collected, week-day or Sunday, he administered to them the word of God and sacraments, consecrating every place, and diffusing a sacredness over it by the fervour and holy earnestness with which he entered into every part of the divine service. It was the word of God which he administered. For man, fallen from God, and far gone from original righteousness, he preached a full and free redemption by the blood of Christjustification by faith-the need of the Holy Spirit's grace to incline and enable men to repent, and to bring forth fruit meet for repentance; persuading men, by the terrors of the Lord, to flee from the wrath to come; and, by the mercies of Christ, to be reconciled unto God—the pleasantness of religious ways-the comfort attending the death of the righteous-the terrors of a judgmentday to the impenitent, and the rewards of the faithful servant-setting forth every christian duty, in its relation to christian principle, in his own peculiarly lively and impressive manner. How eloquently he pleaded the cause of the poor destitute, and advocated the claims to our christian compassion of those around us perishing for lack of knowledge, cannot soon be forgotten."

We are told that the bishop was not without his trials; but they were such as threw an additional lustre on his evangelical character. "His was the rare reproach of entertaining too large a charity, and of embracing, in his christian regard, among others, many whom the world cannot love, because they are not of the world; but, in respect of whatever personal inconvenience might lie in the way of his duty, or with reference to any want of a due appreciation of his labours by some who ought to have judged more candidly, the language of his habitual equanimity, and immoveable adherence to the line of duty which he had prescribed for himself, was, 'None of these things move me."

Considering the brightness of such an example of faith and love, we may here adopt the beautiful lines of Milton upon the loss of his amiable friend in the prime of

life:

And hears the inexpressive nuptial song,
In the blest kingdom, meet of joy and love.
There entertain him all the saints above,
In solemn troops, and sweet societies
That sing, and singing in their glory move
And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes.
Now, Lycidas, the shepherds weep no more;
Henceforth thou art the genius of the shore,
In thy large recompense, and shalt be good
To all that wander in that perilous flood."

In England the death of Bishop Heber has been scarcely less keenly felt than in the East, especially by those who are interested in the propagation of the gospel. The Society for Proinoting Christian Knowledge held a special general meeting on the 7th of December, when the archbishop of Canterbury took the chair, and submitted various resolutions to the committee, all of them tending to commemorate the extraordinary merits of the deceased prelate, and to carry into effect those measures for the benefit of India which he had in his lifetime recommended. Among the rest it was proposed and carried, that application should be made to government to appoint a bishop for each presidency in the East, and a memorial founded on that resolution was read and approved.

The very reverend dean Barnes, who had been long in India, then entered into a minute detail of the proceedings of Bishop Heber, from his appointment to the see of Calcutta until his death, and concluded with a very animated eulogium upon the talents and virtues of the departed prelate. He also adverted to the proposition for establishing three dioceses in India, which, he conceived, to be called for by humanity as well as policy, Bishop Middleton having sunk under the weight of labour which no single man could properly undertake, and Bishop Heber having died in endeavouring to complete his primary visitation.

Mr. Trant said, that having spent a great part of his life in India in the service of the Company, he felt himself called upon to offer a few remarks. He had the honour of a close intimacy with Bishop Middleton, and should never forget the last interview he had with him. The bishop said he felt that his health was sinking, and added, "Tell my friends in England that I have been sacrificed to the heavy duties which my appointment has thrown upon me, and that any person sent out to preside over the whole episcopacy of India must be sacrificed."

On the 15th, the Church Missionary Society held a special general meeting at the Free Masons' Tavern, for the purpose of deciding on what steps should be adopted in consequence of the death of Bishop

Heber. The chair was occupied by lord Gambier, who was supported, on the right and left, by the right hon. Charles Grant, and Sir Robert Inglis. The business of the day being stated, the Rev. Mr. Thomason, of Calcutta, rose, and bore testimony to the pastoral care, universal charity, and Christian principles, of the late esteemed prelate, with whom he had frequently conversed in India on the subject of his important charge. His condescension to all who addressed him was remarkable. From the time of his arrival to his death, he approved himself a sincere and zealous friend to the society; the missionary branch of which at Calcutta he took under his immediate protection, since which they had been going on prosperously.— Mr. Thomason concluded with moving the following resolution, "That the committee could not but deplore the loss which this society had sustained by the death of Dr. Heber, and felt themselves peculiarly bound to record their feeling of his countenance to the missions emanating from hence." resolution was carried unanimously; after which Sir Robert Inglis brought forward a motion corresponding with that of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, which also passed with the same cordiality.

