Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins Part 8

** Modest women.

***The back flap of the graundee.

Youwarkee seemed highly delighted with this new-fancied dress, and worked day and night at it against the cold weather. Whilst she employed herself thus, I was busied in providing my winter stores, which I was forced to do alone now, herself and children taking up all my wife's time. About a fortnight after she had begun mantua-making, she presented herself to me one day, as I came from work, in her new gown; and, truly, considering the scanty description I had given her of such a garment, it appeared a good comely dress. Though it had not one plait about the body, it sat very tight thereto, and yet hung down full enough for a countess; for she would have put it all in (all the stuff she had) had there been as much more of it. I could see no opening before, so asked her how she got it on. She told me she laid along on the ground, and crept through the plaits at the bottom, and sewed the body round her after she had got her hands and arms through the sleeves. I wondered at her contrivance; and, smiling, showed her how she should put it on, and also how to pin it before: and after she had done that, and I had turned up about half a yard of sleeve, which then hung down to her fingers'

ends, I kissed her, and called her my country-woman; of which, and her new gown, she was very proud for a long time.

CHAPTER XXI.

The Author gets a breed of poultry, and by what means-- Builds them a house--How he managed to keep them in winter

One day, as I was traversing the woods to view my bird-traps, looking into the underwood among the great trees on my right hand, I saw a wood-hen (a bird I used to call so, from its resemblance in make to our English poultry) come out of a little thicket. I know not whether my rustling or what had disturbed it; but I let her pa.s.s, and she ran away before me. When she was fairly out of sight, I stepped up, and found she had a nest and sixteen eggs there. I exactly marked the place, and taking away one of the eggs, I broke it, at some distance from the nest, to see how forward they were; and I had no sooner broke the sh.e.l.l but out came a young chicken. I then looked into the nest again, and taking up more of the eggs, I found them all just splintered in the sh.e.l.l, and ready for hatching. I had immediately a desire to save them, and bring them up tame; but I was afraid if I took them away before they were hatched, and a little strengthened under the hen, they would all die; so I let them remain till next day. In the meanwhile I prepared some small netting of such a proper size as I conceived would do, and with this I contrived, by fastening it to stakes which I fixed in the ground, to surround the nest, and me on the outside of it. All the while I was doing this, the hen did not stir, so that I thought she had either been absent when I came, or had hatched and gone off with the young ones. As to her being gone I was under no concern; for I had no design to catch her, but only to confine the chickens within my net if they were hatched. But, however, I went nearer, and peeping in, found she sat still, squeezing herself as flat to the ground as she could. I was in twenty minds whether to take her first, and then catch the chickens, or to let her go off, and then clap upon them; but as I proposed to let her go, I thought if she would sit still till I had got the chickens, that would be the best way; so I softly kneeled down before her, and sliding my hand under her, I gently drew out two, and put them in a bag I had in my left hand. I then dipped again and again, taking two every turn; but going a fourth time, as I was bringing out my prize, the hen jumped up, flew out, and made such a noise that, though I the minute before saw six or seven more chicks in a lump where she had sat, and kept my eye upon them, yet before I could put the last two I had got into my bag, these were all gone, and in three hours' search I could not find one of them, though I was sure they could not pa.s.s my net, and must be within the compa.s.s of a small room, my toils enclosing no more. After tiring myself with looking for them, I marched home with those eight I had got.

I told Youwarkee what I had done, and how I intended to manage the little brood, and, if I could, to bring them up tame. We kept them some days very warm by the fire, and fed them often, as I had seen my mother do with her early chickens; and in a fortnight's time they were as stout and familiar as common poultry. We kept them a long while in the house; and when I fed them I always used them to a particular whistle, which I also taught my wife, that they might know both us and their feeding-time; and in a very short while they would come running, upon the usual sound, like barn-door fowls to the name of Biddy.

There happened in this brood to be five hens and three c.o.c.ks; and they were now so tame that, having cut their wings, I let them out, when the weather favoured, at my door, where they would pick about in the wood, and get the best part of their subsistence; and having used them to roost in a corner of my ante-chamber, they all came in very regularly at night and took their places. My hens, at the usual season, laid me abundance of eggs, and hatched me a brood or two each of chickens; so that now I was at a loss to know what to do with them, they were become so numerous. The ante-chamber was no longer a proper receptacle of such a flock, and therefore I built a little house, at a small distance from my own, on purpose for their reception and entertainment. I had by this time cleared a spot of ground on one side of my grotto, by burning up the timber and underwood which had covered it: this I enclosed, and within that enclosure I raised my aviary, and my poultry thrived very well there, seemed to like their habitation, and grew very fat.

