look into it, and I thought his mode of reasoning very pleasing, and his arguments exceedingly strong. I watched all opportunities of reading for myself, and would willingly have laboured a fortnight to have the books. I had then no conception that they could be obtained for money. They were, however, soon carried away, and with them all my future improvement by their means. The close and decisive manner of Mr. Locke's reasoning made on my mind an impression too deep to be easily effaced; and though I did not see his Essay again for many years, yet the early impression was not forgotten, and it is from this accidental circumstance that I received my first bias for abstruse subjects." To a friend he observed, "This book set all my soul to think; to feel and to reason, from all without and from all within. It gave the first metaphysical turn to my mind: and I cultivated the little knowledge of writing which I had acquired, in order to put down my reflections." He elsewhere remarks, "It awakened me from my stupor, and induced me to form a resolution to abandon the grovelling views which I had been accustomed to entertain." In another account which Mr. Drew gives of this period, there are some additional facts noticed, which we present to the reader. "In this situation I found myself surrounded by books of various descriptions, and felt my taste for the acquirement of information return with renewed vigour, and increase in proportion to the means of indulgence which were now placed fully within my reach. But here some new difficulties occurred, with which I found it painful to grapple. My knowledge of the import of words was as contracted as my ideas were scanty; so that I found it necessary to keep a dictionary continually by my side while I was reading, to which I was compelled constantly to refer. This was a tedious proBut in a little time the difficulty wore away, and my horizon of knowledge became enlarged." cess. From the time of his union with the Methodists, Mr. Drew became intellectually as well as spiritually "a new creature." He no longer tolerated indolence of body or mind. Diligence in business and fervency of spirit were happily combined; and his consistent deportment, elevated sentiment, and unaffected piety, gained him many friends. It is not known what course of reading he at first pursued. Most probably it was desultory, confined chiefly, if not wholly, to the books brought to his master's shop; nor was any specific direction given to his inquiries, until Locke's Essay fell into his hands. One book he mentions as having highly delighted him, and at the same time deepened his religious impressions, and given him clearer views of vital Christianity. This was the "Pilgrim's Progress" of John Bunyan,— "Ingenious dreamer, in whose well told tale It was the first book he could call his own, and next to the Bible it was his companion. Throughout his life he evinced a great predilection for the indirect mode of conveying instruction by tale and apologue, which may be traced to this early impression. Continuing his narrative, Mr. Drew observes, "My master growing inattentive to his shoemaking, many of my friends advised me to commence business for myself, and offered me money for that purpose. I accepted the offer, started accordingly, and by dint of application, in about one year discharged my debts, and stood alone." The history of this year, which is thus compressed within a sentence, would, if fully known, afford many a useful lesson to young tradesmen with small capitals. A few particulars are yet remembered, which may interest if they do not benefit the reader. His thirst for knowledge having induced him to lay out in books such money as he could save from his earnings as a journeyman, when he was recommended to begin business on his own account, fourteen shillings was the total of his cash. To his father he applied for assistance; but the old man was constitutionally timid, especially about secular undertakings; and to prevent his son's embarking in business, refused to aid him. A miller with whom he was acquainted, then a serious man, was particularly urgent for him to commence. Mr. Drew stated to him this difficulty, and his friend replied, "That shall not hinder you from beginning. I'll lend you five pounds upon the security of your good character, and more if that's not enough; and I'll promise not to demand it till you can conveniently pay me." This generous offer was accepted. At this juncture Dr. Franklin's "Way to Wealth" fell into his hands. The pithy and excellent advice of " Poor Richard" delighted him. He placed it in a conspicuous situation in his chamber, and resolved to follow its maxims. "Vessels large may venture more, was applied to a practical purpose at the very outset. He took part of a small house, at a low rent, and "cut his garment according to the cloth." "It is better to go to bed supperless than rise in debt," was another maxim upon which he acted; and he took care that the "sound of his hammer” should be heard from "five in the morning till ten at night." "Eighteen hours out of the twenty-four," he has since said, did I regularly work, and sometimes longer; for my friends gave me plenty of employment; but until the bills became due, I had no means of paying wages to a journeyman. I was indefatigable; and at the year's end I had the satisfaction of paying the five pounds which had been so kindly lent me, and finding myself, with a tolerable stock of leather, clear of the world." Not many years afterward, the miller who had shown so much kindness to Mr. Drew, forgot his God, became an abandoned drunkard, and, as a natural consequence, reduced himself and his family to want. He came one day into Mr. D.'s shop, and said, "Sam, I want you