Page:The Cottagers of Glenburnie - Hamilton (1808).djvu/66

 I had now acquired sense enough to know what an inestimable benefit was conferred upon me by my dear Miss Osburne's kind instructions. To her goodness I am indeed indebted for all I know. From her I not only learned to read with propriety, to write a tolerable hand, and to cast accounts; but, what was more valuable than all these, from her I learned to think. She opened to me the book of Providence, and taught me to adore the wisdom, the justice, and the mercy of my God, in all his dealings with the human race. She taught me to explore my own heart; to be sensible of its errors and its weaknesses; and to be tender of the faults of others, in proportion as I was severe upon my own. My mother had endeavoured to lay in me the foundation of Christian principles when I was a child; but it was not until I had learned from this dear young lady to search the scriptures for instruction, instead of running