I mentioned the circumstance to him, but I found that he did not recollect it.

Mr. Hall then went to the residence of Mr. T. Nutter, but was very restless and uneasy the whole of the evening. He walked about the bed-room during the greater part of the night, took his horse early in the morning, and rode to his own house at Foulmire. Two of his Cambridge friends followed him for the purpose of quieting his mind. When he perceived them, he went to his bureau and furnished himself with money to the amount of seventy pounds, then ran into the stable and saddled his horse, and, without waiting to receive them, galloped across the fields to an inn at Royston. His friends followed him, but could not prevail on him to remain there. He would go to London, mounted his horse, and rode to Waltham Cross, twelve miles from that city. He was taken back the following day to his house at Foulmire, where his own plan of private confinement was tried, but it did not succeed. I went over for the purpose of seeing him, but he would not allow any person to be admitted. I however caught a view of him through the parlour window; he was pacing the room, and evidently saw me, but appeared like a man walking and talking in his sleep; his looks were wild, and his eyes dim. A consultation was held after a lapse of two or three weeks, to consider the propriety of sending him back to Leicester. I then related the particular instructions he had previously given me in case of a relapse his senior friends however resolved to

:

send him to Leicester, and assigned as a reason, the fact that persons afflicted with such disorders invariably complain of harsh treatment.

On the following day, Mr. Hall's brother, from Arnsby, came to my house. He was sadly distressed, and wept bitterly. He was aware of Mr. Hall's aversion to Leicester, and requested me to correspond, in his name, with Mr. James, of Bristol, upon the subject. I did so, and the result was, that Mr. Hall was conveyed to the institution at the Fish Ponds, then conducted by Dr. Cox.

His brother in the mean time went to Foulmire, for the purpose of seeing him, and met with a similiar reception to myself. He was only permitted to see Mr. Hall through the window, and then returned to me in a distressed state of mind. They never met again; this only brother died of an apoplectic fit shortly afterwards. After Mr. Hall's recovery, this circumstance affected him much. He told me that he remembered seeing his brother through the window, and requested me to relate every circumstance, and the particulars of the difficulties which I had to encounter, in preventing him from being sent to Leicester, expressing at the same time his obligations in the kindest manner. This circumstance may in some measure account for the large share in his affections which I afterwards enjoyed. He has since frequently conversed with me on the painful subject of his illness, and courted rather than avoided the conversation when we were alone.

In a few months he recovered, owing to the mild

and kind treatment practised by Dr. Cox at the Fish Ponds; and expatiated, in the warmest terms, on the superior management of that institution; * as a proof of which he never had a relapse. Dr. Cox gave him some directions calculated to prevent a return of the complaint. The three principal things were, first, that he must leave Cambridge entirely; secondly, that he must practise smoking, as a composing habit; thirdly, that he must enter the marriage state, in order to relieve the solitude of single life. He therefore sent in his resignation of the pastoral office. The following is a copy of his letter to the church.

"DEAR BRETHREN,

"March 4, 1806.

"A succession of afflictive dispensations has brought me to a resolution of resigning the pastoral office, which I have for a considerable number of years exercised among you. I cannot reflect on the numberless and decisive proofs you have afforded me of your attachment during that period, without the warmest gratitude, nor think of a final separation without great regret. No people ever received the ministerial services of their pastor with more candour, or evinced on every occasion a greater solicitude to contribute to his happiness. It is not necessary to dwell at large on the circumstances which have determined me to relinquish the situation which I have so long held: they are

* This excellent establishment is now conducted by Dr. Bompass, a gentleman of whose skill Mr. Hall entertained a very high opinion, and whose friendship he much valued.

partly local, in the strictest sense of the word, and in part arise from my recent illness, which suggests the propriety of suspending the ministerial functions for the present.

"The dissolution of that union which has subsisted with such uninterrupted harmony, is the work of Providence, whose operations are often mysterious, but always infinitely wise and gracious.

in

"Permit me, my dear brethren, at parting with you, to express the deep and unalterable sense I shall ever feel of the candour, kindness, and generosity, I have uniformly experienced at your hands. You will ever have a distinguished place my affections and my prayers. It is my earnest prayer, that the truths it has been my humble endeavour to inculcate among you, may take deeper and deeper root in your hearts and lives; that you may obey from the heart that form of doctrine into which you have been delivered. May our separation not be final and eternal; but may we be so preserved and sanctified by divine grace, that, when the transitory days of our mortal pilgrimage are concluded, we may be permitted to spend a blissful eternity together. Let me make it my earnest request, that you will be careful to choose a minister whose heart is truly devoted to God, and who is determined, like the great apostle, to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. That your faith may increase exceedingly, and your love one towards another may abound more and more, till you arrive at the fulness of the stature of perfect men in Christ, and are presented

before him unblamable in holiness, is the habitual and earnest prayer of your late unworthy pastor, and affectionate friend,

"ROBERT HALL.”

THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT CAMBRIDGE TO THE

REV. ROBERT HALL.

IN REPLY TO THE PRECEDING.

"DEAR BROther,

"THOUGH your letter, containing your resignation of the pastoral office amongst us, had been expected, in consequence of an intimation previously communicated by you, it was received by us with deep regret; yet, we trust, in the spirit of humble submission to that all-wise Providence, which has seen fit to dissolve the union that has so long and so happily subsisted between us. Be assured, you will ever hold a distinguished place in our most affectionate remembrances; nor shall we forget you in our mingled supplications at the footstool of divine mercy. We hope ever to preserve a grateful recollection of your long and faithful services. We bear you witness, that the prevailing desire of your heart, and the constant object of your labours, was to disseminate amongst us the knowledge of the true God, and of Jesus. Christ, whom he hath sent; and to fit us, by divine grace, for the enjoyment of a future world. we pray, that the important truths which you have so repeatedly and energetically inculcated, may constantly be adhered to by us. In the loss of

And