tain to the kingdom of God. Application, aided by emi'nent natural abilities, rendered him one of the moft able divines, and brightest luminaries in the western world.

A fuperficial knowledge of things did little fatisfy his great, contemplative mind. He fearched for knowledge, as for filver, and took a peculiar pleasure in finding out, not only what was true, but why it was fo.

His benevolent feelings were not confined to a narrow circle, but were extenfive as the globe. Zion lay near his heart; her ruins he lamented, and her profperity filled him with exceeding joy.

The reader may perhaps with to fee the Doctor in a more private walk. The leading indications of his countenance' were dignity and firmnefs. He was tall, and, in his youth, flender and of a thin habit-in middle life, well proportioned-in old age, his afpect and mien were commanding and venerable. About the year 1744, he married Mifs Frances Sherman of New-Haven, a lady poffeffed of many amiable accomplishments, and eminent piety. By her he had feven children, five of which furvive their parents :-two are no more on earth.*

From nature, education and piety, Mrs. Bellamy was qualified to fill her ftation with uncommon usefulness: Among other important branches of her character, it is worthy of remark, that, during the courfe of many years, and till the decline of health prevented, the fuftained almost the whole weight of family care, with a cheerful readiness -that her husband might be interrupted as little as poffible in his ftudies, and other duties of his office. In her domeftic relations, fhe was a great bleffing-she was the joy of her husband and children. She merited and poffeffed the affections of the congregation and the numerous vifitors

Of the two children who died before their father, the first, Jonathan, finished his academical education and graduated in Yale-College, in 1772; and, having pursued the study of the law under an able teacher, and passed the accustomed examination, was admitted to the bar, as a practising attorney: foon after which the commencement of hoftilities between Great Britain and America induced him to take an active part; and at the clofe of the campaign of 1776, just as he was returning to the ardent wishes and prayers of his parents and friends, he was feized with the fmallpox, and died at Oxford, in the State of New-Jersey, on the 4th of January, 1777 -in the 24th year of his age.

The other child who did not furvive her father, was Rebecca, his fecond daughter; he was married in her youth to the Rev. Mr. Hart, of Preston, and died in her 42d year, December 24th, 1788.

I 2

whe

who entered her hofpitable door. Faithful to her familyto her friends-to the poor-to the church of God, and, above all, faithful to her God.

She finished the labours of mortality on the 30th of Auguft, 1785, in the 62d year of her age.

Dr. Bellamy was one of thofe who do what their "hand findeth to do with all their might." In his ftudy and pulpit, his exertions were ardent and perfevering. It was, therefore, to be expected that he fhould spend faft; and that, in declining life, the decays of age should be rapid. This was obferved by his friends, with painful fenfibility, in fome of his last years of active fervice-and was accelerated by the lofs of the wife of his youth, and the joy of his heart.

However, the year following her death, he contracted a fecond marriage with Mrs. Storrs, relict of the late Rev. And. Storrs, of Watertown, in Connecticut. But the profpect of a ferene old age was blafted, foon after their marriage, by his being feized with a paralytic shock. This happened on the 19th of November, 1786. It wholly deprived him of the ufe of his limbs on the left fide, and greatly impaired his intellectual powers. Able physicians were confulted, but without fuccefs. He continued more than three years in this ftate of deep calamity, with little variation of his diforder, excepting that he had fome lucid intervals-in which he appeared to be himself, for a fhort fpace. In thefe feafons, he difcourfed to thofe about him, on the great things of the gofpel, the difpenfations of infinite wisdom in regard to the church and himself, and his joyful hope of approaching glory; to the great fatisfaction of his chriftian friends, and, as might be expected, from his former life and miniftry. But these intervals of reafon, became fhorter and lefs frequent, in the latter ftage of his complaint. About three weeks before his death, he appeared to be afflicted with a cold and oppreffion of the lungs, which produced an ulceration:-And, after a painful fruggle, he received his difmiffion from fin and forrow, at eight o'clock, in the evening of Saturday, March 6th, 1790, in the 72d year of his age, and 50th of his miniftry and, we doubt not, received a welcome to that bleffed fociety, where the imperfections and forrows of mortality fhall never come.

His funeral was attended, the Tuefday following, by the Clergy of the vicinity, his own congregation, and a numerous concourfe of refpectable and worthy friends from the neighbouring

neighbouring towns; who did him honour at his death, and mingled their forrows with those of his family and particular connexions, in a manner which expreffed the common fentiment that a great man was fallen in our Ifrael: and, after the funeral difcourfe, and the connected folemnities, in the house of God, his remains were depofited in the houfe of filence, with every mark of respect and folemnity.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

LETTER I.

Bafil, Nov. 7th, 1798. To Mr. Robert Cowie, a Director of the Miffionary Society in London.

