timents of evangelical piety and extensive goodness, which he poured out into my bosom with so endearing a freedom, fired my very soul, and I hope, I may truly say, (what I wish and pray, many of my readers may also adopt for themselves) that I glorified God in him. Our epistolary correspondence immediately commenced upon my return; and though, through the multiplicity of business on both sides, it suffered many interruptions, it was in some degree the blessing of all the following years of my life, till he fell by those unreasonable and wicked men, who had it in their hearts, with him, to have destroyed all our glory, defence, and happiness. §103. The first letter, I received from him, was so remarkable, that some persons of eminent piety, to whom I communicated it, would not be content without copying it out, or making some extracts from it. I persuade myself, that my devout reader will not be displeased, that I insert the greatest part of it here, especially, as it serves to illustrate the affectionate sense, which he had of the divine goodness in his conversion, though more than twenty years had passed, since that memorable event happened. Having mentioned my ever dear and honoured friend, Dr. Isaac Watts, on an occasion, which I hinted at above (§ 70.) he adds, "I have been in pain these several years, lest that excellent person, that sweet singer in our Israel, should have been called to heaven, before I had an opportunity of letting him know, how much his works have been blessed to me, and of course, of returning him my hearty thanks: For though it is owing to the operation of the Blessed Spirit, that any thing works effectually upon our hearts, yet if we are not thankful to the instrument, which God is pleased to make use of, whom we do see, how shall we be thankful to the Almighty, whom we have not seen? I desire to bless God for the good news of his recovery, and entreat you to tell him, that, although I cannot keep pace with him here, in celebrating the high praises of our glorious Redeemer, which is the greatest grief of my heart, yet I am persuaded, that when I join the glorious company above, where there will be no drawbacks, none will outsing me there, because I shall not find any, that will be more indebted to the wonderful riches of divine grace, than I. "I know, it is natural for every one, who has felt the Almighty power, which raised our glorious Redeemer from the grave, to believe his case singular: But I have made every one in this respect submit, as soon as he has heard my story. And you seemed so surprised at the account, which I gave you, what will you be when you hear it all? if "Oh! if I had an angel's voice, "And could be heard from pole to pole; He then concludes, after some expressions of endearment, (which, with whatever pleasure I review them, I must not here insert); "If you knew, what a natural aversion I have to writing, you would be astonished at the length of this letter, which is, I believe, the longest I ever wrote: But my heart warms, when I write to you, which makes my pen move the easier. I hope, it will please our gracious God long to preserve you a blessed instrument in his hand, of doing great good in the church of Christ; and that you may always enjoy a thriving soul in a healthful body, shall be the continual prayer of," &c. §104. As our intimacy grew, our mutual affection increased; and my dearest friend," was the form of address, with which most of his epistles of the last years were begun and ended. Many of them are filled up with his sentiments of those writings, which I published during these years, which he read with great attention, and of which he speaks in terms, which it becomes me to suppress, and to impute in a considerable degree to the kind prejudices of so endeared a friendship. He gives me repeated assurances, "that he was daily mindful of me in his prayers ;" a circumstance, which I cannot recollect without the greatest thankfulness; the loss of which I should more deeply lament, did I not hope that the happy effect of these prayers might still continue, and might run into all my remaining days. 105. It might be a pleasure to me, to make several extracts from many others of his letters: But it is a pleasure, which I ought to suppress, and rather to reflect with unfeigned humility, how unworthy I was of such regards from such a person, and of that divine goodness, which gave me such a friend in him. I shall therefore only add two general remarks, which offer themselves from several of his letters. The one is, that there is in some of them, as our freedom increased, an agreeable vein of humour and pleasantry; which shews, how easy religion sat upon him, and, how far he was from placing any part of it in a gloomy melancholy, or stiff formality. The other is, that he frequently refers to domestic circumstances, such as the illness or recovery of my children, &c. which I am surprised, how a man of his extensive and important business could so distinctly bear upon his mind. But his memory was good, and his heart was yet better; and his friendship was such, that nothing which sensibly affected the heart of one, whom he honoured with it, left his own but slightly touched. I have all imaginable reason to believe, that, in many instances, his pray. ers were not only offered for us in general terms, but varied, as our particular situation required. Many quotations might ve rify this; but I decline troubling the reader with an enumeration of passages, in which it was only the abundance of friendly sympathy, that gave this truly great, as well as good man, so cordial a concern. § 106. After this correspondence, carried on for the space of about three years, and some interviews, which we had enjoyed at different places, he came to spend some time with us at Northampton, and brought with him his lady and his two eldest children. I had here an opportunity of taking a much nearer view of his character, and surveying it in a much greater variety of lights than before; and my esteem for him increased, in proportion to these opportunities. What I have wrote above, with respect to his conduct in relative life, was in a great mea sure drawn from what I now saw: And I shall mention here some other points in his behaviour, which particularly