for, and the writer is alive, he will not fail to avail himself of any such remarks.

There is one passage of Sacred Writ, the last verse of the Old Testament, to which frequent reference is made. Though fully aware of different interpretations which have been put upon it, and the difficulty which some have expressed in regard to the precise import of the terms, Fathers' and 'Children,' after due consideration, the writer continued to abide by the meaning, which the words themselves express with great beauty and simplicity. This, it should be remembered, was a prophecy; and when the reader comes to peruse the proof of its fulfilment, he will, I presume, see no obscurity whatever, in the prophecy itself.

There are a very few quotations, perhaps three or four, in the following pages, where the name of the author is not mentioned, merely because, in one case, it seemed inexpedient on several accounts, and in another, unnecessary to refer to the volumes from whence they were taken. All the others are acknowledged in their respective places.

Written, as the volume has been, not only amidst innumerable interruptions, but in the depth of longprotracted domestic affliction, accompanied by bereavements repeated and severe, partly to preserve the mind from undue excess, in pondering over scenes and sources of enjoyment never to return, I am persuaded, that to all those who have felt sorrow,' and to whom sorrow is a sacred thing,' it will be no matter of surprise, should they meet with some imperfections, or the repetition of a similar idea. As

to the subject itself, with the exception of only one, which he will not mention here, a more important one, and one more necessary to the vital interests of his native country, at the present moment, the writer is not able to conceive; and though placed in circumstances in some respects unfriendly to composition, he felt it incumbent upon him, if he could, to engage the ear, as well as the deliberate attention of Parents and the Heads of Families; more especially those Families where the Children are yet in infancy. The young and rising generation have also been kept in view throughout, so as, if possible, to interest the minds of those, who will become the parents of a future age.

In the meanwhile, could I but hope to reach the ear of Parents, whether in cities or in the country, whether in Great Britain, or in Ireland in whose welfare the writer has long felt so deep an interest, perhaps a perusal of the following pages might be of some service to them, and, as a consequence, to their Children; and though, at first sight, it may not appear, let them observe whether the subject here presented before their view, besides more important benefits, does not furnish one antidote, to the mistake or mere profession of Christianity, as well as to reckless, not to say unjust, commercial speculation.

EDINBURGH, 28th June, 1826.

TO MY INFANT CHILDREN.

THERE was one to whom, naturally and most gladly, I would have submitted these Pages for her opinion, and especially some of them, for her advice; but, in the prime of life, it has seemed meet to Infinite Wisdom, that she should go before us, to a brighter and a better world. Bereaved as you have been, and at such a tender age, of such a Parent, on this side the grave you will never know the amount of the loss you have sustained; a loss so great, that I know but of One, and that One above, who is able, to you, to supply her place. Though, without doubt, I shall be regarded as a partial witness, yet it would be very easy to give you some idea of her character, in the words of others, on whom no such suspicion could rest. One of these, who could estimate as correctly as a frequent visitor and friend generally can, after alluding to the character of her mind and dispositions, her piety and conversational powers, in a style which I must not repeat, has said " All the virtues and graces which endear a friend, much more a wife, were united in her, in a higher perfection, than I had ever seen them exhibited in any other person. She then gave

those delightful manifestations of a sanctified heart, which showed that she was preparing for the holy and immortal state of the blessed, to which her spirit is gone-gone to mingle with congenial associates, with the great company of redeemed and celestial friends,"

Her unusual disinterestedness of spirit-her cheerful and even temper-her prudence and condescending manners,-I trust each of you will inherit. This, however, is a subject on which, though modesty and propriety did not forbid, I must not, need not, cannot dwell. When once you are able to read her own handwriting, and that of others addressed to her, you will be able to form some bet

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ter idea respecting One who loved you so tenderly, and so longed for your adoption into the Family of God. To you therefore, young though you be, her memory will, I hope, in future life, prove eminently precious and valuable.

Although, my beloved Children, it must necessarily be a few years, at least, before any of you can understand the whole of these pages, yet then, if spared by a kind and indulgent Providence, I trust you will read them for my sake, and look up for one to guide you through all the adventures of an untried world. Then, too, it may not the less interest you to know, that the composition of them tended, in some degree, to occupy and sustain the mind, during the solitary hours of your most affectionate

FATHER.

Since this was written, about eighteen months ago, although your two Sisters have been called to join their Parent and their Sister in the skies, yet written as it was, under the weight and pressure of such responsibility, I could not think of altering the style of address. Had I done so, by and bye you may come to understand, that the word any, in the second last sentence, would have been changed to either. But still you will not forget that interesting poem, in which the little Welsh girl said-" Nay, but we are seven.' Broken as the circle has been, include your Parents, and still continue to say"Nay, but we are seven;" or, what is far better-rest upon the infallible assurance of Him, who never will deceive you, nay, who never can: who, if you trust in Him, will "never leave you nor forsake you ;" and, in the end, far more than compensate for every loss you can sustain below.-1 Thessalonians iv. 14-18.