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 Jay 1856 1 * 
 
 The autobiography of the Rev. 
 William Jay 
 
 
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 1856 
 
 The autobiography of the Rev. William 
 Jay 
 

 Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofr00jayw_1 
 
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM JAY; 
 
 WITH 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF SOME DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARIES, 
 SELECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE, AND 
 LITERARY REMAINS. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 GEORGE BEDFORD, D.D., LL.D., 
 
 AND 
 
 JOHN AN GEL L JAMES 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 8 
 
 I"?!./ 
 
 l ' 2 4 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
 No. 2 85 BROADWAY.' 
 
 1856. 
 
 Zo 7 S’ 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
 ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
 in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
 New York. 
 
 8T ISHHiO TYPJllD H V 
 
 THOMAS B. SMITE. 
 
 *16 Willian St., N. Y. 
 
 bv 
 
 E O. JENKINS, 
 
 1 14 Nassau St. 
 

 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 Heathenism preserved the ashes of the dead, 
 Christianity embalms the memory of the just. 
 Such men as the Rev. William Jay belong to 
 no body of Christians, nor to any particular na- 
 tion, but to the Church and mankind at large. 
 His simply beautiful devotional exercises have 
 found their way to almost every land, until his 
 name has become a household word, rendering 
 any introduction to his life unnecessary. 
 
 Whilst living he deemed it proper to pre- 
 pare an autobiography of himself, which his 
 family have published at the earliest possible 
 day. If to any it should seem imperfect, the 
 reply is, so he judged best. Those who knew 
 him, will be satisfied that it was done, as every- 
 thing else was, with a desire to serve to the 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 utmost his day and generation, when he should 
 be out of the reach of either censure or ap- 
 plause. With the remarks of the editors alone 
 some alterations have been considered neces- 
 sary, to render it suitable to readers in this 
 country. Also, the American edition contains 
 a considerable amount of matter not to be 
 found in the English one. 
 
 Pelham Priory, N. Y. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Editors have a few words, and but a few, to express 
 — and those chiefly for the satisfaction of the reader — that 
 in the following pages he may feel assured he will read w T hat 
 Mr. Jay left for his perusal. It was the anxious wish of his 
 family, and especially of his executors, that the manuscripts 
 here published should pass precisely as he left them, into 
 the hands of the Editors, one of whom was selected by Mr. 
 Jay before his death, and the other subsequently by his 
 family. To them the papers were committed entire, and 
 without alteration, restriction, or condition, to edit them for 
 the press, according to their best judgment, and to make 
 such additions as might seem desirable to complete the nar- 
 rative ; carefully, however, distinguishing, as they have done, 
 between such additions and the original work. 
 
 In undertaking this task they did not feel that they were 
 required to write a Memoir, but simply to complete an 
 Autobiography, which was necessarily left, as to time, un- 
 finished ; and to gather up such other portions of informa- 
 tion, respecting Mr. Jay, and his course through life, as 
 might seem desirable for the purpose of perpetuating the 
 memory of so much excellence, usefulness, and wisdom. It 
 has, therefore, been their main object to let Mr. Jay speak 
 for himself ; and to preserve such specimens of his mind 
 and genius, piety and usefulness, at different periods of his 
 long course, as might prove both gratifying and instructive. 
 
 They are well aware that a large circle of friends are 
 waiting, with eager expectation, for a work which its author 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 had often promised should be forthcoming after his death, 
 and which it was well known he had long been preparing. 
 To such they trust it will prove all that they had antici- 
 pated from the pen of their esteemed friend ; and that to a 
 still wider circle, though now dead, he will yet speak. Some 
 persons may wonder at the delay of the publication ; but 
 when they are informed that the whole of the manuscripts 
 have had to be rewritten, from a handwriting requiring no 
 little skill and patience to decipher, and then to be carefully 
 compared and examined ; and that much new matter had to 
 be collected to continue the thread of the narrative, and to 
 carry it through the closing scene, — it will be evident that 
 no time has been lost, and that greater haste could only 
 have been attended with defects and incompleteness. 
 
 The Editors have now only to commend the work to the 
 candid attention of the reader ; and the blessing of Him who 
 alone can make this monument, his servant has inscribed to 
 the glory of His divine grace, eminently subservient to the 
 edification of His Church universal, and encouraging to the 
 rising ministry, who have in Mr. Jay an example which 
 they may do well to emulate, and an instance of success 
 which they will scarcely hope to surpass. The portraiture 
 and the history are now before them, and with equal talents, 
 superior advantages, similar motives, diligence and devoted- 
 ness, while they have the same Gospel to preach, the same 
 world to preach in, and the same Master to serve, why may 
 not the Church yet be blessed with many a young preacher 
 who shall begin as auspiciously, proceed as successfully, 
 and terminate as honorably, as William Jay ? 
 
CONTENTS TO VOL. I. 
 
 TA.GK 
 
 Preface by the English Editors iii 
 
 Preface by the American Editor v 
 
 General Introduction to the Autobiography, Reminiscences, &c. . I 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Reasons for his Autobiography 13 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 His Parentage — Remarks on Pedigrees and Ancestors — Anecdotes 
 — Effects of Scenery upon him 19 
 
 LETTER Ilf. 
 
 His Early Life — Methodism at Tisbury — Conversion — Mrs. Turner 
 takes notice of him — Works at Fonthill Abbey — Mr. Beckford 
 (Editors’ Notices of Mr. Beckford) 25 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Visit of Mr. Winter to Tisbury — Introduction of Mr. Jay to Mr. 
 Winter — Letter from him to Mr. Winter — His Admission into' 
 
 Mr. Winter’s Academy at Marlborough — Mr. W’s faith for pe- 
 cuniary support — His Studies — Village Preaching . . .34 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 PAG* 
 
 His First Sermon at Ablington — Contributors the Expenses of 
 
 his Education, John Thornton, Esq., and others — (Editors’ brief 
 notice of Mr. Thornton) — Proposal to go to the University of 
 Oxford — Preference for the Domestic System — List of Students 
 in Marlborough Academy 41 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Applications for “The Boy Preacher” — Introduction to Rev. Row- 
 land Hill — First Visit to Surrey Chapel — His Intercourse with 
 John Newton and Rev. John Ryland — Invitations to settle in 
 London — His Introduction to Miss Davies — Residence at Chris- 
 tian Malford — His Farewell Sermon, and Mr. Winter’s Address 
 to the Reader 49 
 
 LETTER VI r. 
 
 Meets with Lady Maxwell — Supplies Hope Chapel at the Hotwells 
 — Acquaintance with Rev. T. Tuppen — Preaches during his 
 Illness — Opening of Argyle Chapel, built for Mr. Tuppen — Ex- 
 tracts from his Sermon on the occasion — Dying Chamber of 
 Mr. Tuppen — Unanimous Invitation of Mr. Jay to the Pastorate 
 — Ordination Service — Mr. Jay’s Confession of Faith — Extract 
 from Mr. Winter’s Charge to the Pastor — Address by Mr. Jay 
 prefixed to the Ordination Service 66 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 His Residence at Bath — Predilections for it — Circumstances of the 
 Congregation — Harmony — Admission of Members . . .97 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 His Marriage — His Children — Death of his son William, and his 
 daughter Statira 102 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Mrs. J ay’s Illness — Peculiarity of it — His Privation by it — State 
 of his own Health — Alarming Symptoms — Mr. Wilberforce’s 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 * PARK 
 
 Advice — Introduces him to Dr. Baillie — Success cf his Treat- 
 ment — Reflections — Early Rising — Abstinence — Patronage of 
 Teetotalism Ill 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 His Authorship — First Volume of Sermons — Monthly Review — 
 Succeeding Publications — Hymns, &c 119 
 
 LETTER NU. 
 
 Preaches before the Duke of Sussex at the Opening of Hanover 
 Chapel, Peckham — Review of his course — Early Disadvantages 
 — Influence of his position on his Happiness . . . .125 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 His Course of Reading — Favorite Authors — Dr. Owen— Robert 
 Hall’s opinion of him controverted— Favorite Commentators and 
 Divines — Methods of Study — Composition — Mrs. More’s Advice 
 to him 134 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Review of his Annual Visits to London, and Services at Surrey 
 Chapel — Remarks on Frequent Preaching — Visit to Ireland — 
 Rebellion — Alderman Hutton, his Host — Notice of John Walker, 
 Dublin ....... ... 142 
 
 LETTER XV 
 
 Visit to Scotland for the London Missionary Society — Dr. Charles 
 Stuart — Letter from him to Mr. J ay — Subsequent Intercourse — 
 Apology for his severe Criticisms on Mr. Jay — Anecdotes on 
 Preaching — Remarks on the Scottish custom of Lecturing — His 
 own Preparation for the Pulpit — Usefulness — Right Aim — Ex- 
 temporaneous Preaching — State of the Pulpit among Noncon- 
 formists — Methodist Ease, Earnestness, Life, &c. — Attraction 
 for the Masses — Union of the Two Styles of Preaching — Best 
 Character of — Faults of Scottish Preachers — The Dry and the 
 Luscious — Long Preaching 149 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Criticisms on his Sermons — Defence of his Method — American Re* 
 vival Preaching — Scriptural Language — Objectors — Pastoral 
 Visiting — Complaints — His Explanation 163 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Pleasant Review of his Life, Private and Public — Trials, Pleasures, 
 
 &c., &c. — Religious Denominations — Complacent Review of Di- 
 versities — Not incompatible with Union — Change of Religious 
 Connections 178 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 His own Church — Advantages and Disadvantages — His Calvinism 
 ■ — Difficulties — Adherence to the Bible — His Rules in Studying 
 it — What to Avoid, and what to Seek 186 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 His Review of the State of Religion in his Youth contrasted with 
 its advanced state when he wrote — The Establishment — The 
 Dissenters — The Institutions, &c., &c 193 
 
 PART II. 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 BY THE EDITORS. 
 
 Formation of the London Missionary Society — Preaches at its First 
 Anniversary — At Subsequent Meetings — At its Jubilee — De- 
 gree of Doctor in Divinity conferred on him by New Jersey 
 College — Death of his daughter Statira — Celebration of the 
 Fortieth Anniversary of his Pastorate — Extracts from his Ser- 
 mon on that occasion — Sir William Knighton’s Account of Two 
 Sundays spent at Bath — The Jubilee of his Pastorate — Sermons 
 — Speeches — Presentations — Hymns by James Montgomery, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Esq. — Gold Medal- -Pillars, &c. — Made Vice-President of the 
 Path Bible Society- - Death of Mrs. Jay — Present by Female 
 Servants of his Congregation — Second Marriage — An Assistant 
 chosen — Rev. R. A. Vaughan — Visit of Dr. Johns of Baltimore 
 — His Account of Mr. Jay in the Family and in the Church — 
 
 Last Sermon at Aigyle Chapel — Extracts from — Illness at 
 Worthing and Resignation of the Pastorate — Choice of a Suc- 
 cessor — A Division of his Church — Last Illness — Temporary Re- 
 coverv — Visits Friends and Preached his Last Sermon — Finished 
 his Last Publication — Sayings on his Sick-bed — Death, Dec. 27, 
 
 1853 — The Funeral Services and Interment — Death of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Ashton— Remarks — Miscellaneous Sketches — 
 Relaxations — Family Worship — Simplicity of Manners at Home 
 — Dr. Bowie’s (his Physician) Recollections and Account of his 
 Last Days — Mr. Jay’s Familiar Expositions at his Vestry — 
 Several Specimens — Letter of the Earl of Gainsborough on his 
 Death 204—294 
 
 PART III. 
 
 / 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF DISTINGUISHED CONTEM- 
 
 PORARIES. 
 
 Preface 297 
 
 I. 
 
 Rev. John Newton 303 
 
 II. 
 
 Rev. John Ryland 323 
 
 III. 
 
 William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P. 336 
 
 IV. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah More 367 
 
 Rev. Rowland Hill, M.A. 
 
 V. 
 
 . 389 
 
PART I. 
 
 THF AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 or the 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 

 \ 
 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, REMINISCENCES, &c. 
 
 “ They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of 
 the firmament, and they that turn many to righteous- 
 ness as the stars for ever and ever.” So speaks the 
 Oracle of Sacred Truth, and all history elucidates and 
 confirms it. When such moral benefactors of the 
 world pass away from the scenes and labors of time, a 
 lustre gathers around their memory purer and steadier 
 than that which attaches to conquerors, statesmen, and 
 princes. Even the honored names of poets, patriots, 
 and philosophers, though sounded forth more loudly 
 and widely by the trump of fame, are not so dear to 
 mankind, nor do they exert so benign and extensive 
 an influence upon the heart and character of survi- 
 vors. This happy result seems to be secured by a law 
 in the moral government of God which conserves for 
 the benefit of future ages, whatever in human charac- 
 ter is most redolent of heaven’s own goodness and pu- 
 
2 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 rity. That law may be clearly traced in the history 
 and experience of mankind, but is fully read only in 
 the words of inspiration, “the righteous shall be in 
 everlasting remembrance, but the name of the wicked 
 shall rot.” Even the world itself, true, in this case, to 
 its moral instincts, cannot help reverencing the one 
 character, and despising the other, though unconscious 
 of the law by which it is influenced. 
 
 Hence the fragrant memories of the good and great 
 are claimed as the common property of mankind. 
 They are the specimens of itself in which humanity 
 glories ; the types of what men ought to be, and liv- 
 ing examples of what the grace of God can do with 
 even a- fallen nature. Men will not let such memories 
 perish. They are the load-stars of life to many : lu- 
 minaries to all eyes that never sink beneath the hori- 
 zon. Or in another view, they become sacred spoils 
 rescued by their own inherent immortality from the 
 power of the universal destroyer, and consecrated by 
 the pen of history to embellish and enrich future and 
 distant ages. Humanity would feel itself poor with- 
 out them ; and history would want its greatest lights 
 and best lessons. 
 
 These intellectual and spiritual treasures may re- 
 main embodied in the writings which such pre-emi- 
 nently wise and good men bequeath to the world ; or 
 they may consist in the records which others preserve 
 of their bright example, wise instructions, and useful 
 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, REMINISCENCES. ETC. 
 
 3 
 
 lives; and sometimes partly in their own writings, 
 and partly in those of others concerning them. It is 
 only occasionally and rarely that such persons embalm 
 their own memories, for the benefit of their successors, 
 in an autobiography ; and probably it is chiefly duo 
 to the rarity of this species of composition, that the 
 desire to peruse it has become so strong. 
 
 It is a difficult and a delicate thing for a man to 
 write memoirs of himself, and the world is curious to 
 see how he can perform it. There is strong reason, 
 however, to doubt whether any artist could produce 
 so good a portrait of himself as he could of some 
 other person, or some other of him. At any rate we 
 have seldom seen an autobiography which conveyed 
 so accurate and complete a conception of the charac- 
 ter of its subject as might have been conveyed by an- 
 other hand ; though in some lineaments it might have 
 been more accurate and striking. There are doubtless 
 many things in a man’s experience and feelings which 
 no one can understand and explain so well as himself 
 — many facts in his history which no one can describe 
 so well as himself-— and perhaps some traits and some 
 phases of his character which no one can harmonize 
 with his individuality so well as himself ; and if he be 
 so thoroughly honest and simple-hearted as not to fear 
 being “known and read of all men,” and so devout a 
 worshipper of truth as to sacrifice pride and fame 
 upon its altar, then he may produce an autobiography, 
 
4 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 the accuracy of which would command the approving 
 verdict of all competent judges, and the value of 
 which every reader would appreciate. In that case 
 we might place the portrait in the picture gallery and 
 moral treasury of the mind, to be studied for imita- 
 tion, as well as reverenced and guarded by honor and 
 love. When the memory of the just has thus embod- 
 ied itself in form, and embalmed itself in our affec- 
 tions, it only remains for us then to give to it that 
 vital force and influence which shall enable it to repro- 
 duce its like in ourselves and future generations. 
 
 Whether our esteemed friend, Mr. Jay, showed 
 more wisdom in writing memoirs of himself than he 
 would have shown in leaving materials by which some 
 other hand might have traced his history, and describ- 
 ed his character, or whether he has comprised in his 
 autobiography as much of himself and his history as 
 his friends and the world will care to know, are both 
 questions, we suspect, on which there will be a diversi- 
 ty of opinion, and which as editors it does not become 
 us to decide. It is, however, quite certain that many 
 interesting facts in his history are not noticed in the 
 Biography, and that some of the most important and 
 instructive come out in his Reminiscences of other 
 persons : so that the reader must not expect to find 
 anything like a complete narrative of Mr. Jay’s life in 
 his Autobiography. 
 
 While it is probable that many readers of this vol- 
 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, REMINISCENCES, ETC. 
 
 0 
 
 ume will feel some disappointment that Mr. Jay lias 
 not left ns a history of his life at once more compre- 
 hensive and minute, yet the record of his matured 
 opinions on various important subjects connected with 
 the cause of Evangelical Religion, will by men of 
 sound judgment be accepted as ample compensation 
 for the lack of historic detail. Of how much greater 
 value, in other memoirs of eminent persons, would 
 such expressions of opinion have proved, than many 
 of those ordinary incidents of every-day life which as 
 they convey no important information, and elucidate 
 no principle, serve only to swell the bulk, without en- 
 hancing the ivorth, of the volume, or it may be vol- 
 umes. In the one case we are listening to the decis- 
 ions of wisdom and experience, while in the other we 
 are entertained with facts without interest, or garrulity 
 without amusement. 
 
 Mr. Jay’s Reminiscences often bear no inconsiderable 
 relation to himself, and show the influences of early 
 connexions. But there are many interesting and 
 memorable facts relating to his personal history which 
 he has failed to record in either section of his work, 
 and which we have felt it our duty to supply as far as 
 we have been able to collect information. In the mat- 
 ter of dates also in the Autobiography, where they 
 were most essential, our friend has been totally negli- 
 gent. There is scarcely one from the beginning to 
 the end. Most of those, however, which were of any 
 
6 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 importance, we liave been enabled to supply from Let- 
 ters, Magazines, Keviews, and other sources. 
 
 To us, moreover, it appears an inauspicious circum- 
 stance that Mr. Jay should have left his Autobiogra- 
 phy to so late a period of life. The undertaking was 
 frequently urged upon him by his children, but it was 
 not until a very earnest Letter, in the name of the 
 rest, was written by one of his sons, that he com- 
 menced it resolutely and at once. This was about 
 August in the year 1843. He then wrote as follows : — 
 
 11 At length I have begun in good earnest, having 
 such good health and some leisure, besides what re- 
 laxation requires, to write the memoir. The sight of 
 the Letter you wrote, dated August 6, 1842, urging 
 it, fell in my way, and I yielded to it. My plan is to 
 address it in a number of Letters to yourself,* like 
 Mr. Winter’s to me, as I can go on by easy degrees. 
 I have already written seven, but I send them not 
 (not having copies), lest they should be lost ; and I 
 may like to revise them as I proceed. I am so happy 
 I have hit upon this method, and begin to feel an in- 
 terest in it. The fragments I wrote some years ago 
 will occasionally come in with alterations and addi- 
 tions. Now tell no one this but your wife, till I give 
 you leave. Should my health continue I hope to 
 bring together a good number of these Letters ; but I 
 
 * This was addressed to one of his sons, but he afterwards changed 
 his purpose, and addressed these Letters to all of his children. 
 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, REMINISCENCES, ETC. 7 
 
 find I must not apply too closely, as it affects my head 
 and my stomach.” 
 
 At this period Mr. Jay was in his seventy-fourth 
 year, and though, as to his preaching abilities, possi- 
 bly as lively and popular as ever, yet as to his recol- 
 lection of dates, and the order of circumstances, it 
 was scarcely to be expected that he could avoid some 
 confusion, even if he retained vivid recollections of 
 events and persons through so long a series of years. 
 It does not appear that he had kept any diary or 
 memoranda, and most probably had nothing to aid 
 him but his memory when he first commenced his 
 work. This, however, we believe applies solely to 
 the Autobiography. — The u Reminiscences” were com- 
 mitted to paper much earlier, at least in part. Some 
 of them were evidently written soon after the demise 
 of the subjects of them. Many of these were persons 
 of note and eminence in their day, whose friendship 
 Mr. Jay highly prized ; and all of them had some in- 
 fluence in the formation of his character, or in direct- 
 ing the events and circumstances of his life. Several 
 of the most distinguished subjects of his Reminiscences 
 have had copious and separate biographical works 
 devoted to them. This, however, will not lessen but 
 rather heighten the interest attaching to his recollec- 
 tions. They are entirely his own, and for the most 
 part will be clear additions to the facts, already known, 
 concerning those eminent and excellent persons. In 
 
8 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 some instances a clearer light will be thrown on ia,* 
 tain facts, some obscurities will be removed, and some 
 mistakes or misrepresentations corrected. We are 
 quite sure Mr. Jay’s anecdotes will be highly relished 
 by the admirers of those characters to whom they re- 
 late. 
 
 Concerning his correspondence we have only a very 
 few observations to offer. It appears that Mr. Jay 
 felt a great reluctance to engage in letter- writing. 
 He refers to this so early in his history as the com- 
 mencement of his acquaintance with Miss Davies, 
 afterwards Mrs. Jay. The reader will find it confirm- 
 ed in an early section of his Autobiography. He 
 frequently alludes to it in the course of his corre- 
 spondence, and in several other parts of his writings ; 
 sometimes alleging conscious distaste and incapacity, 
 though at other times charging neglect and failure to 
 the pressure of other claims and the multiplicity of 
 public engagements. Yet we have had a very con- 
 siderable mass of letters submitted to our examination, 
 a fair proportion of them being long letters. 
 
 In a paper containing directions and suggestions to 
 his literary executors, he writes thus: “ With regard 
 to my correspondence I now see I never laid sufficient 
 stress upon letter- writing as the means of promoting 
 social affection and moral pleasure and profit. I had 
 naturally an aversion to letter-writing. My letters 
 were therefore few and imperfect, and written in haste, 
 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, REMINISCENCES, ETC. 9 
 
 as if occupying time taken from more serious engage- 
 ments. I therefore think none of them entitled to 
 publication. Yet I would leave this, after my own 
 expressed opinion, to the judgment of my executors.” 
 
 While using the liberty here conceded to us for the 
 gratification of friends, we have at the same time re- 
 spected Mr. Jay’s own opinion by making a compara- 
 tively small selection. 
 
 It would seem from Mr. Jay’s high appreciation of 
 the epistolary style of both Newton and Cowper, that 
 he felt it difficult to realize his own ideal of excellence 
 in this department. This may explain his reluctance 
 to make the effort, while the eagerness of his corre- 
 spondents to be favored with his letters attests how suc- 
 cessful he was when he did make it. His own style 
 in his letters scarcely yields in simplicity, playfulness, 
 and ease, to the eminent examples at which he as- 
 pired. The frequent excuses and apologies he makes 
 for delay clearly prove that he was not what is con- 
 ventionally termed a good correspondent. In this 
 respect he contrasts himself with his admired and be- 
 loved tutor, who was distinguished for the excellence 
 as well as for the extent of his epistolary correspond- 
 ence. Mr. Winter, he says, “ frequently cautioned 
 his young men not to follow his example. In one 
 case, at least, this advice, I fear, was pursued to the 
 extreme, and this he equally censured. The writer is 
 the guilty individual. When, therefore, I had my 
 
.0 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 last interview with my venerable friend, he asked me 
 — for he was willing, if possible, to learn of those he 
 had taught — to sketch the outline of a sermon from 
 the words, 1 His letters, say they, are weighty.’ I com- 
 plied ; but in presenting it expressed my wonder at 
 the choice of the subject, and intimated that I could 
 hardly deem it important enough for the edification 
 of an audience many of whom could not write at all. 
 He smiled, and I saw he had gained his object. In 
 this way he had insinuated a mild reproof. He had 
 drawn from me some reflections on the utility and im- 
 portance of letter-writing, by which I own I was con- 
 demned.” * 
 
 An indiscriminate publication of a man’s letters is 
 not to be applauded, A considerable proportion of 
 all letters written by men of such publicity as Mr. 
 Jay must be letters upon business or domestic occur- 
 rences, or entering into details of family matters or 
 interchanges of friendship, in which strangers can feel 
 no interest whatever, and from which they can extract 
 no improvement. It is but rarely that men engaged 
 in public life can sit down to discuss set subjects with 
 their friends ; and it is but very seldom indeed that 
 such persons can afford time for more than prompt 
 and brief replies to their correspondents. But some- 
 times their letters to their afflicted friends are highly 
 valued, and may be appropriate to many besides those 
 
 * Mr Jay’s Life of Winter, p. 313. 
 
THE AUTOBIOGKAPHV, REMINISCENCES, ETC. 11 
 
 to whom they were first addressed. We have made a 
 selection of those letters to Mr. Jay’s friends, and of 
 some of theirs to him, which we have thought would 
 be read with interest by others. 
 
 W e trust the perusal of the whole work will grati- 
 fy Mr. Jay’s numerous friends, and through the Di- 
 vine blessing promote that great and good cause to 
 which our venerated friend devoted his long life and 
 earnest endeavors. 
 
LETTER I. 
 
 REASONS FOR HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 My very dear Children, — I duly received your 
 very kind and respectful letter. The contents were 
 both pleasing and humbling. I could not but feel 
 gratified by the expressions of your filial affection and 
 piety ; yet my conscience told me while reading them, 
 how far short I came in fully exemplifying the quali- 
 ties and excellences which your regard has led you to 
 attach to your father. 
 
 The letter is too partial and flattering to be here in- 
 troduced. But what can I say to the proposal it 
 brings, in pressing me to write some account of my- 
 self, and the leading events of my life ? The applica- 
 tion has a powerful claim in coming from those who 
 stand in a relation so near ; and it acquires additional 
 influence when, as you affirm, it is accompanied and 
 enforced by the earnest wishes of my other relatives 
 and friends, and church and congregation, and of 
 many of the public. 
 
 But before I could determine on refusing or com- 
 plying with the proposal, I had four things to con- 
 sider : — 
 
 First, Whether such a memoir ought to be secured ? 
 
14 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 This was a delicate question for the individual him- 
 self to answer, and some might suppose that he could 
 not answer in the affirmative, without betraying self- 
 importance. But humility is not founded on igno- 
 rance. A man may know and own what he is, with- 
 out vanity or pride, if he can say, “ By the grace of 
 God I am what I am “Not I, but the grace of God 
 which was with me.” It would have been mere affec- 
 tation (and it must have been deemed so), had I seemed 
 unacquainted with my rise from an obscure condition, 
 the earliness of my preaching, the degree of popularity 
 attending my first efforts ; the undiminished continu- 
 ance of the favor shown to my labors ; the candid re- 
 spect I have received from the various religious de- 
 nominations I have occasionally served ; the friendly 
 notice taken of me by some very significant person- 
 ages ; the number of my publications, with their ac- 
 ceptance and enlarged circulation at home and abroad ; 
 and the portion of usefulness, in serving my genera- 
 tion for more than half a century, which is generally 
 attributed to my endeavors. 
 
 A second question was, Whether, if I refused this 
 proposal, everything of the kind would be prevented 
 from other quarters ? The present rage for biography 
 is excessive and notorious. Such is the voracity of 
 its appetite, that it frequently waits not for the license 
 which death is supposed to give. It falls upon its 
 prey, and devours it alive ; and many a man may be 
 himself the reader of his own character and history, 
 furnished by some anonymous or even known writer. 
 A number of different sketches of myself have al- 
 ready appeared in periodical or separate publications 
 in England and America. It is not, therefore, impos- 
 
THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 15 
 
 sible or improbable but some notices after my deatli 
 may be attempted, either by the mercenary or needy 
 grasping at gain, or by real friends, meaning well, but 
 laboring often in the dark. 
 
 Thirdly . It was to be asked whether autobiography 
 in some respects is not more desirable and preferable 
 than information derived from extraneous sources? 
 
 “ Those relations,” says Johnson, “ are commonly the 
 most valuable, in which the writer tells his own story.” 
 With regard to a man’s talents and productions, and 
 also those attributes and habits, the result and fame of 
 which form so much of what we mean by character, 
 the pen of another may be better than his own. But 
 yet, respecting many things of an interesting nature, 
 he himself must be the best witness, the best judge, 
 and the best recorder. By a competent writer, the 
 public life of an individual is easily supplied; but 
 people are seldom satisfied without some insight into 
 his more private retreats and recesses. They would 
 know not only what he did, but why he did it. They 
 would know, not only the direction in which he 
 moved, but whether he was led into it by design or 
 accident, and what retarded or aided his progress. 
 They would not only contemplate his elevation, but 
 learn by what degrees and efforts and instrumentalities 
 he reached it ; for there is nothing really unaccounta- 
 ble in such cases. The thing wondered at is, under 
 Providence, the natural consequence, of a series of 
 events and circumstances. What appears a kind of 
 impassable depth and distance between the early and . 
 later condition of the man is owing to an ignorance of 
 the intermediate connexions in the passage. We see 
 him on the opposite sides, but have not accompanied 
 
16 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 him in the transition from the one to the other ; but 
 he himself knows that he passed, not by a miracle, but 
 by means ; that he was not supernaturally borne 
 across, but gained his position by many alternations 
 of hope and fear ; by many a weary step, and by many 
 a painful struggle. 
 
 But how is a man’s more personal and interior ex- 
 perience, his original disadvantages or helps; what 
 chilled his ardor or animated his diligence ; what in 
 his intellectual, or spiritual, or official career was found 
 to be his bane or his benefit ; with many other inter- 
 esting and useful things ; — how is all this to be known, 
 unless from the communications of the individual 
 himself? 
 
 A diary will not fully subserve the purpose. A 
 diary regards chiefly a man’s intercourse with God ; 
 and the variations of his religious views and feelings 
 there recorded are designed to promote self-acquaint- 
 ance, and not to divulge himself to others. Such a 
 work is devotional rather than narratory, and will 
 abound with much that is not proper for public ob- 
 servation. 
 
 Fourthly . I had to inquire whether, in such an un- 
 dertaking, I could trust my own views and motives ? 
 While I knew how hard it was to be honest where 
 self is concerned, and that nothing is perfectly pure 
 that comes from man ; yet I felt that I ought to be 
 conscious of being so far actuated by a principle of 
 truth, rectitude, and usefulness, as to be able to com- 
 mend my work unto the Lord ; and not only to im- 
 plore his assistance in the performance, but also to 
 hope for his blessing in the perusal of it. 
 
 These considerations I have endeavored fairly to ex- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM :AV. 
 
 1 ? 
 
 amine ; and though I do not say that 1 am perfectly 
 satisfied as to the conclusion, yet there is nothing in 
 it that, upon the whole, constrains me to decline at- 
 tempting the engagement you urge upon me. Yet I 
 fear I shall find the execution ^o easy enterprise. 
 Some difficulty will be found in the selection. When 
 a man looks back upon a life of seventy-four years, 
 he sees a very extensive field ; and what he is to de- 
 tach for the notice of others asks for the exercise of 
 judgment and prudence. Much may be, and much 
 ought to be, passed over. Some love to eke out pages 
 and volumes ; but a brief account will generally com- 
 prise all that ordinary ‘biography requires. 
 
 Two things should not be forgotten in the choice of 
 articles. 1st. The influence they are likely to have on 
 the reader in a way of innocent gratification, instruc- 
 tion, or improvement. And, 2dly. Their appropri- 
 ateness to the character of the individual. 
 
 The insertions, therefore, should serve directly or 
 indirectly to develop him — for it is of him — of his con- 
 dition — of his changes — of his opinions, attachments, 
 and doings, the reader wants to be informed. 
 
 But besides the selection of materials themselves, 
 there must be some arrangement ; and this also has oc- 
 casioned thought ; for here various modes have been 
 employed, with perhaps equal propriety and success. 
 You have neither recommended, nor suggested, any 
 particular method. I shall therefore throw my narra- 
 tive and reflections into a series of Letters to your- 
 selves. In this I shall conform to the example of my 
 honored tutor, Cornelius Winter, in the life of him 
 which I have published, and which has met with so 
 much success. This mode will best suit a man of 
 
18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 years and engagements, as it will allow of freedom in 
 the expression, enlargement or contraction in the state- 
 ments, and easy gradualness (not much affected by 
 breaks and pauses) in the progress. The number of 
 Letters the series will contain, must depend on the un- 
 certainties of circumstances. But whether I shall live 
 and be able to accomplish the design wholly or par- 
 tially, rests with Him in “whose hand our breath is, 
 and whose are all our ways.” u But this will we do if 
 God permit.” 
 
 N. B. I had no sooner written the above than I was 
 favored with a call from my esteemed brother, the 
 Rev. John Angell James, of Birmingham. Upon 
 being informed of my purpose, he not only very much 
 approved of it, and zealously urged its execution, but 
 begged that I would not limit myself, by aiming at too 
 much conciseness ; especially as to any parts and cir- 
 cumstances that would bear usefully upon the rising 
 ministry (for that ministry whose improvement and 
 excellency he has shown much anxiety). Hence some 
 things which otherwise would not have been intro- 
 duced, must plead this excitement and sanction. 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 HIS PARENTAGE. — REMARKS ON PEDIGREES AND ANCESTORS.- 
 ANEODOTES. — EFFECTS OF SCENERY UPON HIM 
 
 My dear Children, — In commencing this Letter I 
 have one advantage which saves me time and trouble. 
 I have not to trace a long and proud lineage. If any 
 great and illustrious individuals have been found 
 among my ancestors, they have not been ascertained, 
 in my family, in my own time.* But were I mean 
 enough to feel any mortification here, I could not con- 
 sole myself. Lord Bacon has remarked that they who 
 derive their worth from their ancestors resemble “ po- 
 tatoes, the most valuable part of which is under 
 
 * Through the courtesy of the Rev. J. Ward, Rector of Wath, 
 near Ripon, we have been favored with a considerable list of per- 
 sons of the name of Jay, baptized, married, and buried at Milton 
 Listebon, in Wilts. There is one marriage that may have been that 
 of Mr. Jay’s father and mother: “1751, May 13, William Jay and 
 Sarah Smith but we have no means of deciding the question. 
 Mr. Jay has said very little of his parents. A Rev. Charles Jay was 
 vicar of that parish in the year 1733, and died there 1761. 
 
 Mr. Waylen, of Etchilhampton, also has furnished many notices 
 of the family of Jay in Wiltshire, extending back for nearly three 
 centuries; but from which of them Mr. Jay of Bath descended, or 
 whether from any of them, all authorities are silent, and probably 
 NVilliam Jay was as ignorant as ourselves. 
 
20 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 ground.” When one of Lord Thurlow’s friends was 
 endeavoring to make out his relationship to the secre- 
 tary, Cromwell, whose family had been settled in the 
 county adjoining Suffolk, he replied, “ Sir, there were 
 two Cromwells in that part of the country — Thurlow 
 the Secretary, and Thurlow the Carrier ; I am de- 
 scended from the latter.” We have read of a man 
 who, in prospect of his promotion, being asked con- 
 cerning his pedigree, answered that 11 he was not par- 
 ticularly sure, but had been credibly informed that he 
 had three brothers in the ark ;” — but one of our most 
 distinguished poets of obscure origin surpasses this, in 
 his epitaph : — 
 
 “ Princes and heralds, by your leave, 
 
 Here lie the bones of Matthew Prior ; 
 
 The son of Adam and of Eve, 
 
 Can Nassau or Bourbon go higher ?” 
 
 My parents were very respectable, that is, they were 
 poor and religious : religious , not precisely according to 
 the theory and discipline of a particular party (for as 
 yet there was in the place no society formed on pro- 
 fessedly evangelical principles, nor had the preaching 
 of such doctrines as yet been heard there) ; but really 
 and practically religious; exemplifying the morality 
 of the gospel under the influence of piety, or the fear 
 and love of God ; poor , not abjectly and dependency, 
 but able by frugality and diligence to support them- 
 selves, and to bring up a family in the decencies and 
 even comforts of village life. 
 
 My father was the son of a small farmer, but he 
 himself was a mechanic, working at the business of a 
 stone-cutter and mason. There was nothing remarka- 
 
THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 21 
 
 ble in liim as to talent, or in my dear me ther. They 
 were both persons of slender education, but of 'good 
 solid understanding, and of much common sense ; up- 
 right, conscientious, kind, tender, charitable according 
 to their means ; and much beloved and esteemed in all 
 the neighborhood. I was their fourth and only male 
 child ; but there were four daughters, all of whom are 
 “gone the way of all the earth.” Three of them 
 married in humble life, but to husbands sober, indus- 
 trious, and much more affectionate and attentive to 
 their wives than many I have seen in superior condi- 
 tions, and among those who are often called (for what 
 reason Grod only knows) “ the better sort of people .” 
 The other, and who had a considerable share of wit 
 and cleverness, was united to a man of property ; and 
 who possessed more capacity and knowledge than per- 
 haps half the whole population of the place beside. 
 
 The presbyterian minister on whom we attended 
 was a Clarkean Arian, (but he never dealt much in 
 doctrine,) a very dry and dull preacher, but a lovely 
 character, and exceedingly tender-hearted, kind, and 
 generous ; denying himself almost to a fault, that he 
 might have, out of his contracted income, to give to 
 him that needeth ; and wherever misery was, there 
 was he. From my earliest remembrance, he kindly 
 and gently noticed me ; and when I was able to read, 
 he presented me with the two first publications I ever 
 called my own. These were “Watts’ History of the 
 Old and New Testament,” and “Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s 
 Progress,” and never shall I forget my feelings at the 
 receipt of them ; for books (what a change has since 
 taken place !) were then very scarce in villages , at 
 least few came in my way. The schooling of the vih 
 
22 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 lage was of course very limited, and had nothing to 
 awaken or expand the mind beyond the common ele- 
 ments of reading, writing and vulgar arithmetic. In 
 this humble education I shared ; but I can say nothing 
 more : to any literary or intellectual advantage or ex- 
 citement I was a stranger. 
 
 It is perhaps commonly supposed that if a man is 
 destined to make a little figure in the world, he gives 
 some indication of it in childhood and even in infancy. 
 Is this always true ? or is it true generally ? It is said 
 the young calf and the young lamb begin to push and 
 to butt before their horns appear. Metaphors alone 
 prove nothing. Our Saviour speaks of some seeds, 
 which fell on superficial soil, and forthwith they 
 sprang up because they had no deepness of earth ; and 
 the larger and more solid and durable trees are slower 
 in their growth than more common ones. Thus the 
 oak is longer in its rearing and maturing than the pop- 
 lar or osier. Doth not mind both act and show itself 
 according to particular periods, or rather occurrences, 
 which seize and press and excite it ? 
 
 However this may be, to compare little things with 
 greater, I know both from report and experience, that 
 your father exhibited nothing like this early preco- 
 ciousness. I can well remember with what pains I 
 acquired reading ; and my oldest sister observed, when 
 questioned concerning my first years, “We thought 
 he never would have learned.” But when the diffi- 
 culty by which I was depressed, and for which I was 
 often reproached, was overcome, and I felt encourage- 
 ment and praise, I soon made some progress, and soon 
 wished to make more ; but what opportunities or helps 
 did my situation afford ? It may be asked if I re- 
 
THE KEV. WILLIAM JAY- 
 
 23 
 
 member whether at an early season I had any work- 
 ings of mind not growing naturally out of my con- 
 dition, but having a seeming reference to my subse- 
 quent rising in life ? I answer, I had, and not a few ; 
 though it would not be easy to describe them. But I 
 always felt a strange love of withdrawing myself from 
 my playmates and roving alone ; and while pausing 
 among the scenes of nature, of surrendering myself 
 to musings which carried me away, and often left me 
 lost, in doing or enjoying something indistinctly dif- 
 ferent from what I had ever actually witnessed. Our 
 dwelling, which was my father’s own property, con- 
 sisting of a double tenement, too large for a cottage, 
 had attached to it a proportionate garden and orchard. 
 It was situated about an equal distance from Lord 
 Arundel’s, of Warder Castle; Pithouse, the seat of 
 Mr. Bennet; and Fonthill, then the splendid mansion 
 of Mr. Beckford. The village in which it stood was 
 wide and varied, and abounded with lovely and pic- 
 turesque aspects — 
 
 “ And the sweet interchange of hill and vale and wood and lawn.” 
 
 It is impossible to express the intense pleasure I felt 
 from a child, in the survey of the rural scenery, while 
 standing on the brow of an eminence, or seated upon 
 the upraised root of a branching tree, or walking 
 through a waving field of corn, or gazing on a clear 
 brook with fish and reeds and rushes. How vividly 
 are some of these spots impressed upon my memory 
 still ; and how recoverable, at this distance of time, 
 are some of the rude reflections so early associated 
 whh them ! 
 
24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 Yet what probability was there that such a change 
 as I have experienced would ever take place ? No 
 effort, no purpose of my own, or of my relatives, had 
 the least concern in it. It resulted purely and entirely 
 from the providence of God ; and as it was not only 
 so unlikely in itself, but so eventful, and such conse- 
 quences hinged upon it, I will endeavor to state the 
 case as it was , fairly and simply, without straining to 
 magnify the remarkable into supernatural, or the ex- 
 traordinary into miraculous. But this must be the 
 subject of the next Letter. In the meantime, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER III. 
 
 3IS EARLY LIFE. — METHODISM AT TISBURY. — CONVERSION. — MRS. 
 
 TURNER TAKES NOTICE OF HIM. — WORKS AT FONTHILL ABBEY. — 
 
 MR. BECKFORD. — (EDITOR’S NOTICES OF MR. BECKFORD.) 
 
 My dear Children, — Mr. Thomas Turner, the 
 memoir of whose eminently pious wife has been long 
 before the public, and a second edition of which was 
 published by Dr. Bogue, left Tisbury while young. 
 He was then possessed of no substance ; but he grad- 
 ually succeeded in business at Trowbridge, and gained 
 more than a competency. Being a truly religious 
 man, he wished to do something to evince his grati- 
 tude to God, and promote the welfare of his fellow- 
 men. He therefore determined to introduce the preach- 
 ing of the gospel into his native village, and, if possi- 
 ble, to awaken attention to the one thing needful in 
 those he had left behind him in ignorance and care- 
 lessness. He took a house and licensed it, and opened 
 it for preaching. After some length of time, he built 
 also a neat chapel entirely at his own expense ; and a 
 very considerable congregation and church were raised 
 there, which have continued ever since ; and recently 
 a new commodious and beautiful chapel has been erect- 
 ed, which I had the pleasure of opening, and at the 
 
 2 
 
26 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 dedication of which more than £100 was collected, 
 after more than £7 00 had been subscribed among the 
 people themselves. 
 
 Some persons love to talk of their being born again, 
 and of their being jnade new creatures, with a kind 
 of physical certainty and exactness ; and refer to their 
 conversions not as the real commencement of a work 
 which is to continue increasing through life, but as 
 something which may be viewed as a distinct and 
 unique experience, immediately produced, originated, 
 and finished at once ; and perfectly determined as to 
 its time and place and mode of accomplishment ; but 
 I hope this is not necessary, for I have no such narra- 
 tive or register to afford. A distinction is not always 
 made between depraved nature and actual transgress- 
 ion. All are sinners, and all have come short of the 
 glory of God ; but all are' not profligate, nor in this 
 sense do all speak of themselves, as if they had been 
 the chief of sinners. Restraint from evil is a mercy, 
 as well as sanctification and good works. I cannot 
 speak as some do of going great lengths in iniquity, 
 and thereby rendering a work of grace more sure and 
 more divine. I bless God I w^as from my childhood 
 free from immoralities. I remember, indeed, one act 
 of gross transgression (it pains me now in review) ; it 
 was the uttering of a known and repeated falsehood , 
 accompanied with an oath , to carry a point, as I was 
 intensely at play. For this my conscience so smote 
 me that I was soon constrained to withdraw from my 
 companions, and went home, and retired to implore 
 forgiveness. But, though free from vice, I now began 
 to see and feel deficiences with regard to duty, and to 
 be dissatisfied with the state of my heart towards God 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 27 
 
 I also felt my need of something more than was held 
 forth by the preaching I heard. Without knowing 
 the nature of this good, I was just in the condition 
 of mind that would welcome and relish the truth com- 
 monly called evangelical. Our minister, too, from 
 some things which I had said (for he always allowed 
 and encouraged me to speak freely), strangely put into 
 my hands a letter, which he said had been written to a 
 father by a young man who had (these were his own 
 words) become a Methodist , and wished to convert him. 
 I had never heard of the name before ; but when, soon 
 after, persons of this description were reported to be 
 coming to preach in the village, my curiosity was the 
 more excited ; and, from the instruction and impress- 
 ion of the letter (which was a very striking one), I 
 longed to hear them, conceiving and hoping it would 
 relieve my concern of mind. 
 
 The private dwelling which Mr. Turner had pur- 
 chased and licensed was first used for worship on the 
 Saturday evening I attended. The singing, the ex- 
 temporaneousness of the address, and the apparent af- 
 fection and earnestness of the speaker, peculiarly af- 
 fected me ; and what he said of “ the faithful saying, 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came 
 into the world to save sinners,” was like rain upon the 
 mown grass, or cold water to a thirsty soul. I scarcely 
 slept that night for weeping, and for joy ; and as the 
 preaching was to be renewed the next morning at 
 seven o’clock (not to interfere with the service of the 
 Established Church), I happened to be the first that 
 came. Mrs. Turner, who had come from Trowbridge 
 to superintend things for the time, opened the door 
 herself, and, taking me by the hand, benignly asked, 
 
28 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 
 
 “ Are you hungering for the bread of life ?” She 
 continued talking to me most winningly for some 
 minutes, till others began to enter. But this seem- 
 ingly casual and trifling circumstance was important 
 in the result ; for from that day forward she particu- 
 larly noticed me ; and, as I had been recently appren- 
 ticed, and was returning from my work, which was 
 then at Fonthill House, in the evening, she often met 
 me, and conversed with me till I reached home ; and 
 her information and addresses were more useful than 
 many of the sermons I heard, as she adapted herself 
 to the state she found I was in, and to the present kind 
 of knowledge which I required. 
 
 [Reluctant as the Editors are to divert the reader’s 
 attention for a single moment from Mr. Jay’s interest- 
 ing narrative, they yet judge that this is the most 
 suitable place for introducing a few facts which they 
 feel assured will add interest to the narrative, and in- 
 crease the gratification of the reader. The mention of 
 Fonthill House a page or two before, and of Mr. Beck- 
 ford, its accomplished proprietor and builder, is fol- 
 lowed by the statement, that, when the lad William 
 Jay was first noticed by Mrs. Turner, he was not only 
 working as an apprentice to his father, but both father 
 and son were actually working at the erection of Font- 
 hill house ; and further, that it was on his return, 
 evening after evening, from that place, that Mrs. Turner 
 met him, and talked with him in that instructive way 
 recorded by himself in this letter. We suppose Wil- 
 liam Jay to have been then little more than fourteen 
 years of age, and but recently apprenticed to learn the 
 art of stone-masonry. It was just at this time that 
 Mr. Winter came to preach at Tisbury, and was struck 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 29 
 
 with, the comely countenance of the lad. About a 
 
 year after, when Mr. W came again to preach 
 
 at Tisbury on a week-day evening, there was William 
 Jay in the chapel, just as he had left his work at 
 Fonthill Abbey, listening to the good Cornelius Win- 
 ter. After that sermon he was introduced to Mr. 
 
 W for the first time, and, no doubt, wondered 
 
 what the minister could want with him. Let the 
 reader realize this scene, and connect with it the fact 
 that he had been that day working at the mansion of 
 a gentleman who afterwards, most probably with an 
 utter unconsciousness that Mr. Jay had ever been in 
 his employment, passed upon him as just and elegant 
 an eulogy as perhaps ever was passed upon him ; and 
 frankly recorded the fact that he had been himself a 
 learner from the eloquent piety and wisdom of William 
 Jay. In proof of this we present the following inter- 
 esting statement, which appeared in the Bath Herald 
 immediately after Mr. Beckford’s decease : — 
 
 11 The Christian Contemplated had been perused with 
 much interest by Mr. Beckford, as appeared from his 
 numerous notes, written on its leaves; and from which 
 the following is extracted : 1 This man’s mind is no 
 petty reservoir supplied him by laborious pumpings — 
 it is a clear, transparent spring, flowing so freely as to 
 impress the idea of its being inexhaustible. In many 
 of these pages the stream of eloquence is so full, so 
 rapid, that we are fairly borne down and laid prostrate 
 at the feet of the preacher, whose arguments in these 
 moments appear as if they could not be controverted, 
 and we must yield to them. The voice which calls us 
 to look into ourselves, and prepare for judgment, is too 
 piercing, too powerful to be resisted ; and we attempt, 
 
80 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 for worldly, sensual considerations, to shut our ears in 
 vain.’ 
 
 “ Beckford told me that Jay of Bath, whom he had 
 gone to hear incog., was one of the finest preachers he 
 had ever heard, and showed me his sermons ; and, 
 curious enough, he had a correspondence with Jay 
 about the bad poetry, both in the church and among 
 the dissenters, as exhibited in the hymns and psalm ver- 
 sions which they used .” — Closing Scenes , Second Series. 
 By Bev. E. Neale. 
 
 It will not be deemed irrelevant by those readers who 
 have no knowledge of Mr. Beckford, if we state a few 
 facts concerning him and the famous abbey which 
 William Jay and his father helped to build. 
 
 William Beckford, Esq., was the proprietor, de- 
 signer, and builder of the splendid Fonthill Abbey, 
 which cost in its erection £273,000, and the pictures, 
 library, and furniture of which were valued at more 
 than a million. He was the son of the famous Beck- 
 ford, twice Lord Mayor of London, who reproved King 
 George the Third on his throne, when he insulted a 
 deputation of the citizens. Mr. Beckford, the son who 
 was placed, at his father’s death, under the care of the 
 first Earl of Chatham, became a most accomplished 
 man and distinguished author. His gorgeous tale, en- 
 titled “ Vathek,” was written in French when he was 
 barely twenty-two, at one sitting of three days and tivo 
 nights. Byron said of it, that “even Rasselas must 
 bow before it.” He wrote also “ Letters on Spain and 
 Italy.” “ Observations on Celebrated Painters,” &c., 
 &c. He was universally esteemed a man of exquisite 
 taste and keen discernment. His splendid fortune was 
 s_ent in the gratification of his taste for the fine arts 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 31 
 
 and literature. Over liis mantel-piece, in his dining 
 parlor, was a picture of St. Catherine, by Raffaeile, 
 which cost him £3,000. One who knew him well 
 says, “ 1 had many conversations with him upon the 
 subject of religion; for he was rather fond of contro- 
 versy. I should say he was an orthodox Catholic ; 
 but, like many, professed a faith he did not prac- 
 tice.” 
 
 He was famous for a most sumptuous entertainment 
 which he gave to Admiral Lord Nelson. But though 
 he was accounted in his day the richest commoner in 
 England, yet he sustained, long before his death, im- 
 mense losses of property, and the Abbey was sold to 
 Mr. Farquhar for £330,000. The sale of its contents 
 created an excitement throughout the nation, and dur- 
 ing its continuance of thirty -three days, such was the 
 influx of visitors that not a lodging was to be had for 
 many miles round. It is recorded that between seven 
 and eight thousand catalogues were sold at a guinea 
 each. 
 
 After this calamity Mr. Beckford retired to Bath, 
 where he ended his days at very nearly the same age 
 as Mr. Jay, and where, probably, he availed himself 
 of the opportunity of hearing him preach, and of car- 
 rying on the correspondence referred to in the previous 
 extract. Such a correspondence is not unlikely, for 
 Beckford was a proficient both in poetry and music. 
 But we have found no allusion to this correspondence, 
 and no trace of it, among Mr. Jay’s papers. 
 
 To the fact of Mr. Jay’s having been employed, ap- 
 parently for more than a year, at Fonthill Abbey, we 
 have his own testimony, yet he makes no allusion to 
 any intercourse or acquaintance with Mr. Beckford, 
 
32 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 nor does lie give any intimation that Mr. Beckford 
 knew of the fact of his having been employed at the 
 Abbey. There appears to have been no mutual recog- 
 nition, although in their later years they became near 
 neighbors.] 
 
 And here occurred, what is mentioned without a 
 name, in the life of Mrs. Turner, concerning “ a lad 
 who, after hearing a discourse enforcing family wor- 
 ship, besought his father on his return home to under- 
 take it ; and upon his refusing, on the ground of in- 
 ability, offered to perform it himself. The offer was 
 accepted with tears, and he became a kind of domestic 
 chaplain.” This lad was the writer. A little while 
 after this, he was urged to pray at the private meeting 
 in the chapel, which he did with no little backward- 
 ness, and also with no little difficulty. Connected with 
 this, he cannot but mention a circumstance, as it affect- 
 ed him at the time with a shock of amazement, and 
 has since aided him in not laying an improper stress 
 on the figurative language of Scripture ; and made 
 him careful to avoid such views of the doctrines of 
 grace as should exclude any from hope of salvation. 
 It was this : — He had prayed that our name may be 
 written in the Lamb’s book of life ; but a high-toned 
 brother, from a neighboring congregation, who saw 
 things clearly , took him aside, and rebuked him for the 
 impropriety of his expression, saying, “You know 
 that book was filled up from eternity ; and if our names 
 are not written there, they never can be now.” 
 
 Bless God, my children, that from your infancy you 
 have been familiar with a testimony too plain to be 
 mistaken, “The Spirit and the bride sa j come ; and 
 let him that heareth say come ; and let him thai 
 
THE KEV. WILLIAM JAY. 33 
 
 athirst come ; and whosoever will let him take of the 
 water of life freely.” 
 
 I shall soon resume the relation, and notice another 
 link in the chain of occurrences which drew me from 
 my native condition to set my feet in a large place, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 2 * 
 
LETTER IV. 
 
 VlbfT OF MR. WINTER TO TISBURY. — INTRODUCTION OF MR. JAY TO 
 
 MR. WINTER. HIS ADMISSION INTO MR. WINTER^ ACADEMY AT 
 
 MARLBOROUGH. MR. w’s. FAITH FOR PECUNIARY SUPPORT. — HIS 
 
 STUDIES. TILLAGE PREACHING. 
 
 My dear Children, — For several years there was 
 no fixed minister at Tisbnry, but the service was sup- 
 plied by preachers of various denomination, each offici- 
 ating for one sabbath only, but always coming early 
 enough to preach also on the Saturday evening ; and 
 these men, after perhaps a long and trying journey, had 
 not only to preach on that evening, but they had the 
 following day to preach at seven in the morning, and 
 at six in the evening, and also to go in the afternoon 
 five miles to preach at a place called Ebsbourne ; yet 
 had they nothing to remunerate their toilsome but 
 willing efforts. Among these supplies came the ex- 
 cellent Cornelius Winter from Marlborough, a dis- 
 tance of near forty miles. A year after the first time, 
 he came a second ; and calling on Mrs. Turner at 
 Trowbridge on his way, he told her that when at Tis- 
 bury before, he had been particularly struck with the 
 aspect of a lad in the congregation ; that the impress- 
 ion had not worn off ; and that he felt a strong desire 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 35 
 
 to have an interview with him before he should return. 
 Not knowing however his name, he could not inform 
 her who was the youth he intended. She immediate- 
 ly said there was a lad in the place she also much 
 wished him to see and converse with, mentioning my 
 name that he might inquire for me. Accordingly on 
 the Saturday evening he desired the doorkeeper to ask 
 for Billy Jay to come to him in the parlor after the 
 service. Again while in the pulpit he was equally at- 
 tracted with the appearance of the lad who had so im- 
 pressed him before ; and was eager to know who he 
 was, and to have some talk with him. When the 
 preaching was over, as desired, I followed him into 
 the house, and was presented to him. I was in my 
 simple village dress. He then perceived that the youth 
 Mrs. Turner had mentioned, and the youth he had re- 
 marked, were the same . He was affected even to tears, 
 and immediately kneeled down and prayed. I was 
 of course amazed at the strangeness of all this ; nor 
 could I for one moment conjecture the design. He 
 then began to talk with me, and in a manner which 
 disarmed me of fear, concerning several things, and 
 especially of my religious views and feelings. At this 
 interview he proceeded no further, but desired me to 
 come to him again after the service on the morrow 
 evening. I again waited upon him ; he again imme- 
 diately prayed for a few moments ; and then began to 
 inquire whether I should not like, and did not long,, 
 to communicate to others what I felt myself. He ob- 
 served tnat he had a small academy of young men for 
 the ministry ; and kindly invited me to join them, if 
 after reflection and prayer my heart should be inclined, 
 and my parents should be disposed to give their con- 
 
36 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 sent. The invitation was after some time accepted; 
 and I went to Marlborough, where for some years 
 (they were far too few) I was privileged to live under 
 the tuition and care of that incomparable man (Bishop 
 Jebb calls him in a Letter, that celestial creature Cornelius 
 Winter ), whose life I have published ; written indeed 
 under a grateful sense of my obligations to him ; but 
 yet with no exaggerated praise, as all who knew him 
 intimately have acknowledged. 
 
 In what I have stated I cannot be mistaken ; and 
 there are some still living (there were once many) to 
 whom Mr. Winter related the transaction; for he was 
 pleased to advert to it, especially after the encouraging 
 success of his undertaking. Yarious things at first 
 seemed unpromising and discouraging ; my deficiencies 
 were great. Mr. Winter had no certain provision for 
 my support, his own income was very limited. He 
 had therefore largely to draw upon the providence of 
 God; and he was enabled to trust without fear or 
 doubting. But he always affirmed that at the time he 
 hardly knew how to justify the step he took, but from 
 impression and impulse he could not decline it. 
 
 I leave the fact, having stated it accurately, to the 
 candid judgment of my readers. The command is, 
 “ Let thine eyes look straight on , and let thine eye- 
 lids look straight before thee il Ponder the path of 
 thy feet, and let all thy goings be established .” And it 
 is well for a man to feel the firmness of the ground he 
 treads upon ; and be able to give, to himself at least, 
 a reason of his conduct in any measure of moment. 
 And in general, no one laid more stress on prudence, 
 and did more honor to the use of proper means, than 
 the man of God before us. Yet he always had this 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 
 sentiment, (and I have often heard him avow it,) that 
 there may be cases in which Providence having a par- 
 ticular end in view, will not, by some excitement or 
 other, allow us to give up, or pass by the thing, though 
 for the present we walk by faith rather than by sight. 
 
 Must we always condemn such faith as presumption? 
 Is it enthusiasm to suppose that there may be cases in 
 which the secret of the Lord is peculiarly with them 
 that fear him, and fear him above many ? Is there any 
 rule that admits of no exception? Might not that 
 which looks like a deviation from a principle, be found 
 to be compatible with it, if we had knowledge to pene- 
 trate further, and to comprehend more ? Let us not 
 judge one another. u Happy is he that condemneth 
 not himself in the thing which he alloweth. Let every 
 one be fully persuaded in his own mind.” 
 
 It will naturally be supposed that no one could have 
 gone to an academy more destitute of many advantages 
 than myself. But I had a thirst for knowledge, and a 
 valuation of it, which would ensure application when op- 
 portunities and means were afforded. Mr. Winter’s 
 library was not large, but was large to me ; and every 
 moment I could spare from my studies I was search- 
 ing it as for hidden treasure. It may seem strange, 
 but the authors I was most struck with then, have con- 
 tinued to be my favorites ever since, and my views 
 and taste with regard to sermons and preachers have 
 no otherwise changed than as they have been enlarged 
 and improved. 
 
 As our tutor rated learning very high, I was obliged 
 to fag hard. At first, the difficulties were not only 
 trying, but seemed to be insuperable ; but in a little 
 time I felt encouraged, and soon found pleasure in 
 
38 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 even: the languages. But my progress was not con- 
 siderable ; and the literary acquisitions of the students 
 were not $ little impeded by what the tutor deemed 
 justifiable. The state of the country then was very 
 different from what it now is, as to an evangelical min- 
 istry. The real laborers were few. The spiritual con- 
 dition of many of the villages was deplorable, and the 
 people were perishing for lack of knowledge. No one 
 cared for their souls. (So it was with the vicinages all 
 around Marlborough, and their spiritual wants if not 
 their wishes cried aloud, “ Come over and help us.”) 
 Mr. Winter, therefore, obtained and licensed various 
 private houses to preach in, and not only went as often 
 as he was able himself, but also sent his young men to 
 instruct these poor creatures, and show unto them the 
 way of life. In the milder seasons which would allow 
 of it, we often addressed large numbers out of doors ; 
 and many a clear calm evening I have preached down 
 the day, on the corner of a common, or upon the green 
 turf before the cottage door. 
 
 These neighborhoods were supplied sometimes 
 weekly and sometimes fortnightly, both on the week 
 days and on the sabbaths. We always on the sabbaths 
 avoided, if possible, the church hours ; and on week 
 days we commonly omitted the services during the 
 hay and corn harvest, that we might not give reason- 
 able offence to the farmers, or entice the peasants away 
 from their labor before their usual time. I would also 
 remark, that we did not always in these efforts en- 
 counter much opposition ; indeed, I remember only a 
 few instances in which we suffered persecution from 
 violence or rudeness. This was much owing to the 
 students being always recommended to avoid needless 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 39 
 
 provocation ; our tutor enjoining us never to rail at 
 others, or to say the gospel was not heard till we came ; 
 but leaving the hearers to learn this of themselves by 
 comparison ; and also to speak the truth in love ; being 
 always affectionate and kind, and endeavoring by our 
 manner to show that we loved those we addressed, and 
 were only concerned for their welfare — not anxious to 
 make proselytes but converts. Yet Mr. Winter’s horse 
 was cruelly cropped and maimed at Adlington, where 
 he had preached on the sabbath. And there were 
 places, and not a few out of our own circuits, where, 
 though there was little or nothing exceptionable in the 
 preaching, the carnal mind showed itself not only in 
 secret malignity, but in open outrage. The excite- 
 ment of the ignorant populace was commonly pro- 
 duced by the clergyman, the squire, and some of the 
 stupid and intemperate farmers. 
 
 The injuries inflicted on the preachers, and the 
 houses in which the people assembled, might have 
 been sooner terminated, had the sufferers (as they 
 ought to have done) more readily availed themselves 
 of their legal rights ; but they often yielded to unwill- 
 ing concessions and apologies, and were backward to 
 prosecute, forgetting that the trespasser was a burglar ; 
 and that though we are to forgive private and personal 
 offences, it is otherwise with the violation of the laws 
 of the land established for the public safety and wel- 
 fare. The best regard we can pay to a law is to obey 
 its precepts ourselves — the next is to see its penalty 
 executed upon the transgressors. But in general, the 
 village peasantry (and of them only I am speaking) 
 were disposed, if left to themselves , to receive and hear 
 us ; and it was truly interesting and delightful to see 
 
40 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 how, after a little curious observation and surprise, 
 they seemed to drink in the word, as rain on the mown 
 grass, and as showers that water the earth. The testi- 
 mony to the Messiah was a the poor have the gospel 
 preached unto them ;” and what right-minded and 
 right-hearted being is there, but would rejoice that 
 those who had so little of this world’s goods and com- 
 forts should be able to realize the “ unsearchable riche3 
 of Christ,” and “ walk in the comforts of the Holy 
 Ghost?” X am, &c. 
 
LETTER V. 
 
 fflS FIRST SERMON AT ARLINGTON. — CONTRIBUTORS TO THE EXPENSES 
 OF HIS EDUCATION, JOHN THORNTON, ESQ., AND OTHERS. — (EDIT- 
 ORS’ BRIEF NOTICE OF MR. THORNTON.) — PROPOSAL TO GO TO THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. PREFERENCE OF THE DOMESTIC SYSTEM. 
 
 — LIST OF STUDENTS IN MARLBOROUGH ACADEMY. 
 
 My dear Children, — Great attainments and quali- 
 fications were not necessary in those rude villages 
 where we made our first attempts to minister. But 
 we knew enough from scripture and our own experi- 
 ence to “ show unto men the way of salvation,” and 
 to say, “ Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away 
 the sin of the world.” 
 
 This early preaching unquestionably broke in much 
 upon our studies ; but the tutor did everything in his 
 power, by rule and restriction, to lessen the injury, 
 while there were some rather compensatory advan- 
 tages arising from it. First, Hereby good was done in 
 the conversion of sinners in many instances, some of 
 which were very striking ; and what is the gain of the 
 whole world to the value of one soul ? And, secondly. 
 The usage tended, by its exercise, and by the prepara- 
 tion for it, to keep the minds of the students in the 
 things of God ; and it is well known, that literary 
 application, and the free mingling of young men to* 
 
42 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 gether, do not much befriend spirituality of mind. 
 Thirdly , It was of great advantage to the young pupil 
 to begin, before be knew too much, to feel certain 
 difficulties, and to gain confidence and facility by prac- 
 tice. And thus, though the scholar was injured, the 
 preacher was benefited. 
 
 In the review of the case, I cannot see how a man 
 of God, (whatever his zeal for learning might be,) cir- 
 cumstanced as Mr. Winter was, could have conscien- 
 tiously acted otherwise than he did ; and much as I 
 have always lamented, in addition to my original want 
 of education, the loss of some literary advantages, I 
 not only submit to what appears to have been the will 
 of God, but upon the whole am even thankful for such 
 a course of things as I passed through. God has not 
 only a right to choose for us, but as he appoints us 
 our stations and offices, and foresees all they will re- 
 quire, he arranges our trainings, and renders all our 
 previous circumstances and experience preparatory to 
 our fitness. 
 
 “ Thy method cross’d my way, and young desire, 
 
 Which did to academic eminence aspire. 
 
 Fain I’d have sat in such a nurse’s lap 
 Where I might long have had a sluggard’s nap, 
 
 Or have been dandled on her reverend knees, 
 
 And known by honored titles and degrees ; 
 
 And there have spent the flower of my days 
 In soaring in the air of human praise. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 My youthful pride and folly now I see, 
 
 That grudged for want of title and degree.” 
 
 Some may be surprised at tbe earliness of my preach- 
 ing, for I began a few months a%r I was placed at 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 43 
 
 Marlborough. Some, also, will doubtless censure it, 
 and it is easy for them to say much in support of their 
 censure. Yet I cannot in this case blame myself. It 
 was not from my own forwardness, or of my own 
 choosing ; but I was under the authority and direction 
 of another, and bound to obey, even if I could not 
 entirely acquiesce. How sad is a spirit of resistance, 
 especially in students for the ministry. They are best 
 prepared to rule and govern who have previously 
 learned to obey and serve Why do not tutors expel 
 for insubordination, as well as for error or vice ? 
 
 I remember a circumstance hardly worth relating. 
 Soon after I had begun my early career, I went to 
 supply for a sabbath at Melksham. At this time was 
 residing there an old gentleman from London, a very 
 wise man, at least in his own conceit. I called upon 
 him on the Monday morning. He received me rather 
 uncourteously. He did not, indeed, censure my 
 preaching, but rudely said, he had no notion of beard- 
 less boys being employed as preachers. “ Pray, sir,” 
 said I, “does not Paul say to Timothy, ‘Let no man 
 despise thy youth.’ And, sir, you remind me of what 
 I have read of a French monarch, who had received a 
 young ambassador, and complaining, said, 4 Your mas- 
 ter should not have sent me a beardless stripling.’ 
 ‘Sir,’ said the youthful ambassador, ‘had my master 
 supposed you wanted a beard, he would have sent you 
 a goat.’ ” 
 
 The first sermon I preached was at Ablington — a vil- 
 lage near Stonehenge. The text was 1 Peter, ii. 3 : 
 “ If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 
 The division was, 1. The Lord is gracious. 2. The 
 best way to know this grace is by tasting it. 3. Such 
 
u 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 knowledge will have an influence over the possessor ; 
 for if we have tasted that the Lord is gracious it will 
 induce us to love him — it will draw out our desires af- 
 ter more — it will make us anxious to bring others to 
 partake with us, saying, 1 4 That which we have seen 
 and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have 
 fellowship with us.” “ O taste and see that the Lord 
 is good, blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” 
 
 I was little more than sixteen when I began ; and 
 from this period I was called to preach with no little 
 frequency ; and before I was of age, I had preached, I 
 believe, near a thousand sermons; for in all our 
 places, then, we always preached three times on the 
 Sabbath with some week-day services. 
 
 While I was at Marlborough, and after I had begun 
 preaching, with considerable acceptance and success, 
 it was inquired by some of those who had contributed 
 to my educational support, and who were themselves 
 moderate Episcopalians, whether it should be proposed 
 to me to go to the University, and enter the church ; 
 but Sir Richard Hill and John Thornton the philan- 
 thropist* decided against it saying, “God has opened 
 
 * In an article furnished by Sir James Stephen to the Edinburgh 
 Review for July, 1844, and entitled “The Clapham Sect,” is the fol- 
 lowing allusion to the subject of this note : “ John Thornton was a 
 
 merchant renowned in his generation for a munificence more than 
 princely, and consecrated to the reverence of posterity by the let- 
 ters and poetry of Cowper. He was one of those rare men in whom 
 the desire to relieve distress assumes the form of a master passion ; 
 and if faith be due to tradition, he indulged it with a disdain, al- 
 ternately ludicrous and sublime, of the good advice which the ec- 
 centric have to undergo from the judicious. Conscious of no aims 
 but such as may invite the scrutiny of God and man, he pursued 
 them after his own fearless fashion, yielding to every honest impuls% 
 
THE BEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 45 
 
 the young man’s mouth, and for years to come we dare 
 not shut it, while there are so many immediate 
 and pressing calls for exertion.” But for this I have 
 reason to believe Mr. Winter would have had then no 
 objection to the proposal. As it was not made to my- 
 
 relishing a frolic ’when it fell in his way, choosing his associates in 
 scorn of mere worldly precepts, and worshipping with any fellow 
 Christian whose heart beat in unison with his own, however inhar- 
 monious might be some of the Articles of their respective creeds.” 
 
 Mr. Thornton was an Episcopalian, and an intimate friend of the 
 Rev. John Newton, of St. Mary Woolnoth. His benevolence was as 
 unsectarian as his general habits, and “ he stood ready,” said Mr. 
 Cecil, “ to assist a beneficent design in every party, but would be 
 the creature of none.” Hence, in conjunction with Mr. Newton, and 
 some excellent men among the Dissenters, he was mainly instru- 
 mental in establishing, and for awhile supporting a Dissenting Acad- 
 emy at Newport Pagnell, which was placed under the tuition of the 
 Rev. William Bull, whose son the Rev. T. P. Bull, and grandson the 
 Rev. Josiah Bull, continued till its recent extinction to conduct its 
 studies ; and who exhibited the very rare occurrence of men of three 
 generations being pastors of the same .church, and tutors in the 
 same college. Mr. Thornton, as intimated above, extended his pat- 
 ronage and pecuniary assistance to the institution at Marlborough, 
 under the direction of the Rev. Cornelius Winter, and thus was 
 brought into connection with Mr. Jay, towards whose support he 
 contributed while passing through his academic course. 
 
 Mr. Thornton spent myriads of pounds in the purchase of livings 
 for Evangelical preachers ; in the erection and enlargement of places 
 of worship, both in the Church of England and among Dissenters • 
 in sending out Bibles and religious books by his ships to various 
 parts of the world ; and in numerous other ways. Nor was his be- 
 neficence confined exclusively to religious objects. ‘‘Mr. Newton,” 
 says Mr. Bull, in a letter I lately received from him, “ told my fa- 
 ther, that while he (Mr. N.) was at Olney, he had received from Mr. 
 Thornton more than £2,000 for the poor of that place. He not only,” 
 continues Mr. Bull, “ gave largely, but he gave wisely. He kept a 
 regular account (not for ostentation or the gratification of vanity, 
 but for method) of every pound he gave in a large ledger which he 
 •once showed me. I was then a boy, and I remarked on every page 
 
46 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 self. I was neither required to consent nor refuse ; 
 though, had I been, the latter I am persuaded would 
 have been the result. My views upon some subjects 
 have always been firm , though moderate, and allowing 
 me to distinguish between preference and exclusion, 
 and leaving every one to follow his own conviction.* 
 
 One of the advantages of a smaller academy like 
 that at Marlborough was its assuming a kind of do- 
 mestic character, and associating us more with the tu- 
 tor himself. A freer and more intimate access to the 
 tutor is sadly wanting in some, yea, I fear in all our 
 public institutions. It is not enough for the student 
 
 was an appropriate text. With him, his givings were made a mat- 
 ter of business, as Cowper says in an Elegy he wrote upon him — 
 
 “ Thou hadst an industry in doing good. 
 
 Restless as his who toils and sweats for food.” 
 
 Such was the man to whom Mr. Jay stood indebted in part for his 
 support during the term of his education. The good Churchman, 
 and the eminent Nonconformist, have met in that world where these 
 designations have no place ; and does the one regret that he lifted 
 his hand above the ecclesiastical barriers to extend his beneficence 
 to him that stood on the other side of it ? Or does the other blush 
 to recollect that he stood indebted to the Churchman for his love 
 and liberality ? Such mention as this is due to Mr. Thornton in the 
 present volume. 
 
 * Referring to this subject many years after in a letter, he says, — 
 
 “ Our preaching is too commonly of a cast I am sorry to say not 
 the most calculated to do good. The mathematics and classics are 
 good in their places ; but unless men have something else, they will 
 never make ministers of the New Testament. How thankful I am 
 that I did not when a student (as some of my Episcopalian support- 
 ers recommended) leave Mr. Winter’s to go to Oxford, where I must 
 have been five or six years before I could be ordained ; when during 
 that time I was preaching the gospel to thousands, and saving souls.” 
 Bath July 14, 1846. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 47 
 
 to hear his tutor regularly and formally lecture. 
 There are things of great importance, especially to his 
 experience, and conduct, and character, some of which 
 are too delicate, and many of which are too minute, to 
 be here brought forward. These can only be supplied 
 properly by personal intercourse and converse. In 
 this respect (oh that I had profited more by it !) I had 
 a peculiar privilege ; for, as I was so young, Mr. Win- 
 ter felt a more parental relation towards me ; and, be- 
 sides the freedom we all had in the family, he never 
 walked out in the morning or evening but I was al- 
 ways by his side. I frequently also accompanied him 
 when he took an excursion for a few days from home. 
 With what gratitude do I look back to these hours, 
 and thank God for my distinguished intimacy with 
 such a celestial spirit, and how often has it led me to 
 exclaim — 
 
 “ When one that holds communion with the skies, 
 
 Has filled his urn where those pure waters rise, 
 
 And once more mingles with us meaner things, 
 
 ’Tis even as if an angel shook his wings ; 
 
 Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide, 
 
 That tells us whence his treasures are supplied.” 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 [As an appendix to this letter, we should have been 
 happy to supply notices of some of those who were 
 in the Marlborough Academy along with Mr. Jay. 
 But his allusions to them are neither clear nor numer- 
 ous. W e are not informed how many students at a 
 time were under Mr. Winter’s care. Several of those 
 who were there during Mr. Jay’s term or afterwards 
 became ministers of great excellence ; and one at least 
 
48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 of the number attained a degree jf popularity and 
 usefulness only inferior to that of Mr. Jay. We refer 
 to the late excellent Mr. Griffin, of Portsea, of whom 
 a separate memoir was published some years since. 
 The following List of Students in Mr. Winter’s acad- 
 emy is most probably incomplete ; but it is the best 
 we can furnish : — 
 
 Rev. W. Jay 
 
 . Bath. 
 
 u 
 
 Mr. Surman ... 
 
 . Cliesliam, Bucks. 
 
 it 
 
 “ Yockney . . . 
 
 . Staines, Middlesex. 
 
 a 
 
 " Wood .... 
 
 . Died while a Student. 
 
 tt 
 
 “ Hogg 
 
 . Entered the Church. 
 
 ti 
 
 “ Cliff 
 
 . Frome. 
 
 u 
 
 “ Sloper 
 
 , Plymouth. 
 
 u 
 
 “ Golding. . . . . 
 
 , Fulwood. 
 
 a 
 
 “ Griffin . . . , 
 
 . Portsea. 
 
 u 
 
 “ Underhill . . . . 
 
 
 it 
 
 " Richardson . . . 
 
 Frampton. 
 
 « 
 
 “ Daniel 
 
 Kingswood. 
 
 it 
 
 4< Lane 
 
 Wells. 
 
LETTER VI. 
 
 APPLICATIONS FOR 11 THE BOY PREACHER.” — INTRODUCTION TO REY. 
 ROWLAND HILL. — FIRST VISIT TO SURRY , CHAPEL.— HIS INTER- 
 COURSE WITH REY. JOHN NEWTON AND REY. JOHN RYLANP. — INVI- 
 TATIONS TO SETTLE IN LONDON. — HIS INTRODUCTION TO MISS DA- 
 VIES.— RESIDENCE AT CHRISTIAN M ALFORD. — HIS FAREWELL SER- 
 MON, AND MR. WINTER’S ADDRESS TO THE READER. 
 
 My dear Children, — I hardly know how it was 
 that I succeeded in preaching from time to time in such 
 a degree as I did. But I could not be ignorant of the 
 acceptance I met with, and the numbers who followed 
 me ; nor did my too fond and partial tutor keep from 
 me so often as he should have done, the applications 
 he had for “the boy preacher.” I am convinced my 
 motives at this time were right ; for gain and fame 
 seemed perfectly out of the question. This simplicity 
 of intention much helped me in studying and speak- 
 ing; for it is only as the eye is single that the whole 
 body is full of light. 
 
 After having for some time been confined to village 
 efforts, I was elevated to preach occasionally in some of 
 the respectable congregations both in the neighboring 
 and remoter towns. Here also I found favor ; and 
 from report and observation I began to think I 
 possessed something more than I had formerly been 
 
 3 
 
50 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 aware of, and I supposed (I trust I may say this with- 
 out arrogan ce) what it was, and that it might be im- 
 proved ; and that it would be my wisdom to adhere 
 chiefly to it. I knew some attainments were not in my 
 power ; and that few individuals ever had talent 
 enough to excel in many , or even in several things. A 
 remark had struck me in reading Johnson’s Life of 
 Watts, in which he says, “The reason why the an- 
 cients surpassed the moderns was their greater modes- 
 ty. They had a juster conception of the limitation of 
 human powers; and, despairing of universal eminence, 
 they confined their application to one thing, instead of 
 expanding it over a wider surface.” 
 
 I cannot deny that even at this time I felt enough to 
 excite and encourage a moderate hope that by the 
 blessing of God in the diligent use of means, I might 
 become a preacher of some little distinction. The 
 work also appeared the noblest under heaven, and to 
 be a sufficient employment in itself. To this, therefore 
 (not entirely neglecting other things), I resolved more 
 peculiarly to dedicate myself, keeping as much as pos- 
 sible from encroachments, and endeavoring to make 
 everything not only subordinate but subservient to 
 my chosen and beloved aim. 
 
 Nor, though it may seem vain, could I state things 
 truly and fully unless I observed also that I perceived 
 some common failings in preaching which I thought 
 might be avoided, and some sources of attraction, im- 
 pression, and improvement, that might at least be es- 
 sayed with propriety. Of course I refer more immedi- 
 ately to the state of the pulpit in the religious connec- 
 tions in which I moved. It is probable my meaning 
 will be explained and exemplified before the close of 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 51 
 
 these letters. But in what I have here intimated I am 
 certain I judged from my own views and feelings. I 
 also left nothing to mere speculation. I tried the case, 
 in some humble degree, and my conviction was in- 
 creased by a measure of success. 
 
 As I was now leaving Mr. Winter, after too short 
 and imperfect a course of preparation, I came in con- 
 tact with the Rev. Rowland Hill, who, with the per- 
 mission and approbation of my tutor, engaged me for 
 a season to go to London, to supply Surrey Chapel. 
 This indeed was a formidable engagement, but I was 
 carried through it far beyond my expectations. The 
 place, though so large, was soon crowded to excess ; 
 and when I preached my last sermon, the yard before 
 the dwelling-house was filled with the lingering multi- 
 tude, who would not disperse till I had bidden them 
 farewell from the window.* 
 
 This visit to London was, with regard to myself, a 
 very important and influential event. It gave me an 
 enlarged publicity. f It led to a friendship between 
 Mr. Hill and myself which continued till his death. 
 
 * As nearly as we have been able to ascertain by a comparison 
 of dates, this first visit to Surrey Chapel, which had so important an 
 influence upon the subsequent career of Mr. Jay, took place in the 
 year 1788. 
 
 f In the Preface to the Sermon entitled “The Wife’s Advocate/' 
 Mr. Jay relates the following fact relative to this visit: — 
 
 “When the author, if he may be excused a reference to himself* 
 quite a youth, first went to London, and wa3 all anxiety to hear the 
 preachers of the famed metropolis, he was told by a friend that if he 
 
 wished to hear a good doctrinal sermon, he must hear Mr. ; 
 
 if an experimental, he must hear Mr. ; and if a practical, he 
 
 must hear Mr. ■. And he well remembers simply asking, 
 
 “ But is there no minister here who preaches all these ? I should 
 rather hear him.” 
 
52 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 It involved me in an engagement to supply Surrey 
 Chapel for a number of Sabbaths annually. It 
 brought me into a very intimate intercourse with, and 
 subserviency to, that extraordinary character, the Rev. 
 John Eyland, of Northampton, the father of the late 
 Dr. Ryland, of Bristol. It placed me under the notice, 
 and gave me a share in the affection, of that most es- 
 timable man of God, the Rev. John Newton, rector of 
 St. Mary’s, Woolnoth; and it also laid the foundation 
 of my acquaintance with, and admiration of, your en- 
 tirely beloved and esteemed mother. 
 
 Before I left town I received applications to settle ; 
 but owing to my yonth, and being anxious before I 
 became a pastor to secure more preparation for the of 
 fice, I declined them all, and retired to Christian Mai 
 ford, near Chippenham. This was a small but to me 
 an interesting village, as I had often preached there 
 while a student, and as here Mr. Winter himself for 
 some time had resided, and labored in his earlier min- 
 istry, as may be seen in his memoirs. My salary was 
 to be £35 a-year ; but my wants were few, and a con- 
 siderable tradesman (who had married Mr. Winter’s 
 niece) promised to board me gratuitously. Here I 
 was rich compared with the prophet in the house of the 
 Shunamite, who had only u a little chamber on the 
 wall, and a bed., and a table, and a stool, and a candle- 
 stick.” I was therefore as to accommodation and pro- 
 vision perfectly satisfied, and free from all worldly care. 
 
 Here (it was much my wish in going there) I hoped 
 to find abstraction, and to pursue my improvement. 
 But my design and expectation failed me in no small 
 degree. My own stock of books was very scanty, 
 and there was no public library to which I could have 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 53 
 
 access. My purse did not allow me to buy, and there 
 was no one from whom I could borrow. I had also 
 become previously too well known in most of our 
 neighboring congregations to be left unsolicited when 
 they had a lack of service. I was, therefore, urged 
 constantly to preach abroad, and I had not the courage 
 and firmness which time gives one, to say “ No” to 
 importunity; for, as Mr. Cecil remarks, “A minister 
 should never be to be had.” 
 
 Here in my little volume of life you will have to 
 turn over another leaf. In the meantime, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 [The reader will, we trust, not be displeased at an 
 interruption here for the purpose of introducing to 
 him some extracts from the sermon which Mr. Jay 
 preached and published on the occasion of quitting 
 this his first station. The fact of the very early ap- 
 pearance of this sermon in print, is of itself interest- 
 ing ; but the great excellence of the farewell words 
 from so young a minister will gratify all who admire 
 Mr. Jay’s character and writings, but few of whom 
 can ever have seen that sermon. It so pleased his 
 excellent tutor, that, though he had before dissuaded 
 him from printing when urged by partial friends, yet 
 he not only consented to the publication of this sermon, 
 but himself wrote a prefatory address to the reader, 
 which, as it is an expression of affectionate regard for 
 Mr. Jay and a relic of the excellent tutor, we shall in- 
 sert it entire, together with so much of Mr. Jay’s ser- 
 mon as refer* to the solemn farewell.] 
 
54 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 EXTRACT FROM HIS FAREWELL SERMON PREACHED AT 
 CHRISTIAN MALFORD. 
 
 [Mr. Winter’s “Address to the Reader,” prefixed to 
 this sermon, is so interesting in reference to Mr. Jay, 
 that we are persuaded our readers will be happy to 
 read it.] 
 
 Mr. Winter's “ Address to the Reader .” 
 
 Soon after Mr. J ay’s public appearance several of 
 his friends were desirous of reading some of those ser- 
 mons which they had heard with pleasure. I had in- 
 fluence enough with him to overrule the motion, and 
 my reasons for interfering may easily be conjectured. 
 The subjects were common, and in a variety of forms 
 had been treated by the most able ministers, whose 
 years and experience gava weight to their observa- 
 tions. 
 
 The sermon preached at the opening of Mr. Tup- 
 pen’s Chapel at Bath, however, found its way to the 
 press, through the request of many who heard it. The 
 subsequent sermon is published at my particular de- 
 sire. On being informed of the impression it made at 
 the time of delivery, I desired to read it. I cannot 
 but think it will gratify some, as it did me, — no doubt 
 it will those who heard it preached. It was the pro- 
 duction of a Saturday evening, and the writer had not 
 the most distant thoughts of its coming abroad. A 
 special notice taken of, and an address made to, indi- 
 viduals of a congregation in the body of a discourse 
 such as Mr. and Mrs. Prior received, is unusual, but 
 local circumstances justified it on the present occasion ; 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 55 
 
 and it may serve as a specimen of tlie difficulty with 
 which the Gospel is supported in many of our vil- 
 lages. My principal design in this advertisement is to 
 lake the blame of the publication to myself, if it de- 
 serves any, and to screen the youth from reflection. 
 Whether it will be thought wise or weak by the 
 'speculatist is not, I am persuaded, what Mr. Jay will 
 be concerned about, so much as whether it may con- 
 duce to answer the end he had in view when he 
 preached it, — the profit of many that they may be 
 saved, and for which he is willing to renounce the 
 praise of man. If I mistake not, the sermon is ex- 
 pressive of a proper spirit, and may safely be imitated 
 by young men, who too frequently break their first 
 connections with acrimony and reflection, that betrays 
 resentment of injuries, either real or imaginary, and 
 impatience of contradiction. 
 
 Like all other congregations, that at Christian Mal- 
 ford has those in it who are not properly sensible of 
 the blessings of the Gospel, — are prone to cavil at 
 what they have, and to want what they have not. But 
 the best and the greatest part are otherwise minded. 
 It is a poor congregation, which has undergone many 
 revolutions, and includes a small society over which I 
 was ordained ; and with which, from my great attach- 
 ment to rural retirement, I had a desire to live and 
 die. Though I left them of necessity, I intended to 
 give them all the assistance I could, and when I 
 opened my little seminary, I had my eye upon them 
 as a proper people with whom my young friends might 
 with advantage make their first exertions. They have 
 shared as largely in Mr. Jay’s affections as they have of 
 mine, but I never supposed he would continue with them. 
 
56 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 He who stations the stars, has the disposal of his min- 
 isters ; and in subordination to his wise and righteous 
 appointment, the qualification of ministers should de- 
 termine the propriety of their situation. 
 
 Men of the most distinguished ability, if disposed 
 to exert themselves, might diffuse their light where it 
 would be improper for them to fix their residence ; 
 and by their occasional services might help such in- 
 digent country congregations as that at Christian Mal- 
 ford to advantage. The. necessity of raising and pre- 
 serving such societies is obvious to a thinking man, 
 influenced with proper zeal for the spread of vital 
 godliness. Parochial instruction is, in general, too 
 superficial and abstruse. It does not enough respect 
 the first principles of religion ; and what it does in- 
 culcate is without that solemnity, fervor, and perspic- 
 uity that is necessary to render it effectual. As the 
 poor want more condescension than in common is 
 shown to them, so their minds require more labor than 
 in general is bestowed upon them. An attention to 
 this I always inculcated upon Mr. Jay ; and, blessed 
 be God, he has learned to stoop to the child. If I de- 
 tain the reader a moment longer from the sermon, it 
 is only to add a hint on the importance of my breth- 
 ren in the ministry making such congregations as that 
 we refer to the object of their benevolent attention, as 
 far as circumstances will admit. The tedious hours 
 of many old people are hereby well employed, and 
 their minds fed with knowledge. Mothers of young 
 children, who by maternal duties are prevented from 
 going far distant from their habitations, partake of the 
 benefit ; and servants who are restricted in their time 
 find their advantage from it. The glory of God and 
 
!he rev. william jay. 
 
 57 
 
 the salvation of souls are concerned in it. By this 
 means living expositors supply the place of printed 
 expositions ; and a propef attention being paid to the 
 narrow capacity of the poor illiterate peasants, their 
 understanding is informed, while their affections^are ani- 
 mated. By the blessing of God upon our endeavors, 
 they acquire proper ideas of a church, and without en- 
 gaging in the clamors of controversy, silently and 
 modestly organize themselves into such societies as 
 they have examples of in the Sacred Records. Though 
 they may be destitute of the splendor of the world, 
 they have the sanction of God, and the neighboring 
 minister or evangelical student — for they are incom- 
 petent to support a pastor — finds pleasure and profit. 
 But every such village has not the advantage of a stu- 
 dent disposed or permitted to lay out himself, and be- 
 stow the first fruits of his studies upon its inhabitants, 
 and the accomplished academic thinks it too great a 
 stoop for him to make. The luxuries of the study, 
 the laborious attention given to the turning of the 
 period, the ceremonious and time-wasting visits, and 
 the large portion of time spent in decorating his per- 
 son, prevent attention to the pursuit after souls in this 
 humble way. We admire, then, the providence of 
 God that selects from the laity, men of genius and 
 spirituality more than sufficient to supply their place, 
 nor do we startle though they should be called Method- 
 ists. By the effect of their labors, we perceive them 
 to be the servants of the Most High God, who show 
 unto men the way of salvation, and contribute to the 
 common cause of Christianity. That a reserve of such 
 a blessing may be always made for the people who 
 heard, and now may read, the subsequent sermon ; and 
 
 3 * 
 
58 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 that the word may be preached in power, and in the 
 Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, is the prayer of 
 their affectionate and devoted friend, 
 
 Cornelius Winter. 
 
 CONCLUSION OF MR. JAY’S FAREWELL SERMON, AT CHRISTIAN 
 M ALFORD. 
 
 We are now dissolving a very tender connection, and 
 it yields matter for mutual humiliation. My success 
 has not equalled my acceptance. It becomes you to 
 inquire what on your part has prevented it ; and with 
 sorrow to lament that you have not improved the help 
 you have enjoyed. But all the blame is not yours, and, 
 upon a review of my labors, I need not winder that 
 so little good has been done. Pride and levity — the 
 want of spirituality of mind, zeal for God, and love 
 for souls, have corrupted my services, and rendered 
 them unsuccessful. Infirmities, natural and sinful, I 
 have had many. I repent that I have had no more 
 fervency and importunity with you about the concerns 
 of eternity. O, eternity ! eternity ! — that thou hast 
 been no more on the lip of the preacher, and in the 
 ear of the hearer! Yet, blessed be God, I have the 
 testimony of my own mind, and I hope of yours also, 
 that I have not walked in craftiness, nor handled the 
 word of God deceitfully ; but by manifestation of the 
 truth commended myself to every man ? s conscience in 
 the sight of God. Those principles only have been in- 
 culcated upon you which I believed to be consistent 
 with the oracles of truth. Having explained the doc- 
 trine, and enforced the practice, of the gospel — having 
 paid equal regard to the moral and spiritual part of the 
 Word — and having kept back nothing that was essen- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 59 
 
 tial for yon to know or do, “ 1 have not slinnned to 
 declare unto you the whole counsel of God.” Having 
 described the guilt of sin, warned the sinner of his 
 danger, directed him where to flee for refuge, and tes- 
 tified repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, “ I take you to record, that I am pure 
 from the blood of all men.” What my doctrine and 
 manner of life have been is known to you ; and what 
 my aim and intent has been is known to God. Re- 
 specting the former, I have endeavored “in simplicity 
 and godly sincerity, not by fleshly wisdom, but by the 
 grace of God, to have my conversation in the world ; 
 but more abundantly to you-ward.” Respecting the 
 latter, I have had the salvation of your souls at heart ; 
 “ for God is my record, how greatly I long after you 
 all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. Brethren, my 
 heart’s desire and prayer to God for you is that you 
 may be saved.” With this view, I would now close 
 the subject by reciting a few doctrines, giving you my 
 thanks, and expressing my wishes, fears, and advice. 
 
 The doctrines which you have heard, and which we 
 pray God may ever sound from this pulpit, include 
 man’s depravity, the redemption of the soul by the 
 blood of Christ, justification by his obedience, and 
 sanctification by his Spirit — or faith and holiness. 
 “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and 
 “ without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Where 
 there is faith there will be holiness, and true holiness 
 always springs from faith in Christ. The believer dis- 
 claims merit, but delights in obedience, and walks be- 
 fore God in newness of life. It would be easy to 
 prove of what importance such doctrines are. Be well 
 grounded in them, and pay more attention to them , 
 
60 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 than to those which are of less moment, and which 
 have furnished the world with matter for endless con- 
 troversy. “ Contend earnestly for” these important 
 articles of “ the faith once delivered to the saints,” and 
 beware of hearing or receiving a man who opposes 
 them, lest ye be partaker of his evil deeds. “Be ye 
 not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, 
 for it is a good thing for the heart to be established 
 with grace.” 
 
 My thanks are due for the respect you have paid 
 me, and for your desires of my continuance. While 
 the love of many cannot be overlooked, it would be 
 very remiss, were I not to notice the kindness of some 
 present, which reflects the greater honor on them, and 
 lays me under peculiar obligations. Our united thanks 
 are due to our dear friends with whom I have resided. 
 Under God, we have been indebted to them for my 
 coming and continuance here. Being unable to sup- 
 port a minister yourselves, I could not have lived 
 among you, had they not generously invited me to 
 their house, and given me my comfortable subsistence. 
 Nor are they unwilling of my continuance ; but have 
 earnestly desired me to continue my connection with 
 their family. “ That which was lacking on your part, 
 they have supplied ; for they have refreshed my spirit 
 and yours ; therefore acknowledge them that are such.” 
 There can be no impropriety, my honored friends, in 
 making this public acknowledgment, “ for this thing 
 has not been done in a corner.” You have exerted 
 yourselves to the uttermost in the cause of your Be- 
 deemer ; yea, and beyond your power you have been 
 willing to discover the sincerity of your love. “Now 
 be that ministereth seed to the sower, both minister 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 61 
 
 bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and 
 increase the fruits of your righteousness.” Remember, 
 “ God is not unrighteous to forget your work of faith, 
 and labor of love.” Beloved, I wish above all things 
 that you may prosper in your body, soul, and family. 
 May your dear children u know the Lord God of their 
 parents, and serve him with a perfect heart and will- 
 ing mind 1” 
 
 My wishes respect your welfare as individuals, and 
 a society ; that you may order your conversation 
 aright, and love one another with a pure heart fer- 
 vently ; that there may be no root of bitterness spring- 
 ing up among you ; no divisions and contentions ; but 
 that you may live in peace, and the God of peace be 
 with you ; that religion may be visible in the power 
 and practice of it, and that you may neither be barren 
 nor unfruitful in the kingdom of God ! May the seed 
 which has been sown yet spring up, and bring forth 
 much fruit ; may the Lord provide a supply for you, 
 and render future labors more successful ! While I 
 am thus expressing the wishes of my soul, may you be 
 able to say, u The Lord grant thee thy heart’s desire, 
 and fulfil all thy petitions 1” 
 
 My fears are great and many. I fear lest I have 
 bestowed labor upon you in vain. I fear you have 
 been instructed, warned, exhorted, to no purpose. I 
 fear that while you have been hearing of an inherit- 
 ance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away, there are many of you who have no part nor lot 
 in the matter, but are still in the gall of bitterness and 
 bond of iniquity. If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to 
 them that are :ost. And are there none among you 
 to whom this Gospel is hid? Hid as to the light? 
 
62 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 Hid as to the power of it? Are there not many 
 blind minds, hardened hearts, ungodly lives? But, 
 God be thanked ! there are a few, who, though they 
 were the servants of sin, have obeyed from the heart 
 that form of doctrine which was delivered them. O 
 that it was the case with you all ! I would not leave 
 one unconverted person. O how happy would it be 
 to leave you all in a fair way for glory ! But I can- 
 not depart from you so. O, then, ye blind souls, upon 
 whom the light has shined in vain ; ye hardened souls, 
 upon whom the Word has made no impression; ye 
 deluded souls, who have a form of godliness, but deny 
 the power thereof ; — I fear for you, and I will weep 
 in secret, when my tongue cannot reach you. Let my 
 concern be yours. How is it that you are so un- 
 alarmed ? Can you rest secure under such a load of 
 guilt ? Can you expect a certain fearful looking for 
 of judgment, and be unconcerned ? What ! are there 
 so many Sabbaths, sermons, exhortations, gone never 
 to be recalled, and not afraid? Like the jailer, may 
 you fear, and tremble, and cry, “ What shall I do to 
 be saved?” But this is not the case. I have then an- 
 other fear that I must rise up in judgment to condemn 
 you. Dreadful ! What ! be the means of increasing 
 their condemnation whom I would gladly save ? Soon 
 we must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, 
 to give an account of our preaching and hearing? 
 May each of us then be able to do it with joy and not 
 with grief ! It would yield a minister much pleasure, 
 had he reason to conclude that all the people now com- 
 mit ted to his care would then prove his joy and crown 
 of rejoicing. But, should he be unsuccessful, yet if he 
 be faithful, he shall not lose his reward. “ Though 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 63 
 
 Israel be not gathered, yet shall he be glorious in the 
 eyes of the Lord.” “For we are unto God a sweet 
 savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them 
 that perish ; to the one we are a savor of death unto 
 death, and to the other a savor of life unto life.” 
 
 My advice respects you as as sinners and saints. If 
 you are sinners of any description whatever, I exhort 
 you to inquire into your true state, your heinous guilt, 
 your dreadful danger. Lay yourselves open to your 
 inspection. View yourselves in the glass of the law. 
 Believe that you are what the word of God represents 
 you to be, — “ miserable, and wretched, and poor, and 
 blind, and naked.” Pray for the wisdom that cometh 
 from above, that you may know the value of your 
 immortal souls, and the excellency of Jesus Christ. 
 Search the Scriptures with prayer for an understand- 
 ing heart. Depend on Christ alone for salvation. ’Tis 
 at your peril you neglect him. There is none other 
 name by which you can be saved. But in him you 
 will find plenteous redemption. Come, and welcome. 
 He will not cast you out. He waits to be gracious. 
 
 And you, my dear young friends, what shall I say 
 to you? My heart feels for you. The enemy of souls 
 eyes you as his prey; disappoint his hope. Beware 
 of the snares of the world, and particularly of an evil 
 heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 
 Give up yourselves to the Lord by an early dedication, 
 and you will find that his ways are ways of pleasant- 
 ness and all his paths peace. Your tears now at my 
 departure show your affection for me. You have 
 given many evidences of it. Give one more. ’Tis 
 mj r parting request. Recollect the many exhortations 
 I have given you. Remember your Creator in the 
 
64 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 days of your youth. Seek him early, and you shall 
 find him. 
 
 I can rejoice with those of you who know the Lord. 
 You have begun well, but you must go forward and 
 hold out to the end. Pray for an increase of grace. 
 Let the Lord always be before you. Converse much 
 with him, and keep up a holy, happy communion. 
 Live in continual dependence on his mercy and power 
 for every supply you need. Act for his honor and 
 praise. Prefer this to all pleasure and interest of your 
 own. Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you 
 do, do all to the glory of God. Grow not indifferent 
 in his service, but be zealous for every good word and 
 work. And, as you would be happy in time or eter- 
 nity, be ye holy in all manner of conversation and 
 godliness, looking for the blessed hope and the glorious 
 appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Herein I give my advice. W ere these to be my last 
 words, I know not what I could press upon you of 
 greater importance. Let me prevail with you to have 
 a proper regard to what has been said, and remember 
 it has been given out of love to your best and eternal 
 interest. ? Tis not because I seek myself, but your sal- 
 vation, that I thus speak. I utter the dictates of affec- 
 tion. Let, then, the parting advice of one who sin- 
 cerely loves you be received and followed. “ Where- 
 fore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch 
 as ye know your labor shall not be in vain in the 
 Lord. Only let your conversation be as becometh the 
 Gospel, that whether I come and see you, or else am 
 absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 65 
 
 in one spirit, with, one mind striving together for the 
 faith of the Gospel. And now, brethren, I commend 
 you to God, and the word of his grace, which is able 
 to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among 
 them that are sanctified. Finally, brethren, farewell . 
 Be perfect ; be of good comfort ; be of one mind ; live 
 in peace, and the God of peace shall be with you,” 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 MEETS W ,TH LADY MAXWELL : — SUPPLIES HOPE OHAPEL AT THE HOT- 
 WELLS .* — iCQUAINTANCE WITH THE REY. T. TUPPEN : — PREACHES 
 
 DURING HIS ILLNESS : OPENING OF AEGYLE CHAPEL, BUILT FOR 
 
 MR. TUPPEN: — EXTRACTS FROM HIS SERMON ON THE OCCASION: — 
 
 DYING CHAMBER OF MR. TUPPEN : UNANIMOUS INVITATION OF 
 
 MR. JAY TO THE PASTORATE ORDINATION SERVICE : MR. JAY’S 
 
 CONFESSION OF FAITH : EXTRACT FROM MR. WINTER’S CHARGE TO 
 
 THE PASTOR : — -ADDRESS BY ME. JAY PREFIXED TO THE ORDINA- 
 TION SERVICE. 
 
 My dear Children, — After more than a year in 
 the situation I have described, and where my improve- 
 ment was not great (though it might have been great- 
 er with more prudence and diligence), I met with Lady 
 Maxwell in Bristol, to whom now belonged Hope 
 Chapel at the Hotwells. I hardty know how it was 
 (for I did not feel entirely convinced of the propriety 
 of the measure), but she prevailed upon me to supply 
 this chapel, which had not been very long opened. 
 My preaching always filled the place, and I hope good 
 was done. I not only heard of various instances of 
 conversion, but three of those who were awakened by 
 my labors while there became preachers themselves, 
 were ordained over congregations, and died in the 
 faith of Christ. 
 
 Here I continued about twelve months, and here it 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 67 
 
 is probable I should still have continued (as 1 was 
 pressed both by her ladyship and the people to be- 
 come the stated minister) ; but a difference with the 
 sub-governess, who managed, during her ladyship’s 
 absence in Scotland, the temporal concerns (and who 
 had no objection to interfere with the spiritual), ac- 
 tuated me to resolve to withdraw. Perhaps there was 
 mutual blame, as there generally is in such cases ; and 
 therefore the apostle says, “ forgiving one another,” as 
 if it were necessary for the pardon to pass from side 
 to side. However this was, I certainly considered 
 Mrs. C. an excellent woman, and I respect her memory, 
 and am not ignorant how God blessed her endeavors 
 with her children. But, with all my regard for the 
 sex, and submission in domestic affairs, I do not plead 
 for female ecclesiastical rule, whether supreme or sub- 
 ordinate. 
 
 The Lord determines the bounds of our habitations ; 
 and the events that move us from one place to another 
 are as much under the direction of his providence, as 
 the fiery cloudy pillar which was the conductor of the 
 Israelites in the wilderness. But on what apparently 
 casual and slender causes do consequences the most 
 interesting in our history often hinge ! At the very 
 time of this difference came an invitation from the In- 
 dependent Church at Bath, then destitute by the death 
 of their very able and worthy pastor, Rev. Thomas 
 Tuppen. This (as I was no stranger to the place and 
 the people, having several times preached there during 
 their pastor’s indisposition) I soon accepted ; and so 
 my residence was fixed in that far-famed city. 
 
 I know not whether it is common for persons not to 
 seem to themselves at home till they are in the proper 
 
68 . 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 places designed for them. I know it was thus with 
 me. I never felt that I was where I ought to be, or 
 was likely to remain, till I became, as a preacher, an 
 inhabitant of Bath ; but from that time I said, “ This 
 is my destination, whatever be its duties or trials 
 and it was additionally satisfying to understand that 
 this was the conviction of all my friends and brethren 
 in the Gospel. This being the case, and as I have 
 been there for more than fifty -three years, 
 
 “ Preliminary to the last retreat,” 
 
 and as so much of my ministry is connected with it, 
 it may be expected that I should notice what led 
 to it. 
 
 Here, again, I am not going to insinuate anything 
 supernatural, but several rather striking circumstances 
 concurred to produce the result ; and “ whoso is wise 
 and will observe these things, even he shall understand 
 the loving kindness of the Lord.” 
 
 During my first visit to Surrey Chapel, already men- 
 tioned, Mr. Tuppen happened to be in London, and 
 frequently heard me there. After his return to Bath, 
 he spoke of me with much kindness of manner to 
 many of his people. Hence, when he was laid aside 
 by sickness, the deacons applied to me (being then at 
 Christian Malford) to supply for a season their lack of 
 service. I complied ; and considering what was to fol- 
 low, my first text has been since frequently remarked : 
 it was,- — “ What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou 
 shalt know hereafter.” Mr. Tuppen after a short time 
 revived, but soon relapsed again, and his illness was 
 severe and long ; yet some fond hopes were entertained 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 69 
 
 of his recovery, and this occasioned delay in the open- 
 ing of Argyle Chapel, which, encouraged by the 
 promised help of Lady Glenorchy, and excited by 
 his growing success, he had been induced to build ; 
 for he naturally wished (and his hearers also) that he 
 who had been the instrument to rear it, should open 
 :t himself. At length, however, it was deemed ex- 
 pedient to wait no longer for the dedication ; I was 
 therefore applied to for this purpose, and preached 
 both parts of the day. The sermon, particularly suit- 
 ed for the occasion, was from the words, “ The hour 
 cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall 
 worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for the 
 Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit, 
 and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit 
 and in truth.” — John, iv. 23, 24. This sermon was, 
 by desire, published. (The service took place, Oct. 4, 
 1789.) 
 
 [The insertion here of two or three extracts from 
 this sermon, will not be displeasing to the reader. It 
 was the first of all his publications, and displays a ma- 
 turity and correctness of judgment, as well as earnest- 
 ness and simplicity of manner, truly admirable in a 
 minister so young, being then little more than twenty 
 years of age. How gratifying is the consideration 
 that this early promise of excellence was so fully 
 realized, and so long, in the very place, the opening 
 of which so unexpectedly devolved upon him ! Little 
 did he conceive or imagine that that was the begin- 
 ning of days to him, — that he was opening his own 
 and his only chapel, and commencing a pastorate un- 
 usually long, happy, and useful !] 
 
70 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 44 When that universal revival and spread of relig- 
 ion shall commence, by which the earth shall be filled 
 with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
 the seas ; we may expect to come nearer to the wor- 
 ship of the inhabitants of the upper world, and more 
 intimately partake of their joys. Before that event- 
 ful period, ’tis more than probable, many congrega- 
 tions of worshippers will successively occupy this 
 house. Those who at present use it should be con- 
 cerned to know that they are in the number of the 
 true worshippers, lest they should be repulsed when 
 most sanguine about their acceptance, and be denied 
 admission into the company of those 4 nations who are 
 appointed to worship God before the throne.’ ” 
 
 f y, .v- ,y> -V- ,y. 
 
 Tv TV W W 7V 
 
 44 You will soon change your place, but not your 
 employment, only you will worship without weariness, 
 imperfection, or end. If now you can turn to God 
 and say, 4 Lord thou knowest all things, I have loved 
 the habitation of thine house, and the place where 
 thine honor dwelleth, your souls will not be gathered 
 with sinners, nor your lives with bloody men.’ God 
 will receive you to himself, advance you to his tem- 
 ple above, that where he is, there his children may be 
 also. His gracious properties recorded in his word, 
 are not only descriptive of what he has been to his 
 people of old, but of what he is, and of what he will 
 be to his children forever.” 
 
 vfr 
 
 “ God is not confined. He is no respecter of places 
 or persons ; 4 but in every nation he that feareth God 
 and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him. There 
 is now neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, 
 
THE iVEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 1 
 
 bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. For in 
 Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor un- 
 circumcision, but faith which worketh by love.’ It 
 argues our exceeding ignorance when we should limit 
 the Holy One of Israel to temples made with hands ; 
 and when our bigotry and attachment to any par- 
 ticular society lead us to exclaim, 1 The temple of the 
 Lord, the temple of the Lord are we !’ Nothing makes 
 a people dear to God but their conformity to him ; nor 
 a place of worship sacred, but the Divine presence. In 
 point of external sanctity, all places are equal to Him, 
 who hath said, L The heaven is my throne, and the 
 earth is my footstool ; where is the house that ye build 
 unto me/ &c., &c. — Isaiah, lxvi. 1, 2.” 
 
 “ 0 thou God of all grace, send out thy light and 
 thy truth, that all may know thee, from the least even 
 to the greatest ! When the Jew shall be called in, with 
 the fulness of the Gentiles, and when neither in this 
 nor that place only shall men worship the Father, but 
 all shall worship him in spirit and in truth. 
 
 “Let us bless God for revelation, and the extent of 
 its discovery ; for the predictions and promises yet to 
 be accomplished ; for the Gospel which sounds in our 
 „ ears ; for the ordinances upon which we attend ; for 
 every convenience for his worship ; and that 1 we can 
 sit under our own vine and fig-tree, none daring to 
 make us afraid.’ He hath not dealt so with any na- 
 tion ; and as for his judgments, they have not known 
 them. Praise ye the Lord.” 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 “ This being the house of prayer, and the place where 
 the attention of sinners is called to the living God, we 
 have reason to bless the Providence by which it has 
 
72 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 been raised ; and the expression of our gratitude must 
 be enlarged, when we reflect upon the blessing and 
 success that has attended the ministry of our honored 
 but afflicted friend ; by whom a worshipping assembly 
 has been collected, and for whose convenience this 
 building has been erected. We by no means confine the 
 Lord and his work to this house, or suppose the place 
 has any holiness in it, any more than ’tis dedicated to 
 God, and appropriated to his service. ’Tis not built 
 in opposition to our fellow-christians of different per- 
 suasions, but to promote the common interest of 
 Christianity. The population of this respectable city 
 increases, and with it, blessed be God, 4 the number 
 of believers are multiplied.’ Should this house be 
 one of the nurseries of heaven, the end of its erection 
 will be answered. We take it for granted, that the 
 grace of God will prevent our fellow-christians from 
 looking upon it with an envious eye, and lead them to 
 pray for its prosperity ; and that 4 if Christ is preached, 
 they rejoice and will rejoice.’ To the lovers of Ca- 
 tholicism, and those who regard the honor that cometh 
 from God, it must be pleasing to find here a house 
 where the minister of Christ may deliver what he has 
 received from the Lord, though he does not choose to ap- 
 pear under episcopal sanction. May the man of God, 
 through whose instrumentality it was first begun, and 
 whose eyes see it occupied, live long to sound his Re- 
 deemer’s praise therein, and find the fruit of his labors 
 in the conversion of sinners, and increase of grace to 
 all that believe.” 
 
 [Mr. Jay continues his letter thus :] 
 
 When Mr. Tuppen’s recovery was quite despaired 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 73 
 
 of, the deacons of the church repaired to his dying 
 chamber, and expressed a wish to have his advice and 
 recommendation with regard to his successor, observ- 
 ing that though his opinion might not absolutely de- 
 termine the choice of the people, it would tend much 
 to influence, unite, and guide them. He only and in- 
 stantly mentioned my name ; and as this fell in with 
 the conviction and wish, both of the members and the 
 attendants, I was immediately invited to take the pas- 
 torate. I accepted the call, and was in due time or- 
 dained over them in the Lord. At this solemnity my 
 venerated tutor prayed, (I think I hear that prayer 
 now,) and gave me the charge, while the Eev. John 
 Adams of Salisbury preached on the duties of the 
 people. Some things usual on such occasions were 
 waived, and the order of the service altered as well as 
 curtailed. For this some of my brethren censure a me ; 
 and for which I have, nearly ever since, censured my- 
 self. The alteration originated in nothing commenda- 
 ble, — I was for the moment improperly influenced by 
 the friendship and talents of a man who was wanting 
 in sobriety of mind, and often affected singularity. 
 But it is better to gain distinction by regularly going 
 in “the king’s highway,” than by tumbling on the 
 road, or breaking through the hedge. I much approve 
 of the usual method of ordination among our dissenters 
 and their fathers before them. It is lawful, it is ex- 
 pedient, it is profitable, and falls in with the spirit 
 and principles, and rule and mode of the New Testa- 
 ment. I have long been afraid of whims and vagaries, 
 and new discoveries in religion ; and have been con- 
 tent to go forth by the footsteps of the flock, and to 
 walk in the good old way. I have felt increasingly 
 
 4 
 
74 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 disposed to tolerate rather than innovate. I may not 
 admire everything I find in my own party or de- 
 nomination ; but I would not divide from them for 
 every trifling difference of opinion. I must not, in- 
 deed, sin in violating the convictions of my conscience ; 
 but in how many cases may the question and the ad- 
 monition be safely applied, “ Hast thou faith ? have it 
 to thyself before God.” I am, &c. 
 
 [This is the proper place for introducing into the 
 narrative some extracts from the very interesting ser- 
 vice of Mr. Jay’s ordination — particularly his address 
 to his congregation, which is prefixed to the pamphlet — 
 and his own statement of principles, technically called 
 the Confession of Faith. As both these documents 
 have an intimate connection with his autobiography, 
 are not now to be obtained, and possess great intrinsic 
 excellence, we have thought it desirable to preserve 
 them entire, with a short extract from the charge by 
 Mr. Winter.] 
 
 AN ADDRESS TO THE CONGREGATION, PREFIXED TO THE 
 ORDINATION SERVICE. 
 
 Dear and Honored Friends. — Though I was as 
 forward as yourselves for the publication of the other 
 parts of the service, I was averse to the publication of 
 the several thoughts I delivered on the same occasion ; 
 nor should I have sent them abroad, had it not been 
 for repeated solicitation, and for the sake of those im- 
 portant instructions which were not to make their ap- 
 pearance without them. My reluctance did not arise 
 from an over-nice delicacy, or from a fear of the dis- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 75 
 
 covery of my. creed ; but from a persuasion of its in- 
 utility, my sentiments having been all along fully 
 known, and the design of the work of the day equally 
 answered without it. The intention of it was not to 
 bring to light our proceedings — it was not to make a 
 pastor or declare a person to be one — it was not to 
 unite us or to ratify such a union — much less was it 
 to invest with any new power, or authorize an admin- 
 istration of the ordinance. The simple design of it was 
 to receive instruction, in order to impress us with a 
 sense of our mutual duties, and to implore the God of 
 all grace to bless us “ with all spiritual blessings in 
 Christ Jesus.’’ 
 
 As I had taken no minutes of what I delivered, I 
 feared I should be unable to recollect it so far as to 
 give satisfaction ; however, I may venture to say from 
 several testimonies, that the address which you now 
 see is the same which you lately heard. I did not 
 absolutely determine to say anything on the occasion. 
 I left it to the freedom of my mind, and finding in- 
 clination and liberty, I spake freely, regardless of the 
 studied plan of confessional system. 
 
 The glorious Gospel of the blessed God our Saviour 
 is the great object of our attention as minister and 
 people ; this only am I allowed to preach, this only 
 are you allowed to hear. If I mistake not, the sub- 
 stance is to be found in the following pages. Some, 
 probably, will deem my creed deficient ; such should 
 remember that I have not here delivered all my senti- 
 ments, or everything relative to one of them. It is 
 enough if I believe in my heart and confess with my 
 mouth Jesus Christ and him crucified. The apostle 
 determined to know nothing. in comparison with it. 
 
76 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY CF 
 
 He began his ministry by delivering “first of ail, that 
 which he also received, how that Jesus Christ died for 
 our sins, and was buried, and rose again according to 
 the Scriptures.” And it is more than probable he 
 ended in a similar manner, saying, “ God forbid that I 
 should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.” He is “ the author and finisher of our faith 
 his obedience and sacrifice the alpha and omega of the 
 Gospel. No other foundation can any man lay than 
 that which is laid. u Now if any build upon this found- 
 ation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stub- 
 ble, every man’s work shall be made manifest, for the 
 day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by 
 fire.” Blessed be God, many of you know and are 
 assured that the fall of man, the redemption of Christ, 
 the work of the Spirit, and many other things in- 
 separable from them, far from being opinions, are 
 facts — facts which may be opposed — facts which can 
 never be overturned. Perhaps some of you are poor 
 and illiterate, are not able to dispute their truth, or 
 solve the objections with which they have been loaded, 
 — but you are as satisfied of their reality as those who 
 may possess a capacity competent to both. While 
 others are controverting as a notion , whether you are 
 disordered, and whether you are incapable of action, 
 you do not hestitate for a moment ; it is a fact you 
 see, you feel, you groan beneath the sad effects of your 
 deep-rooted malady. While others are controverting 
 as a notion , whether there is such a thing as the sun in 
 the firmament, and whether he benefits the earth, you 
 entertain no doubt it is a fact ; you see its light, you 
 feel its heat, you rejoice in its pleasant influence. To 
 drop metaphor. You are not captives to a blind be- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 77 
 
 lief, nor is your faitli tlie child of folly. You do not 
 receive your religion without proof; for while others 
 who are able may judge from outward, you judge 
 from internal evidence ; — while others who are able 
 may determine from the conviction of the mind, you 
 judge from the conviction of the heart. 
 
 If you “ hold the head,” you will not be “ carried 
 about by strange doctrines.” While others are “ ever 
 learning and never able to come to the knowledge of 
 the truth,” “as you have received Christ Jesus the 
 Lord, so” you will continue to “ walk in him, rooted 
 and built up in him, and established in the faith as ye 
 have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiv- 
 ing.” A disposition for novelty in religious truth is 
 the spring of error running through the flowery field 
 of speculation into the gulf of apostasy. It is the 
 mark of a bad palate when a man is forever seeking 
 fresh food ; and it is an indication of a corrupt mind 
 to despise and neglect common truth. Happy in the 
 possession of what others seek for in vain, you will be 
 satisfied with the word of life which you have known, 
 handled, and tasted. Content with this provision, you 
 will feed and “ grow thereby,” and be nourished up 
 in the words of faith and sound doctrine. While oth- 
 ers are strangers to a peace of understanding, their 
 understanding being perpetually on the search, not 
 knowing where to settle, you will come to a point, and 
 be able to make an absolute, unhesitating conclusion. 
 And while their mind “like a wave of the sea be driven 
 to and fro and tossed” on the ocean of uncertainty, till 
 dashed on the rocks of scepticism or infidelity ; you 
 will continue in the things which you have heard, 
 knowing of whom you have learned them ; and “ your 
 
78 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 hearts will be comforted, being knit together in love, 
 unto all the riches of the full assurance of understand- 
 ing, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, 
 of the Father, and of Christ.” 
 
 You will remember, that by the things which you 
 have heard you are saved, “ if ye keep in memory 
 what has been preached unto you, unless ye have be- 
 lieved in vain.” They are the chief sources of com- 
 fort and the principal motives to duty. “ Ye shall 
 know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 
 It unbinds the captive soul from the chains of sin, and 
 releases him from the bondage of misery. Other doc- 
 trines may bring a few persons on the cold legs of 
 custom to a place of worship, and keep them from 
 some enormous crimes ; but they are not effectual “ to 
 turn a sinner from darkness to light, or the power of 
 Satan to God ;” nor can one instance be proved of any 
 nation, society, or individual experiencing a moral 
 change of nature where these truths have been re- 
 nounced. Therefore, we do not plead for them as 
 mere notions, but truths ; we do not plead for them as 
 mere truths, but as truths essential to our holiness and 
 happiness. If people will show us other doctrines 
 which will better answer the purpose of reforming the 
 wicked, of purifying the heart, of supporting the mind 
 under the sorrows of life, and of enabling the soul to 
 rejoice in the dark valley of the shadow of death with 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory, we will believe. 
 
 But you will observe, that no system of doctrine 
 will serve in the stead of that grace by which the 
 heart is to be renewed, and the life sanctified. Purity 
 of sentiment followed with wicked practice is only 
 “ holding the truth in unrighteousness.” Faith with- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 79 
 
 out works is as the body without the spirit, u dead 
 being alone.” He that cherishes it is a “ vain man.” 
 Would God we knew not where to find such a charac- 
 ter ! But alas ! how numerous are the instances of 
 professors discovering immoderate attachment to “ the 
 present evil world and instead of confessing them- 
 selves to be “ strangers and pilgrims upon earth,” 
 seeking a naturalization into its prohibited customs 
 and delusive honors ! Hence so little savor of grace 
 in their conversation — so little spirituality in their de- 
 votions — so little holiness in their lives ! Be not con- 
 formed to them. “ Adorn the doctrine of God your 
 Saviour in all things.” Let your practice praise your 
 creed, and your lives do honor to your heads. “ Walk 
 worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, as 
 heirs of the grace of eternal life ; joined together in 
 the same mind and in the same judgment, striving to- 
 gether for the faith of the gospel.” In our present 
 connection let us never forget our duty and privilege. 
 “ O house of Israel trust thou in the Lord, he is their 
 help and their shield. G house of Aaron trust thou 
 in the Lord, he is their help and their shield. The 
 Lord hath been mindful of us, he will bless us, he 
 will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house 
 of Aaron. Except the Lord build the house, they la- 
 bor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the 
 city, the watchman waketli but in vain.” u Commit 
 thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he will 
 bring it to pass.” 11 0 satisfy us early with thy mercy, 
 that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let thy 
 work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto 
 their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our 
 God be upon us ; and establish thou the work of our 
 
80 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish 
 thou it.’ 7 
 
 [Mr. Jay’s confession of faith delivered at his ordi- 
 nation, January 80, 1791.] 
 
 A VIEW OF THE GOSPEL ; OR, THE PRINCIPAL MATTER 
 OF AN EVANGELICAL MINISTRY. 
 
 -“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I 
 preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein 
 ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory 
 what I have preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” 
 — 1 Cor. xv. 1 . 
 
 The sacred business in which we are engaged is to 
 commemorate, solemnize, and sanctify by prayer and 
 instruction, the union which the minister and people 
 of this church for a considerable time have formed. 
 
 Such an union should always be formed with a cau- 
 tious regard to the Divine will, an affectionate concern 
 for immortal souls, and a pleasing hope of being help- 
 ers of each other’s joy. It is a work of the greatest 
 importance because of its consequences, for it is not so 
 much a natural as a spiritual connection ; not so much 
 designed for time as eternity ; not so much to be ap- 
 proved, judged, or censured in the present state, as in 
 the future day, when we must all, in our individual, 
 relative, and public capacity, “ give an account of our- 
 selves unto God.” 
 
 u To save us with a holy calling not according to 
 our works, but according to his purpose and grace 
 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” has 
 been the one grand aim of Jehovah, adhered to in 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 81 
 
 eveiy age, in every state of the present system, and 
 universally pursued though all the course of nature 
 and order of Providence. “ Salvation belongeth unto 
 the Lord.” It is his own work. Nor does he detract 
 from his glory as the Author by using instruments to 
 accomplish it. He could have easily done without 
 men, but he is pleased to act with them, and hence 
 some of them are called saviours, the salt of the earth, 
 and the light of the world, because under his Divine 
 influence they communicate spiritual advantage. To 
 make us love one another, which is a great design of 
 religion, God has appointed us to be the means of com- 
 municating his blessings, and under the law made men 
 priests, and under the gospel made ministers “ having 
 infirmity.” 
 
 He has not commissioned any of the higher orders 
 of intelligences, “ thrones or dominions, principalities 
 or powers,” “ the angels that excel in strength and do 
 his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his 
 word,” but descending to earth he has sent forth the 
 sons of men; “Go ye into all the world and preach 
 the gospel to every creature, and, lo ! I am with you 
 always, even unto the end of the world.” “He gave 
 some apostles ; and some prophets ; and some evangel- 
 ists ; and some pastors and teachers ; for the work of 
 the ministry, for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
 edifying of his body the church.” 
 
 He will never fail in his instruments while he has 
 any purpose to bring to pass. He may and he does 
 produce changes in his church, removing one and 
 another ; yet he has always a reserve of instruments in 
 his secret intention, and in the due time they are made 
 manifest. He will never leave his work without wit- 
 
 4 * 
 
82 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 nesses, or suffer those to perish, for want of provision 
 who u commit the keeping of their souls to him ” “ in 
 well doing.” 
 
 I hope, my beloved, that you have seen the truth of 
 this remark in the several steps you have taken since 
 your social connection, and that on the present occa- 
 sion you are ready to utter the memory of his good- 
 ness, in the words of the restored Jews, “ He hath 
 done great things for us whereof we are glad.’* 
 
 Indeed it becomes me to speak with proper modesty 
 on this subject. I am not going to intimate that the 
 Lord has fully repaired your late and deplorable loss.* 
 I am not about to flatter him who now addresses you 
 by placing him on an equality with your dear departed 
 pastor. No. As I am inferior to him in years, so I 
 am inferior to him in grace. As I come behind him 
 in succession of labor, so I come behind him in every 
 natural endowment, in every acquired help, in every 
 spiritual qualification, that can make the shining man, 
 or adorn the illustrious minister. 
 
 I hope, therefore, none will consider the hint which 
 I am going to drop as in the least tending to make 
 you insensible of your affliction in the death of the 
 great man who has fallen in this Israel. While crea- 
 tures decay and die, “ the Creator of the ends of the 
 earth fainteth not, neither is weary ; there is no search- 
 ing of his understanding.” Immutable in his nature, 
 unfrustrable in his designs, “ his council shall stand, 
 and he will do all his pleasure.” The loss of no in- 
 strument, the loss of no set of instruments, shall render 
 his purpose of none effect; “the thoughts of his heart 
 endure to all generations.” Separate from his bless- 
 
 * The Rev. Mr. Tuppen, Mr. Jay’s predecessor. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 83 
 
 ing no good can be done ; and, as all success depends 
 on him, lie can work with one as well as with another. 
 4< Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers 
 by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every 
 man ? So then neither is he that planteth anything, 
 nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. 
 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one ; 
 and every man shall receive his own reward according 
 to his own labor.” 
 
 On this occasion I suppose it is expected that several 
 things will be delivered relative to myself; and be- 
 lieving that it is not only looked for but desired, I 
 have no objection to it. 
 
 Fully satisfied that personal religion is necessary to 
 perform every office in the church with propriety, I 
 should not have entered oil the ministerial work in 
 general, or the pastoral charge in particular, without 
 some satisfactory hope that God had called me by his 
 grace, and revealed his Son in me. An early dedica- 
 tion to God made way for an early dedication to the 
 work of the ministry. I cannot help tracing the hand 
 of God in the whole of this affair. Born to no secular 
 honor, possessed of no fortune, bred up in the shade 
 of obscurity, I had not the least qualification for the 
 work, or the least probability of being brought into it. 
 But the Lord by providential circumstances opened 
 the door, and I was placed under the .care of my dear 
 and honored tutor, Mr. Winter, the best friend I ever 
 had ; to whose character I would bear my public testi- 
 mony ; whose amiable temper, generous disposition, 
 condescending carriage, unceasing friendship I could 
 enlarge upon with pleasure were I not forbid by his 
 presence ; properties which, having been displayed in 
 
84 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 general, and in particular towards me, will ever render 
 his memory dear, and apologize for my feelings on the 
 present occasion. 
 
 By him I was gradually introduced to the ministry, 
 and went out preaching from place to place as oppor- 
 tunity offered, refusing offers of settlement on account 
 of my age, and satisfied that in due time the Lord 
 would make plain the way, and open a door for stated 
 labor. And I cannot help concluding that he has 
 made plain the way to, and opened a door in, this 
 place ; our attachment has been mutual from the be- 
 ginning, our affection has increased upon acquaintance, 
 and I hope our love will flourish through time, and 
 shine bright to all eternity. 
 
 As I have believed, so have I spoken. I have 
 advanced no doctrine from the pulpit which I was 
 not satisfied of in my mind ; nor have I kept back 
 from you anything that I conceived profitable for you 
 to know. I never aimed to deliver my ideas to you 
 in ambiguous terms. I never thought I had a tongue 
 given me to cloak my creed and puzzle people. What 
 I have embraced as true, I have without fear or shame 
 openly avowed. Therefore you must fully know my 
 doctrine already ; however ready “ always to give an 
 answer to every man that asketh a reason of the hope 
 that is in me with meekness and fear.” “ Moreover, 
 brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I have 
 preached unto you, which also you have received, and 
 wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved if ye 
 keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye 
 have believed in vain.” 
 
 a He that cometh unto God must believe that he is.” 
 This is the foundation of all religion. If there be no 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 85 
 
 God, there is no divine law ; if there be no divine law, 
 there is no difference between virtue and vice ; and if 
 there be no difference between virtue and vice, mo- 
 rality can only be, considered in the highest light, a 
 civil thing established by human authority. 
 
 W ithout an overruling providence we can have no 
 confidence in the Supreme Being : if saints, we shall 
 want the principal solace in adversity ; if sinners, we 
 shall want the principal restraint in prosperity. If we 
 pervert this necessary doctrine by denying a particular 
 providence, we destroy a particular confidence, a par- 
 ticular source of comfort, a particular motive to duty, 
 and give our actions only a^general rule of reference. 
 
 As we “ believe in God, we must believe also in 
 Jesus Christ.” Man stands related to God and his 
 neighbor. The Divine law considers him in this light, 
 and requires him to love the one with all his heart, 
 and the other as himself. By considering his relation 
 to God as his Creator and Preserver, he may discover 
 how destitute he is of that love, reverence, gratitude, 
 and obedience he owes to him as his Benefactor. By 
 considering his relation to his neighbor, he may dis- 
 cover how destitute he is of that charity and justice 
 which he owes to him as a brother. Thus he finds him- 
 self a transgressor, is led to acknowledge his desert, 
 and is brought to perceive those doctrines by which 
 the religion of Christianity is distinct from, and su- 
 perior to, the religion of nature. 
 
 The religion of Christianity in whole and part, re- 
 spects man as fallen ; by which I mean a blind, weak, 
 guilty, miserable creature. Therefore the depravity 
 of man is a very material article in an evangelical 
 creed ; and it is an article no less necessary to be be- 
 
86 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 
 
 lieved, than easy to be proved, demonstrated through 
 every age, in every country, by every person. The 
 corruption is universal — no part remains uninjured. 
 It is the cause of all actual transgression. The evil 
 practice of the life proceeds from the desperately wicked 
 and deceitful heart ; the tree being bad the fruit is 
 bad ; the spring being corrupt the streams are corrupt 
 also. Our pride is the cause of all “ the filthiness of 
 the spirit,” and the dominion of sense of all “ the 
 filthiness of the flesh.” By the one we are alienated 
 from God, by the other attached to the earth. From 
 hence arises that impotency which the Scripture at- 
 tributes to us, by which we are incapable of faith, re- 
 pentance, and. holiness. If we give up the doctrine 
 of the fall, we preclude all possibility of recovery, 
 like a disordered man who imagines he is well, and 
 therefore refuses the medicine which would recover 
 him from the sad effects of his malady. But, if we are 
 truly convinced that we are sinners, and are unable to 
 deliver ourselves, we shall be suitably disposed for “ the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord.” 
 This knowledge relates to what he is, and represents 
 him to us as “the true God and eternal life,” as made 
 in “ the form of a servant,” and “ manifested in the 
 flesh.” Hence his name is “ Wonderful,” because, 
 while he is the “ Child-born,” and the a Son-given” he 
 is also “ the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” 
 He is divine, as well as human ; and the same thing 
 which proves him to be the one proves him to be the 
 other ; allowing the word of truth to be judge, I could 
 as well deny that he was the man, as that he was God. 
 To deny the deity of Christ is the same in revealed 
 religion as to deny the being of a God in natural re- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 87 
 
 ligion. It is the foundation ; remove it, and the su- 
 perstructure falls ; the doctrines are unintelligible, the 
 promises vain, the precepts weak in their motive, im- 
 pertinent in their application, and inoperative in their 
 influence. But that he is the “Lord God Almighty” 
 is the belief of my mind, and the rejoicing of my 
 heart. There is no name by which “ the living and 
 true God” differs from “false and dumb idols there is 
 no perfection by which the “ God over all” is known 
 from “ the lords many, and the gods many ;” there is 
 no act of worship by which the “ Most High” is dis- 
 tinguished from “the powers which are” receiving 
 ceremonious respect and civil adoration ; there is no 
 work by which “ the Creator” can be discriminated 
 from “the creature,” as to nature, providence, grace, 
 or glory, that is not ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Gospel relates to what he did. It contains his 
 history from the throne to the cross, and from the 
 cross back to the throne. It represents him as under- 
 taking to remove our sins, according to his address to 
 his Father as he comes into the world, “Sacrifice and 
 offerings thou hast not required ; then said I, Lo,- 1 
 come to do thy will, 0 God ;” “by the which will we 
 are sanctified through the offering up of the body of 
 Jesus Christ.” It discovers him to us as “wounded 
 for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, de- 
 livered for our offences, and rising again for our justifica- 
 tion.” He has realized what the various victims under 
 the law only typified. They made their appearance to 
 show their inefficiency, and to convince “ the comers 
 thereunto” that they stood in need of a better sacrifice, 
 because they could not take away sin. But he, by the 
 once offering up of himself, has forever perfected them 
 
88 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 that are sanctified, so that “ there remains no other,” 
 and there needs no other “ sacrifice ;” by him all that 
 believe “ are justified freely from all things 
 
 The doctrine of the Atonement, not in the reserved 
 ambiguous way in which many use the term who deny 
 the thing, but “ Christ dying for our sins,” in the proper 
 sense of the expression, I consider as that which con- 
 stitutes the good news, or glad tidings, which the 
 word “Gospel” signifies. It is a great advantage, that 
 by the Gbspel we have so plain and perfect a system 
 of duty ; but it is a degradation of it to suppose it 
 was only designed to republish the law of nature. The 
 intent of the Gospel is indeed to recover us to true 
 holiness ; but for this purpose there was need of some- 
 thing more than a revelation of moral obligation, 
 which is set forth by the apostle : “ Our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us 
 from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar 
 people zealous of good works.” Restoration to the 
 Divine favor was the first thing to be provided for 
 and would, of course, be the first concern of every 
 man as soon as hfe found he was “ guilty before God.” 
 To what purpose to lay before a convinced sinner a 
 rule of duty without giving him a ground of hope ? 
 Discover to him pardon for past sins, and assistance 
 for future obedience, and then such a rule would be 
 seasonable ; and this is the order in which the Gospel 
 proceeds, as preached by the apostle : “ And all things 
 are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by 
 Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of 
 reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ reconcil- 
 ing the world unto himself, not imputing their tres- 
 passes unto them. Now then we are ambassadors for 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 89 
 
 Christ, as though Gocl did beseech you by us ; we pray 
 you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For 
 he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, 
 that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 him.” 
 
 There is no other scheme of doctrine which deserves 
 even the name of Gospel . Suppose the Gospel to be 
 only a system of morality requiring that we should 
 u be holy and without blame before him in love.” Here 
 is no good news for the sinner. He has no inclination 
 or ability to be sanctified throughout body, soul, and 
 spirit. Suppose the Gospel treats principally of the 
 resurrection. Here is no good news for the sinner. 
 He is not delighted with the idea of rising again — he 
 would rather remain in the grave forever. Suppose 
 the Gospel only brings “ immortality to light.” Here 
 is no good news for the sinner. He is not pleased 
 with the thought of eternal duration — he would rather 
 cease his continuance. Suppose the Gospel only* a 
 promise of pardon and life, on condition of faith and 
 repentance. Here is no good news for the sinner. 
 It is bad news ; his desire is only irritated to be 
 disappointed — like a person engaging to give me an 
 estate if I will fly to the moon. Or suppose the Gos- 
 pel to be a revelation of absolute mercy as ready to 
 pardon iniquity. Even here is no good news for the 
 sinner, unless he can see a way in which it can come 
 to him agreeable to the character which the Scripture 
 has led him to entertain of God. “ God is holy in all 
 his ways, and righteous in all his works.” Whatever 
 favors he confers as a benefactor, he must preserve his 
 claims as a legislator. Therefore when I begin to be 
 delightel with the glad tidings of mercy, saying, 
 
90 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 Spare him, bless him ! I am terrified again by the lan- 
 guage of Justice, Cut him off, destroy him ! It is evi- 
 dent the one, as well as the other, exists, — the one, as 
 well as the other, has its claim. In this case, Mercy 
 shows me the tree of life ; Justice stands with flaming 
 sword to guard it from approach. If we say that we 
 should take the declaration of God, that he will par- 
 don iniquity without any other consideration, and be 
 satisfied of his doing it ; why may we not say, that 
 we should take the declaration that he will punish in- 
 iquity without any other consideration, and be satis- 
 fied of his doing it ? Shall we make the Divine per- 
 fections anything or nothing, magnifying one and de- 
 preciating another ? Is the Divine law to vary in its 
 demand and fail in its execution ? Shall we weaken 
 its authority by dispensing with its penalty ? We can- 
 not do this ; for if the penalty be founded in the fit- 
 ness of things, and agreeable to the Divine perfections ; 
 (and unless it was so, God would never have appointed 
 it,) it follows, that not only we but God himself cannot 
 dispense with it any more than with the whole law. 
 I think no man can rationally hope for pardon unless 
 he can see a way in which God can do it as God , and 
 be u faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all iniquity.” Such a scheme is the 
 Gospel ; it reveals a free, rich, righteous salvation 
 through Jesus Christ, “ set forth as a propitiation for 
 sin, through faith in his blood.” Hence it answers its 
 name ; it is good news, glad tidings. It would be 
 easy to illustrate this view of the Gospel. If there 
 was a man in debt, and I told him a surety had dis- 
 charged him, — if the~e was a man perishing for want, 
 and I told him of provision, — if there was a man des- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 91 
 
 titute of clothing, and I told him of raiment, — or if 
 there was a condemned man, and I told him of liberty 
 and life ; who does not see in each case that here 
 would be good news ? Sinner, “ behold, I bring thee 
 glad tidings of great joy.” *Sinner, indebted to Di- 
 vine justice having nothing to pay, behold “ the Surety 
 of a better covenant,” “the Lamb of God, that taketh 
 away the sin of the world.” Sinner, perishing with 
 hunger, behold “ the bread of life, whereof if a man 
 eat he shall never die.” Naked soul, here is “ fine 
 raiment that thou mayest be clothed ; that the shame 
 of thy nakedness may not appear.” And thou, poor 
 wretch, writing bitter things against thyself, condemned 
 by the holy law, crying, Where shall I flee for refuge ? 
 “ believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved.” 
 
 In order that the Gospel might be of advantage to 
 us, faith is necessary. In whatever way the blessings 
 of salvation are represented, faith is requisite to a 
 proper enjoyment of them. One should imagine that 
 benefits calculated to relieve our wants, and make us 
 eternally happy, presented to us in the Gospel, would 
 be eagerly embraced. But this is far from being the 
 case. The pride of the human heart scorns to stoop, 
 it hates obligation, it affects an independence. It will 
 not submit to the righteousness which is of God ; it 
 would rather patch up a shelter than “ fly for refuge 
 to lay hold on the hope set before it in the Gospel.” 
 
 Therefore the operation of the Spirit is necessary. 
 This is one of the principal glories of the evangelical 
 dispensation ; and it shall be my endeavor to show my 
 hearers that their regeneration, advance in holiness, 
 support under trouble, final perseverance, everlasting 
 
92 
 
 AUT0BI0C4RAPHY of 
 
 triumph over all the cursed effects of sin, depend on 
 the agency of the Holy Spirit. Revelation is no soon- 
 er admitted than reason confirms, this truth. We al- 
 low that the miraculous operations of the Holy Spirit 
 have ceased, because their necessity has ceased — but 
 we affirm that his ordinary operations continue, because 
 the necessity of them continues. Why was the Spirit 
 given forth upon the folio wers of the Apostles ? To 
 sanctify them. Have we less need or more ability for 
 sanctification than they had ? It was given to “ shed 
 abroad the love of God in their hearts.” Have we 
 more spiritual, more fervent affections ? It was given 
 to help their infirmities. Have we less weakness ? It 
 was given to bear witness with their spirits that they 
 were the children of God. Have we no need of this 
 testimony to assure our hearts before him ? To deny 
 the influences of the Spirit is to relax the energy of 
 the Gospel, and turn the church into a valley of dry 
 bones. To suppose an innate efficacy in the word to 
 produce faith is to suppose an innate virtue in the sun i 
 to produce a plant. The seed must be there previous- j 
 ly before the one or the other can bring forth fruit, j 
 To talk of the fitness of things, the beauty of virtue,^ 
 the union of moral and natural good and evil, is good! 
 in its nature and true in its fact ; and upon men whcr 
 are truly wise and well-disposed may have influence 
 but this is not forcible enough to disentangle the hearer 
 which is already an enemy to reason, allied to vice* 
 sunk in sensuality, enslaved by appetite and passio^ 
 To produce faith is solely the prerogative of God ; vm r 
 own, indeed, that the word is a mean in his hand, b® r 
 deny that it possesses any power to do it independer 
 of the Holy Ghost. The Gospel, therefore is calif 
 
TIIE REV. WILLIAM JAV. 
 
 93 
 
 “the ministration of the Spirit,” because his influence 
 renders it efficacious, and continues to make it an in- 
 strument of operation to the end of the world. 
 
 Holiness is necessary to present peace and future 
 glory. “ Without it no man shall see the Lord ;” and 
 so far is the doctrine of the cross from opposing this 
 truth, that Jesus Christ crucified is the principle and 
 end of it. The man who believes in him believes in 
 him for righteousness. While he disclaims merit he 
 delights in gratitude ; and it is his desire and endeavor 
 to “ walk before God in holiness and righteousness all 
 the days of his life.” He is as much distinguished by 
 his practice as by his creed — his works are evidential 
 of his faith, and his faith is the spring of his works ; 
 for in order to all true holiness, pride and the domin- 
 ion of sense must be destroyed. And what can de- 
 troy the one or the other? Nothing ever has, no- 
 thing ever will, nothing ever can, but faith in Christ 
 crucified. Every other scheme of doctrine which has 
 spread in the world has tended to promote one or the 
 other. But the believer, from his union with the 
 Saviour, experiences the gradual destruction of both, 
 according to the words of the Apostle, “lam crucified 
 with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ 
 liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh, 
 I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me 
 and gave himself for me.” 
 
 As it is the work of God, and he does nothing in 
 me which he did not design to do from eternity, sal- 
 • ation is his own eternal purpose, and the effect of 
 1 is gracious sovereignty ; u according as he hath cho- 
 us in him, that we should be holy and without 
 ne before him in love; having predestinated us 
 l 
 
94 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to him- 
 self according to the good pleasure of his will, to the 
 praise of the glory of his grace.” And as his pur- 
 pose, and the promises which are the discovery of it, 
 cannot be broken, u the righteous shall hold on his 
 way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger 
 and stronger.” 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE CHARGE TO THE REV. WILLIAM 
 JAY, BY THE REV. CORNELIUS WINTER. 
 
 If you can stand up in this pulpit, or elsewhere, and 
 proclaim, “I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel 
 which was preached of me, and which I now preach, 
 is not after man, for I neither received it of any man, 
 neither was I taught but by the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ,” you will disappoint many who are watching 
 for your halting, and some too of those who, while 
 they are praying the Lord of the harvest that he would 
 thrust forth more laborers into the harvest, are wait- 
 ing for a conviction that he has not commissioned 
 you. 
 
 Let them turn in hither, and with little pains they 
 may perceive that u a great door and effectual is opened 
 unto you.” It admits you into the work of God under 
 the most promising circumstances. You are not want- 
 ing in abilities for it. You have zeal for God accord- 
 ing to knowledge. You follow a predecessor who in 
 all things showed himself a pattern of good works ; 
 in doctrine, none more evidently could show uncor- 
 ruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot 
 be condemned. I add, you follow a man whose very 
 reserve furnished something for imitation, whose re- 
 
 I 
 
THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 95 
 
 spect deepened and widened in the minds of his friends, 
 as time extended the years of intimacy. That you 
 may follow him as he followed Christ, and contribute, 
 at least, to the advance of that work towards a glorious 
 perfection which he was the instrument of begin- 
 ning, is my fervent prayer, as to see its progress will 
 be a matter of my praise to God. If you follow your 
 predecessor, or imitate him in the different parts of 
 administration, your whole performances will be at- 
 tended with “an odor of a sweet smell.” No part of 
 your duty will be neglected. Like him, you will know 
 w T hen, and where, and how long to visit. The child 
 and the man of hoary hairs will engage your atten- 
 tion ; and whenever you go, “ the word of Christ” will 
 flow freely from you, as well as “ dwell richly in you.” 
 By all means have the eye of your mind fixed upon 
 children and young people. Labor in an especial 
 manner to do them good. Perhaps you will not find 
 it practicable to carry on a continued discourse, but 
 always have a few weighty sentences to direct to them 
 seasonably dropped. In an especial manner I charge 
 you, take care of one* whom my affection would 
 prompt me to mention by name ; have a son by adop- 
 tion before one is born to you, and watch for his soul 
 as one that must give an account. 
 
