Majesty, the humble tribute of praise and thanksgiving for all thy goodness and mercies bestowed upon me, from the first moment of my existence to the present time. O Lord, by thy goodness and power I was brought out of nothing, or I should never have been; by thy goodness and power I have been sustained, or I should long ere now have ceased to be. O most gracious Father, I am truly sensible of thine abundant mercy and goodness towards me, and I thank thee with my whole heart. I am also sensible that I am undeserving of the least of all thy mercies; that I am a sinner, and have no title to everlasting life but through the merits of my blessed Redeemer. My soul praises thee, O gracious Father, for thine infinite love and compassion in sending thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to bring salvation to lost mankind, and I most humbly beseech thee to pardon whatsoever I have done amiss, for my dear Redeemer's sake. I beseech thee of thy great goodness to continue to me that peace which passeth all understanding; and to afford me the aid of thy Holy Spirit, to enable me to serve thee better for the time to come. Lord, I pray thee to prosper my endeavours for the good of my poor neighbours. I thank thee for the hopes which thou hast been pleased to afford me, that the children under my care will receive benefit from my instructions; and I pray thee to give to them and me that assistance which is wanted for their instruction, that I may be ready and able to teach, and they as willing to hear.

Give thy heavenly grace to every one of my family, that we may perform our duty in our respective relations, and please thee, our God and Father. O Lord, I beseech thee to have compassion upon the whole nation to which I belong; save the king, and preserve the people from the delusions of seditious and evil-minded men, and give us victory over our enemies, both open and secret. O Lord, raise up, I pray thee, thy great power, and come among us, and with great might succour us. O save thy Church, preserve to us our holy religion, and let not Satan prevail against us. Vouchsafe to incline the hearts of all who have ability to relieve the distresses of the indigent, and enable them to do it with judgment and efficacy, so as to benefit the souls and bodies of the objects of their bounty and compassion. O Father of mercies, receive these my imperfect petitions for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

IN the letters from Mrs. Denward to Mrs. Trimmer, frequent mention is made of her nephew, Mr. G, upon account of whose health she travelled into Wales. About the year 1795, he departed this life, leaving behind him one only son, heir to a very considerable property. This child was of a most angelic turn of mind, and great sensibility, and equally the comfort of his mother, and of his venerable aunt, Mrs. Denward. The latter, though much attached to her old habitation in Kent, left it, in order to pass a few months with Mrs. G near Liverpool. Friendship and kindness, she thought, demanded this of her; but the desire of being near the little boy, who was at school in that neighbourhood, had likewise its weight in the determination. About a week after her arrival, she purchased a poney for the child, from an idea that his health, which was delicate, would be benefited by the exercise of riding. The day after the purchase was made, the horse was sent to the school, which was about a mile from the place where his friends resided, that he might pay them a little visit. Scarcely had he mounted his horse, and set off, before the animal

took fright, from some cause or other, ran away with him, threw him off, and dragged him by the stirrup a mangled corpse.

His mother and Mrs. Denward, who were anxi

ously expecting his arrival, anticipating in idea the delight they should have in witnessing his pleasure, had the inexpressible grief of hearing of the dreadful accident that had happened; and, instead of receiving their little darling, were told that he was stretched out lifeless on the table of an inn, till the coroner, who was forty miles distant, should arrive.

The widowed parent, now deprived of the only tie which bound her to life, was almost inconsolable. Mrs. Denward, though upon every occasion patient and resigned to the will of the Almighty, was scarcely less shocked, and frequently and pathetically exclaimed-" O fatal, fatal present! cruel friendship! why did I leave my home, and come here to occasion the death of our much loved infant!" In this distress she desired her attendants to write to Mrs. Trimmer, relate their anguish, and beg that she would send them some words of consolation. It was in compliance with this request, that the following letter was written.

TO MRS. DENWARD.

Brentford, October 5, 1795.

My dear Madam,

Both myself and family do most sincerely sympathize with you and the distressed parent, in

your affliction, which is doubtless very great, and so sudden a shock cannot but be severely felt." Indeed it is necessary at first to give way to the feelings of nature; they cannot be resisted in the beginning without such effects as may be hurtful to the constitution; nor does God require of us to be insensible to the evils we meet with. But I need not say to you, I am sure, that it is not for Christians" to sorrow like those without hope." After we have wept for the dead, we must seek comfort for ourselves; and those that seek will surely find. I have reason to say so, for I have experienced Divine consolation under some of the greatest trials humanity is exposed to-the loss of a most dear husband by a stroke of Providence, as instantaneous as that which put an end to the mortal existence of your beloved child; which misfortune fell upon me before I had overcome the death of a most promising and amiable son. But I resigned my soul to the Divine will, not doubting but that all things are ordered for the best by unerring wisdom. I prayed earnestly and frequently for Divine aid, and it was graciously and abundantly granted me. I do not doubt, my dear Madam, but that you and your afflicted friend fly to the same source, and I am persuaded you will soon be strengthened to sustain the burden of your griefs, and to rejoice in the midst of affliction;and is there not in reality cause to rejoice even now, for the dear deceased at least? Only consider the wonderful difference betwixt the world he