Chrift exceed them as far in my account, as grace does nature. That the Lord would fill you with all his choiceft bleffings, as you have done me, is, my dear Friend, the earnest prayer of your poor penfioner, J. F. P. S. Mr. Perronnet wants me to fill up his letter. I would gladly do it, with thanks to God for his unfpeakable gifts-his Son, his Spirit, and his word! And thanks be to his people, for their kindness towards the poor, the fick, the ftranger, and efpecially towards me! But at this time, a fleepless night and a conftant tooth-ache, unfit me for almost every thing, but lying down under the crofs, kiffing the rod, and rejoicing in hope of a better ftate, in this world or in the next. But, perhaps, weakness and pain are the best for us in this world. Well, the Lord will chufe for me, and I fully fet my heart and feal to his choice. Let us not faint in the day of adverfity. The Lord tries us, that our faith may be found purged of all the drofs of felf-will, and may work by that love, which beareth all things, and thinketh evil of nothing. Our calling is to follow the Crucified, and we muft be crucified with him, until body and foul know the power of his refurrection, and pain and death are done away. I hope my dear friend will make, with me, a conftant choice of the following mottos of St. Paul :-Chrift is gain in life and death: "Our life is hid with Chrift in God:-If we fuffer with him, we "fhall alfo reign with him :---We glory in tribulation :---God will give us reft with Chrift, in that day :---We are faved by hope.", And that Mifs Thornton will always, by word and deed ftand to her motto, and rejoice in the Lord our God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. To him let us give glory in the fires. Amen. 06 My Lord, To a NOBLEMAN. Nyon, Dec. 15, 1779. F the American Colonies and the West India Islands are rent I from the crown, there will not grow one ear of corn the tels in Great Britain. We fhall ftill have the neceffaries of life, and, what is more, the Gofpel, and liberty to hear it. If the great fprings of trade and wealth are cut off, good men will bear that lofs without much forrow; for fprings of wealth are always fprings of luxury, which, fooner or later, deftroy the empires corrupted by wealth. Moral good may come out of our loffes; I wifh' you may fee it in England. People on the Continent imagine they fee it already in the English on their travels, who are faid to be have with more wifdom, and lefs haughtiness, than they were used to do. Last year faw the death of three great men of these partsRoffeau, Voltaire, and Baron Haller, a Senator of Berne. The laft, who is not much known, I think, in England, was a great philofopher, a profound politician, and an agreeable poet; but he was particularly famous for his fkill in botany, anatomy, and phyfic. He has enriched the republic of letters by fuch a num ber ber of publications in Latin and German, that the catalogue of them is alone a pamphlet. This truly great man has given another proof of the truth of Lord Bacon's affertion, that, although fmatterers in philofophy are often impious, true philofophers are always religious." I have met with an old, pious, apoftolic Clergyman, who was intimate with the Baron, and used to accompany him over the Alps, in his rambles after the wonders of nature. "With what pleafure, faid the Minifter, did we admire and adore the wifdom of the God of nature, and fanctify our refearches by the fweet praifes of the God of grace!" When the Emperor paffed this way, he flabbed Voltaire to the heart, by not paying him a vifit; but he waited on Haller, was two hours with him, and heard from him fuch pious talk, as he never heard from half the philofophers of the age. The Baron was then ill of the disorder, which afterwards carried him off. Upon his death bed, he went through fore conflicts about his intereft in Chrift; and fent to the old Minifter, requefting his moft fervent prayers, and wifhing him to find the way through the dark valley fmoother than he found it himself. However, in his laft moments, he expreffed a renewed confidence in God's mercy, through Chrift, and died in peace. The old Clergyman added, that he thought the Baron went through this conflict, to humble him thoroughly, and, perhaps, to chaftife him for having fometimes given way to a degree of felf-complacence, at the thought of his amazing parts, and of the refpect they procured him from the learned world. He was obliged to become laft in his own eyes, that he might become first and truly great in the fight of the Lord. I am, my Lord, &c. J. F. To the Right Hon. Lady MARY FITZGERALD. My much honoured Lady, Two WO days ago, I came here, after an absence of above a month; and yesterday I