 Young people are quick in apprehension, and at- 
 tentive in observing what is adopted in conversation 
 before them. Remember this when you sit in com- 
 pany with your friends, and however cheerful you 
 may be in the tenor of conversation, leave no room for 
 them to make a reflection to this effect — that the lib- 
 erties you take in descanting upon characters are un« 
 * The late Mr. Tuppen’s son. 
 
96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 becoming the servant of Jesus Christ, and that the 
 levity of the social intercourse is incompatible with the 
 gravity the minister should support. Be cautious of 
 becoming the retailer of idle or evil reports, even when 
 j ustly grounded and deserving of credit ; leave that 
 unforbidden business, and show your friends that such 
 a current is too filthy for the purity of your mind. 
 You cannot with becoming confidence inculcate “ Speak 
 evil of no man,” unless you are careful to avoid being 
 a partaker of the same sin. The minister had better 
 sit in awkward silence, or abruptly depart from the 
 company, than keep up the spirit of conversation in 
 this way. This hint may be taken as characteristic of 
 that prudence and discretion which I would largely 
 recommend and enforce in relation to the whole of 
 your deportment towards this society, the neighboring 
 churches, towards mankind at large. Indeed, my dear 
 friend, you will want it as the guide of your youth, 
 and the companion of your life. As the wisdom that 
 is from above entereth into thine heart, and the knowl- 
 edge of the will of God is pleasant unto thy soul, “ dis- 
 cretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep 
 thee and if life is continued to that long period to 
 which my wishes extend, it will then admit of a re- 
 view, which, as often as it is taken, will excite thanks- 
 giving to God. 
 
LETTER VIII. 
 
 HIS RESIDENCE AT BATH : — PREDILECTIONS FOR : — CIRCUMSTANCES 
 
 OF THE CONGREGATION : — HARMONY : — ADMISSION OF MEMBERS. 
 
 My dear Children, — You have seen me inducted 
 into my new, and which has proved my permanent, 
 and is likely to prove my final ecclesiastical connection. 
 Though the charm of novelty soon wore off, the con- 
 gregation still increased. The place has three times 
 been enlarged, yet in its present extent it is too small 
 to meet applications for pews and sittings. During the 
 lengthened period of my pastoral relation how many 
 have I admitted into the church who have adorned 
 their profession ! How many have I also attended 
 to the house appointed for all living ! How much 
 precious dust is reposing in my burying-ground ! 
 “ The fathers, where are they ?” and our brethren too ? 
 yea, and the sons, “ as plants grown up in their youth” ? 
 and the daughters, “ as corner-stones polished dfiter the 
 similitude of a palace” ? where are all these ? I, too, 
 can “ go to the grave to weep there — I also.” 
 
 My soul desireth the first ripe fruit ; yet we have no 
 reason to despond, but much cause to be thankful. 
 Instead of the fathers are the children. As many in 
 the ranks have fallen, others have been baptized for 
 the dead. The house is filled with inhabitants. The 
 
 5 
 
98 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 table is furnished with guests. Peace is within the 
 walls, and prosperity within the palace. 
 
 It is worthy of grateful acknowledgment, especially 
 considering the restless and disorganizing times in which 
 we have lived, and the discords and divisions in so 
 many churches, that the harmony of this religious in- 
 terest has never been broken. Yet there have been 
 considerable differences of judgment with regard to 
 some measures, and of opinion with regard to some 
 subjects ; and we have not only had mixed communion, 
 but have extended full membership and even office- 
 bearing to our Baptist friends. Yet there has been no 
 jar. “ The dipped and the sprinkled have dwelt in 
 peace.” Bigotry on any side is not to be conquered 
 by bigotry on the other, but by an opposite dispo- 
 sition. This continued state of things is very honor- 
 able to the members and deacons of the church, and 
 shows that their religion has reached the temper as well 
 as the understanding, and inspired them with the meek- 
 ness of wisdom to pursue “ things by which one may 
 edify another.” Should it, in any degree, serve to 
 commend the pastor, it may perhaps, under God, be 
 ascribed to his preferring influence to authority, and 
 resolving to take no part in any party ^difference what- 
 ever. 
 
 You*knowI always loved peace as well as truth, 
 and liberality, and order. I hardly think I could 
 have taken the charge of any church that indispensably 
 required a candidate for communion to deliver before 
 them an oral account of his conversion and experi- 
 ence ; or to send in a written one. This mode of ad- 
 mission keeps back many who ought to be encouraged 
 to come forward. Such are many females ; such are 
 
THE HEW WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 99 
 
 the weak and timid in spirit ; and such also are those 
 whose religion has been so gradual as to yield none 
 of those striking circumstances which a narrative loves 
 and seeks after. And how often is this the case ! so 
 that the convert can hardly describe anything but the 
 result ; like a man with a plant, who sees indeed the 
 growth, while the growing escapes him. With us, the 
 minister, or one of the officers, or one of the members, 
 converses alone with the individual, and reports the 
 nature and ground of his satisfaction at the church- 
 meeting, when the matter is left for a month, during 
 which inquiries are made after his moral character and 
 deportment; at the end of which, if no objection is 
 advanced, he is admitted. We are not qualified to 
 judge the heart. We are to be influenced by favor- 
 able appearances, and should always lean to the side 
 of charity rather than of suspicion. Some may think 
 this rather dangerous, and affect to be alarmed for the 
 purity of the church ; but we have had from the be- 
 ginning few, very few instances of excommunication 
 or suspension compared with the exactors of more 
 rigid church discipline. The truth is, their requisition 
 never keeps back any improper person who wishes and 
 is resolved to enter. The condition is a cheap pass- 
 port which he can easily procure, so many conversions 
 and experiences being published and sold.* 
 
 A little before my ordination an event took place 
 the most interesting to my happiness, character and 
 usefulness. I was united to one of the best of women. 
 This was Anne, the eldest daughter of the Rev. Ed- 
 ward Davies, a pious and evangelical clergyman of 
 
 * This subject is noticed again in Letter XIX., where we hate 
 added a note. 
 
100 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 the Establishment, first rector of Bengeworth, Wor- 
 cestershire, and afterwards of Coy Church. My ac- 
 quaintance with her commenced at my first visit to 
 London. Mr. Winter being acquainted with her ex- 
 cellent father, and knowing that he then resided near 
 Surrey Chapel, wrote a letter to introduce me to him, 
 and to beg that he would kindly notice me, and give 
 me any hints of improvement he might deem neces- 
 sary. I soon called and delivered it. It was then for 
 the first time I saw Miss Davies. During the eight 
 weeks I was preaching at Surrey Chapel, I was often 
 invited to the house, and you will not wonder if some- 
 times I contrived to call without an invitation, for I 
 felt a pleasing and powerful attraction. Yet I was 
 able to act under the impression with some prudence. 
 I concealed my affection as much as possible, till I had 
 more fully observed, and found that observation justi- 
 fied and increased attachment. Yet I returned into 
 the country, and paid another visit to Surrey Chapel 
 before I ventured to make any direct advances. I had 
 some reason to hope that my regard would not be con- 
 temned by the young lady herself. But there were 
 parental difficulties to be overcome, which I can much 
 more easily appreciate and excuse now than I could 
 then. I had no patrimony ; as yet I had nothing fike 
 an official provision, or even proper settlement. I was 
 indeed much followed as a preacher, but it was justly 
 said that popularity was very dangerous and corrupt- 
 ing ; that many had fallen by it ; that I was very 
 young, and my character unformed, and as yet untried. 
 Waiting, of course, was therefore recommended ; and, 
 as an absolute refusal was not given, the counsel was 
 more easily followed. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 101 
 
 My intended must have deemed me rather an awk- 
 ward lover, and not a very satisfactory correspondent, 
 for I always disliked letter-writing, and I had little 
 leisure for courting by post. A part of what some of 
 her sex would have deemed wanting with me, was, I 
 can truly say, the effect of design and principle. I 
 always felt for women who are flattered to adoration 
 before marriage, and obliged to put up with at least 
 comparative neglect and indifference afterwards ; and 
 I resolved to raise no expectations which I could not 
 hope to realize, and not suffer the husband to belie 
 and disgrace the suitor. > I am, &c. 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 HIS MARRIAGE : — HIS CHILDREN I — DEATH OF HIS SON WILLIAM : 
 
 AND OF HIS DAUGHTER STATIRA. 
 
 My dear Children, — It is one of the peculiar cir- 
 cumstances which, without any contrivance and pur- 
 pose of my own, have attended me through life, that, 
 after another year of faith and patience (neither of 
 these graces being very perfect), and just as I was 
 going to settle in Bath, Mr. Davies having a dispensa- 
 tion for non-residence at his living, accepted the curacy 
 of Batheaston, a pleasant village, only two miles from 
 Bath. Nothing could have been more gratifying to 
 the feelings, and more friendly to the intercourse of 
 the young party, than this wholly unexpected approxi- 
 mation of residences. Things being now more favor- 
 able, Mr. Davies soon gave his consent ; and some 
 time after I went to London, where the elect was on a 
 visit to her most intimate friend, Mrs. Rowland Hill. 
 We were married at St. Peter’s, Cornhill (January 6, 
 1791), Mr. Hill performing the service. In returning 
 to Bath we paid our first visit to Mr. and Mrs. Winter 
 at Painswick. 
 
 How much has resulted from this auspicious con- 
 nection for which I can never sufficiently praise the 
 providence of my God and Father ! How far I have 
 
THE RE V. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 103 
 
 succeeded it does not become me to attempt to deter- 
 mine ; but of this I am conscious, that J was always 
 desirous and anxious to be a good husband ; nothing 
 in my estimation and remarkings ever being able to 
 atone for the want of consistency and excellency 
 here, especially in a minister . But I must have been 
 one of the basest of men had I not always endeavored 
 to act worthily towards the wife of my youth, to whom 
 I am under so many obligations. It was she (for we 
 always judge of the whole by parts, and chiefly by 
 those parts with which we are most acquainted), it was 
 she who contributed so much to give me that exalted 
 idea of the female character which I have always en- 
 tertained and expressed. She excluded perfectly the 
 entrance of every notion and feeling of submission or 
 authority, so that we had no rights to adjust, or duties 
 to regulate. She possessed every requisite that could 
 render her a helpmate. Her special qualities were ad- 
 mirably suited to my defects. She had an extempo- 
 raneous readiness which never failed her, and an in- 
 tuitive decisiveness which seemed to require no de- 
 liberation. Her domestic virtues rendered my house 
 a complete home, the abode of neatness, order, punc- 
 tuality, peace, cheerfulness, comfort, and attraction. 
 She calmed my brow when ruffled by disappointment 
 or vexation ; she encouraged me when depressed ; she 
 kept off a thousand cares, and left me free to attend to 
 the voice of my calling. She reminded me of my en- 
 gagements when I was forgetful, and stimulated me 
 when I was remiss, and always gently enforced the 
 present obligation, as “ the duty of every day required.” 
 I mention this the more not only to express my 
 own gratitude, but that my church and the public, if 
 
104 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 they have derived any little advantage from my la- 
 bors, may see how much of it they owe to this wise 
 and good woman. She now stood in the additional 
 relation of a mother, and in process of time furnished 
 me with a most lovely family of six children, three of 
 each sex, who “ rose up and called her blessed.” 
 
 My first-born was a daughter, and named Anne, 
 after her mother. She seemed one of those who are 
 sanctified from the womb ; and, instead of being 
 averse to any of the duties required of her in her 
 training, she appeared naturally and without admoni- 
 tion to fall fn with them. She never gave us pain 
 but by her own pain. When she was only seven 
 years old, and we went abroad for a few days, not 
 waiting for any intimation from us, the little creature 
 read a chapter and a prayer every morning and even- 
 ing with the servant and the nursemaid. At the age 
 of sixteen she impressed a young American who was 
 travelling through England, and, bringing letters of 
 introduction, abode for a short time at our house. To 
 him she was early married, and brought him a family 
 of no less than thirteen children. They are all yet 
 spared ;* they are all walking in the truth, adorning 
 their profession, blessing their generation, and showing 
 ■what education, by the grace of God, may accomplish. 
 After some years Mr. Bolton returned to the United 
 States with the whole of his family. This separation, 
 
 * Abby Wolsey, the fifth daughter, has since been gathered to her 
 rest, at the age of 21 ; a memoir, written by her sister, was pub- 
 lished, entitled the “Lighted Valley,” (published by R. Carter & 
 Brothers, Xew York,) to which her grandfather added a preface, 
 the last production of his pen which, we believe, has been given to 
 the public. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 105 
 
 which could not be viewed but as probably a final 
 parting as to this world, was one of the greatest trials 
 of my life. Yet there were things which prevented 
 my opposing it, and made it appear to be the path of 
 duty. The dispensation has already had issues which 
 serve in a great measure to explain it, while it seems 
 also pregnant with future consequences of much im- 
 portance. The marriage itself was strange and mar- 
 vellous. What probability was there that a young 
 gentleman from another quarter of the globe, first 
 passing through Bath, and casually seeing her, should 
 have been united in marriage to my daughter ? 
 
 One thing struck me much in this affair from its be- 
 ginning. It was my learning that he who asked to 
 become my son-in-law was himself the grandson of the 
 pious and worthy Mr. Bolton, merchant of Savannah, 
 mentioned with so much respect by Mr. Winter in one 
 of his letters to me, to be seen in my life of him ; for 
 when this man of God was not only neglected but de- 
 spised, because he had gone to America purposely to 
 teach and Christianize the poor negroes, Mr. Bolton 
 received and encouraged him, and accommodated him 
 with a room in which he could instruct his sable charge 
 free of expense. 
 
 After awhile my son-in-law joined the Episcopal 
 Church, and is now the rector of St. Paul’s, East 
 Chester, New York, where his labors are crowned 
 with much acceptance and success.* 
 
 * Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, with part of their family, returned to 
 England some years before Mr. Jay’s death, and had the melancholy 
 satisfaction of attending him in his last days. Mr. Bolton is now 
 minister of the chapel built by the late Lord Ducie on his estate in 
 Gloucestershire. Two of his sons are ministers in the Episcopal 
 
106 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 M/y second child was a son, named after myself. 
 From the turn of his mind, when he had fulfilled his 
 schooling, he was apprenticed to an architect and sur- 
 veyor in London, where, after his time had expired, 
 he continued for awhile, and then went to Savannah 
 in Georgia. There he was employed for a few years ; 
 when, leaving many proofs of his professional ability 
 behind him, he returned to England. After several 
 attempts to succeed at home, he went out, by the ap- 
 pointment of Lord Glenelg, on government service, 
 to the Mauritius. There his taste and talents met 
 with full encouragement, and his prospects were very 
 promising ; but he was cut off by a premature death. 
 A little before his own dissolution he had buried a 
 most pious and interesting child, whose remains lie in 
 the same grave with those of Mrs. Newell, the wife of 
 the American missionary. An account of him has 
 been published and widely circulated, called “Little 
 Willy,” drawn up by his mother, to which I prefixed 
 a preface. Many, as well as myself, can testify that 
 what is said of him is not maternal lavishment, but 
 truth. My son had married a very estimable wife, 
 Miss Louisa Coulston of Henley, by whom he had two 
 other children besides “Little Willy.” These were 
 left to be the care and comfort of the widowed mother, 
 now keeping a school in her native place. My son, 
 besides professional talent and cleverness, had a large 
 share of wit and humor, qualities always dangerous 
 and commonly injurious to the possessor. So it was, 
 
 Church of England, and one in the American ; viz., Rev. William 
 Jay Bolton, curate of Christ Church, Cambridge ; t Rev. James Bolton, 
 minister of St. Paul’s Chapel, Kilburn ; Rev. Cornelius Winter Bol- 
 ton, assistant minister of Christ Church, Baltimore. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 107 
 
 alas ! here. His comic powers drew liim into company 
 not the most friendly to youthful improvement. He 
 was led into expense by his admirers and flatterers, 
 and for awhile left the path in which he had been 
 taught to go. But the principles which had been 
 early sown revived, especially under the teachings of 
 affliction, and the conjugal influence of gentle, wise, 
 and consistent piety. He sought the Lord God of his 
 fathers, walked soberly, righteously, and godly, and 
 finished his course in peace. And I record it to ex- 
 cite my gratitude and praise, and to encourage others 
 who may be tried for a time in the same way. It has 
 been delightful to my sorrowing spirit to read the tes- 
 timonies concerning him which I received from two 
 ministers, the one a missionary of the London Society, 
 the other of the Church of England Missionary So- 
 ciety ; as also from Mr. Alexander, the Keeper of the 
 King’s Stores. 
 
 My third-born was a daughter, whom we called 
 Arabella, after a step-mother of Mrs. Jay’s, of uncom- 
 mon piety, whose letters to her children were pub- 
 lished, and of whose character an account is found 
 among Gibbon’s “ Pious Women.” She was early mar- 
 ried to Garfit Ashton, Esq., a solicitor at Cambridge, 
 and now also Clerk of the Peace. She has no family, 
 but has been the most devoted of children, and has so 
 attached herself to the comfort of her afflicted mother, 
 as to entitle her to every endearment of my heart.* 
 
 * Mrs. Ashton was suddenly removed by death shortly after the 
 funeral of her beloved father. The particulars of this mournful 
 event will be given in the Supplement to the Autobiography, in 
 connection with the account there inserted of the interment and 
 funeral service of Mr. Jay. 
 
108 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 My fourth-born was named Cyrus. As I always 
 admired the Friends, and they seemed exemplary in 
 training their youth to habitudes of order, and self- 
 control, and disregard of ridicule and reproach, I was 
 induced to place him for a considerable time at one of 
 their schools. But I was not entirely satisfied with 
 the result. The want of more express evangelical instruc- 
 tion, and the comparative deficiency of instrumental re- 
 ligion, were a disadvantage which I found it was not so 
 easy to remedy. He fixed in London as an attorney, 
 and married a daughter of my inestimable friend, the 
 pious and benevolent Robert Spear, Esq., of Manchester. 
 
 My fifth child was named Edward, after his maternal 
 grandfather. When quite a child he had nearly per- 
 ished. His nursemaid had, by reading herself asleep, 
 set fire to the curtains. I had just time to snatch him 
 from a flaming bed, which was nearly all consumed, 
 with other furniture in the room. He was at first 
 educated for the ministry, and preached for some time 
 with much approbation. But a timorousness and even 
 dread with regard to his appearing and officiating in 
 public, instead of decreasing by use, so grew upon him, 
 and so threatened and even affected his health, that I 
 was constrained to acquiesce in his importunity to 
 leave the pulpit and enter secular life. 
 
 The last of my family was a daughter, named Statira, 
 after an eminent female of Grecian extraction, to whom 
 my preaching had been useful in drawing her from 
 the world into the way everlasting. She was not en- 
 dowed with those personal attractions which some 
 children possess, yet was pleasing to the eye of pa- 
 rental affection. She was a child of a very lovely and 
 obliging temper, and apt at learning. She was also 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 109 
 
 truly pious, and like her two sisters, had early come 
 to the table of the Lord. But at the age of nineteen I 
 was summoned to resign her. She had been always 
 free from ailments. I left her in perfect health, to go 
 and preach at the opening of a new chapel at Tavistock 
 in Devonshire; but I had not proceeded further than 
 Totness before a messenger overtook me with fore- 
 boding intelligence. I hastened back in anxious, 
 trembling suspense, and reached home only just in 
 time to see her dying of typhus fever. She was inca- 
 pable of knowing the father around whose neck she 
 had so often clung. I turned away, and was led by 
 her mother into the solitude of my study. "We kneeled 
 down hand in hand to pray ; but not a word was ut- 
 tered. At such a season, how poor is speech; and 
 how surprising is it that persons should employ it, and 
 not yield to the devotion of silence and tears ! 
 
 This was the first time death had entered our in- 
 dulged dwelling. Till now I knew not what it was 
 truly to be a parent. My heart was desolate within 
 me ; and there was danger that weeping would hinder 
 sowing. As my ministry had always been very much 
 of a consolatory kind, I began to dread the application 
 of the address of Eliphaz to Job, “ Behold, thou hast 
 instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak 
 hands ; thy words have upholden him that was falling, 
 and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But 
 now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest ; it touch - 
 eth thee, and thou art weary.” What in a measure 
 prevented this ? 
 
 “ Oh, woman ! 
 
 When pain and anguish wring the brow, 
 
 A ministering angel thou !”• 
 
110 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 As being not only her husband, but her pastor, I 
 ought to have solaced and supported my wife under 
 the loss, but she solaced and supported me. 
 
 One thing I peculiarly remember as arising from 
 our affliction. Though I was not wanting in love to 
 my wife before, yet now I felt her the more singularly 
 endeared. No thought of her seemed so sacred and 
 tender as that of the mother of my beloved and glori- 
 fied daughter ; and so I commonly addressed her in 
 my letters. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER X. 
 
 MBS. JAY’S ILLNESS .* — HIS PRIVATION BY IT : — STATE OF HIS OWN 
 HEALTH : — ALARMING SYMPTOMS : — ME. WILBEEFOEOE’s ADVICE : 
 — INTRODUCES HIM TO DE. BAILLIE : —SUCCESS OF HIS TEEATMENT : 
 
 EEFLECTIONS: EAELY RISING: — ABSTINENCE t PATRONAGE OF 
 
 TEETOTALISM. 
 
 My dear Children, — I return to tlie notice of one 
 connected so intimately, so importantly, and so influ- 
 entially, with my character and history ; and so inter- 
 esting to yourselves also. But now, alas, the narrative 
 becomes as painful as it was pleasing before. 
 
 Though in her early youth, and before I had the 
 privilege of knowing her, your mother had been twice 
 supposed to be in a decline, for about thirty years after 
 our marriage she enjoyed continual good health. Her 
 first complaint was a degree of oppression in breath- 
 ing, affecting her at first occasionally, but rather grow- 
 ing upon the whole, and at length frequently returning 
 with painful violence. From some symptoms attend- 
 ing the suffering, (though I might have mistaken jthem, 
 and was’ afraid to inquire,) I feared there was water on 
 the chest. But this apprehension was proved to be 
 groundless, and her complaint was removed by a sud- 
 den painful seizure. My dear and invaluable friend, 
 Dr. Bowie, was instantly sent for, and did everything 
 
112 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 that skill and unrelaxing attention could accomplish. 
 Mr. Wilson Brown, also, an eminent surgeon, was pe- 
 culiarly kind and attentive. 
 
 About a year after her first attack she had a second, 
 though not attended with any paralysis. She was then 
 at Clifton with a dear friend, and her devoted servant, 
 while I had gone to London for a few days on preach- 
 ing business — not only with her full consent, but even 
 recommendation. The seizure was violent, and left 
 her for two hours and a half insensible ; but profess- 
 ional assistance was close at hand. She was profusely 
 depleted, and again revived. I hastened back, and 
 again embraced her as one a second time given me 
 from the dead. 
 
 Years have elapsed since this last attack without 
 anything like a return ; but I have always been con- 
 strained to rejoice with trembling. I have also long 
 ceased to hope for any further improvement, especially 
 as age was gaining upon her. Yet much mercy has 
 been mingled in my great trial ; and I ought to have 
 been, and I trust I have been, thankful for allevia- 
 tions. 
 
 I know not whether the case is peculiar, in the real- 
 ity or the degree, but I state the matter accurately ; 
 and I have been too long accustomed to the effect to 
 be mistaken. As deviations and exceptions, instead 
 of disproving a rule, sometimes only render it the 
 more, observable, in the case before us, owing to the 
 frequency of the result, one might have been led to 
 suppose that there was some kind of physical law in 
 the operation where there was a contrariety, whether 
 in nature or custom ; her manner was nearly invari- 
 able. Thus she spoke of a drop of bread and a bit of 
 
THE BEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 113 
 
 water ; she called the black white, and the white black * 
 the cold heat, and the heat cold ; preaching was hear- 
 ing, and hearing was preaching ; in the morning she 
 wished you good evening, and in the evening good 
 morning. Besides these obvious contrarieties, how 
 many instances were there in the course of the day or 
 hour in which, the opposite did not strike you, till you 
 reflected or examined, and then you perceived them. 
 She is in a considerable measure apprehensive of this, 
 and feels the greatness of the trial ; and often com- 
 plains, that though she knows everything she cannot 
 command the right words. To relieve her embarrass- 
 ment, at her own desire, she has ingeniously had writ- 
 ten for her the names of a number of persons and 
 things of which she is likely to speak ; and often, after 
 a pause or effort, she takes out the little book, which 
 she always carries about with her. Till of late, her 
 attempts to be again able to read, especially the Scrip- 
 tures, have been great and incessant, and when she 
 could succeed with a verse, she was much pleased with 
 the achievement, and would often repeat it ; while she 
 was always craving for some one to read to her in the 
 word of God, or books of experience and devotion. 
 
 Thus when the companion, so delightful and edify- 
 ing by her discourse, was almost entirely removed, — 
 the friend, the helper, the comforter was, in a consid- 
 erable degree, yet graciously continued. And now 
 that she has become, in the course of nature, more in- 
 firm and dependent, she is indescribably interesting. 
 I cannot for a moment forget what she has been, and 
 what she has done ; or be insensible of my obligations 
 to her. She needs and she occupies much of my at- 
 tention, but attention endears her the more. My afifec- 
 
114 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 tion has bow infused into it an unselfish tenderness, 
 and I have learned by experience that the happiness 
 of love results principally from its disinterestedness. 
 And we know who has said, 4 ‘It is more blessed to 
 give than to receive.” 
 
 Health is an unspeakable blessing, not only on the 
 score of enjoyment, but of usefulness. Job called the 
 season of his sickness “months of vanity,” during which, 
 as nothing was enjoyed, so nothing was pursued or ac- 
 complished. While disease deprives us of our liberty, 
 and weakens our strength in the way, the hands of the 
 workman are no longer sufficient for him- — the eyes 
 of the handmaiden no longer look to her mistress — the 
 mother leaves her infant charge to less tender care — 
 and the preacher, whose lips fed many, ceases to deal 
 forth the bread of life. Paul, therefore, not only in- 
 structs his son Timothy as an apostle, but prescribes 
 for him as a physician : “ Drink no longer water, but 
 use a little wine, for thy stomach’s sake, and thine 
 often infirmities.” Next to our spiritual welfare is the 
 good estate of the body ; therefore John says of Gaius, 
 “ Beloved, I wish above all things that thou rnayest 
 prosjoer and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 
 A word, therefore, concerning the degree, the interrup- 
 tion, the recovery, and the preservation of my health, 
 may not be improper or useless. 
 
 I had never a very strong constitution, or, at least, 
 a remarkable freedom from slight indispositions. For 
 a great length of time I had almost incessant head- 
 aches, which rendered my preaching difficult, and my 
 studies painful. Manv will remember the several seiz- 
 ures in my head with which I was visited, and which 
 more than once befell me in the pulpit. They were 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 115 
 
 very sudden. They momentarily confused my sight, 
 and nearly deprived me of all consciousness. The 
 faculty who then attended me viewed these attacks as 
 serious and perilous ; and I was bled, and cupped, and 
 reduced in strength and size, till I seemed a shadow 
 hastening to the grave. This I could not have borne 
 much longer. In this state, Mr. Wilberforce, being in 
 Bath, called upon me, and urged me to see Dr. Baillie, 
 whom he extolled as his friend and physician. He 
 expressed the greatest confidence in his judgment, and 
 offered to write me a letter of introduction. I grate- 
 fully accepted his kindness, and repaired to town. The 
 doctor favorably received me ; paid (in consequence 
 of the recommendation) a good deal of attention to my 
 case ; and, to the kind and seasonable advice of the 
 negro’s friend, I am fully persuaded I owe, under Grod, 
 the prolongation of my life and labors. And I cannot 
 but here remark two things — First , u A word fitly 
 spoken, how good is it !” and what important conse- 
 quences may arise from a single instruction or admo- 
 nition ! Secondly , We see the propriety of sometimes 
 varying medical authority. No man is infallible. 
 What does not strike one may strike another. When 
 a physician is called in, he may immediately form and 
 express his opinion of the case, and then go on look- 
 ing, not for what corrects but what confirms his con- 
 viction, till every doubt or suspicion of the possibility 
 of mistake is lulled to sleep. 
 
 I should have mentioned before, that at rather an 
 early period of my ministry I suffered very consider- 
 ably from a nervous malady, and which threatened 
 for the time to lay me aside from my work. This was 
 of my own procuring, in neglecting for a season early 
 
116 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 rising, and proper air and exercise, and confining my- 
 self to long sedentary reading and writing. From a 
 firm conviction of my own, I threw off, by degrees, 
 but not without difficulty, this affecting and deplorable 
 complaint, to return no more. Yet, as every kind of 
 experience is useful to a minister, the suffering has 
 been overruled for good, as it has enabled me to sym- 
 pathize, where otherwise, perhaps, I should have felt 
 nothing ; to warn and admonish any of my brethren 
 likely to err in the same way ; and to regulate my own 
 applications, and to blend action with thought ; and 
 to do much of the work of the study in the open 
 air. In vain we talk of the value of health, or expect 
 to enjoy the blessing, unless we use the rational means 
 for preserving it. These means will not deliver us 
 from the sentence of mortality, but they may lengthen 
 our days, and render them more tolerable, delightful, 
 and profitable. With few exceptions, I have always 
 practiced early rising, being seldom in bed, summer or 
 winter, after five o’clock ; and this has been with me, 
 not as with some, who say they rise because they can- 
 not sleep, for it has been always an act of self* denial, 
 for I could enjoy more, but I felt a conviction that it 
 was morally right, as it redeemed time and aided 
 duty ; and also it was physically right, as it was 
 wholesome and healthful. For how does it refresh 
 and invigorate the body, revive the animal spirits, 
 and exhilarate and elevate the mind ! Yet how many 
 are there, and even ministers, and young ministers, 
 not too much qualified for their work, who can sacri- 
 fice all this advantage to the lazy, low, debilitating, 
 disreputable influences of a late indulgence in bed. 
 
 In looking back upon the years I have passed 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 117 
 
 through, for nothing am I more thankful than the 
 cautions I was led to exercise with regard to drinki ig * 
 I knew the danger of increase with regard to spirituous 
 liquors ; I knew what temptations a young njinister 
 of some considerable popularity is exposed to in his 
 frequent dinings-out, especialty in great towns and 
 cities, and at the table of professors who vie with each 
 other in extravagance ; for the faithful do not always 
 add to their faith “ temperance.” As far as it was in 
 my power, by word and deed, I always discounte- 
 
 * In the year 1839, Mr. Jay was solicited to attend a Festival of 
 the Teetotal Society in Bath, but as this was not convenient, he con- 
 veyed his sentiments to the meeting in the following letter, which 
 was afterwards published extensively both in this country and in 
 America : — 
 
 “ My Dear Sir, — Circumstances will prevent my accepting your in- 
 vitation to attend the Teetotal Christmas Festival on Friday evening. 
 I am thankful that all through life I have been a very temperate 
 man, and for more than twenty-five years, generally , a Teetotaller, 
 but for the last six years I have been one constantly and entirely. To 
 this (now I am past 70) I ascribe, under God, the glow of health, 
 evenness of spirits, freshness of feeling, ease of application, and com- 
 parative inexhaustion by public labors, I now enjoy. 
 
 “ The subject of Teetotalism I have examined physically, morally, 
 and christianly, and after all my reading, reflection, observation, 
 and experience, I have reached a very firm and powerful conviction. 
 I believe that next to the glorious Gospel, God could not bless the human 
 race so much as by the abolition of all intoxicating liquors. 
 
 “ As every man has some influence, and as we ought to employ 
 usefully all our talents, and as I have been for near half a century 
 endeavoring in this city to serve my generation, by the will of God, 
 I have no objection to your using this testimony in any way you 
 please. I am willing that both as a Pledger and a Subscriber you 
 should put down the name of, 
 
 “ My dear Sir, 
 
 “ Y< urs truly, 
 
 W. Jay.” 
 
 Percy Place , Bath , 24 th December . 
 
118 AUTOBIOGrKAPHY OF THE KEY, WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 nanced such needless and improper “ feastings of 
 themselves without fear.” I commonly used water, 
 principally, and, for years back, only ; and I am fully 
 persuaded that it has befriended my digestion, pre- 
 served the evenness of my spirits, and added to my 
 comfort, especially in my feeling cool and fresh in the 
 relaxation and lassitude of warm weather, while others 
 were deservedly panting, and burdens to themselves. 
 My natural wants were so many, that I never thought 
 of adding to them the cravings of fictitious appetites 
 equally importunate. I had, therefore, no trouble or 
 expense from the wretched habits of snuff-taking or 
 smoking. I have often found perspiration produced 
 by a brisk walk or working in the garden, or cleaving 
 of wood, the means of relieving me from many a slight 
 ailment, especially headaches. To which I may add 
 that I have often also derived benefit of this kind from 
 preaching ; but then it has been, not by dry discuss- 
 ions, or labored recollections, or stale repetitions, but 
 by animating subjects, producing a lively frame, and 
 fine glowing emotions ; then I have often come from 
 the engagement with renewed strength, and “ anointed 
 as with fresh oil.” Perhaps the thing can be physical- 
 ly accounted for ; if not, I have experienced the effect 
 too often to question the truth of it. I ought to bless 
 God, not only that my life has been continued so long 
 after some menacing appearances, but that I have been 
 laid by so few Sabbaths upon the whole, and can now 
 perform my usual and occasional services with as much 
 vigor and pleasure as ever. 
 
 I am. &c. 
 
LETTER XI. 
 
 HIS AUTHORSHIP I — FIRST VOLUME OF SERMONS : — MONTHLY RE- 
 VIEW : SUCCEEDING PUBLICATIONS : HYMNS, ETC. 
 
 My dear Children,— My authorship is too im- 
 portant an article in my little history to be over- 
 looked. I had early, too early, published several 
 single sermons ; but they neither excited nor deserved 
 much notice. I have not, therefore, perpetuated them 
 in the list of my works. But having delivered a dis- 
 course on “ The Mutual Duties of Husbands and 
 Wives,” at the nuptials of a gentleman who married 
 his lady immediately from my house, I was impor- 
 tuned to publish it. It rapidly went through six 
 large editions, and was not a little commended in sev- 
 eral of the periodicals of the day, and by Mr. Hall 
 from the pulpit. This encouraged me soon after to 
 venture before the public a volume of sermons on 
 various subjects. This also was favorably received, 
 and was spoken well of even by the “ Monthly Be- 
 view,” then a work of much authority .* Not long 
 after this I published a second volume, with similar 
 acceptance and success. I should, perhaps, now deem 
 some of these sermons not sufficiently evangelical ; but 
 
 * An extract from this Review will be found in our notice of 
 Mr. Jay’s Authorshi] 
 
120 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 I then expected them to be read principally by those 
 who were already acquainted with the doctrines of the 
 Gospel, and some of whom were more familiar with 
 doctrinal than practical theology. It was also at the 
 same time my intention to add a third volume, con- 
 taining subjects of a more doctrinal character. 
 
 I next published, in succession, four volumes of 
 “ Short Discourses for the Use of Families.” These, 
 too, were kindly received, and went through repeated 
 editions, and procured for me a diploma of D. D., — a 
 dignity I never used, except once in travelling, when I 
 left a case of manuscripts at a large inn, the better to 
 insure attention to the recovery ; and it answered my 
 purpose. Who, then, can deny the usefulness of suck 
 honors ? I also sent forth two works of a biographical 
 kind: “ The Life of Eev. Cornelius Winter,” and 
 “ Memoirs of Eev. John Clarke.” The first of these 
 sold well ; the sale of the second was slow and limited ; 
 yet it occasioned me more pains than any other of my 
 publications; and in America they have published 
 extensively my remarks and observations, detached 
 from the narrative itself, furnished by the Diary of the 
 deceased. 
 
 I also published two volumes of* “ Morning Exer- 
 cises for the Closet,” which soon reached a tenth edi- 
 tion; and, three years after, I yielded to importunity, 
 and produced two more volumes of similar exercises 
 for the “ Evening.” I cannot but hope, from the wide 
 circulation of these “ Exercises,” and the testimonies I 
 have received from so many quarters, that they have 
 been owned of God, and will continue to be useful 
 after my decease. 
 
 Between the Morning and Evening Exercises, I 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 121 
 
 preached and published a work, called “ The Christian 
 Contemplated,” in twelve lectures. To these I after- 
 wards, by desire, and as a kind of application of the 
 whole, added another lecture, from the words, “ Almost 
 thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” This work 
 also sold rapidly, and has now reached the eighth 
 edition. 
 
 But the work which has had the largest sale, next 
 to the Morning and Evening Exercises, and is still in 
 demand, is, “ The Domestic Minister’s Assistant.” It 
 consists of morning and evening prayers for six weeks, 
 with additional ones for particular seasons and occa- 
 sions. Some of my brethren were rather disposed to 
 be displeased with this publication, and accused me 
 of aiding what they called the cause of formality ; but 
 I bless God that I ever was led to undertake it. I 
 only herein followed the example of some very eminent 
 ministers of our own body, such as Baxter, Henry, and 
 Watts, &c. And are we not commanded, “as we have 
 opportunity, to do good unto all men” ? Is there no 
 difference between preference and exclusiveness ? Is 
 the assistance of the weak any injury to the strong? 
 There are persons who pray spiritually with a form ; 
 and there are persons that pray very formally without 
 a form. 
 
 The smaller publications were, “An Essay on Mar- 
 riage,” “ A Charge to a Minister’s Wife,” “ A Preface 
 to Mrs. Savage’s Memoirs,” some Funeral Orations, 
 with a large number of single Sermons, preached on 
 particular occasions. I also published an Appendix 
 of Hymns, but the contents are principally selections 
 from other authors; and I am only answerable for 
 about twenty new composures, and some introductory 
 
 6 
 
122 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 remarks on psalmody. I have not mentioned all the 
 publications in the order of time in which they ap- 
 peared ; but this could easily be ascertained by their 
 dates, were it of any importance. 
 
 There has been no complete edition of these works 
 in England till that which is now forthcoming ; but a 
 very handsome one was published some years ago at 
 Baltimore, in America; and there have been several 
 since ; for there God has much smiled upon my labors. 
 
 Many of my publications, especially the principal 
 ones, were begun, or completed, or much advanced, 
 when I was taking an annual excursion by the sea-side, 
 and had a little more leisure than necessary relaxation 
 and occasional preaching at those seasons required. I 
 have given some account of this in the preface to the 
 last volume of the Morning and Evening Exercises. 
 
 I have not been able to do justice to any of these 
 works, or even to the degree of my comparative ability, 
 for want of more time and abstraction, in composing 
 and revising, than could be obtained from a large con- 
 gregation, four services a week at home, and numerous 
 calls to preach on special occasions abroad. I have 
 rarely been at liberty to transcribe, and have frequently 
 written from short and imperfect notes, to supply the 
 immediate demand of the printer. I do not mention 
 this to boast anything like great readiness in composi- 
 tion, or to justify haste where it could be avoided ; but 
 to intimate that among engagements and interruptions 
 I did what I was able. At an earlier period I might, 
 perhaps, have pleaded this, to soften, if not to disarm, 
 critical censure ; but my advanced years remind me 
 that I ought to think only of the approbation of God, 
 regardless of being “judged of man’s judgment.” 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 123 
 
 Since the Lord has so favorably disposed the public 
 mind to receive my writings, notwithstanding their 
 defects, I need not lament that I have published so 
 much, as it enables me to do a little good in many 
 places at the same time, and may lengthen a degree of 
 usefulness beyond natural life. I hope it makes me 
 humble rather than proud, (I am sure it ought,) to 
 think how many, in particular, I am continually attend- 
 ing in their most sacred moments of retirement, and 
 aiding at the family altar, as well as helping in their 
 general religious concerns. 
 
 I am also thankful, that though a man’s writings 
 will always have a tinge of his own opinions, I have 
 published nothing that can fairly or justly give offence 
 to any religious parties among those who “hold the 
 Head.” Let a man, if he please, state and defend his 
 own peculiar views in a work of itself, and professing 
 its own purpose ; but I always disliked the smuggling 
 of particular sentiments into a subject designed and 
 adapted to general usefulness. 
 
 I do not consider my Sermon on the Reformation as 
 an exception to this remark. The occasion was sin- 
 gular, and allowed and required me to speak freely. 
 If any suppose that because I conceded to the Catholics 
 their civil rights, I was too candid towards the doc- 
 trines and superstitions of Popery, they have but to 
 peruse the Sermon to see that they were mistaken. If 
 any members of the Established Church were offended, 
 it was only those who did not hear the Sermon, but 
 only heard of it, in connection with a gross misrepre- 
 sentation, which ignorance reported and bigotry spread, 
 and which was soon rectified by public denials. These 
 denials, however, the author never called for, having 
 
124 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 always followed an advice early given him by a very 
 wise and good man, viz., never to notice anything said 
 of him in newspapers and periodicals. There were 
 witnesses enough in the numbers that attended the 
 discourse who could vouch for his innocency of the 
 charges which were maliciously and eagerly circulated. 
 The libel was, that he affirmed the only difference be- 
 tween the Church of Eome and the Church of England 
 was the same as between a toad and a tadpole. The 
 preacher was applying this coarse image to another 
 subject ; the liars transferred it to this. It was also an 
 Episcopalian and not a member of his own congrega- 
 tion who drew up the application for him to publish 
 the sermon. One thing said gave offence to some, who 
 have since seen it abundantly explained and exempli- 
 fied — The Popery of Protestantism . How truly and 
 forcibly has Dr. Chalmers enlarged on this ! 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XII. 
 
 BEFORE THE DUKE OF SUSSEX AT THE OPENING OF 
 HANOYER CHAPEL, PECKHAM : — REVIEW OF HIS COURSE : — EARLY 
 DISADVANTAGES: — INFLUENCE OF POSITION ON HIS HAPPINESS. 
 
 My dear Children, — While musing with what I 
 should fill this sheet, it struck me that I would notice 
 the disadvantages arising from my original state in life, 
 and see what there has been in any degree to counter- 
 balance them. I have nothing to lament on account 
 of it physically ; yea, I was more likely to inherit a 
 purer blood, and a sounder constitution, by being born 
 of healthful, robust, and active peasants, than if I had 
 descended from the enervating, and disease-breeding 
 habitudes, and indulgences of higher life. But my 
 early condition painfully affected my ease and confi- 
 dence in company. I, therefore, rarely ever felt myself 
 at home, or in my element, unless in some very special 
 instances. This, however, was overruled for good, by 
 keeping me much out of society, and giving me more 
 time for reading and study, which I both wanted and 
 desired. Hence, also, in a measure, arose my back- 
 wardness to speak at public meetings. For the sacred- 
 ness of the temple I had been accustomed privately to 
 prepare, and the presence of God seemed to reduce 
 creatures to their proper level. 
 
128 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 Thus when I had to preach before the Duke of 
 Sussex, at the opening of Hanover Chapel, instead of 
 dining with His Royal Highness and a large company 
 previously to the service, I passed the time in retire- 
 ment, and when I left it, to enter the pulpit, I felt no 
 more than if I had been going to preach Christ in a 
 poor-house. One of the papers of the day abused me, 
 for the freedom of my address, but as I had never been 
 accustomed to speak evil of dignities, so I was not 
 likely to insult greatness to its face. The case was, 
 retirement had awakened conscience, and conscience 
 accompanied me in the pulpit, and bade me speak, 
 “ not as pleasing men but God who searches the heart,” 
 and with whom “ there is no respect of persons.” I 
 never consider myself as chargeable with personal re- 
 flection, when I am conscious I should deliver the same 
 things, from the same words, in any other place or to 
 any other audience. But I could never (so modelled 
 and governed are we by habit and circumstances) 
 realize this frame in a town-hall or an assembly-room. 
 There, notwithstanding the object of the meeting, it 
 seemed to be a kind of civil proceeding ; and I felt as 
 only among men, whose presence and manner con- 
 founded me. The expectation of being called upon to 
 propose or second some motion has crucified me in the 
 prospect, for the whole preceding night ; and it some- 
 times induced me to abstain from places, and assem- 
 blies, which I should otherwise have delighted to at- 
 tend. I have felt also impressed with an invincible 
 apprehension that I did not succeed when I made the 
 attempt. After my first speech on occasion of the first 
 meeting of the Bible Society in Bath, I was desired by 
 a rude member of the committee to furnish for publi- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 127 
 
 cation in the provincial papers, “as much of what I 
 had delivered as had any relation to the business of 
 the day.” This so completely chilled me, that I spoke 
 but once after, and without any of that freedom which 
 would give it grace or effect. Then I came to a de- 
 termination, that to prevent importunity I would refuse 
 all future applications. I the more readily adopted 
 this resolution, as I had a plenitude of other pressing 
 claims. I was also afterwards confirmed in the pro- 
 priety of it by Dr. Chalmers, who, when I was at his 
 house in Glasgow, remarked, “ The pulpit is the 
 preacher’s appropriate station, and he can there be 
 most influential and useful, by touching a number of 
 springs which will set all in motion.” Observation 
 also has kept me from repenting of my resolution. I 
 have seen that ministers, who, as platform orators, 
 have figured much at these meetings, have been sadly 
 drawn off from keeping their own vineyards. Nor in 
 general, are preachers on these occasions the best or 
 the most acceptable speakers. They are too profess- 
 ional — too sermonic. Laymen, who speak more 
 briefly, more simply, and apparently more from the 
 heart, are commonly more effective, and are heard to 
 more advantage. My esteemed friend Mr. Hughes, 
 one of the secretaries of the Bible Society, also con- 
 firmed this ; and he had the best opportunities to 
 judge. 
 
 “Every man in his own order,” we have all our 
 particular dispensations under which we should be 
 content to labor, and getting above which, we soon 
 appear to be out of our place. Genteel life lays 
 restraints on the expression of feeling, and gives a 
 softness to the manners, and a courtesy to the speech, 
 
128 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 especially in differences of opinion. Here, I fear, I 
 also have sometimes if not frequently erred, having 
 been hasty of spirit in conversational disputes, if not 
 rudely decisive. But the great disadvantage arising 
 from my original condition was the want of an early 
 and good education. As this was not placed within 
 my reach, I have no feeling of shame or of blame on 
 account of wanting it ; but I am persuaded I should, 
 had the opportunity been afforded me, have seized it 
 with avidity ; and have made that progress which de- 
 pends on some degree of talent, accompanied with 
 much application and diligence. I say nothing, there- 
 fore, in depreciation of schools and learning, but it 
 becomes me to dwell on any consideration that tends 
 to reconcile me to the will of God in denying me, 
 what I shall ever deem a privilege ; and viewing things 
 in their bearing on my ministry, I was, perhaps, by 
 my previous circumstances, more acquainted with the 
 lower ranks in the community, and could better ac- 
 commodate myself to their modes of thinking and 
 feeling. And may not this be one reason why God 
 takes so many of his laborers from common life? And 
 how was it with the great Teacher sent from God? 
 We are aware of a grand specialty in his case. He 
 had knowledge by inspiration — but he communicated 
 it naturally. His teaching was unlike that of the 
 doctors of the schools, — “he spake as one having 
 authority, and not as the Scribes.” He did not soar 
 above vulgar apprehension. He did not abound in 
 learned allusions. His images were all taken from 
 familiar scenes Other teachers were very fine — he 
 was very simple. They were mechanism — he was 
 nature. “ The poor,” therefore, had “ the gospel 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 129 
 
 preached unto them” and “the common people heard 
 him gladly.” Was this recorded of him who “ spake 
 as never man spake” in a way of commendation? 
 Why then do we not seek to resemble him? 
 
 Cromwell always ordered his soldiers to fire low, 
 and what execution would they have done had they 
 fired high? Such are the effects of their preaching 
 who shoot over their hearers’ heads. Have we never 
 seen an audience gaping with admiration at what they 
 did not understand, and perhaps their wonderful and 
 astonishing orator either? It is easy to give a dis- 
 course the appearance of depth, or originality, by cer- 
 tain terms and unusualness of expression, or turning 
 prose into a kind of blank verse. But this strikes only 
 the injudicious, — not “the wise in heart.” They easily 
 see, under the garish ornaments, only the mere com- 
 mon-place which they would not despise, but for its 
 silly affectation of finery. 
 
 I have been asked whether my happiness was in- 
 creased and improved by the change and elevation in 
 life which I have experienced ? It may not be amiss 
 to offer a few reflections suited to this inquny. — “ The 
 Lord,” says the church, “shall choose our inheritance 
 for us.” When Saul’s courtiers reproached David as 
 a restless, ambitious young man, who, dissatisfied with 
 a private station, was endeavoring to climb into emi- 
 nence and publicity, he was able to make this appeal, 
 “Lord, my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty, 
 neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in 
 things too high for me.” He well knew that the first 
 notice he excited, and which led to everything else, 
 was, as to himself, purely accidental. He was sent by 
 his father to carry provision to his brethren in the 
 
 6 * 
 
130 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 camp, and to learn how they did. He had then no 
 expectation of seeing or engaging Goliath ; but it was 
 so ; and the Lord brought it to pass ; for there was 
 nothing in the event casual as to him. If lesser things 
 may be compared with greater, I am equally sure, that 
 the revolution in my circumstances was by the provi- 
 dence of God; not a thought of the change — much 
 less a design, was, or could have been, rationally en- 
 tertained by myself or my friends, till the door was 
 suddenly opened, in an entirely new direction, and I 
 was led by a way I knew not, and in paths which I 
 had not known. In such a case, the will of God is to 
 be supremely regarded ; and the dispensation is not to 
 be judged of by what we suffer or enjoy He has an 
 absolute propriety in us; and may dispose of us as 
 seemeth good in his sight. His work is perfect — his 
 w^ays are judgment. His purpose also is often com- 
 prehensive and extensive, involving references far 
 beyond our present views and circumstances. Men 
 are naturally far from being content with such things 
 as they have; and as to the future, rising in life 
 seems always to appear very enviable. It would be 
 very ungrateful in me, not to acknowledge the good- 
 ness, as well as the agency of God, and especially, 
 considering the results, not to exclaim with David, 
 “ "What am I, and what is my father’s house, that thou 
 hast brought me hitherto ?” But I am not disposed 
 from experience to make men dissatisfied with their 
 own allotment, and to seek great things to themselves 
 by representing all the advantages as to enjoyment, on 
 the ascending side. It was not the shepherd of Bethle- 
 hem, but the hero of the age, and the monarch of 
 Israel, that cried, u Oh that I had wings like a dove. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 131 
 
 for then would I flee away and be at rest ” If the 
 robe be lengthened, it is not the less likely to be soiled, 
 or torn, or trampled on. Possessions gender fears and 
 cares ; talents increase responsibilities — where much is 
 given, much will be required. And who can be satis- 
 fied with his own improvements ? Many new sources 
 of usefulness may be opened, and this will weigh with 
 a pious mind. But the Lord looketh to the heart ; and 
 “ where there is first a willing mind, it is accepted ac- 
 cording to what a man hath, and not according to 
 what he hath not.” The Saviour could not have ex- 
 tolled an apostle, or an angel, more than he did Mary, 
 when he said, “ She hath done what she could.” 
 
 “Who does the best his circumstance allows, 
 
 Does well — acts nobly — angels could no more.” 
 
 Many new sources of pleasure also may be opened ; 
 but every comfort has its cross ; sensibility also may 
 be quickened ; but strong feeling may increase anguish 
 as well as enjoyment. A man, if destitute of the ne- 
 cessaries of life, must be wretched; but if he has a 
 sufficiency with regard to food, clothing, and habita- 
 tion, suited to his state, he may be called poor ; but he 
 is only comparatively so. Crabbe often takes his aim 
 too low — his poor are the abject poor — the inmates of 
 a parish work-house, or the contents of the back streets 
 of a borough, and commonly immoral and vicious. 
 But take a peasant or a mechanic in a village, sober, 
 moral, religious ; his wishes bounded by the simplicity 
 of rural life — his sleep sweet — his meals, though plain, 
 sauced by appetite — his hands sufficient for him — his 
 labor limited and free from distracting cares — his little 
 
132 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 garden jdelding iiim the useful vegetable, and the 
 Sunday flower — the Sabbath, a day of pleasing change, 
 and rest, and refreshment of spirits — the going to the 
 house of God in company- — and the Bible, now more 
 amply read, though not forgotten during the week — 
 take such an one, and his condition as to enjoyment 
 will not shrink from a comparison with the state of 
 thousands, who never look down upon him, but with 
 contempt, or pity, or indifference. 
 
 There are those who are not theorists here — they 
 “ speak that they do know, and testify that they have 
 seen.” It is said of Burns, by Dugald Stewart, that 
 as they were walking together one morning, in the 
 direction of the Braid Hills, where they commanded a 
 prospect of the adjacent country, the poet remarked, 
 that the sight of so many smoking cottages gave a 
 pleasure to his mind, which he did not believe any one 
 could understand, that did not know as he did, how 
 much of real worth and happiness such humble habita- 
 tions might contain. My testimony, perhaps, may be 
 supposed to be too favorable, and to require some de- 
 duction, on two accounts : — First That I left village 
 life early, and before I was grown up, so as to be fully 
 initiated into ifs good or evil. There is some little 
 force in this, though I was old enough to observe, and 
 feel, and judge. Secondly . That in my boyhood, 
 
 village life was superior to what it now is. This de- 
 serves notice ; and there have been, I fear, many 
 changes for the worse. I need not describe what it is 
 at present. But when I left the neighborhood of my 
 native place, abject penury, and extreme destitution, 
 and sordid suffering, were rarely ever to be seen. 
 Most even of the cottagers had a swine-sty, and baked 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAYi 
 
 133 
 
 their own bread ; many of them also brewed their own 
 beer, or made cider, and if not for constant use, had a 
 little beverage for festivals and particular occasions. 
 Those who, during mowing and reaping seasons, went 
 forth to labor carried their bottle afield with them, and 
 were generally supplied at meals v r ith cold or warm 
 meat and vegetables. Now, bread and water, with few 
 exceptions, is all the provision, all the support, all the 
 comfort, thousands of men, women, and children have 
 amidst the burning sunshine, and exhausting labor of 
 a summer’s day. I was lately walking in time of 
 harvest with an intelligent and humane farmer, among 
 a number of hard-working peasants, who said to me, 
 “You see these thin meagre figures, with patched and 
 ragged clothing — they have been toiling here from 
 early dawn, to this scorching noon, and have had, 
 jDerhaps, little more than a can of water and a crust 
 of bread ; and will toil on till evening calls them to a 
 similar repast at home, and sleep, to their only rest. 
 Oh, sir,” said he, a nothing surprises me so much, as 
 the honesty, and quiet submission, and unresistless- 
 ness of these sufferers; and we cannot reach and 
 change their state.” 
 
 “ Let not ambition mock their useful toil, 
 
 Their homely joys and destiny obscure ; 
 
 Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
 The short and simple annals of the poor.” 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XIII. 
 
 HIS COURSE OF READING : FAYORITE AUTHORS : — - DR. OWEN : — » 
 
 ROBERT HALL’S OPINION OF HIM CONTROVERTED : FAVORITE 
 
 COMMENTATORS AND DIVINES: METHODS OF STUDY COMPO- 
 
 SITION :• — MRS. more’s ADVICE TO HIM. 
 
 My dear Children, — I feel at a loss to determine 
 what particulars to communicate concerning myself ; 
 but some things, not generally interesting to others, 
 may be, in a measure, gratifying, if not useful, to my 
 own relations, and partial friends. 
 
 I would now advert to my reading. Here I never 
 pursued any particular plan, but was much determined 
 by accident, and led by opportune circumstances. I 
 am not recommending or justifying this course, but 
 stating a fact. I was never accustomed to write out 
 extracts from authors. This I lament, as there are 
 many passages I should be glad to review, but know 
 not where to find them in volumes I shall probably 
 never have time to look through again. 
 
 I was always a devourer of books that came in my 
 way, and to read the more and not commanding thi 
 leisure I wished, I have learned to read with great 
 rapidity, so that I can throw my eye over the pages, 
 and dispatch a tolerable publication at one or two sit- 
 tings. Mv reading also was very miscellaneous. ? 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 135 
 
 seldom refused anything that came in my way, as I 
 found there was nothing that fell under the notice 
 of a minister but may be turned to some account. I 
 therefore did not restrict my attention to works advo- 
 cating the sentiments of my own denomination. I 
 was fond of scanning periodicals, few of which, of any 
 note, escaped me. Though a dissenter, I always read 
 and admired the “ Christian Observer,” and took it in 
 from the beginning. Though a cordial believer in 
 evangelical principles, I never omitted those Cyclops 
 of literature the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews ; 
 on general subjects — and how many of these are there ! 
 — I have derived profit from divines, whose theologi- 
 cal views have differed widely from my own. In di- 
 vinity, and for unction, illustration, excitement, and 
 effect, I have much preferred the old authors to most 
 of the moderns. I love not to be singular, but I never 
 could applaud Baxter above his brethren. He was a 
 most holy and heavenly-minded man, but I am speak- 
 ing of him as an author. He was often too speculative 
 and metaphysical, and he confessed and lamented it 
 before his death. He knew his skill, and therefore at- 
 tempted to saw the beams of cobwebs into planks, and 
 multiplied distinctions as well as particulars, to the 
 perplexity of the reader. His more experimental and 
 practical writings are very excellent ; but I never per- 
 ceived more spirituality, or seriousness, or earnestness, 
 in them, than in the productions of many of his contem- 
 poraries. Does he in these qualities surpass Alleine, 
 and Howe, and others of his brethren ? 
 
 Leighton and Newton were always with me, very 
 favorite authors. What men of God were these I 
 What a Christian spirit, v r hat a Scriptural manner, 
 
136 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 what an experimental knowledge, what a devotional 
 savor, do we always find in their writings ! When a 
 very young preacher, I was much struck with Dr. 
 Hunter, and still more with Saurin. This eloquent 
 author made such an impression upon me, that I in- 
 stantly began to learn French, to be able to read him 
 in the original, and to peruse the remainder of his un- 
 translated sermons, as well as his other works. By 
 this acquisition I gained accession to the writings of 
 many French divines, Catholic and Protestant, many 
 of which I continue to value. 
 
 But as we advance towards maturity of taste we 
 shall relish the natural more than the artificial, and 
 not only distinguish between finery and elegance, but 
 perceive that the one is destructive of the other. For 
 disentangling a subject from confusion, for the power 
 of development, for genuine simplification, for inven- 
 tion, what writer ever surpassed Eobinson of Cam- 
 bridge ? Yet the sad defection of this inimitable genius 
 from the truth, and the insinuations by which, I fear, 
 he aimed to sap the doctrines he did not openly attack, 
 render familiarity with his works dangerous. I found 
 it so with regard to myself, and this has kept me from 
 warmly recommending the perusal to my younger 
 brethren, who are often in nothing “so much to seek,” 
 as in simplicity and naturalness. 
 
 The composition of Davies’s Sermons, of New Eng- 
 land, is too equable and elaborate, and wants relief and 
 shade ; but I must confess no discourses ever appeared 
 to me so adapted to awaken the conscience and impress 
 the heart. In reading them, one seems always to feel 
 that they were written by a man who never looked off 
 from the value of a soul and the importance of eter- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 137 
 
 nity, or sought for anything but to bring his hearers 
 under “ the powers of the world to come.” I could 
 wish the sermons of Flavel (especially by some of our 
 ministers) were more known, and prized, and imitated. 
 They excel in evangelism and in brevity (not the com- 
 mon character of the age in which they were written), 
 and in avoiding or rendering needless much explica- 
 tion, its room being occupied by natural inferences and 
 striking applications. The late Dr. Hall spoke much 
 to me in their favor. 
 
 Having mentioned the name of this truly great man, I 
 must think for myself even in his presence, and express 
 my dissent from him with regard to Dr. Owen. I think 
 Mr. Hall must have conceived a prejudice against this 
 eminent theologian, from having read only some un- 
 favorable specimen of his works ; for I am persuaded, 
 from his manner when Owen was mentioned in his 
 company, that he was not familiar with his publications 
 at large. However this may be, I cannot but join 
 Newton and Cecil in considering him the prince of di- 
 vines. We let go some of his controversial works 
 (though even these display much learning and acu- 
 men) ; but it seems not a little strange that the author 
 of the “ Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews,” 
 and “The One Hundred and Thirtieth Psalm,” and the 
 treatises on u The Spirit,” and on “ The Person and 
 Glory of Christ,” and on “ Spiritual Mindedness,” and 
 on “ The Mortification of Sin in Believers,” &c., should 
 have been ever called “ a continent of mud.” 
 
 As to commentators, I have always deemed Mr. 
 Scott, upon the whole, the best expositor for the con- 
 nected meaning of Scripture, and for the consultation 
 of ministers in any difficulties. The very first page I 
 
138 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 ever wrote that appeared in print was in recommenda- 
 tion of this work. This may seem strange, and be 
 deemed assuming ; but the work was then coming forth 
 in numbers, and (not the author, but) the publishers 
 craved testimonies in its favor from every one who 
 was likely to influence a single subscriber ; and these 
 were printed on the wrappers of the numbers as they 
 came out. Yet I did not write without exercising my 
 judgment, and feeling a conviction which has grown 
 upon me ever since. But for private and pious use I 
 never found anything comparable to Henry, which, as 
 old John Byland said, u a person cannot begin to read 
 without wishing he w r as shut Out from all the world, 
 and able to read it through, without stopping.” 
 
 I always much preferred our own divines to foreign 
 theologians, especially those of the German school — a 
 growing fondness for which I deemed no good omen. 
 I have also much prized the French Huguenot divines 
 who wrote before, and some rather after, the Bevoca- 
 tion of the Edict of Nantes. These I consider as de- 
 servedly vying with our own theologians in talent and 
 Scriptural knowledge, and considerably before them 
 in composition, with the exception of Bates. Would 
 God there was a revival of these great and good men 
 in their now infidel, superstitious, irreligious, and dis- 
 tracted country ! 
 
 As to my studying , I never set apart regularly any 
 particular time, thereby reducing the exercise to a 
 kind of mechanism, or compulsion. I endeavored to 
 think more habitually. As to preaching, I chose my 
 texts and subjects as early in the week as possible. 
 Thus I not only had always something to fill any spare 
 moments, but approaching what I had selected for dis- 
 
139 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 cussion, without constraint and repeatedly, and from 
 different sides and aspects, it opened to my mind more 
 
 naturally and easily, and with more enlargement and 
 variety. 
 
 After a nervous malady, and to avoid sedentariness 
 I also much accustomed myself to think abroad The 
 practice was difficult at first, as my attention was often 
 diverted ; but I soon by use acquired the power of 
 fixed and regular application ; and the sceneries of na- 
 ture rather aided than injured my meditations; inspir- 
 mg also the trains of my reflection with a freshness 
 and feeling underivable from dry and dull porings 
 over books. In these musings in the garden, the 
 meadow, the field, the wood, the leading ideas of my 
 discourse soon fell into their proper places, and a di- 
 vision resulted without much effort ; so that, when I 
 came home, I had only to secure what I had already 
 found and to write what I had already methodized ; 
 and I could (without short-hand, which I lament I 
 nevei earned) by various contractions and natural 
 signs, easily remembered, include much of my subject 
 
 “ a Sma11 COm P ass - 1 seldom, therefore, ever wrote 
 a sermon at full length, but only a draft or sketch (it 
 
 ; S co ““ onI J- as you know, called a skeleton), more or 
 ess full, according to its requirements, leaving the 
 subordinate filhngs-up, after meditation and prayer to 
 the impressiveness and excitations of the audience, and 
 lw delivery, and the assistance authorized to be hoped 
 for where means have been duly used. Even these 
 notes I never took with me into the pulpit, till within 
 e past year, and I am sorry I ever took them. The 
 memory, like a friend, loves to be trusted, and seldom 
 tans to reward the confidence reposed in it. 
 
140 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 Though I did not usually write my sermons, in or- 
 der either to read or mandate them (according to the 
 Scottish phrase and practice), yet I rarely neglected 
 my pen. As I had opportunity I was constantly com- 
 mitting thoughts and sentiments to writing. It was 
 one of the advices of Mrs. Hannah More, at my first 
 acquaintance with her, to write much. “ It matters 
 not, comparatively,” said that extraordinary woman 
 (to whom I early owed much), “ on what a young 
 composer first writes ; by the constant use of his pen, 
 he will soon form a style ; and by nothing else can he 
 attain it.” She also recommended writing with as 
 much celerity as possible, regardless of trifling inac- 
 curacies. “ These,” she said, “should not be suffered 
 to check and cool the mind. These may be safely 
 left for correction in review ; while advantage is taken 
 of the heat of composition to go on to the end ; it 
 being better to produce the whole figure at one fusion, 
 than to cast successively various parts, and then con- 
 join them.” 
 
 I always composed rapidly. If I succeeded at all 
 to my satisfaction, it was commonly at once. What I 
 produced by mere dint of effort seldom pleased me. 
 The mind should, indeed, be excited by love to the 
 subject, or pleasure in the study ; but I always found 
 a consciousness of difficulty and elaboration unfavor- 
 able to success. The production was wanting in sim- 
 plicity and naturalness. There is no reaching flowers 
 by ladders and balloons. They do not grow in the 
 air, but in the ground. They are not above our head, 
 but at our feet. We find them in walking. We bend 
 to view them, and stoop to gather them. 
 
 I always found one thing very helpful in the choice 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY, 
 
 141 
 
 and in the study of my subjects for preaching. It was 
 the feeling of a rightness of aim and motive, — i. e ., a 
 simple regard to usefulness ; and a losing sight of ad- 
 vantage, popularity, and applause. This, it may be 
 said, is rather a moral than an intellectual auxiliary. 
 Be it so. But we know who has said, “ When thine 
 eye is single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” 
 And is not even reputation itself better and more 
 surely acquired when it follows, than when it is pur- 
 sued ? If we do not lose it, we corrupt it, by making 
 it ouj* aim, instead of leaving it to follow as a conse- 
 quence in the discharge of duty, and so making it the 
 honor that cometh from God only. 
 
 With regard to my texts , many from time to time 
 gradually occurred; many also were obtained from 
 the Scriptures read in our family worship ; but to 
 avoid the loss of time in searching for others, and to 
 secure a constant sufficiency, I followed the advice 
 and practice of Job Orton. I procured a blank book, 
 and wrote at the top of the page any passage of Scrip- 
 ture that impressed me with the thought that rendered 
 it striking. One part of the book in the same way 
 was separately allotted for texts suited to particular 
 subjects, seasons, and occasions. These were always 
 increasing ; and to this store I repaired if no other 
 passage immediately offered. 
 
 I also always had a number of plans of sermons 
 ready for use beforehand , in case I should be deprived 
 of opportunity or fitness for my usual preparation ; 
 and seldom, if ever, did I take advantage of any one 
 of them from idleness, but only from the want of 
 health, spirits, or leisure. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XIV. 
 
 REVIEW OF HIS ANNUAL VISIT TO LONDON, AND SERVICES AT SUR- 
 REY CHAPEL: — REMARKS ON FREQUENT PREACHING: VISIT TO 
 
 IRELAND : REBELLION : ALDERMAN HUTTON, HIS HOST* NO- 
 
 TICE OF JOHN WALKER, DUBLIN. 
 
 My dear Children, — The capabilities of preachers 
 are not always to be estimated by their performances. 
 This is the case with those who have numerous claims 
 upon them for public service. If they are not to neg- 
 lect their various other duties, what adequate prepar- 
 ations can they secure for the many sermons they have 
 to deliver ? Dr. Watts laments, in a letter to a young 
 divine, that he was so soon after his ordination re- 
 quired always to produce two discourses every week, 
 and rather advises him to make use of published as- 
 sistance for one part of the Sabbath. But those among 
 whom I began my efforts were all accustomed to three 
 sermons every Lord’s-day, and one at least in the week, 
 and a private meeting besides. In addition to all this, 
 in their own places, the ministers frequently preached 
 in the neighboring villages. To all this I was early 
 inured, and for some considerable length of time, and 
 since my settlement in Bath, I have always had to 
 furnish two discourses on the Sabbath, and one in the 
 week, together with a private admonitory address; 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 143 
 
 not to mention (by no means unfrequent) extra en- 
 gagements from home. 
 
 For nearly fifty years I annually supplied Surrey 
 Chapel. In this I yielded to the importunity of Mr. 
 Hill, whom I found it difficult to refuse, as I had 
 rather offended him by declining his pressing proposal 
 to enter entirely into what he called his connexion, 
 and by which I should have been at his disposal, to 
 divide my labors among a number of places under his 
 influence, if not authority. From taking that wrong 
 step (for so it would have proved) I was prevented by 
 the care and wisdom of my friend and father, Mr. 
 Winter, who foresaw consequences of which I was 
 not aware. 
 
 For more than thirty years I supplied for eight 
 Sundays yearly (a period too long for a pastor to be 
 absent at once from his charge.) Then I supplied for 
 six Sundays, then for four, and then for three only. 
 At last I terminated my annual engagement ; and I 
 should have done it sooner, had not many, even of my 
 reverend brethren in London, urged me to continue 
 the service. My reason for gradually shortening, and 
 entirely resigning, the engagement, was not for want 
 of respect and attendance in the congregation, to which 
 I was much attached, or want of pleasure in the ser- 
 vices ; for the cause had become much endeared, and I 
 had often found the place to be none other than the 
 house of Grod, and the gate of heaven. But, first, my 
 growing disapproval of the system of providing for 
 places by a merely successional supply. This system 
 wants the advantage' of a pastoral relatiou, and robs 
 many churches for too long a time of the labors of 
 their own ministers, while it affects surrounding con* 
 
144 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 gregations by tempting hearers, and members, to leave 
 their own places, to follow some one preacher and 
 some another, deservedly or undeservedly popular, 
 with whose novelty and excitement a stated pastor can 
 hardly compete. Secondly, because, in consequence 
 of these engagements, I had less time and liberty to 
 attend to occasional calls for services in other direc- 
 tions ; for these had multiplied from the various resi- 
 dences of my children, and the amazing increase of 
 new religious interests, and public institutions calling 
 for assistance. 
 
 Though, therefore, I curtailed and declined my visits 
 to London, I have labored more in the country, and 
 have been oftener abroad preaching on particular 
 occasions, such as ordinations, associations, openings, 
 and re-openings of places of worship, and especially 
 for the various benevolent societies that adorn our age 
 and bless our nation. Judging from the results, I was 
 found a tolerably successful beggar, and was made 
 not a little free with, under that mendicant character. 
 Had not David numbered the people, I might perhaps 
 have kept an account of the multitude of collection 
 sermons which I have delivered. But I can truly say 
 that nothing has afforded me . more pleasure than per- 
 ceiving that though I could do but little myself in the 
 way of giving, I had some influence to aid, through 
 others, so many schemes of civil and sacred beneficence. 
 
 But in the course of these services my mind has un- 
 dergone some variation, and, I think, improvement. 
 Though I have not been much at sea, I have observed 
 that a kind of side wind is the best for filling all the 
 sails, and for securing speed. I have, therefore, for some 
 years past, been led to preach very few direct charity 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 145 
 
 sermons. Many of the subjects of these appeals are 
 well known, and the common enlargements upon them 
 are become trite and satiating, when a peculiar frame 
 of soul in the audience is necessary ; and I regard it 
 as a kind of desecration of the place, and a debasement 
 of the glorious Gospel, to deal much in pounds, shil- 
 lings, and pence. I therefore more generally have 
 chosen a very evangelical or experimental subject, the 
 warm discussion of which was more likely to produce 
 in my hearers a favorable state of mind and feeling for 
 every good work ; so that at the close of the service 
 their inquiry would be, “ Lord, what wilt thou have 
 me to do?” And I have only had to present the case 
 with its nature and claims, all tricks and teasings be- 
 ing unnecessary. 
 
 In these occasional services, I have preached as I 
 had opportunity for all parties that invited me. The 
 thing was not where I preached, but what I preached, 
 and I never felt fetters or embarrassment ; such a gen- 
 eral agreement is there now on those leading truths 
 which ought on these occasions to be called forth. 
 Such interminglings too I have always found benefi- 
 cial. They tend to reduce the strangeness that keeps 
 Christians of different denominations so improperly 
 from each other, and to produce that spirit which will 
 lead us to exclaim, “ Behold my mother and my breth- 
 ren ! for whosoever shall do the will of my Father that 
 is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and 
 mother.” “ Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity.” 
 
 Once I visited Ireland for six weeks, at the invita- 
 tion of what was then called “The Evangelical So- 
 ciety.” This Society consisted of pious individuals of 
 
 7 
 
146 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 every ( Protestant and Evangelical) denomination, who, 
 forgetting their minor differences, were anxious to do 
 something for the spiritual good of their countrymen, 
 especially in Dublin, by employing preachers who were 
 likely to awaken some degree of attention. They pro- 
 fessed only to defray their travelling expenses, without 
 any remuneration of their labors. I was one of the 
 invited, but could not have gone at a less favorable 
 season. The rebellion broke out the very day after 
 my arrival ; and the alarm and agitation immediately 
 following, together with the fierceness of party rage, 
 were such as for the time to injure, if not destroy, all 
 serious and profitable impressions in the hearers. I 
 was at the house of Alderman Hutton. He took me 
 in his carriage (which was in our passage several times 
 looked into by the soldiers stationed at the cross-roads) 
 to preach one week-day afternoon at the Black Bock 
 for the Bev. Mr. Kelly. But this tvas the only public 
 service in which I could be engaged out of Dublin, be- 
 ing by martial law nearly confined to the city, and al- 
 most to the house. Every Sabbath-day morning I 
 preached at Dr. M ‘Do wall’s church. He had a large 
 and respectable congregation of orthodox presbyteri- 
 ans, but displaying little of the power of godliness. In 
 the evening I always preached at Plunket-street chapel, 
 where assembled a few poorer people, but whose hearts 
 God had touched. I also several times preached at the 
 Baptist Meeting in St. Mary’s Abbey. 
 
 It may seem surprising that a temporary missionary 
 should have gone at such a period. The error lay en- 
 tirely with the gentleman at whose mansion I was ac- 
 commodated. Here (in England) we deemed every- 
 thing lowering and foreboding, and I wrote for leave to 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 147 
 
 resign or postpone my visit ; but be rather ridiculed 
 my apprehension. “ He was upon the spot.” “ He 
 was a magistrate.” “He well knew the state of things.” 
 “ There was no more danger in Dublin than in Bath.” 
 “ Come and fulfil your engagement.” I went, but my 
 preaching was in a sad degree dry and powerless, and 
 the word, I feared, produced little or no effect. But 
 in what a state did I find religion as far as I had op- 
 portunity for observation ! There were a few grains 
 of salt, but what were they to save the community 
 from entire corruption? Mr. W. (Walker) was then 
 preaching at Bethesda Chapel and Penitentiary, built 
 by a gentleman at this time one of my congregation in 
 Bath. Mr. W. was a man of erudition, mind, and in- 
 fluence, and distinguished as rather the leader of the 
 Evangelical party in Dublin, especially among the 
 Episcopalians. He had an extreme aversion to every- 
 thing he deemed Arminian, and seemed to hate Mr. 
 Wesley as much as he did Dr. Priestley. He was too 
 orthodox to be evangelical, i. e., to preach the Gospel 
 to every creature, and betrayed a disdainful censor- 
 iousness which brought to mind Solomon’s aphorism, 
 “ Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit 
 before a fall.” He soon afterward fell into one discov- 
 ery after another, till “the light that was in him be- 
 came darkness,” and oh ! how great was that darkness! 
 But there were several most excellent young men be- 
 longing to the university, who then gave promise of 
 what they have since become. There were also pri- 
 vate meetings successively in various houses for social 
 prayer, in which persons of all parties zealously en- 
 gaged ; and, soon after I left Dublin, a considerable re- 
 vival commenced, and much has been done since to 
 
148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 advance the cause of Christ in different parts of that 
 interesting but always distracted and misgoverned 
 country. Had the same exertions been made in for- 
 mer years, what a different state of things might have 
 been now witnessed ! 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XV. 
 
 VISIT TO SCOTLAND FOR LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY : DR. CHARLES 
 
 STUART : — LETTER FROM HIM TO MR. JAY : SUBSEQUENT INTER- 
 COURSE : APOLOGY FOR HIS SEVERE CRITICISMS ON MR. JAY I — 
 
 ANECDOTES IN PREACHING : — REMARKS ON THE SCOTTISH CUSTOM 
 OF LECTURING : — HIS OWN PREPARATION FOR THE PULPIT : USE- 
 FULNESS I RIGHT AIM : EXTEMPORANEOUS PREACHING *. STATE 
 
 OF THE PULPIT AMONG NONCONFORMISTS: — METHODIST EASE, EAR- 
 NESTNESS, LIFE, ETC. : —ATTRACTION FOR THE MASSES! UNION 
 
 OF THE TWO STYLES OF PREACHING : — BEST CHARACTER OF : — 
 
 FAULTS OF SCOTTISH PREACHERS, THE DRY AND THE LUSCIOUS ! 
 
 LONG PREACHING. 
 
 My dear Children, — In the summer of 18 — I vis- 
 ited Scotland. It was in the service of the London 
 Missionary Society. I preached my way thither, on 
 public occasions, at Birmingham, Manchester, Halifax, 
 Hull, and York. At the latter place I passed a whole 
 Sabbath. A plan was to have been in readiness to 
 regulate all my public movements when I arrived at 
 Edinburgh, but it was not well formed. Hence time 
 was frequently lost, and due notices were not always 
 forwarded. The neglect was occasioned by the man- 
 ner in which the affair of arrangement was settled. 
 Where a number of persons are engaged, mutual de- 
 pendence upon each other weakens a sense of individ- 
 ual responsibility, and often little or nothing is done. 
 Had the ark been built by a committee, it would never 
 
150 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 have been finished. In the case to which I am refer- 
 ring, one should have been appointed for the pilrpose 
 of direction, and this one a man of business and tact ; 
 while here several individuals were concerned, and I 
 believe all of these were ministers, who, it is well 
 known, are not always the most apt and punctual be- 
 ings in the world. 
 
 Here also I scarcely preached to advantage, and 
 must have fallen short of some degree of fame that 
 had preceded me, and which was aided by the report 
 of many who had visited Bath in a course of years, 
 and had heard me in my own pulpit. I was hurried 
 and perplexed, and wanted that freedom from bustle, 
 and that retirement, without which I never could feel 
 or produce much impression. The principal places I 
 preached in were Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, Dum* 
 blane, Glasgow, Paisley, Greenock, Largs, and the Isle 
 of Bute. In four of these places, I preached in the 
 Established Kirk, as well as among the Seceders and 
 Congregationalists. From the beginning, the pulpits 
 in the National Church of Scotland had been opened 
 to orthodox divines of other communions ; but some 
 little time before my visit the General Assembly had 
 passed a decree to close them.* This seemed to have 
 
 * This reference to the closing of the pulpits in the Established 
 Kirk of Scotland but a short time before Mr. Jay’s visit, enables us 
 nearly to fix the date which he has left open in the commencement 
 of the present letter. It is well known that the Decree of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly was attributed to the first visit of the Rev. Rowland 
 Hill and his itinerant labors in Scotland. That visit took place in 
 the year 1798. The Decree to close the pulpits against ministers 
 of other communions probably passed the Assembly of 1799, for on 
 Mr. Hill’s second visit he found it in operation against him. Mr. 
 Jay’s visit we may, therefore, suppose from his language, took place 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 151 
 
 been done, not only from a dislike of a certain kind of 
 doctrinal preaching, but in a moment of irritation, oc- 
 casioned, perhaps, in a measure by some indiscreet 
 acts among those who needed only to have preached 
 the testimony of God, as Whitfield did, who knew 
 “ nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” It is 
 related that when he first visited Scotland, the excel- 
 lent Erskines rather opposed him as not sufficiently 
 particular and discriminate in his zeal ; they wished 
 to confine his labors to their own party, and not to 
 labor in the Church from which they had seceded, 
 saying, “ God had left it.” Then said he, “ It is the 
 more necessary for me to preach in it, to endeavor to 
 bring him back : I ’ll preach Christ wherever they ’ll 
 let me.” 
 
 It was hoped at this time, by the better members 
 of the Establishment, that such a decree would not 
 long remain in their statute-book. Some from the 
 first deemed the decree more honored in the breach 
 than in the observance ; and it was pleasing to find 
 how soon, in some actual instances, it was treated as a 
 dead letter. The last General Assembly previous to 
 the Secession which forms the “ Free Church” nobly 
 abrogated it ; but, as it was expected, the Residuary 
 Church soon re-enacted it. It is the disgrace and the 
 injury of a Church to be exclusive, but it is worse to 
 become so, and to become so when knowledge and lib- 
 erality prevail, and the rights of conscience are so much 
 better understood. In churches just emerging from 
 
 within a year or two. So «hat its date must have been 1800, 1801 
 or 1802, and could hardly have been later, or he could not have 
 used the words, u some little time before,” 
 
152 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 the bosom of antbchristianism, or rising up where re- 
 ligion was so identified with superstition, when bigotry 
 and intolerance were the error of the age, as well as of 
 individuals, some degree of the evil can hardly be 
 Avondered at, and may be for a time tolerated. But 
 “ they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that are 
 drunken are drunken in the night ; but let them that 
 are of the day be sober.” It is lamentable to think 
 that the Established Church of England has become 
 more intolerant than it was formerly. Even in the 
 days of Elizabeth, other Protestant communities were 
 not unchurched, nor the ordinations of their ministers 
 deemed invalid. It is an historical fact, that what can- 
 not be done now was more than allowed then ; and 
 that divines both officiated in the Establishment, and 
 obtained preferments, who had only been set apart by 
 “ laying on of the hands of the Presbytery.” In Edin- 
 burgh I was followed by that good and talented, but 
 eccentric, or (at least) peculiar character, Dr. Stuart. 
 He had seceded from the Church of Scotland, but no 
 church came up quite to his standard of scriptural 
 purity and order ; and therefore it is said, he com- 
 muned with none but his own servant, in his own 
 house. He always heard more like a judge than a 
 learner. He weighed everything that dropped from a 
 preacher’s lips in the nicest scale of rigid orthodoxy, 
 and was never backward to pronounce “Tekel.” I 
 was not therefore very likely to escape. Accordingly 
 I soon found that I had erred in my opinion concerning 
 the unlikely supreme prevalence of popery, and had 
 shown, with regard to some parties, a most improper 
 candor. But when I happened to preach at the Rev- 
 Mw Innes’s meeting, from the words of John, “ Perfect 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 153 
 
 love casteth out fear,” the sermon so pleased him that 
 very late the same night he wrote me a letter much 
 importuning me to give it to the public, as the best 
 illustration of an important principle he had ever 
 heard. Here is the letter itself : — 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I regret very much that my state 
 of health disqualifying me for conversation, has not 
 permitted me to avail myself of the opportunity of 
 seeing you. I have, however, been privileged with 
 hearing you three times; and may I, though without 
 consultation with any one, earnestly beseech you to 
 let the discourse of to-night appear from the press ? 
 I do not urge this lightly. I do beg it of you from 
 the conviction that it contained the truth in one of the 
 most striking representations I ever heard, and is 
 suited to alarm, rouse, comfort, animate; but it con- 
 tains a solution of various difficulties which will, I 
 know, disentangle many. That it coincides with my 
 sentiments is nothing ; in so far I beg leave to enclose 
 a statement of it. Only meaning to confess how low 
 it is, compared with the practical, admirable, elevated 
 view of it you delivered, 
 
 “I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 “Your most obedient servant, 
 
 “ Charles Stuart. 
 
 “ Thursday night.” 
 
 I also had once seen him in London, where he fre 
 quently heard me ; and calling upon me at Surrey 
 Chapel House, he said he had formerly written a re- 
 view of my sermons, for some part of which he was 
 now sorry, as he had not done justice to the evan* 
 7 * 
 
154 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 gelism of my sentiments, of which he was now per- 
 suaded from hearing me. 
 
 In my long public life and various preachings, I 
 have met with bo few of these “ tryers,” who had or 
 feigned to have some scruples as to the stanchness of 
 my credenda; but I never quarrelled with them — never 
 argued with them; but took care never to flatter 
 them, or court their favor. “ Thou shalt not bow 
 down to them nor worship them, for I am the Lord 
 thy God.” u Call no man master upon earth, for one 
 is your master, even Christ.” In this journey, I al- 
 ways felt an apprehension which had a contracting 
 and depressive influence. It was the thought that my 
 mode of preaching was not congenial with the taste 
 of Scottish audiences. My friend, Mr. Hughes, who 
 had been for education at Aberdeen, contributed to 
 this, by telling me when I was going to Scotland, that 
 while in the north I must be very careful and guarded, 
 and forbear freedoms , and especially anecdotes, which 
 would not be relished or endured there. A man al- 
 ways works best when he works in his own way, and 
 I knew I should do better with my sling and stones 
 than in Saul’s armor. My preaching could never dis- 
 pense with my own manner, and which I am sure 
 was natural to me, and not derived from the schools. 
 Towards the conclusion of my mission, I was preach- 
 ing in the Isle of Bute ; and near the end of the ser- 
 mon I mentioned the caveat I had received before I 
 left England ; adding, that I then felt a strong temp- 
 tation to break through it. I paused, and then said, 
 “ Well, whatever be the consequence, I will introduce 
 the following anecdote.” I saw it told ; and the min- 
 isters, coming afterwards into the session-house vestry, 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 155 
 
 said, il You liave labored under a great mistake; we 
 are not averse to anecdotes, but to some kinds of them, 
 and to the manner of relating and applying any of 
 them. When they are well chosen, and properly in- 
 troduced, they are peculiarly acceptable, as they are 
 more unusual with us, and we want excitement more 
 than information.” 
 
 One thing struck me much while in Scotland. It 
 was their lecturing, which I believe is invariable on 
 the morning of the Lord’s day, in all their sanctuaries, 
 both in the Establishment and among Seceders. I 
 had only before very rarely employed this mode of 
 instruction, but ever since my return I have frequent- 
 ly introduced it. I once, indeed, had begun an essay 
 on the subject in order to recommend the practice, to 
 which I had intended to annex a volume of such ex- 
 ercises. But I was diverted immediately from my 
 purpose, by the request of my congregation to publish 
 “ The Christian Character Contemplated,” which I had 
 just delivered. It is perhaps now too late for me to 
 resume the thing ; but I here record it as my settled 
 judgment, that nothing would be more profitable to 
 the hearer, and useful to the preacher ; and I only 
 wish that our English churches would more encourage 
 it, and our ministers seek to excel in it. 
 
 Some difficulty at first arose from my usual method 
 of preaching, which is very textual ; and which leads 
 me to notice the several parts, and often even the 
 wording of the text. But in lecturing, many minute- 
 nesses must be passed over, and the aim must be to 
 seize and display the spirit or design of the whole pass- 
 age, and bring it to bear upon the audience in practi- 
 cal application. Preachers differ in their talents, and 
 
156 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 all cannot equally succeed in the same department. 
 But let none decline making an attempt here, or be 
 discouraged if their efforts be not crowned with imme- 
 diate success. In due time they may reap if they faint 
 not. 
 
 I could commonly ascertain before I left the study 
 how I should succeed in the pulpit. With me the tug 
 of the war was always alone. If I felt that I had grasp- 
 ed my subject, and could gain a certain frame of spirit 
 made up of the solemn and the tender , I rather longed 
 for the service than dreaded it ; and this was very 
 much the case on all occasions, the more extraordinary 
 and trying ones not excepted. 
 
 I never considered an essay a sermon, or a sermon 
 an essay ; I always loved arrangement and division. 
 I am aware that the former may be found without the 
 latter, and intelligent and reflective minds may recog- 
 nize it ; but as to the mass of hearers, concealed meth- 
 od is much the same as none. And why should it 
 ever be concealed ? The lower orders peculiarly need 
 it ; it relieves and quickens their attention ; it aids 
 their apprehension and understanding. It also enables 
 them the better to retain and carry away what they 
 hear ; and how limited is the efficiency of what pleases 
 and interests in the act of hearing only ! And how 
 desirable is it that our people should keep in memory 
 what is preached unto them, that they may not believe 
 in vain! 
 
 Hence it is much to be wished that the divisions 
 should be short, simple, and easy ; the language every- 
 where plain, and the exemplifications natural and fa- 
 miliar. Few can imagine how much I have always 
 made this my aim and effort; nor have I less wished 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAV. 
 
 157 
 
 and endeavored to be in some measure not only intel- 
 ligible but impressive. This is no easy thing ; and 
 some of the means that would conduce to it, especially 
 among the vulgar, are by many too much overlooked 
 or despised. But is it not strange that men of God, 
 who profess to be ministers in a kingdom not of this 
 world, and who are sent to seek that which is lost, 
 should, while sitting in judgmentoupon their mode of 
 preaching, inquire not what kind of address and illus- 
 tration is most likely to be useful to the bulk of an 
 audience, but what agrees best with the most admir- 
 ed modes of composition. Longinus, or Quintilian, or 
 Cicero, has more authority with them, even in the things 
 of the Spirit, than the manner of the sacred writers. 
 The Jew's had no schools for dialectics and rhetoric ; 
 their orators spoke only the eloquence of nature. 
 Rules w r ere originally derived from the excellency of 
 works, and not v r orks from the excellency of rules. 
 Criticism is useful in its degree and place ; but it is 
 not a standard of absolute authority, especially with 
 him that like Paul v r ould “ become all things to all 
 men, if by any means he might gain some.” 
 
 I early preached in villages, and never discontinued 
 the practice as long as I was able and had opportunity. 
 I ought therefore to know from much experiment what 
 is required in such services. I never went to them 
 unprepared. It appeared to me strange that any should 
 suppose that less care and labor are necessary in prep- 
 aration as those we address are less disciplined and 
 qualified to receive instruction. I always peculiarly 
 studied for the occasion, only my study was how to 
 be intelligible and interesting. The minds of the rus- 
 tics are not inaccessible, but you must take the trouble 
 
158 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 to find the avenues to them. There are modes of mak- 
 ing them look eagerly, and hang upon the preacher’s 
 lips ; and the preacher who secures their attention, 
 whatever some think, has the honor of resembling him 
 of whom it was said, “ the common people heard him 
 gladly.” 
 
 Persons of education may be approached through 
 mere intellect, but the poor generally are like women 
 whose heads are in their hearts. They are like poets, 
 who feel before they think. Application with them is 
 an effect rather than a cause. They attend not to feel, 
 but must be made to feel in order to attend. When 
 will preachers remember the observation of Kollin, — 
 viz., that “the eloquence of the Scripture is the elo- 
 quence of things, and not of words, and therefore it is 
 that so much of the spirit and mode of the original 
 shows itself even in the plainness of the translation.” 
 
 I seem disposed to continue a little longer in the 
 same strain. I shall therefore venture a few more re- 
 marks freely with regard to preaching. 
 
 Upon the principle before mentioned, the ex re nata 
 of extemporary speaking will always be more effective 
 than what is read from composed documents doled forth 
 from mere recollection. Animation is desirable, and 
 with ordinary minds no other quality will fully supply 
 the want of it ; but then it must appear to be the re- 
 sult of feeling. Whenever this is really the case, the 
 animation will glow and rise with the subject. What 
 is continuous and invariable must be mechanical and as- 
 sumed. This is a sad secret let out by the uniform and 
 
 constant bawlers or strainers. I have heard a whole 
 
 % 
 
 sermon from the beginning to the end, whatever in- 
 equalities there were ii the importance of the parts, 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 159 
 
 delivered precisely in the same degree of tone and 
 forced vehemency. But how can the fire precede the 
 friction? And how can all the picture be light with* 
 out shade ? 
 
 Nothing that requires a lengthened connection of ar- 
 gumentation will succeed with ordinary hearers. They 
 are not accustomed to unbroken trains of thought or 
 discussion. With them, if the preacher be wise, he 
 will find out acceptable words ; for the words of the 
 wise are as goads and as nails. The mass are not 
 mathematical ; they are not logical. The deep and 
 the subtle in reasoning will commonly escape them. 
 Yet there is often in them largely the principle of com- 
 mon sense ; and they are capable of taking in even a 
 profound proof or argument, if it be despatched with 
 brevity and plainness. It is also very advantageous, 
 if not necessary, in their case, to attach to the proof 
 or argument some fact or image, not in evidence, (for 
 metaphors prove nothing), but in illustration. Thus 
 a kind of handle is given to the subject, by which 
 they are enabled to lay hold of and carry away what 
 would else be too large, or unfit for their grasp. 
 
 I have always thought the regular Dissenters were 
 to blame at the origin of Methodism. They did not 
 indeed oppose, as the Church generally did, on the 
 ground of doctrine, for in this they essentially ac- 
 quiesced, but as to the mode of preaching. The Dis- 
 senters were educated ministers themselves, (for at that 
 time there was scarcely a lay-preacher among them,) 
 and their sermons were not only orthodox but studied, 
 grammatically correct, and methodical; but, with a 
 very few exceptions, pointless, cold, and drawled off 
 from notes. On the other hand, many of the new 
 
160 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 preachers had not been trained for the ministry ; and 
 delivered themselves in a way very unacceptable, in 
 many respects, to culti vated minds. They were often 
 boisterous, rude, coarse, incoherent. Yet they were 
 powerful and efficient ; and noise and novelty will not 
 account for all the effect they produced. Reflecting 
 men might have perceived this. Our ministers saw 
 that the meeting was thinly attended, and that crowds 
 were drawn to the Tabernacle. Instead of listening 
 to reports, (which always magnified the mistakes of 
 these men,) and dwelling so much upon their defi- 
 ciencies, they should have owned that Grod honored 
 them and did much good by them ; they should have 
 heard and judged for themselves ; they should have 
 examined whether there were not some things in which 
 these laborers (for such indeed they were) deserved not 
 only to be tolerated but even imitated. And there 
 were a few who nobly differed from the many of the 
 general body. They were candid and judicious enough 
 to own these men, without approving everything in 
 them. They perceived, that with all their supposed 
 or real faults, they had an earnestness in their manner, 
 with strokes of fancy, touches of passion, striking 
 metaphors, plain anecdotes, bold addresses and char- 
 acteristic applications to the conscience, which might 
 be detached from their accompanying improprieties, 
 and adopted in an improved state, in combination with 
 elements of their own; accordingly, these soon dis- 
 played, in addition to their own superior learning, ac- 
 curacy, and order, an ease and a liveliness which, as 
 ministers, they knew not before. 
 
 And it is this union, so to speak, of the Dissenter 
 and Methodist that has produced the better style of 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAV. 
 
 161 
 
 preaching than either of them had separately attained. 
 They have corrected and improved each other ; and 
 introduced freedom without irregularity, arrangement 
 without stiffness, animation without violence, soberness 
 without dulness, solemnity without sanctimoniousness, 
 readiness without rapidity, and plainness without vul- 
 garity. 
 
 With -regard to subjects , what I have always deemed 
 the best kind of preaching is neither highly doctrinal 
 nor dryly practical ; but distinguished by what I should 
 call experimentality , or a constant blending of the doc- 
 trine and practice of the gospel strongly with the af- 
 fections and feelings. Many of our northern divines 
 have been sadly deficient here. Their sermons have 
 had theology enough in them and were well method- 
 ized ; but there was little in them to rend or to melt. 
 How much of “ The Scotch Preacher ’ 7 (not the last) 
 might be read through without the troublesomeness of 
 a single emotion ! This was an extreme from the 
 “ Marrow Divines , 77 and a mode of evangelical compo- 
 sition which for a good while obtained there, best de- 
 nominated, perhaps, by the “luscious.” In many in- 
 stances, preaching is now getting towards the right 
 medium in Scotland, and our brethren there, with the 
 talents and learning which distinguish them, are likely 
 to become able ministers of the New Testament, not 
 of the head only, but also of the heart. 
 
 There is nothing against which a preacher should be 
 more guarded than length. “ Nothing , 77 says Lamont, 
 “ can justify a long sermon. If it be a good one it 
 need not be long ; and if it be a bad one it ought not 
 to be long . 77 Luther, in the enumeration of nine qual- 
 ities of a good preacher, givers as the sixth, — “ That he 
 
162 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 should know when to stop.” Boyle has an essay on 
 patience under long preaching. This was never more 
 wanted since the Commonwealth than now, in our 
 own day, especially among our young divines and 
 academics, who think their performances can never 
 be too much attended to. I never err this way my- 
 self but my conviction always laments it; and for 
 many years after I began preaching I never offended 
 in this way. I never surpassed three-quarters of an 
 hour at most. I saw one excellency was within my 
 reach — it was brevity, and I determined to obtain this, 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XVI. 
 
 CRITICISM ON HIS SERMONS : — DEFENCE OF HIS METHOD : — AMERICAN 
 
 REVIVAL PREACHING: SCRIPTURAL LANGUAGE : OBJECTORS I — 
 
 PASTORAL VISITING: COMPLAINTS: HIS EXPLANATION. 
 
 My dear Children,- — I cannot be ignorant that, 
 besides frequent references to my sermons on public 
 occasions, my preaching has been more expressly 
 criticized in different publications. Six of these have 
 come under my view. A man would not be allowed 
 to be a judge in his own case, or otherwise I could say 
 that neither the commendations that have been gra- 
 ciously given me, nor the defects which have been no- 
 ticed, have appeared to myself very appropriate or 
 discriminative ; nor has the secret of the degree of 
 impression which I have produced (and which has 
 been rather extensive as well as durable) been very 
 justly explained. If I considered myself competent 
 to supply the deficiency, it would be indelicate to at- 
 tempt it ; though, when this is read, I shall be beyond 
 the reach of human praise or censure. 
 
 One thing I cannot help remarking. I never saw 
 any allusion to my preaching as abounding more with 
 images, and facts, and instances of things, than what 
 commonly prevails. If I have not succeeded in this, 
 the practice has not always accorded with my convic* 
 
164 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 tion, and aim, and endeavor. Bunyan’s motto, bor- 
 rowed from Hosea, could never be used by some 
 preachers — “I have used similitudes.” But such a 
 usage is sanctioned by the constitution of human na- 
 ture, and recommended by the example of Him who 
 “ spake as never man spake.” Dr. Carey is reported 
 to have said to a young minister who had preached 
 before him, “ My young friend, I have much approved 
 of your sermon, but it had one deficiency, it had no 
 ‘ likes' in it.” And when asked for an explanation, he 
 added, “ Why, when you read our Lord’s discourses, 
 you constantly meet with the expression, The king- 
 dom of heaven is like unto leaven, like unto mustard- 
 seed, like unto a net, like unto a marriage, and so on. 
 Now never preach again, my young friend, without 
 some ‘ likes ' 1 in your addresses.” 
 
 God, the only wise God, who, having made us, 
 knows what is in man, and what is necessary to him, 
 has given us the largest proportion of the Old and New 
 Testaments in the form of history and biography. Is 
 it not, therefore, strange that public instructors should 
 lose sight of God’s method, and be always getting into 
 the commonness of declamation, or the dryness of 
 speculative discussion ? “A story,” says Cecil, u will 
 hold a child by the ear for an hour together,” and 
 u men are but children of a larger growth.” 
 
 Nearly allied to this is another thing in which the 
 sacred writers (did we deem them worthy our imita- 
 tion) would usefully guide us. Instead of defining, 
 they describe ; and instead of describing, they exem- 
 plify. They hold forth everything, not in the naked- 
 ness of abstraction, but clothed with their attributes, 
 and palpable in their effects. To show us what the 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JA T. 
 
 165 
 
 power of religion is, they tell ns what it does. The 
 believer comes to Christ. The penitent looks on him 
 whom he has pierced, and mourns. W e have not the 
 rules and tactics of the war, but we see the warrior 
 from his arming till he has triumphed. We have not 
 the representation of the pilgrimage, but we have the 
 pilgrim, and follow him step by step from the city of 
 destruction up to the celestial abode. 
 
 If I mention some things which have been noticed 
 in my style of preaching, not censoriously, yet rather 
 in a way of complaint, it will not be for the purpose 
 of defence, but explanation. It will then be seen, if 
 I have erred, that it has been more by rule than by 
 thoughtlessness ; and the reader will be left at full lib- 
 erty to judge for himself. I am aware of what has 
 been said of the importance of unity of design in a 
 discourse, especially by Mr. Fuller, who so well exem- 
 plified his own advice. With this mode I have not 
 been wanting sometimes to comply, and I have occa- 
 sionally found great advantage in selecting a single 
 sentiment, and pursuing it through the whole dis- 
 course. But I have much more generally followed the 
 textual treatment, deriving the contents of the sermon 
 from the parts and even the terms of the passage, and 
 this unavoidably rather trenches on unity. But may 
 not the want of unity in the subject be compensated, 
 and more than compensated, by variety ? In the Drama, 
 much has been written of the unities by the French, 
 who also always boasted of their maintaining them. 
 But has one of their authors anything equal to the 
 mixed productions of Shakspeare, who often violates 
 them all ? But in preaching it should be remembered 
 what diversities of persons and cases there are before 
 
166 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 us at every service, and liow unlikely these diversities 
 are to be reached by the very same thing. We are 
 rightly to divide the word, and give to each a portion 
 of meat in due season. The Day of Judgment admits 
 of many separate views. It may be considered as a 
 day of aggregation — a day of separation — a day of 
 manifestation — a day of retribution. And Bourdaloue 
 or Massillon would confine himself to one of these ex- 
 clusively. But would this be likely to be so useful, 
 or to strike various and different minds, as a few bold 
 strokes on all of them ? 
 
 An American divine was one day endeavoring to 
 account to me for the effect of their revival preaching. 
 He ascribed much of it to its restriction to one thing, 
 observing, for instance, that though repentance may 
 be considered as including conviction, contrition, con- 
 fession, conversion, and, as necessary to the whole, 
 looking on Him whom we have pierced — they should 
 not notice these together, but give each a separate and 
 distinct discourse. But the same individuals may not 
 hear all these distinct discourses ; and if other persons 
 drop in and hear only one of them, how defective may 
 his information be ! I could not divide in the same 
 sermon the cause and the effect. I could not preach 
 repentance without preaching the Cross. How is the 
 one to be produced without the other? Let us read 
 the Acts and the Epistles. 
 
 Some have complained of my sermons being filled 
 with too much Scripture. If this be an error, it is 
 surely on the right side ; and, as Dr. Geddes says, “ I 
 love to give God’s children plenty of their own bread.” 
 I am sure of this, that I never used quotations from 
 the Scripture merely to fill up or to lengthen out a 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 167 
 
 discourse ; and I trust I have never introduced any 
 fancifully or regardlessly of the mind of the Spirit ; 
 yet I own there is here occasionally some excess ; and 
 it has probably resulted from my familiarity with the 
 language of the Bible, having, before many other books 
 came in my way, read it much, and committed much 
 to memory. 
 
 Am I to allow the charge of too much amplification 
 and diffuseness in my preaching ? When Mr. Pitt 
 once received an intimation of this kind, with regard 
 to his speeches, his episcopal biographer tells us he 
 made this reply : “ A man who addresses a popular 
 assembly must either use repetition or diffusion ; and 
 I prefer the latter.” If he deemed this needful in such 
 an assembly as he addressed, can it be unnecessary in 
 ministers when speaking to a mixed multitude, many 
 of whom have little education or talent, and were 
 never accustomed to any fixed application of mind ? 
 We should consider that what either in confirmation 
 or illustration is superfluous for one hearer, is even in- 
 sufficient for another. We often see as we go on in 
 our discourse, from the straining attention of some in 
 the crowd, that we have not yet succeeded in what we 
 have spoken. Are we then to go forward without 
 making another attempt with some change of address 
 or variation of imagery ? The eloquent Isaiah would 
 say, “ Precept must be upon precept, precept upon 
 precept ; line upon line, line upon line ; here a little, 
 and there a little.” 
 
 Who has entirely escaped the reflection of freedom’s 
 degenerating into vulgarity and coarseness ? Certain- 
 ly not a Shakspeare, a Burke, a Hopkins, or a South. 
 Certainly not many of our most forcible writers ; and 
 
168 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 
 
 they incurred the accusation because of their force . In 
 aiming at great impression and effect there is always 
 some danger. There is none in tame correctness. 
 
 “ They who crawl 
 Can never fall.” 
 
 But they who rise and they who run may. Yet is 
 not occasional failure in attempt better than perpetual 
 deficiency and indifference ? Have not a thousand 
 beauties been snatched from the very verge of impro- 
 priety ? May not a man deserve the rebuke of Quin- 
 tilian, who, speaking of a certain author, says, “ His 
 greatest excellence was that he had no fault, and his 
 greatest defect that he had no excellence ” ? 
 
 Give me an impressiveness and an excitement that 
 will not allow a hearer to perceive a fault, or, if he 
 does, leaves him no mind to regard it. And is there 
 nothing, if not to applaud, yet to extenuate, in even a 
 mistake, in endeavoring to do good to those who are 
 destitute of a thousand advantages, and whose condi- 
 tion is such that they must be sought after? We do 
 not admire their low and grovelling taste, yea, we wish 
 to raise and improve it ; but how is this to be done' if 
 we never approach them ? Can you take up a child 
 from the ground without bending ? And when kind- 
 ness makes you stoop, honor crowns condescension. 
 
 I have found it difficult, if not impossible, to give 
 satisfaction to a certain class of hearers, while wishing 
 to do justice to the Scripture at large. Some of these 
 objectors (for I could not think so of all) have been 
 good men, but of contracted views. I admired their 
 love to the truth as it is in Jesus, and their peculiarly 
 relishing it when brought forward in a discourse. I 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 169 
 
 acknowledge also that a minister should frequently 
 and largely dwell upon it, and treat everything in con- 
 nection with it. But this connection extends much 
 further than they seem to suppose. It does not follow 
 that because one point is to be made more prominent 
 in a discourse, all others are to be disregarded. We 
 are no more to abridge than to mangle the Gospel. 
 We must keep back nothing that is profitable, but de- 
 clare the whole counsel of God. It will be better to 
 be able at last to make the appeal, “I am free from the 
 blood of all men,” than to find that we have succeed- 
 ed in gratifying the taste of a few, whose preference is 
 of little value in the possession, and commonly a snare 
 in the obtaining. 
 
 The apostles are our models ; in their Epistles we 
 find doctrine and practice, duty and privilege, always 
 blended together. They knew that everything in the 
 Evangelical scheme was not equally important ; but 
 they regarded nothing as useless. They took great 
 care to lay the foundation firmly and broadly ; but 
 then they omitted nothing in the superstructure that 
 was needful or ornamental. They preached only a 
 crucified Saviour ; but warning every man and teach- 
 ing every man in all wisdom, that they might present 
 every man perfect in Jesus Christ. They contended 
 that the grace of God alone brings salvation, but show- 
 ed that it teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly 
 lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the 
 present world. 
 
 Yet I could never have felt at liberty to preach a 
 series of sermons on a number of evil characters such 
 as the apostle mentions as abounding in the last days : 
 “ Lovers of their own selves ; covetous ; boasters ; 
 
 8 
 
170 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 proud ; blasphemers ; disobedient to parents ; unthank- 
 ful ; unholy ; without natural affection ; truce-break- 
 ers ; false accusers ; incontinent ; fierce ; despisers of 
 those that are good ; traitors ; heady ; high-minded ; 
 lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God ; having a 
 form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;” 
 yet I knew a pastor who edified his people for nineteen 
 Sabbaths following, with a separate discourse on each 
 of these. I also knew another, not green in age, who 
 was three years in going through the ten command- 
 ments. I could hardly consider myself justified in preach- 
 ing a whole sermon before a multitude of perishing 
 sinners from the words of Solomon, “He that hateth 
 suretyship is sure.” Not that such intimations and 
 cautions are to be overlooked ; but it is better to strike 
 at the thing with a remark or two as we go on. It 
 should also be remembered that we may often insinu- 
 ate moral hints while we are illustrating some Christian 
 principle. By teaching the children of God what they 
 ought to be, I teach other children their obligations ; 
 and by holding forth the character of God as a Father, 
 I instruct and admonish other fathers in the duties 
 which lie upon them. 
 
 It should, however, never be forgotten that “we are 
 the servants of the Most High God, who show unto 
 men the way of salvation that the Gospel is good 
 news for perishing sinners ; and that this is to be 
 preached to every creature ; and “ there are some doc- 
 trines,” says Mr. Venn, “that should not only be al- 
 ways implied and referred to in our sermons, but 
 should be distinctly and fully treated, several times in 
 the course of every year.” 
 
 You probablv have heard more than myself of the 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 171 
 
 complaints which have been made of your father with 
 regard to the article of visiting. 
 
 I can truly say, it affords me no satisfaction to find 
 similar complaints very prevalent wherever I have 
 gone. N or do I, in this case, wish to attempt wholly 
 to justify myself — 'far from it. I might have done 
 more, especially in some cases, than I have done, by 
 moje decision, arrangement, and diligence. Who can 
 look back on any department of duty and -usefulness, 
 and not have reason to exclaim, “ If thou, Lord, 
 shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand ?” 
 Yet I would remark a few things, by way, at least, of 
 explanation, rather than of excuse. 
 
 No little of this censured neglect was voluntary with 
 me, and therefore it did not aggrieve my mind. I saw 
 that much of what was commonly expected w r as un- 
 reasonable, , and that it was consequence rather than im- 
 provement that was affected by disappointment. 
 
 I saw several kinds of visitants whom I did not see 
 I was called to follow. 
 
 First. The smokers, furnished with a pretty pipe, 
 and its usual concomitant, at every house of call ; 
 
 Secondly . The listless and self-indulgent, who found 
 that diligent study was much less inviting, than loung- 
 ing from one company to another, and hearing the 
 news of the neighborhood ; 
 
 Thirdly. The truly pious, who are really concerned 
 to do good, but were often less useful than they meant 
 or imagined. Many of these have not the oily slang 
 of religious phrases ; they are not apt at free and ap- 
 propriate address, or turning all incidents to profitable 
 account; yet they might preach to advantage, had 
 they time and leisure for reading and meditation. 
 
172 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 I saw also that their calls were not always accept- 
 able or convenient : this was the case with mechanics 
 and men in business, and still more so with females in 
 ordinary life, who were commonly taken up with their 
 domestic cares. 
 
 I saw also that the whole congregation must be vis- 
 ited (in which case, if it were a large one, the whole 
 of a preacher’s time would be occupied,) or the minis- 
 ter would be deemed a respecter of persons, giving as 
 much pain as pleasure ; flattering the pride of one, 
 and gendering the envy of another, by supposed par- 
 tiality. 
 
 I also could not but see how little profit resulted 
 from more set visits, of longer continuance, and includ- 
 ing table and tea entertainments. In these meetings 
 how nearly impossible is it to commence or maintain 
 discourse by which you can either gain or do good ! 
 
 I am aware that there must be interviews and inter- 
 courses, when they are of^no particular character or 
 utility ; they contribute to good neighborhood and social 
 pleasure ; but I am now speaking of things in reference 
 to their ecclesiastical relation, and the importance of 
 their bearing on ministerial duty and excellence. 
 
 If familiarity does not breed contempt, it reduces 
 reverence ; and too much intimacy has often lowered 
 the impression and influence of many a minister ; for 
 there are but few who have the same presence and ad- 
 dress in the parlor as in the pulpit. 
 
 I have no opinion of a pastor that is not very 
 studious. But study demands leisure and retirement, 
 and “ through desire, a man, having separated him- 
 self, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.” 
 He should therefore, as much as possible, avoid pub* 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 173 
 
 licity, and be covetous and niggardly of every fragment 
 of time. A man who has some degree of talent, espec- 
 ially an easiness and fluency of speech, may do for 
 an itinerant or an occasional preacher, by his brisk su- 
 perficialities ; but let him become stationary, and have 
 to preach three or four times a week to the same peo- 
 ple, and he ? 11 soon abound with sameness, and become 
 sapless and unedifying ; the young will feel little at- 
 traction ; the intelligent will be tempted to withdraw ; 
 the dull will become drowsy ; and the ignorant that 
 remain will be ignorant still. 
 
 People for their own sakes should do all they can 
 to promote a habit of mental application in their min- 
 isters, and be concerned to allow them every oppor- 
 tunity wdthin their reach for exerting it, especially 
 their mornings and evenings. Of course, if they love 
 their pastors, they will feel pleasure in their company, 
 nor will that company be unreasonably refused ; but 
 let them, as much as possible, choose the time of in- 
 tercourse, and not accuse them of indolence, or self- 
 indulgence, if it be not so frequent as they could wish. 
 Perhaps at the very moment of their hearers’ com- 
 plaint they are in their retirement praying for them, 
 or studying to comfort or profit them, if not with the 
 sweat of the brow, with the sweat of the brain ; for 
 a much study is a weariness of the flesh.” 
 
 I therefore never felt anything like self-reproach 
 when conscious of my being fully employed ; and per- 
 suaded that I was better subserving, not only my own 
 welfare, but that of my people and of the public, in 
 my study, than in gadding about without an aim in 
 idle interviews and nursery talk. 
 
 I mention not this, therefore, to make those easy 
 
174 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 who rise not before seven in the morning ; hang loose 
 from strenuous improvement all the day ; are drawn 
 aside by every trifling excitement ; and apply the tim^ 
 they affect to husband from visiting to no equal pur- 
 pose, or no purpose at all; but for the sake of up- 
 right and conscientious men, who are anxious to make 
 full proof of their ministry, but grieve because they 
 cannot do the things that they would. 
 
 But is not a minister a pastor, and is not a shepherd 
 to mind and manage the state of all his sheep ? He 
 is ; and he must peculiarly regard cases of urgency 
 and distress ; he is to bind up that which is broken ; 
 to bring back that which has wandered ; but he can 
 only feed, and lead, and fold the flock together or col- 
 lectively . 
 
 Cases of affliction have special claims on pastoral at- 
 tention ; and in these consolation and spiritual profit 
 may be administered by a word in season. But here 
 ministers have sometimes been blamed for remissness, 
 when they have not been made acquainted with the dis- 
 tress. The rule is, u Is any sick among you, let him 
 call for the elders of the church thus at once inform- 
 ing them of his case, and expressing his desire to be 
 visited. 
 
 I observe also, that much in this supposed delin- 
 quency was with me unavoidable . I began my course 
 under many early disadvantages ; for I began young, 
 and nearly from the beginning was thrown into situa- 
 tions and circumstances which had many and exciting 
 demands upon me, without assistance. Though phys- 
 ically incapable of enduring so much confinement and 
 engagement as some of my brethren, I had four ser- 
 vices per week at home, besides frequent calls abroad. 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 175 
 
 Bath, the place of my residence, exposed me to 
 Kiany interruptions ; and my own people little knew 
 how much I was necessarily engaged in visiting strangers 
 who came there for health, and were away from their 
 usual pious helps. I might also mention, that I was 
 early unintentionally led to become an author; and 
 God giving me much acceptance, I regarded the press 
 as well as the pulpit, the one indeed, as to extensive- 
 ness and continuance, superior to the other. This also 
 required time and attention, and much more than jus- 
 tice to my subject demanded. 
 
 As congregations grow larger and more respectable ; 
 as more preparation for the pulpit is needful than for- 
 merly ; as institutions have so much multiplied, and 
 pastors must often be engaged in services added to 
 their home routine of duty; new and serious difficul- 
 ties arise in the present discharge of the ministerial 
 function. How are they to be met ? It seems now 
 hardly possible to combine equally in the same man 
 the excellencies of the pastor and the eminence of the 
 preacher. I have seldom seen an instance of both. 
 Dr. Mason, of New York, in his farewell address to 
 his church, says, “If you would have us not only to 
 preach Christ publicly, but from house to house, you 
 must put your hands into your pockets, and support 
 a dozen more pastors.” 
 
 If pastors and pastoral assistants cannot be multi- 
 plied, may not something be done by an increase of 
 good and efficient deacons and elders? Could not 
 they relieve their ministers from some of their exer- 
 tions, and allow them the more freedom to give them- 
 selves to the Word of God and prayer? Is there no- 
 thing they can do but serve tables ? Could not fe- 
 
176 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 males be usefully and properly employed? "Were 
 they not in the first churches officially engaged, not 
 indeed in preaching, this was expressly forbidden — 
 and inspiration is only common sense here, — but in 
 cases that did not compromise the duties and decencies 
 of their peculiar sphere and character ? Paul says to 
 the Philippians, “ Help those women that labored 
 with me in the gospel.” To Timothy he speaks of a 
 “ widow well reported of for good works, if she have 
 brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if 
 she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved 
 the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good 
 work.” “I commend unto you,” says he to the Ro- 
 mans, “ Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the 
 church which is at Cenchrea. For she has been a 
 succorer of many, and myself also. Also greet Mary, 
 who bestowed much labor on us.” 
 
 I flatter not, but speak the words of truth and sober- 
 ness when I say, our churches and ministers suffer no 
 inconsiderable loss by the non-official engagement of 
 the sex, whose taste and talent, piety and goodness 
 and zeal, are now so useful, but which may be rendered 
 much more so than they are. 
 
 One thing I did to remedy, in a degree, my defi- 
 ciency in visiting. For the sake more expressly of 
 the busy, the poor, and the aged, I had a meeting in 
 the vestry on the Monday evening, in which I always 
 sat, and, for near an hour, spoke in a more free and 
 familiar manner than it became me to use in my pul- 
 pit. I considered this like meeting the party in a room 
 for conversation, only I had all the talk to myself. 
 But while I spoke to the whole company, each could 
 hear as well as if I spoke to him only and alone ; yet 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 177 
 
 some have grudged that others should partake of the 
 benefit ; and would have had it more expressly and 
 distinctively appropriated to them alone. What evil 
 often veils itself under religious pretension ! What to 
 some is usefulness, compared with selfish gratification ! 
 “Look not every man on his own things, but every 
 man also on the things of others. Let this mind be 
 in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 8 * 
 
LETTER XVII. 
 
 FLEA SANT REVIEW OF HIS LEFE, PRIVATE AND PUBLIC! — TRIALS, 
 
 PLEASURES, ETC. ! RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS ! COMPLACENT 
 
 REVIEW OF DIVERSITIES ! NOT INCOMPATIBLE WITH UNION ! — 
 
 CHANGE OF RELIGIOUS CONNECTIONS. 
 
 My dear Children, — While musing with my pen 
 in my hand, and hardly knowing what to write, it 
 struck me that you may be ready to ask, how my life 
 appears in review ? 
 
 Life is commonly said to appear short, and to some 
 even in advanced years it may so appear ; but they 
 have been persons whose condition has been distin- 
 guished by much sameness, whose progress has seem- 
 ed to consist of one journey, whose passage has been 
 always smooth, and who have not many things to 
 strike and, as it were, detain the mind, in looking back. 
 But life to others in retrospect seems to be like a suc- 
 cession of stages, each having its beginning and end- 
 ing, and a variety of separate, intermediate residences; 
 trom one of which to another the memory can hardly 
 pass without re-entering and enjoying or suffering their 
 scenes and events again. And this gives the notion 
 of length. Now in my case, life has not only run 
 tnrough infancy, and childhood, and youth, and man- 
 hood, and in a great measure through age itself, but 
 has been made up of such diverse states, and has been 
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 179 
 
 attended with so many new (as to myself) and interest- 
 ing occurrences, that I cannot go over it quickly ; and 
 my first consciousness, feelings, and actings seem a 
 long way back. 
 
 But should I be willing, such as I have found it, to 
 go over life again ? I have heard many express the 
 sentiment, though not in the poetry, of Cowper, — 
 
 “ Worlds should not bribe me back to tread 
 Again life’s dreary waste, 
 
 To see the future overspread 
 With all the gloomy past.” 
 
 But such language is not for me. I should not shrink 
 from the proposal of repetition, ■ — “ Goodness and 
 mercy have followed me all the days of my life.” My 
 duties have not been burdening and irksome. My 
 trials have been few compared with my comforts. My 
 pleasures have been cheap and simple, and therefore 
 very numerous. I have enjoyed unsatiatingly the 
 seasons and the sceneries of nature. I have relished 
 the bounties of Providence, using them with modera- 
 tion and thankfulness. I have delighted in the means 
 of grace ; unutterable have been my delights in study- 
 ing and perusing the Scripture. How have I verified 
 the words of Young — 
 
 “ Retire and read thy Bible to be gay !” 
 
 Preaching has been the element of my heart and my 
 head. My labors have met with much acceptance — 
 nor have I labored in vain. I have seldom been with- 
 out hearing of some instances of usefulness from the 
 pulpit or the press. God has honored me to call by 
 my labors not a few individuals, even into the minis- 
 try. The seat of my ^e>sidence was of all others, the 
 
180 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 place of my preference. My condition has been the 
 happy medium of neither poverty nor riches. I had a 
 most convenient habitation, with a large and lovely gar- 
 den — a constant source of attraction, exercise and im- 
 provement. I had a sufficient collection of books of 
 all kinds. My wife was a gentlewoman, a saint, and a 
 domestic goddess. My children were fair, and healthy, 
 and dutiful. My friends were many, and cordial, and 
 steady. Where shall I end ? 
 
 “ Call not earth a barren spot, 
 
 Pass it not unheeded by ; 
 
 ’T is to man a lovely spot, 
 
 Though a lovelier awaits on high.” 
 
 1 do not believe that in this earth misery preponderates 
 over good. I have a better opinion of mankind than 
 I had when I began my public life. I cannot there- 
 fore ask, what is the cause that the former days were 
 better than these ? I do not believe in the fact itself. 
 God has not been throwing away duration upon the 
 human race. The state of the world has been improv- 
 ed, and is improving. Who justifies slavery now? 
 What noble efforts have been made to break every 
 yoke, and to let the oppressed go free ! How is the 
 tendency to war, on every slight pretence, giving way 
 to reference and negotiation ! How delightful is it to 
 think of what is doing abroad among the heathen ; 
 and the exertions that are put forth by all denomina- 
 tions of Christians to make the Saviour’s way known 
 upon earth, and his saving health among all nations ! 
 
 We also rejoice in hope. We have many and express 
 assurances in the Scriptures, which cannot be broken, 
 of the general, the universal spread and reign of Chris- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 181 
 
 tianity, which are not yet accomplished. Nothing has 
 yet taken place in the history of Divine grace, wide 
 enough in extent, durable enough in continuance, 
 powerful enough in energy, blessed enough in enjoy- 
 ment, magnificent enough in glory, to do anything 
 like justice to these predictions and promises. Better 
 days, therefore, are before us, notwithstanding the fore- 
 bodings of many. “ Every valley shall be exalted, and 
 every mountain and hill shall be made low ; the crook- 
 ed shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, 
 and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all 
 flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord 
 hath spoken it.” 
 
 As so many distinctions and divisions prevail in the 
 Christian world, you may require from me a few words 
 concerning our religious denominations and parties. 
 
 I never viewed these so aversely and fearfully as 
 some have done. Several things pertaining to them I 
 would remark. 
 
 First I do not consider them as incompatible with 
 Christian unity. God promised to give his people one 
 heart and one way ; and our Saviour prayed that all 
 his followers may be one. Can we suppose the prom- 
 ise and the prayer have never yet been accomplished ? 
 But if they have been fulfilled, we may reason back 
 from that fulfilment, and see what was the oneness in- 
 tended, and perceive that it was not a oneness of opin- 
 ion, or a ritual oneness ; but a oneness of principle, 
 and affection, and dependence, and pursuit, and co- 
 operation. For this has taken place among the real 
 followers of the Lamb, and among them only. 
 
 Secondly . They are not inconsistent with the support 
 and spread of the Christian cause ; yea, I consider them 
 
182 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 by the excitements they favor, and the mutual zeal 
 they kindle, and the tempers they require and exer- 
 cise, as far more useful than would be the stagnancy 
 of cold and dull uniformity, the idol of every bigot, 
 and which must always be not so much real as profess- 
 ed, and held in hypocrisy where there are numbers, 
 and where persons with so many sources of diversity 
 in their structure, their education, and opportunities, 
 think for themselves. 
 
 Thirdly . I do not, therefore, conclude that prophecy 
 authorizes us to look for their entire suppression, but 
 for their correction and improvement only. In what 
 is called “the latter-day glory 1 they will indeed see, 
 eye to eye, but this will regard the clearer and closer 
 perceptions of the great objects of vision, and not the 
 minuter appendages ; and they will perfectly accord, 
 and see eye to eye in one sentiment, viz., u Let every 
 one be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Judah and 
 Ephraim shall remain, so to speak, distinct tribes ; but 
 “ Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not 
 vex Ephraim.” 
 
 The creatures figuratively mentioned by the prophet 
 Isaiah will not be transformed into each other, but 
 “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb; and the 
 leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and 
 the young lion and the fatling together; and a little 
 child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear 
 shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together ; 
 and the lion shall eat straw like the ox ; and the suck- 
 ing child shall play upon the hole of the asp ; and the 
 weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. 
 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy moun- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 183 
 
 tain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
 the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” 
 
 Fourthly . We may view denominations as we do 
 individual Christians. None of them are absolutely 
 perfect; and none of them are entirely defective. 
 Neither is possessed; and neither is destitute, of every 
 truth and every excellency. All the members of the 
 body have not the same quality, or the same office, 
 yet they are alike parts ; and though they may be 
 compared, they are not to be opposed ; and though 
 one may be more admired, another is not to be depre- 
 ciated. One denomination may excel in diligence and 
 zeal ; another in discipline and simplicity of worship ; 
 another in contention for purity of doctrine ; another 
 for intelligence and liberality ; and thus they not only 
 stand in the same relation to Christ, but are members 
 one of another ; — checking each other’s extremes, and 
 supplying each other’s defects, and sharing each other’s 
 advantages ; and so by mutuality to produce a com- 
 parative perfection in the w r hole. 
 
 Fifthly . In consequence of this, I could never re- 
 gard the differences of the truly godly as essential; and 
 though I have had my convictions and preferences, 
 they were never anathematizing or exclusive. And I 
 could have communed with any of their churches, and 
 should not have been sorry if circumstances had en- 
 abled me to say I had done so. 
 
 I know religious parties are too free in censuring 
 other bodies as less liberal than themselves ; but in 
 this respect I have not seen (and my opportunities 
 have been favorable for observation and comparison) 
 much difference between them. There are bigots in 
 them all, both as churches, members, and teachers ; 
 
184 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 and there are men of real candor, and who can say 
 from the heart, u Whosoever shall do the will of my 
 Father, who is in heaven, the same is my brother and 
 sister and mother.” And if one party were by consti- 
 tution or accident more rigid and narrow than an- 
 other, the more commendation is due to the noble 
 minds among them that rise above their fellows and 
 their trammels ; and let us never try or wish to detach 
 them from their own communities, but rejoice in the 
 influence they may exert in bettering and liberalizing 
 them. 
 
 In accordance with these views and reflections, I 
 have commonly lamented when persons holding the 
 Head, and differing only in minor matters, pass from 
 their own fellowship into another, especially in coun- 
 try towns and villages. It often excites suspicions that 
 unfair means have been used to proselyte the indi- 
 vidual ; and grudgings are felt by the losers, to whom 
 one member was perhaps of considerable importance. 
 I have known ministers and members becoming, by 
 such changes, shy of each other ; while the individual 
 who has changed his communion has been more no- 
 ticed by his new party for a particular tenet than for 
 his general excellence ; and been in danger of attaching 
 too much importance to it himself. I have often ob- 
 served the zeal of proselytes subsiding into little 
 things ; and I never remember to have seen an indi- 
 vidual improved in religious character and excellence 
 by passing from one Christian church to another, un- 
 less it was called for by something more than a non- 
 essential difference. If our present connection requires 
 of us anything we deem sinful, our duty is clear, and 
 we must follow our convictions regardless of conse- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 185 
 
 quences ; but I am taking tiie matter on lower ground, 
 that is, where there may be imperfections with which 
 we may bear, and which we may endeavor to correct, 
 rather than withdraw. And surely some regard is 
 due to the providence of God which orders our situa- 
 tions, and to the solemn act by which we gave our- 
 selves to the Church, in which we have taken sweet 
 counsel together, and our “ fellowship has been with 
 the Father, and with 1 is Son Jesus Christ.” 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XVIII. 
 
 HIS OWN CHURCH : — ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES I HIS CAL- 
 VINISM DIFFICULTIES * ADHERENCE TO THE BIBLE : HIS RULES 
 
 IN STUDYING IT : WHAT TO AVOID AND WHAT TO SEEK. 
 
 My dear Children, — Continuing the subject of 
 my last, a question may be now asked concerning the 
 ecclesiastical community to which I belong. If a mhn 
 be not a party man, he can hardly avoid being of a 
 party ; neither is it safe or useful (though he may oc- 
 casionally do some execution) for a soldier to be iso- 
 lated and rove about alone, impatient, perhaps, of au- 
 thority and direction, rather than acting with some 
 regiment or company. I was always a friend to order 
 and regularity — not tyrannical order or enslaving regu- 
 larity — but that which will oppose the whims and va- 
 garies of self-willed and self-conceited individuality; 
 so that zeal may not rush and spread like flood-water, 
 but be a river guided and restrained, but flowing be- 
 tween its banks. 
 
 I do not think, as I have expressed myself in one 
 of my lectures, any very particular form of govern- 
 ment is absolutely laid down in the New Testament. 
 I am not ignorant that this will surprise and offend 
 several classes of advocates, all of whom appeal to the 
 Scriptures, and all of whom find their peculiar and op- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 187 
 
 posite systems laid down there clearly and definitively 
 — i. e . to themselves. Yet they are not wanting in the 
 New Testament general principles of church govern- 
 ment, which will admit, without subverting them, of 
 considerable modifyings in their application, according 
 to times, places, and circumstances. All our present 
 religious communities, perhaps, really deviate in some 
 degree from these model maxims; though some di- 
 verge more than others. I could never be reconciled 
 to Prelacy, but I have thought differently of Episco- 
 pacy, where the bishop, as Usher says, is only a primus 
 inter pares, and is chosen by his brethren, for his age, 
 talents, and piety ; having no secular function, or being 
 empowered to lord it over God’s heritage. This is now 
 pleaded for by many churchmen themselves, and is 
 much defended in the United States, where the con- 
 nection between Church and State is as much censured 
 by Episcopalians as by Congregationalists. Perhaps, 
 had I been led to choose, instead, of being led by cir- 
 cumstances, I should have preferred Presbyterianism, 
 as to church order and regimen. But the truth is, 
 I never deeply studied the theories of ecclesiastical 
 government. I had neither inclination nor leisure ; 
 and other things of greater moment always seemed to 
 press upon my immediate attention. Nor was my 
 mind upon this subject made up so entirely and ex- 
 clusively and stiffly, as that I could only have moved 
 in one direction. By the providence of God, I was 
 trained among the Independents, and, with them I re- 
 mained. I agreed not in every iota of their system, 
 but I approved of it in the main ; and felt nothing in 
 it that violated my conscience, or abridged my liberty. 
 I found also in it many advantages and efficiencies. 
 
188 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 It allowed the people the privilege of choice, and the 
 minister a sufficiency of authority. It secured church 
 purity, and maintained due discipline. It promoted 
 Christian communion and edification. It befriended, 
 urged, and employed means and exertions for the con- 
 version of sinners; and presented a ready and unfet- 
 tered medium for the extension of the Redeemer’s 
 cause, abroad and at home. But could it not be re- 
 lieved of a little of its democracy, and of its great de- 
 pendence on individual suffrage ? or would a change 
 here, in its working (it is possible), introduce an agency 
 more exceptionable and liable to abuse ? Could there 
 not be established some power of appeal, so that its 
 ministers, in cases of accusation or complaint, should 
 be heard and judged by their peers, and not be left to 
 interested, prejudiced, and ignorant arbiters ? Could 
 nothing be done to render a number of churches of 
 the same faith and order, within such a distance, con- 
 stituent parts of a whole , with some delegated power 
 for this purpose, without invading their independence ? 
 Cannot the table of the Lord be preserved from prof- 
 anation unless a lion be placed at the door of entrance? 
 and conditions be exacted of candidates, which will 
 drive back many who ought to be encouraged ; but 
 which are unlikely to check few, if any, of those who 
 ought to be restrained ? 
 
 This feature of the old discipline I softened in my 
 own case ; and I believe many of my brethren have 
 had influence to do the same, while others lament the 
 continued and unconditional requisition of oral or 
 written experiences, delivered before the church. But 
 bodies of men are not easily moved ; and the mistakes 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM TAY 
 
 189 
 
 of pious men, being conscientious, are with difficulty 
 rectified.* 
 
 My doctrinal views, both as to their truth and im- 
 portance, have undergone very little variation from 
 the beginning, though of course, on the subjects they 
 contain, I have read and thought much. I have felt 
 indeed less disposed to inculcate them “in the words 
 which man’s wisdom teaches,” or in dry and straitened 
 systematic arrangement. Divinity cannot be taught 
 at the college without system — but in preaching, it is 
 better that many things should be assumed than tech- 
 nically discussed. It is better for the preacher to give 
 way to his holy and fervent feelings, than to be chilled 
 and checked by the apprehension of some supposed 
 inconsistency. It is better to let the text speak its 
 own language, naturally and glowingly, than to use 
 
 * We must request the reader to pause at this statement while 
 we offer a brief comment. Our venerated friend seems to take credit 
 to himself in the above sentences for a commendable innovation upon 
 an ancient and common practice. But the practice was certainly 
 never so strict nor so common as he intimates ; nor was he the only 
 one, nor the first, that had broken through it at the period when 
 he wrote. Moreover, we are rather inclined to think it crept into 
 the Independent churches from the Methodists, who dwelt much 
 more upon the consciousness and palpable evidences of conversion 
 than the Independents had been accustomed to do. Some of Mr. 
 Jay’s first connections were Calvinistic Methodists, and from them 
 probably he received the impression of the prevalence of the custom 
 which he here condemns. The enforcement of such a rule of ad- 
 mission was, at any time, far from general or rigid. It may possibly 
 have prevailed more among Baptist churches than among Independ- 
 ents. But it certainly went into general disuse about the time 
 when Mr. Jay renounced it. There is, we conceive, not a single 
 case in which it is now enforced ; so that, if it ever was, it certainly 
 is no longer, the “lion” Mr. Jay represents it, guarding the door 
 of access to the Table of the Lord. 
 
190 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 coercive measures, and torture out the meaning, or 
 bombard it into submission. 
 
 There is a magnificence and a vastness in the Scrip- 
 tures, which no human attempts can comprehend, or 
 limit, or define ; and it will be our highest wisdom, at 
 present, to endeavor to understand and improve the 
 interesting parts of a whole , , which all our creed-mongers 
 have found and will find too wonderful for them. 
 
 In my considerable acquaintance with the religious 
 world, some of the most exemplary individuals I have 
 met with have been Calvinists. Of this persuasion 
 were the two most extraordinary Christian characters 
 I ever knew — John Newton, and Cornelius Winter. 
 They held its leading sentiments with firmness ; but 
 their Calvinism, like that of Bunyan, was rendered, 
 by their temper, milder than that of some of their 
 brethren; and they were candid towards those who 
 differed from them ; and esteemed and loved them as 
 fellow heirs together of the grace of life. 
 
 With this scheme of divinity my principles accorded 
 generally more than with any other ; but certain parts 
 of it I could never admit. If it be said the inclusive 
 and the exclusive parts are inseparable ; and that we 
 cannot hold the one without the other, I hesitate. 
 We know not enough to determine, in hardly any 
 case, what is impossible. A difficulty, apparently in- 
 explicable, may not be a contradiction, but be solved 
 by an extended view of the subject. Things which 
 appear quite inconsistent to :he apprehension of a 
 child , and which, for want of capacity, it cannot har- 
 monize at present, jar not in the mind of a man. But 
 what a difference must there be between the percep- 
 tions of a finite and an infinite understanding ! and in 
 
THE RET WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 191 
 
 the scriptures we have /; the deep things oi God” as 
 well as the plain. 
 
 Two grand truths have always seemed to me to 
 pervade the whole Bible, and not to be confined to a 
 few particular phrases, viz., that if we are saved, it is 
 entirely of God’s grace; and if we are lost, it will be 
 entirely from ourselves. I know full well a man may 
 easily force me into a corner with things seemingly or 
 really related to the truth of either of these affirma- 
 tions ; but he will not shake my confidence in either, 
 while I can read, “0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thy- 
 self ; but in me is thy help.” The connection is like a 
 chain across the river ; I can see the two ends, but not 
 the middle ; not because there is no real union, but 
 because it is under water. Lower the water, or raise 
 the links, and I shall see the centre as well as the ex- 
 tremes. 
 
 Paley observes that we should never suffer what we 
 know to be disturbed by what we know not. And 
 Butler remarks nearly the same, when he says, 11 If a 
 truth be established, objections are nothing. The one 
 is founded on our knowledge , and the other in our ig- 
 norance. 
 
 You may here remember what you have so often 
 seen, and which I early prefixed to my Study Bible. 
 
 In reading this Book let me guard against four 
 things — 
 
 1. The contractedness of the Systematic. 
 
 2. The mysticism of the Allegorizer. 
 
 3. The dogmatism of the Bigot. 
 
 4. The presumption of the Rationalist. 
 
 Let me tremble at God’s Word, and let me in read- 
 ing it keep three purposes in view : 
 
192 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 1. To collect facts rather than form opinions. 
 
 2. To regulate practice rather than encourage specu- 
 lation. 
 
 3. To aid devotion rather than dispute. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
LETTER XIX. 
 
 HIS REVIEW OF THE STATE OF RELIGION IN HIS YOUTH CONTRASTED 
 
 WITH ITS ADVANCED STATE WHEN HE WROTE : — THE ESTABLISH- 
 MENT : — THE DISSENTERS: — THE INSTITUTIONS, ETC., ETC. 
 
 My dear Children, — You have expressed a wish 
 to have my opinion comparatively of the state of things 
 when I commenced my public labors, and now I am 
 withdrawing from them. 
 
 I am fully persuaded that, by the good providence 
 of God, we have experienced a thousand beneficial 
 changes. Our Code of Judicial Law has been revised, 
 and many of its sanguinary penalties repealed. Our 
 Civil Legislation, and our political arrangements, have 
 been much improved. Various wrongs have been rec- 
 tified, and rights have been equalized. Freedom has 
 largely gained. Trade and Commerce have exceed- 
 ingly multiplied ; while the amazing advancement in 
 Science and Arts has added much, not only to our 
 fame, but also to our accommodation and comfort — 
 philosophy has rendered every element subservient to 
 our use. 
 
 It is needless to attempt to enumerate or specify 
 these advantages. My way lies in another direction ; 
 and I would only glance briefly at the bearing of 
 things viewed morally , religiomly , and evangelically , 
 9 
 
194 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 and I cannot look at various progressions without ex- 
 claiming, “ What has God wrought !” And here I 
 must censure some good persons whose forebodings and 
 complainings with regard to the times appear unjust, 
 improper, and ungrateful. When we consider that 
 our “ whole world lieth in wickedness;” and that as a 
 country, we have been “ a sinful people, a seed of evil 
 doers, children that are corrupters ;” the wonder is that 
 He has not long ago abandoned us ; and surely we 
 ought to notice thankfully every token for good with 
 which we are favored. Is it meet to be silent towards 
 a benefactor on whom we have no claims ? or to say 
 by our manner, Is this all that thou hast done for us ? 
 Surely the way to obtain more of his gracious influ- 
 ence and operation, is to praise him for the favor he 
 has already done us ; and thus ask for more. We are 
 therefore directed “ in everything by prayer and sup- 
 plication, with thanksgiving , to make our requests known 
 unto God.” How offensive and grievous then must it 
 be to his Holy Spirit to deny, or speak meanly or light- 
 ly of, his goodness, when he has done such great things 
 for us, whereof we should be glad ! 
 
 Though the day far exceeds the dawn, the dawn will 
 not be unnoticed or undervalued by those who have 
 seen and felt the darkness of the night. Some are not 
 old enough to look back upon the past, and form com- 
 parisons which must prove no less than contrasts with 
 the present. Though not a prodigy of age, I have had 
 an opportunity to see some blessed fulfilments of the 
 promise, “ The wilderness and the solitary place shall 
 be made glad ; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom 
 as the rose. Instead of the thorn shall come up the 
 fir-tree; and instead of the briar shall come up the 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 195 
 
 myrtle-tree ; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, 
 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” 
 
 And can we believe this, and see this, and be un- 
 gladdened and ungrateful ? or shall we suffer a few 
 private or public burdens and trials to keep us repin- 
 ing and murmuring, when in Judah things go well, 
 and the walls of the temple rise, though in troublous 
 times ? The evils of which some men seem almost 
 only sensible, are the more easily seen, and the more 
 deeply felt, because of the presence and prevalence of 
 so much good. And what good ! 
 
 When I first went to London there was no Mission- 
 ary Societies but those of our Moravian and W esley an 
 brethren ; but now we have the Baptist, the London, 
 the Episcopalian, Missionary Institutions ; all sending 
 forth the truth as it is in Jesus ; and all depending for 
 success upon the Spirit of the living God, (and there- 
 fore all carrying on their operations with prayer,) and 
 all crowned with encouragement and success, propor- 
 tioned to their means and endeavors. 
 
 Then, too, we had not the noblest of all institutions 
 since the apostolic era, the Bible Society ; nor the Tract 
 Society ; nor the Jewish Society ; nor the Hibernian 
 Society ; nor the Irish Evangelical Society ; nor the 
 Home Missionary Society ; all of which have for years 
 been in full operation. 
 
 Here we have not mentioned the Anti-Slavery So- 
 ciety and the Peace Society ; but though these are not 
 formally and immediately religious institutions, they 
 indirectly aid them ; they are congenial with them, 
 and are sanctioned by all their provisions and com- 
 mands ; yea, they have been derived from their spirit. 
 
 We also pass ?ver the numerous local and private 
 
196 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 Societies attached to our several congregations ; and 
 what congregation is there among us without some of 
 them ? Most of which, besides a charitable aim, have 
 also a religious ; for instance, societies for visiting the 
 sick, not only affording temporal succor, but furnish- 
 ing also spiritual instruction and prayer, when the 
 mind is prepared by affliction to receive it, or peculiar- 
 ly needing it. Sunday Schools also not only teach 
 poor children to read their Bible, but inform their 
 minds in the leading truths of the Gospel ; and I have 
 never met with a religious interest without a Sunday 
 School, while many of these schools now are formed 
 in the villages, where, at present, there is no religious 
 interest ; and which are attended to by persons who 
 go from our churches on the Lord’s day, and conse- 
 crate a good portion of the Sabbath to this work and 
 labor of love ; and find the reward of their journey- 
 ings and toil in the pleasure of doing good. 
 
 Think of the spread of the Gospel in the Establish- 
 ment, and compare Mr. Romaine’s total of fifty Gospel 
 clergymen with the number in the same church now ! 
 Think what an amazing multiplication of Dissenters 
 there has also been ! And if there has not been such 
 an increase in their light as in that of some other con- 
 nections, (and which was less needed,) there has been 
 a glorious one in their liberty, liberality, and life, and 
 usefulness ! What a diminution have I known of 
 heterodox congregations ; and what additions to those 
 who know nothing save Jesus Christ and him cruci- 
 fied ! The number of new places, at the opening of 
 which I have preached, and the number of enlarged 
 places, at the re-opering of which I have preached, 
 would appear hard of belief. Yet other of my breth- 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 197 
 
 ren have been employed in the same work, m their re- 
 spective neighborhoods and connections, all through 
 the land. Several new schools also, or to modernize, 
 “colleges,” for the sons of the prophets, have been es- 
 tablished ; and ampler provision made for those com- 
 pleter preparations for the ministry which the day de- 
 mands. 
 
 And what a change has there been in public spirit- 
 edness and generous contributions! How would some 
 of the good men, who lived eighty or ninety years ago* 
 have been astonished, could they have been told 01 
 the sums obtained at one anniversary meeting ; or 
 what is now raised by a single congregation annually ! 
 Where one collection was formerly made at the doors 
 of the sanctuary, twenty are now made. The same 
 proportion would hold in the number of applications 
 made personally to individuals, and seldom made en- 
 tirely in vain. 
 
 Love also has abounded more and more in knowl- 
 edge and in all judgment. How much less stress is 
 laid on minor and circumstantial things in religion 
 than once ! And how much more disposed are the 
 various parties to unite and hold intercourse with each 
 other ! I remember how it was wondered at, when 
 Mr. Eyre of Homerton, of Calvinistical sentiments, was 
 asked to preach at Mr. Wesley’s chapel, in Moorfields, 
 and preached without giving offence, from Gal. i. 8 , — 
 u If we or an angel from heaven preach any other 
 Gospel unto you, than that which we have preached 
 unto you, let him be accursed !” Now, without abol- 
 ishing our distinctions, we have learned to hail, and 
 bless, and help each other. We have agreement with- 
 out compromise. Our regiments retain their own col- 
 
198 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 ors and officers, but fight against a common ioe, and 
 for the same King of Glory. 
 
