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Chipm. Sir, I was so affected, that I fell down upon my knees; beseeching him to shew compassion to a ruined and most afflicted wretch, who dared not any longer continue a conduct so disgraceful and abominable before God and man. Directly he spurned me from him; swore at me in the profanest manner; treated me in terms the most vulgar and crue; then called for the servant that waited on us, crying, "See what this d-d religion has done for this superstitious fool: I shall go and take lodgings for three days at Mapleton, and if in that time, she gets rid of her religious qualms, she may write a line and send it up to the George; but, if not, I shall leave her to her own superstitious folly; such whining hypocrites will never do for me."

Loveg. After this, I suppose you saw nothing of Sir Charles?

Chipm. Yes, Sir, he came the third day down to our lodgings, and at the sight of him I quite fainted away; and thus he has left me the most disconsolate creature that ever lived on the earth.

Wor. Well, at all events, your father shall be written to; it will be highly proper that the good man should know of these circumstances. (To Mr. Lovegood.) Will you undertake the office?

Loveg. With all my heart, Sir, as I do not know that the young woman can give us any further information. With your leave, I will retire and write directly, and bring it to your house to-morrow, to see if it meets with your approbation.

Wor. Well, Sir, then I will walk home and expect to see you to-morrow morning. (To Edward.) But, Edward, you must not let this poor unfortunate creature want; I shall be answerable for all expences until these matters are settled...

Edw. Poor thing! she does not put us to much expence the grief of mind she suffers, almost pie

vents her from taking any food. pleases, I shall be very glad to

wants.

If your honour give her all she

Chipm. O what tenderness to such a wretch! this is Christianity indeed! O, that I had known more of such Christianity before I had known that wretched man!

Wor. But, Mr. Lovegood, on an occasion like this, I suppose you will not let us part without offering up a prayer.

[Mr. Lovegood immediately acquiesces, and the following prayer is offered up:

MR. LOVE GOOD'S PRAYER.

O thou God of infinite compassion! we, thy most vile and sinful creatures, approach the throne of thy grace, trusting alone in that mercy of thine, procured even for the chief of sinners, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! We have all sinned against heaven and before thee; and, instead of being worthy to be numbered among thy children, we humbly acknowledge how justly we might have been given over to suffer the penalties of eternal death: but blessed be God that we have been brought upon our knees in thy sight, that each may cry for himself, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" Yea, and blessed, forever blessed be God, that we are seeking mercy through his atonement, who is

able to save, to the uttermost, them that come to God through him!" And O, most holy Redeemer, thou hast "loved us and given thyself for us;" thy most precious blood is of infinite value for our redemption! thou hast "put away sin by the sacrifice of thyself!" and, thou hast given us the word of thy promise, that "whosoever cometh unto thee, thou wilt in no wise cast out:" and, now with weeping

(yes

and broken hearts, we humbly cry, Save, O Lord, save us for thy mercies' sake. And in an especial manner behold the poor contrite sinner before thee; till now ignorant of thee; ignorant of the deceit fulness and desperate wickedness of her own heart! We lament, how awfully she has been seduced, and misled by the vile treachery of others, and by the corruptions of her own nature. But, lo! the poor penitent now humbles herself before thee, and cries, "Behold, I am vile" And while she thus repents and abhors herself in dust and ashes, as in thy sight, O, thou most tender witness of the weepings and wailings of her broken and contrite spirit, fulfil thy promise; let thy free forgiving love be her por tion, and mercifully prevent her from being overwhelmed by the miserics and sorrows of her own mind! Heal the deep wounds which have been made on her heart, by the hateful and deceitful consequences of sin! restore her by thy blessed Spirit; imprint thy dear image upon her, and bid her go and sin no more. Let thy most merciful pity be vouchsafed to her disconsolate husband and afflicted parent! O that her unhappy departure from thee, might be made the providential event in thy wise hands, of bringing them near to thy blessed self? that all of them, being united to thee, may feel the restoration of that endearing union towards each other, which is the happy privi lege of all those who have been blessed with thy love, and tasted of thy salvation. Grant this, most merciful Father, alone for thy Son's sake, our most gracious Mediator, and compassionate Redeemer.

[After this prayer Mrs. Chipman being very much affected, departed with Edward to the Golden Lion; Mr. Lovegood retired to his study to write to Mr. Reader, and Mr. Worthy went home to Brookfield Hall.]

DIALOGUE XVII.

MR. WORTHY AND MR. LOVEGOOD.

TH

THE STORY OF MRS. CHIPMAN CONTINUED.

HE day following Mr. Lovegood waited on Mr. Worthy with the letter designed for Mr. Reader; this, having met with his approbation, was immediately sent by the post to the disconsolate parent of the unhappy Mrs. Chipman. A copy of which I have next to present the reader.

"SIR,

Though I truly sympathize with you in the loss you must have sustained, by the unhappy elopement of your daughter from her husband; yet, I ean bless our most merciful God, that I have it in my power to relate to you a circumstance which, It trust, will be a considerable alleviation of your distress. Sir Charles Dash, the gentleman by whom your daughter was most cruelly seduced, thought proper to rest a few days in the pleasant vale, in which our village is situated, in his way to Scarborough. During his stay here, I fear no better principle than mere curiosity led him to the church. In the progress of my duty, being minister of the parish, that chapter was read in which are these. words, • Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge;' and, in the course of my sermon, without knowing any thing of the characters who attended, I made some observations, which have been so impressed upon her mind, as to produce, I humbly trust, that

repentance which will never be repented of." After being thus convinced of her evil conduct, she pre

sently became the object of perfect hatred to the man by whom she had been so treacherously misled; and he has now most unmercifully left her a stranger, in a strange country, without a shilling for her subsistence: such have been the effects of his brutal love, and such the unhappy state to which your daughter has been reduced thereby. One alleviation, however, of her sufferings is, that she is in the hands of those, who, having obtained mercy from God our Saviour themselves, love to manifest the same to others. A most respectable gentleman, of an ample fortune and a liberal mind, has, for the present, engaged to supply her wants, and has employed me to enter into this correspondence with you, that we may know how far it will be practicable again to restore her to her family connections. She has already communicated to us the principal circumstances of her former situation in life; and, while justice demands it of me, I am happy to observe, that it is impossible for any one to discover greater tenderness of mind or deeper contrition of spirit. She cannot speak of you, dear Sir, but a flood of tears immediately bursts from her eyes, while she execrates her vile ingratitude to the best of parents, and a parent also, whose family afflictions have been so severe. The like character she also gives of her affectionate and attentive husband, and has not language to express how she abhors herself for grieving the heart of one so worthy of her affections, for the sake of another in every point of view so worthless and so vile. Being myself both a hus, band and a father, I know what I must have felt, had it been my unhappy lot to have met with such an afflictive dispensation in my family; it is, therefore, with the greater tenderness, that I can sympathize with you. But, dear Sir, may I hope and trust, that it will not be in vain to request you to bestow forgiveness on your once most obedient, though

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