There it is I find my blessing.' May the Lord | the poor are nearly all papists, and strongly přejudaily and hourly bring me low, and keep me so ! "As to my public work, I find, whilst engaged in it, little cause to complain for want either of matter or words. My labors are acceptable, and not altogether unprofitable, to the hearers: but what is this to me, if my own soul starves whilst others are fed by me? Oh, my brother, I need your prayers, and I feel a great satisfaction in the hope that you do not forget me. Oh that I may be kept faithful unto death! Indeed, in the midst of my strugglings, a gleam of hope, that I shall at last awake in the likeness of God, affords me greater joy than words can express. To be with Christ, is far better than to continue sinning here: but if the Lord hath any thing to do by me, his will be done. "I have never so fully opened my case to any one before. Your freedom on similar topics, encourages me to make my complaint to you, and I think if you were near me, I should feel great relief in revealing to you all my heart. But I shall fatigue you with my moanings; so I will have done on this subject. It is not long since I returned from a kind of mission to Ireland. A society is established in Dublin, for the purpose of inviting from England, ministers of various denominations, to assist in promoting the interest of the kingdom of Christ there. Some of our Baptist brethren had been there before me, as Rippon, Langdon, Francis, and Birt; and I think the plan is calculated for usefulness. I have, at Dr. Rippon's request, sent him some remarks on my visit, for the Register; but as it is probable you will receive this before that comes to hand, I will say something of my excursion here. Having engaged to spend six Lord's days in that kingdom, I arrived there the day before the first Sabbath in June. I first made myself acquainted with the general state of religion in Dublin. I found there were four Presbyterian congregations; two of these belong to the southern presbytery, and are Arians or Socinians; the other two are connected with the northern presbytery, and retain the Westminster confession of faith. One of these latter congregations is very small, and the minister, though orthodox, appears to have but little success. The other is large and flourishing: the place of worship ninety feet by seventy, and, in the morning, well filled. Their times of public service are at half past eleven, and five. In the afternoon, the usual congregations are small indeed; for five o'clock is the dining hour in Dublin, and few of the hearers would leave their dinners for the gospel. Dr. McDowal is the senior pastor of this church, a very affectionate, spiritual man. The junior is Mr. Horner. The doctor is a warm friend of the society, at whose request I went over to Ireland. "There is one congregation of Burgher seceders, and another of Antiburghers. The latter will not hear any man who is not of their own cast; the former are much more liberal. I preached for them once, and they affectionately solicited a repetition of my services. Lady Huntingdon's connection has one society here, the only one in the kingdom, perhaps, except at Sligo, where there is another. It is not large, and I fear rather declining. There is not one independent church in the kingdom. There were ten Baptist societies in Ireland: they are now reduced to six; and are, I fear, still on the decline. "The inhabitants of Dublin seem to be chiefly composed of two classes: the one assume the appearance of opulence; the other exhibit marks of the most abject poverty: and as there are no parishes in Ireland which provide for the poor, many die every year for want of the necessaries of life. "Most of the rich are by profession protestants; diced against the reformed religion. Their ignorance and superstition are scarcely inferior to your miserable Hindoos. On midsummer day I had an affecting proof of the latter. On the public road, about a mile from Dublin, is a well, which was once included in the precincts of a priory, dedicated to St. John, of Jerusalem. This well is in high repute for curing a number of bodily complaints, and its virtues are said to be most efficacious on the saint's own day. So from twelve o'clock at night, for twenty-four hours, it becomes the rendezvous for all the lame, blind, and otherwise diseased people, within a circuit of twenty miles. Here they brought old and young, and applied the 'holy water,' both internally and externally; some by pouring, some by immersion, and all by drinking: whilst, for the good of those who could not come in person, their friends filled bottles with the efficacious water, to use at home. Several I saw on their knees before the well, at their devotions, who were not unfrequently interrupted with a glass of whiskey. With this they were supplied from a number of dealers in that article, who kept standings all round the well. "Near the spot, was a church-yard, where great numbers kneeled upon the tombs of their deceased relatives, and appeared earnestly engaged in praying for the repose of their souls. "It was truly a lamentable sight. My heart ached at their delusions, whilst I felt gratitude, I hope unfeigned, for an acquaintance with the water of life, of which, if a man drink, he shall live for ever. "There are few, or none, of the middle class to connect the rich and the poor; so that favorable access to them is far more difficult than to the lower orders of the people in England; and their priests hold them in such bondage, that if a catholic servant only attend on family worship in a protestant house, penance must be performed for the offence. "S. P." "formed a pleasing acquaintance with several seriMention has already been made of his having ous young gentlemen of the university of Dublin." The following letter was addressed to one of them, the Rev. Mr. Matthias, a few months after his return: "DEAR BROTHER MATTHIAS-I have been employed this whole day in writing letters to Dublin; and it is the first day I have been able to redeem for that purpose. I will not consume a page in apology.