if she had not a son who went to the war. She said she had. "Well," said he, "I left him within a few miles of this house last evening, and he came hither; and he told me he would not make himself known to you, to see if you had forgotten his looks. He must be here." The cruel mother fainted at the sentence, confessed her wickedness, and showed her murdered son, crammed in a closet of the house!! Oh, the love of money, what has it not done; what will it yet do!

(b) THE RICH MAN'S VICTORY. -"I could mention the name of a late very opulent and very valuable person," says a writer in the "Gospel Magazine," "who, though naturally avaricious in the extreme, was liberal and beneficent to a proverb. He was aware of his constitutional sin, and God gave him victory over it, by enabling him to run away from it. Lest the dormant love of money should awake and stir in his heart, he would not, for many years before his death, trust himself with the sight of his revenues. He kept, indeed, his accounts as clearly and exactly as any man in the world; but he dared not receive, because he dared not look at that gold, which he feared would prove a snare to his affections. His stewards received all, and retained all in their own hands till they received orders how to dispose of it."

(c) A LARGE OFFER FOR A FORTNIGHT.-A person who possessed a speculative acquaintance with Divine truth, had, by unremitting industry, and carefully watching every opportunity of increasing his wealth, accumulated the sum of 25,000l. But alas! he became engrossed and entangled with the world, and to its acquisitions he appears to have sacrificed infinitely higher interests. A dangerous sickness, that brought death near his view, awakened his fears. Conscience reminded him of his neglect of eternal concerns, and filled him with awful forebodings of future misery. A little before he expired he was heard saying, "My possessions amount to 25,000l.: one-half of this my property I would give, so that I might live one fortnight longer, to repent and seek salvation."

(d) THE MERCHANT AND THE PEASANT. - A peasant once entered the hall of justice at Florence, at the time that Alexander, Duke of Tuscany, was presiding. He stated that he had the good fortune to find a purse of sixty ducats; and learning that it belonged to Friuli the merchant, who offered a reward of ten ducats to the finder, he restored it to him, but that he had refused the promised reward. The duke instantly ordered Friuli to be summoned into his presence, and questioned why he refused the reward. The merchant replied, "that he conceived the peasant had paid himself; for although, when he gave notice of his loss, he said this purse only contained sixty ducats, it in fact had seventy in it." The duke inquired if this mistake was discovered before the purse was found. Friuli answered in the negative. "Then," said the duke, "as I have a very high opinion of the honesty of this peasant, I am induced to believe that there is indeed a mistake in this transaction; for as the purse you lost had in it seventy ducats, and this which he found contains sixty only, it is impossible that it can be the same." He then gave the purse to the peasant, and promised to protect him against all future claimants.

(e) SEVERAL AVARICIOUS CHARACTERS. The greatest endowments of the mind, the greatest abilities in a profession, and even the quiet possession of an immense treasure, will never prevail against avarice. My Lord Chancellor Hardwick, says Dr. King, when worth 800,000l., set the same value on half-a-crown then as when he was worth only 100. That great captain, the Duke of Marlborough, when he was in the last stage of life and very infirm, would walk from the public rooms in Bath to his lodgings, in a cold, dark night, to save sixpence in chair-hire. He died worth more than a million and a half sterling, which was inherited by a grandson of Lord Trevor, who had been one of his enemies. Sir James Lowther, after changing a piece of silver, and paying twopence for a dish of coffee in George's coffee-house, was helped into his chariot (for he was then very lame and infirm),

and went home; but some little time afterwards he returned to the same coffee-house on purpose to acquaint the woman who kept it that she had given him a bad halfpenny, and to demand another in exchange for it. Sir James had about 40,000l. per annum, and was at a loss whom to appoint his heir. I knew one Sir Thomas Colby, who lived at Kensington, and was, I think, a Commissioner in the Victualling-office; he killed himself by rising in the night when he was under the effect of a sudorific, and going down stairs to look for the key of his cellar, which he had inadvertently left on a table in his parlour; he was apprehensive his servants might seize the key, and deprive him of a bottle of wine. This man died intestate, and left more than 200,000l. in the funds, which were shared among five or six day-labourers, who were his nearest relatives.

(ƒ) A POOR GUARD.-A courtier busily occupied in ministerial employments, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies, received from one of "our excellencies" some secret instruction with regard to certain parliamentary consciences, which it was thought might be easily purchased.

