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1718. fair Eftates have been wafted! How many fine Youths deftroyed by keeping evil Company, and by Excefs in Drinking, is really lamentable to confider! It keeps the Poor in Poverty; it makes the Rich many times poor, and brings both Rich and Poor into Difgrace; it breaks and deftroys the Health and natural good Conftitution of the Body, and instead thereof fills it with Mifery and Pain; and which is yet more, it deftroys the Soul which is the most noble Part of the Man; fo that it is a fore three-fold Evil, but the 'laft the worft, by how much the Soul is the more lafting and better Part: Several terrible Inftances of this Nature I have met with in my Travels among the Children of Men; three or four of which I may inform thee of; and it may be affecting unto thee, as it hath often been to my Mind, when I have thought thereon.

The first Inftance of a young Man, given to ill Company, and bard Drinking.

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HE firft is of a certain Beautiful young Man, a Phyfician by Profeffion, who was much addicted to ill Company, and to drink hard, and was fometimes vifited with strong Convictions; in one of which Vifitations he fent for me, and told me his Condition, and made folemn Covenants, if God would but that once fpare bim, he would not do the like Evil again. At that Time it did please the Almighty to fpare him; but he foon forgot how it had been with him; and fell into the fame Sin again; altho he had a most notable Admonition in a Dream, but a little before. His Dream was this, which is very remarkable; we being then at Sea, in Sight of Great-Britain, he faw in his Dream a great and fpacious Town, the Buildings high, and Streets broad; at which he landed, and going up the Street, he efpied a large Sign on which was written in great Golden Letters, SHAME, to

which he went, and at the Door ftood a Woman, with 1718. a Cann of Drink in her Hand; who asked him to drink? To which he reply'd, With all his Heart, for he faid, he bad drank nothing but Water a great While: So he took the Cann, and drank a hearty Draught, which, as he faid, made him merry, and he went reeling_up the Street, when, behold on a fudden, a grim Fel low met him, and arrested him in the Name of the Governor of the Place, before whom he brought him. This Governour, he faid, was like a great Black Dog, the largest that ever he faw, who grinned at him, and paffed Sentence on him, and fent him to Prifon, there to lie for ever. He told me this Dream, with fuch an Emphasis, as made me to tremble, which was thus interpreted to him: I told him, that he was an ingenious young Man, and might eafily difcern the Interpretation of this Dream, which to me feem'd to be ominous to him: The great Town and high Buildings, is thy great and bigh Profeffion; the Sign, on which SHAME was writ, with the Woman with the Cann at the Door, fheweth the great Shame of the Sin of Drunkenness, and that it is thy Weakness; and that grim Fellow, that arrested thee, is Death, who will arreft all Mortals; and the great black Dog, the Governor of the Place, is the Devil; who, when his Servants have ferved him to the laft, will torment them for ever.-God forbid, it is but a Dream, was his Answer to me. I faid, it was a very fignificant one to him.

About three Days after, the fame Person went on board a Ship, whofe Loading was Wine and Brandy; the Mafter gave a Cann of Wine to him, and said the fame Words, as the Woman faid to him in his Dream, and he answered with the fame Expreffions, and it had the fame Effect upon him; for he took fuch a hearty Draught as made him too merry, infomuch that he overfet the Boat, and was drowned, much in Drink: And I feeing him fink down, and

1718. his Dream fo punctually fulfilled, I was very heavy in my Mind for feveral Days.

Oh! methinks I could wifh that the many righte ous Judgments of the moft High, might effectually work on the Hearts of those People, who are in the Flower of their Age, to their Converfion and Salvation.

The fecond Inftance of a Merchant, addicted to the like deftructive PraЯices.

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HE fecond is of a Merchant, about Thirty-five Years of Age, whom I faw take Leave of, and bid Adieu to this World: He was one who had spent much Time in keeping unprofitable Campany and Overdrinking, which Practice wafted his Strength and Flesh, as it did his Time and Money, and brought him into a deep Confumption; as it has done many to my certain Knowledge; befides bringing the racking painful Distemper of the Gout, and many other Miferies; fo that at laft it brought him to his Chamber, and then to his Bed And in his Sickness, he feveral Times fent for me, and made ferious Acknowledgments of his former mifpent Time, and hop'd, if the Lord would Spare him, to be more careful for the Time to come. he was no longer to be trufted here in this World; for he went not out until he was carried in his Coffin: He held my Hand faft in his, until he died, and was fenfible to the laft.

