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my inexpressible horror, there was creeping up the venomous, loathsome beast I have described as wounded, and crawling after me in the gardens of the Banquetting House. I sprang up with inconceiveable haste, and shook my dress, again and again, shuddering as I did so, to force it down to the ground: but the reptile kept firm hold and clung to me so tight, still crawling up towards my throat, that I was ready to drop with fear and dread. "O thou vile, Self-will," cried I; "miserable wretch; what shall I do to get thee once more down to the earth again?" Perceiving now a knotty stick in the corner of the room, I took it, and was going to beat the creature to the ground, when it fixed its vicious eyes, full of fury, on me, and leapt at once to my throat and there fastened itself.

And now my agony was extreme. I looked round the room for help, but found none. For a moment, I felt almost distracted; but suddenly I recollected Gon; I sank on my knees, and clasping my hands in the agony of my soul, I implored help of Him who never is fervently appealed to in vain.

In a few minutes I beheld the beautiful figure of Faith. She sprang, light as eider down, on my arm, and in an instant unfurled her shield, in form and fashion exactly like to two open fans joined, so as to produce a circle of dazzling polished steel, about a foot and a quarter in diameter, plaited and folded fan-like so as to shut up and expand at pleasure. She took her spear and but touched the hideous beast, when it dropped to the earth like a lump of blood.

I was so overjoyed at my release, that I was going to offer up the fervour of my thanks to the beautiful little warrior, but she started backward, and lifting up her spear pointed to the heavens, and then vanished.

And now I knelt, and poured out my soul in tears and supplications for pardon; and offered up my unworthy thanks to a gracious God, for all His mercies; for all the blessings I enjoyed; for the safety with which I had been permitted to travel, by sea and by land; for many comforts, especially for those of Christian society in the wilderness, for such the place might be called, where I sojourned, for a home and for food;, but above all, for the riches of grace, by JESUS the Son of GOD; for the gift of faith, whereby we take hold, in the strength and mercy of GOD,

and fetch supplies in the hour of trial. O, how fervently did I entreat the LORD to watch over my soul's growth, to feed it, and make that soul fat; and at the same time, to remember my poor mortal frame, that it was but dust. I entreated the LORD, now that He had shewn me how vile and loathsome sin was, to give me grace to fight by faith against it, waging war for the rest of my days, with my corruptions. O, my poor soul was poured out in prayer to a compassionate GOD, and though I felt to the very heart what a frail, wretched, lost thing man is in himself, yet coming to a tender, pitying God by His blessed Son, that he has a claim which can never be other than prevailing with GOD. Because the eternal Advocate pleads in us as we plead; He intercedes in us as we intercede; and the SPIRIT maketh intercession with groans which cannot be uttered, for us poor sinners, the redeemed and ransomed of the LORD, the children of adoption

and grace.

So a GOD of love forgives the sin of His children; but the consequences of sin in them they generally feel long after the sin itself is pardoned. David's sin was pardoned when Nathan said" the LORD hath put away thy sin."(a) But some little time after this blessed message of mercy, the child fell sick and died, and ten years afterwards Absalom openly rebelled against his father and king, and drove him from his throne.) The man of GOD, Moses, spake unadvisedly with his lips before the congregation, forgetting to give GOD the glory. Moses was pardoned; but that sin, two years afterwards, stood between him and the earthly Canaan, so that he could in no wise set his foot thereon.(c) And the like may be remembered of Aaron, the saint of the LORD. Yet for the comfort of poor broken-hearted sinners, mourning and bruised by reason of their sins, it is lovingly recorded in the book of the LORD, "all things work together for good to them that love Gon, to them who are the called according to His purpose."(a)

But peace being graciously restored to my soul, I went down to the shop, or booth, over which my apartment was constructed, and purchased some articles of clothing, particularly flannel, of

(a) 2 Sam. xii. 13. (b) 2 Sam. xv. 30. (c) Num. xx. 25; Deut. xxxii. 50. (d) Rom. viii. 28.

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which these wild people excelled in the manufacture. endeavoured to conciliate Zipporah by kind words, and a little present, so that she was in a somewhat better humour. Having occasion for her services very early on the following morning, my twenty-seventh birthday, I called her from the mat on which she slept, and in no very considerable time, she happily and safely put into my arms a darling female child, whom I wept over with tears of love, gratitude, and joy, and offering her up to GOD from my very heart, I called her MARY.

