"The light of bliss, I hope, my dear, is shining on you, but I fear lest it should again depart. You must be cautious what you read; and if you will permit me to offer you my advice, I would recommend you _light reading, which, I think, would just now have a good effect_." "I thank you, my dear father, for your advice, but such reading would bring back the gloom which the light of revealed truth is scattering from around my mind. There is no book which I read with so much pleasure as the Bible." "The Bible contains much important history; it abounds with interesting narratives; it makes us familiar with the customs of ancient times, and supplies us with some inimitable specimens of good composition; but I would advise you not to read the Epistles of the New Testament, lest they should perplex and bewilder you, and lead you off into a state of mental distraction, which no human skill would be able to control or subdue." "You know, my dear father, that no human skill has been able to control or remove that fixed melancholy under which I have been labouring for nine months; but I feel now greatly relieved from it; and I assure you that it is the perusal of that portion of the Scripture which you wish me to avoid, to which I attribute, under the blessing of God, the delightful change which has taken place in the state and frame of my mind." THE BIBLE DISDAINED. As it was a very fine evening, I resolved on taking my usual walk, and sallied forth, sauntering along, undecided where to go, till I came within sight of the towering hill overlooking the woodman's cottage. "Yes, I will go and see the surviving mourners. They are doubtless still in trouble; but the heavy swell of grief may have subsided a little, now that all that remained of their lovely Jemima[3] is in the grave." The rich scenery through which I was passing supplied me with ample and varied materials for thinking; but my thinking faculty felt more inclined to muse on death and immortality than on trees or flowers, on bleating sheep, or on lowing cattle. [3] See p. 106. Yes, man dies; but he still lives. He passes from one locality and condition of existence to another. He will never die again. No, his next life is endless. If saved, what varied and splendid forms of beauty and of grandeur will open on his vision the moment he passes the dark frontier that divides the visible from the unseen world! What sounds of harmony, coming from the pure and happy spirits of the celestial state, will vibrate on his ear! What ecstasy will he feel when presented faultless before the glorious presence of the Divine Majesty! If lost!--Woe, woe, woe! My heart recoils from a contemplation of his fearful and changeless destiny.