of literary distinction, he resisted the strivings of the Holy Spirit. For a while, he succeeded in stifling the still small voice of conviction, till one day walking in the fields, he heard the bell tolling the death-knell of the devout Mr. Perkins. At this, Mr. Cotton secretly rejoiced; and began to congratulate himself, that he should no more be troubled by him, who had, as he said, "laid siege to and beleaguered his heart."

But this selfish satisfaction at such a riddance soon became a cause of great spiritual distress. It dwelt constantly upon his mind as an aggravated sin, that he had thus exulted at the prospect of being freed, at such a price, from divine incitements and restraints. God made it "an effectual means of convincing and humbling him in the sight and sense of the natural enmity that is in man's nature against God."

In this state of mind, he heard a sermon from Dr. Sibbs, a man of great note among the Puritans in the time of the first James. This sermon was upon the nature and necessity of regeneration. It first showed the state of the unregenerate, and the misery of those who have no righteousness but that of the moral virtues. Under this discourse, Mr. Cotton felt all his false hopes and self-righteous confidences failing him. He found the truth of what the Bible

taught him, that he was a sinner in the sight of God, that he was wholly and helplessly depraved, and utterly lost beyond the power of recovering himself. For near three years, he was fainting under the burden of desponding thoughts, feeling that he had willfully withstood the means of grace and the offers of mercy which God had extended to him. At length the barbed rankled in his heart,

arrow, which so long had was plucked away. Through the same wound from which the bloody drops of contrition had flowed, the healing grace of Jesus was infused. This comfort appears to have been ministered to his soul under the preaching of the same worthy Dr. Sibbs; between whom and the happy convert there ever after subsisted "a singular and constant love," as between a spiritual father and his son in the faith.

The conversion of Mr. Cotton was of that primitive, orthodox stamp, which has always produced the best sort of Christians. There is reason to suspect that many who are in the habit of speaking of such a change in terms of levity and unbelief, would inwardly rejoice if they could be assured of undergoing the same moral renovation before they shall be summoned to the bar of God. There is something in such an experience which commends itself even to the

conscience of the scoffer and profane. In the case of Mr. Cotton it was no rash and reasonless excitement but the result of years of anxious inquiry and mental conflict. It occurred when he was at the maturity of his powers and in their highest state of discipline and development. It was a solid work, on a firm foundation, by the Almighty hand: and therefore was it a lasting monument of grace. The subject of it, at the time, was not far from twenty-seven years of

age.

Ere long he was called once more to fill the old stone pulpit of St. Mary's venerable church. A numerous auditory of the University men, attracted by his high reputation, thronged the place. These were hearers, who, as the excellent John Norton said of them, and he knew them well, "prefer the Muses before Moses, and taste Plato more than Paul, and relish the Orator of Athens far above the Preacher of the Cross." They were confidently expecting to be regaled with the heaped up quotations, the philosophical abstractions, the scholastic subtleties, and rhetorical ornaments, by which the preachers on those occasions were wont to hold up to admiration, not their Master, but themselves. When Mr. Cotton arose, the hum of approbation, which used to greet a popular speaker, resounded

through the temple. But their expectation was destined to be disappointed. The discourse was upon the subject of repentance, and was enunciated from a heart which had freshly felt the power of the theme. It was a plain, pungent, practical address, directly aimed at the conscience of the hearers. The countenances of his audience betrayed their discontent; in token of which, they pulled down their shovel-caps over their faces, and listened in sullen mood.

The poor preacher, discouraged with this cold reception of his zealous endeavors for their good, retired to his chambers with some sad thoughts of heart. He had not been long alone, when Dr. John Preston, then a fellow of Queen's College, and of great esteem in the University, knocked at his door. This person, like so many others, had repaired to the sermon, with his ears itching to hear a splendid literary performance. For a while, he manifested his vexation in every way he could but ere the close, he was "cut to the heart" by the sword of the Spirit. Making an errand of borrowing a book, he called on Mr. Cotton, with whom he had not been acquainted. His wounded soul could not keep silence; and he sought those spiritual succors which God blessed to the peace of his mind. This man too became a powerful preacher of the gospel, and a

mighty man of renown among the Calvinistic doctors of that age of giant minds. This notable seal of his ministry consoled Mr. Cotton for the manner in which his first evangelical sermon was received by the many. He never regretted that he had cast his ostentatious ways aside, and had sought only to approve himself unto God. Some of the more religious divines prayed him to "persevere in that good way of preaching," which, by the grace of God, he effectually did. How true is the remark of the excellent Thomas Fuller, "It is easier and better for us to please one God, than many men, with our sermons." Between Mr. Cotton and Dr. Preston there was formed one of those most profitable Christian friendships, which must outlast earth and heaven. There are no good men, but others are the better for them.