in the university) of sound learning and good morals, should begin to raise a superstructure of such materials as may render him an ornament to his profession, and a satisfaction to his friends. "I should here feel myself guilty of much ingratitude, or at least of much unpardonable neglect, if I did not, at this period of my life, return you my most sincere and unfeigned thanks for the repeated testimonies of affection and generosity, which I have experienced for upwards of two-and-twenty years at your hands: more especially do I feel myself indebted to you, during the last four years, for placing me in a situation in which I have enjoyed numberless happy hours; have formed friendships and connexions, which are a source of honest pride and satisfaction; and have had an opportunity (which I hope I have not entirely thrown away) of making great proficiency in such studies and acquirements, as must and will be the chief basis of my future usefulness and happiness. If such be the obligations which I owe to your kindness, what must be my insensibility to every tie of affection, and to every principle of honourable feeling, were I deficient in my expressions of gratitude to the benevolent author of so many blessings. Indeed, sir, I am neither ungrateful nor insensible. It has not been my custom, hitherto, to make long professions, nor to enter into a detail of my internal feelings; and, perhaps, owing to a deficiency of this kind, I may have suffered in your opinion, on some particular occasions, more than I deserved. It now appears, therefore, to be the more advisable to unfold myself at large, observing, at the same time, that the chief faults and errors of which I hitherto have been, and of which I am still, I fear, too susceptible, have not arisen from any source of moral depravity, or innate viciousness; but from an evil, which I see much too prevalent among young men, and from the contagion of which I have not been entirely able to escape; I mean, the want of resolution to resist temptation, when it is opposed to their better convictions. A very moderate acquaintance with the younger part, at least, of mankind, will convince any observer, that a certain degree of irresolution is by no means inconsistent with many better qualities, and often has its origin rather in the influence of external example, than in any real viciousness of the heart. But I can truly say, that I am very desirous of becoming such as your most sanguine wishes could expect, and I look up to a superior Power for assistance not to violate these my resolutions. "It appears to me, that in reviewing the respective merits of the different professions, and in determining upon one of them, a very intimate self-examination is requisite, previous to the formation of any fixed resolution. It has been my endeavour for five months past to pursue this difficult undertaking; and I hope I have not failed in the attempt. The church and the law are the two subjects to which I have directed my attention. I have consulted my own inclinations, abilities, deficiencies, merits and demerits, and examined them in as many points of view as I have been able, in order to determine which of those professions was the best calculated to promote my own happiness, and the welfare of others. My present determination is in favour of the former, principally from the following considerations. The sacred profession is in itself without doubt the most respectable and the most useful in which any man of principle and education can possibly be engaged. The benefits which it is the province of the clergyman to bestow on his fellow-creatures are more widely disseminated, and are in themselves more intrinsically valuable, than those of every other profession or employment united together. To a conscientious mind, therefore, that line of life appears to be the most eligible, in which he may be enabled to do the most solid good to mankind. "One further argument with myself for preferring the church to the law is, that I have found, from four years' experience, a strong inclination to study several branches of literature, which are far more connected with the church than with the law, as neither their nature nor the time requisite to be bestowed upon them would allow the lawyer to exercise himself in them. What these are shall be the subject of future information to you. At present, my desire of becoming a VERY good general scholar is so much stronger than that of becoming an EXTREMELY good particular one, that I am convinced I could not throw aside the hopes of pursuing my favourite views in that way, and dedicating myself solely to one, and that perhaps not the most inviting, without the utmost regret. "Your affectionate son, In these views Dr. Richmond ultimately expressed his acquiescence, though his own wishes inclined him to recommend the choice of the bar; and thus was the profession of the church de-, termined upon, for which he subsequently proved to be so singularly qualified, and in which his influence and services were so widely felt and acknowledged. He continued to reside at Cambridge till the end of the Midsummer term, in 1797, pursuing those studies which were more immediately connected with his future destination. The following letter, the last that he wrote from college to his father, expresses his sentiments more fully on the subject of the ministry, and of his preparation for those duties, on which he was now on the eve of entering. It is dated June 30th, 1797. "My dear Father, "I take this opportunity of returning you my most hearty and sincere thanks for all your kindness to me during my stay at Cambridge, for nearly the last eight years. I look back on the time which I have there spent, with a considerable mixture of pain and pleasure. That I have done things which I ought not to have done, and neglected to do things which I ought to have done, is most true: yet have I added very considerably to my stock of literary information-have gained the good-will and approbation of many respectable and good men-have made acquaintances and friends of several literary and worthy characters-have enabled myself, I trust, by the improvement of my abilities, such as they are, hereafter to maintain myself. I have also