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Such were his wishes and hopes, and such his efforts to realize them. What the fruit would have been of so much ability united to so much diligence, had it been permitted to become mature, it is impossible to say; but it must have been considerable and excellent. That period of maturity, however, was not to arrive. By one of those mysterious dispensations which fill the mind with astonishment and awe, his hopes and his labours have been prematurely closed. He has been spatched from friends who loved him with tender affection, and from a circle in which his worth was appreciated, and which he would have enlightened aud improved, and now the memory of his excellence is all that is left. In nothing do the purposes of the Moral Governor of the world appear more inexplicable. That the corporeal frame, just as it has attained the activity and beauty of adolescence, just as all its organs are fully developed, and all the functions of those organs are so vigorously performed, and 80 exquisitely balanced, that there is not a single movement of the machine which is not perfect, which does not seem to exult in its strength, and which does not produce pleasure: that the mind, just as its faculties are unfolded, just as it is beginning to put forth its power, just as, after immense labour, it has opened to itself the treasures of knowledge, and is beginning to diffuse them with an eager and delighted liberality,—that then the mind itself should suddenly and, as to the eye of sense it seems, utterly perish, and nothing remain of the beautiful fabric in which it resided, but a heap of dusthow irreconcileable does this appear to the wisdom and goodness of the Creator; to that very wisdom and goodness which are exerted in the formation of those very powers and attributes thus prematurely destroyed! To this great difficulty the Christian knows the answer. That death is a good both to the individual and to the system; that unless the natures of each were wholly changed, its existence is indispensable, and that it could not secure the moral advantages it is intended to answer, unless it were constituted exactly as it is; unless its approach were sometimes sudden, always uncertain, and it were able to select its victims alike from persons of every character and every station and every age: of these truths the Christian is well assured, and being so, he can see in some measure the wisdom and goodness of this most awful and afflictive appointment. But nothing can sustain his mind under it, excepting such an enlightened and comprehensive view of its object and end.

In the autumn of 1821, the active mind of this sincere and diligent inquirer after

truth, was deeply engaged in the study of the question of Baptism. In this investigation he read Wall, Gale, Belsham, Taylor, Robinson, &c., and examined for himself the authorities from the Fathers to which these writers refer. After a laborious search he conceived that the evidence in favour of adult baptism by immersion preponderated, and in conformity to this conviction, he thought it his duty to submit to the ordinance. Yet he did not do so until he had again reviewed the grounds of his opinion. Having made an excellent syllabus, arranging in different columns the historical evidence, the facts admitted on all sides, and the deductions fairly to be drawn from both, he was more satisfied than before, that baptism by immersion, on the part of a believer, "coincides with all the data, viz., the evidence of the New Testament, of the Fathers, of the Jewish customs, and with that arising from the nature of the Christian dispensation, while it is really at variance with none." Accordingly he submitted to the rite, and was baptized by Mr. David Eaton at Worship Street, on Sunday, October 28, 1821. But the caution and modesty with which he judged and acted on this occasion, afford a striking illustration of the general character of his mind and conduct. At the conclusion of the memorandum referred to he says, "I frankly confess that if I had now the means of studying theology thoroughly, I might feel inclined to defer my baptism until after I had made full use of those means; but having, I sincerely believe, employed every means which I at present possess, I am inclined to submit to it now. However, I shall consider that I leave a duty undischarged if I do not give the subject a more extensive examination when my opportunities become enlarged. This memorandum will be a bond upon my conscience."

In the like conscientious manner he carefully abstained in his public discourses from entering on any controverted subject which he had not himself thoroughly studied. His mind was not of that constitution which would permit him to take any opinion upon trust, and he had too much probity to speak in the language of conviction on subjects of which he was conscious that he had not made himself acquainted with the evidence. There could be no better proof that he would have become a firm, fearless and zealous advocate of whatever he might ultimately believe to be the truth.

