnation of conduct so cruelly selfish as to leave the sick almost unattended and uncared for, and this one was Miss Emily. Sentiments such as these sounded strange to those who heard them, but they had little weight, since knowing the speaker to be fond of praise, it was the general impression that she had spoken contrary to the true feelings of her heart in order to excite admiration. But I knew she was sincere, for I saw the tear trembling in her eye, and the look of anguish with which she noted the little effect her words produced. However, my thoughts were soon diverted in the hurry of our journey, and our arrival at a neighbouring watering-place, where we were to remain until all danger had passed.

“But the purpose of the Almighty was not yet accomplished, for it pleased him to afflict Miss Emily with symptoms of the same disease; and, on fever being declared, not even affection could prevail in keeping the parent and sister where the probability of disease or death existed! Arrangements were consequently made for another removal, while Miss Emily was left to the care of hirelings. I know not how it was, but love for the poor sick girl overcame every other feeling in my heart, and I prepared for my duties as nurse without any thought of self, or of the danger I might incur by so doing. As I took my seat by her bed-side, on the first evening of my new duties, she said in