William wept when he heard of their savage treatment of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke; he related to him the rise and fall of ancient empires; he told him that God was the supreme Governor among the nations; that he raiseth up one to great power and splendour, and putteth down another. He told him what he did not know before, that God had often revealed to some men events which were to happen hundreds of years afterwards, and direeted him to converse with me, and I eould fully inform him on that subject. Mr William resolved to converse with me at a future period; but having heard some of his relations speak rather disrespectfully of me, he was in no hurry. At length, my prison-door was unloeked, and I was conducted to his bed-room.
My first salutation struck Mr William: ‘In the beginning,’ said I, ‘God created the heavens and the earth; and then proceeded to make man, whom he plaeed in a garden, with permission to eat of every tree that was in it, exeept one.’ I then related the history of Adam, the first man, how he was urged and prevailed on by the Devil not to mind God’s prohibition, but to eat of the forbidden tree; how, by this abominable act, he had plunged himself and his posterity into misery. William, not relishing this eonversation, closed my mouth, desiring me to say no more at that time.
A few days afterwards, he allowed me to speak of the wiekedness of the old world; how God sent Noah to reprove thcir iniquity, and to threaten the destruetion of the whole world if they did not repent and turn to the Lord; that the world were deaf to his remonstrances; and that God at last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, sueh as would eontain himself and family; for he was soon to destroy the inhabitants of the earth by a deluge of water. This conversation was rather more relished than the former.
The next opportunity, I gave him a history of the ancient patriarchs, shewing the simplicity, integrity, and holiness of their lives, extolling their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all his eommandments. Mr William became mueh more thoughtful than I bad seen him upon any former occasion. What I told him he generally related to his friends at table.
He was wonderfully taken with the aeeount I gave of that nation whom God had ehosen for his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how wonderfully God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt; how he drowned in the Red Sea the army of the Egyptians, with their king at their head, who were pursuing the Jews. But, when I told him of the holy law of God, and expatiated a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders, and said it was too strict for him. ‘ Well,
