"O merciful Father! who by an awful stroke of thy providence hast seen fit to deprive me of an husband, and my dear children of a parent, extend thy pity and compassion to us; leave us not destitute, but be to us a strong tower of defence against the various evils of this mortal life; and finally, receive us into thy heavenly kingdom, whither, I trust, my dear departed husband is gone before.

661

Lord Jesus, have compassion upon us.

Grant us the aid of thy Holy Spirit. O support us; leave us not comfortless.

June 3. It is wonderful to think how I and my family have been supported by Divine goodness under the heavy calamity that has befallen us. I feel in general calm and composed. Sometimes I have a paroxysm of grief; but methinks I would not have it otherwise. The Almighty surely will not take offence at the tribute which nature and gratitude demand to the memory of the best and tenderest of husbands. O how dearly did he love me! How often did he implore the blessing of God upon me! With what partiality did he view my actions and my works! I hope I have not acted with ingratitude towards him. My mind was weaker than his; my bodily infirmities many. I endeavoured to

accommodate my behaviour to his wishes. He expressed the utmost satisfaction in my conduct. But, alas! were he now alive, I think I could deserve his love better than formerly. Dear departed spirit, if thou knowest any thing of the concerns of this mortal life, thou knowest that thy afflicted widow now feels every sentiment of tender esteem and gratitude for thy dear memory; that she resolves to cherish these sentiments to the last moment of her life; that she looks forward with hope beyond the grave to an eternity, in which she may in thy society enjoy pleasure and happiness without end, and that she resolves to supply, to the best of her power, the loss of thee to her dear children, by following thy example, in preferring their interest to her own. If thou art ignorant of these resolves, they are, however, known to the Searcher of all hearts, and may he give me strength to fulfil them!

"I have not only lost a dear and tender companion, but a judicious and faithful adviser. I can no more refer to him to guide my conduct. I must be the more circumspect. I will endeavour to reflect how he would have wished me to act. I will fly to my God for divine help. My dear husband was superior to me in many respects. 1 will emulate his example in future. I never knew any one perform benevolent actions with more alacrity. I never knew a more forgiving temper. He was also liberal to the utmost that his circumstances afforded, and professed a firm trust in the providence of God. He had a great degree of patience on trying occasions, and encountered all the evils of life with manly and Christian fortitude. Surely such a character must have been an object of divine favour. Surely such an one must have obtained the gracious intercession of a benevolent Saviour, in whose

name

name he was baptized, whose death he had repeatedly commemorated in the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. My soul is full of this hope. I will indulge it. I will think that my dear companion is removed from a scene of sorrow and trouble to a state of rest and peace, and that he will finally be admitted into the regions of immortal bliss, where, I trust, my dear departed children, who died in their years of innocence, and uncorrupted youth, will also find admittance; and where I, and those who are now my joy and comfort upon earth, will be finally received.

"O merciful and gracious Father, with a heart overflowing with g atitude, love, and veneration, I acknowledge thy unmerited goodness to me, thy poor creature, in supporting my mind under my most afflicting loss. O Lord, I have abundantly experienced the truth of thy divine promises recorded in Scripture. I have called upon thee in the day of trouble, and thou heardest me. I have knocked, and thou hast opened. I have asked, and have received. I have sought, and I have found. I have besought thee to grant me the aid of thy Holy Spirit, and thou hast graciously hearkened to my humble petitions. O Lord, what divine consolation hast thou poured into my troubled bosom! How hast thou quieted its painful perturbations! What sweet refreshing repose hast thou given me! How good and gracious hast thou also been to my dear children! Merciful Lord, I praise and bless thy glorious name for all thy goodness! What return shall I make? O God, what can a poor weak creature like me do in return for unspeakable mercies! Divine Saviour, to thee do I fly. Friend of my soul, assist my weak endeavours. Grant me an interest in thine infinite merits. O reckon me as thy member, as a branch pruned and purged to bear fruit. Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Lord, with renewed affection and veneration I devote myself to thee. I desire to devote myself to thy service; to endeavour to propagate thy holy religion. Accept, I beseech thee, my purposes, and strengthen me to fulfil them. O may thy Holy Spirit ever remain with me. May I be one with Christ unto my life's end. May I be a faithful steward, an approved servant. Help me, merciful Saviour, to do the will of my Father which is in heaven. Keep me stedfast in the right way. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. Let me take up my cross, and follow thee. Let nothing in this world induce me to fix my affections too powerfully on any thing below. Let me ever press forward towards the high prize of my calling, which is laid up in heaven for me." P. 301.

The Prayers and Meditations are the parts of this work which we consider of the highest value; but many of the Letters also are interesting; and the following may be taken as an instance in how many ways this excellent woman found opportunity to benefit her fellow creatures.

" TO

"

« Sir,

"TO CAPT. L.

"Brentford, October 1, 1792,

"It will without doubt be matter of surprise to you to receive a letter from a stranger. I heartily wish the contents of it were of a more pleasing nature, but I hope you will find in it some information which will compensate for the pain it must necessarily occasion. I will begin with the latter because I would spare your feelings as much as possible. Your aged mother lives, Sir, and is at this time under the care of a family who compassionate her distress, and endeavour to give her every degree of comfort in their power; but it is impossible to sooth her sorrows effectually without. your concurrence. A letter from you, with a remittance, would be the best of cordials to her almost broken heart. If she does not receive it, I fear she will soon sink into the grave!

