minds of your offspring an habitual reverence for God, and a knowledge of the truths of the Gospel; be earnest in your endeavours to fulfil the duties which providence has assigned to you, and which your tenderness, your affection, and the constant recurrence of favourable opportunities so admirably fit you to discharge. Consecrate them to God in early youth; and remember that the child of many prayers is in possession of a richer treasure than the heir of the amplest honours and the highest dignities; for the child of many prayers can never perish, so long as prayer is availing. To faith all things are possible, and the promise stands firm, 'I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring,' Isa. xliv. 3. Pray then for them, and with them. There is an efficacy in the bended knee, in the outstretched hand, in the uplifted heart, in the accents of prayer issuing from the lips of a mother, supplicating God to bless her child, which faith may interpret for its encouragement, and the future shall one day rea lise. There is also a solemnity in the act itself, peculiarly calculated to elicit all the best feelings of the heart, and to quicken it in the diligent use of the means best adapted, through divine mercy, to insure the blessing. 66 'Discouragements may arise-impressions that once excited hope may vanish -the fruit may not be apparent; yet, in after-times, under circumstances of the most unpromising nature -amid scenes, perhaps, of folly, vice, and dissipationor in the more sober moments of sickness and sorrow; the remembrance of a praying mother may present itself with overwhelming emotions to the heart. The events of early days may rise up in quick succession before the mind, until the long-lost wanderer, recovered from his slumber of death and sin, may live to be a monument of the pardoning mercy of God, and his last accents be those of gratitude and praise for a pious mother. "It was in the period of Legh Richmond's childhood, that the accident occurred which occasioned the lameness to which he was subject during the remainder of his life. In leaping from a wall, he fell with violence to the ground, and injured the left leg, so as to contract its growth, and impair its use. It is a remarkable coincidence that somewhat of a similar occurrence befel one of his own sons, and was attended with precisely the same effects. It was in consequence of this accident, that Mr. Richmond received the rudiments of his early education under the sole tuition of his father, who was an excellent assical sch and well acquainted th literatur general. "In addition to is proficiency classical and other lementary stu he made considerae progress, du this period, in thecience of music predilection for weh, he retained to end of his life.”-p. 4—6. After havig received all advantages hich private tuiti and a respetable school co afford, M. Richmond was moved to Trinity College, Ca bridge, i the month of Augu 1789. What the views of parents or his own were, at t Perhaps they were not at all fix does not clearly appe period, His father seems to have wishe towards the end of his Unive sity course, that he should devo himself to the law; but his son inclinations were directed towar the ministry. When he had ma up his mind fully, and was abou shortly after, to enter into order he wrote his father the followin letter. 66 My dear Father, I take this oppo tunity of returning you my most heart and sincere thanks for all your kindne to me during my stay at Cambridge, fo nearly the last eight years. I look bac on the time which I have there spent with a considerable mixture of pain an pleasure. That I have done things whic I ought not to have done, and neglected to do things which I ought to have done is most true: yet have I added very con siderably to my stock of literary infor mation-have gained the good-will and approbation of many respectable and good men-have made acquaintances and friends of several literary and worthy characters-have enabled myself, I trust, by the improvement of my abilities, such as they are, hereafter to maintain myself. I have also had an opportunity of contemplating men, manners, and morals to a very extensive degree; and finally, in an age of much infidelity, and surrounded by many, whose principles savoured strongly of irreligion, I have built up a fabric of confidence in, and love for, that holy religion of which I am now a professor. To this I ultimately look as my future guide through life, and hope it will enable me to bear with fortitude those evils which may be in store for me; for who can expect exemption? In return for these advantages, I have to offer you my gratitude, and my affection; and let what will hereafter become of me, bear in mind that it is not in the power of any thing human to lessen either the one or the other. I am now preparing to undertake what I cannot but consider as a most serious and weighty chargethe sole responsibility, as resident clergyman, of two parishes. So far as information is required, I hope 1 have not laboured in vain; so far as good resolution is concerned, I trust, I am not deficient: as regards my success and future conduct in this important calling, I pray God's assistance to enable me to do my duty, and to become a worthy member of the Established Church; a church founded on the purest and most exalted principles of unsophisticated Christianity, as delivered by its divine Author himself, and confirmed and explained by his inspired successors. The