Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe saw, with no ordinary emotions of delight, the dawning of serenity on the countenance of their beloved child, but knew not the cause till they accidentally saw her reading the Bible, which they had been recommended to keep from her. In the evening, as they were sitting together, Mr. Roscoe said, "I think, my dear Sophia, that you are regaining your former vivacity."
"I am more happy than I was, but not so happy as I wish to be."
"The light of bliss, I hope, my dear, is shining on you, but I fear lest it should again depart. You must be cautious what you read; and if you will permit me to offer you my advice, I would recommend you light reading, which, I think, would just now have a good effect."
"I thank you, my dear father, for your advice, but such reading would bring back the gloom which the light of revealed truth is scattering from around my mind. There is no book which I read with so much pleasure as the Bible."
"The Bible contains much important history; it abounds with interesting narratives; it makes us familiar with the customs of ancient times, and supplies us with some inimitable specimens of good composition; but I would advise you not to read the Epistles of the New Testament, lest they should perplex and bewilder you, and lead you off into a state of mental distraction, which no human skill would be able to control or subdue."
"You know, my dear father, that no human skill has been able to control or remove that fixed melancholy under which I have been labouring for nine months; but I feel now greatly relieved from it; and I assure you that it is the perusal of that portion of the Scripture which you wish me to avoid, to which I attribute, under the blessing of God, the delightful change which has taken place in the state and frame of my mind."
THE BIBLE DISDAINED.
