and often so continue, until the remembrance of the event is dulled by time, or outbalanced by some heavier calamity.
The uncertainty which hangs over the future state of deceased children, is the most painful feeling of a bereaved parent's mind. The mother could, perhaps, surrender her offspring to death, with but a parting tear, if she were assured of his happiness beyond the grave. Her love does not die with the body of the child; it follows him into eternity, and yearns for his welfare there. She turns to those who profess to have studied the state after death, and anxiously asks, “Where is my child?” “What is he now?” “Is he blessed?” “Is he cursed?” “Shall I ever behold him again?” These and similar enquiries she makes, but sometimes they are met with a gentle reproof; and the mother is told that she is wishing to penetrate into things that are not revealed. She is thus silenced, but not consoled. The minister will sometimes speak according to his doctrine; but this confounds her even more than the above; in some cases it does more, it adds horror to her confusion, and confirms her worst fears.
There are various doctrines bearing on this subject, which are extensively taught and believed in the world. There is Predestination, which declares