— Let it suffice to say, that necessity, not disinclination, has detained from my Irish friends, those proofs of my gratitude and esteem, which in other circumstances I ought to have presented three months ago. I thought this morning of answering all their demands before I slept: but I have written so many sheets, and all full, that I find my eyes and my fingers both fail; and I believe this must close my intercourse with Dublin this day. When I shall be able to complete my purpose, I do not know. To form friendships with good men is pleasant; but to maintain all that communion, which friendship expects, is in some cases very difficult. Happy should I be, could I meet my Irish friends in propria persona, instead of sitting in solitude, and maintaining, by the tedious medium of the pen, this distant intercourse. But the Lord, he shall choose our inheritance for us.' Were all the planets of our system embodied, and placed in close association, the light would be greater, and the object grander; but then, usefulness and systematic beauty consist in their dispersion: and what are we, my brother, but so many satellites to Jesus, the great sun of the Christian system? Some, indeed, like burning * Page 386. Mercuries, keep nearer the luminary, and receive more of its light and heat, whilst others, like the ringed planet, or the Georgium Sidus, preserve a greater distance, and reflect a greater portion of his light: yet if, amidst all this diversity, they belong to the system, two things may be affirmed of all; all keep true to one centre, and borrow whatever light they have from one source. True it is, that the further they are from the sun, the longer are they in performing their revolutions: and is not this exemplified in us? The closer we keep to Jesus, the more brilliant are our graces, the more cheerful and active are our lives; but alas, we are all comets; we all move in eccentric orbs: at one time glowing beneath the ray divine, at another freezing and congealing the icicles. 'Oh what a miracle to man is man!' "Little did I think, when I began this letter, that I should have thus induiged myself in allegory; but true friendship, I believe, always dictates extempore; and my friends must never expect from me a studied epistle. They can meet with better thoughts, than I can furnish them with, in any bookseller's shop. It is not the dish, however well it may be cooked, that gives the relish, but the sweet sauce of friendship; and this I think sometimes makes even nonsense palatable. "But I have some questions to put to yon; first, how are all my college friends, Messrs. Walker, Materin, Hamilton, &c.? How is their health? But chiefly, how are the interests of religion among you? Are any praying students added to your number? Do all those you thought well of, continue to justify their profession? You know what it is that interests me. Pray tell me all, whether it makes me weep, or rejoice, "I hope Mr. H-'s ministry was blessed in Dublin. Do you know any instances of it? We must sow in hope, and I trust that we shall all gather the fruit of eternal life, even where the buddings have never appeared to us in this world. How is it with your own soul? I thank God I never, I think, rejoiced habitually so much in him as I have done of late. 'God is love' That makes me happy. I rejoice that God reigns; that he reigns over all; that he reigns over me; over my crosses, my comforts, my family, my friends, my senses, my mental powers, my designs, my words, my preaching, my conduct; that he is God over all blessed for ever. I am willing to live, yet I long to die, to be freed from all error, and all sin. I have nothing else to trouble me; no other cross to carry. The sun shines with out, all day long; but I am sensible of internal darkness. Well, through grace it shall all be light by and by. Yes, you and I shall be angels of light, all Mercuries then; all near the sun; always in motion; always glowing with zeal and flaming with love. Oh for the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness! Oh what love and concord there, In heaven above, where happy souls Adore thy majesty. Oh how the heavenly choirs all sing What admiring! And aspiring! Oh how I long to see this feast of love! "Will you tell brother M that I wait an opportunity to send a parcel to him? In that I will enclose a letter. My very affectionate respects to him, and Mr. H- with all my college friends, as though named. If you be not weary of such an eccentric correspondent, pray do not be long ere you write to your unworthy, but affectionate brother Awhile after this, he thus writes to his friend, 66 supported under, and brought through your late December, 1796. I rejoice that you have been