The servant's eye directed her to the stairs. She approached them, and ascending rapidly, met Mr. Day at the door of the room, where rested all that was mortal of the late elegant and amiable youth.

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Lady Augusta Clifton!" said Mr. Day, with astonishment.

"Where is Mr. Falconer?" repeated Augusta; and pushing by Mr. Day, she entered the room, and hastened with a quick step towards the bed, but stopping short at the sight of the corpse, she clasped her hands, turned pale as death, and remained a moment motionless. Then looking, as if appealing for pity, at Mr. Day and Robert, who had followed her into the room, she approached the corpse, and stooping over it, addressed it in the following words.

"Yes, my Frederick, I have resolved, I have determined upon doing all that you required. I will abandon all for you; all the pleasures, all the honours, all the distinctions, of this world,-I give them all up for you." So saying, she pressed her lips on the cold forehead of the corpse, and sank insensible upon the bed.

In this state she was removed, and every means were used to restore her senses. She at length recovered, and, with a calm dignity, which was even more dreadful than her late frenzy, she bade adieu to Mr. Day and Sir Robert, got into her carriage with her maid, and was driven back to Clifton Castle.

From that day Lady Augusta was never more seen to smile; and a very few years terminated that life which had been begun amidst prospects the most fair, but the happiness of which had been entirely marred by the eager desire of possessing the distinctions, honours, and riches of this world.

The funeral of Frederick was marked by expressions of the deepest sorrow. It was attended by Lord VSir Robert Lambert, and Mr. Day, and by multitudes of young and old persons of every rank in the neighbourhood. The children of the school at Farewell sang Frederick's favourite hymn over his grave; and there was not an individual present who did not weep abundantly, nor one who would not gladly have changed place with him, who in his life had been so eminently

enabled to shew forth the effect of grace, and whose death had been as tranquil as that was honourable.

Lord and Lady V- when it was too late, deplored their former ambitious aims respecting their daughter: and I rejoice in being able to add, that, having been favoured with clearer views of religion through the instrumentality of Mr. Day, and in consequence of the evermemorable example of Frederick Falconer, by the time that their son arrived at that age when he might be expected to choose a wife, they desired chiefly to find a virtuous woman-virtuous in the true Christian acceptation of the term; being now fully persuaded, that good principles in a son or daughter are more to be esteemed than gold and silver, and all that the world deems desirable.

After the death of his much-lamented Frederick, Mr. Day attached himself to Robert Lambert; and the last ten years of this good man's life were spent in the education of two sons of Sir Robert, the eldest of whom was called Frederick, and the second, Falconer.

Sir Robert was a sincere and constant mourner for his beloved Frederick, and a successful imitator of his glorious example; being counted, after he came to his estate, one of the most upright, honourable, and generous men of whom his country could boast, and I need not add, a man of solid and consistent piety.

Sir Robert Lambert did not marry again till some time after the death of Augusta, and, it was reported, that he offered himself to her more than once during this interval. But this unhappy young lady continued to the last faithful to the memory of her Frederick; and, as she died in confident reliance on the merits of her Saviour for the pardon of her numerous misdeeds, we may trust that she is now rejoicing in the presence of that Saviour, in the land where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes.

Many years are passed away since Frederick Falconer was delivered from this present evil world: but a noble full-length portrait of him is still to be seen in a gallery at Lambert-Hall, where he is represented in the full bloom of health and beauty, but clothed in light and resplendent garments, and elevating his eyes and hands towards heaven, with a brilliant crown hanging over his head, while beneath his feet are placed bags of gold and

other emblems of earthly magnificence. And the children's children of Robert Lambert still shew this portrait with evident satisfaction, and are delighted to relate the history which occasioned its existence.

