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But is it not faid, To-morrow fhalt thou and thy fons be with me? Was Saul, fo wicked a man, to go after death to the fame blessed place with righteous Samuel? The narrative determines nothing at all of the ftate of either after death. All that is meant by the words, Thou shalt be with me, is, thou fhalt die, thou shalt be as I am, that is, dead, and in the regions of feparate fpirits; and so it proved.

Upon the whole we may fafely conclude, that it was Samuel himself who appeared and prophefied; not called up by that wretched woman, or her demons, but fent thither by God to rebuke Saul's madness, in a most affecting and mortifying way; and to deter all others from ever applying to witches or demons for affiftance, when refused comfort from God.

Remarkable Clemency of JULIUS CESAR.

DOMITIUS, an old enemy of Cafar's held Corfinium against

him and thirty Cohorts: there were alfo with him very many Senators, Knights of Rome. Cafar befieged the town. Domitius defpairing of mercy, commanded a Physician to bring him a cup of poifon. The Physician gave him, instead of poifon, a foporiferous potion. The town being furrendered, Cafar called the honourable perfons to his camp; spoke civilly to them, and fent them away in fafety. When Domitius heard of this, he repented of the poison he fuppofed he had taken; but being freed of that fear by his Physician, he went out unto Cafar, who gave him his life, liberty and estate.

A

WISE ADVICE.

Governor of a province in China, fhut his gates, and refused to admit any further vifit; pretending that he was fick. A Mandarin, a friend of his, obtained leave to fpeak with him. Being admitted, he faid, I fee no figns of

fickness

fickness; but if your Lordship will tell me the true cause, I will ferve you to the utmost of my power. Know then, replied the Governor, the King's Seal is ftolen out of the Cabinet. If therefore I could give audience, I have not where withal to feal difpatches. If I difcover my negligence in the lofs of the Seal, I fhall lofe both my government and my life. The Mandarin afked, If he had not an enemy in the city? He answered, Yes: a chief Officer a long time has borne me a grudge. Away then, faid the Mandarin, let all your goods of worth be removed into the inner part of the palace. Then fet fire to the empty part, and call out for help to quench it, to which this Officer muft of neceffity repair. As foon as you fee him, confign to him the Cabinet. If it be he who hath caused the Seal to be ftolen, he will put it in its place again: if it be not he, you must lay the fault on him for having fo ill kept it. The Governor followed his counsel; and the morning after, the Officer brought him the Seal in the Cabinet.

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ODOLPH the Emperor, being at Norimberg, a merchant implored his justice upon an Inn keeper, who had cheated him of two hundred marks, which he had depofited in his hands. The Emperor afked what evidence he had? who replied, No other befides myself. The Emperor enquiring what manner of bag it was? the merchant defcribed it. The chief men of the city coming to wait upon the Emperor, amongst them was this fraudulent hoft. The Emperor in a jefting way, faid to him, You have a handfome hat, let us change. The other was proud of the honour, and readily prefented the hat. The Emperor then stepped afide, and fent an inhabitant of the city, to the wife of the Inn-keeper, with orders to fay, Your husband defires you would fend him fuch a bag of money, by this token,

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that this is his hat. The woman delivered the money without fcruple. The meffenger returned with it to the Emperor, who calling the merchant, fhewed him the bag, and asked if he knew it the merchant owned it with joy. The Emperor then called in the hoft, and faid, This man accufes you of perfidiousness: what fay you? The other faid his accufer lied, or was mad; for he had never any bufinefs with him. The Emperor then produced the bag; at the fight of which the hoft was confounded, and confeffed the whole. The merchant received the money, and the Emperor fined the hoft a good round fum.

གཏེཏེ་གདེ་ལུས་

COVETOUSNESS well Rewarded.

༄ཡེ་མ་དལུ་

A Countryman prefented Lewis the Eleventh with a turnip

of an unusual bignefs. The King delighted with the fimplicity of the man, commanded him a thoufand crowns; and the turnip (wrapped up in filk) to be referved amongst his treasures. A covetous Courtier obferving this, in hopes of a greater fum brought a very handfome horfe, and made a prefent of him to the King, who cheerfully accepted the gift; and gave orders that the turnip fhould be brought him: telling him, It cost me a thousand crowns.

GORGE

A REMARKABLE BIRTH.

0000.

ORGIAS of Epirus, flipped from the womb at his mother's funeral. By his crying he caufed them to Bland who carried the bier: when he was

the aflonifhment of all who were prefent.

taken out alive to

Thus, in one and

the fame moment, a dead woman was delivered, and her child canied to the grave before he was born.

REMARKABLE

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REMARKABLE HUMILITY.

HEN Libuffa, Princess of Bohemia, had first ennobled, and then married Primaflaus, who before was a plain hufband-man; in remembrance of his first condition, he brought with him a pair of wooden fhoes. Being asked the caufe, he answered, I brought them that they may be fet up for a monument in the Caftle of Vifegrade, and fhewed to my fucceffors; that all may know, The firft Prince of Bohemia was called from the cart to this high dignity and that I myself, who am brought to wear a crown, may remember I have nothing whereof to be proud.

LETTER S.

LETTER

CCCCII.

[From Mifs A. B. to the Rev. J. Welley.]

Rev. Sir,

OF

Witney, June 16, 1773.

F late God has been fhewing me a narrower path, and my foul rejoices in hope of walking therein! I fee the greater my conformity to Jesus is, the deeper and more folid will be my peace. I find the way of self-denial, and of taking up my cross, makes way for the operations of the bleffed Spirit. I find alfo that by abstaining from unneceffary words, and endeavouring to keep faith always in exercife, my foul finks deeper into its centre, and feels more vigorous and healthful.

Yesterday (in private prayer) my foul entered into a deeper acquaintance with God. I felt my heart more ftrongly attached to him, and of confequence, more abstracted from every created good. I fee great beauty in entire devotion to God;

and

and tremble at the thought of doing my own will in any refpect. Dear Sir, pray for me that I may be faved from this, and believe that I remain

Yours affectionately,

A. B,

CCCCIII.

LETTER

[From Mifs M. B. to the Rev. J. Wesley,

Rev. Sir,

OF

Bath, Aug. 23, 1773.

F late I have had no very remarkable seasons, either of fuffering, or confolation. Perhaps the Lord may fee it needful to keep me in a quiet ftate, that I may be the more capable of going through my increafing employment. But I am afraid of indulging this too much, left I sink into unfcriptural quietism.

I have lately read a new translation of Lady Guion's Life,* and fear it has a tendency to betray the upright in heart into a flate of comparative Darknefs, and unrefifted Unbelief, under the mafk of pure Faith, Paffiveness, and Resignation; till they are at laft content to live under the hidings of his face. What they fay on the bleffednefs of a pure Intention, Selfdenial, and habitual attention to the prefence of God, I have often found animating. Their difcourfes on prayer are not fo clear to me. Need a continued fate of mental prayer, exclude that which is vocal, and focial?. When the foul is not inclined to the latter, and is bleffed in the former, may it fafely refl? or ought it to do violence to itfelf, that it may pray always with all prayer?

I remain, Rev. Sir,

Your affectionate Servant,

M. B.

That publified by the Quakers.

POETRY

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