My wife and I took much delight in visiting and feeding them, and it was a fine diversion also to my boys; but at the end of summer, when all the other birds took their annual flight, away went every one of my new-raised brood with them, and one of my old c.o.c.ks, the rest of the old set remaining very quiet with me all the winter. The next summer, when my chicks of that year grew up a little, I cut their wings, and by that means preserved all but one, which I suppose was either not cut so close as the rest, or his wings had grown again. From this time I found, by long experience, that not two out of a hundred that had once wintered with me would ever go away, though I did not cut their wings; but all of the same season would certainly go off with the wild ones, if they could any ways make a s.h.i.+ft to fly. I afterwards got a breed of blacknecks, which was a name I gave them from the peculiar blackness of their necks, let the rest of their bodies be of what colour they would, as they are, indeed, of all colours. These birds were as big, or bigger, than a turkey, of a delicious flavour, and were bred from turkey eggs hatched under my own wood-hens in great plenty. I was forced to clip these as I did the other young fowl, to keep them, and at length they grew very tame, and would return every night during the dark season. The greatest difficulty now was to get meat for all these animals in the winter, when they would sit on the roost two days together if I did not call and feed them, which I was sometimes forced to do by lamp-light, or they would have starved in cloudy weather. But I overcame that want of food by an accidental discovery; for I observed my blacknecks in the woods jump many times together at a sort of little round heads, or pods, very dry, which hung plentifully upon a shrub that grew in great abundance there.

I cut several of these heads, and carrying them home with me, broke them, and took out a spoonful or more from each head of small yellow seeds, which giving to my poultry, and finding they greedily devoured them, I soon laid in a stock for twice my number of mouths, so that they never after wanted. I tried several times to raise a breed of water-fowl by hatching their eggs under my hens; but not one in ten of the sorts, when hatched, were fit to eat; and those that were would never live and thrive with me, but go away to the lake, I having no sort of water nearer me; so I dropped my design of water-fowl as impracticable. But by breeding and feeding my land-fowl so constantly in my farmyard, I never wanted of that sort at my table, where we eat abundance of them; for my whole side of the lake in a few years was like a farmyard, so full of poultry that I never knew my stock; and upon the usual whistle they would flock round me from all quarters. I had everything now but cattle, not only for the support, but convenience and pleasure of life; and so happily should I have fared here, if I had had but a cow and bull, a ram and sheep, that I would not have changed my dominions for the crown of England.

CHAPTER XXII.

Reflections on mankind--The Author wants to be with his s.h.i.+p--Projects going, but perceives it impracticable-- Youwarkee offers her service y and goes--An account of her transactions on board-Remarks on her sagacity--She despatches several chests of goods through the gulf to the lake--An account of a danger she escaped--The Author has a fit of sickness

Strange is the temper of mankind, who, the more they enjoy, the more they covet. Before I received any return from my s.h.i.+p, I rested tolerably easy, and but seldom thought upon what I had left behind me in her, thinking myself happy in what I had, and completely so since my union with my dear wife; but after I had got what I could never have expected, I grew more and more perplexed for want of the rest, and thought I should never enjoy true happiness while even a plank of the s.h.i.+p remained. My head, be I where I would, or at what I would, was ever on board. I wished for her in the lake, and could I but have got her thither, I thought I should be an emperor; and though I wanted for nothing to maintain life, and had so good a wife and five children I was very fond of, yet the one thing I had not, reduced the comfort of all the rest to a scanty pattern, even so low as to destroy my whole peace.

I was even mad enough to think of venturing up the cavern again, but was restrained from the attempt by the certain impracticableness of it Then I thought Youwarkee should make another trip to the s.h.i.+p. But what can she bring from it, says I to myself, in respect of what must be left behind? Her whole life will not suffice to clear it in, at the rate she can fetch the loading hither in parcels. At last a project started, that as there were so many chests on board, Youwarkee should fill some of them and send them through the gulf to take their chance for the lake.

