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timidly, "on account of Nelly and Henry, and most of all-the preparation for my first Communion; but of course I was wrong."

"I think you were; it is precisely because of those circumstances that I believe it well for you to be absent at present. First, with regard to Nelly-I have seen her this morning, and I have great hopes that this crisis may indeed be a turning point in her life. We may not be too sanguine, for we must at all times be prepared for disappointment; but she certainly showed strong marks of contrition when I pointed out to her the fearful nature of the crime from which you saved her, and the sinfulness of her desertion of her father. She has a certain degree of excuse in her ignorance, but she is yet not without some ideas of religion, gathered from her mother, who appears to have been a superior woman for that rank of life, and Nelly has by this means been preserved from the temptations to which those poor factory girls are often exposed. I am most anxious now that she should be guided in such a manner, as that her present penitence may bear fruit in an entire devotion of herself to that heavenly FATHER, Whom she has offended far more deeply than her earthly parent. But the very facility with which she receives impressions, shows me that it will be rather a difficult task to produce any permanent result. She must go through a regular course of training and instruction, and for that reason I am certain it is necessary to cut her off as much as possible from all associations connected with her past life. Hitherto all her affections have been given to earth; the pure love of GOD has been as a sealed mystery to her, and in truth her attachment to your brother has of late absorbed her entirely, to the exclusion of all holier feelings; now so long as she cherishes a single hope or wish connected with it, she will not be able to give herself up unreservedly to the GOD Whom she has so long ignored. Poor Nelly may indeed say with King David, 'I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou hast set my heart at liberty.' It must be evident, therefore, to yourself, how injurious it would be to her to see much of you just at present. She knows you to be Henry's sister, and your very presence, even if you never mentioned him, would keep her in an excited state, instead of letting her mind grow quiet, so that she may understand her real position in the sight of GOD. Any intercourse with you would infallibly produce a desire to gain tidings of him,-to know if he still remembered her,—and so on; but when all rebellious feelings have been subdued,—when she has been so brought to feel her responsibility as a member of CHRIST, that she would herself shrink from a union with one who practically disowns Him,-then she may see you, not only without injury, but with great profit to herself. Her gratitude to you will ensure your influence over her; and I trust, my dear

child, that the day may not be very far distant, when I shall see you guiding this poor outcast to that same blessed altar, where you will yourself be no more a stranger."

The kindness of his concluding words repaid poor Maude (as he designed they should) for the pain which his necessary allusion to her brother had caused her.

“Thank you, much, for explaining your reasons," she said; "I quite understand about Nelly."

And then she looked up inquiringly, not venturing to ask an explanation on the other points, unless he saw fit to give it her; but he continued at once.

"Then as to your brother, I have always felt, from all you told me of him, that his was a case of extreme difficulty, and that we must proceed most cautiously in our efforts to reclaim him,— if, by God's mercy, you are ever permitted to be an instrument in his reform. He is one who must be led, not driven, into the fold. I had been thinking, only this morning, how hard it would be for you to act judiciously in the task you have to perform to-day; and now your departure entirely obviates the difficulty. It is absolutely necessary that you should tell him the event of last night, in order that he may know how nearly he had incurred the penalty of a dreadful crime; for it might have been nothing less than a murder of soul and body alike, had he driven Nelly, by his cruelty, to commit that sin, which has so fearful a peculiarity, that it can never be repented of! Now, however widely he may have gone astray, it will be very bitter to him to hear this tale, and doubly galling to hear it from your lips,—his younger sister, before whom he has always striven to appear as a sort of hero, and from whom he has constantly expected an acknowledgment of his undoubted superiority. In fact, in his present lawless and undisciplined state of mind, I am convinced that any effect which this lesson may have upon him, would, if you remained near him at present, be greatly marred by the pride which appears to be his besetting sin, and which would revolt too powerfully for his feeble strength to resist, against letting you witness him in the humiliation of penitence. Do not mistake me, and suppose, for a single moment, that I am willing to accord the slightest indulgence to so evil and unhallowed a thing as pride,—a sin against which our baptismal vow is distinctly taken, and which our Divine Exemplar has denounced, not only in the words that fell from His Gracious Lips, but in every moment of His blessed and humble life. But we know how gently He led His wandering sheep, step by step, laying upon them only such things as they were able to bear, till in time they were nerved to carry the whole weight of His Cross, even when it entered like iron into their souls. And so must we deal with the erring now.

We

may not load them too heavily at first, lest they refuse the yoke altogether. In the present instance, I firmly believe that your presence would but harden that unchastened spirit into an utter defiance of His GOD, from which there might be no return. I should not have bid you voluntarily leave him, in the dread of such a result; but I consider it, as I said before, quite Providential that you should have been withdrawn from his society at this time. Were he ever at any future period to be indeed reclaimed from the error of his ways, and had I any share in his guidance, I should test his penitence precisely on this very point, by means of some severe and voluntary mortification of his pride; for a willingness to endure open humiliation is the best touchstone of a man's real condition. At present it is best as it is."

"O, I am thankful indeed I am going away," said Maude; "it would be insupportable, almost, to know that my presence was injuring Henry, but might I just ask," she continued, hesitatingly, "I fear you are not very sanguine as to the effect of this warning on his mind-do you not think it will be sufficient to check him in his dangerous course?"

