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when you will feel yourself benefited by every thing you have gone through. It is very true, advice is easy, and practice difficult; but no difficulty is too great for the continued efforts of a religious mind. All this, madam, is only saying to you what you know already. But if bringing it before your thoughts can be of any service in circumstances where you have need of all that can be done, it will be a very great satisfaction to me; who am, with the sincerest regard, madam, your most obedient humble servant, Thomas Oxford.”

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Cuddesden, Sept. 22, 1740.Madam, Your letter, as it hath raised to the highest degree my esteem and concern for you, so it hath given me, I hope I may say, an assurance that such an understanding and such a heart, enlightened and supported by such principles, cannot fail of bringing you soon into a state of more comfort, provided only that you will not turn them against yourself. You think it, I perceive, your duty to suffer what you do: and they are always the best of persons that are most in danger of this mistake; but a mistake it is notwithstanding. You would, indeed, be very blameable if you were not sensible of your loss; and the greater the loss is, the deeper the sense of it both must and ought to be. But, still, as we cannot lose our infinitely best Friend, we ought to have infinitely more joy in him, than affliction from any thing else; and we do really, though undesignedly, prefer his creatures to him, when we suffer ourselves to be affected otherwise. So far as our sorrow tends to make us serious and humble, and dependent on our Maker, so far only it is good. Many degrees beyond this, especially for a time, may be very pardonable weakness; but in proportion as it brings us in danger of sinking, or of losing the sight and the feeling of Divine Goodness, it is as real a temptation as any other, and as carefully to be resisted. Do not, I beg you, madam,

think me harsh and insensible for saying this; but consider with yourself; supposing all the parents and children in the world were as would to God they were indeed!—such as Mrs. Meynell and you ought the consequence of this to be universal misery, from one generation to another, from the time of their parting through the rest of their days? How, then, could religion and virtue have the promise of this life, as well as that wa.ch is to come? You think it would be ingratitude to attempt conquering your grief. But how can this possibly be, when undoubtedly that excellent woman would have wished, and entreated youand you ought to consider her as entreating you now-by all the gratitude you ever owed her, that, for her sake, for your own, and that of the nearer friends to you both, you would conquer it as much and as soon as you could? If any thing here below can give the saints in heaven concern, must it not be, that those whom they loved, and have left behind them, are destroying the enjoyment and usefulness of their lives, and lessening one of the great recommendations of religion, by an excess of sorrow? Suppose you had left the world instead of Mrs. Meynell, and deserved as high esteem from her as she doth from you: would it have been her duty to have afflicted herself without bounds? If not, how can it be yours? Was not a composed, and cheerful as well as dutiful, submission to Providence, one of the lessons which both her conversation and her example taught you? Surely, then, it is the true gratitude to practise what she taught, and endeavour to become what she would rejoice to see you. Think often of these things, good madam; and get but over this one mistake, of the duty of being miserable, and I have no fear of your falling into any other. To hear of the progress of your recovery to an easy state of mind, and, if there be occasion, to give you the best poor assistance I can, will always be the highest

pleasure to, madam, your most faith- sensible even of the least of those ful humble servant,

"Thomas Oxford."

"St. James's, Westminster, Nov. 25, 1740.-Madam, if I had not been hindered by a great deal of business, upon my leaving the country and first coming to town, I should have taken the liberty before now of saying a few things to you on the subject of your last letter. I am heartily glad that you have some prospect of more composure of mind than you once hoped for, and as heartily approve of, what I never doubted, your intention to employ it to the best purposes. But forgive me for being afraid, though I may very possibly mistake, that you still want something of being in the right way. You speak of abstracting every thought and inclination from this world, and dedicating the remainder of your life to one single regard. Now, undoubtedly, such words as these, taken in a qualified and moderate sense, express the justest and best state of mind; and the great fault of persons, and the great cause of their misery, is, that they are so far from it. But yet, to speak in strictness, whilst God continues us in this world he certainly designs that we should consider ourselves as continuing in it, and not endeavour to extirpate any of the affections or inclinations which he hath made natural to us, during the time of our passage through it, but only regulate and exercise them virtuously. will separate us from them when the proper time comes; but we are not to do it ourselves before the time, but to aim at being such as he intended us to be here, not altogether such as he intends us to be hereafter. We must comply with the seasons, which Heaven hath appointed for the growth of our minds towards their perfection, and attempt nothing prematurely. Your satisfactions in life, madam, must needs have been lessened to a degree not easy to express; but, still, gratitude requires you not to be in

