The memoirs of Joseph Alleine first met my view, in the form of a little volume composed of four tracts, written by his cotemporaries, and put together without any other connection than a table of contents. Struck with admiration at the character, and surprise at the little celebrity which such a character had acquired; and ascertaining that this same Alleine was the author of "An Alarm to the Unconverted," a fact not noticed in the volume before me, I determined to attempt a sketch of his life. By this effort, I might hope to preserve more effectually, should it be even in the minds of a few, the example of so excellent a christian, and perhaps render more familiar to general readers, those traits of character, which, though extraordinary, have heretofore been so little known.

With the omission of a few uncouth expressions, these old memoirs have been retained, with all the marks of roughness and strength which distinguish the style of the age in which they were written; and in addition, such facts and historical remarks have been introduced as appeared likely to render the work more instructive, and the character better understood. With these explanations, the work is submitted to the public, under the confident assurance that however imperfectly the task may be performed, the memoir can do no harm, and can scarcely fail to profit those who will read it.