,,the ,,life ,,of ,,col4 ,,james        
,,gardiner1      ,,who ,,was ,,slain    
,,at ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,prestonpans1 
,,september #ba1 #agde4        ,,by ,p4 
,,doddridge1 ,d4,d4        ',justior    
alter ,nec pietate fuit1 nec bello major
 et armis4'--,,virgil          ,,chapter
       ,i     ,,parentage ,,and ,,early 
,,days4      ,,ii     ,,battle ,,of     
,,ramillies4     ,,iii     ,,military   
,,preferments4      ,,iv     ,,checks   
,,of ,,conscience4       ,v     ,,his   
,,conversion4      ,,vi     ,,letters4  
,,vii     ,,domestic ,,relations4       
,,viii     ,,conduct ,,as ,,an          
,,officer4      ,,ix     ,,intimacy     
,,with ,,the ,,author4       ,x         
,,devotion ,,and ,,charity4      ,,xi   
,,embarks ,,for ,,flanders4     ,,xii   
,,return ,,to ,,england4    ,,xiii      
,,revival ,,of ,,religion4     ,,xiv    
,,apprehensions ,,of ,,death4      ,,xv 
,,battle ,,of ,,prestonpans4            
,,the ,,colonel',s ,,personal           
,,appearance4             ,,appendix ,i 

,,appendix ,,ii                         
99,transcriber's ,note3 ,at the time of 
this book1 ,england still followed  the 
,julian calendar 7after ,julius ,caesar1
 #dd ,b4,c471 and celebrated ,new       
,year's ,day on ,march #beth            
7,annunciation ,day74 ,most ,catholic   
countries  accepted the ,gregorian      
calendar 7after ,pope ,gregory ,,xiii7  
from some time  after #aehb 7the        
,catholic countries of ,france1 ,spain1 
,portugal1 and ,italy  in #aehb1        
,belgium1 the ,netherlands1 and         
,switzerland within a year or two1      
,hungary in #aehg1 and ,scotland in     
#afjj71 and celebrated ,new ,year's ,day
 on  ,january #ast4 ,england finally    
changed to the ,gregorian calendar in   
#ageb4  ,this is the reason for the     
double dates in the early months of the 
years  in this narrative4 ,january #afhg
 in ,england would have been ,january   
#afhh  in ,scotland4 ,only after ,march 
#beth was the year the same in the two  
countries4 ,the ,julian calendar was    

known as ',old ,style'1 and the         
,gregorian calendar as ',new ,style'    
7,n4,s474    7,thus a letter written    
from ,france on e4g4 ,august #dth1 #agai
 would be  dated ,august #d1 ,n4,s47    
,,life ,,of ,,col4 ,,james ,,gardiner4  
,,chapter ,i4    ,,parentage ,,and      
,,early ,,days4      ,when ,i promised  
the public some larger account of the   
life and character  of this illustrious 
person1 than ,i could conveniently      
insert in my sermon  on the sad occasion
 of his death1 ,i was secure1 that if   
,providence  continued my capacity of   
writing1 ,i should not wholly disappoint
 the  expectation2 for ,i was furnished 
with a variety of particulars which     
appeared to me worthy of general notice1
 in consequence of that intimate        
friendship with which he had honoured me
 during the last six years of his       
life--a friendship which led him to open
 his heart to me1 in repeated           
conversations1 with an unbounded        
confidence1 7as he then assured me1     

beyond what he had used with any other  
man living17 so far as religious        
experiences were concerned2 and ,i had  
also received several very valuable     
letters from him during the time of our 
absence from each other1 which          
contained most genuine and edifying     
traces of his ,christian character4     
,but ,i hoped further to learn many     
valuable particulars from the papers of 
his own closet1 and from his letters to 
other friends1 as well as  from what    
they more circumstantially knew         
concerning him4 ,i therefore  determined
 to delay the execution of my promise   
till ,i could enjoy these  advantages   
for performing it in the most           
satisfactory manner2 nor have ,i1  on   
the whole1 reason to regret that        
determination4    ,i shall not trouble  
the reader with all the causes which    
concurred to  retard these expected     
assistances for almost a whole year4    
,the chief of  them was the tedious     
languishing illness of his afflicted    

lady1 through  whose hands it was proper
 the papers should pass2 together with  
the  confusion into which the rebels had
 thrown them when they ransacked  his   
seat at ,bankton1 where most of them    
were deposited4 ,but having now         
received such of them as have escaped   
their rapacious hands1 and could        
conveniently be collected and           
transmitted1 ,i set myself with the     
greatest  pleasure to perform what ,i   
esteem not merely a tribute of gratitude
 to  the memory of my invaluable friend1
 7though never was the memory of any    
mortal man more precious and sacred to  
me17 but of duty to ,god1 and to my     
fellow-creatures2 for ,i have a most    
cheerful hope that the narrative ,i am  
now to write will1 under the divine     
blessing1 be a means of spreading1  what
 of all things in the world1 every      
benevolent heart will most desire  to   
spread1 a warm and lively sense of      
religion4    ,my own heart has been so  
much edified and animated by what ,i    

have read in  the memoirs of persons who
 have been eminent for wisdom and piety1
 that ,i  cannot but wish the treasure  
may be more and more increased2 and ,i  
would  hope the world may gather the    
like valuable fruits from the life ,i am
  now attempting1 not only as it will   
contain very singular circumstances1    
which may excite general curiosity1 but 
as it comes attended with some  other   
particular advantages4    ,the reader is
 here to survey a character of such     
eminent and various  goodness as might  
demand veneration1 and inspire him with 
a desire of  imitating it too1 had it   
appeared in the obscurest rank2 but it  
will  surely command some peculiar      
regard1 when viewed in so elevated and  
important a station1 especially as it   
shone1 not in ecclesiastical1 but       
military life1 where the temptations are
 so many1 and the prevalence  of the    
contrary character so great1 that it may
 seem no inconsiderable  praise and     
felicity to be free from dissolute vice1

 and to retain what in  most other      
professions might be esteemed only a    
mediocrity of virtue4  ,it may surely1  
with the highest justice1 be expected   
that the title  and bravery of ,colonel 
,gardiner will invite many of our       
officers and  soldiers1 to whom his name
 has been long honourable and dear1 to  
peruse  this account of him with some   
peculiar attention2 in consequence of   
which  it may be a means of increasing  
the number1 and brightening the         
character  of those who are already     
adorning their office1 their country1   
and their  religion2 and of reclaiming  
those who will see what they ought to   
be1  rather than what they are4 ,on the 
whole1 to the gentlemen of the sword ,i 
would particularly offer these memoirs1 
as theirs by so distinguished  a title2 
yet ,i am firmly persuaded there are    
none whose office is so  sacred1 or     
whose proficiency in the religious life 
is so advanced1 but  they may find      
something to demand their thankfulness1 

and to awaken their  emulation4         
,,colonel ,,james ,,gardiner was the son
 of ,capt4 ,patrick ,gardiner of the    
family of ,torwoodhead1 by ,mrs499 ,mary
 ,hodge of the family of ,gladsmuir4    
,the captain1 who was master of a       
handsome estate1 served many years in   
the army of king ,william and queen     
,anne1 and died abroad with the ,british
  forces in ,germany1 soon after the    
battle of ,hochstett1 through the       
fatigues he underwent in the duties of  
that celebrated campaign4 ,he had  a    
company in the regiment of foot once    
commanded by ,colonel ,hodge1 his       
valiant brother-in-law1 who was slain at
 the head of that regiment 7my  memorial
 from ,scotland says7 at the battle of  
,steenkirk1 which was fought  in the    
year #afib4    99,transcriber's ,note3  
,mrs4 7,mistress71 in that age1 was the 
normal style  of address for an         
unmarried daughter from a prominent     
family1 as well as  for a married lady4 
,mrs4 ,gardiner1 our colonel's mother1  

was a lady of very respectable          
character2 but it pleased ,god to       
exercise her with very uncommon trials2 
for she not only lost her husband and   
her brother in the service of their     
country1 as before related1 but also her
 eldest son1 ,mr4 ,robert ,gardiner1  on
 the day which completed the #afth year 
of his age1 at the siege of  ,namur1 in 
#afie4 ,but there is great reason to    
believe that ,god blessed  these various
 and heavy afflictions1 as the means of 
forming her to that  eminent degree of  
piety which will render her memory      
honourable as long  as it continues4    
,her second son1 the worthy person of   
whom ,i am now to give a more           
particular account1 was born at         
,carriden1 in ,linlithgowshire1 on the  
#ajth  of ,january1 ,a4,d4 #afhg-h1--the
 memorable year of that glorious        
revolution  which he justly esteemed    
among the happiest of all events2 so    
that when  he was slain in defence of   
those liberties which ,god then1 by so  

gracious  a providence1 rescued from    
utter destruction1 i4e4 on the #bast of 
,september #agde1 he was aged #eg years1
 #h months1 and #aa days4    ,the annual
 return of his birth-day was observed by
 him in the latter  and better years of 
his life1 in a manner very different    
from what is  commonly practised2 for1  
instead of making it a day of festivity1
 ,i  am told he rather distinguished it 
as a season of more than ordinary       
humiliation before ,god--both in        
commemoration of those mercies which he 
received in the first opening of life1  
and under an affectionate sense1  as    
well of his long alienation from the    
great ,author and support of his  being1
 as of the many imperfections which he  
lamented in the best of his  days and   
services4    ,i have not met with many  
things remarkable concerning the early  
days of  his life1 only that his mother 
took care to instruct him1 with great   
tenderness and affection1 in the        
principles of true ,christianity4 ,he   

was  also trained up in humane          
literature1 at the school at            
,linlithgow1 where  he made a very      
considerable progress in the languages4 
,i remember to have  heard him quote    
some passages of the ,latin classics    
very pertinently2  though his employment
 in life1 and the various turns which   
his mind  took under different impulses 
in succeeding years1 prevented him from 
cultivating such studies4    ,the good  
effects of his mother's prudent and     
exemplary care were not so  conspicuous 
as she wished and hoped1 in the earlier 
part of her son's  life2 yet there is   
great reason to believe they were not   
entirely lost4  ,as they were probably  
the occasion of many convictions which  
in his  younger years were overborne1 so
 ,i doubt not1 that when religious      
impressions took that strong hold of his
 heart which they afterwards did1  that 
stock of knowledge which had been so    
early laid up in his mind1  was found of
 considerable service4 ,and ,i have     

heard them make the  observation1 as an 
encouragement to parents1 and other     
pious friends1 to  do their duty1 and to
 hope for those good consequences of it 
which may  not immediately appear4      
,could his mother1 or a very religious  
aunt1 7of whose good instructions  and  
exhortations ,i have often heard him    
speak with pleasure17 have  prevailed1  
he would not have thought of a military 
life1 from which it  is no wonder these 
ladies endeavoured to dissuade him1     
considering the  mournful experience    
they had of the dangers attending it1   
and the dear  relatives they had lost   
already by it4 ,but it suited his taste2
 and the  ardour of his spirit1 animated
 by the persuasions of a friend who     
greatly  urged it199 was not to be      
restrained4 ,nor will the reader wonder 
that1 thus excited and supported1 it    
easily overbore their tender            
remonstrances1 when he knows that this  
lively youth fought three duels  before 
he attained to the stature of a man2 in 

one of which1 when he was  but eight    
years old1 he received from a boy much  
older than himself1 a  wound in his     
right cheek1 the scar of which was      
always very apparent4  ,the false sense 
of honour which instigated him to it1   
might seem indeed  something excusable  
in those unripened years1 and           
considering the  profession of his      
father1 brother1 and uncle2 but ,i have 
often heard  him mention this rashness  
with that regret which the reflection   
would  naturally give to so wise and    
good a man in the maturity of life4 ,and
 ,i  have been informed that1 after his 
remarkable conversion1 he declined      
accepting a challenge1 with this calm   
and truly great reply1 which1 in  a man 
of his experienced bravery1 was         
exceedingly graceful3 ,i fear  sinning1 
though you know ,i do not fear fighting4
    99,note3 ,i suppose this to have    
been ,brigadier-,general ,rue1 who had  
from  his childhood a peculiar affection
 for him4          ,,chapter ,,ii4      

,,battle ,,of ,,ramillies4      ,he     
served first as a cadet1 which must have
 been very early2 and then1 at  fourteen
 years old1 he bore an ensign's         
commission in a ,scotch regiment  in the
 ,dutch service1 in which he continued  
till the year #agjb1 when 7if  my       
information be right7 he received an    
ensign's commission from queen  ,anne1  
which he bore in the battle of          
,ramillies1 being then in the           
nineteenth year of his age4 ,in this    
ever-memorable action he received a     
wound in his mouth by a musket-ball1    
which has often been reported to be  the
 occasion of his conversion4 ,that      
report was a mistaken one2 but as  some 
very remarkable circumstances attended  
this affair1 which ,i have  had the     
pleasure of hearing more than once from 
his own mouth1 ,i hope my  readers will 
excuse me1 if ,i give him so uncommon a 
story at large4    ,our young officer   
was of a party in the forlorn hope1 and 
was commanded  on what seemed almost a  

desperate service1 to dispossess the    
,french of  the church-yard at          
,ramillies1 where a considerable number 
of them were  posted to remarkable      
advantage4 ,they succeeded much better  
than was  expected2 and it may well be  
supposed that ,mr4 ,gardiner1 who had   
before  been in several encounters1 and 
had the view of making his fortune to   
animate the natural intrepidity of his  
spirit1 was glad of such an  opportunity
 of signalizing himself4 ,accordingly he
 had planted his  colours on an advanced
 ground2 and while he was calling to his
 men1  7probably in that horrid language
 which is so peculiar a disgrace to our 
soldiery1 and so absurdly common on such
 occasions of extreme danger17 he       
received into his mouth a shot1 which1  
without beating out of any of his       
teeth1 or touching the fore part of his 
tongue1 went through his neck1  and came
 out about an inch and a half on the    
left side of the vertebr4  ,not feeling 
at first the pain of the stroke1 he     

wondered what was become  of the ball1  
and in the wildness of his surprise     
began to suspect he had  swallowed it2  
but falling soon after1 he traced the   
passage of it by his  finger1 when he   
could discover it in no other way2 which
 ,i mention as  one circumstance1 among 
many which occur1 to make it probable   
that the  greater part of those who fall
 in battle by these instruments of      
death1  feel very little anguish from   
the most mortal wounds4    ,this        
accident happened about five or six in  
the evening1 on the #bc;d of  ,may1     
#agjf2 and the army1 pursuing its       
advantages against the ,french1  without
 ever regarding the wounded1 7which was1
 it seems1 the ,duke of  ,marlborough's 
constant method17 our young officer lay 
all night on  the field1 agitated1 as   
may well be supposed1 with a great      
variety of  thoughts4 ,he assured me1   
that when he reflected upon the         
circumstance of  his wound1 that a ball 
should1 as he then conceived it1 go     

through his  head without killing him1  
he thought ,god had preserved him by a  
miracle2  and therefore assuredly       
concluded that he should live1 abandoned
 and  desperate as his state seemed to  
be4 ,yet 7which to me appeared very     
astonishing7 he had little thoughts of  
humbling himself before ,god1 and       
returning to him after the wanderings of
 a life so licentiously begun4  ,but1   
expecting to recover1 his mind was taken
 up with contrivances to  secure his    
gold1 of which he had a good deal about 
him2 and he had  recourse to a very odd 
expedient1 which proved successful4     
,expecting to  be stripped1 he first    
took out a handful of that clotted gore 
of which he  was frequently obliged to  
clear his mouth1 or he would have been  
choked2  and putting it into his left   
hand1 he took out his money1 which ,i   
think  was about #ai pistoles1 and      
shutting his hand1 and besmearing the   
back  part of it with blood1 he kept in 
this position till the blood dried in   

such a manner that his hand could not   
easily fall open1 though any sudden     
surprise should happen1 in which he     
might lose the presence of mind which   
that concealment otherwise would have   
required4    ,in the morning the        
,french1 who were masters of that spot1 
though their  forces were defeated at   
some distance1 came to plunder the      
slain2 and  seeing him to appearance    
almost expiring1 one of them was just   
applying  a sword to his breast1 to     
destroy the little remainder of life1   
when1 in  the critical moment1 upon     
which all the extraordinary events of   
such a  life as his afterwards proved1  
were suspended1 a ,cordelier who        
attended  the plunderers interposed1    
7taking him by his dress for a          
,frenchman7 and  said1 ,do not kill that
 poor child4 ,our young soldier heard   
all that  passed1 though he was not able
 to speak one word2 and1 opening his    
eyes1 made a sign for something to      
drink4 ,they gave him a sup of some     

spirituous liquor which happened to be  
at hand1 by which he said he found  a   
more sensible refreshment than he could 
remember from anything he had  tasted   
either before or since4 ,then signifying
 to the friar to lean down  his ear to  
his mouth1 he employed the first efforts
 of his feeble breath  in telling him   
7what1 alas6 was a contrived falsehood7 
that he was a  nephew to the governor of
 ,huy1 a neutral town in the            
neighbourhood2 and  that if he could    
take any method of conveying him        
thither1 he did not  doubt but his uncle
 would liberally reward him4 ,he had    
indeed a friend at  ,huy1 who ,i think  
was governor1 and1 if ,i mistake not1   
had been acquainted  with the captain1  
his father1 from whom he expected a kind
 reception2 but  the relation was only  
pretended4 ,on hearing this1 they laid  
him on a sort  of hand-barrow1 and sent 
him by a file of musqueteers towards the
 place2  but the men lost their way1    
and1 towards the evening1 got into a    

wood in  which they were obliged to     
continue all night4 ,the poor patient's 
wound  being still undressed1 it is not 
to be wondered at that by this time it  
raged violently4 ,the anguish of it     
engaged him earnestly to beg that they  
would either kill him outright1 or leave
 him there to die without the  torture  
of any further motion2 and indeed they  
were obliged to rest for a  considerable
 time1 on account of their own          
weariness4 ,thus he spent  the second   
night in the open air1 without any thing
 more than a common  bandage to staunch 
the blood4 ,he has often mentioned it as
 a most  astonishing providence that he 
did not bleed to death1 which1 under    
,god1  he ascribed to the remarkable    
coldness of these two nights4           
,judging it quite unsafe to attempt     
carrying him to ,huy1 from whence they  
were now several miles distant1 his     
convoy took him early in the morning  to
 a convent in the neighbourhood1 where  
he was hospitably received1 and  treated

 with great kindness and tenderness4    
,but the cure of his wound was          
committed to an ignorant barber-surgeon 
who lived near the house1 the  best     
shift that could then be made1 at a time
 when it may easily be  supposed persons
 of ability in their profession had     
their hands full of  employment4 ,the   
tent which this artist applied1 was     
almost like a peg  driven into the      
wound2 and gentlemen of skill and       
experience1 when they  came to hear of  
the manner in which he was treated1     
wondered how he could  possibly survive 
such management4 ,but by the blessing of
 ,god on these  applications1 rough as  
they were1 he recovered in a few months4
 ,the ,lady  ,abbess1 who called him her
 son1 treated him with the affection and
 care  of a mother2 and he always       
declared that every thing which he saw  
within  these walls1 was conducted with 
the strictest decency and decorum4 ,he  
received a great many devout admonitions
 from the ladies there1 and  they would 

fain have persuaded him to acknowledge  
what they thought so  miraculous a      
deliverance1 by embracing the ,catholic 
faith1 as they were  pleased to call it4
 ,but they could not succeed2 for though
 no religion  lay near his heart1 yet he
 had too much of the spirit of a        
gentleman  lightly to change that form  
of religion which he wore1 as it were   
loose  about him2 as well as too much   
good sense to swallow those monstrous   
absurdities of ,popery which immediately
 presented themselves to him1           
unacquainted as he was with the niceties
 of the controversy4          ,,chapter 
,,iii4    ,,military ,,preferments4     
,when his liberty was regained by an    
exchange of prisoners1 and his health   
thoroughly established1 he was far from 
rendering unto the ,lord according  to  
that wonderful display of divine mercy  
which he had experienced4  ,i know very 
little of the particulars of those wild1
 thoughtless and  wretched years which  
lay between the #aith and #cjth of his  

life2 except  that he frequently        
experienced the divine goodness in      
renewed instances1  particularly in     
preserving him in several hot military  
actions1 in all  which he never received
 so much as a wound after this1 forward 
as he was  in tempting danger2 and yet  
that all these years were spent in an   
entire  alienation from ,god1 and in an 
eager pursuit of animal pleasure as his 
supreme good4 ,the series of criminal   
amours in which he was almost           
incessantly engaged during this time1   
must probably have afforded some        
remarkable adventures and occurrences2  
but the memory of them has  perished4   
,nor do ,i think it unworthy of notice  
here1 that amidst all the  intimacy of  
our friendship1 and the many hours of   
cheerful as well as  serious converse   
which we spent together1 ,i never       
remember to have heard  him speak of any
 of these intrigues1 otherwise than in  
the general with  deep and solemn       
abhorrence4 ,this ,i the rather mention1

 as it seemed a  most genuine proof of  
his unfeigned repentance1 which ,i think
 there is  great reason to suspect1 when
 people seem to take a pleasure in      
relating  and describing scenes of      
vicious indulgence1 which they yet      
profess to  have disapproved and        
forsaken4    ,amidst all these          
pernicious wanderings from the paths of 
religion1  virtue1 and happiness1 he    
approved himself so well in his military
  character1 that he was made a         
lieutenant in that year1 viz4 #agjf2 and
 ,i  am told he was very quickly after  
promoted to a cornet's commission in    
,lord ,stair's regiment of the ,scots   
,greys1 and1 on the #cast of ,january1  
#agad-ae1 was made captain-lieutenant in
 ,colonel ,ker's regiment of  dragoons4 
,he had the honour of being known to the
 ,earl of ,stair some time  before1 and 
was made his aid-de-camp2 and when1 upon
 his ,lordship's being  appointed       
ambassador from his late ,majesty to the
 court of ,france1 he  made so splendid 

an entrance into ,paris1 ,captain       
,gardiner was his master  of the horse2 
and ,i have been told that a great deal 
of the care of that  admirably          
well-adjusted ceremony fell upon him2 so
 that he gained great  credit by the    
manner in which he conducted it4 ,under 
the benign influence  of his ,lordship's
 favour1 which to the last day of his   
life he retained1  a captain's          
commission was procured for him1 dated  
,july #bb1 #agae1 in  the regiment of   
dragoons commanded by ,colonel          
,stanhope1 now ,earl of  ,harrington2   
and in #agag he was advanced to the     
majority of that regiment1  in which    
office he continued till it was reduced 
on ,november #aj1 #agah1  when he was   
put out of commission4 ,but when his    
,majesty1 king ,george ,i41  was        
thoroughly apprised of his faithful and 
important services1 he gave  him his    
sign-manual1 entitling him to the first 
majority that should  become vacant in  
any regiment of horse or dragoons1 which

 happened1 about  five years after1 to  
be in ,croft's regiment of dragoons1 in 
which he  received a commission1 dated  
#ast ,june1 #agbd2 and on the #bjth of  
,july the  same year1 he was made major 
of an older regiment1 commanded by the  
,earl  of ,stair4    ,as ,i am now      
speaking of so many of his military     
preferments1 ,i will  dispatch the      
account of them by observing1 that1 on  
the #bdth ,january  #agbi-cj1 he was    
advanced to the rank of                 
lieutenant-colonel in the same          
regiment1 long under the command of     
,lord ,cadogan1 with whose friendship   
this brave and vigilant officer was also
 honoured for many years4 ,and he       
continued in this rank and regiment till
 the #aith of ,april1 #agdc1 when  he   
received a colonel's commission over a  
regiment of dragoons lately  commanded  
by ,brigadier ,bland1 at the head of    
which he valiantly fell1 in  the defence
 of his sovereign and his country1 about
 two years and a half  after he received

 it4    ,we will now return to that     
period of his life which was passed at  
,paris1  the scene of such remarkable   
and important events4 ,he continued 7if 
,i  remember right7 several years under 
the roof of the brave and generous      
,earl of ,stair1 to whom he endeavoured 
to approve himself by every  instance of
 diligent and faithful service4 ,and his
 ,lordship gave no  inconsiderable proof
 of the dependence which he had upon    
him1 when1 in  the beginning of #agae1  
he entrusted him with the important     
dispatches  relating to a discovery     
which1 by a series of admirable policy1 
he had  made of a design which the      
,french king was then forming for       
invading  ,great ,britain in favour of  
the ,pretender2 in which the ,french    
apprehended  they were so sure of       
success1 that it seemed a point of      
friendship in one  of the chief         
counsellors of that court to dissuade a 
dependent of his  from accepting some   
employment under his ,britannic majesty1

 when proposed  by his envoy there1     
because it was said that in less than   
six weeks there  would be a revolution  
in favour of what they called the family
 of the  ,stuarts4 ,the captain         
dispatched his journey with the utmost  
speed2 a  variety of circumstances      
happily concurred to accelerate it2 and 
they  who remember how soon the         
regiments which that emergency required1
 were  raised and armed1 will1 ,i doubt 
not1 esteem it a memorable instance1    
both  of the most cordial zeal in the   
friends of the government1 and of the   
gracious care of ,divine ,providence    
over the house of ,hanover and the      
,british liberties1 so inseparably      
connected with its interest4    ,while  
,captain ,gardiner was at ,london1 in   
one of the journeys he made upon  this  
occasion1 he1 with that frankness which 
was natural to him1 and  which in those 
days was not always under the most      
prudent restraint1  ventured to predict1
 from what he knew of the bad state of  

the ,french  king's health1 that he     
would not live six weeks4 ,this was made
 known by  some spies who were at ,st4  
,james's1 and came to be reported at the
 court  of ,versailles2 for he received 
letters from some friends at ,paris1    
advising him not to return thither1     
unless he could reconcile himself to  a 
lodging in the ,bastile4 ,but he was    
soon free from that apprehension2  for1 
if ,i mistake not1 before half that time
 was accomplished1 ,louis ,,xiv4  died1 
7,sept4 #a1 #agae17 and it is generally 
thought his death was hastened  by a    
very accidental circumstance1 which had 
some reference to the  captain's        
prophecy2 for the last time he ever     
dined in public1 which  was a very      
little while after the report of it had 
been made there1  he happened to        
discover our ,british envoy among the   
spectators4 ,the  penetration of this   
illustrious person was too great1 and   
his attachment  to the interest of his  
royal master too well known1 not to     

render him  very disagreeable to that   
crafty and tyrannical prince1 whom ,god 
had so  long suffered to be the disgrace
 of monarchy1 and the scourge of        
,europe4  ,he at first appeared very    
languid1 as indeed he was2 but on       
casting his  eye upon the ,earl of      
,stair1 he affected to appear before him
 in a much  better state of health than 
he really was2 and therefore1 as if he  
had  been awakened on a sudden from some
 deep reverie1 he immediately put       
himself into an erect posture1 called up
 a laboured vivacity into his           
countenance1 and ate much more heartily 
than was by any means advisable1        
repeating two or three times to a       
nobleman1 7,i think the ,duke of        
,bourbon7  then in waiting1 ,il me      
semble que je ne mange pas mal pour un  
homme qui  devoit mourir si tot4        
,methinks ,i eat very well for a man who
 is to die  so soon4 ,but this inroad   
upon that regularity of living which he 
had for  some time observed1 agreed so  

ill with him that he never recovered    
this  meal1 but died in less than a     
fortnight4 ,this gave occasion for some 
humorous people to say1 that old ,louis1
 after all1 was killed by a  ,briton4   
,but if this story be true1 7which ,i   
think there can be no room to  doubt1 as
 the colonel1 from whom ,i have often   
heard it1 though absent1  could scarce  
be misinformed17 it might more properly 
be said that he fell  by his own vanity2
 in which view ,i thought it so         
remarkable1 as not to be  unworthy of a 
place in these memoirs4    ,the captain 
quickly returned1 and continued1 with   
small interruptions1 at  ,paris1 at     
least till #agbj1 and how much longer ,i
 do not certainly know4  ,the ,earl's   
favour and generosity made him easy in  
his affairs1 though he  was1 7as has    
been observed before17 part of the time1
 out of commission1  by breaking the    
regiment to which he belonged1 of which 
before he was  major4 ,this was in all  
probability the gayest part of his life1

 and the  most criminal4 ,whatever wise 
and good examples he might find in the  
family where he had the honour to       
reside1 it is certain that the ,french  
court1 during the regency of the ,duke  
of ,orleans1 was one of the most        
dissolute under heaven4 ,what1 by a     
wretched abuse of language1 have been   
called intrigues of love and gallantry1 
were so entirely to the major's  then   
degenerate taste1 that if not the whole 
business1 at least the whole  happiness 
of his life1 consisted in them2 and he  
had now too much leisure  for one who   
was so prone to abuse it4 ,his fine     
constitution1 than which  perhaps there 
was hardly ever a better1 gave him great
 opportunities of  indulging himself in 
these excesses2 and his good spirits    
enabled him to  pursue his pleasures of 
every kind in so alert and sprightly a  
manner1  that multitudes envied him1 and
 called him1 by a dreadful kind of      
compliment1 the happy rake4             
,,chapter ,,iv4    ,,checks ,,of        

,,conscience4      ,yet still the checks
 of conscience1 and some remaining      
principles of so  good an education1    
would break in upon his most licentious 
hours2 and  ,i particularly remember he 
told me1 that when some of his dissolute
  companions were once congratulating   
him on his distinguished felicity1 a    
dog happening at that time to come into 
the room1 he could not forbear  groaning
 inwardly1 and saying to himself1 ',oh  
that ,i were that dog6' ,such  then was 
his happiness2 and such perhaps is that 
of hundreds more who  bear themselves   
highest in the contempt of religion1 and
 glory in  that infamous servitude which
 they affect to call liberty4 ,but these
  remonstrances of reason and conscience
 were in vain2 and1 in short1 he        
carried things so far in this wretched  
part of his life1 that ,i am well       
assured some sober ,english gentlemen1  
who made no great pretences to          
religion1 how agreeable soever he might 
have been to them on other  accounts1   

rather declined than sought his company1
 as fearing they might  have been       
ensnared and corrupted by it4    ,yet ,i
 cannot find that in these most         
abandoned days he was fond of  drinking4
 ,indeed1 he never had any natural      
relish for that kind of  intemperance1  
from which he used to think a manly     
pride might be  sufficient to preserve  
persons of sense and spirit2 as by it   
they give up  every thing that          
distinguishes them from the meanest of  
their species1 or  indeed from animals  
the most below it4 ,so that if ever he  
fell into any  excesses of this kind1 it
 was merely out of complaisance to his  
company1  and that he might not appear  
stiff and singular4 ,his frank1         
obliging1 and  generous temper procured 
him many friends2 and these principles1 
which  rendered him amiable to others1  
not being under the direction of true   
wisdom and piety1 sometimes made him1 in
 the ways of living he pursued1  more   
uneasy to himself than he might1        

perhaps1 have been1 if he could  have   
entirely overcome them2 especially as he
 never was a sceptic in his  principles1
 but still retained a secret            
apprehension that natural and  revealed 
religion1 though he did not much care to
 think of either1 were  founded in      
truth4 ,and1 with this conviction1 his  
notorious violations of  the most       
essential precepts of both could not but
 occasion some secret  misgivings of    
heart4 ,his continual neglect of the    
great ,author of his  being1 of whose   
perfections he could not doubt1 and to  
whom he knew  himself to be under daily 
and perpetual obligations1 gave him1 in 
some  moments of involuntary reflection1
 inexpressible remorse2 and this at     
times wrought upon him to such a degree1
 that he resolved he would  attempt to  
pay him some acknowledgments4           
,accordingly1 for a few mornings  he did
 it1 repeating in retirement some       
passages out of the ,psalms1 and        
perhaps other scriptures which he still 

retained in his memory2 and  owning1 in 
a few strong words1 the many mercies and
 deliverances he had  received1 and the 
ill returns he had made for them4    ,i 
find1 among the other papers transmitted
 to me1 the following verses1  which ,i 
have heard him repeat1 as what had      
impressed him a good deal  in his       
unconverted state2 and as ,i suppose    
they did something towards  setting him 
on this effort towards devotion1 and    
might probably furnish  a part of these 
orisons1 ,i hope ,i need make no apology
 to my reader for  inserting them1      
especially as ,i do not recollect that  
,i have seen them  any where else4      
,attend1 my soul6 the early birds       
inspire    ,my grovelling thoughts with 
pure celestial fire2    ,they from their
 temperate sleep awake1 and pay         
,their thankful anthems for the new-born
 day4    ,see how the tuneful lark is   
mounted high1    ,and1 poet-like1       
salutes the eastern sky6    ,he warbles 
through the fragrant air his lays1      