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which Providence continues to place before you. The degree of goodness which you have seen in one person, you will perhaps never see equalled, or approached to, in another; but the lowest degrees, that are real, will always deserve that you should attend to them, and take pleasure in them. The warning which you have had, that this is not your rest, is a peculiarly strong one; but, yet, the pilgrim neither can nor ought to be entirely unmindful even of the country he travels through. We are to think of our home, not so as to neglect the place of our sojourning, but to excite ourselves to behave rightly in it; and, instead of dedicating our lives to any one regard, we must divide them between all the several regards which our Maker, by placing us here, hath directed us to attend to. No single duty ought to be the whole employment of our days-unless we mean that general one of serving God, which branches itself out into all the commands which he hath given us, by reason or revelation. Honouring the memory of persons eminent in virtue and piety, especially such as have been nearly related and greatly beneficial to us, is undoubtedly one of these commands but we : are commanded also to pay every due we owe to every one of our fellow-creatures amongst whom we live, and be as extensively useful to them as we can. If we omit this, we do not imitate those we honour; and therefore do not honour them aright. It may be replied, indeed, that setting the example of living to another world, is being useful to our fellow-creatures in the highest degree: but, then, this example must appear easy and inviting; it must be brought down to their capacity aud abilities; and we must become all things to all men, in order to save some. Else we shall terrify, instead of encourage, such as would willingly be religious, and give advantages to others of misrepresenting the Christian life; whereas, by mixing with those about

us, and condescending to be like them in some innocent trifles, we may engage them to be like us in matters of consequence. I am sensible that persons may lose themselves by carrying this too far; but they may also fail of benefiting others by not carrying it far enough; and though the first extreme is the worse, both ought to be avoided. But, besides, it is not only in their most important concerns that we should endeavour to be of service to our fellow-creatures, but in their inferior ones also, their health or their affairs, as we have opportunity. And, indeed, spending part of our time in making their common conversation more improving, and their cheerfulness more harmless, will be spending it well, and by no means unsuitably to the great example of our Lord and Master. It ought likewise to be considered further, that, though making it our business, on any occasion, to turn our thoughts from serious objects, and fix them chiefly on others, is a great and unhappy meanness of mind *, yet we must content ourselves to be what God hath made us; and he hath not, I apprehend, made the highest of us, in this life, capable of attending always to things of importance without intermission. We must therefore either intermix due relax

* This perplexed sentence is accurately copied. Its writer evidently felt himself on dangerous ground-giving advice which might easily be abused. Throughout the letters there is a painful deficiency; as the subject of condolence is no where referred to Him who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. They contain some good remarks, but in general they are too coldly philosophical to heal a wounded heart. Sometimes, however, they touch on a right string, and then sweetly does it begin to vibrate, as where the writer says, "We cannot lose our infinitely best Friend;" but almost instantly is its melody checked by some frigid ethical aphorism. How difficult is it to administer really affectionate spiritual consolation after the manner of Him whose office it was to bind up the broken hearted, and to comfort them that mourn, and who promised his Holy Spirit to his disciples under the name of the Comforter!

ations, and suffer ourselves to be called off sometimes even to trifles ; or we shall be overwhelmed, and perhaps before we suspect it, by taking upon us a weight as yet too heavy for us. This, I acknowledge, is the way of talking by which the lovers of this world endeavour to excuse themselves from minding the things of another at all. But the plea is still reasonable, and necessary to be observed in some degree, though they abuse it by carrying it to an excessive degree: and what are the proper limits, how far we should go, and were we should stop, persons in a composed state of mind, if they will be faithful to themselves, may tolerably well determine. But during any great agitation, or deep concern, it is usually requisite to join the opinion of a serious and judicious friend with our own, if we have such a one near us; and often to prefer it before our own; much in the same manner as the best physicians, when they are sick, permit others of the profession to direct and prescribe to them. I am, indeed, at a great distance from the case to which I have called myself in, and for that, as well as other reasons, far from being sufficiently qualified to give advice. But one who deserves friends so well, cannot surely be destitute of them. Or if you will but please to consider, madam, what counsel would give another peryou son that should be in your case; or what counsel that excellent woman whom you lament would give you, were there any communication with the dead; your own mind will, I doubt not, supply you with all the directions you need; ever supposing, what I am sure you never forget, that you ask wisdom of God, who giveth to all men liberally. And that he may give you abundantly instruction, comfort, and happiness, is the sincere prayer of, madam, your faithful humble servant,

"Thomas Oxford."

To these papers I shall now append the transcript of a most extra

ordinary letter, addressed to Miss Meynell by her father, during, according to the direction, her visit with a family in Hertfordshire.—

"Nov.7, 1741.—I am sorry for you, child, but I cannot forgive you: I now see plainly how basely I have been always used, by all those you most regarded. The using me ill, I cannot doubt, was always the best title to your friendship; nay, the condition of it. I ever suspected this; but my affection drove away my suspicions. Insincerity, base arts, ingratitude, cannot be the faults of your age, but of your disposition and education. I must now endeavour to find a worthy object of my affection; and I have the anguish to say, I can never have worse success than I have had. Do not desire to see me; for my resentment is so strong, I do not believe it possible for me to treat you with decency.

