without knowing where he should find at night a resting place for himself and the faithful animal which carried him. He seldom, however, failed to meet with a kind reception from some person who loved him for his work's sake, though he was often reduced to great difficulties. On one evening in particular, as he used frequently to describe, when he landed on his return to Bristol, and had paid the passage across the Seve n for himself and his pony, he had not sufficient left in his purse to procure a night's lodging, and went on, he knew not whither, hungry and exhausted. But he was not deserted, and before night found shelter and refreshment, as well as the means of proceeding on his journey. Impelled by the irresistible conviction that he was following the commands of God, he pursued his one great object, undaunted by every earthly obstacle. No one could feel more acutely the displeasure of his parents, over which he often wept in the silent agony of his heart, nor did he ever once refuse compliance with their wishes but for the Gospel's sake. He might have reposed amidst their smiles, in the lap of affluence, ease, and plenty; but he gave up every thing in the sincerest devotion to God, and received, as will be hereafter seen, the fulness of the promise, even in this life, to such as have willingly left all for the cause of the Redeemer."

On his removal to Cambridge, and during the whole | left the scene of an evening sermon the next morning, period of his studies at that university, he shewed himself alive to the promotion of piety in himself and others, insomuch, that by his example and his precepts, by boldly professing Christ and despising the shame, he succeeded in awakening a salutary concern about their eternal interests in the minds of not a few of his fellow-students, among whom were several who afterwards acquired eminence both in the Church and among the Methodists. Nor were his exertions confined to the young men of the university: he set himself to the task of visiting the prisoners and the sick, and of preaching in several of the most destitute places of Cambridge and the adjacent villages, in which he was joined by several of the gownsinen, whom he had been chiefly instrumental in winning over to the faith, and was countenanced by several more advanced in years, such as Whitefield, Berridge, and others, who, spiritually. minded and zealous as they were, were not always the most judicious counsellors. Proceedings so unusual in a young student attracted the attention of the college, exposed him frequently to the insults of the populace of the town, drew down upon him the displeasure of his parents, and led to the expulsion of six of his associates from the university, his family influence alone saving him from a similar fate. Meanwhile, he carried on his literary studies, with a view to prepare for the ministry, with unabated ardour. Notwithstanding his incessant labours in preaching among the villages, and the constant communications he kept up with his religious friends in various parts of the country, he found time for serious application to the pursuits of literature and science, acting upon it as a fixed principle, that human learning is a great ornament to the character, and may be made highly subservient to the work of a Christian minister. In many branches of science, particularly optics, mechanics, and astronomy, he had made so great proficiency, that when he underwent his examinations, pre- | viously to taking the degree of bachelor of arts, there were few who equalled, and none who excelled him in these departments. The whole bent of his mind, however, was directed to the preaching of the Gospel; and to his active mind, the plan of Whitefield and his associates, of itinerating the country, and preaching without any fixed place or regular congregation, possessed irresistible attractions. He assumed, therefore, the character of an itinerant preacher; and although he was ever sincerely attached to the constitution and doctrines of the Church of England, yet the irregularities of his mode of preaching, and his aversion to conform to the general rules of that Church, excited such a prejudice against him, that he was refused ordination by six different bishops, and it was not without considerable influence and management on the part of his friends, that he succeeded at length in obtaining orders. The interval between his leaving the University and receiving ordination he spent beneath the paternal roof at Hawkstone. But so great was the displeasure which his father, Sir Rowland, had conceived at his conduct, that he was kept under the strictest confinement-not allowed to go about preaching, or to hold any communication with his religious friends and what with the frowns of his family, and his disappointments in regard to his reception in the Church, his distress of mind may be more easily imagined than described. An anecdote related by his excellent biographer will show his situa

tion at this time.

