THE SINNER CONVERTED. 481

for men to ask mercy: and we that are Christ’s servants are com-
manded to preach mercy at all times, in the name of Jesus Christ,
to all those that sincerely repent; so that ’tis never too late to
repent.”

I toid Atkins all this, and he heard me with great earnestness;
but it seemed as if he turned off the discourse to the rest, for he
said to me he would go and have some talle with his wife; so he
went out a while, and we talked to the rest. I perceived they
were all stupidly ignorant as to matters of religion, much as I was
when I went rambling away from my father, and yet that there
were none of them backward to hear what had been said; and all
of them seriously promised that they would talk with their wives
about it, and do their endeavour to persuade them to turn
Christians.

The clergyman smiled upon me when I reported what answer
they gave, but said nothing a good while; but at last, shaking his
head, “ We that are Chiist’s servants,” says he, “ can go no further
than to exhort and instruct; and when men comply, subinit to the
reproof, and promise what we ask, ’tis all we can do: we are
bound to accept their good words. But believe me, sir,” said he,
“whatever you may have known of the life of that man you call
Will Atkins, [ believe he is the only sincere convert among them.
[ take that man to be a true penitent. [won’t despair of the rest ;
but that man is apparently struck with the sense of his past life ;
and [ doubt not but when he comes to talk religion to his wife,
he will talk himself effectually into it; for attempting to teach
others is sometimes the best way of teaching ourselves. I knew a
man, who having nothing but a summary notion of religion
himself, and being wicked and profligate to the last degree in his
life, made a thorough reformation of himself by labouring to con-
verta Jew. If that poor Atkins begins but once to talk seriously
of Jesus Christ to his wife, my life for it, he talks himself into a
thorough convert—makes himself a penitent. And who knows
what may follow?”

Upon this discourse, however, and their promising, as above, to
endeavour to persuade their wives to embrace Christianity, he
married the other three couple; but Will Atkins and his wife were