This, at first sight, seemed feasible; but then I considered how they could be got from the s.h.i.+p to the gulf; and again, that they would never keep out the water, and if they filled with a lading in them they would sink; or, if this did not happen, they might be dashed to pieces against the crags in the cavern. These apprehensions stopped me again; till, unwilling to quit the thought, "True," says I, "this may happen to some; but if I get but one in five, it is better than nothing." Thus I turned and wound the affair in my mind; but objections still started too obstinate to be conquered.

In the height of my soliloquy in comes Youwarkee, and seeing my dejected look, would needs know the meaning of it I told her plainly that I could get no rest from day to day ever since she first went to the s.h.i.+p, to think such a number of good things lay there to be a prey to the sea, as the s.h.i.+p wasted, when they might be of such infinite service here; and that, since her last flight, I had suffered the more, when I thought how near the gulf was to the s.h.i.+p; so that could I but get thither myself with my boat, I would contrive to pack up the goods in the chests that were on board, and carrying them in the boat, drop them near the draught of the water, which of itself would suck them under the rock down the gulf; and when they were pa.s.sed through the cavern, I might take them up in the lake. "Well," says she, "Peter, and why cannot I do this for you?"--"No," says I, "even this has its objections." Then I told her what I feared of their taking water, or das.h.i.+ng against the rock, and twenty other ways of frustrating my views: "But, above all," says I, "how can you get such large and weighty things to the gulf without a boat? There is another impossibility! it won't do."

Youwarkee eyed me attentively. "Pr'ythee, my dear Peter," says she, "set your heart at rest about that. I can only try; if no good is to be done, you shall soon know it, and must rest contented under the disappointment."--I told her if I was there, I could take all the things out of the chests, and then melt some pitch and pour into every crack, to keep out the water when they were set afloat. "Pitch!" says she, "what's that?"--"Why," says I, "that is a nasty, hard, black sticking thing that stands in tubs in the s.h.i.+p, and which being put over the fire in anything to melt will grow liquid, and when it is cold be hard again, and will resist the water and keep it out."--Says she, "How can I put this pitch within-side of the chest-lid when I have tied it up?"--"It is to no manner of purpose," says I, "to talk of it; so there's an end of it."--"But," says she, "suppose yourself there, what things would you bring first?"--I then entered into a long detail of particulars; saying I would have this and that, and so on, till I had scarce left out a thing I either knew of or could suppose to be in the s.h.i.+p; and for fear I had not mentioned all, says I at last, if I was there, I believe I should leave but little portable behind me.

"So, so, my dear," says Youwarkee, "you would roll in riches, I find; but you have mentioned never a new gown for me."--"Why, aye!" says I, "I would have that too."--"But how would you melt the pitch?" says she.--"Oh," says I, "there is a tinder-box and matches in a room below, upon the side of the fire-hearth." And then I let her see one I had brought with me, and showed her the use of the flint and steel.--"Well, my dear," says she, "will you once more trust me?"--I told her, her going would be of little more use than to get a second gown or some such thing; but if she was desirous, I would let her make another flight, on her promise to be back as soon as possible.

In the evening she set out, and stayed two days, and till the night of the third. I would here observe that though it was much lighter and brighter on the outside of the rock where the s.h.i.+p lay than with us at Graundevolet, yet having always her spectacles with her, I heard no more complaint of the glare of light she used to be so much afraid of: indeed, she always avoided the fire and lamp at home as much as she could, because she generally took off her spectacles within doors; but when at any time she had them on, she could bear both well enough.

Upon her return again, she told me she had s.h.i.+pped some goods to sea for me, which she hoped would arrive safe (for by this time she had had my seafaring terms so often over, she could apply them very properly), and that they were in six chests, which she had pitched after my directions.--"Aye!" says I, "you have pitched them into the sea perhaps; but after my directions, I am satisfied was beyond your ability."--"You glumms," says she, "think us gawrys very ignorant; but I'll satisfy you we are not so dull of apprehension as you would make us. Did you not show me one day how your boat was tarred and caulked, as you call it?"--"I did," says I; "what then?"--"I'll tell you," says she. "When I had emptied the first chest, and set it properly, I looked about for your pitch, which at last I found by its sticking to my fingers; I then put a good piece into a sort of little kettle, with a long handle, that lay upon the pitch."--"Oh, the pitch-ladle!" says I.--"I know not what you call it," says she; "but then I made a fire, as you told me, and melted that stuff; afterwards turning up the chest side-ways, and then end-ways, I poured it into it, and let it settle in the cracks, and with an old stocking, such as yours, dipped into the pitch, I rubbed every place where the boards joined. I then set the chest on the side of the s.h.i.+p, and when the pitch was cold and hardened in it, filled it top-full of things: but when I had done thus, and shut the lid, I found that would not come so close but I could get the blade of a knife through anywhere between it and the chest; whereupon I cut some long slips of the cloth I was packing up, and fitting them all round the edge of the chest, I dipped them into the pitch, and laid them on hot; and where one slip would not do, I put two; and shutting the lid down close upon them, I nailed it, as I had seen you do some things, quite round; then tying a rope to the handle, I tipped the chest into the sea, holding the rope.

