had not already arrived. Alas! but it had come sooneror that, when it did come, it had been of longer duration ! But, as I once said before, misfortune will come soon enough, come when it may, so I must again say, I need not anticipate.

The weight that lay so much on my shoulders, notwithstanding these useful helps, during this busy and throng, though, in the absence of my partner, heartless and cheerless week, appears to have been too much for me, for 1 well recollect, that on her making an effort to return to, at least the back premises of, the shop, on the new year's day, as I had attempted, from a state of confinement, two years before, I was led to embrace the opportunity, to step up stairs, and throw myself into the easy chair by the fire side, which my partner had just quitted, in order to recruit, if possible, by a ten or twenty minutes wink, as Dr Kitchiner might have expressed it, my languid and exhausted frame, which seemed to have suffered much from the exertions of the week.

It may excite the surprise of some of my readers, that I should speak of exhaustion, by a single week, of more than ordinary toil,—but let it be taken into consideration, that my toil, for this week, and the two concluding days of the former one, was not only more than ordinary, but a good deal of it, of a kind, not at all fitted for my capabilities of enduring.

The throng with my accounts making out, &c. at this season of the year, I contrived to get the better of, by embracing the opportunity of the fire that we were obliged to keep constantly burning in our bed room, at this time of distress, to get out of bed at an early hour, and have a good deal of my work, that way, despatched, before the hurry of the day commenced; but that which I felt most oppressive, was the share I had of standing at the back of the counter; and this, (as it may appear to most of my readers,) being the most pleasant and lightsome part of a shop business, especially with the help I could still command,-requires some explanation:

The fact is, that so far back as the end of the year 1803, (and, as I think, I have already had occasion to mention) I was almost, according to the doctor's report, at the end of life's journey,-in consequence of a severe and dangerous fever.

The effect of that fever, upon one of my legs at the time, was such, that much friction was necessary, in order to restore the circulation, and I believe, an unusual supply of covering was requisite for many years afterwards, in order to preserve it, when so restored.

Now, these effects continued to be felt, for a period much longer still, in the difficulty I experienced, in standing long in one position, and the manner in which my leg was affected at particular times, especially in frosty weather ;—and it unfortunately so happened on this occasion, that a strong and severe frost, set suddenly in, so that, I had two causes instead of one, at the same time, operating against me.*

The state of exhaustion in which I found myself, on the conclusion of the last day of the week, which, as will be seen from what I have already related, was on this occasion the first day of the year, being thus, I trust, satisfactorily accounted for, it may readily be supposed, that the turning of the key in the lock, and the grating of the iron bar of the shop door that evening, would be sweet music in my ears; for I knew well, that there would be now an intervening day of repose. And that welcome Sabbath, was to me, indeed, what our minister is accustomed to designate it, in his beautiful prayer, A DAY OF REST TO THE WEARY, -as well as, of instruction to the ignorant,—and devotion to the pious,—all three excellent objects in their way, and worthy of such a merciful and benign institution.

No wonder then, that so laborious a drudge at the oar of human life as I had been, should have felt grateful for such

This, I trust, which I have had occasion to mention, as a matter of course, in this part of my narrative, will be deemed a sufficient apology by those good friends, who, not being previously acquainted with the circumstance, may have been sometimes surprised that I took so little of, the back of the counter business into my own hands, for these many years,—although I have certainly given suf. ficient evidence, that I have not been idle otherwise; while I have every reason to conclude, by the universal suffrage of our kind customers, that my presence was not much missed with such a substitute in my place ;-for, whatever may have been our failings, and however we may have fallen short of our duty in other re. spects, I trust, those of the public who know us best, will do us the justice to say, that few persons in trade, have left their business, without one or other of the heads of the house being on the top of it, more seldom than we have done, and few businesses, I believe, to the same extent, have been conducted with less help than we have had of late, and otherwise, upon more economical principles.

an institution,-not only on this occasion, but so, as to make me declare at the time, when the French people in their rage for innovation, and a disposition to fly to contrary extremes, had commenced computing their time by decades, and so, limiting the time, so mercifully granted to man for rest from his labour, to one in ten, instead of, one in seven, days :—*

No wonder, I say, that with my views of the subject, I should have declared myself,-before the age as I may have appeared in other things,—so well pleased, with this old relic of ancient usage, that, if any change, in regard to the time set apart as a day of rest, could be judged lawful and right, as well as expedient, and I had any say in the business, I would rather have decided in favour of one day in five! than one day in ten, according to the decade way of going to work; and so have contributed, rather to shorten, than to increase the hours of labour;-and that, from the most perfect conviction, that if men would allow themselves to be robbed of their birth right in this respect, it would only be to render them the more beasts of burden,-without adding, any thing to their income on that account,-while the noblest parts of their nature, for want of leisure, must be left comparatively unimproved,—and the sacrifices of devotion, for want of a convenient season, be often left unoffered-unperformed!

