but also to give some time to private prayer, to encourage such conversation and thoughts as may tend to draw our minds and hearts nearer to God. Something more is required than a mere outward observance of Sunday; but at the same time we cannot dispense with that outward observance. God looks to the heart, to the inmost thoughts and feelings; but He requires also that we should serve Him openly and with our bodies, in our words and acts.' When we get home I will show you a passage on the observance of the Sabbath in Miss Howard's notebook; I think you will like it."

Bessy reminded her cousin of her promise when they reached home; and Mary gave her to read the following extract from the Bishop of Tasmania's Lectures on the Catechism of the Church of England:

"If here the nominal Christian looks upon the Sabbath as a day of weariness, a day of restraint, whereon the law debars him from most of his wonted diversions or occupations; if here he regards the services of that day as irksome and distasteful ;has he ever seriously reflected, what Heaven would be to him if he were admitted there? There God's eternal service will form one unbroken Sabbath. If here he desecrates the Sabbath and does it openly, where can he hope to spend those millions and tens of millions of years, summed up in that awful word 'Eternity'? In Heaven? In the company of those spirits, who, day and night, sing unweariedly

those praises to their God, which they loved to render when tarrying in the flesh Nay, that can hardly be a Heaven for him, who has shown, when on earth, that he is unable to appreciate its holiness, or unwilling to enjoy its rest. There is but one place

besides."

CHAPTER X.

"O that Thy most holy will
Might o'er my ways preside,

And I the course of all my life

By Thy direction guide!"-Psalm cxix. 5.

"Where Reason would examine, Faith obeys; and 'It is written' answers every doubt."-CAROLINE FRY.

"WHAT have you been reading so attentively, Bessy?" asked Mary, as her cousin closed the Testament, which she had been perusing.

"The fifth chapter of St. Matthew," was the reply. "I wanted to understand more clearly what our Saviour said, in His sermon on the mount, about the Commandments."

"We have a little spare time now," said Mary; "we might talk about the remaining Commandments, if you and Jane like."

They both readily assented; and Jane observed: "From the last six Commandments we learn our duty to our neighbour, which, as the Catechism teaches us, is to love him as myself, and to do unto

all men as I would they should do unto me; to love, honour, and succour my father and mother; to honour and obey the Queen, and all that are put in authority under her; to submit myself to all my governors, teachers, spiritual pastors and masters; to order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters".

1

Mary. "We will stop there, if you please, Jane, for all that is included in the Fifth Commandment, which is, as St. Paul tells us, 'the first commandment with promise,' because it is the first to which the promise of an especial reward is appended."

Jane. "I suppose, 'the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,' must have meant the land of Canaan, towards which the Israelites were travelling?"

Mary. "Yes. But we are journeying to a far better land than Canaan, and may trust an especial blessing will hereafter rest on those who keep this commandment. Even in this world, how often we see the dutiful son or daughter obtain respect and esteem for the fulfilment of their filial duties!"

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Bessy. 'Very true. I recollect, when Richard was going to be married, every one said Susan was a fortunate young woman, for such a good son was sure to make a good husband."

Mary. "St. Paul says, 'Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.'2 Again, 'Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is 1 Eph. vi. 2. 2 Eph. vi. 1.

well-pleasing unto the Lord.'1

'To honour,' means

to obey them, to show them respect, to love them, to behave towards them with kindness and consideration, to help them, to defend them, as far as is in our power against the censure of others; and this all the days of our life."

Bessy. "All this is easy when parents are kind and affectionate to their children, and do their duty by them, as ours have done. But when the parents are unkind, and use their children ill, or are bad characters, it seems impossible for children to love and honour them."

Mary. "God would never give a command which it was impossible to obey; and the parents neglecting their duty does not exempt the children from the obligation to fulfil theirs."

Bessy. "It is a great blessing for us that we can truly respect our parents. I always think Dorothy Simmonds is a pattern of a good daughter. She has such a bad father. Every night he used to come home to his cottage tipsy, and her mother, a violent, ill-tempered woman, would scold him for coming in that state. Often they quarrelled dreadfully; frequently the neighbours heard them; but Dorothy would not say a word against either of them. When the neighbours tried to find out from her whether her parents were unkind or ill-treated her, and what it was they quarrelled about, she would not tell them. She never complained, but always appeared to rever1 Col. iii. 20.