trials. I do not wonder at it, for it is no more han God has promised; and though we may well wonder that he promises any thing, yet his performance is no just ground of surprise; and when we find ourselves so employed, we had better turn our wender to our own unbelief, that for one moment suspected God would not be as good as his word. with the thought, that God hath engaged to do any "I have been lately more than ever delighted thing for such worms as we. I never studied the revelation more. Alas! what should we know, if deistical controversy so much, nor ever rejoiced in God had not condescended to teach us. Paul very God, but the Spirit of God, and he to whom the justly remarks, that no one knoweth any thing of ed God in the Bible, but to an unbeliever the Bible Spirit revealeth him. Now the Spirit hath revealis a sealed book. He can know nothing from a book that he looks upon as an imposture, and yet there is no other book in which God is revealed; so darkness, and whilst professing to be wise, actually that to reject the Bible, is to immerse ourselves in to become a fool; whereas, no sooner do we believe what the Spirit saith, than unto us is God revealed, and 'in his light do we see light.' S. P." 'To the above may be added, a few extracts of letters, which he addressed to his friends in 1797, and 1798. TO DR. RYLAND. March, 1797. been very poorly, in colds, &c. Am better now, "During the last three weeks, I have at times, and have been all along assisted in going through my public duties. Let us continue to pray for each uncertain is life, and what a blessing is death to a other, till death makes it a needless service. How saint! I seem lately to feel a kind of affection for brace it. Welcome herald, that bids the prisoner death. Methinks if it were visible, I could embe free; that announces the dawn of everlasting day; that bids the redeemed come to Zion with everlasting joy, to be beyond the reach of an erroto feel, to speak, to act exactly as God will have me; neous judgment, and a depraved heart. To believe, to be wholly absorbed and taken up with him; this, this, nothing short of this can make my bliss complete. But all this is mine. Oh the height, the depth, the length, the breadth of redeeming love! It conquers my heart, and constrains me to yield myself a living sacrifice, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. "My dear brother, we have had many happy The bliss that in heaven they share; "Oh how full of love, and joy, and praise, shall and the freedom with which you write to me. As- I The "I hope you have some causes for joy, as well as grief. I trust though one, or two, or three fall, the tens, and the twenties stand their ground. Oh do what you can to cheer them under the common trial. Let them not see a faint heart in you. Fight manfully still. Tell them to watch the more; to pray the harder; to walk the closer with God. So out of the eater shall come forth meat, and sweetness out of the strong. S. P." TO MR. BATES, AND MRS. BARNES, Who had been burnt out of their residence. "The many expressions of Christian friendship which I received from you, and your affectionate families, during my last visit to London, will often excite grateful recollection in future, as they have almost daily since I parted from you; and though I do not write this avowedly as a mere letter of acknowledgment, yet I wish to assure you, that I am not forgetful of my friends, nor unthankful for their kindness. May all the favor you show to the servants of our common Lord for his sake, be amply recompensed in present peace, and future felicity, when the promise of Him who cannot lie, shall be fulfilled. A cup of cold water given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose its reward.' "But, whilst you, my dear friends, live in hope of the glory' that remains to be revealed,' I am persuaded that you expect all as the fruit of sovereign mercy, which first forms us to the mind of Christ, then accepts, and then rewards. Truly, if sinners be rewarded, it must be of grace, and not of debt.' Yet it is a mercy of unspeakable magnitude, that grace should establish a connection, between obedience and enjoyment; such a connection as at once insures joy to the believer, and glory to Christ. "Oh that our thoughts, our affections, our de "I do not return to London this autumn, but I mean to visit Portsmouth. I must be indebted to you for my directions. We shall be very happy to see you at Luke street: but Wales I suppose will be the vortex that will swallow up much of your time. Well, so you are happy, we must be disinterested enough to be satisfied, although we be denied a personal participation. "Let us not forget that we are Christians; and Christians profess a hope of a better country than Cambria contains. There, we all belong. Already citizens by privilege, we shall be by possession soon. 