 1 am aware that some will say, “ all is not gold that 
 glitters,” and there is much more hearing, and talking, 
 and show, and profession. In a degree, this is as true 
 as it is lamentable. There have been also abuses and 
 excesses. These will always grow out of awakenings, 
 while human nature remains as it is. But that there 
 has been a remarkable revival and extension of genu- 
 ine religion, since the rise of what is called Methodism, 
 notwithstanding the imperfections attending it, what 
 can induce us to deny ? The dead have been enliv- 
 ened ; the sleeping have been aroused ; the form of 
 godliness has not been without the power, though in 
 some instances the power has had too little of the 
 form. Faith has not been a cold assent of the under- 
 standing to certain dogmas, but a vital principle in the 
 heart and life. The professors of it have denied them- 
 selves, and taken up their cross, and followed the Re- 
 deemer in the regeneration. W e plead not for perfec- 
 tion ; but this renovated religion has been essentially 
 and eminently of the right kind — evangelical in doc- 
 trine, practical in operation, lively in experience, and 
 noble in effects. 
 
 But there are persons who, though they allow of 
 some reality in this statement, yet think that modern 
 Christians are much inferior to those who lived in the 
 times of our forefathers. Instead of speaking dispar- 
 agingly of these men, we would have inscribed on 
 their tombs, “ Of whom the world was not worthy i ” 
 They were martyrs of conscience ; the word of God 
 dwelt in them richly ; they had much to do with their 
 own hearts ; and were distinguished by their domestic 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 199 
 
 and private devotions. But they would not, and could 
 not, have abounded so much in some even of their 
 own excellences had they lived in a later day. The 
 stream, then rendered deeper by confinement, has since 
 widened ; and the water flows over more surface. They 
 had not so many openings and calls for action abroad ; 
 and their spirit partook something of their state. The 
 churches then seemed to feel little or nothing of the 
 missionary character ; and to some it may seem sur- 
 prising how little is found in the letters, diaries, and 
 sermons of that period but what almost exclusively 
 regards the defeats or prosperity of their own souls, 
 or immediate communities. And how little even they 
 who made mention of the Lord obeyed the injunction, 
 u keep not silence, and give him no rest till he estab- 
 lish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the whole 
 earth.” The time, the set time to favor her was not 
 yet come. Zion was not in labor to bring forth. She 
 had hardly conceived. But now — 
 
 “ All the promises do travail 
 With a glorious day of grace.” 
 
 And to drop metaphor. Of late years, persons are not 
 allowed to look only on their own things, but con- 
 strained also to look on the things of others ; and es- 
 pecially the things that are Jesus Christ’s. And they 
 are to be judged of by the manner in which they do 
 the work of their own day, and not by their conform 
 ity to others who lived under a different order of 
 things. 
 
 But were not Christians who lived at the commence- 
 ment of this new and evangelical era superior in ex- 
 perience to those who have followed them ? I am not 
 
200 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 entirely unprepared to answer this question. A num- 
 ber of the original converts of Wesley and Whitfield 
 were yet living when I began to appear in public, and 
 some of them I knew intimately ; and they made too 
 deep an impression upon me to be forgotten. They 
 were certainly better acquainted with, and more en- 
 deared to each other, than the larger proportion of 
 professors now are ; but two reasons may be assigned 
 for this, without making the dead to depreciate the 
 living. 
 
 It was first, in some degree, owing to the persecution 
 and reproach of the whole world which drew them 
 together for intercourse and comfort. It also, secondly , 
 arose from the paucity of their numbers. When re- 
 ligious parties are smaller, they partake more of a 
 family character ; and the members know, and are 
 known, of each other. But this cannot be equally the 
 case in large societies, and where multitude prevents 
 intimacy. But then these larger societies have other 
 advantages. They are more public, more known ; 
 they are more firm, independent, and active ; they at- 
 tract more attendants, are capable of more enterprise, 
 and can raise more for the cause of God at large, in 
 the support of charities, schools, missionaries, and evan- 
 gelists. It is in vain to expect every recommendation 
 united in any species of excellency, or department of 
 agency. 
 
 But to return to these earlier converts. There was 
 something rather peculiar and specific about them. 
 They seemed to feel that they were fast and tried dis- 
 ciples, and had a right to be heard. They were fond 
 of going back, and referring to their first love, and 
 first enjoyments and exercises. They talked rather too 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 201 
 
 frequently of their own experience, and made it too 
 much a standard for others, and were too positive and 
 unyielding in some little and indifferent points, to 
 which they attached undue importance. But who 
 could help admiring their deadness to the world ? — 
 their heavenly-mindedness ? — the readiness and zest 
 with which they entered into religious conversation ? 
 — the manner in which they invariably spoke of the 
 Lord Jesus, as all their salvation and all their desire • 
 and with whom they had to do immediately in all the 
 concerns of the spiritual life ? — their forwardness to 
 relieve the poor,' and visit the afflicted, and to be con- 
 tent with such things as they had ? — and their patience 
 and cheerfulness in tribulation ? 
 
 I was also much struck with their general freedom 
 from the fear of death. They never seemed unwilling 
 to be reminded of its approach. They spoke of it with 
 pleasure ; and in conversing with their dying friends, 
 they appeared concerned to reconcile them to the 
 thought of recovery, (should this be the event,) rather 
 than to their dissolution. They rejoiced with them 
 in the prospect of their speedy release from a wicked 
 world, and an evil heart, and of their going so soon 
 home, and seeing the Saviour, and being forever with 
 the Lord. And when they followed them to the grave, 
 they sorrowed more for themselves, that had sustained 
 the loss, than for their connections, whose death they 
 knew was gain. And does not even Paley allow, that 
 in all this they much resembled the first Christians. 
 Their attachment also to the means of grace was in- 
 tense ; nor would they suffer distance, or weather, or 
 slight indispositions to detain them. The Sabbath 
 
 9 * 
 
202 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 
 was their delight, and they numbered the days till its 
 arrival. And as to the poorer of them — 
 
 “ Though pinch’d with poverty at home, 
 
 With sharp afflictions daily fed ; 
 
 Jt made amends, if they could come 
 
 To God’s own house for heavenly bread.” 
 
 Nor were these services only pleasing to them in the 
 performance. They were remembered and talked over 
 for days and weeks after. For the sermons they heard, 
 if not highly polished, left effects which were as goads, 
 and as nails fastened in a sure place, by the hand of 
 the Master of assemblies. 
 
 They also seemed to have more veneration for the 
 Scriptures ; and to peruse them with more directness, 
 simplicity, and docility, — for the Bible, as yet, had not 
 been turned into a work of science, rather than of 
 faith ; and of everlasting criticism, rather than of de- 
 votion ; nor were thousands of tutors and multitudes 
 of volumes found necessary to explain a simple book, 
 designed for “the poor” and “the common people,” 
 by the only wise God himself. 
 
 What is the simple and grand design of revelation ? 
 “These things are written, that ye may believe that 
 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing 
 ye might have life through his name.” What care is 
 needful to keep the reader from being diverted by a 
 thousand subordinate notices from the inquiry — “ What 
 must I do to be saved ?” 
 
 Excuse the freedom of this letter, and the preference 
 I have given (but not in all things) to a body of Chris- 
 tians with whose modified descendants I have been 
 more called to mix and co-operate. And let us serve 
 
THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 203 
 
 our own generation, by the will of God ; seizing its 
 advantages, and endeavoring, instead of quarrelling 
 with a few comparative evils, to rejoice that so much 
 has been done ; and that blessed are our eyes for what 
 they see, and our ears for what they hear. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Lsr attempting to supply some facts additional to 
 the very few relating to the latter part of Mr. Jay’s 
 life recorded in the Autobiography, we must be per- 
 mitted to state, that it is impossible now to recover an 
 accurate account of many events and circumstances 
 of interest connected with his public life. Time is 
 frequently revealing the usefulness of his labors both 
 as a preacher and an author ; but it is more than prob- 
 able that many remarkable instances of his success 
 will remain untold upon earth. W e have reason to 
 believe he knew of many more than he has anywhere 
 recorded. Some of the more remarkable circumstances 
 of his life and ministry he has scarcely, if at all, noticed. 
 It is our intention to record as many of these as we 
 have been able clearly to ascertain. But some have 
 been published which are wanting in sufficient evi- 
 dence, and others which are certainly false. The 
 chronological order we shall endeavor to observe as 
 far as possible. The dates which we have gathered 
 with some difficulty from a variety of sources will en- 
 able the reader to form in his own mind, after reading 
 the Autobiography with the following additions, a toler- 
 ably correct as well as orderly conception of the events 
 of Mr. Jay’s life. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 205 
 
 His own account of his birtli and education is more 
 full and satisfactory than many other parts of the his- 
 tory. It appears that, immediately upon completing 
 his term of study under Mr. Winter, he was engaged 
 by the Rev. Rowland Hill to supply his pulpit at Sur- 
 rey Chapel. This event, as he himself states, was of 
 great importance, as it brought him into acquaintance 
 with Miss Davies, who became Mrs. Jay ; and also intro- 
 duced him to the friendship of Mr. Newton, Ryland, and 
 others. The continuance of these annual visits drew 
 him also into connection with some of the eminent and 
 excellent men who shortly after formed the plan of the 
 London Missionary Society. It was, as nearly as we 
 can ascertain, in the year 1788 that Mr. Jay fulfilled 
 his first engagement at Surrey Chapel. The Mission- 
 ary Society was planned and founded in 1794; its 
 first May meetings were held in 1795; and at its first 
 anniversary in May, 1796, Mr. Jay was called to 
 preach, though then only twenty-seven years of age. 
 His sermon from Psalm Ixxii. 19, 20, “And let the 
 whole earth be filled with his glory, Amen and Amen,” 
 &c., was published at the time, and is included in the 
 uniform edition of his works. This sermon was the 
 means of the conversion of an eminent and distin- 
 guished individual, John Poynder, Esq., as may be 
 seen in the “ Reminiscence” of that gentleman. Speak- 
 ing of him in a letter to Mrs. Bolton, many- years after, 
 he says, u Yesterday I was informed dear Mr. Poynder 
 had left us. His death will lead to another 1 Remin- 
 iscence,’ which I began last evening. I know as yet 
 no particulars of his departure. He was one of the 
 most noble and useful converts God ever favored me 
 with.” 
 
206 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Within four or five years after preaching at the first 
 Anniversary of the London Missionary Society, he 
 took a journey on its behalf into Scotland. An inter- 
 esting memento of this visit he has preserved in the 
 Autobiography. These facts sufficiently attest his 
 great popularity in the early years of his ministry. 
 But his intimate connection with the London Mis- 
 sionary Society, and his deep interest in its progress, 
 as well as the honor which its successive directors 
 have awarded to him, will be shown by the facts we 
 have now to state. 
 
 In the year 1826 he was called to preach at the an- 
 niversary of that society at the Poultry Chapel to its 
 juvenile friends. In 1834 he preached a third time at 
 its May meeting. Kis fourth sermon before the same 
 institution was preached at its jubilee in November, 
 1844 ; and again a fifth time he preached at the annu- 
 al meeting of 1851 in Surrey Chapel. The honor of 
 preaching five times at the meetings of this society in 
 the metropolis has, we believe, fallen to the lot of no 
 other individual. Although we have singled out his 
 services rendered to this society, yet there are many 
 others among our public institutions, the interests of 
 which he has ably and successfully pleaded, both in 
 London and the country, though generally from the 
 pulpit. 
 
 In the year 1810 the college of New Jersey in North 
 America conferred upon Mr. Jay the degree of Doctor 
 in Divinity. Though he did not assume the title, yet 
 he acknowledged the honor done him. But that which 
 gave him the highest satisfaction was the extensive 
 circulation and usefulness of his writings in that coun- 
 try among all evangelical denominations. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 207 
 
 111 the course of the year 1820 he experienced a 
 deep affliction, referred to pretty fully in his Autobiog- 
 raphy, Letter XI. ; on which occasion he addressed 
 the following characteristic note to the deacons of his 
 church : — 
 
 To the Deacons of Argyle Chapel, Bath. 
 
 My dear Friends, — This comes to you from the house of mourn- 
 ing and from a bleeding heart. I mourn much ; but I pray that I 
 may not murmur. I have sympathized with you in your respective 
 trials ; and I know I shall not ask in vain for a share in your ten- 
 derness and prayers. But now that God has taken away my dar- 
 ling child, this is to say with Abraham, “ Give me a place where I 
 may bury my dead.” Having passed the best part of my life among 
 you, it is my wish to die in your service. I wish to have a tomb 
 that would contain my own remains, whenever it shall please God 
 to re-unite me to my child, and also my dear wife’s, and perhaps 
 those of some of the other branches of the family. I much desire, 
 if you have no objection, to have it under the burying-ground house, 
 and would thank one of you to come over with whom I have com- 
 municated upon the subject, either this evening or to-morrow morn- 
 ing early, as no time can be lost. Excuse brevity. I cannot write, 
 but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. Believe me, my dear 
 friends, as respects the whole church, 
 
 Your affectionate and devoted Pastor, 
 
 William Jay. 
 
 This refers to the death of his daughter Statira, who 
 was seized with fever while he was on a journey in 
 Devonshire, and from which he was recalled, and only 
 reached his home in time to see her die, without an 
 opportunity of communication. Her death occurred 
 August 31, 1820, in her nineteenth year. Being the 
 first inroad made by death in the happy circle of his 
 family, it was deeply felt by him, as appears by the 
 lines written on the occasion, and inserted among his 
 poetic remains. 
 
208 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 The year 1831 witnessed the arrival of the fortieth 
 anniversary of his pastorate. The following documents 
 will attest the deep interest his congregation felt in 
 that event, and show how he improved it : — 
 
 At a Meeting of several of the members of the Church and Con- 
 gregation held in the Vestry of Argyle Chapel, on Friday the 28th 
 January, 1831, 
 
 Mr. Griffiths in the Chair, 
 
 It was unanimously resolved, 
 
 That this Meeting desire to express their gratitude to Almighty 
 God for the continuance of a faithful and acceptable Gospel Min- 
 istry under the pastoral care of the Rev. William Jay, and for the 
 uninterrupted harmony which has subsisted between their beloved 
 Pastor and this Church and Congregation for a period of Forty 
 Years. And that we, being desirous of presenting to Mr. Jay some 
 lasting memorial of affection and esteem, do unite with such other 
 persons as are willing to contribute in raising such a sum as may be 
 necessary for the purpose; and that a Committee be appointed to 
 decide upon the most desirable mode of carrying their object into 
 effect in a manner the most congenial to the feelings of our Min- 
 ister. 
 
 That a copy of the foregoing Resolution be transmitted by the 
 Chairman to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Henry Griffiths, Chairman. 
 
 In pursuance of this proposal, a handsome landau- 
 let, accompanied with a silver inkstand, bearing the 
 following inscription, was presented to him : — 
 
 “This Inkstand, together with a Landaulet, was presented by the 
 Church and Congregation assembling in Argyle Chapel, to their 
 beloved Pastor, in commemoration of Forty Years’ faithful labor 
 among them. 
 
 “Bath, January 30, 1831.” 
 
 The following acknowledgment was subsequently 
 addressed by Mr. Jay to the contributors, through the 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 209 
 
 hands of Thomas Kingsbury, Esq., who had acted as 
 chairman : — 
 
 Bath , January 29 ik, 1831. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I beg to express my very sincere and hearty thanks 
 to all my friends for the kindness they have shown in contributing 
 to the handsome compliment you have presented me ; and also to 
 the Committee for the trouble they have taken, and the taste they 
 have displayed in the management of the design. 
 
 As a token of regard from my Church and Congregation I shall 
 highly value the Inkstand and the Carriage. The larger portion of 
 my ministry has now, of course, terminated. It yields me great 
 satisfaction (among a thousand causes for humiliation) that it has 
 continued for forty years to meet with the approbation and accept- 
 ance of those I have endeavored faithfully to serve ; and I pray that 
 my remaining labors, whether they may be of longer or shorter du- 
 ration, may be equally favored by them, and far more blessed to 
 them. The present has reached the receiver in a state of great af- 
 fliction and anxiousness, during which nothing can afford him the 
 pleasure it would produce, could the entirely loved wife of his youth 
 and riper years be capable of appreciating it and enjoying it along 
 with him. Should she be able to employ the vehicle in her infirm- 
 ity, and derive benefit from the use of it, nothing could lead him so 
 much to prize it, as he can never discharge the obligations he is 
 under to one who has so sedulously watched over his life, health, 
 and comfort, and by keeping his mind disengaged from all other 
 things, and free to follow his important and delightful work, has so 
 much aided him in any little usefulness he has rendered his hearers 
 and his readers, from the pulpit and the press. 
 
 Let him importunately beg, in addition to the favors thus ac- 
 knowleged, that you and all the friends in whose name you have 
 made the communication, will not in your prayers forget, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your grateful but tried Friend and Pastor, 
 
 VfiLLiAM Jay. 
 
 This anniversary was also celebrated by a sermon 
 preached in the morning of Lord’s Day, January 30, 
 1831, to a crowded and deeply-affected audience. As 
 this was a discourse cf great excellence, and product- 
 
210 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 ive of a deep impression, and as it is not included in 
 his collected works, we shall insert that portion of it 
 which related to the interesting occasion : — 
 
 “ So much for the explanation of the words of our text. But 
 there are many of you who are aware of the seasonableness of this 
 memento this morning , to at least one individual here. Yes, your 
 Minister has this morning been privately, and is now publicly, en- 
 gaged in the review of forty years, which the Lord his God has led 
 him in the wilderness, and during which he has maintained the 
 most momentous connection with this place, and with you, the peo- 
 ple of his charge. This is the fortieth anniversary of my ordina- 
 tion as the Pastor of this Church, and the Minister of this Congre- 
 gation. After leaving the Academy, and I left it too young — but 
 that was not my own choice — I labored for some time in two other 
 places, though in neither of them with a view to final settlement. 
 By a series of rather remarkable circumstances I was brought, dur- 
 ing the illness of the minister, a man of no ordinary piety and tal- 
 ent, to preach, one Sabbath, to this Church and Congregation, then 
 assembling in the Chapel now occupied by “the Friends,” in St. 
 James’s Terrace. After this I preached to the same people several 
 other Sabbaths, at different times. At length this place of worship 
 was to be opened for their use ; they invited me to preach at the 
 opening, and the sermon preached on the occasion was afterwards 
 published. Some time after this, I received an unanimous invita- 
 tion from the Church and Congregation to settle among them ; hav- 
 ing, what I valued much, the dying recommendation of the minis- 
 ter. I accepted it; and this day forty years ago I was ordained 
 your minister within these walls. How many of you have been 
 born since ! But there are some who will well remember the strip- 
 ling that stood upon a table before this pulpit in order to give a 
 general confession of his religious belief, and of those truths which 
 he intended to preach here ; when he was commended to the grace 
 of God by prayer, and received a solemn charge from one who has 
 long since gone to glory. Well do I recall to my mind some char- 
 acters who were then present ; such, for instance, as the venerable 
 Mrs. Hannah More. Nor do I less remember the feelings of another, 
 who endeavored to hide herself in the crowd in the gallery — the 
 most interesting character in the world to me — whose name I dare 
 not venture to utter — and who has been forbidden, by deep affliction, 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 211 
 
 this morning, from attending to hear these interesting recapitula- 
 tions from the lips of her beloved husband. I believe, too, there is 
 another here this morning who was impressed religiously by my Ser- 
 mon that evening, and who has ever since been walking in the way 
 of everlasting life. Well, my dear brethren, forty years have roll- 
 ed away since then ; and perhaps they have been some of the most 
 important and interesting years that ever passed away. To many 
 of you, indeed, the earlier parts of them must be matter of history, 
 and not of personal knowledge. But let me suppose, now, six in- 
 dividuals throwing their eyes over these forty years that have pass- 
 ed away — a philosopher, a politician, a Briton, a Christian, a Mem- 
 ber of this Church, and the preacher himself. 
 
 1. Let us imagine a philosopher throwing his eye over this period. 
 It is impossible for him to do this without being struck with the 
 amazing advance of learning and knowledge of every kind. He 
 must be struck; also, in many instances, with the character of use- 
 fulness and solidity which these have acquired. People are not now 
 to be satisfied with words — mere names and learned ignorant — 
 hypothesis, mere conjectures ; they ask for knowledge, solid, sub- 
 stantial, useful, resting on the enduring basis of truth. Nature has 
 been analyzed, the deductions of experiment have succeeded to the 
 theories of hypothesis and of opinion. What additions have been 
 made to the arts and sciences — what accessions have been made to 
 the discoveries and improvements in mechanical power — and what 
 wonders have been performed by the application of steam, by sea 
 and by land ! What discoveries and improvements have been made 
 in navigation and in chemistry ; and, above all, in that most inter- 
 esting of all departments, anatomy and surgery, when their use and 
 advantage are so palpable and undeniable — intimately connected, 
 too, with all that is comfortable and useful and important in human 
 life ! What masses of ignorance and prejudice have been rolled 
 away ! Astrology and witchcraft, and belief in ghosts and appar- 
 itions, and dreams and visions, and a thousand other things equally 
 superstitious and foolish and hurtful, have been driven down to the 
 very skirts of society, and are rarely to be found even there. Con- 
 sider how all kinds of information have come down from the higher 
 ranks, and been made to circulate freely and influentially among 
 the middle and the lower classes of society. Men can no longer be 
 priest-ridden. No, that day has gone by, and the danger now is 
 from another extreme — the danger now is from licentiousness of in- 
 quiry, and contempt of lawful authority, as well as despotism; and 
 
212 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 recent occurrences must teach us now where we ought to place our 
 feet, and determine us to withstand the encroachments on preroga' 
 tive, and the invasions, and insults, and desolations, of a daringly 
 tumultuous and infidel radicalism. 
 
 2. Let a politician look back upon these years. Is he attracted 
 by new and strange , and wonderful things, in the state of society ? 
 then he will find materials enough in this period amply to gratify 
 his curious speculations. What deviations from the usual course of 
 civil transactions! — if not in the things themselves, yet in their 
 number, in their variety, in their magnitude, in their suddenness, 
 in their rapidity. Well do some of us remember, many years ago, 
 that there was as much often crowded in a single week, as in ear- 
 lier history might have served to distinguish a whole age. We re- 
 member the time when a newspaper was deemed dull and uninter- 
 esting, unless it announced some battle, or the fall of some state, or 
 the transfer of some province from the fangs of one tyrant into the 
 grasp of another. What lapses of fortune — what degradation of 
 rank — what changes of government — what new denominations of 
 geography ! Or is he prone to account for things, and to trace back 
 effects to their principles ? Surely he will find enough in these 
 forty years to bafile all his sagacity, and to make him supply the 
 place of inquiry and reason with profoundest wonder! How many 
 of his most confident opinions will he find to be falsified ! How 
 many events, which seemed improbable, if not impossible, and con- 
 cerning which, previously, he was ready to say, “ If the Lord should 
 make windows in heaven might these things be,” have actually 
 come to pass! And if he were a statesman, whose religion would 
 allow him to see and to own the agency of God, how would he have 
 been led to exclaim, “ His way is in the sea, and his path in the 
 mighty waters !” “ O, the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 
 God!” “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways are 
 past finding out !” When he throws his eye back upon the period, 
 and sees the schemes that were abandoned, the expedients that 
 failed, the confederacies that were dissolved, the allies that were 
 turned into enemies, the enemies that were turned into allies ; — 
 when he sees princes led away spoiled, and judges made fools, — if 
 he approves of the plans and measures, and considers them as the 
 effects of wisdom, surely he must acknowledge “ there is no wisdom, 
 nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord,” — that when man 
 has done all that the feebleness of his arm, and the contractedness 
 of his resources, enable him to accomplish, the agency of God’s 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 213 
 
 providence is necessary to give it success ; and that it is, therefore, 
 as reasonable a thing for a statesman to pray, as for a statesman to 
 plan. Or if, in the retrospect, he condemns these measures, and the 
 effects they have produced ; if he considers them as the results of 
 folly, — let him then remember how limited are all the faculties of 
 man ; how easy it is to condemn events when they have happened. 
 Let him inquire whether, if placed in exactly the same circum- 
 stances, he would not have adopted the same, or it may be, a much 
 worse line of procedure ; and let him reflect that, in such unex- 
 ampled circumstances, mistakes were almost natural and unavoid- 
 able. The waters of calamity had overspread the earth, and there 
 were no flood-marks to guide the statesman through. Reflections 
 like these are perfectly just; and surely they would tend, if in- 
 dulged, to soften the asperities of party rage, and induce politicians 
 more easily to tolerate each other. 
 
 3. Let us now imagine a Briton — and we hope there are many 
 true Britons yet — let us imagine such an one indulging in this 
 retrospect. And there are three sentiments which should obviously 
 animate and characterize him. 
 
 1. Of gratitude. How good has God been! The heavens over 
 our heads have not been brass, nor has the earth been iron. The 
 seasons, with little variation, have returned in their proper time 
 and have been fruitful. He has caused the grass to grow for the 
 cattle, and herbs for the service of man ; our valleys have waved 
 with corn, and the little hills have rejoiced on every side; the 
 mower has filled his hand, and he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom ; 
 and the years have been crowned with goodness. It is conceded 
 that the cup which has been handed round to the other nations 
 has also been presented to our lips. We have tasted the contents, 
 but we have not been called to drink the dregs. Our sufferings 
 have been considerable ; but surely every particle of justice and 
 ingenuousness must have quitted the minds of those who can con- 
 found the condition of our nation with that of any other country 
 around us. We have not been in the seats of war, we have not 
 had to attend in the train of devastating armies. We have not 
 been under military rule and law. The enemy has not been allowed 
 to invade our shores. We have not heard the confused noise of 
 warriors, nor seen garments rolled in blood. We have not seen the 
 smoking ruins of villages, or the wretched inhabitants fleeing with 
 their suckling babes clinging to their breasts, or supporting the 
 tottering steps of their aged parents, or shielding from nclemency 
 
214 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 and danger the sick and the dying. No. And there have been a 
 great many measures achieved whose beneficial influence, I doubt 
 not, will long continue to be felt. I have not time to notice them ; 
 they are familiar to all of you — down to the abolition of the Test 
 and Corporation Act, and the carrying of the Catholic Emancipa- 
 tion Bill. I am very well aware that many persons will differ in 
 their opinion in regard to this latter measure ; but we must surely 
 admit that there have been no stretches of arbitrary power, yea, 
 that our constitutional rights have been not only maintained, but 
 enlarged, variously and considerably, during these periods. 
 
 Yes; and yet, while we have been acknowledging these things, 
 have we ascribed them to their proper Author ? Is there no such 
 thing as a kind of national self-righteousness, by which we conceive 
 ourselves entitled to such blessings, because we would make our- 
 selves believe that we were better than others. Kow many are 
 there who “have burned incense to their own net and sacrificed to 
 their own drag,” and have never thought uf anything more than 
 of the patriotism of States, the wisdom of senators, or the bravery 
 of their armies and navies. God, the goud, the long-suffering God, 
 has been overlooked in all this ; while, penetrated with a sense of 
 his kindness and our own unworthiness, v*> «*dd have exclaimed 
 a thousand times, “Not unto us, O Lord, not i: us. 'rat unto thy 
 
 name be all the glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.” 
 
 2. A Briton should feel a sentiment of fear. We are required to 
 rejoice with trembling ; and never were the two more wisely united 
 than here. We are like a vessel with the wrecks of countries float- 
 ing around us, preserved as yet, but not entirely relieved from ap- 
 prehensions. Oh ! we have reason to fear for the number of our 
 sins, for the heinousness of our sins, for the guilt of our sins will be 
 aggravated by the mercies and advantages which we have so sig- 
 nally enjoyed. We fear, because of the little effect his dispensations 
 have exerted upon us. What self-abasement have we expressed be- 
 fore God ? What sins have we abandoned ? He has spoken to us> 
 and we have drowned his voice with the harp and tabret. His 
 hand has been lifted up, and we have refused to see it. He has 
 smitten and we have disdained to receive correction. Who can tell 
 but he is now looking over our Jerusalem, and ready to say, “ Oh, 
 that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that 
 belong to thy peace ! — but now they are hid from thine eyes.” 
 
 8. Let a Briton review the period with hope for the future. Who 
 could destroy this? The factions have always been hopeless, and 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 215 
 
 characterized alike by the principles of puerility and villany. I sym- 
 pathize not with those who, from fanaticism, or folly, or perverse- 
 ness, have delighted to foredoom their country, and to declare the 
 judgments of God, which in their frenzied imaginations were about 
 to be poured out upon it, because fear is the easiest of all the pas- 
 sions to excite, and the easiest of all passions also to propagate. 
 These sentiments being announced, they are concerned for the sup- 
 port of them. They must, therefore, paint darkly both the times 
 and the events, to make them accord with their predictions. What 
 is the sacrifice of a kingdom to the falsification of one of their con- 
 jectures? Remember how it was with a true prophet of old, who, 
 rather than lie under the suspicion of being mistaken in his predic- 
 tions, desired that all the men, and women, and children, in Nin- 
 eveh, should die, rather than he should appear to be a false prophet. 
 Why wonder, therefore, at others who do not hail calamities as 
 vouchers for the truth of their word ? But we do not surrender up 
 ourselves to these gloomy imaginations. We indulge hope concern- 
 ing our country ; because “ to the Lord our God belong mercies 
 and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him because we 
 are upheld by his promise ; because the number of those who love 
 and serve him is continually increasing, and they have power with 
 God ; because if we too must resemble Sodom and Gomorrah, we 
 have more than Abraham to intercede for us, and more than ten 
 righteous men to stand in the gap, and say, “ Save thy people, O 
 Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach !” because, 
 
 “ Oft have our fathers told, 
 
 Our eyes have often seen, 
 
 How well our God secures the fold 
 Where his own sheep have been 
 
 because we believe that our destination is glorious, and that we are 
 the ordained mediums of divine grace to extend the unsearchable 
 riches of Christ to the ends of the earth. Personal trials are often 
 sanctified to individuals ; and however trying they may be at the 
 time, when the believer has been enabled to look back upon his 
 past course, and to survey all his trials and afflictions, his language 
 we know will be, “ It is good for me that I was afflicted.” Why, 
 then, may it not be the same nationally ? Why may not national 
 corrections, and humiliations, and afflictions, produce national ref- 
 ormation, and thus preclude national ruin ? Yes, we hope yet 
 
216 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 that even that commercial distress, which of late has been so great 
 and so portentous, will lead to superior modes of merchandise and 
 trade, and prevent, in future, all such hazardous and iniquitous spec- 
 ulations. W e hope that even the violence and outrage which have 
 so extensively and alarmingly prevailed, will b$ checked by oppor- 
 tune judicial interference, and the salutariness of punishment, and 
 be overruled by leading people to a concern for the distresses of the 
 suffering poor, and to a consideration of every possible means for 
 their relief. We hope that the evils which have obviously and are 
 now generally acknowledged to have grown out of the two extrem- 
 ities in society, the very rich and the very poor, will be checked, 
 and that there will be a greater increase of the intermediate grada- 
 tions upon which so much of the welfare and safety of the country 
 depend. We hope that the looking into the public expenditure and 
 pensions will lead to retrenchment ; that the voice of real griev- 
 ance will be heard, and that the call for reform will be strictly and 
 speedily regarded. 
 
 We confess, therefore, that we feel nothing like despair in refer- 
 ence to our country ; we view it differently from every other coun- 
 try ; and though as yet we are not a nation of Christians, blessed 
 be God, we have a Christian constitution. Our constitution is not 
 a thing of a day ; it has borne the test of ages. Our institutions 
 are based in justice — everlasting justice — and come to us commend- 
 ed by manifold proofs of their utility. And, after all that has been 
 averred to the contrary, we are persuaded that the majority of the 
 English nation is yet sound at the core. 
 
 4. Let us take a Christian , and suppose him looking over these 
 forty years. He ought to judge of things far differently from others. 
 He ought to judge by a standard of his own. “ He walks by faith, 
 and not by sight.” He ought to judge more disinterestedly and 
 more spiritually ; hence he may feel peace and contentment, while 
 others are filled with depression and despair. Not that the Chris- 
 tian is insensible to public calamities ; he can say with David, “My 
 flesh trembles for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments.” 
 He cries for the abominations that are done in the midst of us. Not 
 but that he feels as a man and as a citizen. But then the Christian 
 absorbs the man and the citizen. A Christian extends his views be- 
 yond the particular community or country to which he belongs. 
 The cause that lies nearest his heart is the cause of his Redeemer ; 
 and he would be unworthy the name of a Christian if he did not 
 judge of the value of things principally by their bearing upon that 
 
SUPPLEMENT 10 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 217 
 
 cause. He would be ashamed of himself if he did not consider that 
 the most prosperous season in which this best and most glorious 
 cause advanced most flourishingly, regardless entirely of either per- 
 sonal or public inconveniences or distresses. “ What,” should he 
 6ay, “ if schemes have failed while His cause is prosperous ! What 
 if I have been reduced and embarrassed while lie is magnified and 
 glorified !” Let the times be troublous, if but the walls of this tem- 
 ple rise ; and I then rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Now, on this 
 principle, we say that a Christian ought to think well of the times 
 wherein we have been living. 
 
 When the Saviour was about to come in the flesh, God said, “ I 
 will shake the heavens and the sea and the dry land, and I will 
 _ shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come,” and that 
 has often been the case with Him also in the Gospel. So it has 
 been here. How has he displayed the vanity of all creature-great- 
 ness, as if he would constrain persons to turn their back upon the 
 world, and to seek a better part — an enduring treasure ! And con- 
 siderable effects have been produced, yes, some of the great have 
 been impressed by them. I am persuaded that there has been a 
 greater movement among persons in the higher rank of life, relig- 
 iously considered, than among any other class. We have had, dur- 
 ing this period, a monarch who, for fifty years, was an example of 
 morality to his people. We have had statesmen who have not only 
 pleaded for Christianity, but even for its evangelical doctrines. We 
 have had noblemen who have worshipped God morning and even- 
 ing in their families. Can a Christian be indifferent to the progress 
 of freedom during these forty years ? We are commanded to pray 
 that the word of the Lord may have free course, and run, and be 
 glorified. But we are not to dictate to God how this prayer is to 
 be answered. We are to pray that the chariot of the everlasting 
 Gospel may go forward, and we well know, that for this purpose 
 “ every valley must be exalted, and every mountain and hill made 
 low, the crooked made straight and the rough places plain.” God’s 
 6oldiers will have much to do in our world in many places before 
 his preachers can do anything. Look at China ; you send your 
 Bibles and missionaries there — what progress could they make ? 
 Suppose Whitfield had begun hi3 career in Spain or Portugal, in- 
 stead of beginning it in this country ; the first sermon which he had 
 preached would have crushed him under the savagism of the inqui- 
 sition ; and no more would have been heard of him. But what has 
 taken place within the compass of the years we are now reviewing? 
 
 10 
 
218 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Why, there is Protestant preaching even in Rome itself, the seal >f 
 the “ beast.” Even in popish countries now, where the cursed in- 
 quisition is formally put down, you see how it works. No heretic 
 can, indeed, be openly put to death ; for if a liere;ic were now to 
 be burnt, either in Spain or Portugal, it would produce a clamor to 
 the ends of Europe — and they are aware of it. Yet the progress of 
 religious liberty is much impeded by the restrictions which have so 
 long obtained in respect of civil liberty. 
 
 Can a Christian, then, review the progress of civil liberty, which, 
 when properly considered, includes religious freedom, and not be 
 grateful for the times in which we live ? Is it nothing that good 
 men have been uniting together to co-operate for the extension and 
 establishment of the good cause upon general principles, while with 
 respect to minuter differences, they have been disposed to say — 
 “Let every one be fully persuaded of them in his own mind”? Is 
 it nothing that theology has been delivered from the jargon and 
 folly of the schools ? Some, indeed, have avowed that the truth 
 was perishing in the earth ; but I am persuaded that the Gospel 
 was never more fully preached than during these forty years ; 
 while there have been inculcated all the principles of the reforma- 
 tion, these have been darkened with less of the metaphysical, and 
 less of the controversial, than before ; useless subtleties have been 
 dropped, and truth has come home to men’s business and bosoms. 
 Is it nothing that infidelity has been driven off the field — that it 
 is now only fighting in ambush — that it is necessitated to betake it- 
 self only to objections which have been triumphantly answered a 
 thousand times ? Some of you, it is true, cannot compare the pres- 
 ent state of religion in the country with what it was forty years 
 ago ; but some of us can. 
 
 How many Associations have, during this period, been organized, 
 or enlivened, or enlarged in their sphere of active usefulness? 
 Look at the Sunday Schools. They were then in their beginning, 
 and we had to explain them ; they were opposed, and we had to 
 defend them. 
 
 But there was nothing like the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 The Methodists had one Society (Missionary) ; our Baptist brethren 
 were about commencing their splendid Missionary career ; but the 
 London Missionary Society was not ; and the Church Missionary 
 Society was not. All these have been established within these forty 
 years which we are now reviewing; and we have been the means 
 of their support and their combined operation. People talk of dark 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 219 
 
 times. Dark times! What do they mean? We are now speaking 
 religiously and practically. The times, blessed be God, have gone 
 by, when, if the country had peace and plenty, the bulk of the peo- 
 ple were cursed with the greatest of all plagues, an unregenerate 
 ministry ; and were perishing for lack of knowledge. “ The Lord 
 gave the word, and great was the company of them who published 
 it.” Had I died the day after my ordination, and been lately raised 
 from the dead, and led again through this country, I should have 
 been perfectly astonished at the change, and have exclaimed, “ Whjft 
 hath God wrought !” 
 
 5. Let us imagine a Member of this Christian Community review- 
 ing these years. It is not easy to satisfy the benevolence and the 
 zeal of a truly pious mind. Such an individual always laments 
 that more is not done, and that it is not done better ; and yet I 
 think that a person attached to this social body — a person who ha3 
 been led to pray, “Peace be within these walls, and prosperity 
 within this palace — For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will 
 say, Peace be within thee” — must see something that is pleasing 
 and grateful in the review. We must have seen how “the little 
 one has become a thousand;” how many have been “added to the 
 church of such as should be saved and how few comparatively 
 have been excommunicated or rebuked for immoral conduct. We 
 must have seen the unity and the harmony that have prevailed from 
 the beginning within our church, without discord ; and yet the 
 times we have' lived in, have been troublous. In what a state of 
 danger and fermentation has society been ! And there has been 
 enough of the latter among some of our neighbors ; but we have 
 enjoyed tranquillity. Yet we have not all thought alike doctrinal- 
 ly. There have been shades of difference with respect to church 
 government ; some have not been Independent in their views ; some 
 have preferred Presbyterianism or Episcopalianism ; yet there have 
 been no discords. We have not all thought alike with respect to 
 the ordinances of religion, but “here,” as Cowper said, “the dipped 
 and sprinkled have lived in peace.” I have always treated those 
 who in this matter conscientiously differed from me, with Christian 
 candor ; and I must say they have abundantly repaid it. As it has 
 been with sentiment, so it has been with liberality. We have had 
 institutions of our own : the Sick Man’s Friend Society, and others 
 of the same description. We have aided other institutions of the 
 Gospel ; the London Missionary Society; the Home and Irish Socie- 
 ties; besides admitting occasionally other collections, which havo 
 
220 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 always been such as to do honor to the minister an^ the congrega- 
 tion. 
 
 The cause also, must be considered here as having been a candle- 
 stick holding out the light to others. Bath is a place of peculiar re- 
 sort and intercourse. Many have therefore dropped in here who 
 have received conviction, and carried it away with them. How 
 often have I been delighted, when called to preach in various parts 
 of the country, to meet many individuals who have acknowledged, 
 that their first impressions of religion were received from the 
 preaching of the word within these walls. Several Dissenting min- 
 isters, and no fewer than three episcopal clergymen, whose names I 
 might mention, have acknowledged to me that here they first re- 
 ceived the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 Once more, the preacher must be allowed to review these years. 
 I know there are many strangers in this congregation, and I really 
 feel for them this morning. It is hardly to be supposed that they 
 will feel interested in a great deal of what I deliver on this occa- 
 sion. But I must depend upon their candor and good sense, to ex- 
 cuse a recapitulation in which the preacher and the hearer must be 
 considered as feeling a concern, after an interesting connection of 
 so many years. It is impossible al-so now to go on without some 
 reference to myself. Whether I have credit enough with the au- 
 dience to prevent the imputation of egotism and vanity, I cannot 
 determine ; I must be content to lie under the suspicion — a suspicion 
 which, I can appeal to God, is undeserved — the design of the refer- 
 ence being not to set off myself, but being in fact altogether inevi- 
 table. It is impossible, then, for the minister, in a review of these 
 forty years, not to feel both gratified and solemnized, yea, to feel a 
 number of emotions so mingled in hL bosom, that he cannot express 
 them separately. In general, I can say, that these years have been 
 years of pleasure ; and I should have no objection to go through 
 them again. Goodness and mercy, intermingled with some trying 
 dispensations, have followed me all the days of these years. But I 
 have a livelier idea of the kindness of Providence than when I be- 
 gan them — a better opinion of my fellow-creatures, and more con- 
 fidence in them. My views of some religious subjects have been 
 rendered more liberal, and encouraging, and satisfactory. My life, 
 too, has been preserved, while so many of my brethren, and many 
 of them much younger, have been hurried off in the midst of their 
 days. And then, for some time, my own life, I believe, was deemed 
 precarious by my medical friends ; of this I am sure, my life was 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 221 
 
 deemed precarious by myself : I had the sentence of death within 
 myself, and never did 1 expect to reach anything like this anniver- 
 sary. But God was pleased to raise me up, to renew and establish 
 me. Some of my own order, these forty years, have fallen by temp 
 tation ; some, who having put their hands to tin? Gospel plough, 
 have looked back ; some have been drawn off by dangerous errors, 
 injuring their character and destroying their usefulness ; while, 
 “ by the grace of God, I am what I am.” Many years have passed, 
 many changes have occurred, yet have I been upheld till now. 
 Who could hold me up but thou, O God ? During these years I 
 have become a father, and I have lived to see my children’s children. 
 I have also become a pretty extensive author ; and on this latter 
 account I feel peculiarly grateful, having received so many testi- 
 monies both at home and from abroad, and, because by my writing, 
 I can be doing good in many places, and to many individuals, at 
 the same time ; — because I can be useful through these means, when 
 I myself am here no more ; and because by these my own people 
 may have in remembrance, after my decease, many of my religious 
 sentiments, and I can be aiding them in the closet, and at the family 
 altar, when the clods of the valley are round about me. Of these 
 numerous works, unless indeed it be their imperfections, were I 
 dying, I should not wish to blot out a single line ; and I hope there 
 is not a single sentence of them that can give offence to Christians 
 of any denomination. I desire to bless God for having continued 
 my acceptance, and I trust, my usefulness also, so long. The charm 
 of novelty must long ago have been worn off ; and you will bear me 
 witness that I never attempted to strike into any new paths. I 
 have never tried to get into any new wind of popularity ; and if 
 any such wind has aided me, it has fallen in with my own steady 
 course. It sought me, I never sought it. But I have other feelings 
 on this occasion. How is it possible that I should not be affected 
 with the loss I have sustained in hearers and members? What 
 family is there here that has not bled during these forty years ? 
 What pew that has not been stripped of some of its occupiers? 
 What think you of those who signed my call when I came here ? 
 There are only three individuals now alive. 0, how much precious 
 and endeared dust have I interred in our burying-ground ! Who 
 has not something there now which he calls his own ? Blessed be 
 God, I see others rising up; and instead of the fathers the children ; 
 but “my soul desiretli the first ripe fruit.” Can I be otherwise than 
 affected with the preservation of my own life ? When I was or- 
 
*222 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 dained here this almond tree had not then flourished. But, blessed 
 be God, not one of the hairs have grown gray in the service of the 
 world and of sin ; yet the greatest part of my life is gone, and by 
 far the greatest part of it has been spent in your service. The even- 
 ing of life has now set in, gently and mildly indeed ; but, to alter 
 the metaphor, you had part of the spring ; you have had the whole 
 of the summer; and if there be any ripeness in the winter, this is 
 before us. But the winter has come, and how can I help being 
 affected with my awful responsibility ? How many services during 
 these forty years have I engaged in ! How many individuals must 
 I meet at a righteous tribunal ! But a merciful Saviour — here is 
 my consolation — I serve a master who knows our frame, and remem- 
 bers that we are dust. I have a consciousness that I never per- 
 verted my office to secular purposes ; that I never shunned to de- 
 clare what I thought to be the whole counsel of God ; that I have 
 never concealed the truth, nor mangled it at the expense of my own 
 convictions. 
 
 Though I do not consider kindness shown to ministers as elee- 
 mosynary, yet I cannot but publicly express my thanks to those 
 who have all along shown me so much of their esteem and regard. 
 As for others, they will feel easy. I never burdened any one, in any 
 instance or degree ; and at the end of forty years, I have no obliga- 
 tion, in reference to them, to acknowledge — a boast which perhaps 
 few ministers of my standing or acceptance, in the kingdom, can 
 make. 
 
 But I have already encroached too much upon your time. If the 
 great apostle of the Gentiles entreated of those to whom he wrote 
 to have an interest in their prayers at the throne of grace, how 
 much more have I reason to say, “Brethren, pray for us,” “and for 
 me , that utterance may be given me, that I may speak boldly as I 
 ought to speak ;” that I may be supported and sustained in my af- 
 flictions ; that the arms- of my hands may be made strong by the 
 hands of the mighty God of Jacob ; that I may be long spared to 
 preach to you the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ ; and that 
 at last, as an unprofitable servant, I may be enabled to look for the 
 mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life ! “ The Lord bless 
 
 you and keep you ; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and 
 be gracious unto you ; the Lord lift up the light of his countenance 
 upon you, and give you peace 1” 
 
 With this benediction I was about to conclude ; but how can I 
 conclude withou reminding some, who, long as I have addressed 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 223 
 
 them in this place, T have yet addressed in vain ! How many hundred, 
 how many thousand affecting invitations, and solemn warnings, 
 and urgent admonitions have you heard from my voice! With that 
 voice, like birds in the belfry, you have grown familiar; and the 
 peal which once alarmed you, now passes by and leaves you unaf- 
 fected. You are just what you were twenty, thirty years ago, and 
 some of you forty years ago, too. Ah ! no, you are not the same ; 
 you cannot be the same ; if you are not the better, you must be the 
 worse; if the preaching of the word has not proved, in your expe- 
 rience, “ the savor of life unto life,” it must prove “ the savor of 
 death unto death.” Under what a condemnation will some of you 
 perish! You cannot now dissolve the connection which you have 
 had so many years with the means of grace, even if you would now 
 detach yourselves. And the image of this place, the figure of the 
 preacher, the tones of his voice, and the messages of grace which 
 he has delivered, will be remembered hereafter, and will be as fuel 
 to that fire that shall never be quenched, and food to that worm 
 that shall never die. Oh ! that I could this morning bring you to 
 consider ! Oh ! that God would awaken your consciences ! And 
 when this voice which, for these forty years, has filled this house, 
 is silent, and when another shall occupy this sacred desk, may “ the 
 beauty of the Lord our God be upon you, establishing the work of 
 your hands — yea, the work of your hands, may God establish it 
 upon you ! Amen.” 
 
 In the year 1833 an eminent and a distinguished 
 individual, who might not have been expected to feel 
 any curiosity to hear the Dissenting minister of Bath, 
 was present in Argyle Chapel on two successive Sun- 
 days, and on both parts of the day. The following 
 extracts from the a Memoirs of Sir William Knighton, 
 Bart., Physician to King George IV., and Keeper of 
 the Privy Purse,” written by Lady Knighton, will be 
 interesting to the readers of Mr. Jay’s Life. 
 
 June 9, 1833. We this morning attended Mr. J.’g chapel. He 
 had been visited, as he stated, with domestic affliction during the 
 previous night. It was supposed to bo the illness of Mr 3 . J. He 
 
224 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 preached from the 119th Psalm, 32d verse, — “ I will run the way of 
 thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” 
 
 He said, this saying by David comprehended three things — a 
 complaint — a dependence — and a resolution. He propounded in a 
 very beautiful manner the usefulness of knowledge in Divine things, 
 and stated that this was a qualification not sufficiently preached — 
 but without which we could do nothing — we could not even make 
 a beginning. “Faith in Christ.” — His illustrations were beautiful. 
 I wish I could remember them sufficiently to write them down. He 
 praised the Liturgy of the Church, and said it was to be lamented 
 that the doctrines of the reading-desk were not always preached in 
 the pulpit ; and observed that they (meaning himself and congre- 
 gation) did not deserve to be called Dissenters, for they did not dis- 
 sent from the doctrines of the beautiful Litany ; but that they were 
 called Methodists, fanatics, and enthusiasts for preaching them. 
 
 The chapel was quite full, and seemingly with well-dressed peo- 
 ple. We went in the evening again to hear Mr. J., and were disap- 
 pointed to find he was not to officiate; but Mr. J., who preached, 
 completely satisfied us. I never heard a more delightful discourse. 
 His text was from the fourth chapter of the Hebrews, 9th verse : 
 “ There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” He drew 
 a most affecting picture of the miseries of this probationary life, and 
 the joys that await the true and holy Christian — for in heaven there 
 is a day of rest. There was no sorrow, no calamity, no adversity, 
 no deep affliction in this life that he did not bring home to one’s 
 understanding and feelings. He brought many of them before us 
 with a heart-rending eloquence, as if the sources were drawn from 
 his own bosom. The loss of a child — perhaps an only child — here 
 he paused, and I fancied I saw his lip quiver as the tongue gave ut- 
 terance to the sentence. When he called upon his Christian hear- 
 ers to look to that day of rest where corruption would cease, and 
 the joys of heaven supersede all the woes connected with our pres- 
 ent earthly tabernacle, his manner of conducting the subject was 
 delightful. He said that he had no doubt, deducing his authority 
 from Scripture, that saints and Christians do know each other in a 
 future state ; that the child taken from the disconsolate parent in 
 early life would welcome the pious and holy Christian parent to 
 heaven. This earthly separation, therefore, as being only for a sea- 
 son, bears marks of Divine love, and not the dispensation which, in 
 our sorrow, we feel as an overwhelming calamity. I underwent 
 great emotion as he proceeded, and so did Mr. D., and never felt my 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 225 
 
 heart more under the holy influence of religion. I am sure poor 
 Mr. Jay must have felt the prayer, and the able discourse. I fancy 
 he was in the chapel. Mrs. Jay is alive, but she was struck with 
 paralysis the preceding night. This has been a very interesting 
 day, and I shall not readily forget it. — Vol. ii. p. 307-311. 
 
 Sunday, 16th June, 1883. We hailed this morning with great 
 pleasure, because we had the satisfactory prospect of again hearing 
 Mr. Jay, and we were not disappointed. He preached from the 119th 
 Psalm, 18th verse : “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold won- 
 drous things out of thy law.” He began by explaining what was 
 meant by the law. It was nothing more nor less than the com- 
 mands of God. David saw the Gospel in the law. It is in vain to 
 go to this book with any opinions of your own. You must take it 
 as it is — the law of God cannot be changed. If your conscience, 
 when awakened under the terrors of the law, has found comfort un- 
 der the Gospel, you may hope that you are in the right road. But 
 let me tell you, he said, that religion and the knowledge of this 
 book are not of sudden growth. This I would not only address to 
 the infidel and unbeliever, but also to the fanatic and enthusiast. 
 The one adapts everything to his own presumptuous notions and 
 opinions ; the other mystifies and confuses revelation from heaven 
 with things not yet revealed. That such states are both dangerous 
 may be well understood, when David, who knew so much, calls out, 
 not in the self-sufficient language of our times, but in the words of 
 the text, “ Open thou mine eyes,” &e. 
 
 Mr. Jay adverted to the wonders of the universe. He referred to 
 the chapter he had read before the sermon, in which the miracle is 
 related of our Lord’s restoring the blind to sight, and stated that 
 spiritual blindness is quite as perceptible as corporeal blindness. 
 The man corporeally blind could not indeed deceive you — the loss 
 of the sense was apparent — but the spiritual blindness was also evi- 
 dent to the true Christian. The soul must receive a Divine influ- 
 ence, not miraculous, (for there is no such thing now-a-days,) but a 
 sense of its own unworthiness ; -then follow penitence and prayer ; 
 an earnest desire for the Saviour’s image to be implanted in the 
 heart ; a life in the ways of godliness, according to the law and the 
 gospel. Cicero, the greatest philosopher, and the wisest among 
 those of his day, was accustomed to say, that we lived by the pow- 
 er of the gods — but that to live well and not wickedly was in our 
 own power. Seneca said, that those men who lived in the rules of 
 virtue were in meri above the gods, because the very nature of 
 10 * 
 
226 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 their existence did not admit of their being otherwise. Here you 
 have the reasoning of the wisdom of this world. Truly, when you 
 come to contemplate the establishment of Christianity, it strikes you 
 with awe and wonder that a few unlettered fishermen, without 
 learning, or what we call education, should be sent forth to preach 
 the redemption of mankind to the uttermost corners of the earth. 
 
 In the evening, Mr. Jay’s discourse was from Job, ix. 4 : “ He is 
 wise in heart, and mighty in strength : who hath hardened himself 
 against him, and hath prospered ? ” He began by giving the char- 
 acter of God most beautifully, and then he drew the picture of the 
 hardened sinner. I wish that every sinner could have heard him. 
 In giving the catalogue of sins that belong to sinful man, he said, it 
 was wonderful with what a degree of complacency words were 
 found to palliate all the vile passions of wickedness. Covetousness 
 was a sense of prudence to one’s self and family ; revenge, a just 
 sense of what was due to one’s self on the score of honor ; a depart- 
 ure from truth, a necessary observance of the ways of the world, 
 and so on. He mentioned that Lord Bacon had said, that “ Knowl- 
 edge is power and this saying had been put forth as Lord Bacon’s ; 
 but Solomon had said long before Lord Bacon was cradled, that 
 “ Wisdom is a defence,” and so it is. It gives a power that wealth 
 cannot often give, although Solomon says that “ Wealth buyeth all 
 things.” There seemed no end to the beautiful and appropriate 
 truths put forth in this discourse. — Yol. ii. p. 328-332. 
 
 This will no doubt be interesting to the reader, as 
 evincing the deep impression which Mr. Jay’s preach- 
 ing was calculated to make upon persons of cultivated 
 minds, and moving in the highest walks of life. Many 
 such took the opportunity of hearing him when in 
 Bath, and, in numerous instances like the present, 
 have been known to express both the great pleasure 
 and spiritual profit they had experienced. 
 
 THE JUBILEE OF MR. JAY’S PASTORATE. 
 
 The next important event in Mr. Jay’s history, 
 which it becomes us to record, was the completion of 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 227 
 
 the fiftieth year of his ministry in Argyle Chapel. 
 The commemoration of this event was looked forward 
 to with no little interest by a very wide circle of 
 friends. Those in particular who formed his church 
 and congregation resolved to celebrate the day in a 
 manner honorable to all parties. Of this memorable 
 occasion w r e now proceed to give an abridged account 
 from the little volume which was afterwards publish- 
 ed — observing, at the same time, that since we could 
 not and did not deem it needful or proper to transfer 
 the whole to these pages, we have limited our extracts 
 to the speeches of Mr. Jay and the chairman, with 
 those portions of Mr. Jay’s sermon which were spec- 
 ially appropriate to the occasion. 
 
 The first meeting was one for devotion held on the 
 morning of Lord’s day, January 31, 1841, in Argyle 
 Chapel, at seven o’clock, when fervent thanksgivings 
 and prayers were offered. 
 
 At nine o’clock the scholars in the Sunday School 
 belonging to the chapel were assembled, and received 
 presents of books bearing appropriate inscriptions, 
 commemorative of the day. A suitable address was 
 delivered to them by the Rev. Samuel Nichols, of Dar- 
 wen, Lancashire. 
 
 At eleven o’clock the public service was held in the 
 chapel. The introductory devotional service was con- 
 ducted by the Rev. S. Nichols, after which Mr. Jay 
 preached from 1 Thess. ii. 19 : “What is our hope, or 
 joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the 
 presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” 
 
 The sermon contains highly interesting instruction, 
 addressed to the learner of the Gospel, under the dif- 
 ferent classes of those who encourage , those who solace , 
 
228 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 and those who dignify ministers. After the general 
 discussion of the text, the author enters into a detail 
 of the circumstances which led to his settlement at 
 Bath, and a review of his lengthened ministry, the 
 substance of which being contained in the autobiog- 
 raphy now published, we pass over, for the sake of in- 
 troducing a few of the solemn and affecting paragraphs 
 which close the sermon. 
 
 “Such are the reflections derivable from the subject of our text, 
 and the occasion of the day. And now what can I add more ? As 
 I ascended this desk, and looked down upon this vast audience, I 
 said to myself, All ! where will all this assembly be by the return 
 of this Jubilee ? Some of you will remain, and perhaps you will 
 then be talking over what is now passing here ; but where, oh where, 
 will the majority of you be found then ? 
 
 “ As to many of us, a much shorter period will have removed us, 
 and the places that now know us will know us no more forever. 
 Other occupiers will fill these pews ; other singers will lead the 
 psalmody, when the voices of those who now charm us will be silent 
 in the grave ; and another voice will be heard in this pulpit than 
 that which has filled it for fifty years past. 
 
 “ To how many of you is my ordination a matter of history ? 
 You have been born since that day, which many of your fathers 
 and mothers attended. How many of you have I taken in these 
 hands, and offered to God in holy baptism ! How many of you 
 have I hailed at your coming to the table of the Lord ! And how 
 many of your connections have I followed to our burial-ground! 
 ‘Ah !’ says one, ‘there lies my cherub-child!’ ‘And,’ says another, 
 ‘there lies the desire of mine eyes, taken away with a stroke.’ 
 ‘ And there,’ says another, ‘ lies the guide of my youth.’ 
 
 “ I am glad, therefore, when every church has a place of interment 
 of their own : it seems keeping up still a kind of connection with 
 the departed. Our dead lie not among strangers. ‘ There I buried 
 Abraham, and Sarah his wife; there I buried Isaac, and Rebecca 
 his wife ; and there I. buried Leah !’ We have all our precious dust 
 in yonder ground. Where is the person belonging to us who does 
 not go to the grave to weep there? I am sometimes ready to be 
 jealous lest our burying-plaee should become richer than our church. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 229 
 
 But no ; instead of the fathers are their children. Our sons are as 
 plants grown up in their youth ; our daughters are as corner-stones 
 polished after the similitude of palaces ; and we have a noble band 
 of the young and middle aged, who have covenanted with God, and 
 who are saying we will not forsake the house of our God. O, how 
 does old age, while it leaves life, peal off continually its connections, 
 till we seem left even as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, or as 
 an ensign upon the hill ! O, how many of the various relations of 
 life, during such a varied and extensive acquaintance as mine, have 
 gone down to the dust, and have seen corruption ! How many 
 ministers have been taken away ! ‘ The fathers, where are they t 
 
 and the prophets, do they live forever V Of all the ministers that 
 belonged to the Wiltshire Association when I entered it, 1 am the 
 only survivor ; and of all those who signed my call when I came 
 here, only one remains, whose venerable head you would have seen 
 here this day, but for indisposition. And, 0! what a curtailment 
 are fifty years in a brief duration like ours. Your preacher, there- 
 fore, feels this; and though, in some measure, he can talk like 
 Caleb, who said, ‘ As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the 
 day that Moses sent me : as my strength was then, even so is my 
 strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in,’ yet he does 
 not forget that the days of our years are threescore years and ten. 
 Yes; therefore, a period cannot be far remote when, as he hopes he 
 shall never stand in the way of usefulness, he will either entirely 
 resign his labors, or share them with another ; and, though he knows 
 the extreme difficulty attached to a concern where three parties are 
 so deeply interested, the Lord can provide. Now 1 seem to be tak- 
 ing a farewell of the fifty years which I have passed within these 
 happy wails ! What a difference between the day of which I am 
 reminded, and this day ! Then , I was rapidly entering life ; 1 am 
 now gradually withdrawing from it. Then, I was commencing my 
 voyage across an untried ocean ; now, with the glass in my hand, I 
 am looking for the fair havens. Then, i was a mere youth : now 
 surrounded with children and grandchildren. What was then 
 anxiety, is now repose ; what was then hope, is now accomplish- 
 ment ; what w'as then prayer, is now praise. What a season of 
 humiliation, you will naturally conclude, must this have been ! 
 We are hardly aware of our deficiencies and imperfections till some- 
 thing occurs which drives us to retire, and reflect and review. 
 But who can look back upon fifty years, and not exclaim, ‘ Entei 
 not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for in thy sight shall 
 
230 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 no flesh living be justified/ ‘ 0 Lord, if thou shouldst mark in- 
 iquity, 0 Lord, who can stand V Yet what a source of thanksgiving 
 ought it to be ! How has my life been indulged ! How few have 
 been so satisfied with favor, and filled with the blessing of the 
 Lord! Yet I have had trialp enough to remind me that 
 
 ‘Full bliss is bliss divine.’ 
 
 “ Though I have not drunk deep of the cup, I have tasted the 
 bitterness of affliction. One trial has pressed upon me with peculiar 
 force ; and concerning which I should have been ready to say, Lord, 
 afflict me in any other point ! But his ways are judgment. 
 
 “But what deliverances have I experienced during this period! 
 Serious attacks of indisposition formerly prepared me to expect an 
 abbreviated ministry ; and perhaps you looked for it too ; but, hav- 
 ing obtained help of God, I continue to this day ; and, after all the 
 Ebenezers I have reared along the road, I now rear the largest of 
 them all. And, 
 
 “ * Here in thy house I leave my vows, 
 
 And thy rich grace record ; 
 
 Witness, ye saints who hear me now, 
 
 If I forsake the Lord.’ ” 
 
 On the evening of the same day the Rev. Timothy 
 East, then of Birmingham, preached from Daniel xii. 
 3 : u They that turn many to righteousness (shall shine) 
 as the stars forever and ever.” 
 
 On the Tuesday morning following, (Feb. 2,) a pub- 
 lic breakfast took place at the Assembly Rooms. The 
 number of persons present at the breakfast was eight 
 hundred and twenty. The ministers, attending both 
 from the city and neighborhood, were about forty. 
 Henry Godwin, Esq., was called to the chair. 
 
 In his introductory observations Mr. Godwin par- 
 ticularly alluded to the friendship of Mr. Wilberforce 
 for Mr. Jay. He said,* — 
 
 “ There is one witness whom I could almost wish were here this 
 morning to bear his testimony to the worth of our beloved pastor. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 231 
 
 Believe me, sir, I am not going to indulge in the language of adu- 
 lation ; it would be as repugnant to me as it would be offensive to 
 you ; and as contrary to the canons of good taste as to the canons 
 of Scripture. I wish the sainted Wilberforce were here to testify 
 his esteem for you ; and we know not but that he may be looking 
 down with pleasure upon us now ; for if angels rejoice over a re- 
 pentant sinner, why should not glorified saints look with ecstasy 
 upon such a scene as this ? But I can give you the testimony of 
 Wilberforce himself ; and I give it you on the veracity of a man, 
 who feels, I trust, that he stands in the sight of God. 
 
 “ Though not intimately acquainted with that good man, I had 
 the pleasure of having three interviews with him, in one of which 
 Mr. Jay was the subject of conversation ; speaking of whom he 
 said, ‘There is one thing in Jay, (for he spoke familiarly, and I 
 will speak familiarly too,) there is one thing in Jay, dear Jay, that 
 1 love ; it is his uniform consistency, his uniform humility. I re- 
 member when he was a very young man ; and I know that the 
 popular applause which followed him was enough to turn a young 
 head ; but he always kept his steady course ; I never saw him in 
 the least inflated by it. I never saw the least indication of his 
 being so ; he seemed to shake it off as the lion shakes the dew from 
 his mane. Dear Jay, I love Jay !’ Such was the testimony of 
 Wilberforce ; but his sons appear to have forgotten that love ; at 
 all events they have not shown it in the Biography of their Father.” 
 
 After some further observations appropriate to the 
 occasion, the chairman read the following address 
 from the church and congregation : — 
 
 TO THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Sir, — Fifty years have rolled away since a 
 gracious God was pleased to direct the Church and Congregation 
 assembling in Argyle Chapel to choose you as their pastor. Solemn 
 is the thought that of those who then crowded to hear you profess 
 “ a good profession before many witnesses,” few — very few — remain 
 to welcome this day; and of those who then invited you to ac- 
 cept the ministerial charge, one, only one, honored individual sur- 
 vives. But God has preserved you 1 and we are now assembled to 
 commemorate the lapse of half a century, spent in holy duty anj 
 
232 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 affectionate intercourse between yourself and the people of your 
 charge. 
 
 We come not to praise you. It would not be acceptable to you, 
 and we regard the occasion as too hallowed for any such purpose. 
 We desire to unite with you in fervent gratitude to the Great Head 
 of the Church for the signal blessings He has bestowed on you, 
 in fitting you for the high, and sacred, and distinguished course 
 of ministerial usefulness He has enabled you to fulfil ; and on us, 
 as a Church and Congregation, in providing for us so rich and 
 edifying an exhibition of the Gospel of the grace of God. 
 
 But while we bow in gratitude before the Most High, and would 
 devoutly adore Him for his goodness, we cannot be insensible that 
 under Him “ from whom cometh every good and perfect gift,” we 
 owe you much. To the great Apostle of the Gentiles, Philemon 
 owed his “own self.” To you some of us are under similar obli- 
 gations ; and it is our prayer, that, with those of our predecessors 
 and fellow-worshippers, who have departed in the faith, we may 
 unitedly rejoice in the day of Christ, that you have neither run 
 nor labored in vain. 
 
 Receive from us, very dear sir, the assurance of our strong affection 
 and unabated regard; and with it, as a token of our attachment to 
 your person, of our veneration for your character, and of our grat- 
 itude for your labors as a faithful minister of Christ, we request 
 your acceptance of the accompanying tribute of esteem. 
 
 Finally, we pray for your prosperity, and commend you to the 
 love of the Saviour. May the evening of life, which is now come 
 upon you, and upon one who has tenderly and long augmented your 
 joys and alleviated your anxieties, ever be irradiated by tlie.Divine 
 presence ; and when it shall please Him, whom you serve, to call 
 you to the temple above, may these glorious words break upon your 
 ear, “Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter thou into the joy 
 of thy Lord.” 
 
 Signed on behalf of the Church and Congregation, Bath, January 
 30th, 1841 : — 
 
 Henry Griffith, 
 
 William New all, 
 James Bryant, 
 
 R. H. Griffith, 
 
 Isaac Tiiley 
 Jacob Titley, 
 Samuel Fisher, 
 
 Deacons of the Ch^vci 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AU TOBIOGRAPH Y. 
 
 233 
 
 H. Godwin, Chairman of the Committee, 
 Rice Hopkins, Secretary of the C mimittee. 
 
 John Matthews, 
 
 George King, 
 
 Richard Parker Lemon, 
 William Price, 
 
 Richard Finigan. 
 
 William James, 
 
 John Griffiths Mansford, 
 J. C. Spencer, 
 
 S. King, 
 
 Henry Morgan, 
 
 William G eorge, 
 
 John Barnard, 
 
 Edward Saunders, 
 
 Charles Godwin, 
 
 George Nortiimore, 
 Thomas Barter, 
 
 James Griffiths, 
 
 William Gibbons, 
 
 Henry Edmund Goodridge, 
 
 Being the Committee appointed at a General Meeting of the 
 Church and Congregation, held 13th October, 1840. 
 
 With this Address, sir, which so fully expresses my own senti- 
 ments, I have to present you also with this salver, and purse, 
 (which contains £650,) as a token of our united esteem, affection, 
 and gratitude. 
 
 The salver was of silver, with a shell pattern border, 
 containing in the centre the following inscription, sur- 
 rounded with an engraved wreath of flowers : — 
 
 Presented, 
 
 Together with the Sum of Six Hundred and Fifty Pounds, 
 to the 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY, 
 
 By the Members of the Church and Congregation 
 Assembled in Argyle Chapel, Bath, 
 
 And by other Friends, 
 
 On the completion of the Fiftieth Year of his happy and useful Pastorate, 
 As a Tribute of 
 
 Christian esteem, affection, and gratitude. 
 
 January 30, 1841. 
 
 The Rev. William Jay then addressed the assembly 
 as follows : — 
 
 Mr. Chairman and my Christian friends, — Of late years you have 
 not often heard me speak publicly, unless in my own appropriate 
 
234 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 sphere. It was not without reflection and conviction that, believ- 
 ing every man is best in his own order, considering the limitation 
 of human powers, and knowing how liable I was to importunities, 
 and feeling the pressure of various important engagements, I was 
 induced to lay down a rule — and which I rendered general, in order 
 to avoid giving particular offence — that I would decline all plat- 
 form engagements, and confine myself more exclusively to the press 
 and the pulpit. 
 
 With regard o the former, I hope I have not erred, because I 
 have not failed, God having given large acceptance and circulation 
 to my various and numerous publications ; in consequence of which 
 I have the pleasure to think that, after my decease, there are many 
 who may derive some pleasure and profit from the labors of my 
 pen ; and especially that my own church and congregation will be 
 able to have in remembrance many of the things they heard from 
 the living voice. 
 
 JSFor do I think I have been mistaken with regard to the latter, 
 when I was led to view my principal duty as lying in Argyle 
 Chapel, since, after having preached there for more than half a cen- 
 tury, I have had no diminution in attendance or attention ; and I 
 now survey this large and voluntary assembly convened together 
 to exhibit tokens of their regard. 
 
 Vfithout any intimation or promise from myself, I fear an expect- 
 ation has been raised that, on this occasion, I should take rather a 
 large review of a ministry, the fiftieth anniversary of whose ordi- 
 nation so many of my friends have agreed to celebrate in this flat- 
 tering manner. But, in the first place, in the usual course of nature, 
 you will soon, from what I may leave behind me, learn some of the 
 circumstances of my earlier history, if they may be worth inquir- 
 ing after ; and you will see the peculiar, the very peculiar manner 
 in which the providence of God, without any design or effort of 
 my own, or of my humble friends, led me into a work to which I 
 have consecrated so large a portion of my life happily, and I hope 
 not unprofitably. And, in the next place, on Sabbath-day morning 
 last, (as our Chairman has mentioned,) I took a pretty large review 
 of things, especially as they led to the formation of my connection 
 with those who have so long been “my hope, and joy, and crown 
 of rejoicing together with some other circumstances connected 
 with the Church and with the Pastor. 
 
 I seem, therefore, now only called to do what would be a very 
 pleasing duty were it not for the load of emotion under which I 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 235 
 
 am called to discharge it ; for, unless I were made up of insensibil- 
 ity and stupidity, you must suppose that I could not receive such 
 an address, such a token, such a testimonial, without feelings which 
 would be too oppressive and embarrassing to allow of a full, or per- 
 haps even proper, utterance. I will not, therefore, attempt what I 
 feel to be impracticable ; but will briefly and simply, and in a man- 
 ner the most respectful and grateful, acknowledge my obligations 
 to you, Mr. Chairman, for your disinterested, zealous, and judicious 
 agency — to the gentlemen of the Committee who have been con- 
 nected with you ; and to all those who have contributed on this oc- 
 casion, as if mentioned by name. Many of them are present ; they 
 can receive my thanks from my own lips immediately ; and I hope 
 that, in some way or other, they will reach all those contributors 
 also who are absent — for I find that I have had friends not only at 
 home but abroad — and also to that distinguished and truly Chris- 
 tian Poet who has deigned to employ his Muse on this occasion. 
 
 But what do I owe to those ladies who darted into this business, 
 and who have shown (they are always combined in them) so much 
 earnestness and taste in the arrangement of this festival ? I never 
 indeed despair of anything being done, and being done well, when 
 it once gets into the heads, and the hearts, and the hands of females. 
 My fair sisters, I am not indulging the language of flattery. My 
 conscience bears me witness that I have always had a concern in 
 private and in public to plead the cause of your sex ; and you may 
 take it, if you please, as a kind of testamentary avowal, that, in a 
 long and not unobserving life, I have always found females — like 
 the dear afflicted one at my right hand — worthy of peculiar confi- 
 dence, esteem, and praise. 
 
 I hope I have character enough to obtain for me a belief, when 1 
 affirm, that all, with regard to this Jubilee — excepting the sacred 
 part of it — originated with, and has been carried on by, others ; 
 and therefore all the guilt must rest upon the heads of a numerous 
 body of friends, who have been perhaps too partial and too warm 
 in their friendship. 
 
 I should be sorry if any have been led to imagine, because I have 
 generally been successful in life, that I had now well feathered a 
 nest for myself, or for one dearer to me than myself. But I can 
 glory in saying this is not the case. While, therefore, with regard 
 to the pecuniary part of this oblation, I am not at a loss to employ 
 it, especially relatively and prospectively, yet it is not with this 
 that I am principally impressed. “ How long have I to live that I 
 
236 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 shou_d go up with the king to Jerusalem ?” I hope Providence and 
 grace have taught me, in whatsoever state I have been, therewith 
 to be content. Nor can I expect to derive any immediate comfort 
 from this present ; but as a testimony of respect and approbation I 
 exceedingly prize it ; and there are few things which could have 
 afforded me more pleasure, considering the principle from which 
 the gift has sprung, and the various expressions of esteem and re- 
 gard with which it has been accompanied. 
 
 I feel also the unsectarian nature of this boon, as it has come 
 from churchmen and dissenters, and from the various religious par- 
 ties for whom I have often preached, and for whom I have al- 
 ways prayed, saying, “ Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity for “ whosoever shall do the will of my 
 Father which is in heaven, the same is my mother, and sister, and 
 brother.” 
 
 From the rank and office of some of the contributors, in Church 
 and State, perhaps it may be expected that there should be a more 
 distinct acknowledgment. I am very willing to render to them the 
 praise which is their due ; but you will allow me to say, I have 
 been most affected with the poor of my flock, and nothing will so 
 long remain written on the fleshly table of my heart as the gener- 
 osity of one individual who presented sixpence to one of my dea- 
 cons, adding, “ I only wish it were a hundred pounds.” 
 
 I have only one thing more to add. I take this purse, and I pre- 
 sent it to you, madam, ( addressing Mrs. Jay , in whose hands he placed 
 the purse , amidst the warm applause of the company, ) — I present it to 
 you, madam, who have always kept my purse, and therefore it has 
 been so well kept. Consider it as entirely sacred to your pleasure, 
 your use, your service, your comfort. I know this has been perfectly 
 unexpected by you, but it is also perfectly deserved by you. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, and my Christian friends, — There is not one here 
 this morning but would acquiesce in this appropriation if they 
 knew the value of this female as a wife for more than fifty years ; 
 and if they knew also the obligation the public is under to her, if I 
 have been enabled in any measure and degree to serve my genera- 
 tion ; and how much her sex owe to one who always raised and 
 confirmed my estimation of them ; and especially how much my 
 own church and congregation owe to one who has watched over 
 their preacher’s health, who has cheered him under all his trials, 
 who has reminded him continually of his duty, who has animated 
 him in the prosecution of it, and who has freed him, when in he** 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 237 
 
 power, from every interruption and embarrassment, that he might 
 be free in his work ; and how much my family owe to her for aid- 
 ing in training up a number of children, who will always "all her 
 blessed ; and being the mother of another mother, who now resides 
 in America, shining at the head of a lovely train of thirteen children, 
 all walking with her in the way everlasting. 
 
 After the delivery of Mr. Jay’s speech, the following 
 gentlemen addressed the meeting : the Rev. R. Elliott 
 of Devizes, the oldest of Mr. Jay’s contemporaries, the 
 Rev. J. Gr. Bedford of Winchester, a minister of the 
 Established Church, the Rev. T. Haynes of Bristol, 
 the Rev. T. East of Birmingham, W. T. Blair, Esq., 
 the Rev. S. Martin of Cheltenham (since of London), 
 Edward Smith, Esq., of London. 
 
 The Rev. J. Jackson, of Taunton, then gave out 
 one of the hymns composed for the occasion by James 
 Montgomery, Esq. ; after which he pronounced the 
 usual benediction, and dismissed the assembly. 
 
 EVENING MEETING. 
 
 At the evening meeting in Argyle Chapel, Henry 
 Godwin, Esq., was again called to the chair. On one 
 side of the pulpit was placed a handsome stone pillar 
 commemorative of Mr. Jay’s predecessor, the Rev, 
 Thomas Tuppen, and of the erection of the chapel ; 
 and on the other side of the pulpit a corresponding 
 pillar commemorating the fifty years’ pastorate of the 
 Rev. W. Jay. The pillars are of Scotch granite beau- 
 tifully polished, and surmounted by a bronze lamp. 
 Prayer was offered by the Rev. John Glanville of 
 Kingswood, and one of the hymns composed by Mr. 
 Montgomery was sung by the congregation. The 
 chairman then addressed the assembly as follows : — 
 
238 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 “I believe the present meeting is assembled to praise God, and 
 that praise will constitute the greater part of our employment this 
 evening. We are also assembled for an object which must be fa- 
 miliar to most of our friends who are at all conversant with profane 
 history. We know that the setting up of pillars and obelisks was 
 very common in ancient times ; and so early did the practice obtain 
 in the world, that the period when the pyramids of Egypt and 
 others were set up has been the subject of dispute among historians ; 
 and, to the present day, there is a difficulty, if not an impossibility, 
 of ascertaining how early the setting up of pillars might have be- 
 gun in the profane world. We see them also in use in our own 
 time. We have our Wellington pillars and our Nelson pillars, and 
 our obelisks, and the crosses which we see at the roadside ; and vo- 
 tive altars which are discovered in digging foundations for build- 
 ings in this neighborhood, show us that the custom is ancient, and 
 perhaps laudable. 
 
 ‘‘But these trophies, these obelisks, these pillars, were raised for 
 mortal heroes, to perpetuate the fame of those whose glory was in 
 the field of battle, who carried carnage, with garments rolled in 
 blood, through the world. They have been crowned indeed with 
 the emblems of victory ; but the victory has been attended with 
 the sighs, the mourning, and the tears of widows and orphans. We 
 are, however, assembled this evening to set up other pillars. We 
 have a higher and a brighter object. We have to-night to set up 
 peaceful emblems, — to follow examples recorded in the Scriptures 
 as our authority for what we are about to do. I am sure that most 
 of those who hear me now are familiar with some of the first pillars 
 which were set up, such as that erected by Jacob on his journey to 
 Padanaram. The pillar which he there set up produced an awful 
 impression upon his mind, which constrained him to say, (and may 
 we now and at all times, when we enter this sacred house, entertain 
 similar feelings,) — ‘ How awful is this place ! This is none other 
 but the house of God, and the gate of heaven/ A little of this feel- 
 ing to-night, amidst all our joy and all our praise, will not be either 
 inconvenient or inconsistent. 
 
 “There are other accounts in the Scriptures recording similar 
 occurrences, such as the setting up of the twelve pillars by Moses 
 in the wilderness. But there is a pillar spoken of in the Apoca- 
 lypse which we all should think of ; that is the pillar which is to 
 be in heaven ; the pillar that is to bear the temple there ; the pillar 
 that is to bear the inscription of the Christian’s name, and be placed 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 239 
 
 in that city whence they shall no more go out. Oh! let us be more 
 emulous than ever, tha't we may become the pillar that St. John 
 saw in the temple, and that our names may be written upon it.” 
 
 Resolutions were then passed recording the events 
 celebrated, and expressing the gratitude of the assem- 
 bly for the successful and happy pastorate of the Rev. 
 W. Jay through fifty years. 
 
 The speakers were the Rev. T. East of Birmingham, 
 the Rev. W. Bunting of Manchester, the Rev. T. 
 Haynes of Bristol, the Rev. S. Nichols, &c. 
 
 The younger members of the congregation having 
 determined to take part in the celebration, presented 
 their minister with a handsome gold medal and a sil- 
 ver salver. On one side the medal presents a likeness 
 of Mr. Jay, with the following inscription: — 
 
 “The Rev. William Jay completed a Pastorate of Fifty Years, 
 January 80, 1841,” 
 
 The reverse shows the front elevation of Argyle 
 Chapel, with the inscription : — 
 
 “Argyle Chapel, Bath, Erected 1789. 
 
 First Enlargement, 1804. 
 
 Second Enlargement, 1821. 
 
 The salver bears the following inscription : — 
 
 “The juvenile members of the church and congregation of Ar- 
 gyle Chapel present this salver, bearing a gold medal, commemora- 
 tive of the event, as a tribute of affection to their highly-esteemed 
 pastor, the Rev. William Jay, on the completion of the jubilee of 
 his ministerial labors, with the sincere hope that he may long be 
 spared to them a3 their shepherd. — Bath, 30th Jan., 1841.” 
 
 This testimonial was presented by a deputation of 
 
240 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 the young people, headed by Mr. King and Mr. Fini- 
 gan. Mr. Jay then ascended the pulpit, and addressed 
 his young friends as follows : — • 
 
 “ I feel more at home here, though not entirely so, amidst these 
 peculiarities. Mr. Chairman and my dear young friends, — I little 
 imagined I should have been called upon for a second address on 
 this occasion. I feel entirely exhausted, not by exertion, but by 
 emotion ; for who ever endured such a persecution of kindness, and 
 friendship, and honor, as I have endured this morning and evening ; 
 
 “ And yet I cannot complain of being called to this service. Yea, 
 I ought to feel gratified and grateful in no ordinary degree. The 
 token I have now received is enhanced and endeared by the very 
 quarter from whence it comes. For the young are the hopes of our 
 families, and of our churches, and of our country. On them we de- 
 pend to fill all the sacred and civil departments in the community ; 
 for one generation passeth away, and another cometh, and none is 
 suffered to continue by reason of death. But, 0, could we see a 
 larger number of the rising race coming forward as a seed to serve 
 the Redeemer, who shall be accounted to him for a generation : — 
 how would this gently loosen the cords of life, and enable us to say, 
 1 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to 
 thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.’ My dear young 
 friends, — what a privilege — for I will not refer to it as a duty now 
 — what a privilege is early piety ! hence the language of Solomon 
 which we so often quote, ‘ I love them that love me, and they that 
 seek me early shall find me and which has so frequently adorned 
 an early tomb. All that seek shall find. The force of this promise, 
 therefore, must be considered comparatively. All alike find, but 
 all do not find alike. Is there no difference between your finding 
 Him now in the beginning of your journey, to guide you safely for- 
 ward, and finding Him after wandering in wrong roads, and after 
 being robbed and wounded by thieves, and having your strength 
 worn out, and the shadows of the evening falling upon you ? Is 
 there no difference, my young friends, between finding Him in the 
 loveliness and cheerfulness of life, and finding Him ‘ when the days 
 and the years draw near wherein ye will say, we have no pleasure 
 in them’ ? No difference between your finding Him in the health 
 of your countenance and the vigor of your strength, and finding 
 Him only when your bones will be filled with the sins of your youth, 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 241 
 
 which lie vlown with you in the grave ? No, none find Him like those 
 that seek Him early. None find such peculiar acceptance with 
 Him, none derive such distinguished privileges from Him. A thou- 
 sand satisfactions and advantages are wanting in a late conversion 
 which adorn and bless an earlier one. Take an old man ; his con- 
 version is of importance to himself; but what is it to others? His 
 conversion secures him for eternity, but it is attended with no use- 
 fulness in life. He runs no race; he accomplishes no warfare ; he 
 gains no laurels ; glorifies not God in his body and spirit ; nor 
 serves his generation according to the will of God. 
 
 “ There is a proverb which you, perhaps, may have met with, 
 which says, ‘Young saints prove old devils.’ I would rather reverse 
 this, and say, that young saints often prove old angels. Read through 
 the Scriptures ; notice the history of Joseph, and Samuel, and David, 
 and Daniel, and John, and Timothy. Read through the history of 
 our godly ancestors. Remember the language of Beza in his will : 
 * Lord,’ says he, ‘ I thank thee that at the early age of sixteen I was 
 enabled to dedicate myself to thy service.’ Here the speaker could 
 refer to his own experience, and perhaps it would not be improper 
 on this occasion. My young friends, if he had not been cut off in 
 the midst of his days, what a different figure would he have made 
 at this time, had he been the victim of youthful vices ! And I am 
 persuaded there is not a Christian here who is not, next to the sal- 
 vation of his soul, more grateful for an early consecration to the 
 service and glory of God. 
 
 ‘•Now I presume that many of our young friends, who have joined 
 in the testimony of respect, are already walking in the truth, and I 
 can have no greater joy than to see this. But I hope this will be 
 the case with all who have joined in this token of respect. Oh, my 
 young friends, it would be sad, it would be dreadful, for any of you, 
 aftep having come forward thus to honor your minister now, to 
 constrain him hereafter, on a more public occasion, to condemn you 
 — to say, Lord, they are guilty : Lord, they have destroyed them- 
 selves. I instructed them ; I warned them ; I invited them ; I be- 
 sought them with tears to come unto Thee. But they turned awav 
 from him that speaketh from heaven ; they neglected so great salva- 
 tion ; they rejected the counsel of God against themselves. But I 
 hope better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, 
 though I thus speak. And, 0 my young friends, who have thus 
 favored me, could I take many of you by the hand and lead you to 
 the table of the Lord, it would afford mo much more delight than 
 
242 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 tlie reception of this medal. And yet I do not undervalue this pres 
 ent ; yea, I prize it, not only for the exquisite beauty of the work- 
 manship, but for the sake of those who have presented it. It will 
 remind me of you, my young friends, and lead me to remember you, 
 too, for good. 
 
 “This medal, you are aware, cannot long remain in my possess- 
 ion ; but it will, as our chairman has remarked, serve as an heir- 
 loom in my family ; so that my children and my children’s children, 
 when they look upon it, may prize it, and remember how long their 
 father labored within these walls, and how God smiled upon him, 
 and was pleased to favor him to the last. 
 
 “ Here are two pillars erected. Delicacy and my feelings will 
 not allow me to refer to them. Indeed, the allusion would be un- 
 necessary after the remarks which have been made by our chair- 
 man. But remember they are memorials. One of them is a memo- 
 rial of my predecessor ; the other, after awhile, will be a memorial 
 of myself. O then may I be enjoying Him above, while you are 
 zealously serving Him below ; and at last may we all unite in that 
 blessed world where adieus and farewells will be a sound unknown! 
 4 O God, let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto 
 their children ; and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, 
 and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work 
 of our hands establish Thou it.’ Amen.” 
 
 The Bev. D. Wassell of Bath then gave out one of 
 Mr. Montgomery’s hymns, and the Bey. W. Lucy of 
 Bristol pronounced the usual benediction. The chair- 
 man then dismissed the assembly. 
 
 We subjoin the hymns composed for this interesting 
 occasion by James Montgomery, Esq. : — 
 
 A blessing on our Pastor’s head, 
 
 Lord God, we fervently implore ; 
 
 On him, this day, a blessing shed, 
 
 For life, for death, for evermore. 
 
 For all that Thou in him hast wrought, 
 
 For all that Thou by him hast done, 
 
 Our warmest, purest thanks be brought, 
 
 Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, thy Son. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGIIAPHY. ‘>43 
 
 To Thee he gave his flower of youth, 
 
 To Thee his manhood’s fruit he gave ; 
 
 The herald of life-giving truth, 
 
 Dead souls from deathless death to save. 
 
 Forsake him not in his old age, 
 
 But while his Master’s cross he bears, 
 
 Faith be his staff on pilgrimage, 
 
 A crown of glory his gray hairs. 
 
 With holier zeal his heart enlarge, 
 
 Though strength decline, and sight grow dim* 
 
 While we, the people of his charge, 
 
 Still glorify Thy grace in him. 
 
 So, when his warfare here shall cease, 
 
 By suffering perfected in love, 
 
 His ransomed soul shall join in peace 
 The church of the first-born above. 
 
 HYMN II. 
 
 Hallelujah ! heart and voice, 
 
 Yielding all the praise to Thee, 
 
 Lord, the flock would now rejoice 
 In the Pastor’s jubilee. 
 
 Hallelujah ! heart and voice, 
 
 When the day of God they see, 
 
 All Christ’s sheep will thus rejoice, 
 
 On His own grand jubilee. 
 
 Hallelujah! heart and voice, 
 
 There in heaven one fold shall be, 
 
 And one Shepherd, — to rejoice 
 In eternal jubilee. 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Montgomery, address- 
 ed to the Chairman of the Committee, H. Godwin, Esq., 
 will appropriately conclude this account of the Jubi- 
 lee Celebration : — 
 
244 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 The Mount, Sheffield, Feb. 9tb, 1841. 
 
 Dear Friend, — Accept my best thanks for your packet and the 
 accompanying newspaper, which duly arrived on Saturday. I do 
 heartily congratulate you and your brethren, as well as your ven- 
 erable pastor and his partner, on the happy celebration of his jubi- 
 lee anniversary in Bath. I have read the proceedings both of t .e 
 Sabbath and the Tuesday following with great delight ; for yet, 
 amidst all the strife, envy, and uncharitableness in churches, and 
 between churches, so flagrant at this time, you have shown that 
 there are occasions, and there may be found professors, when and 
 of whom even an ungodly world can say, reverence touching their 
 hearts, and softening their tongues, while they utter the words — 
 “See how these Christians love one another!” Alas! how seldom 
 is this exemplified. The record of your festival, however, will be 
 hailed throughout the country, and perhaps through all Christen- 
 dom, as a blessed evidence of a Philadelphian spirit yet living and 
 breathing in a Laodicean age, when the suspended animation of 
 lukewarmness is only disturbed by the hallucinations of that vain- 
 boasting which says, “ I am rich and increased with goods, and have 
 need of nothing,” when — you know where to look for the sequel, 
 and what that is. “For the divisions of Reuben there were great 
 thoughts of heart,” says Deborah in her song, and she doubles the 
 burthen of her lamentations by adding, “ For the divisions of Reuben 
 there were searchings of heart.” In the multitude of our thoughts 
 within us, on our unhappy divisions, personal, domestic, and denom- 
 inational, as Christians, may there be great searchings of our hearts, 
 and trying of our ways, that we may turn again to the Lord, and 
 to our first love, if we ever loved at all; for assuredly there is an 
 awful apostasy from this, among and between every section of the 
 catholic church in this land, — and the plague has extended its bale- 
 ful influence even into the fields of missionary labors. But I must 
 forbear, — the digression has not been wilful, but I was drawn into 
 it insensibly from feeling that the scene of holy harmony at Bath 
 ought not to have been one of rare occurrence, but more or less of 
 every-day felicity among our Saviour’s disciples, when and wher- 
 ever they meet in His name and He is in the midst. 
 
 I thought much of you on the two days, especially on the Tues- 
 day, when the meetings — the love-feasts I ought to call them — were 
 held, because with us the weather was tempestuous, and I feared that 
 with you, if the visitation reached so far, many of your friends might 
 be disappointed of the “hope deferred” which they were already 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 245 
 
 cherishing when I was at Bath fourteen months ago, of being par- 
 takers and helpers cf the joy of their brethren and companions on 
 the expected jubilee of their venerated pastor’s ministry among 
 their fathers already called to glory, and themselves I trust on their 
 way thither under the staff and rod of the Great Shepherd’s minis- 
 try to the flock of God in your neighborhood, over which he has 
 been so long a watchful and faithful overseer. It appears, however, 
 that whatever storms might rage without, there was peace within, 
 and as many to enjoy it as the rooms would contain. 
 
 I am greatly indebted to Mrs. Godwin for the jubilee medallion 
 — the workmanship of which seems to me admirable, the likeness 
 of your good pastor excellent, and the simple register of dates, on 
 either side, the most appropriate of inscriptions in such a case. It 
 was a beautiful and affecting sequel to the solemnities of the Sab- 
 bath, and the festivities of the breakfast on Tuesday, that the chil- 
 dren and the youth were allowed to bring their offerings of grati- 
 tude and love to the father in the Gospel of both old and young in 
 your church and congregation. I have only to add my heart’s de- 
 sire and prayer to God for you all, that every one of the number of 
 those who participated in the privileges of those two memorable 
 days, may be finally associated in that place where, a thousand and 
 ten thousand ages hence, each may remember with adoring grati- 
 tude the blessedness of those meetings on earth, which many of you 
 no doubt felt to be an earnest and foretaste of the glory and felici- 
 ties of that house of God eternal in the heavens, 
 
 “ Where congregations ne’er break up, 
 
 And Sabbaths have no end.” 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 I am your obliged friend and servant, 
 
 J. Montgomery. 
 
 A few days after this commemorative service, the 
 Committee of the Bath Auxiliary Bible Society pass- 
 ed the following resolution at a very full meeting by 
 an unanimous vote : — 
 
 “That this Committee, participating in the prevalent disposition 
 of the Christian public to glorify God in the long course of consist- 
 ent piety and extensive usefulness maintained for half a century in 
 this city by the Rev, W. Jay, and fully appreciating the value of 
 
246 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 his unwavering attachment to the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 from its earliest formation — do appoint a deputation to wait upon 
 him, and request his acceptance of the office of a vice-president of 
 the Bath Auxiliary.” 
 
 The deputation consisted of the Rev. John East, the 
 mover of the resolution, W. T. Blair, R. Perfect, and 
 W. Sutcliffe, Esqs. The interview was of the most 
 cordial and pleasing description. Mr. Jay accepted 
 the honor, and his name henceforward was placed on 
 the list of vice-presidents of the Bath Auxiliary. 
 
 In the year 1845 Mr. Jay experienced a severe trial 
 in the death of Mrs. Jay. She expired, October 14 of 
 this year, in the 79th of her age. From the time of 
 her first seizure, which Mr. Jay has sufficiently de- 
 scribed in his twelfth letter, and which took place in 
 the year 1830, she never recovered the full use of hei 
 faculties, and, as age produced greater weakness, she 
 gradually sank under the power of disease, so that at 
 length it became impossible to hold intelligent conver- 
 sation with her. She continued, however, to attend 
 the public service through a great part of her affliction, 
 but it was doubtful whether she understood anything. 
 She seemed sometimes to recognize the persons of 
 those about her, but generally reversed everything, 
 calling a son a daughter, and a daughter a son. With 
 much confusion of memory she would speak of things 
 which took place long before her illness. Even as 
 early as the year 1834 Mr. Jay said in a letter to Mrs. 
 Bolton that her mother was often very low on her ac- 
 count, and adds, “ You will suppose 1 have no little 
 engagement in attending to her in her advancing in- 
 firmities, and her almost total absence of employment 
 and amusement.” Again, in a letter written in 1837 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 247 
 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, then in America, he says, 
 tl Your dear mother grows feebler with years. I think 
 also she gets blunter in apprehension and more per- 
 plexed in speech.” In April, 1840, speaking of other 
 members of his family, he says, “ They have, more 
 leisure and opportunity than I have, with so many 
 things pressing upon me alone, which your precious 
 mother formerly divided with me, or, rather, entirely 
 took from me.” In October, 1841, he says, “Your in- 
 valuable mother gets very feeble, and a short walk 
 soon fatigues her, and she is no stranger to lowness, 
 especially in thinking of death. This is, I believe, a 
 frequent case with those who are best prepared for it. 
 But she does not and cannot complain of any want of 
 esteem, and love, and attention, even to devotedness, 
 from all that are about her, and, with regard to my- 
 self, she seems to get dearer every day.” 
 
 Some months after her decease, he expressed him- 
 self thus : — “ There is not a day, nor hardly an hour, 
 in which I do not think of your inestimable mother ; 
 and though she was getting increasingly helpless, yet 
 still I had her, and delighted to attend her. I now 
 feel very solitary, and often sad, from my social dispo- 
 sition and long experience of such a companion, and 
 as privations and infirmities are likely to increase.” 
 
 To have watched and attended her so many years 
 under this painful affliction, and with so much tender- 
 ness and constancy, under his own advancing years, 
 must have been a heavy burden and a severe disci- 
 pline for his heart. But his Christian excellency shone 
 the brighter through this dark domestic cloud. At 
 • length it passed away, when her sorrowful spirit was 
 emancipated fr*om the bonds of mortality, and preced- 
 
248 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 ed her beloved and faithful companion to the realms 
 of perfect and unending bliss. 
 
 In the following year he wrote thus to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bolton: — “You blame me for not writing, but did you 
 know what I have felt (yet how strange !) at the thought 
 of writing since, as it would necessarily turn much 
 upon my great affliction, you would perhaps blame me 
 less. I have yet answered no one. I physically felt 
 the more as other afflictions preceded it ; and I was 
 nearly five weeks confined from air and exercise by 
 my accident ; so that my strength was lowered, and 
 my spirits broken, when I was called to surrender one 
 who had been my honor, my comfort, my happiness, 
 for fifty -five years. I need not enlarge upon her worth 
 to you. You know I could not say too much of her 
 as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a woman, a Christian. 
 
 “ What a mild season ! My garden already begins 
 to bud forth. How many rose-trees do you imagine I 
 have ? Five thousand four hundred and one. How 
 fond I get of flowers ! I lately heard of a pious fe- 
 male, who, dying, said, 1 1 am going to a land of peace 
 and flowers.’ Yes — 
 
 * There everlasting spring abides, 
 
 And never-withering flowers/ 
 
 Well ! in that happy region is now , and soon 
 
 we shall follow. Oh, for grace while we live to live 
 unto the Lord, and when we die, 4 to die unto the 
 Lord!’” 
 
 Referring to the same topic in another letter, he 
 says, “We rejoice to find that you are so improved in 
 health, and are looking forward with glowing hope 
 and pleasure to an interview in the spring — lamenting 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 249 
 
 only that time will turn the visit into a vision. One 
 mighty loss you will feel and deplore, though on her 
 account we ought to be more than resigned — freed as 
 she is from the burden of the flesh and growing in- 
 firmities. There is not a day but I have her variously 
 in remembrance.” 
 
 Early in the year 1846 Mr. Jay received a deeply 
 interesting testimony of affectionate respect and grati- 
 tude from one class of his congregation, whose welfare 
 both for this life and that to come he had often labor- 
 ed to promote : these were the female servants. They 
 united their humble offerings together, and presented 
 to him a silver sugar-basin, stating simply that it came 
 from many attached female servants in connection with 
 the church and congregation. 
 
 Mr. J ay’s reply is as follows : — 
 
 “Mr. Jay will thank Mary Rogers to communicate to the kind 
 domestics, who with herself have testified their regard by present- 
 ing him with a piece of plate ; — First, that he is much pleased with 
 the utensil itself, and admires its form and simple elegance. Sec- 
 ondly, that he much values it as to the quarter from which it 
 comes. From no class of his hearers would it have been so wel- 
 come. He has, as is well known, always avowed the obligations 
 we are under to good servants, and has always pleaded for their 
 rights. Thirdly, that he is peculiarly thankful, that, while they 
 afford him this token of their esteem, they also acknowledge their 
 having derived spiritual benefit from his labors, and that he has 
 not preached among them in vain. 
 
 “ He prays and hopes that his services may continue to be ac- 
 ceptable and profitable; and that they who have contributed to 
 ‘ this work and labor of love/ may unceasingly * serve the Lord 
 Christ / and at last hear from our one Master in heaven, ‘ Well done, 
 good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’ 
 
 “ ‘ Honor and shame fi )m no condition rise : 
 
 Act well your part — there all the honor lies.’ 
 
250 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 “ He .low desires each of the servants to accept one of his publi- 
 cations, inscribed with their names and with his own. This will 
 aid their remembrance of him, when the lips upon which they now 
 hang will be silent in the grave, and by this, he ‘ being dead,’ may 
 yet be speaking. 
 
 “ He gladly subscribes himself their grateful and affectionate 
 Pastor, 
 
 “ William Jay. 
 
 “BatL Jan. 7, 1846.” 
 
 Mary Kogers is still living, and mourning tlie loss 
 of her beloved master and pastor. She was an ancient 
 and most valuable servant in his family. 
 
 Mr. J ay some years since preached a funeral sermon 
 for a female servant ; upon which occasion he observed, 
 that there were two things which caused religious ser- 
 vants to be too generally disliked. The first was their 
 fondness for religious gossiping, or cronyism , which 
 made them regardless of their time, &c. And, second - 
 ly , their aptness to carry their equality as Christians 
 into their secular stations, and to use an unbecoming 
 familiarity, instead of a dutiful respect, to their masters 
 and mistresses. 
 
 In the year 1846, Mr. Jay having been for some 
 time a widower, and having all his children removed 
 to a distance from him, deemed it desirable to change 
 his state. He chose as his future partner Miss Head, 
 an excellent and pious lady, with whose parents he 
 had early become acquainted through the introduction 
 of his friend and tutor Mr. Winter, who was much at- 
 tached to them on account of their Christian zeal and 
 liberality. Mr. Jay preached the funeral sermon for 
 Mrs. Head. Miss Head was the last surviving mem- 
 ber of this family, and the marriage which took place 
 was not only with the entire approbation of all Mr. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 251 
 
 Jay’s family, but appeared to them, as well as to him- 
 self, kindly ordered in Providence to promote the 
 comfort of his latter days. He always referred to it 
 with the liveliest gratitude to God. The ceremony 
 was performed September 2, 1846, at the Congregation- 
 al chapel, Worthing, Sussex. 
 
 In the year 1847, Mr. Jay proposed to obtain per- 
 manent assistance in his ministerial labors ; and, with 
 a view to such an arrangement, Mr. R. A. Yaughan 
 preached for a period of three months with much ac- 
 ceptance. At the expiration of that period he received 
 a unanimous invitation to become assistant-minister at 
 Argyle Chapel. He accepted the invitation, and en- 
 tered upon his stated duties in April, 1848, and con- 
 tinued to discharge them till March, 1850, when he 
 resigned and removed to Birmingham. In the autumn 
 of this year Mr. Jay wrote thus : — 
 
 “I cannot do things so quickly and easily as I once could, and 
 feel a growing reluctance to exertion. I must, therefore, be judged 
 of, not by my former but present self, as going on for eighty-two, 
 and feeling in a degree Solomon’s description, — ‘ the grasshopper is 
 a burden,’ arid desire fails. Yet I do what I can in my own old 
 work; and, I assure you, friends are not disposed to spare me. We 
 are yet at sea with regard to an assistant ; but I hope the Lord will 
 provide, as I want to effect a settlement and retire.” 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1851 he expressed his 
 sense of growing infirmity and anticipation of the 
 coming trial in his own peculiar manner, thus : — , 
 
 “ As to myself, I am as well as I can expect to be during the 
 remnant of my advanced life. God has two kinds of duty for us — 
 the active and the passive — ‘ for they also serve that wait and I ex- 
 pect to find the latter more trying than the former ; but his grace 
 is sufficient for us.” 
 
252 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 In tne spring of 1852 the Key. Dr. Johns, rector of 
 Christ Church, Baltimore, paid a visit to this country, 
 and through his acquaintance with the Rev. R. Bolton, 
 obtained an introduction Mr. Jay, and a temporary 
 sojourn in his house. In a letter to Mr. Boltcn he 
 gives the following interesting account of that visit: — • 
 
 “ We arrrived in Bath on Saturday, June 26, 1852, and were kindly 
 welcomed by your aged relative, then, I believe, in his eighty-third 
 year. I can never forget the sentiments with which his form and 
 face, his dignified and easy manner, filled me. He was not entirely 
 well, however ; and having to preach on the ensuing day, excused 
 himself at an early hour, saving, ‘ I must retire into the wilderness. 
 T must pump awhile. You, in travelling, need not do so, but I 
 must/ 
 
 “ I asked him if he was in the habit of preaching from notes ? 
 ‘From catch words, on a slip of paper,’ he answered ; ‘ but I wish I 
 had never used even these, for the memory is like a true friend, it 
 loves to be trusted.’ This remark made a deep impression on me 
 at the time, and I resolved to treasure it for the benefit of others. 
 He informed me that he endeavored to select his text on Monday 
 morning, stating that by so doing he could meditate upon it all the 
 week. ‘ But,’ said he, ‘no clergyman ought to study on Saturday, 
 but should allow his mind perfect rest at that time.’ He approved 
 of formal divisions in sermons, and said his rule was to have about 
 five. His opinion was that they aided the memory of the hearer, 
 and made the subject of the sermon more open and clear. Referring 
 to the Calvinistic system, he said it was a thing to be held, not for- 
 mally preached. His idea seemed to be that it should leaven the 
 whole character of the pastor and preacher, but not be urged dog- 
 matically. 
 
 “ In a subsequent conversation, he alluded to the Rev. John New- 
 ton, with whom he had been intimately acquainted, and spoke of 
 him with all the warmth of an early friendship, and observed that 
 he surpassed all the ministers of the gospel he had ever known, in 
 the variety and solidity of his qualifications for the sacred office. 
 Alluding to the Rev. Mr. Romaine, he observed that he was a good 
 man, but a high churchman. Mr. Romaine, he went n to say, once 
 remarked to him, that at the beginning of his ministr) he could only 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 25o 
 
 count fifty evangelical clergy in the Establishment, but that he could 
 then name five hundred. 
 
 “ Referring to the present prospects of the English church, ho 
 freely gave it as his opinion that the evangelical clergy would carry 
 the day, as they were not only increasing more rapidly than the 
 opposite class, but were more active and enterprising. He said 
 that when he first came to Bath, sixty years ago, there was scarcely 
 a clergyman in the Established Church there who preached the gos- 
 pel. ‘Now,’ says he, ‘there are few here who do not preach it.’ 
 He alluded in terms of deep regret to the disposition evinced bv 
 many of the evangelical clergy to withdraw from the free and af- 
 fectionate associations which they formerly cultivated with the dis- 
 senting ministers. Ho said, he thought he noticed a change in this 
 matter, and noticed it with sorrow, and appeared to think both 
 would be losers by it. I informed him the same thing was true of 
 the United States, and that we mourned over it. 
 
 “ On Sunday, June 27th, I heard Mr. Jay preach in the morning 
 in Argyle Chapel. His text was, Psalm cxix. v. 17 : ‘ Hold thou me 
 up, and I shall be safe.’ The passage had been sent to him by a 
 friend, with a request that he would preach from it. Pie made it 
 the basis of an examination of the question, — When may the Chris- 
 tian be said to be in a safe state ? or rather, What may be considered 
 a safe state ? His heads of discourse were something like the fol’ 
 lowing : — 
 
 “ 1. When the person is under the influence of a deep concern for 
 his spiritual welfare. 
 
 “ 2. A sound conviction of the exposure to which the soul is ever 
 subjected in its journey through this world. 
 
 “ 3. An abiding conviction of our liability to spiritual injury aris- 
 ing from our weakness. 
 
 “4. An unfailing confidence in the faithfulness and ability of 
 God our Saviour to make and keep ns safe. 
 
 “ 5. A spirit of earnest prayer and a devout reliance through it 
 upon God. 
 
 “Mr. Jay’s manner was calm, and his voice clear and distinct. 
 His object seemed to be to show the sinner’s weakness on the one 
 hand, and his safety on the other; and these points, sustained from 
 Scripture, were also illustrated by one or two quaint but very for- 
 cible anecdotes. No one but a person of his age could have used 
 them with advantage ; but with his peculiar manner they told 
 with great effect upon the audience, reminding me of Bishop Lat- 
 
254 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 imer’s favorite style. I have never heard more of the gospel \*\ 
 a single sermon ; and in reply to the inquiries of American friends, 
 as to whose preaching I liked best of all I heard while in England 
 and Scotland, my answer has uniformly been, ‘ The old preacher 
 at Bath, whom you all know as the author of the “ Morning and 
 Evening Exercises” * His sermon was full of Christ, discrimina 
 ting and searching, while in point of style I did not notice a sen- 
 tence ‘out of joint,’ from the beginning to the end, and it was an 
 hour in delivery. 
 
 “ On the ensuing Monday morning, as we were gathered around 
 the breakfast table in the library room, good, kind Mrs. Jay presid- 
 ing, and by her gentle hospitality making the stranger feel as if he 
 were at home, instead of 3,000 miles from it, an incident occurred 
 which I noticed w T ith pleasure. He inquired of his niece, Miss Jay, 
 if she recollected the text of a sermon she had heard at Yentnor the 
 previous week, and he continued to inquire until the young lady 
 gave it to him. I suspect it was his custom with the young, and 
 was designed to show his desire that they should retain what they 
 had heard. Few opportunities of doing good to souls around him 
 were allowed to pass unimproved ; and yet so cheerful, and at times 
 even playful, was his manner, that there was nothing morose or for- 
 bidding about him, or calculated to do other than attract even the 
 youngest. • 
 
 “ I cannot omit speaking of his remarkable solemnity in conduct- 
 ing family worship. He read the Scriptures with an emphasis, and 
 expounded as he passed on ; whilst in the prayer he seemed to carry 
 all along with him. I do not think there were any with us who 
 could have been much troubled with wandering thoughts. He 
 seemed to chain each heart to his own, and to draw the whole to 
 the Saviour’s feet. His accents appear, even now, almost to sound 
 in my ears, as I revert to those sweet and blessed moments. 
 
 “ Conversing with Mr. Jay seemed like speaking with a past age. 
 He had seen, and known, and heard nearly all the distinguished 
 men in both Church and State, for more than sixty years ; and as 
 his memory was fresh, in reference to early incidents, he described 
 Whitfield and his contemporaries, with the leaders in Parliament, 
 and in all the important movements of benevolence, with a minute- 
 ness and graphic power that no studied writer could well give to 
 them. How few have lived so long, and lived through an age so 
 abundant in events so deeply interesting to the Christian ? As I 
 gazed upon this venerable mar. and thought of his long-extended 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 255 
 
 labors, both in the pulpit and through the press, and then antici- 
 pated what has since occurred, his entrance to our Master’s presence 
 above, I could scarcely contain my emotions. God be praised for 
 such a life ; yet when removed from earth, what a blank is left ! 
 Be it ours, my dear brother, to follow him as he followed Christ, 
 and to strive to imitate his meekness and fidelity, his love of souls, 
 and his enlarged interest in the cause of Christ. 
 
 “Truly and affectionately, your friend and brother, 
 
 “To the Rev. R. Bolton. Henry Y. D. Johns.” 
 
 On Lord’s-day morning, July 25, 1852, Mr. Jay 
 preached what proved to be, though unexpected at 
 the time, his last sermon, in Argyle Chapel, from the 
 text, Ps. lxiii. 1,2: u O God, thou art my God ; early 
 will I seek thee, my soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh 
 longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no 
 water is : to see thy power and thy glory so as I have 
 seen thee in the sanctuary.” The preacher was in Iris 
 usual health, and none who heard him supposed they 
 were listening to his last address from that pulpit. A 
 few of the closing sentences we insert as a beautiful 
 specimen of the interesting and impressive manner 
 in which he terminated his faithful testimony to his 
 people : — 
 
 • 
 
 “But I dare say you think it is time for me to conclude, and my 
 age and weakness tell me the same. I therefore hasten to a close, 
 by observing one thing only ; that is, experience is both alarming 
 and encouraging. It is very alarming to those of you who are 
 strangers to it. And this is the case with many who are very fa- 
 miliar with the means of grace. ‘ You come as God’s people come 
 that is, if you do come to God’s house — but no further. You come 
 from curiosity or custom, or to comply with the desires of your con- 
 nections, or to appease conscience ; not to please God, and to hold 
 communion with Him. You have never come — you know you have 
 not — to see His power and His glory. You never prayed for it be- 
 fore you came ; you never examine yourselves when you go there. 
 
256 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 whether yon have enjoyed Him. Oh! it is awful to think what a 
 length of time this has been the case with some of yon. • Five, ten, 
 fifteen, or twenty years, without one effectual religious movefnent ! 
 Dear hearers, what will these means of grace do for you? You 
 will never hear to purpose till you so hear that your souls may live. 
 You, singers ; if you do not sing with melody in your hearts to the 
 Lord here, you will not be found among the blissful number of 
 those who shall celebrate His praises in the courts above. And 
 you, hearers of the gospel ; if you are hearers only, you are deceiv- 
 ing your own souls ; and this word of life will only be to you ‘ a 
 savor of death unto death.’ You, worshippers ; if you ‘draw nigh 
 to God with your lips, and honor Him with your mouths, while 
 your heart is far from Him,’ and you do not worship Him who is a 
 Spirit in spirit and in truth, you will pass on from possessing a 
 name and a place among the people of God here, to that place re- 
 served for hypocrites and unbelievers. May you ‘ seek the Lord 
 while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near! ’ 
 
 But some of you can say with the psalmist, — 
 
 ‘ I ’ve seen Thy glory and Thy power 
 Through all Thy temple shine ; 
 
 My God, repeat the heavenly hour, 
 
 That vision so divine ! ’ 
 
 Let the pleasure of former experience increase your expectation. 
 May you ever repair to His temple, humbly believing that you shall 
 be satisfied with the goodness of God’s house, ‘ and made to drink 
 of the waters of life.’ And then you shall soon see God in the sanc- 
 tuary above ! And, oh, what a sight will that be ! How satisfy- 
 ing! how beautifying ! how eternal ! — 
 
 “ ‘If such the sweetness of the streams, 
 
 What will the fountain be, 
 
 Where saints and angels draw their bliss 
 Immediately from Thee ! ’ 
 
 Then, with all the redeemed, you shall be before the throne of God, 
 and serve Him day and night in His temple ; and lie that sitteth on 
 the throne shall dwell among them. ‘ They shall hunger no more, 
 nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
 heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 257 
 
 them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water ; and God 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.’ ‘Ah I’ said Philip Henry, 
 ‘ if this be heaven, oh ! that I were there!’ ” 
 
 HIS ILLNESS AND RESIGNATION OF THE PASTORATE. 
 
 After this service he went to Worthing to enjoy his 
 ■usual relaxation, but was seized with alarming illness. 
 His friend and physician, Dr. Bowie, hastened to at- 
 tend him, and he was removed to his own house with 
 as much speed and care as possible. To his attend- 
 ants he then said, “ I am going home , to go home” Af- 
 ter a few weeks his sufferings were alleviated, and he 
 then resolved to resign his pastorate. He accordingly 
 addressed the following brief but pathetic letter to his 
 people : — 
 
 “Bath, October 5, 1852. 
 
 “ To the Church of Christ assembling in Argyle Chapel. 
 
 “ To the Deacons and all the Members of the Church . 
 
 “ My most dearly Beloved, — 
 
 “I had fully intended to send from Worthing an offi- 
 cial intimation of the resignation of my pastorate, January next ; 
 a measure to which my mind has been brought by various consid- 
 erations and proprieties of things ; but a dreadful and painful as- 
 sault of disorder prevented my doing anything. As soon as possi- 
 ble, I now thus announce officially what I then intended, and had 
 mentioned to my deacons before. Had I my usual ability, I should 
 do this in a very different manner ; but you must now excuse a 
 want of enlargement, dictated by extreme depression and weak- 
 ness. 
 
 “ The Lord bless and direct you, and enable you to preserve the 
 union, and harmony, and prosperity, and reputation of a church 
 which has been exemplary in the world, endeared by the affection- 
 ate and happy connectio \ of more than sixty-three years to your 
 now resigning pastor. 
 
 William Ji v ' 
 
258 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Upon this a meeting was held on October 80, at 
 which the following resolution was passed : — 
 
 “ That this church, in receiving the intended resignation, on the 
 BOth of January next, (the day of his ordination,) of its revered and 
 beloved Pastor, devoutly acknowledges the goodness of God in per- 
 mitting it the distinguished privilege of enjoying a ministry so faith- 
 ful, valued, and eminently useful for a lengthened period of sixtv- 
 three years ; and, while it deeply sympathizes with him in his pres- 
 ent affliction, prays with submission he may be restored, occasion- 
 ally to preach the ‘gospel of the grace of God and that, when his 
 labors shall close, an entrance may be ministered unto him abun- 
 dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour. That 
 it also traces with gratitude to the same Divine source, the unanim- 
 ity and peace which have hitherto marked its history ; and while 
 it would seek to maintain the unity-of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace, prays that the great Head of the Church may afford it wis- 
 dom and guidance in the appointment of a successor to the vener 
 able William Jay.” 
 
 CHOICE OF A SUCCESSOR. 
 
 Earty in the year 1858, among other persons who 
 came to supply the pulpit at Argyle Chapel, was the 
 Rev. William Henry Dyer, of West Bromwich, Staf- 
 fordshire. After a suitable season of probation, the 
 choice of the majority of the church fell upon Mr. 
 Dyer ; and although there was a respectable minority, 
 among whom was Mr. Jay, who dissented from the 
 choice, yet the church asserted its right of election, 
 and determined to give Mr. Dyer an invitation to the 
 pastorate. This occurred in the month of April, and 
 shortly after Mr. Dyer accepted the invitation, and 
 took upon him the oversight of the church and con- 
 gregation. A division ensued, and a separate church 
 has been since formed, under the ministry of the Rev. 
 Richard Brindley for whom a new chapel is now in 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 259 
 
 course of erection. This event was the occasion at the 
 time of considerable uneasiness and even pain to Mr. 
 Jay ; but in this, as in many other instances, the Great 
 Head of the church has overruled the infirmities and 
 differences of his servants for the trial of their faith in 
 him, and for the furtherance of his own gracious de- 
 signs to the world and the church. 
 
 It was, in one respect, painful that a church, which 
 had been so long distinguished by its harmony, should 
 be divided ; and especially so that its venerable pastor 
 should be called to witness the division. But, in an- 
 other view, it was time for so large and flourishing a 
 body to colonize. The storm often bears precious 
 seed to new fields ; and both persecutions and dis- 
 agreements have been among the means of scattering 
 the good seed of the kingdom more widely. Two 
 ministers of the Gospel are now laboring in the place 
 of one, and it is to be hoped that both will gather fruit 
 unto eternal life; and that, while intent upon the one 
 object which filled the mind and inspired the heart of 
 their venerable predecessor, their people will respect- 
 ively forget their differences, and strive, if not together 
 yet separately, for the furtherance of the Gospel in the 
 populous city where their lot is cast. 
 
 LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 As early as the year 1844 the complaint which 
 proved fatal had begun to manifest itself, but for some 
 time it did not materially interrupt his labors either 
 from the pulpit or the press. He continued to bear 
 up calmly and energetically, notwithstanding occasion- 
 al seasons of weakness and attacks of pain. But about 
 p year previous to his last sickness came on the severe 
 
260 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 attack at Worthing already noticed. From this his 
 recovery was only partial and temporary. Yet in the 
 spring and summer of the following year (1853) he was 
 enabled to take short journeys, and enjoy a little of 
 the society of his friends. During this period he visit- 
 ed Bradford, and preached several times there and at 
 Bratton between April and the end of August. 
 Early in September he visited Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, 
 and preached at the opening of Lord Ducie’s new 
 chapel at Tortworth, from John, xx. 16: “ Jesus saith 
 unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto 
 him, Rabboni ; which is to say, Master!” Again, the 
 following Sunday, Sept. 11, he preached at Tortworth, 
 from Ps. cxxxvii. 4. 
 
 “In the next week,” says Mr. Rice Hopkins, “he 
 came to spend a few days at the house of his old friend 
 Mr. Long (my father-in-law), at Kingswood, near 
 Wotton-under-Edge, and I was there to meet him. 
 Although frequently suffering much pain, he was re- 
 markably cheerful, and every day rode or walked out, 
 and visited several friends in the neighborhood. On 
 the following Sabbath (Sept. 18) he preached in Kings- 
 wood meeting-house, and that was the last time he 
 ever preached. The sermon occupied fifty minutes, 
 and was delivered with great pathos. You will be 
 able to form some idea of its contents from the follow- 
 ing brief heads. The text was taken from the fortieth 
 chapter of Job and part of the fourth verse, ‘ Behold, 
 I am vile.’ ” 
 
 In his introduction he remarked that self-knowledge 
 is of inestimable importance. Even the heathens used 
 to say that the adage, “ Know thyself” was descended 
 from heaven. Truly has Mr. Pope said, that “the 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 261 
 
 proper study of mankind is man.” Having briefly en- 
 larged upon this topic, and pointed out the importance 
 of every man being fully acquainted with his own 
 character and prospects, he proceeded to consider the 
 subject of the text, and noticed, 
 
 I. The nature of the self-accusation — “I am vile.” 
 
 1. What it included. Vile signifies base, mean, des- 
 picable, worthless ; and it can only be applied to that 
 which is sinful. 
 
 2. The person by whom it was uttered. It was not 
 by a notorious sinner, nor by a penitent brought for 
 the first time to a conviction of his sin ; nor by a back- 
 slider returning to Giod; but by Job, an eminently 
 pious mau. 
 
 3. The time when it was uttered. It was after he 
 had had manifestations of the glory of God. 
 
 II. The way in which this perception of vileness is 
 obtained. 
 
 1. The Spirit of God operating upon the mind. 
 
 2. The medium is the Word of God, convincing of 
 sin, and showing the spirituality of the Law of God. 
 
 3. The manner is sometimes instantaneous, but more 
 commonly gradual, 
 
 III. The effects of this perception. 
 
 1. Conviction of sin. 
 
 2. A sense of our own inability to save ourselves. 
 
 3. A conviction of the necessity of salvation by 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 4. A persuasion of the importance of regeneration 
 by the Holy Spirit. 
 
 5. Candor and tenderness in judging of the faults 
 of others. 
 
 6. Hatred to sin, and an increasing desire of holiness. 
 
262 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 IV. The way to endure this perception. 
 
 1. Are you vile? This vileness is not peculiar to 
 yourself. 
 
 2. Are you vile ? If a Christian, you are only vile 
 considered in yourself, but not in Christ Jesus. 
 
 3. The time will soon come when this vileness will 
 be done away. 
 
 “ Yet a season, and you know 
 
 Happy entrance will be given, 
 
 All your sorrows left below, 
 
 And earth exchanged for heaven.” 
 
 Christians, is not this worth dying for ? 
 
 These were the last words of the last sermon preached 
 by the venerated deceased, he being then in his eighty- 
 fifth year. 
 
 Upon his return to Bath, after the visit to his chil- 
 dren and friends, he wrote thus to Mrs. Ashton : — 
 
 “We arrived here in safety about two hours before yours and 
 dear Garfit’s letters came to hand. You are mistaken in supposing 
 I am returned so much better than I went. I behaved as well as I 
 could ; but I felt exceedingly weak, and suffered more than usual 
 from my complaint, and do suffer. But I valued and enjoyed the 
 visit. How could it be otherwise, when every attention was ex- 
 quisitely paid me, as if I had been a prince royal ; and I was in the 
 midst of such a family as I never witnessed. I was often, from in- 
 disposition and suffering, in a mood to find fault, but not one thing 
 could I censure, — yea, I kept applauding. 
 
 “ As well as weakness and pain would allow, I preached with 
 freedom and pleasure in the new chapel, and was much pleased with 
 my visit to the new earl and his lady. I daily rode out, drawn by 
 the ponies, and was much amused in feeding them. Mr. Long and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins were unusually kind and attentive, as if they 
 thought (not an unreasonable conclusion) that this might be my 
 last visit. 
 
 “Bath, Sept. 19, 1853.” 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO TPIE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 268 
 
 From the date of this letter till about Christmas, he 
 suffered much anguish of body, but was occasionally 
 able to read and write a little. As his sufferings per- 
 mitted, he attended to the printing and publishing of 
 his last work, entitled, “Female Scripture Biography,” 
 the last sheet of which was corrected and sent to the 
 press only on the Friday, December 23, 1853 ; and on 
 Tuesday the 27th, at half-past six in the evening, he 
 calmly slept in Jesus. 
 
 He had never laid much stress upon death-bed experi- 
 ences, and used to say, “ Tell me not how he died, but 
 how he lived.” Without entering, therefore, into a 
 lengthened detail of his last days and hours, we may 
 yet put on record a few of his memorable and em- 
 phatic words, which will enable his numerous friends 
 to realize in some measure the character of the last 
 scenes. The acuteness of his sufferings sometimes 
 gave a tinge of melancholy to his utterances; but 
 these were the groanings of the creature waiting to 
 “be delivered from the bondage of corruption into 
 the glorious liberty of the children of God.” 
 
 In his various conversations, particularly with Mrs. 
 Jay, he said, “Will he plead against me with his great 
 power? No ; but he will put strength in me.” “ He 
 hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see 
 him ; but he knoweth the way that I take : when 
 he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” u And 
 now, Lord, what wait I for ? my hope is in thee. I 
 know, 0 Lord, that all thy judgments are right.” 
 
 “ The sharpest sufferings I endure flow from his 
 faithful care.” 
 
 “ What are all my sufferings here when once com- 
 pared with his ?” i 
 
264 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 u Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our 
 sorrows,” &c. O, blessed prediction, and how glori- 
 ously fulfilled ! “ The sweat as it were great drops 
 
 of blood falling down to the ground.” 
 
 “ Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all.” 
 
 “ Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for 
 the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
 Lord.” 
 
 “ Jesus, thy perfect righteousness 
 My beauty is, my glorious dress ; 
 
 ’Midst flaming worlds, in this array’d, 
 
 With joy shall I lift up my head.” 
 
 “ Nothing in my hands I bring, 
 
 Simply to thyself I cling.” 
 
 On another occasion he expressed his feelings thus: 
 “ But I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh 
 upon me.” “O my God, give me patience; forsake 
 me not, a poor sinner. O God, thou hast taught me 
 from my youth, and hitherto I have declared thy won- 
 drous works. Now, also, when I am old and gray- 
 headed, O God, forsake me not.” Adding, in the 
 words of the hymn, 
 
 “ Even down to old age my people shall prove 
 My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love; 
 
 And when hoary hairs their temples adorn, 
 
 Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne. 
 
 The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, 
 
 I will not, I will not desert to his foes ; 
 
 That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, 
 
 I’ll nevtfr, no never, no never forsake.” 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 265 
 
 Afterwards be exclaimed, “Exceeding great and 
 priceless promises!’ 7 Sooner all nature shall change 
 than one of his promises fail. 
 
 On another occasion, when one of his attendants 
 was reading to him, as was the constant practice, a cer- 
 tain speculative work on theology, which was then 
 occasioning much controversy, was mentioned, he 
 said, “Don’t puzzle yourselves with such subjects. 
 Yiew God as he is, infinitely holy, wise, true, merciful, 
 gracious, amiable. Yiew him not as a tyrant, but as 
 he is, God of all grace. Look entirely to him at all 
 times, and under all circumstances. He is ever wait- 
 ing to be gracious. He changeth not. He is ‘the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and forever.’ ” 
 
 One day, while suffering under great bodily dis- 
 tress, he said, “I fear God has forsaken me. Let me 
 not be impatient ; let me repose in his love. I fear I 
 am impatient.” Mrs. Jay replied, “ Think of the feel- 
 ings of your precious Saviour : like you, he said, 1 My 
 God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?’ He has 
 promised never to forsake you. His grace is sufficient 
 for you.” He then replied, “ I mourn, I do not mur- 
 mur. 1 It is the Lord ; let him do what seemeth him 
 good.’ I desire to lie passive, and know no will but 
 his. 1 In patience possess ye your souls.’ Lay no 
 more upon me than thou wilt enable me to bear ; and 
 I will glorify thee in my sore affliction.” 
 
 “ ‘ Dear Lord ! though bitter is the cup 
 Thy gracious hand deals out to me, 
 
 I cheerfully would drink it up ; 
 
 That cannot hurt that comes from thee. 
 
 Dash it with thy unchanging love, 
 
 Let not a drop of wrath be there ; 
 
 12 
 
266 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOG KAPHY. 
 
 The saints forever blessed above 
 Were often most afflicted here. 
 
 From Jesus, thy incarnate Son, 
 
 I learn obedience to thy will ; 
 
 And humbly kiss thy chastening rod, 
 When its severest strokes I feel.’ ” 
 
 “ The language of the publican,” he said, “did, does, 
 an i ever will, befit me ; and even down to death must 
 be my cry, 1 God be merciful to me a sinner.’ 
 
 “ ‘ Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask, 
 
 This is the total sum ; 
 
 Mercy through Christ is all my suit ; 
 Lord, let thy mercy come.’ 
 
 U I do not murmur — -allow me to groan. It seems 
 to ease my pain. Objects most dear and attractive 
 now fail to interest. O for a grateful heart ! I have 
 made some little stir in life, but now I am nothing. 
 God seems to be saying, ‘ I can do without you.’ An 
 official character is not to be judged of by his minis- 
 terial work. He is compelled often to administer com- 
 fort to others when he is perhaps not enjoying it him- 
 self. You see the sail, but not the ballast.” 
 
 On Christmas-day his sufferings were very severe, 
 and he said to Dr. Bowie, “ 0 Doctor, what a Christ- 
 mas-day ! but I can say, L Thanks be unto God for his 
 unspeakable gift ;’ ” and then he quoted 1 Pet. i. 3, 4, 
 5, “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath 
 begotten us again into a livety hope, by the resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance 
 incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 267 
 
 reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the 
 power of God through faith unto salvation ready to 
 be revealed in the last time !” He was particularly 
 partial to the hymn, “ Guide me, O thou great Je- 
 hovah !” often repeated it, and especially the last 
 verse— 
 
 “ When I tread the verge of Jordan, 
 
 Bid my anxious fears subside ; 
 
 Death of death, and hell’s destruction, 
 
 Land me safe on Canaan’s side : 
 
 Songs of praises, 
 
 I will ever give to Thee.” 
 
 On the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 27, the day of his 
 death, he said, “ Oh, none of you know what it is to 
 die.” From this time he spoke little, but sank gradu- 
 ally into the arms of death, becoming so still and calm 
 that the precise period of his departure could not b6 
 perceived. Though he uttered but few words on the 
 bed of death, yet there was the silent testimony of a 
 settled peace ; while his long life and entire labors had 
 afforded a faithful and consistent witness for God and 
 Truth. 
 
 THE FUNERAL SERVICE AND INTERMENT. 
 
 In accordance with the wishes of Mr. Jay’s widow 
 and the other members of his family, it was deter- 
 mined that the funeral should be as private as possi- 
 ble* 
 
 * Mr. Ashton, as Mr. Jay’s son-in-law, legal adviser, and executor, 
 attended and directed the obsequies of his venerable relative. Oil 
 the very day following his return to his residence at Cambridge, 
 after the affecting and exciting scenes at Bath, he was smitten by 
 an alarming attack of paralysis ; from the severity and peril of 
 which he was somewhat recovered, when lie was suddenly over- 
 
268 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 The interment took place on the 2d of January, 
 1854, in the vault which had been prepared many 
 years before for members of his family previously de- 
 ceased, in the cemetery at Snow Hill, belonging to 
 Argyle chapel. 
 
 The service was conducted by the Rev. John Owen, 
 minister of the Vineyard Chapel, in the connection of 
 the late Countess of Huntingdon. In the course of 
 the funeral oration Mr. Owen paid the following trib- 
 ute of affectionate respect to the memory of Mr. 
 Jay:— 
 
 “ In referring to our departed friend, whether we regard him as 
 a believer in Christ, as a minister of the everlasting Gospel, as a 
 pastor of a Christian church for so long a period, as a philanthro- 
 
 taken by the most afflictive bereavement which a husband can be 
 called on to endure. On Sunday afternoon, February 19th, 1854, 
 Mrs. Ashton, while walking in those beautiful grounds which she 
 had herself planned, and every tree and shrub of which was planted 
 by her own hand, or under her directions, was taken suddenly ill. 
 She hastened into the house, and medical aid was instantly sent 
 for, but before it arrived the vital spark was extinct. She expired 
 in the room and before the eyes of her suffering husband. Thus 
 abruptly was this superior and excellent woman snatched from an 
 earthly paradise which she had embellished by her taste, and ani- 
 mated by her presence. Along those walks, and amidst those 
 shrubberies, she had often led her beloved father, under whose 
 smiles and in whose presence they appeared still more interesting 
 and lovely. Both have now disappeared from the fairy-land, to 
 meet, and unite, we trust, in a fairer, happier Eden. 
 
 The bereaved, afflicted husband still remains in this lovely spot 
 to converse with the reminiscences of “joys departed never to re- 
 turn” here , but to be renewed and surpassed in the society of those 
 loved ones where neither death nor sin can enter. May the Divine 
 Comforter give him, in his solitary and mournful hours, many 
 bright hopes and blissful anticipations of an union in the celestial 
 paradise with all that was most dear to him here. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO' THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 269 
 
 pist, as an author, as a citizen, or as a friend, we cannot but sor- 
 row, — but most of all that we shall see his face no more on earth. 
 There are circumstances, we admit, my dear friends, which greatly 
 soothe our pain, under the loss we have sustained, and which tend 
 to moderate our regret, and to chasten our grief on this occasion, 
 when we call to mind the early commencement and lengthened 
 period of his religious course, — the remarkable and increasing ac- 
 ceptableness and usefulness of his ministration, — the variety and 
 unique excellence of his published works ; — when we look at the 
 unsullied purity of his moral character, when we reflect on his 
 peaceful end, and think of his present blessedness in the presence 
 of Jehovah, — there is much, my brethren, to soothe our griefs. We 
 mourn, but not on his account. No ! He has fought the good fight, 
 he has finished his course, he has kept the faith, and has now joined 
 the general assembly and church of the first-born which are writ- 
 ten in heaven ; he is with the spirits of just men made perfect. 
 He is with the Saviour he loved, the Saviour he proclaimed, and 
 will be with him forever. 
 
 “And yet we cannot but mourn on our own account. We suffer 
 a loss — a great loss — by his removal from our midst. We lose his 
 wise counsels, his instructive example, his ready co-operation, his 
 tender sympathy, and his fervent intercessions, and therefore we 
 mourn. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, and we may weep at 
 the grave of the venerated Jay. His name will forever be im- 
 printed on my memory. For fifty years I have known it ; for forty 
 in connection with religion, for thirty-five as a fellow-minister of 
 the Gospel, and especially during the last twenty-five have I re- 
 garded him as a son would regard connection with his father. 
 From my first taking up my residence in this city to the last day 
 of his life there was never a mis-thought or a mis-word between us, 
 and therefore I cannot but mourn his loss on my own account. 
 But how can we best express the sincerity of our grief, and mani- 
 fest our tender regard for his memory ? . Why, by embracing the 
 blessed truths which he so long proclaimed, by following the course 
 he pointed out from the pulpit, and recommended through the 
 press, — by devoting ourselves to the service of the Lord, — by imi- 
 tating his excellence, — and by seeking through faith in Christ and 
 dependence on the Holy Spirit to attain that rest into which he has 
 entered, and to be with him forever in the presence of God and of 
 the Lamb. In order to this we must have an interest in God our 
 Saviour and Sanctifier ; and the! while we stand mourning at the 
 
270 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 tomb of our departed friend and father, we may yet, in the trium- 
 phant language of the Apostle, say, ‘ O death, where is thy sting? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin, and the 
 strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be unto God which giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 
 
 “I shall not attempt to refer to the .oss sustained by the bereaved 
 relations who are present, and those who are absent, because of 
 the near approach of the solemn service in which our revered 
 friend from Birmingham (the Rev. J. A. James) who is with us 
 this morning, will take part, and when, aided by the Spirit of 
 God, he will offer such instruction and consolation as may render 
 the removal of our beloved friend of advantage to our souls.” 
 
 The day of interment was one of the most inclem- 
 ent in a winter of extraordinary severity, yet a train 
 of mourning friends, members of his own church, 
 with many from other denominations, joined of their 
 own accord in the sable procession, to pay this im- 
 pressive tribute of affectionate esteem to the memo- 
 ry of the aged pastor ; and, regardless of the drifting 
 snow and piercing wind, to drop a silent tear upon his 
 grave, while many a sorrowful heart devoutly ex- 
 claimed, u My father ! my father! the chariots of Is- 
 rael and the horsemen thereof !” But for the wishes 
 of the family to make the obsequies as unostentatious 
 as possible, a large number of ministers, both from the 
 city of Bath and the neighboring towns, would glad- 
 ly have been present on the mournful occasion to do 
 honor to the memory of the deceased. Many of the 
 houses and shops in the line of the procession gave 
 evidence to the mourning of the inhabitants by their 
 closed windows ; while within the cemetery a large 
 concourse, despite the severity of the weather, assem- 
 bled to witness the interment. 
 
 The Bev. John Owen, after the address from which 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 271 
 
 we have given an extract, offered an impressive 
 prayer, and having pronounced the apostolic benedic 
 tion, the funeral procession was re-formed, and the 
 mourners left the ground. Then the hundreds who 
 had congregated to behold the mortal remains of Wil- 
 liam Jay consigned to their last resting-place flocked 
 into the little building to gaze upon his coffin, and 
 slowly and sorrowfully the assembled multitude dis- 
 persed. 
 
 The inscription on the coffin was as follows : — 
 
 Rev. William Jay, 
 died 
 
 27th December, 1853. 
 
 Aged 84 Years. 
 
 On the following Thursday evening, Jan. 4, the fu- 
 neral sermon was preached in the Vineyard Chapel 
 by the Rev. John Angell James, from 2 Kings, ii. 14, 
 “ Where is the Lord God of Elijah ?” 
 
 Funeral sermons were also preached on the occa- 
 sion in Argyle Chapel on the following Lord’s-day, 
 by the Rev. James Sherman of London, and the Rev. 
 W. H. Dyer ; also by the Rev. Richard Brindley, to 
 the separate congregation worshipping pro tempore in 
 the assembly-room 
 
 Thus closed the lengthened earthly career of this 
 eminent servant of Christ, who, through the period of 
 sixty-three years, faithfully discharged his ministerial 
 commission, and diligently served his generation in a 
 city distinguished indeed by its fashion and gaiety, but 
 
272 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 yet not wholly insensible to the attractions of his elo- 
 quent and evangelic labors. 
 
 Whatever may be the monument which shall be 
 raised to perpetuate the memory of so good, so great, 
 and so useful a man ; and whatever may be the terms 
 of just eulogy which the hand of affection may inscribe 
 upon it, this volume, mainly from his own pen, as well 
 as his other published works, will constitute his best 
 and most desirable memorial. The characters inscribed 
 by the chisel of the sculptor will be obliterated by “ time’s 
 effacing fingers,” and the marble that shall bear them 
 will resolve itself into dust ; but the truths he has em- 
 balmed in his writings, or by his eloquent tongue writ- 
 ten upon living hearts, will retain their interest and in- 
 fluence undiminished amidst all material ruin and deso- 
 lation; and the writings of William Jay will continue 
 to shed light upon the pathway of many a traveller 
 Zionward, and to train many of the heirs of immor- 
 tality for their portion in the skies. 
 
 When William Jay died, the city in which he had 
 so long labored lost one of its most honorable patriarchs, 
 one of its richest ornaments and holiest attractions. 
 There , under his ministry, senators, wearied with the 
 cares of state, had listened gratefully to the Saviour’s in- 
 vitation : “ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
 ]aden, and I will give you rest;” and found that repose 
 which which only faith and hope can impart. There , 
 many of the slaves of dissipation and vice were emanci- 
 pated by the gracious words which proceeded out of his 
 mouth, from the fetters of their fatal enchantment, and 
 were brought into the glorious liberty of the children 
 of God. There the eager votaries of fashion, thirsting 
 for the pleasures of sense, and proving the emptiness 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 273 
 
 of the wells from which they hoped to draw them, 
 were allured by his sweet voice to taste the fountain of 
 living water, and found the bliss which they had vainly 
 sought from worldly sources. There, too, the •victims 
 of fell diseases, who had tried many physicians and 
 were nothing bettered, were directed by him to the 
 Divine Physician of their souls, and received that heal- 
 ing which made their bodily afflictions light, by teach- 
 ing them to triumph over death. 
 
 But this ministry is now closed. He that granted it 
 for so long a space, and made it so rich a blessing, has 
 seen fit to withdraw it. The city that possessed his 
 pulpit, around which such distinguished assemblies 
 crowded, now exhibits his sepulchre. From the one 
 they heard his living voice, from the other they will 
 learn the silent but eloquent lesson of his death. No 
 saintly shrine will be erected to court and stimulate 
 the incense of superstitious and idolatrous worship, 
 though he was a saint in the church below, and is now 
 a glorified one in the church above ; yet to his tomb a 
 pathway will be worn by the feet of many pilgrims of 
 affection, from his own and other countries, who will 
 inquire for the spot — not where rest the ashes of the 
 great dramatist, poet, philosopher, or statesman, but 
 where, till the morning of the resurrection, repose the 
 remains of the wise, and good, and holy William Ja}^, 
 the great and useful preacher of the Grospel of our sal- 
 vation. 
 
 We shall here subjoin some miscellaneous recollec- 
 tions and sketches of his life and manners, which will, 
 no doubt, interest the reader by giving him a pleasing 
 12 * 
 
274 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 sight of Mr. Jay in the heart of his family, and among 
 his familiar friends. 
 
 DOMESTIC SKETCHES. 
 
 44 It was the practice of my dear father,” writes one 
 of his daughters, 44 to throw off all study on the Satur- 
 day, that he and his subject might be fresh for the 
 Sabbath. On that day (and 0, what a joyous after- 
 noon that was to us children !) we were indulged in 
 rambling with him in a country walk, choosing the 
 side of some running brook, which he delighted to 
 follow, or sending us scrambling into field or hedge- 
 row for wild flowers; and, when each brought their 
 little nosegay, to receive the prize held out to them for 
 the best flowers, or best arranged. 
 
 44 How full of hope and happiness was he, and how 
 free to make others the partakers of his joys ! How 
 many will remember the pleasure in his later years it 
 gave him to fill his pockets with apples, books, and 
 pence; and then either from the carriage-box, or in 
 walking, he would throw them so dexterously to a too 
 ready group of boys and girls, who were fleet enough, 
 or had skill enough, to carry away the prize ; and how 
 he always gave his throw in favor of the girls. 
 
 44 Our dear father was strongly excited by music, off 
 the pleasure of which he was susceptible in the highest 
 degree. He had an ear formed to enjoy the simplest 
 melody, and, though little cultivated, he relished its 
 highest charms ; and a simple air would transport his 
 feelings to the utmost pitch. In his last visit to Stone, 
 how did he delight to lie on the sofa, and hear his 
 granddaughters sing, and often said, 4 How delightful 
 now to enter heaven * 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 275 
 
 “ Another little trait of Iris character was his sweet 
 thought of giving pleasure to others. It was almost 
 always his habit to go into his garden before service, 
 and pick each of the servants a good handful of flowers, 
 arranged by himself, which they were desired on no 
 account to bring home, but give to some of the poor 
 people, who would value them doubly sent from such 
 a garden ” 
 
 FAMILY PRAYER. 
 
 Mr. Bolton says, “ My father-in-law came in to break- 
 fast with us, as our early hour suited him best. In 
 family worship I was struck with his prayer for us : — • 
 “ Peace be to this house ! May thy servants at the 
 head of it enjoy much of this peace — th at peace which 
 the world cannot give by its good things, nor by its 
 evil things take away — that peace which passeth all 
 understanding. Let all their dear children live before 
 thee, be the care of thy tender providence, and the 
 early subjects of thy grace. We are now going forth 
 into the engagements of the day : let thy presence go 
 with us. Whether alone or in company, may we 
 sanctify thee in all our thoughts, and all our words — 
 concerned to improve all our opportunities of gaining 
 good and doing good, and the more so as we see the 
 day approaching which wil] deprive us of both.” 
 
 In connection with Mr. Jay’s peculiar gift in family 
 prayer, we introduce the following anecdote communi- 
 cated by Mr. Waylen : — 
 
 u A domestic servant, of rare excellence of character, 
 was, when very young, nursing old Mrs. Colbourn of 
 Chippenham. Under great anxiety, she resolved to 
 descend and listen at the door of the parlor at a mo- 
 
276 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 ment when she knew Mr. Jay was leading the devo- 
 tions of the house, he being then on a visit there. If 
 reference to herself individually should occur in his 
 prayer, she resolved to take it as 4 a token for good.’ 
 And such was the wished-for result. She is now in 
 my house.” 
 
 SIMPLICITY OF MANNER AT HOME. 
 
 A near witness testifies that his simplicity seemed 
 innate and natural ; for he was as free from affectation 
 as from guile. The gentleness, ingenuousness and un- 
 suspiciousness of a little child were ever displayed by 
 him. Thinking no evil himself he believed every 
 one open and sincere as himself, and his heart was 
 pained when he met with deceivers. 
 