The minister happened to mention the name of Mr. X. "Oh, as to that one," hastily interrupted the political Mercury, I cannot answer for him. I have already sounded him, and he seems to be inaccessible."

"But did you try it with a good bank note in hand?"

"He is said to be wholly incorruptible."

"Agreed-but a good sum-" "He is conscientious-is virtuous." "But he loves money very much. am assured that he is avaricious." -That is true."

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"Very well-very well, my dear sir. Keep on-follow him up. When virtue guarded by vice, it is easy to corrupt the sentinel."

(g) THE JEWISH MOTHER.— One of the nights when Mrs. Siddons first performed at Drury-lane, a Jew boy, in his eagerness to get the first row in the shilling gallery, fell over into the pit, and was dangerously hurt. The managers of the theatre ordered the lad

to be conveyed to a lodging, where he was attended by their own physician; but, notwithstanding all their attention, he died, and was decently buried, at the expense of the theatre. The mother came to the playhouse to thank the managers, and they gave her his clothes and five guineas, for which she returned a courtesy, but, with some hesitation, added that they had forgotten to return her the shilling which Abraham had paid for coming in!

(h) THE MISER IN THE WELL. -An old bachelor, possessed of a fortune of 50,000 dollars, meeting a friend one day, began to harangue him very learnedly upon the detestable sin of avarice, and gave the following instance of it :-" About three years ago," said he, "by a very odd accident I fell into a well, and was absolutely within a very few minutes of perishing before I could prevail upon an unconscious dog of a labourer, who happened to be within hearing of my cries, to help me out for a shilling. The fellow was so rapacious as to insist, for above a quarter of an hour, upon having twenty-five cents, and I verily believe he would not have abated me a single farthing if he had not seen me at the last gasp; and I determined rather to die than submit to his extortion!"

(i) A LITTLE MORE.-" When I was a lad," says one, "an old gentleman took some trouble to teach me some little knowledge of the world. With this view I remember he once asked me when a man was rich enough? I replied, When he has a thousand pounds. He said, No.-Two thousand? No.Ten thousand? No.- Twenty thousand? No. A hundred thousand? which I thought would settle the business; but he still continuing to say No, I gave it up, and confessed I could not tell, but begged he would inform me. He gravely said, When he has a little more than he has, and that is never! If he acquires one thousand, he wishes to have two thousand; then five, then ten, then twenty, then fifty; from that his riches would amount to a hundred thousand, and so on till he had grasped the whole world; after which he would look about him, like Alexander, for other worlds to possess."

(j) THE LONG CREDIT. — A wealthy but niggardly gentleman was waited on by the advocates of a charitable institution, for which they solicited his aid, reminding him of the Divine declaration, Prov. xix. 17, "He that hath pity on the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." To this he profanely replied, "The security, no doubt, is good, and the interest liberal; but I cannot give such long credit." Poor rich man! the day of payment was much nearer than he anticipated. Not a fortnight had elapsed from his refusing to honour this claim of God upon his substance, before he received a summons with which he could not refuse to comply. It was, "This night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?"

(k) THE BROKEN VOW.-Some years ago, a poor lad came to London, in search of a situation as errand-boy; he made many unsuccessful applications, and was on the eve of returning to his parents, when a gentleman, being prepossessed by his appearance, took him into his employment, and after a few months, bound him apprentice. He so conducted himself during his apprenticeship, as to gain the esteem of every one who knew him; and after he had served his time, his master advanced a capital for him to commence business. He retired to his closet with a heart glowing with gratitude to his Maker for his goodness, and there solemnly vowed that he would devote a tenth part of his annual income to the service of God. The first year his donation amounted to 101, which he gave cheerfully, and continued to do so till it amounted to 500l. He then thought that was a great

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deal of money to give, and that he need not be so particular as to the exact amount that year he lost a ship and cargo to the value of 15,000l. by a storm! This caused him to repent, and he again commenced his contributions with a resolution.never to retract; he was more successful every year, and at length retired. He then devoted a tenth part of his annual income for several years, till he became acquainted with a party of worldly men, who by degrees drew him aside from God: he discontinued his donations, made large speculations, lost everything, and became almost as poor as when he first arrived in London as an errand-boy. "There is," saith Solomon, "that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

