duct of all those who have been the happy subjects of these efficacious principles. If the unhappy delusion above referred to were traced to its source, it will be found to derive its principal support from the persuasion that all things, good and bad, have their origin in the will, and are consequently according to the counsel of God. It follows, therefore, that, to make an effectual destruction of the delusion itself, the foundation on which it rests must be first destroyed. Arming ourselves with "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," we think this dreadful fortification may easily be demolished. It is taken for granted, that whatever the Lord hates cannot be according to His will. Now concerning a certain abomination to which the people of Israel were addicted, the Lord saith, "Do not this abominable thing which I HATE." Throughout the sacred scriptures, God is represented as standing opposed to sin of every kind. How then can any believer in divine revelation, flatter himself that he is in the way to heaven, while indulging in drunkenness, or any other known sin! But this is one of the inconsistencies to which mankind are so much addicted-To embrace the truth in general terms, and then draw particular conclusions from it, which are directly hostile to its purest dictates. This inconsistency shall be exposed in our next. ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTURE BY THE INDIANS, AND FINAL DELIVERANCE, OF RICHARD WILLIAMS. Extracted from the Journal of Bishop Asbury. RICHARD WILLIAMS, on the north branch of the Potomac, was taken prisoner bythe Indians. It may be satisfactory to many to record in this journal his own account of the wonderful deliverances he experienced, and the extraordinary combinations of providences by which he was restored to his family. A few days before Braddock's defeat, nineteen Indians beset the house, killed his father, his mother, and one of his brother's sons: Williams and his child they secured as prisoners, and took them away to Fort-Pitt (now Pittsburg) tying his hands to a tree every night to prevent his escape; the child he fed with wild cherries or sawice berries; but it was taken from him at the fort. On the day of Braddock's defeat, he was taken across the Ohio river, and guarded to Detroit, where he found the garrison reduced to the extremity of eating horse-flesh.After staying some time at Detroit, he made his escape, taking with him a Frenchman's gun and ammunition; and pushed homeward, first by curve lines, and then in a more straight direction. The Indians pursued and headed him, which obliged him to alter his course: wading through a deep stream, the water went over his head, and wet his powder. For three days he travelled on, until being pressed by hunger, he stopped to dry his wet powder, but on examination he found it all dissolved away: his next shift was to dig sarsaparilla for sustenance.He went on, and by good fortune found a fish which a bird had dropped, and eat that. Continuing on, he came to a large river, where he saw two canoe loads of Indians pass; from these he hid himself: the Indians being out of sight, he made a raft of two logs, and by this contrivance gained the opposite shore. After this, he was three days without eating or drinking, and reduced to extreme suffering: he saw an Indian, and escaped him, and came to a stream of water of which he drank, and soon after a plumb-tree, some of the fruit of which he took along with him. The day following he fared something better, having found part of a fawn, which he roasted, picking the bones and the marrow, and carefully preserving the meat for future need. After the venison was all eaten, on each succeeding day, for three days, he found a squirrel. He afterwards caught and eat a pole-cat: at another time he saw a hawk fly up, and going to the spot he found a wild turkey.Travelling on, he came to the Ohio and waded it: near this place an Indian threw his tomahawk at him; he tried to escape by climbing up a wild cherry-tree, but found himself too weak, and he fell into the hands of two Frenchmen and five Indians, and thus found himself once more in the power of his enemies. With these he feigned derangement; they, however, took him along with them to Fort-Pitt. On the way he tired, and they threatened to kill him; he told them he was willing to die. Arriving at the fort, an Indian charged him with being a prisoner from Detroit: he was forthwith put under a guard, and a council held in the French language, to determine on what was to be done with him. The sentence of the general was, that he should be shot: to this some objected, saying that his spirit would haunt them if he was killed there, and advised his being taken to the island and buried in the sand. He was told that he should eat no more meat there, that the crickets should eat him. He behaved himself as though he understood nothing they said, yet he knew the general purport of their conversation, although they spoke in French. He relates, that one morning before day, while in the fort, he fell into a trance: he beheld spirits for his conductors, and lightning also: the guards being both asleep, he climbed up the high wall, and clambering over the spike palisades, got out safe. Having still to pass the sentinels, and not knowing where they were placed, he was discovered just as the cock crew for day; the sentinels mistook him for a comrade and let him pass. At this time he felt a conviction that his wife prayed for him, and this was communicated in an unusual manner: and she, during his absence, had great comfort, and an assurance that she should see her husband again. Escaping thus, he made the best of his way without interruption until the evening, when he heard a gun fired at some distance behind him; presently another-these were his pursuers, who had found his track in the woods: he strove to run, but he was too weak. Another gun yet nigher to him went off: he made what way his strength would allow, and when he came to places where he left no track, he made zigzag courses to deceive them, and give him time to get ahead; but there were so many of them, they would still discover his track again. Thus he struggled on until seven guns were fired, the last of which he supposes to have been within two or three hundred yards of him; now his heart began to fail, and he thought he was gone, yet he resolved to labour onward as long as he had life. At the firing of the last gun, his pursuers crossed his track and got ahead of him; taking advantage of this circumstance, he turned out of the path, letting the Indians who were behind tread in the footsteps of those before. Following the direction now taken, he had not gone far until he came to a path which led to a settlement of the