THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 

 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 DIVINE GOVERNMENT 
 
 IN 
 
 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 COLLECTED AND ARRANGED BT 
 
 S. HIGGINS AND W. H. BRISBANE. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON PROVIDENCE. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. JOSEPH CASTLE, D. D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PERKINPINE & HIGGINS, 
 
 No. 56 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 
 1865. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
 S. HIGOINS AND W. H. BRISBANE, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for th 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 
 
 HEARS * DU8ENBKBT, STER50TYPER3. 0. BHSRM1S * SOS, PRINTERS. 
 
 
3T 
 155" 
 
 \\55i 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY 
 
 PART I. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE PRE- 
 SERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE 16 
 
 SECTION I. PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE BY INTELLIGENT 
 
 AGENTS ... .... 17 
 
 II. PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE BY UNINTELLIGENT 
 
 AGENTS . 35 
 
 III. PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE BY MENTAL IMPRES- 
 SIONS, DREAMS, &c 48 
 
 PART II. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE RELIEF 
 
 OF SUFFERING AND DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER 71 
 
 SECTION I. RELIEF AFFORDED THROUGH INTELLIGENT AGENTS . 73 
 II. RELIEF AFFORDED THROUGH UNINTELLIGENT AGENTS . 106 
 III. RELIEF AFFORDED THROUGH MENTAL IMPRESSIONS, 
 
 DREAMS, &c. r >%'- 7 /g *N .... 120 
 *-*> t >O*i: m 
 
 LIBRARf 
 
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 MM 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE PUN- 
 ISHMENT OF SIN AND THE DEFEAT OF WICKED 
 PLANS 147 
 
 SECTION I. PUNISHMENT AND DEFEAT OF WICKEDNESS THROUGH 
 
 INTELLIGENT AGENTS 149 
 
 II. PUNISHMENT AND DEFEAT OF WICKEDNESS THROUGH 
 
 UNINTELLIGENT AGENTS 156 
 
 III. PUNISHMENT AND DEFEAT OF WICKEDNESS THROUGH 
 
 MENTAL IMPRESSIONS, DREAMS, &c. . . . 165 
 IV. PUNISHMENT AND DEFEAT OF WICKEDNESS THROUGH 
 
 MEANS UNKNOWN 182 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE CON- 
 VERSION OF MEN 195 
 
 SECTION I. CONVERSIONS EFFECTED THROUGH HUMAN AGENCY . 197 
 II. CONVERSIONS EFFECTED BY MEANS OF THE BIBLE OR 
 
 UNINTELLIGENT AGENTS 225 
 
 III. CONVERSIONS EFFECTED THROUGH MENTAL IMPRES- 
 SIONS, DREAMS, &c 236 
 
 PART V. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN RELATION 
 
 TO THE SABBATH . 277 
 
 PART VI. 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF FAITH IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE . 303 
 
 PART VII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVI- 
 DENCE . . 369 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 THAT we are, and that we have sorrows, and need com- 
 forts, and must die, are stern realities. What we are, 
 whence we came, arid where we are to go, after life's fitful 
 fever, are questions of deep, absorbing interest, in com- 
 parison with which every other question, relating to earth 
 and time, is light as air. Either we came from nothing, 
 and to nothing we must return, or there is an infinitely 
 wise and almighty first Cause, the Author of all things, 
 who made us, and made us for some great end, worthy of 
 Himself, and of the nature he has given us. Which shall 
 we choose ? Reason rejects the former, for it contradicts 
 all reason, and makes Reason a name without a meaning ; 
 the latter satisfies many of the demands of reason, while 
 it leaves unexplored, depths reason at present cannot 
 fathom, and heights to which it may not soar. The finite 
 cannot comprehend perfectly the infinite. We can merely 
 touch upon some of the segments of a circle, the circum- 
 ference of which is boundless. " Canst thou by searching 
 find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto 
 perfection ? It is high as heaven, what canst thou do ? 
 Deeper than hell, what canst thou know ? The measure 
 thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the 
 1* (5) 
 
v i INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 sea." Shall we, therefore, reject it, though reasonable, 
 because we cannot wholly comprehend it, and embrace the 
 unreasonable which reason repudiates ? This would be 
 the extreme of folly. 
 
 The belief in the existence of one true God is vital to 
 every great and sublime verity of religion, whether natural 
 or revealed. It is the only foundation which can sustain 
 conscience, faith, hope, charity, and all which tends to 
 adorn and exalt humanity. We can conceive of no other 
 source from which the voice of authority can be uttered, 
 making known man's whole duty, interest, and destiny. 
 He who rejects it, rejects the noblest part of his nature, 
 and the grandest revealings of his privileges, and sinks 
 himself to a common brotherhood with brutes. There 
 may be men in the pride of a perverted intellect, while 
 surrounded by the fascinations of an infamous falsehood, 
 and cheered on by kindred spirits, who have the hardihood 
 to profess faith in unbelief: but whether any man can be 
 so lost to all that constitutes the nobility of his nature, as 
 in the sanctuary of his retirement to persuade himself into 
 the belief that there is no God, may be seriously doubted. 
 Nature revolts against it, and Reason cries shame ! But 
 if such there be, who can thus outrage nature and all that 
 is godlike in man, we will merely say in the language of 
 Scripture, "the devils believe and tremble," and it is the 
 "fool" who hath said in his heart, "there is no God." 
 " That which may be known of God is manifest in them ; 
 for God hath showed it unto them ; for the invisible things 
 of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, 
 being understood by the things which are made, even his 
 eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without 
 excuse." 
 
 From the slightest view of nature the truth comes with 
 
INTRODUCTORY KSSAY. vii 
 
 thrilling interest, we are not monstrous abortions, or father- 
 less children in a godless world, for there is an infinite 
 Creator, wise as he is powerful, and good as he is great, 
 the father of the spirits of all flesh. Whether we look 
 upon the sun, moon, and stars, the work of his fingers ; 
 the green fields and rolling floods ; the buds and blossoms, 
 and rich ripe fruit in the harvest time upon a mountain 
 or an atom ; a leviathan or an insect ; the world within 
 us or the world without ; the conclusion is irresistible, and 
 consoling as true, there is, there must be, a God in whom 
 we live, and move, and have our being. 
 
 It is an absurdity equalled only by the day-dream of 
 a maniac, to suppose that we are only what we seem, mere 
 flesh and blood, a branching channel, and a mazy flood 
 " that a cluster of pretty, thin, round atoms, as Democri- 
 tus conceited that a well-mixed combination of elements, 
 as Empedocles fancied that a harmonious contemporation 
 of humors, as Galen would persuade us, should become the 
 subject of so rare capacities and endowments; the author 
 of actions so worthy and works so wonderful ; capable of 
 wisdom and virtue ; of knowledge so vast, and works so 
 lofty ; apt to contemplate truth and affect good ; able to 
 recollect things past, and foresee things future ; to search 
 so deep into the causes of things, and disclose so many 
 mysteries of nature ; to invent so many arts and sciences, 
 to contrive such projects of policy, and achieve such feats 
 of prowess ; briefly, should become capable to design, 
 undertake, and perform all those admirable effects of 
 human wit and industry which we daily see or hear of." 
 
 "The power, wisdom, and design conspicuous in the 
 whole system of nature ; the signs of divine workmanship 
 visible in the heavens ; the structure of the earth allotted 
 for our habitation, and so well fitted up and furnished for 
 
viii INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the use of the various tribes of creatures, and of man its 
 principal inhabitant ; the exquisite skill and amazing art 
 that appear in the forms and properties of vegetables, in 
 the organs and faculties of animals, in the mechanism of 
 the human body, so fearfully and wonderfully made ; and 
 above all, in the human soul, with its various intellectual 
 and moral susceptibilities and powers, are clear proofs of 
 an original, creating mind. Is it possible to conceive that 
 all these effects, these evident appearances of counsel and 
 wisdom, can proceed from undirected, fortuitous motions 
 of unconscious matter ? Can we imagine that all the regu- 
 larity, harmony, and order we see in the general system 
 of things can be the result of chance ? If, when we sur- 
 vey a palace, and observe the grandeur and symmetry of 
 the whole, and the elegance and just disposition of its 
 parts, we never fail to infer the skill and ability of the 
 architect : shall we not much more when we contemplate 
 the universe ; when we view the beauty and magnificence 
 that everywhere appear ; when we see all the characters 
 of infinite wisdom and power in the design and execution, 
 and all the expressions of such art as no art can surpass, 
 shall we not discern an all-wise, omnipotent Architect, who 
 planned and erected the amazing fabric ? In short, all the 
 works of creation bear such evident testimony to the 
 agency of a divine intelligence, that it scarce seems credi- 
 ble that atheism should ever find admission into the human 
 understanding." 
 
 But while unbelief in the divine existence is rare, and 
 hardly possible, unbelief in the particular providence of 
 God is but too common ; and yet this is atheism in one 
 of its most ruinous, because one of its most seductive and 
 practical forms. This scheme of folly, while professing 
 the most exalted conceptions of the greatness and grandeur 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ix 
 
 of God, in reality denies him his essential attributes, 
 and degrades him beneath human relations ; nay, beneath 
 that of the beasts of the field. Parents live and labor for 
 their children, and brutes deny themselves to gratify their 
 young ; but the unbeliever's God, with power to create and 
 give form and beauty to stars and central suns, wrapped 
 in the isolation of his nature knows not and cares not for 
 the multitudinous wants of the creatures his own almighty 
 hand has formed ! A God that does not know us, or care 
 for us, is tantamount to no God at all. God's providence 
 cannot be separated from his creation ; the one necessarily 
 implies the other, for it is not conceivable that God should 
 create all things, and not govern all things. We can as 
 readily believe that God did not create, as we can that he 
 does not govern, for the same power that created is neces- 
 sary to preserve and direct to the fulfilment of his own 
 great intention. The theory of mechanism wholly fails to 
 illustrate the order of divine Providence. The machine 
 may be made, and wound up, and go for a time, without 
 the presence of the artist ; but no machine can exist with- 
 out something external to itself; and what is external to 
 the creation, but the Creator ? His presence is at least 
 as necessary to uphold the creation as the earth is to uphold 
 the machine ; and if he uphold the whole, he upholds all 
 the parts ; and is it conceivable that he upholds all, and 
 does not govern and direct all to certain definite ends, con- 
 sistent with his own purposes, and declarative of his wisdom 
 and love ? It is not by a system of springs and weights, 
 and checks and balances, that creation is upheld, and moves 
 with infinite regularity in the fulfilment of great purposes, 
 and for the accomplishment of great ends ; but by an infi- 
 nite Intelligence, who sees the end from the beginning, and 
 
X INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 knows how to reconcile things apparently the most irrecon- 
 cilable, and to bring order out of confusion. 
 
 He who in the beginning created the heaven and the 
 earth ; who said, " Let there be light, and there was light 
 let the earth bring forth grass ; the herb yielding seed, and 
 the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind ; let the waters 
 bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life ; 
 and let us make man in our image, after our likeness," can- 
 not want ability to supervise and govern all that his power 
 has made. All must be dependent on Him, who created 
 them from nothing; and to him it must be infinitely easy 
 to preside over all things and all events; to direct all 
 natural causes ; to govern all contingencies, and to provide 
 for all creatures. And as he cannot be wanting in power 
 to govern the world, so neither can he be defective in dispo- 
 sition to do so. " As certain then as it is that there is a 
 God who created all things, so certain is it that he acts as 
 Sovereign of the Universe; that his supreme providence 
 ruleth over all things, and has the care and superintendence 
 of his creation. He who gave us being, must be concerned 
 for our well-being too. He who is perfect wisdom and 
 goodness, will, in every instance, take such care of us as 
 perfect wisdom and goodness require. And, indeed, far 
 from supposing in God any disinclination to superintend 
 and govern the world, we cannot form to ourselves an 
 employment more glorious in itself, or more worthy of his 
 infinite perfections, than from his throne in heaven to 
 inspect the immeasurable dominions of his universal empire ; 
 to have the administration of all its affairs ; the appoint- 
 ment of all events ; and to conduct the whole with unerring 
 wisdom and unrestricted goodness." What can be more 
 worthy of God, or more conducive to virtue and piety in 
 his children ? The doctrine of divine providence is taught 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. xi 
 
 in Holy Scripture, not as a theory, about which we may 
 speculate, but as a fact, in which we are personally inter- 
 ested, and which is designed to influence our lives, and 
 promote our peace and happiness. It is taught with the 
 greatest distinctness, to deter men from vicious and criminal 
 practices ; to encourage virtue and piety ; to support and 
 console amid the disappointments and distresses of life, 
 and to assure all men of a final adjustment of all the inequal- 
 ities, sufferings, and wrongs of the present life. 
 
 To quote all the passages which teach and illustrate this 
 deeply interesting and infinitely important doctrine, would 
 be to transcribe a large part of the Bible. A few will 
 suffice: "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord." 
 " The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the 
 evil and the good." "All things are naked and opened unto 
 the eyes of him with whom we have to do." "0 Lord, 
 thou preservest man and beast;" and "the hairs of your 
 head are all numbered." Other passages teach the doctrine 
 of a particular providence over nations, kingdoms, families, 
 and individuals, in their prosperity and adversity ; in their 
 rise and fall ; in rewards and in punishments. But it is 
 enough to say, the fact is distinctly and emphatically asserted, 
 as extending to the little and the great ; the minute and 
 the magnificent ; the near and the remote ; the quick and 
 the dead ; the rational and irrational ; so as to accomplish 
 all the good purposes of his will, in the creation and preser- 
 vation of the world. 
 
 " In what manner Providence interposes in human affairs ; 
 by what means it influences the thoughts and counsels of 
 man, and, notwithstanding the influence it exerts, leaves to 
 them the freedom of will and choice, are subjects of dark 
 and mysterious nature, and which have given occasion to 
 many an intricate controversy. But, though the mode of 
 
lii INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 the Divine operation remains unknown, the fact of an over- 
 ruling influence is equally certain, in the moral, as it is in 
 the natural world. In cases where the fact is clearly authen- 
 ticated, we are not at liberty to call its truth in question 
 merely because we understand not the manner in which it 
 is brought about. Nothing can be more clear from the 
 testimony of Scripture, than that God takes part in all that 
 happens among mankind, directing and overruling the whole 
 course of events, so as to make every one of them answer 
 the designs of his wise and righteous government. Through- 
 out all the sacred writings, God is represented, as on every 
 occasion, by various dispensations of his providence, reward- 
 ing the righteous, or chastening them, according as hia 
 wisdom requires, and punishing the wicked. We cannot, 
 indeed, conceive God acting as governor of the world at 
 all, unless his government were extended to all the events 
 that happen. It is upon the supposition of a particular 
 providence, that our worship and prayers to him are founded. 
 All his perfections would be utterly insignificant to us, if 
 they were not exercised on every occasion, according as 
 the circumstances of his creatures required. The Almighty 
 would then be no more than an unconcerned spectator of 
 the behavior of his subjects, regarding the obedient and the 
 rebellious with an equal eye." 
 
 Our inability to comprehend, explain, and reconcile a 
 particular Providence with human freedom, is not a ques- 
 tion of the Divine Sovereignty, but of human weakness. 
 The facts are independent of our strength or weakness, and 
 whether we can reconcile them or not, they are reconcil- 
 able, for they are true, and all truth is in harmony. Whether 
 the attempts to reconcile them, which have been so pro- 
 foundly argued and ably maintained, by great and good 
 men of different creeds, be satisfactory or not, it would ill 
 
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. xiii 
 
 become us to decide. It is enough for us to know, and 
 with this, for the present, we must rest satisfied : God 
 reigns ; and man is free, a responsible subject to his Sover- 
 eign. And instead of perplexing ourselves with questions 
 of little practical value, it better becomes us, adoring with 
 the royal Solomon, to say : " Thine, Lord, is the great- 
 ness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the 
 majesty ; for all that is in heaven and in the earth is 
 thine ; thine is the kingdom, Lord, and thou art exalted 
 as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, 
 and thou reignest over all ; and in thine hand is power and 
 might ; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give 
 strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, 
 and praise thy glorious name." 
 
 The following pages are designed to teach and illustrate, 
 in a manner the most interesting to all classes, the ways of 
 God with men. The articles are short and pertinent, and 
 may be read at leisure moments ; and, with little expense 
 of time, lessons of great practical value may be gathered. 
 It is a book for the parlor, the study, or the school-room, 
 and will interest children, and instruct old age. From the 
 care and ability with which the articles have been collected, 
 through a series of years, we can confidently recommend 
 this book to all Christian people as one that will do them 
 good. 
 
 JOSEPH CASTLE. 
 PHILADELPHIA, Oct 20th, 1858. 
 
PART I. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN 
 THE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE. 
 
 " The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : He shall preserve thy soul. 
 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, 
 and even for ever more." PSALM cxxi. 7, 8. 
 
 (15) 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 Jife |)nscrijcb 6j Intelligent 
 
 CHILD CARRIED AWAY BY AN EAGLE. 
 
 A PEASANT, with his wife and three children, 
 had taken up his summer quarters in a chalet, and 
 was pasturing his flock on one of the rich Alps 
 which overhang the Durance. The oldest boy was 
 an idiot, about eight years of age ; the second was 
 five years old, and dumb ; and the youngest was an 
 infant. It so happened, that the infant was left 
 one morning in charge of his brothers, and the 
 three had rambled to some distance from the chalet 
 before they were missed. When the mother went 
 in search of the little wanderers, she found the two 
 elder, but could discover no traces of the babe. The 
 idiot boy seemed to be in a transport of joy, while 
 the dumb child displayed every symptom of alarm 
 and terror. In vain did the terrified parent en- 
 deavor to collect what had become of the lost 
 infant. The antics of the one and the fright of 
 2 (17) 
 
18 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the other explained nothing. The dumb boy was 
 almost bereft of his senses, while the idiot appeared 
 to have acquired an unusual degree of mirth and 
 expression. He danced about, laughed, and made 
 gesticulations as if he were imitating the action of 
 one who had caught up something of which he was 
 fond, and hugged to his heart. This, however, was 
 some slight comfort to the poor woman; for she 
 imagined that some acquaintance had fallen in 
 with the children, and had taken away the infant. 
 But the day and night wore away, and no tidings 
 came of the lost child. On the morrow, when the 
 parents were pursuing their search, an eagle flew 
 over their heads, at the sight of which the idiot 
 renewed his antics, and the dumb boy clung to his 
 father, with shrieks of anguish and affright. The 
 horrible truth then burst upon their minds, that 
 the miserable infant had been carried off in the 
 talons of a bird of prey, and that the half-witted 
 elder brother was delighted at his riddance of an 
 object of whom he was jealous. 
 
 On the morning of this occurrence, an Alpine 
 yager had been watching near an eagle's seat, with 
 the hope of shooting the bird on her return to the 
 nest. The yager, waiting in all the anxious per- 
 severance of a true sportsman, beheld the eagle 
 slowly winging her way toward the rock, behind 
 which he was concealed. Imagine his horror, 
 when, upon her nearer approach, he heard the 
 cries and distinguished the figure of an infant 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 19 
 
 in her fatal grasp. In an instant his resolution 
 was formed to fire at the bird at all hazards, 
 the moment she should alight on her nest, and 
 rather to kill the child, than leave it to be torn 
 to pieces by the horrid devourer. With a silent 
 prayer, and a steady aim, the mountaineer poised 
 his rifle. The ball went directly through the head 
 of the eagle, and, in a moment after, the gallant 
 hunter was bearing away the child in triumph. It 
 was torn in the arms and sides, but not mortally 
 wounded. Twenty-four hours after it was first 
 missed, it was happily sleeping in its mother's 
 arms. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL RESCUE. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. 
 
 ONE day, in harvest time, my mother sent me 
 into the cellar to fetch a pitcher of beer for the 
 reapers. I was about ten years old, and of a lively 
 temper, always going with a hop and a bound 
 rather than walking. On coming into the dark 
 cellar I felt a little timid, and, to keep up my 
 courage, sprang and danced about at a greater rate 
 than usual. 
 
 Now it happened that Harrach, my native town, 
 was built over old mines, which had fallen in a 
 long time before. All around the place lie great 
 fragments of stone from the abandoned works, and 
 
20 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 in many of the houses are found half-opened pas- 
 sages, which are sometimes used as cellars. Our 
 house, likewise, was built over a shaft, but this 
 was either not known or not thought of. But 
 while I was capering about, and had just seized 
 the pitcher which stood in the corner, suddenly the 
 earth opened under me, and I was gone, I knew 
 not where. 
 
 I went down to a great depth, and should have 
 plunged to the very bottom of the abyss, had not a 
 hock, which probably had been used for fastening 
 the minLig ladder, caught me by the coat. At the 
 instant of falling I had uttered a fearful shriek, 
 which reached the ears of my mother, who was 
 busy in the kitchen. She came running down 
 with a light, and when she saw the opening in 
 the ground, and could neither find me nor hear 
 answer to her call, she could not doubt that I had 
 perished. 
 
 My mother has often told me that she was beside 
 herself with terror, and was near plunging down 
 after me. It became so dark before her eyes that 
 she could hardly sustain herself upon her trembling 
 knees. But the thought that possibly I might yet 
 be rescued, brought her to herself. 
 
 She hastened up stairs and called for help ; but 
 no one heard her, for all the household were at 
 work in the harvest field. It was not until she 
 had run down the street that some women heard 
 her, and hastened to the spot. They stood around 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 21 
 
 wringing their hands and looking down into the 
 aperture, but knew not what to do. 
 
 In falling I had lost my consciousness, and it 
 would have been a happy thing to have remained 
 thus till the moment of my deliverance. But after 
 a time I came to myself. I knew not where I was, 
 but I felt that I was hanging between heaven and 
 earth, and that the next moment might plunge me 
 into the bottomless abyss. I hardly ventured to 
 make a sound, so great was my terror : but when I 
 heard voices and piteous lamentations above me, I 
 begged in God's name for help. At this the lament- 
 ations ceased for a moment, and then burst out 
 more violently than before; for to know that I was 
 alive, and yet no way to help me, only added to 
 their misery. 
 
 There was no lack of counsel. Each one had 
 .something to propose. But it was soon seen that 
 nothing was to be effected in this way. They tried 
 to let down cords, but they did not reach me. Poles 
 were still more useless. Indeed, how could it have 
 been possible for me to hold on to a cord or a pole 
 long enough to draw me up to that height ? 
 
 At length they called in the aid of an old miner, 
 who at once saw what was to be done. His first 
 business was carefully to enlarge the aperture. He 
 then set up a windlass beside it, with a long rope 
 coiled upon it, and to this fastened a bucket. The 
 compassionate neighbors watched every movement 
 with agonizing impatience. Many prayed aloud. 
 
22 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 And in those terrible moments of consciousness 
 which now and then" broke in upon my swoon, for 
 I had swooned after my fall, my ear caught single 
 words of hymns and prayers for the dying, which 
 I understood too well. 
 
 At length all was ready ; and the old miner, with 
 a light attached to his cap, having first given warn- 
 ing that perhaps he might drag me down with him 
 in his descent, stepped into the bucket. Slowly 
 and cautiously was the rope unwound. I saw the 
 burning light, and it seemed to me like a star de- 
 scending from heaven for my help. Above was 
 the silence of death. Without knowing what I 
 did, I shrank up as close as possible to the damp 
 wall. The movement loosened a bit of stone, and 
 I heard the reverberation of its fall in the depth 
 below. My groans indicated the place where I 
 hung. The old man now began to comfort me, 
 saying that I must keep up a good heart, for he 
 hoped that, with God's help, he should deliver me. 
 
 Now I saw the bucket hovering far over my 
 head; then nearer and nearer; but the opening 
 was so narrow that it could not pass by me. My 
 deliverer, therefore, gave a sign for those at the top 
 to stop unwinding. He then reached down to me 
 a cord with a noose tied to it. I seized hold of 
 this, and, by raising myself a little, grasped the 
 edge of the bucket, first by one, and then by both 
 hands. At this instant the frail threads, which 
 had thus far sustained me, gave way. The bucket 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 23 
 
 swayed with my weight, but I was already grasped 
 by my old friend. He drew me into the bucket, 
 and called aloud : 
 
 " Thank God, there above ; I have the child ; I 
 have the child!" 
 
 As I sat in the miner's lap and felt myself safe, 
 tho first thing that came into my head was the 
 pitcher, which, in my fall, had slipped from my 
 hand. I began to weep bitterly. 
 
 " Why do you weep, my boy ?" said the old man j 
 " the danger is all over; we are just at the top." 
 
 "Ah, the pitcher, the pitcher!" I sobbed out. 
 " It was bran new, and the very best we had !" 
 
 We were at the brink of the chasm. My mother 
 leaned over it, reaching toward me with yearning 
 arms. The old miner lifted me out to her. With 
 trembling hands she caught me and drew me to her 
 bosom. All the bystanders shouted for joy. They 
 crowded around, and each one wished to embrace 
 me ; but my mother trusted me not out of her arms. 
 The dear, good mother ! She had always loved me 
 dearly ; but from that time I was the apple of her 
 eye. 
 
 I have heard my mother more than once relate 
 that when she heard the words of the miner 
 " Thank God, there above ; I have the child" a 
 thrill of horror ran through her heart. Then it 
 seemed to her impossible that it could be true ; j?he 
 fell with her face to the ground, and could only 
 weep. But when the light reappeared, and by its 
 
24 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 weak rays she could discern her child, and see that 
 he was alive, heaven seemed to open to her in all 
 its glory. Never did she forget the blessed moment. 
 My mother was a very pious woman ; and was, on 
 this account, held in great esteem by all who knew 
 her. God laid many trials upon her, but I never saw 
 her faint-hearted, never heard her murmur. In all 
 her sorrows she acknowledged the fatherly love of 
 God. But she often told her children that it was 
 in that day of agony, when I was lost and again 
 restored, that she was first fully established in her 
 faith, and knew what it was to trust in the good- 
 ness of God. 
 
 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE. 
 
 ABOUT Christmas, in the year 1840, a Russian 
 clergyman was going home from a place at some 
 distance from the village where he lived. Evening 
 was coming on, and it was growing so bitterly cold 
 that it was almost dangerous for any one to be out. 
 He was wrapped in a fur cloak, and travelled in a 
 sledge, which went fast over the hard, smooth snow. 
 As he went along he saw something lying on the 
 ground, and stopped to see what it was. He found 
 that it was a soldier, who seemed to have fallen 
 down exhausted with the cold, and to all appear- 
 ance was dead. The good clergyman, however, 
 \vould not leave him on the road, but lifted him 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 25 
 
 into the sledge, with his gun, which lay beside him, 
 and drove as fast as he could to the next inn, which 
 it took about half an hour to reach. He was not 
 .satisfied with leaving the poor soldier in the care 
 of the people there; but, although he was very 
 anxious to reach his home, he stayed for an hour 
 directing and helping them to do all that was pos- 
 sible in order to bring the man to conscious life 
 again in case he was not really dead. And at 
 length their endeavors were successful, and his 
 senses and the use of his limbs gradually returned. 
 Then the clergyman set off homeward, having first 
 rewarded the people of the inn, and also given them 
 money to pay for a good meal for the poor man, 
 before he should go forward on his journey. As 
 soon as the man was refreshed and felt able to go, 
 he insisted upon doing so, although the people did 
 all they could to persuade him not to venture out 
 again that night. 
 
 But he said that he was carrying letters which 
 \\civ important, and he must not delay any longer 
 than was quite necessary. So, taking his gun, he 
 proceeded on his way, which he found would very 
 soon bring him to the village where the clergyman 
 lived to whom he owed his life. He reached the 
 place before long, and, though it was now very late 
 at night, he could not forbear going to the clergy- 
 man's house, that he might, if possible, see and 
 thank him for what he had done. 
 
 As he went up to the house, he saw that, though 
 3 
 
26 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 it was late, there was still a light in it ; and as he 
 came nearer, he heard loud voices and great confu- 
 sion within. He hastened to the door, but it was 
 fastened ; and without waiting to knock, he ran to 
 the window close by, and, looking in, saw the clergy- 
 man surrounded by four armed robbers. They had 
 just tied his hands and feet, and were threatening 
 to murder him if he would not tell where his money 
 was to be found. The soldier instantly forced his 
 way in, fired his gun at one of the robbers, and 
 killed him on the spot. The others attacked the 
 soldier, but he disabled one with his bayonet, and 
 the other two were then seized with fear, and 
 rushed out of the house, leaving the clergyman, as 
 may be supposed, overpowered by astonishment 
 and gratitude for his sudden deliverance. And 
 then his still deeper and happier feelings may be 
 imagined when he found that the poor man, whose 
 life he had saved only a few hours before, had now 
 been made the means of preserving his own. 
 
 CAPTAIN H. and crew sailed some time since from 
 
 the port of . After having been at sea for 
 
 several days, they were assailed by an unusually 
 severe storm, which continued forty-five days and 
 nights in succession. They were driven far from 
 their course by the violence of the wind. Nature 
 had become nearly exhausted by hard and long 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 27 
 
 toiling; and, to add to their affliction, famine began 
 to threaten them with a death far more appalling 
 than that of a watery grave. 
 
 The captain had with him his wife, two daugh- 
 ters, and ten persons besides. As their provisions 
 grew short, his wife became provident and careful 
 of the pittance that fell to their family share. She 
 would eat but little, lest her husband should starve. 
 The children would eat but little, for fear the mother 
 would suffer, and the captain refused to eat any, 
 but left his portion for his suffering family. At 
 length they were reduced to a scanty allowance for 
 twenty-four hours in the midst of a storm, and one 
 thousand miles from land. Captain H. was a man 
 who feared God. In this his extremity he ordered 
 his steward to bring the remaining provision on 
 deck, and spread the same on the tarpauling which 
 covers the hatch, and falling down beside the frag- 
 ments of bread and meat before him, he lifted up 
 his voice in prayer to Him who heareth out of the 
 deep, and said, " 0, thou who didst feed Elijah by 
 a raven while in the wilderness, and who com- 
 manded that the widow's cruse of oil and barrel of 
 meal should not fail, look down upon us in our pre- 
 sent distress, and grant that this food may be so 
 multiplied that the lives now in jeopardy may be 
 preserved." After this he arose from his knees, 
 went to the companion-way, and found his wife and 
 children engaged in the same holy exercise. He 
 exhorted them to pray on, and assured them that 
 
28 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 God had answered his prayer, and that not ono 
 soul then on board should perish. Scarcely had he 
 uttered these words, when his mate, who had been 
 at the mast-head for some time on the look-out, 
 exclaimed, " Sail ! sail !" At this crisis the 
 captain shouted with swelling gratitude, " What, 
 has God sent the ravens already!" and in one 
 hour from that time, through the friendly sail, 
 barrels of bread and meat were placed upon the 
 deck. 
 
 " Thus one thing secures us, whatever betide ; 
 The Scripture assures us the Lord will provide." 
 
 WHO CAN TELL? 
 
 " I HAVE heard," says Mr. Daniel Wilson, in a 
 sermon of his, "of a certain person, whose name I 
 could mention, who was tempted to conclude his 
 day over, and himself lost; that, therefore, it was 
 his best course to put an end to his life, which, if 
 continued, would but serve to increase his sin, and 
 consequently his misery, from which there was no 
 escape ; and seeing he must be in hell, the sooner 
 he was there the sooner he should know the worst ; 
 which was preferable to his being worn away with 
 the tormenting expectation of what \vas to come. 
 Under the influence of such suggestions as these, 
 ho went to a river, with a design to throw himself 
 in ; but as he was about to do it, he seemed to hear 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 29 
 
 a voice saying to him, Who can tell ? as if the words 
 had been audibly delivered. By this, therefore, he 
 was brought to a stand ; his thoughts were arrested, 
 and thus began to work on the passage mentioned : 
 Who can tell (Jonah iii. 9,) viz., what God can do 
 when he will proclaim his grace glorious? Who 
 can tell but such an one as I may find mercy ? or 
 what will be the issue of humble prayer to heaven 
 for it ? Who can tell what purposes God will serve 
 in my recovery ? By such thoughts as these, being 
 so far influenced as to resolve to try, it pleased God 
 graciously to enable him, through all his doubts and 
 fears, to throw himself by faith on Jesus Christ, as 
 able to save to the uttermost all that come to God 
 by him, humbly desiring and expecting mercy for 
 his sake, to his own soul. In this he was not 
 disappointed; but afterwards became an eminent 
 Christian and minister; and from his own expe- 
 rience of the riches of grace, was greatly useful to 
 the conversion and comfort of others." 
 
 THE MARTYR SAVED. 
 
 IT is related, in the memoirs of the celebrated 
 William Winston, that a Protestant, in the days of 
 Queen Mary, of the name of Barber, was sentenced 
 to be burned. He walked to Smithfield, was bound 
 to the stake, the fagots were piled around him. and 
 the executioner only waited the word of command 
 
 3* 
 
30 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 to apply the torch. At this crisis, tidings came of 
 the queen's death; the officers were compelled to 
 stay proceedings till the pleasure of Elizabeth 
 should be known; and thus the life of the good 
 man was spared, to labor, with some of his descend- 
 ants, successfully in the service of the Lord Jesus 
 and his church. 
 
 WONDERFUL DELIVERANCE OF PETER THE 
 GREAT. 
 
 ALEXANDER MENZIKOFF, who rose to the highest 
 offices of state in Russia, during the reign of Peter 
 the Great, was born of parents so excessively poor, 
 that they could not afford to have him taught to 
 read and write. After their death, he went to 
 Moscow to seek for employment, where he found 
 an asylum with a pastry cook. He had a very fine 
 voice, and soon became known through that great 
 city by the musical tone of his cry when vending 
 his master's pastry in the streets. His voice also 
 gained him admission into the houses of many 
 noblemen; and he was fortunate enough one day 
 to be in the kitchen of a great lord with whom the 
 emperor was to dine. While Menzikoff was there, 
 the nobleman came into the kitchen, and gave 
 directions about a particular dish, to which he said 
 the emperor was very partial; into this dish he 
 dropped (as he thought unperceived) a powder. 
 Menzikoff observed it, but taking no notice, imme- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 31 
 
 diately left ; and when he saw the emperor's car- 
 riage coming, he began to sing very loud. Peter, 
 attracted by his voice, called him, and bought all 
 the pies he had in his basket. He asked some 
 questions of Menzikoff, and was so much pleased 
 with his answers that he commanded him to follow 
 him to the nobleman's house, and wait behind his 
 chair. The servants were surprised at his order, 
 but it proved of the greatest importance to Peter ; 
 for when the nobleman pressed his royal guest to 
 take of this favorite dish, his new servant gently 
 pulled him by the sleeve, and begged he would not 
 touch it until he had spoken to him. The emperor 
 immediately withdrew with Menzikoff, who in- 
 formed his imperial master of his suspicions. The 
 czar returned to his company, and, suddenly turn- 
 ing to his host, pressed him to partake of the 
 favorite dish. Terrified at this command, he said, 
 ''It did not become the servant to eat before his 
 master." It was then given to a dog, who shortly 
 after expired in great pain. The nobleman's exe- 
 cution and Menzikoff s elevation complete the 
 story. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL RESCUE OF SEVEN PERSONS FROM 
 A WHALE-BOAT IN THE NORTH PACIFIC. 
 
 AT daylight on the morning of the 5th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1850, one of the hands of the schooner Wan- 
 derer (Royal Yacht Squadron), on her passage from 
 
32 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the Society Islands to the Hawaiian, reported what 
 appeared to him to be a boat ; but this was for some 
 time considered to be impossible, as no boat, it was 
 thought, could have lived in such a sea the Wan- 
 derer herself being under storm canvas, it blowing 
 a severe gale. A man having been, however, sent 
 aloft with a glass, it proved to be a whale-boat, 
 about three miles to the windward, with signal of 
 distress flying ; the schooner then beat up to her 
 near enough to hail ; but at first the only intelli- 
 gible word that could be heard was "water ! water !" 
 Her canvas was blown away, and her rudder gone ; 
 and having no steering oar she was unmanageable. 
 After three attempts, the Wanderer succeeded in 
 passing sufficiently near to heave the end of a 
 whale-line to the boat. A running bowline was 
 then passed to them, by which means one after 
 another of the people were hauled on board the 
 schooner over the taffrail. The party consisted of 
 Jose Davis, a Brazilian man of color, two men and 
 three women, natives of the Sandwich Islands, one 
 of the latter being the wife of Davis. It appeared 
 that they had left the island of Molokai, where 
 they had called on their passage from Oahu to 
 Maui, and had nearly reached the latter island, 
 where they resided ; but being caught in a heavy 
 gale, and their boat disabled, had driven three 
 hundred miles to the southward. They had been 
 nine days without water subsisting entirely by 
 sucking small pieces of pumpkins, a few of which 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 33 
 
 they had on board, and which Davis doled out to 
 them sparingly ; as he said he had determined, if 
 the boat survived the gale, to have made sails out 
 of the women's dresses, and endeavored to rig a 
 new rudder, and steer by a particular star of his 
 acquaintance, which would bring him to the coast 
 of South America ; how this was to be accomplished 
 in the teeth of the strong easterly trades, was above, 
 rather, the range of Davis's philosophy. The poor 
 creatures were so exhausted from cold arid continued 
 bailing (the garboard streak of the boat having 
 started), that it was some time before hot tea, 
 mixed with a little spirits, revived them, and ena- 
 bled them to give a distinct account of their mis- 
 fortunes. 
 
 For some time an endeavor was made to get 
 some of their goods out of the boat, for their worldly 
 all was on board of her, consisting of clothes, 
 squashes, and about $100 ; but by this time the 
 water had gained so much upon her, that she gave 
 one heavy roll, carrying away the mast to which the 
 warp was attached, and when the Wanderer left 
 her si 10 was evidently settling. Poor Jose, whose 
 hair was nearly white with the snows of some sixty 
 winters, took his last fond look ; a tear came trick- 
 ling down his wrinkled cheek ; he drew a deep sigh 
 and exclaimed : " There goes my all ; I am again a 
 beggar ;" and, taking his wife around the neck, 
 kissed her, and said: "Thank God, however, we 
 are safe, and will see our boys again." Jose proved 
 
34 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 himself quite a character. It was evident that it 
 was not the first time that he had been in a long- 
 keeled craft, as he called her. He surveyed her 
 with the eye of a master spirit ; and, when he saw 
 long Tom and other guns, he said, with a knowing 
 expression : " They know nothing of the old trade 
 here ; but I have no doubt you will do well dodging 
 off San Francisco ;" evidently considering that the 
 schooner was bent on no very honest calling. He 
 and his party remained with us during our stay at 
 Hawaii, where he formerly lived for seventeen 
 years. We found he was universally respected by 
 the inhabitants, who desired him and his family to 
 come again and reside with them ; but Jose, having 
 his eldest boy at one of those excellent schools 
 founded by the American Missionaries at Maui, 
 said that he was determined his children should 
 have a good education, and declined their offer. 
 When the Wanderer called at Lahaina to land 
 them, it was ascertained that the boat and party 
 were long since given up as lost; and the maternal 
 uncle of the children had taken charge of them. 
 Nothing could exceed the gratitude of the poor 
 people ; and old Jose presented the Wanderer with 
 a fine large hog, cocoanuts, &c., for which he would 
 not accept of any payment; the affair was with 
 difficulty arranged by giving some calico to his wife ; 
 and when they left the ship they carried with them 
 the kind wishes of all on board. Polynesian. 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 ife JKwAb ij ftlnintcllipt Agents. 
 
 ALL IS FOR THE BEST. 
 
 THAT great and good man, Bernard Gilpin, whose 
 pious labors in the north of England procured for 
 him the title of " The Apostle of the North," when 
 exposed to losses or troubles, was accustomed to 
 say, " Ah, well, God's will be done ; it's all for the 
 best." 
 
 Toward the close of Mary's reign, Mr. Gilpin was 
 accused of heresy; and being speedily apprehended, 
 he left his happy home, " nothing doubting," as he 
 said, " that it was all for the best ;" though fully 
 expecting, when he bid his family farewell, that, 
 instead of returning, he should die at the martyrs' 
 stake. 
 
 While on his way to London, by some accident 
 he broke his leg. This, for a time, put a stop to 
 his journey. While thus detained, some malignant 
 persons took occasion to retort on him his habitual 
 
 (35) 
 
36 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 remark. " What," said they, " is this all for the 
 best ?" " Sirs, I make no question but it is," was 
 his meek reply. And so it actually proved; for, 
 before he was able to travel, Queen Mary died, the 
 persecution ceased, and he was restored to liberty. 
 
 SAVED FROM A ROBBER BY RAIN. 
 
 A MERCHANT was one day returning from market. 
 He was on horseback, and behind him was a valise 
 filled with money. The rain fell with violence, and 
 the good old man was wet to his skin. At this he 
 was vexed, and murmured because God had given 
 him such bad weather for his journey. 
 
 He soon reached the borders of a thick forest. 
 What was his terror on beholding on one side of 
 the road a robber, with levelled gun, aiming at him 
 and attempting to fire ! But, the powder being wet 
 by the rain, the gun did not go off, and the merchant, 
 giving spurs to his horse, fortunately had time to 
 escape. 
 
 As soon as he found himself safe, he said to him- 
 self: "How wrong was I, not to endure the rain 
 patiently, as sent by Providence ! If the weather 
 had been dry and fair, I should not, probably, have 
 been alive at this hour, and my little children would 
 have expected my return in vain. The rain which 
 caused me to murmur, came at a fortunate moment, 
 to save my life and preserve my property." And 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 37 
 
 thus it is with a multitude of our afflictions; by 
 causing us slight and short sufferings, they preserve 
 us from others far greater, and of longer duration. 
 
 LIFE SAVED BY A TRACT. 
 
 A MINISTER from Exeter stated "that not far 
 from the place where he lived, and quite in the 
 country, there were two young ladies residing, and 
 hoth were pious. It so happened that a poor Ame- 
 rican sailor, having taken up the employment of a 
 pedlar, passed that way, called at the house of these 
 young ladies, and taking his box of small wares 
 from his shoulders, requested one of them to pur- 
 rim se some tracts. She replied, that there was a 
 certain tract which she was anxious to find, and 
 that she would look over his parcel, and if it con- 
 tained the one referred to, she would take it. She 
 did so, and finding the tract she wanted, paid the 
 man, and ordered the servants to provide him some 
 refreshments, and went in haste to the door to re- 
 ceive a friend who had come from a distance to visit 
 her. The poor man, in the mean time, gathered 
 up his scattered wares, proceeded a considerable 
 distance on his way, and having reached a very 
 retired spot, sat down by the side of the road, and 
 taking his jack-knife from his pocket, began to 
 appease his hunger with the food so kindly pro- 
 vided for him. It so happened that in the course 
 4 
 
38 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 of the day a most horrible murder and robbery had 
 been committed near this spot, and officers had been 
 despatched to seek out the criminal and bring him 
 back to justice. A party of them approached this 
 poor sailor, and finding him employed with a jack- 
 knife (the very instrument with which the murder 
 was supposed to have been perpetrated), they seized 
 him at once and put him in prison, where he re- 
 mained three months awaiting his trial. During the 
 whole period of his confinement he was employed 
 in reading the Bible and religious books to his fel- 
 low-prisoners, and was so exemplary in his whole 
 conduct as to attract the attention of the jailor, 
 who kindly interested himself for him, listened to 
 his tale of woe, and believed him innocent. When 
 the trial came on the case was of such an interest- 
 ing nature that it drew together a vast concourse 
 of people; and after the examination had been 
 passed, and the judge had called for the verdict of 
 guilty or not guilty, a voice was heard to issue from 
 the crowd, Not guilty! Every eye was directed to 
 the spot from whence the sound proceeded ; and 
 immediately a young lady advanced, with a paper 
 in her hand, and appeared before the judge. Her 
 feelings at first overcame her, and she fainted ; but 
 recovering herself, and being encouraged to proceed, 
 if she had anything to say in defence of the prisoner 
 at the bar, she stated to the judge the circumstances 
 of having the tract of the poor man, presenting it 
 at the same time, bearing the date of the day and 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 39 
 
 hour when it was purchased. She stated further, 
 that just as the man was about leaving her, a sister 
 whom she had not seen for many years arrived from 
 a distance, and as she was anxious, for a particular 
 reason, to remember the day and hour of her arrival, 
 she made a memorandum of it upon this tract, which 
 she happened to have in her hand. While she was 
 making this statement to the judge, the poor pri- 
 soner bent forward with earnestness to discover what 
 gentle voice was pleading in his behalf; for he had 
 thought himself friendless and alone in the world, 
 and was comforted that any one should take a part 
 in his sorrows, even though it should not avail to 
 the saving of his life. But it did avail; for the 
 hour of the murder having been ascertained, and 
 being the same as that recorded upon the tract, it 
 was evident the prisoner must have been in a differ- 
 ent place at the time it was committed. He was 
 accordingly discharged ; and in a moment was upon 
 his knees, pouring forth the grateful feelings of his 
 heart to his kind benefactress. And this, said the 
 reverend gentleman, holding up a tract, is the very 
 tract which saved that man's life." 
 
 DELIVERED FROM DEATH BY A DOG. 
 
 SIR HARRY LEE, in Ditchlong, in Oxfordshire, 
 ancestor of the lato Earl of Litchfield, had a 
 mastiff which guarded the house and yard, but 
 
40 HEMAHKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 had never met with the least particular attention 
 from his master, and was retained for his utility 
 only, and not for any special regard. One night 
 as his master was retiring to his chamber, attended 
 by his valet, an Italian, the mastiff silently fol- 
 lowed him up stairs, which he had never been 
 known to do before, and, to his master's astonish- 
 ment, presented himself in his bedroom. Being 
 deemed an intruder, he was instantly ordered to be 
 turned out; which being complied with, the poor 
 animal began scratching violently at the door, and 
 howling loudly for admission. The servant was 
 sent to drive him away. Discouragement could 
 not check his labor of love, or rather providential 
 impulse ; he returned again, and was more impor- 
 tunate than before to be let in. Sir Harry, weary 
 of opposition, bade the servant open the door, that 
 they might see what he would do. This done, the 
 mastiff, with a wag of his tail, and a look of affec- 
 tion at his lord, deliberately walked up, and crawl- 
 ing under the bed, laid himself down as if desirous 
 of taking up his night's lodging there. To save 
 farther trouble, but not from any partiality for his 
 company, the indulgence was allowed. About the 
 hour of midnight the chamber door opened, and a 
 person was heard stepping across the room. Sir 
 Harry started from his sleep ; the dog sprung from 
 his covert, and, seizing the unwelcome disturber, 
 fixed him to the spot ! All was dark, and Sir 
 Harry rung his bell in great trepidation, in order 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 41 
 
 to procure a light. The person who was pinned to 
 the floor by the courageous mastiff roared for assist- 
 ance. It was found to be the valet, who little 
 expected such a reception. He endeavored to apo- 
 logize for his intrusion, and to make the reasons 
 which induced him to take the step appear plausi- 
 ble ; but the importunity of the dog, the time, the 
 place, and the manner of the valet, all raised sus- 
 picion in Sir Harry's mind, and he determined to 
 refer the investigation of the business to a magis- 
 trate. The perfidious Italian, alternately terrified 
 by the dread of punishment, and soothed with the 
 hope of pardon, at length confessed that it was his 
 intention to murder his master, and then rob the 
 house. This diabolical design was frustrated only 
 by the dog, who had perhaps providentially over- 
 heard some expressions in soliloquy or conversa- 
 tion, from the valet, respecting his contemplated 
 crime. 
 
 THE FALLEN TREE. 
 
 ABOUT the year 1830, while a young man of the 
 town of Wells, Maine, was at work in the woods 
 alone, he felled a tree which struck a large iog, 
 lying up some distance from the ground. When 
 the tree struck the log, the butt bounded, struck 
 the man, carried him some distance, plunged him 
 into a deep snow, and fell across his stomach, con- 
 
 4* 
 
42 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 fining him there. The log across which the tree 
 fell, served as a fulcrum, being so near the middle 
 of the tree as to prevent it from lying so heavily 
 upon him as to give much immediate distress. His 
 feet were so completely confined that he had no 
 power to move them; his hands being the only 
 means with which he could do the least towards 
 extricating himself, which he used in the best pos- 
 sible manner he was capable of; but he was utterly 
 unsuccessful in his efforts to raise the body of the 
 tree, or beating away the snow. Now feeling in 
 some degree that all hopes of being delivered from 
 that state of confinement also were vain, he cast 
 his eyes toward heaven, when he saw a large limb, 
 which had broken from the tree while falling, sus- 
 pended in the air by the branch of another tree, 
 and at the distance of thirty or forty feet above 
 him, apparently directly over his head. What must 
 have been his feelings while thus confined, and 
 viewing that threatening death hanging directly 
 over him, and expecting every moment it would 
 fall and terminate his existence ? 
 
 While he thus lay, with his eyes fastened upon 
 the limb, waiting for the result he thought must 
 soon take place, the twig by which it was sus- 
 pended gave way the limb fell and struck the 
 snow about one foot from his head. He imme- 
 diately thought to use that as a lever, by which to 
 raise the tree. He proved successful. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 43 
 
 SINGULAR PRESERVATION GREENLANDERS. 
 
 THE United Brethren relate the following account 
 of two converted pagans in Greenland, who, in their 
 heathen state, gave them much trouble by their 
 wild dances and outrageous behavior. 
 
 On July 4th, 1827, the assistant Nathaniel arrived 
 here with his family. He immediately called upon 
 us both to make a report of his success in the seal 
 fishery, and of the remarkable preservation of his 
 life ; the narrative of which might almost appear 
 fabulous, had he not related it himself; and he is a 
 man of unimpeached veracity. First, he exclaimed : 
 " I have now experienced what it is to be near 
 death ;" and then related the following adventure : 
 
 Being in company with another brother, who 
 was yet inexperienced in the management of a 
 kayak, he met a neitsersoak, the largest kind of 
 seal, which he killed. He then discovered his 
 companion on a flake of ice, endeavoring to kill 
 another of the same species, and in danger. He 
 therefore left his dead seal, kept buoyant by the 
 bladder, and hastened to help his brother. They 
 succeeded in killing the seal ; but suddenly a strong 
 north wind arose, and carried off both the kayaks 
 to sea. They now with terror beheld themselves 
 left on a small flake of ice, far from the land, driv- 
 ing about in the open sea ; nor could they discover 
 any kayaks in the neighborhood. They cried aloud 
 
44 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 for help, but in vain. Meanwhile, the wind rose 
 in strength, and carried both the kayaks, and also 
 the piece of ice, swiftly along with the waves. 
 Having lost sight of the former, they now saw 
 themselves without the least hope of deliverance. 
 Nathaniel added : " I continued praying to my Sa- 
 viour, and thought with great grief of the situation 
 of my poor family ; but felt a small degree of hope 
 arising in my breast." Unexpectedly, he saw his 
 dead seal floating towards him, and was exceedingly 
 surprised to see it approaching against the wind, 
 till it came so near the flake of ice that they could 
 secure it. But how should a dead seal become the 
 means of their deliverance ? And what was now 
 to be done ? All at once, Nathaniel resolved, at a 
 venture, to seat himself upon the floating seal, and, 
 by the help of his paddle, which he had kept in his 
 hand when he joined his companion on the ice, to 
 go in quest of the kayaks. Though the sea and 
 waves continually overflowed him, yet the body of 
 the seal being sufficiently buoyant to bear his 
 weight, he kept his seat, made after the kayaks, 
 and succeeded in overtaking his own, into which he 
 crept, and went in quest of that of his companion, 
 which he likewise found. He also kept possession 
 of the seal; and now hastened in search of the 
 flake of ice, on which his companion was most 
 anxiously looking out for him. Having reached it, 
 he brought him his kayak, and enabled him to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 45 
 
 secure the other seal, when both returned home in 
 safety. 
 
 We were thankful that Nathaniel had received 
 no harm from so dangerous an adventure. During 
 this affecting narrative, he ascribed his preservation, 
 not to his own clever contrivance, but to the mercy 
 of God alone ; and added : " When I found myself 
 delivered from death, and sat again in my kayak, I 
 shed abundance of tears of gratitude to our Saviour ; 
 for in my greatest distress my only hope was placed 
 on him. I ascribe to him alone my deliverance !" 
 We could not refrain from tears on hearing the 
 undisguised and simple account he gave of this 
 event ; and joined in his thanksgiving to the Lord, 
 who has thousands of means at his command of 
 Diving them who call upon him in trouble. 
 
 A REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE. 
 
 IN 1C 72, the Datch were saved by an extraordi- 
 nary event, at a time when nothing but the inter- 
 position of Providence could have preserved them. 
 In that memorable year, when Louis XIV. came 
 down upon that country like a flood, he proposed 
 that at the same time he should enter the province 
 of Holland by land, his fleet, in conjunction with 
 that of Great Britain, should make a descent on 
 the side of the Hague by sea. When the united 
 
46 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 fleets came up within sight of Scheveling, the tide, 
 though very regular at other times, jus.t when they 
 were preparing to land, changed its usual course, 
 and stopped for several hours. The next morning 
 the French and English fleets were dispersed by a 
 violent storm. 
 
 Those who hate the very name of a miracle 
 (although in reality they suppose the greatest of 
 all miracles, that is, the tying up the hands of the 
 Almighty from disposing events according to his 
 will), pretend, "This was only an extraordinary 
 ebb." But this very ebb was an extraordinary 
 providence, as the descent, which must have termi- 
 nated in the destruction of the republic, was to be 
 punctually at that and no other time. But that 
 this retrogradation of the sea was no natural event, 
 is as certain as anything in nature. 
 
 Many writers of unquestionable veracity might 
 be produced to confirm the truth of the fact. I shall 
 only cite one, who was at the Hague but three years 
 after it happened. " An extraordinary thing lately 
 happened at the Hague : I had it from many eye- 
 witnesses. The English fleet appeared in sight of 
 Scheveling, making up to the shore. The tide 
 turned : but they made no doubt of landing the 
 forces the next flood, where thev were like to 
 
 / 
 
 meet no resistance. The states sent to the prince 
 for men to hinder the descent, but he could spare 
 few, having the French near him. So the country 
 was given up for lost ; their admiral, De Ruy ter, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 47 
 
 with their fleet being absent. The flood returned, 
 which the people expected would end in their ruin ; 
 but, to the .amazement of them all, after the sea 
 had flowed two or three hours, an ebb of many 
 hours succeeded, which carried the fleet again to 
 sea. And before the flood returned, De Ruyter 
 came in view. This they esteemed no less than a 
 miracle wrought for their preservation." Bishop 
 Burnefs History of his own Times. Book II. 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 fife Ijrtsuto % UJtntal Impressions, grcains, 
 
 REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE OF THE REV. R. 
 BOARDMAN. 
 
 " I PREACHED one evening at Mould, in Flintshire, 
 and next morning set out for Parkgatc. After 
 riding some miles, I asked a man if I was on the 
 road to that place. He answered, ' Yes ; but you 
 will have some sands to go over, and unless you ride 
 fast you will be in danger of being enclosed by the 
 tide.' It then began to snow to such a degree that 
 I could scarcely see a step of my way. I got to the 
 sands, and pursued my journey over them for some- 
 time as rapidly as I could ; but the tide then came 
 in, and surrounded me on every side, so that I could 
 neither proceed nor turn back, and to ascend the 
 perpendicular rocks was impossible. In this situa- 
 tion I commended my soul to God, not having the 
 least expectation of escaping death. In a little time 
 I perceived two men running down a hill on the 
 
 (48) 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 49 
 
 other side of the water, and by some means they 
 got into a bout, and came to my relief, just as the 
 sea had reached my knees, as I sat on my saddle. 
 They took me into the boat, the mare swimming 
 by our side till we reached the land. While we 
 were in the boat, one of the men said, ' Surely, sir, 
 God is with you.' I answered, ' I trust he is.' The 
 man replied, 'I know he is;' and then related the 
 following circumstance : ' Last night I dreamed that 
 I must go to the top of such a hill. When I awoke 
 the dream made such an impression on my mind 
 that I could not rest. I therefore went and called 
 on this man to accompany me. When we came to 
 the place w r e saw nothing more than usual. How- 
 ever, I begged him to go with me to another at a 
 small distance, and there we saw your distressed 
 situation.' When we got ashore I went with my 
 two friends to a public-house not far distant from 
 where we landed ; and as we were relating the 
 wonderful providence, the landlady said, ' This day 
 month we saw a gentleman just in your situation ; 
 but before we could hasten to his relief he plunged 
 into the sea, supposing, as we concluded, that his 
 horse could swim to the shore ; but they both sank, 
 and were drowned together.' I gave my deliverers 
 all the money I had, which I think was about 
 eighteen pence, and tarried all night at the hotel. 
 Next morning I was not a little embarrassed how 
 to pay my reckoning, for the want of cash, and I 
 begged my landlord would keep a pair of silver 
 
50 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 spurs till I should redeem them ; but he answered, 
 ' The Lord bless you, sir, I would not take a farthing 
 from you for the world.' After some serious con- 
 versation with the friendly people, I bade them fare- 
 well, and recommenced my journey, rejoicing in the 
 Lord, and praising him for his great salvation." 
 
 ESCAPE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 
 
 MAJOR FERGUSON, who commanded- a rifle corps 
 in advance of the hussars under Kniphausen, during 
 some skirmishing a day or two previous to the battle 
 of Brandywine, was the hero of a very singular inci- 
 dent, which he thus relates in a letter to a friend. 
 It illustrates, in a most forcible manner, the over- 
 ruling hand of Providence in directing the opera- 
 tions of a man's mind, in moments when he is least 
 of all aware of it. 
 
 " We had not lain long, when a rebel officer, 
 remarkable by a hussar dress, pressed towards our 
 army, within a hundred yards of my right flank, 
 not perceiving us. He was followed by another, 
 dressed in dark green and blue, mounted on a bay 
 horse, with a remarkably high cocked hat. I 
 ordered three good shots to steal near to them, and 
 fire at them ; but the idea disgusting me, I recalled 
 the order. The hussar, in returning, made a cir- 
 cuit, but the other passed within a hundred yards 
 of us, upon which I advanced from the wood towards 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 51 
 
 him. Upon my calling, he stopped ; but after look- 
 ing at me, he proceeded. I again drew his atten- 
 tion, and made signs to him to stop, levelling my 
 piece at him ; but he slowly cantered away. As I 
 was within that distance at which, in the quickest 
 firing, I could have lodged half a dozen balls in or 
 about him, before he was out of my reach, I had 
 only to determine ; but it was not pleasant to fire 
 at the back of an unoffending individual, who was 
 acquitting himself very coolly of his duty ; so I let 
 him alone. 
 
 " The day after, I had been telling this story to 
 some wounded oflicers who lay in the same room 
 with me, when one of the surgeons, who had been 
 dressing the wounded rebel officers, came in, and 
 told us, that they had been informing him that 
 General Washington was all the morning with the 
 light troops, and only attended by a French officer 
 in a hussar dress, he himself dressed and mounted 
 in every point as above described. I am not sorry 
 that I did not know at the time who it was." 
 
 THE DROWNING LADY. 
 
 A GAY lady in New England once had occasion 
 to go to a neighboring town, where she had often 
 been before. In the immediate vicinity was a 
 stream which she had to go near, and which at 
 this period was high. With a view of showing her 
 
52 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 courage to a young person whom she had taken 
 with her as a companion, she went into the stream 
 with her horse, and in a very little time was thrown 
 into the water had already sunk once or twice to 
 the bottom, and felt that she was within a few mo- 
 ments of an eternal world, without being prepared 
 for so great a change. 
 
 It so happened, that a young man in another 
 neighboring town had felt a powerful impression 
 on his mind that morning, that he would visit the 
 same place. He had no business to transact ; but, 
 being forcibly impressed with the importance of 
 going thither, he invited a young man to accom- 
 pany him. Arriving at the side of the stream just 
 as the young ladies were about to cross it, they saw 
 it was improbable that they could ford it ; yet, as 
 the ladies went, they determined to follow. 
 
 By the time the young lady was thrown from 
 her horse, the others had nearly reached the oppo- 
 site shore ; but, perceiving her danger, one of them 
 immediately followed her on his horse, and in the 
 last moment of life, as it then appeared, she caught 
 hold of the horse's leg; he thus secured her, and 
 snatching hold of the other drowning young lady, 
 she was saved also. After the use of proper reme- 
 dies they recovered ; and the young gentlemen, 
 believing that the design of their coming from home 
 was now answered, returned back. 
 
 The impressions made on the mind of this young 
 lady were permanent, and she was led to reflect on 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 53 
 
 the sins she had committed against God, to pray 
 for the pardon of her guilt, and to devote herself to 
 the Divine service. She embraced the mercy of the 
 Lord, believing in the Redeemer, who alone saves 
 from the wrath to come. 
 
 In the same town with herself lived a young 
 gentleman, who had often spent his hours in vain 
 conversation with her. On her return home, he 
 went to congratulate her on her escape, and to his 
 surprise, found she attributed her deliverance to the 
 power of God, and urged him to seek that grace 
 which they had both neglected. Her serious con- 
 versation was blest to his conversion, and he became 
 a faithful minister of Jesus Christ. 
 
 HE CRUCIFIED NOT HIMSELF. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN was known by his nearest and 
 dearest friend, his wife, never to lie down upon his 
 pillow, some years before his death, or raise his 
 head from it in the morning, without repeating the 
 short hymn annexed to this anecdote ; and some- 
 times he would inadvertently burst into ejaculations 
 in company, when two or three lines of it were dis- 
 tinctly heard before he could recollect himself. The 
 cause at that time was unknown ; but after his de- 
 cease a paper was found in his bureau to the follow- 
 ing purport : " You will no longer be surprised at 
 5* 
 
54 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 my involuntary effusions of feeble gratitude to the 
 Almighty, when you shall read that many years 
 since the dread of approaching poverty, disgrace, 
 and desertion of friends, had brought me to the 
 fatal resolution of ending my existence. Conscious 
 that I had brought misfortune upon a numerous 
 family by my own imprudence, dissipation, and 
 pride, I considered my punishment as an act of 
 justice. The destined moment arrived ; already 
 had I loaded, primed, and cocked when, strange 
 to relate ! though I had not read a page in the 
 Bible for years, a reflection came suddenly across 
 my mind 'Jesus of Nazareth,' said I to myself, 
 'was a man (for I disbelieved in his divinity) 
 acquainted with sorrows, endured a life of poverty, 
 was exposed to public scorn and derision, suffered 
 pain of body and agony of mind, and had nothing 
 to reproach himself with yet this reformer of the 
 morals of mankind, this benefactor to society, this 
 illustrious pattern of fortitude, patience, and hu- 
 manity, was by an unthankful world put to death : 
 he was crucified ! But lie crucified not himself!' 
 Repeating these last words with unusual energy, 
 my inability humbly to imitate his example of 
 bearing afflictions manfully, produced a passionate 
 conflict of pride, shame, and contempt, in which 
 paroxysm I madly flung the pistol some distance 
 from me ; to add to the affecting scene, it went off, 
 unheard but by my affectionate wife, who reli- 
 giously kept the secret; her consolations restored 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 58 
 
 me to temporary tranquillity. But the work of Pro- 
 vidence was not yet completed; not a week had 
 elapsed, and settled melancholy was again taking 
 possession of my soul, when a letter announced the 
 death of a distant relation and summoned me to 
 the reading of his will, by which he bequeathed 
 me sufficient to clear me of embarrassment, and 
 start me upon a career of prosperity, which, by 
 God's blessing, has resulted in independence." 
 
 Rise, my soul ! the hour review, 
 
 When, awed by guilt and fear, 
 Thou durst not heaven for mercy sue, 
 
 Nor hope for pity here ! 
 
 Dried are thy tears, thy griefs are fled, 
 
 Dispelled each bitter care ; 
 For heaven itself did send its aid, 
 
 To snatch thee from despair. 
 