The

Mr. Thornton, on this occasion, said that he had for more than thirty years lived on a footing of intimacy with the late Dr. Heber. They travelled together in their early years through great part of Europe, and a portion of Asia. No person, therefore, could speak with more propriety or feeling than himself of the great loss sustained by the death of the lamented bishop; on whose private and public character he then pronounced a handsome panegyric, but one that evidently came from the heart. The secretary, after stating the particulars of the first connexion of the bishop with this society, read some extracts from a letter

of his chaplain, describing the interview between his lordship and the missionaries in Ceylon. He also communicated the substance of the bishop's reply to the address of the missionaries in that island.

We shall now conclude this imperfect sketch of a life which deserves, and, no doubt, will obtain a very ample and minute narrative, with an exquisite poetical effusion by Bishop Heber. It was a communication to the last mentioned society, who caused it to be printed, and set to music by the celebrated composer, Mr. Wesley.

From Greenland's icy mountains,

From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river,

From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver

Their land from error's chain.
What though the spicy breezes,
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle;
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile:

In vain with lavish kindness

The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen, in their blindness,

Bow down to wood and stone.
Shall we, whose sculs are lighted
By wisdom from on high,
Shall we to man benighted
The lamp of life_deny?
Salvation! Oh, Salvation!

The joyful sound proclaim;
Till each remotest nation

Has learnt Messiah's name.
Waft, waft, ye winds, his story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,

It spreads from pole to pole!
Till o'er our ransom'd nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.

Ir is readily conceded by the opponents, as well as maintained by the advocates, of Christianity, that the man whose mind is the subject of religious principles, and whose conduct is uniformly regulated according to the great maxims of evangelical morality, is not merely the most beneficial member of society, but that there is, abstractedly considered, an undefinable something with which he is invested, which elicits sentiments of unqualified admiration, and of the most profound esteem. We pause not, at present, to remark on the unjustifiable inconsistency of those who readily make such a concession respecting the excellence and loveliness of piety, and whose habitual conduct is in diametrical opposition to those great principles of Christian morality, by which, they acknowledge, it ought to be governed: we shall, without farther introduction, proceed to demonstrate, to such of our readers as may be on the eve of entering on the discharge of the active duties, and of engaging in the various transactions of life, the great importance of early piety. In support of the proposition, that early piety is of the utmost importance, we shall confine ourselves to a consideration of the pleasures and advantages to be derived therefrom,-to a consideration of its advantages to the world, and to the consideration of the uncertainty of life.

The great importance of early piety is evinced, from the pleasures and advantages it affords to those who are the subjects of it. The desire of happiness is a feeling of our nature, inseparably incorporated with the very existence of every individual in the world. It is coeval with his first breathings on his entrance into life; and, as the farther he advances through its intricate paths, his wants become more numerous, it continues to acquire additional vigour, until he heave his expiring groan. The infant, reposing on its mother's breast, tho' unconscious of any of the circumstances which transpire around it, feels itself a stranger to happiness; and while its frequent cries bespeak, in the most intelligent language, the misery of which it is the sub

97.-VOL. IX.

ject, its various innocent movements and attitudes indicate its inquiry after felicity. In its progress through childhood, it endeavours to render itself happy by amusing itself with toys and "the various trifling things which children please." And, on reaching the years of maturity, we see the human race diligently using every method their ingenuity can devise, to administer to their pantings after felicity.

It would constitute an interesting subject for contemplation, to think of the infinitely diversified forms under which the men of the world are anxiously pursuing the objects of their desires. The inferior creation seem led by one general instinct to seek for happiness in the gratification of their natural necessities; but man, who creates for himself innumerable artificial wants, has recourse to a countless variety of ways and means for their supply. One class of individuals imagine, that as riches are indispensably necessary for procuring the good things of life, the possession of wealth should be the great object after which inquirers for happiness should direct their steps; and hence we perceive such multitudes pursuing this supposed source of felicity with such astonishing avidity, often regardless of the means, provided they can only obtain the end. Others are decidedly convinced, that the object of their wishes is only to be met with in the haunts of intemperance and dissipation, where the miseries of life may be banished by the absence of reason and reflection, by offering copious libations to Bacchus, and indulging to excess in every description of sensual pleasure. A third class are persuaded, that he only can be happy who traverses the world from one place to another, beholding all the variety of country and climate, and carefully observing the peculiar customs and manners of the various places he visits. There are others, who think that, if happiness be at all to be enjoyed, it is only by frequently mingling among a select company of friends, whose feelings and sentiments harmonize with their own, and to whom they may disclose their minds with the most unreserved freedom; while others wrap themselves up in almost uninterrupted seclusion, convinced that solitude and happiness are synonymous terms. There are many who are satisfied, that happiness is an invariable attendant in the train of public honours; and imagine, that if they were raised to a certain situation in life, and obtained a certain measure of public applause, they would attain the summit of their wishes, and feel themselves completely happy. And there are others, who take it for

