any such thing as complete happiness can be found
in a sublunary state. The savage was now a good Christian, a much better
than I; though I have reason to hope, and bless God for it, that we were
equally penitent, and comforted restored penitents: we had here the Word
of God to read, and no farther off from his Spirit to instruct than if
we had been in England.

I always applied myself to reading the Scripture, and to let him know as
well as I could the meaning of what I read; and he again, by his serious
inquiries and questions, made me, as I said before, a much better
scholar in the Scripture knowledge, than I should ever have been by my
own private reading. Another thing I cannot refrain from observing here,
also from experience, in this retired part of my life; viz. how infinite
and inexpressible a blessing it is, that the knowledge of God, and of
the doctrine of salvation by Christ Jesus, is so plainly laid down in
the Word of God, so easy to be received and understood, that as the bare
reading the Scripture made me capable of understanding enough of my duty
to carry me directly on to the great work of sincere repentance for my
sins, and laying hold of a Saviour for life and salvation, to a stated
reformation in practice, and obedience to all God's commands, and this
without any teacher or instructor (I mean, human;) so the plain
instruction sufficiently served to the enlightening this savage
creature, and bringing him to be such a Christian, as I have known few
equal to him in my life.

As to the disputes, wranglings, strife, and contention, which has
happened in the world about religion, whether niceties in doctrines, or
schemes of church-government, they were all perfectly useless to us, as,
for aught I can yet see, they have been to all the rest in the world: we
had the sure guide to heaven, viz. the Word of God; and we had, blessed
be God! comfortable views of the Spirit of God, teaching and instructing
us by his Word, leading us into all truth, and making us both willing
and obedient to His instruction of his Word; and I cannot see the least
use that the greatest knowledge of the disputed points in religion,
which have made such confusions in the world, would have been to us, if
we could have obtained it. But I must go on with the historical part of
things, and take every part in its order.

After Friday and I became more intimately acquainted, and that he could
understand almost all I said to him, and spea