There was one subject of which he was convinced, of which the evidence appeared to him to be most abundant and glorious, and which formed the constant theme of his discourse both in the

Obituary. Rev. Caleb Evans.

The evi

social circle and in the pulpit. dence of it he felt in himself, and saw in every human being on which his eye rested. Of the abounding goodness of the Creator, and of the general and great preponderance of happiness over misery, he was as fully assured as he was that his senses did not mislead him, when he perceived that all men live as long as they can, and love and value life. He thought it a proof neither of an understanding mind nor of a generous and grateful heart, to fix upon the exception to the rule as the rule itself, and because there are storms, to argue that the sun rarely shines, and because there are sorrows, to contend that there is little or no enjoyment. The earnest and indignant manner in which he opposed every observation and complaint implying the general preponderance of misery, was an abundant proof of his own cheerful and happy disposition, and of that freshness and ardour which form the great charm of youth, and which few of the aged can contemplate without a sigh that it has passed from them for ever. The following passage, taken from one of his discourses, illustrates the manuer in which it was his delight to think and speak :

"The doubts of the rational and pious man, in proportion as he contemplates the works of nature and of Providence, subside; and his best feelings are cheered by perceiving how totally unfounded are the melancholy inferences of some respecting the nature of the Deity. By a candid and careful examination of the world around him, even without regarding the inestimable gift of the Christian Revelation, he will be convinced that gloomy notions of the Deity must arise from exaggerations of the misery and from partial views of the happiness that really exist. The inevitable result of his contemplation will be, that the creation teaches, nay commands us to cherish the delightful and animating sentiment of the Apostle John, that GOD IS LOVE!"

It was on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 1, 1821, that he first complained of indisposition. The progress of his disorder was extremely rapid, and was attended with some anomalous symptoms which led his medical attendants to suspect that the cause of it was not common. Early on the morning of the 6th he expired, and the examination after death proved that the melancholy event had been produced by a circumstance of peculiarly rare occurrence. A scarlet bean, which had probably been inadvertently swallowed, had insinuated itself into the vermiform process of the intestine, where, by mechanical irritation, it had produced the most intense inflammation, which had spread over nearly the

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whole alimentary canal. In the few similar cases on record, precisely the same appearances presented themselves as in the present instance, and like this also, in all of them death followed with extreme rapidity.

On Wednesday the 12th, his remains were consigned to the tomb by Mr. Gilchrist, who delivered an appropriate address on the occasion. The following Sunday, the 16th, a funeral sermon was preached at Worship Street, by Mr. David Eaton, to a most numerous and respectable audience, from Psalm xxxix. 5: "Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee;" the conclusion of which appeared in the last Number of this Repository. [XVI. 735-737.] Several ministers both in the country and in the metropolis testified their respect to the memory of the deceased, by a notice from their pulpits of the awful dispensation which had removed a minister so young and so promising from his sphere of usefulness.

In contemplating the excellencies of the character of the friend we have thus lost, it is impossible not to dwell with satisfaction on the gentleness and purity of his manners. No expressions ever escaped him unbecoming the modesty of youth, or inconsistent with that government of the thonghts and that chastity of conversation which Christianity requires. His performance of the social duties was exemplary; and the remeinbrance of those virtues which in him appeared to be mixed with almost as few faults as is consistent with the infirmity of human nature, is at once the sorrow and the consolation of his parents, his brothers and his friends. His death was in perfect accordance with his life. That was as peaceful as this was pure. A few hours before he expired, he called his elder brother to his side, and thanked him and another friend who was standing by, in the most affectionate manner for their kindness: he mentioned by name several friends to whom he was attached, and desired that they might be told, that even in that hour he did not forget them, but continued to love them with tender affection. He then said, “I die happy. I could have wished to have lived longer. I am conscious I was enjoying more than I deserved. I could have wished to have done more for Christianity; but I am content. It is a satisfaction to me that the last hours of my life were spent in doing good." He then alluded to another and a glorious meeting with those friends from whom he was now called to separate, and intimated that even in the passage to that brighter and better world, gloomy as it is gene

