,transcribed from the #ahjj's ,religious
 ,tract ,society edition1 by ,david     
,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org          
,picture3 ,cover                        
,no4 #ag4                               
,,the ,,life                            
,,of                             ,,col4 
,,james ,,gardiner4                     
99 99 99 99 99                  ,,the   
,,religious ,,tract ,,society1          
,,instituted #agii2                     
,,depository1 #ef1 ,,paternoster-,,row4 
99 99 99 99 99    ,,colonel ,,james     
,,gardiner was the son of ,captain      
,patrick ,gardiner1 who  served many    
years in the armies of ,king ,william   
and ,queen ,anne1 and died  abroad with 
the ,british forces in ,germany4    ,the
 ,colonel's mother was a lady of very   
excellent character2 but it  pleased    
,god to exercise her with uncommon      
trials2 for she lost not only  her      
husband and her brother in the service  
of their country1 but also her  eldest  
son1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,gardiner1 on the day     

which completed his sixteenth  year1 at 
the siege of ,namur1 in #afie4  ,but    
,god blessed these afflictions  as the  
means of forming her to an eminent      
degree of piety4    ,the second son1 the
 subject of this ,memoir1 was born in   
,linlithgowshire1  ,jan4 #aj1 #afhg-h1  
the memorable year of the glorious      
,revolution1 in  defence of which his   
own life was eventually sacrificed4     
,in early life1 his mother took care to 
instruct him with great tenderness  and 
affection in the principles of true     
,christianity4  ,while at the  school at
 ,linlithgow1 he made a considerable    
progress in literature4    ,in the      
younger part of his life the good       
effects of his mother's prudent  and    
exemplary care were not so conspicuous  
as she hoped2 yet there is  great reason
 to believe they were not entirely lost4
  ,could she have  prevailed1 he would  
not have thought of a military life2 but
 it suited  his taste2 and the ardour of
 his spirit1 animated by the persuasions

 of a  friend1 who greatly urged it1 was
 not to be restrained4  ,nor will the   
reader wonder at this1 when he knows    
that this lively youth fought three     
duels before he attained the stature of 
a man2 in one of which1 when but  eight 
years old1 he received from a boy1 much 
older than himself1 a wound  in the     
right cheek1 the scar of which was      
always very apparent4  ,this  false     
sense of honour might seem excusable in 
those unripened years1 and  considering 
the profession of his father2 but he    
often mentioned it with  regret4  ,and  
after his conversion1 he declined       
accepting a challenge1  with this truly 
great reply1 which in a man of his      
experienced bravery  was exceedingly to 
be admired1 8,i fear sinning10 said he1 
8though you  know ,i do not fear        
fighting40    ,he served as a cadet very
 early3 and at fourteen years old1 he   
bore an  ensign's commission in a       
,scotch regiment in the ,dutch service2 
in which  he continued till #agjb1 when 

he received an ensign's commission from 
,queen ,anne1 which he bore in the      
battle of ,ramilies1 in his nineteenth  
year4    ,on this occasion1 our young   
officer was commanded on what seemed    
almost a  desperate service1 to         
dispossess the ,french of the           
church-yard at  ,ramilies1 where a      
considerable number of them were posted 
to remarkable  advantage4  ,they        
succeeded better than was expected1 and 
,mr4 ,g4 was glad  of such an           
opportunity of signalizing himself4     
,accordingly1 he had  planted his       
colours on an advanced ground1 and while
 he was calling to  the men 7probably in
 that horrid language which is so       
peculiar a disgrace  to our soldiery7 he
 received a shot in his mouth1 which1   
without beating  out any of his teeth1  
or touching the forepart of his tongue1 
went  through his neck4  ,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 dropping soon after1 he traced  the 
passage of it by his finger1 when he    
could discover it no other way4    ,this
 accident happened about five or six in 
the evening1 on the #bc;d of  ,may1 in  
the year #agjf2 and the army pursuing   
its advantages against the  ,french1    
without regarding the wounded1 our young
 officer lay all night in  the field1   
agitated1 as may well be supposed1 with 
a great variety of  thoughts4  ,when he 
reflected upon the circumstances 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 concluded1 that he 
should live1 abandoned and desperate as 
his  condition then seemed4  ,yet had he
 little thought of humbling himself     
before ,god1 and returning to ,him after
 the wanderings of a life  licentiously 
begun4  ,but1 expecting to recover1 his 
mind was taken up  with contrivances to 