character of a fashionable parson is my aversion; that of an ignorant or careless one, I see with pity and contempt; that of a dissipated one with shame; and that of an unbelieving one with horror. I wish you to read a little book lately published, intituled,' Dialogues on the Amusements of Clergymen.' You will be pleased with it, as will my mother also, I am certain. I am very busy preparing sermons for my future flock. It requires much practice to write with fluency and ease. me to be, with every sentiment of regard and affection, Believe Your son, "To Dr. Richmond, Grecian Coffee House, London." pp. 20--22. The feeling which pervades the above letter is pleasing; but it is obvious the writer had as yet no correct views of religion, or of the awful responsibility of the office he was about to undertake. It has often surprised us, that good men in the Established Church appear so generally to think little of the education of unconverted men for the ministry of the Gospel. From the circumstance, that not a few have been led to receive the truth after being put into the ministry, it would almost seem as if it were regarded a part of God's system, or appointed means. There are some strong remarks in this volume on the necessity of conversion to the ministry; but not a word reprobating the systematic training of unconverted men. We have a no hesitation in saying, that whereever this practice prevails, secular ministry and a corrupt church will necessarily be found. The circumstances of Mr. Richmond's change deserve to be recorded. The following is his own account. "I feel it to be a debt of gratitude, which I owe to God and to man, to take this affecting opportunity of stating, that to the unsought and unexpected introduction of Mr. Wilberforce's book on Practical Christianity,' I owe, through God's mercy, the first sacred impression which I ever received, as to the spiritual nature of the Gospel system, the vital character of personal religion, the corruption of the human heart, and the way of salvation by Jesus Christ. As a young minister, recently ordained, and just entrusted with the charge of two parishes in the Isle of Wight, I had commenced my labours too much in the spirit of the world, and founded my public instructions on the erroneous notions which prevailed amongst my academical and literary associates. The scriptural principles stated in the 'Practical View,' convinced me of my error; led me to the study of the Scriptures, with an earnestness to which I had hitherto been a stranger; humbled my heart, and brought me to seek the love and blessing of that Saviour, who alone can afford a peace which the world cannot give. Through the study of this book, I was induced to examine the writings of the British and Foreign Reformers. I saw the coincidence of their doctrines with those of the Scriptures, and those which the word of God taught me to be essential to the welfare of myself and my flock. I know too well what has passed within my heart, for now a long period of time, not to feel and to debted, originally, for those solid views confess, that to this incident I was inof Christianity, on which I rest my hope for time and eternity. May I not, then, call the honoured author of that book my father, therefore my best earthly friend? spiritual father? And if my spiritual The wish to connect his name with my own, was natural and justifiable. It was a lasting memorial of the most important transaction of my life: it still lives amidst the tenderness of present emotions, as a signal of endearment and gratitude; and I trust its character is imperishable." pp. 26--28. On this statement the biographer makes some very pertinent and appropriate remarks, which we pray may be attended with their due impression on the minds of many. The following brief notices of the parties who are the subjects of Mr. Richmond's popular tracts occur at this early part of the volume. "It was in the Isle of Wight that the scene is laid of those popular tracts, composed by Mr. Richmond, the repu tation of which is now so widely diffused in all parts of the world. "His Dairyman's Daughter' resided at Arreton, a village six miles distant from Brading, where he was in the habit of occasionally visiting her, by particular request, during her last illness. name was Wallbridge; and who that has read her history, can repress the emotions that such unaffected piety and sanctified affliction are calculated to awaken? Her "His Negro Servant' lived in the family of an officer in the neighbourhood. His Young Cottager' was one of his Sunday-school children, at Brading, and the first fruits of his ministry in that parish. As we shall have occasion to allude to these publications in another part of the memoir, we shall restrict ourselves to this brief allusion to incidents in the relation of which the author has excited so much interest; and where the charms of style and beautiful representations of nature are blended with the faithful narrative of facts, and the whole made subservient to the advancement of the cause of scriptural truth.”