the body, and instead thereof fills it with misery and pain: and, which is yet more, it destroys the soul, which is the most noble part of man; so that it is a sore, and threefold evil; but the last is the worst, by how much the soul is the more lasting and better part. Several ter rible instances of this nature I have met with in my travels among the children of men; three or four of which I may inform thee of; and it may be affecting unto thee, as it hath often been to my mind, when I have thought thereon.,

The First Instance of a Young Man, given to Ill Com pany and Hard Drinking.

al

THE first is of a certain beautiful young man, a physician by profession, who was much addicted to ill company, and to drink hard, and was sometimes visited with strong convictions; in one of which visitations he sent for me, and told me his condition, and made solemn covenants, "If God would but that once spare him, he would not do the like evil again." At that time it did please the Almighty to spare him; but he soon forgot how it had been with him, and fell into the same sin again; though he had a most notable admonition in a dream, but a little before. His dream was this, which is very remarkable; we being then at sea, in sight of Great Britain. He saw in his dream a great and spacious town, the buildings high, and streets broad; at which he landed, and going up the street, he espied a large sign, on which was written in great golden letters. SHAME, to which he went, and at the door stood woman, with a can of drink in her hand, who asked him to drink; to which he replied, "with all his heart, for he said, he had drunk nothing but water a gre while;" so he took the can, and drank a hearty draught, which, as he said, made him merry, and he went r ing up the street, when behold, on a sudden, a grim

ow met him, and arrested him in the name of the vernor of the place, before whom he brought him. is governor, he said, was like a great black dog, the gest he ever saw, who grinned at him, and passed tence on him; and sent him to prison, there to live ever. He told me this dream with such emphasis, as de me to tremble, which was interpreted to him. I 1 him that he was an ingenious young man, and might ily discern the interpretation of this dream, which to seemed to be ominous to him. "The great town I high buildings are thy great and high profession; sign on which SHAME was written, with the womwith the can at the door, sheweth the great shame of sin of drunkenness, and that is thy weakness; and t grim fellow, that arrested thee, is death, who will est all mortals; and the great black dog, the goverof the place, is the devil; who, when his servants we served him to the last, will torment them forever." God forbid, it is but a dream," was his answer to me. aid it was a very significant one to him.

About three days after, the same person went on board hip, whose loading was wine and brandy; the master ve a can of wine to him, and said the same words, as

woman said to him in his dream, and he answered th the same expressions, and it had the same effect on him; for he took such a hearty draught as made n too merry, insomuch that he overset the boat, and s drowned, much in drink and I seeing him sink wn, and his dream so punctually fulfilled, I was very avy in my mind for several days.

Oh! methinks I could wish that the many righteous dgements of the Most High, might effectually work on e hearts of those people, who are in the flower of their e, to their conversion and salvation.

The Second Instance of a Merchant, addicted to the like Destructive Practices.

THE second is of a merchant, about thirty-five years of age, whom I saw take leave of, and bid adieu to this world he was one who had spent much time in keeping unprofitable company and over drinking, which practice wasted his strength and flesh, as it did his time and money, and brought him into a deep consumption; as it has many to my certain knowledge; besides bringing the racking painful distemper of the gout, and many other miseries; so that at last it brought him to his chamber and then to his bed: and in his sickness he several times sent for me and made serious acknowledgments of his "former mispent time, and hoped, if the Lord would spare him, to be more careful for the time to come." But he was no longer to be trusted here in this world; for he went not out until he was carried in his coffin: he held my hand fast in his, until he died, and was sensible to the last.

One day, as he lay on his death-bed, he called me to him, into his chamber, and "Charged me to caution the young people to be careful how they keep (and spend their time in) evil company, for it had been his ruin, and now lay as a great and heavy burden on his conscience: Oh! (says he) if they did but feel one quarter of an hour, what I feel, they never would keep such company any more: tell this to my former companions."

And indeed there is a great deal of hurt done by young men getting together to drink wine, or other strong drink I wish the wo, mentioned in the holy scriptures, may not be the portion of many of them; "Who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink ;" and sit late at it, which many times brings suffering on parents, wife, children, and servants, as well as themselves; and is a very disorderly practice, being a reproach to all christian societies and families, wherever such things are.

There is a great concern upon me against this growing evil in our young generation; and I hope, in Christ our Lord, that divers heads of families will come under the like exercise in themselves: and then, if our youth will neither hear nor fear the Lord, nor us, we shall be clear, and their blood will be on their own heads, as a worthy and honourable elder, and man of God (of your nation) said: one of whose offspring is the subject of the third particular, that I shall mention to thee, of the many I have been acquainted with, in my pilgrimage here, in and on this part of the globe of the earth and sea; for these are but few instances of many that I have met withal: I may therefore thus proceed.

The Third Instance of another Young Man, who much embraced the same Destroying Delights.

THE fifth of the first month, at Bridgetown, in Barbadoes, S. E. son of W. E. died. His death was sudden; and, as was reasonably supposed, he destroyed himself by drinking and undue company-keeping, and sitting long at it. A person, to whom he himself had told it, told me, "That he and four more, at one sitting, drank above twenty quarts of double-distilled rum punch; which put him in a violent fever: so that he ran about the streets, with a naked sword, and talked of killing one of the neighbours, in this drunken' fit." The next day he came to me, and asked me, "Whose door the blood would have lain at, if he had, in that fit of disorder, killed any body?" By which query, I thought he was not yet rightly come to himself: because there were some ordinary reports about the town concerning him, he reckoned those who broached and spread those reports, would have been culpable, and must have answered for the murder, if he had committed any but this was but covering his sin.

He seemed to fall out with religion too; for he said, "He would come no more to worship, till he should have

justice done him, as to the reports:" though poor soul, he had the more need to present himself before his Maker, and bow before the most high God, and repent in great humiliation. The same day in which he neglected his duty, he was taken sick, and that day week was buried. He sent for me, and I went to him: he had but little sense of his end, as I could perceive, and remained so till the night he died. I was by him when he died, and saw him fetch his last breath. A few minutes before he gave up the ghost, he trembled and shook exceedingly, and shrieked out, to the astonishment of all those present, which pierced my very soul within me: for he seemed to go out of the world in an extreme great agony.

I never saw any depart the world any ways like him ; and indeed it was very amazing, and greatly affected my mind with sorrow; for I thought he was very unfit to die. Oh! me thinks I could heartily wish, that such objects might be as so many strong motives, to stir up and awaken the offspring of good men and virtuous women (as also any professing christianity) to fear the Lord, and walk in his ways, whose ways lead to life, in which the sting of death is taken away.

The children of godly parents have much to answer for, in slighting or neglecting the wholesome counsel, good advice, and faithful admonition, of their faithful and careful parents; whom they disgrace and dishonour, contrary to the command of God, who says, "Honour thy parents, that thy days may be long in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:" and none can truly honour their parents, who dishonour God their maker.

The Fourth Instance of a Young Woman who often absented herself from meetings, for the sake of much Bad Company.

THE fourth instance, which I shall give thee, is concerning a young woman, of about twenty-five years of age; who was brought up very finely, tenderly, and delicately,