Nor did the opposition to his zealous proceedings arise solely from his family and his superiors in the Church and the University. He was often exposed to the greatest annoyance, and even danger, from the tumultuous assemblies he ventured to address, of which the two following instances, extracted from his journal, may suffice as a sample: " Preached at Stowey, to the most outrageous congrega.ion I ever saw. There was such a noise with beating of pans, shovels, &c., blowing of horns, and ringing of bells, that I could scarce hear myself speak. Though we were pelted with much dirt, eggs, &c., I was enabled to preach out my sermon. At Putsham, to a serious and attentive congregation out of doors, on Heb. i. 17, 18, on the compassionate unchangeable priesthood of Christ. Though I had not a deal of liberty, yet some I believe were comforted in their souls. Though the congregation stood serious, some scoffed at a distance, others threw stones. One man was slightly cut, and another almost stunned by a blow, which cut him violently over the eye. We could get neither sight nor knowledge of our secret enemies in this affair: may the Lord forgive and convert them.”

Instances, however, in which he met with a more favourable and indulgent reception from the people are frequently related in his diary, and these he never fails to accompany with an expression of fervent thanksgiving to the Lord, who had opened to him a wide and effectual door for the entrance of his Word. There can be no doubt that in these excursions he was eminently useful in awakening the minds of many to a salutary concern about their spiritual interests, and that many had cause to regard him with eternal gratitude as their spiritual father who had begotten them in the Lord. Notwithstanding such undoubted proofs of his zeal and usefulness, his family could not be reconciled to his irregular mode of proceeding: they despatched his brother Richard to Bristol, whither he had gone to prosecute his pastoral labours, to endeavour to prevail upon him to desist; but, like Saul among the prophets, that pious man caught the spirit of him whose career he had been employed to check; and, as from that time, Richard became himself a preacher, we shall gratify the reader with a detail of the circumstances as they are given by the biographer:-" Sir Rowland Hill, gratified by his cessation from his once favourite pursuit, sent him to Bristol to prevail on his brother Rowland to follow his example and return home. On his arrival at Bristol, Mr Richard Hill heard that Rowland was gone to

Kingswood to preach to the colliers. He immediately | followed him, and found him surrounded by an immense multitude of these long neglected people, listening with the greatest interest to the solemn appeal he was making to their consciences. Mr Rowland Hill saw his brother, and guessing his errand, only proceeded with increased earnestness; and such was the power of his address, that the black faces of the poor colliers soon exhibited innumerable channels of tears, which the sermon had caused them to shed. Mr Richard Hill was much affected by the unusual scene, and his brother Rowland, taking advantage of his emotion, announced, at the conclusion of the service,- My brother, Richard Hill, Esquire, will preach here at this time to-morrow.' Taken by surprise under the impression produced by what he had just witnessed, Mr Richard Hill consented to preach to the colliers; and instead of returning with his brother to Hawkstone, became his coadjutor in the very work he designed to persuade him to relinquish." The year 1773 was remarkable in the life of Mr Hill for two events his marriage with Miss Tudway, a lady of unfeigned piety, with whom he lived in uninterrupted harmony for nearly sixty years; and his ordination to deacon's orders, when he was appointed to the parish of Kingston in Somersetshire, with a stipend of forty pounds a-year. His settlement in this place of ministerial labour did not put a stop to his wandering and eccentric habits; for, while he laboured with exemplary diligence among his own people, he was indefatigable in preaching in many other places day after day; and although frequently overtaken by sickness, yet, no sooner had he recovered, than he renewed his herculean exertions. "He met with every species of opposition, was lampooned, burned in effigy, pelted, and threatened, but none of these things moved him, or disturbed his inexhaustible flow of spirits. He placed his family motto, Go forward,' on his seal, and he determined to act upon the precept.' These extraordinary exertions in the cause of the Gospel, together with his own truly devotional character, procured him the notice and friendship of all who were then known as the friends of religion, particularly, of Hervey, Venn, John Newton, Fletcher of Madely, and the well-known Dr Ryland of Bristol; and, besides, there was something in the freshness, originality, and power of his discourses, which made him, not only when in the country, but after his removal to Surry Chapel in London, run after by multitudes of eager and admiring hearers.

