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to walk with him in the village. I am glad to hear,' said the governor, that your father is more contented than he was at first; and you may tell him, from me, that if he will endeavour to make himself easy, and not attempt to escape, I will always do every thing in my power to make him comfortable: and now, if you can tell me what I can send him, which you think will please him or your mother, if in my power, you shall have it.' 'Oh, sir!' said Henri, God has certainly put it into your heart to be kind to my dear father." Henri then mentioned that he had heard his father say, that in his younger days he had been very fond of drawing; and he begged of the governor a small box of colours, and some paper; and also needles and thread, and linen, for his mother. With what joy did Henri run back to his father and mother, in the evening, with these things! They received him as if he had been a long while absent from them, instead of only a few hours.

"What Henri had brought afforded great amusement to the poor marquis and marchioness: the marquis passing his time in drawing, and the marchioness with her needle-work, while Henri continually read and talked to them, giving them accounts of the holy and happy lives which the Waldenses led, and the sweet discourses which used to pass between Claude and his little children; he often talked till his poor father and mother were melted into tears. One day the marquis said to his son, Oh! my Henri, you are happy, and Claude is happy, and Maria is happy. To be at peace with God must be the first of all blessings: had I all I once possessed, all my fine houses, all my large estates, all my money, I would give them all to be at peace with God. But I fear, Henri, that I have sinned past forgiveness. Oh! how have I blasphemed God, and mocked him, and endeavoured to persecute his children!, I cannot think, Henri, that I can be forgiven. I think of God as of an enemy. I feel that he hates me, and this makes me feel angry against him in return, and I cannot love him. Oh, Henri, Henri, would to God I had been brought up as you were!'-To this Henri answered, that the atonement which God had provided for sinful man was so large, so abundant, so great, that it is more than sufficient for all our sins. He that died for us, my dear father, is God,' said Henri; 'the infinite, eternal, ever-living God. If your sins, my dear father, have been with

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out number, and black as night, yet he that died for you was all fair; there was no spot in him: and he has promised, Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.' Isa. i. 18.

"In this manner Henri and his father used to converse. Neither were Henri's arguments lost upon his father: the marquis read the Bible more and more; and Henri, early one morning, found him at prayer in one of his closets. He was so delighted that he could not help crying with joy; but he did not mention what he had seen. In this manner the summer passed and the winter came; the governor then finding that the marquis was content, and made no attempt to escape, allowed the prisoners abundance of wood for fire, and candles, with every convenience which could make the winter pass away pleasantly: and he often came himself and passed an evening with them, ordering his supper into their room. The governor was an agreeable man, and had travelled into many countries, which he used to describe to Henri. He loved to hear Henri read the Bible; and though he did not say so directly, yet it appeared that he in his heart favoured the Waldenses; for he often asked Henri about them and their manner of living. When the governor paid his evening visit, it was a day of festivity to the marquis and his little family; and when he did not come, their evenings passed pleasantly, while Henri read the Bible aloud, and the marchioness sewed. In the mean time, the work of grace seemed to advance in the heart of the marquis; and he that but a year ago was proud, insolent, self-indulgent, boasting, blasphemous, was now humble, gentle, polite, in honour preferring all men. His behaviour to the marchioness was quite changed: he was tender and affectionate towards her, bearing with patience many of her little fretful ways. Henri often observed him during the day going into his closet; from which he came out with his eyes red, as if he had been in tears; perhaps confessing his sins before God, and begging forgiveness for his dear Son's sake.

"Henri had never been happier in his life than he now was; insomuch, that he could not help jumping and tripping as he went along the room, and breaking out into singing hymns of praise. 'My boy,' said the marquis one day to him, 'you seem full of joy in your prison.”—,

'Yes, my dear father,' said Henri, running up to the marquis, 'I am happy, because I hope to spend a happy eternity with you in the presence of Him who died for us.'-'Oh, beloved Henri!' said the marquis, putting his arms round his neck; 'blessed child! you, under God, have been the means of bringing your poor sinful father to his Saviour.'

"In this manner the winter passed away, and the spring arrived at which time the governor gave the marquis permission, attended by a guard, to walk with his family every day upon the roof of the castle. There the marquis enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful prospect; and he said that all the pleasures of Paris were not to be compared to his happiness on such occasions.

