often the throne of Divine mercy and implore the outpouring of the Spirit upon these men; devoutly to look up for an answer of peace, and earnestly to watch for indications in their temper and conduct, of their reception or rejection of the gospel; to go again and again to the throne of grace, to pour out the heart to God, and in the dust to indulge either in humiliation and bitter lamentation, or devout praise, according as the Holy Spirit shall appear to be yielded unto or resisted! Oh, it is solemn work to be thus continually approaching God with reference to guilty men, under a deep impression of the nature of sin-the sufferings and death of Christ-the agonies inseparable from the eternal consciousness of guilt, that especially of rejecting God's "unspeakable gift," together with the joy, peace, and everlasting bliss which the believing reception of Christ secures! Oh, it is holy and peculiar work, to be continually coming to Jesus for a word of instruction—a message of mercy from His inspired Scriptures to the souls whom He hath made and redeemed; to be as often returning to the footstool of His throne, in bended lowliness of heart to tell Jesus, like the disciples of old, what we have done; and to leave the people and His truth in His own hands, imploring Him to glorify His name, and magnify the riches of His grace, in their present and everlasting salvation!

Many and fervent, without doubt, were the prayers offered up unto God in behalf of these men in the Earl Grey, by his believing people in many parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, especially by those

who so liberally supplied them with books, and by pious persons accquainted with individual cases among them. We a We are assured that the Lord Jesus hath entered into the holiest of all, in heaven, with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and that He shall see of t hefruit of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. We know that His grace is omnipotent-that His blood hath power to cleanse from all sin it is manifest that the redemption which is sufficient to meet the case of any sinner, is fully adequate to meet the condition of the sinners embarked in the Earl Grey; and therefore we look and wait for Divine results amongst our isolated and now instructed exiles. Will Jesus illustrate the efficacy of His atonement, and the power of His word and Spirit, in the conversion and salvation of some, or many, or all of these men? For what great purpose, having been brought together in the Earl Grey, are they instructed in the way of pardon, holiness, and life? Will not the Lord, in His wisdom and mercy, overrule all their wickedness for good? Would not such a result be in harmony with the history of the Divine dispensations, and the immutable principles of the Divine government? May not God magnify the riches and the freeness of His grace, by plucking these men as brands from the fire; and so remind us, that no flesh shall glory in His presence, but that whosoever glorieth shall glory only in the Lord? Shall there be joy in heaven over some of these prodigals brought to themselves, and returned to their heavenly Father? Jesus is willing to save them; will they be

made willing under the Divine influence of His manifested willingness, and of His everlasting and unchanging love? Oh the intensity of the interest that is felt by the faithful in these men! How vast their influence on the souls of other immortals! How inconceivable the influence of their decisions on the moral universe!

CHAPTER III.

Gratifying behaviour of the prisoners-Conversion to God the only foundation of true reformation-Some manifestations of spiritual change-A thunder-storm-Its influence on the Prisoners-Several profess faith in Christ-George Day-John Williams-A Socialist.

We now proceed to record the effects produced, under the Divine blessing, by our system, in the character, the tempers, and the general conduct of the prisoners during the voyage. In the Earl Grey, not only did the number of instances of individual reformation and apparent conversion to God exceed those which occurred in any of my former ships, but the behaviour of the people, as a body, surpassed any thing I had ever witnessed in any class of men at sea. From the day of their embarkation-indeed, from the hour of our first interview in the hulks, these men were manifestly under the influence of an intellectual and moral, if not of a spiritual power.

One man who had been, contrary to my regulations, put in circumstances of temptation, had his irons replaced for a given period, for theft and drunkenness ; three youngsters, who, impelled, as they alleged, by an unwarrantable curiosity, were found to have quitted their proper place on the decks, were also for several days subjected to the degradation of having their irons

replaced; one man, for incorrigible and most pernicious levity, was dismissed from his office of schoolmaster, and was repeatedly separated from the rest of the people; another man, who had been detected in using improper language, was once or twice placed in a state of separation; and there were two or three of peculiar and excitable temper, with whom it was found necessary to deal oftener than once, on account of a tendency to indulge, during the first part of the voyage, in noisy disputation, which, though of momentary duration, can never be permitted to pass without an adequate expression of disapprobation and wholesome rebuke. But with the exception of seven, who might, perhaps, be justly pronounced indifferent characters, and from 13 to 19 more, with whom I was in some respects dissatisfied, no impropriety of conduct appeared amongst the whole 264 prisoners worthy of notice. On two or three occasions a few of them manifested a disposition to slackness, or other irregularity in the performance of duty, which gave rise to practical addresses, and impressive appeals to the understanding and conscience, with a view not only to the benefit of the individuals in fault, but that of all the people and perhaps some of our most useful lectures were founded upon similar incidents manifesting some want of principle, or imperfection of character; but the general conduct of the prisoners was uniformly so superior, that the mere allusion to these very few exceptions tends to throw too dark a shade over the picture, and prevents the reader from distinctly perceiving the delightful order and harmony, the animating diligence and