near Lady Frances Gardiner
at her desire, and attended with a postscript from her own hand, this
is, in effect, a sufficient attestation how agreeable it was to those
accounts which she must often have heard the colonel give of this
matter.]

This memorable event happened towards the middle of July, 1719; but I
cannot be exact as to the day. The major had spent the evening (and if I
mistake not, it was the Sabbath) in some gay company, and had an unhappy
assignation with a married woman, of what rank or quality I did not
particularly inquire, whom he was to attend exactly at twelve. The
company broke up about eleven; and not judging it convenient to
anticipate the time appointed, he went into his chamber to kill the
tedious hour, perhaps with some amusing book, or in some other way. But
it very accidentally happened that he took up a religious book which
his good mother or aunt had, without his knowledge, slipped into his
portmanteau. It was called, if I remember the title exactly, _The
Christian Soldier, or Heaven taken by Storm_, and was written by Mr.
Thomas Watson. Guessing by the title of it that he should find some
phrases of his own profession spiritualized in a manner which he thought
might afford him some diversion, he resolved to dip into it; but he took
no serious notice of any thing he read in it; and yet, while this book
was in his hand, an impression was made upon his mind, (perhaps God only
knows how,) which drew after it a train of the most important and happy
consequences.

There is indeed a possibility, that while he was sitting in this
solitude, and reading in this careless and profane manner, he might
suddenly fall asleep, and only dream of what he apprehended he saw. But
nothing can be more certain than that, when he gave me this relation, he
judged himself to have been as broad awake during the whole time as he
ever was in any part of his life; and he mentioned it to me several times
afterwards as what undoubtedly passed, not only in his imagination, but
before his eyes.[*]

[*Note: Mr. Spears, in the letter mentioned above, where he introduces
the colonel telling his own story, has these words "All of a sudden
there was presented in a very lively manner to my view, or to my mind, a
representation of my glorious Redeemer," &c. And this gentleman adds, in
a parenthesis, "It was so lively and striking, that he could not tell
whether it was to his bodily eyes, or to those of his mind." This makes