of the Gospel, and that the more passive I was, the more fit I should be for the Master's use. In this peaceful frame of mind I remained, attending to the leading of his Spirit, and the opening of his providence, till not long after I went with some of our friends to a work house, where one of them preached. I felt great love to the poor people. As we were coming back one of our brethren asked me, "Are you willing to give them a sermon next Sunday morning?" I looked upon this to be a call of Providence, and therefore durst not refuse it. So I went and spoke to them from these words, "Ask and it shall be given you :" and I had a testimony within that it pleased God. Not long after, being exceeding weary in body, and having much business upon my hands, my spirit sunk, and I thought, "How is it possible for me to work till twelve o'clock at night? Besides, I am to preach at the work house in the morning." Just then the power of the Highest overshadowed me, and God spoke with power, "Lo! I am with thee always." The words pointed me at first to the work I had to do the next morning. But I thought also, should not I expect power now to carry me through my business? Weariness vanished away, and I went on swiftly, for the grace of God carried me. In the morning I preached as I had appointed: when I had done, I thought, I have made a stammering piece of work: but that word was immediately applied, "The tongue of the stammerer shall speak plainly." From this time I constantly attended the work house, but was particularly careful to keep the life of God in my own soul. I saw religion was neither more nor less than the constant union of the soul with God, and used all diligence to shun those rocks on which I had split before. I laboured to retain a sense of the littleness of my understanding, that I might always be open to instruction: and I depended not on my grace or gifts, but upon the Giver, living by faith in the Son of God. As to the acting in a more public manner, I was entirely passive. I thought, if ever I do speak in public, I will be a preacher of God's making. In this spirit I continued till going to the Foundry one Saturday evening, I was informed that Mr. Wesley had appointed me to preach there the next morning. I was surprised: but I thought, How can I honour my spiritual father unless I do what he orders me? So I went and preached on, "The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple." For a minute after I had named my text I trembled and could hardly utter a word. But I then found help, and spoke about forty minutes without any difficulty. Afterward I preached at Bow, on," Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." And after a few trials I was convinced that, provided his soul be truly alive to God, the life of a preacher of the Gospel is the happiest life under heaven. I was now received into the number of local preachers. But I was fearful of putting myself forward, lest I should run before the Spirit. I never asked to preach at this or the other place, receiving the appointment of the assistant as a call from God. How happy would it be for the preachers, if they were all to follow the guidance of the Spirit, rather than their own will! Then nothing would come amiss. In a few months I preached in all the chapels in London, and when summer came on, in Moorfields, Mary bonefields, and on Tower-hill: all the time blessing God for being kept from that false humility which shackles so many! My unfitness never stood in my way. Indeed I cannot but think all who are called of God to preach, are in some way fitted for the work: if not, the Lord of the vineyard does not know his business! However, sure I am, that humility of this kind is inconsistent with perfect love. I believe genuine humility makes a man invulnerable by the praise or dispraise of men. From this time I continued to preach, and to labour diligently with my hands, that I might provide things honest in the sight of all men, till in August, 1777, I was called to suffer the will of God, being about three months under a surgeon's hands; he at last pronounced the case desperate; of which my wife informed me with tears in her eyes. In that instant three scriptures came to my mind: "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. things impossible with men are possible with God. right hand of the Lord hath the pre-eminence ;" and I was fully assured I should not die: meantime I suffered the will of God willingly, cheerfully, joyfully. By this illness The The I was cured of another disorder, which otherwise must have been my death, and was made more capable, both inwardly and outwardly, of doing the work I was called to. When I gathered strength I was advised to go into the country and being recommended to our friends at Dorking, I spent sixteen days with them. May God repay them for the love they showed me! When I came back I was quite capable of my business, which I cheerfully entered upon, being equally willing to work at my trade or to preach the Gospel. But in the latter end of July, 1780, one asking me whether I had no thoughts of being a travelling preacher, I owned I had: and having just buried two of my children, I thought the time was come. I was accordingly proposed at the Bristol conference, and appointed for the Salisbury circuit. Many of my prudent friends blamed me much for leaving a quiet, comfortable business. But I had counted the cost. So