may have the honour to be made promoters of the hastening of the latter day glories; without it they may be obliged to see their brother have need of spiritual aid, and stand silent by.

A prayer of Mary Lundie, preserved by the care of a maternal friend, has just been forwarded from its long hiding place, which is of too great length for insertion, but which contains the outlines of those holy desires that in maturer years are to be seen in her diary. The juvenility of some expressions proves the youth of the petitioner, while intercession for the sick, the ungodly, the heathen, for ministers and for missionaries, prove that her heart was already expanded in christian love to embrace the world, and to desire that Christ should be glorified by the salvation of all men. Her interest in the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom was early exhibited. Having heard it suggested in the Sabbath school that the children gave nothing of their own if they begged pence from their parents, and that they ought to exercise self-denial, and give to the missionary cause 'money which they would have expended on their own indulgences, Mary asked that she might eat her bread without butter, and the price be given her for the mission box.

About this time a watch, which was an old family piece, was presented to Mary by two much loved and highly esteemed relatives. Her grateful acceptance of the gift, and moral musings on its use were expressed in the following lines:

'Believe me, dear ladies, tho' long I've delay'd

To return for your present the thanks that are due, My heart has its tribute of gratitude paid,

And now that heart's tribute I offer to you.

How pure is its substance! how brightly it shines!
Its springs with what beauty and order they move!
But charms more delightful than these it combines,
Since it comes as a pledge of affection and love.

When I list to its voice, that's so constant and low,
It seems to be warning me, Time will not stay;
It tells the swift moments, as onward they flow
In the stillness of night and the bustle of day.

And thirty years past (passing strange does it seem),
It number'd the hours as they fleeted away;
Before I beheld the fair day's cheering beam,
Its voice was the same as I hear it to-day.

Ah! 'tis a reproof to fond man's foolish care,
Who treasures for earth as his ultimate joy,
That the gay and the lovely, the bright and the fair,
To mem❜ry are lost before this little toy.

Let it teach me to work in the days that are given;
Let it teach me to flee from the follies of earth;

Let it teach me to garner a treasure in heaven,

And esteem sacred wisdom more precious than mirth.

And may you, my dear friends, while your journey endures, In improvement of time and in happiness dwell;

Enjoy the repose that religion ensures;

Peace and comfort be with you,-dear ladies, farewell!'

CHAPTER II.

SCHOOL DAYS.

It is not uncommon for those who are seeking with a prayerful spirit, to pursue the plans which seem best adapted to an end, to feel themselves arrested by their frustration, and thus constrained to trace back all their motives, and the elements on which their judgment was formed, with a view to discover the occasion of their failure, There is one, however, and that the sovereign element, at work in the history of the child of God, which is often invisible even to the eye of faith, until it is enabled to cast its glance back over the finished history of that child. When we enter into the sanctuary of God, we become aware that, while we were in pursuit of one species of attainments, the Holy One, regardless of our limited wishes, was, in his own way, pursuing his will, which was the sanctification of the object of our care. Under this new aspect, we perceive that what we deemed a disappointment was in fact a blessing, and that, instead of our Father in heaven declining to co-operate with us, he is fulfilling our dearest desires by taking the work into his own hand.

This was remarkably verified in the first year that Mary was separated from her family. It was with trembling and prayerful anxiety that the resolution was come to of parting with one so lovely, so sensitive, and so reflecting; and the selection of the school

to which she was to be entrusted was a subject of the most anxious care. But, at the end of one year, when that school was permanently closed, the purposes for which she had been placed there, seemed in so great a degree to have failed, that it was put down as a serious disappointment. The chief object had been to find a seminary conducted on strictly christian principles, in connexion with the attendance of excellent teachers; and these seemed to have been found. Perhaps the lady who communicated with. the inquirer, and described the internal regulation of the place, was not called upon to reveal to a stranger, that she, in a few weeks, purposed to marry, and leave the concern under the direction of a sister. Perhaps her humility made her fail to perceive that, when she went, the genius, the energy, the power of control, and the industry of the establishment went with her. But so it was; and it was speedily obvious that there was the want of a pervading mind to cor rect prejudices, to guide and influence opinions and affections, and to penetrate and rebuke youthful follies. So that while lessons were carefully taught, personal comfort sedulously cared for, and religious duties and privileges provided as became a christian, the new head of the establishment failed to detect a strong under-current of trickery and deception, which, though applied to mere baubles, had a pernicious effect on those of upright purpose, who had not force to resist being swept away by its strength.

Into this scene, then, after all the care in selection, was this child of home introduced, and there was she left to make her way alone. Her own description in a letter to a friend, written during the holidays, will give the simple view of her state. To her parents

she did not reveal it, though it had been stipulated that she should enjoy the unwonted privilege of corresponding with them without the supervision of her governess :

For the

I felt

'I have been tolerably happy at school. first few weeks, indeed, I was very miserable. myself for the first time among total strangers. When mama left me, and I looked round and saw not one by whom I was loved, or for whom I myself had any regard; when I found my minutest actions criticised and my words repeated, I did fear that I should have nothing but unhappiness. Miss B

the lady whom mama and I saw the first time we called, had taken a fancy to me, and having a poetic imagination, had, with the intention of inspiring all the girls with love for me, given them a most enthusiastic and mistaken description; so that, as was quite natural, they expected something more than usually excellent,-one who would be superior to them all, and in whom they should discover very few faults. This was not unmingled with envy. Consequently, when they saw a poor sorrowful girl, quite unaccustomed to school tricks and school girls, they were disappointed, imagined that Miss B

had unjustly preferred me, and all turned away from me. I had a great deal of prejudice to overcome, for, when a few of the girls whom the others most look up to are hostile to any one, the rest very easily follow in their train. In this way my situation was more unhappy than that of the others. One young lady, whom I liked best, left school in bad health in the middle of the half year. However I have got