,and seems the beauties of the morn to  
praise4    ,but man1 more void of       
gratitude awakes1    ,and gives no      
thanks for the sweet rest he takes2     
,looks on the glorious sun's new kindled
 flame1    ,without one thought of ,him 
from whom it came4    ,the wretch       
unhallowed does the day begin1          
,shakes off his sleep1 but shakes not   
off his sin4    ,but these strains were 
too devout to continue long in a heart  
as  yet quite unsanctified2 for how     
readily soever he could repeat such     
acknowledgments of the ,divine power1   
presence1 and goodness1 and own his  own
 follies and faults1 he was stopped     
short by the remonstrances of           
conscience as to the flagrant absurdity 
of confessing sins he did not  desire to
 forsake1 and of pretending to praise   
,god for his mercies1 when  he did not  
endeavour to live to his service1 and to
 behave in such a  manner as gratitude1 
if sincere1 would plainly dictate4 ,a   
model of  devotion where such sentiments

 made no part1 his good sense could not 
digest2 and the use of such language    
before a heart-searching ,god1 merely   
as an hypocritical form1 while the      
sentiments of his soul were contrary  to
 it1 justly appeared to him such daring 
profaneness1 that1 irregular as  the    
state of his mind was1 the thought of it
 struck him with horror4  ,he therefore 
determined to make no more attempts of  
this sort1 and was  perhaps one of the  
first who deliberately laid aside prayer
 from some  sense of ,god's omniscience1
 and some natural principle of honour   
and  conscience4    ,these secret       
debates with himself and ineffectual    
efforts would sometimes  return2 but    
they were overborne again and again by  
the force of  temptation1 and it is no  
wonder that in consequence of them his  
heart  grew yet harder4 ,nor was it     
softened or awakened by some very       
memorable  deliverances which at this   
time he received4 ,he was in extreme    
danger by  a fall from his horse1 as he 

was riding post ,i think in the streets 
of  ,calais4 ,when going down a hill1   
the horse threw him over his head1 and  
pitched over him2 so that when he rose1 
the beast lay beyond him1 and  almost   
dead4 ,yet1 though he received not the  
least harm1 it made no  serious         
impression on his mind4 ,on his return  
from ,england in the  packet-boat1 if ,i
 remember right1 but a few weeks after  
the former  accident1 a violent storm1  
that drove them up to ,harwich1 tossed  
them  from thence for several hours in a
 dark night on the coast of ,holland1   
and brought them into such extremity1   
that the captain of the vessel  urged   
him to go to prayers immediately1 if he 
ever intended to do it at  all2 for he  
concluded they would in a few minutes be
 at the bottom of the  sea4 ,in this    
circumstance he did pray1 and that very 
fervently too2 and  it was very         
remarkable1 that while he was crying to 
,god for deliverance1  the wind fell1   
and quickly after they arrived at       

,calais4 ,but the major  was so little  
affected with what had befallen him1    
that when some of his  gay friends1 on  
hearing the story1 rallied him upon the 
efficacy of his  prayers1 he excused    
himself from the scandal of being       
thought much in  earnest1 by saying that
 it was at midnight1 an hour when his   
good mother  and aunt were asleep1 or   
else he should have left that part of   
the  business to them2--a speech which  
,i should not have mentioned1 but as  it
 shows in so lively a view the wretched 
situation of his mind at that  time1    
though his great deliverance from the   
power of darkness was then  nearly      
approaching4 ,he recounted these things 
to me with the greatest  humility1 as   
showing how utterly unworthy he was of  
that miracle of  divine grace by which  
he was quickly after brought to so true 
and so  permanent a sense of religion4  
,,chapter ,v4    ,,his ,,conversion4    
,and now ,i am come to that astonishing 
part of his story1 the account of  his  

conversion1 which ,i cannot enter upon  
without assuring the reader  that ,i    
have sometimes been tempted to suppress 
many circumstances of  it2 not only as  
they may seem incredible to some1 and   
enthusiastical to  others1 but ,i am    
very sensible they are liable to great  
abuses2 which was  the reason that he   
gave me for concealing the most         
extraordinary from  many persons to whom
 he mentioned some of the rest4 ,and ,i 
believe it was  this1 together with the 
desire of avoiding every thing that     
might look  like ostentation on this    
head1 that prevented his leaving a      
written  account of it1 though ,i have  
often entreated him to do it1 as ,i     
particularly remember ,i did in the very
 last letter ,i ever wrote him1 and     
pleaded the possibility of his falling  
amidst those dangers to which ,i  knew  
his valour might1 in such circumstances1
 naturally expose him4 ,i was  not so   
happy as to receive any answer to this  
letter1 which reached him  but a few    

days before his death2 nor can ,i       
certainly say whether he had  or had not
 complied with my request1 as it is very
 possible a paper of  this kind1 if it  
were written1 might be lost amidst the  
ravages which the  rebels made when they
 plundered ,bankton4    ,the story1     
however1 was so remarkable1 that ,i had 
little reason to  apprehend ,i should   
ever forget it2 and yet1 to guard       
against all  contingencies of that kind1
 ,i wrote it down that very evening1 as 
,i heard  it from his own mouth2 and ,i 
have now before me the memoirs of that  
conversation1 dated ,aug4 #ad1 #agci1   
which conclude with these words1  7which
 ,i added that if we should both have   
died that night1 the world  might not   
have lost this edifying and affecting   
history1 or have wanted  any attestation
 of it ,i was capable of giving73 ,n4,b4
 ,i have written down  this account with
 all the exactness ,i am capable of1 and
 could safely  take an oath of it as to 
the truth of every circumstance1 to the 

best of  my remembrance1 as the colonel 
related it to me a few hours ago4 ,i do 
not know that ,i had reviewed this paper
 since ,i wrote it1 till ,i set  myself 
thus publicly to record this            
extraordinary fact2 but ,i find it      
punctually to agree with what ,i have   
often related from my memory1 which  ,i 
charged carefully with so wonderful and 
important a fact4 ,it is with  all      
solemnity that ,i now deliver it down to
 posterity as in the sight  and presence
 of ,god2 and ,i choose deliberately to 
expose myself to those  severe censures 
which the haughty but empty scorn of    
infidelity1 or  principles nearly       
approaching it1 and effectually doing   
its pernicious  work1 may very probably 
dictate upon the occasion1 rather than  
to smother  a relation1 which may1 in   
the judgment of my conscience1 be like  
to  conduce so much to the glory of     
,god1 the honour of the gospel1 and the 
good of mankind4 ,one thing more ,i will
 only premise1 that ,i hope none who    

have heard the colonel himself speak    
something of this wonderful scene1  will
 be surprised if they find some new     
circumstances here2 because he  assured 
me1 at the time he first gave me the    
whole narration1 7which was  in the very
 room in which ,i now write17 that he   
had never imparted it  so fully to any  
living before2 yet1 at the same time1 he
 gave me full  liberty to communicate it
 to whomsoever ,i should in my          
conscience  judge it might be useful to 
do it1 whether before or after his      
death4  ,accordingly ,i did1 while he   
was alive1 recount almost every         
circumstance  ,i am now going to write1 
to several pious friends2 referring them
 at the  same time to the colonel       
himself1 whenever they might have an    
opportunity  of seeing or writing to    
him1 for a further confirmation of what 
,i told  them1 if they judged it        
requisite4 ,they glorified ,god in him2 
and ,i  humbly hope many of my readers  
will also do it4 ,they will soon        

perceive  the reason of so much caution 
in my introduction to this story1 for   
which1 therefore1 ,i shall make no      
further apology499    99,note3 ,it is no
 small satisfaction to me1 since ,i     
wrote this1 to have  received a letter  
from the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,spears1 minister of
 the gospel at  ,burntisland1 dated ,jan
 #ad1 #agdf-g in which he relates to me 
this whole  story1 as he had it from the
 colonel's own mouth about four years   
after  he gave me the narration4 ,there 
is not a single circumstance in which   
either of our narrations disagrees1 and 
every one of the particulars in  mine1  
which seems most astonishing1 is        
attested by this1 and sometimes in      
stronger words1 one only excepted1 on   
which ,i shall add a short remark  when 
,i come to it4 ,as this letter was      
written near ,lady ,frances ,gardiner   
at her desire1 and attended with a      
postscript from her own hand1 this  is1 
in effect1 a sufficient attestation how 
agreeable it was to those  accounts     

which she must often have heard the     
colonel give of this  matter4      ,this
 memorable event happened towards the   
middle of ,july1 #agai2 but ,i  cannot  
be exact as to the day4 ,the major had  
spent the evening 7and if ,i  mistake   
not1 it was the ,sabbath7 in some gay   
company1 and had an unhappy  assignation
 with a married woman1 of what rank or  
quality ,i did not  particularly        
inquire1 whom he was to attend exactly  
at twelve4 ,the  company broke up about 
eleven2 and not judging it convenient to
  anticipate the time appointed1 he went
 into his chamber to kill the  tedious  
hour1 perhaps with some amusing book1 or
 in some other way4 ,but  it very       
accidentally happened that he took up a 
religious book which  his good mother or
 aunt had1 without his knowledge1       
slipped into his  portmanteau4 ,it was  
called1 if ,i remember the title        
exactly1 ,the  ,christian ,soldier1 or  
,heaven taken by ,storm1 and was written
 by ,mr4  ,thomas ,watson4 ,guessing by 

the title of it that he should find some
  phrases of his own profession         
spiritualized in a manner which he      
thought  might afford him some          
diversion1 he resolved to dip into it2  
but he took  no serious notice of any   
thing he read in it2 and yet1 while this
 book  was in his hand1 an impression   
was made upon his mind1 7perhaps ,god   
only  knows how17 which drew after it a 
train of the most important and happy   
consequences4    ,there is indeed a     
possibility1 that while he was sitting  
in this  solitude1 and reading in this  
careless and profane manner1 he might   
suddenly fall asleep1 and only dream of 
what he apprehended he saw4 ,but        
nothing can be more certain than that1  
when he gave me this relation1 he       
judged himself to have been as broad    
awake during the whole time as he  ever 
was in any part of his life2 and he     
mentioned it to me several times        
afterwards as what undoubtedly passed1  
not only in his imagination1 but  before

 his eyes499    99,note3 ,mr4 ,spears1  
in the letter mentioned above1 where he 
introduces  the colonel telling his own 
story1 has these words ,all of a sudden 
there was presented in a very lively    
manner to my view1 or to my mind1 a     
representation of my glorious ,redeemer1
 c4 ,and this gentleman adds1 in  a     
parenthesis1 ,it was so lively and      
striking1 that he could not tell        
whether it was to his bodily eyes1 or to
 those of his mind4 ,this makes  me     
think that what ,i had said to him on   
the phenomena of visions1  apparitions1 
c41 7as being1 when most real1          
supernatural impressions on  the        
imagination1 rather than attended with  
any external object17 had some          
influence upon him4 ,yet still it is    
evident he looked upon this as a        
vision1 whether it was before the eyes  
or in the mind1 and not as a  dream4    
,he thought he saw an unusual blaze of  
light fall on the book while he was     
reading1 which he at first imagined     

might happen by some accident in  the   
candle4 ,but1 lifting up his eyes1 he   
apprehended1 to his extreme  amazement1 
that there was before him1 as it were   
suspended in the air1  a visible        
representation of the ,lord ,jesus      
,christ upon the cross1  surrounded on  
all sides with a glory2 and was         
impressed as if a voice1 or  something  
equivalent to a voice1 had come to him  
to this effect1 7for he  was not        
confident as to the very words74 ,oh1   
sinner6 did ,i suffer this  for thee1   
and are these the returns8 ,but whether 
this were an audible  voice1 or only a  
strong impression on his mind equally   
striking1 he did  not seem very         
confident1 though1 to the best of my    
remembrance1 he rather  judged it to be 
the former4 ,struck with so amazing a   
phenomenon as this1  there remained     
hardly any life in him1 so that he sunk 
down in the arm  chair in which he sat1 
and continued1 he knew not exactly how  
long1  insensible1 7which was one       

circumstance that made me several times 
take  the liberty to suggest that he    
might possibly be all this while        
asleep17  but however that were1 he     
quickly after opened his eyes1 and saw  
nothing  more than usual4    ,it may    
easily be supposed he was in no         
condition to make any observations  upon
 the time in which he had remained in an
 insensible state1 nor did  he1         
throughout all the remainder of the     
night1 once recollect that  criminal and
 detestable assignation which had before
 engrossed all his  thoughts4 ,he rose  
in a tumult of passions not to be       
conceived1 and walked  to and fro in his
 chamber till he was ready to drop down 
in unutterable  astonishment and agony  
of heart1 appearing to himself the      
vilest monster  in the creation of ,god1
 who had all his lifetime been          
crucifying  ,christ afresh by his sins1 
and now saw1 as he assuredly believed1  
by  a miraculous vision1 the horror of  
what he had done4 ,with this was        

connected such a view of both the       
majesty and goodness of ,god1 as caused 
him to loathe and abhor himself1 and to 
repent as in dust and ashes4 ,he        
immediately gave judgment against       
himself1 that he was most justly worthy 
of eternal damnation1 he was astonished 
that he had not been immediately  struck
 dead in the midst of his wickedness1   
and 7which ,i think deserves  particular
 remark7 though he assuredly believed   
that he should ere long  be in hell1 and
 settled it as a point with himself for 
several months  that the wisdom and     
justice of ,god did almost necessarily  
require  that such an enormous sinner   
should be made an example of everlasting
  vengeance1 and a spectacle as such    
both to angels and men1 so that he      
hardly durst presume to pray for pardon2
 yet what he then suffered was  not so  
much from the fear of hell1 though he   
concluded it would soon be  his portion1
 as from a sense of that horrible       
ingratitude he had shown  to the ,god of

 his life1 and to that blessed ,redeemer
 who had been in so  affecting a manner 
set forth as crucified before him4      
,to this he refers in a letter dated    
from ,douglas1 the #ast of ,april #agbe1
  communicated to me by his lady199 but 
,i know not to whom it was addressed4   
,his words are these3 ,one thing        
relating to my conversion1 and a        
remarkable instance of the goodness of  
,god to me1 the chief of sinners1  ,i do
 not remember that ,i ever told to any  
other person4 ,it was this1  that after 
the astonishing sight ,i had of my      
blessed ,lord1 the terrible  condition  
in which ,i was proceeded not so much   
from the terrors of the  law1 as from a 
sense of having been so ungrateful a    
monster to him whom ,i  thought ,i saw  
pierced for my transgressions4 ,i the   
rather insert these  words1 as they     
evidently attest the circumstance which 
may seem most  amazing in this affair1  
and contain so express a declaration of 
his own  apprehension concerning it4    

99,note3 ,where ,i make any extracts as 
from ,colonel ,gardiner's letters1  they
 are either from originals1 which ,i    
have in my own hands1 or from  copies   
which were transmitted to me from       
persons of undoubted credit1  chiefly by
 the ,right ,honourable the ,lady       
,frances ,gardiner1 through the  hands  
of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,webster1 one of the  
ministers of ,edinburgh4 ,this  ,i the  
rather mention1 because some letters    
have been brought to me as  ,colonel    
,gardiner's1 concerning which ,i have   
not only been very dubious1  but morally
 certain that they could not have been  
written by him4 ,i have  also heard of  
many who have been fond of assuring the 
world that they  were well acquainted   
with him1 and were near him when he     
fell1 whose  reports have been most     
inconsistent with each other1 as well as
 contrary  to that testimony relating to
 the circumstances of his death1 which1 
on the whole1 appeared to me beyond     
controversy the most natural and        

authentic1 from whence1 therefore1 ,i   
shall take my account of that  affecting
 scene4      ,in this view it may       
naturally be supposed that he passed the
 remainder  of the night waking1 and he 
could get but little rest in several    
that  followed4 ,his mind was           
continually taken up in reflecting on   
the divine  purity and goodness2 the    
grace which had been proposed to him in 
the  gospel1 and which he had rejected2 
the singular advantages he had enjoyed  
and abused2 and the many favours of     
providence which he had received1       
particularly in rescuing him from so    
many imminent dangers of death1  which  
he now saw must have been attended with 
such dreadful and hopeless  destruction4
 ,the privileges of his education1 which
 he had so much  despised1 now lay with 
an almost insupportable weight on his   
mind2 and  the folly of that career of  
sinful pleasure which he had so many    
years  been running with desperate      
eagerness and unworthy delight1 now     

filled  him with indignation against    
himself1 and against the great deceiver1
 by  whom 7to use his own phrase7 he had
 been so wretchedly and scandalously    
befooled4 ,this he used often to express
 in the strongest terms1 which ,i  shall
 not repeat so particularly1 as ,i      
cannot recollect some of them4  ,but on 
the whole it is certain that1 by what   
passed before he left his  chamber the  
next day1 the whole frame and           
disposition of his soul was             
new-modelled and changed2 so that he    
became1 and continued to the last  day  
of his exemplary and truly ,christian   
life1 the very reverse of what  he had  
been before4 ,a variety of particulars1 
which ,i am afterwards to  mention1 will
 illustrate this in the most convincing 
manner4 ,but ,i cannot  proceed to them 
without pausing to adore so illustrious 
an instance of  the power and freedom of
 divine grace1 and entreating my reader 
seriously  to reflect upon it1 that his 
own heart may be suitably affected4 ,for

  surely1 if the truth of the fact be   
admitted in the lowest views in which   
it can be placed1 7that is1 supposing   
the first impression to have passed  in 
a dream17 it must be allowed to have    
been little1 if anything less  than     
miraculous4 ,it cannot in the course of 
nature be imagined how such  a dream    
should arise in a mind full of the most 
impure ideas and  affections1 and 7as he
 himself often pleaded7 more alienated  
from the  thoughts of a crucified       
,saviour1 than from any other object    
that can be  conceived2 nor can we      
surely suppose it should1 without a     
mighty energy  of the divine power1 be  
effectual to produce not only some      
transient  flow of passion1 but so      
entire and permanent a change in        
character and  conduct4    ,on the      
whole1 therefore1 ,i must beg leave to  
express my own sentiments of  the       
matter1 by repeating on this occasion   
what ,i wrote several years ago1  in my 
eighth sermon on regeneration1 in a     

passage dictated chiefly by the         
circumstantial knowledge which ,i had of
 this amazing story1 and methinks       
sufficiently vindicated by it1 if it    
stood entirely alone1 which yet1 ,i     
must take the liberty to say1 it does   
not2 for ,i hope the world will be      
particularly informed1 that there is at 
least a second that very nearly         
approaches it1 whenever the established 
church of ,england shall lose one  of   
its brightest living ornaments1 and one 
of the most useful members  which that1 
or perhaps any other ,christian         
communion1 can boast4 ,in the  mean     
time1 may his exemplary life be long    
continued1 and his zealous  ministry    
abundantly prospered6 ,i beg my reader's
 pardon for this  digression4 ,the      
passage ,i referred to above is         
remarkably1 though not  equally1        
applicable to both the cases1 under that
 head where ,i am showing  that ,god    
sometimes accomplishes the great work of
 which we speak1  by secret and         

immediate impressions on the mind4      
,after preceding  illustrations1 there  
are the following words1 on which the   
colonel's  conversion will throw the    
justest light4 ,yea1 ,i have known those
 of  distinguished genius1 polite       
manners1 and great experience in human  
affairs1 who1 after having out-grown all
 the impressions of a religious         
education--after having been hardened1  
rather than subdued by the most         
singular mercies1 even various1         
repeated1 and astonishing deliverances1 
which have appeared to themselves as no 
less than miraculous--after  having     
lived for years without ,god in the     
world1 notoriously corrupt  themselves1 
and labouring to the utmost to corrupt  
others1 have been  stopped on a sudden  
in the full career of their sin1 and    
have felt such  rays of the divine      
presence1 and of redeeming love1 darting
 in upon  their minds1 almost like      
lightning from heaven1 as have at once  
roused1  overpowered1 and transformed   

them2 so that they have come out of     
their  secret chambers with an          
irreconcilable enmity to those vices to 
which1  when they entered them1 they    
were the tamest and most abandoned      
slaves2  and have appeared from that    
very hour the votaries1 the patrons1 the
  champions of religion2 and after a    
course of the most resolute  attachment 
to it1 in spite of all the reasonings or
 the railleries1 the  importunities or  
the reproaches of its enemies1 they have
 continued to  this day some of its     
brightest ornaments2 a change which ,i  
behold with  equal wonder and delight1  
and which1 if a nation should join in   
deriding  it1 ,i would adore as the     
finger of ,god4    ,the mind of ,major  
,gardiner continued from this remarkable
 time1 till  towards the end of         
,october1 7that is rather more than     
three months1 but  especially the first 
two of them17 in as extraordinary a     
situation as one  can well imagine4 ,he 
knew nothing of the joys arising from a 

sense of  pardon2 but1 on the contrary1 
for the greater part of that time1 and  
with  very short intervals of hope      
towards the end of it1 took it for      
granted  that he must in all probability
 quickly perish4 ,nevertheless1 he had  
such  a sense of the evil of sin1 of the
 goodness of the ,divine ,being1 and of 
the admirable tendency of the ,christian
 revelation1 that he resolved to  spend 
the remainder of his life1 while ,god   
continued him out of hell1 in  as       
rational and as useful a manner as he   
could2 and to continue casting  himself 
at the foot of divine mercy every day1  
and often in a day1 if  peradventure    
there might be hope of pardon1 of which 
all that he could  say was1 that he did 
not absolutely despair4 ,he had at that 
time such a  sense of the degeneracy of 
his own heart1 that he hardly durst form
 any  determinate resolution against    
sin1 or pretend to engage himself by any
  vow in the presence of ,god2 but he   
was continually crying to him1 that he  

would deliver him from the bondage of   
corruption4 ,he perceived in himself  a 
most surprising alteration with regard  
to the dispositions of his  heart2 so   
that1 though he felt little of the      
delight of religious duties1  he        
extremely desired opportunities of being
 engaged in them2 and  those licentious 
pleasures which had before been his     
heaven1 were now  absolutely his        
aversion4 ,and indeed1 when ,i consider 
how habitual all  those criminal        
indulgences were grown to him1 and that 
he was now in the  prime of life1 and   
all this while in high health too1 ,i   
cannot but  be astonished to reflect    
upon it1 that he should be so           
wonderfully  sanctified in body1 as well
 as in soul and spirit1 as that1 for all
 the  future years of his life1 he from 
that hour should find so constant a     
disinclination to1 and abhorrence of1   
those criminal sensualities to  which he
 fancied he was before so invincibly    
impelled by his very  constitution1 that

 he was used strangely to think1 and to 
say2 that  ,omnipotence itself could not
 reform him1 without destroying that    
body1  and giving him another499        
99,note3 ,mr4 ,spears expresses this    
wonderful circumstance in these         
remarkable words ,i was 7said the       
colonel to me7 effectually cured of all 
inclination to that sin ,i was so       
strongly addicted to1 that ,i thought   
nothing but shooting me through the head
 could have cured me of it1 and  all    
desire and inclination to it was        
removed1 as entirely as if ,i had  been 
a sucking child1 nor did the temptation 
return to this day4 ,mr4  ,webster's    
words on the same subject are these ,one
 thing ,i have heard the  colonel       
frequently say1 that he was much        
addicted to impurity before his         
acquaintance with religion1 but that1 so
 soon as he was enlightened from  above1
 he felt the power of the ,holy ,ghost  
changing his nature so  wonderfully1    
that his sanctification in this respect 

seemed more  remarkable than in any     
other4 ,on which that worthy person     
makes this  very reasonable reflection  
,so thorough a change of such a polluted
  nature1 evidenced by the most         
unblemished walk and conversation for a 
long course of years1 demonstrates      
indeed the power of the ,highest1 and   
leaves no room to doubt of its reality4 
,mr4 ,spears says1 this happened  in    
three days' time1 but from what ,i can  
recollect1 all that the colonel  could  
mean by that expression1 if he used it1 
7as ,i conclude he did17 was  that he   
began to make the observation in the    
space of three days whereas1  during    
that time1 his thoughts were so taken up
 with the wonderful views  presented to 
his mind1 that he did not immediately   
attend to it4 ,if he  had1 within the   
first three days1 any temptation to seek
 some ease from  the anguish of his     
mind1 in returning to former            
sensualities1 it is a  circumstance he  
did not mention to me1 and by what ,i   

can recollect of  the strain of his     
discourse1 he intimated if he did not   
express the  contrary4    ,nor was he   
only delivered from that bondage of     
corruption which had been  habitual to  
him for many years1 but felt in his     
breast so contrary a  disposition1 that 
he was grieved to see human nature1 in  
those to whom he  was most entirely a   
stranger1 prostituted to such low and   
contemptible  pursuits4 ,he therefore   
exerted his natural courage in a very   
new kind of  combat1 and became an open 
advocate for religion in all its        
principles1  so far as he was acquainted
 with them1 and all its precepts1       
relating  to sobriety1 righteousness1   
and godliness4 ,yet he was very desirous
 and  cautious that he might not run    
into extremes1 and made it one of his   
first petitions to ,god1 the very day   
after these amazing impressions had     
been wrought in his mind1 that he might 
not be suffered to behave with  such an 
affected strictness and preciseness as  

would lead others about  him into       
mistaken notions of religion1 and expose
 it to reproach or  suspicion1 as if it 
were an unlovely or uncomfortable thing4
 ,for this  reason1 he endeavoured to   
appear as cheerful in conversation as he
  conscientiously could2 though1 in     
spite of all his precautions1 some      
traces of that deep inward sense which  
he had of his guilt and misery  would at
 times appear4 ,he made no secret of it1
 however1 that his views  were entirely 
changed1 though he concealed the        
particular circumstances  attending that
 change4 ,he told his most intimate     
companions freely that  he had reflected
 on the course of life in which he had  
so long joined  them1 and found it to be
 folly and madness1 unworthy a rational 
creature1  and much more unworthy       
persons calling themselves ,christians4 
,and he set  up his standard1 upon all  
occasions1 against principles of        
infidelity and  practices of vice1 as   
determinately and as boldly as ever he  

displayed or  planted his colours1 when 
he bore them with so much honour in the 
field4    ,i cannot forbear mentioning  
one struggle of this kind which he      
described  to me1 with a large detail of
 circumstances1 the first day of our    
acquaintance4 ,there was at that time in
 ,paris a certain lady 7whose name1     
then well known in the grand and gay    
world1 ,i must beg leave to conceal7    
who had imbibed the principles of deism1
 and valued herself much upon  being an 
avowed advocate for them4 ,the major1   
with his usual frankness1  7though ,i   
doubt not with that politeness of       
manners which was so habitual  to him1  
and which he retained throughout his    
whole life17 answered her  like a man   
who perfectly saw through the fallacy of
 her arguments1  and was grieved to the 
heart for her delusions4 ,on this she   
briskly  challenged him to debate the   
matter at large1 and to fix upon a day  
for  that purpose1 when he should dine  
with her1 attended by any clergyman he  

might choose1 whether of the ,protestant
 or ,catholic communion4 ,a sense  of   
duty would not allow him to decline this
 challenge2 and yet he had no  sooner   
accepted it1 but he was thrown into     
great perplexity and distress  lest1    
being1 as ,i remember he expressed it   
when he told me the story1  only a      
,christian of six weeks old1 he should  
prejudice so good a cause by  his       
unskilful manner of defending it4       
,however1 he sought his refuge in       
earnest and repeated prayers to ,god1   
that he who can ordain strength1 and    
perfect praise1 out of the mouth of     
babes and sucklings1 would graciously   
enable him on this occasion to vindicate
 his truths in a manner which  might    
carry conviction along with it4 ,he then
 endeavoured to marshal the  arguments  
in his own mind as well as he could2 and
 apprehending that  he could not speak  
with so much freedom before a number of 
persons1  especially before such whose  
province he might seem in that case to  

invade1 if he had not devolved the      
principal part of the discourse upon    
them1 he easily admitted the apology of 
a clergyman or two1 to whom  he         
mentioned the affair1 and waited on the 
lady alone upon the day  appointed4 ,but
 his heart was so set upon the business1
 that he came  earlier than he was      
expected1 and time enough to have two   
hours'  discourse before dinner2 nor did
 he at all decline having two persons1  
nearly related to the lady1 present     
during the conference4 ,the major       
opened it1 with a view of such arguments
 for the ,christian religion as  he had 
digested in his own mind1 to prove that 
the apostles were not  mistaken         
themselves1 and that they could not have
 intended to impose upon  us1 in the    
accounts they give of the grand facts   
they attest2 with the  truth of which   
facts1 that of the ,christian religion  
is most apparently  connected4 ,and it  
was a great encouragement to him to     
find1 that  unaccustomed as he was to   

discourses of this nature1 he had an    
unusual  command both of thought and    
expression1 so that he recollected and  
uttered every thing as he could have    
wished4 ,the lady heard with  attention2
 and though he paused between every     
branch of the argument1 she  did not    
interrupt the course of it till he told 
her he had finished  his design1 and    
waited for her reply4 ,she then1        
produced some of her  objections1 which 
he took up and canvassed in such a      
manner that at  length she burst into   
tears1 allowed the force of his         
arguments and  replies1 and appeared for
 some time after so deeply impressed    
with the  conversation1 that it was     
observed by several of her friends2 and 
there  is reason to believe that the    
impression continued1 at least so far as
 to  prevent her from ever appearing    
under the character of an unbeliever or 
a  sceptic4    ,this is only one        
specimen among many of the battles he   
was almost daily  called out to fight in

 the cause of religion and virtue2 with 
relation to  which ,i find him          
expressing himself thus in a letter to  
,mrs4 ,gardiner1  his good mother1 dated
 from ,paris the #beth of ,january      
following1 that  is #agai-bj1 in answer 
to one in which she had warned him to   
expect such  trials3 ,i have 7says he7  
already met with them1 and am obliged to
 fight1  and to dispute every inch of   
ground4 ,but all thanks and praise to   
the  great ,captain of my salvation4 ,he
 fights for me1 and then it is no wonder
  that ,i come off more than conqueror3 
by which last expression ,i suppose  he 
meant to insinuate that he was          
strengthened and established1 rather    
than overborne1 by this opposition4 ,yet
 it was not immediately that he  gained 
such fortitude4 ,he has often told me   
how much he felt in those  days of the  
emphasis of those well-chosen words of  
the apostle1 in which  he ranks the     
trial of cruel mockings1 with           
scourgings1 and bonds1 and              

imprisonments4 ,the continual railleries
 with which he was received1 in  almost 
all companies where he had been most    
familiar before1 did often  distress him
 beyond measure2 so that he several     
times declared he would  much rather    
have marched up to a battery of the     
enemy's cannon1 than have  been obliged1
 so continually as he was1 to face such 
artillery as this4  ,but1 like a brave  
soldier in the first action wherein he  
is engaged1 he  continued resolute1     
though shuddering at the terror of the  
assault2 and  quickly overcame those    
impressions which it is not perhaps in  
nature  wholly to avoid2 and therefore  
,i find him1 in the letter above        
referred  to1 which was written about   
half a year after his conversion1 quite 
ashamed to think of the uneasiness which
 these things once gave him4 ,in  a     
word1 he went on1 as every resolute     
,christian by divine grace may do1  till
 he turned ridicule and opposition into 
respect and veneration4    ,but this    

sensible triumph over these difficulties
 was not till his  ,christian experience
 had been abundantly advanced by the    
blessing of ,god  on the sermons he     
heard1 7particularly in the ,swiss      
chapel17 and on the  many hours which he
 spent in devout retirement1 pouring out
 his whole  soul before ,god in prayer4 
,he began1 within about two months after
 his  first memorable change1 to        
perceive some secret dawnings of more   
cheerful  hope1 that vile as he saw     
himself to be1 7and ,i believe no words 
can  express how vile that was17 he     
might nevertheless obtain mercy through 
the ,redeemer4 ,at length 7if ,i        
remember right1 about the end of        
,october1  #agai7 he found all the      
burthen of his mind taken off at once by
 the  powerful impression of that       
memorable scripture on his mind1 ,romans
 iii4  #be1 #bf1 ,whom ,god hath set    
forth for a propitiation through faith  
in his  blood1 to declare his           
righteousness in the remission of       

sins1--that he  might be just1 and the  
justifier of him that believeth in      
,jesus4 ,he had  used to imagine that   
the justice of ,god required the        
damnation of so  enormous a sinner as he
 saw himself to be2 but now he was made 
deeply  sensible that the divine justice
 might be not only vindicated1 but      
glorified1 in saving him by the blood of
 ,jesus1 even that blood which          
cleanseth us from all sin4 ,then did he 
see and feel the riches of  redeeming   
love and grace in such a manner as not  
only engaged him with  the utmost       
pleasure and confidence to venture his  
soul upon it1 but even  swallowed up1 as
 it were1 his whole heart in the returns
 of love1 which  from that blessed time 
became this genuine and delightful      
principle of  his obedience1 and        
animated him1 with an enlarged heart1 to
 run the way  of ,god's commandments4   
,thus ,god was pleased 7as he himself   
used to speak7  in an hour to turn his  
captivity4 ,all the terrors of his      

former state  were changed into         
unutterable joy1 which kept him almost  
continually  waking for three nights    
together1 and yet refreshed him as the  
noblest of  cordials4 ,his expressions1 
though naturally very strong1 always    
seemed  to be swallowed up when he would
 describe the series of thought through 
which he now passed1 under the rapturous
 experience of that joy  unspeakable and
 full of glory1 which then seemed to    
overflow his very  soul1 as indeed there
 was nothing he seemed to speak of with 
greater  relish4 ,and though the first  
ecstasies of it afterwards subsided into
 a  more calm and composed delight1 yet 
were the impressions so deep and so     
permanent1 that he assured me1 on the   
word of a ,christian and a friend1      
wonderful as it might seem1 that1 for   
about seven years after this1 he        
enjoyed almost heaven upon earth4 ,his  
soul was so continually filled with  a  
sense of the love of ,god in ,christ1   
that it knew little interruption1  but  