received the honour of your letter without date, which has been, I am told, waiting here fome time. What a pity I did not rejoice fooner in the good news you fend me, that you defire to be entirely devoted to God. Indeed, complaints follow; but heaven is in that holy defire. If you cultivate it, it will produce all that conformity to a holy God, which love can bring to a human foul, called to partake the divine nature. As for your complaints, they are the natural) expreffions of that repentance, which precedes, in our hearts, the coming of the Comforter, who is to abide with us for ever. I am ready to rejoice, or to mourn with my honoured friend; and I have abundant caufe to do both, with respect to myself, my miniftrations, the Church, and my people. And will you, indeed, find it in your heart to honour my houfe with your prefence, and perfume alfo with your prayers the plain apartments occupied by your friend Johnfon? I won der der at nothing on earth, when I confider the condefcenfion with which Emmanuel came down from heaven, and filled a ftable with his glory. Your time, my condefcending friend, will fuit me beft. You will be queen in my hermitage, the Lord will rule in our hearts, and you will command under him within our walls. You fmile, perhaps, at the vaftness of your new empire; but if you can be content and happy in God in my homely folitude, you will make greater advances towards blifs, than if you obtained the principality of Wales. But if you cannot be happy with Jefus, prayer, praise, godly conversation, and retirement, expect a difappointment. However, my honoured friend, if you come, come as the ferious Catholics go on a pilgrimage, as French_noblemen go to the Carthufian convent at La Trappe, as the French king's aunts went to the Carmelites : come and do evangelical pennance. Our good friend Johnfon, will tell you of an upper room, where we crucify our old man, and have had many a vifit from the new. If you do not bring her with you, bring her faith, which brought him down, and then you fhall not pine for the company of earthly princes. The Prince of peace and life himfelf will keep his court in our cottage, and your heart fhall be one of his favourite thrones. I hope my Lady, you will bring us good news of our friends in St. James's Place. My heart vifits them often, and if bodies could move as quick as thought, they would be importuned frequently with my company. If you write to them, before I do, convey my Chriftian and grateful love in your letter, and accept it yourself from, my honoured and dear Lady, your du tiful fervant in Chrift, My dear Friend. want To Mifs PERRONET. J. F. Madeley, Sept. 4, 1781. Y the warmest feelings of it. Let us believe his creating, feel "fome thoughts on the love of God," and I want his preferving, admire his redeeming, and triumph in his fanctifying love. Loving is the best way to grow in love. Look we, then, at the love of our heavenly Father, fhining in the face of our elder Brother, and we fhall be changed into love, his image and nature, from one glorious, and glorifying degree of love to another. Love always delights in the object loved. "Delight thou in the Lord, then, and thou fhalt have thy heart's defire; for we can defire nothing more than the fupreme Good, and infinite Blifs both are in God. When, therefore, we love God truly, we delight in what he is, we fhare in his infinite happinefs; and by divine fympathy, his throne of glory becomes ours; for true love rejoices in all the joy of the object it cleaves to. Add to this, that, when we love God, we have always our hearts defire; for we love his will, his defires become ours, and ours are always perfectly refigned to his. Now as God does whatever he pleases both in heaven and earth, his lovers have always always their hearts defire, forafmuch as they always have his will, which is theirs. Submitting our private will to his, is only preferring a greater good to a lefs, as our Lord did in the garden; and we are all called to do it in afflictions. Farewell, my dear friend, and excufe these reflections, which you could make much better than your humble fervant, J. F.. To the Right Hon. Lady MARY FITZGERALD. My dear and honoured Friend, Madeley, Sept. 29, 1781. YOU have been in the fire of affliction, where faith is tried, where patient hope is exercifed, and where perfect love, which cafts out fear, and endureth all things, is proved worthy of him, who made bare his breaft, and faid to his Father, "Lo! I come to do thy will, O God!" I come to be obedient unto death, even the painful, fhameful death of the cross. Continue to offer your body as a living, or, if it please God, as a lingering, dying facrifice, to him, who has decreed, that if we will reign with