both these places he preached with his accustomed talent; and his general appearance, too clearly indicating that the close of his ministerial labours was at hand, gave a deeper impression to his instructions and exhortations. When absent from home he was in the habit of writing to his children. My narrow limits have prevented my giving extracts from any of those letters; but I am induced to insert part of one, written at this time to his son, who had been placed with a respectable chemist and druggist at Bristol, in the hope that it may be useful to other youths in similar circumstances.

"MY DEAR ROBERT,

"15th October, 1830.

"I HAVE long designed to write to you, that I might communicate to you some hints of advice, which I could convey more easily, and, perhaps, more effectually, than by speaking.

"I need not tell you, my dear boy, how solicitous I am for your welfare in both worlds, and how often I have borne you on my heart in my secret addresses to that Father which is in heaven. But, alas! the prayers of parents for their children will avail nothing, if they are not induced to pray for themselves, for every one must give an account of himself to God.' I hope, my dear child, you do not live in the entire neglect of this most important duty: let me entreat you to attend to it constantly, and never to begin or end a day without it. Daily entreat the pardon of your sins, for the sake of the Redeemer, and earnestly implore the assistance of his grace, to enable you to resist temptation, and to live in such a manner as shall prepare you for a blessed immortality. Pray do not neglect, at the same time, to read a portion, longer or shorter, of the word of God. 'Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his ways, but by taking heed thereto according to thy word?'

"I hope, my dear Robert, you will continue in your present situation. On the supposition of your doing so (and I can do nothing better for you), let me entreat you to make it your constant care to conciliate the esteem of Mr. C- which you will certainly do, if you cheerfully comply with his orders, and make his interest your own. Nothing injures the character of a young man more than restlessness and fickleness; nothing, on the contrary, secures his credit and comfort like a steady and persevering attention to the duties of his station. Every situation has its inconveniences and its difficulties; but time and perseverance will surmount the one, and make you almost insensible of the other. The consciousness of having overcome difficulties, and combatted trials successfully,

will afford you, in the issue, a far higher satisfaction than you can ever hope to obtain by recoiling from them.

"Combat idleness in all its forms; nothing is so destructive as idle habits, nothing so useful as habits of industry.

"Never demean yourself by contending about trifles; yield in things of small moment to the inclinations and humours of your companions. In a word, my dear boy, make yourself amiable.

"Fear God, and love your fellow-creatures, and be assured you will find 'Wisdom's ways, ways of pleasantness, and her paths, paths of peace.'

"To say all in one word, 'If you are wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.'

"I am

"Your affectionate Father,
"ROBERT HALL.'

On Mr. Hall's return to Bristol towards the end of October, hopes were entertained that his health was improved, and his strength recruited; but they were only of short duration. The spasmodic affection of the chest occurred with increasing frequency, and in a more alarming character. In one instance, on the first of January, 1831, the attack was so severe as to threaten immediate dissolution. It passed off, however, as former attacks had done, on taking blood from the arm; and soon afterwards he returned to spend the remainder of the evening with the friends whom he had left when the paroxysm came on; and in his usual cheerful and happy spirit took his ordinary share, and evinced an undiminished interest, in the conversation.

The morning of that day had been signalized by the extraordinary pathos which he imparted to the religious services, at a prayer meeting, held, according to annual custom, in the vestry at Broadmead. The intensity of his devotional feelings, and the fervour of his supplications in behalf of the assembled congregation; as well as the glowing affection and deep solemnity with which he addressed them, as he reviewed the past dispensations of providence, and anticipated some of the probable events of the year now opening upon them, both in

The youth to whom this letter was addressed went abroad soon after the decease of his father, and intelligence of his death has been received since these sheets were prepared for the press.

relation to them and himself, excited the strongest emotion, and, in connexion with the events that immediately followed, made an indelible impression upon their minds: nearly all his subsequent addresses, whether on the Sunday or the weekday evening services, partook, more or less, of the same pathetic and solemnly anticipatory character. One of the most impressive of these, of which many of the congregation retain a vivid recollection, was delivered on the morning of Sunday, January 16th. The text from which he preached was, Deuteronomy xxxiii. 25: "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

In this discourse he seemed to be preparing his people and himself, for that event by which they were to be deprived of their invaluable pastor, and he to be freed from anguish and sorrow when, his soul liberated from its chain, and clothed in the Redeemer's righteousness, was to go forth, "first into liberty, then into glory."

A highly valued correspondent,* whose communications greatly enrich this volume, enables me to present the following summary of Mr. Hall's application or improvement; which, from its occasion, as well as its excellence, cannot but be read with lively interest.

"Improvement. 1. Take no thought, no anxious, distressing, harassing, thought, for the morrow; suffer not your minds to be torn asunder by doubt or apprehension. Consider, rather, what is the present will of God, and rest satisfied and content; without anticipating evils which may never arrive.

