modern practice of dancing has a reference to the worship of God. That a sentiment of religion formed the inducement to David's dancing is clearly manifest, in the very declaration of his dancing before the Lord.' And in the instance of

Miriam, the motive is as evidently demonstrated, in the verse immediately following the one you have read,- And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.' Here was an act, my dear madam, of pure and exclusive devotion, for the purpose of celebrating one of the most stupendous instances of divine deliverance recorded in sacred history, and which has nothing in common with this worldly amusement."

"I am inclined," said Mrs. Stately,—who, with all her faults, was an amiable woman, though spoilt by the headlong opinions of her husband, and the corrupting fashions of the world—" I am inclined to concede to your construction on these two points, and I think I can afford to do so, inasmuch as I have several examples more that will bear out my line of reasoning; that is to say, do not involve the performance of any religious rite whatever. Have the goodness to turn," she continued, (looking at her paper,)" to the eleventh chapter of Judges, where you will read, that after the return of Jephthah from his conquest over the children of Ammon, 'his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances.' Here you will perceive," she said, "there is nothing either expressed or implied of a religious nature-nothing beyond the simple act of filial love and piety on the part of the daughter. She was rejoiced, as every affectionate child would be, to see her father return from the perils of war in safety and in triumph, and evinced her natural joy accordingly."

"I am ready to allow," answered our friend of the cottage,

arguing as I do for truth and not for victory, that you have more reason for dwelling on this example than on either of the two former ones. The passage is certainly silent as to any allusion to the worship of the Supreme Being. And, yet, there are many good and judicious Christians, who, nevertheless, construe it in that light, and believe that an act of thanksgiving to God, as in the case of Miriam and of David, is combined with the piety of the child. In all the three instances, you will observe that the Almighty had given a special providential success to each of his servants; to two of them in battle, and to the third in bringing up the ark of God to the tabernacle that David had pitched for it; and why may we not conclude that what is expressly declared in two of them as the result of that success, is also to be implied in the third? Still," she continued, "I am bound ingenuously to own, that the text in question may be understood as divested of that direct religious sentiment which certainly characterizes the two others."

"I cannot but compliment you on your candour, my dear Mrs. Gracelove," resumed the lady of Stately Hall; “and if you will permit me to draw your attention to two remaining examples which I find on my paper, I shall then have exhausted my quotations. Having produced these, I shall forthwith resign into your hands the decision of the question; for much as I wish to have the pleasure of seeing you, I am yet not so selfish as to desire it at the expense of your conscience."

"I am quite gratified in hearing you say so," responded our interesting friend, "and beg you will proceed with the additional illustrations which you propose to give me."

"The passage to which I will now refer you," said the lady of the Hall," is the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, in which Jehovah condescends to promise the restoration of Israel. In

F

verse the 4th it is thus expressed,' Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry." And in the 13th verse of the same chapter we read as follows, Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.' Now I would appeal to that ingenuousness," observed Mrs. Stately," which I am so happy to perceive in your nature, whether these passages must not be considered as giving a sanction to an innocent recreation, totally irrespective of a sacred character? The very term 'merry,' employed in the first of these verses, and that by the Almighty himself, appears to my mind to designate most clearly the idea of a simple pastime—' shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Surely to make merry, could never be said by the Great Supreme of an ordinance purely religious, and consecrated to His divine worship! The expression, in such case, would rather have been, of them that make reverence-reverence to the Lord.' To make merry,' in an act of religious worship, involves, to my humble apprehension, an inconsistency which cannot be justified. It is an expression which, when thus applied by those who argue for that meaning, savours much more of levity and heathenism than of holiness-of insult to the Supreme Being, than of adoration or thanksgiving."

I confess," rejoined Mrs. Gracelove, "that the expression is a remarkable one, and would seem, in this instance, to bear the construction you put upon it. But I think, from a previous remark that you have made," she observed, "you have still an illustration in reserve. Permit me, then, to hear the conclusion before I pass my opinion."

"Have the kindness, then," said her fair opponent, "to

turn now to the New Testament; as I wish to draw your attention to that better dispensation than was that of Judaism, from which I intend to derive my last example, and which appears to me to possess a peculiar force from that very circumstance. "The portion of Scripture to which I now direct your notice, is that beautiful and interesting parable of the prodigal son, contained in the 15th chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. It is a passage," she observed," which must affect the feelings of every one, even the least conversant with sacred history. You will perceive there that, on the return of the prodigal from his wayward and vicious courses in foreign lands, where he had learnt, in the bitter school of adversity, the folly of vice and the wisdom of a better philosophy, his elder brother, as he came from his occupations in the field, drew nigh to the house' of his merciful and compassionate father, and heard music and dancing.'

"It appears that this excellent and gracious parent, who may be considered a humble type of our heavenly Parent, was so rejoiced that his son, who was dead' and was alive again, who was lost and was found,'-had returned to him in safety and in penitence, that they began to be merry.' Having ordered his servants to bring forth the best robe and put it on him,' and to put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet,'-having commanded them to bring the fatted calf and kill it,' that they might eat and be merry,' he finally filled up the measure of the entertainment with music and dancing. Let me read to you," she continued, "the last verse of the chapter in which this kind forgiving father says'It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.'

"And now, my dear Mrs. Gracelove," said our fashionable lady, laying down her paper of quotations, "can you for a

single moment deduce from this interesting record one iota of its involving a religious rite? I recall your attention once more to that most significant and expressive term, merry’— they began to be merry; it was meet that we should make merry. Can you, still further, and I press the question with all the energy of personal conviction, gather from the narrative the slightest intimation that the sacred historian deemed the entertainment-the music,' the dancing,' and the merry-making,'-to have been in the very least degree unlawful? And, as a final interrogative, can you imagine that if it had been unlawful, the holy evangelist who recorded the fact, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, for the instruction of mankind in heavenly wisdom, would not have declared it to be such, as a warning to posterity? Would he not, while approving of the tender compassion of an anxious. father towards his penitent child, have denounced, at the same time, the ceremonies by which that compassion was accompanied, had they been sinful, or polluted by a heathenish observance? Is not, therefore, the silence of the sacred historian a sure and conclusive testimony that the dancing' was an innocent recreation-a pastime at once simple, pure, and justifiable?"

"I feel I am now called upon, my dear madam," replied our moralist," to give an honest and candid answer to the argument you have advanced in favour of the lawfulness of dancing, and which, I must own, you have supported with research and ability. I cannot but acknowledge that the two last instances you have adduced do certainly seem to admit of the construction you advocate; especially that of the prodigal son. I freely confess that religion does not appear to be associated with these latter examples which you have just brought to my notice. Professing myself an inquirer after truth, equally with yourself, I am willing to allow that a