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on the Manners of the Great" which attracted an uncommon degree of curiofity. As it was anonymous, fome conjectured it to be the performance of one perfon, fome of another. The prefent bishop of London, Mr. Wilberforce, and many others, were reputed to be its authors; but, at length, it was difcovered to have iffued from the pen of Mifs More. In this work fhe attacked, with great fpirit, the increasing licentiousness of high life.

In the period between these two publications the fifters of Mifs H. More having refigned their school in favour of Mifs Mills, the retired with them to a neat cottage, which they had purchased with the fruits of their joint induftry, at the foot of the Mendip hills.

Here they inftituted a Sunday-school, which has greatly increased, and been abundantly bleffed under their pious and judicious management.

In 1791 our author publifhed, without her name, a ufeful and popular little volume, entitled "An Estimate of the Religion of the Fashionable World." This welltimed performance exposes strongly that lifeless profeffion of Chriftianity which is the general characteristic of the higher orders of fociety. She has herein the honour of having preceded Mr. Wilberforce, and fome other eminent perfons, in pleading for the neceffity of a found religious faith, in order to an acceptable courfe of moral practice.

About this time a fociety was formed, whofe object was the instruction of the poor in morality and religion. The plan adopted was to print ftriking, amufing and instructive tracts, adapted to the capacities of common perfons, and coming easily within their ability to purchafe. On this ground the Cheap Repofitory was eftablifhed, by which many thousands of moft ufeful pieces have been circulated in the manufacturing towns and villages of this kingdom. In this benevolent defign Mifs

* It is with no common satisfaction the Editor now announces, that no less than ten schools have been instituted by the Miss Mores in the ten adjacent villages, and that eight hundred children have been educated there.

VOL. II. No. 5.

F

More was one of the first concerned, and towards the fuccefs of it she has been particularly affifting by her excellent contributions. Among other useful tracts of her writing we shall only mention" The Shepherd of Salifbury Plain," a little performance, which perfons of a refined taste may read with pleasure and profit. She also endeavoured to counteract the progress of those political principles which the French Revolution had made fo fashionable; and printed fome fmall tracts, particularly one entitled "Village Politics," in the way of dialogue, which obtained a wide extent of circulation.

Mifs More has the credit of having drawn Mrs. Yearfley, the celebrated poetical milk-woman, from her obfcurity into public notice and favour. When she had difcovered this remarkable phenomenon, fhe immediately began to exert her benevolence, and by her unwearied affiduity procured a liberal fubfcription to the poems of this child of nature. She alfo drew up an interefting account of the milk-woman, in a letter to Mrs. Montague; which letter, in order to enlarge the fubfcription, was published in the newfpapers and magazines of the day. By the attentions of Mifs More, a fum was raised fufficient to place the object of them in a fituation more fuitable to her genius. But we are forry to be obliged to add, that a difagreement almost immediately followed the publication of the poems in question, between the author and her patronefs; which is faid to have been occafioned by the latter's taking the management of the fubfcription money into the hands of herself and some felect friends. The motive with which this was done, adds greatly to the credit of Mifs More and her friends, as it was no other than a defire to provide permanently for Mrs. Yearfley and her young family. She, however, had a different opinion, and thought it was unjuft in them to withhold from her the management of her own property. She went further, and endeavoured to reprefent her best friend as actuated by unworthy fentiments, the leaft of which was, that of envy. Some attacks were, in confequence, made upon Mifs More in different

publications: but, confcious of the purity of her own. views, the paffed over thofe invidious attempts to prejudice the public mind againft her in filence.

Another phenomenon in that neighbourhood alfo attracted Miss More's curiofity and benevolence about the fame period. A ftrange female, of elegant figure and manners, had been feen, for fome confiderable time, hovering about the fields near French-hay and Hanham, of whom no particulars could be difcovered. She thankfully received any humble food that was prefented to her by the peasants; but always took up her night's lodging under a hay-stack. Various attempts were made to gain from her the place of her birth, but in vain. It was evident that he was a foreigner, and ftrange furmifes were naturally formed, refpecting her country and connections. Mifs More's humanity was roufed upon this interesting occafion; and chiefly by her means the fair ftranger found a comfortable afylum in the houfe of Mr. Henderson, at Fith-ponds, father of the celebrated, but eccentric, John Henderfon, of Pembroke college, Oxford.