(1) "GIVE ME MY PORTION HERE."-A merchant of engaged in a lucrative trade, was convinced by the spirit of God that he was a heir of hell, but might, by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, become a heir of heaven. The "god of this world" tempted him with much earthly gain, and God, in the person of the Holy Ghost, offered him durable riches and righteousness. He was fully convinced, as he said, that the riches of earth and the riches of heaven were set before him, and that he could not obtain both, but might have his choice. He glanced at heaven's durable riches, and then settled his covetous gaze upon earth's glittering gold. He paused, feeling his choice was for eternity! but strangely, madly said, "Give me my portion here.' His prayer was answered- his riches were multiplied; "but," said he, I know that to gain the world, I have lost my soul."

30. THEY ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH

PRAYER.

(a) THE BALL AND THE MINISTER.-A pastor was in the frequent habit, during the tours he made in his

extensive parish, of stopping for the night in a village inn, and continuing his journey the next day. On one occasion he found the principal apartment converted into a ball-room. The host apologized for his not being able to accom

little first," and dropped upon her knees and prayed; and no doubt her prayer was the legitimate offspring of a warm heart. Some of the company remained, some ran away, and some trembled and wept. The dance was broken up, the fiddler disappointed, the devil defeated, and the good Methodist lady victorious. (e) THE YOUNG CONVERT'S PRAYER IN THE BALL-ROOM.In one of the interior counties of Pennsylvania, a young man whom, for the sake of distinction, we shall call B—, was convicted of sin, and led to inquire anxiously the way to be saved. He was the son of one of the most respect able and wealthy inhabitants of that region of country, but his father was unhappily a bitter opposer of the religion of Christ. Perceiving the state of his son's mind, he determined to leave no means untried to divert his attention from the subject. He hurried him from business to pleasure, and from pleasure to business, with strong hopes that his serious impressions might be driven away, or, at least, that he might be prevented making any public profession of the change of his views. But all these efforts were vain. The Spirit of God had laid hold on his soul, and did not desert him. He was brought to the dust in submission, and found peace in believing in Christ.

About this time a splendid ball was got up, with every possible attempt at display, and the youth of the village, and surrounding country were all excitement for the festive hall. Bwas invited: he at once declined attending; but his father insisted that he should go. Here was a struggle for the young convert. On the one hand were the convictions of his own conscience, as well as the desires of his heart. On the other, the command of a father whom he was still bound to obey. The struggle was long and anxious. At length it was decided he determined to go. His father rejoiced at his decision; his friends congratulated him on having abandoned his new notions and become a man again.

The evening at last arrived. The gay party were gathered in the spacious hall. There was beauty, and wealth, and fashion. The world was

there. Every heart seemed full of gladness, every voice was one of joy. Bappeared among the rest, with a brow that spoke the purpose of a determined soul. He was the first on the floor to lead off the dance. A cotillion was formed, and as the circle stood in the centre of the room, with every eye fixed on them, what was the astonishment of the company when B- raised his hands and said, "LET US PRAY." The assembly was awe-struck. Not a word was uttered, but all were as silent as the grave, while B- poured out his heart to God in behalf of his young companions, his parents, and the place in which they lived. With perfect composure he concluded his prayer, and all had left the room silently, but one. A young lady whom he had led upon the floor as his partner, stood near him bathed in tears. They left the room together, and not long afterwards she was led to the foot of the cross, having been first awakened by her partner's prayer on the ball-room floor. They were soon married, and are still living, active, devoted members of the body of Christ. B is an elder in one of the churches near the city of New York.

31. THEY DEADEN NATURAL SENSIBILITY.

(a) A CORPSE CARRIED TO A BALL. A writer in the "New-York Observer," states that in the place where he resided, in 1840, there was a New Year ball. Invitations were widely extended, and a great gathering of the young, gay, and thoughtless, was anticipated. Notwithstanding the intense cold, many came from a great distance in the country round. There was one couple that set out for the ball, with merry hearts, to ride some twenty miles. The lady was young and gay, and her charms of youth and beauty were never lovelier than when dressed for that New Year ball. Clad too thinly, of course, for the season, and especially for that dreadful day, she had not gone far before she complained of being cold, very cold; but their anxiety to reach the end of the ride in time to be present at the opening of the dance, induced them to hurry on without stopping by the way. Not long after this complaining, she said she felt perfectly comfortable, was now