mon; every tomb a teacher; every funeral an orationto persuade you to learn to die.

At Islington, as might be expected, Mr. Henry found other associates, who became much endeared to him. One of them was Mr. Samuel Bury, the son of an eminent nonconformist, who was ejected from Great Bolas in Shropshire. This youth subsequently settled as a dissenting minister in Bristol, and became the husband of that excellent lady whose life and remains, published by himself, have been so justly celebrated. The friendship which thus commenced at the Academy, between Mr. Henry and Mr. Bury, derived strength from many tender and virtuous considerations; it continued through life; and years afterwards, when earthly intercourse had terminated, it warranted Mr. Bury in furnishing the following minute and graphic delineation :

"I was never better pleased when I was at Mr. Doolittle's, than when in young Mr. Henry's company; he had such a savor of religion always upon his spirit, was of such a cheerful temper, so diffusive of all knowledge, so ready in the Scriptures, so pertinent in all his petitions, in every emergency, so full and clear in all his performances, (abating that at first he had almost an unimaginable quickness of speech, which afterwards he corrected as well for his own sake, as for the benefit of others,) that he was to me a most desirable friend, and I love heaven the better since he went thither."

Before the narrative proceeds, it seems proper to introduce another testimony relative to this period of the history, though, like the preceding one, penned after Mr. Henry's decease. The author of it, Mr. Henry Chandler, was an eminent minister at Bath, and the father of the learned Dr. Samuel Chandler of London. "It is now thirty-five years," he says, in a letter to Mr. Tong, "since I had the happiness of being in the same house with Mr. Henry, so that it is impossible I should recollect the several passages that fixed in me such an honorable idea of him, that nothing can efface while life and reason last; this I perfectly well remember, that for serious piety, and the most obliging behavior, he was universally

beloved by all the house. We were, I remember, near thirty pupils when Mr. Henry graced and entertained the family; and I remember not that ever I heard one of the number speak a word to his disparagement. I am sure it was the common opinion, that he was as sweet tempered, courteous, and obliging a gentleman as could come into a house; his going from us was universally lamented."

How long Mr. Henry continued at this seminary is not easily discoverable. Persecution soon drove Mr. Doolittle from Islington; he removed to Battersea, and his pupils were scattered among private families at Clapham. But Mr. Henry, instead of accompanying them, returned, it is believed, to Broad Oak. Be this as it may, it is certain that his studies, when resumed at home, were pursued, as at Islington, with unwearied diligence; and the following memorial, supposed to be one of his earliest performances after his arrival, will furnish evidence of his creditable proficiency in human learning, as well as of his growth in that "wisdom which is from above."

It is entitled "Mercies Received."

"1. That I am endued with a rational, immortal soul, capable of serving God here, and enjoying him hereafter, and was not made as the beasts that perish.

"2. That having powers and faculties, the exercise of them has been nowise obstructed by phrenzies, lunacy, &c., but happily continued in their primitive (nay happily advanced to greater) vigor and activity.

"3. That I have all my senses; that I was neither born, nor by accident made, blind, or deaf, or dumb, either in whole, or in part.

“4. That I have a complete body in all its parts; that I am not lame or crooked, either through orginal or providential want, or a defect, or the dislocation of any part, or member.

"5. That I was formed, and curiously fashioned by an All-wise hand in the womb, and there kept, nourished, and preserved, by the same gracious hand, till the ap pointed time.

"6. That, at the appointed time, I was brought into the world, the living child of a living mother; and that, though means were wanting, yet He that can work with

out means was not.

"7. That I have been ever since comfortably provided for with bread to eat, and raiment to put on, not for necessity only, but for ornament, and delight; and that without my pains and care.

"8. That I have had a very great measure of health, (the sweetness of all temporal mercies,) and that when infectious diseases have been abroad, I have hitherto been preserved from them.

"9. That, when I have been visited with sickness, it hath been in measure, and health hath been restored to me, when a brother dear, and companion as dear, hath been taken away at the same time, and by the same sick

ness.

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10. That I have been kept and protected from many dangers that I have been exposed to by night and by day, at home and abroad, especially in journeys.

"11. That I have had comfortable accommodation as to house, lodging, fuel, &c.; and have been a stranger to the wants of many thousands in that kind.

"12. That I was born to a competency of estate in the world, so that, as long as God pleases to continue it, I am likely to be on the giving, and not on the receiving hand.

"13. That I have had, and still have, comfort, more than ordinary, in relations; that I am blessed with such parents as few have, and sisters also that I have reason to rejoice .

"14. That I have had a liberal education, having a capacity for, and been bred up to, the knowledge of the languages, arts, and sciences; and that, through God's blessing on my studies, I have made some progress therein.

“15. That I have been born in a place and time of gospel light; that I have had the Scriptures, and means for understanding them, by daily expositions, and many

good books; and that I have had a heart to give myself to, and delight in, the study of them.

"16. That I have been hitherto enabled so to demean myself, as to gain a share in the love and prayers of God's people.

17. That I was in infancy brought within the pale of the visible church in my baptism.

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18. That I had a religious education, the principles of religion instilled into me with my very milk, and from a child have been taught the knowledge of God.

"19. That I have been endued with a good measure of praying gifts, being enabled to express my mind to God in prayer, in words of my own, not only alone, but as the mouth of others.

"20. That God hath inclined my heart to devote and dedicate myself to him, and to his service, and the service of his church in the work of the ministry, if ever he shall please to use me.

"21. That I have had so many sweet and precious opportunities, and means of grace, Sabbaths, sermons, sacraments, and have enjoyed not only the ordinances themselves, the shell, but communion with God, the Kernel.

"22. That I have a good hope, through grace, that, being chosen of God from eternity, I was, in the fullness of time, called, and that good work begun in me, which I trust God will perform.

"23. That I have had some sight of the majesty of God, the sweetness of Christ, the evil of sin, the worth of my soul, the vanity of the world, and the reality and weight of invisible things.

66 24. That when I have been in doubt I have been guided; in danger I have been guarded; in temptation I have been succored; under guilt I have been pardoned; when I have prayed I have been heard and answered; when I have been under afflictions they have been sanctified; and all by divine grace.

"25. That I am not without hope, that all these mercies are but the earnest of more, and pledges of better in

the kingdom of glory; and that I shall rest in Abraham's bosom, world without end.

"26. Lastly; thanks be to God for Jesus Christ, the fountain and foundation of all my mercies. Amen, Hallelujah. "MATTHEW HENRY.

"October 18. 1682.

"Die Natali."

At Broad Oak, "that house of God and prayer," to which so many good people often used to resort, such exemplary piety attracted notice; and Mr. Henry, like the son of Elkanah, was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men." Those who knew him, Mr. Tong remarks, "coveted his company, and were delighted with it."

CHAPTER III.

A. D. 1685 to A. D. 1686.

Study of the Law at Gray's Inn-Habits-Correspondence-Trial of the Rev. R. Baxter-his Visit to Mr. Baxter in Prison-Reading-Study of the French Language-Correspondence at home-Sabbaths-Letter to Mr. Illidge.

A DIFFERENCE of opinion has long existed as to the length of time which ought to be devoted to preparatory studies by a candidate for the Christian ministry, prior to his commencement of public labor. Urgent reasons offer themselves in favor of a protracted course of initiation: such as (reasoning by analogy from the acquisition of arts or trades, and connecting the superior importance of ministerial engagements) the nature of things-the value of extensive and accurate knowledge, when accompanied by matured experience—the advantages arising