when you know her, you will have some idea how little that is. And yet I do believe with all this, the Doctor has the root of the matter in him, though I much doubt whether his ministry will produce any fruit till it has been cut and lopped to the very stump. Thus you see, my nephew, that this man, who was enabled to bear a faithful witness to the truth, in times, when, through the influence of Father Peter, it was as much as his life was worth to proclaim his Lord's will, has been unable to withstand the blandishments of Madame le Monde; and now that the rough wind has ceased to blow upon his person, is ready to part with his garments, and walk naked' in the sunshine of worldly favour. Truly we have need to pray that we may not be led into temptation.'

My uncle then finished this long discourse, pointing out to me that whereas the rulers of the house had formerly persecuted the Lord's people under various pretexts, even unto depriving them of all they held precious on earth, they had

1 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." Rev. iii. 14-18.

of late taken up a new system, which in many instances seems to work more effectually to the destruction of the party, than any hitherto had recourse to, and this was the cant or affectation of general philanthropy; by which, right and wrong, good and evil, were utterly confounded, and any thing like firmness, branded with the name of superstition, obstinacy and narrowmindedness. 'Such is the present order of things,' continued my uncle, as you will see by and by. And now, my nephew, I think that I have given you as much insight into the state of affairs in the castle as can be done by word of mouth; and nothing farther remains to be said, but what relates to my position in the family, who am one of the least worthy of my Lord's servants, having made less than many another would have done in my situation, of the peculiar favours and benefits bestowed upon me.'

My place and my business has been appointed to me by my Lord. I am the keeper of my Lord's letters; it is my service to transcribe them, and disperse the copies, and it is more than I am sufficient for, and therefore I rejoice in the hope of your assistance; this is the service which is required of me, and my charge is this,' that I should neither take from or add one word to that

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you," Deut. iv. 2.

which hath been written. I have little to do with the rest of the family, and although the time was when my life was threatened by those who hated my Lord, yet at present I have nothing more to fear than those petty mockeries and expressions of contempt, which some might think hard to endure, but which at my time of life and with the bright assurance which I enjoy, I find no great difficulty in bearing. But with you young men, the thing is different, and therefore if you will take my counsel, you will strive to keep yourself quiet-to stand to your post,' and meddle not with the business of those with whom you have no concern, so that thou stand in thy place when thy Lord comes.2 Thus my uncle admonished and instructed me, and when we had sate awhile, I retired to rest, being weary with a long and painful journey.

But, as I was afterwards told by one who was well acquainted with these things, there was a great stir in the offices, when it was told the intendant that the nephew of the secretary was come. It happened that he was taking his wine, as was his custom, with Madame le Monde after his dinner, in the hall; for I promise you that the steward and the housekeeper fare of the best, and that all at my Lord's expence, and by "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. V. 21.

2" But go thou thy way till the end be and stand in the lot at the end of the days."

for thou shalt rest, Dan. xii. 13.

oratory, of professing ourselves instructed by it, and of inviting him to come kindly amongst and partake with us in the same dish, throwing all unfriendly feelings into the back ground; did not we find him as ready to come as we could wish ? Yes, and have we not brought him to sit down side by side with those he used to hold in the greatest abhorrence, and sip with them out of the same bowl, and fall into their talk, and into their plans, and all because forsooth he would not be thought illiberal, or narrow-minded, or unfriendly; and thus you see that he is become as it were a cypher as it regards his own party; just a nothing at all, and worse in truth than nothing, as it affects them, and all the while thinking himself the most loyal of all his master's servants.'

It

'True, very true, what you say is only the very truth,' answered the steward; and no doubt this new freak of liberality, or whatever else you may please to call it, is the very best decree our master ever invented, and surely his brain is fertile in decrees, and his mind full of wisdom. quite vanquishes the other party, and that with their own weapons too, for if they vaunt themselves as they are fond to do of their charity, we beat them out and out at that work, for whilst they are willing to help all who come to them in the name of their master, we profess to love, and patronise, and assist those that come to us in no name at all, their very want of merit rendering

the outside of the house with as little ceremony as I had used to make myself acquainted with the inside, when the housekeeper thought it best to put in a word, and stroking and smoothing him down as she well knew how to do, she said, 'Now my good sir, permit me I pray you, to put in my word: I coincide with you altogether in your opinion as to what this young man deserves, and the time has been when I should have recommended a night's lodgings in the stocks as being too good for him; nevertheless the measures would not now be seasonable, for experience has taught us that more may be done with persons of this description, by kind words than by harsh ones. By severity we only confirm the hatred of our enemies, and strengthen the hands of those who are impatient of our government; whereas by a little address we may make a friend of an enemy: and although this young man comes of an evil stock, there are many of as little promise as he is, whom we have won over to our side by a show of kindness, and a proper application of little temptations such as I know how to throw in their paths. Every dog has his bait, and every man his price. Is not the doctor an encouraging example of what may be done with a little address; for, whereas when we were at open war with him, he was as stiff and unmanageable as an unbroken steed, when we bethought ourselves of speaking smoothly to him, of complimenting him upon his