all poffibility of doubt, and that they ought not to hefitate one móment about finding the prifoner guilty. The foreman begged of his lordship, as it was a case of life and death, that the jury might be at liberty to withdraw, and upon this motion, an officer was fworn to keep the jury. This trial came on in the morning, and the judge having fat till nine at night, expecting the return of the jury, at last sent an officer to enquire if they were agreed in their verdict, for, his lordship would wait no longer for them. Some of them answered, that eleven of them had been of one mind from the first; but their foreman was of a different opinion, and was unalterably fixed in it. The meffenger no fooner returned, but the complaining members, alarmed at the thoughts of being confined all night, and despairing of bringing their diffenting brother over to their way of thinking, agreed to accede to his opinion, and having acquainted him with their refolution, they fent an officer to detain his lordship a few minutes, and then went into the court, and by their foreman brought in the prifoner not guilty. His lordship could not help expreffing the greatest furprize and in dignation at this unexpected verdict, and, after giving the jury a fevere admonition, he refused to record their verdict, and fent them back again, with directions that they should be locked up all night without fire or candle. The whole blame was publickly laid on the foreman by the rest of the members, and they spent the night in loading him with reflections, and bewailing their fate in being affociated with fo hardened a wretch; but he remained quite inflexible, conftantly declaring he would fuffer death, rather than change his opinion. As foon as his lordship came into court the next morning, he fent again to the jury, on which all the eleven members joined in requefting their foreman to go again into court, affuring him they would adhere to their former verdict, whatever was the confequence; and, on being reproached for their former former inconftancy, they promifed never to defert or re Upon this, they proceeded prifoner not guilty. The criminate their foreman any more. The prifoner on his part feil on his knees, and with uplifted eyes and hands, thanked God for his deliverance, and addreffing himself to the judge, cried out; "You fee, my lord, that God and a good confcience are the best of witnelles." These circumftances made a deep impreffion on the mind of the judge, and when he had retired from the court, he entered into difcourfe with the high fheriff, upon what had paffed, and particularly examined him, as to his knowledge of the leader of the jury. This gentleman faid, he had been acquainted with him many years: that he had an eftate of his own of above fifty pounds. per annum, and that he rented a very confiderable farm besides; that he never knew him charged with an ill action, and that he was univerfally esteemed in his neighbourhood. For further information his lordship likewife fent for the minifter of the parish, who gave the fame favourable account of his parishioner, with this addition, that he was a conftant churchman, and a devout communicant. Thefe accounts rather increased his lordship's perplexity; therefore he defired a conference in private with the only perfon who could give him fatisfaction: and defired the fheriff to procure the defired interview. The juryman being introduced to the judge, his lordship retired into a closet, where be opened his reafons for defiring that vifit, and conjured his vifitor frankly to difcover his reafons for acquitting the pri foner. The juryman answered, that he had fufficient reasons to justify his condu&; and that he was neither afraid nor ̧ ashamed to reveal them, but as he had hitherto kept them to himself, and was under no compulfion to disclose them, he expe&ed expected his lordship would engage, upon his honour, to keep what he was about to unfold, as fecret as he himself had done; which his lordship having promised to do, the juryman then proceeded to give him the following account. "The deceased being titheman of the parish where he (the juryman) lived, he had, the morning of his decease, been in his (the juryman's) grounds amongst his corn, and had done him great injuftice, by taking more than his due, and acting otherwife in a most arbitrary manner: when he complained of this treatment, he was not only abused with fcurrilous language, but the deceased likewife ftruck at him feveral times with his fork, and actually wounded him in two places, the fears of which wounds he then shewed his lordship. The deceafed feemed bent on mifchief, and he (the juryman) having no weapon to defend himself, had no other way to preferve his own life, but by clofing in with the deceased, and wrenching the fork out of his hands; which having effected, the deceased attempted to recover the fork, and, in the fcuffle, received the two wounds, which had occafioned his death. He faid he was inexpreffibly concerned at the accident, and especially when the prisoner was taken up on fufpicion of the murder; that the former affizes being but juft over, he was unwilling to furrender himself, and to confefs the matter, becaufe his farm and affairs would have been ruined by his lying in a gaol fo long: that he was fure to have been acquitted on his trial, for he had confulted the ableft lawyers upon the cafe, who had all agreed, that, as the deceafed had been the aggreffor, he would only be found guilty of manflaughter: it was true he had fuffered greatly in his own mind on the pri foner's account; but being well affured that imprisonment would be of lefs ill confequence to the prifoner than to himself, he had fuffered the law to take its courfe. And, in order to render the prisoner's confinement as eafy as poffible, he had given him every kind of affiftance, and had wholly supported his family ever fince; but to get him cleared of the charge laid against agatuit him, he could think of no other expedient than proung himfelf to be fummoned on the jury, and fat at the head of them, which, with great labour and expence, he had accomplifhed, having all along determined in his own breast, rather to die himself, than to fuffer any harm to be done to the prifoner." His lordship expressed great fatisfaction at this account, and after thanking him for it, and making this further ftipulation, that in cafe his lordship should happen to survive him, he might then be at liberty to relate this story, that it might be delivered down to pofterity, the conference broke up. The juryman lived fifteen years afterwards; the judge enquired after him every year, and happening to survive him, delivered the above relation. LALFLAL AL [From the Rey. Mr. Fletcher, to C. B.] My dear Friend, Y My delay has, I hope, driven you to the Lord, who is our Μ Urim and Thummim, whofe answers are infallibly true and juft. Not fo those of men: nevertheless our Lord generally helps us by each other. May he therefore help you by the following lines! You got fafe out of Egypt with gladuefs, and now you seem intangled in the wilderness. But it may be needful for the trial of your faith, and patience, felf-denial, &c. that you should be left for awhile to feel your own barrennefs. Therefore hold faft what you have, till the Lord comes with more: equally avoiding discouraging thoughts, and flight indifference. Retire more inwardly, and quietly liften to what the Lord will fay fay concerning you; refufing creature comforts, and act faith on God your Creator, Chrift your Redeemer, and the Spirit your comforter. ་ You have always a feeling, which properly attended to, would make you shout aloud, "I am! I am out of hell!" I beg that this wonderful mercy may not appear cheap to you; if it does, you have got up, and must come down: for it is proper the Lord fhould bring down your spirit, and keep you upon crumbs, till you have learned to be thankful for them. At the first reading of your letter, these things ftruck me. 1. You are wanting in the venture of faith: you do not give enough to that kind of implicit confidence in Chrift which fays, "I will truft in thee, though thou flay me." Now this is a leffon that you must learn. Sink or fwim, a believer must learn to caft himself headlong into the boundless sea of divine truth and love. 2. You have not learned to hold fast what you have, and to be thankful for it till the Lord comes with more : till he baptizes you with the Holy Ghoft and with fire. 3. You do not make a proper use of the joy of hope; which nevertheless is to be your ftrength, till the Lord comes to his temple, to make his abode there. Adieu, JOHN FLETCHER. LETTER DLIV. [From Mifs A. Bolton, to the Rev. J. Wesley.] Rev. and dear Sir, Jan. 3, 1783.. MY prefent fituation finds me full employ; and were I not to rife early and take my time for retirement in themorning, I should enjoy but little of that pleafing repast. I think fecret converfe with God and fearching his bleffed word was never fo much my delight as of late; and I can truly fay, VOL. XIV. I elleem G |