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was quenched at once, and we heard no more of it, and then the affections of the people came back to me: which put me in Paul's path of experience, when he said, "But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again," Phil. iv. 10; for they even spoke to the gentleman to whom I sold my books, and he sold them back to them, and contributed handsomely himself; they not only subscribed to buy the books, but raised a fund to reprint some that were out of print. God hath given us all things in Christ: "For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion; therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them," Isaiah lxi. 7. I had long entreated the Lord to remove this load from my shoulders; and by terrible things in righteousness did the God of my salvation answer me; who is the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea, Psalm lxv. 5.

But the good hand of my God stopped not here. I had told the whole company that rose up against me, and that publicly in the chapel, that, so far from their being able to pull me down, they must not wonder to see me in my coach when old age came on; nor was the hand of God withdrawn till this came to pass. Upon the house I then lived in, and on the garden, I had not expended less than three hundred pounds; my lease was only for the term of seven years; but, as

I

gave

the landlord all the rent he asked, and paid it punctually every quarter, I had no doubt but he was contented with his tenant; yea, so much so, that he wished me to get a tenant that I liked to occupy the other house which adjoined to mine; and, moreover, told a friend who paid him my rent, that I might prolong my lease whenever I would, so that I thought myself secure enough. But this is not the first time that I have trusted in man, in whom there is no help. It fell out that one night, while I was at Bolney in Sussex, I had a dream: I dreamed that I was standing in my yard at the back side of my house, and all on a sudden I saw my house fall to the ground: it fell with the front downwards, and in my dream I saw it when it was down, and I stood neither alarmed nor concerned about it; and soon I awoke, and behold it was a dream. And, as I seemed so composed about the fall of it, I thought that neither me nor my family would be hurt by this fall, whatever it meant. The next morning, at breakfast, I told the gentleman's family, at whose house I was, the dream; but we could make nothing of it. When I returned home, my dame informed me that my landlord had been to inquire after me; and in a day or two he came again to inform me that he was going to sell his houses. I desired him to bring a builder, and I would get another, and they two should value the house; to this he agreed. But, instead of two builders meeting, he brought up an auctioneer, who set the price of my house at

nine hundred pounds; whereas, not many years before, both of them were sold for four hundred pounds, and at that time they were let for twenty pounds a year each. The auction came on, and they were sold; and, if I remember right, my house fetched six hundred guineas, and the other four hundred and fifty pounds; my improvements made that difference. My lease being nearly out, I had another habitation to seek, and went two days, but in vain, as I wanted some rural and retired spot. A few friends, seeing the lease of my present residence advertised to be sold, went, unknown to me, to see it, and much approved of it.

But my pen must stop; I have again exceeded the bounds of a letter. Dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved; so prays

Your affectionate friend,

W.H. S.S.

LETTER VIII.

TO THE SPARROW ALONE.

Dear Friend in the Lord,

I AM contriving to put thee to a little more expense; and, if I continue at this rate, I shall make you as poor as myself. Except the old His a little more prolific than in the last year, twins will never do; but, as money is no part of your God, I shall venture.

After my friends had been once or twice to see the house they informed me of it, and advised me to go and see it; which I did: but the concern appeared so weighty, that I set myself against it to the utmost, remembering my former affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall; nor was there one in all my family that approved of it but Dame, the distance appeared so far from town. However, my friends mightily pressed me to it; and as the time drew nigh when the lease was to be sold, they determined to attend the sale. I prayed day and night that they might not succeed in buying it, and charged them to bid no higher than thirty pounds; but they resolved among themselves to bid to seventy pounds. It was put up at five pounds, and there was not one bidder till one of my friends bid the five pounds,

and it was knocked down to him. At this time I had another dream. I dreamed I was in a large room, and the room was full of serpents, and the bodies of the serpents were divided at the middle, and so each of them had two necks and two heads; and many of them crawled furiously up to me openmouthed, but not one of them bit me; nor was I at all terrified at them. I awaked, and behold it was a dream. But, when I came to see the person that I had to deal with, the dream came fresh into my mind. I saw the serpent; and I had no doubt but that there were more heads than one; yea, many in union with him. There are serpents, and a generation of vipers; and Christ says they are of their father. And never, in this world, did I see so great a likeness of him.

The things on the premises were to be taken by an appraisement; the good man was to choose one, and I the other. I had, in my own mind, fixed upon one in much practice; and, had I made choice of him, I should have added a third head to the crooked fraternity. But this was not to be; my God will have a hand in all my affairs; and I was directed by him to inquire after another of great note, and who stands very high and honourable in his profession. And this gentleman was well acquainted with the reptile that I had to deal with. The gentleman that he employed went through his work first, and the person who was for me soon went after him; and, when they met upon the business, they could not agree together

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