478 WHAT WILL ATKINS SAID.

they had, he doubted, heard nothing of, and without which they
could not be baptized.

Ie told them he doubted they were but indifferent Christians
themselves; that they had but little knowledge of God or of his
ways; and therefore he could not expect that they had said much
to their wives on that head yet; but that unless they would promise
him to use their endeavour with their wives to persuade them to
become Christians, and would, as well as they could, instruct them
in the knowledge and belief of God that made them, and to wor-
ship Jesus Christ that redeemed them, he could not marry them;
for he would have no hand in joining Christians with savages; nor
was it consistent with the principles of the Christian religion; and
was, indeed, expressly forbidden in God’s Law.

They heard all this very attentively, and I delivered it very
faithfully to them from his mouth, as near his own words as I
could; only sometimes adding something of my own to convince
them how just it was, and how I was of his mind; and I always
very faithfully distinguished between what I said for myself and
what were the clergyman’s words. They told me it was very true
what the gentleman had said, that they were but very indifferent
Christians themselves, and that they never talked to their wives
about religion. “ Lord, sir,” says Will Atkins, “ how should we
teach them religion? Why, we know nothing ourselves; and
besides, sir,” said he, “should we go to talk to them of God and
Jesus Christ, and heaven and hell, 'twould be to make them laugh
at us, and ask us what we believe ourselves? And if we should
toll them we believe all the things that we speak of to them—such
as of good people going to heaven, and wicked people to the devil—
they would ask us where we intend to go ourselves, that believe all
this and are such wicked fellows, as we indeed are? Why, sir,
‘tis enough to give them a surfeit of religion at first hearing.
Folks must have some religion themselves, before they pretend to
teach other people.” “ Will Atkins,” said I to him, “though T
am afraid what you say has too much truth in it, yet can you not
tell your wife that she’s in the wrong ;—that there is a God and
a religion better than her own: that her gods are idols, that they
can neither hear nor speak ; that there is a great Being that made