Our benevolent author wrote an account of the "Maid of the Hay-ftack," which was printed in moft of the publications of the period.

Mifs More has long been honoured with the particular friendship of the most diftinguished perfonages in the kingdom. She fpends fome months in the year at the Duke of Beaufort's feat in Gloucefterfhire. She is alfo greatly esteemed by the bishop of London, Mr. Wilberforce, and other perfons eminent for literature and piety.

In the village where the refides, with her fifters, a great and pleafing reformation has been accomplished by their means. Every Sunday evening the children of the Sunday fchools, under their immediate patronage, are affembled in the fchool-room, together with the farmers' fervants, and fuch other grown perfons as choose to attend. In this little congregation prayers are offered up, a plain difcourfe read, and hymns Jung. Pertinent queftions are propofed to the adult part

of the auditory, on the plain truths of chriftianity; and the whole of this pleafing fervice is concluded with a cheerful hymn of praife to the God of all these mercies,

THE PRAYING SHEPHERD.

OT long after the year 1662, Mr. Grove, a gen

NOT tleman of great opulence, whofe feat was near

Birdbufh, Wilts, (England) upon his wife's lying dangerously ill, fent to his parish-minifter to pray with her. When the meffage came, he was just going out with the hounds, and fent word he would come when the hunt was over. At Mr. Grove's expreffing much refentment against the minifter, for chufing rather to follow his diverfions than attend his wife under the circumftances in which the then lay, one of the fervants faid, "Sir, our fhepherd, if you will fend for him, can pray very well; we have often heard him at prayer in the fields." Upon this he was immediately fent for; and Mr. Grove asked him, whether he ever did or could pray? The fhepherd fixed his eyes upon him, and with peculiar feriousness in his countenance, replied, "God forbid, Sir, I fhould live one day without prayer." Hereupon he was defired to pray with the fick lady; which he did fo pertinently to her cafe, with fuch fluency and fervency of devotion, as greatly to aftonish the husband and all the family who were prefent. When they arose from their knees, the gentleman addreffed him to this effect:-" Your language and manner discover you to be a very different perfon from what your prefent appearance indicates. Iconjure you to inform me who and what you are, and what were your views and fituation in life before you came into my fervice.". Whereupon he told him, he was one of the minifters who had been lately ejected from the church, and that, having nothing of his own left, he was content for a livelihood, to fubmit to the honeft and peaceful enjoyment of tending fheep. Upon hearing this, Mr. Grove faid, " Then you shall be my shepherd, —and immediately erected a meeting-house on his own

eftate, in which Mr. Ince preached, and gathered a congregation of Diffenters, which continues to fubfift to this day.

This remarkable story was communicated to the Rev. Mr. Palmer, editor of the "Nonconformist Memorial," by the Rev. Mr. Jofiah Thompson, who received it from an intimate friend of Mr. Bates, the late aged minister of Warminster, as he had often heard it from Mr. Bates himfelf, a gentleman who fpent much time and labour is collecting authentic accounts of the most remarkable providences relating to the church, but burnt them a little before his death.

The distinguished fhepherd to whom this ftriking in-cident relates, was one of the ejected ministers, viz. Mr. Peter Ince, of Brazen-nofe College, Oxford; who is thus defcribed by Dr. Calamy :-" He was a good scho-. lar, well-fkilled in the languages, especially in the Hebrew, and an excellent practical preacher. He bad an admirable gift in prayer; and would, on days of prayer, pour forth his foul with fuch fpirituality, variety, fluency, and affection, that he was called praying Ince. After being filenced, he lived with Mr. Grove, that ornament of his country, for learning, piety, and public-spiritedness."

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CHARACTER OF LADY HUNTINGDON. [Extracted from the Rev. Dr. IIAWEIS's Church History.]

TH

HE noble and elect LADY HUNTINGDON had. lived in the highest circle of fashion; by birth a daughter of the houfe of Shirley, by marriage united with the Earl of Huntingdon, both bearing the royal arms of England, as defcendants from her ancient monarchs.

"In very early infancy, when only nine years old, the fight of a corpfe about her own age conveying to the grave, engaged her to attend the burial. There the first impreffions of deep ferioufnefs about an eternal world, laid hold on her confcience; and, with many tears, fhe cried. earnestly to God on the fpot, that whenever he fhould be

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