the world calls you good and virtuous, there are many errors to be atoned, many faults to be corrected, ere you can enjoy the bliss of immortals. The Omnipotent seeth not as man seeth; the inmost thoughts of the heart are known to Him. Prepare then to appear before his awful tribunal, that when death approaches, he may find you armed with the shield of righteousness, ready to obey the summons with faith and resignation.

C

LETTER III.

TO A LADY, FROM HER DECEASED SISTER.

BE not dismayed, my ever dearest Evelina, the friend and companion of all my early hopes and enjoyments, the soother and consoler of my afflictions while on earth. Thy lessons, imprinted on my heart, and enforced by thy pious example, ennobled my sentiments, and fitted me for the society of Heaven. I have been an unseen witness of thy grief for my early fate; be comforted, my beloved sister, in the assurance that I am happy, beyond all that mortal imagination can form; my bliss is secured beyond the possibility of a change. Reflect, that had my grief-worn frame survived a few years

longer, a sorrowful monotony of days, weeks, and months, was all that remained to my view. My fondest hopes destroyed, as the tender blossom is blasted by the north wind; a prey to an incurable melancholy, the sport of bitter recollections to my anxious friends, even to you, my Evelina, I would have become an insupportable burden. Join then with me in thanking the Supreme Disposer of events, that he hath called me from affliction to endless felicity, from mourning and regret to the fulness of bliss. Here sorrow is remembered no longer, and memory ceases to agonise; all is light, life and joy, nor, in this world of bliss, has grief power to wound.

You well remember the cause of my swift decay; to you every sentiment of my heart was laid open. When our lamented parents

were summoned from the earth, they com-mitted me to your affectionate care, and, joining our hands, exhorted us to employ our lives in the advancement of each other's happiness. When they were laid in the grave, we were inconsolable; my constitution, always delicate, had well nigh yielded to the shock : then, exerting yourself to conquer your own feelings, you enabled me to overcome the acute pangs of remembrance. Though only five years my senior, you supplied to me the place of both parents, and instilled into my heart lessons of religion and virtue, which, taking deep root, finally insured me a reception into the mansions of the just.

We became tranquil and happy, we wished for nothing more than the certainty of spending our lives together, our wish was

fulfilled. When you plighted your vows to the chosen of your heart, I became an inmate with you, and continued to enjoy the same matchless affection, which had hitherto been the delight and solace of my life.Our felicity was too supreme for the lot of mortals; had it continued, we had probably forgotten the beneficent hand that bestowed it, and plumed ourselves on bliss which was only lent us. Heaven, therefore, in its infinite mercy, saw the danger, and removed the snare. Horatio had been our companion from childhood; he assisted me in my studies, and in the absence of my tutor frequently supplied his place as my instructor. You know the result; an attachment, pure and lasting as it was ardent, united our hearts, and bound them with the strongest ties of love. Ere scarce I knew the meaning of the words, Horatio called me his wife,