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"L. P. Meynell."

And this was addressed to a woman who, even in the early bloom of life, was venerated by Miss Hill Boothby and the Countess of Huntingdon, by Secker and Johnson! To those, however, who contemplate such things in the mirror of the Gospel, the whole mystery vanishes. Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division... The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father." The vehemence of crimination uttered against Mrs. Fitzherbert is one of those examples in which the world annihilates its own purposes. The worst which could have been said of this lady, most probably, was, that-like almost all persons of similar principles-she had been sometimes duped by hypocrites. There is internal evidence that her unhappy parent not merely made the exception into the rule, but said, emphatically, all manner of evil against her falsely for His sake!

Whether the excellent Miss Boothby herself was one of those

intimates who purchased Miss Meynell's friendship by malevolence to her father, is a question which at once thrusts out its own reply.

So far I had written, when I received a copy of the edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson just published under the superintendence of the Right Hon. John Wilson Croker. Lord St. Helens to state, that in This gentleman is authorized by the Spiritual Quixote the several members of the Tissington family, and their visitors, are described with great accuracy *. On referring, acthe account of Mrs. Fitzherbert's cordingly, to Mr. Graves's romance, father is found to be as follows:-

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who was a professed infidel, and ab"She was the daughter of Lord —————, solutely forbid those who were about his children to instil any religious prejudices (as he called them) into their tender minds, by teaching them their Catechism, and by suffering them to read any books on religious subjects. Nay, he severely punished his favourite child, of ten years old, for presuming to look into a Bible... He was frequently guilty of the most flagrant instances of vice and immorality. Lady Forester's mother, however (who was a very pious and a very sensible woman), had taken care to instil some short principles of religion into her daughter; but, dying while Lady Forester was very young, she underwent a trial of a different kind from the capricious indulgence of her father, who settled her, when she was just sixteen, in a house in town, with an equipage, and suitable domestics and attendants, entirely at her own command. Her

• Vol. iv. p. 525.-Lord St. Helens has furnished a key to the characters; by which it appears that the Miss Forester was not, as stated in my former paper, Miss J. Beresford, but Miss Catherine Fitzherbert, afterwards Mrs. Bateman;

Lord- Mrs. F.'s father; and George, John Latham, who was honoured by Miss Boothby's correspondence. Mr. Croker has inserted thirty-one original letters from Miss Boothby to Dr. Johnson; lished in an obscure and scarce volume in which, I now find, were previously pub1805.

ladyship's good sense, however, supported her, without the least censure, in this critical situation *."- -After this statement, it will be unnecessary, I conceive, to add any further explanation of the estrangement of Mr. Meynell from his daughter. From the date mentioned by Mr. Graves, it also appears that Miss Meynell could be barely but sixteen years of age when she was the correspondent of Archbishop Secker. It was only about five years afterwards that she was addressed by Miss Boothby in the letter inserted in your January Number, and which one might have previously supposed must have been written to a person of mature years and long experi

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ON UNDERVALUING THE GIFTS OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

THERE is a story current in religious circles, which has been told of many persons, and is, perhaps, true of none. The anecdote, however, is to this effect:-A clergyman having been complimented, at the foot of the pulpit stairs, by a flatterer, who talked much about his excellent sermon," The devil," said he, "told me all this, before I left the pulpit." And this tale has gone the usual round of applause, as a fine speci

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men of humility and self-abnegation. But "all is not gold that glitters ;" and I wish that we were all less disposed to admire things upon trust, and to examine before we praise. Very far am I from affirming that the speech just recorded may not have proceeded from the lips of sincerity. The circumstance is more than possible; as well-meaning men frequently copy each other in mistakes, as well as in what is really good. My own hesitation on the point arises from a conviction, that not only is false humility among our many dangers, but that a faithful minister of Christ-and of such exclusively would I write-is, to this hour, interested in the promise made by Jesus to his first Apostles, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom: for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." And in this my conviction I entirely disavow all approach to the sentiment that at this period of the church any gift of the Holy Ghost is vouchsafed beyond His ordinary operations, as those operations have in all ages, since the Apostolic times, been dispensed to the servants of God. My feeling rather is, that we do not sufficiently estimate our acknowledged, our ordinary blessings. In this view, a minister seems to me to be in peril of grieving or checking the Holy Spirit; of offending the Source whence he derives his ability to preach the Gospel. With the imperfection, weakness, and positive evil, which he may himself mingle with such ability, I do not immediately interfere-that is another part of the subject;--but the question is, whether he ought not, instead of repelling even a flatterer by something like a coarse jest, to refer the matter, with all seriousness, to the Lord and Giver of Life.— "Thou the anointing Spirit art,

That dost thy sevenfold gifts impart; Thy blessed unction from above Is comfort, light, and fire of love! If this be true of the mystical church generally, how peculiarly true must it be of such as instruct

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