instruction and illumination. They were of high and deserved estimation, but not so well calculated to lay the foundations on which Christianity is built. Owing to these and other causes, his progress in divine truth was long retarded, and though his conduct was exemplary and much above the standard of the place in which he lived, it did not shine forth with that extraordinary lustre, which in his latter days drew upon him the eyes of all, and attached the hearts of the most pious. In religious experience he was but young; as his faith however was strengthened his practice testified his christian growth; exhibiting that inseparable union which subsists between real faith in the author and truths of our religion, and holiness of life and conversation, the former being the root, the latter the living branches.

As yet, he was imperfectly acquainted with the doctrines of the gospel. His belief was clouded with indistinct views of the consequences of the fall in the total corruption of our nature; of the way of salvation by grace through the meritorious righteousness, and vicarious sufferings of our great High Priest; and of the true ground of a sinner's acceptance with God; namely, righteousness imputed to him without works, by a faith in Christ, which alone justifies, though it is not a barren and solitary principle, but purifies the heart, in which it resides; works by love to Christ and his people;

overcomes the world, and is itself justified by the works which it produces. *

These doctrines, which he afterwards embraced in the fullest extent, with all their bearings and connections, were not clearly unfolded to his mind. The main spring of his religious affections seemed to be a sense of gratitude for temporal mercies. The scenes through which he had passed, viewed in contrast with his present serene and happy days, so engrossed his mind, as to leave little room for the consideration of those spiritual mercies, which were comprised in a deliverance from natural evils. But as he became more enlightened by the word of God, and by prayer, in the use of which, conjointly with the other means of grace, he exercised himself with increasing profit and delight, he perceived more clearly the extent of the divine mercy to his soul, and that he had been rescued from a

* The causes of salvation, and the consequents of a justifying faith, as they arise out of each other in a beautiful order and connection are accurately summed up in a series of negative propositions, by Scott, in his notes on Matthew, chap. 25, ver. 34-40.

"There is no salvation, but by the free mercy of God; no mercy, but through the mediation and merits of his beloved Son; no interest in Christ, except by faith in him; no justifying faith, but that which worketh by love; no love to Christ, which doth not imply love to his people, his example and his precepts; no genuine love to his people, which does not influence a man to do good to them, as he hath ability and opportunity.

state infinitely worse than the death of the body, when God defeated the deadly purpose of the enemy to take his life, and prevented the horrid effects of his own despair. The grateful feelings of the unconverted heart ebb and flow, as the temporal causes which gave them birth vary, and at last are dried up with the sources that supply them. But the gratitude which is felt and expressed by a believer is perpetual, like the fountainhead of divine mercy, and its streams are copious in proportion to the enlargement of the channel through which they flow.

The substance of the following particulars, concerning Captain Melvill's course of life, from his marriage to the period of his departure from the island, comprising a space of five years, comes from the pen of an affectionate but faithful witness, left to mourn her irreparable loss, who, while she looks upward for consolation and acquiescence, finds some alleviation to her grief in retracing his steps on earth, and collecting materials to embalm his memory.

"Faithful to every call of duty, public or private, he not only embraced, but sought opportunities of doing good. He established familyprayer in his house, was punctual in his private devotions, carefully inspected the moral conduct, as well as the military discipline of his company,

encouraged the industrious who made a good use of their leisure from garrison-duty, expostulated with the idle, and endeavoured, both by gentle and coercive means, to reclaim the profligate. He provided a school for the children of the soldiers at Castle Cornet, supplied them with books, excited them to diligence and good behaviour, by suitable rewards, and gave much of his time and care to the superintendance of this charitable work. Every Sunday evening the children repaired to his house for religious instruction, and were taught to read, and catechised by himself, with such assistance as his own family afforded. He was one of the first who united with the dean of the island, his honoured father-in-law, and some of the most respectable inhabitants, to promote an evening lecture in the town church of the island, and to establish Sunday Schools. He cultivated the society of a select few, and drew them as often as he could within the circle of his own family. His happiest evenings were spent in the company of his wife's venerable parents, and her elder sister. The dean, a clergyman of evangelical piety, sometimes joined the party, among which Captain Melvill shone with peculiar beauty, being the youngest in in years, as well as in the Christian race, yet in zeal, usefulness, and practical piety, equalling his elder brethren. His eminence in these respects drew from a man of great experience and discernment, the following remark, while he was discoursing

with a friend on the nature and extent of moral duties: You and I talk much of these matters, and lay down, it may be, excellent rules for the regulation of the moral conduct, but let us turn from theory to practice, and emulate the example set us by Captain Melvill, who is constantly employed in doing, while we satisfy our consciences with discoursing and approving.'

In this tranquil, but not inactive, state, five unchequered years passed away, not indeed without improvement, and much true enjoyment. It was a season of preparation, though he knew it not, for stronger conflicts with indwelling sin; for higher flights of faith; for more arduous services, and a succession of trials and temptations peculiarly calculated to make him acquainted with the secrets of his own heart, and to lead him to a simple and absolute reliance on the strength and righteousness of his great surety and foederal head Christ Jesus. It might indeed, in a worldly point of view, appear to be the happiest period of his life, but doubtless it was not his best; and, could we judge as he does, who is now no longer shackled by the bonds of sinful infirmity, we too should welcome the cross, which exercises and improves our Christian graces, and suffers us not to build our happiness on any thing below the skies.

The dreadful storm of the French revolution,