That's true, Sir, said Atkins; but with what face can I fay any thing to my wife of all this, when she will tell me immediately, it cannot be true?

Not true! faid I,-what do you mean by that? Why, Sir, faid he, she will tell me it cannot be true, that this God (I fhall tell her of) can be juft, or can punish or reward, fince I am not punished, and fent to the devil, that have been fuch a wicked creature as she knows I have been, even to her, and to every body else; and that I should be fuffered to live, that have been always acting fo contrary to what I must tell her is good, and to what I ought to have done.

Why truly, Atkins, faid I, I am afraid thou speakest too much truth: and with that I let the clergyman know what Atkins had faid; for he was impatient to know: O! faid the priest, tell him there is one thing will make him the best minister in the world to his wife, and that is repentance; for none teach repentance like true penitents: He wants nothing but to repent, and then he will be fo much the better qualified to instruct his wife; he will then be able to tell her, that there is not only a God, and that he is the just rewarder of good and evil; but that he is a merciful Being, and, with infinite goodnefs and long fuffering, forbears to punish those that offend; waiting to be gracious, and willing not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should return and live; that he often fuffers wicked men to go on a long time, and even reserves damnation to the general day of retribution: that it is a clear evidence of GOD, and of a future ftate, that righteous men

receive not their reward, or wicked men their pu nishment, till they come into another world; and this will lead him to teach his wife the doctrine of the refurrection, and of the laft judgment: let him but repent for himself, he will be an excellent preacher of repentance to his wife.

I repeated all this to Atkins, who looked very ferious all the while, and who, we could eafily perceive, was more than ordinarily affected with it: when being eager, and hardly fuffering me to make an end-I knew, all this, mafter, fays he, and a great deal more; but I han't the impudence to talk thus to my wife: when GoD, and my own conscience knows, and my wife will be an undeniable evidence against me, that I have lived as if I had never heard of God, or a future ftate, or any thing about it; and to talk of my repenting, alas! (and with that he fetched a deep figh; and I could fee that tears stood in his eyes) 'tis past all that with me. Paft it! Atkins, faid I: What doft thou mean by that? I know well enough what I mean, Sir, fays he; I mean 'tis too late; and that is too true.

I told my clergyman word for word what he said: the poor zealous prieft (I must call him fo; for be his opinion what it will, he had certainly a most fingular affection for the good of other men's fouls; and it would be hard to think he had not the like for his own; I fay, this zealous, affectionate man) could not refrain tears alfo: But recovering himfelf, he faid to me, Afk him but one queftion: Is he eafy that it is too late, or is he troubled, and wishes it were not fo? I put the queftion fairly to Atkins ; VOL. II.

M

and

and he answered with a great deal of paffion, How could any man be eafy in a condition that certainly must end in eternal destruction? That he was far from being eafy; but that, on the contrary, he believed it would one time or the other ruin him.

What do you mean by that? faid I. Why, he faid, he believed he should, one time or another, cut his own throat, to put an end to the terror of it.

The clergyman fhook his head, with a great concern in his face, when I told him all this; but, turning quick to me upon it, faid, If that be his cafe, you may affure him it is not too late; Chrift will give him repentance: But pray, fays he, explain this to him, That as no man is faved but by Christ, and the merit of his paffion, procuring divine mercy for him, how can it be too late for any man to receive mercy? Does he think he is able to fin beyond the power or reach of divine mercy? Pray tell him, There may be a time when provoked mercy will no longer strive, and when God may refufe to hear; but that 'tis never too late for men to afk mercy; and we that are Chrift's fervants are commanded to preach mercy at all times, in the name of Jefus Chrift, to all those that fincerely repent: so that 'tis never too late to repent.

I told Atkins all this, and he heard me with great earneftnefs; but it seemed as if he turned off the difcourfe to the reft; for he faid to me, he would go and have fome talk with his wife: fo he went out awhile, and we talked to the rest. I perceived they were all ftupidly ignorant, as to matters of religion;

much

1

much as I was when I went rambling away from my father and yet that there were none of them backward to hear what had been faid; and all of them seriously promised, that they would talk with their wives about it, and do their endeavour to persuade them to turn Christians.

The clergyman fimiled upon me, when I reported what answer they gave, but faid nothing a good while; but, at last, shaking his head, We that are Christ's fervants, fays he, can go no farther than to exhort and inftruct; and when men comply, fubmit to the reproof, and promise what we afk, 'tis all we can do ; we are bound to accept their good words; but, believe me, Sir, faid he, whatever you may have known of the life of that man you call William Atkins, I believe he is the only fincere convert among them; I take that man to be a true penitent; I won't defpair of the reft; but that man is perfectly ftruck with the sense of his past life; and I doubt not, but when he comes to talk of religion to his wife, he will talk himself effectually into it; for attempting to teach others is fometimes the best way of teaching ourfelves. I knew a man, added he, who, having nothing but a fummary notion of religion himself, and being wicked and profligate, to the last degree, in his life, made a thorough reformation in himself, by labouring to convert a Jew: And if that poor Atkins begins but once to talk seriously of Jesus Christ to his wife, my life for it, he talks himself into a thorough convert, makes himself a penitent: and who knows what may follow?

Upon this discourse, however, and their promising, as above, to endeavour to perfuade their wives to embrace

M 2

embrace Christianity, he married the other three couple; but Will Atkins and his wife were not yet 'come in. After this, my clergyman, waiting a while, was curious to know where Atkins was gone; and, turning to me, fays he, I intreat you, Sir, let us walk out of your labyrinth here, and look; I dare fay we shall find this poor man fomewhere or other, talking seriously with his wife, and teaching her already fomething of religion. I began to be of the fame mind; fo we went out together; and I carried him a way which none knew but myself, and where the trees were so thick fet, as that it was not easy to fee through the thicket of leaves, and far harder to see in, than to see out; when coming to the edge of the wood, I faw Atkins, and his tawny favage wife, fitting under the fhade of a bufh, very eager in difcourfe I ftoppped fhort, till my clergyman came up to me; and then, having fhewed him where they were, we stood and looked very steadily at them a good while.

We obferved him very earneft with her, pointing up to the fun, and to every quarter of the heavens ; then down to the earth, then out to the fea, then to himself, then to her, to the woods, to the trees. Now, fays my clergyman, you fee my words are made good; the man preaches to her; mark him; now he is telling her that our God has made him, and her, and the heavens, the earth, the sea, the woods, the trees, &c. I believe he is, faid I. Immediately we perceived Will Atkins ftart up upon his feet, fall down upon his knees, and lift up both his hands; we fuppofed he faid fomething, but we could not hear him it was too far off for that': he did not

continue