had an opportunity of contemplating men, manners, and morals, to a very extensive degree; and finally, in an age of much infidelity, and surrounded by many whose principles savoured strongly of irreligion, I have built up a fabric of confidence in, and love for, that holy religion of which I am now a professor. To this I ultimately look as my future guide through life, and hope it will enable me to bear with fortitude those evils which may be in store for me; for who can expect exemption? In return for these advantages, I have to offer you my gratitude, and my affection; and let what will hereafter become of me, bear in mind that it is not in the power of any thing human to lessen either the one or the other. I am now preparing to undertake what I cannot but consider as a most serious and weighty charge-the sole responsibility, as resident clergyman of two parishes. So far as information is required, I hope I have not laboured in vain; so far as good resolution is concerned, I trust I am not deficient: as regards my success and future conduct in this important calling, I pray God's assistance to enable me to do my duty, and to become a worthy member of the Established Church; a church founded on the purest and most exalted principles of unsophisticated Christianity, as delivered by its divine author himself, and confirmed and explained by his inspired successors. The character of a fashionable parson is my aversion; that of an ignorant or careless one, I see with pity and contempt; that of a dissipated one, with shame; and that of an unbelieving one, with horror. I wish you to read a little book lately published, intituled, 'Dialogues on the Amusements of Clergymen.' You will be pleased with it, as will my mother also, I am certain. I am very busy preparing sermons for my future flock. It requires much practice to write with fluency and ease. Believe me to be, with every sentiment of regard and affection, "Your son, L. RICHMOND." "To Dr. Richmond, Grecian Coffee House, London." Mr. Richmond was ordained deacon in the month of June, 1797, and took the degree of M. A. the beginning of July, in the same year. On the 22d of the same month, he was married to Mary, only daughter of James William Chambers, Esq. of the city of Bath; immediately after which, he proceeded to the Isle of Wight, and entered upon the curacies of the adjoining parishes of Brading and Yaverland, on the 24th of July. He was ordained priest in February, 1798. CHAPTER III. His entrance on his professional duties-Remarkable change in his views and conduct, and the incident that occasioned it-Reflections on the foregoing event. MR. RICHMOND appears to have entered on the ministry with the desire and aim of discharging its important duties in a conscientious manner; and he manifested such propriety of conduct in his moral deportment, and in the general duties of his new charge, as to procure for him the character of a highly respectable and useful young clergyman. A few months, however, after his residence at Brading, a most important revolution took place in his views and sentiments, which produced a striking and prominent change in the manner and matter of his preaching, as well as in the general tenor and conduct of his life. This change was not a conversion from immorality to morality; for he was strictly moral, in the usual acceptation of the term. Neither was it a conversion from heterodoxy to orthodoxy; but it was a conversion from orthodoxy in name and profession, to orthodoxy in its spirit, ten dency, and influence. But, before we indulge in any further remarks, it is necessary to record the particulars of the occurrence to which we have alluded. Shortly after he had entered on his curacies, one of his college friends was on the eve of taking holy orders, to whom a near relative had sent Mr. Wilberforce's 'Practical View of Christianity.' This thoughtless candidate for the momentous charge of the Christian ministry, forwarded the book to Mr. Richmond, requesting him to give it a perusal, and to inform what he must say respecting its contents. In compliance with this request, he began to read the book, and found himself so deeply interested in its contents, that the volume was not laid down until the perusal of it was completed. The night was spent in reading and reflecting upon the important truths contained in this valuable and impressive work. In the course of his employment, the soul of the reader was penetrated to its inmost recesses; and the effect produced in innumerable instances by the book of God, was, in this case, accomplished by means of a human composition. From that period his mind received a powerful impulse, and was no longer able to rest under its former impressions. A change was effected in his views of divine truth, as decided as it was influential. He was no longer satisfied with the creed of the speculatist―he felt a conviction of his own state, as a guilty and condemned sinner, and under that conviction, he sought mercy at the cross of the Saviour. There arose in his mind a solemn consciousness that, however outwardly moral and apparently irreproachable his conduct might appear to men, yet, within, there was wanting that entire surrender of the heart, that ascendancy of God in the soul, and that devotedness of life and conduct, which distinguishes morality from holiness-an assent to divine truth, from its cordial reception into the heart; and the external profession of religion, from its inward and transforming power. The impressions awakened were, therefore, followed by a transfer of his time, his talents, and his affections, to the service of his God and Saviour, and to the spiritual welfare of the flock committed to his care. But while his mind was undergoing this inward process, it is necessary to state how laborious he was in his search after truth. The Bible became the frequent and earnest subject of his examination, prayer, and meditation. His object was fontes haurire sacros-to explore truth at its fountain head, or, in the emphatic language of Scripture, to "draw water out of the wells of salvation." From the study of the Bible, he proceeded to a minute examination of the writings of the Reformers, which, by a singular coincidence, came into his pos |