 Then hear, God, thy vrork fulfil, 
 
 And from thy mercy's throne 
 Vouchsafe me strength to do thy will, 
 
 And to resist my own. 
 
 So shall my soul each power employ, 
 
 Thy mercies to adore, 
 Whilst heaven itself proclaims with joy, 
 
 One rescued sinner more. 
 
 THE VICIOUS HORSE. 
 
 MR. McK , of Talbot county, Md., told me, 
 
 that once he owned a young horse, which he desired 
 to break for a carriage-horse, for the use of his 
 
56 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 family. On one occasion, he concluded to try the 
 horse in a cart, previous to using him in the car- 
 riage. He took him to the field to gather in the 
 fodder, and here the animal worked so gently and 
 kindly through the day, that he became satisfied 
 with the trial, and determined on putting him to 
 the carriage, and taking his family out riding. 
 Hauling in the last load of fodder, however, an im- 
 pression was made on his mind, that he had better 
 try the horse still further. But this suggestion 
 seemed so unreasonable, after the trial already 
 made, that he endeavored to dissipate it from his 
 mind. It, however, strengthened on him, in spite 
 of his resistance ; and, by the time he reached the 
 stack-yard, where the fodder was to be deposited, 
 he concluded to yield to it. Throwing down the 
 load, he drove the horse through the gate into the 
 public road; hardly had he gone three hundred 
 yards, when the horse commenced kicking in a 
 manner so furious and terrible, that but for a chain 
 which he had the precaution to fasten across its 
 back, everything must have been destroyed. Had 
 he been allowed to carry out his determination to 
 take his family out, it is hardly possible that they 
 should all have escaped with their lives. But he 
 who controls all things had determined differently. 
 Man proposes, but God disposes. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 57 
 
 THE ROBBERS. 
 
 A NEIGHBORING farmer, Mr. Reed, had the repu- 
 tation in the country of being exceedingly rich. 
 Several attempts had been made to rob his house, 
 but they had all failed. At last, a servant, who 
 had lived with him, and knew the way of the 
 house, plotted with one Cain, a cooper, and one 
 Digny, a schoolmaster, and a fellow of the name 
 of McHenry, to rob the house on a Sabbath evening. 
 Neither of them lived in that neighborhood : they 
 rendezvoused in a town called Garvah, about a mile 
 and a half from the place, w r here they purchased a 
 couple of candles. They left that about eleven 
 o'clock at night, and concealed themselves some- 
 where in the fields, till about two in the morning. 
 They then came to the house, and had a consulta- 
 tion, which was the best method of entering. At 
 first they got a long ladder, and reared it against 
 the house, intending to strip off some of the thatch 
 above the kitchen, and enter that way, as there 
 was no flooring above it. This they afterwards 
 gave up as too tedious, and likely to lead to a dis- 
 covery. They were now about to abandon their 
 design, when Digny, a man of desperate courage, 
 upbraided them with cowardice, and said : " Will 
 you resign an enterprise in which you are likely to 
 acquire so large a booty, because there appear to 
 be some difficulties in the way?" After a little 
 
58 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 parley, they came to the resolution to take the 
 house by storm, and Digny agreed to enter first, by 
 suddenly dashing the kitchen window in pieces. 
 He stripped off his coat and waistcoat, tied a garter 
 round each arm to confine his shirt, and one about 
 each knee to render him more firm, and one around 
 his waist, in which he stuck his pistols, and tied a 
 handkerchief over his face, with three holes cut in 
 it, one for his mouth, and two for his eyes. He 
 then, in a moment, dashed the window to pieces, 
 passed through it, and leaped down from the sill, 
 and, though he lighted on a spinning-wheel, and 
 broke it in pieces, yet he did not stumble. He flew 
 in a moment to the door, unlocked it, and let two 
 of the gang in, the fourth, McHenry, standing 
 without as sentry. The lock being a very good 
 one, the bolt went back with so loud a noise as to 
 awaken Mr. Reed, who lay in a room off the 
 kitchen, on the same floor. A young man of the 
 name of Kennedy, a servant in the family, lay in a 
 room next to that of his master, only separated 
 from it by a narrow passage, which divided two 
 sets of rooms on the right and left. 
 
 Cooper Cain, and the other accomplice, went 
 immediately to the fire, which, being in that coun- 
 try formed of turf, was raked up in its own ashes, 
 and began to pull out the coals in order to light 
 their candle. Mr. Reed, having been awakened, as 
 before related, jumped out of bed, and ran up the 
 passage towards the kitchen, and cried out : " Who 
 
I:I:MARKACLE PROVIDENCES. r>9 
 
 is there ?" Digny, who was standing ready with 
 his hanger drawn, waiting for the light, which the 
 others were endeavoring to procure, hearing the 
 voice, made a blow at the place whence it came, 
 but did not see that the old man had not yet passed 
 through the door into the kitchen; the hanger 
 caught the bricks above the doorhead, broke out 
 more than a pound weight off one of them, above 
 the lintel, slided down, and laid Mr. Reed's right 
 cheek open from the eye to the lower jaw. Had 
 he been six inches more advanced, the blow would 
 have cleft his head in two. The old man, feeling 
 himself wounded, sprang desperately forward, and 
 seized the assassin, who immediately dropped his 
 hanger, which he could no longer use (for Mr. Reed, 
 who was a powerful man, had seized him by both 
 arms), closed in and grappled with Mr. R. Ken- 
 nedy, who had been awake even before the window 
 was broken, arose, and, while his master and Digny 
 were struggling in the passage, got past them, went 
 into the kitchen, where a loaded gun was hanging 
 on hooks high up on the wall, ascended a large 
 chest, seized the gun, which, he not being able to 
 get readily out of the hoo.ks, with a desperate pull 
 brought the hook out of the wall, descended from 
 the chest, squeezed by his master and the assassin 
 still struggling in the passage, cocked it, and was 
 going to fire, but could not discern his master from 
 the robber. With great presence of mind he de- 
 layed till, Cain and his confederate having sue- 
 
60 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ceeded in lighting their candle (which they found 
 very difficult, not having a match), he was able to 
 discern between his master and Digny. In that 
 moment he fired, and shot the latter through the 
 heart, who instantly fell, and Mr. Reed on the top 
 of him. Kennedy having discharged his piece, 
 immediately cried out : " I've shot one of them ; 
 hand me the other gun !" Cain and his accomplice, 
 hearing the report, and seeing what was done, ex- 
 tinguished their candle, and, with McHenry, fled. 
 
 All this was crowded into two or three minutes. 
 Kennedy flew to the door, relocked it, threw chairs, 
 tables, &c., against it and the window, reloaded his 
 gun, arid stood ready to meet another attack. At 
 length, after several hours of the deepest anxiety, 
 daylight returned, and brought assurance and con- 
 fidence to this distressed family. The issue was, 
 McHenry turned king's evidence, and the old ser- 
 vant was taken and hanged ; but Cooper Cain fled, 
 and was never heard of more. 
 
 The most remarkable feature in the case was, 
 Mr. R. had lent his gun to a man who lived several 
 miles off; on Saturday evening, Kennedy asked 
 liberty from his master to go and bring it home, 
 which was with difficulty granted. Had not the 
 gun been brought home that night, there is no 
 doubt the house would not only have been robbed, 
 but every soul murdered ; as it is evident they had 
 intended to leave no person alive to tell tales. 
 Life of Dr A. Clarice. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES.' 61 
 
 STRANGE PRESERVATION OF DR. GILL. 
 
 IN 1752, Dr. Gill was, one day, strongly impressed 
 to leave his study. He could neither account for 
 the impression, nor drive it from his mind ; and 
 finally, with some degree of hesitancy, yielded to 
 the strange feeling, and retired from the room. 
 But a short time after he had left, the chimney fell, 
 and crushed the very table at which he was accus- 
 tomed to sit. Then he saw the hand of God in it, 
 and praised him for his mercy. 
 
 KNOX SAVED FROM DEATH. 
 
 AN incident, somewhat similar to the above, 
 occurred in the case of the celebrated divine J. 
 Knox. He was accustomed to sit at the hearthside 
 in the evenings with his family ; his chair always 
 occupying one particular spot. One evening, with- 
 out explaining his reasons, he would neither sit in 
 that place himself, nor allow any of his family to 
 occupy it. The chair was in its accustomed place, 
 but no one was suffered to fill it. In the course of 
 the evening a shot was fired into the house and 
 passed directly through the back of the empty chair. 
 God had a work for his servant, and saved him from 
 the hand of the assassin. 
 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 CASE OF WICKLIFF. 
 
 AT one period of his life, this eminent reformer's 
 health was considerably impaired by the labor of 
 producing his numerous compositions, and the excite- 
 ments inseparable from the restless hostilities of his 
 enemies. Being supposed to be in dangerous cir- 
 cumstances, his old antagonists, the mendicants, 
 conceived it next to impossible that so notorious a 
 heretic should find himself near a future world 
 without the most serious apprehensions of Divine 
 anger. While they declared that the dogmas of 
 the reformer had arisen from the suggestions of the 
 great enemy, they anticipated some advantages to 
 their cause, could .the dying culprit be induced to 
 make any recantation of his published opinions. 
 Wickliff was in Oxford when this sickness arrested 
 his activity, and confined him to his chamber. 
 From the four orders of friars, four doctors, who 
 were also called regents, were gravely deputed to 
 wait on their expiring enemy; and to these the 
 same number of civil officers, called senators of the 
 city, and aldermen of the wards, were added. When 
 this embassy entered the apartment of the rector 
 of Lutterworth, he was seen stretched on his bed. 
 Some kind wishes were first expressed as to his 
 better health, and the blessing of a speedy recovery. 
 It was presently suggested, that he must be aware 
 of the many wrongs which the whole mendicant 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 63 
 
 brotherhood had sustained from his attacks, espe- 
 cially in his sermons, and in certain of his writings; 
 and, as death was now apparently about to remove 
 him, it was sincerely hoped that he would not con- 
 ceal his penitence, but distinctly revoke whatever 
 he had preferred against them to their injury. The 
 sick man remained silent and motionless until this 
 address was concluded. He then beckoned his ser- 
 vants to raise him. in his bed ; and fixing his eyes 
 on the persons assembled, summoned all his remain- 
 ing strength, as he exclaimed aloud, " I shall not 
 die, but live; and shall again declare the evil deeds 
 of the friars." The doctors and their attendants 
 now hurried from his presence, and they lived to 
 feel the truth of his saying ; nor will it be easy to 
 imagine another scene more characteristic of the 
 parties composing it, or of the times in which it 
 occurred. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER. 
 
 The following article, lately handed to the editor of the Imperial 
 Magazine, was written by a lady, whose danger it describes. The 
 occurrence took place at Parr, in Cornwall, and is here presented to 
 the reader without fiction or exaggeration. 
 
 I THINK it was in the year 1796, or 1797, during 
 the month of November, being then about twenty- 
 five years of age, that I met with the following 
 occurrence. On the day in question, I had been at 
 
64 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 a town about live miles from my father's house, to 
 which I was returning about five o'clock in the 
 evening. In order to shorten my journey, the 
 weather being cold and boisterous, I crossed a 
 river near the sea, and travelled over a sandy 
 beach, which was a usual route when the tide per- 
 mitted ; but at its farther extremity I had to pass 
 under a cliff, which at high water the influx of the 
 waves renders dangerous, and sometimes impracti- 
 cable. On approaching this place, I found that the 
 tide had made greater advances than I had antici- 
 pated ; yet, thinking myself safe, being within half 
 a mile of my home, I entered the water without 
 any apprehension; but I had not proceeded far 
 before I found it much deeper than I expected. 
 
 Having discovered my error, the cliff being on 
 my left hand, and the turbulent sea on my right, 
 I endeavored to turn my horse and retreat ; but, 
 in doing this, the poor animal fell over a projecting 
 rock, which both the water and the darkness con- 
 spired to hide. By this fall I was thrown on the 
 opposite side next the sea, and in an instant was 
 buried in the waves. I, however, retained my 
 senses and, aware of my danger, held fast by the 
 horse, which, after some struggling, drew me safely 
 on a sandy beach. 
 
 But although I had thus far escaped the violence 
 of the surf, my situation was dreadfully insecure. 
 I now found myself hemmed in between two pro- 
 jecting points, with scarcely the possibility of get- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 65 
 
 ting round either. The tide was also encroaching 
 rapidly on me, and the cliff it was impossible to 
 scale. The wind, which had been blowing in an 
 angry manner, now increased its fury, and the 
 waves partook of the commotion. Thunder began 
 to roll; and the vivid lightning, gleaming on the 
 surface of the water, just interrupted the dominion 
 of surrounding darkness, to show me the horror of 
 my situation. This was accompanied with tre- 
 mendous showers of hail, from the violence of 
 which I could find no shelter. Thus circum- 
 stanced, I made a desperate effort to remount my 
 horse, resolving to get round one of the projecting 
 points, as my only chance of safety, or perish in 
 the attempt; but all my efforts proved unsuccess- 
 ful, and to this inability it is probable that I owe 
 my life. 
 
 The tide gaining fast upon me, the poor animal, 
 impelled by instinct, mounted a rock ; and, taught 
 by his success, as well as driven by recessity, I 
 with difficulty followed the example. In this for- 
 lorn condition, I had time for a little reflection, 
 and but little, and in its first impulses it was exer- 
 cised to less purpose ; for I again made another 
 ineffectual effort to remount, without duly consider- 
 ing the inevitable destruction that awaited me in 
 ease I had succeeded. 
 
 The waves, urged on by the tempest, to the 
 whole rigor of which I stood exposed, soon told me 
 
 that my retreat was unsafe. The rock on which 
 5 
 
GO REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 myself and horse stood was soon covered with the 
 rising tide, so that at times we were so nearly over- 
 whelmed, that I could literally say, " thy waves 
 and thy billows are gone over me." Surrounded 
 thus by water, and rendered partially buoyant by 
 its encroachment, my horse made another despe- 
 rate effort, and happily gained a still more elevated 
 crag. I soon followed, but with considerable diffi- 
 culty ; and as all further ascent appeared impracti- 
 cable, in this place I at first expected to meet my 
 fate. 
 
 Under this impression, with " but a step between 
 me and death," I began seriously to reflect on the 
 solemnities and near approach of eternity, into 
 which, perhaps, a few minutes might hurry my 
 disembodied spirit. In these awful moments, I 
 can truly say, " I cried by reason of mine affliction 
 unto the Lord, and he heard me ;" for in the midst 
 of the waters I knelt on a rock, and commended 
 my soul to Him who hath all power in heaven and 
 earth, well knowing that he was able to say to the 
 turbulent ocean, " Hitherto shalt thou come, but 
 no further, and here shall thy proud waves be 
 stayed." For some time I felt a gleam of hope 
 that I should survive the calamities of this disas- 
 trous night ; but this was speedily destroyed by the 
 increasing waters, which, nearly overwhelming us 
 in this forlorn retreat, convinced me that the tide 
 had not yet reached its utmost height. 
 
 Conceiving my own deliverance to be scarcely 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 07 
 
 possible, I felt anxious for the escape of my horse, 
 and with this view endeavored to disencumber him 
 of the bridle and saddle ; that, in attempting to 
 swim, he might find no impediment to prevent his 
 reaching the shore. But while I was thus engaged, 
 to my utter astonishment, by another violent exer- 
 tion, my horse partially ascended on another crag, 
 sufficiently so to keep his head above the water. I 
 was not long in attempting a similar effort, in which 
 I happily succeeded. This, however, was our last 
 retreat, for just over our heads projected a large 
 shelving rock, above which it was impossible for us 
 to ascend. Here I sat down, with a mind some- 
 what composed, to wait the event which was hastily 
 approaching, and with an expectation suspended 
 between the hope of life and the fear of death. 
 
 After remaining in this situation for some time 
 without being increasingly annoyed by the roaring 
 waves, I began to hope that the tide had reached 
 its height, and in this I was at length confirmed by 
 the light of the rising moon, which, gleaming 
 against the rocks, showed, to my inexpressible joy, 
 that the water had actually begun to subside. I 
 was now convinced that if we could retain our 
 position until the water had retired, and I could 
 survive the cold, we might both be preserved ; but 
 this was exceedingly doubtful, as the posture in 
 which my horse stood was approaching to a per- 
 pendicular, and I was cherished by the warmth 
 which proceeded from his breath, as I kept his 
 
68 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 head near my bosom, and derived from it a benefit 
 which experience only can explain. 
 
 As the tide retired, and the moon became more 
 elevated, I discovered, by its increasing light, to 
 what a fearful height we had ascended, and the 
 difficulty of getting down in safety appeared not 
 less formidable than the means of getting up had 
 been extraordinary. This, however, through a 
 watchful Providence, was at last with care effected, 
 without any material accident. On reaching the 
 beach, from which the waves had now retired, I 
 endeavored to walk towards my home, but found 
 myself so benumbed that I w^as unable; and my 
 voice was so nearly gone that I could not call for 
 help, although I was not far from my father's 
 house, and near many kind neighbors, who would 
 have risked their lives to render me assistance, if 
 they had known of my situation. 
 
 Being unable to proceed, I seated myself upon a 
 rock, and expected, from the intense cold, that here 
 I must perish, although I had escaped the fury of 
 the tempest and the drenching of the waves. How 
 long I remained here I cannot say with certainty, 
 but, when almost reduced to a state of insensibility, 
 I was providentially discovered in this position by 
 my father's servant, who had been sent out to 
 search for me, as from the lateness of the hour the 
 family had anticipated some misfortune, and become 
 alarmed. 
 
 I had been in the water about three or four 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. G9 
 
 hours and exposed to the disasters of the tempest 
 from about five in the evening to half past eleven 
 at night, at which time I reached my comfortable 
 dwelling, much exhausted, but to the great joy of 
 my affectionate parent, who, I doubt not, had been 
 offering up petitions in my behalf to Him who hears 
 the ardent whispers of the soul, when presented to 
 him in sincerity. 
 
 For this preservation I desire to thank my God, 
 but my words are poor and insufficient for this pur- 
 pose. May all my actions praise him, and may my 
 lengthened life be devoted to his glory ! 
 
 T. K N. 
 
 STRANGELY WARNED. 
 
 " I LEFT," said the Rev. E. J. Way, " the camp- 
 meeting, on the river P , on the morning of the 
 
 last day. About two miles out from the ground I 
 met the stage which was going up to the camp for 
 persons who were to leave. Having been up all 
 the preceding night, and laboring hard for several 
 davs, I was both tired and sleepy. As the horse 
 was going along steadily, I fell into a doze. How 
 lonir I slept, I know not, but I was greatly oppressed 
 with a sense of danger. Rousing from sleep, I dis- 
 covered myself in a narrow piece of road, with a 
 hiiih embankment on each side, but everything was 
 safe. I looked to see what had so strangely excited 
 
70 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 my fears, but found nothing. Happening to look 
 behind me, I saw the stage, which had passed 
 awhile before, coming back. The vehicle was empty, 
 and the horses were running furiously. The road 
 was too narrow for them to pass without tearing 
 my sulky into pieces. Escape seemed impossible. 
 But suddenly turning my horse, I drove him up 
 the steep bank, just in time to save my life. 1 
 could not but lift my heart in gratitude to God, 
 who had so strangely warned, and timely delivered 
 me." 
 
 DIVINE RETRIBUTION. 
 
 A YOUNG farmer, who lived at Belton near Ep- 
 worth, in Lincolnshire, about the year 1720, being 
 at breakfast in his house, started up, and cried, " I 
 must go into the barn !" One asked him, " For 
 what?" He said, " I cannot tell;" and ran away 
 with -his knife in his hand. The first thing he saw, 
 when he came into it, was his father, who had just 
 hanged himself on one of the beams. He immedi- 
 ately cut him down, took him in his arms, brought 
 him into the house, and laid him on a bed. It was 
 not long before he came to himself. He then looked 
 upon his son, and said, " Now God has requited 
 me ! Three and twenty years ago I cut down mj 
 own father, who had hanged himself on that verj 
 beam !" 
 
PART II. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN 
 THE RELIEF OF SUFFERING, DELIVERANCE 
 FROM DANGER, &c. 
 
 " Surely ho shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the 
 noisome pestilence. Ho shall cover thee with his feathers, and under His 
 wings shall thou trust: His truth shall he thy shield and buckler." PSALM 
 xci. 3, 4. 
 
 (71) 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 Belief stut ij Intelligent Agents, 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 He made darkness his secret place ; his pavilion round about him 
 were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. PSAL. xviii. 11. 
 
 WHEN stationed on the island of Nantucket, in 
 1821, Brother V., from Connecticut, came there for 
 the benefit of his health. He had passed through 
 a furnace of affliction, and found God to be a strong 
 tower and deliverer. It grieved him even to speak 
 of his sad history. He was a charming singer; 
 but sorrow had given each tone a plaintive air, 
 which found a response in a sympathetic heart. 
 As he spake of sustaining grace, a chastened cheer- 
 fulness would play upon his countenance, which was 
 commonly marked with sadness ; he was yet in very 
 feeble health. 
 
 On one occasion he gave a number of us a sketch 
 
 of his affliction, which sunk deep into my heart, and 
 7 (73) 
 
74 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 I think it might be of special benefit to those who 
 are passing through tribulations. 
 
 He had been master of a schooner in the "West 
 India trade, and, on his last voyage, left a most 
 affectionate and lovely wife and child. With a 
 valuable cargo, he started for home ; but when in 
 the Gulf Stream, I think in the night, a sudden 
 squall struck them, and threw the schooner upon 
 her beam-ends, and they were obliged to cut away 
 her masts. She righted; but only the stern re- 
 mained above the water. They secured a spar, 
 which they lashed to the rails for their support. 
 Some oranges washed from the hold which they 
 caught, and bread also ; but it was so salt, it greatly 
 aggravated their thirst. When they had lashed 
 themselves to the spar, I think seven in all, Brother 
 V. requested them to get upon their knees, and he 
 would ask God to have mercy on them. He also 
 desired the mate to pray, who was a pious man. 
 He did so, and they often had such prayer-meetings 
 while on the wreck. One orange a day, and a little 
 bread sufficed. They often saw vessels, but as they 
 were so low, and could set no signal, they passed 
 by. One came eo near, they hoped to hail them, 
 and all raised a feeble cry, thirst had parched 
 their mouths, and they sank almost in despair. 
 Large sharks were playing around them, coming on 
 deck, and as near them as the water would permit, 
 and pause, and look wishfully at them. On the 
 sixth day, I think, a passenger died, and they could 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 75 
 
 only put him overboard to the sharks. The oranges 
 and bread had been consumed, and their strength 
 exhausted, when, on the eighth day, towards night, 
 they saw a black cloud arising, with forked light- 
 nings darting in different directions. All said we 
 can never survive that, except Brother V., who still 
 felt a secret hope that they might be saved. He 
 said, Let us get upon our knees once more, which 
 they had hardly strength to do, and he was only 
 able to whisper by reason of thirst. While pray- 
 ing he felt an overwhelming power come upon him, 
 with liberty to come very near the mercy-seat, and 
 ask what he would. His voice returned, and he 
 cried out, If iliou WILT, tliou CANST deliver us ! Take 
 us, Lord, and do with us as seemeth good in thy 
 si (/Jit! The Holy Spirit testified deliverance shall 
 come! This mighty energy quickened both soul 
 and body, and he started upon his feet, and sang 
 with a clear voice what rushed upon his mind : 
 
 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ; 
 
 The clouds ye so much dread, 
 Are big with mercy, and shall break 
 
 In blessings on your head. 
 
 They were all deeply affected, as reviving hope 
 inspired each heart. He exhorted them to look to 
 God who had undertaken their cause, and see that 
 they were faithfully lashed to the spar, and have 
 no fear cf the storm. Soon the horrors of darkness 
 covered them ; the lightning's glare, the thunder's 
 roar, the >sea raging, and themselves at times sub- 
 
76 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 merged in the angry waves, all, all threatened 
 instant death. But Brother V. was calm ; he had 
 hold of the promise of God, and held it fast. Yes, 
 he was happy in the God of his salvation, and 
 could say Glory to God ! 
 
 The storm had spent its fury, and about the 
 dawn of the ninth day, all was a dead calm. They 
 saw, as the light increased, a brig near by them to 
 the south. With the rising sun, came a gentle 
 breeze from the south, and they saw them unfurl- 
 ing their sails, and the brig came slowly close by the 
 wreck, before they saw it. The sufferers were soon 
 on board, though unable to stand, and the captain 
 exclaimed : " I cannot tell by what means you 
 have lived through the night; but if it had not 
 been for this storm, I should not have been within 
 one hundred miles of this place." 
 
 Very few, if any, real infidels are found among 
 sailors. They see and acknowledge the hand of 
 the Lord in the mighty deep. There was not one 
 there to sneer at the idea that our God is a hearer 
 of prayer. When they heard of that prayer, and 
 of the blessing of God upon them, and the assu- 
 rance of deliverance, they were satisfied why they 
 could not bear up against that tornado ; but to save 
 their lives must scud before it. It seemed as though 
 the Lord's hand was upon them to bring them to 
 the spot, and there waited for the morning. 
 
 A. K. 
 
 BEDFORD, 1856. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 77 
 
 THE CAPTIVE'S RELEASE. 
 
 IN the war called Braddock's War, says a writer 
 in the Christian Advocate, my father was an officer 
 in the British navy. One night, us they were run- 
 ning close to the coast of Barbary, the officers on 
 deck heard some person singing. A moment con- 
 vinced them that he was singing the Old Hundred 
 psalm tune. They immediately conjectured that 
 the singer was a Christian captive, and determined 
 to attempt his rescue. Twenty stout sailors, armed 
 with pistols and cutlasses, manned the ship's boats, 
 and approached the shore. Directed by the voice 
 of singing and prayer, they soon reached the abode 
 of the Christian captive. It was a little hut at the 
 bottom of his master's garden, on a small river. 
 They burst open the door, and took him from his 
 knees, and, in a few moments, he was on the ship's 
 deck frantic with joy. The account he gave of 
 himself was, that his name was McDonald ; that 
 he was a native of Scotland, and had been a cap- 
 tive eighteen years ; he obtained the confidence of 
 his master, and had the privilege of living by him- 
 self. He said that he was not at all surprised 
 when they broke open his door ; for the Turks had 
 often done so, and whipped him when on his knees. 
 
 7* 
 
78 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE LITTLE CAPTIVES STRANGELY DELIVERED. 
 
 IN the year 1754, a dreadful war broke out in 
 Canada, between the French and the English. 
 The Indians took part with the French, and made 
 many excursions as far as Pennsylvania, where 
 they plundered and burnt the houses and murdered 
 the people. In 1755, they reached the dwelling 
 of a poor family from Wirtemberg, while the wife 
 and one of the sons were gone to a mill, four miles 
 distant, to get some corn ground. The husband, 
 the eldest son, and two little girls, named Barbara 
 and Regina, were at home. The father and son 
 were killed by the. savages, and the two little girls 
 carried into captivity, with a great many other 
 children, who were taken in the same manner. 
 They were led many miles through woods and 
 thorny bushes, that nobody might follow them. 
 In this condition they were brought to the habita- 
 tions of the Indians, who divided among themselves 
 all the children whom they had taken captive. 
 
 Barbara was at this time ten years old, and Re- 
 gina nine. It was never known what became of 
 Barbara ; but Regina, with a little girl of two years 
 old, whom she had never seen before, were given to 
 an old widow, who was to them very cruel. In this 
 melancholy state of slavery these children remained 
 nine long years, till Regina reached the age of nine- 
 teen, and her little companion was eleven years 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 79 
 
 old. While captives, their hearts seemed to have 
 been drawn towards what was good. Regina con- 
 tinually repeated the verses from the Bible, and the 
 hymns which she had learnt when at home, and 
 she taught them to the little girl. They often used 
 to cheer each other with one hymn from the hymn- 
 book used at Halle, in Germany : 
 
 " Alone, yet not alone am I, 
 
 Though in this solitude so drear." 
 
 They constantly hoped that the Lord Jesus would, 
 some time, bring them back to their Christian 
 friends. 
 
 In 1764, the hope of these children was realized. 
 The merciful providence of God brought the English 
 Colonel Bouquet to the place where they were in 
 captivity. He conquered the Indians, and forced 
 them to ask for peace. The first condition he made 
 was, that they should restore all the prisoners they 
 had taken. Thus the two poor girls were released. 
 More than four hundred captives were brought to 
 Colonel Bouquet. It was an affecting sight to see 
 so many young people wretched and distressed. 
 The colonel and his soldiers gave them food and 
 clothes, brought them to the town of Carlisle, and 
 published in the Pennsylvania newspapers, that all 
 parents who had lost their children might come to 
 this place, and, in case of their finding them, they 
 should be restored. 
 
 Poor Regina's sorrowing mother came, among 
 
80 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 many other bereaved parents, to Carlisle ; but, alas ! 
 her child had become a stranger to her: Regina 
 had acquired the appearance and manner, as well 
 as the language of the natives. The poor mother 
 went up and down amongst the young persons 
 assembled, but by no efforts could she discover her 
 daughters. She wept in bitter grief and disap- 
 pointment. Colonel Bouquet said : " Do you recol- 
 lect nothing by which your children might be disco- 
 vered ?" She answered that she recollected nothing 
 but a hymn, which she used to sing with them, and 
 which was as follows : 
 
 "Alone, yet not alone am I, 
 
 Though in this solitude so drear ; 
 
 I feel my Saviour always nigh, 
 
 He comes the weary hours to cheer. 
 
 I am with him, and he with me, 
 
 Even here alone I cannot be." 
 
 The colonel desired her to sing this hymn. Scarcely 
 had the mother sung two lines of it, when Regina 
 rushed from the crowd, began to sing it also, and 
 threw herself into her mother's arms. They both 
 wept for joy, and the colonel restored the daughter 
 to her mother. But there were no parents or 
 friends in search of the other little girl ; it is sup- 
 posed they were all murdered : and now the child 
 clung to Regina, and would not let her go; and 
 Regina's mother, though very poor, took her home 
 with her. Regina repeatedly asked after " the book 
 in which God speaks to us." But her mother did 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 81 
 
 not possess a Bible ; she had lost everything when 
 the natives burned her house. 
 
 THE PERSEVERING PURITAN. 
 
 OLD Mr. Studley was a lawyer in Kent, of about 
 400 a year. He was a great enemy to the power 
 of religion, and a hater of those that were then 
 called Puritans. His son followed his steps, until 
 the Lord awakened him as followeth. The young 
 man was at London, and being drunk in company, 
 and going late at night to his lodgings, fell into a 
 cellar, and in the fall was seized with horror, for he 
 thought he fell into hell. It pleased God he took 
 little harm, but lay there sometime in a drunken 
 state, his body being heated with what he drank, 
 and his soul awakened, so that he thought he was 
 actually in hell. 
 
 After he was come to himself, and had returned 
 home to Kent, he fell into melancholy, and betook 
 himself to read and study the Scriptures, and to 
 much prayer ; which at length his father perceived, 
 and fearing he would turn Puritan, was troubled, 
 and dealt roughly with him, making him dress his 
 horses, which he humbly and cheerfully submitted 
 to do. When his father perceived he sat up late at 
 night reading his Bible, he denied him candle-light; 
 but being allowed a fire in his chamber, he was wont 
 to read by fire-light ; and long after told a friend, 
 
 
82 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 that while he was dressing his father's horses in his 
 frock, and reading by fire-light, he had those com- 
 forts and joys from the Lord, that he had scarce 
 experienced since. 
 
 His father, seeing these means ineffectual, resolved 
 to send him into France, that by the lightness of 
 that country his melancholy might be cured. He 
 went, and being at his own disposal, the Lord 
 guiding, he placed himself in the house of a godly 
 Protestant minister ; and between them, after they 
 were acquainted (and such is the likeness of saving 
 grace in different subjects, that a little time will 
 serve for Christians to be acquainted), there grew 
 great endearments. He made great progress in 
 speaking the language, and his father expecting an 
 account from the gentleman with whom he lived of 
 his speaking French, he sent it to him : but soon 
 after, he had orders to return home. The father 
 directing, or the son entreating, his landlord came 
 with him into England, and both were welcomed 
 at the father's house, he not knowing that his son's 
 landlord was a minister. At last, the father found 
 the French gentleman and his son at prayers, wa$ 
 angry, and sent him away. 
 
 Then Mr. Studley, having interest in a person 
 of honor, a lady at White-hall, and his son now 
 by his education being accomplished for such an 
 employment, prevailed with her to take him for 
 her gentleman to wait upon her in her coach. The 
 father thought by a court life to drive away his 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 83 
 
 son's melancholy, as he called his seriousness in 
 religion. The lady had many servants, some given 
 to swearing and rudeness, whom this young gentle- 
 man would take upon him to reprove with that 
 prudence and gravity, that sin was abashed before 
 him. If any of the servants were ill employed, and 
 heard him coming, they would say, Let us cease, or 
 be gone, for Mr. Stud ley is coming. After a year's 
 time, his father waited on the lady to inquire of his 
 son's behavior. She answered that she was glad 
 she had seen his son, he had wrought such a refor- 
 mation in her family. She that had formerly been 
 troubled with unruly servants, by his prudent car- 
 riage was now as quiet in her house, as if she had 
 lived in a private family in the country. Upon re- 
 ceiving this information the father stormed, "What, 
 will he make Puritans in Whitehall?" He told 
 the lady that was no place for his son, that he 
 would take him with him, which, to her trouble, he 
 did. When he had him at home in Kent, as his last 
 refuge, he thought of marrying him; and to this end 
 found out a match which he thought fit for his ends, 
 to stifle the work of religion in his son. One even- 
 ing, he bade him put on his best clothes the next 
 morning, and ordered his servant to make ready 
 their horses, and himself to wait on them. When 
 they were riding on the way, he bade the servant 
 ride before, and spoke to his son to this purpose : 
 " Son, you have been a great grief to me, and hav- 
 ing used much means to reclaim you from this way 
 
84 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 you are in, to no purpose, I have one more remedy 
 to apply, in which, if you comply with me, I shall 
 settle my estate upon you, else you shall never have 
 a groat of it. I am riding to such a gentleman's 
 house, to whose daughter I intend to marry you." 
 The son said little, knowing that family to be pro- 
 fane, but went with his father, who before had been 
 there on the same errand. They were entertained 
 nobly : he had a sight of the young lady, a great 
 beauty, and fell much in love with her. When 
 they had taken their leave, and were on their way 
 home, the father asked the son what he thought of 
 the young lady ? He answered, " There is no man 
 living but must be taken with such an one ;" but 
 he feared she would not like him. The father bid 
 him take no care for that. The wooing was not 
 long : at three weeks' end they both went to Lon- 
 don to buy things for the wedding. 
 
 The father had charged, that in the time of woo- 
 ing at the house of the young lady's father, there 
 should be no swearing nor debauchery, lest his son 
 should be discouraged. Wedding clothes were 
 bought, the day came, and the young couple were 
 married. At the wedding dinner at the young 
 lady's father's house, the mask was taken off; they 
 fell to drinking healths, and swearing among their 
 cups, and among others, the bride swore an oath ; 
 at which the bridegroom, as a man amazed, rose 
 from the table, stepped forth, and went to the 
 etable, took a horse, none observing it (all were 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 85 
 
 busy within), and rode away, not knowing what to 
 do. He bewailed himself, as he rode along, as 
 undone, and deservedly; for he had been so taken 
 in love, and business so hurried on his design, he 
 said he had at that time restrained prayer, and 
 slackened his communion with God; when, as in 
 that grand affair of his life, he should have been 
 doubly and trebly serious ; and so might thank him- 
 self that he was utterly undone. He sometimes 
 thought of riding quite away; at last, being among 
 the woods, he led his horse into a solitary place, 
 tied him to a tree in his distress, and betook himself 
 to prayer and tears, in which he spent the afternoon. 
 The providence of God had altered his argument of 
 prayer, which was now for the conversion of his 
 now-married wife, or he was undone. This he 
 pressed with tears a great part of the afternoon, 
 and he did not rise from prayer without good hope 
 of being heard. 
 
 At the house of the bride there was hurry enough ; 
 messengers (after they missed the bridegroom) 
 were sent every way. No news of him could be 
 obtained ; he was wrestling, as Jacob once was, 
 at Peniel. In the evening he returned home, and 
 inquiring where his bride was, went up to her, and 
 found her in her chamber pensive enough. She 
 asked him if he had done well to expose her to 
 scorn and derision all the day. He entreated her 
 to sit down upon a couch there by him, and he 
 would give her an account of what he had been 
 
 8 
 
86 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 doing, and tell her the story of his whole life, and 
 what the Lord, through grace, had done for him. 
 
 He went over the story here above mentioned 
 with many beautiful particulars, with great affection 
 and tears, the flood-gates of which had been opened 
 in the wood, and often in the relation would say, 
 Through grace, God did so and so for me. When 
 he had told her his story, she asked him what he 
 had meant by those words so often used in the rela- 
 tion of his life, " through grace" so ignorantly had 
 she been educated; and asked him if he thought 
 there was no grace for her, who was so wretched a 
 stranger to God. Yes, my dear, said he, there is 
 grace for you, and that I have been praying for this 
 day in the wood, and God hath heard my prayer 
 and seen my tears ; let us now go together to him 
 about it. Then they kneeled down by the couch 
 side, and he prayed, and such weeping and suppli- 
 cation was there on both sides, that when they were 
 called down to supper, they had hardly eyes to see 
 with, so swelled were they with weeping. At supper 
 the bride's father (according to his custom) swore. 
 The bride immediately said, " Father, I beseech 
 you, swear not." At which the bridegroom's father 
 in a rage rose from the table ; " What," says he, 
 " is the devil in him ? Hath he made his wife a 
 Puritan already?" and swore bitterly, that he would 
 rather set fire, with his own hands, to the four 
 cprners of his fair-built house, than ever he should 
 enjoy it ; and accordingly he did : for when he 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 87 
 
 made his will, he gave his son (when he should 
 die) ten pounds, to cut off his claim, and gave hip< 
 estate to several persons of whom a Dr. Reeves was 
 one ; and not long after died. 
 
 Dr. Reeves sent for the gentleman, paid him his 
 ten pounds, told him he had been a rebellious son, 
 and had disobliged his father, and might thank 
 himself. He received the money, and meekly 
 departed. 
 
 His wife (the match* was huddled up) had no por- 
 tion promised, at least that he knew of; so that she 
 was also deserted by his friends, only having 200 
 in her hands that had been given her by a grand- 
 mother, with which they stocked a farm in Sussex, 
 where the writer of these memoirs hath often been 
 and seen her, who had been highly bred, in her red 
 waistcoat milking her cows. She was exceedingly 
 cheerful, and was now become the great comforter 
 and encourager of her husband. "God," said she, 
 "hath had mercy on me, and any pains I can take 
 are pleasant." 
 
 There they lived some years with much comfort, 
 and had several children. After about three years, 
 he was met in Kent, on the road, by one of the 
 tenants of the estate, and saluted by the name of 
 landlord. " Alas !" said he, "I am none of your 
 landlord." "Yes you are," said the tenant, "I 
 know more of the settlement than you do. Your 
 father, though a cunning lawyer, could not alienate 
 the estate from you, whom he had made joint pur- 
 
88 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 chaser. Myself and some other tenants know it, 
 and have refused to pay any amount to Dr. Reeves. 
 I have sixteen pounds ready for you, which I Avill 
 pay to your acquittance, and this will serve you to 
 wage law with them." He was amazed at this 
 wonderful providence, received the money, sued for, 
 his estate, and in a term or two recovered it. " He 
 that loseth his life for my sake and the Gospel's 
 shall find it." 
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM STARVATION. 
 
 IN 1662 Oliver Hay wood, one of the rejected 
 ministers, was reduced to the greatest distress. His 
 large family was on the point of starvation. One 
 morning he sent his servant to a gentleman's for 
 relief. As there seemed to be no reasonable en- 
 couragement for such an appeal, the servant was 
 afraid to go in. While he was walking to and fro 
 before the house, he was discovered by the gentle- 
 man, and called in. Without being interrogated 
 as to his business, five guineas were placed in his 
 hands, with the remark, that some person had left 
 them there for the use of his master. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 89 
 
 FOX RELIEVED. 
 
 Fox, the martyrologist, was once in great straits. 
 As lie was one day passing through the streets in 
 great dejection, and very weak from long-protracted 
 hunger, an unknown person, without saying a word, 
 slipped some money in his hands, sufficient to relieve 
 his necessities, and comfort his desponding heart. 
 
 TEXT FOR A DISCOURAGED MINISTER. 
 
 AFTER the Rev. John Clark, of Trowbridge, had 
 been engaged in the ministry for a few years, his 
 mind became greatly depressed with a view of its 
 responsibility, a sense of his own inability, and the 
 want of more success. At length these discourage- 
 ments were so oppressive, that he assured some 
 Christian friends, one Sabbath afternoon, that he 
 could preach no longer. In vain did they try to 
 remove his difficulties, or to persuade him at least 
 to address the congregation that evening, as no 
 supply could be obtained. He declared his positive 
 inability to preach any more. At this moment a 
 pious old woman applied to speak to the minister. 
 IJeing admitted, she requested him to preach from 
 that text, "Then I said, I will speak no more in 
 his name : but his word was in my heart as a 
 
90 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary 
 with forbearing, and I could not stay." (Jer. xx. 9.) 
 She stated that she did not know where the words 
 were, but that her mind was so much impressed 
 with them, that she could not forbear to request 
 him to preach from them that evening. Being 
 satisfied that she was entirely unacquainted with 
 the circumstances which had just transpired, Mr. 
 Clark was assured that Providence had thus inter- 
 posed that he should continue his ministry. He 
 preached that evening from the text thus given, 
 and never afterwards was greatly distressed on the 
 subject. 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 THE following circumstance was related to me by 
 the late Brother P., who was one of the most deeply 
 pious men I ever knew, and for many years a class- 
 leader in one of the Methodist churches in Phila- 
 delphia. This brother and myself were conversing 
 one day on God's dealings toward his children, and 
 how far we might expect the interposition of Divine 
 Providence in answer to prayer, in the prosecution 
 of the ordinary business of life, when, with tears 
 of joy rolling down his cheeks, he related to me 
 the following : 
 
 After I had served out my time, and had mar- 
 ried, which was about thirty-five years ago, I moved 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 91 
 
 with my little family to Wilmington, about thirty 
 miles below Philadelphia, and opened a small jew- 
 elry store, which was my business, trusting in God 
 to prosper me. But, for several years, business 
 was dull, and frequently, for weeks, I would not 
 take in enough to keep my family in bread. This 
 state of things continued so long, that I began to 
 be discouraged, and to look around for some way 
 of escape, but none appeared to offer. To make 
 my difficulties worse, if possible, a very deep snow 
 had fallen ; it was midwinter, and, with the excep- 
 tion of a watch or two to repair, I had taken 
 nothing in for many days. The wants of myself 
 and family were pressing upon me, and two notes 
 were coming due in Philadelphia in a few days for 
 over $400. I was almost beside myself. I tried 
 to borrow of my friends ; but those who would 
 have gladly assisted me, were, in consequence of 
 the stringency of the times, unable to do so. I 
 then tried to get the notes renewed, but this was 
 positively refused ; so that, apparently, my little all 
 in a few days would be sold out by the sheriff. In 
 this emergency I resolved to lay my case before the 
 Lord, and, in order to do this, I set apart a day for 
 fasting and prayer. This was on Friday ; the next 
 Monday the payment of the notes fell due ; and 
 my creditors told me plainly, if they were not paid 
 they would immediately proceed against me. 
 
 Under these discouraging circumstances, I arose 
 very early on the morning which I had devoted to 
 
92 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 prayer and fasting, and, locking myself in my room, 
 commenced to pray. All day I stayed there ; now 
 reading some encouraging chapter in God's blessed 
 book, then earnestly pressing my case at the throne 
 of grace. Having thus passed the day, in the twi- 
 light of the evening I received what I believed to 
 be a clear evidence that the Lord had heard my 
 prayer, and that deliverance was at hand. I left 
 the room happy in God. Frequently on Saturday, 
 and also on the Sabbath, would my mind turn to 
 my approaching difficulties ; but, if I attempted to 
 pray about it, the same evidence would be renewed 
 that deliverance was at hand. On Monday morn- 
 ing I arose three hours before day. It had been 
 snowing, and everything outward was dreary. I 
 fell on my knees, and attempted to lay my case 
 before the Lord again, when, with such power that 
 I was thrown flat on my face on the floor, the evi- 
 dence was again renewed deliverance is at hand. 
 I went to my store, made a fire, and sat down 
 behind the counter. It was now nearly daylight. 
 I would here state, that in my window there hung, 
 as a show-set, an antiquated set of silver-ware, of 
 English make, very heavy, having the English coat 
 of arms engraved on it. It had been owned by my 
 last employer for some twenty years, and by me 
 for several. No one ever asked its price : it was 
 simply in the window for a show. As the day 
 began to dawn, I heard the creak of a wagon, and, 
 on looking out, I perceived an old-fashioned gig 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 93 
 
 drive up and stop, when a tall and venerable-look- 
 ing man, whose locks were almost as white as the 
 snow that lay on the ground, stepped down, and, 
 after looking in my window for a moment, entered 
 the store, and immediately asked the price of the 
 silver-set in the window. I told him, with a falter- 
 ing voice, five hundred dollars. He asked me, with 
 a benevolent look, if I had a box that would hold 
 it ; and, on my answering in the affirmative, he 
 told me he would take it. In a few minutes it was 
 safely boxed, and put into his gig; the money in 
 tiold paid down, and he, with a smile, drove off. 
 No one was ever able to tell from whence he came, 
 or whither he went ; nor have I ever been able to 
 tell to this day. Suffice it to say, I procured a good 
 horse, mounted him, and, a few minutes before 
 three o'clock, was in Philadelphia, paid my notes, 
 and returned the next day to my family, strong in 
 faith, giving glory to God. 
 
 SINGULAR ANSWERS TO PRAYER. 
 
 THE person to whom this anecdote refers, when 
 speaking to the writer of the goodness of God, said : 
 God never' gave me what I wanted. He always 
 gave me more. As a proof, I will tell you the fol- 
 lowing anecdote : 
 
 When I married, I was a working man, and con- 
 sequently, I had not much money to spare. In 
 
94 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 about three months after my marriage, I fell ill, 
 and my illness continued for more than nine 
 months. At that period, I was in great distress. 
 I owed a sum of money, and had no means to pay 
 it : it must be paid on a certain day, or I must go 
 to jail. I had no food for myself or wife ; and, in 
 this distress, I went up to my room, and took my 
 Bible. I got down on my knees, and opened it, 
 laid my fingers on several of the promises, and 
 claimed them as mine. I said : " Lord, this is thine 
 own word of promise : I claim thy promises." I 
 endeavored to lay hold of them by faith. I wrestled 
 with God for some time in this way. I got up off 
 my knees, and walked about some time. I then 
 went to bed, and took my Bible, and opened it on 
 these words : " Call upon me in the time of trouble : 
 I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." I 
 said : " It is enough, Lord." I knew deliverance 
 would come, and I praised God with my whole 
 heart. Whilst in this frame of mind I heard a 
 knock at the door. I went and opened it, and a 
 man handed me a letter. I turned to look at the 
 letter ; and when I looked up again, the man was 
 gone. The letter contained the sum I wanted, and 
 five shillings over. It is now eighteen years ago : 
 and I never knew who sent it : God only knows. 
 Thus God delivered me out of all my distress. To 
 Him be all the praise ! 
 
 G. A. was a very intimate acquaintance of mine, 
 when he was living in the city of C . I heard 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 95 
 
 the story which I am about to relate from his own 
 lips. He had been out of employment for a con- 
 siderable time, and was, in consequence, so circum- 
 stanced as only to be enabled to keep himself from 
 dying of hunger; in fact, he was left with but 
 eightpence halfpenny in the world. Nor had he 
 one friend, but the Friend that " sticketh closer than 
 a brother." He went to chapel, thanking God for 
 that which was past, and trusting him for that 
 which was to come, and heard Dr. Newton preach 
 a sermon in aid of a society that was under per- 
 plexing circumstances. Sensibly feeling the solemn 
 appeal which the Rev. Doctor made to the liber- 
 ality of the audience in behalf of the society, he at 
 once gave the whole of his eightpence halfpenny. 
 But he still trusted in Him who delivered the 
 Israelites out of the hands of Pharaoh. He rose 
 next morning penniless. But very soon after ter- 
 minating the duties of his closet, a message came 
 to him, saying that he was to commence work that 
 morning. He has been in constant employment 
 ever since ; and God, in his infinite goodness and 
 mercy, has raised him to a state of respectability. 
 Truly the words of the Lord were verified in this 
 man : " Them that honor me I will honor." 1 Sam. 
 ii. 30. 
 
96 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 UNEXPECTED DELIVERANCE. 
 
 ONE day, having business to transact with a 
 person living in Broad Street, I was standing at 
 his door knocking for admittance. I was not heard 
 until I had used the knocker a number of times. 
 During this short interval, an important particular, 
 which demanded of me five dollars more than I 
 possessed, was brought to my mind with great 
 force. A sigh of regret escaped me, followed by 
 an ejaculatory prayer for relief. Turning round I 
 saw a man, an Englishman, and an apparent 
 stranger, walking fast down the street towards me. 
 He came directly up to me, and with his hand 
 thrust something into my vest pocket without say- 
 ing a word. I felt in my pocket and found he had 
 deposited a guinea, which was sufficient for my 
 present need. He told me afterwards that he had 
 fallen heir to an estate in England, and as he had 
 realized spiritual benefit from my conversation on 
 the subject of religion with some of his friends, he 
 w r ished to show me a token of kindness for it, and 
 therefore gave me the gold. Life of Scarlett. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 97 
 
 WONDERFUL DELIVERANCE. 
 
 THE Watchman and Reflector furnishes the fol- 
 lowing extraordinary incident : 
 
 A clergyman, whom I personally knew, was 
 charged by a woman with crime. A council, con- 
 sisting of seven clergymen, with other persons, was 
 convened. Two days were consumed by a long 
 detail of circumstances, all of which bore the sem- 
 blance of guilt, and which were sustained by the 
 solemn affidavit and oath of the accusing party. 
 Some time about ten o'clock of the closing day, the 
 evidence being all adverse, although the minister 
 solemnly protested his perfect innocency, a resolu- 
 tion was introduced to depose him. To this, he 
 requested simply that the action upon it might be 
 deferred till the next morning ; which request was 
 granted. He then proposed that the night should 
 be devoted to special prayer, saying, " I believe 
 there is a righteous God in heaven, and who, in his 
 providence, governs upon earth. I believe I am 
 his servant, and am willing to commit my case to 
 him, after such an exercise in prayer." The clergy- 
 men were much exhausted, nevertheless two of them 
 agreed to his proposition. He proposed that they 
 should occupy distinct rooms till twelve. This being 
 done, they met for social supplication. The two re- 
 marked as they met, one to the other, " I have had 
 7 
 
98 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 remarkable freedom in prayer, and I believe light 
 will beam from some quarter, I know not where." 
 While they were in prayer a loud rap was heard 
 upon the door of the house. A messenger from the 
 dwelling of the accuser was there, with an urgent 
 entreaty that they would come immediately thither. 
 On entering her apartment, she addressed them, say- 
 ing, " I have sinned. He is perfectly innocent." By 
 circumstances which she related, all were convinced 
 that she then told the truth. She had been sud- 
 denly prostrated by disease, which terminated 
 fatally. Her statements were given to the public. 
 Great fear fell upon the people. A most powerful 
 revival of religion ensued. The man of God was 
 heard with great effect long after, as he ministered 
 at the altar, living in the respect of all, and died 
 in the sweetness of Christian assurance, leaning his 
 head upon the arm of Jesus. And to this day many 
 remember well the emphasis with which these words 
 were quoted in that region ; namely, " Verily there 
 is a reward for the righteous ; verily he is a God 
 that judge th in the earth." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE. 
 
 God moves in a mysterious way, 
 
 His wonders to perform ; 
 He plants his footsteps in the sea, 
 
 And rides upon the storm. COWPER. 
 
 THERE are few employments in which we can 
 engage, more calculated to raise our hearts in gra- 
 titude to God, or encourage us to exercise resigna- 
 tion to his will, than an enlarged view of the 
 dispensations of his providence. Who can turn to 
 the sacred volume, and read the histories of Joseph, 
 of Ruth, or of Esther, without recognising in the 
 events connected with them the Divine hand, and 
 saying with the devout Psalmist, " what time I ani 
 afraid I will trust in thee ?" 0, it is a delightful 
 thought to the Christian, that all the affairs of the 
 world are under the direction of Him who is the 
 friend of those who love him, and who has engaged 
 that " all things shall work together for their good." 
 This holds true in reference to the most painful and 
 adverse events, as well as those of a pleasing and 
 prosperous kind. 
 
 The reader, in all probability, has long been 
 acquainted with the history of the hymn from 
 which I have selected a stanza as motto for this 
 paper; and has often admired the good hand of 
 God, that in so singular a manner delivered his 
 dejected servant from self-destruction. The narra- 
 
100 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 tive I have now to give, in some of its parts, is not 
 very dissimilar to that. The facts I received but a 
 few evenings ago from an amiable lady of my con- 
 gregation, and may be fully depended on, though I 
 am not at liberty to mention names. I will give 
 the account as nearly as possible in her own words : 
 " One afternoon, in the winter of about the year 
 
 of 1808, I had occasion to go from F to 
 
 S , a distance of about two miles, and was 
 
 unexpectedly detained till late in the evening, when 
 I set out to return home alone. The night was very 
 frosty and cold, and the ground was covered with a 
 deep snow : when I had proceeded some short dis- 
 tance on the road, I was stopped by two Irishmen, 
 who were, I believe, employed in some of the mili- 
 tary works in the neighborhood. They asked me 
 
 if I was going to F : I gave them an evasive 
 
 answer, and proceeded, not a little sensible of the 
 dangerous circumstances' in which I was placed. I 
 went on a little distance, when they again accosted 
 me, and once more* I found means to give them an 
 evasive reply. They passed on before me, and hid 
 themselves in the hedge, and as I came near to 
 them, I heard them engaged in a conversation that 
 roused all my fears ; I paused a moment, and then 
 
 resolved to return to S with all possible 
 
 speed. I set off to run, with one of these men 
 almost immediately behind me. Once I fell on the 
 ice almost exhausted, but remembering that my 
 very life was at stake, I arose, and with aid com- 
 
REMARK AI5LK PROVIDENCES. 101 
 
 municated from on high, I pursued my journey till 
 I reached the turnpike house, Jnto which I ran, and 
 fell in a state of exhaustion into one of the chairs. 
 At some times during the pursuit the man was not 
 more than three yards behind me. 
 
 "In about two hours I was in some degree 
 recovered from my fright; and that I might not 
 
 alarm my friends at S with my return, I 
 
 resolved to spend the night with a pious old lady, 
 a member of your church, who at that time was 
 
 keeping the house of a baronet in S , who was 
 
 then, with all his family, absent from home. 
 
 "Late at night, probably at ten o'clock, I 
 arrived at the house, and still terrified with what 
 I had passed through, I knocked at the different 
 doors with all my might, but it was long before I 
 received an answer. At length the old lady, who 
 was quite alone, came to a small back door situated 
 among the stables, to inquire who was there. I 
 mentioned my name, and she opened the door for 
 my admission ; I related the circumstances in which 
 I was placed, and she begged me to stay over night, 
 to which I very cheerfully assented, and accom- 
 panied her into the house. 
 
 "As we passed through the different parts of 
 the house, I could not help remarking the circum- 
 stance, that every door, even those we had to enter, 
 and from which I supposed the old lady had just 
 passed, were all carefully made secure, nor was I a 
 little surprised to find that she had no refreshment 
 
102 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 to offer me, except a little bread. But as my heart 
 overflowed with gratitude for the deliverance I had 
 experienced, I felt but little concern on that ac- 
 count. We retired to rest, and in the morning I 
 left my friend with the feelings of thankfulness to 
 the great Preserver of my life, for the escape I had 
 on the past night, which I can never forget. 
 
 " From this period I could not but be struck with 
 the attention and kindness which the good old lady 
 manifested towards me. She seemed almost to re- 
 gard me with an idolatrous regard, and I sometimes 
 felt grieved at the trouble she gave herself to pro- 
 mote my comfort whenever I paid her a visit. 
 
 "Mark the sequel of these events. About the 
 year 1818, as her husband was dead, it was judged 
 
 desirable that she should leave S to go to 
 
 reside with her son in London. She came, there- 
 fore, to take her leave of me ; and, after some 
 
 general conversation, she said ' Miss , I have 
 
 somewhat particular to say to you. Do you remem- 
 ber coming to Sir 's house to me ten 
 
 years ago ?' ' Certainly I do,' I replied ; ( nor can 
 I ever forget the deliverance I then experienced.' 
 ' Do you remember that you found all the doors 
 bolted and barred ? that I came to you at a door 
 among the stables, and that I had nothing to offer 
 you for your supper but a morsel of bread ?' ' Yes, 
 I remember it all.' Here she burst into tears, and 
 as sooii as she could, she told me, that at that time 
 she had long labored under very heavy depression 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 103 
 
 of spirits ; that she had been tempted to destroy 
 herself; and that when I went to the house, she 
 had fastened all the doors, and was passing down 
 the yard with a determination to drown herself in 
 the sea; but that my coming in the way I did, had 
 clearly shown her the interposing hand of God had 
 removed the temptation, and scattered the gloomy 
 feelings of her mind. She added, that she had 
 ever since endured much pain on account of the 
 painful event : that as she was not likely to live 
 very long, and in all probability should never see 
 me again, she had come to the determination, how- 
 ever painful the task, to disclose the whole affair, 
 begging me never to relate the circumstance as long 
 as she lived. I acceded to her request, nor was the 
 affair known, even to her own family, till that 
 event had taken place. 
 
 " A few months after this conversation had taken 
 place, she passed, with a hope full of immortality 
 and joy, very suddenly, from a world of sorrow 
 and temptation, to enter on a state of bliss, where, 
 I doubt not, she shall for ever enjoy all the blessed- 
 ness connected with eternal life." 
 
 Such are the leading circumstances of the case 
 as detailed to me. It needs no comment. How 
 many such providences occur to prevent greater 
 evils, will only be known by us at the great day, 
 when all events shall be disclosed. If the relation 
 of these circumstances should be the happy means 
 of leading any of the children of distress to east 
 
104 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 their burdens on the Lord, and should enable them 
 to resist the temptations of Satan, and to triumph 
 over bodily and mental disease, the purposes for 
 which they are mentioned will be fully answered. 
 
 SEASONABLE RELIEF. 
 
 THE following is from the Life of Thomas Cran- 
 field : 
 
 The year 1789 was one of peculiar suffering, owing 
 to a great stagnation of business. His children 
 often cried for bread, when there was none to give 
 them. His distress of mind, under such circum 
 stances, can only be conceived by those who have 
 endured a like affliction; but he was enabled to 
 wrestle hard with God in prayer, and he found him 
 faithful to his promise " Call upon me in the day 
 of trouble, and I will deliver thee." Sometimes, 
 however, when his mind was filled with doubts and 
 fears, his affectionate wife would inspire him with 
 fresh confidence, by bidding him to remember the 
 goodness of the Lord towards them in former days, 
 and would repeat to him the verse 
 
 "His love in times past forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink ; 
 Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review 
 Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through." 
 
 On one of these occasions he had remained at 
 
HEMAHKABLE PROVIDENCES. 105 
 
 home the whole of the morning, praying with his wife 
 and children. Dinner time arrived, but they had 
 no food to place upon the table. His confidence in 
 God was, however, unabated. " Let us pray again," 
 he said, " for the Lord will answer prayer." They 
 did so, and scarcely had arisen from their knees, 
 when a knock was heard at the door. It was a 
 female friend, a pious woman, who owed him a 
 .shilling. "Come in," said Mr. C., " thou blessed 
 of the Lord ! I know what you are come for." t " Do 
 you ?" said she ; " then it is almost more than I 
 know." " Why," said he, " you have some money 
 for me. I am in necessity, and the Lord has sent 
 you to relieve me." " Well," said the woman, " that 
 is singular enough ; I was sitting at home by myself, 
 when the thought struck me that I would go and 
 see Mr. Cranfield. I had got part of the way on 
 my journey, when I remembered I owed you a 
 shilling, so I turned back for it, and here it is." 
 He took the money, exclaiming to his wife, " 
 what a blessed thing it is to live by faith upon the 
 Son of God ! Who ever trusted in him, and AY as 
 confounded ?" 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 Editf sflit bn tlnmtdfifmit SUcnk 
 
 o_> ^ v > ^ ^/ 
 
 THE FRENCH ARMAMENT. 
 
 THE destruction of the French armament, under 
 the Duke d'Anville, in the year 1746, ought to be 
 remembered with gratitude and admiration by every 
 inhabitant of this country. This fleet consisted of 
 forty ships of war ; was destined for the destruction 
 of New England, was of sufficient force to render 
 that destruction, in the ordinary progress of things, 
 certain ; and sailed from Chebucto, in Nova Scotia, 
 for this purpose. 
 
 In the mean time, our pious fathers, apprised of 
 their danger, and feeling that their only safety was 
 in God, had appointed a season of fasting and prayer 
 to be observed in all their churches. " While Mr. 
 Prince was officiating" in this church (Old South 
 Church) on this fast day, and praying most fervently 
 to God, to avert the dreaded calamity, a sudden 
 gust of wind nrose (the day had till now been per- 
 fectly clear and calm), so violent as to cause a loud 
 
 (100) 
 
HEMA11KABLE PKOVIDENCES. 107 
 
 cluttering of the windows. The reverend pastor 
 paused in his prayer, and looking round upon the 
 congregation with a countenance of hope, he again 
 commenced, and with great devotional ardor, sup- 
 plicated the Almighty God to cause that wind to 
 frustrate the object of our enemies, and save the 
 country from conquest and popery. A tempest 
 ensued in which the greater part of the French 
 fleet was wrecked on the coast of Nova Scotia. 
 The Duke d'Anville the principal general, and the 
 second in command, both committed suicide. Many 
 died with disease, and thousands were consigned to 
 a watery grave. The small number that remained 
 alive, returned to France without health and with- 
 out spirits. " And the enterprise was abandoned, 
 and never again resumed." 
 
 VESSEL SAVED BY A DOLPHIN. 
 
 MR. COLSTONE, an eminent merchant of Bristol, 
 who lived a century ago, was remarkable for his 
 liberality to the poor, and equally distinguished for 
 his success in commerce. The providence of God 
 seemed to smile, in a peculiar manner, on the con- 
 cerns of one who made so good a use of his affluence. 
 It has been said that he never insured, nor ever lost 
 a ship. Once, indeed, a vessel belonging to him, on 
 her voyage home struck on a rock, and immediately 
 sprang a leak, by which so much water was admitted 
 
108 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 as to threaten speedy destruction. Means were 
 instantly adopted to save the vessel, but all seemed 
 ineffectual, as the water rose rapidly. In a short 
 time., however, the leak stopped without any appa- 
 rent cause, and the vessel reached Bristol in safety. 
 On examining her bottom, a fish, said to be a dol- 
 phin, was found fast wedged in the fracture made 
 by the rock when she struck ; which had prevented 
 any water from entering during the remainder of 
 the voyage. As a memorial of this singular event, 
 the figure of a dolphin is carved on the staves which 
 are carried in procession, on public occasions, by the 
 children who are educated at the charity schools 
 founded by Mr. Colstone. 
 
 A PRAYER-ANSWERING GOD. 
 
 A COMPANY of Moravian missionaries were on 
 their voyage from London to St. Thomas, on board 
 the ship Britannia. Nothing remarkable occurred 
 till they discovered a pirate. 
 
