th it, the writer will be allowed to take his own way, following an
historical order in the occurrences which may be supposed to have made
the subject interesting and clear to the minds of two parents.

Chapter Second.

THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER.

THE NATURE, GROUNDS, AND INFLUENCE, OF INFANT BAPTISM.

If temporal estates may be conveyed
By cov'nants, on condition,
To men, and to their heirs; be not affraid,
My soule, to rest upon
The covenant of grace by mercy made.
GEORGE HERBERT,--"_The Font._"

--No finite mind can fully comprehend the mysteries into which his
baptism is the initiation.--COLERIDGE,--"_Aids_," &c.

Christian faith is the perfection of human reason.--IBID.

MY DEAR DAUGHTER BERTHA:--I am glad that you think of taking your little
namesake to the house of God for baptism. You wish to know my views
about it in full. My new colleague having relieved me of many cares and
labors, I shall hope to write more frequently; but not often so long a
letter as I fear this will be; for I wish to tell you of some
conversations which I have had on the subject in question. This will
show you the common difficulties, in which, perhaps, you share, and my
way of removing them; and also set before you the privileges and
blessings connected with the baptism of your child.

A man and his wife--sensible, plain people--came to our house one
evening last July, when the "vines with the tender grape gave a goodly
smell," through that trellis which you and Percival have such pleasant
reason to remember. We were all sitting there in the moonlight, when
this Mr. Benson and his wife came up the door-way, and were welcomed
into our little group. After a few words of mutual inquiry and answer,
he said:

"Wife and I, sir, thought that we would make bold to come and trouble
you a little to tell us about baptizing our boy. He is getting to be
four months old, and we are not willing to put it off much longer.
Still, we would like to know the grounds of it a little better. People,
you know, do not think much about it till it comes to be a case in hand.

"But I do not know," said he, looking round on your mother and the
children, "but that we do wrong to take this time for it. It will be
rather a dry subject for these young friends to hear."

_Pastor._ Not at all. They owe too much to what was done for them when
they were little children, to dislike it. Besides, there is nothing