I watched it some time, and seeing it swim well, I took flight with the rope in my hand, and drew the chest after me to the gulf, when, letting go the rope, away it went. I served five more in the same manner: and now, my dearest, I am here to tell you I hope you will be able to see at least some of them, one time or other, in the lake."

I admired in all this at the sagacity of the gawrys. Alas! thinks I, what narrow-hearted creatures are mankind! Did I not heretofore look upon the poor blacks in Africa as little better than beasts, till my friend Glanlepze convinced me, by disabling the crocodile, the pa.s.sage of the river, and several other achievements, that my own excellences might have perished in a desert without his genius; and now what could I, or almost any of us masterpieces of the creation (as we think ourselves) and Heaven's peculiar favourites, have done in this present case, that has been omitted by this woman (for I may justly style her so in an eminent degree), and that in a way to which she was bred an utter stranger?

After what I had heard from Youwarkee, I grew much more cheerful; which she, poor creature, was remarkably pleased with. She went with me constantly once, and sometimes twice a day, for several days together, to see what success at the lake; till at length she grew very impatient, for fear, as she afterwards told me, I should either think she had not done what she said, or had done it in an ineffectual manner. But one day, walking by the lake, I thought I saw something floating in the water at a very great distance. "Youwarkee," says I, "I spy a sail!"

Then running to my boat* and taking her in, away we went, plying my oars with all my might; for I longed to see what it was. At nearer view I perceived it to be one of my wife's fleet. But what added to my satisfaction was to see Youwarkee so pleased, for she could scarcely contain herself.

When we came close to it, up she started: "Now, my dear Peter," says she, "torment yourself no more about your goods on board; for if this will do, all shall be your own."--She then lent me a hand to take it in; but we had both work enough to compa.s.s it, the wood had soaked in so much water. We then made the best of our way homewards to my wet-dock; when, just as we had landed our treasure, we saw two more boxes coming down the stream both together, whereupon we launched again, and brought them in one by one; for I did not care to trust them both on one bottom, my boat being in years, and growing somewhat crazy.

We had now made a good day's work of it; so, mooring the boat, we went home, intending to be out next morning early with the cart, to convey our imports to the grotto.

After supper, Youwarkee looking very earnestly at me, with tears just glittering in her eyes, broke out in these words--"What should you have thought, Peter, to have seen me come sailing, drowned, through the cavern, tied to one of your chests?"--"Heaven forbid such a thought, my charmer!" says I. "But as you know I must have been rendered the most miserable of all living creatures by such a sight, or anything else that would deprive me of you, pray tell me how you could possibly have such a thought in your head?"--She saw she had raised my concern, and was very sorry for what she had said. "Nothing, nothing," says she, "my dear!

it was only a fancy just come into my head."--"My dear Youwee," says I, "you must let me know what you mean: I am in great pain till you explain yourself; for I am sure there is something more in what you say than fancy; therefore, pray, if you love me, keep me on the rack no longer."--"Ah, Peter!" says she, "there was but a span between me and death not many days ago; and when I saw the line of the last chest we took up just now, it gave so much horror I could scarce keep upon my feet."--"My dear Youwee, proceed," says I; "for I cannot bear my torment till I have heard the worst."--"Why, Peter," says she, "now the danger is over, I shall tell you my escape with as much pleasure as I guess you will take in hearing of it. You must know, my life," says she, "that having cast that chest into the sea, as I was tugging it along by that very line, it being one of the heaviest, and moving but slowly, I twisted the string several times round my hand, one fold upon another, the easier to tow it; when, drawing it rather too quick into the eddy, it pulled so hard against me, towards the gulf, and so quick, that I could in no way loosen or disengage the cord from my fingers, but was dragged thereby to the very rock, against which the chest struck violently. My last thought, as I supposed it, was of you, my dear" (on which she clasped me round the neck, in sense of her past agony); "when taking myself for lost, I forbore further resistance; at which instant the line, slackening by the rebound of the chest, fell from my hand of itself, and the chest returning to the rock, went down the current. I took a turn or two round on my graundee to recollect my past danger, and went back to the s.h.i.+p, fully resolved to avoid the like snare for the future. Indeed I did not easily recover my spirits, and was so terrified with the thought, that I had half a mind to have left the two remaining chests behind me; but as danger overcome gives fresh resolution, I again set to work, and discharged them also down the gulf, as I hope you will see in good time."

