Ruling in Love.

Early Intercessions.

You inquire relative to our management with our little family; but, as you perceive, the size of my sheet forbids my saying much on this subject in the present communication. We have deemed it important

"Never to take the harsher way,

When love may do the deed."

And we have endeavored to cherish in their young hearts that love and confidence which you observe. It is certainly far more desirable to rule by love than by fear, if such a thing may be. And it is my opinion that this may be done to a degree quite beyond what many parents imagine. God is love; and it is our earnest prayer that the atmosphere in which our children live and move may be that of love. We have dedicated our house to God, and believe that he hears our prayer when we ask that his presence may abide with us, so that every one that enters our dwelling may feel the hallowing influence of the Spirit of holiness.

Before the routine of domestic duty for the day commences, I feel it a blessed privilege to present each member of our household individually before God. After having presented myself, with all my interests, temporal and spiritual, afresh to him through Christ, I daily plead the promise, "I will pour out my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring." I try to claim the fulfillment of this promise, and believe myself successful.

We have dedicated our children to God with an intention of devoting them in some special manner to his service, and are endeavoring to have their moral and religious training all directed to this point-usefulness in the church of Christ. You may infer from this that it is needful that their natural inclinations should at times be crossed to meet this point. In reference to gay society, or conformity to the world in dress, and other respects, we should think it proper to exercise parental authority if there were occasion for it. We are looking for wisdom to train them in the way in which they should go, and not in a way from which it would be needful that they should depart, on becoming themselves self-denying followers of the Saviour.

"Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged," is an admonition most important in family government. But I imagine that the sin of Eli is far more prevalent than that of undue family restraint. God said of faithful Abraham, "I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken." observe by this, that the parental and household government of Abraham stood closely connected with the fulfillment of God's promises to him.

We

Firmness and love equally blended are most es

Joshua.

Eli.

Heaven in the House.

sential in family discipline. Courageous Joshua says, "I and my house will serve the Lord." I have feared that some professors rather prefer that the cause of Christ should be wounded, than the feelings of their children and other members of their household. Thus was it with Eli. If expostulation and entreaty had been the only thing required, he does not seem to have been particularly deficient. Doubtless his sin was, that he did not, with faithful Abraham, command his children. You inquire about the religious state of our two younger children-whether they are Christians. I am not prepared to answer this question directly, and you see I have now almost filled another sheet. In love, farewell.

No. XIX.-TO MR. K

Remarkable visit of the Spirit-A new heart given to a little child"I want to pray more"-An accusation of the tempter-Little W-Infantile anticipation-Propriety.

DEAR SIR,-Were you not praying for us as a family the evening I parted with you? Soon after my return home, while at supper, an unusual sense of the divine presence came upon me, and a heaven of love and sweetness seemed to fill the house. Being later than usual for supper, all the members of my family, with the exception of my two young

A Little Girl with a New Heart.

est children, (who had retired for the night,) had gone to meeting. As I left the parlor and went up to my room, about eight o'clock, to my surprise I found our daughter still awake, and, at her earnest call, I went to her room. Her eyes looked as though she had for some time been weeping bitterly, but she was now smiling amid her tears. "O ma!" she exclaimed, "I have been asking God for a new heart, and he has given it to me." I questioned her, but could see no reason to doubt that the Lord had indeed visited her with his salvation. Among other things, she said, "But Satan told me something very naughty." She hesitated for a moment as though it were something that she hardly dared repeat, and then observed, "He said that I should never go to heaven; but I asked the Lord, and he told me if I loved and served him I should." She seemed very happy in the love of the Saviour, and as I observed before, the whole house seemed filled with a heaven of love.

Little W then called me to his room, and a divine influence seemed to be resting upon him also. "O ma!" said he, "I want to pray more than my own prayers.' I remained some time instructing him in answer to his many inquiries, some of which surprised me much, inquiries which I knew must have been prompted by the direct influ ences of the Holy Spirit on his heart.

In consequence of not being home as early as

"What is it to give my Heart to God?"

usual, I had not conversed with these little ones as I generally do, especially on sabbath evenings. It was clear to my mind, therefore, that the feelings of my dear children had not been produced by any external influence.

The accuser had been suggesting, that in not being with them when they retired, I had neglected an obvious duty, for that which was questionable; but on finding them so unexpectedly receiving the gracious teachings of the Spirit, the Holy Comforter said to my heart,

"Fix on God's work thy steadfast eye,

So shall thy work be done."

I should not like to answer your question, that is, Are these children Christians? unhesitatingly. But I will say, that from their earliest existence we have given them up to God. We believe that the Lord in some special manner recognizes the surrender, and gives the more direct influences of the Holy Spirit as a consequence of their being set apart for his service.

They love to talk about spiritual things, and from the dawn of reason have manifested much interest, and sometimes deep emotions, while I conversed with them. A few months since, little Wasked this question, "What is it to give my heart to God?" Bishop H was with us, and he took the child on his knee, and with most heavenly sweetness told him in a manner suited to his capa