'Roll swifter round, ye wheels of time, 'In hope of greeting you both in that good land, I remain, most affectionately yours, S. P." TO DR. RYLAND. November 17, 1797. "I feel much for you in relation both to the duties and trials of your present situation: at the same time I bless God who fixed you in it, because I am persuaded that it will be for his glory in the churches of Christ. And though none but those, whose hands are full of religious concerns, can guess at your difficulties; yet our blessed Redeemer knows them all. Oh, my brother, you are travailing for Him, who redeemed you by his blood, who sympathizes with you, and who will graciously crown you at last. Small as my trials are, I would turn smith, and work at the anvil and the forge, rather than bear them for any other master than Christ. Yet were they ten thousand times as many as they are, the thought of their being for him, I trust, would sweeten them all. "I have reason to be very thankful for much pleasure of late, both as a Christian and a minister. I have never felt so deeply my need of a Divine Redeemer, and seldom possessed such solid confidence that he is mine. I want more and more to become a little child, to dwindle into nothing in my own esteem, to renounce my own wisdom, power and goodness, and simply look to, and live upon Jesus for all. I am ashamed that I have so much pride, so much self-will. Oh my Saviour! make me 'meck and lowly in heart;' in this alone I find rest to my soul.' "I could say much of what Immanuel has done for my soul; but I fear lest even this should savor of vanity. When shall I be like my Lord! Oh welcome death, when I have nothing more to do for Christ! To him, till then, may I live every day and every hour! Rather may I be annihilated than not live to him! "You will rejoice with me to hear that we have TO MRS. PEARCE, "S. P." sires may be much in heaven! Here, you have a pleasing prospect as a church. Several very been taught, is no continuing city,' no certain place hopeful, and some very valuable characters are of abode; and though you have been taught it aw-about to join us. Lord carry on thy work! fully in flames, yet if you learn it effectually, the terror of the means will be conquered by the excellency and glory of the consequences. Yes, my friends, 'in heaven we have a better and enduring substance: the apartments there are more spacious; the society more sweet; the enjoyments more perfect; and all to last for ever. Well may Christians ' rejoice in hope of the glory of God!' S. P." TO MR. AND MRS. BOWYER, PALL MALL. November 17, 1797. "Blessed be 'the Preserver of men,' for all his goodness to dear Mr. and Mrs. B. With theirs On the dangerous illness of one of the children. Portsmouth, January 29, 1798. "Ignorant of the circumstances of our dear child, how shall I address myself to her dearer mother! With a fluttering heart, and a trembling hand, I, in this uncertainty, resume my pen. One consideration tranquillizes my mind-I and mine are in the hands of God: the wise, the good, the indulgent Parent of mankind! Whatever he does is best. I am prepared for all his will, and hope that | I shall never have a feeling, whose language is not, Thy will be done.' "I am most kindly entertained here by Mr. and Mrs. Shoveller: and, except my dear Sarah's presence, feel myself at home. They have had greater trials than we can at present know. They have attended seven children to the gloomy tomb: they have been supported beneath their loss, by Him who hath said, 'As thy days, so shall thy strength be.' Mrs. S. tells me, she blessed God for all. May my dear Sarah be enabled to do the same, whatever the result may prove. To-morrow I expect another letter from you; yet lest you should too much feel my absence, I will not delay forwarding this a single post. O that it may prove in some degree a messenger of consolation! Yesterday I preached three times; God was very good. I received your letter before the first service: you may be assured that I bore you on my heart in the presence of my Lord and yours; nor shall I pray in vain. He will either restore the child, or support you under the loss of it. I dare not pray with importunity for any earthly good; for 'who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? But strength to bear the loss of earthly comforts, he has promised; for that I importune; and that, I doubt not, will be granted. "In a house directly opposite to the window before which I now write, a wife, a mother, is just departed. Why am I not a bereaved husband? Why not my children motherless? When we compare our condition with our wishes, we often complain: but if we compare it with that of many around us, our complaints would be exchanged for gratitude and praise. TO R. BOWYER, ESQ. S. P." February 14, 1798. "Not a day has hurried by, since I parted with my dear friends in Pall Mall, but they have been in my affectionate remembrance; but not being able to speak with any satisfaction respecting our dear child, I have withheld myself from imparting new anxieties to bosoms already alive to painful sensibility. "At length, however, a gracious God puts it in my power to say that there is hope. After languishing between life and death for many days she now seems to amend. We flatter ourselves that she has passed the crisis, and yet will be restored to our arms; but parental fears forbid too strong a confidence. It may be that our most merciful God saw that the shock of a sudden removal would be too strong for the tender feelings of a mother; and so by degrees, prepares for the stroke which must fall at last. However, she is in the best hands, and we are, I hope, preparing for submission to whatever may be the blessed will of God. "I was brought home in safety, and feel myself in much better health in consequence of my journev. Oh that it all may be concentrated to my Redeemer's praise! Happy should I be, if I could oftener enjoy your friendly society; but we must wait for