My heart bled within me all the while she spoke, and I even felt ten times more than she could have suffered by the gulf. "My dearest Youwee," says I, "why did you not tell me this adventure sooner?" "It is too soon, I fear, now!" says she; for she then saw the colour forsake my lips, my eyes grow languid, and myself dropping into her arms. She screamed out, and ran to the chest, where all was empty; but turning every bottle up, and from the remaining drops in each collecting a small quant.i.ty of liquor, and putting it by little and little to my lips, and rubbing my wrists and temples, she brought me to myself again; but I continued so extremely sick for some days after, that it was above a week before I could get down with my cart to fetch up my chests.

When I was able to go down, Youwarkee would not venture me alone, but went herself with me. We then found two more of the chests, which we landed; and I had work sufficient for two or three days in getting them all up to the grotto, they were so heavy, and all the way through the wood being up hill.

We had five in hand, and watched several days for the sixth, when seeing nothing of it we gave it over for lost; but one day, as I was going for water, Youwarkee would go with me, and urged our carrying the net, that we might drag for some fish. Accordingly we did so; and now having taken what we wanted, we went to the rill, and pus.h.i.+ng in the head of the boat (as I usually did, for by that means I could fill the vessel as I stood on board), the first thing that appeared was my sixth chest. Youwarkee spied it first, and cried, pointing thereto, "O Peter, what we have long wished for, and almost despaired of, is come at last! let us meet and welcome it." I was pleased with the gaiety of her fancy. I did as she desired; we got it into the boat, after merrily saluting it, and so returned home. It took us up several days time in searching, sorting, and disposing our cargo, and drying the chests; for the goods themselves were so far from being wetted or spoiled, that even those in the last chest, which had lain so long in the water, had not taken the least moisture.

Youwarkee was quite alert at the success of her packing, but left me to ring her praises, which I did not fail of doing more than once at unpacking each chest, and could see her eyes glow with delight to see she had so pleased me.

She had been so curious as to examine almost everything in the s.h.i.+p; and as well of things I had described, and she did know, as of what she did not, brought me something for a sample; but, above all, had not forgot the blue stuff, for the moment she had seen that she destined it to the use of herself and children.

CHAPTER XXIII.

The religion of the author's family.

Youwarkee and I having fixed ourselves, by degrees, into a settled rota of action, began to live like Christians, having so great a quant.i.ty of most sorts of necessaries about us. But I say we lived like Christians on another account, for you must not think, after what I have said before, that I and my family lived like heathens; no, I will a.s.sure you, they by degrees knew all I knew, and that, with a little artificial improvement, and a well-regulated disposition, I hoped, and did not doubt, would carry them all to heaven. I would many a time have given all my interest in the s.h.i.+p's cargo for a Bible; and a hundred times grieved that I was not master of a pocket one, which I might have carried everywhere about me. I never imagined there was one aboard, and if there were, and You-warkee should find it, I supposed it would be in Portuguese, which I knew little of, so it would be of small service to me if I had it.

Since I am on the topic of religion, it may not be amiss, once for all, to give you a small sketch of my religious proceedings after coming into my new dominions. I have already told you that from my first stop at the rock I had prayed constantly morning and evening, but I cannot say I did it always with the same efficacy. However, my imperfect devotions were not without good effect; and I am confident, wherever this course is pursued with a right view, sooner or later the issue will prove the same to others as I found it to myself; I mean, that mercies will be remembered with more grat.i.tude, and evils be more disregarded, and become less burdensome; and surely the person whose case this is, must necessarily enjoy the truest relish of life. As daily prayer was my practice, in answer to it I obtained the greatest blessing and comfort my solitude was capable of receiving; I mean my wife, whose character I need not farther attempt to blazon in any faint colours of my own after what has been already said, her acts having spoken her virtues beyond all verbal description.

