ANNA, THE ELDER SISTER. (Continued from page 216.) CHAPTER VI. Letter to Sarah, May 7th 1827. The education of her sister Lucy entrusted to Anna.-Plan of study drawn up by Anna for Lucy.-Letter to Lucy, May 20, 1827.—Letter to Sarah, June 10, 1827. The following is a letter to her sister Sarah : "7th May, 1827.-My dear sister Sarah, I think you must enjoy yourself highly among so many kind and indulgent friends. We are all so constituted that we must place our affections on some object, and I believe that those from whom God has taken earthly parents, the objects of the tenderest and strongest affections, will naturally love more ardently, more intensely, those friends that remain. May all our friendships be sanctified by a supreme attachment to our Father who is in heaven, and then they will be the means of spiritual good to us, for they will naturally lead up our minds to the great source of all temporal blessings. Man is a social being, and he cannot long remain in any place without forming many strong attachments. We soon become attached even to inanimate things around us, things which we are in the daily habit of seeing, and which seem connected with pleasing recollections and endearing associations. However, I assure you, American friends will not allow that there can be any thing in English scenes charming enough to efface the recollections of your residence in America, and say, as one of them elegantly expressed himself not long since, that it must be a passing whim of your taste to prefer the staid matronly graces of such an ancient creature as Old England, to the blooming, hopeful charms of New England.' "I know, dear sister, it is very common for those who have been brought up among the means of grace, and who have often heard the truths of the gospel brought home and applied to them particularly, to feel as if they had used all the means in their power to become Christians, and that now they must wait God's time for a blessing. My dear Sarah, if you have ever felt so, let me ask you seriously to answer to yourself one question: do not put it off to another time, but answer it now, and act accordingly-Suppose you knew that you were to die N before to-morrow morning, would you have nothing more to do? Could you sit down in security and say, I have done all I could to become a Christian; I can do nothing more? If you could thus speak, and yet feel you were not a Christian, then, but not till then, you might say that the promises of God were not fulfilled? He has said, 'those who seek me early shall find me.' "P.S. I know that you will be glad to have any faults pointed out, that you may amend them. Would not your letters sound much better, would not much time be saved, much paper too, and would you not have as much real affection for your friends, if you left out two-thirds of the 'dears' in your letters. There are sometimes four or five in one sentence !" The education of her sister Lucy was entrusted to Anna, and although so young, she discharged her trust with wonderful judgment, and succeeded in imbuing her pupil with the same anxiety for personal improvement which existed so powerfully in her own mind. Here is one means which she used to impel her to persevering exertion in the prosecution of her studies. A plan of study was drawn out, in which Lucy resolved to perform a certain amount of work by a fixed time, and when that period arrived, her attainments being compared with her attempts, she was thus encouraged to persevere. The following paper was written by Anna for her sister. Lucy B., feeling the importance of more strenuous exertions to personal improvement and self-cultivation, has determined, if God bless her with health and strength, to endeavour to accomplish a certain number of things before her birthday, April 5, 1827; and for this object she wishes to arrange her daily studies in such manner as will best secure this object. She will be obliged to deny herself many little gratifications for the sake of saving time, but she hopes and believes she is ready to do so from a view of the immense value of time to her, particularly at present. I. "Finish Anacharsis, by reading twenty-five pages a day. III. "Do one page of arithmetic every day, Saturdays excepted. IV. "Be able to read music with facility, and play six tunes. V. "Finish grandpapa's shirt by New Year's day. VI. "Write French twice a week; composition once a fortnight. VII. "Go through Greenleaf's Grammar, and be able to parse correctly. VIII. “Go through the maps. IX. "Finish reviewing Whelpley's Compend. X. "Endeavour to obtain the habit of sitting uprightly. XI, "Endeavour to improve her hand-writing. "In short, endeavour to do everything proper in a proper way, in such a manner that she shall look back on it with pleasure, gain the approbation of her sister and friends, act as her dear mother would have wished her to do, and especially as God will approve, and at last rewarded by the encouraging command, Come, ye blessed, and enjoy the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' Drawn up by your affectionate sister, ANNA." The weak state of Lucy's health rendered a change of air advisable, and she was accordingly sent for a time to a boarding school at Pittsfield. But while absent, Anna's care over her was as great as ever, as the following letters testify. "Dorchester [America], 20th May, 1827.