struck my mind; and likewise shall touch on his sentiments on some topics of importance, which he freely communicated to me, and which I remarked on account of that wisdom and propriety, which I apprehended in them. $107. There was nothing more openly observable in Colonel Gardiner, than the exemplary gravity, composure, and reverence, with which he attended public worship. Copious as he was in his secret devotions, before he engaged in it, he always began them so early, as not to be retarded by them, when he should resort to the house of God. He, and all his soldiers, who chose to worship with him, were generally there, as I have already hinted, before the service began, that the entrance of so many of them at once might not disturb the congregation already engaged in devotion, and that there might be the better opportunity for bringing the mind to a becoming attention, and preparing it for converse with the divine Being. While acts of worship were going on, whether of prayer or singing, he always stood up; and whatever regard he might have for persons, who passed by him at that time, though it were to come into the same pew, he never paid any compliment to them: And often has he expressed his wonder at the indecorum of breaking off our address to God, to bow to a fellow creature, which he thought a much greater indecency, than it would be, on a like occasion and circumstance, to interrupt an address to our prince. During the time of preaching, his eye was commonly fixed upon the minister, though sometimes turned round upon the auditory, where, if he observed any to trifle, it filled him with just indignation. And I have known instances, in which, upon making the remark, he has communicated it to some friend of the persons, who were guilty of it, that proper application might be made to prevent it for the time to come. $108. A more devout communicant at the table of the Lord has, perhaps, seldom been any where known. Often have I had the pleasure to see that manly countenance softened to all the marks of humiliation and contrition, on this occasion; and to discern, in spite of all his efforts to conceal them, streams of tears flowing down from his eyes, while he has been directing them to those memorials of his Redeemer's love. And some, who have conversed intimately with him, after he came from that ordinance, have observed a visible abstraction from surrounding objects, by which there seemed reason to imagine, that his soul was wrapped up in holy contemplation. And I particularly remember, that when we had once spent great part of the following Monday in riding together, he made an apology to me for being so absent, as he seemed, by telling me," that his heart was flown upward, before he was aware, to him, whom not having seen, he loved; and that he was rejoicing in him with such unspeakable joy, that he could not hold it down to creature-converse." § 109. In all the offices of friendship he was remarkably ready, and had a most sweet and engaging manner of performing them, which greatly heightened the obligations he conferred. He seemed not to set any high value upon any benefit he bestowed; but did it without the least parade, as a thing, which in those circumstances, came of course, where he had professed love and respect; which he was not over forward to do, though he treated strangers and those, who were most his inferiors very courteously, and always seemed, because he in truth always was, glad of any opportunity of doing them good. *N. F. This alluded to the subject of the sermon, the day before, which was 1 Pet. i. 8. § 110. He was particularly zealous in vindicating the reputation of his friends in their absence; and though I cannot recollect, that I had ever an opportunity of observing this immediately, as I do not know that I ever was present with him, when any ill was spoken of others at all; yet by what I have heard him say, with relation to attempts to injure the character of worthy and useful men, I have reason to believe, that no man living was more sensible of the baseness and infamy, as well as the cruelty of such a conduct. He knew and despised the low principles of resentment for unreasonable expectations disappointed, of personal attachment to men of some crossing interests, of envy, and of party-zeal, from whence such a conduct. often proceeds; and was particularly offended, when he found it, as he frequently did, in persons that set up for the greatest patrons of liberty, virtue, and candour. He looked upon the murderers of reputation and usefulness, as some of the vilest pests of society; and plainly shewed, on every proper occasion, that he thought it the part of a generous, benevolent, and courageous man, to exert himself in tracing and hunting down. the slander, that the authors or abettors of it might be less capable of mischief for the future. $111. The most plausible objection, that I ever heard to Colonel Gardiner's character, is, that he was too much attached to some religious principles, established indeed in the churches both of England and Scotland, but which have, of late years, been much disputed, and from which, it is at least, generally supposed, not a few in both have thought proper to depart; whatever expedients they may have found to quiet their consciences, in subscribing those formularies, in which they are plainly taught. His zeal was especially apparent in opposition to those doctrines, which seemed to derogate from the divine honours of the Son, and Spirit of God, and from the freedom of divine grace, or the reality and necessity of its operations in the conversion and salvation of sinners. § 112. With relation to these, I must observe, that it was his most stedfast persuasion, that all those notions, which represent our blessed Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, as mere creatures, or which set aside the atonement of the former, or the influence of the latter, do sap the very foundation of Christianity, by rejecting the most glorious doctrines peculiar to it. He had attentively observed, what indeed is too obvious, the unhappy influence, which the denial of these principles often has on the character of ministers, and on their success; and was persuaded, that an attempt to substitute that mutilated form of Christianity, |