on Monday, September 11, I set out for Salisbury. When I left my wife and three children, I felt a mixture of joy and grief, but with a full resignation to the will of God. I have been about five months in my circuit, and am more convinced that this is the pleasantest life under heaven.Though I have left my wife and children, and dearest friends, and house and business, and wander about, chiefly on foot, through cold and rain, I find my mind uninterruptedly happy I feel a constant witness of the work wrought in my heart by the Spirit of holiness. I have received in this world a hundredfold: and I know that when my earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, I have a building of God; a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ! : MR. DUNCAN WRIGHT. I was born May, 1736, in the kirk town of Fortingale, near the river Lyon, and not far from the lovely banks of the "soft-winding Tay," Breadalbin, Perthshire. I claim kindred to the Stuart, M'Donald, and M'Gregor families; perhaps more famed in story for martial exploits than for any extraordinary attainments in religion. It might have been better for me to have had a hardy Highland education; but of this I was deprived by the removal of my parents to Edinburgh, when I was very young. Here I had the best education my father could give, who was my only schoolmaster. He was esteemed a pretty good scholar; but I doubt knew little of the life and power of religion. Yet he prayed with us at times, made us learn the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, and took care of us to the best of his knowledge. I lost him early, which was a loss indeed! For my mother, being too easy and indulgent, let us have our own way, which led us to all the follies and sins we were capable of. I do not remember that any creature took any pains to instruct me till I was near twenty years of age, but old Lady D., of Preston Field, who at times advised me as well as she could. And yet the Lord did not leave me without draw. ings from above: for having a bookish inclination, I read and wept very often till my head ached, and hardly knew what ailed me; only I wanted to be a Christian, and to be easy and happy, but knew not how. Had any living Christian taken a little pains to inform me, I doubt not but I should have embraced the offers of mercy long be. fore I did. Indeed I never felt any spirit of opposition to religion and religious persons. For as I had neither the form nor the power of religion myself, I knew I had little reason to speak an unkind word of those that had any appearance of either. I was from my infancy feeble and tender: yet, having many relations in the army, no employment would relish with me but a soldier's life; hence my mother never could prevail with me to follow any regular business, and this exposed me to vain and wicked company. Yet, having some tenderness of conscience left, repenting and sinning, resolving and breaking through my resolutions, made my life a weariness indeed. So in order to be happy, I resolved to see the world in a military life. Hence I enlisted, the latter end of 1754, in the tenth regiment of foot. None of my friends knew what was become of me till I wrote to my mother from Limerick, in Ireland. My mother being infirm, did not survive this long; she died the spring following: and I fear my disobedience hastened her departure. An awakened conscience will smart, first or last, for this sin among others, stubbornness and disobedience to parents. So did mine; for the day I enlisted, I thought, now I have done for soul and body: for I could form no conception how a soldier could be religious. In the summer of 1755 we encamped near the city Cashel; eight regiments of foot, and two of horse, where William Coventry, a corporal in the Royal Scotch, frequently preached. I heard him once, and felt nothing but a kind of wonder at his courage in preaching among such a set as we were. I little thought that, in less than four years, I should be engaged in the same work in another camp. We returned to Limerick for winter quarters, where I began to consider, (as the soldiers had then a great deal of leisure time in the winter,) how I should pass my tedious moments; I could play at cards, and other games, (then common among the soldiers, but now happily sup pressed,) but I seldom liked my company. For though I could swear sometimes, yet I could not relish so much of it as they were addicted to. I therefore bought and borrowed all the plays, novels, and romances I could lay my hands upon; reading late and early. And my reading had this effect, at least, that it kept me out of worse diversions; and gave my mind a turn above such intemperance and lewdness as were too common among men of my rank, At last an old soldier, in the same barrack room with me, found fault with me for spending my time and spoiling my eyes in reading such trash. I thought, I will show you I can read religious books as well as others. But I had none of my own. I borrowed two from one of our soldiers. One of them was the Marrow of Modern Divinity, which being wrote by way of dialogue, attracted my attention; and before I read it half through, I was truly though gently convinced that I was a lost sinner, and that Christ was all I wanted to make me easy, satisfied, and happy. Now it was that a deep sense of my time, youth, and health, spent in sin and folly; my ingratitude to God, the |