 The pirate ship approached till it came within 
 gun-shot of the Britannia; and then, from the 
 cannon ranged along its deck, began to pour out 
 a heavy fire. There were grappling irons on 
 board, or strong sharp hooks, fixed to long ropes 
 ready to throw into the Britannia, and hold her 
 fast, while the pirates should board her, and do 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 109 
 
 their work of destruction. It seemed that there was 
 little chance of escape from such an enemy. But 
 the captain, whose heart was sinking at the fearful 
 prospect before him, did not know what powerful 
 helpers he had below, in the few peaceable mission- 
 aries, whose fervent prayers were then ascending, 
 through the noise of the fight, to heaven. 
 
 The moment the pirates tried to throw their 
 grappling irons across to the other ship, their own 
 was tossed violently, and the men who held the 
 ropes were thrown by force into the sea. Vexed 
 by this disaster, the pirate captain sent others who 
 shared the same fate. Seeing that he could not 
 succeed in this manner, he resolved to fire at the 
 Britannia, till she sunk with repeated blows. But 
 this effect strangely failed also ; for the balls missed 
 their aim, and fell into the sea. The smoke of the 
 frequent charges was very dense, and hung about 
 the vessels for some minutes, hiding them from each 
 other's view. At last a sudden gust of wind cleared 
 it away ; and, to the amazement of the pirate cap- 
 tain, the Britannia was seen at a distance with all 
 her sails spread to the wind, speeding swiftly away 
 from the attack, and they were forced in great 
 anger to abandon their cruel purposes. Thus won- 
 derfully had God appeared, and saved the vessel in 
 answer to prayer. The missionaries' prayers had 
 been greatly honored, but they were to have a fur- 
 ther fruit still. 
 
 Five years afterward, during which the mission- 
 
 10 
 
110 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE?. 
 
 aries had been diligently preaching the Gospel at 
 St. Thomas, they, and the other missionaries on 
 the island, agreed to meet together to celebrate the 
 anniversary of their deliverance from the pirates, 
 and to thank God for his other mercies. As they 
 sat together, word was brought that a stranger 
 wished to speak to them, and, at their permis- 
 sion, a tall man entered, with fine bold features, 
 and a bold expression of face. The missionaries 
 wondered, and one asked what was the stranger's 
 business with them. 
 
 " First answer me one question," said he. "Are 
 you the men who came to this island five years ago, 
 in the English ship Britannia?" 
 
 " We are," replied the missionary who had 
 spoken. 
 
 "And you were attacked upon the sea by 
 pirates ?" 
 
 " Exactly, but why are these questions ?" 
 
 " Because," answered the stranger, " I am the 
 captain who commanded the vessel which attacked 
 you." Then the missionaries looked at one another 
 in silent wonder, as their former enemy continued : 
 " The miraculous way in which your vessel escaped 
 was the cause of my own salvation from the power 
 of sin, through faith in Christ." 
 
 It would be too long to tell you all his words ; 
 but you may imagine with what unspeakable joy 
 the missionaries listened to his tale, as he went on 
 to tell them how, in his vexation at their strange 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. Ill 
 
 escape, lie had made inquiries for the captain of 
 the Britannia, and learned that it was through the 
 prayers of the Moravian missionaries of St. Thomas, 
 and how, not understanding how a vessel could be 
 saved from pirates by prayer, he resolved to know 
 the Moravian brothers. He sold his vessel, and in 
 the United States of America one day visited a 
 Moravian chapel, and heard a sermon from the 
 words, " Work out your own salvation with fear 
 and trembling." He sought the preacher, and 
 heard from him the way of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ, "and thus," he concluded, "from 
 a pirate captain I am a poor sinner, justified by 
 the grace and mercy of Christ, and my chief hope 
 has been that I might one day be able to see you, 
 and relate to you my miraculous conversion. This 
 joy is granted to me to-day." 
 
 He ceased, and you may imagine the feelings of 
 the missionaries. They were met to celebrate their 
 deliverance from the pirates on that day five years 
 ago, through prayer, and there stood before them 
 the pirate captain himself, not fierce now, but 
 humble and pious, who traced his own deliverance 
 from the bondage of Satan to the same prayer that 
 rescued them from him ! They all knelt down 
 together before God, and thanked him for his great 
 mercies. 
 
112 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE PIOUS CAPTAIN AND THE PIRATE SHIP. 
 
 CAPTAIN S , of W , Massachusetts, relates, 
 
 that on a voyage to Brazil, in the spring of 18'->o, 
 while sailing near Cape St. Koque, he descried, one 
 morning, in the distance, a suspicious-looking ves- 
 sel, under a press of canvas, standing toward him. 
 From several circumstances, he was led to imagine 
 that she was occupied by pirates, who were ad- 
 vancing to plunder and murder. Still, not being 
 certain of the fact, he concluded to keep the vessel 
 on her course. The suspicious schooner continued 
 to gain upon him, and soon, by the help of the 
 glass, he saw her deck covered with men, and a 
 long eighteen pounder on a swivel, so prepared as 
 to turn in any direction desired. She was evidently 
 a faster sailer than his own vessel ; he concluded, 
 therefore, that if he turned out of his course, he 
 would at length be overtaken, and from the pirates, 
 excited and exasperated by a long chase, little 
 mercy could be expected. The captain was a pro 
 fessed Christian, a strong believer in the providence 
 of God, and emphatically a man of peace. Instead 
 of fighting with carnal weapons, he determined to 
 fight him with spiritual ones. Having religious 
 tracts on board, he determined, as soon as the 
 schooner came alongside, to go on board, and pre- 
 sent his tracts to the captain and crew, and preach 
 to them in a bold, but affectionate manner, appro- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 113 
 
 priatc truths from the Gospel of Christ. He ordered 
 all the hands to go down below, but the man at the 
 helm. This he did partly to keep them from being 
 agitated and from agitating his own mind, and 
 partly to do away with all appearance of opposition 
 against the approaching foe. Then, committing his 
 men and himself to God, he patiently awaited the 
 pirate's arrival. The schooner came nearer and 
 nearer, till at length even the figures of the men 
 could be distinctly seen by the naked eye. A fear- 
 ful crisis was fast coming. But still the captain 
 never shrunk nor veered from his course for a mo- 
 ment. Suddenly the pirates altered their course, 
 hauled the vessel upon the wind, and stood away 
 as rapidly as sail and surge could carry them ! 
 From the fact that they saw no men on board but 
 Captain S and the helmsman, and no manifesta- 
 tions of fear, the pirates might have been led to 
 suspect that there was a large armed force below, 
 or some other decoy prepared ; and thus concluded 
 it dangerous to attempt their hostile design. What- 
 ever process of thought it was, however, which led 
 them to retreat, who will fail to recognise in that 
 process an overruling Providence, protecting in this 
 instance, as in many others, the man who resists 
 not evil, but in the hour of threatened violence 1 
 depends not on his own arm, but on God's ? 
 
114 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM CAPTIVITY. 
 
 THIS day, in the evening, Brother K was 
 
 called on to perform the funeral solemnities of Mrs. 
 Scott. Perhaps she has been as great a female 
 sufferer as I have heard of. The following account, 
 in substance, was taken from her own mouth, some 
 time ago, by J. Kobler, who performed her funeral 
 rites : 
 
 Her maiden name was Dickenson. She was 
 married to a Mr. Scott, and lived in Powell's Val- 
 ley ; at which time the Indians were very trouble- 
 some, often killing and plundering the inhabitants. 
 On a certain evening, her husband and children 
 being in bed, eight or nine Indians rushed into the 
 house; her husband being alarmed, started up, 
 when all that had guns fired at him. Although he 
 was badly wounded, he broke through them all, 
 and got out of the house. Several pursued him 
 and put an end to his life. They then murdered 
 and scalped all her children before her eyes, plun- 
 dered her house, and took her prisoner. The re- 
 mainder of the night they spent around a fire in 
 the woods, drinking, shouting, and dancing. The 
 next day they divided the plunder, with great 
 equality ; among the rest of the goods was one of 
 Mr. Wesley's hymn-books ; she asked them for it, 
 and they gave it to her; but when they saw her 
 often reading in it, they were displeased, called her 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 115 
 
 a conjurer, and took it from her. After this they 
 travelled several days' journey towards the Indian 
 towns; but, said she, my grief was so great, I 
 could hardly believe my situation was a reality, 
 but thought I dreamed. To aggravate my grief, 
 one of the Indians hung my husband's and my 
 children's scalps to his back, and would walk the 
 next before me. In walking up and down the hills 
 and mountains, I was worn out with fatigue and 
 sorrow ; they would often laugh when they saw me 
 almost spent, and mimic my panting for breath. 
 There was one Indian who was more humane than 
 the rest; he would get me water, and make the 
 others stop when I wanted to rest; thus they car- 
 ried me on eleven days' journey, until they were 
 all greatly distressed with hunger ; they then com- 
 mitted me to the care of an old Indian in the camp, 
 while they went off hunting. 
 
 Whilst the old man was busily employed in 
 dressing a deer-skin, I walked backward and for- 
 ward through the woods, until I observed he took 
 no notice of me ; I then slipped off, and ran a con- 
 siderable distance, and came to a cane-brake, where 
 I hid myself very securely. Through most of the 
 night I heard the Indians searching for me, an<^ 
 answering each other with a Voice like that of ai 
 owl. Thus was I left alone in the savage wilder 
 ness, far from any inhabitants, without a morsel ol 
 food, or a friend to help, but the common Savioui 
 and Friend of all : to Him I poured out my com 
 
116 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 plaint in fervent prayer, that He would not forsake 
 in this distressing circumstance. I then set out 
 the course I thought Kentucky lay, though with 
 very little expectation of seeing a human face again, 
 except of the savages, whom I looked upon as so 
 many fiends from the bottomless pit ; and my great- 
 est dread was that of meeting some of them whilst 
 wandering in the wilderness. 
 
 One day, as I was travelling, I heard a loud 
 human voice, and a prodigious noise, like horses 
 running; I ran into a safe place and hid myself; 
 and saw a company of Indians pass by, furiously 
 driving a gang of horses which they had stolen from 
 the white people. I had nothing to subsist on but 
 roots, young grape-vines, and sweei>cane, and such 
 like produce of the woods. I accidentally came 
 near a place where a bear was eating a deer, and 
 drew near, in hopes of getting some, but he growled 
 and looked angry ; so I left him, and quickly passed 
 on. At night, when I lay down to rest, I never 
 slept but I dreamed of eating. In my lonesome 
 travels, I came to a very large shelving rock, under 
 which was a fine bed of leaves ; I crept in among 
 them, and determined there to end my days of sor- 
 row. I lay there several hours, until my bones 
 ached in so distressing a manner that I was obliged 
 to stir out again. I then thought of, and wished 
 for, home; and travelled on several days, till 1 
 came where Cumberland river breaks through the 
 mountains. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. i!7 
 
 I went down the cliffs a considerable distance, 
 until I was affrighted, and made an attempt to go 
 back ; but found the place down which I had gone 
 was so steep that I could not return. I then saw 
 but one way that I could go, which was a consid- 
 erable perpendicular distance down the bank of the 
 river. I took hold of the top of a little bush, and 
 for half an hour prayed fervently to God for assist- 
 ance ; I then let myself down by the little bush 
 till it broke, and I fell with great violence to the 
 bottom. This was early in the morning ; and I lay 
 there a considerable time determined to go no fur- 
 ther. About ten o'clock I grew" so thirsty, that I 
 concluded to crawl to the water and drink ; after 
 which I found I could walk. The place I came 
 through, as I have been since informed, is only two 
 miles, and I was four days in getting through it. 
 I travelled on till I came to a little path, one end 
 of which led to the inhabitants, and the other to 
 the wilderness ; I knew not which end of the path 
 to take ; after standing and praying to the Lord 
 for some time, I turned to the wilderness ; immedi- 
 ately there came a little bird of a dove color to my 
 feet, and fluttered along the path which led to the 
 inhabitants. I did not observe -this much at first, 
 until it did it a second and third time ; I then 
 understood this as a direction of Providence, and 
 took the path which led me to the inhabitants. 
 From the Journal of Bishop Asbury. 
 
118 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE LORD KINDLY PROVIDES. 
 
 REV. CHARLES S. ROBINSON, a missionary at St. 
 Charles, Missouri, who lately deceased, is said to 
 have suffered during his missionary labors, the pri- 
 vations which few ever have suffered. But his 
 Heavenly Father, in whom he trusted, and who is 
 ever mindful of the wants of his children, watched 
 over him, and kindly provided relief when he had 
 been driven to the greatest extremity. The follow- 
 ing is from his own pen on the subject : 
 
 " I went to the store for necessary food, and was 
 refused, because I had not money to pay for it. I 
 returned to my destitute family ; you may imagine 
 with what feelings. None knew of our distress 
 but those who felt it. It was in November. The 
 cold wind found a ready entrance to our cabin, and 
 we had no wood. I procured a spade, with a view 
 of remedying the evil, as well as I could, by throw- 
 ing up a bank around the house. I had scarcely 
 dug into the earth a foot, when, to my surprise, I 
 threw up a silver dollar, which had long been buried 
 beneath the surface ! The goodness of God filled 
 my heart, and I wept plentifully at the sight of it. 
 This served to furnish us with a little wood and a 
 few necessaries." 
 
KEMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 119 
 
 THE SOLDIER AND THE POOR WOMAN. 
 
 A POOR woman, who owed her landlord fourteen 
 pounds, scraped seven together, which she brought 
 him. He absolutely refused to take less than 
 the whole, yet detained her in talk till the evening. 
 She then set out on a cart. When she was within 
 a mile of home, she overtook a soldier, who said he 
 was exceedingly tired, and earnestly entreated her 
 to let him ride with her on the cart, to which she 
 at last consented. When they came to her house, 
 finding there was no town within two miles, he 
 begged he might sit by the fireside till morning. 
 She refused at first, as hers was a lone house, and 
 she alone with her girls, but at last consented. At 
 midnight, two men, who had blackened their faces, 
 broke into the house and demanded her money. 
 She said : " Then let me go into the next room and 
 fetch it." Going in, she said to the soldier : " You 
 have requited me well for my kindness, by bringing 
 your comrades to rob my house." He asked : 
 " Where are they ?" She said : " In the next 
 room." He started up and ran thither. The men 
 ran away with all speed. He fired after them, and 
 shot one dead, who proved to be her landlord ! So 
 that a soldier was sent to protect an innocent wo- 
 man, and punish a hardened villain. Rev. John 
 Wesley's Journal. 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 stnt % HWal Jmprtssions, grcmns, 
 
 TAUGHT BY A DREAM. 
 
 IT has been well observed that we may place 
 too little, as well as too much, dependence upon 
 dreams. For while many foolishly regard every 
 trifling imagination of the thought in sleep to be 
 either the prognostication or the revelation of an 
 important event, there are others who believe that 
 all dreams should be entirely disregarded, and think 
 it a mark of profound ignorance and superstition, if 
 not of sin, to suppose that dreams can have any con- 
 nection with our line of duty. Yet our own expe- 
 rience, and the testimony of many men of sound 
 judgment, extensive learning, and deep piety, suffi- 
 ciently confute the latter opinion. In the Holy 
 Scriptures, we are informed of people having been- 
 warned of God in dreams (Gen. xx. 3 ; Matt. ii. 
 22, &c.) ; and if we deny that any spiritual agency 
 is in operation, do we not deny the truth of divine 
 
 (120) 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 121 
 
 revelation ? How such communications are made, 
 we know not ; but that they have been made, even 
 in our own days, we know full well. We, hear the 
 sound caused by the wind, " but cannot tell whence 
 it cometh, and whither it goeth :" so are all the 
 communications of the Spirit of God. The follow- 
 ing fact not only establishes the truth of our posi- 
 tion, but manifests the care of Divine Providence 
 towards his helpless creatures. 
 
 Some years ago, Ann Jane M , then about 
 
 fourteen years of age, residing with her parents at 
 
 L , near Belfast, received a slight injury in one 
 
 of her toes. Little attention was paid to the wound 
 at first ; and, as was customary for children in that 
 country, she wore no shoes. As might have been 
 expected, the injury became worse; the swelling 
 increased, and extended rapidly in the foot and 
 leg. The tumor afterwards broke, and discharged, 
 giving excessive pain, and exhibiting an alarming 
 appearance. The nail of the toe dropped off; and 
 the sufferings of the little girl became so violent 
 that surgical advice was resorted to. When the 
 doctor examined it, he said it was then too late to 
 apply any remedy for the purpose of attempting to 
 heal it ; that the inflammation was so great, that 
 its progress could only be arrested by amputation, 
 and if that were not immediately done, the conse- 
 quence would soon be fatal. This step, generally 
 so repugnant to our feelings, the parents were un- 
 willing to allow, and applied to another surgeon. 
 11 
 
122 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Poulticing was then tried, but without success : the 
 whole limb became inflamed, and the swelling in- 
 creased. A consultation of surgeons took place on 
 the matter, and they unanimously agreed that 
 nothing could save the poor sufferer's life but the 
 amputation of the toe. It was then decided that 
 the operation should take place upon an appointed 
 day, when the girl was to be brought to town, and 
 a car provided to take her home again. 
 
 The patient had passed a sleepless night : the 
 agony she suffered was so excruciating that she 
 could not obtain a moment's repose. " Tired na- 
 ture's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," came not to her 
 relief: how true the \vords of the poet, 
 
 " The wretched he forsakes !" 
 
 She was prepared for the journey, and sat waiting 
 the arrival of the, car, holding her limb with her 
 hands, attempting to allay her torture. While in 
 this position she dropped asleep, and seemed to 
 enjoy a short cessation from pain. In about an 
 hour she awoke, and with a happy smile said, " 0, 
 I dreamed that my leg was well ! I thought that I 
 
 was taken to Dr. B , in Belfast ; that when we 
 
 went to his house, I saw him standing in his room, 
 with his coat off, and his shirt-sleeves rolled up. 
 He had red hair, and wore a black apron. I 
 thought he cured me without cutting off my toe." 
 The fond parents were puzzled how to act : the 
 child's dream appeared remarkable, for she had 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 123 
 
 never heard of Dr. B ; yet in the anxious hope 
 
 that there might be such a person, and that he 
 could heal the sore, they went to Belfast and 
 inquired for him. After some search, they found 
 there was a surgeon of that name attending the 
 
 dispensary of Lane. Thither they repaired, 
 
 and, on entering the room, were astonished to see 
 a man answering precisely the description in the 
 child's dream. He examined the toe, and imme- 
 diately applied a remedy, putting a tight bandage 
 on the seat of pain. She was ordered to return 
 again to have it dressed. She did so, and the third 
 visit was her last. Restoration rapidly took place ; 
 in less than a month the pain and sore were com- 
 pletely gone ; and she has continued well to this 
 day 
 
 "I HAVE JUST MET WITH A WONDERFUL MANI- 
 FESTATION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE." 
 
 THUS spake a venerable man of God, some months 
 since, on meeting me upon one of the streets of our 
 city. He was aged, though active ; had a wife and 
 children to provide for, and withal was poor. After 
 introducing the subject in the manner, and with the 
 words at the head of this article, he proceeded to 
 narrate the following facts. That morning as he 
 sat down at his table with his wife and children, to 
 partake of a very scanty breakfast, his partner told 
 him it was the very last in the house, and said, 
 
124 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 " Husband, where is the dinner to come from?" He 
 replied that he knew not, and added, "God will pro- 
 vide." After finishing their humble meal, instead 
 of offering thanks to God in the customary manner, 
 they bowed down upon their knees, and by " pra \ cr 
 and supplication, with thanksgiving," made known 
 their requests. Before concluding their devotions, 
 a knock was heard at the front door of his house. 
 On finishing the prayer, he went to the door, and 
 much to his surprise, there stood before him a most 
 excellent and pious brother, a member of one of the 
 Presbyterian churches of this city ; a gentleman 
 and Christian, whose worth was " known and read" 
 of many, but whose numerous acts of noble charity 
 will never be fully manifested, until the "judgment 
 of the great day." . His astonishment at seeing this 
 excellent man was the greater, because he had but 
 a partial personal acquaintance with him, and he 
 had never before visited his dwelling. Upon invita- 
 tion he entered, and after being seated, asked the 
 old gentleman how it was with him and his family. 
 After telling him, in reply, that physically they 
 were well, and spiritually they were at " peace with 
 God and all mankind," he apologized for keeping 
 him at the door for a short time, and told him of 
 what his wife had said at the commencement of 
 their meal, and further remarked that when he 
 knocked, they were engaged in fervent prayer to 
 God, commending themselves in their necessitous 
 state to his fatherly care. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 125 
 
 After listening to his simple and affecting narra- 
 tive, this brother told him that he had left his home 
 thus early for the purpose of visiting a poor widow, 
 who lived some distance beyond him, and without 
 the most remote thought of calling on him or his 
 family. On passing his door, the impression was 
 made strongly upon his mind, that he ought to stop 
 and inquire after his health. He resisted it, and 
 wc-nt on, because of not being, as he supposed, suffi- 
 ciently intimate with him to justify such a visit, 
 and particularly so early in the day. He had not, 
 however, progressed very far, before the impression 
 became so strong, that he stopped, and after reflect- 
 ing for a moment or two, determined to yield to it. 
 He had done so. Whilst in the act of saying a few 
 words of encouragement to this aged servant of God, 
 lie took leave of him, at the same time pressing into 
 his hand a ten dollar gold piece. 
 
 Reader, your judgment now is, this was truly a 
 direct and "wonderful manifestation of Divine Pro- 
 vidence," in behalf of his needy child. The " eye 
 of the Lord" was over him for good, and thus sent 
 help from a quarter least expected, and at the very 
 time in which it was most called for. Christian 
 reader, in straitened circumstances, have you ever 
 been led, like old Jacob, to say, " all these things 
 are against me?" If so, be ashamed, heartily 
 ashamed, of having thus dishonored your God. 
 He has never failed you, or ceased to "care for 
 you." Remember his plain, pointed, and all-com- 
 11* 
 
120 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 prehensive command, " Trust in the Lord." " It is 
 better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence 
 in men; it is better to trust in the Lord than to 
 put confidence in princes." Write these blessed 
 Scriptures upon the tablet of your memory. Give 
 them a permanent lodgment in the innermost 
 recesses of your heart's warmest affections. Now 
 in spirit, and if possible, upon your knees, conse- 
 crate yourself fully to your God, and resolve from 
 this moment never again to succumb in the day of 
 clouds and darkness ; never again to doubt the 
 good Providence that has thus far always been over 
 you. Resolve that NOW, henceforth and for ever, 
 you will, "by prayer and supplication, with thanks- 
 giving, let your requests be made known unto God." 
 Then may you realize the fulfilment of the promise 
 annexed, viz. : " The peace of God, which passeth 
 all understanding, shall keep your heart and mind 
 through Jesus Christ." 
 
 REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE 
 IN THE CASE OF A SCOTCH CLERGYMAN. 
 
 IN the year 1681, a gentleman who lived near 
 Aberdeen, came to town on purpose to ask advice 
 of some of the ministers. He told them he had an 
 impression continually following him, to go to Rot- 
 terdam. They asked him, " For what reason ?" 
 But he could tell none : on which they advised him 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 127 
 
 to stay at home. Some time after he came again, 
 and informed them, " Either I must go ,to Rotter- 
 dam, or die ; for this impression follows me day and 
 night, so that I can neither eat, nor drink, nor 
 sleep." They then advised him to go. Accord- 
 ingly he embarked and came to Rotterdam. As he 
 was landing, his foot slipped, and he fell into the 
 sea. A gentleman who was walking on the quay, 
 leaped in and caught hold of him, brought him out, 
 and conducted him to an inn. He then procured 
 some dry linen for him, and a warm bed, in which 
 he slept sound for several hours. When he awoke, 
 he found the gentleman sitting by his bedside, who, 
 taking it for granted he would be hungry, had be- 
 spoke a dinner, which, to his great satisfaction, was 
 immediately served up. The Scotch gentleman 
 desired the other to ask a blessing, which he did in 
 such a manner as quite surprised him. But he was 
 still more surprised, both at the spirit and language 
 in which he returned thanks ; and asked him, " Sir, 
 are not you a minister?" He answered, "I am: 
 but I was, some time since, banished from Scotland." 
 The other replied, " Sir, I observed, though you 
 behaved quite decently, you seemed to be extremely 
 hungry. Pray, permit me to ask, how long is it 
 since you took any food ?" He said, " Eight and 
 forty hours;" on which the Scot started up and 
 said, " Now I know why God sent me to Rotterdam. 
 You shall want for nothing any more : I have 
 
128 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 enough for us both." Shortly after the revolution 
 ensued: and he was reinstated in his living. 
 
 REMARKABLE CURE OF DISEASE. 
 
 A FRIEND once told me that, amongst other symp- 
 toms of high nervous excitement, he had been pain- 
 fully harassed by the want of sleep. To such a 
 degree had this proceeded, that if, in the course of 
 the day, any occasion led him to his bed-chamber, 
 the sight of his bed made him shudder at the idea 
 of the restless hours he had passed upon it. In 
 this case, it was recommended to him to endeavor, 
 when he lay down at night, to fix his thoughts on 
 something at the same time vast and simple such 
 as the wide expanse of ocean, or the cloudless vault 
 of heaven ; that the little hurried and disturbing 
 images that flitted before his mind might be charmed 
 away, or hushed to rest, by the calming influence 
 of one absorbing thought. Though not at all a re- 
 ligious man at the time, the advice suggested to his 
 mind, that if an object at once vast and simple was 
 to be selected, none could serve the purpose so well 
 as that of God. He resolved then to make the 
 trial, and to think of Him. The result exceeded 
 his most sanguine hopes : in thinking of God he 
 fell asleep. Night after night he resorted to the 
 same expedient. The process became delightful; 
 so much so, that he used to long for the usual hour 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 129 
 
 of retiring, that lie might fall asleep, as he termed 
 it, in God. What began as a mere physical opera- 
 tion, grew by imperceptible degrees into a gracious 
 influence. The same God who was his repose at 
 night, was in all his thoughts by day. And at the 
 same time this person spoke to me, God, as revealed 
 in the gospel of his Son, was " all his salvation," so 
 inscrutable are the ways by which God can "fetch 
 home again his banished." 
 
 REMARKABLE INTERPOSITION OF DIVINE PROVI- 
 DENCE. 
 
 THOMAS HOWNHAM, the subject of the following 
 providence, was a poor man, who lived in a lone 
 house or hut upon a moor, called Baramourmoor, 
 about a mile from Lowick, and two miles from 
 Doddington, in the county of Northumberland. He 
 had no means to support a wife and two children, 
 save the scanty earning obtained by keeping an ass, 
 on which he used to carry coals from Baramour 
 coal hill to Doddington and Wooler ; or by making 
 brooms of the heath, and selling them around the 
 country. Yet, poor and despised as he was in con- 
 sequence of his poverty, in my forty years' acquaint^ 
 ance with the professing world, I have scarce met 
 with his equal, as a man that lived near to God, or 
 one who was favored with more evident answers to 
 prayer. My parents then living at a village called 
 
 9 
 
130 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Hanging Hall, about one mile and a half from his 
 hut, I had frequent interviews with him, in one of 
 which he was solicitous to know whether my father 
 or mother had sent him any unexpected relief the 
 night before. I answered him in the negative, so 
 far as I knew : at which he seemed to be uneasy. 
 I then pressed to know what relief he had found ; 
 and how ? After requesting secrecy, unless I should 
 hear from any other quarter (and if so, lie begged 
 I would acquaint him), Jie proceeded to inform me, 
 that, being disappointed in receiving money for his 
 coals the day before, he returned home in the eve- 
 ning, and to his pain and distress found that there 
 was neither bread nor meal, nor anything to supply 
 their place, in his house; and that his wife wept 
 sore for the poor children who were both crying for 
 hunger ; that they continued crying till they both 
 fell asleep; that he put them to bed, and their 
 mother with them, who likewise soon went to 
 sleep, being worn out with the sufferings of the 
 children and her own tender feelings. Being a fine 
 moonlight night, he went out of the house, to a 
 retired spot, at a little distance, to meditate on 
 those remarkable expressions in Hab. iii. 17-19. 
 Here he continued, as he thought, about an hour 
 and a half, found great liberty and enlargement in 
 prayer; and got such a heart-loathing and soul- 
 humbling sight of himself, and such interesting 
 views. of the grace of God, and the love of his 
 adorable Saviour, that though he went on purpose 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 131 
 
 to spread his temporal wants before his Lord, yet, 
 having obtained a heart-attracting and soul-captiva- 
 ting view of him by faith, he was so enamored with 
 his beauty, and so anxious to have his heart 
 entirely under his forming hand, that all thought 
 about temporals was taken away. 
 
 In a sweet, serene, and composed frame of mind, 
 he returned into his house ; when by the light of 
 the moon, through the window, he perceived some- 
 thing upon a stool or form (for chairs they had 
 none) before the bed; and after viewing it with 
 astonishment, and feeling it, he found it to be a 
 joint of meat roasted, and a loaf of bread about 
 the size of our half-peck loaves. He then went to 
 the door to look if he could see anybody; and 
 after using his voice, as well as his eyes, and 
 neither perceiving nor hearing any one, he re- 
 turned, awoke his wife, who was still asleep, asked 
 a blessing, and then awoke the children, and gave 
 them a comfortable repast ; but could give me no 
 further account. I related this extraordinary affair 
 to my father and mother, who both heard it with 
 astonishment; but ordered me to keep the secret 
 as requested ; and such it would have ever re- 
 mained, but for the following reason. A short 
 time after this event I left that country ; but on a 
 visit about twelve years after, at a friend's, the 
 conversation one evening took a turn about one 
 Mr. Strange ways, commonly called Stranguage, a 
 farmer, who lived at Lowick-Highsteed, which the 
 
132 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 people named Pinchmenear, on account of this 
 miserly wretch that dwelt there. I asked what 
 had become of his property, as I apprehended he 
 had never done one generous action in his lifetime. 
 An elderly woman in company said I was mis- 
 taken ; for she could relate one which was some- 
 what curious : She said, that she had lived with 
 him as a servant or housekeeper ; that about twelve 
 or thirteen years ago, one Thursday morning, he 
 ordered her to have a whole joint of meat roasted, 
 having giving her directions a day or two before to 
 bake two large loaves of white bread. He then 
 went to Wooler market, and took a piece of bread 
 and cheese in his pocket as usual. He came home 
 in the evening in a very bad humor, and went soon 
 to bed. In about two hours after he called up his 
 man-servant, and ordered him to take one of the 
 loaves, and the joint of meat, and carry them down 
 the moor to Thomas Hownham's, and leave them 
 there. The man did so, and finding the family 
 asleep, he set them at their bed-side and came 
 away. 
 
 The next morning her master called her and the 
 man-servant in, and seemed in great agitation of 
 mind. He told them that he intended to have 
 invited a Mr. John Mool, with two or three more 
 neighboring farmers (who were always teasing him 
 for his meanness), to sup with him the night before ; 
 that he would not invite them in the market place, 
 as he purposed to have taken them by surprise near 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 13S 
 
 home, as two or three of them passed his house ; 
 but a smart shower of rain coming on, they rode off 
 and left him before he could get an opportunity ; 
 that going soon to bed he did not rest well, fell a 
 dreaming, and thought he saw Hownham's wife and 
 children starving for hunger; that he awoke and 
 threw off the impression ; that he dreamed the 
 second time, and endeavored again to shake it off, 
 but that he was altogether overcome with the non- 
 sense the third time ; that he believed the devil was 
 in him, but that since he was so foolish as to send 
 the bread and meat, he could not now help it, and 
 charged her and the man never to speak of it, or 
 he would turn them away directly. She added, 
 that since he was dead long ago, she thought she 
 might relate it, as a proof that he had done one 
 generous action, though he was grieved for it after- 
 wards. 
 
 RELIEF SENT THROUGH A DREAM. 
 
 I WILL give an incident, in which I thought I 
 saw a mark of divine interposition in some small 
 degree. I owed a man a sum of money, which 
 came due on a certain day specified, on which I 
 was particularly anxious not to disappoint my 
 friend. When the day arrived, notwithstanding 
 all my care, I lacked twenty dollars to meet the 
 amount I owed. This was rather strange to me, 
 
 12 
 
134 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 as I thought I had done my best. On the morning 
 of that day I arose early and meditated on the 
 matter. Some might think twenty dollars a small 
 matter to meditate upon ; but I wished to see where, 
 if at all, I had erred. True, I had given away 
 some money to the poor. I had not kept account 
 how much. Had I displeased God in this? Or 
 why was Providence seemingly suffering me to feel 
 the regret of a broken promise made to my neigh- 
 bor? I took no breakfast, but went from home 
 fasting, to see what God was about to unfold to me. 
 In a secluded place I bowed to God in mighty 
 prayer. Before I rose from my knees, I was im- 
 pressed with a strong assurance that the twenty 
 dollars would be m my possession by the hour I 
 needed it. I had riot gone far before I was accosted 
 by a man a good Methodist with these words : 
 " My brother, just stop : I have something for you. 
 I had a dream last night. In it I was told to let 
 you have twenty dollars, the extra profit of my 
 business last week." Saying which, he took from 
 his pocket-book four five-dollar notes, and laid them 
 down before me on a full sack that stood on the 
 sidewalk. I took the money and paid my debt, 
 with an increased confidence in the Providence of 
 God, not regretting that I had given a few shillings 
 to the poor. Life of /Scarlett. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 135 
 
 THE PRAYER OF THE POOR ANSWERED. 
 
 A LADY, who had just sat down to breakfast, had 
 a strong impression on her mind, that she must 
 instantly carry a loaf of bread to a poor man, who 
 lived about half a mile from her house, by the side 
 of a common. Her husband wished her either to 
 postpone taking it till after breakfast, or to send it 
 by a servant ; but she chose to take it immediately 
 herself. As she approached the hut, she heard the 
 sound of a human voice, and wishing to discover 
 what was said, she stepped unperceived to the door. 
 She heard the poor man praying, and among other 
 things he said, " Lord, help me ; Lord, thou wilt 
 help me ; thy promise cannot fail : although my 
 wife, myself, and children, have no bread to eat, 
 and it is now a whole day since we had any, I 
 know thou wilt supply me, though thou shouldst 
 again rain down manna from heaven." The lady 
 could wait no longer, but opening the door, " Yes," 
 she replied, " God has sent you relief. Take this 
 loaf, and be encouraged to cast your care upon Him 
 who careth for you ; and whenever you want a loaf 
 of bread come to ray house." 
 
136 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE BUTCHER AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 RELATED BY MR. JOHN FLETCHER. 
 
 ONE Sunday I went up into the pulpit, intending 
 to preach a sermon, which I had prepared for that 
 purpose : but my mind was so confused, that I 
 could not recollect either my text, or any part of 
 my sermon. I was afraid I should be obliged to 
 come down without saying anything. But having 
 recollected myself a little, I thought I would say 
 something on the first lesson, which was the third 
 chapter of Daniel, containing the account of the 
 three young men cast into the fiery furnace. I 
 found, in doing it, such an extraordinary assistance 
 from God, and such a peculiar enlargement of heart, 
 that I supposed there must be some special cause 
 for it ; I therefore desired, if any of the congrega- 
 tion found anything particular, they would acquaint 
 me with it in the ensuing week. 
 
 In consequence of this, the Wednesday after, a 
 woman came, and gave me the following account : 
 " I have been for some time much concerned about 
 my soul. I have attended the church at all oppor- 
 tunities, and have spent much time in private 
 prayer. At this, my husband, who is a butcher, 
 has been exceedingly enraged, and threatened me 
 severely what he would do, if I did not leave off 
 going to John Fletcher's church, yea, if I dared to 
 
KEMAKKABLE PROVIDENCES. 137 
 
 go to any religious meeting whatever. When I 
 told him I could not in conscience refrain from 
 going at least to our parish church, he grew quite 
 outrageous, and swore dreadfully, that if I went 
 any more, he would cut my throat as soon as I 
 came home. This made me cry mightily to God, 
 that he would support me in the trying hour : and, 
 though I did not feel any great degree of comfort, 
 yet, having a sure confidence in God, I determined 
 to go on in my duty, and leave the rest to Him. 
 Last Sunday, after many struggles with the devil 
 and my own heart, I came down stairs, ready for 
 church. My husband asked me whether I was 
 resolved to go thither ? I told him I was. l Well, 
 then,' said he, ' I shall not, as I intended, cut your 
 throat, but will heat the oven, and throw you into 
 it the moment you come home 1 .' Notwithstanding 
 this threatening, which he enforced with many 
 bitter oaths, I went to church, praying all the way 
 that God would strengthen me to suffer w r hatever 
 might befall me. While you were speaking of the 
 three persons whom Nebuchadnezzar cast into the 
 burning fiery furnace, I found it all belonged to 
 me, and God applied every word of it to my heart. 
 And when the sermon was ended, I thought if I 
 had a thousand lives, I could lay them all down for 
 God. I felt my whole soul so filled with the love 
 of Christ, that I hastened home, fully determined 
 to give myself to whatever God pleased : nothing 
 doubting but that either he would take me to 
 12* 
 
138 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 heaven, if he suffered me to be burnt to death, or 
 that he would somehow deliver me, even as he did 
 his three servants who trusted in him. When I 
 had got almost to my own door, I saw the flames 
 issuing out of the mouth of the oven ; and I ex- 
 pected nothing else but that I should be thrown 
 into it immediately. I felt my heart rejoice, that 
 if it were so, the will of the Lord would be done. 
 I opened the door, and, to my utter astonishment, 
 saw my husband upon his knees, wrestling with 
 God in prayer, for the forgiveness of his sins. He 
 caught me in his arms, earnestly begged my par- 
 don, and has continued diligently seeking the Lord 
 ever since." 
 
 I now know (adds Mr. Fletcher) why my sermon 
 was taken from me, namely, that God might thus 
 magnify his inercy. 
 
 THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD ASSERTED. 
 
 MANY years ago a fact came to my knowledge, 
 which I have intended preserving by sending an 
 account of it to your magazine. 
 
 About thirty years ago, Mr. Floyd, who had been 
 educated in the medical and surgical line, and was 
 then an itinerant preacher, was stationed in Bristol. 
 Breakfasting one morning at Miss Chapman's, he 
 related to us the following story of a pious young 
 man in the North of Ireland, which happened while 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 139 
 
 Mr. Floyd was in those parts. The young man 
 was afflicted with epileptic fits, and found no relief 
 from the means used. One night he dreamed that 
 a person bade him go to a bridge about a mile from 
 his dwelling, gather some herbs, which he w r ould 
 find growing at the side, pound them, and take a 
 table-spoonful of the juice, fasting, for nine or ten 
 mornings, and it would remove his fits. 
 
 This dream was repeated more than once, and 
 made such an impression on his mind that he be- 
 lieved it to be sent of God. Therefore he arose and 
 went, found the herbs, used them as he was directed, 
 and was cured. The herb was that which we call 
 Pellitory of the Wall, and grows abundantly in dry 
 places in and near old walls. Mr. Floyd added, 
 that he had mentioned this to a friend in Bristol 
 whose daughter was afflicted with violent fits, of a 
 hysteric kind, and she had been benefited by the 
 use of the herb. At that time I had, in part, the 
 care of a young person who had epileptic fits, and 
 I immediately tried the remedy, which was happily 
 successful ; nor did the fits return. If you think, 
 sir. this account worth preserving, you may depend 
 on its authenticity, as far as I have related it. 
 London Meth. Magazine, vol. xxxii. E. M. B. 
 
140 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE LITTLE STRANGER. 
 
 THOUGH a man of very strict principles, no man 
 ever enjoyed a joke more than Dr. Byron ; he had 
 a vast fund of humor, an everyday wit, and, with 
 children, particularly, he loved to chat familiarly 
 and draw them out. As he was one day passing 
 into the house, he was accosted by a very little 
 boy, who asked him if he wanted any SAUCE, mean- 
 ing vegetables. The doctor inquired if such a tiny 
 thing was a market-man. " No, sir, my father," 
 was the prompt answer. The doctor said, " Bring 
 me in some squashes," and he passed into the house, 
 sending out the change. In a few moments the 
 child returned, bringing back part of the change ; 
 the doctor told him he was welcome to it ; but the 
 child would not take it back, saying his father 
 would blame him. Such singular manners in a 
 child attracted his attention, and he began to exa- 
 mine the child attentively : he was evidently poor ; 
 his little jacket was pieced and patched with almost 
 every kind of cloth, and his trowsers darned with 
 BO many colors, it was difficult to tell the original 
 fabric, but scrupulously neat and clean withal. 
 The boy very quietly endured the scrutiny of the 
 doctor, while holding him at arm's length, and 
 examining his face. At length he said : 
 
 " You seem a nice little boy ; won't you come 
 and live with me, and be a doctor?" 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 141 
 
 " Yes, sir," said the child. 
 
 " Spoken like a man," said the doctor, patting 
 his head as he dismissed him. 
 
 A few weeks passed on, when, one day, Jim 
 came to say that there was a little boy with a 
 bundle down stairs wanting to see the doctor, and 
 would not tell his business to any one else. " Send 
 him up," was the answer ; and, in a few moments, 
 he recognised the boy of the squashes (but no 
 squash himself, as we shall see) ; he was dressed 
 in a new, though coarse suit of clothes, his hair 
 very nicely combed, his shoes brushed up, and a 
 little bundle, tied in a homespun checked handker- 
 chief, on his arm. Deliberately taking off his hat, 
 and laying it down with his bundle, he walked up 
 to the doctor, saying : 
 
 " I have come, sir." 
 
 : Come for what, my child ?" 
 
 "To live with you, and be a doctor," said the 
 child, with the utmost naivete. 
 
 The first impulse of the doctor was to laugh im- 
 moderately ; but the imperturbable gravity of the 
 little thing rather sobered him, as he recalled, too, 
 his former conversation, and he avowed he felt he 
 needed no addition to his family. 
 
 " Did your father consent to your coming ?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " I told him you wanted me to come and live 
 
142 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 with you, and be a doctor ; and he said you was a 
 very good man, and I might come as soon as my 
 clothes were ready." 
 
 " And your mother, what did she say ?" 
 
 " She said Doctor Byron would do just what he 
 said he would, and God had provided for me." 
 "And," said he, "I have on a new suit of clothes," 
 surveying himself, " and here is another in the 
 bundle," undoing the kerchief and displaying them, 
 with two little shirts, white as snow, and a couple 
 of neat checked aprons, so carefully folded, it was 
 plain none but a mother would have done it. The 
 sensibilities of the doctor were awakened to see the 
 fearless, the undoubting trust with which that poor 
 couple had bestowed their child upon him, and 
 such a child. His cogitations were not long; he 
 thought of Moses in the bulrushes abandoned to 
 Providence ; and, above all, he thought of the child 
 that was carried into Egypt, and that that divine 
 Saviour had said, " Blessed be little children ;" and 
 he called for the wife of his bosom, saying, " Susan, 
 dear, I think we pray in church that God will have 
 mercy upon all young children ?" 
 
 " To be sure we do," said the wondering wife ; 
 " and what then ?" 
 
 " And the Saviour said, ( Whosoever receiveth 
 one such little child in my name, receiveth me ;' 
 take this child in his name, and take care of him ;" 
 and from this hour this good couple received him 
 to their hearts and homes. It did not then occur 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 143 
 
 to them, that one of the most eminent physicians 
 and best men of the age stood before them in the 
 person of that child ; it did not occur to them that 
 this little creature, thus thrown upon their charity, 
 was destined to be their staff and stay in declining 
 age a protector to their daughters, and more than 
 son to themselves ; all this was then unrevealed ; 
 but they cheerfully received the child they believed 
 Providence had committed to their care; and if 
 ever beneficence was rewarded, it was in this 
 instance. 
 
 THE PRAYER OF FAITH ANSWERED. 
 
 I ARRIVED at Mewry one Saturday evening, soon 
 after I came to the Charlemount circuit, and was 
 informed that I must visit a lady who was supposed 
 to be dying, as soon as I could make it convenient. 
 I was informed that she had been ill a considerable 
 time of a dropsical complaint, and had often ex- 
 pressed a wish to converse with our people, and 
 especially to be visited by our preachers ; but her 
 husband had refused his consent, dreading the re- 
 proach that he thought would follow. He was a 
 Socinian, and a man of some eminence in the town, 
 and in his congregation ; but the hopeless case of 
 a wife that he loved had at length roused him to 
 comply with her wishes. I accordingly went, and 
 was introduced to a most interesting person ; a 
 
144 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 young lady whose every look seemed to say, " "Who 
 will show me any good?" Her swollen state, with 
 the emaciation of her still beautiful countenance, 
 proclaimed her case to be desperate ; and two most 
 lovely children added to the afflictive scene. 
 
 Her husband, a fine young man, hung over her 
 with every appearance of strong affection ; but I 
 could perceive that there was a feeling concerning 
 me that was not comfortable. I spoke to the lady 
 as to a dying person, and in a way that I supposed 
 he would perhaps account enthusiastic. But I was 
 encouraged to hope for the sufferer, as I found she 
 was indeed " poor in spirit." We engaged in prayer, 
 but I think I never felt myself so embarrassed. I 
 attempted to pray for her as a dying person, but 
 could hardly utter a sentence without hesitation. 
 My prayer had, indeed, no wings; and the thought 
 that the husband was watching over me, so greatly 
 added to my embarrassment, that I thought I must 
 give over. At length the thought of her recovery 
 came with strange force into my mind, and I ven- 
 tured to indulge it. Immediately words poured 
 upon me faster than I could utter them. I felt 
 that it was indeed "the prayer of faith," which, 
 St. James says, " shall save the sick." I seemed 
 to claim in her behalf a return to life at the Lord's 
 hand. I at length concluded ; but was almost im- 
 mediately tempted to think I had given way to a 
 delusion that would render me ridiculous, and do 
 harm to unprepared minds. I took my leave, the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 145 
 
 afflicted lady requesting that I would soon call 
 again ; and the husband, with an astonished coun- 
 tenance, was hardly able to utter even the common 
 civilities usual at parting. 
 
 On returning to my quarters, I had some very 
 painful thoughts ; fearing that the tender mind of 
 the sufferer might be wounded by tha remarks that 
 would probably be made, in such a family, upon 
 my visionary conduct. The hope of her recovery 
 seemed, however, to abide with me ; but I thought 
 I would keep it to myself, and pray for her in the 
 family, as for a dying person. But it was in vain. 
 The same strong influence set my prudence at de- 
 fiance ; and I was constrained to ask life for her as 
 at her own habitation, to the great amazement of 
 my pious host and his family. On the Sabbath 
 evening, after the services were over, I again visited 
 my patient, and again amazed all who were assembled 
 by the strange confidence and importunity of my 
 faith. I took leave of her, however, with a strong 
 exhortation to fix her mind on the divine atone- 
 ment, and to aim at conformity to the Son of God, 
 in his prayer to the Father " Not my will, but 
 thine be done." 
 
 I returned, in my course, at the end of six 
 weeks, and found my very amiable sufferer in a 
 state rather beyond convalescence, and a member 
 of the society ! The husband had dismissed all 
 opposition ; he received me with joy, and expressed 
 his gratitude in strong terms. He would have me 
 
 10 
 
146 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 to dine with him ; and I made one of a very happy 
 family. In the afternoon I met my recovering 
 patient at the class, all alive to the things which 
 make for our peace. 
 
 She made swift progress, and soon rejoiced in 
 "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of 
 her sins." Life of Rev. H. Moore. 
 
PART III. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN 
 THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN, DEFEAT OF 
 WICKED PLANS, &c. 
 
 "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft cometh their 
 destruction upon them ? God distributcth sorrows in his anger." JOB xxi. 17 
 
 (147) 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 Intelligent Agents in % |)unis{jnttnl of Sin, fa. 
 
 CJ5 
 
 THE EMIGRANT'S PERSECUTORS. 
 
 A NUMBER of persons, in the north of England, 
 once determined to emigrate to South Africa. They 
 had a great dread of what they called Methodism, and 
 refused to allow a young man, who was reputed to 
 belong to that body of Christians, to go with them. 
 They had not, however, been many days at sea, 
 before it was discovered, that notwithstanding their 
 most strenuous endeavors to prevent the exporta- 
 tion of Methodism, they had got an excellent old 
 man aboard, who privately exhorted his fellow pas- 
 sengers to fear God, and flee from the wrath to 
 come. The flame of persecution was now lighted 
 up ; and Mr. C., the leader of the party, availed 
 himself of every opportunity to annoy and injure 
 poor Mr. P. In the course of the passage, his wife 
 and son were taken alarmingly ill ; but, so bitter 
 was the spirit which prevailed against him, that it 
 
 13* (149) 
 
150 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 was with difficulty he obtained even the medicines 
 provided by government, which their state rendered 
 absolutely necessary. The above-mentioned gentle- 
 man, who had the affairs of the party almost wholly 
 under his control, frequently threatened not only to 
 deprive him of the land to which he was legally 
 entitled, but of all the privileges of the settlement, 
 unless he kept his religion to himself. In his 
 menaces and designs, this petty Nero was sup- 
 ported by three or four others, who were influenced 
 by a similar spirit. The earth, however, is the 
 Lord's, and " though hand join in hand, the wicked 
 shall not go unpunished." Two only of those per- 
 secutors lived to see the settlement. The death of 
 one was occasioned by intemperance and dissipation 
 while at sea. The head of the party himself fell 
 sick immediately after his arrival at Algoa Bay, and 
 there expired, in dreadful agony, both mental and 
 bodily. He therefore never set foot on the land 
 which he had so arrogantly affected to command. 
 Another of his comrades was taken off suddenly, 
 and carried to the grave along with him ! A fourth, 
 being some time afterward provoked by his com- 
 panion, the only survivor of the five, presented his 
 fowling-piece at him, and lodged the contents in his 
 breast; for which he was, of course, arrested, and 
 conveyed to prison in Graham's Town. But his 
 spirit and conduct having apparently rendered life 
 burdensome, and filled his dungeon with insuffera- 
 ble gloom, the unhappy wretch hung himself in his 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 151 
 
 cell ! " Woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with 
 him ; for the reward of his hands shall be given 
 him : but say ye to the righteous, it shall be well 
 with him ; they shall eat the fruit of their doings." 
 The poor old Methodist now began, more ear- 
 nestly than ever, to call all around him to repent- 
 ance, and actually became the virtual head of the 
 party ; he obtained favor in the eyes of the people, 
 and was ever after looked up to as their chief 
 counsellor in all matters of importance. His rustic 
 cottage was no sooner built than converted into a 
 place of worship, wherein Divine service was regu- 
 larly performed, until, by steady zeal and praise- 
 worthy exertions, they were enabled to erect a neat 
 little chapel, which constitutes a lasting honor to 
 his memory. This good man is now no more ; but, 
 although dead, by his works he still speaketh ; and 
 his name is held in the highest estimation by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 DR. COLE'S COMMISSION. 
 
 IT is related, in the papers of Richard Earl of 
 Cork, that towards the conclusion of Queen Mary's 
 reign, a commission was signed for the persecution 
 of the Irish Protestants ; and, to give greater weight 
 to this important affair, Dr. Cole was nominated 
 one of the commission. The doctor, in his way to 
 Dublin, stopped at Chester, where he was waited 
 
152 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 upon by the mayor; to whom, in the course of 
 conversation, he imparted the object of his mission, 
 and exhibited the leather box which contained his 
 credentials. The mistress of the inn, where this 
 interview took place, being a Protestant, and hav- 
 ing overheard the conversation, seized the oppor- 
 tunity, while the doctor was attending the mayor 
 to the bottom of the stairs, of exchanging the com- 
 mission for a dirty pack of cards, on the top of 
 which she facetiously turned up the knave of clubs. 
 The doctor, little suspecting the trick, secured his 
 box, pursued his journey, and arrived in Dublin on 
 the 7th of October, 1558. He then lost no time in 
 presenting himself before Lord Fitzwalter and the 
 privy council ; to whom, after an explanatory 
 speech, the box was presented, which, to the 
 astonishment of all present, was found to contain 
 only a pack of cards ! The doctor, greatly cha- 
 grined, returned instantly to London, to have his 
 commission renewed; but while waiting a second 
 time on the coast for a favorable wind, the news 
 reached him of the queen's decease, which prevented 
 the persecution, that would have otherwise proved 
 so awful a calamity. Queen Elizabeth was so much 
 gratified with these facts, which were related to her 
 by Lord Fitzwalter on his return to England, that 
 she sent for the woman, whose name was Elizabeth 
 Edwards, and gave her a pension of forty pounds a 
 year, during her life. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 153 
 
 THE MURDERER AND HIS SINGULAR WOUND. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN who was very ill, sending for Dr. 
 Lake, of England, told him that he found he 
 must die, and gave him the following account of 
 the cause of his death. He had, about a fortnight 
 before, been riding over Hounslow-heath, where 
 several boys were playing at cricket. One of them, 
 striking the ball, hit him just on the toe with it, 
 looked him In the face, and ran away. His toe 
 pained him extremely. As soon as he came to 
 Brentford, he sent for a surgeon, who was for cut- 
 ting it off. But, unwilling to suffer that, he went 
 on to London. When he arrived there, he imme- 
 diately called another surgeon to examine it, who 
 told him his foot must be cut off. But neither 
 would he hear of this ; and so, before the next day, 
 the mortification seized his leg, and in a day or two 
 more struck up into his body. Dr. Lake asked him, 
 whether he knew the boy that struck the ball ? 
 JIc answered, "About ten years ago, I was riding 
 over Hounslow-heath, where an old man ran by 
 my horse's side, begged me to relieve him, and said 
 he was almost famished. I bade him begone. He 
 kept up with me still ; upon which I threatened to 
 beat him. Finding that he took no notice of this, 
 I drew my sword, and with one blow killed him. 
 A boy about four years old, who was with him, 
 
154 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 screamed out, ' His father was killed !' His face I 
 perfectly remember. That boy it ivas wlio struck tlie 
 ball against me, which is the cause of my death''' 
 
 JOHN EYRE'S NEPHEW. 
 
 AN anecdote is related of John Eyre, a man 
 whose name is recorded in the annals of crime, as 
 possessing .30,000, and yet being sentenced to 
 transportation for stealing eleven quires of writing 
 paper; which shows, in a striking manner, the 
 depravity of the human heart, and may help to 
 account for the meanness of the crime of which he 
 stood convicted. An uncle of his, a gentleman of 
 considerable property, made his will in favor of a 
 clergyman who was his intimate friend, and com- 
 mitted it, unknown to the rest of the family, to 
 the custody of the divine. However, not long be- 
 fore his death, having altered his mind with regard 
 to the disposal of his wealth, he made another 
 will, in which he left the clergyman only 500, 
 bequeathing the bulk of his large property to his 
 nephew and heir-at-law, Mr. Eyre. Soon after the 
 old gentleman's death, Mr. Eyre, rummaging over 
 his drawers, found this last will, and perceiving 
 the legacy of .500 in it for the clergyman, without 
 any hesitation or scruple of conscience, he put it 
 into the fire, and took possession of the whole effects, 
 in consequence of his uncle being supposed to die 
 
REMARKABL^ PROVIDENCES. 155 
 
 intestate. The clergyman coming to town soon 
 after, and inquiring into the circumstances of his 
 old friend's death, asked if he had made a will be- 
 fore he died. On being answered by Mr. Eyre in 
 the negative, the clergyman very coolly put his 
 hand in his pocket, and pulled out the former will, 
 which had been committed to his care, in which 
 Mr. Eyre had bequeathed him the whole of his 
 fortune, amounting to several thousand pounds, 
 excepting a legacy of 2 00 to his nephew. 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 Ifamitffigmt Agents in % Ipimisjmcnt 0f 
 
 AWFUL DEATH OF A PERSECUTOR. 
 
 IN Cork my reception was very encouraging, and 
 a door was opened .to me of great usefulness. At 
 Dunmanway, one of our preaching places, a re- 
 markable event occurred soon after my coining upon 
 the circuit. The whole town was subject to one 
 
 landlord, Sir R. C , a young man of the most 
 
 profligate habits. He had appeared to be much 
 displeased with the change which had taken place in 
 the town, and with the preachers who had caused 
 it; and he had frequently threatened that he would 
 put a stop to such proceedings. A good man ob- 
 served, " He may certainly do so, if God permit, for 
 no man here can resist him ; he is greater in Dun- 
 manway than King George himself." He at length 
 threatened that he would throw the next preacher 
 that came, into the lake which fronted his mansion. 
 When the time of my going there came, I found 
 
 (156) 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 157 
 
 the Lord bad most awfully prevented the execution 
 of .his purpose. He had himself been thrown into 
 it the evening before, where he miserably perished. 
 His body was recovered after several hours' search ; 
 and when I rode into the town, the corpse lay at 
 the public-house, waiting the coroner's inquest. I 
 went to look at the body ; it w r as a dreadful spec- 
 tacle. He was a tall, athletic young man, about 
 twenty-two years of age. The body was much 
 swollen by the water, and his countenance dread- 
 fully disfigured by the large eels which abounded 
 in the lake. He was interred the following evening. 
 I received the following information respecting his 
 way of life, and his melancholy end. 
 
 He had entered the army at an early age ; but, 
 after offending many by his excesses, he was ulti- 
 mately obliged to quit the regiment in consequence 
 of having challenged his commanding officer. He 
 then, at about nineteen, married a most amiable 
 young lady, who was obliged to leave him on 
 account of his profligacy. Living by himself at 
 the mansion-house, and being at a loss for some 
 amusement on the Lord's day, he determined to 
 have an aquatic excursion on the lake. One of the 
 oars of his boat had been broken, but this could 
 not stop him. Timber was procured, and a piece 
 sawed from it in the churchyard, where the only 
 sawpit was situated, and the oar was thus made 
 during divine service in the forenoon. In the 
 afternoon he embarked, with a young gentleman, 
 14 
 
158 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the curate of the parish ; and after sailing for some 
 time, he resolved to know in how short a time ,he 
 could make the circuit of the lake. The rowers 
 struck off, and he remained for some time behold- 
 ing them, with his watch in his hand. The slow- 
 ness of their motions offended him ; and after many 
 oaths and execrations, he pulled one of them from 
 the bench, and sat down himself, saying, he would 
 show them how to row. He dipped too deep, and 
 making a violent pull, the new oar snapped like a 
 
 twig, and Sir R was precipitated backward 
 
 into the lake. There were above three hundred 
 people soon collected on the shore, and every effort 
 was made to save him, but in vain. The body was 
 not recovered until Monday morning, and in that 
 dreadful state I beheld him soon after I entered 
 the town in the afternoon. The funeral passed on 
 the second evening, close by the place where I was 
 preaching. All opposition was now at an end, and 
 " the word of the Lord had free course, and was 
 glorified in" the conversion of many souls. 
 
 DEACON EATON AND THE INFIDEL. 
 
 DEACON EATON, a missionary on the Erie canal, 
 once came in contact with an infidel on a canal 
 boat, who urged him into a dispute about the divi- 
 nity of Jesus Christ. At first he proposed to argue 
 the question on the ground of the Scriptures, but 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 159 
 
 being confounded by Deacon Eaton's reading 1 
 John, chapter v., he declared that the Bible was 
 nothing but man's invention. " I saw," says Deacon 
 E., " that he appeared to be very angry, and left 
 him ; but during the whole afternoon, whenever he 
 had an opportunity, he would vent some of his spite 
 upon me. When we came to Syracuse, where we 
 changed packets, I thought I should stop, and was 
 bidding the passengers farewell. Among the rest 
 I shook hands with the infidel's wife, and said to 
 her, 1 1 hope you will alter your belief before I see 
 you again.' He saw me talking to her, and coming 
 along, struck off my hand with which I held hers, 
 and said, ' Let the woman alone. If you wish to 
 attack any one, try me, but don't abuse the 
 woman.' 
 
 " I asked his pardon, and told him I intended no 
 abuse to any one. I finally concluded to go in the 
 packet, and as the boat started many of the pas- 
 sengers went on deck, and among the rest the 
 infidel and his wife. I was in the cabin when a 
 man came down in great haste, and inquired for a 
 bottle of camphor ; he said a man had fainted on 
 deck. Without knowing who it was, it struck me 
 immediately that it was the infidel, and that God 
 had destroyed him. I went on deck, and sure 
 enough the infidel was dead. A gentleman with 
 whom he was conversing, said he was railing 
 against me, and saying I was spunging my living, 
 when he fell in a moment with a half-uttered curse 
 
1GO REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 on his lips. They were trying to bring him back 
 to life, but I saw that there were no hopes that he 
 would ever breathe again. He was dead the mo- 
 ment he reached the deck, and then presented the 
 most awful object I had ever looked upon. His 
 eyes were open, and his countenance indicated 
 woful despair. It was a solemn moment, as still 
 as the house of death. One of the boatmen said 
 to me, ' It will not do to fight against God.' " 
 
 FALSEHOOD AWFULLY REALIZED. 
 
 J W was a laborer employed on the 
 
 Liverpool and Manchester railway. During part 
 of the time in which he was thus employed, he 
 lodged at Edge Hill, near Liverpool. There is 
 reason to believe that he was a young man who 
 had " no fear of God before his eyes ;" that he was, 
 in the expressive language of an inspired apostle, 
 " without God in the world :" Eph. ii. 12. Becom- 
 ing acquainted with a young woman, he succeeded 
 in seducing her from the paths of virtue ; and soon 
 after, he removed to a new lodging, with a view to 
 avoid the consequences of his conduct. The Al- 
 mighty, in mercy to the sinner, sent affliction by 
 illness to overtake him, and thus gave him time 
 for repentance, and an opportunity to seek the love 
 and favor of the Lord. But he refused the mercy 
 and hardened his heart. In the course of the last 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 1C1 
 
 week before he resumed his work, he called upon 
 the person with whom he had formerly lodged, and 
 among other things, asked whether old George (the 
 young woman's father) ever came there to inquire 
 after him. She replied that he did, and mentioned 
 
 the time of his last inquiry. " Oh," said W , 
 
 " when he comes again, tell him that I was killed 
 on the railway ; and that I was buried in Childwall 
 churchyard." Childwall is a village about a mile 
 from part of the railway, and about four miles from 
 Liverpool. Within a day or two, old George called, 
 and the above iniquitous and awful assertion was 
 made. Deceived by the falsehood, the poor old 
 man went away mourning over the disgrace of his 
 daughter, and the supposed sad end of her base 
 seducer. But the delusion was soon to be dissi- 
 pated; the lie told, with a view to evade the con- 
 sequences of previous guilt, was awfully, singularly, 
 literally realized ; and the wretched man, who had 
 so impiously trifled with death, was hurried, in a 
 moment, before the bar of his Maker. 
 
 On the following Monday morning, May 17, 1830, 
 the laborer returned to work, and on the same day 
 entered upon his everlasting state. Being on the 
 road at the time when an engine, to which several 
 wagons employed to convey rubbish were attached, 
 was passing, he was entangled with the apparatus, 
 felled to the earth, and his body so dreadfully man- 
 gled, as to occasion instantaneous death. Thus the 
 
 most affecting, and, to him, important part of his 
 11 
 
102 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 wicked fabrication, was made, by the mysterious 
 providence of God, a solemn reality ; and that of 
 which he had no idea when he uttered the language 
 above related, turned out, within a few days, to be 
 a fact, namely, " That he was killed on the rail- 
 way!" 
 
 But there was to be a further literal accomplish- 
 ment of his words, which, although to him a matter 
 of no consequence after the spirit had quitted the 
 body, should not be passed over unobserved, as it 
 tends to show, in a still more striking manner, that 
 the Supreme Arbiter of life and death does indeed 
 sometimes take men at their word, and fulfil their 
 imprecations, their thoughtless wishes, or their 
 blasphemous expressions, even to the very letter. 
 