when necessary converse1 and the duties 
of his station1 called off  his thoughts
 for a little time4 ,and when they did  
so1 as soon as he was  alone1 the       
torrent returned into its natural       
channel again2 so that1 from  the minute
 of awakening in the morning1 his heart 
was raised to ,god1 and  triumphing in  
him2 and these thoughts attended him    
through all the scenes  of life1 till he
 lay down on his bed again1 and a short 
parenthesis  of sleep 7for it was but a 
very short one that he allowed himself7 
invigorated his animal powers1 for      
renewing them with greater intenseness  
and sensibility4    ,i shall have an    
opportunity of illustrating this in the 
most convincing  manner below1 by       
extracts from several letters which he  
wrote to intimate  friends during this  
happy period of time--letters which     
breathe a spirit  of such sublime and   
fervent piety as ,i have seldom met with
 any where  else4 ,in these             
circumstances1 it is no wonder that he  

was greatly  delighted with ,dr4        
,watts's imitation of the #abfth ,psalm1
 since it may be  questioned whether    
there ever was a person to whom the     
following stanzas  of it were more      
suitable3--      ,when ,god revealed his
 gracious name1    ,and changed my      
mournful state1    ,my rapture seemed a 
pleasing dream1    ,thy grace appeared  
so great4      ,the world beheld the    
glorious change1    ,and did thine hand 
confess2    ,my tongue broke out in     
unknown strains1    ,and sung surprising
 grace4      ,great is the work1 my     
neighbours cried1    ,and owned the     
power divine3    ,great is the work1 my 
heart replied1    ,and be the glory     
thine4      ,the ,lord can change the   
darkest skies1    ,can give us day for  
night1    ,make drops of sacred sorrow  
rise1    ,to rivers of delight4         
,let those that sow in sadness1 wait    
,till the fair harvest come6    ,they   
shall confess their sheaves are great1  
,and shout the blessings home4    ,i    

have been so happy as to get the sight  
of five original letters which  he wrote
 to his mother about this time1 which   
do1 in a lively manner1  illustrate the 
surprising change made in the whole     
current of his  thoughts and temper of  
his mind4 ,many of them were written in 
the  most hasty manner1 just as the     
courier who brought them was perhaps    
unexpectedly setting out1 and they      
relate chiefly to affairs in which the  
public is not at all concerned2 yet     
there is not one of them in which he    
has not inserted some warm and genuine  
sentiment of religion4 ,indeed it  is   
very remarkable1 that though he was     
pleased to honour me with a great  many 
letters1 and ,i have seen several more  
which he wrote to others1 some  of them 
on journeys1 where he could have but a  
few minutes at command1  yet ,i cannot  
recollect that ,i ever saw any one in   
which there was not  some trace of      
piety2 and the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,webster1 who 
was employed to review  great numbers of

 them1 that he might select such        
extracts as he should  think proper to  
communicate to me1 has made the same    
observation499    99,note3 ,his words   
are these3 ,i have read over a vast     
number of the  colonel's letters1 and   
have not found any one of them1 however 
short1  and writ in the most passing    
manner1 even when posting1 but what is  
expressive of the most passionate       
breathings towards his ,god and         
,saviour4  ,if the letter consists but  
of two sentences1 religion is not       
forgot1  which doubtless deserves to be 
carefully remarked1 as the most         
uncontested evidence of a pious mind1   
ever under the warmest impressions  of  
divine things4    ,the major1 with great
 justice1 tells the good lady his       
mother1 that when  she saw him again she
 would find the person indeed the same1 
but every  thing else entirely changed4 
,and she might easily have perceived it 
of  herself by the whole tenor of these 
letters1 which every where breathe  the 

unaffected spirit of a true ,christian4 
,they are taken up sometimes  with      
giving advice and directions concerning 
some pious and charitable               
contributions1 one of which1 ,i         
remember1 amounted to ten guineas1      
though  as he was then out of           
commission1 and had not formerly been   
very frugal1  it cannot be supposed he  
had much to spare2 sometimes in speaking
 of  the pleasure with which he attended
 sermons1 and expected sacramental      
opportunities2 and at other times in    
exhorting her1 established as she  was  
in religion1 to labour after a yet more 
exemplary character and  conduct1 or in 
recommending her to the divine presence 
and blessing1 as  well as himself to her
 prayers4 ,what satisfaction such       
letters as these  must give to a lady of
 her distinguished piety1 who had so    
long wept over  this dear and amiable   
son as quite lost to ,god1 and on the   
verge of final  destruction1 it is not  
for me to describe1 nor indeed to       

conceive4 ,but  hastily as these letters
 were written1 only for private view1 ,i
 will  give a few specimens from them in
 his own words1 which will serve to     
illustrate as well as confirm what ,i   
have hinted above4    ,i must take the  
liberty1 says he1 in a letter dated on  
the first day of  the new year1 or1     
according to the old style1 ,dec4 #ba1  
#agai1 to entreat  you that you would   
receive no company on the ,lord's day4  
,i know you have  a great many good     
acquaintance1 with whose discourses one 
might be very  well edified2 but as you 
cannot keep out and let in whom you     
please1 the  best way1 in my humble     
opinion1 will be to see none4 ,in       
another1 of  ,jan4 #be1 ,i am happier   
than any one can imagine1 except ,i     
could put him  exactly in the same      
situation with myself2 which is what the
 world  cannot give1 and no man ever    
attained it1 unless it were from above4 
,in another1 dated ,march #cj1 which was
 just before a sacrament day1           

,to-morrow1 if it please ,god1 ,i shall 
be happy1 my soul being to be fed  with 
the bread of life which came down from  
heaven4 ,i shall be mindful  of you all 
there4 ,in another of ,jan4 #bi1 he thus
 expresses that  indifference for       
worldly possessions which he so         
remarkably carried  through the         
remainder of his life3 ,i know the rich 
are only stewards for  the poor1 and    
must give an account of every penny2    
therefore1 the less ,i  have1 the more  
easy will it be to give an account of   
it4 ,and to add no  more from these     
letters at present1 in the conclusion of
 one of them he  has these comprehensive
 and solemn words3 ,now that ,he1 who is
 the ease  of the afflicted1 the support
 of the weak1 the wealth of the poor1   
the  teacher of the ignorant1 the anchor
 of the fearful1 and the infinite       
reward of all faithful souls1 may pour  
out upon you all his richest  blessings1
 shall always be the prayer of him who  
is entirely yours1 c4    ,to this       

account of his correspondence with his  
excellent mother1 ,i should  be glad to 
add a large view of another1 to which   
she introduced him1  with that reverend 
and valuable person under whose pastoral
 care she was  placed--,i mean the      
justly celebrated ,doctor ,edmund       
,calamy1 to whom she  could not but     
early communicate the joyful news of her
 son's conversion4  ,i am not so happy  
as to be possessed of the letters which 
passed between  them1 which ,i have     
reason to believe would make a curious  
and valuable  collection2 but ,i have   
had the pleasure of receiving from my   
worthy  and amiable friend1 the ,rev4   
,mr4 ,edmund ,calamy1 one of the letters
 the  doctor1 his father1 wrote to the  
major on this wonderful occasion4 ,i    
perceive by the contents of it that it  
was the first1 and1 indeed1 it is  dated
 as early as the #c;d of ,august1 #agai1
 which must be but a few days  after his
 own account1 dated ,august #d1 ,n4,s41 
could reach ,england4 ,there  is so much

 true religion and good sense in this   
paper1 and the counsel  it suggests may 
be so reasonable to other persons in    
circumstances which  bear any           
resemblance to his1 that ,i make no     
apology to my reader for  inserting a   
large extract from it4    ,dear         
,sir1--,i conceive it will not much     
surprise you to understand that  your   
good mother communicated to me your     
letter to her1 dated ,august #d1        
,n4,s41 which brought her the news you  
conceive would be so acceptable  to her4
 ,i1 who have often been a witness to   
her concern for you on a  spiritual     
account1 can attest with what joy this  
news was received by  her1 and imparted 
to me as a special friend1 who she knew 
would bear  a part with her on such an  
occasion4 ,and1 indeed1 if 7as our      
,saviour  intimates1 ,luke xv4 #g1 #aj17
 there is1 is such cases1 joy in heaven 
and  among the angels of ,god1 it may be
 well supposed that of a pious mother   
who has spent so many prayers and tears 

upon you1 and has1 as it were1          
travailed in birth with you again till  
,christ was formed in you1 could  not be
 small4 ,you may believe me if ,i add1  
that ,i also1 as a common  friend of    
hers and yours1 and which is much more1 
of the ,prince of ,light1  whom you now 
declare you heartily fall in with in    
opposition to that of  the dark kingdom1
 could not but be tenderly affected with
 an account  of it under your own hand4 
,my joy on this account was the greater1
  considering the importance of your    
capacity1 interests1 and prospects1     
which1 in such an age as this1 may      
promise most happy consequences1 on     
your heartily appearing on ,god's side1 
and embarking in the interest of  our   
,redeemer4 ,if ,i have hitherto at all  
remembered you at the throne  of grace1 
at your good mother's desire1 7which you
 are pleased to take  notice of with so 
much respect17 ,i can assure you ,i     
shall henceforth  be led to do it1 with 
more concern and particularity both by  

duty and  inclination2 and if ,i were   
capable of giving you any little        
assistance in  the noble design you are 
engaging in1 by corresponding with you  
by letter  while you are at such a      
distance1 ,i should do it most          
cheerfully4 ,and  perhaps such a motion 
may not1 be altogether unacceptable2 for
 ,i am  inclinable to believe1 that when
 some whom you are obliged to converse  
with1 observe your behaviour so         
different from what it formerly was1 and
  banter you upon it as mad and         
fanciful1 it may be some little relief  
to correspond with one who will take a  
pleasure in heartening and  encouraging 
you4 ,and when a great many things      
frequently offer1 in which  conscience  
may be concerned where duty may not     
always be plain1 nor  suitable persons  
to advise with at hand1 it may be some  
satisfaction to  you to correspond with 
one with whom you may use a friendly    
freedom  in all such matters1 and on    
whose fidelity you may depend4 ,you may1

  therefore1 command me in any of these 
respects1 and ,i shall take a  pleasure 
in serving you4 ,one piece of advice ,i 
shall venture to give you1  though your 
own good sense will make my enlarging   
upon it less needful--,i  mean1 that you
 would1 from your first setting out1    
carefully distinguish  between the      
essentials of real religion1 and those  
things which are  commonly reckoned by  
its professors to belong to it4 ,the    
want of this  distinction has had very  
unhappy consequences from one age to    
another1  and perhaps in none more than 
the present4 ,but your daily converse   
with  your ,bible1 which you mention1   
may herein give you great assistance4 ,i
  move also1 that since infidelity so   
much abounds1 you would not only1 by    
close and serious consideration1        
endeavour to settle yourself well in the
  fundamental principles of religion2   
but also that1 as opportunity offers1   
you would converse with those books     
which treat most judiciously on the     

divine original of ,christianity1 such  
as ,grotins1 ,abbadie1 ,baxter1 ,bates1 
,du ,plessis1 c41 which may establish   
you against the cavils that occur  in   
almost all conversations1 and furnish   
you with arguments which1 when  properly
 offered1 may be of use to make some    
impression on others4 ,but  being too   
much straitened to enlarge at present1  
,i can only add1 that if  your hearty   
falling in with serious religion should 
prove any hinderance  to your           
advancement in the world1 7which ,i pray
 ,god it may not1 unless  such          
advancement would be a real snare to    
you17 ,i hope you will trust  our       
,saviour's word1 that it shall be no    
disadvantage to you in the final  issue3
 he has given you his word for it1      
,matt4 xix4 #bi1 upon which you  may    
safely depend2 and ,i am satisfied none 
that ever did so at last  repented of   
it4 ,may you go on and prosper1 and the 
,god of all grace and  peace be with    
you6    ,i think it very evident from   

the contents of this letter1 that the   
major  had not imparted to his mother   
the most singular circumstances         
attending  his conversion2 and indeed   
there was something so peculiar in them1
  that ,i do not wonder he was always   
cautious in speaking of them1 and       
especially that he was at first much on 
the reserve4 ,we may also  naturally    
reflect that there seems to have been   
something very  providential in this    
letter1 considering the debate in which 
our  illustrious convert was so soon    
engaged2 for it was written but about   
three weeks before his conference with  
the lady above mentioned in the  defence
 of ,christianity1 or at least before   
the appointment of it4 ,and as  some of 
the books recommended by ,dr4 ,calamy1  
particularly ,abbadie and ,du  ,plessis1
 were undoubtedly within his reach1 7if 
our ,english advocates  were not17 this 
might1 by the divine blessing1          
contribute considerably  towards arming 
him for that combat in which he came off

 with such happy  success4 ,as in this  
instance1 so in many others1 they who   
will observe  the coincidence and       
concurrence of things1 may be engaged to
 adore the  wise conduct of ,providence 
in events which1 when taken singly and  
by  themselves1 have nothing very       
remarkable in them4    ,i think it was  
about this time that this resolute and  
exemplary ,christian  entered upon that 
methodical manner of living which he    
pursued through  so many succeeding     
years of life1 and ,i believe generally1
 so far as the  broken state of his     
health would allow it in his latter     
days1 to the very  end of it4 ,he used  
constantly to rise at four in the       
morning1 and to  spend his time till six
 in the secret exercises of devotion1   
reading1  meditation1 and prayer1 in    
which last he contracted such a fervency
 of  spirit as ,i believe few men living
 ever obtained4 ,this certainly tended  
very much to strengthen that firm faith 
in ,god1 and reverent animating  sense  

of his presence1 for which he was so    
eminently remarkable1 and  which carried
 him through the trials and services of 
life with such  steadiness and with such
 activity2 for he indeed endured and    
acted as  always seeing ,him who is     
invisible4 ,if at any time he was       
obliged to go  out before six in the    
morning1 he rose proportionably sooner2 
so that  when a journey or a march has  
required him to be on horseback by four1
 he  would be at his devotions at       
furthest by two4 ,he likewise secured   
time  for retirement in an evening2 and 
that he might have it the more at       
command1 and be the more fit to use it  
properly1 as well as be better  able to 
rise early the next morning1 he         
generally went to bed about ten2  and1  
during the time ,i was acquainted with  
him1 he seldom ate any supper  but a    
mouthful of bread1 with one glass of    
wine4 ,in consequence of this1  as well 
as of his admirably good constitution1  
and the long habit he had  formed1 he   

required less sleep than most persons ,i
 have known2 and ,i  doubt not but his  
uncommon progress in piety was in a     
great measure owing  to these resolute  
habits of self-denial4    ,a life       
anything like this could not1 to be     
sure1 be entered upon in the  midst of  
such company as he had been accustomed  
to keep1 without great  opposition1     
especially as he did not entirely       
withdraw himself from all  the circle of
 cheerful conversation2 but1 on the     
contrary1 gave several  hours every day 
to it1 lest religion should be          
reproached as having made  him morose4  
,he however1 early began a practice1    
which to the last day of  his life he   
retained1 of reproving vice and         
profaneness2 and was never  afraid to   
debate the matter with any one1 under   
the consciousness of  great superiority 
in the goodness of his cause4    ,a     
remarkable instance of this happened1 if
 ,i mistake not1 about the  middle of   
#agbj1 though ,i cannot be very exact as

 to the date of the  story4 ,it was1    
however1 on his first return to make any
 considerable  abode in ,england after  
this remarkable change4 ,he had heard1  
on the other  side of the water1 that it
 was currently reported among his       
companions  at home that he was stark   
mad--a report at which no reader who    
knows the  wisdom of the world in these 
matters1 will be much surprised1 any    
more  than himself4 ,he concluded1      
therefore1 that he should have many     
battles  to fight1 and was willing to   
dispatch the business as fast as he     
could4  ,and therefore1 being to spend a
 few days at the country-house of a     
person  of distinguished rank1 with whom
 he had been very intimate1 7whose name 
,i do not remember that he told me1 nor 
did ,i think it proper to inquire  after
 it17 he begged the favour of him that  
he would contrive matters  so1 that1 a  
day or two after he came down1 several  
of their former gay  companions might   
meet at his lordship's table1 that he   

might have an  opportunity of making his
 apology to them1 and acquainting them  
with the  nature and reasons of his     
change4 ,it was accordingly agreed to2  
and a  pretty large company met on the  
day appointed1 with previous notice that
  ,major ,gardiner would be there4 ,a   
good deal of raillery passed at dinner1 
to which the major made very little     
answer4 ,but when the cloth was taken   
away1 and the servants retired1 he      
begged their patience for a few         
minutes1 and then plainly and seriously 
told them what notions he  entertained  
of virtue and religion1 and on what     
considerations he had  absolutely       
determined that by the grace of ,god he 
would make it the care  and business of 
life1 whatever he might lose by it1 and 
whatever censure  and contempt he might 
incur4 ,he well knew how improper it was
 in such  company to relate the         
extraordinary manner in which he was    
awakened1  which they would probably    
have interpreted as a demonstration of  

lunacy1  against all the gravity and    
solidity of his discourse2 but he       
contented  himself with such a rational 
defence of a righteous1 sober1 and godly
  life1 as he knew none of them could   
with any shadow of reason contest4 ,he  
then challenged them to propose any     
thing they could urge1 to prove that  a 
life of irreligion and debauchery was   
preferable to the fear1 love and        
worship of the eternal ,god1 and a      
conduct agreeable to the precepts  of   
his gospel4 ,and he failed not to bear  
his testimony1 from his own  experience1
 7to one part of which many of them had 
been witnesses7 that  after having run  
the widest round of sensual pleasure1   
with all the  advantages the best       
constitution and spirits could give him1
 he had never  tasted any thing that    
deserved to be called happiness1 till he
 had made  religion his refuge and his  
delight4 ,he testified calmly and boldly
 the  habitual serenity and peace which 
he now felt in his own breast1 7for the 

most elevated delights he did not think 
fit to plead1 lest they should be       
esteemed enthusiasm17 and the composure 
and pleasure with which he looked       
forward to objects which the gayest     
sinner must acknowledge to be equally   
unavoidable and dreadful4    ,i know not
 what might be attempted by some of the 
company in answer to  this2 but ,i well 
remember that he told me that the master
 of the table1 a  person of a very frank
 and candid disposition1 cut short the  
debate1 and  said1 ,come1 let us call   
another cause4 ,we thought this man mad1
 and  he is in good earnest proving that
 we are so4 ,on the whole1 this         
well-judged circumstance saved him a    
great deal of future trouble4 ,when  his
 former acquaintances observed that he  
was still conversible and  innocently   
cheerful1 and that he was immovable in  
his resolutions1 they  desisted from    
further importunity2 and he has assured 
me1 that instead of  losing any one     
valuable friend by the change in his    

character1 he found  himself much more  
esteemed and regarded by many who could 
not persuade  themselves to imitate his 
example4    ,i have not any memoirs of  
,colonel ,gardiner's life1 or of any    
other  remarkable event befalling him in
 it1 from the time of his return to     
,england till his marriage in the year  
#agbf1 except the extracts which  have  
been sent me from some letters1 which he
 wrote to his religious  friends during 
this interval1 and which ,i cannot pass 
by without a more  particular notice4   
,it may be recollected1 that in         
consequence of  the reduction of that   
regiment of which he was major1 he was  
out of  commission from ,nov4 #aj1      
#agah1 till ,june #a1 #agbd2 and1 after 
he returned  from ,paris1 ,i find all   
his letters during this period dated    
from ,london1  where he continued in    
communion with the ,christian society   
under the  pastoral care of ,dr4        
,calamy4 ,as his good mother also       
belonged to the  same1 it is easy to    

imagine it must have been an unspeakable
 pleasure to  her to have such frequent 
opportunities of conversing with such a 
son1 of  observing in his daily conduct 
and discourses the blessed effects of   
that  change which divine grace had made
 in his heart1 and of sitting down with 
him monthly at that sacred feast where  
,christians so frequently enjoy  the    
divinest entertainments which they      
expect on this side heaven4 ,i the      
rather mention this ordinance1 because1 
as this excellent lady had a very  high 
esteem for it1 so she had an opportunity
 of attending it but the  very ,lord's  
day immediately preceding her death1    
which happened on  ,thursday1 ,october  
#g1 #agbe1 after her son had been       
removed from her almost  a year4 ,he had
 maintained her handsomely out of that  
very moderate income  on which he       
subsisted since his regiment had been   
disbanded2 and when she  expressed her  
gratitude to him for it1 he assured her 
7in one of the last  letters she ever   

received from him7 that he esteemed it a
 great honour  that ,god put it into his
 power to make what he called a very    
small  acknowledgment of all her care   
for him1 and especially of the many     
prayers she had offered on his account1 
which had already been remarkably       
answered1 and the benefit of which he   
hoped ever to enjoy4    ,i apprehend    
that the ,earl of ,stair's regiment1 to 
the majority of  which he was promoted  
on the #bjth of ,july1 #agbd1 was then  
quartered in  ,scotland2 for all the    
letters in my hand1 from that time to   
the #fth of  ,february1 #agbf1 are dated
 from thence1 and particularly from     
,douglas1  ,stranraer1 ,hamilton1 and   
,ayr4 ,but ,i have the pleasure to find1
 from  comparing these with others of an
 earlier date from ,london and the      
neighbouring parts1 that neither the    
detriment which he must suffer by  being
 so long out of commission1 nor the     
hurry of affairs while charged  with it1
 could prevent or interrupt that        

intercourse with ,heaven1 which  was his
 daily feast1 and his daily strength4   
,these were most eminently the happy    
years of his life2 for he had  learned  
to estimate his happiness1 not by the   
increase of honour1 or the  possession  
of wealth1 or by what was much dearer to
 his generous heart  than either1 the   
converse of the dearest and worthiest   
human friends2 but  by nearness to ,god1
 and by opportunities of humble converse
 with him1 in  the lively exercise of   
contemplation1 praise1 and prayer4 ,now 
there was  no period of his life in     
which he was more eminently favoured    
with these1  nor do ,i find any of his  
letters so overflowing with transports  
of holy  joy1 as those which were dated 
during this time4 ,there are indeed in  
some  of them such very sublime         
passages1 that ,i have been dubious     
whether ,i  should communicate them to  
the public or not1 lest ,i should       
administer  matter of profane ridicule  
to some1 who look upon all the          

elevations  of devotion as contemptible 
enthusiasm4 ,and it has also given me   
some  apprehensions lest it should      
discourage some pious ,christians1 who1 
after  having spent several years in the
 service of ,god1 and in humble         
obedience  to the precepts of his       
gospel1 may not have attained to any    
such heights  as these4 ,but1 on the    
whole1 ,i cannot satisfy myself to      
suppress them2  not only as ,i number   
some of them1 considered in a devotional
 view1 among  the most extraordinary    
pieces of the kind ,i have ever met     
with2 but as  some of the most excellent
 and judicious persons ,i any where     
know1 to  whom ,i have read them1 have  
assured me that they felt their hearts  
in an  unusual manner impressed1        
quickened1 and edified by them4         
,,chapter ,,vi4    ,,letters4      ,i   
will therefore draw back the veil1 and  
show my much honoured friend in  his    
most secret recesses1 that the world may
 see what those springs were1  from     

whence issued that clear1 permanent and 
living stream of wisdom1  piety1 and    
virtue1 which so evidently ran through  
all that part of his  life which was    
open to public observation4 ,it is not  
to be imagined that  letters written in 
the intimacy of ,christian friendship1  
some of them  with the most evident     
marks of haste1 and amidst a variety of 
important  public cares1 should be      
adorned with any studied elegance of    
expression1  about which the greatness  
of his soul would not allow him to be at
 any  time very solicitous1 for he      
generally 7as far as ,i could observe7  
wrote  as fast as his pen could move1   
which1 happily both for him and his many
  friends1 was very freely4 ,yet here   
the grandeur of his subject has         
sometimes clothed his ideas with a      
language more elevated than is          
ordinarily to be expected in an         
epistolary correspondence4 ,the proud   
scorners who may deride sentiments and  
enjoyments like those which this  truly 

great man so experimentally and         
pathetically describes1 ,i pity from  my
 heart1 and grieve to think how unfit   
they must be for the hallelujahs  of    
heaven1 who pour contempt upon the      
nearest approaches to them2 nor  shall  
,i think it any misfortune to share with
 so excellent a person their  profane   
derision4 ,it will be infinitely more   
than an equivalent for all  that such   
ignorance and petulancy can think and   
say1 if ,i may convince  some1 who are  
as yet strangers to religion1 how real  
and how noble its  delights are--if ,i  
may engage my pious readers to glorify  
,god for so  illustrious an instance of 
his grace--and finally1 if ,i may       
quicken them1  and1 above all1 may rouse
 my own too indolent spirit to follow   
with less  unequal steps an example1 to 
the sublimity of which1 ,i fear1 few of 
us  shall1 after all1 be able fully to  
attain4 ,and that we may not be too     
much discouraged under the deficiency1  
let it be recollected that few  have the

 advantage of a temper naturally so     
warm2 few have an equal  command of     
retirement2 and perhaps hardly any one  
who thinks himself  most indebted to the
 riches and freedom of divine grace1 can
 trace  interpositions of it in all     
respects equally astonishing4    ,the   
first of these extraordinary letters    
which have fallen into my hand1  is     
dated near three years after his        
conversion1 and addressed to a  lady of 
quality4 ,i believe it is the first the 
major ever wrote1 so  immediately on the
 subject of his religious consolations  
and converse  with ,god in devout       
retirement2 for ,i well remember that he
 once told me  he was so much afraid    
that something of spiritual pride should
 mingle  itself with the relation of    
such kind of experiences1 that he       
concealed  them a long time2 but        
observing with how much freedom the     
sacred writers  open all the most secret
 recesses of their hearts1 especially in
 the  ,psalms2 his conscience began to  

be burdened1 under an apprehension that1
  for the honour of ,god1 and in order  
to engage the concurrent praises of     
some of his people1 he ought to disclose
 them4 ,on this he set himself to       
reflect who among all his numerous      
acquaintance seemed at once the most    
experienced ,christians1 7to whom1      
therefore1 such things as he had to     
communicate might appear solid and      
credible17 and who the humblest4 ,he    
quickly thought of the ,lady            
,marchioness of ,douglas in this view2  
and the  reader may well imagine that it
 struck my mind very strongly1 to think 
that now1 more than twenty-four years   
after it was written1 ,providence       
should bring to my hands 7as it has done
 within these few days7 what ,i         
assuredly believe to be a genuine copy  
of that very letter1 which ,i had  not  
the least reason to expect ,i should    
ever have seen1 when ,i learned  from   
his own mouth1 amidst the freedom of an 
accidental conversation1 the  occasion  

and circumstances of it4 ,it is dated   
from ,london1 ,july #ba1 #agbb1  and the
 very first lines of it relate to a     
remarkable circumstance which1  from    
others of his letters1 ,i find happened 
several times2 ,i mean1 that  when he   
had received from any of his ,christian 
friends a few lines which  particularly 
affected his heart1 he could not stay   
till the stated return  of his          
devotional hour1 but immediately retired
 to pray for them1 and to  give vent to 
those religious emotions of mind which  
such a correspondence  raised4 ,how     
invaluable was such a friend6 and what  
great reason have  those of us who once 
possessed a large share in his heart1   
and in those  retired and sacred        
moments1 to bless ,god for so singular a
 felicity2  and to comfort ourselves in 
a pleasing hope that we may yet reap    
future  blessings1 as the harvest of    
those petitions which he can no more    
repeat4    ,his words are these3    ,i  
was so happy as to receive yours just as

 ,i arrived1 and had no sooner  read it 
but ,i shut my door1 and sought ,him    
whom my soul loveth4 ,i sought  him1 and
 found him2 and would not let him go    
till he had blessed us all4  ,it is     
impossible to find words to express what
 ,i obtained2 but ,i suppose  it was    
something like that which the disciples 
got1 as they were going  to ,emmaus1    
when they said1 ',did not our hearts    
burn within us1' c42 or  rather like    
what ,paul felt1 when he could not tell 
whether he was in the  body1 or out of  
it4    ,he then mentions his dread of   
spiritual pride1 from whence he         
earnestly  prays that ,god may deliver  
and preserve him4    ,this1 says he1    
would have hindered me from             
communicating these things1  if ,i had  
not such an example before me as the man
 after ,god's own heart1  saying1 ',i   
will declare what ,god hath done for my 
soul2' and elsewhere1  ',the humble     
shall hear thereof1 and be glad4' ,now  
,i am well satisfied  that your ladyship

 is of that number4    ,he then adds3   
,i had no sooner finished this exercise1
 that is of prayer above  mentioned1 but
 ,i sat down to admire the goodness of  
my ,god1 that he  would vouchsafe to    
influence by his free ,spirit so        
undeserving a wretch  as ,i1 and to make
 me thus to mount up with eagles' wings4
 ,and here ,i was  lost again1 and got  
into an ocean1 where ,i could find      
neither bound nor  bottom2 but was      
obliged to cry out with the apostle1 ',o
 the breadth1  the length1 the depth1   
the height of the love of ,christ1 which
 passeth  knowledge6' ,but if ,i gave   
way to this strain ,i shall never have  
done4  ,that the ,god of hope may fill  
you with all joy and peace in believing1
  that you may abound in hope through   
the power of the ,holy ,ghost1 shall    
always be the prayer of him who is1 with
 the greatest sincerity and  respect1   
your ,ladyship's1 c4    ,another passage
 to the same purpose ,i find in a       
memorandum1 which he  seems to have     

written for his own use1 dated ,monday1 
,march #aa1 which ,i  perceive1 from    
many concurrent circumstances1 must have
 been in the year  #agbb-c4    ,this    
day1 says he1 having been to visit ,mrs4
 ,g4 at ,hampstead1 ,i came  home about 
two1 and read a sermon on these words1  
,psalm cxxx4 #d1 ',but  there is        
forgiveness with thee1 that thou mayest 
be feared2' about the  latter end of    
which1 there is a description of the    
miserable condition of  those that are  
slighters of pardoning grace4 ,from a   
sense of the great  obligations ,i lie  
under to the ,almighty ,god1 who hath   
made me to differ  from such1 from what 
,i was1 and from the rest of my         
companions1 ,i knelt  down to praise his
 holy name2 and ,i know not in my       
lifetime ,i ever lay  lower in the dust1
 never having had a fuller view of my   
own unworthiness4  ,i never pleaded more
 strongly the merits and intercession of
 ,him who  ,i know is worthy--never     
vowed more sincerely to be the ,lord's1 

and to  accept of ,christ1 as he is     
offered in the gospel1 as my ,king1     
,priest1  and ,prophet--never had so    
strong a desire to depart1 that ,i might
 sin no  more2 but 'my grace is         
sufficient1' curbed that desire4 ,i     
never pleaded  with greater fervency for
 the ,comforter1 which our blessed ,lord
 hath  promised shall abide with us for 
ever4 ,for all which1 ,i desire to      
ascribe  glory c4 to ,him that sitteth  
on the throne1 and to the ,lamb4        
,there are several others of his papers1
 speaking much the same language1       
which1 had he kept a diary1 would1 ,i   
doubt not1 have filled many sheets4  ,i 
believe my devout readers would not soon
 be weary of reading extracts  of this  
kind2 but that ,i may not exceed in this
 part of my narrative1 ,i  shall mention
 only two more1 each of them dated some 
years after2 that  is1 one from         
,douglas1 ,april #a1 #agbe2 and the     
other from ,stranraer1 #beth  ,may      
following4    ,the former of these      

relates to the frame of his spirit on a 
journey2 on  the mention of which1 ,i   
cannot but recollect how often ,i have  
heard him  say that some of the most    
delightful days of his life were days in
 which  he travelled alone1 7that is1   
with only a servant at a distance17 when
 he  could1 especially in roads not much
 frequented1 indulge himself in the     
pleasures of prayer and praise4 ,in the 
exercise of this last1 he was  greatly  
assisted by several psalms and hymns    
which he had treasured up in  his       
memory1 and which he used not only to   
repeat aloud1 but sometimes to  sing4   
,in reference to this1 ,i remember the  
following passage1 in a letter  which he
 wrote to me many years after1 when1 on 
mentioning my ever dear  and honoured   
friend the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,watts1 he says1  
,how often1 in singing  some of his     
psalms1 hymns1 or lyrics1 on horseback  
and elsewhere1 has the  evil spirit been
 made to flee3      ',whene'er my heart 
in tune was found1     ',like ,david's  

harp of solemn sound6'    ,such was the 
first of ,april above mentioned4 ,in the
 evening of that day  he writes thus to 
an intimate friend3--    ,what would ,i 
have given this day1 upon the road1 for 
paper1 pen1 and  ink1 when the ,spirit  
of the ,most ,high rested upon me6 ,oh  
for the pen of a  ready writer1 and the 
tongue of an angel1 to declare what ,god
 hath done  this day for my soul6 ,but1 
in short1 it is in vain to attempt it4  
,all  that ,i am able to say1 is this1  
that my soul has been for some hours    
joining with the blessed spirits above  
in giving glory1 and honour1 and  praise
 unto ,him that sitteth upon the throne1
 and to the ,lamb1 for ever  and ever4  
,my praises began from a renewed view of
 ,him whom ,i saw pierced  for my       
transgressions4 ,i summoned the whole   
hierarchy of heaven to join  with me1   
and ,i am persuaded they all echoed back
 praise to the ,most ,high4  ,yon1 one  
would have thought the very larks joined
 me with emulation4  ,sure1 then1 ,i    

need not make use of many words to      
persuade you1 that  are his saints1 to  
join me in blessing and praising his    
holy name4 ,he  concludes1 ,may the     
blessing of the ,god of ,jacob rest upon
 you all6  ,adieu4 ,written in great    
haste1 late and weary4    ,scarcely can 
,i here refrain from breaking out into  
more copious  reflections on the        
exquisite pleasures of true religion1   
when risen to  such eminent degrees1    
which can thus feast the soul in its    
solitude1 and  refresh it on journeys1  
and bring down so much of heaven to     
earth as this  delightful letter        
expresses4 ,but the remark is so        
obvious1 that ,i will  not enlarge upon 
it2 but proceed to the other letter     
above mentioned1  which was written the 
next month1 on the ,tuesday after a     
sacrament day4    ,he mentions the      
pleasure with which he had attended a   
preparation sermon  the ,saturday       
before2 and then he adds3    ,i took a  
walk upon the mountains that are over   

against ,ireland2 and1 ,i  persuade     
myself1 that were ,i capable of giving  
you a description of what  passed there1
 you would agree that ,i had much better
 reason to remember  my ,god from the   
hills of ,port ,patrick than ,david from
 the land of ,jordan1  and of the       
,hermonites1 from the hill of ,mizar4 ,i
 suppose he refers to  the clearer      
discoveries of the gospel with which we 
are favoured4 ,in  short1 says he       
immediately afterwards1 in that         
scripture phrase which  had become so   
familiar to him1 ,i wrestled some hours 
with the ,angel of  the covenant1 and   
made supplications to him with floods of
 tears1 and  cries--until ,i had almost 
expired2 but he strengthened me so1     
that1 like  ,jacob1 ,i had power with   
,god1 and prevailed4 ,this1 adds he1 is 
but a  very faint description2 you will 
be more able to judge of it by what you 
have felt yourself upon the like        
occasions4 ,after such preparatory work1
  ,i need not tell you how blessed the  

solemn ordinance of the ,lord's supper  
proved to me2 ,i hope it was so to many4
 ,you may believe ,i should have  been  
exceeding glad1 if my gracious ,lord had
 ordered it so1 that ,i might  have made
 you a visit1 as ,i proposed2 but ,i am 
now glad it was ordered  otherwise1     
since he hath caused so much of his     
goodness to pass before  me4 ,were ,i to
 give you an account of the many favours
 my ,god hath loaded  me with1 since ,i 
parted from you1 ,i must have taken up  
many days in  nothing but writing4 ,i   
hope you will join with me in praises   
for all the  goodness he has shown to   
your unworthy brother in the ,lord4     
,such were the ardours and elevation of 
his soul4 ,but while ,i record these    
memorials of them1 ,i am very sensible  
that there are many who will be         
inclined to censure them as the flights 
of enthusiasm2 for which reason1  ,i    
must beg leave to add a remark or two on
 the occasion1 which will be            
illustrated by several other extracts1  

which ,i shall introduce into the       
sequel of these memoirs4 ,the one is1   
that he never pretends1 in any of  the  
passages cited above1 or elsewhere1 to  
have received from ,god any  immediate  
revelations which should raise him above
 the ordinary methods  of instruction1  
or discover any thing to him1 whether of
 doctrines or  facts4 ,no man was       
further from pretending to predict      
future events1  except from the moral   
prognostications of causes naturally    
tending to  produce them1 in tracing of 
which he had indeed an admirable        
sagacity1  as ,i have seen in some very 
remarkable instances4 ,neither was he at
 all  inclinable to govern himself by   
secret impulses upon his mind1 leading  
him to things for which he could assign 
no reason but the impulse itself4  ,had 
he ventured1 in a presumption on such   
secret agitations of mind1 to  teach or 
to do any thing not warranted by the    
dictates of sound sense and  the word of
 ,god1 ,i should readily have           

acknowledged him an enthusiast1  unless 
he could have produced some other       
evidence than his own persuasion  to    
have supported the authority of them4   
,but these ardent expressions1  which   
some may call enthusiasm1 seem only to  
evince a heart deeply  affected with a  
sense of the divine presence and        
perfections1 and of that  love which    
passeth knowledge1 especially as        
manifested in our redemption  by the    
,son of ,god1 which did indeed inflame  
his whole soul4 ,and he  thought he     
might reasonably ascribe these strong   
impressions1 to which  men are generally
 such strangers1 and of which he had    
long been entirely  destitute1 to the   
agency or influences of the ,spirit of  
,god upon his  heart2 and that1 in      
proportion to the degree in which he    
felt them1 he  might properly say1 ,god 
was present with him1 and he conversed  
with  ,god499 ,now1 when we consider the
 scriptural phrases of walking with     
,god1 of having communion with the      

