’Mystoryisnearlytold,’saidPeter;’afewwordswillcompleteit。Mywifeendeavouredtoconsoleandreassureme,usingtheargumentswhichyouhavejustheardheruse,andmanyothers,butinvain。Peacenorcomfortcametomybreast。Iwasrapidlyfallingintothedepthsofdespair;whenonedayWinifredsaidtome,“Iseethouwiltbelost,ifweremainhere。Oneresourceonlyremains。Thoumustgoforth,myhusband,intothewideworld,andtocomforttheeIwillgowiththee。““AndwhatcanIdointhewideworld?“saidI,despondingly。“Much,“repliedWinifred,“ifyouwillbutexertyourself;muchgoodcanstthoudowiththeblessingofGod。“Manythingsofthesamekindshesaidtome;andatlastIarosefromtheearthtowhichGodhadsmittenme,anddisposedofmypropertyinthebestwayIcould,andwentintotheworld。Wedidallthegoodwewereable,visitingthesick,ministeringtothesick,andprayingwiththesick。AtlastI
becamecelebratedasthepossessorofagreatgiftofprayer。Andpeopleurgedmetopreach,andWinifredurgedmetoo,andatlastI
consented,andIpreached。I-I-outcastPeter,becamethepreacherPeterWilliams。I,thelostone,attemptedtoshowotherstherightroad。AndinthiswayIhavegoneonforthirteenyears,preachingandteaching,visitingthesick,andministeringtothem,withWinifredbymysidehearteningmeon。OccasionallyIamvisitedwithfitsofindescribableagony,generallyonthenightbeforetheSabbath;forIthenaskmyself,howdareI,theoutcast,attempttopreachthewordofGod?Youngman,mytaleistold;youseeminthought!’
’IamthinkingofLondonBridge,’saidI。
’OfLondonBridge!’saidPeterandhiswife。