midnight
May no eye destined to reflect the beauties of the New Jerusalem inward upon the beatific soul behold such a sight as mine then beheld ! My immortal spirit , blood and bones , were all withered at the blasting sight ; and I arose and withdrew , with groanings which the pangs of death shall never wring from me . Not daring to look behind me , I crept on my way , and that night reached this hamlet on the Scottish border ; and being grown reckless of danger , and hardened to scenes of horror , I took up my lodging with a poor hind , who is a widower , and who could only accommodate me with a bed of rushes at his fireside . At midnight I heard some strange sounds , too much resembling those to which I had of late been inured ; but they kept at a distance , and I was soon persuaded that there was a power protected that house superior to those that contended for or had the mastery over me . Overjoyed at finding such an asylum , I remained in the humble cot . This is the third day I have lived under the roof , freed of my hellish assailants , spending my time in prayer , and writing out this my journal , which I have fashioned to stick in with my printed work , and to which I intend to add portions while I remain in this pilgrimage state , which , I find too well , can not be long . August 3 , 1712 .