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rally thought, there is little to apprehend. "I do not fear to die," he said, and "there is no pain in dying." The latter expression he repeated more than once, and it made a deep impression on the mind of the writer of this memoir who was present, and who was observing with great attention and interest all that passed. It was a voluntary and striking testimony to the truth of an opinion which has been forced on the attention of the writer, by what he has himself witnessed at the bed of death, namely, that in the act of dying there is no suffering. Violent pain does sometimes precede death, but, compared with the number of cases in which it is otherwise, even this must be considered as very infrequent, and when a fatal disease is also a painful one, there is a remission of the pain before the fatal event. When the wonderful functions of life ceese, the body is in a state either of ease or of insensibility. If there be any exceptions to this rule, they must be peculiarly

rare.

The death of this exemplary and youth ful Christian affords another proof of the ignorance and prejudice of those who suppose it is impossible to die happily out of their own faith. The calmness and self-possession of the mind in that awful scason, depend on many circumstances, and nothing perhaps can be a less certain criterion of the moral excellence of a character, than the feeling with which the last hour is met. And yet it is delightful to see the troubled day of life close in brightness and in peace; the imagination dwells fondly on such a termination; the heart is soothed by it: this beam of brightness is the lovelier and the sweeter because it is the last that smiles on humanity. In contemplating the death of this our lamented friend, we have then all the consolation it is possible to possess. A bright ray of hope rests on his early tomb it gives us the cheering assurance that he does but sleep there, and that though we too must descend to the same dark bed and sink into the same deep sleep, yet that a period will arrive when we shall awake; when we shall start into life and consciousness, and recognise each other and rejoice together through everlasting ages. "For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed: for this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic-tory? Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

T. S. S.

1821, Nov. 2, at Penmain, Monmouthshire, the residence of his friend Richard Perkins, Esq., Mr. SAMUEL REID, of Liverpool, in the 46th year of his age. This excellent man was a native of Bristol, and received his education under the late Dr. Estlin, by whom his talents were early distinguished and carefully cultivated. He was designed for the ministry, and when he had finished his preparatory studies, removed to Hackney College. Unfortunately, doubts arose in his mind respecting the truth of Christianity, which made it impossible for him, influenced as he ever was by the strictest integrity, and incapable of dissimulation, to engage in the profession to which he was destined. It was not the contagion of a fashionable scepticism, or the youthful vanity of calling in question established opinions, by which his mind was affected; his doubts were conscientious and deeply painful to himself; subsequent inquiry convinced him that they were unreasonable, and he became again a firm believer in the truths of the gospel, which had never ceased to be the rule of his practice. This change, however, was not immediate; he felt himself bound to relinquish the ministerial profession, and by doing so, involved himself in a variety of uncongenial employments, in which for several years his talents and virtues produced comparatively little benefit either to himself or others. In the pursuit of commercial objects he visited, successively, America and the Levant, and on his return from the Mediterranean in 1803, he renounced these occupations and superintended Dr. Estlin's school for about two years. The removal of Dr. Carpenter from Liverpool to Exeter, on the death of Mr. Kenrick, made an opening for some one to succeed him at Liverpool, as a private instructor, and Mr. Reid came thither to reside in 1806, and continued there till a few months before his decease, when the complaint which ultimately proved fatal, compelled him to suspend his labours and to seek a milder climate. was with difficulty that he could reconcile himself to that intermission of active usefuluess which his health demanded, and his disregard of all personal considerations where he saw an opportunity of doing good, had long been undermining his constitution and exhausting the strength which might otherwise have struggled successfully with disease.

It

His literary attainments were various and extensive; his intellectual powers strong and ever fertile of ideas, which he poured out in conversation with a rapidity which it was sometimes difficult to follow. But his intellectual qualities, however excellent, will be the least part of the remembrances which hallow the

Obituary-John Pilkington, Esq.

name of Samuel Reid to all who even casually and slightly knew him.

