'But, my good sir,' I answered, 'I cannot quite enter into your feelings. Surely you cannot expect to render such persons subservient to the interests of your Master, as openly deny his right of dominion; really, I think the Librarian for instance, ought not to be depended upon; such spirits as these are not likely to bend to the will of the Lord.'

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There spoke my old friend the Secretary, I 'My good know him again,' replied the Doctor. young man, you do not understand, I see, that my spell and art subsists in using the talents of this man to my own purposes, even as it were against his own private convictions. He is a man of known ability, and a man of substance; and I ask you why I may not use those talents, and that substance to help forward the great end I have in view?' And he went on a long time to shew how this might be done, and the great benefit he expected to derive from bringing all sorts of persons to work together with him in his great object; all which might have passed better with me, had I not heard the discourse above related between Father Peter and the Steward. reader will, perhaps, ask why I did not repeat this discourse to the Doctor? I answer, that I had not then been brought to break entirely with the Steward and Madame le Monde, and I knew

My

"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?" Psalm xciv. 20.

perfectly well that if I told out what I had heard to the Doctor, it would be repeated by him to his especial followers, and so get wind; and yet I can hardly say what held me back from breaking with these people, unless it might be that I was more taken with the fascinations of the housekeeper's eldest daughter than. I was even myself aware of at the time, and thus being in a sinful state of irresolution, I suffered the worthy man to talk on and say what he would, whilst I sat twisting my pen in my hand, and looking as weak as all persons do who cannot resolve to act in that way which they know to be right. Now, whilst we were thus situated,-I persisting in a silence which I knew to be sinful, and the chaplain trying to talk himself into a persuasion that he was right, when more than half apprehensive that he was wrong-who should come in but a servant in the livery of the housekeeper. This man was furnished with two small notes, sealed with wax, and bearing with them the fragrance of honey,1 one of which he presented to me, and the other to the Doctor.

'What is this?' said the Chaplain and from whom?'

"From my mistress, the housekeeper,' replied the serving man.

So we opened the notes, and found that they

"It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search their own glory is not glory." Proverbs xxv. 27.

contained invitations couched in language the most polite, to take our supper the next evening in her room on occasion of the birth-day of Mr. Fitz-Adam, which was always a great day in the family. When we had read these billets, we looked at one another, conjecturing pretty well what was passing in each other's minds, though neither of us caring to say, on account of the presence of the servant. At length, however, the Doctor addressing the messenger, said, ‘Give my best compliments to your mistress, my good young man, and tell her that Mr. Nicodemus and I will send our answers in a few minutes;' so the servant withdrew, and when he had shut the door after him, the Doctor said, 'What is to be done now, my young friend?'

'What is your opinion, sir?' I answered; thus giving question for question, a habit into which irresolute persons are almost certain to fall sooner or later.

'Why,' replied the Doctor, lowering his tone, and drawing his chair closer to mine, 'my worthy young friend, all things being considered, and the present crisis of our affairs being brought into the calculation, for now is the moment in which the compact is to be signed or broken; for I would wish you to understand, that although I have with infinite difficulty brought things to the present pass, yet, that the smallest appearance of stiffness on our part just at this time, would un

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ravel the whole clue; and, therefore,'—he added, but probably you already understand my meaning.'

I bowed acquiescence, although I hardly knew what would be the upshot of all these parentheses and broken sentences, and the worthy man went on, 'Thus all things being weighed and duly considered, although it is a principle of mine, drawn from my Lord's letters,' not to be seen in their assemblies unnecessarily, or to accommodate myself to their habits, which, as you must have observed, Mr. Nicodemus, are by no means what they should be; yet, as I was remarking before, in the present crisis, that is, the crisis to which with much labour and exertion, (though it becomes me not to speak of what I have been able to do,) I have brought the family, I am inclined to think, and no doubt you will agree with me, that upon the whole and under all circumstances,' and he was going off again into a labyrinth of sentences within sentences, which by the by, is as uncontrovertible a proof of a hesitating and doubtful state of mind, as my question in answer could possibly have been, when I cut him short by saying, 'Then upon the whole

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."-Romans xii. 1, 2.

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you think that we ought to accept this invitation?'

'I do,' replied the Chaplain, and I will give you my reasons:-this house has been for years past torn by different parties and opinions, which have greatly retarded the progress of all that is right amongst us; yet, during these scenes of perplexity, those who have truly loved the rightful master, and I am thankful to say that there always have been many such in the house, have been consoled by certain promises in the lord's letters, stating that a time is to come, in which all that is wrong shall be set right, and in which all the members of the family shall enjoy a perfect and unbroken peace. These you will say, Mr. Nicodemus, are very encouraging promises, and exceedingly pleasing to such as hope to be made instruments in effecting and aproximating such a state of things, and,' added the poor man with a slight cough, and some hesitation of manner, if I have been assisted in some small degree to advance this desirable order of affairs, in the first instance by an enlarged and liberal plan, (in which I have been upheld by Mr. Fitz-Adam and the housekeeper) for the education and improvement of the children of the inferior servants, and in the establishment of several other similar institutions in

"And the work of righteousness shall be peace : and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever."Isaiah xxxii. 17.