secure his gold1 of which he had nearly 
twenty  pistoles about him2 and he had  
recourse to a very odd expedient4       
,expecting to be stripped1 he took out a
 handful of clotted gore1 of which  he  
was frequently obliged to clear his     
mouth2 and putting it into his  left    
hand1 he took out the money1 and        
shutting his hand1 besmeared the  back  
of it with blood2 in this position he   
kept it till the blood so  dried1 that  
his hand could not easily fall open4    
,in the morning1 the ,french1 who were  
masters of that spot1 though  defeated  
at some distance1 came to plunder the   
slain1 and seeing him to  appearance    
almost expiring1 one of them was just   
applying a sword to his  breast to      
destroy the little remainder of life2   
when1 in the critical  moment1 a        
cordelier1 who attended them1           
interposed1 taking him by his  dress for
 a ,frenchman1 and said1 8,do not kill  
the poor child40  ,our young  soldier   
heard all that passed1 though he was not

 able to speak one word2  and opening   
his eyes made a sign for something to   
drink4  ,they gave him a  sup of some   
spirituous liquor1 which happened to be 
at hand2 from which  he said he derived 
a more sensible refreshment than he     
could remember  from any thing he had   
tasted either before or since4  ,then1  
asking1 by  signs1 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 nephew
 to the governor of ,huy1 a neutral town
 in  the neighbourhood1 and that1 if    
they could convey him thither1 he did   
not  doubt but his uncle would liberally
 reward them4  ,he had indeed a friend  
there1 but the relationship was         
pretended4  ,however1 on hearing this1  
they laid him on a sort of hand-barrow1 
and sent him with a file of  musketeers 
towards the place2 but the men lost     
their way1 and got into a  wood towards 
the evening1 in which they were obliged 

to continue all  night4  ,the poor      
patient's wound being still undressed1  
it is not to be  wondered at1 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 die1   
without the torture of any other motion2
 and  indeed they were obliged to rest  
for a considerable time 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 
stanch the blood2 and he  often         
mentioned it as a most astonishing      
providence1 that he did not  bleed to   
death4    ,judging it quite unsafe to   
attempt carrying him to ,huy1 whence    
they were  now several miles distant1   
his convoy took him early in the morning
 to a  convent in the neighbourhood2    
where he was hospitably received1 and   
treated with great kindness and         
tenderness4  ,but the cure of his wound 
was committed to an ignorant            

barber-surgeon1 who lived near the      
house4  ,the tent which this artist     
applied1 was almost like a peg driven   
into the  wound2 yet1 by the blessing of
 ,god1 he recovered in a few months4    
,the  lady abbess1 who called him her   
son treated him with the affection and  
care of a mother4  ,he received a great 
many devout admonitions from the  ladies
 there1 and they would fain have        
persuaded him to acknowledge so         
miraculous a deliverance1 by embracing  
the ,catholic ,faith1 as they were      
pleased to call it4  ,but1 though no    
religion lay near his heart1 he had  too
 much the spirit of a gentleman1 lightly
 to change that form of  religion which 
he wore loose about him4    ,when his   
liberty was regained by an exchange of  
prisoners1 and his health  established1 
he was far from rendering to the ,lord  
according to the mercy  he had          
experienced4  ,very little is known of  
the particulars of those  wild and      
thoughtless years which lay between the 

nineteenth and thirtieth  of his life2  
except that he experienced the divine   
goodness in preserving  him in several  
hot military actions2 and yet these     
years were spent in an  entire          
alienation from ,god1 and an eager      
pursuit of sensual pleasure as  his     
supreme good4    ,amidst all these      
wanderings from religion1 virtue1 and   
happiness1 he  approved himself so well 
in his military character1 that he was  
made a  lieutenant in #agjh2 and1 after 
several intermediate promotions1        
appointed  major of a regiment commanded
 by the ,earl of ,stair4  ,in ,january1 
#agbi-cj1  he was advanced to the rank  
of lieutenant-colonel in the same       
regiment3  and here continued till      
,april1 #agdc2 when he received a       
colonel's  commission over a regiment of
 dragoons2 and at the head of which he  
valiantly fell about two years and a    
half after he received it4    ,we now   
return to that period of his life which 
passed at ,paris1 where he  resided in  

