confolation, bind up the broken in heart, and comfort thofe that mourn. We have a real fenfe of the miseries of the diftreffed part of mankind, and offer up for them our prayers to thee, thro' Jefus Christ our Lord.

A THANKSGIVING.

O God, the author of all good, and fountain of all happiness, we offer up our thankf givings and praises unto thee, for thy great goodness to us, and to all mankind. We praise and magnify thy holy name for all thy mercies; for our exiftence, and the use of our reafoning powers and faculties; for the health and strength we enjoy, and for all the comforts and conveniencies of life: for thefe thy gifts we adore thee, O munificent parent of good, and pray that a deep and efficacious fenfe of thy goodness may remain upon our hearts, and be a principle of conftant and chearful obedience to thy holy laws.

But especially we offer up the acknowledgements of our hearts and mouths for all that thy Son Jefus Chrift did, and taught, and suffered, in this world, to fave us from our fins, and to conduct us to true and everlafting happiness. We blefs thee for the glorious gofpel, and for bringing us more effectually, by revelation, to the knowledge of thee, and the practice of our duty. For

this merciful appointment, and for all thy mercies, which refpect another and a better life than the prefent; for every instance of thy tender regards to us, and for the manifold experiences which we have had of thy loving kindness; we offer up the tribute of unfeigned thanks. Our fouls do magnify thee, O Lord God moft excellent and good, and all the powers within us praise thy holy name. To thee be glory in the church by Chrift Jefus, throughout all ages, world without end. To thee, O thou God of love, be rendered by all beings endued with reafon, all honour and obedience, both now, and for ever.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast promised to hear the petitions of them that pray unto thee in thy Son's name, we beseech thee of thy great mercy, to accept the facrifice of prayer and praise, which we have this evening offered up to thy Divine Majesty; and for the relief of our wants, and the manifeftation of thy power and glory, grant us those things which we have requested, if thou feeft it confiftent with our chief and eternal good. In the name of thy Son Jefus Chrift, and as his difciples, we pray, and in his words conclude the fervices of this day. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, etc.

After this, they all ftood up, and as in the morning, Azora faid, let us fing to the praise

S 2

A reflection

gion and

praife and glory of God the 148th psalm. She fung the first verse alone, and at the fecond, they all joined, and went through the whole in a fine and heavenly manner. Then the fervice concluded with this benediction.

The BENEDICTION.

May the God of grace and peace be with us and blefs us. May his holy fpirit keep us from falling, and preferve us blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Christ.

Thus ended the evening and morning ofon the reli- fices of worship at Burcot-Lodge, and as I piety of the cannot fufficiently praise, so I could not of Burco:- enough admire the religion and piety of this Hamlet. congregation. The purity of their worship

inhabitants

was charming: and in the ladies and their people a devotion was manifeft, that looked more like that of heavenly fpirits, than of beings in an animal frame; who are warped with the customs of the world, and perplexed with difficulties which arife from fenfible objects. They appeared in high admiration of God, endeared to his righteous government, devoted to his holy laws, and powerfully drawn to imitate hitn in all his initable perfections. Not one idle word, or carelefs lcok, did I hear or fee, during the whole time of divine fervice; but,

like creatures fixed unchangeably in the intereft of religion and virtue, and delighted with the joys of piety, their hearts melted in every part of their devotions, and their breafts were filled with the most grateful, tranfporting adorations and affections. So much beautiful religion I had not often seen in any affembly. They had a true fenfe indeed of the love and goodnefs of God, and of the grace and charity of Jefus Chrift. They had all been carefully inftructed by a wife and excellent man, whowas not long fince removed from them by death; and his daughter, the admirable Azora, in conjunction with his. niece, the amiable Antonia, took all poffible pains, fince the deceafe of Mr. Burcot, to maintain the power of religion in their community, and keep the people hearty and fteady in the principles and practice of it. This brings me again to the history of A

zora.

tion of the

Azora Burcot was the daughter of a gen- Continuatleman who was once poffeffed of a very hiftory of great fortune, but by a fatal paffion for the Azora. grand operation, and an opinion of the poffibility of finding the philofopher's Stone, he wafted immenfe fums in operations to difcover that preparation, which forces the faces of infused metals to retire immediately on its approach, and fo turns the reft of the mafs into pure gold; communicating the malleaS 3 bility

His

bility and great ductility of that metal, and giving it true fpecific gravity, that is, to water, as eighteen and one half is to one. love of that fine, antient art, called chimistry, brought him into this misfortune. For improvement and pleasure, he had been long engaged in various experiments, and at laft, an adept came to his house, who was a man of great fkill in the labours and operations of fpagyrifts, and perfuaded him it was poffible to find the stone; for he, the adept, had seen it with a brother, who had been fo fortunate as to discover it, after much labor and operation. The colour of it was a pale brimstone and tranfparent, and the fize that of a small walnut. He affirmed that he had feen a little of this, fcraped into powder, caft into fome melted lead, and turn it into the best and finest gold. This had the effect the adept defired, and from chymifiry brought Mr. Burcot to Alchimy. Heaps of money he wafted in operations of the most noble elixir by mineral and salt; but the ftone after all he could not find: and then, by the adept's advice, he proceeded in a fecond method, by maturation, to fubtilize, purify, and digeft quickfilver, and thereby convert it into gold (20.) This likewife

(20.) There is a third way to make gold, to wit, by feparation, for every metal contains fome quantity of

gold;