The lady of the manor here concluded her narrative; at the same time expressing her hope, that she had succeeded, in some small degree, in pointing out and explaining the rule of rectitude which every Christian ought to observe with regard to the possessions of his neighbours, and in warning her young people against that more polite kind of stealing of which proud and ambitious persons are continually guilty. "Ambition," she added, "is a prolific source of dishonesty; but it is, nevertheless, natural to man's heart, and can never be eradicated from thence until the Spirit of God has exercised his power in the regeneration and sanctification of the soul." The lady of the manor then called her young people to prayer.

A Prayer for Grace to be enabled strictly and spiritually to fulfil all the Duties enforced by the Eighth Commandment.

“O LORD GOD, our only ground of hope and confidence, thou by whom we were first created, and who hast kindly supplied all our wants during the years of tender and helpless infancy, graciously inspire us with such a perfect trust in thee, such an entire reliance on thy fatherly care, and such a firm assurance that that care will be continued unto the end, that we may never allow ourselves to entertain any anxieties respecting our future lot on earth, nor attempt to supply our necessities by any means in the least degree dishonourable, or unjustifiable by the divine law of perfect love.

'Imprint on our minds, O blessed Lord, this indisputable truth-that goods unjustly gotten never profit, but become as rust and moths among our worldly possessions. Teach us to be content with what we have, be it little or be it much, and anxious only to use our substance to the glory of God, knowing that a small supply, with contentment, is far more desirable than the greatest wealth, without thy divine blessing.

"Enable us, O Lord, to resist all the temptations that riches may suggest; all undue desires of being great or exalted on the earth; all covetous expectations of inheriting the goods of another, or of obtaining them in any way, which, even though it may be sanctioned by the written laws of man, may not be compatible with that spirit of universal love which ought to subsist between the children of one common Father. And, inasmuch as the world is all in all to those to whom the views of future glory are not as yet unfolded to the eye by faith, grant us, O Lord, that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen; so that we, having a vehement desire after things hoped for, may loose our hold on those inferior objects already within our grasp; and, in looking forward to certain glory and unsearchable riches in the world to come, may cease to value the perishable riches and fading honours of the present life.

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And, to this end, give us, O Lord, a clear view of the hope which is in us, and shew us our title to the treasures which are above, in order that we may be enabled the more easily to renounce those which are on earth. Enable us to admire and adore thy declaration of those divine decrees by which the children of the Blessed One were elected heirs of glory, ere yet the measurement of time commenced, and the glorious courses of the planets had begun to distinguish the seasons and mark the changes of night and day. Make us to understand how the promises of future blessedness were purchased by the blood of Christ, and signed and sealed by Him, who, because he could swear by no greater, used his own incommunicable name, to ratify the bond. And, finally, lead us to consider how the Lord the Spirit works continually in preparing us for glory.

"Lead us, O Lord, to meditations on these subjects, and teach us to feed on thy promises, till we are enabled to cast the world beneath our feet, to trample on its riches, and to triumph over its temptations. And so guide us, O blessed Lord, with thy counsels, that we may hereafter enter into thy eternal glory, through the name and merits of Jesus Christ, our only Lord and Mediator. Amen."

CHAPTER XXI.

Ninth Commandment.—Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour.

"THE offences of the tongue, and the proper management of this little member, is the subject, my dear young people, to which we are this day led by the commandment that is now to be considered," said the lady of the manor, looking affectionately round on her young friends, who were once more gathered about her. "This precept, viz. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,' is of extensive signification, and not only forbids actual falsehoods and intentional misrepresentations, but all exaggerations and careless misstatements even of the slightest facts. And hence the best of persons have found, that, inasmuch as that every one is liable to misconceptions, the safest and surest way to prevent any breaches of the ninth commandment, is, to avoid much mention of their neighbours' concerns, and all unnecessary interferences with the affairs of others. "The scourges and lashes of the tongue," proceeded the lady of the manor, have, no doubt, their use in society, and have been employed, and still are so, in checking gross evils, and bringing secret sins to light; though, at the same time, they are full as often the instruments of evil as of good; and, at any rate, they belong not to the panoply of Christian warfare thus described by the Apostle.-Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above