they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.' God lent us this precious gift for a while, and when it pleased Him, He resumed it. Ours is the momentary loss; her's the eternal gain. As she said to me, we shall meet again, dear papa.' Yes! dear child, may we so meet! May God give me grace to live more by faith and love, to be a more steady and persevering follower of them, who, through faith and patience, are now inheriting the promises."

From this time till his death, it pleased God to visit him with a succession of severe family trials. On the death of his eldest daughter, the second, Ellen Mary, who was no less endeared to him than her sister, by her truly Christian character, began to manifest symptoms of the same fatal disease; and within four years, followed her sister to the grave. The same calm resignation was manifested on this, as on the former affliction; yet, so sensibly was he affected by the remembrance of both his children, that he could not bring himself to peruse their letters or other papers after their death. He had, indeed, one strong ground of consolation, under both these trials, in the conviction he felt of their meetness to depart. The following is an extract from a letter, written to a friend, on the death of his second daughter, May 8, 1823 :

"It has pleased God to take from us another

child, our second daughter, after a long and painful conflict; an illness, I may call it, of more than three years : indeed, she never was in health for more than six years before her death. I cannot enter upon this now; I hope to write to you again, and then give you some particulars. But heavy as the trial was to her and to us, there was much mercy mingled with the cup. We had much solid and satisfactory evidence of her state. She had great knowledge of her Bible; and not only a clear view of the scheme of Redemption, but, I trust, through grace, a sincere and heartfelt reception of it. She rested on no other hope or foundation than her Saviour. She was very humble and selfaccusing; and few have been more disciplined, or trained for heaven in a severer school. She never knew the evil of the world, in mixing at all with it; for she, literally, never stepped out into the world. For a long time past she had no desire to live, but a real desire to depart; and that not merely because she suffered so much, but, as I verily believe, because she knew to be with Christ was far better."

By these afflicting dispensations, his heavenly Father (who, the Christian is taught to believe, chastens whom he loves, that they may not be condemned with the world) was gradually weaning and withdrawing his affections from earth to heaven, purifying him from the alloy of earthly

feelings, that he might be fitted to dwell for ever in the fulness of his presence.

more.

Mr. Richards had entertained scruples on the propriety of his holding preferment on which he could not reside; and it had formed, therefore, a matter of anxious deliberation with himself, whether he should not resign either St. Michael's or WedThe following words appear in his journal, in reference to this subject: "What shall I do? the good Spirit direct me. Let me pray for a right and honest determination, whether it is the will of Providence I shall give up one or the other, and which. Lord! direct my heart." With the same feelings he wrote to his brother on the subject. "Is it right, in foro conscientiæ (as a Christian should determine it), for me to hold Bath and Wedmore together; and as to consequences, is it not a distrust of Providence to hesitate on this score? I wish to open my mind fully and freely to you. Think for me, and pray for me, that I may do what is right, and give me your advice." At times, when he was depressed and overcome by his labours at Bath, he thought that he ought to retire to Wedmore; but his friends dissuaded him from leaving a situation for which he was so eminently qualified. He then resolved on the resignation of Wedmore, and more than once pressed it unre

*

servedly on the patron, who refused accepting it. A letter from the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, bearing testimony to this fact, as well as to some points in his character, is, with his Lordship's permission, subjoined in the Appendix.1 Under these circumstances, he felt it more than ever his duty not to neglect the people of Wedmore, but to make every exertion for their benefit and improvement. In conjunction with his highly valued and respected friend, the Bishop of Lichfield (who had succeeded Dr. Lukin, in the deanery of Wells), he established, after some opposition, a daily school for the poor children. His care and concern were farther evinced by his exertions in erecting, by subscription, a chapel of ease in the hamlet of Blackford, which was distant two miles from the parish church, and which, with one or two adjoining hamlets, contained a united population of six hundred. The chapel, on being completed, was consecrated, in August, 1823, by the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, who officiated for the Bishop of the Diocese, and preached on the occasion. A resident curate was appointed; Mr. R. voluntary contributing £50. a year towards

1 See No. 5, in the Appendix, p. 428.

2 In the first edition it was stated by mistake, that Mr. Richards preached at the opening of the chapel; but he only assisted in the administration of the Sacrament.

his salary, till a regular stipend could be obtained. An adequate endowment has since been procured, by a grant from Queen Anne's bounty, through the kind intervention of the present Bishop of Bath and Wells. These good offices on the part of their vicar were not lost upon the inhabitants of Wedmore. He was beloved by many, and respected by all. He constantly preached when he visited Wedmore: the church was always well attended, and his presence cordially welcomed. On one of his visits he was presented with a piece of plate, the joint offering of a number of his parishioners; which mark of their affection it was most gratifying to him to receive.

From what has been stated, it will appear that Mr. Richards's labours in Bath had been gradually increasing. The care of the Dispensary added to his parochial charge; attendance on Societies, which he considered himself bound to countenance;1 an extensive correspondence, and an acquaintance unavoidably enlarged by introduction to stran

He interested himself in most of the religious and benevolent Societies in Bath. He was a member of the General Board of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and of the Bath District Committee from its commencement in 1812. He took an active part in the formation of the Bath Church Missionary Association, instituted in Dec. 1817. He was a member of the Bath Auxiliary Bible Society from the time of its first establishment in 1812, and held the office of Secretary from the year 1814 till his death.