the head and another by the feet, and with > the surprise I awoke and found it a dream. But oh what horror seized my guilty breast! I thought I should die and be damned. This brought seriousness to my mind for about eight or ten days, in which I made many promises to amend my life; but they soon wore off again. About five or six weeks after this, I dreamed that I died and was carried into one of the most beautiful places I ever saw, and my guide brought me to one of the most elegant buildings I ever beheld, and when we came to it, the gates opened to us of their own accord, and we went straight forward into the building, where we were met by a company of the heavenly host, arrayed in white raiment down to their feet. We passed on through the entry until we came to a door on the right, which stood about half open; passing a little forward, we made a stand before the door; I looked in, and saw the Ancient of Days sitting upon his throne, and all around him appeared a dazzling splendour: I stood amazed at the sight one stepped to me arrayed in white, which I knew to be my wife's mother, and said to me, "Benjamin, this place is not for you yet," so I returned, and my guile brought me back. I awoke with amaze at what I had seen, and concluded that I should shortly die, which brought all my sins before me, and caused me to make many promises to God to repent, which lasted for some time; but this wore off again, and I went to my old practices. One sabbath-day (our minister being sick, and my wife being a great meeting woman) hearing that there was to be a methodist meeting about ten or twelve miles distant, she expressed a desire to go to it, and asked my consent; I gave it; and she and my oldest son and daughter went to hear the man. On their return, I asked her how she liked the preacher, she replied that he was as great a preacher as ever she had heard in all her life; and persuaded me to go and hear for myself: accordingly on the next sabbath I went; there was a large congregation assembled to hear the man: his text was, Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. xi. 28. The man was much engaged, and the people were crying all through the house; this greatly surprised me, for I never had seen the like before.-The sermon made no impression on me; but when he came to the application, he said, It may be, that some of you may "think that there is neither God nor devil, heaven nor hell, only a guilty conscience; and indeed my friends that is bad enough." But, said he, "I assure you "that there is both heaven and hell, God and devil," I spoke, I am the man,But he went on, and said, "When I was "coming from England to this country, I "saw a ball of fire fall from the elements "about as large as a small pot, &c." In illustrating from this, he argued that fire was contained in every thing, and that there was a dreadful hell that was beyond our comprehension, and advised the people to fly to Christ for refuge. He then shewed the reality of the existence of a God, from a beautiful illustration of his works, which were evidenced to us daily; and that this God had created the heavens and earth : then called upon the people to come unto God, for Christ had died for their redemption. There was much weeping and heavy groaning among the people. Meet ng being over, the two dreams that I had dreamed about seven years before, came as fresh into my mind as if dreamed. the night before, and that God had shewn me both heaven and hell, the state of the blessed and the damned. This brought me to think of my mis-spent life, and in a moment all my sins that I ever had committed were brought to my view; I saw it was the mercy of God that I was out of hell, and promised to amend my life in future. I went home : under awful sensations of a future state my convictions increased, and I began to read my bible with attention, and saw things in a different light from what I had ever seen them before, and made many pro-" mises to God, with tears and groans, to forsake sin; but I knew not the way to Christ for refuge, being ignorant of the nature both of conviction and conversion. But blessed be God, he still gave me light, so that the work was deepened in my soul day by day the preacher came to preach in our neighbourhood, and I went to hearhim again; it being a new thing in the place, brought many together to hear him: some were presbyterians, some baptists, and others without any profession of religion. He took his text, and preached with power; the word reached my heart in such a powerful manner that it shook every joint in my body; tears flowed in abundance, and I cried out for mercy, of which the people took notice, and many others were melted into tears: when the sermon was over, the people flocked round the preacher, and began to dispute with him about principles of religion. I said that there never was such preaching as this ; but the people said, Abbott is going mad. I returned home with my family, in sote stress, and pondered these things in my mind: I saw it was the mercy of God that I was out of hell. I cried to God for merey, but it seemed all in vain. It brought to my mind the many times his holy Spirit had strove with me when I was a small boy, and from that time to this. Satan suggested to me that my day of grace was now over, and that I was one of those damned reprobates that God had assigned over to him from all eternity; therefore I might pray and ery, but he was sure of me at last. Being brought up in the doctrine of election and reprobation, I concluded that I should be damned do what I could: by this time my ease became desperate. I knew not wint to do, and was almost in despair. One day going to mili, I felt such a bell in my breast arising from a guilty conscience, and being belated in my return, as i was passing through a piece of woods, the devil suddenly suggested to my mind, that as I was one of the reprobates, and there was no mercy for me, I had better hang myself and know the worst of it. While I was looking for a suitable place for that purpose, I thought I heard a voice saying, (alluding to the anxiety and distress of soul that I then felt) This torment is nothing to hell." I immediately changed my mind, and drove home under the greatest anxiety imaginable, for it ap B |