By the time that Henry had done wondering and talking about this story, they were come to the end of the lane, and passing over a stile, they entered upon a wide and open field, where a number of sheep and lambs were feeding on the soft and thymy herbage.

"No hope, Henry, of finding any fish here," said Mr. Dalben, "any more than in the lane which we have just left. I should therefore advise, that we put off finding our other three classes till another afternoon, when I will walk down with you, my dear boy (if all is well), to the river which winds in the bottom of this valley, and whose course is marked by rows of willows, which you may distinctly see from this distance. And now," he added, "we will speak a little of these sheep, which are feeding so peaceably in this beautiful field. I never, my dear little boy, see sheep feeding happily in a field with their lambs playing beside them, but I look forward to that blessed time when the Shepherd King shall reign over all the earth, and when he shall gather his sheep together, and preserve them from all their enemies, and pour upon them showers of blessings."

"That will be in the time of the millennium, uncle," said little Henry: "I wish I could live to see that time."

"How things will be ordered and arranged before the second coming of our Lord we know not exactly, my dear boy," said Mr. Dalben; "but some persons suppose that the 2d of St. Peter, 3d chapter, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th verses, allude to that time: But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.'"

"From these verses therefore it appears, my dear boy, that we have nothing to do but to follow our Shepherd King while in this present state of being; to obey his gentle calls; to submit ourselves to his holy will; and, as much as in you lies, to study the character of those persons who shall make a part of the blessed number of the inhabitants of the earth in the days of the millennium. In those days no one will desire to be rich or great, no one will be anxious to join house to house, and field to field, but every one will strive to please his Shepherd and his God; and every one will strive to be holy, humble, and inoffensive."

By this time they had crossed the pleasant field where the sheep were feeding, and were entering into a thick wood, through the midst of which ran a narrow winding path, which, as they passed on, sometimes led them up hill, and sometimes descended into the bottom of a narrow valley or dingle.

Having gone on for some little time, they came within sight of an old cottage, built of timber, with lath and plaster; the timbers had been painted black, and still retained their colour; but the white plaster had been rendered yellow and gray by time; and in many places both lath and plaster had fallen so entirely away, that the inner chambers were open to the outward air. A few panes of greenish glass were still left in one of the casements, but half the old door of the house was gone.

"Could your dear father visit this world again," said Mr. Dalben," there is perhaps no place which he would behold with more delight than this old cottage, because here it was that he was first permitted to exert himself in the service of his God."

Henry looked hard at Mr. Dalben, as not thoroughly understanding the tendency of this remark. Whereupon Mr. Dalben explained himself to this purport; but as I have made my chapter sufficiently long, I will here break off, and proceed in my next.

CHAPTER IX.

Giving an Account of Jenny Crawley; of Mr. Milner's Kindness to her.

"ABOUT twenty years ago, there lived in the house which you see before you, Henry," said Mr. Dalben, "an old woman of the name of Jenny Crawley. This old woman lived here alone, and had done so for many years. She maintained herself by making matches and besoms, and by buying and selling rags for paper. She was always seen in the same dress; namely, a petticoat patched from top to bottom, with patches of all manner of colours and shapes; a short blue jacket, an apron and handkerchief, and a flat hat made of felt. She was never seen at a place of worship, and could not read. Her only companions in this place were a gray cat and a magpie; and she had little furniture in her house, but an old wicker chair, a three-legged stool, a three-cornered oak table, a tea-kettle, and a few cracked cups and plates: her bed, which was in the room up-stairs, was as uncomfortable as the rest of her furniture."

By the time Mr. Dalben had told thus much of his story, they were come to the door of the cottage; and as what was left of the door was open, they went in.

The lower room was quite stripped and empty, excepting that the mantel-shelf and part of an old windowshutter were left, and in one corner were the remains of an old mop made of different coloured rags.