Few men, it may be safely said, without fear of incurring the charge of that unmeaning flattery which exalts the subject of biographical panegyric at the expense of others, ever exhibited so much of the strength and purity of Christian benevolence, guided and animated by Christian piety. The great object of that self-discipline which he appears to have systematically pursued, was the annihilation of self. His benevolence was not only a feeling, but a principle, founded on the conviction that life and all its powers were given to him to be devoted to the good of his fellow-creatures. No self-denial or sacrifice seemed too great to him, when this end could be attained by it. Although he was most affectionate and dutiful in the nearer social relations, he would cheerfully have renounced his home and native land, if the prospect of more extensive usefulness had presented itself in a distant region. He not only embraced every opportunity of doing good which came in his way, but sought out occasions and objects of benevolence with an ardour and earnestness which might sometimes expose him to the derision of those who could not sympathize with the enthusiasm of his character. Perhaps even those who loved and ho noured him most sincerely, may sometimes have wished that his exalted and disinterested virtues had been mingled with qualities of a lower order indeed, but necessary to the greatest practical efficacy of his generous dispositions. Yet even while expressing the wish that the romantic ardour of his benevolence had been tempered by more consideration for himself, had it been only to preserve him longer for the service of his fellow-creatures, it is impossible not to feel how pure and excellent that character must have been, which needed only to have been alloyed by a small mixture of ordinary qualities.

The last moments of his life were passed in calm resignation to the Divine will, and joyful hope of the approach of a change to a nobler and more spiritual state of being. We shall take the liberty of borrowing the description of his last hours from a sermon delivered at ParadiseStreet Chapel, by Mr. Houghton, feeling that nothing could be added to the delicacy and beauty with which this subject has been touched by him:

"It is not always that the purest spirits leave, in their ascent, such a track of glory and brightness behind them as our departed friend; and if, in the contemplation of his bed of death, we mingle our tears with those of many other dear friends and relatives, our regrets will

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be, like theirs, not for him, but for ourselves.

He

"He was widely known and highly appreciated by the world; but he was best known and most tenderly loved and looked up to at home. In the domestic circle his presence animated all.' I am using the words of a beloved brother, who was intimately acquainted with his habits and virtues, and who had the happiness to attend him to the last. cheered and elevated the minds of those about him, and with a singular modesty, but with a force and decision of feeling peculiar to himself, marked out the path of duty; following up on all occasions the clearest perception of truth, with the most undeviating rectitude of action. His last moments were peculiarly happy; the result of such mental energies as no bodily sufferings could overpower. About two hours before he died, he had fallen into a gentle slumber, from which he awoke with apparently the most delightful sensations, uttering, in the sweetest tones imaginable, broken expressions of some religious speculations and reasonings passing in his mind; which he afterwards explained with much earnestness and pathos; then fell into a second slumber, and on again awaking, after a burst of natural tenderness to a brother hanging over his dying bed, his mind became fervently engaged in prayer; and, finally, noticing with gratitude and affection those about him, on the morning of Friday the 2d of November, 1821, he breathed most tranquilly his last. Such was the beautiful close of the good man's life as if already listening to the welcome of angels and congenial spirits, he passes from blessing to be blessed; and, with a parting smile, forbidding his friends to sorrow, beckons them to follow after and share with him 'a glorious change' in their 'Father's house.' Death is not always so lovely, so persuasive. Not all the truly good depart in such heavenly peace!"

December 4, at his house, the Willows, near Preston, Lancashire, JOHN PILKINGTON, Esq., aged 75, most deeply and deservedly lamented by a large circle of relatives and friends. He was bred to the profession of the law, and had a well-founded expectation of succeeding to a considerable property, in which, however, owing to some unforeseen events, he was disappointed. Yet he eventually secured, by his own steady and persevering industry, that independence in his circumstances which fortune had denied him in early life.

