Religion's luftre is, by native innocence, The harlot of your fancies; and, by adding Be careful to destroy the book of James, DEAR FRIEND, T HE enthufiaftic notions which I had imbibed, and the defire I had to be talking about religious mysteries, &c. anfwered one valuable pur. pofe; as it caufed me to embrace every opportunity to learn to read, fo that I could foon read the eafy parts of the Bible, Mr. Weiley's Hymns, &c. and every leifure minute was fo employed. In the winter I was obliged to attend my work from fix in the morning until ten at night. In the fummer half-year, I only worked as long as we could fee without candle; but notwithstanding the close attention I was obliged to pay to my trade, yet for a long time I read ten chapters in the Bible every day : I alfo read and learned many hymns, and as soon as I could procure fome of Mr. Wefley's Tracts, Sermons, &c. I read them alfo; many of them I perused in Cloacina's Temple (the place where my Lord Chesterfield advised his fon to read the claffics) but I did not apply them after reading to the farther ufe that his Lordship hints at. I had fuch good eyes, that I often read by the light of the moon, as my mafter would not permit me to take a candle into my room, and that prohibition I looked upon as a kind of perfecution, but I always comforted myself with the thoughts of my being a dear child of God; and as fuch, that it was impoffible for me to escape perfecution from the children of the devil, which epithets I very piously applied to my good master and mistrefs. And fo ignorantly and imprudently zealous (being a real methodift) was I for the good of their precious fouls, as fometimes to give them broad hints of it, and of the dangerous state they were in. To wanton whim and prejudice we owe, The narrow way fanatic mortals tread, By fuperftitious prejudice mifled. This paffage leads to heaven-yet, strange to tell I' Their pious good old minifter, the Reverend Mr. Harrifon, I called " a blind leader of the blind;" and I more than once affured my mistress, that both he and his whole flock were in a state of damnation; being without the affurance of their fins being pardoned, they must be "ftrangers to the hope of Ifrael, and without God in the world." My good miftrefs wifely. thought that a good stick was the best way of arguing with fuch an ignorant infatuated boy as I was, and had often recourfe to it; but I took care to give her a deal of trouble; for whenever I was ordered in my turn to read in the Bible, I always felected fuch chapters as I thought militated against Arians, Socinians, &c. and fuch verfes as I deemed favourable to the doctrine of Original Sin, Juftification by Faith, Imputed Righteoufnefs, the Doctrine of the Trinity, &c. On fuch parts I always placed a particular empha fis, which puzzled and teazed the old lady a good deal. Among other places I thought (having fo been taught by the methodists) that the fixteenth chapter of Ezekiel very much favoured the doctrines of original fin, imputed righteoutnefs, &c. that chapter I often felected and read to her, and the has often read the eighteenth chapter of the fame prophecy, for the fake of the parable of the Father's eating four grapes. D 6 When Whenever I read in St. Paul's Epiftles on juftification by faith alone, my good mistress would read in the Epifle of St. James, fuch paffages as fay that a man is not juftified by faith alone, but by faith and works, which often embarraffed me not a little. However, I comforted myfelf with the conceit of having more texts of Scripture on my fide of the queftion than fhe had on her fide. As to St. James, I was almost ready to conclude, that he was not quite orthodox, and fo at laft I did not much mind what he faid. " False opinions rooted in the mind, "Hood-wink the foul, and keep our reafon blind. "When paffion or conceit hurries us away?" Hitherto I had not frequented the methodist meetings by the confent or knowledge of my mafter and miftrefs; nor had my zeal been fo great as to make me openly violate their commands. But as my zeal increafed much fafter than my knowledge, Ifoon difregarded their orders, and without hesitation ran away to hear a methodistical fermon as often as I could find opportunity. One Sunday morning, at eight o'clock, my miftrefs feeing her fons fet off, and knowing that they were gone to a methodist meeting, determined to prevent me from doing the fame by locking the door, which the accordingly did; on which in a fuperftitious mood, I opened the Bible for direction. what to do (ignorant methodists often practise the fame fuperftitious method) and the first words I read were thefe, "He has given his angels charge concerning thee, left at any time thou fhouldeft dash thy foot against a stone." This was enough for me; fo, without a moment's hefitation, I ran up two pair of stairs to my own room, and out of the window I leaped, to the great terror of my poor mistress. I got up immediately, and ran about two or three hundred yards, towards the meeting-houfe; but alas! I could run no farther; my feet and ancles were most intolerably bruifed, fo that I was obliged to be carried back and put to bed and it was more than a month before I recovered recovered the use of my limbs. I was ignorant enough to think that the Lord had not ufed me very well, and refolved not to put fo much trust in him for the future, which reminds me of the following stories: Dr. Moore, in his Travels through France, Switzerland and Germany, informs us that a certain Frenchman, purchased a small filver figure of our Saviour on the Crofs, and having bought fome tickets in the lottery, he prayed to his crucifix that they may come up prizes; and having also a great fhare in the cargo of a fhip, he would not infure it, but committed it to the care of his filver god: And his cargo being loft at fea; and his tickets come up blanks, he fold his crucifix in great anger. And Suetonius informs us, that the fleet of Auguftus having been difperfed by a storm, and many of the fhips loff, the Emperor gave orders that the ftatue of Neptune fhould not be carried in proceffion with thofe of the other gods. My above rash adventure made a great noife in the town, and was talked of many miles round. Some few admired my amazing ftrength of faith, but the major part pitied me, as a poor, ignorant, deluded and infatuated boy. The neighbours stared, and figh'd, yet blefs'd the lad; Some deem'd him wondrous wife, and fome believ'd him mad.. Dr. BEATTIE. I am, Dear Friend,. Yours. LETTER IX... One makes the rugged paths fo smooth and even, STILLINGFLEET on Conversation. 'Gad! I've a thriving traffic in my eye. Near the mad manfions of Moorfield's I'll bawl; DEAR FRIEND, FOOTE.. IN the fourth year of my appren ticeship, my mafter died; now, although he was a good husband, a good father, and a good mafter, &c. yet as he had not the methodistical faith, and could not pronounce the Shibboleth of that fect, I piously. · feared that he was gone to hell. My miftrefs thought that his death was haftened by. his uneafy reflections on the bad behaviour of his fons, after they commenced methodists, as before they were converted each was dutiful and attended to his trade, but after they became faints they attended fo much to their spiritual concerns, that they acted as though they fuppofed they were to be fed and clothed by miracles, like Mr. Huntingdon, who informs us, in his book called "The Bank of Faith," that the Lord fent him a pair of breeches, that a dog brought him mutton to eat, fish died at night in a pond on purpofe to be eaten by him in the morning; money, and in fhort every thing he could defire, he obtained by prayer. Mr. Weffey used to cure a violent pain in his head the fame way, as he relates in his Journals. Thus, as Foote fays. "With labour, toil, all fecond means difpenfe, Та |