"The great secret, perhaps, of the amazing effect of his preaching was, its being all nature. He generally chose the subject which impressed and affected his own mind at the moment, and discoursed on it as he felt, not as he had previously thought; and thus, on every occasion, whether joyous or grievous, he found his way to hearts whose strings vibrated in unison with those of his own. Sheridan used to say of him, 'I go to hear Rowland Hill, because his ideas come red-hot from the heart.' Never was there a truer description of the preaching of any minister; he spoke as he felt; and the tears he shed, and the smiles that beamed upon his countenance, soon wakened up their fellows,' in the listening throng that heard him. After one sermon, in which he had poured forth the experience of his pious soul in expressing the exulting feelings of the Christian's joy, Mr Ambrose Serle came into the vestry of Surry Chapel, and seizing him by the hand, exclaimed, Oh, my dear sir, if we are so happy now, what shall we be a hundred thousand years hence in heaven!' And on another occasion, Dr Milner, the celebrated Dean of Carlisle, was so worked upon, that he went to On one occasion, an attempt had been made to persuade him not to go to Richmond, because a party of young men had hired a boat, and were coming down the river, with the determination to draw him through the water. His feelings may be conceived when informed the boat was upset, and that the poor misguided enemies of his ministry had all entered into the presence of their Judge in another world.

him and said,—' Mr Hill, Mr Hill, I felt to-day-'tis this slap-dash preaching, say what they will, that does all the good.'

Mr Hill was fond of the country, and he was in the habit of retiring during the summer months to the scenes of his former labour in Gloucestershire, where he erected a house and a chapel for the benefit of as many of the country people as chose to avail themselves of the privilege. The situation is thus graphically described by his biographer :--

"The celebrated Robert Hall once paid him a visit at Wotton, and said of it,— Sir, it is the most paradisaical spot I was ever in.' Strong as was the expression, he did not say too much. Opposite the house is the most perfect amphitheatre of hill, three parts of which is clothed with a hanging wood, of exquisite variety of foliage, enclosing a dale of the richest fertility. The summit of a hill on the left of the house commands a landscape on which nature has lavished her choicest attractions. The Welsh mountains, the Malvern hills, the green vale of Berkeley, the broad course of the silvery and majestic Severn, and a foreground of grassy knolls and hanging woods, form the principal features of a scene in which all are blended in the loveliest harmony and proportions. In front of the house, a rocky path winding through a sloping wood of beech, breaks it with its white and narrow streaks into clusters of great beauty and variety. On the sabbath this road teemed with human beings, coming from the lovely glens around to hear the word of life from the lips of their beloved minister. About half an hour before service, he might be seen watching through a telescope his approaching flock as they descended into the valley, and making his remarks to those near him on the seriousness or levity of their manner. Sometimes he gave a hint of the latter in his sermon, and they who were conscious of its application, wondered how he knew it. Some of them used to say, we must mind what we do, for Master Hill knows every thing, bless him.'"

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In this chapel he always preached on Sabbath; but he scarcely allowed a day to pass without preaching somewhere in the neighbourhood, orchards, commons, gardens, woods, hills and dales, being often the scenes of his varied labours. "On a Sunday, after the service of his chapel at Wotton, he would give out such a notice as this:-To-morrow evening meet the society.' Any body here from Nibley?'-(a nod of assent.) Tell them I shall preach there Tuesday; Wednesday, preach here; Thursday, Wickwar; Friday, Uley; Saturday, must have some rest; Sunday, here again, God willing.' After this notice he not unfrequently forgot the places where he intended to go, when Mrs Hill's accuracy was of no slight service in aiding his memory. He often said at breakfast, where am I to preach today?'-and fortunate it was for himself and the people, that she had not forgotten the detail of his arrange

Many of the country people who attended his ministrations in this rural retreat were brought under the influence of the truth, and gave evidence of the sincerity and power of their faith, by the consistency of their lives, and their abounding in the fruits of righteousness. There was one, however, who, with a profession that had never brought him under suspicion, concealed a heart that was still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity; and as the story affords a remarkable proof, both of the eminently pious character of Mr Hill, and the awe in which even ungodly men stand of the people of God, it may be interesting to the reader to meet with it in the words of the author whom we have already quoted.

