ed it as a prelude to the fall of the earthly tabernacle, and the entrance on the blessed scenes of her immortal existence. Patience had its perfect work. Faith was in constant exercise. Hope remained firm and unshaken. Love became more and more evidently perfected. It was indeed a very affecting sight to her friends, to see her patiently enduring her severe afflictions without murmuring or complaint, and expressing no other desire but that the will of God might be done. Her advices to her family relatives and her Christian friends, were deeply interesting and impressive, and we trust will long be recorded in their memories, and prove a comfort and benefit to them through life, and in their dying moments. When she was thought to be near her end, she desired a Christian friend and neighbour might be called in to sing that hymn which begins thus-"In hope of seeing Jesus, when all my conflicts ceases," &c.

Her happy soul was transported with a view of that glory which unfolded itself to her ravished eyes, and she passed serenely the iron gates of death to the portals of everlasting bliss. As she possessed so many amiable qualities and accomplishments, some thought she could not need a change of heart to be a good Christian. But happily such were not her own views. Although the external change might not appear as visible as in many, yet her happy soul felt, and humbly acknowledged the power of changing grace. From her intimate knowledge of the doctrines and precepts of religion, and her close walk with God, proceeded that uniform spirit and practice of piety which caused her to be beloved by the pious, to be revered by the irreligious, and to be esteemed by all; and which has caused many to exclaim, "Let my last end be like hers." E. MUDGE, Portsmouth, Aug. 16, 1821.

Miscellaneous.

PARENTAL DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY.

HOPING that the observations we have inserted in the two preceding numbers of the Magazine may have a salutary influence upon the minds of all parents, as well as upon all concerned in the education of children, we present our readers with the following remarks, from the pen of the author of the last communication, under a conviction that they are of sufficient importance to demand the attention of every well wisher to the rising generation. As it is from these that the Church must derive its principal increase, and perpetuate its existence on the earth, too much care and diligence cannot be used in their education. And what pious parent, who wishes above all things the salvation of the souls of his

children, would willingly commit the care of them to ungodly teachers, who neither fear God nor regard man? None but those who prefer what is called a polite to a Christian education-who prefer fashioning the manners of their children according to the customs of the giddy multitude, to training them up in conformity to the doctrines and precepts of Christ.

The father, at the head of his family, has an opportunity of becoming acquainted with human nature in no small degree. He has before him a miniature society, where that expansion of mind, that variety of disposition and talent begin to display themselves, which distinguish, in some measure, a nation; and in this small community he may discover, like a prophetic Jacob, their future destiny by some prominent characteristic. Upon reflection he may find himself placed in a small intellectual world, as the disposer of its properties, and, like a husbandman, has an opportunity to adapt his seeds to the diversity of soil he cultivates. And he may assure himself of a plentiful harvest, if his grounds are properly prepared and watered by the dews of heaven.

Methodist parents especially enjoy exalted privileges; and therefore but little apology is to be made for them if they do not exhibit to their children those graces which prove religion to be their only guide, and that all their worldly pursuits are subservient to its interest. What must our sons and daughters think of that religion which suits itself to circumstances and places, and which is pursued only so far as it promotes our popularity and earthly emoluments; and that when it comes in contact with worldly minds, must bend to please them! Will they not turn with abhorrence from such conduct? and in their lives either set a better example, or totally discard the principles of religion?

How many families are there who are sufficiently careful to preserve the youthful mind from the contagion of slander? that destroyer of harmony and peace. Is not the character of a friend and neighbour often traduced, and their natural or habitual defects brought forward for entertainment even in the presence of their children? And as if not satisfied with the prejudices of their own minds, wish to fix the same indelible stamp upon those of their children! These things ought not so to be. When shall we avoid slandering with the tongue, and cease to take up a reproach against our neighbours? It is not to public acts merely, but more to the private scenes of domestic life, that I wish to direct the attention; for all the enjoyments which result from polished and religious society have their commencement in domestic retirement, in the exercise of those benevolent and social affections which purify and exalt the soul.

Those families of our community who are wealthy, and therefore have leisure for intellectual improvement, have little excuse

if the moral and religious virtues are not seen to shine with peculiar radiance in all their conduct. God has cast into their hands the rich bounties of his providence. Yes, your fields are loaded with plenty, and your presses burst out with new wine. Unto you the delightful paths of science are open, and to wisdom and knowledge you have free access. You can likewise extend the hand of charity, and wipe the tear from the widow and fatherless. But do you, by your acts of benevolence, manifest that there is not so great faith, no! not in Israel? and by your plainness of dress and demeanour, and contempt of the world, set an example for your poorer brethren, over whom you might exert the most beneficial influence? Alas! it is to be feared that many fall short of that propriety of conduct which they ought to exhibit. But the greater proportion of our society occupy what is styled the middle rank. Happy for such parents whose children are not exposed to the temptations of wealth. Few born to independence escape the contagion of vice, almost an inseparable concomitant with ease and indulgence. Industry is the safeguard of virtue. Many of our worthy brethren, scattered throughout the country, are called to the honourable and useful employment of tilling the ground. I have often thought you were in some measure insensible to your superior advantages. Contrast your situation with the citizen who, you may think, has the pre-eminence, who labours amidst the smoke and pestilential breath of thousands! you will find you have the superiority in many respects. Though your occupation may be more fatiguing, yet it contributes to your health and contentment. The pure and unadulterated air of the country invigorates the mind and animates the spirit. You behold the beauties of nature in their fairest forms. The sweet luxuriance of spring, the perfection of summer, and the rich but fading graces of autumn, all contribute to your felicity, and conspire to raise your thoughts to God, and to elevate your affections to heavenly things; and to so fill your souls with a sense of His goodness, that with the Psalmist you can say, How wonderful are thy works, Oh God! In wisdom thou hast made them all. Such scenes are peculiarly calculated to inspire devotion, and to awaken sentiments of gratitude and love towards the Supreme Being. Indeed the contemplative and devout mind cannot remain insensible to their charms.

