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not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.' Heb. xi. 4-6, 32-40.

"Oh, papa,'

," said Lucy, "what pretty verses!"

"From these verses we may learn, my dear children," said Mr. Fairchild, "that all people who are not brought to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, the blessed and Holy Trinity, as they are shown to us in the Bible, remain in their sins, and arc in a state of condemnation; but that those who have a right faith will receive a new nature from God, and will be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ."

"Oh! papa, papa!" said the children, “pray for us, that we may not be wicked and go to hell."

"I would have you remember, my dear children," said Mr. Fairchild, "that there is no such thing as being saved, except by the Lord Jesus Christ, through his death: nothing you can do yourselves can save you. Even if you could, from this time forward, live without sin, yet you are condemned already for your past sins. Neither can you keep even one of God's commandments without the help of the Holy Spirit."

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Papa," said Lucy, "we will pray to the Holy Spirit to help us, and then we shall get better."

"Ask your mamma, to morrow," said Mr. Fairchild "to tell you a story of something which happened to her when she was young, by which you will better understand what is meant when I say you cannot be good without the help of the Spirit. And now we will kneel down, and I will teach you to pray that God will make you of the number of his holy ones; and then you shall go and play in the garden."

A Prayer to be admitted into Christ's little Flock.

O Lord God! we little children come unto thee in the name of Him who died for all men. We do not ask thee to make us clever, or to make us rich, or to make us handsome, or to give us any worldly good; but we ask thee to make us thine own little children. Take us, O holy Father, and wash us from our sins in the blood of the Lamb without spot; and set upon us thy seal

that we may be numbered among thy sheep, and Jwell for ever in thy fold, under the good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep. And, oh! increase through all the world the number of thy sheep! Have mercy on all men: turn them from their sins, and bring them into thy fold; that the devil, who goeth about like & roaring lion, may find none to devour.

O Lord, hear our prayers, for thy dear Son's sake; to whom, with Thee, O Father, and Thee, O Holy Ghost, se all glory and honour, now and for ever.

HYMN V.

JESUS, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress:
'Midst flaming worlds, in these array'd,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

When from the dust of death I rise
To take my mansion in the skies.
E'en then shall this be all my plea-
• Jesus hath liv'd and died for me

Bold shall I stand in that great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay,
While through thy blood, absolv'd I am
From sin's tremendous curse and shame?

Thus Abraham, the friend of God,
Thus all the armies bought with blood,
Saviour of sinners, Thee proclaim;
Sinners, of whom the chief I am!

This spotless robe the same appears
When ruined nature sinks in years:
No age can change its glorious hue;
The robe of Christ is ever new.

O let the dead now hear thy voice!
Bid, Lord, thy banish'd ones rejoice!
Their beauty this, their glorious dress;
Jesus, the Lord our righteousness.

Amen.

MRS. FAIRCHILD'S STORY.

THE next morning, when Lucy and Emily were sit sing at work with their mamma, Henry came in from his papa's study:

"I have finished all my lessons, mamma," he said: "I have m de all the haste I could, because papa said that

you would tell us a story to-day; and now I am come to hear it."

So Henry placed himself by his mamma, and Lucy and Emily hearkened, while Mrs. Fairchild told her story. "My mother died," said Mrs. Fairchild, "many years ago, when I was a very little child; so little that I remember nothing more of her than being taken to kiss her when she lay sick in bed. Soon afterward, I can recollect seeing her funeral procession go out of the garden gate, as I stood in the nursery window; and I also remember, some days afterward, being taken to strew flowers upon her grave, in the village church-yard.

"After my mother's death, my father sent me to live with my aunts, Mrs. Grace, and Mrs. Penelope, two old ladies, who, having never been married, had no families to take up their attention, and were so kind as to undertake to bring me up. These old ladies lived near the pleasant town of Reading. I can fancy I see the house now, although it is many years since I left it. It was a handsome old mansion: for my aunts were people of good fortune. In the front of it was a shrubbery, neatly laid out with gravel walks; and behind it was a little rising ground, where was an arbour, in which my aunts used to drink tea in a fine afternoon, and where I often went to play with my doll. My aunts' house and garden were very neat: there was not a weed to be seen in the gravel walks, or among the shrubs, nor any thing out of its place in the house. My aunts themselves were nice and orderly, and went on from day to day in the same manner: and, as far as they knew, they were good women; but they knew very little about religion; and what people do not understand they cannot practise." "Could not they read the Bible, mamma ?" said Henry. "Yes, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild; "they could read it, and did read it every day; but unless the Spirit of God make us understand the Bible, we may read it all our lives and know nothing of it—at least, be none the better for reading it."