After we were married, as I call it--that is, after we had agreed to become man and wife--I frequently prayed before her, and with her (for by this time she understood a good deal of my language); at which, though contrary to my expectation, she did not seem surprised, but readily kneeled by and joined with me. This I liked very well; and upon my asking her one day after prayer if she understood what I had been doing (for I had a notion she did not)--"Yes, verily," says she, "you have been making pet.i.tions to the image of the great Collwar."*--"Pray,"

says I (willing gently to lead her into a just sense of a Supreme Being), "who is this Collwar? and where does He dwell?"--"He it is,"

says she, "that does all good and evil to us."--"Right," says I, "it is in some measure so; but He cannot of Himself do evil, absolutely and properly, as His own act"--"Yes," says she, "He can; for He can do all that can be done; and as evil can be done, He can do it."--So quick a reply startled me. Thinks I, she will run me aground presently; and from being a doctor, as I fancied myself, I shall become but a pupil to my own scholar. I then asked her where the great Collwar dwelt? She told me in heaven, in a charming place.--"And can He know what we do?" says I.--"Yes," replied she, "His image tells Him everything; and I have prayed to His image, which I have often seen, and it is filled with so much virtue that it is His second self; for there is only one of them in the world who is so good: He gives several virtues to other images of Himself, which are brought to Him, and put into His arms to breathe upon; and the only thing I have ever regretted since I knew you is, that I have not one of them here to comfort and bless us and our children."

* G.o.d.

Though I was sorry for the oddity of her conceptions, I was almost glad to find her so ignorant, and pleased myself with thinking that as she had already a confused notion of a Supreme Power, I should soon have the satisfaction of bringing her to a more rational knowledge of Him.

"Pray, Youwee," says I, "what is your G.o.d made of?"--"Why of clay," says she, "finely painted, and looks so terrible he would make you tremble to behold him."--"Do you think," says I, "that is the true Collwar's real shape, if you could see Himself?" She told me yes, for that some of His best servants had seen him, and took the representation from Himself.

"And pray, do you think He loves His best servants, as you call them, and is kind to them?"--"You need not doubt it," says she.--"Why, then,"

replied I, "how came He to look so terrible upon them when they saw Him, as you say they did? for I can see no reason, how terrible soever He looks to others, why He should show Himself so to those He loves. I should rather think, as you say He is kind to them, that He should have two images, a placid one for His good, and a terrible one for His bad servants; or else, who by seeing Him can tell whether He is pleased or angry? for even you yourself, Youwee, when anything pleases you, have a different look from that you have when you are angry, and little Pedro can tell whether he does well or ill by your countenance; whereas, if you made no distinction, but looked with the same face on all his actions, he would as readily think he did well as ill in committing a bad action." Youwarkee could not tell what to say to this, the fact seeming against her.

I then asked her if she thought the image itself could hear her pet.i.tions. She replied, "Yes."--"And can he," says I, "return you an answer?"--She told me he only did that to his best servants.--"Did you ever hear him do it?" says I. "For unless he can speak too, I should much suspect his hearing; and you being one of his best servants, seeing you love him, and pray heartily to him, why should you not hear him as soon as others?"--"No," says she, "there are a great number of glumms on purpose to serve him, pray for us to him, and receive his answers."--"But to what purpose then," says I, "is your praying to him, if their prayers will serve your turn?"--"Oh," says she, "the image hears them sooner than us, and sends the pet.i.tions up to the great Collwar, and lets Him know who makes them, and desires Him to let them have what they want."--"But suppose," says I, for argument sake, "that you could see the great Collwar, or know where He was, and should pray to Himself, without going about to His image first, do you think He could not hear you?"--"I cannot tell that," says she.--"But how then,"

says I, "can He tell what (if it could speak) His image says, which is as far from Him and then her own zealous application, with G.o.d's grace, soon brought her to a firm belief in it, and a suitable temper and conduct with respect to G.o.d and man."

After I had begun with my children, I frequently referred their further instruction to their mother; for I have always experienced that a superficial knowledge, with a desire of becoming a teacher, is in some measure equivalent to better knowledge; for it not only excites every principle one has to the utmost, but makes matters more clear and conspicuous even to one's self.

By these means, and the Divine blessing thereon, in a few years, I may fairly say, I had a little Christian church in my own house, and in a flouris.h.i.+ng way too, without a schismatic or heretic amongst us.