They had several other discourses, it seems, after this; and particularly
she made him promise that, since he confessed his own life had been a
wicked, abominable course of provocations against God, that he would
reform it, and not make God angry any more, lest He should make him dead,
as she called it, and then she would be left alone, and never be taught
to know this God better; and lest he should be miserable, as he had told
her wicked men would be after death.
This was a strange account, and very affecting to us both, but
particularly to the young clergyman; he was, indeed, wonderfully
surprised with it, but under the greatest affliction imaginable that he
could not talk to her, that he could not speak English to make her
understand him; and as she spoke but very broken English, he could not
understand her; however, he turned himself to me, and told me that he
believed that there must be more to do with this woman than to marry her.
I did not understand him at first; but at length he explained himself,
viz. that she ought to be baptized. I agreed with him in that part
readily, and wished it to be done presently. "No, no; hold, sir," says
he; "though I would have her be baptized, by all means, for I must
observe that Will Atkins, her husband, has indeed brought her, in a
wonderful manner, to be willing to embrace a religious life, and has
given her just ideas of the being of a God; of His power, justice, and
mercy: yet I desire to know of him if he has said anything to her of
Jesus Christ, and of the salvation of sinners; of the nature of faith in
Him, and redemption by Him; of the Holy Spirit, the resurrection, the
last judgment, and the future state."
I called Will Atkins again, and asked him; but the poor fellow fell
immediately into tears, and told us he had said something to her of all
those things, but that he was himself so wicked a creature, and his own
conscience so reproached him with his horrid, ungodly life, that he
trembled at the apprehensions that her knowledge of him should lessen the
attention she should give to those things, and make her rather contemn
religion than receive it; but he was assured, he said, that her mind was
so disposed to receive due impressions of all those things, and that if I
would but discourse with her, she would make it appear to my satisfaction
that my labour would not be lost upon her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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