"You have often told me, mamma," said Lucy, "that when we read our Bible, we ought to pray that God would send us his Holy Spirit to make us understand it." "Very true, my dear; reading the Bible without prayer is of very little use," said Mrs. Fairchild.

What did our aunts know of relif ion, mamma?" asked Emily.

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"Why, my dear," answered Mrs. Fairchild, "as far as I can judge, they believed that there is but one God, who made all things; and that this God hates sin, and loves goodness."

"That was right, mamma," said Henry.

"So far it was, my dear," answered Mrs. Fairchild "but people cannot be called Christians who know no more than this."

"Did not our aunts know any thing about our Lord Jesus Christ?" said Henry.

"They knew that there is such a person, and that he is called the Son of God,' answered Mrs. Fairchild; "and that he taught men to be good; and died upon the cross; but they did not seem to have much notion that he is God, and that he has power to save all those who come to him in faith-at least, they never taught me any thing of the kind: neither did they explain to me that my heart was so bad as it is, or that I needed the help of the Spirit of God to change my vile nature."

"Then what did they teach you, mamma?" said Henry.

'Why, my dear," answered Mrs. Fairchild; "almost the first things they taught me were the Ten Commandments; and they told me that they were the words of God; and that, if I did not keep these words, I should go to hell, and be burnt in everlasting fire, with the devil and his angels; but that, if I did keep these commandments, I should go to heaven, and live with God and the holy angels for ever.”

Why, my aunts could not keep the commandments themselves," said Lucy; “because nobody can, without the help of the Holy Spirit: and how could they expect you to do it, mamma, when you were a little girl?"

"My aunts," said Mrs. Fairchild," could not keep the commandments any more than I did, my dear; that is true enough: but people who have not true religion, often live for years, and even die, without knowing that they are sinners. The beginning of true religion, my dear, is to know that we are sinners."

"Áre my aunts dead?" said Henry.

"Yes, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild.

"Then I am afraid that they are not gone to heaven," said Henry.

"You must hear my story to the end," said Mrs. Fairchild. "Some people receive the Holy Spirit of

God when they are young, and some when they are older, and some even when they are dying, therefore we cannot judge any person. I only tell you what my aunts were when I lived with them.-But now to go back to my story

"I was but a very little girl when I came to live with my aunts, and they kept me under their care till I was married. As far as they knew what was right, they took great pains with me. Mrs. Grace taught me to sew, and Mrs. Penelope taught me to read; I had a writing and a music master, who came from Reading to teach me twice a-week: and I was taught all kinds of household work by my aunts' maid. We spent one day exactly like another. I was made to rise early, and to dress myself very neatly, to breakfast with my aunts. At breakfast I was not allowed to speak one word. After breakfast, I worked two hours with my aunt Grace, and read an hour with my aunt Penelope: we then, if it was fine weather, took a walk; or, if not, an airing in the coach-I and my aunts, and little Shock, the lap-dog, together. At dinner, I was not allowed to speak; and, after dinner, I attended my masters, or learned my tasks. The only time I had to play was while my aunts were dressing to go out; for they went out every evening to play at cards. When they went out my supper was given to me, and I was put to bed in a closet in my aunts' room."

"But why did they not stay at home, and take care of you, mamma," said Lucy. "Is it right to be going out every day, and dressing fine, and playing at cards?"

"When people really love God," said Mrs. Fairchild, "they no longer take pleasure in this kind of things; but I told you before, my dear children, that when I lived with my aunts, they were not truly religious: it is therefore of no use to be reasoning about their actions. "Now, although my aunts took so much pains with me in their way," continued Mrs. Fairchild, "I was a very naughty girl: I had no good principles."

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Mamma, what do you mean by good principles ?" said Lucy.

"A person of good principles, my dear," said Mrs. Fairchild," is one who does not do well from fear of the people he lives with, but from the fear of God. A child who has good principles will behave just the same when his mamma is out of the room, as when she is

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