 Nothing could satisfy him in his preaching but 
 bringing forth the whole story of Matthew Henry’s 
 three R’s, Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration — Jesus 
 Christ and him crucified, to meet the condition of poor 
 sinners — to try to save souls ; and if in any part of 
 his sermon he considered that he had been deficient, 
 his heart felt deeply, and he longed for the next op- 
 portunity of preaching more fully, more pathetically, 
 and practically. Such seasons were most prayerfully 
 and tearfully implored in private previously, and he 
 would then bless God for the enjoyment, and entreat 
 that it might not be different with him in public. 
 Sometimes he seemed under such a happy divine in- 
 fluence that a blessing was felt to rest in an indescrib- 
 able manner upon his conversation. His heart was 
 all alive to participate in the woes of those around 
 him, and his expressions were so balmy that they 
 soothed the deepest wounds even wher they could not 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 277 
 
 heal. The piety and copiousness of his prayers were 
 very remarkable. You felt that they were poured 
 forth from a heart which seemed the very sanctuaiy 
 of devotion. He lived, as it were, in the precincts of 
 heaven, and w T as ever ready to present petitions to 
 God. He was especially observant of devotion when 
 lie had public services in prospect. He always took a 
 prayerful review of his subject, and often was a tearful, 
 wrestling season of communion with God in private 
 the prelude to the holiest and happiest seasons in pub- 
 lic. His practice uniformly was to go from the closet 
 to the pulpit. Nothing was allowed to intervene. In 
 this, doubtless, may be found one of the elements of 
 his efficiency and success. He came as from the Di- 
 vine presence with a message from God to men. De- 
 votion had given greater strength to his arm and 
 keener edge to his weapon. Hence he spake “ not as 
 pleasing men, but God, who trieth our hearts.” Hap- 
 py would it be for the church of Christ if all its min- 
 isters conscientiously followed this example ! How 
 would it contribute both to their happiness and suc- 
 cess ! 
 
 DR. BOWIE’S RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. JAY, AND 
 ACCOUNT OF HIS LAST DAYS. 
 
 I had the great privilege of affording him my medi- 
 cal assistance to the close of his honored life (for a pe- 
 riod of more than thirty years), and am happy to say 
 receiving to the last, and at the last, the same proofs 
 of esteem, affection, and regard, which he had for so 
 many years bestowed on me, and for which blessing I 
 indeed give God thanks. You ask me if I have any 
 recollections if our dear departed friend. I answer, 
 
278 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 none in writing , bin many in mind. It would be per- 
 fectly impossible for any one to have had the privilege 
 I possessed for more than thirty years of having him 
 as my pastor and friend, without having numerous 
 recollections of one I ever considered a shining star, 
 and one of the most extraordinary individuals this 
 country, or indeed any other, ever saw. I here will 
 say that I allude now to him as a preacher of the Gos- 
 pel of Christ. Here", in my opinion, he was quite 
 unique , and unlike every other preacher I ever heard. 
 If you will allow me to say, it was not, in my opinion, 
 that Mr. Jay possessed any one peculiar point of men- 
 tal character which made him the highly - finished 
 preacher ; but he appears to me to have combined in 
 himself a number of faculties arising from his organ- 
 ization, which in the highest degree fitted him to excel 
 as a preacher. He possessed very great powers of im- 
 agery, pathos, and irony, all of which were occasion- 
 ally brought out in the pulpit ; and when to these 
 powers are added Mr. Jay’s great knowledge of the 
 holy Scriptures, which enabled him to dovetail , as it 
 were, all the statements with texts suitable to his sub- 
 ject ; his general information, derived from his exten- 
 sive and laborious readings, which, having a most re- 
 tentive memory, he could use at all times ; and his 
 great knowledge of the human heart — I need not say 
 that, with his vigorous and powerful mind brought 
 under the influence of the operation of the Holy Spirit, 
 these points and advantages enabled him well to fill 
 the office of a minister and teacher. I must not for- 
 get in this my catalogue of excellences for the pulpit, 
 that Mr. Jay w r as the simplest creature possible to be 
 conceived : his sermons were all delivered without the 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 279 
 
 least effort and difficulty, and so simple that any one 
 might have said — nay, indeed, I often did saj r — I could 
 do all this myself. In this simplicity of dear Mr. Jay’s 
 preaching I consider lay one of his chief excellences ; 
 and certainly it may be said, that by Mr. Jay the poor 
 had the Gospel preached unto them. He was, at the 
 same time, a most sententious preacher, and could, by 
 a few words said in a pithy and sometimes quaint 
 manner, produce a wonderful effect. This I have often 
 seen and felt, and some such sayings have never been 
 obliterated from my mind, even after a distance of 
 many years. Although this was often the case to a re 
 markable degree, yet all his sermons were from first 
 to last most interesting and powerful ; and no individ- 
 ual ever kept up the continued attention of his hear- 
 ers more than our beloved friend. He was emphat- 
 ically a textual preacher, never wandering from his 
 subject ; and in this point he so much excelled, that, 
 in endeavoring to give what he considered to be the 
 true meaning of the Scripture he had in hand, he 
 might appear at different times to preach against many 
 of the preconceived views of some of his Christian 
 hearers, so anxious always was he to give every text 
 its true interpretation, without reference to any system 
 of divinity, however good and admired. This it was, 
 combined with the great variety of subjects chosen by 
 him for the pulpit, which made it necessary to hear 
 Mr. Jay again and again, previous to any one being 
 enabled to come to a proper and sound opinion as to 
 the nature and exact character of his preaching. One 
 thing more I only will add to the list of qualities pos- 
 sessed by Mr. Jay for a preacher, and that is, his most 
 melodious and well-modulated voice, by which he in- 
 
280 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 deed gave the grand truths of the Gospel through a 
 silver' trumpet ; and he was, in my opinion, from all 
 the combination of powers I have now mentioned, the 
 most fascinating preacher this country has seen for 
 many a day f and so interesting was his preaching, at 
 least to myself — and I hope I may add useful — that 
 all preaching appeared tame after hearing him. This 
 may perhaps have arisen from his peculiar style, so 
 unlike any other, and from the fact that during about 
 thirty-four years, when I had the privilege of hearing 
 him generally twice a week, and sometimes three times, 
 I had been so deeply identified with his mode of 
 preaching, that I could hear no one else so well, nor, 
 I think, so profitably. It was not only preaching, 
 but teaching, and that, too, in the most beautiful and 
 winning manner. The simple and clear way in which 
 Mr. Jay divided and explained all his sermons, added 
 to the attractive style of delivery, made all he said 
 easily remembered, and, indeed, so attractive was his 
 mode of preaching, that numerous individuals whom 
 I have met with during my lifetime who have heard 
 him only once, have been at the end of years able to 
 give the substance, if not the division, of the only ser- 
 mon they ever heard from his lips. One of many such 
 instances I will now relate. A few years ago, a cler- 
 gyman of the Church of England, now dead, called on 
 me for medical advice. On seeing in my room a print 
 of Mr. Jay, he at once recognized it, and inquired 
 kindly after him. I asked him if he was acquainted 
 with Mr. Jay ; he replied, “No ; but I have heard him 
 preach once, and I shall now give you his sermon.” 
 He arose from his chair, and gave the text, Psalm xvi., 
 verse 8. He then began, and at once I saw he had 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 281 
 
 indeed heard him preach, as I recognized the well- 
 known manner of treating his subject. I inquired 
 when it was that he had heard this sermon which had 
 so deeply impressed him. He replied, “ Thirty-five 
 years ago. I was then a student at Oxford, and pass- 
 ing through London, I understood that the far-famed 
 Mr. Jay of Bath was to preach in Surrey Chapel. I 
 went, and I have now given you the outline of his 
 sermon, which I shall never forget.” 
 
 One other instance of the simplicity and attractive- 
 ness of his preaching, so as to awaken a spirit of in- 
 quiry in a child, I shall relate. Travelling in a rail- 
 way carriage some little time ago, an elderly gentleman 
 sat opposite to me. Finding I came from Bath, he 
 asked me how Mr. Jay was. I told him, and he in- 
 formed me that, at the early age of eight years, he was 
 deeply interested with a sermon which he heard 
 preached by Mr. Jay at Argyle Chapel; and, filled 
 with a spirit of inquiry, his mother had taken him to 
 chapel ; and the preacher took for his text Acts, ix. 
 16, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” When 
 he went home he eagerly asked his mother many ques- 
 tions regarding what he had heard, as, “ Where was 
 Macedonia ? what help was wanting ? and who was to 
 go over ?” Although young, it made him desirous and 
 anxious to know more on the subject which had so 
 engrossed his attention, and the recollection of the ser- 
 mon was even then most vivid. I have already said 
 that Mr. Jay did in his preaching often make a won- 
 derful impression by a single sentence delivered in a 
 powerful manner. One of these I shall mention as 
 pressing most strongly at this moment on my mind, 
 although hear l by me many years ago. He had been 
 
282 supplement to the autobiography. 
 
 preaching on the repentance of Judas, and took occasion 
 in the discourse to attack the love of money, as one of 
 the, if not the principal, sins, of the Church of God ; 
 and at the close of one of the divisions of his subject, 
 he burst forth in his own peculiar and emphatic man- 
 ner with the following awful sentence : “ Avarice, 
 avarice, is the monsoon, the devil’s trade-wind, from 
 the church into hell.” Another at this time presses 
 itself forcibly on my memory, and although, perhaps, 
 by the very fastidious it may be said not well fitted 
 for the pulpit, yet at the time of delivery it made a 
 wonderful impression, and now is so clear before me 
 that I must give it. Mr. Jay was speaking of the glar- 
 ing inconsistency of many professors of the Gospel, and 
 endeavoring to show how impossible it was to expect 
 the Divine blessing to rest on half-and-half undecided 
 professors of religion. He rested much on the neces- 
 sity there was for decision for God, and the clear mani- 
 festation before the church and the world in the be- 
 liever’s walk and character, so as to leave no doubt 
 who indeed was his Master ; and in the midst of a pow- 
 erful appeal pronounced the following : “ Some of you, 
 my dear brethren, are so inconsistent and undecided, 
 that if at this moment I saw the devil running away 
 with some of you, I could not call out, v Stop thief!’ 
 - — he would but carry off his own property.” 
 
 Mr. Jay I would call, in his views, a moderate Cal- 
 vinist ; but never was shackled by any system of di- 
 vinity, and never feared to give from the pulpit what 
 he conceived to be the whole counsel of God. If he 
 apparently met with difficulties in the subject he was 
 at the time treating, he would mention the circum- 
 stances, and leave them, without an attempt to combine 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 283 
 
 what was, in his opinion, far beyond man’s finite pow- 
 ers. Thus one day speaking of Judas, he said he was 
 fore-ordained of God. to betray the Saviour, and yet 
 he betrayed him willingly, and is damned for the deed 
 • — having said so, he in his own peculiar and well- 
 known manner leaned over the pulpit, and exclaimed, 
 “Now do not look at me for an explanation of this 
 subject — both statements are true — the foreknowledge 
 of God, and the free agency of man — and when we 
 reach heaven, and not till then, shall we be able to 
 understand all, which in our present imperfect con- 
 dition is quite beyond our grasp and finite minds.” 
 
 I may here allude to Mr. Jay’s great faithfulness in 
 the pulpit, and most fearlessly giving reproof to any 
 of his hearers if by him deemed necessary. One in- 
 stance of this is now most vivid before me, although 
 it happened many years ago, and that to myself. The 
 valuable and most interesting course of lectures, now 
 forming one of his published volumes, under the title 
 of u The Christian Contemplated,” was delivered in 
 Argyle Chapel, and occupied the Sabbath morning 
 of each week till completed. At the time of delivery 
 I was much younger than I am now ; and from God’s 
 peculiar dealings with me, added to my natural char- 
 acter, I had embraced, more than was agreeable to 
 my beloved pastor, what are usually called the high 
 doctrines of the Gospel ; and I fear I had more than 
 once been led to declare that I considered the lectures 
 from their practical nature to be Christless. At the 
 close of the delivery of the last lecture, he said, “ My 
 brethren, I have done with the course of lectures which 
 I had announced, but I have not done with those of 
 you who have denounced them to be Christless.” 
 
284 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Having said this, he began an admonition, of a wise 
 and useful character, in the following striking and 
 forcible manner: “You mushroom Christians — you 
 men of one idea — you who would have a minister go 
 round a few of your favorite texts just like a blind 
 horse in a mill — am I to be taught preaching by 
 you ?” I may add that the next day I called to visit 
 Mrs. Jay professionally. I met Mr. Jay in the room, 
 who actually was looking for a leaf of the lecture 
 preached on the previous day, which he had mislaid, 
 and in his own quick way he addressed me by say- 
 ing, “How are you, doctor, did you take part of 
 my sermon yesterday?” I answered, “Yes, I did.” 
 He replied, holding out his hand, “ Then give it to me, 
 for I have lost a leaf ; and if I am to publish these lec- 
 tures, I must find it.” I said, “Ho, dear sir, I have 
 no leaf of your lecture, but I did take part of it not- 
 withstanding.” He instantly replied, “Doctor, if the 
 cap fits you, wear it,” and left the room. I do hope 
 and believe this quiet and just reproof tended, under 
 God’s blessing, to make me more prudent and cautious 
 for the future. 
 
 It is well known that occasionally Mr. Jay would 
 engage the attention of his hearers most powerfully by 
 the introduction of an anecdote into his sermon, which 
 was always much to the point, and told with much 
 effect. This habit, however, for several years previous 
 to his retirement from the pulpit was much given up, 
 and seldom or ever indulged in. 
 
 From my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. 
 Jay, it may be expected that something ought to be 
 said by me with regard to his social habits and char- 
 acter. Here, however, little need or Indeed can be re- 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 285 
 
 lated. He lived in such a primitive manner, as to 
 put it very much out of the power of any individual 
 like myself, engaged in active employment, to see 
 much of him. He rose at five — breakfasted at seven 
 — dined at one — drank tea at five — supped at nine — 
 went to bed at ten — and this I may say was a general 
 rule without any exception. He was most regular in 
 his daily exercise ; and one of the many reasons which 
 under God tended to give him such a fine constitu- 
 tion was his choosing the early part of the day for 
 his pulpit and press studies. He from breakfast till 
 dinner-time devoted himself to this work — and after 
 that period, he, I have reason to believe, seldom or 
 ever did so — and I have heard him more than once 
 say that he never was found in his study after nine 
 o’clock at night. The after part of the day was usually 
 spent in exercise and general reading. His mind was 
 so well stored with information, and his memory so 
 retentive, that it was quite a treat to pass a short 
 time in his society. You never could be with him 
 for any time without discovering the depth of his in- 
 formation, the strength of his mind, and the easy and 
 simple manner of his conversation, which was at all 
 times so interesting and attractive that you had much 
 difficulty in leaving his company, and never did so 
 without admiration and instruction. My usual time 
 for seeing him was when I knew he was at tea, and 
 at which hour I often contrived to be professionally 
 in his neighborhood, that I might have the pleasure 
 of a little conversation with him. Mr. Jay was all his 
 life so completely accustomed to be listened to, and 
 not much to listen, that perhaps for some years after 
 I knew him he might occasionally appear impatient of 
 
286 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 being interrupted or contradicted ; but that indeed was 
 seldom attempted by any one, as all were generally 
 too glad to hear the good and great man, whose words 
 flowing from him were like the dew which watereth 
 the earth. Mr. Jay was a man with whom no one 
 felt he could ever take a liberty ; and of all men I 
 ever knew, he was the only one in whose presence I 
 always, in a manner, felt a kind of reserve, fearing in 
 any way to give him the smallest offence ; in fact I had 
 an exalted opinion of him, and gave him reverence. 
 
 Like all on earth Mr. Jay had many trials, and none 
 greater than the long and severe illness of his first wife ; 
 and I may I trust be allowed to say, without any fear 
 of misconception in the mind of any one, that he grew 
 much in grace under his trials ; and when I add that 
 he was at times thankful even to me for a word of 
 admonition or encouragement, it will I think be evi- 
 dent that his fine mind and understanding were much 
 brought into subjection to the grace of that blesse'd 
 Redeemer whom he had so long preached, not only as 
 the atoning Saviour, but the bright example. 
 
 During his long and most painful illness, for nearly 
 eighteen months, he never murmured, but gave a noble 
 testimony to the truth of the Gospel, and its being 
 able to sustain the believer under every trying dispen- 
 sation — he became in fact like a little child;- — and in 
 the midst of great sufferings and sleepless nights, over 
 which medicine had little or no control, he was enabled 
 to glorify God in the fire, and to leave a powerful and 
 lasting evidence of the truth and efficacy of that Gos- 
 pel which he had so many years so truthfully preached 
 to others. Mr. Jay through life had ahvays a natural 
 fear of death — that is, of the agonies of the dying 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 287 
 
 struggle — but even all this he was at last quite freed 
 from ; and he died so peacefully and quietly that for a 
 short time after the spirit had taken its flight to man- 
 sions in the skies, it was not known to his sorrowing 
 relations that he had gone home to Jesus. “ Mark the 
 perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of 
 that man is peace ” 
 
 MR. jay's FAMILIAR EXPOSITIONS AT THE PRAYER 
 MEETINGS. 
 
 Those who knew Mr. Jay at home in the weekly 
 round of his duties would scarcely deem our work 
 complete if we failed to exhibit him as for a very long 
 period he had appeared in his vestry on a Monday 
 evening, like a father in the midst of his family, ex- 
 plaining to them and enforcing upon them some por- 
 tion of God's Word, in the most simple and familiar 
 manner. 
 
 It is believed that he rarely, if ever, made any writ- 
 ten preparation for these services ; but having fixed 
 upon a portion of Scripture before he left his home, he 
 turned it over in his mind as he walked to his chapel, 
 a distance of nearly a mile. When he entered his 
 vestry, he took his seat in his arm-chair at a table, and 
 gave out a hymn in his own peculiarly feeling and de- 
 votional way. When this had been sung, he would 
 call upon one of his deacons to engage in prayer. He 
 then opened the Bible, read a text or a few verses, and, 
 in a style .more like serious and engaging conversation 
 than preaching, spoke upon the words or subject in an 
 easy and colloquial manner, often with striking origin- 
 ality, point, or pathos, as the text might require. The 
 hearer felt, and could hardly fail to feel, as much at 
 
288 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 ease as the speaker, who sat ail the time as if in your 
 parlor, conversing with you on your spiritual interests, 
 and the great things of Grod’s salvation. 1 specimen 
 or two of these familiar services we shall here insert. 
 They have been furnished by friends who were accus- 
 tomed to take notes, and of course do but imperfectly 
 represent the original : — 
 
 Psalm xci. ver. 14 : “I will set him on high, because he hath 
 
 known my name.” 
 
 This psalm has sometimes been called the charter of the believer’s 
 privileges ; and in this sense I wish you were all chartists, and in no 
 other ; for I do not approve of the other charter at all. A great 
 man once said : “ The whole of this psalm has been fulfilled in my 
 experience, except the last clause of the last verse ; and that will be 
 fulfilled I am fully persuaded within an hour.” Now what is that 
 verse ? “ With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my sal- 
 
 vation.” The former part had been fulfilled, for he died at the age 
 of 95. He had lived long enough, I should suppose, to have seen all 
 that was worth seeing, to hear all that was worth hearing, and to 
 enjoy all that was to be enjoyed; and he must surely have known 
 the vanity of all things here below. But what is meant by the last 
 clause which yet remained to be accomplished ? “ And show him 
 
 my salvation.” This is future. How can that be ? The believer 
 is saved now ; that is, he is in a state of salvation, in a state of 
 safety. 
 
 More happy, but not more secure, 
 
 The glorified spirits in heaven. 
 
 But the believer’s salvation will be more fully shown, when Christ 
 shall say to all his redeemed, “ Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- 
 herit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of 
 the world.” But only think of this good man’s saying, — that he 
 was fully persuaded that this would be accomplished within an hour I 
 Oh, what a solemn thought ! How would many of you feel, if you 
 knew that you were but one hour out of eternity ? — but one hour 
 from a world of spirits ; — that in one hour you would be in the pres- 
 ence of your Redeemer ! Beyond the reach of every care. There 
 is but a step between me and death ! Perhaps there is but a step 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 289 
 
 between you and — hell l But oh, wliat an overwhelming thought, 
 if there is but a step between you and heaven ! I remember good 
 Ambrose sitting in his chair, feeling the pains of death coming over 
 him. he raised his eyes, and exclaimed; “ Come, good angels, and do 
 your office, and gently waft me into Abraham’s bosom.” But you 
 will say, what has all this to do with the subject ? Why, it is a 
 part of the loaf that I wish to divide among you to-night; and I do 
 not think it much signifies where I begin to cut first. 
 
 Now, “I will set him on high because he hath known my name.” 
 The naqie of the Lord is often put for the Lord himself. Many 
 texts might be brought forward to prove this. I will mention only 
 one ; Ps. lxxvi., “ The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the 
 righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Not into a word, but into 
 Jehovah himself. Now, what is it to know the Lord? People 
 sometimes speak of head-knowledge. But it is a singular express- 
 ion ; as if there were such a thing as arm-knowledge or leg-know- 
 ledge. Where should knowledge be but in the head ? At the same 
 time, it is very expressive, as making the difference between a mere 
 speculative knowledge of the great truths of Christianity, and that 
 knowledge and conviction of the heart which is here implied. Ah, 
 what pleasure does it give you to say — “I know such and such a dis- 
 tinguished person.” What an honor would you feel it to be to be 
 able to say, “ I know the king and am intimate with him.” Or, 
 if he were living, to be able to say, “ I know Milton, and am inti- 
 mate with him.” But the Christian can say far more ; ‘ I know the 
 Lord, the king of kings, and am intimate with Him. He is my 
 Father and my Friend.” 
 
 Now, here is the promise, — “ I will set him on high, because he 
 hath known my name.” We must not look on this word because as a 
 condition. Our dear brother used this term last night, and I began 
 to fear lest he should be misunderstood. But he afterwards explain- 
 ed himself very clearly. Yet why should we use a word of doubt- 
 ful meaning, when there are others that would answer the purpose 
 quite as well, if not better ? It is true that some of the old writers 
 use this term, but it is in a different sense to that in which it is em- 
 ployed now-a-days. Now it is employed to signify a sort of claim 
 that one has upon another for a reward ; but they used it to express 
 a sort of connection, that God would do one thing because he had 
 done another; thus, because God had given faith, he had also given 
 salvation, and in that sense it is used here. 
 
 Now, what is meant by this promise— c ‘ I will set him on high ?” 
 
 13 
 
290 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Is not Christ risen from the dead ? Has he not ascended above the 
 skies ? And are not all his believing followers ascended with him ? 
 Is not this to ascend on high ? Cannot the believer look forward to 
 heaven as his inheritance, his kingdom, his everlasting portion ? 
 Call you not this high ? The king is the highest civil officer, the 
 priest the highest ecclesiastical ; and God will make all his people 
 kings and priests unto himself, and their kingdom shall be an ever- 
 lasting kingdom, and their priesthood one that endurerth forever. 
 
 But notice not only the promise, but the agent by whom it is per- 
 formed, that is, God himself. There are many kinds of promises. 
 There are the devil’s promises, — they are false and deluding. O, be- 
 ware of them ! There are the world’s promises. They seem all bright 
 and fair ; but what are they ? Only vanity ; yea, lighter than van- 
 ity itself. Then there are men’s promises. O, trust not in them, 
 for they are uncertain — often deceptive. But there are God’s prom- 
 ises. They are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Lean on them, 
 trust in them, and you shall never be confounded. 
 
 “ 0 for a strong, a lasting faith, 
 
 To credit what the Almighty saith ; 
 
 T’ embrace the message of his Son, ' 
 
 And call the joys of heaven our own” 
 
 Another Monday evening exercise was as follows : 
 — Having read the words, u 0 Lord, forgive: O Lord, 
 hearken and do,” (Daniel, ix. 19,) he observed, — 
 
 This is one of Daniel’s prayers. The Scripture is full of prayers, 
 and I love them much. Now let us speak of Daniel. He was a 
 temperate man. This will account for his haleness and vigor, at 
 least in some measure. But he was rich in grace. He had been 
 raised from one stage to another, till he became prime minister over 
 twenty-seven provinces ; yet he found time to pray thrice every 
 day. Many people who have not half the business to attend to, to 
 what he had, say they have scarcely time to pray once a day. Dan- 
 iel was highly favored. Three miracles were performed by him ; 
 one was interpreting the king’s dream ; the second, recalling Ne- 
 buchadnezzar ; a third, interpreting the handwriting on the wall. 
 But Qne miracle was performed for him ; that was, his safety in the 
 den of lion*v Twice the angel Gabriel came to him with the words, 
 “ 0 Danie 1 man greatly beloved !’* Some will say, “ I would not 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE A U T033I0GK APTI Y. 291 
 
 have told him that to his face, lest it should make him proud.” But 
 Gabriel knew better. The proud are always the most backward to 
 praise. The reason is, they judge from themselves; because when 
 they are praised they are so puffed up , they think others must be the 
 same. The celebrated Dr. Robinson having preached three times 
 on one Sunday at a chapel in London, after the evening service a 
 man came into the vestry and said to him, — “ This morning, sir, it 
 was a very dry opportunity ; in the afternoon I got no food for my 
 soul ; but this evening you have preached a most blessed sermon, 
 and I hope to live in the enjoyment of it for some time to come. 
 But I hope you will not be proud at my telling you so.” “No, no,” 
 said the doctor, “for I have no opinion of your judgment.” 
 
 Let us notice this prayer before us. How importunate it is ! It 
 is not one of the sleepy prayers. If a person were to come and ask 
 a favor of you, and were to fall asleep in doing it, you would spurn 
 him from your presence. Yet how often do we act so with the 
 blessed God ! The first thing here is forgiveness, — O Lord, forgive ! 
 The second thing to pray for is attention , — “ Hearken and do.” Do 
 what ? He does not say what, and I am glad he does not. If a 
 beggar were to call out to a king as he was passing; “ Hearken 
 and do,” he would be repulsed for his impertinence. But how dif- 
 ferent it is with this King! He says, “Call upon me, and I will 
 answer:” — “Ask, and ye shall receive.” He can changethe hardest 
 heart ; can renew and sanctify the vilest passions ; and can make 
 those whom we imagine to be beyond the reach of mercy, “ pillars 
 in the house of our God.” He will do this for you, if you apply to 
 Him. He did not turn a deaf ear to the cry of Daniel. Nor will 
 He to your cry. Let your sins be what they may, He can and will 
 wash them all away in the blood of His dear Son. Blessed be His 
 name. 
 
 One Monday evening, he had been addressing his 
 people on the importance and blessedness of humility, 
 and closed his remarks by observing, — 
 
 “ How beautifully Bunyan has represented the shepherd’s boy in 
 the valley of humiliation, cheerful and happy, while singing, — ‘ He 
 that is down need fear no fall/ & c. But you all know his song, and 
 we will now unite in singing it, for it will do for us as well as for 
 birr — 
 
292 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 “ ‘ He that is down need fear no fall, 
 
 He that is low no pride ; 
 
 He that is humble ever shall 
 Have God to be his guide. 
 
 I am content with what I have, 
 
 Little be it, or much ; 
 
 And, Lord, contentment still I crave, 
 
 Because thou savest such. 
 
 Fulness to such a burden is 
 That go on pilgrimage ; 
 
 Here little, and hereafter bliss, 
 
 Is best from age to age.’ ” 
 
 He then proceeded with the following verses, which 
 were sung in succession, as if they had formed one 
 hymn : — 
 
 “ Turn, pilgrim, turn — thy cares forego ; 
 
 All earthborn cares are wrong : 
 
 Man wants but little here below, 
 
 Nor wants that little long. 
 
 Then shall we sit, and sing, and tell 
 The wonders of his grace, 
 
 Till heavenly pleasure fire our hearts, 
 
 And smile in every face. 
 
 Forever His dear sacred name 
 Shall dwell upon our tongue, 
 
 And Jesus and salvation be 
 The close of every song.” 
 
 The impression produced by the mixture of verses 
 and by the climax was felt to be highly profitable and 
 elevating. Those who witnessed that scene will never 
 ftp get it. 
 
 It was at one of these week-evening meetings he 
 finished his labors at Argyle Chapel, observing at the 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 293 
 
 close, “ I shall never enter this place again;” adding 
 some remarks of great tenderness and solemnity to his 
 friends, who stood round him. 
 
 On the 21st of March, 1853, he went to the vestry, 
 intending to give only a short address ; but the con- 
 gregation assembled was so large that they were oblig- 
 ed to adjourn to the chapel. He selected for his sub- 
 ject the appropriate words of the 116th Psalm, verses 
 1 and 2 : “ I love the Lord, because he hath heard my 
 voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined 
 his ear unto me, therefore will I praise him as long as 
 I live.” The testimony of so venerable, so faithful a 
 man of God, laboring under much weakness and pain 
 of body, yet with all the devotedness and zeal of his 
 youthful days, pointing all to the throne of grace, and 
 expressing, with touching sensibility, his own gratitude 
 for the help he had therein derived, was felt to be most 
 deeply impressive and affecting. 
 
 The following Monday evening, March 28, Easter 
 Monday, was the occasion when he made the remark 
 above noticed, that he should enter that place of wor: 
 ship no more. On this last occasion he spoke again in 
 the chapel, but on neither of these occasions from the 
 pulpit. The subject was taken from Isaiah, liv. 17, 
 u This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and 
 their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” This is 
 described by those who were present as a most inter- 
 esting, solemn, and edifying address. 
 
 Thus ended his public ministry in Bath. 
 
 The following testimony of respect and expression 
 of friendship for Mr. Jay, from so excellent a noble- 
 man as the Earl of Gainsborough, will doubtless be 
 acceptable an 1 gratifying to the reader. In a letter to 
 
294 SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Mrs. Edward Jay, written since the solemn event took 
 place, the Earl of Grainsborough says : — 
 
 “ Although at his good old age the great change has been a glori- 
 ous one for your excellent father, yet I cannot hear of the departure 
 of my long-loved and revered friend without much sorrow and 
 emotion, and deep concern for all those who have sustained so truly 
 irreparable a bereavement. I hope his last hours were free from 
 much suffering. 
 
 “ It is painful to me to have been out of England ; for it would 
 have been a real gratification to me to have followed the dear and 
 honored remains of my beloved friend to the grave. 
 
 “ It will give me much pleasure to hear from you, and that Mrs. 
 Jay and all of you are well. 
 
 “ It grieves me that I have not seen dear Mr. Jay lately ; and, 
 should I live to return to England, it was one of my pleasant anti- 
 cipations that I should have seen him once more. I trust that 
 through the mercy of that blessed Saviour he so long and so ardent- 
 ly served, to meet him again where friends will no more be sep- 
 arated. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear Mrs. Jay, 
 
 “ Sincerely and affectionately yours, 
 
 “ Gainsborough. 
 
 Naples, February 4, 1854. : 
 
PART III. 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, 
 
 IN 
 
 A SERIES OF REMINISCENCES. 
 
 WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 Clothed in sanctity and grace, 
 
 How sweet it is to see 
 Those who love thee as they pass, 
 
 Or when they wait on thee.” — C owpeb. 
 
 Mark the perfect man.” — D avid. 
 

PREFACE. 
 
 My residei .ee in Bath gave me many opportunities 
 of multiplying connections, or at least acquaintances ; 
 and, in a long course of years, I have become more 
 or less intimate with many interesting individuals from 
 Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and various parts of England. 
 
 Not long after my settlement in this city, I found a 
 coterie of rather singular characters ; it included Lut- 
 terbray, the celebrated landscape-painter, Sir James 
 and Lady Wright,* Miss Lace, a natural daughter of 
 Lord de Spencer, f Rev. Briant Hill,$ Miss Charles 
 Wesley, &c. 
 
 * Both these lie in our burying-ground, and their escutcheons 
 were sent into the vestry. Lady Wright was the sister of More, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. None of the family attended the death 
 or the funeral. 
 
 f She was a woman of great talent and much learning ; yet I 
 fear from her neglect of public worship, and a prayer (which she 
 showed me) written for her daily use, on the principles of pure 
 deism, that she was at least sceptical as to the truth and importance 
 of Christianity. After some injuries which the tomb of Sir James 
 and Lady Wright had sustained, she repaired it, and had her name 
 engraved as the repairer in the corner of the panel. Some may re- 
 member her strange flight with a gentleman, as if carried off unwill- 
 ingly ; also her throwing away a camphor bag from her bosom. 
 
 % Author of a poem on Italy, and brother to Sir Richard and 
 Rowland Hill. 
 
 13 * 
 
298 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 All these occasionally attended my preaching, and 
 I was personally acquainted with them all. They 
 seemed alive to eternal things, and to be in a state of 
 serious inquiry. They had their own private and so- 
 cial meetings (it would seem for various purposes), but 
 I could never learn how they conducted them ; and 
 they held some occult sentiment, which they were 
 neither ready to explain nor to recommend. Many 
 supposed they had some leanings towards the conti- 
 nental Illuminati. 
 
 In a long ministry, and in a varied and extensive 
 intercourse with the religious world, I have met with 
 no few curious characters, mental and moral nonde- 
 scripts ; owning no party, and owned by no party ; 
 signalized and observable by uncommon, strange, pre- 
 posterous opinions, usages, pretensions. With very 
 little that is romantic in my frame, I have never been 
 able to pass by such anomalies without notice and re- 
 flection ; and if I had a descriptive humor, by a little 
 enlargement and coloring, I could produce reminis- 
 cences enough to excite wonder and ridicule, laughter 
 and sadness. 
 
 But, oh, how many have I seen and admired in the 
 various denominations of Christians, who have been 
 Israelites indeed in whom there has been no guile ; 
 enlightened in their principles, walking in the truth, 
 consistent and uniform in their conduct, devoted to 
 the cause of the Gospel, and ready to every good 
 work ; and, though not free from infirmities, “ adorn- 
 ing the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” 
 
 These are w r orthy of observation, and remembrance, 
 and a record; and we arc commanded to “ marie the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 299 
 
 perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of 
 suctf is peace.” 
 
 As I have not found many of these among the very 
 rich, so I have found none of them among the abject 
 poor. Whatever they were originally, converting grace 
 made them temperate and diligent ; gained for them 
 the countenance and help of their fellow- Christians, 
 and secured for them the favor of Providence, so that 
 not only their “ bread was given, and their water was 
 sure,” but it “ blessed their bread and their water,” 
 and made “the little that a righteous man had better 
 than the riches of many wicked.” Lo this ! we have 
 proved it — so it is — “I have been young, and now I 
 am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, 
 nor his seed begging bread.” 
 
 I here, then, notice some of these individuals, in va- 
 rious conditions and circumstances of life ; especially 
 those I was acquainted with in the earlier parts of my 
 ministry; and who had some considerable influence 
 on what I have been , and what I have done , and what 
 I have written . 
 
 While I thus, in a measure, gratify allowable curb 
 osity, I desire and hope to do something more. Facts 
 are better than definitions, and exemplifications than 
 descriptions ; and as we cannot form an idea of love 
 or hope, pride or avarice, in the abstract — virtues and 
 vices, excellences and defects, are best shown in their 
 subjects and actings, And is not this the method of 
 the sacred writers ? 
 
 Almost every memento of celebrated personages is 
 desired and welcomed, and readers are anxious and 
 eager to catch at every trifling anecdote that helps to 
 form a conception of their individuality ? or to connect 
 
300 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 their private history with their public fame. I have, 
 therefore, rather largely brought forward several more 
 public and distinguished characters; but my design 
 extended beyond them. 
 
 There are other beings who deserve attention, and 
 who maybe, as examples, more within common reach. 
 Johnson has said that “ there is hardly a life of which 
 some useful narrative may not be furnished.” Yes ; 
 there are many who never see a college, or enter a pul- 
 pit, or publish a book, who can serve their generation 
 by the will of God. They embody and fulfil religion 
 in their private stations ; and though they make no 
 figure in the annals of worldly renown, are great in the 
 sight of the Lord. “Their day is coming,” called 
 “the manifestation of the sons of God,” when, how- 
 ever shaded here, they will “ shine forth as stars in 
 the kingdom of their Father.” 
 
 Some of these I have selected, and would gladly 
 have noticed by name many more ; but I have been 
 obliged to restrain my inclination, and confine myself 
 to a few ; and, had I chosen much humbler individ- 
 uals than any I have selected, the Scriptures would 
 have justified my choice ; for while they leave in 
 oblivion philosophers, statesmen, and conquerors, they 
 furnish to all ages the very name of “ Rhoda,” the 
 poor damsel who announced with so much ecstasy the 
 presence of Peter. Inspiration says nothing of the 
 builders of the Egyptian pyramids, but it records the 
 names of the “midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who 
 feared God, and for whom God built houses.” An 
 oak was consecrates to memorialize Deborah, Re- 
 becca’s nurse. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 801 
 
 “ Laurels may flourish round the conqueror’s tomb. 
 
 But happiest they who win the world to come : 
 
 Believers have a silent field to fight, 
 
 And their exploits are veil’d from human sight. 
 
 They in some nook, where little known they dwell, 
 
 Kneel, pray in faith, and rout the hosts of Hell : 
 
 Eternal triumphs crown their toils divine, 
 
 And all those triumphs, Mary, now are thine.” 
 
 Cowper’s Epitaph on Mary Higgin * 
 
 Will my readers just notice what follows, not as 
 apologetical but explanatory? 
 
 First. As I profess to give only brief sketches, let 
 none look for anything more. 
 
 Second. 1 have not endeavored to observe the pre- 
 cise order of time in which intercourse with the char- 
 acters noticed was carried on, as I write from the pres- 
 ent promptings of remembrance ; and I know of no 
 cases in which dates would have contributed to the 
 proof or importance of the events and circumstances 
 recorded. 
 
 Third . In some of these Reminiscences, I fear in- 
 stances of a similarity of remark and reflection may 
 be found repeated. But I was not able to compare 
 them for the purpose of such detections ; and the re- 
 currences may not be useless, being found in different 
 connections, and applied to different purposes. 
 
 Fourth. I hoped, but in vain, to have had time and 
 leisure to transcribe and correct the whole of these 
 hasty and free sketches. In that case I might have 
 reduced some parts, and added others ; but I should 
 have altered little, as I always wrote according to my 
 knowledge and conviction, and only spake the truth 
 in love. 
 
 Finally. Some will probably censure the egotisms 
 
302 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 which seem so much to abound. But in a work of 
 this kind references to myself were unavoidable ; and 
 in such narratives personal circumstances are often in- 
 separable from things introduced solely to illustrate 
 somewhat pertaining to the character itself under re- 
 view. 
 
 And here the writer must be satisfied with a con- 
 sciousness of his own motives. When his work itself 
 is read, he will be out of the reach of human censure 
 or applause. 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 Me. Newton, once the vicar of Olney, and after- 
 wards the rector of St. Mary’s Woolnoth, is well known 
 by his remarkable conversion, his various writings, 
 and his usefulness to the church of God at large. 
 
 During my first visit to London to supply Mr. Hill’s 
 chapel, one Friday morning, after hearing me, he came 
 into the vestry. I did not then know his person ; but 
 he introduced himself, and, to my surprise, intimated a 
 wish to retire into the house with me. I led him into 
 the study ; and I have never forgotten the condescen- 
 sion and kindness with which he addressed me. Tak, 
 ing me by the hand, he said, “ Some of us are going 
 off the stage, but we rejoice to see others rising up and 
 coming forward. But, my young friend, you are in a 
 very trying situation, and I am concerned for your 
 safety and welfare. I have been so many years in the 
 ministry, and so many years a minister in London ; 
 and if you will allow me to mention some of the snares 
 and dangers to which you are exposed, I shall be hap- 
 py to do it.” How could I help feeling, not only will- 
 ing to receive, but grateful for, such a seasonable warn- 
 ing ? And how useful may the aged servants of God 
 be to the younger, if they would privately and freely 
 communicate of their expediences and observations! 
 
304 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Some of the things he mentioned seemed for the mo 
 ment rather strange and needless ; but I confided in 
 his wisdom, and time has fully shown me that they 
 were all words in season. 
 
 Contrasts strike us ; and it is curious and useful to 
 observe the different qualities and manners of good 
 men themselves. A week after this interview, one of 
 
 his very attached followers (a Mr. B y), wished to 
 
 introduce me to Mr. Romaine. I can truly say I 
 shrunk back from modest timidity ; but he urged me, 
 and prevailed ; and one Tuesday morning, after the 
 service at Blackfriars Church, he took me into the 
 vestry, and, with a few words, mentioned my name. 
 But Mr. Romaine noticed me in no other way than, as, 
 immediately leaving the room, he said, very audibly, 
 “ There was a Sir Harry Trelawney.” I inferred that 
 some faithful caution was intended, but, a mere youth 
 from the country, and little acquainted with the relig- 
 ious world, I had never heard of the person by whose 
 errors or fall I was to be warned, until I inquired. I 
 have no doubt of the aim of both these admonishers, 
 and I ought to have been thankful to the latter as well 
 as the former ; but severity does not actuate like affec- 
 tion ; and u he that winneth souls is wise.” 
 
 Mr. Newton also invited me to call upon him, and 
 to his kind of open breakfast I soon repaired ; and for 
 years afterward, whenever I was in town, I availed 
 myself as often as it was in my power of this invalu- 
 able privilege. On these occasions one met with min- 
 isters and Christians of all denominations ; for he lov- 
 ed all who loved the Saviour, and all, while they were 
 with him, felt themselves to be “ one in Christ Jesus.” 
 
 In the family worship, after reading a chapter, he 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 30o 
 
 would add a few remarks on some verse or sentence, 
 very brief, but weighty and striking, and affording a 
 sentiment for the day. Whoever was present, he al- 
 ways prayec. himself ; the prayer was never long, but 
 remarkably suitable and simple. After the service 
 and the breakfast, he withdrew to his study with any 
 of his male friends who could remain for awhile, and 
 there, with his pipe (the only pipe I ever liked, ex- 
 cept Robert Hall’s), he would converse in a manner the 
 most easy, and free, and varied, and delightful, and 
 edifying. 
 
 Much has been published concerning this excellent 
 man, and it is possible that some of the few things I 
 would gratify my readers with may have been report- 
 ed by others who witnessed them ; but I shall mention 
 nothing underived from my own personal knowledge 
 and observation. 
 
 There was nothing about him dull, or gloomy, or 
 puritanical, according to the common meaning of the 
 term. As he had much good-nature, so he had much 
 pleasantry, and frequently emitted sparks of lively 
 wit, or rather humor ; yet they never affected the com- 
 fort or reputation of any one, but were perfectly inno- 
 cen,t and harmless. Sometimes he had the strangest 
 fetches of drollery. Thus, one day, by a strong sneeze, 
 he shook off a fly which had perched upon his gnomon, 
 and immediately said, “Now if this fly keeps a diary, 
 he ’ll write, 1 To-day a terrible earthquake !’ ” At an- 
 other time, when I asked him how he slept, he instant- 
 ly replied, “ I’ m like a beefsteak — once turned, and 
 I’ m done.” 
 
 “ Some people,” said he, “ believe much better than 
 they reason. I once heard a good old woman arguing 
 
306 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 in favor of eternal election. ‘ Sir/ said she, ‘ 1 am sure 
 if God had not chosen me before I was born, he would 
 never have chosen me after.’ ” 
 
 At another time he mentioned facetiously, and with 
 his peculiar smile, the language of a poor good woman 
 when dying,— “ I believe his word, and am persuaded, 
 notwithstanding my unworthiness and guilt, that my 
 Lord Jesus will save me from all my sins and sorrows, 
 and bring me home to himself ; and if he does, he will 
 never hear the last of it !” 
 
 He one day told of a countryman who said to his 
 minister, “ You often speak of our FORE-fathers ; now 
 I know only of three, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 Pray, sir, who is the fourth ?” 
 
 He also more than once mentioned that he knew a 
 good man and woman, who read the Scriptures morn- 
 ing and evening in their daily worship, to whom a 
 gentleman gave a folio commentary to aid them. But 
 after they had tried it for some time, the husband said 
 to the wife, “ I think we did better before we had this 
 great book. When we read the Bible itself only it 
 was like a glass of pure wine ; but now it is like a 
 glass of wine in a pail of water.” 
 
 One day, speaking of the various effects of afflic- 
 tion, he said, a I lately visited a good woman who had 
 just had her house and goods destroyed by fire. I said 
 to her, ‘Madam, I am come to congratulate you.’ 
 4 What !’ she replied, ‘ upon the destruction of my prop- 
 erty?’ ‘No, but to hail you on your possessing prop- 
 erty which nothing can destroy.’ This awakened a 
 surprise and a smile in her tears, like a sunshine in the 
 showers of April. ‘What enabled the Hebrew be- 
 lievers to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, but 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 307 
 
 knowing in themselves that in heaven they had a bet- 
 ter and an enduring substance V ” 
 
 When I one day called upon him, he said, “ 1 am 
 glad to see you, for I have j ust received a letter from 
 Bath, and you may know something of the writer,” 
 mentioning his name. I told him I did, and that he had 
 been for years a hearer of mine, but he was a most awful 
 character, and “ almost in all evil.” “But,” says he, 
 “ he writes now like a penitent.” I said, “ He may be 
 such ; but, if he be, I shall never despair of the con- 
 version of any one again.” “Oh,” says he, “I never 
 did, since God saved me.” 
 
 I recollect a little sailor-boy calling upon him, with 
 his father. Mr. Newton soon noticed him, and, taking 
 him between his knees, he told him he had been much 
 at sea himself, and then sang part of a naval song. 
 Was this beneath him? Would not the lad always 
 favorably remember him? 
 
 One morning in the family worship he read 2 Peter, 
 iii. 1 — 9, the last words being, “ but is long-suffering 
 to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but 
 that all should come to repentance.” He began his 
 exposition thus: “ These words, I suppose, are a hard 
 bone for a Calvinist to pick.” He was aware that one 
 in the company required some moderating. This per- 
 son, a little too forward, as well as too high, after- 
 wards, as we were at breakfast, rather abruptly said, 
 “ Pray, Mr. Newton, are you a Calvinist?” He replied, 
 “ Why, sir, I am not fond of calling myself by any 
 particular name in religion. But why do you ask me 
 the question ?” “ Because,” he replied, “ sometimes 
 
 when I read you, and sometimes when I hear you, I 
 think you are a Calvinist ) and then, again, I think 
 
308 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 you are not.” “Why, sir,” said Mr. Newton, U I am 
 more of a Calvinist than anything else ; but I use my 
 Calvinism in my writing and my preaching as I use 
 this sugar”' — taking a lump, and putting it into his 
 tea-cup, and stirring it, adding, “ I do not give it 
 alone, and whole ; but mixed, and diluted.” 
 
 Another morning a forward 3 7 oung man said, “ Pray, 
 Mr. Newton, what do you think of the entrance of sin 
 into our world?” “Sir,” said he, “I never think of 
 it. I know there is such a thing as moral evil, and I 
 know there is a remedy for it ; and there my know- 
 ledge begins, and there it ends.” 
 
 Another morning there was, with several other 
 preachers, sitting in his study, a Baptist minister, a 
 very good man, who had appeared to some dispropor- 
 tionately zealous in making converts to his own opin- 
 ion. The conversation was turning upon the choice 
 
 of texts, “ Ah,” said Mr. Newton, “ Brother S n, 
 
 there is one text I can preach from, and which you 
 cannot.” “ Sir,” said he, “what can that be?” Mr. 
 Newton replied, “God sent me not to baptize, but to 
 preach the Gospel.” Mr. S— — n took the hint, with- 
 out the least offence, and no one laughed more heartily. 
 
 As my brother-in-law was vicar of Olney, I some- 
 times visited that hallowed spot ; and as, of course, I 
 could not minister in the church, I always went, when 
 I was going to engage in the meeting, and studied my 
 sermon in the pew where Cowper heard, and in sight 
 of the pulpit where Newton preached. “ Supersti- 
 tion !” say some. But I found it good to be there. 
 And how was I struck when at the parsonage-house I 
 went up into the attic which was the study of this man 
 of God, and saw, over his desk, on the wall, in very 
 
JtEV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 309 
 
 large letters, “ Remember that thou wast a bonds- 
 man in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God 
 
 REDEEMED THEE;” and “ SlNCE THOU HAST BEEN 
 PRECIOUS IN MY SIGHT THOU HAST BEEN HONORABLE, 
 AND I HAVE LOVED THEE ; et UUUS pro omnibus /” 
 
 "While residing at Olney, Mr. Newton did much to 
 liberalize and harmonize the religious parties ; and one 
 of his candid arrangements, I know, continued years 
 after, and I hope does continue still. It was this : — 
 At the beginning of the year, the Episcopalians, In- 
 dependents, and Baptists, blended their congregations 
 three days following, and each minister preached in 
 his own place a sermon to the young. I suggested the 
 propriety of a little alteration, v ; z., for one sermon to 
 be addressed to the young, and one to the middle-aged, 
 and one to the old. As another proof and instance 
 of his liberality and candor, though a beneficed. 
 clergyman of the Established Church, he drew up the 
 plan for the Dissenting Academy at Newport Pagnell, 
 which was placed under the superintendence of the 
 Rev. Thomas Bull, and supported by that great philan- 
 thropist, John Thornton, Esq. 
 
 In those days pious and evangelical clergymen of 
 the Establishment were very few ; and, owing to their 
 sentiments and zeal, were often less regarded in their 
 own communion than among many of the orthodox 
 dissenters; and, therefore, when invited by them, they 
 scrupled not to visit them, and even to make a consid- 
 erable stay at their houses. Mr. Newton for many 
 years visited Portswood, near Southampton, a place 
 from which many of his printed letters were dated. 
 Here lived Walter Taylor, Esq., a dissenter in affluent 
 circumstances, and block-maker to the navy. Under 
 
310 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 his hospitable roof Mr. Newton commonly spent five 
 or six weeks annually, and while there he sometimes 
 heard the Rev. Mr. Kingsbury, Mr. Ta}dor’s brother-in- 
 law, and pastor of the Independent Church, and 
 preached also frequently in his host’s laundry to his 
 family and workmen, and the neighboring villagers. 
 
 Thus he speaks in one of his letters to Mr. Campbell : 
 “ Here are five churches, but no pulpit open for me. 
 But Mr. Taylor has opened his house, and made room 
 for about 300 hearers. I preach three evenings in the 
 week while I stay. We are often full. My hearers 
 are chiefly from the neighboring villages, and seem 
 willing to hear the Gospel, if they had any one to 
 preach it to them. But, alas ! in these parts, and in 
 many parts of the kingdom, 1 the hungry sheep look 
 up and are not fed.’ ” 
 
 Mr. Bomaine also for many years annually visited 
 Mr. Taylor for the same length of time ; but he would 
 never enter the meeting at Southampton with the 
 family, or speak in their unconsecrated premises to the 
 poor, and ignorant, and perishing, who would have 
 hung upon his lips. But high-churchism had no scruples 
 to accept the accommodations about the house, and 
 table, and carriage, and horses, for these were not schis- 
 matics, though their owner was. A Puseyite would 
 have been more consistent. He would not have gone 
 in with the uncircumcised and the unclean, nor had 
 fellowship with them — “no, not to eat.” 
 
 I remember another instance of Mr. Newton’s can- 
 dor and liberality. When Dr. Buchanan, who had 
 been much befriended by him, went out to India, 
 holding a valuable ecclesiastical appointment, he seem- 
 ed at first to have been shy of the Baptist missionaries. 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 311 
 
 Upon hearing this, Mr. Newton wrote him a kind but 
 faithful letter, in which he said (I had this from his 
 own mouth), “ It is easy for you (little as yet tried in 
 character, and from your superior and patronized sta- 
 tion), to look down upon men who have given them- 
 selves to the Lord, and are bearing the burden and 
 heat of the day. I do not look for miracles ; but if 
 God were to work one in our day, I should not wonder 
 if it were in favor of Dr. Carey. 7 ’ The admonition was 
 well received, and this great and good man became 
 kind and friendly. 
 
 The first year I went to London I heard two pop- 
 ular clergymen, who were going through the same 
 epistle — the Epistle to the Ephesians. Both went on 
 leisurely, and from verse to verse, till they came to the 
 practical parts and relative duties of husbands and 
 wives, parents and children, masters and servants, 
 when one of them intimated he could not enlarge 
 here, for the grace of God would teach them all this ;* 
 the other endeavored to do as much justice to the pre- 
 ceptive as to the doctrinal demands. I need not say 
 this was Mr. Newton. 
 
 Moderate and candid men are the most firm and 
 unyielding with regard to their principles. Mr. New- 
 ton exemplified this. In his letters to persons from 
 v/hom he differed, we find him avowing his own con- 
 victions without the least hesitation or reserve ; and 
 not even sparing reproof when necessary, and without 
 respect of persons. Dining one day with Mr. Henry 
 Thornton, I remember his speaking of Mr. Newton’s 
 curate, Mr. G- nn. . He said, “ I went to hear him, 
 
 * How came the apostle not to Enow this ; why took he the 
 needless trouble of enforcing these duties ? 
 
312 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 and was much dissatisfied with the lowness of his ad- 
 dress, and the manner in which he spiritualized his 
 subject, which was, L I will make you fishers of men 
 in the discussion of which everything with regard to 
 fishing and fish was quaintly and facetiously explained 
 and applied. Deeming it very objectionable, and likely 
 to cause reproach, I wrote my complaint to Mr. New- 
 ton ; in reply to which here is his answer : 1 My dear 
 Sir, — I fear you did not go to hear my good man 
 with a spiritual appetite, or you would have found 
 food, as well as the many who hung on his lips.’ ” &c. 
 Nor did the able and enlightened statesman (Mr. Thorn- 
 ton), though not convinced, take it amiss, but admired 
 his rebuker. 
 
 Mr. Newton’s intimate connection with Cowper is 
 well known. Some have thought the divine was hurt- 
 ful to the poet. How mistaken were they ! He was 
 the very man, of all others,. I should have chosen for 
 him. He was not rigid in his creed. His views of the 
 gospel were most free and encouraging. He had the 
 tenderest disposition ; and always judiciously regarded 
 his friend’s depression and despondency as a physical 
 effect, for the removal of which he prayed, but never 
 reasoned or argued with him concerning it. Hence, 
 also, on the other hand, when his niece, Miss C., was 
 for a season in the public institution for mental dis- 
 orders, in visiting her, he found two individuals there 
 whose cases, he was persuaded, had been mistaken. 
 He considered them merely as subjects of spiritual 
 distress ; and he not only conversed but corresponded 
 with them ; and I remember his reading some of their 
 letters, and remarking that here the preacher, rather 
 than the physician, was wanting; adding, that h* 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 313 
 
 “ thought God sometimes placed persons there to keep 
 them out of this mad world.” 
 
 I can testify to a case in some measure confirmatory 
 of this. I knew a female whose irreligious friends, 
 misunderstanding the nature and cause of her com- 
 plaint, had sent her to this place of confinement. Her 
 distress and despair arose from a deep conviction of 
 her state as a sinner, and an utter ignorance of the 
 way of salvation. One day, therefore, seeing a gen- 
 tleman passing by her ward, whom she had known at 
 her father’s house, she most earnestly pressed him to 
 obtain her release for a few days, during which he 
 could judge concerning her state, when he would find 
 it was not derangement. He did so. The gentleman 
 was Mr. W n, the celebrated oculist. At his de- 
 
 sire I immediately met her. After she had heard me 
 at Surrey Chapel, on the narrative of the Syro-Phoe- 
 nician woman, she retired to pass the remainder of the 
 day in weeping, not tears of sorrow, but of joy ; for 
 now she had found the consolation of Israel, the balm 
 in Gilead, the Physician there. She returned no more 
 to her confinement, but some time after married, and 
 I believe is now living, an excellent wife and mother. 
 There are cases in wbjch, in this respect, it is extremely 
 difficult, yet very important, to distinguish things that 
 differ, both as to ourselves and others. 
 
 Mr. Newton’s attachment to his wife — I was going 
 to say, was extreme. Some have wondered at this, 
 as she seemed to them to have few, if any, attractions. 
 But neither strangers nor friends could have known 
 her like himself ; and we may be assured love and es- 
 teem so deep and durable were not expended on little 
 worth. Besides, God had in many ways remarkably 
 
 14 
 
314 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 employed her, both as his preserver and benefactress. 
 He has told the public what supports and frames the 
 Lord gave him at her decease ; and how he inferred 
 from them that it was the will of God he should not 
 lie by from his official duties, but perform them as at 
 other times, regardless of the opinion or censure of the 
 world. Accordingly, the reminiscent heard him preach, 
 while she lay unburied, from “ He hath done all things 
 well a text which not every divine could safely have 
 taken on such an occasion. He also, the following 
 Sunday, preached her funeral sermon, from Habakkuk, 
 iii. 17, 18 : “ Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, 
 neither shall fruit be in the vine*; the labor of the 
 olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the 
 flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be 
 no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I 
 will joy in the God of my salvation.” This text, he 
 said, he had never taken before, keeping it in reserve 
 for his greatest affliction, should he be exercised with 
 it. And here a curious thing was observed. When 
 he came to speak of Mrs. Newton, (which he did with 
 a voice rather tremulous at first,) he said, it might seem 
 strange for him to speak of the excellences of his wife, 
 but he hoped he might be permitted to mention can- 
 didly a few of her faults or failings. He then spoke 
 of her excessive attachment to himself, — of her judging 
 and estimating others by their regard to himself, &c., 
 which had the effect (though in the simplicity of his 
 character he meant not so) of leading his hearers to 
 think and ask, u If these were her chief faults, what 
 were her excellences?” 
 
 He always seemed to have a present and lively feel- 
 ing of his obligation to Divine grace in saving him 
 
TfEV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 315 
 
 from his former state. He often, therefore, adverted 
 to it in his conversation. Perhaps, with regard to his 
 profligacy , in that state, from the subsequent spirituality 
 of his mind, like Bunyan and some other good men, 
 he spake too strongly. Yet he must have gone great 
 lengths in guilt to justify what I have more than once 
 heard him say, — that he had so sinned away the ad- 
 vantages of a good education, and resisted and stifled 
 all his convictions, that for a time he had no more con- 
 science than a brute ; that, do what he would, he felt 
 no moral reproof; and that, when a disease had brought 
 him apparently near death, he had no terror, and would 
 have died like a lamb. 
 
 Though, at his first awakening, owing to his being 
 then engaged in it, and the force of habit, he was not 
 struck with the evil of the accursed slave-trade — yet, 
 when led to just reflection upon that subject, no one 
 could think worse of its enormity, or bewail himself 
 more for the share he had had in it. To this, also, he 
 often referred ; and one day, as a person told him that 
 the Americans had dubbed him D.D., he said, “ I al- 
 ways resolved I would accept of no diploma, unless it 
 came from the poor blacks.” 
 
 Not long before his death, a minister I well knew 
 visited him, to whom he said, as he shook hands with 
 him, u I suppose you will expect some sentence at part- 
 ing ? W ell, let it be this, — 
 
 “ Beware of Peter’s word, 
 
 Nor confidently say, 
 
 ‘ I never will deny thee, Lord ;* 
 But grant I never may !” 
 
 Alas ! that this kind of dying, oracular admonition 
 
316 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS (JF CHARACTER 
 
 was lost upon this person, for he fell under the power 
 of temptation ! 
 
 I saw Mr. Newton near the closing scene. He was 
 hardly able to talk ; and all I find I had noted down 
 upon my leaving him is this,- — “ My memory is nearly 
 gone ; but I remember two things : That I am a great 
 sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.” And, 
 “Did you not, when I saw you at your house in Bath, 
 desire me to pray for you? Well, then, now you 
 must pray for me.” 
 
 Mr. Southey says, and says truly, that “Mr. Newton 
 was a strong-minded man.” He did not, indeed, al- 
 ways show this in his preaching ; for, owing to his 
 ease of address, and illustration, and enlargement, and 
 on which he could lean, and the numerous claims upon 
 his time from the poor and afflicted, and visitors, and 
 correspondents, he frequently entered the pulpit w r ith 
 little preparation ; and frequently, as Mr. Cecil in his 
 Life remarks and laments, (and which he himself own- 
 ed,) got the substance of his discourse between his 
 house and his church. Some of his published ser- 
 mons are exquisitely natural, and simple, and intelli- 
 gible, and easily remembered ; and would be much bet- 
 ter models for young ministers than such as abound 
 with abstruseness, and elaboration, and pomp, and 
 finery. 
 
 I always admired, not only Mr. Newton’s theology, 
 which moulded doctrine, and experience, and practice 
 so finely into each other, but also his composition. 
 Not a few of my younger brethren were formerly sur- 
 prised at my calling it elegant ; but they now have a 
 much better authority than mine. Cowper has ex- 
 pressed his preference of his style to that of either Gib- 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 317 
 
 bon or Robertson, or Hume. His volume on ecclesi- 
 astical history is above all praise, and makes every 
 reader lament that he was not enabled or encouraged 
 to continue that work to our own times. But he is 
 most known by his admirable 44 Letters.'’ 
 
 I heard him one day observe the sovereignty of 
 God, not only in the choice of his instruments, but 
 even in the mode in which he used them, and which 
 often did not correspond with their own wishes, or the 
 expectations of others. “Hervey,” said he, u who was 
 so blessed as a writer, was hardly able to mention a 
 single instance of conversion by his preaching, and 
 nothing could exceed the lifelessness of his audience ; 
 and I rather reckoned upon doing more good by some 
 of my other works than by my 4 Letters,’ which I 
 wrote without study, or any public design ; but the 
 Lord said, 1 You shall be most useful by them /’ and I 
 learned to say, 4 Thy will be done ! use me as Thou 
 pleasest, only make me useful.’ ” What thousands 
 have derived Repeated profit and pleasure from the 
 perusal of these utterances of the heart! Nor ever 
 will they cease to be found means of grace, whilst 
 God has a church on earth. With regard to myself, I 
 commonly had one of these Letters read to me on 
 every Sabbath evening, after the labors of the day ; 
 and what refreshment and profit have I derived from 
 them ! 
 
 As numbers of his letters are continually issuing in 
 collections, and also appearing separately in periodi- 
 cals, evincing how acceptable, and even called for, 
 they still are, perhaps the reminiscent will be more 
 than excused if he here introduces the two following, 
 as they are very characteristic of the man and his manner. 
 
318 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 The first was addressed to, and given me, by Mrs. 
 Wathen, wife of the celebrated oculist to the king, 
 and dated from Portswood Green, near Southampton, 
 July 26, 1799. It was as follows : — 
 
 “ My dear Madam, — As you "kindly engaged my promise to write, 
 I need make no apologies ; yo\ will receive my letter in good part, 
 and I am sure I shall write it with a hearty goodwill. 
 
 “ But what shall be the subject ? Indeed, properly speaking, I 
 have, or ought to have, but one. This, however, is very comprehen- 
 sive ; I mean Jesus Christ and him crucified. It will at least help 
 to fill up the paper if I give you some account how I have in gen- 
 eral managed it, as minister. 
 
 “ When the Lord, after he had mercifully given me some experi- 
 mental knowledge of the Gospel for myself, was pleased to honor 
 me with a commission to preach to others, I found myself possessed 
 of an infallible medicine for the cure of all diseases, and I was sur- 
 rounded with multitudes whom I saw were sick of a mortal disease, 
 and, as we say, at death’s door. I thought at first to do great things 
 with my Catholicism. But I soon observed the fatal disorder I wish- 
 ed to relieve was attended wdth one very discouraging symptom. 
 Most of the sick people, though I could read death in their counte- 
 nances, thought themselves well ; they insisted on it that nothing 
 ailed them, and were angry with me because’ I. would not believe 
 them. Some of them could scarcely hear with patience what I said 
 of the power and skill of the Physician who gave me the medicine. 
 Others thought they might apply to him when they were really ill, 
 but at present they had no need of him. Oh, how I labored with 
 some, but all in vain, to convince them of their danger. Now and 
 then I did prevail with one, who then thankfully took the medicine, 
 and presently recovered. 
 
 “ And as I and my fellow practitioners were daily praising the 
 virtues and efficacy of our medicine, some of our patients learned 
 to talk after us ; they did not take the medicine, but they praised 
 it. They would allow they had been sick once ; but now, to be 
 sure, they must be well, for they could say as much in favor of the 
 medicine as we could ourselves. I fear many died under this mis- 
 take. They would not make such a mistake in common life. Many 
 go to see the table spread at a Lord Mayor’s feast, but the sight of 
 the delicacies which they must not taste will not satisfy the appe- 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 819 
 
 tite like a plain dinner at home. But, alas ! our patients were not 
 hungry. 
 
 “ Some felt themselves unwell, but would not own it ; they tried 
 to look as cheerful as they could. These depended on medicines of 
 their own contrivance ; and, though they suffered many things, and 
 grew worse and worse daily, they refused to try mine. It was 
 judged by one too simple ; like Naaman, who, for a time, though 
 he would have done some hard thing, disdained such an easy rem- 
 edy as ‘ only wash, and be clean.’ Others refused, unless I could 
 clearly explain to them all the ingredients belonging to my medi- 
 cine, which I had neither ability to do, nor they capacity to com- 
 prehend. They said, likewise, that the regimen which I prescribed 
 was too strict ; for I told them honestly that if they did not abstain 
 from some things of which they were very fond, my medicine would 
 do them no good. I was often grieved, though not so much as I 
 ought, to see so many determined to die, rather than take the only 
 medicine that could preserve their lives. 
 
 “ There were more than a few who deceived both themselves and 
 me, by pretending to take my medicines, and yet did not. None 
 grieved me more than these ; but they could not deceive me long. 
 For, as the medicine was infallible, I knew that whoever took it, 
 and observed the regimen, would soon show signs of convalescence, 
 and that they were getting better, though they were not perfectly 
 well; and, therefore, when these signs were wanting, I was sure 
 the medicine had not been taken. 
 
 “ I have not time to enumerate all the signs that accompany sal- 
 vation, but I shall mention a few. First, a broken and contrite 
 spirit. This is indispensably necessary, for by nature we are full of 
 pride ; and God resisteth the proud, and giveth his grace only to 
 the humble. Secondly, a simple and upright spirit, free from arti- 
 fice and disguise. It is said of the blessed man whose sins are for- 
 given, In his spirit there is no guile. lie is open and undisguised. 
 Thirdly, gentle, gracious tempers. If a man like a lion takes my 
 medicine, he presently becomes a lamb. He is not easily offended. 
 He is very easily reconciled ; he indulges no anger; he harbors no 
 resentment ; he lives upon forgiveness himself, and is therefore 
 ready to forgive, if he has aught against any. Fourthly, benevo- 
 lence, kindness, and an endeavor to please, in opposition to that 
 velfishness which is our natural character. Fifthly, a spiritual mind, 
 vhich is the beginning of life and peace ; a weanedness from the 
 
320 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 world and its poor toys, and a thirst for communion with God through 
 Christ. 
 
 “ I could go on, but let this suffice. These signs are at first weak, 
 for a Christian is a child before he is a man ; but grace grows by ex- 
 ercise, by experience, and by a diligent use of the appointed means. 
 My medicine enlightens the understanding, softens the heart, and 
 gives a realizing of what the Scriptures declare of the glorious per- 
 son, the wonderful love, the bitter sufferings, of the Saviour, and 
 the necessity and efficacy of his death and agonies upon the Cross. 
 When these things are understood by the teachings of the Holy 
 Spirit, (whose influence is always afforded to those that take the 
 medicine,) the cure is already begun ; all the rest will follow, and 
 the patient recovers apace ; though there are sometimes transient 
 relapses, and a spice of the old disorder will hang about them, un- 
 til they are removed to the pure air of a better world. 
 
 “ I hope, my dear nmdam, this medicine is your food, that you 
 live upon it, and feel the salutary effects of it every day. Oh, what 
 love ! that such a Saviour should die for such sinners as we are ; and 
 what a marvellous mercy to me that I should be brought from the 
 horrid wilds of Africa to proclaim his goodness ! That I who was 
 an infidel, a blasphemer, and a profligate, should be spared to stand 
 as a proof that Jesus Christ came into the world to save the chief 
 of sinners! You and I are far advanced in years; we know not 
 what a day may bring forth. Perhaps we may never meet upon 
 earth ; but, oh ! may we meet above, to praise Him who loved us, 
 and washed us from our sins in his own blood ! to partake of that 
 fulness of joy, and to drink of those rivers of pleasure, which are at 
 His right hand for evermore ! 
 
 “ John Newton. 
 
 “Portswood Green, July 26th, 1799.’ 
 
 The second was addressed to a sister of my wife, 
 
 Mrs. H 11, on a domestic bereavement ; the date 
 
 worn off. The following is a copy : — 
 
 “My dear Madam, — Upon returning home last night, I found 
 your favor, dated the 10th. I must begin to write immediately, as 
 I am very busy ; but other business must wait till you are answered. 
 I have thought of you and yours almost continually since Monday 
 evening, when I first heard the affecting news. I have felt for you 
 
REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 321 
 
 and your family, and Mr. H 11. I called on him on Tuesday, 
 
 and dropped my tear with his. I had proposed going on to G 
 
 Street, but he told me you were gone to S . And now, what 
 
 shall I say ? I also have seen affliction ; I have been wounded where 
 my feelings were most sensible ; and I have found, as you now find, 
 that the Lord is all sufficient, and can bear us up under the severest 
 trials. I congratulate you on the comfortable words she spoke be- 
 fore she went home. I longed to hear such language from my dear 
 Mary. I thought it would be a great alleviation to the stroke, 
 but it pleased the Lord to show me he could support me without 
 it. I bless his name I have good reason to hope and believe she 
 is now before the throne, but during the latter part of her illness 
 her mind was overwhelmed with a black cloud of dark and dread- 
 ful temptations. They were mercifully removed before her depart- 
 ure, but not till she was brought too low to be able to speak. 
 She could only wave her hand as a token that the bitterness of 
 death was past. I often think how our Queen’s parents felt when 
 our King sent to demand her in marriage. I suppose when she 
 left them they did not expect to see her again ; in this sense she 
 was dead to them. Yet it was not considered a subject of condo- 
 lence ; neither they nor their court went into mourning for her ; 
 on the contrary, there was much rejoicing ; they thought she was 
 going to be Queen of Great Britain, and the hope of hearing of 
 her welfare and prosperity made amends for the loss of her com- 
 pany, and they gave their full and cheerful consent to her coming 
 hither. But if a woman were raised even from a dunghill to be a 
 queen, it would be a small thing compared with the change Mrs. 
 
 W has experienced. Far superior to all the queens of the 
 
 earth, she is now equal to the angels ; yea, much more, nearly re- 
 lated to Him whom all the angels worship. We cannot hear di- 
 rectly from her, but we may hear of her as often as we please ; the 
 good Word of God tells us where she is, and how she is; we know 
 not the local spot, but she is with her Saviour ; the Lamb that was 
 slain has brought her home to himself, to see his glory ; she has 
 done with sin, sorrow, and pain forever ; she feeds upon the fruit 
 of the tree of life, and drinks at the fountain head of happiness ; 
 the glory of the Lord which she continually beholds has transformed 
 her fully into the same image ; she sees Him as He is, and by that 
 sight she is become like Him, to the utmost measure of creature ca- 
 pacity. 1 8, then, her removal to be bewailed as a calamity ? I 
 know that as a mother you must feel ; may all your painful feelings 
 
 14 * 
 
822 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 be sanctified ! but I rather call upon to rejoice ; your daughter is 
 daughter to the great King ; she is now clothed with light and 
 glory ; it is but a short separation ; you will follow her soon, and I 
 trust that all your daughters will in due time follow you. May I 
 
 meet you all there ! Miss C unites with me in cordial [love] to 
 
 you, to them, and to Mrs. P , if with you. 
 
 I am, 
 
 “ Your very affectionate, and much obliged, 
 
 “ John Newton.” 
 
 Besides two or three volumes of his letters which he 
 published himself, or left selected and arranged for 
 publication after his death, there are before the public 
 his letters to Cowper the poet, to Mr. Wilberforce, 
 and Mrs. More (inserted in their lives) ; his letters to 
 the Rev. Samuel Palmer ; his letters to the Rev. John 
 Campbell ; his letters to the Rev. Mr. Coffin ; and his 
 letters to Mr. Jones, a deacon of an Independent 
 church ; and a volume of letters called 11 The Aged 
 Pilgrim and his letters (to the Rev. William Bull). 
 To all these we may add those that have appeared 
 singly in the Christian Observer , the Guardian , the 
 Evangelical Magazine , the Congregational Magazine , &c. ; 
 and yet the letters in print are nothing to the number 
 he wrote ! 
 
 One star differs from another star in glory. True : 
 religion exists in various degrees. Nehemiah not only 
 feared God, but feared God above many ; and the good 
 ground yielded thirty, sixty, and an hundredfold. I 
 deem Mr. Newton the most perfect instance of the 
 spirit and temper of Christianity I ever knew — shall I 
 say with the exception ? — no. but with the addition of 
 Cornelius Winter ? 
 
REV. JOHN RYLAND, Senior, M. A. 
 
 Mr. Eyland resided at Northampton as the pastor 
 of the Baptist church, where also, for many years, he 
 kept a large and flourishing school. He had, when I 
 became acquainted with him, no pastorate, but preached 
 occasionally for any of his brethren. His residence 
 was then at Enfield, where he had a seminary ; but he 
 passed his vacations at the house of one of his sons 
 who carried on trade in Blackfriars Road. There he 
 was all the time of my first and second engagements 
 at Surrey Chapel ; and, as the chapel was near, he fre- 
 quently heard me, and I gained his approbation and 
 attachment. 
 
 He was a peculiar character, and had many things 
 about him outre and bizarre , as the French would call 
 them ; but those who have heard him represented as 
 made up only of these are grossly imposed upon. We 
 are far from justifying all his bold sayings and occa- 
 sional sallies of temperament ; but as those w r ho knew 
 him can testify, he was commonly grave, and habitually 
 sustained a dignified deportment ; and he i had excel- 
 lences which more than balanced his defects. His ap- 
 prehension, imagination, and memory, to use an ex- 
 pression of his own, rendered his brains like fish-hooks, 
 which seized and retained everything within their 
 
824 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 reach. His preaching was probably unique, occasion- 
 ally overstepping the proprieties of the pulpit, but 
 grappling much with conscience, and dealing out the 
 most tremendous blows at error, sin, and the mere 
 forms of godliness. 
 
 Mr. Hall has said in print, “He was a most extra- 
 ordinary man, and rarely, if ever, has full justice been 
 done to his character.” And Mr. Hervey, rector of 
 Weston Farell, often entertained him at his parsonage, 
 and kept up a frequent correspondence with him, as 
 may be seen in seventy' of his letters inserted in his 
 life by Mr. Ryland. These letters show, not only the 
 value he attached to Mr. Ryland’s friendship, but the 
 confidence he placed even in his judgment, consulting 
 him with regard to his own several publications, as 
 well as desiring his opinion of the works of others. 
 
 The first time I ever met Mr. Ryland was at the 
 house of a wholesale linendraper in Cheapside. The 
 
 owner, Mr. B h, told him one day, as he called 
 
 upon him, that I was in the parlor, and desired him to 
 go in, and he would soon follow. At this moment I 
 did not personally know him. He was singular in his 
 appearance ; his shoes were square-toed ; his wig was 
 five-storied behind; the sleeves of his coat were pro- 
 fusely large and open ; and the flaps of his waistcoat 
 encroaching upon his knees. I was struck and awed 
 with his figure ; but what could I think when, walk- 
 ing towards me, he laid hold of me by the collar, and, 
 shaking his fist in my face, he roared out, “Young 
 man, if you let the people of Surrey Chapel make you 
 proud, I ’ll smite you to the ground !” But then, in- 
 stantly dropping his voice, and taking me by the 
 hand, he made me sit down by his side, and said, 
 
REV. JOHN HYLAND, SENIOR, M.A. 
 
 325 
 
 “Sir, nothing can equal the folly of some hearers; they 
 are like apes that hug then young ones to death.” He 
 then mentioned two promising young ministers who 
 had come to town, had been injured and spoiled by 
 popular caressings ; adding other seasonable and useful 
 remarks. 
 
 From this strange commencement a peculiar in- 
 timacy ensued. We were seldom a day apart during 
 my eight weeks’ continuance in town, and the inter- 
 course was renewed the following year, when we were 
 both in town again at the same time. As the chapel 
 w r as very new, and spacious, he obtained leave from 
 the managers to deliver in it a course of philosophical 
 lectures, Mr. Adams, the celebrated optician, aiding 
 him in the experimental parts. The lectures were on 
 Friday mornings, at the end of which there was al- 
 ways a short sermon at the reading-desk ; and the lec- 
 turer would say to his attendants, “You have been 
 seeing the works of the God of Nature ; now go yon- 
 der, and hear a Jay talk of the works of the God of 
 Grace.” 
 
 As I was then single, and had the chapel-house to 
 myself, he soon found its roominess and quiet more 
 agreeable than the noise of grandchildren ; and, as he 
 did not dissent much from Mr. Berridge’s notion, that 
 prudence is a rascally virtue, he quartered himself too 
 much upon me, often bringing over his friends with 
 him ; regardless of the fact that I was not the owner 
 but only the occupier of the dwelling. As I was near, 
 and rose early (as he also did), he soon turned me also 
 to some account. He was often publishing, and was 
 fonder of dictating than of writing. I was therefore 
 gradually and increasingly drawn in to be his aman- 
 
826 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 uensis ; and at different times I wrote from bis lips bis 
 “ Qualifications of an able Expositor” for Scott’s Bible ; 
 44 The Corner Stone of tbe British Constitution 44 Ad- 
 dress to tbe Youth of England and France;” and a 
 large proportion of the 1 Life of James Hervey.” His 
 publications were very numerous ; too numerous for 
 the contents to be distinct and finished ; yet all abound- 
 ed with strong and striking passages. 
 
 As he was eccentric, and eccentricity often appears 
 like a degree of derangement, and with some always 
 passes for it, this perhaps considerably affected the 
 circulation and influence of his various works. I was 
 struck with him as an original, and only viewed him 
 as eccentric. His conversation, and illustrations, and 
 expressions, were frequently very uncommon and im- 
 pressive. His mind was never quiescent. He always 
 seemed laboring to throw off something fresh and forc- 
 ible, not only in his public discourses, but in his or- 
 dinary conversation. He sometimes failed, and you 
 had (yet rarely) only extravagance ; but he sometimes 
 succeeded, and persons of some mind must have been 
 surprised at his fine touches and strokes of genius. As 
 to myself, I derived no little advantage from him. He 
 was full of information, and ready to communicate. 
 He seized mj^ mind, and was always leading me to 
 think. By his commendations he cheered and encour- 
 aged me, and several of his counsels and admonitions 
 guided my youth, and have not been forgotten through 
 life. One of them he often repeated : it was against 
 sitting up late for study. He dwelt on the baneful 
 consequences of this practice, and ran over several in- 
 stances in which good and useful men had been suf- 
 ferers by it, losing their health, and shortening their 
 
REV. JOHN HYLAND, SENIOR, A.M. 
 
 327 
 
 days ; and when I took my leave of him at our first 
 parting, he exclaimed, with a stentorian voice, “ If 
 ever you are in your study after nine o’clock, I wish 
 ( expressing a terrific object ) may appear, and drive you 
 to bed !” I do not think I have ever transgressed this 
 rule ; and, if I had, I should not certainly have ex- 
 pected such a sight ; yet I have never been there at 
 the approach of the ninth hour without remembering 
 the tender wish ; and to preserve it from oblivion was 
 his design in clothing it with such terror. 
 
 He never seemed so much in his element as when 
 he had those around him who were not only willing to 
 receive, but eager to draw forth from his ample stores. 
 The young could never leave his company unaffected 
 and uninstructed. I once passed a day at his house. 
 It was the fifth of November. He took advantage of 
 the season with his pupils. There was an effigy of Guy 
 Fawkes. A court of justice was established for his 
 trial. The indictment was read; witnesses were ex- 
 amined ; counsel was heard. But he was clearly and 
 fully convicted; when Mr. R. himself being the judge, 
 summed up the case ; and, putting on his black cap, 
 pronounced the awful sentence — that he should be car- 
 ried forth and burned at the stake ; which sentence 
 was executed amidst shouts of joy from his pupils. 
 Of this, I confess, my feelings did not entirely ap- 
 prove. 
 
 Speaking of him one day to Mr. Hall, be related the 
 following occurrence: — u When I was quite a lad, my 
 father took me to Mr. Ryland’s school at Northamp- 
 ton. That afternoon I drank tea along with him in 
 the parlor. Mr. Ryland was violently against the 
 American war ; and, the subject happening to be men- 
 
328 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 tioned, he rose, and said, with a fierce countenance 
 and voice,— 'If I was General Washington, I would 
 summon all my officers around me, and make them 
 bleed from their arms into a basin, and dip their 
 swords into its contents, and swear they would not 
 sheath them till America had gained her independence.’ 
 I was perfect!} terrified. ‘What a master,’ — thought 
 I, ‘am I to be left under him? ’ and when I w r ent to 
 bed, I could not for some time go to sleep.” 
 
 Once a young minister was spending the evening 
 with him, and when the family were called together 
 
 for worship, he said, “ Mr. , you must pray .’ 7 
 
 “Sir, 5 ’ said he, “I cannot.” He urged him again, but 
 in vain. “ Then, Sir,” said he, “ I declare, if you will 
 not, I II call in the watchman.” At this time a watch- 
 man on his round was going by, whom he knew to be 
 a very pious man ; (I knew him too ;) he opened the 
 door, and said, “ Duke, Duke, come in : you are wanted 
 here. Here,” said he, “is a young pastor that can’t 
 pray ; so you must pray for him.” 
 
 At this time, the first opposition was made to the 
 Slave Trade, and he threw all his impassioned energies 
 into the condemnation of the accursed traffic. One 
 morning I was reading to him some of the reported 
 miseries and cruelties of the middle passage ; among 
 others, of a captain who had a fine female slave in his 
 cabin, but, when her infant cried, he snatched him up, 
 and flung him out into the sea ; still requiring the 
 wretched creature to remain, as the gratifier of his vile 
 passions. At the recital of this Mr. Ryland seemed 
 frantic, and to lose his usual self-control. He felt this, 
 and paced up and down the room, “ Oh, God, pre- 
 serve me! Oh, God, preserve me!” and then unable to 
 
REV. JOHN HYLAND, SENIOR, M.A. 
 
 329 
 
 contain any longer, burst forth into a dreadful impre- 
 cation, which I dare not repeat. It shocked me, and I 
 am far from justifying it ; and yet, had the reader been 
 present to witness the excitement and the struggle, he 
 would hardly have been severe in condeming him. Is 
 there not a feeling of justice, as well as of mercy ? And 
 what is mercy, compared with justice ? The one is con- 
 fined to our economy of imperfection and evil; the 
 other pervades all worlds, and reigns for ever. Justice 
 and judgment are the habitation of His throne ; who 
 is holy in all his ways, and righteous in all his works. 
 
 One afternoon we went together to drink tea with 
 
 Mrs. > and she prevailed upon us to spend the 
 
 evening. His supper was always spinach, and an egg 
 on a slice of toasted bread, and a glass of pure water. 
 At the domestic worship he said, “ You, Eusebius , 77 
 (so he commonly called me, I know not wherefore,) 
 u you shall pray, and I will for a few minutes ex- 
 pound . 77 (He was never tedious.) He took the story 
 of the woman of Canaan. After commenting on her 
 affliction, and application for relief, he came to her 
 trial and her success ; — reading the words — “ And he 
 answered her not a word he said, u Is this the bene- 
 factor of whom I have heard so much before I came ? 
 He seems to have the dead palsy in his tongue. 77 — 
 u And the disciples came and besought him, saying , Send her 
 away, for she crieth after us.” — u And why should we 
 be troubled with a stranger? We know not whence 
 she is, and she seems determined to hang on till she is 
 heard . 77 — “ But he said , I am not sent but to the lost sheep 
 of the house of Israel and you know you are not one 
 of them ; and what right have you to clamor thus ? 77 
 — “ Then came she , 'ailing at his feet , and cried , Lord 
 
380 PRACTICAl ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 help me ! But he said , It is not meet to take the children s 
 bread , and to cast it to dogs ; And she said , True , Lord ) 
 yet the dogs can eat of the crums that fall from their mas- 
 ter's table! — “ What I want is no more to thee than a 
 cram, compared with the immense provisions of Thy 
 board ; and I come only for a crum, and a crum I 
 must have ; and, if Thou refuse me a seat at Thy table 
 with Thy family, wilt Thou refuse me a crawl and a 
 crum underneath ? The family will lose nothing by 
 my gaining all I want.” .... Omnipotence cSm 
 withstand this attack no longer ; but He yields the 
 victory, — not to her humility, and importunity, and 
 perseverance, — but to her faith, that produced and em- 
 ployed all these, for “ all things are possible to him 
 that believeth.” — “ 0, woman , great is thy faith ; be it 
 unto thee even as thou wilt! “Lord, what was that you 
 said?” “Why, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” 
 “Why, then, I will have my dear child instantly heal- 
 ed.” “ Be - it unto thee even as thou wilt.” “ Why, 
 then, I will have my poor soul saved.” “ Be it unto 
 thee even as thou wilt.” “ Why, then, I will have all 
 my sins pardoned and destroyed.” “ Be it unto thee 
 even as thou wilt.” “ Why, then, I’ll have all my wants 
 supplied from thy riches in glory.” “ Be it unto thee 
 even as thou wilt. Here, take the key, and go, and 
 be not afraid to rifle all my treasures.” 
 
 “ Now, Mrs. , this woman was a dog, a sad dog, 
 
 a sinful dog, and if she had had her desert she would 
 have been driven out of doors ; and yet there is not a 
 woman in this house comparable to her. Let us pray.” 
 N. B. — I relate as characteristic what I did not 
 wholly admire as proper. I repeat the same with re- 
 gard to another instance : 
 
REV. JOHN RYLAND, SENIOR, M.A. 
 
 331 
 
 He cook my place on Tuesday evening at Surrey 
 Chapel, and preached a most striking sermon from 
 Daniel’s words to Belshazzar — “But the God in whose 
 hands thy breath is, and whose are all thy waj^s, hast 
 thou not glorified.” After an introduction, giving 
 some account of Belshazzar, he impatiently and abrupt- 
 ly broke off by saying, — “ But you cannot suppose 
 that I am going to preach a whole sermon on such a 
 
 rascal as this,” — and then stated, that he should 
 
 bring home the charge in the text against every indi- 
 vidual in the place, in four grand instances. 
 
 Mr. Byland was exceedingly full of striking, and 
 useful, and entertaining anecdotes, and (which is 
 everything in anecdotes) he told them with admirable 
 clearness, and brevity, and ease. I heard him repeat 
 more than once many of those which Dr. Newman has 
 published in his account of him ; some of which, for 
 want of his stating the circumstances which introduced 
 or followed them, appear less credible than they other- 
 wise would do. For instance, when, during the exe- 
 crable badness of the singing after sermon, he said, “ I 
 wonder the angels of God do not wrench off your 
 necks,” he had been preaching on the presence of the 
 angels in our assemblies. The thing itself was very 
 exceptionable, but this circumstance rendered it less 
 unnatural and improbable. 
 
 Though he was rather high in his doctrinal senti- 
 ments, and not entirely friendly to some of Fuller’s 
 views, he was not soured and malignant towards 
 others. 
 
 He was intimate with Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Row- 
 land Hill, and much attached to many other preachers 
 less systematically orthodox than himself ; and labor- 
 
332 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ed, as opportunity offered, with them. He was, in- 
 deed, a lover of all good men ; and, while many talk- 
 ed of candor, he exercised it. Though he was a firm 
 Baptist, he was no friend to bigotry or exclusiveness. 
 He warmly advocated the cause of mixed communions, 
 and republished Bunyan’s reasons for the practice, 
 with the addition of some of his own. And this brings 
 to my mind the following occurrence : I was one day 
 to dine with him at a friend’s house ; the company 
 was large ; and, while waiting for the dinner, a minis- 
 ter asked him his opinion concerning strict commu- 
 nion, and excluding pious men from the Lord’s table. 
 He replied thus, — 44 You decide the thing by calling it 
 the Lord's table. Suppose, sir, when I entered this 
 room, I had taken upon me to saj^, — 4 Mr. Such-an- 
 one,’ (naming him,) 4 you shall not sit down at this 
 table ; and Mrs. Such-an-one,’ (naming her,) 4 you shall 
 
 not sit down at this table ;’ — what would Mr. D , 
 
 the master of the house, say ? 4 Why, John Byland, 
 
 you have forgotten yourself. You are not the owner 
 of this table, but the master is. The table is mine, and 
 I have a right to invite them, and I have invited them ; 
 and is it for you to forbid them ? So in the church. 
 The table is the Lord's ; and all who are called by his 
 grace are his guests, and he has bidden them.” 
 
 I cannot but think some of his own brethren, and 
 of his own denomination, bore too hard upon him for 
 some difficulty in his pecuniary circumstances. They 
 did not indeed charge him with dishonesty and injus- 
 tice, but they seemed to forget that a brother may be 
 overtaken in a fault, and that the fault in this case w r as 
 in reality the effect of an excellence or virtue. In his 
 ardor for learning and science, he was too free in the 
 
REV. JOHN RYLAND, SENIOR, M.A. 
 
 333 
 
 purchase of books, for his own use and also to give 
 poor ministers who had few intellectual helps ; and 
 also, in the exercise of beneficence to the poor and 
 need}^ he was drawn beyond his means. I was told 
 by a person who attended the examination of his af- 
 fairs, that, when something rather reflecting on his in- 
 tegrity had escaped from one of the party, he instant- 
 ly rose up, and turned his face to the wall, and, look- 
 ing up to heaven, said, “Lord, thou knowest I am not 
 ■wicked ! Oh, give me grace to preserve my temper 
 and tongue, while I endeavor to answer and rectify 
 the mistake of my brother.” This instantly softened 
 and melted the party, and he soon gave them full sat- 
 isfaction. If God had not called Lot “just Lot,” we 
 should probably never have registered him in our cal- 
 endar of saints. Dr. Rippon, one of his permanently 
 attached friends and advisers, preached his funeral ser- 
 mon ; and, as they were letting down the deceased into 
 the grave, he pointed to the coffin, and said with ad- 
 mirable impression, — 
 
 “Defects through Nature’s best productions run, — 
 
 Our friend had spots, — and spots are in the sun !” 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Bell, of Cheshunt, who attended him, 
 informed me of the blessed state of his mind in his 
 dying hours ; reporting, among other things which he 
 addressed to himself , — u Oh, Bell, I charge you, I 
 charge you to love and preach Christ ! Oh, how 
 good has he always been to me, and how good is he 
 now ! My body is as full of ease, and my soul is as 
 full of joy, as it can hold ! ” 
 
 Dr. Newman, the late tutor of the Baptist Academy 
 at Mile-End, and who has published affectionate Me- 
 
384 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 moirs of liim, was originally a youth whom Mr. Ry- 
 land took up, and entirely educated gratis. 
 
 I need not say the late Dr. Ryland was his son, who 
 had the ability, and learning, and excellence of his fa- 
 ther, (without any of his errata,) whose praise is in all 
 the churches, and whose character, and consistenc3 r , 
 and integrity, were proverbial ; so that Mr. Hall, who 
 preached his funeral sermon, once said, “ I would as 
 soon have Dr. Ryland’s word as Gabriel’s oath.” John 
 Ryland, the father, was a devourer of books, and an 
 excessive praiser of some of them. Thus I remember 
 his saying, — “ If the dipping of my pen in my very 
 blood would recommend ‘Witsius’ Economy of the 
 Covenants,’ I would not forbear doing it for a mo- 
 ment.” Of Henry’s Exposition he said, — “It is im- 
 possible for a person of piety and taste to read this 
 book without wishing to be shut out from the whole 
 world, and to read it through without one moment’s 
 interruption.” Owen, also, vras an extreme favorite 
 with him, and whose Latin work on “ Divine Justice” 
 he translated. He gloried in Bunyan ; and I recollect 
 his speaking with warmth against Mr. Booth, who, in 
 his defence of strict communion, had said, — “ Let him 
 (Bunyan) dream, but not lay down rules for gospel- 
 worship.” 
 
 He had a great number of manuscripts, some of 
 which I saw from time to time. He used to say, 
 “These I shall bequeath to twelve ministers, each hav- 
 ing a key to the box containing them ; and, if you are 
 a good boy, you shall be one of them.” What became 
 of them? 
 
 Though so many years have elapsed since, I feel it 
 pleasant and useful to recall the opportunities I had 
 
REV. JOINS' RYLAND, SENIOR, A.M. 335 
 
 of being in company with him, and of leading him 
 about from place to place, when leaning on my arm ; 
 and I retain many impressions he made upon me when 
 I was most susceptible of impressions. 
 
 If sometimes he seemed severe, it was really more 
 in the force of his expression than the feeling of his 
 heart. No one was more capable of tenderness ; and 
 I remember his saying, “ My mother died when I was 
 five years of age, and I have ten thousand times wish- 
 ed that she was alive, that I might wait upon her.” 
 
 I wish I had written down more of his sayings and 
 remarks. These are a few of* them : — u My dunghill 
 heart .” — u The promises are the saints’ legacies.” — 
 “ When a Christian is matured for heaven, he leaves 
 the present world as the acorn leaves its cup.” — 
 “ Work for the world is done best when work for God 
 is done first ” — “ It is perilous to read any impure 
 book ; you will never get it out of your faculties till 
 you are dead. M}~ imagination was tainted young, 
 and I shall never get rid of it till I get into heaven.” 
 He used facetiously to mention that, when he resid- 
 ed in Warwick, he lived in the Parsonage House, 
 which he rented of the Rector, Dr. Tate ; who, when 
 he was reflected upon by some high ecclesiastic for 
 letting it to a Dissenter, replied, — “ What would you 
 have me do ? I have brought the man as near the 
 Church as I can, but I cannot force him into it,” 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 It was very soon after my settlement in Bath, that I 
 had the honor and advantage of commencing an ac- 
 quaintance with this inestimable man, and which led 
 to an intimacy which continued for his life. 
 
 He was then lodging in Queen’s Square Terrace, his 
 relation, Mr. Henry Thornton, Member for the Bor- 
 ough, being with him. It was by a note of invitation 
 I called upon him. As I had not been before in the 
 company of any distinguished personage, I felt ex- 
 ceedingly backward as I approached the door, and held 
 the knocker some seconds in my hand before I could 
 use it. But, unlike his excellent kinsman, whose man- 
 ner was as cold as his disposition was generous, and 
 with whom, instead of advancing you had always to 
 begin your friendship, and never could be free ; he 
 instantly loosened me from my fears and embarrass- 
 ment, and, without lowering my respect, inspired me 
 with confidence and attachment. 
 
 Was there ever a being who possessed such a power 
 of endearing himself, making all hearts his own, as 
 soon as they approached him ; and not only preserv- 
 ing but increasing affection, by every additional op- 
 portunity of intercourse? Perhaps, if one sentence 
 could more fully express him than another, it would 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 337 
 
 be an incomparable readiness to give pleasure ) and to be 
 pleased. 
 
 I had several other interviews with him during that 
 visit to Bath. They were all delightful and useful. 
 One Sabbath morning, after hearing me on a subject 
 which had reference to the doctrine of the Trinity, he 
 mildly asked me whether something I had advanced 
 did not carry the distinctions in the Divine Nature too 
 far, and whether it might not be made to countenance 
 Tritheism ? He was correct ; I saw my mistake ; and 
 was thankful for such an early proof of his attention 
 and kindness. 
 
 He asked me if I had Quintilian, and finding I had 
 never seen him, he promised, on his return, to send it 
 to me ; but for what reason I know not, instead of 
 this, he sent me the works of Dr. Witherspoon. To 
 the Treatise of this Author on u Regeneration,” he was 
 much attached ; and some years after he wrote an Essay 
 to prefix to it, in a series of publications issued by 
 Chalmers and Collins of Glasgow. Concerning this 
 admirable Essay, I remember his complaining that he 
 wrote it only to prefix to Witherspoon’s “ Treatise on 
 ^Regeneration but the Publishers connected with it 
 his work on Justification , “with which,” said he, “I 
 was less acquainted, and might not have so highly and 
 entirely approved. This was not fair.” 
 
 His preferences in religion were not censorious or 
 exclusive. He had a real and large liberality towards 
 those who differed from him in some of the more ex- 
 ternal and subordinate parts of Christianity ; or rather 
 its administrations; and, therefore, he made no scruple 
 to attend occasionally in places which at that time ig- 
 norance and not Imo, called conventicles; and in two 
 
 15 
 
338 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 instances, at least, he partook of the Lord’s Supper ic 
 Nonconformist Churches. Are all those dead who 
 have heard him more than once say : — “ Though I am 
 an Episcopalian by education and conviction, I yet 
 feel such a oneness and sympathy with the cause of 
 God at large, that nothing would be more delightful 
 than my communing once every year with every Church 
 that holds the Head, even Christ” ? And did this ren- 
 der him a worse Churchman ? What must we have 
 thought of such a Church if it had ? 
 
 While I was preaching in London, and he was visit- 
 ing in Bath, I received from him the following letter : — 
 
 Near Bath, Sept. 22d, 1803. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I commence my letter with unaffected doubts 
 whether I should apologize for delaying it so long or for even 
 now writing it. I have for a fortnight past been on the point of 
 taking up my pen, and knowing, on the one hand, that I am ad- 
 dressing a man of whose candor and liberality of spirit I would 
 rather speak to any other than to himself ; and, on the other, my 
 conscience bearing me witness, that I am actuated by motives of 
 pure benevolence, and love without dissimulation ; I will proceed 
 to fulfil the most valuable duty of friendship. Yet, when 1 go on 
 to state that it is to observe on your mode of preaching that I have 
 resolved to address you, I am aware that I may, not without rea- 
 son, appear guilty of somewhat of the same presumption as the 
 philosopher who undertook to lecture Hannibal on the Art of War; 
 for you must, it can be no compliment to say it, have studied 
 vastly more than myself the way of addressing your hearers, and 
 have balanced opposite considerations, <fcc., <fcc. Yet it may be of 
 use to a minister that a friend should tell him what the hearers say, 
 not to control but to inform his judgment, that, having all before 
 him, he may at length decide for himself. 
 
 I have then (to come to the point) been told from various quar- 
 ters, that your general strain of preaching has been of late, not 
 sufficiently Evangelical ; and though the few opportunities I have 
 myself had of hearing you (opportunities which I always prize as 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFOIlCE, ESQ. 
 
 339 
 
 the greatest of my Bath pleasures), scarcely qualify me to judge 
 for myself on this question ; yet I should not be honest, were I 
 not to confess, that they have rather confirmed the report which 
 had reached me from others. It has been ascribed to your having 
 witnessed the sad consequences of an unwarranted application of 
 the promises and blessings of the Gospel, and I have myself also 
 ascribed it to a cause connected with the former ; I mean, to your 
 observing that the bulk of professors were shamefully uninstructed 
 in the Christian system, and ignorant of the very Scriptures in which 
 they say they have eternal life. 
 
 I hope I need not assure you, that no man is more vehement 
 against that way of preaching which indolence, I fear, more than 
 any other consideration, has rendered so general, of following so 
 little the example of the sacred writers, as to be always insisting on 
 one single topic. I cannot want you to leave your fatness (sic) with 
 which your talents and knowledge enable you to honor God and 
 serve man. I cannot wish you to give up the various melodies 
 with which a bountiful Creator hath endowed you for the unvaried 
 strain of one cuckoo note ; but there is a mode (and no man knows 
 it better) of preaching evangelical truth practically, and applying 
 evangelically the rich and full variety of the doctrines and precepts 
 of the Word of God. I am aware, too, that there may be no danger 
 of your being misunderstood by your own stated congregation. But 
 indeed, my dear sir, you are “ a debtor to the Greeks and barba- 
 rians.” Consider the situation in which you stand. Not another 
 minister in Bath, -whom any of the poor wretched upper classes are 
 likely to hear, who preaches the Gospel. They come, perhaps, to 
 your chapel ; they never heard the word of life before ; they never 
 may have another opportunity. Pity them, my dear sir, as I know 
 you do. They, above all others, deserve to be pitied. I have, alas! 
 been more conversant with them than you, and am, therefore, the 
 more impressed with a sense of their wretched ignorance in spirit- 
 ual things. 
 
 And now, my dear sir, I have only to express my hopes, that you 
 will do justice to the motives of esteem and regard which have 
 dictated this letter ; and it may be as well to add, that no human 
 being, not even Mrs. W. herself, knows of its being written. It 
 appears to me that all friendly offices of this kind are likely to be 
 more pure from all improper mixture, when they are known by the 
 two individuals alone, from whom and to whom the representation 
 is made. And, besides this motive for secrecy, I must add, that it 
 
340 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION'S OF CHARACTER. 
 
 requires a very different degree of evidence and conviction to war- 
 rant the private communication of a hint to a friend, and the men- 
 tion of it, if it is to become ever sc fittle more public: for, if any- 
 thing be at all undivulged, who shall say, “ thus far, and no farther.’* 
 
 I cannot pass this occasion of expressing the sincere pleasure, 
 and I hope I may say, improvement, with which I have read your 
 first and a great part of your second volume of Sermons ; the pub- 
 lication of which may, I trust, be beneficial in various ways, and I 
 must advise your sending forth an addition to their number. 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, yours very sincerely, 
 
 W. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 “ Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kind- 
 ness ; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent 
 oil which shall not break my head ; and even my 
 prayer also shall be for him in his calamity.” This 
 letter was most gratefully received. Nothing also 
 could have been more seasonable. It was really 
 needed. There was ground, at least in a considerable 
 degree, for the pious apprehension. From the motives 
 mentioned by him, I had insensibly been led too far, 
 and enlarged too much on what some have called “ the 
 guarding side” — perhaps also with regard to some, from 
 a little vain wish to avoid the offence of the Cross. 
 As I found this friendly admonition useful to myself, 
 I hope it will be serviceable, especially to some of my 
 younger brethren, who may be in danger from a simi- 
 lar mistake. The truth is, we are not to preach the 
 less the doctrines which some pervert or abuse, but to 
 preach them the more, only in a better manner, hold- 
 ing them forth, not only in all their richness, but also 
 in all their connections, proportions, influences, and 
 effects. I trust I was enabled to act upon the counsel 
 so timely and delicately given ; and many of my 
 friends noticed, forthwith, the advantage in my gen- 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 341 
 
 eral strain of preaching. But little were they aware 
 of the cause to which, under God, it was owing. 
 
 And what a view does it give us of the mind of this 
 pre-eminent man, that, amidst all his public engage- 
 ments, he could turn his attention to an humble in- 
 dividual, who had no secular distinction, and who was 
 laboring in a different religious community from his 
 own. But he considered the importance of his situation , 
 and his opportunities of doing some good there, and 
 especially, that good which was spiritual and eternal, 
 and which was the first and last wish of his heart, by 
 whomsoever it might be accomplished. 
 
 I have said, in another place, and I repeat it, that 
 some are too Orthodox to be Evangelical. Because 
 Mr. Wilberforce held not the exclusive part of Calvin- 
 ism, suspicions have prevailed, that he was not quite 
 sound in doctrine. But let any who question even the 
 degree of his evangelism, read not only his own in- 
 valuable book, but even this letter, and see what kind 
 of preaching that was, for which he was so zealous, 
 and to which he was persuaded God only gave testi- 
 mony, as to the word of his grace. 
 
 And may I not ask, and does not even a regard to 
 Truth itself allow me to ask, whether this Letter does 
 not breathe a regard which his “ Memoirs” seemed 
 designed to deny or to diminish. 
 
 I need not quote the — only — kind of references to the 
 Reminiscent which appear in that work ; but I leave 
 the reader to inquire for what purpose such insignifi- 
 cant notices were inserted. And let a thousand in- 
 stances of kindness, and the following correspondence, 
 assist them to answer. 
 
 I prefix a note from Mrs. Wilberforce, 
 
342 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Bath — Sunday night. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Permit me to offer a trifle towards the good work 
 which I heard of to-day, — the enlarging your Chapel. May the un- 
 dertaking lead to as much good as your heart can desire, 
 
 With every good wish to yourself, Mrs. Jay, and family, 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, your obliged and faithful. 
 
 B. A. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 No. 7, South Parade, Thursday Evening, 14th Oct. 1830. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Though I trust you know the cordial esteem and 
 regard which I feel, and have long felt for you, too well, not to be 
 sure that I must sympathize with you in your present season of af- 
 fliction; (and let me say the same, and with no less truth, for my 
 dear Mrs. Wilberforce also ;) yet I must intrude on you for a few 
 moments, to assure you of the sincerity of my condolence. May 
 it please God to support and comfort you under this trying dispen- 
 sation.* 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, ever sincerely and affectionately yours, 
 
 W. Wilberforce. 
 
 P. S. I beg you will not trouble yourself to return me any an- 
 swer. 
 
 No. 5, Queen’s Square, Friday. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I am just now requested to introduce to you some 
 young people who are truly worthy of the privilege of your ac- 
 quaintance, and, I hope, friendship. 
 
 The ladies are the daughters of a widow recently become such, 
 Mrs. Wolf. The gentleman, an officer in the navy, a son of Dr. 
 Hall, Dean of Durham, and late head of Christ Church, Oxford. It 
 has pleased God to touch his heart to true piety, which is more at- 
 tractive by the singular^ pleasing form in which it is presented. 
 He is about to be united with Miss Amelia Wolf, and she also, I 
 am assured, is truly religious. 
 
 I could not refuse their desire, that I would recommend them to 
 your friendly attention, though I tell them how little time you can 
 spare even to your oldest friends. 
 
 I am ever, my dear Sir, yours sincerely, 
 
 W. AVilberforce. 
 
 N. B. I ought to mention that Mr. Hall’s wish to know you arose 
 first from a sermon he heard you preach last night. 
 
 * It was the death of a lovely and pious daughter. 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 343 
 
 No. 5, Queen’s Square, 26th May, 1826. 
 
 My dear Sir, — It would have given both Mrs. Wilberforce and 
 myself pleasure to call again on Mrs. Jay and you, before our de- 
 parture to-morrow ; but I fear we cannot ; and therefore, I trouble 
 you by the pen with a question or two, which I should otherwise 
 put orally. 
 
 It occurs to me that you can probably inform me who and what 
 Mr. Campbell is. He writes to me occasionally from Edinburgh 
 upon religious subjects, and I have now occasion to answer a recent 
 letter of his, concerning the Apocryphal dispute. I know not 
 whether to call him Rev. or Esq. ; and he may think it strange that 
 I do not know his proper description ; I probably did know it, but I 
 have forgot it. 
 
 We may probably be able to go to Mr. Hall’s chapel on Sunday. 
 Can you inform me where it is situated, and at what hour service 
 begins? 
 
 I take the pen in my own hand to add, that I cannot but sincerely 
 regret my not having had the profit and pleasure of hearing you, 
 and joining with you in worship, during this visit to Bath. Both 
 you and I, I believe, and indeed I cannot doubt it, are much more 
 closely bound to each other by the substance of Christian principles, 
 (besides a personal friendship which has long been, and will con- 
 tinue, I trust, during our lives, to be a subject of mutual pleasure to 
 both of us,) than we are separated by any differences as to the out- 
 ward form and mechanism of religion. I had rather wished for a 
 few minutes’ private conversation with you, but I fear I shall not be 
 able to call (or Mrs. W. on Mrs. Jay) before my departure to-mor- 
 row about 12 o’clock. If you should be walking this way, I should 
 be happy to see you ; and if not, let me thus take my leave for the 
 present, assuring you of the cordial esteem and regard with which 
 I am, with our best respects to Mrs. Jay, 
 
 My dear Sir, yours very sincerely, 
 
 W. Wilberforce. 
 
 No. 9, North Parade, Wednesday, 17th Oct. 1831. 
 
 My dear Sib, — We cannot but remember with pleasure the visits 
 you kindly paid us last year, and Mrs. Wilberforce and I much wish 
 to renew the enjoyment. Mrs. W. reminds me that you used some- 
 times to take your tea while we took our dinner. 
 
 Would you favor us with your company at a quarter before five 
 o’clock to-morrow? 
 
844 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 I can truly say that the hope of seeing you is always one of the 
 most gratifying objects in my prospect, when I look forward to the 
 renewal of my visits to Bath; and that I am, with cordial esteem 
 and regard, 
 
 Ever sincerely yours, 
 
 W. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 Near Uxbridge, 7th Jan. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I enclose you a £5-note to reimburse you for the 
 sum you were so kind as to lay down for me ; and I return you 
 thanks for so kindly inquiring into the case ; perhaps it would be 
 for the poor young man’s own benefit, to caution him against rely- 
 ing on future aid from me. I have sometimes found a little pecuniary 
 assistance practically injurious for the want of this warning. 
 
 I thank you for naming the Eclectic, and will procure the num- 
 ber ; I used to take in that publication, but discontinued it, partly 
 because the increasing numbers of such periodical works compelled 
 me to select ; and still more, because it became so much more of a 
 party work ; otherwise my knowing that occasionally R. Hall and 
 Foster wrote in it, was a strong inducement to take it in. Were 
 not my eyes very indifferent and my stock of leisure very small, I 
 would enter for a few minutes into the Roman Catholic Question. I 
 have not seen “ Cobbett” for soiyie time. My chief reason for ever 
 taking in his paper was, that I could not otherwise see it ; and I 
 thought it right to know what were the lessons of a very able and 
 influential political teacher on the passing events of the day. But 
 when I heard his paper circulation had much declined, I declined 
 also. 
 
 My motives for supporting what is very ill entitled Catholic 
 emancipation, were not that I thought that when granted the Ro- 
 man Catholics would desire no more ; still less, because I did not 
 entertain a very strong repugnance to the Roman Catholic religion 
 of the present day ; (and this last I thought it right in fairness to 
 declare to the two Roman Catholic deputies who called on me as 
 a friend a few ye<?rs ago, Drs. Everett and Murray;) but because I 
 really believe the actual state of the laws tends to maintain, nay 
 probably to extend, certainly to exasperate and embitter, the in- 
 fluence o the Roman Catholic tenets. The Roman Catholics can 
 and now do vote for Members of Parliament, though they cannot 
 become such. The consequence is, that they choose Members who, 
 though Protestant by profession, (commonly, perhaps, neutrals at 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 345 
 
 heart,) are full as subservient to Roman Catholic interests, as 
 avowed Roman Catholics could be, while they may speak a lan- 
 guage, which uttered by Roman Catholics, would call forth a spirit iu 
 the Protestants to at least an equal amount ; but to which, when 
 held by Protestants, no objection could be made without a man’s 
 being considered guilty of a personal effront. Put the question 
 arithmetically. The influence excited on the side of the Roman 
 Catholics is now the sum of their own and that of Protestants whom 
 they elect or favor. When Roman Catholics should be eligible, it 
 would be only the difference. The existing state of the laws keeps 
 the Roman Catholics in a continual state of irritation, reminded of 
 their incapacities ; for they are brought forward to vote, but not to 
 be elected. I also lay much stress on the effect of Roman Catholic 
 gentlemen mixing in Parliament with Protestants, and thus habit- 
 ually learning to disrelish, as galling and humiliating, the subjec- 
 tion to the priests, in which, after all, consists much of the strength 
 and evil of their religion. But I must lay down my pen, only remark- 
 ing, that I cannot be afraid of Popery in this country, but that 1 
 should not be greatly surprised to see the Roman Catholic oriflamb 
 waving in Ireland, the Roman Catholic mass being supported by 
 the military regulars of some continental Roman Catholic power. 
 However, be this as it may, I cannot but trust all will end well, both 
 for Ireland herself, and much more for England, wdien I witness the 
 continually increasing flood of light, which she (England) is the 
 instrument of diffusing through the Pagan World. India is likely, 
 I hope, ere long, to become the glory of this country. 
 
 My dear Sir, you seduce me, you see, even on paper, into too long 
 a tete-a-tete, and I have scarcely left myself room to request you 
 to present Mrs. W’s and my own best remembrances to Mrs. Jay, 
 and to assure you of her cordial good wishes as well as my own, for 
 the temporal, and still more for the spiritual, well-being of you and 
 yours. 
 
 Ever, my dear Sir, your sincere and affectionate friend, 
 
 W. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 When I published my “ Evening Exercises,” I dedi- 
 cated them to my Illustrious Friend. As the preface 
 was long, and animadverted on various and some of 
 them disputed topics, I sent it to him in manuscript, 
 begging he would strike out wli atever he disapproved 
 15 * 
 
846 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 of ; but be returned it without a single erasure ; and 
 when the volumes came out, as soon as he received 
 the copy I presented to him, he wrote me the follow- 
 ing letter: — 
 
 Elenden House, near Birmingham, 30th Dec., 1831. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Though I will not withhold from Mrs. Wilberforce 
 the pleasure of answering your friendly letter, I cannot be satisfied 
 without assuring you, with my own pen, that I feel honored as well 
 as gratified by the proof of your esteem and regard for me, which 
 you gave by desiring to place my name at the head of your publi- 
 cation. It gives me unaffected pleasure to reflect that my name 
 will thus be permanently associated with yours, and may this, my 
 dear Sir, with all your other labors of love, be abundantly blessed. 
 May the Gracious Giver of all good, who has already rendered you 
 an instrument of such extensive usefulness, continue to prosper your 
 endeavor to promote the temporal, and still more, the eternal bene- 
 fit of your fellow-creatures ; and after a long protracted sphere of 
 usefulness and honor, may you at length hear addressed to you 
 those blessed words, — “ Well done, good and faithful servant,” <fcc. 
 
 Suffer me also to add my humble prayer, and let me hope that it 
 will be yours also, that I may one day welcome you into that better 
 world ; and that, though by somewhat different paths, yet tending 
 to the same point, and graduating, if I may use the expression, to 
 the same centre, we may at length meet where holiness and happi- 
 ness, where love and peace, and gratitude and joy, will be un alloy 
 ed and everlasting. Such, my dear Sir, is my sincere wish, and 
 sometimes shall be the prayer for you, and for all that are dear to 
 you. 
 
 Yours, with cordial esteem and attachment, 
 
 W. W. 
 
 As a beautiful contrast to this, I insert a few sentences from a 
 little work the author sent by post to Mr. William Jay, Bath, a few 
 years ago. 
 
 They were all pencil-marked, to render them the more emphatic. 
 
 “ And this is the reason why church people, and especially cler- 
 gymen, may not keep company with and make friends of any of 
 those who call themselves Dissenting ministers. 
 
 “Every Dissenting teacher is plainly making a division: every 
 churchman therefore, is commanded to avoid him. Be his gentle* 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 347 
 
 ness and mildness wliat they ma} T , in comparison with the miser- 
 able bitterness of most modern Dissenters ; be his personal holiness, 
 his mind and intellectual qualifications what they may ; be his 
 friendship, however dear to me, how can I continue it, when God 
 has commanded me to avoid him ? To pray for him as an erring 
 brother, — to desire his present and future welfare, — to cherish to- 
 wards him all kindly and brotherly feeling, — to assist him, if need 
 be, with my counsel or my purse ; these things would be a duty 
 and a pleasure ; but to make him any longer a friend or an inti- 
 mate would be a sin. 
 
 “ Therefore he feels (i. e. a true churchman) that it would be sin 
 to attend their places of worship or preaching, to acknowledge them 
 in public meetings or elsewhere, as fellow-ministers of the Word 
 of God, or choose them as the friendly companions of his leisure 
 hours. 
 
 “If this tract has done the readers any good, it will influence 
 their conduct, and make them resolve never to make themselves 
 partakers of other men’s sins, by going to a Dissenting meeting even 
 once ; whether on Sunday or week-day, in the morning, or after- 
 noon, or evening ; whether because they hope to get good or for 
 curiosity ; or to be friendly and neighborly. It is quite plain that 
 all Dissent is sin. blow, how very shocking it is, that many good 
 sort of people think really of coming to church on the Sunday morn- 
 ing, and then going to meeting in the evening ! But, people, I am 
 afraid, will have to answer, not only for their own sin in going some- 
 times, but for the sin of tho&e who go always, and whom, by their 
 example, they have encouraged to do so.” 
 
 “Christian Unity,”* 
 by Henry William Wilberforce, M.A., 
 
 Incumbent of Walmer, Kent. 
 
 “ What wonder such sentiments led to Rome ! They spring from 
 it. ‘A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.’ ‘ By their fruits 
 ye shall know them. Men do not gather grapes of thorns, or figs 
 of thistles.’ ” 
 
 * Referring to this uncharitable pamphlet in a letter dated Bath, 
 October 17, 1837, he observes, — “Mr. Wilberforce’s life is forthcom- 
 ing, but I expect it will be a very partial representation of him, 
 especially on the score of his liberality. It is written by his two 
 clerical sons, who are iow so high that one of them has published 
 
848 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce sent me, as soon as they were pub- 
 lished, inscribed with his own hand, his “ Practical 
 Piety;” and his work on “Slavery” addressed “to 
 Prince Talleyrand.” 
 
 I remember, owing to some occurrence, Mr. Wilber* 
 force gave me an admonition never to notice any thing 
 concerning one’s self in the public prints. “If you 
 do,” said he, “you must notice every thing; or what 
 passes unnoticed will pass for truth, which cannot be 
 refuted ;” adding, “ our character and conduct must 
 be both our defenders and advocates.” 
 
 He then mentioned the following imputation con- 
 cerning himself: — “Some time ago, in Benjamin 
 Flower’s 1 Cambridge Journal,’ it was said, 1 Behold 
 an instance of the Pharisaism of St. Wilberforce ! He 
 was lately seen walking up and dowm in the Bath 
 Pump Eoom, reading his prayers, like his predecessors 
 of old, v r ho prayed in the corners of the streets, to be 
 seen of men.’ 
 
 “ As there is generally some slight circumstance 
 which perverseness turns into a charge or reproach, I 
 began to reflect ; and I soon found the occasion of the 
 calumny ; and it was this : — I was walking in the 
 
 Pump Eoom in conversation with General ; a 
 
 passage was quoted from Horace, the accuracy of 
 which was questioned ; and, as I had a Horace in my 
 pocket, I sought, and found, and read the words. 
 
 a tract in condemnation of Mr Baptist Noel’s candor, and calls upon 
 the members of the church to have ‘ no social or friendly intercourse 
 with any Dissenters, and to visit them only as subjects of poverty 
 and affliction to relieve them.’ Yet their honored father used to 
 say, — ‘ Though I am an Episcopalian, I should like to commune once 
 every year with every Christian church that held the Head.” 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 849 
 
 This was the plain bit of wire which factious malignity 
 sharpened into a pin to pierce my reputation ; yet I 
 never thought it worth while to attempt to refute or 
 rectify what I could have so easily done.” 
 
 "When there was some thought of abridging the 
 privileges enjoyed by Dissenters under the Toleration 
 Act, Mr. Wilberforce wrote to the Reminiscent. I am 
 sony I have either lost or mislaid this letter ; but I 
 well remember its contents. He expressed himself as 
 exceedingly averse to the design, and wishing* and 
 hoping that all the interference of government might 
 be avoided. But he would just ask whether the Dis- 
 senters and Methodists, in the licensing of preachers, 
 would object to the requisition of a certificate or testi- 
 . mony from the churches to which they belonged. I an- 
 swered, that, as far as I knew them, their apprehen- 
 sions were too much excited to acquiesce even in such 
 an apparently safe measure. At that season, however, 
 and for want of some reflection, I confess I w r as rather 
 disposed to differ from them ; and the more, as it had 
 been till then the wise and good usage among them, 
 before any of their members went forth officiating, to 
 receive a sanction from the united approval, benedic- 
 tion, and prayers of the minister and people in whose 
 communion they lived. And what has been often the 
 result of persons becoming preachers without consult- 
 ing with, and unrecommended by, any one but them- 
 selves ? 
 
 Here I remember a case rather curious and instruct- 
 ive. A young man thought he was called to leave 
 common and civil life, and to enter the ministry ; 
 neither his own pastor nor father knew anything of 
 this. The persuasion of his sacred destiny originated 
 
850 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 solely with himself. Though fully satisfied inTiis own 
 mind, yet from a kind of respect for a family friend, 
 and to save appearances, he wished to converse with 
 me upon the subject. By no means like-minded with 
 himself, and fearful of giving offence (a sad infirmity 
 in such a case), I begged him to consult an older au- 
 thority, and one who I knew had a firmer, bolder 
 manner. An interview soon taking place, the young 
 man told him that he had been for some time persuad- 
 ed that he was called to the ministry ; and asked his 
 aged adviser what he deemed the best sign or evidence 
 of a Divine call to the work. a Sir,” said the sage, 
 H what I should deem the best sign or evidence would 
 be a man’s not thinking of it, but considering himself 
 the last person in the world God would select for this 
 purpose ; and who, if God came for him, would be 
 found like Saul, ‘hid among the stuff,’ and requiring 
 an effort to draw him out.” 
 
 I remember his relating a remarkable circumstance 
 concerning Carlile the infidel. “ The wretched crea- 
 ture,” said he, “ was then in the prison at Dorchester, 
 having been prosecuted for his vile and infamous pub- 
 lications. As I was then visiting at the house of a 
 magistrate in the neighborhood, I thought I should 
 like to see the prisoner and converse with him, per- 
 fectly incog. After some general conversation, I learned 
 from him something of his former life, and found that 
 he had formerly been among the Wesleyan Method- 
 ists, and even a class-leader. I then began to speak 
 on the subject of religion. He said he did not wish 
 to enter on that topic, for he had long ago made up 
 his mind, and did not wish to have it disturbed ; and, 
 seeing me take out my little Bible, he said, ‘ I wish to 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 351 
 
 have nothing to do with that book ; and you cannot 
 wonder at this, for if that book be true, I am damned 
 forever.’ I was shocked, and said, c No, no, Mr. Car- 
 lile ; according to that book, there is hope for all who 
 will seek for mercy and forgiveness ; for it assures us, 
 that God hath no pleasure in the death of him that 
 dieth.’ I also said more, but it seemed to have no ef- 
 fect at the time, and I knew not that it had any after- 
 wards. But,” added he, “we see (as we are needing 
 hope) how desirable and necessary it is that there 
 should always be an obvious and powerful ground for 
 it ; that despair hardens even more than presumption ; 
 and that men live so as to make the Bible their enemy, 
 and then hate it because it does not prophesy good 
 concerning them, but evil.” 
 
 I cannot help adding a circumstance not irrelevant 
 to this occurrence. Preaching one Tuesday evening 
 at Surrey Chapel, after his (Mr. Carlile’s) release from 
 prison, I mentioned in my sermon the above anecdote. 
 When I came down from the pulpit, some one told me 
 that Carlile had been hearing me, and insisted upon 
 seeing me. I said, by all means ; desire him to come 
 into the vestry. He entered ; I arose and received 
 him courteously, and gave him my hand, remembering 
 that a the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be 
 patient towards all men, in meekness instructing those 
 that oppose themselves, if haply God might give them 
 repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” I 
 asked him for what purpose he wished to see me. He 
 said, “ I do not charge you with intentional misrepre- 
 sentation, but I have heard you say this evening what 
 is not true.” Then stating what I had related, I said, 
 “ Are you sv^e this is not true ?” “I am: I am certain 
 
S52 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce never conversed with me or saw me 
 in prison.” “Do yon know Mr. Wilberforce person- 
 ally?” “ I do not. I look upon him as a bigoted but 
 very good and benevolent man ; but I am sure I never 
 saw him.” “Well, as you never saw him, how are 
 you sure that, among others who visited you, he never 
 saw you in your confinement ; especially as his design 
 was to keep himself unknown? Do you think,” said 
 I, “Wilberforce would forge a letter, or utter a serious 
 falsehood ?” “ No, I think he would not.” “ And as 
 
 for myself,” I said, “ I am sure I have accurately re- 
 ported his relation, for I received it in writing at the 
 time.” This rather softened and silenced him, and he 
 only murmured, “ Well, I remember nothing of it.” 
 
 I desired him to be seated, and said, “I should be 
 glad, Mr. Carlile, to have a little further conversation,” 
 to which he seemed disposed ; but some of his dis- 
 ciples, who had followed him into the vestry, rudely 
 urged him to come away ; saying, “ These gospel preach- 
 ers will say anything that serves their purpose.” 
 
 As he had not behaved improperly, and as such 
 characters are often too harshly treated, I felt a dispo- 
 sition to pray for him, and determined I would call 
 upon him. This I did the next day, but he was not 
 at home, and as I had to le'ave London immediately, 
 I had no opportunity to renew the call. I regret I 
 did not write to him. 
 
 In their periodical, the week after, there was a tol- 
 erably fair account of the thing, unaccompanied with 
 any reflections on myself. 
 
 I may add that Mr. Wilberforce, after relating the 
 above occurrence, said, “ It is a very difficult and per- 
 plexing subject, but I begin to question whether such 
 
WILLIAM WILBEPwFORCE, ESQ. 353 
 
 prosecutions are not more injurious than beneficial; 
 as they awaken attention to the works, and frequently 
 enlist feelings on behalf of the writers ;” — remarking 
 that Carlile, probably, did more mischief while in 
 prison, than before his trial and condemnation ; — al- 
 luding to several tracts he issued while there, com- 
 posed entirely of Scripture, quoting only passages 
 which would represent the Bible as filled exclusively 
 with what seemed indelicate and impure ; and ex- 
 cusing, if not countenancing, immorality ! 
 
 “ It was, 7 ’ says Lord Brougham, u the constant max- 
 im of my revered friend, Mr. Wilberforee, that no man 
 should be prosecuted for his attacks on religion. He 
 gave this opinion in Parliament; and he was wont to 
 say, that the ground of it was his belief in the truth 
 of religion. If religion be, as I believe it to be, true, 
 it has nothing to fear from such assaults ; but it may 
 be injured by the secular arm interposing.” 
 
 I cannot omit noticing my last interview with him. 
 Having received a note from Mrs. Wilberforee, that 
 they should leave Bath in two days, and mentioning 
 the increased indisposition of her beloved husband, 
 and the possibility of my not seeing him again, by 
 her desire I called. I was introduced to him alone, as 
 he was lying upon the sofa. Though it was obvious 
 that the outward man was fast declining, all his pious 
 and friendly principles and feelings evinced their full 
 vigor. Propriety required the interview to be short; 
 there could be, therefore, no lengthened conversation. 
 The. following, however, I have found, which I wrote 
 down as soon as 1 returned, precluding any mistake 
 concerning it. 
 
 Something had led him to mention that noblest of 
 
854 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER 
 
 all institutions — the Bible Society ; and as the Trini- 
 tarian Bible Society was about that time making a 
 noise in our city, and assailing and seeking to divide 
 and injure the old institution, he eagerly inquired 
 whether there were many defections. I told him I be- 
 lieved the defections were almost entirely confined to 
 his own community ; for I did not know, in the circle 
 of my acquaintance, one minister or member among 
 all the Dissenters and Methodists who had revolted. 
 11 Well,” he said, “ I am thankful for this; and hope 
 the good cause will continue to flourish.” 
 
 He also said, “ I see what is the best way to reduce 
 an undue attachment to the subordinate things in re- 
 ligion ; — it is to keep up a supreme regard to the more 
 important ones ; for we shall then have little time and 
 less inclination to engage in the strivings and strifes 
 of bigots.” 
 
 He also observed, “ I see much in the state of the 
 world and church which I deplore, yet I am not among 
 the croakers. I think real religion is spreading ; and, 
 I am persuaded, will increasingly spread, till the earth 
 is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
 cover the sea.” 
 
 Taking my hand at parting, he pressed it to his 
 bosom, and said, “I am glad you have not turned 
 aside after any of the L lo ! lieres 1 and 1 lo! theresj many 
 of which you must have witnessed ; but have kept to 
 the common, plain, and important truths, in which all 
 Christians are nearly agreed ; and I hope you will 
 never leave the good old wav,— God bless you I” 
 What an interview! what a parting I what a bene- 
 diction ! 
 
 I leave others to speak of him as a politician. I 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 355 
 
 know some of the liberals were much dissatisfied 
 with him ; but he would not be a gagged party man. 
 He preserved his independence by accepting nothing 
 from government ; and always gave his vote accord- 
 ing to his conviction. I remember after the French 
 Revolution, and for some time during the war, when 
 the rage of opinion ran so high, he more than once 
 desired me to say among my connexions, (he knew 
 that some whom he valued were puzzled and grieved 
 with his seeming devotedness to the prime minister,) 
 that they were not to suppose he entirely approved 
 of all Mr. Pitt’s measures ; but the times were pecu- 
 liarly perilous, and it was necessary to support the 
 government generally, when there were so many ten- 
 dencies to anarchy and confusion. 
 
 I well remember how Mrs. More herself, and others 
 of his friends and advisers, wondered and grieved at 
 his favoring the Catholic Emancipation Bill. No one 
 could dislike popery more than he did ; but he thought 
 it reasonable that all its adherents should realize their 
 civil rights and immunities ; and that, -with regard to 
 religious parties, all restraints and oppositions excited 
 and strengthened their zeal the more, and resembled 
 the dams in a river that caused the water to rise high- 
 er and spread wider. — See a preceding letter to the 
 Reminiscent on this subject. 
 
 But time and language would fail me to speak of 
 this man as a benefactor, and especially as the poor 
 negro’s friend. His disinterested, self-denying, labo- 
 rious, undeclining efforts in this cause of justice and 
 humanity are too well known to need enlargement, 
 and will call down the blessing of millions, and ages 
 yet to come will glory in his memory. 
 
356 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Whose very soul has not melted, not only at the 
 poetry, but the praise of the sonnet, by the author of 
 the “ Task” ? — 
 
 “Thy country, Wilber force, with just disdain, 
 
 Hears thee by cruel men and impious call’d 
 Fanatic, for thy zeal to loose the enthrall’d 
 From exile, public sale, and slavery’s chain ; 
 
 Friend of the poor, the wronged, the fetter-galled, 
 
 Fear not lest labor such as thine be vain. 
 
 Thou hast achieved a part ; hast gained the ear 
 Of Britain’s Senate to thy glorious cause ; 
 
 Hope smiles, Joy springs ; and though cold Caution pause, 
 
 And weave delay, the better hour is near 
 That shall remunerate thy toils severe, 
 
 By peace for Afric, fenced with British laws. 
 
 Enjoy what thou hast won, esteem and love 
 From all the Just on earth, and all the Blest above.” 
 
 But who or what can do justice to such a character? 
 Every notice of him is necessarily an eulogy. Here 
 was a man, not only great among the good, but good 
 among the great. The most popular man (according 
 to Madame de Stael) in this country, and yet an ex- 
 ample of u whatsoever things are true, whatsoever 
 things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatso- 
 ever things are pure,, whatsoever things are lovely, 
 whatsoever things are of good report,” whatsoever 
 things have any virtue or any praise in them. 
 
 But what, amidst so much and such varied inter- 
 course with company and scenes so little favorable to 
 religious decision and improvement, enabled him to 
 maintain such spiritual^ and fervor, and to be always 
 ready to engage so easily and naturally in pious con- 
 versation and exercises ? 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 857 
 
 First. The firmness of his convictions. Religious 
 
 sentiments in him were firm, were not opinions, but 
 principles. That is, sentiments which had attached to 
 them both certainty and importance. 
 
 Secondly. His inviolable sanctification of the Lord’s 
 day. With him how truly was the Sabbath a delight, 
 and the holy of the Lord, honorable ! When did he 
 not “ turn away his foot from the Sabbath from pol- 
 luting it, not doing his own ways, not finding his own 
 pleasure, not speaking his own words” ? 
 
 I was once dining with him on the Sabbath : it was 
 before his marriage. We were quite alone ; no servant 
 was in attendance ; we had only a dumb-waiter. The 
 conversation turned upon the subject of my discourse 
 that morning — “ The harvest is past, the summer is 
 ended, and we are not saved” — of which he begged 
 the outline. “ I just now,” he said, “ met Mr. Bushe 
 on the North Parade ; he told me there was very bad 
 news ; but I did not ask concerning it, and I dare not 
 open a paper on the Lord’s day.” 
 
 Thirdly. His always attending, when in his power, 
 the House of God and the preaching of the Word, and 
 that word which was found to be the savor of life unto 
 life* 
 
 Fourthly. His family worship. Here I refer not 
 only to its existence and regularity, but to the manner 
 in which he discharged it. What a solemn importance 
 seemed always attached to it ! What a freedom from 
 formality ! What a simplicity in the performance ! 
 What a seriousness and degree of impression, and of 
 effect 1 
 
 Fifthly — and perhaps above all — His determination 
 to secure time for private devotion. This befriended 
 
358 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 the effect two ways — first, by the natural influence of 
 these exercises themselves; secondly, by the supply 
 of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, which prayer, and espec- 
 ially such prayer, is accredited to obtain. u Draw 
 nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” l( But 
 when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ; and when 
 thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in 
 secret ; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall re- 
 ward thee openly.” 
 
 It Would not only be needless but presumptuous in 
 me to speak of his senatorial rank and claims. It is 
 undisputed what an eminent place in oratory he occu- 
 pied and maintained, when eloquence in the House of 
 Commons rivalled that of Athens and Borne. His 
 voice was fine, deep, clear, distinct, and flexible ; his 
 animation was often great ; and the impression of 
 many of his speeches, especially of those he delivered 
 on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, peculiarly pow- 
 erful. 
 
 “ I never,” says Mackintosh, “ saw any one who 
 touched life at so many points ; and this is the more 
 remarkable in a man who is supposed to live absolute- 
 ly in the contemplation of a future state. "When he 
 was in the House of Commons, he seemed to have the 
 freshest mind of any of those there. There was all 
 the charm of youth about him, and he is quite as re- 
 markable in this bright evening of his day as when I 
 saw him in his glory many years ago.” 
 
 “ I never,” says Southey, “ saw any other man who 
 seemed to enjoy such a perpetual serenity and bun- 
 shine of spirit. In conversing with him you feel assur- 
 ed that there is no guile in him ; t pat if ever there was 
 a good man, and a happy man or earth, he was one.” 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 359 
 
 Again : “ There is such a constant hilarity in every 
 look and motion, such a sweetness in all his tones, 
 such a benignity in all his thoughts, words, and ac- 
 tions — that you can feel nothing but love and admira- 
 tion for a creature of so happy and blessed a nature.” 
 
 APPENDIX BY THE EDITORS. 
 
 Having found the following additional letters of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wilberforce to Mr. Jay, we venture to insert 
 them as further proofs of their friendly and confiden- 
 tial intercourse. 
 
 If any of the readers of this article should also have 
 been readers of Mr. Wilberforce’s Life by his sons, as 
 is more than probable, the disclosures here made will 
 be surprising, and in some respects painful. It will 
 be no matter of surprise that two such men, holding 
 similar religious views, and residing in Bath at the 
 close of the last century, when Evangelical preaching 
 was rare in the Church, should have become friends ; 
 and that the friendship of two such souls should have 
 become permanent, and ripen into mutual cordiality 
 and confidence. But the matter of surprise and pain 
 will be to observe that a Life of Wilberforce could pos- 
 sibly have been written, and a voluminous Life too, in 
 which it could be made to appear that there existed 
 between them nothing but a mere cold, slight, and on 
 Mr. Wilberforce’s side, not very respectful or polite 
 acquaintance. 
 
 For the purpose of enabling the readers of Mr. Jay’s 
 Reminiscence of Wilberforce to judge of the represent- 
 ation of this matter by the two reverend sons who have 
 tak<m upon them virtually to ignore the friendly inti- 
 
360 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 rnaey of their father with the Dissenting Minister of 
 Bath, we shall extract from their Work all the notices 
 of Mr. Jay we have been able to find, and then an 
 opinion may be formed of the spirit which dictated 
 this meagre, and not very delicate, exhibition of facts 
 for public perusal from Mr. Wilberforce’s Diary. 
 
 Yol. II., p. 234, under date 1797. 
 
 “ Sunday. Randolph’s, morning — Evening, Jay’s 
 — comfortable, happy Sunday.” 
 
 Yol. II., p. 240. Same year. 
 
 “ Asked to subscribe to Jay’s velvet cushion, but re- 
 fused.” 
 
 Yol. II., p. 313— date 1798. 
 
 “Sir George Beaumont, Creykes, &c., with us. Jay 
 told us his origin and story very simply, a bricklayer 
 employed at Beckfora’s house — began to preach at 
 16 — humble and not democratical.” 
 
 Yol. II., p. 351. — date 1799. 
 
 “I found that so much use was made of my going 
 to Jay’s that I have kept away.” 
 
 Yol. II., p. 361. Date 1800. Referring to a pro- 
 jected Bill to restrict Dissenting preachers, and stating 
 that he had explained to Mr. Pitt the only limitation 
 of the Toleration Act to which he would consent, viz., 
 that no one should exercise the office of a Teacher 
 without a testimonial from the sect to which he be- 
 longed, he says: 
 
 “This would just put a stop to the practice which I 
 am told prevails at Salisbury, and (as I heard from Mr. 
 Jay, the Dissenting Minister) at Bath, of a number of 
 raw, ignorant lads, going out on preaching parties 
 every Sunday.” 
 
 Yol, V., p, 258, date 1825. 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 361 
 
 44 at Jay’s, where I greatly wished to go, but 
 
 thought it wrong.” 
 
 This sentence seems ambiguous through the omis- 
 sion of a name. It evidently refers to some person in 
 Mr. Wilberforce’s family, less scrupulous than him- 
 self, who went to hear Mr. Jay (possibly Mrs. W.) 
 We are at a loss to conceive for what purpose the ex- 
 tract was made, unless to give publicity to Mr. Wil- 
 berforce’s opinion, that it was wrong for him to go to 
 the Dissenting Chapel to hear the Dissenting Minister 
 with whom he had been on terms of the strictest friend- 
 ship for nearly thirty years, whom he had frequently 
 entertained at his table, introduced to his selectest 
 friends, corresponded with familiarly and confidential- 
 ly, and allowed his name to appear in the dedication of 
 one of his works, expressing his sense of the honor, 
 and his gratification at the request, and adding, “it 
 gives me unaffected pleasure to reflect that my name 
 will thus be permanently associated with yours.” Thus 
 wrote Mr. Wilberforce, Dec. 80, 1831. 
 
 After this, as appears from the foregoing Reminis- 
 cence, Mr. Ja,y visited Mr. Wilberfore during his ill- 
 ness at Bath, at the special request conveyed to him by 
 Mrs. W., when other esteemed friends were not allowed 
 access to him. From these facts it appears that there 
 had been no suspension of intercourse or decay of 
 friendship, either between 1799 and 1825, or from 1825 
 to the end of the year 1831, when he so kindly and 
 gracefully accepted the dedication of 11 The Christian 
 Contemplated.” Even the entry made in the Diary in 
 the year 1799, respecting his “ keeping away from 
 Jay’s Chapel, because so much use was made of it,” is 
 certainly not intended to intimate that after that period 
 16 
 
362 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 he never attended again ; for it is well known that he 
 did go after that date. 
 
 In the Correspondence now published there is a note 
 dated a year after any notice of Mr. Jay given in the 
 Life of Wilberforce, “ Queen’s Square, May 26, 1826,” 
 in which Mr. Wilberforce requests directions of Mr. 
 J ay where in Bristol he might find Mr. Hall’s Chapel, 
 saying, “We may probably be able to go to Mr. Hall’s 
 Chapel on Sunday.” If Mr. Wilberforce had relin- 
 quished so early as 1799 the pleasure and profit of at- 
 tending upon Mr. Jay’s ministry, and in 1825 thought 
 that it was “ wrong" that is, morally sinful, though he 
 wished for it greatly, would he have asked the way to 
 another Dissenting Chapel in 1826, and would he, or 
 could he have said in the same note of inquiry, I can - 
 not but sincerely regret my not having had the profit and 
 pleasure of hearing you and joining with you in worship 
 during this visit to Bath ?” 
 
 It is certainly not impossible that the same pen 
 should have written the two notices in the Diary re- 
 specting attendance at Mr. Jay’s Chapel, and those other 
 sentences we have quoted from the Letter of May 26, 
 1826, to Mr. Jay. But if it did, then something un- 
 mentioned would, if known, reconcile them with hon- 
 or and integrity, or some intentional concealment gives 
 them the appearance of contradiction. If no expla- 
 nation can be given of this matter, Mr. Wilberforce’s 
 memory will have to bear the suspicion of hollow pro- 
 fession and faithless friendship, or the monument his 
 reverend sons have reared to his memory will convey 
 a false impression. 
 
 Those two good and great men while living appear 
 to have had no misunderstanding and no alienation 
 
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 36 3 
 
 through a friendship of thirty-five years, and they 
 have now met in a happier world, and united in purer 
 worship than they ever joined in here. But the Biog- 
 raphy of the one was undoubtedly made the means of 
 deeply wounding the heart of the other ; because he 
 was conscious that it gave to the world a most imper- 
 fect and unjust view of the long friendship which had 
 existed between himself and Mr. Wilberforce. It had 
 been kinder and wiser, as it now appears, not to have 
 let the w’orld know that Mr. Wilberforce had any ac- 
 quaintance with the Dissenting Minister of Bath, or 
 had ever delighted to hear and to patronize him, than 
 to have inserted the few slighting and ambiguous ex- 
 tracts we have cited from the Diary. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Near London — May 7th, 1805. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I will not quite take you at your word and return 
 no answer at all ; but I will so far avail myself of your friendly al- 
 lowance for me, as merely to thank you for your kind communica- 
 tion. 
 
 Archbishop Usher’s, and Bishop Bedell’s Life, have long been in 
 my library, and have been favorites with me. — I have often quoted 
 them to some of our Irish Rulers ; and had their examples been fol- 
 lowed, Ireland would have been in a far better state, 
 
 I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 W. Wilberforce. 
 
 P. S. — The memorandum I hope to get to-morrow when I go to 
 town. I am detained here to-day by indisposition. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Pulteney St. — Wednesday. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Will you and Mrs. Jay dine with us on Friday 
 next, at half-past four or a quarter before five, to meet my friends, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Noel, v/ith whom I wish to bring you well acquainted? 
 And may I beg you to bring your son-in-law, Mr. Bolton also, on 
 
864 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 whom I meant to call in order to entitle myself to ask him ; but I 
 trust he will excuse the breach of ceremony. I hope his lady and 
 little one are doing well. 
 
 With cordial esteem and regard, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Ever sincerely yours, 
 
 W. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Maidenhead Bridge, 28th August, 1817. 
 
 My dear Sir, — One word merely to satisfy you that your lettei 
 has reached my hands. I thank you for pointing out to me how I 
 may fulfil my intention of begging Dr. Kollock’s acceptance of a 
 pledge of my friendly esteem ; though, unless, on my return home, 
 I find Mr. Verplank’s address, or unless you can favor me with it, I 
 I shall still be at a loss. If I find the former not to be the case, I 
 will — 
 
 {Here the letter breaks off and is taken up again.) 
 
 Near London. — December 26, 1817. 
 
 Such was actually a letter I meant to send to you four months 
 ago ; and I now send it chiefly to do myself justice both with you 
 and other gentlemen concerned, by preventing its being supposed 
 that I had neglected the business. I found Mr. Yerplank’s ad- 
 dress after a time (I think at the Northumberland Coffee House) 
 but he was gone from it. 
 
 What, however, has prompted me now to despatch this long re- 
 tained letter, is my wishing to request from you in confidence any 
 intelligence you can send me concerning . A more intem- 
 
 perate, or, in all respects, unadvised publication I scarcely ever 
 
 read. Who is Mr. ? What his connections ? What his talents 
 
 and acquirements ? * * * 
 
 Let me assure you, with best remembrances to Mrs. Jay, that 
 I am with cordial esteem and regard, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 W. Wilberforce. 
 
 Excuse the effects of great and necessary haste. 
 
865 
 
 WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce to Mr. Jay. 
 
 No. 8, North Parade, Saturday, 19tli September, 1829. 
 
 My dear Sir, — When we arrived at Bath v;e were told you were 
 absent, but soon after we heard you had returned, and ever since 
 I have been wishing, and Mrs. W not less, though she knew of 
 Mrs. Jay’s absence, to pay our respects to you. But the weather 
 has been so variable, as to render it quite unsafe for any one who, 
 like myself, may probably suffer greatly from the slightest exposure 
 to rain, to venture far from shelter, or from a sedan chair. Our 
 time, however, is hasting away, and it would really grieve me to 
 have visited Bath without seeing an old friend whom I so sincerely 
 esteem and love. Will you give us the pleasure of your company 
 in the way in which we enjoyed it formerly — you taking your tea 
 while we are at our dinner? Do name a day on which we may 
 hope to enjoy this pleasure at half-past four o’clock. 
 
 Believe me, with cordial attachment, 
 
 Ever sincerely yours, 
 
 The Rev. Wm. Jay. W. Wilderforce. 
 
 P. S. — We have heard with unfeigned concern of Mrs. Jay’s in- 
 disposition, and hope she is mending. 
 
 If the same to you , I had rather see you any other day than Mon- 
 day next ; but if that day suit you better, I will make it convenient 
 to us also. 
 
