This evidence was Bates, whose arrival Stukely eagerly expected; and who came, instructed by him, to fix the guilt of Lewson's murder upon Beverley. With malignant exultation he awaited the circumstantial evidence of Bates, when the door burst open, and, to the astonishment of all present, Lewson stood before them!! alive! and without any wound.

Bates and Dawson, though they had been the willing agents of Stukely's villany, as far as robbery was concerned, yet had shuddered at the idea of murder; and, shocked at the extent of Stukely's malice, resolved to presesve the life of Lewson. They imparted the meditated murder to him, with various other instances of Stukely's treachery; and for the more complete detection of this remorseless fiend, Lewson consented to secrete himself for a few hours. Fatal delay! his kindness came too late to save the poor unfortunate Beverley!

Stukely was immediately taken into custody, and removed from the presence of his devoted victim. When Lewson approached to offer his congratulations to Beverley, he was shocked to behold him. His eyes were glazed; his looks were wild; his senses unsettled; and his whole frame convulsed. It was long ere he spoke in reply to Lewson's kind and repeated inquiries, of how he found himself At length in a tremulous voice he answered

Why, well-who's he that asks me ?"

""Tis Lewson, love (said Mrs. Beverley). Why do you look so at him ?”

66

They told me he was murdered," replied Beverley.

Strong convulsions now seized him-fever raged through his veins--he was torn with agony-and scarcely could obtain a moment's pause from pain, to disclose the fatal secret, that "pressed with shame--pent in a prison-tormented with the

thoughts of his afflicted family-driven to despair and madness-in a fatal moment-he had swallowed poison!"

Oh! who shall paint the agony of Mrs. Beverley at this dreadful discovery! She gazed in speechless horror on the distorted features of her dying husband, as he bent his trembling knees to earth,

and feebly implored the blessings of Heaven upon them! She grasped his hand in wild agony !-No sigh heaved in her bosom. The mute image of despair, she stood transfixed; her eyes, distended, seemed bursting from their orbits; yet no tear escaped. His dying looks were bent on her, till the glazed film of death, shut out perception-and when the last sad sigh had issued from his quivering lips, and the poor lifeless hand relaxed its hold-when every hope was fled-she started, gave a piercing shriek-a long, an agonizing shriek, and fell senseless on the bosom of her departed husband!!!

Oh! God of heaven, from thy throne look down,
In mercy look on this afflicted one;

Give her that peace, which thou alone canst give;
That peace of mind, which rests its hope on heav'n,
When hope on earth has fled the breast for ever.

They stood as 'twere upon a precipice,
Chased by a demon to its very brink,
The gulf perceptible before their view,
Arother step, and they must fall-Aye, must!
And perish in the fall-or if not perish,

Still it were worse to live a mangled life,

The scorn of that proud fiend, who spurned them down,
And demon-like exulted in their ruin.

But that Omnipotence which guides the waves,
Which stills the tempest in its utmost rage,
And whom he will brings safely to the shore,
Gave not permission to the sinful deed!

HYPOCRISY in any shape is baneful to happiness and virtue: but religious hypocrisy is the very worst species; the most injurious in its effects, the most deliberate in its operations, and the most dreadful in its influence; since it teaches the weak minded, when imposed upon by depravity sacrilegiously clothed in the garb of sanctity, to despise religion itself. Among the number of those who chose this system of deception to promote their worldly welfare, was Dr. Cantwell, a man of low origin, uneducated, and uninformed; who, in assuming an outward show of devotion, had by means of art risen from

the most extreme poverty, to affluence and comfort. He was a popular preacher; and though his doctrines were such as to inspire terror, and drive the blessing of hope from the human breast, declaring that the hourly sins of man were of such magnitude that there was scarcely one in a thousand who would be saved, yet was he followed by the multitude, and had much more crowded congregations than a fellow minister, who, mild and gentle, preached the mercies of redeeming grace, and pointed out a hope that all would be saved. But Dr. Cantwell's horrors were the most attractive; and his fame spread with rapidity. The agent of innumerable charities, he visited prisons, alms houses, and fever hospitals; and obtained large sums of money in donations, for the disposal of which he was never called to account : but it was supposed, so boundless was his benevolence believed to be, that he drew from his own limited stores; and expended much more than he received.

He had been for some time past a resident in the house of Sir John Lambert, introduced there by the baronet's mother, an old lady on the verge of seventy; who, having spent a youth in the accustomed frivolous gaieties of persons who live in the world, and with the world, began, as age advanced, to feel her relish for pleasure decline, and made a merit of withdrawing herself from the vanities. of society, when she was no longer capable of enjoying them. Her virtues were of the negative kind: if she gave a penny to a beggar, sent a dinner to a poor invalid, and gave her mite to a public subscription, she thought the full extent of her moral and religious duties were performed. When therefore she had left the bustle of society for retirement, as her own reflections did not afford her any very extensive gratification, she sought consolation in the exercises of devotion. But the church of England was too

lukewarm to please her newly-awakened zeal; and she became a candidate for Methodism. Doctor Cantwell's fame reached her ears; she attended his preaching, and listened to his discourses, till she believed herself doomed to eternal perdition, and that he alone could save her! She sent for him: he obeyed the summons-sighed !—greaned !—wept ! and prayed with her!-drove her to the utmost verge of despair, and then, as adroitly, drew her back, to hope through the means of charities! abstinences! and penances, unsuited to her health and years! One of the absurd tasks put upon her was, to walk barefooted ten times up and down the garden, on a cold bleak night, when the ground was covered with Her constitution not being quite so warm as her religious enthusiasm, she caught a violent cold, and was confined to her bed for several weeks, and when she was scarce able to articulate a word above a whisper, the Doctor told her it was the devil struggling within her, and when once dispossessed, she would recover. By slow degrees she did recover, and imagined herself a better woman for her late sufferings; which Mr. Mawworm, an ignorant follower and agent of Cantwell's, remarked-" had been a sort of a scouring to her poor soul, just for all the world as his wife Suzy scoured and scrubbed the pewter saltcellar and pepper box, when good Dr. Cantwell was going to dine with them."

snow.

After this mental scouring of her soul, she made a total revolution in her manners, and mode of life; and soon acquired such command over her feelings, and reduced her mind to such a perfectly frigid state of philosophy, that she informed her granddaughter, Charlotte Lambert, as a matter of great exultation, how far the pious Doctor had weaned her from all temporal connections,-" My heart is now set upon nothing sublunary; and I thank Heaven, Miss, I am so insensible to every thing in this vain world,