ligion, and when nothing is seen but the semblance of piety!

You know him, Melissa, who, while in an unconverted state, was passionately fond of a woman whose beauty and accomplishments were remarkably conspicuous. To the gratification of this passion, nothing was wanting but the concurrence of one, to whose will he owed the most implicit regard. This concurrence, however, could never be obtained. He pined after the darling of his heart in silence and solitude, till death removed the bar to his happiness, and left him at liberty to pursue, without hinderance, the object of his wishes. But this mournful event opened new scenes for contemplation. The demise of his friend was instrumental to the life of his soul. Other objects engrossed his attention and his heart: and though he never lost sight of the worth, nor of the personal charms of her that first enagaged his affections; yet, never did he feel equal thankfulness on any temporal occasion, as in being prevented, by this affecting occurrence, from giving his hand to

one, for whom the riches of both the Indies would have been once cheerfully relinquished. He now found his views of God, of himself, and of her, with regard to religion, totally changed; nor could the whole world have induced him to think, as formerly, that happiness and Stella were inseparably united: and I have no doubt but that if you experience a lively sense of the same divine goodness, you will cheerfully say concerning the righteous- Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.'

I am,
Yours, &c.

LETTER IV.

Order is heaven's first law; and this confest,
Some are, and must be, greater than the rest;
More rich, more wise: but who infers from hence,
That such are happier, shocks all common sense.

POPE.

YOU

ask, Philetus, whether a person in your circumstances ought not, in choosing a wife, to make money a necessary article, since without it little respect or happiness can be expected in the present life? Fully to answer this very interesting question would require more room than is generally allowed for epistolary conveyance: I will, however, transmit you my thoughts on the subject with all the freedom and conciseness that I can.

'Whoever, says an elegant writer, finds himself incited, by some violent impulse of passion, to pursue riches as the chief end of being, should stop and consider whether he is about

to engage in an undertaking that will reward his toil. When therefore the desire of wealth is taking hold of the heart, let us look round and see how it operates upon those whose industry, or fortune, has obtained it. When we find them oppressed with their own abundance, luxurious without pleasure, idle without ease, impatient and querulous in themselves, and despised or hated by the rest of mankind, we shall soon be convinced that if the real wants of our condition are satisfied, there remains little to be sought with solicitude, or desired with eagerness. He must, therefore, expect to be wretched, who pays to beauty, riches, or politeness, that regard which only virtue and piety can claim.'

The distribution of terrestrial good is wisely regulated by the providence of God. Some individuals are enriched with abundance; some have all the comforts, but none of the superfluities of life; some have merely the things needful to subsistence, while others, equally deserving, have scarcely where to lay their heads. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh

rich he bringeth low, and lifteth up-and who may say unto him, What doest thou? The man, therefore, who rejects a woman merely because she is not enriched with abundance, rejects, besides the woman, the providence of God.

Were every man to expect a large dowry with his wife, what must become of by far the greater, and perhaps the most amiable part of the fairer sex? They must be constrained to exist without answering the end for which they were created; and man, influenced by a principle unnatural and unjust, would live deprived of that society and intercourse which soften the rudeness of his manners, and which were graciously intended as the balm of life.

But that I may be serviceable to you in this particular, I shall wave a minute investigation of the subject for the present, and direct your attention to the word and the providence of God.

Every serious and considerate man must trace