the family of the ,earl of ,stair1 with 
some interruptions1 till  about the year
 #agbj4    ,the ,earl's favour and      
generosity made him easy in his affairs1
 though he  was part of the time out of 
commission1 the regiment to which he    
belonged  being disbanded4  ,this was1  
in all probability1 the gayest part of  
his  life1 and the most criminal4       
,whatever good examples he might find in
 the  family where he lived1 it is      
certain that the ,french court was one  
of the  most dissolute under heaven4    
,what1 by a wretched abuse of language1 
have  been called intrigues of love and 
gallantry1 constituted1 if not the      
whole business1 at least the whole      
pleasure of his life3 his fine          
constitution1 than which1 perhaps1 there
 was hardly ever a better1 gave  him    
great opportunities of indulging himself
 in those excesses2 and his  good       
spirits enabled him to pursue his       
pleasures in such a manner1 that        
multitudes envied him1 and called him1  

by a dreadful kind of compliment1  8,the
 happy rake40    ,yet the checks of     
conscience1 and some remaining          
principles of so good an  education1    
would break in upon his most licentious 
hours2 and when some  of his dissolute  
companions were once congratulating him 
upon his  felicity1 a dog happening at  
that time to come into the room1 he     
could  not forbear groaning inwardly1   
and saying to himself1 8,o that ,i were 
that  dog60  ,such was then his         
happiness1 and such perhaps is that of  
hundreds  more1 who bear themselves     
highest in the contempt of religion1 and
 glory  in that infamous servitude1     
which they affect to call liberty4      
,yet in the most abandoned days1 he was 
never fond of intemperate  drinking1    
from which he used to think a manly     
pride might be sufficient  to preserve  
persons of sense and spirit2 so that if 
he ever fell into any  excesses of that 
kind1 it was merely out of complaisance4
  ,his frank1  obliging1 and generous   

temper1 procured him many friends2 and  
those  principles1 which rendered him   
amiable to others1 not being under the  
direction of wisdom and piety1 sometimes
 made him more uneasy to himself  than  
he perhaps might have been if he could  
entirely have outgrown them1  especially
 as he was never a confirmed sceptic1   
but still retained a  secret            
apprehension1 that natural and revealed 
religion was founded in  truth4  ,with  
this conviction1 his notorious violation
 of the most  essential precepts of     
both1 could not but occasion some secret
 misgivings  of heart4    ,his continual
 neglect of the great ,author of his    
being1 to whom he knew  himself to be   
under daily and perpetual obligations1  
gave him1 in some  moments of           
involuntary reflection1 inexpressible   
remorse2 and this1 at  times1 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 it2 repeating in

 retirement some passages out of the    
,psalms1 and  other ,scriptures1 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    ,but these strains    
were too devout to continue long in a   
heart as yet  unsanctified3 for how     
readily soever he could repeat such     
acknowledgments  of the divine power and
 goodness1 and confess his own follies  
and faults1  he was stopt short by the  
remonstrances of his conscience1 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 service4  ,a model of       
devotion1 where such sentiments made no 
part1 his good sense could not digest2  
and the use of such language  before a  
heart-searching ,god merely as a        
hypocritical form1 while the  sentiments
 of his soul were contrary to it1       

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 sort2 and was one of   
the first that deliberately laid  aside 
prayer1 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     
return3 but they were overborne1 again  
and again1 by the force of  temptation2 
and it is no wonder1 that in consequence
 of them his heart  grew still harder4  
,neither was it softened1 or awakened1  
by the very  memorable deliverances1    
which at this time he received4  ,once  
he was in  extreme danger by a fall from
 his horse4  ,as he was riding fast 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  ,in his
 return from ,england in the            
packet-boat1 but a few weeks after the  
former accident1 a violent storm1 that  
drove them up to ,harwich1 tossed  them 
from thence for several hours1 in a dark
 night1 on the coast of  ,holland2 and  
brought them into such extremity1 that  
the captain of the  vessel urged him to 
go to prayers immediately 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 these  
circumstances he did pray1 and that very
 fervently  too2 and it was 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 that1  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 saying1 8that it was at     
midnight1 an hour  when his good mother 
and aunt were asleep2 or else he should 
have left  that part of the business to 
them40    ,we now come to the account of
 his conversion4  ,this memorable event 
happened towards the middle of ,july1   
#agai4  ,the major had spent the        
evening 7which was the ,sabbath7 in some
 gay company1 and had an unhappy        
assignation with a married lady1 whom he
 was to attend exactly at twelve4  ,the 
company broke up about eleven2 and he   
went into his chamber to kill  the      
tedious hour4  ,it happened that he took
 up a religious book1 7which  his good  
mother or aunt had1 without his         
knowledge1 slipped into his             
portmanteau17 called1 8,the ,christian  
,soldier2 or ,heaven taken by ,storm30  
written by ,mr4 ,thomas ,watson4        
,guessing1 by the title1 that he should 
find some phrases of his own profession 
spiritualized1 in a manner which  might 
afford him some diversion1 he resolved  