,father and his ,son ,jesus ,christ1 of 
,christ's coming to them that open the  
door of their hearts to him1 and        
supping with them1 of ,god's shedding   
abroad his love in the heart of  the    
,spirit1 of his coming with ,jesus      
,christ1 and making his abode with  any 
man that loves him1 of his meeting him  
that worketh righteousness1  of his     
making us glad by the light of his      
countenance1 and a variety  of other    
equivalent expressions1--,i believe we  
shall see reason to judge  much more    
favourably of such expressions as those 
now in question1 than  persons who1     
themselves strangers to elevated        
devotion1 perhaps converse  but little  
with their ,bible1 are inclined to do2  
especially1 if they  have1 as many such 
persons have1 a temper that inclines    
them to cavil and  find fault4 ,and ,i  
must further observe1 that amidst all   
those freedoms  with which this eminent 
,christian opens his devout heart to the
 most  intimate of his friends1 he still

 speaks with profound awe and reverence 
of his ,heavenly ,father and his        
,saviour1 and maintains 7after the      
example  of the sacred writers          
themselves17 a kind of dignity in his   
expressions1  suitable to such a        
subject1 without any of that fond       
familiarity of  language1 and degrading 
meanness of phrase1 by which it is1     
especially  of late1 grown fashionable  
among some 7who nevertheless ,i believe 
mean  well17 to express their love and  
their humility4    99,note3 ,the        
ingenious and pious ,mr4 ,grove 7who1 ,i
 think1 was as little  suspected of     
running into enthusiastical extremes as 
most divines ,i could  name17 has a     
noble passage to this purpose in the    
sixth volume of his  ,posthumous ,works1
 p4#aj1 #aa1 which1 respect to the      
memory of both these  excellent persons1
 inclines me to insert here1    ,how    
often are the good thoughts suggested1  
7viz4 to the pure in heart7  heavenly   
affection kindled and inflamed6 ,how    

often is the ,christian  prompted to    
holy actions1 drawn to his duty1        
restored1 quickened1  persuaded1 in such
 a manner1 that he would be unjust to   
the ,spirit of ,god  to question his    
agency in the whole6 ,yes1 on my soul6  
there is a ,supreme  ,being1 who governs
 the world1 and is present with it1 who 
takes up his  more special habitation in
 good men1 and is nigh to all who call  
upon  him1 to sanctify and assist them6 
,hast thou not felt him1 oh my soul6    
like another soul1 ,transcriber's note3 
illegible thy faculties1  exalting thy  
views1 purifying thy passions1 exalting 
thy graces1 and  begetting in thee an   
abhorrence of sin1 and a love of        
holiness8 ,is not  all this an argument 
of ,his presence1 as truly as if thou   
didst see4    ,on the whole1 if habitual
 love to ,god1 firm faith in the ,lord  
,jesus  ,christ1 a steady dependence on 
the divine promises1 a full persuasion  
of  the wisdom and goodness of all the  
dispensations of ,providence1 a high    

esteem for the blessings of the heavenly
 world1 and a sincere contempt  for the 
vanities of this1 can properly be called
 enthusiasm1 then was  ,colonel         
,gardiner indeed one of the greatest    
enthusiasts which our age  has produced2
 and in proportion to the degree in     
which he was so1 ,i must  esteem him one
 of the wisest and happiest of mankind4 
,nor do ,i fear to  tell the world that 
it is the design of my writing these    
memoirs1 and of  every thing else that  
,i undertake in life1 to spread this    
glorious and  blessed enthusiasm1 which 
,i know to be the anticipation of       
heaven1 as  well as the most certain way
 to it4    ,but lest any should possibly
 imagine1 that allowing the experiences 
which  have been described above to have
 been ever so solid and important1 yet  
there may be some appearances of        
boasting in so free a communication of  
them1 ,i must add to what ,i have hinted
 in reference to this above1 that  ,i   
find in many of the papers before me    

very genuine expressions of the  deepest
 humility and self-abasement1 which     
indeed such holy converse with  ,god in 
prayer and praise does1 above all things
 in the world1 tend to  inspire and     
promote4 ,thus1 in one of his letters he
 says1 ,i am but as  a beast before him4
 ,in another he calls himself a         
miserable  hell-deserving sinner4 ,and  
in another he cries out1 ,oh1 how good  
a master do ,i serve6 but1 alas1 how    
ungrateful am ,i6 ,what can be so       
astonishing as the love of ,christ to   
us1 unless it be the coldness of our    
sinful hearts towards such a ,saviour8  
,there were many other clauses of  the  
like nature1 which ,i shall not set     
myself more particularly to trace       
through the variety of letters in which 
they occur4    ,it is a further instance
 of this unfeigned humility1 that when  
7as his  lady with her usual propriety  
of language expresses it in one of her  
letters to me concerning him17 these    
divine joys and consolations were  not  

his daily allowance1 he1 with equal     
freedom1 in the confidence of           
,christian fellowship1 acknowledges and 
laments it4 ,thus1 in the first  letter 
,i had the honour of receiving from him1
 dated from ,leicester1 ,july  #i1      
#agci1 after mentioning the blessing    
with which it had pleased ,god to       
attend my last address to him1 and the  
influence it had upon his mind1  he     
adds1 ,much do ,i stand in need of every
 help to awaken me out of that          
spiritual deadness which seizes me so   
often4 ,once1 indeed1 it was quite      
otherwise with me1 and that for many    
years3      ',firm was my health1 my day
 was bright1    ,and ,i presumed 't     
would ne'er be night1    ,fondly ,i said
 within my heart1    ,pleasure and peace
 shall ne'er depart1    ,but ,i forgot1 
thine arm was strong1    ,which made my 
mountain stand so long2    ,soon as thy 
face began to hide1    ,my health was   
gone1 my comforts died4'    ,and here1  
adds he1 lies my sin and my folly4    ,i

 mention this1 that the whole matter may
 be seen just as it was1 and  that other
 ,christians may not be discouraged if  
they feel some abatement  of that       
fervour1 and of those holy joys which   
they may have experienced  during some  
of the first months or years of their   
spiritual life4 ,but1  with relation to 
the colonel1 ,i have great reason to    
believe that those  which he laments as 
his days of spiritual deadness were not 
unanimated2  and that quickly after the 
date of this letter1 and especially     
nearer the  close of his life1 he had   
further revivings1 as the joyful        
anticipation  in reserve of those better
 things which were then nearly          
approaching4 ,and  thus ,mr4 ,spears1 in
 the letter ,i mentioned above1 tells us
 he related  the matter to him1 7for he 
studies as much as possible to retain   
the  colonel's own words73 ,however1    
says he1 after that happy period  of    
sensible communion1 though my joys and  
enlargements were not so  overflowing   

and sensible1 yet ,i have had habitual  
real communion with  ,god from that day 
to this--the latter end of the year     
#agdc--;and ,i know  myself1 and all    
that know me see1 that through the grace
 of ,god1 to which  ,i ascribe all1 my  
conversation has been becoming the      
gospel2 and let me  die whenever it     
shall please ,god1 or wherever it shall 
be1 ,i am sure  ,i shall go to the      
mansions of eternal glory1 c4 ,this is  
perfectly  agreeable to the manner in   
which he used to speak to me on this    
head1  which we have talked over        
frequently and largely4    ,in this     
connection ,i hope my reader will       
forgive my inserting a little  story    
which ,i received from a very worthy    
minister in ,scotland1 and which  ,i    
shall give in his own words3 ,in this   
period1 meaning that which  followed the
 first seven years after his conversion1
 when his complaint  of comparative     
deadness and languor in religion began1 
he had a dream1  which1 though he had no

 turn at all for taking notice of       
dreams1 yet made  a very strong         
impression upon his mind4 ,he imagined  
he saw his blessed  ,redeemer on earth1 
and that he was following him through a 
large field1  following him whom his    
soul loved1 but much troubled1 because  
he thought  his blessed ,lord did not   
speak to him1 till he came up to the    
gate of a  burying-place1 when1 turning 
about1 he smiled upon him in such a     
manner  as filled his soul with the most
 ravishing joy1 and on after reflection 
animated his faith in believing that    
whatever storms and darkness he  might  
meet with in the way1 at the hour of    
death his glorious ,redeemer  would lift
 up upon him the light of his           
life-giving countenance4 ,my            
correspondent adds a circumstance for   
which he makes some apology1  as what   
may seem whimsical1 and yet made some   
impression on the  colonel1--that there 
was a remarkable resemblance in the     
field in which  this brave man met his  

death1 and that he had represented to   
him in the  dream4 ,i did not fully     
understand this at first2 but a passage 
in that  letter from ,mr4 ,spears1 which
 ,i have mentioned more than once1 has  
cleared it3    ,now observe1 sir1 this  
seems to be a literal description of the
 place  where this ,christian hero ended
 his sorrows and conflicts1 and from    
which  he entered triumphantly into the 
joy of his ,lord2 for1 after he fell in 
the battle1 fighting gloriously for his 
king1 and the cause of his ,god1  his   
wounded body1 while life was yet        
remaining1 was carried from the  field  
of battle by the east side of his own   
enclosure1 till he came to  the         
church-yard of ,tranent1 and was brought
 to the minister's house1  where1 about 
an hour after1 he breathed out his soul 
into the hands of  his ,lord1 and was   
conducted to his presence1 where there  
is fulness of  joy1 without any cloud or
 interruption1 for ever4    ,i well know
 that in dreams there are diverse       

vanities1 and readily  acknowledge that 
nothing certain could be inferred from  
this2 yet it  seems at least to show    
which way the imagination was working   
even in  sleep2 and ,i cannot think it  
unworthy of a wise and good man         
sometimes  to reflect with complacency  
on any images which1 passing through his
 mind  even in that state1 may tend     
either to express or to quicken his love
  to the great ,saviour4 ,those         
eminently pious divines of the ,church  
of  ,england1 ,bishop ,bull and ,bishop 
,konn1 do both intimate it as their     
opinion that it may be a part of the    
service of ministering angels to        
suggest devout dreams#a and ,i know that
 the worthy person of whom ,i  speak was
 well acquainted with that evening hymn 
of the latter of those  excellent       
writers which has these lines3          
,lord lest the tempter me surprise1     
,watch over thine own sacrifice6    ,all
 loose1 all idle thoughts cast out2     
,and make my very dreams devout6    ,nor

 would it be difficult to produce other 
passages much to the same  purpose1#b if
 it would not be deemed too great a     
digression from our  subject1 and too   
laboured a vindication of a little      
incident of very  small importance when 
compared with most of those which make  
up this  narrative4#c    ,footnote #a3  
,bishop ,bull has these remarkable      
words3 ,although ,i am no  doater on    
dreams1 yet ,i verily believe that some 
dreams are monitory1  above the power of
 fancy1 and impressed upon us by some   
superior  intelligence4 ,for of such    
dreams we have plain and undeniable     
instances  in history1 both sacred and  
profane1 and in our own age and         
observation4  ,nor shall ,i so value the
 laughter of sceptics1 and the scoffs of
  epicureans1 as to be ashamed to       
profess that ,i myself have had some    
convincing experiments of such          
impressions4 ,bishop ,bull's ,sermons   
and  ,discourses1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 pp4 #dhi1 
#dij4    ,footnote #b3 ,if ,i mistake   

not1 the same ,bishop ,konn is the      
author of a  midnight hymn coinciding   
with these words3      ,may my ethereal 
,guardian kindly spread    ,his wings1  
and from the tempter screen my head2    
,grant of celestial light some passing  
beams1    ,to bless my sleep1 and       
sanctify my dreams6    ,as he certainly 
was of these exactly parallel lines3    
,oh may my ,guardian1 while ,i sleep1   
,close to my bed his vigils keep2       
,his love angelical distil1    ,stop all
 the avenues of ill6    ,may he         
celestial joys rehearse1    ,and thought
 to thought with me converse6           
,footnote #c3 ,see ,appendix ,i4        
,,chapter ,,vii4    ,,domestic          
,,relations4      ,i meet not with any  
other remarkable event relating to      
,major ,gardiner1  which can properly be
 introduced here1 till #agbf1 when1 on  
the #aath of  ,july1 he was married to  
the ,right ,hon4 ,lady ,frances         
,erskine1 daughter to  the late ,earl of
 ,buchan1 by whom he had thirteen       

children1 five only of  which survived  
their father1 two sons and three        
daughters1 whom ,i cannot  mention      
without the most fervent prayers to ,god
 for them1 that they may  always behave 
worthy the honour of being descended    
from such parents1  and that the ,god of
 their father and of their mother may   
make them  perpetually the care of his  
providence1 and yet more eminently happy
 in  the constant and abundant          
influences of his grace4    ,as her     
ladyship is still living199 7and for the
 sake of  her dear offspring1 and       
numerous friends1 may she long be       
spared17 ,i  shall not here indulge     
myself in saying any thing of her1      
except it be  that the colonel assured  
me1 when he had been happy in this      
intimate  relation to her more than     
fourteen years1 that the greatest       
imperfection  he knew in her character  
was1 that she valued and loved him much 
more  than he deserved4 ,little did he  
think1 in the simplicity of heart with  

which he spoke this1 how high an        
encomium he was making upon her1 and how
  lasting an honour such a testimony    
must leave upon her name1 long as the   
memory of it shall continue4    99,note3
 ,in the year #agdf    ,as ,i do not    
intend in these memoirs a laboured essay
 on the character of  ,colonel          
,gardiner1 digested under the various   
virtues and graces which  ,christianity 
requires1 7which would1 ,i think1 be a  
little too formal for  a work of this   
kind1 and would give it such an air of  
panegyric as would  neither suit my     
design1 nor be at all likely to render  
it more useful17 ,i  shall now mention  
what ,i have either observed in him1 or 
heard concerning  him1 with regard to   
those domestic relations which commenced
 about this  time1 or very soon after4  
,and here my reader will easily conclude
 that  the resolution of ,joshua was    
from the first adopted and declared1 ,as
 for  me and my house1 we will serve the
 ,lord4 ,it will naturally be supposed1 

that as soon as he had a house1 he      
erected an altar in it2 that the word   
of ,god was read there1 and prayers and 
praises were constantly offered4  ,these
 were not to be omitted on account of   
any guest2 for he esteemed it  a part of
 due respect to those that remained     
under his roof to take it  for granted  
they would look upon it as a very bad   
compliment to imagine  they would have  
been obliged by neglecting the duties of
 religion on  their account4 ,as his    
family increased1 he had a minister     
statedly  resident in his house1 who    
discharged both the office of a tutor to
 his  children1 and of a chaplain1 and  
who was always treated with a becoming  
kindness and respect4 ,but1 in his      
absence1 the colonel himself led the    
devotions of the family2 and they were  
happy who had an opportunity of  knowing
 with how much solemnity1 fervour1 and  
propriety he did it4 ,he was  constant  
in attendance upon public worship1 in   
which an exemplary care  was taken that 

the children and servants might         
accompany the heads of the  family4 ,and
 how he would have resented the         
non-attendance of any member  of it may 
easily be conjectured from a free but   
lively passage in a  letter to one of   
his intimate friends1 on an occasion    
which it is not  material to mention4   
,oh1 sir1 had a child of yours under my 
roof but  once neglected the public     
worship of ,god when he was able to     
attend it1  ,i should have been ready to
 conclude he had been distracted1 and   
should  have thought of shaving his     
head1 and confining him in a dark room4 
,he always treated his lady with a manly
 tenderness1 giving her the most        
natural evidences of a cordial1 habitual
 esteem1 and expressing a most          
affectionate sympathy with her under the
 infirmities of a very delicate         
constitution1 much broken1 at least     
towards the latter years of their       
marriage4 ,he had at all times a most   
faithful care of all her interests1  and

 especially those relating to the state 
of religion in her mind4 ,his           
conversation and his letters concurred  
to cherish those sublime ideas  which   
,christianity suggests1 to promote our  
submission to the will of  ,god1 to     
teach us to centre our happiness in the 
great ,author of our  being1 and to live
 by faith in the invisible world4       
,these1 no doubt1 were  frequently the  
subjects of mutual discourse2 and many  
letters1 which her  ladyship has had the
 goodness to communicate to me1 are most
 convincing  evidences of the degree in 
which this noble and most friendly care 
filled  his mind in the days of their   
separation--days which so entire a      
mutual  affection must have rendered    
exceedingly painful1 had they not been  
supported by such exalted sentiments of 
piety1 and sweetened by daily  communion
 with an ever-present and ever-gracious 
,god4    ,the necessity of being so many
 months together distant from his family
  hindered him from many of those       

condescending labours in cultivating the
  minds of his children in early life1  
which1 to a soul so benevolent1 so      
wise1 and so zealous1 would undoubtedly 
have afforded a very exquisite          
pleasure4 ,the care of his worthy       
consort1 who well knew that it is one   
of the brightest parts of a mother's    
character1 and one of the most          
important views in which the sex can be 
considered1 made him the easier  under  
such a circumstance2 but when he was    
with them1 he failed not to  instruct   
and admonish them2 and the constant deep
 sense with which he  spoke of divine   
things1 and the real unaffected         
indifference which he  always showed for
 what this vain world is most ready to  
admire1 were  excellent lessons of daily
 wisdom1 which ,i hope they will        
recollect with  advantage in every      
future scene of life4 ,and ,i have seen 
such hints in  his letters relating to  
them1 as plainly show with how great a  
weight  they lay on his mind1 and how   

highly he desired1 above all things1    
that  they might be the faithful        
disciples of ,christ1 and acquainted    
betimes  with the unequalled pleasures  
and blessings of religion4 ,he thought  
an  excess of delicacy and of indulgence
 one of the most dangerous faults  in   
education1 by which he everywhere saw   
great numbers of young people  undone2  
yet he was solicitous to guard against a
 severity which might  terrify or       
discourage2 and though he endeavoured to
 take all prudent  precautions to       
prevent the commission of faults1 yet1  
when they had been  committed1 and there
 seemed to be a sense of them1 he was   
always ready  to make the most candid   
allowances for the thoughtlessness of   
unripened  years1 and tenderly to       
cherish every purpose of a more proper  
conduct for  the time to come4    ,it   
was to perceive that the openings of    
genius in the young branches of  his    
family gave him great delight1 and that 
he had a secret ambition to  see them   

excel in what they undertook4 ,yet he   
was greatly cautious over  his heart1   
lest it should be too fondly attached to
 them2 and as he was  one of the most   
eminent proficients ,i ever knew in the 
blessed science  of resignation to the  
divine will1 so there was no effect of  
that  resignation which appeared to me  
more admirable than what related to the 
life of his children4 ,an experience1   
which no length of time will ever       
efface out of my memory1 has so sensibly
 taught me how difficult it is  fully to
 support the ,christian character here1 
that ,i hope my reader will  pardon me  
7,i am sure1 at least1 the heart of     
wounded parents will17 if ,i  dwell a   
little longer upon so interesting a     
subject499    99,note3 ,see ,appendix   
,,ii4    ,when he was in ,herefordshire 
in ,july1 #agcd1 it pleased ,god to     
visit his  little family with the small 
pox4 ,five days before the date of the  
letter  ,i am just going to mention1 he 
had received the agreeable news that    

there was a prospect of the recovery of 
his son1 then under that awful          
visitation2 and he had been expressing  
his thankfulness for it in a  letter    
which he had sent away but a few hours  
before he was informed of  his death1   
the surprise of which1 in this          
connection1 must naturally be  very     
great4 ,but behold 7says the reverend   
and worthy person from whom  ,i received
 the copy7 his truly filial submission  
to the will of his  ,heavenly ,father1  
in the following lines addressed to the 
dear partner  of his affliction3 ,your  
resignation to the will of ,god under   
this  dispensation gives me more joy    
than the death of the child has given me
  sorrow4 ,he1 to be sure1 is happy2 and
 we shall go to him1 though he shall    
not return to us4 ,oh that we had our   
latter end always in view6 ,we shall    
soon follow2 and oh1 what reason have we
 to long for that glorious day  when we 
shall get quit of this body of sin and  
death under which we now  groan1 and    

which renders this life so wretched6 ,i 
desire to bless ,god  that ---- 7another
 of his children7 is in so good a way2  
but ,i have  resigned her4 ,we must not 
choose for ourselves2 and it is well we 
must  not1 for we should often make a   
very bad choice1 and therefore it is our
  wisdom1 as well as our duty1 to leave 
all with a gracious ,god1 who hath      
promised that all things shall work     
together for good to them that love     
him2 and he is faithful that hath       
promised1 who will infallibly perform   
it1 if our unbelief does not stand in   
the way4    ,the greatest trial of this 
kind that he ever bore1 was in the      
removal of  his second son1 who was one 
of the most amiable and promising       
children  that has been known4 ,the dear
 little creature was the darling of all 
that  knew him2 and promised very fair1 
so far as a child could be known by its 
doings1 to have been a great ornament to
 the family1 and blessing to the        
public4 ,the suddenness of the stroke   

must1 no doubt1 render it the more      
painful2 for this beloved child was     
snatched away by an illness which       
seized him but about fifteen hours      
before it carried him off4 ,he died  in 
the month of ,october #agcc1 at near six
 years old4 ,their friends were  ready  
to fear that his affectionate parents   
would be almost overwhelmed  at such a  
loss2 but the happy father had so firm a
 persuasion that ,god  had received the 
dear little one to the felicities of the
 celestial  world1 and at the same time 
had so strong a sense of the divine     
goodness  in taking one of his children1
 and that1 too1 one who lay so near his 
heart1 so early to himself1 that the    
sorrows of nature were quite  swallowed 
up in the sublime joy which these       
considerations administered4  ,when he  
reflected what human life is--how many  
its snares and temptations  are--and how
 frequently children who once promised  
very well are  insensibly corrupted1 and
 at length undone1 with ,solomon he     

blessed the  dead already dead1 more    
than the living who were yet alive1 and 
felt  unspeakable pleasure in looking   
after the lovely infant1 as safely and  
delightfully lodged in the house of its 
,heavenly ,father4 ,yea1 he assured  me 
that his heart was at this time so      
entirely taken up with these views1     
that he was afraid they who did not     
thoroughly know him might suspect  that 
he was deficient in the natural         
affections of a parent1 while thus      
borne above the anguish of them by the  
views which faith administered to  him1 
and which divine grace supported in his 
soul4    ,so much did he1 on one of the 
most trying occasions of life1 manifest 
of  the temper of a glorified saint1 and
 to such happy purposes did he retain   
those lessons of submission to ,god1 and
 acquiescence in him1 which ,i  remember
 he once inculcated in a letter he wrote
 to a lady of quality  under the        
apprehension of a breach in her family  
with which ,providence  seemed to       

threaten her1 which ,i am willing to    
insert here1 though a  little out of    
what might seem its most proper place   
rather than entirely  to omit it4 ,it is
 dated from ,london1 ,june #af1 #agbb1  
when1 speaking of the  dangerous illness
 of a dear relative1 he has these words3
 ,when my mind  runs hither1 that is1 to
 ,god1 as its refuge and strong defence1
 7as the  connection plainly determines 
it17 ,i think ,i can bear any thing1 the
  loss of all1 the loss of health1 of   
relations1 on whom ,i depend1 and whom  
,i love1 all that is dear to me1 without
 repining or murmuring4 ,when ,i  think 
that ,god orders1 disposes1 and manages 
all things according to the  counsel of 
his own will2 when ,i think of the      
extent of his providence1  that it      
reaches to the minutest things2 then1   
though a useful friend or  dear relative
 be snatched away by death1 ,i recall   
myself1 and check my  thoughts with     
these considerations3 ,is he not ,god   
from everlasting1 and  to everlasting8  

,and has he not promised to be a ,god to
 me8--a ,god in all  his attributes1 a  
,god in all his persons1 a ,god in all  
his creatures and  providences8 ,and    
shall ,i dare to say1 ,what shall ,i do8
 ,was not he the  infinite cause of all 
,i met with in the creatures8 ,and were 
not they  the finite effects of his     
infinite love and kindness8 ,i have     
daily  experienced that the instrument  
was1 and is1 what ,god makes it to be2  
and  ,i know that this ',god hath the   
hearts of all men in his hands1 and the 
earth is the ,lord's1 and the fulness   
thereof4' ,if this earth be good for    
me1 ,i shall have it2 for my ,father    
hath it all in possession4 ,if favour   
in the eyes of men be good for me1 ,i   
shall have it2 for the spring of  every 
motion in the heart of man is in ,god's 
hand4 ,my dear ---- seems now  to be    
dying2 but ,god is all-wise1 and every  
thing is done by him for the  best4     
,shall ,i hold back any thing that is   
his own1 when he requires  it8 ,no1 ,god

 forbid6 ,when ,i consider the          
excellency of his glorious  attributes1 
,i am satisfied with all his dealings4  
,i perceive by the  introduction1 and by
 what follows1 that most1 if not all of 
this1 is  a quotation from something    
written by a lady2 but whether from some
  manuscript or printed book1 whether   
exactly transcribed or quoted from      
memory1 ,i cannot determine2 and        
therefore ,i thought proper to insert   
it1  as the major 7for that was the     
office he bore then17 by thus           
interweaving  it with his letter1 makes 
it his own1 and as it seems to express  
in a  very lively manner the principles 
which bore him on to a conduct so truly 
great and heroic1 in circumstances that 
have overwhelmed many a heart  that     
could have faced danger and death with  
the greatest intrepidity4    ,i return  
now to consider his character in the    
domestic relation of a  master1 on which
 ,i shall not enlarge4 ,it is1 however1 
proper to remark1  that as his habitual 

meekness and command of his passions    
prevented  indecent sallies of          
ungoverned anger towards those in the   
lowest state  of subjection to him1 by  
which some in high life do strangely    
debase  themselves1 and lose much of    
their authority1 so the natural         
greatness of  his mind made him         
solicitous to render their inferior     
stations as easy as  he could3 and so   
much the rather1 because he considered  
all the children  of ,adam as standing  
upon a level before their great         
,creator1 and had  also a deeper sense  
of the dignity and worth of every       
immortal soul1 how  meanly soever it    
might chance to be lodged1 than most    
persons ,i have  known4 ,this engaged   
him to give his servants frequent       
religious  exhortations and             
instructions1 as ,i have been assured by
 several who  were so happy as to live  
with him under that character4 ,one of  
his first  letters1 after he entered on 
his ,christian course1 expresses the    

same  disposition2 in which1 with great 
tenderness1 he recommends a servant1    
who was in a bad state of health1 to his
 mother's care1 as he was well          
acquainted with her condescending       
temper2 mentioning at the same time1    
the endeavours he had used to promote   
his preparations for a better  world1   
under an apprehension that he would not 
continue long in this4  ,we shall have  
an affecting instance of the prevalence 
of the same  disposition in the closing 
scene of his life1 and indeed in the    
last  words he ever spoke1 which        
expressed his generous solicitude for   
the  safety of a faithful servant who   
was then near him4          ,,chapter   
,,viii4    ,,conduct ,,as ,,an          
,,officer4      ,as it was a few years  
after his marriage that he was promoted 
to the rank  of lieutenant-colonel1 in  
which he continued till he had a        
regiment of  his own1 ,i shall1 for the 
future1 speak of him by that title2 and 
,i may  not1 perhaps1 find any more     

proper place in which to mention what it
 is  proper for me to say of his        
behaviour and conduct as an officer4 ,i 
shall  not here enlarge upon his bravery
 in the field1 though1 as ,i have heard 
from others1 that was very              
remarkable--,i say from others1 for ,i  
never  heard any thing of the kind from 
himself1 nor knew1 till after his death1
  that he was present at almost every   
battle that was fought in ,flanders     
while the illustrious ,duke of          
,marlborough commanded the allied army  
there4 ,i have also been assured from   
several very credible persons1 some  of 
whom were eye-witnesses1 that at the    
skirmish with the rebels at  ,preston in
 ,lancashire1 7thirty years before that 
engagement at the other  ,preston which 
deprived us of this gallant guardian of 
his country17 he  signalized himself    
very particularly2 for he headed a small
 body of men1  ,i think about twelve1   
and set fire to the barricado of the    
rebels1 in the  face of their whole     

army1 while they were pouring in their  
shot1 by which  eight of the twelve that
 attended him fell4 ,this was the last  
action of  the kind in which he was     
engaged before the long peace which     
ensued2 and  who can express how happy  
it was for him1 and indeed for his      
country1  of which he was ever so       
mindful1 and in his latter years so     
important a  friend1 that he did not    
then fall1 when the profaneness which   
mingled  itself with this martial rage  
seemed to rend the heavens1 and shocked 
some other military gentlemen who were  
not very remarkable for their  caution  
in this respect4    ,but ,i insist not  
on things of this nature1 which the true
 greatness of  his soul would hardly    
ever permit him to mention1 unless when 
it tended  to illustrate the divine care
 over him in these extremities of       
danger1  and the grace of ,god in       
calling him from so abandoned a state4  
,it is well  known that the character of
 an officer is not to be approved in the