"A man who worked in Mr Hill's garden at Wotton, and was supposed to have forsaken a life of sin, under the influence of religion, was at length discovered to have been the perpetrator of several burglaries,

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the

and other daring robberies in the neighbourhood, though I place of Solomon's Temple. Not having my companion he had not, till caught in the fact, been even suspected. with me, I surveyed all in silence and rapture; and the He was tried at Gloucester, condemned, and executed. elegant proportions, the glittering gilded crescent, and It need scarcely be said that his employer visited him in the beautiful green-blue colour of the Mosque of Omar gaol. During his interviews with him there, the criminal were peculiarly attractive. A more soothing part of confessed the many crimes of which he had been guilty. the scenery was the lovely slope of the Mount of Olives How was it, William,' he inquired, that you never on the left. As we drew nearer and nearer to robbed me, when you have had such abundant oppor- city of the Great King,' more and more manifest were tunity ?' 'Sir,' replied he, do you recollect the juni- the proofs of the displeasure of that Great King resting per bush on the border against the dining-room?—I upon his city. "Like many other cities of the East, the have many times hid under it at night, intending, which distant view of Jerusalem is inexpressibly beautiful: but I could easily have done, to get into the house and the distant view is all. On entering at the Damascus gate, plunder it but, sir, I was afraid; something said to meanness, and filth, and misery, not exceeded, if equalme, he is a man of God, it is a house of prayer-if I led, by any thing which I had before seen, soon told the break in there I shall surely be found out-so I never tale of degradation. How is the fine gold become diin!' could pluck up courage to attempt it.' In another con- Thus I went onward, pitying every thing and every versation he told him, Sir, I well knew that old Mr body that I saw-till, turning off to the right, and hav Rugg was in the habit of carrying a deal of money ing passed up what is called the Via Dolorosa,' from in his pocket; many a time have I hid behind the its being the supposed path of our Lord when he bore hedge of the lane leading to his house he has passed his cross on his way to his crucifixion, we at length within a yard of me, when going home from the prayer alighted at the Greek convent of Mar Michael. meeting, again and again-I could not stir-I durst not touch so holy a man. I was afraid. I always began trembling as soon as he came near me, and gave up the thought altogether, for I knew he was a holy man.' This is a fact which well assures us that God our sun is a shield too."

(To be concluded in our next.)

JERUSALEM.

Extracted from Jowett's

"Christian Researches in Syria and the
Holy Land."

66

During the first few hours after our arrival in the Holy City, there was little to stir up the heart to a lively feeling, that this is really that venerable and beloved place, renowned above all others in Scripture. Hunger, fatigue, and the cheerlessness of an eight-hours' ride over a peculiarly desolate tract of country, with no other refreshment than a sinali jar of boiled rice and some bread, would have been agreeably relieved by the welcome of pleasant countenances, sufficient food, and a warm room: but our apartments, which had not been occupied for six months, were floored and vaulted with "ON reaching the rocky heights of Beer, the country stone-fire-places are unknown in this land—our provibegan to assume a more wild appearance. Uncultivat- sions were all to seek, and, at this late hour of the day, ed hilly tracts in every direction, seemed to announce, scarcely to be found-Hadjee Demetrius, the servant that, not only Jerusalem, but its vicinity for some miles of the convent, in a sort of broken Turco-Grecian diaround, was destined to sadden the heart of every visitor. lect, proffered his tedious and awkward services-the Even the stranger that shall come from a far land,' baggage was to be looked after-the mercenary and clait was predicted (Deut. xxix. 22.), should be amazed at morous guides were to be (not satisfied-that was an the plagues laid upon this country: and this became, impossibility-but) settled with and dismissed—and, lastmore than ever, literally fulfilled in my feelings, as I ly, as if to diffuse a perfect sadness over our arrival, the drew near to the metropolis of this chosen nation. Ex- storm, which had threatened and slightly touched us pectation was, indeed, wrought up to a high pitch, as during the latter part of our stage, now began to fall in we ascended hill after hill, and beheld others yet more torrents, similar to those which had buffeted us on the distant rising after each other. Being apprehensive preceding evening near Sangyl. Every thing combined lest I should not reach the city gate before sun-set, to inspire a feeling of melancholy-congenial enough to Mr Fisk having gone on some way before me in or- those emotions with which the actual civil and religious der to prepare our rooms, I repeatedly desired the condition of Jerusalem deserves now to be contemplated; guides to ask the Arabs whom we met, how far, or, but in no degree harmonizing with those sublimer and according to the language of this country, how many more glorious thoughts, which the very name of hours,' it was to Jerusalem. The answer which we this city generally awakens in the bosom of the Chrisreceived from all was, We have been at the prayers tian. at the Mosque of Omar, and we left at noon'-to-day being the Mahomedan Sabbath. We were thus left to calculate our distance. The reply sounded very foreign to the ears of one, who knew that, formerly, there were scenes of purer worship on this spot. Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.'

