heaviness of heart; but, having been favoured with a comfortable view of the King's face, and with an open declaration of his being his dear son, and a pleasant child, to be left in a nest of hornets, and without even daring, as he thought, to lay any claim upon the King, or even so much as to call him Father, seems to go very hard with him. The poor little fellow was so cut up, that there was scarcely a prince, princess, or servant, in the palace royal, but what was in travail for him. Shepherd. And, pray, where is the poor soul

now?

Steward. He is out again, and is gone abroad among the rest of the young princes.

Shepherd. Pray, how was he brought out? Was it by the proclamation of one of the King's speeches, in an answer to any of his own petitions? Or, was it by the intercession of any of the Seed royal?

Steward. I believe all these means were used and attended to; and, no doubt, the King approved of the use of these, as they are the means of his own appointment, But he was brought out of the hornets' nest by a dream. He one night dreamt that he saw a man in a shining garment, the most brilliant he had ever seen; and he saw the form of a hand let down, that took that shining man, and carried him up to the ethereal regions, which opened as he passed, and left a visible cavity behind. The eyes of Little Faith pursued the man, and the hand that held him; and

he soon perceived the starry heavens divide, through which he passed also. After this a most radiant canopy appeared, which unfolding itself both eastward and westward, he went through that; and, in short, into the third heaven: but, whether the man was in the body, or out of the body, he could not tell, 2 Cor. xii. 3. But, while he stood gazing up into heaven with a longing eye, he saw the same man let down again, just by a large cavern in the earth, very much like the mouth of the sand bank to which Little Faith used to resort, and from which he was lately driven by the hornets.

Shepherd. This is a singular dream, and must inspire the soul of Little Faith with the most intense holy longings; I mean, after the shining man, to see what became of him; especially as he had once been on the mount himself, and seen something of these realities. Excuse my breaking in upon your relation, Mr. Steward. Pray,

go on.

Steward. Little Faith, in his dream, saw the shining man let down again, and placed at the mouth of a great cavern in the earth, as before related; and, no sooner was he seated there, in silent solitude, according to Little Faith's view of him, but he presently saw the jaws of the earth open; a cloud of smoke belched out, and several despicably deformed, but intelligent beings, with wings, appeared all in wonderful motion, 1 Sam. xxviii. 13. But one of this mysterious company

appeared taller in stature, bigger in size, superior in rank, more terrible in aspect, more stately in gait, more forbidding in his looks, and more forward to command, than all the rest. To him the others all seemed to look, before him they all kept their distance, and to obey his commands each stood ready. When, lo! this commander in chief stretched forth his hand, and took a rod: it seemed to be a branch of the tree called the cockspur thorn; out of the side of which rod grew a remarkably long thorn. He went to the shining man, struck him violently on the breast, and left the thorn in the man, which, to appearance, went through his clothes, skin, and flesh, 2 Cor. xii. 7, at the reception of which the man swooned, and dropped. After this, the chief commander called one by the name of Messenger; gave him a strap, somewhat resembling a military belt made of buff; and sent him to the shining man, who fell to smiting him, first on the one side of his head, and then on the other, 2 Cor. xii. 7, as if determined to deprive him of his senses. The poor man then put up the three following petitions; Deliver me from the hand of him that is stronger than I.'Let the prey be taken from the mighty.' 'Let the lawful captive be delivered.' Little Faith was wholly intent upon the vision; and, as soon as the man had put up his three petitions, he heard a voice from the third heaven, saying, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

At which the man leaped up, and cried out; Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in mine infirmities, that the power of the King may rest upon me, 2 Cor. xii. 9. Upon this Little Faith awoke, and felt for the hornets, but there was not one to be found.

Shepherd. Wonderful is the condescension of his Majesty, in teaching his poor children, even in their sleep: "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." "Who teacheth like him?" The King" speaketh once, yea, twice," saith Elihu, "yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumbering upon the bed; then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may draw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man." And, surely, Little Faith had a glorious night of it, blessed with beloved sleep, and wonderful instruction was sealed in him.

Steward. Wonderfully applicable to his case, and that Little Faith knows right well; for he came into the Steward's room, in the morning, with such an heavenly countenance, that it did my heart good to see him. The hornets are all gone, Mr. Steward,' said he: they are fled, like the locusts, into the Red Sea, and there is not one left; and, I hope, they will never come back again.' Then he told me his dream.

Shepherd. Little Faith will find himself de

ceived. The hornets will beset him again: it is the light of the King's countenance, and his presence, that puts them to flight; and, while he is enjoyed, the hornets will be hid; but, when the King departs, they will return, though, perhaps, not in so violent a manner.

Steward. I leave Little Faith to find that out. To talk at that rate before him, while in his first love, would break his heart. Besides, while his joys are strong, he would not believe you, if you were to tell him so. These young ones expect to spend all their days in open vision, and to enjoy the burning of divine love in their hearts all the way to paradise; that their mountain shall never be moved, nor their comforts ever abate; so they speak, and so they believe. And, for my own part, I don't love to contradict them; for I believe that all the King's children would enjoy much more of his Majesty's presence than they do, were they more constant in their court-visits, more dependent on the King's clemency, better read in ancient records, and more frequent and fervent at the ivory throne.

Shepherd. It is true: sheep are never safe but under the Chief Shepherd's care; nor can the Seed royal be safe but under the protection of his Majesty.

Steward. The above is the counsel that I gave Little Faith. I advised him to study his Father's records, to be constantly at the chapel-royal, to attend closely on his Majesty's person, to prize his