The profession of the law is said to offer greater temptations to the man of principle, and to afford more opportuni

ties for the amassing of riches, than any other; yet in the practice of this profession he was distinguished by his probity and moderation, and always acted in strict obedience to the letter and spirit of that excellent precept of our holy religion, "Let no man go beyond, or defraud his brother in any matter." He has often been the disinterested adviser and mediator when circumstances had put it into his power to be the retained professional advocate. He chose rather to persuade men to forgive their brethren their trespasses, and to live peaceably with each other, than to enrich himself with the spoils which contention would have held out to him, or to rear the fabric of his own fortune upon the wreck of that of his fellow-man. But the character thus honourable, as to professional duties, is worthy of our imitation in other points of view. He was a kind friend and benefactor to the poor; he freely gave his advice to those who were in difficulties and distress. He was an affectionate husband, a tender father, and in every social or relative connexion he endeavoured to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith he was called. He was the firm and consistent friend of civil and religious liberty. He was no timeserver, nor courtly sycophant, changing with the policy and fashion of the times, and seeking applause and reward by the sacrifice of principle; nor did he court popularity by flattering the prejudices of the multitude, and falling in with all the extravagant political theories of the day; but he advocated the cause of rational reform and real liberty, and dared to be the steady and honest supporter of the true interests of his country in the most difficult times. Nor was his religious character less admirable. Bred up among the Dissenters, the mode of worship which education and habit had contributed to attach him to, was still more endeared to him when, in maturer years, examination and reflection had convinced him of its beneficial tendency. He noticed how corrupt and oppressive religion had often become when allied to temporal power; and he considered the conduct of those highly inconsistent who, while they professed to be the followers of Jesus, connected themselves with the kingdoms of this world. He therefore acknowledged no head or master upon earth in spiritual matters; and, while he rendered unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, he rendered unto God the things which are God's. It was his practice while reading the sacred volume, to make such notes and extracts as would assist him in his further researches, and enable him to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." By

this study of the Scriptures he became more and more confirmed in the belief of that fundamental article of the Jewish and Christian systems, the Unity of God; and with that independence of mind for which he was remarkable, he worshiped the God of his fathers after the way which the world deem heresy. He chose to abstain from joining the popular sects of the day, although from his connexions and circumstances in life he had many temptations to do so; and he bore with firmness and Christian indifference his share of the misrepresentations and obloquy and suspicion which the sect every where spoken against so constantly meets with. Yet, while he differed from his brethren in matters of faith, he had that charity for all men, without which, religious professions and services are utterly vain. He neither limited the mercies of the Holy One of Israel to a few favourites, nor rested the salvation of his fellow-men upon the weak foundation of a religious creed; but he delighted to call upon the Lord his God, as the Father and friend of all his widely-extended family, ever ready to receive the repentant sinner.

Such were the religious principles which shed their beneficial influence over his mind, and which produced the character here portrayed. They enabled him to resist the temptations of the world, and to bear the severe pains of body to which he was often subject, and the various distresses of life, with that resignation to the will of God which becomes a disciple of Jesus; and in his last hour he reaped the full benefit of so wise and pious a line of conduct. His health had been declining for some months before his decease; but as no immediate danger was apprehended, his family flattered themselves that he would be spared to them yet many years. Nor did this hope leave them until within a few days of his death. On the evening of his decease, feeling his end approaching, and while surrounded by his sorrowing family, he said, "Will you all join me in prayer?” and immediately prayed aloud in the most collected and pious manner.

He expressed his firm belief of his acceptance with God; not from any merit of his own, for he acknowledged himself a sinner who had often dared the Divine displeasure, and who had not been sufficiently grateful for the bounties of Providence, and that at the best he had been an unprofitable servant. But he trusted to the eternal and unchangeable goodness of his Almighty Father, who knew the sincerity of his heart, and to the promises he has vouchsafed to us through the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He said that he had prayed, if it were the will of God, he might

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