Thus then, when we consider from whence the voice proceeded, we must needs give the fullest credit to its testimony. If a friend who had emigrated to a foreign country, for which we intended shortly to sail, were to write a very favourable account of it, and to assure us of its pleasantness and fertility, we should not only credit the description, but with increased impatience hasten our departure, and rejoice in the prospect of arriving there. Why then should not this faithful assurance from one who inhabits that heavenly country produce the same effect? Let us believe that it is, indeed, a blessed thing to die; that death will not only deliver us from the pains and suffering of the present life, but that all the accumulated pleasures and advantages of this world are not to be compared to the glory that shall follow.

Let not young persons think this subject inapplicable to them. For, not to mention the uncertainty of life at every age, it is of the highest importance to be early impressed with just ideas of death and futurity; that it may become a subject of familiar and agreeable refléction, rather than of dread and terror. It is common to sigh and say “we must die:" but this is not the proper language and feeling respecting that great change. And if we were early accustomed to dwell upon those descriptions of the heavenly world, and those assurances of the blessedness of the saints in light with which the Scriptures abound, it would become an object of actual desire. Instead of thinking of heaven as a mere refuge from hell, (which it is to be feared is too commonly the case, even with those who know better,) we should, like the apostle, have a desire to depart, and to exchange this imperfect state for that unchanging felicity.

It may be thought we have forgotten one important part of our text, from which it might appear that this comfortable information is addressed only to such as are there described. But no: although it is true, that of

all the dead, they only are blessed "who die in the Lord," yet this assurance is made to all the living, to allure them to come to the Lord, that they also may partake of this blessedness.-Observe, the voice which the apostle heard from heaven, said unto him," Write;" and surely it was to be written in order that all might read, and be profited, and stimulated by this most interesting intelligence. Those therefore who have reason to fear that they have never yet given themselves to God, instead of passing over such passages as these, as though they had no concern in them, should, on the contrary, read and study them as that which was commanded to be written for their special use. As the poor prodigal was induced to arise and set off homeward, in consequence of reflecting upon the abundant provisions of his father's house; so may sinners, young and old, be allured to set their faces Zion-ward, by contemplating the blessed state of the inhabitants of that heavenly city. And O, how much encouragement they have to do so! The gladness of the news of salvation consists in this-That all this inconceivable felicity is attainable by every one who hears of it. There is no obstacle;-all are invited ;--the gay, the worldly, those who are far from righteousness; if they do but "ask, shall receive; if they knock, the door of this happiness will be opened to them." And they know who has said, "I am the door; by me if any man enter, he shall go in and out and find pasture." It is true there is but one way to heaven: but there is no need of any other: because this one way is safe, easy, and open to every passenger. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself proclaims, without any limitation,

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Verily, verily, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life." This is good news indeed! But if the contemplation of this endless happiness, if the sound of these encouraging invitations should fail to induce any to seek it, let such hear the terrors of the Lord. Let them

remember that the dead who die without the Lord, are cursed. For, as we see in the context, "they have no rest day nor night, but the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever."

Those who have lost some dear friend, of whom there is good reason to believe that they died in the Lord, may hear themselves addressed particularly by the voice of our text. Were they permitted, they would surely corroborate this testimony; and say to their mourning relations" it is true;—the dead that die in the Lord are blessed indeed?" but let us not suppose that a supernatural proof of the reality of that blessedness is necessary to our firmly believing it; nor that such an interposition would of itself, be sufficient to overcome our reluctance and indisposition to spiritual things: for "if we believe not Moses and the prophets, Jesus and his apostles, if we are not affected by the impressive declarations of the word of God, neither should we be persuaded though one were to address us from the dead.”

XXVIII.

ONE POUND AND TEN THOUSAND.

THERE was a certain industrious little girl in a small town, who had learned to plait straw for bonnets: although she was but young, she did her work very neatly, and her parents, though poor themselves, allowed her to keep all her earnings to purchase her own clothes with. Rachel enjoyed this independency; it made her work with alacrity and interest, so that she might be seen early and late at her window; her little fingers moving like clockwork. And it was thought a good sign by many people, that she was not observed to lift her head from her work whenever any body passed by, which is

too often the case with girls who sit at needle work at their windows; so that, on market days especially, they must loose as many as one stitch in three. But Rachel used to think to herself, what did it signify to her who was taking a walk; or how people were dressed, or who was going to buy a bun at the baker's shop opposite; whereas it did signify a great deal, whether her task was finished at the end of the day, and whether she had got her usual week's earnings on Saturday night.

There was a young neighbour of Rachel's at next door, who lost as many pence every week by that bun and biscuit shop, as if she had been in the habit of treat ing herself with biscuits and buns; which, though she would have liked very much, she could not afford to purchase. It was the case here, as in most other towns, that there were a great many idle people who had nothing to do in a morning, but to walk about: and who, when they were tired, would turn into the pastry-cook's or this biscuit shop, to refresh themselves with something good. Now this young girl had so much idle curiosity, that she could not refrain, or rather she did not refrain, from looking off from her work all the time that any ladies or nursemaids were there, to observe how they were dressed, how long they stayed, and then to see whether they went up town or down town, or turned into the church-yard. The foolish girl did not consider that, as a penny saved is a penny gained, so, a penny not earned is a penny lost.

But to return to Rachel: it was not long before she reaped the reward of her diligence. After having been employed about a twelvemonth at her trade, it appeared, besides having furnished herself with decent clothing during that time, thus relieving her parents of the burden of providing her dress, she had realized no less a sum than nineteen shillings and sixpence, sterling. Industrious people are generally frugal also. This was the

case with Rachel. Indeed, she would never have been able to save up all this money, if she had spent half as much as most young girls do, in ribbons and bobbin-net, and beads, and other trifles, which, after all, only give them a tawdry and vulgar appearance: and she now felt very glad that she was not prevailed upon to purchase that pair of gold drops, which the old pedlar tempted her with so much in the spring.

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"I should like for once," said Rachel to herself, "to have a real bank note of my own. I have only to earn one sixpence more, and then I will get it changed for a one pound note." So she resolved to set to work very diligently but as she was somewhat too eagerly shuffling the shillings and half-crowns out of her lap into her money box, her silver thimble rolled off on to the floor, and disappeared. Rachel searched for it in every corner to no purpose; till she was at last obliged to conclude that it had found its way into a well-known mouse-hole under the window seat, which, by the bye, ought to have been stopped up long ago. Here Rachel first poked in her scissars, then a fork, and then a skewer; but she found it a fathomless abyss, from which nothing came forth but tufts of cobweb. She now attempted to work without a thimble, but soon found that she should lose time by that: then she borrowed her mother's, winding a piece of paper round her finger to make it fit: but in spite of this, it slipped off continually; besides, her mother wanted it. So she was obliged to go out, much against her will, and buy a new one, which cost her eighteen-pence; and thus she had to wait some time longer before she could make up the desired sum.

It was not till old Michaelmas-day, (and Rachel thought it was very particular that it should happen just on that day,) that she realized her wishes, and placed a bank of England one pound note at the bottom of her money-box. This treasure she surveyed with considera