-My very dear sister Lucy, I received your's of the 15th yesterday, and am going to devote a part of Sabbath evening to answering it. We have had two excellent sermons to-day,-"The subject, the nature, and necessity of repentance.' Your last letter, my dear Lucy, gave me pleasure. To find you thinking seriously on the subject of religion, and of the obligations resting upon you to be conformed to its holy precepts: I pray God, my dear child, that they may ever be the guiding principles of your life, and that you may early be led to choose religion as your portion. God has promised that those who seek him early shall find him. You have, my dear sister, often been visited by the strivings of the Holy Spirit of God, but your impressions have soon worn off, and however deep they may have been, they have not been lasting. This should make you doubly careful now not to deceive yourself, and lead you to examine closely your own feelings, and motives, and conduct. For though you are old enough to choose the service of God for your service, and his precepts for the rule of your life, yet you are not old enough to have that experience of the deceitfulness of your heart, which the longer you live, the more you will have cause to lament. You should, my dear, on this account be very careful of speaking of your own feelings; you are not old enough to be able to speak to others with profit, and you can best glorify God by a holy life, by performing every duty with diligence, and by keeping religion as the first object of regard. "Above all, my dear Lucy, you must be extremely careful not to put too much confidence in your own feelings and hopes; you should distrust yourself entirely, for the longer you live, the more will you see your weakness. There is peculiar danger, too, of your deceiving yourself, from the fact that you are in the midst of excitement. You see many all around you deeply interested in seeking an interest in the blood of Christ, and your heart would be hard indeed, if it were not moved. But, my dear Lucy, you may feel very differently when removed from such a state, and that religion is nothing worth, which will not grow and flourish even in the midst of opposition. I am thus anxious to caution you, because I know by experience that there is no device which the great enemy of souls more effectually uses during a time of religious excitement, than that of persuading us we are safe, when we are not; and I have seen, too, so much evil arising from young people feeling as if they were qualified to talk to others, hoping, doubtless, by mentioning their own experience, to do good. "We may, doubtless, do a great deal of good; the youngest person may-but it is always rather by living the Christian, by exemplifying in every action our love to God and to his holy law. Oh! my dear Lucy, spend much time alone in secret prayer, meditation, self-examination, and especially in reading the Word of God. This is the best test you can have whether, you really love God supremely, and esteem his services your highest joy. You must not depend on your own feelings when speaking to your companions, those who are seriously disposed, but if you can say and feel that it is your highest pleasure to retire alone, and read God's Holy Word, and examine your own heart and life by it, then you may hope that you are indeed seeking God, and in that way in which he will be found. But, you have, my dear, a great deal to do; you must be watchful of every feeling, and remember that God requires the whole heart to be devoted to his service. "You say that your feelings are changed, and you think of things very differently from what you did; this, I have no doubt of, for the moment we have a proper view of God's character and of our own, we act from different motives, we judge of things by a different standard, and of course things appear differently to us. "I have not time now to write much more, but before I close, I would add, remember that humility is one of the first of Christian graces, and that which best becomes such sinners as we are. One of the ancients being asked which were the three greatest virtues said, that the first was humility, the second humility, and the third humility. So should we feel. "I suppose I need say nothing with regard to your studying hard: you feel, doubtless, the importance and necessity of that. Your affectionate sister, The following is a letter to her sister Sarah : ANNA." "10th June, 1827.-I am grieved, my dear sister, though not astonished, to find that dear cousin J. is, to all human appearances so near his end. I ought not to say grieved, for surely it might be a matter of thankfulness that he is so soon to be released from distressing pain, and admitted a blest and glorified spirit to the company of angels, and the 'spirits of just men made perfect.' Oh, I could almost envy him, for, perhaps, before this reaches you, he may be joining with our beloved father and mother and sister in singing, 'Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and blessing.' 66 "O dear Sarah, can you undoubtedly look forward to that time, when flesh and heart shall fail, satisfied that then you will have a supporter more powerful than death? Do not, dear Sarah, be satisfied with wishing and hoping it may be so, but remember that, when you take the place which our cousin has been so long occupying (and it may be your turn next) a life |