  day of combat only4 ,colonel ,gardiner
 was truly sensible that every day      
brought its duties along with it1 and he
 was constantly careful that no         
pretence of amusement1 friendship1 or   
even devotion itself1 might prevent     
their being properly discharged4    ,i  
doubt not that the noble persons in     
whose regiments he was                  
lieutenant-colonel1 will always be ready
 to bear an honourable and  grateful    
testimony to his exemplary diligence and
 fidelity in all that  related to the   
care of the troops over which he was    
set1 whether in  regard to the men or   
the horses4 ,he knew that it is         
incumbent on  those who have the honour 
of presiding over others1 whether in    
civil1  ecclesiastical1 or military     
offices1 not to content themselves with 
doing  only so much as may preserve them
 from the reproach of gross and visible 
neglect2 but seriously to consider how  
much they can possibly do without  going
 out of their proper sphere1 to serve   

the public1 by the due  inspection of   
those committed to their care4 ,the     
duties of the closet and  of the        
sanctuary were so adjusted as not to    
interfere with those of the  parade1 or 
any other place where the welfare of the
 regiment called  him4 ,on the other    
hand1 he was solicitous not to suffer   
these things to  interfere with         
religion1 a due attendance on which he  
apprehended to  be the surest method of 
attaining all desirable success in every
 other  interest and concern in life4   
,he therefore abhorred every thing that 
looked like a contrivance to keep his   
soldiers employed with their horses  and
 their arms at the seasons of public    
worship--an indecency which ,i  wish    
there were no room to mention4 ,far from
 that1 he used to have them  drawn up   
just before it began1 and from the      
parade they went off to the  house of   
,god4 ,he understood the rights of      
conscience too well to impose  his own  
particular profession in religion on    

others1 or to treat those  who differed 
from him in the choice of its modes1 the
 less kindly or  respectfully on that   
account4 ,but as most of his own        
company1 and many of  the rest1 chose   
7when in ,england7 to attend him to the 
dissenting chapel1  he used to march    
them up thither in due time1 so as to be
 there before  the worship began4 ,and  
,i must do them the justice to say1 that
 so far as  ,i could ever discern1 when 
,i have seen them in large numbers      
before me1  they behaved with as much   
reverence1 gravity1 and decorum1 during 
the  time of divine service1 as any of  
the worshippers4    ,that his remarkable
 care to maintain good discipline among 
them 7of which  we shall afterwards     
speak7 might be the more effectual1 he  
made himself  on all proper occasions   
accessible to them1 and expressed a     
great  concern for their interests1     
which1 being genuine and sincere1       
naturally  discovered itself in a       
variety of instances4 ,i remember ,i had

 once  occasion to visit one of his     
dragoons in his last illness at         
,harborough1  and ,i found the man upon 
the borders of eternity--a circumstance 
which1  as he apprehended himself1 must 
add some peculiar weight and credibility
  to his discourse4 ,he then told me1 in
 his colonel's absence1 that he         
questioned not that he should have      
everlasting reason to bless ,god on     
,colonel ,gardiner's account1 for he had
 been a father to him in all his        
interests1 both temporal and spiritual4 
,he added1 that he had visited  him1    
almost every day during his illness1    
with religious advice and  instruction1 
and had also taken care that he should  
want for nothing that  might conduct to 
the recovery of his health4 ,he did not 
speak of this  as the result of any     
particular attachment to him1 but as the
 manner in  which he was accustomed to  
treat those under his command4 ,it is no
 wonder  that this engaged their        
affection to a very great degree2 and ,i

 doubt not  that if he had fought the   
fatal battle of ,prestonpans at the head
 of that  gallant regiment of which he  
had the care for so many years1 and     
which  is allowed by most               
unexceptionable judges to be one of the 
finest in the  ,british service1 and    
consequently in the world1 he had been  
supported in  a much different manner1  
and had found a much greater number who 
would  have rejoiced in an opportunity  
of making their own breasts a barrier in
  the defence of his4    ,it could not  
but greatly endear him to his soldiers1 
that so far as  preferments lay in his  
power1 or were under his influence1 they
 were  distributed according to merit4  
,this he knew to be as much the dictate 
of  prudence as equity4 ,i find from one
 of his letters before me1 dated but  a 
few months after his conversion1 that he
 was solicited to use his  interest with
 the ,earl of ,stair in favour of one   
whom he judged a very  worthy person2   
and that it had been suggested by       

another1 who  recommended him1 that if  
he so succeeded1 he might expect some   
handsome  acknowledgment4 ,but he       
answers with some degree of indignation1
 ,do you  imagine ,i am to be bribed to 
do justice8 ,for such it seems he       
esteemed  it1 to confer the favour which
 was asked from him on one so deserving4
  ,nothing can more effectually tend to 
humble the enemies of a state1 than     
that such maxims should universally     
prevail in it2 and if they do not       
prevail1 the worthiest men in an army or
 a fleet may sink under repeated        
discouragements1 and the basest exalted1
 to the infamy of the public1 and       
perhaps to its ruin4    ,in the midst of
 all the gentleness which ,colonel      
,gardiner exercised  towards his        
soldiers1 he made it very apparent that 
he knew how to  reconcile the tenderness
 of a really faithful and condescending 
friend  with the authority of a         
commander4 ,perhaps hardly any thing    
conduced more  generally to the         

maintaining of this authority1 than the 
strict decorum  and good manners with   
which he treated even the private       
gentlemen of his  regiment2 which has   
always a great efficacy in keeping      
inferiors at  a proper distance1 and    
forbids1 in the least offensive manner1 
familiarities which degrade the         
superior1 and enervate his influence4   
,the  calmness and steadiness of his    
behaviour on all occasions also greatly 
tended to the same purpose4 ,he knew how
 mean a man looks in the  transports of 
passion1 and would not use so much      
freedom with many of  his men as to fall
 into such transports before them1 well 
knowing that  persons in the lowest rank
 of life are aware how unfit they are to
  govern others1 who cannot govern      
themselves4 ,he was also sensible how   
necessary it is in all who preside over 
others1 and especially in  military     
officers1 to check irregularities when  
they first begin to  appear2 and1 that  
he might be able to do so1 he kept a    

strict inspection  over his soldiers2 in
 which it was observed1 that as he      
generally chose  to reside among them as
 much as he could1 7though in           
circumstances which  sometimes          
occasioned him to deny himself in some  
interests which were  very dear to him17
 so1 when they were around him1 he      
seldom staid long in  a place2 but was  
frequently walking the streets1 and     
looking into their  quarters and        
stables1 as well as reviewing and       
exercising them himself4  ,it has often 
been observed that the regiment to which
 he was so many  years                  
lieutenant-colonel1 was one of the most 
regular and orderly  regiments in the   
public service1 so that perhaps none of 
our dragoons  were more welcome to the  
towns where their character was known4  
,yet no  such bodies of men are so      
blameless in their conduct but something
 will  be found1 especially among such  
considerable numbers1 worthy of censure1
  and sometimes of punishment4 ,this    

,colonel ,gardiner knew how to inflict  
with a becoming resolution1 and with all
 the severity which he judged           
necessary--a severity the more awful and
 impressive1 as it was already  attended
 with meekness2 for he well knew that   
when things are done in a  passion1 it  
seems only an accidental circumstance   
that they are acts  of justice1 and that
 such indecencies greatly obstruct the  
ends of  punishment1 both as to         
reforming offenders1 and to deterring   
others from  an imitation of their      
faults4    ,one instance of his conduct1
 which happened at ,leicester1 and which
 was  related by the person chiefly     
concerned to a worthy friend from whom  
,i had it1 ,i cannot forbear inserting4 
,while part of the regiment was         
encamped in the neighbourhood of that   
place1 the colonel went incognito  to   
the camp in the middle of the night2 for
 he sometimes lodged at his  quarters in
 the town4 ,one of the sentinels then on
 duty had abandoned  his post1 and1 on  

being seized1 broke out into some oaths 
and profane  execrations against those  
that discovered him--a crime of which   
the  colonel had the greatest           
abhorrence1 and on which he never failed
 to  animadvert4 ,the man afterwards    
appeared much ashamed and concerned for 
what he had done4 ,but the colonel      
ordered him to be brought early the     
next morning to his own quarters1 where 
he had prepared a picket1 on  which he  
appointed him a private sort of penance2
 and while he was put  upon it1 he      
discoursed with him seriously and       
tenderly upon the evils and             
aggravations of his fault1 admonished   
him of the divine displeasure which  he 
had incurred1 and urged him to argue1   
from the pain which he then  felt1 how  
infinitely more dreadful it must be to  
fall into the hands of  the living ,god1
 and1 indeed1 to meet the terrors of    
that damnation  which he had been       
accustomed impiously to call for on     
himself and his  companions4 ,the result

 of this proceeding was1 that the       
offender accepted  his punishment1 not  
only with submission1 but with          
thankfulness4 ,he went  away with a more
 cordial affection for his colonel than 
he ever had  before1 and spoke of the   
circumstance some years after to my     
friend1 in  such a manner that there    
seemed reason to hope it had been       
instrumental  in producing a change not 
only in his life1 but in his heart4     
,there cannot1 ,i think1 be a more      
proper place for mentioning the great   
reverence this excellent officer always 
expressed for the name of the  blessed  
,god1 and the zeal with which he        
endeavoured to suppress1 and if         
possible to extirpate1 that detestable  
sin of swearing and cursing which  is   
every where so common1 and especially   
among our military men4 ,he often       
declared1 at the head of his regiment1  
his sentiments with respect to  this    
enormity1 and urged his captains and    
their subalterns to take the  greatest  

care that they did not give the sanction
 of their example to  that which by     
their office they were obliged to punish
 in others4 ,indeed  his zeal on these  
occasions wrought in a very active1 and 
sometimes in a  remarkably successful   
manner1 not only among his equals1 but  
sometimes  among his superiors too4 ,an 
instance of this in ,flanders ,i shall  
have an  opportunity hereafter to       
produce2 at present ,i shall only       
mention his  conduct in ,scotland a     
little before his death1 as ,i have it  
from a  very valuable young minister of 
that country1 on whose testimony ,i can 
thoroughly depend2 and ,i wish it may   
excite many to imitation4    ',the      
commanding officer of the king's forces 
then about ,edinburgh1  with the other  
colonels1 and several other gentlemen of
 rank in their  respective regiments1   
favoured him with their company at      
,bankton1 and  took dinner with him4 ,he
 too well foresaw what might happen amid
 such a  variety of tempers and         

characters2 and fearing lest his        
conscience might  have been ensnared by 
a sinful silence1 or that1 on the other 
hand1 he  might seem to pass the bounds 
of decency1 and infringe upon the laws  
of  hospitality by animadverting on     
guests so justly entitled to his regard1
  he happily determined on the following
 method of avoiding each of these       
difficulties4 ,as soon as they were come
 together1 he addressed them with  a    
great deal of respect1 and at the same  
time with a very frank and  determined  
air1 telling them that he had the honour
 in that district to  be a justice of   
the peace1 and consequently that he was 
sworn to put the  law in execution1 and1
 among the rest1 those against swearing2
 that he  could not execute them upon   
others with any confidence1 or by any   
means  approve himself a man of         
impartiality and integrity to his own   
heart1  if he suffered them to be broken
 in his presence by persons of any rank 
whatsoever2 and that therefore he       

entreated all the gentlemen who then    
honoured him with their company that    
they would please to be upon their      
guard1 and that if any oath or curse    
should escape them1 he hoped they  would
 consider his legal animadversion upon  
it as a regard to the duties  of his    
office and the dictates of his          
conscience1 and not as owing to any     
want of deference to them4    ,the      
commanding officer immediately supported
 him in this declaration1 as  entirely  
becoming the station in which he was1   
assuring him that he would  be ready to 
pay the penalty1 if he inadvertently    
transgressed2 and when  ,colonel        
,gardiner on any occasion stepped out of
 the room1 he himself  undertook to be  
the guardian of the law in his absence2 
and as one of the  inferior officers    
offended during this time1 he informed  
the colonel1 so  that the fine was      
exacted and given to the poor199 with   
the universal  approbation of the       
company4 ,the story spread in the       

neighbourhood1 and  was perhaps         
applauded highly by many who wanted the 
courage to go and do  likewise4 ,but it 
may be said1 with the utmost propriety1 
of the worthy  person of whom ,i write1 
that he feared the face of no man living
 where  the honour of ,god was          
concerned4 ,in all such cases he might  
be justly  said1 in ,scripture phrase1  
to set his face like a flint2 and ,i    
assuredly believe1 that had he been in  
the presence of a sovereign  prince who 
had been guilty of this fault1 his looks
 at least would have  testified his     
grief and surprise1 if he had           
apprehended it unfit to have  borne his 
testimony in any other way4    99,note3 
,it is observable that the money which  
was forfeited on this  account by his   
own officers1 whom he never spared1 or  
by any others of  his soldiers who      
rather chose to pay than submit to      
corporal punishment1  was1 by the       
colonel's order1 laid by in a bank till 
some of the private  men fell sick1 and 

then it was laid out in providing them  
with proper  help and accommodations in 
their distress4    ,lord ,cadogan's     
regiment of dragoons1 during the time he
 was  lieutenant-colonel of it1 was     
quartered in a variety of places1 both  
in ,england and ,scotland1 from many of 
which ,i have letters before  me2       
particularly from ,hamilton1 ,ayr1      
,carlisle1 ,hereford1 ,maidenhead1      
,leicester1 ,warwick1 ,coventry1        
,stamford1 ,harborough1 ,northampton1   
and  several other places1 especially in
 our inland parts4 ,the natural         
consequence was1 that the colonel1 whose
 character was on many accounts  so very
 remarkable1 had a very extensive       
acquaintance2 and ,i believe ,i  may    
certainly say1 that wherever he was     
known by persons of wisdom and  worth1  
he was proportionably respected1 and    
left behind him traces of  unaffected   
devotion1 humility1 benevolence1 and    
zeal for the support and  advancement of
 religion and virtue4    ,the equable   

tenor of his mind in these respects is  
illustrated by his  letters from several
 of these places2 and though ,i have but
 comparatively  a small number of them  
now in my hands1 yet they will afford   
some  valuable extracts2 which ,i shall 
therefore here lay before my reader1    
that he may the better judge as to the  
colonel's real character in  particulars
 which ,i have already mentioned1 or    
which may hereafter occur4    ,in a     
letter to his lady1 dated from          
,carlisle1 ,november #ai1 #agch1 when   
he was on his journey to ,herefordshire1
 he breathes out his grateful1  cheerful
 soul in these words3    ,i bless ,god  
,i was never better in my lifetime1 and 
,i wish ,i could be so  happy as to hear
 the same of you3 or rather1 in other   
words1 to hear that  you have obtained  
an entire trust in ,god4 ,that would    
infallibly keep you  in perfect peace1  
for the ,god of truth has promised it4  
,oh1 how ought we  to be longing 'to be 
with ,christ1' which is infinitely      

better than any  thing we can propose   
here6 to be there1 where no mountains   
shall separate  between ,god and our    
souls4 ,and ,i hope it will be some     
addition to our  happiness1 that1 you   
and ,i shall be separated no more2 but  
that as we  have joined in singing the  
praises of our glorious ,redeemer here1 
we  shall sing them in a much higher key
 through an endless eternity4 ,oh       
eternity1 eternity6 ,what a wonderful   
thought1 is eternity6    ,from          
,leicester1 ,august #f1 #agci1 he writes
 thus to his lady3    ,yesterday ,i was 
at the ,lord's table1 where you and the 
children were not  forgotten4 ,but how  
wonderfully was ,i assisted when ,i came
 home1 to plead  for you all with many  
tears4 ,and then1 speaking of some      
intimate friends  who were impatient1   
7as ,i suppose by the connection7 for   
his return to  them1 he takes occasion  
to observe the necessity of endeavouring
 to  compose our minds1 and say with the
 ,psalmist1 ,my soul1 wait thou only    

upon ,god4 ,afterwards1 speaking of one 
of his children1 who he heard had  made 
a commendable progress in learning1 he  
expresses his satisfaction1  and adds2  
,but1 how much greater joy would it give
 me to hear that he was  greatly        
advanced in the school of ,christ6 ,oh  
that our children may but be  wise unto 
salvation1 and may grow in grace as they
 do in stature6    ,these letters1 which
 to so familiar a friend evidently lay  
open the  heart1 and show the ideas and 
affections which were lodged deepest    
there1  are sometimes taken up with an  
account of sermons he had attended1 and 
the impression they had made upon his   
mind4 ,i shall mention only one1  as a  
specimen of many more1 which was dated  
from a place called ,cohorn1  ,april    
#ae3    ,we had here a minister from    
,wales1 who gave us two excellent       
discourses  on the love of ,christ to   
us1 as an argument to engage our love to
 him4  ,and indeed1 next to the         
greatness of his love to us1 methinks   

there is  nothing so astonishing as the 
coldness of our love to him4 ,oh that he
  would shed abroad his love upon our   
hearts by his ,holy ,spirit1 that ours  
might be kindled into a flame6 ,may ,god
 enable you to trust in ,him1 and  then 
you will be kept in perfect peace6      
,we have met with many traces of that   
habitual gratitude to the blessed  ,god1
 as his ,heavenly ,father and constant  
friend1 which made his life  probably   
one of the happiest that ever was spent 
on earth4 ,i cannot omit  one more1     
which appears to me the more worthy of  
notice1 as being a short  turn in as    
hasty a letter as any ,i remember to    
have seen of his1 which he  wrote from  
,leicester in ,june1 #agci4 ,i am now   
under the deepest sense of  the many    
favours the ,almighty has bestowed upon 
me4 ,surely you will help  me to        
celebrate the praises of our gracious   
,god and kind benefactor4  ,this        
exuberance of grateful affection1 which1
 while it was almost every  hour pouring

 itself forth before ,god in the most   
genuine and emphatical  language1 felt  
itself still as it were straitened for  
want of a  sufficient vent1 and         
therefore called on others to help him  
with their  concurrent praises1 appears 
to me the most glorious and happy state 
in  which a human soul can find itself  
on this side heaven4    ,such was the   
temper which this excellent man appears 
to have carried  along with him through 
such a variety of places and            
circumstances2 and  the whole of his    
deportment was suitable to these        
impressions4 ,strangers  were agreeably 
struck with his first appearance1 there 
being much of the  ,christian1 the      
well-bred man1 and the universal friend 
in it2 and as  they came more intimately
 to know him1 they discovered more and  
more the  uniformity and consistency of 
his whole temper and behaviour2 so that 
whether he made only a visit for a few  
days to any place1 or continued  there  
for many weeks or months1 he was always 

beloved and esteemed1  and spoken of    
with that honourable testimony1 from    
persons of the most  different          
denominations and parties1 which nothing
 but true sterling  worth1 7if ,i may be
 allowed the expression17 and that in an
 eminent  degree1 can secure4           
,,chapter ,,ix4    ,,intimacy ,,with    
,,the ,,author4      ,of the justice of 
this testimony1 which ,i had so often   
heard from a  variety of persons1 ,i    
myself began to be a witness about the  
time when  the last mentioned letter was
 dated4 ,in this view1 ,i believe ,i    
shall  never forget that happy day1     
,june #ah1 #agci1 when ,i first met him 
at  ,leicester4 ,i remember ,i happened 
that day to preach a lecture from ,psalm
  cxix1 #aeh1 ,i beheld the             
transgressions1 and was grieved because 
they  kept not thy law4 ,i was large in 
describing that mixture of indignation  
and grief 7strongly expressed by the    
original words there7 with which  a good
 man looks on the daring transgressors  

of the divine law2 and in  tracing the  
causes of that grief1 as arising from a 
regard to the divine  honour1 and the   
interest of a ,redeemer1 and a          
compassionate concern for  the misery   
which such offenders bring on           
themselves1 and for the mischief  they  
do to the world about them1 ,i little   
thought1 how exactly ,i was  drawing    
,colonel ,gardiner's character under    
each of those heads2 and ,i  have often 
reflected upon it as a happy providence 
which opened a much  speedier way than  
,i could have expected to the breast of 
one of the most  amiable and useful     
friends whom ,i ever expect to find upon
 earth4 ,we  afterwards sang a hymn     
which brought over again some of the    
leading  thoughts in the sermon and     
struck him so strongly1 that on         
obtaining a  copy of it1 he committed it
 to memory1 and used to repeat it1 with 
so  forcible an accent as showed how    
much every line expressed his very soul4
  ,in this view the reader will pardon  

my inserting it1 especially as ,i  know 
not when ,i may get time to publish a   
volume of these serious though  artless 
compositions1 which ,i sent him in      
manuscript some years ago1 and  to which
 ,i have since made very large          
additions3      ,arise1 my tenderest    
thoughts arise1    ,to torrents melt my 
streaming eyes6    ,and thou1 my heart1 
with anguish feel    ,those evils which 
thou canst not heal6      ,see human    
nature sunk in shame6    ,see scandal   
poured on ,jesus' name6    ,the ,father 
wounded through the ,son6    ,the world 
abused--the soul undone6      ,see the  
short course of vain delight    ,closing
 in everlasting night6    ,in flames    
that no abatement know1    ,the briny   
tears for ever flow4      ,my ,god1 ,i  
feel the mournful scene2    ,my bowels  
yearn o'er dying men3    ,and fain my   
pity would reclaim1    ,and snatch the  
firebrands from the flame4      ,but    
feeble my compassion proves1    ,and can
 but weep where most it loves2    ,thine

 own all-saving arm employ1    ,and turn
 these drops of grief to joy6    ,the   
colonel1 immediately after the          
conclusion of the service1 met me in    
the vestry and embraced me in the most  
obliging and affectionate manner1  as if
 there had been a long friendship       
between us1 assured me that he had  for 
some years been intimately acquainted   
with my writings1 and desired  that we  
might concert measures for spending some
 hours together before ,i  left the     
town4 ,i was so happy as to be able to  
secure an opportunity of  doing it2 and 
,i must leave upon record1 that ,i      
cannot recollect ,i was  ever equally   
edified by any conversation ,i remember 
to have enjoyed4 ,we  passed that       
evening and the next morning together1  
and it is impossible  for me to describe
 the impression which the interview left
 upon my heart4  ,i rode alone all the  
remainder of the day2 and it was my     
unspeakable  happiness that ,i was      
alone1 since ,i could no longer be with 

him2 for  ,i can hardly conceive what   
other company would not then have been  
an  encumbrance4 ,the views which he    
gave me even then1 7for he began to     
repose a most obliging confidence in me1
 though he concealed some of the  most  
extraordinary circumstances of the      
methods by which he had been  recovered 
to ,god and happiness17 with those      
cordial sentiments of  evangelical piety
 and extensive goodness which he poured 
out into my  bosom with so endearing a  
freedom1 fired my very soul2 and ,i hope
 ,i may  truly say 7which ,i wish and   
pray that many of my readers may also   
adopt for themselves7 that ,i glorified 
,god in him4 ,our epistolatory          
correspondence immediately commenced    
upon my return2 and though1  through the
 multiplicity of business on both sides1
 it suffered many  interruptions1 it was
 in some degree the blessing of all the 
following  years of my life1 till he    
fell by those unreasonable and wicked   
men who  had it in their hearts with him

 to have destroyed all our glory1       
defence1  and happiness4    ,the first  
letter ,i received from him was so      
remarkable1 that some persons  of       
eminent piety1 to whom ,i communicated  
it1 would not be content without        
copying it out1 or making some extracts 
from it4 ,i persuade myself that  my    
devout reader will not be displeased    
that ,i insert the greater part  of it  
here1 especially as it serves to        
illustrate the affectionate sense  which
 he had of the divine goodness in his   
conversion1 though more than  twenty    
years had passed since that memorable   
event happened4 ,having  already        
mentioned my ever dear and honoured     
friend ,dr4 ,isaac ,watts1 he  adds3    
,i have been in pain these several years
 lest that excellent person1 that  sweet
 singer in our ,israel1 should have been
 called to heaven before  ,i had an     
opportunity of letting him know how much
 his works have been  blessed to me1    
and1 of course1 returning him my hearty 

thanks2 for though  it is owing to the  
operation of the blessed ,spirit1 that  
any thing works  effectually upon our   
hearts1 yet if we are not thankful to   
the instrument  which ,god is pleased to
 make use of1 whom we do see1 how shall 
we be  thankful to the ,almighty1 whom  
we have not seen8 ,i desire to bless    
,god  for the good news of his recovery1
 and entreat you to tell him1 that      
although ,i cannot keep pace with him   
here in celebrating the high praises  of
 our glorious ,redeemer1 which is the   
greatest grief of my heart1 yet ,i  am  
persuaded1 that1 when ,i join the       
glorious company above1 where there     
will be no drawbacks1 none will outsing 
me there1 because ,i shall not  find any
 that will be more indebted to the      
wonderful riches of divine  grace than  
,i4      ,give me a place at thy saints'
 feet1    ,on some fallen angel's vacant
 seat2    ,i'll strive to sing as loud  
as they    ,who sit above in brighter   
day4    ,i know it is natural for every 

one who has felt the almighty power     
which raised our glorious ,redeemer from
 the grave1 to believe his case         
singular2 but ,i have made every one in 
this respect submit as soon as he  has  
heard my story4 ,and if you seemed so   
surprised at the account which ,i  gave 
you1 what will you be when you hear it  
all8      ,oh1 if ,i had an angel's     
voice1    ,and could be heard from pole 
to pole2    ,i would to all the         
listening world    ,proclaim thy        
goodness to my soul4    ,he then        
concludes1 after some expressions of    
endearment1 7which1 with  whatever      
pleasure ,i review them1 ,i must not    
here insert7--    ,if you knew what a   
natural aversion ,i have to writing1 you
 would be  astonished at the length of  
this letter1 which is1 ,i believe1 the  
longest  ,i ever wrote4 ,but my heart   
warms when ,i write to you1 which makes 
my pen  move the easier4 ,i hope it will
 please our gracious ,god long to       
preserve  you1 a blessed instrument in  

his hand1 of doing great good in the    
church  of ,christ2 and that you may    
always enjoy a thriving soul in a       
healthful  body1 shall be the continual 
prayer of1 c4    ,as our intimacy grew1 
our mutual affection increased2 and my  
dearest  friend was the form of address 
with which most of his epistles of the  
last years were begun and ended4 ,many  
of them are filled up with his          
sentiments of those writings which ,i   
published during these years1 which  he 
read with great attention1 and of which 
he speaks in terms which it  becomes me 
to suppress1 and to impute1 in a        
considerable degree1 to  the kind       
prejudices of so endeared a friendship4 
,he gives me repeated  assurances that  
he was daily mindful of me in his       
prayers1 a  circumstance which ,i cannot
 recollect without the greatest         
thankfulness2  and the loss of which ,i 
should more deeply lament1 did ,i not   
hope that  the happy effect of these    
prayers might still continue1 and might 

run  into all my remaining days4    ,it 
might be a pleasure to me to make       
several extracts from many others of    
his letters2 but it is a pleasure which 
,i ought to suppress1 and rather  to    
reflect1 with unfeigned humility1 how   
unworthy ,i was of such regards  from   
such a person1 and of that divine       
goodness which gave me such a  friend in
 him4 ,i shall1 therefore1 only add two 
general remarks1 which  offer themselves
 from several of his letters4 ,the one  
is1 that there is  in some of them1 as  
our freedom increased1 an agreeable vein
 of humour  and pleasantry1 which shows 
how easy religion sat upon him1 and how 
far  he was from placing any part of it 
in a gloomy melancholy1 or stiff        
formality4 ,the other is1 that he       
frequently refers to domestic           
circumstances1 such as the illness or   
recovery of my children1 c41 which  ,i  
am surprised how a man of his extensive 
and important business could so         
distinctly bear upon his mind4 ,but his 

memory was good1 and his heart  was yet 
better2 and his friendship was such1    
that nothing which sensibly  affected   
the heart of one whom he honoured with  
it1 left his own but  slightly touched4 
,i have all imaginable reason to believe
 that in many  instances his prayers    
were not only offered for us in general 
terms1 but  varied as our particular    
situation required4 ,many quotations    
might verify  this2 but ,i decline      
troubling the reader with an enumeration
 of passages  in which it was only the  
abundance of friendly sympathy that gave
 this  truly great as well as good man  
so cordial a concern4    ,after this    
correspondence1 carried on for the space
 of about three years1  and some        
interviews which we had enjoyed at      
different places1 he came to  spend some
 time with us at ,northampton1 and      
brought with him his lady  and his two  
eldest children4 ,i had here an         
opportunity of taking a much  nearer    
view of his character1 and surveying it 

in a much greater variety  of lights    
than before2 and my esteem for him      
increased in proportion to  these       
opportunities4 ,what ,i have written    
with respect to his conduct in  relative
 life1 was in a great measure drawn from
 what ,i now saw2 and ,i  shall mention 
here some other points in his behaviour 
which particularly  struck my mind1 and 
likewise shall touch on his sentiments  
on some topics  of importance which he  
freely communicated to me1 and which ,i 
have  remarked on account of that wisdom
 and propriety which pervaded them4     
,,chapter ,x4    ,,devotion ,,and       
,,charity4      ,there was nothing more 
observable in ,colonel ,gardiner than   
the exemplary  gravity1 composure1 and  
reverence with which he attended public 
worship4  ,copious as he was in his     
secret devotions before he engaged in   
it1 he  always began them early1 so as  
not to be retarded by them when he      
should  resort to the house of ,god4    
,he1 and all his soldiers who chose to  

worship  with him1 were generally there 
7as ,i have already hinted7 before the  
service began1 that the entrance of so  
many of them at once might not  disturb 
the congregation already engaged in     
devotion1 and that there  might be a    
better opportunity of bringing the mind 
to a becoming  attention1 and preparing 
it for converse with the ,divine ,being4
 ,while  acts of worship were going on1 
whether of prayer or singing1 he always 
stood up2 and whatever regard he might  
have for persons who passed by him  at  
that time1 though it were to come into  
the same pew1 he never paid  any        
compliment to them2 and often has he    
expressed his wonder at  the indecorum  
of breaking off our addresses to ,god to
 bow to a  fellow-creature1 which he    
thought a much greater indecency that it
 would  be1 on a little occasion and    
circumstance1 to interrupt an address to
 our  prince4 ,during the time of       
preaching1 his eye was commonly fixed   
upon the  minister1 though sometimes    

turned round upon the auditory1 against 
whom1  if he observed any to trifle1 he 
was filled with just indignation4 ,i    
have  known instances in which1 upon    
making the remark1 he has communicated  
it to some friend of the persons who    
were guilty of it1 that proper          
application might be made to prevent it 
for the time to come4    ,a more devout 
communicant at the table of the ,lord   
has perhaps seldom  been any where      
known4 ,often have ,i had the pleasure  
to see that manly  countenance softened 
to all the marks of humiliation and     
contrition on  this occasion2 and to    
discern1 in spite of all his efforts to 
conceal  them1 streams of tears flowing 
down from his eyes1 while he has been   
directing them to those memorials of his
 ,redeemer's love4 ,some who have       
conversed intimately with him after he  
came from that ordinance1 have  observed
 a visible abstraction from surrounding 
objects1 by which  there seemed reason  
to imagine that his soul was wrapped up 

in holy  contemplation4 ,i particularly 
remember1 that when we had once spent a 
great part of the following ,monday in  
riding together1 he made an apology  to 
me for being so absent as he seemed1 by 
telling me that his heart was  flown    
upwards1 before he was aware1 to ,him   
'whom1 not having seen1 he  loved2'99   
and that he was rejoicing in him with   
such unspeakable joy1 that  he could not
 hold it down to creature converse4     
99,note3 ,this alluded to the subject of
 the sermon the day before1 which  was  
#a ,pet1 #a4 #h4    ,in all the offices 
of friendship he was remarkably ready1  
and had a most  sweet and engaging      
manner of performing them1 which greatly
 heightened  the obligations he         
conferred4 ,he seemed not to set any    
high value upon  any benefit he         
bestowed1 but did it without the least  
parade1 as a thing  which in those      
circumstances came of course1 where he  
had professed love  and respect2 which  
he was not over forward to do1 though he

 treated  strangers1 and those who were 
most his inferiors1 very courteously1   
and  always seemed1 because he in truth 
always was1 glad of any opportunity of  
doing them good4    ,he was particularly
 zealous in vindicating the reputation  
of his friends  in their absence2 and   
though ,i cannot recollect that ,i had  
ever an  opportunity of immediately     
observing this1 as ,i do not know that  
,i ever  was present with him when any  
ill was spoken of others at all2 yet1   
by what ,i have heard him say with      
relation to attempts to injure the      
character of worthy and useful men1 ,i  
have reason to believe that no  man     
living was more sensible of the baseness
 and infamy1 as well as the  cruelty1 of
 such conduct4 ,he knew and despised the
 low principles of  resentment for      
unreasonable expectations disappointed1 
of personal  attachment to men of some  
crossing interests1 of envy1 and of     
party  zeal1 from whence such a conduct 
often proceeds2 and he was particularly 

offended when he found it 7as he        
frequently did7 in persons that set up  
for the greatest patrons of liberty1    
virtue1 and candour4 ,he looked upon    
the murderers of reputation and         
usefulness as some of the vilest pests  
of  society1 and plainly showed on every
 proper occasion that he thought it  the
 part of a generous1 benevolent and     
courageous man to exert himself in      
tracing and hunting down the slander1   
that the authors or abettors of it      
might be less capable of mischief for   
the future4    ,the most plausible      
objection that ,i ever heard to ,colonel
 ,gardiner's  character is1 that he was 
too much attached to some religious     
principles1  established indeed in the  
churches both of ,england and ,scotland1
 but  which have of late years been much
 disputed1 and from which1 it is at     
least generally supposed1 not a few in  
both have thought proper to             
depart--whatever expedients they may    
have found to quiet their  consciences1 

