AS you have been my constant friend for many years, and have some knowledge of the English tongue, I, in return of friendship, intend giving you some account of my travels and experience since I left Maryland.

I very fortunately met with captain S—, bound for London, and agreed with him for my passage; the next day I went on board, at which time the captain was giving orders to his men to get every thing in readiness for the first fair wind. They had all their cargo on board, and wished for nothing more than a speedy departure. I spent that night a very restless manner, my mind being filled with sorrow at the thoughts of leaving my friends and native country.

The next morning the wind-came about, and stood W. by N. at which joy appeared in every countenance, except my own. They weighed an­chor, and hoisted sail with the greatest expedition —at which time tongue could not express the dif­ferent emotions of my heart: swarms of thoughts, like these, poured in upon me; "I must now take [Page 4] my leave of every thing that is dear to me; I may perhaps be drowned in the sea, or die in my pas­sage, and never see my friends and native country any more." In answer to this, it returned upon my mind, Those I have left behind do not want for any thing; and for my part, I have plenty, and shall be independent till I see my dearest friends again. I shall be respected by our prince, for the discoveries I may make in matters acted among the christians.

But this my friend, was uppermost in my mind, to inquire who their God was, how they worship him; for you know, our father intirely forbade our English tutor even to speak of him in our hear­ing. Upon these considerations I was resolved to banish all thoughts that had tended to make me uneasy, as I did not conceive why a person of my sphere should indulge that softness too much practi­sed among our women. Curiosity now reared its head, and bore the sceptre with majesty. I once more cast my eyes on my native land by way of gratitude, and then took my leave, intreating Da­rus, my father's God, to be my protector, and bring me back, when he thought fit.

The greatest part of our sailors were distinguish­ed by the name of christians; but my friend, I was greatly surprised when I came upon deck. They called upon their God, it is true, but in that noisy, blustering, confused manner, as if each feared the roaring of the waves intercepted his addresses. I thought within myself, their god must be but a mean god indeed, if he pays any regard to their wild way of worship: but at last I understood that all their behaviour was an abuse of his goodness, and sprung merely from a disorder in themselves; for they wanted nothing which persons in their situations could wish for, and yet, in the midst of plenty, there was not the least appearance of thankfulness. In working the ship they often called upon God to damn their eyes, their hands, their feet, & their blood, in short they were more mad with [Page 5] rage than our Indian soldiers when closely pressed by the enemy in the field of battle; and seeing he did not destroy their members, when often intreat­ed to do so, I concluded their god was deaf, or else so compassionate that be pitied and spared them for his own goodness sake.

By attending to their behaviour farther, I found they had another god, with whom they had a grea­ter intimacy; he did not appear at that distance from them that the former did; and some of them I may say indeed the greater part of them, expres­sed a desire to dwell with him, for they would of­ten call upon him to come and take them. This, my friend, was the first time I discovered that the peo­ple called christians had two gods.

Within five weeks we made the south-west of Ireland. Our captain had some thoughts of put­ting in at one of their sea ports, to take in fresh water, but the wind being fair, and a smart sea breeze, we resolved to pursue our course. The next day we made the lands of England, at the sight of which, the sailors were elated with joy. In three days after we arrived safe in in the Downs, where we dropped anchor. I returned thanks to Darus, that he had been mindful of us on the sea, and saved us from the power of the raging waves. After I had paid my passage, and given orders con­cerning my things on board, I went in the boat with the captain, and that night arrived at Lon­don.

I put up at an inn, and promised myself great pleasure by being in the christians' capital. I confess, my friend, I was greatly surprized to see the largeness of the place, and multitude of inha­bitants: but these smaller matters I shall pass over till I see you; my chief business is, to find out the God who is supposed to dwell among the christi­ans, and the manner of their worship. Accord­ingly, the next sabbath day (for you must know, my friend, in this christian nation they set apart one day from seven, for the worship of what they call [Page 6] the true God, and retire from all worldly employs on one of those days) I went with a guide to a place called a church, at the entrance of which I was a little surprized at the largeness of the company.

I followed my host till he came to the middle of the place, when I saw a tall man covered with a long white garment, from his shoulders down to his feet; and, with an audible voice, he read in a large book that lay open before him. Many of the peo­ple in the place had a small book in their hands, and sometimes they read aloud, in answer to the man in the white garment; at other times he and they spoke loud together. After this, the tall man put off the long white covering, and then from his shoulders down he was blacker than any of us In­dians, Then he ascended several steps, and had a small book in his hand, and, as I thought, called upon their God; but in a slow, faint, dull manner, quite different from the manner of the christian sailors. I took particular notice of the assembly, some of them stood, others sat, and a few were on their knees. In short, I no longer wondered at christians having two gods; for when I observed their different positions, I was ready to imagine they had near as many gods as they were people; as the different position of the body shewed differ­ent frames of their minds.