 J W had no immediate relations in the 
 
 neighborhood in which he so unexpectedly expired. 
 But, since his removal to Edge Hill, he had lodged 
 with a family who possessed a burial-place in Child- 
 wall churchyard. Some of his fellow workmen 
 proposed his interment at Walton, a village three 
 miles north of Liverpool : but others, on account 
 of the nearness of Childwall, x urged his burial there ; 
 and in little more than a week after he had delibe- 
 rately uttered a falsehood to deceive one he had 
 deeply injured, his own awful words were fulfilled. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 1G3 
 
 THE TRAVELLER AND THE DOG. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN being benighted, in a lonely place, 
 stopped at an inn. After supper he retired to rest. 
 When he opened his room door, he was surprised 
 to see a strange dog, which had followed in the 
 afternoon, rush in. After several fruitless efforts 
 to drive him out, the gentleman concluded to let 
 him stay, thinking he would do no harm. When 
 the gentleman began to prepare for bed, the dog 
 ran to a closet door, and then ran back to him, 
 looking very wistfully at him. This the dog did 
 several times, which so far excited the curiosity of 
 the gentleman, that he opened the closet door ; and 
 to his great terror, saw a person laid with his throat 
 cut. Struck with horror, he began to think of his 
 own state. To attempt to run away he supposed 
 would be unsafe. He therefore began to barricade 
 the door with the furniture of the room, and laid 
 himself on the bed with his clothes on. About mid- 
 night two men came to the door and requested ad- 
 mittance, stating that the gentleman that slept 
 there the preceding night, had forgotten something 
 and was returned for it. He replied, the room was 
 his, and no one should enter his room until morn- 
 ing. They went away, but soon returned with two 
 or three other men, and demanded entrance; but 
 the gentleman, with an austere voice, threatened 
 if they did not desist, he would defend himself. 
 
1G4 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Awed apparently by this bold reply, they left him 
 and disturbed him no more. 
 
 In the morning he inquired for a barber; one 
 was immediately sent for, when the gentleman took 
 the opportunity of inquiring into the character of 
 his host. The barber replied, he was a neighbor, 
 and did not wish to say anything to his disadvan- 
 tage. The gentleman still urged his inquiry, assur- 
 ing him he had nothing to fear, till the barber said, 
 " Sir, if I must tell the truth, they bear a very bad 
 character, for it has been reported, that persons 
 have called here, who have never been heard of 
 afterwards." " Can you," said the gentleman, " keep 
 a secret?" On his answering in the affirmative, the 
 gentleman opened the closet door, and showed him 
 the person with his throat cut; he then directed 
 the barber to procure a constable, and proper assist- 
 ance with all speed, which was done immediately, 
 and the host and hostess were both taken into cus- 
 tody, to take their trial at the next assize. They 
 took their trial and were found guilty of the mur- 
 der, condemned and executed. The dog was never 
 seen by the gentleman afterwards. 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 gnams anb Uttntal (femks in % |juras{j 
 mat of Sin, #c. 
 
 MURDER CONFESSED IN A DREAM. 
 
 THE following is translated from a respectable 
 publication at Basle, Switzerland : 
 
 A person who worked in a brewery quarrelled 
 with one of his fellow-workmen, and struck him. in 
 such a manner that he died upon the spot. No 
 other person was witness to the deed. He then 
 took the dead body and threw it into a large fire 
 under the boiling-vat, where it was in a short time 
 so completely consumed, that no traces of its exist- 
 ence remained. On the following day, when the 
 man was missed, the murderer observed, very coolly, 
 that he had perceived his fellow-servant to have 
 been intoxicated, and that he had probably fallen 
 from a bridge which he had to cross in his way 
 home, and been drowned. For the space of seven 
 
 years after no one entertained any suspicion of the 
 
 (165) 
 
166 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 real state of the fact. At the end of this period, 
 the murderer was again employed in the same 
 brewery. He was then induced to reflect on the 
 singularity of the circumstance that his crime had 
 remained so long concealed. Having retired one 
 evening to rest, one of the other workmen, who 
 slept with him, hearing him say in his sleep, " It 
 is now fully seven years ago," asked him, " What 
 was it you did seven years ago?" "I put him," 
 he replied, still speaking in his sleep, " under the 
 boiling-vat." As the affair was not entirely forgot- 
 ten, it immediately occurred to the man that his 
 bedfellow must allude to the person who was miss- 
 ing about that time, and he accordingly gave in- 
 formation of what, he had heard to a magistrate. 
 The murderer was apprehended; and, though at 
 first he denied that he knew anything of the mat- 
 ter, a confession of his crime was at length obtained 
 from him, for which he suffered condign punish- 
 ment. 
 
 MURDER REVEALED BY A DREAM. 
 
 IN the village of Manchester, Vermont, K. Colvin, 
 a man of respectable connexions and character, 
 suddenly and mysteriously disappeared ; all search 
 and inquiry proved in vain, until a person dreamed 
 that he had appeared to him, and informed him 
 that he had been murdered by two persons, whom 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 1G7 
 
 he named, and that lie had been buried in such a 
 place, a few rods distant from a sapling, bearing a 
 particular mark, which he minutely described. 
 The same dream occurred three times successively 
 before he awoke, and each time the deceased seemed 
 very solicitous for him to follow. Upon awaking, 
 his feelings were wrought up to such a degree, and 
 he was so impressed with a belief of the fact, that 
 he determined to collect some friends, and follow 
 the directions laid down in the dream. He did so, 
 and discovered, to his great surprise, not only a 
 tree marked precisely as described, but also the 
 appearance of a grave ; and, upon digging, found a 
 human skeleton ! After this discovery, Stephen and 
 Jesse Brown, the persons implicated in the dream, 
 were apprehended and put in confinement, and, 
 after a few days, confessed their crime. They were 
 tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed, on 
 the 18th of January, 1820. 
 
 BUNYAN AND THE JAILER. 
 
 THE respectability of Banyan's character and the 
 propriety of his conduct, while in prison at Bedford, 
 appear to have operated very powerfully on the 
 mind of the jailer, who showed him much kindness, 
 in permitting him to go out and visit his friends 
 occasionally, and once to take a journey to London. 
 
 The following anecdote is told respecting the 
 
168 REMARKABLE PROVIDKM KS. 
 
 jailer and Mr. Bunyan : It being known to some 
 of his persecutors, in London, that he was often 
 out of prison, they sent an officer to talk with the 
 jailer on the subject; and, in order to discover the 
 fact, he was to get there in the middle of the night. 
 Bunyan was at home with his family, but so rest- 
 less that he could not sleep ; he therefore acquainted 
 his wife that, though the jailer had given him liberty 
 to stay till the morning, yet, from his uneasiness, 
 he must immediately return. He did so, and the 
 jailer blamed him for coming in at such an unsea- 
 sonable hour. Early in the morning the messenger 
 came, and interrogating the jailer, said, " Are all 
 the prisoners safe ?" " Yes." " Is John Bunyan 
 safe ?" " Yes." " Let me see him." He was called, 
 and appeared, and all was well. After the messen- 
 ger was gone, the jailer, addressing Mr. Bunyan, 
 said, " Well, you may go in and out again just when 
 you think proper, for you know when to return 
 better than I can tell you." 
 
 A REMARKABLE DREAM. 
 
 THE proof of the truth of the following statement, 
 taken from the Courier de I'Europe, rests not only 
 upon the known veracity of the narrative, but upon 
 the fact that the whole occurrence is registered in 
 the judicial records of the criminal trials of the 
 Province of Languedoc. We give it as we heard 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 109 
 
 it from the lips of the dreamer, as nearly as possible 
 in his own words. 
 
 As the junior partner of a commercial house at 
 Lyons, I had been travelling for some time. In the 
 month of June, 1761, I arrived at a town in Lan- 
 guedoc, where I had never before been. I put up 
 at a quiet inn in the suburbs, and being very 
 much fatigued, ordered dinner at once, and went 
 to bed almost immediately after, determined to 
 begin very early in the morning my visit to the 
 different merchants. 
 
 I was no sooner in bed than I fell into a deep 
 sleep, and had a dream that made the strongest 
 impression upon me. 
 
 I thought that I had arrived at the same town, 
 but in the middle of the day instead of the even- 
 ing, as was really the case that I had stopped at 
 the very same inn, and gone out immediately as 
 an unoccupied stranger would do, to see whatever 
 was worthy of observation in the place. I walked 
 down the main street, crossing it at right angles, 
 and apparently leading into the country. I had 
 not gone very far when I came to a church, the 
 Gothic portal of which I stood to examine. When 
 I had satisfied my curiosity, I advanced to a by- 
 path which branched off from the main street. 
 Obeying an impulse which I could neither account 
 for nor control, I struck into this path, though it 
 was winding, rugged, and unfrequented, and pre- 
 sently reached a miserable cottage, in front of 
 
 15 
 
170 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 which was a garden covered with weeds. I had 
 no difficulty in getting into the garden, for the 
 hedge had several gaps in it wide enough to admit 
 four carts abreast. I approached an old well which 
 stood, solitary and gloomy, in a distant corner, and 
 looking down into it I beheld distinctly, without 
 any possibility of mistake, a corpse which had been 
 stabbed in several places. I counted the deep 
 wounds and the wide gashes whence the blood was 
 flowing. 
 
 I would have cried out ; but my tongue clove to 
 the roof of my mouth. At this moment I awoke 
 with my hair on end, trembling in every limb, and 
 cold drops of perspiration bedewed my forehead, 
 awoke to find myself comfortably in bed, my trunk 
 standing beside me ; birds warbling cheerfully 
 around the window ; while a young clear voice 
 was singing a provincial air in the next room, and 
 the morning sun was shining brightly through the 
 curtain. 
 
 I sprang from my bed, dressed myself, and as it 
 was yet very early, I thought I would seek an 
 appetite for my breakfast by a morning walk. I 
 went accordingly into the street and strolled along. 
 The further I went the stronger became the con- 
 fused recollections of the objects that presented 
 themselves to my view. " It is very strange," I 
 thought, " I have never been here before, and I 
 could swear that I have seen this house and the 
 next, and that other on the left." On I went till 
 
REMAKKABLE PROVIDENCES. 171 
 
 I came to the corner of the street crossing the one 
 down which I had come. For the first time I had 
 remembered my dream, but put away the idea as 
 too absurd ; still at every step I took, some fresh 
 point of resemblance struck me. "Am I still 
 creaming ?" I exclaimed, not without a momentary 
 thrill through my whole frame. "Is the agree- 
 ment to be perfect to the very end ?" Before long 
 I reached the church with the same architectural 
 features that had attracted my notice in the dream, 
 and then the by-path that had presented itself to 
 my imagination a few hours before there was no 
 possibility of doubt or mistake. Every tree, every 
 turn was familiar to me. I was not at all of a 
 superstitious turn ; and was wholly engrossed in 
 the practical details of commercial business. My 
 mind had never dwelt upon the hallucinations, the 
 presentiments that science either denies or is unable 
 to explain; but I confess that I now felt myself spell- 
 bound as by some enchantment and with Pascal's 
 words on my lips " A continued dream would be 
 equal to reality" I hurried forward, no longer 
 doubting that the next moment would bring me to 
 the cottage, and this really was the case. 
 
 In all its outward circumstances it corresponded 
 to what I had seen in my dream. Who then would 
 wonder that I determined to ascertain whether the 
 coincidence would hold good in every other point ? 
 I entered the garden, and went directly to the spot 
 on which I had seen the well ; but here the resem- 
 
172 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 blance /ailed well there was none. I looked in 
 every direction, examined the whole garden, went 
 round the cottage, which appeared to be inhabited, 
 although no person was visible, but nowhere could 
 I find any vestige of a well. 
 
 I made no attempt to enter the cottage, but 
 hastened back to the hotel in a state of agitation 
 difficult to describe. I could not make up my mind 
 to pass unnoticed such extraordinary coincidences ; 
 but how was any clue to be obtained to the terrible 
 mystery ? 
 
 I went to the landlord, and after chatting with 
 him for some time on different subjects, I came to 
 the point, and asked him directly to whom the cot- 
 tage belonged that was on the by-road which I de- 
 scribed to him. 
 
 "I wonder, sir," said he, "what made you take 
 such particular notice of such a wretched little 
 hovel. It is inhabited by an old man with his wife, 
 who have the character of being very morose and 
 unsociable. They rarely leave the house, see no- 
 body, and nobody goes to see them ; but they are 
 quiet enough, and I never heard anything against 
 them beyond this. Of late, their very existence 
 see us to be forgotten ; and I believe, sir, that you 
 are the first for years, has turned your steps to the 
 deserted spot." 
 
 These details, far from satisfying my curiosity, 
 did but provoke it the more. Snatching my hat, 
 I cried, " I will go, come what may !" 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 173 
 
 I repaired to the nearest magistrate, told him the 
 object of my visit, and related the whole circum- 
 stance briefly and clearly. I saw distinctly that he 
 \vas much impressed by my statement. 
 
 " It is, indeed, very strange," said he ; " after 
 what has happened, I do not think I am at liberty 
 to leave the matter to further inquiry. I will place 
 two of the police at your command. Go once more 
 to the hovel, see its inhabitants, and search every 
 part of it. You may, perhaps, make some impor- 
 tant discovery." 
 
 I suffered but a few moments to elapse before I 
 was on my way, accompanied by the two officers, 
 and we soon reached the cottage. We knocked, 
 and after waiting some time an old man opened the 
 door. He received us somewhat uncivilly, but 
 showed no mark of suspicion, nor, indeed, of any 
 other emotion, when we told him we wished to 
 search the house. 
 
 " Very well, gentlemen, as fast and as soon as 
 you like," was his reply. 
 
 " Have you a well here ?" I inquired. 
 
 " No, sir ; we are obliged to go for water to a 
 spring at a considerable distance." 
 
 We searched the house, which I did, I confess, 
 with a kind of feverish excitement, expecting 
 every moment to bring some fatal secret to light. 
 Meanwhile, the man gazed upon us with an impene- 
 trable vacancy of look, and we at last left the cot- 
 tage, without anything that could confirm my us- 
 
174 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 picions. I resolved to inspect the garden once 
 more, and a number of idlers having by this time 
 collected, drawn to the spot by the sight of a 
 stranger, with two armed men engaged in searching 
 the premises, I made inquiries of some of them 
 whether they knew anything about a well in that 
 place. I could get no information at first, but at 
 length an old woman came slowly forward, leaning 
 on a crutch. 
 
 " A well !" cried she ; " is it the well you are 
 looking after? That has been gone these thirty 
 years. I remember as if it were only yesterday, 
 how, many a time when I was a young girl, I used 
 to amuse myself with throwing stones into it, and 
 hearing the splash they used to make in the water." 
 
 " And could you tell me where that well used to 
 be ?" asked I, almost breathless with excitement. 
 
 " As near as I can remember, on the very spot 
 on which your honor is standing," said the old 
 woman. 
 
 " I could have sworn it," thought I, springing 
 from the place as if I had trod upon a scorpion. 
 
 Need I say that we set to work to dig up the 
 ground ? At about eighteen inches deep we came 
 to a layer of bricks, which, being broken up, gave 
 to view some boards which were easily removed, 
 after which we beheld the mouth of the well. 
 
 " I was quite sure it was here," said the old wo- 
 man. " What a fool the old fellow was to stop it 
 up, and then have to go so far for water !" 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 175 
 
 A sounding-line, furnished with hooks, was let 
 down into the well; the crowd pressing around us, 
 and breathlessly bending over the dark and fetid 
 hole, the secrets of which seemed hidden in im- 
 penetrable obscurity. This was repeated several 
 times without result. At length, penetrating below 
 the mud, the hooks caught in an old chest, upon 
 top of which had been thrown a great many large 
 stones, and, after much time and effort, we succeeded 
 in raising it to daylight. The sides and lid were 
 decayed and rotten ; it needed no locksmith to open 
 it, and we found within it what I was certain we 
 should find, and which paralyzed with horror all 
 the spectators, who had not my pre-conviction we 
 found the remains of a human body. 
 
 The police who had accompanied me, now rushed 
 into the house, and secured the person of the old 
 man. As to his wife no one could tell, at first, 
 what had become of her ; after some search, how- 
 ever, she was found hidden behind a bundle of 
 faggots. 
 
 By this time nearly the whole town had gathered 
 around the spot, and now that this fact had come 
 to light, everybody had some crime to tell of which 
 had been laid to the charge of the old couple. The 
 people who predict after an event are numerous. 
 
 The old couple were brought before the proper 
 authorities and privately and separately examined. 
 The old man persisted in his denial most pertina- 
 ciously, but his wife at length confessed, that in 
 
17G REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES, 
 
 concert with her husband she had once, a very 
 long time ago, murdered a pedlar whom they had 
 met one night on the high road, and who had been 
 incautious enough to tell them of a considerable 
 sum of money which he had about him, and whom, 
 in consequence, they induced to pass the night at 
 their house. They had taken advantage of the 
 heavy sleep induced by fatigue to strangle him, his 
 body had been put into the chest, the chest thrown 
 into the well, and the well stopped up. 
 
 The pedlar being from another country, his dis- 
 appearance had occasioned no inquiry ; there was 
 no witness of the crime ; and as its traces had been 
 carefully concealed from every eye, the two crimi- 
 nals had good reason to believe themselves secure 
 from detection. They had not, however, been able 
 to silence the voice of conscience ; they fled from 
 the sight of their fellow men ; they thought they 
 beheld wherever they turned, mute accusers ; they 
 trembled at the slightest noise, and silence thrilled 
 them with terror. They had often formed a deter- 
 mination to leave the scene of their crime, to fly 
 to some distant land, but still some undefinable 
 fascination kept them near the remains of their 
 victim. 
 
 Terrified by the deposition of the wife, and 
 unable to resist the overwhelming proofs against 
 him, the man at last made a similar confession, and 
 six w r eeks after the unhappy criminals died on the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 177 
 
 scaffold, in accordance with the sentence of the par- 
 liament of Toulouse. 
 
 They died penitent. 
 
 The well was once more shut up, and the cottage 
 levelled to the ground; it was not, however, until 
 fifty years had in some measure deadened the 
 memory of the terrible transaction, that the ground 
 was cultivated. It is now a field of corn. 
 
 Such was the dream and its result. 
 
 A WICKED PROCLAMATION DEFEATED. 
 
 THE following interesting facts were related to 
 the Rev. Dr. Conder, of London, by an old gentle- 
 man, who remembered when a boy to have heard 
 them from the great-grandfather of that gentle- 
 man : 
 
 I used, said he, when young to accompany my 
 father to Royston market, which Mr. Conder .also 
 frequented. The custom of the worthy men in 
 those days was, when they had done their market- 
 ing, to meet together, and take needful refreshment 
 in a private room, where, without interruption, 
 the}' might talk freely about the things of God 
 how they had heard on the Sabbath day, and how 
 they had gone on the week past, &c. I was ad- 
 mitted to sit in a corner of the room. One day, 
 when I was there, the conversation turned upon 
 the question, " By what means God first visited 
 
178 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 their souls, and began a work of grace upon 
 them?" It was your great-grandfather's turn to 
 speak, and his account struck me so, that I never 
 forgot it. He told the company as follows : 
 " When I was a young man, I was greatly addicted 
 to foot-ball playing ; and, as the custom was in our 
 parish, and in many others also, the young men, as 
 soon as church was over, took a foot-ball and went 
 to play. Our minister often remonstrated against 
 our breaking the Sabbath, which, however, had but 
 little effect; only my conscience checked me at 
 times, and I would sometimes steal away and hide 
 myself from my companions. But being dextrous 
 at the game, they would find me out, and get me 
 among them. This would bring on me more guilt 
 and horror of conscience. Thus I went on sinning 
 and repenting a long time, but had no resolution to 
 break off from the practice, till, one Sabbath morn- 
 ing, our minister acquainted his hearers that he was 
 very sorry to tell them, that by order of the king 
 (James I.) and his council, he must read them the 
 following paper or relinquish his living. This was 
 the Book of Sports, forbidding the ministers or 
 churchwardens, or any others, to molest or dis- 
 courage the youth, in what were called their manly 
 sports and recreations on the Lord's day, &c. 
 While our minister was reading it, I was seized 
 with a chill and horror not to be described. Now, 
 thought I, iniquity is established by a law, and 
 sinners are hardened in their sinful ways ! What 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 179 
 
 sore judgments are to be expected upon so wicked 
 and guilty a nation ! What shall I do ? Whither 
 shall I flee? How shall I escape the wrath to 
 come ? And thus God convinced me that it was 
 high time to be in earnest about salvation. And 
 from that time, I never had the least inclination to 
 take a foot-ball in hand, or to join my vain com- 
 panions any more : so that 1 date my conversion 
 from that time, and adore the grace of God in 
 making that to be an ordinance for my salvation, 
 which the devil and wicked governors laid as a 
 trap for my destruction." 
 
 This, continued the narrator, I heard him tell : 
 and I hope with some serious benefit to my own 
 soul. 
 
 THE JEWELLER AND HIS SERVANT. 
 
 A JEWELLER, a man of good character, and consi- 
 derable wealth, having occasion, in the way of busi- 
 ness, to travel some distance from his abode, took 
 along with him a servant : he had with him some 
 of his best jewels, and a large sum of money, to 
 which his servant was likewise privy. The master 
 having occasion to dismount on the road, the ser- 
 vant watched his opportunity, took a pistol from 
 his master's saddle, and shot him dead on the spot ; 
 then rilling him of his jewels and money, and hang- 
 ing a large stone to his neck, he threw him into the 
 nearest canal. With his booty he made off to a 
 
180 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 distant part of the country, where he had reason to 
 believe that neither he nor his master was known. 
 There he began to trade, in a very low way at first, 
 that his obscurity might screen him from observa- 
 tion ; and in the course of many years seemed to 
 rise up, by the natural progress of business, into 
 wealth and consideration ; so that his good fortune 
 appeared at once the effect of industry and the 
 reward of virtue. Of these he counterfeited the 
 appearance so well, that he grew into great credit, 
 married into a good family, and, by laying out his 
 hidden stores discreetly, as he saw occasion, and 
 joining to all a universal affability, he was at length 
 admitted to a share of the government of the town, 
 and rose from one post to another, till at last he 
 was chosen chief magistrate. In this office he main- 
 tained a fair character, and continued to fill it with 
 no small applause, both as governor and judge; till 
 one day, as he sat on the bench with some of his 
 brethren, a criminal was brought before him who 
 was accused of murdering his master. The evidence 
 came out full; the jury brought in their verdict 
 that the prisoner was guilty, and the whole assem- 
 bly awaited the sentence of the president of the 
 court (which happened to be himself) in great sus- 
 pense. Meanwhile he appeared to be in unusual 
 disorder and agitation of mind ; his color changed 
 often ; at length he arose from his seat, and, coming 
 down from the bench, placed himself just by the 
 unfortunate man at the bar, to the no small astonish- 
 
REMARKABLE 1'UOVIDENCES. 181 
 
 ment of all present. " You see before you," said he, 
 addressing himself to those who had sat on the bench 
 with him, "a striking instance of the just awards 
 of Heaven, for this day, after thirty years' conceal- 
 ment, presents to you a greater criminal than the 
 man just now found guilty." He then made an 
 ample confession of his heinous offence, with all its 
 peculiar aggravations. " Nor can I," continued he, 
 " feel any relief from the agonies of an awakened 
 conscience, but by requiring that justice be forth- 
 with done against me in the most public and solemn 
 manner." We may easily imagine the amazement 
 of all, especially his fellow-judges. They accord- 
 ingly proceeded, upon his confession, to pass sen- 
 tence upon him, and he died with all the symptoms 
 of a penitent mind. 
 
 16 
 
SECTION IV. 
 
 Agents lit t\t |)imi$|)mmt of Sin, $r. 
 
 THE PRAYER OF THE WICKED ANSWERED. 
 
 A CORRESPONDENT of the London Pulpit gives the 
 following incident, which was well authenticated. 
 A young girl, residing at Exeter, was accused by 
 her mother of having stolen a silver spoon. She 
 repeatedly, and in the most emphatic manner, de- 
 nied the charge as often as it was reiterated. Her 
 mother still pressed it upon her. At last, deter- 
 mined to conceal her guilt, and hoping to silence 
 all further accusation, the girl exclaimed in a solemn 
 manner, " May God strike me dead if I have the 
 spoon." God heard her. Judgment came. She 
 fell dead upon the spot. On examining her clothes 
 afterwards the spoon was found concealed on her 
 person. 
 
 (182) 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 183 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION CARICATURED. 
 
 MELANCTHON, the Reformer, relates the following 
 awful illustration of the judgments of Divine Pro- 
 dence. 
 
 A company of profane wretches undertook to 
 represent, in a farcical way, the death scene of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, when he, who acted the soldier, 
 instead of piercing a bladder of blood, hid under the 
 garments of the one on the cross, ran the spear into 
 his side, and killed him. The dead man fell from 
 the cross upon the one acting the part of the weep- 
 ing woman, and killed him. The brother of the 
 man first slain, immediately killed the murderer, 
 and was afterwards tried and hung by sentence of 
 the court. Thus did the judgments of Almighty 
 God speedily overtake these wicked men, who 
 sought to trifle with one of the most solemn scenes 
 known to man. 
 
 FEIGNING DEATH. 
 
 THE Gazette de Lyons published the following 
 fact ; it happened at Chenas, not far from Lyons : 
 
 A rich widow, without children, had promised to 
 make her will in favor of her niece. The aunt fell 
 sick, and the niece, as much through attachment as 
 interest, lavished upon her the tcnderest as well as 
 
184 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the most assiduous cares ; however, the aunt died 
 without making a will. The niece was in despair 
 for the loss of her friend and her hopes. She went 
 around, told her story, and asked what could be 
 done. Her perfidious counsellors engaged her to 
 play the old trick of hiding the death, and placing 
 herself in bed, calling for a notary and witnesses, 
 and dictating a convenient testament. She did her 
 part well, and it succeeded wonderfully in a room 
 that was partially darkened. The young girl, sunk 
 in a pillow and curtains, pronounced with a feeble 
 and broken voice, the last will and testament of the 
 aunt ; the notary wrote, and the victory was nearly 
 sure, when one of the witnesses, who knew a little 
 more than the others, declared he would sign no 
 such act ; for that the pretended testatrix had been 
 dead for several hours, and he would not be the 
 accomplice of a like deception. The unhappy niece, 
 confounded and overwhelmed, could not support the 
 idea of the consequent shame and punishment of 
 her guilt, and she suddenly expired. She was 
 buried at the same time with her aunt. 
 
 A LIAR'S IMPRECATION ANSWERED. 
 
 A FEW years since, a woman in the Church Gate, 
 Loughborough, England, went to purchase a bed- 
 stead, which was sold to her for thirteen shillings, 
 and change given her out of a one pound note, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 185 
 
 which she gave in payment. A short time after, 
 she went again to the shop, and asserted that 
 eighteen pence less than the proper change was 
 given her. This the shopkeeper denied, stating the 
 exact coins he had given her. She, however, per- 
 sisted in her declaration, and said, she wished she 
 might die in his house if she had not spoken the 
 truth. Awful to relate, she was immediately taken 
 ill, was removed to another house, and soon after 
 expired, never once speaking after she had left the 
 shop. The money was found in her pocket, exactly 
 as the shopkeeper had described. 
 
 PROFANITY AWFULLY VISITED. 
 
 ABOUT the year 1793, an awful incident occurred 
 at Salem, in the state of New Jersey. There had 
 been a revival of religion, and the pious part of the 
 community had been disturbed with riots and mobs ; 
 but on making application to the civil magistrate, 
 these tumults had been effectually suppressed. 
 The opposers of religion now turned their attention 
 to a new method of entertainment ; acting in a far- 
 cical way at religious meetings, pretending to speak 
 of their experiences, to exhort, &c., in order to 
 amuse one another in a profane theatrical manner. 
 One evening a young actress stood up on one of the 
 benches, pretending to speak of her experience; 
 and, with mock solemnity, cried out, "Glory to God ! 
 
 16* 
 
186 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 I have found peace ; I am sanctified ; I am now fit 
 to die." Scarcely had the unhappy girl uttered 
 these words, before she actually dropped dead upon 
 the floor, and was taken up a lifeless corpse. Struck 
 with this awful visitation, the auditors were in- 
 stantly seized with inexpressible terror, and every 
 face was covered with consternation and dismay. 
 
 THE CONSTABLE'S ADMONITION. 
 
 IN 1682, some soldiers came to break up a meet- 
 ing where Mr. Browning, who had been ejected 
 from Desborough, in Northamptonshire, was, and 
 to apprehend him. The constable of the place, 
 who was present, admonished them to be well ad- 
 vised in what they did, " For," said he, " when Sir 
 was. alive, he eagerly persecuted these meet- 
 ings, and engaged eight soldiers of the country 
 troop to assist him, whereof myself was one. Sir 
 
 himself is dead ; six of the soldiers are dead ; 
 
 some of them were hanged, and some of them 
 broke their necks, and I myself fell off my horse 
 and broke my collar-bone, in the act of persecuting 
 them. This has given me such a warning, that, 
 for 1 my part, I am resolved I will never meddle 
 with them more." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 187 
 
 THE UNGRATEFUL SONS. 
 
 IN Birmingham, England, once lived a family in 
 humble circumstances. Some of the younger child- 
 ren and their father died, leaving the aged mother 
 with two sons grown up, and able to assist her. 
 This, however, they refused to do, and she was 
 obliged to apply to the parish for relief; and for 
 some years two shillings a week were allowed her 
 by the overseers, which, with a small sum added 
 by some Christian friends, was all on which she had 
 to subsist. 
 
 During this time her youngest son died. He had 
 lived without the fear of God, and died under a 
 sense of his wrath, in deep agonies, both of body 
 and mind, and uttering dreadful expressions. 
 
 The eldest son was clever in his business, got 
 forward in the world, and became possessed of con- 
 siderable property. But he still refused to assist 
 his mother, and even while holding offices of con- 
 sideration and importance, left her to subsist on her 
 allowance from the parish. This conduct of course 
 was noticed ; he was repeatedly spoken to upon the 
 subject; and at length he ordered her name to be 
 taken from the parish books, and allowed her the 
 two shillings a week out of his own pocket, at a 
 time when he possessed thousands of pounds, and 
 \v;is without a family. 
 
 One day some friends were assembled, and her 
 
188 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 case being mentioned, they proposed to remonstrate 
 with the ungrateful son. " No," said an aged min- 
 ister, " let him alone ; if he dies possessed of the 
 property he is now worth, I shall be deceived. God 
 will never suffer such base ingratitude to prosper." 
 In a short time afterwards, the mother was re- 
 moved to another world. The circumstances of the 
 son at length began to change ; repeated losses 
 ensued, and finally he became a bankrupt, and 
 was reduced to abject poverty. 
 
 SUFFERING DEATH WHILE FEIGNING IT. 
 
 ONE day, as Archbishop Leigh ton was going 
 from Glasgow to Dumblane, there happened a tre- 
 mendous storm of lightning and thunder. He was 
 observed, when at a considerable distance, by two 
 men of bad character. They had not courage to 
 rob him; but wishing to fall on some method to 
 extort money from him, one said, " I will lie down 
 by the wayside as if I were dead, and you shall 
 inform the archbishop that I was killed by the 
 lightning, and beg money of him to bury me." 
 When the archbishop arrived at the spot, the 
 wicked wretch told the fabricated story : the arch- 
 bishop sympathized with the survivor, gave him 
 money, and proceeded on his journey. But when 
 the man returned to his companion, he found him 
 really lifeless ! Immediately he began to exclaim 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 189 
 
 aloud, " Oh ! sir, he /.v dead ! Oh ! sir, he is dead !" 
 On this, the archbishop, discovering the fraud, left 
 the man with this important reflection : " It is a 
 dangerous thing to trifle with the judgments of 
 God!" 
 
 THE PERJURER'S IMPRECATION. 
 
 A MAN once waited on a magistrate near Hitch in, 
 in the county of Hertford (England), and informed 
 him that he had been stopped by a young gentle- 
 man in Hitchin, who had knocked him down and 
 searched his pockets ; but not finding anything, he 
 had suffered him to depart. The magistrate, aston- 
 ished at this intelligence, despatched a messenger 
 to the young gentleman, ordering him to appear 
 immediately, and answer to the charge exhibited 
 against him. The youth obeyed the summons, 
 accompanied by his guardian and an intimate 
 friend. Upon their arrival at the seat of justice, 
 the accused and accuser were confronted ; when the 
 magistrate hinted to the man, that he was afraid 
 he had made the charge with no other view than 
 that of extorting money, and bade him take care 
 how he proceeded ; exhorting him, in the most 
 earnest and pathetic manner, to beware of the 
 dreadful train of consequences attending perjury. 
 The man insisted upon making oath to what he 
 had advanced; the oath was accordingly admi- 
 
190 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 nistered, and the business fully investigated, when 
 the innocence of the young gentleman was esta- 
 blished, by the most incontrovertible evidence. The 
 infamous wretch, finding his intentions thus frus- 
 trated, returned home much chagrined ; and meet- 
 ing soon afterwards with one of his neighbors, he 
 declared he had not sworn to anything but the 
 truth, calling God to witness the same in the most 
 solemn manner, and wished, if it was not as he 
 had said, his jaws might be locked, and that his 
 flesh might rot upon his bones ; when, terrible to 
 relate, his jaws were instantly arrested, and he was 
 deprived of the use of the faculty he had so awfully 
 perverted ! After lingering nearly a fortnight, he 
 expired in the greatest agonies, his flesh literally 
 rotting upon his bones. 
 
 THE TWISTED NECK. 
 
 AT a general muster in one of the Western 
 States, a wicked man being addressed on the sub- 
 ject of religion was filled with rage, and uttered 
 the horrid declaration that if Jesus of Nazareth 
 was there, he would wring his neck ! Suddenly a 
 violent spasm seized the neck of the blasphemer, 
 twisted it round, rolled his eyes nearly out of their 
 sockets, and left him in this frightful position, a 
 living monument of outraged omnipotence. " This 
 fact," says a writer in the Vermont Chronicle, ' was 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 191 
 
 stated at a public meeting in this vicinity lately by 
 a respectable gentleman of the bar from Ohio." 
 The meeting referred to, took place in Lebanon, 
 Ohio, and the laAvyer referred to was Mr. Latham. 
 His statements having been called in question, Mr. 
 Latham procured a full corroboration of them from 
 the Rev. Ahab Jenks, of Delaware, Ohio, who re- 
 sided in the immediate vicinity where the circum- 
 stance took place. 
 
 BETTING AND DYING. 
 
 THE following relation of facts was presented to 
 the public in several of the London newspapers of 
 February 13, 1814 : A melancholy event occurred 
 yesterday evening, between seven and eight o'clock, 
 at the cock-pit, St. Giles's. Whilst preparations 
 were making for the setting-to of the cocks, to 
 engage in this cruel sport, a Mr. Thorpe, from the 
 country, a well-known character, had taken his seat 
 in the front of the pit, and not two minutes before 
 his death, had offered to back the Huntingdon birds 
 for ten guineas. He was observed to lean his head 
 forward, and appeared somewhat ill. He made a 
 kind of moan, and instantly his color changed, and 
 he was a corpse. Surgical aid was immediately 
 procured, but the spark of life was extinct. The 
 body was removed to a neighboring public-house, 
 for the inspection of a coroner's inquest. The wife 
 
192 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 and sister of the deceased soon arrived to see the 
 body, and the reader may judge of their feelings. 
 It is a fact no less singular than true, that the de- 
 ceased, half an hour before his death, had said, 
 " The last time I was here, I said, if ever I 
 attended the pit again, I hoped I should die there." 
 
 THE NEWBURQ INFIDELS. 
 
 DURING the prevalence of infidelity that occurred 
 in this country after the reign of terror in France, 
 Newburg, New York, was remarkable for its Deism. 
 Through the influence of "Blind Palmer," there 
 was formed a Druidical Society, so called, which 
 had a high priest, and met at stated times, to 
 uproot and destroy all true religion. They de- 
 scended sometimes to acts the most impious and 
 blasphemous. Thus, for instance, at one of their 
 meetings in Newburg, they burned the Bible, bap- 
 tized a cat, partook of the sacrament, and one of 
 the number, approved by the rest, administered it 
 to a dog. Now mark the retributive judgments of 
 God towards these blasphemers, which at once 
 commenced falling upon them. On the evening of 
 that very day, he who had administered this mock 
 sacrament was attacked with a violent inflamma- 
 tory disease ; his inflamed eyeballs were protruded 
 from their sockets ; his tongue was swollen ; and 
 he died before morning in great bodily and mental 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 193 
 
 agony. Dr. H., another of the same party, was 
 found dead in his bed the next morning. D. D., a 
 printer, who was present, three days after fell in a 
 fit, and died immediately; and three others were 
 drowned in a few days. In short, within five years 
 from the time the Druidical Society was organized, 
 it is a remarkable fact, that all the original mem- 
 bers died in some strange or unnatural manner. 
 There were thirty-six of them ; and these were the 
 actors in the horrid farce described above. Two 
 were starved to death; seven drowned; eight shot; 
 five committed suicide ; seven died on the gallows ; 
 one was frozen to death ; and three died " accident- 
 all,/- 
 
 Of the foregoing statements there is good proof. 
 They have been certified before justices of the peace 
 in New York ; and again and again published to 
 the world. 
 
 THE BLASPHEMOUS SAILOR. 
 
 THE following fact took place in the spring of 
 1812, at a public-house in Rochester, in the county 
 of Kent (England) : 
 
 Two wicked sailors meeting at a tavern one day, 
 began to curse and swear, when the more violent 
 of the two, in a tempest of passion, swore that he 
 would kill the other. The awe-struck landlord, 
 raising his voice, said to the sailor who had made 
 
 13 
 
194 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the threat, " What if God of a sudden should strike 
 you dead, and sink you into hell with his curse 
 upon you !" The sailor replied with a terrible 
 oath, " The Almighty cannot do that give me the 
 tankard of beer if God can do it, I'll go to hell 
 before I drink it up." 
 
 With an awful oath he seized the tankard, but 
 instantly fell down and expired ! 
 
 All blasphemers are not thus suddenly and 
 singularly cut off; but there is a point in every 
 blasphemer's progress in sin, beyond which the 
 forbearance of God cannot be extended to him 
 longer. And how often does God say to such men, 
 in the midst of their awful contempt and mockery 
 of his power, " Thus far shalt thou go, and no 
 farther." We do not suppose that any miracle is 
 wrought in such cases ; but God, working in and 
 through natural laws, so often causes sudden and 
 awful deaths in immediate connection with bold 
 and impious blasphemy, that we are justified in 
 regarding such a death as a judgment of God, sent 
 in consequence of the blasphemy. 
 
 We mean to say as much as this, that in such 
 cases the sinner's blasphemy and death are so far 
 related to each other, that if the one had not been 
 committed, the other had not occurred ; if he had 
 not blasphemed as he did, he had not died as h<i 
 did. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN 
 THE CONVERSION OF MEN. 
 
 "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." 
 ACTS ii. 47. 
 
 (195) 
 

SECTION I. 
 
 C0ntesi0its effected in Dummi 
 
 v kri/ 
 
 THE DELIVERANCE OF THE REV. MR. HOWE. 
 
 WHEN the melancholy state of the times com- 
 pelled this excellent man to quit the public charge 
 of his beloved congregation at Torrington, in Devon- 
 shire, impressed with a sense of duty, he embraced 
 every opportunity of preaching the word of life. He 
 and Mr. Flavel used frequently to conduct their 
 secret ministrations at midnight in different houses 
 in the north of Devonshire. One of the principal 
 of these was Hudscott, an ancient mansion belong- 
 ing to the family of Rolle, between Torrington and 
 Southmolton. Yet, even here, the observant eye 
 of malevolence was upon them. Mr. Howe had 
 been officiating there, in a dark and tempestuous 
 wintry night, when an alarm was made that infor- 
 mation had been given, and a warrant granted to 
 apprehend him It was judged prudent for him to 
 quit the house ; but in riding over a large common, 
 
 17 * (197) 
 
D8 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 he and his servant missed their way. After several 
 fruitless efforts to recover it, the attendant went 
 forward to seek for a habitation, where they might 
 either find directions or a lodging. Pie soon dis- 
 covered a mansion, and received a cheerful invita- 
 tion to rest there for the night. But how great was 
 Mr. Howe's surprise, to find, on his arrival, that the 
 house belonged to his most inveterate enemy, a 
 country magistrate, who had often breathed the 
 most implacable vengeance against him, and, as he 
 had reason to believe, was well acquainted with 
 the occasion of his travelling at such an hour. 
 However, he put the best face he could upon it, 
 and even mentioned his name and residence to the 
 gentleman, trusting to Providence for the result. 
 His host ordered supper to be provided, and entered 
 into a lengthened conversation with his guest ; and 
 was so delighted with his company, that it was a 
 very late hour before he could permit him to retire 
 to his chamber. In the morning, Mr. Howe ex- 
 pected to be accosted with a commitment, and sent 
 to Exeter; but, on the contrary, he was received 
 by the family at breakfast with a very hospitable 
 welcome. After mutual civilities, he departed to 
 his own abode, greatly wondering to himself at the 
 kindness of a man from whom he had before 
 dreaded so much. 
 
 Not long after, the gentleman sent for Mr. Howe, 
 who found him confined to his bed by sickness, and 
 still more deeply wounded with a sense of sin. He 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 199 
 
 acknowledged that, when Mr. Howe came first to 
 his door, he inwardly rejoiced that he had an oppor- 
 tunity of exercising his malice upon him, but that 
 his conversation and his manner insensibly awed 
 him into respect. He had long ruminated on the 
 observations which had fallen from the man of 
 God, and was become a penitent, earnestly anxious 
 for the blessings of eternal life. From that sick- 
 ness he recovered, became an eminent Christian, a 
 friend to the conscientious, and an intimate com- 
 panion of the man whom he had threatened with 
 his vengeance. 
 
 THE CONVERTED ACTRESS. 
 
 AN actress, in one of the English provincial or 
 country theatres, was one day passing through the 
 streets of the town in which she then resided, when 
 her attention was attracted by the sound of voices, 
 which she heard in a poor cottage before her. 
 Curiosity prompted her to look in at an open door, 
 when she saw a few poor people sitting together, 
 one of whom, at the moment of her observation, 
 was giving out the following hymn, which the others 
 joined in singing : 
 
 " Depth of mercy ! can there be 
 Mercy still reserved for me ?" 
 
 The tune was sweet and simple, but she heeded it 
 not. The words had riveted her attention, and she 
 
200 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 stood motionless, until she was invited to enter, by 
 the woman of the house, who had observed her 
 standing at the door. She complied, and remained 
 during a prayer which was offered up by one of the 
 little company; and uncouth as the expressions 
 sounded, perhaps, to her ears, they carried with 
 them a conviction of sincerity, on the part of the 
 person then employed. She quitted the cottage, 
 but the words of the hymn followed her. She 
 could not banish them from her mind, and at last 
 she resolved to procure the book which contained 
 it. She did so, and the more she read itj the 
 more decided her serious impressions became. She 
 attended the ministry of the gospel, read her 
 hitherto neglected and despised Bible, and bowed 
 herself in humility and contrition of heart, before 
 him whose mercy she now felt she needed, whose 
 sacrifices are those of a broken heart and a contrite 
 spirit, and who has declared, that with such sacri- 
 fices he is well pleased. 
 
 Her profession she determined at once and for 
 ever to renounce ; and for some little time excused 
 herself from appearing on the stage, without, how- 
 ever, disclosing her change of sentiments or making 
 known her resolution finally to leave it. 
 
 The manager of the theatre called upon her one 
 morning, and requested her to sustain the principal 
 character in a new play which was to be performed 
 the next week for his benefit. She had frequently 
 performed this character to general admiration ; but 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 201 
 
 she now, however, told him her resolution never to 
 appear as an actress again, at the same time giving 
 her reasons. At first he attempted to overcome 
 her scruples by ridicule, but this was unavailing ; 
 he then represented the loss he would incur by her 
 refusal, and concluded his arguments by promising, 
 that if she would act on this occasion, it would be 
 the last request of the kind he should ever make. 
 Unable to resist his solicitations, she promised to 
 appear, and on the appointed evening went to the 
 theatre. The character she assumed required her, 
 on her entrance, to sing a song; and when the 
 curtain drew up, the orchestra began the accom- 
 paniment. But she stood as if lost in thought, and 
 as one forgetting all around her, and her own situa- 
 tion. The music ceased, but she did not sing ; sup- 
 posing her to be overcome by embarrassment, the 
 band commenced again. A second time they paused 
 for her to begin, and still she did not open her lips. 
 A third time the air was played, and then, with 
 clasped hands, and eyes suffused with tears, she 
 sang, not the song, but, 
 
 " Depth of mercy ! can there be 
 Mercy still reserved for me ?" 
 
 It is almost needless to add, that the performance 
 was suddenly ended ; many ridiculed, though some 
 were induced from that memorable night to " con- 
 sider their ways," and to reflect on the wonderful 
 power of that religion which could so influence the 
 
202 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 heart and change the life of one so vain, and so evi- 
 dently pursuing " the road to ruin." 
 
 It might be satisfactory to the reader to know, 
 
 that the change in Miss was as permanent us 
 
 it was singular ; she walked consistently with her 
 profession of religion for a number of years, and at 
 length became the wife of a minister of the Gospel. 
 
 CONVERSION OF THE HALDANES. 
 
 THE Rev. James Haldane (pastor of one of the 
 Baptist churches in Edinburgh, Scotland), says 
 Rev. Mr. Turnbull, was a junior member of a 
 highly respectable and wealthy family. In his 
 youth he became connected with the British navy, 
 and rose to the post of captain, in one of his majes- 
 ty's war ships. On one occasion, being engaged 
 in a warmly contested battle, he saw the whole of 
 his men on deck swept off by a tremendous broad- 
 side from the enemy. He ordered another company 
 to be " piped up" from below, to take the place of 
 their lost companions. On coming up, they saw 
 their mangled remains strewn upon the deck, and 
 were seized with a sudden and irresistible panic. 
 On seeing this, the captain jumped up, and swore 
 a horrid oath, imprecating the vengeance of Al- 
 mighty God upon the whole of them, and wishing 
 that they might all sink to hell. An old marine, 
 who was a pious man, stepped up to him, and re- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 speetfully touching his hat, said: "Captain, I 
 believe God hears prayer; and if God had heard 
 your prayer just now, what would have become of 
 us?" Having spoken this, he made a respectful 
 bow, and retired to his place. After the engage- 
 ment, the captain calmly reflected upon the words 
 of the old marine, and was so deeply affected by 
 them, that he devoted his attention to the claims 
 of religion, and was subsequently converted to God. 
 
 Of course he informed his brother Robert of his 
 change of views, but, instead of being gratified by 
 it, his brother was greatly offended, and requested 
 him never to enter his house till he had changed 
 his views. '- Very well, Robert," said James, " but 
 I have one comfort in the case, and that is, you 
 cannot prevent my praying for you ;" and holding 
 out his hand, he bade him good-bye. His brother 
 Robert was much affected by this; he could not 
 get rid of the idea that his brother was constantly 
 praying for him. He saw the error of his ways, 
 and, after much investigation and reflection, became 
 a decided Christian. 
 
 Some years afterwards, Robert Haldane made a 
 journey to the continent, and settled for some time 
 in Geneva. He was much affected with the low 
 spiritual condition of the Protestant church there, 
 which had become infected with the rationalistic 
 and neological views prevalent in Germany. In- 
 deed, the clergy themselves had so far departed 
 from the faith of the Reformation, as to reject 
 
204 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 almost all the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, 
 particularly the divinity of Christ, and the doctrine 
 s)f atonement. Mr. Haldane made himself ac- 
 quainted with the students attending the divinity 
 school in Geneva, and invited a number of them to 
 his house, and, by free conversation, endeavored to 
 teach them the gospel, and the nature of spiritual 
 religion. This he frequently repeated, till, at last, 
 God blessed his efforts to the conversion of ten or 
 twelve of them. Among them were Felix Neff, 
 subsequently pastor in the High Alps, and one of 
 the purest and most devoted men that ever lived ; 
 Henry Pyt, another well known and truly pious 
 man; and Henry Merle cTAulrigne, well known 
 throughout the literary and religious world as the 
 author of the History of the Reformation, and 
 President of the New Evangelical School of The- 
 ology in Geneva. 
 
 THE WRECKED SAILOR LED TO GOD. 
 
 A SHIP, says Rev. John Blain, was wrecked 
 amongst the rocks, near Cape Horn. While the 
 winds fiercely blew, and the foaming billows 
 dashed the timbers in pieces, one seaman reached 
 a lonely, barren rock. The day passed slowly 
 away. He stretched his eye to the east and west, 
 to the north and south, over the deep, dark, and 
 ever restless waters but no friendly sail appeared J 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 205 
 
 The sun disappeared, and he sat down to pass in 
 solitude the lonely night. His shipmates were cold 
 and silent in their watery graves. The waves 
 dashed against the rock, the winds passed swiftly 
 onward, the lamps of night shed their dismal light 
 on the bosom of the deep but no human voice 
 sounded in his ear, no brother's hand administered 
 to his wants. Hunger and thirst made strong 
 demands, but he had no means to relieve them. 
 The bread and the water were entombed with his 
 companions. Nor had he any consolation to draw 
 from a future world. The Bible and the Redeemer 
 had been neglected, and he was strangely indif- 
 ferent. Another day came and passed, and another 
 night. On the third night, as he lay on his back, 
 gazing into the starry heavens, be began to think 
 about God and eternity., his past life, and the inte- 
 rests of his soul. But all was dark. His skin was 
 peeling from his face, his teeth all loose, his thirst 
 almost intolerable, and death seemed to stand by 
 his side. He had never prayed, nor did he know 
 how to pray. A single commandment was all he 
 remembered, and that commandment his dear 
 mother taught him when a child. And how should 
 he meet that mother and his God in a future 
 world ? His sins passed in review, and pressed on 
 his guilty conscience, Avhile bitter tears of repent- 
 ance began to roll down his scalded cheeks. With- 
 out knowing what the Lord required of him, he 
 rose, stood on his knees, lifted his feeble hands 
 18 
 
206 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 towards heaven, and there on that lonely rock, far, 
 far away from home and friends, he submitted all 
 to God, and most solemnly promised, if his life was 
 spared, he would learn and do whatever God re- 
 quired. From that consecrated and blessed hour, 
 peace flowed into his soul Christ was his Saviour, 
 and hope entered within the vail. The next day 
 the life-boat from a passing ship took him from the 
 Bethel rock. He landed in Boston, found the 
 sailor's friend, and the sailor's home, and listened 
 to the gospel of peace. Father Taylor gave him a 
 Bible, which he read with prayerful attention. He 
 came to New York visited different churches, 
 searched for truth, remembered his solemn vow, 
 and in February, 1843, while I was preaching in 
 the Baptist Tabernacle, he offered himself to the 
 church. On hearing his experience, every heart 
 felt every eye wept. Brother Wm. W. Evarts 
 baptized him, welcomed him to the church, and he 
 went on his way rejoicing. 
 
 THE INFIDEL'S CHILD. 
 
 THE following fact, communicated by a foreign 
 correspondent of the American Spectator at Albany, 
 shows alike the blessing of Sunday schools, and the 
 influences which even these " little ones" may exert 
 upon others for good. 
 
 In the city of London there lived a little girl, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 207 
 
 who attended, for three years, and by stealth, the 
 teaching of a Sabbath school. Coming under the 
 saving influence of truth, she became concerned for 
 her father, a noted infidel and active opposer to 
 Christianity. She obtained a Bible, but knew not 
 how to put it into his hands; for she feared his 
 displeasure, and dreaded any prohibition which 
 might deprive her of the prized advantages of the 
 Sunday school. She retired to seek Divine guid- 
 ance. Her father passing the door of the apart- 
 ment, heard the voice of his child ; it was the voice 
 of prayer she prayed for him. He became affected, 
 agitated, distressed. After a little while, the family 
 assembled at tea-table; the beverage was handed 
 around, but he could not partake. 
 
 " Is there a Bible in the house ?" said he. 
 
 " My dear," replied his wife, apprehensive of the 
 purposed repetition of the act, "did you not burn 
 every Bible that we had, not leaving so much as 
 one ?" " Is there any other good book then ?" he 
 inquired. His little daughter, thinking that God 
 might be answering her prayer, arose and took him 
 by the hand, and asked him to go with her ; and 
 when they had left the room, looking into his face, 
 said, " Father, sure you won't be angry with me. 
 Come with me, and I will get you one." And she 
 brought him and gave him the Bible which, for this 
 very purpose, she had procured. He felt deeply, 
 and trembling, while he handed it back to her, said, 
 " My child, I cannot read this book. Will you read 
 
208 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 it for me ?" She did so. And then taking her in 
 his arms he kissed her, and said, " Tell me, my 
 child, where did you get this book, and how you 
 obtained the knowledge of it ?" 
 
 She told him all how she attended the Sunday 
 school, the effect upon herself, and how she became 
 concerned for his salvation. That evening, he ac- 
 companied her to the chapel. As they entered, the 
 minister was engaged in prayer. His manner and 
 address made a powerful impression on the father's 
 mind, for he seemed to walk with God. The sermon 
 aided in deepening the impression. It was an inte- 
 resting sight, when, two or three Sundays after- 
 ward, that father appeared in that chapel, with his 
 wife and nine children, and openly renounced his 
 infidelity. That was the Weigh House chapel ; the 
 minister, Thomas Binney ; and that infidel, re- 
 claimed through the influence of Sunday school 
 instruction on the heart of his child, was the cele- 
 brated author of " The Every Day Book." 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF MR. COLLINS'S FATHER. 
 
 SHORTLY after Mr. Collins removed his family to 
 the West, he became deeply solicitous for the con- 
 version of his father. The old gentleman remained 
 in New Jersey, 'and was a very respectable member 
 of the Quaker society. This feeling became so 
 strong, that ho was led to the determination to visit 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 209 
 
 New Jersey, for the sole purpose of soliciting this 
 parent to seek religion. He set out on horseback 
 with this view; and during the long journe} 7 , he 
 scarcely passed over a mile of the road without 
 lifting up his heart to God in prayer for his venera- 
 ble parent. He arrived at his former home in 
 safety, and was kindly and affectionately received 
 by his family. He talked much of religion, and 
 prayed with the family. Some days after his re- 
 turn, his father observed to him, " John, we are all 
 glad to see thee; but I don't like thy religion." 
 This was unexpected, and it greatly depressed him. 
 After some reflection, he resolved to spend the 
 whole ensuing night in prayer for his father. Ac- 
 cordingly, after nightfall, he retired to the barn, 
 that he might not be interrupted. Here he was 
 engaged in fervent prayer, until near ten o'clock. 
 Some one knocked at the door; but he made no 
 answer. In a short time, another messenger came, 
 and opening the door, discovered him. This mes- 
 senger was his sister, who had experienced religion, 
 and who informed him that he had been sought for 
 in his room, at his brother's, near by, and at other 
 places, and that he was supposed to be in the barn. 
 And she told him that their father was suffering 
 the greatest mental agony, and wished to see him. 
 With a joyful heart, Mr. Collins hurried to the 
 room of his father, and, embracing him, wept and 
 prayed with him. The struggle continued till near 
 daylight, when deliverance came. 
 
 14 
 
210 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 His father was filled with peace, with joy, and 
 triumph. This was a glorious answer to his tears 
 and prayers. His joy was inexpressible, and full 
 of glory. The father and son were united more 
 closely than they ever had been. Having fulfilled 
 his mission, and attained its great object, Mr. Collins 
 separated from his friends, and returned to his home 
 in Ohio. Life of Collins. 
 
 THE BEGGAR AND THE DIVINE. 
 
 THE celebrated mystical writer, Taulerus, gives an 
 interesting account of a certain divine, who, being 
 ignorant of true religion, most earnestly besought 
 God, with strong cries and fervent prayers, for the 
 space of eight years, that he would direct him to 
 some one who would point out to him the way to 
 heaven. At length he received an intimation, that 
 if he would go to the church, he would there find 
 one who would satisfy the longing desires of his 
 soul. When he came to the church, he saw no per- 
 son but a poor, care-worn beggar, clothed in tattered 
 garments. He saluted the beggar thus : 
 
 " God grant that this may be a pleasant morning 
 to thee." 
 
 The beggar replied, " Sir, I do not recollect of 
 ever having experienced an unpleasant morning." 
 
 " What is this thou sayest ?" exclaimed the aston- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 211 
 
 isliccl divine. " I hope that God may confer every 
 i'avor upon you." 
 
 The beggar replied, " Sir, God's favors have 
 always been upon me." 
 
 The divine, being much perplexed, and not know 
 ing how to understand the beggar, requested him to 
 explain himself. 
 
 " That I will, most cheerfully," answered the 
 beggar. " You first wished me a pleasant morning. 
 I replied that I had never experienced an unplea- 
 sant one, and this is actually the case ; for, when I 
 am hungry, I praise God ; when I am cold, I praise 
 him ; when it rains or snows, when it thunders and 
 lightens, no matter what kind of weather it is, I 
 always praise the Lord ; and this is the reason why 
 I have never experienced an unpleasant morning. 
 You then wished that God might confer every 
 favor upon me. To this I replied, that God's favors 
 had always been upon me, and this is also true. 
 For I commit myself into the hands of God, and 
 am certain that he does all things for the best. 
 Everything, therefore, that God permits to befall 
 me, whether it be sweet or sour, joyful or sorrowful, 
 fortunate or unfortunate, I look upon as intended 
 for my good, and receive it with gratitude ; for all 
 things must work together for the good of them that 
 love the Lord." 
 
 At this discourse the divine was astonished, and 
 asked him this question : " What would you do, if 
 God should cast you into hell ?" 
 
212 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 "Cast me into hell!" exclaimed the beggar; 
 " that God will not do : but if he were to cast me 
 into hell, I have two arms an arm of faith, and an 
 arm of love : with these I would lay hold on God, 
 and cling to him so firmly, that I would take him 
 with me down to hell. And surely no evil could 
 befall me then ; for I would rather be with God in 
 hell, than to be in Jieaven without 1dm" It is scarcely 
 necessary to say, that the divine found out that the 
 way to heaven is to believe and love. 
 
 ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 " HAVE you heard," said a friend whom I met 
 
 one morning, " of the conversion of and 
 
 his wife ?" Is it possible ! Is it possible ! I was well 
 
 acquainted with Mr. and his wife. I knew 
 
 him to be a skeptical Universalist, who had failed in 
 trade, and seemed. to be unfriendly towards every 
 thing, but especially towards the religion of Christ. 
 I knew him to be in many respects, " far from right- 
 eousness," and to human appearance, very unlikely 
 to become a disciple of Christ. 
 
 The circumstances of his conversion, which it was 
 my principal design to relate, were the following. 
 His wife, who was naturally an unassuming and 
 amiable woman, had her attention by some means 
 arrested, and became anxious to attend the public 
 worship of God. On Sabbath morning she stated 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 213 
 
 to her husband her desire, if he had no objection, 
 to attend meeting at the " white meeting-house :" 
 apparently offended, he instantly expressed his 
 unwillingness; but added, that he had no objec- 
 tion to her going to the other house. The only 
 cause doubtless of his preference at that time was, 
 the revival existed almost exclusively among the 
 congregation belonging to the " white house." 
 Being grieved with his refusal, and at the spirit 
 which he exhibited, the woman, when their break- 
 fast was passed, unobserved left the house for a 
 thicket of bushes which stood at a little distance 
 across a field. The husband also left the house and 
 directed his course to the same place, but for very 
 different purposes. The house and most of the farm 
 being concealed by hills and forests from the inspec- 
 tion of all but now and then a traveller, it afforded 
 him an opportunity, which he was too ready to 
 improve, to waste the holy Sabbath in wandering 
 about the fields. At this time, he was furnished 
 with a powerful temptation, by the clusters of ber- 
 ries that grew upon the borders of the field. Here, 
 while busily partaking of these clusters, he heard 
 indistinctly a human voice ; he listened and the 
 first distinct sentence that fell upon his ear, was a 
 prayer in a voice that he instantly recognised, 
 and from a heart that felt beyond the power of 
 description. It was a prayer for him. That was 
 the time for the Spirit of God. His heart melted, 
 and he literally fell to the ground. After a short 
 
214 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 season he arose and returned to his house, and with 
 a pale countenance, and trembling solemnity that 
 can scarcely be conceived, informed his wife (who 
 had returned home before him, not knowing where 
 he had been) that he would accompany her to 
 church, and to the "white meeting-house," if she 
 would assist him in making preparations. With 
 astonishment she heard this, and immediately began 
 to bring forward his clothes. The shock, however, 
 which he had received, was too much for his hardy 
 constitution. He threw himself upon his bed, and 
 began audibly to cry for mercy. His distress of 
 mind continued to increase, till the powers of his 
 body were prostrate, and about the middle of the 
 afternoon service, a messenger was despatched for 
 the minister at the "white meeting-house," the 
 man, who of all others, till then, he had most 
 sincerely hated. At the close of divine service, 
 the minister went immediately to see him, and 
 found him writhing and groaning upon his bed. 
 In this state of mind he continued till near morn- 
 ing, when he became a little composed. It was 
 not, if I correctly remember, more than two or 
 three days, before he was rejoicing in the Lord, 
 apparently a " new man." In process of time, he 
 and his wife both united with the people of God, 
 and, according to the best information I had, they 
 were walking in the " footsteps of his flock." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 215 
 
 THE SIXPENCE. 
 
 SOME time in the latter part of the last century, 
 says Eev. Mr. Grinnell, a missionary from one of 
 the New England Societies was laboring in the 
 interior of the state of New York, where the settle- 
 ments were very few and far between. This mis- 
 sionary was much devoted to his work, meek and 
 affable, and possessed of a remarkable faculty for 
 introducing the subject of religion to every indi- 
 vidual with whom he came in contact. On a hot 
 summer's day, while his horse was drinking from a 
 small brook through which he rode, there came 
 along a poor-dressed, bare-headed, bare-footed boy, 
 about seven years old, and stood looking at the 
 missionary from the bridge just above him. 
 
 " My son," said the missionary, " have you any 
 parents ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; they live in that house," pointing to 
 a cabin near by. 
 
 " Do your parents pray ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Why do they not pray ?' 
 
 " I do not know, sir." 
 
 " Do you pray ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Why do you not pray ?" 
 
 " I do not know how to pray." 
 
 "Can you read?" 
 
216 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; my mother has taught me to read the 
 New Testament." 
 
 " If I will give you this sixpence, will you go 
 home and read the third chapter of John, and rend 
 the third verse over three times ?" The little boy 
 said he would ; and the missionary gave him the 
 sixpence and rode on. 
 
 Some twenty years had elapsed, and the same 
 missionary, advanced in years, was laboring in a 
 sparsely peopled region, in another part of the same 
 state. While on his way to a little village one day, 
 late in the afternoon, he called at a small house, 
 and inquired the distance. " Six miles," was the 
 reply. He then stated that himself and horse were 
 very weary, and inquired if he could not stay all 
 night. The woman of the house objected on 
 account of their poverty, but the husband said, 
 " Sir, you shall be welcome to such as we have." 
 
