[No. 25.

"On one occasion, as I entered her room, where her deeply afflicted husband stood at the dreadful post of observation, absorbed in the deepest melancholy of grief, she raised herself up, and sang, with a strong, yet softened melody of voice;'I see a world of spirits bright,

Who taste the pleasures there;
They all are rob'd in radiant white,
And conqu'ring palms they bear." "

See page 2.

London:

THE SURPRIZE.

"In the New Testament, the absolute subserviency of doctrinal statements to the formation of the principles and habits of practical piety, is never lost sight of; we are continually reminded that obedience is the end of all knowledge, and of all religious impressions."

HALL.

THE indisposition of Mrs. Stevens became more and
more alarming; she was soon confined to her room;
then to her bed; and her life was considered in the
most imminent danger. Her fever rose so high that
it affected her brain, and she became slightly deli-
rious. But, even now, when the fancy had broken
away from the restraints of the understanding, wan-
dering amidst scenes of danger and of woe, she spake
with rapture of her approaching dissolution; and on
one occasion, as I entered her room, where her
deeply afflicted husband stood at the dreadful post of
observation, absorbed in the deepest melancholy of
and sang,
with a strong,
grief, she raised herself up,
yet softened melody of voice;-

"I see a world of spirits bright,
Who taste the pleasures there;
They all are rob'd in radiant white,
And conqu'ring palms they bear.
"Lord, what are all my suff'rings here,
If thou but make me meet,
With that enraptur'd host t' appear,
And worship at thy feet!

"Give joy or grief, give ease or pain,
Take life and friends away,

But let me find them all again,
In that eternal day!"

While we remained in silence, watching the progress of a disorder which was threatening to take from us one of the most interesting and amiable of women; and thus turning the tabernacle of domestic bliss into the house of mourning, it pleased the Father of mercies to throw her into a deep sleep, which lasted several hours. The physician, who had been

PRINTED BY J. 8. HUGHES, 66, PATERNOSTER ROW.

unremitting in his attention, tarried with her till he found her fever very much abated, and then left us, by saying, "I think she will recover; but do not suffer her to be disturbed. All depends, under the divine blessing, on her composure. Command the most perfect stillness."

In the morning she awoke, from a long slumber, in which exhausted nature sought the recovery of her strength; and, after asking for Mr. Stevens, requested some refreshment. The cloud, which hung over us with such a lowering aspect, now gradually dispersed; and, in a few days, our friend was pronounced out of danger. "I thought, at one time," (addressing herself to her husband,)"I should have left you. I felt the parting pang; and it was such a pang as my heart never felt before. I looked into the valley of death; and, though the light of the divine countenance illumined it, yet nature recoiled at the prospect of entering. I had no doubt of the issue of dying, but I dreaded the act of dying. But now I am coming back to life. Oh, that my life may be more devoted to Him who lived and died for me!" "Yes, my dear;" said Mr. Stevens; "I thought the parting hour was come, but I could not part with you. Had you been taken, I should have prayed for submission to the will of God; but he has spared you; and I receive you, as one alive from the dead.'"

Miss Roscoe left home the morning after the fire at the cottage, to spend a few days with her young friend Miss Louisa Holmes, who was on a visit at B▬▬▬; but, as soon as she heard of Mrs. Stevens's illness, she returned. "I am happy to see you once more;" said Mrs. Stevens. This is a plea

-;

sure which I did not anticipate. How uncertain is life!" "Yes;" Miss Roscoe replied; "life is uncertain; but they who believe in Christ shall never die. They may, in the progress of their being, drop their outward form, as the insect leaves his shell, when he expands into a higher and nobler state of existence; but the soul, redeemed by the blood, and purified by the spirit, of the Lord Jesus, liveth, and abideth for ever.' I hope your mind has been kept in perfect peace during your severe affliction." "It has," said Mrs. Stevens," been kept in peace, but not in perfect peace. On the second day, before my disorder assumed a threatening aspect, an horror of great darkness fell upon me. I was compelled to

admit the possibility of having deceived myself,-of having claimed privileges to which I had no title,-of having mistaken the excitement of the animal passions for the fervour of spiritual devotion,-of having indulged prospects which I should never realize; and such was the tremendous agitation into which I was thrown, that I seemed to be riding on the whirlwind, without being able to controul the storm. But, just as I was beginning to sink into despair, the light of mercy broke in upon the horrid gloom, and restored my bliss. Never, oh, never, had I seen such beauty in the following verse, as I then perceived;

"Jesu, Lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the billows near me roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, oh, my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;

Oh, receive my soul at last!"""

"It is consoling," said Mias Roscoe,"to meet with others who are occasionally exercised in a similar way with ourselves. I thought your faith was too strong ever to stagger, and your prospect of eternal life too clear, ever to be shaded by dubious uncertainty; but now, I perceive, you can doubt; which encourages me to hope that my faith may be genuine, though it is sometimes involved in perplexity, and sometimes sunk into depression."

"Have you," Mrs. Stevens asked, "had any recent conversation with your papa, on religious subjects?" "Not very recently," Miss Roscoe replied, "because he has manifested a more than ordinary degree of antipathy to them; and I have thought proper to remain silent while his prejudices are in such a state of powerful excitement." "But may not this apparent antipathy, on his part," Mrs. Stevens remarked, " be nothing more than the solemn reserve of a mind strongly and deeply impressed by the truth, which has hitherto been either misunderstood, or rejected?" "I should be happy," said Miss Roscoe, "if I could put such a favourable construction on his manner; but I fear that another storm is gathering, and I know not how I shall be able to endure it." "Our favourite poet," Mrs. Stevens observed," has one verse, which, by your permission, I will repeat:

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread,
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.'

"Allow me, my dear friend, to offer you my congratulations. Your prayers, I hope, are answered; and you may go home, and embrace your father as a fellow heir of the grace of life." "If I could," said Miss Roscoe," the sun of my bliss would never go down; but, alas, you merely congratulate me on what we wish to be true, rather than on what we believe." "My dear," Mrs. Stevens replied, "I speak what I believe." "Impossible!" said the enraptured Miss Roscoe. "Has he made any particular communication to you, which authorizes you to speak in such a decisive tone?—Oh, tell me !”

"The evening before Josiah's cottage was consumed, your father spent two or three hours with us, and seemed not only willing, but anxious, to converse on religious subjects. At one time, he was affected almost to tears, when he said; My dear Sophia has often told me, that a supernatural illumination of mind is the great secret in personal religion; and on a recent occasion, when she quoted the words of the Apostle, 'The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned;' (1 Corinthians ii. 14;) she made an impression on my mind which has never left me.' So, my dear friend, God has not only subdued the prejudices of your father's heart against the truth, and opened the eyes of his understanding to see its excellence and importance, but has employed you as the agent in the accomplishment of this great work."

Miss Roscoe wept as she listened to the statement; but they were such tears as angels shed (if angels ever weep) when they are detained in their embassy of love to witness the penitential sorrow and holy gratitude of a sinner brought to repentance.

After recovering herself from that excessive agitation which this communication produced, she said, "I feel as if I were asleep,-enjoying a most pleasant dream, my fancy beguiled and deluded by its own visionary conceptions,-not less surprised than delighted to find myself awake,-with you,-listening to the most joyful news that could be conveyed to my soul." She wept again. "And is it possible?