Then the man in black made a long pause. He again took the book into his hand, for it appeared to me the book was his whole support, and read these words:—"What is required of thee, O man, but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?" He told them, in the first place, it was every man's duty to endeavour for the neces­saries of life, in an honest manner; that it was inconsistent with the christian's plan for any man to defraud his neighbour; and, in the second place, provided they had more than sufficient for them­selves, it was the strongest proof of their being un­doubted christians, and lovers of mercy, said he, to deal your bread to the hungry, to cover the na­ked [Page 7] with a garment, as acts of charity and bene­volence are most pleasing in the sight of God: and, in the third place, to walk humbly with thy God.

He told them that man was formed out of the dust, and ere long must return to the dust again; and added, Thoughts of this kind should reduce you to a proper knowledge of yourselves, and the fruit of it should appear by a constant attendance upon the means of grace. When on a dying bed, it will be a comfortable support to your feeble mind, to look back on a well-spent life; such per­sons, doubtless, God will not disapprove of in the great day, but will welcome them with a "Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Mean time I could not help taking notice of the behaviour of the company assembled together, some of them were whispering, others sleeping, and and abundance looking at each other, as if they were admiring the different colours of their cloaths, or the manner of their dress; quite regardless of what the man in black was speaking, or at least it appeared so to me. After he had done reading in his little book, he came down, and all the peo­ple went out of the place, many of them walked into the same street where I lodged. So I attended to their behaviour, while passing, some were talk­ing about the news-papers, informing each other how business was carried on abroad; in short, they were all busy about the affairs of this life; but not a word did I hear about the sermon, or the God the man spoke of, unless in a trifling, profane man­ner. I was not at all pleased either with the per­formance of the man that spoke, or the behaviour of the people, for the former did not tell them who God was, where he was, or how they should find him; and the latter were all confusion.

When I came to my lodgings, my mind was ex­ceedingly uneasy; I rung the bell, and the landlord came to know what I wanted. I told him, a pro­per knowledge of the christian's God: at which [Page 8] he appeared greatly surprised, and declared he was no scholar, therefore he was not a proper person to give any information. I then asked him, whether he knew of any one in the neighbourhood that could. He told me, there was one Dr. T—r. a few doors from him, supposed to be one of the greatest scholars in the city. The next morning I waited upon this gentleman; and he received me with all the civility imaginable. I asked pardon for the freedom I had taken, and desired he would not be surprised at the strangeness of my business: I then told him I was an Indian, born in the pro­vince of New-York, and the chief of my business, in this place, was, in quest of the christian's God. After a long pause, he made this answer: Your business, Sir, is of the greatest importance; and to give you proper directions, is of equal moment, and requires some time for deliberation, If you please to call upon me to-morrow morning, I shall be glad to spend an hour or two with you. I did so; but the good Doctor desired to be excused, and told me, some unexpected business had fallen in his way, that required his attendance for seve­ral days; and added, if you stay in town till the latter end of next week, I shall be exceedingly glad to see you, and give you all the information I am capable of. I thanked him, and so we parted. By this time, my friend, I was ready to wish myself in my native land again, and repented my being so troublesome to myself and others. But one day, as I was standing in the passage from my room to the kitchen, I saw in a dark place the end of a large book it was almost buried in lumber and dirt. I asked the maid what book it was. I do not know indeed sir, said she, unless it is an old bible put there out of the way. She took it into her hands, and opened the cover; It is, said she, sure enough. Good now, we have no time to read in any good book in this place. Pray said I, is that a book the christians pay any regard to? It is, sir, said she— I have often heard my mother say that every one [Page 9] is a good christian who follows the directions giv­en in that book. I then desired her to take it to the kitchen, to wipe off the dust, and bring it to my room. I was never better pleased, than when I found it to be the christians rule respecting doct­rine and practice. I resolved to read it over and over again, and then compare the manners of the christians with what was contained in this book.— I spent near three weeks in the reading and study of it, and found it the most pleasing piece I ever met with; for though I had read over some part of it several times, the matter was still new. I com­pared it to a fountain, of which every passenger may freely drink, yet it is still overflowing.

