and promoting the public weal, should lavish on her own person what is evidently due to the immediate calls of humanity, and the interests of religion. It is a sad sign, when all the zeal and energy of the female character seems to be concentrated in one object, personal decoration, under any pretence whatever. Those who are conscious of such a dangerous propensity, would do well to examine carefully their own hearts, and then yield to the conviction, that they will ultimately be judged, not so much for their actions, as from the secret motives from whence they spring."

Mr. Blandford paused for a moment, and looked around, probably in the hope of some expression of assent to his remarks: he then proceeded.

"I have only to repeat, ladies, that while I believe we may lawfully avail ourselves of both nature and art, for our comfort and enjoyment; an inordinate attachment to the things of this lower

world is not compatible with the Christian character-it is "the spirit which worketh in the children of disobedience. The mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins," may be as really destructive to the spiritual life, as the sword and the spear to the natural existence. should hope that these opposite views of the subject may qualify, without neutralizing each other.”

Ι

Thus did Mr. Blandford afford each of us a subject for reflection; but none for triumph. For my own part, not having as yet vanquished my constitutional infirmity, or made any essential progress in the art of yielding, I afforded my friend no plausible reason to boast of his having shaken my opinion by the force of his arguments. It is true, I could talk (as many others do) of " cutting off right hands, and plucking out right eyes," and certainly I could have restricted myself daily to half a meal-I could neglect my person, to the great annoyance of

my brother, when we appeared abroad together, and in spite of his remonstrances, which I called "persecution for conscience sake:"-all this I could do; but to say, 66 you are right, and I am wrong;" to acknowledge an error-a trivial mistake, to a fellow mortal, was the thing I could not do — that was an operation from which I always shrunk, because it gave me real pain; a proof of the little progress I had made in the virtue of mortification, and how unskilful an operator I still continued to be, when I could thus overlook or neglect members that were really diseased, and leave them to fester and gangrene.

This conversation, however, had its secret and remote influence: but the time was not yet come for me to have a correct view of things; I still remained a stranger to the world, to human nature, and to myself.

CHAPTER IX.

My brother's constitution had suffered from the effects of long and severe service, under a burning sun: he had scarcely seated himself beside me on the first day of his arrival, before I observed the tremulous motion of his hand, and other symptoms, that betrayed the invalid. In consequence of this, his naturally sweet and engaging temper was occasionally obscured by peevishness and irritability; yet he was so radically amiable, that had his little infirmities even been humoured, instead of thwarted, I now verily believe (now that it is too late) the probability of his regaining a degree of health would have been much greater. I was so intent on his good, that often I did not perceive I was putting him to the torture; and strangely imagined, that his well-being, present

and future, greatly depended on my curbing and thwarting what I called his whims; but this sort of discipline was more than half a century too late.

It was natural that he should seek company and amusements; but from his early education, and subsequent habits, his selection of companions did not at all accord with my present views. He soon formed connexions with the sporting gentlemen of the neighbourhood; though unable to join in the exercises of the field, he loved the company of those who did, and had occasional parties of them at the house, a thing to me truly burdensome and oppressive: consequently, I never treated his friends with that courtesy which my brother had a right to expect; especially as his behaviour was invariably polite and respectful to my visitors. How lamentable, that in such instances as these, the men of the world should be seen to conduct themselves with more good temper and pro