 The missionary dismounted and went in. The 
 wife began to prepare his supper, while the husband 
 proceeded to take care of the horse. As he came 
 in, the missionary addressed him : " Do you love 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ?" " That," said the man, 
 " is a great question." " True," said the mission- 
 ary, " but I cannot eat till you tell me." " Sir," 
 said the man, " about twenty years ago, I lived in 
 the interior of this state, and was then about seven 
 years old. While playing in the road one day, a 
 gentleman in black rode into the brook near by me, 
 to water his horse. As I stood on the bridge above 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 217 
 
 looking at him, he began to converse with me about 
 praying, and reading the Bible; and told me he 
 would give me a sixpence if I would read the third 
 chapter of John, and the third verse three times 
 " And Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily I 
 say unto thee, except a man be born again he 
 cannot see the kingdom of God." I gave him 
 my promise, took the money, and felt wealthy 
 indeed. I went home, and read as I had promised. 
 That verse produced an uneasiness in my mind, 
 which followed me for days and years, and finally 
 I was led by its influence, as I trust, to love Jesus 
 as my Saviour !" " Glory to God !" said the mis- 
 sionary, rising from his seat ; " here is one of my 
 spiritual children ; the bread cast on the waters is 
 found after many days !" 
 
 They took their supper, and talked, and sang, 
 and prayed, and rejoiced together all night long, 
 neither of them having any disposition to sleep. 
 The missionary found him to be poor in this world's 
 goods, but rich in faith, and an heir of the kingdom. 
 Early in the morning they parted, and the mission- 
 ary went his way, inspired with fresh zeal for the 
 prosecution of his pious labors. 
 
 THE CHILD AND THE SHOEMAKER. 
 
 WHEN Mr. Whitfield was preaching in America, 
 a certain lady in New England became a subject 
 
 19 
 
218 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 of grace, and a praying, experienced Christian. 
 But she was alone in her exercises ; she could in- 
 fluence none to pray with her but her little daugh- 
 ter, between nine and eleven years of age. This 
 child she took into her closet with her, from day to 
 day, a witness to her cries and tears. It pleased 
 God, after some time, to touch the heart of the 
 child, and after sorrow for sin, to give her the 
 knowledge of salvation through the remission of 
 sin. The child, then about eleven years of age, in 
 a transport which is so peculiar to such a blessed 
 experience, said, " 0, mother, if all the world knew 
 this ! I wish I could tell everybody ! Pray, mother, 
 let me run to some of the neighbors, and tell them, 
 that they may be happy, and love my Saviour too." 
 
 " Ah ! my dear child," said the mother, " that 
 would be needless ; for I suppose if you were to tell 
 your experience, there is not one in many miles 
 but what would laugh at you, and say it was all 
 delusion." 
 
 " 0, mother," said the child, " I think they would 
 believe me. I must go over to the shoemaker and 
 tell him ; he will believe me." 
 
 She ran over, and found him at work in his shop. 
 She began by telling him that he must die, and that 
 he was a sinner, and that she was a sinner, but that 
 her blessed Saviour had heard her mother's prayers, 
 and had forgiven all her sins ; and that now she 
 was so happy she did not know how to tell it ! The 
 shoemaker was struck ; his tears flowed down like 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 219 
 
 rain ; he threw aside his work, and cried for mercy, 
 by prayer and supplication. That alarmed the 
 neighborhood, and in a few months from that time 
 there were above fifty people brought to the know- 
 ledge of Jesus, and experienced his power and 
 grace. 
 
 THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. 
 
 THE following incident is related in a letter of 
 the Russian Princess, Mestchersky, and published 
 in a volume of observations on Russia, which has 
 just appeared in London, from the pen of Dr. 
 Pinkerton, the well known agent of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society : 
 
 About the middle of the year 1812, the emperor, 
 about to quit St. Petersburg, and having already 
 taken leave of his august famih ^ad retired into 
 his cabinet, and, quite alone, was employed in ar- 
 ranging some affairs before his departure. All at 
 once he beheld a female enter, whom at first he did 
 not recognise, there being little light in the room. 
 Astonished at this apparition for never was a wo- 
 man permitted to enter his cabinet without leave, 
 not even of his own family, and above all at this 
 unseasonable hour he however arose, went to meet 
 her, and perceived it to be the Countess Tolstoi, 
 who, excusing herself for the liberty she had taken, 
 from a desire to wish him a happy journey, pre- 
 
220 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 sented him at the same time with a paper. The 
 emperor, at all times condescending, and sensible of 
 the least proof of attachment, thanked her, and bade 
 her adieu. The paper he supposed to contain a 
 petition for something, and therefore put it into his 
 pocket ; and when she was gone resumed his former 
 employment. Soon after he took his departure 
 without thinking more about it. 
 
 At the first night's quarters, fatigued with cares, 
 and alone, he wished to ease his thoughts by turn- 
 ing them to some specific object. He took out the 
 paper from his pocket, opened it, and saw with sur- 
 prise that it contained the ninety-first psalm. He 
 read it with pleasure, and its Divine contents calmed 
 his troubled spirit : and his heart said in secret, " 
 that these words were addressed to me !" As this 
 thought passed through his mind some one entered 
 the room and interrupted him. He again set off, 
 and all was forgotten. 
 
 A considerable time after this he found himself in 
 Moscow, in one of the most critical periods of his 
 life (Who can be ignorant of the terrible events of 
 the memorable year 1812?). Alone in his cabinet 
 he was arranging some books on a table, one of 
 which caused a volume of the Bible to fall down 
 (it was De Sacy's version in 4to). In falling it 
 opened, and the emperor on taking it up happened 
 to cast his eye upon the page, and behold again the 
 psalm which had once comforted him ! At this 
 time he recognised the voice which called him, and 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 221 
 
 he replied and said, '"'Here I am, Lord! speak to 
 thy servant !" He read he applied what he read 
 and he found every word suitable to himself; mid 
 ever after, until his last breath, he carried this psalm 
 ab:mt his person, learned it by heart, and evening 
 and morning recited it at his devotions. 
 
 The princess gives the following as the observa- 
 tions of the emperor on his religious progress : 
 
 " I felt myself," said he, " like a child. Experi- 
 ence has taught me my insufficiency. Faith made 
 me commit myself entirely to Him who hath spoken 
 to me in the psalm, and had inspired me with a 
 security and a force altogether new to me. At 
 every fresh difficulty to be overcome, at every deci- 
 sion to be taken, or question to be solved, I went, 
 if I had an opportunity, and threw myself at the 
 feet of my Father who is in heaven, or recollecting 
 myself for a few moments, I cried to him from the 
 bottom of my heart, and all was smoothed, decided, 
 and executed marvellously all difficulties fled be- 
 fore the Lord, who marched before me. Without 
 ceasing I read his word." These are his own 
 words. She adds : 
 
 And I must say that I have often been astonished 
 and not only I, but other persons also, even the 
 most instructed and advanced Christians have been 
 compelled to admire his enlightened faith, and his 
 deep knowledge, drawn purely from the sacred 
 Scriptures his true humility, and how he gave 
 himself up to that simplicity which the Lord re- 
 19* 
 
222 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 quires when he promiseth, " Verily I say unto you, 
 except ye be converted, and become as little child- 
 ren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD. 
 
 A FEW years since, says a writer in Pastor's Jour- 
 nal, I was engaged in a wholesale mercantile busi- 
 ness in the city of New York ; but ill health and 
 other circumstances compelled me to close it and 
 remove to the country. My young men were most 
 of them from pious families; some were warm- 
 hearted Christians, and all of them succeeded in 
 finding eligible situations but one. S. was my 
 youngest clerk; his talents were respectable; his 
 conduct, as far as I could judge, was irreproacha- 
 ble ; but my best efforts, and those of his friends, 
 could not secure him a situation. After months 
 spent in vain endeavors to find an opening in the 
 business of his choice, and a year occupied on a 
 foreign voyage without success, he returned to the 
 country and engaged reluctantly in a mechanical 
 business, which his father followed, near the place 
 where I had settled. I saw him but seldom ; but 
 when I met him as his friend, I was treated with 
 marked coldness. I was at a loss to account for it, 
 and at length demanded an explanation, when I 
 found the whole family considered me culpably to 
 blame in not procuring him a situation in New 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 223 
 
 York, after I had no longer occasion for his services. 
 It was indeed a mystery even to myself, that the 
 path to manhood chosen by S. and his friends, 
 should be so hedged up as to compel him to walk 
 in another. S. however continued his mechanical 
 pursuits, and, in the providence of God, was directed 
 to the neighborhood of a protracted meeting. He 
 was the child of many prayers, and had more than 
 once lived through an awakening unchanged, though 
 not unaffected. He was now drawn, by an impulse 
 he could not resist, to attend this meeting, feeling 
 that it might be the last strivings of the Spirit. 
 With trembling he took his place on the anxious 
 seat, and, overwhelmed with emotion, he retired 
 from the meeting to a field, where he gave himself 
 away to his Saviour, and the Spirit spake peace to 
 his soul. It was but a few days after this happy 
 event, S. returned to our village (where his parents 
 still reside), and the humble, meek, and gentle air 
 which his manly countenance had assumed, in place 
 of the haughty, discontented form, was apparent to 
 every one. I was confined to my house by indis- 
 position, and was delighted to welcome him who 
 had scarcely entered my dwelling since his return 
 from the city. He modestly gave me an account 
 of the change in his feelings and happiness, in pre- 
 sence of some members of my family, and solicited 
 a private interview. On retiring with him, he said 
 to me, with tears in his eyes : " My mind has been 
 sorely troubled by tlie recollection of some things I did 
 
224 REMARK ABLE 
 
 in your store. I was tempted to take sundry sin all 
 articles, for my own use, without your knowledge or 
 consent, amounting, I should think, to five dollars, 
 and I cannot rest until I have paid you for them ! f 
 A crowd of reflections rushed into my mind. I felt 
 ovefwhelmed for a moment with a sense of the 
 goodness of God, in so counteracting all his plans 
 as to save him from the vortex which was opening 
 before him. He had begun to rob his employer, 
 and, as the progress in vice is rapid downward, had 
 not a kind Providence interposed, S. would, in all 
 probability, have become, ere this, a tenant of the 
 state prison, and brought down the gra}'' hairs of 
 his parents with sorrow to the grave. I pointed 
 out to him, as I trust, faithfully and profitably, the 
 finger of God in his rescue, and encouraged him to 
 persevere unto the end. It is now nearly two years 
 since this interview, and S. has continued to give 
 evidence of the sincerity of the change, and bids 
 fair to become an ornament to society and a pillar 
 in the church of Christ. 
 
SECTION II. 
 
 Conversions % tljc ^ible or ftlnintclligtnt 
 
 THE INFIDEL AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF JOHN. 
 
 FRANCIS JUNIUS, the younger, was a considerable 
 scholar, but by no means prejudiced in favor of the 
 Scriptures, as appears by his own account, which is 
 as follows : 
 
 My father, who was frequently reading the New 
 Testament, and had long observed with grief the 
 progress I had made in infidelity, had put that book 
 in my way in his library, in order to attract my 
 attention, if it might please God to bless his design, 
 though without giving me the least intimation of 
 it. Here, therefore, I unwittingly opened the New 
 Testament, thus providentially laid before me. At 
 the very first view, as I was deeply engaged in 
 other thoughts, that grand chapter of the evange- 
 list and apostle presented itself to me, " In the be- 
 ginning was the Word," &c. I read part of the 
 chapter, and was so affected, that I instantly became 
 struck with the divinity of the argument, and the 
 
 15 (225) 
 
226 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 majesty and authority of the composition, as infi- 
 nitely surpassing the highest flights of human elo- 
 quence. My body shuddered ; my mind was all in 
 amazement ; and I was so agitated the whole day, 
 that I scarce knew who I was. " Thou didst re- 
 member me, Lord my God, according to thy 
 boundless mercy, and didst bring back the lost sheep 
 to thy flock." From that day God wrought so 
 mightily in me by the power of his Spirit, that I 
 began to have less relish for all other studies and 
 pursuits, and bent myself with greater ardor and 
 attention to everything which had a relation to 
 God. 
 
 THE PERTINENT TEXT. 
 
 ONE Sabbath morning, while the Rev. Dr. Bedell, 
 of Philadelphia, was preaching, a young man passed 
 by, with a number of companions, as gay and 
 thoughtless as himself. One of them proposed to 
 go into the church, saying, " Let us go and hear 
 what this man has to say, that everybody is 
 running after." The young man made this awful 
 answer : " No ; I would not go into such a place if 
 Christ himself was preaching." Some weeks after, 
 he was again passing the church, and being alone, 
 and having nothing to do, he thought he would go 
 in without being observed. On opening the door, 
 he was struck with awe at the solemn silence of 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 227 
 
 the place, though it was much crowded. Every 
 eye was fixed on the preacher, who was to begin 
 his discourse. His attention was instantly caught 
 by the text, " I discerned among the youths a young 
 man void of understanding :" Prov. vii. 7. His 
 conscience was smitten by the power of truth. He 
 saw that he was the young man described. A view 
 of his profligate life passed before his eyes, and, for 
 the first time, he trembled under the feeling of sin. 
 He remained in the church till the preacher and 
 congregation had passed out ; then slowly returned 
 to his home. He had early received infidel princi- 
 ples, but the Holy Spirit who had aroused him in 
 his folly, led him to a constant attendance on the 
 ministry of Dr. B., who had been the instrument 
 of awakening his mind. He cast away his besetting 
 sin, and gave himself to a life of virtue and holi- 
 ness. He afterwards declared openly his faith in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and his desire to devote 
 himself to his service. 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL LIFE-BUOY. 
 
 SAID a youth to one of the secretaries of the 
 Bethel Companies : " I sailed from London, in a 
 Scotch vessel, for the West Indies, second mate, 
 the most abandoned wretch that ever sailed on salt 
 water, particularly noted for profane swearing. Oir 
 captain, though a good seaman, and kind to I is 
 
228 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ship's company, cared not either for his own soul, 
 or for the souls of his ship's crew. We had been 
 at sea about sixteen days, when one night, during 
 my watch on deck, a sudden puff of wind caused 
 the vessel to give a heavy lurch. Not being pre- 
 pared to meet it, I was capsized, and came head on 
 against one of the stanchions. Feeling much hurt, 
 I gave vent to my anger by a dreadful oath, cursing 
 the wind, the ship, the sea, and (awful to mention) 
 the Being who made them. Scarce had this horrid 
 oath escaped me when it appeared to roll back upon 
 my mind with so frightful an image, that I ran aft, 
 and for a moment or two thought I saw the sea 
 parting, and the vessel going down. All that night 
 my awful oath was passing before my eyes like a 
 spectre, and its consequences, my certain damna- 
 tion. For several days I was miserable ; ashamed 
 to say the cause. I asked one of the men for a 
 book ; he gave me one of Rousseau's novels. I 
 asked him for a Testament, and he sneeringly 
 answered by asking me if I was going to die. He 
 never troubled himself with these things ; he left 
 Bibles and prayer-books to the priests. Several 
 days thus passed in the greatest torment, this 
 dreadful oath always before me, and the devil con- 
 tinually harassing me with the dreadful thought, 
 * I shall be damned, I shall be damned.' I could 
 not pray ; indeed, I thought it of no use. On the 
 fifth day I was turning over some things in my 
 chest, when I found some trifles I had purchased 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 229 
 
 for sea-stock wrapped in paper this piece of paper 
 (putting his hand at the same time into his pocket, 
 and from a small red case taking out a leaf contain- 
 ing nearly the whole of the first chapter of Isaiah). 
 Oh ! how my heart throbbed, when I found it a 
 part of the Bible ! But, sir," said he, with a tear, 
 " conceive what I felt at these words, ' Though 
 your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as 
 snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall 
 be as wool !' ' He paused to wipe away the tears. 
 Indeed, says the secretary, my eyes needed wiping 
 too. " 0, sir," he continued, " like a drowning 
 man I clung to this life-buoy ; on this I laid my 
 soul, while the billows were going over me. I 
 prayed, and the Lord was graciously pleased to 
 remove in some measure the great guilt from my 
 conscience, though I continued mournful and bowed 
 down until last evening, on board the Mayflower, 
 I stowed away among the Bethel Company. There 
 the Lord spoke my pardon and peace. I am now 
 like poor Legion, going home to my friends, to tell 
 them what great things the Lord has done for me. 
 Farewell, sir." Farewell, my lad; the Lord go 
 with you. 
 
 A FAITHFUL PHYSICIAN. 
 
 IN the year 1826, I was requested by a Univer- 
 salist to call at his house to see an aged uncle, who 
 had been confined to his room two years, and to 
 20 
 
230 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 his bed eighteen months, with the rheumatism. I 
 called the next day, and on observing a collection 
 of books on the table in the parlor, I inquired of 
 the lady whether they owned a large family Bible. 
 She replied, " We never owned a Bible." I was 
 then shown the way up to the small garret where 
 lay the sick man, whose furrowed face and gray 
 hairs seemed to tell me that time with him would 
 soon be no more. He pressed my hand, and said he 
 was glad to see me. I inquired into the history of 
 his life. He said he was about sixty-three years 
 of age ; that he had lived a single life ; and that he 
 had left him by his friends a farm worth between 
 six and seven thousand dollars. By associating 
 with bad company, he contracted the habit of using 
 liquor to excess. He had been a drunkard many 
 years, and had spent all his property at the intoxi- 
 cating cup. He had not owned a Bible for thirty 
 years, nor been inside a church for fifteen years. I 
 addressed to him some words of advice suited to his 
 case. He said he was sensible he must die ; and if 
 there was a judgment-seat in the future world, he 
 could not be saved. The next day I called on him 
 again. I offered to bring him a Bible, on condition 
 that he would read a chapter a day. He declined. 
 I tried twenty verses a day. Finally he agreed to 
 take the Bible, on condition that he should read 
 five verses in a day. The next day I carried him 
 the Bible, and the first night he read the book of 
 Genesis through. The next morning, as I spoke to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 231 
 
 him of the interests of his soul, he said I was the 
 only person who had conversed with him on the 
 subject of religion for thirty years. A day or two 
 after, I called again, when he burst into tears, and 
 said his soul was in distress, and that he could not 
 sleep ; that he felt he was a poor, guilty, helpless 
 sinner; and he had been praying that he might 
 repent, and have his many sins forgiven. 
 
 His health improved, and in six weeks he re- 
 moved from this to another village. I heard nothing 
 from him, but supposed, from his previous habits, 
 and the inveteracy of his disease, that he was dead. 
 One day, about sunset, as I was standing on the 
 step of my door, I observed an old man approach- 
 ing. He came up to me, and took hold of my arm, 
 and asked me if I was the doctor. I answered yes, 
 and invited him into my office, when he asked me 
 if I knew him. I told him I did not. He burst 
 into tears ; and then with great earnestness stated, 
 
 that he was the old man that I attended in a 
 
 year ago. I immediately recognised him. " I have 
 come," said he, " sixteen miles on purpose to tell 
 you that my health is restored, and that Bible you 
 gave me lias saved my soul. I am a new man. I 
 can earn a comfortable living ; and all I care about 
 is to fit my poor soul for the kingdom of heaven. 
 I carry that Bible in my bosom into the field, and 
 into my shop. I go to church regularly on the 
 Sabbath, and have become a professor of religion. 
 I thank God that I have been spared to taste of 
 
2,,2 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the bread of life at the eleventh hour." " Is not 
 my word, saith the Lord, like a hammer, that 
 breaketh the rock in pieces ?" 
 
 THE BULLET AND THE BIBLE. 
 
 DR. JOHN EVANS, the author of some excellent 
 sermons on the Christian temper, introduced, on 
 one occasion, a sermon to young people, in the fol- 
 lowing manner : 
 
 Shall I be allowed to preface this discourse with 
 relating a passage concerning an acquaintance of 
 mine, who has been many years dead, but which. I 
 remember to have received, when young, from 
 himself? When he was an apprentice in this city, 
 the civil war began ; his inclination led him into 
 the army, where he had a captain's commission. 
 It was fashionable for all the men of that army to 
 carry a Bible along with them ; which, therefore, 
 he and many others did, who yet made little use 
 of it, and hardly had any sense of serious religion. 
 At length he was commanded, with his company, 
 to storm a fort, wherein they were, for a short time, 
 exposed to the thickest of the enemy's fire. When 
 he had accomplished his enterprise, and the heat 
 of the action was over, he found that a musket 
 ball had lodged in his Bible, which was in his 
 pocket, upon such a part of his body, that it must 
 necessarily have proved mortal to him, had it not 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 233 
 
 been for this seasonable and well-placed piece of 
 armor. Upon a nearer observation, he found the 
 ball had made its way so far in his Bible, as to rest 
 directly upon that part of the first unbroken leaf, 
 where the words of my text are found. It was 
 Ecclesiastes, xi. 9 : " Rejoice, young man, in thy 
 youth ; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of 
 thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and 
 in the sight of thine eyes ; but know thou, that for 
 all these things, God will bring thee into judgment." 
 As the surprising deliverance, you may apprehend, 
 much affected him, so a passage, which his con- 
 science told him was very apposite to his case, and 
 which Providence in so remarkable a way pointed 
 to his observation, made the deepest and best im- 
 pression on his mind ; and, by the grace of God, 
 he from that time attended to religion in earnest, 
 and continued in the practice of it to a good old 
 age ; frequently making the remark with pleasure, 
 that his Bible had been the salvation both of his 
 body and his soul. 
 
 THE BIBLE IN THE WAY. 
 
 AN individual in the interior of this state, says 
 the Charleston Observer, gives the following account 
 of the manner in which he was first arrested by 
 the power of divine truth : 
 
 He had been one of those who had paid no re- 
 
 20* 
 
234 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 gard to the subject of religion. "God was not in 
 all his thoughts," though his awful name was fre- 
 quently upon his lips in oaths and blasphemies. 
 One morning, as he arose, his eyes fell upon the 
 Bible which lay upon a shelf immediately over his 
 washstand, and it seemed to him a silent reprover 
 of his ways. It had long occupied its present posi- 
 tion, without exciting the slightest notice. He took 
 it down, brushed the dust from it, and put it back 
 again. The next morning, the first object that 
 arrested his attention was that very Bible ; and it 
 continued there morning after morning to reprove 
 him, till he became so much annoyed by its pre- 
 sence, that he resolved to put it out of the way. 
 Taking it down with this view, he opened it, and 
 the first passage upon which his eye lighted, was 
 descriptive of his own character. He continued to 
 read, and was troubled and affected by the accuracy 
 with which it delineated his own heart and life. 
 He closed it, returned it to its former position, and 
 engaged in the occupations of the day with a heavy 
 heart. At length, while he was reading it one 
 morning, supposing himself to be unobserved, he 
 turned around to see whether his wife, who had 
 not yet risen, was awake or asleep, and found her 
 bathed in a flood of tears. She had long been 
 anxious for his salvation, and she was much affected 
 at seeing him morning after morning stealing a 
 glance at the word of life. When he saw he was 
 discovered, he remarked, " It is of no use to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 235 
 
 
 
 conceal it any longer. I am a poor miserable sin- 
 ner, and I find there is no redemption but in Christ 
 Jesus. Will you pray for me ? and will you go to 
 the house of God ? for, from this time forth, I am 
 resolved to prepare for heaven." And from that 
 time forth he did become an altered man a happy, 
 consistent, humble, and devoted Christian. Thus, 
 the Bible, casually placed in the way of a wicked 
 man, proved instrumental, through the Spirit, in 
 bringing him to Christ, and in hiding a multitude 
 of sins. 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 Cmitei0n$ effect^ bjj Ulcntal finprrssions, 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF JOSEPH W . 
 
 IN the year 18 the Rev. E. J. W was 
 
 converted to God. He was the first of his family 
 to become a Methodist, and met with much opposi- 
 tion, particularly from his brother, J. W. ' This 
 brother continued his persecutions, with little or 
 no intermission, for several months. It happened 
 on a certain occasion, they were both invited to 
 spend an evening with Mr. Powel Clayton, a reli- 
 gious neighbor. At the close of the evening, E. J. 
 W. was requested to read the Scriptures and pray 
 with the company. He opened the Bible, and pro- 
 ceeded to read the fifty-fifth Psalm. As he read 
 the 12th, 13th, and 14th verses "For it was not 
 an enemy that reproached me ; then I could have 
 borne it : neither was it he that hated me that did 
 magnify himself against me; then I would have 
 
 (23G) 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 237 
 
 t 
 
 hid myself from him : But it was thou, a man 
 mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 
 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto 
 the house of God in company." The countenance 
 of his brother was seen to fall, and he became very 
 grave. The brothers left and went home in silence ; 
 when they had retired to their room, J. W. asked, 
 " Why did you select that chapter to read this 
 evening ?" " I made no selection," replied his bro- 
 ther, " I opened the book and read that psalm with- 
 out any design ; if there was any selection the Lord 
 made -it." From this time the convictions of his 
 sinfulness never left him until his conversion. 
 
 Some weeks after the above incident, he came 
 down to breakfast one morning, and related at the 
 table, in a humorsome way, that he had dreamed in 
 the night, he was in company, and finding it neces- 
 sary to button his coat he attempted to do so, but 
 found unexpectedly that it was too small, and after 
 an ineffectual effort he gave it up, greatly perplexed 
 and distressed. " That," said a pious friend sitting 
 at the table, is your coat of morality, and at the 
 judgment, you will find it too small for you." This 
 was a " nail in a sure place." So powerful was the 
 impression made on his mind, that he went at once 
 to the throne of grace, and ceased not to struggle 
 until he found peace in Christ. 
 
238 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 AN INCIDENT. 
 
 IT was during mid-winter of '36, a pasper-by of 
 
 the "Sailor's Home," so called, in H , might 
 
 one evening have heard sounds of boisterous merri- 
 ment proceeding from the crowded bar-room, while 
 occasionally a stunning oath fell upon the ear. The 
 room was filled with a motley crowd, such as usually 
 were to be found there sailors, boatmen, and rafts- 
 men, and all apparently in high uproarious mirth. 
 
 On one side of the room was a cheerful fire, 
 around which sat a number of dozing topers, while 
 on the opposite was the bar, with the usual array 
 of well-filled decanters dimly seen through the 
 murky cloud of smoke. In the centre of the crowd, 
 and the object of their undivided attention, stood a 
 man in appearance about fifty years of age. In 
 former years he had been distinguished in political 
 life, and was known as a man of fine talents and 
 acquirements. During his early life he had become 
 a member of the Methodist persuasion, and was 
 still remembered as a prominent and favorite class- 
 leader. His hair was gray, tangled and matted, and 
 fell in spare locks upon his shoulders. His eye was 
 dim and bloodshot; his face bloated and unshaven, 
 and his whole appearance gave evidence of his 
 wretched and miserable condition. A silly smile 
 was playing over his haggard features, as he listened 
 to the rude and profane commendations of the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 23'J 
 
 wretches around him, for he had just finished a 
 song. 
 
 " Give us another, Jim," said one. 
 
 " Give us one more," roared the crowd. 
 
 " Well, what shall it be, gentlemen ?" said he. 
 
 " Methodist," said the first speaker, and a peal 
 of laughter followed. 
 
 " Give us a regular Methodist, old fellow." 
 
 For a moment he hesitated, and then with a 
 voice shattered, but still noble, he commenced a 
 beautiful Methodist hymn. As he proceeded, it 
 seemed to come home to his heart. For a time his 
 voice faltered, and his face seemed as if a shadow 
 had fallen upon it. Were the turbid fountains of 
 the heart being troubled by an angel ? or had that 
 simple melody brought back a tide of recollections 
 of old times bright, hopeful, happy days long 
 since passed, and which had long assumed the 
 dream? Perchance voices from the spirit land, 
 which had in the dreamy past mingled their earthly 
 song with his, and who in the dew of his youth had 
 passed away radiant with hope from his tearful 
 gaze ; perchance, as it were, a soft, thrilling, and 
 ever-lingering echo had stolen upon his degraded 
 heart to find there its fellow. He ended, and the 
 rude and noisy crew loudly applauded, mingling 
 many an oath in their commendations; but his 
 face had lost its smile. Then one called upon him 
 for a prayer to end with, as he expressed himself, 
 and they all gathered still closer around him. 
 
240 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 " No, no, I can't pray I can't pray now," ex- 
 claimed the poor wretch, and he seemed to be 
 troubled. But they would have no refusal he 
 must give them a prayer. Prayer ! He used to 
 pray much once, for then it was dear to him, and 
 it seemed to make life brighter, and joy and happi- 
 ness nestled always in his heart. But that was a 
 long time ago, and many a weary day and even year 
 -has passed since then. Sometimes, to be sure, in 
 his utter and degraded misery, as memory reflected 
 a gleam of momentary light from the past ; startled 
 in the instant, perhaps, with hand hard pressed on 
 an aching, burning brow, he would cry out, " Oh, 
 God !" but it was of bitter, despairing misery, and 
 not hope ; and then, unable to endure such terrible 
 remorseful thoughts, he would hasten away and 
 plunge into mad intoxication, till. all reflection was 
 gone. It was not always thus. At times better 
 and kindlier thoughts came to him, and though he 
 was fallen and very low, still he would certainly 
 try to reform and be a better man ; and so, as it 
 were, "smiting on his breast," and scarce daring 
 to lift up his eyes, he would rise and go softly on, 
 till a step failed him, or overpowering temptation 
 within and without seized him and flung him back 
 again, as it were, in derision. But now as he stood 
 there, kind thoughts and even tender, called up by 
 that song, had touched his desolate heart and the 
 feelings of hope seemed returning once more to him 
 perhaps Go-. I would hear his prayer. So slowly 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 241 
 
 lifting his old hat from his head, he said, "Let us 
 pray." The peal of laughter was upon the lips of 
 those around, but the unaffected solemnity of his 
 manner awed and suppressed their noisy mirth, and 
 they gazed upon him in perfect silence. 
 
 " Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be 
 thy name." His voice was broken with emotion ; 
 but as he proceeded it became clearer. The spirit 
 of other days had seemingly returned upon him, 
 and he prayed as of old, moving as with the Spirit 
 of God the hearts of all who heard him. He prayed 
 with agonized earnestness for pardon, for reconcilia- 
 tion with the Saviour for all men, for strength in 
 the hour and moment of temptation, and light 
 through all of future life to guide and direct in 
 every devious path, and that at last they might 
 attain to eternal life through the crucified Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 lie ceased ; but a spell had fallen upon that brow, 
 and not a word was heard. He took up his old hat, 
 and, turning away, left the house. From that hour 
 he became an altered man ; and the earnest, self- 
 denying Christian labors of many subsequent years, 
 though in humble sphere, were not, we trust, in 
 vain. HENDER. 
 
 A REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 DURING a powerful revival of religion that took 
 place many years .ago, in Salem county, N. J., there 
 
 1C 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 was a young woman who was induced by her friends 
 to attend the meeting, and becoming deeply affected, 
 was persuaded to approach the altar, where, after 
 much seeking, with bitter repentance, she was hap- 
 pily converted to God. This person became very 
 exemplary in her deportment, and wherever she 
 went, had something to say in favor of the blessed 
 treasure she had so recently found, having been 
 faithful for a number of years. She married a 
 deeply pious man, with whom she lived happily. 
 In a few years he died, and she, being left a widow, 
 and poor, had to struggle hard for the support of 
 herself and children; but at this time, when the 
 consolations of religion were the most needed, she 
 gave way to a murmuring and repining spirit, fell 
 from grace, and became very wicked and unhappy. 
 She remained in this state many long years. Effort 
 after effort was made to reclaim her, but all appa- 
 rently in vain. One of her sons at this time em- 
 braced religion, and consequently became deeply 
 solicitous for his mother's salvation. He prayed 
 and wept, and with many entreaties urged her to 
 return to the Shepherd and Bishop of souls. To 
 all this her answer was, " You need not grieve for 
 me, my son, for my day of grace is gone the Spi- 
 rit has not striven with me for over twenty years ; 
 my damnation is sure." At this time her health, 
 which had been very good, began to decline ; day 
 by day she became weaker and weaker, until it was 
 apparent to all that the fell destroyer had marked 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 243 
 
 her for his prey. The despair that filled her heart, 
 with the afflictions of her body, soon wore her down 
 to almost nothing. Brethren came from all direc- 
 tions (by the importunity of her son), to pray for 
 her, and point her to Christ, the friend of sinners ; 
 but in vain. To all their solicitations and entrea- 
 ties her answer was, " Leave me alone. I am 
 justly lost. You can do me no good. The few 
 moments I have on earth let me spend them in 
 peace. Your prayers only torment me." Her 
 deeply affected boy now resolved to set aside a day 
 to fast and pray for the salvation of his mother; 
 he therefore repaired to a lonely wood, and with 
 none to see his grief or tears but God, he fell on 
 his knees, and with many entreaties besought the 
 Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy upon her soul. 
 After this continuing all day, toward evening, with 
 his face bathed in tears, he fell to the earth strug- 
 gling and crying, " I will not let thee go until thou 
 answer me." A heavenly calm filled his breast, 
 joy sprang up in his heart, and evidence clear and 
 strong was given, Thy prayer is answered go in 
 peace. 
 
 It was Saturday morning ; I was at work on my 
 farm, some fifty miles from the scene I am attempt- 
 ing to describe (knowing nothing of this woman), 
 when I felt a powerful impression on my mind to 
 harness my horse to the carriage, and immediately 
 drive to Brother P.'s, whom I had not seen for 
 several years, and who resided thirty-five miles from 
 
244 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 my house. I tried to put it off, but my peace of 
 mind was gone, and, to get relief, I started. I 
 arrived in the evening, stayed over the Sabbath, 
 and preached twice, intending to return home next 
 morning ; but, being awakened several hours before 
 day, the impression was renewed to go fifteen miles 
 further to see Brother T., also, whom I had not seen 
 for several years. I arose at daybreak, and found 
 it raining. Resolving to go home, I started, but 
 the horror of mind that seized me ! To get relief 
 I turned my horse and drove for the brother's. He 
 was not at home when I arrived, but soon came, 
 and with joy welcomed me. I related to him the 
 circumstances of my coming, and said, " Brother T., 
 in the name of the Lord, is there anything for me 
 to do here ?" He solemnly paused, then related to 
 me the case of this woman, who lived only a few 
 rods off, telling me she was only alive apparently, 
 and dying in sin. Now faith sprung up, and, with 
 strong confidence, I went to see her. On entering 
 the room, I approached the bedside, and beheld a 
 pale and emaciated form propped up, coughing 
 almost incessantly, with her son weeping sadl}- at 
 the foot of the bed. She related to me her dolefi.il 
 condition, begging me not to pray, or mention the 
 name of Christ, as it filled her with indescribable 
 torment. Lifting my heart to God, I sat several 
 minutes in silence, only broken by the sobs of her 
 affectionate son, when I felt it required of me to 
 reason with her on the sin raid folly of grieving the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 245 
 
 
 
 Holy Spirit by despairing of that mercy that was 
 ready to receive her ; and surely the Holy Ghost 
 helped me, for, fixing her dying eyes upon me, she 
 appeared to drink in every word, her son and the 
 brother who went with me looking on with great 
 interest. We fell on our knees, and, after Brother 
 T. had prayed, I was drawn out with as much 
 power as I ever experienced in prayer, to urge her 
 case at the throne of grace. Tears of sympathy 
 fell from my eyes, and, laying hold on God, I re- 
 solved neyer to leave the house until salvation 
 appeared. While thus pleading, she sprang up in 
 bed and cried for mercy, in language the most 
 affecting I ever heard, while tears of penitence 
 rolled down her cheeks. Being thus encouraged, 
 we continued pouring out our souls unto Him who 
 had promised to hear us, when, in a moment, while 
 I had my eye fixed upon her, I saw her countenance 
 change ; heaven beamed in her eye, joy sprang up 
 in her heart, and Glory, glory, and loud hallelujahs 
 pealed from her tongue ; while her son, who had so 
 long looked for her redemption, fell on the floor, 
 and, with rapturous songs, blessed the God of Israel 
 his Saviour. She lived in this heavenly frame of 
 mind three weeks, and died shouting Glory, glory, 
 victory, victory ! 
 
 21* 
 
246 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 COLLINS DIRECTED TO A FUNERAL. 
 
 WHEN the country was new and thinly settled, 
 Mr. Collins was riding upon the banks of the Ohio 
 river, some thirty or forty miles above Cincinnati, 
 in company with a friend, when they came to the 
 forks of the road; the left-hand road led more 
 directly to their place of destination, the right was 
 more circuitous ; but Mr. Collins, against remon- 
 strance, preferred the latter, from an impression 
 which he did not particularly define. It led to the 
 mouth of Red Oak, where the town of Ripley is 
 now situated. 
 
 As they approached this point they saw a funeral 
 procession, which they immediately joined, and fol- 
 lowed it to the grave. It was the first funeral in 
 that place. The corpse was the wife of Mr. Benard 
 Jackson, an avowed infidel. After the grave was 
 covered, Mr. Collins made known to the people that 
 he was a preacher of the Gospel, and would then 
 preach a sermon to all who remained. No one 
 went away. He read for his text, "I am the 
 resurrection and the life : he that believeth in me, 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live;" and 
 preached with overwhelming power. 
 
 The solemnity of the occasion, and the circum- 
 stances which brought him to the place, added, no 
 doubt, to the effect of the discourse. No one could 
 apply circumstances more forcibly than Mr. Collins. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 247 
 
 There were many tears and sobs in the congrega- 
 tion. The infidel husband was overwhelmed ; and 
 from that day and hour he renounced infidelity, 
 shortly after became a member of the church, lived 
 to adorn the Christian religion, and died in peace. 
 He had one son, who is now a travelling preacher 
 in the state of Indiana. 
 
 Mr. Collins believed in a special Providence. The 
 inclination to take the right-hand road, he believed 
 was prompted by it, of which he could entertain 
 no doubt, when he saw the funeral procession, and 
 preached to the mourning crowd. And is this too 
 small a matter for Deity? Peter was called to 
 preach to Cornelius ; and his objections were over- 
 come in an extraordinary manner. Philip, being 
 prompted by the Spirit, joined himself to the 
 chariot of the eunuch, and "preached to him 
 Jesus." And who, that believes the Bible, does 
 not believe that the same spirit operates, more or 
 less, upon Christians of the present day? The 
 mode of its action may not seem to .be miraculous ; 
 but it is spiritually discerned. It is a Divine agency 
 that spirit, or light, a portion of which is given 
 to every man. It leads to good actions and happy 
 results. Life of Collins. 
 
248 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 REAPPEARANCE OF THE DEAD. 
 
 AT the conference of Wesleyan ministers held in 
 Sheffield in the year 1817, the Rev. Thomas Savage, 
 one of the young preachers who was received into 
 full connection, gave the following account of the 
 appearance of the departed spirit of his brother-in- 
 law. After a very appropriate introduction, in which 
 the reverend gentleman asserted that the " solemn 
 fact" which he was about to relate, "was the first 
 grand means of leading his mind to think seriously 
 of the solemn realities of death, judgment, and 
 eternity," he proceeded as follows : 
 
 " A sister being married to a gentleman in the 
 army, we received intelligence that the regiment to 
 which he belonged had orders for one of the Spanish 
 Isles in the Mediterranean. One night about ten 
 o'clock, sixteen years since, in the town of Doncas- 
 ter, in Yorkshire, England, as his wife, his child, an 
 elder sister, and myself, were sitting in a back room 
 the shutters were closed, barred, and bolted, and the 
 yard door locked suddenly a light shone through 
 the window, and illumined the room in which we 
 were sitting : we looked started and beheld the 
 spirit of a. murdered brother, his eye was fixed on 
 his v*ife and child alternately, he waved his hand 
 smiled continued about half a minute and then 
 vanished from our sight. The moment before the 
 spirit disappeared, my sister cried, '' Hen dead, hes 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 249 
 
 dead" and fainted away. Her little boy ran toward 
 the apparition, and wept because it would not .stay. 
 A short time after this, we received a letter from the 
 colonel of the regiment, sealed with a black seal 
 the dark emblem of death bearing the doleful but 
 expected news that, on such a night, answering to 
 the same on which we saw his spirit, my brother-in- 
 law was found weltering in his blood, having been 
 murdered by the Spaniards when returning from the 
 mess-room : the spark of life was not quite extinct 
 when he was found, and the last wish which he was 
 heard to breathe was that he might see his wife and 
 child once again ; which was granted him, in a cer- 
 tain sense, for the very hour he died in the island 
 of Minorca, in that same hour his spirit appeared to 
 his wife, his child, an elder sister, and myself. Before 
 this event, though a boy of nine years only, I was a 
 complete atheist, having been taught by my father 
 to disbelieve everything except what I saw ; but by 
 this solemn circumstance, I was convinced of the 
 reality of another world's existence; and by the 
 solemn impression that it made upon my mind, I 
 was led to pray for mercy ; which mercy I found at 
 the foot of 'the cross, and now feel the Holy Spirit 
 preparing my soul to enter those eternal and invisi- 
 ble regions the world of spirits. My sister, from 
 the night that she saw the spirit of her husband, and 
 before she received any intelligence of his death, 
 went into mourn UKJ for him ; nor could my father 
 prevent it by any argument. He endeavored to 
 
250 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 persuade us we were all deluded and deceived, yet 
 he acknowledged that the testimony which the child 
 gave staggered Jam.; but when the letter arrived 
 from the colonel of the regiment, with the awful 
 tidings of our brother's death, he was struck dumb, 
 so to cspeak, and had nothing more to say. My 
 two sisters are yet living, and can testify to the 
 truth of this account; beside which at least one 
 hundred persons can prove our mentioning the hour 
 the spirit appeared, several weeks before we received 
 the melancholy letter, and that the letter mentioned 
 the night and the hour as the same in which we 
 beheld his spirit. 
 
 A REMARKABLE INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF DR. 
 BOND. 
 
 THE following strange occurrence was published 
 in an obituary notice of Dr. Bond, which appeared 
 in the Christian Advocate shortly after his death : 
 
 About this time occurred a very extraordinary 
 incident in the life of Dr. Bond, which we narrate 
 with great doubt as to the propriety of the publi- 
 cation. He very rarely mentioned it, and never 
 ventured to designate or explain it. Its truth is, 
 however, beyond question. The circumstances 
 forbid the supposition of optical illusion or tem- 
 porary hallucination. There are those living who 
 testify to such of the facts as were subject to ob- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 251 
 
 servation, and the memorials of the transaction are 
 yet distinctly preserved in the religious character 
 of sons and daughters of some who were imme- 
 diately affected by it. 
 
 Being on a visit to his father, he was deeply 
 grieved to find the church, which he had left in 
 a state of prosperous activity, languishing, luke- 
 warm, and weak. His thoughts were much occu- 
 pied with the subject, and, of course, it was the 
 matter of earnest and frequent prayer. In this 
 state of mind, one morning, he was walking over 
 the fields to a neighboring house, when suddenly 
 he seemed to be in a room where a number of 
 people were assembled, apparently for worship. 
 The room he recognised as an apartment in the 
 house of a neighbor, where a prayer-meeting was 
 to be held on the evening of that day. Had he 
 stood in the midst of it he could not have been 
 more conscious of the scene. There was nothing 
 of the dim, or shadowy, or dreamy about it. He 
 recognised the people, noticed where they sat and 
 stood, remarked his father near the table, at which 
 a preacher was rising to give out a hymn, and 
 near the middle of the congregation he saw a man 
 named C., for whose salvation he felt particular 
 anxiety, standing \vith his son beside him. While 
 gazing with astonishment upon the scene, he hoard 
 the words, " Go and tell C. that he has an offer of 
 salvation for the last time." 
 
 Naturally supposing that the too great concen- 
 
252 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 tration of mind upon one subject had induced some 
 hallucination of the senses, Dr. Bond fell down on 
 his knees and besought God to preserve his reason. 
 The scene, however, continued; it would not dis- 
 appear nor change in any of its particulars. In 
 vain he struggled to dispel it ; the voice yet Re- 
 peated with indubitable distinctness, " Go and tell 
 C. that he has an offer of salvation for the last 
 time." Yet how would he dare to deliver so awful 
 a message ! For a great length of time he strug- 
 gled for deliverance from what he still considered 
 an illusion. At length an expedient occurred to 
 him which he adopted. He had never been in the 
 room in which he was apparently present, when it 
 was used for a public religious meeting. He, of 
 course, did not know how it was commonly pre- 
 pared for such occasions. He therefore noted with 
 great care the particulars of the scene. He saw 
 where the little table for the preacher, the benches 
 and chairs for the people, were placed. He noticed 
 his acquaintances, and where they sat and stood, 
 and when he was satisfied that he had possessed 
 himself perfectly of these details, he said, " I will 
 go to this meeting, and if I see things there to cor- 
 respond with what I now see, it shall be as a sign 
 from the Lord, and I will deliver the message." 
 Immediately the scene vanished, and he was alone 
 in the green fields. 
 
 With a spirit indescribably agitated he returned 
 home, where he found ladies who required him to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 253 
 
 escort them a long distance, and it was some- 
 what past the hour fixed for the meeting when he 
 reached the awful place. During the day he had 
 freely indulged the hope that on his entrance into 
 the room his trouble Avould disappear, lie thought 
 hehad been the subject of an illusion, the fruit of 
 an excited brain, and that a want of correspond- 
 ence, immediately to be detected between the real 
 scene and the one presented to his disordered 
 fancy, would at once satisfy him as to the morbid 
 character of his morning vision, and release him 
 from the obligation of delivering the terrible mes- 
 sag<; with which he was conditionally charged. 
 When he opened the door, however, he saw again, 
 in all its minuteness of detail, the morning scene. 
 In vain he searched the room for a variant particu- 
 lar. There sat his father in the designated place. 
 The preacher at the table was rising to give out 
 the hymn. In the midst of the room stood C., 
 with his son beside him. Everything demanded 
 that the message should be delivered. 
 
 After the preliminary exercises, he rose and 
 stated the circumstances as we have related them, 
 and then going to C., he laid his hand upon him, 
 and repeated the words he had heard. The effect 
 was indescribable. C. and his son fell down to- 
 gether and called upon God. An awful solemnity 
 rested upon all present. Many cried for mercy, 
 and from that time began a revival of religion 
 22 
 
254 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 which spread far and wide ; the fruits of which are 
 yet seen, after many days. 
 
 In the midst of this extraordinary scene, the 
 father of Dr. Bond, who was too deaf to hear his 
 words, sat an anxious observer. He was a calm 
 man, whose Quaker education had not lost its in- 
 fluence over his religious character and views. 
 After the meeting he asked Thomas what he had 
 said to produce such an effect. He frankly told him 
 all. The old man mused a while and said, " You 
 did right." 
 
 About this incident there will be different opi- 
 nions. We shall not express any. The principal 
 actor preferred to express none. We only state 
 the facts as related by himself, and confirmed, 
 without inquiry, since his death, by one who was 
 present at the extraordinary meeting. We think, 
 however, with his father, that he " did right." To 
 have done otherwise would at least have been 
 unreasonable, perhaps impious. Philosophy must 
 leave room for God in his own world. Incredu- 
 lity and superstition are equally dishonorable to 
 the understanding. In all cases right reason de- 
 termines by evidence. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 255 
 
 A SINGULAR PROVIDENCE. 
 
 A CURIOUS AND AFFECTING NARRATIVE. 
 
 SIR RICHARD CRADOCK, a justice of the peace, who 
 was a violent hater and persecutor of the Dissenters, 
 and who exerted himself to enforce all the severe 
 laws then in existence against them, happened to 
 live near Mr. Rogers, to whom he bore a particular 
 enmity, and whom he wanted above all things to 
 have in his power. Hearing that he was to preach 
 at a place some miles distant, he thought it a fair 
 opportunity for accomplishing his base design, and 
 in order thereto hired two men to go as spies, and 
 take down the names of all the hearers whom they 
 knew, that they might appear as witnesses both 
 against them and Mr. Rogers. The plan seemed to 
 succeed to his wishes. These men brought him the 
 names of several persons who were present at the 
 meeting, and he warned such of them as he had a 
 particular spite against, together with Mr. Rogers, 
 to appear before him. Knowing the violence of the 
 man, they came with trembling hearts, expecting to 
 be treated with the utmost severity. While they 
 were waiting in the great hall, expecting to be 
 called upon, a little girl, about six or seven years 
 of age, who was Sir Richard's granddaughter, hap- 
 pened to come into the hall. She looked at Mr. 
 Rogers, and was much taken with his venerable 
 
256 REMAU.KABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 appearance. He being naturally fond of children, 
 took her upon his knee and caressed her, which 
 occasioned her to conceive a great fondness for him. 
 At length Sir Richard sent a servant to inform him 
 and the rest that one of the witnesses being taken 
 ill, was unable to attend, and that therefore they 
 must come again another day. 
 
 They accordingly came at the time appointed, 
 and being convicted, the justice ordered their mitti- 
 mus to be written to send them all to prison. Mr. 
 Rogers, expecting to see the little girl again, brought 
 some sweetmeats with him to give her. As soon 
 as she saw him she came running to him, and ap- 
 peared fonder of him than before. This child being 
 a great favorite with her grandfather, had got such 
 an ascendency over him that he could deny her 
 nothing, and she possessed such a violent spirit that 
 she could bear no contradiction, so that she was 
 indulged in everything she wanted. At one time, 
 when she had been contradicted, she ran a pen- 
 knife into her arm, to the great danger of her life. 
 This bad spirit, in the present instance, was over- 
 ruled for good. While she was sitting on Mr. 
 Rogers's knee, eating the sweetmeats, she looked 
 earnestly at him, and asked, " What are you here 
 for, sir ?" He said, " I believe your grandfather is 
 going to send me and my friends to jail." " To 
 jail!" said she. "Why, what have you done?" 
 " Why, I did nothing but preach, and they did 
 nothing but hear me." " He shall not send you to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 257 
 
 jail !" replied she. " Ay, but my dear," said he, 
 " I believe he is now making out our mittimus to 
 soul us all there." Upon this, she ran up to the 
 chamber where Sir Richard was, and knocked with 
 her head and heels till she got in, and said to him, 
 " What are you going to do with my good old 
 gentleman in the hall?" " That's nothing to you," 
 said he, " get you about your business." " But I 
 won't," says she. " He tells me that you are going 
 to send him and his friends to jail ; and if you send 
 them, I will drown myself in the pond as soon as 
 they are gone. I will indeed." When he saw the 
 child thus peremptory, it shook his resolution, and 
 induced him to abandon his malicious design. 
 Taking the mittimus in his hand, he went down 
 into the hall, and thus addressed these good men: 
 " I had made out your mittimus to send you all 
 to jail, as you deserve; but at my grandchild's 
 request I drop the prosecution, and set you all at 
 liberty." They all bowed, and thanked his wor- 
 ship ; but Mr. Rogers, going to the child, laid his 
 hand upon her head, and lifting up his eyes to 
 heaven, exclaimed, "God bless you, my dear child. 
 May the blessing of that God whose cause you did 
 now plead, though as yet you know him not, be 
 upon you in life, in death, and to all eternity." 
 
 The above remarkable story was told by Mr. 
 
 Timothy Rogers, the son of the ejected minister, 
 
 who had frequently heard his father relate it with 
 
 great pleasure; and the celebrated Mr. Thomas 
 
 17 
 
258 KEMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Bradbury once heard it from him when he was 
 dining at the house of Mrs. Tooley, an eminent 
 Christian lady in London, who was distinguished 
 for her religion and for her love to Christ and his 
 people, whose house and table, like Lydia's, were 
 always open to them. What followed is yet more 
 remarkable, as containing a striking proof of Mr. 
 Rogers's prayers for this child, and the blessing 
 which descended upon her who had been such an 
 instrument in the deliverance of the persecuted 
 servants of God. Mrs. Tooley had listened with 
 uncommon attention to Mr. Rogers's story, and 
 when he had ended it, she asked him, " And are 
 you that Mr. Rogers's son?" He told her he was 
 upon which she said, " Well, as long as I have 
 been acquainted with you, I never knew that be- 
 fore ; and now I will tell you something that you 
 do not know: lam the very girl your dear father 
 blessed in the manner that you have related, and 
 it made an impression upon me that I never could 
 forget." 
 
 Upon this double discovery, Mr. Rogers and Mrs. 
 Tooley found an additional tie of mutual love and 
 affection ; and then he and Mr. Bradbury expressed 
 a desire to know how she, who had been brought 
 up in an aversion to dissenters, and to serious reli- 
 gion, now discovered such an attachment to both ; 
 upon which she cheerfully gave them the following 
 narrative : 
 
 After her grandfather's death, she became sole 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 259 
 
 heiress to his estate, which was considerable. 
 Being in the bloom of youth, and having none to 
 control her, she ran into all the fashionable diver- 
 sions of the age, without any restraint; but she 
 confessed, when the pleasurable scenes were over, 
 she felt a dissatisfaction both with them and her- 
 self, that always struck a damp to her heart, which 
 she did not know how to get lid of any other way 
 than by running over the same round again and 
 again. But all was in vain. Having contracted 
 some slight illness, she thought she would go to 
 Bath, hearing that it was a place for pleasure as 
 well as health. When she came thither she was 
 providentially led to consult an apothecary, who 
 was a very worthy and religious man. When he 
 inquired what ailed her, she answered, " Why, doc- 
 tor, I don't ail much as to my body ; but I have an 
 uneasy mind that I cannot get rid of." "Truly, 
 Miss," said he, " I was so too, till I met with a cer- 
 tain book, and that cured me." " Books !" said she ; 
 " I get all the books I can lay my hands on all 
 the plays, novels, and romances I hear of; but 
 after I have read them, my uneasiness is the same." 
 " That may be, Miss," said he, " and I don't won- 
 der at it. But as to this book I speak of, I can say 
 of it what I can say of no other I ever read, that 
 I never tire in reading it, but can read it again and 
 again, as if I had never read it before ; and I always 
 see something new in it." " Pray, doctor," says 
 she, " what book is that?" " Nay, Miss," answered 
 
2GO REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 he, " that is i secret I don't tell every one." " But 
 could not I get a sight of that book ?" says she. 
 " Yes," replied he, " if you speak me fair, I can 
 help you to a sight of it." " Pray, then, get it me, 
 doctor, and I'll give you anything you please." 
 "Yes," said he, "if you will promise me one thing, 
 I'll bring it you, and that is, that you will read it 
 over carefully ; and if you should not see much in it 
 at first, that you will give it a second reading." She 
 promised faithfully that she would. After coming 
 two or three times without it, to raise her curiosity, 
 he at last took it out of his pocket and gave it her. 
 This book was the New Testament. When she 
 looked at it, she said, with a flirt, " Poll ! I could 
 get it at any time.'' "Why, Miss," said he, "so 
 you might; but, remember, I have your solemn 
 promise to read it carefully." " Well," said she, 
 " though I never read it before, I'll give it a read- 
 ing." Accordingly she began to read it, and it soon 
 attracted her attention. She saw something in it, 
 wherein she had a deep concern, but her mind now 
 became ten times more uneasy than ever. Not 
 knowing what to do, she soon returned to London, 
 resolved to try again what the diversions there 
 would do to dissipate her gloom ; but nothing of 
 this kind answered her purpose. She lodged at 
 the court end of the town, where she had with 
 her a female companion. On Saturday evening 
 she had a remarkable dream, w^hich was, that she 
 was in a place of worship, vv'here she heard a ser- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 261 
 
 mon ; but when she awoke, she could remember 
 nothing but the text. This dream made a deep im- 
 pression upon her mind, and the idea she had of 
 the place, and of the minister's person, was as 
 strong as if she had been long acquainted with 
 both. On the Lord's day morning she told her 
 dream to her companion, and said, that after break- 
 fast she was resolved to go in quest of the place, 
 though she should go from one end of London to 
 the other. They accordingly set out, and went 
 into several churches as they passed along, but 
 none of them answered to what she saw in her 
 dream. About one o'clock they found themselves 
 in the heart of the city, where they dined, and 
 then set out again in search of this place of wor- 
 ship. Being in the Poultry about half after two 
 o'clock, they saw a great number of people going 
 down the Old Jewry, and she determined to see 
 where they went. She mingled with the company, 
 and they conducted her to the meeting-house, where 
 Mr. Shower was the minister, in the Old Jewry. 
 As soon as she entered the door, and surveyed the 
 place, she turned to her companion, and said, with 
 some surprise, " This is the very place I saw in my 
 dream." She had not been long there before she 
 saw Mr. Shower go up into the pulpit, and, looking 
 at him with greater surprise, said, " This is the 
 very man I saw in my dream; and, if every p;irt 
 of it hold true, he will take for his text, Psalm 
 cxvi. 7 : ' Return to thy rest, my soul, for the 
 
2G2 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.' When he 
 rose up to pray, she was all attention, and every sen- 
 tence went to her heart. Having finished his prayer 
 he took that very passage for his text, and God 
 was pleased to make the discourse founded upon it 
 the means of her saving conversion ; and thus she 
 at last found what she had so long sought elsewhere 
 in vain: "Rest to her soul!" And now she ob- 
 tained that blessing from God, the fountain of feli- 
 city, which pious Mr. Rogers so many years before 
 had so solemnly and fervently implored in her 
 behalf. 
 
 INTERESTING STORY. 
 
 THE following artless and interesting relation is 
 another proof of the advantages of Bible and Tract 
 Societies. It is important that the sinner, through 
 some medium, be warned of his danger. If this be 
 well and faithfully done, the laborer will not always 
 be without his reward. 
 
 The W , a vessel of upwards of 400 tons, 
 
 was freighted from Liverpool for a trading voyage up 
 the Mediterranean Sea. I was intimately acquainted 
 with the captain's nephew, an accomplished young 
 man, of handsome person, but alas ! a willing victim 
 at the shrine of pleasure. He had shipped himself 
 for the voyage as steward. When leaving Liver- 
 pool, I put into his hands a small bundle of tracts, 
 and, in proof of his esteem for me, he promised to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 263 
 
 read them at his leisure, and likewise to distribute 
 some among the ship's company. Not an individual, 
 from the captain to the cabin-boy, had the least 
 sense of religion, nor do I believe they had a Bible 
 or Testament on board. On the return of the ves- 
 sel, about twelve months afterwards, as soon as my 
 young friend could step on shore, he paid me the 
 first visit. On my saluting him with, " Well, what 
 cheer, my lad ?" he answered (at the same time the 
 tears trembling in his eyes), "Through the mercy 
 of God, I am well, and the whole ship's crew." 
 Surprised at hearing a strain of pious gratitude 
 flow from those lips which formerly were seldom 
 opened except to pollute them with profane conver- 
 sation, I said, " William, what has produced this 
 change in your look, your address, your language ? 
 How is it that you acknowledge it is of the Lord's 
 mercies that you are not consumed ?" " Sir (said 
 he), I will relate particulars you recollect on my 
 taking leave of you, you placed in my hand a small 
 parcel of tracts, and I promised to read them : this 
 I have done. On leaving the port we had a favora- 
 ble wind through the channel ; the wind then chop- 
 ping round direct in our teeth. We had to contend 
 with light, contrary winds, till we entered the Gut 
 of Gibraltar. During this part of our voyage I had 
 little or no opportunity to read the tracts. I did on 
 the first Sabbath turn them over, and put a few in 
 my pocket, and occasionally taking one out, gave it 
 a sneering glance, and then handed it to one of the 
 
264 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 boys or men, with a smile of ridicule. On passing 
 the Gut, we had a tedious though pleasant voyage 
 to Smyrna. 
 
 " Having much time upon my hands, I now and 
 then looked at a tract, to pass away time. One 
 evening (I well remember the evening), about an 
 hour before sunset, scarce a breath of air, we had 
 spread all the canvas we could, which lay Happing 
 idly against the mast ; the men on board, some sit- 
 ting on the forehatch, others lolling over the wind- 
 lass, now and then whispering a curse instead of a 
 prayer for a breeze ; a boy sitting athwart a gun ; 
 the captain in the cabin smoking his cigar, with 
 his allowance of grog before him ; the wide and 
 beautiful expanse of water, smooth as glass, bounded 
 by a clear and serene sky; the smoke of Mount 
 Vesuvius just visible in the horizon, bearing E. N. 
 E. every object hushed into silent solitude ; not a 
 sound was heard but our own breathings, and the 
 gentle breaking of the sea against the bow of the 
 vessel I was looking over the ship's side, viewing 
 the calm and peaceful close of another day. This 
 brought to my recollection the scenery and calm- 
 ness of the evening when I took my last farewell 
 of my friends at home. It was at sunset on a 
 lovely evening in July. Musing thus of home, my 
 mind had acquired a tint of melancholy. I just 
 then put my hand in my jacket pocket, and feeling 
 some paper, took it out, and it proved to be a tract 
 * The Swearer's Prayer.' I read it aloud, in tho 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 265 
 
 hearing of the whole of the crew, and I suppose 
 much of the tincture of my feelings was mixed 
 with my tone of voice. When I had read it, a 
 curious kind of silence ensued ; not one of us felt 
 inclined to raise his eyes from what they were fixed 
 upon, fearing to meet the look of another, and know- 
 ing that to a man, we were all shockingly guilty of 
 swearing. At length we looked at each other in a 
 sidelong kind of way, and one man said, ' Mr. Wil- 
 liam, I never heard or thought of this before; this 
 kind of reading has made me feel very strange I 
 am trembling; I don't think I shall live to swear 
 again ; shall you, Jack ?' turning short to a seaman 
 alongside of him, who looked him full in the face, 
 and burst into tears. The shedding of tears ran 
 like a contagion through the whole of us, even to 
 the boy across the gun. After weeping in silence, 
 with our faces hid with our hands, one man said, 
 ' Jack, suppose we had up a prayer to God for for- 
 giveness. Mr. William, you have had more learn- 
 ing than we, you can make a prayer/ Alas ! I had 
 never prayed; I could only sigh; I really thought 
 my heart would burst. 0, how dreadful did sin 
 appear! One of the men then broke the silence 
 of grief. With his arms across his breast, and the 
 tears of penitential sorrow rolling down his manly 
 countenance, he cried out, ' God, who made our 
 souls, have mercy, and pardon the miserable and 
 damned crew on this deck.' Not a heart but what 
 responded, 'Lord, hear this prayer and forgive: 
 
 23 
 
266 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 But not to enter too long in detail, the Lord was 
 pleased to work a change in the whole of the ship's 
 company. One circumstance I must not forget to 
 mention. The captain, a drunken, swearing cha- 
 racter, thought his men bewitched. On the follow- 
 ing morning he came on deck, and, as usual, was 
 giving his orders, mixed with fearful oaths, when 
 one of the men, in a most respectful manner, begged 
 he would not swear at them, they would obey his 
 orders with more comfort to themselves without it. 
 Indeed, the captain remarked to a person on his 
 return, that he was obliged to refrain from swear- 
 ing, it began to appear on board so singular." 
 
 WONDERFUL SAGACITY IN A DOG. 
 
 WILLIAM DREDGE lives about five miles from town, 
 says the California Times, at the base of the moun- 
 tains which tower north of us. A short time ago, 
 after midnight, he was roused from his slumbers by 
 the howl of a dog. No menace on his part could 
 rid him of the presence of this strange intruder. 
 The dog continued to walk round the cabin, still 
 repeating his dismal moaning and howling, occa- 
 sionally making efforts to effect an entrance through 
 the closed doorway. Surprised and somewhat 
 alarmed at this singular demonstration, Mr. Dredge 
 at last hastily dressed himself and unbolted the 
 door, when a large mastiff rushed in. The dog at 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 267 
 
 once caught hold of his trowsers, and employed 
 every gentle means to induce the man to accom- 
 pany him outside. Dredge's first impression was 
 that the animal was mad ; and yet so peculiar and 
 earnest were the dumb entreaties, that he finally 
 yielded, and proceeded without the cabin. A joy- 
 ful yell was the result, and the delighted brute, 
 now capering and wagging his tail before him, and 
 now returning, and gently seizing him by the hand 
 and trowsers, induced Dredge to follow him. Their 
 course was up the precipitous side of the mountain, 
 and soon they were forcing their way through a 
 snowdrift that had settled in one of its numerous 
 fissures. 
 
