e: but the Lord our Saviour did not forsake us; He strengthened our hearts, and comforted us by such a lively sense of His divine presence, that we were frequently filled with heavenly joy, during our daily prayers and meditations. We felt assured, that that God, who suffers not a sparrow to fall to the ground without His permission, would also care for us his poor children. [19]This I have frequently and powerfully experienced, insomuch, that after seven years residence in Nancauwery, notwithstanding all the pain, trouble, and anxiety I was often subject to, I fall down at His feet with humble thanksgiving, and exclaim: The Lord hath done all things well, and I have lacked no good thing. Blessed be my God and Redeemer! Amen.

LETTER II.

The vessel sent to Nancauwery did not arrive till 1781, and brought a very small portion of provisions for our use, and neither wine, nor any other liquors whatever, the crew having expended the greater part of what was destined for us on their long voyage, and during a detention of four months at Queda, on the Malay coast. We were, however, happy to receive Brother Steinman, who was young, lively, and every way qualified for the service, so that we promised ourselves much assistance from him; but in less than a month after his arrival, it pleased the Lord to take him from us by death. You may suppose what we felt on being again left alone, in want of even the most [20] necessary articles of subsistence. But the Lord yet helped us, gave us from day to day our daily bread, and in many heavy illnesses approved Himself as our best physician. Oh! how many thousand tears have I shed during that period of distress and trouble. I will not affirm that they were all of that kind, which I might, with David, pray the Lord "to put into his bottle," and as