Fresh trials with Zipporah, &c.—Mrs. Feeling's Christian advice and kindness.-Zipporah's natural light and religion.-Magdalena's confession to Zipporah, of her conversion to God. She sets out in search of her children.-The cruel behaviour of the women.- -She meets with Buz, and his converted daughter.-The half heathenish religion of the other children.

In the course of the day Mrs. Feeling called, and was rejoiced to see me in so composed and happy a frame of mind. She tenderly embraced my sweet child, and at my request, knelt down at my bedside, to offer up for and with me, our heartfelt thanks at the exceeding goodness of GOD. This blessed duty over, she offered to stay and undress my little Mary, but old Zipporah frowned; and, as I dreaded rousing the worst feelings of this poor heathen, I begged my good friend to desist. I could have wept again, and oftentimes afterwards, at the consequences of my precipitate engagement with this woman, so peevish, and cross, and so wayward, and so full of whim and superstition; but I prayed for strength to forbear, to oppose the rising anger and im

patience, and my imperfect accents of entreaty were heard. The word "Overcome" seemed written on my hand, my couch, on the ceiling, and on the floor; and when I sat up and read the Bible, the same blessed word followed me. Wherever I saw it, it blazed to my eye like a diamond, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My GOD; and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My GOD; and I will write upon him My new name." "To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in his throne.” (a) "Of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought into bondage." "Whatsoever is born of GOD, overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that JESUS is the SON of GOD ?" (c)

These bright promises and declarations of the Holy Spirit, fell upon my soul like soft dropping dews on a thirsty land. My soul was hungry and thirsty. I "hungered and thirsted after righteousness ;" and such the LORD has promised to fill, having pronounced the state to be blessed. (a) And being thus taken up with heavenly desires, I had the less opportunity of marking the wayward temper of Zipporah. In fact, so aggravating was my old attendant, occasionally, that she was the means of driving me to prayer for grace, to bear and to forbear, and in this view she was made to be of service to me. For instance, when I offered up my morning prayer, resting on my couch, I loved to have my infant laid across my lap, whether sleeping or awake, that I might present the dear babe, a living offering, to Him who gave her to me, while I besought the LORD to send down rich grace into her soul, and to make her His own for time and for eternity. I entreated of the LORD, that He would, of His mercy and goodness, shew me how a christian mother ought to bring up her offspring, an immortal being. I fervently asked, to have it clearly made out to my mind and heart, what was the full meaning of these remarkable words of GOD's own dictation,

(a) Rev. iii. 12, 21. (b) 2 Pet. ii. 19. (c) John v. 4, 5. (d) Matt. v. 6.

to which so rich, so full, so precious, a promise is annexed, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (a) I implored for strength so to train up this child, as that a blessing might be obtained; for, I was now too fully assured that I had never brought up one of my children as yet in the right way. While I was thus engaged, Zipporah would come up to me, seeing my hand spread over my forehead and eyes, to shut out visible objects, and would draw away the child from under my other hand, and if I gently resisted, she would forcibly jerk away the child, and set it crying, and thus I was miserably interrupted: for peace sake, therefore, I was obliged to let her have her own way, but she was a sadly provoking person. I sometimes caused her to sit close to me, I then began talking to her on religion, telling her there was a GOD; this she readily agreed to. O how this great and majestic truth is written on the conscience of young and old among the sons and daughters of men! They all know it, they feel it, they see it; GOD hath shewn them His magnificent Being in the things which are created by Him; and thus the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood by the mighty works which are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. () Tell a child of two years old to look up to heaven for God is there, a something responds within him which says, "True; it is so. I do not doubt it. I do not want to doubt it. I agree to it." And he looks up with readiness immediately, and, if he can speak, asks such a question as proves his willingness to hear more on the subject. Thus, in a state of nature, old Zipporah assented to the existence of a GOD, but there she stopped, she wanted no farther information; nay, she questioned my means of obtaining information respecting the blessed SON of GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT, and other great truths of Christianity. Her constant question was, "How can you tell that? Where did you find

that?"

I answered, laying my hand on the Scriptures, "Here I find all I tell you, in this precious book."

She would answer me, " Very good. And do all people, as they call themselves, possess that book?"

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