satisfied with this feat, it would have shown him to be master of some prudence; but forgetting that his stay beyond the Coa was a matter of sufferance rather than real strength, he resolved, with ambition not easily excusable, in defiance of reason and the repeated order of his general, to fight again on the right bank,—a piece of rashness for which we dearly paid. Upon a calm review of the circumstances under which this engagement took place, I consider it little short of a miracle that a single British soldier survived to describe it. The troops we had to oppose were those of a well-disciplined army, they were commanded by officers of approved talent and courage, and outnumbered us at least in the proportion of four to one. Nor, mingled as I was among the most furious combatants, can I conceive how it happened that I escaped unhurt; to be sure, this is talking as if God and His providence were banished from the earth. Danger and death were undoubtedly averted by the unperceived but almighty agency of the Divine protection; that delivered my soul from perdition, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling, in order that in future my days, so singularly lengthened, should be devoted to His service. He gave His angels charge concerning me: such, at least, is my conviction. Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth, both when we wake and when we sleep: these are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who are the heirs of salvation; and as I humbly raise my claim for a share therein, why should it be thought a thing incredible that the Almighty was my special defence, ‘And turned aside the fatal blow, And lifted up my sinking head’?