 Here comes the wonder. Upon the snow lay the 
 body of a woman, who had evidently perished from 
 cold and exhaustion. Her limbs were already 
 stiffened in death ; but what was the surprise of 
 Mr. Dredge to see that faithful dog ferret out, from 
 a bundle of clothing, that lay by the side of the 
 woman, a young child about two years of age, still 
 warm and living ! A little inspection, aided by the 
 starlight and the brightness of the snow, enabled 
 him to discover that the person of the woman was 
 nearly naked. With a mother's affection, she had 
 stripped her own person in order to furnish warmth 
 to her exposed infant. The trusty dog had com- 
 pleted the work of self-sacrifice. 
 
 Mr. Dredge immediately conveyed the child to 
 his own cabin, and, arousing some of his neighbors, 
 
268 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 proceeded again to the mountain, to secure from 
 the attacks of wild beasts the person of the unfor- 
 tunate woman. . Her body was buried the next day. 
 The child and dog have been adopted by this good 
 Samaritan, but as yet he has been unable to obtain 
 light as to the name of the woman, or how she hap- 
 pened to stray on the dismal mountain-side at such 
 an unfortunate hour. The child is doing well, and 
 is truly a handsome boy. 
 
 REMARKABLE ESCAPE. 
 
 SAMUEL LEWIS, Sen., was the captain of a coasting 
 vessel, and, in the performance of his regular trips 
 from Maine to the Garolinas and the West Indies, 
 was necessarily abroad a great portion of his time. 
 Of course, his influence was much less felt in the 
 formation of his son's character. But those who 
 knew familiarly both father and son, could detect a 
 strong resemblance in the industry, the fearlessness, 
 the devotedness, the stern resolve, which charac- 
 terized the latter to a remarkable degree. When 
 he was about the age of eleven he accompanied his 
 father on his coasting voyages ; and thus his time 
 was partially taken up till the year 1813. 
 
 One day, when the vessel was riding at anchor in 
 Vineyard Sound, in sight of the town of Falmouth, 
 the captain and crew left her in charge of the cabin- 
 boy, for this was young Samuel's position on board. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 209 
 
 While busily engaged in the performance of his 
 customary duties, he approached the side of the 
 vessel, with his bucket, to draw some water. As 
 he leaned over listlessly, his thoughts wandering 
 away to other scenes, suddenly his feet slipped, his 
 hands failed of their grasp, and he fell into the sea. 
 There was no one in the vessel to aid him in escap- 
 ing from the water, and he was too far from the 
 land to swim thither, unless he had been an expert ; 
 and, up to this time, he had never learned the art 
 of swimming at all. As soon as the first few mo- 
 ments of surprise were over, he looked eagerly 
 around him for some means of escape. No rope, 
 or chain, or other means of ascending to the deck 
 of the ship, was within his reach. The fore-chains 
 hung in their usual place, but some distance above 
 the water. For the first time in his life, he swam, 
 making his way around the vessel as well as he 
 was able, and scanning every part within his reach. 
 Finding no other resource, he struggled back to the 
 fore-chains, and attempted to lay hold of them, 
 leaping upward as far as he could. Failing entirely 
 in the attempt, he soon fell back, so much exhausted 
 as to give over the struggle. 
 
 "In a few moments," we have heard him say, 
 "I gave up, and strove to resign myself to die. 
 All the deeds of my short life came across iny 
 mind ; I tried to pray, and to lie quiet in the hands 
 of my heavenly Father. Soon my mind began to 
 revert to my father's family, and, beyond all others 
 23* 
 
270 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 upon earth, to my mother. I thought of her grief 
 and distress when my body should be swept ashore, 
 or all search for it abandoned. I thought of the 
 agony of suspense that would torture her mind, till 
 it was certain that I no longer lived. And as I 
 seemed to see her tears, and to listen to her sighs, 
 I resolved to make still another effort for my life. 
 I swam again to the fore-chains, catching sight in 
 my way of the fields and dwellings of my native 
 town. Armed with additional resolution by such 
 a view, I prayed to God, earnestly as ever I prayed 
 in my life, to aid me in my last trial. As I came 
 up, I observed that the warm sun had softened in 
 a slight degree the pitchy seams in the sides. Into 
 these seams I fastened my nails, and, raising myself 
 as far as possible out of the water, I made one bold 
 leap, caught the chains, and was soon on the deck. 
 But as I turned and looked down upon the water, 
 where I had so lately awaited death, I was horrified 
 at the sight of a monstrous shark, lashing the waves 
 in disappointment as he turned away from the ves- 
 sel. I fell upon my knees in a moment, and re- 
 turned thanks to God, who had so wonderfully 
 spared me from a death far more dreadful than the 
 one I had before expected." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES 271 
 
 A PROVIDENTIAL PROTECTOR. 
 
 THE following singular story is told by a clergy- 
 man who knew the truthfulness of it, concerning 
 an attack made by robbers upon a farm-house, in 
 Canada, several years ago. The farm-house was a 
 solitary one ; there was not another within a half- 
 mile of it. On the night of the attack, there was 
 a good deal of money in the house, the proceeds of 
 a large sale of stock made that day. The mother 
 and her three young children, and a maid servant, 
 were the sole inmates. They had retired to rest 
 some time. The wind was howling fearfully, and 
 shook the wooden house at every blast. This kept 
 the poor woman awake, and she thought she heard, 
 in the pauses of the tempest, some strange and 
 unusual noises, seemingly at the back of the house. 
 While eagerly listening to catch the sound again, 
 she was startled by the violent barking of a dog, 
 apparently in a room in the front of the house, im- 
 mediately beneath the bed-chamber. This alarmed 
 her still more, as they had no dog of their own. 
 She immediately rose, and going to the maid's room, 
 awoke her, and they went down together. They 
 first peeped into the room where they had heard 
 the dog. It was moonlight, at least partially so, 
 for the night was cloudy, still it was light enough 
 to distinguish objects, though but faintly. They 
 saw an immense black dos; scratching and gnawing 
 
272 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 furiously at the door leading into the kitchen, from 
 whence she thought that the noises she first heard 
 had proceeded. She requested the servant to open 
 the door which the dog was attacking so violently. 
 The girl was a determined and resolute creature, 
 devoid of fear, and she did so without hesitation, 
 when the dog rushed out, and the widow saw 
 through the open door two men at the kitchen 
 window, which was open. The men instantly re- 
 treated, and the dog leaped through the window 
 after them. A violent scuffle ensued, and it was 
 evident, from the occasional yelping of the noble 
 animal, that he sometimes had the worst of it. The 
 noise of the contest, however, gradually receded, 
 
 till Mrs. M could hear only now and then a 
 
 faint and distant bark. The robbers, or perhaps 
 murderers, had taken out a pane of glass, which 
 had enabled them to undo the fastenings of the 
 window, when, but for the dog, they would doubt- 
 less have accomplished their purpose. The mis- 
 tress and maid got a light, and secured the window 
 as well as they could. They then dressed them- 
 selves, for to think of sleeping any more that night 
 was out of the question. They had not, however, 
 got down stairs the second time before they heard 
 their protector scratching at the outer door for 
 admittance. They immediately opened it, when 
 he came in wagging his bushy tail, and fawning 
 upon each of them in turn, to be patted and praised 
 for his prowess. He then stretched his huge bulk 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 273 
 
 at full length beside the warm stove, and went to 
 sleep. The next morning they gave him a break- 
 fast any dog might have envied ; after which 
 nothing could induce him to prolong his visit. He 
 stood whining impatiently at the door till it was 
 opened, when he galloped off, and they never saw 
 him afterwards. 
 
 REMARKABLE CONVERSION. 
 
 ABOUT the 10th of April, 1843, in one of the 
 Middle States, the writer of this article was read- 
 ing in his room a portion of the thirty-third chapter 
 of Ezekiel, the tenth to sixteenth verses inclusive ; 
 he was impressed to mark the verse and chapter, 
 and read them to the next mourner in Zion he met. 
 On the 12th, two days after, early in the morning, 
 while working in his garden, a woman was sent to 
 him, desiring his immediate attendance on a man 
 who seemed to be almost in despair. She stated 
 that she had called on several ministers in the 
 place, some were engaged, and others promised to 
 come, but with the mourner time was precious, so 
 his wife sent again. The case was this. One of 
 the engineers on the railroad starting from that 
 place was led to see himself a lost sinner. He had 
 been at the altar for prayer, and such had been his 
 mighty struggle for mercy, that the body seemed to 
 
 partake of the inward conflict, so much so, that it 
 18 
 
274 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 took two or three men to hold him. He received 
 no relief there. He was not quite ready to receive 
 it in the simple way of faith. The afternoon before 
 his conversion, while on the engine, his distress was 
 so great, that it is said that another person had to 
 take his place. He was unable to attend to any- 
 thing more till his burden w r as removed. The 
 writer went to his house, and entering the second 
 story, saw the trembling penitent on the bare floor ; 
 he had no coat on ; he was lying on his back. He 
 was crying earnestly to God to have mercy on him 
 and forgive him all his sins. His wife was sitting 
 on a chest alongside of him, with her dear little 
 children around her ; all were weeping. 
 
 The brother said to him immediately, " Here is 
 good news for you ; be as quiet as you can till you 
 hear it." It was read slowly and seriously, and 
 commented on in a few words. Kneeling before 
 the Lord, faith was explained. He was then shown 
 how God could be just and yet forgive the sinner. 
 How Christ was the end of the law for righteous- 
 ness to all that believe. He seemed to fix his mind 
 intently on what was said, his countenance bright- 
 ened, but again it was clouded. The brother said : 
 
 " Perhaps you now think that God could not 
 pardon such a sinner as you are, and that the offers 
 of mercy read to you are too good to be true ?" 
 
 He said, u I was just thinking so." 
 
 He was told that that was unbelief; that he must 
 have faith in God, and the work would be done ; 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 275 
 
 that without faith it was impossible to please God. 
 lie looked up with a heavenly smile, and claimed 
 the promise, and was filled with the Holy Ghost. 
 There had been no time for prayer. This only 
 occupied about ten minutes; he needed light on 
 the plan of salvation, and " Out of Zion, the per- 
 fection of beauty, God shined." He arose to his 
 feet and stood with his arms stretched heavenward 
 for one or two hours, praising God ; his face shone 
 with glory beaming forth; being weak, he stag- 
 gered. He said : 
 
 " Friends, I am not drunk with wine, but with 
 the Spirit." 
 
 About twenty of his neighbors had run in, hear- 
 ing the noise. Among them was one who was the 
 keeper of a tenpin alley, or a billiard saloon ; he 
 hung down his head and wept like a child. 
 
 Some time after, the converted brother called for 
 advice. He was desired to run the cars on the Sab- 
 bath ; he was told to " obey God rather than man." 
 He obeyed God and kept the Comforter, but lost 
 his place. He left wife, children, and home, for a 
 distant city, but after a time returned, and received 
 something to do from one who is ever ready to help 
 God's children. 
 
 In about two years he was invited to resume his 
 place on the engine, and have the Sabbath to him- 
 self. So after he was tried in the furnace, God gave 
 him favor with the people. It is now thirteen years 
 
27C REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 since. He has been a leader a number of years*. 
 He is still on the engine ; his soul is on the wing 
 for glory ; his mouth is filled with the high praises 
 of God ; may we meet in heaven. 
 
PART Y. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN 
 FAVOR OF THE SABBATH. 
 
 " If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on 
 my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; 
 and shall honor him, not doing thino own ways, nor finding thine own plea- 
 sure, nor speaking thiue own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the 
 Lord, and I will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed 
 thee with the heritage of Jacob." ISAIAH Iviii. 13-14. 
 
 24 (277) 
 
REPORT IN THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 IN the year 1832, the British House of Commons 
 appointed a committee to investigate the effects of 
 laboring seven days in a week, compared with those 
 of laboring only six, and resting one. That com- 
 mittee consisted of Sir Andrew Agnew, Sir Robert 
 Peel, Sir Robert Inglis, Sir Thomas Baring, Sir 
 George Murray, Fowell Buxton, Lord Morpeth, 
 Lord Ashley, Lord Viscount Sandon, and twenty 
 other members of parliament. They examined a 
 great number of witnesses', of various professions 
 and employments. Among them was John Richard 
 Farre, M. D., of London, of whom they speak as 
 " an acute and experienced physician." The follow- 
 ing is the testimofly : 
 
 " I have practised as a physician between thirty 
 and forty years ; and during the early part of my 
 life, as the physician of a public medical institution. 
 I had charge of the poor in one of the most popu- 
 lous districts of London. I have had occasion to 
 observe the effect of the observance and non-observ- 
 ance of the seventh day of rest during this time. I 
 have bern in the habit, during a great many years, 
 of considering the uws of the Sabbath, and of ob- 
 serving its abuses. The abuses are chiefly mani- 
 
 (279) 
 
280 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 fested in labor and dissipation. Its use, medically 
 speaking, is that of a day of rest. 
 
 " As a day of rest, I view it as a day of compen- 
 sation^ for the inadequate restorative power of the 
 body under continued labor and excitement. A 
 physician always has respect to the preservation of 
 the restorative power ; because, if once this be lost, 
 his healing office is at an end. A physician is 
 anxious to preserve the balance of circulation, as 
 necessary to the restorative power of the body. 
 The ordinary exertions of man run down the circu- 
 lation every day of his life ; and the first general 
 law of nature, by which God prevents man from 
 destroying himself, is the alternating of day and 
 night, that repose may succeed action. But, al- 
 though the night apparently equalizes the circula- 
 tion, yet it does not sufficiently restore its balance 
 for the attainment of a long life. Hence, one day 
 in seven, by the bounty of Providence, is thrown 
 in as a day of compensation, to perfect by its repose 
 the animal system. 
 
 " I consider, therefore, that, in the bountiful pro- 
 vision of Providence for the preservation of human 
 life, the sabbatical appointment is not, as it has 
 been sometimes theologically viewed, simply a pre- 
 cept, partaking of the nature of a political institu- 
 tion, but that it is to be numbered among the natu- 
 ral duties, if the preservation of life be admitted to 
 be a duty, and the premature destruction of it a 
 suicidal act." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 281 
 
 AT a regular meeting of the New Haven Medical 
 Association, composed of twenty-five physicians, 
 among whom were the professors of the medical 
 college, the following questions were considered : 
 
 1. Is the position taken by Dr. Farre in his tes- 
 timony before the committee of the British House 
 of Commons, in your view, correct ? 
 
 2. Will men who labor but six days in a week 
 be more healthy and live longer, other things being 
 equal, than those who labor seven ? 
 
 3. "Will they do more work, and do it in a better 
 manner ? 
 
 The vote on the above was unanimously in the 
 affirmative ; signed by Eli Ives, chairman, and Pliny 
 A. Jewett, clerk. 
 
 DR. F. BACKUS, and seven other respectable phy- 
 sicians of Rochester, New York, have given the 
 following testimony : 
 
 " Having most of us lived on the Erie Canal 
 since its completion, we have uniformly witnessed 
 the same deteriorating effects of seven days' work- 
 ing upon the physical constitution, both of man 
 and beast, as have been so ably depicted by Dr. 
 Farre." They are more sickly than others, bring 
 upon themselves, in great numbers, a premature old 
 age, and sink to an untimely grave. 
 
 24* 
 
282 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 MATTHEW HALE'S EXAMPLE. 
 
 THE following declaration of Sir Matthew Hale 
 is an illustration of this truth : 
 
 " Though my hands and my mind have been as 
 full of secular business, both before and after I was 
 judge, as, it may be, any man's in England, yet I 
 never wanted time in six days to ripen and fit my- 
 self for the business and employments I had to do, 
 though I borrowed not one minute from the Lord's 
 day to prepare for it, by study or otherwise. But, 
 on the other hand, if I had, at any time, borrowed 
 from this day any time for my secular employment, 
 I found it did further me less than if I had let it 
 alone ; and therefore, when some years' experience, 
 upon a most attentive and vigilant observation, 
 had given me this instruction, I grew peremptorily 
 resolved never in this kind to make a breach upon 
 the Lord's day, which I have now strictly observed 
 for more than thirty years." 
 
 THE CAPTAIN OF THE WHALESHIP. 
 
 SOME twenty years ago Rev. Mr. Y , a godly 
 
 minister, used to preach alternate Sabbaths in an 
 old meeting-house, some two miles east from New 
 London, Connecticut. One Sabbath, preaching upon 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 283 
 
 the omnipotence of God, he noticed a boy of ten 
 years who appeared unusually attentive. The 
 thought that God's eye was ever upon him, was to 
 the boy strange and new, and it made an impres- 
 sion on his mind that influenced his destiny. 
 
 Ten years from that time he had become a sailor, 
 and one of the most wicked men living. If his 
 comrades wished to engage in any reckless, heaven- 
 daring enterprise, he was the leader. Returning 
 from a distant port, he fell into some dispute with 
 others of the crew ; and to settle it he appealed to 
 the Bible. He said, with an oath, that his mother 
 had put one into his chest years before, and he 
 
 would go and look up the thing. He went 
 
 below, and, after searching a while, found and 
 opened it; and the first words that met his eye 
 were, " Thou God seest me" the text that had 
 arrested his attention in the old church, and with 
 it the thought that God had seen all his past 
 wickedness. A sense of guilt overwhelmed him. 
 What could he do? He resolved to pray; but 
 where ? There was no place to retire. His com- 
 panions, wondering at his long absence, had already 
 entered the room. But pray he must ; and there 
 before those wicked men, partners in sin, with eyes 
 streaming with tears, he fell on his knees and asked 
 God to be merciful to him a sinner. In a short 
 time he found peace. 
 
 Ten years after he was captain of a whaleship. 
 One Sabbath morning, for the first time on the 
 
284 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 voyage, they fell in with a school of whales. All 
 hands were delighted with the prospect, and were 
 in readiness to man the boats the moment the order 
 was given ; but no order came. The mate, impa- 
 tient of the delay, went to the captain to ascertain 
 the reason. He received answer from Captain 
 
 M , " We have not worked on the Sabbath yet, 
 
 and we shall not begin to-day." The importunity 
 of officers and men could not change the com- 
 mander's purpose. The ship moved on ; in a few 
 hours there was not a whale in sight. When night 
 came the order was given to put about ; and the 
 next morning what was their surprise to find the 
 vessel surrounded with many more than they had 
 seen the previous day ! The voyage was one of the 
 most prosperous ever made ; and there was no more 
 murmuring because God's day was kept holy. 
 
 That captain, since his conversion, has been a 
 praying man ; has always kept the Sabbath ; has 
 had repeated revivals on board his ship ; has been 
 perhaps the most successful whaler that ever sailed ; 
 has given away large sums of money ; and, though 
 yet early in life, has the means of extensive and 
 long-continued usefulness. 
 
 Should this meet the eye of that godly preacher, 
 now fast nearing his end, let it assure him that 
 oternity only will unfold the good wrought by that 
 one sermon. And let it satisfy all, that to obey 
 God is the only sure path to success, happiness, and 
 heaven. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 285 
 
 MANUFACTURERS AND THEIR TEAMS. , 
 
 A MANUFACTURING company, which had been 
 accustomed to carry their goods to market with 
 their own teams, kept them employed seven days 
 in a week, as that was the time in which they 
 could go to the market and return. But by per- 
 mitting the teams to rest on the Sabbath, they 
 found that they could drive them the same distance 
 in six days, that they formerly did in seven, and 
 with the same keeping preserve them in better 
 order. 
 
 EXPERIMENT WITH CATTLE. 
 
 A NUMBER of men started together from Ohio, 
 with droves of cattle for Philadelphia. They had 
 often been before, and had been accustomed to drive 
 on the Sabbath as on other days. One had now 
 changed his views as to the propriety of travelling 
 on that day. On Saturday he inquired for pas- 
 tures. His associates wondered that so shrewd a 
 man should think of consuming so great a portion 
 of his profits by stopping with such a drove a whole 
 day. He stopped, however, and kept the Sabbath. 
 They, thinking that they could not afford to do so, 
 went on. On Monday he started again. In the 
 course of the week he passed them, arrived first in 
 
28G REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the market, and sold his cattle to great advantage. 
 So impressed were the others with the benefits of 
 thus keeping the Sabbath, that ever afterwards 
 they followed his example. 
 
 THE TEAMSTER AND HIS HORSES. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN in Vermont, who was in the habit 
 of driving his horses twelve miles a day, seven days 
 in a week, afterwards changed his practice, and 
 drove them but six days, allowing them to rest one. 
 He then found that, with the same keeping, he 
 could drive them fifteen miles a day, and preserve 
 them in as good order as before. So that a man 
 may rest on the Sabbath, and let his horses rest, 
 yet promote the benefit of both, and be in all 
 respects the gainer. 
 
 EXPERIMENT IN A MILL. 
 
 THE experiment was tried in a large flouring 
 establishment. For a number of years they worked 
 the mills seven days in a week. The superintend- 
 ent was then changed. He ordered all the works 
 to be stopped at eleven o'clock on Saturday night, 
 and to start none of them till one o'clock on Mon- 
 day morning, thus allowing a full Sabbath every 
 week. And the same men, during the year, ac- 
 tually ground thousands of bushels more than had 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 287 
 
 ever been ground, in a single year, in that establish- 
 ment before. The men, having been permitted to 
 cleanse themselves, put on their best apparel, rest 
 from worldly business, go with their families to the 
 house of God, and devote the Sabbath to its appro- 
 priate duties, were more healthy, moral, punctual 
 and diligent. They lost less time in drinking, dis- 
 sipation, and quarrels. They were more clear-headed 
 and whole-hearted, knew better how to do things, 
 and were more disposed to do them in the right 
 way. 
 
 FOUR FISHING VESSELS. 
 
 CAPT. BOURNE states that about 1829, he went 
 out from Rhode Island in a brig on a fishing voy- 
 age along the coast of Labrador, with a crew of 
 thirteen men. Three other vessels, with larger 
 crews, from the same state, accompanied him. 
 When they arrived upon the ground, Captain B. 
 determined that he and his crew should sacredly 
 regard the Sabbath ; but the other crews prosecuted 
 their employment on that day the same as on 
 others. After fishing with them in company for 
 two weeks, and finding it in some respects quite 
 disagreeable, he parted from them, and went farther 
 north, and fished in company with English vessels, 
 who pursued the same course respecting the Sab- 
 bath day which he did himself. Trusting in that 
 Providence which favors those who regard the true 
 
288 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 and right, he was not disappointed. He and his 
 men succeeded in getting a " full voyage," cured 
 their fish and sold it some four weeks sooner than 
 any of the Sabbath-breaking vessels that accom- 
 panied them. What was better, Capt. B. and his 
 crew made more profits to a share in less time, than 
 those who profaned the Sabbath and wore them- 
 selves out by laboring hard seven days in the week. 
 
 SABBATH-BREAKING UNNECESSARY. 
 
 AT the second annual meeting of the Society for 
 Promoting the due Observance of the Lord's Day, 
 the Rev. H. Stowell stated, that at a large meeting, 
 which was held at Manchester, England, to petition 
 the legislature on the better observance of the Sab- 
 bath, a leading spinner came forward, and said, that 
 there was nothing more common than to hear from 
 his brother spinners and master manufacturers this 
 assertion, " If you stop the mill altogether on Sun- 
 day, you must frequently stop it on Monday also ; 
 because, if the engine gets out of order, or any other 
 necessary repair be required, it must be done on the 
 Sunday, or the mill cannot proceed on the Monday." 
 Now, all this seems mighty plausible, said the good 
 man, but I can prove it to be false ; for in my mill 
 I never suffer a stroke to be struck on the Sabbath ; 
 and on one occasion, my boiler had suffered a mis- 
 fortune on a Saturday, and I feared the mill must 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 289 
 
 stop on the Monday, but determined to try what 
 could be done. I sent for a leading engineer, and 
 said to him, " Can you have the mill ready to work 
 on Monday morning ?" " Yes, certainly I can." 
 " But then," said I, " you mean to work on Sun- 
 day ?" " Of course, sir." " But," said I, " you shall 
 not do it in my mill." " But I cannot mend the 
 boiler, if I do not," said he. I said, " I do not 
 care, you shall not work in my mill on Sunday. I 
 would rather that my mill stood the whole of Mon- 
 day, than that the Sabbath should be violated in 
 it!" The man said, "You are different from all 
 other masters." I said, " My Bible, not the con- 
 duct of others, is my rule; and you must do it 
 without working on Sunday, or I will try to get 
 somebody else." This had the desired effect : they 
 set to work, and worked till twelve o'clock on the 
 Saturday night, and began again at twelve o'clock 
 on the Sunday night ; and the repairs were finished, 
 and the mill was in full work, at the usual hour on 
 Monday morning. 
 
 THE POOR BARBER AND THE SABBATH DAY. 
 
 IN the city of Bath there lived a barber who 
 made a practice of following his ordinary occupation 
 on the Lord's day. As he was pursuing his morn- 
 ing's employment, he happened to look into some 
 place of worship just as the minister was giving out 
 
 19 
 
290 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 his text, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it 
 holy." He listened long enough to be convinced 
 that he was constantly breaking the laws of God 
 and man, by shaving and dressing his customers on 
 the Lord's day. He became uneasy, and went with 
 a heavy heart to his Sabbath task. At length he 
 took courage, and opened his mind to the minister, 
 who advised him to give up Sabbath dressing and 
 worship God. He replied, beggary would be the 
 consequence. He had a flourishing trade, but it 
 would almost be lost. At length, after many a 
 sleepless night, spent in weeping and praying, he 
 was determined to cast all his care upon God, as, the 
 more he reflected, the more his duty became appa- 
 rent. He discontinued Sabbath dressing, wenl 
 constantly and early to the public services of reli- 
 gion, and soon enjoyed that satisfaction of mind 
 which is one of the rewards of doing our duty, and 
 that peace of God which the world can neither give 
 nor take away. The consequences he foresaw 
 actually followed. His genteel customers left him, 
 as he was nicknamed a Puritan, or Methodist. He 
 was obliged to give up his fashionable shop, and, 
 in the course of years, became so reduced as to take 
 a cellar under the old market-house and shave the 
 common people. 
 
 One Saturday evening, between light and dusk, 
 a stranger from one of the coaches, asking for a 
 barber, was directed by the ostler to the cellar 
 opposite. Coming in hastily, he requested to be 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 291 
 
 shaved quickly, while they changed horses, as he 
 did not like to violate the 'Sabbath. This was 
 touching the barber on a tender chord. He burst 
 into tears asked the stranger to lend him a half- 
 penny to buy a candle, as it was not light enough 
 to shave him with safety. He did so, revolving in 
 his mind the extreme poverty to which the poor 
 man must be reduced. When shaved, he said, 
 " There must be something extraordinary in your 
 history, which I have not now time to hear. Here 
 is half a crown for you. When I return, I will 
 call and investigate your case. What is your 
 name ?" " William Reed," said the astonished bar- 
 ber. "William Reed!" echoed the stranger; "Wil- 
 liam Reed ; by your dialect you are from the west." 
 " Yes, sir ; from Kingston, near Taunton !" " What 
 was your father's name ?" " Thomas." " Had he 
 any brothers ?" " Yes, sir ; one after whom I was 
 named ; but he went to the Indies, and as we never 
 heard from him, we suppose him to be dead." 
 " Come along, follow me," said the stranger ; "I 
 am going to see a person who says his name is Wil- 
 liam Reed, of Kingston, near Taunton. Come and 
 confront him. If you prove to be indeed he who 
 you say you are, I have glorious news for you. 
 Your uncle is dead, and has left an immense for- 
 tune, which I will put you in possession of, when 
 all legal doubts are removed." 
 
 They went and saw the pretended Mr. Reed, and 
 proved him to be an impostor. The stranger, who 
 
292 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 was a pious attorney, was soon satisfied of the bar- 
 ber's identity, and told him that he had advertised 
 for him in vain. Providence had now thrown him 
 in his way, in a most extraordinary manner, and 
 he had much pleasure in transferring a great many 
 thousand pounds to a worthy man the rightful 
 heir of the property. Had the barber possessed a 
 half-penny, or the credit for a candle, he might have 
 long remained unknown; but he trusted in God, 
 who delivered him from trouble. 
 
 THE HAND OF GOD IN IT. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN of business started with a horse 
 and sulkey from New York. On Saturday night 
 he put up at a distant village. On Sabbath morn- 
 ing, after considerable hesitation, he started again 
 and proceeded till noon, trying all the way to 
 silence the remonstrances of conscience, by the 
 common, but vain plea, that he could serve God 
 and keep the Sabbath as well on the road as in a 
 tavern or a church. At noon he stopped and called 
 for dinner. Whilst it was preparing he took up a 
 magazine, and one of the first articles that caught 
 his eye, was a memoir of his own mother, which 
 he had never before seen. As he read he became 
 deeply affected, and the tears flowed so freely, that 
 he thought it needful to apologize to the landlady 
 for his weakness. He told her that the subject 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 293 
 
 of the memoir which he was reading was his own 
 mother. " Is it possible," said she, " that the son 
 of such a godly mother can be guilty of travelling 
 on the Sabbath ?" The man was confounded, and 
 felt as if he wished to hide his head. He attempted 
 to excuse himself; but his tongue faltered, and 
 seemed reluctant to perform so mean an office. 
 The people w r ere assembling for public worship, 
 and he had again a mighty contest with conscience. 
 But pressed with business, and having once over- 
 come its dictates, he prevailed again, and started 
 off, resolving to reach a certain place by tea-time. 
 He pressed onward : but the heavens began to 
 gather blackness, the lightning to flash, and the 
 thunder to break over his head. He put his horse 
 to the utmost .speed, and arrived just as the rain 
 began to fall in torrents. He threw up the reins, 
 told the servant to put the horse in a cool place, 
 and ran into the house. The landlord knew him, 
 and soon informed him that the tea was ready, and 
 offered to show him the way. But the thought 
 struck him that he would first just look at his horse 
 (for he was a favorite animal), and see if he stood 
 in a cool place, and was well taken care of. He 
 therefore stepped into the barn, saw that he stood 
 in a good place, and went out without laying his 
 hand on him, as he generally did, when he went 
 to see him. As he left the barn, his limbs seemed 
 to fail him and his senses departed. , He, however, 
 came to, and went in ; there was great confusion in 
 25* 
 
294 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the house, for they said that a stroke of lightning 
 certainly struck the house or some object near by. 
 Soon a messenger came and told a man that his 
 fine horse was dead. He ran to the stable, but 
 soon came back and said it was not his horse, but 
 the gentleman's from New York. His horse, it 
 seems, had been taken out of that stall, and the 
 gentleman's from New York put in his place, in 
 order to cool off. So that one was saved and the 
 other killed by the same stroke of lightning, that 
 came so near killing also its owner. The man saw, 
 or thought he saw, in this the hand of God: and 
 resolved from that time forward never to break the 
 Sabbath. And though we are not authorized by 
 such events to say that such men are sinners above 
 all others, yet we. are authorized to say that when 
 men hope to gain, by breaking the known com- 
 mands of God, the frequency of their disappoint- 
 ment, as well as the remonstrances of conscience 
 and their dependence on God, ought to prevent 
 them from giving way to the temptation, and lead 
 them to be contented with what they can gain by 
 obeying him. 
 
 THE HIDE TRADERS. 
 
 I WAS in command of a vessel, saj^s Captain S., 
 
 engaged in the hide trade between N and a 
 
 port in Brazil. It was the custom of the port to 
 load the vessels in turn as they were ready to re- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 295 
 
 ceivo cargo. My turn came to load. The work 
 commenced and continued until Saturday night, 
 when I ordered the hatches closed till Monday 
 morning. The stevedore, wanting to work as usual 
 on the Sabbath, left the ship with his gang mut- 
 tering curses. Monday came. I made application 
 to the commission merchant, for the completion of 
 my load, but was told that I had lost my turn in 
 loading, and must wait until it came round again, 
 and that the stevedore and his gang had gone on 
 board another vessel. 
 
 To aggravate my disappointment, I found that a 
 hostile feeling had sprung up against me, and was 
 participated in by all around. The merchant was 
 studiously polite and respectful as before, but no 
 longer familiar. Masters of vessels avoided my 
 society. Evil disposed persons busied themselves 
 in doing me secret injuries, cutting my rigging in 
 the night time, and in other ways showing their 
 malice. Our devotional exercises, morning and 
 evening, were interrupted, and our efforts to do 
 good derided and mocked. 
 
 Thus things went on, until our turn came round 
 again ; when, there being no other vessel ready to 
 load, we were left to do our work in our own way. 
 The loss of time occasioned by the refusal to load 
 on the Sabbath, amounted to several weeks ; but, 
 after all, was it in fact a loss? The result will 
 show. 
 
 It was now Saturday night again ; the lading of 
 
296 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 the ship was completed, and we were ready for sea. 
 The Sabbath dawned, and with it came a fresh 
 and fair wind. Shall we improve it, and violate 
 the day, and that, too, after so many sacrifices to 
 promote its sanctification ? It was not to be thought 
 of; and, hoisting the Bethel flag, as an invitation 
 for our shipmates to come on board, we spent the 
 day in devotional exercises. It was a happy Sab- 
 bath to all on board. 
 
 Monday morning early we were under sail for 
 the lower harbor, several miles distant. On our 
 way, we passed two brigs aground with lighters 
 alongside discharging their hides, in order to lighten 
 them and get them off. They left the upper harbor 
 on the Sabbath, and here they were, and like to be 
 until the next fair wind had blown itself out. On 
 reaching the lower harbor, we found, to our sur- 
 prise, lying at anchor, upwards of forty sail of 
 shipping, waiting for a wind. Among them were 
 all the vessels that had cleared for the last month 
 or more, including every vessel that had obtained 
 an advantage over us in respect to loading. 
 
 We had now to obtain a pilot and get to sea 
 when the wind came fair and before it had spent 
 itself. These were by no means matters easy to be 
 accomplished. Pilots were few, and vessels many, 
 and here, too, the principle of rotation was rigidly 
 enforced. The winds, meanwhile, when fair, were 
 short-lived and feeble, and the bar at the entrance 
 of the harbor, too dangerous to pass without a pilot. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 297 
 
 But He who had sustained us through previous 
 trials for his name's sake, did not forsake us now. 
 A pilot who had been on a long visit to the interior, 
 returned to the sea-board and resumed his duties on 
 the very day we reached the outer harbor, and pre- 
 senting himself on board, offered to pilot us to sea. 
 
 Tuesday morning found us, with a fair wind, a 
 pilot on board, and under way at daylight. We 
 were the second vessel over the bar, and among 
 the first to arrive in the United States. 
 
 The getting out of cargo, its exposure and sale, 
 were matters of no little interest. We then found 
 that " in keeping the commandments of God there 
 is great reward." Our cargo, owing to the delay in 
 getting it on board, received unusual attention at 
 our hands, and was in perfect shipping order when 
 stowed away, and came out in the same good con- 
 dition. 
 
 The cargoes of the other vessels came out very 
 differently, with a loss in some cases of 20, 30, and 
 even 50 per cent. This loss was occasioned in part 
 by hurrying the hides on board in the first instance 
 without their being thoroughly dried, in order to 
 greater despatch, and in part to the unusual deten- 
 tion of the vessels at the port of lading. From 
 these two causes combined, and the activity of the 
 weevils that took possession of the hides, and riddled 
 them through and through, several of those voyages 
 turned out splendid failures. 
 
298 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 / TESTIMONY OF CRIMINALS. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN, who was conversant with prisoners 
 for more than thirty years, stated, that he found in 
 all his experience, both with regard to those who 
 had been capitally convicted and those who had 
 not, that they referred to the violation of the Sab- 
 bath as the chief cause of their crimes ; and that 
 this has been confirmed by all the opportunities he 
 has had of examining prisoners. Not that this has 
 been the only cause of crime ; but, like the use of 
 intoxicating liquors, it has greatly increased public 
 and private immorality, and been the means, in a 
 multitude of cases, of premature death. 
 
 THE MURDERER'S FIRST STEP IN CRIME. 
 
 THERE is at this moment, in the place where I 
 reside, a young man under sentence of death, for 
 murder. He is but little over twenty years of age, 
 and early has he become a most hardened \vretch ; 
 and the crime for which, in a few days, he is to 
 suffer the penalty, was committed under circum- 
 stances of so much coolness and forethought, as to 
 render the murderer an object of peculiar abhor- 
 rence. 
 
 Since his conviction, he has said to a clergyman, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 299 
 
 that if he had been religiously educated in his child- 
 hood, he would not now be in a dungeon. But his 
 father and mother w r ere both ungodly, and this, an 
 only son, was brought up with no fear of God before 
 his eyes. 
 
 He has also said, that /SabbatJi-breaJcing was the 
 first step in his career of crime. With a companion 
 he went off into the country for a ramble on the 
 Lord's day, and thus dishonored and defied the 
 most high God, and slighted the means of grace, 
 and hardened his heart against the influence of 
 truth. 
 
 Of course, he did not go to the Sabbath school, 
 and the restraints that its instruction throws around 
 the young, were never felt by him. He grew up 
 without God, and now, in the morning of his days, 
 and in the midst of his awful sins, he is to be hung, 
 and sent away to the bar of an offended God. 
 
 There are two great lessons to be learned from 
 this fact, both having a bearing on the Sabbath 
 school cause, viz., the value of early instruction, 
 and the danger of Sabbath-breaking. How many 
 facts might we gather from the records of our 
 criminal courts, to impress these truths upon the 
 minds of those who may labor for the young! 
 Some years ago, I caused an examination of the 
 State Prison at Sing Sing, New York, to be made, 
 with reference to the influence of Sabbath schools, 
 and out of nearly a thousand prisoners, not one was 
 found who had been a regular attendant; and 0, 
 
300 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 how many confessed that Sabbath-breaking was 
 their first step in crime ! 
 
 LESSON FOR YOUNG MEN. 
 
 SEVEN young men, in a town in Massachusetts, 
 started in the same business nearly at the same 
 time. Six of them had some property or assistance 
 from their friends, and followed their business seven 
 days in a week. The other had less property than 
 either of the six. He had less assistance from 
 others, and worked in his business only six days 
 in a week. He is now (1845) the only man who 
 has property, and has not failed in his business. 
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 A YOUNG man, in Massachusetts, hoped to in- 
 crease his enjoyment by going into the water for 
 amusement on the Sabbath, instead of going, as all 
 persons should do, to the house of God, to worship 
 him. His friends, however, remonstrated against 
 his profaning that holy day by such amusements, 
 and urged him strongly to attend public worship. 
 He at length consented, but declared he would go 
 into the water after meeting. He did so. But 
 almost immediately after he plunged into the water, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 301 
 
 information came to his friends that he was drowned. 
 They hastened to the fatal spot. The water was 
 shallow, and he was soon found, but apparently 
 dead. All means were used to restore him, but in 
 vain. The vital spark had fled ; and he had gone 
 to render up his account of the deeds done in the 
 body, and all his hopes of an increase of enjoyment 
 by the violation of the Sabbath, were disappointed. 
 
 THE THREE SHIPOWNERS. 
 
 SEVERAL years ago, there lived in one of our sea 
 ports, A., B., and C., all of whom were owners of 
 merchant vessels. Each of these men loaded a 
 ship at the same time, which was to go first to 
 Egypt, and then to the Baltic, to one of the Rus- 
 sian ports. All being loaded, they waited for a 
 favorable wind. On Sabbath morning the wind 
 was fair. The masters of the vessels went to their 
 respective owners for sailing orders. A. and B. 
 immediately had their ships put to sea ; but C. told 
 the master he must remain in port till the next 
 day. Before Monday the wind changed, and kept 
 her in port till the next Sunday, when it again be- 
 came fair. The master again repaired to the house 
 of C. for sailing orders ; to his astonishment, C. re- 
 marked that his vessel must not leave port on the 
 Sabbath. The captain attempted to reason the 
 
 point with him, but in vain. He was determined 
 20 
 
302 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 to honor the Lord's day, and trust in Divine Provi- 
 dence. Sometime during the following week the 
 ship sailed. It arrived in Egypt just as the ships 
 of A. and B. were about to sail for the Baltic. In 
 the mean time, information had circulated through 
 the country that American vessels were in port, 
 wishing to sell their cargoes, and purchase rice. 
 By the time C.'s ship arrived, the market was 
 glutted ; in consequence, his cargo sold at a better 
 price, and his ship was loaded at a much better 
 rate than the others. C.'s vessel then proceeded to 
 the Baltic. Providence operated here as in the 
 Mediterranean. All these ships reached America 
 about the same time; C.'s having cleared by the 
 voyage as much as both the others. Thus C. found 
 by experience that " in keeping God's command 
 ments there is great reward," even in this life. 
 
PAET VI. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF FAITH IN DIVINE PRO- 
 VIDENCE. 
 
 " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall 
 on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all 
 numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." 
 MATTHEW x. 29-?l. 
 
 (303) 
 
Jfaitjj in gibwe 
 
 THE TRAVELLER'S GIFT. 
 
 ABOUT the year 1797, Mr. M. was travelling from 
 a town on the eastern border of Vermont, to another 
 town on the western side of the same state. As he 
 passed over the mountainous part of the country, a 
 heavy shower of rain was seen to be fast approaching. 
 The traveller was then in a forest ; no place of 
 shelter appeared, and he hastened on until he arrived 
 at a small cottage on its border. The rain had 
 just then begun to rush down with great violence. 
 He sprang from his horse, and without ceremony 
 went into the house. Surprised to see no family, 
 but a female with an infant child, he began to 
 apologize for his sudden appearance ; and hoped she 
 would not be alarmed, but permit him to tarry till 
 the rain abated. She replied, that she was glad he 
 happened to come in, for she was always much 
 terrified by thunder. " But why, madam," asked 
 he, " should you be afraid of thunder ? It is the 
 voice of God, and will do no harm to those who 
 love and commit themselves to his care." 
 
 20 (305) 
 
30G REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 After conversing with her awhile on this topic, 
 he inquired if she had any neighbors who were reli- 
 gious. She told him she had neighbors about two 
 miles off; but whether they were religious or not 
 she did not know ; only she had heard that some 
 man was in the habit of coming there to preach 
 once in a fortnight. Her husband went once, but 
 she had never been to their meetings. In regard 
 to everything of a religious kind, she appeared to 
 be profoundly ignorant. 
 
 The rain had now passed over, and the face of 
 nature smiled once more. The pious traveller, 
 about to depart, expressed to the woman his 
 thanks for her hospitality, and his earnest desire 
 for the salvation of her soul. He earnestly besought 
 her to read her Bible daily, and to give good heed 
 to it, as to " a light shining in a dark place." She, 
 with tears in her eyes, confessed that she had no 
 Bible. They had never been able to buy one. 
 " Could you read one, if you had it ?" " Yes, sir, 
 and would be glad to do so." " Poor woman," said 
 he, " I do heartily pity you ; farewell." He was 
 preparing to pursue his journey. But he reflected : 
 " This woman is in very great need of a Bible. Oh, 
 that I had one to give her ! But I have not. As 
 for money to buy one, I have none to spare ; I have 
 no more than will be absolutely necessary for my 
 expenses. I must go : but if I leave this woman 
 without the means to procure the word of God, she 
 may perish for lack of knowledge. What shall I 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE?. 307 
 
 do?" He recollected the Scriptures, " lie that hath 
 pity on the poor, lendeth to the Lord." " Cast thy 
 bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after 
 many days." His heart responded, " I will trust 
 the Lord." He took a dollar from his purse, went 
 bark, and desired the woman to take it, and as soon 
 as possible procure for herself a Bible. She pro- 
 mised to do so, saying, that she knew where one 
 could be obtained. He took his leave, and set off. 
 As there were then but few taverns on the road, he 
 asked for a lodging at a private house, near which 
 he found himself when night overtook him. He 
 had yet a few pieces of change in his pocket ; but 
 as a journey of two more days was before him, he 
 purposed to make his supper on a cold morsel which 
 he had with him. But wlien the family came round 
 their table to take their evening repast, the master 
 of the house very urgently invited the stranger to 
 join with them not only so, but to crave God's 
 blessing on their meal. He now began to feel him- 
 self among friends, and at liberty to speak freely 
 on Divine things. The family appeared gratified 
 in listening to his discourse till a late hour : it was 
 a season of refreshing to their thirsty souls. In the 
 morning, the traveller was urged to tarry till break- 
 last, but declined, the distance he had to travel re- 
 quiring him to set off early. His host would take 
 no compensation, and he departed, giving him many 
 thanks. He travelled on till late in the morning, 
 when, finding no public-house, he stopped again at 
 
308 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 a private one for refreshment. While waiting, he 
 lost no time to recommend Christ and him crucified, 
 to the family. When ready to depart, he offered to 
 pay the mistress of the house, who had waited upon 
 him very kindly, for his repast, and the oats for his 
 horse; but she would receive nothing. Thus he 
 went on, asking for refreshment as often as he 
 needed it, and recommending religion wherever he 
 called ; and always offering, as another traveller 
 would do, to pay his expenses ; but no one would 
 accept his money, although it was not known that 
 his stock was so low, for he told them not, and his 
 appearance was respectable : at home he was a man 
 of wealth. " What," thought he, " does this mean ? 
 I was never treated in this manner on a journey 
 before." The dollar given to the destitute woman 
 recurred to his mind ; and conscience replied, " I 
 have been well paid. It is, indeed, safe lending to 
 the Lord." On the second day after he left the cot- 
 tage in the wilderness he arrived safely at home ; 
 and still had money for the poor, having been at no 
 cost whatever. 
 
 About a year and a half after this, a stranger 
 called at the house of Mr. M. for some refreshment. 
 In the course of conversation, he observed that he 
 lived on the other side of the mountain, near Con- 
 necticut river. Mr. M. inquired whether the peo- 
 ple in that vicinity paid much attention to religion. 
 The traveller replied, " Not much ; but in a town 
 twenty or thirty miles beyond the river, with which 
 
REMARKABLE TilOVIDENCES. 309 
 
 I am acquainted, there has been a powerful revival. 
 The commencement of it was very extraordinary. 
 The first person that was awakened and brought to 
 repentance, was a poor woman, who lived in a very 
 retired place. She told her friends and neighbors 
 that a stranger was driven into her house by a 
 thunderstorm, and talked to her so seriously, that 
 she began, while listening to his discourse, to feel 
 concerned about her soul. The gentleman was 
 much affected when he found that she had no Bible ; 
 and, after he had left the house to go on his jour- 
 ney, returned again, and gave her a dollar to buy 
 one ; and charged her to get it soon, and read it 
 diligently. She did so ; and it had been the means, 
 as she believed, of bringing her from darkness into 
 light ; from a state of stupidity and sin, to delight 
 in the truth and ways of God. The name of this 
 pious man, or the place of his residence, she knew 
 not. But she believed it was the Lord that sent 
 him. At this relation, and the great change which 
 was obvious in the woman, her neighbors wondered 
 much. They were induced to meditate on the 
 goodness, wisdom, and power of God, displayed in 
 this singular event of his providence. They were 
 led to think of the importance of attending more 
 to the Bible themselves ; and were finally awakened 
 to a deep concern for the salvation of their souls. 
 As many as thirty or forty are already hopefully 
 converted, and rejoicing in God their Saviour." 
 Mr. M., who had listened to this relation with a 
 
310 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 heart swelling more and more with wonder, grati- 
 tude, and joy, could refrain no longer; but, with 
 hands and eyes upraised to heaven, exclaimed, 
 " My God, thou hast paid me again !" 
 
 THE WIDOW'S SON AND HIS BIBLE. 
 
 THERE was a pious widow living in the northern 
 part of England, on whom devolved the sole care of 
 a large family, consisting of seven daughters and 
 one son. It was her chief anxiety to train up her 
 children in those virtuous and religious habits, 
 which promote the present happiness and the im- 
 mortal welfare of man. Her efforts were crowned 
 with the best success, so far as the female branches 
 of her family were concerned. But, alas ! her boy 
 proved ungrateful for her care, and became her 
 scourge and her cross. He loved worldly company 
 and pleasure ; till, having impoverished his circum- 
 stances, it became necessary that he should go to 
 sea. When his mother took her leave of him, she 
 gave him a New Testament, inscribed with his 
 name and her own, solemnly and tenderly entreat- 
 ing that he would keep the book, and read it for 
 her sake. He was borne far away upon the bo^oiu 
 of the trackless deep, and year after year elapsed, 
 without tidings of her boy. She occasionally visited 
 parts of the island remote from her own residence, 
 and particularly the metropolis ; and, in whatever 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 211 
 
 company she was cast, she made it a point to 
 inquire for the ship in which her son sailed, if per- 
 chance she might hear any tidings of the beloved 
 object who was always uppermost in her thoughts. 
 On one occasion, she accidentally met, in a party 
 in London, a sea captain, of whom she made her 
 accustomed inquiries. He informed her that he 
 knew the vessel, and that she had been wrecked ; 
 that he also knew a youth of the name of Charles 
 
 ; and added, that he was so depraved and 
 
 profligate a lad, that it were a good thing if he, 
 fold all like him, were at the bottom of the sea. 
 Pierced to her inmost soul, this unhappy mother 
 withdrew from the house, and resolved in future 
 upon strict retirement, in which she might at once 
 indulge and hide her hopeless grief. " I shall go 
 down to the grave," was her language, " mourning 
 for my son." She fixed her residence at one of the 
 pou-ports on the northern coast. After the lapse of 
 some years, a half-naked sailor knocked at her door, 
 to ask relief. The sight of a sailor was always 
 interesting to her, and never failed to awaken 
 recollections and emotions, better imagined tluin 
 described. She heard his tale. He had seen great 
 perils in the deep, had been several times wrecked, 
 but said he had never been so dreadfully desti- 
 tute as he was some years back, when himself and 
 a fine young gentleman were the only individuals, 
 of a whole ship's crew, that were saved. " We were 
 cast upon a desert island, where, after seven days 
 
312 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 and nights, I closed his eyes. Poor fellow, I shall 
 never forget it." And here the tears stole down 
 his weather-beaten cheeks. " He read day and 
 night in a little book, which he said his mother 
 gave him, and which was the only thing he saved. 
 It was his companion every moment ; he wept for 
 his sins, he prayed, he kissed the book ; he talked 
 of nothing but this book and his mother; and at 
 the last he gave it to me, with many thanks for my 
 poor services. 'There, Jack,' said he, 'take this 
 book, and keep it, and read it, and may God bless 
 you it's all I've got.' And then he clasped my 
 hand, and died in peace." " Is all this true ?" said 
 the trembling, astonished mother. " Yes, in ad am, 
 every word of it." And then, drawing from his 
 ragged jacket a little book, much battered and 
 time-worn, he held it up, exclaiming, " And here's 
 the very book, too." She seized the Testament, 
 descried her own handwriting, and beheld the name 
 of her son, coupled with her own, on the cover. 
 She gazed, she read, she wept, she rejoiced. She 
 seemed to hear a voice, which said, " Behold, thy 
 son liveth." Amidst her conflicting emotions, she 
 was ready to exclaim, " Now, Lord, lettest thou 
 thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have 
 seen thy salvation." "Will you part with that 
 book, my honest fellow ?" said the mother, anxious 
 now to possess the precious relic. " No, madam," 
 was the answer, " not for any money, not for all 
 the world. He gave it me with his dying hand. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 313 
 
 I have more than once lost my all since I got it, 
 without losing this treasure, the value of which, I 
 hope, I have learned for myself; and I will never 
 part with it till I part with the breath out of my 
 body." 
 
 THE UNNATURAL MOTHER. 
 
 THE Rev. James Churchill relates, in his " Ana- 
 lecta," that a widowed mother lived to see her 
 youngest son, who was a babe at her husband's 
 death, grow up to manhood in the esteem of all 
 but herself. His temper was mild, and his manners 
 affable; yet it is said that when he had attained 
 the age of twenty, he had never known what the 
 affection of a mother was towards him ; nay, nor 
 had ever received a single kind word from her. 
 Blessed, however, by Providence, he flourished 
 greatly in conducting his late father's business, em- 
 ploying a number of men. He took his mother 
 under his own roof, settled upon her a liberal 
 annuity, and studied to make her happy. It was 
 all in vain. She murmured, reproached him, and, 
 on one occasion, rushed into the manufactory and 
 abused him violently before all the men. The 
 people were shocked at her conduct; and the son 
 withdrew, overwhelmed with grief. But worse 
 events were yet in reserve for him. She immedi- 
 ately commenced legal proceedings against him for 
 
314 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 an assault ! The men offered readily to appear on 
 their master's behalf. Their master thanked them, 
 but chose rather to be accounted guilty, and suffer 
 judgment to go by default, than to appear against 
 his own mother ; and, though he had a fine to pay, 
 this made no alteration in his conduct towards her. 
 About three months after this, she was found dead 
 in her bed, with marks of violence about her body. 
 The coroner's verdict was, wilful murder, against 
 her son. The poor youth was confined some 
 months in prison, among the vilest of characters, to 
 await his trial. His mind was at times distressed 
 to a very great degree ; reflecting that his charac- 
 ter was ruined, his business nearly lost, and his 
 prospect that of ending his days at a gallows : but 
 what harrowed his heart most was, that all this 
 was brought about by his own mother ! Still his 
 confidence in that Providence which watches over 
 all, did not entirely fail him. He could exercise 
 hope; and that hope was sustained not in vain. 
 For as the time for his trial drew near, two of the 
 men who had w T orked in his manufactory were 
 taken up, on the charge of having committed some 
 petty depredations ; and, feeling the torments of a 
 conscience burdened with guilt, these wretched 
 creatures voluntarily confessed to a magistrate, that 
 they could no longer endure the thought that so 
 innocent and so worthy a master should lie under 
 the vile imputation ; that they were the murderers 
 of Mrs. ; and that the idea of getting her 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE. 315 
 
 money and jewels had induced them to strangle her 
 one night while in her sleep ! The prison doors 
 were soon thrown open to the suffering young man ; 
 joy was diffused through the town ; his character 
 shone put with a greater lustre ; God prospered his 
 reviving business ; his family increased ; and his 
 children and grandchildren treated him with the 
 respect and tenderness which he always manifested 
 to his mother. 
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM STARVATION. 
 
 A CLERGYMAN of the state of New York (says 
 the Religious Museum}, through a misapprehension 
 of a leading member, was precipitately deprived of 
 his pulpit, which involved a large family in neces- 
 sity. At supper, the good man had the pain of be- 
 holding the last morsel of bread placed upon the 
 table, without the least means or prospect of a sup- 
 ply for his children's breakfast. His wife, full of 
 grief, with her children, retired to her bed. The 
 minister chose to sit up and employ his dark hours 
 in prayer, and reading the promises of God. Some 
 secret hope of supply pervaded his breast ; but when, 
 whence, or by whom, he knew not. He retired to 
 rest, and in the morning appeared with his family, 
 and performed the duty of prayer. It being the 
 depth of winter, and a little fire upon the hearth, 
 he desired his wife to hang on the kettle, and sprond 
 the cloth upon the table. The kettle boiled the 
 
316 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 children cried for bread the afflicted father, .stand- 
 ing before the fire, felt those emotions of heart 
 unknown to those whose tables are replenished 
 with affluence. 
 
 While in this painful state, some one knocked at 
 the door, entered, and delivered a letter into the 
 minister's hand. When the gentleman was gone, 
 the letter was opened, and to the minister's aston- 
 ishment, it contained a few bank bills with a desire 
 of acceptance. So manifest an interposition of Di- 
 vine goodness could not but be received with grati- 
 tude and joy ; and should be a lesson to others to 
 trust in that Saviour who hath said, " Verily thou 
 shalt be fed ;" Psalm xxxvii. 3. " I never will leave 
 thee nor forsake thee ;" Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 This remarkable .occurrence being communicated 
 'to fbe editor, who having an intimacy with the 
 gentleman said to be the hand that offered the sea- 
 sonable relief, was determined the next time he 
 made him a visit to introduce the subject, and if 
 possible, to know the reason that induced the gene- 
 rous action. The story being told, the gentleman 
 discovered a modest blush, which evinced the ten- 
 derness of his heart. On interrogation, he said, 
 " he had frequently heard that minister ; on a cer- 
 tain morning he was disposed for a walk ; thought 
 in the severity of the winter season a trifle might 
 be of service, as fuel was high : felt a kind of neces- 
 sity to enclose the money in a letter, went to the 
 house, found the family adjusted as was described; 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE?. 317 
 
 delivered the paper and retired ; but knew not the 
 extreme necessity of the minister and his family 
 until this moment. 
 
 GOD BETTER THAN HIS WORD. 
 
 IN a large and populous village, in one of the 
 hundreds, or wapentakes, of Yorkshire, England, 
 lived a poor, but honest and pious man, whose name 
 was Jonathan. He was an afflicted man, and much 
 paralyzed by disease. He had a wife and two or 
 three children, whose chief dependence in life was 
 upon his small earnings. Jonathan was patient, 
 industrious, and persevering in his efforts to pro- 
 vide for himself and for his household, all of whom 
 were content with homely fare. At the time the 
 writer of this account knew him, he might be from 
 forty to fifty years of age. Amongst other occur- 
 rences of his life, he says, I distinctly recollect the 
 following, which he related to me : 
 
 During the time of harvest, while employed in 
 gathering the fruits of the earth, he accidentally 
 slipped from the top of a barley mow, and sprained 
 one or both of his ankles ; in consequence of which 
 he was confined to his room and bed for some 
 weeks. It is unnecessary to state, that, in the 
 mean time, his family must have felt the loss of his 
 weekly labor and income. His wife, on one occa- 
 sion, went up stairs into his room weeping. " What 
 
 27* 
 
318 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 is the matter ?" said Jonathan ; " what is distressing 
 thee ?" " Why, the children are crying for some- 
 thing to eat, and I have nothing to give them," was 
 the affecting reply. " Hast thou faith in God ?" 
 asked Jonathan. " Dost thou believe in his provi- 
 dence, and in his word ? Has he not said, ' Bread 
 shall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure ?' 
 Isaiah, xxxiii. 16. Kneel dow r n," he continued, 
 f( at the bedside, and pray to God. Tell him how 
 thy children are circumstanced ; that they have no 
 bread ; that thou hast nothing w T herewith to buy 
 them any ; and I will also pray. Who can tell 
 what God may do ? He heareth prayer." 
 
 Jonathan and his wife prayed earnestly together ; 
 they pleaded the promises of God, and waited the 
 result. Soon after, a person came to the door with 
 a loaf of bread. She came from a house in the 
 immediate neighborhood of Jonathan, the occupier 
 of which was one of several branches of a family 
 who were proprietors of very extensive iron works, 
 carried on in the village where Jonathan lived. 
 No sooner did the good woman receive the loaf of 
 bread, than she ran to Jonathan to tell him how 
 God had answered their prayer. " Now," said 
 Jonathan, "before anything else be done, kneel 
 down at the bedside, and return thanks to God for 
 having heard our prayer." She did so : they praised 
 his name together ; and then ate their food with 
 gladness and singleness of heart. Not many hours 
 elapsed before another kind interposition of Provi- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 319 
 
 dence presented itself. A second visitor brought 
 them a joint of meat. When this was told Jona- 
 than, he replied to his wife, " Ay ! See ! God is 
 even better than his word ! He promised bread, 
 and he sends flesh in addition. Kneel clown, and 
 thank him again." 
 
 THE PIOUS FARMER PROTECTED. 
 
 SOON after the surrender of Copenhagen to the 
 English, in the year 1807, detachments of soldiers 
 were, for a time, stationed in the surrounding vil- 
 lages. It happened one day that three soldiers, 
 belonging to a Highland regiment, were sent to 
 forage among the neighboring farm-houses. They 
 went to several, but found them stripped and de- 
 serted. At length they came to a large garden, or 
 orchard, full of apple trees, bending under the weight 
 of fruit. They entered by a gate, and followed a 
 path which brought them to a neat farm-house. 
 Everything without bespoke quietness and security; 
 but as they entered by the front door, the mistress 
 of the house and her children ran screaming out by 
 the back. The interior of the house presented an 
 appearance of order and comfort superior to what 
 might be expected from people in that station, and 
 from the habits of the country. A watch hung by 
 the side of the fireplace, and a neat book-case, well 
 filled, attracted the attention of the elder soldier. 
 
320 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 He took down a book : it was written in a language 
 unknown to him, but the name of Jesus Christ was 
 legible on every page. At this moment, the master 
 of the house entered by the door through which his 
 wife and children had just fled. 
 
 One of the soldiers, by threatening signs, de- 
 manded provisions : the man stood firm and un- 
 daunted, but shook his head. The soldier who 
 held the book approached him, and pointing to the 
 name of Jesus Christ, laid his hand upon his heart, 
 and looked up to heaven. Instantly the farmer 
 grasped his hand, shook it vehemently, and then 
 ran out of the room. He soon returned with his 
 wife and children laden with milk, eggs, bacon, &c., 
 which were freely tendered ; and w r hen money was 
 offered in return,, it was at first refused. But as 
 two of the soldiers were pious men, they, much to 
 the chagrin of their companion, insisted upon pay- 
 ing for all they received. When taking leave, the 
 pious soldiers intimated to the farmer that it would 
 be well for him to secrete his watch : but, by the 
 most significant signs, he gave them to understand 
 that he feared no evil, for his trust was in God ; 
 and that though his neighbors, on the right hand 
 and on the left, had fled from their habitations, and 
 by foraging parties had lost what they could not 
 remove, not a hair of his head had been injured, 
 nor had he even lost an apple from his trees. 
 
 " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about 
 them that fear him, and delivereth them." 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 321 
 
 A MINISTER'S FAITH IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 ABOUT the year 1839, says Rev. "W. H. Spencer, 
 I attended the Bridgewater Association in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and was called upon to preach a discourse on 
 Foreign Missions. I felt deeply, and the sympathies 
 of the audience became so enlisted in behalf of the 
 object that an unusually large contribution was 
 taken up. 
 
 In the afternoon a warm and excellent discourse 
 was preached by another minister on Home Mis- 
 sions. During his sermon the intrinsic importance 
 of the subject forced itself upon my mind, and led 
 me to agitate the question how much it w r ould be 
 possible to give to the cause myself. I was indeed 
 in a great strait between charity and necessity. I 
 felt desirous to contribute; but then I was on a 
 journey, and I had given so much in the morning, 
 that I really feared I had no more money than 
 would bear my expenses. But when, at the conclu- 
 sion of the discourse, the speaker said he could 
 hardly expect a large collection after the amount 
 they had given in the morning, my mind was de- 
 cided ; and I arose and stated my convictions of the 
 importance of Home Missions, and for the sake of 
 example, I informed the assembly what were my 
 circumstances, but that I had made up my mind to 
 give a dollar and trust in God to provide. And the 
 
 result was, that as large a contribution was obtained 
 21 
 
322 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 as in the morning. At the close of the Association 
 I proceeded on my journey ; and the next day 
 called on a friend and paid him some forty dollars, 
 which I had collected for him. I was now about 
 140 miles from home, with scarce a dollar in my 
 pocket; and how my expenses would be met, I 
 could not imagine. But judge my surprise, when 
 on presenting the money to my friend he took a 
 hundred dollars, and adding it to the forty, placed 
 the whole amount in my hand, saying, lie would 
 make me a present of it ! I had, to be sure, rendered 
 him some small services of a similar nature before, 
 but I considered him under no obligations, and was 
 expecting nothing of the kind ! Gratitude and joy 
 swelled my bosom ; my mind at once recurred to 
 my contribution the day previous, and I felt con- 
 vinced that I had seen a literal fulfilment of the 
 promise, " Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good 
 measure pressed down and running over, shall men 
 give into your bosom." 
 
 THE POOR REMEMBERED. 
 
 A VENERABLE clergyman in the west of England, 
 of the name of Thompson, had annually for many 
 years made it his custom to distribute the overplus 
 of his farm among the poor of his parish, after 
 having supplied the wants of his own household. 
 
 One year, however, he was compelled to depart 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 323 
 
 from this plan. His benevolence hud led him to 
 engage to give thirty pounds towards the erection 
 of a chapel, in a town whose inhabitants needed 
 more church room. He was compelled, instead of 
 giving his corn to the poor, to sell as much of it as 
 would raise the sum promised. He regretted the 
 circumstance, but it was unavoidable. 
 