In this book, there is an account that God is a spirit, self-existing before all worlds, from eternity to eternity having neither beginning nor end that every good thing either dwells in or proceeds from him. It was he that made the sun, moon and stars, the earth and sea, and all that therein is: it was he that formed man out of the dust, and gave him an immortal soul that will exist parrallel with himself. I confess, my friend, the reading of this book had such an effect upon my mind, as I never felt before. It treated of the fall of man in his parent Adam, together with the numberless evils entailed upon his posterity in consequence of the fall; and that those things not only consume the body, and tor­ment the mind in this life; but it further asserts, that without pardon here, divine vengeance will be poured on the heads of the guilty through all eternity.

I began to tremble, and the tears gushed from my eyes in abundance. I laid the book aside, and began to summon all my reason to the field, if pos­sible to subdue or make a stand against the confusion I was in; but all I could do, was not sufficient to stop the rapidity of my thoughts. They recoiled upon me, that Adam was the father of all the hu­man race; Adam disobeyed the command of his God; upon this disobedience, his glory left him, [Page 10] and the curse took place. I am one of his unhappy offspring: I never knew any thing of pardon, there­fore the curse remains upon me. Upon this con­clusion, nature was constrained to melt under a supernatural power; I could no more restrain my tears, than I could stop the course of the sun, or with my word restain the flowing of the tide.

While in this dejected, miserable condition, di­vers passages I had read were thundering upon my mind, such as these: "We have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God: the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: God is angry with the wicked every day: There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God: The wicked shall be turned into hell," &c. These, put together, were as the ruin of a dreadful breach crushing the poor person in chains. In this melancholy conditi­on I continued several days; but one evening, while I was musing on these things: it was strongly sug­gested to my mind, "May not the matter contain­ed in this book be false? Are there not many from the press that wholly dwell upon supposition? others without a single probability for their sup­port? and if this is the case, my present distress is without foundation," I took the book into my hand with a design, if possible, to find out the fallacy, and attended to the matter I read with all the powers of my mind; but within twenty minutes reading I was perfectly satisfied this book was found­ed upon the Rock of ages; for it not only militated against the practices of the children of men, but Likewise the words of their lips; described and exposed the abominable thoughts of the heart. I can truly say, it traced me from my childhood to mature age, and from that time to this, abundantly more perfectly than I could, if I had kept a journal of my whole life; and when I turned my eyes on my poor fellow-sinners, I saw them painted to the life as completely as myself; for although they are distinguished as far as I can learn, they have no more regard to the reality of this book, than our [Page 11] poor slaves, who have never heard of its being in the world. Respecting their manners, they are as vicious as any people I ever was among. I have ta­ken some pains to travel thro' every part of the town; but, alas! I unhappily found every street a standing proof of the curse levelled upon Adam's rebellious race. There I heard those called christi­ans blaspheme the name of God, and loudly call upon him for damnation; others, intoxicated with liquor, were obliged to roll in the dirt, shameless as the beasts that perish; some fighting till the blood streamed to the ground. When I returned to my lodgings, I began to reflect on these malancholy scenes; I opened the christian's book, and found these words: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, but men love dark­ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." I opened it again, and fixed my eyes on this pas­sage, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are which go in thereat."

This, my friend, is the melancholy state of the in­habitants of this land, and I fear of most other pla­ces: I went to one of their churches several times, but seeing the behaviour of the people so inconsist­ent with the whole tenor of their book, I could look on it as little better than a solemn mockery of God; but the last time I was there I took a par­ticular notice of one of the people who sat near me: he appeared to be in great distress of mind, he leaned with his head upon his hand, and his eyes were fixed on the ground, from whence tears flow­ed in abundance: it affected me so much the more, as I had laboured under much trouble from the time of my reading the christian's book; and it was strongly impressed upon my mind, to inquire into the cause of his tears.

After service was ended, I spoke to the man in the tenderest manner I was capable of; I desired he would excuse the freedom of a stranger, adding, I [...] his deportment in the church different [Page 12] from all the rest; and, if it was a fair question, should be glad to know the cause. In answer to this, he told me, he made no secret of his present misery; that it did not arise from the want or ab­sence of any earthly good; but that the absence of God was the cause of all his troubles: "I have la­boured, said he, under the burden of a guilty con­science, and God only knows where it will end."— By this time we were retired from the confused noise of passengers, to a place more proper for conversing freely with a friend. His last words, "the burden of a guilty conscience, and his fear­ing it would never end," affected my mind much: I desired him to explain himself, assuring him, that I had no other motive than a proper information in the particulars before hnted: that I was a stranger in this land, and the chief of my business was in quest of the christians' God; and told him, that all my endeavours had hitherto been fruitless, except the information given me in the bible, which great­ly alarmed my mind; but I did not understand it as I could wish, and I wanted somebody to explain it. He answered, "For my part, I am both un­worthy and unfit for the arduous task; but if you please to take a walk with me this evening, you shall hear some part of it opened and explained in a profitable manner." I consented so to do. But pray, said I what is it you mean by the burden of a guilty conscience? At which tears stood in his eyes, and he thus began:

