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standing of them, by their answers to the questions proposed to them in my catechetical lectures.

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They have likewise queried with me, respecting a proper method, as well as proper matter, of prayer, and expressions suitable to be used in that religious exercise; and have taken pains in order to the performance of this duty with understanding.They have likewise taken pains, and appeared remarkably apt in learning to sing Psalm-tunes, and are now able to sing with a good degree of decency in the worship of God. They have also acquired a considerable degree of useful knowledge in the affairs of common life; so that they now appear like rational creatures, fit for human society, free of that savage roughness and brutish stupidity, which rendered them very disagreeable in their Pagan state.

"They seem ambitious of a thorough acquaintance with the English language, and for that end frequently speak it among themselves. Many of them have made good proficiency in their acquirement of it, since my coming among them; so that most of them can understand a considerable part, and some the substance of my discourses, without an interpreter, being used to my low and vulgar methods of expression, though they could not well understand other ministers.

"As they are desirous of instruction, and surprisingly apt in the reception of it, so divine Providence has smiled upon them with regard to the proper means in order to it. The attempts made for the procurement of a school among them have been succeeded, and a kind providence has sent them a schoolmaster of whom I may justly say, I know of 'no man like minded, who will naturally care for their state.'--He has generally thirty or thirty-five children in his school: and when he kept an evening school, as he did while the length of the evenings would admit of it, he had fifteen or twenty people, married and single.

"The children learn with surprising readiness; so that their master tells me, he never had an English school which learned, in general, comparably so fast. There were not above two in thirty, although some of them were very small, but that learned to know all the letters in the alphabet distinctly, within three days after his entrance upon his business; and several in that space of time learned to spell considerably. Some of them, since the beginning of February last,* when the school was set up, have learned so much, that they are able to read in a Psalter or Testament, without spelling.

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They are instructed twice a week in the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, on Wednesday and Saturday. Some of them since the latter end of February, when they began, have learn

* In less than five months, viz. from Feb. 1, to June 19.

ed to say it pretty distinctly by heart, considerably more than half through; and most of them have made some proficiency in it.

"They are likewise instructed in the duty of secret prayer, and most of them constantly attend it night and morning, and are very careful to inform their master if they apprehend that any of their little school-mates neglect that religious exercise. IV." On the little Appearance of False Religion.

"It is worthy to be noted, to the praise of sovereign grace, that amidst so great a work of conviction--so much concern and religious affection-there has been no prevalence, nor indeed any considerable appearance of false religion, if I may so term it, or heats of imagination, intemperate zeal, and spiritual pride; which corrupt mixtures too often attend the revival and powerful propagation of religion; and that there have been very few instances of irregular and scandalous behaviour among those who have appeared serious. I may justly repeat what I formerly observed, that there has here been no appearance of 'bodily agonies, convulsions, frightful screamings, swoonings,' and the like; and may now further add, that there has been no prevalence of visions, trances, and imaginations of any kind; although there has been some appearance of something of that nature; an instance of which I have given an account of in my Diary for December 26.

"But this work of grace has, in the main, been carried on with a surprising degree of purity, and freedom from trash and corrupt mixture. The religious concern under which persons have been, has generally been rational and just; arising from a sense of their sins and exposedness to the divine displeasure on account of them; as well as their utter inability to deliver themselves from the misery which they felt and feared. If there has been, in any instance, an appearance of concern and perturbation of mind, when the subjects of it knew not why; yet there has been no prevalence of any such thing; and indeed I scarcely know of any instance of that nature at all. It is very remarkable, that, although the concern of many persons under convictions of their perishing state has been very great and pressing, yet I have never seen any thing like desperation attending it in any one instance. They have had the most lively sense of their undoneness in themselves; have been brought to give up all hopes of deliverance from themselves; have experienced great distress and anguish of soul; and yet, in the seasons of the greatest extremity, there has been no appearance of despair in any of them,-nothing that has discouraged, or in any wise hindered them from the most diligent use of all proper means for their conversion and salvation. Hence it is apparent, that there is not that danger of persons being driven into

despair under spiritual trouble, unless in cases of deep and habitual melancholy, which the world in general is ready to imagine.

"The comfort which persons have obtained after their distresses, has likewise in general appeared solid, well grounded, and scriptural; arising from a spiritual and supernatural illumination of mind,--a view of divine things, in a measure, as they are,—a complacency of soul in the divine perfections,―and a peculiar satisfaction in the way of salvation by free sovereign grace in the great Redeemer.

"Their joys have seemed to rise from a variety of views and considerations of divine things, although for substance the same. Some, who under conviction seemed to have the hardest struggles and heart-risings against the divine sovereignty, have seemed, at the first dawn of their comfort, to rejoice in a peculiar manner in that divine perfection--and have been delighted to think that themselves, and all things else, were in the hand of God, and that he would dispose of them just as he pleased.'