 Having thus procured the money, he left his 
 home to be the bearer of his own benefaction. On 
 the road he overtook a young lady, mounted on a 
 single horse like himself, whom he accosted with 
 frankness and kindness. They travelled together 
 over a dow r n, and found they were going to the 
 same place. His conversation and manner won 
 much on the respect of the young lady, who listened 
 with attention to his serious and holy conversation. 
 She learned his name, and his residence, and, when 
 they were about to part, was invited by the old 
 clergyman to call upon him at his friend's house in 
 the town. 
 
 In the course of the evening, the young lady re- 
 lated with great pleasure, at her friend's where she 
 was on a visit, the very gratifying journey she had 
 travelled, with a clergyman of the name of Thomp- 
 son. 
 
 " Thompson !" exclaimed the lady of the house ; 
 " I wish it was the Mr. Thompson for whom w r e have 
 for many years been inquiring in vain. I have 
 money, tied up in a bag by my late husband, due 
 to a person of that name, who desired to leave it 
 
324 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 till called for. But I suppose he is dead, and his 
 executor, whoever he be, knows nothing of it." It 
 was proposed that the old clergyman should be 
 asked if this were any relation of his. He was 
 sent for, came, and it soon appeared, that the Mr. 
 Thompson, to whom the money was so long due, 
 was his own brother, who had been dead several 
 years, and to whose effects he was executor and re- 
 siduary legatee. The money was paid him ; he fell 
 on his knees, blessed God, who had thus interposed 
 on behalf of his poor people, hastened to his friend 
 to tell him the joyful news, and as he entered his 
 house exclaimed, " Praise God, tell it in Gath, pub- 
 lish it in Askelon, that our God is a faithful God." 
 
 THE WIDOW'S TRUST IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 "ONE evening," said a pious widow lady, "we 
 were eating our supper we had nothing but bread, 
 and of that not sufficient to satisfy our hunger. 
 ' Mother,' said little John, when he was finishing 
 his last morsel, ' what shall we do to-morrow morn- 
 ing ? there is no bread in the house ; we shall have 
 no breakfast.' I answered him, ' Do not fear, John : 
 God has not forsaken us ; let us pray to him, and 
 be assured he will remember us.' I made him 
 kneel down by my side, and prayed to God that 
 he would, in his goodness, have pity upon us, and 
 give us bread for the morrow. I then put my 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 325 
 
 child to bed, telling him to go to sleep quietly, and 
 to depend upon his God, who never forgot those 
 who put their trust in him. I myself went to bed, 
 firmly believing that God had heard my prayer, 
 and, commending myself to the protection of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, I slept comfortably till four in 
 the morning, when John woke me ; ' Mother,' said 
 he, ' is the bread come ?' Poor little fellow ! he 
 had but a scanty supper, and was very hungry. 
 * No,' I answered, ' it is not yet come, but be quiet 
 and go to sleep again ; it will come.' We both 
 went to sleep ; I was awakened a little before six 
 in the morning, by some one rapping at my window. 
 1 Dame Burtlet,' said a woman, ' you must get up 
 immediately ; Mrs. Martin's dairymaid is taken 
 very ill, and you must come and milk her cows.' 
 Here then was bread for us. 
 
 " I went to Mrs. Martin's, and milked her cows, 
 and afterward sat down in the kitchen to break- 
 fast ; but I thought of my child, and could not eat. 
 Mrs. Martin observing me, said, ' You do not eat 
 your breakfast, Dame Bartlet.' I thanked her, and 
 told her I had left a little boy at home in bed, very 
 hungry; if she would permit me, I should prefer 
 carrying my breakfast home to him. 'Eat your 
 breakfast now,' was the kind reply ; ' and you may 
 carry some home to your little boy besides.' Mrs. 
 Martin then gave me a basket of provisions, suffi- 
 cient for myself and child for several days. As I 
 returned home, I could not but thank my God, and 
 
 28 
 
326 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 feel grateful to him, and my kind benefactress. I 
 rejoiced my little boy's heart by the sight of his 
 breakfast. He got up directly, eager to partake of 
 Mrs. Martin's kindness; after a good breakfast, I 
 made him kneel down again by my side, whilst I 
 returned thanks to our gracious God, who had 
 heard our prayers the evening before., and who had 
 given us a kind benefactress. When we rose, I 
 took him in my lap, and said to him, ' Now, John, 
 I hope what has happened to us will be remem- 
 bered through your whole life. Last evening we 
 had eaten all our bread ; we had none left for this 
 morning ; but we prayed to God that, through his 
 mercy, and for the sake of Jesus Christ, he would 
 give us our daily bread. God has heard us, and 
 has given us bread ; may this teach you through 
 life to put your trust in your Heavenly Father. I 
 most earnestly pray God that you may never for- 
 get it.' ' " And, madam," continued the good W T O- 
 man, " I have never wanted bread since. I am 
 blessed in my son, who is now a man. He is duti- 
 ful and good to me, and has never forgotten the 
 exhortation I then gave him to trust in God." 
 
 And who will dare say that this poor, humble 
 woman, and the interests of her little household, 
 were objects too insignificant for the care and atten- 
 tion of Almighty God ? Is there a child of His, or 
 any circumstance which bears in the smallest degree 
 upon the well-being of His children, too insignificant 
 for His attention ? " Cast thy care upon the Lord 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 327 
 
 for IIo careth for thee." Do such promises as this 
 belong to the kings and princes and great ones only 
 of the earth ? Nay, verily, God has pledged the 
 honor of His name, and the sanctity of His cha- 
 racter, to comfort, sustain, and save every one, high 
 or low, rich or poor, that trusteth in Him. 
 
 TWO WOMEN PRAYING. 
 
 IN the county of A. there lived, remote from a 
 village, two pious females, who had been recently 
 united with husbands opposed to the gospel of 
 Christ. These young women beheld, with the 
 keenest sensation, the dear partners of their lives 
 pursuing a path which must soon end in everlast- 
 ing death. Each had often carried her troubles 
 and sorrows to the throne of grace, and laid them 
 before One who knew the anxiety of her heart, and 
 each had often shed the silent tear. As a great 
 intimacy had existed between those young females, 
 they jointly agreed to spend one hour daily in 
 praying for their husbands. They continued this 
 prayer for seven years without any visible effect. 
 At length, with hearts full of anguish, they met to 
 mingle together their sorrows. Their inquiry was, 
 shall we no longer pray for our dear partners 
 must they, Oh, must they be for ever miserable ? 
 They concluded that although their prayers had 
 not been answered, yet they would persevere even 
 
328 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 unto the end of life, in the course they had adopted ; 
 and if their husbands would go down to destruction, 
 they should go loaded with their prayers. They 
 moreover resolved to renew their strength, and to 
 pray more earnestly than ever. Thus they con- 
 tinued for three years longer. About this time one 
 of them was awakened in the night by the mental 
 distress of her husband. Sleep had departed from 
 his eyes ; distress and anguish had seized his soul, 
 for the prayers of these females had come up in 
 remembrance before the throne of God; and the 
 man who could once ridicule the tender anxieties 
 of a distressed wife, was now upon his knees in the 
 greatest agony. Now, with earnestness, he entreated 
 her to pray for him ; for, said he, the day of grace 
 is almost over, and the door of mercy is ready to 
 be closed against me for ever. His distress, ant! 
 the hope of the wife, continued to increase. As 
 soon the day dawned she went with an overflowing 
 heart to tell her praying companion, that God was 
 about to answer their petitions. But great was her 
 surprise, to meet her friend coming on. the same 
 errand, to tell her what God was doing for her own 
 husband. 
 
 Thus, after ten years' perseverance in calling 
 mightily upon God, these Christian females had 
 the unspeakable satisfaction of seeing both their 
 husbands brought on the same day to realize their 
 undone condition, and about the same time to 
 accept, as it is hoped, the offers of mercy. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 329 
 
 RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL. 
 
 F was the son of a devoted New England 
 
 minister, and the child of many prayers. His mind 
 was carefully stored with religious knowledge, and 
 disciplined in the best schools of his native city. 
 Evil companionships, however, early led him astray 
 from the paths of virtue. A vicious habit of novel- 
 reading alienated him from the open fountains of 
 wisdom, and drew him away from parental influ- 
 ence and restraint. 
 
 At length his restless and adventurous spirit 
 sought a sphere of unchecked indulgence, and he 
 went to the Pacific coast. There he found his asso- 
 ciates among the thoughtless sons of fortune, and 
 gave himself up to the life of a homeless adven- 
 turer. Prosperity and adversity served alike to 
 harden his heart. Early convictions were stifled ; 
 the house of God neglected. 
 
 But there were bands in his wickedness stronger 
 than those of Satan. The anxious and aching 
 hearts of his parents were turned to God. Unceas- 
 ing, believing prayer ascended in his behalf. His 
 father, especially, cherished the unwavering convic- 
 tion that his wayward son, after running the prodi- 
 gal's career of vice and folly, would trace the prodi- 
 gal's steps of penitence and salvation. Year after 
 year he clung to the divine promises, and pleaded 
 28* 
 
330 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 them earnestly at the mercy seat. He felt that he 
 could not be denied. 
 
 A few days ago the hearts of father, mother, and 
 friends were gladdened by the intelligence that the 
 lost was found that the prodigal had returned. 
 He had visited a remote South American port, and 
 on his return voyage he was the only cabin passen- 
 ger. The captain had depended on him to furnish 
 a supply of cards, novels, and other sources of time- 
 killing, soul-destroying amusements ; and he, in turn, 
 knowing the disposition of the captain, had looked 
 to him for an adequate supply. The few means of 
 diversion were soon exhausted, and after being ten 
 days at sea the young man found nothing to do but 
 think. His past life came up in review before him, 
 and conscience revived. Early teachings whispered 
 around him. An injured father's persevering faith, 
 and a weeping mother's counsels, haunted his soli- 
 tary berth. The emptiness of worldly pleasures 
 and the vanity of earthly plans led him to reflect 
 on the surer joys and riches of the Christian. He 
 turned to the word of God and read his condemna- 
 tion. His guilt rose mountain-high, as the Holy 
 Spirit unfolded the immaculate law. He fell upon 
 his knees and cried for pardon. 
 
 By one of those providences which call forth the 
 adoration of the devout, there were in the cabin of 
 this ship copies of Nelson's Cause and Cure of Infi- 
 delity, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, James's 
 Anxious Inquirer, and Abbott's Young Christian 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 331 
 
 the first to dispel his sceptical doubts, the second to 
 fasten the arrow of conviction in his heart, the third 
 to instruct his inquiring soul, and the last to present 
 encouragements and allurements to the Christian 
 life. He read them all prayerfully. Before the 
 vessel landed at San Francisco, the great question 
 was settled, we hope, for ever. He found peace in 
 believing, and entered at once on the new life of 
 Christian discipleship. He made his way imme- 
 diately to the sanctuary, engaged in Sabbath school 
 instruction, sought the company of ministers and 
 godly men abandoning his former companions in 
 sin, or visiting them only to labor for their salva- 
 tion ; and his letters to his parents breathed the 
 spirit of penitence and consecration, coupled with 
 the most touching expressions of gratitude and 
 affection. The " fatted calf" would be a small tes- 
 timony of the joy that fills the house long saddened 
 by the wandering prodigal, but now gladdened by 
 his return. 
 
 Christian parents, and especially those whose 
 sons are far away from home and from God, will 
 find encouragement to their faith in this narrative. 
 There are few cases apparently more hopeless of 
 reformation and conversion than the one before us. 
 Pride kept him from coming home ; an evil con- 
 science restrained him from places and companion- 
 ships likely to benefit him : only a vigorous faith 
 could anticipate the possibility of a change. Yet 
 grace triumphed ; God's truth is vindicated ; ever- 
 
332 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 lasting promises have their fulfilment ; the prodigal 
 returns. Trust that grace ; cling to those promises : 
 your prodigal son may yet be saved. 
 
 KNOLLYS' DELIVERANCE. 
 
 THE Rev. Hanserd Knollys suffered much perse- 
 cution for his conscientious attachment to the truth. 
 In the early part of his ministry, he emigrated from 
 England to America, the common asylum at that 
 time, for all who wished to enjoy liberty of con- 
 science. There he sojourned four years, but re- 
 turned in 1641, at the earnest request of an aged 
 father. On his arrival in England he was reduced 
 to great straits, but experienced the goodness of 
 Providence in a peculiar manner. The following 
 particulars are extracted from his own account: 
 " I was still poor and sojourned in a lodging till I 
 had but sixpence left, and knew not how to provide 
 for my wife and child. Having prayed to God and 
 encouraged my wife to trust in him, and to remem- 
 ber former experiences, and especially that word of 
 promise, ; I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,' 
 I paid for my lodging and went out, not knowing 
 whither God's good hand would lead me to receive 
 something towards my present subsistence. About 
 seven or eight doors from my lodgings, a woman 
 met me in the street, and told me she came to seek 
 me, and her husband had sent her to tell me that 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 333 
 
 there was a lodging provided and prepared in his 
 house by some Christian friends for me and my 
 wife. I told her my present condition, and wnit 
 along with her to the house. There she gave me 
 twenty shillings which Dr. Bastock, a late sufferer, 
 had given her for me, and some linen for my wife, 
 which I received, and told her husband I would 
 fetch my wife and child and lodge there. I returned 
 with great joy, and my wife was greatly affected 
 with this seasonable and suitable supply. After 
 we had returned praises to God, we went to our 
 new lodgings, where we found all things necessary 
 provided for us, and all charges paid for fifteen 
 weeks." When the time was expired, he under- 
 took a school, and by the blessing of God was suc- 
 cessful in bringing up a large family creditably, and 
 though several times imprisoned for religion, con- 
 tinued the laborious and esteemed pastor of a poor 
 church, for fifty years, till he went to his reward, 
 September 19, 1691, aged ninety-two years. 
 
 ERSKINE'S DELIVERANCES. 
 
 THE Rev. Henry Erskine was often in great straits 
 and difficulties. Once when he and his family had 
 supped at night, there remained neither bread, meal, 
 flesh, nor money, in the house. In the morning 
 the young children cried for their breakfast, and 
 their father endeavored to divert them, and did 
 
334 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 what he could at the same time to encourage him- 
 self and wife to depend upon that Providence that 
 hears the young ravens when they cry. ' While 
 thus engaged, a countryman knocked hard at the 
 door, and called for some one to help him off with 
 his load. Being asked whence he came, and what 
 he would have, he told them he came from Lady 
 Reburn with some provisions for Mr. Erskine. 
 They told him he must be mistaken, and that it 
 was more likely to be for another Mr. Erskine in 
 the same town. He replied, no, he knew what he 
 said, he was sent to Mr. Henry Erskine, and cried, 
 " Come, help me off with my load, or else I will 
 throw it down at the door." Whereupon they took 
 the sack from him, and on opening it, found it well 
 stored with fish and meat. 
 
 At another time, being at Edinburgh, he was so 
 reduced that he had but three half-pence in his 
 pocket. When he was walking about the streets, 
 not knowing what course to steer, one came to him 
 in a countryman's habit, presented him with a letter 
 in which were enclosed several Scotch ducatoons, 
 with these words written, " Sir, receive this from a 
 sympathizing friend. Farewell." Mr. Erskine could 
 never find out whence the money came. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE?. 335 
 
 THE AGED CHRISTIAN'S ADVICE TO A YOUNG 
 MINISTER. 
 
 I WELL remember, said an eminent minister in 
 North Wales, that when the Spirit of God first con- 
 vinced me of my sin and danger, and of the many 
 difficulties and enemies I must encounter, if ever I 
 intended reaching heaven, I was often to the last 
 degree in fear; the prospect of the many strong 
 temptations and allurements, to which my youth- 
 ful years would unavoidably expose me, greatly dis- 
 couraged me. I often used to tell an aged soldier 
 of Christ, the first and only Christian friend I had 
 any acquaintance with for several years, that I 
 wished I had borne the burden and heat of the 
 day like him. His usual reply was, that so long 
 as I feared, and was humbly dependent upon God, 
 I should never fall, but certainly prevail. I have 
 found it so. 0, blessed be the Lord, that I can 
 now raise up my Ebenezer, and say, " Hitherto 
 hath the Lord helped me." 
 
 STILLING'S TRUST IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 IN youth, Stilling was extremely poor, destitute 
 of the common comforts and necessaries of life. 
 After a long season of anxiety and prayer, he felt 
 satisfied that it was the will of God that he should 
 
33G REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 go to a university., and prepare himself for the 
 medical profession. lie did not at first make 
 choice of a university, but waited for an intimation 
 from his Heavenly Father; for as he intended to 
 study simply 'from, faith, he would not allow his 
 own will in anything. Three weeks after he had 
 come to this determination, a friend asked him 
 whither he intended to go. He replied, he did not 
 know. "0," said she, "our neighbor, Mr. T., is 
 going to Strasburg, to spend the winter there ; go 
 with him." 
 
 This touched Stilling's heart; he felt that this 
 was the intimation he had waited for. Meanwhile, 
 Mr. T. entered the room, and was heartily pleased 
 with the proposition. The whole of his welfare 
 now depended on his becoming a physician ; and 
 for this a thousand dollars at least were requisite, 
 of which he could not tell in the whole world where 
 to raise a hundred. He nevertheless fixed his con- 
 fidence firmly on God, and reasoned as follows : 
 
 " God begins nothing without terminating it glo- 
 riously. Now, it is most certainly true, that he 
 alone has ordered my present circumstances, entirely 
 without my co-operation. Consequently, it is also 
 most certainly true, that he will accomplish every- 
 thing regarding me in a manner worthy of himself." 
 
 He smilingly said to his friends, who were as 
 poor as himself, " I wonder from what quarter my 
 Heavenly Father will provide me with money?" 
 When they expressed anxiety, he said, " Believe 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 337 
 
 assuredly that he who was able to feed a thousand 
 people with a little bread lives still, and to him I 
 commend myself. He will certainly find out means. 
 Do not be anxious, the Lord will provide." 
 
 Forty-six dollars was all that he could raise for 
 his journey. He met unavoidable delay on the 
 way ; and while at Frankfort, three days' ride from 
 Strusburg, he had but a single dollar left. He said 
 nothing of it to any one, but waited for the assist- 
 ance of his Heavenly Father. As he was walking 
 the streets, and praying inwardly to God, he met 
 Mr. L., a merchant from the place of his residence, 
 who says to him, " Stilling, what brought you 
 here?" 
 
 " I am going to Strasburg, to study medicine." 
 
 " Where do you get your money to study with ?" 
 
 " I have a rich Father in heaven." 
 
 Mr. L. looked steadily at him, and inquired, 
 " How much money have you on hand ?" 
 
 " One dollar," said Stilling. 
 
 " So," said Mr. L. Well, I'm one of your Fa- 
 ther's stewards ;" and handed him thirty-three dol- 
 lars. 
 
 Stilling felt warm tears in his eyes; says he, 
 " I am now rich enough ; I want no more." 
 
 This first trial made him so courageous, that he 
 no longer doubted that God would help him through 
 everything. 
 
 He had been but a short time in Strasburg, when 
 his thirty-three dollars had again been reduced to 
 
338 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 one, on which account he began again to pray very 
 earnestly. Just at this time, one morning, his room- 
 mate, Mr. T., says to him, " Stilling, I believe you 
 did not bring much money with you ;" and offered 
 him thirty dollars in gold, which he gladly accepted, 
 as an answer to his prayers. 
 
 In a few months after this, the time arrived when 
 he must pay the lecturer's fee, or have his name 
 struck from the list of students. The money was 
 to be paid by six o'clock on Thursday evening. 
 Thursday morning came, and he had no money, 
 and no means of 'getting any. The day was spent 
 in prayer. Five o'clock came, and 3 at there was 
 no money. His faith began to wav3r; he broke 
 out into a perspiration ; his face was wet with tears. 
 Some one knocked at the door. " Come in," said 
 he It was Mr. R., the gentleman of whom he had 
 rented the room. 
 
 " I called," said Mr. R., "to see how you liked 
 your room ?" 
 
 "Thank you," said Stilling, "I like it very 
 much." 
 
 Says Mr. R., " I thought I would ask you another 
 question ; have you brought any money with you ?" 
 
 Stilling says he now felt like Habakkuk when the 
 angel took him by the hair of the head to carry 
 him to Bayblon. He answered, " No ; I have no 
 money." 
 
 Mr. R. looked at him with surprise, and at length 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 339 
 
 said, " I see how it is ; God has sent me to help 
 
 you." 
 
 He immediately left the room and soon returned 
 with forty dollars in gold. Stilling says he then 
 felt like Daniel in the lion's den when Habakkuk 
 brought him food. He threw himself on the floor 
 and thanked God with tears. He then went to the 
 college, and paid his fee as well as the best. 
 
 THE POOR PHYSICIAN. 
 
 A YEAR last November, says a missionary agent, 
 
 I preached a missionary sermon in the town of , 
 
 and took a subscription. A physician subscribed and 
 paid five dollars. A gentleman standing by told me 
 that the five dollars was all he had, or was worth : 
 that he had lost his property and paid up his debts 
 and moved into town to commence practice, with 
 no other resources than that five dollar bill. He 
 and his wife were obliged to board out, as he was 
 not able to keep house. 
 
 I resolved at once that I would keep watch of 
 that man, and see what the Lord would do with 
 him. 
 
 About a year after this interview, I visited the 
 place again, and put up with this physician. I 
 found him keeping house in good style. In con- 
 versation with him, I brought up the duty of 
 
340 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Christian benevolence, and spoke of God's faithful- 
 ness to fulfil his promises to the liberal. 
 
 He told me he knew a physician, who, the last 
 year, gave away the last five dollars he had in the 
 world, resolving to trust the Lord for the future. 
 During the next summer, while the cholera raged 
 in the country, by a series of events guided, as he 
 believed, by the providence of God, most of the 
 practice was thrown into the hands of this physi- 
 cian, and he had taken more than $2500. 
 
 I told him I knew him to be the man referred to, 
 and that I had been keeping watch to see what the 
 Lord would do with him. 
 
 Oh, sir, if we would, all of us, only trust in the 
 Lord, and more abundantly give of our substance 
 to aid in spreading the gospel, and throw open our 
 eyes to read the providence, as well as word of 
 God, we might not only speedily supply the whole 
 world with Bibles, but our hearts would overflow 
 with constant gratitude in view of the evident 
 interpositions of Providence in our behalf. 
 
 THE BROKEN VOW. 
 
 SOME years ago, a poor lad came to London, in 
 search of a situation as errand-boy ; he made many 
 unsuccessful applications, and was on the eve of 
 returning to his parents, when a gentleman, being 
 prepossessed by his appearance, took him into his 
 
REMARKABLE I'llOVIDENCES. 341 
 
 employment, and after a few months, bound him 
 apprentice. He so conducted himself during his 
 apprenticeship, as to gain the esteem of every one 
 who knew him ; and after he had served his time, 
 his master advanced a capital for him to commence 
 business. He retired to his closet with a heart 
 glowing with gratitude to his Maker for his good- 
 ness, and there solemnly vowed that he would 
 devote a tenth part of his annual income to the 
 service of God. The first year his donation 
 amounted to ten pounds, which he gave cheerfully, 
 and continued to do so till it amounted to 500. 
 He then thought that was a great deal of money to 
 give, and that he need not be so particular as to 
 the exact amount : that year he lost a ship and 
 cargo, to the value of 15,000, by a storm ! This 
 caused him to repent, and he again commenced his 
 contributions with a resolution never to retract ; he 
 was more successful every year, and at length re- 
 tired. He then devoted a tenth part of his annual 
 income for several years, till he became acquainted 
 with a party of worldly men, who by degrees drew 
 him aside from God : he discontinued his donations, 
 made large speculations, lost everything, and be- 
 came almost as poor as when he first arrived in 
 London as an errand-boy. " There is," saith Solo- 
 mon, "that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and 
 there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it 
 tendeth to poverty." 
 
 29* 
 
342 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 "WILL YOU TRUST MY FATHER?" 
 
 AN aged Christian, who had long been an invalid, 
 and was dependent on Christian charity for her 
 support, on sending for a new physician who had 
 just come into the place, and united with the same 
 church of which she was a member, said to him, 
 " Doctor, I wish to put myself under your care, but 
 I cannot do it unless you will trust my Father" 
 " Well, ma'am," replied the physician, " I believe 
 your Father is rich; I may safely trust Him!' 
 
 THE WIDOW PROSNI. 
 
 DURING the siege of the Protestant city of Ro- 
 chelle, under Louis XIII. and Cardinal Richelieu, 
 the inhabitants endured great miseries before they 
 yielded to an honorable capitulation, the terms of 
 which were, however, far from being kept by their 
 enemies. One of the many touching incidents of 
 the siege is recorded by Meri vault. " He gives the 
 names of the parties chiefly concerned," says Smed- 
 ley ; " and the narrative is marked by an air of 
 truth, which renders its authenticity undoubted. 
 During the height of calamity among the Rochel- 
 lois, some charitable individuals, who had pre- 
 viously formed secret magazines, relieved their 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 343 
 
 starving brethren without blazoning their good 
 deed. The relict of a merchant, named Prosni, 
 who was left in charge of four orphan children, had 
 liberally distributed her stores, while anything re- 
 mained, among her less fortunate neighbors ; and, 
 whenever she was reproached with profusion and 
 want of foresight by a rich sister-in-law of less be- 
 nevolent temper, she was in the habit of replying, 
 * The Lord will provide for us.' At length, when 
 her stock of food was utterly exhausted, and she 
 was spurned with taunts from the door of her rela- 
 tive, she returned home destitute, broken-hearted, 
 and prepared to die, together with her children. 
 But it seemed as if the mercies once displayed at 
 Zarephath were again to be manifested ; and that 
 there was still a barrel and a cruse in reserve for 
 the widow, who, humbly confident in the bounty 
 of heaven, had shared her last morsel with the 
 supplicant in affliction. Her little ones met her at 
 the threshold with cries of joy. During her short 
 absence, a stranger, visiting the house, had deposited 
 in it a sack of flour ; and the single bushel which 
 it contained was so husbanded as to preserve their 
 lives till the close of the siege. Their unknown 
 benefactor was never revealed ; but the pious mo- 
 ther was able to reply to her unbelieving kinswo- 
 man, ' The Lord hath provided for us.' >: 
 
344 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 THE SABBATH-KEEPING ESQUIMAUX. 
 
 IN December, says Mr. Barsoe, the missionary, a 
 pleasing circumstance occurred ; it showed the reve- 
 rence of our Esquimaux for the Lord's day. Owing 
 to the state of the weather during the preceding 
 month, but few seals had been taken ; and Satur- 
 day, the second of December, was the first day on 
 which the state of the ice permitted our people to 
 go out on the seal-hunt. Considering the great 
 uncertainty which ever attends this occupation, the 
 inducement to pursue it on the following day, in 
 the hope of securing a better provision for their 
 families, was anything but slight. We were, there- 
 fore, not a little pleased to learn that a meeting of 
 fathers of families had been convened on the Satur- 
 day evening, and that it had been resolved that 
 they would none of them go out on the ensuing 
 day of the Lord, but would spend it in a manner 
 becoming the disciples of Christ, who were invited 
 thankfully to commemorate his coming into the 
 world to save sinners. They expressed their belief 
 that their Heavenly Father was able to grant them 
 on Monday, a sufficiency for the supply of their 
 wants. The meeting they closed with the singing 
 of some verses, during which they felt the presence 
 and peace of their Lord and Saviour. Their confi- 
 dence in God was not put to shame. On Monday, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 345 
 
 the weather proved so favorable, that they captured 
 no fewer than one hundred seals ; but in the course 
 of the following night the frost became so intense 
 as to close all the bays and inlets, and to preclude 
 any further seal-catching. 
 
 THE HAPPY MEETING. 
 
 SOME years ago, a pious widow in America, who 
 was reduced to great poverty, had just placed the 
 last smoked herring on her table, to supply her 
 hunger and that of her children, when a rap was 
 heard at the door, and a stranger solicited a lodg- 
 ing and a morsel of food, saying, that he had not 
 tasted bread for twenty-four hours. The widow 
 did not hesitate, but offered a share to the stranger, 
 snving, " We shall not be forsaken, or suffer deeper 
 for an act of charity." 
 
 The traveller drew near to the table ; but when 
 he saw the scanty fare, filled with astonishment he 
 said, " And is this all your store ? And do you 
 offer a share to one you do not know? Then I 
 never saw charity before ! But, madam, do you not 
 wrong your children, by giving a part of your last 
 morsel to a stranger ?" " Ah !" said the widow, 
 weeping, " I have a boy, a darling son, somewhere 
 on the face of the wide world, unless Heaven has 
 taken him away ; and I only act towards you as I 
 would that others should act towards him. God, 
 
346 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 who sent manna from heaven, can provide for us 
 as he did for Israel ; and how should I this night 
 offend him, if my son should be a wanderer, desti- 
 tute as you, and he should have provided for him 
 a home, even as poor as this, were I to turn you 
 unrelieved away !" 
 
 The widow stopped, and the stranger, springing 
 from his seat, clasped her in his arms : " God, in- 
 deed, has provided just such a home for your wan- 
 dering son, and has given him wealth to reward 
 the goodness of his benefactress. My mother ! 0, 
 my mother !" 
 
 It was, indeed, her long-lost son, returned from 
 India. He had chosen this way to surprise his 
 family, and certainly not very wisely ; but never 
 was surprise more complete, or more joyful. He 
 was able to make the family comfortable, which he 
 immediately did : the mother living for some years 
 longer, in the enjoyment of plenty. 
 
 THE WIDOW'S COMFORT. 
 
 THE writer would beg leave to present the fol- 
 lowing brief statement of facts, which exhibit, in 
 a striking manner, the effects which the lively re- 
 ception of the glorious and all-important truths of 
 religion produce in the soul. 
 
 A Sunday school teacher who esteems it not only 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE?. 347 
 
 her duty but her happiness, to visit frequently the 
 scholars committed to her care, was led to the 
 dwelling of a poor widow, the mother of four child- 
 ren, with whose appearance she became much in- 
 terested. She was still young, and was possessed 
 of that peculiar softness and propriety of demeanor 
 which never fails to command attention, while the 
 narrative of her desolate and affecting situation, 
 and the supports with which she was sustained and 
 comforted, filled the mind of her young visitor with 
 the mingled emotions of sympathy and congratula- 
 tion. The widow, Mrs. C., had been married early 
 in life, and lived in independence and comfort for 
 several years. She was attached to her husband, 
 devoted to her children, and employed her time in 
 a diligent attention to her domestic avocations, ex- 
 cept that occasionally when the weather was fine, 
 she took a walk to the church, which was not far 
 distant. 
 
 About four years ago, her husband's business led 
 him to the West India islands, where he was soon 
 seized with a contagious fever, and died in a few 
 days, leaving his affairs in a confused and unsettled 
 state. When they were arranged, and all his en- 
 gagements met, there was nothing left for the sup- 
 port of the widow, who saw herself cast penniless 
 on the wide world, surrounded by her children, with 
 nothing to relieve the darkness and gloom which 
 settled thick upon her. Agitation and grief pro- 
 duced a lingering sickness, which confined her to 
 
348 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 her bed for many weeks, during which time those 
 articles of furniture which had been spared to her 
 were one by one disposed of, to procure the neces- 
 sary provisions for the family. 
 
 " It was now (to adopt Mrs. C.'s own words) that 
 I was made to see the transitory and fleeting nature 
 of all earthly possessions and enjoyments. Those 
 which I had relied upon, to which I had clung as 
 my sole dependence, were fled for ever. The world 
 was to me a barren wilderness, a desolate waste, 
 with nought to console or relieve me. I turned my 
 eye upward, but thence I could derive no comfort. 
 The words of God himself were repeated to me : 
 1 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them 
 alive and let thy widows trust in me.' tkit I could 
 not trust in God ; I did not Imow him. I had lived 
 without God in the world, and was ignorant of the 
 way in which to seek him. I began to view my- 
 self in the character of a sinner, exposed to the 
 wrath of a provoked and neglected God ; and was 
 convinced if I continued in that state, I could never 
 hope for peace, either here or in the world to come. 
 My earnest inquiry now was, ' What shall I do to 
 be saved ?' Gradually the Gospel plan of salvation 
 through faith in a crucified Redeemer, was dis- 
 closed ; and as one guilty and perishing I came unto 
 Jesus, and besought that his free mercy might be 
 extended to me, and his Spirit sent to purify and 
 renew my depraved and sinful heart. That mercy 
 has, I trust, been extended; I receive my pardon 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 349 
 
 as the purchase of the cross and I am now enabled 
 to look up to God, and to trust in him, as a recon- 
 ciled Father in Jesus Christ." She further added, 
 " I bless and praise the Lord for his chastening 
 hand ; for if my path had been smooth and pros- 
 perous, I should probably have continued a stranger 
 to God, and should have brought up my children 
 to live for this world only." 
 
 It was astonishing to witness the great change 
 wrought in her feelings and conduct by the adop- 
 tion of these new views and sentiments. She was 
 no longer oppressed with that weight of care and 
 anxiety which before had bowed her to the earth 
 but was enabled, with filial confidence, to cast her- 
 self and her children on the protecting care of him 
 who is emphatically " the Father of the fatherless, 
 and the widow's friend ;" and her declaration to the 
 young lady, who was now for the first time sitting 
 with her, was, " I have found all his promises sure 
 I have been provided for from day to day, in a 
 remarkable manner ; for often, when my stock has 
 been quite exhausted, and I had no resource left, I 
 have gone to God, and having made my wants 
 known to him, he has not only given me peace of 
 mind, and strong faith in him, but has always raised 
 up some friend whom he has sent as his messenger 
 to supply my need. So that although our fare is 
 of the simplest kind, and we have sometimes had 
 no breakfast, sometimes no dinner, yet we have 
 
 30 
 
350 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 never passed a whole day without seeing the hand 
 of God stretched out to provide for us." 
 
 In the course of a conversation which I afterwards 
 had with her, I was much delighted, and I trust not 
 a little profited, by some remarks of Mrs. C., to the 
 following effect : " I know by experience that hap- 
 piness is not confined to the splendid circles of the 
 great, nor to the profusely covered tables of the/ich; 
 for when God wisely withholds this world's goods, 
 he bestows those dispositions of mind, and those 
 imvard comforts, which abundantly compensate for 
 them. I remember that one day I had nothing in 
 the house but a little meal, which I put over the 
 fire to boil for our dinner ; then I looked about for 
 some salt, but there was none to be found. In a 
 moment of despondency I sat down, and thought 
 my lot uncommonly severe not to have a little 
 salt to season our meal with, and no means to obtain 
 any ! I took up my Bible, which has been a source 
 of unspeakable comfort in many a trying hour, 
 when these words caught my attention, 'Jesus 
 went with his disciples through the corn fields, and 
 his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, 
 rubbing them in their hands.' When I reflected 
 on the privations and hardships which my blessed 
 Lord cheerfully endured for my sake, my discon- 
 tented and repining thoughts fled in an instant. 
 Gratitude, love, and joy, took possession of my 
 breast. I gathered my children together, and we 
 partook with thankfulness of that plain repast, for, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 351 
 
 receiving it as the gift of God, and knowing it to be 
 better than I deserved, it was to me sweeter, and 
 yielded more satisfaction, than the most costly 
 dainties which wealth can purchase." 
 
 It was the sense of the favor of God, a lively per- 
 ception of his excellence and perfection, his love 
 shed abroad through her heart, his Spirit rectifying 
 and elevating her nature, which had transformed 
 this woman from a depressed and unhappy, to a 
 thankful and joyful being, even in this life; and 
 caused her to look to scenes beyond, with a " hope 
 full of immortality ;" and thus constrained her to 
 adopt, with much feeling, the poet's words : 
 
 " Give what thou wilt, without Thee we are poor ; 
 And with Thee rich, take what thou wilt away." 
 
 THE FRENCH PASTOR. 
 
 THE above anecdotes remind us of the case of a 
 living French pastor, eminent as an author in his 
 own country, and well known to a large portion of 
 the religious w r orld in ours. He had no income but 
 the scanty stipend of a pastor, and upon this had to 
 maintain eleven children. His poverty was deep, 
 his difficulties constant ; but his heart was ever full 
 of cheerful gratitude, and his hand ever open to 
 those who were poorer than himself. His friends 
 say that on more than one occasion he has been 
 
352 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 left without a single sous, or a morsel of bread for 
 his children. Meal-time coming, his wife told him 
 they could have no dinner. He replied, " Yes, we 
 shall dine as usual : lay the cloth." It was objected, 
 that to lay a cloth was very useless, when there was 
 nothing to place upon it. 
 
 "Lay it," he insisted, "lay it, just as usual: 
 the Lord will provide." The cloth was laid, and 
 seemed for a while to mock faith by its bareness ; 
 but a knock was heard, and the family soon sur- 
 rounded a board which they all felt the Lord him- 
 self had spread. 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 BEFORE the birth of her third child, August 17th, 
 1815, Mrs. Mather, daughter of the late Rev. Joseph 
 Benson, became so reduced that her friends enter- 
 tained many fears for her safety. She gave birth, 
 however, to a fine boy, arid gradually recovered her 
 strength. But a lameness, with which she had long 
 been afflicted, continued unrelieved. Mr. Benson 
 was, as might be expected, much concerned to wit- 
 ness his daughter's infirmity from year to year, and 
 ceased not to present her case before the Lord, en- 
 deavoring to encourage her to rely on the Divine 
 promises, as being all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. 
 On the Sunday previous to Mrs. Mather's confine- 
 ment, his mind was much comforted in hearing the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 353 
 
 late Rev. Samuel Lear, whom he denominated " an 
 excellent young preacher," deliver a " very instruc- 
 tive" sermon on our Lord's words, " Verily, verily I 
 say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in 
 my name, he will give it you :" and his " faith had 
 been increased with regard to Ann." That his hope 
 was not in vain, nor his faith unheeded, as to her 
 unhappy lameness, an extract from his journal will 
 fully manifest. I wish to remark, says Mr. Samuel 
 Benson, that I was myself present on the occasion, 
 and will bear witness to the correctness of the state- 
 ment in every part. The Rev. James Macdonald, 
 who was also present, observes in his life of Mr. 
 Benson, " All believed that the power to walk, 
 which she received in an instant, was communi- 
 cated by an immediate act of Omnipotence." 
 
 " Oct. 4th. This evening the Lord has shown us 
 an extraordinary instance of his love and power. 
 My dear Ann, though safely delivered of a fine and 
 healthy child, and restored in a great measure with 
 respect to her appetite and digestion, yet remained 
 without any use of either of her feet, and indeed 
 without the least feeling of them, or ability to walk 
 a step, or lay the least weight upon them, nor had 
 she had any use of them for upward of twelve 
 months. I was very much afraid that the sinews 
 would be contracted, and that she would lose the 
 use of them for ever. We prayed, however, inces- 
 santly that this might not be the case ; but that it 
 would please the Lord, for the sake especially of her 
 23 
 
.}f)4 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 three little children, to restore her. This day being 
 appointed for the baptizing of the child, a part of my 
 family and some pious friends went to drink tea with 
 her, and Mr. Mather her husband ; Mr. Mather bring- 
 ing her down in his arms into the dining-room. After 
 tea I spoke a little on the certainty of God's hearing 
 the prayers of his faithful people, and repeated many 
 of his declarations and promises to that purpose. I 
 also enlarged on Christ's being the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and for ever, and still both able and willing 
 to give relief to his distressed and healing to his af- 
 flicted people ; that though he had doubtless done 
 many of his miracles of healing chiefly to prove him- 
 self to be the Messiah, yet that he did not do them 
 for that end only ; but also to grant relief to human 
 misery, out of his great compassion for suffering 
 mankind ; and that not a few of his other miracles 
 of mercy he had wrought principally or only for 
 this latter purpose ; and that he was still full of 
 compassion for the miserable. I then said, ' Ann, 
 before we go to prayer, we will sing the hymn 
 which was so consolatory to your mother ;' and I 
 gave out 
 
 ' Thy arm, Lord, is not shortened now, 
 
 It wants not now the power to save ; 
 Still present with thy people, thou 
 
 Bearest them through life's disparted wave. 
 
 By death and hell pursued in vain, 
 
 To thee the ransomed seed shall come ; 
 Shouting, their heavenly Sion gain, 
 
 And pass through death triumphant home. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 355 
 
 The pain of life shall there he o'er, 
 
 The anguish and distracting care ; 
 There sighing grief shall weep no more, 
 
 And sin shall never enter there. 
 
 Where pure essential joy is found, 
 The Lord's redeemed their heads shall raise, 
 
 With everlasting gladness crowned, 
 
 And filled with love, and lost in praise/ 
 
 We then kneeled down to pray; and Ann took the 
 child to give it the breast, that it might not disturb 
 us with crying, while we were engaged in prayer. 
 I prayed first, and then Mr. Macdonald ; all pre- 
 sent joining sincerely and fervently in our suppli- 
 cations. We pleaded in prayer the Lord's promises, 
 and especially that he had said, that whatever two 
 or three of his people should agree to ask, it should 
 be done for them : Matt, xviii. 19. Immediately 
 on our rising from our knees, Ann beckoned to the 
 nurse to take the child, and then instantly rose up, 
 and said, ' I can walk, I feel I can ;' and proceeded 
 half over the room ; when her husband, afraid she 
 should fall, stepped to her, saying, ' My dear Ann, 
 what are you about?' She put him off with her 
 hands, saying, ' I don't need you ; I can walk 
 alone ;' and then walked three times over the floor : 
 after which, going to a corner, she kneeled down 
 (not having been able to kneel for more than twelve 
 months), and said, '0, let us give God thanks!' 
 We kneeled down, and gave thanks ; Ann continu- 
 ing on her knees all the time, at least twenty 
 minutes. She then came to me, and with a flood 
 
356 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 of tears threw her arras about my neck ; and then 
 did the same first to one of her sisters, and then 
 to the other, and afterwards to Mrs. Dickinson, 
 &c. ; every one in the room shedding tears of grati- 
 tude and joy. She then desired her husband's bro- 
 ther to come up stairs ; and when he entered the 
 room, she cried out, ' Adam, I can walk !' and, to 
 show him that she could, immediately walked over 
 the floor and back again. It was indeed the most 
 affecting season I ever witnessed in my life. May 
 the Lord confirm the wonder he has done, and 
 restore her strength more and more! She after- 
 ward, without any help, walked up stairs into her 
 lodging-room, and with her husband kneeling down, 
 joined in prayer and praise. I afterward learned 
 from her the following particulars : That when 
 she was brought down into the dining-room, a little 
 stool was put under her feet, but which she felt no 
 more than if her feet had been dead. While we 
 were singing the hymn, she conceived faith that 
 the Lord would heal her ; began to feel the stool, 
 and pushed it away ; set her feet on the floor, and 
 felt that. While we prayed she felt a persuasion 
 she could walk, and was half inclined to rise up 
 with the child in her arms; but thinking to do 
 that would be thought rash, she delayed till we had 
 done praying; and then immediately rose up, as 
 above related. Blessed be the Lord for his good- 
 ness ! that we may praise him, and live to his 
 glory!" 
 
REMAHKABLE PROVIDENCES. 357 
 
 A CLERGYMAN'S WIDOW. 
 
 THERE lived in the east of Scotland a pious cler- 
 gyman, who had presided for a number of years 
 over a small but respectable congregation. In the 
 midst of his active career of usefulness he was sud- 
 denly removed by death, leaving behind him a wife 
 and a number of helpless children. The small 
 stipend allowed him by his congregation had been 
 barely sufficient to meet the current expenses of 
 his family, and at his death no visible means were 
 left for their support. The death of her husband 
 preyed deeply on the heart of the poor afflicted 
 widow, while the dark prospect w r hich the future 
 presented filled her mind with the most gloomy 
 apprehensions. By her lonely fireside she sat the 
 morning after her sad bereavement, lamenting her 
 forlorn and destitute condition, when her little son, 
 a boy of five years of age, entered the room. See- 
 ing the deep distress of his mother, he stole softly 
 to her side, and placing his little hand in hers, 
 looked wistfully into her face, and said, " Mother, 
 mother, is God dead ?" Soft as the gentle whisper 
 of an angel did the simple accent of the dear boy 
 fall upon the ear of the disconsolate and almost 
 heart-broken mother. A gleam of heavenly radi- 
 ance lighted up, for a moment, her pale features. 
 Then snatching up her little boy, and pressing him 
 fondly to her bosom, she exclaimed, " No, no, my 
 
358 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 son, God is not dead ! He lives, and has promised 
 to be a father to the fatherless, a husband to the 
 widow. His promises are sure and steadfast, and 
 upon them I will firmly and implicitly rely." Her 
 tears were dried, and her murmurings for ever 
 hushed. The event proved that her confidence was 
 not misplaced. The congregation over whom her 
 husband worthily presided generously settled upon 
 her a handsome annuity, by which she was enabled 
 to support her family, not only comfortably, but 
 even genteelly. The talents of her sons, as they 
 advanced in years, soon brought them into notice, 
 and finally procured them high and honorable sta- 
 tions in society. 
 
 A SPECIAL PROVIDENCE. 
 
 FOR the purpose of attending the Genesee Annual 
 Conference at Lundy's Lane, U. C., some years 
 since, I set out in company with the Rev. Charles 
 Northrop, and took a passage in the Ontario steam- 
 boat at Ogdensburgh, destined for Lewiston, Niagara 
 county, the distance of three hundred miles, in 
 which we had a very pleasant and interesting pas- 
 sage. We returned in one of the common vessels 
 of the lake, in company with the Rev. William 
 Case, and Rev. Truman Dixon. 
 
 For two days we were moored in front of Little 
 York, having no wind but a few land breezes. But 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 359 
 
 on the third evening an unexpected gale filled our 
 sails, and the breeze increasing to a mighty wind, 
 we sailed down the lake with great velocity. But 
 in the great commotion of the waters we anticipated 
 no disastrous event. The commotion of the waters, 
 however, under the quick succeeding gales, and the 
 struggles of the hurried vessel, together with the 
 novelty of the scene, which was heightened by the 
 gradual approach of darkness, forbade my retreat 
 to the cabin to join my companions in the slumbers 
 of the night, consequently I remained on deck in- 
 dulging myself in serious meditation until nearly 
 midnight, when my attention was called to a dis- 
 tant light, nearly in front of us. I immediately 
 inquired of the captain if we were not approaching 
 some vessel. He said he thought it must be the 
 great Canadian steamboat, which he called the 
 King of the Lake, which, in our late struggle with 
 England, was a ship of war, mounting seventy-four 
 guns ; but, since its close, hacl been converted into 
 a steamboat, and was now freighting up and down 
 the lake. He said he would direct our vessel so as 
 to give us a fair prospect of King George as he 
 passed by. I asked what distance he thought it 
 was from us ; he said eight or ten miles. I suppose 
 the deception was owing to the peculiar state of the 
 atmosphere, for, to our unutterable surprise, the 
 next surge rolled us furiously against the unyield- 
 ing monster ; why it did not at once bury us in the 
 waters beneath, none but an Almighty Providence 
 
360 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 can tell ; the first complaint was a blow and a word ; 
 by which he broke off our boom, stove in the bow, 
 tore away our anchors, and stripped every sail from 
 the masts, which left nothing but a trembling 
 wreck. It, however, fastened itself by some means 
 to the great anchor chains of the steamboat, so that 
 it remained beating itself against the side of its 
 unfeeling conqueror. 
 
 In the mean time the screams in the cabin, to- 
 gether with those in the forecastle, mingling with 
 the rattling of the breaking crockery and glass, and 
 the mighty cracking of the vessel, keeping pace 
 with the horrid oaths and blasphemies from those 
 on the steamboat, rendered it a scene horrible be- 
 yond description. I however found myself on the 
 deck of the steamboat, which w^as the first of my 
 recollection after the collision, which I have ever 
 deemed little short of a miracle, it being from ten 
 to fifteen feet from the deck of our vessel up to the 
 railing of the steamboat. Every soul on the wreck 
 were making their escape as fast as possible; and 
 although the Canadian captain, like an unfeeling 
 tyrant, was wishing them at the bottom of the lake, 
 &c., he was at the same time giving direction for 
 assistance to those below. The reverend gentlemen 
 were hurrying to secure their baggage, and handing 
 it to me, as I had suspended myself for that pur- 
 pose, as well as to aid their persons in escaping the 
 wreck. 
 
 All having made a safe retreat to the steamboat, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 361 
 
 excepting the captain and Brother Case, who were 
 detained a little, I began to hope that all would be 
 well, when at this dreadful moment the wreck broke 
 loose from the steamboat, and the troubled waters 
 appeared to be furiously engaged to separate the 
 two vessels. The unfortunate individuals, behold- 
 ing their critical situation, called aloud for assist- 
 ance, but the forbidding waters rendered it im- 
 practicable. I stood for a few minutes with my 
 spirits paralyzed, catching the last appearance of 
 the departing wreck, containing one of the worthies 
 of the nineteenth century, and conveying its con- 
 tents, as I supposed, to a watery grave. Repeated 
 calls from the wreck, which seemed to penetrate 
 the very heavens, were to me like the last agonies 
 of despairing hope. I retired a little to resolve on 
 the last alternative, which was to try to save them 
 by means of one of the small boats ; and feeling an 
 uncommon witness of the Divine approbation, I re- 
 solved to make an appeal to the humanity of the 
 captain for one of his small boats, in which to find 
 the wreck and aid those unfortunate men. But 
 upon the proposition he poured upon me a volley 
 of oaths and anathemas too horrid to relate. I told 
 him I had a friend on that wreck, whose life was 
 too useful to the world to be lost. But, said he, 
 would you risk your own to save his ? I told him 
 I would. He said he wished he could persuade 
 himself to believe he had such a friend. I said, 
 Perhaps you are a stranger to that principle which 
 
 31 
 
302 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 unites the missionaries of the cross of Jesus. Ah ! 
 said he, I have always understood that these 
 Methodists like each other better than all the 
 world besides. But, said he, my small boat cannot 
 live on this sea a minute, therefore you had better 
 make yourself contented. I told him nothing but 
 an absolute refusal would silence my intercession ; 
 consequently he consented ; and the arrangement 
 being made, I said to Brother Dixon, All will be 
 well. Yes, said he, if we stay where we are; and, 
 to my utter astonishment, not one of the whole 
 crew or of the passengers would join me, except a 
 colored man and one other, who did not seem to 
 care whether he lived or died. 
 
 Under these embarrassments they let us down 
 into the boat, and w r e shoved off. Knowing that 
 much depended on every blow of the oar and 
 paddle, I took the stern, and put the colored man 
 to the oars, and the other on the bottom of the 
 boat. At first my faith well nigh failed me. The 
 lake boiled like a cauldron, and our little craft 
 trembled to its centre. These, together with the 
 darkness of the night, and the howlings of many 
 waters, rendered it a scene not easily to be for- 
 gotten. To return to the steamboat was impossible, 
 and the uncertainty attending the wreck called up 
 some reflections to which I had hitherto been a 
 stranger: the steamboat had now just collected its 
 steam, and was leaving us. 
 
 We were now on the broad lake, in a common 
 
HK.MAHKABLK PROVIDENCES. 363 
 
 skiff, in a dark night, fifty miles at least from any 
 port. We continued our direct course for half an 
 hour or more, when I thought I discovered a small 
 light, and supposing it to be upon the wreck, we 
 pursued it with all diligence until we arrived within 
 call of the vessel, and gave them a salute which 
 was returned with joy. 
 
 With some difficulty we reached the deck, and 
 made our small boat fast to the stern. I inquired, 
 " What is the prospect ?" " Uncertain," was the 
 reply. My next inquiry was, what had been their 
 feelings since they left the steamboat; they said 
 they had entertained some hope that relief would 
 be afforded by some means from the boat; but 
 when they raised their steam and went on, the last 
 remnant of hope vanished, and the only alternative 
 was to do all they could to preserve the wreck; and 
 though human probability was against them, yet, 
 said Brother Case, I have not entertained a doubt 
 but God would provide means for our escape, con- 
 sequently my mind has been as calm as though I 
 had been in the sanctuary of the Lord. He said 
 he had an impression for a day or two past that he 
 should be called to some uncommon trial of his 
 faith, but by the overruling providence and grace 
 of God he should come out as gold tried in the fire. 
 Upon which he put his arms around me, and said, 
 " Brother, be of good cheer, we shall get safe to 
 land." We then went to work at the pumps, and 
 to clearing the deck as fast as possible ; and in the 
 
364 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 space of two hours we were able to raise the main 
 sail about half way up the mast, which gave such 
 an impetus to the vessel as to take us on at the 
 rate of eight or ten miles an hour. 
 
 We still considered ourselves in great danger; 
 for we knew if the vessel outlived the sea we must 
 pass a certain chain of islands called the Ducks ; 
 and how near we had approached them was mere 
 conjecture; consequently, the fear of dashing 
 against some one of them, or unfortunately strik- 
 ing the wrong channel, was, through the remainder 
 of the night, a source of constant anxiety. But 
 when the long-wished-for morning dawned, we 
 found we had not yet arrived in sight of the much 
 dreaded islands. A moment's reflection on what we 
 had passed the preceding night, together with our 
 present prospects, humbled us in the dust before 
 our great Benefactor. We retired to the cabin, and 
 poured out our souls in thanksgiving to that Being 
 who had sustained us even in the seventh trouble. 
 
 The majesty of this morning transcended any- 
 thing I had ever witnessed. I thought I could fully 
 comprehend the saying of the inspired psalmist, 
 " If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in 
 the uttermost part of the sea, even there shall thy 
 hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." 
 The lake presented vast cqlumns of moving moun- 
 tains and heaving valleys, over which we were 
 passing, without any variety of change or prospect. 
 The wind had ceased its roaring, and with a strong 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 305 
 
 and steady breeze cleared away the fogs and vapors 
 of the morning. We now had but little to fear, 
 except the lulling of the wind into a calm, or its 
 changing to an opposite direction ; but realizing 
 no farther disaster, we happily came to anchor at 
 Cape Vincent, where the good people received us 
 courteously. Yours, in much love, 
 
 TIMOTHY GOODWIN. 
 
 THE POWER OF PRAYER. 
 
 IN his "Rural Life of England," Howitt cites 
 the following instance of heroism and calm pre- 
 sence of mind, inspired by Christian faith, which 
 is a striking illustration of the power of prayer to 
 sustain the courage of the weakest believer in the 
 most trying circumstances : 
 
 In one of the thinly-peopled dales of the Peak 
 of Derbyshire stood a lone house, far from neigh- 
 bors, inhabited by a farmer and his wife. Such is, 
 or at least was wont to be, the primitive simplicity 
 of this district, that it was usual for persons to go 
 to bed without taking any precautions to bolt or 
 bar the doors, in the event of any of the inmates 
 not having come home at the usual hour of retiring 
 to rest. This was frequently the practice with the 
 family in question, especially on market days, when 
 the farmers, having occasion to go to the nearest 
 town, often did not return until late. 
 31* 
 
3GG REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 One ^veiling, when the husband was absent, the 
 wife, being up stairs, heard some one open the door 
 and enter the house. Supposing it to be her hus- 
 band, she lay awake, expecting him to come up 
 stairs. As the usual time elapsed and he. did not 
 come, she rose and went down, when, to her terror 
 and astonishment, she saw a sturdy fellow search- 
 ing the house for plunder. 
 
 At first view of him, as she afterward said, she 
 felt ready to drop ; but being naturally courageous, 
 and of a deeply religious disposition, she soon reco- 
 vered sufficient self-possession to suppress the cry 
 which was rising to her lips, to walk with apparent 
 firmness to a chair which stood on one side of the 
 fireplace, and seat herself in it. The marauder 
 immediately seated himself in another chair, which 
 stood opposite, and fixed his eyes upon her with a 
 most savage expression. 
 
 Her courage was almost spent; but, recollecing 
 herself, she put up a prayer to the Almighty for 
 protection, and threw herself upon his providence, 
 for " vain was the help of man." She immediately 
 felt her courage revive, and looked steadfastly at 
 the ruffian, who now drew a large clasp-knife from 
 his pocket, opened it, and, with a murderous ex- 
 pression in his eyes, appeared ready to spring upon 
 her. 
 
 She, however, showed no visible emotion, but 
 continued to pray earnestly, and to look upon the 
 man with calm seriousness. He arose, glanced first 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 3C7 
 
 at her, then at the knife; again he seemed to hesi- 
 tate, and wiped his weapon upon his hand ; then 
 once more glanced at her, she all the while con- 
 tinuing to sit calmly, calling earnestly upon God. 
 
 Suddenly a panic appeared to seize him ; he 
 blenched beneath her still fixed gaze, closed his 
 knife, and went out. At a single spring she 
 reached the door, shot the bolt with convulsive 
 rapidity, and fell senseless on the floor. When 
 she recovered, she recognised her husband's well- 
 known step at the door, and heard him calling out 
 in surprise at finding it fastened. Rising, she 
 admitted him, and, in tones tremulous with agita- 
 tion and gratitude, told him of her danger and 
 deliverance. 
 
 
PAET VII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF DIVINE 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 " The Lord is good to all : and His tender mercies are over all His works." 
 SALM cxlv. 9. 
 
 (369) 
 24 
 
REMARKABLE DREAM. 
 
 Ix my eighteenth year, says the Rev. E. J. 
 Way, I dreamed that in riding through a cross- 
 roads near my father's residence, my horse threw 
 me, by which I was severely injured. The dream 
 was very distinct, and made a deep impression 
 upon my mind at the time. Several days after 
 that, I was sent, in company with my brother, for 
 some oats. We were both on horseback; I was 
 riding a young colt. As we neared the crossroads, 
 we started our horses for a race, when the colt, by 
 a sudden movement, threw me off in the very spot 
 and in the very manner that I had previously 
 dreamed. 
 
 THE DRUNKARD'S DREAM. 
 
 THE Rev. Mr. Tennent, of Freehold, N. J., had 
 a neighbor, a carpenter by trade, who was a habitual 
 drunkard, and spent much time, particularly even- 
 
 (371) 
 
372 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ings, and Sabbath days, in company with people of 
 like habits, and never went to church or religious 
 meetings. This man dreamed one night that he 
 had a fit of sickness and died ; and as he had always 
 expected, after death, he went to hell. Hell was 
 not to him what he expected to find it ; but was a 
 very large tavern, with a bar-room full of benches, 
 well lighted up, all the benches filled with people, 
 all silent, each with a hat on his head, and each 
 covered with a black cloak reaching to his feet. 
 The man went up to the landlord and said : " I 
 expected to find hell full of fire and a place of tor- 
 ment, as it was always represented to me while 
 living ; but I find it very agreeable." Upon this, 
 every one of the persons stood up, and each one 
 slowly and silently opened wide his cloak ; and 
 holding it open, displayed his body a solid mass of 
 fire. The man was so struck by the sight that he 
 begged the landlord to allow him to return to earth 
 again who, after many entreaties, consented that 
 he should return if he would make a solemn promise 
 to return there again at the end of a year. This 
 the man promised, and awoke. The dream filled 
 his mind with great horror, and in the morning he 
 went to Mr. Tennent and related it. Mr. Tennent 
 advised him to reform, and lead a new life ; it 
 seemed a special warning, which if he neglected, it 
 would enhance his future punishment, &c. The 
 man did reform, and for six months avoided his old 
 companions ; at the expiration of that time, he was 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 373 
 
 returning from work one evening, and was met by 
 several of them near a tavern, and they began to 
 ridicule him for becoming religious, and dared him 
 to go in and take one drink with them. The man 
 felt strong in his new resolutions, and said he would 
 go in and take one drink to show it would not hurt 
 him. He took one drink, and another, till he was 
 much intoxicated; from that time he returned to 
 his old habits, and grew worse and worse. His 
 family lived in the second story of a house to which 
 there was a staircase on the outside ; and one night 
 on which he had drank more than usual, he made 
 shift to get upstairs and to bed but in the morning 
 when he went out the door to go to work, he was 
 still drunk, and pitched off the stairs to the ground 
 and broke his neck. The news was carried to 
 Mr. Tennent, who, instantly recollecting the man's 
 dream, on looking at a memorandum he had made 
 when the man told him the dream, found it was a 
 year that day since the man told it to him. 
 
 AN INFIDEL STRANGELY CONVERTED. 
 
 A NATIVE of Sweden, residing in the south of 
 France, had occasion to go from one port to another 
 in the Baltic Sea. When he came to the place 
 whence he expected to sail, the vessel was gone. 
 On inquiring, he found a fishing-boat going the 
 same way, in which he embarked. After being for 
 
 32 
 
374 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 some time out at sea, the men observed that he 
 had several trunks and chests on board, concluded 
 he must be very rich, and therefore agreed among 
 themselves to throw him overboard. This he heard 
 them express, which gave him great uneasiness. 
 However, he took occasion to open one of his trunks, 
 which contained some books. Observing this, they 
 remarked among themselves that it was not worth 
 while to throw him into the sea, as they did not 
 want any books, which they supposed was all the 
 trunks contained. They asked him if he were a 
 priest. Hardly knowing what reply to make, he 
 told them he was ; at which they seemed much 
 pleased, and said they would have a sermon on the 
 next day, as it was the Sabbath. 
 
 This increased the anxiety and distress of his 
 mind, for he knew himself to be as incapable of 
 such an undertaking, as it was possible for any one 
 to be, as he knew very little of the Scriptures; 
 neither did he believe in the inspiration of the 
 Bible. 
 
 At length they came to a small rocky island, 
 perhaps a quarter of a mile in circumference, where 
 was a company of pirates, who had chosen this 
 little sequestered spot to deposit their treasures. 
 He was taken to a cave, and introduced to an old 
 woman, to whom they remarked that they were to 
 have a sermon preached the next day. She said 
 she was very glad of it, for she had not heard the 
 word of God for a great while. His was a trying 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 375 
 
 case, for preach he must; still he knew nothing 
 about preaching. If he refused, or undertook to 
 preach and did not please, he expected it would be 
 his death. With these thoughts he passed a sleep- 
 less night. In the morning his mind was not settled 
 upon anything. To call upon God, whom he be- 
 lieved to be inaccessible, was altogether vain. He 
 could devise no way whereby he might be saved. 
 He walked to and fro, still shut up in darkness, 
 striving to collect something to say to them, but 
 could not think of even a single sentence. 
 
 When the appointed time for the meeting arrived, 
 he entered the cave, where he found the men assem- 
 bled. There was a seat prepared for him, and a 
 table with a Bible on it. They sat for the space of 
 half an hour in profound silence ; and even then, 
 the anguish of his soul was as great as human 
 nature was capable of enduring. At length these 
 words came to his mind, " Verily, there is a reward 
 for the righteous : verily, there is a God that judgeth 
 in the earth." He arose and delivered them : then 
 other words presented themselves, and so on till his 
 understanding became opened his heart enlarged 
 in a manner astonishing to himself. He spoke upon 
 subjects suited to their condition ; the rewards of 
 the righteous the judgments of the wicked the 
 necessity of repentance, and the importance of a 
 change of life. The matchless love of God to the 
 children of men, had such a powerful effect upon 
 the minds of these wretched beings, that they were 
 
376 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 melted into tears. Nor was he less astonished at 
 the unbounded goodness of Almighty God, in thus 
 interposing to save his spiritual as well as his natu- 
 ral life, and well might he exclaim, " This is the 
 Lord's doings, and marvellous in our eyes." Under 
 a deep sense of God's goodness, his heart became 
 filled with such thankfulness, that it was out of his 
 power to express. What marvellous change was 
 thus suddenly brought about by Divine interposi- 
 tion ! He who a little before disbelieved in God, 
 was now humbled before him. And they who were 
 meditating his death were moved to affection. 
 