"I know you will be greatly shocked to hear it, and yet it is requisite you should know, that she came to my house three weeks ago, a wretched half-distracted wanderer, in search of some intelligence concerning her son. She was at that time without the most trifling means of subsistence, and in a state of absolute despair: her bread she could not beg, and often did she go whole days without taking any further refreshment than a draught of cold water, till at last she was driven to the most melancholy despondency, and had it not pleased God to make me the instrument of her preservation, she would before now have perished, and in a way which I forbear to mention!

"The letters which you wrote to her in 1788 and 1789, have been worn next her heart till they are almost destroyed, but they recommend her to my particular attention, and served to convince me that you are not charged with wilful neglect of an affectionate and indulgent parent. The enquiries I have since (with a view to Mrs. L.'s ease of mind) been led to make confirm this opinion, and I am not unacquainted with your ill success in the West Indies, and your unmerited disappointment from the late Lord E, therefore I have not formied expectations of your having it in your power to make remittances to a considerable amount, but am persuaded filial affection will incline you to make every exertion in your power, and even to put yourself to inconveniencies rather than deny your poor mother a small stipend to supply her pressing necessities in the last stage of her existence upon earth. I have lodged her, Sir, in the house of a poor woman, who is very tenderhearted; here she has a change of linen, wholesome food, and a clean bed, comforts to which she has long been a stranger, and which I have engaged to supply her with front a collection I have made for her; beyond that I dare say you will not wish her to subsist on the bounty of strangers, but will hasten to send her that which alone can cheer her drooping spirits, and render her latter days comfortable. I am sorry to say that her

health

health is very indifferent, but she is in point of intellect very collected. I hope no new disappointment will happen to derange her mind again!

"I have asked Mrs. L. whether she chose to insert a line or two in this letter, but she is not equal to the exertion. I will try to get her to write her name if I find I can do it without hurting her, but I should hope you would not hesitate to believe the authenticity of this letter, which probably will be confirmed by one from Mr. T to Mr. R. Mrs. J who engaged to take care of your mother, lost her husband soon after, and being left in indifferent circumstances, left W————————, and we cannot get any intelligence of her. Mrs. L. conjectures that she may have intercepted the remittances promised to her, as none of them have ever reached her hands. Mr. Jones never called on her. Your good parent gives her love and blessing, and hopes she shall not long live a burden upon you. Please to direct your answer to this to Mrs, Trimmer, near Kew Bridge, Brentford, Middlesex.

"I am, Sir,

"Your humble servant,

"SARAH TRIMMER,"

Upon the whole, this book presents itself very opportunely to compleat the character of Mrs. Trimmer. She had indeed before, in her Tales, shewn talents of the first order, for the description of nature and manners; and her works of that nature exhibit truth, purity, pathos and vivacity, seldom equalled. But, in the great bulk of her writings, she was contented and habituated to stoop, that she might accommodate herself to the capacities of those whom she was most desirous to serve and therefore, though she could not have been more beneficially employed, yet, from so much of that employment, she hardly did justice to the claim of her abilities and reputation. But, in the present work she is seen worshipping" at the inner shrine." Henceforward therefore, she will deserve to be elevated to a higher station in the reverence of her countrymen. As a devotional work, we know none in our language, from a private hand, superior to the present. It is grave, pious, wise, practical, fervent and charitable: and is peculiarly calculated to be interesting and profitable from its domestic character. We trust therefore that it will obtain its place among the classics of our country, and will come into many hands and hearts, through successive generations.

Mrs. Trimmer was a zealous defender of the orthodox doctrines of our Church, of the necessity of a religious, education among the lower orders. These opinions, which she maintained with no less justice than strength in one of her latest publica

publications, exposed her to the malignity of those, who were well aware that the propagation of disloyalty and dissent went hand in hand, and that the population of the country could not be seduced from their attachment to constitutional order, till they are drawn from their allegiance to the established Church. A most indecent and scurrilous attack was accordingly directed against Mrs. Trimmer, in a celebrated journal dedicated to the propagation of these principles, clothed in all the licentious jargon of the liberality school, and overflowing with the most childish and petulant buffoonery. Much facetiousness was lavished upon the sex of Mrs. Trimmer, and still more upon the supposed infirmities of age; ample subjects both for the display of manly wit, and the sallies of original genius. Old however and infirm as she could be pictured, her appeal against the dissemination of infidelity among the lower classes, created such a sensation in the mind of every thinking man, that it was deemed necessary by the liberal party to engage their principal buffo to run the old lady down. But as long as Christian principles shall be thought a necessary part of education among every order of society in this kingdom, so long will the books of Mrs. Trimmer be held in estimation, as among the aptest instruments of such a design; and her name will be remembered with admiration and respect, long after the name of her persecutor, however it may be dignified with a' title which should render him ashamed of prostituting the little talent he may possess to the overthrow of that Church which he is bound to defend, shall be lost amidst the catalogue of impostors, mountebanks, and merry andrews.

ART. IV. A Key to the Writings of the principal Fathers of the Christian Church, who flourished during the first three Centuries, in eight Sermons, preached before the University of Oxford in the Year 1813, at the Lecture founded by the Rev. John Bampton, M. A. late Canon of Salisbury. By the Rev. John Collinson, M. A. Rector of Gateshead, Durham. Svo. pp. 353. Oxford, printed; Loudon, Riving

tons. 1813.

WE have not unfrequently heard those who are well affected towards the established church lament, that whatever advantage they augur to her security from the zealous and daily increasing exertions of the clergy, yet the degenerate state of theological learning throws sometimes a chilling damp over their most sanguine hopes.

"In