inclined to accept, determining however to remain a burden on her kind friend as short a time as possible, and to make herself useful, while under her roof, by all the means in her power. Her wish was to go out to service, for she was active and handy, and felt that, though very young, (being scarcely eleven years of age) she could make up for that disadvantage, by increased diligence, and resolved to apply for the first vacant place she heard of, where a girl was kept to run of errands, and help the other servants, in any respectable family that Mrs. Halford should

approve.

It so happened, that, about this time, a girl, of the above description, was wanted, in a large family a few miles distant. At the earnest request of Jane, Mrs. Halford took her to the lady. Mrs. Grantley was struck with the appearnce and manners of the poor little orphan: not that she was pretty, but she looked sensible and modest: she was neat too, and cleanly in her person; and had a remarkable gentleness and quietness in her voice and manner. To all enquiries receiving a satisfactory answer, and hearing besides of the misfortunes of the poor child, Mrs. Grantley agreed to receive her into her service. Accordingly, a few days afterwards, Jane took leave of her benefactress with many thanks for her past kindness, to enter on the duties of a situation so new to her. She found herself an inmate in a magnificent house, amongst a multitude of servants, all of whom seemed disposed to treat her with kindness. For several months every thing went on smoothly; but the hour of severe trial at length arrived.

It chanced, one morning, as she was executing her daily task, of dusting the drawing room, that she inadvertently threw down the housemaid's broom, which rested against a pier table, whereon was placed an expensive alabaster vase. It was an article of peculiar beauty, and rendered doubly valuable to the owner, as being the gift of a friend whose re

sidence was fixed in a distant land. This beautiful ornament did the handle of the broom demolish; it fell to the ground; and, in a moment, was the floor bespread with the fragments of its delicate materials. Poor Jane was horror-struck as she surveyed them, and, in agony, flew to the housemaid to communicate her distress, and enquire what could be done to remedy so dreadful a disaster. Martha listened, in consternation, to the doleful tidings; and, then, exclaimed, in a rage, "why what a little awkward stupid thing you must be to do such mischief. I wish you had been out of the house before it happened, and why my mistress should ever have taken such an ignorant baby into it I cannot imagine." After venting her anger in these and the like expressions, the thought struck her that her own negligence and disobedience had been the principal cause of the accident, first, in setting Jane to dust a room which she had been specially ordered to take care of entirely herself, and, secondly, in placing her broom so carelessly as to admit of its doing injury, in case of a fall, to her mistress's favourite ornament; these however were private thoughts, and, with the readiness of practised deceit, she quickly changed her tone to that of sorrow and commiseration for Jane's sufferings on the occasion; and resolved, under that veil, to conceal the cause of what had happened, by means of a lie. She saw that the usual artifice of replacing the scattered pieces in such a manner as to escape being found out was impossible; her mistress would soon appear below stairs, and some plan must be immediately devised to screen herself, at least, from blame which, with wellfeigned interest for her young companion, she thus proceeded to communicate. "Don't cry so, my dear, you have, to be sure, been very heedless, and would be turned out of your place, if my mistress should know you have done the mischief, that's certain, but, never fear, you are a good girl in ge

neral, so leave the business to me, and I'll get you out of the scrape. Nobody knows any thing of the matter except ourselves, so there can be no tales told; and, when we are called for, as we shall be, I will say a bird flew in at the window, and perched on the vase, or that the cat threw it down, or that a sudden gust of wind took it; or, in short, any thing that comes into my head that's most likely to deceive my mistress; and you have nothing to do but to answer that you were not here, and don't know any thing about it." The temptation was strong, but Jane's lips had never yet been stained by falsehood. She therefore rejected, with indignation, the base suggestion. "Say I don't know how the accident happened! How can I be so very wicked?"— Wicked, what do you call it wicked to say you don't know; why nobody minds that." "I can't tell what other people mind, but I'm sure my dear father and mother thought that just as wicked a lie as any other, and I'll not say it; no, that I won't." Martha made use of all the arts of persuasion to shake her resolution, but in vain. "Well then, she exclaimed, you must get out of the scrape as you can, there's no serving those that won't serve themselves: when you have been in service as long as I have, you will not be so squeamish; what's the benefit of having a tongue, if it is not to be made use of in one's own defence; lying has served my turn many a time, and for my part I never yet found any harm come of it.""Then you will find harm come of it now," uttered a voice from under the window. The voice was that of Mrs. Grantley, who, attracted by the freshness of a fine spring morning, was taking a turn in her flower garden before breakfast; and, having caught the sound of voices in earnest conversation, approached the window of the room from whence it issued, and had heard nearly the whole of the preceding disThe destruction, with which she by that means became acquainted, of the beautiful specimen

course.

of art by which her apartment was decorated, would, at any other time, have vexed her extremely; but her thoughts were now absorbed by the base propensity she had thus accidentally detected, in a servant, who had, during several years, possessed her entire confidence. She quickly entered the room where both were standing in terror and anxiety, although from very different causes. On Jane, instead of reproaches for an act of inadvertence, of which, had her orders been attended to, she could not have been guilty, she bestowed the highest commendation, for the firmness with which she had resisted the too often alluring influence of bad precept, and bad example. The housemaid she commanded to quit her house immediately, and never to apply to her for a character; for that, in giving one, she should consider it her indispensable duty to mention the circumstance which led to her sudden dismissal. Prevarication and excuse were now alike impossible. She quitted the family the next morning, and never afterwards obtained a place in one of respectability, Jane rose, by degrees, to the rank of upper housemaid; which place she now fills, honoured and beloved by all who know her. It is nearly sixteen years since she entered the house of Mrs. Grantley, where there is every reason to suppose she will continue; so that, in all probability, her name may one day be added to the number of those, whose long and faithful servics are honourably recorded in many of the burying grounds in this kingdom.

Reader, are you a parent? learn from this tale to "train up your child in the way he should go." Are you a child? reflect on the examples here set before you, and constantly bear in mind," He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely, and he that perverteth his way shall be known.'

Yorkshire, May 1823.

A. Z.

ON THE IRREVERENT USE OF THE NAME OF
THE CREATOR.

WHEN we think of the great Being who made us,
who constantly watches over us, and preserves us;
and who has, moreover, bestowed on us the great
blessings of redemption, by which we are to look
forward to a state of eternal happiness hereafter;
we should suppose that the feeling, most natural to
the mind of man, would be a devout regard and ve-
neration for that SACRED NAME. This is what we
should expect.-And we should, moreover, expect -
that the thoughts of this GREAT BEING Could
never be long absent from our minds. A sense of
devotion and reverence, then would seem to us to
be the most natural of all feelings. And yet this is
exactly contrary to the fact; for nothing is, indeed,
so opposite to the natural inclinations of fallen man.
It is the hardest thing in the world to teach a man
to be truly devout. Men will see the excellence of
truth, and generosity, and kindness, and frequently
of exertion to serve their fellow creature, long be-
fore they will be brought to a devout reverence for
the SUPREME BEING. It is very common to hear
persons, whose characters are considered correct
and good, uttering expressions which plainly shew
that a proper sense of religious reverence is not yet
impressed upon their minds. We do not allude to
such expressions as would generally be called di-
rect swearing, but to the use of the name of our
CREATOR in common discourse. A person who has
this bad habit must not yet believe that he has a
proper sense of devotion, and no habit is more
likely to keep away this sense.

It is said of the learned Mr. Boyle that he never pronounced the name of the Supreme Being without such a feeling of reverence, as produced a complete pause and hesitation in his voice."

Nothing, it is said, so highly offended the late