prior
connections. This union had at once improved his character, and
augmented his happiness. If Lady Belfield erred, it was through excess
of kindness and candor. Her kindness led to the too great indulgence of
her children; and her candor to the too favorable construction of the
errors of her acquaintance. She was the very reverse of my Hampstead
friend. Whereas Mrs. Ranby thought hardly any body would be saved, Lady
Belfield comforted herself that hardly any body was in danger. This
opinion was not taken up as a palliative to quiet her conscience, on
account of the sins of her own conduct, for her conduct was remarkably
correct; but it sprang from a natural sweetness of temper, joined to a
mind not sufficiently informed and guided by scriptural truth. She was
candid and teachable, but as she could not help seeing that she had more
religion than most of her acquaintance; she felt a secret complacency in
observing how far her principles rose above theirs, instead of an
humbling conviction of how far her own fell below the requisitions of
the gospel.

The fundamental error was, that she had no distinct view of the
corruptions of human nature. She often lamented the weaknesses and
vices of individuals, but thought all vice an incidental, not a radical
mischief, the effect of thoughtlessness and casual temptation. She
talked with discrimination of the faults of some of her children; but
while she rejoiced in the happier dispositions of the others, she never
suspected that they had all brought into the world with them any natural
tendency to evil; and thought it cruel to suppose that such, innocent
little things had any such wrong propensities as education would not
effectually cure. In every thing the complete contrast of Mrs. Ranby--as
the latter thought education could do nothing, Lady Belfield thought it
would do every thing; that there was no good tendency which it would not
bring to perfection, and no corruption which it could not completely
eradicate. On the operation of a higher influence she placed too little
dependence; while Mrs. Ranby rested in an unreasonable trust on an
interference not warranted by Scripture.

In regard to her children, Lady Belfield was led by the strength of her
affection to extreme indulgence. She encouraged no vice in them, but she
did not sufficiently check those indications which are the seeds of
vice. She reproved the actual fault, but never thought of implanting a
principle which