proftitution to every comer. But I must quit this abominable fubject, and can never reflect upon it but with the greatest remorfe, and the moft piercing contrition, for my hainous fin in feducing many girls, for whom I daily pray they may be refcued from eternal ruin,

I fhould have obferved before, that my dear friend and companion, Mr T-s, was the eldest fon and heir-apparent of a gentleman in a northern county in England, a man of an amiable character for religion, charity, and every good quality. He had a numerous family of children, and was poffeffed of a good eftate. He was a Proteftant diffenter, and gave all his children a liberal and religious education. His fon Jh, while at home, was remarkably fober, of a very cheerful difpofition, and of an engaging addrefs, fo that he was beloved by every body. He was well acquainted with the principles of Chriftianity, and the holy fcriptures. He conftantly attended divine worthip on Sundays, before and after his defection to vice, and often took me along with him. His father fpared no expense on his education, allowing him 100 1. a-year; befide which he had an annuity of 50 1. left him by an uncle, which he received regularly for the three years immediately preceding his death. He never went home from the time he came to the univerfity; and though his father commiffioned a gentleman to watch his behaviour, yet he managed fo artfully, that he was never fufpected of being a rake, as he ftill plied his ftudies, never abfenting himself from the claffes or the church. He al ways made a very genteel appearance, and was univerfally beloved.

This amiable gentleman, it feems, was often ftung with remorfe of conscience for the finfulness of his lewd life; particularly after being infected

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with the venereal taint; and at that time refoiv. d to be fober. He did not inform me of this circumstance till long afterwards. Indeed I cannot fay I was fmitten with any conviction. Such was my ignorance, and fo far had the corrupt doctrine. of my companions perverted my judgment, and corrupted my natural principles. What coufirmed me in my vitious courfe, was the feeing married men of fober character, and even certain c-n, often haunting fews; and I have obferved men who had been at the facramental table on a Sunday, careffing whores in the evening, and wallowing in horrid debauchery. Hence con. cluded that there was no reality in religion, when men who profeffed and taught it acted fo unbecoming a part. And I remember very well, that on a Sunday afternoon, I heard a young c

deliver a pretty fermon against fornication; and yet I faw him that very evening in difguife, in my own prefence, go to bed, at different times, with two ftrumpets, and went away fluftered with liquor. My friend run into greater excefs of fenfuality after his recovery above mentioned, than before. So much did he confide in his fine conftitution, that he often faid to me, he had no doubt but he would live many years, and indulge bodily pleasures, the only thing worth living for! He was fo precipitated with luft, that, as he owned to me afterwards, he frequently went to lewd houses without me, and disguised himself in mean apparel, that he might purfue lewdnefs in its lowest shapes and I have heard him fay, he had been as agreeably regaled with the embraces of a cinder-wench, an orange-girl, or a milk-maid, as ever he was with a fine lady of the most exquifite beauty. Thefe mean courfes he purfued, as he alleged, out of lenity to me, whole conftitution

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was naturally weak, and not able to fupport under conftant diffipation.

But health will not always continue; luft and pleasure muft one day ceafe; the human conftitution is too weak to ferve all the unfatiable cravings of unbridled appetite; death will put a period to all the joys and gallantries of the vitious, though they would bribe it with tears, and ftave off its approaches with all the virtues of medicines. Luft and ebriety indulged to excefs, will wafte the firmeft ftrength, and enervate the strongest body. Poor T-s must figh out a farewell to luft and wine; his fine conftitution, his blooming face, and charming air, muft give place to weakness, to palenefs, and ghaftly looks! the enlivener of converfation, the favourite of the ladies, the eloquent, accomplished lover, the charming youth, muft bid adieu to all pleasurable fcenes, groan on a fick-bed, and die! Who can bear the thought! Death! How melancholy is the found! What! must the gay youth! the fine gentleman! the man who gloried in his excellent conftitution! the man who feemed to be the pride of human nature! and formed to please, whom? the ladies, the elegant, the polite ladies, who triumph in their charms, their bewitching beauty, their graceful fhape, their tranfporting air, their mufical voices, their sparkling eyes, their be no more! must he be numbered among the dead, and reckoned among thofe who have been?- -A confumption at last seized Mr T-s. With the utmost reluctance was he forced to abandon his favourite pleafures, and fpend fome months in ughs and groans.But, ah! I could not eafily refrain. Impiety is foon learned; fin is natural, vice is intoxicating; a whore is a deep pit. A retreat is no eafy affair, where inclination is wanting. But divine grace

will conquer all difficulties ;-the drunkard, the fenfualift, the fornicator, &c. at the touch of God's Spirit will tremble;-the fool will become wife, the debauchee reform, and the lewdest woman will be modeft!

My friend foon fell under the most dreadful agonies and horrors of conscience that words can exprefs. He often declared to me, that he was deeply fenfible of the evil and danger of his former courfe of life, and had the most pungent and excruciating throes of confcience for that diffolute and abandoned life he had led for fome years ;' and that nothing gave him greater uneafinefs than his having been the wicked inftrument of feducing me to the fame impiety. "You know," said he, with great emotion, "that in the days of health and ftrength, I gloried in my fine conftitution, and vainly flattered myfelf with the hopes of a long continued tranquillity. I thought I was in fo firm a ftate of health, that nothing could shake or impair it; that therefore I could run no risk by intoxicating myfelt at times with generous wine, and fatiating my luft with women. I put the evil day far away, and placed fick nefs and death at the remoteft diftance. I excluded God from my thoughts, fuppreffed the admonitions of confcience, and thought my courfe of life was the most happy a man could purfue, the only heaven on this fide the grave. I difguifed my impiety with hypocritical pretences to religion and virtue, and by a regular attendance on public worship on the Lord's day; though I devoted the reft of that facred day, for the most part, to all the extravagances of debauchery. But the evil day has overtaken me; fickness has now laid fiege to my once vigorous conftitution, and is likely to ftorm it foon. Death is advancing towards me, and will speedily complete my deftruction. Igrow

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every day worse and worfe. No medicines are of ufe for checking the progrefs of the devouring diftemper. But a wounded spirit who can bear?> God, the great God, whom I have difhonoured, is become mine enemy, and his terrors fet themfelves in array against me. His hand of wrath and indignation has touched me, and the invenomed arrows of his vengeful fury have pierced me to the quick. What can I look for but wrath, everlafting wrath? what can I expect, but to fall a facrifice to vindictive justice, and defcend to the bottomlefs pit, whence the fmoke of my torment fhall afcend for ever? I have had my day of finning, of wallowing in beaftly pleafure, and of multiplying my tranfgreffions; the Lord has now begun to take vengeance, and I fear will caufe his wrath come upon me to the uttermoft. I dread the worft; I tremble at death; the thoughts of hereafter, á black, an unknown hereafter, ftun and confound me. The Bible, which I have be gun to read, fpeaks nothing but terror to me; in it I fee my fatal doom; I tremble and stand aghaft at the awful threatenings contained in it. Pray I cannot; and what do prayers and tears avail? The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; and will a holy God regard the cries of a drunkard, a debauchee, a fwearer, an a theift, a, what fhall I call myself? O that I had never been born! Wo's me! what fhall I do? to whom fhall I fly? God is my enemy; Satan hath deceived me; and I have deftroyed myfelf! Hell from beneath is moved for me; Tophet is ordained for fuch an impure wretch; and juftice, incenfed juftice, fhall triumph in my ruin! The Lord is juft and righteous, though he fhould this moment hurl me down to hell. Against him I have finned; I have broke his laws, tranfgreffed his commandments, defied his, power, affront

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