the full accomplishment of our social wishes, till we come to that better world, for which divine grace is preparing us there our best, our brightest hopes, and there our warmest affections must be found. Could we have all we want below, we should be reluctant to ascend, when Jesus calls us home. No, this is not our rest; it is polluted with sin, and dashed with sorrow; but though our pains in themselves are evil, yet our God turns the curse into a blessing, and makes all that we meet with accomplish our good. "What better can I wish, my friends, than the EARLY in October, 1798, Mr. Pearce attended at the Kettering minister's meeting, and preached from Psalm xe. 16, 17. "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto thy children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." He was observed to be singularly solemn and affectionate in that discourse. If he had known it to be the last time that he should address his brethren in that part of the country, he could scarcely have felt or spoken in a more interesting manner. It was a discourse full of instruction, full of holy unction, and that seemed to breathe an apostolical ardor. On his return, he preached at Market Harborough; and riding home the next day in company with his friend, Mr. Summers, of London, they were overtaken with rain. Mr. Pearce was wet through his clothes, and towards evening complained of a chillness. A slight hoarseness followed. He preached several times after this, which brought on an inflammation, and issued in a consumption. It is probable that if his constitution had not been previously impaired, such effects might not have followed in this instance. His own ideas on this subject, are expressed in a letter to Dr. Ryland, dated December 4, 1798, and in another to Mr. King, dated from Bristol, on his way to Plymouth, March 30, 1799. In the former, he says: "Ever since my Christmas journey last year to Sheepshead, Nottingham, and Leicester, on the mission business, I have found my constitution greatly debilitated, in consequence of a cold caught after the unusual exertions which cir cumstances then demanded; so that from a frame that could endure any weather, I have since been too tender to encounter a single shower without danger; and the duties of the Lord's day, which as far as bodily strength went, I could perform with little fatigue, have since frequently overcome me. But the severe cold I caught in my return from the last Kettering minister's meeting has affected me so much, that I have sometimes concluded I must give up preaching entirely; for though my head and spirits are better than for two years past, yet my stomach is so very weak, that I cannot pray in my family without frequent pauses for breath; and in the pulpit it is labor and agony, which must be felt to be conceived of. I have, however, made shift to preach sometimes thrice, but mostly only twice on a Lord's day, till the last, when the morning sermon only, though I delivered it with great pleasure of mind, and with as much caution as to my voice as possible, yet cost me so much labor as threw me into a fever till the next day, and prevented my sleeping all night." In the letter he writes thus: "Should my life be spared, I and my family, and all my connections will stand indebted, under God, to you. Unsuspecting of danger myself, I believe I should have gone on with my exertions, till the grave had received me. Your attention sent Mr. B. (the apothecary) to me, and then first I learned, what I have since been increasingly convinced of that I was rapidly destroying the vis tal principle. And the kind interest you have taken in my welfare ever since, has often drawn the grateful tear from my eye. May the God of heaven and earth reward your kindness to his unworthy servant, and save you from all the evils from which your distinguished friendship would have saved me." Such were his ideas, His labors were certainly abundant; perhaps too great for his constitution: but it is probable that nothing was more injurious to his health, than a frequent exposure to night air, and an inattention to the necessity of changing damp clothes. Hitherto we have seen in Mr. Pearce, the active, assiduous, and laborious servant of Jesus Christ; but now we see him laid aside from his work, wasting away by slow degrees, patiently enduring the will of God, and cheerfully waiting for his dissolution. And as here is but little to narrate, I shall content myself with copying his letters, or extracts from them, to his friends, in the order of time in which they were written, only now and then dropping a few hints to furnish the reader with the occasions of some of them. TO DR. RYLAND. Birmingham, October 8, 1798. "Oh! my dear brother, your letter of the 5th which I received this morning, has made me thankful for all my pulpit agonies, as they enable me to weep with a weeping brother. They have been of use to me in other respects; particularly, in teaching me the importance of attaining and maintaining that spirituality and pious ardor, in which I have found the most effectual relief; so that, on the whole, I must try to 'glory in tribulations also.' I trust I often can when the conflict is past; but to glory 'in' them, especially in mental distress-hic labor, hoc opus est. "But how often has it been found, that when ministers have felt themselves most embarrassed, the most effectual good has been done to the