l843-44- RURAL PLEASURES. 1 75 



solving the difficult and important problem when you re- 

 turn." George's parents belonging to the Baptist persuasion, 

 he had not been baptized in infancy, and therefore no choice 

 was now left him except as to the mode. The rite was per- 

 formed by the friend and pastor of his early years, the Rev. 

 Dr. Innes, for whom he ever retained an affectionate regard. 

 His views as to believers being the proper subjects of 

 baptism became decided in later years, yet with no tinge of 

 sectarianism or bigotry, from which he was unusually free. 

 The early admiration of the Episcopalian form of worship, 

 above that of other religious bodies, passed away with the 

 dreams of youth, and he united himself with the Congrega- 

 tional Church under the care of the Rev. Dr. W. L. Alex- 

 ander, a union only dissolved by death. 



Nearly two months were spent in his favourite retreat, 

 from which we find a letter, dated " Sleepy Hollow," describ- 

 ing its attractions : " This is a most sweet spot, and no day 

 is more delightful here than Sabbath. I miss the prayers of 

 my brethren much ; the sermons far less. Here I have 

 hosts of precentors, who lift up a stave whenever they have 

 a mind, and I never lift staves at them. The blackbirds 

 begin to know me, and a little bird (name unknown), on a 

 tree above my head, sings a Te Deum laudamus of three 

 notes, of which I never tire. The delight I feel in gazing 

 at flowers and insects, and watching the trees grow, the 

 shadows on the hills, and the changing aspects of the sky, 

 I shall never be able to make any one understand. I can 

 give it no utterance in words. I am sure, however, that it is 

 innocent, healthful, and though I am slow to use solemn 

 words needlessly, even holy, for this garden has been to me 

 an oratory, such as no other place has been. I spent this 

 forenoon reading the story of Joseph and his brethren, on- 

 wards to the end of Genesis. It is long since I read it 

 through, and though no part of the Bible is better known to 



