familiar with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as any old woman in Mr. Wesley's connection; which, by the bye, is faying a great deal. I am, Dear Sir, Yours. LETTER LETTER VII. "No fleep, no peace, no reft "Their wand'ring and afflicted minds poffefs'd; 66 Upon their fouls and eyes "Hell and eternal horror lies, "Dark pictures and resemblances Of things to come, and of the worlds below, "The gods above, the gods beneath; "No fleep, but waking now was fifter unto death. BP. SPRAT. DEAR FRIEND, IT is perhaps worth remark ing, that what the methodists call conviction of fin, being awakened, &c. is often a moft dreadful ftate, and has the very fame effect on fuch as have lived a very innocent life as it has upon the most notorious offenders; this conviction (as they call it) is brought about by the preachers heaping all the curfes in the Bible on the heads of the most virtuous as well as most vicious; for, fay they, he who keepeth the whole law and offendeth but in one point, is as much in a state of damnation, as he that hath broken every one of the commandments, or committed robbery, murder, &c. fo that they pour out every awful denunciation found in the Bible, and many not found there, against all who have not the methodistical faith: this they call fhaking the people over the mouth of hell. Thus are many who before poffeffed "confciences void of offence towards God and mankind" tricked out of their peace of mind, by the ignorant application of texts of fcripture. Their fears being once fo dreadfully alarmed, they often become infupportable to themselves and all around them; many in this ftate have put a period to their existence, others run mad, &c. If the above terror of confcience was only to take place in knaves and rafcals, there would be no reason for blaming the methodifts on that head; "the wretch deferves the hell he feels." A terrible inftance of this kind happened near London-bridge about two years fince: A perfon in a lucrative. branch of bufinefs had put unbounded confidence in his head fhopman, and well rewarded him for his fuppofed faithfulness. One morning, this man not coming down ftairs fo foon as ufual, the fervant maid went up to call him, and found him hanging up to the bed-poft; fhe had the presence of mind to cut him down, but he being nearly dead, it was fome days before he perfectly recovered. On his mafter coming to town he was informed what had happened to his favorite shopman; he heard the relation with the utmost astonishment, and took great pains to discover the cause of fo fatal a refolution, but to no purpose. However he endeavoured to reconcile this unhappy man to life, was very tender towards him, and gave him more encouragement than ever; but the more the master did to encourage and make him happy, the more the poor wretch appeared to be dejected; in this unhappy ftate. of mind he lived about fix months, when one morning not appearing at his usual time, the fervant maid went to fee if he was well, and found him very weak in bed; a day or two after, his mafter came to town, and being told of his fituation, went up to fee him, and finding him in bed, and apparently very ill, propofed fending for a phyfician, but the poor devil refused to take any thing, and rejected every affiftance, faying his time was nearly come. Soon after this the fervant informed her mafter that he would not have the bed made, and that she had just observed fome blood on one corner of the fheet. The mafter then went up ftairs again, and by lifting up the bed-clothes found that he had stabbed himself in feveral places, and that in this ftate he had lain three or four days, and on the furgeon's appearance, he refused to have the wounds infpected, and the furgeon being of opinion that is was too late to render him any kind of fervice, they let him lie ftill. The mafter foon after this preffed him much to know the myfterious cause of so much mifery, and fo unnatural an end. The |