To Miss F. W. of Bradford Academy. Bradford Academy, Sept. 1807. As we are candidates for eternity, how careful ought we to be that religion be our principal concern. Perhaps this night our souls may be required of us-we may end our existence here, and enter the eternal world. Are we prepared to meet our Judge? Do we depend upon Christ's righteousness for acceptance? Are we convinced of our own sinfulness, and inability to help ourselves? Is Christ's love esteemed more by us, than the friendship of this world? Do we feel willing to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus? These questions, my dear Miss W. are important; and if we can answer them in the affirmative, we are prepared for God to require our souls of us when he pleases. May the Spirit guide you, and an interest in the Saviour be given you! Adieu. HARRIET. Wednesday afternoon, 3 o'clock. ·་་་་་་་་་་་ To the Same. Bradford Academy, Sept. 11, 1807. As heirs of immortality, one would naturally imagine we should strive to enter in at the strait gate, and use all our endeavours to be heirs of future happiness. But, alas! how infinitely short do we fall of the duty we owe to God, and to our own souls! O my friend! could you look into my heart, what could you there find but a sinful stupidity, and rebellion against God. But yet I dare to hope! O how surprising, how astonishing is the redemp tion which Christ has procured, whereby sinners may be reconciled to him, and through his merits. may his death animate us to a dare to hope! holy obedience. H. A. To the Same. Bradford Academy, Sept. 1807. How solemn, my dear Miss W. is the idea, that we must soon part! Solemn as it is, yet what is it, when compared with parting at the bar of God, and being separated through all eternity! Religion is worth our attention, and every moment of our lives ought to be devoted to its concerns. Time is short, but eternity is long; and when we have once plunged into that fathomless abyss, our situation will never be altered. If we have served God here, and prepared for death, glorious will be our reward hereafter. But if we have not, and have hardened our hearts against the Lord, our day of grace will be past, and our souls irrecoverably lost. Oh then, let us press forward, and seek and serve the Lord here, that we may enjoy him hereafter. Favour me with frequent visits while we are together, and when we part, let epistolary visits be constant. Adieu. Your's, &c. HARRIET. A VERY frequent and affectionate correspondence was continued between Harriet Atwood and the same friend, after that young lady left the academy and returned to Beverly, her place of residence. To the Same. Haverhill, Oct. 12. 1807. ONCE more, my dear Miss W. I take my pen and attempt writing a few lines to you. Shall religion be my theme? What other subject can I choose, that will be of any importance to our immortal souls? How little do we realize that we are probationers for eternity? We have entered upon an existence that will never end; and in the future world shall either enjoy happiness unspeakably great, or suffer misery in the extreme, to all eternity. We have every inducement to awake from the sleep of death, and to engage in the cause of Christ. In this time of awful declension, God calls loudly upon us to enlist under his banners, and promote his glory in a sinful, stupid world. If we are brought from a state of darkness into God's marvellous light, and are turned from Satan to the Redeemer, how thankful ought we to be. Thousands of our age are at this present period going on in thoughtless security; and why are we not left? It is of God's infinite mercy and free unbounded grace. Can we not with our whole hearts bow before the King of kings, and say, "Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be all the glory?” Oh, my dear Miss W. why are our affections placed one moment upon this world, when the great things of religion are of such vast importance! Oh that God would rend his heavens and come down, and awaken our stupid, drowsy senses. What great reason have I to complain of my awfully stubborn will, and mourn my unworthy treatment of the Son of God? Thou alone, dear Jesus, can soften the heart of stone, and bow the will to thy holy sceptre. Display thy power in our hearts, and make us fit subjects for thy kingdom above. How happy did I feel when I read your affectionate epistle; and that happiness was doubly increased, when you observed that you should, on the Sabbath succeeding, be engaged in the solemn transaction of giving yourself to God publicly in an everlasting covenant. My sincere desire and earnest prayer at the throne of grace shall ever be, that you may adorn the profession which you have made, and become an advocate for the religion of Jesus. Let us obey the solemn admonitions we daily receive, and prepare to meet our God. May the glorious and blessed Redeemer, who can reconcile rebellious mortals to himself, make us both holy, that we may be happy. Write soon and often. I am your's affectionately, HARRIET ATWOOD. ་་་་་་ To the Same. Haverhill, Dec. 2. 1807. MOST sincerely do I thank you, my dear Miss W. for your kind and affectionate epistle, which you last favoured me with. Are religion and the concerns of futurity still the object of your attention? New scenes daily open to us, and there is the greatest reason to fear that some of us will fall short at last of an interest in Jesus Christ. A few more rising and setting suns, and we shall be called to give an account to our final Judge, of the manner in which we have improved our probationary state; then, then, the religion which we profess,—will it stand the test? Oh, let us with the greatest cares examine ourselves, and see if our religion will cover us from the storms of divine wrath; whether our chief desire is to glorify God, to honour his cause, and to become entirely devoted to him. What a word is ETERNITY ! Let us reflect upon it: although we cannot penetrate into its unsearchable depths; yet, perhaps, it may have an impressive weight upon our minds, and lead us to a constant preparation for that hour, when we shall enter the confines of that state, and be either happy or miserable through an endless duration. Last evening I attended a conference at Mr. H.'s. Mr. B. addressed us from these words, I pray thee have me excused.' His design was to shew what excuses the unconverted person will make for not attending to the calls of religion. It was the most solemn conference I ever heard. Oh my friend, of what infinite importance is it, that we be faithful in the cause of our Master, and use all our endeavours to glorify him, the short space of time we have to live on earth. Oh! may we so live, that when we are called to enter the eternal world, we may with satisfaction give up our accounts, and go where we can behold the King in his glory. We have every thing to engage us in the concerns of our immortal souls. If we will but accept of Christ Jesus as he is freely offered to us in the gospel, committing ourselves unreservedly into his hands, all will be ours-life and death, things present and things to come. We should desire to be holy as God is holy. And in some degree we must be holy, |