-- pp. 45, 46. With these notices, we shall connect the more extended account, which afterwards occurs. "During his residence in the Isle of Wight, some interesting events occurred, connected with his ministry, which he first made known to the public through the medium of the Christian Guardian.' These communications having excited much attention, he was afterwards induced to publish them in the form of was The "His Dairyman's Daughter' rapidly acquired an unexampled celebrity. It was read with an avidity that required successive editions to satisfy the demands of the public, and soon became the most popular tract of the day. author, from the generous motive of ensuring to it a more extended usefulness, was induced to present it to the Religious Tract Society, by whom it immediately translated into the French and Italian languages. The writer of this memoir well remembers a circumstance connected with this celetion. He was taken by Mr. Richmond, brated tract, which he will here menmeeting of the Tract Society, when one in the year 1811, to attend a committee of the members rose up, and observed, that as he came with the full intention hand, he hoped he should not violate of submitting to them the motion in his the delicacy of its author, by proposing, the Dairyman's that the tract of Daughter,' the merit of which had been so generally recognised, should be translated into the German, Swedish, and Danish languages. Another member then rose and said, that he trusted he should be excused for adding an amendment to the motion, by recommending that the above tract be translated into all the European languages, as far as means and opportunities might occur for that purpose. The resolution was unaniThe tract has since been translated mously carried in this amended form. It has also obtained a wide circulation into most of the Continental languages. in America: the old and the new world have alike stamped it with the seal of popular approbation. At home, several editions of 20,000 copies each were printed within a very short period, and the copies which have been circulated in the English language alone, to the present time, are estimated at two millions. It has found its way to the palaces of kings, and been seen in the hut of the Indian. Its author was in formed of thirty instances in which it was acknowledged to have been instrumental to the conversion of its readers, of whom one was a female convict at Botany Bay. The last instance of its usefulness was communicated to him only within twenty-four hours of his decease; and from its peculiarity deserves to be mentioned. "A clergyman, who had conceived a violent antipathy against the Religious Tract Society and all its publications, was induced to select the Dairyman's Daughter,' for the purpose of criticising and exposing its defects. In the perusal of it he was, however, so arrested by the interest of the story, and so penetrated by the power of the religious truths which it contained, that the pen of criticism dropped from his hand, prejudice was charmed into admiration, and he was added, as another trophy of that grace which had shone so brightly in the life and death of the Dairyman's Daughter. "After what we have stated, we may justly inquire, to what are we to attribute the great popularity of this tract? "No doubt, the happy union of interest and simplicity in the story, the graces of its style, and the beautiful imagery of its descriptions, have rendered it attractive to every reader; but the stamp of truth and reality which marks its details, and the expression of feelings which find a response in every awakened mind, constitute its principal charm. It is needless, however, to prove the excellence of a tract, of which four millions of copies are said to have been circulated in the nineteen languages into which it has been translated; or to adduce testimonies to their usefulness, which have been already printed in almost every report of the Tract Society, in addition to numerous instances privately received by Mr. Richmond, and which are frequently alluded to in his letters."-pp. 295 299. As the facts in Mr. Richmond's tracts have been considered by some as greatly coloured, if not in various points got up for effect; we think it right to add the following statement by the author of the memoirs. "As to the facts of the story, the writer is able to offer a very satisfactory proof of their correctness. The Rev. Mr. Hughes, one of the estimable secretaries of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in company with another friend, visited the spot where this interesting young woman formerly resided, and interrogated the brother (who had read the tract), whether the circumstances of the story were precisely the same as they are there related? To this he replied, there was only one fact that was misrepresented. Being asked, with some degree of anxiety, what that fact was, he observed, that Mr. Richmond had described a vine trained near the side of the window, whereas it was not a vine, but an apple-tree. If historic truth had never been more seriously violated than in this instance, the credibility of facts I would seldom have been impeached. Seven cities would not have contended for the honour of Homer's birth. Trojan war would not have been the subject of a grave literary discussion; nor would the supposed antiquity of the Chinese empire have furnished the infidel wits of France with an occasion to question the authority of the Mosaic statement. The "We have thought it important to adduce these testimonies to the character of Mr. Richmond's tracts, being aware of a disposition in the minds of some to identify them with a class of publications which profess to convey religious truth under the garb of fiction. We do not mean to discuss the propriety of such a vehicle of instruction; but we wish to distinguish these publications from the writings of our friend, who sought his materials, not in the regions of fancy, but in the less questionable sources of fact and reality. We consider Mr. Richmond to have been excelled by no writer in this species of composition. To a style simple, elegant, and full of pathos, he united a spirit of Christian love, which transfused its sweetness into every thought and expression; and his imagination, rich and powerful, being purified by live coal from the altar,' was consecrated in all its varied exercises, to the glory of God and the true interests of man. While, if his fancy sparkled with the beautiful tints of the rainbow, it was only to fix the gaze of the admirer on the heavenly world."