His great knowledge did not puff him up; his charity and humility, and modefty, held proportion to it. He was far removed from an high conceit of himself, or conteinpt of others; he was far from being pert and talkative, far from oftentation and fhew, from infulting over his advérfary, or vaunting of his victories. With refpect to his neighbour, he may be truly said to have been a righteous man in the most comprehensive sense of that word. He was exactly just to all men in his dealings and trade; of this there is no queftion: and those who knew him well, can tell that in making up his accounts, he was fcrupulously fo, and took great care that an error or mistake in his correfpondent fhould not be to his prejudice. He was greatly careful to do no wrong, and had learnt to forgive. I doubt not but the character given to Pomponius Atticus, belongs to him; "He had no quarrels, for he did no injury; and if any were done to him, he rather chose to for get than to revenge." There are few men, perhaps, have paffed through the world with lefs offence to it than this good man hath done. His ways pleafed God, and he fo provided, that his enemies (if he had any such) should be at peace with him. But he did not only do no harm, but did much good in the world; he was not only just to all, but merciful to the afflicted, to the poor and needy: he had a great fenfe of the miseries of others: he was a moft compaffionate Christian : he did not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. The love of God dwelt in him, and by this he was constrained, and could not fhut up his bowels of compaffion from his brother: he needed no motives or arguments, it was enough to name the objects: he flood ready always and prepared, and neither wanted ability or inclination to help the afflicted. Indeed, this humble foul avoided the notice and the praise of men he that in other things was open and free," ftudied concealment here; he gave generally with his own hands, and wifely difpofed of his charity to thofe whom he thought the fittest objects; but yet for all his care and his art, he could not altogether be concealed. I have great reafon to believe, from what I have the certain knowledge of, that he gave great fums and large proportions, and that both the prifoners and other diftreffed perfons have loft one of their greatest friends, and for his proportion, one of their most generous benefactors. But fince it was the pleasure of our VOL. XIV. Chm. Mag. April, 1808. N N dear dear brother to bestow in fecret, out of respect and deference to his memory and inclination, I will not fearch after the particular inftances of his bounty. In a word, our dear brother was a great example to us of modefty and humility, of obedience to fuperiors, of diligence in improving all the portions of his time, of fidelity and integrity, of kindness and great calmness and prudence, if we confider him as an husband, a father, a neighbour, or a friend. His latter end was like his former life; it was even and undisturbed: he then shewed his faith in God, and refignation to his will; his concern for the church, and his well grounded hope of eternal life. A little before his death he called for his family, and as became a dying Christian, and one that was fenfible of his departure hence, he exhorted them especially to two things: First, That they fhould preferve in their minds a lively fenfe, and make a thankful acknowledgment of the love of Christ, who for our fake was content to become a man, and to fubmit to death, even the death of the cross: he required them to confider, that this was for our fakes purely, and that Je fus could be induced by no intereft to do this, but that which was peculiarly and folely ours. Secondly, That they would be fteady and conftant in a course of piety and true religion, well-knowing the hazards and temptations of this mortal life, and that we lose our labour if we do not perfevere unto the end. Having faid these things, he prayed that God would fend them an happy meeting in another and better world. Having fet his house in order, and difpofed himself for another world, he gave up his fpirit into the hands of his God, his merciful creator, which (I make no doubt) is added to the fpirits of juft men made perfect. Thus did our dear friend live in the world, and thus did he leave it; he lived above it, and was prepared to leave it: he was one of the greatest patterns of the Chriftian life that this age hath produced, and did by his life prove the truth and practicableness of the Chriftian doctrine, and exprefs the luftre and goodlinefs of Christianity at the fame time. In him we might fee the loveliness of religion, and how well fitted it is to mend our own tempers, and to render us useful to the world. In him we might behold great knowledge and the profoundest humility; an ability to teach others, and the greatest docibility or readiness to learn; the courage and refolution of a confeffor, and at the fame time the humility of a little child; 1 child; a great charity without vaunting, a great zeal without faction, and a diligent purfuit of truth without dogmatifing, or study of parties. In his converfe with others he was grave, but not morofe; very gentle and friendly, highly civil and obliging: his dif course was serious and heavenly, not frothy and trifling: he fpake well of mankind, and was very prone to hope the best of all he was not full of difcourfe, but it was always like the good man, modest and inoffenfive, and such as ministered to edify or inftruct. He had