was
not able to speak for some time; but, recovering himself, he takes it
with both his hands, and turning to his wife, "Here, my dear," says he,
"did not I tell you our God, though He lives above, could hear what we
have said? Here's the book I prayed for when you and I kneeled down
under the bush; now God has heard us and sent it." When he had said so,
the man fell into such passionate transports, that between the joy of
having it, and giving God thanks for it, the tears ran down his face like
a child that was crying.

The woman was surprised, and was like to have run into a mistake that
none of us were aware of; for she firmly believed God had sent the book
upon her husband's petition. It is true that providentially it was so,
and might be taken so in a consequent sense; but I believe it would have
been no difficult matter at that time to have persuaded the poor woman to
have believed that an express messenger came from heaven on purpose to
bring that individual book. But it was too serious a matter to suffer
any delusion to take place, so I turned to the young woman, and told her
we did not desire to impose upon the new convert in her first and more
ignorant understanding of things, and begged her to explain to her that
God may be very properly said to answer our petitions, when, in the
course of His providence, such things are in a particular manner brought
to pass as we petitioned for; but we did not expect returns from heaven
in a miraculous and particular manner, and it is a mercy that it is not
so.

This the young woman did afterwards effectually, so that there was no
priestcraft used here; and I should have thought it one of the most
unjustifiable frauds in the world to have had it so. But the effect upon
Will Atkins is really not to be expressed; and there, we may be sure, was
no delusion. Sure no man was ever more thankful in the world for
anything of its kind than he was for the Bible, nor, I believe, never any
man was glad of a Bible from a better principle; and though he had been a
most profligate creature, headstrong, furious, and desperately wicked,
yet this man is a standing rule to us all for the well instructing
children, viz. that parents should never give over to teach and instruct,
nor ever despair of the success of their endeavours, let the children be
ever so refractory, or to appearance insensible to instruction; for if
ever God in His providence touches the conscience of such, the force