THE YOUNG CLERGYMAN. 589 



father at once laid open the effects of his profuse and unlimited 

 generosity, and of his ignorance and disregard of regularity and 

 economy in his ordinary transactions. He had come to the rectory 

 well nigh pennyless, and so he had died. 



The blow came heavily upon his family ; and their condition was 

 rendered still more cruelly severe, by the new incumbent rigorously 

 exacting the utmost that could be claimed for dilapidations. Bowed 

 down by sorrow and by unexpected misfortunes, they found a wel- 

 come shelter beneath the roof of Mrs. Jennings ; and their entire 

 support now devolved upon the exertions and the success of James. 



This untimely event wrung his heart bitterly, as he felt that it 

 placed another obstacle in the way of an union on which his hap- 

 piness was so mainly dependent. The best and wisest amongst us 

 murmur occasionally at the dispensations and trials which beset our 

 paths, although we have a firm conviction that they are but 

 chastenings from the hand of Almighty God. The essence of Divi- 

 nity within us is so mingled with our earthly tabernacle, that we 

 cannot wholly free ourselves from this weakness; and it can excite no 

 surprise that James fought hard and desperately to overcome his 

 scruples, and to determine at once to espouse Mary Jennings. But 

 his sense of his duties as a son prevailed ; and he yielded to the 

 paramount necessity of maintaining his otherwise destitute and help- 

 less mother and sister. 



It was said by our Saviour, that " a good man, out of the good 

 treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things :" and James Ed- 

 wards, feeling that his resolution coincided with his duties as a sin- 

 cere and devout Christian, calmed his impatience. The first great 

 command, " Honour thy father and thy mother," had been deeply 

 impressed upon his mind, and never in thought or deed had he 

 hitherto violated it ; and he knew, that if now he should marry, he 

 would plunge them into extreme poverty. He longed, indeed, as 

 the wearied infant longs for the lap of its mother, to repose on the 

 bosom of his beloved Mary ; but he struggled nobly with his wishes, 

 and, blessing God for having placed within his reach the means of pro- 

 viding a home for his mother, he tore himself away, and proceeded to 

 take possession of a curacy in a remote part of Yorkshire, to which 

 he had been preferred by his college. 



The income arising from this did not exceed 60 per annum, and 

 would have been utterly insufficient to provide for their wants, even 

 in their most limited form, had he not derived some farther assistance 

 from certain collegiate honours which he enjoyed. These extra- 

 neous resources would fail at once, were he to marry ; and thus he 

 felt bound by his duty as a son and as a Christian, to defer the ful- 

 filment of his engagement with Mary ; and in this resolution he was 

 sustained and fortified by the pure-minded girl, though she felt that 

 her own existence was at stake. 



It is rarely that the mind and the affections of women are cor- 

 rectly understood. To her, indeed, life is but a history of the affec- 

 tions : her heart is her whole world ; and as her life is often a se- 

 cluded, and therefore a meditative one, she becomes the constant 

 companion of her own thoughts and feelings. In her, love acquires 



M.M. No. 6. 4 G 



