contracted by my sinfulness and unfaithfulness; and I could embrace the whole of those promises and rich blessings laid up for me in Christ Jesus. May I reckon thus, every moment, till I am changed from glory into glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

'June 12.-My time passes swiftly, yea almost imperceptibly away; I purpose every day to quicken my pace, and double my diligence; but I still remain weak and unprofitable; yet,

"I would the precious time redeem,

And longer live for this alone."

I do not feel attached to life, neither am I afraid of death; yet I am not doing all the good I might-I am not praying always, nor always reflecting the Divine glory. I never felt more loosened from the world, or less affected with the things of it-its fashions and customs, &c.; nor was I ever more willing to leave it: but this may be nature and not grace. I hardly dare trust myself, indeed I never dare, but when I am tremblingly alive to God, and drinking in more of his Spirit, I want to find out the exact line of duty, so that I may render unto my God a reasonable service; a service, holy and acceptable unto him, at all times. Lord, shine afresh upon my heart, and enable me to fill the station wherein thou hast placed me-as a wife, as a mother, as the mistress of a family, as a relation, neighbour, and acquaintance, and as a member of civil and religious society, in such a manner as will be ultimately for thy glory; that I may never more dishonour Thee, in thought, word, or deed; but always prove myself, before all, to be a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

The following letter states a conjecture on the possible intercourse which might take place between the spirits of two individuals on earth, one of which is just disem

bodied; and also, a sentiment concerning the intercourse that might be enjoyed, in a somewhat sensible manner perhaps, with the spirits of the sainted dead, by those who live in a high degree of abstraction from worldly things; who eminently walk with God, see Him that is invisible, and are intensely looking at the things which are eternal. Where the Scripture is silent, conjectures must be indulged with great sobriety, and expressed with much care and caution. There are, however, many remarkable facts, well and duly authenticated, which give some colour-some shade of probability-to the idea, that, though two persons are at some distance from each other, the one may become instantaneously conscious of the death of the other. But whether, in such cases, there has been any thing more than a very strong idea in the mind of the survivor, that the event was at the moment transpiring, is really involved in much uncertainty. The laws of the spiritual world, and the modes of contact and intercourse between spiritual substances, are beyond the limits of our present knowledge. But many highly intelligent and sanctified persons have felt as though they were holding a kind of fellowship with some of those spirits of the just made perfect, with whom, previous to their departure, they had enjoyed much intimacy, and towards whom they had experienced ardent admiration and affection. It is difficult to bring the mind to condemn any thing which favours heavenly contemplation and aspiration, provided that the opinion does not contradict holy Scripture, or in any degree weaken or diminish our absolute and unqualified submission to its light and truth. The letter is addressed to Mrs. Ogle.

'I ALMOST Wonder that you should at all think about

such a poor ingrate as me, or even trouble yourself to drop me a line; but my dear friends are always laying me under renewed obligations to them, and I continue to forget my duty till my memory is afresh rubbed up by their repeated acts of kindness. I was sensibly affected with your account of sister Baiston's death; I had not heard of it before, but I rejoice for a sister deceased: our loss is her infinite gain. It appears to me that the Lord is making haste to gather in the number of his elect. Many precious women of my acquaintance have lately been called away, some in the very prime of life, and in the very height of usefulness. But these are mysteries which we see not through at the present: yet we know that not a sparrow falls to the ground without our heavenly Father's notice, and He knows what is the best for his children; and, consequently, does all things well.

'I think I had some little presentiment of our dear sister's death. On the day after her decease I was sensible of the answer of prayer offered by some near friend on my account, and of the nearness of some blessed spirit, though I did not know who the spirit was: and I often think that we have more visits from the invisible world than we are aware of, and that we might have a more sensible intercourse with the spirits of the faithful that are departed this life, if we lived more abstracted from the world and the things of it. Do give my love, with Mr. Tatham's, to dear Mr. Ogle. I wish he would come to Nottingham, and give me instructions about gardening; I gain a little more knowledge daily, but it takes up too much of my time, and I feel that I must devote more of it to God. Much has already gone by to very little profit. The Lord help us all to be up and doing whatsoever our hand findeth to do, and that with

all our might. Believe me to be sincerely yours, in the best of bonds,' &c.

'Sunday, November.-This morning, under the preaching of the word, I was led to consider my goings: I began to think what I lacked, and why that lack was not supplied; I saw clearly that the perfect law of love required a perfect conformity to it, and that I could not conform thereto, without the principle being first infused. I felt I loved God, and earnestly desired to love him. with a perfect heart I felt I loved his law, and desired to be perfectly conformed to it, in all righteousness and true holiness; I felt I loved his precious word, and prized it above all the treasures upon earth; I felt I loved his saints-his own people-as I loved myself; but I could not say that I loved my enemies as I ought, and though I desired not to avenge myself, or to take advantage of their trespasses against me, yet I could not at all times cordially love them, and under all circumstances render blessing for cursing. While I was ruminating on these things, I had a clear discovery of the power and efficacy of Divine love to remove even this mountain. I saw in how many instances this Divine love had enabled me to triumph over evil, and pull down blessings upon those who had rendered themselves unworthy of them; I saw that I had the power of blessing, and of communicating blessings to others, even to those who oppose me, &c.; and I felt that it was better to communicate blessings than curses; that it was like God, to make our favours descend on the evil and the unthankful that Christ not only taught us to love our enemies, but gave us a striking example of this love towards his persecutors when expiring on the cross; that the perfect law of love requires us to do this, in the fullest sense, and that with our whole hearts; and unless we can do this we are not Christ's true disciples.

164

MEMOIR OF MRS. TATHAM.

'I felt the force and reasonableness of this Divine principle, seeing that we are all debtors to God, and that he only has the true prerogative of distributing justice; and as all our sins, whether against God or against man, originate in our natural depravity and tendency to evil, we ought to bear with sinners, as Christ also bore with them, and pray for them, and labour to do them good, and bring them back to God, as he also laboured; and that, to bless them who curse us, and despitefully use us, is so Divine a principle, and attended with such uncommon advantages, that there is no end to the benefits arising from it. I saw, also, that every thing, whether in thought, word, or deed, that is contrary to this holy principle, even in the smallest instance, is not only unworthy of a Christian believer, but is also inimical to the kingdom of God and of Christ.

'I became so enamoured with this blessed principle, that I wondered I had not at all times seen into its nature and effects, and, under all circumstances, pursued invariably its practice. I felt determined, from henceforth, to act in accordance with this perfect law of liberty. Lord, help me, and may this holy fire which thou hast kindled in my heart, ever burn with unextinguishable blaze!'