which made so amiable a part of his character, and of which I had before seen so many instances. He speaks, in the letter from which I have just been giving an extract, of the hope, he had expressed in a former, of seeing us again that winter; and he adds, "To be sure, it would have been a great pleasure to me: But we poor mortals form projects, and the Almighty Ruler of the universe disposes of all, as he pleases. A great many of us were getting ready for our return to England, when we received an order to march towards Frankfort, to the great surprise of the whole army, neither can any of us comprehend what we are to do there; for there is no enemy in that country, the French army being marched into Bavaria, where I am sure we cannot follow them. But it is the will of the Lord; and his will be done! I desire to bless and praise my heavenly Father, that I am entirely resigned to it. It is no matter where I go, or what becomes of me, so that God may be glorified, in my life, or my death. I should rejoice much to hear, that all my friends were equally resigned."

$120. The mention of this article reminds me of another, relating to the views which he had of obtaining a regiment for himself. He endeavoured to deserve it by the most faithful services; some of them, indeed, beyond what the strength of his constitution would well bear: For the weather in some of these marches proved exceeding bad, and yet he would be always at the head of his people, that he might look to every thing that concerned them, with the exactest care. obliged him to neglect the beginnings of a feverish illness; the natural consequence of which was, that it grew very formidable, forced a long confinement upon him, and gave animal nature a shock, which it never recovered.

This

§ 121. In the mean time, as he had the promise of a regiment, before he quitted England, his friends were continually expecting an occasion of congratulating him, on having received the command of one. But still they were disappointed; and, on some of them, the disappointment seemed to sit heavy. As for the Colonel himself, he seemed quite easy about it; and, appeared much greater in that easy situation of mind, than the highest military honours and preferments could have made him. With great pleasure do I, at this moment, recollect the unaffected serenity, and even indifference, with which he expresses himself, upon this occasion, in a letter to me, dated about the beginning of April, 1743. "The disappointment of a regiment is nothing to me; for I am satisfied, that had it been for

God's glory, I should have had it; and I should have been sorry to have bad it on any other terms. My heavenly Father has bestowed upon me infinitely more, than if He had made me emperor of the whole world."

§ 122. I find several parallel expressions in other letters; and those to his Lady, about the same time, were just in the same strain. In an extract from one, which was written from Aix la Chapelle, April 21, the same year, I meet with these words: "People here imagine, I must be sadly troubled, that I have not got a regiment, (for six, out of seven vacant, are now disposed of ;) but they are strangely mistaken, for it has given me no sort of trouble. My heavenly Father knows what is best for me; and blessed, and for ever adored be his name, He has given me an entire resignation to his will: Besides, I don't know, that ever I met with any disappointment, since I was a Christian, but it pleased God to discover to me, that, it was plainly for my advantage, by bestowing something better upon me afterwards: Many instances of which I am able to produce; and therefore I should be the greatest of monsters, if I did not trust in him."

§123. I should be guilty of a great omission, if I were not to add, how remarkably the event corresponded with his faith, on this occasion. For, whereas, he had no intimation, or expectation of any thing, more than a regiment of foot, his Majesty was pleased, out of his great goodness, to give him a regiment of dragoons, which was then quartered just in his own neighbourhood. And it is properly remarked, by the reverend and worthy person, through whose hand, this letter was transmitted to me, that when the Colonel thus expressed himself, he could have no prospect of what he afterwards so soon obtained i as general Bland's regiment, to which he was advanced, was only vacant on the 19th of April, that is, two days before the date of this letter, when it was impossible, he should have any notice of that vacancy. And, it also deserves observation, that some few days after the Colonel was thus unexpectedly promoted to the command of these dragoons, Lord Cornwallis's regiment of foot, then in Flanders, became vacant: Now, had this happened, before his promotion to General Bland's, Colonel Gardiner, in all probability, would only have had that regiment of foot, and so have continued in Flanders. When the affair was issued, he informs Lady Frances of it, in a letter, dated from a village near Frankfort, May 3, in which he refers to his former of the 21st of April, observing, how remarkably it was verified," in God's having given him," (for so he ex

presses it, agreeably to the views he continually maintained of the universal agency of divine Providence,) "what he had no expectation of, and what was so much better, than that which he had missed, a regiment of dragoons quartered at his own door."