Perhaps you lead into your fields servants or children to cultivate the ground. What is your conversation before them? Is it how you may extend your borders, and add field to field? Or is it in dispassioned strains of admiration at beholding the perfection of God in his works, and the striking analogy existing between the vegetable world and the gradual unfoldings of the human mind? O! what seasons are these for instruction. How many moral and religious truths might be set home upon the consciences of your children or servants drawn from the great volume of nature

constantly open before you, without even retarding your manual exercises.

The duty which all parents owe their children of cultivating their minds is indispensable, both for the benefit of the church and civil society. And if that sordid motive of gaining riches for them, supplants this benevolent design, how can you expect a blessing to rest upon your posterity? It is true that sometimes prodigies have burst forth from obscurity by some adventitious circumstance of divine providence, who, by shaking off the rust of ignorance, have, by the blessing of God on their own exertions, shone by their native lustre as stars of the first magnitude, to the astonishment and applause of thousands. But we are not to expect such prodigies generally, as learning is now more easily acquired than formerly, and although it may be comparatively few who have an opportunity of giving their children a polished education, yet almost all have access to that kind which is most useful and necessary; and even if your means are not adequate to this, yet if you love God, you can inspire them with a love of the holy scriptures; and if they possess no book but the sacred volume, let them remember that in having that they possess one of the finest productions that ever adorned any language, and remains unrivalled by all the productions of human geniuses, either ancient or modern: In comparison of which, the lofty and sublime strains of Homer, the elegant and harmonious numbers of Virgil, appear flat and insipid. And what has contributed to render the name of Milton immortal? From whence the sublimity of his thoughts? From divine revelation. His inimitable poem was founded upon the sacred oracles. In them we find subjects equally adapted to the king and cottager; and who that dwells upon the sacred pages can remain untouched either to their beauties or to the sublimity of their truths?

Already I picture to myself the happy family, at whose head sits the pious father, relating or reading to his interesting group of lovely children, the pathetic history of Joseph, so touching to the sensibilities of the soul, that he pauses to wipe the falling tear from his manly cheek, while they, with fixed attention listening to the affecting narrative with emotions of tender sympathy, mingle their tears with his. How many parts of the scriptures might be read with similar effect, especially the last and tragical scene of our Saviour's passion. Were it not that this description is so familiar to us, what sensations would it excite in the breast of all readers. Should a friend of humanity suffer thus for his country, the story would be related with such warmth of feeling that it would become a subject of universal conversation. It would never fail of effect for the want of an emphatical relation. Children would learn the tragical story, and relate it with feeling. But alas! how often is that awful and tremendous scene of the suffering of the Redeemer of the world read, or related with little or no feeling. O! may the Lord inVOL. V.

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spire all Christian parents with such a sense of the vast importance of this subject, that they may so imprint it upon the minds of their children as never to be erased. I recollect to have heard a venerable divine say, that at the age of five years, he was sitting by his pious mother, hearing her read the last chapter of Revelation, and coming to the description of the Tree of Life, she cast up her eyes towards heaven and cried, O! Lord, give me to eat of this tree which grows in the midst of the paradise of God. He looked up, and saw the tear drop from her eye. It touched his heart; and the impression was then made upon his mind which remained until he was converted to God. And to that tear and prayer, said he, under the blessing of God, I owe my conversion to God.

There is one evil which still exists in our society, which does much injury to the cause, and which does not pass unnoticed by those who make no pretensions to religion. I mean the absurdity of parents who strenuously oppose, a conformity to the world, and strictly adhere to plainness of dress themselves, considering it essential to religion, yet suffer their children to adopt all the fashions of the times in which they live. It is not uncommon to meet the children of Methodist parents in towns or villages, shining in gay attire, and displaying to the world how much they respect the judgment of their venerable parents! Is it possible that a respectable matron, who wishes her children to adopt her sentiments and take her example for their guide, should suffer them to pursue a line of conduct so diametrically opposite to her own! Or does she vainly imagine that by the licensed indulgence of those vanities, that they will sooner discover their folly. Vain imagination! Common sense must blush at such reasoning. Would you suffer a child to run into the fire to learn by experience to shun that destructive element? And surely every parent who encourages this natural fondness for finery, is guilty of an absurdity equally glaring. Are there not some parents professing godliness, who show by their indulgence a greater satisfaction in seeing their children attract the attention of the giddy multitude, among whom neither worth nor merit is properly estimated, than they would to see them, visiting the sick and afflicted, and pouring in the balm of consolation to the wounded, and learning at the feet of Jesus to be meek and lowly in heart! Have you daughters covered with beauty as a mantle? They need not the foreign aid of ornament to add elegance to their native charms, and if they are otherwise, are you not charging God foolishly by striving to mend them by the absurdities of fashion. False, and perverted taste! I fear it originates more from an unsanctified heart than from any other cause. Reflect fond parents, who fear to cross the inclination of your sons and daughters, upon the evil consequences which arise from this misplaced affection. The heart-rending pangs which souls feel for the want of early and proper restraint, our prisons and abodes of wretchedness will best attest; and who that with feelings of