 Mrs. Wilber force to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Elmdon House, Birmingham, December 29th, 1831. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Allow me to offer you many thanks for your most 
 kind and acceptable present, in addition to the most valuable 
 “Morning Thoughts.” May we only all of us profit by them as 
 we ought. I am very sorry I have not been able to write sooner, 
 as you wished to hear from me before you take measures respecting 
 the stereotyping. It gave us much satisfaction to hear of the former 
 volumes having been thus fixed, and that these latter ones are to 
 share their fate ; and America to profit by them as well as Eng- 
 land. We cannot offer any alterations. I should have said that 
 my husband gladly accepts the undivided moiety which you offer 
 him in these volumes. But I hope he will add a few words for 
 himself, though you know his eyes forbid much writing, and I am 
 sorry to say that we have much business of an uncomfortable nature 
 
366 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 demanding time and writing, which has been one of the results of 
 our losses ; until we are a little freer from these demands, more 
 falls to Mr. W.’s share to dictate and write than is good for him ; 
 added to all which we have now much anxiety about our dear 
 daughter’s health. Her brother found her far from well — and as 
 she has a cough, which I fear began before her confinement, and 
 still hangs on her, though till very lately little noticed by her 
 medical man, we know not yet what to expect respecting her. Her 
 brother Robert has hitherto remained with her, hoping to send us 
 better accounts, but as yet they are not mended, and we are very 
 uneasy about her. You, my dear Sir, who have now above a 
 twelvemonth been suffering from much anxiety and daily sorrow, 
 will know how to sympathize with us. 
 
 I write to-day in much haste — therefore will not enter on this sad 
 Bible Society question ; but with best regards, and every good wish 
 to yourself, Mrs. Jay, and all your family, subscribe myself, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your much obliged and sincere, 
 
 B. A. WlLBERFORCE. 
 
 Since writing the above I am thankful to be able to say, we have 
 heard a much better account of our daughter. The cough seems 
 yielding, and we are encouraged to hope there is no cause for 
 alarm and that we shall soon hear she is better. 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 Some time after the publication of the life of Mrs. 
 More in five volumes, and which (with a few excep- 
 tions) I much approved, I received, being then in 
 London, the following note: — 
 
 141 Strand, Monday, March 9. 
 
 Reverend Sir, — In consequence of the communication made here 
 this day by your son, respecting a new Memoir of my late excellent 
 friend Mrs, H. More, I write to say it will afford me much pleasure 
 in having a conference with you upon the subject. — Will it suit 
 your convenience to call upon me to-morrow between twelve and 
 four ? Or shall I call upon you between twelve and three ? 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Thos. Cadell. 
 
 The interview explained the design. Many persons, 
 he said, u had expressed a wish for a memoir of his ad- 
 mired friend, more select and compendious,’ 7 &c. ; and 
 he asked if, knowing her as I did, I would undertake 
 it. I immediately declined, saying, I wanted leisure, 
 and did not deem myself fully adequate to the work ; 
 that, with whatever candor I wrote, a tinge of my own 
 principles as a Dissenter would hardly be avoidable ; 
 that Mrs. More was an Episcopalian, and a very large 
 majority of her connexions belonged to the Estab- 
 lished Church ; and that an author of her own com- 
 
368 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 munity had better be employed, especialty for his own 
 profit as the publisher. He said, in reply, that the 
 objection did not weigh with him ; but, if I declined, 
 he had an offer from a clergyman, which, as yet, was 
 unanswered, &c. I also intimated that it was probable 
 I should leave behind me a reminiscence of her, along 
 with some others. 
 
 The intimation is here imperfectly realized. 
 
 With this eminent and excellent woman I was, by 
 the kind providence of God, early and intimately ac- 
 quainted. When I took up my residence in Bath, she 
 had a house in Pulteney -street, in which she passed 
 the winter-half of the year. To this I had a free and 
 welcome access, which was the more inviting, as it af- 
 forded an opportunity of frequently meeting with very 
 interesting company, though none was so attractive 
 and engaging as her own. 
 
 Mr. Pope has said, “ Most women have no character 
 at all.” If this be intended to satirize, it fails of its 
 purpose ; and, as it is ordained that, in their complete 
 state, light should be without color, air without odor, 
 and water without taste, so it is actually the perfection 
 of woman to be characterless. Mrs. More had the 
 proof of true greatness, to be distinguished by nothing 
 extraordinary on ordinary occasions. In her habits she 
 had no little peculiarities, or solecisms, or wonderful- 
 nesses . When, therefore, Mr. Hall, returning one day 
 from a visit to her house, was asked by an eager in- 
 quirer what he found in Mrs. More remarkable, an- 
 swered, u Nothing, ma’am.” 
 
 She was perfectly free from all direet and indirect 
 attempts at display, so that no one in the company 
 was terrified into silence by a profusion of talent, but 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 869 
 
 each was rather encouraged to speak. Nor, though 
 entitled to take the lead in conversation, did she en- 
 gross a disproportionate share of the discourse. Yet 
 she spoke with great ease and elegance, and what she 
 delivered was always seasonable, and pertinent, and 
 tending to usefulness. No one could be freer from the 
 common fault of tale-bearing and scandal, or more 
 heedful of the admonition, “ Speak evil of no man.” 
 
 At the period after the French Revolution, when 
 there was such fierceness of party spirit, both political 
 and ecclesiastical, it was surprising with what address 
 she continued to manage and harmonize the differing 
 parts of her company ; so that, if they met as foes, they 
 separated as friends. 
 
 On one side Mrs. More’s parentage was descended 
 from Nonconformists, but she herself preferred the 
 Establishment ; not, however, to the unchurching of 
 other churches, or the invalidating of the orders of 
 their pastors. For many years after my settlement in 
 Bath, I never heard of any clergyman of a decidedly 
 evangelical character officiating in any of the Estab- 
 lished pulpits ; so that when Newton, Scott, Cecil, 
 Foster, and others visited our city, they had access 
 only to my father-in-law’s church at Bath Easton, who 
 held the same sentiments with themselves. As, there- 
 fore, Mrs. More had begun increasingly to appreciate 
 and relish a certain kind of preaching, as to docti'ine , 
 she made no scruple to sacrifice a little of the Episco- 
 palian, and attended frequently and commonly in Argyle 
 Chapel-. 
 
 I think I have elsewhere mentioned some hints 
 which I received from her as to delivery and composi- 
 tion ; but here I remark one thing only, with regard 
 16 # 
 
370 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 to preaching. Even in this more early stage of her 
 religious experience, and notwithstanding her talents, 
 if she peculiarly noticed a sermon, it was sure to be 
 not one that betrayed a little ingenuity or originality 
 in the preacher, but one that bore upon the conscience 
 of the hearer, and was most likely to awaken and con- 
 vert the sinner ; observing, that preaching was an in- 
 strument, and that the best instrument was that which 
 answered its end best ; adding, u a knife is valued for 
 its edge, and not for its ebon handle.” Thus, even 
 her praise, like everything else about her, was moral, 
 instructive, and edifying. 
 
 From hence may not some preachers derive a lesson ? 
 When they preach before an individual or two of 
 greater learning and talent than themselves, in order 
 to suit and please them , how often are they tempted to 
 overlook the body of the congregation, and to drop 
 familiar illustrations and striking applications, which 
 would be useful to the common people and the poor ! 
 But, first, are hearers, merely on account of literary 
 or intellectual endowments, deserving of such exclu- 
 sive, or at least peculiar, reference and regard ? And, 
 secondly, are even such personages alwaj^s, or com- 
 monly, pleased with such (shall I call it ?) flattery or 
 partiality ? If they have anything like piety and be- 
 nevolence, as well as personal distinction, they will al- 
 ways commend a discourse which is best adapted to 
 benefit the people at large. Such an aim, therefore, 
 has frequently failed of its purpose ; and the mistaken 
 preacher has been unprofitable to the many, and not 
 acceptable to the select few. What case is there in 
 which he who walketh uprightly does not walk sure 
 ly? And in what does not God honor those that 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 871 
 
 honor him ? Perhaps a personal allusion here may 
 hardly be allowable ; otherwise I would say that, as I 
 have had more opportunities of addressing such pecu- 
 liar individuals than some of my brethren, so I was 
 never induced by their presence to alter the manner 
 of my preaching, which I had been led from convic- 
 tion to adopt ; and I never found that I had cause to 
 repent of my consistency. 
 
 Besides Mrs. More’s attendance on my ministry, she 
 did (oh ! tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets 
 of Askalon !) she did, one Sabbath (oh, let that day 
 be darkness ! let not God regard it from above !) she 
 did — affected by the discourse she had been hearing 
 on the love of Christ, and feeling powerfully inclined 
 to remain, and join with those who vmre just going to 
 commemorate the death of their common Saviour — 
 she actually did stay, and partake with them ! 
 
 The offence, it w r ould seem, was not repeated. She, 
 
 therefore, years after, applied to me, by Mr. H , 
 
 for a kind of certificate that she had only received the 
 communion in Argyle Chapel once ; saying, that it was 
 not with her for a moment a question of right or wrong , 
 but of truth or falsehood , for the Anti- Jacobin Eeview 
 and other enemies had charged her with the thing as 
 her common practice ; whilst she, whenever asked, had 
 said it was a single deed. 
 
 The affair itself excited much animadversion and 
 censure at the time, and also since. There was also 
 some misrepresentation of the fact itself. Dr. Valpy, 
 in particular, in his reminiscences, has related the ac- 
 count of this awful transaction, given him, he says, by 
 Mrs. More herself. I am far, very far indeed, from 
 accusing such a man of wilful misstatement ; but. 
 
372 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, 
 
 could I believe in the exactness of the relation, I 
 should despise, as much as I now respect, the memory 
 of Mrs. More, whose veracity and honor were unim- 
 peachable. The inaccuracy of the circumstances , there- 
 fore, was doubtless casual, and probably arose, after a 
 distance of time, from indistinctness in remembering 
 a conversation too trifling, in such an article, to have 
 made a very deep impression upon so occupied and 
 candid a mind as that of Dr. Valpy. 
 
 The late Mr. Owen, Secretary to the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, assured me he was once pres- 
 ent at the table of Bishop Porteus, when this affair 
 was mentioned in a way not very friendly to Mrs. 
 More. The narrator had enlarged the thing, and sev- 
 eral clergymen present had much censured it ; but his 
 Lordship, stripping off the additions, and stating the 
 case precisely as it took place, and which he could do, 
 from his intimacy with Mrs. More, said, with a smile, 
 “ This is the front of the offending ; but it had been 
 better, especially for the sake of her friends, not to 
 have done it.” 
 
 This, from such a quarter, was rather candid ; but 
 he might have said, as the late Rev. Richard Cecil did, 
 when hearing of a similar accusation against a good 
 churchman , — a Have ye not read what David did, 
 when he w'as an hungered, and they that were with 
 him ; how he went into the house of God, and did eat 
 the shew-bread, which it was not lawful to eat, only 
 for the priests ?” 
 
 And now, what do the spread of such clamors and 
 the need of such denials and apologies imply ? Is it a 
 state of things which a mind imbued with the spirit 
 of the New Testament can approve? Are we not only 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 373 
 
 to have our own convictions, but to forbid every one 
 else to be fully persuaded in his own mind? Are wq 
 not only to prefer but to exclude ? While our general prac- 
 tice show’s our choice, are we by a single act to evince 
 our charity? Are we to behave towards those we be- 
 lieve to be born of God, as if they were strangers and 
 foreigners, and not our fellow-citizens, because they 
 live in another street ? Or, as not being of the house- 
 hold of faith, because, as children, they are not of the 
 same growth ; or, as servants, they are not in the same 
 employment? Shall we resemble John or Jesus? 
 John, who said , — u Master, we saw one casting out 
 devilsin thy name ; and v r e forbad him, because be 
 followeth not with us?” Or Jesus, who said, — u For- 
 bid him not ; for there is no man who shall do a mira- 
 cle in my name that can speak lightly of me ; for he 
 that is not against us is on our part ?” 
 
 Two other questions may be asked: — -First, As all 
 the present distinctions and differences among Chris- 
 tians will be done away with hereafter, is an approach 
 to the spirit and manners of that heavenly state to be 
 considered an excellency or a disparagement now ? 
 
 Secondly , If the Lord’s supper were designed, as it 
 obviously was, to unite the followers of Christ, remind- 
 ing them, by the participation of the same bread and 
 the same cup, that they are all equally partakers of the 
 same symbolized benefits ; is it not as strange as it is 
 lamentable that this ordinance should even become 
 the means or occasion of dividing them, and making 
 them think and feel that they are not one in Christ 
 Jesus? And whence is it that Christians can join in 
 all other acts and exercises of religion, and turn from, 
 and turn against, each other, when required to sit at 
 
374 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 the same table, and eat and drink in remembrance of 
 Him who died for them and rose again? Oh, let the 
 same mind be in us which was also in Him, who 
 stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, 
 “Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever 
 shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the 
 same is my brother, and sister , and mother /” And 
 must we alwaj^s be ashamed, and blush to own all that 
 love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, unless we meet 
 them in a particular place, or wearing a particular 
 dress? 
 
 Some feel and display a better disposition, and form 
 a noble contrast to many miserably contracted beings. 
 Archbishop Usher, having expressed his sense of, 
 what he apprehended, the deficiency of certain churches 
 abroad, in being without Episcopacy , adds, — “ Yet, for 
 the testifying of my communion with these churches, 
 which I do love and honor as true members of the 
 church universal, I do confess that, with like affection, 
 I could receive the blessed sacrament at the hands of 
 the Dutch ministers, if I were in Holland, and at the 
 hands of the French ministers, if 1 were at Charen- 
 ton” 
 
 And the Rev. Baptist Noel, more honorable by his 
 spirit than by his rank, though a clergyman of the 
 church, even pleads for the possibility and propriety 
 of an occasional exchange of services between the 
 Episcopalians and Dissenters. And would this tend to 
 destroy anything, but what is better abolished than 
 maintained in our respective departments? This was 
 formerly allowed in the Kirk of Scotland ; and was it 
 this that injured or endangered its institutions ? The 
 Free Church safely and nobly tolerates and promotes 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 875 
 
 the same practice now ; and “ as many as walk by this 
 rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Is- 
 rael of God.” 
 
 It is marvellous, but it seems there are those who 
 profess to believe not only the truth, but the import- 
 ance of evangelical principles, who can wish that Mrs. 
 More, whose talents were to have such an extensive 
 influence over others, should, at the formation of her 
 spiritual character, rather never have heard those 
 evangelical doctrines, than have heard them where she 
 did hear them ! 
 
 To return from this unintentional digression, which, 
 yet, I found it almost impossible to avoid; I never 
 knew a person in whom the words of our Lord were 
 more exemplified : — “ To him that hath shall be given 
 or the promise by the prophet: — “ Then shall ye know, 
 if ye follow on to know the Lord.” She always lived 
 up to the light she possessed, and a constant advance- 
 ment was made in her acquaintance with “ the truth as 
 it is in Jesus.” Her spiritual progress is perceptible in 
 her successive publications; and this progressiveness, 
 rather than more instant maturity, was attended with 
 advantage, as many of those who were disposed to 
 read her works could not bear everything in the Evan- 
 gelical system at once. They required “milk, and 
 not strong meat.” She, therefore, laid hold of them 
 in this degree of their knowledge, and led them on 
 gradually by her side to the more perfect day. And 
 in this view, I have met with some of more sudden and 
 profound attainments in “the deep things of God,” 
 who have much underrated the amazing good she cer- 
 tainly accomplished ; for her works were bought and 
 read almost without measure. 
 
376 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 I communicated, by request, and which may be seen 
 in the last volume of her life, a few anecdotes concern- 
 ing her, to which it would be easy to add more. Though 
 she did not believe in absolute predestination, and 
 loved the doctrine of universal redemption, she was 
 peculiarly fond of perusing the works of the old Puri- 
 tan and Nonconformist divines, whose sentiments, in 
 these articles, differed from her own ; and when asked 
 how this was, she replied, “ I find nothing so good as 
 the lean of their fat .’ 7 One day, aslier letters came in, 
 I saw she broke off the seals, and put them into ajar. 
 I was anxious to know why she preserved them. 
 “ Ah , 77 said she, “see the ingenuity of poverty; there 
 are those who get a trifle towards their support by 
 melting these into a secondary kind of wax . 77 Was 
 not this gathering up the fragments, that nothing be 
 lost? She one day wished to inform me of some very 
 improper returns she had met with from an afflicted 
 pauper I had recommended to her beneficence ; but 
 she called me away from the company, lest they should 
 hear, saying, “You know we must not speak of these 
 things before persons, for they will make them excuses 
 for their illiberality ; 77 adding, “ it is well, perhaps, 
 for us to meet with such instances as these, to let us 
 into a discovery of our motives in giving, and to re- 
 mind us of our own vileness with regard to Grod ; for 
 what is the ingratitude of the worst of our fellow 
 creatures towards us, compared with our ingratitude 
 towards Him ? 77 
 
 I cannot, in fairness to Mrs. More and to myself, but 
 notice what seems a remarkable circumstance. Towards 
 the close of her memoirs it is said — “ Mrs. More’s re- 
 gard for Mr. Jay is well known, and that she frequent- 
 
MRS. HANNAH" MORE. 
 
 877 
 
 ly attended his ministry for reasons whicV she has as- 
 signed in her address to her Diocesan, in a former 
 volume.” If a person should think it worth while to 
 turn back to this document, they will find no reason 
 assigned, or even the name of the preacher mentioned, 
 but only a statement or defence of her true Churchism. 
 What was inserted was correct, but the explanation is 
 not found. Is this omission the effect of design? Or 
 did it result from a presumption that no inquiry would 
 be made? Or from an apprehension that anything 
 she had favorably said to justify or excuse her attend- 
 ance, might induce others also to offend ? I hope, and 
 would believe, that it was by mistake and oversight. 
 However this may be, the whole of the address to his 
 Lordship* with the addition of some extenuations 
 of her supposed crime furnished by her sister, 
 may be now seen in her life by the Bev. Mr. 
 Thompson. This biographer, who has written with 
 ability, knew not Mrs. More personally, and only 
 came to the church at Wrington as she was leaving 
 the neighborhood, owing to the conduct of her ser- 
 vants and tradesmen, to reside at Clifton ; and much 
 of his information appears to have been derived from 
 persons who could have known little of her earlier 
 connections and habitudes. Yet, even with these par- 
 tial accounts, Mr. Thompson finds no little difficulty 
 in bringing her off a spotless church-woman ; i. e., in 
 his meaning of the term. There is, therefore, as to 
 many particulars, much misstatement. 
 
 This was the case also as to the “ Blagdon Contro- 
 versy.” The clergyman of the parish, provoked to 
 become her enemy, (and the less from any other cause 
 than her evangelism and zeal, and her not exerting 
 
878 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 herself to get him preferment,) endeavored, himself, 
 and prevailed upon others to co-operate with him, to 
 run her down for irregularity as a member of the 
 Church, and encouraging sectarian practices. The 
 case was this : — Though at length, very much by her 
 influence, a number of evangelical clergymen sur- 
 rounded her, and gladly acted with her, (they were 
 called contemptuously by her adversaries “ Hannah 
 Move's nine-pins” in allusion to their number,) yet it 
 was nofc so when she began her efforts in the neigh- 
 boring villages ; and I have often heard her confess 
 that what she did then was not only without clerical 
 countenance and aid, but was opposed by them. But 
 she established schools, and placed over them pious 
 masters and mistresses, who not only taught the chil- 
 dren to read, but to understand the simple truths of 
 the Gospel.* They were also accustomed to pray with 
 these children, and to address them occasionally, in 
 plain and familiar language, concerning their souls and 
 their duties. Sometimes, also, a hymn from Watts or 
 Wesley was sung. During these exercises some of 
 the ignorant rustics would now and then drop in, and 
 listen, and feel a religious concern. When her paro- 
 chial accuser published these things, with his colorings 
 and enlargements, void of the circumstances of ex- 
 planation or excuse, some took great alarm, and, eager 
 for her defence, plunged incautiously into the dispute , 
 and, judging only by what they knew of her then , they 
 denied things which many living could not but own 
 had been substantially true. She could not come for- 
 
 * She more than once applied to me to recommend such as, she 
 said, would be called Methodists * adding, “ I find none seem to do 
 my poor children good beside.’’ 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 379 
 
 ward to contradict her injudicious friends, and she dis- 
 dained entering into a conflict with her unworthy 
 foes. In this dilemma her suffering and perplexity 
 'were great. Some of the results of this vile persecu- 
 tion led her to change, not her principles, but some of 
 her movements and proceedings. She gave up her 
 residence in Bath, and resigned her worshipping inter- 
 course with some of her former connections ; endeav- 
 oring by her future conduct, if possible, to cut off oc- 
 casion of offence from many who were not only dear 
 to her, but had contributed, and contributed still, 
 largely in furtherance of her charities. 
 
 Here persons will differ in their opinions, and not a 
 few have censured her. But she has always stood 
 clear in my own mind. I am fully persuaded she act- 
 ed conscientiously. She is to be viewed as a very ex- 
 traordinary character, in a very peculiar situation, and 
 whose duties must be judged of by circumstances. 
 She only perfectly understood her own position ; and, 
 after reflection and comparison, she could not but act 
 according to her own convictions. I well remember 
 her saying, — “ I throw myself upon the candor of that 
 part of the religious public I as much esteem as ever, 
 to exercise some spiritual self-denial, and which I find 
 to be the most trying of all self-denials.” She, there- 
 fore, never withdrew her friendship ; sent me, as usual, 
 her books when they were published ; and at last re- 
 membered me in her will. 
 
 My own testimony concerning her is, — and I speak 
 advisedly, and from no little acquaintance and obser- 
 vation, — that her piety was equal to her talent, and 
 that her talent was superior even to her fame. Genius 
 is not commonly combined with a strong and hale 
 
380 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 constitution. Mrs. More often suffered from indisposi- 
 tion ; and often composed under aches and pains which 
 would have entirely deterred others from the use of 
 the pen. 
 
 Her poetical productions are few, compared with her 
 prose, and her renown as a writer will be more deriv- 
 ed from the latter than the former. Coleridge has re- 
 marked that, though the force of female genius might 
 be supposed to lie chiefly in imagination, yet, into the 
 long standard list of English poets, no female author 
 has been thought worthy of admission, while so many 
 of them have been distinguished as novelists and 
 dramatists ; and he asks whether this does not prove 
 that other qualities are as necessary to good poetry as 
 what is called imagination? But may we not venture 
 to ask whether this non-admission of females has in 
 no degree arisen from the empire and jealousy of the 
 lords of the creation? Surely, some one of our fe- 
 males deserves a place among the canonized bards, 
 equal to that of some of the poetical privileged males ? 
 
 By nothing, perhaps, did Mrs. More do more good, 
 or display her talents to more advantage, than by 
 throwing herself into the social feelings and habits of 
 the common people, in the series of tracts she publish- 
 ed for their use. I remember being present when she 
 started the proposal. It was at her own house, and at 
 a breakfast party. The company was large and se- 
 lect.* They were asked by her their opinion of the 
 
 * It was on this occasion I first met with the famous John Foster. 
 He was silent all the morning. — (The Editors think it not improba- 
 ble that it was to this meeting Mr. Foster alluded in one of his let- 
 ters to Dr. Fawcett, dated Bristol, Oct. 15, 1791. “Life and Cor- 
 respondence of John Foster,” Vol. I. p. 16: “A few days since, in 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORS. 
 
 381 
 
 probable circulation and usefulness of a number of 
 cheap, short, and familiar publications, especially as 
 they might become a substitute for the poor, licentious, 
 and injurious trash found on stalls, and vended by 
 hawkers. When all naturally approved of the scheme, 
 and doubted not of its success, Mrs. More, as a speci- 
 men of the sort and quality of the articles intended, 
 produced “ The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain,” which 
 she had composed for the purpose. I was called upon 
 to read it. This I did, not without difficulty, being 
 affected to tears with some of its exquisite touches. 
 This probably was not unpleasant to the writer ; but 
 all were delighted with the simple and beautiful ficti- 
 tious tale. I say “ fictitious,” for it was not, as often 
 supposed, founded in fact. A multitude of these tracts 
 
 company with Mr. Hughes, I spent a day with Mrs. Hannah More. 
 She, with four other sisters, all unmarried, reside at the distance 
 of about ten miles from the city. They are all very sensible and 
 agreeable, but she is quite interesting. ’ She was familiarly acquaint- 
 ed with Johnson , and many other distinguished persons who are 
 dead, and is equally well known to most of the geniuses of the 
 present day. Perhaps her poetical abilities, though acknowledged 
 very great, form one of the least of her excellences. If piety and 
 beneficence can give lustre to a character, hers is transcendent. 
 She lives in a kind of retirement, little noticed, except by her dis- 
 tant friends ; and, in conjunction with her biters, whose minds are 
 congenial with her own, employs most of her time in benevolent 
 undertakings, in visiting the poor, furnishing them with necessaries, 
 and procuring instruction for their ignorant children, at the very 
 time that she could figure among poetesses and peeresses. Some 
 of her undertakings, in the design, conduct, difficulties, and success, 
 are so very remarkable, and discover such evident interpositions of 
 Divine Providence, that they almost assume the air of romance. If 
 I ever saw the spirit of the Redeemer and his religion realized, it is 
 in her conversation and character. I expect the pleasure of visit- 
 ing her to be pretty often repeated.”) 
 
S82 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 soon followed. I need not mention that many of them 
 were not of her composition. Several of them were 
 written by her sisters, Sally and Patty, and more by 
 other friendly helpers ; and though none of them can 
 compete with her own, they were all valuable and 
 useful.* 
 
 Did this lead, by example and reflection, to the es- 
 tablishment of / 4 The Tract Society,” in London, which 
 has become so vast, and useful an institution ? 
 
 In these composures, and some larger publications 
 of a similar kind, Mrs. More has been charged with 
 partiality; and there is some ground for it. In her 
 sketches of good and evil characters, the excellences 
 are almost always exemplified in members of her own 
 Church, while defects and improprieties are found in 
 the adherents to Methodism and Dissent. Her read- 
 ing, her personal acquaintances, her judgment, her 
 candor, should have prevented this. There is no per- 
 fection on this side heaven. 
 
 Mr. Hill, in his 44 Dialogues,” is thought by some to 
 have erred in the other extreme, especially in his cler- 
 ical bad examples ; though it should be remembered 
 how much many of the reverends then differed from 
 the same class new. Do not all parties need a word 
 behind them, saving, “ This is the way, walk ye in it,” 
 
 * Among the private papers of Mrs. More was found an interest- 
 ing record which she made on the completion of this series of use- 
 ful publications : — “ Bless the Lord, oh my soul, that I have been 
 spared to accomplish this work ! Do thou, oh Lord, bless and pros- 
 per it to the good of many ; and, if it do good, may I give to thee 
 the glory, and take to myself the shame of its defects. I have de- 
 voted three years to this work. Two millions of these tracts were 
 disposed of during the first year. God works by weak instruments* 
 to show that the glory is all His own.” 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 883 
 
 when they turn to the right hand, or when they turn 
 to the left ? 
 
 I sometimes met at Mrs. More’s house and table the 
 celebrated Alexander Knox, who has more than no- 
 ticed me as a preacher in one of his letters to Bishop 
 Jebb. I remember .well his once specially introducing 
 his views of Justification ; when Mrs. More, though 
 less enlightened then than afterwards, made no scruple 
 to express her dissent, and alleged several scriptures 
 with great propriety. If he did not believe in bap- 
 tismal regeneration, he talked very ambiguously upon 
 it. Indeed, from my personal intercourse, and my 
 subsequent perusal of his letters and papers, I have 
 thought he helped to prepare the way for Puseyism. 
 
 At Mrs. More’s, too, I also repeatedly met Sir James 
 Stonehouse. He was formerly a physician of note at 
 Northampton. At that time he was a hearer, and the 
 intimate friend of Dr. Doddridge, in speaking of whom 
 I recollect his observing the amazing influence and 
 readiness of his mind. “We sometimes,” said he, 
 u for a little excursion and recreation, left home to- 
 gether, for a week or a fortnight ; and, after exploring 
 the sceneries and curiosities of places in the course of 
 the day, he frequently preached in some meeting in 
 the evening to a crowded assembly, without time for 
 retirement, without notes, without fatigue; with an 
 ease, an order, an accuracy, and a fervor, truly aston- 
 ishing.” Yet he professed to prefer Orton to Dod- 
 dridge as a sermonizer, and indeed to every other 
 English divine ! I believe he much coalesced with 
 him in sentiment. 
 
 Rather late in life, he left his professional engage- 
 ments, and entered the Establishment, and became 
 
384 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 vicar of Cheveril, in Wiltshire, where the Rev. Mr. 
 Stedman was his curate, to whom, by his desire, Orton 
 addressed a small volume of letters, which were after- 
 wards published, and which are well worthy the atten- 
 tion of every young minister. 
 
 I first became acquainted with- him while residing 
 at Clifton, and when serving Lady Maxwell at Hope 
 
 Chapel. He lived in — 5 Row, and occasionally 
 
 preached in a chapel-of- ease in Square, where 
 
 he was much followed. His access to this pulpit he 
 assigned as the reason why he could never appear in 
 the place I occupied, as prejudice might deprive him 
 of much opportunity for usefulness, though he paid 
 for the sitting of his servant, and his daughter, Mrs. 
 Yigo, who attended my ministry. When he first came 
 to Bath he was very schismatical himself, for I believe 
 he always attended in our conventicle. But religion 
 lives, and moves, and has its being in various degrees. 
 He was a good man, with too little spirituality, and 
 too keen an appetite for human praise ; therefore Mr. 
 Hervey, whom he attended as a physician, said to him, 
 when dying, “ Dr. Stonehouse, beware of the world ! 
 beware of the world ! beware of the world !” His sen- 
 timents were the skim-milk of the Gospel ; but he must 
 be classed as belonging to the Evangelical Clergy, 
 though very near the border that separates them from 
 others. 
 
 As an author, he wrote only a few small, useful 
 tracts for the afflicted and dying ; but, as a preacher, 
 he was famed for his eloquence, and still more for the 
 admirable manner in which he read the prayers ; in 
 which, he said, he had availed himself of the dictation 
 of Garrick. He was a very sensible and accomplished 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 385 
 
 man, yet noted for excessive egotism, but for which he 
 would have been a more delightful and edifying com- 
 panion. 
 
 1 can, perhaps, be hardly excused for intruding the 
 following letter, the last I ever received from Mrs. 
 More ; but it pleasingly displays traits of her more 
 private character, and affords another proof her kind 
 and constant friendship : — 
 
 My dear Sir, — I know not how to express the gratitude I feel 
 for the very excellent works you have had the goodness to bestow 
 upon me. To feel deeply their inestimable value, and to offer my 
 fervent prayers to the Almighty Giver of every good gift, are all I 
 can do. May He enlighten and strengthen me more and more by 
 the constant perusal. Your last bounty, the new edition of your 
 Prayers, with the valuable additions, is a great additional treasure. 
 We fell upon it with a keen appetite this morning, and I hope I 
 shall be the better for it as long as I live. 
 
 My truly pious friend, Mr. Elven, who is my chief spiritual vis- 
 itor, said, when I showed him your volumes, “ Mr. Jay has more 
 ideas than any man I ever knew.” I could not prevail on myself 
 to keep this remark from you. I thought my hard necessity to 
 leave Barley Wood was a great trial, but it has pleased my gra- 
 cious God to overrule it to my great comfort and benefit. I was 
 there almost destitute of all spiritual advantages ; here I find four 
 ministers of great piety, who are much attached to me, and who 
 supply my want of public attendance at church. 
 
 It was a very agreeable surprise to me to see your good lady, and 
 I was grieved that the largeness of the party (almost all strangers) 
 prevented my attention to her, which was so justly her due. I beg 
 to offer my most kind regards to her. 
 
 I hope you will have the goodness to remember me at the Throne 
 of Grace ; no one stands more in need of your prayers than, my 
 dear Sir, 
 
 Your very faithful 
 
 And highly obliged 
 
 Friend and Servant, 
 
 Hannah More. 
 
 Clifton. — Saturday, 1829. 
 
 IT 
 
386 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 The following lines have never yet appeared in 
 print. They were addressed by Mrs. More to the 
 celebrated and pious Miss Steel, of Broughton, Hamp- 
 shire, during her visit, and after they had walked to 
 Dansbury Hill, an ancient camp, near which, accord- 
 ing to tradition, a battle had been fought between the 
 Saxons and the Danes. Miss Steel having written a 
 poem entitled u Dansbury,” Mrs. More gathered there 
 a sprig of juniper, for which she thus apologized: — 
 
 “ Sylvia, forgive thy daring friend, 
 And do not take it ill, 
 
 If her presuming hand has plucked 
 A wreath from Dansbury Hill. 
 
 Yet, though I much admire the gifts 
 Thy genius can impart. 
 
 Far rather, Sylvia, would I steal 
 One virtue from thy heart. 
 
 And who, fair Sylvia, do you think, 
 Would blame the moral theft ?■* 
 One virtue you would scarcely miss, 
 Who ’d have so many left !” 
 
 At the time when Mrs. More was so cruelly perse- 
 cuted by the Rev. Mr. B n, and the Rev. Mr. 
 
 S n, and Mr. E ds, (not to mention others,) 
 
 Peter Pindar was in his popularity ; he also insinuated 
 his unprovoked slanders and ridicule, and endeavored 
 to rob her of her fame as an author ; upon the reading 
 of which a member of my church wrote the following 
 severe and deserved address, and published it in the 
 papers : — 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 
 
 387 
 
 To Peter Pindar, Esq., ox reading ms “Nil Admirari,' eto. 
 
 This is not candid in thee, J?,eter Pindar; 
 
 ’ Tis a fresh blot upon thy dubious name, 
 
 To envy that applause thou canst not hinder, 
 
 And blast a woman’s literary fame. 
 
 * Tis very contradictious in thee, Peter ; 
 
 It looks unmanly, and betrays thy spleen, 
 
 To insult a female, and with scorn to treat her ! 
 
 It blunts the edge of satire, else so keen. 
 
 ‘ More has no genius,’ Peter says; moreover, 
 
 ‘She has no claim to merit, not the least; ’ 
 
 Yet in her style improved, thou canst discover, 
 
 She must have been assisted by a priest. 
 
 If mental powers which Garrick could admire, — > 
 
 If talents that command a Portia’s praise, 
 
 May without arrogance to fame aspire, 
 
 Her claim is good, whatever Peter says. 
 
 Thy judgment, Peter, comes, I guess, too late; 
 
 Its prompt applause a virtuous public gave he 
 Nor will thy wicked wit reverse her fate, 
 
 Or cancel that decision in her favor. 
 
 But, let the public as it may decide, 
 
 There is a dread tribunal, Peter, hear — 
 
 Where thou, and all thy actions shall be tried, 
 
 And what thy doom will be I greatly fear. 
 
 Believe me, Peter, all thy ridicule 
 
 Will turn to very poor account at best ; 
 
 Thou hast for many years but played the fool, 
 
 And prostituted genius to a jest. 
 
 That man’s a simpleton who flings away 
 
 The precious grain, and only hoards the chafi*; 
 
 And he ’s no better, flout it as he may, 
 
 Who squanders his whole life to raise a laugh. 
 
388 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Try to repair the past ; reform thy plan ; 
 
 Conscience will tell thee thou hast acted wrong; 
 Assume the moral dignity of man, 
 
 And giye to virtue all thy powers of song. 
 
 Bath, Nov. 7, 1799. 
 
 Ahybston. 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 “ Grant some of knowledge greater store, 
 
 More learned some in teaching ; 
 
 Yet few in life did lighten more, 
 
 Or thunder more in preaching.” 
 
 When I preached the funeral sermon of this very 
 singular, but excellent and useful man, immediately 
 after the service, Lord Hill, to whom I dedicated the 
 sermon, several ministers of different denominations, 
 and some of the trustees and managers of the chapel, 
 came into the house, and intimated that I should be 
 expected to write a memoir of the deceased. Some of 
 them, I found, had taken it for granted that I had long 
 been preparing for such a work, and that I had many 
 materials by me for the purpose. I assured them the 
 thought had never entered into my mind ; but they 
 pressed it upon me, on the ground that I had been 
 connected with him so long, and knew more of him 
 than any other surviving minister. I was then (and it 
 had affected me in the preaching) suffering under the 
 influenza , and everything appeared trying; and I could 
 not be unconscious of the difficulty of doing justice to 
 £0 peculiar a character, and of giving satisfaction to 
 many of his admirers. I, therefore, came under no 
 other engagement than to consider the proposal. This 
 
390 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, 
 
 I did on my return home ; and, as the formidableness 
 of the affair lessened, and I knew that I was not 
 wholly or comparatively unqualified for the performance, 
 I yielded, and had even written a few pages, when I 
 received a letter from the Kev. Mr. Sidney, inform- 
 ing me that Mrs. Hill, the evening before her death, 
 had urged him, and that Mr. Hill by will had appointed 
 him to be his biographer. I was thus, and not un- 
 gladly, relieved from the arduous task. Mr. Sidney 
 soon fulfilled his appointment ; and, after his publi- 
 cation, Mr. Jones, of the Tract Society, also sent forth 
 another Life. I was pleased with both these works, 
 the latter of which had the most of specific delinea- 
 tion ; yet the public, never very easily satisfied, seemed 
 to think there was wanting more individuality. There 
 can, indeed, be no character without individuality ; but 
 it should have been considered that a writer, in this in- 
 stance , could not go all lengths, or enter into all the 
 particularizations which the subject would supply, with- 
 out offence. There is an idiosyncrasy in mind as well 
 as body ; and, if the one tries physical, so does the 
 other moral, anatomy. There are persons uniquely 
 framed and disposed, called, by a distinguished author, 
 “ unclassed anomalies,” and who constitute the corps 
 particulier of exceptions to general rules. 
 
 Mr. Hill’s life would be written at some distance of 
 time from his death better than near it, as in the mean- 
 time some innocent peculiarities and facetiousnesess, 
 which many observers might deem exceptionable in a 
 sacred character, would wane away or strike less; 
 whilst his great excellences and usefulness would re- 
 main, and be more prominent and distinct.. 
 
 It may not be amiss to mention two mistakes, or in- 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 391 
 
 advertencies, which have crept into these valuable 
 pieces of biography. The one regards Mr. Hill’s 
 ecclesiastics. He much disliked strict Independency ; 
 but he could not be considered properly as an Episco- 
 palian, in the common or prelatical acceptation of the 
 term. He might not, with many others, have objected 
 to such a bishop as Usher’s primus inter pares, having 
 nothing to do with secular affairs, appointed by the 
 state, chosen by his brethren for his age, talent, and 
 piety, and. residing in the midst of his diocese ; and 
 he did at first submit to the state of things in the Es- 
 tablishment as they are, partially — >1 sa y partially, for 
 he only received deacon’s orders, not accepting those 
 of priest, on the condition alone by which he could 
 obtain them, viz., regularity ; and so, as his drollery ex- 
 pressed it, he ran off with only one boot on ; nor was 
 he an enemy to some state-provision for the instruc- 
 tion of the people. But from conviction he preferred 
 Presbyterianism. I cannot be mistaken here, from my 
 intimacy and conversations with him on the very sub- 
 ject. At my last interview with him, a very few 
 weeks only before his death, he unexpectedly said, 
 “Ah, Mr. Jay, Presbyterianism comes much nearer 
 the original and Scriptural model than your Independ- 
 enc}^ or our Episcopacy and, stroking his face in his 
 usual way, added, “You knoiv this was always my 
 sentiment.” The last time he preached in Bath, he 
 spent the evening with a large party, before whom he 
 exphcity made the same acknowledgment. It was 
 hence he so much liked the Welsh Calvinistic Method- 
 ists, as their plan and measures (though not in name) 
 approximated to the system he most approved. 
 
 The other piece of misinformation regards his inti- 
 
892 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 macy with Mr. Whitfield. This is everywhere ad- 
 mitted, as if it were a generally known fact. But 
 when ana where did any personal intercourse take 
 place between them ? The truth is, though Mr. W. 
 wrote a letter to Mr. Hill, encouraging him to continue 
 his field-preaching, yet they never met ; and I have 
 often heard Mrs. Hill affirm how mistaken many per- 
 sons were, for that her husband had never heard or 
 seen Mr. Whitfield. Neither of these things is of much 
 importance, but it is better that each of them should 
 appear as it really was. 
 
 My long acquaintance with this noted man com- 
 menced when I was yet a student at Marlborough ; be- 
 fore I left, or ought to have left, the Academy, he en- 
 gaged me to go to supply Surrey Chapel for eight 
 weeks. I did this with the approbation of my tutor ; 
 and, as I proved acceptable, Mr. Hill much wished me 
 to enter immediately into an entire connection with 
 him, dividing my labors between London and Wot- 
 ton-under-Edge, and Haverfordwest ; and several other 
 places which were then more or less under his man- 
 agement and control. This I was induced to decline ; 
 but, as he seemed disappointed, and rather displeased, 
 at my refusal, I promised, if he desired it, to occupy 
 his pulpit in town for eight Sabbaths annually. This 
 was done rather thoughtlessly; as, after I became a 
 pastor, I found the time too long to be absent at once 
 from the people of my charge ; yet, for nearly forty 
 years, I did this; after which I was constrained to re- 
 duce my visit to six Sabbaths, and then to four, and 
 then to three ; and, upon Mr. Hill’s death, with whom 
 my engagement was originally made, I entirely gave 
 up the connection, wishing also to afford more of my 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 393 
 
 extra services to the demands of country applications, 
 as well as to secure, if possible, a little relaxation and 
 leisure in the season, at the sea-side : 
 
 “ Junior es ad laborer 
 Solve senectutem.” 
 
 Mr. Hill not only built the large Surrey Chapel, 
 where so many souls have been brought to the knowl- 
 edge of the truth, and such large sums raised in the 
 cause of God and the poor, and where there is even 
 now a vast congregation and church prospering under 
 the ministry of the Eev. Mr. Sherman ;* but also a 
 large tabernacle at Wotton- under-Edge, where God, 
 amidst much opposition at first, had peculiarly blessed 
 his preaching. Here several individuals of respecta- 
 bility were converted, and a numerous church was 
 formed, distinguished by much spirituality and zeal, 
 and which is now in a more thriving condition than 
 ever, under the care of the Rev. Mr. Knill.f Adjoin- 
 ing the tabernacle, Mr. Hill built also a dwelling- 
 house, in which he resided the summer half of the 
 year. But during this season his labors were not 
 confined to Wotton, but frequently extended to various 
 other places in England and W ales. 
 
 My friend and tutor, Cornelius Winter, was ac- 
 quainted with him years before I had seen him, and 
 from his lips I have derived many anecdotes, especial- 
 
 * Mr. Sherman has recently resigned the charge of the congre- 
 gation at Surrey Chapel, and been succeeded by the Rev. Newman 
 Hall. 
 
 f Mr. Knill has, since Mr. Jay wrote, removed to Chester, and 
 been succeeded at Wotton-under-Edge by the Rev. J. T. Feaston, 
 during whose residence the Tabernacle has been rebuilt, and the 
 cause greatly prospered. 
 
 17 * 
 
894 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ly concerning bis earlier history ; one of which, as I 
 frequently heard him mention it, I will undeviatingly 
 relate. Mr. Winter was laboring in Bristol when Mr. 
 Hill first came there. He preached much out of doors ; 
 and, as he was young, and a gentleman’s son, and be- 
 trayed no little wit and humor, which seemed natural 
 to him, he awakened great attention, and cro^wds fol- 
 lowed him. Mr. Winter much ministered unto him, 
 reminding him of his engagements, and attending him 
 in his movements. In another way he was serviceable 
 to him. As he wished to go preaching from place to 
 place, a horse became necessarjr; and Mr. Winter col- 
 lected the money that bought one, which, when it was 
 presented to him, and he would know whence it came, 
 he naturally at first declined it, saying he could not 
 think of being under obligation to persons who could 
 not afford it; but Mr. Winter assured him that no one 
 would suffer by so trifling a sacrifice ; and that all 
 would feel themselves honored by his acceptance of it 
 for the service of Christ (and the expense was not 
 great, for it was a poor kind of Rosinante ). But for 
 awhile it bore this man of God about in those neighbor- 
 hoods. Mr. Winter also more than once obtained for 
 him a little pecuniary supply* for his present wants. 
 For at this time he had straits ; and was it not to his 
 honor that he subjected himself to these, not by vice, 
 but in order to do good to his perishing fellow-crea- 
 tures, and when lie might have been enjoying every 
 kind of indulgence at home ? For his offended father 
 withheld for a season all support ; and, to bring him 
 back from his wild wanderings, his brother (afterwards 
 Sir Richard Hill) was sent to Bristol. But, lo and be- 
 hold ! whei he came, and had seen the grace of God, 
 
KEY. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 395 
 
 he was so struck with young Rowland’s spirit and use- 
 fulness, that he not only omitted the design of his 
 mission, but Saul also was amongst the prophets, and 
 he actually began preaching himself ; and I have 
 known many who heard him hold forth in his usual 
 colored dress. How often have I seen cottages and 
 chambers in which this minister of God has been sat- 
 isfied to eat and sleep, which some not born gentlemen 
 would be very unwilling to put up with ! 
 
 As Mr. Hill was an educated man, so his talents 
 were very superior to what many may imagine. He 
 had an uncommon quickness of apprehension, which 
 will account for the great fund of general knowledge 
 which he possessed ; though he never seemed to study 
 anything, or to read any book attentively through, — 
 yet there was no subject upon which he seemed un- 
 able to speak ; though in discourse he could never be 
 kept long to any one point. His sentiments were Cal- 
 vinistic, but his Calvinism never ran to seed. He was 
 not so high in doctrine as his brother, Sir Richard ; 
 nor so low as his brother, the Rev. Briant Hill. He 
 was not afraid to address sinners ; and when, in a par- 
 ticular place, as he was leaving the vestry to go into 
 the pulpit, one officiously hinted to him, that they 
 preached there only to the elect: “Well,” said he, 
 “ neither will I, if you ’ll go and set a mark upon 
 them.” 
 
 There was nothing he was so anxious to prevent as 
 the abuse of Gospel-grace. Who has not witnessed 
 his abhorrence of Antimonianism ? Of later years, 
 indeed, he was led to notice its adherents too often, 
 and too much. For they were unworthy of his atten- 
 tion ; and as they were sure from prejudice not to hear 
 
396 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 him, it was trying for others to suffer for their sakes. 
 Never did a minister more deserve the character of a 
 Gospel-preacher. Without being censorious, a hearer 
 would sometimes be perplexed to characterize some 
 men’s pulpit performances. James the First, on hear- 
 ing a discourse in which the preacher had much of 
 politics, turned to Bishop Andrews, and said, “My 
 lord, is this to be considered a sermon, or not ?” To 
 which he replied, “ May it please your majesty, it may 
 pass for one by a very charitable construction.” And 
 Louis XYI. is reported, after hearing one of his chap* 
 lains, to have said, “This preacher would have left 
 nothing out of his sermon, if he had happened to 
 touch upon religion.” 
 
 But no candor or allowance was necessary in judg. 
 ing of Mr. Hill’s discourse. There was not one of 
 them but more than touched upon the sole theme of 
 the Apostle’s ministry, “ Jesus Christ and him cruci- 
 fied” — “the Lord our righteousness and strength;” 
 whatever his subject was, it was sure, before its close, 
 to exhale forth something of the “savor of the Ke- 
 deemer’s knowledge.” 
 
 As Mr. Hill is not to be tried by ordinary rules, and 
 as he is not likely to become a precedent or example, 
 (for who ever again is likely to be constituted or circum- 
 stanced like him ?) we may the more freely speak of 
 his character and ministry. 
 
 He has, in his own odd way, in one of his dialogues, 
 spoken of three kinds of.preachers, the tap-cash , the 
 slop-dash , and the slap-dash. By the first he means 
 preachers distinguished by tame and inert feebleness ; 
 without faults, but also destitute of all energy of 
 thought or force of expression. — as Shakspcare would 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 397 
 
 say, fit to “ chronicle small beer.” By the second, lie 
 means preachers marked by strong things in doctrine,, 
 but loose, and hazardous, and extravagant in repre- 
 sentation ; aiming at great effect by the noise of man- 
 ner and the conceits of folly. But by the third, the 
 slap-dashers , he meant preachers whose addresses were 
 attended by an artificial and often abrupt manner ; 
 with sudden and bold allusions and stirring anecdotes ; 
 and rough and homely familiarities of expression, and 
 flashes of imagination and passion ; preachers who, 
 despising formality, and aiming at impressiveness, if 
 not offending, sometimes alarming, taste ; yet keep 
 within the bounds of truth and general propriety 
 This third species, as differing from the two former, 
 was the kind of preaching which Mr. Hid intended to 
 recommend, and to practice. Let us see how far he 
 exemplified it. 
 
 And here, while we would not plead for anything 
 improper, by whatever authority it has been sanction- 
 ed ; so neither shall we censure anything against which 
 mere fastidiousness, or affectation, or prejudice, may 
 object. There may be a negligence of style which 
 betrays a nobleness of mind, a mind too much im- 
 pressed with things to be at liberty to attend to the 
 nicety and order of words ; though here anoiher ex- 
 treme is to be avoided, and plainness of dress is not to 
 let in the disgust of slatternliness. 
 
 The goodness (we speak now only of the goodness 
 of their composition) of public discourses, depends 
 much upon their adaptation to the audience addressed, 
 and the aim the speaker has in view. Mr. Hill always 
 wished to be considered the Apostle of the common 
 people, in resemblance of Him whom the common 
 
398 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 people heard gladly, and in whose teaching “ the poor 
 had the Gospel preached unto them.” But he who 
 undertakes this work of faith and labor of love, will 
 find that he has not to address angels, or sometimes 
 hardly men. He will need to learn the advice which 
 Isocrates was wont to give his pupils, — “ Study the 
 people or that which Cromwell gave to his soldiers, 
 — “ Fire low.” Had his men fired high, they would 
 have done no more execution than some of our preach- 
 ers who shoot over their hearers’ heads. 
 
 The eloquence of the pulpit cannot be, in the nature 
 of things, philosophical ; but is it rhetorical ? The 
 feelings are always eloquent ; but they cannot be 
 learned in the schools. “ Rhetoric,” says Coleridge, 
 “is the creature of art, which he who feels less will 
 most excel in; It is the quackery of eloquence, 
 abounding with specious but mere pretensions. Elo- 
 quence was ruined after it began to be taught by 
 sophists and grammarians in the schools.” If the wish 
 and aim of a preacher should be mere eloquence, he 
 would do well to remember the observation of Mr. 
 Hall : — “ A consummate orator is a character which 
 we despair of ever seeing perfectly associated with 
 that of a Christian teacher. The minister of the Gos- 
 pel is called to declare the testimony of God, which is 
 always weakened by a profuse emploj^ment of the or- 
 naments of secular eloquence. The imagination is too 
 much excited and employed by those exquisite paint- 
 ings and nice touches of art, not to interfere with the 
 awful functions of conscience ; — the hearer is absorb- 
 ed in admiration, and the exercise which ought to be 
 the instrument of conviction becomes a feast of taste. 
 It is a strong objection to a studied attempt at oratory 
 
REY. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 399 
 
 in the pulpit, that it naturally induces a neglect of the 
 peculiar doctrines of the Gospel where the preacher 
 feels himself restrained, and is under the necessity of 
 explaining texts, of obviating objections, and elucidat- 
 ing difficulties, which limit the excursions of imagina- 
 tion, and not only confine, but break his fine expatiat- 
 ings in the flowery field of declamation.” 
 
 Hume observes, that the speaker who most power- 
 fully affects the mass of an audience, ought to be con- 
 sidered the greatest orator. And Dr. Campbell saj^s, 
 — “ We readily admit, and zealously contend, that no- 
 thing* can be more opposite to a just notion of elo- 
 quence than a rule to exclude familiar and very hum- 
 ble objects and topics from all intervention in the il- 
 lustration of great subjects.” Under the direction of 
 genius, very common, and even mean matters may be 
 conjured up into marvellous appositeness, and digni- 
 fied services. 
 
 To return : — These remarks are not impertinent. 
 They will prepare us to go forward, and will serve in 
 a measure to explain, and in a degree to defend, the 
 preacher before us. 
 
 Mr. Hill was not, as many think, who have only 
 heard of him by report, that lying tale-bearer, a mere 
 boisterous bawler. He was sometimes loud, and occa- 
 sionally even vehement ; but in common his voice only 
 rose with his subject ; and it was easy to perceive that 
 it was commonly influenced and regulated by his 
 thoughts and feelings. He was not like those who 
 strain and roar always, and equally , having no more 
 energy or emphasis for one thing than another. As 
 the parts of a subject most vary, some being more ten- 
 der, some more awful, some more plain, and some 
 
400 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 more abstruse, a uniformity of vehemence must be un- 
 natural ; it is obviously mechanical ; and will, after 
 awhile, have only a kind of automaton effect. 
 
 Mr. Hill had an assistant that erred this way, and I 
 
 remember how he one day reproved him. “ J ,” 
 
 said he, “you yelp like a puppy as soon as you get 
 into the field ; but I am an older hound, and do not 
 wish to cry till I have started running.” 
 
 As many things said of him were entirely false, so 
 some that were true were much enlarged and aggra- 
 vated. But he had many freedoms in the pulpit which 
 could not be entirely justified. These were common- 
 ly the effects of his engaging with little or no premed- 
 itated preparation. He never wrote anything like an 
 outline, or even seemed to have attempted to method- 
 ize his thoughts. Three things have often made me 
 wonder at his continual neglect of this : — First . That 
 it arose not from inability. He could think, and think 
 consecutively and orderly, as appears from his Dia- 
 logues, — a species of writing in which he excelled, and 
 which requires no small degree of reflection, forecast, 
 and comparison. Secondly . That he was not urged to 
 more previous arrangement and readiness, from his 
 suffering so much, which I know he occasionally, if 
 not frequently, did , from his embarrassments in his work, 
 and his uneasiness after it was over. And, Thirdly . 
 That his piety did not constrain him, by reflecting 
 what a talent was given him, in having the care of a 
 thousand people committed to him ; and what a duty 
 it was to use it to the best possible advantage. 
 
 His text seldom much confined him. I heard his 
 brother, Sir Richard, complaining of this, and making 
 this jus* remark, — “ When a man gives out a text, he 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 401 
 
 raises my expectation to hear that text explained, and 
 improved ; and I feel disappointed if I hear as good 
 or better things from any other words.” 
 
 Yet, though I think a method, in a way of divisions, 
 (not multiplied,) is a great aid to the preacher and the 
 hearer, the meaning of a text mav be substantially 
 treated without it ; and Mr. Hill would sometimes, by 
 a few bold thoughts, strike out most powerfully the 
 spirit of a passage. The most original and brilliant 
 sentiments I ever heard him deliver, escaped from him 
 in his loosest harangues, and when his mind was void 
 of all sense of effort. Indeed, when a preacher who 
 extemporizes much is in a good frame of mind, and 
 thought flows freely and easily, he will feel more fresh 
 and lively than one w r ho has anticipated and familiar- 
 ized his subject by premeditation ; but, at other times, 
 having nothing to support him, or to start from, he is 
 perplexed by effort, or reduced to very commonplace. 
 So true it is, as Lord Brougham says, that a he who 
 studies, and is most prepared, always extemporizes 
 best.” 
 
 I have observed that, while divisions of the subject 
 were to others only as the banks of a river, which do 
 not hinder, but guide and accelerate the stream ; all 
 Mr. Hills attempts at arrangement, if he had made 
 any, would have been like throwing something across 
 the current, w r hich impeded and made it run astray. 
 
 He was in danger from another quarter. Wit , it has 
 been said, is a quality which more instantly and irresist- 
 ibly pleases and captivates than any other attribute of 
 a speaker. We need not w r onder, therefore, if the pos- 
 sessor of this endowment should be tempted to use it 
 unduly and unseasonably. How hard must it have 
 
402 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OP CHARACTER. 
 
 been for Mr. Hill to leave his humor behind him when 
 he entered the pulpit ! This was, indeed, overruled 
 for good, and the expectation of hearing something 
 droll and witty drew many to hear him, who, though 
 they came to laugh, returned to pray. But Mr. Hill 
 himself was not unconscious of the danger here. In 
 his sermon on the death of the Rev. Mr. Roquet of 
 Bristol, he says, — u Amid all these amiable endow- 
 ments, is it to be wondered at if one hears a distant 
 hint, as if now and then my dear loved friend might 
 have been supposed to have made somewhat of a 
 small elopement from that cheerfulness which is truly 
 Christian, towards a disposition too nearly bordering 
 upon a turn of pleasantry, which might have needed 
 a little more of the spirit of solemnity ? With the 
 greatest delicacy I mention this hint, and am glad to 
 cover it with the mantle of love, by lamenting before 
 you all the same weakness . A. lively , active disposition 
 is too apt to lead into this mistake. In many things we 
 offend , and it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not con- 
 sumed.” 
 
 A man should never dive who cannot swim. Mr. 
 Hill could come up again ; and we have often seen the 
 smile which he excited soon followed by the dropping 
 tear. Yet these outbreaks of wit and humor some- 
 times gave offence, and caused his good to be evil 
 spoken of ; and it must be owned that his ideas, like 
 rich clusters of grapes, sometimes, for want of proper 
 support, fell down and were soiled upon the ground. 
 But, though you could not tie the wings or guide the 
 flight of the eagle in his preaching, it was otherwise 
 with his prayers. There was nothing eccentric, no- 
 thing of levity there They were even singularly 
 
KEY. ROY" LAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 403 
 
 solemn, serious, and devotional ; and they had also 
 two other good qualities. They were always short , and. 
 also free from the introduction of very particular cases , 
 which endangers devotion by awakening curiosity, and 
 embarrasses the preacher by the difficulty of properly 
 wording them. 
 
 I do not think with some that candor was one of 
 Mr. Hill’s greatest qualities. Among his own imme- 
 diate connections, he expected implicit submission, and 
 his will was law. Of other parties, who differed from 
 him, he could speak freely.* He did not always dis- 
 tinguish between bigotry and regularity, nor consider 
 that persons were not to be run down as illiberal be- 
 cause they acted conscientiously, and did not feel them- 
 selves at liberty to tread in all his steps. Johnson 
 
 * He was commonly not very candid or courteous toward our 
 Baptist friends, and would use severe, if not insulting tilings, when 
 he administered the ordinance of infant baptism. One evening he 
 preached at our association at Bath. On these occasions our breth- 
 ren of all denominations mingle. His sermon was not only very 
 loose and unconnected, but irritating and reflective towards the 
 Baptists, many of whom were present; so that their minister, Mr. 
 
 P , instantly left the place, and never could be prevailed upon 
 
 to hear him again. The case was, he had come down from Chippen- 
 ham in the afternoon, where they had told him of the indiscretions 
 and influence of some not very well accredited Baptist preacher 
 This prepossessed his mind; he could think of nothing else, and for 
 the time speak of nothing else. And this leads me to observe how 
 much depended always, as to his preaching, upon the company and 
 conversation of the persons he immediately left to go into the pul- 
 pit. These would commonly give a turn or a tincture to the ser- 
 mon. His wisest and best friends knew this, and would be con- 
 cerned to bring forward nothing but what would rather aid than 
 injure him. Upon this principle, he always preached best of a Sun- 
 day morning, when the bloom was not rubbed off, and he only left 
 the company of prophets and apostles 
 
404 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 surprised some when he was in Scotland, by calling a 
 man who seemed to lay stress upon nothing, “ a bigot 
 to laxness. 7 ’ 
 
 But too much cannot be said of his benevolence and 
 beneficence. Tenderness and kindness seemed inher- 
 ent in his very nature ; and they were nourished and 
 strengthened by the spirit of the religion which he so 
 eminently possessed. He did good to the beast, and 
 his feeling for the brutes sometimes showed itself in 
 ways which many would be almost ready to ridicule ; 
 but it bespoke the sensibility of his disposition.* And 
 not only did the enthusiast and fanatic (as some sup- 
 posed him to be) regard the souls of men, but theii 
 bodies and outward estate. Hence his frequent col- 
 lections for the poor, and his visiting their lowly sheds, 
 and teaching them arts and habits of economy. Hence 
 he built tenements for the indigent at Wotton, and 
 alms-houses for widows in London. Hence he even 
 learned vaccination, and always carried lymph with 
 him, and performed upon hundreds, if not thousands, 
 in the towns and villages he visited in preaching. 
 
 “I have seen an end of all perfection;” and my 
 friend had failings. The greatest of these I ever ob- 
 served in him was an extreme^ quick sense of any 
 injury or offence, and allowing it to linger about his 
 spirit. The offence, too, was sometimes supposed, 
 rather than real, or credited on the evidence of some 
 tatler, or busybody, who often beset him, and were 
 not sufficiently frowned off. His high regard for mor- 
 
 Thus he had what he called a Frogery and Toadery at the 
 bottom of his orchard, where he said these poor creatures would 
 marry and be given in marriage, and live an unpersecuted and 
 merry life. 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M, 
 
 405 
 
 al consistency would be enough to make one impro- 
 priety, or indiscretion, undo much of an opposite qual- 
 ity, and where there was anything actually peccable 
 in the character of a professor, or especially a minister, 
 the spirituality and purity of his mind would render 
 it more intolerable to him than it would be to many 
 men. 
 
 With too little discrimination many of his striking 
 sayings and allusions have been published. If I were 
 required to add to them, I should not repeat many of 
 his homespun, familiar, lowly, and very simple images 
 and illustrations ; but only try to distinguish the flow- 
 ers he gathered off the bank from those which occa- 
 sionally he drew from the ditch. Yet here it is very 
 probable I should be too fastidious for some, and ad- 
 mit and admire too much for others. In one of his 
 sermons he was speaking of the value of the Gospel 
 from its relative aim and influence. “It makes,” says 
 he, “ husbands better husbands, and wives better wives ; 
 parents better parents, children better children ; mas- 
 ters better masters, and servants better servants ; in a 
 word, I would not give a farthing for that man’s relig- 
 ion whose cat and dog were not the better for it !” 
 Every one could not have uttered this, but I received 
 it from no less a person than Mr. Wilberforce, who 
 heard it himself, and who remarked that, while prob- 
 ably everything else he said that evening was long 
 ago forgotten, no one would ever forget this. 
 
 Preaching at one of our Associations, and seeing 
 several ministers present who were belligerents, he 
 gave an arch look towards them, and said, “lam 
 afraid some preachers will die of the fat rot.” 
 
 Not very long before his death, meeting an acquaint- 
 
406 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS ( F CHARACTER. 
 
 ance who was nearly as aged as himself, he said, “ If 
 you and I don’t march off soon, our friends yonder” 
 (looking upwards) “ will think we have lost our way.” 
 
 Reading in my pulpit the words of the woman at the 
 well, “ the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans,” 
 — looking off, as if he saw the parties themselves, he 
 exclaimed, “ But the devil has had dealings enough 
 with both of you.” 
 
 He one day said, “ When I was in Scotland I found 
 many parties all very clever and zealous in defending 
 their own tenets, and distinguishing between their 
 Sibboleths and Shibboleths. There were the Lifters and 
 the anti-Liffcers. These were divided by the action of 
 the minister in the sacramental elements, — viz., whether, 
 in the consecration of them at the table, he should lift 
 them up or not. One of their pastors was ordained by 
 imposition of hands : but one of the elders could not 
 reach his hand far enough to impose it on the head of 
 the candidate, and so he put along his cane. This,” 
 says he, “ did equally well ; it was timber to timber.” 
 
 I never thought Mr. Hill particularly happy in the 
 introduction of many of his anecdotes. As far as wit, 
 humor, or drollery was concerned, he invariably suc- 
 ceeded; but sometimes they were abruptly brought in, 
 in consequence of the failure of subject-matter to go 
 on with ; and Mr. Hill’s voice, though good and strong, 
 was not versatile and pathetic, so as to make the cir- 
 cumstance of the incident to “ touch and tell.” Herein 
 he was inferior to Whitfield. Though he had more 
 stoutness, and firmness, and independence of mind 
 than Whitfield, he had not the same softness and sen- 
 sibility ; while Whitfield’s voice was incomparable, not 
 only distinct and loud, but abounding with every kind 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 m 
 
 of inflection, and perfectly under tlie power of the 
 owner ; so that he could render everything he express- 
 ed, however common or insignificant in itself, striking 
 and affecting. How many proofs and instances of this 
 did I receive from my friend and tutor, Mr. Winter, 
 who related them from his own observation and hear- 
 ing ! I lament I did not receive more of them from 
 his mouth. At this moment I remember two of them, 
 which, as specimens, I will exactly relate. 
 
 On going to preach at Bristol Tabernacle, he began 
 his series of sermons on the eve of Bristol fair. His 
 text was Isaiah, lv. 1 : “Ho, every one that thirsteth, 
 come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; 
 come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk 
 without money and without price.” The congregation 
 was large. Thus he began : — “My dear hearers, I fear 
 many of you are come to attend Bristol fair. So am I. 
 You do not mean to show your goods until to morrow; 
 but I shall exhibit mine to-night. You are afraid 
 purchasers will not come up to your prices ; but I am 
 afraid my buyers will not come down to mine; for mine 
 (striking his hand on the Bible) are ‘without money 
 and without price.’ ” 
 
 Upon the death of his wife, he preached her funeral 
 sermon. The text was, “ And we know that all things 
 work together for good to them that love God, to them 
 who are the called according to his purpose.” — Romans, 
 viii. 28. In noticing her character he mentioned her 
 fortitude, and suddenly exclaimed, “ Do you remember 
 my preaching in those fields, by the old stump of the 
 tree? The multitude was great, and many were dis- 
 posed to be riotous. At first I addressed them firmly ; • 
 but when a desperate gang of banditti drew near, with 
 
408 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 the most ferocious looks and horrid imprecations and 
 menaces, my courage began to fail. My wife was then 
 standing behind me, as I stood on the table. I think 
 I hear her now. She pulled my gown (he then put his 
 hand behind him, and touched his gown), and, looking 
 up, said 1 George, play the man for your God.’ My 
 confidence returned. I again spoke to the multitude 
 with boldness and affection ; they became still ; and 
 many were deeply affected.” 
 
 Mr. Hill sometimes rendered a word of rebuke equal- 
 ly strong and witty. Thus, when a preacher of no very 
 good reputation was in the vestry of a place where he 
 was going to preach, and seemed uneasy lest his servant 
 should not arrive in time with his cassock, Mr. Hill 
 said, “ Sir, you need not be uneasy ; for I can preach 
 without my cassock, though I cannot preach without 
 my character.” 
 
 As he was coming out of a gentleman’s house in 
 Piccadilly, he met in the passage a minister with a 
 begging case, who, though popular with some, had, it 
 was suspected, been imposing for a good while on the 
 religious public ; who offered him his hand, but Mr. 
 Hill drew back, and looking him in his face, said, 
 “ Ah, I thought you had been hanged long ago.” 
 
 A forward and conceited young man one day calling 
 upon him at my house, asked him if he had heard 
 that he was going to change his sentiments? “No, 
 sir,” said Mr. Hill, “I have not ; but, if you have not 
 fixed the time,, I would advise you to do it as near the 
 change of the moon as possible.” 
 
 A rather talkative woman one day said to him, “ I 
 have been a good deal of late with some papists, and 
 they have sadly tempted me to change my religion.” 
 
REV. ROWLAND HILL, A.\f. 
 
 409 
 
 “ Indeed, ma’am,” he replied, “I was not aware until 
 now you had any religion to change.” 
 
 I once heard him repeat the Lord’s Prayer, and wit- 
 nessed the great effect produced when he had said, 
 “ Forgive us our trespasses,” by making a considerable 
 pause before he added, “as we forgive them that tres- 
 pass against us as if he almost feared to utter it, lest 
 he should condemn himself and others. 
 
 I remember what an impression he made when 
 preaching for me, by an interjcctive parenthesis ; for 
 when, in reading the chapter, 1 Thessalonians, v., he 
 repeated the verse, “ Abstain from all appearance of 
 evil,” he lifted his eyes, and said in a very solemn voice, 
 “ Oh, the infinite delicacy of the Gospel !” 
 
 His brother, Sir Richard, once told me of an early 
 instance of his adroitness, remarking that he was the 
 same from a lack It occurred while he was at Eton 
 College. Even then he was under deep impression of 
 a religious nature ; and as he felt the importance of 
 divine things himself, he was concerned and active to 
 do good to others ; and thus lie did with an old female 
 servant that frequently waited upon him. She one day 
 rather reproved him for his zeal, saying that persons 
 should not be righteous over-much, and should be 
 careful to avoid extremes in religion. “ Some,” she 
 said, “ were too cold, and some were too hot.” “ Then,” 
 said young Rowland, “ I suppose you think that we 
 had better be lukewarm?” “ Yes,” she said, “that 
 was the proper medium.” He then took up his Testa- 
 ment, and read the Saviour’s address to the Church of 
 Laodicea ; — “ I would thou wert cold or hot. So 
 then because thou art lukewarm , and neither cold 
 nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth at which 
 
 18 
 
410 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 his tepid admonislier seemed a little surprised and 
 aghast. 
 
 He was the intimate friend of Dr. Jenner, who in- 
 troduced vaccination. To this discovery he was an 
 admiring and practical devotee. I was one day with 
 him when one of the company was speaking rather 
 disrespectfully of this remedy, and said there was 
 something very disagreeable and offensive in commu- 
 nicating a disease from a filthy^ beast into a human 
 being. “A filthy beast, sir! why, a cow is one of the 
 most agreeable of all animals ; everything about her 
 is wholesome and useful ; we get odor from her breath ; 
 she supplies our tables with meat, and butter, and 
 cream, and cheese; and I assure you, sir, I would 
 rather eat a cow than a Christian.” 
 
 I know that once at Wotton he was preaching in the 
 afternoon, (the only time when it seemed possible to 
 be drowsy under him,) he saw some sleeping, and 
 paused, saying, “ I have heard that the miller can 
 sleep while the mill is going, but if it stops it awakens 
 him. I ’ll try this method and so sat down, and 
 soon saw an aroused audience. 
 
 I was one day walking with him through Bath. In 
 the market-place we met an eminent clergyman, whom 
 he much respected, but with whom he could be fa- 
 miliar, having been at college with him. He had for 
 some weeks been in the city, where, as to his not hav- 
 ing preached in any of the churches there excited no 
 surprise ; but Ml Hill thought it became him to coun- 
 tenance his own creed wherever he was by his prac- 
 tice. He therefore began instantly : a Ah ! Mr. — 
 
 this will never do. You know the value of the Gos 
 pel ; you have published, not only in favor of its truth, 
 
KEY. ROWLAND HILL, A.M. 
 
 411 
 
 but of its all-importance. You have contended that 
 God only gives testimony to the word of his grace ; 
 and have said that those who preach any other doc- 
 trine are betrayers and destroyers of souls, condemn- 
 ing them as worse than Robespierre, who only mur- 
 dered men’s bodies, while these destroj^ed their souls.” 
 The divine began to explain and defend. “ Nay,” 
 said Mr. Hill, u my dear brother, I may take you upon 
 j^our own ground, and argue with you on your own 
 principles and professions. How can you, with your 
 avowed sentiments, turn your back upon the Gospel 
 where it is preached, and go where you acknowledge 
 it is not preached, owning, too, a great difference be- 
 tween things essential and not essential in* religion ; 
 and that our preferences in subordinate matters should 
 not amount to exclusions. What is the chaff to the 
 wheat ? I contend that always, and wherever we are, 
 we ought to show our regard to the truth as it is in 
 Jesus ; and that this cannot be done by indifferent 
 and indiscriminate attendance. Here you admonish 
 people to abide where they are ; praying and waiting 
 till the Gospel comes there, without any promise when 
 it will come, or whether it will come at all into their 
 particular church, unless in the latter-day glory ; while 
 in the meantime they are hearing words which cause 
 them to err, and are in danger of perishing for lack of 
 knowledge. Can you believe that one would do this 
 who determined to know nothing save Jesus Christ 
 and him crucified ; and suffered the loss of all things 
 for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
 his Lord?” “ Dear Rowland,” said his friend, “ I see . 
 you are Rowland still.” “Yes,” said his reprover, 
 
 “ and I hope I shall never change or skulk even to the 
 
412 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 end. You say I go too far. You know in doctrine 
 you go as far as I go ; but I see you have met with 
 Nicodemus ; and the fear of men bringeth a snare.” 
 
 Mr. was now glad to turn the conversation, 
 
 and to notice the grand victory of Trafalgar, which 
 had just been achieved. u AhI” said Mr. Hill, “do 
 you not admire the strain of piety in Collingwood’s 
 despatches? I declare I wish that some of our ad- 
 mirals were!’ made bishops, though I could not wish 
 that any of our bishops were made admirals — unless 
 yellow ones.” 
 
 To conclude this imperfect sketch. Let us hear a 
 voice, saying, “ What God hath cleansed, that call not 
 thou common ;” and let us honor them whom God 
 honors, however they may differ from us. He will do 
 Ins own work in his own way; and let him do what 
 seemeth him good. We need instruments of all kinds, 
 and every man in his own order. Sharp-shooters 
 may do execution, as well as the rank*and-file soldiers, 
 and belong to the same army, though their movements 
 are detached, and they seem to act irregularly. David 
 essayed to go in Saul’s armor, and could not : but was 
 he inefficient with his sling and stones ? 
 
 Above all, let us glorify God in him. He might 
 well have said, “By the grace of God I am what I 
 am ; and I labored more abundantly than they all ; 
 yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 
 And how exceedingly abundant was that grace towards 
 him, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus ! 
 
 Behold the strength of a principle- appearing in his 
 ceaseless and self-denying exertions and sacrifices; 
 bearing up the intenseness of Iris ardor, and allowing 
 nothing to drive or draw him for one moment aside. 
 
REV. ROWLAND IIILL, A.M. 
 
 413 
 
 If any (for none can accuse him) should be disposed 
 to pity him as weak, and ridicule him as fanatical, a 
 period will soon rectify their judgment, and lead them 
 to pass sentence on themselves: — “We fools counted 
 his life madness, and his end to be without honor. 
 Now is he numbered with the children of God, and 
 his lot is with the saints !” 
 
 “ They that be wise shall shine in the brightness 
 of the firmament, and they that turn many to right- 
 eousness as the stars forever and ever,” and in that 
 day how many princes and heroes and philosophers 
 will envy the man who, through good report and 
 through evil report., followed his Lord with single 
 purpose of heart, and then hear that Saviour saying, 
 “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
 into the joy of thy Lord.” 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HEY. WILLIAM JAY 
 
 WITH 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF SOME DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARIES, 
 U'^ECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE, AND 
 LITERARY REMAINS. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 GEORGE REDFORD, D. D., LL.D , 
 
 AND 
 
 JOHN ANGELL JAMES. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 N E W YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
 
 No. 2 85 BROADWA V. 
 
 J 856. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
 ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
 New York 
 
 STICK EOT YP ED BY 
 
 THOMAS B. SMITH 
 
 216 William St. N. Y. 
 
 PRINTED MY 
 
 E O. JENKINS 
 
 114 Nassau St. 
 
CONTENTS TO VOL. II 
 
 PART III. — Continued. 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARIES. 
 
 VI. 
 
 PA.GR 
 
 Rev. Richard Cecil, M.A 1 
 
 VII. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Pearce, A.M f 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Rev. Robert Hall, A.M 13 
 
 IX. 
 
 Rev. Joseph Hughes, A.M . . 24 
 
 X. 
 
 Rev. John Foster 34 
 
 XI. 
 
 Lady Maxwell, and Rev. John Wesley 50 
 
 XII. 
 
 Mr. Holmes . 55 
 
1Y 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Mr. Welsh . 
 
 XIII. 
 
 PAOR 
 
 . 64 
 
 
 XI Y. 
 
 Mr. Robert Spear 
 
 
 
 XY. 
 
 Miss Protheroe 
 
 82 
 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Mrs. Smith . 
 
 . 86 
 
 Mr. John Poynder 
 
 XVII. 
 
 91 
 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Rammohun Roy . 
 
 94 
 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Tuppen . 
 
 
 
 XX 
 
 Mr. Yescombe 
 
 109 
 
 
 XXL 
 
 Dr. Cogan . 
 
 . 113 
 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Rev. Benjamin Davis, D.D. 
 
 . 120 
 
 
 xxir 
 
 Rev. Thomas Haweis, M.D. . 
 
 . 125 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 y 
 
 PART IY. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE 
 REV. W. JAY. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Mr. Jay to Miss Davies . 135 
 
 Rev. Cornelius Winter to Mr. Jay 136 
 
 Mr. Jay to Mr. Withers 138 
 
 Mrs. Jay 140 
 
 the same 141 
 
 Mr. Newall, on the Death of Two Children . . 143 
 
 his daughter Statira 144 
 
 the same 146 
 
 the same 153 
 
 his son at Wymondley College 155 
 
 the same 157 
 
 the same 159 
 
 Sir J. B. Williams, on the Sudden Death of John Lee, 
 
 Esq 161 
 
 Miss Harman 163 
 
 his son Edward 165 
 
 Rammohun Roy 167 
 
 his son Edward 168 
 
 Miss Harman 170 
 
 Lord Barham to Mr. Jay 171 
 
 Mr. Jay to Lord Barham 172 
 
 Lady Barham to Mr. Jay 178 
 
 Mr. Jay to the Queen, with a copy of the Morning and Evening 
 
 Exercises, presented by Lady Barham 179 
 
 Mr. Jay to Miss Head 180 
 
 the same 182 
 
 Miss Harman 185 
 
 Rev. T. Grinfield to Mr. Jay, on his Jubilee , . . .186 
 
 Mr Jay to Miss Harman 188 
 
 the same 190 
 
 Miss Head 191 
 
 Mr. Rice Hopkins 194 
 
 the same 195 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Mr. Jay to Lady Ducie 196 
 
 the same . v ...... . 198 
 
 the same 200 
 
 Lord Ducie . . . 202 
 
 Lady Ducie 204 
 
 the same 205 
 
 the same , 208 
 
 the same 209 
 
 Dr. Bowie, his Physician 212 
 
 PART V. 
 
 LITERARY REMAINS. 
 
 Lines on the Death of his daughter Statira >11 
 
 Lines written on seeing his Portrait by Mr. Etty, designed for Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. Bolton, at Liverpool 220 
 
 Lines supposed to be spoken by Mrs. Bolton, on the receipt of her 
 Mother’s Likeness, sent her by Mr. Ashton . . . .221 
 
 To Miss Browne, on her presenting the Author with a pair of 
 
 Glasses 223 
 
 To Miss Browne, on her presenting Mr. Jay with several Bands 
 made out of her Grandfather’s Archiepiscopal Sleeves . .225 
 
 Lines, with the present of a Bible, written and presented to his 
 very dear daughter, Mrs. Robert Bolton, the morning of her 
 
 Marriage 226 
 
 To Mrs. Gill, on her desiring from him a Letter of his own Writ- 
 ing, to be kept for his sake . 227 
 
 Lines on his Fifty-fifth Birth-day 228 v , 
 
 Lines written on visiting his Native Village . . .229 
 
 Anecdote — Conversion and subsequent History of Mrs. Ulph . 233 
 The Evangelical Alliance — addressed to Mr. Charles Godwin . 240 
 Dr. John Owen 241 
 
 Apostolical Succession 242 
 
 Wordsworth . . . . . ... . . 242 
 
 Moral and Evangelical Preaching 243 
 
 In-dwelling Sin . 243 
 

 
 * ■ 
 
 ‘l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
CONTENTS. yii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Relative Misery of Sin . 244 
 
 Orton’s “ Life of Doddridge” ....... 244 
 
 Common Sense . 244 
 
 Faith 244 
 
 Fishing for Compliments 244 
 
 The Sin against the Holy Ghost 245 
 
 Types and Shadows 245 
 
 The Great Intercessor 245 
 
 On Lord Byron 245 
 
 Sermon I. — “ He shall choose our inheritance for us” . . - 246 
 
 Sermon II. — Christ as a Leader, an Interpreter, and a never-failing 
 Friend 9 65 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 BY THE EDITORS. 
 
 Mr. Jay as a Preacher 285 
 
 an Author 313 
 

 
 
 
 
 ... •• 
 
 
 
 
 
PART III. — Continued. 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, 
 
 IN 
 
 A SERIES OF REMINISCENCES 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 “ Clothed in sanctity and grace* 
 
 How sweet it is to see 
 Those who love thee as they pass, 
 
 Or when they wait on thee.”— Cowpifti 
 
 ■' Math the perfect man.”— David. 
 
REV. RICHARD CECIL, M.A. 
 
 Mr. Cecil was a very popular preacher when I 
 went to London, though I always thought his popu- 
 larity was not equal to his desert. I greedily seized 
 every opportunity in my power of hearing him, and 
 never without impression. The impression was not 
 so much of the pathetic as of the serious and solemn. 
 He did not excel so much in the soft and tender, as in 
 the striking and powerful. 
 
 He was perfectly free from all affectation of oratory ; 
 but everything about him in the pulpit, his figure, his 
 looks, his hand sometimes laid across his loins from 
 pain, his firm and decisive enunciation — all was dig- 
 nified and impressive, and never failed of commanding 
 attention. Conscious of the divinity of his mission, 
 and the importance of his message, he always seemed 
 to feel what he once expressed, when with a powerful 
 voice he said, u I must be heard 
 
 For the sake of excitement and effect, especially 
 upon the mass of his hearers, he was sometimes, after 
 the manner of the Nonconformists, with whose works 
 his education made him familiar, quaint in his sen- 
 tences, aH sometimes also in the plan and division 
 of his sermons. T ndeed, his excellency lay not so 
 much in the clear and orderly arrangement of his sub- 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ject, as in the fillings up and exemplifications. There 
 was also nothing very consecutive in his discourses ; 
 no one train of thought being pursued at length, or 
 fully argued out; and this, I remember, Mr. Wilber- 
 force rather complained of, saying, one day, after he 
 had been attending him, that he seemed too much to 
 follow after things by starts, and sometimes failing to 
 overtake them. This was rather severe, especially for 
 him ; and I could not but think that the senator had 
 been hearing rather than the Christian ; and that for 
 once, if possible, the talent and the eloquence to which 
 he had been accustomed made him forget what is most 
 profitable to a common congregation. 
 
 The eloquence of the senate, the bar, and the schools 
 will never be the effective eloquence of the pulpit. 
 All eloquence there which does not arise from feeling, 
 and produce it, is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal ; 
 and any profound argumentation, or long-continued 
 illustration, will fail in keeping up the attention, or in 
 securing the remembrance, in ordinary hearers. “ The 
 words of the wise are as goads and as nails.” What 
 preponderates must be weighty ; what pierces must be 
 pointed ; what is carried away must be portable ; and 
 all cannot equally carry. 
 
 Mr. Cecil had always a number of striking remarks, 
 reflections, and sentiments, which would be remem- 
 bered from their own impressiveness, independently 
 of a more lucid or connecting arrangement. He seem- 
 ed much at home in treating historical passages ; in 
 representations of common life ; in brief sketches of 
 character ; and in hitting off, with a stroke, a particu- 
 lar feature, so distinctly and strongly, that there was 
 no mistaking the individual to whom it belonged. 
 
REV. RICHARD CECIL, M.A. 
 
 3 
 
 He bacl few anecdotes, but these alwaj^s told, and 
 were brief and pertinent, and always offered their as- 
 sistance, instead of being introduced for their own 
 sakes. But he abounded peculiarly with Scripture 
 facts, which, without a formal quotation, he aptly in- 
 terwove in the texture of his discourse, with singular 
 propriety and telling effect. If a figure would go 
 with him a mile, he did not compel it to go twain. 
 He never evaporated the spirit of a metaphor, in nu- 
 merous subtle particles of allusion. He seldom used 
 an entire comparison ; but rather, as he passed along, 
 by a glance snatched from it a significant circumstance 
 which helped his subject without drawing off attention 
 to itself. Instead of glossing a passage of Scripture as 
 he repeated it, or explaining it after he had repeated it, 
 he admirably threw out the meaning and force of the 
 words previously, and then announced them as a 
 beautiful and powerful illustration, confirmation, and 
 clinching of the argument he was treating. 
 
 Among many other excellences in his preaching he 
 was always brief. I never heard him surpass forty 
 minutes. This is an excellency which did not distin- 
 guish our forefathers ; and it is not, I fear, very likely 
 to be a characteristic of the moderns, especially our 
 younger preachers, who show in their long harangues 
 the confidence they have in their own ability and ac- 
 ceptance. 
 
 The late Dr. Bogue is reported to have one day said 
 to some of his students, “ Do you suppose that people 
 have nothing to do but to listen to your emptiness by 
 the hour ?” — a rebuke too pettishly given, and too se- 
 vere. But there is propriety in Lamont’s remark, 
 “ There is no excuse for a long sermon : if it be good, 
 
4 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 it need not be long, and if it be bad, it ought not to L>e 
 long.” Queen Anne, after hearing Dr. South, said, 
 “You have given us an excellent sermon, Dr. South : 
 I wish you had had time to make it longer.” “ Nay, 
 please your majesty,” said he, “I wish I had had time to 
 make it shorter.” Whitfield and Wesley, and most of 
 the early Methodists, were short. Why do not many 
 of their successors follow their example ? 
 
 No man distinguished more in his mind, and in his 
 preaching, between the essential parts of Christianity 
 and the subordinate and circumstantial, than Mr. Cecil. 
 With what a crushing force has he been heard to re- 
 peat the language of Jeremiah, “ He that hath a dream 
 let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my word let 
 him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to 
 the wheat ?” With him “ neither circumcision avail 
 ed anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” 
 I believe the following incident has been published ; 
 but I was in London when it occurred, and knew it 
 before it spread. A female, who had more of the form 
 of godliness than of the power, one day said to him, 
 “ Sir, have you heard that I am going to turn from 
 the Dissenters to the Church ?” “ Madam,” he replied, 
 “ you are turning from nothing to nothing.” 
 
 Hearing a person censuring a churchman for going 
 to hear the Gospel in a meeting (the only place in the 
 village where it then could be heard), he exclaimed, 
 “ Did ye never read what David did when he was an 
 hungered, and they that were with him ; how he en- 
 tered into the house of God, and did eat the shew- 
 bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither 
 for them that were with him, but only for the priests ?” 
 He had his own fixed views and convictions (and 
 
REV. RICHARD CECIL, M.A. 
 
 5 
 
 without these candor is only indifference), but he was 
 moderate enough to think it no sin to attend occasion- 
 ally in Argyle Chapel ; and one day calling upon me, 
 he asked where he could take two sittings for his 
 daughters? adding, “You know I am an Episcopalian, 
 and wish my children to go to church, that is, if the 
 one thing needful be heard there. But they must 
 take heed what they hear, as well as how they hear. 
 If the story be not told in a cathedral, they must fol- 
 low it into a barn ; for they must hear it, and hear it 
 yith care.” And what practical proof can we give of 
 our belief either of the truth, or the importance of 
 evangelical principles, if it be nothing to us whether 
 we hear the words which cause us to err, or those by 
 which we may be saved ? 
 
 With this man of God I had some acquaintance in 
 London, but he frequently came to Bath for some 
 weeks together for recreation or health, and then I 
 had much intercourse with him. His conversation 
 was equal to his preaching. It was singularly orig- 
 inal, vigorous, pertinent, instructive, and edifying ; 
 and none of it could easily be forgotten. In the pleas- 
 ure of the companion you felt also the presence of an 
 oracle. 
 
 I remember his admonishing me against having too 
 great a plenitude of matter in a sermon — an admoni- 
 tion which, I fear, I have not sufficiently followed. 
 
 He also advised me, as I was acceptable, and found 
 people much disposed to hear, to beware of checking 
 it by disappointment in frequently putting up others 
 to preach. But how is this in many cases to be avoid- 
 ed? Can a minister slight his brethren when they 
 come in his way ? u But they may decline his invita- 
 
0 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OP CHARACTER. 
 
 tion and this would he often wise even for them- 
 selves ; for when people hear under a baulked expect- 
 ation, they seldom hear with pleasure or profit. 
 
 “ Be,” said he, 11 never to be had.” Many other hints 
 I received from his rich mind and acute and judicious 
 observation, by which I ought to have profited more. 
 I thank God that I ever heard the preacher, or was in 
 company with the man. 
 
 Who can be ignorant of his “ Remains” ? Is there 
 a work of the same size that abounds with such riches 
 of understanding and wisdom, and genius and truth ? 
 By what a multitude of inimitable passages has Mr. 
 Poynder enriched his three volumes of “ Literary Ex- 
 tracts !” How much of his excellency has his daugh- 
 ter secured and made known in her Memoirs of Mrs. 
 Hawkes 1 
 
REV. SAMUEL PEARCE, A.M. 
 
 I had not a great deal of intimacy with Mr. Pearce, 
 but I knew him and heard him sufficiently to appre- 
 ciate him, and to make me thankful that I had not to 
 depend on report for his character or preaching. It 
 may seem saying much, but I speak the words of truth 
 and soberness, — when I have endeavored to form an 
 image of our Lord as a preacher, Pearce has oftener 
 presented himself to my mind than any other I have 
 been acquainted with : not, however, as he began his 
 ministry. Then he was too rapid, and had a kind of 
 tiptoe motion in the pulpit ; but after awhile, when his 
 delivery was distinguished by mildness and tender- 
 ness, and a peculiar unction derived not only from his 
 matter but his mind. I cannot accurately convey the 
 appearance and impression he made, yet I can see the 
 one, and feel the other, even at this great distance of 
 time. 
 
 If, after days of drought, in a summer’s evening, 
 you have viewed from your window the rain from 
 heaven, not falling in a pouring torrent, but in a kind 
 of noiseless distillation, every drop soaking in, and 
 sure to be useful, and you thinking of “the smell of a 
 field which the Lord hath blessed” — that emblem would 
 aid you a little in conceiving of the mode and effect 
 
8 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, 
 
 of his address. He was a man of a most affectionate 
 disposition and candid temper, having much of the 
 meekness of wisdom and the wisdom of meekness. He 
 was the first Baptist minister I ever heard use the 
 Lord’s prayer, which he did as he prayed before my 
 sermon, when I preached at Battersea for Mr. Hughes. 
 There, too, I had my last interview with him. Mr. 
 
 B e had sent his carriage to town for two others 
 
 and ourselves, and it was to take us back the next 
 morning; but preferring to be by ourselves we pri- 
 vately took boat, and returned by water. In our con- 
 versation I well remember asking him what views of 
 heaven he found the most attractive and affecting ? 
 He replied, “ These have varied, (perhaps owing to 
 some change in my condition or experience,) at differ- 
 ent times ; but for a good while past, I think my most 
 delightful view of heaven has been derived from it as a 
 place and state of blessed and endeared society, with 
 Jesus at the Head. Hence I have frequently touched 
 upon it in my sermons, and have more than once 
 preached from such texts as these : — 1 1 beheld a great 
 multitude,’ &c., and 1 by our gathering together unto 
 him.’ ‘He will present us together with you,’ &c.” 
 Thus we reached the stairs of Blackfriars Bridge, and 
 parted to meet no more till adieux and farewells are a 
 sound unknown. But what a savor does communion 
 with such a man leave upon the spirit! And how 
 blamable are we in not turning our social moments to 
 more account! for we never know but our present in- 
 tercourse may be our final . 
 
 What a noble and deserved Memorial of him did 
 Fuller publish, and what a beautiful motto did he prefix 
 to the work! — “O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thy 
 
REV. SAMUEL PEARCE, A.M. 
 
 9 
 
 high places!” Who was not, therefore, mortified to 
 find, in a new edition by his son, this exquisite motto 
 exchanged for a good, but common-place passage of 
 Scripture? Fuller, all polemic as he was, had no little 
 genius and sensibility ; and sometimes he had express- 
 ions which verify Shakspeare’s remark, — 
 
 One stroke of Nature makes the world our kin !” 
 
 N. B. The son promised, in case of a new edition 
 of the Life, to replace the beautiful motto. 
 
 Pearce seemed beatified before his time. How 
 young he died ! and with what prospects of usefulness 
 before him ! and with what qualifications to serve his 
 generation! What can we say to these things ? No- 
 thing. “ Be still, and know that I am God.” 
 
 But there is something peculiarly mysterious and af- 
 fecting in the removal of such men, and in the midst 
 of these days especially, 
 
 1st. When contrasted with the continuance to long 
 life of many of the worthless and injurious. And, 
 
 2dly. When viewed in connection with the disposi- 
 tion and influence to do good, and the numberless 
 calls for their exertion. Alas for this dark world of 
 ours ! We have had a few burning and shining lights, 
 and can we see the most luminous among them extin- 
 guished without concern ? We want all their talents, 
 and all their zeal ; and shall they perish and no man 
 lay it to heart? or pray, “ Help, Lord, for the godly 
 man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the chil- 
 dren of men ” ? 
 
 When the Reminiscent informed Dr. Davies of the 
 death of Dr. Williams of Rotherham, he burst into 
 
 1 * 
 
10 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 tears, and said, “ I am almost ashamed to be alive, 
 when so many great and good men die.” 
 
 The hoary head is a “ crown of glory,” if it be 
 found in the “ way of righteousness and Job speaks 
 of it as a privilege; u Thou slialt come to thy grave 
 in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in, in his 
 season.” Be it so, and let all whose days are length- 
 ened be concerned to u bring forth fruit in old age.” 
 Yet, is protracted life always the mark of Divine ap- 
 probation and distinction ? May not the produce re- 
 main longer on the tree because of its slow, ripening? 
 May not persons go late to rest, because the business 
 of the day is not yet discharged? Do not some live 
 because they are not fit to die ? 
 
 Of one thing we may be assured, that, whenever we 
 are summoned, we shall not be detained for want of 
 means of removal. 
 
 “ Dangers stand thick through all the ground 
 To push, us to the tomb ; 
 
 And fierce diseases wait around, 
 
 To hurry mortals home.” 
 
 Though I was not a personal witness of the follow- 
 ing occurrence, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of 
 recording it, from the testimony of one who was. Mr. 
 Pearce was preaching on a public occasion ; the ser- 
 mon was excelled and well arranged; hut after he 
 had appeared naturally to have ended it, he broke forth 
 afresh ; and what was added, though excellent, seemed 
 not to grow out of the particular subject of the dis- 
 course. 
 
 When it was over, Mr. Fuller, who had heard it, 
 said, “ Mr. Pearce, will you allow me to ask a ques- 
 
REV. SAMUEL PEARCE, A.M. 
 
 11 
 
 tion? I much, liked and admired jour sermon, but 
 did you make intentionally any alteration of or ad- 
 dition to it, in the close? because, valuable as it was, 
 it seemed not of a piece with the former parts.” After 
 a pause, Mr. Pearce said, “Well, if I must answer, 
 the case was this : — When I was uttering the last two 
 or three sentences, I saw running up to the crowded 
 place a poor man, wiping his face and head, and eager 
 to hear. I thought this poor creature had come from 
 a distance, and it would be cruel to let him go away 
 without hearing a word of the Saviour; and so my 
 pride yielded to my pity, and I tried to be useful, by 
 adding a few things, regardless of connection or order.” 
 And what said — not fastidious critics — but lovers of 
 souls, and angles, and God, the Judge of all? 
 
 In confirmation of Mr. Jay’s exalted judgment of 
 this eminent minister and Christian, we could add 
 something from our own recollection, but prefer the 
 insertion of a few words from the pen of the Rev. W. 
 Ward, missionary to India, and a brief description of 
 Pearce’s character by the Rev. Andrew Fuller. 
 
 Mr. Ward says, in a letter to a friend, dated Janu- 
 ary 5, 1799, “I am happy in the company of dear 
 brother Pearce. I have seen more of God in him than 
 in any other person I ever knew. O how happy 
 should I be to live and die with him ! When well, 
 he preaches three times on a Lord’s day, and two or 
 thre times in a week besides. He instructs the young 
 people in the principles of religion, natural philosophy, 
 astronomy, &c. They have a Benevolent Society, from 
 he funds of which they distribute £40 or £50 a-year 
 
12 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 to the poor of the congregation. They have a Sick 
 Society for visiting the afflicted in general ; a Book 
 Society at chapel ; a Lord’s-day School, at which be- 
 twixt two and three hundred children are instructed. 
 Add to this, missionary business, visiting the people, 
 an extensive correspondence, two volumes of mission 
 history preparing for the press, &c. ; and then you will 
 see something of the soul of Pearce. He is everywhere 
 venerated, though but a young man ; and all the kind, 
 tender, gentle affections make him as a little child at 
 the feet of the Saviour.” 
 
 Mr. Fuller says, u There have been few men in whom 
 has been united a greater portion of the contemplative 
 and the active ; holy zeal, and genuine candor ; spirit- 
 uality and rationality ; talents that attracted almost 
 universal applause, and the most unaffected modesty; 
 faithfulness in bearing testimony against evil, with the 
 tenderest compassion to the soul of the evil-doer; for- 
 titude that would encounter any difficulty in the way 
 of duty, without anything boisterous, noisy, or over- 
 bearing ; deep seriousness, with habitual cheerfulness, 
 and a constant aim to promote the highest degree of 
 piety in himself and others, with’ a readiness to hope 
 the best of the lowest ; not breaking the bruised reed, 
 nor quenching the smoking flax.”* Mr. Pearce died 
 October 10, 1799, at the early age of thirty-four, uni- 
 versally admired, beloved, and lamented. 
 
 Memoirs of Pearce by Fuller, pp. 208 and 245. 
 
REV. ROBERT HALL, A. M. 
 
 With this very eminent man I became acquainted 
 when, before my settlement in Bath, I was preaching 
 for Lady Maxwell, at Hope Chapel, at the Hotwells. 
 Being so near Bristol, I had opportunities of hearing 
 him, and also of visiting him in his own house, and 
 meeting him in various companies. He was then co- 
 pastor with Dr. Evans, of the Baptist church in Broad- 
 mead, and co-tutor with him in the academy. He had 
 been for some time before noticed, but he was then ex- 
 citing peculiar attention, and rising into great fame. 
 
 In speaking of him as a preacher, I have one ad- 
 vantage which Mr. Foster had not ; viz., an early, as 
 well as a late, acquaintance with him ; so that I can 
 view him comparatively in different periods of his his- 
 tory. 
 
 His preaching, when I first knew him, was certainly 
 intellectually greater and more splendid than it was 
 for many years before his death. This was the case 
 with sermons I well remember, from these texts, — 
 “ Ye err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power 
 of God “ The wrath of man shall praise thee, O 
 Lord — “ The spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made 
 me free from the law of sin and death;” — “ The inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light,” &c. These sermons, con- 
 
14 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 sidered only as the productions of genius, rose above 
 any I ever heard from him years afterwards. This, 
 however, was not the effect of any declension of 
 ability ; and, therefore, he still occasionally brought 
 forth a discourse far above the level of his usual per- 
 formances, as if to show he had not become unequal 
 to his former doings ; but from mere pious considera- 
 tions, and a growing wish to accommodate himself to 
 the common apprehension, and to general usefulness. 
 Another reason, too, had some influence; viz., — the 
 increased number of his sermons after he became a 
 sole pastor, which allowed not so much time to elab 
 orate and polish. 
 
 Mr. Hall sometimes expressed himself as if he be 
 lieved his real conversion was subsequent to his first 
 awful visitation (insanity). We do not admit this; 
 but it is well known that he became more and more 
 spiritual and evangelical; and that at first, while he 
 drew the admiration of all, he awakened the fears of 
 some. Nor need we wonder at this, when we take 
 into the account the occasional (though not criminal) 
 sportivenesses and levities he betrayed ; his freedoms 
 in conversation, when, for the sake of a contest, in 
 which he was always pretty sure of victory, he de- 
 fended things which he did not believe ; and that, for 
 awhile, he avowed materialism, and denied the common 
 notion of the Trinity, by contending for a Duality of 
 persons in the Divine Essence. With regard to the 
 latter, the scheme had all the difficulties supposed to 
 attach- to Trinitarianism, without some of its scriptural 
 supports. Hence, many have questioned whether he 
 was in earnest in his belief of so strange a doctrine ; 
 but I have heard him avow it with firmness ; and I 
 
REV. ROBERT HALL, A.M. 
 
 15 
 
 remember spending an evening with him in Bath, in a 
 company that included a Sabellian, two Trinitarians, 
 and himself as a Dualist; and when the Reminiscent, 
 afraid to enter into the metaphysical part of the dis- 
 cussion, ventured to mention the baptismal form of 
 words as a difficulty, and to ask whether it was not 
 very strange that “in the name of the Father and of 
 the Son,” should intend personality, and “ in the name 
 of the Holy Ghost” only a mere power or influence ; 
 and, also, whether it was not strange to baptize any 
 one “ in the name” of an abstraction, he acknowledged 
 that it presented a difficulty, but incautiously said, he 
 did “ not think it right to hang a Divine person on one 
 text.” This was obviously improper and unbecoming, 
 and he ingenuously acknowledged it, as soon as it was 
 noticed by one of the company ; and nothing, in his 
 after-years, was further from his disposition than to 
 treat anything sacred lightly ; though it must have 
 been always diflicult for him to refrain from jeu cV esprit 
 on many subjects, with his amazing force and quick- 
 ness of imagination. 
 
 Some individuals (for there was no party) complain- 
 ed and frequently absented themselves when Mr. Hail 
 preached, and there was considerable probability that 
 the number would increase. I speak from personal 
 knowledge at the time, and as one who, standing out 
 of the scene, could observe and judge with less bias 
 than those who were thus drawn into an unpleasant 
 dispute and division. In the painful breach that took 
 place between Mr. Hall and Dr. Evans, I must think 
 that Dr. Evans was perfectly blameless of the motive 
 which some of Mr. Hall’s friends were led, by some 
 circumstances, to impute to him. I am fully persuad- 
 
10 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ed that nothing could be further from the spirit of Dr, 
 Evans than an uneasiness at the growing fame of his 
 associate. He loved and esteemed him almost to idol- 
 atry. I happened to be in Bristol for a Sabbath but a 
 little while before the breach. I attended Dr. Evans 
 in the morning ; preached myself in the afternoon ; 
 and heard Mr. Hall in the evening. As we were go- 
 ing to the evening service, Dr. Evans leaned upon my 
 arm, and all his conversation was of the wonderful 
 man we Were going to hear ; and it w r as all full of 
 what some would have deemed excessive honor and 
 praise. “His eloquence,” said he, “is unequalled, and 
 his powers of mind seem bordering on infinite. If 
 some are not so satisfied with regard to his piety, I have 
 had better opportunities of knowing him, and who- 
 ever shall live long enough will see the excellency of 
 his character. I find him distinguished, not only by 
 his talents, but by his grace also.” But, on the other 
 nand, as from this motive, Dr. Evans did not hail Mr 
 Hall’s invitation, (and never did use means to procure 
 it, as some have surmised,) I believe he had no objec- 
 tion to Mr. Hall’s removal on another ground , viz., the 
 danger of a schism, owing to some respectable persons 
 who were suspicious of his orthodoxy, occasioned by 
 appearances likely to operate on some minds. A rent 
 in, or even a considerable secession from, such a re- 
 spectable and kindly mother church, was to be ear- 
 nestly deprecated ; but the evil would be prevented 
 by Mr. Hall’s translation to another sphere ; and what 
 seemed so suitable as Cambridge for the exertion and 
 display of his mighty mind ? 
 
 There is little doubt but Mr. Hall, in process of time, 
 saw this. He spake cordially of Dr. Evans before his 
 
REV. ROBERT HALL, A.M 
 
 IT 
 
 death, and he has now joined him in a world where 
 mistakes and infirmities are known no more. Yet we 
 cannot help remarking with lamentation, what trifling 
 causes give rise to surmisings, and strifes, and discords, 
 even among good men, which a little seasonable ex- 
 planation would hinder or heal. But there is nothing 
 new under the sun. Paul and Barnabas contended, 
 and parted for a season ; but this was overruled for 
 good, and caused the Gospel to ^e spread in several 
 currents, which would otherwise have been confined to 
 one ; while it served to prove the excellency of their 
 principles in their eventual reconciliation and har- 
 mony. But how ought we to rejoice and praise God 
 that a man of his extraordinary ability and influence 
 so soon had his u heart established with grace fully 
 preached the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel ; and 
 through the whole of his after life acknowledged and 
 defended their importance , as well as their truth . His 
 path was like the shining light, which, though it may 
 be a little hazy in the dawn, yet shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day, and sets in cloudless glory. 
 
 It is needless to dwell on Mr. Hall as u the eloquent 
 orator.” But in his preaching, there was not only elo- 
 quence which charmed numbers who sought for no- 
 thing else, but the fervor of the man of God. It was 
 impossible to hear him and not be impressed with his 
 earnestness, and concern to do good, rather than to be 
 admired ; and the entire forgetfulness of himself in 
 his subject. 
 
 His powers of conversation were equal to those of 
 his preaching. Some have thought they even sur- 
 passed them. I remember Mr. Foster, when he had 
 been introduced to Mr. Hall, remarking that, after be- 
 
18 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ing in his company, 3^011 might be comparatively disap- 
 pointed in hearing him preach ; for, after hearing him 
 speak off-hand upon any subject with such ease, and 
 force, and purity, and precision, and exquisiteness, you 
 might be naturally led to expect something propor- 
 tionally greater after much study and preparation. 
 
 Some men’s minds seem to resemble a reservoir, 
 large and deep ; yet, having been filled, capable of be- 
 ing emptied. But Mr. Hall’s mind alwa3 7 s intimated 
 a mighty spring ; not made, but created ; always full, 
 yet pouring forth streams of clear and living water. 
 There was not only a constant plenty, but a constant 
 freshness of communication. Who ever heard him 
 repeat any image, or maxim, or saying of his own ? 
 Perhaps the following is not an exception : — A minis- 
 ter has stated in print that, in a conversation with him 
 not a great while before his death, he called Dr. Owen 
 a a continent of mud.” I am sure I heard this from 
 him more than thirty years before, and I had often re- 
 peated it. Might not the report of an old sarcasm 
 have been taken for a fresh one ? And what was re- 
 lated by another be mistaken for what was so unlikely 
 to be repeated by himself? 
 
 As to the reflection itself, it alwaj r s surprised me. 
 I think he could only have read some of the doctor’s 
 least valuable works, and in an unfavorable mood. A 
 voluminous writer he was, but surely he was anything 
 but a dull one ; and even in the presence of so great 
 an authority, I must judge for myself, and rather join 
 with Newton and Cecil, who pronounced him “ the 
 prince of divines.” How searching and quickening 
 are some of his treatises ! what specimens also of fine 
 reasoning have we in them ! how much does he carry 
 
REV. ROBERT HALL, A.M. 
 
 19 
 
 us always with him ! and how little are we able to 
 question his conclusions as we peruse them ! We say 
 not this of all his numerous publications, but we could 
 specify many of his works, which, for their practical 
 bearing, and experimentality, and evangelical senti- 
 ment, and the savor they diffuse of the Redeemer’s 
 knowledge, we are ready to say are incomparable ; 
 and we wish many of our young divines were more 
 familiar with them. I have a little work of his, I be- 
 lieve very little known, (of which I have never seen 
 any other copy,) u Evidences of the Faith of God’s 
 Elect.” It was written for the encouragement and 
 comfort of his wife under her doubts and fears, and 
 was given me many years ago by Mr. Wilberforce, 
 who much commended it ; only wishing, for the sake 
 of some readers, that it had been differently entitled. 
 So I remember he did also with regard to Fuller’s un- 
 answerable publication, u The Calvinistical and Socin- 
 ian Systems Compared,” remarking, that if the word 
 11 evangelical” or u orthodox” had been used instead 
 of “ Calvinistical,” many would have read that won- 
 derful performance whose narrow and prejudiced minds 
 had been revolted by a term unnecessarily adopted. 
 
 Mr. Hall, like Dr. Johnson, professed to believe in 
 preternatural appearances ; and certainly, from his 
 manner when speaking of such subjects, his credence 
 seemed to be sincere. 
 
 The first evening I ever spent with him was at the 
 
 house of Mr. W y, near the Bristol Bridge. Of 
 
 course, he was the lion of the company. The party 
 broke up late, and the latter part of the conversation 
 turned upon apparitions. He defended his belief, not 
 only in the possibility, but in the actuality, of these 
 
20 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 appearances, with much ingenuity and ability, and 
 seemed to convince himself, if not others ; and when 
 we were to separate, he refused to go home at that 
 midnight hour unless some of us accompanied him. 
 His arguing and fear certainly seemed more than oddity 
 or affectation. 
 
 Mr. Hall was fond of referring to Satanic power. 
 In his sermon on this subject, taken imperfectly in 
 short-hand, finding a difficulty in his view of such 
 agency, as immediate, personal, and individual, with- 
 out admitting omniscience and omnipresence, he seems 
 to solve it by pleading for an infinite number of 
 agents. Is not this strange ? 
 
 It is remarkable how he noticed little incidents and 
 circumstances which seemed likely to escape the ob- 
 servation of so great a mind, and what proof he gave 
 of it in adverting to them long after. How many in- 
 stances of this have I witnessed ! No one could ex- 
 press a compliment or a commendation more tersely 
 and perfectly. I remember his saying of Dr. Eyland, 
 “ Sir, I would as soon take Dr. Eyland’s word as Ga- 
 briel’s oath.” At another time he said, “ Sir, he’ s 
 piety itself ; and if there was not room for him in 
 heaven, God would turn out an archangel to make 
 room.” I one day asked his opinion of a female who 
 attended his ministry at Leicester. “ Sir,” said he, 
 “ she has the manners of a court, and the piety of a 
 convent.” 
 
 He was at the tabernacle the first time I ever preach- 
 ed in Bristol, and when I was little more than seven- 
 teen. When I came down from the pulpit, as I pass- 
 ed him, he said, “ Sir, I liked your sermon much bet- 
 ter than your quotations.” I never knew him severe 
 
REV. ROBERT HALL, A M. 
 
 21 
 
 upon a preacher, however moderate his abilities, if, 
 free from affectation, he spoke with simplicity, nor 
 tried to rise above his level. But, as to others, no- 
 thing could be occasionally more witty and crushing 
 than his remarks. One evening, in a rather crowded 
 place, (I was sitting by him,) a minister was preaching 
 very finely and flourishingly to little purpose, from the 
 “ white horse,” and the “red horse,” and the “black 
 horse,” and the “pale horse,” in the Revelation. He 
 sat very impatiently, and when the sermon closed he 
 pushed out towards the door, saying, “ Let me out of 
 this horse-fair.” 
 
 One day, when he had heard another of those self- 
 admiring, pompous nothings, and was eagerly asked 
 by a lady how he liked his sermon, he answered, 
 “ Ma’am, I always thought he was predestinated to be a 
 fool ; and he has now made his calling and election sure.” 
 
 I was once in the library at the academy, conversing 
 with one of the students, who was speaking of his ex- 
 perience, and lamented the hardness of his heart. Mr. 
 Hall, as he was near, taking down a book from the shelf, 
 hearing this, turned towards him and said, “Well, thy 
 head is soft enough ; that’s a comfort.” I could not 
 laugh at this ; it grieved me ; for the young man was 
 modest, and humble, and diffident. He must have felt 
 it severely ; and I have no doubt but Mr. Hall’s re- 
 flections smote him afterward for this apparent harsh- 
 ness and offence. Th<?re is no just excuse for such 
 things. We must not fling about arrows, and, if any 
 of them pierce, say it was in sport. Should not only 
 ill -nature, but wit or humor, expose us to this evil, we 
 know the prayer, — “ Set a watch, 0 Lord, upon my 
 mouth : keep the door of my lips.” 
 
22 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 A minister, popular too! one day said to me, “I 
 wonder you think so highly of Mr. Hall’s talents. I 
 was some time ago travelling with him into Wales, 
 and we had several disputes, and I more than once 
 soon silenced him.” I concluded how the truth was ; 
 and, some weeks after, when his name was mentioned, 
 Mr. Hall asked me if I knew him. “ I lately travelled 
 with him,” said he, “ and it was wonderful, sir, how 
 such a baggage of ignorance and confidence could 
 have been squeezed into the vehicle. He disgusted 
 and wearied me with his dogmatism and perverse- 
 ness, till God was good enough to enable me to go to 
 sleep.” 
 
 Though the Reminiscent so much admires all Mr. 
 Hall’s writings, nothing strikes him so powerfully as 
 his “ Reviews.” Who does not wish we had more of 
 them ? The Reminiscent also is compelled to ac- 
 knowledge, contrary to the opinion of some dissen- 
 tients, that he believes Mr. Foster has done justice to 
 Mr. Hall’s character as a divine and a preacher. 
 
 I cannot forbear inserting Mr. Hall’s character of 
 Popery : — 
 
 “ Popery, in the ordinary state of its profession, combines the 
 form of godliness with the total denial of its power. A heap of 
 unmeaning ceremonies, adapted to fascinate the imagination and 
 engage the senses ; implicit faith in human authority, combined 
 with an utter neglect of divine teaching ; ignorance the most pro- 
 found, joined to dogmatism the most presumptuous ; a vigilant ex- 
 clusion of Biblical knowledge, together with a total extinction of 
 free inquiry, present the spectacle of religion lying in state, sur- 
 rounded with all the silent pomp of death. The very absurdities 
 of such a religion render it less unacceptable to men whose decided 
 hostility to truth inclines them to view with complacency whatever 
 obscures its beauty or impedes its operation. Of all the c* rruptions 
 
REV. KOBERT HALL, A.M. 
 
 23 
 
 of Christianity which have prevailed to any considerable extent, 
 Popery presents the most numerous points of contrast to the sim- 
 ple doctrines of the Gospel ; and, just in proportion as it gains 
 ground, the religion of Christ must decline. Popery still is what 
 it always was ; a detestable system of impiety, cruelty, and impos- 
 ture, fabricated by the father of lies ; and though we are far from 
 supposing that, were Popery triumphant, it would allow toleration 
 to any denomination of Protestants, the professors of evangelical 
 piety won) i assuredly be among its first victims.”* 
 
 * Rev. Robert Hall, Works, IV., 230. 
 
REV. JOSEPH HUGHES, M. A. 
 
 No institution since tlie Apostolic era will bear a 
 comparison with the British and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety, whether we consider the period and circum- 
 stances of its origination, the supreme importance of 
 its design, the Catholicism of its basis, the principle on 
 which alone it depends for its success, the unbroken 
 harmony of its numerous adherents, the magnitude 
 of its undertakings, the immensity of its achievements, 
 or the bearing of its operations on the great moral 
 questions which agitate the world. 
 
 To meet its growing and rapid demands, and to sup- 
 port its operations, especially by public meetings, three 
 secretaries were appointed to defend, advocate, and 
 recommend its claims. These were John Owen, chap- 
 lain to Bishop Porteus, Dr. Steinkopff, a German Lu- 
 theran divine, and Joseph Hughes, a dissenter. The 
 wisdom of the appointment appeared strikingly ob- 
 vious. No three individuals could more have suited 
 each other and their work. 
 
 Mr. Hughes had another relation to the Society. 
 He not only attended from the first its formation ; but 
 may be, in some respects, acknowledged (as Mr. Owen 
 in his history states) as influencing the commencement 
 of it. This was enough to ennoble and immortalize 
 
HEY. JOSEPH HUGHES. M.A. 
 
 25 
 
 him ; but he would always say, “ By the grace of God 
 I am what I am.” 
 
 A good Life of this deservedly-esteemed man was 
 published soon after his death by the Key. Dr. Leif- 
 child. In that work, my opinion of him, generally 
 expressed, is to be found.* My acquaintance with 
 him is there also noticed. It was long and very inti- 
 mate. We indulged in a peculiar freedom of mind 
 towards each other ; and there seemed to be but a sin- 
 gle religious difference between us, and this was not an 
 essential one. It did not, therefore, diminish our mutual 
 regard. Some, perhaps, would deem it impossible to 
 be the means of increasing it. But love and liberality 
 have secrets which strangers intermeddle not with. 
 And is there no pleasure in knowing that we are able 
 to distinguish things that differ ; that we have candor 
 enough to allow others to think and judge for them- 
 selves ; and that, instead of being “ overcome of evil, 
 we can overcome evil with good” ? And is not big- 
 otry such an evil ? 
 
 He was a man of great simplicity of manners, and 
 of freedom from affectation and all airs of superiority ; 
 and, though decidedly a Dissenter and a Baptist, not 
 only from education but conviction, yet he had a most 
 catholic spirit ; and I do not wonder that the exercise 
 of it, in some instances, awakened the suspicions of 
 bigots, who feared that, because he was not rigid, he 
 was not decided ; and that, where there was no exclu- 
 siveness, there was no conviction. 
 
 He kept himself unspotted from the world, and was 
 not only sincere, but “ without rebuke until the day of 
 Christ.” 
 
 * See the addition to this paper, <it its close. 
 
 2 
 
26 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 As a preacher lie possessed materials and qualities 
 which did not produce the advantages in his ministra- 
 tions which might have been expected. I remember 
 the Rev. Mr. Hinton of Oxford (his alter idem , and 
 who was exceedingly attached to him) once asking this 
 question — u Whence is it that our valued friend, who 
 has such an unblemished reputation, and stands so high 
 in public esteem, and has so much more learning than 
 falls to the share of many of his brethren, and has such 
 an easy command of words, and such an affluence of 
 imagery, and such a readiness of utterance; should 
 make so little impression in preaching, compared with 
 persons so inferior to him, in these and other attri- 
 butes?” “ Send this question,” said I, “to all the tu- 
 tors in our academies ; bring it forward also in every 
 company of preachers; and show the propriety of 
 learning from example as well as from precept, and 
 from failure as well as from success, how to excel.” 
 
 Some would, perhaps, ascribe a little of his want of 
 popularity to his personal appearance. This was not 
 prepossessing; but other preachers have succeeded 
 without this species of attraction and impression. In 
 part his failure arose from his voice, which was inhar- 
 monious and weak, and, when elevated to the full, had 
 a kind of dry shrillness, and allowed of no inflexions. 
 But his style is the most faulty. Foster, in one of his 
 letters to him, says, “ Hall spoke much of your at- 
 tainments and talents, but exceedingly condemned 
 what you know I always hate, the want of simplicity 
 in your style.” It was this want of simplicity, rather 
 than a want of right feeling, that made him fail in the 
 pathetic. His metaphors were glances rather than 
 comparisons. His beauties were too delicate to be 
 
KEY. JOSEPH HUGHES, M.A. 
 
 27 
 
 striking, and required some degree of previous culti- 
 vation and taste to perceive and admire them. His 
 discourse contained too little of the phraseology of the 
 pulpit to be satisfactory to many of the common yet 
 pious hearers, who were most familiar with the words 
 which the Holy Ghost nseth, and who-e ears were most 
 attuned to the language of their orthodox ancestors. 
 And why should such hearers be disappointed or per- 
 plexed ? And what is there less instructive and edify- 
 ing in the diction of our old divinity than in the terms 
 of those who would rather remind us of Johnson and 
 Addison, than of Leighton, Flavel and Whitfield? 
 
 It was too much Mr. Hughes’ aim, not only as a 
 writer but as a preacher, to render his language cor- 
 rect and refined, rather than bold and free. His con- 
 cern here was extreme; and what Gray said of the 
 penury of his “ Churchyard” peasant may be applied 
 to the fastidiousness of our preacher — 
 
 “ Fastidiousness repressed his noble rage, 
 
 And chill’d the genial current of his soul.” 
 
 A dread of little mistakes and improprieties, like 
 the sword of Damocles, hung over his head, and pre- 
 vented the relish of the banquet he would otherwise 
 have enjoyed. 
 
 A preacher’s great and obvious attention (and where 
 it is great it will usually be obvious) to minutenesses in 
 his composition and address weakens the sympathy of 
 his audience, and often hardly allows of a frigid ap- 
 probation of what is deserving of praise. On the 
 other hand, when a man is absorbed in his subject, lit- 
 tle improprieties, should they occur, will either be un* 
 
28 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 perceived, or as being more than atoned for, will be 
 disregarded by a riveted audience. 
 
 And what should be the anxiety of a man of God 
 to gain admiration or to secure profit ? To be favora- 
 bly noticed for memory by two or three who have lit- 
 tle more to recommend them than mere intellect ; or to 
 have numbers hanging upon his lips, and “wondering 
 at the gracious words which proceed out of his mouth,” 
 to the use of edifying ? To appear the chaste classic 
 from the schools, or the able minister of the New Tes- 
 tament full of grace and truth ? 
 
 I always considered Mr. Hughes as one of the found- 
 ers of the Tract Society, and also as the first suggest- 
 er of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Had he 
 been distinguished by nothing else, surely this would 
 have been sufficient to ennoble and immortalize him. 
 One structure has made an architect ; one poem, a poet ; 
 one battle, a hero. But what one exploit can be com- 
 pared to that which led to the establishment of a so- 
 ciety which has translated the Scriptures into all lan- 
 guages ; and is filling the earth with the knowledge of 
 the Lord, as the waters cover the seas. And how 
 much did he who was honored in the suggestion of 
 this Godlike Institution aid it afterwards by his Secre- 
 taryship, by his travels, and labors, and those addresses 
 on the platform which so much excelled the effect of 
 his sermons ! 
 
 Mr. Hughes was the first from whom I heard any- 
 thing of the extraordinary powers of John Foster. He 
 was then a student leaving Bristol Academy, where he 
 had been only one year. Mr. Hughes prepared the 
 way for the spread of his fame ; and for this he had the 
 best opportunities, especially on his settlement at Bat- 
 
■REV. JOSEPH HUGHES, M.A. 
 
 29 
 
 tersea; and having access to a variety of distinguished 
 characters residing at Clapham Common. He was 
 not mistaken in his estimate of this peculiar and orig- 
 inal genius; but lived to see his opinion abundantly 
 confirmed bv the voice of the public. Mr. Hughes 
 himself sold several hundred copies of the Essays 
 when they first came out. 
 
 Mr. Hughes had the honor of being appointed to 
 preach Mr. Hall’s funeral sermon. But how strange 
 was the choice of his text on so peculiar an occasion, — 
 “ All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till 
 my change come,” Job, xiv. 14. It was as appropriate 
 to a private believer, as to one of the most extraor- 
 dinary of human beings. But he had prepared a fu- 
 neral sermon from those words which he had preached 
 a fortnight before at Hackney. “In all labor there is 
 profit.” How much do we often lose by sacrificing to 
 ease ? An old discourse seldom answers the purpose 
 of a new occasion : 
 
 First. As someting already prepared is learnt off, 
 there will be relaxing of study and exertion. 
 
 Secondly . There will be less suitableness and perti- 
 nence to the event to be noticed and improved. And, 
 
 Thirdly . There will be less liveliness and freshness 
 of feeling in the preacher’s address. 
 
 Mr. Hughes was little known as an author. He 
 published several single discourses, — a sermon before 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in the 
 Highlands and Islands of Scotland, — a sermon on the 
 Sabbath, — and a sermon on the death of the Duke of 
 Kent. He published also an essay on the excellency 
 of the Scripture — his best performance.* 
 
 * This was n doubt the essay which prepared the way for the 
 
SO PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 There were few men for whom I entertained a higher 
 regard, or with whom I exchanged so much thought. 
 
 APPENDIX BY THE EDITORS. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Leifchild, in his Life of the Rev. Joseph Hughes, thus 
 introduces Mr. Jay’s opinion referred to in the preceding article. 
 
 “With the Rev. W. Jayof Bath Mr. Hughes was more than or- 
 dinarily intimate. As far as two men, of somewhat different intel- 
 lectual habits and theological views could love one another, they 
 did so love to the end of life. Let the survivor speak for himself, 
 with his own characteristic naivete and force: — 
 
 “ ‘Mr. Hughes was often and much at Bath formerly, supplying 
 several years at Argyle Chapel for six weeks together while I was 
 in town. I have been intimately acquainted with him for upwards 
 of forty-three years, and have exchanged more mind with him than 
 with any man I ever knew, except my friend and tutor, Cornelius 
 V/inter. With regard to religious things, we only differed as to 
 Baptism ; and if we did not love each other the more for this dif- 
 ference, I am sure we did not love each other the less. We dis- 
 agreed, too, a little with regard to composition and preaching ; he 
 too squeamish, and I too careless; he laboring for correctness, and 
 I for impression; (in grasping which I sometimes erred;) he too 
 satisfied if he could abide criticism ; and I too careless of critical 
 judgment, if I could secure effect. Yet though he was often kindly 
 finding fault with me when we were alone, he was always seeking 
 opportunities to hear me, and I cannot be ignorant how much I 
 shared his commendation as an author and a preacher. I am thank- 
 ful for my intimacy with him. My esteem of him always grew with 
 my intercourse. I never knew a more consistent , correct , and unblem- 
 ished character. He was not only sincere, but without offence, and 
 adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 
 
 “ ‘ His mind was full of information ; his conversation singularly 
 instructive, and very edifying ; and while others talked of candor 
 and moderation, he exemplified them. In his theological sentiments 
 he was firm, yet sober and liberal ; and not too orthodox (as I have 
 
 formation of the Bible Society, of which we have taken notice in the 
 Appendix to this article. 
 
REV. JOSEPH HUGHES, M.A. 
 
 31 
 
 often known this) to be evangelical. But why do I write this ? 
 You know it as well as I, and will describe it better. 
 
 “ Mr. Jay’s opinion that the conception of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society originated in the mind of his friend, Joseph Hughes, 
 is fully confirmed by the memoir from which the above extract is 
 taken ; and from which we must beg to present the following elu- 
 cidation of a fact which has sometimes been obscui ed, if not actually 
 denied. 
 
 v The Rev. F. Charles, a clergyman of the Church of England, 
 but frequently officiating among the Calvinistic Methodists in 
 Wales, paid a visit to the Metropolis. lie represented, with all the 
 characteristic ardor and pathos of his native country, the dearth of 
 Bibles in the native language of the Principality. He told of a 
 scanty supply which had once been obtained from ‘ The Society for 
 promoting Christian Knowledge,’ but which by its inadequacy had 
 served rather to increase than allay the anxiety of the inhabitants ; 
 as the thirsty earth but pines and languishes the more for a few 
 big drops only from the cloud which had been expected to shower 
 down an abundance of moisture. This individual being present as 
 a visitor at the Committee Meeting of the Tract Society, expatiated 
 on the subject of a supply of Welsh Bibles, (Mr. Joseph Tarn, a mem- 
 ber of the Committee, having previously introduced him,) and urged 
 it most earnestly upon the attention of the meeting. To supply 
 Bibles was not the professed object of the Society; yet he could 
 hardly have been introduced to a circle of individuals in the whole 
 world more disposed to listen to his representations, to sympathize 
 with his feelings, and to respond to his calls. The whole meeting 
 instantly felt the desirableness of the object; but the mind of the 
 Secretary (Mr. Hughes) was warmed with the subject, his previous 
 train of reflections was recalled and quickened into motion, and 
 wrought, it may well be believed, into a high degree of energy. 
 His views, probably, in connection with those of the members pres- 
 ent, went much further than the specific object proposed to them — 
 the supply of the Welsh. The precise language in which he ex- 
 pressed his views, it is now difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain ; 
 and we must, therefore, be contented with the fact. Some, indeed, 
 of the individuals present at that meeting who survive recollect no- 
 thing particular; others retain a sense of his distinct and emphatic 
 utterance of this remark — ‘Why not Bibles for the whole country 
 — for the whole world ?’ 
 
32 
 
 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 “The minutes of that meeting which were revised by himself and 
 Mr. Tarn, under a concern to leave a perfectly accurate account of 
 wi at had transpired, record that such an object of solicitude, ‘at 
 the suggestion of the secretary,’ ( Mr . Hughes ,) was deemed worthy 
 of attention, was suitable for the notice of that body, and should 
 be placed on record for consideration at their next meeting. This 
 fact he himself, though careful of not having too much attributed 
 to him, always admitted. It appeared in several printed accounts, 
 while most of the members of that Committee were living ; and all 
 had access to the minutes as well as himself, and was never ques- 
 tioned. A variety of particulars in his correspondence, as well be- 
 fore as after this period, and the part immediately and thenceforward 
 assigned to him in all ulterior proceedings, confirm the idea. It 
 may, therefore, be safely concluded that the elements of the New 
 Institution were first of all deliberately conceived in his mind ; — 
 that there its original seed was planted by the hand of its Almighty 
 Author. The facts above related occurred in the memorable morn- 
 ing of December 7, 1802. The views and feelings of all present ac- 
 corded with the suggestion or suggestions made to the effect above 
 noticed. 
 
 “ Mr. Hughes was requested by the Chairman, in the name of the 
 rest, to embody the sentiments then delivered in a written address, 
 to be read to them at a future meeting convened for the purpose. 
 He readily complied ; and, after several meetings of the same kind, 
 the address, with some few emendations, was ordered to be printed 
 with a view to its immediate circulation. It was printed at first 
 in quarto, the intention being to circulate chiefly among persons in 
 high station — individuals whose countenance might shield the mag- 
 nitude of the scheme it proposed from the charge of wildness or 
 utter impracticability. It was subsequently printed in octavo, and 
 went through several editions. 
 
 “ This pamphlet, which was entitled, ‘ The Excellence of the Holy 
 Scriptures : an Argument for their more general dispersion at home and 
 abroad ,’ was the earliest public act of preparation for the establish- 
 ment of that first and greatest of our National Societies. A docu- 
 ment so momentous in its results, so excellent in itself, and so in- 
 timately connected with the subsequent history and everlasting re- 
 nown of our friend, requires some further notice from the pen of 
 his Biographer. A more important production, viewing the train 
 of consequences to which it has led, and is still leading, surely never 
 issued from the British press, saving only the Holy B»Me itself.” 
 
REV. JOSEPH HUGHES. M.A. 
 
 33 
 
 After giving a very complete analysis of Mr. Hughes* work his 
 Biographer thus concludes : — 
 
 “The publication of this pamphlet marks an era, undoubtedly 
 one of the most propitious in the religious history of our country ; 
 and which will be pointed to and signalized in future ages as the 
 date of one of the most popular, most useful, and most important 
 Institutions that ever blessed the world. 
 
 “ The publication of Mr. Hughes’ Essay took place early in 1803 ; 
 and for something more than a year the project was contemplated 
 with serious, and, it may be believed, with much prayerful thought, 
 by pious and benevolent men of various Christian denominations. 
 At length its first general public meeting was called, on Marcli the 
 7th, 1804. Granville Sharpe, Esquire, in the Chair.” — Memoir of 
 Rev. Joseph Hughes, A.M., pp. 142, 194, 207, 209. 
 
 2 * 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 I had many opportunities of seeing Mr. Foster, from 
 the time he was a student at Bristol to the period of 
 his death. He was thrice settled near me, viz., at 
 Downend, at Frome, and at Stapleton. His wife had 
 relations in my congregation ; and he sometimes pass- 
 ed a Sabbath in Bath ; but I could never induce him 
 to preach for me. He declined commonly by say- 
 ing (with complacency and pleasantry), “ You know 
 neither you nor your people would ever ask me again ; 
 I am never desired to preach a second time.” 
 
 The first interview I had with him was at the house 
 of Mrs. Hannah More. It was attended with the in- 
 cident which I mentioned in my Reminiscence of this 
 extraordinary and excellent woman, — the producing 
 for the opinion of the party of the tract entitled “ The 
 Shepherd of Salisbury Plain f as the first of a series 
 which, it was hoped, would tend to supplant the 
 worthless and mischievous trash in immense circula- 
 tion, and to furnish something not only harmless, but 
 useful, in its stead. It was at a breakfast ; the com- 
 pany was select, yet rather numerous. But all I re- 
 member with regard to Foster was his taciturnity ; for 
 I know not that he uttered a single sentence. As, 
 like myself, he had risen from (what is called, I know 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 35 
 
 not why) penniless life, and had, as yet, seen little of 
 society, it might have been supposed that he was 
 rather restrained, when among persons above the class 
 in which he had moved ; but even then, he had such 
 a consciousness of his talents as would have secured 
 him from such influence. 
 
 Some time after this, Mr. Henry Thornton, M. P. 
 for the Borough of Southwark, being in Bath, and 
 having heard of his powers, desired me to engage him 
 some day to dine with him. I did so ; and, mortify - 
 ingly, he again showed his indisposition to talk ; and 
 our most excellent entertainer was not much formed 
 to make his company easy, and free, and communica- 
 tive ; for his manner was peculiarly cold, distant, and 
 reserved. Foster said (yet I think very untruly), that 
 he sat as if he had a bag of money under liis arm ; but 
 at this time Mr. Foster had a kind of silly prejudice 
 against persons of affluence, however their wealth had 
 been obtained. This lessened in time ; and when he 
 thought Of espousals, he seemed to think property 
 “ was good and profitable to men not that, in his 
 choice, he overlooked wisdom and goodness, but show- 
 ed that he thought these were not the worse for being 
 endowed. 
 
 And this leads me to observe, that I never knew a 
 man possessing such a capacity for every kind of con- 
 versation who spoke so little, unless he had an indi- 
 vidual or two ; not (as he used to express it) to talk 
 upon, but to talk with. 
 
 An observable circumstance was his omission of 
 Scriptural expressions in his prayers ; for I can hardly 
 remember his ever using any. This could not have 
 been from his ignorance of the Scriptures, for from 3 
 
86 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 child he had known them ; and, if it were designed, 
 what could have been the motive for the omission ? 
 As this applied very much to his sermons, as well as 
 to his prayers (as may be seen in his skeleton lectures), 
 I ventured to ask him once concerning it, when he 
 rather lamented than justified the practice, and said 
 the fault was principally in his memory, and that he 
 feared to repeat such expressions, lest he should fail or 
 boggle in the accuracy' of the sacred diction . 
 
 This leads me to remark another thing. In his ac- 
 count of Mr. Hall’s prayers, he has gently censured 
 him for too much of personal references and specifica- 
 tions. The remark being rather bold and novel, and 
 coming from such a pen, I hoped it would have excit- 
 ed notice, and produced a friendly discussion in some 
 of our religious periodicals. For myself, I had always 
 wished that less of the practice prevailed in our pub- 
 lic devotions. I say public devotions ; for the family 
 altar, and the private closet, admit these, and often re- 
 quire them ; and there they are not only allowable, but 
 desirable. But against the public and frequent intro- 
 duction of minute and specific cases pertaining to in- 
 dividuals, there lie, I think, four objections : — First , it 
 often perplexes and embarrasses the preacher to bring 
 them forward properly. Few have the command of 
 that fluency which enables them to express incidents 
 with readiness and with ease ; and there is frequently 
 danger in extempore prayer, lest the faculties should 
 be employed where the affections only should be ex- 
 ercised ; and this difficulty should not, if possible, be 
 increased. Secoiidly , it excites improper and unreason- 
 able attention and inquiry in the minds of the hearers. 
 This is especial the case with the more curious and 
 
RE V. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 o7 
 
 inquisitive. The devotion of many of these is at an 
 end as soon as such personalities are brought in ; and 
 their minds are immediately hunting through the con- 
 gregation or the neighborhood to ascertain the family, 
 or the individual, to whom the minister has alluded 
 Yet some in their devotions introduce, not only a 
 particular fact, but its circumstantial attributes ; the 
 thanksgiving is not only for a safe delivery, but for 
 that of a son or daughter ; and the prayer is not only 
 for a safe journey, but by land or by water ; and the 
 recovery is implored, not from sickness , but from dropsy 
 or fever ; and so of the rest. Thirdly , there is frequent- 
 ly in these references a kind of adulatory, compliment- 
 ary strain. This is sometimes so gross, that, if it be 
 not very trying to those for whom it is designed, it 
 must be offensive to those by whom it is heard. Hence 
 expressions must be sought which tell in favor of the 
 individual ; and, when several are to be noticed at the 
 same time, great caution must be observed not to use 
 more respectful terms in speaking of one than of the 
 other. So averse have I been to this, and so afraid of 
 it in my own case, that I have commonly, especially 
 with younger ministers, when they have been preach- 
 ing for me, taken them aside before they entered the 
 pulpit, and begged them, either not to refer to me per- 
 sonally at all, or in only general terms. Fourthly , a 
 difficulty arises from the multiplicity of cases. And 
 which of these can be passed by without offence? 
 Yet how can all be distinctly referred to? I had, 
 when preaching in the great congregation in Black- 
 friars Road, ten or twelve notes at a time. Who had 
 memory enough to retain them all ? And what time 
 would all these particularizations have taken up? 
 
38 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 And “ God is in heaven, and we upon earth ; there- 
 fore, our words should be few.” 
 
 I always dissented from Mr. Foster’s recommending 
 preachers (sanctioned by his own practice) to lay aside 
 the language of what he called religious technicalities ; 
 and speaking of divine things in the same phraseology 
 as that in which they would speak of other things. 
 Would the substitution be easy? Would the advan- 
 tage repay the endeavor? Has it ever succeeded 
 where it has been tried ? I have known attempters 
 who have injured their acceptance and usefulness, 
 especially among those who heard our Saviour gladly. 
 And is the improvement of the mass of hearers to be 
 forgotten, in trying after two or three dry-minded, 
 perhaps captious, speculatists, or individuals, looking 
 only for literary display, when they hear the Gospel, 
 as well and as much as when they hear or read any- 
 thing else ? 
 
 Three things should be remembered. First, — that 
 many, and let the main of these be poor, suppose they 
 have not the same things, if they arc delivered in new 
 and strange words. Secondly , — the terms and phrases 
 to be laid aside are generally the language of our 
 translation (the only Bible the many have) ; and, of 
 all our divines, the most eminent and the most known. 
 Thirdly , — is the new image preferable to the old cur- 
 rency ? Is reformation equal to renovation ? Is favor 
 as significant as grace ? Is forgiveness a full substitute 
 for justification f Docs a promise supersede u an ever- 
 lasting covenant , ordered in all things , and sure ” ? 
 
 No one seemed to delight more in a simple, consist- 
 ent Christian, or “an Israelite indeed, in whom was no 
 guile,” whatever was his condition or religious party, 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 39 
 
 than Mr. Foster; but he was very indignant at the in- 
 consistencies of many professors. I was one day visit- 
 ing with him at the house of a gentleman, who, though 
 a deacon of a Christian church, was too much carried 
 away with the pride of life. The mansion was deco* 
 rated with every kind of ornament, and the table fur- 
 nished with every luxmy. As we were entering the 
 sumptuous dining-room, Foster pinched my elbow, 
 and said, “ Is this the strait gate ? ” 
 
 In preaching, his delivery all through was in a low 
 and equable voice, with a kind of surly tone, and a fre- 
 quent repetition of a word at the beginning of a sen- 
 tence. He had a little fierceness occasionally in his 
 eye ; otherwise his face was set, and his arms perfectly 
 motionless. He despised all. gesticulation, and also all 
 attempts to render anything emphatical in announce- 
 ment ; looking for the effect from the bare sentiment 
 itself, unhelped by anything in the delivery, which he 
 professed to despise. He contended that all eloquence 
 resides essentially in the thought, and what is eloquent 
 in any mode of expression would be so in every mode. 
 Yet he was singularly slow in composition, and fastidi- 
 ous in the structure of his sentences. But, upon the 
 admission of his own principle, how needless was the 
 solicitude of his practice? But in what do any of our 
 professions and our practices ever perfectly aceord? 
 
 He declined all explicit divisions in sermons, and 
 he was never found using the numerals “ first,” or 
 a second.” The notes of his discourses (I have seen 
 many of them) seemed to consist of some leading sen- 
 tences, as places from which he started to enlarge. 
 These sentences, to change the metaphor, were seminal, 
 and contained much matter which he could deduce 
 
40 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 from them; and the seemingly detached parts had 
 some real connection or relation in his own mind. 
 
 An anecdote here may be instructive. I remember 
 dining with him in company, when the gentleman who 
 entertained us (the conversation happening to turn 
 upon preaching) remarked the propriety of an obvious 
 and numerical arrangement ; stating that, whatever may 
 be the case with educated and intellectual individuals, 
 the greater part of an audience do not perceive what is 
 relative unless it be expressed; nor are they able, 
 without methodical assistance, fully and 'easily to re- 
 ceive and secure what they have heard. Mr. Foster 
 not seemingly assenting, the gentleman proceeded to 
 ask, what no one could deny, whether that which es- 
 caped in the mere act of hearing could do much good ; 
 and whether that was not more likely to be beneficial 
 which remained on the mind, and would be thought of 
 alone and repeated in company. He added, “ Now, 
 sir, here is a preacher present who heard you deliver 
 in Bristol a few days ago a sermon which he much ad- 
 mired ; but when I pressed for a sketch of it, he said 
 he could not recall or relate it. But, sir, I will call in 
 my gardener. * * * John, did 
 
 you hear Mr. last Sunday ?” “ Yes, sir.” “ Did 
 
 he not preach from such a text ?” u He did, sir.” “ Do 
 you remember anything of the sermon ?” John, af- 
 ter a little reflection, replied, “ Why, sir, he introduced 
 the subject by observing what a difference there was 
 between pretension and reality in religion, — that there 
 may be a form of knowledge and a form of god- 
 liness without the power, — and how necessary it was to 
 remember and be able to distinguish this, especially 
 with regard to ourselves. He then said the text con- 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 41 
 
 tained three things. These he stated and severally ex- 
 plained. He then called upon us to examine ourselves, 
 and I shall never forget (it thrills through me now) 
 how he closed with Bunyan’s words, ‘ Lo, I saw there 
 is a way to hell by the gate of heaven.’ ” 
 
 But though Mr. Foster despised the usual order and 
 arrangement, yet he did not leave things general and 
 indefinite in their bearings ; and there was often a 
 pointed force and appropriateness of reflection, which 
 seemed suddenly called forth without design, and which 
 fell terribly on the conscience. This may be seen in 
 the Lectures which have been published ; for though 
 they are posthumous, and none of them were entirely 
 the discourses which he delivered, they fail not to give 
 a just impression of his usual preaching. They also 
 show (though too sparingly) that he held what are 
 commonly called the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel. 
 Of these doctrines, as a Christian, he felt the truth and 
 importance ; yet not sufficiently by believing to enter 
 into rest, and feel that peace which passeth all under- 
 standing, keeping his heart and mind through Christ 
 Jesus; or fully to enjoy the blessedness of the people 
 who know the joyful sound, and walk all day in the 
 light of the Lord’s countenance. His mind seemed 
 too much surrounded with gloomy, rather than cheer- 
 ful, images ; nothing appeared to satisfy him, in civil 
 or religious concerns ; and he commonly was not in- 
 dulged with the peculiar associations which well suited 
 and pleased his mind and heart. 
 
 It is needless to speak of his endowments, which 
 have become so generally known from his works, and 
 so justly rated. His Essays have excited universal ad- 
 miration, anc have obtained for him a very high and 
 
42 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION'S OF CHARACTER. 
 
 established position, in the estimation of all readers of 
 judgment and taste. These Essays first came to my 
 hand on the morning of a day devoted to rural jaunt- 
 ing and recreation ; and though I was bound to be at- 
 tentive to my companions, and was always fond of 
 natural scenery, (some fine specimens of which we 
 were visiting,) yet, having opened the work in the car- 
 riage, I was tempted to go astray more than once in 
 the day, to dip into the contents, which I could not 
 leave until the morrow. 
 
 Mr. Wilberforce thought his Essay on Popular Ig 
 norance much, inferior to its predecessors; others have 
 thought the same. I confess I could never see any 
 reason for this. But priority has here an advantage; 
 and if an author does not surpass in a second attempt, 
 he is supposed to come short of himself. The Lectures , 
 without being sermons or expositions, abound with 
 thought ; but the reflections are to subtile, or profound, 
 for the seizure of common attention or intellect ; and 
 what degree of impression or effect did they produce ? 
 
 I love not to draw comparisons between good and 
 great men, but I have commonly thought he was supe- 
 rior to his illustrious contemporary; not in every re- 
 spect, by any means, especially in learning, and compo- 
 sition, and eloquence, but in a kind of unlabored pene- 
 tration, an iron grasp and hold of whatever he seized, 
 a bottomless profundity of thought, and a fulness of 
 all kinds and degrees of illustration, nothing of which 
 ever seemed derived ab extra , but all springing from 
 his treasures within. And I found, when in Scotland, 
 that Dr. Chalmers and others conceded the same partial 
 pre-eminence. 
 
 I have sometimes thought of the one as having 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 43 
 
 more genius, and the other more judgment ; the one as 
 having more comprehensiveness of mind, the other 
 more force and condensation ; the one having more of 
 intuition, the other of acquirement ; the one more dis- 
 cursive, the other more consecutive; the one more dis- 
 tinguished by depth, the other by height. But all this 
 is of little significance ; they were both great and ex- 
 traordinary men ; I knew enough of each to feel com- 
 petent to describe them perfectly ; and, if they were to 
 be weighed, I should strive to hold the scales. 
 
 It is worthy of observation that, though Mr. Hall, 
 as a preacher, was so much more popular than Mr. 
 Foster, (we were always hearing of the one, and scarce- 
 ly ever of the other,) yet, since the decease of both, 
 quotations from the sermons (I mean the unpublished) 
 of the former are seldom to be met with ; extracts and 
 v r hole skeletons from the ordinary preaching of the 
 latter have been, and continue to be, in various modes 
 multiplied. 
 
