20
to engage in the great object for which I left my home. I shall begin to study the French language with Mr N. on the passage. Captain Chimminant talks French. Oh for more ardent piety.
The following letter from Mr Newell to Mrs Atwood, completes the affecting history of Mrs Newell:—
Port Louis. (Isle of France.) Dec. 10. 1812
"When I sit down to address you, my dear mother, from this distant land, to me a land of strangers and a place of exile, a thousand tender
thoughts arise in my mind, and naturally suggest such inquiries as these:—
How is it now with that dear woman to whom I am indebted for my greatest earthly blessing- the mother of my dear Harriet? And mine too; for I must claim the privilege of considering you as my own dear mother. Does the candle of the Lord still shine on her tabernacle, and is the voice of joy and praise yet heard in her dwelling? Or, what is not improbable in this world of disappointment, has some new affliction, the death perhaps of a dear child, or of some other beloved friend, caused her heart again to bleed, and her tears to flow? Ah! my mother though we may live many years, and see good in them all, yet let us remember the days of darkness, for they too will be many. It is decreed by Infinite Wisdom alone, that through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of heaven. You my dear mother, have had your share of adversity and I too have had mine. But we will not complain. Sanctified afflictions are the choicest favours of heaven. They cure us of our vain and foolish expectations from the world, and teach our thoughts to ascend, and fix on joys that never die. I never longed so much to see you as I have these several days past. What would I now give to sit one hour