to dip into it1 but took no  serious    
notice of any thing he read2 and yet    
while this book was in his  hand1 an    
impression was made upon his mind       
7perhaps ,god only knows how7  which    
drew after it a train of the most       
important and happy consequences4       
,suddenly he thought he saw an unusual  
blaze of light fall on the book1  while 
he was reading1 which he at first       
imagined might have happened by  some   
accident in the candle4  ,but lifting up
 his eyes1 he apprehended 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 with a glory2 and was        
impressed as if a voice1 or  something  
equivalent to a voice1 had come to him  
to this effect3 8,oh1  sinner1 did ,i   
suffer this for thee1 and are these the 
returns80  ,but  whether this were an   
audible voice1 or only a strong         
impression on his  mind equally         

striking1 he did not seem confident1    
though he judged it to  be the former4  
,struck with so amazing a phenomenon1   
there remained  hardly any life in him1 
so that he sank down in the arm-chair in
 which he  sat1 and continued1 7he knew 
not exactly how long7 insensible1 and   
when  he opened his eyes saw nothing    
more than usual4    ,it may be easily   
supposed he was in no condition to make 
any observation  upon the time during   
which he remained insensible2 nor did he
 throughout  all the remainder of the   
night once recollect that criminal      
assignation  which had before engrossed 
all his thoughts4  ,he arose in a tumult
 of  passions not to be conceived1 and  
walked to and fro in his chamber1 till  
he was ready to drop down1 in           
unutterable astonishment and agony of   
heart2 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 both of the  majesty and    
goodness of ,god as caused him to loathe
 and abhor himself1  and to 8repent as  
in dust and ashes40  ,he immediately    
gave judgment  against himself that he  
was worthy of eternal damnation2 was    
astonished  that he had not been        
immediately struck dead in the midst of 
his  wickedness2 and1 7which deserves   
particular remark17 though he assuredly 
believed that he should ere long be in  
hell1 and settled it as a point  with   
himself for some months1 that the wisdom
 and justice of ,god did most           
necessarily require that such an        
enormous sinner should be made an       
example of everlasting vengeance1 and a 
spectacle1 as such1 both to  angels and 
men1 so that he hardly durst presume to 
pray for pardon2 yet  what he then      
suffered1 was not so much from the fear 
of hell1 though he  concluded it must   
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 been1 in so  
affecting a manner1 set forth as        
crucified  before him4    ,in this view 
it may naturally be inferred1 that he   
passed the remainder  of the night      
waking2 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 he had received2             
particularly in rescuing him from so    
many imminent dangers of death2  which  
he now saw must have been attended with 
such dreadful and hopeless  destruction4
  ,the privileges of his education1     
which1 he had so much  despised1 lay    
with an almost insupportable weight on  
his mind2 and the  folly of that career 
of sinful pleasure1 which he had so many

 years been  running with desperate     
eagerness1 filled him with indignation  
against  himself1 and against the great 
deceiver1 by whom 7to use his own       
phrase7  he had been 8so wretchedly and 
scandalously befooled40    ,the mind of 
major ,gardiner continued from this     
remarkable time1 rather  more than three
 months1 7but especially the two first  
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     
granted1 that he must1 in all           
probability1  quickly perish4           
,nevertheless1 he had such a sense of   
the evil of sin1  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 useful a

  manner as he could2 and to continue   
casting himself at the feet 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 was          
continually crying to him1 that he would
 deliver him from  the bondage of       
corruption4  ,he perceived within       
himself a most surprising  alteration   
with regard to the dispositions of his  
heart2 so that though  he felt little of
 the delight of religious duties1 he    
extremely desired  opportunities of     
being engaged in them2 and those        
licentious pleasures1  which had before 
been his heaven1 were now absolutely his
 aversion2 and  he was grieved to see   
human nature1 even in those to whom he  

was a  stranger1 prostituted to such low
 and contemptible pursuits4  ,he        
therefore exerted his natural courage in
 a new kind of combat1 and became  an   
open advocate for religion1 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 cautious1  that he might   
not run into an extreme2 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        
preciseness1 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 though 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 freely1 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 infidelity and vice1 as         
determinately as ever he  planted his   
colours in the field4  ,there was at    
that time in ,paris a  certain lady 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 with 
that politeness which was habitual to   
him17  answered like a man who perfectly
 saw through the fallacy of her         

