34 THE FURZE-BUSH. 



It was when struggling against my own unbelief, 

 so cruellv encouraged by the groundless tales of 

 wilful deceivers and willing dupes, that I was 

 unexpectedly cheered, by llie sudden recurrence 

 of Mary to the scenes of her infancy, her ft hcr's 

 home. A text of scripture was brought bciure 

 her, which lie had been in the habit of dwelling 

 upon, when pointing out to his family the sinful- 

 ness of creature worship ; and a flood of light ap- 

 peared to break at once upon her mind, presenting a 

 rapid succession of images, long lost in the spiritual 

 darknesscf herriper years. It wasthen ihatshetold 

 me nh it proved her to havr- been the child of many 

 pravers — the object of a truly christian father's anx- 

 iou^ iiistruction : and it came, too, at an advanced 

 period of my daily attendance when she lay in 

 lingering torments on whit was sure to be her 

 deaih-bnd. Need I say, that every phantom of 

 mistrust, conjured up by the devil to dishearten 

 and perplex me, vanished, never to return? It 

 was enouirh — I found that another had long before 

 laboured v.here ] was mercifully commissioned to 

 enter upon the ground, mioccupied as I supposed it 

 to be. In the morning that christian father had 

 sown the seed : in the evening, by God's grace, 

 I withheld not my hand ; I know not whether pros- 

 pered, this or that : but I believe they were alike 

 good. Only the former sprung not up, until the 

 latter was likewise cast in. 



