much to their wives on that head yet; but that unless they would
promise him to use their endeavours with their wives to persuade
them to become Christians, and would, as well as they could,
instruct them in the knowledge and belief of God that made them,
and to worship Jesus Christ that redeemed them, he could not marry
them; for he would have no hand in joining Christians with savages,
nor was it consistent with the principles of the Christian
religion, and was, indeed, expressly forbidden in God’s law.
They heard all this very attentively, and I delivered it very
faithfully to them from his mouth, as near his own words as I
could; only sometimes adding something of my own, to convince them
how just it was, and that I was of his mind; and I always very
carefully distinguished between what I said from myself and what
were the clergyman’s words. They told me it was very true what the
gentleman said, that they were very indifferent Christians
themselves, and that they had never talked to their wives about
religion. “Lord, sir,” says Will Atkins, “how should we teach them
religion? Why, we know nothing ourselves; and besides, sir,” said
he, “should we talk to them of God and Jesus Christ, and heaven and
hell, it would make them laugh at us, and ask us what we believe
ourselves. And if we should tell them that we believe all the
things we speak of to them, such as of good people going to heaven,
and wicked people to the devil, they would ask us where we intend
to go ourselves, that believe all this, and are such wicked fellows
as we indeed are? Why, sir; ’tis enough to give them a surfeit of
religion at first hearing; folks must have some religion themselves
before they begin to teach other people.” – “Will Atkins,” said I
to him, “though I am afraid that what you say has too much truth in
it, yet can you not tell your wife she is in the wrong; that there
is a God and a religion better than her own; that her gods are
idols; that they can neither hear nor speak; that there is a great
Being that made all things, and that can destroy all that He has
made; that He rewards the good and punishes the bad; and that we
are to be judged by Him at last for all we do here? You are not so
ignorant but even nature itself will teach you that all this is
true; and I am satisfied you know it all to be true, and believe it
yourself.” – “That is true, sir,” said Atkins; “but with what face
can I say anything to my wife of all this, when she will tell me
immediately it cannot be true?” – “Not true!” said I; “what do you
mean by that?” – “Why, sir,” said he, “she will tell me it cannot
be true that this God I shall tell her of can be just, or can
punish or reward, since I am not punished and sent to the devil,
that have been such a wicked creature as she knows I have been,
even to her, and to everybody else; and that I should be suffered
to live, that have been always acting so contrary to what I must
tell her is good, and to what I ought to have done.” – “Why, truly,
Atkins,” said I, “I am afraid thou speakest too much truth;” and
with that I informed the clergyman of what Atkins had said, for he
was impatient to know. “Oh,” said the priest, “tell him there is
one thing will make him the best minister in the world to his wife,
and that is repentance; for none teach repentance like true
penitents. He wants nothing but to repent, and then he will be so
much the better qualified to instruct his wife; he will then be
able to tell her that there is not only a God, and that He is the
just rewarder of good and evil, but that He is a merciful Being,
and with infinite goodness and long-suffering forbears to punish