leaped from the edge of the sinking vessel into the water, and in a strain of bantering blasphemy, said, "The Lord has smote us now!" and jokingly asked his companions if they had any commands to his black friends below. The close of this scene, how dreadful!-though but a small distance from the shore, he sank before he reached it, never to rise alive again! What a lesson for the scoffers at morality! Is not this example enough to convert the most hardened atheist? From the circumstances attending this horrid adventure, it seems evident to me that Providence interposed."-(pp. 40—42.)

Our readers will, we are sure, be greatly more interested in the religious than in the public or political character of Lord Teignmouth, and we shall therefore only so far speak of the second as it is necessary for the illustration of the first. Acting from a sense of duty, he had opposed many of the measures of Mr. Hastings, the Governor-general, and this, at the apparent sacrifice of his prospects in the service;-but honesty and integrity accomplished what policy and subserviency might have attempted in vain. The very circumstance which appeared fatal to his advancement, mainly contributed to it. Mr. Hastings, having abolished the provincial council, transferred the power exercised by them to a board of his own creation, consisting of four members. To the first post was appointed Mr. David Anderson, a servant of the Company, much respected for his zeal and abilities. But, anticipating the need of this gentleman himself on special missions, Mr. Hastings consulted him on filling the second place at the board, which would require qualifications not inferior to his own. Mr. Anderson at once recommended Mr. Shore; and when the governor-general expressed surprise at the mention of an individual whom he regarded as one of his most zealous opponents"Appoint Mr. Shore," was his reply, "and in six months you and he will have formed a friendship." The proposal was assented to, and the prediction was fulfilled. Mr. Hastings both prized and practised honesty, and though Mr. Shore was as far as ever from approving the measures, he could nevertheless do justice to

the man.

Mr. Shore retained his new official situation till his return to England in 1785. We have space only for one specimen of the manner in which he discharged its duties; and assuredly it will clearly exhibit the lineaments of a character which, even here, was "not far from the kingdom of God."

"In the end of 1783 and beginning of 1784, I was charged with a public commission, to regulate the affairs of Patna province, a country in extent equal to Scotland. A severe scarcity prevailed, and demanded all my exertions to check its dreadful influence; and I was happy to succeed in some degree. One day, when I walking in the fields, weak in body and uneasy in mind, a poor native, whose sufferings I had relieved, was proceeding in the same path; and I heard him exclaim, May God prolong thy life, and restore thy health, for thou hast saved the lives of the poor!' This indeed

was a reward for all my exertions; and I felt the force of it with a satisfaction I would not have bartered for thousands. Often, in the hours of sickness and uneasiness, have I recollected this exclamation of gratitude."—(pp. 75, 76.)

This is an extract from a letter written many years after the

event.

In 1784 Mr. Shore received intelligence of his mother's death. "Whether this melancholy event will prolong or shorten your stay in India," wrote his brother, "I know not; but suppose, as you have constantly and uniformly detested that country, this small acquisition of fortune may determine you to come home. This, with what you have acquired in India, may probably enable you to live in England according to your moderate wishes, though not in proportion to the trouble and difficulty you had in acquiring it." This fraternal estimate of character was just. At the close of the year, Mr. Shore, to use his own expression, began to look toward England. "You know," he said, in writing to a friend, "how moderate my fortune is; but I have neither avarice nor ambition. I have long held a situation here; if I had been half the knave every one is supposed by the patriots of England to be, I might have secured £40,000 or £50,000 per annum, for the last four years. Believe me, I have never regretted I have not done it; and (am) more happy in the savings of my salary, which is avowed, than I should be in ten times the amount acquired by means I dare not avow. And unless I am compelled by ill health to return home sooner than I purpose, the modicum I possess, with the small addition I may acquire in the interval, will be sufficient for my purpose. If I had more, I should then have a satisfaction I may want that of assisting others more liberally than I shall now be able to do." These are indeed the genuine sentiments of a noble mind, and it is upon such that if greatness be thrust, they are found equal to the burden. The best comment on him is the fact that Mr. Shore returned to his native land, after an absence of sixteen years, with a fortune under £20,000; less than one-half the profits of rapacity and extortion for a single year. But the mens conscia recti was his own-and as many lacs of rupees as made up the Company's entire revenue would have been a most inadequate compensation for the loss of it.

It was with melancholy feelings that Mr. Shore landed in England, in the bright month of June. His sunshine was destined to commence in the gloomy season of November. Paying a visit to his brother, at Duryard near Exeter, he was received by a young lady of great personal attractions, whom a snow-storm had retained at the house, his brother and sister being absent; and in a single

interview his affections became engaged. Indians are proverbially expeditious under these delicate circumstances, and Mr. Shore made such good use of his opportunities, that he became the happiest of men in the ensuing February, and in March one of the most miserable. His honeymoon was scarcely at the full, when there came to him the death-warrant of its short-lived happiness, in the shape of a summons to India, to become a member of the supreme council. The offer was too flattering to be refused, especially by a man of very moderate income, and, after a brief struggle between love and ambition, the following April saw him on his voyage to India, "envying," he says, "John the Painter, whom he saw hanging in chains at the place of embarkation."

