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Inbred-Sin followed Humble Mind softly and cautiously, stealing silently along, and, as it were, on tip-toe, yet close upon the boy's steps, and listening curiously to what the shepherd said; but he avoided showing his face, on account of the shepherd's staff, of which he was sore afraid.

By this time they had come close upon the pastureground, and a more inviting or lovely prospect my eyes never beheld. The Way of Salvation passes through these fields. They are called the fields of holy Peace, where, as I before said, infant pilgrims are received in order to be fed with the pure milk of the word, until they have attained strength to continue their pilgrimage. At which time, it is strictly required of them all to take up their cross; to crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts; to wrestle against principalities and powers; and to put on the whole armour of God, that they may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph. vi. 11-13.

The air of these fields is soft and refreshing, and Humble Mind was well pleased to see many young children, clothed in white, scattered over the green lawns: some sporting on the velvet turf; others walking, with books in their hands, under the shade of the waving trees; and others sitting apart on the hill-side, or near the cool fountains, hymning their morning praises: for as yet it was but early day. Here the larger and stronger children watched over the little ones with tender love, while the little ones gave due honour to their elders, all of them preferring one another; and the weak, and the humble, and the lowly among them were had in respect by all their companions. Their garments were pure and spotless, their complexions fresh and ruddy, and their eyes as the eyes of young doves.

As soon as the good shepherd appeared, these little ones came joyfully skipping towards him, like so many young roes and harts upon the mountains; yet their love was sweetly mingled with awe; so that when they came near, they bowed humbly before him and were silent. Their good shepherd then smiled upon them, and gave them his morning blessing.

Moreover, I saw that, when the children were gathered round their shepherd, Humble Mind looked, and behold Playful and Peace stood in the midst of them. Then indeed did the young pilgrim forget all the sorrows he

had endured; and while his heart leaped for joy, he wept aloud, and ran towards his sisters.

Now Playful and Peace, when they first saw Humble Mind holding the hand of the shepherd, knew him not to be their brother, by reason of the number of children that were gathered around him; but on his coming towards them, they recognized him in a moment, and hastened to meet him. At this there was a joyful cry set up among the other children, "This is their brother, their beloved brother! he is come at last, and has found his little sisters"-for Playful and Peace had often spoken of their brother, frequently wishing for his arrival, and often watching for his approach as far as they could see along the King's highway. And behold, there was joy through all the little flock, because that Humble Mind was come: for their shepherd had taught his young disciples to "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and to weep with them that weep." Rom. xii. 15. The shepherd Sincerity also rejoiced with his flock, thanking God for the lamb that had been lost and was found.

I saw then, in my dream, that the shepherd caused all the children to sit down upon the grass, giving to each of them a bowl of sweet milk, with honey and fine wheaten cakes: so the children received their food thankfully, and with hands lifted up to heaven.

Now I especially noted Humble Mind and his sisters, as they sat close together on the green grass. And behold, Inbred-Sin was skulking behind them, evading the notice of the good shepherd, but not less busy or troublesome than if the shepherd had been absent. I heard him whispering in the ear of one and another of them; and though they encouraged him not, but, as 1 observed, kept pushing and shaking him off, yet could they by no means rid themselves of his company. Nothing could be more absurd and false than the words which he whispered in their ears; and yet I perceived that he thereby greatly troubled the peace of their minds. I will repeat a few of his spiteful whisperings, as a specimen of the whole.

And first, he said to Humble Mind, "So, your sisters, who are younger than you, have got the start of you, and have been enjoying sweet peace in these pleasant fields, while you were tossed about, enduring all manner of troubles and disquietudes. Your sisters are, certainly more beloved by the Prince of pilgrims, than you are.

Then shifting his place, he whispered to Playful," Now your brother is come, he will rule over you, and will not let you play in your bower every day, as you used to do." Then, quick as lightning, he was at Peace's ear, saying, "See you not that your brother loves Playful better than you? he kissed her first, and now he has got hold of her hand." Then again I heard him at Humble Mind's side, whispering something about certain of the children of the shepherd who were sitting near him, how much prettier they were than himself, and how they appeared to despise him, because he was but newly come. He had something also to say against the children's breakfast. This was not proper, and that was not good; your sister's bowl of milk is larger than yours, and that boy's cake is whiter than yours: and so he went on. But I was pleased to observe that the children, through God's grace, gave him at that time no encouragement.