"Sixteen years ago, God was pleased to open the eyes of my understanding by the preaching of the gospel: I saw myself a lost, undone sinner, with­out Christ; I was sensible that all the flood gates of divine justice were ready to burst upon my guilty head, for my numberess transgressions against the King of Kings." Pray said I, is the wrath of God upon all mankind? upon this, and all other nati­ons: said he, "We are all by nature children of wrath, until raised by the Friend of sinners from a spiritual death to a spiritual life; for the [Page 13] word of God saith, "He that believeth not on the Son, hath not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Pray, said I, who is this Friend of sin­ners you speak of? At which question tears stood in his eyes: "It is Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world (he replied), who died upon the cross that all who truly believe in him, might not perish, but have everlasting life." I was desirous to hear more of this, but he desired to return to a recital of past experience. "When God, said he, in the riches of his grace, was pleased to illuminate my under­standing, to inform my judgment, and convert my conscience, I cried to the Lord for mercy, and he was pleased to lend a gracious ear to my suppli­cations, so that in a short time I had a clear conviction of my acceptance in the Beloved. I knew that God, for Christ's sake, had pardoned all my sins, and embraced me in his tender arms: for some time I walked in the light of his counte­nance, and trampled beneath my feet the enemies of my soul. Oh the happy hours and days that I have enjoyed in sweet communion with my God!" He then burst into tears again: "How doth the remembrance of these things stab my soul! I fear these blessed opportunities are gone for ever; gone from me; I have banished myself far from every good; that eternal Sun, which once shone upon my soul, is now departed, and left me in the dar­kest shades of night." As soon as he was able to hear my words, I asked him what was the instru­ment of his fall? "Oh! Sir, said he, there are more instruments for our hurt, than there are stars in the heavens, or than drops in the ocean." But, said I, what do you suppose to be the first instrument? "My first fall, said he, was unfaithfulness; this led me to the neglect of pri­vate prayer; quickly after came upon me a trifling spirit; then a swarm of foolish thoughts and evil desires poured in, like the plagues of Egypt· Thus [Page 14] I fell from one thing to another, not without a thousand stripes of conscience, while I was falling; so that at present I am satisfied I have only one step more, that is, from time, into all the miseries of eternity.' But, said I, can you contrive no means whereby you may appease the wrath of God?

Suppose you endeavour, for the future, to follow all the directions given you in the christians' book Is it not possible to regain that happiness you once enjoyed? "It is as impossible, said he, to regain it in point of desert or merit, as it is to pluck the sun from the firmament, or dissolve and make the earth anew: no, my heart, like a corrupt fountain, is poisoned, and can never send forth healing streams: every channel of my soul, with every member of my body, is defiled by sin; so that from the crown of the head, to the sole of the foot, there is not one sound place, but wounds and bruises, and putrify­ing sores." For my part, I could say no more on that head, for I felt the experimental part in myself, and remember to have read the same words in the christians' book. I think I never saw a poor crea­ture in greater distress of mind; and, for my part, I was little better for the recital of his misfortunes, which raised in me a deep sense of my misery.

When we came to the place where he had pro­mised I should hear the word of God preached in a profitable manner, there was a large company as­sembled together. I was greatly pleased with the behavour of the multitude; for, except at the door, seriousness sat on every countenance, as if conver­sing with their own hearts. Soon after this, I saw a plain looking man pass through the crowd, and ascend a few steps above the people: he lifted up his eyes as though his heart was strongly engaged with God; then he stood up, and with an audible voice he gave out these words:

Hundreds of the people, both men and woman, sang in praise to their God. Indeed, my friend, I [Page 15] was never more transported with music than at that time with the seriousness that sat on every coun­tenance: the awfulness of the place, and the warmth that was in their devotion, all conspired to charm the human mind.

