tually poor. There is not one of them faith ul to their keepers, and their lewdness is so extravagant that they even hire gallants. Many gentleinen reduce themselves to ruin by these abandoned women, and I have heard of fome that have ended their wretched days, to avoid the disgrace of beggary, by their own hands. Thus many men spend their time in the vile embraces of the most abandoned women, bestowing far greater sums upon them, than would maintain a chaste wife and family, and prefer the lewd caresses of these impudent whores to the pure and unfullied pleafures of the connubial state. And what a pity is it that fome expedients are not contrived for exterminating those shoals of whores with which this city abounds, to preserve the thoughtless youth from utter ruin; for there are many thousands of them, who live only by prostitution?"

A few days after Mifs Polly's marriage, Henry left London, and retired to his country-feat, from whence he every week wrote the most affectionate letters to his dear Fanny, preffing her to return, and bless him with the poffeffion of the dearly beloved object of his heart. Though I was delighted with every letter in the large volume of their correfpondence, yet I had only time to extract the select hiftories and anecdotes, of which I have given the reader a specimen in the preceding chapters of this second part, referving the rest as a noble entertainment for the sequel of the work.

I ftaid much longer in this excellent family than I intended, being charmed with the conversation of the truly amiable Henry and Fanny, than whom I never faw two perfons more equally and happily yoked. They seened to be actuated by one common foul, to have the fame paffions and sentiments, the fame ideas and conceptions, the fame pious turn, and the same happy bias to reli

gion, humanity, sympathy with distress, zeal for the divine glory, and to be possessed of every qualification that is esteemed characteristic of true goodness and excellency among mankind. So true it is, that the righteous is more noble than his neighbour; and that the godly have an excellent spirit in them. - Happy Henry and Fanny! long may you live to be ornaments to the religion of Jesus, of which you are such diftinguished professors; to spread the knowledge of his renowned name among the ignorant, the thoughtless, and the profane, that they, like you, may wait for the coming of the Defire of all nations, and may instruct their children to praise the name of the Lord, and join in the church's s prayer, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

Mally's account of the life and happy death of Peggy a fervant-maid.

A Fter this Fanny gave me the volume of correspondence that had paffed between her and her favourite Mally, both before and after her marriage. Though Mally was only a servantmaid, yet she appears to have a folid judgment, good sense, and a found understanding. Before her marriage she relates, in her letters, several excellent anecdotes, befides her own adventures. I extracted the most striking, of which I shall here insert two, referving the rest, with some others this accomplished lady afterwards gave me, for the third part.

"Dear Madam, you will remember Peggy -, to whom and to me Betty left all her cloaths, to be fold for defraying the expense of her funeral; but which you generously discharged for

1

for us*. I was intimately acquainted with Peggy, whom I always took to be a religious young woman, though weak. Some time ago she fell into a flow fever; and I, being near her, visited her often, and endeavoured to impress her with the thoughts of death, and a fuitable concern about the falvation of her foul. She appeared very stupid and unconcerned; at which I was amazed. I asked her one day, how it happened, that she, who had been in use to talk about religion pretty sensibly, should now be quite filent and fullen? She answered, "Alas! I was no more than a fair hypocrite and a painted sepulchre; I had a profeffion of religion, but not the practice; though I often talked of it, and had some knowledge of the doctrines of the gospel, yet I was quite naught at bottom; and am now afraid I must have my portion with hypocrites and unbelievers, in the place where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." I told her, that the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever, and his grace faileth never; that while there was life, there was hope; that some were called even at the eleventh hour, and some just at the point of death, as was the cafe with the thief on the cross; and that I knew a late instance of the amazing grace of God in the salvation of a young man, who had led a very graceless and profane life, when within a few hours of his death : that it was therefore her proper business, in the view of death and judgment, to return to the Lord in the exercise of faith and repentance, crying to him, that he would now call her effectually by his grace, and enable her to disclaim and renounce all her. own righteousness, and submit to the righteousness of God; that whatever her fins had been, and

* See above, p. 323. † See above, part 2. chap. iv. whatever

whatever hypocrisy she had practised, the call of God was exhibited to her, and her plain duty was to believe in Christ, to the saving of her foul; that unbelief was the only damning fin, according to that saying of our Lord, If ye believe not that I am he, you shall die in your fins; which imports, that unless a person believe that Christ is the Meffiah, the Saviour of the world, and a Saviour to the person in particular, that person must die in his or her fins; for he that believeth not, shall be damned. I therefore charged her to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, and rely upon him alone for salvation; and concluded, with begging her to be more particular, and favour me with some account of her life.

Peggy answered, "O, that I could by faith apprehend the righteousness of Christ, and lay hold upon him as the Lord my righteousness, saying, In him I have righteousness, and in him I shall be justified. O, that he would pardon all my hypocrify, infincerity, double-dealing, lying, and dishonesty. You will be surprised to hear me confess some of these sins; but I must acknow. ledge them to my shame, and pray a gracious God to forgive me all my trespasses, which are indeed highly aggravated, as being committed against clear light and knowledge. I am about twentyfix years of age, and have served in different families fince I was twenty. I was early instructed in the principles of religion; and I dare not charge my fins to ignorance. I have many times read the Bible, and other good books. I made a shew of attending gospel-ordinances, and prayed evening and morning; but was all the time an hypocrite, a stranger to the life and power of religion. I cannot charge myself with a variety of gross sins. I was never addicted to whoring, drinking, or swearing. I am yet a pure virgin. The first service I made was in a family that kept lodgers. Among these was a spruce young gentleman, who made several attacks upon my chastity, though you know I have no charms of beauty to boast of, but am not ugly. I happily resisted all his attempts, and he forbore tempting me. But having naturally a covetous eye, and being fond of fine cloaths, to be revenged on this gentleman for his rudeness to me, I at different times stole from him to the value of three guineas; and was never difcovered. Soon after he went away; and I heard died not long after in his own country. My confcience often checked me for these acts of theft, and I have made no use of the money to this day; but it lies in my chest, wrapped up in a linen rag, in fix half-guineas. I was so ashamed of what I had done, that I was never left to repeat such a crime, though I had temptations and opportunities; and I have not looked at the stolen money for these five years. Another fin I have been much addicted to, was lying, in apology for faults, such as denying the breaking of stone and china utenfils, even when I broke them, paffing time idly when sent on errands, mincing and concealing truths and facts, and hiding the faults of my fellow-servants. I had a good deal of remorse for all these offences, and happily got the better of them for about a twelvemonth paft. I now foolishly thought I was righteous enough, as I could not charge myself with any open violations of the law of God; and so went about to establish my own righteousness, thinking to recommend myself to God by my own religious performances. So foolish was I, and ignorant of the spirituality and extent of the divine law, that I placed the whole of religion in the performance of duties, if I had any thing of a good frame therein, without regard to the heart, and the ex