/.70p. MR THOMAS BOSTON. '191 lteginning to the end; but at feveral diftant times*. At that time I proceeded ftraight forward, till I came to the application of the redemption purchal'ed by Çhrih ; where I fiopt, Twice a.year I catechifed the parilh,- having no diet hut-one at the church ; and once a-year I vifited their families. The former was ufually begun about the end of O&obey, the latter about the end of April, or beginning of May. This was my ordinary courfe all along, five that ofTome few late years, through my wire's extraordinary ficknefs in the fpring, and the decay of .my own ftrength, I havenot got the vifitingof fimiilies.perforni- ed as befk io ; neither have I hope of it any more, though I hill aim at fomething of that kind yearly. But I biefs God, that when I had ability, I was helped to lay it out that way. Thus the winter4afon-was the time wherein I did mod of my work in parifh. illeanwhile that alfo was the feaf«n wherein I did molt in my clofet. Being twelve miles dilì:ant from the pref- bytery-feat, I attended it not in the winter but when-I attended it, I ordinarily event away and returned the fame day, being loath to lofe two or three days on it. Thefe things, with.other incidents, occafioned memuch riding ; in which I rauft acknowledge the goodnefs of God, that brought me out of Simprin, where 1 had but little occafion of riding, and my health was fore broken. But here I had more.exercife of that kind, whichno doubt was to my advantage in that point, though now at length my ftrength is much wafted away. The which has neceffarily madean alteration in the courfe of my manage- ment ; but the diets of catechifing are fîill in the winter, only I begin now foonerthan I Was wont ; and 'the winter-nights, that were my belt employed times in my clol'et,, I cannot now fpend fo any more, as before. July 10. This year.I wasat the facrament in Penpont. When the exprefs carne with the letter inviting me, I was indifpofed ; but retiring and reeking counfel of the Lord, two things feemed to promife that I fhould go to that place ; 1. That being invited to the facrament at G. July 3. Providence hindered me, though very pretling inftances were made partly by bodily indifpofition and otherwife ; and Penpont being pit the Lord's day after, I could not have left the parifh two days at once befidea there being thirty - fevers miles betwixt the places ; z. The letters not having come the two weeks before, while I was in the Metre, at which time they fhould have come, if not fooner. On the Wednefday I began to ftudy, andwith force difficulty fell on that text, Gen. xxviii. 17. ; but it went very ill with me ;, neither could I alter, though I had frequent thoughts of laying it alide. The vein of it was never opened to me till `I'hurfday betwixt three and four o'clock, and then I Itudied it that night. But I This whole work, with feveral additional fermons on parallel fubjedls, was públiíhedi in 1773, in three large volumes adlavo i and is jullly ef1eemed a work of great merit, though pófthusnousr No. A. a s
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