C

Thus it is that mankind form such varied opinions regarding the manner in which happiness may be obtained, and engage in such an endless diversity of ways in attempting to obtain it. Indeed, there is no movement or circumstance in the history of man, which he, as a free agent, is capable of performing, but may be traced to the operation of this principle within him. The mighty warrior, who spreads desolation and destruction all around him, as he marches in triumph through the vanquished country of his opposers, is actuated by the expectation of deriving happiness from his achievements, even though he knows that the fate of the thousands, whose lives he brings to a revolting and premature termination, will prove the source of a degree of misery to widows and orphans, fathers and mothers, of the aggregate of which we can form no conception; and the midnight assassin, who, in the more retired walks of life, perpetrates the crime of murder, is actuated by the conviction, that he shall, by the accomplishment of the shocking deed, increase his felicity. In short, there is no crime or action which men voluntarily accomplish, but is the result of an impression that it will administer to their happiness.

But, though every individual in the world be in the anxious and unceasing pursuit of felicity, each inquiring for it in his own peculiar way, and deeming all who follow any other course than his own, grievously mistaken as to the method by which it is attainable, it is an object, which, in its perfect form, has never yet been obtained by man. Those who have succeeded to the utmost of their wishes in acquiring what they deemed requisite for the enjoyment of happiness, have felt themselves greatly disappointed in respect of the measure of felicity which they expected to derive therefrom. No sooner is one object obtained, than another presents itself as necessary for man's happiness, and so on ad infinitum. There are few, we believe, who have enjoyed such favourable opportunities as Solomon, for obtaining happiness from worldly objects; and there are few who, for this purpose, have made so many experiments, and on so extensive a scale; yet he pronounced all to be "vanity and vexation of spirit." The truth is, that ever since the unhappy apostasy of Adam from his Maker, and his consequent expulsion

Though complete felicity, however, be utterly beyond the reach of man, in his present state, there is a measure of it to be enjoyed, from the existence and operation of religious principles, incomparably superior to what can be derived from any other source. The man who has heartily embraced the great truths and doctrines of the gospel, has felt, in his blessed experience, that the consolations which they are capable of communicating to the mind, are neither few nor small; that there is an infinitely greater degree of felicity to be derived from the habitual practice of Christian piety, than from any other source from which he had sought to obtain happiness.

There have been Christians who have made such distinguished attainments in the divine life, (and, in the same proportion in which men are holy, may they expect to be happy,) that they have experienced pleasures of the most exquisite kind—pleasures, of which they alone are capable of forming any conception, who have enjoyed them, and which must have approximated to the delights and happiness enjoyed by the spirits of just men made perfect in heaven. What ineffable transports of holy joy have Christians derived, when, through the medium of divine ordinances, they have been enabled to hold spiritual intercourse with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,-have walked in the light of God's countenance, and have experienced every manifestation of his favour which their souls could desire. At such seasons of enjoyment they have soared far above all terrestrial concernshave partially participated of the blessedness of heaven-and have deeply regretted those circumstances which have imposed on them the necessity of returning to the world.

We are aware that the distinguished enjoyments with which Christians are often favoured, are regarded by some as the wild imaginings of enthusiasm. This is because they are utter strangers to them, and can form no idea of the manner in which they are excited. The Christian, however, is so decidedly convinced of their delightful reality, that the most specious reasoning to the contrary would have no effect on him. He feels that the pleasures themselves, the causes whence they proceed, and the mode of their communication, are perfectly rational, and anxiously wishes that the whole world were enthusiasts in the same way.

It is not intended to be insinuated, while thus recommending religion, that the Christian is blessed with the uninterrupted enjoy