-pp. 316, 317. a Mr. Richmond was not so successful in some other of his literary undertakings, as in his tracts. His republication of the Fathers of the English Church did not succeed, and involved him in very considerable pecuniary difficulties. The incident which gave rise to his engaging in this extensive enterprise, is worthy of being recorded. "While he resided in the Isle of Wight, and shortly after his perusal of 'Wilberforce's Practical View,' which had effected so striking a change in his own sentiments and character, a grocer at Newport sent him some trifling article wrapped up in a leaf of Bishop Jewell's Apology. His attention was directed to the wrapper by one of his family, who jocosely remarked, 'this looks as if it would suit you, Legh.' He read the leaf, and instantly set off for Newport, to inquire after the remaining pages. The grocer, smiling at the anxiety of his clerical customer, replied, "O yes, Sir, here they are, and I have a whole hogshead of these worthies; they are much at your service, for twopence a pound.' The treasure speedily and joyfully secured; and to this incident, trivial as it may appear, Mr. Richmond owed his extensive and profound acquaintance with the authors of the Reformation. was "It is, indeed, a humiliating consideration, that works like these should lose the veneration of posterity, and be treated with the contempt due only to the meanest productions of the day. It was an honour reserved for Mr. Richmond, to draw from obscurity the writings of those eminent men, who had shaken empires by their discussions, overthrown systems which centuries had struggled to uphold, and, sealing their testimony with their blood, bequeathed a sacred legacy of pure doctrine to the Protestant church. "At the urgent and repeated entreaties of several clerical friends, Mr. Richmond was induced to engage in this important undertaking. A prospectus of his plan was laid before the public in the year 1806; and shortly after he commenced the publication of the work in numbers, and ultimately completed it in eight volumes.”—pp. 133, 134. But from what Mr. Richmond was as an author, we must pass to what he was as a Christian minister. The following excellent letter is no less illustrative of his seriousness and good sense, than of his candour and superiority to petty prejudices. My dear Friend,-I sincerely pray that you may be restored to your parishes in that happy frame which may, under a divine blessing, render you to them, and them to you, a mutual comfort. A general interest and inquiry is excited in your whole vicinity, to hear you, and the word of God from your lips. May you be directed and enabled, by the Searcher of all hearts, to preach Jesus Christ freely, fully, and effectually, both to unconverted and converted sinners. Do not shun to declare the whole counsel of God. Keep in mind that excellent rule I mentioned the other morning: never preach a single sermon, from which an unenlightened hearer might not learn the plan of salvation, even though he never afterwards heard another discourse.' Sin and salvation are the two grand subjects of our preaching; and they ought to be brought forward unceasingly, both experimentally. Preach from the heart, doctrinally, practically, and, above all, and it will always reach the heart. I always find that when I speak from the inward feelings of my own heart, with respect to the workings of inbred corruption, earnest desire after salvation, a sense of my own nothingness, and my Saviour's fulness, the people hear, feel, are edified, and strengthened. Whereas, if I descend to mere formal or cold explanation of particulars, which do not affect the great question- What must I do to be saved?' my hearers and I grow languid and dull together, and no good is done. 66 accustomed to attend at various deMany of our hearers have been scriptions of meeting-houses. The general character of meeting-house piety is simple, earnest, scriptural, plain, and interesting, the awful condition of a sinner, in his natural state, and the consolations and promises of a Saviour, are dwelt upon throughout their prayers and discourses. Thus far all is good; and we must do the same, if we would retain or regain our congregations. Thus the fathers of the English church preached to our elders and predecessors - thus preached Romaine, Walker, Venn, Berridge, Milner, Newton, &c.; and thus souls were saved, and the Church of England flourished, and was built up under their ministry. May you and I do so likewise, and daily see the fruit of our labours, in the growth of our people in divine knowledge. "You see, 1 speak to you with the freedom of a brother; you have given me liberty so to do. highly for it, and thank you for the confidence you repose in me; I only I esteem you |