charity with all men.' On the same occasion, Mr. Groves observed, that St. Paul directs us to prepare ourselves by self-examination: 'Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.'1 Mr. Groves also remarked, that those who communicate often require less preparation."

Richard. "So he told me. Also, that the best way of ascertaining whether we truly repent, is to consider carefully whether we are willing to give up the sins of which we profess to repent, and the habits which have led to those sins; whether we are not only willing, but actually do so. For a man who leads an irreligious life, to say he repents, and yet to continue the same, is mockery, and no repentance. Could it be supposed that a thief was really sorry he had stolen his neighbour's property, while he refused to make restitution? Or that a drunkard deplored his intemperance, if he did not desist from it? same with any other sin, such as those arising from faults of temper, or any other cause, which, he said, need daily repentance, for we daily fall into them."

The

Susan. "Then we must make firm resolutions to do better in future."

Mary. "But those resolutions must be accompanied with earnest prayer to God to confirm and strengthen them; for you know, dear Susan, we are by nature very weak, and Satan is always ready to lead us astray." Mrs. Thorpe.

"Otherwise it would be no true

1 1 Cor. xi. 28.

repentance. Whenever we are really sorry for anything we have done, we always feel anxious it should not again occur, and we would do everything in our power to prevent it, having faith in God's mercy, through Christ, both that our sins will be forgiven, and that strength will be granted to help us to keep our good intentions."

Jane.

"Mr. Groves said we must always remember that our faith must be a lively faith, for 'faith without works is dead.'1 We must believe in our hearts that we shall receive spiritual benefits from the feast, and do all in our power to let them take effect in us. Then we cannot doubt that our Lord Jesus Christ will be in spirit present with us, as much as He was visibly present at the institution of the Eucharist.'

Bessy. "Mr. Groves also told us we must not come in a self-righteous spirit to the Lord's Table. We must come in deep humility, with our hearts full of gratitude to God for all His blessings, and particularly for the greatest of all, that which we are now about to commemorate the sacrifice of His only Son. On Him we must place our whole dependence. He will supply all our deficiencies. Our own merits are nothing compared with His perfections. When we have done all we can, we are still but unprofitable servants. But the way for us to show our gratitude to our Saviour is by love to mankind; to be, as the Catechism says, in charity with all men.” Farmer Thorpe. "It is said in the Prayer-book,

1 Jas. ii. 20.

that when there is malice and hatred between two parties, they must not come to the Lord's Table till they be reconciled. And if one is willing to forgive and be reconciled, while the other refuses, he who forgives may come with a clear conscience, but not the other."

Richard. "Mr. Groves told me we must forgive every offence committed against ourselves, even as we hope to be forgiven. He said we ought always to bear in mind those words of our Lord's, ‘If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.'" 1

Jane. “Yesterday he said to us that we ought to have the same brotherly love and kindness for each other that our Saviour taught both by word and example, and that the Apostles always inculcated. He told us that to find the true meaning of Christian charity or love, we should read those verses which describe it in St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, and examine our own hearts to see in what points we fail. You will,' he said, 'find how little of this spirit you have continually influencing you; but let it be your earnest prayer that God will strengthen you with His grace to acquire more of it, and make it your sincere endeavour to do all you can to gain this truly Christian, charitable, frame of mind."

6

Mrs. Thorpe. "The Bible is near you, Mary. you read aloud those verses?"

Will

1 Matt. vi. 15.

"Charity suffereth

Mary read as she was desired. long, and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly; seeketh not her own; is not easily provoked; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity; but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'

Here the conversation ceased for that evening, as it was time for Richard and Susan to return home.

1 1 Cor. xiii. 4—7.

CHAPTER XVII.

"Bread of the world, in mercy broken!
Wine of the soul, in mercy shed!
By whom the words of life were spoken,
And in whose death our sins are dead;
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,

Look on the tears by sinners shed,

And be Thy feast to us the token

That by Thy grace our souls are fed !"

HEBER.

"WHAT a serious and solemn thing it is to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper for the first time," said Bessy, on Sunday evening, after they had all partaken of the Holy Communion. "But I did not feel as much frightened as I expected. And as for Jane, she looked quite calm and composed."

Jane. "I felt rather frightened, just as those who did not stay were leaving the church. It seemed quite awful, when the last of them was gone out. It was so very still afterwards, I looked round the