943 Eng. 85 2532 9865me PREFACE TO THE LAST EDITION. THE short period allotted to the editor for the execution of his undertaking, prevented that deliberate consideration, and careful revision, which was no less due to the subject itself, than to his own personal feelings. In the present edition, he has endeavoured to introduce a few improvements, by compressing some parts of the Memoir, and amplifying others. Grateful for the kind reception with which it has been honoured, he once more commits it to the divine blessing; and if the perusal of these pages shall be found to elevate the standard of ministerial doctrine, faithfulness, and zeal, and to promote the edification of the general reader, he wishes no better testimony to the memory of his deceased friend, nor a more gratifying remuneration for his own labours. PREFACE. IN presenting the following Memoir to the public, the editor has to express his regret that it should make its appearance so much later than the period originally designed, and under another name than what was announced in the prospec tus. In explanation of both circumstances, it is necessary to state, that the execution of the present work was first proposed to the editor by the family and more immediate friends of Mr. RICHMOND; but his state of health at that time, and his temporary residence on the Continent for its recovery, opposed an insuperable difficulty. In the meantime, the Rev. HENRY GAUNTLETT, vicar of Olney, Bucks, and well known as the author of the "Exposi tion of the Book of Revelation," kindly engaged to undertake this necessary tribute of respect to the memory of an eminent minister and faithful servant of God, as well as to yield to the wishes and solicitations of the Christian public. On the editor's return from the Continent, in the autumn of 1827, a renewal of the former proposition was made to him, from a persuasion on the part of the family, that his long habits of confidential intercourse with Mr. RICHMOND, and their frequent participation in the same objects, might afford advantages which his friend Mr. GAUNTLETT did not possess in the same degree. The manner in which Mr. Gauntlett complied with the known wishes of the family, proves the disinterested and Christian spirit by which he was actuated; and indeed forms, in conjunction with the above urgent intreaty, the warrant and authority for the present undertaking. The editor further avails himself of this opportunity to avow his personal obligations to Mr. GAUNTLETT, for the various materials he has supplied, relative to the earlier part of Mr. RICHMOND's life and ministry, and for the general use he kindly allowed of the papers and documents which he had prepared. To the Rev. J. FRY, Rector of Emberton, the editor is indebted for correcting and revising the press, as well as for some judicious suggestions. He also begs to present his acknowledgments to the relatives, and numerous correspondents of Mr. RICHMOND, who have furnished him with so many interesting letters for insertion in the present Memoir. Circumstances, over which he has had no control, have very much restricted him in the time necessary for completing his undertaking. On these grounds, he has to solicit the indulgence of the public. He cannot dismiss the work, without expressing his earnest prayer that its perusal may be accompanied by the divine blessing; and that it may be made subservient to the increase of piety in our own Church, and to the general edification of the Church of Christ among all who read it. |