§ 124. It appeared to him, that by this remarkable event, Providence called him home. Accordingly, though he had other preferments offered him in the army, he chose to return; and I believe, the more willingly, as he did not expect, there would have been any action. Just at this time, it pleased God to give him an awful instance of the uncertainty of human prospects, and enjoyments, by that violent fever, which seized him at Ghent, in his way to England; and perhaps, the more severely, for the efforts he made to push on his journey, though he had, for some days, been much indisposed. It was, I think, one of the first fits of severe illness he had ever met with; and he was ready to look upon it, as a sudden call into eternity: But it gave him no painful alarm in that view. He committed himself to the God of his life, and, in a few weeks, he was so well recovered, as to be capable of pursuing his journey, though not without difficulty: And, I cannot but think, it might have conduced much to a more perfect recovery than he ever attained, to have allowed himself a longer repose, in order to recruit his exhausted strength and spirits. But, there was an activity in his temper, not easy to be restrained; and it was now stimulated, not only by a desire of seeing his friends, but of being with his regiment; that he might omit nothing in his power, to regulate their morals, and their discipline, and to form them for public service. Accordingly, he passed through London, about the middle of June, 1743, where he had the honour of waiting on their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, and of receiving, from both, the most obliging tokens of favour and esteem. He arrived at Northampton, on Monday the 21st of June, and spent part of three days here. But the great pleasure which his return and preferment gave us, was much abated, by observing his countenance so sadly altered, and the many marks of languor, and remaining disorder, which evidently appeared; so that he really looked ten years older, than he had done ten months before. I had, however, a satisfaction, sufficient to counter-balance much of the concern, which this alteration gave me, in a renewed oppor tunity of observing, indeed more sensibly than ever, in how remarkable a degree he was dead to the enjoyments and views of this mortal life. When I congratulated him on the favour

able appearances of Providence for him in the late event, be briefly told me the remarkable circumstances that attended it, with the most genuine impressions of gratitude to God for them; but added, "that as his account was increased with his income, power, and influence, and his cares were proportionably increased too, it was, as to his own personal concern, much the same to him, whether he had remained in his former station, or been elevated to this; but, that if God, should by this means honour him, as an instrument of doing more good than he could otherwise have done, he should rejoice in it.”

§ 125. I perceived, that, the near views he had taken of eternity, in the illness, from which he was then so imperfectly recovered, had not in the least alarmed him; but, that he would have been entirely willing, had such been the determination of God, to have been cut short in a foreign land, without any earthly friend near him, and in the midst of a journey, undertaken with hopes and prospects so pleasing to nature; which appeared to me no inconsiderable evidence of the strength of his faith. But we shall wonder the less at this extraordinary resignation, if we consider the joyful and assured prospect, which he had of an happiness infinitely superior beyond the grave; of which, that worthy minister of the church of Scotland, who had an opportunity of conversing with him quickly after his return, and having the memorable story of his conversion from his own mouth, as I have hinted above, writes thus in his letter to me, dated Jan. 14, 1746-7. "When he came to review his regiment, at Linlithgow, in summer 1743, after having given me the wonderful story as above, he concluded in words to this purpose:-Let me die, whenever it shall please God, or wherever it shall be, I am sure, I shall go to the mansions of eternal glory, and enjoy my God, and my Redeemer, in heaven for ever."

§ 126. While he was with us at this time, he appeared deeply affected with the sad state of things as to religion and morals, and seemed to apprehend, that the rod of God was hanging over so sinful a nation. He observed a great deal of disaffection, which the enemies of the government had, by a variety of artifices, been raising in Scotland for some years: And the number of jacobites there, together with the defenceless state in which our island then was, with respect to the number of its forces at home, of which he spoke at once with great concern and astonishment, led him to expect an invasion from France, and an attempt in favour of the Pretender, much sooner than it happened. I have heard him often say, many years before it

came so near being accomplished, "that a few thousands might have a fair chance for marching from Edinburgh to London uncontrolled, and throw the whole kingdom into an astonishment." And I have great reason to believe, that this was one main consideration, which engaged him to make such haste to his regiment, then quartered in those parts; as he imagined there was not a spot of ground, where he might be more like to have a call to expose his life in the service of his country; and perhaps, by appearing on a proper call early in its defence, be instrumental in suppressing the beginnings of most formidable mischief. How rightly he judged in these things, the event did too evidently shew.

$127. The evening before our last separation, as I knew, I could not entertain the invaluable friend, who was then my guest more agreeably, I preached a sermon in my own house, with some peculiar reference to his case and circumstances, from those ever memorable words, than which I have never felt any more powerful and more comfortable: Psal xci. 14, 15, 16. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my name: He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him, and honour him: With long life, or length of days, will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. This scripture could not but lead our meditations to survey the character of the good man, as one, who so knows the name of the blessed God, (has such a deep apprehension of the glories and perfections of his nature,) as determinately to set his love upon him, to make him the supreme object of his most ardent and constant affection. And it suggested the most sublime and animating hopes to persons of such a character; that their prayers shall be always acceptable to God; that though they may, and must, be called out to their share in the troubles and calamities of life, yet they may assure themselves of the divine presence in all; which shall issue in their deliverance, in their exaltation, sometimes to distinguished honour and esteem among men, and, it may be, in a long course of useful and happy years on earth; at least, which shall undoubtedly end in seeing, to their perpetual delight, the complete salvation of God, in a world, where they shall enjoy length of days for ever and ever, and employ them all in adoring the great author of their salvation and felicity. It is evident, that these natural thoughts on such a scripture were matters of universal concern. Yet, had I known, that this was the last time, I should ever address Colonel Gardiner, as a minister of the gospel, and had I fore