I should not be sorry were it so, she replied, for I really feel my own deficiencies.

Oh! but really, I hope at least, she said laughingwe shall not be catechized;—absolutely, I do not know whether I could repeat one of the Commandments correctly; and as to understanding them, you know, that belongs to people of a certain turn of mind, who see in them so much spirituality, as they call it, that they make the whole a mystery.

May I,—I said,-be permitted to remark upon your observation?

O yes, shrugging her shoulders, certainly.

I do first assure you, my dear madam, I intend not to catechize: but you observed something which implied a difficulty in understanding the Commandments I really think, did you reflect upon them without prejudice against the spiritual meaning, you would find them very intelligible to plain common sense: every one of them is expressed in the simplest language; the reason of the difficulties which appear to some so very great, is to be found in the ignorance of the natural mind of its own state: therefore it is that the prohibitions appear hard or useless, and the positive injunctions either easy or indifferent. For instance, we

will take the fifth commandment, as it is on that subject we are particularly interested at present. "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Here is a simple command that children should show dutiful and respectful deference to their parents. What can be more simple? Its literal sense is easily comprehended; how many hundred times have we all repeated or heard it, and never questioned the plain meaning, but we have for the most part heard it in vain. We esteemed it, perhaps, easy and indifferent, and therefore never put ourselves to the trial of exemplifying how we understood it, by our conduct being framed by its rule. Then there is a promise attached, which is seldom attended to, of long life in the land given by the Lord our God. Why do we not attend to it? We naturally love long life; are naturally desirous to dwell long in our land; but we forget the Author and Preserver of life, and live as though our days were our own; and the land which the Lord giveth, we esteem not as peculiar; or if we do, as only peculiar to the Jews, and then reason that the promise belongs not to the Gentiles. There is a strange propensity in human nature, to retain the command, and cut off the promise;

but if by faith we are engrafted into the true stock of Israel, we partake of their privileges both of law and promise. I mention this, only to show, that the literal and obvious meaning is perfectly comprehensible to our minds, but the objection against it is the constraining authority.

Whatever objections to their authority we may ourselves have felt, said Mr. Conway, I think we should all like our children at least to be sensible of it, and to reap the advantage in their obedience.

Doubtless, for without obedience where is the authority; and without authority and obedience, where is the happiness of a family; or where is the hope of the promise? It should be a very affecting consideration to parents who desire the blessing and happiness of their children, that, if they are running a course of disobedience and disrespect, they not only transgress the commandment, but forfeit the application of the promise.

I confess I have considered the necessity of obedience singly, as right and proper, without attaching any importance to the promise: I see it is an error.

A great one: for enforced authority, merely on human motives, for present expediency, is a selfish act

ing; consulting, perhaps, chiefly our own present comfort, and mere worldly morality.

I should like to have a little explanation of that idea.

I think we ought well to consider all the responsibilities belonging to a parent, to make known to his child all the revelation of God, concerning their nature and the end proposed by their birth into this world; to lead them on to a preparation for an eternal existence in another world; to show them their sinful nature; to point out to them the redeeming blood of Jesus; to declare the power of the Holy Ghost; and thus manifest the love of the Father; to teach them, that though all things here are temporal, yet that they have essential and important duties belonging to them, though they are to be as pilgrims on earth, seeking for a better country.

You are proposing instructions only calculated for mature and reflecting minds, and which would be very difficult to give, in their juvenile days.

I beg pardon, they are just as simple as the commandment; we need not shackle ourselves, and rob our children, by ideas of our own invention, which they cannot understand: adapt your language, if you please,

to the capacity of your child; but, I believe, you will always find the plain scripture words the easiest to be understood. By early teaching them to look to God in Jesus, you perform one great parental duty, which is that of loosing them from this world, and fixing their attention at least on that which is to

come.

But what has this to do with obedience?

Much for you give them the highest object for obedience; so constraining where it is duly impressed, that the commands from you which they would be inclined to resist, are enforced upon their consciences by the scripture admonition of the Lord,-"Children, obey your parents in the Lord;"-and that they are led to bend unto, and implicitly obey as right.

It appears to me, that you put the authority of the parent too much in the background.

I put it second to that of God; and whatever parent will desire to be the supreme authority to his child, will find, to his discomfort, that he will be beneath every rising passion of the child. If a parent makes self supreme, there is at once a rivalry between him and the child, each taking the same god, self; the contention is endless and hopeless; and then, when