arguments1 and was grieved to the heart 
for her delusion4  ,on this she         
challenged him to debate the matter at  
large1 and to fix upon a day for  that  
purpose1 when he should dine with her1  
attended with any clergyman  he might   
choose4  ,a sense of duty would not     
allow him to decline this  challenge3   
and yet he had no sooner accepted it    
than he was thrown into  great          
perplexity and distress1 lest being only
 a ,christian of six weeks  old1 he     
should prejudice so good a cause1 by his
 unskilful manner of  defending it4     
,however1 he sought his refuge in       
earnest and repeated  prayers to ,god1  
that he would graciously enable him1 on 
this occasion1 to  vindicate his truths 
in a manner which might carry conviction
 along with  it4  ,he then endeavoured  
to marshal the arguments in his own     
mind1 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 in that case seem to 
invade1 he waited on the lady alone upon
  the day appointed4    ,the major      
opened the conference with a view of    
such arguments of 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 facts that of the ,christian  
religion  is most apparently connected4 
,and it was a great encouragement to him
 to  find1 that1 unaccustomed as he was 
to discourses of this nature1 he had  an
 unusual command both of thought and    
expression2 so that he recollected  and 
uttered every thing as he could have    
wished4  ,the lady heard with           
attention1 till he had finished his     
design1 and waited for her reply4  ,she 
then produced some of her objections1   
which he canvassed in such a  manner1   
that at length she burst out into tears1

 allowed the force of his  arguments and
 replies1 and appeared1 for some time   
after1 so deeply  impressed with the    
conversation1 that it was observed by   
several of her  friends3 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 one1 among many 
of the battles  he was almost daily     
called out to fight in the cause of     
religion and  virtue4  ,the continued   
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
 declared1 he would much rather have    
marched up to a battery of the enemy's  
cannon 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    
impressions1 which it is not1 perhaps1  
in nature wholly to avoid4  ,in a word1 
he went on1 as every ,christian by      
divine grace may do1 till he  turned    
ridicule and opposition into respect and
 veneration4    ,within about two months
 after his first memorable change he    
began to  perceive some secret dawnings 
of more cheerful hope--that1 vile as he 
then  saw himself to be1 he might       
nevertheless obtain mercy through a     
,redeemer2  and at length about the end 
of ,october1 #agai1 he found all the    
burden of  his mind taken off at once by
 the powerful impression of that        
memorable  scripture upon his mind2     
7,rom4 iii4 #be1 #bf47 8,whom ,god hath 
set forth for  a propitiation through   
faith in his blood1 to declare his      
righteousness  for the remission of     
sins--that he might be just1 and the    
justifier of him  that believeth in     
,jesus40    ,he had used to imagine1    
that the justice of ,god required the   

damnation of  so enormous a sinner1 as  
he saw himself to be2 but now he was    
made deeply  sensible1 that the divine  
justice might be not only vindicated but
  glorified1 in saving him by the blood 
of ,jesus1 even that blood which        
cleanseth from all sin4  ,he was led to 
see the riches of redeeming love  and   
grace1 in such a manner as not only     
engaged him1 with the utmost  pleasure  
and confidence1 to venture his soul upon
 them2 but even  swallowed up 7as it    
were7 his whole heart in the returns of 
love1 which1  from that blessed time1   
became the genuine and delightful       
principle of  obedience1 and animated   
him1 with an enlarged heart1 to run the 
ways 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 turned into          
unutterable joy4  ,and though the first 
ecstasies of it  afterwards subsided    
into a more calm and composed delight2  

yet were the  impressions so deep and so
 permanent1 that he declared1 on the    
word of a  ,christian and a friend1     
wonderful as it might seem1 that1 for   
about seven  years after this1 he       
enjoyed nearly a heaven upon earth4     
,his soul was  almost continually filled
 with a sense of the love of ,god in    
,christ2 so  that from the time of his  
waking in the morning1 his heart was    
rising to  ,god1 and triumphing in him2 
and these thoughts attended him through 
all  the day1 till he lay down on his   
bed again1 and a short interval of sleep
  7for it was but a very short one that 
he allowed himself7 invigorated his     
animal powers for renewing those        
thoughts with greater intenseness and   
sensibility4    ,a life any thing like  
this1 could not be entered upon1 in the 
midst of  such company as he was obliged
 to keep1 without great opposition4     
,he1  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 any1 under the   
consciousness of such superiority  in   
the goodness of his cause4    ,a        
remarkable instance of this happened    
about the middle of the year #agbj1  on 
his first return to make any            
considerable abode in ,england1 after   
his  remarkable change4  ,he had heard  
on the other side of the water1 that it 
was currently reported among his        
companions at home1 that he was stark   
mad3 a report at which no reader1 who   
knows the wisdom of the world in  these 
matters will be much surprised4  ,he    
hence concluded that he should  have    
many battles to fight1 and was willing  
to despatch the business as  fast as he 
could4  ,and1 therefore1 being to spend 
a few days at the  country-house of a   
person of distinguished rank1 with whom 
he had been  very intimate1 he begged   
the favour of him that he would contrive
 matters  so1 that a day or two after he
 came down1 several of their former gay 

