Such was the face of nature, which seemed suited in its stillness to the solemn scene we had quitted. But with man it was far otherwise—a sad contrast now presented itself. In a retired part of the common, beneath the shade of a few trees, we had just seen a poor fellow-sinner (and we hope a penitent) preparing to enter the presence of his Maker—the soul on wing for flight, trembling, and anxious for the future—here we had trodden the confines of eternity, and seemed to have been breathing the air of death, and holding converse with the spirits of another world; but at no great distance on the same common, hundreds, who had assembled to celebrate the Whitsun holidays, were wasting in giddy sinful mirth that precious time, which the poor man we had just visited would have given the world to recall. How sad a perversion of the sacred festival appointed for the purpose of commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost!—that sacred Spirit, against whom this thoughtless rabble were constantly striving, by stifling his voice, and quenching his influence within them! Thus, thought I, men sin; and thus, as in the agonies of that dying man, they often suffer for it! But this is not all; he will, we hope, find mercy, many of them perhaps will not—we trust he is a penitent, he has rejoiced to hear of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world; but who can say that one fourth of that thoughtless crowd will ever repent? And if not, these visionary joys must be succeeded by real and everlasting misery. The thought affected me, and I felt thankful for the grace, which I hoped had made me to differ. The next day our penitent (for so we considered him) was again visited by some of our friends, but was nearly speechless. He lingered for a few days longer, and then died, we trust in peace, through the infinite mercy of Christ. We learnt, that for the last twelve years of his life he had been a very altered man; and his family declared that since he had unbosomed his sin and grief, they had often seen him under the hedges in secret, as they thought, praying fervently for mercy. * * * * * Reader, we see in the case of this poor man, First, The force of conscience.