ever should pursue that timid and vascillating course of conduct, which evinces a greater solicitude to please the multitude than to arrive at truth, and to obtain popular applause at the expense of a good conscience! And may the Lord pity the man, who would compromit his character, by prostrating principle, before the idol of popularity!

At this conference, which has just closed, I have been appointed to travel the Scott circuit, in Virginia. I shall set out for the circuit in a few days. I am told this circuit is situated in the mountainous part of the state-in a fine grazing country, which enables the farmer to raise stock, &c. The vallies between the mountains are generally fertile, and produce excellent grain.

Religion. Methodists are the most numerous denomination. Next to these, the Baptists."

Climate.

Scott county enjoys a mild climate.

The weather is generally moderate till towards Christmas, when winter commences, and continues variable till the middle of March, sometimes pleasant, and at other times disagreeable.

The life of a Methodist travelling preacher, with all its losses, crosses, and disappointments, has nevertheless been a pleasant one to me; and had its vicissitudes been more numerous and grievous than they even were, I should r not have retired from the field. On every circuit I have travelled, there have been acts of kindness paid to me, which, though I can never repay them in this life, I will never forget them. Kind attentions are at all times pleasant, but when one is far from home, and among strangers, it is delightful indeed to meet with those who are kind and affectionate. My stay on each circuit, has of course been short, but I shall long remember the polite, yea, the christian friendship of many persons on those circuits. There is something in these transient attachments which shows us that we were born to do each other good, notwithstanding all the evil there is in the world. But to many of those friends, whose kindness induced me to love them as relations, I have long since bid a last adieu, perhaps, no more to meet, till,

"Wrapt in fire the realms of ether glow,

And heaven's last onset shakes the world below.'

And O Lord, irradiate our minds with all useful truth, instil into our hearts a spirit of benevolence, give us understanding, meekness, temperance, fortitude, patience, and all the excellent graces of the Spirit. Be indulgent to our imperfect nature, and supply our imperfections with thy heavenly favor.

CONCLUSION.

I have a few remarks to make on some four or five points, before I finally close. As a man, and as a minister, I am objected to from several considerations, by many within the circle of my acquaintance. Every man living, has those within his vicinity who hate, who envy, and affect to despise him;-these will see his actions with a jaundiced eye, and will represent them to others in the same light in which they themselves behold them. No virtue, no prudence, no caution or generosity, can preserve a man from misrepresentations; his conduct must be judged of by weak and prejudiced intellects, or by such as only see a part of it, and hastily form a judgment of the whole. Well might the poet say:"When cruel slander takes her impious flight, What man's secure against her baleful sway, Virtue herself must sink in shades of night,

And spotless innocence must fall a prey."

I will state the several objections urged against me, and answer them in detail. I say I hasten to reply to these several objections, with the hope that my remarks will be read-carefully and candidly read-by every class of readers. I intend no quibbling-no special pleading. I shall plead upon the broad merits of the case First,

INCONSISTENCY OF CHARACTER.-This is the most common, though not the most inconsiderable objection to me, as a minister. By the term inconsistency, we are to understand a disagreement--incongruity. When, therefore, it is urged that I am inconsistent, it is not intended to say that I am hypocritical, or that I am clad with a tissue of deception, by which I impose on my fellow-creatures. I am glad of this, for of all the offspring of depravity, deception, perhaps, bears the nearest resemblance to its father the devil. But to the subject. It is true, I cannot mingle in my looks, the piety of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, and the fervor of Isaiah; nor am I exact to a degree of scrupulosity in small matters, and at the same time neglect the most important points in the law of God. I have never thought myself deputed from heaven for the general reformation of manners, nor would I try all men at my bar. Nor yet, am I one of those blind guides, who would strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. I have my faults, no doubt, as well as all other men-I am not infallible, because I am not immortal. There are spots in the sun -there are specks in me. I am a man, and therefore liable

to err. Yes, I am a right down man, and without any sort of disguise, I exhibit to the world what I am. In a word, many say, "Lo! here is Christ, or Christ is there;" but few can consistently witness that "the kingdom of heaven is. within them.” With more truth than ever, we may say:

"Ye different sects, who all declare,

Lo! here is Christ, or Christ is there;
Your stronger proofs divinely give,
And show us where the christians live;
Your claim, alas! ye cannot prove,
Ye want the genuine mark of love."

A GREAT MANY PERSONS DISLIKE ME.-To this I reply, that every man who does his duty in life, in the uncompromising spirit of integrity, must make enemies, and meet with opposition. Daniel, Isaiah, Micah, Elijah, and all the Lord's faithful prophets, had their enemies. So had Peter, and Paul, and James, and the rest of the apostles. In modern times, what man had more enemies than Luther?-And Knox, and Wesley, and Fletcher, and Whitfield: not comparing myself to them however. Even the mild and amiable Son of the Most High, could not escape the persecutions of the wicked. And every faithful witness for the Saviour, may expect to be constantly exposed to the enmity of evil doers. While I dwell in a "house of clay whose foundation is in the dust;" while I sojourn in "a land of pits and snares," and within "the region of the shadow of death:" while I walk amidst scenes of sorrow and suffering, surrounded by "the tents of strife," and exposed to the malice of "lying lips and deceitful tongues,' "I am admonished not to make any other calculations, but to "suffer for righteousness' sake." As long as I live, I expect to stand as a mark, for the vengeance of cankered hearts, and the malice of envenomed tongues. Nor do I even desire a different state of things.

