his fleshly savour; and, under the influence of the King's clemency, will lead him to loathe depraved and rebellious nature, to vindicate the records of Zion, to see the feigned perfection of the Hagarenes, and to justify all the proceedings of his royal Father.

Shepherd. Then these things are of use to Little Faith; and, indeed, it is said that all things work together for good to them that love the King. Pray, where is Little Faith now?

Steward. They do, and these among the rest. Little Faith is now in the pantry, very meek and low and much afraid that these terrible evils, and his sensations under them, cannot consist with royal sonship; for he says that he feels unutterable rebellion, at times, even against the King himself, and such thoughts of him as none ever had; insomuch, that he cannot look up, much less look at the King; and, therefore, he must never expect to see the King's face again. A loyalist,' saith he, with a rebellious heart! a dear son, Jer. xxxi. 20, with nothing but hard thoughts against his own Father! a holy seed, Isa. vi. 13, filled with blasphemy! Can I be said to be pure, 1 Tim. v. 22, while every sin takes occasion to work in me all manner of concupiscence! Rom. vii. 8; an Israelite, indeed, John i. 47, swarming alive with hornets! No! no! the hornets were sent to drive the Canaanites, not the Israelites ; and I am a Canaanite, otherwise they would never drive me. O the hornets! the hornets!" Cursed

be Canaan! a servant of servants shall he be." And the hornets were sent as an effect of that curse, and in just judgment for sin: "I sent the hornet before you,"O Israel, said the King, “ which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites: but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow," Josh. xxiv. 12. Not with thy sword, nor with thy bow, didst thou get the land. Nor shall I ever get into the better country while one hornet remains upon me: it is a land prepared for a perfect seed, not for Canaanites swarming with insects!'

Shepherd. Little Faith reasons like a nervous logician. And, indeed, it must be a very puzzling mystery for one of the holy seed to be perplexed with such unholy thoughts and workings: and, what makes it still worse, Belial suggests them so foul, that it is almost impossible to open the mouth about them, either to the King or to any of the servants; insomuch, that there is no speaking so as to be eased; and, I think, one main branch of the serpent's wisdom lies in this. Such a poor buffeted child creeps about in solitude, pondering upon that which he cannot either mention or reveal; and considers himself as a companion for none but fiends.

Steward. True: and sometimes they are shaking their heads, and making motions with their hands, fearing lest one or other of these thoughts should creep through their lips, and amount to words; which, they expect, would at

once deluge them in black despair, if not in irrecoverable ruin. And, as you justly observe, such are always creeping alone, as if, like the king of Babylon, a brute's heart was given to them, and they were destined to dwell with the beasts of the field till they imagine themselves as brutal in their appearance as they feel themselves brutish in their

nature.

Shepherd. I have often observed among my flock, especially in hot weather, when the flies are very busy, that, as soon as the maggots begin to work upon them, they are in perpetual motion, shaking and biting themselves; but, as soon as ever they come to be very bad, they always leave the flock, shun the heat of the sun, and creep into any hedge, ditch, or thicket, that they can get into; and there they lie till the shepherd finds them out, shears the sore parts, and applies the juice of the fir tree to their wounds, and that cures them. I suppose Little Faith hardly ever casts a longing eye at the sand bank now-a-days; does he?

Steward. No: if he does but even look that

way, the old nest is stirred up, and every hornet seems to be armed with a fresh sting. Our passover feast is at hand, and both lamb and bitter herbs are always provided for those banquets. I am but an unskilful proficient in serving them up, and therefore require the more time for pre-consideration. My dear friend, I must be gone.

Shepherd. You are the best judge, sir, of your own time. Servants that are bound must obey. Nor would I ever wish to detain you one moment longer than while you are disengaged from the King's business. I shall be rather busy, at this season, for a few weeks, as we are going to draught off a few of the lambs, for they are too old to live upon milk, Heb. v. 13; and too old to ride in the bosom, Isa. xl. 11. At weaning times we generally look out for a tender bite for them, in order to prepare them for the rich and strong pastures.

Steward. Then be so kind as to call upon me at the palace when a fit opportunity offers, for I shall be glad at my heart to see you there. "The Lord be with thee!"

Shepherd. "And with thy spirit!"

DIALOGUE THE NINTH.

Steward. "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." This is now fulfilled in the literal sense, for I saw you coming, and was at the door when you knocked; and I hope the king will find both thee and me ready when he shall make the last visit to the Lowland palace; "that, when he cometh and knocketh, we may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching."

Shepherd. True, Sir; and there is a daily blessedness in being ready, and being prepared for his coming, as well as an everlasting blessing of immortal glory to be revealed and received at the last time of his appearance.

Steward. True: that is a daily blessing indeed! but it is understood and enjoyed but by few.

Shepherd. It is not; but we are living witnesses of the truth of the prophecy, namely, that servants, yea, base men and fools, are not in the secret. Pray, where is Little Faith now?

Steward. Poor Little Faith has had a terrible time of it, indeed! worse than he ever knew before. Having been, for many years, a child of a sorrowful spirit, he is habituated to distress and