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'My child, since you ask my opinion, I must tell you the truth, that I do not anticipate any favourable result from it at present. I cannot but fear that your brother has entered on a state of rebellion against his GOD, far too wilful and determined to be subdued, without some sharper discipline than this. Perhaps I am mistaken, for we may not limit the mercy of CHRIST; but certainly, judging from my experience of such cases, I think it will require some heavy personal chastisement,-some blow which will touch him much more nearly, to rouse him out of the abyss of danger, into which he seems to be every day plunging deeper and deeper."

"You mean, then, that some suffering must come to himself?” said Maude, in a trembling voice; and as the Vicar assented, she turned away her head to hide her tears. He waited a few minutes, and as her emotion continued, he said, in his usual quiet tone,

"Maude, do you suppose that your love for your brother is greater than that which He bears him, Whose very Name is love, and Who abandoned the glory which He had with the FATHER, to weep and die for him on this ungrateful earth ?”

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'O, no, no!" "exclaimed Maude, " none can love as our own LORD does."

"Then dare not one moment to shrink from trusting him, without a doubt or a fear, to the perfect tenderness and perfect wisdom of that Love."

Maude obediently wiped away her tears, and became calm at once. "Time presses," said the Vicar, "and there is much I wish to say to you respecting the preparation for your first Communion.

On this account, also, it seems well that you should be absent for a short period, as I had fully intended telling you, that I was anxious you should not come to me for any assistance in this matter after to-day, until the week before you receive the Blessed Sacrament, when I must ascertain that you are in a fitting state of mind for the reception of that unspeakable Gift. This surprises you, does it? But you must remember that the examination of conscience which you are about to commence, is a very sacred matter, which lies entirely between GOD and your own soul. I will give you general rules for carrying on this difficult work, but I may not prompt your repentance; and further, I do not wish to tell you of certain means, both of discipline and consolation, which the Church provides for persons in your present situation, until you do yourself feel the want of them. She desires that we should know our necessities before she supplies them, and in the present instance I think you will do so, when you have begun to search a little more into your soul."

Maude looked as if she wondered to what he was alluding, but he only said, "You will understand what I mean when I see you next, unless I am much mistaken," and then he proceeded to give her the rules of which he had spoken.

"The Catechism tells you," he said, "that faith and repentance are requisite for the due reception of both the two greater mysteries or sacraments of our religion. Faith is the gift of GOD, which you must seek by diligent prayer, in order that you may obtain a full and reverent belief in the Real Presence of our . LORD in the Holy Communion. Repentance, in its threefold properties of contrition, confession, and restitution, can only be true and effectual where there is a clear and distinct knowledge of the sins which call it into existence; not a mere general conviction of sinfulness, but an acquaintance with each separate act, word, and deed, whereby we have fallen from baptismal grace, and broken the vows taken in that solemn covenant, which, if kept, would ensure nothing less than that entire holiness, which our LORD commands us to seek when He says, 'Be ye perfect.' This, then, must be your work-to look back over your whole past life, from the earliest dawn of recollection up to the present day, and to extract from it, so to speak, every sin which you can recollect to have committed, in any shape or degree whatsoever; and then to seek so earnestly to repent of them all, that they may be pardoned, and blotted out from your soul, before you dare invite the Divine Guest to abide therein. This seems to you a task almost impossible, does it not? Yet not only it can be done, but it has been done by all who are in earnest,-by every one whom I have myself prepared for a first Communion, and that by the sole means which can render it possible, viz., the direct assistance obtained by special invocation, of the Omnipotent

Spirit, Who calleth all things to our remembrance, and convinceth men of sin. When penitents are really sincere and devout in their efforts to obtain this peculiar grace, the evidence of a supernatural power working in their souls, and recalling sins that have been for years buried and forgotten in the past, is very remarkable,-I had almost said miraculous. Your first effort, therefore, must be, to obtain this all-sufficient aid, and I will give you, for this purpose, certain prayers, which must be said every day, both immediately before commencing your examination, and at nine o'clock in the morning, the hour, as you know, when the HOLY GHOST descended first upon the Church, to give her life and sovereign power. These, with the 'Veni Creator' hymn employed as a prayer, with special reference to your present object, must be regularly used, and your task each day must be concluded by repeating the 51st Psalm, with such feelings of compunction as you ought to experience after a review of sin. Besides this, during the whole period of your preparation, I would wish you constantly, when your mind recurs to this weighty matter, to repeat the words,- Try me, O GOD, and seek the ground of my heart; prove me, and examine my thoughts. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

"This work, like every other, must be done methodically: you must set apart a certain portion of the day to be devoted to it, when you can be perfectly alone. For this reason, I am glad you are going to Damerhurst. Your time will not be required for your ordinary duties, and there will be many hours. in which you will be quiet and undisturbed, no doubt, when your invalid is sleeping. When you have withdrawn yourself, then, into solitude and silence, place yourself solemnly on your knees, and in that posture (the one alone fitting for such a purpose) the whole of this labour must be accomplished. Having invoked the Holy Paraclete, as I desired, you had better begin with taking note of such sins as weigh most heavily on your conscience, and which will at once present themselves. I should advise you briefly to commit each one to paper as you remember them, because, as the number swells before you, you will be apt to grow confused, and forget the first in remembering the last. Besides, when you bring your examination to a close, it is well to have the whole mass in detail clear and distinct before you; not as vague sensations of sin, but weighed in so many words. Having noted the more flagrant, then commence the stricter examination of each separate year of your life; the process will be very gradual, and must be regularly carried on from day to day. I can recommend you two very valuable instructions as an assistance. The first is the seventh chapter of a work lately published by the author of 'The Siege of Lichfield;' and the other a sermon, entitled, "The

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