"At length, while the sun was yet two hours high, my long and intensely interesting suspense was relieved. The view of the city burst upon me as in a moment; and the truly graphic language of the Psalmist was verified, in a degree of which I could have formed no previous conception. Continually the expressions were bursting from my lips Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion!-They, that trust in the Lord, shall be as Mount Zion; which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever!-As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth even for ever!'

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Among the vast assemblage of domes which adorn the roofs of the convents, churches, and houses, and give to this forlorn city an air even of magnificence, none seemed more splendid than that which has usurped the

"When the evening had closed, however, and the hour for retirement, devotion, and repose arrived, all that I had ever anticipated as likely to be felt on reaching this place, gradually came into my mind, and filled me with the most lively consciousness of delight at being in Jerusalem. This,' I thought is no other than the city of David. Hither, the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Isaiah here poured forth strains of evangelic rapture, which will glow with unspent warmth till the end of time. Here, the building of the Second Temple drew from the beholders mingled shouts and tears; and, here was that very temple, made more glorious than the first, by the entrance of the desire of all nations, the messenger of the Covenant!' Here, after he had rebuilt the temple of his own body, he began the wondrous work of raising a spiritual temple to his Father-shedding abundantly upon his disciples the gift of the Holy Ghost, for which they waited in this very city; and then sending them forth as his witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth.'

"Such were the principal thoughts with which I had for some months associated this visit; and now, all were gradually presented to my mind.

"I felt, I confess, no particular anxiety to see what are seems to mock its base condition. What a contrast becalled the holy places.' Many have hastened to of tween its aspect at this distance, and its actual state! fer their first devotions at the sepulchre of our Lord: Here, the smaller objects not being minutely discernible, so far from having this desire, I feel somewhat of repug- the glowing strains of David seem as true and lively as nance at the idea: it is enough for me to know, that I they were when they first answered to the touch of his am not far from that scene-that Gethsemane, and Cal- instrument of ten strings- Beautiful for situation, the vary, and the place where the Lord iay,' are all so joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion.' Still, there near to me, that I can truly say, I am dwelling in the seem to be her towers, her bulwarks, and her palaces midst of them. All this, too, my heart can better con- challenging our admiration. But I have now, for more ceive in the stillness of the night-season, than by the than twenty days, known that these are not the towers light of day. And he, who suffered here, still lives or the temple of ancient times. At every step, coming Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for forth out of the city, the heart is reminded of that proever!' Spiritually he is as near to me, as he would have phecy, accomplished to the letter, Jerusalem shall be been had I seen him, this very day, at the ninth hour trodden down of the Gentiles.' All the streets are expiring upon the cross: the blood then shed is still wretchedness; and the houses of the Jews more espefresh in its efficacy, and cleanseth us from all sin.' cially (the people who once held a sceptre on this mounIf to have come hither should prove the means of rais-tain of holiness) are as dunghills. ing me one degree higher in love to this adorable Redeemer, I would be thankful: but let me remember, that he desires us chiefly to view him with an eye of faith; and that, although we see him not' in the fleshyet believing, we may rejoice in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory.'

