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his ignorance is extreme. He is nearly seventy years old, and for some time came to our evening classes at the Ragged School, to endeavour to learn his letters, but failed. On one occasion I was endeavouring to raise some spiritual aspirations within him by describing the glories of heaven, and what we lost if we were lost, to which he was deeply attentive, and evidently felt what I was saying, as the tears came in his eyes. At last he said, "I wished to ax yer a question, sir, and I thought I'd ax yer, because I know'd you could set me right, if I'm wrong. When I gets to bed, I says my prayers as you bid me, and I puts my hands afore my eyes so, (covering his face with his hands,) well, I sees such beautiful things, sparkles like, all a floating about, and I wished to ax yer sir, if that aint a something of heaven, sir."

Not only is the extreme ignorance of the lowest classes to be deplored, but the extreme ignorance of some in high places respecting that ignorance, is to be deplored also. For example: Several years since, it was proposed at one of the City sittings that the Corporation of the City of London should make a grant to the City Mission,* and * A grant of £300 was carried.

various statements respecting the extreme ignorance of the lowest classes were detailed, similar to the one I have just quoted from my journals. One councilman, whose name I suppress, stated he did not believe such ignorance existed; nor was he alone. Very little, indeed, is known, comparatively, respecting the mental condition of large sections of the community by very many in the higher walks of life.

Fortune-telling is an evidence of ignorance that prevails to a considerable extent, and is patronized not by any means alone by the lowest classes. I am acquainted with four fortune-tellers, who lived within the limits of a single street, and who appeared to have been visited by persons of a character that would hardly be supposed to place confidence in such delusion.

One of these fortune-tellers, who, with the others, was visited by me with a view to their conversion, attempted repeatedly to make a convert of me. She assured me "gentlemen of my profession had their fortunes told," and would have been very happy to lay out the cards for my personal benefit. She informed me on various occasions respecting most remarkable revelations she had made to persons; and as no one was

present to contradict, and as, somehow or other, in every instance, there was no clue to the persons named, it was of course impossible for me to contradict her statements. This soothsayer was a woman capable of imposing upon many. She was a woman of commanding figure, and had an eye of piercing sharpness, a very prominent nose, and a large projecting chin, and she spoke with so correct a diction, and so much earnestness, that I cannot feel surprised she should have many dupes. Mrs. was in the habit, I am informed, of waving a lighted torch outside her window every morning at two o'clock. She always received my missionary visits very respectfully, and listened attentively to my religious instructions respecting sin and salvation, but I never was enabled to affect her heart with a sense of the impropriety of fortune-telling. She has gone to her final account, and I am deeply grieved to have so little favourable to report respecting her last end.

It is a great pleasure to be enabled to record. the hopeful conversion of one of these fortunetellers, Mrs. T. When first I visited her, and reproved her with the wickedness of pretending to usurp the prerogative of God, she

constantly contended that there was no harm in it. "It was a honest bit of bread," she said, and made other excuses, which I could not for a moment entertain. On one occasion, another fortune-teller being present, I read the account of Elymas the sorcerer, and also of the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, (Acts xvi.,) showing that the influence was infernal, and enlarging on the consequences. The younger fortune-teller could not bear this, and jumped up and darted out of the place before I could attempt to stop her for prayer. Mrs. T., who was an aged woman, always listened respectfully to my reading in the Scriptures, instruction, and prayers; and as I regarded her as one of my special cases, I had up to the period of her decease, about a year since, paid more than ordinary attention to her case. At length the Word of God appeared to produce some effect upon her, and she professed to feel herself a sinnerpreviously she always maintained the contrary. I told her it was useless to talk about repentance unless she broke off her sins, and urged her to give up fortune-telling. She would not promise, she said. A favourite phrase with her was, "I like to speak my mind, and shall tell no lies."

After a further lapse of time, however, she professed to begin to feel the sinfulness of fortunetelling, through, as she said, "my being always at her." She, however, failed in her good resolution several times, and admitted to me that she had so failed-"It was for a bit of bread," she said. "What am I," said she, "but a poor old widow? May be I'll be sitting here without a morsel of fire, or a bite or sup in the place, or a bit of bacca, (she smoked,) well, just then the silly fools will come to have their fortunes told to be sure; I suppose the devil sends them just then to tempt a poor old creature; but, please the Lord, and the blessed Jesus you tell me about," said she, clasping her hands, "I'll wash my hands of it altogether, for there's no luck in it, and I see now, bless the Lord, its wickedness." I had a strict watch kept upon Mrs. T., and I have every reason to believe she kept her good resolution to the end of her life, under circumstances, too, of great temptation. The parish would not allow Mrs. T. any out-door relief, and she declined going into the house for the following reason. Her only son is a pedlar, and has been in the habit formerly of enacting the part of the "Wild Indian" at fairs. Some of my readers

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