had my pockets full on purpose. O wretched man that I am!

I would offer here a word of warning to my fellow-believers. Often the
work of the Lord itself may be a temptation to keep us from that communion
with Him which is so essential to the benefit of our own souls.--On the
19th I had left Dartmouth, conversed a good deal that day, preached in the
evening, walked afterwards eight miles, had only about five hours sleep,
traveled again the next day twenty-five miles, preached twice, and
conversed very much besides, went to bed at eleven, and rose before five.
All this shows that my body and spirit required rest, and, therefore,
however careless about the Lord's work I might have appeared to my
brethren, I ought to have had a great deal of quiet time for prayer and
reading the Word, especially as I had a long journey before me that day,
and as I was going to Bristol, which in itself required much prayer.
Instead of this, I hurried to the prayer meeting after a few minutes'
private prayer. But let none think that public prayer will make up for
closet communion. Then again, afterwards, when I ought to have withdrawn
myself, as it were, by force, from the company of beloved brethren and
sisters, and given my testimony for the Lord (and, indeed, it would have
been the best testimony I could have given them), by telling them that I
needed secret communion with the Lord: I did not do so, but spent the
time, till the coach came, in conversation with them. Now, however
profitable in some respects it may have been to those with whom I was on
that morning, yet my own soul needed food; and not having had it, I was
lean, and felt the effects of it the whole day, and hence I believe it
came that I was dumb on the coach.

April 22. This morning I preached at Gideon Chapel, Bristol. [Though this
sermon gave rise to false reports, yet the Lord was pleased to bless it to
several; and the false reports were likewise instrumental in bringing many
individuals under the sound of the Word.] In the afternoon I preached at
the Pithay Chapel. [This sermon was a blessing to many, many souls; and
many were brought through it, to come afterwards to hear Brother Craik and
me. Among others it was the means of converting a young man who was a
notorious drunkard, and who was just again on his way to a public house,
when an acquaintance of his met him, and asked him to go with him to hear
a foreigner preach. He did so; and from that moment he was so com