on the appointed day we repaired together to the small house where these outcasts assembled. We found not more than a dozen persons present, and the sermon was on the subject of the bond woman and the free woman. I liked the drift of the discourse pretty well: yet at that time it did not take hold of my heart. But Mr. Bramwell was like Lydia, whose heart the Lord had opened to receive the word. When we went again we heard old Mr. Hopper, and having begun to meet in class, we were soon afterward admitted into society. Mr. Longley gave us our first tickets."

About this time, too, his, real friend, Mr. Crane, was told by a person with whom he was intimate, that Mr. Bramwell was afraid he had offended Mr. C. by not going with him to hear the Methodists, although he had been repeatedly invited. He had told the same person, that if Mr. Crane again desired him, he certainly would not refuse. Mr. Crane, therefore, once more designedly met him, and commenced a renewal of their former friendship, by requesting the pleasure of his company to hear a Methodist preacher. He cheerfully assented to the proposal of his friend, and in the evening they went and heard Mr. Andrew Inglis. On their return, Mr. Crane asked him how he liked the sermon. "O!" said he, his eyes beaming with joy, "this is the kind of preaching which I have long wanted to hear. These are the people with whom I am resolved to live and die!"

CHAPTER III.

The grief of Mr. Bramwell's parents when they heard that he had become a Methodist-His interview with the Rev. John Wesley-Perplexity of mind respecting his call to the ministry-He becomes the leader of å class and a local preacher-Fruits of his labors-Some account of the manner in which he received the blessing of sanctification-An extract on the same subject from the experience of the Rev. John Fletcher.

AFTER the expiration of Mr. Bramwell's apprenticeship, his parents removed from Elswick to Preston, for the sole purpose of enjoying without interruption the society and converse of their son, for whose religious character they entertained the highest esteem. But how greatly were they mortified when they understood that he had begun to associate with the Methodists! They were so much exasperated, that they threatened to render him no pecuniary assistance toward enabling him to commence business. This, however, had no effect upon him; for he had been taught, that in order to be an approved disciple of Christ, it might in some cases be absolutely necessary to "forsake both father and mother." Yet being very solicitous to promote their spiritual welfare, he continually urged on them the necessity of a change of heart, and had strong and rational ground to hope, toward the close of their lives, that his labour had not been in vain.

About this time Mr. Wesley visited Preston; and some of Mr. Bramwell's Christian friends took an opportunity of introducing him into the

company of that great man. Mr. Wesley looked attentively at him, and said, "Well, brother! can you praise God?" Mr. Bramwell replied, "No sir!" Mr. Wesley lifted up his hands, and smiling, said, "Well! but perhaps you will tonight.' And indeed so it came to pass; for that very night he found the comfort he had lost, and his soul was again enabled to rejoice in the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

This interview was rendered peculiarly beneficial to Mr. Bramwell.. He soon received a clearer manifestation of the love of God, and was more fully established in the way of the Lord. His desire for the salvation of sinners was intense; and this impelled him to labor in season and out of season. By his instrumentality prayer meetings at five o'clock in the morning were established. He became the leader of a class; and so zealous was he to promote the best interests of his fellow creatures, that he began to exhort them to flee from the wrath to come.

Very soon after Mr. Wesley's visit, Mr. Bramwell was appointed a local preacher. Not satisfied however with laboring to save souls at Preston, he preached throughout its neighborhood, and that part of Lancashire, comprising a considerable tract of country, called the Fylde. It is said that his first text was, "Prepare to meet thy God!" In visiting most of the villages in the neighborhood, he met with violent opposition and persecution, so that he might be truly said to have gone with his life in his hand.

He had frequent struggles concerning his call to the ministry, and the subject lay with such weight upon his mind, that he has been known to spend a considerable portion of the night in wrestling with God for Divine direction in this important matter. His agony in prayer on these occasions was great; the sweat frequently poured down his face. And in allusion to this subject and the exquisite perplexity of mind in which he was plunged, he often exclaimed to an intimate friend, "Robert! Robert! what shall I do?"

His feelings may, in some measure, be conceived, from the following circumstance related by himself:-He was walking one day, with some friends, over Preston-Moor, (about a mile and a half from the town,) when one of them asked him if he knew the place where the Rev. Isaac Ambrose* was accustomed to spend a month in retirement every year, and employ himself day and night in importunate prayer before God for the prosperity of his work. Mr. Bramwell replied, "No! but under a certain

It is related by the biographer of this heavenly minded man, that he spent the last years of his life in Preston; and that it was his custom annually to retire into a wood near the moor, and there to secrete himself for an entire month in a small hut, avoiding all human society and converse, and devoting his whole attention to Divine contemplation and fervent prayer. By this method he was better fitted, during the remainder of each year, for the services of his sacred calling; and it was generally observed concerning him, that a peculiar unction accompanied his ministrations.

hill near this place," where there was a large sand hole, "I once spent thirty-six hours together in prayer to the Lord, that I might know his will concerning me."

Although he was thus the subject of much anxiety and temptation, yet he was often encouraged by seeing the pleasure of the Lord prosper in his hand. Under his sermons multitudes were convinced of sin, and many received a knowledge of their acceptance with God. Ann Cutler, or, as she was more familiarly called, "Praying Nanny," a woman remarkable for holiness, was one of the earliest fruits of his labors. She resided at a village near Preston, in which Mr. Bramwell frequently preached.

In the work of the ministry he spared neither exertion nor expense. He sometimes paid five shillings for the hire of a horse, on the Sabbath; and rode forty or fifty miles, preaching three or four times, and that very often in the open air. But it was his usual practice to walk on these occasions.

For a

Striking interpositions of Providence were extended to him on many emergencies:-Once' as he was returning from preaching, his horse fell and threw him over its head with great violence to a considerable distance. long time he lay senseless; but on recovering from the shock he rode forward to Preston, and preached the same evening without any medical assistance. But the consequences of this fall had nearly proved fatal, for he became ex