companions might meet at his ,lordship's
 table2 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 had retired1 he begged their  
patience for a few  minutes and then    
plainly and seriously told them what    
notions he  entertained of virtue and   
religion1 and on what considerations he 
had  absolutely determined1 that1 by the
 grace of ,god1 he would make these     
things the care and business of his     
life1 whatever he might lose by it1  and
 whatever censure and contempt he might 
incur4  ,he well knew how  improper it  
was1 in such company1 to relate the     
extraordinary manner in  which he was   

awakened2 which they would probably have
 interpreted as a  proof of lunacy1     
notwithstanding all the gravity and     
solidity of his  discourse2 but he      
contented himself with such a rational  
defence of a  righteous1 sober 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 urge to prove that a  
life of irreligion and debauchery was   
preferable to the fear1 love1 and       
worship of the eternal ,god1 and a      
conduct agreeable to the precepts of his
 gospel4  ,and he failed not to  bear   
his testimony from his own experience1  
7to one part of which many of  them had 
been witnesses17 that after having run  
the round of sensual  pleasure1 with all
 the advantages the best constitution   
and spirits could  give him1 he had     
never tasted any thing deserving to be  
called happiness1  till he made religion
 his refuge and delight4  ,he testified1
 calmly and  boldly1 the habitual       

serenity and peace1 that he now felt in 
his own  breast1 and the composure and  
pleasure with which he looked forward to
  objects1 which the gayest sinner must 
acknowledge to be equally  unavoidable  
and dreadful4    ,upon this1 the master 
of the table1 a person of very frank and
 candid  disposition1 cut short the     
debate by saying1 8,come let us call    
another  cause2 we thought this man mad1
 and he is in good earnest proving that 
we  are so40  ,on the whole1 this       
well-judged circumstance saved him a    
good  deal of further trouble4  ,when   
his former acquaintances observed that  
he  was still conversable and innocently
 cheerful1 and that he was immovable  in
 his resolution1 they desisted from     
further importunity4  ,and he  declared1
 that1 instead of losing one valuable   
friend by this change in  his character1
 he found himself much more esteemed and
 regarded by many1  who could not       
persuade themselves to imitate his      
example4    ,nothing remarkable appeared

 in the ,colonel's life from this period
 till  the year #agbf1 when he married  
the ,lady ,frances ,erskine1 daughter to
 the  ,earl of ,buchan1 by whom he had  
thirteen children1 five of whom survived
  their father4    ,before the close of 
these short memoirs1 it may not be      
improper1 or  without its use1 to give  
the reader a sketch of the character of 
this  excellent man1 with reference to  
his particular relative situations2 in  
some or other of which the reader may   
certainly find a model worthy of  his   
imitation4    ,to view him first in the 
calmness of domestic life1 and at the   
head of  his affectionate family1 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          
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 roof1  
to take it for granted1 they would  look

 upon it as a very bad compliment1 to   
imagine they would have been  obliged by
 his neglecting the duties of religion  
on their account4  ,as  his family      
increased1 he had a minister statedly   
resident in his house1  who discharged  
the offices of tutor and chaplain1 and  
was always treated  with kindness and   
respect4  ,he was constant in his       
attendance on public  worship1 in which 
an exemplary care was taken that the    
children and  servants might accompany  
the heads of the family4    ,the        
necessity of being so many months       
together distant from home1  hindered   
him from many of those condescending    
labours in cultivating the  minds of his
 children in early life1 which to a soul
 so benevolent1 so  wise1 and so zealous
 would undoubtedly have afforded a very 
exquisite  pleasure3 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 daily lessons of  wisdom   
and of piety4  ,it was easy to perceive1
 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 very jealous   
over his heart1 lest he should be too   
fondly  attached to them1 and was an    
eminent proficient in the blessed       
science of  resignation to the divine   
will4    ,to consider his character in  
the domestic relation of a master1 it is
  proper to remark1 that as his habitual
 meekness and command of his  passions  
prevented indecent sallies of           
ungovernable anger towards those  in a  
state of subjection to him1 so the      
natural greatness of his mind  made him 
solicitous to render their inferior     
stations as easy as he  could3 he had   
also such a sense of the dignity and    
worth of an immortal  soul1 as engaged  

