was made in the year 1770. He was in tolerably good health, and was able to preach in Charleston on the very day he landed. He was gratified to behold the success of the colony of Georgia, and of the institution which he had founded, and which was now organized and free of debt. Thirty-two years had elapsed since he laid its foundation, during which period many orphans had been fed, clothed, and taught. It did not long survive his death.

His itinerating habits were as strong on this occasion as in his early days, and he accepted invitations from all parts of the country. He preached twice every Sabbath, and three or four times a week. He had plans prepared for returning to Georgia in the autumn, and to England in the winter. But his day was fast drawing to its close. On the twenty-ninth of September "he rode from Portsmouth to Exeter (fifteen miles) in the morning, and preached there to a very great multitude in the fields. It is remarkable, that before he went to preach that day, (which proved to be his last sermon,) Mr. Clarkson, Sen., observing him more uneasy than usual, said to him, 'Sir, you are more fit to go to bed than to preach.'- To which Mr. Whitefield answered, True, sir;' but, turning aside, he clasped his hands together, and looking up, said: 'Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but not of thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for thee once more in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home and

die.' His last sermon was from 2 Cor. xiii, 5." In the evening he went to rest, and slept till two, when he awoke panting for breath. After a little he slept again, but awoke at a quarter past four with a feeling of suffocation. He got up out of bed and went to the window for air, and said to his servant, "I am dying!" The doctor, upon his arrival, confirmed his own view, and at six o'clock his seraphic spirit fled to glory. This occurred on the thirtieth of September, 1770, in the fifty-sixth year of his age and thirty-fourth of his ministry.

The tidings of his death sent a shock through the Christian world. Great was the lamentation over him. He was buried in the Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, where he died. The funeral was attended by several thousands, among whom were many ministers. Several of the latter gave an account of their awakening by his words. "When the corpse was placed at the foot of the pulpit, close to the vault, the Rev. Daniel Rogers made a very affecting prayer, and openly confessed that, under God, he owed his conversion to that dear man of God whose precious remains now lay before them. Then he cried out, O my father, my father!' then stopped and wept as though his heart would break, and the people weeping all through the place. Then he recovered and finished his prayer, and sat down and wept." They might well weep, for the Church of God has never seen his like again.

The following is the inscription on the monument erected to his memory at Newburyport:

THIS CENOTAPH

Is erected with affectionate Veneration

TO THE

Memory

OF THE

REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD,

Born at Gloucester, England, December 16th, 1714;
Educated at Oxford University; Ordained 1736.
In a Ministry of Thirty-four years,
He crossed the Atlantic Thirteen times,
And preached more than Eighteen Thousand Sermons.
As a Soldier of the Cross, humble, devout, ardent,
He put on the whole armor of God;

Preferring the Honor of Christ to his own Interest, Repose,
Reputation, and Life.

As a Christian Orator, his Deep Piety, Disinterested Zeal, and Vivid Imagination,

Gave an unexampled energy to his look, utterance, and action.

Bold, fervent, pungent, and popular in his Eloquence,
No other uninspired man ever preached to so large assemblies,
Or enforced the simple truths of the Gospel by motives
So persuasive and awful, and with an influence so powerful
On the hearts of his Hearers.

He died of Asthma, September 30th, 1770,
Suddenly exchanging his Life of unparalleled labors
For his Eternal Rest.

Though he founded no sect, and wrote no book, his influence and example remain as strong as ever in their unparalleled character. "It will not be saying too much," wrote Toplady, "if I term him

the Apostle of the English empire; in point of zeal for God, a long course of indefatigable and incessant labors, unparalleled disinterestedness, and astonishingly extensive usefulness. . . . If the absolute command over the passions of immense auditories be the mark of a consummate orator, he was the greatest of his age. If the strongest good sense, the most generous expansions of heart, the most artless but captivating affability, the most literal exemption from bigotry, the purest and most transpicuous integrity, the highest cheerfulness, and the promptest wit, enter into the composition of social excellence, he was one of the best companions in the world. If to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; if a union of the most brilliant with the most solid ministerial gifts, ballasted by a deep and humbling experience of grace, and crowned with the most extended success in the conversion of sinners and edification of saints, be signatures of a commission from heaven, George Whitefield cannot but stand highest on the modern list of Christian ministers.

"England has had the honor of producing the greatest men in almost every walk of useful knowledge. At the head of these are Archbishop Bradwarden, the prince of divines; Milton, the prince of poets; Newton, the prince of philosophers; Whitefield, the prince of preachers."*

*May we not add, Charles Wesley, the prince of hymn writers; and John Wesley, the prince of ecclesiastical statesmen ?—AM.ED.

The Rev. Dr. James Hamilton thus characterizes Whitefield as a preacher: "He was the prince of English preachers. Many have surpassed him as sermon-makers, but none have approached him as a pulpit orator. Many have outshone him in the clearness of their logic, the grandeur of their conceptions, and the sparkling beauty of single sentences; but in this power of darting the Gospel direct into the conscience he eclipsed them all.”

His piety was sincere, fervent, and constant. His whole soul was laid on the altar, and it was entirely consumed by the sacrificial fire of the love He lived in the sunshine of that love and his own, with a joy unspeakable Prayer was a delightful exercise He went often within the vail, and dwelt upon the mount with God. By this exercise he baptized all his efforts of mind and life.

of Jesus.
rejoiced in it as
and full of glory.
with Whitefield.

His natural gifts were high-such as few have received-but they were skillfully cultivated. His was not breadth of intellect, or power of reason, or subtlety of analysis; but he had the sparkling fancy and the tongue of eloquence. These he not merely gave to the Lord, but he used to the best advantage in the service of so beloved a Master. His manner was carefully studied, and applied with powerful effect in his bursts of oratory. Nature outshone all his art, for his art was to display nature. Hence his tones of voice, gestures of body, and grace of expression all gave effect to his embassy. He sought a solemn effect by means of these.