Assize time came, and now all was bustle; had an emperor been going to be tried for his life, surely there could not have been much more confusion, disputes, meetings, opinions, hopes, fears, and griefs, sincerity and hypocrisy; but I, partly knowing the mind of God, was prepared for the event. The committee who had met and consulted so many times before against me, and whose names, or rather characters, were old Uzzah, Hananiah, Coriah, Jannes, and Jambres, Phygelles, Hermogenes, Hymenius, and Alexander the coppersmith; Demetrius the silversmith; Sceva, Sanballat, and Tobiah, Geshem, and Doeg the Edomite; Shethar, Boznai, Rabshakeh, Nergal, Shrezar, Samgar, Nebo, Rab Saris, and Rab Mag, {127} and Haman; a noble company truly! assembled in a certain street, at the Dung Gate, _Nehemiah_, iii. 14; or rather the religious manufactory. These rulers of Babylon, being men of power, might, and influence, now exerted themselves, and although some are so miserable as to grudge themselves and families the common necessaries of life, yet they freely parted from their money on this very _important_ occasion. I have heard, and believe, they used their personal influence with *****, and others, others the most respectable amongst them, wrote to the learned Artaxerxes, as in days of old—see _Ezra_, iv. 6 to 16; mark—the persons who wrote the letter, thy servants on this side the _river Thames_—verse 11. On Friday I delivered my address to the people, from _Psalm_ cxxx. 1. Saturday, during the trial, I shut up myself from all society, and gave myself up to the will of God; and, by prayer and supplication, sought his supporting hand. The trial ended as was generally supposed it would. How could it be otherwise? The lie that was told—the mistake of the design of the letter—the country at large could not avoid prejudice, as the nation was inundated with a strong tide of pamphlets and newspapers, for weeks together; my witnesses were nothing—_one_ had forgot, and the _other_ could not remember; {128} my old lawyer had not prepared half the defence to offer to counsel, although he had been so well paid for it; the trial closed, and I lost the day: and, how great was the joy of thousands that I had never injured; but they all had an end to answer. The grief of my best wishers was great, and surely we all felt the blow most keenly. This gave full scope for opposition,—now, once more, the tide of scribbling rose, the sound of horns rushing through every street, Sunday-morning papers were eagerly embraced, posts running to and fro, hundreds running to stages with papers for country friends; but, amidst all, I felt the supporting presence of God, which, I am confident, my triumphant foes did not, nor his approbation neither. My public labours were now nearly laid aside. I met the congregation in private, and delivered many addresses to them. I resided at this time a little way from town, and here the few that knew me treated me with