But

One Day, as he lay on his Death-bed, he call'd me to him, into his Chamber, and, charged me to caution. the young People to be careful how they keep (and spend their Time in) Evil Company, for it had been his Ruin, and now lay as a great and heavy Burden on his Confcience Ob! fays he, if they did but feel one Quarter of an Hour, what I feel, they never would keep fuch Company any more: Tell this to my former Companions.

And

And inded there is a great deal of Hurt done by 1718, young Men getting together to drink Wine, or other 1trong Drink: I with the Woe, mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, may not be the Portion of many of them; who are mighty to drink Wine, and Men of Strength to mingle Strong Drink; and fit late at it, which many Times brings Sufferings on Parents, Wife, Children, and Servants, as well as themfelves; and is a very diforderly Practice, being a Reproach to all Chriftian Societies and Families, where-ever fuch Things are.

There is a great Concern upon me against this grow. ing Evil in our young Generation; and I hope, in Chrift our Lord, that divers Heads of Families will come under the like Exercife in themfelves: And then, if our Youth will neither hear nor fear the Lord, nor us, we shall be clear, and their Blood will be on their own Heads, as a worthy and honourable Elder, and Man of God (of your Nation) faid: One of whofe Offpring is the Subject of the third Particular, that I fhall mention to thee, of the many I have been acquainted with, in my Pilgrimage here, in and on this Part of the Globe of the Earth and Sea; for these are but few Inftances of many that I have met withal: I may therefore thus proceed.

The Third Inftance of another young Man, who much embraced the fame deftroying Delights.

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HE fifth of the first Montb, at Bridge Town, in Barbadoes, S. E. Son of W. E. died. His Death was fudden; and was reafonably fuppofed, he deftroyed himself by Drinking and undue Companykeeping, and fitting long at it. A Perfon, to whom he himself had told it, told me, "That he ard Four "more, at one Sitting, drank above twenty Quarts of "double-diftilled Rum-Punch; which put him in a

violent Fever:" So that he ran about the Streets, with a naked Sword, and talked of killing one of the Neighbours,

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1718. Neigbhours, in this drunken Fit. The next Day he came to me, and afked me, Whofe Door the Blood would bave lain at, if he had, in that Fit of Disorder, killed any Body? By which Query, I thought he was not yet rightly come to himfelf: Because there were fome ordinary Reports about the Town concerning him, he reckoned those who broach'd and fpread thofe Reports, would have been culpable, and must have answered for bis Murder, if he committed any: But this was but covering his Sin.

He feem'd to fall out with Religion too; for he faid, He would come no more to Worship, till he should have Juftice done him, as to the Reports: Tho' poor Soul, he had the more need to prefent himself before his Maker, and bow before the Moft High God, and repent in great Humiliation. The fame Day in which he negle&ed his Duty, he was taken fick, and that Dayweek was buried. He fent for me, and I went to him: He had but little Sense of his End, as I could perceive, and remained fo till the Night he died. I was by him when he died, and saw him fetch his last Breath. A few Minutes before he gave up the Ghoft, he trembled and fhook exceedingly, and fhricked out, to the Aftonishment of all thofe prefent, which pierced my very Soul within me: For he feemed to go out of the World in an extream great Agony.

I never faw any depart the World any ways like him; and indeed it was very amazing, and greatly affected my Mind with Sorrow: For I thought he was

very unfit to die. Oh! methinks I could heartily wifh, that fuch Objects might be as fo many ftrong Motives, to ftir up and to awaken the Offspring of good Men and virtuous Women (as alfo any profeffing Christianity) to fear the Lord, and walk in his Ways, whole Ways lead to Life, in which the Sting of Death is taken away.

The

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