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There is something very peculiar in the aspect of the Sabbath in these parts. We have never as yet had, indeed, occasion to say, that the adversaries mock at our Sabbaths;' but the sensation arising from seeing, that to the Mahomedans and Jews this is a day of work, and that to the bulk of professing Christians it is, alas! a day of more than usual mirth, visiting, and feasting, abates much of that spirit of sacred sympathy which David so touchingly describes I went up with the multitude of them that keep holy-day. I was glad when they said, Let us go into the house of the Lord!' On this very spot, did David once delight in these Sabbatic hours! But what would he think, were his spirit to descend from its eternal rest, to see his stronghold of Zion dismantled; and his brethren, for whose peace he prayed, broken in pieces by the oppressor? Solomon again to walk this earth, and view his unrivalled Temple supplanted by the Mosque of Omar; or could Isaiah know that his evangelic raptures are still un revealed to multitudes on this holy hill of Zion, and that the watchmen who should have kept their stand day and night upon the walls of Jerusalem have long since held their peace, and sunk into almost Pagan stupor; or could the first apostles look round, and ask in this place, Who are they that have kept the faith?what would be the emotions of their re-embodied spirits! We, so greatly their inferiors--not so devout, nor fervent, nor conversant with divine mysteries as they yet feel amazed and utterly down-cast, when we contemplate so many visible marks of departed glory.

Were

"At half-past-eleven o'clock, we passed the Damascus gate of the city; and, in half an hour, reached the top of the hill, from which I had caught the first view of Jerusalem on my arrival, and from which I was now to see it for the last time.

"While the servants went on, I rode to a fair green spot, and turned my horse's head round, that I might enjoy a few moments' solitary meditation on the view before me. Surely no traveller would fail to snatch such a moment! With little bodily strength, and through a variety of scenes in which troubles had been anticipated, though none had been experienced, I have thus succeeded in accomplishing the pilgrimage to the Holy City. What good,' I thought, has my visit done here? Who will be the better for it? Here-where the Saviour bled-how have I requited his love?' These thoughts rapidly passed through my mind, raising such pensive feelings as I am no stranger to. 'I feel that I have done almost nothing: and even if, humanly speaking, I had done much, yet I must before my Master acknowledge that I am an unprofitable servant. The noonday sun shines strong and bright upon the city, and

.

"While I gazed, my eyes filled with tears till I could look no longer. The frequent ejaculation of the bishop of Nazareth came into my mind Lord, how long!' I thought, too, of those brethren, from whom I had just parted, and for whose sakes I had an additional motive to pray, Peace be within thy walls!' I then suddenly broke off from this multitude of thoughts, which was growing too painful for me; and, pursuing my journey, I felt by degrees as though my present mission was, in some sense, accomplished; and began to indulge more warmly, the hope of returning to my family in peace."

JOHN BROWN OF PRIESTHILL.* "On one of those days, when driven from his home, he fled for refuge to a deep ravine, or moss bag, that had been formed by the current of a water-spout, carrying shrubs, soil, moss, and all before it, to the dale land beneath, leaving a frightful chasın, amidst a vast field of heath. Its deep mossy sides made it inaccessible to strangers: only the neighbouring husbandinen knew where the brakens hid the rocks, whose shelvy sides conducted to the bottom. In the sides of this natural alley were dens and caves, sufficient to hide a large company. In one of these Priesthill intended to spend the day in prayer; and had begun to pour out his soul, in the words of Lamentations iii. 40, &c. when a sweet sound reached his ear, that seemed to proceed from another part of the place. At first it was in a soft under voice, as afraid to be heard, but soon rose above all fear, joined with others; and he heard a Psalm distinctly sung.

"It is the hallowed sound of praising God; and by some fellow-sufferers;' said John Brown, as he arose from his knees, to search them out. And to his no small joy, he found David and William Steel, his neighbours, and Joseph Wilson from Lesmahago, in the cleft of a rock that jut'ed half way into the ravine. The Steels had had a narrow escape the day before this. And it was to avoid such harassing that they now fied to the ravine. Nor did they flee in vain. They found, to their sweet experience, this dreary waste a Bethei; and in their harassings and hidings, as it was with Moses on the mount, they felt nearest God when farthest from creature comforts. All day they read of God's Word and prayed by turns; and during the dark and silent watches of the night, by turns they prayed and praised.

"The seventy-fourth Psalm was deeply imprinted on their memories, from its being remarkably descriptive of their situation. The whole of it was sung about midnight; and while the wind carried the sound to the dale land below, faith carried the matter up to heaven. They felt a peace that made them loath to part. Every one was sensible that the presence of God had been with them. And in this spirit these poor hunted saints spent the time till morning dawned, and the lark rose above their heads, joining his note with theirs, in praise to God for the light of another day.

From the Scots Worthies.