o toil alone. We
then formed a Church, and made laws, thinking to keep our associates to
their duty in that way. But this made matters worse. Their fancies and
pleasures were their laws, and they would obey no other. Most of our
teachers left, and I and a friend or two had to teach the school
ourselves. My friends established a day-school, and hired a teacher; but
he turned out to be an unbounded license man; he brought with him, in
fact, an unmarried woman instead of his wife, and they found it
necessary to get rid of him as soon as they could.

All the time I was at Burnley my heart first, and then my head, were
coming nearer and nearer to Christ and Christianity. I gradually gave up
my opposition both to religion and to the churches. The last lecture in
which I gave utterance to anything unfavorable to the Bible was one on
Noah's flood. I spoke on the subject by request, and against my
inclination, and before I had got half through I began to feel
unutterably dissatisfied with myself. I was really unhappy. From that
time forward I dwelt chiefly on moral subjects, and often took occasion
to speak favorably of the Bible and Christianity. I tried to explain
what was dark, and to set forth what was manifestly true and good in
their teachings.

I lectured on the wisdom of the Book of Proverbs, on the beauty of
Christ's character, and on the excellency of many of His doctrines, on
the advantages of faith in Christ, and on the follies and vices of
infidel secularism, and on quite a number of other Christian subjects.

My younger son came to reside at Burnley while I was there, and we had
frequent talks as we walked together along the fields and lanes, and
over the neighboring hills; and this also helped to bring me nearer to
Christ and His Church. I read the works of Epictetus at this time, and
my faith in God and immortality, and my love of virtue too, were
strengthened by his reasonings.

About the same time a person wrote to me to go and lecture at Goole. I
went. No subject had been named to me, and I resolved to speak in favor
of the leading practical principles of Christianity. When I got to
Goole, I found that the man who had invited me had put up a bill,
calling on his neighbors and fellow-townsmen to come and hear the
triumphant opponent of Christianity demolish their religion. I told him
he should not have put forth a bill like that,--that I was not an
opponent of Christianity,--that I was not an enemy of the