him to give his servants frequent       
religious exhortations  and             
instructions4    ,to consider him in his
 military character1 his bravery was as 
remarkable  in the field of battle1 as  
his milder virtues in the domestic      
circle3 and  he was particularly careful
 to prevent the various duties of       
religion and  his profession from       
interfering with one another either in  
himself or  others4  ,he therefore      
abhorred every thing that should look   
like a  contrivance to keep the soldiers
 employed about their horses and their  
arms at the season of public worship3   
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 ,god2 where they behaved with as much
 reverence1 gravity1 and  decorum1      
during the time of divine service1 as   
any of their  fellow-worshippers4       
,that this remarkable care to maintain  
good discipline among them might be  the
 more effectual1 he made himself on all 

occasions accessible to them1  and      
expressed a great concern for their     
interest1 temporal as well as           
spiritual2 yet he had all the firmness  
requisite to the infliction of          
punishment where he judged it necessary4
    ,we may notice one instance of his  
conduct which happened at ,leicester4   
,while part of his regiment was encamped
 in that neighbourhood1 the  ,colonel   
went incognito to the camp in the middle
 of the night2 for  sometimes he lodged 
at his quarters in the town4  ,one of   
the sentinels  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 done2 but the 
,colonel ordered him to be brought  up  
early the next morning to his own       
quarters1 where he had prepared a       

piquet1 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 fault2          
admonishing him of the divine           
displeasure which he had incurred2 and  
then urged him to argue upon the  pain  
which he then felt1 how infinitely more 
dreadful it must be to 8fall  into the  
hands of the living ,god10 and to meet  
the terrors of that  damnation which he 
had been accustomed impiously to call   
upon himself and  his companions4  ,the 
result of this proceeding was1 that the 
offender  accepted his punishment1 not  
only with submission1 but with          
thankfulness2  and spoke of it some     
years after in such a manner that there 
seemed  reason to hope it had been      
instrumental in producing a change in   
his  heart1 as well as in his life4     
,indeed1 this excellent officer always  
expressed the greatest reverence of  the
 name of the blessed ,god2 and          

endeavoured to suppress1 and1 if        
possible to extirpate that detestable   
sin of swearing and cursing1 which  is  
every where so common1 and especially   
among our military men4  ,he  often     
declared his sentiments with respect to 
this enormity at the head  of the       
regiment1 and urged his captains and    
their subalterns to take the  greatest  
care that they did not give the sanction
 of their example to  that1 which by    
their office they were obliged to punish
 in others4  ,his  zeal on these        
occasions wrought in a very active1 and 
sometimes in a  remarkably successful   
manner1 among not only his equals1 but  
his  superiors too4    ,nor was his     
character less conspicuous than his     
zeal4  ,the lively and  tender feelings 
of his heart engaged him to dispense his
 bounties with a  liberal hand3 and     
above all1 his sincere and ardent love  
to the ,lord  ,jesus ,christ1 led him to
 feel1 with a true sympathy1 the        
concerns of his  poor members4  ,in     

consequence of this he honoured several 
of his friends  with commissions for the
 relief of the poor2 and esteemed it an 
honour  which ,providence conferred upon
 him1 that he should be made the ,lord's
  almoner for the relief of such4       
,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  ,and as he had in   
former years often  expressed a desire1 
8that 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      
country30 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 from a letter which he wrote    
only eight  days before his death3 8,the
 rebels10 says he1 8are advancing to    
cross the  ,firth2 but ,i trust in the  
,almighty ,god1 who doeth whatsoever he 

pleaseth  in the armies of heaven1 and  
among the inhabitants of the earth40    
,these sentiments wrought in him to the 
last in the most effectual manner4  ,but
 he was ordered to march as fast as     
possible to ,dunbar2 and that hasty     
retreat1 in concurrence with the news   
which they soon after received of  the  
surrender of ,edinburgh to the rebels1  
struck a visible panic into  both the   
regiments of dragoons4  ,this affected  
the ,colonel so much1 that1  on         
,thursday before the fatal action at    
,preston-pans1 he intimated to an       
officer of considerable rank1 that he   
expected the event would be as in  fact 
it proved2 and to a person who visited  
him1 he said1 8,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
 it40    ,on ,friday1 ,sept4 #bj1 #agde1
 7the day before the battle which       
transmitted  him to his immortal crown17
 when the whole army was drawn up about 