After this he said, Let us pray. In the former part of which he made an humble confession of their sins to God and at the end of every sentence there was a solemn groan: this was done by the whole crowd, as if struggling for a deliverance from the enemies of their souls. He then intreated God's mercy, for the sake of his Son, to descend on every heart, and the people closed his petetions with a loud Amen, as wrestling for the blessings their souls panted after. I suppose, my friend, in ten minutes time there where thousands of tears shed; and, for my part I was so agitated, as if my soul were leaving its house of clay. It was for some time before I could compose myself. The minister, after prayer, made a long pause; he then said, In the fourth chapter of Amos and twelfth verse, were these words, "Prepare to meet thy God." He re­peated several passages to the same effect: when he opened the words of text, he told us, in the first place, that man by nature was altogether unprepar­ed to meet his God either in death or judgment; being out of Christ, God was a consuming fire. In the second place, he told what was implied in a gos­pel preparation. Under this head, as a wise master builder, he laid the glorious foundation, Jesus Christ the rock of ages: that what he had done and suf­fered, had made a complete satisfaction to all the demands of divine justice, and rendered the Father attentive to the feeble prayers of poor sinners, that we might come with boldness to the throne of grace, and obtain grace and mercy to help in time of need; that Christ was the foundation on which we might build our happiness in time and through eternity; and though man had no power in himself to help himself; he had given his blessed Spirit to rouse the sleepy conscience of sinners, and raise the dead to [Page 16] life. To be prepared, said he, is to repent, to for­sake every known sin, to believe with the heart un­to righteousness; to receive Christ in all his offices, and to press after holiness, without which no man can see the Lord. In the third place, he shewed the difference, consequences and misery, of all those that neglect a preparation; they may expect nothing but the phials of the wrath of God upon their guil­ty heads whilst eternal ages roll on: and on the op­posite side, that the righteous shall shine in the king­dom of their Father as the stars for ever and ever. In the last place, he addressed himself to the consciences of the people in the sight of God. Tongue cannot express nor pen describe what I felt. His word pierced my heart, and I was ready to roar in the disquietude of my soul. A little before he concluded, he said, Are there any in this place that see them­selves sinners, that feel the want of Christ? My heart answered, I do; I know I am undone without his saving benefits. He then raised his voice, and said, "Behold now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation" The silent breathings of my soul were, Lord, make it so to me; take me into thine arms of mercy, for the sake of Jesus. Presently the sinner's Friend answered for himself, Go in peace, and sin no more.

Oh my dear Drurow, where shall I find words to express what I felt! All my guilt and distress was entirely removed; and the light of the glory of God, through his well-beloved Son, shone into my soul: the thunders of God's law, the curses I read in the Christian's book, and which before daily terrified my mind, were all hushed into a divine silence; and the sweet promises, the charms of the ever glori­ous gospel, elevated and captivated my soul: the peace of God sweetly flowing into my heart, like the swelling stream of jordan overflowing its banks; every mountain and hill was made low, the crook­ed was made strait and rough places made plain. I had a clear sight, by faith, of the dear Redeemer's sufferings upon Calvary, bearing my sins and my [Page 17] curse in his own body on the tree; and from a di­vine sense of forgiving love, I could say with Tho­mas, one of his disciples, "My Lord, and my God!" O my dear friend, this God is the God I adore: had you but a taste of the sweetness I en­joy, you would no longer pay any regard to Darus, or any other of the gods of our nation.

The people amongst whom I found the precious pearl, are distinguished by the name of Methodists; and, respecting the essential points, they are all of one heart and mind, that is, salva­tion through the name of Jesus, and none other; and, from a deep sense of his goodness, are pressing forward toward the mark of the prize. There is a sweetness in this, different from every other thing in the world. Supposing a man in the enjoyment of all the pleasures, all the profits, or riches together, with all the airy applauses of mortals, he will come infinitely short of the real happiness the weakest Christian enjoys: they will no more balance the happiness I feel at present. than the smallest feather the largest mountain.

You are expert in war, and having been obliged to engage with our constant enemies; know the satisfaction of a complete victory; your mind is elated with joy, whilst laying the spoils of battle at the feet of your friends, and rejoice with them at your safe return; but the Christian's conquest as far exceeds this, as the great things of eternity exceeds the small things of time; for "we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but likewise with princi­palities and powers, and wicked spirits in high places; yea, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and by faith we are more than conquerors, through him that hath loved us."

I went to the same place next sabbath, where God was pleased to shine upon my soul, and provi­dentially met with my Christian friend, who con­ducted me thither at the first; he is now happily restored to the divine favor; for he told me under [Page 18] the same sermon God was pleased to heal all his backslidings, and to love him freely.

I could say much more to my friend, but want of time forbids. May the dear Redeemer, who has been gracious to me, fasten these considerations up­on my friend's heart, and grant us an happy meeting at his right hand in the great day. I should be glad to hear from you the first opportunity. Mean while I remain.