a servant, or a young person, or indeed any person, passed any length of time under his roof, without appearing to be brought permanently under the influence of religious principle. I consider him as having been singularly blessed in this respect. And yet it was not much his practice to address himself closely and minutely, as some have done with very good effect, to such persons individually. It was not so much by preaching directly to them, as by living before them; making an edifying use of incidents and occasions; and being so constantly instructive, devout, and benevolent in family worship; that, under the blessing of God, he produced so striking an impression upon them. This added tenfold force to whatever else they heard from him in his public ministrations.

CHAPTER IV.

THE GREAT CHANGE OF HIS RELIGIOUS VIEWS.

"WITHIN a few months after my marriage, I was led unexpectedly to exchange my curacy of Stoke for that of Ravenstone, the next village. This was done at the instance of the vicar of the latter place, the Rev. Mr. Chapman, an unmarried man, seventy years of age. He had hitherto kept no curate, but had occasionally applied to me for assistance: and now, as he wished to engage one, and I was at this time reputable, and not suspected of 'methodism,' he offered me his curacy, with a salary of 40l. a year; 157. more than I received for Stoke. The reason of his change of plan was unknown to me at the time; but I afterwards found it to be a very considerable accession of fortune, which had come to him in rather a singular manner. distant relation, a retail grocer in London, had, by saving habits, amassed about 12,000l. On the approach of death, he sent for Mr. Charles Higgins, (one of the Weston family, and afterwards Sheriff of London,) the head partner in the wholesale house with which he had dealt, and proposed to leave the whole to him. Mr. H., being a man of much generosity of mind, resolutely refused to accept it: and urged that it ought to go to the relations, however distant. The man, however, declared that he would die intestate, if Mr. H. would not become his heir: and he kept his word.

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In consequence, after engaging in some litigation, and buy. ing off some individuals who might have been troublesome, the vicar of Ravenstone, with his sister, a maiden lady, still more advanced in age, who lived with him, inherited the whole property. On the proposition which he made to me, all advance of salary at Stoke being declined, I became his curate."

My father removed to Ravenstone soon after Midsummer, 1775; but this was previously to his becoming curate of the parish.

"At this place," he says, "I resided about two years, and it proved, as it were, a Bethel* to me. Here I read the scriptures and prayed. Here I sought and, I trust, found, in a considerable measure, the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. I was not indeed brought to say with unwavering voice, as Thomas did of old, My Lord, and my God; but I learned to count all but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Here first I was made the instrument of bringing several persons earnestly to ask the all-impor tant question, What must I do to be saved? and here I learned, in some degree, to give the scriptural answer, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

Alluding to this period, he observed in a sermon preached at Aston, June 25, 1818, of which the Rev. Daniel Wilson has preserved and printed some memorandums: "It is above forty years since God of his mercy brought down my stubborn heart to true repentance. The first sermon I preached afterwards was from Gal. iii, 22, But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. This very discourse was the means of bringing some of my people to feel their danger, and to come to me saying, What shall I do to be saved? when I hardly knew how to answer the question. Begin, my brethren, and continue in the same way. Shew the people that they are concluded under sin. Tell them plainly of their lost condition. Till they feel this, nothing is done. Then exhibit to them the promise by faith of Jesus Christ: this will heal the broken heart."

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He proceeds: "I did not however, in my own case, so deeply into the practical use of the truths to which I acceded, as might have been expected; but, in many things which I have since considered as wholly indefensible, I con

formed to the world, and, by so doing, was, in great measure, sheltered from scorn and reproach. But in these things the narrative in the 'Force of Truth,' from April, 1775, to about the same period of 1777, must be referred

to.

"Here likewise my two eldest children were born, Anne, who died at the age of four years and a half, and of whom further notice will be hereafter taken; and John, still living."

Soon after his removal to Ravenstone, we find him thus anticipating the death of another married sister.

"Though I was somewhat concerned for you, yet this was all absorbed in the concern I have always felt on my poor sister Gibbons's account, whenever I have thought of her since I received your letter. I can never reflect on her fate, and the cause of it, without the most feeling anxiety. I have long thought of writing to her, but have been hindered by the supposition of my letter finding her departed from this troublesome scene.... May the Almighty supply her with a plentiful portion of his grace, &c. . . . . This most sincere and earnest prayer I do not fail daily to present at the throne of grace.'

