blessing, or take my leave of them. I know not what to do

in it

Sist. Dear brother, then why will you go? I think you take the wrongest step in the world.

Bro. In what, child?

Sist. To go in the army! what occasion have you for it? You told me you should only go to travel.

Bro. Well, be easy, I am going to travel first for a year; I design to go into Italy.

Sist. But you must go to the army at last.

Bro. Aye, but not a great while yet, though perhaps time enough to make my dream good.

Sist. My aunt's words came into my head, when you told me that ugly dream. I wish there be not something in it at last. If you did not go into the army, I should not be afraid of it.

Bro. I do not love to heed dreams.

Sist. I have heard our minister say, there is a just medium to be observed in the giving heed to dreams, viz. that we should not lay too much stress upon them, and yet not wholly slight them.

Bro. I observe the dreams that signify bad things are true oftenest. I dreamed exactly about a week before it happened of our breach with my father.

Sist. Here comes my aunt, we must talk no more of that

now.

THE THIRD DIALOGUE.

The two last dialogues are to be understood to be a recapitulation of what had been acted some time past, in order to introduce this part, and preserve the connection of the history. The daughter is now to be talked of, as having been married some time. The son was gone to travel; and

having been returned into Flanders, was gone to his post in the army, where being in the confederate service, and commanded out upon action, he fell in with a party of the French, and, being very much wounded in the fight, was taken prisoner, and carried to Cambray, from whence he wrote his sister a letter, of which in its course.

The new-married couple had for above two years lived together, as they were at first, with his father and her aunt; during which time she had two children; and the treatment she had met with there, had been so kind, so diverting, and so obliging, that she could have no reason to say that they had not performed fully the engagement her busband had made with her, to endeavour to make her forget the affliction of the breach with her father.

Her husband carried it with so much tenderness and affection to her, as was capable to engage and win a temper far more refractory than her's; and, by his obliging carriage, he prevented many little excursions which her inclinstions would otherwise have led her to. Yet two things remained-1. She could not persuade herself to like a regular kind of family-government: she loved company, which she had been accustomed to, and a little to play; and when she made her visits, would sometimes stay at cards or other diversions very late. 2. She could not think of stooping to own her misbehaviour to her father, or to make any submission to him; nor could her husband, though he failed in no endeavour, bring that breach to an end without it.

As her family increased, and, on the other hand, her ways were not very agreeable to the family she was in, it seemed necessary to think of settling themselves apart; and her husband having a very good house of his own near the city, it was resolved they should do so; and, accordingly, as we say, they began house-keeping.

}

And now began the trial of her husband's temper and patience to the utmost. The case was thus:-Being now to be a master of a family, he was obliged to take upon him

.

the charge of a family-government. He had not only been religiously educated, but, as has been before observed, was a very serious, religious gentleman himself. It was his affliction, that he found very little complaisance in his wife to any thing that was religious; and therefore he entered into no conference with her about establishing the orders of his family but as soon as his house was furnished, and his family removed, he resolved, like a true Christian, to begin with the worship of God in bis house; and, that he might · leave no room for her to dispute it, he did this without so much as mentioning it to his wife and as if it was a thing which ought to be taken for granted, was as naturally and necessarily to be done in a family, as providing food and conveniences for their subsistence. However, as if to make this more eligible, and to introduce it without any seeming imposition upon his wife, he invited his father and mother, and a minister, who was their acquaintance, to sup with them the first night of their house-keeping; and before supper, his wife being in the room, he asked the minister aloud if he would please to be their chaplain for that night? The wife could not offer to oppose it, though he could easily perceive she looked a little strange at it. So the minister, as had been concerted, gladly accepted the offer, books were brought in, the servants called together, and family-prayers performed the first night. After this was done, and supper was over, he invited the minister, who it seems lived in the country, to stay two or three days with them, which he also accepted; so, of course, prayers were had every night and morning while the minister staid. And thus the worship of God was quietly introduced into the family. And after the minister was gone, the servants, to whom it was no novelty, having been all in the family before, came of course together at the usual hour, and he performed it himself.

His wife, who was more disgusted at his taking no notice of it to her, than at the thing itself, as if it was a beginning of some new method which he intended to take with her,

took a great many ways to let him see she was not very well pleased. Sometimes at the usual time, when he would say, come, call in the servants, she would give a smile as a signal of contempt: often she would be busy above stairs, and not come down at all; very often, though she would come, she would make him wait a good while; and when she came into the room, would say, with some disdain, what need you to have staid for me?

However, he took no notice of all this; and though she strove, by all the ways she could, to have made him speak of it first, yet he shunned it; resolving not to have any dispute with her, if it were possible to avoid it; but she soon took care to make it unavoidable.

Being now become a mistress of a family, he hoped she would have had some consideration for the station she was in, and have appeared with a little of that gravity and au- thority that became her; but, on the contrary, she entirely omitted all appearance of any such thing; she visited oftener than ever; she played at cards abroad two or three times a week, and at home as often as she could get company; she went almost nightly to the play: in short, she began to lead a life so different from the rest of the family, and so uneasy to him, and all his and her friends, that it was greatly afflicting and perplexing to him.

During all this time he treated her with the utmost tenderness, and the most obliging carriage that was possible; only it could not be concealed neither from her, nor from all the house, that his wife's conduct was an extreme affliction to him; and the more, because he saw no possible method to go about to reclaim her.

His wife finding herself unrestrained, grew still worse, and at length contented not herself to give her vanity its full swing, but appeared discontented that he would not do the like. If she went to the play, he would sometimes go with her to the door, as he had said he would when he courted her; but would not go in, which she pretended she took very ill of him. When he visited any where with

her, where he saw her resolved to stay late at cards, he would excuse himself, and leave her; and it was much if she did not flout him before the company, in some such manner as this, " What, you want to go home, and say your prayers!" which he would turn off with a smile, or a jest, and withdraw: but still these things were very grievous

to him.

During all this, and much more, nothing angered her so much, as that he would not take the case into debate with her but he resolved to go on in the duties of a master in his family, and to give her no occasion to say he used her amiss; so that all this while he said nothing to her, till at last she began with him upon the following oocasion.

His eldest child, a fine little boy, was now almost three y ars old. He had been but too well assured, that his wife took little care to teach the child any thing that might lay an early foundation of a religious knowledge in its mind; wherefore, upon all opportunities, he would be talking to the little creature in such language as was fittest for him to understand, viz. of who made him? and who redeemed him? what God was? and that he must serve God, and the like; as is usual to say to little children; and his wife takes that opportunity to break in upon him one day, in pursuance of her former resolution, and began with him while he was talking with his little son, in the following

manner.

Wife. So, Mr., you are worthily employed.

Husb. My dear, I hope it is no ill employment. Wife. No, no; only suitable to that absolute government of your family, which you entered upon at your beginning to keep house.

Husb. My dear, I hope I have not encroached upon your province.

Wife. No, no; my province! to be sure I am not fit to instruct a child of three years old.

Hush. My speaking to the child to let him know who