down four or five different times to supplicate a rich, a never-failing throne of grace; if you I could have heard the charge brought against the unfaithful steward, and seen him, instead of melting, into tears at the gracious reception. and kind welcome of his master, filled with unbelief and dreadful apprehensions; with a heart as hard as the nether millstone; no sleep to his eyes, nor rest to his soul;—if you could realize all these, surely you would, you must believe, that a Christian may live far, very far from the path of duty.

“This awful state of mind tended powerfully to increase the fever in my lungs. In the morning of the eighth day I thought I was much better; but the gloom of my mind had not left me. I rode, with a particular friend, to Raleigh. I had not gone three miles before I began to cough much, and to eject a great deal of the most nauseous mucous imaginable, accompanied by a continued rattling, like a person dying. I and my friend talked much on the subject of religion; and, as I was sure my case was determined, I began to take fresh hope, and feel, sometimes, something like resignation. I wept-my friend wept with me;

and, although there remained some fear in regard to myself, I trust the day will never be forgotten."

Mr. Clopton's disease continued, with various symptoms, for several days, when he was relieved by copious bleeding. His mind, during this time, was fluctuating between hope and despair. At one time he " wept tears of resignation;" at another, his “ enemies were permitted to prevail against him.”

"You see, my dear father," he thus closes his letter, "I have been particular, but if I were to write all that I felt, I should fill many sheets. My general feelings were that, instead of warning sinners to flee from the dreadful wrath to come, I had acted the part of Eli; that I lived for the flesh; that I had known my master's will, and had not done it; that I had in many instances hearkened to the fair speeches of the serpent; that if I should be saved at all, it would be so as by fire;' and that the Lord, to prevent my reproaching his cause by my useless life, was, in mercy, about to remove me. After my recovery, I opened the Bible at the 12th chapter of Hebrews, and read, and hope the truth was applied to my

soul. This affliction, though not joyous while it lasted, will, I hope, through the mercy of God, be followed, should I live another year, by important consequences.

"I wish you not only to return thanks to God for my deliverance, but to pray mightily to him that he may give me courage to forsake all for the cross; to live to him alone; to promote his glory both in my life and death. "Your son-the chief of sinners-less than the least of all saints-in filial and Christian love. "A. W. CLOPTON."

Mr. Clopton did not assume the fearful responsibilities of the Christian ministry without deep reflection, and earnest prayer for divine guidance. He was long and sorely exercised on this subject. His reluctance to engage in preaching the gospel was not overcome except by severe and repeated chastisements. This unwillingness appears to have arisen from various causes. Being almost absorbed in worldly pursuits, he lost, in a great degree, his first love. He did not retain that deep and controlling sense of eternal realities with which he commenced his reli

gious course. This coldness was not the less, but the more deplorable, because it was common among the servants of Christ. Mr. Clopton's letters, during the period referred to, contain convincing proofs of the correctness of these statements; they do not breathe the spirit of ardent devotion by which they are subsequently distinguished. His unreserved communications plainly show that though he maintained a decent and current profession of Christianity, he did not live near the throne; did not enjoy "fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." It is evident that a man in this state of mind, entertaining correct views of ministerial labour and responsibility, would be unlikely to enter the sacred office. A man destitute of godliness, with narrow views, and of ignoble ambition, may rush without reflection into the solemn service; but the sincere Christian needs to be impelled to it by an ardent love to souls, and a consuming zeal for the glory of God.

Mr. Clopton's popularity as a medical practitioner presented a strong barrier to his entrance on the Christian ministry. He found it no easy matter to relinquish affluence and

worldly distinction, brought within his grasp by years of patient toil, for a profession which promised him little on earth besides toil, poverty, and reproach. It is remarkable, too, that in those seasons when his mind was peculiarly exercised concerning his call to preach the gospel, his prospects as a physician were most bright and tempting. He shall

"You

speak for himself on the subject. know," he says, in a letter to his father, "I was first arrested in my mad progress to destruction while studying physic; and I had, dreadful thought! again concluded to abandon what my conscience told me was my duty, as well as my best interest, for the practice of physic. An idol was at the bottom of it. And when I think of it even now, it appears so incredible that the grace of God should be extended again to so [vile] a wretch, that I can scarcely believe it real. The exercises I have had in regard to the ministry have been new and strange. I was more obstinate than Jonah, and appeared to myself to be just such another as Pharaoh; for while my disease would seem to be a little worse, I would consent to let go my idol, and have the Lord