PART III.

MR. HALL'S REMOVAL TO BRISTOL, 1826.

SHORTLY after receiving the following letter I visited Mr. Hall, at Bristol:

"MY DEAR SIR,

"Leicester, 20th March, 1826.

"I am very sorry you should impute my not replying earlier to your letter, to any feeling of resentment on account of your long silence on the receipt of my letter of condolence. That I did not hear from you I was surprised, I confess, but not displeased; but, when I learnt the state of your mind, my surprise entirely ceased, and gave way to unmingled emotions of commiseration and

concern.

"The reason of my not answering sooner, arose, partly from my despair of writing any thing that could afford any immediate mitigation of sorrow so intense and deep rooted, and partly from the hurry and agitation in which I have long been kept, by the prospect of my approaching removal from Leicester. Indeed I have felt an extraordinary degree of perplexity and anxiety, which is far from having entirely subsided. Had I been aware

you attached any importance to my communication, my friendship for you is too ardent and sincere to have permitted me to remain silent.

"Acquainted, as you are, so thoroughly, with all the topics of religious consolation, I despair of suggesting a single thought which has not occurred to your own mind. You well know, my dear friend, that the condition of all earthly unions, is a necessity of the one bidding a long adieu to the other; that your connexion with the dear deceased was, necessarily, a mortal one; and that, consequently, no temptation has befallen you but what is common to men. Severe as your privation is, it is accompanied with the consoling consideration, that you are not called to sorrow as those who have no hope; and that she whom you loved as your own soul, is in possession of consummate felicity. If ye loved me, said our Lord to his disciples, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go to my Father. May not a similar reflection be applied to your present melancholy loss? What is the genuine dictate of love, but to desire the happiness of its object? In the present instance that desire is completed; and when could your beloved partner have been removed, when you would have regretted her removal less, so that a degree of suffering, equivalent to what you now experience, was inevitable, unless it had pleased God to call you away first, or to terminate your earthly career together, a rare, and almost unexampled felicity! The Lord, however, has done what seemeth him good; and though he has deprived you of the delight of your eyes with a

stroke, he has left you the promises of God, the consolations of hope, and the benefit yet to be derived from her fervent prayers and her bright example. Let me earnestly urge you to try the effect of change of scene. What, if you were to reside for a time at Bristol? I need not say how much your society would delight me. In Bristol, or the vicinity, you would meet with much to occupy and amuse you.

"I am, my very dear friend,

"Your affectionate and sympathizing brother,

"ROBERT HALL.

"Mrs. Hall is at Bristol, or would join me in most affectionate regards. I shall rejoice to hear from you. My best regards to Dr. Gregory and family."

Mr. Hall had taken a newly-built house, pleasantly situated in Ashley-place, on the Stapleton road, about a mile from the meeting - house at Broadmead; but as it was not finished, Mrs. Hall and himself were residing with his brother-in-law, Mr. James, in Deighton-street.

Our first interview produced a melancholy satisfaction. The late painful bereavement naturally occupied much of the conversation. One circumstance I shall be pardoned for introducing to the reader: I observed to Mr. Hall, that, when his departed friend was in full prospect of the great change which awaited her, she lamented that she had not conversed more upon religious subjects;

and observed with regret, that even ministers too much confined the great subjects of religion to the closet and to the pulpit. I said, How is this, Mr. Hall? we have often felt disappointed, after being in company with eminent ministers, to find that almost any subject has been started and pursued rather than religion.' "I confess, sir," he replied, "I cannot tell how it is; I must plead guilty to the charge, for, somehow or other, I have no aptitude for religious conversation, in general company; it requires a peculiar tact, sir, which I find very difficult to attain, except when visiting a person in affliction, or on a sick bed: much, sir, may be attributed to early associations and habits. We dissenters have gone to the extreme, from fear of being charged with cant and enthusiasm, and of being considered puritanical."

I was very much concerned to find such a striking alteration in Mr. Hall's health and activity, in the space of only six months; he did not appear like the same man, and complained of a difficulty in breathing, and of pain in his chest. He could not walk more than a quarter of a mile without stopping in the streets to rest himself against some pales, to recover his breath; whereas, in the previous September, he had walked seven or eight miles. He said, "Sir, this is quite a new complaint; I never had this, till I became so anxious about leaving Leicester. I have been I have been very much perplexed, sir, fearing that I have not been in the path of duty in removing; you cannot conceive of the conflict which I have had, sir. The

parting was very painful, but I acted for the best, and have only engaged myself here for twelve months, so that if I do not find myself happy, I dare say the friends at Leicester will be glad to have me back. There are some things that I want to talk to you about; they do not relate to the church, but to the congregation; and it will be a mortifying thing, sir, if I am to be uncomfortable in a similar way as at Leicester; if that should be the case, I am determined to leave."

Previously to Mr. Hall's leaving Leicester, he wrote the following letters of resignation of the pastoral office, which are truly apostolic expressions of the deepest concern for the spiritual interests and prosperity of the members.

TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST MEETING IN HARVEYLANE, LEICESTER.

"3d April, 1826.

"MY DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS,

"I TAKE this opportunity of solemnly and affectionately resigning the pastoral charge which I have long sustained among you, and of expressing, at the same time, the deep sense I shall ever retain of the marks of affection and esteem, with which, both collectively and individually, you have honoured me.

"Though the providence of God has, as I conceive, called me to labour in another part of his vineyard, my solicitude for your spiritual welfare will every remain unimpaired, nor will any thing give me more joy than to hear of your growth in