Ravenstone, it may be observed, was always the favorite scene of my father's ministerial services. Here he enjoyed greater comfort, and here more visible success attended his pastoral labors, in proportion to the time of their continuance, than in any subsequent situation. "Here,” he says, in another part of the narrative, which may more conveniently be introduced in this place, "a considerable number of persons, who had previously been ignorant and careless about religion, became consistent and zealous Christians; and a general seriousness and attention were excited, beyond any thing which I have since witnessed." This account, however, of his usefulness at Ravenstone, takes in not only the period of his residence there, but that also of his subsequent residence at Weston, till the year 1781, during which time he retained the curacy of Ravenstone.

The progress of his mind at the important period which has been mentioned, from the spring of the year 1775 to that of 1777, is so amply, and in so satisfactory a manner, detailed in the 'Force of Truth,' that I should have contented myself, as he has done, with merely referring the reader to that work, were it not for the very interesting

additional lights which his letters to his sisters, now in my hands, throw on certain principal points of the history. For the sake of properly introducing them, I shall make some extracts from the work just mentioned.

"It was at this time that my correspondence with Mr. Newton commenced. At a visitation, May, 1775, we exchanged a few words on a controverted subject, in the room among the clergy, which I believe drew many eyes upon us. At that time he prudently declined the discourse, but a day or two after he sent me a short note, with a little book for my perusal. This was the very thing I wanted, and I gladly embraced the opportunity, which, according to my wishes, seemed now to offer;-God knoweth, with no inconsiderable expectations, that my arguments would prove irresistibly convincing, and that I should have the honor of rescuing a well-meaning person from his enthusiastical delusions. . I wrote him a long letter, purposing to draw from him such avowal and explanation of his sentiments, as might introduce a controversial discussion of our religious differences. The event by no means answered my expectation: he returned a very friendly and long answer to my letter; in which he carefully avoided the mention of those doctrines, which he knew would offend me: he declared, that he believed me to be one who feared God, and was under the teaching of his Holy Spirit: that he gladly accepted my offer of friendship, and was no ways inclined to dictate to me; but that, leaving me to the guidance of the Lord, he would be glad, as occasion served, from time to time, to bear testimony to the truths of the gospel, and to communicate his sentiments to me, on any subject, with all the confidence of friendship.

"In this manner our correspondence began, and it was continued, in the interchange of nine or ten letters, until December the same year. Throughout I held my purpose, and he his. I made use of every endeavor to draw him into controversy, and filled my letters with definitions, inquiries, arguments, objections, and consequences, requiring explicit answers. He, on the other hand, shunned every thing controversial, as much as possible, and filled his letters with the most useful, and least offensive instructions, except that now and then he dropped hints concerning the necessity, the true nature, and the efficacy of faith, and the manner in which it was to be sought, and obtained; and concern

ing some other matters, suited as he judged, to help me for-ward in my inquiry after truth. But they very much offended my prejudices, afforded me matter of disputation, and at that time were of little use to me.... When I could not obtain my end, at my instance the correspondence was dropped; . . . . and our acquaintance was, for a season, almost wholly broken off. For a long time we seldom met, and then only interchanged a few words on general topics of conversation. Yet he all along persevered in telling me, to my no small offence, that I should accede one day to his religious principles; that he had stood on my ground, and that I should stand on his: and he constantly informed his friends, that, though slowly, I was surely feeling my way to the knowledge of the truth. So clearly could he discern the dawnings of grace in my soul, amidst all the darkness of depraved nature, and my obstinate rebellion against the will of God. This expectation was principally grounded on my conduct in the following circumstances. Immediately after the commencement of our correspondence, in May, 1775, whilst my thoughts were much engrossed by some hopes of preferment; one Sunday, during the time of divine service, when the psalm was named, I opened the prayer-book to turn to it: but (accidentally shall I say, or providentially?) I opened upon the Articles of Religion; and the eighth, respecting the authority and warrant of the Athanasian creed, immediately engaged my attention. My disbelief of the doctrine of a trinity of coequal persons in the unity of the Godhead, and my pretensions to candor, both combined to excite my hatred to this creed: for which reasons, I had been accustomed to speak of it with contempt, and to neglect reading it officially. No sooner therefore did I read the words, "That it was to be thoroughly received, and believed; for that it might be proved by most certain warrants of holy scripture;' than my mind was greatly impressed and affected. The matter of subscription immediately occurred to my thoughts, and from that moment I conceived such scruples about it, that, till my view of the whole system of Christianity was entirely changed, they remained insuperable...... At length, after a violent conflict between interest and conscience, I made known to my patron my scruples, and my determination not to subscribe. Thus my views of preferment were deliberately given up, and with an increasing family I was left, as far as mere human prudence could discern, with little other prospect than that of poverty and