This is one of those points then, in which I think, it will be as well to let well alone; and never let the philanthropist think, among all his schemes of benevolence or improvement, of countenancing any thing, that would add to the ignorance, while at the same time, it would take from the comforts, and the privileges, of the poor.

That BLESSED DAY, the first Sunday of 1831, was indeed to me, a day of rest to the weary; and as my mind must have

I say contrary extremes, from the conviction that many of those men who were induced both before and since the decade mania in France, to renounce their Christian profession, and embrace infidel, or deistical principles, whether in France or elsewhere, were impelled to do so, by the absurd dogmas and superstitious mummeries, attempted to be imposed upon them by, themselves a blinded, or interested priesthood,-for the pure and peaceable doctrines of Christianity, which, freed from its corruptions, and left to operate on men's minds in its native purity, would soon create a heaven upon earth,-and bring about the fulfilment of that petition-which is so often used-but so little understood-THY KINGDOM

COME.

been in a comparatively placid and tranquil state, and predisposed to its enjoyment, to what it had been on the first Sunday of the year, for many years before, I must have enjoyed it the more.

For it was certainly at this period, a pleasing consideration to think, that I had now, at last, surmounted so many difficulties that in the brightening prospects which had begun to open upon me, eleven months ago, I had not been disappointed that I had at the commencement of another year, so many additional causes of gratitude-and that, there was in fact, now more than ever, a prospect of arriving, if, as I said before, I had not as yet actually arrived at, that more successful period in business, so confidently predicted by my friend;-and if, at my time of life, I was compelled to begin a NEW SET OF BOOKS, in order to accomplish this prediction, so far as my aid could go, to bring it about in its fullest extent, I must, nevertheless, have been borne up by the comfortable hope, that, but a few years more toil, would place me in circumstances comparatively easy, and in which, I would be less dependent on friends, than I had been for some years past; and that, in consequence, while my infirmities increased, my cares and anxieties, were in a fair way, to be on the decrease :-And above all, I must have been much cheered and encouraged by the thoughts, that I would soon again be consoled and assisted, in the labours of the shop, by the very efficient help, a kind Providence had raised up for me,— whose convalescence, by this time, had been considerably advanced.

Such then, must have been my feelings at the time, and, it is presumed, that with such sentiments, and with such feelings, I returned to my post in the shop, on the Monday morning; where, to be brief, it appears I was in a very short time followed, by that endeared partner, whose presence and assistance, contributed once more to render the toils of life pleasant—and to smooth the rugged cares of business.

Things continued to move on, spiritedly and prosperously for some time, and in this state, it is presumed, were affairs with us (for I must have arrived at a state of considerable tranquillity, and peace of mind, before I could have come to

the resolution of venturing upon the task) and the throngest part of the season got over, when, at the early hour of the 14th January formerly mentioned, I set about, commencing these retrospections, which I continued for the greater part of the year, but was at last obliged to discontinue, under circumstances so peculiarly distressing, as those mentioned in my vi. chapter,—and which, I will again, soon have occasion to notice.

It had been long a favourite object with me, from whatever cause it proceeded, to begin something of the kind, at the time I should pass THE BOUNDARY LINE OF THREESCORE ; but as my reasons for so doing, as well as for "taking TIME by the forelock," at that early hour of a winter morning,—are pretty distinctly given in my next annual retrospect, which I committed to paper on the 13th of the ensuing month of February, I shall conclude this chapter, with a few extracts from it, and thus close, what I can only call, after all, a short analysis of THE FOURTH BOOK OF MY LIFE!

After commencing my retrospect of the above date, with one of the mottos, that I had adopted for my retrospections: "'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours,

And ask them what report they bore to heaven."

I go on to say "So thought the poet-so, it appears, thought the patriarch Isaac, when he made choice of the eventide, to go out into the fields to meditate,—and so, I have just given the most indisputable evidence, do I think,-by adopting the above lines as a motto, and commencing my retrospections on a larger scale, on the first morning of my Evening of Life.'-'Tis greatly wise,' indeed, to talk with our past hours,' and what more suitable season, than the even-tide of the day,—and the still more sober and solemn twilight, which intervenes betwixt life and death,—' THE EVENING OF LIFE,'-for this purpose!"

6

"I have therefore chosen, the latter interesting period, for my retrospections,—and have commenced my operations, at the moment of passing the boundary line-which separates my autumn from winter ;-my vigorous, and declining manhood, from the growing infirmities, and chilling blasts of age and decrepitude ;—in order that, by the blessing of God on my