"Do not heighten your present sorrows by a morbid imagination. You know not what a day may bring forth. The future is likely to be better than you expect, as well as worse. Christians arises from attention to present duty. from strength to strength.

The real victory of
This carries them

"Some are alarmed at the thought of death; they say, How shall I meet the agonies of dissolution? But when you are called to die, you will, if among God's children, receive dying consolation. Be satisfied if you have the strength to live to God, and God will support you when you come to die. Some fear persecution, lest, at such a season, they should make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience:''As thy day is, such shall thy strength be.'

"2. Consider to what it is we owe our success. If we are nearer

*The Rev. Thomas Grinfield, A. M. of Clifton, near Bristol.

our salvation than when we believed, let us not ascribe it to ourselves, to our own arm, but to the grace of God: 'Not I, but the grace of God with me,' enabling me to sustain, and to conquer. If we continue, it is because we have obtained help of God:' we are 'kept by his mighty power unto salvation.' In all our sufferings, if christians, we are perpetually indebted to divine succour.

"3. Let us habitually look up to God, in the exercise of faith and prayer. Instead of yielding ourselves to dejection, let us plead the promises, and flee to the Divine Word. He has been accustomed to sustain the faithful: and He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.' He is never weary: Look to Him: They that wait on him shall mount up with eagles' wings; run, and not be weary; walk, and not faint.' Go to Him in prayer,-cling to His strength,-lay hold on His arm. You have a powerful Redeemer: 'be strong in the power of His might!' Draw down the succours of His grace, which will enable you to go on, 'from strength to strength,' until you appear before God in Zion."

The last service at Broadmead in which Mr. Hall took any part, was the church meeting (when only the members of the church are assembled) on Wednesday the 9th of February. His closing prayer, on that occasion, is spoken of as most spiritual and elevated, exhibiting in its highest manifestation, the peculiar union of humility, benevolence, and fervour, by which his devotional exercises had very long been characterised.

On the next evening, Thursday, the usual monthly sermon preparatory to the administration of the Lord's Supper, was to have been delivered; but Mr. Hall's discharge of this duty was prevented, by a severe attack of the complaint in his chest, which came on just after he had retired to his study to prepare for that service. This was the commencement of the series of paroxysms which terminated in his dissolution.

"Early on the Sunday morning (I again quote one of the letters of my esteemed friend, Mr. Addington) being requested to see him, I found him in a condition of extreme suffering and distress. The pain in his back had been uncommonly severe during the whole night, and compelled him to multiply, at very short intervals, the doses of his anodyne, until he had taken no less than 125 grains of solid opium, equal to more than 3,000 drops, or nearly four ounces of laudanum!! This was the only instance in which I had ever seen him at all overcome by the soporific quality of the medicine; and it was, even then, hard to determine whether the effect was owing

so much to the quantity administered, as to the unusual circumstance of its not having proved, even for a short time, an effectual antagonist to the pain it was expected to relieve.

"Inured as he was to the endurance of pain, and unaccustomed to any strong expression of complaint, he was forced to confess that his present agony was unparalleled by any thing in his former experience. The opium having failed to assuage his pain, he was compelled to remain in the horizontal posture; but whilst in this situation, a violent attack in his chest took place, which, in its turn, rendered an upright position of the body no less indispensable. The struggle that ensued, between these opposing and alike urgent demands, became most appalling, and it was difficult to imagine that he could survive it; especially, as from the extreme prostration of vital energy, the remedy by which the latter of those affections had often been mitigated, viz. bleeding, could not be resorted to. Powerful stimulants, such as brandy, opium, æther, and ammonia, were the only resources; and, in about an hour from my arrival, we had the satisfaction of finding him greatly relieved and expressing his lively gratitude to God.

"The whole of his demeanour throughout this agonizing crisis, as well as during the remainder of the day, a day of much suffering, exhibited, in a striking degree, the efficacy of christian faith and hope, in supporting and tranquillizing the mind of their possessor, in a season of extreme and torturing affliction. His language

abounded with expressions at once of the deepest humility and of thankfulness to God for his 'unspeakable mercies,'—together with affectionate acknowledgements of the care and assiduities of his family and the friends around him."

From this time the paroxysms increased rapidly both in frequency and severity; and Mr. Hall, in the intervals between their occurrence, was usually so weak and exhausted, as seldom to be able to converse with those around him. His expressions, however, insulated and broken as they often were, proved that he was able fully to exercise that trust in God which is the grand principle of religion, and that thus trusting in him, his soul was kept in peace. No murmuring, no language of irritability, escaped from his lips.

It is not my intention to dwell upon the melancholy detail of the ten days previous to his death. I will only record a few such expressions as serve to shew that, acute as were his sufferings, God left him not without support.

Thus, when he first announced his apprehension that he