"Great is the work," my neighbours cried, And own'd the power Divine: "And be the glory thine." The Lord can clear the darkest skies, Let those that sow in sadness wait Till the fair harvest come; They shall confess their sheaves are great, I have been so happy as to get the sight of five original letters which he wrote to his mother about this time; which do, in a very lively manner, illustrate the surprising change made in the whole current of his thoughts and temper of his mind. Many of them were written in a most hasty manner, just as the courier who brought them was, perhaps unexpectedly, setting out; and they relate chiefly to affairs in which the public is not at all concerned: yet there is not one of them in which he has not inserted some warm and genuine sentiment of religion. And indeed it is very remarkable that though he was pleased to honour me with a great many letters, and I have seen several more which he wrote to others, some of them on journeys, where he could have but a few minutes at command, yet I cannot recollect that I ever saw any one in which there was not some trace of piety. And the Rev. Mr. Webster, who was employed to review great numbers of them, that he might select such extracts as he should think proper to communicate to me, has made the same observation. His words are these: "I have read over a vast number of The major, with great justice, tells the good lady his mother, "that when she saw him again, she would find the person indeed the same, but everything else entirely changed." And she might easily have perceived it of herself by the whole tenour of those letters, which everywhere breathe the unaffected spirit of a true Christian. They are taken up sometimes with giving advice and directions concerning some pious and charitable contributions, one of which, I remember, amounted to ten guineas, though as he was then out of commission, and had not formerly been very frugal, it cannot be supposed he had much to spare; sometimes in speaking of the pleasure with which he attended sermons, and expected sacramental opportunities; and at other times in exhorting her, established as she was in religion, to labour after a yet more exemplary character and conduct, or in recommending her to the Divine presence and blessing, as well as himself to her prayers. What satisfaction such letters as these must give to a lady of her distinguished piety, who had so long wept over this dear and amiable son, as quite lost to God, and on the verge of final destruction, it is not for me to describe, or indeed to conceive. But hastily as these letters were written, only for private view, I will give a few specimens from them in his own words, which will serve to illustrate, as well as confirm, what I have before hinted. the colonel's letters, and have not found any one of them, however short, and written in the most passing manner, even when posting, but what is expressive of the most passionate breathings towards his God and Saviour. If the letter consists but of two sentences, religion is not forgot: which, doubtless, deserves to be carefully remarked, as the most uncontested evidence of a pious mind, ever under the warmest impression of divine things." "I must take the liberty," says he, in a letter dated on the first day of the new year, or according to the old style, Dec. 21, 1719, to intreat you that you would receive no company on the Lord's day. I know you have a great many good acquaintance, with whose discourses one might be very well edified; but as you cannot keep out and let in whom you please, the best way, in my humble opinion, will be to see none." In another of Jan. 25, "I am happier than any one can imagine, except I could put him exactly in the same situation with myself: which is what the world cannot give, and no man ever attained it, unless it were from above." In another, dated March 30, which was just before a sacrament day, "To-morrow, if it please God, I shall be happy, my soul being to be fed with the bread of life which came down from heaven. I shall be mindful of you all there." In another, of Jan. 29, he thus expresses that indifference for worldly possessions which he so remarkably carried through all the remainder of his life: "I know the rich are only stewards for the poor, and must give an account of every penny; therefore the less I have, the more easy will it be to render a faithful account of it." And to add no more from these letters at present, in the conclusion of one of them he has these comprehensive and solemn words: "Now that He, who is the ease of the afflicted, the support of the weak, the wealth of the poor, the teacher of the ignorant, the anchor of the fearful, and the infinite reward of all faithful souls, may pour out upon you all his richest blessings, shall always be the prayer of him who is entirely yours," etc. To this account of his correspondence with his excellent mother I should be glad to add a large view of another to which she introduced him, with that reverend and valuable person under whose pastoral care she was placed; I mean the justly celebrated doctor Edmund Calamy, to whom she could not but early communicate the joyful news of her son's conversion. I am not so happy as to be possessed of the letters which passed between them, which I have reason to believe would make a curious and valuable collection; but I have had the pleasure of receiving from my worthy and amiable friend, the reverend Mr. Edmund Calamy, one of the letters which the doctor, his father, wrote to the major on this wonderful occasion. I perceive, by the contents of it, that it was the first; and indeed it is dated as early as the 3rd of August, 1719, which must be but a few days after his own account, dated August 4th, N.S., could reach England. There is so much true religion and good sense in this paper, and the counsel it suggests may be so seasonable to other persons in circumstances which bear any resemblance to his, that I make no apology to my reader for inserting a large extract from it. "Dear Sir,-I conceive it will not much surprise you to understand, that your good mother communicated to me your letter to her, dated August 4th, N.S., which brought her the news you conceive would be so acceptable to her. I, who have often been a witness to her concern for you on a spiritual account, can attest with what joy this news was received by her, and imparted to me, as a special friend, who she knew would bear a part with her on such an occasion. And indeed if, as our Saviour intimates, Luke xv. 7, 10, there is, in such cases, joy in heaven, and among the angels of God, it may well be supposed that of a pious mother, who has spent so many prayers and tears upon you, and has, as it were, travailed in birth with you again, till Christ was formed in you, could not be small. You may believe me if I add, that I also, as a common friend of hers and yours, and, which is much more, of the Prince of light, whom you now declare you heartily fall in with, in opposition to that of the dark kingdom, could not but be tenderly affected with an account of it under your own hand. My joy on this account was the greater, considering the importance of your capacity, interests, and prospects; which, in such an age as this, may promise most happy consequences, on your heartily appearing on God's side, and embarking in the interest of our dear Redeemer. If I have hitherto at all remembered you at the throne of grace, at your good mother's desire, which you are pleased to take notice of with so much respect, I can assure you I shall henceforward be led to do it with more concern and particularity, both by duty and inclination. And if I were capable of giving you any little assistance in the noble design you are engaging in, by corresponding with you by letter, while you are at such a distance, I should do it most cheerfully. And perhaps such a motion may not be altogether unacceptable; for I am inclinable to believe, that when some, whom you are obliged to converse with, observe your behaviour so different from what it formerly was, and banter you upon it as mad and fanciful, it may be some little relief to correspond with one who will take a pleasure in heartening and encouraging you. And when a great many things frequently offer, in which conscience may be concerned, where duty may not always be plain, nor suitable persons to advise with at hand, it may be some satisfaction to you to correspond with one with whom you may use a friendly freedom in all such matters, and on whose fidelity you may |