THE LAURISTINUS. 145 



sister beloved, and I condole with you from the 

 very bottom of my heart; but do ^ iffer a 'Paul 

 the aged,' to remind you of what I knoio the Spirit 

 and word of God has already taught you, that it is 

 good for you to be afflicted ; that it is through 

 trials and tribulations we enter (or make advances 

 into) the kingdom of heaven ; and when you are 

 thrown into the furnace of affliction, Christ stands 

 by the fire ; and that sanctified afflictions are 

 spiritual promotions. The darker the cloud, my 

 dear co-heiress, the more vivid the lightning : and 

 the more we suffer in the flesh, the more (very 

 often) we rejoice in the Spirit. The rainbow al- 

 ways appears most bright in the most broken wea- 

 ther ; and He, of whom it is an emblem, mani- 

 fests himself most clearly to the mourning, the 

 afflicted, the penitent, the broken heart. May the 

 oil and wine of the gospel be plentifully poured 

 into your bleeding wounds, by the Good Samaritan 

 whom we love and serve !' 



On this last sentence a tear fell, from the com- 

 passionate old man ; and no words can do justice 

 to the feelings with which I look upon the little 

 blot, now that God himself has wiped away all 

 tears from those eyes, and given him to see how 

 acceptable in His sight was this cup of consola- 

 tion, bestowed on one of the least and most un- 

 worthy of those whom he vouchsafes to call His. 



The following extract, from a subsequent letter, 

 13 