Now breakfast being finished, the shepherd led the children into a lovely grove of tall cedar-trees; where, placing them again around him, and taking the smallest and most tender of the infants upon his knees, he delivered to them such instructions as their young minds were capable of receiving. "Look up, my beloved children," said the good shepherd, "through the opening boughs of those trees which meet in lofty arches above your heads; look at the blue sky beyond those white and shining clouds. Beyond that sky there is a celestial country, in which the throne of God is placed. God is One he is an all-powerful Spirit, who had no beginning, and shall have no end; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible. In this one God there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These three holy persons are called the Trinity-There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.' 1 John v. 7. 'Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father.' 1 John ii. 23. And again, 'Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.' 2 John 9.

"The holy angels are glorious spirits, who wait upon God; they sing his praises, and obey his commands. At the appointment of God they watch over young children, and preserve them from harm; as it is written in

the holy gospel-'Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.' Matt. xviii. 10.

"The angels live in heaven, where they enjoy all the inconceivable glories of that holy place. And if such things are written of us in the book of remembrance as are pleasing in the sight of God, we shall, in the morning of the resurrection, be received into heaven, there to dwell for ever with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The devils once were glorious angels; but they rebelled against God, and were cast down to hell. And if your names are at the last day not found in the book of the Lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world, you will be cast into the lake of fire, there to dwell with the devil and his angels. "Therefore, my beloved children," added the good shepherd, "kneel down with me, and call upon your God; beseeching him, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, to have mercy upon you, to deliver you from the influence of your own evil hearts, and to make you his children for ever."

So the shepherd knelt upon the grass, with his children all around him; and they prayed to God that he would bless them for the sake of Him who died for them upon the cross, and that he would send his Holy Spirit to dwell with them and deliver them from the power of their inward corruptions. I saw then that the shepherd took a harp in his hand; and, while he prayed, the children accompanied him with one accord: and the burden of their song was the praises of the Lamb without blemish and without spot.

Now, while the shepherd was delivering his instructions to the children, and while they prayed and sang their hymn, I could not but observe the various tricks and antics of Inbred-Sin, who was in his usual place between Humble Mind and his sisters, but drawn rather behind them, for fear of the shepherd's eye. There he sat quietly till the shepherd began to speak; when immediately he began to whisper in the children's ears, at the same time giving them sundry pushes or sly pulls to draw their attention to himself. "What's yonder?" "See there! look at that bird! There comes a mouse! I hear a cricket! Look at that butterfly! How tall those trees are! I see a bird's nest! Mark

said he ;

how the leaves quiver! I hear a dog bark! How fast that crow flies!"

In this way he ran on, whispering all manner of impertinences in the ears of the children, and disturbing them so much, that they could not hear half of the shepherd's discourse: and when they went to prayers, he began to yawn with all his might, thereby constraining the children to do the same whether they would or not. So that I could not help crying out, "There is no end of the mischievous ways of this Inbred-Sin; he 'is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know him?" Jer. xvii. 9.

But, to leave speaking of this Inbred-Sin for a while, I must say that I never heard any sound more sweet in all my life, than the voices of the little ones singing the praises of their Redeemer.

So, the hymn and the prayer being finished, the shepherd proceeded to give instructions to his little ones of a somewhat different kind, and more particularly suited to their different ages and capacities. He caused the little ones to repeat certain portions of Scripture which he had allotted to them as their several tasks, making the elder children to read certain passages of that holy book in the original languages in which they were first delivered to man. And now I perceived that he had recourse to all the assistance which could be derived from the works of the ancients: but he used them only as books of reference, treating them as literary handmaids preferred to wait upon that sacred volume, of which he never suffered his scholars to lose sight for a moment.

These duties being fulfilled, this faithful shepherd called Playful and Peace to him, bidding them take their brother to the bower which he had given them for a resting-place during their abode with him; “And there, my children," said he, as he smiled kindly upon them, "you may tell each other what things have happened to you since the day of your separation. And you, the rest of my children," added he, turning to the others, "go and feed the young birds that were lately hatched: remember also to take some new milk to the white fawn whose mother is dead; and forget not to carry food to the fair hind which yesterday broke her leg." Some other little commands to the same purport he gave them: then waving his hand, his little flock

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