 In God’s hand it is to make great, and to give 
 strength “of every kind” to all; and superior talents 
 are never given in vain. They have their use and 
 their value ; but, lest we should idolize them, and 
 think them essential, we often have them (unlike the 
 instances before us) unassociated with piety, and God 
 doing his work without them, “that the excellency of 
 the power may be of him, and not of them.” Admired, 
 therefore, and valuable, in their way, as natural and 
 acquired endowments and attainments are, they are 
 not grace; and Paul would say to us, “ Covet earnest- 
 ly the best gifts, and yet I show unto you a more ex- 
 cellent way.” Many without splendid endowments 
 have been the power of God to save, and will have to 
 
44 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 present a number of converts, their joy and crown, in 
 the day of the Lord Jesus. How lamentable is it to 
 reflect how little this master-genius effected, at least 
 in the higher species of good ; and how every religious 
 interest he served was diminished, rather than in- 
 creased, by his labors ! 
 
 The biography of Scripture is impartial, and faith- 
 fully records the errors and miscarriages of God’s great- 
 est and dearest servants ; and need we, should we, over- 
 look the errors and imperfections of wise and good men 
 now ? especially when they have excellences which 
 will bear a gentle censure without snuffing them out ? 
 And is not this the more necessary where persons are 
 elevated, and their example the more likely to be seen 
 and influential ; where morals, like fashions, always 
 work downwards? We should not readily concede 
 the dispensableness of attending on the means of grace 
 and ordinances of religion to any. Man is not purely 
 intellectual, nor is reason the only attribute of his na- 
 ture. His mind must be approached through the me- 
 dium of sense ; and his fellowship with things unseen 
 and eternal must be maintained, or aided, by those 
 which are seen and temporal. And those eminent de- 
 grees of the divine life which some might suppose ren- 
 der attendance in the sanctuary and at the Lord’s Table 
 needless, always attach the possessor more to them. 
 But, if some individuals could supply the place of such 
 attendance from their own stores, yet it is otherwise 
 with the mass of persons. Without these excitements 
 and advantages, the very appearance of religion would 
 soon cease among them. Therefore, how desirable 
 and dutiful is it that we should sanction and enforce 
 such usages, even for the sake of the public welfare, by 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 45 
 
 our own example. However defective tlie public ser- 
 vices may be, they conduce to some profit. Nothing 
 tends so much to socialize, and civilize, and to produce 
 decorum and cleanliness : so that by the want of these 
 you may always infer the spiritual destitution of a neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 When residing in the vicinage of Bristol, and dis- 
 engaged from office, Mr. Foster usually heard Mr. 
 Hall, (and what marvel?) but no other minister; nor, 
 I believe, did he even then commune at Broadmead ; 
 and, when residing for some time at Burton-on- the- 
 W ater he always heard the pastor, yet left the table 
 
 of the Lord ; and Mr. C (Coles) complained, and 
 
 said what a distress it occasioned to himself, and what 
 a stumbling-block it proved in the way of some of the 
 members. I presume (but I am not certain) that in 
 the several places where he officiated as the pastor 
 himself he administered the Lord’s Supper ; but, as to 
 the other ordinance, he never dispensed it, or attended 
 the administration; and, in several attempts, Mr. 
 Hughes, his most familiar friend, assured me, he never 
 could get him to express himself upon the subject ; but 
 had a full persuasion that with the Friends he did not 
 believe in the perpetuity of water baptism. 
 
 I never knew a person (with the exception of Man- 
 deville and Rochefoucault) who had such views of the 
 badness and depravity of human nature. He seemed 
 to regard it as a mass of entire corruption, and espec- 
 ially of aversion in everything towards God ; so that 
 he saw nothing in it capable of being altered, or im- 
 proved into something better; and religion was not 
 with him a transformation, by the renewing of the 
 mind, but a perfect production and substitution of 
 
46 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 other powers, through the power of God. His views 
 also of ministerial and missionary labors, far from 
 being sanguine, were scarcely hopeful ; and his expec- 
 tation of a better state of things did not arise from the 
 blessing of God on the use of the means we possess, 
 but from an express interposition of almightiness coer- 
 cing its effects. 
 
 And who can commend his wish to break up all 
 church institutions and orders, leaving religion to in- 
 dividual influence and exertion? Or at most to do- 
 mestic? In several of these things he was joined and 
 aided by another remarkable and talented character, 
 a member of my congregation, Mr. Thomas Parsons, 
 of whom I have spoken in my published funeral ser- 
 mon. 
 
 But is it wise to abandon the present methods of 
 doing good, because of their defectiveness, instead of 
 gradually endeavoring to improve them ? Who knows 
 what may be the result between the giving up of the 
 old means and the establishment and prevalence of the 
 new ; for the change may not be easily, and therefore 
 not speedily accomplished; and who can be certain 
 of its greater benefit and usefulness? We actually 
 know what is now doing, and may hope far greater 
 things than these, by the blessing of God upon our 
 wise and active use of our present instrumentalities. 
 “ To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have 
 more abundance ; but from him that hath not shall be 
 taken away even that which he seemeth to have.” 
 
 Mr. Foster, though great in all his productions, ap- 
 pears to me greatest in his Revieivs. The more I read 
 them, the more I am astonished at the quickness and 
 clearness of his perceptions ; the power of his dis- 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 47 
 
 crimination ; his detection of sophistry ; his love of 
 fairness, rectitude, and truth; bis sly, yet just sar- 
 casms ; his stinging satire ; his abomination of pedant- 
 ry and pretence. Nor is my admiration abated by 
 comparison, when I read the contributions of Macau- 
 lay, Jeffrey, and Macintosh; and nothing surprises 
 me more than that the purchase of the two volumes 
 of his contributions has not been rapid and extensive 
 enough to induce the editor to send forth the large re- 
 mainder, now shut up in the Eclectic Review . 
 
 But the production of his pen the most spiritually 
 important, and the most adapted to awaken the con- 
 science and to urge the heart to God, (perhaps, too, 
 the best written,) is the Essay prefixed to Dr. Dod- 
 dridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul . Why 
 is not this more known ? Why is it not published 
 separately ? 
 
 Yet, as to himself, the choice of that work for this 
 prefix (for the subject was at his option) was remark- 
 able. As in scenery he could not endure the old 
 forms in which gardens were laid out, in squares, and 
 parterres, and yew-trees out into formal figures, but 
 something bordering on rude, in which nature was 
 seen rather than art ; something rather wild than neat- 
 ly cultured ; ever yielding freshness and having no 
 bounds. So it was as to his taste with regard to pub- 
 lications ; especially also as to the commencement of 
 religion. He conceived that it began by some one 
 powerful emotion or impression, and never from any 
 plan or scheme laid out in long and regular perspec- 
 tive. He would say, “ I love a scene in which nature 
 keeps much in her own hands.” 
 
 Mr. Cottle (Foster’s friend, and, I am happy to say, 
 
48 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 my own also) once showed me a letter of Mr. Foster’s, 
 concerning this prefixed Essay. It may be curious and 
 gratifying to subjoin a copy. It will serve, as the re- 
 ceiver remarked, to show the complex motives and 
 manner in which important productions originate and 
 are perfected. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Dr. Chaimers some three years since started a 
 plan of reprinting, in a neat form, a number of respectable religious 
 works, of the older date, with a Preliminary Essay to each, relating 
 to the book, or to any analogous topic, at the writer’s discretion. 
 The Glasgow booksellers, Chalmers and Collins, the one the Doctor’s 
 brother, and the other his most confidential friend, have according- 
 ly reprinted a series of perhaps now a dozen works, with essays, sev- 
 eral by Dr. Chalmers, and several by Irving, one by Wilberforce, one 
 by Daniel Wilson, cfec., <fcc. I believe Hall and Cunningham have 
 promised their contributions. I was inveigled into a similar promise 
 more than two years since. The work strongly urged on me for 
 this service in the first instance was Doddridge’s “ Rise and Prog- 
 ress and the contribution was actually promised to be furnished 
 with the least possible delay; on the strength of which the book 
 was immediately printed off, and has actually been lying in their 
 warehouse as dead stock these two years. I was admonished and 
 urged again and again ; but, in spite of the mortification and shame 
 which I could not but feel at thus occasioning the publisher’s cer- 
 tain positive loss, my horror of writing, combined with ill health, 
 invincibly prevailed, and not a paragraph was written till towards 
 the end of last year, when I did summon resolution for the attempt. 
 When I had written but a few pages, the reluctant labor was inter- 
 rupted and suspended by the more interesting one of writing those 
 letters to our dear young friend, your niece (Miss Saunders). Not, 
 of course, that this latter employment did not allow me time enough 
 for the other ; but by its more lively interest it had the effect of 
 augmenting my disinclination to the other. Soon after her removal, 
 I resumed the task, and am ashamed to acknowledge such a misera- 
 ble and matchless slowness of mental operation that the task held 
 me confined ever since, till actually within these few days. I be- 
 lieve that nothing but a strong sense of the duty of fulfilling my 
 engagement, and of not continuing to do a real injury to the pub- 
 
REV. JOHN FOSTER. 
 
 49 
 
 lishers, could have constrained me to so long a labor. It is most 
 mortifying to think of so slender a result of so much time and toil. 
 The article is, indeed, of the length of one half of Doddridge’s book ; 
 but many of my contemporary makers of sentences would have pro- 
 duced as much with one fifth part of the time and labor. I have 
 aimed at great correctness and condensation, and have found the 
 labor of revisal and transcription not very much less than that of 
 the substantial composition. The thing has been prolonged, I should 
 say spun out, to three times the length which was at first intended, 
 or was required. It has very little reference to the book which it 
 accompanies, has no special topic, and is merely a serious inculca- 
 tion of the necessity of religion on young persons and men of the 
 world. In point of merit, (that, you know, is the word in such 
 matters,) I rate it very moderately, except in respect to correct- 
 ness and clearness of expression. If it do not possess these quali- 
 ties, a vast deal of care and labor has been sadly thrown away. I 
 suppose the thing is just about making up, to be sent from the pub- 
 lisher’s warehouse. I shall have a little parcel of copies, and shall 
 presume to request the acceptance of one in Digliton-street. 
 
 “My dear Sir, I am absolutely ashamed to have been led into this 
 length of what is no better than egotism, when I was meaning just 
 five lines, to tell what has detained me from the pleasure of seeing 
 you. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, 
 
 “ Y ours most truly, 
 
 3 
 
 John Foster.’ 
 
LADY MAXWELL AND THE REV. 
 JOHN WESLEY. 
 
 I HAVE mentioned in another place my meeting 
 with Lady Maxwell in Bristol, and her engaging me 
 to preach at Hope Chapel, at the Hotwells. (1789.) 
 
 This place of worship had been founded, and the 
 cause advanced, by Lady Hope and Lady Glenorchy. 
 The former (whose name it bears) died before its com- 
 pletion. This was also the case with her successor, 
 Lady Glenorchy, on whose death it came into the 
 hands of Lady Maxwell. She finished it, and opened 
 it for the service of God ; and had it supplied for some 
 time by a succession of ministers, and managed by a 
 selection of gentlemen from the several congregations 
 in Bristol, two of whom in succession always attended 
 on the Sabbath, to arrange the affairs of the infant in- 
 terest. But this plan was soon found very inconven- 
 ient and troublesome. It roomed desirable that the 
 place should have a fixed minister. The trial was 
 made, and it commenced with the Reminiscent. 
 
 Lady Maxwell was a very holy and pious woman, 
 with a considerable tinge of enthusiasm in her constitu- 
 tion. Her Memoirs have been published in two volumes. 
 Some of her religious views ^vere peculiar, or not easily 
 explained. She had a notion of communing \v ; t> the 
 
LADY MAXWELL AND THE REV. JOHN WESLEY. 51 
 
 Persons in the Divine Nature individually and sepa- 
 rately, i. e., one day more particularly, if not exclusive- 
 ly, with the Father, another with the Son, and a third 
 with the Holy Ghost. Has not Dr. Owen a little 
 verged toward this in his work on communion with 
 God ? But here it was not only admitted, but plead- 
 ed for, as of great importance, and reaching the very 
 acme of Christian experience. 
 
 Her ladyship was peculiarly attached to Mr. Wesley. 
 Her doctrines, unless in the above articles, accorded 
 entirely with his ; but as these were not precisely the 
 sentiments of the two foundresses of the place, who 
 were Presbyterians, she determined it should not be 
 said that she availed herself of her privilege to intro- 
 duce them ; and, by a very scrupulous delicacy, ad- 
 mitted none of Wesley’s preachers to officiate there, 
 and not even himself. 
 
 The place had not been long opened when I undertook 
 the service. A congregation was to be raised. Though 
 young and immature, my labors were acceptable and 
 useful ; and while there, the Lord gave me three con- 
 verts, all of whom entered the ministry and labored 
 well. Here I remained for near twelve months ; and, 
 being pressed by her ladyship as well as the congrega- 
 tion, here I should perhaps have continued, but for a 
 dispute with a good female whom her ladyship left to 
 manage the secular concerns of the place. It regard- 
 ed her interfering with the ecclesiastical also. In this 
 disagreement we were both to blame. Two things I 
 learned from it, — 
 
 First, To prefer the government of females in the 
 family rather than in the church ; and, 
 
 Secondly, To observe on what slender things often 
 
62 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 hinge the most important events of our lives. This 
 disagreement determined me to accept the invitation I 
 had just then received from Bath. 
 
 During my stay at Hope Chapel, I had the honor 
 and pleasure of dining at her Ladyship’s house with 
 the venerable Mr. Wesley. He kindly noticed me, 
 and inquired after Mr. Winter, adding, u Cornelius is 
 an excellent man.” This was the more candid, as Mr. 
 Winter, in a letter, a copy of which I have, had testi- 
 fied freely against some of Mr. Wesley’s opinions. At 
 the first interview there were in the company the Rev. 
 Mr. More, one of Mr. Wesley’s biographers, and sev- 
 eral other preachers in his connection ; and among 
 these was a Captain Webb, deprived of one eye at the 
 battle of Bunker’s Hill, who held forth commonly 
 without doors in regimentals. As I wished to hear 
 Mr. Wesley talk, nothing could be more mortifying 
 than the incessant garrulity of this fanatical rhodomon- 
 tader; and I much wondered Mr. Wesley, who had 
 such influence over his adherents, did not repress, or 
 at least rebuke, some of his spiritual vagaries and su- 
 pernatural exploits. Did this master in Israel think it 
 harmless to tolerate a kind of visionary agency, and 
 suppose that it was little for the common people to 
 believe too much rather than too little ? 
 
 At my second interview, among others was the Rev. 
 Mr. Easterbrook, the vicar of Temple parish ; one of 
 the best men I ever knew ; and at whose death, it is 
 said, some respectful notice was taken of him in every 
 pulpit in the city. He denied himself to an extreme 
 to give to him that needeth, and was always going 
 about doing good. As evidential of his liberality of 
 mind, as well as of heart, when Mr. Hoskins, a dissent* 
 
LADY MAXWELL AND THE REV. JOHN WESLEY. 53 
 
 ing minister, opened for preaching a large room in his 
 extensive parish, he himself attended the opening ; 
 and embracing him before the people as he came out 
 of the pulpit, he said, a I thank you, my brother, for 
 coming to my aid.” This very good man (for so he 
 was) erred a little on the side of credulity and super- 
 stition. A few weeks before, an extraordinary service, 
 with fasting and prayer, had been held in his church, 
 attended by several ministers in the Methodist connec- 
 tion, to dispossess a supposed demoniac. This was 
 John Lukins, who had exhibited some strange appear- 
 ances, and uttered some kind of singular sounds, which 
 his friends were unable physically to account for. The 
 man was present at the service, and the spirit supposed 
 to be in him was addressed, and in the name of Christ 
 was ordered to come out of him. After some shrieks 
 and contortions he became gentle, and exhibited no- 
 thing more of his former malady. I knew the man 
 afterwards, and more than once relieved him. The 
 case naturally excited even public attention, and gave 
 rise to several pamphlets ; the chief of which was writ- 
 ten by an eminent surgeon in Bath, in whose native 
 place Lukins was born. 
 
 I should not have related this, but it unfortunately 
 engrossed the conversation for nearly the whole of the 
 afternoon, and because, to my great surprise, Mr. Wes- 
 ley seemed to admit the reality of the possession and 
 dispossession, and to consider it as nothing less than a 
 wonderful work of God. After tea I went with him 
 in his carriage into Bristol, and heard him preach from 
 Ephes. v. 8 — “ Ye were sometimes darkness, but now 
 are ye light in the Lord ; walk as children of light.” 
 It was the only opportunity I ever had of hearing this 
 
54 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 truly apostolical man. The whole scene was very pic- 
 turesque and striking : several preachers stood in the 
 large pulpit around him ; the sermon was short, the 
 language terse and good, but entirely devoid of ex- 
 pansion and imagery, while the delivery was low and 
 unanimated. This surprised me. Was it the influence 
 and effect of age ? If it was originally the same, how 
 came he to be so popular among the rude multitudes 
 which always attended him, and so hung upon his 
 lips ? Whitfield’s voice and vehemence, and strong 
 emotions, will in some measure account for the im- 
 pressions he produced, even regardless of the grace of 
 God which accompanied them. How popular and 
 useful was Berridge ! yet he had nothing of the vul- 
 gar orator in his manner ; it was plain and unimpas- 
 sioned. This was the case also with many of the orig- 
 inal corps of evangelists. 
 
HOLMES, ESQ. 
 
 With this gentleman I became intimately acquaint- 
 ed early in my ministry. He then resided at Ide, in 
 the vicinage of Exeter. He had good natural talents ; 
 was well educated ; read the Scriptures familiarly in 
 their original languages ; and could speak French flu- 
 ently. He was also, without assuming the ministerial 
 office, occasionally a preacher. For though he had re- 
 tired from merchandise, in which God had prospered 
 him, he did not consider himself as thereby justified 
 in living a life of ease and indolence ; but as the more 
 bound (as in some respects the more able) to do good ; 
 and to serve his own generation according to the will 
 of God, especially in their spiritual interests. 
 
 He possessed an ample fortune, kept his carriage, 
 and lived in a genteel style becoming his circum- 
 stances ; but expended nothing in gay extravagance, 
 and saved up nothing by sordid hoarding. He view- 
 ed himself as a steward, used his property as a talent, 
 and kept in mind the clay of account. 
 
 I pass by his private benefactions, in which he never 
 sought to be seen of men, to notice two or three things 
 of a more public nature, b}^ which being dead he yet 
 speaketh; and in which, I hope, he may be instructive 
 and exemplary. 
 
56 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Observing the people in the villages so exceedingly 
 ignorant and irreligious, he found out individuals of 
 good character and decent capacity, and employed 
 them as schoolmasters during the week, and as preach- 
 ers on the Sabbath, and supported them at his own 
 expense. He was the means of re-opening some meet- 
 ings which error had shut up, of repairing others that 
 were decaying, and of enlarging others that had be- 
 come too small. 
 
 He erected, exclusively at his own cost, a large and 
 commodious chapel at Teignmouth ; and principally, 
 if not entirely, supported it for some y ears. When he 
 resolved on this, there were no pious individuals in the 
 place. I only remember (and I had opportunities of 
 knowing) one person who made any pretension to se- 
 rious religion. And here I differed from my friend, 
 thinking that, in all cases of this kind, we should first 
 make trial of the will of Grod, and see if there is a dis- 
 position to hear, and then build. But the founder 
 said he was strongly impressed with the importance 
 of the measure, and was fully persuaded in due time 
 much good would be done by means of it. His ex- 
 pectation, however, was not immediately accomplish- 
 ed. Some years passed before there was any consid- 
 erable appearance of success. It must, indeed, be al- 
 lowed that, for a good while, the preaching was not 
 much suited to the station, or adapted to convert or to 
 edify. But in process of time things changed for the 
 better ; a good congregation was raised, and the church 
 made to prosper, and continues to be a flourishing in- 
 terest. I preached at the opening. My subjects were, 
 Psalm xciii. 5, u Holiness becometh thine house, O 
 Lord, forever,” — and 1 Sam. i. 13, “ Now Hannah she 
 
HOLMES, ESQ. 
 
 57 
 
 spake in her heart ; only her lips moved, but her 
 voice was not heard ; therefore Eli thought she had 
 been drunken.” 
 
 Owing to its being opened on the Lord’s day, min- 
 isters could not attend without leaving their own 
 places. One brother only was there, but he took no 
 part in the service, except the introductory prayer. 
 Being a hypochondriac he had left his pastoral office. 
 I never had the pleasure of seeing him again. But I 
 heard afterwards of his misfortune, shall I call it? — or 
 happiness ? He was a man of sober years, and was 
 going to be conj ugated to a dame of discretion ; but 
 happening to pass a fortnight with her at the house of 
 a relation previously to their union, they gained such 
 a mutual increase of knowledge, as induced them to 
 be satisfied to remain in statu quo. 
 
 The first six sabbaths I remained to officiate. Mr. 
 Holmes himself preached in the afternoon, and I in the 
 morning and evening. We came from his house on 
 the Saturday, and returned on the Monday. Our ac- 
 commodations were always at the inn. 
 
 Mr. Holmes had children by his first wife, but they 
 all died young. His second wife was the daughter of 
 
 the Rector of W n. She had then two brothers in 
 
 the church, evangelical preachers, but afterwards turn- 
 ed away from the truth. I trust she was a good 
 woman ; but though she had married a rich Dissenter, 
 her heart was left behind. I could perceive, the six 
 weeks I resided in the house, that she did not relish 
 what her husband was doing out of the Establishment ; 
 and I foresaw what would be the consequence if she 
 survived him. The event took place, and the appre- 
 hension was realized, It is desirable when persons 
 
 3 * 
 
58 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 marry, to marry as much as possible in their own re- 
 ligious community. To justify a contrary course two 
 things are at least necessary. 
 
 First. That they hold the sentiments in which they 
 differ with moderation, and feel them to be subordi- 
 nate^ and, 
 
 Secondly . That they consent to attend the same place 
 of worship. Worshipping together cherishes and pro- 
 motes social and devout affections ; and has a lively 
 and favorable effect upon children and servants. 
 What evil consequences have I often seen arising from 
 husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, always re- 
 pairing to separate sanctuaries, or worshipping alter- 
 nately at different places ! 
 
 I do not herein condemn myself. I married the 
 daughter of a clergyman, but there was no separation 
 in our devotions, or differences in the training of our 
 children. We united with each other much more as 
 Christians, than Episcopalians and Dissenters; and 
 never had we, in a long and happy union, one word of 
 discord, or even dispute. 
 
 I happened, in my way to the opening of a Meeting- 
 house at Tavistock, to spend a week at Painton. The 
 people at Teignmouth hearing of this sent a deputa- 
 tion to urge me to preach for them on the following 
 Sabbath, as it was the very day of my opening their 
 sanctuary thirty years before. This I did, and was 
 pleased to see the state of things so prosperous and 
 promising. Two days after, when I had reached Tot- 
 ness, as the chaise was at the door to take me forward 
 to Tavistock, I was recalled home by a messenger an- 
 nouncing the apprehended death of my youngest 
 daughter, whom I had left perfectly well I was only 
 
HOLMES, ESQ. 
 
 59 
 
 in time to see her expire. How much do times and 
 places derive from association and recollection ! What 
 have been my feelings in passing through Totness 
 since ! 
 
 To proceed with this Reminiscence : On my return 
 from the dedication of the chapel at Teignmouth to 
 Bath, Mr. Holmes brought me in his carriage as far as 
 Taunton, where I took coach. He had made engage- 
 ments for me to preach in my way back at Chudleigh, 
 Tiverton, Wellington, and Taunton. At Taunton I 
 preached for Mr. Reader, then the Tutor of the West- 
 ern Academy, hie was a very pious and spiritual 
 man ; but had for some time past been led inordinatel} 7 " 
 to the study of the Revelation of St. John. His wife 
 assured me, that sometimes for near an hour at a time 
 would he be agonizing with God in prayer, when he 
 found difficulties in the Book, and could get no satisfac- 
 tion from human authors. Hence he too much conclud- 
 ed that what came into his mind after these prayers was 
 the meaning of the Holy Ghost, and this made him too 
 positive in his interpretations. As out of the abun- 
 dance of the heart the mouth speaketh, his reference 
 to the Apocalypse was almost incessant. My friend 
 apprized me of this addiction, and desired me to ob- 
 serve, as we were approaching his house, how long it 
 would be before he brought forth his favorite topic. 
 Within a quarter of an hour, the name of Mr. Newton 
 was incidentally mentioned ; when he said, “Ah, Mr. 
 Newton is a very good man, but God will correct him 
 before his death.” Wherefore? it was asked. “Be- 
 cause of his indifference,” said 1 ? “towards the bless- 
 ed Book of Revelation.” I asked wherein he had 
 shown this indifference. “ Sir,” said he, “ when I had 
 
60 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 finished my exposition of that Book, I sent him a copy 
 for his acceptance, and begged his opinion of the work ; 
 and this,” said he, pulling his letter out of his bureau, u is 
 his answer.” — “‘Dear Sir, — I am much obliged by 
 your kindness in sending me the volume on the Apoc- 
 alypse ; but you must excuse me for not criticizing 
 the contents, for which I have neither leisure nor 
 ability. I hope God has for some years given me a 
 word in season for him that is weary, but he has not 
 given a capacity to open the seals, — I am, &c., John 
 Newton.’ ” 
 
 Now, I do not go the length of South, nor admire 
 the unhallowed wit that says, — “ The Revelation al- 
 ways finds a man mad, or leaves him so yet we may 
 learn from this good man; and what I say concerning 
 him, I speak as with affection, so I speak only what I 
 could verify. This kind of prophetical zeal gave a 
 kind of new and unhappy turn to his preaching. It 
 injuriously affected the congregation — 
 
 “ The hungry sheep look’d up and were not fed 
 
 and sinners heard less of repentance towards God, and 
 faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, than before. 
 
 "We are not ignorant of his devices who is not only 
 the accuser of the brethren, but the tempter too. Had 
 he addressed this excellent man with anything ob- 
 viously erroneous or sinful, he would have said, “ Get 
 thee behind me, Satan.” But it was otherwise when 
 he approached him in a sacred attire, with the Bible 
 in his hand, and this text in his mouth, — “ Blessed is 
 he that readeth, and they that understand the words 
 of this prophecy.” 
 
HOLMES, ESg. 
 
 61 
 
 Would it not be well if professors, and especially 
 preachers, were not only to think of the difficulty (not 
 to say impossibility) of deciding many things in dis- 
 pute — but remember their little value comparatively if 
 demonstrated, — “ What is the chaff to the wheat?” 
 
 After preaching for this good old man, and returning 
 into his house, he said, “ Sir, I did not like what you 
 said of candour this evening.” I answered, “ I think 
 I sufficiently guarded it, and distinguished it from in- 
 difference with regard to essential truth.” “ Sir,” said 
 he, “you have had many apostates to hear you, and 
 they will think too favorably of you.” While he was 
 thus speaking Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Toulmin was intro- 
 duced into the parlor, asking me to preach for him, like 
 Robinson, saying, his pulpit was open to all good men. 
 At this, Mr. Reader pounced upon me — a confirmation 
 of what he had said ; nor did he ask the applicant to 
 sit down, or even speak to him. And is this the meek- 
 ness of wisdom ? If we cannot love persons as Chris- 
 tians, are w~e to refuse them civilities as men ? Is this 
 the way to win souls? Not that I was disposed to 
 preach for him. I never officiated but twice in an Uni- 
 tarian pulpit; and in each instance I took care not to 
 be asked under any ignorance of my sentiments. I 
 said, “ The thing with me is not ivhere I preach, but 
 what I preach. I must speak according to my own 
 principles. Allow me this liberty and I will comply. 
 I shall not go out of my way to insult or oppose ; but 
 I cannot forbear to deliver what my conscience tells 
 me I should deliver from the same text in my own 
 place.” 
 
 Having said all that honesty and fairness required, 
 I spoke with freedom; but one of the two ministers 
 
62 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 who invited me the first time went out in the middle 
 of the discourse, and the other before I began had 
 rather cautiously intimated that “ it were always bet- 
 ter to avoid abstruse doctrines, and teach our people 
 how to keep God’s commandments and find their way 
 to heaven.” I told him, I always made this my ulti- 
 mate aim. Yet I felt not at home. I seemed not to 
 be among my own people, and was not a little embar- 
 rassed in the intercessory part of my prayer for the 
 ministers ; for under what character could I pray for 
 them as Pastors ? 
 
 I was only once after this coldly asked, and I re- 
 fused ; for, besides the difficulty I had felt in the per- 
 formances, I considered how liable it was to miscon- 
 struction ; and how careful we should be not to offend 
 against the generation of the upright. Upon the same 
 principle Mr. Hall acted. He had occasionally, when 
 he came to Bristol, preached for Mr. E n the Uni- 
 
 tarian minister ; but after awhile, with godly prudence, 
 he declined; and saved from surmise, fear, and dis- 
 tress, some who, if not his most intelligent, were yet 
 his most pious and prayerful hearers. The last ser- 
 mon he preached there was against Atheism ! 
 
 I see in his Diary, Mr. Toplady (who lived not far 
 from Exeter), though a beneficed clergyman, was most 
 cordially intimate with Mr. Holmes. Here I insert 
 two short extracts taken from Mr. Toplady’s Posthu- 
 mous Volumes, page 279 vvc 285. 
 
 “ Spent about an hory and a half with good Mr. 
 Holmes, whom I found m great distress, on account 
 of his only surviving son being given over in a fever. 
 During our Interview, God so opened my mouth and 
 so enlarged my heart, that I trust both my friend and 
 
HOLMES, ESQ. 
 
 63 
 
 myself found our spiritual strength renewed, and were 
 sensibly and powerfully comforted from above.” 
 
 i( After breakfast, rode to Exeter, where I dined at 
 Mr. Holmes’. Found that dear and excellent man 
 not only more resigned to the will of God, but even 
 more cheerful than I could have conceived. Mrs. 
 Paul of Topsham, and Mr. Lewis, a worthy Baptist 
 minister, dined with us. Our conversation at table 
 was on the best subjects ; and I found our Christian 
 discussions sensibly blessed to my soul. After tea, 
 myself and four more followed the remains of Master 
 Holmes to Cade, about two miles out of the city, where 
 they were interred. Mr. Cole, curate of the parish, 
 read the funeral service. I preached a sermon suit- 
 able to the solemn occasion to a large auditory, and 
 one © ' the most attentive ones I ever saw,” &c* 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 I AM the more inclined to speak of th y man, 
 
 because I believe no account of him, even u a funeral 
 discourse, has been published. I can ass' gn no reason 
 for this ; but, as we proceed in this brief narrative, the 
 omission will raise our wonder, and show us that the 
 excellency and usefulness of persons are not to be al- 
 ways estimated by the noise they make or the notice 
 they excite at the time. I say “ at the time” because 
 as the thing is only partial, so it is often only tem- 
 porary. In due season, and in a way which marks 
 the providence of God, he brings forth their “right- 
 eousness as the light, and their judgment as the noon- 
 day.” How many of the Nonconformists are now 
 admired, whose names were even cast out as evil! 
 When Cowper wrote, he seemed forbidden to mention 
 Whitfield by name. 
 
 “ Leuconomus, (beneath well-sounding Greek, 
 
 I slur a name a poet must not speak).” 
 
 Is there a man now in the kingdom but considers him 
 an upright, honest man, who lived only to do good? 
 But Bunyan ! poor Bunyan ! that ignoramus, that fa- 
 natic, that rebel, that traitor to his country, insulted on 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 65 
 
 his trial, infamously condemned, cruelly imprisoned 
 for twelve long years; what, where — is he now ? His 
 hook is acknowledged the first of allegories, and his 
 statue is in one of our parliamentary niches ! 
 
 Good men should be willing to leave their reputa- 
 tion, like everything else, with God ; and it is well if, 
 when little is said of them , their works praise them 
 in the gate. By these “the memory of the just is 
 blessed.’ 7 
 
 Mr. Welsh was a considerable banker in London. 
 One of the partners in the firm was Mr. Rogers, the 
 father of the poet. His wife was a daughter of the 
 famous Thomas Bradbury, of political, polemic, and 
 facetious memory ; and she had much of her father’s 
 humor about her. She often mentioned some of his 
 witticisms. I wish I had recorded them. Two of 
 them at this moment I just remember. One day, 
 meeting with a man who was going to push him from 
 the wall, saying, “I don’t choose to give the wall to 
 every fool I meet,”— -says Mr. Bradbury, “ I do, and 
 so pray take it.” Another day he was at the coffee- 
 house, where several gentlemen were reading the 
 papers, and one of them having read that, the Sunday 
 before, a man who was violating the Sabbath fell from 
 his horse, and fractured his leg and thigh ; upon which 
 he said, turning to Mr. Bradbury, “ I suppose, Mr. 
 Bradbury, you deem this a Divine judgment?” 
 “ Why, sir,” said Mr. Bradbury, “if you deem it a 
 Divine mercy, we will have no dispute about it.” 
 
 The church over which the Reminiscent has so long 
 and happily presided owed very much to the zeal and 
 liberality of Mr. Welsh. He unceasingly nursed it in 
 its infant state ; and, when it had only a small and 
 
66 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 incommodious place to assemble in, he principally, at 
 his own expense, fitted up the old Eoman Catholic 
 chapel, which had been left very much in ruins, from 
 the Protestant riots in 1780. He also, from their hav- 
 ing only a successional and uncertain supply of preach- 
 ers, recommended to them an able pastor, who could 
 feed them with knowledge and understanding, and en- 
 gaged to support him till the congregation should be 
 capable of bearing the burden themselves. 
 
 Mr. Welsh commonly passed some weeks, if not 
 months, annually in Bath ; and nothing in these visits 
 afforded him more pleasure than to observe the cause 
 he had so patronized increasing and prospering ; and 
 this was the case even after the loss of my predecessor, 
 the Rev. Thomas Tuppen, whom he had introduced, 
 and especially after the opening of our new chapel in 
 Argyle-street, and which even then required to be en 
 larged. 
 
 But this was not all, but comparatively little, of 
 what Mr. Welsh accomplished. I was once passing 
 the evening with him ; he was in a very solemn and 
 feeling mood ; and after awhile he said, with tears, “ I 
 am growing old, and I ought, and I wish, to do some- 
 thing more to glorify God, and serve my generation 
 according to his will, than I have done ; and I have 
 the means.” Several schemes passed under our re- 
 view ; and at last he mentioned what (as I entirely ap- 
 proved of) I did all in my power to enforce. I will 
 simply specify the case. 
 
 At this time our country was in a state very differ- 
 ent from its present condition. It was generally under 
 the greatest of all curses, the curse of an unregenerate 
 ministry, especially in the smaller towns and villages, 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 67 
 
 where many of the people, though in a land of vision, 
 and with an Established Church, were yet perishing 
 for lack of knowledge. 
 
 We, therefore, thought (for it was the King’s busi- 
 ness, and required haste) that it was desirable imme- 
 diately to search out, and educate, a number of young 
 men of gifts and grace for the ministry, and place them 
 in a kind of domestic academies. These seminaries 
 were not to be in opposition to any larger and higher 
 establishments, but rather in addition to them. They 
 were to give these young men a less literary training, 
 but a more theological and practical ; or with a fuller 
 reference principally, though not exclusively, to di- 
 vinity and preaching. These students were to be 
 placed for some years under the care of ministers of 
 piety, experience, and competent learning, residing in 
 separate localities ; and where they could be, even 
 during their tuition, employed in teaching the poor, 
 and ignorant, and vicious ; and, while employed, to 
 be also improved, and actually prepared for their work, 
 like those who are taught to run by running, and to 
 walk by walking, and not by mere rule and lesson. 
 
 Of seven tutors, Mr. Welsh chose three, engaging to 
 support several students under each. Cornelius Win- 
 ter was one of them. He had, indeed, been engaged 
 in such work before, though without any regular and 
 certain provision for expense, like Professor Frant, at 
 W ells, in his work of faith and labor of love. 
 
 The Reminiscent was not one of Mr. Welsh’s stu- 
 dents, but belonged to an earlier class, urder Mr. Win- 
 ter’s care, and principally supported by John Thorn- 
 ton, Esq., Sir Richard Hill, and others. 
 
 Mr. Welsh married a second time, late in life, the 
 
68 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 half-sister of Dr. Evans of Bristol. He lived to a good 
 old age, and died very suddenly. I had preached be- 
 fore him in the morning, from the words of our Lord 
 to the Church of Ephesus — “ To him that overcometh 
 will I grant to sit with me on my throne.” It was 
 the last sermon he heard ; and, one hour after, rising 
 from dinner to return thanks, he fell down upon the 
 floor, and expired : — 
 
 “ A soul prepared needs no delays ; 
 
 The summons comes, the saint obeys ; 
 
 Swift was his flight, and short the road, — 
 
 He closed his eyes, and woke with God !” 
 
 To conclude this brief and imperfect memoir. W e 
 read of “the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burn- 
 ing.” This is a fine and an advantageous union ; fer- 
 vor enlightens prudence, and prudence qualifies fervor. 
 Therefore, says the Apostle, “ let your love abound 
 yet more and more in all knowledge and in all judg- 
 ment.” As if he should say, “ Be not weary in well- 
 doing, but in your benevolence exercise discretion as 
 to time, and place, and means, and manner ; and as 
 your ability is always but small, endeavor to make a 
 little go a great way.” I cannot but think a more ju- 
 dicious course of usefulness could not have been chosen 
 than that which Mr. Welsh encouraged ; and, though 
 some were disposed to blow upon it at first, and though 
 more may now deem it too humble for modern Dissent, 
 how many opportunities have I had, and thousands 
 more, of witnessing its blessed effects, in turning sin- 
 ners from darkness to light, of evangelizing heathen 
 neighborhoods, and even in forming congregations, 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 69 
 
 whose beginning, indeed, was small, but whose latter 
 end greatly increased ! 
 
 And here, without the least wisli to check or under- 
 value superior degrees of literary attainment, may not 
 the Reminiscent be allowed to ask a few questions ? 
 Is there no distinction between an educated and a 
 learned ministry ? If (and the Apostle says, u Christ 
 sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel”), if 
 the chief design of the ministry is to preach, and faith 
 cometh by hearing, should not everything in the prep- 
 aration be made to bear principally upon it ? And is 
 this unceasingly and obviously the case in all our ex- 
 isting institutions ? Are mathematical and classical 
 acquirements, especially in their higher degrees, equal- 
 ly necessary in all stations, and for all teachers ? Are 
 there not cases in which these distinctions may rela- 
 tively even disqualify, more than help ; first, by their 
 aptness to draw away the preacher too much into the 
 pursuit of things in which he excels, and in which, 
 therefore, he delights ? and, secondly , by betraying him 
 into a manner of address less intelligible, familiar, and 
 impressive, to the mass of his audience ? Is not a 
 minister of the Gospel to be the teacher of religion, 
 the subjects of which are matter of pure testimony 
 and not of reasoning, and therefore little depending on 
 talent and science ; for “ by faith we stand” ? Is there 
 no difference in the department of preparation between 
 a kingdom which is u not of this world,” and one which 
 is ? Is the minister to be laboriously qualified to meet 
 the casual intellectual few, rather than the certain many , 
 that may attend his teaching? Is the church the 
 proper and express sphere for the highest cultivation 
 of genius and literature ? Or for studying and striv- 
 
70 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ing for degrees and titles derived from the arts and 
 sciences? Far be it from the Keminiscent to domineer 
 or dictate ; but may he not again ask, Is there any 
 mode of address so little likely to be popularly useful 
 as that of a dry, cold intellectuality ? Is there no dif- 
 ference between the press and the pulpit ? May not 
 that which is proper for the one be unsuitable for the 
 other ? Is there no difference between a treatise and 
 a sermon ? I will buy the former, if it be published, 
 and read it with pleasure ; but I will never hear the 
 latter, if I know it. Can a discourse adapted to gen- 
 eral improvement safely admit more than a certain 
 portion of intelligence and argument? Can that be 
 felt that is not understood ? And that carried away 
 which is not portable ? And is there no danger of 
 rendering the Scriptures in time a mere book for criti- 
 cism, and to be treated scientifically, without regard- 
 ing it for the sole purpose for which it was given, — to 
 guide our feet into the path of life, and to answer the 
 inquiry, “ What must I do to be saved?” 
 
 But to return. Let us redeem our time, and use our 
 resources and abilities, whatever they may be ; and 
 let us never forget that, if we have not ten talents, we 
 haye one, and that the man with one talent was the 
 unprofitable servant, and therefore the wicked servant, 
 and therefore the punished servant. He hid his talent 
 in a napkin. And let us see what a single individual 
 may accomplish, when (as it is said of the builders at 
 the Temple) he has a mind to work. What good did 
 this man effect by the natural and simple instrument- 
 ality which he set in motion? Why, “there is joy 
 in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner 
 that repenteth.” He that saves one soul from death 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 71 
 
 does more than he who rescues a country from civil 
 bondage. And how many were here turned from the 
 error of their way, and made partakers of that “ god- 
 liness which is profitable unto all things, having prom- 
 ise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is 
 to come!’' Yes; and how extensive was the good done 
 to all these ! for it not only saved their souls, but 
 blessed their bodies, and the labor of their hands, and 
 their relations and families. And, then, how perpetu- 
 ated was this good ! The subjects of it themselves 
 were the medium of it to others ; and now, even now, 
 it is operating in various influences and effects, and 
 will continue to operate till the last day. 
 
 And by what was he rendered most a benefactor ? 
 By the consecration of a measure of his substance to 
 the service of his God and Saviour. One is almost 
 afraid to speak in favor of money, lest avarice should 
 hail the remark, and capture the praise, and apply it 
 to perverted purposes. But, the truth is, that while 
 the love of money is the root of all evil, the use of it 
 may be made the root of all good. In one respect, it 
 is the most important of all agencies, because it can 
 employ in its service all other instrumentalities — labor, 
 genius, eloquence, learning, and even piety itself. The 
 lawful acquisition of it, therefore, should never be neg- 
 lected ; a penny of it should never be wasted ; nor a 
 farthing of it be sordidly or needlessly hoarded up. 
 “ Charge them,” says the Apostle, “ that are rich in 
 this world, that they do good, that they be rich in good 
 works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.” 
 Again, he says, “ To do good, and to communicate, for- 
 get not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” 
 
 Thus did Mr. Welsh. He was in a good degree his 
 
72 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 own executor, and liad the satisfaction to see the seed 
 he had sown ripened and reaped. Nor was it a small 
 sum which he only in this one instance employed in 
 defraying the expenses of the tuition and boarding of 
 such a number of students from year to year. 
 
 But what shall w^e say of some, yes, even professors 
 of religion, who perhaps began with little, accumulated 
 much, did nothing with their abundance while they 
 lived, and secured by their accursed treasures the de- 
 pravity and destruction of their descendants when they 
 died! Shame be to those pliant ministers who, in 
 compliment to their connections, will preach funeral 
 sermons for such characters,' — unless they take for 
 their text, “ But whoso hath this world’s goods, and 
 seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels 
 of compassion from him ; how dwelleth the love of 
 God in him?” There are two suppositions concerning 
 these men. The first is awful, and we shrink back 
 from it. “ Lo, this is the man that made not God his 
 trust, but trusted in the multitude of his riches.” — 
 “ With these words,” say the Jewish Rabbi, “the an- 
 gels sing down to hell the soul of the wealthy sinner, 
 when it leaves his body.” We do not believe this; 
 we have a better opinion of those heavenly beings 
 than to suppose they rejoice and sing at the misery 
 of any creature, though they may acquiesce in it. 
 But says Young — 
 
 “ HelPs loudest laugh — the thought of dying rich.” 
 
 The second is perplexing. It regards the suppo- 
 sition, (how hard to be realized !) that those persons 
 who die in such affluence are received up into glory. 
 
WELSH, ESQ. 
 
 73 
 
 We naturally tliink that grief and shame can never 
 enter heaven ; and yet Christians are never more 
 happy here than when they are most ashamed, and 
 mourn after a godly sort, under a sense of the Divine 
 goodness. It seems improbable that those saints who 
 died so rich will then be free from certain reflections. 
 There is a relation between the present and the future ; 
 and not a relation of sequence only, but one of cause 
 and effect ; and a whatsoever a man soweth, that shall 
 he also reap ; he that soweth to the flesh shall of the 
 flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit 
 shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.” No one can 
 deny that there will be in another world a conscious- 
 ness of our state and* conduct in this; but the con- 
 sciousness must affect us according to the nature and 
 quality of the recollections themselves. In that world 
 things will be seen clearly and perfectly ; and, in the 
 morality and holiness of heaven, there must be right- 
 eousness in our feelings, as well as in our conceptions. 
 What, then, we should be ready to say, must such an 
 individual think and feel, when he knows what a 
 power of every kind of usefulness his wealth gave 
 him, and remembering what good he neglected to do 
 with it; — in the poor he might have fed and clothed ; 
 the children he might have educated ; the academical 
 institutions he might have endowed; the Gospel he 
 might have extended ; the souls he might have saved ! 
 And when, in addition to this, he reflects upon the 
 evil his property is now doing, surrounding his chil- 
 dren and dependants with temptation, providing for 
 their evil passions, so much going to the gaming table, 
 so much in riotous living, so much swallowed up in 
 the pride of life ; the evil still extending and multi* 
 
 4 
 
74 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 plying, and operating in its effects, perhaps, for gene- 
 rations to come ! and when he remembers, how the 
 Book he was constantly reading and hearing charged 
 him to be a good steward of the manifold gifts of God! 
 and when he sees face to face, Him, who, “ though he 
 was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we 
 through His poverty might be made rich,” who was 
 always going about doing good, and who said, “It is 
 more blessed to give than to receive,” and gave His 
 life a ransom for us. We leave the subject, — “ Con - 
 sidxr of it , take advice , and speak your mind” 
 
ROBERT SPEAR, ESQ. 
 
 Some considerable notice of Mr. Spear appeared 
 after bis death in the papers and magazines. There 
 was also a larger memoir of him by Dr. Raffles in a 
 quarterly periodical. The writer was very adequate 
 for such a work, as far as talent was concerned, but 
 he was not intimately acquainted with the person who 
 was the subject of it. And when I was in Edinburgh, 
 where Mr. Spear died, Dr. Stewart, with others, who 
 all well knew and much esteemed him, wished a fuller 
 and more particular account of him could be sent 
 forth ; and desired the Reminiscent to undertake it ; 
 but this he declined from some peculiar circumstances 
 in the family, and also from too much engagement, 
 and too little leisure and health at the time. 
 
 Mr. Spear, under the blessing of Providence, had 
 risen to affluence by his own exertions and skill. He 
 was a cotton merchant, residing at Manchester. He 
 stood very high in the commercial world for ability 
 and integrity, for fairness and honor. And I remem- 
 ber a very clever American, who had long known him 
 and had large dealings with him, saying, that, while 
 he preferred English merchants to those of any other 
 nation, he preferred Mr. Spear to any even of his own 
 nation. 
 
76 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Having met at Cadiz with a quantity of cotton of a 
 fine and superior kind, he very advantageously pur- 
 chased the whole ; and soon introduced the growth 
 into Georgia, where he sent and employed an agent 
 of his own from Manchester to encourage the culture, 
 and purchase the produce. He loved not speculation, 
 yet in his line of business it could hardly be avoided. 
 He, therefore, laid down this rule for his own govern- 
 ment therein, — that he would keep a certain sum ap- 
 propriated to this purpose, and that it should be no 
 more than he thought he could afford to lose, without 
 injuring his family or his temper . 
 
 “ He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be inno- 
 cent;” and “they that will be rich fall into temptation 
 and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts.” 
 But when the acquisition of property is not made an 
 absolute aim, but is a consequence left with the provi- 
 dence of God, in the discharge of duty, it will not be 
 found so commonly corruptive and injurious. And 
 Mr. Spear knew it became him not to be slothful in 
 business ; and God blessed the labor of his hands. 
 But as riches increased, he set not his heart upon 
 them ; but viewed, them as a talent for which he was 
 responsible, and by which he was “to do good and 
 to communicate.” And who can estimate the measure 
 and degree of his benevolence and beneficence ? His 
 bountifulness was impartial . He loved all who loved 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ; and aided many 
 institutions and charities which belonged not to his 
 own immediate connections. His beneficence was also 
 very extensive . He devised liberal things. He gave 
 largely to the Bible Society, and to the London Mis- 
 sionary Society. With regard to the latter, at the first 
 
ROBERT SPEAR, ESQ. 
 
 77 
 
 public collection at bis own cbapel in Mosley- street, 
 Manchester, designing it to be secret, he slipped a 
 £800 note into the plate, which was only discovered 
 accidentally. He contributed generously to several 
 of our academies for the education of young men for 
 the ministry, and as (owing to the spiritual destitution 
 of the people, especially in the villages and smaller 
 towns) many laymen were engaged in teaching, — to 
 render them more acceptable and useful, he remuner- 
 ated an able minister to instruct them in the evenings, 
 as they had leisure f and even from this humble source 
 of improvement issued several able preachers, who in 
 time became pastors of churches. 
 
 There was another thing with which I was struck, 
 (for after my intimate friendship with him I knew 
 much of his liberal measures,) and I mention it as 
 rather original as well as exemplary. He looked out 
 and employed in several parts of the peopled locality 
 pious men and women whose houses were to be day- 
 schools to which any children might come, at any 
 time, as they could be spared from their home or their 
 labor ; while the owners were to be always present 
 and ready to teach them. 
 
 While thus going on, Law’s u Call to a Devout and 
 Holy Life” fell into his hands, and unduly impressed 
 him. The book might be useful to some, but it may 
 lead others astray, by not distinguishing things that 
 differ, as to their order and place in the scheme of the 
 Gospel. It has too little of evangelism in it, and is 
 sadly wanting in that “free spirit” by which the sub- 
 jects of Divine grace are upheld in their goings, and 
 enabled, with enlarged hearts, to run in the way of his 
 commandments. It is John preaching the baptism of 
 
78 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 repentance, rather than Jesus proclaiming the glad tid- 
 ings of the kingdom of God. 
 
 Some mistaken zealots, too, at this time, urged him 
 to leave his secular calling, and dedicate himself en- 
 tirely to the service of God ; as if he was not entirely 
 serving Him while trading for God, and by means of 
 it doing so much good to men. What we do by others 
 is as much our agency as if we did it in our own per- 
 sons. By nothing can a man be so useful as by prop- 
 erty, for this enables him to employ every kind of in- 
 strumentality, even to piety itself. Few, comparatively, 
 have it in their power to gain substance largely. When, 
 therefore, a man has the opportunity and the means 
 of attaining it, he should not needlessly resign it, 
 amidst so many calls for pecuniary assistance, and es- 
 pecially if he can trust his benevolent bias. When a 
 tradesman called upon the rector of St. Mary Wool- 
 noth, and told him he was going to leave off trade, for 
 he had gained enough for himself and family. — •“ Why, 
 then,” said Mr. Newton, “ now be the Lord’s journey- 
 man, and carry on business for Him.” And says 
 Isaiah, u Her merchandise and her hire shall be holi- 
 ness to the Lord ; it shall not be treasured nor laid 
 up ; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell 
 before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable 
 clothing.” This is the text from which I should have 
 preached his funeral sermon had he died at Manches- 
 ter, but he died at Edinburgh. The title would have 
 been “ The Christian Merchant.” 
 
 But there were some who pleaded, and in a measure 
 prevailed, that he should forsooth leave the world, and 
 go about personally relieving the poor, and consoling 
 the afflicted, and distributing tracts, and preaching the 
 
ROBERT SPEAR, ESQ. 
 
 79 
 
 Gospel to souls perishing for lack of knowledge. In 
 these excursions he sustained considerable losses in 
 business, which he acknowledged afterwards to me 
 might have been prevented, had he remained at home, 
 with God’s blessing, in his calling. 
 
 On two other grounds these erratic efforts were 
 wrong ; for, first, though he was exceedingly quali- 
 fied for business,' he was (not for want of talent, but 
 suitable talent) as unfit for his new work, especially 
 teaching. And, secondly, he had a tinge of lowness 
 of spirits, which required active scenes of employ- 
 ment, rather than solitude and study, to which he was 
 much driven by his supposed calls. Accordingly, he 
 soon began to fall under dejection, which was rapidly 
 increasing, and from which he was with difficulty ral- 
 lied by the visit of and travelling with the Reminis- 
 cent and his wife. Few in doing good ever more ful- 
 filled the command, “Let not thy left hand know what 
 thy right hand doeth.” 
 
 He was generally a man of much reading and re- 
 serve, so that it was impossible to know the interior 
 riches of his character but by being much with him, 
 and observing him when he was a little off his habitu- 
 al guard. I hardly ever knew a man who seemed to 
 make so much conscience of his speech. He was cau- 
 tious and careful in the extreme, not to err or mistake, 
 especially in relating things which he had heard, and 
 in speaking of persons. He daily made David’s reso- 
 lution and prayer his own : — “ I said I will take heed 
 to my ways, that I offend not with my tongue. — Set a 
 watch upon my mouth, keep the door of my lips.” 
 
 It was a pleasing trait in his character that he loved 
 to raise those of low degree ; and to set forward in life 
 
80 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 industrious and deserving individuals. A clerk or a 
 person in his employment, who for a few years had 
 acted confidentially, and diligently, and respectfully, 
 was sure to be aided and elevated ; and, therefore, he 
 was always well served. 
 
 For his second marriage he chose a beautiful and 
 pious female in humble life. To prepare her for her 
 superior station, he placed her under the care of the 
 Reminiscent and his wife, and to be educated with our 
 daughters. He married her from our house, and it 
 was on this occasion I preached and published my Ser- 
 mon on u The Mutual Duties of Husbands and Wives.” 
 The acceptance and commendations which this dis- 
 course met with (for it soon went through six editions), 
 encouraged and induced me to become more familiar 
 with the press ; and to issue in time a large number 
 of publications. Several other events also arose from 
 my connection with this excellent man ; such as a rela- 
 tive alliance ; and especially my acquaintance and con- 
 nection with the family of Mr. Bolton of America, 
 from which such important consequences to me have 
 resulted. 
 
 Such a concatenation and dependence is there in oc- 
 currences and circumstances, which may seem to be 
 casual, but are really providential : u And whoso is 
 wise and will observe these things, even they shall un- 
 derstand the lovingkindness of the Lord.” Life should 
 never be separated from the agency of God in all ; 
 but in retracing it how often do we find a particular 
 event, otherwise not distinguished, pregnant with re- 
 sults, the birth of which fills us with surprise and as- 
 tonishment ; and teaches us that “the way of man is 
 not in himself.” 
 
ROBERT SPEAR, ESQ. 
 
 81 
 
 In general we see that the generation of the upright 
 is blessed, but this implies imitation and conformity. 
 The seed of the righteous have many advantages, aris- 
 ing from the prayers, instructions, examples, and in- 
 fluence of their pious parents ; but these may be dis- 
 regarded, and even turned into a curse; for “ where 
 much is given, much will be required;” and “to him 
 that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is 
 sin.” And if there are children who have forsaken 
 the guide of their youth, and are, after all their early 
 opportunities and advantages, walking in ways that are 
 not good, who shall read this page, let them tremble at 
 the thought of separation from, and of condemnation 
 by, those parents who so anxiously sought to save 
 them ! 
 
MISS ELIZA PROTHEROE. 
 
 I have never entered into the dispute concerning 
 the comparative powers of the sexes. We naturally 
 and unavoidably judge of the whole by parts, and of 
 course by those parts which come within the circle of 
 our observation. Either (which I have no reason to 
 believe) I have met with a series of very favorable 
 exceptions , or I ought to think highly of the female 
 character. I am sure I cannot be mistaken with re- 
 gard to many with whom I have been intimately ac- 
 quainted in various seasons and circumstances of my 
 life. I have found in them a kindness, a tenderness, a 
 purity of affection, a disinterestedness of friendship, a 
 readiness to oblige, to serve, and to sacrifice; and 
 these, with their gentle manners and lively conversa- 
 tion, and sprightly correspondence, (next to the in- 
 fluence of the dearest of all connections,) have been 
 my peculiar excitement and solace, under anxious 
 duties and trying afflictions, and a tendency to depress- 
 ion of spirit, to which, though perhaps little suspected, 
 I have been always liable. 
 
 As my children had all left me by death, marriage, 
 or professional engagement ; and, as my beloved wife 
 had some growing indispositions which limited her ac- 
 tivities, I much wished for what I soon obtained, in a 
 very valuable and inestimable friend. This was Miss 
 
MISS ELIZA PROTHEEOE. 
 
 83 
 
 Eliza Protheroe, whose uncle was member of Parlia- 
 ment for Bristol, and whose cousin is member for Hali- 
 fax. 
 
 I knew her first by visiting her as a minister, when 
 she was suffering under an enervating malady, which 
 had much reduced her. She was then under medical 
 care in Bath. Upon her recovery she left this place for 
 Cheltenham ; but she soon returned, and we had fre- 
 quent interviews with her. These prepared Mrs. Jay 
 and myself for a more intimate connection. So she 
 accompanied us to the sea as our only companion ; and 
 this excursion of six weeks together gave us such an 
 insight into her qualities, that after our return home she 
 soon became an inmate under our roof. She was well 
 brought up, genteel in her manners, very intelligent, 
 an excellent reader, pleasingly sociable, with a degree 
 of the humorous and comic in her conversation. Above 
 all she was truly pious, entirely free from everything 
 low and mean, and singularly unselfish and generous, 
 never seeming to be so much in her element as when 
 denying herself to do good to others. What a treasure 
 did we find in her! What a companion, helper, and 
 comforter did she prove ! And what a mutual regard 
 did we all increasingly feel towards each other ! 
 
 The most pleasing weeks I ever spent on earth were 
 passed in four successive excursions to Plymouth, in 
 the north of Devon. No little of the exquisite pleas- 
 ure I experienced was derived from the mixed sub- 
 lime and beautiful scenery, and from the solitude and 
 tranquil retirement ; but how much of it did our as- 
 sociate contribute in our mutual walks and readings, 
 and discourse ! And not only so. Here I prepared 
 my Lectures on the Christian Character for the press, 
 
84 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 and wrote the long preface prefixed to it. And here 
 also I wrote many of my Morning and Evening Exer- 
 cises, one of which, as I wrote them, I daily read at 
 our family worship. These familiar compositions, 
 which have had such an extensive circulation, I owe 
 much to her stimulation and encouragement; without 
 which I much question whether I should have per- 
 severed. 
 
 Watts tells us, 
 
 “We should expect some danger near 
 Where we possess delight 
 
 and Cowper tells us, 
 
 ’‘Full bliss is bliss divine.” 
 
 My entirely esteemed wife, while at Plymouth, ‘was 
 unable fully to enjoy the attractions of the retreat, and 
 the week after our return home from the last visit, 
 she was seized with apoplexy and paralysis, and which, 
 though life was spared, broke up much of my domes- 
 tic happiness. Our friend was so attached and devoted 
 to us, that she was ready to die for us — yea, I cannot 
 but think this was the case, in a great degree at least ; 
 for, in consequence of my affliction, I immediately 
 wrote to her at Cheltenham, whither she had gone for 
 a few days to see her mother; upon which she instant- 
 ly hastened back while under a medical process and 
 considerable indisposition, and much mental suffering 
 from affection and fear ; so that the day after her ar- 
 rival she was seized with delirium, and after a week of 
 frenzy, she expired. At the time my wife was insen- 
 sible, and, so, ignorant of an affliction that would 
 have exceedingly added to her own, and which did 
 
MISS ELIZA PROTHEROE. 
 
 85 
 
 add so much, to it, when she became capable of learn- 
 ing the event. As for myself, I hardly felt more at the 
 death of my own daughter, by whose side she lies in 
 my own family vault. 
 
 After several natural relations, Moses says, “Or thy 
 friend which is as thy own soul.” Is this is an anticli- 
 max ? or does he mean to say that sometimes friend- 
 ship arises above kindred ? 
 
 “ The tear 
 
 That drops upon this paper is sincere.” 
 
 Few deaths could have afflicted me more. It was 
 the termination of a life of perfect unselfishness, no 
 little of vrhich had been lived for the welfare of my- 
 self and mine. “ Scarcely for a righteous man w r ill 
 one die, yet for a good man some would even dare to 
 die.” Power may cause a man to be feared, learning, 
 to be admired, wealth, to be flattered ; but goodness 
 naturalizes one heart in another and renders it “ more 
 blessed to give than to receive.” Mrs. Jay was equally 
 affected when recovered enough to be able to hear the 
 report of our loss. 
 
 “ Friend after friend departs. 
 
 Who has not lost a friend? 
 
 There is no union here of hearts, 
 
 That finds not here an end. 
 
 Were this frail world our final rest, 
 
 Living or dying none were blest. 
 
 “ There is a world above, 
 
 Where parting is unknown ; 
 
 A long eternity of love, 
 
 Form’d for the good alone ; 
 
 And faith beholds the dying here, 
 
 Translated to that glorious sphere.” 
 
MRS. SMITH. 
 
 With this very excellent woman I had a long and 
 intimate acquaintance. My youngest daughter, of 
 whom I was bereaved in the bloom of her youth, was 
 named Statira after her. During many of my annual 
 visits to Surrey Chapel, I spent with my wife much 
 of the time I could spare from my services in London 
 at her house at Woodford. Her name was then Pool, 
 and her husband was a merchant, and had been pros- 
 perous, and was rich. She was a woman of a superior 
 understanding, and had a cultivated mind. She had 
 lived in the levities and gaieties of genteel commercial 
 society, (generally the most vain, profane, and vapid,) 
 and so she knew enough of the ways and friendships 
 of the world, to be, in a measure, weaned from them ; 
 or at least to be fully convinced of their vanity and 
 vexation of spirit ; while she felt her need of something 
 better than earth could offer, without knowing what it 
 was, or where it could be obtained. 
 
 With these views and feelings she came with her 
 husband to Bath ; and as they were acquainted with 
 Mr. II. Thornton, M. P. for the Borough, she inquired 
 of him where he would recommend them to attend. 
 He answered, “You know I am a Churchman, but 
 there are persons who may be occasionally heard to 
 
HRS. SMITH. 
 
 87 
 
 advantage out of tlie Establishment.” He knew what 
 was then the state of Bath, and he also perceived the 
 state of her mind. What he said induced her to visit 
 Argyle Chapel ; and the first sermon she heard the 
 Reminiscent preach, brought her in sight of the relief 
 and satisfaction she had ignorantly, but really been 
 seeking after. She now made herself known, and a 
 mutual and growing friendship ensued. 
 
 Upon her returning home to Woodford, her lament- 
 ation was that she could not hear the truth which had 
 made her free indeed. But one of her servants rather 
 casually heard the Rev. George Collison of W altham- 
 stow, and eagerly informed her mistress that she had 
 found a minister who preached just like the minister 
 they had heard at Bath. She forthwith the next Sab- 
 bath ordered out her carriage, and went to hear him 
 herself. She much relished the preaching of this man 
 of God ; and from thenceforth made it the place of her 
 constant attendance. 
 
 From the commencement of her religious career, she 
 had morning and evening prayer, with the female do- 
 mestics of her household ; but her husband was not 
 as yet favorable to the establishment of family wor- 
 ship. But when is a woman whose heart is right with 
 God, at a loss to carry a good point, for want of mo- 
 tives, methods, or means ? 
 
 Some months after, Mr. Thornton and the Remi- 
 niscent were to spend a week together as their guests. 
 So she said to her husband, u These friends who are 
 coming, always have the worship of God in their 
 families ; and they will expect it here, and will think 
 it very strange, if they should not find it.” He re- 
 plied, “Well, then, we must conform to their custom 
 
88 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 while they are here.” So I was desired to conduct the 
 service every morning and evening, reading the Scrip- 
 tures, now and then dropping a very few words, and 
 always praying short and as wisely as I could. But no 
 sooner had we departed than Mrs. Smith said to her 
 husband, “ Will it not appear verj^ odd to the servants, 
 if we now give up this exercise ? Will they not think 
 that we have been endeavoring to appear to our friends 
 more religious than we really are ? And do you not 
 think the performance itself is likely to do good, if not 
 to ourselves, yet to our domestics'?” So the practice 
 was allowed to be continued, on the condition of her 
 officiating. This she was qualified to do ; but she took 
 it up, not b}^ choice, but as a trial, and from a sense 
 of duty, arising from a peculiar condition of things. 
 She always had a form of prayer before her, but she 
 occasionally interspersed some expressions of her own. 
 And would not this be the best way of using forms 
 of devotion? I once heard Mr. John Shepherd of 
 Frome, recommending it from his own example and 
 experience. 
 
 Are Christians ever useless ? When blessed them- 
 selves they prove blessings to others ; and in various de- 
 grees, in some way or other, serve their generation by 
 the will of God. Who can tell the good this woman 
 accomplished in her own place and neighborhood by 
 her example and influence, in visiting the rich ; feed- 
 ing and clothing the hungry and the naked ; instruct- 
 ing the ignorant ; establishing schools ; and forming 
 a club for the poor females to aid them in their illness- 
 es and lyings-in, whose meetings she accompanied with 
 moral and religious addresses, without however ex- 
 cluding their little homely and innocent festivities? 
 
MRS. SMITH. 
 
 89 
 
 When she was bereaved of her husband, as her 
 means remained, the widow equally sustained and car- 
 ried on what the wife had begun and established. 
 
 Some years after she married again. It was to a 
 very accomplished gentleman, a serjeant-at-law, a fel- 
 low of the Antiquarian Society, a scholar, and the 
 father of the authors of the “ Rejected Addresses,’ 7 
 l ' Horace in London,” and various celebrated novels.* 
 At first his doctrinal sentiments widely differed from 
 her own. This created great difficulty on her side; 
 and for some time a refusal of marriage was the result. 
 At length some peculiar circumstances led her to 
 yield, though not perfectly in accordance with her con- 
 victions. But God overruled it for good in more evan- 
 gelizing his sentiments, and bringing some of his 
 daughters into the way of life. Yet the connection 
 was not without its trials. It occasioned the loss of a 
 large part of her property. But herein again her gra- 
 cious principle continued to operate and show itself. 
 Though she much reduced her establishment, she re. 
 solved that her charities, sacred and civil, should not 
 suffer. These continued the same. In what are not 
 the subjects of divine grace a peculiar people? Trying 
 events befall them, and evince that they are not con- 
 formed to this world, but transformed by the renew- 
 ing of the mind; and so proving “ what is that good, 
 and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” 
 
 It is pleasing to know that her husband, whom she 
 had once characterized, in a letter to the Reminiscent, 
 as “ having all the wisdom of the Greeks, and their 
 
 * I once dined with these gifted young men ; and was sorry to 
 remark that, if religion wa3 not the object of their contempt it was 
 not the one thing needful. 
 
90 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 foolishness too,” — after awhile received the kingdom 
 of God as a little child, died in the faith of the Gos- 
 pel, a member of the Independent Church at Wands- 
 worth, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 unto eternal life. Not many wise men after the flesh 
 are called ; but there have always been a few to falsify 
 the prejudice that the religion of the cross is fit only 
 for the vulgar and illiterate. 
 
JOHN POYNDER, ESQ. 
 
 My acquaintance with this good and distinguished 
 character has continued for considerably more than 
 fifty years. It commenced from a letter I received 
 desiring me to inform him from what author I had 
 given an extract in my sermon preached upon the 
 formation of the London Missionary Society. This in- 
 quiry was prefatory to something else, — and he soon 
 expressed his gratitude to God that he ever heard that 
 discourse, as “ it had had such an effect upon him as 
 he hoped would never wear away.” And this was the 
 case ; for from that period he was found a decided, 
 avowed, consistent, nndeviating, and zealous follower 
 of the Lamb. 
 
 After this letter, upon my going to London to fulfil 
 my annual appointment at Surrey Chapel, I had my 
 first personal interview with him. The meeting was 
 affecting; and we exchanged some pleasing thoughts 
 and feelings. After this we seized every opportunity 
 to meet and converse ; and though, as he was a Tory, 
 and a firm Churchman, and I a Whig, and a moderate 
 Dissenter, and we, therefore, differed in some of our pol- 
 itical and ecclesiastical views, this instead of gendering 
 alienation rather endeared us the more to each other. 
 Harmony is better than unison, — “ Yes,” says Lord 
 
92 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 Bacon, “ and it is so not only in sounds but in affec- 
 tions.” 
 
 Hence during my annual weeks of labor in London 
 be frequently beard me, and bas given most ample 
 proof of bis kind approbation of my services, by bis 
 multiplied quotations from my preaching and publica- 
 tions in his three volumes of “Literary Extracts.” In 
 these three volumes, be shows much reading, judg- 
 ment, and taste ; yet they would have borne abridg- 
 ment or reduction. It is natural for persons wdien 
 they read to remark and transcribe. But what strikes 
 them peculiarly at the time, owing to its novelty, or 
 something in their own circumstances or feelings, may 
 appear very differently afterwards ; and the wonder is 
 that, in the cool review, more freedom was not here 
 used in selection, and articles weighed rather than num- 
 bered. 
 
 Though these volumes are large, they are nofc all his 
 issues from the press. His publications were numer- 
 ous, in all of which usefulness was the obvious design 
 and tendency. As a Christian , many of them turned 
 on religious subjects : The Evangelization of our East- 
 ern dominion ; The Paganism of Popery ; The Sanc- 
 tification of the Lord’s Day, &c. 
 
 As an East India proprietor he spoke much in favor 
 of the abolition of Sutteeism, or burning of widows. 
 In this work and labor of love, many of his speeches 
 were v6ry able and eloquent, and several of them were 
 published. Several years before his death he had the 
 satisfaction -of seeing his exertions crowned with suc- 
 cess. He was equally earnest and persevering in op- 
 posing the accursed tax arising from the idolatrous 
 worship of Juggernaut. But he died without seeing 
 
JOHN POYNDEK, ESQ. 
 
 93 
 
 this foul stain wiped off from our gc verm aent , and 
 “ hope deferred made the heart sick.'’ But he had 
 roused the public indignation, and awakened a cry 
 that he knew must be heard in due time. 
 
 Never was there a warmer advocate of evangelical 
 truth, and the doctrines of the Reformation. 
 
 Never was there a more determined enemy to Pope- 
 ry, and its half-sister Puseyism. # 
 
 Never did man more strive to serve his generation 
 by the will of Grod. 
 
 And, as to his private and relative character, who 
 ever excelled him as an attached husband, a devoted 
 father, a faithful friend, or a helper of the needy ? 
 
 Behold what may be done by a single individual 
 when disposition, ability, and opportunity concur. 
 
 “The memory of the just is blessed.” 
 
 N.B. — I wrote this brief sketch the very day 1 was 
 informed of his death, lest at my time of life I should 
 be prevented from bearing even a very inadequate 
 testimony to this man of so much varied worth. 
 
RAMMOHUN ROY. 
 
 4 
 
 I WAS but little acquainted with the rajah, but I feel 
 inclined to notice him, not only because I was struck 
 with him as a man of prodigious powers of mind, and 
 treasures of knowledge, and readiness of address ; but 
 because I think justice has not been done to him in 
 another and far more important view. 
 
 I first saw him at the Mansion House, London, to 
 which I was invited to meet him by the then Lord Mayor, 
 with whom, as an author, I had had considerable deal- 
 ings. The dinner was early and the company select, 
 though not entirely religious; and I was allowed to 
 bring any of my acquaintance with me. Several ac- 
 companied me, one of whom, John Poynder, Esq., 
 could turn the intercourse to account, in conversing 
 with the rajah on a subject in which he was then so 
 zealously laboring, and did not labor in vain, (the 
 abolition of Sutteeism,) and which the rajah himself 
 before he left India had nobly advocated. 
 
 Of course this man was the lion of the company. 
 He spoke freely on several topics, especially of Mahom- 
 etanism, which he considered as an improvement on 
 Paganism, and of some considerable advantage to 
 Christianity itself, whose professors were yielding to a 
 kind of idolatry in worshipping masses and relics. 
 
RAMMOHUN ROY. 
 
 95 
 
 He also expressed himself with regard to Mahomet 
 himself, as possessing greater talents and some better 
 qualities than had been commonly ascribed to him. 
 This was not suffered to pass without some hesitation 
 and dissent, especially by the Rev. Mr. Melville. 
 
 The Lady Mayoress asking his opinion of the com- 
 parative estimate of the sexes, he promptly replied, 
 “ Physically considered, men are superior to women. 
 Morally considered, women are superior to men. In- 
 tellectually considered, they are on a level, admitting 
 the same opportunities and advantages a confession 
 which, if not questioned, was deemed remarkable, as 
 coming from a quarter where females are commonly, if 
 not universally, undervalued and degraded. 
 
 When he spoke of the Gospel, he frankly avowed 
 his full belief of it, adding, u But I consider this no 
 merit of mine, for I found it impossible to peruse the 
 Book itself, and not be convinced that it was the work 
 of a being of perfect wisdom and benevolence.” The 
 Rev. Mr. Dale, who sat next me, could not help ex- 
 pressing rather audibly his approbation and admira- 
 tion of the sentiment, and the manner in which it was 
 delivered ; and Mr. Melville, who principally led the 
 discourse with the rajah, acknowledged, as I went 
 away with him, that he had a much more favorable 
 opinion and hope of him than he had before. 
 
 The following Sabbath-day evening he came with 
 the Lord Mayor and the rector of St. Olave’s to hear 
 the Reminiscent. He gave proof of his liking, not 
 only the preacher, but the subject, by coming into the 
 house afterwards, and soliciting a copy of the discourse 
 to print for distribution among his friends. As the 
 sermon was taken down in short-hand, I was able to 
 
96 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 comply with the desire. I procured him a transcrip- 
 tion, and he printed it at his own expense. (The ser- 
 mon is to be found in the seventh volume of my 
 
 works.)* 
 
 I fear this is too personal to be excused ; but it tells 
 upon what I have in view ; for though the discourse 
 was not strictly doctrinal, it contained allusions and 
 statements, only to be found in “the truth as it is 
 in Jesus.’’ 
 
 He had engaged to accompany Mr. Poynder to Sur- 
 rey Chapel again the Sunday after ; but, before its ar- 
 rival, he wrote him a note, (which I keep, and value 
 as an autograph,) saying he was afraid he should not 
 be able to attend, owing to a degree of indisposition, 
 and the pressure and heat of the congregation ; but 
 lamented the loss the less as he should soon have an 
 opportunity to hear, so he expressed it, that truly 
 evangelical minister in Bath. 
 
 This was denied him, as, the week before his intend- 
 ed visit to Bath, he died in Bristol. There he was by 
 invitation, at the house of a lady belonging to Lewin’s 
 Mead Meeting, where he attended on the morning of 
 the Sabbath, but heard an evangelical clergyman at 
 Clifton in the evening. During his short stay in Bris- 
 tol, a party of several distinguished individuals met 
 him. Among these was John Foster, f who, upon my 
 inquiry, said that nothing on this occasion very strik- 
 ing or definitive came from him. He probably began 
 to feel the approach of the disorder which so rapidly 
 carried him off*. 
 
 * See page 100 of that volume. 
 
 f Mr. Foster’s interesting account of this interview, and of the 
 rajah’s death, we shall subjoin to this article. 
 
RAMMOHCN ROY. 
 
 97 
 
 Soon after his private interment in the premises of 
 his friend, an extolling account of him was published 
 by Dr. Carpenter, assuring the public that he was a 
 Christian, in the Socinian translation of that word. 
 Here lam persuaded he was mistaken. He was this 
 on his conversion to Christianity in India, when he 
 only considered Christ as a moral Teacher, and wrote 
 accordingly. But we have reason to hope and con- 
 clude, that, on his coming to this country, his views 
 varied and were approaching evangelical sentiments. 
 At first, (and it was not wonderful, with such talents 
 and reasoning powers,) on emerging from heathenism, 
 he felt difficulties with regard to some of the more 
 mysterious doctrines of the Gospel, but there is no lit- 
 tle proof that his mind was beginning to open to the 
 cross and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He com- 
 monly in London attended the preaching of an ortho- 
 dox clergyman. 
 
 Earl Gainsborough was not only much pleased with 
 him, but much encouraged concerning his state and 
 character by the rajah’s visit to Barham Court. When 
 he dined with Mr. Poynder he begged to be allowed to 
 attend his evening family- worship, after the company 
 was gone ; and next day he came also to attend his 
 morning-worship ; and expressed much delight at the 
 blending with prayer, the reading of the Scriptures 
 and singing. Mr. Poynder engaged the Rev. Mr. 
 Knight to conduct these services, by means of which 
 this pious and judicious minister became acquainted 
 with this prodigy ; and he also had good hope concern- 
 ing him, both from his interviews and correspondence; 
 for the rajah olten addressed notes to him respecting 
 passages of Scripture, (with the solutions of which he 
 
 5 
 
98 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 seemed satisfied,) and often called upon him ; and in 
 liis last interview with him, finding him very serious 
 and tender, he said to him, “ Sir, I trust you do not 
 less prize Christianity since you came amongst us.” He 
 rose ; and taking him by the hand said with tears, 
 “ Mr. Knight, I feel such a regard for the truth and 
 importance of Christianity, that I think I could die for 
 it.” 
 
 This account, we presume, will not be satisfactory 
 to some ; they will ask for more evidence ; and we 
 could have wished we had been able to furnish more. 
 W e cannot be too anxious and inquisitive, where our 
 own religious state is concerned, but with regard to 
 others, there is a charity, which with the due allow- 
 ance “ hopetli all things, belie veth all things, endureth 
 all things.” W e may know what heresy is without 
 being able to ascertain the state of a heretic. We 
 know not what disadvantages he has been under ; what 
 struggle he has had with difficulties and doubts, to 
 which others have been strangers ; and what prayers he 
 has offered, which, though they cannot be lost, may 
 not be immediately and consciously answered. But 
 we know who hath said, “ Seek and ye shall find.” 
 “He that doeth His will shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God;” and “Then shall we know, if 
 we follow on to know the Lord.” 
 
 Why cannot we admit, in connection with Christian 
 saiety, doctrinal sincerity as well as moral deficiencies ? 
 And why cannot we imagine that where there is less en- 
 lightenment, there may be more excellence of another 
 kind to balance it — more humbleness of mind, more 
 benevolence, and more active zeal? I have met with 
 instances in which, where there was little speculative 
 
KAMMOHUN ROY. 
 
 99 
 
 and systematical clearness and accuracy, there has been 
 much of that wisdom which is from above, and which 
 is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy “to be 
 entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without par- 
 tiality and without hypocrisy.” When the blind pa- 
 tient in the Gospel first looked up, he only saw men 
 as trees walking ; but he was under the operation of a 
 Divine Restorer ; and a second touch enabled him to 
 see everything clearly. How little of the Gospel sal- 
 vation did Peter know at the time ; yet upon his con- 
 fession, our Lord pronounced him blessed ; and affirm- 
 ed that flesh and blood had not revealed this unto 
 him, but his Father in heaven. 
 
 From this case we are led to another reflection. 
 How readily and eagerly are the advocates of religious 
 parties induced to claim and avow extraordinary men 
 as belonging to them ; as if their faith stood in the 
 wisdom of men, and not in the power of God. But 
 let no man glory in men. We should be thankful 
 when any of superior intellect and endowment are 
 found walking in the truth ; but we are not to have 
 the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of per- 
 sons. The poor and the common people are generally 
 the evangelized. These “ things are hidden from the 
 wise and prudent and revealed unto babes.” Not 
 many wise men after the flesh are called ; and these 
 are often in our churches more glaring than useful 
 members ; yea, it is well if they do not become Dio- 
 trephes by their gifts. 
 
 Mr. Foster gives the following interesting particulars of the rajali'a 
 visit to Bristol, in a letter to Mr. Hill, dated October 8th, 1833: — 
 
100 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 / 
 
 ( The most remarkable thing of late is the visit, so soon to end ia 
 the death, in the house behind our garden, of the Rajah Rammo- 
 hun Roy (the title of rajah, of no very definite import, was con- 
 ferred on him by the King of Delhi, the remaining shadow of the 
 great Mogul). I had entertained a strong prepossession against him, 
 had no wish to see him, but could not avoid it, when he was come 
 to the house of my young landlady, Miss Castle. 
 
 “ My prejudice could not hold out half an hour after being in his 
 company. He was a very pleasing and interesting man ; intelligent 
 and largely informed, I need not say — but unaffected, friendly, and, 
 in the best sense of the word, polite. I passed two evenings in his 
 company, only, however, as an unit in large parties ; the latter time, 
 however, in particular and direct conversation with him, concern- 
 ing some of the doctrines of the Indian philosophers, the political, 
 civil, and moral state, of the Hindoos. In the former instance, when 
 the after-dinner company consisted of Dr. Carpenter and sundry other 
 doctors and gentlemen, Churchmen and Dissenters, he was led a 
 little into his own religious history and present opinions. He avow- 
 ed his general belief in Christianity as attested by miracles, (of which 
 I had understood that he made very light some ten or a dozen years 
 since,) but said that the internal evidence had had by much the 
 greatest force on his mind. In so very heterogeneous a company, 
 there was no going into any very specific particulars. Carpenter, 
 in whose company I have since dined at Dr. Pritchard’s, very confi- 
 dently claims him as of the ‘Modern Unitarian’ school. * * * * 
 
 It may be that he was finally near about in agreement with that 
 school, but I do not believe that they have any very exact knowl- 
 edge of his opinions. * * * * Here he went to several churches, 
 and to hear Jay on a week-day at Bridge Street, as well as some- 
 times at Lewin’s Mead, where the family in which he was visiting 
 constantly attended. There is, or a few days since there was, a 
 great perplexity how to dispose of his remains. He had signified 
 his wish not to be committed to any Ecclesiastical burying-ground, 
 but, if it might be so managed, deposited in some quiet corner of 
 the mere profane earth. His principal London friend (a Mr. Hare, 
 -from India) thinks it the most desirable that he were conveyed to 
 India. During the greater part of his short illness (it was an affec- 
 tion of the brain) he was in a state of such torpor as to be incapa- 
 ble of any communication. Dr. Pritchard, who attended him dur- 
 ing the latter days, says he did not utter, while he was with him, 
 ten distinct sentences. As far as I have heard, there was nothing to 
 
KAMMOHUN EOT. 
 
 101 
 
 indicate the state of his mind. There were actions (of his hands, 
 &c.) which his own attendants said were the usual ones that accom- 
 panied his devotional exercises. To me and several of our order of 
 friends, who were, the latter evening to which I have referred, (at 
 Mrs. Cox’s,) in such close and interesting conversation with him, 
 then apparently in perfect health, but then within hardly two days 
 of the commencement of his fatal illness, it was emphatically strik- 
 ing, nine or ten days after, to think of him as no longer in oup 
 woild.” — Foster’s Life, Vol. II., p. 218, <fcc. 
 
REV. THOMAS TUPPEN. 
 
 He was my predecessor in the pastorate of the con- 
 gregational church in Bath. He was originally in 
 trade ; and in his earlier days had deviated from the 
 paths of righteousness and peace. Living, then, at 
 Portsmouth, he went to hear Whitfield, who was to 
 preach on the neighboring common, and (which was 
 so often the case under the ministry of that extraordi- 
 nary herald of the Gospel) the word came to him not 
 in word only, but in the demonstration of the Spirit 
 and with power. He had gone to hear, not so much 
 from curiosity, as from the worse motive — to oppose, 
 insult, and interrupt. “ I had,” said he, u therefore, 
 provided myself with stones in my pocket, if oppor- 
 tunity offered, to pelt the preacher; but I had not 
 heard long, before the stone was taken out of my heart 
 of flesh ; and then the other stones, with shame and 
 weeping, were dropped one by one out upon the 
 ground.” 
 
 The change then commenced, was carried on, and 
 evinced itself to be of God by its continuance and its 
 effects. In process of time the receiver of the Gospel 
 became also the publisher ; and was ordained over a 
 church in the place where he resided. Some years 
 after he ruptured a blood-vessel ; and resigned his 
 
KEY. THOMAS TUPPEN. 
 
 103 
 
 charge, as unable to meet safely its numerous ser- 
 vices ; but after a considerable suspension, his recov- 
 ery allowed of his taking another sphere, with less 
 public duty. Mr. Welsh, a rich banker from London 
 (as may be seen in my Reminiscence of him), who had 
 much aided our rising cause, brought him to Bath 
 while the interest was young and weak ; and engaged 
 to support him till the congregation should be able to 
 meet the expense. 
 
 Here his labors were peculiarly acceptable and use- 
 ful. Many were awakened unto his ministry, and 
 added to the growing church ; which was soon re- 
 quired to enlarge the place of her feet. He was there* 
 fore excited and encouraged (much by Lady Glen- 
 orchy) to take ground and build ; Argyle Chapel was 
 the consequence. But the founder, though he set his 
 heart upon it, lived not to see it opened for the Lord’s 
 service. This was performed by the Reminiscent, who 
 had been introduced by Mr. Tuppen to his people as 
 an occasional supply during his sickness, and recom- 
 mended to them as their pastor when he was dying.* 
 
 * In the Life of the Countess of Huntingdon, Vol. II. p. 75, is the 
 following notice of Mr. Tuppen : — The congregation assembling in 
 Argyle Chapel, Bath, originated in the secession of a few pious in- 
 dividuals who did not approve of the forms of the Established 
 Church, and who formed themselves into a church on independent 
 principles. The first person to whom application was made to pre- 
 side over this infant church was the Rev. Thomas Tuppen, who had 
 been a preacher in Mr. Whitfield’s connection, and afterwards min- 
 ister of the Tabernacle at Portsea ; he arrived in Bath in the year 
 1785, when the interest rapidly increased; from about twenty-five 
 persons w r ho at first attended him, the number rose in a few years 
 to seven or eight hundred. The place in which they worshipped 
 being now too small for the congregation, a new chapel was begun 
 iD 1789, and opened October 4, 1789 ; but Mr. Tuppen’s health was 
 
104 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 He was a man of great seriousness and exemplary 
 piety ; lie talked little, but his speech was always with 
 salt and ministered grace to the hearer. Mr. Cecil 
 once said, a minister should not be “ a man to be 
 had,” — and Mr. Tuppen was most observant of this 
 rule of any man I ever knew. This grew not so much 
 out of disposition as out of circumstances, as he had 
 had only a common education, and never had the ad- 
 vantage of any regular preparation for the ministry, 
 and yet was very thirsty of improvement. Through 
 desire he separated himself, seeking and intermeddling 
 with all wisdom. He was a most laborious student, 
 and by assiduous and self-denying application, he 
 gained much general information ; acquired a tolerable 
 knowledge of the original languages ; excelled in the- 
 ology ; and became one of the most distinguished 
 preachers of the day, in his own connection. He, 
 therefore, lived very retired, not only from society at 
 large, but also from his own congregation ; and to such 
 
 then so much reduced that he was never able to preach a single 
 sermon there — he could only attend the services of the day which 
 were performed by the Rev. William Jay, who has been the min- 
 ister of the place ever since. 
 
 During the few years that Mr. Tuppen exercised his ministry at 
 Bath, his manner of preaching was very striking : he was often heard 
 t*o say, “If the attention be gained, half the business is done.” 
 
 It was never his wish to empty other places where the Gospel 
 was preached in order to fill his own ; for, after observing the 
 largeness of his own audience, he would often inquire whether the 
 other places were full. When he was answered in the affirmative, 
 he seemed to be much pleased, and would say, “ Well, we may now 
 hope something is doing.” 
 
 After a lingering illness, which he supported with great resigna- 
 tion and patience, he entered into his rest on the 2 2d of February, 
 1790, aged 48. 
 
REV. THOMAS TUPPEN. 
 
 105 
 
 a degree as would not have been justified or excused, 
 but for the value he attached to time, and the neces- 
 sity he felt for diligence. 
 
 This is not always the case : I have been sorry to 
 have observed in no few instances the reverse of this. 
 Where the iron has been blunt, less strength has been 
 put to it ; and where there has been no advantage of 
 preparatory fitness, preachers have been less anxious 
 and active in their exertions. It is one of the benefits 
 of training for the ministry that, however imperfect it 
 may comparatively be, it creates a habit of order, a 
 tone of application, and a heedfulness of time and op- 
 portunity. I have known individuals of no enviable 
 talents, and of no previous acquirements, who have 
 even given less time and attention in preparing their 
 three sermons for the week, than Robert Hall, with 
 all his powers and education, employed in preparing 
 one, and that only his week evening lecture before 
 the Lord’s supper. And are there not people who 
 prefer this remissness, and lounging, and sauntering 
 in a preacher, provided he favors them with a portion 
 of it, in what they call pastoral visits, than in letting 
 his profit appear unto all men, in giving himself to 
 reading, meditation, and prayer ? 
 
 Mr. Tuppen’s face was peculiarly intelligent; his 
 eye remarkably piercing ; and his look frequently in- 
 sufferable. The skeletons of his sermons (for he wrote 
 none at full length) were written with uncommon 
 neatness, order, and precision ; and generally filled 
 two octavo pages. They were in long hand with a 
 few contractions. His library was arranged according 
 to Locke’s Common Place Book ; so that when he had 
 to preach on any particular subject, he could turn to 
 
106 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 any volume; and every volume where that subject 
 was treated in a way of proof, illustration, or improve- 
 ment. Whenever he added a book to his collection, 
 he thus immediately arranged its topics for reference ; 
 and this rendered the work easy, which would, if done 
 at once, have been a tiresome task. 
 
 He was a widower, and had only one child, a son, 
 residing with him, and articled to a solicitor in Bath. 
 This son had more than his father’s natural talents, 
 and was a good scholar, and gave much promise of 
 rising above many in his profession. He also seemed 
 much inclined to walk in those ways which are pleas- 
 antness and peace. When, therefore, he had arrived 
 at age, on his birthday he wrote a paper, entitled 
 “ Rules for my Conduct.” It began thus : “ I am now 
 come of age, and hope for the favor and blessing of 
 God upon my future years. But in order to this, I 
 know I must adhere to certain principles and rules ; 
 the first of v r hich is piety . i Behold the fear of the 
 Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil, that is 
 understanding,’ ” &c. But alas ! this goodness was as 
 the morning cloud, or early dew w r hich passeth away. 
 These hopeful appearances were in a few months 
 blighted, and in a few more entirely destroyed. 
 
 “ Evil communications corrupt good manners ; and 
 a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” This fine 
 youth became acquainted with some sceptical, or as, 
 by a patent of their own creation, they call themselves, 
 tree thinking young men ; gave up the Sabbath ; for- 
 sook the house of God which his father had built; 
 abandoned the minister to whom he had been greatly 
 attached ; and boldly “ left off to be wise and to do 
 good.” But as his fall was rapid, so his new course 
 
REV. THOMAS TUPPEN. 
 
 107 
 
 was short. Swimming on a Sunday fbr amusement 
 and experiment, lie caught a chill which brought on 
 a consumption. This for months gave him warning, 
 and space for repentance, but it is to be feared this 
 grace of God was in vain. During the gradual de- 
 cline, he refused all intercourse with pious friends, or 
 ministers ; and when his good nurse entreated him to 
 call me in, as I lived close by, and there had been 
 such an intimacy between us, he frowned and rebuked 
 her, and ordered her to mind her own business. On 
 the last day of his life, unasked, I ventured into his 
 dying chamber. He v r as sensible ; but exclaimed, 
 u O Voltaire! Voltaire!” He then raised himself up 
 in the bed, and wringing his hands again exclaimed, 
 “ O that young man ! that young man !” I said, “ My 
 dear sir, what young man?” With a countenance in- 
 describable, he answered, — “ I will not tell you.” 
 
 How was my soul agonized, for I had loved him 
 much, and had endeavored in every way to render 
 myself agreeable and useful to him. But “ one sinner 
 destroyeth much good.” What have I seen in a long 
 ministry of the dire effects of evil associates, and li- 
 centious publications ! He kept moving about, and 
 grasping the bed clothes ; and after a disturbed silence 
 muttered something about his seeing fire, and then ab- 
 ruptly expired. On the last circumstance I laid no 
 stress; it was probably from a sparkling of the eye, 
 affected by the imagination or disease ; nor did I pub- 
 lish a narrative of the event from the press or the pul- 
 pit ; or attempt to make of it an imitation of Dr. 
 Young’s “ Centaur rot Fabulous.” In many cases we 
 know too little for explanation or decision ; and it is 
 our wisdom to “be still, and know that He is God,” 
 
108 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 both as to the exercise of his mercy and justice. We 
 are to avoid rash judgments, but it becomes us to hear 
 and flee. 
 
 Should this solemn and true statement fall under the 
 notice of any youth who has had godly parents, and 
 a religious education ; and not only outward advan- 
 tages but serious convictions and resolutions ; from all 
 which he has turned aside, — surely here is enough to 
 awaken his reflection and alarm, and to enforce the 
 language of inspired wisdom and love : — “ My son, if 
 sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Enter not into 
 the path of the wicked ; and go not in the way of evil 
 men. Avoid it, pass not by it ; turn from it, and pass 
 away. For they sleep not except they have done 
 mischief ; and their sleep is taken away unless they 
 cause some to fall. And thou mourn at the last, when 
 thy flesh and thy body are consumed ; and say, How 
 have I hated instruction and my heart despised re- 
 proof ! and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, 
 nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me ! 
 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth ; and walk in the 
 way of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes ; but 
 know thou, that for all these things God will bring 
 thee into judgment.” 
 
YESCOMBE, ESQ. 
 
 The only history of this rather singular character I 
 derived from himself ; and, as far as my information 
 goes, it principally turns upon his two conversions, 
 the one from Protestantism to Popery, and the other 
 from Popery to Protestantism. 
 
 Of his family I am ignorant, though I think he once 
 mentioned that he had a brother who commanded a 
 government packet to Lisbon. As it is a considerable 
 time since his death, I may have mis-remarked a few 
 trivial circumstances ; but I am certain, from the im- 
 pression the case made upon me at first, my repeated 
 relation of it since, and my lengthened acquaintance 
 with him, that the following statement is essentially 
 correct. 
 
 He was travelling in Wales. In the neighborhood 
 of Abergavenny he met with a Romish priest, who 
 immediately and sedulously sought an intimacy with 
 him. He succeeded ; and they soon became familiar 
 friends, as, though a nominal Protestant, he knew very 
 little of the rudiments of his own profession. He was 
 shortly, by the zeal and art of his new associate, drawn 
 over to Popery, and fell so entirely under the control 
 of this man, that he was prevailed upon to deliver up 
 his Bible, (of which, alas \ he had made little use,) and 
 
110 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 to live a kind of monkish life in a sort of mountain 
 cave ; and though he had often witnessed the occa- 
 sional intemperance of this priest, he went weekly, 
 and regularly, and solemnly, to confess before him for 
 penance and pardon. 
 
 In process of time, in his complete devotedness to 
 Popery, he thought of entering the monastery of La 
 Trappe, the inmates of which were so renowned for 
 denying themselves even the use of the speech which 
 God has given us for enjoyment and profit. But, as 
 the convert was required, as the term of his admission, 
 that he should divest himself, in favor of the holy 
 body, of all he had, he hesitated a little, and resolved 
 to judge by a personal inspection. For this purpose 
 he set out to visit the institution, and “he must needs 
 go through” Bath. On the Thursday evening, walk- 
 ing by Lady Huntingdon’s chapel, he heard the sing- 
 ing after the prayers, and went in, and continued dur- 
 ing the whole of the sermon. The preacher was the Bev. 
 Mr. Kemp of Swansea. I forget the text ; but, in the 
 course of his subject, he spoke against the errors of Pop- 
 ery, especially transubstantiation, and idolatrous wor- 
 ship of the Virgin Mary. His remarks so powerfully 
 struck Mr. Yescombe, that, after the service was over, 
 he went into the chapel house, and asked to see the 
 minister, and said he wished much to have some con- 
 versation with him. Mr. Kemp was surrounded with 
 friends, who were taking their leave of him, as he was 
 setting off for London early the next morning. He 
 therefore excused himself from a conference ; but 
 learning that the applicant’s desire arose from some 
 impression of what he had just heard, he recommend- 
 ed him, mentioning mi name, to call upon myself. This 
 
YESC0MBE, ESQ. . 
 
 Ill 
 
 he did on the day following. He apologized for call- 
 ing by mentioning his recommendation, and stated the 
 occasion of it in the doubt which had been raised in 
 his mind from the sermon he had heard, avowing him- 
 self to be a Roman Catholic. If true, I was glad of 
 such an opportunity, and lifted up my heart to God, 
 that I might continue and complete these doubts, and 
 make him know the truth, that the truth might make 
 him free. 
 
 And this I have every reason to hope was the case ; 
 and after several interviews (not without prayer) he 
 expressed with gratitude and tears his full conviction 
 — brought me his beads and books, constantly attend- 
 ed my ministry, and communed with us in the dying 
 of the Lord Jesus, spiritually and by faith eating the 
 flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. 
 
 He soon now furnished himself with a Bible, and 
 indescribable was the pleasure he found in it, after 
 never having dared to look into it for sixteen years. 
 How often and significantly would he say with Jere- 
 miah, u Thy -word was found, and I did eat it ;” and 
 “ Thy words were to me the joy and rejoicing of my 
 heart.” 
 
 Yet he said, as he was single, and had now been so 
 long accustomed to solitude , and from habit enjoyed 
 it, he hoped he might still be allowed to live much in 
 retirement ; and this he did, occupying two rooms 
 away from all interruption and intercourse ; walking 
 with God, and confessing himself a stranger and pil- 
 grim on the earth. 
 
 He always called me “ Father.” I had many pleas- 
 ing and profitable interviews with him, and saw him 
 growing i~ grace and in the knowledge of the Lord 
 
112 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 and Saviour till lie reached the end of his faith, and 
 that end was peace. 
 
 Three inferences are derivable from this brief me- 
 moir : First. W e see the spirit of Popery, and its fear 
 of the Scripture. If we could separate the zeal to 
 make proselytes from the cause, how worthy would it 
 be of imitation ! 
 
 Secondly. Let young persons when they travel be 
 careful of the company they keep, lest they get a 
 snare to their souls, and be led away by the error of 
 the wicked. 
 
 Thirdly. See on what little, and, to us, casual cir- 
 cumstances important events hinge ; and how the pur- 
 poses of him are accomplished “ who worketh all things 
 after the counsel of his own will.” 
 
 I bless God that, in the sixty-three years of my pas- 
 toral life, I lost no one of my flock by perversion to 
 Romanism ; while I received into my communion two 
 converts from Popery, who walked in the truth, and 
 “ adorned the doctrine of God their Saviour in all 
 things.” 
 
DR. THOMAS COGAN. 
 
 Dr. Cogan, celebrated as a physician, author of 
 “ Views on the Rhine/ 7 and many other well-known 
 works, was originally a Dissenting minister, educated 
 at Homerton Academy, and officiating first at South- 
 ampton. But changing his sentiments, and abjuring 
 his Calvinistical Creed, like an honest man he inform- 
 ed the church of his new convictions, and resigned his 
 pastorate. For some time he was subsequently a 
 preacher at the Hague, but afterwards he was led, as 
 the condition of a matrimonial alliance, to study medi- 
 cine, and practiced as a physician at Rotterdam. When 
 the French poured into Holland, he feared, (as he had 
 offended them by some public strictures,) and fled to 
 this country with the Prince of Orange, Mr. Hope, the 
 Malvers, and others. 
 
 He took a farm at Wraxal in Wiltshire, but soon 
 found that the scientific agriculturist could not succeed 
 so well as his plain practical neighbors. He then fixed 
 his residence in Bath, and occupied a house of his own 
 opposite the Reminiscent’s Chapel. He had married 
 in Holland. His wife, being an orthodox Presbyterian, 
 communed with our church. He always attended the 
 Unitarian Chapel ; but in the evenings he was seldom 
 absent from Argyle Chapel. When my subject was 
 
114 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 of a more general and practical nature, lie was pleased 
 and sometimes flattering ; at other seasons he was 
 silent and never seemed offended, was never censorious 
 or severe. He allowed the liberty he assumed; but I 
 presume he thought we were not very well off in Bath, 
 for he said more than once that, of the two ministers 
 he heard, one of them preached about God, as if there 
 had been no Christ ; and the other about Christ as if 
 there had been no God; but he hoped from the pull- 
 ing on each side he should be kept upright. 
 
 I sometimes found it trjdng to preach before such a 
 superior man and so often ; but I am perfectly con- 
 scious I never yielded to the temptation of pleasing, 
 by altering my matter or style. 
 
 Though he passed, and wished to pass, generally as 
 an Unitarian, he did not give that community in all 
 things his preference or commendation. He wished they 
 would resign reading their discourses, as less exciting 
 and impressive; and often spoke of republishing a 
 pamphlet, entitled — “ Reading not Preaching.” He 
 complained of their disuse of the awful terms of Scrip- 
 ture, such as fury , vengeance , the lake of fire and brim- 
 stone, observing they were words employed by the only 
 wise God himself, and were adapted to strike the care- 
 less, and arrest the thoughtless. He disliked their 
 glossing Scripture when read or quoted, and wished 
 the language of revelation to be always left to speak in 
 its own unmixed simplicity. He also acknowledged 
 that they never seemed to ascribe importance enough 
 to the mediatorial work of the Messiah ; especially to 
 his sufferings and death, as the (in some way or other) 
 medium of Divine forgiveness. 
 
 He had the habit of too many of his party, and 
 
DR. THOMAS COGAN. . 
 
 115 
 
 which may be deemed worse in its cause and effects 
 than pure error itself; viz.: the speaking lightly of 
 Divine things, and even sporting with them. Walking 
 with him one day down Pulteney street, he said, 
 “ This long, even street, puts me in mind of the dull 
 eternal Sabbath.” He often joked about Satan. He 
 kept back his attack on the agency and even existence 
 of his infernal majesty in the last volume of his works, 
 because he knew his more orthodox friends would 
 never forgive him for the offence. He mentioned that, 
 when he was in Holland, a minister put forth a pam- 
 phlet deemed by many atheistical in its tendency, yet 
 he was not anathematized by the Synod to which he 
 belonged ; but afterwards when he published again, 
 denying diabolical influence and existence, they imme- 
 diately suspended him, — as if not caring what became 
 of God, if they could but retain the devil. But it was 
 not a bad thing he uttered, when in the fields I met 
 him after a return from town, (though it was a little 
 inconsistent with his avowed opinion ,) — u When I am 
 in London I believe in the devil, and when I am in the 
 country I believe in God.” He was a great and con- 
 sistent admirer of Nature, and I believe drew more of 
 the materials and excitements of his devotion from 
 wood and lawn than from Bethlehem and Calvary. 
 
 He was truly generous and benevolent ; as a com- 
 panion he was most amiable and interesting; never 
 obtruding or insinuating his sentiments among those 
 who differed from him. Like other great men, he was 
 not so ready with his tongue as with his pen, or so defi- 
 nite and lucid in his speech as in his writings. No- 
 thing indeed can surpass the crystal clearness apparent 
 in his works, for which see his 11 Treatise on the Anal* 
 
116 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 jsis and Influence of the Passions his “ Theological 
 Disquisition on the Characteristic Excellences of Chris- 
 tianity.” 
 
 The following is rather a curious circumstance. 
 One evening at Argyle Chapel, he sat in the same pew, 
 and close by the side of Mr. Wilberforce. After the 
 service Mr. Wilberforce, coming into the vestry, asked 
 me who that very agreeable-looking man was, who sat 
 at his left hand. “Sir,” said I, “that gentleman is 
 your opponent who has just published an answer to 
 the chapter in your work on Hereditary Depravity.” 
 “ Indeed !” said he, “ had I known it I would have 
 shaken hands with him, for he is a fair and able dispu- 
 tant.” Two days after this, dining at his house with Mr. 
 Toller, of Kettering, (who was his guest,) Dr. Cogansoon 
 asked, — “ Who was that odd and very movable gen- 
 tleman, who sat last evening at my right hand ?” — • 
 ‘‘ What, sir, did you not know that that was Mr. Wil- 
 berforce?” — “ Was that Wilberforce ! I should much 
 have liked to have been introduced to him ; for though 
 I have written against his sentiments, no one can ad- 
 mire his character more, as one of the best of men, 
 and one of the greatest philanthropists;” — and went 
 on justly eulogizing him. 
 
 Not being inclined or qualified for controversy, I 
 never entered into dispute with him, but I sometimes 
 dropped a few words from experience or observation, 
 to which he listened, and which seemed to strike him, 
 especially when I spoke of persons who had recently 
 died in confidence, peace, and comfort, commending 
 and recommending those truths which they said were 
 all their salvation and all their desire. And when I 
 mentioned what I had lately met with, viz.: a female, 
 
DR. THOMAS JOGAN. 
 
 117 
 
 young and beautiful, agreeably espoused, with two 
 lovely babes, with everything that could render life 
 desirable, dying of a consumption, (which destroys so 
 many of our roses and lilies,) and when reduced by 
 the lingering disease almost to a shadow, she asked an 
 attendant to hand her the looking-glass, — after glanc- 
 ing at which she returned it, saying with a smile — 
 
 “ Then while ye hear my heart-strings break, 
 
 How sweet my moments roll ! 
 
 A mortal paleness in my cheek, 
 
 But glory in my soul !” 
 
 and soon expired, — he could not avoid weeping. 
 
 When also I sometimes mentioned instances (and, 
 blessed be God, I could mention such instances under 
 my own preaching) of persons converted from a sinful 
 course to a life of morality and holiness; and where 
 the change has not been produced by practice, but the 
 practice has been the effect of the change ; and sin has 
 not only been left but loathed; and duty has not only 
 been performed but delighted in ; his pause and man- 
 ner have seemed to say, “ Why, we hear and see no- 
 thing of this !” 
 
 He went to see his learned brother, the Rev. Edward 
 Cogan, (whose name so often appears as a contributor 
 in the “Gentleman’s Magazine,”) and who was the pas- 
 tor of the Presbyterian church at Walthamstow. Be- 
 fore his return he died. I know not the manner or 
 circumstances of his departure ; but have been inform- 
 ed only, that he ordered his tombstone to be inscribed 
 with these words : “ I am the resurrection and the life : 
 he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet 
 
118 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 shall he live ; and he that liveth and believeth in me 
 shall never die. Believest thou this?” 
 
 I cannot help observing, that while Dr. Cogan was 
 in Holland, from, the existence and usefulness of the 
 Humane Society there, he recommended the institu- 
 tion of it in this country to his friend Dr. W. Hawes 
 of London, an elder of Dr. Rees’ church. In conse- 
 quence of which, that gentleman had the honor of es- 
 tablishing a similar Society here, by means of which 
 so many lives have been restored and given back to 
 their agonizing connexions. 
 
 Shall I remark — when Dr. Hawes called upon the 
 Reminiscent to engage him to preach for the Society, 
 our discourse naturally turned upon the subject of sui- 
 cide ; and be expressed it as his opinion that self-mur- 
 der commonly sprung, not from infidelity or insanity , 
 but from some impression intolerable for the moment, 
 but which might have been diverted or dissipated by 
 some timely change of company, place, or action ; and 
 the event been prevented. And who has not felt a 
 temporary gloomy depression, which, had it been in- 
 creased tenfold, or fivefold, (and it might have been 
 easily so increased,) but might have sought relief by 
 any means within reach ? 
 
 He also remarked, contrary to a common opinion, 
 that those who once attempt self-destruction, repeat 
 the attempt, and commonly succeed at last ; but that 
 they had found comparatively few of those they had 
 happily resuscitated chargeable with the repetition of 
 the offence. 
 
 I remember Dr. Cogan saying, he was once, when 
 abroad, walking with a young Portuguese lady, and 
 saw at a distance a fire surrounded with a number of 
 
DR. THOMAS COGAN. 
 
 119 
 
 persons ; and when lie was disposed to notice it, slie 
 pulled him on, saying, u 0, 1 suppose it is onljr the 
 burning of a Jew.” “ Yet,” said he, “ she was not 
 wanting in humanity, yea, she was even tender and 
 benevolent.” But see the effect of persecution, educa- 
 tion, and custom ! 
 
REV. BENJAMIN DAVIS, D. D., 
 
 Was originally tutor of the Dissenting Academy at 
 Oswestry, where he had for one of his students Dr. 
 Edward Williams, afterwards president of Rotherham 
 College, and a writer of no little celebrity, especially 
 in the Baptismal and Calvinistic controversies. 
 
 I was anxious to learn from him, whether this pupil 
 of his, when under his care, had anything peculiar or 
 superior about him, indicative of his future eminence. 
 “Nothing,” he said, “but more of a solitary disposi- 
 tion, a greater addiction to study, and a special seri- 
 ousness of reflection.” 
 
 Do constitutional propensities, or accidental circum- 
 stances, lead men into those departments of action and 
 science in which they have mostly figured ? In many 
 instances, perhaps, this cannot be decided ; in some, it 
 is obvious, both unite and co-operate. 
 
 I remember eagerly perusing Dr. Williams’ famous 
 work on “ Divine Equity and Sovereignty,” but I 
 found little satisfaction in reading it : perhaps I did 
 not thoroughly comprehend it. I certainly did not 
 feel, in consequence of it, more disposed for such in- 
 vestigations than before ; and I had always had a full 
 persuasion that there are depths in which the mind is 
 
REV. BENJAMIN DAVIS. D.D. 
 
 121 
 
 swallowed up ; and that Young’s advice is wisdom 
 here, — 
 
 “ Wait the great teacher, Death, 
 
 And God adore !” 
 
 Did not Bacon say, “ I am no metaphysician, for 1 
 am not an owl, I cannot see in the dark !” Do not 
 some good men impose upon themselves and others ? 
 They feel and express great confidence and certainty 
 as to the result of their own perceptions and discuss- 
 ions ; but — 
 
 First: Are they not governed by terms and phrases 
 of their own, hallowed and significant as to those who 
 use them ; but as to others, are they not words with- 
 out knowledge, and which darken counsel rather than 
 enlighten it ? For what are they when they come to 
 be explained ? Or what satisfactory explanation are 
 they capable of receiving ? 
 
 Secondly : They imagine they have solved difficulties 
 when they have only shifted them. They push them 
 into holes and corners, but after awhile they are met 
 with again by accidental approach, or revived research, 
 to the awakening of their doubts, but seldom to the 
 acknowledging of their mistakes. 
 
 Would it not be better for us to seize and improve 
 the inviting and glorious truths of revelation, which 
 are so plain and important, (and of which there are so 
 many,) the experience of which we find useful to our- 
 selves, and the communication of which we know to 
 be useful to others ? “ The secret things belong unto 
 
 the Lord our God ; but those things that are revealed 
 are for us and for our children.” 
 
 And what a difference must a Christian and a minis- 
 C 
 
122 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 ter feel, between the trammels of some systems of di- 
 vinity and the advantage of Scripture freedom, the 
 glorious liberty of the sons of God ! The one is the 
 horse standing in the street, in harness, feeding indeed, 
 but on the contents of a bag tossed up and down ; the 
 other, the same animal in a large fine meadow, where 
 he lies down in green pastures, and feeds beside the 
 still waters. 
 
 But I remember hearing Mr. Owen (the Secretary 
 to the Bible Society) say, after a long interview and 
 discussion with Dr. Williams, that he never met with 
 a systematic, who seemed to have so clear a view, and 
 so ready a command of his system. 
 
 To return. Dr. Davis was afterwards, for some 
 years, Theological Tutor of Homerton Academy ; con- 
 cerning which he often complained of the difficulties 
 and trials of the situation and office, especially as they 
 arose from the insubordination and manners of the 
 young men, and which frequently induced him to ex- 
 claim, “ Ye are too strong for me, ye men of Zeruiah.” 
 
 He was also pastor of the church in Fetter Lane; 
 but he was compelled to resign his public and pas- 
 toral labors, owing to an extraordinary pain in his 
 head. After (in a remarkable manner) being relieved 
 from this, he resided for a time at Reading, and preach- 
 ed often there. He then resided wuth his niece, who 
 had married the Independent minister of Wells. 
 There too he often preached, and was very useful. 
 Lastly he came to Bath, and became a member of my 
 church. Here he married again, and resided to the 
 end of life. 
 
 He occasionally preached for me, and always with 
 much acceptance; and it is remarkable that, though 
 
KEY. BENJAMIN DAVIS, D.D. 123 
 
 for many years he had always read his discourses, he 
 latterly laid his notes aside; and never, as it might 
 have been supposed, felt embarrassment. His preach- 
 ing was of a more evangelical and experimental and 
 simple order than that of some of his contemporaries 
 in London ; and he was one of the few of his stiffer, 
 drier brethren who openly countenanced and com- 
 mended Whitfield and his assistants. 
 
 He was a man of very considerable learning, of 
 great theological knowledge, and of pre-eminent piety 
 and spirituality. 
 
 I derived much benefit from him (I might have de- 
 rived more) as a hearer, a companion, an admonislier, 
 and an example. 
 
 He published but little. I had some of his manu- 
 script sermons, and also his course of Theological Lec- 
 tures, (exceedingly clear and good,) and a Treatise on 
 Human Depravity and Regeneration ; all of which are 
 now in the possession of my grandson, the Rev. Cor- 
 nelius Winter Bolton, a clergyman in the United 
 States. 
 
 His reading towards the last was almost entirely of 
 one kind ; and his favorite authors were Leighton, 
 Baxter, and Newton : Newton’s Letters in particular 
 he delighted to reperuse, for he observed, what an ad- 
 vantage he derived, (owing to the declension of his 
 memory,) as the same works seemed again new to 
 him. 
 
 When I informed him of the death of his distin- 
 guished pupil, Dr. Williams, he burst into a flood of 
 tears, and said, “ I am almost ashamed to be alive, and 
 eighty years old, when so many good and great and 
 useful men are taken away in the midst of their days.” 
 
124 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 He still lived considerably beyond this period, dying 
 in a good old age, and gathered in like a shock of 
 corn fully ripe in his season. His end was peace, but 
 partaking more of trust than triumph. And I like 
 best such modes of dying experience. Few can ex- 
 pect ecstasy and rapture, but many may die saying, 
 “ Let me not be ashamed of my hope — 
 
 “ A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, 
 
 On thy kind arms I fall ; 
 
 Be thou my strength and righteousness, 
 
 My Jesus and my all l” 
 
REV. THOMAS HAWEIS, M. D. 
 
 Dr. Haweis, in various respects, was a character 
 well known in the religious world. He was for a time 
 contemporary with the founders of Methodism, though 
 he was not a student at Oxford till Wesley and Whit- 
 field had left that University. I have heard him men- 
 tion that, during his residence at the College, he some- 
 times went over on the Sabbath to Weston-Favel, to 
 hear the celebrated James Hervey ; and observing 
 (what I had heard also especially from Mr. Newton 
 and others, viz.) the dull aspect of his congregation, 
 and the difference there was between the liveliness of 
 his writings, and the unimpressiveness of his preach- 
 ing. This rather strange result may excite wonder ; 
 but it furnishes matter for a twofold remark. 
 
 First : — How divided and individual, endowments 
 and excellences are ! and, 
 
 Secondly : — How the sovereignty of God appears, 
 not only in his choice of instruments, but the way and 
 work in which he employs them ! And herein the Lord 
 does not often conform to the judgment, or gratify the 
 wishes of his servants themselves. They prefer a par- 
 ticular place or line of operation ; but they find them- 
 selves unexpectedly in other situations and engage- 
 ments ; and though the providence may be trying at 
 
126 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 first, after awhile grace produces acquiescence, and en- 
 ables the man to be thankful if in any mode or degree 
 . he is honored to be useful. 
 
 I enter not into the case of Dr. Haweis’ obtaining 
 the Living of Aid winkle ; concerning which there was 
 a great difference of opinion, and several pamphlets 
 published. The late Dr. Bridges and my father-in- 
 law, the Rev. Edward Davies, also a beneficed clergy- 
 man, alwaj^s defended him ; and this was probably the 
 case with others. I understood from Mr. Winter that 
 Mr. Whitfield indeed much wished him to resign the 
 living ; and Lady Huntingdon advanced a very con- 
 siderable sum to satisfy or silence the complainant. I 
 have more than once heard the Doctor say, that he of- 
 fered to do anything for the complainant, if he would 
 accept it as a distressed man, and not as an injured man ; 
 but as he demanded remuneration as a right , he could 
 do nothing without condemning himself. 
 
 The Doctor himself always avowed that the living 
 was put into his hands after he had clearly and fully 
 and repeatedly stated the only way in which he ought 
 and only could consent to receive it, without an act 
 of simony. But it made an impression generally 
 against him ; especially among those wLo judge not 
 according to the rectitude of the case, but the usages 
 of church jobbing. Some, not wanting in impartiality, 
 asked, Was it the avoiding the (perhaps) appearance 
 of evil ? and, Was it lovely and of good report? 
 
 The Doctor may, perhaps, be considered the first 
 man in the South Sea Mission. Some years before 
 the London Missionary Society was established, from 
 the accounts published by Captain Bligh and some 
 other navigators, he was induced to choose, and bear 
 
REV. THOMAS HAWEiS. M.1). 
 
 12 
 
 the expense of preparing, two young men to go as 
 missionaries to Otaheite, but who, as soon as they 
 were educated, ignobly and deceitfully preferred sta y- 
 ing at home. This exceedingly disappointed and dis- 
 tressed him; but he now drew off his attention and 
 desire from the project and the place. When, there- 
 fore, this great and successful institution was formed, 
 he rejoiced, and early attached himself to it. He 
 preached the first sermon, at the first meeting at Spa 
 Fields Chapel, on its behalf ; and as the Directors and 
 Managers were at a loss where to begin, he naturally 
 and promptly directed their view to scenes of labor 
 which had become familiar to his mind by much think- 
 ing and some effort and expense. And these were Ota- 
 heite and Tongataboo, the most central and advan- 
 tageous stations for communication and extension. 
 
 As an author, he published a volume of sermons and 
 several single discourses, with some essays and tracts. 
 But his principal works were an Exposition of the 
 whole Bible, in three volumes folio ; and a Church 
 History, in three volumes octavo. The former of these 
 has often been supposed to be an abridgment of Hen- 
 ry, but it was not so designed, and is in reality a Com- 
 mentary of his own, possessing no little value. The 
 latter has been considered as a very hasty and superfi- 
 cial performance ; but it has the recommendation of 
 always nobly and simply looking after real and vital 
 Christianity ; and of frequently finding it and show- 
 ing it where lying ecclesiastics have overlooked it, or 
 anathematized it. It always breathes a most liberal 
 spirit towards his brethren among the Dissenters and 
 Methodists. He animadverts freely and judiciously 
 with regard to Constantine, and the consequences of 
 
128 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 his conversion to the Christian Church, while his ar- 
 guments against Milner, with regard to penal enact- 
 ments in an Establishment, are unanswerable. 
 
 He had a peculiar confidence in himself, and a 
 readiness of address which never failed him. But this 
 rather injured him as a preacher, (and where has not 
 this envied talent injured the owner?) so that leaning 
 on his facility, he neglected retirement and study; 
 and commonly had company on the evenings of his 
 preaching, from which he seldom withdrew till the 
 clerk arriving with the robes and three-bushel wig re- 
 minded him the time was up. Hence, though able to 
 do so much better, his sermons not only wanted meth- 
 od and consecutiveness, but were commonplace and 
 unctionless. 
 
 It is a bad thing when a man has acquired the knack 
 of preaching, and can talk on for an hour in the pulpit 
 without effort and without effect. In proportion as the 
 truths and doctrines we preach are well known and 
 familiar, so much the more necessary is it to retire and 
 meditate them much, that our own minds may he af- 
 fected by them, and that we may render them im- 
 pressive and interesting to those that hear us. 
 
 It is well for a young minister to feel difficulties ; 
 and if these induce him to retirement, study, and pray- 
 er, he will in time surpass, at least in efficiency and 
 usefulness, many who proudly towered above him at 
 the beginning. This is one of the cases in which the 
 first shall be last, and the last shall be first. To whom 
 was the admonition addressed,- — u Meditate upon these 
 things, give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting 
 may appear unto all” ? Yet young men, who are not 
 
REV. THOMAS HAWEIS, M.D. 
 
 129 
 
 Timothys, talk of the time when they finished their 
 studies ! 
 
 As before the Gospel was preached in the churches 
 in Bath, Lady Huntingdon’s chapel was a place of 
 fashionable resort, and as many careless creatures at- 
 tended, especially on the Lord’s-day evenings, the Doc- 
 tor’s style of address was too invariably terrific ; and 
 derived from such texts as these: “It is a fearful thing 
 to fall into the hands of the living God “ Who 
 among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” “De- 
 part, ye cursed,” &c. But was this the more excellent 
 way ? Is there not danger that such tremendous ex- 
 pressions will lose their force by constant repetition ? 
 Is such horrifying declamation preaching the Gospel, and 
 bringing good tidings of great joy ? It would be well to 
 endeavor to ascertain what is the legitimate employment 
 of terror in an evangelical ministry. The use of it should 
 not be a preacher’s pleasure , but pain ; and, as an old 
 writer says, “ he should always utter a Divine threat- 
 ening as a judge would pronounce sentence of death 
 upon his son.” Our subject is “the faithful saying 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came 
 into the world to save sinners and the value of ter- 
 ror only is as an auxiliary or motive to enforce the 
 reception of our message of pardon and peace. So the 
 apostles employed it : “ Knowing the terror of the 
 Lord, we persuade men” to accept the mercy and grace" 
 we hold forth. He hath “ committed to us the minis- 
 try of reconciliation . How then we are ambassadors 
 for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we 
 pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 
 
 The Doctor’s manner also was high, and not suffi- 
 ciently courteous to the common people. Hence, after 
 
 6 * 
 
130 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 preaching long in Bath, the dissatisfied congregation 
 induced him to decline his ministry among them, and 
 also his attendance at the chapel. From this time he 
 constantly worshipped with us, till his death. I at- 
 tended him in his last illness, if it deserved the name, 
 for, as he had no fears, so he had no pains, so entirely 
 was his end peace. 
 
 One thing he desired, and it was in character with 
 his love of the missionary enterprise. On the very 
 day of his death, one of the first class of missionaries 
 to Otaheite was expected in Bath. It is hardly possi- 
 ble to express the earnestness with which he wished to 
 see him before he breathed his last. He sent again 
 and again to my house, begging that if he called upon 
 me first I would instantly bring him to his dying bed. 
 He came— he called upon me ; and, without asking 
 him to sit down, I hurried and introduced him. We 
 found Dr. Haweis, like the expiring Simeon, saying, 
 with tears, “ Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant de- 
 part in peace.’ 7 
 
 He left a large diary, which would have thrown 
 much light on the earlier periods and events of the 
 revival of religion in our own country ; but the son, a 
 clergyman, ver}^ opposite to his father’s views, pre- 
 vented the use which I wished to have made of it. 
 
 By the waj^, how was it when Evangelism was so 
 persecuted in the nation, and our bishops were so 
 averse to its doctrines, that so many of the obnoxious 
 clergy were suffered to act so irregularly as to preach 
 for weeks and months together in places unconse- 
 crated and unlicensed, retaining their livings ; which 
 was the case with Bervidge, Venn, Penticross, Grlascot, 
 Haweis ? 
 
REV. THOMAS HAWEIS, M.D. 
 
 131 
 
 Dr. Haweis, speaking one day of Whitfield ! s won- 
 derful voice, and of its force as well as sweetness and 
 variety of tone, said, he believed on a. serene evening 
 it might be distinctly heard for very near a mile. 
 Was this possible ? 
 

 ' 
 
 
PART IY. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 OP THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ' 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Mr. Jay to Miss Davies , afterwards Mrs . Jay . 
 
 My dearest Love, — I always used to have a dis- 
 inclination to preach at Bath, but I now think it long 
 to Sunday week. You know the reason. May we 
 have a happy and sanctified interview! I find the 
 longer I stay here the more I like the situation, and 
 the harder it will be to dissolve the connection. But I 
 wish to live having my conversation in heaven, and 
 then every place will be in some measure indifferent. 
 Yes, my love, let us determine to live as strangers and 
 pilgrims here, and plainly declare by our profession 
 and conduct that we seek a better country, that is a 
 heavenly. Not when we shall be incapable of pursu- 
 ing this world, and when our gust for early pleasure 
 shall be abated by old age ; but now, while our affec- 
 tions are so warm, and when so many are carried away 
 by the vanity of the world and the pride of life, let 
 us unreservedly dedicate ourselves to God, and present 
 ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to 
 God, which is our reasonable service. Nothing but 
 
136 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 real religion can make us holy and happy in any situa- 
 tion or relation. In proportion as it prevails we shall 
 find heaven begun below. If you should come to 
 Bath Saturday, should be glad. Let us, if possible, 
 visit Prior one day. Best respects to Mr. and Mrs. 
 D., to Mrs. Hall, if yet with you, and Miss Isabella. 
 The Lord bless you and help you, and 
 
 Yours, most affectionately, 
 
 W. Jay. 
 
 Clifton, Feb. 2, 1789. 
 
 If you write, should be glad to know how dear Mr. 
 Tuppen is, and whether I may apprise Prior of our 
 coming. 
 
 Rev. Cornelius Winter to Mr. Jay 
 
 Panswick, Jan. 22, 1790. 
 
 My very dear Billy, — It is enough to have a 
 pretext of necessity to write to you, and my pen moves 
 freely; you have awakened all my tender sensations 
 by your late visit, and given me occasion to prove that 
 I cannot say to you as a great man once said to me at 
 the close of a family connection — “I cast you off, now 
 sink or swim.” No, my dear friend, to carry on the 
 idea, I believe if you were to sink, I should attempt 
 to dive for you ; but blessed be God you swim : may 
 you always keep your head above water, till you set 
 your feet on the shore of that wealthy place where 
 you shall find an everlasting abode. I hope you got 
 safe and comfortable to Hope Chapel on Saturday, and 
 found all well. Take proper care of your health, and 
 employ it for Him who hath 1 wed you and given him- 
 self for you. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 137 
 
 x have employed some thought about Paul and Saul, 
 and find Beza and Dr. Doddridge very candid. Dod- 
 dridge adopts Beza’s criticism on Acts 13, 9. * * 
 
 * * * While writing this yours came to hand, 
 
 and is a conviction to me of our attachment being 
 mutual. Friendship well grounded cannot be easily 
 alienated. Through various interruptions I have been 
 prevented from proceeding with my letter from the 
 day I received yours till now. To be sure the sermon 
 is in the press, and the advertisement which precedes it 
 not to be altered or improved. 
 
 I wish it may not appear too consequential, if not 
 trifling. I repent that I have not spoken of you by an 
 epithet expressive of the affection of my heart, for the 
 world should know that you are dear to me. There is 
 a delicacy in the use of terms, and they sometimes 
 excite envy. My desire is that, in us, Cicero’s remark 
 on Friends may be exemplified: 11 Absentes adsunt, et 
 egentes abundant, et imbecilles valent, et quod diffici- 
 lius dictu est, mortui vivunt.” 
 
 Yesterday se’n-night Mr. Surman gave a call and 
 preached a sermon to us. I declare I was surprised to 
 hear him, and wonder not that he was invited to Ply- 
 mouth. What cannot the Lord do? May He con- 
 descend to give me a further proof of his power in my 
 present family. They all unite in love to you with 
 myself and Mrs. Winter. Mr. Griffin is under inocu- 
 lation, and I trust will be brought abroad again. Recol- 
 lect the hint I gave you about your parents, and when 
 you write to or see them, give my love to them. I 
 have a disposition to fill up the sheet, but I cannot. 
 I therefore only add, come and see us when you can., 
 
138 selii rnoxs from the correspondence 
 
 and thereby add to the pleasure of my, very dear 
 Billy, 
 
 Ever yours affectionately in our dear Lord Jesus, 
 
 Cornelius Winter. 
 
 I saw Mr. Asliburn the morning you left me, who 
 dropped a hint expressive of his approbation of what 
 he heard the night before. 
 
 Mr. Jay to Mr. Withers. 
 
 London, 1793. 
 
 My dear Friend, — Having a leisure half-hour, I 
 said to myself I’ll embrace this opportunity to write to 
 Mr. Withers. No sooner said than done, or at least 
 begun. I thank you for your letter, but not for your 
 apologies, as to your manner of writing, &c., &c. 
 These I put amongst Mrs. Withers’ kind ceremonies 
 and cares when I am at }^our house. They are all bad 
 things belonging to good persons ; otherwise I should 
 be more severe with them. You may depend upon it 
 that I shall be always glad to see you and hear from 
 you, but you must treat me with less compliment. I 
 do not desire it, and I know I do not deserve it. I 
 must be under strange infatuation indeed to think 
 highly of myself. I have much to humble me. I am 
 every thing that’s bad. “In me dwelleth no good 
 thing.” Whatever distinguishes me from others is the 
 undeserved gift of God ; and if, in any degree, I am 
 useful to my fellow creatures, ’tis “ not I, but the grace 
 of God which is with me,” 
 
 What fine weather we have had for the ingathering 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 189 
 
 of tlie fruits of the earth. Iiow has our blessed God 
 crowned the year- with his goodness, and how lamenta- 
 ble is it that our world, so full of his mercy, should 
 be so empty of his praise ! Our fears were awakened, 
 but they have been more than disappointed, and may 
 we not hope that the same God will crown plenty with 
 peace. Though the prospect is not favorable, all things 
 are possible to Him. All creatures are under his con- 
 trol. The hearts of kings are in his hands. This is 
 all the comfort I have as to present affairs. 
 
 I had a blessed time last Sabbath-day morning in 
 preaching from these words : u Casting all your care 
 upon him; for he careth for you,” 1 Peter, 5, 7. I 
 could not help wishing that a certain friend of mine 
 who resides under your roof had been with us. Well, 
 if Providence spares us to meet again, she may prob- 
 ably hear it second hand. Mrs. Jay unites with me 
 in kind respects to her ; thanking you all for your 
 very great kindness towards our dear boy, to whom, 
 through you, we transmit a few kisses, and a promise 
 not only of a horse but a whip too. We have spent 
 half of our visit here, and shall be glad, after four more 
 Sabbaths, to return home. O why do I not long equally 
 to leave this bustling world to go to my heavenly and 
 everlasting home ? Why do I not long to depart to be 
 with Christ, which is far better ? I have sometimes 
 such views of this world and the next, that, if they 
 were realized in experience, I think I should be in 
 some measure what I ought to be, but alas, I have 
 much more religion in my head than in my heart; 
 and, with all my fine notions, I feel myself prone to 
 cleave to the dust, and to neglect my Saviour. But 
 my paper reminds me of the propriety of drawing to a 
 
140 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 close. Has Hymen yoked Mr. James yet? Tell him 
 lie must inform me if he expect anything like an Epi- 
 thalamium. I love both of them, and hope God will 
 bless them. I know he will if my prayers are answer- 
 ed. I have not seen your daughter since I wrote last. 
 Desire her, when you write to her, to call upon us 
 again, and as often as she pleases. We know not 
 where to direct for her. You see I sometimes write to 
 yourself, and sometimes to Mrs. Withers, but I always 
 mean both. You are, I trust, not only one in the com- 
 mon sense of the term, but one in Christ Jesus. May 
 your union, begun upon earth, continue in heaven. — I 
 am, dear Sir, Yours, &c. 
 
 Mr. Jay to Mrs. Jay. 
 
 My dearest Love, — Last night I preached for the 
 Sunday morning Lecture, and in honor of the access- 
 ion of this family to the throne. Dr. Hunter prayed. 
 The congregation was large; and just as I was con- 
 cluding the sermon there was a general consternation 
 and outcry. All was confusion — and people treading 
 on one another, &c. It was rather dark, and the pul- 
 pit candles only were lighted. I saw something mov- 
 ing up the aisle towards the vestry. It was a bull! 
 we presume driven in by pick-pockets, or persons who 
 wished to disturb us. We were talking on the affairs 
 of the nation, and John Bull very seasonably came in. 
 But imagine what followed: — the bull could not be 
 made to go backwards, nor could he be turned round : 
 five or six persons therefore, held him by the horns ; 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 141 
 
 while the clerk, as if bewitched, gave out, in order to 
 appease the noise, — 
 
 “ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, 
 
 Praise him all creatures here below,” etc. 
 
 O that the bull could but have roared here in com- 
 pliance with the exhortation ! I looked down from 
 the pulpit, and seeing the gentlemen who held him 
 singing with their faces lifted up, as if returning thanks 
 for this unexpected blessing, I was obliged to put my 
 hand before my face while I dismissed the congrega- 
 tion. This I think is enough for once. I long to re- 
 ceive a line from you to tell me all your plans. Love 
 to the dear children. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 The same to the same . 
 
 My dearest Love, — You may imagine that I am 
 always full of matter, but I assure you I have been 
 sitting a considerable time with my pen in hand not 
 knowing what to say. Love indeed would dictate a 
 thousand fond things, but I am not certain that they 
 would be most acceptable ; and I hope they are not 
 necessary. I would love, not in word only. I wish 
 to make my whole conduct a proof of my affection 
 and esteeenL Tuesday evening I preached upon family 
 religion, and as an inference from the importance of 
 it, I exhorted young people to beware how they formed 
 connections : — “ How can two walk together except 
 they be agreed ?” Here I hope we are agreed, and T 
 
142 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 trust we shall always “ walk together as heirs of the 
 grace of eternal life, that our prayers be not hindered.” 
 But I have been thinking that, notwithstanding there 
 is no disagreement between us, in our sentiments and 
 dispositions respecting religious exercises in the family, 
 as is the case with many, we may be more useful to 
 each other in our relation than we have been ; and 
 watch over, pray for, rebuke, exhort, teach, and com- 
 fort each other more than we have done. I know not 
 indeed why I should class you with myself herein. 
 But I am conscious of deficiency. I am to blame ; — 
 nor in this instance only. I seem all wrong. I have 
 not half religion enough in my own soul to make me 
 useful to others or happy in myself : I frequently doubt 
 the truths I preach to others. I frequently fear lest, 
 having been useful to save others, I myself should be 
 a castawa}^ : the conviction of my judgment goes far 
 beyond the experience of my heart. You cannot con- 
 ceive in what an inferior light all sublunary objects 
 frequently appear to me ; and still I am looking to 
 and depending upon creatures. I might enlarge. In 
 the midst of all this there is some relief. O ’tis well 
 to have light enough to see our darkness, and softness 
 enough to feel our hardness ; ’tis well that Jesus Christ 
 saves sinners ; that unworthiness is no bar ; and that 
 he provides strong consolation for those who have fled for 
 refuge. O examine this character of the righteous; 
 when, O my soul, thou canst not derive comfort from 
 any other, 1 Hast thou not fled for refuge V 
 
 * * * # 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 143 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF TWO CHILDREN. 
 
 To Mr. Newall , who was for upwards of fifty years a, 
 member of Mr. Jay's Church , and for many years 
 deacon and treasurer. 
 
 Dated about September, 1805. 
 
 My dear Friend, — By a letter Mrs. Jay has this 
 morning received from Mrs. Lockyer, I am informed 
 of the very severe trial with which the Lord has been 
 exercising you. Had I been at home I would have 
 hastened to comfort you at your dwelling, and have 
 mingled my tears with yours at the mouth of the 
 grave, under the loss of two dear children, — lovely 
 children, removed almost at a stroke! But I hope 
 that though a poor worm has been absent, He has 
 been present, who has promised to be with us in trou- 
 ble, whose property it is to comfort them that are cast 
 down ; and who while he chastens can teach us out of 
 his law. Intervening objects are often removed that 
 He may be seen, and even death commands silence 
 that He may be heard. And the blessed sufferer, the 
 sanctified sufferer, is the humble supplicant , who wipes 
 his eyes and says, — “Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
 heareth.” “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?” 
 In our judgments we readily acknowledge His right 
 to us and ours ; but when he comes to take his own, 
 how hard do we find it to say practically, “ The will 
 of the Lord be done.” But I am persuaded this is 
 your disposition — this has been your prayer; this will 
 be your experience. He who knows our frame means 
 us to feel. He who designs our profit by our pain, re- 
 quires us to feel. But he expects that we should qual- 
 ify and regulate the feelings of the creature by the 
 
.44 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 grace of the Christian. And why ? Because he has 
 provided for all our wants, knows that His grace is 
 sufficient for us, and that if ve ask, we shall have. 
 My prayers shall attend you through all this gloomy 
 scene, and if they are answered you will never be 
 afraid of trouble again. You will soon perceive rea- 
 son to say, — “ It is good for me that I have been af- 
 flicted.” In the multitude of your thoughts within 
 you, His comforts will delight your souls. You will 
 be enabled to say, — “ Well, my darling infants are not 
 lost, but provided for. The shepherd has gathered my 
 lambs with His arms, and now carries them in His 
 bosom. I shall find them again in yonder happy 
 world. I shall embrace them all perfect and immor- 
 tal.” 
 
 “ Our journey is a thorny maze, 
 
 But we march upwards still, 
 
 Forget the troubles of the ways, 
 
 And rest at Zion’s hill.” 
 
 I cannot do justice to your affliction or my own 
 feelings; but I have snatched a few moments from 
 company and engagements, to show you that I sym- 
 pathize with you, and am, my dear Friend, yours to 
 serve in the Gospel of our dear Lord Jesus, 
 
 William Jay. 
 
 To his daughter Statira when very young, and while he 
 was absent in London. 
 
 [We give the following as a beautiful specimen 
 both of his condescension to the capacity of a child, 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 145 
 
 and of the tender and pious affection with which he 
 watched over his children.] 
 
 My very dear Statira, — I assure you I intended 
 writing when I left home, and before I knew you had 
 desired your mamma to ask me to do it, but I was 
 much pleased to learn that you wished it. It shows 
 that you value my notice, and proofs of this notice 
 you shall never want, while you continue to act as 
 you have done. * * * Oh, if children did but 
 
 consider the satisfaction they give their parents by 
 being good, they would never be naughty. But their 
 good conduct is not only attended with pleasure to 
 their parents, but with peace and comfort to their own 
 minds. It gains them the approbation of all around 
 them ; yea, it pleases God, who gives us all we enjoy, 
 and on whose favor and blessing all our happiness de- 
 pends. I do not know anything so lovely as a little 
 girl of your size when she is good-natured, and not 
 selfish, fond of reading and improvement, obedient to 
 her mamma, and when she loves the Scriptures, and 
 the Sabbath, and God’s house ; and often prays, 
 
 “ Make me to walk in thy commands, 
 
 ’Tis a delightful road ; 
 
 Nor let my head or heart or hands 
 Offend against my God.” 
 
 and such, I have a full persuasion, I shall always find 
 my dear and last-horn child. I promise myself much 
 pleasure for years to come in endeavoring to train you 
 up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and in 
 making you an amiable and useful member of society. 
 But you, my dear Statira, may die, or papa may die, 
 or mamma may die, and no more feel the kisses of 
 
 7 
 
146 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 their darling upon their cheeks morning and evening, 
 but be laid in the cold grave ; yea, we must all die, 
 and so part sooner or later ; and, therefore, we must 
 so live here as not to be parted hereafter, but indulge 
 the pleasing hope of living together forever in heaven. 
 
 I hope you feel much obliged to Mr. Bolton for his 
 attentions. Tell him I thank him much on your be- 
 half, and shall be glad to repay him in any way in my 
 power, in addition to my having given him (I hope 
 
 she is) a good wife. * * * * * * 
 
 I long to see Percy Place again, and one of the prin- 
 cipal reasons is to see and embrace again my dear 
 Statira, and to prove by more than a hasty and im- 
 perfect letter, that 
 
 I am, my darling girl, your affectionate and devoted 
 father, 
 
 ¥m. Jay. 
 
 London, October 30 , 1812 . 
 
 To the same . 
 
 My dear sweet Pea, — How I long for the time 
 when I shall see thy image and thyself once more in 
 my garden! But u to everything there is a season;” 
 and we must learn to deny ourselves and wait. Nei- 
 ther should I object to view some other flowers in my 
 little Eden, or even one or two birds. 0 when will 
 that spring or summer arrive? But I must not sin 
 against the rule I have just laid down ; and, therefore, 
 instead of giving way to impatience, I will try to write 
 on. I hope you will find this journey useful and im- 
 proving. It is in your power to render it so by keep- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 147 
 
 mg your attention awake, and suffering nothing to 
 pass unobserved. Listen to what is said by persons 
 of any talent in company, especially when they speak 
 upon those subjects- with which the} 7 are most familiar ; 
 and they who have no general information may be 
 well versed in their own line, and commonly talk well 
 concerning it. I some time ago overtook a little 
 sweep. I did not suppose he could criticise Milton nor 
 Locke, but there was one thing he understood better 
 than I did ; and before we separated, I knew how to 
 climb a chimney. Not that I mean to set up in this 
 calling. I am too big, too old, and fully occupied 
 with some other things; but I love to learn, and I 
 meet with few but are able to teach. Search your 
 head all over, and if you find two ears, and only one 
 tongue, be always more ready to hear and slow to 
 speak ; and when you speak, speak with diffidence and 
 modesty. A forward, bold, decisive tone is never 
 agreeable in a man ; in a youth it is always offensive, 
 but in a girl it is intolerable. You know how Mis3 
 
 was disliked and neglected after her father’s 
 
 death, for the freedom with which, in every circle, she 
 delivered her opinion of men and things. Always 
 say little of characters, and let this little as much as 
 possible be in a way of commendation. Be less dis- 
 posed to remark blemishes than excellences ; and let 
 it appear that you can discern and acknowledge merit 
 of any kind with pleasure. Gain some little addition 
 every day to your mental stores, and remember the 
 axiom, “To him that hath shall be given that is, 
 diligence and use increase what is good, both by their 
 natural tendency, and the Divine blessing upon our 
 endeavors. Be fond of composition ; accustom your- 
 
148 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 self to write down, w r ith as much accuracy and clear- 
 ness as you can, every interesting occurrence, or any 
 train of thought. I wish you to have a resource of 
 pleasure through life, not only in reading, but in writ- 
 ing. I am glad you go on with your French. When 
 you come home you must teach me to pronounce and 
 speak it. I should be glad to receive a letter from 
 you in this language. I am sure you are able to write 
 it, especially under the eye of Mr. Bolton. How would 
 it surprise Bella and mamma, and sharpen their cu- 
 riosity when they opened it, as they alw r ays do so 
 greedily every letter from Liverpool. How dependent 
 will they feel, and come and beg of me the contents ! 
 I hope you rise early and take proper exercise. I hope 
 also you walk well and sit w r ell ; for I know a few 
 weeks back, some considerable improvement was re- 
 quired in both. Some attention to each of these is 
 the more necessary as you seem determined to be tall; 
 and the want of gracefulness is more observed in a tall 
 figure than in a short. Mrs. William Evill is rapidly 
 declining, and funeral rites will early follow nuptial 
 solemnities. At present she seems to decline seeing 
 any one ; but I hope she is becoming sensible of her 
 condition, though this flattering disorder may well be 
 called, “a slow sudden death,” and that by*and-bye I 
 shall have some improving intercourse with her. In 
 the space of four days I attended no less than four 
 funerals. I endeavored to improve them all in a ser- 
 mon from 2 Corinthians, v. 1, — “ For we know that 
 if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,” 
 &c., in which I observed, we have — 
 
 1. An object contemplated — u the earthly house of 
 this tabernacle.” 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 149 
 
 2. An event supposed — the destruction of it — “if it 
 be dissolved.” 
 
 3. A privilege apprehended — “a building of Grod, a 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 
 
 4. A confidence expressed — “we know” that we 
 have thib — a confidence of belief — a confidence of hope 
 — a confidence of possession — not we shall have, but 
 we have ) &c. 
 
