PA AT L ReverendMr. Richard Baxter. 89 fupprefs Sin, acid promote Goodnefs. Andwhenonce a Sabbath-breaker thought tohave overthrown the Officers at Law, Serjeant Fountain being then Judge of AB'ize, did fo reprefs his Malice, as difcouraged all others from any more filch attempts. But now the World is changed I. Another help to my Succefs, was that (mall relief which my low Eftate enabled me to afford the Poor : though the Place was reckoned at near zoo 1. per Annum, there came but 901. and fometimes 801. per Annum to .me Betides -which , Come years I had 60 1. or So 1. a year of the Bookfellers for myBooks: which little dilperfed among them, much reconciled them to the Do- ¿trine which I taught : I took the aptelt of their Children from the School, and fet divers of them to the Univerfities;; where for 8 1. a year, or to 1. at molt, by thehelp of my Friends there I maintained them. Mr. Vines and Dr. Hill didhelp me to Sizers places for them atCambridge : And the Lady Roue allowed me 81. a year awhile towards their Maintenance, and Mr. Tho. Fowley and Col. Bridges alfo affifted me. Someof them are honett able Minifters, now caft out with their Bre- thren : But two or three, having no other way to live, turned great Conformifts; and are Preachers now. Andin giving that little I had, I did not enquire whe- ther theywere good or bad, if they asked Relief: For the bad had Soulsand Bo- dies thatneeded Charity molt. AndI found that Three pence or a Groat to eve- ry poor Body that askt me, was no great matter in ayear, but a few poundsin that way of giving would go far. And this Truth I will (peak to the encouragement of the Charitable, that what little Money I have now by me, I got it almolt all ( I fcarce knowhow) in that timewhen I gave molt : And fine I have had lefs opportunity of giving, I have had lets increafe. xq. Another furtherance ofmy work was theWritings which I wrote, and gave among them. Some fmall Books Igave each Familyone of, (which came to about Soo) ; and of the biggerI gavefewer: And everyFamily that was poor, and had not a Bible, I gave a Bible to. And Ihad found my felf the benefit of reading to be fo great, that I could not but think it would be profitable to others. x5. And it was a great Advantageto me, that my Neighbours were of fuch a Trade as allowed them time enough to read or talk of holy Things : For the Town liveth upon theWeaving of Ridderminfler Stuffs ; and as they Band in their Loom they can fat a Bookbefore them, or edifie one another: whereas Plowmen, and many others, are fo wearied or continually employed, either in the Labours or the Cares of their Callings, that it is a great Impediment to their Salvation ; Freeholders and Trades-men are the Strength of Religion and Civility in the Land : and Gentlemen andBeggars, and Servile Tenants, are the Strength of Iniquity; (Though among thefe forts there are fome alto that are good and jult, as among the other there are many bad.) And their confiant Converfe and Traffick with London doth much promote Civility and Piety amongTrades-men. 16. And I found that myJingle Life afforded me much advantage: ForI could the eafilier take my Peoplefor my Children, and think all that hadtoo little for them, in that I had no Childrenofmy own to tempt me to another way of ufing its And being difcharged from the molt of FamilyCares ( keeping but one Servant ) I had the greater vacancy and liberty for the Labours of myCalling. 17. And God madeufe of my Pra&ice of Phyfick among them, as a very great advantage to my Miniltry ; for they that cared not for their Souls did love their Lives, and care for their Bodies : And by this they were made almolt as obfervant, as a Tenant is ofhis Landlord : Sometimes I could fee before me in the Church a very coniderable partof the Congregation, whofe LivesGod had made mea means to Cave, or to recover their health : Anddoing it for nothing fo obliged them,that theywould readilyhear me. 18. And it was a great advantageto me, that there were at laB few that were bad, butfume of their own Relations were Converted : Many Children did God work upon at ¡4, or IS, or 16 years of Age : And this did marvelloufly reconcile the Minds of the Parents and Elder fort to Godlinels: They that would not hear me, would hear their own Children They that before could have talkt againft Godlinefs, would not hear it fpoken againit when it was their Children Cafe : Many that would not be brought to it rhemfelves, were proud that they had un- derftandingReligious Children : And we had fome old Perlons of near Eighty years of Age, who are, I hope, in Heaven, and the Convert-Ion of their own Childrenwas the chief means to overcome their Prejudice and old Cuftoms and Conceits. N a9. And
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