ready to communicate, he would unbosom his whole soul to those who would let him; and he only asked to be treated with the same frankness in return. None ever told him his errors without receiving his grateful acknowledgments for the favour. And even where he has unjustly lain under the imputation of a fault, he has borne it himself, lest, by an explanation, he should implicate another. Those of us who have enjoyed his special friendship, know well how just are these remarks. And if we have not profited by our intercourse with him, we have at least enjoyed an opportunity for which we are answerable. He rejoiced in a brother's prosperity; and when a brother was depressed, he sought to elevate him by his counsel, his recommendation and his prayers.

Born of affectionate and affluent parents, he received their indulgence in early life, almost to the full extent of his desires; nor did he ever know, by experience, what is meant by "the pinchings of poverty." Yet wealth he considered a sacred deposit, lent, not given; and the possessor under the most solemn obligation to render for it an exact account. The amount of his benefactions I am unable to state; but from sources on which I can rely, I have reason to believe that few men, in his circumstances, have expended more in the cause of charity, or made greater sacrifices for the good of the church. His last bequest of his whole very select and valuable library, is an evidence that the Sons of the Prophets and the cause of Missions were first in his affections.

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upon

Sensitive as our brother might have been, when reports to the wounding of his reputation reached his ear, he did not suffer them to make an indelible impression upon his heart. He would go to the offender in the spirit of the gospel, and if not rudely repelled, he would make him feel the embraces of a friendly arm. To forgive-O, it was sweet to his soul!—for he felt himself a sinner forgiven. Not a trace was left his heart of what had been ;-when his lips had attested his satisfaction. There was no coldness-no reserve-no cautious manner that indicated the abiding of the old leaven;-for his forgiveness was full, free, cheerful—and often, instead of its being sought, he himself afforded every facility, and tried every expedient to bestow it with safety and effect. There is no trait in the christian character more lovely than this; nor any that shone brighter in the assemblage of our brother's virtues. Did he observe a coldness in the expressions or manner of those whom he had been accustomed affectionately to meet ?-he would either search out and remove the cause, by a direct inquiry and full explanation ; or endeavour to win them back to his bosom by redoubled attentions. But even in this, he would make no sacrifice of principle. While he felt it his duty to keep a conscience void of offence towards man, he felt it equally imperious to keep it void of offence towards his God. As he was ready to forgive, so he was to ask forgiveness upon the slightest conviction of error. And when withheld, as it sometimes was, where he had inadvertently offended-O, it grieved him to the heart. At peace with God, he wished to live and die at peace with man.

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Brief Extracts from the Correspondence of the late Dr. T. C. Henry with his Friends in England.

"IF the interviews we have had on earth produce their legitimate tendency on the mind, we shall both be gainers for time and eternity. If any other tendency be their result, we shall be infinite losers. O for a spirit of active piety; to labour daily for the Redeemer's cause, to gather a heavenly atmosphere around us, to fling new light of duty on the paths of our associates and friends! How often I have thought, what a happy life this must be; prayer and agency assisting each other: a co-working with God. Let us begin such a life. The weaknesses to which we are exposed will best be remedied by the prayer and the effort to be strong in the Lord.'"

If, in addition to the pleasure which I received in my European excursion, and the new acquisition of friends and restored health, I have indeed been rendered of any use as an instrument in the hand of God, I have abundant reason to rejoice. When I look over the several letters received from Islington and Henley, I cannot but indulge the hope that God has blessed the excursion both to others and to myself. O, it is humbling indeed, to think of the great goodness of the Head of the church, contrasted with

EXTRACTS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE, li

our own ill-desert: and it should keep us low, when we think of that sovereignty which selects such agents in his glorious cause. But how much we could accomplish in a work on which heavenly spirits love to look, if we had only the disposition !”

“It is true, we are disposed to shrink back when we look at our own vileness. We cannot disconnect activity and zeal, where they are sincere, from a devotional mind; and we dread leaving the impression with others, that we are more holy than we know ourselves to be. We are also disposed to wait for more ardent feelings, to propel us to faithfulness: we find it hard, when in a state of coldness, to obtain our own consent to activity. And yet all this is a sad perversion of precepts and things. Conviction of duty should lead the Christian to an agency at once; he is not to wait until he thinks himself in a right temper to do as he is commanded; any more than is the impenitent sinner, under conviction, to refuse to abandon his sins, or to pray until God has given him a new set of feelings and views."

"The Christian should ever recollect, that activity is part of his profession: and if it invite the eye of the world to fix more keenly on him, the consciousness of this gives him a greater reason for holiness of example. Nay; the Christian should recollect that activity in duty and private devotion reciprocally assist each other. Many a child of the Redeemer languishes in sorrow, simply because his whole profession is selfish in its nature and character. For myself, I am more and more convinced that we are

in an error here, from which we have reason to awaken in astonishment. O let us begin a new life!"

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"The description you give of your family, at the date of your letter, is truly interesting. May that house be indeed a Bethel, house of God!' May Jesus delight to visit it, as he visited the abode of Martha and Mary: and whenever death makes a chasm in its circle, may he be nigh to you as he was to them, to say, I am the resurrection and the life!' There is not a more interesting season on earth, than that of the domestic altar, belonging to a circle whom kindred ties of both nature and grace have bound together."

"You ask for a thought or two on the subject of an early profession of religion, where the principles are decided. If we are sure of the premises, there can be no difficulty in finding an answer here. If a child of twelve years old, early as that period is, were known to be decided in religion, principle there must necessarily be, and judgment to discern the Lord's body;' and such a one has no right to hold back from a public profession. It is both his privilege and his duty to come forward. He will grow in grace and increase in strength, while he obeys the order of divine love.

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"But, in assuming these premises. you presuppose very much. How are you to ascertain that the principles are fixed? The most marked changes may be fictitious. The young may easily deceive themselves; as indeed we all too readily do. They are often sanguine; and, when they are not so of them