"There," said Mr. Dalben, "on the side of the chimney nearest the window, the old woman used to sit; and often and often have I seen your dear papa placed on the three-legged stool opposite to her: but I must tell you how your papa got acquainted with her, and what he was enabled to do for her; and, as we both stand in need of a little rest, let us sit down on the foot of this stair, and I will tell you the whole story.-When your dear papa was about twelve years of age, we were told that old Jenny Crawley was so ill with a lameness in one foot, that she was not able to carry on her trade of selling besoms and matches, and that she was suffering

great distress from want; and as her character was none of the best, no person in the parish was forward to help her. When your dear papa heard this, he asked my leave to take her every day some little thing out of the kitchen; and when I gave my leave I found that he afterward added all the money which he had in the world, which he spent in buying the old wonian a coarse gray cloak, for it was the depth of winter. From that time he went every day for nearly a year, about which time she died, to take her broth, or milk, and such other food as he could persuade Kitty to give him; and I have often seen him put by his cheese, when he was allowed a bit of cheese for supper, or at twelve o'clock, to carry to his poor woman, or any other nice little bit which he might happen to have, although thus denying his own appetite for the sake of this poor creature.

"When he had been once or twice to see this poor woman, and found that she knew nothing about her God, or about her dear Saviour, he asked me if I would allow him to take a Bible, and read to her, and I gave my permission.

"It happened at that time that I had a very bad cough, which obliged me to remain within-doors for as much as two months; but as soon as I was able to go out, I went with your dear father to see her. And I was quite surprised to find how much he had been enabled to teach this poor ignorant creature, and how very thankful she was. 'Dear sir,' she said, if it had not been for Master Milner, I should have died for want; but what he has done, as to providing me with food and warm clothing, is nothing in comparison of what he has told me about my Saviour. Why, sir, though living in a Christian country, I was as ignorant of all these things as the babe unborn; and should have remained so until my dying day, if it had not been for dear little master.' I told her, that it must not be to Master Milner that she must give the glory and thanks; but to God. And I was glad to hear her say, that your dear papa had told her the same thing; and that he would never allow her to thank him for any thing he had done; but would always say, 'No, Jenny, no-don't say a word about it to me. I am very glad if I have done any thing to make you comfortable; but it is not me, it is God you must thank for all your comforts.'

"Look at that old chimney, Henry," said Mr. Dalben, "and think how many hours your dear father spent in

that corner, reading to the poor old woman; forsaking all his pleasures and his play for her sake. Do you think he is sorry for having done so now?"

While Mr. Dalben was speaking, they heard a gun go off at some little distance, and in a minute afterward they saw two young men, in shooting dresses, and with guns in their hands, passing away through the bottom of the dingle. "There," said Mr. Dalben, "there, Henry, look at those young men; I do not know who they are, so I may speak more freely of them than if I did know them. They are spending their time in the way which most young men delight in who do not fear God; but holy boys and young men will never take delight in these kinds of sports. Your dear father might once have liked these things, as well as other boys; but he knew that they were unholy, and he gave them up, and rather chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin."

Mr. Dalben then arose, and made his way up the old stairs, followed by Henry. The old stairs shook under them as they stepped upon them; but they got safely to the top of them, and found a room above of the same size as the lower room: in this room there was no furniture excepting an old oaken bedstead, so eaten with worms that one of the feet had given way, and the sacking was all in tatters: on the wall were the remains of an old penny print, which represented the ascension of our Saviour into heaven: it was coloured, and had been pasted to the wall; it was placed exactly opposite to the bed.

"Ah!" said Mr. Dalben, "that picture I have often seen in your father's hands; and I remember when he pasted it up against this wall, thinking it would please the old woman to look at it, when she was confined to her bed."

Henry looked at the picture till the tears came into his eyes, and he said, "Oh! uncle, shall I ever be as good as my papa ?"

"Your papa, my dear Henry," said Mr. Dalben, “was by nature no better than you are. He was born with an evil heart; but the Spirit of God was poured upon him; and the consequence was, that he was enabled to bring forth all the fruits of the Spirit. You know, my boy, what the fruits of the Spirit are?"

"Yes, uncle," said Henry, "they are love, joy, peace