in subscribing those formularies in     
which they are plainly  taught4 ,his    
zeal was especially apparent in         
opposition to those doctrines  which    
seemed to derogate from the divine      
honours of the ,son and ,spirit of      
,god1 and from the freedom of divine    
grace1 of the reality and necessity  of 
its operations in the conversion and    
salvation of sinners4    ,with relation 
to these ,i must observe1 that it was   
his most steadfast  persuasion that all 
those notions which represent our       
blessed ,redeemer  and the ,holy ,spirit
 as mere creatures1 or which set aside  
the atonement  of the former1 or the    
influence of the latter1 sap the very   
foundation of  ,christianity by         
rejecting the most glorious doctrines   
peculiar to it4  ,he had attentively    
observed 7what indeed is too obvious7   
the unhappy  influence which the denial 
of these principles often has on the    
character  of ministers1 and on their   
success1 and was persuaded that an      

attempt to  substitute that mutilated   
form of ,christianity which remains1    
when these  essentials of it are taken  
away1 has proved one of the most        
successful  methods which the great     
enemy of souls has ever taken1 in these 
latter  days1 to lead men by insensible 
degrees into deism1 vice1 and perdition4
  ,he also sagaciously observed the     
artful manner in which obnoxious tenets 
are often maintained or insinuated1 with
 all that mixture of zeal and  address  
with which they are propagated in the   
world1 even by those  who had most      
solemnly professed to believe1 and      
engaged to teach the  contrary2 and as  
he really apprehended that the glory of 
,god and the  salvation of souls were   
concerned1 his piety and charity made   
him eager  and strenuous in opposing    
what he judged to be errors of so       
pernicious a  nature4 ,yet ,i must      
declare1 that1 according to what ,i have
 known of him1  7and ,i believe he      
opened his heart on these topics to me  

with as much  freedom as to any man     
living17 he was not ready1 upon light   
suspicions1  to charge tenets which he  
thought so pernicious on any1 especially
  where he saw the appearances of a good
 temper and life1 which he always       
reverenced and loved in persons of all  
sentiments and professions4 ,he         
severely condemned causeless jealousies 
and evil surmisings of every  kind1 and 
extended that charity1 in this respect1 
both to clergy and  laity1 which good   
,bishop ,burnet was so ready1 according 
to his own  account1 to limit to the    
latter1 of believing every man good till
 he  knew him to be bad1 and his notions
 right till he knew them wrong4 ,he     
could not but be very sensible of the   
unhappy consequences which may  follow  
on attacking the characters of men1     
especially of those who are  ministers  
of the gospel2 and if1 through a mixture
 of human frailty1 from  which the best 
of men1 in the best of their meanings   
and intentions1 are  not entirely free1 

he had ever1 in the warmth of his heart1
 dropped a  word which might be         
injurious to any on that account1 7which
 ,i believe  very seldom happened17 he  
would gladly retract it on better       
information2  and this was perfectly    
agreeable to that honest and generous   
frankness of  temper in which ,i never  
knew any man who excelled him4    ,on   
the whole1 it was indeed his deliberate 
judgment that the ,arian1  ,socinian1   
and ,pelagian doctrines were highly     
dishonourable to ,god1 and  dangerous to
 the souls of men2 and that it was the  
duty of private  ,christians to be      
greatly on their guard against those    
ministers by whom  they are entertained1
 lest their minds should be corrupted   
from the  simplicity that is in ,christ4
 ,yet he sincerely abhorred the thought 
of  persecution for conscience sake2 of 
the absurdity and iniquity of which1  in
 all its kinds and degrees1 he had as   
deep and rational a conviction as  any  
man4 ,indeed the generosity of his      

heroic heart could hardly bear to  think
 that those glorious truths which he so 
cordially loved1 and which  he assuredly
 believed to be capable of such fair    
support both from reason  and the word  
of ,god1 should be disgraced by methods 
of defence and  propagation common to   
the most impious and ridiculous         
falsehoods4 ,nor did  he by any means   
approve of passionate and furious ways  
of vindicating the  most vital and      
important doctrines of the gospel2 for  
he knew that to  maintain the most      
benevolent religion in the world by such
 malevolent and  infernal methods was   
destroying the end to accomplish the    
means2 and that  it was as impossible   
that true ,christianity should be       
supported thus1 as  it is that a man    
should long be nourished by eating his  
own flesh4 ,to  display the genuine     
fruits of ,christianity in a good       
life--to be ready to  plead with        
meekness for the doctrines it teaches1  
and to labour1 by every  office of      

humanity and goodness1 to gain upon     
those who oppose it1 were  the weapons  
with which this good soldier of ,jesus  
,christ faithfully  fought the battles  
of the ,lord4 ,these weapons will always
 be victorious  in his cause2 and they  
who have recourse to others of a        
different temper1  how strong soever    
they may seem1 and how sharp soever they
 may really be1  will find them break in
 their hands when they exert them most  
furiously1  and are much more likely to 
wound themselves than to conquer the    
enemies  whom they oppose4    ,but while
 ,i am speaking of ,colonel ,gardiner's 
charity in this respect1 ,i  must not   
omit that of another kind1 which has    
indeed engrossed the  name of charity1  
excellent as it is1 much more than it   
ought--,i mean  alms-giving for which he
 was very remarkable4 ,i have often     
wondered how  he was able to do so many 
generous things in this way4 ,but his   
frugality  fed the spring4 ,he made no  
pleasurable expense on himself1 and was 

contented with a very decent appearance 
in his family1 without affecting  such  
an air of grandeur as could not have    
been supported without  sacrificing to  
it satisfactions far nobler1 and1 to a  
temper like his1  far more delightful4  
,the lively and tender feelings of his  
heart in  favour of the distressed and  
afflicted made it a self-indulgence to  
relieve them2 and the deep conviction he
 had of the vain and transitory  nature 
of the enjoyments of this world1        
together with the sublime view he  had  
of another1 engaged him to dispense his 
bounties with a very liberal  hand1 and 
even to seek out proper objects of them4
 ,above all1 his sincere  and ardent    
love to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ engaged
 him to feel1 with a true  sympathy1 the
 concerns of his poor members4 ,in      
consequence of this1 he  honoured       
several of his friends with commissions 
for the relief of the  poor2 and        
particularly1 with relation to some     
under my pastoral care1  he referred it 

to my discretion to supply them with    
what ,i should judge  expedient1 and    
frequently pressed me1 in his letters1  
to be sure not  to let them want4 ,and  
where persons standing in need of his   
charity  happened1 as they often did1 to
 be persons of remarkably religious     
dispositions1 it was easy to perceive   
that he not only loved but honoured     
them1 and really esteemed it an honour  
which ,providence conferred upon  him1  
that he should be made1 as it were1 the 
almoner of ,god for their  relief4    ,i
 cannot forbear relating a little story 
here1 which1 when the colonel  himself  
heard it1 gave him such exquisite       
pleasure1 that ,i hope it will  be      
acceptable to several of my readers4    
,there was in a village about nine      
miles from ,northampton1 and in a family
 which1 of all others near me1  was     
afterwards most indebted to him1 7though
 he had never then seen any  member of  
it17 an aged and poor1 but eminently    
good woman1 who had1 with  great        

difficulty1 in the exercise of much     
faith and patience1 diligence  and      
humility1 made shift to educate a large 
family of children after the  death of  
her husband1 without being chargeable to
 the parish2 which1 as  it was quite    
beyond her hope1 she often spoke of with
 great delight4  ,at length1 when worn  
out with age and infirmities1 she lay   
upon her  death-bed1 she1 in a most     
lively and affecting manner1 expressed  
her hope  and joy in the views of       
approaching glory4 ,yet1 amidst all the 
triumphs  of such a prospect1 there was 
one remaining care and distress which   
lay heavy on her mind2 this was1 that as
 her journey and her stock of           
provisions were both ended together1 she
 feared that she must either  be buried 
at the parish expense1 or leave to her  
most dutiful and  affectionate daughters
 the house stripped of some of the few  
movables  which remained in it1 in order
 to perform the last office of duty to  
her1  which she had reason to believe   

they would do4 ,while she was combatting
  with this only remaining anxiety1 ,i  
happened1 though ,i knew not the        
extremity of her illness1 to come in1   
and to bring with me a guinea  which the
 generous colonel had sent by a special 
message1 on hearing the  character of   
the family1 for its relief4 ,a present  
like this1 7probably  the most          
considerable they had ever received in  
their lives17 coming in  this manner    
from an entire stranger at such a crisis
 of time1 threw my  dying friend 7for   
such1 amidst all her poverty1 ,i        
rejoiced to call her7  into a perfect   
transport of joy4 ,she esteemed it a    
singular favour of  ,providence sent to 
her in her last moments as a token for  
good1 and  greeted it as a special mark 
of that loving kindness of ,god which   
should  attend her for ever4 ,she       
insisted1 therefore1 to be raised up in 
her bed1  that she might bless ,god for 
it upon her knees1 and with her last    
breath  pray for her kind and generous  

benefactor1 and for him who had been the
  instrument of directing his bounty    
into this channel4 ,after this she soon 
expired1 and with such tranquillity and 
sweetness as could not but most         
sensibly delight all who beheld her1 and
 occasioned many who knew the           
circumstance to glorify ,god on her     
behalf4    ,the colonel's last residence
 at ,northampton was in ,june and ,july 
#agdb1  when ,lord ,cadogan's regiment  
of dragoons was quartered here4 ,here ,i
  cannot but observe1 that wherever that
 regiment came1 it was remarkable  not  
only for the fine appearance it made1   
and for the exactness with  which it    
performed its various exercises1 7of    
which it had about this  time the honour
 to receive the most illustrious        
testimonials17 but also  for the great  
sobriety and regularity of the soldiers4
 ,many of the  officers copied after the
 excellent pattern which they had daily 
before  their eyes2 and a considerable  
number of the private men seemed to be  

persons not only of strict virtue1 but  
of serious piety4 ,i doubt not but  they
 found their abundant account in it1 not
 only in the serenity and  happiness of 
their own minds1 which is beyond        
comparison the most  important          
consideration2 but also1 in some degree1
 in the obliging and  respectful        
treatment which they generally met with 
in their quarters4  ,i mention this1    
because ,i am persuaded that if         
gentlemen of their  profession knew1 and
 would reflect1 how much more           
comfortable they make  their own        
quarters by a sober1 orderly1 and       
obliging conduct1 they would  be regular
 out of mere self love1 if they were not
 influenced1 as ,i  heartily wish they  
may always be1 by a nobler principle4   
,,chapter ,,xi4    ,,embarks ,,for      
,,flanders4      ,towards the latter end
 of this year he embarked for ,flanders1
 and  spent some considerable time with 
the regiment at ,ghent1 where he much   
regretted the want of those religious   

ordinances and opportunities which  had 
made his other abodes delightful4 ,but  
as he had made so eminent a  progress in
 that divine life which they are all    
intended to promote1 he  could not be   
inactive in the cause of ,god4 ,i have  
now before me a letter1  dated from     
thence ,october #af1 #agdb1 in which he 
writes3    ,as for me1 ,i am indeed in a
 dry and barren land1 where no water is4
  ,rivers of waters run down mine eyes1 
because nothing is to be heard in  our  
,sodom but blaspheming the name of my   
,god1 and ,i not honoured as the        
instrument of doing any great service4  
,it is true1 ,i have reformed six or    
seven field-officers of swearing4 ,i    
dine every day with them1 and have      
entered them into a voluntary contract  
to pay a shilling to the poor for  every
 oath1 and it is wonderful to observe   
the effect it has had already4  ,one of 
them told me this day at dinner that it 
had really such an  influence upon him1 
that being at cards last night when     

another officer  fell a swearing1 he was
 not able to bear it1 but rose up and   
left the  company4 ,so you see1         
restraints at first arising from a low  
principle may  improve into something   
better4    ,during his abode here1 he   
had a great deal of business upon his   
hands1  and had also1 in some marches1  
the care of more regiments than his     
own2 and it has been very delightful to 
me to observe what a degree of  converse
 with heaven1 and the ,god of it1 he    
maintained amidst these  scenes of hurry
 and fatigue1 of which the reader may   
find a remarkable  specimen in the      
following letter1 dated from ,lichwick  
in the beginning of  ,april #agdc1 which
 was one of the last ,i received from   
him while abroad4  ,it begins with these
 words3--    ,yesterday being the       
,lord's day1 at six in the morning ,i   
had the pleasure  of receiving yours at 
,nortonick2 and it proved a ,sabbath    
day's blessing  to me4 ,some time before
 it reached me1 7from whence1 by the    

way1 it may  be observed that his former
 custom of rising so early in his       
devotions  was still retained17 ,i had  
been wrestling with ,god with many      
tears2 and  when ,i had read it1 ,i     
returned to my knees again to give      
hearty thanks to  him for all his       
goodness to you and yours1 and also to  
myself1 in that he  hath been pleased to
 stir up so many who are dear to him1 to
 be mindful  of me at the throne of     
grace4    ,then1 after the mention of   
some other particulars1 he adds3--      
,blessed and adored for ever be the holy
 name of my ,heavenly ,father1 who      
holds my soul in life1 and my body in   
perfect health6 ,were ,i to recount  his
 mercy and goodness to me even in the   
midst of all these hurries1 ,i  should  
never have done4 ,i hope your ,master   
will still encourage you in  his work1  
and make you a blessing to many4 ,my    
dearest friend1 ,i am much  more yours  
than ,i can express1 and shall remain so
 while ,i am ,j4,g4    ,in this         

correspondence ,i had a further         
opportunity of discovering that  humble 
resignation to the will of ,god which   
made so amiable a part of his           
character1 and of which ,i had before   
seen so many instances4 ,he speaks1  in 
the letter from which ,i have just been 
giving an extract1 of the hope  he had  
expressed in a former of seeing us again
 that winter2 and he  adds3--    ,to be 
sure1 it would have been a great        
pleasure to me2 but we poor  mortals    
form projects1 and the ,almighty ruler  
of the universe disposes of  all as he  
pleases4 ,a great many of us were       
getting ready for our return  to        
,england1 when we received an order to  
march towards ,frankfort1 to the  great 
surprise of the whole army1 neither can 
any of us comprehend what  we are to do 
there2 for there is no enemy in that    
country1 the ,french  army being marched
 into ,bavaria1 where ,i am sure we     
cannot follow them4  ,but it is the will
 of the ,lord1 and his will be done6 ,i 

desire to bless  and praise my ,heavenly
 ,father that ,i am entirely resigned to
 it4 ,it is no  matter where ,i go1 or  
what becomes of me1 so that ,god may be 
glorified in  my life1 or my death1 ,i  
should rejoice much to hear that all my 
friends  were equally resigned4    ,the 
mention of this article reminds me of   
another relating to the views  which he 
had of obtaining a regiment for himself4
 ,he endeavoured to  deserve it by the  
most faithful services2 some of them1   
indeed beyond  what the strength of his 
constitution could well bear--for the   
weather in  some of these marches proved
 exceedingly bad1 and yet he would be   
always  at the head of his people1 that 
he might look1 with the exactest care1  
to every thing that concerned them4     
,this obliged him to neglect the        
beginnings of a feverish illness1 the   
natural consequence of which was  that  
it grew very formidable1 forced a long  
confinement upon him1 and  gave animal  
nature a shock which it never recovered4

    ,in the mean time1 as he had the    
promise of a regiment before he  quitted
 ,england1 his friends were continually 
expecting an occasion of  congratulating
 him on having received the command of  
one4 ,still they were  disappointed1 and
 on some of them the disappointment     
seemed to sit heavy4  ,as for the       
colonel himself1 he seemed quite easy   
about it1 and appeared  much greater in 
that easy situation of mind than the    
highest military  honours and           
preferments could have made him4 ,with  
great pleasure do ,i at  this moment    
recollect the unaffected serenity1 and  
even indifference1  with which he       
expresses himself upon this occasion1 in
 a letter to me1  dated about the       
beginning of ,april1 #agdc4    ,the     
disappointment of a regiment is nothing 
to me1 for ,i am satisfied  that1 had it
 been for ,god's glory1 ,i should have  
had it1 and ,i should  have been sorry  
to have had it on any other terms4 ,my  
,heavenly ,father has  bestowed upon me 

infinitely more than if he had made me  
emperor of the  whole world4    ,i find 
several parallel expressions in other   
letters1 and those to his  lady about   
the same time were just in the same     
strain4 ,in an extract from  one which  
was written from ,aix-la-,chapelle1     
,april #ba1 the same year1 ,i  meet with
 these words3    ,people here imagine ,i
 must be sadly troubled that ,i have not
 got a  regiment1 7for six out of seven 
vacant are now disposed of73 but they   
are  strangely mistaken1 for it has     
given me no sort of trouble4 ,my        
,heavenly  ,father knows what is best   
for me2 and blessed and ever adored be  
his  name1 he has given me an entire    
resignation to his will4 ,besides1 ,i do
  not know that ,i met with any         
disappointment1 since ,i was a          
,christian1 but  it pleased ,god to     
discover to me that it was plainly for  
my advantage1 by  bestowing something   
better upon me afterwards1 many         
instances of which ,i  am able to       

produce2 and therefore ,i should be the 
greatest of monsters1  if ,i did not    
trust in him4    ,i should be guilty of 
a great omission1 if ,i were not to add 
how  remarkably the event corresponded  
with his faith on this occasion2 for    
whereas he had no intimation or         
expectation of any thing more than a    
regiment of foot1 his ,majesty was      
pleased1 out of his great goodness1  to 
give him a regiment of dragoons which   
was then quartered in his own           
neighborhood4 ,it is properly remarked  
by the reverend and worthy person       
through whose hand this letter was      
transmitted to me1 that when the        
colonel thus expressed himself1 he could
 have no prospect of what he  afterwards
 so soon obtained1 as ,general ,bland's 
regiment1 to which he was  advanced1 was
 only vacant on the #aith of            
,april--that is1 two days before  the   
date of this letter1 when it was        
impossible he should have any notice  of
 that vacancy4 ,it also deserves        

observation1 that some few days after   
the colonel was thus unexpectedly       
promoted to the command of these        
dragoons1 ,lord ,cornwallis's regiment  
of foot1 then in ,flanders1 became      
vacant4 ,now1 had this happened before  
his promotion to ,general ,bland's1     
,colonel ,gardiner1 in all probability1 
would only have had that regiment  of   
foot1 and so would have continued in    
,flanders4 ,when the affair was         
settled1 he informs ,lady ,frances of it
 in a letter dated from a village  near 
,frankfort1 #c;d ,may1 in which he      
refers to his former of the #bast of    
,april1 observing how remarkably it was 
verified in ,god's having given  him    
7for so he expressed it1 agreeably to   
the views which he continually          
maintained of the universal agency of   
,divine ,providence7 what he had  no    
expectation of1 and what was so much    
better than that which he had  missed--a
 regiment of dragoons quartered at his  
own door4          ,,chapter ,,xii4     

,,return ,,to ,,england4      ,it       
appeared to him that by this remarkable 
event ,providence called him  home4     
,accordingly1 though he had other       
preferments offered him in the  army1 he
 chose to return1 and ,i believe the    
more willingly1 as he did not  expect   
there would have been an action4 ,just  
at this time it pleased ,god  to give   
him an awful instance of the uncertainty
 of human prospects and  enjoyments1 by 
that violent fever which seized him at  
,ghent on his way to  ,england1 and     
perhaps the more severely for the       
efforts he made to push on  his journey1
 though he had for some days been much  
indisposed4 ,it was1 ,i  think1 one of  
the first fits of severe illness he had 
ever met with1 and  he was ready to look
 upon it as a sudden call into eternity2
 but it gave  him no painful alarm in   
that view4 ,he committed himself to the 
,god of his  life1 and in a few weeks he
 was so well recovered as to be capable 
of  pursuing his journey1 though not    

without difficulty4 ,i cannot but think 
it might have conduced much to a more   
perfect recovery than he ever  attained1
 to have allowed himself a longer       
repose1 in order to recruit  his        
exhausted strength and spirits4 ,but    
there was an activity in his  temper not
 easy to be restrained1 and it was now  
stimulated1 not only  with a desire to  
see his friends1 but of being with his  
regiment1 that  he might omit nothing in
 his power to regulate their morals and 
their  discipline1 and to form them for 
public service4 ,accordingly1 about the 
middle of ,june1 #agdc1 he passed       
through ,london1 where he had the honour
  of waiting on their royal highnesses1 
the ,prince and ,princess of ,wales1    
and of receiving from both the most     
obliging token of favour and esteem4    
,he arrived at ,northampton on ,monday  
the #bast of ,june1 and spent part of   
three days there4 ,but the great        
pleasure which his return and preferment
  gave us1 was much abated by observing 

his countenance so sadly altered1  and  
the many marks of languor and remaining 
disorder which evidently  appeared1 so  
that he really looked ten years older   
than he had done  ten months before4 ,i 
had1 however1 a satisfaction sufficient 
to  counterbalance much of the concern  
which this alteration gave me1 in a     
renewed opportunity of observing1 indeed
 more sensibly than ever1 in  how       
remarkable a degree he was dead to the  
enjoyments and views of this  mortal    
life4 ,when ,i congratulated him on the 
favourable appearances of  ,providence  
for him in the late event1 he briefly   
told me the remarkable  circumstances   
that attended it1 with the most genuine 
expressions of  gratitude to ,god for   
them2 but added1 that as his account was
 increased  with his income1 power1     
influence1 and his cares were           
proportionably  increased too1 it was1  
as to his own personal concern1 much the
 same to  him whether he had remained in
 his former station1 or been elevated to

  this2 but that if ,god should by this 
means honour him as an instrument of    
doing more good than he could otherwise 
have done1 he should rejoice in  it4    
,i perceived that the near views he had 
taken of eternity1 in the illness  from 
which he was then so imperfectly        
recovered1 had not in the least  alarmed
 him2 but that he would have been       
entirely willing1 had such been  the    
determination of ,god1 to have been cut 
short in a foreign land1  without any   
earthly friend near him1 and in the     
midst of a journey  undertaken with     
hopes and prospects so pleasing to      
nature1 which appeared  to me no        
inconsiderable evidence of the strength 
of his faith4 ,but we  shall wonder the 
less at this extraordinary resignation1 
if we consider  the joyful and assured  
prospect which he had of a happiness    
infinitely  superior beyond the grave2  
of which that worthy minister of the    
church of  ,scotland1 who had an        
opportunity of conversing with him      

quickly after his  return1 and having   
the memorable story of his conversion   
from his own  mouth1 7as ,i have hinted 
above17 writes thus in his letter to me1
 dated  ,jan4 #ad1 #agdf-g3    ,when he 
came to review his regiment at          
,linlithgow1 in summer #agdc1 after     
having given me the wonderful story as  
above1 he concluded in words to  this   
purpose3 ,let me die whenever it shall  
please ,god1 or wherever it  shall be1  
,i am sure ,i shall go to the mansions  
of eternal glory1 and  enjoy my ,god and
 my ,redeemer in heaven for ever4       
,while he was with us at this time he   
appeared deeply affected with the  sad  
state of things as to religion and      
morals1 and seemed to apprehend  that   
the rod of ,god was hanging over so     
sinful a nation4 ,he observed a  great  
deal of disaffection which the enemies  
of the government had1 by a  variety of 
artifices1 been raising in ,scotland for
 some years2 and the  number of         
,jacobites there1 together with the     

defenceless state in which  our island  
then was1 with respect to the number of 
its forces at home1  7of which he spoke 
at once with great concern and          
astonishment17 led  him to expect an    
invasion from ,france1 and an attempt in
 favour of the  ,pretender1 much sooner 
than it happened4 ,i have heard him     
often say1 many  years before it came so
 near being accomplished1 that a few    
thousands  might have a fair chance for 
marching from ,edinburgh to ,london     
uncontrolled1 and throw the whole       
,kingdom into an astonishment4 ,and ,i  
have great reason to believe that this  
was one main consideration which        
engaged him to make such haste to his   
regiment1 then quartered in those       
parts1 as he imagined there was not a   
spot of ground where he might be  more  
likely to have a call to expose his life
 in the service of his  country1 and    
perhaps1 by appealing on a proper call  
early in its  defences1 be instrumental 
in suppressing the beginnings of most   

formidable mischief4 ,how rightly he    
judged in these things1 the event too   
evidently showed4    ,the evening before
 our last separation1 as ,i knew ,i     
could not more  agreeably entertain the 
valuable friend who was then my guest1  
,i preached  a sermon in my own house1  
with some peculiar reference to his case
 and  circumstances1 from those         
ever-memorable words1 than which ,i have
 never  felt any more powerful and more 
comfortable3 ,psalm xci4 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 
,because he hath set his love upon me1  
therefore will ,i deliver him3 ,i  will 
set him on high1 because he hath known  
my name4 ,he shall call upon  me1 and ,i
 will answer him2 ,i will be with him in
 trouble1 ,i will deliver  him1 and     
honour him3 with long life 7or length of
 days7 will ,i satisfy  him1 and show   
him my salvation4 ,this scripture could 
not but lend our  meditations to survey 
the character of the good man1 as one   
who so knows  the name of the blessed   
,god--has such a deep apprehension of   

the glories  and perfections of his     
nature--as determinately to set his love
 upon him1  to make him the supreme     
object of his most ardent and constant  
affection4  ,and it suggested the most  
sublime and animating hopes to persons  
of such  a character1 that their prayers
 shall be always acceptable to ,god2    
that  though they may1 and must1 be     
called to their share in the troubles   
and  calamities of life1 yet they may   
assure themselves of the divine presence
  in all1 which will issue in their     
deliverance1 in their exaltation1       
sometimes in distinguished honour and   
esteem among men1 and1 it may be1  in a 
long course of useful and happy years on
 earth2 at least1 which  shall          
undoubtedly end in seeing1 to their     
perpetual delight1 the complete         
salvation of ,god1 in a world where they
 shall enjoy length of days for  ever   
and ever1 and employ them all in adoring
 the great ,author of their  salvation  
and felicity4 ,it is evident that these 

natural thoughts on such  a ,scripture  
were matters of universal concern4 ,yet 
had ,i1 as a minister  of the gospel1   
known that this was the last time ,i    
should address ,colonel  ,gardiner1 and 
had ,i foreseen the scenes through which
 ,god was about to  lead him1 ,i hardly 
know what considerations ,i could have  
suggested with  more peculiar propriety4
 ,the attention1 elevation1 and delight 
with which  he heard them1 were very    
apparent1 and the pleasure which the    
observation  of it gave me1 continues to
 this moment4    ,let me be permitted to
 digress so far as to add1 that this is 
indeed the  great support of a          
,christian minister under the many      
discouragements  and disappointments    
which he meets with in his attempts to  
fix upon the  profligate or the         
thoughtless part of mankind a deep sense
 of religious  truth2 that there is     
another important part of his work in   
which he may  hope to be more generally 
successful2 as1 by plain1 artless1 but  

serious  discourses1 the great          
principles of ,christian duty and hope  
may be  nourished and invigorated in    
good men1 their graces watered as at    
the root1 and their souls animated1 both
 to persevere and improve in  holiness4 
,when we are effectually performing such
 benevolent offices1 so  well suiting   
our immortal natures1 to persons whose  
hearts are cemented  with ours in the   
hands of the most endearing and sacred  
friendship1 it is  too little to say    
that it overpays the fatigue of our     
,labours2 it even  swallows up all sense
 of it in the most rational and sublime 
pleasure4    ,an incident occurred that 
evening1 which1 at least for the oddness
 of  it1 may deserve a place in these   
memoirs4 ,i had then with me one ,thomas
  ,porter1 a poor but very honest and   
religious man1 7now living at ,hatfield 
,broad-,oak in ,essex17 who is quite    
unacquainted with letters1 so as not to 
be able to distinguish one from another1
 yet is master of the contents  of the  

,bible in so extraordinary a degree1    
that he has not only fixed an  immense  
number of texts in his memory1 but1     
merely by hearing them quoted  in       
sermons1 has registered there the       
chapter and verse in which these        
passages are to be found4 ,this is      
attended with a marvellous facility in  
directing readers to turn to them1 and a
 most unaccountable talent of  fixing on
 such as suit almost every imaginable   
variety of circumstances  in common     
life4 ,there are in this case two       
considerations that make it  the more   
wonderful2 the one1 that he is a person 
of very low genius1  having1 besides a  
stammering which makes his speech almost
 unintelligible  to strangers1 so wild  
and awkward a manner of behaviour1 that 
he is  frequently taken for an idiot1   
and seems in many things to be indeed   
so2--the other1 that he grew up to      
manhood in a very licentious course of  
living1 and an entire ignorance of      
divine things1 so that all these exact  

impressions on his memory have been made
 in his riper years4 ,i thought  it     
would not be disagreeable to the colonel
 to introduce to him this  odd          
phenomenon1 which many hundreds of      
people have had a curiosity to  examine2
 and1 among all the strange things ,i   
have seen in him1 ,i never  remember any
 that equalled what passed on this      
occasion4 ,on hearing  the colonel's    
profession1 and receiving some hints of 
his religious  character1 he ran through
 a vast variety of scriptures1 beginning
 at  the ,pentateuch and going on to the
 ,revelation1 relating either to the    
dependence to be fixed on ,god for the  
success of military preparations1  or to
 the instances and promises occurring   
there for his care of good men  in the  
most imminent dangers1 or to the        
encouragement to despise perils  and    
death1 while engaged in a good cause1   
and supported by the views of  a happy  
immortality4 ,i believe he quoted more  
than twenty of these  passages1 and ,i  

must freely own that ,i know not who    
could have chosen  them with greater    
propriety4 ,if my memory deceive me not1
 the last of  this catalogue was that   
from which ,i afterwards preached1 on   
the lamented  occasion of this great    
man's fall3 ,be thou faithful unto      
death1 and ,i  will give thee a crown of
 life4 ,we were all astonished at so    
remarkable  a feat1 and ,i question not 
but many of my readers will think the   
memory  of it worthy of being thus      
preserved4    ,but to return to my main 
subject3 ,the day after the sermon and  
conversation of which ,i have been      
speaking1 ,i took my best leave of my   
inestimable friend1 after attending him 
some part of his way northward4  ,the   
first stage of our journey was to the   
cottage of that poor but  religious     
family which ,i had before occasion to  
mention as relieved1 and  indeed in a   
great measure subsisted by his charity4 
,nothing could be more  delightful than 
to observe the condescension with which 

he conversed with  these his humble     
pensioners4 ,we there put up our last   
united prayers  together2 and he        
afterwards expressed1 in the strongest  
terms ,i have ever  heard him use on    
such an occasion1 the singular pleasure 
with which he  had joined in them4      
,indeed it was no small satisfaction to 
me to have  an opportunity of           
recommending such a valuable friend to  
the divine  protection and blessing1    
with that particular freedom and        
enlargement on  what was peculiar in his
 circumstances1 which hardly any other  
situation1  unless we had been quite    
alone1 could so conveniently have       
admitted4  ,we went from thence to the  
table of a person of distinction in the 
neighborhood1 where he had an           
opportunity of showing in how decent and
  graceful a manner he could unite the  
,christian and the gentleman1 and  give 
conversation an improving and religious 
turn1 without violating any  of the     
rules of polite behaviour1 or saying or 

doing any thing1 which  looked at all   
constrained or affected4 ,here we took  
our last embrace1  committing each other
 to the care of the ,god of heaven2 and 
the colonel  pursued his journey to the 
north1 where he spent the remainder of  
his  days4    ,the more ,i reflect upon 
this appointment of ,providence1 the    
more ,i  discern the beauty and wisdom  
of it--not only as it led directly to   
that  glorious period of life with which
 ,god had determined to honour him1 and 
in which1 ,i think1 it becomes all his  
friends to rejoice1 but also as the     
retirement on which he entered could not
 but have a happy tendency to  favour   
his more immediate and complete         
preparation for so speedy a  remove4 ,to
 this we may add1 that it must probably 
have a very powerful  influence to      
promote the interests of religion       
7incomparably the greatest  of all      
interests7 among the members of his own 
family1 who must surely be  edified by  
such daily lessons as they received from

 his lips1 when they  saw them          
illustrated and enforced by so admirable
 an example1 and for  two complete      
years4 ,it is the more remarkable1 as ,i
 cannot find from the  memoirs of his   
life in my hands that he had ever been  
so long at home  since he had a family1 
or indeed1 from his childhood1 ever so  
long at a  time in any one place4       
,with how clear a lustre his lamp shone1
 and with what holy vigour his  loins   
were girded up in the service of his    
,god in these his latter days1  ,i learn
 in part from the letters of several    
excellent persons in the  ministry1 or  
in secular life1 with whom ,i have since
 conversed or  corresponded4 ,in his    
many letters dated from ,bankton during 
this period1  ,i have still further     
evidence how happy he was amidst those  
infirmities  of body1 which his         
tenderness for me would seldom allow him
 to mention2  for it appears from them  
what a daily intercourse he kept up with
 ,heaven1  and what delightful communion

 with ,god crowned his attendance on    
public  ordinances1 and his sweet hours 
of devout retirement4 ,he mentions his  
sacramental opportunities with peculiar 
relish1 crying out1 as in a holy        
rapture1 in reference to one and another
 of them1 ,oh how gracious  a ,master do
 we serve6 how pleasant is his service2 
how rich the  entertainments of his     
love6 yet how poor and cold are our     
services6 ,but  ,i will not multiply    
quotations of this sort after those ,i  
have given  above1 which may be a       
sufficient specimen of many more in the 
same  strain4 ,this hint may suffice to 
show that the same ardour of soul held  
out in a great measure to the last2 and 
indeed it seems that towards the  close 
of life1 like the flame of a lamp almost
 expiring1 it sometimes  exerted an     
unusual blaze4    ,he spent much of his 
time at ,bankton in religious solitude2 
and one  most intimately conversant with
 him assures me that the traces of that 
delightful converse with ,god which he  

enjoyed in it might easily be  discerned
 in the solemn yet cheerful countenance 
with which he often came  out of his    
closet4 ,yet his exercises there must   
sometimes have been very  mournful1     
considering the melancholy views which  
he had of the state of  our public      
affairs4    ,i should be glad1 says he1 
7in a letter which he sent me about the 
close of the year #agdc17 to hear what  
wise and good people among you  think of
 the present circumstances of things4   
,for my own part1 though ,i  thank ,god 
,i fear nothing for myself1 my          
apprehensions for the public are  very  
gloomy1 considering the deplorable      
prevalency of almost all kinds  of      
wickedness amongst us--the natural      
consequence of the contempt of the      
gospel4 ,i am daily offering my prayers 
to ,god for this sinful land of  ours1  
over which his judgments seem to be     
gathering2 and my strength is  sometimes
 so exhausted with those strong cries   
and tears1 which ,i pour  out before    

