176 SCHOOLS IN THE STATE-PRISON. Mr. Stanford commenced the first page of his diary for 1814, with the following pious remark :— "Another year commenced. What work the Lord has appointed for me among the forlorn classes committed to my care, or what general services for the benefit of my fellow creatures, I know not. O Lord, put thy fear into my heart; give me grace to walk humbly before thee, and make my strength equal to my day; then all will be well, and thy name shall be glorified." It may not be improper, in this place, again to remind the reader, that the preceding, as well as the following account of the public and private labours of Mr. Stanford, as a minister of the gospel, are to be regarded not as a full statement in detail, but as an epitome of his diary, from which, if it were desirable, volumes might be filled with the recital of touching and interesting incidents. Lord's day. At eight A. M. he preached in the City-Hospital; and in the State-Prison at half past ten A. M. and then visited the sick. In the afternoon he preached to the church in Broome-street; and in the evening in the Alms-House, to a large number of paupers, who were serious and attentive. Blessed be the adorable Saviour, who has commanded the gospel to be preached to the poor. Monday. Mr. Stanford walked to the State-Prison for the purpose of examining two new schools, which, added to those already organized, made at that time seven schools in this prison, which were open only in the evening, and found to be of great advantage to the more ignorant prisoners. He Friday morning, 7th. Mr. Stanford was sent for to visit a dying woman in the Bridewell. found her, and three others, in a wretched condition, lying on the bare floor, with only a ragged blanket for each, to shield them from the piercing cold. The physician who accompanied him, ANOTHER VICTIM OF SEDUCTION SAVED. 177 said, that this poor creature could not long survive the horrible effects of her sinful course. The apartment was so very offensive, that they were obliged to open the window while they remained. When Mr. Stanford complained to the keeper concerning the destitute state of these women, he said, he had no more covering in the house to give them. As a committee of the Aldermen were to meet in the evening, Mr. Stanford stated the case to them, and the next morning they ordered the females to be provided with suitable beds and bedding. Since this period, greater attention has been paid to the miserable inmates of the Bridewell. In the afternoon he went to the State-Prison. Here he found the hospital crowded with the sick and the dying. Five men were affected with a very malignant fever, and the hall and wards were so foul and disagreeable, owing to the prevailing disease, that it was difficult to perform the usual service. Respecting this visit, he remarks:-" I know it is hazardous to visit under such circumstances, but the Lord is my keeper, and my life is of little value except thus to be employed for the benefit of others." Tuesday, 25th. This day he visited most of the wards in the City-Hospital; in one of which he found a young female under deep penitence for her profligate life; and there is great reason to hope that the blessed Jesus, at whose feet Mary Magdalene did not weep in vain, revealed his pardoning mercy to this unhappy victim of seduction. Conversion of RB, aged 19. "This young woman was," says Mr. Stanford, "confined several months by consumption. From my first visit she listened with attention, and confessed that she had been a great sinner, and felt her heart so very hard and obstinate, that she was almost ready to despair. Gradually, however, it pleased the Lord 178 CATECHISM FOR THE YOUNG PRISONERS. to open to her the riches of grace in Christ the Redeemer. The promises of divine mercy were recommended to her attention, and in prayer she speedily found access to the throne of grace. On one occasion she said, 'I pray to the Lord night and day when my pains abate-it is my only comfort and delight-I have some hope that God will save me at last, through Jesus Christ.' 6 I called to see this young woman. 6 "In the evening Rachel,' said I, but thine be done?' than that.' 'What is it?' ( for my Lord to come and take me, for I long to be with him.' After prayer she thanked me for my visits in so affecting a manner, that I was obliged to retire. "On the next Saturday night she died, rejoicing in Christ." Tuesday, the 1st of February. This day Mr. Stanford completed his Catechism for the unfortunate youth in the State-Prison, and, by order of the Board of Inspectors, he sent it to the press for publication. The following Tuesday he visited every ward in the City-Hospital, and prayed in eight of them. On the 13th he remarks:-"I preached at eight A. M. in the City-Hospital, and then visited and prayed with a dying man. Directly after, I accompanied the Rev. Daniel Sharp, of Boston, to the StatePrison chapel, where he preached a sermon for me, with great acceptance to the prisoners. Visited the sick in the prison hospital, and returned home. Afternoon, preached in the Debtor's chapel, and in the evening at the Alms-House, and afterwards prayed with dying persons in three different wards. This to me was a day of mercy, and I sincerely pray that it may be followed with mercy to many others." Wednesday, 23d, he spent three hours in the AlmsHouse, with much satisfaction, having found several TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL. 179 new cases, of persons under great concern for salvation; and others, waiting with cheerfulness for their last change. 28th. Mr. Stanford employed the whole of this day in examining the schools in the State-Prison, and in placing before the minds of the unhappy criminals, the way of peace by the blood and righteousness of Christ. To On the 3d of March he preached in the MagdalenHouse, and also in the State-Prison. In the latter place he found a female prisoner extremely ill, and under awful alarm concerning her future state. this unhappy creature it is believed that the Lord blessed his conversation as the means of inducing her to look by faith to that adorable Saviour, who can pluck the brand from the burning. In the upper ward, Mr. Stanford found three or four females, very sensible of their sinful state, and one white woman in particular. She expressed herself in terms which indicated a recent work of divine mercy upon her heart. She blessed the Lord for her affliction. God had convinced her of her great sinfulness, and led her to Jesus Christ as her Saviour, by the application of whose blood she experienced pardon and peace. She said that she was never so happy before, and died that night, full of faith, hope, and joy, in Jesus Christ. After this, Mr. S. visited a sick prisoner in the hospital, who was in a very hardened and impenitent state. These cases clearly illustrate the sovereignty of God in the gifts of divine grace-one is saved, and another remains hardened in sin. On the 4th, at ten o'clock in the morning, he went to the Alms-House, and found that four of his charge had died; three of whom, expired in the triumphs of faith in Jesus Christ. 180. ORDINATION OF MR. ELLIOTT. On the 6th, which was the Sabbath, he preached in the City-Hospital at eight o'clock in the morning, and at half past ten in the church in Fayette-street. At three o'clock in the afternoon he preached again in the Debtor's-Prison, and in the evening at the Alms-House. Respecting this day's service he remarks" In the midst of weakness, temptation, and fear, the Lord has mercifully helped me. But I was very much fatigued by walking to so many places. Nevertheless, it is better to be tired in the work of the Lord, than to be tired of it." Like Gideon and his men, he was "Faint, yet pursuing." The Wednesday, 9th. After having attended the AlmsHouse in the morning, Mr. Stanford assisted in the ordination of Mr. Elliott, at the Bethel church. whole of the service was performed with great solemnity, and the fervent prayer of many hearts ascended to God, for a blessing upon the minister then set apart to the work of the gospel. Friday, 11th. This morning he was requested to visit a dying man in the City-Hospital. It was truly an affecting scene. Mr. Stanford had frequently conversed and prayed with him, and a hope was indulged that God would be gracious to his distressed soul. This morning he found him, sensible, but speechless. Mr. Stanford asked him if he were willing to die, and felt in his heart a hope in Christ the Lord? To which, with a smile, he bowed his head, and lifted up his hands toward heaven. Mr. S. then prayed with him; after which he took his station at a short distance from the bed of the dying man, for the purpose of addressing the other patients in the room, on the important concerns of their souls, and directing them to Jesus, the friend of sinners. "In a few minutes," says Mr. Stanford, "I perceived the sick man undergoing his last change, and soon he sunk in the arms of death. Though I have visited. the death beds of many hundred persons, this was the |