to keep up the ceremony,-that they none of them value it, that they hate the offering for the sake of the priest,that they care not to join with me,-and they can serve God to more purpose without me. Why, I don't think it is my duty; certainly God does not expect I should worship him in such company: I am not to cast my pearls before swine. Besides, where there is no charity, no unity, what signifies duty! What worship can there be that can be acceptable to God or comfortable to me? I'll trouble myself no more about them. And as to its being my duty, I think I am fairly discharged of it: at her door be the sin, who has been the cause of it. As I am not the occasion of the breach, so neither will the consequence lie at my door. I'll perform my duty by myself, and let them take their own course.

With this kind of discourse he satisfied himself for the present, the devil no doubt assisting; and, coming home, took no notice at the usual time of family-worship, but went unconcerned about his business; sat down to dinner at noon, and at night stayed out till it was time to go to supper.

After supper, his wife (who kept up her resentment as high as he) calls her maid to bring her a candle, and away she goes to bed, taking no notice of him, or of the usual family order.

It was a little unnatural to him, as it had been unusual, to close the day thus, without either his duty to God, or any society with his wife; and, as he said afterwards, had she spoken but one kind word to him, or given him but a sociable look, he had forgot all, and, gone on again in his duty, as he used to have done. But she unwarily and imprudently prompting his disgust, and throwing oil instead of water into the fire, enraged him farther, assisted the temptation, and confirmed him in the wicked resolution of neglecting his duty.

The breach was now made, and every thing contributed to make it wider: the man went to bed some time after;

but, as she was asleep when he came to bed, so he was asleep when she arose, and they had no interval or opportunity of conversation to allay their heat or bring them together. Thus they went on with their discontent, and continued two or three days hardly on speaking terms one with another: during this time, as there were no healing steps taken on either side, so it may be supposed there was no compliance in the matter of religious duty. Now the family orders dropped, religion seemed wholly laid aside; and that which was still worse, the disorder of their minds was so great, that it broke in upon their private duties, as well as their public, and one was neglected as well as the other. Indeed it might have been concluded, that had either of them retired to their private duties, had they gone into their closets and looked up for direction what to do, the secret ejaculation would have strongly moved them to another frame, would have returned them to their duty, and restored them to one another.

A little time, it is true, did restore them to better terms of living together; the passionate part cooled again, and they conversed a little more friendly. But the blow was given, the religion of the family was overthrown; and as the woman, on one hand, showed no concern about it, seemed of the same temper as to charity, as before, and not to desire his performance; so he, bolstering up his neglect, and checking his convictions with this notion, that the breach was upon his wife, and not upon him; that she had refused him, and that now it was not his duty; persuading himself, I say, in this manner, he seemed to be satisfied in the omission, and to think of his duty no more.

It was very observable, that, as they laid aside their family-worship, so, in the nature of the thing, their family peace vanished. They were continually quarrelling and falling out with one another. Their humours justled in every trifle, upbraiding one another's sincerity, affection, and integrity, on every little occasion; reviling one another with bitterness, and forgetting nothing that might make them

disagreeable to one another: in a word, waspish and fretful even when they agreed best, and scandalously furious and hot when they fell out.

Hardly any discourse happened between them, however, mildly it began, but it ended in a broil; she would thwart him in every thing he said, and he contradict her as often. Their orders in the house clashed so in every thing, the children knew not how to behave, or servants to obey; whilst the father commanded this, and the mother that, it was impossible to preserve any harmony among the chil dren: two of them, one son and one daughter, taking part with the father, and another son and two daughters with the mother; so that as the father and mother differed, the children differed, and that with such heat as filled the house with disorder.

It happened once, that a discourse began between the father and mother about the eclipse of the sun, which fell out on April 22, 1715.

The eclipse of the sun was the subject of all conversation at that time, having been, as is well known, so total, and the darkness so great, as that the like had not been known in some hundred years before.

The wife had inquired of the husband what the nature of the thing was, and he was describing it to her and her children in a familiar way; and, as I said, that unkind reflections upon one another was the usual issue of their common discourse, so it was here; the husband tells her, that the moon was like a cross wife, that, when she was out of humour, could thwart and eclipse her husband whenever she pleased; and that, if an ill wife stood in the way, the brightest husband could not shine.

She flew in a passion at this; and being of a sharp wit, you do well, says she, to carry your emblem to a suitable height; I warrant you think a wife, like the moon, has no light but what she borrows from her husband, and that we can only shine by reflection; it is necessary, then, you should know she can eclipse him when she pleases.

Ay, ay, says the husband, but you see, when she does, she darkens the whole house, she can give no light without

him.

[Upon this she came closer to him.]

Wife. I suppose you think you have been eclipsed lately; we don't see the house is the darker for it.

Husb. That's because of your own darkness; I think the house has been much the darker.

Wife. None of the family are made sensible of it; wo don't miss your light.

Husb. 'Tis strange if they don't, for I see no light you give in the room of it.

P

Wife. We are but as dark as we were before; for we were none of us the better for all your hypocritical shining.

Husb. Well, I have done shining, you see; the darkness be at your door.

[It is evident that both meant here his having left off family-worship; and it is apparent by it, that both were come to a dreadful extremity in their quarrel.

Wife. At my door! am I the master the family? Don't lay your sins to my charge.

1

Husb. But your own I may. It is the retrograde motion of the moon that causes an eclipse.

Wife. Where all was dark before, there can be no eclipse.

Husb. Your sin is, that my light is your darkness. Wife. That won't excuse you, if you think it a sin. Can you not do what you please without me?

Husb. I don't think it a sin in me to refrain my duty among those that contemn it, and who reject it, for my sake; I am forbid to cast pearls before swine.

Wife. Yes, yes, your wife and children are all swine with you, and are treated like such by you; and, because you want an excuse for neglect of your duty, therefore we are all swine. The comparison is something swinish, Į think, on your part.

Husb. My authority is good, it is the scripture compari. son of those that trample religion under their feet, and fly in the faces of those that officiate: they are swine in both, for they make dirt of religion, and turn again and rend those who offer it; that is, despise them, and assault them, which is my case exactly.

Wife. What matter is it what I think, can't you pray with them that will hear you?

of

Husb. Do you know the nature of family-worship? Is it not that the whole family may show their agreement and harmony, in acknowledging and serving God. If part the family separate, it is a schism in the house; and the unity being broke, the rest is but private worship, and may as well be done alone. I do not think I am at all required to perform family-worship, if my family refuses to join.

Wife. A fine delusion of the devil! an artifice to throw your burden upon me: there's nothing in it: when you reform your life, no body will slight your performances.

Husb. And yet you have no crime to charge me with but want of obedience to my wife. When you first return to your duty, I shall think myself obliged to return to mine.

All this while here was no abatement on one side or other, and both of them dreadfully mistaken about their duty; they wrangled thus upon overy occasion, and this last dialogue is only given as a sketch of their almost daily conversation: their communication was poisoned by the breach in their affection; and as the sweet dews of heaven, falling into the sea, become salt like the ocean, so the most casual innocent discourse between them generally issued in a broil. Yet none of these discourses brought them together, or convinced them that they were wrong; much less did they produce any return to their duty, and to their religious performance. But passion prevailing, they continued in a dreadful course of irreligion, and restraining prayer before God.

It was also observable, that while thus they laid aside the