when on the threshold of His presence, who "hateth every false way."
"I was born in Blackburn, in the county of Lancashire, in England, and descended of obscure, but virtuous ancestors. My father, whose name was Selden, was devoted to the pursuits of agriculture. He married rather late in life, and died while I was yet a child. With the profits of his industry, my mother purchased a neat cottage in a retired spot, where she devoted herself to my welfare. Her education had been superiour to what is usually found among those of her rank; and the few books which she possessed, aided by the force of her example, excited in me an early taste for reading. I can scarcely imagine a lot more congenial with happiness than ours. Our income was adequate to our wants; and that industry, which preserved our health, gave us the power of administering to the necessities of others. When my daily share of labour was completed, my recreations were to tend my flowers, to read, to converse with my mother while we were both employed with our needles, or to join my voice to that of the birds who surrounded our habitation. I was under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. Owen, of the Established Church, a man of the most ardent piety, and indefatigable zeal in the instruction of his flock. By him I was baptized in infancy, and weekly catechized in my knowledge of those doctrines, which he explained with simplicity, and illustrated by example. I have often reflected with gratitude that by him I was prepared for the
