y, &c.; and this I did with prayer, often falling on my knees,
leaving my books for a little, that I might seek the Lord's blessing, and
also, that I might be kept from that spiritual deadness, which is so
frequently the result of much study. I looked up to the Lord even whilst
turning over the leaves of my Hebrew dictionary, asking His help, that I
might quickly find the words. I made comparatively little progress in
English; for living with some of my countrymen, I was continually led to
converse in German.

My experience in this particular leads me to remark, that, should this
fall into the hands of any who are desirous to labour as missionaries
among a people whose language is not their own, they should seek not
merely to live among them, for the sake of soon learning their language,
but also, as much as possible, to be separated from those who speak their
own language; for, when, some months after, I was in Devonshire,
completely separated from those who spoke German, I daily made much
progress, whilst I made comparatively little in London.

Soon after my arrival in England, I heard one of the brethren in the
seminary speak about a Mr. Groves, a dentist in Exeter, who, for the
Lord's sake, had given up his profession, which brought him in about
fifteen hundred pounds a year, and who intended to go as a missionary to
Persia, with his wife and children, simply trusting in the Lord for
temporal supplies. This made such an impression on me, and delighted me
so, that I not only marked it down in my journal, but also wrote about it
to my German friends.

I came to England weak in body, and in consequence of much study, as I
suppose, I was taken ill on May 15, and was soon, at least in my own
estimation, apparently, beyond recovery. The weaker I became in body, the
happier I was in spirit. Never in my whole life had I seen myself so vile,
so guilty, so altogether what I ought not to have been, as at this time.
It was as if every sin, of which I had been guilty, was brought to my
remembrance; but, at the same time, I could realize that all my sins were
completely forgiven that I was washed and made clean, completely clean, in
the blood of Jesus. The result of this was, great peace. I longed
exceedingly to depart and to be with Christ. When my medical attendant
came to see me, my prayer was something like this: "Lord, Thou knowest
that he does not know what is for my real welfare, therefore do Thou
direct him." When I too