Page:Records of the Life of the Rev. John Murray.djvu/52

42 all in your power to strengthen the hands of your brother." You remember he then embraced each of you, and wept over you; and I pray you to remember, that you then solemnly promised, to perform all which your dying father directed you to perform. Perhaps the saint may be at this moment beholding us, in this very spot, in which, a few days previous to his departure out of time, he so affectingly, so tenderly admonished us" My mother paused, as if influenced by sacred awe of the presence she had supposed. We audibly wept; we rushed into each other's arms, we embraced each other, and so long as we continued together, our affection, our piety, and our devotion were uninterrupted.

Y the malpractices of the second husband of my maternal grandmother, a large share of my mother's patrimony passed into other hands. I accidentally obtained intelligence of some fraudulent proceedings of the great personage, by whom it was then holden. We did not possess ability to support a prosecution for the recovery of our rights. Some time after the demise of my father, the person, who resided upon the estate, was sued for rent; to this person I communicated in confidence, what I knew to be fact. I assured him, the great man, who retained the estate, had no legal claim to it; and I advised him not to pay the rent. He followed my advice, and the business came before a court of judicature. The gentleman, who sued the tenant, summoned me, as a witness, to prove, that the tenant had occupied the house the specified number of years; thus I was unexpectedly present at the trial, and the interference of providence produced a result, far beyond our most sanguine expectations. The tenant denied the right of the landlord to demand the rent, alleging, that if he paid it to him, he might hereafter be compelled to pay it to another. "To whom?" interrogated the court. "To Mrs. Murray and her children, to whom