houses, and plant me vineyards, and make me gardens and pools of water. And I will get me servants and maidens, and whatsoever my eyes defire, I will not keep from them.

In profecution of this-he drops all gainful purfuits-withdraws himself from the bufy part of the world-realizes-pulls down-builds up again. Buys ftatues, pictures-plants-and plucks up by the roots-levels mountains-and fills up vallies-turns rivers into dry ground, and dry ground into rivers. Says unto this man, go, and he goeth, and unto another, do this, and he doeth it, and whatsoever his foul luft

eth after of this kind, he withholds not from it. When every thing is thus planned by himself, and executed according to his wifh and direction, furely he

is

is arrived to the accomplishment of his wishes, and has got to the fummit of all: human happiness?-Let the most fortunate adventurers in this way, anfwer the queftion for him, and fay-how often it arifes higher than a bare and fimple amufement-and well, if you can compound for that-fince 'tis often purchafed at fo high a price, and fo foured by a mixture of other incidental vexations, as to become too often a work of repentance, which in the end will extort the fame forrowful confeffion from him, which it did from Solomon in the like cafe,-Lo! I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do -and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit-and there was no profit to me under the fun.

To inflame this account the more'twill be no miracle, if upon cafting it up he has gone farther lengths than he firft intended, run into expences which have intangled his fortune, and brought himself into fuch difficulties as to make way for the last experiment he can try --and that is, to turn mifer, with no happiness in view but what is to rife out of the little defigns of a fordid mind, fet upon faving and scraping up, all he has injudiciously spent.

In this laft ftage-behold him a poor trembling wretch, fhut up from all mankind-finking into utter contempt; fpending careful days and fleepless nights in pursuit of what a narrow and contracted heart can never enjoy:-and let us here leave him to the conviction he will one day find-That there is no end of his la

bour

bour-That his eyes will never be fatiffied with riches, or will fay-For whom do I labour and bereave myself of rest? This is also a fore travel.

I believe this is no uncommon picture of the disappointments of human lifeand the manner our pleafures and enjoyments flip from under us in every stage of our life. And though I would not be thought by it, as if I was denying the reality of pleasures, or difputing the being of them, any more, than one would the reality of pain-yet I muft obferve on this head, that there is a plain diftinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. For though there can be no happiness without pleasure-yet the reverfe of the propofition will not hold true. We are fo made, that from the common gratifications of our appetites, and the impreffions of a thousand objects,

we

we fnatch the one, like a tranfient gleam, without being fuffered to tafte the other, and enjoy the perpetual fun-fhine and fair weather which conftantly attend it. This, I contend, is only to be found in religion-in the consciousness of virtue -and the fure and certain hopes of a better life, which brightens all our profpects, and leaves no room to dread difappointments because the expectation of it is built upon a rock whofe foundations: are as deep as thofe of heaven and hell.

And tho' in our pilgrimage through this world-fome of us may be fo fortunate as to meet with fome clear fountains by the way, that may cool, for a few moments, the heat of this great thirst of happiness-yet our Saviour, who knew the world, though he enjoyed but little of it, tells us, that whofoever drinketh of this water will thirst again:

-and