"Thou art gone to the grave,—but we will not deplore thee;

Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb,

The Saviour has pass'd through its portals before thee,
And the lamp of his love is thy guide through the gloom.

Thou art gone to the grave, we no longer behold thee,

Nor tread the rough path of the world by thy side;
But the wide arms of mercy are spread to enfold thee,
And sinners may hope, since the sinless has died.

Thou art gone to the grave—and its mansion forsaking,
Perhaps thy tried spirit in doubt linger'd long;
But the sunshine of heaven beam'd bright on thy waking,
And the song which thou heard'st was the seraphim's song!

Thou art gone to the grave,-but 'twere wrong to deplore thee,
When God was thy Ransom, thy Guardian, thy Guide:
He gave thee, and took thee, and soon will restore thee,
Where death hath no sting, since the Saviour hath died.”*

One clear, bright morning, in the month of April, while Mrs. Gracelove was busily employed in the library of Derwent Cottage, illustrating on the globe a geographical lesson which she was giving to her daughter Laura, a servant brought in a note, which she said had just been delivered at the door by a footman in livery. On reading the contents, it proved to be a communication from Mrs. Stately, of Stately Hall, situated about two miles from the cottage; a lady of no common distinction, and of large pretensions, in her own estimation, and who considered herself, along with a chosen few, as presiding over the fashionable destinies of the county.

The note announced the intention of the fair writer to make a call on Mrs Gracelove in the course of the morning, should she happen to be at home to receive her; as the lady intiBishop Heber.

mated she had a request to make, which she appeared to think would require something more than the terms in which it might be preferred in order to gain its object. It was now eleven o'clock, and the hour named for the proposed visit was two. It may be as well, therefore, to fill up the interval, preceding the arrival of the expected visitant, by making the reader, in some degree, acquainted with her character.

The lady in question was the wife of a gentleman of large property resident in the neighbourhood, whose natural selfconsequence was in no small degree heightened by the circumstance of having a considerable income with which to support, in a style of splendour, what he considered to be his station in the county. Having been originally a spoiled child by being, unfortunately, an only one, he had been allowed by his ill-judging parents the full indulgence of his various humours and inclinations. His temper being naturally capricious, wild, and haughty, the inevitable result was, that when, on growing up to manhood, he came into possession of his fortune, by the premature death of his father, pleasure in its thousand forms became the sole object of his pursuit; while his pride induced him to believe that the inferior classes of mankind were made only to administer to its gratification. Hunting, shooting, horse-racing, cards, dinner-parties, visiting in every direction through the county, with what he termed a little gentlemanly gambling, formed consequently the routine of his daily life.

With regard to his wife, she was in some respects the counterpart of him whose name she bore. Pleasure was the golden image she worshipped,-an idolatry into which she had been mainly led, it must at the same time be confessed, by the evil tendencies and bad example of her husband. For though her education had been of that negative, and worse than negative character, which accommodates everything to a

worldly policy, and trains up the immortal soul in the false principles of fashion and folly, yet Mrs. Stately was not altogether heartless. She was naturally of that pliant disposition which disposed her, whether for good or for evil, to receive impressions from those who surrounded her. It was her great misfortune, therefore, to have fallen into bad hands, and instead of becoming an ornament to her sex, under a more judicious choice of a husband, she was at once frivolous and dissipated. In a word, she was a woman of fashion.

Though Mrs. Stately would have shrunk at the bare idea of visiting the poor in their cottages, for the purpose of relieving their necessities, listening to their tales of sorrow, and soothing their wretchedness with something better than a human voice yet was she, as also Mr. Stately, by no means reluctant in subscribing to their relief, and that with a liberal hand, through the instrumentality of others. To the various charitable societies their purses were humanely open, and though their donations were not given in the name of a disciple," to which a reward is so graciously offered,* yet was the benefit the same to those for whom the aid was intended.

66

And now, after this passing sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Stately's character, my reader will be ready to exclaim, and with every appearance of reason,-what could possibly be the inducement of such virtuous and religious people as Mr. and Mrs. Gracelove to cultivate, or even to tolerate, an acquaintance with persons so utterly opposed to the principles on which they invariably acted? He asks with emphatic inquiry, "What concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ?" †

Now this was precisely the question, and in the same language, put to themselves by the worthy residents on the + 2 Cor. vi. 15.

* Matt. x. 42.

shores of Keswick Lake. But before I communicate to my reader the process of reasoning by which these estimable persons came to the conclusion that they ought to admit the acquaintance of their fashionable neighbours,-at the same time within the strict limits of christian principle,-I should mention to him the origin of it.

The introduction of the two gentlemen to each other took place at the quarter sessions: both of them being in the commission of the peace for the county of Cumberland. As magistrates, therefore, for the county, they were frequently called upon to act together, as well on the bench, at the more public quarterly meetings, as more privately in petty sessions. Thus brought into contact in the first instance, not by inclination, but by the accidental concurrence of official duties, and living within two or three miles of each other's residence, an interchange of visits seemed almost a natural consequence. The gentlemen having exchanged cards and mutual civilities, the ladies followed, as a matter of course, the example of their liege lords. In this way was formed an acquaintance, the propriety of keeping up which occasioned, afterwards, much anxious consideration on the part of the conscientious owners of Derwent Cottage.

It may be mentioned, also, that besides the inducements to a social intercourse, to which the circumstance just alluded to gave rise, the son of Mr. Stately was at the same school with the two sons of Mr. Gracelove, between whom, during the holidays, an occasional meeting had taken place. Indeed, the latter had been, on one occasion, invited to the Hall, for the mutual gratification of the three boys; as young Stately, having no brother, was thrown on the resources of others for his amusements.

After a certain period, however, had elapsed from the first introduction of the two families to each other, affording

thereby a knowledge of the worldly-mindedness and gay propensities of the inmates of Stately Hall, it became a grave subject of deliberation with the owners of the cottage how far they were justified in continuing the acquaintance.

The momentous question put by the apostle, and in part already stated-"What communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" produced a serious discussion at the cottage as to the position in which they stood, and the risk they ran of compromising their principles. For though the proprietors of Stately Hall were not infidels by name or declared sentiment, though they attended the services of the church, and outwardly acknowledged the doctrines of Christianity, yet the practical tendency of their lives seemed to belie the profession thus outwardly made.

On consulting further those divine records from which alone our christian friends drew their rules of conduct, they met with various passages that appeared to warrant them, within certain obvious limits, in still continuing the connexion; under the hope of being instrumental in effecting, if not a reformation of their neighbours, at least an approximation to it. Among the number were the following,—“ Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." "As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all men."* "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."†

Now it was quite evident that these injunctions could not be obeyed by refusing to hold intercourse with the objects of James v. 19, 20.

* Gal. vi. 1-10.