DIALOGUE XLVI.

MR. WORTHY AND FAMILY, MR. LOVEGOOD, AND HENRY LITTLEWORTE

FRISON MEDITATIONS CONTINUED.

AFTER having given the present room-full of company time to recruit their spirits, the recommencement of the same dialogue may not be unacceptable to the reader.

Wor. As I suppose you have given us the substance of what occurred upon your first visit to the prison, we shall be glad to hear what took place afterwards.

Loveg. Why, after concluding with prayer, we went to the inn, where we passed, or meant to pass, a serious retired evening among ourselves, in order that we might communicate to Mrs. Sparkish, all the instruction and advice, her situation seemed to require.

Hen. [To Mr. Lovegood.] But Sir, you should tell what passed at your introduction of family prayer, while you were at the inn.

Loveg. Oh no Mr. Henry, you should let that

pass.

Hen. I am sure Sir, it is a pity it should, for you know it was attended with a great blessing.

Wor. Come Mr. Henry, if Mr. Lovegood won't tell his own stories, you must tell them for him. His modesty at all times stands much in his way.

Hen. Why Sir, you must know, it soon began to be rumored about who Mr. Lovegood was, as his preaching at Locksbury, and the conversion of Mrs.

Chipman, had made a considerable talk, even in those parts, which was, I suppose, the reason why the landlady of the inn, asked him, if they should not be favored with a sermon, at any of the Churches belonging to their Town.

Loveg. Yes Sir, but you know that was entirely out of the question, as I was under the necessity of returning to attend to my own duty athome; and if not, I fear there was no probability of gaining admission into any of the pulpits in that town; for two of the ministers are constant attendants at the assemblyroom, at the George inn, where we were; and one of them is said to be quite a vociferous bully: there is a third minister whose name is Primrose, who is a very decent character;-they say he is a distant relation of Dr. Orderly's, yet he is so far convinced that I preach faith without works, that I am quite out of his good graces also. However, by this event, I thought I had an opening to invite as many of the household as could attend to prayer; and they soon collected themselves together, and nearly filled the room; and an impressive time I must confess it was.

Wor. It is best to follow the scriptures, and "sow beside all waters" but there is one text you do not take into sufficient consideration.

Loveg. What is that Sir?

Wor. "Be instant-Out of season."
Loveg. Oh Sir! I am not Mr. Slapdash.

Wor. Ah, but you are Mr. Lovegood, and we shall never be ashamed of you.

Hen I am sure there was no occasion to be ashamed of our Minister on that night, nor the two nights afterwards. [To Mr. Lovegood.] You know Sir, what a blessing went with every word you spoke, and with every prayer you offered up.

Loveg. Oh Mr. Henry! you did not use me well on that occasion.

Wor, What have you done Mr. Henry?

Hen. Why Sir, what I could not help, The landlord's eldest son was so impressed with what Mr.

Lovegood said at family prayer, that I verily believe God has sent a signal blessing home to his heart. And after having received so much good himself, no wonder that he was desirous others should enjoy the same; and after he had mentioned his wish very earnestly to me, that he might invite some of his friends and companions to hear Mr. Lovegood, 1 told him I thought there could be no sort of harm

in it.

Wor. No more there could Mr. Henry; and I hope you and the young man together, got Mr. Lovegood a good congregation.

Hen. Why really Sir, the parlor in which we were, was so full, that it could not hold all who were willing to attend, and I had the greatest difficulty in the world, to persuade Mr. Lovegood to adjourn into the assembly-room.

Wor. [To Lovegood.] And could you have suffered a set of poor sinners "perishing for lack of knowledge," to have gone away without the word of life, while they were so eager to attend it?

Hen. I believe Sir, our Minister would have run out of town, if he possibly could.

Wor. If he had, I think I should have sent him back again by force of arms.

Loveg. Sir, I was never taken to, in such a manner before in all my life.

Wor. I am glad of it, you will get no pity from me; I hope you had double the congregation the last night before you left town.

Loveg. Why Sir, I am quite ashamed of myself. Wor. Ashamed of yourself!-What for? If you had been dancing in the assembly-room, instead of preaching in it, we should all have been ashamed of you

too.

Loveg. O Sir! you should not call it preaching. Wor. I hope it was something very like it. For if you had got upon a table, and taken a text, as you do in Brookfield Church, who would have been the most VOL. II.

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inconsistent, the minister; (though I hate to give them the name, when applied to such characters,) who is jigging and dancing about, with all the frothy, vain people in the town; or the Minister, who takes a similar opportunity to preach among his fellow sin ners, "repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ?" And so the apostles acted, when they preached among the Heathens; and you have frequently told us, how nearly allied the Heathens in ancient times, were to the nominal professors of Chris tianity in the present day, who scarcely hold thể form of godliness, while they not only totally deny, but even ridicule the power. (To Henry.) But Mr. Henry, if Mr. Lovegood is so much ashamed to tell of all his wicked ways, during his absence, I must request you to tell them for him.

Hen. Sir, the last meeting in the assembly-room[Mrs. Worthy interrupts, to Mr. Lovegood.] Sir, whenever you chuse to call on me upon a similar occasion, I'll go with you, and we won't mind what people say about our going together to the assembly with such a design, and in such company-but Mr. Henry, we must not interrupt you in telling us about your last meeting at the assembly-roomam novoirdw

Hen. Madam, the people crowded in so fast, as that our Minister was almost like Jonah in the city of Nineveh, ready to fly from the presence of the Lord." I told him, as the providence of God had directed him there, and as the same divine providence had sent the people to hear, and all entirely without his own seeking, that he might resist a call which God might have designed for the eternal salvation of many souls; and I never heard our dear Minister so much at liberty in his blessed work before.mdIt is astonishing how his whole soul was led out after them, while he was pressing upon them the necessity of seeking for salvation by Jesus Christ: and when he came to pray for the condemned prisoners, (for as we had heard nothing from Mr. Lovely, we began to conclude they would all suffer on the next day,) it is

astonishing how the whole multitude were melted into tears? (totostarp dong e

Wor, Though he preached upon such an unconsecrated spot! Yet I dare say an abundance of good was done. zid

Hen. Sir, a gentleman and a lady who were guests at the house on that night, were very much affected indeed they afterwards called me into their room, and I had a deal of conversation with them, upon the very serious and important subjects which Mr. Lovegood had been delivering among us: besides, we picked up a very excellent acquaintance there. The dissenting Minister, who lives in that town, was one of Mr. Lovegood's hearers, on the last evening of our meeting, and a very worthy, serious, good man, he seems to be. He came in afterwards, and passed the rest of the evening with us. Some people however, got hold of this, and said, this was a full proof that Mr. Lovegood was nothing better than a Presbyterian in heart.

Loveg. I wish they had just such pious ministers as I believe he is, in every Church in the Town. But while dissenters are at liberty to provide for themselves whatever ministers they chuse, who are pious and good, many of the Churches are left to be supplied with those who are dissolute and profane, no wonder, under such circumstances, that matters are frequently so bad with us.

Hen. Well Sir, you know it is quite as it should be, respecting that worthy Minister: we were told with what a deal of diligence and attention, he goes about preaching and exhorting from village to village, and how much good he does, not only by his preaching, but by his exemplary conduct wherever he goes. But Sir, you cannot conceive what a state of perplexity our Minister was in by a letter he received from the Minister of the Parish, in which the George Inn stands, after Mr. Lovegood had finished his last meeting in the assembly-room.