 The next morning they put him in one of their 
 vessels and conveyed him where he desired. From 
 that time he was a changed man. From an infidel 
 he became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 COLLINS'S REMARKABLE DREAM. 
 
 WHILE the Rev. John Collins was attending one 
 of his appointments in the West, he dreamed that 
 he received at the post office a letter bearing a 
 black seal, and containing intelligence of the death 
 of his father then in New Jersey. It made so deep 
 an impression on his mind that he made a record 
 of it. 
 
 Two weeks afterward, on returning home, he re- 
 ceived just such a letter as he had seen in his 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 377 
 
 dream, sealed with black; and the date of his 
 father's death agreed with the record in his diary. 
 
 A REMARKABLE CASE. 
 
 DEAR DR. BOND : I send you the following par- 
 ticulars of an extraordinary experience, which, in 
 this region of the country, is occasioning consider- 
 able excitement. 
 
 The subject of the experience is a man about 
 forty years old, and has been a member of the M. 
 E. Church about fifteen years. His name is John 
 Waltdemire. He resides where he was raised from 
 childhood, in the town of Ghent, Columbia county, 
 New York, where he has always been known as a 
 conscientious and exemplary person. He is a man 
 of considerable property, and for a number of years 
 has been one of the most efficient stewards of the 
 circuit in which he lives. I was his pastor during 
 the two years of my labor in the Kinderhook charge, 
 and am well acquainted with him. For nearly 
 three years he has been an invalid, suffering great 
 pain, and was once brought very low ; but, through 
 his whole affliction, has been of sound mind. The 
 particulars of this remarkable case I have taken 
 from his own lips, and give them, mostly, in his 
 own words. 
 
 The occurrence took place on Sabbath evening, 
 January 27, 1856. Soon after he retired for the 
 
 32* 
 
378 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 night he was seized with a spasmodic affection of 
 the respiratory organs, and suffered extremely for 
 a few minutes, being entirely conscious. He then 
 sunk away, and became silent and motionless, and, 
 after a short time, revived again for a little while, 
 and spoke a few words ; then, much in the same 
 way as before, he sunk into a death-resembling 
 state, and, so far as those present could decide, 
 ceased to breathe, and became as one dead. The 
 family physician, Dr. S., a reputable and scientific 
 doctor of the old school, of some fifteen years' prac- 
 tice, was sent for, with all practicable haste. The 
 neighbors were called in ; none of them could per- 
 ceive any sign of life ; the body lay as a corpse. 
 
 This strange phenomenon came over him, at short 
 intervals, four times during the night; but the 
 second was characterized by the most remarkable 
 mental and spiritual experiences. At this time it 
 was nearly three hours before he revived, and, 
 when he did, lifting his hands and clapping them 
 together, to the great surprise of all present, he 
 said, with a voice so clear and strong that it could 
 be heard several rods from the house, " Bless the 
 Lord for the glorious resurrection." These were 
 his first words. He then shouted, " Glory to God !" 
 though he was never in the habit of shouting. He 
 said many things very remarkable, of which the 
 family and friends retain but an indistinct remem- 
 brance. The Scriptures, in particular, seemed to 
 be perfectly familiar to him, and, with wonderful 
 
REMARKABLE 1'llOVIDEXCES. 379 
 
 aptness, he repeated passage after passage, inter- 
 spersing them with praises to God. 
 
 It appeared to him, during the time of his bodily 
 insensibility, that he had been for a moment uncon- 
 Heious, and then the faculties of his mind became 
 clear and strong. While he lay there, and they 
 supposed he was dead, he was perfectly conscious 
 of all that passed around him. He thought himself 
 separated from the body, but near it, and expected 
 never to return. The excellent glory, in part, 
 broke upon his view. He had a glimpse of what 
 seemed the throne of God. In his vision there was 
 an innumerable company, clothed in the resurrec- 
 tion body, moving with eagerness on toward the 
 immediate divine presence. They appeared to be 
 ascending a vast even slope, and as far as the eye 
 could reach, the company was unbroken, and all 
 indescribably happy. 
 
 During this time of suspended animation there 
 was a clearness and brilliancy of his mind beyond 
 everything he had ever imagined. It was, he says, 
 not faith, but sight a blessed reality. For a little 
 time after reviving his mind was clear, and his 
 ecstasies unbounded, but, as his strength increased, 
 his body acted as a clog and shade to his mind. 
 lie compared it to coming out of the open air to a 
 darkened room. His apparent return to earth 
 seemed to be determined by the Lord himself 
 alone; but at about the same moment he heard 
 and distinctly remembers hearing his wife pray, as 
 
380 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 she was kneeling by his side, " Spare him, Lord, 
 spare him." At about the time of this prayer signs 
 of returning life appeared. 
 
 Mr. W. is still in feeble health, but is able to ride 
 out, and is everywhere respected among his neigh- 
 bors as an intelligent and orthodox Christian. This 
 case, in its principal features, so closely resembles 
 the trance of the celebrated William Tennent that 
 I forward it to you, hoping you may give us your 
 views of it, and of the subject in general. 
 
 J. N SHAFFER. 
 
 Chatham Four Corners, March 11, 1856. 
 
 SINGULAR COINCIDENCE. 
 
 THE Rev. Dr. Bedell relates that while Bishop 
 Chase, of Ohio, was at the house of Mr. Beek, in 
 Philadelphia, he received a package from Dr. Ward, 
 Bishop of Sodor and Man, making inquiries relating 
 to certain property in America, of which some old 
 person of his diocese was the heir. The letter had 
 gone to Ohio, followed him to Washington, then to 
 Philadelphia, and found him at Mr. Beek's. When 
 he read it to Mr. B., the latter was in amazement, 
 and said : " Bishop Chase, I am the only man in 
 the world who can give you information. I have 
 the deeds in my possession, and have had them 
 forty-three years, not knowing what to do with 
 them, or where any heirs were to be found." How 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 381 
 
 wonderful that the application should be made to 
 Bishop Chase, and he not in Ohio, but a guest in 
 the house of the only man who possessed any infor- 
 mation on the subject ! 
 
 THE SOLDIER'S SHIELD. 
 
 SAMUEL PROCTOR was trained up in the use of re- 
 ligious ordinances, and in early life felt some reli- 
 gious impressions. He afterwards enlisted as a sol- 
 dier in the first regiment of foot guards, and was 
 made a grenadier. Notwithstanding this, the im- 
 pressions made upon his mind continued ; and the 
 fear of the Lord, as a guardian angel, attended him 
 through the changing scenes of life. There were a 
 few in the regiment who met for pious and devo- 
 tional exercises; he cast in his lot among them, 
 and always carried a small pocket Bible in one 
 pocket, and his hymn book in the other. He took 
 part in the struggle on the plains of Waterloo in 
 1815. In the evening of June 16th, in the tre- 
 mendous conflict on that day, his regiment was 
 ordered to dislodge the French from a wood, of 
 which they had taken possession, and from which 
 they annoyed the allied army. While thus engaged, 
 he was thrown a distance of four or five yards by a 
 force on his hip, for which he could not account at 
 the time ; but, when he came to examine his Bible, 
 he saw, with overwhelming gratitude to the Pre- 
 
382 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 server of his life, what it was that had thus driven 
 him. A musket-ball had struck his hip where his 
 Bible rested in his pocket, and penetrated nearly 
 half through that sacred book. All who saw the 
 ball, said that it would undoubtedly have killed 
 him, had it not been for the Bible, which served as 
 a shield. The Bible was kept as a sacred treasure, 
 and laid up in his house, like an heirloom. 
 
 THE INHUMAN FATHER DEFEATED. 
 
 DURING a series of religious meetings, held in the 
 school-house of a small village, a very little girl 
 became much interested for the salvation of her 
 soul. Her father, a hater of holiness, who lived 
 next door to the place of meeting, finding that his 
 little daughter was much interested in the meet- 
 ings, and had been forward to be prayed for, strictly 
 forbade her again entering the " house of prayer." 
 The poor little girl was much oppressed, and knew 
 not what to do, but obeyed her father until the next 
 meeting was nearly half through, then slipping out 
 without his knowledge, and getting through a hole 
 in the back yard fence, she hastily ran to the meet- 
 ing. It was some time before her father missed her, 
 but when he found her gone, he went immediately 
 to the meeting, where she was on her knees, with 
 others whom the people of God were praying for. 
 So enraged was he, that he went directly forward, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 383 
 
 and took her in his arms, to carry her from the 
 place. As he raised her from her knees, she looked 
 up with a heavenly smile, and said, " It is too late- 
 now, pa ; I have given my heart to the Saviour." 
 This was too much for the hardened sinner : he too 
 sunk on his knees, while he was prayed for; and 
 verv soon he found that Saviour he had in vain at- 
 
 w 
 
 tempted to shut out from his daughter's heart. 
 
 TRACT ANECDOTE. 
 
 IN the district of A , one Sabbath morning, 
 
 as some Sunday school children were going to their 
 school, having with them a little bundle of tracts, 
 they passed by the field of a man who had long 
 neglected the sanctuary and ordinary means of 
 grace. One of them passed over the fence, and 
 fastened to the plough-beam the tract called the 
 Swearer's Prayer, and continued on to school. 
 
 On Monday morning, when the man came to his 
 plough, he found the tract, but was unable to tell 
 how it came there ; and, surprised at the singular 
 circumstance, took it home, and read it carefully 
 again and again. Conviction fastened upon his 
 conscience he began to attend places of public 
 worship. His anxiety after truth continued, until 
 (as he trusts) he found peace in a Saviour's blood, 
 and has since connected himself with a Christian 
 church. 
 
384 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Another man in the neighborhood, who could 
 not read, hearing of the effect produced upon the 
 mind of the other by the reading of a tract, went 
 to a house where they had a number of these silent 
 preachers, and expressed great anxiety to hear some 
 of those tracts read. 
 
 " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the eve- 
 ning withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not 
 whether shall prosper, either this or that, or 
 whether they both shall be alike good." 
 
 PROVIDENCE INTERPRETED BY AN OLD COLORED 
 WOMAN. 
 
 THE following is a letter which was published 
 some time since in the Western Christian Ad- 
 vocate : 
 
 Messrs. Editors, A few days since, an aged 
 colored man, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, called to see me. Having listened with 
 interest to some facts which he related in class 
 meetings and love-feasts, I felt desirous to hear his 
 history from himself. Accordingly I made the re- 
 quest, and he, becoming interested in his own story, 
 related it with the feeling and effect peculiar to the 
 simplicity of the " child of nature." The narration 
 contains allusions and reflections which, on account 
 of their originality and pertinency, cannot fail to be 
 useful. While he was talking, I was (unknown to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 385 
 
 him) writing down the substance of his remarks. I 
 have written it in his own language, believing that 
 it would rob it of half its interest to your readers 
 were it rendered to them strictly correct by "nicest 
 rules of art." 
 
 "In de fall of I leas part of Judge 's 
 
 farm, up on de river. Move up dar vid my family, 
 an work hard for sevrel year. Judge mity good to 
 me, 'low me many liberties, an I make money dar. 
 But I thought I mout do better down in de Indiana 
 country. So I starts down dar splorin de country, 
 an found a mity good place, as I thought, an tuck 
 a leas for five year. Den I cum up an fotch my 
 family down dar; and I hab hosses, an cows, an 
 five calfs, an ninety-five head of hog. Well, I put 
 up my cabin, an hire hans, an clare out fifteen 
 acres for to put it in kawn. Dar war mity good 
 parster out in de woods, an pea-vine, man ! 
 Well, I didn't know nothin bout de country, an 
 tuck an turn out my hosses an cows to feed. Well, 
 two or three day arter dat, dey cum bout de house, 
 an walk roun, an walk roun an trimble, an one 
 arter de udder fall down an die hosses too. De 
 cans for dat war, dey bin etin trirnblin weed ; but I 
 didn't know nothin bout it. Dat same day de 
 young man what lib wid me die ; an de next day a 
 young man what I hire he die wid de trimbles too. 
 Dey didn't eat de trimble weed do only dey drink 
 de milk what de cows give what die. My wife war 
 sick wid it too, but troo marcy she war spared. One 
 
 25 
 
380 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 day dat week, in de mornin, I was sittin on a fence 
 rail, by de kawn field felt very bad an gloomy. , 
 Jes den mammy cum by. She stop an say, l Sam, 
 what de marter wid you ?' I tole her I feel very 
 bad don't know what I shall do. She say, '0 
 Sam, all dis is for de best. You bin careless bout 
 your soul, an God now shoin you de folly of de 
 worl, an it may be de casion of your gettin ligun ; 
 and den you will say yoursef dat it war de best 
 thing as eber happen to you.' So she pass on to de 
 spring. She war mity good woman, rale Christian, 
 carry de witness in her breast. yes, mammy 
 war good woman, ebery body 'low dat. Well, as I 
 was sayin, I war sittin on de fence rail, an jes be- 
 fore me dar war rite smart hill rise up, an swell off 
 to de left ; and it war covered wid oak trees ; an my 
 hogs war dar. Dey hadn't eat no trimblin weed ; 
 an / notice dat de hogs go from tree to tree, an eat 
 akawn, and neber look up once to see whar dey cum 
 from. Thinks I, dat jes de way wid me. I zactly 
 like hog. God bin smilin on me from my yout up, 
 and porein down blessins on me ; an I, jes like de 
 hog, neber look up to tink whar dey cum from, or to 
 tank God for dem. Dis tought run troo my heart 
 like dagger, an I jump down, an went an pray. 
 Bout dis time I opened de sugar camp, an tap bout 
 one hundred trees, and I pray at ebery tree I tap. 
 As I turn de auger I pray almost ebery turn. So 
 on I went day arter day eat little or not tin. 
 Mammy say, ' Sam, why don't you eat nottin ?' I 
 
1IKMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 387 
 
 say I don't want nottin, I has form resolushun 
 nebcr to stop till I git ligun. Some time artcr dis 
 I hear dar war gwyin to be praar met in tree miles 
 off JMetodis. So Sunday mornin I starts for metin. 
 From whar I den live dar war high hill to climb, 
 mity steep. I start up it. Dat morn had bin snow 
 storm. Snow war shoe-mouth deep. I climb, I 
 climb. I hear once dat Moses went up in mountin, 
 an God meet him an talk to him dar. So I went 
 on, an when I got up to de top I bresht away de 
 snow, an pray, and tole God dat I form resolushun 
 neber to go back to my house till he convert my 
 soul. Feel somewhat couraged dar, and went on to 
 praar metin, which war held at de class-leader's 
 house. Hear dar war gwyin to be prechin at de 
 metin house by de itirean precher. At de class- 
 leader's house war de class-leader an de old pro- 
 fessors talldn l)out tliar farms., an craps, an hosses, 
 an cows, an oder critters an Sundy, too, an not a 
 word drapt bout ligun. ThinJcs I, dis no place for 
 me ; so I starts on to de metin house. Jes as I bow 
 my head to enter de house, pearantly somethin 
 struck me. Howasever, I takes my seat way back. 
 Metin begin, dey sing, dey pray, de tears run down 
 my cheek in streams, an I hang my head down 
 away one side so nobody shant see me. An when 
 dey neel down den I gives way, an cry an pray ; 
 an jcs before de praar closed I wipe my eyes dry so 
 nobody shant know it. Arter while I feel so bad 
 dat I couldn't stand up no longer, an fell down on 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 my face in de floor, and cry to God for marcy. Den 
 de wanderings of my mine kep cumin in, cumin in, 
 cumin in, cumin in, jes like nats, from dis way an 
 dat, cumin in, cumin in. I felt dat I war wortty 
 to be dam'd for my sins, an felt dat if I war saved 
 it would be troo great marcy. / den felt dat I war 
 jes able to do nottin ; an I tell de blessed Jesus, dat 
 if anyting war done in my case lie -would have to do 
 it hisself. Jes den somethin rise up in me, an 
 swell, an swell, and cum up in my throat. I 
 couldn't speak a word, no nor whisper neither. 
 All at once, pearantly, it broke, an I felt such 
 liberty, an peace, an joy, dat I holla out, l Glory to 
 God !' an arter praisin him wid de people for some 
 time, I went on my way home rejoicin. Arter dat, 
 I felt as if I were cut loose from my toes to my head ; 
 for whar de Spirit of de Lord is, dar is liberty. 
 de sweet joy an peace dar is in believin ! an / am 
 still on de way an mine I tell you, whoever gets to 
 heaven, or whoever don't, Sam is on de road. Glory 
 to God!" 
 
 In reviewing the above, I think but one sentiment 
 will prevail, viz., " How true to nature, and how 
 true to grace !" Yours, &c., M. 
 
 THE TWO MINERS. 
 
 AT a meeting of the "Wesleyan Missionary Society, 
 the Rev. R. Young, of Truro, mentioned a very re- 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 389 
 
 markable fact that had taken place in Cornwall, 
 England : 
 
 " Two men were working together in a mine, 
 and having prepared to blast the rock, and laid the 
 train, the latter became by accident ignited. In a 
 few moments a tremendous explosion they knew 
 was inevitable, and the rock must be rent in a 
 thousand pieces. On perceiving their danger, they 
 both leaped into the bucket, and called to the man 
 on the surface to draw them up. He endeavored 
 to do so, but his arm was found too feeble to raise 
 the bucket while both the men were in it. What 
 was to be done ? The burning fuse, which could 
 not be extinguished, was now within a few feet of 
 the powder ; a moment or two, and the explosion 
 must take place. At this awful crisis, one of the 
 men, addressing the other, said : l You shall live 
 and I will die ; for you are an impenitent sinner, 
 and if you now die your soul will be lost ; but if I 
 die, I know that, by the grace of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, I shall be taken to himself.' And so say- 
 ing, without waiting for a reply, he leaped out of 
 the bucket, and prayerfully waited the result. On 
 the other reaching the surface, he bent over the 
 shaft to ascertain the fate of his companion. At 
 that moment a terrific explosion was heard ; a por- 
 tion of the rock was thrown up and smote him on 
 the forehead, leaving an indelible mark to remind 
 him of his danger and deliverance. But the man 
 of God, when they came to search for him, was 
 33* 
 
390 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 found arched over by the fragments of broken rock 
 in the mine, uninjured, and rejoicing in the Lord. 
 This magnanimous miner exhibited in this act an 
 amount of disinterested love and charity which has 
 seldom been equalled, and is never found but in 
 connection with the love of Christ. Here is none 
 of that unholy daring, of which we have instances 
 among the heroes of Greece and Rome, who, actu- 
 ated solely by a love of notoriety, inflicted upon 
 themselves tortures and even death ; but that pure 
 Christian character, which, at all hazards, even at 
 the sacrifice of life itself, seeks to save the immor- 
 tal soul of man. This is the kind of charity we 
 have met this day to elicit, to strengthen, and to 
 direct, and without which it is impossible that the 
 great object of missionary enterprise can ever be 
 accomplished." 
 
 * 
 
 A WONDERFUL RELATION. 
 
 THE facts hereinafter narrated, occurred in the 
 year 1813, and were fully confirmed to John F. 
 Watson, our annalist of Philadelphia, by the com- 
 modore himself, in 1824, through the medium of 
 Joseph Nurse, Esq., Register of the Treasury. 
 After the occurrence, such was the impressiveness 
 of the facts on the mind of the commodore, that he 
 became a religious professor. He stated to Mr. 
 Watson that the surgeon of the ship should some 
 day thereafter give a published account of the whole 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 391 
 
 transaction. This seems to have been fulfilled in 
 the " Itinerant" about the year 1824. At all 
 events, the following, as republished in the Norris- 
 town Herald of 8th July, 1829, gives the same as 
 from the Itinerant. Although the name of the 
 surgeon is not given, it is ascertained that R. L. 
 Thorn was surgeon, and William Turk, mate, for 
 the year 1813. 
 
 The " Itinerant" had prefaced the relation by 
 saying, " It has come to us with evidence sufficient 
 to warrant confidence, as much as any fact in his- 
 tory ; and to doubt it would argue an affected scru- 
 pulosity foreign from our convictions," to wit : 
 
 "And he that was dead, sat up, and began to 
 speak." 
 
 MIRACLE OF MERCY. Although the events now 
 for the first time recorded, occurred ten years ago, 
 they are still fresh in my recollection, and have 
 made so strong an impression upon my mind, that 
 time can never obliterate them. They partake so 
 much of the marvellous, that I would not dare to 
 commit them to paper were there not so many liv- 
 ing witnesses to the truth of the facts narrated ; 
 some of them of the greatest respectability, and 
 even sanctioned by Commodore Rodgers. The story 
 is considered by all who have heard it, too inter- 
 esting to be lost. I therefore proceed to the task, 
 while those are in existence who can confirm it. 
 
 Living in an enlightened age and country, where 
 
392 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 bigotry and superstition have nearly lost their in- 
 fluence over the minds of men, particularly among 
 the citizens of this republic, where knowledge is so 
 universally diffused, I have often been deterred 
 from relating a circumstance so wonderful as to 
 stagger the belief of the most credulous ; but facts 
 are stubborn things, and the weight of testimony 
 in this case cannot be resisted. Unable, for the 
 want of time or room, to enter into any particulars 
 as I could wish, I will give, to the best of my re- 
 collection, the most prominent and striking occur- 
 rences in the order in which they took place, with- 
 out comment or embellishment. 
 
 Some time in the latter part of December, 1813, 
 a man by the name of William Kemble, aged about 
 twenty-three years, a seaman on board of the United 
 States frigate President, commanded by Commo- 
 dore Rodgers, on a cruise then near the Western 
 Islands, was brought to me from one of the tops, 
 in which he had been stationed, having bursted a 
 vessel in his lun^s. Being at that time in great 
 danger of instant death, the blood gushing with 
 great violence from his mouth and nostrils, it was 
 with much difficulty that I succeeded in stopping 
 the discharge. He was immediately put on the use 
 of remedies suited to his case. I visited him often, 
 and had the bet opportunity of becoming ac- 
 quainted with his temper, habits, and intellectual 
 attainments, and under all circumstances, during 
 his illness, found his language and behavior such 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 393 
 
 as stamped him the rough, profane, and illiterate 
 sailor. It is my belief, though I cannot positively 
 assert it, that he could neither read nor write. It 
 is certain that his conversation never differed in 
 the least from that of the most ignorant and aban- 
 doned of his associates constantly mixed with 
 oaths, a^id the lowest vulgarity. Had he possessed 
 talents or learning, he must have betrayed it to me 
 during his long confinement. 
 
 In the early part of January, a vessel bore down 
 upon us, with every appearance of being an English 
 frigate. All hands were called to quarters ; and, after 
 a short and animated address by the Commodore 
 to the crew, all prepared to do their duty. Before 
 I descended to the cockpit, well knowing Kemble's 
 spirit, and how anxious he would be to partake in 
 the glory of the victory (defeat never entering our 
 thoughts), I thought it better to visit him. After 
 stating to him the peculiar situation he was in, and 
 the great danger he would be exposed to, by the 
 least motion, I entreated him and ordered him not 
 to stir during the action, which he promised to ob- 
 serve. We were soon after obliged to fire. At the 
 sound of the first gun, he could restrain himself 
 no longer regardless of my admonition, and of his 
 own danger, he rushed upon the deck, and flew to 
 his gun, laying hold to help to run her out. A fresh 
 and tremendous discharge from his lungs was the 
 consequence, and he was brought down to me again 
 in a most deplorable state. I apprehended immedi- 
 
394 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ate death, but, by the application of the proper reme- 
 dies, I succeeded, once more, in stopping the hem- 
 orrhage, by which he was reduced to a state of 
 extreme debility. Being near the equator, and 
 suffering much from the heat, his hammock was 
 hung upon the gun deck, between the ports, as 
 affording the best circulation of air. He continued 
 some time free from hemorrhage, but was under the 
 constant use of medicines, and was confined to a 
 particular diet. This made him fretful, and he 
 would frequently charge my mates with starving 
 him, and, at the same time damning them in the 
 true sailor style. After some time, being again 
 called to quarters at night, he was necessarily re- 
 moved below to the sick berth (commonly called 
 bay) ; this was followed by another discharge of 
 blood from his lungs, which was renewed, at inter- 
 vals, until his death. 
 
 On the 17th of January, in the afternoon, Dr. 
 , my first mate, came to me on deck, and re- 
 ported Kemble to be dead. I directed him to see 
 that his messmates did what was usual on such 
 occasions, preparatory to committing his remains to 
 
 the deep. About two hours after this, Dr. 
 
 again called upon me, and said that Kemble had 
 come to life, and was holding forth to the sailors in 
 a strange way. I directly went down, when I wit- 
 nessed one of the most remarkable and unaccount- 
 able transactions, that, perhaps, has ever fallen to 
 the lot of man to behold. Kemble had awakened, 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 395 
 
 as it were, from sleep, raised himself up, called for 
 his messmates in particular, and those men who 
 were not on duty, to attend to his words. He then 
 told them he had experienced death, but was allowed 
 a short space of time to return, to give them, as 
 well as the officers, some direction for their future 
 conduct in life. In this situation I found him, sur- 
 rounded by the crew, all mute with astonishment, 
 and paying the most serious attention to every 
 word that escaped from his lips. The oldest men 
 in tears not a dry eye was to be seen, or a whis- 
 per to be heard all was as solemn and as silent 
 as the grave. His whole body was as cold as death 
 could make it. There was no pulsation in the 
 wrists, the temples, or the chest, perceptible. His 
 voice was clear and powerful ; his eyes uncommonly 
 brilliant and animated. After a short and perti- 
 nent address to the medical gentlemen, he told me 
 in a peremptory manner, to bring Commodore Rod- 
 gers to him, as he had something to say to him 
 before he finally left us. The Commodore consented 
 to go with me, when a scene was presented truly 
 novel and indescribable, and calculated to fill with 
 awe the stoutest heart. The sick bay (or berth), 
 in which he lay, is entirely set apart to the use of 
 those who are confined to their beds by illness. 
 Supported by the surgeons, surrounded by his 
 weeping and astonished comrades, a crowd of spec- 
 tators looking through the lattice work which en- 
 closed the room, a common japanned lamp, throw- 
 
396 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ing out a sickly light, and a candle held opposite 
 his face by an attendant, was the situation of things 
 when the worthy Commodore made his appearance. 
 And well does he remember the effect produced 
 by so uncommon a spectacle, especially when fol- 
 lowed by the utterance of these words from the 
 mouth of one long supposed to have been dead : 
 " Commodore Rodgers, I have sent for you, sir. 
 being commissioned by a higher power, to address 
 you for a short time, and to deliver the message 
 intrusted to me, when I was permitted to revisit 
 the earth. Once I trembled in your presence, and 
 was eager to obey your commands ; but now I am 
 your superior, being no longer an inhabitant of this 
 earth. I have seen the glories of the world of 
 spirits. I am not permitted to make known what 
 I have beheld. Indeed, were I not forbidden, lan- 
 guage would be inadequate to the task. 'Tis 
 enough for you and the crew to know, that I have 
 been sent back to the earth, to reanimate, for a few 
 hours, my lifeless body, commissioned by God, to 
 perform the work I am now engaged in." He then, 
 in language as chaste and appropriate as would not 
 have disgraced the lips or the pen of a divine, took 
 a hasty view of all the moral and religious duties 
 incumbent upon the commander of a ship of war ; 
 he reviewed the vices prevalent on board a ship ; 
 pointed out the relative duties of officers and men, 
 and concluded by urging the necessity of reforma- 
 tion and repentance. He did not, as was feared by 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 397 
 
 our brave Commodore, attempt to prove the sinful- 
 ness of fighting and wars; but, on the contrary, 
 warmly recommended to the men the performance 
 of their duty to their country with courage and 
 fidelity. His speeches occupied about three-quar- 
 ters of an hour ; and, if the whole could have been 
 taken down at the time, they would have made a 
 considerable pamphlet, which would, no doubt, 
 
 have been in great demand. Dr. , now at 
 
 Boston, heard all the addresses; I only the last. 
 When he had finished with the Commodore, his 
 head dropped upon his breast, his eyes closed, and 
 he appeared to pass through a second death; no 
 pulsation, nor the least degree of warmth could be 
 perceived during the time he was speaking. I 
 ordered him to be laid aside, and left him. 
 
 I was soon called into the cabin, where the Com- 
 modore required from me an explanation of the 
 case on rational and philosophical principles. This 
 I endeavored to give. I but in part succeeded. It 
 would swell this narrative too much to repeat all I 
 said in endeavoring to elucidate the subject; at 
 least it proved a lame attempt. For, when asked 
 how this man, without education or reading, or 
 mixing with other society than that of common 
 sailors, should acquire the command of the purest 
 language, properly arranged, and delivered clearly, 
 distinctly, with much animation and great effect, I 
 gave no reply ; and it was, and ever will remain, in- 
 explicable without admitting supernatural agency. 
 34 
 
398 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 The days of miracles are passed, and I know I shuil 
 be laughed at by many for dwelling upon or repeat- 
 ing this story. But never since I arrived at the 
 years of discretion has anything taken a stronger 
 hold upon my mind ; and that man must have been 
 made of strange materials, who could have been an 
 indifferent spectator. Was he divinely illuminated ? 
 Was he inspired ? or was the whole the effect of 
 natural causes ? These are questions which have 
 arisen in the minds of many, and must be left for 
 the learned of two professions to answer. I re- 
 turned to bed deeply reflecting upon the past, una- 
 ble to sleep, when about nine o'clock, P.M., many 
 hours after Kemble had been laid by, I was called 
 out of bed to visit a man taken suddenly ill in his 
 hammock, hanging near Kemble's apartment. It 
 was an hour when all, but the watch upon deck, 
 had turned in ; general silence reigned, and all the 
 lights below put out, with the exception of a single 
 lamp in the sick man's apartment, where lay the 
 remains of Kemble. I had bled the sick man 
 he was relieved. I entered the sick-room before I 
 retired, to replace something; and was turning 
 round to leave it, being alone, when I was almost 
 petrified upon beholding Kemble sitting up in his 
 berth, with his eyes (which had regained their 
 former brilliancy and intelligence) fixed inteF,tly 
 upon mine. I became, for a moment, speechless 
 and motionless. Thinks I to myself, What have I 
 done, or left undone in this man's case, that should 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 399 
 
 cause him thus to stare at me at this late hour? and 
 alone I waited a long time in painful suspense, dread- 
 ing some horrible disclosure, when I was relieved by 
 his commanding me to fetch him some water. With 
 what alacrity I obeyed, can easily be imagined. I 
 gave him a tin mug containing water, which he put 
 to his mouth, drank the contents, and returned it 
 to me ; then laid himself quietly down for the last 
 time. His situation was precisely the same, in 
 every respect, as before described. The time had 
 now expired which he had said was given to re- 
 main in the body. 
 
 The next day by noon, all hands attended, as 
 usual, to hear the funeral service read, and see his 
 remains consigned to a watery grave. It was an 
 unusually solemn period. Seamen are naturally 
 superstitious, and on this occasion their minds had 
 been wrought upon in a singular manner. Decorum 
 is always observed by sailors at such times ; but 
 now they were all affected to tears. And when the 
 body was slid from the plank into the sea, every 
 one rushed instinctively to the ship's side to take a 
 last look. The usual weights had been attached to 
 the feet; yet, as if in compliment to their anxiety 
 to see more of him, the body rose, perpendicularly 
 from the water, breast high, two or three times. 
 This incident added greatly to the astonishment 
 already created in the minds of the men. I beg 
 leave to remark that it was not thought proper to 
 keep the body longer in the warm latitude we were 
 
400 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 in. I have now given a short and very imperfect, 
 sketch of the important events attending the last 
 illness and death of William Kemble. 
 
 The change produced upon the crew, was for a 
 time very remarkable. It appeared as if they 
 would never smile or swear again ; but the effect 
 wore off by degrees, except when the subject was 
 renewed. 
 
 REMARKABLE DISCOVERY OF FRATRICIDE. 
 
 IN the beginning of 1815, a circumstance took 
 place that excited much interest in Paris. A sur- 
 geon in the army, named Dautun, was arrested 
 at a gambling-house, in the Palais Royal, on the 
 testimony of a scar on his wrist. Some time 
 before, the officers of the night had found, while 
 passing their rounds in the different parts of the 
 city, four parcels tied up. One contained the head, 
 another the trunk, a third the thighs, and a fourth 
 the legs and arms of a man. In the teeth, tightly 
 compressed, was a piece of human flesh, apparently 
 torn out in the dying struggle. The parts were 
 collected, and put together in their regular order, 
 and exhibited for a number of days at the Morgue. 
 The mystery which enveloped this dark transac- 
 tion excited considerable interest, and numbers 
 went to view the corpse. The general conviction 
 was, that the deceased must have been murdered ; 
 but for a number of weeks no light was thrown 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 401 
 
 upon the circumstance. When the body could not 
 be kept any longer, a cast in plaster was taken, 
 fully representing the murdered victim, which 
 remained for some time exposed to the public. 
 Dautun happened to be engaged in gambling at 
 the Palais Royal he played high and lost; calling 
 for liquor, and being angry because the waiter was 
 somewhat tardy, Dautun emptied the glass and 
 threw it at him. It was shivered into a thousand 
 pieces, one of which entered into Dautun's wrist 
 under the cuff of his coat. The spectators gathered 
 round, and learning the accident, wished to see the 
 gash ; he drew down his sleeve, and firmly pressed 
 it round his wrist; they insisted on seeing it, he 
 obstinately refused. By this course the bystanders 
 were led to suppose that something mysterious was 
 involved in this conduct, and they determined at 
 all events to see his wrist. By force they pushed 
 up his sleeve, and a scar recently healed, as if 
 made by tearing out of flesh, appeared. The land- 
 lord had been at the Morgue, had seen the mur- 
 dered man with the flesh between the teeth, and 
 it struck him in a moment that the flesh was torn 
 from this man's wrist. Charging them to keep 
 him safe, he hastened to call in the legal autho- 
 rities, and arrested him. Dautun afterwards con- 
 fessed, that being quartered at Sedan, and without 
 money, he came to Paris to try some adventure. 
 Knowing that his brother had a large sum by him, 
 directly on his arrival he went to his lodgings, in a 
 26 
 
402 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 retired part of the city, about eight o'clock in the 
 evening. He entered the house, unnoticed by the 
 porter, and passing to his apartment, found his 
 brother asleep. He immediately commenced his 
 work of death ; his brother waking up, defended 
 himself, but being in a feeble state of health, he 
 was speedily overpowered. In the struggle he tore 
 out the flesh. Being killed, Dautun cut up the 
 body, tied it up in four parcels as before mentioned, 
 secured the money, and retired. 
 
 He also confessed, that eleven months before 
 this he had murdered an aunt, who was living 
 with a second husband, to obtain money. Her 
 husband was arrested, and imprisoned for a number 
 of months ; but as nothing appeared to criminate 
 him, he had been discharged. 
 
 THE MURDERER'S REMORSE. 
 
 ONE Sunday evening, says the Frederictown, 
 Md., Expositor., of 1831, a man who called himself 
 Daniel Shafer, voluntarily came before Michael 
 Baltsell, a magistrate of this city, and requested to 
 be committed to prison, alleging that he had com- 
 mitted a murder during the last winter, in Marietta, 
 Pa. ; and that the reproaches of his conscience had 
 become so severe, that he was unable any longer 
 to endure them. His narrative being perfectly co- 
 herent, and he himself appearing entirely sane, the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 403 
 
 magistrate complied with his request and com- 
 mitted him. Since that time, under his direction, 
 communication has been made with the proper 
 authorities in Marietta, and such intelligence re- 
 ceived as confirms the horrid tale. His story is, 
 that during the deep snow of last winter, while in 
 a state of intoxication, he entered the house of a 
 widow named Bowers, then living in Marietta, and 
 after violating her person, put her to death by 
 strangling her. The fact of such a person being 
 found dead in her house, about the time stated, is 
 fully substantiated by the accounts received from 
 Marietta ; and the whole demeanor of the prisoner 
 since his confinement, as well as his positive decla- 
 rations, has induced a general belief in the truth 
 of his singular confession. 
 
 The poor wretch was returned to Lancaster 
 county, Pa., tried, convicted, and suffered the ex- 
 treme penalty of the law. 
 
 AN AWFUL WARNING. 
 
 THE Imperial Magazine contains an account of a 
 remarkable dream related by Kev. R. Bowden, of 
 Darwen, in England, who committed it to writing 
 from the lips of the clergyman to whom it happened. 
 The dream suggests a most solemn and affecting 
 admonition. 
 
 A minister of evangelical principles, whose name, 
 
404 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 from the circumstances that occurred, it will be 
 necessary to conceal, being much fatigued at the 
 conclusion of the afternoon service, retired to his 
 apartment in order to take a little rest. He had 
 not long reclined upon his couch before he fell 
 asleep and began to dream. He dreamed that on 
 walking into his garden, he entered a bower that 
 had been erected in it, where he sat down to read 
 and meditate. While thus employed he thought 
 he heard some one enter the garden ; and leaving 
 his bower, he immediately hastened toward the 
 spot whence the sound seemed to come, in order to 
 discover who it was that had entered. He had not 
 proceeded far before he observed a particular friend 
 of his, a clergyman of considerable talents, who had 
 rendered himself very popular by his zealous and 
 unwearied exertions in the cause of Christ. On 
 approaching his friend, he was surprised to find 
 that his countenance was covered with a gloom 
 which it had not been accustomed to wear, and that 
 it strongly indicated a violent agitation of mind 
 apparently arising from conscious remorse. After 
 the usual salutations had passed, his friend asked 
 the relator the time of the day ; to which he replied, 
 " Twenty-five minutes after four." On hearing this, 
 the stranger said, " It is only one hour since I died, 
 and now I am damned." " Damned ! for what ?" 
 inquired the minister. "It is not," said he, "be- 
 cause I have not preached the gospel, neither is it 
 because I have not been rendered useful, for I have 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 405 
 
 many souls as seals to my ministry, who can bear 
 testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus, which they 
 have received from my lips; but it is because I 
 have been seeking the applause of men more than 
 the honor which cometh from above, and verily, I 
 have my reward !" Having uttered these expres- 
 sions he hastily disappeared, and was seen no more. 
 The minister awaking shortly afterward, with 
 the dream deeply graven on his memory, proceeded, 
 overwhelmed with serious reflections, towards his 
 chapel, in order to conduct his evening service. On 
 his way thither he was accosted by a friend, who 
 inquired whether he had heard of the severe loss 
 the church had sustained in the death of their able 
 minister. He replied, " No ;" but being much 
 affected at this singular intelligence, he inquired 
 of him the day and the time of the day when his 
 departure took place. To this his friend replied, 
 " This afternoon, at twenty-five minutes after three 
 o'clock." 
 
 THE BURNING OF THE RICHMOND THEATRE. 
 
 " I WAS but a boy, and lived in the city of Rich- 
 mond, Virginia, when the theatre was destroyed by 
 fire in December, 1811, and seventy-five persons 
 perished. I had a brother older than myself, who 
 resided there at the same time. During the day 
 which preceded the fire he approached me, handing 
 me a dollar, and saying he supposed I wanted to 
 
406 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 attend the theatre in the evening. On my leaving 
 home to reside in the city, my mother had charged 
 me not to go to the theatre ; this I told him, add- 
 ing, I can't disobey my mother. Upon this, he 
 took back the dollar he had given me, expressing 
 much contempt for my course. I was willing, in- 
 deed, and even anxious to retain the dollar, but 
 not as the means of violating my mother's com- 
 mand. 
 
 " Night came, and my brother attended the the- 
 atre, accompanied by a young lady of the city to 
 whom he was shortly to be married. I retired to 
 bed at an early hour, and knew nothing of the fire 
 until after sunrise. Then I learned that my bro- 
 ther, in his efforts to save her, had narrowly 
 escaped death. This bereavement was to him a 
 source of overwhelming grief, and he kept his room 
 closely for nearly a month afterwards. He never 
 subsequently said aught to me in reference to the 
 theatre, or as to my course in refusing to attend." 
 
 The above was related to me by Dr. F , now 
 
 an esteemed minister of the gospel in North Caro- 
 lina. Notice, 1. The theatre was new to him, and 
 he might have made this a plea for going. 2. It 
 would have cost him nothing, the price of admis- 
 sion being proffered him as a gift. 3. The exam- 
 ple of an older brother was before him, and pre- 
 sented a strong inducement to go. 4. His mother 
 was at some distance from the place, and it was 
 very likely that she would never have heard of her 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 407 
 
 son's disobedience. But the noble boy lirmly ad- 
 , hered to his resolution, " I can't disobey my mo- 
 ther." The voice of God seems to have blended 
 with the mother's charge, thus restraining the foot- 
 steps of her son, and in all probability saving his 
 soul as well as body from death. 
 
 A PROVIDENTIAL REVIVAL. 
 
 IN the township of R., in the western part of 
 New York, says a writer in the Christian Watch- 
 man, without any special or known cause, numbers 
 of individuals were suddenly aroused to anxious 
 inquiry and trembling respecting their souls. Some, 
 in different parts of the town, without any know- 
 ledge of the affections of others, were alarmed by 
 the consideration of their sins. Two men, from 
 different directions, came to a clergyman in the 
 morning, asking, What shall we do ? About nine 
 o'clock in the same morning, one of the members 
 of the church called upon the same clergyman to 
 go and visit several anxious individuals in his 
 neighborhood ; and before night it was ascertained 
 that almost the whole population of a considerable 
 district were solemnly, and with weeping, asking 
 the prayers and instructions of the people of God. 
 
 Accompanied by the pastor, on that and the sub- 
 sequent day, we visited from house to house ; but 
 wherever we went the Spirit had preceded us. The 
 
408 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 whole region was a Bochim. A solemn awe per- 
 vaded our souls, and we could not but feel that 
 " God is in very deed in our midst." 
 
 Revivals, thus commencing, are, indeed, rare; 
 but where they do occur, they show very clearly 
 the agency of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 MRS. ERSKINE'S RECOVERY FROM DEATH. 
 
 THERE is a remarkable circumstance connected 
 with the history of Ralph Erskine, which is well 
 authenticated in that part of Scotland where he 
 lived. His mother was supposed to have died, and 
 was buried, some years before he was born. She 
 wore on her finger, at the time of her death, a rich 
 gold ring, which, from some domestic cause, was 
 highly valued by the family. After the body was 
 laid in the coffin, an attempt was made to remove 
 it, but the hand and finger were so much swollen 
 that it was found impossible to do so without 
 mutilating the body, which the husband would not 
 consent to. She was therefore buried with the ring 
 on her finger. 
 
 The sexton, who was aware of this fact, formed 
 a resolution to possess the ring. Accordingly, on 
 the same night, he opened the grave and coffin. 
 After some ineffectual attempts to remove the ring 
 from the finger, he drew his knife for the purpose 
 of cutting it off. He lifted the stiff arm, made an 
 
KKMAKKABLE PROVIDENCES. 409 
 
 incision at the joint of the finger, the blood 
 flowed, the body shuddered and lifted itself up- 
 right in the coffin. The grave-digger fled with 
 affright. The lady crawled from the grave, and 
 with difficulty, from her weakness, made her way 
 to her dwelling. Her husband, who was a minister, 
 sat in his study conversing with a friend, when she 
 knocked at the door. He started, exclaiming, " If 
 my wife was not in her grave, I should say that 
 was her knock." He rose, opened the door, and 
 stood transfixed with astonishment. There stood 
 his wife in her grave clothes, covered with blood. 
 " My husband !" she exclaimed, as she flung herself 
 into his arms. As soon as fright and surprise 
 allowed, she was borne into the house and laid 
 upon a bed. It was some time before she fully re- 
 covered, but she became a healthy woman, and 
 lived several years after this. 
 
 QUINCEY MAYNARD. 
 
 BY GEORGE C. M. ROBERTS. 
 
 THE mere announcement of this name will call 
 up recollections of the most hallowed and touching 
 nature in the minds of scores of God's children, in 
 whose hearts' warmest affections this saint of God 
 has a permanent lodgment. 
 
 His name is of very precious memory, not alone 
 
410 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 to those who were allied to him by the tender ties 
 of consanguinity, but to those also who were his 
 fellow-laborers in the Lord's field, and with whom 
 he used to "take sweet counsel as they walked to- 
 gether to the house of God in company" there to 
 mingle their prayers and praises in the temple of 
 the "Most High." "And their name was legion" 
 Many of them have long since, with Maynard, 
 finished their course in peace and triumph, and 
 gone to join a band, the rapture of whose song an 
 angel's mind can scarce imagine. Some before, and 
 some since, he was called to " sleep in Jesus" 
 
 His end was tragical in a moment, unexpected, 
 and among those who comparatively were strangers 
 to him and to his great spiritual worth. His sacred 
 dust sleeps in undisturbed silence and repose upon 
 the banks of the Susquehanna, near the spot 
 where, in dreadful pain but holy triumph, he met 
 and conquered death. His death was occasioned 
 by his being scalded from the bursting of a boiler 
 of the first steamer employed upon that part of the 
 river, and that, too, on her first experimental trip. 
 
 Reluctantly he had consented to leave his family 
 and his business in this city for the purpose of act- 
 ing as her engineer, for which he was eminently 
 qualified. At the earnest and repeated solicitation 
 of those who knew and appreciated his capacity in 
 this department, he, however, yielded. From some 
 cause, unknown and unforeseen, one of her boilers 
 gave way, and Maynard was so badly scalded as to 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 411 
 
 cause death. By this visitation his large and help- 
 less family was deprived of its earthly stay, and 
 the church of God of one of her brightest lights. 
 The church triumphant, however, realized an addi- 
 tion to its enraptured throng by the entrance of his 
 freed spirit into the joys of heaven. There were 
 tears of sorrow on earth upon the part of those who 
 were left to linger a little longer on this side of 
 Jordan, waiting the summons of their Lord to arise 
 and meet him in the upper sanctuary. There 
 were shouts of praise amid the heavenly host en- 
 gaged in conveying him to his home " not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens!' 
 
 No thought can reach, and no tongue declare 
 the ecstasy which since that period to the present 
 has thrilled the bosoms of MAYNARD and GARY, 
 DIXON and RUSSELL, and scores of others, with 
 whom on earth they so often commingled in labor, 
 and faith, and praise. 
 
 I must, however, turn away from this train 
 of thought, pleasant as it is, not being immedi- 
 ately germ am to the primary object in preparing 
 this article, viz., to "illustrate the providence of 
 God," by the recital of a few facts by which that 
 providence was most manifestly signal, in seasons 
 of great trial and want in the history of his ser- 
 vant. Maynard, though a star of the first magni- 
 tude in the moral heavens, was nevertheless poor ; 
 and being called through this path to follow his 
 
412 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 God, was not unfrequently exposed to very strait- 
 ened circumstances. 
 
 The facts I am about to relate are of unques- 
 tionable authenticity, and derived by myself and 
 others from his own lips. On one occasion, in the 
 depth of winter, himself and family were found 
 with their small stock of wood, laid up for their 
 comfort, almost wholly exhausted ; scarce enough 
 wood, for the support and comfort of his tried ones ; 
 under similar circumstances, his prayer was upon 
 the altar, and left with his Father in heaven. He 
 retired to bed at night, not knowing how, but con- 
 fident of the fact, that God's immutable and eter- 
 nal word of truth would be fulfilled. 
 
 Ere the morning light had entirely dispelled the 
 darkness of night, a load of wood was dropped at 
 his door, through the direction of some kind but 
 unknown friend. " How mysterious are the ways 
 of. God ; past finding out !" 
 
 On another occasion, being exceedingly pressed 
 in his circumstances, and needing funds to meet his 
 immediate necessities, his mind became so much 
 exercised that he felt himself for the time wholly 
 disqualified for the work in which he was engaged. 
 Laying aside the tool in his hand (he was a machi- 
 nist), he walked to the door of his shop. After 
 being there a few minutes, he was accosted by an 
 old and feeble colored man, who inquired of him, 
 whether he knew him. Maynard replied, that he 
 did not remember having ever seen him before. 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 413 
 
 9 
 
 T,he colored man made such statements as caused 
 him very soon to recollect him. The sequel proved 
 that several years before this interview, he had done 
 some work for the old man, for which he had never 
 been paid. He assured him that he had not met 
 the claim, because it had been out of his power. 
 His family had been called to pass through a series 
 of protracted afflictions. His wife had died ; and, 
 subsequently, he had been ill, and because of his 
 necessitous condition, was compelled to seek an 
 asylum in the almshouse. Since his recovery and 
 dismissal he had been diligently engaged in labor, 
 and by great economy, had succeeded in saving 
 enough to liquidate the debt ; for which purpose he 
 had called. 
 
 Once more. 
 
 At a season of great depression, a gentleman 
 who knew him favorably and esteemed him highly, 
 loaned him a sum of money. This he was unable 
 to return, although considerable time had elapsed 
 since the reception of the favor. His mind became 
 painfully exercised lest the gentleman should lose 
 confidence in him. One morning, after partaking 
 of a scanty meal, and unable to perceive any open- 
 ing by which more could be obtained to meet the 
 pressing wants of his family, he left his humble 
 dwelling for his shop. On his way thitherward he 
 was necessarily obliged to pass the store of his 
 friend. Before reaching it, he saw him standing in 
 nis doorway. Fearing lest he should be asked for 
 35* 
 
414 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 what was justly due, and thus be placed under the 
 painful necessity of soliciting further indulgence, he 
 crossed the street to avoid him. On coming to a 
 point opposite where the gentleman was standing, 
 he was called by him. He obeyed the summons, 
 persuaded that he was about to realize the fulfil- 
 ment of his worst fears. 
 
 As he approached him his friend extended his 
 hand toward him in the most friendly manner, and 
 kindly inquired as to the state of his health, and 
 that of his family. He then said, " Mr. Maynard, I 
 called you because I have this morning been strangely 
 and strongly impressed that you were at this time in 
 actual need. Here are ten dollars, which you will do 
 me the personal favor to receive, and appropriate to 
 your own benefit in such way as you may deem most 
 proper" 
 
 As might be expected, an interposition of Divine 
 Providence, so clear and decided as this, caused his 
 heart to leap within him with joy and gratitude, 
 and he " went on his way rejoicing." 
 
 " An interposition of Divine Providence so clear 
 and decided !" Can any be so sceptical as to doubt 
 it? Can any for a moment suppose, that the im- 
 pressions upon the mind of that gentleman were 
 the result of chance ? 
 
 It is alike contrary to reason, sound philosophy, 
 common sense, and divine revelation, to attempt to 
 account for it on any other principle than this great 
 truth, based upon numerous declarations of God's 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 415 
 
 word, viz. : God saw the necessity of his faithful 
 child, and used that gentleman as his own special 
 instrument, in providing for him in this hour of his 
 extremity. 
 
 READER, are you in trouble ? Let not your heart 
 faint within you. " HAVE FAITH IN GOD." 
 
 Are you passing through the most severe trials 
 either of a temporal or spiritual character, or both 
 conjoined ? If your heart be sincere, fear not, 
 " HAVE FAITH IN GOD !" Are you even in the most 
 abject want ? Destitute of the common necessaries 
 of life ? Unable to perceive one single ray of light 
 in the path before you? Do the companion of 
 your sorrows and the mutual pledges of your love 
 your children look up to you in vain for food 
 and raiment? Murmur not. "Be careful (i. e., 
 FULL OF CARE) for nothing" An eye unseen by 
 yours, watches OVER YOU. A heart never closed 
 against human woe, feels FOR YOU. A hand never 
 withdrawn or closed against any, under any and all 
 the adversities of this life, is now stretched out TO- 
 WARDS YOU. 
 
 A voice, in strains sweeter than angels use, now 
 whispers in your ear and heart, " BE STILL ; IT is I." 
 " STAND STILL, AND SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD." 
 Then, " HAVE FAITH IN GOD." 
 
41C REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 . A STORY OF A JACK-KNIFE. 
 
 THERE is a moral in the following story, taken 
 from the Boston Ledger. How rarely does it 
 happen (does it ever happen?) that any amount 
 of wealth a man may have acquired might not be 
 measured by the amount of virtuous effort that he 
 expended in acquiring it ! Was a sudden fortune 
 ever a good fortune ? 
 
 " In 1786 a youth, then residing in Maine, 
 owned a jack-knife, which he, being of a somewhat 
 trading disposition, sold for a gallon of West India 
 rum. This he retailed, and with the proceeds pur- 
 chased two gallons, aud eventually a barrel, which 
 was followed in due time with a large stock. In a 
 word, he got rich, and became the squire of the 
 district, through the possession and sale of the jack- 
 knife, and an indomitable trading industry. He 
 died leaving property, in real estate and money 
 value, worth $80,000. This was divided by testa- 
 ment among four children, three boys and a girl. 
 Luck, which seemed the guardian angel of the 
 father, deserted the children; for every folly and 
 extravagance they could engage in seemed to occupy 
 their exclusive attention and cultivation. The 
 daughter married unfortunately, and her patrimony 
 was soon thrown away by her spendthrift of a hus- 
 band. The sons were no more fortunate, and two 
 
REMARKABLE 1 PROVIDENCES. 417 
 
 of them died of dissipation, and in poverty. The 
 daughter also died. The last of the family, for 
 many years past, has lived on the kindness of those 
 who knew him in the days of prosperity, as pride 
 would not allow him to go to the poor-farm. A 
 few days ago he died, suddenly and unattended, in 
 a barn, where he had laid himself down to take a 
 drunken sleep. On his pockets being examined, all 
 that was found in them was a small piece of string 
 and a jack-knife ! So the fortune that began with 
 the implement of that kind left its simple duplicate. 
 We leave the moral to be drawn in whatever fashion 
 it may suggest itself to the reader, simply stating that 
 the story is a true one, and all the facts well known 
 to many whom this relation will doubtless reach.'' 
 
 THE STOLEN WATCH RECOVERED. 
 
 THE following is an extract from a letter received 
 not long since from a friend. We insert it for the 
 interest of the event which it narrates. 
 
 " On one occasion a man came into my store, and 
 after looking around, selected a gold watch, chain, 
 and other articles, amounting in all to $180, and 
 requested me to send them to his boarding-house, 
 when he would pay for them. They were sent by 
 a clerk, who, after a little while, came back saying, 
 the man had got off with the articles. I imme- 
 diately went to the boarding-house myself, but 
 
 27 
 
418 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES 
 
 nobody knew him there. As it was about time 
 for the Baltimore train to start, I hastened to the 
 depot. The train had started, and a man answer- 
 ing his description had been seen to get out of a 
 carriage just at the moment of leaving. I then 
 went to the mayor's office and telegraphed to Balti- 
 more ; and offered a reward of twenty-five dollars 
 for the recovery of iny property. 
 
 " Feeling greatly distressed, for I could not afford 
 to lose the articles, I lifted my heart to God for 
 deliverance, vowing to give twenty-five dollars to 
 the missionary cause if I recovered my goods. 
 Shortly after this, I felt impressed to go to the 
 depot of the New York line at Kensington. I did 
 so; arriving there just before the train started. I 
 passed through the cars, and in the last one found 
 the thief; had him secured and taken to the 
 mayor's office, where I recovered my goods. Per- 
 haps I need not say, I have paid my vow unto 
 the Lord." 
 
 STRANGE FULFILMENT OF A DREAM. 
 
 WE have the following from a near relative. 
 Though personally acquainted with the facts at the 
 time of their occurrence, we prefer giving them as 
 related by her. 
 
 "In 18 I removed with my husband and family 
 to W , N. J. My husband was employed as a 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 419 
 
 fireman on the C R. R., and was much from 
 
 home. Far from my parents and friends, among 
 strangers, my children small, I passed many lone- 
 some and unhappy hours. One night I dreamed I 
 was with my husband in a large and crowded mar- 
 ket ; in the midst of the crowd and bustle, he be- 
 came separated from me. To add to my distress, 
 I dropped my money, consisting of small change. 
 While endeavoring to gather it up from the feet of 
 the busy crowd, an old Quaker gentleman came to 
 my assistance, and, after collecting my money, 
 offered to take me to my husband. He led me to 
 another gentleman, dressed in a long overcoat, who 
 took me in a carriage drawn by a white horse to 
 my husband. 
 
 " I awoke next morning very much depressed ; an 
 awful and unaccountable weight seemed to be 
 crushing me. Sometime in the earlier part of the 
 day, I started out to the store ; I had not proceeded 
 far, when I met an old Quaker gentleman, living 
 in the village, in company with a stranger wearing 
 a long overcoat. I at once recognised them as the 
 persons of my dream, and grew faint and sick with 
 apprehension. They led me to the house, and in- 
 formed me my husband had met with an accident. 
 Mr. V., the stranger, an engineer on the railroad, 
 brought a carriage, drawn by a white horse, and 
 
 took me to the cars, and thence to A , where 
 
 ruy husband was lying, having lost a limb by falling 
 under the locomotive." 
 
420 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 REMARKABLE SPECIAL PROVIDENCES. 
 
 IT is an authentic fact, that during the terrible 
 massacre in Paris, in which many eminent Christ- 
 ians were cruelly killed, the celebrated preacher, 
 Peter Moulin, was preserved for further usefulness 
 to the cause of the gospel, in a most remarkable 
 manner. He crept into a brick oven to conceal 
 himself, but had little hope of remaining undisco- 
 vered in the ferreting search for slaughter that was 
 carried on. In the kind providence of God, a spi- 
 der immediately crawled to the opening of the good 
 man's retreat, and wove a web across it. The dust 
 blew upon the airy screen and made it dingy ; so 
 that the place appeared long unfrequented. The 
 enemies of the Christians soon passed by, and one 
 of them carelessly remarked, " No one could have 
 been in that oven for several days !" 
 
 What a touching idea does this incident give of 
 our Father's protecting love for his children ! 
 
 AN anecdote, similar in character, is related of 
 Mr. Churchill, a native of England, who had taken 
 up his abode in India, about two miles from Viza- 
 gapatam. Soon after sunset, on one occason, while 
 he was sitting in his dwelling, of which the outer 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 421 
 
 door was thrown open, meditating with deep sorrow 
 upon the recent loss of his wife, and the helpless- 
 ness of his little children, who were lying asleep 
 near him, he was suddenly thrilled with terror to 
 see a monstrous tiger cross the threshold of his 
 house, and enter the room, with glaring eyes and a 
 ferocious howl. But the animal caught sight of 
 his full-sized image reflected in a large mirror oppo- 
 site the door, and rushing at it with all his fury, 
 breaking it into a thousand fragments, he suddenly 
 turned and fled from the spot. Thus providentially 
 did God preserve two little children and their father 
 from the jaws of a wild beast ! 
 
 LESS thrilling, but not less remarkable, is the in- 
 cident related in the following epitaph, which is 
 copied from a tomb near Port-Royal, in the isle of 
 Jamaica : 
 
 " Here lieth the body of Louis Calda, a native of 
 Montpelier, in France, which country he left on 
 account of the Revocation. He was swallowed up 
 by the earthquake which occurred in this place in 
 1692, but, by the great providence of God, was, by 
 a second shock, flung into the sea, where he con- 
 tinued swimming till rescued by a boat, and lived 
 forty years afterward." 
 
 36 
 
422 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 IN the Bartholomew massacre, which we have 
 already mentioned, at the order of the King of 
 France, the Admiral de Coligny was put to death 
 in his own house. His chaplain, the pious Merlin, 
 fled from the murderers, who designed also to take 
 his life, and hid himself in a loft of hay. After 
 the days of blood were over, and the Protestants 
 were suffered to keep their lives and their religion, 
 a synod was convened, of which he was the moder- 
 ator. In this assembly, when it was stated that 
 many who had taken refuge in similar retreats, per- 
 ished from starvation, he was asked how he con- 
 trived to*keep himself alive ? He replied giving 
 thanks to God while he said it that a hen laid an 
 egg every day during his concealment, in a nest so 
 near to him that he could reach it with his hand ! 
 
 THE celebrated Dr. Calamy, in his " Life and 
 Times," related that he knew a sea captain named 
 Stevens, of Harwich, England, who was once, by a 
 wonderful providence, preserved from drowning, 
 together with all his crew. While on a homeward 
 passage from Holland, the vessel sprung a leak, and 
 the water gained in the hold so rapidly that, in 
 spite of the pumps, which were worked with the 
 energy of despair, all on board soon gave themselves 
 up for lost. Suddenly, however, and to the surprise 
 of all, the waLer ceased to gain in depth, and the 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 423 
 
 pumps being again plied, the ship safely reached 
 her harbor. After her arrival, it was discovered on 
 examination, that the body of a fish had become so 
 firmly wedged in the leak that it could with diffi- 
 culty be taken out whole ! It is but of little con- 
 sequence, though it is an established fact, that the 
 fish was preserved in alcohol, and kept as a curios- 
 ity in the family of Captain Stevens. 
 
 In view of these striking instances of Divine 
 Providence, how can we think of our Father in 
 heaven, and not be touched with the thought of 
 that tender love which leads him to take such won- 
 derful care of his children ? Truly, we may " cast 
 all our care upon him, for he careth for us." 
 
 A MERCHANT SAVED FROM BANKRUPTCY. 
 
 WE have received from a friend the following 
 striking illustration of the ways of Providence in 
 the affairs of men. It occurred during the severe 
 monetary pressure of 1858 ; and should encourage 
 all hearts to commit to God their temporal interests. 
 We give the substance of his letter. " The heaviest 
 and most important engagements of my business 
 life were maturing in the month of July. I had 
 made them the subject of earnest prayer to God, 
 and felt myself to be in His hands, and at the dis- 
 posal of his goodness. I laid, in due time, before 
 the Board of Directors of our bank, for discounting, 
 
424 REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 
 
 real negotiable paper, in amount 50 per cent, more 
 than my payments about coming due. This re- 
 source had never before failed me,, but, owing to 
 some peculiar circumstances surrounding the bank 
 at that time, no paper was discounted. I then be- 
 came not a little distressed in mind, but continued 
 to carry the matter before the Lord regularly in all 
 my private devotions. Bankruptcy and ruin stared 
 me in the face. 
 
 " What apparently added much to my difficulties, 
 I was compelled to leave home and attend court in 
 an adjoining county only a few days prior to the 
 maturity of two of the heaviest notes. 
 
 "I went, trusting in God for deliverance ; all other 
 hope had fled. I remained from Monday morning 
 until Thursday afternoon. On Friday the two notes 
 above referred to must be paid or be protested. I 
 returned home, pledging myself to be back in time 
 to answer the call of my name next morning at 9 
 o'clock. On reaching home, after speaking a few 
 minutes with my wife and children, I shut myself 
 up in my room and poured out the agony of my 
 mind before the Lord. I then repaired to my place 
 of business, but learned my receipts were even less 
 than usual for the same space of time. I returned 
 home for supper, and at the family altar had liberty 
 in prayer. Immediately after tea I repaired to my 
 closet ; the Lord was with me, my soul was made 
 happy, and I felt perfectly resigned to the will of 
 God, be my fate what it might. I still felt it to be 
 
REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES. 425 
 
 ray duty to use every possible effort to' secure the 
 money. I set out on the endeavor, confidently 
 believing that relief would come, though I knew 
 not how. Up till 9 o'clock in the evening every 
 effort had been unavailing. I was passing along 
 the street on my return from the last place at which 
 I had hoped to secure some money, when a gentle- 
 man touched me on the shoulder, and, familiarly 
 calling my name, said he wished to speak to me. 
 We stepped aside, and he said, * I stopped you to say 
 that if you are in want of some money I can ac- 
 commodate you.' Here was the deliverance I had 
 looked for ; my heart was too full to say more than 
 'I thank you, Sir.' All necessary arrangements 
 were made for the payment of my notes, and I 
 went home with a heart overflowing with gratitude 
 to God." 
 
 A remarkable feature in the above case is, that 
 no application had been made to the person who 
 proffered this relief, but, as he expressed it, he felt 
 himself moved to make the offer. 
 
 THE END. 
 

 


 
 

 
 

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