people. Oh for hearts entirely resigned to the will of God. "How happy should I be, could I always enjoy the sympathies of a brother, who is tried in these points, as I of late have been. S. P." TO MR. FULLER. Birmingham, October 29, 1798. "I caught a violent cold in returning from our last committee meeting, from which I have not yet recovered. A little thing now affects my constitution, which I once judged would be weather and labor proof for at least thirty years, if I lived so long, I thank God that I am not debilitated by iniquity. I have lately met with an occurrenee which occasioned me much pain and perplexity. **** Trials soften our hearts and make us more fully prize the dear few, into whose faithful sympathizing bosoms we can with confidence pour our sorrows. I think I should bless God for my afflictions, if they produced no other fruits than these-the tenderness they inspire, and the friendships they enjoy. Pray, my dear brother, for yours affectionately, S. P." To a young man who had applied to him for vice, how he should best improve his time previous to his going to the Bristol academy. opinion respecting the best way of occupying your time before you go, you will accept a little counsel during your cortinuance there, I hall be happy at any time to contribute such a mite as my experience and observation have put in my power. "At present, the following rules appear of so much moment, that were I to resume a place in any literary establishment, I would religiously adopt them as the standard of my conduct:-First, I would cultivate a spirit of habitual devotion. Warm piety connected with my studies, and especially at my entrance upon them, would not only assist me in forming a judgment on their respective importance, and secure the blessing of God upon them; but would so cement the religious feeling with the literary pursuit, as might abide with me for life. The habit of uniting these, being once formed, would, I hope, be never lost; and I am sure that without this, I shall both pursue trivial and unworthy objects, and those that are worthy I shall pursue for a wrong end. Secondly, I would determine on a uniform submission to the instructions of my preceptor, and study those things which would give him pleasure. If he be not wiser than I am, for what purpose do I come under his care? I accepted the pecuniary help of the society on condition of conformity to its will; and it is the society's will that my tutor should govern me. My example will have influence; let me not, by a single act of disobedience, or by a word that implicates dissatisfaction, sow the seeds of discord in the bosoms of my companions.— Thirdly, I would pray and strive for the power of self-government, to form no plan, to utter not a word, to take no step under the mere influence of passion. Let my judgment be often asked, and let me always give it time to answer. Let me always guard against a light or trifling spirit: and particularly as I shall be amongst a number of youths, whose years will incline them all to the same frailty.-Fourthly, I would in all my weekly and daily pursuits observe the strictest order. Always let me act by a plan. Let every hour have its proper pursuit; from which let nothing but a settled conviction that I can employ it to better advantage, ever cause me to deviate. Let me have fixed time for prayer, meditation, reading, languages, correspondence, recreation, sleep, &c.-Fifthly, I would not only assign to every hour its proper pursuit, but what I did, I would try to do it with all my might. The hours at such a place are precious beyond conception, till the student enters on life's busy scenes. Let me set the best of my class ever before me, and strive to be better than they. In humility and diligence, let me aim to be the first.-Sixthly, I would particularly avoid a versatile habit. In all things I would persevere. Without this, I may be a gaudy butterfly, but never like the bee, will my hive bear examining. Whatever I take in hand, let me first be sure I understand it, then duly consider it, and if it be good, let me adopt and use it. "To these, my dear brother let me add three or four things more minute, but which I am persuaded will help you much-Guard against a large acad-quaintance while you are a student. Bristol friendship, while you sustain that character, will prove a vile thief, and rob you of many an invaluable hour. -Get two or three of the students, whose piety you most approve, to meet for one hour in a week for experimental conversation and mutual prayer. I found this highly beneficial, though strange to tell, by some we were persecuted for our practice !-Keep a diary. Once a week, at farthest, call yourself to an account: What advances you have made in your studies; in divinity, history, languages, natural philosophy, style, arrangement; and amidst all, do not forget to inquire: Am I more fit to serve and to enjoy God than I was last week? Birmingham, November 13, 1798. "MY DEAR M.-I can only confess my regret at not replying to yours at a much earlier period, and assure you that the delay has been accidental, and not designed. I feel the importance of your request for advice. I was sensible it deserved some consideration before it was answered. I was full of business at the moment. I I put it by, and it was forgotten; and now it is too late. The time of your going to Bristol draws nigh. If instead of an S. P." |