ious pursuits.

In very early years serious impressions had been made upon the heart of
Robert Moffat. The earnest teachings of his minister, combined with his
mother's counsels and prayers, left recollections which could never be
effaced. These impressions were now to be deepened, and the good seed
that had been sown to be quickened. The Wesleyan Methodists had
commenced a good work at High Leigh, and a pious Methodist and his wife
induced Moffat to attend some of their meetings. He became convinced of
his state as a sinner, and unhappy, but after a severe and protracted
struggle, he found pardon, justification, and peace, through faith in
Jesus Christ, and henceforth his life was devoted to the service of his
Lord. Energetically he threw himself into the society and work of his
new friends, but by so doing, lost the goodwill of Mr. and Mrs. Leigh,
who were grieved that one in whom they took so much interest should have
become a Methodist. So were these good people despised by many in those
days.

At this time Robert's worldly prospects were brightening, and a position
of honour and comfort seemed opening before him. But the anticipations
of that day were not to be.

Apparently unimportant events frequently determine the whole course of
our lives, and a simple incident was now about to change the current of
this young man's life, and to convert the rising gardener into the
God-honoured and much-beloved missionary. How this came to pass we now
relate:

While at High Leigh, Robert Moffat had occasion to visit Warrington, a
town about six miles distant He set off one calm summer evening. All
nature seemed at rest, and thoughts of God and a feeling of admiration
for His handiworks took possession of the young man's mind. His life was
reviewed, and with thoughts full of hope he entered the town. Passing
over a bridge he noticed a placard. It contained the announcement of a
missionary meeting, over which the Rev. William Roby, of Manchester, was
to preside. He had never seen such an announcement before. He read the
placard over and over again, and, as he did so, the stories told by his
mother of the Moravian missionaries in Greenland and Labrador, which had
been forgotten for years, came vividly to mind. From that moment, his
choice was made; earthly prospects vanished: his one thought was, "how
to become a missionary?"

Many difficulties seemed to stand in the way between Robert and the
accomplishment of his desire, b