gave her, as I alfo prayed, that the Lord would gracioufly forgive all her fins, and the guilty hand she had in procuring her own death; telling her, that though our days were determined, and a period fixed to the life of every creature, in the eternal decrees of God, yet people might be verily guilty in fhortening their days, and had need to apply to the blood of Jefus for forgiveness of that fin. She then faid, "O gracious and merciful God, for the fake of the Son of thy love, who fhed his precious blood for guilty finners, forgive all my trefpaffes, and my great fin and folly in mourning immoderately for the dead, and thereby impairing my health, and abridging my days, which fhould have been employed in an active glorifying of thy name, and shewing forth thy praife." I did every thing to comfort her, prayed and converfed much with her. She was unhappy when I was not, with her, She grew daily worfe and worse, but was refreshed with the manifeftations of the love of God to her foul. She told me, that he had early tafted that the Lord was gracious; that he had bleffed her uncle and aunt's inftructions to her, thanking him for fo excellent and godly guardians, who had loved her as tenderly as if fhe had been their own child; and had made the preaching of the glorious gofpel of Chrift very ufeful to her, and had often fhined upon her heart at the holy communion; that he had feen the vanity of the world, and the folly of indulging a vain paffion, and abandoning herself to extravagant grief for her fatal disappointment, wifhing nobody might follow her foolish example; that the loathed herself and her own righteousnefs, and depended entirely upon the righteousness and merits of Chrift for pardon and acceptance with God, and her whole hope was built on the covenant of grace made with

the

the exalted Surety. She continued quite fenfible to the end; and having called all her coufins to her bedfide, she gave them her bleffing, with many good advices; and having taken an affectionate leave of me, and of the whole family, I holding her by the right hand, the expired in a very pleafant manner, faying, "O Lord, I come, I come. Lord Jefus, receive my fpirit." Thus did this lovely lady refign her foul into the hands of her dear Lord Jefus, in the faith of being with him for ever. The whole family were overwhelmed with grief, and I could not but mourn for the amiable girl many days. She had made her will about three months before, in which the left her eftate, divided into three different parts, one to Mifs Jeffy Ts, the fecond to Mr T-s's fecond fon, and the third to his third fon; and all her money in the funds and in her uncle's hands, to the younger children equally betwixt them. She left her own gold watch to Mifs Ts, now married, and her mother's to Mifs Jeffy, and her father's to me, which I accepted of, together with a rich diamond ring that her father had wore. I attended the corpfe to the grave, which was conducted in folemn proceffion, amidst a great company of weeping spectators.

Having ftaid fome time in this family after this melancholy occafion, Mr T-s propofed a marriage between me and his daughter Jeffy, earneftly preffing me to make my addreffes to her, affuring me I would fucceed, and reprefenting his earneft defire to have me related to his family. I thanked him for all his kindneffes, and the great affection fhewn me by him and all his worthy family; I told him I was duly fenfible of the merit of the young lady, and of the great honour intended me; but that as I was troubled with a weakness in the lungs, was of a delicate conftituA a

tion,

tion, and threatened with a confumption, I was refolved to live and die a bachelor, being now mortified to all carnal pleasures. He was mightily chagrined with my refufal; telling me, that one to whom his family was under fo many obligations, and whom they loved as a brother, had formerly refused to receive a trifling legacy left by his dear fon, and now declined an affinity with him. I told him I could not help it; that I loved him and his family, and some time ago would have reckon. ed fuch a propofal a real honour done me, which I would have accepted with delight; but that the infuccefs of my affair with Mifs C-m, the only lady I ever did or could love, had rendered me dead to all the fex; that I had laid afide all thoughts of altering my condition, and was refolved to devote the rest of my days to religious retirement; would stay at home in winter, and travel in the fummer for my health. I affured him Ì would ever regard him and his family, and frequently vifit them. This declaration was very ac ceptable to him; and I from that time continued to vifit this worthy family three or four times in a year, and always met with a moft gracious reception.

I have now finished the first part of these Memoirs, which I with may afford as great pleasure to the reader on a serious perufal, as they did to me in the writing of them. I know, that every friend of Chrift will rejoice and be edified at fuch aftonishing inftances of the fovereignty and efficacy of divine grace, displayed in the converfion of fo many finners, and in fuch ravishing manifeftations of the love of God to those who had swum in vice and fenfuality, and rebelled againft heaven. The profane will meet with awful warnings, the fecure and thoughtless will fee abundance of motives to rouse them, the ignorant

will find means of inftruction, every finner will fee where his help lies, the mourner will be comforted, and every good Chriftian animated to a life of faith and hope. I truft God will be glorified, and the interefts of religion promoted, by a narrative, which, however meanly executed, is honestly intended for the honour of the exalted Redeemer, and for magnifying his grace and righteousness; to whom, with the Father, and bleffed Spirit, be glory ascribed for ever. Amen!

II.

PART

CHA P. I.

The author vifits the mo noted towns, and collects, Striking anecdotes. The hiftory of the adventures of a lady who purfued learned ftudies in a male habit, and of thofe of a bandsome maid-servant.

f

death,

refolved to visit the chief places in the kingdom for the benefit of my health; the next fpring after, I fet out on my travels, and had the pleafure of feeing all the worthy gentlemen who had affifted me in paying the laft duty to our dear deceafed friend. I had for fome time carried on an epiftolary correfpondence with them all, and found, to my great joy, that they perfevered in an attachment to the cause of religion, amidst all the reproaches thrown on it by wicked and profane men. But Mr M, now a celebrated phyfician, was my favourite friend and diftinguifhed companion. I was in use to vifit him four times, and fome times oftener, in a year, and to refide many days at his house, we being happy in one another's company and converfation. Though I A a 2

vifited

In

vifited the metropolis, and all the noted towns in
the kingdom; yet it is not my intention to give
a description of any of them, or of their antiqui-
ties, churches, town-houses, government, &c.
as thefe particulars ingroffed little of my atten-
tion. In every place I endeavoured to cultivate
the acquaintance of the evangelical clergy, and of
the friends to the religion of Jefus Chrift, for my
improvement in Chriftian faith and love.
these excursions I collected many remarkable hi-
ftories and affecting anecdotes, which would fur-
nifh materials for many volumes, and afford no
fmall entertainment to all who fear the Lord,
and regard the falvation of their fouls. As I
have nothing remarkable of my own to commu-
nicate to the world, I fhall present the reader
with a few of the moft diftinguifhed anecdotes I
met with, as a proper conclufion of the above
memoirs; referving the reft for the fubject of
other two volumes, if the Lord fpare my life to
finish what I intend.

I have already in chap. IX. given an account of Mr Ts's fufpicions of a certain young gentleman with whom he was acquainted, being, from certain circumftances therein related, a lady in difguife. I fhall therefore give an account of that lady, and the feveral triking anecdotes fhe furnished me with.

Several years after Mr T-s's death, travelling homeward after an excurfion of feveral months, I overtook on the public road, after breakfast, a very well-dreffed comely gentleman, attended by a fervant in very neat livery, both on horfeback. We entered into an agreeable converfation; and, after travelling fome hours, we arrived within fight of a fine country-feat; which the gentleman told me was his house, and very politely invited me to dine with him; affuring

me,