whites; this he did not long keep, but going round the head of a ravine, laid himself down, concluding that if his track was again discovered, he would be favoured by the darkness.The Indians did get his track twice, but never overtook him. He went on in the dark as well as he could, sometimes feeling the bushes with his hands: among the rocks he often fell down from weakness; having gained smoother ground, he stopped and lay down until day. His enemies, it seems, had not given up the pursuit. He had not long left his hard lodgings when he heard the report of two guns; but coming to a hill where no marks of a footstep could be traced, he steered his course for Bedford, and came on a trading path in which he kept. Five days he lived on acorns; afterwards he found some wild cherries; but lo! while he was eating, up comes an Indian. The Indian asked him where he was going; he said, To the Delaware: the Indian then took him by the hand and gave a whoop, when presently others joined him. By these he was kept a prisoner for some time; he appeared bold; was active in cooking, and by his cleverness got the favour of the captain, who praised him, and said. he could do every thing like an Indian. He had more than he needed to eat; the captain, however, was very careful to se cure him every night, by making him lie down in one corner; here he drew a cord over some hoop-poles and tied deer's hoofs to the end, so that if Williams pulled open the poles they would rattle, and the deer's hoofs would strike the captain's face.With these Indians, Williams staid a long time: they went to war and left him to provide deer for the squaws. At last he found an opportunity of escaping, which he improved, and arrived safe at his own home. He is now a faithful man-his wife a pious woman; and they have preaching at the house. A PREVAILING AND NOXIOUS ERROR DETECTED. In several parts of this work, says the CHRISTIAN OBSERVER, in a Review of Mr. Faber's Practical Treatise on the ordinary operations of the Holy Spirit, and especially in that chapter which treats of the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, the want of peace, of cheerfulness, and of joy in religion, is almost uniformly and exclusively treated as the work of God, as a sort of course adopted by the Divine Physician, as best for the moral health of the patient. It is said, for instance, "Joy is the gift of God, and God alone is able to deprive him of it." In treating of the evidence of a mind living under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the author seems almost to consider an occasional dejection of this kind as constituting a part of this evidence"while another principle damps our ardour, discourages our exertion, and too frequently frustrates our best resolutions."In another place it is said, " we are exposed to this trial for the wisest and most merciful purposes." In another, "serenity" "may occasionally, for wise purposes, be withdrawn." Now these, with a multitude of like passages, are destined to estab lish some such doctrine as this that a want of peace or joy is not to be considered simply as the fruit and consequence of sin, as an evidence of our defective state, as an indication of something wrong in our system, either of thinking or acting, but as one of the means designedly employed by God himself to promote the growth of religion in the mind. Now we are well aware, that this statement is highly popular with writers on this topic. We are also aware, that mankind are not likely, very freely, to surrender a system so full of consolation to themselves. But, at the same time, as we are not convinced of its being either scriptural or safe, neither the authority on which it stands, nor the consolation which it proffers, will betray us into a dishonest admission of its accuracy. It is unquestionably true, that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth;" that the children of God often experience the disappointment of VOL. IV. 19 1 every worldly hope; that they are often smitten where the stroke is calculated to wound the deepest; are often subject to losses, privations, and sufferings; beyond the ordinary lot of man. But these inflictions, so far as they are not penal, are intended to mortify the remains of pride, vanity, and every earthly affection; to wean the heart from the creature, and to fix it on the Creator; and thus to produce substantial hope, and peace, and joy. Nay, it is a distinguishing characteristic of the Christian, not that he is fearful, and dejected, and distrustful, under such circumstances, but that he is confident, and believing, and joyful. Indeed, in every page of Scripture, we meet with the most explicit declarations, that peace and joy are the proper fruits of religion, and with the most constant and unqualified injunctions to Christians to enjoy them as their proper inheritance;-" acquaint thyself with him, and be at peace;" -" great peace have they that love thy law;"-"all her paths are peace;"-" the fruit of righteousness is peace, the effect of it quietness and assurance for ever." The kingdom of God, says St. Paul, is " peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." " May God," says he to the Romans, " fill you with all joy and peace in believing ;"" rejoice, and again I say, rejoice;"-" though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Such is a small part of the testimony of scripture on the subject; but, small as it is, we cannot but think it quite decisive on the point. Scripture by no means spreads a pall over the cheerfulness or happiness of life; but, whilst it humbles the natural, cheers the renewed man; flashes the brightest light from the darkest clouds; bids us hope even against hope; and gives us here an unequivocal earnest of the glorious inheritance of the saints in light. Surely, it is more safe, as well as more scriptural, to consider dejection of mind as the fruit of sin; to believe, that we shall be happy in proportion as we are good; and that the shortest and surest road to glory is always the best which is the road of simple obedience, and cheerful, childlike, implicit faith and trust in God Almighty. Southern Evangelical Intelligencer. ANECDOTE. It is related that Berkley, the acute metaphysician, who denied the existence of a material world, once had an interview with Malebranche, his predecessor in the field of philosophical discussion. The former in his 31st, and the latter 77th year. The conversation, it is said, turned on the non-existence of matter. Malebranche, who had an inflammation in his lungs, and whom Berkley found preparing a medicine in his cell, and cooking it in a small pipkin, exerted his voice so violently in the heat of their dispute, that he increased his disorder, which carried him off in a few days. |