impure guests, which poffibly, in fo general a riot of the mind and fenfes, may take occasion to enter unfufpected at the fame time. In a fcene and difpofition thus defcribedcan the most cautious fay-Thus far fhall my defires go and no farther? or will the coolest and most circumfpect fay, when pleafure has taken full poffeffion of his heart, that no thought nor purpofe fhall arife there, which he would have concealed?-In thofe loofe and unguarded moments the imagination is not always at command-in fpite of reason and reflection, it will forceably carry him fometimes whither he would not-like the unclean fpirit, in the parent's fad defcription of his child's cafe, which took him, and oft-times caft him into the fire to destroy him; and wherefoever it taketh him, it teareth him, and hardly departeth from him. But this, you'll fay, is the worft account of what the mind may fuffer here. Why may we not make more favourable fuppofitions?—that numbers, by exercise and cuftom to fuch encounters, learn gradually to defpife defpife and triumph over them;-that the minds of many are not fo fufceptible of warm impreffions, or fo badly fortified against them, that pleasure should eafily corrupt or foften them; that it would be hard to fuppofe, of the great multitudes which daily throng and press into this house of Feafting, but that numbers come out of it again, with all the innocence with which they entered;-and that if both fexes are included in the computation, what fair examples fhall we fee of many of fo pure and chafte a turn of mind-that the house of feafting, with all its charms and temptations, was never able to excite a thought, or awaken an inclination, which virtue need to blush at-or which the moft fcrupulous conscience might not fupport. God forbid we fhould fay otherwife:-no doubt, numbers of all ages escape unhurt, and get off this dangerous fea without fhipwreck. Yet, are they not to be reckoned amongst the more fortunate adventurers?-and though one would not abfolutely prohibit the attempt, or be so cynical as to condemn every one who tries it, fince there are fo many, I fuppofe, who cannot well do otherwife, and whofe condition and fitua tion in life unavoidably force them upon it yet yet we may be allowed to describe this fair and flattering coaft-we may point out the unfuspected dangers of it, and warn the unwary passenger, where they lye. We may shew him what hazards his youth and inexperience will run, how little he can gain by the venture, and how much wifer and better it would be [as is implied in the text] to feek occafions rather to improve his little stock of virtue than incautiously expofe it to fo unequal a chance, where the best he can hope is to return safe with what treasure he carried out-but where, probably, he may be fo unfortunate as to lose it all-be loft himself, and undone for ever. Thus much for the house of Feafting; which, by the way, though generally open at other times of the year throughout the world, is fupposed, in Christian countries, now every where to be universally shut up. And, in truth, I have been more full in my cautions against it, not only as reafon requires,—but in reverence to this feason*, wherein our church exacts a more particular forbearance and felf-denial in this point, and thereby adds to the restraints upon * Preached in Lent. upon pleasure and entertainments which this representation of things has fuggefted against them already. Here then, let us turn afide from this gay. scene; and fuffer me to take you with me for a moment to one much fitter for your meditation. Let us go into the house of Mourning, made fo by fuch afflictions as have been brought in, merely by the common cross accidents and difafters to which our condition is expofed,where, perhaps, the aged parents fit broken-. hearted, pierced to their fouls with the folly and indifcretion of a thankless child-the child of their prayers, in whom all their hopes and expectations centered:-perhaps a more affecting fcene-a virtuous family lying pinched with want, where the unfortunate fupport of it, having long ftruggled with a train of misfortunes, and bravely fought up against them-is now piteously borne down at the last-overwhelmed with a cruel blow which no forecast or frugality could have prevented.-O God! look upon his afflictions-Behold him diftracted with many forrows, furrounded with the tender pledges of his love, and the partner of his cares-without bread to give them,-un able, able, from the remembrance of better days, to dig;—to beg, ashamed. When we enter into the houfe of Mourning fuch as this-it is impoffible to infult the unfortunate even with an improper look.-Under whatever levity and diffipation of heart fuch objects catch our eyes, they catch likewise our attentions,-collect and call home our scattered thoughts, and exercise them with wisdom. A tranfient scene of distress, fuch as is here sketched, how foon does it furnish materials to fet the mind at work? how neceffarily does it engage it to the confideration of the miseries and misfortunes, the dangers and calamities to which the life of man is fubject. By holding up fuch a glafs before it, it forces the mind to fee and reflect upon the vanity, the perishing condition and uncertain tenure of every thing in this world. From reflections of this serious caft, how infenfibly do the thoughts carry us farther?-and from confidering, what we are what kind of world we live in, and what evils befall us in it, how naturally do they fet us to look forwards at what poffibly we fhall be?-for what kind of world we are intended-what |