my own age, the son of a Mr. Paine, with whom I used to be very familiar. I thought I saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, upon the top of which stood an eagle, which called upon this little boy to ascend it, which he immediately did. I began to follow him, and ascended many of the steps, when the eagle called to me, and bid me go down. for my time was not yet come; upon which I immediately descended, and awoke. What became of this little boy afterwards I do not remember, neither do I recollect ever seeing him again after this dream; but it made a strong impression upon my mind.

'When I was about seven years old, I reflected a great deal upon God calling Samuel: I remember lying awake many nights, expecting that He would call me in like manner. About a year previous to this I began to work a sampler, and made choice of Addison's version of the 23rd Psalm to insert in it. They who superintended my work remonstrated with me about its being too long, saying, it would take up so much room as to exclude the necessary ornaments; but I still persisted in the choice of it alone, urging, That the Lord was my Shepherd, and that He should be my Shepherd." I also remember lying upon my face before God, as Abraham did, as well as receiving many Divine impressions when about that age. I was deeply affected in reading the dying experience of a good woman; also the lamentation of a sinner wrought very powerfully upon my mind; and the idea of Christ coming in the clouds of heaven, with all the holy angels, sometimes affected me with fear, and sometimes with a degree of pleasure.

'When about eight years of age I had a very bad fever, but do not remember having any fear of death,

or any uneasy sensations; neither do I remember having any good impressions from that period until I was about thirteen: one cause to which I attribute this was my grandmother's too lax discipline, not correcting me in real errors, nor restraining me from improper acquaintances; her fondness for me being such that she could see no fault in me. Thus I swam with the tide of corrupt nature, forgetting the Lord who bought me, and lightly regarding the Rock of my salvation, until the Lord provided for me in a better way, by my removal to Leeds; and also for my grandmother, by taking her to a better world. How I was kept during the few last years that I remained with my grandmother Palmer, is a mystery to me; the corruptions of my nature being very great, my temptations strong, and my liberty almost unbounded; but God was merciful to me, and removed me from the evil to come: He delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

When I first came into Yorkshire, a sense of God's mercies towards me impressed my mind deeply, and I felt power over myself to act from superior principles; but a fresh scene of temptation presented itself to my view-the pleasures and vanities, the honours and friendships of the world, began to engross my attention, and I became vain in my imagination, and foolish and corrupt in my desires and pursuits; yet the Lord followed me with conviction, and I saw that all was vanity and vexation of spirit.

At the age of thirteen, I began to apply myself to some of my old exercises for the improvement of my mind, and set myself to study and learn afresh things I had almost forgotten. I began again with my Bible also, and set myself a number of hymns which I had

made choice of to learn by heart; but the players coming into the town, and my taste for stage entertainments, together with the many opportunities I had of indulging myself in this amusement, wore off my serious impressions, and I pursued, with redoubled ardour, all my pleasures without fear or restraint.

'When I was about fifteen, the Lord began to work upon my mind again, and some circumstances which occurred about that time had a good effect upon me. An old neighbour of ours, a pious Calvinistic Dissenter, often took me with her to hear Mr. Edwards, at the White Chapel, both on the Sunday and week-day evenings. I do not remember receiving any real spiritual advantage by going with her; only, I thought I was doing the will of God in so doing. About this time, the old lady told me a remarkable dream she had had concerning me; adding, she believed the Lord had a favour towards me; she thought she was looking up to heaven, and saw my name written at full length in the sky, in large letters of gold. At this time, it did not make any particular impression upon my mind; but I was pleased with the idea that God had a favour towards me, especially as it tended to strengthen an impression of the kind which I had had from the first dawn of reason. But I did not retain my religious impressions long; the players coming again into the town, opened afresh the floodgates of temptation, and I once more bartered the things of the kingdom for the fooleries of the world; yet conviction followed me, and I sometimes had a faint desire to serve the Lord; but I could not sacrifice my idols, and was once brought to this awful conclusion, to run the risk of perishing in my sins rather than part with my idol pleasures. From this time the Lord seemed to give over striving with me, and I was left apparently to take my fill of pleasure;

yet I did not entirely cast off the fear of God, but was moral and conscientious in my outward conduct and behaviour. I went to church and said my prayers, as many such like self-deceivers do now-a-days; yet the Lord did not quite leave me to myself, but followed me still, by imbittering my pleasures, crossing my designs, and thwarting my schemes of worldly happiness.

'One thing which led me farther from God, and proved a snare to me, was, the having been permitted to see, when a child, some tumblers and rope-dancers, which gave rise to many foolish imaginations, that increased with my years, and led me into a train of thinking, altogether vain and unprofitable, and produced many romantic ideas and imaginations, which were greatly strengthened and multiplied by theatrical amusements, and reading romances, novels, &c., &c. I had formed many imaginary schemes, and committed many of my thoughts to writing, both in prose and verse; and this inclination so increased upon me, that I could scarcely refrain from pursuing my studies upon the Sabbath-day; yet I do not remember that I ever went further than looking into some improper books for a few Sundays previous to my beginning in good earnest to seek the Lord; but my mind had become so estranged from God, that I could not endure the sight of a Bible, and dreaded the return of the Sabbath, because I durst not fully give the reins to my imagination, nor follow my pleasures on that sacred day; and I do not know that I had been at a place of worship for many weeks before I began to seek God, but always made some excuse for remaining at home. My uncle being a man who feared God, and who had formerly experienced much of his goodness, observed my growing disregard of the Lord's-day and non-attendance at public worship, and insisted upon

my going somewhere, were it even to the mass house! Soon after this, he bid me go one Sunday evening to the Methodist chapel, and ordered one of the servants to attend me; I durst not refuse, but resolved only to stay until the text was taken. The girl who accompanied me had more of the fear of God before her eyes than I had, and would fain have stayed; but not daring to leave me, we wandered about in the snow together, (it being the depth of winter,) until we thought the preaching was over, and then returned home. So great was my dislike to the Gospel of God, that I could willingly endure the cold on a dark and uncomfortable night, rather than worship amongst His people. Yet in the midst of all, I was graciously preserved from following the full bent of my inclinations, and from falling into those temptations and snares from which many young people suffer, especially when thus dangerously situated; yet in the midst of various temptations, a round of pleasures, and the trifling amusements and follies of an unthinking world, some considerations had great weight with me, particularly as it regarded my general conduct, which proved a check to the vehemence of my inclinations; first, the scandal of sin; this seemed to me worse than death. The credit, character, and favour of my friends and family, (especially my uncle's, which was dearer to me than life,) always kept me within the bounds of moderation, and made me fearful of exposing myself to temptation, so that I was continually upon my guard. The thoughts also of a future judgment, and of standing before God and assembled worlds, made sin appear both hateful and dreadful; my conscience was often terribly alarmed at the thoughts of eternity and the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven; violent rains, thunder