any

pain! I do not care for it. Let me die ; let me suffer thing here, so I may but live with Christ in heaven." About this time I received a remarkable account, from Grimsby in Lincolnshire.

"William Blow, John Melton, and Thomas Wilkinson were going, on Friday last, in a boat on the sea, near Grimsby. John Melton could swim exceeding well, but William Blow not at all. When they were about half a league from the shore, they were both beat over-board. John Melton sunk to the bottom like a stone. William Blow sunk and rose several times, and was in the water near a quarter of an hour, before Thomas Wilkinson could get near him. At last he saw his hand above the water. He then struck down his boat-hook at a venture, and caught him by the flap of his coat, and pulled him to the boat-side. He was quite sensible, and said, 'Tommy, I am afraid you cannot get me in.''Nay then,' said Thomas, we will sink together, for I will not let thee go.' At last he did get him in, and brought him safe to land.

"We asked, "How he could keep in the water so long, and not be drowned?' He said, God gave him that thought, to keep his mouth shut, and when he was almost choaked, he gave a spring up, and got a little breath.' I asked him, 'How he felt himself, when he was under water? If he were not afraid of death?' He answered, 'No, my soul was lifted up unto the Lord, and I freely resigned myself into his hands.""

I received likewise from several of our brethren abroad, an account of the deliverance God had lately wrought for them.

"REV. SIR,

BUSH OFF BRABANT.

"I have long had a desire to write, but had not an op portunity till we came to our winter-quarters. When we came over, we thought we should have had B. Haime with us, as formerly: but we were disappointed. We were about three weeks upon our march, and endured a great deal

through the heat of the weather, and for want of water. At Villear camp, we lay so near the enemy, and were forced to mount so many guards, that we had hardly any time to our◄ selves, nor had J. Haime time to meet with us. We left this camp in twelve or fourteen days time, and wherever we marched we had the French always in our view only a few days, when we were marching through woods, and over high mountains. Coming back to Maestricht, at some camps we have lain so near the enemy, that their centries and ours have taken snuff with one another having then no orders to fire at, or hurt each other. But the day we came off, we found it otherwise. For at eleven o'clock the night before, orders came for us to be ready to turn out at an hour before day, which was the 30th of September. At day-break, orders came to our regiment and Colonel Graham's, to advance about a mile and a half towards the French. We were placed in a little park, and Graham's regiment in another, to the right of us. We lay open to the French; only we cut down the hedge breast high, and filled it up with loose earth. Thus we waited for the enemy several hours, who came first with their right wing upon the Dutch, that were upon our left. They engaged in our sight, and fired briskly upon each other, cannon and small shot for two hours. Then the Dutch, being overpowered, gave way, and the French advanced upon us, and marched a party over the ditch on the left of Graham's, and fell in upon them; notwithstanding our continual firing both with our small arms and four pieces of cannon. So when the French had got past us, our regiment retreated, or we should have been surrounded. In our retreat, we faced about twice and fired on the enemy, and so came off with little loss; though they fired after us with large cannon shot, I believe four and twenty pounders.

"We lost one brother of Graham's regiment, and two of our's, Andrew Paxton, shot dead in our retreat, and Mark Bend, who was wounded and left on the field. The Lord gave us all on that day an extraordinary courage, and a

word to speak to our comrades, as we advanced toward the enemy, to tell them, how happy they were that had made their peace with God. We likewise spoke to one another, while the cannon were firing, and we could all rely on God, and resign ourselves to his will.

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"A few of us meet here twice a day; and thanks be to God, his grace is still sufficient for us. We desire all our brethren to praise God on our behalf.

And we desire all your prayers, that the Lord may give us to be steadfast, · immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. "I remain, your loving Brother,

"Nov. 17, 1747.

“S. S." Nearly the same account we received a few days before, in a letter from the camp near Maestricht. Part of this ran as follows

"Ever since the 22d of July, our army and the French have lain so close, and marched so close together, that we have expected them to come upon us almost every night, and have had, for many nights, strict orders, not to take off our accoutrements, but to be ready to turn out at a minute's warning. And almost every day, some of our out-guards have had skirmishes with them. On September 29, at night, Prince Charles had intelligence, that they design to fall upon us with all their force. So we had orders to be ready, and at break of day, our regiment and Graham's were ordered to march in the front of the army, with two Hessian, two Hanoverian, and a part of the Dutch. We marched a mile forward into little parks and orchards, a village being between us and our army. In this posture we remained about three hours, while their right wing was engaged with the Dutch, the cannon playing every where all this time. But we were all endued with strength and courage from God, so that the fear of death was taken away from us. And when the French came upon us, and overpowered us, we were troubled at our regiment's giving way, and would have stood our ground, and called to the rest of the regiment, to stop and face the enemy, but to no purpose. In

the retreat we were broke; yet, after we had retreated about a mile, we rallied twice and fired again. When we came where we thought the army was, they were all gone. So we marched good part of the night, and the next day, about four o'clock, we came to this camp. We left our brother, Mark Bend, in the field; whether he be alive or dead we cannot tell but the last of our brothers that spoke to him, after he was wounded, found him quite resigned to the will of God. We, that he has spared a little longer, desire you to return thanks to God, for all his mercies to us."

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