in this world and in an eternal state, and if God should grant their desires, would not such persons be truly happy?

E. Oh! yes, Mother; and I remember Miss

saying, that she never thought seriously about God and the salvation of her soul, till she had that severe fever, which brought her to the gates of death; she durst not promise, when she was ill, that she would reform her life if she were spared; for she remembered how thoughtless she had formerly been; but happily the Lord enabled her to understand his word, and to put her trust in him; and now she has a peace and joy of mind to which she had been a total stranger before her fever.

M. You may also recollect what Mr. once said to your father, that his great losses in business were the greatest blessing he ever met with; for though he was now reduced to a bare competency, yet he found that the blessing of the Lord enriched him, and he had nothing of the vexation and sorrow which he felt when he ardently wished to gain a large portion of this world's goods.

H. Now, Mother, I do not see how a state of poverty can be a blessing; for Mr.

now poor.

is

M. Mr. is indeed poor, compared to what he once was. When he said that his loss was a blessing, he meant to say that his adversity had led him to consideration, and

that in the end he was happily taught to say, "the Lord is the portion of my soul, therefore will I hope in him.”

CONVERSATION IV.

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

H. From what you said, Mother, in last conversation, I think you would have us to consider all the evils of life as so many blessings.

M. No; they are the bitter fruits of sin, and can never be agreeable to our feelings; but if they lead us to God, they are rendered blessings to us. But, my children, we inherit from our first parents something worse than being subjected to the natural evils of this life.

C. What may that be, Mother?

M. Why, Catharine, it is a bad heart, or a corrupted nature.

C. And have we all bad hearts?

H. I am sure I know some people that have very good hearts.

F. Let us hear what you mean by a good

heart.

H. I think a man has a good heart, when

he is very kind and charitable to the poor, in giving them money, and clothes, and food. You know Mr. when he went into poor people's houses, and saw them in want, he was so grieved that the tear would roll down his cheek, and he would give the money he had in his pocket, and send other things afterwards. I am sure he is a good-hearted gentleman.

F. Certainly Mr. is a man of a very humane and liberal disposition; he feels very much for the poor in this city, and kindly relieves their distress; but he has not the love of God in him, for he takes his name in vain, and even sneers at religion, and those who are endeavouring to keep the commandments of God. Now, so long as this is the case, he cannot have a good heart. I know many besides him that are very ready to open their hands to supply the wants of the poor, and others that are possessed of very amiable natural dispositions, affectionate, kind, and generous, yet their hearts are not right with God.

C. But what do you mean, Father, by a bad heart?

F. I mean by it a heart that does not sincerely and supremely love God, and which does not yield entire, universal, and continual obedience to the commandments of God. When our first parents complied with the temptation of Satan, their hearts became corrupt, and as we have all descended from them,

we have the same corrupt, unbelieving, and disobedient hearts.

E. But though they became disobedient and sinful, how is it that their children should be the same?

F. You remember that they were created in the image of God, and if they had continued obedient, then their children would have been like them, righteous and holy creatures; but when they disregarded God, and believed the wicked one, then they bare his image, or became like him, enemies to God in their minds, cherishing desires opposed to the will of God, and disposed to indulge in practices hateful in his sight. Now the Scriptures ask, "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" If water be polluted at the fountain, the streams must necessarily be impure. If a tree be corrupt, all the branches will partake of that corruption. The first man became a sinful creature, and his children were born in his likeness and in his image.

H. I do think that Cain was a very wicked

man.

F. He certainly was; for it is said by John, that "he was of that wicked one." Abel was a good man; or, we might say, he was of God; but they had both the same advantages, received the same instructions, and had the same example set before them: can you inform me then, Eliza, what produced such an amazing difference between the two brothers?

E. Really, Father, I could not positively

say.

M. It was simply this, my dear, that Abel's heart was purified by faith, in believing what God had said; and his brother disregarded the word of God.

F. Yes, Abel's heart was naturally no better than Cain's, and God has said of all men, "that the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth"-" that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked""that out of it proceed evil thoughts, murders," &c.-" that the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God."

H. But, Father, you don't mean to say that all men are equally wicked and bad?

F. I am speaking of the wickedness of the heart and mind in the sight of God. There are great differences in the conduct of men in the world as they appear to us; but so long as men, women, and children, do not believe God, and love him, and his truth, their minds are enmity against him.

C. But I don't think that I am an enemy of God.

M. I should be happy, my dear, to see that you were not, but I have my fears of you. Answer me a question.

C. I will, Mother.

M. Do you love God?