"Others, who just before their reception of comfort have been remarkably oppressed with a sense of their undoneness and poverty, who have seen themselves, as it were, falling down into remediless perdition, have been at first more peculiarly delighted with a view of the freeness and riches of divine grace, and the offer of salvation made to perishing sinners without money, and without price.'

"Some have at first appeared to rejoice especially in the wisdom of God, discovered in the way of salvation by Christ; it then appearing to them a new and living way,' a way of which they had never thought, nor had any just conceptions, until opened to them by the special influence of the divine Spirit. Some of them, upon a lively spiritual view of this way of salvation, have wondered at their past folly in seeking salvation in other ways, and have wondered that they never saw this way of salvation before, which now appeared so plain and easy, as well as excellent to them.

"Others, again, have had a more general view of the beauty and excellency of Christ, and have had their souls delighted with an apprehension of his divine glory, as unspeakably exceeding all of which they had ever conceived before; yet, without singling out any one of the divine perfections in particular; so that although their comforts have seemed to arise from a variety of views and considerations of divine glories, still they were spiritual and supernatural views of them, and not groundless fancies, which were the spring of their joys and comforts.

"Yet it must be acknowledged, that, when this work became

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so universal and prevalent, and gained such general credit and esteem among the Indians as Satan seemed to have little advantage of working against it in his own proper garb, he then transformed himself into an angel of light,' and made some vigorous attempts to introduce turbulent commotions of the passions in the room of genuine convictions of sin, imaginary and fanciful notions of Christ, as appearing to the mental eye in a human shape, and in some particular postures, &c. in the room of spiritual and supernatural discoveries of his divine glory and excellency, as well as divers other delusions. I have reason to think, that, if these things had met with countenance and encouragement, there would have been a very considerable harvest of this kind of converts here.

"Spiritual pride also discovered itself in various instances. Some persons who had been under great affections, seemed very desirous from thence of being thought truly gracious: who, . when I could not but express to them my fears respecting their spiritual state, discovered their resentments to a considerable degree upon that occasion. There also appeared in one or two of them an unbecoming ambition of being teachers of others. So that Satan has been a busy adversary here, as well as elsewhere. But blessed be God, though something of this nature has appeared, yet nothing of it has prevailed, nor indeed made any considerable progress at all. My people are now apprised of these things, are made acquainted, that Satan in such a manner 'transformed himself into an angel of light,' in the first season of the great outpouring of the divine Spirit in the days of the apostles; and that something of this nature, in a greater or less degree, has attended almost every revival and remarkable propagation of true religion ever since. They have learned so to distinguish between the gold and dross, that the credit of the latter is trodden down like the mire of the streets;' and, as it is natural for this kind of stuff to die with its credit, there is now scarce any appearance of it among them.

"As there has been no prevalence of irregular heats, imaginary notions, spiritual pride, and Satanical delusions among my people; so there have been very few instances of scandalous and irregular behaviour among those who have made a profession, or even an appearance of seriousness. I do not know of more than three or four such persons who have been guilty of any open misconduct, since their first acquaintance with Christianity; and not one who persists in any thing of that nature. Perhaps the remarkable purity of this work in the latter respect, its freedom from frequent instances of scandal, is very much owing to its purity in the former respect, its freedom from corrupt mixtures of spiritual pride, wild-fire, and delusion, which naturally lay a foundation for scandalous practices.

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May this blessed work in the power and purity of it prevail among the poor Indians here, as well as spread elsewhere, till their remotest tribes shall see the salvation of God! Amen."*

"Money collected and expended for the Indians,-As mention has been made in the preceding Diary, of an English school erected and continued among these Indians, dependent entirely upon charity; and as collections have already been made in divers places for the support of it, as well as for defraying other charges which have necessarily arisen in the promotion of the religious interests of the Indians; it may be satisfactory, and perhaps will be thought by some but a piece of justice to the world, that an exact account be here given of the money already received by way of collection for the benefit of the Indians, and the manner in which it has been expended.

The following is therefore a just account of this matter:Money received since October last, by way of public collection, for promoting the religious interests of the Indians in New-Jersey, viz.

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Freehold Dutch congregation

Shrewsbury and Shark-river

Middle-Town Dutch congregation

The Dutch congregation in and about N. Brunswick
King's-town

Neshaminy, and places adjacent in Pennsylvania
Abington and New-Providence, by the hand of the
Rev. Mr. Treat.

The whole amounting to

£. s.

d. 23 10 2 300

5 0

1 18 9

4 5 7

2 18 2

1 5 3 12 11 0 4 14 3 350 200

3 5 0

5 11 0

14 5 10

10 5 0

£100 0 0

Money paid out since October last for promoting the religious interests of the

Indians in New-Jersey, viz.

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