,god on this occasion1 that ,i am hardly
 able to stand when ,i  arise from my   
knees4    ,if we have many remaining to 
stand in the breach with equal fervency1
 ,i  hope1 crying as our provocations   
are1 that ,god will still be entreated  
for us1 and save us4    ,most of the    
other letters ,i had the pleasure of    
receiving from him after  our last      
separation1 are either filled1 like     
those of former years1 with  tender     
expressions of affectionate solicitude  
for my domestic comfort  and public     
usefulness1 or relate to the writings ,i
 published during this  time1 or to the 
affairs of his eldest son1 then under my
 care4 ,but these  are things which are 
by no means of a nature to be           
communicated here4 ,it  is enough to    
remark1 in general1 that the ,christian 
was still mingled  with all the care of 
the friend and the parent4              
,,chapter ,,xiii4    ,,revival ,,of     
,,religion4      ,but ,i think it       
incumbent upon me to observe1 that      

during this time1 and  for some         
preceding years1 his attention1 ever    
wakeful to such concerns1  was much     
engaged by some religious appearances   
which happened about this  time both in 
,england and ,scotland1 and with regard 
to which some may be  curious to know   
the colonel's sentiments4 ,he           
communicated them to me with  the most  
unreserved freedom2 and ,i cannot       
apprehend myself under any  engagement  
to conceal them1 as ,i am persuaded that
 it will be no  prejudice to his memory 
that they should be publicly known4     
,it was from ,colonel ,gardiner's pen   
that ,i received the first notice of    
that ever memorable scene which was     
opened at ,kilsyth1 under the  ministry 
of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,m',culloch in the    
month of ,february1 #agda-b4 ,he        
communicated to me the copy of two      
letters from that eminently-favoured    
servant of ,god1 giving an account of   
that extraordinary success which had    
within a few days accompanied his       

preaching1 when1 as ,i remember1 in  a  
little more than a fortnight1 one       
hundred and thirty souls1 who had       
before continued in long insensibility  
under the faithful preaching of  the    
gospel1 were awakened on a sudden to    
attend to it1 as if it had been  a new  
revelation brought down from heaven1 and
 attested by as astonishing  miracles as
 ever were wrought by ,peter or ,paul1  
though they only heard it  from a person
 under whose ministry they had sat for  
several years4 ,struck  with a power and
 majesty in the word of ,god which they 
had never felt  before1 they crowded his
 house night and day1 making their      
applications  to him for spiritual      
direction and assistance1 with an       
earnestness and  solicitude which floods
 of tears and cries1 that swallowed up  
their own  words and his1 could not     
sufficiently express4 ,the colonel      
mentioned this  at first to me as matter
 of eternal praise1 which he knew would 
rejoice  my very soul2 and when he saw  

it spread in the neighbouring parts1 and
  observed the glorious reformation     
which it produced in the lives of great 
multitudes1 and the abiding fruits of   
it1 for succeeding months and  years1 it
 increased and confirmed his joy4 ,but  
the facts relating to this  matter have 
been laid before the world in so        
authentic a manner1 and the  agency of  
divine grace in them has been so        
rationally vindicated1 and so           
pathetically represented1 in what the   
reverend and judicious ,mr4 ,webster    
has written upon that subject1 that it  
is altogether superfluous for me  to add
 any thing further than my hearty       
prayers that the work may be as         
extensive as it was glorious and        
divine499    99,note3 ,see ,revivals in 
,scotland1 published by the ,board of   
,publication4    ,it was with great     
pleasure that he received any           
intelligence of a like  kind from       
,england1 whether the clergy of the     
,established ,church or  dissenting     

ministers1 whether our own countrymen or
 foreigners1 were the  instruments of   
it4 ,whatever weaknesses or errors might
 mingle themselves  with valuable       
qualities in such as were active in such
 a work1 he  appeared to love and honour
 them in proportion to the degree he saw
  reason to believe that their hearts   
were devoted to the service of  ,christ1
 and their attempts owned and succeeded 
by him4 ,i remember1 that  mentioning   
one of these gentlemen who had been     
remarkably successful in  his ministry1 
and who seemed to have met with some    
very unkind usage1 he  says1 ,i had     
rather be that despised1 persecuted man1
 to be an instrument  in the hand of the
 ,spirit in converting so many souls1   
and building up so  many in their holy  
faith1 than ,i would be emperor of the  
whole world4  ,yet this steady and      
judicious ,christian1 7for such he most 
assuredly  was17 at the same time that  
he esteemed a man for his good          
intentions1  and his worthy qualities1  

did not suffer himself to be hurried    
away into  all the singularity of his   
sentiments1 or to admire his imprudences
 or  excesses4 ,on the contrary1 he saw 
and lamented that artifice which the    
great father of fraud has so long and so
 successfully been practising1  and who1
 like the enemies of ,israel1 when he   
cannot entirely prevent the  building of
 ,god's temple1 does1 as it were1 offer 
his assistance to carry  on the work1   
that he may thereby get the most        
effectual opportunities of  obstructing 
it4 ,the colonel often expressed his    
astonishment at the wide  extremes into 
which some whom on the whole he thought 
very worthy men1  were permitted to run 
in many doctrinal and speculative       
points1 and  discerned how evidently it 
appeared from hence that we cannot argue
 the  truth of any doctrine from the    
success of the preacher1 since this     
would  be a kind of demonstration which 
might equally prove both parts of a     
contradiction4 ,yet when he observed    

that a high regard to the atonement  and
 righteousness of ,christ1 and to the   
free grace of ,god in him1 exerted  by  
the operation of the ,divine ,spirit1   
was generally common to all who  had    
been peculiarly successful in the       
conversion and reformation of men1  7how
 widely soever their judgments might    
differ in other points1 and how  warmly 
soever their judgments might oppose each
 other in consequence  of that          
diversity17 it tended greatly to confirm
 his faith in these  principles1 as well
 as to open his heart in love to all1 of
 every  denomination1 who maintained an 
affectionate regard to them4 ,although  
what he remarked as to the conduct and  
success of ministers of the most        
opposite strains of preaching confirmed 
him in these sentiments1 yet he  always 
esteemed and loved virtuous and         
benevolent men1 even where he  thought  
them the most mistaken in the notions   
they formed of religion1 or  in the     
methods by which they attempted to serve

 it4    ,while ,i thus represent what   
all who knew him must soon have observed
 of  ,colonel ,gardiner's affectionate  
regard to these peculiar doctrines of   
our  holy religion1 it is necessary that
 ,i should also inform my reader that   
it was not his opinion that the         
attention of ministers or their hearers 
should be wholly engrossed by these1    
excellent as they are2 but that all  the
 parts of the scheme of truth and duty  
should be regarded in their due         
connection and proportion4 ,far from    
that distempered taste which can bear   
nothing but cordials1 it was his        
deliberate judgment that the law as well
  as the gospel should be preached2 and 
hardly any thing gave him greater       
offence than the irreverent manner in   
which some who have been ignorantly     
extolled as the most zealous evangelical
 preachers1 have sometimes  been tempted
 to speak of the former1 much indeed to 
the scandal of all  consistent and      
judicious ,christians4 ,he delighted to 

be instructed in  his duty1 and to hear 
much of the inward exercises of the     
spiritual and  divine life4 ,he always  
wished1 so far as ,i could observe1 to  
have these  topics treated in a rational
 as well as spiritual manner1 with      
solidity  and order of thought1 with    
perspicuity and weight of expression1   
well  knowing that religion is a most   
reasonable service--that ,god has not   
chosen idiots or lunatics as the        
instruments1 or nonsense as the means of
  building up his church--and that      
though the charge of enthusiasm is often
  fixed on ,christianity and its        
ministers in a wild1 undeserved1 and1   
indeed1 on the whole1 enthusiastical    
manner1 by some of the loudest or  most 
solemn pretenders to reason1 yet there  
is really such a thing as  enthusiasm1  
against which it becomes the true       
friends of revelation to be  diligently 
on their guard1 lest ,christianity1     
instead of being exalted1  should be    
greatly corrupted and debased1 and all  

manner of absurdity1  both in doctrine  
and practice1 introduced by methods     
which1 like  persecution1 throw truth   
and falsehood on a level1 and render the
  grossest errors at once more plausible
 and more incurable4 ,he had too  much  
candour and equity to fix general       
charges of this nature2 but he was      
really 7and ,i think not vainly17       
apprehensive that the emissaries and    
agents of the most corrupt church that  
ever dishonoured the ,christian  name1  
7by which1 it will easily be understood1
 ,i mean that of ,rome17  might very    
possibly insinuate themselves into      
societies to which they  could not      
otherwise have access1 and make their   
advantage of that total  resignation of 
the understanding1 and contempt of      
reason and learning1  which nothing but 
ignorance1 delirium1 or knavery can     
dictate1 to lead  men blindfolded       
whither it pleased1 till it set them    
down at the foot of  an altar where     
transubstantiation itself was           

consecrated4    ,i know not where ,i can
 more properly introduce another part of
 the  colonel's character1 which1       
obvious as it was1 ,i have not yet      
touched  upon2 ,i mean his tenderness to
 those who were under any spiritual     
distress1 wherein he was indeed an      
example to ministers in a duty more     
peculiarly theirs4 ,i have seen many    
amiable instances of this myself1 and   
,i have been informed of many others4   
,one of these happened about the time   
of that awakening in the western parts  
of ,scotland1 which ,i touched upon     
above1 when the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,m',laurin1  
of ,glasgow1 found occasion to witness  
to the great propriety1 judgment1 and   
felicity of manner1 with which he       
addressed spiritual consolation to an   
afflicted soul who applied to the       
professor at a time when he had not an  
opportunity immediately to give         
audience to the case4 ,indeed so long   
ago as the year #agbf1 ,i find him      
writing in this regard to a friend in a 

strain of tenderness which might  well  
have become the most affectionate and   
experienced pastor4 ,he there           
congratulates him on some religious     
enjoyments1 lately received1 7in  part1 
it seems1 by his means7 when1 among     
others1 he has this modest  expression3 
,if ,i have been made any way the means 
of doing you good1  give the whole glory
 to ,god2 for he has been willing to    
show that the  power was entirely of    
himself1 since he has been pleased to   
make use of  so very weak an instrument4
 ,in the same letter he admonishes his  
friend  that he should not be too much  
surprised1 if after having been 7as he  
expressed it7 upon the mount1 he should 
be brought into this valley  again1     
reminding him that we live by faith1 and
 not by sensible  assurance1 and        
representing that there are some such   
full communications  from ,god as seem  
almost to swallow up the actings of     
faith1 from whence  they take their     
rise3 ,whereas1 when a ,christian who   

walks in darkness1  and sees no light1  
will yet hang1 as it were1 on the report
 of an absent  ,jesus1 and 7as one      
expresses it in allusion to the story of
 ,jacob and  ,joseph7 can put himself as
 on the chariot of the promises1 to be  
borne  on to ,him whom he sees not2     
there may be sublimer and more          
acceptable  actings of a pure and strong
 faith than in moments which afford the 
soul  a much more rapturous delight4    
,this is the substance of what he says  
in  this excellent letter4 ,some of the 
phrases made use of might not perhaps   
be intelligible to several of my        
readers1 for which reason ,i do not     
exactly transcribe them all2 but this is
 plainly and fully his meaning1  and    
most of the words are his own4 ,the     
sentiment is surly very just and        
important2 and happy would it be for    
many excellent persons1 who1  through   
wrong notions of the nature of faith1   
7which was never more  misrepresented   
than now among some17 are perplexing    

themselves with  the most groundless    
doubts and scruples1 if it were more    
generally  understood1 admitted1 and    
considered4          ,,chapter ,,xiv4   
,,apprehensions ,,of ,,death4      ,an  
endeared friend1 who was most intimately
 conversant with the colonel  during the
 last two years of his life1 has        
favoured me with an account  of some    
little circumstances relating to him1   
which ,i esteem as precious  fragments1 
by which the consistent tenor of his    
character may be further  illustrated4  
,i shall therefore insert them here1    
without being very  solicitous as to the
 order in which they are introduced4    
,he perceived himself evidently in a    
very declining state from his first     
arrival in ,britain1 and seemed to      
entertain a fixed apprehension that he  
should continue but a little while      
longer in life4 ,he expected death1     
says my good correspondent1 and was     
delighted with the prospect1 which  did 
not grow less amiable by the nearer     

approach4 ,the word of ,god1 with  which
 he had as intimate an acquaintance as  
most men ,i ever knew1 and on  which    
7especially on the ,new ,testament7 ,i  
have heard him make many  very judicious
 and accurate remarks1 was still his    
daily study2 and  it furnished him with 
matter of frequent conversation1 much to
 the  edification and comfort of those  
that were about him4 ,it was recollected
  that1 among other passages1 he had    
lately spoken of the following as       
having made a deep impression on his    
mind3 ,my soul1 wait thou only upon     
,god4 ,he would repeat it again and     
again1 only1 only1 only6 ,so plainly    
did he see1 and so deeply did he feel1  
the vanity of creature confidence  and  
expectations4 ,with the strongest       
attestation would he often mention      
those words in ,isaiah1 as verified by  
long experience3 ,thou wilt keep  him in
 perfect peace1 whose mind is stayed on 
thee1 because he trusteth  in thee4 ,and
 with peculiar satisfaction would he    

utter those heroic  words in ,habakkuk1 
which he found armour of proof against  
every fear and  every contingency3      
,though the fig tree shall not blossom1 
neither shall  fruit be in the vines2   
the labour of the olive shall fail1 and 
the fields  shall yield no meal2 the    
flocks shall be cut off from the fold1  
and there  shall be no herd in the      
stalls2 yet ,i will rejoice in the      
,lord1 ,i will  joy in the ,god of my   
salvation4 ,the #adeth ,psalm was also  
spoken of by  him with great delight1   
and ,dr4 ,watts's version of it1 as well
 as several  others of that excellent   
person's poetical compositions4 ,my     
friend who  transmits to me this        
account1 adds the following words1 which
 ,i desire  to insert with the deepest  
sentiments of unfeigned humility and    
self-abasement before ,god1 as most     
unworthy the honour of contributing  in 
the least degree to the joys and graces 
of one so much my superior in  every    
part of the ,christian character4 ,as   

the joy with which good men  see the    
happy fruits of their labours1 makes a  
part of the present reward  of the      
servants of ,god and the friends of     
,jesus1 it must not be omitted1  even in
 a letter to you1 that your spiritual   
hymns were among his most  delightful   
and soul-improving repasts2 particularly
 those on beholding  transgressors with 
grief1 and ,christ's ,message4 ,what is 
added concerning  my book of the ,rise  
and ,progress of ,religion1 and the     
terms in which he  expressed his esteem 
of it1 ,i cannot suffer to pass my pen2 
only ,i desire  most sincerely to bless 
,god1 that1 especially by the last      
chapters  of that treatise1 ,i had an   
opportunity1 at so great a distance1 of 
exhibiting some offices of ,christian   
friendship to this excellent person  in 
the closing scenes of life1 which it    
would have been my greatest joy  to have
 performed in person1 had ,providence   
permitted me then to have  been near    
him4    ,the former of these hymns1     

which my correspondent mentions as      
having been  so agreeable to ,colonel   
,gardiner1 ,i have given the reader     
already4 ,the  latter1 which is called  
,christ's ,message1 took its rise from  
,luke iv4 #ah1  #ai1 and is as follows3 
,hark6 the glad sound6 the ,saviour     
comes1    ,the ,saviour promised long2  
,let every heart prepare a throne1      
,and every voice a song4      ,on him   
the ,spirit largely poured1    ,exerts  
its sacred fire2    ,wisdom and might1  
and zeal and love1    ,his holy breast  
inspire4      ,he comes the prisoners to
 release1    ,in ,satan's bondage held2 
,the gates of brass before him burst1   
,the iron fetters yield4      ,he comes1
 from thickest films of vice    ,to     
clear the mental ray1    ,and on the    
eye-balls of the blind    ,to pour      
celestial day499      ,he comes the     
broken heart to bind1    ,the bleeding  
soul to cure2    ,and with the treasures
 of his grace    ,to enrich the humble  
poor4      ,his silver trumpets publish 

loud    ,the jubilee of the ,lord2      
,our debts are all remitted now1    ,our
 heritage restored4      ,our glad      
hosannas1 ,prince of ,peace6    ,thy    
welcome shall proclaim2    ,and heaven's
 eternal arches ring    ,with ,thy      
beloved name4    99,note3 ,this stanza  
is mostly borrowed from ,mr4 ,pope4     
,there is one hymn more ,i shall beg    
leave to add1 plain as it is1 which     
,colonel ,gardiner has been heard to    
mention with particular regard1 as      
expressing the inmost sentiments of his 
soul1 and they were undoubtedly  so in  
the last rational moments of his        
expiring life4 ,it is called  ',christ  
precious to the ,believer1' and was     
composed to be sung after a  sermon on  
#a ,pet4 ii #g4      ,jesus6 ,i love thy
 charming name1    ',tis music to my    
ear3    ,fain would ,i sound it out so  
loud1    ,that earth and heaven should  
hear4      ,yea6 thou art precious to my
 soul1    ,my transport and my trust2   
,jewels to ,thee are gaudy toys1    ,and

 gold is sordid dust4      ,all my      
capacious powers can wish1    ,in ,thee 
most richly meet2    ,nor to mine eyes  
is life so dear1    ,nor friendship half
 so sweet4      ,thy grace still dwells 
upon my heart1    ,and sheds its        
fragrance there2    ,the noblest balm of
 all its wounds1    ,the cordial of its 
care4      ,i'll speak the honours of   
thy name    ,with my last labouring     
breath2    ,then speechless clasp thee  
in my arms1    ,the antidote of death4  
,those who were intimate with ,colonel  
,gardiner1 must have observed how  ready
 he was to give a devotional turn to any
 subject that occurred4 ,in  particular1
 the spiritual and heavenly disposition 
of his soul discovered  itself in the   
reflections and improvements which he   
made when reading  history1 in which he 
took a great deal of pleasure1 as       
persons remarkable  for their knowledge 
of mankind1 and observation of          
,providence1 generally  do4 ,i have an  
instance of this before me1 which1      

though too natural to be  at all        
surprising1 will1 ,i dare say1 be       
pleasing to the devout mind4 ,he  had   
just been reading1 in ,rollin's extracts
 from ,xenophon1 the answer  which the  
lady of ,tigranes made when all the     
company were extolling  ,cyrus1 and     
expressing the admiration with which his
 appearance and  behaviour struck them4 
,the question being asked her1 ,what she
 thought of  him8 she answered1 ,i do   
not know2 ,i did not observe him4 ,on   
what1 then1  said one of the company did
 you fix your attention8 ,on him1       
replied  she1 7referring to the generous
 speech which her husband had just      
made17  who said he would give a        
thousand lives to ransom my liberty4    
,oh1  cried the colonel1 when reading   
it1 how ought we to fix our eyes and    
hearts on ,him who1 not in offer1 but in
 reality1 gave his own precious  life to
 ransom us from the most dreadful       
slavery1 and from eternal  destruction6 
,but this is only one instance among a  

thousand4 ,his heart  was so habitually 
set upon divine things1 and he had such 
a permanent  and overflowing sense of   
the love of ,christ1 that he could not  
forbear  connecting such reflections    
with a multitude of more distant        
occasions  occurring in daily life1 on  
which less advanced ,christians would   
not have  thought of them2 and thus1    
like our great ,master1 he made every   
little  incident a source of devotion1  
and an instrument of holy zeal4         
,enfeebled as his constitution was1 he  
was still intent on improving his  time 
to some valuable purpose2 and when his  
friends expostulated with him  that he  
gave his body so little rest1 he used to
 answer1 ,it will rest  long enough in  
the grave4    ,the ,july before his     
death1 he was persuaded to take a       
journey to  ,scarborough for the        
recovery of his health1 from which he   
was at least  encouraged to expect some 
little revival4 ,after this he had      
thoughts  of going to ,london1 and      

intended to have spent part of          
,september at  ,northampton4 ,the       
expectation of this was mutually        
agreeable2 but  ,providence saw fit to  
disconcert the scheme4 ,his love for his
 friends in  these parts occasioned him 
to express some regret on his being     
commanded  back2 and ,i am pretty       
confident1 from the manner in which he  
expressed  himself in one of his last   
letters to me1 that he had some more    
important  reasons for wishing an       
opportunity of making a ,london journey 
just at  that crisis1 which1 the reader 
will remember1 was before the rebellion 
broke out4 ,but1 as ,providence         
determined it otherwise1 he acquiesced2 
and ,i am well satisfied1 that could he 
have distinctly foreseen the            
approaching event1 so far as it         
concerned his own person1 he would have 
esteemed it the happiest summons he ever
 received4 ,while he was at             
,scarborough1 ,i find by a letter dated 
from thence1 ,july #bf1 #agde1 that  he 

had been informed of the gaiety which so
 unseasonably prevailed at  ,edinburgh1 
where great multitudes were then        
spending their time in balls1           
assemblies1 and other gay amusements1   
little mindful of the rod of  ,god which
 was then hanging over them2 on which   
occasion he hath this  expression3 ,i am
 greatly surprised that the people of   
,edinburgh should  be employed in such  
foolish diversions1 when our situation  
is at present  more melancholy than ever
 ,i saw it in my life4 ,but there is one
 thing  which ,i am very sure of1 and   
that comforts me1 viz41 that it shall go
 well  with the righteous1 come what    
will4          ,,chapter ,,xv4          
,,battle ,,of ,,prestonpans4            
,quickly after his return home1 the     
flame burst out1 and his regiment  was  
ordered to ,stirling4 ,it was in that   
castle that his lady and eldest         
daughter enjoyed the last happy hours of
 his company1 and ,i think it was  about
 ten or twelve days before his death    

that he parted from them there4  ,a     
remarkable circumstance attended that   
parting1 which has been touched  upon by
 surviving friends in more than one of  
their letters to me4 ,his  lady was so  
affected when she took her last leave of
 him1 that she could  not forbear       
bursting out into a flood of tears1 with
 other marks of  unusual emotion2 and   
when he asked her the reason1 she urged 
as a  sufficient apology1 the           
apprehension she had of losing such an  
invaluable  friend1 amidst the dangers  
to which he was then called out4 ,on    
this she  took particular notice1 that  
whereas he had generally comforted her  
on  such occasions by pleading with her 
that remarkable hand of ,providence     
which had so frequently in former       
instances been exerted for his          
preservation1 and that in the greatest  
extremity1 he said nothing of it  now2  
but only replied in his sententious     
manner1 ,we have an eternity to  spend  
together4    ,that heroic contempt of   

death which had often discovered itself 
in the  midst of former dangers1 was    
manifested now in his discourse with    
several  of his most intimate friends4  
,i have reserved for this place one     
genuine  expression of it many years    
before1 which ,i thought might be       
mentioned  with some advantage here4 ,in
 ,july1 #agbe1 he had been sent to some 
place  not far from ,hamilton to quell a
 mutiny among some of our troops4 ,i    
know  not the particular occasion2 but  
,i remember to have heard him mention it
  as so fierce a one1 that he scarcely  
ever apprehended himself in more        
hazardous circumstances4 ,yet he quelled
 it by his presence alone1 and the      
expostulations he used--evidently       
putting his life into his hand to do    
it4 ,the particulars of the story struck
 me much2 but ,i do not so exactly      
remember them as to venture to relate   
them here4 ,i only observe1 that in  a  
letter dated ,july #af1 that year1 which
 ,i have now before me1 and which       

evidently refers to this event1 he      
writes thus3 ,i have been very busy1    
hurried about from place to place2 but1 
blessed be ,god1 all is over  without   
bloodshed4 ,and pray let me ask what    
made you show so much concern  for me in
 your last8 ,were you afraid ,i should  
get to heaven before you8  or can any   
evil befall those who are followers of  
that which is good899    99,note3 ,i    
doubt not but this will remind some of  
my readers of that noble  speech of     
,zwinglius1 when 7according to the usage
 of that country17  attending his flock 
to a battle in which their religion and 
liberties  were all at stake1 on his    
receiving a mortal wound by a bullet1 of
 which  he was expired1 while his       
friends were in all the first           
astonishment of  grief1 he bravely said1
 as he was dying1 ,ecquid hoc           
infortunii8 ,is  this to be reckoned a  
misfortune8 ,how many of our ,deists    
would have  celebrated such a sentence1 
if it had come from the lips of an      

ancient  ,roman6 ,strange that the name 
of ,christ should be so odious1 that the
  brightest virtues of his followers    
should be despised for his sake6 ,but   
so it is1 and so our ,master told us it 
would be2 and our faith is1 in  this    
connection1 confirmed by those who      
strive most to overthrow it4    ,as     
these were his sentiments in the vigour 
of his days1 so neither did  declining  
years and the infirmities of a broken   
constitution on the one  hand1 nor any  
desire of enjoying the honours and      
profits of so high  a station1 or 7what 
was much more to him17 the converse of  
the most  affectionate of wives and so  
many amiable children and friends on the
  other1 in the least enervate his      
spirits2 but as he had in former years  
often expressed it1 to me and several   
others1 as his desire1 that if it  were 
the will of ,god1 he might have some    
honourable call to sacrifice his  life  
in defence of religion and the liberties
 of his country2 so1  when it appeared  

to him most probable that he might be   
called to it  immediately1 he met the   
summons with the greatest readiness4    
,this appears  in part from a letter    
which he wrote to the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,adams1
 of ,falkirk1  just as he was marching  
from ,stirling1 which was only eight    
days before  his death3--,the rebels1   
says he1 are advancing to cross the     
,frith2  but ,i trust in the ,almighty  
,god1 who doth whatsoever he please in  
the  armies of heaven1 and among the    
inhabitants of the earth4 ,the same     
gentleman tells me1 that1 a few days    
after the date of this1 he marched      
through ,falkirk with his regiment2 and 
though he was then in so  languishing a 
state1 that he needed his assistance as 
secretary to write  for some            
reinforcements1 which might put it in   
his power to make a stand1  7as he was  
very desirous to have done17 he         
expressed a most genuine and  noble     
contempt of life1 when about to be      
exposed in the defence of a  worth      

cause4    ,these sentiments wrought in  
him to the last in the most effectual   
manner1  and he seemed for a while to   
have infused them into the regiment     
which he  commanded2 for they expressed 
such a spirit in their march from       
,stirling1  that ,i am assured the      
colonel was obliged to exert all his    
authority to  prevent their making      
incursions on the rebel army1 which then
 lay very  near him2 and had it been    
thought proper to send him the          
reinforcements  he requested1 none can  
say what the consequence might have     
been2 but he  was ordered to march as   
fast as possible to meet ,sir ,john     
,cope's forces  at ,dunbar1 which he    
did2 and that hasty retreat1 in         
concurrence with the  news which they   
soon after received of the surrender of 
,edinburgh to the  rebels1 7either by   
the treachery or weakness of a few1 in  
opposition to  the judgment of by far   
the greater and better part of the      
inhabitants17  struck a panic into both 

the regiments of dragoons1 which became 
visible  in some very apparent and      
remarkable circumstances in their       
behaviour1  which ,i forbear to relate4 
,this affected ,colonel ,gardiner so    
much that1  on the ,thursday before the 
fatal action of ,prestonpans1 he        
intimated to  an officer of considerable
 rank and note1 from whom ,i had it by a
 very  sure channel of conveyance1 that 
he expected the event would be as in    
fact it was4 ,in this view1 there is all
 imaginable reason to believe that  he  
had formed his resolution as to his own 
personal conduct1 which was1  that he   
would not1 in cases of the flight of    
those under his command1  retreat with  
them2 by which1 as it seemed1 he was    
reasonably  apprehensive that he might  
have stained the honour of his former   
services1 and have given some occasion  
for the enemy to have spoken            
reproachfully4 ,he much rather chose1 if
 ,providence gave him the call1 to      
leave in his death an example of        

fidelity and bravery which might very   
probably be 7as in fact it seems to have
 been7 of much greater importance  to   
his country than any other service      
which1 in the few days of remaining     
life1 he could expect to render it4 ,i  
conclude these to have been his  views1 
not only from what ,i knew of his       
general character and temper1 but       
likewise from some intimations which he 
gave to a very worthy person from       
,edinburgh1 who visited him the day     
before the action1 and to whom he  said1
 ,i cannot influence the conduct of     
others as ,i could wish1 but ,i  have   
one life to sacrifice to my country's   
safety1 and ,i shall not spare  it1--or 
words to that effect4    ,i have heard  
such a multitude of inconsistent reports
 of the  circumstances of ,colonel      
,gardiner's death1 that ,i had almost   
despaired of  being able to give my     
reader any particular satisfaction      
concerning so  interesting a scene4     
,but1 by a happy accident1 ,i have very 

lately had an  opportunity of being     
exactly informed of the whole by that   
brave man1 ,mr4  ,john ,foster1 his     
faithful servant1 7and worthy of the    
honour of serving  such a master17 whom 
,i had seen with him at my house some   
years before4  ,he attended him in his  
last hours1 and gave me at large the    
narration1  which he would be ready1 if 
requisite1 to attest upon oath4 ,from   
his  mouth ,i wrote it down with the    
utmost exactness1 and could easily      
believe1 from the genuine and           
affectionate manner in which he related 
the  particulars1 that according to his 
own striking expression1 his eye and    
his heart were always upon his honoured 
master during the whole time499         
99,note3 ,just as ,i am putting the last
 hand to these memoirs1 ,march #b1      
#agdf-g1 ,i have met with a corporal in 
,colonel ,lascelles' regiment1 who  was 
an eye-witness to what happened at      
,prestonpans on the day of the  battle1 
and the day before2 and the account he  

has given me of some  memorable         
particulars is so exactly agreeable to  
that which ,i received  from ,mr4       
,foster1 that it would much corroborate 
his testimony1 if there  were not so    
many other considerations to render it  
convincing4    ,on ,friday1 #bjth       
,september1 7the day before the battle  
which transmitted  him to his immortal  
crown17 the colonel drew up his regiment
 in the  afternoon1 and rode through all
 their ranks1 addressing them at once   
in the most respectful and animating    
manner1 both as soldiers and as         
,christians1 to exert themselves        
courageously in the service of their    
country1 and to neglect nothing that    
might have a tendency to prepare  them  
for whatever might happen4 ,they seemed 
much affected with the  address1 and    
expressed a very ardent desire of       
attacking the enemy  immediately--a     
desire in which he and another very     
gallant officer of  distinguished rank1 
dignity1 and character1 both for bravery

 and conduct1  would gladly have        
gratified them1 if it had been in their 
power4 ,he  earnestly pressed it on the 
commanding officer1 as the soldiers were
 then  in better spirits than it could  
be supposed they would be after having  
passed the night under arms1 and as the 
circumstance of making an attack  would 
be some encouragement to them1 and      
probably some terror to the  enemy1 who 
would have had the disadvantage of      
standing on the defence--a  disadvantage
 with which those wild barbarians1 7for 
such most of them  were7 perhaps would  
have been more struck than better       
disciplined  troops--especially1 too1   
when they fought against the laws of    
their  country4 ,he also apprehended    
that1 by marching to meet them1 some    
advantage might have been secured with  
regard to the ground1 with which1  it is
 natural to imagine1 he must have been  
perfectly acquainted1 as it  lay just at
 his own door1 and he had rode over it  
many hundred times4  ,when ,i mention   

these things1 ,i do not pretend to be   
capable of judging  how far this advice 
was right4 ,a variety of circumstances  
to me unknown  might make it otherwise4 
,it is certain1 however1 that it was    
brave4 ,but  it was overruled in this   
respect1 as it also was in the          
disposition of  the cannon1 which he    
would have planted in the centre of our 
small army1  rather than just before his
 regiment1 which was in the right wing1 
where  he was apprehensive that the     
horses1 which had not been in any       
previous  engagement1 might be thrown   
into some disorder by the discharge so  
very  near them4 ,he urged this the more
 as he thought the attack of the rebels 
might probably be made on the centre of 
the foot1 where he knew there  were some
 brave men1 on whose standing he        
thought1 under ,god1 the success  of the
 day depended4 ,when he found that he   
could not carry either of  these points1
 nor some others which1 out of regard to
 the common safety1  he insisted upon   

