tion of this principle; and it is wholly useless to quarrel with terms. Let him who speaks of this delicacy, and continues to foster it, examine the first feelings to which it gives rise; let him compare these feelings together, and note well their selfishness; and see if it be possible to escape our conclusion. Yes, pride has its retired habits as well as modesty; its seemly aspect, and its very diffidence of manner. And it is hence, that, among the children of God, the consciousness that their mutual infirmities are known to each other, and the corresponding fear that they might generate a distrust of their sincerity, very often stand in the way of a fulfilment of that prophecy which the latter days shall complete; "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another."

You have sometimes seen the mind which nature had rendered ingenuous and frank, drooping under cherished woes-bending beneath a weight it strove to conceal-mingling bitterness with domestic peace, and discontent with outward prosperity-until the hand that was about to set the spirit free from its tabernacle, laid bare to the sight the wounds that festered within; and the rapidly approaching terrors of a death-hour broke the fetter of restraint-and for the first time, the sufferer could ask, "What shall I do to be saved?"

Or, where the mind dared not brood over its

disquietudes, and was equally unwilling to divulge them, how often have religious impressions, which seemed nigh to some good hope, left their place to a spurious peace, which continued unbroken through life!

"But there are moments,"-you say,-" when you are not only anxious to hear all that can be said on this subject, but almost willing to inquire of those around you." A more intense feeling of danger would certainly produce this effect. Even pride gives way in a season of peril. A greater passion usurps the seat of a lesser, when the two cannot reign together. And you have, perhaps, witnessed in another, that hardly-repressed anxiety of manner, which solicited an inquiry into its cause—that distant hinting at a subject there was not quite boldness enough to introduce; and you saw, plainly, the cause of all this, through the miserable efforts to conceal it. But because that hint was not taken, and that exposed anxiety was not reached by a single question, and the theme of religion was still kept back, the half-awakened inquirer suppressed a murmur at the disappointment, and, in the petulance of a mortified child, gave up the whole matter, with the self-consoling thought, "It is partly the fault of others if I perish." Here is pride acted out: and puerile as it may appear, it is a case of no uncommon occurrence. I am persuaded that, if the inquirer will

take pains to examine the ground which he is treading, he will find a scriptural admonition meeting him at every step, and fitting the very disposition of mind which he then entertains. And it were well if, in the outset, he pondered the meaning of the Saviour's admonition, an admonition which strikes at a latent, but dangerous principle of the heart, "Whosoever therefore shall be ́ashamed of me, and of my words, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels."

It is nothing to the purpose to say, that we should be willing to endure any public dishonour for the sake of Jesus Christ. There is a kind of heroism in this, which has its attractions. And it is more than possible that the very man who would give his body to be burned, rather than abjure Christianity, may be kept back far from salvation, by the petty consideration of shame : while it is equally certain, that thousands who now retire from the blessings of the gospel, dreading the first disclosure of their feelings, would be willing to enter, if they could, into a confidential contract with the Redeemer !

How important it is, my dear friend, to begin aright in any undertaking! And nowhere is it as much so as in the great concerns of the soul. An error here will follow us on, and may effectually preclude all discovery of the truth. There is an

ingenuousness and candour, for which the present state of your mind is well prepared, and the exercise of which will always furnish some relief. I have often thought there was something touching in your remark on an interview with W. "His appearance at that moment was like that of the angel to Hagar, as she sat in the wilderness mourning over her dying hope." And I do admit that, at such a season as this, we have our personal preferences of those to whom we would present the burden of our minds. Where there is good sense and piety in the object of our choice, the interview may be blessed. I see no necessary reason, as others profess to do, why such a choice should produce an undue leaning on human means: for we entertain, with little apprehension, our preferences in the ministrations of the word: and we are certainly bound to adopt those measures which most directly reach our wants, as well as to seek those instructions which most immediately meet the circumstances of our particular

cases.

Yet, after all, it is rather a principle than a practice, to which I would direct your attention. Whether we express our difficulties to another, or adopt only those more direct means which are prescribed in the word of God, is of secondary importance, judicious as the former may be in most instances. But it is of primary importance to

know whether we are attempting to commence this great concern, with a subdued temper, or with fostered feelings of pride.

It is a question, which has more than once occurred to me when I have reflected on your inquiries, whether I shall congratulate my friend on his present state of mind, or how far I should sympathize with him in this new species of sorrow? But how could I do either alone? This is a most critical era in his life. It may look forward to the enjoyment of Heaven; or it may produce an issue as positive on the side of despair. Let us pause together for one moment, and examine the ground on which you are standing.

The prejudices which you once carefully guarded, and which seemed as a retreat when conscience approached too near how they have dwindled away! The objections to evangelical truth, which possessed shape and magnitude, with the very appearance of solidity, have vanished as the light grew brighter around you. Difficulties which you thought deserving of serious investigation; and petty objections, which furnished an excuse for indifference to the whole matter of salvation, have receded without awaiting your scrutiny. Whence all this? It was no mere deduction of reason. You have arrived at a conclusion more irre