 When I mentioned Mr. , I said, “ He was un- 
 
 known to many of you; but he was. well known in 
 the world of sport and dissipation. He formerly dis- 
 tinguished himself on the turf, and obtained a subsist- 
 ence by horse-racing. But this course of life for many 
 years back he had abandoned ; and reviewed it with 
 that godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto life, 
 not to be repented of. The revival of early instruc- 
 tion from pious parents, by the death of a beloved and 
 only son, brought him to religious reflection. He was 
 a man of a most warm and generous disposition, and 
 delighted to do good, especially in visiting the father- 
 less and the widows in their afflictions, and attending 
 the bed of pain and sickness ;” and when I added, “ in 
 the afternoon he passed my house, — in the evening or- 
 dered his nephew to read the 6th chapter of St. John, 
 — prayed with his family > — retired comfortably to rest, 
 — awoke at eleven, — complained of a pain in his stom- 
 ach, — said, ‘Come, Lord Jesus,’ — and in the twinkling 
 of an eye expired,” — there was a half-fetched involun- 
 tary groan through the audience, that made it very 
 
 solemn. What I said of , was this: — “She was 
 
 an interesting infant ; a sufferer from the hour of her 
 birth ; her early and continued affliction she endured 
 with a patience above her vears, and often spoke of 
 
150 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 God and heaven in language very unusual for one un- 
 der five years of age. This is an event of congratula- 
 tion rather than of condolence. At the grave of a 
 child we always feel a peculiar satisfaction, arising from 
 the persuasion that they are disposed of infinitely to 
 their advantage. Under the protracted illness of this 
 little martyr, the Saviour said to the parents — ' Suffer 
 this little child to come unto me, and forbid her not, 
 for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ The Shepherd 
 has gathered this lamb with his arms, and now carries 
 
 it in his bosom.” Of Mrs. I said : — “ She was 
 
 for many years a member of our church, and walked 
 consistently with her profession. She was a plain, in- 
 offensive, upright character. There was nothing dis- 
 tinguishing in her life, and her d} 7 ing experience was 
 the same. Through her lengthened disease, she was 
 patient and submissive, often complained of herself, and 
 felt alternately the prevalence of fear and hope ; and I 
 am persuaded that He who does not 4 break a bruised 
 reed nor quench the smoking flax’ has received her.” 
 u Mr. J ,” I said, “ many of you were acquaint- 
 
 ed with. I see several of his companions in iniquity 
 here this evening. O that your former associate could 
 now address you. We have reason to hope and be- 
 lieve that he saw and deplored the errors of his con- 
 duct, and has obtained the mercy for which he so ear- 
 nestly prayed. His language was penitential. His 
 concern to warn and admonish others was striking, 
 and he drew whatever relief he felt from the Friend 
 of sinners. But 0, ye bereaved neighbors, friends, and 
 relations, my business lies not with the dead, but with 
 the living. They have done with all below. Their 
 state is now fixed, and their happiness or misery can- 
 
OF THE HEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 151 
 
 not be affected by your opinions or my representations, 
 were I disposed to condemn or eulogize. They are 
 beyond the reach of the Gospel, but you are yet in the 
 land of the living, and have another opportunity to 
 hear the merciful admonition — 1 Seek the Lord while 
 he may be found, and call upon him while he is near.’ 
 ,Wliat is your duty but to retire, and, falling upon 
 your knees, pray with Moses, 1 So teach us to number 
 our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.’ 
 And what is wisdom ? What is that wise part crea- 
 tures circumstanced as you are ought to act ? Is it 
 not to prefer your souls to your bodies, and the reali- 
 ties of eternify to the vanities of time ? Is it not to 
 seek without delay pardon and renovation ? a title to 
 heaven, and a meetness for it? You talk of happi- 
 ness, uncertain as you are of life. I defy you to be 
 happy without a hope beyond the grave. He — he 
 
 only is happy who can look forward with humble con- 
 fidence and say — 4 We know that v/e have a building 
 of God, a house not made with hands,’ &c.” 
 
 You complain of inability to fill your sheet. Look 
 at the size of my paper, and see my lines, not wide 
 apart like the hedges of a London road ; nor the whole 
 begun two or three inches down from the top. But 
 how am I to fill up the remainder of this folio ? I have 
 no other news to communicate, except, indeed, a sub- 
 ject that is always new , and which I hope you love, 
 the love of Jesus — the love of Him who, though he 
 was rich, for our sakes became poor, and died that we 
 might live. You have often heard me repeat his en- 
 couraging assurance : “Him that cometh unto me I will 
 in no wise cast out,” aud you know (O what a privi- 
 lege!) that to come to him is to believe his word, and 
 
152 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 call upon bis name. But while he rejects none, he 
 peculiarly regards some. “ Feed,” says he, “feed my 
 lambs .” “ I love them that love me, and they that 
 
 seek me early shall find me that is, find him as oth- 
 ers never will , never can . And the case speaks for it- 
 self ; for if religion can preserve us from snares and 
 embarrassments ; if it can make us amiable and use- 
 ful ; if it be profitable unto all things ; if it yields the 
 truest pleasure, the sooner it is possessed in the same 
 proportion, the more are we privileged, and, next to 
 the reality of their conversion, I am persuaded the 
 people of God daily bless him for the earliness of it, 
 if they have been thus favored ; and the greater part 
 of them are called long before they are advanced in 
 years. O, my dear Statira, what a season is youth : 
 of the day of life it is the morning ; of the year it is 
 the spring. And how much depends upon seizing the 
 one, and improving the other ! How desirable is it 
 to sanctify the present in every kind of preparation 
 for the future; and before the journey is begun, such 
 a journey as we have before us, to secure a guide, a 
 guard, a friend who will never leave us nor forsake 
 us. I trust, my dear child, that you are placing your- 
 self under his conduct, and saying — “ I will go forth 
 in the strength of the Lord.” 
 
 My time of going to London is now fixed. My visit 
 commences the last Sabbath in May, and takes in the 
 three first in June. Either in my way thither or back, 
 I am to preach a sermon at Newport Pagnell, in favor 
 of Mr. Bull’s Academy there ; and I am also request- 
 ed, at the same time, to preach before the Bedfordshire 
 Union, at Bedford, along with Mr. Hall. 
 
 Your affectionate and devoted father, &c. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 153 
 
 To the Same . 
 
 Bath, May 23, 1816. 
 
 My dear Sweet Pea, — Though the last blown, 
 yet not the least loved of all my flowers. I wish I had 
 more time to write ; but my preparation for the ap- 
 proaching journey to London leaves me very little. 
 But the length of my last must atone for the brevity 
 of the present : and remember you have to boast of 
 receiving the longest letter papa ever wrote. I sup- 
 pose by this time Mi. Spear and his daughters, who 
 accompanied him to Broomsgrove, are returned, and 
 you are probably thinking of returning to Liverpool. 
 But you must not suffer the little nephew or niece to 
 make you impatient. If you should feel it to be a 
 self-denial to be absent from them, you must exercise 
 it. This virtue is indeed of such constant and univer- 
 sal utility, that we cannot begin to cultivate it too 
 soon. We cannot expect to have everything accord- 
 ing to our mind as we pass through a world like this : 
 it is not fit we should, and, therefore, we must learn 
 to bear disappointment, and be able easily and grace- 
 fully to accommodate ourselves to every changing 
 scene. Hitherto your way has been smooth, the lines 
 have fallen to you in pleasant places ; your wishes 
 have been generally, if not invariably, gratified. 
 
 “ All without thy care and payment, 
 
 All thy wants are well supplied.” 
 
 But you cannot reckon upon a perpetual exemption 
 from inconvenience and trial. “ Truly the light is 
 sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold 
 the sun ; but if a man live many years, and rejoice in 
 
154 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 them all ; jet let him remember the days of darkness ; 
 for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.” 
 I would not by future forebodings prevent your en- 
 joying the kindnesses which Providence affords you 
 at this pleasing period of life, but I know youth is 
 sanguine, its hopes are too glaring, and require to be 
 sobered by that prudence which results from experi- 
 ence and observation. You ought ever to be thankful 
 for the comforts and indulgences of your condition. 
 But do you not feel your need of something better ? 
 Is there not an emptiness in the midst of all ? Yes, 
 and the world will never fill it ; but He can who mer- 
 cifully cries — u Seek ye me, and ye shall live.” And 
 those dissatisfactions which attend all creature-good 
 are the inspirations of the Almighty to give us under- 
 standing, and to make us wise unto salvation. I hope, 
 my precious girl, that you are listening to his voice, 
 and dedicating yourself to his service, which they who 
 have tried know to be perfect freedom. Having given 
 yourself unto the Lord, I trust I shall have the pleas- 
 ure, after your return, to witness your il giving your- 
 self also to hi^ Church, by the will of God.” In Dr. 
 Doddridge’s little volume of Sermons to Young Peo- 
 ple, there is a discourse on the subject of “ Early Com- 
 munion,” which I wish you to read. I dare say Mr. 
 Spear has it. I hope, wherever you are, that you not 
 only devote some time to private devotion and reading 
 the Scripture, but that you look over the books you 
 meet with in the house where you visit, and read as 
 much as possible of those you have not seen before. 
 Of course I do not mean that you should shut your- 
 self up from enjoying the prospects of nature at this 
 season, and the society of your friends ; but there are 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 155 
 
 many moments to be seized which carelessness over- 
 looks. It is by making use of these, and by early ris- 
 ing, that I have obtained much of the little I possess. 
 Like the bee , be always extracting materials for honey. 
 Yesterday morning, I was invited to breakfast at Mr. 
 Hallet’s, and to give the new-wedded pair my advice 
 and blessing. But how changeable and chequered is 
 every earthly scene! No sooner had the party return- 
 ed from church, than Mr. Griffith, sen., w r as called out 
 of the room to be informed that his only brother at 
 Frome was just killed by leaping from a sociable , the 
 horses of which had taken fright. This damped the 
 joy of the season. But he was a very holy man, an 
 occasional preacher in Mr. Wesley’s connection, and 
 at the time of the accident — so people call it, I should 
 rather say appointment — he w r as returning from preach- 
 ing in a village. He was a widower, and has left no 
 child, but the poor will exceedingly miss him, for he 
 was a father to them, and a fine image of Him who 
 went about doing good. 
 
 On Saturday morning we set off for London. Miss 
 Shepherd goes with us far as Hammersmith. We are 
 all longing for the time when we hope, under the 
 smiles of a gracious Providence, to u meet and mingle 
 into bliss,” to kiss, and cry tears of joy. 
 
 Your affectionate and devoted father, &c. 
 
 To his son Edward , at Wymondly College . 
 
 Bath, March 2, 1816. 
 
 * * -jf * 
 
 I urge you be sparing in your remarks on character. 
 They who hear them may report them inaccurately, 
 
156 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 and -with exaggeration ; and as the consequence you 
 will, when charged with them, be tempted to deny, or 
 perplexed to explain and qualify. But I wish to deter 
 you by a better principle, the command of Him who 
 has said, “ Speak evil of no man. 7 ’ “ Be swift to hear, 
 and slow to speak.” “Love every one and every one 
 will love you.” “ Who is he that will harm you if you 
 be a follower of that which is good ?” While you talk 
 little (especially concerning persons) observe much. Be 
 continually adding a little to your mental stores. Ac- 
 custom yourself to composition ; put down your 
 thoughts on paper with as much accuracy and clear- 
 ness and celerity as you can be master of — I long for 
 you to be able to sermonize . Whenever a text strikes 
 you turn it over in your mind, and endeavor to divide 
 it. If you cannot satisfy yourself the effort will do 
 you good — exertion will prepare for exertion ; and 
 thought will produce thought. While you attempt 
 much you must not be discouraged, if at first the result 
 be little. The infant bird practices his wings, as he 
 stands up in the nest : then gets upon the edges of it : 
 then upon the neighboring boughs: and then takes 
 short excursions, before he flies his more daring lengths ; 
 and “ to him that hath shall be given,” as the natural 
 consequence of use and improvement, and as also the 
 effect of the Divine blessing. You cannot begin so 
 low as I did ; but I felt a love to study bordering on 
 enthusiasm ; and despaired of nothing ; not from a high 
 opinion of my capacity, but an apprehension that dili- 
 gence, with the Divine assistance, (which he had gra- 
 ciously disposed my heart to seek,) would do wonders. 
 I was placed indeed in a situation peculiarly suited to 
 the cast of im mind, and never wanted for excitations 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 157 
 
 and encouragements. And you, my dear boy, have 
 great advantages at present, and the prospect of every 
 future help and direction. Trials you would have in any 
 line of life ; but in the sacred calling to which you are 
 looking forward, you will be sheltered much from a 
 stormy and wicked world ; you will have opportunity for 
 intellectual and pious improvement; you will enjoy 
 the pleasure of being useful, and of doing good ; and 
 if you act from principle, when the chief Shepherd 
 shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that 
 fadeth not away. Let me know whether you are able 
 to read my writing. I shall feel a pleasure in corre- 
 sponding with you. Write when you have an oppor- 
 tunity, and write with freedom. All join in love. 
 
 Your very affectionate Father, &c. 
 
 To the same . 
 
 Bath, March 2, 1818, 
 
 I write according to my promise, but I believe I 
 must in future alter my epistolary day, and make it 
 Tuesday instead of Monday ; as of late I feel so ener- 
 vated by the anxieties and labors of the Sabbath, that 
 on the Monday I exist rather than live. I wish also 
 not only to please you by a few lines monthly, but to 
 render my letters instructive and useful ; and when I 
 feel as I do to-day I can scarcely command a thought, 
 and every effort fatigues. I believe, should my days 
 be prolonged, that I shall be a very premature old 
 man. I began early. I was emulous to advance. I 
 labored under a thousand disadvantages from which 
 vou are free ; anr^ being, from the first, thrown into 
 
158 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 popular and trying situations winch had great claims 
 upon me, I applied myself with more unrelaxing ten- 
 sion of mind than my frame (never remarkably strong) 
 could bear; and I now begin to feel peculiarly the ef- 
 fect of it. This I think 1 may say without vanity re- 
 garding myself or ill-nature towards others. This is 
 not the common failing of the students and younger 
 ministers of the present day. I wish to perceive in 
 them a habit of greater application and diligence, a 
 greater sense of the value of time, and the importance 
 of their work — as also more of an humble and devotion- 
 al spirit. I can make allowance for some things in 
 young ministers which I could not tolerate in older : 
 but still, as the apostle says, u A bishop must be grave,” 
 — a general sedateness of speech and behavior is so 
 becoming in him, that, whatever be his talents, he will 
 never inspire respect without it. It was to young 
 Timothy Paul said, “Let no man despise thy youth;” 
 but for his purpose, “ Be thou an example of the be- 
 lievers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, 
 in faith, in purity. Give attendance to reading, to 
 exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is 
 in thee. Meditate upon these things ; give thyself 
 wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all. 
 Take heed unto thyself, and unto thy doctrine, continue 
 in them ; for in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself 
 and them that hear thee.” It is a great thing in all 
 our private and social intercourse to be cheerful without 
 being light ; and serious without being sad, or appear- 
 ing sanctimonious. Some few ministers, even in ear- 
 lier life, have attained this excellency. Let them be 
 your models, rather than pulpit flirts and fiddles, and 
 your story-telling parsons, whose sole ambition in com- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 159 
 
 pany seems to be to make mirth ; and who generally 
 succeed so well, that they are not only laughed with, 
 but laughed at. Nothing is more lovely in a student 
 and a minister than a freedom from everything dicta- 
 torial and dogmatical in his manner of address. It 
 becomes him rather to listen than to speak, — to in- 
 quire than to controvert. Not that he is obliged to 
 believe everything that he hears, even from, a senior, 
 or to admit without evidence ; but he must dissent 
 with seeming reluctance, propose his doubts with mod- 
 esty, and appear to distrust his own judgment rather 
 than depreciate that of another. Speak with warmth 
 (and let it come from the heart) as much as you 
 can in commendation and praise of others; — but — 
 “ speak evil of no man ;” — “Love all and all will love 
 you.” “Who is he that will harm you if you are a 
 follower of that which is good ?” — and though spirit- 
 ual religion can never be relished by depraved minds, 
 yet “he that in these things serveth Christ is accepta- 
 ble to God and approved of men.” 
 
 I have been a Sabbath at Marlborough, where the 
 prospect is delightful. Mr. Williams of Shrewsbury 
 (now Sir J. B. Williams) is publishing memoirs from 
 the diary of Mrs. Savage, daughter of Philip, and sis- 
 ter of Mathew, Henry, for which I have written a 
 pretty long preface at his desire, &c. 
 
 To the- same. 
 
 Bath, May 9, 1819. 
 
 * * * I AM sorry for the interruption your 
 
 studies will again sustain in your long absence from 
 
160 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Wymondley. The plan of attending lectures in Lon- 
 don, too, does not strike me as of much importance ; 
 as however it is appointed, and seems a privilege 
 shown a few of you for good conduct, you must avail 
 yourself of it ; and you may turn it to advantage. It 
 is a great recommendation to be able to read and pro- 
 nounce well ; but then it must appear to be natural ; 
 primness and affectation always displeases more than 
 simple and earnest vulgarity . The great thing is to for- 
 get one 1 s- self , and to speak with seriousness and affection- 
 ate feeling . Feeling is always eloquent; and if the 
 preacher be obviously affected, and appears concerned 
 to do good, and not to gain applause, he will always be 
 felt, and always approved. Nothing also is more be- 
 coming, in a young minister especially, than an appa- 
 rent consciousness of the importance and difficulty of 
 his work ; an ^forwardness to engage ; a diffidence 
 and modesty ; in a word, the very reverse of what we 
 see in many of the assuming, pert, bold, fearless, self- 
 sufficient, and self-admiring academies of the day. 
 Keep this to yourself. I take care how I reflect upon 
 the sprigs of divinity before others, as there is too 
 much readiness to censure young ministers among 
 modern hearers already ; and I am thankful to see that 
 all are not alike, and I can reprove when I do not 
 wish to condemn. I hope tutors will be increasingly 
 attentive to the spirit and manner of students, both in 
 the pulpit and in the parlor. Let me beseech you, my 
 dear son, to keep your eye upon the best models, and 
 pray for grace to conform to them. With regard to 
 what is exceptionable in others, keep as far from it as 
 you can, but never talk about it. It can do no good, 
 and may be easily ascribed (before a man’s character is 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 161 
 
 highly established) to ill-nature or envy ; and one of 
 the worst features of many of the students and young 
 preachers of the day, is an unbounded license in speak- 
 ing of oth-rs, especially their brethren. Speak evil 
 therefore of no one, but let the law of innocence and 
 kindness dwell upon your tongue. But to mark the 
 improprieties of others for your own improvement — 
 that is, in order to avoid them — this is a different 
 thing ; and while you keep your mouth shut, you must 
 
 keep your eyes and ears open. 
 
 * * * -x- * 
 
 Your devoted father, &c. 
 
 To Sir J. B. Williams. 
 
 On the very sudden death of John Lee , Esq., the Gentleman to whom 
 several of Mr. Winter's Letters, introduced into Mr. Jay's Life of 
 Winter , were addressed. 
 
 Bath, October 9th, 1818. 
 
 My dear Sir, — You will doubtless wonder that I 
 have not noticed your very affecting letter earlier ; but 
 I was from home when it arrived, and I have been 
 again from home on pressing business; and while 
 having more to do than usual I have been very un- 
 well, first in my head, and then in my bowels, so that 
 I have dragged on heavily and been fit for nothing. 
 But be assured your communication was not received 
 without producing that interest which a sincere and 
 warm friendship requires. I wept with those that 
 weep, and I prayed with those that pray. Tell the 
 • bereaved family how much I sympathize with them, 
 and what a persuasion I have that the Grod of my de- 
 
162 SELECTIONS FliOM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 parted friend will be “the Father of the fatherless, and 
 the husband of the widow in his holy habitation,'’ and 
 in their own. How surprising was the event! How 
 ■well he seemed when I shook hands with him, alas ! 
 for the last time, at the coach-door ! I knew the year 
 before he sometimes complained, but was not aware 
 that the least danger of such an issue was attached to 
 the complaint. W ell, nothing has occurred by chance ; 
 a sparrow falls not to the ground without our heavenly 
 Father, and the very hairs of our head are all num- 
 bered. And be it remembered ever, that while He 
 does all things, he does all things well. His dispen- 
 sations are not only sovereign, but wise, righteous, and 
 kind — kind even when they seem to be severe. We 
 may be unable to explain them at present; but “we 
 know that the Messias cometh, which is called Christ, 
 and when he is come he will tell us all things.” Till 
 then, let us walk by faith, and give him a full credit 
 for the goodness of his designs, and the manner in 
 which they are accomplished. This is the way — the 
 only way — to reach rest in a world like this. “Thou 
 wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
 upon thee, because he trustetli in thee.” Though we 
 must not dictate, but leave it to God to determine by 
 what death we shall glorify him, such a dismission as 
 our lovely friend was favored with has always ap- 
 peared to me very enviable. The partings, 
 
 “ The pains, the groans, the dying strife 
 Fright our approaching souls away,’’ &c. 
 
 Here all this was prevented. ; and we can say over his 
 grave, 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 163 
 
 “A soul prepared needs no delays, 
 
 The summons comes, the saint obeys, 
 
 Swift was his flight and short the road, 
 
 He closed his eyes, and woke with God.” 
 
 I felt, too, for the shock your good wife must have 
 felt in her delicate situation ; and hope she is now dis- 
 burdened, and has forgotten her anguish for joy that 
 a man is born into this world. Kemember me to her ; 
 and to all the dear afflicted house, where I was so cor- 
 dially entertained. I do bear, and 1 will bear them 
 all upon my mind at the throne of grace — that refuge, 
 that resource of benevolence and friendship. I had 
 three funeral services to perform last week only. 
 What a dying world ! 
 
 Yours to esteem and serve, &c. 
 
 To Miss Harman. 
 
 Lymouth, August 11, 1830. 
 
 My dear Miss Harman, — Your very acceptable • 
 parcel arrived just before we set off from Bath. I am 
 much obliged by both the works, but you should not 
 have had them bound so expensively. Baxter’s “ Life” 
 we took with us, with some other mental and spiritual 
 provender; but when we got out of the coach at 
 Bridgewater, we left the parcel in the boat, and as 
 there was no direction upon it, we did not recover it 
 till two days ago. Though generally acquainted with 
 Baxter and his works, 1 find fnuch that is new and in- 
 teresting in the “ Life,” for you must know I have 
 nearly devoured it already, and even the charms of 
 this God-made spot could not draw me off from the 
 
164 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 perusal. Your lamented friend and pastor* has, I 
 think, done much justice to this extraordinary man ; 
 to his character , and to his publications — to the excel- 
 lences and infirmities of the one, and the orthodoxy 
 and errors of the other ; and I hope the book will be 
 largely circulated. Henry says it is impossible to read 
 the book of Psalms and not be inflamed or ashamed 
 by the perusal. I say the same of this work. But I 
 fear I shall be more shamed than fired. What piety ! 
 what diligence ! what sufferings ! what patience and 
 submission! Well, by the grace of God he was what 
 he was ; and the God of all grace remains the same, 
 and is within our reach in all that we call upon him 
 for. 
 
 Instead of growing tired of this Swiss village, we 
 admire it more than ever. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury 
 have been here four days with us ; and though they 
 have travelled much over our country, they prefer this 
 to everything they have seen. They occupied the 
 room you would have slept in, could I have had power 
 enough to overcome your good father’s objections. 
 Give my kindest love to him notwithstanding, for we 
 are bound to forgive; nor forget your dear mother, 
 who, I believe, pleaded for us. We all lament your 
 absence ; and Mrs. Jay and Miss Protheroe send their 
 most lovingest regards. I wish I could give a better 
 account of my most dear wife ; but she is very poorly, 
 and can hardly enjoy any of the pleasures of the place. 
 This is a sad deduction. “ Full bliss is bliss Divine.” 
 The weather, too, at present is much against her. To 
 supply your place imperfectly, a young pious lady, 
 and an old acquaintance, Miss Browning, from Ilfra- 
 * Rev. W. Orate, of Camberwell. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 165 
 
 combe, has come over to take lodgings near us, and 
 we find others are coming. But I wish not for more. 
 I wish to be entirely disengaged ; not, however, to be 
 idle, but to be at liberty to use my pen, — and I do use 
 it daily, as much as comports with the design of the 
 excursion. What a work is this in France ! I trust 
 no violence and excess will mar it ; yet I could wish 
 that the wretched family of the Bourbons was entirely 
 excluded. I always felt a persuasion that Providence 
 would destroy it. Much yet remains to be done in 
 the Popish countries. Adieu, my dear Miss Harman. 
 The Lord bless thee and keep thee. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 To his son Edward . 
 
 London, June, 1832 . 
 
 I FULLY intended returning home to-morrow, but 
 circumstances have determined us to go round by 
 Henley, as Mr. Bolton is not very well. I cannot, 
 therefore, be at home before Thursday evening ; and, 
 therefore, it will be necessary to engage some one to 
 preach. We shall be taken up at Reading by the 
 new company’s coach. I have secured our places. 
 Anne comes by the same coach to-morrow ; let her be 
 looked out for, and see that her parcels be safe. Your 
 « precious mother is pretty well upon the whole ; but 
 she has been too much excited, and I long to get her 
 home. We have been much crowded. Last Friday 
 I dined at the Lord Mayor’s, and met a very agreeable 
 and interesting company, the lion of which was His 
 Highness the Rajah Rammohun Roy. You cannot 
 imagine what a full-minded, and clever, and agreeable 
 
166 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 man he is ; always more than a match for any one 
 who disputed with him, especially the Tories— and we 
 had several of them. As it was known that he was 
 to hear me at Surrey Chapel last evening, we were not 
 only full, but hundreds went away. He came in his 
 carriage, ten minutes before six, with Dr. Henry and 
 Archdeacon Stockport, and was conducted to a good 
 place for seeing and hearing. His fine figure, and his 
 rich and elegant costume, attracted every eye. He 
 was observed to give great attention, and frequently 
 jogged his companions without taking off his eye from 
 the pulpit. I preached an hour and a quarter, raised 
 above the fear of man by previous retirement. When 
 it was over, he said, loud enough to be heard by many, 
 “ I must have this sermon, and publish it.” He came 
 into the house, with immense difficulty pressing 
 through the crowd in the yard, all waiting to see 
 him. The house also, in both rooms, was full. The 
 pleasure he expressed from hearing the sermon, before 
 all the people present, was really affecting. It so com- 
 pletely met with his sentiments, he said, that he hoped 
 I would not deny him the sermon to publish himself, 
 and circulate among his friends. I tried to decline, 
 till delicacy would permit it no longer ; and so I have 
 committed myself, and must w r rite it out as soon as I 
 come back, for he is going to the Continent in a few 
 weeks. Dr. Henry and the archdeacon were especially 
 delighted ; and when I said to the former, “ Doctor, I 
 fear you have suffered from the crowd and the heat,” 
 he replied, u Sir, I felt nothing but the sermon.” You 
 see, my dear boy, I keep back nothing from you ; but 
 I could not say all this to others-. Grarfit does not 
 seem amended. I have just walked with him to the 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 167 
 
 Mansion House. The Lord Mayor could not attend 
 yesterday, but the Lady Mayoress was present with a 
 very splendid carriage. Kindest regards to Mrs. Bur- 
 ton ; and kiss Margaret for me, if you do not object 
 to it. 
 
 Your affectionate father, &c. 
 
 To the Rajah Rammohun Roy . 
 
 Sin, — I herewith transmit the manuscript of the 
 sermon you so candidly heard, and, so unexpectedly 
 to the preacher, wished to see and to circulate. I could 
 not send it earlier, owing to my travelling, and the nu- 
 merous engagements and interruptions I met with im- 
 mediately on mv return. Your Highness will observe 
 that 1 had not written the sermon previously, but de- 
 livered it from short notes only ; and, therefore, I 
 should have had more difficulty in recalling the lan- 
 guage as well as the sentiments, had not a friend fur- 
 nished me with a short-hand copy. In consequence 
 of this the discourse will be found more than substan- 
 tially the same with what was spoken from the pulpit. 
 In the very trifling alterations I have made, I did not 
 attempt to reduce the free and popular mode of address 
 I assumed, and which was so requisite in so very large 
 and mixed a multitude of hearers. For want of this 
 many preachers preach inefficiently, or sacrifice im- 
 pression on the mass to the gratification of the few* 
 The manner of the Great Teacher sent from God may 
 be inferred from the reproach, which was yet an eulo- 
 gium, — “the common people heard him gladly.” 
 
 It is presumed that the~e may be some few things in 
 
168 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 the discourse in which your Highness may not entire- 
 ly coincide ; but it afforded me pleasure to conclude 
 from your request that, upon the whole, and as having 
 some useful bearings, it has met your Highness’ ap- 
 probation. I commend it to the Divine influence ; 
 and, imploring the blessing of God upon your High- 
 ness, permit me to subscribe myself, 
 
 Your Highness’ obliged and humble servant, 
 
 William Jay. 
 
 Bath, June 29, 1832. 
 
 To his Son Edward . 
 
 Weymouth, August 22, 1832. 
 
 I drop you a line to say we received the basket of 
 fruit safe and sound. * * * * So your precious 
 
 mother instantly made up a nice little present for Lord 
 
 and Lady W , who were at the Eoyal Hotel, in 
 
 their way back from Guernsey to Sidmouth, and who, 
 hearing of us, called, and said, if I preached on the 
 Sunday they would stay over the day. They did so ; 
 and this gave me an opportunity of several interviews. 
 I like them both much, as far as I have conversed 
 with them. She knows the truth, and I really believe 
 feels the power of it ; and is resisting all the fanati- 
 cism that rages in the West of England, and all around 
 Sidmouth. He seems very amiable and promising, 
 and is exceedingly attached to his wife. He is a thor- 
 ough Whig ; says he was a member for one of his 
 father’s rotten boroughs, but was bound hand and foot, 
 and obliged to vote on the wrong side, and would not 
 endure the farce any longer. He says he reads my 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 169 
 
 u Exercises” every day, and uses my “ Prayers.” They 
 much wish to come and live in the near neighborhood 
 of Bath. * * * * Give my best regards to our 
 
 elders and friends, and let them be immediately in- 
 formed of my return. They will see that I have not 
 encroached upon their kindness, taking in part but 
 two Sabbaths, for the other pertained to my month of 
 privilege. But where love actuates, we do not need 
 restraints and rules. I love home, and never preach 
 with so much pleasure as in Argyle Chapel, where I 
 have employed for God the flower, yea, the far larger 
 part, of my whole life. And, blessed be His name, 
 He has not withholden tokens of his approbation. I 
 refer not only to my own church, but to strangers 
 also who occasionally attend there. A lady who lives 
 in a neighboring village called in her carriage the other 
 morning, and said that eighteen years ago she was at 
 Bath with her gay companions, but felt an inclination 
 one evening to leave them and go to Argyle. I preach- 
 ed, she said, from — “ Is not this a brand plucked out 
 of the fire ?’’ From that time she left the world, and 
 has been ever since not only blessed, but a blessing. 
 She came to hear me on Sabbath morning, and I have 
 been to her house. 
 
 Tell Mrs. Hallet and Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths, with my 
 kindest respects, that Mrs. Chamberlaine is to be mar- 
 ried very soon to a gentleman, a local Wesleyan preach- 
 er at Colne. I had this from herself. Mrs. Parsons 
 also is not without hope, though she lost her admirer 
 here some time ago : another is coming forward with 
 only seven children! Well done, little Cupid! All 
 join in dearest love to all, with, &c, . 
 
 8 
 
170 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 To Miss Harman. 
 
 June 29, 1832. 
 
 My dear Miss Harman, — You know how I admire 
 that precious little text, u By love serve one another.” 
 Could it be brought into general operation, it would 
 soon turn our wretched earth into u a garden of the 
 Lord.” I believe I know you have no objection to it, 
 for we have long put it to the test. But I am never 
 very prolix in my introductions. This, therefore, is to 
 say that, coming to London, and returning from it, we 
 had some coffee at Thatcham after dinner ; we think it 
 the best we ever drank ; and Miss Fromont told us 
 she bought it of Mr. North, near the Bridewell Hos- 
 pital, Blackfriars. Will you, therefore, when you go 
 by, call there, and purchase for us four pounds, and 
 send it by the new companj^’s coach ? I here pledge 
 myself to repay you — not, however, I suppose, when 
 you come down at the end of the month, to go with 
 us to Ilfracombe. We got home safe and well. My 
 precious invalid was very little tired. She now, in 
 very strange language, (for I know her meaning,) begs 
 to be remembered to you, and says, it is very hard the 
 woman won’t let him come. Amidst many engage- 
 ments and interruptions, always multiplied on return- 
 ing home, I have just finished my transcript for the 
 Rajah, and am now (it is Friday evening) preparing 
 for the Sabbath. Preaching is trying work this weather ; 
 so you say is hearing, unless the pastor makes us lie 
 down in green pastures, and feedeth us beside the still 
 waters. How delightful the five points would be now 
 treated in the jargon of the school-theology ! O my 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 171 
 
 charming Bible, how I love thy simplicity, and gran- 
 deur, and grace! Prov., vi. 21, 22. 
 
 One of my best members died the day after my re- 
 turn. She was “ an old disciple, ” whose life was 
 goodness and whose end was peace. With best re- 
 spects to your good father and mother, I have but 
 just time to subscribe myself, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Lord Barham to Mr. Jay. 
 
 London, December 31, 1834. 
 
 My dear Mr. Jay, — You will be glad to hear that 
 we arrived safely in town, though the fog was so thick 
 on Saturday evening as we approached London, that 
 we were in some danger of an overturn by driving up 
 a bank. Parliament, you see, is at last dissolved. 
 Some Tories I have seen, think that this is a very un- 
 wise measure for their own interests. They have now 
 nothing to fall back upon, which they would have had 
 if they had first endeavored to meet the now late Par- 
 liament. May the Lord direct the ensuing election as 
 shall best promote the nation’s good ! 
 
 We were very sorry not to see you the morning we 
 left Bath. We hope dear Mrs. Jay continues pretty 
 well. We beg our most kind regards to her. Will 
 you accept our little offering for the rich gratification 
 and edification we have enjoyed from our late attend- 
 ance upon your much- valued instruction ? And be- 
 lieve me, my dear Mr. Jay, 
 
 With much respect and affection, 
 
 Your obliged friend, 
 
 Barham. 
 
172 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Mr. Jay to Lord Barham. 
 
 Bath, July 11, 1835. 
 
 My dear Lord Barham, — I was out when your 
 letter arrived, and I have been since engaged, even to 
 engrossment. As your Lordship says nothing of your 
 own, or Lady Barham’s health, I hope you are both in 
 the enjoyment of that greatest of all temporal bless- 
 ings. My dear Mrs. J ay has not been so well for the 
 last month as usual, and seems to grow weaker. Of 
 course my trial is increased, and I live in constant 
 alarm and anxiety. But He, whose we are and whom 
 we serve, knows what we need, and has engaged to 
 make our strength equal to our day. 
 
 Did your Lordship see, in the “ Christian Observer” 
 about three months ago, an extract from the “ Remi- 
 niscences of Dr. Valpy” concerning Mrs. More, and the 
 account which he says she gave him of her communing 
 once in Argyle Chapel ? Never was there such a tissue 
 of misrepresentation ; and, could I believe that Mrs. 
 More had been capable of uttering it, I should never 
 feel respect for her memory, or read her works with 
 pleasure again. But she had a mind too good and 
 honorable to express what, as coming from her, would 
 have been no less than falsehood, to serve the purpose 
 of what she hated, bigotry . I was urged to write to 
 the editor, but I declined. All these things will get 
 rectified and known in due time ; and then some illib- 
 erals may feel a little mortification, though it is almost 
 unreasonable to expect a thorough -paced ecclesiastic 
 to blush. 
 
 I hardly know what to say to your Lordship’s ques- 
 tion. I have always considered high Churchism and 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 173 
 
 low Popery as nearly the same ; or the difference be- 
 tween them as the difference between the tadpole and 
 the toad. None of our passions so readily assume 
 the mask of rectitude and religion as anger ; but “the 
 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” 
 Many, I fear, “ know not what manner of spirit they 
 are of or forget that it is said of our Example as 
 well as Saviour, “ He shall not strive nor cry, nor 
 cause his voice to be heard in the streets ; a bruised 
 reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he 
 not quench.” If “ the servant of the Lord must not 
 strive, but be gentle towards all men,” violence, and 
 defiance, and scorn, and insult, are not the weapons 
 of our warfare. “ He that winneth souls is wise ;” — 
 and the best way to convert men, or at least to induce 
 them to attend to what we advocate, is to convince 
 them that we love them, and desire to do them good. 
 Between ourselves, I have always thought that these 
 Reformation Meetings would do more hurt than good ; 
 and I am persuaded they have already increased Pope- 
 ry, by awakening zeal and courage in its defence ; and 
 flattering its adherents (for they must feel delight in 
 such announcements) as amazingly multiplying, and 
 endangering Protestantism and the Church. But if 
 the Church be in danger, it is not the Church of 
 Christ ; or He was mistaken when He said, “ On this 
 rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell 
 shall not prevail against it” “Secret things belong to 
 the Lord,” but we must act according to his will, and 
 do justly, and do unto others as we would have oth- 
 ers do unto us. I cannot, therefore, but believe we 
 have done what God approves, in “ loosening every 
 yoke and letting the oppressed go free.” I was, there* 
 
174 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 fore, a friend, and I am still a friend, to the Catholic 
 Emancipation. Everything like persecution is hate- 
 ful to the meek and lowly religion of the Lamb of 
 God ; as we see in his rebuke to James and John, with 
 regard to the Samaritans who had not received him, 
 “ The Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, 
 but to save them.” I should be ashamed to take a lib- 
 erty to think and act for myself in religion which I 
 was unwilling to grant. Neither am I afraid of Pope- 
 ry — neither do I believe in its increase, but as papists 
 increase relatively with other parts of our population, 
 or in some few and particular places by occasional in- 
 fluxes of Irish. But why are not some individuals 
 ashamed to let out what they believe to be a fact — 
 “ Popery increasing, amazingly increasing,” without 
 the encouragement of the State ! without an Establish- 
 ment ! against an Establishment ! and a richly-endow- 
 ed Church doing nothing ! Yea, retrograding and in 
 danger of coming to naught ! What ! has this pure 
 and Apostolical institution been tried so long in Ire- 
 land, and found wanting ? And while we abhor 
 Popery, we must be candid enough not to wonder that 
 upwards of six millions, brought up in the religion of 
 their forefathers, should feel an Establishment over 
 them, consisting of so small a minority ; for how small 
 is it when all the other Protestant parties are deduct- 
 ed? Was there ever such a state of things in any 
 other country under heaven ? With regard to some of 
 the wretched and alarming tenets of Popery, (though 
 these are seldom war- whooped by many churchmen, till 
 some movement seems to threaten the loaves and 
 fishes,) we may ask, how would some other parties 
 appear, if some of their former and abstracter prin- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 175 
 
 ciples were to be published among them now ? Take 
 Knox’s pleading for destroying papists as idolaters ; 
 and the Church of Scotland’s confession of the duty 
 of exterminating prelacy ; and Dr. Dopping’s Sermon 
 (Bishop of Meath) that no faith should be kept with 
 papists, &c., and trumpet this at Exeter Hall, and run 
 down those who are regarded as brethren ! 
 
 Besides, if Popery is the same, the times, the state 
 of society, and public opinion are not the same. Pa- 
 pists, however disposed, could not put a heretic to death, 
 or imprison him in any country, even where it prevails. 
 Neither will it be ever able to do it again ; the power 
 is gone forever. Look at Germany — look at Switzer- 
 land, where some cantons are popish and some protest- 
 ant ; and some consisting of both intermingled ; and 
 exercising alternately the same places of worship. See 
 America. Is Popery, civilly and politically, more 
 dreaded than any other denomination ? The reason 
 is, they are all tolerated, and none exclusively favor- 
 ed. How true is your Lordship’s remark, that “ polit- 
 ical opinion tinges all information.” But let us judge 
 as well as we can for ourselves. Let us be zealous in 
 doing our Lord’s work while it is day ; but let us do 
 it in his own spirit. I am no croaker. I am persuad- 
 ed real religion is advancing ; and I know that “ the 
 knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth,” &c., 
 “for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” How 
 glad I should be to talk over many of these things 
 with your Lordship, but I have not time to enlarge 
 this letter. 
 
 We all unite in best regards to your much esteem- 
 ed Lady Barham. 
 
 And believe me, &c. 
 
176 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 [Note by the Editors .] 
 
 The reader of this letter must not fail to observe 
 its date, and to remember that it was written nearly 
 twenty years ago ; a circumstance which, if in the pe- 
 rusal he felt any surprise at the tone in which Mr. Jay 
 speaks of Popery, will tend considerably to explain 
 the tone used, and abate the surprise of the reader. 
 The movements on behalf of Protestantism at that day 
 were of a totally different character from those of our 
 own. Had Mr. Jay been alive, and required to ex- 
 press his opinion on the subject of Roman Catholic 
 claims and emancipation now, especially in view of 
 Dr. Wiseman’s elevation to the Cardinalate, and the 
 creation of an ecclesiastical hierarchy, based on, and 
 designed to enforce, the infamous Canon Law of Rome, 
 we believe he would have somewhat modified his lan- 
 guage and opinion. He might not, any more than 
 ourselves, have changed his opinion on the expediency 
 of admitting Roman Catholics to equal civil and polit- 
 ical privileges ; but he would certainly have express- 
 ed his indignation, disgust, and alarm at the turbulent, 
 encroaching, and intolerant spirit of the papacy, and 
 its abettors in Ireland, which, instead of remaining sat- 
 isfied, as it was understood it would be, with the con- 
 cessions of the Relief Bill, has used it only as a van- 
 tage-ground, from which to urge further demands, till 
 it has become too apparent that it aspires at nothing 
 less than a political and ecclesiastical supremacy. Nor 
 would Mr. Jay, had he written upon the subject at the 
 present time, have expressed himself so confidently of 
 the safety of concession, after what has taken place in 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 177 
 
 Tuscany, and even in Ireland. An intolerant religion 
 is always and everywhere an enemy, and even the 
 greatest of enemies, to the well-being of states. Those 
 who execrate liberty of conscience, and would extir- 
 pate heretics by the secular sword, ought to be indulg- 
 ed with only a limited power, but never entrusted 
 with the liberties of England, while they declare that 
 their object is to introduce the Canon Law , which is 
 thoroughly intolerant, and bitterly persecuting against 
 subjects, as well as treasonable against royalty. In 
 contemplation of such facts, Mr. Jay could have view- 
 ed the whole Roman hierarchy as merely an organized 
 conspiracy against the liberties of the world. Their 
 view of liberty is a freedom granted to ecclesiastics 
 to sustain the laity ; while they deem themselves 
 persecuted if they are restrained from persecuting 
 others. 
 
 We wish also to offer a remark upon Mr. Jay’s 
 views of the Irish Church. As nonconformists our- 
 selves, we cannot but coincide generally with his re- 
 marks on this subject ; and yet we are not forgetful 
 that a more devoted and laborious ministry does not 
 exist than may be found in many of the parishes of 
 the Established Church in Ireland. Their successful 
 efforts for the conversion and emancipation of the 
 miserable slaves of Roman Catholic superstition and 
 tyranny, as set forth in the statements of the Society 
 for Irish Church Missions, entitle them to the highest 
 praise ; while the pitiless persecution endured by their 
 agents and converts should call forth the sympathy of 
 the Protestant world, and at the same time convince 
 it, that Popery, either at home or abroad, is the in* 
 exorable enemy of all liberty, whether civil or re* 
 
 8 * " 
 
178 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 ligious, though the loudest clamorers for both, when 
 it is deprived of the means of encroaching on the lib- 
 erty of others. 
 
 Lady Barham to Mr . Jay . 
 
 1838. 
 
 Dear Mr. Jay, — You will have seen by the papers 
 the loss my dear husband has sustained in his father, 
 who died last Wednesday, leaving behind him many 
 pleasing instances of his heart having been renewed ; 
 and to us the delightful hope of his having entered 
 into glory — entered upon that endless life of bliss. I 
 shall indeed be very happy to present your “ Morning 
 and Evening Portion” to the Queen. I think it would 
 be well to write a note with them , expressing your 
 humble hope that Her Majesty will condescend to ac- 
 cept of your book, which has already had the honor 
 to have been graciously received at the court of Peters- 
 burg, &c. 
 
 I have written this to you to give you an idea (as 
 you wished) of the manner in which Her Majesty gen- 
 erally is addressed ; and then you will of course write 
 what you like, only after this fashion. I think it 
 would be better not to write the Queen’s name in the 
 books. Perhaps mentioning where they had' been re- 
 ceived would be an additional inducement to her to 
 read them. 
 
 Will you give my kind and Christian love to dear 
 Mrs. Jay, in which Lord Barham joins, and also in 
 best remembrance to yourself? When I see Mrs. Wil* 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 179 
 
 man I can deliver your message to her. She is now 
 staying at Eston. 
 
 Believe me, dear Mr. Jay, 
 
 Yours respectfully and sincerely, 
 
 F. Barham. 
 
 CatmOre Lodge, Feb. 26, 1838. 
 
 TO THE QUEEN, 
 
 On presenting to Her Majesty a copy of the 11 Morning 
 and Evening Exercises 
 
 Bath, March, 1838. 
 
 Madam, — Will your Majesty pardon the freedom 
 of one of your loyal subjects, and graciously conde- 
 scend to accept this humble offering at his hand ? 
 
 The Author has long been honored with the inti- 
 macy of Lord Barham, and his excellent lady has 
 kindly and readily offered to present the work to your 
 Majesty. 
 
 The publication is designed to furnish the reader 
 with a text of Scripture for every morning and even- 
 ing in the year, accompanied with very brief reflec- 
 tions ; the better suited to those who have multiplied 
 engagements, and yet are concerned to feel their de- 
 pendence upon God, and not lose his approbation in 
 the discharge of them. 
 
 Though the writer is very sensible of the imperfec- 
 tions of his work, yet he is not a little encouraged by 
 hearing of its continued circulation ; the reception it 
 has met with in some of the higher walks of life ; the 
 approbation of it expressed by Her Majesty the Em- 
 press of Russia ; the notice it has obtained from sev- 
 
180 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 eral of your Majesty’s illustrious House ; and, above 
 all, the blessing of God, which has honored it with 
 many tokens of usefulness. 
 
 Though he will be unknown to your Majesty, there 
 is not one in all your applauding empire who more 
 sincerely and earnestly prays for your Majesty’s safety 
 and happiness, than, 
 
 May it please your Majesty, 
 
 Your Majesty’s most humble servant and dutiful 
 subject, 
 
 The Author. 
 
 To Miss Head. 
 
 Bath, March 8, 1838. 
 
 * * * * You see from her information 
 
 ( from America ), and she is not querulous, that religion 
 is not in such a state as we could wish ; and that the 
 preaching is defective, because the preachers there (as 
 too often here ) wish to appear to be learned and intel- 
 lectual, and so the common people, who heard our 
 dear Lord gladly, and understood and felt him, “look 
 up and are not fed.” What can the mass of an au- 
 dience do with nice distinctions, and abstruse reason- 
 ings, and long argumentative paragraphs ? A preach- 
 er may as well take a fiddle into the pulpit, and better 
 too, especially if he could make the people dance ; this 
 bodily exercise would profit a little. “The words 
 of the wise are as goads and as nails.” Let ministers 
 read Bunyan, and Leighton, and Henry, and Flavel, 
 and many more, under whose ministry “the poor had 
 the Gospel preached unto them.” However well com- 
 posed (according to a certain standard) I could not sit 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 181 
 
 patiently under many an American and many an Eng- 
 lish preacher, though I should not do as I knew a 
 man (for I can vouch, and many more now living, for 
 the truth of the fact) at Avebury some years ago. He, 
 one Sunday afternoon, after listening for some time to 
 a sermon, correct enough, but perfectly dry and unin- 
 teresting, rushed up from the aisle, and pulled the man 
 
 — the Rev. Mr. Gr by the collar out of the pulpit, 
 
 and then with his iron-tipped shoes kicked the pulpit 
 in pieces, for which he was confined five months in 
 Fisherton gaol, but for which he ought to have had a 
 statue erected to his memory. Poor fellow, I well re- 
 member him. The last time I saw him, after mowing 
 all day, he had walked six miles, and had the same 
 distance to return, to get something to affect his poor 
 heart , , and which he could think of when whetting his 
 scythe, or eating his crust upon the new-mown swath. 
 Our old divines and the Methodist preachers, when 
 they just sprung up, had something to rend or melt , to 
 strike and stick — to lead their hearers to think of again 
 and again when alone, and to talk of again and again 
 when in company. But what is the recommendation 
 of many of the moderns ? Oh, they glitter — -they do 
 — but, as Foster says, with/r0s£. You know my fond- 
 ness (amounting almost to idolatry) of dear John . 
 What a pretty sentiment is this which I recently met 
 with from one of his pilgrims ! I give it the more 
 readily because I am sure my dear friend can make it 
 her own . “ I always loved to hear of my Lord, and 
 
 wherever I saw the print of his shoe, I wished to put 
 my foot.” There — is not that as good as some ser- 
 mons? Do you think there was ever such another 
 tinker in all the world ? When I was last week with 
 
182 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 jour friend, the blind clergyman, (bis sister- in law now 
 comes to our Monday evening meeting,) I was speak- 
 ing of Bunyan’s “Holy War.” This he had never 
 read. I long to hear how he liked it. I was going 
 foolishly to say, I wish I had never read it, but had 
 the entire pleasure to come . How I should like to read 
 it through to your uncle and aunt, and weep over 
 parts of it together ! Though the image of war is not 
 so agreeable as that of a pilgrimage, and though, as a 
 whole, the “ Holy War” is not equal to its predecessor, 
 yet I am surprised that it is not more read, and I can- 
 not but think some parts of it are peculiarly affecting 
 — witness the sending of the letter to Immanuel by 
 Mr. Weteyes ; the difficulty of destroying the doubters , &c. 
 I cannot endure transcription, and therefore I send 
 you (preserve it, for I have no copy) a passage which 
 Mr. Bedford had just found in, and translated from, 
 Milton’s Second Defence, in Latin, of the people of 
 England in putting Charles to death. He felt it, dear 
 man ; it came home to his own affliction ; and I ob- 
 served he was not a little moved when his daughter 
 
 read it for him. * * * * * 
 
 * * * 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 To Miss Head. 
 
 Bath, Nov. 27 , 1838 . 
 
 Now for a little news for maiden ladies — and even 
 good and pious maiden ladies like a bit, let them say 
 what they will ; and why, in the name of wonder, 
 should they not? First . We had a series of glorious 
 services af N ur Missionary Meeting; and how pleasing 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 183 
 
 and satisfactory is it that the spirit of these benevolent 
 convocations keeps up! Secondly. We have had four 
 deaths in our congregation since I saw you — Mr. Slow- 
 come, an attorney, perfectly sudden; Mrs. Widcombe, 
 a poor woman whom I think you knew, chargeable 
 with considerable faults, yet of Quixotic kindness and 
 liberality ; Miss Peacock, a precious soul, and without 
 any of that bird’s vanity and pride ; and Mr. Smith, 
 who has left a widow and four children. You remem- 
 ber her sufferings two years ago, when she lost three 
 lovely children almost together, at the time her hus- 
 band was in prison, but not for crime. Thirdly . I 
 have just received an imperial green-gage plum-tree 
 from Worthing, the sight of which brought, O what 
 vivid recollections of the dear company and delight- 
 ful hours enjoyed there!! Fourthly . Last week Bella 
 wrote, inquiring after your welfare, and begging her 
 love “ to dear Miss Head.” They were transported, 
 she said, with the prospect of coming to Bath, before 
 which then seven Sabbaths were to intervene, now six. 
 Fifthly. I put down things as they occur ; as friend- 
 ship is free and open, I must inform you that Mr. 
 
 W has left me <£200, free of legacy duty; but it 
 
 is after his wife’s death. Whether all he has left is in 
 the same way, I cannot tell ; but I believe he has left 
 more than £10,000 to various institutions. Mrs. Jay 
 feels and talks of his death very much. He was a 
 great favorite with her ; and we have known him inti- 
 mately for fifty years nearly. Sixthly. To-day we had 
 
 a letter from Lord , who is on a visit to the Queen 
 
 at Windsor. He says, “he thought dear Mrs. Jay 
 would like to have a line from thence , and learn how 
 well our amiable and excellent Queen is, and also 
 
184 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Lady .” He laments the bigotry of Wilberforce’s 
 
 life ; and says, 44 1 have just seen Miss , who says, 
 
 4 Mr. Wilberforce said to me, a few weeks only before 
 his death,’ 'my sons are sad high churchmen — all 
 trumpery and nonsense.’” Seventhly . Sunday: I 
 was again in Bristol, and preached at Hew Brunswick 
 Chapel, to immense congregations, for the Sunday- 
 school. I called on the Dean, Dr. Lamb, but he and 
 his wife are now at Cambridge. I dined with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hare, who will not be satisfied till you and Mrs. 
 Jay have paid them a visit. 
 
 I only add that I love a laugh when it leaves no 
 sting in the conscience, or stain upon the mind ; and 
 that such a laugh cannot be disagreeable to your uncle 
 in his long solitudes, and (I love to hear him laugh, he 
 does it so heartily) tell him, therefore, I lately heard of 
 an Irishman who was very ill, and who, when the 
 physician told him he must prescribe an emetic for 
 him, answered, “Indeed, doctor, an emetic will never 
 do me no good, for I have taken several, and could 
 never keep one of them upon my stomach.” Walter 
 Scott says, 44 When in Ireland a poor man did some- 
 thing for me, and having no change, I gave him a 
 shilling instead of a sixpence, saying, ‘Now, Paddy, 
 remember you owe me sixpence.’ 4 God bless your 
 honor,’ said he, 4 and may you live till I pay it.’ ” 
 
 44 1 walked,” says a gentleman, 44 into one of their 
 fields, and to try him, I said to one of the haymakers, 
 4 Well, Pat, if the devil was to come and fetch one of 
 ns, which would he take first?’ 4 O surely,’ said he, 
 
 4 myself, ’ 4 Why so ?’ 4 Because he ’s sure enough of 
 your honor at any time.’ ” 
 
 Mrs. Jay joins in all loving kindness with, &c. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 185 
 
 To Miss Harman . 
 
 Bath, January 7, *24. 
 
 Upon the reception of your letter with a second sor- 
 rowful announcement, I thought I would not write to 
 you again for some days, till you would have gone 
 through a fresh painful service, and he a little more 
 composed, and be able to receive an epistolary visit. 
 But after our long and endeared friendship, I cannot 
 refrain from breaking in upon you immediately, lest 
 you should think we do not sympathize with you, so 
 much as I am sure we really do. I say we, for my 
 precious invalid, to whom your letter was addressed, 
 deeply feels for you, as well as myself, under these 
 sudden and closely successive losses of a father and a 
 mother. May He whose property it is to comfort those 
 who are cast down be a very present help in this time 
 of trouble. I know your judgment will immediately 
 acquiesce in this trying dispensation, because He has 
 done it ; and if your feelings are not so easily ruled, 
 and nature now and then seems ready to repine, do 
 not condemn yourself as destitute of submission, while 
 your desire is to the Lord, for He knows your frame, 
 and looks to the heart. You have too, and these must 
 not be overlooked, many alleviations and comforts to 
 mingle in your affliction, especially that the dear de- 
 parted are disposed of infinitely to their advantage, 
 and after being continued to you so long, while you 
 have a good hope through grace that, in due time, yo: 
 will be received by them into everlasting habitations. 
 Were I near, how gladly would I call and weep with 
 you ; but Mrs. Jay and myself do hope that you will 
 relieve the scene as soon as possible by a change, and 
 
186 SELECTIONS I ROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 let us have the great pleasure of welcoming you under 
 our roof for a season. The travelling is now nothing, 
 and the old, I will not call it an excuse , for I am sure 
 it was not, but prevention, is removed. You shall in- 
 terpret my dear wife’s language, which you can do 
 better than any other, and ride out with her in the 
 carriage ; and I will give you as much of my company 
 as I can afford, and you shall detect me if I preach old 
 sermons, &c. Mrs. Ashton is now with us, as her hus- 
 band, through business, was obliged to return before 
 her, and will return, I expect, to-morrow week. But 
 should you be able to journey before she goes, we 
 have plenty of accommodation, and she will be de- 
 lighted to see you here. She joins with her dear 
 mother and myself in every kind and tender regard. 
 
 My dear wife says you must come, and you know 
 her husband seldom differs from her. — In haste, &c. 
 
 Rev. T. Orinfield to Mr. Jay. 
 
 Clifton, February 6, 1841. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I am sure the well-known kindness of 
 your nature will pardon the freedom I take (as an un- 
 known stranger) in sending a transcript of some lines 
 which appear in the 11 Bristol Journal ” of this morning* 
 They were almost an irrepressible effusion of feeling 
 on the occasion mentioned. And, having just perus- 
 ed the beautiful account, in the same journal, of the 
 jubilee proceedings of Tuesday last, I cannot refrain 
 from begging your acceptance of my mite among so 
 many worthier offerings. Born at Bath, about two 
 years before the commencement of your ministry, I 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 187 
 
 well remember having often heard a beloved mother 
 speak with pleasure of your early popularity and use- 
 fulness. And though I have enjoyed but four or five 
 opportunities (few and far between) of hearing you, 
 (once years ago at Bridge-street, for the Moravian Mis- 
 sions, once at Broadmead, on “ grace and truth” com- 
 ing by Christ, once at Lady Huntingdon’s, on the fine 
 analogy between the influence of the Rain and Snow 
 and that of God’s Word,) I have retained a most pleas- 
 ing impression of your preaching, and congratulate 
 those who could statedly enjoy it ; while I cannot 
 wonder at their zeal in expressing their regard for one 
 who had so well secured it. Excuse this trespass upon 
 your time and attention, and permit me to subscribe 
 myself, with every sentiment of respect and esteem, 
 Yours sincerely, Thomas Grinfield. 
 
 P. S. I rather think you remember my school-fellow 
 at Mr. Simons’, of Paul’s Cray, Kent — Cornelius Neale, 
 who used to see you at his father’s, and to speak of 
 you to myself as early as 1804. Your “ Christian 
 Contemplated” I read with admiring delight. 
 
 Lines 
 
 Occasioned by the perusal of the very interesting Sermon delivered 
 on Sunday, January 31st, 1841, in Argyle Chapel, Bath, by the 
 Rev. William Jay, on the completion of the Fiftieth Year of his 
 ministry in that Chapel. 
 
 Dear venerable Pastor! whose career 
 Of laboring zeal hath closed its fiftieth year 
 Within those favored walls, where once thy youth, 
 
 Where still thine age, hath taught celestial truth ; 
 
 Well did thy flock, with grateful love, agre# 
 
 To celebrate thy Pastoral Jubilee ; 
 
188 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Honoring tlieir friend, their father, honoring Heaven, 
 
 Who such a father, friend, so long had given. 
 
 Oh ! in this changeful world, how few like thee, 
 
 Have trained one church through half a century; 
 
 With undeclining constancy like thine, 
 
 Alone, unaided, — save by strength Divine ! 
 
 How well in thee was piety combined 
 With kindly converse, and a master mind; 
 
 How well thy natural eloquence impress’d 
 Wisdom, devotion, on the listening breast ! 
 
 A spreading throng caught manna from thy lips, 
 
 Thy popularity knew no eclipse ; — 
 
 The wise, the good, still hail’d thy faithful course, 
 
 And with thy foremost friends, the sweet-soul’d Wilberforee. 
 Happy like him in enviable age ! 
 
 With Canaan opening on thy pilgrimage! 
 
 Oh ! golden sunset of a beauteous day ! 
 
 Soon in the clime of glory, thou too, Jay, 
 
 Midst the bright host slialt shine, a star of loveliest ray! 
 
 Thomas Grinfield. 
 
 To Miss Harman . 
 
 Bath, December, 1841. 
 
 W hat a blunderer am I ! I read in your extract 
 “ Home” for “ Rome.” This puzzled me, and under 
 the perplexity I instantly wrote to prevent hinderance ! 
 In future, I will (if anything perplexes me) read a let- 
 ter a second time before I answer it. 
 
 But now, in reply to your proposal. It does strike 
 me that your brother’s offer should be readily accept- 
 ed. Your motive w r ould not be unjustifiable were it 
 only rational gratification ; but it may be useful to your 
 health and spirits. You will also turn many things 
 (with your mind) to moral and pious account, while 
 you will yielc( satisfaction to a worthy youth whose 
 relations in America and in Bath will thank God for 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 189 
 
 the providence. As far, therefore, as the decision de- 
 pends upon me, I say go, and the Lord be with thee. 
 You will not, you cannot ', suppose that I wish you at 
 a greater distance than London, ( that being too far 
 away,) and nothing will be dearer to me than your re- 
 turn. But I see no one objection of weight, especially 
 as you will meet with Mrs. E. Jay, and her brother and 
 sister ; and your expenses will be defrayed by one 
 whom I long to thank on your behalf. But O, to 
 think how you will glory over us when you come 
 back, and “ once more mingle with us meaner things I” 
 But to prevent your despising us too much, you must 
 remember who maketh yon to differ, and that some of 
 us have not had the same opportunity or means. Let 
 this be an answer to Jay’s note. As I presume you 
 cannot set off before the beginning of the week, could 
 you not see Bella, who comes up on Monday ? If so, 
 appoint her by a line a place of interview ; but if you 
 can set off sooner, do not delay ; but let me have a 
 line as soon as you have arranged things, and blow 
 me a salutation in it. Shall the books be still sent ? 
 Have you seen the engraving ? I heard from Bartlet 
 last evening that Jay dislikes it. How sad, should it 
 not answer. You must not forget to correspond with 
 me, and I will do my goodest in return. Regards to 
 Mrs. Dore, &c. My respects to the Pope, but do not 
 kiss his toe. Get Paul’s old lodgings if you can, Acts, 
 xxviii. 30. And the “ goodwill of Him that dwelt in 
 the bush” be with you in going out and coming in. 
 
 Ever yours truly, &c. 
 
 I think you know Mark Wilks at Paris, otherwise 
 get a line from Mr. Burnet. 
 
190 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 To Miss Harman. 
 
 Bath, December 21, 1841. 
 
 1 have just received your kind letters to my wife 
 and to her husband. They are like your whole self, 
 or at least, like all you have exhibited towards us, 
 ever since we were indulged with your friendship. I 
 was a little anxious whether you would have made up 
 your mind so easily and so soon, till I heard again 
 from you, notwithstanding your obliging deference to 
 my opinion ; as, in such cases, after all, we must judge 
 for ourselves. But I cannot conceal my satisfaction at 
 your decision; and not entirely on a kind of selfish 
 account, but hoping that one so dear to us as you are 
 will derive pleasure and profit from so interesting a 
 prospect. O, that I could be your companion and 
 your chaplain ; and be able by-and-bye to say as you 
 will, — “I have seen Borne!” But the providence 
 which approves of your going requires me to “ sit 
 still.” But spirits like bodies are not fettered, and I 
 shall think of you much, and follow you much, and 
 shall expect a visit from you as soon as ever you 
 return, to tell us about it ; and to hold up your head 
 above us all while doing it ; As you write short-hand, 
 it will be inexcusable not to keep a kind of journal ; 
 and if you should wish to publish, who knows but I 
 may write a preface, and so our names be blended to- 
 gether before the world. Be attentive to your health, 
 and brace up your mind by some daily retirement for 
 meditation and prayer. Idle away none of the short 
 time you will be there ; and be sure to see and hear 
 what you cannot see after your return. Especially 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 191 
 
 observe whatever is connected with the sacred vol- 
 umes ; and neglect not to go u as far as Apil -forum 
 and the Three Taverns and for any expense you 
 may incur there I will be answerable. Whether any 
 one at Rome ever prayed for me before, I know not ; 
 but I shall prize your remembrance of me much more 
 than his Holiness’s, — yet if j^ou can get him to frank 
 yejur letters to a heretic, you will induce him to do one 
 good thing in his Pontificate. To induce him to do 
 this, or to enclose them with any of his missives, 
 please him by telling him how favorably things are 
 going on in the Church of England ; and how many 
 are longing to return home from their Reformation 
 wanderings. 
 
 What a feeling I have to see you both before your 
 departure ; and I assure you I have been trying to ar- 
 range things so as to allow of the pleasure ; but I 
 find it is not practicable. So I embrace you at a dis- 
 tance, and commend you to the God of our mercy. 
 Read this to-day with my love and concern, — and be- 
 lieve me, 
 
 Yours most truly, &c. 
 
 To Miss Head . 
 
 Worthing, August 21st, 1842. 
 
 I awoke this morning with the words upon my 
 mind, “ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” “ The 
 Lord’s day,” as you well know, means the day of our 
 Saviour’s resurrection ; and is so called because it was 
 dedicated and observed to the glory of his name, and 
 the service of his people. John’s being “ in the 
 
192 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Spirit” on this day, immediately intends a state of in- 
 spiration ; and this was abundantly exemplified in the 
 visions he received and reported. But we do well to 
 use the phrase (as we do in our prayers) to mean a pe- 
 culiar frame of mind under the ordinary agency of 
 the Spirit; and what is a Lord’s day without this? 
 Yet it struck me that there are two mistakes to which 
 we are liable concerning it. First — We are not* to 
 think we are not in the Spirit because we are not in a 
 lively and comfortable frame . Such a frame is not to 
 be undervalued ; but it may be overvalued, and it is 
 so, when we make it exclusive. For we want many 
 things besides consolation ; and we shall be a in the 
 Spirit” if we feel much of His enlightening, or con- 
 vincing, or humbling influences, and are more empty 
 of self at the end of the Sabbath, than at the beginning 
 of it. 
 
 And Secondly : — W e must not suppose that such a 
 Lord’s day is impossible, unless we are favored with 
 the usual , and social , and public means of grace. John 
 was away from all these in the mines of Patmos ; yet 
 he never had such a Sabbath before ; and the Lord, 
 who always teaches his children to love the temple, 
 will show them that he is not confined to it. Not that 
 we are to expect his presence when we can repair to 
 his sanctuary ; but if we are his prisoners , he will not 
 despise or forget us; but will render the house of 
 mourning or the chamber of sickness “ none other but 
 the house of God and the gate of heaven.” I know 
 not whether your present dutv deprives you of the 
 whole, or a part only, of your sanctuary privileges; 
 but in either case, apply to yourself, my beloved 
 friend, the remarks I have made ; and be sure to ap- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 193 
 
 ply them also to your precious sufferer under every 
 secret, silent, sightless Sabbath she may be called to 
 endure. I trust her confidence, and calmness, and com- 
 fort continue, and-that as her day, so is her strength. 
 
 I did not, however, mean to preach, but only to call 
 upon you in a letter for a few moments, and to ex- 
 change a few words ; though I forget that you always 
 in these written visits leave all the talk to myself — but 
 is this quite fair ? “ Bell’s Daily Advertiser” will 
 
 doubtless inform you of all that may be called news. 
 W e all go on much the same ; only by the goodness 
 of God, I feel much better, and seem to hope that I 
 may become, not a young man again, but what I was 
 before my several late indispositions ; and should this 
 be the case, I trust I shall improve the blessing, by 
 doing more than I have done for some time past. O 
 what a privilege is health and strength, when we not 
 only enjoy but employ them ! 
 
 My reading has been various since I have been 
 here ; my present engagement is with the life of 
 “Billy Dawson,” the celebrated Wesleyan preacher. 
 It is not well written, but it contains interesting and 
 profitable matter. He was truly a great man ; not 
 equal to our divine Bunyan, without learning, or at 
 least without academical preparation for the ministry. 
 * * * * * 
 
 I have just received a letter of three sheets from my 
 spiritual daughter, Miss Harris, at Caen in France. 
 Had I a private hand I would send it for your pe- 
 rusal ; as it would afford you pleasure to see how much 
 decision and yet gentleness and prudence she displays ; 
 and how useful, in a land of barrenness, she is likely 
 to be. I wish you had knowi her when she was in 
 
194 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Bath. Should she come there again, I must bring 
 Aer, or fetch you; and you will soon be like two 
 drops of water on a table when they touch and run 
 into one. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 To Mr . Rice Hopkins . 
 
 Bath, Dec. 10, 1849. 
 
 My Dear Sir, — I duly received your kind letter, 
 and also the pamphlet. In addition to all your former 
 kindnesses, I am much obliged by your remembering 
 my wish, and taking pains to gratify it. If the pub- 
 lishers (Jackson and Walford) would have no objec- 
 tion to inform you of the author, I should be glad to 
 be informed. But whoever was the writer, the work 
 is masterly, and cannot be easily answered. It falls in 
 with my views, which have never altered upon that 
 subject.* 
 
 I am glad you are in prospect of settlement with a 
 pastor, and pray for a blessing upon the approaching 
 union ; but I must decline your application, for my 
 attending at the reopening of your chapel. I do not 
 
 * The work here honored by the notice and commendation of Mr. 
 Jay, is entitled, “Objections to the Doctrine of Israel’s Future Res- 
 toration to Palestine, National Pre-eminence, <fcc. In Twelve Let- 
 ters to a Friend, with an Appendix. 1828.” Mr. Jay’s strong lan- 
 guage, used so late as the year 1849, informs us of his matured opin- 
 ion upon a subject which has long divided the judgment of the Chris- 
 tian Church, and upon which it will probably remain divided so 
 long as the two opposite modes of interpreting prophecy are fol- 
 lowed — the figurative and the literal ; or till the decisions of his- 
 tory shall supersede the comments of opinion. Mr. Swaine’s Work 
 lias received the commendation of many other eminent divines be- 
 sides Mr. Jay. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 195 
 
 like to refuse in anything such peculiarly kind friends 
 as Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins, — but Mr. and Mrs. Ashton 
 will be here at the time, and &c., &c. — 
 
 My dear Mrs. Jay is sitting by, and begs to join in 
 everything that is kind and loving to Mrs. Hopkins 
 and yourself, with, 
 
 My dear Sir, yours most truly, 
 
 William Jay. 
 
 To the same . 
 
 Bath, Jan. 7, 1850. 
 
 My Dear Sir, — I believe I thanked you for the 
 discovery and present of the letters I so much wished 
 to see, and I ought to have thanked you last week for 
 tracing out the clever author. The work is well writ- 
 ten, and the point well argued. Some things perhaps 
 may be added, and would require to be so, as the sub- 
 ject has excited so much attention since the publica- 
 tion. The works, however, I have not read ; but 
 when in Cambridge I met with Professor Lee, who is 
 very strong on Mr. Swaine’s side, and has lately pub- 
 lished a work on prophecy, in which there is much 
 which I should like him to see. So also is there, I am 
 told, in Professor Stuart’s work on the Revelations. I 
 should be glad to see a new edition of the Letters, and 
 would do what I could orally to notice and recommend 
 them in private and public ; but some rules which I 
 have laid down, and some fears of being at my time 
 of life drawn into controversial publicity, forbid my 
 writing a Preface. Give my best respects to Mr. 
 Swaine, though personally unknown, and hope he will 
 accept not my excuse but reason. 
 
196 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 The Ashtons are now with us, and with Mrs. Jay 
 join in best regards to Mrs. Hopkins and her husband, 
 with, my dear Sir, 
 
 ' Yours truly, &c. 
 
 To Lady Dude . 
 
 Bath, Dec. 29, 1846. 
 
 My dear Lady Ducie, — I thought I heard a jingle, 
 and examined the floor, but, finding nothing, I con- 
 cluded it was a lapsus auris. But does such honesty 
 grow everywhere ? Certainly wherever it is found it 
 ought to be rewarded. But to whom am I indebted? 
 As Lady Mary Wortley Montague says — “In all my 
 travels I never met with but two kinds of people — men 
 and women,” so the finder must be, I presume, male 
 or female ; and as your ladyship can decide this, will 
 you present to him or her the little publication I have 
 enclosed — “ Clarke’s Memoirs.” I would have in- 
 scribed it, but, again, I know not the name. Should I 
 have the pleasure of a future visit to Tortwortli, and 
 the servant be still with you, I will then do it. 
 
 Along with the “ Short Discourses for the Use of 
 Families,” which I begged your ladyship to accept, I 
 have put into the parcel the “ Charge to a Minister’s 
 Wife,” and the sermon to a bad husband, not for you 
 to keep, but just if you like to throw your eye over 
 them, and then dispose of them where you think they 
 are most called for. 
 
 By the way, when I spoke to your ladyship of my 
 having delivered and written out a course of lectures on 
 Scripture Female Biography, and that my plan would 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 197 
 
 be completed by four lectures more — two on Hannali, 
 and two on the Mother of our Lord, — I intended to 
 ask whether (if I should have health and leisure to 
 finish the series) your ladyship would allow me the 
 honor and favor of dedicating them to yourself? Should 
 you be disposed to yield this request, your ladyship 
 may be assured I would not offend b}" dedicatory ful- 
 someness. “ I know not (with Elihu) to give flatter- 
 ing titles to any ; for in so doing my Maker would 
 take me away ;” yet I wish to bear my witness to good- 
 ness and excellence, and to remember the words of 
 Solomon — “a gracious woman retaineth honor.” 
 
 I was sorry I was too tired to give you words of 
 exposition, and to leave your kind roof without a de- 
 votional and social benediction ; but I did not forget 
 the family in my chamber ; and if my prayer be heard, 
 Lord Ducie’s health will be restored and established 
 and perpetuated ; and he will be a growing and public 
 blessing in his day and generation ; and will much and 
 long walk together with his estimable companion, both 
 “as heirs of the grace of life;” and see their fine and 
 lovely children “ as plants growing up in their youth, 
 and as corner-stones polished after the similitude of a 
 palace.” Amen and amen. 
 
 My best respects await Lord Ducie (not forgetting 
 Mr. Watts, if yet with you). 
 
 I am, my dear Lady Ducie, 
 
 Yours to esteem and serve, &c. 
 
 I got home safe a quarter after 10. My wife (one 
 of the best women God ever made) begs her most es- 
 teemed reerards. 
 
198 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 To Lady Dude. 
 
 Bath, Feb. 3, 1847. 
 
 My dear Lady Ducie, — I ought to have written 
 earlier to thank you for your very kind present, every 
 article of which proved very good ; and as, being a 
 teetotaler, I could not drink your ladyship’s health 
 (unless in an element which all do not value as I do, 
 and as Samson did) I ate it, heartily wishing your 
 ladyship much of that blessing (and the Earl too) 
 which is the salt that seasons, and the honey that 
 sweetens every temporal comfort; praying also in a 
 better exercise, that bodily health may be accompanied 
 with every kind of spiritual welfare. This sentence 
 would be almost long enough for Dr. Chalmers. 
 
 “By love serve one another.” What a beautiful 
 little text is this ! the practice of which would turn 
 this vale of tears into a paradise ; and as your lady- 
 ship, I know, does not consider it an interpolation or 
 wrongly translated, I venture to give you a little 
 trouble. The Dean and Mrs. Lamb would be much 
 obliged, if your ladyship could say u whether you could 
 recommend a governess who once lived with you of 
 the name of ; as to her character, accomplish- 
 
 ments, piety, and good temper.” The wish has been 
 transmitted through my daughter, Mrs. Ashton, from 
 Cambridge, where the Dean now is. A line to her, 
 or him, or myself, will suffice. 
 
 Is the Mr. Wyat, near Stroud, mentioned in the 
 papers as dead, the very pleasant and amiable gentle- 
 man I met at your house so recently ? I presume it 
 is ; and, if so, the circumstance is affecting. Ah ! if 
 we had all foreknown it then, would not our inter- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 199 
 
 oourse and conversation (I am blaming nothing) have 
 been more specifically religious, and bearing upon his 
 (and indeed our own) spiritual welfare ? Should we 
 not meet and part more as mortals and immortals; and 
 would this injure the allowed sociabilities of life ? 
 
 What awful accounts still from Ireland and Scot- 
 land ! I pleaded for them successfully on Sunday. 
 My text w~as, “A cloak of covetousness;” and I. I 
 described the evil — covetousness. II. Proved that its 
 folly, baseness, and sin, by common ’feeling, needed a 
 covering. III. I showed some of the cloaks it was 
 accustomed to wear. Here I led them into the devil’s 
 wardrobe, where they would see a fine assortment of 
 articles to suit any purchaser — cloaks of every color 
 and shape, and size and price. Here a scarlet one, 
 fringed with fur ; there a velvet one, lined with silk ; 
 here a shorter, and there one reaching quite to the 
 ground; there new ones, and here some only a little 
 injured by wear; some a little soiled and mended, but 
 
 then cheaper. That was introduced by Lady ; 
 
 and this is now much admired by , &c. I then 
 
 passed from irony (justified by the sacred writers) to 
 seriousness, and from figure to fact, and exposed four 
 of these excuses and disguises, which I have not time 
 on paper to do justice to. IY. I inquired how far 
 these cloaks would conceal the things ? and answered, 
 1st. They cannot always conceal it from the wearer 
 himself. 2dly. They cannot commonly conceal it from 
 others. 3dly. They can never conceal it from God. I 
 then concluded — 1st. By calling upon them to take 
 heed and beware of covetousness. 2dly. Admonish- 
 ing them to seek the true riches, in which there could be 
 no excess in their desires, or failure in their hopes, &c. 
 
200 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 As I am not sure whether you are in the country 
 or town, I direct this to Tortworth House, suppos- 
 ing, if I am mistaken, it will be immediately forward- 
 ed on. I trust Lord Ducie is quite convalescent. 
 Please to present to him my best regards. Earl Gains- 
 borough and the Countess are here. He has had a 
 severe attack since they came. God bless you, my 
 dear lady. 
 
 And believe me, &c. 
 
 The Jay’s Idve 
 To the Dove . 
 
 To Lady Ducie . 
 
 Bath, Jan. 8, 1848. 
 
 My dear Lady Ducie, — We duly received your 
 very kind present of game, and return many and very 
 sincere thanks. They would have been transmitted ear- 
 lier, but I only returned this evening after a week’s 
 absence from home, and during which I have had an 
 attack of the very common complaint. It has not in- 
 deed been severe, but sufficient to lay me by for some 
 days, and to qualify me to sympathize with much great- 
 er sufferers. As ministers we frequently escape what 
 others endure, not because we do not deserve or need 
 personally the same trials with others ; but because of 
 the duties we owe to others ; for if physicians were to 
 experience all the ailments of their patients, they could 
 have neither time nor strength to practice ; and, as our 
 exemptions are often relative to others, so also are our 
 inflictions. Ezekiel heard the knell — “ Son of man, 
 behold, I take away the desire of thine eyes with a 
 stroke not because of any offence of his, for which God 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 201 
 
 would chastise him, but that he might be “ a sign unto 
 the people.’* It is the doctrine of Paul, 2 Cor. i. 6. 
 Indeed this will, in some measure, apply to Christians 
 as well as ministers: we are all parts of some little 
 whole, more or less affected and influenced by us. 
 “ None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to 
 himself.” 
 
 For some good while back I could not make out 
 where your ladyship and the Earl were. Some said 
 you were at home — some at Malta — some in Syria. 
 But, though I knew not how to follow you locally in 
 my prayers, I could address One who saw where you 
 were, and could afford you whatever blessing you 
 needed from Him as the God of providence and of 
 grace. If the excursion has been in search of health, 
 (the salt that seasons and the honey that sweetens every 
 temporal blessing,) I trust it has not been sought in 
 vain, and that the Earl has returned with renewed 
 strength, and growing disposition to walk before the 
 Lord in the land of the living. 
 
 Neither do I now know whether the family is in the 
 country or in town ; but I venture the present direc- 
 tion, knowing this thanksgiving will surely reach per- 
 sons so well known, wherever they are. 
 
 It is rather late to send the congratulations of the 
 season. But another year is gone, and by far the most 
 important we ever passed through, because it is the 
 nearest to our “long home,” and the bar of God; and 
 we have entered on a new period of our time, not 
 knowing what a day may bring forth ; but, as Cowper 
 sings, if we give up ourselves to him, 
 
 “ It can bring nothing with it, 
 
 But it will bear us through.” 
 
 9* 
 
202 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 My text last Sunday morning, in reference to the 
 season, was, “ These days should be remembered.” 
 What days ? Days of unregeneracy — days of conver- 
 sion — days of persecutions — days of bereavement — days 
 of providential interposition — days of particular spec- 
 iality, viz., birth-days — nuptial daj^s — new-y ear- days. 
 
 I beg my best regards to Earl Ducie with my pray- 
 ers for his entire welfare. I presume he approves of 
 the Bill for the Removal of the Jewish Civil Disabili- 
 ties ; and condemns the conduct of those who have op- 
 posed Lord John in one of his noblest actions. Many 
 are not aware as yet how much the spirit of popery 
 has prevailed of late years in the Church of England 
 (for we have nothing of it among all other parties). 
 May it be detected and thoroughly encountered before 
 it be too late. Mrs. Jay begs to join in best thanks 
 and regards, with, 
 
 My dear Lady Ducie, Yours, &c. 
 
 To Lord Ducie 
 
 My dear Lord Ducie, — Yesterday Mr. Bidwell 
 called upon me. The interview was very agreeable 
 in itself, but particularly so as I learned from it that 
 Lady Ducie was well, and your lordship so much im- 
 proved in health, and, as usual, active in doing good. 
 And how much obliged am I to your lordship for the 
 beautiful present, and for such a kind proof of remem- 
 brance, and that out of sight is not always out of mind : 
 I hope I can also say that I sometimes thought of your 
 lordship in your absence and distance, and — where I 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 203 
 
 think your lordship would most value my remem- 
 brance — at the throne of grace. I had but just begun 
 this letter before the hare and the birds came, requir- 
 ing another qualified acknowledgment. 
 
 Another year is rapidly closing ; and what an event- 
 ful year has it been ! Among its most remarkable 
 (and I am persuaded influential) events in our own 
 country, has been Mr. Noel’s secession and his Essay 
 on the Union of Church and State. The book, in 
 many respects, is one of the most extraordinary I ever 
 read. It is written with great ability, and with much 
 Christian spirit. It must make a great impression in 
 favor of our free churches. Will it lead to any 
 improvements in the Establishment? yet, if some- 
 thing be not done there, I think that church is in dan- 
 ger. 
 
 I am sorry that, by several little indispositions, and 
 also by engagements and interruptions, my visit into 
 Gloucestershire has been prevented ; and for some time 
 longer now it must be postponed, as my daughter and 
 her husband from Cambridge are soon coming to see 
 us. 
 
 Soon after this reaches Tortworth we shall enter on 
 a new period of time, not knowing what a day may 
 bring forth ; but under the care of Him who sees the 
 end from the beginning and has said, “ I will never 
 leave thee nor forsake thee.” Allow me to send (in 
 which Mrs. Jay joins me) the congratulations of the 
 season to Lady Ducie and your lordship, with our 
 prayers that all grace may abound towards the whole 
 family. 
 
 1 am, &c. 
 
204 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 To Lady Dude. 
 
 Bath, October 22, 1849. 
 
 My dear Lady Ducie, — You will think it strange 
 and probably blame- worthy that I have not answered 
 your letter earlier; but I was from home when it ar- 
 rived, and I have been variously absent nearly ever 
 since, — not for my pleasure, but on my great and good 
 Master’s business, doing a little, and wishing to do 
 more ; but I find the old man rapidly coming on, and 
 the infirmities of eighty keeping me from doing the 
 things that I would. One of my excursions was to 
 Kingswood, occasioned by the death of my old friend 
 Mrs. Long. I much wished to have gone over to 
 Tortworth ; but I was hurried for time, and the weather 
 was wet, and I heard that the Earl was suffering con- 
 finement. I long to hear that his lordship is released, 
 and able as he is willing to be well-doing. I was 
 thankful to be informed of your ladyship’s fresh de- 
 liverance ; and pray that the life spared and the life 
 given may be precious in the Lord’s sight, and sacred 
 to his service and praise. “Lo, children,” says David, 
 “are an heritage of the Lord;” and some have a much 
 larger portion than others. But, says Henry, “ Chil- 
 dren are certain cares, and uncertain comforts, and 
 possible crosses.” In these matters, however, we are 
 not left to our own choice ; but are under the manage- 
 ment of Him “ who performeth all things for us,” and 
 “ doeth all things well.” But there is a part belonging 
 to us, and if we discharge it in dependence upon Him, 
 we are entitled to expect the exemplification of the 
 proverb , if not the promise , — “ Train up a child in the 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 205 
 
 way that he should go, and when he is old be will not 
 depart from it.” 
 
 At Budleigh Salterton, where I spent a month, I met 
 
 with good Dr. , of America, who spoke with 
 
 pleasure of his visits to Tortworth. I heard him 
 preach (i. e. read) several times, and was pleased ; but 
 when I hear I love to be rent or melted . I do not like 
 for preacher’s mouth to be lined with velvet. When 
 will ministers remember what the mass of every con- 
 gregation' consists of ; and learn to preach ad popu- 
 lum? By whom was He heard “gladly” who spake 
 as never man spake ? The words of the wise are as 
 goads and as nails, they pierce and remain. What are 
 fine smooth periods that slip off from the conscience 
 like water from a duck’s back ? What evaporates in 
 the mere article of hearing can do little good; but 
 that which is carried away to be again and again 
 thought of alone, and talked of in company. “Let 
 the word of Christ dwell in you.” 
 
 Mrs. Jay and myself are tolerably well. I wish we 
 could see you in Bath. With best regards to Earl 
 Ducie, believe me, &c. 
 
 To Lady Ducie . 
 
 Bath, December, 1851. 
 
 Dear Lady Ducie, — How kind and good you were 
 to think of us, and furnish our table with such fine 
 game: the last of which we have only recently de- 
 spatched, and during our partaking of which I more 
 than once drank your ladyship’s health in a bumper of 
 the purest water the neighborhood affords. By the 
 
206 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 way, the American ambassador (Mr. Stephenson) told 
 me that when he dined with the Queen, he made her 
 smile by drinking her Majesty’s health, as a teetotal- 
 ler, in the same beverage. 
 
 I ought to have written earlier,— but this morning, 
 I said, with a blush, “ I will write to Tortworth.” No 
 sooner said than done, or at least begun. But now, 
 whether I shall finish as I wish, depends much upon 
 “Satan,” who often interrupts and hinders, by favor- 
 ing me with calls of indefinite length from persons 
 senseless of the value of time, and who, having no- 
 thing to do, discharge some of their idleness and curi- 
 osity under a cover of business. 
 
 But now, after our acknowledgment and thanks* 
 giving, what can I write about ? There is, indeed, one 
 subject of supreme importance which is always at 
 hand, and on which we should be always ready in our 
 thoughts and communications. It is the Name above 
 every Name. But with this your ladyship is graciously 
 acquainted, though in a rank of life in which He is so 
 little known and honored ; — otherwise how could I 
 speak of Him both from office and experience as 
 “fairer than the children of men;” — as “altogether 
 lovely ;” as having “ giving himself for us an offering 
 and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor ;” — -as 
 “ remembering us now he is come into his kingdom ; — 
 as “ ever living to make intercession for us ;” — as 
 “ the Lord our righteousness and strength ; all our sal- 
 vation and all our desire, our glory and our joy.” 
 
 “Such Jesus is, and sueli his grace, 
 
 0 may He shine on you ; 
 
 And tell him when you see his lace 
 
 1 long to see him too. ’ ’ 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 207 
 
 I was delighted to see Lord Ducie’s letter to the 
 chairman of the Protestant Alliance. It did him much 
 honor, both as showing his aversion to the “ mother 
 of harlots and abominations of the earth,” and also 
 nobleness of mind in being willing publicly to retract 
 an opinion. A very learned man has said, — “ The 
 three hardest words to pronounce in the English lan- 
 guage are, 1 1 was mistaken ” and when Frederick the 
 Great wrote his letter to the Senate ,' — u I have just 
 lost a great battle, and it was entirely my own fault,” 
 — Goldsmith says, u This confession displayed more 
 greatness than all his victories.” 
 
 I should much like to hear his Lordship’s opinion 
 with regard to the new Ee volution in France. He 
 must, I think, dislike the character of the usurper ; 
 though, perhaps, one tyrant is better than twenty 
 agreed in nothing but mutual opposition for selfish 
 ends. If he succeeds, as is most probable, the effect 
 I fear will be favorable to Popery ; yet, if he allies 
 himself to a cause doomed to perish, he will place 
 himself in the way of God’s judgments, and be easily 
 brought down. Our comfort is, that “ the Lord God 
 omnipotent reigneth and that “ He will overturn, 
 overturn, overturn, until he comes whose right it is, 
 and it shall be given him.” 
 
 You were, my dear Lady, misinformed as to my ob- 
 jection to the Liturgy. I even like much to hear it 
 occasionally, though I certainly should like it better 
 were it curtailed, and stripped of its repetitions. That 
 I am not an enemy to all forms of devotion is obvious 
 from my volume of Prayers for the Use of Families ; 
 and for the publication of which I have great reason 
 to bless God. Nor, though a firm Dissenter, am I un* 
 
208 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 friendly to the Established Church. My connections 
 have been very much among its members* and minis- 
 ters, as you will see from my Reminiscences, which will 
 be published at my death. But I do hate all exclu- 
 siveness ; and I lament that a church should be less 
 tolerant and liberal now than when it first left Rome, 
 and could be excused some mother-marks upon it. 
 But then it did not unchurch other churches, nor in- 
 validate other ordinations, but even allowed prefer- 
 ments to some who only had had on their heads “ the 
 hands of the presbytery But see the mess the good 
 
 Archbishop of C gets himself into ! O that he had 
 
 avowed and gloried in what he conceded to his deceiv- 
 er ! But instead of this candor , he applies what he 
 said only to these foreigners ; and not to any here, though 
 standing on the very same terms. The fact is, the 
 wretched notion of Apostolical Succession so far unites 
 the Church of England to the Church of Rome , and dis- 
 sociates it from all other churches , however orthodox or 
 useful. Some must break through, and lead in a bet- 
 ter way. I, therefore, rejoice, and thousands beside, 
 that Lord Ducie and a few more are serving the Lord 
 Christ in a mode which will please God, and draw 
 down his blessing, whoever may censure or condemn. 
 Bolton speaks of your visiting Bath. Is it so? I 
 wish it may be, and that we may be favored with 
 a little of your company. Mrs. Jay unites in kind 
 regards to yourself and Lord Ducie. I am, &c. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 O Lady Ducie, — Y ou have made me break through 
 a rule I have never violated yet, in communicating my 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 209 
 
 text beforehand. From one of these five (D.Y.) Thope 
 to preach to-morrow morning : — “Take it by the tail.” 
 — “ It was always so.” — “ Amen, the Lord God say so 
 too.” — “ In that day a man shall nourish a young cow 
 and two sheep.” — “ The people that know their God 
 shall be strong and do exploits.” I do not mention 
 the chapters and verses, as this may employ Lady 
 Alice to find out. I forgot to ask her to tell me at 
 what time Joseph dined ? (Gen. xliii. 16.) And why 
 a covetous man was like a medlar ? 
 
 I feel very weak and poorly, and expect to feel dif- 
 ficulty to-morrow. I wonder which of the texts you 
 will be led to wish for and choose. Well, all will be 
 known in due time. I hope his Lordship is still mend- 
 ing. We never forget him in our prayers. What a 
 scrawl to a lady of quality' ! Pray forgive, and be- 
 lieve me, &c. 
 
 To the same. 
 
 Bradford, June 10, 1853. 
 
 Dear Lady Ducie, — 
 
 “ If tliou shouldst stay, e’en as thou art, 
 
 All cold and all serene, 
 
 I still might press thy silent heart, 
 
 And where thy smiles have been : 
 
 While e’en thy chill-loved corpse I have 
 Thou seemest still mine own ; 
 
 But there , — I lay thee in the grave — 
 
 And now I am alone /” 
 
 Such was the language of Wolfe, who wrote the 
 fine monody of the death of Sir John Moore. In more 
 
210 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 instances than one I have felt the truth and force of 
 the tender and touching sentiment While the remains 
 of the dear departed are only in the coffin, and not in 
 the grave, and we can yet go and look, and gaze, and 
 weep, we seem to possess him still ; but when we have 
 laid him in the tomb, and return to the lonely house 
 in which we have taken sweet counsel together, and 
 walked to the house of God in company ; ah, then we 
 feel its emptiness and know what real solitude is. I, 
 therefore, would not write during the engagements and 
 distractions of funeral preparations, but resolved to 
 wait upon you with a few lines when you would be 
 saying — “ And now I am alone” 
 
 And yet in another and more important sense, your 
 Ladyship will not be alone, because the Father will be 
 with you ; for He has said, and the Scripture cannot 
 be broken, “ I will be with thee in trouble.” And 
 surely you are now entitled to claim and plead that 
 promise. But you must not expect it to be miracu- 
 lously fulfilled, or in a way that will raise you above 
 the sense of the greatness of your loss. There is no 
 patience in bearing what we do not feel, or resignation 
 in giving up what we do not value. But you may ex- 
 pect from it support under the affliction, however 
 great ; and that you shall be able to say (or endeavor 
 to say — and the Lord looketh to the heart), “It is the 
 Lord ; let him do what seemetli him good “ The 
 Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed 
 be the name of the Lord.” What a state was David in 
 when he came to Ziklag ? All was gone ! and, hero 
 as he was, he lifted up his voice and wept. “ But 
 David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” He 
 was left — and never left him ; and after every distress 
 
OF THE KEY. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 211 
 
 enabled him to sa ,y, “ Come unto me, all ye that fear 
 God, and I will declare what he hath done for my 
 soul.” 
 
 You also will prove a witness for God, and be able 
 to acknowledge that it is good for you that you have 
 been afflicted. Great as your trial is, remember, my 
 dear Madam, how much greater it might have been. 
 Only consider what the God of all grace has done for 
 the deceased, whom we all loved, and all will miss. I 
 confess the late development of experience did not 
 surprise me. I entertained from the time I knew him 
 a good hope through grace ; and latterly I felt a deep 
 and constant impression which ever excited my prayer 
 on his behalf. Well, his pains are now over; and the 
 days of his mourning are ended ; and though he was 
 not permitted to enter his exquisite earthly mansion, 
 he is now in a house not made with hands, but eternal 
 in the heavens. Your loss, therefore, is his infinite 
 gain ; and under this loss may you know that God is 
 the husband of the widow in his holy habitation and 
 in her own, and also the Father of the fatherless ! 
 May the affliction be sanctified to them ! and ma,y 
 they prove that “ it is good for a man to bear 
 the yoke in his youth;” and from this time cry 
 unto Him , “ My Father, thou art the guide of my 
 youth 1” 
 
 I hope that none of the religious resources of such 
 a family will be dried up ; or any of its useful institu- 
 tions, and exertions, and influences cease, or be im- 
 paired. 
 
 Thus, while you have attended the entombment of 
 the dear Earl, I have communed with you in spirit, in 
 
212 SELECTIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 writing these few lines. Believe me, my dear Lady 
 Ducie, &c. 
 
 Mrs. Jay joins in all this. I long to know Lord and 
 Lady Moreton ; and will not cease to pray for them. 
 
 My state is much the same, as to health and strength, 
 as when I was at Stone. I am able to do but little ; 
 but the spirit is willing though the flesh is weak. 
 “ Let her alone, she hath done what she could.” 
 
 To Dr, Bowie . 
 
 Percy Place, January 24, 1853. 
 
 My dear Doctor, — Uncertain whether I should 
 see you this afternoon, I write a few lines, and they 
 must be few, as I find writing, like every other exer- 
 tion, a trying task. You know not only my sense of 
 obligation for all your kindness, but the confidence I 
 have in your judgment, and what a submissive patient 
 I have been. But I am now venturing a step of my 
 own accord, and hope if you reprove you will strike 
 gently. I have felt the last few days worse, i, e. lower 
 in my strength, and more painful in my complaint. I 
 am, therefore, going, if possible, to Bradford to-morrow 
 morning, thinking ^whether the change may not prob- 
 ably affect me. My stay, I presume, will not be long ; 
 and if anything peculiar arise, I or Mrs. Jay can in- 
 form you. 
 
 But I forget not the nature and character of the en- 
 suing Sabbath, when sixty -three years ago I was or- 
 dained over the people of Argyle Chapel, after occa- 
 sionally laboring among them full twelve months be- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 213 
 
 fore. On the next Sabbath this long, happy, and en- 
 deared connection terminates ; and pastor and people 
 have to look backward and forward under awful re- 
 sponsibilities. 
 
 Should Mr. Dyer see fit to have any reference to the 
 event, I wish him to inform the Church and Congrega- 
 tion how much I have all along hoped to have been 
 able to address them on the occasion ; but the Lord 
 has prevented it, as I could not undertake any public 
 service, much more a service which would rend me to 
 pieces ! 
 
 He may also assure them that, though my pastoral 
 relation has ceased, I shall be delighted if a degree of 
 ability shall enable me occasionally to address them 
 again from my old chair and pulpit. 
 
 I am much concerned for their proper settlement, 
 and pray that the Lord may direct them to the choice 
 of a pastor after his own heart ; and that peace and 
 prosperity may ever be within their lovely borders. 
 They may be assured that, in proportion as the people 
 of his late and long charge are satisfied and edified, 
 he will approve and rejoice, who, in finishing his min- 
 istry, can say — 
 
 “ Ere since by faith I saw the stream 
 Thy dying wounds supply, 
 
 Redeeming love has been my theme, 
 
 And shall be till I die.” 
 
 I wish I could write more and better, but I am as 
 weak as I am willing. 
 
 Believe me, my dear and beloved physician, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
PART V. 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY 
 

 
 
 
 
LITERARY REMAINS. 
 
 LINES ON THE DEATH OF HIS DAUGHTER STATIRA. 
 
 Oh ! had I known, when we embraced, 
 
 That parting kiss would prove the last, 
 
 I surely should have held thee fast, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 One week elapsed, and home I fled, 
 
 From Devon’s hills, in musings dread, 
 
 And breathless sought thy mortal bed, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 “ Know’st thou,” I said, in accents mild, 
 
 “ Thy father’s voice, my darling child ?” 
 
 But thy dear lips nor spake, nor smiled, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Bereft of hope, yet hoping too, 
 
 Led by thy mother, I withdrew ; 
 
 For well the worth of prayer we knew, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 We kneel’d, and, by each other’s side, 
 
 In tears, not words, to heaven we cried : 
 
 Could tears avail, thou hadst not died, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 10 
 
218 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 I feel it still — that dying look, 
 
 Mine eye to briny gushings took, 
 
 While every nerve with anguish shook, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 I see it still — that lovely face, 
 
 Illumed with wisdom and with grace, 
 
 O’er which no clouds of passion pass’d, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 I see thee clasp thy mother’s neck, 
 
 And print thy kisses on her cheek : 
 
 In vain will she thy equal seek, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 The canvas did thy taste confess : 
 
 Thy beauteous landscapes I caress ; 
 
 E’en Ruben’s tints would please me less, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Thy pen’s remains I prize the more 
 Than would the learn’d, the letter’d lore, 
 From Persian bards, or Attic shore, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Thy conduct, still above thy age, 
 
 Each opening virtue did presage, 
 
 And every heart and lip engage, 
 
 Statira . 
 
 Oh ! how I loved that temper’d tongue, 
 
 On which the law of kindness hung, 
 
 From which no ill or folly sprung, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Each Sabbath saw thee with delight 
 Within my house the babes unite, 
 
 Whom thou didst teach tc read and write, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 219 
 
 The power of grace I joy’d to see, 
 
 From guile and affectation free, 
 
 Take up its young abode in thee, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Thy heart well loved the holy place, 
 
 The queen of days, the throne of grace, 
 
 The Saviour’s words, and works, and ways, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 A violet was thy piety, 
 
 Retired in charms of modesty, 
 
 And most betray’d by fragrancy, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 I feel thy loss in every part ; 
 
 I mourn, I bleed beneath the smart, 
 
 Yet kiss the hand that breaks my heart, 
 
 Statira. 
 
 Thou hast, in all thy early bloom, 
 
 First tenanted thy father’s tomb, 
 
 And made him willing there to come, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 Ah ! were this all of nineteen years 
 The end of all our loves and cares, 
 
 What hand could then e’er wipe oui tears, 
 
 Statira ! 
 
 But no, we ’ve rear’d thee for the skies ; 
 
 Thy soul is now in Paradise, 
 
 But thy dear flesh again shall rise, 
 
 Statira * 
 
220 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 LINES WRITTEN ON SEEING MY PORTRAIT BY MR. ETTY, DESIGN- 
 ED FOR MR. AND MRS. BOLTON, AT LIVERPOOL. SEPT. 13tH, 
 
 1817. 
 
 Etty, ’tis done ! The very man breathes now ; 
 
 I feel the likeness, and my friends avow. 
 
 Yes, here — or much I err — thou surely hast 
 (What none beside could do) thyself surpass’d. 
 
 And still, thou child of nature and of art, 
 
 Thy mind all taste, and ardor all thy heart, 
 
 Let each success to higher fame beguile 
 And rise the Reynolds of our peerless isle. 
 
 Now go, my shade, and let my children see 
 Their absent father present still in thee. 
 
 Look on them well, — yet not in sullen mood 
 To chill their freedoms, and their joys exclude : 
 
 On nothing frown, but reason would condemn ; 
 
 Nor what is past to me, forbid to them . 
 
 Say, — “ Love each other ; love all human-kind, 
 
 And spread the mercy which you hope to find. 
 
 In nothing e’er the voice within despise, 
 
 Nor slight the Book that beckons to the skies. 
 
 No word, no action, let his God displease, 
 
 And, in a sire’s inspection, feel at ease.” 
 
 Yet should — as danger e’en the good surround, 
 
 And they are ambush’d most who most abound — 
 Should e’er forgetfulness a blame incur, 
 
 Then rise, my type, and prove the monitor . 
 
 Yet still with meekness chide, and melting mien, 
 
 And from a fault, with kind caressings, win. 
 
 And when, in days to come, in silence laid, 
 
 Low sleeps tht form that skill has here portray’d, 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 221 
 
 Some stranger asks, who ne’er the living knew, 
 
 If strong the likeness, and the features true ? 
 
 “ O yes,” my first-horn cries, “ my father dear — 
 ’Tis what he was, his very self is there ; 
 
 The way in which he sat ; the air he wore ; 
 
 His look benign, yet tinged with frowning o’er ; 
 
 His aspect varying, yet the general view — 
 
 Easy, though anxious ; pleased, yet plaintive too. 
 His eye retired and close, which yet confess’d 
 A mind in action, but a heart at rest ; 
 
 The mouth his own, whose kindness oft was found, 
 And half a smile would lurk his lips around. 
 
 “ Such was the man from whom my breath I drew, 
 Whose love to me no ebbing ever knew : 
 
 That transversed knee was long my favor’d seat ; 
 That hand inclined oft led my infant feet ; 
 
 That hand unseen ne’er waked a moment’s fear, 
 
 The plum was seen, but not the rod was there ; 
 And be my boast in her confession known — 
 
 She never gave me pain but by her own.” 
 
 LINES SUPPOSED TO BE SPOKEN BY MRS. BOLTON, ON THE RE- 
 CEIPT OF HER MOTHER’S LIKENESS, SENT HER BY MR. ASHTON. 
 
 My Mother ! ’tis your own dear face 
 Here meets my eager view. 
 
 Yes, at each glance, again I cry, 
 
 “ My Mother, it is you /” 
 
 But how my spirits flow and sink, 
 
 What mingled thoughts arise, 
 
 As o’er this welcome shade I throw 
 My joyful, weeping eyes ! 
 
222 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 Backwards I rush to those first hours 
 When round thy neck I hung. 
 
 And thou didst guide my tottering feet, 
 And bless my prattling tongue. 
 
 Thy counsels, and example fair, 
 
 In love’s soft bondage led, 
 
 And taught me how to rise above , 
 
 And how earth's paths to tread. 
 
 But how time flies ! since thee I left, 
 What varied scenes I ’ve traced ! 
 
 What changes, trials, blessings, known ! 
 And here I ’m fixed at last ; 
 
 Away from Albion’s soil — my friends— 
 My father’s house so dear ; 
 
 And far from thee, whose sadden’d age 
 ’Twould be my heaven to cheer ! 
 
 O what were life without the aid 
 Of faith’s supporting power % 
 
 Ah ! but for this my heart had died 
 In many a trembling hour. 
 
 ' ,'IHZ P? > : ; •' —?■ •• • ... ... 
 
 More worn with days and sighings oft 
 Thou seem’st, than when I took 
 
 (The sacred spot remembered well.) 
 That last, that lingering look. 
 
 O could I once again behold 
 That placid, plaintive mien, 
 
 And but embrace the lovely wreck 
 Of what thou long hast been ! 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 223 
 
 And is the sight forever barr’d ? 
 
 Are we no more to meet 1 
 O happy brevity of life 
 
 That will our bliss complete ! 
 
 Then, freed from all thy present griefs, 
 Thy raptur’d child shall see, 
 
 And tell thee, dearest Mother, how, 
 How much she owes to thee. 
 
 April 15 , 1838 . 
 
 TO MISS BROWNE, ON HER PRESENTING HIM WITH A PAIR 
 OF GLASSES. 
 
 So you, my friend, with kindness prompt 
 Long known and often tried, 
 
 Have thus, to aid your pastor’s sight, 
 
 The need of art supplied. 
 
 And he, not senseless of thy care, 
 
 W ould wish the boon repaid ; 
 
 And hopes, by instrument Divine, 
 
 To yield thee kindred aid ; — 
 
 By faith, a glass of sovereign use, 
 
 That brings the distant near, 
 
 Enlarges sense and reason’s bounds, 
 
 And makes the doubtful clear. 
 
 He ’d gladly help thine eye to read 
 The record God has given, 
 
 With brighter gaze thy Jesus see, 
 
 And view thy right to heaven. 
 
224 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 “ Father of lights,” from whom proceed 
 Whatever gifts we own, 
 
 Various the mediums may be found, 
 But Thou the source, alone ! 
 
 To Thee, our being and our weal, 
 
 Each power and bliss we owe ; 
 
 All nature's treasures flow from thee. 
 And art's improvements flow. 
 
 Nor let us ever little deem 
 What so our good befriends, 
 
 That lengthens out our visual ray. 
 
 And all its joys extend : 
 
 That aids us still the pencils tint 
 In glowing charms to ken, 
 
 And read, alone, the letter dear 
 From Friendship’s absent pen : 
 
 That helps us still the page to scan 
 Of authors grave or gay ; 
 
 Theirs, who our pleasure but consult, 
 And theirs who teach to pray : 
 
 That guides us to the Tree of Life, 
 
 The Book of heavenly grace ; 
 
 To see and gather from the boughs 
 The fruits of joy and peace. 
 
 But ah ! my friend, a present such 
 A solemn voice assumes : 
 
 u See how of life the noon is gone, 
 
 And how the evening comes !” 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 225 
 
 The leaves that fade and fall foretell 
 The year’s last setting sun, 
 
 And Autumn is but Winter seen 
 Approaching and begun 
 
 Not sudden shuts the eve of life, 
 
 Nor without warnings due ; 
 
 Deaf grows the ear, and dim the eye, 
 To preach, “ Thy days are few.” 
 
 And shall we dream of years to come. 
 
 Nor note our frame’s decay 1 
 Waken, O Lord, our sleepful souls 
 And bid us live — to-day 
 July 29 , 1819 . 
 
 TO MISS BROWNE, ON PRESENTING HIM WITH SEVERAL 
 BANDS MADE OUT OF HER GRANDFATHER’S ARCHIE* 
 PISCOPAL SLEEVES. 
 
 A mind to observation turn’d 
 May well with wonder glow, 
 
 To see the changes human things 
 Are doomed to undergo. 
 
 A vesture that a palace graced 
 May serve a meeting-house at last ! 
 
 “ What impious profanation this,” 
 
 So D — b — ny would speak ; 
 
 “ To take a robe a Bishop wore 
 And bind it round the neck, 
 
 Design’d a sacred badge to be 
 Of schism and of heresy !” 
 
 10 * 
 
226 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 But he who now assumes the lawn, 
 
 Oh ! let it well be known, 
 
 Ne’er stole a pair of crosier’d sleeves, 
 
 Or wished such sleeves his own ; 
 
 Nor thought e’en such a bit to win 
 As now depends beneath his chin. 
 
 Yet such a present he esteems, 
 
 Peculiar in its kind, 
 
 And which, whene’er he puts it on, 
 
 The giver brings to mind, 
 
 Whose brains the plan unique conceived, 
 And whose own hands the work achieved. 
 
 WITH THE PRESENT OF A BIBLE, WRITTEN AND PRESENTED TO 
 HIS VERY DEAR DAUGHTER, MRS. ROBERT BOLTON. THE MORN- 
 ING OF HER MARRIAGE. 
 
 This Book, whose aim and Author are Divine, 
 
 This best of books, my much-lov’d Anne, be thine ! 
 This early bless’d thee with an influence mild, 
 
 It charm’d the infant, and it form’d the child. 
 
 This, when a daughter, sweetly ruled thy life, 
 
 And now demands thy duty as a Wife. 
 
 O daily read ; and in this Volume trace 
 
 Thy Sovereign’s pleasure and thy Saviour’s grace. 
 
 These rules will keep thee in a world of snares, 
 
 These comforts cheer thee in a vale of tears. 
 
 In every scene to this dear Book be just, 
 
 Each counsel follow and each promise trust. 
 
 Be this thy study ; this thy glory be ; 
 
 And let thy Mother be renew’d in thee. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 227 
 
 TO MRS. GILL, ON HER DESIRING FROM HIM A LETTER OF HIS 
 
 OWN WRITING TO BE KEPT FOR HIS SAKE. 
 
 January 22, 1823. 
 
 So you, dear Madam, ask a line, 
 
 And how can I deny you ? 
 
 That you may keep, in my own hand, 
 
 A brief memorial by you. 
 
 Well, here it is, when I am gone 
 To tell, whoe’er may note it, 
 
 How long I knew, and much I prized, 
 
 The Friend for whom I wrote it. 
 
 To tell how warm, and changeless too, 
 
 The kindness of her heart ; 
 
 And how in all my joys and tears 
 She bore a feeling part. 
 
 To tell that none at wisdom’s gate 
 More constantly was found, 
 
 Or with more joy, when call’d, e’er trod 
 The temple’s holy ground. 
 
 To tell how. she, not free from fear, 
 
 A lively hope possessed, 
 
 While all her walk and spirit show’d 
 The Gospel she profess’d. 
 
 So spake her pastor while below ; 
 
 Nor can his hope be vain, 
 
 That she will prove his joy and crown 
 When they shall meet again. 
 
228 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 LINES ON HIS FIFTY-FIFTH BIRTH-DAY, MAY 8 , 1824 . 
 
 What, my soul, O, what emotion 
 Should I on this morning feel, 
 
 Shame , and grief, and new devotion , 
 
 Hope, and gratitude , and zeal ; 
 
 These, if conscience be addressed, 
 
 These become my Birth-day best. 
 
 Shame, that fruit so small, if any, 
 
 Should from such high culture spring , 
 Grief, that seasons rich and many 
 Should no longer profit bring. 
 
 O, how guilty life appears, 
 
 When compared with means and years 1 
 
 Praise, that though, His counsels shining, 
 
 I’ ve rebelled against the light, 
 
 He his love revealed each morning, 
 
 And his faithfulness each night. 
 
 If a tear my eye-lids knew, 
 
 Mercy shut and wiped it too. 
 
 Hope, that He who ne’er denied me, 
 
 In my worth or in my woe, 
 
 Will each day with grace provide me, 
 
 And his strength in weakness show. 
 
 He, my Guardian, yet can shield, 
 
 Till I leave the conquer’d field. 
 
 Zeal, for now the sun, descending, 
 
 Calls to mind the close of day ; 
 
 And how soon, in life declining, 
 
 Will the seasons flee away. 
 
 I may then their loss deplore ; 
 
 But they can return no more. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 229 
 
 Prayer ; — alone I would not venture 
 On a year of good or ill ; 
 
 Saviour Jesus, with me enter, 
 
 And afford thy presence still. 
 
 Let me live, or let me die, 
 
 Nought I want if thou art nigh. 
 
 LINES WRITTEN ON VISITING HIS NATIVE VILLAGE, IN 1800. 
 
 [Before these lines we place a brief extract from a letter written 
 to a friend, after another visit to Tisbury, many years subsequent 
 to that on which the lines were written: — “My visit was pleasant, 
 but the Sunday was wet all day, yet we had many to- hear. I felt 
 more than usual, perhaps from the thought, how few more visits I 
 was ever likely to pay the place. I found my parental cottage clean 
 and neat, with many flowers before the door. I sent the occupants 
 (distant relations) into the garden for awhile, in order to be alone ; 
 and so I ‘ went in and sat before the Lord, and said, What am I, and 
 what is my father’s house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? ’ I 
 sat in the very same great arm-chair which I had always seen 
 my father sit in ; and all is still in tolerable condition. I was affect- 
 ed with the thought that seventy-four years ago, in this humble 
 room, the peculiar child of Providence breathed his infancy and 
 childhood — how unlikely to become what he has since been !”"| 
 
 The way by which a gracious God 
 Has led me all my days, 
 Demands, on each review, a song 
 Of wonder and of praise. 
 
 His care, attending every step, 
 
 Was my perpetual guide ; 
 
 His ear attentive heard my prayer; 
 His hand my wants supplied, 
 
230 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 The course through which my journey ran 
 Was winding and unknown; 
 
 His providence the scenes had plann’d, 
 And each appeared His own. 
 
 More now, since first I left this spot, 
 Than twice eight years have fled ; 
 
 And many once who charm’d my youth 
 Are number’d with the dead. 
 
 ’Twas here I drew my infant breath : 
 Here fled my youthful hours ; 
 
 Here first I heard the Gospel sound, 
 
 And felt its heavenly powers. 
 
 When o’er my former walks I rove, 
 
 How fresh the scenes appear ! 
 
 And here I pour’d an artless prayer, 
 
 And there indulged a tear. 
 
 Unknown to fortune and to fame, 
 
 My early years expired ; 
 
 No science had enrich’d my mind, 
 
 No hope my bosom fired. 
 
 But Heaven a Winter thus addressed 
 “ This youth I charge on thee, 
 
 Go, take him — I the impulse gave — 
 
 And train him up for Me. 
 
 “ Awaken thou each dormant power, 
 Chase every cloud away, 
 
 And on his understanding pour 
 An intellectual day. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM FAY. 
 
 231 
 
 “ The tree that in a barren soil 
 Can no good produce bear, 
 
 Transposed, may flourish, and with fruit 
 Repay the dresser’s care.” 
 
 Winter * I love to think on thee, 
 
 And those dear hours review, 
 
 When in thy house, and from thy lips, 
 
 I sacred wisdom drew. 
 
 Thy life, enforcing all thy rules, 
 
 Shed every grace abroad, 
 
 And thine example all alive 
 Portray’d the man of God. 
 
 Nor would I now the blessings losb 
 Which from thy care have flow’d, 
 
 For all that schools of fame have given, 
 
 Or colleges bestow’d. 
 
 * Mr. Jay says, iii the Life of Winter, p. 272, concerning these 
 lines, when transmitted to Mr. Winter, he wrote thus : — “ It is im- 
 possible I can keep the little poem to myself; and yet I truly blush 
 at being the subject of so much honor as it intends me. I pray God 
 that in the judgment-day I may be found the consistent character 
 such as I ought to be. From the many imperfections known to my- 
 self, I feel shame ; while from my fellow-creatures I meet with ap- 
 plause, to which my dearest Jay contributes much. I sometimes 
 tremble on this account. I know that I am not disposed to make 
 an improper use of it, and am sure that it does not in the least di- 
 vert me from the Saviour, whose name is all my trust. I need His 
 mercy, and am in His service an unprofitable servant. If, like 
 ' Charles ,’ in Cowper, I have been desirous to please, and have made 
 any effort to serve acceptably, it is because I love my Master ; and 
 wherein I can best serve him, I would be most willing.” “ I feel,” 
 says he, “ as indifferent to everything above the supply of food and 
 raiment administered in a decent manner, as a dead man does to the 
 coffin ii which his remains are confined.” 
 
232 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 Here, O my soul, the time recall 
 When my commission came — 
 
 How bless’d when sixteen years had roll’d, 
 To preach a Saviour’s name. 
 
 Poor Aldington ! among thy sons, 
 
 The shepherds of the plain, 
 
 My first attempt to preach was made, 
 
 Nor was it made in vain. 
 
 The cloudy pillar leading on. 
 
 Its motions I pursued, 
 
 Till o’er the city famed for cures, 
 
 The holy symbol stood. 
 
 14 Here,” cried the voice, 44 thy station fix, 
 And here thy rovings end ; 
 
 Here teach the words of endless life, 
 
 And here my charge attend. 
 
 44 Proclaim a Fountain nobler far 
 Than this Bethesda knows ; 
 
 ’ Tis always open, always free, 
 
 And with salvation flows. 
 
 44 The sons of pleasure here who come, 
 Invite to endless bliss ; 
 
 He who another life receives, 
 
 Can only relish this. 
 
 44 Here Satan’s seat exalted stands, 
 
 And vice in triumph reigns ; 
 
 A crown for him who owns Me here. 
 
 And all My truth maintains.” 
 
 O Lord, evince the choice Thine own, 
 Which daced me where I move ; 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 233 
 
 And, while Thy people see Thy power, 
 May one a thousand prove ! 
 
 Here I return, increased and blcss’d 
 By all-indulgent Heaven ; 
 
 My God, the joys of wedded life, 
 
 And children, too, has given. 
 
 Yonder appears, by Anna led, 
 
 My lovely train in view ; 
 
 My cherubs, round your mother play, 
 The scene shall end with you. 
 
 To raise an Ebenezer here , 
 
 My God is surely just ; 
 
 My motto, 44 Praise for all the past, 
 
 And for the future, trusty 
 
 In the Hymn Book used at Argyle Chapel, as a supple- 
 ment to Dr. Watts’s, Mr. Jay inserted about twenty, com- 
 posed by himself. As these are not distinguished by any 
 peculiar mark, we have thought it would be gratifying to 
 his friends to have them pointed out. As far as we have 
 been able to ascertain, they are the following : — 79, 151, 161, 
 230, 270, 360, 370, 422, 441, 443, 446, 455, 458, 462, 465, 
 471,483,498, 501,503. 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 Conversion and subsequent History of Mrs . Ulph. 
 
 When I knew the subject of this brief notice first, 
 she was bar-maid at the White Hart Inn, Bath, then 
 
234 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 kept by Mr. and Mrs. Pickwick. My acquaintance 
 with, her commenced very incidentally. I was going 
 to Chippenham. The London coach from Bath took 
 me up at my own door. I found in it only one passen- 
 ger. This w r as a young female, in whose countenance 
 and manner of speech there was something very 
 pleasing and interesting. I felt a wish to say some- 
 thing during our journey that might be useful, though 
 she was an entire stranger ; remembering the asser- 
 tion and admonition of Solomon — “ A word fitly 
 spoken, how good is it ! In the morning sow thy seed, 
 and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou 
 knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that, 
 or whether they both shall be alike good.” I had an 
 opening for this without the impropriety of forcing re- 
 ligious reflection upon my fellow-traveller, as is 6ften 
 done, abruptly and offensively. 
 
 This arose from my mentioning the design of my jour- 
 ney, which was to preach a funeral sermon for a very good 
 man, who had died in such a blessed manner as to ex- 
 emplify the words of David — 11 Mark the perfect man, 
 and behold the upright,, for the end of that man is 
 peace;” and which must have induced all wdio wit- 
 nessed it, or heard of it, to exclaim “ Let me die the 
 death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” 
 
 I noticed also something of the excellency of char- 
 acter with which such a decease well harmonized. I 
 soon perceived that, instead of wishing this kind of 
 discourse broken off, she encouraged its continuance. 
 I therefore spoke on till I left the coach. I was glad 
 to see she was going on alone, hoping solitariness 
 would help impression, and that what had been spoken 
 might be useful in days to come. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 235 
 
 1 was happy enough to learn afterwards that this 
 was the case. In consequence of what she had heard, 
 she was favorably disposed towards me ; and finding 
 that I was a minister, and preached in Bath, she resolv- 
 ed upon her return to go and hear me. She did so, 
 and it was not in vain in the Lord. For one day, 
 some months after, I received a note from Mrs. Pick- 
 wick, saying, that a young person whom she much 
 valued was very ill, and was anxious to see me, and 
 begging that I would visit her. I immediately went. 
 As I approached what was supposed to be a dying bed, 
 she wept much. When she had recovered herself, 
 and I saw her face, “ Why, surely,” said I, “ I have 
 seen you before.” “Sir,” said she, “blessed be God, 
 you have;” and then called to my remembrance our 
 transient intercourse when we travelled together to 
 Chippenham at such a time, and the benefit (she hoped 
 she was not deceiving herself) she had derived from it. 
 
 The difficulties and hinderances we meet with in the 
 things of God arise not so much from the subject as 
 from ourselves ; and when the heart is once opened 
 and humbled, and we are brought to the foot of the 
 cross, and to the foot of the throne, we are soon led 
 forward in the right road. I found, therefore, the 
 mind of the sufferer much advanced for the time in 
 spiritual knowledge and experience; and knowing, 
 what I now learnt, had she then died, I should have 
 had the fullest satisfaction concerning her eternal state ; 
 but she soon surprisingly recovered, was finally re- 
 stored, and continued attending at Argyle Chapel. 
 
 Her opportunities of attendance were soon enlarg- 
 ed, in consequence of her having made it a condi- 
 tion of her remaining in her place, and which was 
 
236 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 readily conceded from a regard to the iralue of her 
 services, rather than from any wish to favor the object 
 of her desires. O how much may those who are in 
 official situations accomplish by walking in wisdom to- 
 wards those that are without ! They may put to silence 
 the ignorance of those who are ready to accuse them, 
 remove their prejudices, and win them without the 
 word. And who ever walked uprightly without walk- 
 ing surely? and when did God ever falsify his own 
 word : “ Them that honor me I will honor ” ? 
 
 Not long after these occurrences, a passenger through 
 Bath stayed a few days at the White Hart Inn. He 
 was a truly good man, possessed of landed property, 
 and also carrying on a large business at St. Ives, near 
 Cambridge. Being a Dissenter, and having heard of 
 my name, he inquired of the bar-maid, on the Sunday 
 morning, where Mr. Jay preached? She answered, — 
 “ I am just going to his chapel ; and, if agreeable, I 
 will show you the way.” He accepted the offer. After 
 the service, meeting her in the house, he thanked her 
 for directing him, and spoke concerning the sermon ; 
 and again and again he noticed her. 
 
 And now another leaf in her book of providence 
 was to be turned over without any thought of hers. 
 Though she was very modest and retiring, (and indeed 
 very much because she was so,) she much impressed 
 him. Owing to this impression, he prolonged his stay; 
 and the impression continually increasing, he offered 
 her his hand, and she, after reflection and proper in- 
 quiry, saw no reason to refuse it. 
 
 She now, of course, removed to his residence at St. 
 Ives, where, for many years, she exemplified the ex- 
 cellences of the wife, the mother, the mistress, the 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 237 
 
 friend, and the neighbor — in the Christian. Her con- 
 versation was such as became the Gospel. She bore 
 richly of the fruits of the Spirit, and adorned the doc- 
 trine of God her Saviour in all things. Having now 
 the command of property, she added beneficence to 
 benevolence ; and, instead of only saying with many, 
 “ Depart in peace ; be ye warmed and filled !” she gave 
 them liberally such things as were needful ; and, while 
 not forgetful of the body, she showed herself still more 
 concerned for the soul ; and by her prayers, and in- 
 fluence, and example, the diligence and gentleness of 
 her instructions and invitations, and the uniformity 
 and loveliness of her character and conduct, she was 
 always endeavoring to bring souls to the Saviour, and 
 in some way or other to promote his cause 
 
 Some years after her marriage, and at her earnest and 
 repeated request, (her husband cordially joining in it,) 
 I visited St. Ives. She was a good trumpeter , and had 
 prepared the way for my coming. My preaching 
 proved peculiarly acceptable, and I hope and believe 
 good was done in various instances. To add to the ef- 
 fect of my public addresses, she pressed persons to 
 come to her house to attend the domestic worship. 
 But, as the number increased to the inconvenience 
 and disordering of the family, and as the meeting- 
 house was near, I proposed that, during the rest of my 
 visit, I should perform the service there every morn- 
 ing. This I did, beginning at seven, and continuing 
 then, and in all my after visits, a little more than half- 
 an-hour, adding to the psalm and prayer a short ex- 
 position of Scripture. Though the exercise was early, 
 the attendance commonly filled the place; and surely 
 God was in the midst of us of a truth. The services 
 
238 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 were informal and simple, and the spirit of devotion 
 was certainly felt. With what pleasure does the 
 writer call back those delightful engagements, in which 
 many joined in saying, “Lord, it is good for us to be 
 here.” 
 
 The pastor of the church at this time, instead of 
 feeling jealousy or indifference, was himself most 
 pleasingly excited, and did everything in his power to 
 increase a brother’s acceptance and success. He was 
 the excellent Mr. Crisp, who is now, and has been for 
 some years, the president of the Baptist College in 
 Bristol ; and his removal to that important station was 
 one of the results of the writer’s intercourse with St. 
 Ives. Nor can he forbear mentioning another event 
 originating from it, viz., the marriage of his second 
 daughter to Garfit Ashton, Esq., an event very inter- 
 esting to his feelings, and which has furnished one of 
 the greatest satisfactions of his life. After a course, 
 blameless, exemplary, and useful in no common de- 
 gree, this follower of the Lamb finished her course in 
 peace, and fell asleep in Jesus; and is had in applaud- 
 ing remembrance of all that were about her. 
 
 A minister should feel peculiarly honored and grate- 
 ful when God gives him a convert that not only ob- 
 tains good, but also perpetuates, multiplies, and dif- 
 fuses it. We believe that none of the subjects of di- 
 vine grace are entirely barren and unfruitful in the 
 knowledge of our Lord and Saviour ; but some of the 
 good ground brings forth, not only thirty but sixty, 
 and even a hundredfold. 
 
 N.B. — I shall here mention a little incident which 
 I met with before I left St. Ives. One day I saw on 
 a small under-shelf in the pulpit a volume of hymns 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 289 
 
 and spiritual songs ; it consisted of three books : — 1st. 
 On various subjects. 2dly. Adapted to the Lord’s 
 Supper. 3dly. In peculiar measures. It was designed 
 as a Supplement to Dr. Watts. I had never seen it nor 
 heard of it before. I took it to the house of my friend ; 
 and after examining it, I borrowed it ; and finding it 
 was not used in the worship, nor found in the congre- 
 gation, I begged it. The compositions themselves be- 
 trayed much spirituality and evangelism, and no little 
 degree of poetical excellence. A few of them I have 
 inserted in my own appendix to Watts. As the book 
 seems to be now unknown, and the author, one of the 
 most extraordinary individuals that ever lived in our 
 world, it may be interesting to mention a few facts 
 concerning him. His name was Simon Brown, and 
 he lies buried at Bridgewater. He first labored in 
 Portsmouth, and afterwards preached somewhere in 
 London. For many years before his death he fell into 
 the strange notion, that God had for his sins annihi- 
 lated his rational soul, and had left him only the soul 
 of a brute. He never after this felt the least doubt to 
 shake this conviction. Yet he wrote several vrorks ; 
 one was a Defence of Christianity against the Deists ; 
 the dedication of which, as a most singular curiosity, is 
 to be found, under his name, in the “ Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica.” 
 
 In some respects his case surpassed Cowper’s ; yet, 
 under all his delusion, there was nothing exceptionable 
 in all his productions ; so that Mr. Toplady said of 
 him — instead of having no soul, he wrote, and reason- 
 ed, and prayed as if he had two. 
 
240 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 
 
 Addressed to Mr. Charles Godwin. 
 
 Upon the formation of this Christian Association m 
 Bath, Mr. Jay received an invitation to attend. He 
 was unable to comply, owing to a previous engage- 
 ment, but expressed his concurrence and approbation 
 thus : — 
 
 I preached, indeed, last evening, but with diffi- 
 culty, and at present I shrink back from any addition- 
 al excitement or exertion. 
 
 This, however, is not the only reason of my non-at- 
 tendance. I am this day seventy -and-seven years old, 
 2 Sam. vii. 18 ; the day is felt interesting to my family, 
 and some more immediate connexions, and I had made 
 engagements which I cannot now alter, and engaged 
 those I cannot put off. 
 
 I was not brought up among the Exclusives , and I 
 have served all religious parties, holding the Head, 
 who have applied for my services. I have always 
 held my own sentiments with firmness, and preached 
 them without disguise ; and I never found the sober 
 and candid statement of these offensive to those who dif- 
 fered from me, as they saw I gave the liberty I took. 
 
 I have long been convinced that illiberality is not 
 confined to any one denomination of Christians — we 
 are all verily guilty ; and that bigotry is not to be 
 subdued by bigotry, but by an opposite spirit. 
 
 The attempt' (to form the Alliance ) commenced at 
 Liverpool, was a noble one, and failure in such an en- 
 deavor would be far preferable to success in a thousand 
 other causes ; but no good effort, begun with such an 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 241 
 
 aim, and carried on in sucli a spirit, and with 6 od in 
 the midst of it, ever was, ever will be, ever can be, in 
 vain. 
 
 I shall be with you in spirit ; and I have such con- 
 fidence in the wisdom and goodness of my brethren, 
 that, whatever they agree in, I shall unite in with 
 them ; that is, as far as to acquiesce, and countenance, 
 and recommend, for I must give up positive agencies. 
 It is too late for me to take part in initiative and ex- 
 ecutive proceedings ; and, blessed be God, there are 
 enough to be found of leisure and ability for such pur- 
 poses. I have too much for my age upon my head 
 and hands from the press and the pulpit; and I must 
 draw m from other things ; for which, too, I was al- 
 ways less fit.” 
 
 May 3, 1846. 
 
 I wish the Evangelical Alliance met with more en- 
 couragement. I expect good from it. It must tend 
 to liberalize and unite — which we so much want. May 
 the Lord be in the midst of them as a spirit of judg- 
 ment and a spirit of burning ! 
 
 DR. JOHN OWEN. 
 
 I have been dipping a little into dear Doctor Owen’s 
 book on the “ Glory of Christ,” which he wrote and 
 published in his last illness, when he was above half 
 way to heaven. O what a savor is there in every 
 page, every line, every word ! If other books lead us 
 to religion, rouse us, and attach us to religion, this 
 brings us into it. a The true spouse of Jesus Christ,” 
 he says, “is to be known by her always enjoying the 
 company of her beloved, or mourning after it.” This, 
 I think, is one of those 'emarks that a Christian may 
 
 11 
 
242 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 easilj apprehend and rejoice in. The Doctor observes, 
 also, “ That Christ in heaven does not live a life of 
 mere glory , but of office .” Yes, it was expedient for 
 us that He went away. His exaltation has not ban- 
 ished us from his mind. He appears in the presence 
 of God for us. 0 could we by faith see our High 
 Priest in his complete administration — could we see 
 him as John saw him, clothed with a garment down 
 to the feet, and girt with a golden girdle — what a con- 
 solation would it infuse into our souls under painful 
 apprehensions of our guilt and imperfections ! What 
 an energy would it communicate to all our exertions ! 
 What a fervor into all our devotional intercourse with 
 God! 
 
 APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION. 
 
 “Let me know,” he said, writing to a friend, “ when 
 
 has established the Apostolical Succession, as I 
 
 intend then, old as I am, to conform. Many of the 
 clergy here begin to be shy of the notion, seeing the 
 use the Puseyites make of it, and that it appears to 
 be the main pillar of Popery. One of them (a rector 
 too), conversing in my library some time ago, when a 
 very foolish thing was said, exclaimed, “ Really I know 
 nothing so absurd, except our notion of Apostolical 
 Succession !” Newton and Scott, &c., &c., knew no- 
 thing of this ; nor the best of our evangelical clergy 
 now. The lower ground for a Church-of-Erigland'* 
 man is the safest. A high churchman will never be 
 able to contend successfully against a papist. 
 
 WORDSWORTH. 
 
 I WAS^ther surprised at your admiration of Words- 
 woi^h. He is always beyond me. I can never under- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY- 
 
 243 
 
 stand him ; and I have no notion of studying poetry, 
 which is designed to please, and which, like a fine 
 scene of nature, strikes and delights me at once. Do 
 you remember (though I liave not been influenced by 
 them) how the Edinburgh Reviewers dealt with him 
 some years ago ? But it has become fashionable to 
 extol him ; and much of this has been owing to his 
 Tory friends, in reward for his bigoted aristocratic 
 feeling. I have here presented you with Oowper’s 
 Life and Works. Read, and eat, and drink him. He 
 is the poet — all nature and all grace too ; never in the 
 fogs — never making his readers pause to ask what is 
 the meaning of this? or if there is any? and is it just 
 or not ? is it interesting or not ? 
 
 MORAL AND EVANGELICAL PREACHING. 
 
 The difference between these is, not that one 
 preaches good works, and not the other, for both 
 preach them ; but one expects motion without life, the 
 other looks for life in order to motion ; the one waters 
 dead trees, and obtains no fruit ; the other living trees, 
 that bring forth abundantly. 
 
 indwelling sin. 
 
 Saint Paul said, “ I am sold under sin.” But it is 
 recorded of Ahab that he sold himself to work wicked* 
 ness. There is a great difference between the man 
 who sells himself and the poor negro who is kidnapped. 
 “ It is no more,” says the Apostle, “ I that do it, but 
 sin that dwelleth in me.” 
 
244 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 THE RELATIVE MISERY OF SIN. 
 
 “That man perished not alone in liis iniquity.’ — J oshua, xxii. 20. 
 
 There is no greater fallacy than is involved in the 
 common phrase, “He is no man’s enemy but .ns own.” 
 Every bad man is the enemy of his wife, his children, 
 his family at large, his church, his country, and his 
 kind ; nor does any rank he may hold in society in- 
 validate the truth of this remark, nor diminish the re- 
 sponsibility of the transgressor. 
 
 ORTON’S “ LIFE OF DODDRIDGE.” 
 
 Mr. Jay said that Mr. Wilberforce considered Or- 
 ton’s “ Life of Doddridge” one of the best pieces of 
 biography in our language ; and Mr. Cornelius Win- 
 ter observed, that if ever he felt disposed to pride, he 
 took down that work to read. 
 
 COMMON SENSE. 
 
 When will the grace of God enthrone common 
 sense in the minds of religious people ? 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 Man originally fell by losing his confidence in God, 
 and can only be raised by the restoration of his confi- 
 dence. In other words, unbelief was his ruin, and he 
 now stands by faith. 
 
 FISHING FOR COMPLIMENTS. 
 
 Some people angle for praise with the bait of hu- 
 mility. I hope you will never be caught by it. They 
 condemn themselves, hoping that you will contradict 
 
OP THE .REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 245 
 
 them and commend them. Rather join in running 
 them down. It is always better to en on the safe 
 side. 
 
 THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 It is most probable that the Almighty has chosen 
 to veil the precise nature of this sin under more or 
 less of obscurity, in order that we may keep at the 
 utmost possible distance from it. If I wish to protect 
 an enclosure from depredation, and far that purpose 
 affix the usual notice, that traps or snares are set 
 within, I do not at the same time advertise the public 
 where they are placed, or I may be sure they will enter 
 where they consider it safe. 
 
 TYPES AND SHADOWS. 
 
 The Jews, like children, had a picture placed above 
 their lesson. 
 
 THE GREAT INTERCESSOR. 
 
 He who knows but the alphabet of prayer, and he 
 who has been most experienced in its use, must alike 
 take refuge in Him who ever liveth to make interces- 
 sion for us. 
 
 ON LORD BYRON. 
 
 In a sermon preached in May, 1824, from 1 Pet. i. 
 24, 25 : “ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory 
 of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, 
 and the flower thereof falleth away ; but the word of 
 the Lord endureth forever; and this is the Word 
 which by the Gospel is preached unto you/’ — in notic- 
 ing the death of this illustrious individual, Mr. Jay 
 
246 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 delivered the following apostrophe, which was soon 
 after inserted in the “Bath and Cheltenham Ga- 
 zette” : 
 
 “O Byron! Byron ! thy death brought this text to 
 my remembrance ! O Byron ! thy premature fall gave 
 rise to these solemn reflections! Who can help la- 
 menting the perverse and unhallowed use of thy stu- 
 pendous powers ! Who can think, unmoved, of the 
 vigor of thy intellect— the riches of thy imagination 
 — thy breathless sublimities of conception and express- 
 ion ! Who can think, unmoved, of the going down 
 of such a sun at noon ! of a genius, that might have 
 ranked with a Milton, quenched forever ; and leaving 
 so much to admire — so much to deplore — so much to 
 abhor ! No knell of departed greatness has ever more 
 solemnly sounded forth this sentiment : All flesh is as 
 grass , and all the glory of man as the flower of grass : the 
 grass withereth , and the flower thereof falleth away" 
 
 SERMON L 
 
 “ He shall choose our inheritance for us.” — Psalm xlvii. 4. 
 
 David said, “ I rejoice at thy word as one that find- 
 eth great spoil.” “ The law of thy mouth is better 
 unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” The 
 Scriptures abound with instructions, admonitions, and 
 counsels ; and he who studies and observes them will 
 find that they are “ profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
 for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the 
 man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 247 
 
 all good works/’ and may stand complete in all the 
 will of God. 
 
 The Book of Psalms we have always considered as 
 the treasur} r of religious experience : whether we are 
 in sorrow or in joj^ whether we pray or praise, wheth- 
 er we exercise confidence or resignation, here we ai- 
 rways find “ a word in season and O “ how good is 
 it !” “ ’Tis like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” 
 
 Such is the language of our text, “ He shall choose 
 our inheritance for us.” May the God of all grace en- 
 able us to make this sentiment our own ! In order to 
 accomplish this purpose, let us make four inquiries ; 
 and, 1st, To what does the sentiment refer ? 2dly, On 
 what is the sentiment founded ? 3dly, By what is the 
 sentiment enforced? 4thly, How is the sentiment to 
 be improved? “Consider what I say, and the Lord 
 give you understanding in all things.” First, To 
 what does the sentiment refer — “ our inherit- 
 ance” ? Now Canaan was the inheritance of the Jews, 
 and God chose this for them. Thus they could say, 
 “ The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, we 
 have a goodly heritage,” for it was the glory of all 
 lands, and flowed with milk and honey. The Chris- 
 tian has another and a better inheritance, “an inherit- 
 ance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, 
 reserved in heaven for him ;” and this God has chosen 
 for him, and he cannot be satisfied without the pos- 
 session of it. “As for me,” says he, with David, “ I 
 will behold thy face in righteousness ; I shall be sat- 
 isfied when I awake in thy likeness ;” for, be it re- 
 membered, his resignation to the choice of God with 
 regard to his eternal destiny does not extend so far as 
 some profess to extend it ; he does not express himself 
 
248 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 with those deluded persons, and saj (this is the lan* 
 guage of one of them), “Lord, if thou send me to hell 
 or to heaven, thy will be done ; whether my portion is 
 to be saved or to perish, I shall never cease to love or tc 
 praise thee.” Why, a little experience of the misery of 
 the lost would bring these poor creatures to their senseg. 
 
 There are two things which we may observe.- The 
 one is, the thing of which they boast is impossible . 
 You cannot love one that you are persuaded is an ene- 
 my to your eternal happiness. And, secondly, the 
 thing implies also a contradiction, for God has com- 
 manded us to seek, above all things, “his kingdom 
 and his righteousness.” Therefore, he can never be 
 •pleased at our disregarding what he has enjoined, or 
 with our willingness to sacrifice what he has promised. 
 But a Christian can leave to his heavenly Father all 
 the choice of his eternal inheritance (that is, when he 
 can realize his interest in Christ), knowing that “ in 
 his Father’s house are many mansions ;” and as to the 
 degree of glory he shall obtain, for “ one star differ- 
 eth from another star in glory;” and as to the employ- 
 ments in which he shall be engaged, for “his servants 
 shall serve him” as well as see his face, and shall 
 “serve him day and night in his temple.” His grand 
 concern is to gain the reality, and, as to the rest, in re- 
 gard to all the appendages, he can say, “ If by any 
 means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.” 
 
 But the sentiment refers to time rather than to eter- 
 nity, and to God’s choice in the regulation of all our 
 enjoyments on earth. Thus, therefore, the Christian 
 can say, “ The Lord shall choose my inheritance for 
 me,” as to my abode . He shall determine the bounds 
 of my habitation, and the place of my residence. A 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 249 
 
 change of situation, contrary to my disposition and 
 inclination to a fixed abode, I find to be trying ; but I 
 know not what effects with regard to myselt or others 
 may result from it. 
 
 'To me remains nor place nor time, 
 
 My country is in every clime ; 
 
 I can be calm, and free from care, 
 
 On any shore, since God is there. 
 
 At home, abroad, what sweets they prove, 
 
 Whose souls are fired with sacred love ; 
 
 In heaven, on earth, or on the sea, 
 
 Where’er they dwell, they dwell with Thee. 
 
 While place we seek, or place we shun, 
 
 The soul finds happiness in none ; 
 
 But if Thy smiles attend our way, 
 
 ’Tis equal joy to go or stay. 
 
 Could I be cast where Thou art not, 
 
 That were indeed a dreadful lot ; 
 
 But regions none remote I call, 
 
 Secure of finding Thee in all.” 
 
 “ He shall choose my inheritance for me” as to occu- 
 pation. He shall determine the nature of my profess- 
 ion and calling. He has servants in all vocations, 
 and they are all equally respectable when appointed 
 by Him, and all are “ sanctified by the word of God 
 and prayer.” “ He shall choose my inheritance for 
 me” as to condition. He shall determine whether my 
 plans shall flourish or fail ; whether I am to be known 
 or to be obscure ; whether I am to be affluent or poor. 
 “ He shall choose my inheritance for me” as to connec- 
 tion. He shall determine whether I am to serve Him 
 individually oi relatively, whether I shall preside over 
 11 * 
 
250 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 a family or be written childless in the earth, whether I 
 shall have friends, or whether I am to feel the want 
 of them. “He shall choose my inheritance for me ’ 7 
 as to health . He shall determine whether I am to 
 serve Him actively or passively, whether my strength 
 shall be equal to my day of labor, and my hands be 
 sufficient for me, or whether I shall be made to possess 
 months of vanity, or have wearisome nights appointed 
 unto me. “ He shall choose my inheritance for me” 
 as to life itself He shall determine how long or how 
 short shall be its continuance ; and the time and place, 
 the mode and the means, of my removal, I leave with 
 Him in whose hands my breath is, and whose are all 
 my ways. Thus, all that alarms my fears, all that ex- 
 cites my hopes, all that engages my expectations, I 
 commit to Him in compliance with his merciful admo- 
 nitions and injunctions, “ Cast thy burden on the 
 Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” “ Commit thy way 
 unto the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it 
 to pass.” “ Casting all your care upon him, for he 
 careth for you.” 
 
 “ My cares, I give you to the wind, 
 
 And shake you off like dust ; 
 
 Well may we trust our all with Him, 
 
 With whom our souls we trust. 99 
 
 Let us inquire, 
 
 Secondly, On what this sentiment is founded. 
 It is founded, my brethren, on the belief of God’s su- 
 preme agency in all our affairs. How, as to the fact 
 itself There is such a thing as a Divine providence. 
 He who made the world has not abandoned it. “ In 
 him we live and move,” as wel as “ have our being.” 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 251 
 
 And He does not govern all by mechanical laws, as a 
 man who may form a machine that can go without his 
 inspection, and which he may therefore leave, for a 
 season at least, to another, while he attends to some- 
 thing else. For here, were God to suspend his atten- 
 tion for one moment, all would run into confusion and 
 disorder. Nor does he govern all by general laws, 
 as if he regarded whole systems and whole worlds, or 
 a series of worlds, while he overlooks individuals and 
 minute concerns. This notion, half philosophical and 
 half infidel, some in our day have embraced, as if, for- 
 sooth, it were beneath God. What ! can it be beneath 
 him to manage what it was not beneath him to create ? 
 Or, as if they would save him trouble and perplexity 
 arising from a multiplicity of cares. But surely In- 
 finite Wisdom and Power can never be in perplexity. 
 He “ fainteth not, neither is weary ; there is no search- 
 ing of his understanding.” There are those who cavil 
 at the notion of a particular providence ; but we should 
 remember that universal providence necessarily implies 
 a particular one, as the whole is necessarily made up 
 of various parts. Let us, therefore, come and hear 
 Him, into whose lips grace was poured, and who 
 spake as never man spake. Let us hear Him, who 
 maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on the good, 
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, — Him, 
 who wings an angel, and teaches the spider to weave 
 his web — who numbers the hair of our heads, remem- 
 bering it is said, 11 A sparrow falleth not to the ground 
 without your Heavenly Father.” Look, said our Lord 
 to his disciples, Look at the fowls of the air, which 
 neither have storehouse nor barn, yet they are pro- 
 vided for ; though when they drop from their perches 
 
252 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 in the morning they know not where they snail find 
 one grain of food. “ And why take ye thought for rai- 
 ment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; 
 they toil not, neither do they spin but yet he clothes 
 them, and “ Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
 like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the 
 grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is 
 cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, 
 O ye of little faith ?” When we speak of little things, 
 we often know not what we are saying, for how can 
 we determine what is little? There are many things 
 which are very small in themselves, yet, by their con- 
 nection and by their results, what are they ? How 
 often do we see events of the greatest importance 
 hanging upon apparently trifling circumstances ! 
 When Joseph was sent to inquire after his brethren 
 in Dothan, how little did he think that he should go 
 by a way by which he should never return, and that 
 his successes would furnish matter for entertainment 
 and instruction to the end of time ! W e should al- 
 ways bear in mind, when we go forth in the morning, 
 that something may overtake us before evening, which 
 may give a complexion to the whole of our future 
 days. The providence of God extends not only to 
 our minute affairs, but to what we call casual con- 
 cerns ; for we are expressly told, that u the lot is cast 
 into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the 
 Lord.’ 7 And what is accidental with regard to us is 
 not so with regard to God. “ He worketh all things 
 according to the counsel of his own will and “ of 
 him, and from him, and to him are all things ; to 
 whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 
 
 How, my brethren, you will observe this is a far,t* 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 253 
 
 whether you hear, or whether you forbear ; but he 
 who uses this language realizes it, and brings it home 
 to his own bosom ; he is persuaded though God is 
 high, yet that he condescends to manage his minute 
 affairs, and, therefore, says he, “I will cry unto God 
 most high, unto God that performeth all things for 
 me.” While unbelief keeps God at a distance faith 
 brings him near, and with his presence fills what other- 
 wise would be a gloomy and aching void. When I 
 am enabled to realize this principle and say, “ He shall 
 choose my inheritance for me,” then can I exercise 
 confidence in him, and then I feel fresh motives for 
 my praise and gratitude. When I sink in deep waters 
 where there is no standing, this principle raises me 
 up, “ sets my feet upon a rock, and establishes my 
 goings, and puts a new song into my mouth, even 
 praise unto the Lord.” Now, I go on my way re- 
 joicing ; — now, he who was once afar off is made nigh, 
 and my God sustains me ; — now, I have a God who 
 has succeeded me in my endeavors, who is doing all 
 things for me, and doing all things well. 
 