But the cloud which overhung him in this mood of melancholy soon dispersed. He sought refuge from distressing thoughts where it never can be sought in vain; in duty, and in devotion. "I do not recollect any period," he wrote, "in which I have been so regular in my devotions. Nothing else could have afforded me the least consolation; all human considerations were useless. The advice and encouragement of my friends; the powerful arguments derived from the smallness of my income, and the prospect of increasing it; all appeared weak and feeble, and retained no portion of the influence they had over me in England." Duty, indeed, speedily became of so overpowering a character, as to leave little time for melancholy. There being but two active members of the supreme council, the responsibility of several very important measures devolved in the absence of the Governor General upon Mr. Shore. His principle of action was worthy of himself. "Honesty in a political line," he said, "I conceive the best policy, as well as in private life." And it was his unremitting endeavour to wipe off the reproach which a long series of moral obliquities in that country had entailed upon the name of Englishmen. Liberal remuneration to the faithful servant was, he conceived, the most effectual mode of preventing peculation, and he did his utmost to correct that misjudging economy, which holds out the strongest temptation to fraud, and becomes, in the estimation of the worldly man, almost a justification of it. He succeeded partially, though he still found reason to complain, that "the Committee of Directors, however liberally disposed they may be to us, do not at least express it as they ought to do." We will, however, provide our readers with some materials, which will be to them of greater interest, as showing first the sense which this high functionary entertained of the value of the day of rest, and then the purposes to which he was accustomed to devote it. In a letter to Mrs. Shore we have the following:

"Sunday, April 6.-Retirement from the world, abstraction from business, and thinking upon you, all dispose me to seriousness and melancholy. Happy is it, indeed, for my bodily as well as intellectual health, that one day in seven intervenes for rest and reflection; without it, the occupations and follies of life would destroy both The conviction that I entertain of the existence of the Deity, of his providence, and of a future state, was never stronger upon my mind than at present. I cherish and fortify this conviction by reason, reflection, and practice, as the only basis of hope-as the sole preservation against misfortune."-(p. 153.)

April 13-My mind is daily more impressed with a sense of my dependence on the Deity-of his providence, mercies, and benevolence: and I think it is cheerful in proportion as this conviction gains strength. If this is the effect of sickness and weakness of constitution, I ought to rejoice at a cause which has restored me to my senses; and if the effect continues-hard as the task may prove, severe though the trial may be-you ought to console yourself, if it should please providence to deprive you of me. Such are my reflections at this moment: yet I will not say that they will always have the same force. My past life has been such as to deprive me of this confidence; and involved as I am in worldly business, in which my passions, feelings, and principles are interested, they may again be dissipated or weakened. present occupation has a tendency to weaken them.

My

"Sunday is with me a day of retirement. I seclude myself from all visitors, and for this day renounce business. I begin it with thanksgivings, and adorations of Him to whom I owe my being. Part of the day is employed in repeating this duty, in reading proper books, in writing to you, and in study or rest. Such is my general, but not invariable practice; for the day sometimes passes in idle dissipation, or even business."-(pp. 155, 156.)

Even this, however, was but the dawn of light upon the soul. Mr. Shore's religion was still that of impulse rather than of principle; of conviction, not conversion. He had not learned the necessity of continual supply of the oil that feeds the sacred flame. During this period of his residence in India, he rarely attended the services of the church, and he added one to the many examples on record, that to deprive the religion of the Gospel of its social character, is to forego a privilege and a blessing to ourselves. He might, to extenuate his neglect of duty, spend the morning "in writing to his wife and to his brother, and in reading over one-third of Bishop Butler's Analogy," but it was a grand mistake, and he seems to have found it so, for he endeavours to excuse it after the usual fashion: by charging the indifference of the hearer to the account of the imperfection of the minister. "One of the two chaplains at the presidency is a man of great learning, and very general knowledge; you find it in his preaching. The other has neither; and his sermons have been prescribed to me, as remedies against the watchfulness that disorders me. They are both men of respectable moral character; and usually with me on this day. On Christmas Day I was at church. Perhaps I may sometimes pass Sunday as rationally and religiously as those that constantly attend it." How emphatically do these words verify the language of holy writ, that "the heart of man is

deceitful above all things." Here is a contingencey, where there ought to be certainty; an occasional recognition of duty, the very essence of which consists in the uniformity of its observance. This gentleman, a pattern of honesty in worldly things, does "perhaps," and "perhaps " does "sometimes;" what is, according to his own standard, an integral and inseparable part of a divine command-"remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy." We believe the experience of Lord Teignmouth in his declining years will exhibit the direct reverse of this. He learnt under better teaching than that of his own fine intellect, that the promises of God are to be sought in the way of God's commandments, and that no diligence of private reading and meditation could compensate for the forfeiture of the benefit peculiarly held forth in these words,-" Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Mr. Shore, having completed the arduous task allotted to himthe preparation of the permanent settlement of the revenues, and having raised his character in a far greater degree than he had increased his income, embarked for England in December, 1789; landed at Portsmouth, April 24, 1790; (not now, as some years before, envying John the Painter) and had the happiness to find Mrs. Shore and his daughter in good health. He was received in the most flattering manner by all parties, and a baronetcy being offered was wisely declined, on the ground of the incompatibility of poverty and titles. Indeed, the income on which he now settled, as he believed, for life, was only £900. a year; of which only €100. had been the fruit of his long and painful absence. Two years he lived in contented mediocrity, happy in the enjoyment of domestic peace, and of literary and social enjoyment-and was on his journey from Clifton to Devonshire, to engage the lease of a house for seven years, which he regarded as taking a lease for life, when a messenger arrived from London, conveying to him the offer of the governor-generalship of India, on the expected resignation of Lord Cornwallis. He at first declined the honour. "One tear," he said, "of my beloved Charlotte, dissipates in a moment the illusions of vanity and ambition." But his

wife was every way worthy of the noble heart in which she reigned. She would not be the Cleopatra for whom he should be content to lose the world; for whom, rather we would say, the world should be constrained to lose him. Her judicious counsel induced him not to forego the honour from which he had originally shrunk; and the following concise but pithy notice of the appointment, which appears in Mr. Wilberforce's published correspondence, will exhibit the judgment of one who was among the best qualified to judge.