an hour, and thinking of returning home, providence led him to the place where he had dropped it.  Surely it can be esteemed no other than the gift of heaven, since it had lain an hour exposed to the public crowds that resorted thither.—­The day was fine, and we spent it in sitting a little in the house, and in walking upon the sands and among the rocks, seeking for shells, the beauty of which, with the wide ocean, and surrounding prospect, made me wish for the pen of a scribe and the imagination of a poet; but I found wishing to be a vain employment.

“About a quarter past eight in the morning my Eliza was born.  Blessed be God he graciously supported me in the trial.  O that mother and child may be devoted to Thee, thou God of infinite compassion.  Give me more grace that I may walk unblameable in thy sight, and before those over whom thy providence has place me.  Teach me to order my conversation aright, and to keep myself unspotted from the world.  O my God, I have nothing to offer for all the blessings asked; but help me to be thy devoted servant from this moment.

“1807.  My dear husband has made a purchase, which is to me a source of anxiety; but Lord, Thou knowest,—­Thou rulest over all, help and direct.  O let us in all our ways acknowledge Thee, that thou mayest direct our steps.  Keep, O keep us from being a discredit to Thy cause; and in this particular set us right.—­I am left alone with my infant, who begins to steal my affections more than I ever thought of.  O God, take my poor heart, lost a creaturely attachment be too strongly rooted within my breast.  Lord, Thou knowest me altogether, and the secret springs of my affection, cleanse me from all defilement; purify me from all my sins, and let me this moment yield myself entirely to Thee; and as Thou deignest to visit dust, visit me.—­Time glides away; eternity approaches; and yet, alas! my mind fluctuates as the wind.  O my God, shall I never be firmly grounded upon Thyself.  Come, ’Desire of nations,’ save me from anxiety respecting worldly things; let all our temporal affairs be under Thy management, and our happiness centre in doing thy will.

  How vainly have I sought in things beneath
  To place a confidence, which faithless earth
  Can never recompence!  O firmly fix
  My soul on joys above the smiling skies;
  Let Jesus’ love inspire, and fill my heart.

God bless my dear companion.  Settle and fix his affections on Thyself,—­the supreme good.  Let every faculty of his mind be at Thy command.

“1808.  Twelve o’clock at night.  Lord, my mind aspires heavenward.  Let heaven, I beseech Thee, come into my soul.  Let the radiance of Thy love fill me with light and life divine.  Give me sensibly to feel and know, that Thou art reconciled to me, without Thy grace, effectually undone.  I feel something within my heart, is it the effect of Thy love?  If it is, let it more powerfully affect my soul, that I may live in constant readiness