 The doctrine, my brethren, of a particular provi- 
 dence puts the Christian and all his concerns on board 
 a vessel, and then gives God the supreme command ; 
 so the Christian feels supreme satisfaction when he is 
 persuaded that all the Divine arrangements are made 
 with reference to his providence. I am well aware 
 that this notion may be carried to excess. We have 
 all some secret tendency in us to enthusiasm and fa- 
 naticism ; and we sometimes meet with persons who 
 seem to think that they are the very centre of God’s 
 designs, as if God had nothing to do but to attend to 
 them. Yet it is true he does act and care for the 
 
254 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAIN'S 
 
 Christian individually, for there are circumstances in 
 the life of every Christian that will not allow of his 
 questionii g it. When he looks hack he can say, — 
 
 “ Many days have pass’d since then, 
 
 Many changes I have seen, 
 
 Yet have been upheld till now ; 
 
 Who could hold me up but Thou ?” 
 
 Then, as to the present, — “ Thou tellest all my wan- 
 derings ; thou puttest my tears into thy bottle ; are 
 they not in thy book ?” And it is, my brethren, a 
 truth, that while all creatures are the subjects of provi- 
 dence, his own people are the end . Therefore it is 
 said, u The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout 
 tbe whole earth, to show himself strong on the behalf 
 of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” 
 
 Let us now ask, and endeavor to answer, a third 
 question, viz : — 
 
 Thirdly, By what is this sentiment enforced ? 
 We will mention only one particular. Nothing can 
 be more reasonable than this confidence ; and, what- 
 ever the people of the world may think, “ wisdom” as 
 our Lord says, “ is justified of all her children ;” and 
 they are able to give a reason of their prospects, as 
 well of their hope. Let us, therefore, consider jive 
 things by way of argument. God has a right to choose 
 for us, and we have not a right. God is qualified to 
 choose for us, and we are not qualified to choose for 
 ourselves. God has already chosen well, and is will- 
 ing still to choose for us — why should we resign Him ? 
 and you never will feel so peaceful and so comfortable 
 as when you know all is under his care and direction, 
 that he has undertaken the charge in answer to your 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 255 
 
 resolution, 11 The Lord shall chose our inheritance for 
 us .’ 7 
 
 First He has a right to choose for us. A right much 
 greater than a tutor over his pupils, or a father over 
 his child — a right derived from absolute sovereignty ; 
 for, has He not a right to do what he will with his 
 own ? Suppose He were to say to any creature, “ Go 
 thy way — take that that is thine own ; 77 what would he 
 be able to take away? Would he be able to take 
 away himself? Why, his being would immediately 
 relapse into its original nothingness. He has a pro- 
 priety in us — we never can say, He takes away from 
 us what does dot belong to Him. 
 
 “The dear delights we here enjoy, 
 
 And fondly call our own, 
 
 Are but short favors, borrow’d now, 
 
 To be repaid anon.” 
 
 But what right now have you to choose ? Produce it 
 if you can; justify it if you can. Have you made 
 yourself? Have you redeemed yourself? Have you 
 sustained yourself? From whose wardrobe have you 
 been clothed? At whose table have you been fed? 
 Who is it that draws your curtain at night around 
 you, and tells creation to be quiet while you slumber 
 and sleep ? Whose mercies are new every morning ? 
 A gardener may admire a beautiful flower, and may 
 wish to preserve what he has raised with so much care, 
 in the parterre. He comes into the garden, and finds 
 it gathered. But he is disposed to be angry, and asks, 
 “ Who has gathered it ? 77 “ Oh , 77 says a fellow-servant, 
 
 “ It was our master. He came here this morning, and 
 gathered it.” What is the consequence ? Why then 
 
250 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 the gardener is still, and opens not his mouth, because 
 the owner has done it. And shall it not be much 
 more the case with regard to us, with regard to our 
 losses and bereavements? Then you will observe, 
 
 Secondly , God is qualified to choose for us ; — as the 
 right belongs to Him, so the ability belongs to Him; 
 and His judgment is always according to truth. He 
 can never be mistaken, therefore, 
 
 “Since all the downward tracks of time 
 God’s watchful eyes surveys, 
 
 Oh ! who so wise to choose our lot, 
 
 Or regulate our ways?” 
 
 He knoweth your frame. He can distinguish be- 
 tween your wants and your wishes. He knows what 
 will be good for you, forty years hence, if you live so 
 long. He knows perfectly how you will feel in any 
 condition in which you can be placed. He knows well 
 how to refuse you, and when to indulge you. 
 
 Are you qualified to choose — “ to have your own 
 desire”? “The way of man is not in himself. It is 
 not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Al- 
 phonse, king of Spain, was addicted to the study of 
 astronomy, when that sublime science was less known 
 than at present ; and having, in his ignorance, observed, 
 as he thought, some irregularities in the heavenly 
 bodies, he said, “If I had been by the side of the 
 Maker when he put these in motion, I could have 
 given him some good advice.” Now you shudder at 
 such an expression, but have you not done this with 
 regard to the providence of Grod ? Have you not often 
 thought that you could “direct the Lord,” and “be 
 his counsellor ” ? Everything unfits us to choose our 
 
OF THE REV WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 257 
 
 inheritance for ourselves. We are too ignorant to 
 choose for ourselves. We i nay choose that which may 
 issue in our mischief and misery. We see only a 
 small portion of the whole — -but a few parts only ; nor 
 do we see their connection with others ; nor do we see 
 their final results. We know what we feel in our pres- 
 ent situations and conditions ; but we cannot know 
 how we should feel in new and untried ones. Observe 
 the case of Hazael, when the man of God wept, and 
 Hazael said, “ Why weepest thou, my lord? And he 
 answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do 
 unto the children of Israel, their strongholds shalt 
 thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay 
 with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip 
 up their women with child.” What, said he, am I a 
 dog that I should do this ? He was then sincere in 
 his detestation. But said the prophet, the Lord hath 
 showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he 
 came to the throne — put off humanity — put on tyran- 
 ny, and became all that the prophet predicted. And 
 though he had said, “Is thy servant a dog that he 
 should do this great thing?” Yet, as an old writer ob- 
 serves, “ The dog DID do it .” 
 
 Then we are too sensual to choose our inheritance 
 for ourselves. We may desire dainty meat, when per- 
 haps we need medicine. We are anxious to gather 
 fruit while it is green, whereas it must be most nutri- 
 tious when it comes to maturity. So Lot desired the 
 plains of Sodom because he saw they were well water- 
 ed and fertile ; but little did he reflect upon the neigh- 
 bors and the intercourse he might have there. He 
 therefore had soon occasion to lament his choice ; and 
 “ his righteous soul was vexed from day to day with 
 
258 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 the filthy conversation of the wicked then he was 
 burnt out of house and home ; then his wife became a 
 pillar of salt, and his character became tarnished and 
 disgraced — and all this from his choosing his own in- 
 heritance. 
 
 Then we should be too impatient to choose it. We 
 should prefer what is near to what is remote, what is 
 present to that which is future. We should be dis- 
 posed to reap as soon as we have sown, not reflecting 
 that the months of winter must come between the 
 seed-time and the harvest; and there must be long 
 patience until we have the early and latter rain. Then, 
 
 Thirdly . Let us remember that He has chosen al- 
 ready for us : why, then, should we abandon Him now, 
 that He has chosen for us well, and that He has proved 
 himself worthy of our confidence? And seeing we 
 are incapable of judging for ourselves, why do we not 
 now approve of His designs? Do we not now see 
 wisdom in what once appeared irregular and confused ? 
 Do we not now see kindness in what once appeared to 
 be severe ? “ 0 generation, saith the Lord, have I 
 
 been a wilderness unto Israel ? a land of darkness ?” 
 — “ O my people, what have I done unto thee, and 
 wherein have I wearied thee ? testify against me ! ” 
 Have I taken advantage of thy dependance to injure 
 thee ? Have I not made all things work together for 
 good? But if I have done this, why do you decline 
 me as to you v future confidence? What narrow escapes 
 have some of you had! When questioning your in- 
 ability to judge for yourselves, had I allowed you for 
 awhile to steer your little bark across the ocean of 
 time, you would soon have stranded or struck against 
 a rock if I had not interposed on your behalf. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 259 
 
 Fourthly . God is willing to choose for you still. Yes, 
 this is wonderful, but it is true. If you had been 
 placed under the direction of any creature, even of any 
 angel, he would have long ago abandoned you ; but 
 God has borne with your manners and with your faith- 
 lessness in the wilderness. He hath said, “ I am the 
 Lord — I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are 
 not consumed.” This leaves you without excuse. 
 You might otherwise have said, u God hath forsaken 
 me, and I must manage as well as I can for myself.” 
 But this is not the case. But God is ready still to hear 
 your prayer. You may, therefore, cry unto Him, “ O 
 Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me.” Place 
 your reliance upon Him, and he will lead you and 
 guide you in the way you should go. Repose a child- 
 like trust and confidence in Him. 
 
 Then, finally , and to close the argument, — You will 
 never feel peace and comfort till you feel assured that 
 all is under the guidance and direction of your Heav- 
 enly Father — that he has undertaken the charge of all, 
 in answer to your resolution, “ The Lord shall chose 
 my inheritance for me.” The only way in which you 
 can obtain your desires is, always to commit them to 
 God. He will guide you by his counsel. The only 
 way to happiness in a world like this, so full of 
 changes, is, to trust in Him — to “ trust in the Lord for- 
 ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” 
 Therefore He hath said, “ Thou wilt keep him in per- 
 fect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he 
 trusteth in Thee.” Solomon has this fine passage, 
 u Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts 
 shall be established.” And do you commit your 
 thoughts unto the Lord ? Our thoughts create anxie- 
 
260 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 ties, they produce tremulousness and vexations of 
 mind, according to Solomon. And what is to be done 
 in the multitude of our thoughts arising from our vari- 
 ous concerns? What can calm them? Why, confi- 
 dence in God. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and 
 thy thoughts that may arise from them, however they 
 may be multiplied, shall be established. 
 
 The heathens acknowledged that care was a cross 
 and a malady, and they prescribed for the malady; 
 but all their prescriptions proved ineffectual in remov- 
 ing the complaint. But the apostle prescribes an effect- 
 ual remedy, in his Epistle to the Philippians, where 
 he says, u Be careful for nothing, but in everything, 
 by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let 
 your requests be made known unto God.” And, 
 Christians, what a load of care would be removed, 
 what relief, what serenity would you feel, were you 
 able to realize this ! But let us hasten to consider 
 once more. 
 
 Fourthly, In w t hat this sentiment is to be im- 
 proved ? And, my brethren, we may improve it in 
 a way of concession . We acknowledge this cause is 
 difficult. It implies the mortification of pride and 
 vanity — the sacrifice of self-will, of self-conceit, and 
 self-sufficiency — it implies a willingness to be deprived 
 of our possessions — to have our inclinations crossed, 
 and our fond hopes destroyed. And you may feel as- 
 sured of this, that the man is a stranger to the thing 
 who is a stranger to such an attainment. No, it is the 
 consequence of hard striving, of much observance of 
 the misery of others, of much of the experience of 
 those evils tc which we have found ourselves exposed, 
 when, instead of trusting in the Lord with all our 
 
OF THE REV. WII JLIAM JAY. 
 
 261 
 
 heart, we have leaned to oar own understanding. 
 And, after all, there are some remains of this wretch- 
 ed leaven still left in the believer in our Lord Jesus. 
 But they are hallowed, heavenly hours in which the 
 Christian, with a holy heroism, can relinquish all, and 
 say, falling upon his knees, “The Lord, He shall choose 
 my inheritance for me.” 
 
 Then we may improve it by remarking, that it is so 
 rare . We cannot look for this state of mind except 
 among Christians. The generality of mankind are 
 “ living without God, and without hope in the world 
 and, though surrounded by so many proofs of his 
 goodness, God is not in all their thoughts. They 
 don’t wish to be considered as atheists, and would per- 
 haps be offended if we did not consider them as pos- 
 sessors of Christianity. But what are they ? — Practi- 
 cal atheists. They have no abiding impression of 
 God upon their minds — they don’t refer to his glory 
 in their pursuits — they use no means to ascertain his 
 will, nor endeavor to secure his approbation. 
 
 We may improve it in a way of inquiry. Is the 
 text your language? And is it the expression of the 
 heart ? for while man looketh on the outward appear- 
 ance, the Lord looketh at the heart. There is much 
 that is speculative in many professors of religion. But 
 it would be absurd to suppose that such a sentiment 
 was sincere and not operative. Surely the creed will 
 guide the conduct; and we judge of the reality of 
 your possessing godliness by the influence it will have 
 upon you. You will not be urging after what God 
 has denied, or quarrelling with him for what he has 
 bestowed ; but you would rather say with David, 
 “ Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child 
 
262 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 that is weaned of liis mother ; my soul is as a weaned 
 child.” 
 
 Let us also improve it in a way of admonition. Now 
 have any of you an important movement in view ? 
 Learn to wait much upon God, seeking his direction. 
 Move not but as you see the pillar of cloud or pillar 
 of fire move, unless you would have God left behind 
 you. There may be some difficulty ; but in such cases 
 never engage in anything without a conviction of its 
 being right ; if conscious of this, God will spare you, 
 and peace shall be with you ; but otherwise, what can 
 be your peace ? 
 
 You must wait for God, you see, as well as wait upon 
 God. There are some, James tells us, who will be 
 rich, whether God will have it so or not — they will ; 
 but says the Apostle Paul, “ They that will be rich, 
 fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish 
 and hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition and 
 destruction.” Alas ! how much we see of this ! And 
 hear again the language of James : “ Go to now, ye 
 that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a 
 city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and 
 get gain ; whereas ye know not what shall be on the 
 morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor 
 that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth 
 away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we 
 shall live, and do this- or that.” Now, here we have 
 an unsanctified tradesman. He carries on business to 
 great advantage : he seems to have no desire to-monop- 
 olize, or to run down others : his aim seems to be to 
 use it only in a lawful way of business. What, now, 
 is there in this at all reprehensible? seeing it is the hand 
 of the diligent that maketh rich, and if any provide 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 263 
 
 not for his own, and especially for those of his own 
 house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an 
 infidel. But, perhaps you say he is avaricious — he is 
 ambitious — and that it is not a substance he wants, 
 but an abundance — not a competency, but splendor, 
 and to be carried away by the pride of life. But, 
 however this may be, God is not present to his mind. 
 He never prayed before his undertaking. He never 
 sought Divine direction, or said, “ He shall choose my 
 inheritance for me.” He has been regardless of Him 
 upon whom everything depends. He never said, “If 
 the Lord will I shall live to do this or that.” But he 
 is to succeed ; he is to live another year, regardless of 
 vicissitudes and accidents, and he is to gain, notwith- 
 standing faithless servants and heartless friends, and 
 all those changes to which mortals are exposed while 
 here. 
 
 Then it is the only way of usefulness . The Chris- 
 tian being blessed, becomes a blessing to others. 
 
 It is also the only way of happiness . God has given the 
 dearest and highest enjoyment here in the place of our 
 pilgrimage. The source of our highest happiness and 
 dearest blessedness consists in our triumphs over sin, 
 over self, and usefulness to others. 
 
 All without, and all about me, tells me I am a sinner. 
 The Bible tells me what I must do to be saved. I 
 must repent of sin, and believe in the name of the 
 only -begotten Son of God. 
 
 O my hearers, may this not be a lost opportunity, 
 or the means of your greater condemnation. Remem- 
 ber that “ now is the accepted time, now is the day of 
 salvation.” 
 
 In conclusion — Though I wish it not to be exclu* 
 
264 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 sively regarded as an address to the young, yet I wish 
 to impress these words, and press the sentiment upon 
 you, my dear young friends. Your knowledge is 
 small. You are destitute of that kind of information, 
 the most valuable, derived from experience. Your 
 feelings are easily and powerfully wrought upon. 
 How much importance attaches to your conduct in the 
 futurities of life, and upon any step you may take ! 
 A wrong step may produce a thousand bitter re- 
 morses, and cause repentance to be quartered upon 
 you for life. Where is your safety ? I tremble for 
 you when I see you entering upon, and having to pass 
 through, such a world as this. Where, I ask again, 
 is your safety ? Will you not from this time cry unto 
 God, “My Father, thou shalt be the guide of my 
 youth” ? It is a mercy that some of you have wise 
 and good parents to counsel and direct you. These, 
 however, are not a substitute for God — but God can 
 be a substitute for them to you, if you should be de- 
 prived of them ; and if father and mother should be 
 called to forsake you, the Lord will take you up. 0 
 that you may see the importance, and be influenced to 
 make a surrender of yourselves to Him ! And you 
 know who hath said, “ I love them that love me, and 
 those that seek me early shall find me,” 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 265 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not ; I will lead 
 them in paths that they have not known ; I will make dark- 
 ness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things 
 will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” — Isaiah, xlii. 1(5. 
 
 The sky is not more beautifully spangled with stars 
 than the Bible is filled with promises. It is to remind 
 us of the greatness of these assurances, that the Apostle 
 Peter tells us there are given “ exceeding great and 
 precious promises ;” but this would only have prepar- 
 ed the way for disappointment, by raising our expect- 
 ations high, unless they could be absolutely depended 
 upon ; and, therefore, the Apostle Paul says, u all the 
 promises of Grod are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.” 
 Now, thus recommended, you cannot be too well ac- 
 quainted with them : you cannot too frequently review 
 them ; nothing can be more pleasing, nothing more 
 profitable, than to place them opposite all your exi- 
 gencies ; to seek from them relief for all that is trying 
 in creatures around you ; and to compare them with 
 their accomplishment in others and in ourselves. “ 1 
 will bring the blind by a way that they knew not ; I 
 will lead them in paths that they have not known ; I 
 will make darkness light before them, and crooked 
 things straight. These things will I do unto them, and 
 not forsake them.” 
 
 These words have been completely accomplished in 
 those who have reached Immanuel’s land, and in 
 whose number we now reckon so many o*f our own be- 
 loved friends and relations who are waiting to receive 
 us into everlasting habitations. 1 say they are com- 
 
 12 
 
266 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 pletely accomplished in them. As soon as ever they 
 had taken possession of the inheritance of the saints 
 in light, some Joshua said to them, u Ye know in all 
 your hearts that not one thing has failed of all the 
 good things which the Lord your God spake concerning 
 you ; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing 
 hath failed thereof.” But, Christians, you are not yet 
 come to the rest of the Lord, but you are journeying 
 towards it; so far He has been your helper, and be* 
 cause He has been your helper it becomes you to say, 
 with David, 11 Therefore under the shadow of thy 
 wings will I put my trust.” And to aid you a little in 
 your gratitude in the reflection of the past, and in your 
 confidence in prospect of the future, let us in this brief 
 and familiar exercise examine God’s engagements, and 
 see the advantages we are to derive from them. 
 
 First. As a Leader. 
 
 Secondly . As an Interpreter. 
 
 Thirdly. As a never-failing Friend. 
 
 My brethren, it is our mercy that though we cannot 
 know God perfectly we can know" Him savingly : 
 though we know not what He is in himself, we see what 
 He is to us. He is held forth in His W ord as our Lead- 
 er. “I will bring the blind by a way that they know 
 not; I will lead them in paths that they have not 
 known.” What could we do without such a guide ? 
 What would be the condition of man without God 
 with him in the world ? He is a wanderer on the dark 
 mountains, exposed to every destroyer, and by a miser- 
 able time working out a more miserable eternity. You 
 may go to hell without God, but you will never go to 
 heaven but under His conduct ; and yet men naturally 
 are not sensible of their need of such a guide. There 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 267 
 
 is nothing men are so proud of as their knowledge ; 
 they would generally rather be considered knaves than 
 fools ; of everything that pertains to them they are 
 pleased with nothing but their understandings ; they 
 have not enough of anything else, but here they are 
 completely satisfied ; in any kind of contention or 
 reasoning you will always find them preferring their 
 own modicum of sense to that of others, and this, too, 
 just in proportion to their ignorance, and deficiency, 
 and want of judgment; and so vain man would be 
 wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt. u We 
 go astray from the womb,” says David. We are u alien- 
 ated from God by wicked works,” says Paul. If 
 ever you have sincerely reflected on your condition ; 
 if ever you have been in earnest to reach eternal glory ; 
 if ever you have been duly sensible of your own guilt 
 and weakness, and the difficulties and dangers of the 
 passage, — this has been from that hour your prayer, 
 “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me. Teach me to 
 do thy will, for thou art my God.” And does He dis- 
 regard such a prayer? He always pays attention to it ; 
 He takes us under his guidance ; and every believer 
 may therefore say, with David, “ He restore th my soul ; 
 he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his 
 name’s sake.” And hence the church exults and ex- 
 claims, LL This God is our God forever and ever; He 
 will be our guide, even unto death.” Well may we 
 rejoice, if we are under the care of such a Being in 
 our way to heaven ; one so almighty to defend us, so 
 condescending to converse with us, so kind to indulge 
 us, so patient to bear with us, and so wise to choose 
 our inheritance for us. But the persons whom He 
 leads are called blind. How is this ? Are they 
 
268 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 not in Scripture always represented as children of the 
 day? Does not the apostle say to them, u Ye were 
 darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord ” ? In the 
 9th of John you read that the Pharisees said unto the 
 blind man ; — he was not blind then , but he had been 
 blind, and they called him by the old name. So it is 
 here. They are called from what they once were ; and 
 what they are indeed now partially. Let us, therefore, 
 now see for a few moments how, and where, Pie leads 
 them. “ I will lead them in paths they have not 
 known.” This is true. 
 
 1. In their spiritual concerns . — What, Christian, did 
 you formerly know of things you now see the beauty 
 and feel the importance of ? What did you once know 
 of conviction of sin? You now see its evil and guilt 
 as well as its danger ; you see its pollution, and how it 
 excludes you righteously from the presence of a holy 
 God ; you now not only fear it, but you hate it ; and 
 you now not only leave it, but you loathe it. What 
 did you once know of faith in Christ ? Now you claim 
 him as your foundation and your refuge ; now you re- 
 joice in him with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. 
 But did you go this way heretofore ? What did you 
 then know of a throne of grace? You heard of prayer 
 — you said yours, perhaps, very regularly ; or, if not, 
 when any danger or distress excited you : but now 
 you hunger and thirst after righteousness ; now you 
 come unto God by Him ; now you have boldness and 
 access with confidence, by the faith of Him ; now you 
 can say, “It is good for me to draw near unto God.” 
 But did you go this way heretofore? No. He hath 
 brought the blind by a way that they knew not. If 
 now you are Christians, you were not born such ; you 
 
OF THE KEV. WILLIAM JAM. 
 
 269 
 
 were made such. He has made you to differ, and the 
 difference arises from His having called you “ out of 
 darkness into his maivellous light;” the conver- 
 sion, which you have been made the subject of, is, 
 therefore, in Scripture, said to be your “ walking in 
 newness of life ;” — observe this, — in newness of life. 
 There is always a leaning in people to antiquit}^ and 
 there is some reason for it ; it is not a mere prejudice ; 
 and the reason is this, because truth was before error ; 
 for error is the perversion of truth, and a thing must 
 exist before it can be perverted or abused. Now peo- 
 ple know this ; and, therefore, when the “ truth as it 
 is in Jesus” comes into a neighborhood, the common 
 language is, that it is a novel thing. But nothing can 
 be more false than this accusation. The Gospel was 
 preached to the Jews — The Gospel was preached to 
 Abraham 430 years before the giving of the law — yea, 
 the Gospel was preached in Paradise to Adam and 
 Eve in the first promise. What do we say ? An in- 
 fidel has entitled a book “ Christianity as old as the 
 Creation,” and we accept the charge in one view. As 
 old as the Creation ! It is much older. “ We hope,” 
 says the apostle, “ in eternal life, which God, that can- 
 not lie, promised before the world began.” But though 
 the charge of novelty be false in this respect, it is true 
 in another. There is a newness in these things as to 
 their perception. Though you have heard of them 
 — read of them — before, yet, when you are called by 
 grace, you have other views of them, and other feel- 
 ings than before : you seem to have entered a new 
 world. Thus would it be if some of you went to 
 Italy ; — it would not be a new country, but it would be 
 new to you. If a man were born blind, and restored 
 
270 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 to sight, — why, he would not see a new sun, but it 
 would be new to him ; and thus it is that the Lord 
 leads us in paths that we have not known. 
 
 It is equally true with regard to Christians, 
 
 2. In their temporal concerns , for here, what do you 
 know as to future scenes ? what with regard to nations, 
 families, individuals ? what with regard to yourselves ? 
 Why, you know not what a day may bring forth. 
 And when you look back on life, all that is very im- 
 portant in it you had not once been led to expect ; 
 the places in which you have resided, your friendships, 
 your employments, your enterprises, your disappoint- 
 ments, your successes, — all these would formerly, had 
 they been presented to you, have appeared strange ; 
 and, had they been foretold, would have led you to 
 say, with the unbelieving nobleman, “ If the Lord 
 should make wdndows in heaven, might such things 
 be !” Now this is peculiarly the case with regard to 
 some men. In their lives there has been such an op- 
 position between obscurity and splendor, that there 
 seems to be between them a gulf which could not have 
 been passed ; but it has been passed under the lead- 
 ings of Him “ who is wonderful in counsel and excel- 
 lent in working.” 
 
 When the Jews returned from Babylon, and, instead 
 of being peeled and stripped, were even enriched ; — 
 11 when,” said they, “ the Lord turned our captivhy, 
 we were like them that dreamed.” When the Jews 
 were in the wilderness, they never knew where they 
 should fix their next station; and this was not often a 
 straightforward motion, but, as Moses remarks, “he 
 led them about;” and yet the psalmist makes this re- 
 mark upon it, “ he led them by a right way.” So 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 271 
 
 Abraham went forth, not knowing whither he went, 
 but he knew with whom ; and as Job said, a Behold 
 I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but 
 I cannot perceive Him ; but He knoweth the way that 
 I take.” 
 
 Having viewed God as our leader, let us 
 4 Secondly. See Him as our Interpreter . — The knowl- 
 edge he imparts to his people is always gradual, like 
 the dawn that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day. “ I will make darkness light before them, and 
 crooked things straight.” Let us see how this may be 
 exemplified in five cases or instances. 
 
 “He makes darkness light, and crooked things 
 straight.” 
 
 1. As to Doctrine . — It is not for us to determine with 
 how much ignorance in the mind, and error in judg- 
 ment, grace may be associated in the heart ; but we 
 read in the Gospel of a blind man, on whose eyes our 
 Saviour put his fingers, and said to him, Look, and he 
 looked up, and said, “I see men as trees walking.” 
 But he was under the operation of Christ ; and when 
 He put his hand a second time to the work, and said, 
 Look up, he said, “ Now I see all things clearly.” So 
 it is here, it is precisely the case with persons ; for 
 some have very defective, obscure views of some of 
 the leading truths of the Gospel ; I mean, compared 
 with what others possess, and what they themselves 
 will possess afterwards. I seldom, indeed, like per- 
 sons who all at once become so very clear and high ; 
 they remind me of those poor ricketty children, whose 
 heads grow larger than their bodies ; it is not the ef- 
 fect of strength, but of disease and weakness. I never 
 think it well to see speculation going before expe- 
 
272 
 
 THE LITERARY” REMAINS 
 
 rience. All God’s works are progressive. We see 
 first the blade — -then the ear — after that the full corn 
 in the ear. Our Saviour said to his own disciples, “I 
 have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear 
 them now.” When will ministers, when will Chris- 
 tians, learn to follow His example ? when will they 
 be able to exercise patience towards the imperfect? 
 You sometimes seem not only mortified, but even of- 
 fended, because persons do not learn in a few weeks 
 or months what God has been teaching you twenty or 
 thirty years, and which you know but very imper- 
 fectly now. If the heart be broken (which is what I 
 look for) — if the heart be broken for sin and from it ; 
 and if a man be brought on his knees, and humbly 
 prays that God would lead him into all truth ; if, as the 
 apostle says, as far as he has attained he walks by the 
 same rule and minds the same thing, — then, from him, 
 I am authorized to conclude, “that if in anything else 
 he be otherwise minded, God will reveal it unto him 
 and though in such persons the work is often slow, I 
 have often observed it is very sure ; I have never 
 found any of these persons carried away with the fol- 
 lies of the day ; they have believed, and had the wit- 
 ness in themselves. 
 
 He makes darkness light before them, and crooked 
 things straight. 
 
 2. As to Experience . — There are many things here 
 which are often very perplexing to Christians ; and 
 nothing more than the temptations with which, they 
 are assailed. Perhaps there are persons here this 
 morning who are ready to say, u Ah, no one knows 
 so much of temptations as I do ; they are the death of 
 my comforts, and I often say, will prove the destruc- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 273 
 
 tion of my soul at last.” But as they go on, they are 
 called to see and to understand, that while the strong 
 man armed kept his palace, his goods were in peace ; 
 that Pharaoh pursued after the children of Israel be- 
 fore they had left his realms ; that our Saviour was in 
 all points tempted like as we are ; and that the man 
 who is a stranger to Christian conflict has no reason in 
 the world to believe that he is a partaker of the Di- 
 vine life ; for every Christian tells us the flesh lusteth 
 against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. 
 Again : with regard to prayer, which is another source 
 often of perplexity. The man reads in Scripture that 
 God hears prayer, and, says he, “I have prayed, and 
 he shutteth out my prayer.” But, by-and-bye, he is 
 enabled to distinguish between hearing and answering 
 prayer ; and to learn that the prayer of faith is im- 
 mediately heard, but not immediately answered : that 
 when God designs good to his people, He waits to be 
 gracious : you would pluck the fruit while it is green, 
 but He draws back your hand. It is the same with re- 
 gard to the manner in which He answers prayer often. 
 By strange, and sometimes even terrible things, in 
 righteousness, does He answer His people, as the God 
 of their salvation. Some of you are acquainted w r ith 
 the excellent language of Mr. Newton in his hymn : 
 
 “ I ask’d the Lord, that I might grow 
 In faith, and love, and every grace ; 
 Might more of his salvation know, 
 
 And seek more earnestly his face. 
 
 ’Twas He who taught me thus to pray, 
 And He, 1 trust, has answer’d prayer ; 
 But it has been in such a way, 
 
 As almost drave me to despair 
 
 J2* 
 
274 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 I hoped that, in some favor’d hour, 
 
 At once He ’d answer my request, 
 
 And, by his love’s constraining power. 
 
 Subdue my sins, and give me rest. 
 
 Instead of this, He made me feel 
 The hidden evils of my heart, 
 
 And let the angry powers of hell 
 Assault my soul in every part. 
 
 Yea, more, with his own hand He seem’d 
 Intent to aggravate my woe ; 
 
 Cross’d all the fair designs I schem’d, 
 
 Blasted my gourds, and laid them low. 
 
 “ Lord, why is this ?” I trembling cried, 
 
 “ Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death ?” 
 
 “ 'Tis in this way,” the Lord replied, 
 
 “I answer prayer for grace and faith : 
 
 “ These inward trials I employ, 
 
 From self and pride to set thee free, 
 
 And break thy schemes of earthly joy. 
 
 That thou may'st seek thy all in Me.” 
 
 So it is again with regard to joy . The man reads 
 that religion is every way friendly to joy — that they 
 return and come to Zion with songs, and with ever- 
 lasting joy upon their heads ; but, says he, I know so 
 little of this that I am afraid I have no part nor lot in 
 the matter ; but he, by-and-bye, learns that saints are 
 described in the Scriptures by their tears, as well as 
 by their joys — u they shall come with weeping and 
 with supplication.” He mixes with Christians more 
 advanced, and he learns from them that they are the 
 subjects of the same alternations ; and thus what prov- 
 ed a stumbling-block before becomes a way-mark to 
 teach him that he is in the way everlasting. I remem- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 275 
 
 ber Milner, in Iris last illness, said, “ If some 
 
 years ago I had been as destitute of comfort as I now 
 am, it would have exceedingly perplexed me ; but I 
 have long learned that it is one important act of faith 
 to hang on the bare word of God, and to trust in a God 
 that hideth himself.” This leads ns to another article; 
 and, 
 
 Thirdly, With regard to assurance, “He makes 
 darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.” 
 Oh, say some, to know my interest in the everlasting 
 covenant ! Oh, then I would face a frowning world ! 
 Oh, then I would defy the king of terrors ; but all is ob- 
 scurity with me. ’Tis a point I long to know, but at 
 present all I can attain is a kind of peradventure — 
 perhaps I am right ; but when trouble comes upon me 
 — when the shadows of the evening are hastening on 
 — to have no more certainty than this, what am I to 
 do ? Do as you are doing. “ Wait on the Lord, and 
 keep his way. W ait on the Lord, be of good courage, 
 and he shall strengthen thine heart ; wait, I say, on 
 the Lord.” u Them that honor me,” says He, “ I will 
 honor.” Keep at His feet, therefore, till you feel He 
 has taken you into his bosom. Continue crying, 
 “ God be merciful to me a sinner,” till you are able to 
 say with Thomas, “ My Lord and my God !” He will 
 “make darkness light before you, and crooked things 
 straight.” 
 
 As to practical duty. — With regard to changes in your 
 condition in life, the removal of your habitation, a 
 transition from one business to another, or anything of 
 this nature, you are at a loss to know what the will of 
 God is : this genders in you many anxieties to which 
 others are strangers ; but you read that if you walk 
 
276 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 contrary to God, He will walk contrary to you ; how 
 much depends on one wrong step ; consequences may 
 arise from it that will give a complexion to all your 
 future days, and quarter repentance upon you for life. 
 Now here you are not to expect miracles, but you are to 
 make use of sense and reason, and Scripture, and the 
 advice of friends. You are to wait for God and you 
 are to wait upon God. You are to remember the com- 
 mand, “ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and 
 lean not unto thine own understanding.” “ In all thy 
 ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” 
 
 “ He will make darkness light before you, and crook- 
 ed things straight.” 
 
 5. In the dispensations of his providence . — Where is 
 the Christian but has sometimes had reason to ex- 
 claim, li His way is in the sea, and his paths in the 
 deep waters;” and where is the Christian but after a 
 while has seen that He can turn the shadow of death 
 into the morning ? I see, says the Christian, why such 
 a prop was taken away. I was beginning to lean upon 
 it. ' I can see now why I was exercised with such a 
 sorrow ; it was to soften my heart, and to enable me to 
 sympathize with others in distress ; that sickness of the 
 body was to heal the disease of the mind. So Job, 
 although severely tried, saw before his death that the 
 end of the Lord was very pitiful and of tender mercy. 
 So David could say also, u It is good for me that I 
 have been afflicted ; for before I was afflicted I went 
 astray, but now I have kept thy word;” that is, I was 
 ill, and he bled me, and I recovered. He drew the 
 ploughshare all along, but it was to break up the fal- 
 low ground, and to prepare for the reception of the 
 seed, Take heed, therefore, that you do not draw hasty 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY'. 
 
 277 
 
 conclusions from present aspects of providence. Take 
 heed that you do not say, “All these things are 
 against me ;” but say with Paul, “ I know that all 
 things shall work together for my good.” Follow the 
 admonition of Isaiah, “ Who is among you that fearetli 
 the Lord that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, 
 let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon 
 his God.” Wow observe. If you were to travel with a 
 guide when you came to a very dismal place, you would 
 not only follow, but you would lay hold of, your con- 
 ductor, and lean ; and so says Isaiah, “ Let him stay 
 upon his God, and he will fulfil his word. I will 
 bring the blind by a way that they know not ; I will 
 lead them in paths that they have not known. I will 
 make darkness light before them, and crooked things 
 straight.” Then observe, 
 
 Thirdly. He is their never-failing Friend.' — “These 
 things will I do unto them, and will not forsake them.” 
 It will readily be allowed that they deserve to be for- 
 saken, and they may say with the Church of old, “ It 
 is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” 
 And they also suppose frequently that they are for- 
 saken — so did Zion. “Zion said, The Lord hath for- 
 saken, and my God hath forgotten me.” But it was 
 not so. “ Can a woman forget her sucking child, that 
 she should not have compassion on the son of her 
 womb; yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget 
 thee.” Asaph drew the same conclusion, and it was 
 equally ill founded. “Will the Lord castoff for ever, 
 and will he be favorable no more?” But how often 
 do your ministers dwell on Divine desertion? We 
 must, therefore, show how there may be a forsaking 
 quite consistent with the truth of our te>. : “ These 
 
278 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” 
 There are three ways in which God may be said to for- 
 sake his people : — 
 
 1. As to outward comfort and condition . — He may re- 
 duce them much ; he may deprive them of their con- 
 nexions and possessions. Remember what he said to 
 the Jews : “ I will gof observe he said, “ I will go and 
 return unto my place until they seek my face ; in their 
 affliction they will seek me early.” We see what is in- 
 tended by His going away and returning ; it was leav- 
 ing them to their embarrassments, and perplexities, and 
 troubles, till He came to deliver them ; but this is com- 
 patible with the real presence of God too : every con- 
 dition is supportable while He is with us ; and, with 
 regard to trouble, if He leaves his people in anything 
 else, He cannot leave them in trouble, for He has made 
 a particular engagement there, u I will be with them 
 in trouble.” He may forsake His people, 
 
 2. As to feeling spiritual comfort; but while they 
 have no sensible consolation, yet there is grace, and 
 grace operating frequently with peculiar power in pro- 
 ducing contentment of soul and humiliation before 
 God. How was it with Cooper the martyr ? He felt 
 no consolation till he came to the stake, and then he 
 exclaimed, “ Now He is come, now He is come ! ” But 
 He must have been with him before, (though now He 
 came in a way of manifestation,) or he never would 
 have come to the stake. What grace there must have 
 been in Job to enable him to say, “ Though he slay 
 me. yet will I trust in him !” David says, “ My soul 
 folio weth hard after thee; thy right hand upholdeth 
 me.” There seems a confusion of images. Here 
 David is fallowing hard after God, and yet God is up- 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 279 
 
 holding him at the same time. He was seeking God 
 in one view, while God was supporting and sustaining 
 him in another. He was seeking for consolation while 
 he felt Divine support. Then, 
 
 3. As to grace itself He may forsake His people — 
 not as to habit , but as to degree ,■ — not as to existence, 
 but as to exercise. The best way for ministers to 
 teach, is to teach by facts, and history, and example. 
 Remember the history of Hezekiali — howbeit in the 
 affair of the ambassador God left him to try what was 
 in his heart. “ Weak as we are,” says Newton, u we 
 shall not faint.” He may therefore leave you in three 
 ways : — First , As to your outward condition : — Second- 
 ly , As to sensible spiritual comfort : — Thirdly , As to 
 the degree and exercise of faith. But further than 
 this we cannot go, unless we go without the' Scrip- 
 ture. He never can forsake His people wholly ; cast 
 down but not destroyed. “ Though ye fall,” says 
 David, “ ye shall not be utterly cast down.” He can- 
 not forsake His people finally. Here ’s His own en- 
 gagement, — “ This is as the waters of Noah unto me ; 
 for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no 
 more go over the earth ; so have I sworn that I would 
 not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the 
 mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but 
 my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shaf 
 the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, 
 that hath mercy on thee.” 
 
 You know I have not time to argue this any fur- 
 ther ; otherwise how many passages of Scripture there 
 are that would furnish us with materials enough. 
 11 He will not forsake his people, because it hath 
 pleased him to make them his people.” “ Being 
 
280 
 
 THE LITERARY REMAINS 
 
 confident of this very thing, that he which hath be- 
 gun a good work in you will perform it unto the day 
 of Jesus Christ.” His people, therefore, may say with- 
 out presumption, “ I am persuaded that neither death, 
 nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, shall be able to 
 separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus 
 Christ our Lord.” 
 
 It is a delightful spectacle that has been presented 
 before us. It is always pleasing to see God at work ; 
 how pleasing and delightful to see His agency in the 
 world of nature ; how I love to stand on a hill and 
 look down on the valley beneath, or to stand by the 
 side of a brook, or to pass through a field of standing 
 corn, and to see how He has prepared of His goodness 
 for the poor. 
 
 I love to see His agency in providence, especially 
 in a time of such trouble and disaffection as ours, and 
 to remember that He is a God among the nations. 
 
 ‘ But oh, to contemplate His agency in grace ; to see 
 God going and taking possession of a sinner for Him- 
 self ; and forever to see Him detach him from his sins, 
 and from the spirit of the world, saying to him, a Fol- 
 low me to see Him taking the sinner in all the ruins 
 of the fall, and making him an eternal excellency, the 
 joy of many generations, and bringing him in triumph 
 to endless glory ! And oh, how often has He done it. 
 “ We speak that we do know, and testify that we have 
 seen.” I hail you, therefore, Christians, but I cannot 
 pity you. I pity the poor, and I wish it were in my 
 power to relieve them. I pity the wealthy who are 
 destitute of heavenly riches. I pity the scholar who 
 understands not a word of the language of Canaan. 
 
OF THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. 
 
 28.1 
 
 I pity tlie astronomer who is familiar with stars, and 
 knows not the way to heaven. Oh, these are all piti- 
 able characters; pity them my brethren — pray for 
 them ; but as for you who are partakers of His grace, 
 and are under His own guidance, I Ml never pity you ; 
 whatever be your condition, however poor, however 
 despised, you are not pitiable ; you are enviable, and 
 the only enviable characters in this world ; and there- 
 fore we kneel in view of you and pray, Oh, remem- 
 ber me with the favor Thou bearest to thy people. 
 And surely this should be an excitement and encour- 
 agement to you to seek for an interest in the same 
 blessedness. “ Therefore,” says David, “they that 
 know thy name will put their trust in thee.” And 
 you should apply this, Christians, as a remedy. You 
 should take it as Paul did, and apply it as a cure for 
 two things — covetousness and carefulness. Let your 
 conversation be without covetousness. Be careful for 
 nothing. 
 
 May you, therefore, take this promise with you from 
 the house of God ; and carry it along with you in all 
 your succeeding journey. Make use of it as Solomon 
 recommends, “ Tie it about thy neck — write it upon 
 the table of thine heart.” 
 

 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON THR 
 
 REV. WILLIAM JAY, 
 
 AS A PREACHER, AND AS AN AUTHOR, 
 
 THE EDITORS 
 
' 
 
 
 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS, &c. 
 
 Hitherto in these volumes the reader’s attention 
 has been mainly directed to Mr. Jay’s own account of 
 himself — his history, his progress, his recollections. 
 The Editors have felt that their services to his mem- 
 ory ought to be chiefly regulated by the documents 
 placed in their hands, and limited to such passing an- 
 notations, or supplemental matter, as seemed to be re- 
 quired for conveying a just view of their subject, and 
 a complete narrative of his history. 
 
 But judging that so interesting and remarkable a 
 character well deserves a separate sketch from another 
 hand beside his own, and supposing that the reader 
 will expect something of this sort, as a conclusion to 
 the volumes, which in the main may be said to be 
 his own representation of himself; the Editors have 
 ventured to subjoin the following observations, on the 
 two principal views of his public character for which 
 he was admired by his contemporaries, and will be re- 
 spected by future ages. 
 
 MR. JAY -AS THE PREACHER. 
 
 A preacher who, from his first appearance in the 
 pulpit, at the age of sixteen, till he retired from it 
 
286 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 when eighty-four years old, fixed and held the atten- 
 tion of the public ; who, during this lengthened peri- 
 od, was heard with equal interest by the aged and the 
 young, the learned and the illiterate, who always 
 crowded, whenever he presented himself, to listen to 
 his teaching ; who was eulogized by such men as Wil- 
 berforce, Beckford, and Sir William Knighton ; by 
 Hall, Chalmers, and Foster ; who, whether he preach- 
 ed in the city or in the village, drew after him his 
 ministerial brethren, both of his own church and most 
 others ; who was esteemed and admired by all denom- 
 inations of professing Christians ; and who, when his 
 sermons were sent forth from the press, raised for him- 
 self. in both hemispheres, a reputation such as few of 
 his own day, or any other, ever obtained, — must have 
 possessed elements of power, after which it is worth 
 while to inquire, not only for the purpose of gratify- 
 ing curiosity, but to prompt and guide the spirit of 
 lawful emulation. Such a preacher was Mr. Jay ; and 
 it is the object of this Sketch to show in what his at- 
 tractions principally consisted, and to what he owed 
 his extensive and permanent popularity. 
 
 It may be stated, as a preliminary remark, that the 
 arrangements of Providence, as regards his personal 
 appearance, his physical endowments both of body 
 and mind, the circumstances of his conversion, the 
 peculiar nature of his professional education, as well 
 as the state of the Christian Church when he first ap- 
 peared in public, were all preparatory to his future 
 eminence as a preacher of the Gospel. This, with a 
 kind of instinctive sagacity, he perceived ; and, from 
 the commencement of his Christian career, fixed his 
 eye exclusively upon the pulpit, and cherished a hal 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 287 
 
 lowed desire to excel as a minister of Jesus Christ. 
 He clearly saw that, if he would do one great thing 
 well, he must concentrate his powers upon that , and 
 make everything else give place, or become subserv- 
 ient to it. He had from the beginning an almost in- 
 tuitive perception of what constituted pulpit excel- 
 lence ; he studied the attractions and defects of other 
 preachers — felt the promptings of a holy ambition 
 after eminence and usefulness ; and with that con- 
 sciousness of power which usually attends genius, and 
 inspires it with the foresight of success, he determined, 
 by God’s grace, to attain to distinction as a preacher. 
 This, however, was not the mere yearning of youthful 
 vanity, but the prompting of a heart throbbing with 
 solicitude for the salvation of souls. True it is, that 
 his attention was first of all directed to this subject by 
 Mr. Winter. This excellent man discerned at once 
 what a bud of ministerial promise there was in that 
 mason-lad whom he saw among his hearers, and who 
 afterwards came in his apron to converse with him on 
 the subject of religion and of the ministry. But the 
 boy Jay embraced with his wliole heart the sublime 
 object, as soon as it was presented to him, and conse- 
 crated himself to it from the moment that it arose in 
 its full-orbed glory upon his mental horizon. 
 
 His academic curriculum was of too short duration, 
 and too limited in its literary advantages, and too 
 often interrupted by preaching, to allow much hope 
 of his ever being a scholar, a metaphysician, or a phi- 
 losopher. But preaching of a very high order he was. 
 assured could be attained without these things. And 
 he was right. As a general principle, learning is of 
 essential importance to the ministers of religion ; and, 
 
288 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 other things being equal, he will make the best preach- 
 er who is most thoroughly educated. Nor should our 
 young ministers suffer themselves too hastily to con- 
 clude, that they can never attain to eminence in litera- 
 ture ; and be induced to abandon it under the notion 
 that, as they have neither taste nor aptitude for it, they 
 will concentrate all their attention upon preaching. 
 Still, we contend that it is not indispensable that every 
 preacher should be an eminent scholar. Where, as in 
 the case of Mr. Jay, opportunities for literature are 
 denied to the eager aspirant after ministerial labor, 
 and yet there are all the other essential elements of a 
 good preacher, there let a strong determination be 
 formed by all possible diligence in the use of such 
 means as are afforded, to excel in that holy career, to 
 which the leadings of Providence invite, and the im- 
 pulses of a longing heart prompt. 
 
 Mr. Jaj r, s whole character, as a public man, may be 
 summed up in that one word, the preacher ; and it 
 is in this view he must be contemplated by all who 
 would conceive of him aright. True, he was an au- 
 thor, and one of the most popular writers of his day, 
 both in America and this country ; yet nearly all his 
 works consisted of Sermons, or what, as in his “ Morn- 
 ing and Evening Exercises,” bore a resemblance to 
 them. So that he was still a silent preacher, even in 
 his books. Such a mind as his could, however, doubt- 
 less, by dint of resolute determination and close appli- 
 cation, have attained to eminence in any department 
 of study. He himself tells us that his taste at one 
 time led him to abstruse speculation ; but that, finding 
 it engrossed too much of his time, and interfered with 
 more useful pursuits be laid it aside, and addicted 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 289 
 
 himself to matters which bore more directly upon his 
 ministerial duties. We have no doubt, however, that 
 while conscience had something to do with this, mental 
 aptitude was not wholly unconcerned. What was 
 practical was far more congenial with his order of 
 mind than what was speculative ; and his choice of 
 the former was as certainly and, perhaps, as much the 
 result of temperament as of principle. 
 
 Mr. Jay as a preacher owed not a little to his per- 
 sonal appearance, and undoubtedly much to his voice. 
 In the earlier periods of his history, his countenance 
 was eminently prepossessing. The portrait affixed to 
 this work, copied from a painting taken when he 
 was about forty-nine years of age, and which -was con- 
 sidered a good likeness at the time, proves this. His 
 black hair, dark eyes, florid complexion, and an ex- 
 pression of features in which intelligence and benevo- 
 lence mingled with somewhat of archness, at once at- 
 tracted and interested his hearers. As he advanced 
 in years, he became much stouter, which, as he was 
 never tall, destroyed in some measure the symmetry of 
 his frame. A graphic writer thus describes his ap- 
 pearance in the decline of life : — 
 
 “It is not very long since,” says Dr. James Hamil- 
 ton, “ we heard him with wonder and delight, and in 
 our own as well as in millions of memories is still de- 
 picted that countenance whose sunshine furnished its 
 own photograph ; so wise and so witty, so wrinkled 
 yet so radiant ; with so much of youthful ardor welling 
 up in the fountains of those deeply -fringed, softly - 
 burning eyes ; and with words so holy and so tender 
 dropping from those lips in whose corners lurked all 
 that was quaint or caustic ; whilst like an oak-thicket 
 
 13 
 
290 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 on an old rampart-summit, that strong visage and firm 
 brow rose and were lost in the shaggy wilderness 
 which covered all with its copsy crown.” 
 
 Mr. Jay’s voice was certainly one of the charms of 
 his preaching. It was sonorous but not loud — alter- 
 nating between bass and tenor ; strong yet soft ; mu- 
 sical and flexible ; and more adapted to give express- 
 ion to what is tender, pathetic, and solemn, than to 
 what is lively, impetuous, and impulsive. If it did 
 not stir you as with the blast of a trumpet, it soothed 
 and delighted you, as with the soft tones of a flute. 
 This indeed was the general character of his preach- 
 ing, in which the manner was suited to the matter. 
 You sat in sweet stillness, luxuriating under those 
 beautiful trains of quiet thinking, and gentle, holy, 
 and evangelic emotion, uttered in tones so mellifluous, 
 that you seemed to be listening to music which came 
 from another world, and which lifted your soul to the 
 sphere from which it emanated. An involuntary, un- 
 bidden tear occasionally suffused your eye, and a gen- 
 tle emotion filled your heart, as some touching pass- 
 age, in plaintive sounds, swelling like those of an Eo- 
 lian harp, passed over your spirit and moved it, just 
 as a summer’s breeze ruffles the surface of a lake, with- 
 out deeply or violently disturbing it. 
 
 He entered the pulpit in a grave, collected manner, 
 apparently absorbed in his mission, and with a step 
 rather quick, yet solemn, and without hurry, and after 
 sometimes casting a glance round upon the audience, 
 retired into himself, and seemed to be gathering up 
 his thoughts and energies, to negotiate between God and 
 man the weighty affairs of judgment and of mercy. 
 
 In the preliminary exercises of public worship, read- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 291 
 
 mg the Scriptures, and prajmr, Mr. Jay never forgot 
 that, in one of these, he was enunciating the words of 
 the Most High ; and in the other, that he was address- 
 ing himself to Him before whom the seraphim veil 
 their faces. It has been sometimes thought and said 
 that very little spiritual, at any rate saving effect, is 
 produced by the public reading of the Scriptures. Is 
 not this to be traced up to the careless, unimpressive, 
 irreverent, and unfeeling manner in which the exer- 
 cise is performed? The tones, emphasis, and accents 
 of a good reader, who is neither elaborate, artificial, 
 nor theatrical in his manner, convey both instruction 
 and impression, and are a kind of exposition of the 
 sacred text. 
 
 In prayer Mr. Jay was often singularly felicitous in 
 his expressions, and always devout in his manner ; 
 his devotions were richly scriptural and strictly appro- 
 priate ; perhaps occasionally a little too quaint in ex- 
 pression, and therefore liable to interfere with perfect 
 composure and gravity. He was slow and solemn in 
 his utterance, and his feelings were so far under con- 
 trol as never to hurry him into that rapidity and vo- 
 ciferation which, we regret to say, characterize those 
 addresses to the Almighty which are made from some 
 Nonconforming pulpits. If reform be necessary in the 
 liturgical services of the Church of England, it is 
 equally necessary in the extempore ones of some among 
 the Dissenters. Occasionally there is too much of 
 preaching in prayer ; too much of theology ; too little 
 of petition and confession. There is a happy medium 
 between that elaboration which, by its artificialness, 
 represses religious feeling, and that negligence which 
 disgusts good taste ; between that muttering and trem- 
 
292 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 bling which betoken slavish dread, and the louu. or 
 even boisterous manner which indicates want of feel- 
 ing and displays of unhallowed familiarity. We do 
 not wonder that church people of refinement who oc- 
 casionally attend Dissenting worship, complain of a 
 want of solemnity and devout feeling in our prayers ; 
 yet were extempore prayer performed as it should be, 
 they would retire with a conviction of its superior ap- 
 propriateness, earnestness, and adaptation to the va- 
 rious classes of the congregation, and the changeful 
 experience of the Christian heart. 
 
 In the selection of his texts, Mr. Jay was often very 
 ingenious. His extraordinary acquaintance with his 
 Bible gave him great advantage in this. His hearers 
 were often surprised by a passage which was so novel 
 to them, that they did not know there was such a verse 
 in the Scriptures. His canon was, that to secure and 
 hold attention, to produce impression and do good, 
 the preaching must be something that will “ strike and 
 sticky Perhaps, in carrying out this, he sometimes 
 erred on the side of quaintness, both in the selection 
 of texts and in his illustrations. Yet a quaint text, 
 if one may thus characterize any portion of God’s 
 word, if it contain an important lesson, and if it be 
 fairly dealt with, and be not by an ingenious fancy 
 tortured upon the rack, to extort from it a meaning 
 which it would not otherwise acknowledge, tends to 
 secure attention and enliven the preaching. But this 
 must not be done too often, or it will lose its effect, 
 and subject the preacher to the imputation of being a 
 pulpit-jester. 
 
 Mr. Jay’s introductions to his sermons were some- 
 times as striking as his texts. We remember once 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 298 
 
 hearing him, 'when preaching on Pilate’s question, put 
 to Jesus Christ, — “What is truth?” — commence Ins 
 sermon thus: “It is At truth, Pilate, that thou art a 
 cowardly, guilty wretch, in surrendering Christ to be 
 crucified when thou wert convinced he was an innocent 
 man.” This ex abrupto method of introduction is, 
 however, a hazardous one, since it is somewhat diffi- 
 cult to keep up the attention to that altitude which it 
 has reached by such an exordium. It is like spicing 
 the first dish at a feast so highly as to render all that 
 follow in some measure insipid. 
 
 The prevailing character of Mr. Jay’s sermons, con 
 sidered as to their matter, was the mixture of evan- 
 gelical doctrine, experimental feeling, and Christian 
 practice. His memoirs mention the fact, that on his 
 first visit to London he had the character of several 
 ministers described to him ; one as a doctrinal, a second 
 as a practical, and a third as an experimental preacher. 
 With the good sense, tact, and discrimination belong- 
 ing to him, he said to himself, “ I will be neither ex- 
 clusively, but all unitedly.” So he was. His evan- 
 gelism, so far as doctrine was concerned, was never 
 very prominent, as a thing separate and by itself, in 
 the form of a dogmatic statement, with proofs from 
 Scripture and controversial arguments, but was held 
 in solution in his general course of preaching. To 
 borrow an illustration from his reminiscence of Mr. 
 Newton, that good man, in speaking of his Calvinism, 
 said it was in his whole preaching, as sugar in a cup 
 of tea, that which sweetened the whole, but which is 
 not to be taken in the lump. 
 
 We think Mr. Jay was a little deficient in not giving 
 greater room and prominence to the chief truths of 
 
294 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 salvation in their dogmatic form. He acknowledged 
 he was in early life, and it was perhaps also true to 
 the end of it. When setting out in his ministry, he 
 saw the errors into which many of the newly-formed 
 evangelical school in the Church of England ran, in 
 dwelling too abstractedly and exclusively upon dog- 
 matic theology, and the bad effect it had in some in- 
 stances upon their conduct ; — and in avoiding this ex- 
 treme he, perhaps, went over to another. He was in 
 sentiment decidedly evangelical, and also in his 
 preaching, but not formally and controversially doc 
 trinal. It was his evangelism which constituted no 
 small share of the attraction of his preaching His 
 confession of faith, if such it may be called, deliver- 
 ed at his ordination, though drawn up when only 
 twenty-one years of age, is one of the most beautiful 
 compends of evangelical truth in the English language. 
 
 He was, to a very great extent, an experimental 
 preacher, but his preaching seemed to touch upon the 
 experience of those only who were tried by the ordi- 
 nary cares and sorrows of human life, and to suggest 
 the usual topies of consolation adapted to such cases, 
 rather than to analyze those deep workings of the hu- 
 man heart when struggling with all the powers of dark- 
 ness, and all the strength of its own corruptions. It 
 was the widow mourning over her bereavement, the 
 mother weeping for her dead child, the man of broken 
 fortunes, the orphan youth, the perplexed pilgrim, or 
 the Christian troubled with the common temptations of 
 our probation, that his preaching was calculated to 
 help and comfort ; and hence the wide range of his pop- 
 ularity. Hence, amidst the crowd of his hearers and 
 admirers, w^ere not so many of those who wanted the 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 295 
 
 stronger consolation wliicla a heart bruised and broken 
 in the spiritual conflict requires. But equally true is 
 it, that he never administered to inconsistent professors 
 the ardent spirit of Antinomian comfort, which was 
 but too common at the commencement of his ministry ; 
 or to imaginative believers, the cordials of a sentiment- 
 al comfort, no less common at the close of it. It was, 
 however, as a practical preacher that Mr. Jay chiefly 
 excelled ; and here his excellences were transcendent. 
 No man knew more clearly the obligations of the 
 Christian life, and no man urged them more earnestly 
 or more attractively. It was his happy art to make 
 men feel that wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, 
 and that all her paths are peace. 
 
 Perhaps there is scarcely a single word which will 
 more aptly describe Mr. Jay as a preacher than the 
 term naturalness . This constituted, we are sure, no 
 small part of the attraction of his manner . His voice, 
 his tones,- his action, were all inartificial, and displayed 
 the gracefulness of nature. . It was not an imitation of 
 nature on the stage, but nature’s self in her own walk 
 and place of action. He spoke to you as you felt he 
 should do, without any uncouth awkwardness or cari- 
 cature which disfigures nature, or any studied affecta- 
 tions which destroys it. To much action in the pulpit, 
 in the use of the hands and arms, he was strongly op- 
 posed, and seldom used any, except an occasional ele- 
 vation of the hand. Here we think he was somewhat 
 deficient, for nature prompts in strong emotion to bodily 
 action. But this was the least part and the lowest 
 manifestation of his naturalness. He spoke from his 
 own nature to tb^ nature of others. He was himself 
 a most inartificial man. All his tastes, his habits, and 
 
296 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 his pursuits proved this. He knew human nature well. 
 He studied it in himself and in others. He knew 
 man , how he thinks, and feels, and acts. He drew his 
 knowledge, not from copies in books, but from the liv- 
 ing original. Men felt when they heard him, that they 
 were listening to a preacher who knew not only books, 
 and theories, and systems, but humanity, both in its 
 fallen and in its restored state ; in its wants, woes, 
 diseases, remedies, and varieties ; one who could sym- 
 pathize with them as well as teach them. When, on 
 a Sunday morning they came, worn and weary with 
 the trials, toils, and cares of the six days’ labor, and 
 placed themselves under the sound of his mellifluous 
 voice, they felt sure of not being tantalized and disap- 
 pointed with a cold intellectualism, or a mere logical 
 demonstration, or a metaphysical abstraction, or a 
 wordy nothing, which would have been giving them a 
 stone when they asked for bread ; or with something 
 religiously poetic, which would have been offering 
 them flowers when they wanted meat ; — but he fed 
 them with food convenient for them, and satisfied the 
 cravings of their nature with what satisfied his own. 
 
 This quality of his preaching was very strikingly 
 displayed in the illustrations with which his sermons 
 abounded. He never suffered the attention of his 
 hearers to doze over dry abstract disquisitions, or dull, 
 didactic, and prosaic harangues, but kept it perpetually 
 awake by appeals to their imagination. His talent for 
 illustrative allusion was extraordinary. His sermons 
 were not only by his beautiful fancy illuminated, like 
 the ancient missals, but illustrated, like modern books, 
 by descriptive scenes. They contained all the glow- 
 ing cohering of tb^ one, with the more correct and 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 297 
 
 graceful forms of the other. Here his naturalness con- 
 stantly appeared, and in close resemblance to that of 
 our Lord, who drew his similes and metaphors from the 
 works of nature and the relationships of humanity. 
 The great Teacher’s discourses were replete with im- 
 ages borrowed from the beasts of the field, and the 
 birds of the air ; from rural sights and rural sounds ; 
 from the ties of parentage, and the reciprocal obliga- 
 tion of husband and wife, master and servant. So 
 were Mr. Jay’s. A natural simplicity and beauty, 
 polished yet artless, pervaded his discourses. There 
 was comparatively little of the grandeur and sublimity 
 of the great masters of eloquence, but a constant suc- 
 cession of chaste, tender, and smiling allusions. His 
 preaching did not produce the effect of the lofty and 
 fervid utterances of Kobert Hall, which, with their ele- 
 gant diction, mighty conceptions, and glowing imager) 7 , 
 raised you into a fellowship of rapture with the speak- 
 er’s own mind: nor did it bear any resemblance to the 
 gorgeous language, exuberant fancy, and dazzling 
 splendors of Chalmers, which overwhelmed you with 
 such mental opulence. The eloquence of the two lat- 
 ter fell upon you as music from a full and perfect or- 
 chestra. It came with the rush of a mountain torrent, 
 and sounded majestic and awful like thunder booming 
 over the ocean ; but the eloquence of Mr. Jay was as the 
 gentle and noiseless flow of a majestic river, or like the 
 deep, and solemn, and soothing tones of the organ. In 
 hearing him you were brought near by a sweet and re- 
 sistless attraction. You felt you could approach him, 
 and be at home with him, and were in a state of af- 
 finity with him ; while a feeling of awe came over you 
 as you listened to the others, which at once fascinated 
 
 13 * 
 
298 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 yon, and transported you with delight, and yet made 
 you almost tremble. It seemed, in listening to Hall and 
 Chalmers, as if you could no more always bear such 
 mental excitement than you could always endure the 
 roar of a thunder-storm, or the falls of Niagara ; but 
 to Mr. Jay you could forever listen, just as you never 
 feel burdened by the waves of ocean gently breaking 
 upon the shore on a summer’s day, nor by the gurg- 
 ling noise of a brook meandering among stones. In- 
 numerable instances of this naturalness of allusion and 
 illustration might be selected from his printed sermons, 
 which, when uttered with all the effect given to them 
 by the music of his pathetic tones, must have melted 
 down the hearts of his hearers into a state of highly 
 pleasurable emotion. 
 
 Mr. Jay was a master of the true pathetic. Minis- 
 ters have too much neglected this. Some have thought 
 to do all in religious teaching by forceful appeals of 
 logic addressed to the intellect. The understanding is 
 the only faculty they seek to engage. Their logic is 
 clear, but it is cold. They deal with man in only one 
 view of his nature, as a rational being, who has only to 
 apprehend ideas, but forget that he is also an emotion- 
 al being, who has a heart to feel, and who often needs 
 rather to be moved than convinced. His sensibility, 
 sometimes the best, the only, avenue to his soul, is left 
 unobserved, unoccupied. If the true order of nature 
 be for the head to guide the heart, yet, in our disturbed 
 and disordered condition, it often happens that the 
 heart is the avenue to the intellect. Men love to feel, 
 as well as to think ; and hence we speak of the luxury 
 of tender emotion. Mr. Jay knew this, and entered 
 very deeply into Christian aesthetics. His voice gave 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 299 
 
 him great advantages here. His very intonations 
 touched and opened the springs of feeling. When the 
 people were in a prepared state of mind, he has some- 
 times melted them by his manner of repeating an in- 
 terjection, or a single word. His pathos, however, 
 was not all confined to his manner, but extended itself 
 to his matter. In this there were often the most tender 
 and touching allusions and descriptions. Who, that 
 ever read, can forget that beautiful passage in his ser- 
 mon to husbands and wives, in which he represents 
 woman, pleading on the ground of her weakness and 
 dependence, for sympathy, kindness, and protection ? 
 To have heard this passage uttered by his pathetic 
 tones and plaintive looks, must have been followed by 
 an effect more than dramatic : — 
 
 “ Milton has finely expressed the difference in the 
 original pair, — 
 
 “ ‘ For contemplation he, and valor form’d ; 
 
 For softness she, and sweet attractive grace.’ 
 
 Her bodily strength is inferior, her constitution less 
 firm and vigorous, her frame more tender, her temper 
 more yielding, her circumstances more generally de- 
 pressing. A rose, a lily, allows of no rough usages. 
 Tenderness demands gentleness ; delicacy, care ; pli- 
 ancy, props. Has a condition few resources, and is 
 there much in it of the afflictive and humbling ? — the 
 more does it need succor, and the more necessary is 
 every assistance to maintain and increase the conse- 
 quence of it, especially where so much depends upon 
 the respectability of the character who fills it. Where 
 is the man who is not alive to this consideration? 
 
800 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Where is the husband, who, reflecting on her peculiar 
 circumstances, would not be disposed, by every possi- 
 ble means, to promote the dignity and the satisfaction 
 of a wife? What is the language of these circum- 
 stances ? 1 Honor us ; deal kindly with us. From 
 
 many of the opportunities and means by which you 
 procure favorable notice, we are excluded. Doomed 
 to the shades, few of the high places of the earth are 
 open to us. Alternately we are adored and oppressed. 
 From our slaves you become our tyrants. You feel 
 our beauty, and avail yourselves of our weakness. 
 You complain of our inferiority, but none of your be- 
 havior bids us rise. Sensibility has given us a thou- 
 sand feelings, which nature has kindly denied you. 
 Always under restraints, we have little liberty of 
 choice. Providence seems to have been more atten- 
 tive to enable us to confer happiness than to enjoy it. 
 Every condition has for us fresh mortifications ; every 
 relation new sorrows. We enter social bonds : it is a 
 system of perpetual sacrifice. We cannot give life to 
 others without hazarding our own. We have suffer- 
 ings which you do not share — cannot share. If spar- 
 ed, years and decays invade our charms, and much of 
 the ardor produced by attraction departs with it. We 
 may die. The grave covers us, and we are soon for- 
 gotten : soon are the days of your mourning ended, 
 soon is our loss repaired ; dismissed even from your 
 speech, our name is to be heard no more, — a successor 
 may dislike it. Our children, after having a mother 
 by nature, may fall under the control of a mother by 
 affinity, and be mortified by distinctions made between 
 them and her own offspring. Though the duties 
 which we have discharged invariably be the most im- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 301 
 
 portant and necessary, they do not shine; they are too 
 common to strike ; they procure no celebrity : the 
 wife, the mother, fills no historic page. Our privations, 
 our confinements, our wearisome days, our interrupt- 
 ed, our sleepless nights, the hours we have hung in 
 anxious watchings over your sick and dying off- 
 spring.’ ” 
 
 There was an individualising effect produced by 
 Mr. Jay’s preaching. He not only preached before 
 his congregation, but to them ; and not only to the 
 multitude, but to the individuals which composed it. 
 His sermons formed a kind of mirror, which reflected 
 the image of those who approached it, and in which 
 every one saw himself as distinguished from others. 
 Each of his hearers felt as if the preacher’s eye were 
 fixed on him , and his discourse addressed to him . This 
 is a happy art in preaching, and, indeed, in all public 
 speaking, and in order to which it is necessary to ap- 
 proach, without descending below ourselves or our 
 subject, or even the more intelligent of our auditors, 
 yet as nearly as we can to the easy comprehension of 
 the mass of our hearers. When the preacher soars 
 into the clouds where the understanding cannot track 
 him, or diverges into a wood where they cannot find 
 him, they will soon give over all attempts to follow 
 him, and leave him to his wanderings. Mr. Jay’s sim- 
 plicity, clearness, and intelligibility to all, were most 
 commendable, rarely equalled, and never surpassed. 
 It were desirable that these qualities should be remark- 
 ed, and, as far as possible, imitated, by all preachers 
 of the Gospel. His beautiful conceptions, expressed 
 in good plain Saxon words, were easily understood by 
 the bulk of his hearers ; in faM none could mi sunder- 
 
302 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 stand them, while the most cultivated and refined 
 could not feel displeased with them. 
 
 It is recorded of Arago, the celebrated French as- 
 tronomer, that he had a peculiar facility of bringing 
 down the high parts of astronomy to the comprehen- 
 sion of ordinary minds, — a faculty so rare, that some 
 of the most distinguished astronomers have failed in 
 making their science intelligible or interesting to a 
 public auditory. Arago adopted a method which we 
 believe had never been tried before by any of his pre- 
 decessors. When he began to give his course of lec- 
 tures on astronomy, he glanced round on his audience 
 to look for some dull aspirant for knowledge with a 
 low forehead, and other indications that he was among 
 the least intelligent of his hearers. He kept his eye 
 fixed upon him ; he addressed only him ; and by the 
 effect of his eloquence and powers of explanation, as 
 exhibited in the countenance of his pupil, he judged 
 of their influence upon the rest of his audience. When 
 he remained unconvinced, the orator tried new illus- 
 trations, till light beamed from the grateful counte- 
 nance. Next morning, when Arago was breakfasting 
 with his family, a visitor was announced. A gentle- 
 man entered — his pupil of the preceding evening, who, 
 after expressing his admiration of the lecture, thank- 
 ed Arago for the very peculiar attention he had paid 
 him during the delivery, 11 You had the appearance,” 
 said he, “ of giving the lecture only to me.” Shall it 
 be the ambition only of the astronomer, and not also 
 cf the preacher, to be understood by the convert, and 
 to make every individual feel he is the party address- 
 ed ? Shall they who preach salvation think only of 
 pleasing the cultivated few, to the neglect of the igno- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 303 
 
 rant multitude ? Let the minister of religion take a 
 lesson, aye, and reproof too, from the lecture on as- 
 tronomy. Mr. Jay had learnt this lesson, and prac- 
 ticed it well. It is not meant, of course, that the 
 preacher is always to dwell on elementary truths, and 
 even to accommodate his discourse to the poor and 
 illiterate ; but he ought never to forget that our Lord 
 said, “ the poor have the Gospel preached unto them 
 and it was observed of his own preaching that “ the 
 common people heard him gladly.” True, we ought 
 not to be always in the nursery feeding babes with 
 milk ; but then the babes ought not to be forgotten or 
 neglected. 
 
 The character of strong sound sense which pervaded 
 Mr. Jay’s sermons contributed very largely to his pop- 
 ularity, combined, as this uniformly was, with the 
 practical. There seems to be in the public mind an 
 intuitive perception that religion is not mere science 
 or theory, but that it contains much that has to do 
 with men’s business and bosoms. There is an innate 
 conviction that there is not only something to know, 
 but something to do. They may not be always very 
 willing to do what is enjoined upon them, but still 
 they expect to hear it, and are dissatisfied if they do 
 not. They are aware that it is a matter which has to 
 do with all persons, states, and circumstances. Hence 
 they feel somewhat of surprise, and even disgust, with 
 the preacher who deals much in abstractions that lie 
 remote from human nature and life. They expect to 
 be told not only how they should think, but how they 
 should act ; and one good sound maxim of spiritual 
 wisdom which will guide them through the intricacies 
 of life, and the perplexities of casuistry, will be fax 
 
804 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 more valued than many an airy speculation, or elabo- 
 rate investigation of some profound and abstract ques- 
 tion in theology. Mr. Jay’s practical directions pos- 
 sessed much of the terseness, the wisdom, nnd the force 
 of proverbs. In a single sentence he often expressed 
 what others would expand into a paragraph or a page. 
 Few ever had, in such perfection, the happy art of 
 saying much in few words. They who could not carry 
 away a whole sermon could remember a single sen- 
 tence, which perhaps contained the pith of the whole. 
 They may not have been able to secure the entire 
 string of pearls ; but they could retain one which was 
 complete in itself, and a specimen of all the rest. He 
 always preached as if he wished his sermon to be re- 
 membered as well as heard ; and it was this which led 
 him to condemn the essay form of sermonizing, and to 
 adopt so uniformly the methodical arrangement of his 
 discourses into the usual divisions and sub-divisions 
 of a sermon. He aimed not merely at present effect, 
 but at permanent advantage ; and his arrangement of 
 his subject, which sometimes was fanciful, — aiming at 
 antithesis and parallelism, and approaching almost to 
 the metrical, — was intended to assist the memory, and 
 thus to promote usefulness. Mr. Hall, a master and 
 high authority on such subjects, speaks of the narrow 
 trammels to which in these latter days discourses from 
 the pulpit are confined, “ so different from the free and 
 unfettered airs in which the first preachers of the Gos- 
 pel appeared before their audience. The sublime emo- 
 tions with which they were fraught,” he says, “ would 
 have rendered them impatient of such restrictions ; 
 nor could they suffer the impetuous stream of their 
 argument, expostulation, and pathos, to be weakened 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 305 
 
 by being diverted into tbe artificial reservoirs prepared 
 in tbe beads and particulars of a modern sermon.” 
 Tbe analogy, however, of tbe two cases will not bold. 
 There are occasions, no doubt, when the sermon may 
 with prop vety and effect assume tbe form and charac- 
 ter of an oration, though rarety of an essay, especialty 
 when concentrated impression, rather than instruction, 
 is the design of the preacher ; but as a general rule, 
 considering the heterogeneous nature of our congrega- 
 tions, the plan of heads and particulars, if they are 
 not too numerous, is most for edification ; and it was 
 certainly the method which Mr. Hall himself adopted : 
 his Sermon on Infidelity, and on the death of the 
 Princess Charlotte, being the only ones which are 
 printed in which the usual announcement of heads 
 and particulars is omitted. Mr. Jay’s divisions, though 
 always announced, were never unnecessarily multi- 
 plied ; and thus, while he aided the memory, he did 
 not burthen it. 
 
 Mr. Jay, though generally grave, chaste, and dig- 
 nified in his composition, occasionally somewhat vio- 
 lated the law of propriety in regard to these excel- 
 lences, by a quaintness of expression. This applies al- 
 most exclusively to his preaching, and was most prob- 
 ably purely extemporaneous. He has extruded nearly 
 all of it from his printed discourses. This tendency 
 to quaintness grew upon him in his declining years, 
 when, perhaps, under some consciousness of decaying 
 force, he thought he would supply the deficiency by 
 what was fanciful and odd, or quaint. He was, per- 
 haps, somewhat sensible of this when, in his preface to 
 his “ Short Discourses ,” he wrote the following sen- 
 tence : “ Though he doea not wish to indulge a bad 
 
306 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 taste, the Author would ever remember that the 
 preacher ought to have compassion on the ignorant, 
 and on them that are out of the way. That which is 
 too smooth, easily slides off from the memory, and 
 that which is lost in the act of hearing will do little 
 good. It is desirable to get something that will strike 
 and abide; something that recurring again and again, 
 will employ the thoughts and the tongue ; and if this 
 cannot be accomplished in certain instances by modes 
 of address which perhaps are not classically justifiable, 
 should not a minister prefer utility to fame ?” 
 
 This great preacher threw a sacred charm over his 
 sermons by a profusion of Scripture phraseology, and 
 allusion to Scripture facts. They were adorned with 
 the beauty and redolent with the fragrance of flowers 
 culled from the garden of inspiration. Indeed the 
 beauty and the perfume were almost in excess. The 
 passages were not so much selected for proof as for il- 
 lustration ; they were brought forward, as classic quo- 
 tations are by public orators, to grace a speech, and to 
 convey the speaker’s idea in the opposite language of 
 a high authority. While listening to his discourses, 
 and regaling themselves with his pleasing thoughts, 
 his hearers were often surprised by his repetition of 
 Scripture, so appropriate that it seemed as if it had 
 been written for the occasion. He rarely ever referred 
 to the book, chapter, and verse which he thus used, as 
 he imagined that the hearers would be diverted from 
 the suoject, and disturb their neighbors by turning 
 over the leaves of their Bibles, and the rustling noise, 
 if many did so, which this would occasion. Here we 
 think he was a little in error in point of excess. Fewer 
 passages, some of them explicitly quoted as well as re- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 307 
 
 peated, with a passing remark which would bring out 
 and impress their whole meaning, must do more good 
 than so many passages interwoven without reference 
 or remark into the texture of the sermon. 
 
 Another excess in which he indulged in his later 
 years, and in his ordinary ministrations, was, in the 
 way of poetic quotation, especially verses of hymns. 
 He was fond of poetry. His was a poetic mind ; and 
 though he rose not to the rank of a great lyric poet, 
 yet he wrote some good hymns, as must be apparent 
 to those who read this volume. In the last sermon he 
 preached in Argyle Chapel, there are no less than thir- 
 teen of these poetic scraps. The greater part of them, 
 however, he would no doubt have omitted had he 
 prepared the sermon for the press. 
 
 Mr. Jay, through the whole of his ministry, was, as 
 might be supposed, much in demand for public occa- 
 sions. Few ministers were more frequently put in 
 requisition for preaching at the opening of chapels, 
 and for the various organizations of Christian zeal and 
 benevolence. For such services he always carefully 
 prepared, and rarely disappointed the expectation of 
 his audience. He felt that it would be unworthy of 
 himself, his subject, and his audience, to come forth 
 with an ill-digested, crude, and hasty effusion of meagre 
 thought, set forth in slovenly language. While, on 
 the other hand, though aware he was surrounded by 
 his ministerial brethren, he did not sacrifice the inter- 
 ests of the people to them, and, instead of producing 
 sermons for edification, attempt to astonish by a dis- 
 play of profound and profitless speculation, or dazzle 
 by an exhibition of rapid elegance, resembling the 
 flash, the rush, the lofty flight and vanishing light of 
 
808 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 the sky-rocket, but withal as useless as that pyrotech- 
 nic exhibition. 
 
 He often surprised his audience by the ingenuity he 
 displayed in the appropriation of texts to particular 
 occasions. As specimens of this take the following 
 examples: — On the death of Gieorge the Fourth — 
 “ Another King, one Jesus.” — On the reopening of 
 his chapel after a temporary closing — “ A door was 
 opened in heaven.” — After an enlargement of the 
 chapel — “ Be ye also enlarged.” — For a Communion 
 address — “ One of you is a devil.” Who but he would 
 have thought of such a passage as this, for the text of 
 a funeral sermon for a gre«\t man: u Howl, fir tree; 
 for the cedar is fallen ?” From this passage he preach- 
 ed first, after the death of Mr. Hall ; and then again 
 at the death of Mr. Rowland Hill. How poetic, how 
 striking, how appropriate to express the Church’s la- 
 ment over the grave of one of her illustrious pastors ! 
 
 Mr. Jay considered it a solemn duty to take ad- 
 vantage of the times of public occasions to make na- 
 ture and providence subservient to religious instruc- 
 tion. He generally preached on the seasons of the 
 year; and on national mercies, calamities, and great 
 political events; — but he did not bring politics, in. the 
 conventional meaning of that term, into the pulpit. 
 
 It need scarcely be said by those who knew Mr. Jay, 
 that he made no use of notes in the pulpit, except oc- 
 casionally at the very close of his ministry, when he 
 could no longer so implicitly confide in his memory. 
 In his earlier days he wrote his sermons pretty fully, 
 and even where this was not done, most of the leading 
 thoughts had passed through his mind in his previous 
 meditations upon the text or the subject. He did not, 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 309 
 
 however, so closely adhere to his prepared matter as to 
 shut out suggestions that arose at the time ; those 
 “ living thoughts,” as Mr. Newton used to call them, 
 which came warm and glowing from the heart while 
 he was preaching. He very strongly reprobated the 
 practice of pulpit readings, and lamented the growing 
 disposition for this among the young ministers of the 
 present day. Where is the practice of reading toler- 
 ated except in the Pulpit ? Not on the Stage ; not in 
 the Senate ; not at the Bar. In the time of Charles 
 the Second it was forbidden by statute to the University 
 of Cambridge, which says “ the lazy way of reading 
 sermons began in the time of the Civil Wars.” 
 
 It will be seen, by this description, that we do not 
 claim for this eminent preacher any dazzling brilliancy 
 of genius, any profound originality, any power of 
 philosophical analysis, any logical acumen, or even 
 great theological research. To those who can only be 
 pleased with such things, or to others who resolve all 
 pulpit excellence into abstract generalizations, or lofty 
 speculations, or subtle argumentation, Mr. Jay’s ser- 
 mons presented few attractions. His sound evangel- 
 ism, his practical wisdom, his rich experience, his 
 strong sense, his melting tenderness, his touching 
 pathos, his beautiful illustrations, his sweet antitheses, 
 his poetic fancy, which procured him while a living 
 preacher such wide and continued popularity, and 
 which in his published works will never cease to de- 
 light the readers who can be pleased with strong in- 
 telligence and true piety — were held in light esteem by 
 those who love to soar in the clouds, or delve in the 
 dark mines of German mysticism. 
 
 If Mr. Jay attained to such excellence as preacher, 
 
310 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 it was not without great self-culture and laborious en- 
 deavors. No doubt there is some truth in the opin- 
 ion, that there are natural tendencies which lead to 
 distinction in any branch of human pursuit. We 
 need not believe phrenology to admit this. In a quali- 
 fied sense, Mr. Jay was born a preacher : person, voice, 
 physiological temperament appropriate to this occupa- 
 tion, were all given to him in his physical constitution. 
 But this was not all. If he owed much to those gifts 
 lavished upon him by the hand of God, he owed much 
 also to his own sagacity, diligence,, and unwearied endea- 
 vors after improvement and distinction. He was a 
 preacher from a boy. His choice of this line of action 
 grew out of his religious convictions and emotions, and 
 was sustained and stimulated by them. He longed to 
 be useful in savitig sinners from the condemnation 
 which he had escaped ; he saw the power of the pul- 
 pit as God’s great instrument for accomplishing this 
 end ; and, almost from the time of his first entering it, 
 he made it, as we have already said, the object of his 
 hallowed ambition to excel there. In after-life, all his 
 reading, his reflection, and his writing centred in that 
 object. He studied the best models of preaching; 
 learnt French chiefly to read the sermons of Bossuet, 
 Bourdaloue, Masillon, and Saurin, in their own tongue ; 
 and attentively perused the Puritan and Nonconform- 
 ist writers, together with more modern authors of 
 sermons, the better to qualify himself to be a preacher. 
 At home and abroad, when travelling or recreating 
 himself at some watering-place, he was in one sense 
 always sermonizing. He rarely returned to his own 
 house, after a retreat for awhile to the coast, without 
 bringing back with him some plans of sermons or 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 311 
 
 texts that had struck him, in his reading or medita- 
 tions during this season of innocent relaxation from 
 pastoral duties. To be a useful preacher was his aim ; 
 and it was thus, by constant and unwearied effort, he 
 became one. 
 
 And if this were the habitual study of all who are 
 called to occupy the pulpit ; if with an intense long- 
 ing after the salvation of immortal souls, and an un- 
 wavering determination to know nothing among men, 
 but Jesus Christ and him crucified ; if with a true phi- 
 losophical view of the adaptation of preaching to 
 awaken attention and produce impression ; if with a 
 recollection of what has been done by the g v eat mas- 
 ters in the art of preaching, — all ministers were to 
 study the best models of evangelical pulpit eloquence, 
 and were to take extraordinary pains to acquire, by 
 the aid of Divine grace, a commanding and interest- 
 ing style of pulpit address ; and, while cherishing a 
 sense of absolute dependence for efficiency upon the 
 work of the Holy Spirit, they were to recollect the 
 Spirit works by appropriate means ; and took half the 
 pains to make their speaking in the pulpit as impress- 
 ive as the actor does to make his upon the stage ; if 
 concerning the powerful preaching of the Gospel, they 
 said “ this one thing I do” and called in all collateral 
 aids to do it in the best manner, — we should not hear, 
 as we sometimes do, of the declining power of the pul- 
 pit. It is for a wonder, a lamentation, and a reproach, 
 that they who have to do the most momentous work 
 under the sun, give themselves the least pains to do it 
 effectually. Mankind are wrought upon by manner as 
 well as matter — it is an interesting, earnest style of ad- 
 dress that engages attention, reaches the heart, and ac- 
 
312 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 complishes the end of preaching ; in the absence of 
 which learning the most profound, and theology the 
 most scriptural, will fail to secure popularity, or to ob- 
 tain success. It will not do to say, we are so engross- 
 ed with the matter of our discourses as to be indifferent 
 to the manner of them. The more important to men’s 
 interests is the matter, the more anxious should we be 
 that in our manner there should be nothing to hinder, 
 but, on the contrary, everything to aid, the success of 
 the matter. That minister who feels called by the Holy 
 Ghost to be a preacher of Christ’s blessed Gospel, 
 ought to feel himself no less called to take all possible 
 pains to do it in the best possible manner. 
 
 How eminently Mr. Jay’s efforts to excel in this 
 matter were crowned with success, the reader of the 
 foregoing pages has seen amply illustrated as he has 
 advanced though this volume. We shall here, how- 
 ever, add one more testimony, which, from its impar- 
 tiality and high respectability, is entitled to much 
 weight. Bishop Shirley, in a letter to the Rev. C, 
 Bridges, says : “ I spent two days at Bath, and heard 
 Mr. Jay preach. He is a very extraordinary man. 
 There is a commanding energy in his manner, and a 
 weight in his style, which gives authority to what he 
 says, and secures attention ; for he is evidently in earn- 
 est, and utters the result of much thinking and 
 prayer.” * 
 
 If the publication of Mr. Jay’s life should serve no 
 other purpose than to stir up the ministry to a more 
 earnest and anxious endeavor to excel in this their mo- 
 mentous sphere of official duty, and to present to them 
 
 * Memoir of Bishop Shirley, p. 58 This letter is dated Ash- 
 bourn, February 18th, 1823. 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 313 
 
 a model which they shall aim to copy, then it will be 
 subject of congratulation and thankfulness, that to the 
 world has been given this memoir of one whom Foster 
 designated, “ The Prince of Preachers .” 
 
 MR. JAY AS AN AUTHOR. 
 
 After having expressed our opinion of Mr. Jay as 
 a preacher, we have felt some doubts whether our 
 readers may not think it quite enough, without refer- 
 ring particularly to his authorship. But still there is 
 a sufficient diversity in the two departments to justify 
 a separate notice. The talents which secure success in 
 the one can by no means be taken as a pledge of suc- 
 cess in the other. It is a rare thing for a man to excel 
 in both characters, even though the authorship may 
 lie mainly in the line of sermons. Of this Mr. Jay 
 himself seems to have been perfectly conscious ; for he 
 did little in the way of authorship, except in connec- 
 tion with his preaching, as he also did little in the 
 way of public speaking, except from the pulpit. Un- 
 der a just sense of the limitation of human faculties, he 
 concentrated his upon one object ; and that object 
 gained so conspicuously and successfully supplied the 
 first and chief inducement to appear as an author ; 
 and this rather as an extension of the preacher’s office, 
 or as an enlargement of his audience. 
 
 Mr. Jay’s labors as an author were principally pur- 
 sued at watering-places, during a relaxation of a few 
 weeks in summer. He gives the following brief but 
 interesting account of these labors, in m Advertise- 
 ment to the last volume of the “ Exerciser” : — 
 
 “At Sidmouth he began his ‘Domestic Ministers’ 
 14 
 
314 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Assistant,’ and wrote many of the Family prayers. In 
 the Isle of Wight, he composed ‘ A Charge to a Min- 
 ister’s Wife,’ and ‘The Wife’s Advocate.’ At Lyn- 
 month, he finished his ‘ Christian Contemplated,’ and 
 wrote the Preface ; with ‘ Hints on Preaching.’ 
 
 “ But this latter place must be a little more noticed. 
 There, for several years successively, he passed a month, 
 the most perfectly agreeable and happy he ever expe- 
 rienced in a life of loving-kindness and tender mercy. 
 
 “ Linton and Lynmouth are nearly connected — the 
 one being at the top and the other at the bottom of a 
 declivity, covered with trees and verdure, interspersed 
 with several houses. Linton has been remarked for 
 its sublimity, and Lynmouth for its beauty, and their 
 united aspects have been called Switzerland in min- 
 iature. 
 
 “Lynmouth was to the author the most interesting 
 spot. Here, two narrow and craggy valleys, obvious- 
 ly once ruptured by a convulsion of nature, termin- 
 ate ; and down these, tumbling from rock to rock, two 
 streams — one running r irom the east and the other 
 from the south — unite, and then, at a small distance, 
 empty themselves into the sea, 
 
 “ At the time of his first going there it was hardly 
 known or considered as a watering-place. It had not, 
 therefore, as yet fallen into the corruptions of such 
 receptacles ; nor had the inhabitants been taught to 
 make visitors a prey. The villagers were very re- 
 spectful ; and strangers felt a sense of perfect safety. 
 
 u Here the author fixed his residence. He took a 
 whole cottage ; it was far from elegant, but it was neat 
 and agreeable ; it wanted some accommodation and 
 comforts ; but he had what he more prized, rural and 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 315 
 
 enchanting scenery and solitude. Yet not without 
 some to hear the exclamation, ‘IIow sweet this soli- 
 tude is!’ for he had society too; his company was 
 small, but chosen, and suitable, and improving : — 
 
 Where friendship full exerts her softest power, 
 Perfect esteem, enlivened by desire 
 Ineffable, and sympathy of soul — 
 
 Thought meeting thought, and will preventing will, 
 With boundless confidence.’ 
 
 “ His associates consisted of his wife ana a female 
 friend. It would be vain in him to extol the former ; 
 but as for the latter — especially as she was soon re- 
 moved from our world — he may be allowed to say, 
 we hardly could have had her equal in everything we 
 wished. She was of a very respectable family ; well 
 educated, polished in her manners, intellectual, 
 sprightly, witty, truly pious, full of sensibility and be- 
 nevolence, and an entire stranger to everything like 
 selfishness. What, with regard to this friend, before 
 our first excursion together was acquaintance, was 
 now rendered intimacy the most cordial ; and she be- 
 came a dear resident in the family till her lamented 
 death. The cottage we occupied was near Mr. Her- 
 ries’ beautiful villa. It has since been spoiled by im- 
 provements, and is now a kind of tawdry little man- 
 sion ; and the whole of Lynmouth itself, which taste 
 might have altered, and yet left it a village still, is 
 aping a paltry town. 
 
 “ Here our party felt themselves at liberty to meet 
 or to separate — to read or to write — or to converse or 
 to walk — as inclination prompted. As to himself, the 
 author opened his parlor, and spoke on the Sabbath- 
 
316 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVxriONS. 
 
 day evening to any of the neighbors who would at- 
 tend. But having been struck with the design, and 
 also having been urged to undertake something of 
 the kind, he now began his 4 Morning Exercises.’ 
 Of these, he here often wrote two, and sometimes 
 three a day ; and always read one of them in the morn- 
 ing and another in the evening devotion, and not often 
 without the approbation of his companions, which most 
 excited and encouraged him to proceed. 
 
 44 Here he composed the greater part of these Morn- 
 ing Exercises, and here also, in after visits, he wrote 
 the greater part of the Evening . He once thought of 
 distinguishing by a final mark all he had written in 
 this retirement ; but not doing it immediately, his re- 
 collection soon became too indistinct for him to divide 
 with certainty. The first ‘Exercise’ he wrote was 
 that which is entitled, £ The Unlonely Solitude,’ — 
 John, xvi. 32 : 4 And shall leave me alone : and yet I 
 am not alone, because the Father is with me.’ 
 
 “ He wished also to have marked those which he 
 wrote as he journeyed to and from Lynmouth. At 
 the 4 Plume of Feathers,’ Minehead, where he slept as 
 he was going down, he composed the Exercise, called, 
 4 The Pious Excursion,’ — 1 Sam. iii. 9 : 4 Speak, Lord, 
 for thy servant heareth,’ especially in reference to 
 such a journey of recreation. At the same inn, as he 
 returned, he composed the Exercise, entitled 4 The Call 
 to Depart,’ — Micah, ii. 10 : 4 Arise, and depart hence, 
 for this is not your rest.’ He also wrote a third Ex- 
 ercise at the same inn, viz., — 4 Changes in the wilder- 
 ness not a removal from it,’ — Numb. x. 12 : 4 And the 
 children of Israel took their journeys out of the wil- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 317 
 
 derness of Sinai ; and the cloud rested in the wilder- 
 ness at Peran.’ 
 
 “ The author cannot conclude without observing two 
 things : — the first is, That relaxation is never so per- 
 fectly enjoyed as in connection with engagement. 
 
 ‘ A want of occupation is not rest ; 
 
 A mind quite vacant is a mind distress’d/ 
 
 “Relaxation, indeed, can have no existence sepa- 
 rate from employment, for what is there then to relax 
 from ? On the other hand, action prepares for repose, 
 and labor not only sweetens, but justifies recreation ; 
 so that we feel it to be, not only innocent indulgence, 
 but a kind of recompense. The second is, That, as of 
 such a precious talent as time nothing should be lost, 
 so, much may be done by gathering up its fragments.” 
 
 The peculiar charm which his sermons derived from 
 his oratory and elocution could not, of course, attend 
 his publications, and yet, when divested of this fasci- 
 nation, they exhibited other charms and excellences, 
 which secured for them, not only attention, but admi- 
 ration, popularity, and usefulness. His compositions, 
 when they came from the press, were greatly improved 
 and chastened, both in thought and diction. What 
 they lost of effect given them by his delivery, they 
 gained in correctness, condensation, and point. Mr. 
 Jay well understood that sermons printed must be 
 skilfully prepared for the eye, which is a more critical 
 judge than the ear. The single sermons which he 
 first published were, no doubt, greatly aided in their 
 success by the popularity of the young preacher. 
 Moreover, his promotion so early to the pulpit of 
 Surrey Chapel placed him on a pinnacle before the 
 
318 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 religious world of London ; so that when he sent forth 
 his first volume of sermons, which was as early as 
 1802, a wide circle of readers was anxiously waiting 
 to peruse them. The moderation of sentiment these 
 sermons displayed, as contrasted with the Antinomian- 
 ism into which some were running, both in the Estab- 
 lishment and among the Dissenters, — their originality, 
 simplicity, ease, and general adaptation to the state of 
 the public mind, commanded for them a measure of 
 success which rarely attends volumes of sermons in 
 the present day, and still more rarely those from the 
 pens of Dissenters. It may be fairly alleged, that, 
 at the period when Mr. Jay first appeared as an au- 
 thor, there was a new and growing desire to peruse 
 good and evangelical sermons; and that Mr. Jay’s 
 were eminently suited to the taste of the day ; and it 
 would be no disparagement to admit further, that in 
 some respects they are less suited to the taste of the 
 present day ; or, indeed, that as good sermons are now 
 so abundant from the pulpit, there is less need of sup- 
 plying them from the press ; and, in consequence, few 
 volumes of sermons now obtain popularity, unless 
 they are highly elaborate, or novel subjects, or charac- 
 terized by eminent genius or transcendent eloquence. 
 
 There can be no doubt that Mr. Jay’s sermons were 
 happily suited to meet the increasing desire at that 
 time for evangelical instruction. Whitfield and Wes- 
 ley, with their co-workers and followers, had given 
 the people a taste for something better than they had 
 been accustomed to in the dry ethical essays of the 
 clergy, as void of effect upon the audience as of heart 
 and life in the preacher. Jay’s sermons, therefore, 
 were perhaps as much used in pulpits as in private 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 319 
 
 houses, and might be heard in many a church, and 
 found attractive to many a congregation of Church- 
 men. Some of the more liberal of the clergy recom- 
 mended them to their brethren, and to their people ; 
 and this was especially the case with those who were 
 alarmed at the spread of Antinomianism. The appear- 
 ance of the successive volumes of Mr. Jay’s sermons, 
 and their increasing popularity, was a pleasing omen 
 of the sounder views which were beginning to prevail. 
 Indeed it may be stated, that the influence of the An- 
 tinomian preacher began to decrease about this time, 
 and has been sinking till it can scarcely be said to re- 
 tain an existence either in the Church or out of it. A 
 few scattered individuals are all that can now be found, 
 where formerly hundreds congregated to listen to high 
 doctrine ; and, among other useful works, no doubt 
 Mr. Jay’s have had a share of influence in promoting 
 sounder views and a more Scriptural taste. An evi- 
 dence of this is seen in the fact that Mr. Jay was sin- 
 gled out by Bishop Jebb, and recommended to his 
 friend, Alexander Knox, as a pattern of sobriety and 
 moderation of sentiment. He saj r s in one of his let- 
 ters : — 
 
 “ It seems to me as if the more sober Calvinists, both 
 in and out of the Church of England, were not a little 
 alarmed by the prevalence of virtual, if not as yet 
 practical, Antinomianism. There has been a good 
 deal to that purpose, I mean expressive of that alarm, 
 in the ‘Christian Observer.’ But the Independent 
 minister at Bath, Jay, has lately published a volume 
 of lectures, called 1 The Christian Contemplated,’ in 
 the preface to which are some pertinent, and, I might 
 sav, happy remarks. It will be worth your while to 
 
320 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 get the book, were it only for the sake of the preface ; 
 but the book itself is worth looking over, for, though 
 it has its defects and failings, it abounds in matter 
 which tends to edify the reader, and do real honors to 
 the writer.”* 
 
 In speaking once upon this subject, he observed, 
 that, though election vras true, it did not appear to 
 him a truth of equal importance with perseverance ; 
 and that, in preaching, we must not only distinguish 
 between truth and error, but between truth and truth. 
 It was a truth that our Saviour died under Pontius 
 Pilate, and a truth that His death was an atonement 
 for sin ; but who would attach the same importance 
 to both ? So was it here. He did not conceive that 
 there was any danger in preaching election in its ef- 
 fects ; and that it must always be remembered, that 
 perseverance was a duty enjoined by 2 Peter, i. 5-10, 
 &c., and as a privilege promised in Phil. i. 6, &c. ; and 
 that this twofold view ought always to be remem- 
 bered. 
 
 He said that Mr. Newton, at one of those breakfasts 
 where he received ministers of all denominations, 
 among other observations, made the following : — He 
 said, that “ Calvinism was one of the worst of systems 
 preached theoretically, but one of the best preached 
 practically.” Mr. Jay added, that if he called any 
 man master on earth, it would be Leighton or New- 
 ton. 
 
 This just and Scriptural moderation of sentiment 
 which through life distinguished Mr. Jay, both as a 
 
 * Thirty Years’ Correspondence between John Jebb, D.D., F.R.S., 
 Bishop of Limerick, and Alexander Krox, Esq., M.R.T.A., vol. iu 
 p. 65 1 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 321 
 
 preacher and author, commended him to the approval 
 of the best part of the Christian body, both in the 
 Established Church and among Dissenters. For this 
 sobriety and comprehensiveness of view he was prob- 
 ably greatly indebted to his excellent tutor, whose 
 large experience and acute observation, in the days 
 when there existed considerable conflict ard conten- 
 tion among theologians of adverse schools, in connec- 
 tion with his loving spirit and persuasive manner, 
 qualified him to guard young minds against excess 
 and extravagance. The same moderation of sentiment 
 seems to have distinguished most of Mr. Winter’s stu- 
 dents. It is, moreover, a remarkable fact, that this 
 sobriety was far from being associated with tameness 
 or indifference. It was rather accompanied with emi- 
 nent zeal, devotedness, and usefulness. It was very 
 evident that Mr. Jay’s supreme aim was to be Scriptu- 
 ral in all his religious sentiments. He bowed sub- 
 missively to the Divine authority. Every statement 
 is both illustrated and confirmed by the most apposite 
 and striking quotations. Hence, too, Mr. Jay seems 
 never to shrink from the appearance of paradox, when 
 it arises from the strength of Scripture language in en- 
 forcing important truths separately. He had, from the 
 commencement of his course, kept himself clear of 
 the trammels of systematic theology ; and was only 
 concerned to bring the truth of God, as it appears in 
 the Bible, to bear upon the hearts and consciences of 
 men. Hence the constant interweaving of Scripture 
 in every sermon — a practice which he avows and de- 
 fends in the preface to u The Christian Contemplated,” 
 where he quotes, with warm approbation, the follow- 
 ing judicious and beautiful defence of this practice, 
 14 * 
 
322 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 from the pen of Eobert Hall, in his strictures upon 
 Foster’s Essay, which at that day stirred up no little 
 controversy, and which was entitled — u On the Aver- 
 sion of Men of Taste to Evangelical Eeligion.” Mr. 
 Jay hailed this vindication of the use of Scriptural 
 language, from so high an authorhy', though he sus- 
 pects the same authority might censure himself for 
 using it to excess ; yet that he would still allow it was 
 an error on the safer side. 
 
 u To say nothing,” observes Mr. Hall, “ of the in- 
 imitable beauties of the Bible, considered in a literary 
 view, — which are universally acknowledged, — it is the 
 Book which every devout man is accustomed to con- 
 sult as the oracle of God ; it is the companion of his 
 best moments, and the vehicle of his strongest conso- 
 lation. Intimately associated in his mind with every- 
 thing dear and valuable, its diction more powerfully 
 excites devotional feeling than any other ; and, when 
 temperately and soberly used, imparts an unction to a 
 religious discourse which nothing else can suppfy. 
 Besides, is there not room to apprehend that a studied 
 avoidance of the Scripture phraseology, and a care to 
 express all that it is supposed to contain in the forms 
 of classical diction, might ultimately lead to the neg- 
 lect of the Scriptures themselves, and a habit of sub- 
 stituting flashy and superficial declamation, in the room 
 of the saving truths of the Gospel ? Such an appre- 
 hension is but too much verified by the most celebrat- 
 ed sermons of the French, and still more by some 
 modern compositions in our own language, which 
 usurp that title. For devotional impression, we con- 
 ceive that a very considerable tincture of the language 
 of Scripture, or at least such a coloring as shall dis- 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 323 
 
 cover an intimate acquaintance with those inimitable 
 models, will generally succeed best.” 
 
 The copious use which Mr. Jay made of Scripture 
 language, both in preaching and writing, gives his 
 compositions a peculiar character. It is a feature 
 which strikes every one as prominent, and we think, 
 while it yields the highest satisfaction to every reader 
 who peruses his books for edification and instruction, 
 it can excite displacency in no one. There can be 
 little doubt that the eminent success of Mr. Jay in all 
 his publications is a sufficient vindication of his prac- 
 tice, especially when it is considered that the success 
 of such writings must be taken as an indication of 
 their usefulness. They minister nothing to the amuse- 
 ment of mankind ; nothing to the gratification of a 
 mere literary taste, or fondness for speculation ; no- 
 thing to elegant scholarship, or dialectic skill, or a fer- 
 vid imagination ; but are the plain and forcible state- 
 ments of evangelical truth, “ not in the words which 
 man’s wisdom teacheth, but,” to a great extent, “ which 
 the Holy Ghost teacheth ;” and as such their extensive 
 and continued popularity both vindicates the judg- 
 ment of the writer and commends the taste of his nu- 
 merous Christian readers. 
 
 Mr. Jay may not be an author suited to the taste of 
 every reader, but he wrote for the many, and they 
 have been his readers. He is not learned enough for 
 some, nor profound enough for others ; not critical 
 enough for one, nor rhetorical enough for a second, 
 nor imaginative enough for a third ; but had he com- 
 mended himself to the approbation o r such readers, 
 he would have had a much narrower circle than he 
 has had, and still has. Nature, or rather the God of 
 
324 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 nature, formed his mind in one of its most current 
 types, and to serve the greatest number, by exhibiting 
 to them, in the most impressive, instructive, and suc- 
 cessful forms, not the rarities of intellectual treasures, 
 not the elaborations of human thought, nor the choicest 
 and most sparkling gems of genius, but truths of uni- 
 versal importance and of daily practice. He aimed at 
 the useful and substantial, and had little taste for the 
 subtle, the recondite, or the profound. His mission 
 was to preach the Gospel of the grace of God, which 
 he had received, and to extend the benefit of what he 
 had preached by books, for the service of those who 
 had not the privilege of hearing him. 
 
 In his compositions, the critic may find many faults 
 which passed unobserved from the pulpit. But though 
 sometimes his style would admit of improvement in 
 respect to refinement and polish, yet, in perspicuity, 
 simplicity, and force, it is admirably adapted to the 
 purpose of instruction. It is perfectly transparent and 
 intelligible to all, and though occasionally, through 
 his anxiety to be impressive, and to fix the truth in 
 the mind, he indulges in an expression or a word be- 
 neath his subject, yet it is so obviously for the sake of 
 point and effect, that good taste can hardly be offended, 
 while the less fastidious reader is better pleased with 
 the homeliness and point, and possibly feels the truth 
 conveyed more effectually to his mind. 
 
 Eminently practical in all his views of Divine truth, 
 he derives useful lessons from almost every part of 
 Scripture ; and places duties in new lights and rela- 
 tions, which impart fresh force and interest to them. 
 He had no doubt profited much in his composition in 
 later years by the long and extensive practice he had 
 
CTO NOLUDINXt OB.SK I i VATIOXS. 
 
 325 
 
 undergone, and which, from the advice of Mrs. Han- 
 nah More to write much and fast, he seems early to 
 have adopted. Every Christian reader of Mr. Jay’s 
 works must be impressed with the pleasingly devo- 
 tional turn of his mind. His reflections lead the pious 
 and devout reader to the most elevated views of the 
 Divine character, as a Father to be loved, and a Friend 
 to be trusted. Every page seems to exercise over tho 
 mind an attraction to the Source of all wisdom, blessed- 
 ness, and grace; and every sentiment seems bathed 
 with the spirit of devotion, and designed to win the 
 heart for God and truth. 
 
 Another feature in Mr. Jay’s writings is the skill 
 with which, without apparent effort, he throws light 
 upon Scripture, and, by a few happy sentences, sets 
 the sacred word in a new and interesting, and often 
 strong, light. It is as if he placed the reader in a po- 
 sition from which he could discover new lustre in the 
 jewel of Divine truth. He makes it flash its radiance 
 upon the mind’s eye with a power and beauty unper- 
 ceived before. And, moreover, not simply as thus 
 condensing the force of isolated truths upon the mind, 
 but in the important and most useful capacity of an 
 expositor , he is conspicuously successful. His large 
 knowledge of the Divine word, and his intimate in- 
 sight into its special import, and his holy ingenuity in 
 discovering uses to which its facts and lessons may be 
 turned, qualify him in a high degree to expound the 
 sacred word. With an unrivalled force and effect 
 could he bring out the hidden beauties of revelation, 
 and enchain the mind to the truths of God’s word. 
 There was a startling originality sometimes in his ap- 
 plication of texts, which interested and delighted the 
 
326 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 auditor, and fixed the attention moie m the Word of 
 God than on the preacher or the writer. But he never 
 pursued originality for its own sake, nor sought, as 
 many have done, and are still doing, to affect novelty 
 of thought by mere novelty of phrase. The new 
 idioms and the new terminology are found, when 
 translated into pure English, to contain little more 
 than old and common ideas ; often they are a mere 
 wrapper of grotesque or pompous phraseology thrown 
 around poverty of thought and vulgar superficiality. 
 But, in his own department, Mr. Jay was really an 
 original thinker, and his thoughts engage, instruct, 
 and delight the mind. His aim is always exalted, his 
 means always legitimate, his motives always pure, and 
 his success distinguished. 
 
 In confirmation of our own estimate of his publica- 
 tions, it will probably be interesting to the reader to be 
 informed, upon the best authority, how his works have 
 been received among the Christian bodies of the New 
 World ; and where, never having heard his voice, they 
 judge of him exclusively as an author. Mr. Jay him- 
 self sometimes alludes to the extensive sale and useful- 
 ness of his writings in America, and we shall, there- 
 fore, here introduce some extracts from the pen of a 
 distinguished American divine, who published an ar- 
 ticle more than twenty years ago in an American pe- 
 riodical, in which he reviewed the principal works of 
 Mr. Jay, which had then been reprinted in that coun- 
 try. In pointing out these peculiar excellences, he 
 thus concludes his review. ( The article is from the pen 
 of the Rev. IF. B. Sprague , B.D., and appeared in u The 
 Quarterly Christian Spectators It ivas afterwards pub- 
 lished separate ly ) : — 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 327 
 
 u If the estimate wljich we have formed of the char- 
 acter of Mr. Jay’s publications be correct, it must be 
 obvious to every one that they are designed to have 
 an important influence in forming the religious charac- 
 ter of the age ; to say nothing of the more remote in- 
 fluence which they must exert upon posterity. We 
 will consider, under a few distinct particulars, what are 
 the effects which have followed, or may be expected to 
 follow from the labors of this popular and excellent 
 author. 
 
 “ Mr. Jay’s writings, if we mistake not, are peculiarly 
 adapted to promote the study of the Bible . Not only are 
 the 4 Morning and Evening Exercises for the Closet,’ 
 directly of a biblical character, being designed as a sort 
 of practical commentary on various portions of divine 
 truth, but nearly all his other writings abound in scriptu- 
 ral illustration, and are pre eminently fitted to invest the 
 study of the Bible with strong attractions. No writer 
 of the present day makes a more copious use of Scrip- 
 ture than Mr. Jay ; and we might say, that in his ser- 
 mons he sometimes carries this to an extreme, were it 
 not for the uncommonly felicitous manner in which 
 his quotations are made. It would seem as if the 
 whole Bible were in his memory, and he had the pow- 
 er, on every occasion, of selecting the very passage 
 that is most to his purpose ; and when a writer quotes 
 Scripture with such an advantage, we can scarcely call 
 any degree of quotation excessive. 
 
 “ If Mr. Jaj should be thought by some to urge to an 
 extreme in respect to the direct use which he makes 
 of Scripture in his public discourses, we are constrain- 
 ed to believe that there is a tendency among many 
 preachers, in this country at least, to the opposite end. 
 
328 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 We certainly do not wish to be brought back to the 
 practice of some of our venerable fathers, who not only 
 were accustomed to string together many passages of 
 Scripture, often without much regard to connection, 
 but detained their hearers by turning over the leaves 
 of the Bible to look their passages out ; but we do 
 wish that every sermon should have so much of the 
 Bible in it, either as it respects language or spirit, that 
 it shall be obvious to every hearer that it is drawn di- 
 rectly from that - sacred book. It were reasonable to 
 expect that God should put special power upon his 
 own word ; and hence we find that the frequent intro- 
 duction of Scripture language into a sermon imparts 
 to it, in the view of the pious, a kind of unction which 
 it can derive from nothing else. So : too, all experience 
 proves, that there is no argument so strong as £ thus 
 saith the Lord and many a mind which has warred 
 through a long course of metaphysical reasoning, has 
 been fixed in its convictions by one plain declaration 
 of the Bible. 
 
 K 
 
 u Mr. Jay’s writings are also eminently distinguished 
 for their Practical Tendency They are indeed by no 
 means deficient in the exhibition of Scripture doc- 
 trines, but whenever doctrines are discussed, it is al- 
 ways in a practical way. They are not taken up as 
 abstract propositions, but are presented just as they 
 are found in God’s word, and as they stand related to 
 the experience and conduct of men. They are more 
 commonly adapted to make men acquainted with their 
 own hearts ; to carry them back to the very springs 
 of their actions ; and to impress them with the convic- 
 tion that the whole of religion is a practical reality. 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 329 
 
 We are not aware that Mr. Jay has written anything 
 of a merely speculative character; whatever has come 
 from his pen, so far as we know, has an important 
 bearing upon practice, and is fitted to exert a benign 
 and elevating influence upon human character. 
 
 “ It has been a characteristic of some periods of the 
 Church, that they have been distinguished by a rage 
 for speculation. ITS o one can go back to the time of 
 the latter Christian fathers, or to the days of Thomas 
 Aquinas, vithout being forcibly struck by the end- 
 lessly diversified and hair-breadth distinctions which 
 were then resorted to, in illustration and defence of 
 Scripture doctrine ; and it were hardly necessary to 
 say, that an age which had so much in its character 
 that w T as speculative could not be distinguished by re- 
 ligious action. It was common, in those days, for 
 men to exhaust all their powers in endeavoring to 
 settle points which did not admit of being settled, and 
 which, if they had been, would not make one hair 
 white or black, as it respects the salvation of men, or 
 the advancement of the kingdom of Christ. The lam- 
 entable result w r as, that, while men were spending 
 their lives in metaphysical quibbling, -the great cause 
 for which the Saviour shed his blood seemed to stand 
 still, if not to be on the retrograde ; and the revival 
 of the spirit of religious action did not take place until 
 the rage for vain speculation had begun in some meas- 
 ure to die away. If we do not greatly mistake, 
 wherever the doctrines of the Gospel are exhibited in 
 connection with much of human philosophy, and en- 
 cumbered by the technology of the schools, they will 
 be found to a great extent inefficacious, and the Church 
 will be found proportionably listless and inactive. 
 But when these truths are presented in their naked 
 
830 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 simplicity, and brought home to the mind and heart 
 as common-sense realities, without having their in- 
 fluence in any degree neutralized by foreign admix- 
 tures, they will be found quick and powerful ; and it 
 may reasonably be expected that in such a community 
 there will be a waking from the dreams of careless- 
 ness, and a spirit of benevolent activity going forth to 
 bless the world. 
 
 ****** 
 
 “One great secret of the charm which pervades Mr. 
 Jay’s writings is, that he ranges through every de- 
 partment of human experience, and shows that the 
 spirit has its appropriate teachings for every condition. 
 Their tendency is not only to make man do right in 
 all circumstances, but to do right intelligently, and 
 upon principle. 
 
 “ It is another characteristic of Mr. Jay’s writings, 
 that they are eminently fitted to cherish a devotional 
 spirit We have already had occasion to remark, that 
 his 4 Family Prayers,’ while they show the fertility of 
 his mind, the purity of his taste, and the originality 
 and beauty of his conceptions, also breathe, in an un- 
 common degree, the spirit of genuine devotion. But 
 most of his other writings, though they are designed 
 primarily to instruct, and are indeed, in a high degree, 
 instructive, are delightfully pervaded by the same 
 spirit. His 1 Morning and Evening Exercises’ are par- 
 ticularly designed to be the companion of the closet ; 
 and it would seem scarcely possible that they should 
 be used by any Christian, as they were intended to be, 
 without bringing him into an appropriate frame for 
 communion with God. 
 
 “ It will be obvious to any one who reflects how 
 much the present age is characterized by the spirit of 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 331 
 
 active enterprise, that there is danger that it will suffer 
 in its devotional character; danger that, while Chris- 
 tians have their hands full of work, their hearts will 
 be comparatively barren of devout exercises ; that 
 their active efforts in building up the kingdom of 
 Christ will be suffered to interfere with the more re- 
 tired business of keeping their hearts and communing 
 with God. We do not complain that the religious 
 character of the age has too much in it that is practi- 
 cal ; but we have much reason to fear that many 
 Christians of the present day sometimes render apolo- 
 gies to their consciences for a partial neglect of their 
 closets, on the ground that their time is so much en- 
 grossed by duties of a public nature that they have 
 little left for anything else. Whenever this state of 
 things exists, it is an evil Vvdhch ought at once to be 
 corrected ; for not only does it indicate an approaching 
 decline of the spirit of piety, but it looks as if the 
 spirit of benevolent action would not endure ; and 
 whenever the Christian loses sight of his dependence 
 on God, in his benevolent efforts, he may rest assured, 
 either that his zeal will soon languish, or that his ef- 
 forts will be unsuccessful. 
 
 “ Another striking characteristic of Mr. Jay’s writ- 
 ings is, that they exhibit, in the best sense, a truly catho- 
 lic spirit. Not that there is anything in them that looks 
 like lowering the standard of Christian doctrine or 
 practice, of of yielding up anything that is essential 
 in religion — far from it. The great doctrines and 
 duties of the Gospel are constantly stated and urged 
 in all their importance ; and erroneous doctrines and 
 practices meet with their deserved condemnation. But, 
 after all, the author never seems to be trammelled by 
 sectarian peculiarities ; and scarcely ever occupies 
 
382 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 ground upon which he would not be cordially met by 
 Christians of every evangelical denomination. This, 
 no doubt, is one great reason of the universal popular- 
 ity his writings have gained both in Great Britain and 
 this country ; and hence, too, we have found many 
 who had been long conversant with his writings, who 
 yet had never been able to discover to what denomi- 
 nation he belonged, and some who had always had the 
 impression that, instead of being an Independent, as 
 he actually is, he is a (Low Church) Episcopalian. Ho 
 doubt he has his attachment to Independency ; but it 
 is so far from being a bigoted attachment, that he 
 opens the arms of his charity wide to every evangeli- 
 cal Christian, let his denomination be what it may. 
 Men may differ from him in many unimportant partic- 
 ulars, and yet, instead of standing aloof from them, 
 as errorists, he cordially welcomes them as fellow-dis- 
 ciples of a common Master. 
 
 “ The spirit of Christian Catholicism which Mr. Jay’s 
 writings evince, is what we wish to see more and more 
 extensively pervade the religious community. We 
 are by no means disposed to plead for an annihilation 
 of sects, or for any attempt to range all the followers 
 of Christ under the same human banner. On the con- 
 trary, we fully believe that the division of the Chris- 
 tian world into various denominations is not without 
 some important uses ; and that, if its legitimate influ- 
 ence is not neutralized by unchristian jealousies and 
 alienations, it may hasten rather than retard the ulti- 
 mate triumph of the Church. 
 
 -X- -X X -X- # 
 
 u Let the delightful spirit which Mr. Jay has exem- 
 plified in his writings pervade all the different com- 
 munities of the followers of Christ, and, though we 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 333 
 
 may still have different denominations, yet it will be 
 manifest that there is but one body. Under such an 
 influence the world will be compelled again to the ex- 
 clamations which were made in the early ages of the 
 church, ‘Behold how these Christians love one an- 
 other F 
 
 “ In the writings of Mr. Jaj^ there is a remarkable 
 consistency, and they are fitted, in an eminent degree, 
 to form a consistent religious character . One principal 
 reason why most of the professed followers of Christ 
 exert so little influence in favor of his cause is, that 
 their Christian character is marred by such palpable 
 inconsistency. This inconsistency results from the 
 very estimate which they form of the comparative im- 
 portance of different duties ; and from the neglect of 
 some, or other, or all of the duties of Christian life. 
 ****** 
 
 u Now, if we do not mistake, Mr. Jay’s waitings are 
 not more remarkable for anything than their tendency 
 to counteract this evil. They bring before us with 
 great felicity, and without any apparent reference to 
 system, the various duties of men, just as they are in- 
 culcated in God’s word, giving to each its proportion- 
 ate importance. There is no elevating faith at the ex- 
 pense of works, or zeal at the expense of morality, or 
 alms at the expense of prayer ; but each duty stands 
 forth with its own claims, holding its appropriate 
 place. In short, we know of few writings which are 
 fitted to make an impression more, in this respect, like 
 that of the Bible itself, than those of Mr. Jay. Who- 
 ever reads them attentively, and imbibes their spirit, 
 will not be punctilious in respect to one set of duties, 
 and lax in regard to another ; but he will be attentive 
 to all ; and, under such an influence, his Christian 
 
334 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSEKVATIONS. 
 
 character, instead of being unsightly and monstrous, 
 will develop itself in fair and beautiful proportions. 
 
 “After what we have already said of Mr. Jay’s writ- 
 ings, we scarcely need add, that they are fitted to form 
 Christian character on the most lovely and attractive model . 
 It cannot be disguised, that, as the beauty of Christian 
 doctrine has sometimes been marred by human philo- 
 sophy, so the loveliness of Christian example has been 
 obscured by what has almost seemed a cold and lower- 
 ing melancholy. There have been those, and they are 
 yet to be found, who appear habitually gloomy from 
 principle ; who set down the playfulness and buoyancy 
 of the animal spirits to the account of an inveterate 
 waywardness; and who never venture to speak on the 
 subject of religion at all, but with what seems an air of 
 affected solemnity. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 “ If irreligious persons are liable to be confirmed in 
 their irreligion, by the careless and triflling deportment 
 of professed Christians, they are not less exposed to 
 the same evil by seeing a Christian profession constant- 
 ly associated with a morose and forbidding gloom. Let 
 religion be exhibited in all its cheerful attractions, 
 while yet it retains its appropriate seriousness and dig- 
 nity, and it cannot fail to commend itself to the judg- 
 ment, and conscience, and better feelings of all who 
 witness such a manifestation. 
 
 “There are few men probably to whom the present 
 age is more indebted for whatever of consistent cheer- 
 fulness its religious character may possess, than to Mr. 
 Jay. Other writers, as we have already intimated, 
 may have done more than he to rouse the slumbering 
 conscience of the sinner, and bring him into the atti- 
 tude of conviction and repentance ; but few, we think. 
 
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 335 
 
 have done more to hold up religion to the world in all 
 its divine and beautiful attractions. We cannot take 
 leave of this interesting and popular writer, without 
 commending his writings to every class of our readers. 
 We would commend them especially to the young 
 Christian, as being eminently fitted to form him to a 
 high degree of religious enjoyment, activity, and use- 
 fulness. We would commend them to the men who 
 would know most of the windings of his own heart, 
 and would have maxims of true practical wisdom in 
 his own mind, to regulate every part of his conduct. 
 We would commend them even to the man who scoffs 
 at religion as a fable ; for if he can contemplate that 
 view of the Gospel which these writings present, with- 
 out acknowledging that it is consistent, beautiful, even 
 glorious, then it is because he belies his own convic- 
 tions, or because his infidelity has made him a madman.” 
 Though this extract is long, yet it seemed the most 
 appropriate, complete, and satisfactory testimony we 
 could supply of the popularity and usefulness of Mr. 
 Jay’s writings in that extensive and populous country, 
 where they are, to say the least, as extensively known 
 and as much admired as in Great Britain. The long- 
 established and well-earned reputation of the writer adds 
 weight to his judicious and discriminating observations. 
 Our own opinions and remarks, previously given, co- 
 incide, in the main, with those of Dr. Sprague. Mr. 
 Jay studied, and preached, and wrote for the Christian 
 community at large. He wished the whole world to 
 hear and to read, in the most intelligible and impress- 
 ive terms, the Gospel of the grace of God ; and he 
 wrote, therefore, in the common dialect , as the best ve- 
 hicle for the truth of God ; but this he wrought into a 
 
836 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 polished shaft, and gave it a direct and successful 
 aim. 
 
 The admirers of sustained and impassioned elo- 
 quence, or of a magniloquent style, or even of a purely 
 classic diction, will find little to satisfy them, much less 
 to fascinate them, in the volumes of Mr. Jay’s works ; 
 but all who desire to see the truths of Divine Revela- 
 tion treated in their variety and comprehensiveness, 
 their admonitions enforced in winning and persuasive 
 . words, with manly dignity, Christian simplicity, and 
 apostolic earnestness ; all who read religious books for 
 instruction and improvement, to have the heart warm- 
 ed, and the life corrected, — will find Mr. Jay’s works a 
 treasury which will never disappoint them, and which 
 they will not soon exhaust. Beckford, of Fonthill 
 Abbey, in a passage quoted in an early part of the 
 Autobiography, compared Mr. Jay’s mind to “a clear, 
 transparent spring, flowing so freely as to impress us 
 with the idea of its being inexhaustible and such is 
 but a just description of those volumes which so pow- 
 erfully affected that versatile and exquisite genius, 
 considered the most accomplished and keen-sighted 
 man of his day ; but not him only, for thousands and 
 tens of thousands, in almost every rank of life, are 
 daily benefited, and will continue to be benefited, by 
 the writings of William Jay. We can desiderate for 
 them no happier or greater succcess than that which 
 the man of taste, already mentioned, indicated as their 
 characteristic — “the voice which calls us to look into 
 ourselves, and prepare for judgment, is too piercing, 
 too powerful, to be resisted, and we attempt, for worldly 
 and sensual considerations, to shut our ears in vain.” 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbey, Fonthill, building of, i. 28. 
 
 Ablington, first sermon at, i. 43. 
 
 Abstinence, total, letter on, i. 117. 
 
 Academy at Marlborough, i. 14; 
 students at, i. 48. 
 
 Ambassador, anecdote of a young, 
 i. 43. 
 
 Ancestors, remarks on, i. 20. 
 
 Anecdotes of his early preaching, 
 i. 43; by Dr. Bowie, i. 277 — 
 286 ; of Mrs. Ulph, ii. 233. 
 
 Anniversary, fiftieth, i. 227 , his 
 sermon at, i. 228. 
 
 Appendix to reminiscences of Wil- 
 berforce, i. 359 — 366. 
 
 Argyle chapel opened, i. 69. 
 
 Ashton, Mrs., death of, i. 268. 
 
 Autobiography, general introduc- 
 tion to. i. 13 ; reasons for, i. 13 ; 
 supplement to, i. 204. 
 
 Authorship, his, i. 119. 
 
 Authors, his favorite, i. 137. 
 
 Bailie, Dr., consults, i. 115. 
 
 Barham, Lord, to Mr. Jay, ii. 170 ; 
 Mr. Jay to, ii. 172. 
 
 Barham, Lady, to Mr. Jay, ii. 178. 
 
 Bath, residence at, i. 97 ; Bible So- 
 ciety, i. 245. 
 
 Baxter, opinion of, i. 135. 
 
 Beckford, Mr., notices of, i. 30. 
 
 Bible Society, Bath, i. 245. 
 
 Bible, his study, i. 188 ; adherence 
 to the, i. 192 : rules in study- 
 ing, i. 192. 
 
 Bowie, Dr., his recollections of Mr. 
 Jay, i. 277 ; letter to, ii. 212. 
 
 Carlile, interview with, i. 350. 
 
 Cecil, Rev. Richard, ii. 1. 
 
 Chapel, first visit to Surrey, i. 51 ; 
 preaches at Hotwells, i. 66 ; 
 opening of Hanover Chapel, 
 Peckham, i. 126; do. of Lord 
 Ducie’s, i.' 251. 
 
 Charge, Mr. Winter’s, i. 94. 
 
 Children, his, i. 104. 
 
 Christian Malford, residence at, 1. 
 52 ; farewell sermon at, i. 58; 
 address of Winter, i. 54. 
 
 Church, his harmony in, i. 98 ; 
 mode of admission to, i. 99. 
 
 Cogan, Dr., ii. 113. 
 
 Commentators, his favorite, i. 137. 
 
 Composition, i. 139. 
 
 Confession of Faith, i. 80. 
 
 Convictions, change of, i. 184. 
 
 Conversion, his, i. 28. 
 
 Cottle, Joseph, letter to, by Mr. 
 Foster, ii. 48. 
 
 Course, his, review of, i. 129. 
 
 Davies, Miss, introduction to, i. 52; 
 letter to, ii. 135. 
 
 Davies, of New England, sermons, 
 opinion of, i. 136. 
 
 Davis, Dr., ii. 120. 
 
 Deacons, letter to, i. 207. 
 
 Death of Miss Statira Jay, i. 109; 
 of Mrs. Jay, i. 247 ; of Mrs. Ash* 
 ton, i. 267 ; his own, i. 267. 
 
 Death-bed sayings, i. 267. 
 
 Denominations, religious, i. 181 ; 
 change of, i. 186 ; his own, i. 187. 
 
 Diploma, i. 120. 
 
 Disadvantages, early, i. 126. 
 
 Dissenters, their progress, i. 181. 
 
 Divines, favorite, i. 135. 
 
 Domestic sketches, i. 274. 
 
 Dublin, visit to, i. 145. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ' < K 
 xJ O 
 
 Ducie, Lady, letters to, ii. 196, <fcc. ' 
 
 Ducie, Lord, letters to, ii. 202, <fce. , | 
 opening of his chapel, i. 251. 
 
 Education, contributors to his, i. 
 44 ; ministerial, i. 45. 
 
 Establishment, the, i. 196. 
 
 Expositions at prayer meetings, i. 
 28 7. 
 
 Faith, his confession of, i. 80. 
 
 Family prayer, simplicity of man- 
 ner, (fee., i. 275. 
 
 Farewell sermon at Christian Mal- 
 ford, i. 58. 
 
 Female servants’ offering, i. 249; 
 acknowledgment of do., i. 249. 
 
 Fonthill Abbey, works at, i. 28. 
 
 Foster, Rev. John, ii. 34 ; letter to 
 Cottle, ii. 48. 
 
 Funeral service, his, i. 307. 
 
 Funeral sermons for Mr. Jay, l 271 . 
 
 Gainsborough, Earl of, letter on 
 Mr. Jay’s death, i. 294. 
 
 Godwin, H., Esq., at jubilee, i. 237. 
 
 Orinfield, Rev. T., letter from, ii. 
 186 ; lines by, ii. 187. 
 
 Griffiths, H., Esq., i. 208. 
 
 Hall, Rev. Robert, ii. 13; his opin- 
 ion of Dr. Owen controverted, 
 i. 137 ; on use of Scripture lan- 
 guage, ii. 15 ; on popery, ii. 22. 
 
 Hanover chapel, opening of, i. 126. 
 
 Harman, Miss, letters to, ii. 163, 
 170, 185, 1S8, 190. 
 
 Haweis, Rev. T., M.D., ii. 125. 
 
 Head, Miss, marriage with, i. 250 ; 
 letters to, ii. 180, 182, 191. 
 
 Hill, Rev. Briant, i. 297. 
 
 Hill, Sir Richard, i. 44. 
 
 Hill, Rev. Rowland, A.M., i. 389 ; 
 mistakes of his biographers, i. 
 390 ; anecdotes, i. 391 ; his char- 
 acter and ministry, i. 894 ; his 
 wit, i. 401 ; his candor, i. 403 ; 
 benevolence, i. 404; anecdotes 
 of, 405—412. 
 
 Holmes, Mr., ii. 55. 
 
 Hope Chapel, Hot wells, preaches 
 at, i. 6& 
 
 llopkin*, Mr. Rice, letter to, il 
 194 ; his report of Mr. Jay’s last 
 sermon, i. 253. 
 
 Hughes, Rev. Jos., ii. *24. 
 
 Hutton. Alderman. Dublin, i. 146. 
 
 Illness, Mrs. Ja} s, i. Ill; pecu- 
 liarity of, i. 112 ; his own, i. 114; 
 his last, i. 277. 
 
 Institutions, the public, i. 200. 
 
 Interment, address at his, i. 268. 
 
 Invitations, to London, i. 52 ; Bath, 
 
 i. 97. 
 
 Ireland, visit to, i. 145. 
 
 Jay, Mr. Edward, letters to. ii. 
 155, 167, 168. 
 
 Jay, Statira, letters to, ii. 144 — 
 153 ; death of, i. 109. 
 
 Jay, Mrs., her character, i. 103 ; 
 letters to, ii. 140, 141 ; illness 
 of, i. 112 ; her death, i. 246. 
 
 Jay, Rev. William, as the preacher, 
 
 ii. 285; as the author, ii. 818; 
 anecdotes of, i. 43 ; illness of, i. 
 114; death of, i. 267. 
 
 Jay, William, Jun., death of, i. 107. 
 
 Johns, Rev. Dr., recollections of 
 Mr. Jay, i. 252. 
 
 Jubilee, celebration of, i. 226 ; ser- 
 mon at, i. 227 ; presentation, and 
 his reply, i. 230 — 236; com- 
 memorative pillars, i. 237 ; ad 
 dres9 of young people, with gold 
 medal, and his acknowledgment, 
 i. 239, 240 ; James Montgom- 
 ery’s hymns for, i. 242 ; gift of 
 female servants, and acknowl- 
 edgment of, i. 249. 
 
 Kingsbury, Thomas, Esq., letter 
 to, i. 209. 
 
 Knighton, Sir William, Bart., his 
 opinion of Jay’s preaching, i. 
 223. 
 
 Knox, Alexander, Esq., i. 383. 
 
 Language, scriptural, objectors to, 
 i. 166 : defence of, i. 169. 
 
 Lecturing, Scottish custom of, i 
 165. 
 
INDEX 
 
 339 
 
 Lace, Miss, i. 297. 
 
 Letters — from Winter t«s Jay, ii. 
 136; to his daughter, ii. 144 — 
 153 ; to his son at college, ii. 
 155 — 159,165; to Sir J. B. Wil- 
 liams, ii. 161 ; to Rammohun 
 Roy, ii. 167; to Miss Harman, 
 ii. 163, 170, 185, 188, 190; from 
 Lord Barham, ii. 17 1 ; from Lady 
 Barham, ii. 178; to the Queen, 
 ii.. 179; Miss Head, ii. 180, 18*2, 
 191 ; from Rev. T. Grinfield, ii. 
 186; to Mr. Rice Hopkins, ii. 
 194; to Lord Ducie, ii. 202; to 
 Lady Ducie, ii. 196, 198, 200, 
 
 204, 205, 208, 209; from J. 
 Montgomery, Esq., i. 244 ; from 
 Earl of Gainsborough, i. 294 ; 
 from Mr. Wilberforce, i. 323, 
 343 — 347, 363—366 ; from Mrs. 
 H. More, i. 385. 
 
 Liberality, growth of, i. 197. 
 
 Life, his early, i. 25. 
 
 London, invitations to settle in, i. 
 52. 
 
 London Miss’y Society, preaches 
 at its tirst anniversary, <fcc., i. 
 
 205. 
 
 Mai ford, Christian, residence at, i. 
 52 ; farewell sermon and ad- 
 dress of Mr. Winter, i. 54 — 65. 
 Marlborough Academy, admission 
 into, i. 44 ; list of students, i. 
 48. 
 
 Marriage, his first, i. 99 ; his sec- 
 ond, i. 250. 
 
 Masses, preaching to, i. 156. 
 Maxwell, Lady, introduction to, i. 
 
 66 ; reminiscences of, ii. 50. 
 Methodism at Tisbury, i. 27. 
 Methodist, ease, <fcc., i. 160. 
 Missionary Society. (See Londou.) 
 Montgomery, James, Esq., Jubilee 
 Hymns, *• 242 ; letter from, i. 
 244. 
 
 More, Mrs. H., advice to him, i. 
 140; reminiscences of, i. 367 ; 
 her evangelism, i. 368 ; attend- 
 ance at Argyle chapel, i. 369 ; 
 at the Lord's table, i. 869 ; her 
 
 character, i. 370 ; last letter from, 
 
 i. 385 ; lines to Miss Steele, i. 
 386. 
 
 Newall, Mr., let ter to, ii. 143. 
 Newton, Rev. John, i. 303 ; anec- 
 dotes of, i. 305 — 808 ; his can- 
 dor and liberality, i. 310; his 
 connection with Cowper, i. 312 ; 
 attachment to his wife, i. 314; 
 the closing scene, i. 316 ; letter 
 to Mrs. Wathen, i. 318 ; ditto to 
 Mrs. H , i. 821. 
 
 Observations, concluding, by edi- 
 tors, on Mr. Jay as a preacher, 
 
 ii. 285 ; as an author, ii. 313. 
 Offeriug, female servants’, i. 249 , 
 
 acknowledgment of, i. 249. 
 Ordination service, i. 74. 
 
 Owen, Dr. — Robert Hall’s opiuion 
 of him controverted, i. 137. 
 Owen, Rev. Jno. — at interment, i. 
 268. 
 
 Oxford University, proposal to go 
 to, i. 44. 
 
 Parentage, i. 19. 
 
 Pastoral assistant, i. 149 — 294. 
 Pastorate, 50th anniversary of, i. 
 227 ; jubilee of, i. 226 ; resigna- 
 tion of and acceptance by the 
 church, i. 257 ; choice of success- 
 or to, i. 258. 
 
 Pastoral visiting, complaints, i. 
 
 171 ; his explanation, i. 171. 
 Pearce, Rev. Sam , ii. 7. 
 
 Pedigrees, remarks on, i. 19. 
 Pillars, commemorative, i. 237. 
 Pindar, Peter, lines to, i. 387. 
 Poynder, Jno., Esq., ii. 91. 
 
 Prayer, family, simplicity in, i. 275. 
 Prayer meetings, expositions at, i. 
 287. 
 
 Preacher, the, Mr. Jay, reviewed 
 by editors, ii. 285. 
 
 Preachers, faults of Scottish, i. 161. 
 Preaching, village, i. 43 ; on fre- 
 quent, i. 43 ; early, i. 44 ; anee- 
 aotes in, i. 143 ; extemporaneous, 
 i. 158; to tht masses, i 158 
 
340 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 union of styles in, i. 161 ; long, 
 
 i. 161; similitudes in, i. 164; 
 American revival, i. 166. 
 
 Presentations, landaulet, <fcc., i. 
 227, 239. 
 
 Protheroe, Miss Eliza, ii. 82. 
 Publication =*, his, i. 120. 
 
 Pulpit, preparation for his, i. 156 ; 
 state of the, i. 150. 
 
 Queen, the, letter to, with copy of 
 the “ Exercises,” ii. 179. 
 
 Rammohun Roy, ii. 94 ; letter to, 
 
 ii. 161. 
 
 Reading, his course of, i. 134. 
 Reasons for Autobiography, i. 13. 
 Rebellion, the Irish, i. 146. 
 Recollections, by Dr. Johns, i. 252; 
 
 by Dr. Bowie, i. 277. 
 
 Religious denominations, i. 181; 
 
 change of, i. 186 ; his own, i. 187. 
 Remarks, general, on pedigrees, 
 <fec., i. 19; frequent preaching, i. 
 43, 144; on Scottish custom of 
 lecturing, i. 155. 
 
 Reminiscences, the introduction to, 
 
 i. 297. 
 
 Reminiscences of — Cecil, Rev. 
 Richard, ii. 1 ; Cogan, Dr., ii. 
 113; Davies, Dr., ii. 120; Fos- 
 ter, Rev. John, ii. 34 ; Hall, Rev. 
 Robert, ii. 13 ; Haweis, Rev. T., 
 M.D., ii. 125; Hill, Rev. Row- 
 land, AM., i. 389 ; Holmes, Mr., 
 
 ii. 55; Hughes, Rev. Joseph, ii. 
 24; Maxwell, Lady, ii 50 ; More, 
 Mrs. H., i. 367; Newton, Rev. 
 John, i. 303 ; Pearce, Rev. Sam- 
 uel, ii. 7 ; Poynder, John, Esq., 
 ii. 81 ; Protheroe, Miss Eliza, ii. 
 82 ; Rammohun Roy, ii. 94 ; Ry- 
 land, Rev. John, Sen., A.M., i. 
 323; Smith, Mrs., ii. 86 ; Spear, 
 Robert, Esq., ii. 75; Tuppen, 
 Rev. Thomas, ii. 102; Welsh, 
 Mr., ii. 64 ; Wesley, Rev. John, 
 ii. 50; Wilberforce, Wra., Esq., 
 M.P., i. 336; Yescombe, Mr., ii. 
 109. 
 
 Resignation o ? pastorate, i. 257. 
 
 Review, Monthly, remarks of, i. 
 
 121 . 
 
 Review, by himself, of his course, 
 i. 128 ; of his visits to London, i. 
 143; of his life, i. 178; of state 
 of religion, i. 193. 
 
 Review, by the editors, of Mr. Jay 
 as a preacher and an author, ii. 
 285. 
 
 Ryland, Rev. John, A.M.. first in- 
 terview with, i. 52 ; reminiscence 
 of, i. 323 ; his singular appear- 
 ance, i. 324; eccentricity, i. 326- 
 7 ; at domestic worship, i. 32S ; 
 anecdotes of, i. 331 ; his death, i. 
 333 ; his sayings, i. 335. 
 
 Scenery, early effects of, i. 23. 
 
 Scenes, the closing, i. 263 
 
 Scotland, visit to, i. 149. 
 
 Sermon, first, at Abington, i. 43 ; 
 farewell, at Christian Mai ford, i. 
 58 ; at opening of Argyle Chapel, 
 i. 69 ; his fiftieth anniversary, i. 
 227 ; jubilee, i. 227 ; last in Ar- 
 gyle Chapel, i. 255 • the last he 
 preached, i. 256. 
 
 Sermons, first vol. of, i. 1 20 ; criti- 
 cisms on, i. 163 ; defence of his 
 method, i. 166. 
 
 Servants’ offering, and acknowl- 
 edgment, i. 249. 
 
 Service, ordination, address prefix- 
 ed to, i. 74. 
 
 Sketches, domestic, i. 274. 
 
 Smith, Mrs., ii. 86. 
 
 Society, Evangelical, for Irelaud, 
 i. 146. 
 
 Spear, Robert, Esq., ii. 75. 
 
 Statira Jay, letters to, ii. 144 — 
 153; death of, i. 109. 
 
 Steel, Miss, lines by Mrs. More to, 
 i. 386. 
 
 Stonehouse, Sir James, i. 384. 
 
 Stuart, Dr. Charles, letter from, i 
 153; intercourse and apology, 
 i. 154. 
 
 Students in Marlborough Acade- 
 my, list of, i. 48. 
 
 Study, methods of, i. 138. 
 
 Successor, choice of, i. 258. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 341 
 
 Surrey Chapel, first visit to, i. 51. 
 
 Sussex, Duke of, preaches before, 
 i. 126. 
 
 Teetotalism, approbation of, i. 117. 
 
 Temperance, advantages of, i. 118. 
 
 Thornton, Jno., Esq., brief notice 
 of, i. 44. 
 
 Tisbury, Methodism at, i. 27 ; Win- 
 ter preaches at. i. 85. 
 
 Tuppen, Rev. Thos., acquaintance 
 with, i. 68 ; preaches during his 
 illness, i. 68 ; Argyle Chapel 
 built for, i. 69 ; dying chamber 
 of, i. 73; reminiscence of, ii. 
 102; death of his son, ii. 107. 
 
 Turner, Mrs., noticed by, i. 27. 
 
 Ulph, Mrs., her conversion, ii. 233. 
 
 Union of two styles in preaching, 
 i. 158. 
 
 University, Oxford, proposal to go 
 to, i. 44. 
 
 Usefulness, the preacher’s aim, i. 
 145. 
 
 Vaughan, Rev. R. A., assistant 
 minister, i. 251. 
 
 Village preaching, i. 43. 
 
 Visits, to London, i. 129; to Ire- 
 land, i. 145 , to Scotland, i. 149. 
 
 Visiting, pastoral, complaints, i. 
 171 ; his explanation, i. 171. 
 
 W alker, .Tno., Dublin, notice of, i. 
 147. 
 
 Welsh, Mr., ii. 64. 
 
 Wesley, Rev. John, ii. 50. 
 
 Westley, Miss, i. 297. 
 
 Whitfield, converts of, i. 200 ; an- 
 ecdotes of, i. 392. 
 
 Wilberforce, Win., Esq., M.P., ad- 
 vice to Mr. Jay, i. 115; opinion 
 of him, i. 230 ; remiuiscence of, 
 i. 336 ; his religious preferences, 
 i. 337 ; letters from, i. 338 — 
 347 ; on Catholic emancipation, 
 i. 344 ; interview with Carlile 
 the infidel, i. 350 ; his character, 
 i. 356 ; additional letters from, 
 
 i. 363 — 366 ; comments on his 
 “ Life,” i. 359. 
 
 Williams, Sir J. B., letter to, ii. 1 61. 
 Winter, Mr., visit to Tisbury, i. 34; 
 Mr. Jay introduced to, i. 35 ; his 
 faith for pecuniary support, i. 
 36 ; his academy, i. 37 ; his stu- 
 dents, i. 48 ; address prefixed to 
 Jay’s farewell sermon at Chris- 
 tian Malford, i. 54 ; charge at 
 Mr. Jay’s ordination, i. 74 ; let- 
 ter to Jay from, ii. 136. 
 Withers, Mr., letter to, ii. 138. 
 Wright, Sir James, i. 297. 
 
 Yescombe, Mr., reminiscence o£ 
 
 ii. 109. 
 
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