noon1  the ,colonel rode through all the
 ranks of his own regiment1 addressing  
them at once in the most respectful and 
animating manner1 both as  soldiers and 
as ,christians1 to engage them to exert 
themselves  courageously in the service 
of their country1 and to neglect nothing
 that  might have a tendency to prepare 
them for whatever event 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 gallant officer of distinguished
 character would gladly have  gratified 
them1 if it had been in the power of    
either2 but they were  overruled2 and he
 spent the remainder of the day in      
making as good a  disposition as        
circumstances would allow4    ,he       
continued all night under arms1 wrapped 
up in his cloak1 and 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 whom there were  four in waiting4   
,he dismissed three of them with most   
affectionate  ,christian advice1 and    
such solemn charges relative to the     
performance of  their duty1 and care of 
their souls1 as seemed plainly to       
intimate that  he apprehended1 at least 
very probably1 he was taking his last   
farewell  of them4  ,there is great     
reason to believe that he spent the     
little  remainder of time1 which could  
not be much above an hour1 in those     
devout  exercises of soul1 which had so 
long been habitual to him4  ,the army   
was  alarmed at break of day by a noise 
of the rebels' approach1 and the  attack
 was made before sunrise4  ,as soon as  
the enemy came within  gun-shot1 they   
commenced a furious fire2 and the       
dragoons1 which  constituted the left   
wing1 immediately fled4  ,the ,colonel1 
at the  beginning of the attack1 which  
in the whole lasted but a few minutes1  
received 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 he presently received a shot in  
the right thigh4  ,the ,colonel was1 for
 a few moments1 supported by his men1   
and  particularly about fifteen         
dragoons1 who stood by him to the last4 
,but  after a faint fire1 the regiment  
in general was seized with a panic2 and 
though the ,colonel and some gallant    
officers did what they could to rally   
them once or twice1 they at last took a 
precipitate flight4  ,just in the       
moment when ,colonel ,gardiner seemed to
 be making a pause1 to deliberate  what 
duty required him to do in such a       
circumstance1 he saw a party of  the    
foot who were then bravely fighting near
 him1 but had no officer to  head them2 
upon which he rode up to them           
immediately1 and cried out  aloud1      
8,fire on1 my lads1 and fear nothing40  
,but just as the words were  out of his 

mouth1 a ,highlander advanced to him    
with a scythe fastened to  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
 time1 several  others coming about him 
while he was thus dreadfully entangled  
with that  cruel weapon1 he was dragged 
from off his horse4  ,the moment he fell
  another ,highlander gave him a stroke1
 either with a broadsword1 or a         
,lochaber axe1 on the head1 which was   
the mortal blow4  ,all that his         
faithful attendant saw further at this  
time was1 that as his hat was  falling  
off1 he took it in his left hand1 and   
waved it as a signal to him  to retreat1
 adding1 7which were the last words he  
ever heard him speak17  8,take care of  
yourself30 upon which the servant       
immediately fled to a  mill1 at the     
distance of about two miles from the    
spot on which the  ,colonel fell2 where 
he changed his dress1 and1 disguised    
like a miller's  servant1 returned with 

a cart about 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 eyes1 which makes 
it something questionable  whether he   
were altogether insensible4  ,in this   
condition1 and in this  manner1 he      
conveyed him to the church of ,tranent1 
whence he was  immediately taken into   
the minister's house and laid in a bed2 
where he  continued breathing till about
 eleven in the forenoon1 when he took   
his  final leave of pain and sorrow4    
,his remains were interred the ,tuesday 
following1 ,sept4 #bd1 at the parish    
church of ,tranent 7where he had        
usually attended divine service7 with   
great solemnity4       ,when ,god       
reveal'd his gracious name1        ,and 

chang'd my mournful state1     ,my      
rapture seem'd a pleasing dream1        
,the grace appear'd so great4       ,the
 world beheld the glorious change1      
,and did thy hand confess2     ,my      
tongue broke out in unknown strains1    
,and sang surprising grace4             
8,great is the work10 my neighbours     
cried1        ,and owned the power      
divine2     8,great is the work10 my    
heart replied1        8,and be the glory
 thine40                                
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