THE GREAT SUCCESS WHICH ATTENDED THE .CALL WHEN FIRST PUBLISHED. IT may be proper to prefix an account of this book given by Mr. Baxter himself, which was found in . his study, after his death, in his own words: ' I published a short treatise on conversion, entitled, ·A Call to the Unconverted. The occasion of this was my converse with Bishop Usher while I was at London; who, approving my method and directions for Peace of Conscience, was importunate with me to write directions suited to the various states of Christians, and also against particular sins. I reverenced the man, but disregarded these persuasions, supposing I could do nothing but what is done better already: but when he was dead, his words went deeper to my mind, and l pm·posed to obey his counsel; yet, so as that to the first sort of men, the ungodly, I thought .vehern'ent persuasions meeter than directions only: and so for such I published this little book, which God hath blessed with unexpected success, beyond all the rest that I have written, except The Saint's Rest. In a little more than a year, there were about twenty thousand of them printed by my own consent, and about ten thousand since, beside many thousands by stolen impressions, which poor men stole for lucre's sake. Through God's mercy, I have information of almost whole households converted by this small book which I set so light by: and, as if all this in England, Scotland,
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