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ple whom he still loves and forgives, and will restore to the purchased inheritance, on the easy terms of their being heartily sorry for what they have done, thoroughly desirous of pardon, and convinced that "He is able and willing to save to the utmost all them that come unto him."

I saw indeed that many old offenders appeared to be sorry for what they had done; that is, they did not like to be punished for it. They were willing enough to be delivered from the penalty of their sin, but they did not heartily wish to be delivered from the power of it. Many declared, in the most publick manner, once every week, that they were very sorry they had done amiss; but it was not enough to declare their sorrow ever so often, if they gave no other sign of their penitence. For there was so little truth in them, that the lord required other proofs of their sincerity beside their own word; for they often lied with their lips and dissembled with their tongue. But those who professed to be penitents, were neither allowed to raise heaps of clay, by circumventing their neighbours, nor to have great piles lying by them useless, nor must they barter them for any of those idle vanities, which reduced the heaps on a sudden for I found that among the grand articles of future reckoning, the use they had made of the heaps would be a principal one.

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I was sorry to observe many of the fairer part of these pilgrims spend too much of their heaps in adorning and beautifying their tenements of

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clay, in painting, and white-washing, and enamelling them.

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All these tricks, however, did not preserve them from decay, and when they grew old, they even looked worse for all this cost and varnish. Some, however, acted a more sensible part, and spent no more upon their mouldering tenements than just to keep them whole and clean, and in good repair, which is what every tenant ought to do; and I observed that those who were moderate in the care of their own tenements, were most attentive to repair and warm the ragged tenements of others. But none did this with much

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zeal or acceptance, but those who had acquired a habit of overlooking the things below,' and also by the constant use of the telescope, had got their natural weak and dim sight so strengthened, as to be able to disceru pretty distinctly the nature of the things above.' The habit of fixing their eyes on these glories, made all the shining trifles which composed the mass of things below' at last appear in their own diminutive littleness. For it was in this case particularly true, that things are only big or little by comparison; and there was no other way of making the things below' appear as small as they really were, but by comparing them by means of the telescope with the things above.' But I observed that the false judgment of the pilgrims ever kept pace with their wrong practices, for those who kept their eyes fastened on the things below,' were reckoned wise in their generation, while the few who looked forward to the future glories, were accounted by the bustlers or heapers, to be either fools or mad.

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Well-most of these pilgrims went on in adorning their tenements, adding to their heaps, grasping 'the things below' as if they would never let them go, shutting their eyes instead of using their telescope, and neglecting their title-deed, as if it were the parchment of another man's estate, and not their own; till, one after another, each felt his tenement tumbling about his ears.-Oh! then what a busy, bustling, anxious, terrifying, distracting moment was that! What a deal of busi

ness was to be done, and what a poor time was this to do it in! Now, to see the confusion and dismay occasioned by having left every thing to the last minute-First, some one was sent for to make over the yellow heaps to another, which the heaper now found would be of no use to himself in passing the gulf; a transfer which ought to have been made while the tenement was sound.

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Then, there was a consultation of two or three masons at once, perhaps to try to patch up

the walls, and strengthen the props, and stop the decay of the tumbling tenement :

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but not till the masons were forced to declare it was past repairing, (a truth they were rather too apt to keep back) did the tenant seriously think it was time to pack up, prepare, and begone.

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