with unusual earnestness1 he dropped    
some intimations  of the consequences he
 apprehended1 and which did in fact     
follow2 and  submitting to ,providence1 
spent the remainder of the day in making
 as  good a disposition as circumstances
 would allow499    99,note3 ,several of 
these circumstances have since been     
confirmed by the  concurrent testimony  
of another very credible person1 ,mr4   
,robert ,douglas1  7now a surgeon in the
 navy17 who was a volunteer at          
,edinburgh just before  the rebels      
entered the place1 and who saw ,colonel 
,gardiner come from  ,haddington to the 
field of battle the day before the      
action in a chaise1  being 7as from that
 circumstances he supposed7 in so weak a
 state that he  could not well endure   
the fatigue of sitting on horseback4 ,he
 observed  ,colonel ,gardiner in        
discourse with several officers on the  
evening before  the engagement1 at which
 time1 it was afterwards reported1 he   
gave his  advice to attack the rebels2  

and when it was overruled1 he afterwards
 saw  the colonel walk by himself in a  
very pensive manner4      ,he continued 
all night under arms1 wrapt up in his   
cloak1 and generally  sheltered under a 
rick of barley which happened to be in  
the field4 ,about  three in the morning 
he called his domestic servants to him1 
of which  there were four in waiting4   
,he dismissed three of them with most   
affectionate ,christian advice1 and such
 solemn charges relating to the         
performance of their duty and the care  
of their souls1 as plainly seemed  to   
intimate that he at least apprehended it
 very probable he was taking  his last  
farewell of them4 ,there is great reason
 to believe that he spent  the little   
remainder of the time1 which could not  
be much above an hour1  in those devout 
exercises of soul which had so long been
 habitual to him1  and to which so many 
circumstances then concurred to call    
him4    ,the army was alarmed at break  
of day by the noise of the rebels'      

approach1 and the attack was made before
 sunrise2 yet it was light enough  to   
discern what passed4 ,as soon as the    
enemy came within gunshot1 they  made a 
furious fire2 and it is said that the   
dragoons1 which constituted  the left   
wing1 immediately fled4 ,the colonel1 at
 the beginning of the  onset1 which     
lasted but a few minutes1 received a    
wound by a bullet in  his left breast1  
which made him give a sudden spring in  
his saddle2 upon  which his servant1 who
 had led the horse1 would have persuaded
 him to  retreat2 but he said it was    
only a wound in the flesh1 and fought   
on1  though soon after he received a    
shot in his right thigh4 ,in the        
meantime  it was discovered that some of
 the enemies fell by him1 particularly  
one  man1 who had made him a treacherous
 visit but a few days before1 with      
great professions of zeal for the       
present establishment4    ,events of    
this kind pass in less time than the    
description of them can  be written1 or 

than it can be read4 ,the colonel was   
for a few moments  supported by his men1
 and particularly by that worthy person1
  ,lieutenant-colonel ,whitney1 who was 
shot through the arm1 and who1 a few    
months after1 fell nobly in the battle  
of ,falkirk2 by ,lieutenant ,west1 a    
man of distinguished bravery2 also by   
about fifteen dragoons1 who stood  by   
him to the last4 ,but1 after a faint    
fire1 the regiment was seized with  a   
panic2 and though their colonel and some
 other gallant officers did  what they  
could to rally them once or twice1 they 
took to precipitate  flight4 ,just at   
the moment when ,colonel ,gardiner      
seemed to be making a  pause1 to        
deliberate what duty required him to do 
in such a circumstance1  an accident    
happened1 which must1 ,i think1 in the  
judgment of every  worthy and generous  
man1 be deemed a sufficient apology for 
exposing his  life to so great a hazard1
 when his regiment had left him499 ,he  
saw that  a party of foot1 who were then

 bravely fighting near him1 and whom he 
was ordered to support1 had no officer  
to head them2 upon which he said        
eagerly1 in the hearing of the person   
from whom ,i had this account1  ,those  
brave fellows will be cut to pieces for 
want of a commander1--or  words to that 
effect4 ,so saying1 he rode up to them1 
and cried out aloud1  ,fire on1 my lads1
 and fear nothing4 ,but1 just as the    
words were out of  his mouth1 a         
,highlander advanced towards him with a 
scythe1 fastened on  a long pole1 with  
which he gave him such a deep wound on  
his right arm1  that his sword dropped  
out of his hand2 and at the same time   
several  others coming about him while  
he was thus dreadfully entangled with   
that  cruel weapon1 he was dragged off  
his horse4 ,the moment he fell another  
,highlander1 who1 if the crown witness  
at ,carlisle may be credited1 7as ,i    
know not why he should not1 though the  
unhappy creature died denying it17  was 
one ,m',naught1 who was executed about a

 year after1 gave him a stroke  either  
with a broadsword or a ,lochaber axe1   
7for my informant could not  exactly    
distinguish17 on the hinder part of his 
head1 which was the  mortal blow4 ,all  
that his faithful attendant saw further 
at this time  was1 that as his hat had  
fallen off1 he took it in his left hand1
 and  waved it as a signal to him to    
retreat2 and added1 7the last words he  
ever heard him speak17 ,take care of    
yourself2 upon which the servant        
retired4    99,note3 ,the colonel1 who  
was well acquainted with military       
history1 might  possibly remember that  
in the battle at ,blenheim1 the         
illustrious ,prince  ,eugene1 when the  
horse of the wing which he commanded had
 run away  thrice1 charged at the head  
of the foot1 and thereby greatly        
contributed  to the glorious success of 
the day4 ,at least such an example may  
conduce  to vindicate that noble ardour 
which1 amidst all the applauses of his  
country1 some have been so cool and so  

critical as to blame4 ,for my part1  ,i 
thank ,god that ,i am not called to     
apologize for his following his  troops 
in their flight1 which ,i fear would    
have been a much harder task2  and      
which1 dear as he was to me1 would have 
grieved me much more than his  death1   
with these heroic circumstances         
attending it4    ,it was reported at    
,edinburgh1 on the day of the battle1 by
 what seemed a  considerable authority1 
that as the colonel lay in his wounds1  
he said to  a chief of the opposite     
side1 ,you are fighting for an earthly  
crown1 ,i  am going to receive a        
heavenly one1--or something to that     
purpose4 ,when  ,i preached the sermon1 
long since printed1 on occasion of his  
death1 ,i  had great reason to believe  
this report was true1 though1 before the
  publication of it1 ,i began to be in  
doubt2 and1 on the whole1 after the     
most accurate inquiry ,i could possibly 
make at this distance1 ,i cannot  get   
any convincing evidence of it4 ,yet ,i  

must here observe that it does  not     
appear impossible that something of this
 kind might indeed be uttered  by him1  
as his servant testifies that he spoke  
to him after receiving  that fatal blow1
 which would seem most likely to have   
taken away the  power of speech1 and as 
it is certain he lived several hours    
after he  fell4 ,if1 therefore1 any     
thing of this kind did happen1 it must  
have been  just before this instant4    
,but as to the story of his being taken 
prisoner  and carried to the pretended  
,prince1 7who1 by the way1 afterwards   
rode his horse1 and entered into ,derby 
upon it17 with several other            
circumstances which were grafted upon   
that interview1 there is the most       
undoubted evidence of its falsehood2 for
 his attendant above mentioned  assures 
me that he himself immediately fled to a
 mill1 at the distance of  about two    
miles from the spot on which the colonel
 fell1 where he changed  his dress1 and1
 disguised like a miller's servant1     

returned with a cart  as soon as        
possible1 which yet was not till nearly 
two hours after the  engagement4 ,the   
hurry of the action was then pretty well
 over1 and he  found his much-honoured  
master not only plundered of his watch  
and other  things of value1 but also    
stripped of his upper garments and      
boots1 yet  still breathing2 and adds1  
that though he was not capable of       
speech1  yet1 on taking him up1 he      
opened his eyes2 which makes it         
something  questionable whether he was  
altogether insensible4 ,in this         
condition1 and  in this manner1 he      
conveyed him to the church of ,tranent1 
from whence he  was immediately taken   
into the minister's house1 and laid in  
bed1 where  he continued breathing and  
frequently groaning till about eleven in
  the forenoon1 when he took his final  
leave of pain and sorrow1 and           
undoubtedly rose to those distinguished 
glories which are reserved for  those   
who have been eminently and remarkably  

faithful unto death4    ,from the moment
 he fell1 it was no longer a battle1 but
 a rout and  carnage4 ,the cruelties    
which the rebels 7as it is generally    
said under  the command of ,lord        
,elcho17 inflicted on some of the king's
 troops after  they had asked quarter1  
are dreadfully legible on the           
countenances of  many who survived it4  
,they entered ,colonel ,gardiner's house
 before he was  carried off from the    
field1 and notwithstanding the strict   
orders which  the unhappy ,duke of      
,perth 7whose conduct is said to have   
been very humane  in many instances17   
gave to the contrary1 every thing of    
value was  plundered1 to the very       
curtains of the beds1 and hangings of   
the rooms4  ,his papers were all thrown 
into the wildest disorder1 and his house
 made  an hospital for the reception of 
those who were wounded in the action4   
,such was the close of a life which had 
been zealously devoted to ,god1 and     
filled up with many honourable services4

 ,such was the death of him who  had    
been so highly favoured by ,god in the  
method by which he was brought  back to 
him after so long and so great an       
estrangement1 and in the  progress of so
 many years1 during which 7in the       
expressive phrase of the  most ancient  
of writers17 he had walked with him2--to
 fall1 as ,god  threatened the people of
 his wrath that they should do1 with    
tumult1  with shouting1 and with the    
sound of the trumpet4 ,amos ii4 #b4     
,several  other very worthy1 and some of
 them very eminent persons1 shared the  
same  fate1 either now at the battle of 
,prestonpans1 or quickly after at that  
of ,falkirk299 ,providence1 no doubt1   
permitting it1 to establish our  faith  
in the rewards of an invisible world1 as
 well as to teach us to  cease from man1
 and fix our dependence on an ,almighty 
arm4    99,note3 ,of these1 none were   
more memorable than those illustrious   
brothers1 ,mr4 ,robert ,munro and ,dr4  
,munro1 whose tragical but glorious fate

  was also shared quietly after by a    
third hero of the family1 ,captain      
,munro1 of ,culcairn1 brother to ,sir   
,robert and the ,doctor4      ,the      
remains of this ,christian hero 7as ,i  
believe every reader is now  convinced  
he may justly be called17 were interred 
the ,tuesday following1  ,september #bd1
 in the parish church at ,tranent1 where
 he had usually  attended divine        
service1 with great solemnity4 ,his     
obsequies were  honoured with the       
presence of some persons of distinction1
 who were not  afraid of paying that    
mark of respect to his memory1 though   
the country  was then in the hands of   
the enemy4 ,but1 indeed1 there was no   
great  hazard in this2 for his character
 was so well known1 that even they      
themselves spoke honourably of him1 and 
seemed to join with his friends  in     
lamenting the fall of so brave and so   
worthy a man4    ,the remotest posterity
 will remember for whom the honour of   
subduing this  unnatural and pernicious 

rebellion was reserved2 and it will     
endear the  ,duke of ,cumberland to all 
but the open or secret abettors of it in
 the  present age1 and consecrate his   
name to immortal honours among all the  
friends of religion and liberty who     
shall arise after us4 ,and1 ,i dare     
say1 it will not be imagined that ,i at 
all derogate from his glory in          
suggesting1 that the memory of that     
valiant and excellent person whose      
memoirs ,i am now concluding may in some
 measure have contributed to that       
signal and complete victory with which  
,god was pleased to crown the  arms of  
his ,royal ,highness2 for the force of  
such an example is very  animating1 and 
a painful consciousness of having       
deserted such a  commander in such      
extremity1 must at least awaken1 where  
there was any  spark of generosity1 an  
earnest desire to avenge his death on   
those who  had sacrificed his blood1 and
 that of so many other excellent        
persons1 to  the views of their         

ambition1 rapine or bigotry4    ,the    
reflections which ,i have made in my    
funeral sermon on my honoured  friend1  
and in the dedication of it to his      
worthy and most afflicted  lady1        
supersede many things which might       
otherwise have properly been  added     
here4 ,i conclude1 therefore1 with      
humbly acknowledging the wisdom  and    
goodness of that awful ,providence which
 drew so thick a gloom around  him in   
the last hours of his life1 that the    
lustre of his virtues might  dart       
through it with a more vivid and        
observable ray4 ,it is abundant  matter 
of thankfulness that so signal a        
monument of grace1 and ornament  of the 
,christian profession1 was raised in our
 age and country1 and  spared for so    
many honourable and useful years4 ,nor  
can all the  tenderness of the most     
affectionate friendship1 while its      
sorrows bleed  afresh in the view of so 
tragical a scene1 prevent my adoring the
  gracious appointment of the great     

,lord of all events1 that when the day  
in which he must have expired without an
 enemy appeared so very near1 the  last 
ebb of his generous blood should be     
poured out1 as a kind of sacred         
libation1 to the liberties of his       
country1 and the honour of his ,god6    
that all the other virtues of his       
character1 embalmed as it were by that  
precious stream1 might diffuse around a 
more extensive fragrance1 and be        
transmitted to the most remote posterity
 with that peculiar charm which  they   
cannot but derive from their connection 
with so gallant a fall--an  event 7as   
that blessed apostle1 of whose spirit he
 so deeply drank1 has  expressed it7    
according to his earnest expectation1   
and his hope that in  him ,christ might 
be glorified in all things1 whether by  
his life or by  his death4              
,,the ,,colonel',s ,,personal           
,,appearance4      ,in the midst of so  
many more important articles1 ,i had    
really forgotten  to say any thing of   

the person of ,colonel ,gardiner1 of    
which1  nevertheless1 it may be proper  
here to add a word or two4 ,he was1 as  
,i  was informed1 in younger life       
remarkably graceful and amiable2 and ,i 
can easily believe it1 from what ,i knew
 him to be when our acquaintance  began1
 though he was then turned of fifty1 and
 had gone through so many  fatigues as  
well as dangers1 which could not but    
leave some traces on his  countenance4  
,he was tall1 7,i suppose something more
 than six feet17 well  proportioned1 and
 strongly built2 his eyes of a dark     
gray1 and not very  large2 his forehead 
pretty high2 his nose of a length and   
height no way  remarkable1 but very well
 suited to his other features2 his      
cheeks not  very prominent2 his mouth   
moderately large1 and his chin rather a 
little  inclining 7when ,i knew him7 to 
be peaked4 ,he had a strong voice and   
lively accent1 with an air very         
intrepid1 yet attempered with much      
gentleness4 ,there was something in his 

manner of address most perfectly  easy  
and obliging1 which was in great measure
 the result of the great  candour and   
benevolence of his natural temper1 and  
which1 no doubt1 was  much improved by  
the deep humility which divine grace had
 wrought in his  heart1 as well as his  
having been accustomed from his early   
youth to the  company of persons of     
distinguished rank and polite behaviour4
    ,the picture of him1 which is given 
at the beginning of these memoirs1  was 
taken from an original done by ,van     
,deest 7a ,dutchman brought into        
,scotland by general ,wade17 in the year
 #agbg1 which was the #djth of his  age1
 and is said to have been very like him 
then1 though far from being  an exact   
resemblance of what he was when ,i had  
the happiness of being  acquainted with 
him499 ,perhaps he would have appeared  
to the greatest  advantage of all1 could
 he have been exactly drawn on          
horseback2 as  many very good judges1   
and among the rest the celebrated ,mons4

 ,faubert  himself1 have spoken of him  
as one of the completest horsemen that  
has  ever been known2 and there was     
indeed something so singularly graceful 
in  his appearance in that attitude1    
that it was sufficient 7as what is very 
eminent in its kind generally is17 to   
strike an eye not formed on any         
critical rules4    99,note3 ,in         
presenting this likeness for the first  
time in an ,american  edition of this   
work1 the artist has taken the liberty  
to change the  costume1 by substituting 
the ordinary military dress for the     
court dress  of the original4--,editor  
of the ,pres4 ,board of ,publication4   
,transcriber's ,note3 ,the ,portrait is 
not available4          ,,appendix ,i4  
7,referred to at the end of ,chapter    
,,vi1 ,,letters47    ,it may not be     
amiss1 in illustration of ,dr4          
,doddridge's remarks on the  subject of 
dreams1 to present to the reader the    
following account of  a remarkable dream
 which occurred to the ,doctor himself1 

and had a  beneficial influence on his  
own mind4--,,ed4 ,,pres4 ,,bd4 ,,pub4   
,,dr4 ,,doddridge',s ,,dream4    ,dr4   
,doddridge and ,dr4 ,samuel ,clark1 of  
,st4 ,alban's1 having been  conversing  
in the evening upon the nature of the   
separate state1 and the  probability    
that the scenes on which the soul would 
enter1 at its first  leaving the body1  
would have some resemblance to those    
things it had been  conversant with     
while on earth1 that it might by degrees
 be prepared  for the more sublime      
happiness of the heavenly state1 this   
and other  conversation of the same kind
 probably occasioned the following      
dream4    ,the ,doctor imagined himself 
dangerously ill at a friend's house in  
,london1 and after remaining in this    
state for some hours1 he thought his    
soul left his body1 and took its flight 
in some kind of a fine vehicle1  though 
very different from the gross body it   
had just quitted1 but still  material4  
,he pursued his course through the air1 

expecting some celestial  messenger to  
meet him1 till he was at some distance  
from the city1  when turning back and   
viewing the town1 he could not forbear  
saying to  himself1 ,how vain do those  
affairs in which the inhabitants of this
  place are so eagerly employed1 seem to
 me a separate spirit6 ,at length1  as  
he was continuing his progress1 though  
without any certain directions1  yet    
easy and happy in the thoughts of the   
universal providence and  government of 
,god1 which extends alike to all states 
and worlds1 he was  now met by one who  
told him he was sent to conduct him to  
this destined  state of abode1 from     
which he concluded it was an angel1     
though he  appeared in the form of an   
elderly man4 ,they accordingly advanced 
together1 till they came within sight of
 a large spacious building1  which had  
the air of a palace4 ,upon his inquiring
 what it was1 his guide  replied1 it was
 the place assigned for him at present2 
upon which the  ,doctor wondered that he

 had read on earth1 that eye had not    
seen1 nor  ear had heard1 the glory laid
 up for them that love ,god1 when he    
could  easily have formed an idea of    
such a building1 from others he had     
seen1  though he acknowledged they were 
greatly inferior to this in elegance and
  magnificence4 ,the answer1 his guide  
told him1 was plainly suggested by  the 
conversation of the evening before1 and 
that the scenes presented to  him were  
purposely contrived to bear a near      
resemblance to those he had  been       
accustomed to on earth1 that his mind   
might be more easily and  gradually     
prepared for those glories which would  
open upon him hereafter1  and which     
would at first have quite dazzled and   
overpowered him4 ,by this  time they    
came to the palace1 and his guide led   
him through a kind of  saloon into an   
inner parlour4 ,the first object that   
struck him was a  great golden cup which
 stood upon a table1 on which was       
embossed the  figure of a vine and      

clusters of grapes4 ,he asked his guide 
the meaning  of it2 who told him that it
 was the cup in which his ,saviour drank
 new  wine with his disciples in his    
kingdom2 and that the figures carved on 
it  denoted the union between ,christ   
and his ,church1 implying1 that as the  
grapes derived all their beauty and     
flavour from the vine1 so the saints1   
even in a state of glory1 were indebted 
for their establishment in  holiness and
 happiness1 to their union with their   
common ,head1 in whom  they are all     
complete4 ,while they were conversing1  
he heard a tap at the  door1 and was    
informed by the angel that it was a     
signal of his ,lord's  approach1 and was
 intended to prepare him for an         
interview4 ,accordingly1  in a short    
time our ,saviour entered the room1 and 
upon his casting  himself at his feet1  
he graciously raised him up1 and with a 
smile of  inexpressible complacency1    
assured him of his favour1 and kind     
acceptance  of his faithful services1   

and as a token of his peculiar regard1  
and the  intimate friendship with which 
he intended to honour him1 he took the  
cup1 and after drinking of it himself1  
gave it into the ,doctor's hand4  ,the  
,doctor would have declined it at first1
 as too great an honour2 but  our ,lord 
replied1 as to ,peter in washing his    
feet1 ,if thou drinkest not  with me1   
thou hast no part with me4 ,this he     
observed filled him with  such a        
transport of gratitude1 love and        
admiration1 that he was ready to  sink  
under it4 ,his master seemed sensible of
 this1 and told him he must  leave him  
for the present1 but would not be long  
before he repeated  his visit4 ,as soon 
as our ,lord was retired1 and the       
,doctor's mind more  composed1 he       
observed that the room was hung with    
pictures1 and upon  examining them1 he  
found to his great surprise1 that they  
contained  all the history of his life2 
and most remarkable scenes he had passed
  through1 being there represented in a 

very lively manner--the many            
temptations and trials he had been      
exposed to1 and the signal instances  of
 the divine goodness in the different   
periods of his life4 ,it may not  be    
easily imagined how this would strike   
and affect his mind4 ,it excited  in him
 the strongest emotions of gratitude1   
especially when he reflected  that he   
was now out of the reach of any future  
danger1 and that all the  purposes of   
divine love towards him were so amply   
accomplished4 ,the  exstacy of joy and  
gratitude1 into which these reflections 
threw him1 was  so great that he awoke2 
but for some time after he awoke the    
impression  continued so lively that    
tears of joy flowed down his cheeks1 and
 he said  that he never1 on any         
occasion1 remembered to have had        
sentiments of  devotion and love equal  
to it4          ,,appendix ,,ii4        
7,referred to in ,chapter ,,vii1        
,,domestic ,,relations47    ,the        
following extract from ,dr4 ,doddridge's

 ,thoughts on ,sacramental  ,occasions1 
gives a beautiful and edifying picture  
of the exercises of  his affectionate   
and pious heart under a painful         
bereavement4        ,,the               
,,seventy-,,eighth ,,sacrament1         
,,october #c1 #agcf4    ,,dear ,,betsey 
,,dead4#a    ,i had preached in the     
bitterness of my heart from these words3
 ,is it  well with thy husband8 is it   
well with the child8 ,and she answered1 
,it is  well4 #b ,kings iv4 #bf4 ,i     
endeavoured to show the reason there was
 to say  this2 but surely there was     
never any dispensation of ,providence in
 which  ,i found it so hard1 for my very
 soul had been overwhelmed within me4   
,indeed1 some hard thoughts of the mercy
 of ,god were ready to arise2 and  the  
apprehension of his heavy displeasure1  
and the fear of my child's  future      
state1 added fuel to the fire4    ,upon 
the whole1 my mind was in the most      
painful agitation2 but it pleased  ,god1
 that1 in composing the sermon1 my soul 

became quieted1 and ,i was  brought into
 a more silent and cordial submission to
 the ,divine will4    ,at the table ,i  
discoursed on these words1 ,although my 
house be not so  with ,god4 #b ,samuel  
xxiii4 #e4 ,i observed1 that domestic   
calamities may  befall good men in their
 journey through life1 and particularly 
in  relation to their children2 but that
 they have a refuge in ,god's  covenant2
 it is everlasting2 it is sure2 it is   
well ordered--every  provision is made  
according to our necessities2 and shall 
be our  salvation1 as it is the object  
of our most affectionate regard4    ,one
 further circumstance ,i must record2   
and that is1 that ,i here solemnly      
recollected that ,i had1 in a former    
sacrament taken the cup with these      
words1 ,lord1 ,i take this cup as a     
public and solemn token that ,i will    
refuse no other cup which thou shalt put
 into my hand4 ,i mentioned this        
recollection1 and charged it publicly on
 myself and my ,christian friends4  ,god

 has taken me at my word1 but ,i do not 
retract it2 ,i repeat it again  with    
regard to every future cup4    ,i am    
just come from the coffin of my dear    
child1 who seemes to be sweetly  asleep 
there1 with a serene1 composed1         
delightful countenance1 once how        
animated with double life6 ,there--lo6  
,o my soul6 lo there6 is thine idol     
laid still in death--the creature which 
stood next to ,god in thine heart2  to  
whom it was opened with a fond and      
flattering delight4 ,methinks ,i  would 
learn to be dead with her--dead to the  
world4 ,oh that ,i could be  dead with  
her1 not any further than that her dear 
memory may promote my  living to ,god499
    99,note3 ,the following note was    
written in the margin of the manuscript 
by  the late ,rev4 ,thomas ,stedman3 ,i 
think ,i have heard that the doctor     
wrote  his funeral sermon for his       
daughter1 or a part of it1 upon her     
coffin4    ,i had a great deal of very  
edifying1 conversation last night and   

his  morning with my wife1 whose wisdom 
does indeed make her face to shine      
under this affliction4 ,she is supported
 and armoured with a courage which      
seems not at all natural to her2 talks  
with the utmost freedom1 and has  really
 said many of the most useful things    
that ever were said to me by  any person
 upon the earth1 both as to consolation 
and admonition4 ,had  the best things ,i
 have read on the subject been collected
 together1 they  could hardly have been 
better conceived or better expressed4   
,this is  to me very surprising when ,i 
consider her usual reserve4 ,i have all 
imaginable reason to believe that ,god  
will make this affliction a great       
blessing to her1 and ,i hope it may     
prove so to me4 ,there was a fond       
delight and complacence which ,i took in
 ,betsey beyond any thing living4       
,although she had not a tenth part of   
that rational1 manly love1 which ,i  pay
 to her mourning and many surviving     
friends2 yet it leaves a peculiar  pain 

upon my heart1 and it is almost as if my
 very gall were poured  out upon the    
earth4 ,yet much sweetness mingles      
itself with this bitter  potion1 chiefly
 in the view and hope of my speedy      
removal to the eternal  world4 ,may it  
not be the bounty of this providence1   
that instead of her  living many years  
upon the earth1 ,god may have taken away
 my child that ,i  might be fitted for  
and reconciled to my own dissolution1   
perhaps nearly  approaching8 ,i verily  
believe that ,i shall meet her there1   
and enjoy much  more of her in heaven   
than ,i should have done had she        
survived me on  earth4 ,lord1 thy will  
be done2 may my life be used for the    
service while  continued1 and then put  
thou a period to it whenever thou       
pleasest4    ,footnote #a3 ,the         
following extract from the ,diary of    
,dr4 ,doddridge is  here subjoined1 as  
affording an explanation of some        
particulars alluded  to in the text4    
,,reflections ,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of   

,,my ,,dear ,,child1 ,,and ,,the ,,many 
,,mournful  ,,providences ,,attending   
,,it4    ,i have a great deal of reason 
to condemn my own negligence and folly1 
that for so many months ,i have suffered
 no memorandums of what has passed      
between ,god and my soul1 although some 
of the transactions were very           
remarkable1 as well as some things which
 ,i have heard concerning others2  but  
the subject of this article is the most 
melancholy of any4 ,we lost my  dear and
 reverend brother and friend1 ,mr4      
,sanders1 on the #cast of ,july  last2  
on the #ast of ,september1 ,lady        
,russell--that invaluable friend1 died  
at ,reading on her road from ,bath2 and 
on ,friday1 the #ast of ,october1 ,god  
was pleased1 by a most awful stroke1 to 
take away my eldest1 dearest  child1 my 
lovely ,betsey4 ,she was formed to      
strike my affections in the  most       
powerful manner2 such a person1 genius1 
and temper1 as ,i admired  even beyond  
their real importance1 so that indeed ,i

 doted upon her1 and  was for many      
months before her death in a great      
degree of bondage upon  her account4    
,she was taken ill at ,newport about the
 middle of ,june1 and  from thence to   
the day of her death1 she was my        
continual thought1 and  almost          
uninterrupted care4 ,god only knows with
 what earnestness and  importunity ,i   
prostrated myself before him to beg her 
life1 which ,i would  have been willing 
almost to have purchased with my own4   
,when reduced to  the lowest degree of  
languishment by a consumption1 ,i could 
not forbear  looking upon her almost    
every hour4 ,i saw her with the         
strongest mixture  of anguish and       
delight2 no chemist ever watched his    
crucible with greater  care1 when he    
expected the production of the          
philosopher's stone1 than ,i  watched   
her in all the various turns of her     
distemper1 which at last grew  utterly  
hopeless1 and then no language can      
express the agony into which  it threw  

me4 ,one remarkable circumstance ,i     
cannot but recollect3 in  praying most  
affectionately1 perhaps too earnestly1  
for her life1 these  words came into my 
mind with great power1 ,speak no more to
 me of this  matter4 ,i was unwilling to
 take them1 and went into the chamber to
 see  my dear lamb1 when1 instead of    
receiving me with her usual tenderness1 
she looked upon me with a stern air1 and
 said1 with a very remarkable           
determination of voice1 ,i have no more 
to say to you2 and ,i think that  from  
that time1 although she lived at least  
ten days1 she seldom looked  upon me    
with pleasure1 or cared to suffer me to 
come near her4 ,but that  ,i might feel 
all the bitterness of the affliction1   
,providence so ordered  it1 that ,i came
 in when her sharpest agonies were upon 
her1 and those  words1 ,o dear1 ,o dear1
 what shall ,i do8 rung in my ears for  
succeeding  hours and days4 ,but ,god   
delivered her1--and she1 without any    
violent pang  in the article of her     

dissolution1 quietly and sweetly fell   
asleep1 as ,i  hope1 in ,jesus1 about   
ten at night1 ,i being then at          
,maidwell4 ,when ,i came  home my mind  
was under a dark cloud relating to the  
eternal state2 but  ,god was pleased    
graciously to remove it1 and gave me    
comfortable hopes1  after having felt   
the most heart-rending sorrow4 ,my dear 
wife bore the  affliction in the most   
glorious manner1 and discovered more    
wisdom1 and  piety1 and steadiness of   
temper in a few days1 than ,i had ever  
in six  years an opportunity of         
observing before4 ,o my soul1 ,god has  
blasted thy  gourd2 thy greatest earthly
 delight is gone3 seek it in heaven1    
where ,i  hope this dear babe is2 where 
,i am sure that my ,saviour is2 and     
where ,i  trust1 through grace1         
notwithstanding all this irregularity of
 temper and  of heart1 that ,i shall    
shortly be4    ,sunday1 ,october #c1    
#agcf        ,,further ,,reflections    
,,after ,,the ,,funeral ,,of ,,my ,,dear

 ,,betsey4    ,i have now been laying   
the delight of my eyes in the dust1 and 
it is  for ever hidden from them4 ,my   
heart was too full to weep much4 ,we had
 a  suitable sermon from these words3   
,doest thou well to be angry8 ,jonah    
iv4 #i2 because of the gourd4 ,i hope   
,god knows that ,i am not angry2 but    
sorrowful he surely allows me to be4 ,i 
could have wished that more had  been   
said concerning the hope we may have of 
our child2 and it was a  great          
disappointment to me that nothing of    
that kind should have been  said by one 
that loved her so well as my brother    
,hunt did4 ,yet1 ,i bless  ,god1 ,i have
 my hopes that she is lodged in the arms
 of ,christ4 ,and there  was an         
occurrence that ,i took much notice of2 
,i was most earnestly  praying that ,god
 would be pleased to give me some       
further encouragement  on this head1 by 
letting some new light1 or by directing 
me to some  further thoughts upon the   
subject4 ,soon after1 as ,i came into my

 wife's  chamber1 she told me that our  
maid ,betty1 who had indeed the         
affection  of a parent for my dear girl1
 had just before assured her1 that1 on  
the  ,sabbath day evening1 ,betsey would
 be repeating to herself some things of 
what she had heard in my prayers and in 
my preachings1 but did not  care to talk
 of it to others2 and my wife assured me
 that she solemnly  recommended herself 
to ,god in the words that ,i had taught 
her a little  before she died4 ,blessed 
,god1 hast thou not received her8 ,i    
trust that  thou hast1 and pardoned the 
infirmities of her poor1 short1         
childish1  afflicted life4 ,i hope1 in  
some measure out of love to me1 as thy  
servant1 thou hast done it1 for         
,christ's sake2 and ,i would consider   
the  very hope1 as an engagement to thy 
future service4 ,lord1 ,i love those who
  were kind to my child1 and wept with  
me for her2 shall ,i not much more  love
 thee1 who1 ,i hope1 art at this moment 
taking care of her1 and  opening her    

infant faculties for the duties and     
blessedness of heaven4    ,lord1 ,i     
would consider myself as a dying        
creature4 ,my first born is  gone2--my  
beloved child is laid in bed before me4 
,i have often followed  her to her bed  
in a literal sense2 and shortly ,i shall
 follow her to  that1 where we shall lie
 down together1 and our rest shall be   
together  in the dust4 ,in a literal    
sense the grave is ready for me4 ,my    
grave is  made--,i have looked into     
it--a dear part of myself is already    
there2 and  when ,i stood at the ,lord's
 table ,i stood directly over it4 ,it is
 some  pleasure to me to think that my  
dust will be lodged near that of my dear
  lamb1 how much more to hope that my   
soul will rest with hers1 and rejoice   
in her forever6 ,but1 ,o1 let me not    
centre my thoughts even here2 it is  at 
rest with1 and in ,god1 that is my      
ultimate hope4 ,lord1 may thy grace     
secure it to me6 and in the mean time   
give me some holy acquiescence of  soul 

in thee2 and although my gourd be       
withered1 yet shelter me under the      
shadow of thy wings4    ,october #d1    
#agcf4