"Four years did the marquis and his family live in this confinement. All this time the marquis and Henri grew in grace, and ripened for eternity; insomuch, that the marquis at length, like the martyrs of old, instead of fearing death, began to look forward with hope to the happy time when he should be present with the Lord, and absent from the body: and holy Henri, seeing his earnest prayers granted, and both his parents' hearts turned to God, was ready to depart whenever it should please God to call him. At the end of the fourth year of the marquis's confinement, the small-pox broke out in the village, and the infection was brought to the castle; the marquis and Henri were both seized by the dreadful disease, and both died in consequence. Thus God, in his great mercy, removed them from this world of sin and sorrow into glory. After their deaths, the poor marchioness, hearing that the Waldenses had been driven from their happy valleys by the king, removed into a small house in the village near, where the governor supported and protected her till her dying day. She lived in the fear of God, and died in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; rejoicing in the hope of being restored to her beloved husband and children.—I shall give you in this place a little prayer, which Henri used for his father and mother, and which any child who is so unfortunate as to have any relations who do not fear God, may make use of in their behalf.

A Prayer to be used by a Child for unbelieving and ungodly Friends and Relations.

O Lord God Almighty! hear the prayer of a poor child, who comes before thee not in his own name, but

in the name of that dear Saviour who died for him upon the cross. I come now, O Lord, in his dear name, to ask thee to have pity on my dear (father, or mother, or brother, &c. &c.) who is living without God, and who never thinks of his Saviour, and has no care about his soul. O Lord God Almighty! turn the heart of this my poor friend; turn his heart, and let him not die in sin. O Lord, how dreadful would it be if he should die and go to hell, there to live for ever in the lake of fire and brimstone! Oh! save him, save him from this dreadful place! Give him faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and wash him from his sins in the blood of the bleeding Lamb. He does not think of praying for himself: Oh, therefore, accept my prayers for him! And thou, O dear Saviour, plead for him that he may not be lost! I will come unto thee, O Father, again and again: I will call upon thee day after day, for this my poor friend, who lives in wickedness. O Almighty God, hearken unto my prayer; I beseech thee, hearken to it, for the sake of Him in whose name I come, even my beloved Saviour, thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. "Our Father," &c.

HYMN XXII.

Arise, my tend'rest thoughts, arise,
To torrents melt, my streaming eyes;
And thou, my heart, with anguish feel
Those evils which thou canst not heal.

See human nature sunk in shame!
See scandals pour'd on Jesu's name;
The Father wounded through the Son;
The world abus'd, the soul undone !

See the short course of vain delight
Closing in everlasting night;
In flames that no abatement know,
Though briny tears for ever flow!

My God, I feel the mournful scene;
My bowels yearn o'er dying men;
And fain my pity would reclaim,

And snatch the firebrands from the flame.

But feeble my compassion proves,
And can but weep where most it loves;
Thine own all-saving arm employ,

And turn these drops of grief to joy.

A STORY ON BESETTING SINS.

ONE Sunday, Soon after the death of poor Miss Augusta Noble, Mrs. Fairchild having a bad cold, could not go to church with the rest of the family. When the children had come home from church, Mrs. Fairchild asked Lucy what the sermon was about.

"Mamma," said Lucy, taking her Bible out of her little basket, "I will show you the text: it is in Hebrews xii. 1: Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.'

When Mrs. Fairchild had looked at the text, she said, "And do you remember any thing more of the sermon, Lucy?"

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Indeed, mamma," said Lucy, "I did not understand the sermon: it was all about besetting sins.

they, mamma?”

What are

"You know, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "that our hearts are all by nature wicked."

"O yes, mamma, I know that," answered Lucy.

"Do you recollect, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, "what things our Lord says naturally proceed out of man's heart?"

Lucy. Yes, mamma: From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murder, thefts, covetousness, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.' Mark vii. 21–23.

"Now, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild, although our hearts are naturally inclined towards all kinds of sins which are named in these verses, yet every man is not inclined alike to every kind of sin."

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"I don't quite understand you, mamma," said Lucy. Why," answered Mrs. Fairchild, "what I mean is this that one man's evil heart tempts him particularly to one kind of sin, and another man's to another. One man, perhaps, is inclined to covetousness: another, to be drunken; another, to swear and blaspheme: another to lie and deceive; another, to be angry and cruel: and that sin which a man feels himself most inclined to is called his besetting sin."

"Oh! now I know what besetting sins mean," answered Lucy. "Has everybody a besetting sin, mamma?"

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