smiling countenance: nor render that health doubly valued, by restoring us to the endeared society of the most beloved of all our earthly objects. But I ought not to indulge in these regrets. The event has been mercifully ordained, as well for us, as for our beloved daughter; and in a better world, we shall meet, I trust, under more favourable circumstances. Neither she nor her parents will then be distracted with pain, nor languish with sickness; nor shall we again undergo the pangs of separation.

I am restrained from dwelling upon the union of heart, which subsisted between her and her brothers, by the recollection that this Tribute of Parental Affection will fall into the hands of the latter. How dear she was to them, and how much cause there was to make her dear, they best know; but their parents can wish for no other proof of their mutual esteem and love, than the uninterrupted harmony in which they lived for many years; the constantly increasing interest they took in each other's welfare;

the unsatiated delight they manifested in each other's company; and the heart-rending grief and distress with which her death overwhelmed them. I may speak, however, more freely of the affection with which she cherished them. Nothing could be more gratifying to a parent's feelings, than to observe the constant goings forth of her heart towards them. The slightest circumstances, which affected them, deeply penetrated her. She rejoiced in their hopes; and sustained a larger portion than themselves in their disappointments. It was one of her chief pleasures to associate with them, when at home; and to correspond with them by letters, when they were absent. In the letter to which I have before referred, her kind friend remarks: "Her affection for her brothers was unbounded: and their short absence from her, seemed to increase that affection to the highest pitch. She spoke of the return of Charles and James from Oxford with rapture; and said in one of her letters, If I thought they could ever become indifferent to home, it would

break my heart.' With regard to her little brother Sam," her friend proceeds, "she spoke of him with the tenderest affection: she mentioned his return from his short residence at Brighton, with delight: and said she had resumed her office of preceptress, and was most gratified to find him improved both in learning and disposition." In her two elder brothers, she placed unbounded confidence; and gave them a great deal more credit than I am sure they will give themselves, for the best of principles and the best of dispositions: and had she been longer spared, they would at least have had one friend, to whom they might intrust, with safety, their inmost hopes and fears; and who would have been at all times a disinterested, and I believe, also a prudent counsellor in their difficulties. But they are now cut off from her society, and no longer walk together as friends. Their loss is great, and I believe they appreciate it. Should a temptation ever solicit them to decline from the path of piety and religion, they will, I trust, think of their

sister. As a subordinate motive to holiness, they can scarcely have a stronger; and their recollection of past pleasure in her society, will urge them, I humbly hope, to seek a re-union, which shall be uninterrupted and eternal.

In the limited circle of her acquaintance, she had a few choice friends, whom she greatly esteemed and loved and we could desire no better testimony of the sincere regard and affection in which she was held by them, than the deep and strong sensation, which her death excited among them. All seemed to feel that a blank had been made in their social parties, which would not soon be filled up. In the various and affecting ways, in which they have expressed their regrets, they speak with one voice on the unaffected simplicity of her manners, the sweetness of her disposition, and her uninterrupted cheerfulness and vivacity. There was a charm in her deportment, which made her a favourite wherever she was known: and I ascribe this chiefly to the sincerity of her

attachments; her unassuming demeanour; her delight in making all around her happy, by consulting their wishes, and concealing her own; her playfulness of humour, which was entirely divested of sarcasm; and her high sense of propriety and delicacy of conduct. The friend just referred to, says, "We always loved this dear friend: it was impossible for those who knew her to do otherwise; but her last visit at Southampton increased that feeling beyond what I can describe. The very servant who waited upon her, after she had left us, never spake of her but by the appellation of that dear young lady. We wished her to allow us a sketch of her beloved face, as there was an excellent miniature painter in the town; but she opposed it so strongly, that it was given up. Had we foreseen the stroke Providence was intending for us, we should have urged our request with an earnestness which would have taken no refusal."* After detailing numerous in

*It is a gratifying circumstance, that we have been presented, within the last few weeks, with