"My soul, praise thou the Lord always,
My God I will confess,

While breath and life prolong my days,

My tongue no time shall cease."

Which her sick daughter sung with great firmness of mind, with open eyes, and smiling lips. When her agony was renewed, her mother courageously took leave of her, and said,—“ God be with thee, my dear child: I shall come to thee, but thou wilt see me no more: we shall see one another on the day of the glorious resurrection:" and thus she retired. Above three hours after, her minister wanted to know whether she was yet sensible, shook her arm, and desired her to squeeze his hands if she heard him; but there was not the least sign of life: but as he was going out of the room, the soul returned, as it were, to the body. She raised herself suddenly in her bed, and sung the second time,

"Into thy hands, Lord, I commit

My soul, which is thy due;
Because thou hast redeemed it,

O Lord my God most true."

He then put his ear to her mouth, and heard her say,- 66 Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." A moment after she fetched three sighs without any motion, and so yielded her spirit. The cheerfulness of her looks and eyes, which remained half open, continued after her death, and were a proof that her soul tasted the joys of heaven, before it was quite loosened from the ties of the body.

Dear reader, you learn from the sketches which I have just given you, "When and where to be happy." The dying testimony of each of those

chosen vessels unto honour, ought to convince you of the great importance of seeking Christ early; of seeking reconciliation now, at once, and without delay. It may be that you have suffered many opportunities to pass by unimproved; if so, do not do so again. I beseech you not to trifle any more, hesitate no longer, but cry for pardon, for mercy, and deliverance now.

Time was is past; thou canst not it recall:

Time is thou hast; employ the portion small:
Time future is not; and may never be:

Time present is the only time for thee!

You know not how soon your course here will terminate; therefore "set your affections on things above." What will all your riches profit you in a dying hour; what can worldly friends do for you then, they cannot remove one pain; Christ is the only friend who can help and deliver you from all your fears, pains, and troubles when death steals o'er your feeble frame. You may think much of your worldly possessions when in the full enjoyment of health; but when the last hour approaches, how changed will be your estimate of earthly treasures; how absurd your over-eagerness to increase your possessions, which you have to part with, to leave behind. How unwise your late incessant grasping to add new turrets to the fabric of ambition; the foundation of which is shaking, and the ground on which it stands mouldering away. How few there are who rightly estimate earthly treasures; how few employ their riches in honouring God to the extent that they should do; they cannot perform this duty after death, it must be done while living. Those who are selfish know

nothing of the luxury of doing good; they live to themselves and they die to themselves. I have known some men who have boasted of their uprightness, their honour and integrity, who have been the most selfish and grasping in all their transactions; they have been men who have ground down the poor, while their own eyes have stood out with fatness; they have exacted the uttermost farthing. Such has been their avariciousness, that they would even take the last portion of meat from a starving family. Where, I ask, is the honesty of such individuals; wherein does their uprightness, their honour and integrity appear? Such persons are deluded, they are infatuated, "their god is their belly, and their end is destruction;" a covetous, extorting man, is an unhappy man. If you, dear reader, have but little generosity in your nature, pray for enlargement of heart, and God will enable you to do much good when living, and he will reward and bless you when dying. Learn to use rightly all the blessings of providence and grace; endeavour to appreciate the goodness of God; pray for more wisdom, and you will not think too much neither too little of the joys of earth.

Few rightly estimate the worth

Of joys that spring and fade on earth:
They are not weeds we should despise,
They are not fruits of Paradise;
But wild flowers in the pilgrim's way,
That cheer yet not protract his stay;
Which he dare not too fondly clasp,
Lest they should perish in his grasp;
And yet may view and wisely love,
As proofs and types of joys above.

Those who have made Christ their portion, are

happy now while living; they are happy in his love. Look at the man who, on entering upon life, made choice of God for his portion; who, in in the morning of his life, experienced an early and an entire dedication to the service of God; who received the atonement and redemption through the blood of Christ; who enjoyed all the privileges of the house of God, and to whom every thing connected with God's service was a delight. When passing through the valley and shadow of death he does not fear; he hears a sweet voice saying, "My staff shall support thee, and my rod shall guide thee; fear them not for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." Fear not, thou worm, Jacob, I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer. Thus encouraged, the christian perseveres and triumphs gloriously. If you will visit the beds of the dying, you will at once perceive the force of that sentiment, "Virtue alone has majesty in death." Nothing short of real religion can or will teach you "when and where to be happy." Let your mind be set upon deriving happiness from the right and true source. Seek it in no broken cisterns; and remember that if you drink at the worldling's fountains of bliss your thirst will not be quenched, especially in a dying hour. You will then reproach yourself because you have thrown away, at places of amusement, those golden and precious hours which should have been employed in the service of God. It is said that the great Mr. Hervey, who wrote the "Meditations among the Tombs," when travelling once in a stage coach, met a lady who was

speaking in the most exalted strains about the theatre, and this excellent clergyman thought it his duty to say a word. He expressed a little astonishment, and proposed a few questions as to the nature of that pleasure of which she had been speaking. "Oh," said she, "I have all the pleasure of thinking about it before the performance, and then the pleasure of seeing the act, and also the pleasure of looking at it again." "But, madam," said he, "there is another pleasure you have not noticed." What is that?" inquired the lady. "Why, the pleasure," rejoined Mr. Hervey, "that it will afford you in your dying moments.”

This silenced her.

Dear reader, once more I tell you that "wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."-Prov. iii., 17. While concluding this part of my book, I pray God that these words may ring in your ears, and be written upon your heart, until you experience their truth. Just think of the qualities of that pleasure that is in wisdom's ways, and, in doing so, you will have occasion to observe the excellency of wisdom's pleasures above all worldly pleasures.

The pleasures of wisdom's ways are rational pleasures, and well-grounded, and safe; they are not grounded upon mistakes and fancies; they are warranted by the promise and oath of God, "The two immutable things by which it is impossible for God to lie," Heb. vi., 17, 18. None but a lying devil, or an unbelieving heart full of blasphemy against God, will call in question the foundation of their faith and comfort; but the