would not fail to give him all the affistance in his power. СНА Р. V. Mr Ts's account of an with a modest young girl. defence of revealed religion; hortation to a religious life. NEX occafional conference A fecond Speech in. with a pathetic ex Ext morning I vifited my friend, and found he had rested very badly, but had paffed the night in communion with God. I then informed him of what paffed betwixt me and the young gentleman; at which he was greatly pleased, and wifhed the Lord might direct him to fome fuitable topics of difcourfe for his inftruction. Then turning to me, he faid, "The odious epithets bestowed on me yesterday by the young gentleman, particularly that of being an admirer of the fair fex, put me in mind of the laft love-adventure I had; and, as it is not unimportant, I will relate it to you. It was the very day before I was feized with the fever which brought on this wafting confumption, which will fhortly bring me to the grave. I had taid in my room all the day, and was feized with an uncommon melancholy and depreffion of fpirits. I read feveral papers of the Spectator, and about five in the evening went out. I vifited a very fober family, in order to pafs an hour; and as both the mafter and miftrefs were out, but fpeedily expected home, I fat down in a room; when an amiable young girl came in, having a meffage to the lady of the house. I infenfibly fell a-talking with her, and afked her, as she was a very handsome girl, and I fuppofed about seventeen or eighteen years of age, if she had yet got a lover, or was in love with any young gentle man ? man? She said she was little above feventeen; that she had not been in love, neither had got a lover; and that it was time enough to attend to thofe things. I asked her, if she had read any novels? and the having replied, fhe had; I asked her, if the love-fcenes therein described had not had at times fome influence upon her, in exciting defires for a lover or an hufband? She blushed, and ingenuously confeffed they had; but faid, fhe had endeavoured to banish the ideas of them from her mind, and had given over reading fuch books,' as fhe was afraid fuch entertainments might be dangerous to her virtue, which was all her portion. After applauding her conduct, I asked her, what harm can there poffibly be in a young" man and young woman, who have natural defires to one another, which cannot be rooted from their conftitution, ufing freedoms with one another in bed? She very fmartly replied, "Perhaps, Sir, you may think there is no harm or fin in the matter; but I think there is a great deal, One flip ruins a young woman for ever, and may be the cause of her being a prostitute afterwards. But I find in the Bible, that fornication is a fin exprefsly prohibited by God, severely threatened, and that it debars one from heaven. This confideration terrifies me from the thoughts of it, and lays a restraint on my defires. I own I have defires in common with my fex, young as I am,' which I endeavour to mortify. I apprehend the having fuch defires and inclinations is not finful, but that gratifying them in an unlawful way is prohibited. It is no fin in me to love a young man, nor in a young man to love me, or any other young woman; but to gratify that love any other way than in the marriage-ftate, is finful, offenfive to God, and ruinous to the parties." She then expreffed her hopes, that the Lord would ⚫ preserve F 3. preferve her from the fnares and temptations of wicked men, and give her grace to refist all attempts that might be made upon her honour. I praised what the faid, and feriously exhortedher to abstain from the company and converfation of bad men and women, not to read novels and romances, which were generally incentives to levity and wantonnefs, but attend to the Bible and other good books. Having learned from her, that he was a poor country girl, though well educated, and had come to town to learn a bufinefs, I, with much entreaty, prevailed on her to accept of three guineas, which was all the money that I had in my pocket, to purchase neceffaries for her; and I gave her good advices. Then the lady of the houfe and her, hufband came in; and the girl, having delivered her meffage, retired. I own to you, dear Sir, that this adventure has afforded me more pleafure, than all the lewd fcenes I was ever engaged in. That very night, after I had left this family, I was. feized with the fever, which has iffued in my prefent fatal trouble; and never had any after communications with women." Soon after this converfation the young gentleman above mentioned came in, and begged to hear my friend further on the fubject of the preceding day's debate; affirming, that he had a good defign in it; and hoping that what Mr T-s would fay might be ufeful to him. To which my. friend replied, that he was glad if any thing he had already advanced had been of utility to him; and therefore fhould now proceed to fuggeft a few things more to his ferious confideration. He then addreffed him as, follows. Sir, I am no ftranger to the opinions you advanced yesterday, in oppofition to revealed religion, and the God of truth, the God and Fa ther ther of our Lord Jefus Chrift. I have often heard fuch doctrines delivered; I have read them in the writings of the free-thinkers, thofe modern pretenders to reafon; I have feen and heard Chriftianity ridiculed and blafphemed, even by thofe who pretended to teach it to others. But every man who gives himself the leaft leifure for thought and reflection, must be convinced, that the redemption of the foul is precious; that falvation from fin and wrath is a matter of the greatest importance to man, and challengeth his utmost attention and regard; that man is a dependent creature, not fufficient for his own felicity; that he is mortal, fubject to ten thoufand accidents and cafualties, againft which he cannot provide ; often tortured with the extremities of pain, racked with acute and excruciating illneffes, the direful harbingers of death and the grave; frequently expofed to fhame and contempt, terrible anguifh and horror of confcience, which prey upon his vitals, drink up his spirits, and wafte him to a fkeleton, till he drops into the filent grave. Such a person must know, that it is poffible, nay absolutely certain, that there is a God, an infinite, almighty, holy, juft, and wife Being, who made and governs the world, and will call all the fubjects of his moral government to account for their conduct during the time allowed for their probation in life; that however in the prefent life love and favour cannot be obferved by the general ftream of Providence, yet, in the world to come, it will be well with the righteous, and ill with the wicked; that the wages of fin is death; and that from death not one of the race of men can. plead freedom, or claim a difcharge. Every one who reflecteth upon what paffeth in his own mind, and in the world around him, cannot but be convinced of these things, and view them as of great importance importance to him in his prefent ftate. And therefore every prudent man, who doth not confine his thoughts and attention to present objects and enjoyments, but directs his views to the things of futurity, will not be ridiculed out of religion, by the wit and fophiftry of men funk in fenfe and immersed in the earth. Flights of eloquence, and flourishes of rhetoric, in favour of the noble creature man, his great faculties and endowments, and his mighty achievements, will have little impreffion upon him, to fancy himself a god, and act as an independent being, having none to call him to account, while he evidently feels himself to be a creature of the duft, a bit of animated but brit-tle clay, and a fon of forrow. To such a man plain and pofitive evidence will be neceffary, that there is no God, no heaven, no hell, ere he will look with contempt on revelation, and deny the Lord that bought him. And indeed every man should allow himself to think calmly and deliberately upon fuch fubjects; and every wife man will do fo. "With refpect to religion, upon the faith and practice of which dependeth our future felicity, there have been many very idle and unavailing difputes. Though nothing is of greater importance, or about which greater attention is neceffary ;' yet nothing has been more neglected, nothing more mistaken and mifreprefented. That religion is effential to man, is an undoubted maxim; and that it is effential to his present and future happinefs, is as clear as funfhine. But what that religion is which is fo effential to man, is the queftion; and an important queftion it is. I don't think there are any fpeculative Atheists in the world, men who firmly believe there is no God, and who confequently think they may live as they lift, without check or control. An Atheist is a monster and prodigy in nature; and the opinion, that |