Chrift, we must fuffer with him. This is our reasonable fervice; for it would be abfurd, that our Lord fhould have been perfected by fufferings, thorns, and the crofs, and that we should have nothing but enjoyment, rofes, and a a crown. How faithful, how merciful is our God! He brings you once more from the verge of eternity: well, my dear friend, I welcome you back into life, and into the enjoyment of farther opportunities of receiving and doing good,of growing in grace, and perfecting holinefs in the fear of the Lord. Chaftened, fpared like you, and more and more convinced, that I am helpleffnefs itself, and that there is help laid on our Surety and Saviour for us, I invite you to fay with me-When t am weak, Chrift my life is ftrong ftill: for me to live shall be Chrift, and to die gain. Dear Madam, to know the bare cross is uncomfortable; but to know, and gather the fruit of that tree, is life from the dead, it is more abundant life after fainting. Let us then know, i. e. confider, and embrace Jefus Christ crucified to make an end of fin;-fhedding tears, and his moft precious blood, to cleanfe us from all fin; to trace again the divine image, goodness, love, and happiness on our fouls, and to feal our firm title to glory. "Not a text," say you, came to me, only "I knew none perifhed at his feet:" then, you remembered Chrift, the fum and fubftance of all the Scriptures; then you believed on him, in whom all the fweetest texts, and all the promises are yea, and amen. O believe more fteadily, more confidently. Dare even to obey the apoftolic precept, "Reckon yourfelves dead indeed, unto fin, but alive to God by Jefus Chrift our Lord." Embrace with more earnestnefs, the righteoufness of faith, and you will have more peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Rejoice in Christ, your peace; yea, rejoice in God, your Saviour; and VOL. XIX. April 1796. if if there is a needs-be, for your being in heavinefs for a feafon, rejoice in tribulation: "forrowful, but always rejoicing." "When 1 am deftitute of all comfort, this fhall yield me comfort," faith Kempis, "that thy will is done." If Abraham believed in hope gainst hope, that is against human, natural hope; can you not, through grace, as a daughter of Abraham, rejoice in heavenly hope against all natural. feelings, and even against all temptations? "Count it all joy, fays St. James, when you fall into divers temptations" and trials." Don't be afraid of the ftorm: Chrift is in the fhip, and he does not fleep, as unbelief is apt to fancy. I thank you, my dear Lady, for your friendly with of leaving your clay here. I return it, by wifhing you may leave all the body of fin, now, in that myfterious grotto on mount Calvary, where myriads of finners have buried their doubts, their fears, and their old man. Prop up your clay a little longer; for I want to fing with you, "Salvation to God and the Larnb." I want you to help me, with the understanding and the voice to witness, that Jefus "faves to the uttermoff all, who come to God through him" that he can, not only make an end of fin, but bring in an eve lafting, triumphant righteousness. I am not without hope of feeing you in London, before you fee your future hermitage. All my brotherly love goes to Town, and falutes you and your good nurses, to whofe continued care, as well as to that of our dear Redeemer, I earneftly recommend you. I am, my dear Lady, your obedient, affectionate fervant, J. F. IN THE USE OF RAIN. As [N the trueft fenfe of the word, Rain ought to be called a Prefent from Heaven. The bleflings our heavenly Father pours upon as by this means, are equally abundant and neceflary for us. the confequences of a continued drought would be fatal to us, fo the advantages are equally precious which the refreshing showers afford. Who can defcribe or know all the advantages which accrue from them? But if we cannot give an exact account of them, we may at least reflect on fome of the most confiderable. The heat of the fun acts without interruption on the different bodies on the earth, and continually exhales thin particles from it, which fill the atmosphere in the form of vapours. We should breathe thefe dangerous exhalations with the air, if now and then they were not carried off by the rain, which beats them down to the ground, and thus clears and purifies the air. It is no lefs useful in moderating the burning heat of the atmosphere. The Rain that falls from a higher region, brings to the lower atmosphere a refreshing coolnefs, of which we always feel the agreeable effects when it has rained. It is alfo to the Rain we must partly impute the origin of fountains, lakes, and confequently rivers. Every body knows in what abundance we are fupplied with thefe feveral |