some circumstances connected with it, it may be necessary to make a few remarks. The captain of the sloop was named Cunningham, a Scotchman; decent, orderly, and respectable in his life. With him young Clarke had frequent and serious conversation on the passage; with which capt. C. seemed not a little pleased. The 18th was Sunday, during the whole of which they were at sea, but Adam was sick, and was obliged to keep to his bed. The captain had got Flavel's works, and spent all his spare time on the Lord's day in reading them. The sailors were, on the whole, orderly; and though he had reproved them for swearing, they did not take it ill, and refrained from the practice during the passage; and as they saw that the captain treated his young passenger with respect, they also treated him with the same. When they took their pilot on board, off Hoylake, they were informed that there was a hot press in the river. There were two young men, one a sailor, the other a hatter, steerage passengers, who began to fear for their personal safety. The sloop entered the river, and the first object that engaged their attention was a tender, which fired a couple of guns to make the captain bring to. The sails were hauled down in a moment, and the tender lowered her boat over her side; an officer and six men entered it, and began to make for the sloop. The transaction now about to be recorded Dr. C. has often related. His own account is the following: "As soon as captain Cunningham perceived the tender, and was obliged to bring to, on her fire: he addressed himself to the passengers, and said, 'You had better go and hide yourselves in the most secret parts of the vessel, or wherever you can; we shall have a press-gang immediately on board; and I cannot protect you.' The two young men already mentioned, hid themselves accordingly: I said to myself, Shall such a man as I flee? I will not. I am in the hands of the Lord; if He permit me to be sent on board a man-of-war, doubtless He has something for me to do there.' I therefore quietly sat down on a locker in the cabin; but my heart prayed to the God of heaven. By and bye the noise on deck, told me that the gang were come on board. Immediately I heard a hoarse voice of unholy authority, calling out, All you who are below come up on deck!' I immediately walked up the hatch-way, stepped across the quarter-deck, and leaned myself against the gunwhale. The officer went down himself and searched, and found the hatter; but did not find the sailor. While this officer and the captain were in conversation about the hatter, who maintained that he was apprentice to Mr. a of Liverpool, one of the gang came up to me, and said to one of our sailors, Who have you got here? O, he's priest, I'll warrant,' said the fellow; adding, 'we pressed a priest yesterday, but I think we'll not take this one.' By this time the lieutenant, having ordered the poor hatter aboard of the tender's boat, came up to me, stood for some seconds eyeing me from head to foot; he then stepped forward, took me by the right hand, fingered and thumbed it to find whether I had been brought up to the sea or hard labor, then, with authoritative insolence, shook it from him with a muffled execration, 'D—— you, you'll not do.' They then returned to their boat and went off with the poor hatter. "What Briton's bosom does not burn against this infringement of British liberty? This unconstitutional attack on the liberty of a free-born subject of the Sovereign of the British Isles? While the impress service is tolerated, in vain do we boast of our Constitution. It is an attack upon its vitality, ten thousand times worse than any suspension of the Habeas Corpus act. Let Britons know that it is neither any part of our Constitution, nor any law of the land, whatever some venal lawyers have said, in order to make it constructively such. Nothing can be a reason for it, but that which justifies a levée en masse of the inhabitants of the nation. It is intolerable to hear those plead for it, who are not exposed to so great a calamity." Having now escaped and got safely to shore, A. C. asked the captain if he could direct him to some quiet lodging, where he might be comfortable for the night, as he intended to set off next morning for Bristol. The captain said, "You shall stay at my house; sometimes my wife takes in respectable lodgers." He went with him, and was presented with several encomiums to Mrs. C., who received him affably; she was a decent, well-bred woman. In the afternoon, the captain asked him to take a walk, and see the docks and shipping. He went, but having lately escaped from a press-gang, he was afraid of getting in their way again; and to tell the truth, imagined that every illlooking fellow he met, was one of the party. On his return to captain Cunningham's, he was introduced to a Scotch lady who was there, a private boarder; there was also a naval captain, present. At tea the con-versation turned on religion. The strange captain professed to be a papist; the Scotch lady took some part in the conversation, and generally pledged her conscience to the truth of what she asserted. Adam was pained at this; for, in all other respects, she appeared to be a wellbred and very respectable gentlewoman. He watched for an opportunity after tea, when he saw her alone, said very humbly, "Madam, it is a pity that so decent and respectable a lady as you are, should ever use an improper. word." "Pray," said the lady, surprised, "what, what do you mean?” "Why, madam, I have noticed you several times in conversation, use the term 'upon my conscience.' Now, madam, to you, and to every intelligent serious person, conscience must be a very sacred principle; and should never be treated lightly; and certainly should never be used in the way of an ordinary oath." 66 Why, sir," said she, "I cannot think there is any harm in it. I know very well-bred religious people make no scruple of using it as I do, and I am sure I cannot be persuaded that I have been doing any thing wrong." "Well, madam, I do think it sinful; and I rather think when you come to reflect on it, you will think so too." Thus ended the conversation. At supper the lady said, "Mrs. Cunningham, this young man has been reproving me for saying, 'upon my conscience.' Now, I never : thought that to be a sin and sure Mrs. C. you know, as well as I, many good people who make no scruple of saying it." There was some silence, and then A. C., gave his reasons why he thought it, and all such words, thus used, to be sinful. Captain C. and Mrs. C. seemed to nod consent. The strange Captain said, "Sir, as I am a Catholic, I believe that when the priest has consecrated the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, nothing of those elements remains, they are totally and substantially changed into the body, blood, life, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Have you any thing to say against that?" "O yes, sir," said Adam, "I have much to say against it;" and then began and argued largely to shew the doctrine unscriptural, and to prove it absurd. The captain then asked him what he had to say against the invocation of saints, and the worshipping of images? He gave his reasons at large against these also. Purgatory, was next produced; Auricular Confession; and the priests' power to forgive sins. VOL. I. L All these were considered: and, if one might dare to say so; of so young a person, they were all confuted from Scripture and reason. But the last tenet gave him an opporportunity to turn to the subject generally, to speak concerning the nature of sin, and the fallen condemned state of man; and that, since no human nor angelic being could forgive offences not committed against themselves, but against another, it followed that He only against whom they were committed could forgive them; and, as all had sinned and come short of the glory of God, if He did not forgive them, doubtless they must sink those who had committed them into the gulf of endless perdition. He shewed also, that reconciliation with God was impossible from any thing that the sinner could either do cr suffer ; and that there was no hope of salvation to any man, but through the great sacrificial offering made by Christ Jesus. "But this," said he, "becomes effectual to no man who is not a true and deep penitent, and does not implicitly believe in that Atoning Sacrifice, as offered to Divine Justice for him, as a sufficient sacrifice, offering, atonement, and satisfaction for his transgressions." While discoursing on these subjects, God gave him uncommon power and freedom of speech: his little audience had their eyes intently fixed upon him; tears began to drop on their cheeks, and the half-smothered sob, gave strong indications of the state of their minds: perceiving this, he said, let us pray! and, suddenly dropping on his knees, in which he was immediately followed by all present, he prayed with such fervor and energy that all were in tears; and God seemed to work mightily in every mind. What were the effects of this night's conversation and prayer, will be found perhaps only in the great day. The next morning he called on a Mr. Ray, of Clevelandsquare, to whom he was introduced by a person from |