a great fense of any evil that the Church of God felt and perhaps few men that lived were more concerned than he for the fufferings of his fellow Chriftians; but ftill he was far from murmuring or diffidence, but had a stedfaft faith in God's providence, and did greatly encourage others to hope in God: he well confidered the usefulness of afflictions, and endeavoured to good purpose to awaken men to pray fervently for the Church of Chrift, and to depend upon God for the fulfilling all thofe excellent promises which have not as yet received their accomplishment. He was for a very confiderable part of his life a man of trade and worldly bufinefs: God bleffed his endeavours, and the good man ply'd his calling; but his great care was to labour for the bread that endureth: he was more careful to keep the world out of his heart, than to get it into his poffeffion: he was not only juft and charitable, when he trafficked and dealt in worldly things, but heavenly alfo: he did not relinquish the world, and then pretend to despise it: he overcame the world more generously; he kept in it, and was abftracted from it: he used it, but was as if he ufed it not : he was religious in his fhop, heavenly-minded upon the exchange, innocent and undefiled in the prefs and crowd of crafty, defigning, and depraved men. For fome time before his death he left off trading, and gave himfelf to reading and devotion, to fervent prayers and meditations of heaven, and heavenly things, to works of piety and charity, and the clofe confideration of his flate toward God: he wifely confidered that it was fit there should be a confiderable space of time allowed between the hurries of life and the great work of dying well: he knew when he had enough of the world, and had learnt the true use of riches; and now he difpenfed to others what he had gained in his younger time; and he took care to feason what he left behind him, by alms and acts of mercy and relief. In In a word, he was a very eminent example of Chriftian virtues, greatly efteemed by all good and wife men who knew him, and mean only in his own eyes. ON LICENSING SCHOOLMASTERS. > IN TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S SIR, your MAGAZINE. review of Mr. Bowles's letter to Mr. Whitbread, on the Education of the Lower Orders, you justly say, "it were to be wifhed that the old regulations, which required that every school-mafter should have a licence from the bishop of the diocefe, were generally enforced. The benefit would be incalculable, and many evils that now exift would be remedied." These sentiments, Sir, in my opinion, deserve the serious confideration of every friend, not merely to the church, but to good morals and found learning. It was indeed a moft falutary regulation which required every fchoolmaster to be licenced by the bishop of the diocefe; for nothing could tend more than fuch a regulation, to prevent unqua lified perfons from undertaking the inexpreffibly important task of inftructing youth. The confequence of the neglect of this wholesome practice is, as Mr. Bowles fays, "truly lamentable. Every person who is fo difpofed, is allowed to become an inftructor of youth, without any enquiry into either his literary or his moral qualifications: without any other ceremony than the mere exhibition of a board, on the outfide of a house, pompously stiled a Seminary.” 2nd. letter P. 52. It is true that in confequence of the relaxation of the ancient laws, diffenting schoolmafters are no longer under the neceffity of obtaining a bishop's licence. But is that any reason why thofe laws fhould be violated by members of the Eftablished Church? with regard to thefe, the law is unal tered. Every one of them, who is not epifcopally licenced. is fubject to the penalties fpecified in the acts of parliament which Mr. Bowles has cited. I am glad to see these acts thus brought forward to the notice of the public. Though long forgotten, they are as much in force as ever; and every individual has it in his power to enforce them by laying informations before a magiftrate. Even diffenting fchoolmafters are liable to the fame penalties as thofe of the church, for want of a licence, unless, at the quarter feffions, they take the oaths and fign the declaration required of them, as the only ground of exemption from thofe penalties. It is defirable that an obfervance even of thefe forms fhould be required, as thereby fome check, though certainly not a very efficient one, would be impofed upon the improper affumption of the preceptorial character. But in the other cafe the bifhop's licence is indifpenfable in point of law, and it ought furely to be deemed indifpenfable in point of practice. Thofe fchoolmafters who are deftitute of it, fhould lofe no time in fupplying the deficiency. And it would be well if parents, who are defirous of their children being brought up as found members of the church, would make it a rule to enquire whether the preceptor to whom they have entrusted, or are about to entrust, so valuable a charge, are poffeffed of this effential teftimonial of their own principles and qualifications. April 21, 1808. I am, Sir, &c. PRETENDED MANUSCRIPT SERMONS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S SIR, MAGAZINE. WONDER much that not one of your correspondents has taken any notice of a grofs libel upon the clergy of the establishment, which has for fome months paft frequently appeared in the newspapers both in town and country, in the form of an advertisement. The article is as follows: "Superior |