when it is attained, soon proves itself by its fruits. God is not recognised as an old master, but received by an entire dedication to his service, as a new one. The homage rendered to him is not external, but consists in an inward devotedness to his will. Man is in a new state-a new condition. Instead of following the world, he is to abjure it; for as Christ overcame the world himself, he expects his disciples to obtain the same victory, and he has promised them strength sufficient for the undertaking. It would not have been worth the Redeemer's while to have suffered and died for us, if he was only to procure us the meagre advantages resulting from a few forms and ordinances. But he came to teach us precepts, which were illustrated by his own example, confirmed to us by his death, and fully consummated by his resurrection.

It is a melancholy truth, that we see few instances of vital religion in full exercise, among men. But this deficiency is not occasioned by any imperfection in the principle itself: it arises from the imperfect manner in which it is applied. The task is difficult, and is therefore negligently performed. Those who strive after true holiness of life, are represented as enthusiasts, whose example may not, and should not be emulated.

Another stumbling block to faith, is the difficulty of admitting the doctrine of total depravity. Yet it is certain, that Christianity can be engrafted on no other doctrine. If man is not corrupt by nature, he cannot require entire regeneration. But, my dear girl, if you search your own heart faithfully, young as it is, you will find the germ of human corruption at is core. Man is not an imperfect, but a fallen creature; and unless he admits religion as a rectifying principle, the disorders incident to his natural state, will gradually work out his destruction. You must therefore believe implicitly that

you are a sinner, or you cannot receive Christ as your Saviour. He does not undertake to reform, but to renew your heart. Many people think they will do very well, with a little amendment here and there, while they imagine some parts of their old character are worth retaining. These cannot surely expect to have the Redeemer as an aid, in these walks of supererogation. There is no promise in Scripture, from which they can derive such an expectation. Thus it is, that so many persons who call themselves Christians, are disappointed in their hopes of amendment. They go to work in a wrong manner, and do not begin at the beginning. Is not it a palpable incongruity to suppose, that he who came to save that which was lost, should set about such a work by finishing what nature has begun? You will, perhaps, meet with people who will tell you, that it is impeaching the mercy of God, to suppose that the beings created by himself, should be depraved. I have heard this argument loudly maintained by people, who have declared, that man had far more good than evil in his nature. But, alas! this error is not of long continuance. Those who deny the doctrine of total depravity, cast away the brightest example of the mercy of God. They do not behold him as we do, wonderfully preparing a system of salvation for guilty rebels, which shall redeem them from everlasting punishment, without compromising his own truth and justice. This is indeed transcendent mercy! The continuance of favour to those who have not erred, is justice-not mercy. But the pardon of guilty man, and the gift of love which accompanies that pardon, is indeed angelic, heavenly, Godlike mercy. Angels themselves have not received such a boon. They do not, in their bright mansions above, owe half such a debt of gratitude to their sovereign, as

the poor frail beings who grope in darkness, in the dust of the earth!

I will here conclude this long epistle, my dear Mary, hoping that neither its length nor its subject will deter you from a careful perusal of its contents.

Believe me truly yours.

LETTER II.

MY DEAR MARY,

Of all the moral monsters which abound on earth, women without religion are the most disgusting and mischievous. The very nature of their duties demands the meliorating power of christianity to give stability and grace to their un ostentatious actions. Besides, the trials of domestic life are sometimes keen and frequent, so that irreligious women have no support but their own precarious strength of character to uphold them. This strength, when drawn from any source but christianity, is merely nominal. Pride may sometimes instigate a show of patient endurance, when the heart is devoured in secret by unconquerable sensibility. "Tis true, there are some beautiful exceptions to this general rule,—women whose rare virtues have sprung from some unknown source, and have bloomed through life without the aid of religion. But such examples are rare, and even those highly gifted females have been heard to declare that their lives were joyless. They are held in a state of unnatural exaltation, their fortitude wound up to a pitch of stoical endurance, without a ray of comfort or a hope of mitigation, save from the gradual effect of time on their unso

laced afflictions. I confess there has always been something fearful to me in the high tone of female fortitude when unsupported by religion; their mind is kept in a dangerous degree of tension, from which I constantly dread some alarming consequences. But when the truly feminine character, formed on the model of christian excellence, suffers meekly the will of her Father, and bows her head resignedly to his dispensations, she presents a picture, the moral sublimity and beauty of which, is eminently calculated to improve the heart and understanding. Woman without religion is a solecism in morals, a deformity in social life. She resembles the dead oak, to which the verdant ivy still gives the appearance of freshness, as it twines its flexible branches around the withered stem. There is life there, it is true, yet it is not in the main body of the tree, but in its extrinsic decorations. Woman may look attractive at a distance, as if all her characteristic requisites were in full vigour; but, approach her nearly, and you see a redundance of ornamental qualities, covering, like the unsubstantial ivy, the lifeless trunk, from which emanates no one substantial good, for the principle of life is wanting. It is no derogation from the dignity or utility of woman, to declare, that she is inferior to man, in moral as well as physical strength. She has a different part to act in life, and does not require the same qualities. Providence has fitted her to her station, and it is to be lamented, that the errors of society should ever have withdrawn her from that subordinate condition, so replete with usefulness and consistency, so suited to the weakness of the sex. A wrong mode of education may give the female character a degree of inflation, which passes with superficial people for solidity. At a casual glance, the eye does not detect the emptiness of the blown bladder; it sees a fair, round, full looking surface, and supposes that the con

tents are solid. But when women are taken out of their appropriate sphere, not only individual, but national misery will be the result. Look at the state of the female sex in France before the revolution, when it was said that they had attained their true and legitimate station of equality. They were learned in all things, but in their allotted portion of knowledge. They vied with men in. literature, philosophy, science, and even infidelity. Their children were neglected, their husbands dishonoured; their homes converted into places of abomination, where the Spirit of God never could come, to rectify the disorders of nature. What were the consequences? Such as blacken the page of history, and startle the thoughtful mind, even in another age and region. Had the women of France retained their appropriate sphere of duty, there is little doubt but that their influence might have upheld the fabric of national virtue, and prevented the desolation of their country. What but ruin can ensue from a system of education which converts one of the most active agents of moral improvement into a mere ornament, a useless and superfluous toy. While these women were cultivating their talents with the ambitious desire of emulating masculine supremacy, their children were corrupted by dissolute menials, their domestic fire-sides were forsaken, and the social compact gradually dissolved. As soon as philosophy and science were presented as laudable objects of pursuit, the meekness, the gentleness, the unostentatious employments of the sex were rejected with disdain. While children were imbibing poison from their corrupt attendants, mothers, whose chief happiness should have been found at home, were fulminating political doctrines in the public places of resort. Regardless of that shrinking modesty which is their principal charm, their most appropriate ornament, they were standing unabashed amidst the gaze of thousands, and putting forth