that he bestowed a much larger share of spiritual illumination on some than on others, when the true state of the case was, that she was possessed of the spirit of a Naaman, or of the unbelieving Jews-resolved that unless she should see signs and wonders she would not believe.

On reviewing this portion of her experience, she afterward saw that the ways of God could not have been justified, in imparting any other state of experience than that of uncertainty and spiritual depression, inasmuch as he hath said, "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established."

Yet, notwithstanding all this waywardness, she greatly desired God as the portion of her soul, and often felt as if she could say, that his favor was more desirable than life. With deep groaning of spirit, her heart gave utterance to its emotions in saying,

"Let me no more in deep complaint,

'My leanness! O my leanness!' cry;
Alone consumed with pining want,
Of all my Father's children I."

"Believe-only believe," was the oft re

peated admonition of the friends of Jesus; and her heart would as frequently silently ejaculate, "but what, and how am I to believe ?" till she became almost wearied with what seemed to her an almost unmeaning admonition, unaccompanied, as it most generally was, with the necessary explanations.

When about thirteen she acknowledged herself before the world as a seeker of salvation, and united herself with the people of God. One night about this time, after having wrestled with the Lord till about midnight, she sought the repose of her pillow with feelings expressed by the poet

"I'll weary thee with my complaint,

Here at thy feet forever lie,

With longing sick, with groaning faint-
Oh, give me love, or else I die."

She believed herself to have fallen asleep, when with a power that aroused body and mind by its heavenly sweetness, these words were spoken to her inmost soul,

"See Israel's gentle Shepherd stands,

With all engaging charms;

See how he calls the tender lambs,

And folds them in his arms."

The place seemed to shine with the glory of God. And she felt that the blessed Saviour indeed took her to the bosom of his love, and bade her be "of good cheer." All was light, joy, and peace.

She had no recollection of ever having heard the sweet lines before, and regarded them as spoken directly from the lips of the good Shepherd to her heart, but on observing them some years afterward in a Sabbath-school hymn book, she conjectured that the words might have been seed sown in her infant heart at a very early age, when cherished in one of these nurseries of the Lord.

The consolation at this time derived was of several days duration, but she again yielded to her former unwise course, and began to measure herself by the standard of experience expressed by others, instead of going to the law and the testimony, as enjoined by the word d; and it would, as before observed, have been inconsistent with the declarations of that word, to have enjoyed an established state of experience, while indulging in such a course. Had she taken the sword of the spirit," it would

have guarded the way of life and happiness, and prevented this waywardness, by presenting the admonitory sentence of an inspired apostle, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." See 2 Cor. 10: 12.

Had she only taken the word of the Lord as closely to the companionship of her heart during this part of her pilgrimage, as she did in the pathway of after years, when she sought unto it as the man of her counsel under all circumstances of difficulty, she would have found

"Here light descending from above
Directs the doubtful feet-
Here promises of heavenly love

Our ardent wishes meet.

Our numerous wants are here redrest,
And all our wants supplied;
Nought we can ask to make us blest,
Is in THIS BOOK denied."

THE WAY OF HOLINESS."

SECTION II.

O'er life's rough ocean wave

Fast was I going,

By threat'ning tempests driven, and billow tost,

And surges deep of woe

My soul o'erflowing!

Oh, all seemed lost without thee-lost, all lost.*

Yes, all seemed dark and sad,

So lone and dreary,

For scarce a kindling ray my pathway crost;
Thick darkness gathered round

My soul so weary,

Without thee all was lost-in night-shade lost.

My star of earthly bliss

Set in deep sorrow

One glimpse from thee had all its lustre cost,
And not one gleam of light

Could it e'er borrow,

For in thy lucent beams it all was lost-all lost.

AT another time, about a year subsequent to the period just alluded to, the Lord again

* Originally suggested from seeing the device on a seal of a man guiding a small boat, with his eye fixed on a star, and this motto, "If I lose thee I am lost."