"Dear Doctor,

"You need make no excuse for recommending Mr., in his distressed condition. "I am pleased to see you so tenderly concerned " for a brother's welfare; and am glad you have used the freedom of applying to me, seeing Di"vine Providence has put it into my power to help

a disciple, a child, a member of Christ. I purposed to have given... and to have lent him "three; nor should I have been very rigorous in "exacting the debt, provided there was but little

ability to repay. But lest the fear of not being "able to repay should create anxiety in an honest "heart, and lessen the comfort of a seasonable "supply, I make him a present of the whole; "heartily wishing, that the same gracious God, "who inclined a stranger's heart to bestow it,

may also prosper his endeavours to improve it!" 2. We now come, secondly, to review our author's character as a Minister. His qualifications for this work were in every point respectable; and in many, eminent. To a fine natural genius, and a brilliant imagination, Mr. Hervey added a considerable acquaintance with the Greek and Latin classics, and an uncommon relish for their beau ties. Notwithstanding the ill success of his first attempts at Hebrew, he acquired a critical skill in that language; and read the originals of both Testaments with almost as much facility as his native tongue.

Mr. Hervey constantly preached without notes, except on particular occasions. In his pulpit discourses he always studied plainness and simplicity, and endeavoured to divest his style of its usual embellishments, which, though they might recom mend his writings to a higher class of readers, he very properly judged would lessen his usefulness among plain countrymen and servants. In this he imitated the example of Luther, who (in his Table Talk) says, "If in my preaching I were to pay a

"regard to Philip Melancthon, and other learned "divines, then I should do little good. I preach "in the plainest manner to the illiterate, and that "gives content to all." His method was clear and judicious, his heads of discourse few, and he avoided unnecessary subdivisions. His weakness, for some time before his death, obliged him to shorten his discourses, and he generally comprised them in two heads; at the close of each he would quote a pertinent text of scripture, and waiting whilst his hearers found it in their bibles, he would say, Now, my dear brethren, if you forget my sermon, you cannot forget God's word in this " text, unless you wilfully throw aside your bibles. "Shew these to your children, or the absent part "of your family, when you return home."

In addition to the Sunday duty, he instituted a weekly lecture at Weston-Favell, and, to avoid putting the parish to expence, paid for the candles out of his own pocket. Latterly, however, he was confined to preaching only one sermon on the Sabbath; and, as he was unable to visit his Collingtree parishioners, he used to encourage them to call on him for the benefit of his instruction and advice.

But the most remarkable, and perhaps most useful part of Mr. Hervey's ministerial work, was his catechising; in which his method was peculiarly excellent. He used to break the questions and answers of the Church Catechism into shorter ones, and would add many others calculated to edify and instruct; he had also an excellent method of reproving and correcting the vices of his parishioners by the lips of their children. When some had lain in bed very late on the Sabbath morning, others had been foddering their cattle in service time, and several gone to the alehouse instead of the church, he thus catechised one of the children before the congregation. "Repeat me "the fourth commandment.-Now, little man, do

'you understand the meaning of this command"ment? Yes, Sir.'-Then you will be able to

answer me these questions.-Do those keep holy "the Sabbath-day who lie in bed till eight or nine "o'clock in the morning, instead of rising to say "their prayers, and read the Bible? No, Sir.""Do those keep the Sabbath who fodder their "cattle when other people are going to church? "No, Sir.'-Does God Almighty bless such people as go to alehouses, and do not mind the "instructions of their minister? No, Sir.'-Do "not those who love God read the Bible to their "families, particularly on Sabbath evenings, and "have prayers every night and morning in their "houses? Yes, Sir.""

Nor did this excellent minister forget his clerical character in his own house. He constantly prayed and expounded twice a day in his own family, and made the Bible (generally in the original) a constant attendant on his table. In short, the whole of his conversation was "always with grace, "seasoned with salt," administering instruction to his hearers.

This seems the proper place to introduce the following anecdote of Mr. Hervey, which farther shews the address with which he administered reproof. A lady, with whom he happened to be travelling in a stage-coach, expatiated largely upon the pleasures of the theatre. She particularly mentioned the pleasure of anticipation, the pleasure of attending the representation, and the pleasure of recollection afterward. "But one thing, Madam," said Mr. Hervey, you have forgotten." What can that be, Sir?" The pleasure of reflection " on a death-bed, Madam."-This remark was a thunder-bolt to the lady, and is said to have been the means of her conversion.

3. We come, in the last place, to consider Mr. Hervey as an author.

Perhaps few writers ever estimated their own

powers more justly. My friend (said he to Mr. "Ryland), I have not a strong mind; I have not powers fitted for arduous researches; but I think "I have a power of writing in somewhat of a "striking manner, so far as to please mankind, " and to recommend my dear Redeemer."

Mr. Hervey possessed a lively fancy, a brilliant imagination, a copious stock of words, and well studied the harmony of his periods; but his style was florid, and highly ornamented; indeed, too much so, in the opinion of some judicious critics. Let us candidly examine this: in order to which, we must take into our view his grand leading design, and the particular nature of his compositions.

The leading design of our author, which pervaded all his conduct and conversation, his pulpit discourses, and publications, was (in his own words) "to recommend his dear Redeemer;" and as a mean only to this end, did he study to " please

mankind," particularly the polite, the wealthy, and the gay. He knew that such readers were generally superficial, and not to be affected either with the force of argument, or the authority of scripture. He therefore determined to attack the heart in the avenue of the imagination; and, un. der covert of a pleasing style, introduce instruction and advice, the most interesting and im portant. In many happy instances he succeeded; and shall we say that he did wrong?-Blessings on the man (may many of his readers say) who be guiled us to our own advantage! and preferred the salvation of his readers to his own fame, or the applause of critics!

But in estimating the style of a writer we should also consider the nature of his compositions. In Meditations the tone of the mind is always somewhat raised beyond its regular pitch, especially on divine subjects; and the heart is exercised in admiration, gratitude, and praise. The natural

language of praise is poetry, which admits of far more ornaments than prose. This species of composition admits of a degree of elevation and embellishment, which neither the didactic, nor the argumentative, will by any means admit.

In the Dialogues of Theron and Aspasio, the speakers are men of elegant manners, and polite accomplishments-the author has given them a portion of his own genius. Aspasio, in particular, speaks, probably, as Mr. Hervey himself would have done. If it be admitted, that the effect would have been sometimes greater, with more variety of character and more simplicity of diction: with fewer epithets, and less poetic imagery; still these are defects not to be named, when we consider "the pious and benevolent heart which (as the " elegant Dr. Blair observes) is always displayed" in Mr. Hervey's writings.

In his pulpit discourses, we have already seen, he endeavoured to simplify, and even rusticate, his language, in order to reduce it to the capacities of farmers, labourers, and children. Thus, like the great St. Paul, he "became all things to all men, "that by all means he might win some."

Nothing above said is intended, however, to recommend Mr. Hervey's as a proper style for imitation: I am sensible, the attempt has spoiled some, who might otherwise have passed for tolerable writers. Indeed, imitation, except that of nature, is always dangerous, unless we possess a genius of the same kind and size as the author we attempt to copy; and even this cannot insure success, because some things may be admirable in an original writer, which appear flat and insipid in an imitator.

Upon the whole of Mr. Hervey's character, we must pronounce it eminent and extraordinary. The benevolence and generosity of the Man, could only be exceeded by the piety and devotion of the Christian. As a minister, he exerted himself to