I

Honoured Brother in Chrift,

RECEIVED on the 10th of October your favour of the 24th of Auguft, with which you was pleafed to accompany the letter of the Directors of the English Miffionary Society; and both letters were directly communicated to the members of our Committee. The contents were of fuch importance to us, that we held an extraordinary meeting on the 31ft of October, wherein the two letters were read under fenfations of the moft heartfelt joy and gratitude towards God, and the following refolutions were unanimoufly paffed:

I. To infert your letters, together with a letter of the Directors of the Dutch Miffionary Society, and fome other miffionary accounts, into our journals for the general information of all the brethren of our fociety, and to have feveral hundred copies of them printed feparately.

II. To call upon all our brethren in a particular printed addrefs, here inclofed, to join with us in fupporting the glorious Miffionary inftitutions in England and Holland, by ardent interceffion and charitable contribution.

III. To make the beginning of it in the circle of our dear brethren here at Bafil, by gathering a mite for that purpose.

Be pleased then to accept the inclofed bill of 121. We know very well how finall this fum is, if we confider it in relation to the greatnefs of your work; but we know alfo, that it is a gift of love, offered with a chearful heart, which you will not difdain to receive, as the Lord looked graci

oufly

oufly upon the mite of the widow. Our dear English brethren will look more to the heart, from which the willingnefs proceeds, than to the gift itself; they will receive with love, what is given with love; they will fee in it a proof and token, how much it is the defire and prayer of their brethren abroad, that Zion may be built.

We felt ourselves particularly honoured by the refolution of the general meeting of your venerable fociety in the month of May, by which you have been pleased to choose the prefident of our fociety for the time being to be one of your directors. But our prefent fituation being fuch, as to make it neceffary and adviseable to use every wife precaution, and to avoid even the fhadow of interference in potitics, permit us to afk the favour, that all the members of our committee, as one perfon, as one heart and one foul may be united to you in the ties of brotherly love, to engage and affift in promoting the great concern of the heathen, as much as lies in their limited power.

As the oldeft member of our committee, the Rev. Dr. Herzog, a venerable profeffor of divinity, above 70 years of age, in whofe house we hold our meetings, has undertaken, in a particular letter of his own, to fignify to you the fentiments of refpect, love and gratitude, which our hearts feel towards the directory of your fociety; our letter fhall be chiefly employed in anfwering your question, What is the prefent fate of religion in Paris, and other parts of France, as well as in the Netherlands ?

We are not able to give a full and fatisfactory account on this fubject, as we have no intimate acquaintance at Paris, or in other parts of interior France. Only from our friends and brethren in that country, which was formerly called Alface, and in Montpeillard, we know for certain, that there are, here and there, among the Roman Catholics, but chiefly among the Proteftants of thofe parts, many worfhippers of God in fpirit and in truth, and living members of the body of Chrift. Of thefe, there are alfo fome faithful minifters in towns and villages, who are not ashamed of the gofpel of falvation, and who are alfo allowed to enjoy the pleasure of feeing their work to be not in vain in the Lord. Two of them are particularly remarkable.

One is a venerable old man, upwards of 90 years of age, of the appearance of a Patriarch, who, in that advanced period is ftill fo vigorous and active, that he writes letters and treatifes full of the anointing Spirit. The heart of this

fecond

fecond Simeon, waiting for the confolation of Ifrael, and for the speedy dawning of the glorious kingdom of God, was filled with lively joy and hope, at hearing the account of the origin and bleffed progrefs of your Miffionary Society. The other is a young active and pious man of 27 years of age, the minifter of a numerous congregation in Alface. He was put into prifon in the horrible time of Robespierre and in danger of his life; but being faithful to his Lord he was delivered from the jaws of the lion, and led home in triumph by his congregation, where his labour bestowed on the young and old is ftill abundantly bleffed.

All that we can fay in general of the religious state of France, is this; that, by all accounts, the corruption of religion and of morality in moft places of this large country is great indeed. And this was naturally to be expected. Not to mention other causes, it appears, from a recent calculation, that 28000 clergymen have emigrated from France. There were amongst them undoubtedly many bad and fuperfluous fenfualifts; but at the fame time it is to be lamented, that many towns, and particularly village-congregations, have no religious inftruction at all; and are, in a literal fenfe, flocks without a fhepherd. For those Clergymen that have taken the oath, have loft the confidence of the people; and thofe that will not take the oath, are not tolerated. Add to this, that Government endeavours to abolish, more and more, the Sunday and Chriftian feftivals, and to introduce the celebration of the Decadi. They have not, however, fucceeded in this; and many celebrate the Christian feftivals with a ftill greater zeal than before. According to the newfpapers in the year 1797, even at Paris, the memorial days of the fuffering, death, and refur-rection of our Lord and Saviour, were celebrated with a ftriking conflux and devotion of the people; the temples of reafon being empty, and the Chriftian churches quite full. We muft, however, adore the holy and righteous judgments of the Lord, who has given, by this revolution, a fatal blow to Popery, to the Hierarchy, to fuperftition, and to the vain ceremonial worship; although it is grievous to obferve, that infidelity, ftill more terrible in its effects, has powerfully raised itfelf upon the ruins of fuperftition; and that with the drofs alfo the pure gold has molly been thrown away. The reign of unbelief, however, will not laft long. It is impoffible that the heart of man can fuffer itself to be deprived of all the pillars of comfort and

hope;