"No glory I covet, no riches I want,
Ambition is nothing to me;

The one thing I beg of kind heaven to grant,
Is a mind independent and free.

With passion unruffl'd untaint'd with pride,

By reason my life let me square:

The wants of my nature are chiefly suppli'd,
And the rest is but folly and care."

Indeed, it is a matter of but little consequence with me, to hear, that this, that, or the other man, is displeased with me, and "utters loud swelling words" against me. One among the many incontestible evidences I have, of making advancements in the divine life is, that all men do not speak well of me. I rather request of all, who, when they look

at me, have a blot on their optics, and over the same spectacles of malice, never to say any thing in my favor. And I should be seriously alarmed, to learn certainly, that the community at large, admire me, or that I am exceedingly popular. I hope, therefore, always to have certain winning ways, to make a certain class of human beings hate me! For by this I shall know, I am in the road to a better world. Said a divine personage, "Wo unto you, when all men speak well of you! for so did their fathers of the false prophets." And again: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." Again: "If ye were of the world the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And again: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." And to cap the climax, Christ says: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." Now, the religion. which can endure these things, is a firm and effectual support in the midst of every calamity to which a believer is exposed. Is the christian persecuted?-this is a part of his earthly inheritance. Is he visited with sickness?-he anticipates the period when pain and sorrow shall forever flee away. Is he oppressed by poverty?-he reflects with peculiar delight, upon the treasure which he possesses in the heavens. word, he knows and believes, that all things shall work together for his good; and that his light afflictions, which are but for a moment, shall work out for him a far more exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory.

In a

BUT I AM ALWAYS QUARRELLING.-To this grave charge, I reply, I have, it is true, been engaged in several judicial and clerical contests; but I assert, in view of a judgment to come, that I have never engaged in any controversy whatever, unless I myself, my brethren in the ministry, or our doctrines and institutions, have first been assailed. And in defence of each, or all of these, I would risk as many characters, lives and fortunes, if I had them, as there are atoms of the universe, or minims embodying the immensity of space. Yes, should secret calumnies and public scandals, private associations and public testimonies, ridicule, and satire, poetry and prose, paragraphs and pamphlets, dreams, and dialogues, and all the presses and lying tongues, in the union, be employed against me, I shall nevertheless maintain the truth. For I have em

barked in the glorious enterprise of preaching the gospel, with a proportion of ambition and zeal, and with a perseverance not to be daunted by the chilling and sickening blasts of poverty and persecution. Therefore, I am prepared to endure all the dreadful consequences of sectarian malice and management, even should they include-pains and penalties. bills of attainder- confiscation of estate-all the horrors of ecclesiastical and civil war-nay, death upon the scaffold!

Then let it be urged, that I am, and always have been, "a mover of seditions," the pest of general society, and the fruitful source of domestic broils; or a being whose heart is full of rancor and animosities, jarring affections, and discordant and malevolent feelings! Yes, ring my death knell from steep to steep-let its swelling sounds be heard in startling echoes, mingling with the rush of the mountain's torrent, and the mighty cataract's earthquake voice! Spread the unfurled banner of calumny upon every breeze-let it float in the atmosphere till my name becomes a mockery and a byword! Like the Phoenix, in newness of beauty and majesty, amid the fires of opposition, I hope to rise to victory and triumph. What can be more noble than to brave the censure of disappointed ambition-to bear with the arrogance, pride, and infirmities of a priest-ridden cómmunity, and blind bigots, for the good of mankind! To suffer all this, I am perfectly aware, must require a considerable degree of moral courage; and I think I possess the courage that can endure it all, and even death itself. I pretend not to be a candidate for the honors of martyrdom, yet, I should feel that I had gone down to my grave disgraced, did I not incur the censure and abuse of bloated bigotry, and priestly corruption.

MY STYLE AS A WRITER, TALENTS AS A PREACHER, AND MANNERS AS A MAN. When I write, preach, converse, or mingle with society, I do all after the texture so to speak, of my own mind. But it will be said, I am a minister of the gospel, and that no temptation, no unjust usage, should provoke me to come down from my high abode, and seat myself upon the dunghill of anger and revenge. This is all very true. I believe the scriptures when they say, "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God." But I have yet to be convinced that it is sinful for a christian to defend himself, and that too, in an independent and pointed way. As it respects my accomplishments, I never professed to have a great deal of polish about me, nor do I desire to be polite.

As it regards my intellectual faculties, I never believed I was a Solomon. I have never been able as yet, by my flowing