her, for there is not one of her temptations which He Himself has not struggled with. There is no want of willingness in God; it is in our own heart that the straitening lies. He calls upon us to lay hold of His strength, that we may make peace with Him; and adds that, in so doing, we shall make peace with Him. Wonderful assurance! It is just saying, Lean, and you shall be supported; throw yeurself upon me, and I will bear you up; cast your burden to me, and I will sustain it. Oh that this faith were wrought in us with power, and the precious fruits of faith were getting more discernible every day upon our hearts; that we were dying unto the world, and unto all its distinctions and pleasures; that the ́realities of the spiritual and unseen world were taking a more effectual hold of us; that we were walking by faith and not by sight; and, knowing our insufficiency for these things, were drawing by prayer out of the fullness that is in Christ Jesus, all our light, and help, and direction.

Do write me by the bearer. Yours most truly,
THOMAS CHALMERS.

No. LVIII.

GLASGOW, 1815.

MY DEAR MISS COLLIER-I received your letter with much joy, and felt greatly refreshed by the perusal of it. Be assured that you can not derive a greater satisfaction from our correspondence with each other than I do myself; and I look back to our many walks and many conversations as those seasons which memory loves to dwell upon, when I took sweet counsel together with a Christian friend. I have not yet met with any thing here that can replace what I feel the want of, though, at the same time, I feel my heart slowly opening itself to the impression of that kindness, and worth, and sterling Christianity which surrounds me. But I am as yet too much lost, and my attention too much divided among the general society of the place, to have many strong drawings in the way of individual friendship. This general inter

course, indeed, has the effect of keeping me asunder for some time from my best friends. I can not see much of Dr. Balfour. Mrs. Dinwiddie arrived a week ago, and I had to resist her kindness, which I the more regret, because I know it to be genuine and sincere; but I shall spend a day with her in about a fortnight. There are some very interesting people among my own hearers, whose acquaintance I mean to cultivate; but at present the invitations come so thick upon me, that I, who have restricted myself to a limited number of teas and dinners, have nothing for it but to put many of these away from me. The following are the texts I have preached upon since I came to Glasgow: 1 Thess., v., 25; 2 Cor., x., 12; Mark, xii., 37; Romans, viii., 7; Acts, xxvi, 25; Phil., iv., 13; Matt., iii., 2; Job, ix., 30-33; Psalm lxxxv., 10; Luke, i., 74, 75; 1 Cor., iii., 1; Luke, ii., 14.

I do find in myself a tendency to speak beyond my strength, but I have great reason to be thankful that I am pretty well in health. Grace and Anne are both well. Miss M. Balfour is with us at present. Charles came a few days ago, and we have two boarders; so that, with Miss Pratt, our home establishment is pretty extensive at present; and, as I refuse callers before twelve, and go out only a certain number of times, I trust I shall have a sufficiency of time for the preparations of the pulpit. I have only been visiting sick persons since I came, but I trust that I shall extend this part of my duty. I have been twice with two men under sentence of death, and mean to visit them occasionally till the day of their execution. One, a Roman Catholic, is very much impressed, and seems to be mainly right in his doctrinal notions. The other is very ignorant, and I thought very hard at my first visit. I think, however, that I have made progress with him since; but, alas! appearances are most fallacious, and it is, indeed, a work of great seriousness, and demanding a feeling of dependence on God for wisdom to divide the word of truth rightly on such an occasion.

Tell Mrs. Coutts that I mean to write her shortly. I should

have written her before I wrote you; but the truth is, I sat down to this letter under a general impression of debt to your neighborhood, and as you are my most recent creditor, you were most in my mind at the time of my beginning to write. I can not describe the soft but mournful tenderness I feel when I think of your neighborhood, nor will I disguise the very warm affection I have both for yourself and Mrs. Coutts, and the friendship and veneration I feel for Dr. M'Culloch; along with these, will you remember me to Mr. Ewan and Miss Robina? Your sister, Miss Mary, I desire to be remembered to. Tell Alexander Paterson how much I am interested in him, and that I trust he will never let go the beginning of his confidence. Give my kindest regards to him, and let him send me by you, if he does not incline to write himself, all the Christian news of his neighborhood. Give my best and my friendliest greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Walker, and assure them of my good-will for themselves and family. Oh, how it melts and subdues me when I write all these names, and think of the dear neighborhood with which they are associated. May power from on high ever rest on many of its families, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus be poured in rich effusion over your much-loved land.

