W. A. That's true indeed; I will not laugh any more, my dear.

Wife. Why you say, you God make all ?

W. A. Yes, child, our God made the whole world, and you, and me, and all things; for he is the only true God; there is no God but he; he lives for ever in heaven.

Wife. Why you no tell me long ago

?

W. A. That's true indeed; but I have been a wicked wretch, and have not only forgotten to acquaint thee with any thing before, but have lived without God in the world myself.

your coun

Wife. What have you de great God in try, you no know him? No fay O to him? No do good ting for him? That no impoffible!

W. A. It is too true though, for all that: we live as if there was no God in heaven, or that he had no power on earth.

Wife. But why God let you do fo? Why he no makee you good live?

W. A. It is all our own fault.

Wife. But you fay me, he is great, much great, have much great power; can make kill when he will: why he no makee kill when you no serve him? No fay O to him? No be good mans?

W. A. That is true; he might ftrike me dead, and I ought to expect it; for I have been a wicked wretch, that is true: but God is merciful, and does not deal with us as we deserve.

Wife. But then, do not you tell God tankee for that too?

W. A. No, indeed; I have not thanked God for his mercy, any more than I have feared God for his

power.

Wife. Then you God no God; me no think, be lieve he be fuch one, great much power, strong; no makee kill you, though you makee him much

W. A. What! will my wicked life hinder you from believing in God! What a dreadful creature am I! And what a fad truth is it, that the horrid lives of Chriftians hinder the converfion of heathens!

Wife. How me tink you have great much God up there, (he points up to heaven,) and yet no do well, no do good ting? Can he tell? Sure he no tell what you do.

W. A. Yes, yes, he knows and fees all things; he hears us fpeak, fees what we do, knows what we think, though we do not speak.

Wife. What! he no hear you fwear, curfe, fpeak the great damn?

W. A. Yes, yes, he hears it all.

Wife. Where be then the muchee great power ftrong?

W. A. He is merciful; that is all we can fay for it; and this proves him to be the true God: He is God, and not man; and therefore we are not confumed.

[Here Will Atkins told us, he was ftruck with horror to think how he could tell his wife fo clearly, that GOD fees, and hears, and knows the fecret thoughts of the heart, and all that we do; and yet that he had dared to do all the vile things he had done.]

Wife. Merciful! what you call dat?

W. A. He is our father and maker; and he pities and fpares us.

I

Wife.

Wife. So then he never makee kill, never angry when you do wicked; then he no good himself, or no great able.

W. A. Yes, yes, my dear; he is infinitely good, and infinitely great, and able to punish too; and fometimes to fhew his juftice and vengeance, he lets fly his anger to destroy finners, and make examples; many are cut off in their fins.

Wife. But no makee kill you yet; then he tell you, may be, that he no makee you kill, fo you make de bargain with him, you do bad ting, he no be angry at you, when he be angry at other mans ?

W. A. No, indeed, my fins are all prefumptions upon his goodness; and he would be infinitely just, if he destroyed me, as he has done other men.

Wife. Well, and yet no kill, no makee you dead! What you fay to him for that? You no tell him tankee for all that too!

W. A. I am an unthankful, ungrateful dog, that is true.

Wife. Why he no makee you much good better? You fay he makee you.

W. A. He made me as he made all the world; 'tis I have deformed myself, and abufed his goodness, and have made myself an abominable wretch.

Wife. I wish you makee God know me; makee him angry; I no do bad wicked ting.

I no

[Here Will Aikins faid his heart funk within him, to hear a poor, untaught creature, defire to be taught to know God; and he fuch a wicked wretch, that he could not fay one word to her about God, but what the reproach of his own carriage would make VOL. II. N moft

moft irrational to her to believe; nay, that already fhe could not believe in God, because he that was fo wicked was not destroyed.]

W. A. My dear, you mean you wish I could teach you to know God, not God to know you; for he knows you already, and every thought in your

heart.

Wife. Why then he know what I faw to you now; he know me wish to know him; how fhall me know who makee me?

W. A. Poor creature, he must teach thee, I cannot teach thee; I'll pray to him to teach thee to know him; and to forgive me, that I am unworthy to teach thee.

[The poor fellow was in such an agony at her defiring him to make her know God, and her wifhing to know him, that, he faid, he fell down on his knees before her, and prayed to God to enlighten her mind with the faving knowledge of Jefus Chrift, and to pardon his fins, and accept of his being the unworthy inftrument of inftructing her in the principles of religion; after which he fat down by her again, and their dialogue went on.]

N. B. This was the time when we saw him kneel down and lift up his hands.

Wife. What you put down the knee for? What you hold up the hand for? What you fay? Who you speak to? What is that?

W. A. My dear, I bow my knees in token of my fubmiffion to him that made me: I faid O to him, as you call it, and as you fay your old men do to their idol Benamuckee; that is, I prayed to him.

Wife. What you fay O to him for?

W. A. I prayed to him to open your eyes and your understanding, that you may know him, and be accepted by him.

Wife. Can he do that too?

W. A. Yes, he can; he can do all things.

Wife. But he no hear what you say?

W. A. Yes, he has bid us pray to him; and promifed to hear us.

Wife. Bid

you pray? When he bid you? How he bid you? What you hear him speak ?

W. A. No, we do not hear him speak; but he has revealed himself many ways to us.

[Here he was at a great loss to make her understand that God had revealed himself to us by his word; and what his word was; but at laft he told it her thus:

W. A. God has spoken to fome good men in former days, even from heaven, by plain words; and God has infpired good men, by his Spirit; and they have written all his laws down in a book.

Wife. Me no understand that: where is book?

W. A. Alas! my poor creature, I have not this book; but I hope I fhall, one time or other, get it for you to read it.

[Here he embraced her with great affection; but with inexpreffible grief, that he had not a bible.]

Wife. But how you makee me know, that God teachee them to write that book?

W. A. By the fame rule that we know him to be God.

Wife. What rule; what way you know?