to lend me five pounds.' "For some time," said Mr. Drew, "I hesitated, whether I ought to let him have it or not. I knew very well that I should never be repaid; but this was not the difficulty. If I put five pounds into his hands, I thought, it will be but tempting him to commit sin; and perhaps it is my duty to deny him. On the other hand, I considered, Here stands the man to whose kindness I owe all that I possess in the world: I know he is poor, and his family wanting necessaries. He asks me to return the favour he once conferred upon me. I am not certain that he will misapply the money; and I dare not refuse.' I had not the money by me; but I borrowed it of a friend, in order to help him to whose former kindness I was so deeply indebted." According to the date of an old account-book, Mr. Drew began business in January, 1787. He continued in his former lodgings a few months; but having an apprentice soon after his commencement, he thought it would be more convenient and economical to live on his own premises. He then made application to his father, and, to their mutual joy, obtained permission for his sister to live with him as housekeeper. A few mean articles of furniture were also given him by his parent, who now found that opposition was unavailing. "Many," observes Mr. Drew's sister, "were the distressing privations my brother and I underwent the first year. His resolution to owe no man any thing' was unconquerable; and I bore every thing cheerfully for his sake. Our family connections being respectable, no one suspected our poverty. Though we managed to give the apprentice food enough, we often went with a scanty allowance ourselves. Sometimes we were driven to great straights for want of money; but my brother's resolution to keep out of debt continued unshaken. One market-day, a relation called on us from a distance. I wanted to buy provisions; but neither my brother nor I had any money. Not liking, in the presence of a stranger, to expose our poverty, I said to my brother, with assumed carelessness, 'Tis time for me to go to market. Have you any silver? I have none.' On his replying in the negative, our visiter put some silver into my hand, saying, 'Take this. You can pay me the next time I call.' Necessity compelled us to accept this seasonable offer, without which I know not what we should have done. 66 Through the kindness and influence of my brother's friends, he obtained a great many genteel customers; and was obliged, in some degree, to keep up a creditable appearance. This frequently added to our difficulties. Towards the end of the first year business increased so much that he was compelled to employ a journeyman. He could not pay him board wages, aud therefore the man was to live with us. We had two rooms, and but two beds; one I occupied, and in the other my brother and his apprentice slept. It was at length, after much reluctance on my brother's part, agreed to place my bed in his room for the man, and substitute mine by a bundle of straw. I used to carry on a little business of my own as a semptress, and had many female acquaintances calling to see me; but after getting my straw bed, I would never admit them into my room, lest they should discover the nakedness of the land,' and prejudice my brother's business. "Sometimes my spirits would fail me under these trying circumstances, and my mind would sink into a state of gloom and despondency. But my dear, noble-minded brother was just the spiritual preceptor and comforter I wanted. When he saw me in perplexity, he would say, 'Cheer up, my sister;have faith in God;-there are brighter days in store.' And very soon the clouds began to pass away." Unfavourable to mental cultivation as was the state of restless anxiety arising from Mr. Drew's pecuniary difficulties, yet his thoughts were in vigorous exercise, and his ardent thirst for knowledge increased. But if, in the midst of his privations, his soul ever glowed with the anticipation of rising from obscurity, he might with exquisite propriety have exclaimed, "Ah! who can tell how hard it is to climb SECTION IX. Literary pursuits-Appointed a local preacher and class-leader-Dismissal from office-Instances of benevolent disposition-Success in business-He abandons politics. THE year 1788 opened, in some respects, auspiciously. With reference to his business, Mr. Drew had now, to use a trite but expressive phrase," broken the neck of his difficulties." His incessant toil to achieve independence he was enabled to relax. Industry and rigid economy were still indispensable; but it was no longer necessary that he should "go to bed supperless" to avoid "rising in debt." His ruling passion, the acquisition of knowledge, he was, in a limited degree, enabled to gratify; and, during this and several succeeding years, every spare moment, and all the hours he could snatch from sleep, were devoted to reading such books as he could procure. "By unremitting industry, I at length surmounted such obstacles as were of a pecuniary nature: this enabled me to procure assistance in my labours, and afforded me the common relaxation which others enjoyed. This was the only leisure at which I aimed. In this situation I felt an internal vigour prompting me to exertion, but I was unable to determine what direction I should take. The sciences lay before me. I discovered charms in each, but was unable to embrace them all, and hesitated in making a selection. I had learned that 'One science only will one genius fit, So vast is art, so narrow human wit.' "At first I felt such an attachment to astronomy, that I resolved to confine my views to the study of that science; but I soon found myself too defective in arithmetic to make any proficiency. Modern history was my next object; but I quickly |