My wife and I both were greatly moved and interested by your kind letter. I hope you will soon see us in Glasgow. Let me know of your movements; and may the Lord guide and protect them.

We live in Charlotte Street, have a garden, and are most eligibly situated. May God prosper you, and give you His peace to rule in your heart. Yours most affectionately, THOMAS CHALMERS.

No. LIX.

MY VERY DEAR MISS COLLIER-I received your highly acceptable communication; and you know how much the kind and Christian remembrance of an old and valued friend acts as a sweetening infusion in that compound of many ingredi

ents which make up the life and history of a city minister. I have much reason, however, for thankfulness, and trust that I am finding my way, through the leadings of a good and a free Spirit, to the habits of a more even and simple reliance upon Him in whom I desire to find all my completeness and all my rest. How precious to know, that it is by keeping in memory the truths which we received at the first-that it is by holding fast the beginning of our confidence, and not casting it away that it is by cleaving unto Him in whom we ought always to abide, with an utter sense of our emptiness and of His fullness-that it is this attitude of quietness which, after all, is our only attitude of strength, and by persevering in which we are made more than conquerors. My dear madam, yours very truly, THOMAS CHALMERS.

No. LX.

GLASGOW, 3d June, 1816.

MY DEAR MISS COLLIER-I mean, if God will, to go from this in the middle of July, and stay away six weeks. I shall be much of that time in the neighborhood of Kilmany, and, of course, some days in Dairsie. All this, however, is only expressive of my intentions, and not of my promises, of which I am most fearful; and as my object is to rest, I trust I shall not have the fatigue of urgency to undergo on the subject of preaching, as I must be very sparing of myself during my absence from Glasgow. I still feel the overdoing of too much exertion in the business of Glasgow. The preaching is heavy for me; and the teasing invitations, pressed with a degree of rudeness that is very provoking, I find it difficult to ward off from me. I am sorry to say that Dr. is most egregiously culpable in this respect; and I have learned from him of how little avail the mere feeling of kindness is toward the happiness of others, unless a consideration and a respect for convenience and liberty go along with it. I wish I could report favorably, either of myself or others, as to the most substantial of our interests. I hear sometimes of good done, and

I am convinced that, to a certain degree, there is a reality ir the matter. Of one thing I am getting every day surer, that no human power, either of argument or of address, can work the progress of a single inch toward the conversion of a human soul. It is of my might and my wisdom, saith the Lord; and till we feel our dependence upon this, I am convinced that He will humble and mortify all our sufficiency. I feel my need of your prayers, both for my personal and ministerial welfare. This is Monday, when I am sadly liable to be driven out of the mildness and endurance of the Gospel, by the feebleness of yesterday's fatigue, and the annoyances with which a selfish and inconsiderate public beset me. have this day had to ward off four dinner invitations, and to fight a stout battle about two of them. I trust that this matter will at length find an adjustment in the people's letting me alone. But I must give up this querulous strain.

I

Give my kindest compliments to Dr. M'Culloch, Mrs. Coutts, Miss Coutts, Mr. Ewan, and the two Misses M'Cul

loch. I sigh for the repose and pure air of your charming neighborhood. I ever am, my dear Miss Collier, yours most affectionately, THOMAS CHALMERS.

LETTERS TO WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ., M.P.

No. LXI.

GLASGOW, 9th February, 1818. MY DEAR SIR-The concluding paragraph of the Prince Regent's speech* has given great satisfaction to the friends of religion in this quarter. It, at the same time, by suspending measures till the specific proposal of government be known, has given a temporary check to their operations for adding new churches to the Establishment in Glasgow. My own apprehension is, that if government shall offer to carry this

* Recommending to the attention of Parliament the deficiency in the number of places of worship connected with the Established Church, as compared with the increased and increasing population.