partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." His views of the Divine character were remarkably clear, and, therefore, in the highest degree consolatory. He was himself a happy man, a cheerful Christian! They who saw him but for a few minutes would have pronounced him a man of a joyous spirit. He seemed to walk in the beams of a perpetual sunshine. In this respect, perhaps, no man ever formed a more striking contrast to David Brainerd. The dismal gloom, the deep depression, the lonely sorrow, of that holy but melancholy man, sadly contrasted with the peace, the comfort, the hope, and the gladness of the Martyr of Erromanga! Truly “the joy of the Lord was his strength.” A man of melancholy temperament, a man with dark and doleful views of the gospel of mercy, is not a proper person to be sent to the field of missions. Clear ideas of the Saviour's person, work, and offices, and of the whole scheme of salvation, with an accurate impress of it upon the heart, and a lovely exhibition of it in the life, are essential qualifications of a good missionary ; and such were those which distinguished the late Mr. Williams. 66 Inspicere tanquam in speculum in vitas omnium Liberality of spirit, my dear Sir, was another very marked feature of your son's character. This resulted from his benevolence and his piety: the former of these knew no bounds; and the latter was such as to bid God speed to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. He was the friend of all who were the friends of Christ. His great liberality was also to be ascribed, in no small measure, to his early training in the Tabernacle, where the spirit of sects and parties had no place, and where the question of their comparative claims to an accordance with the Sacred Scriptures was never discussed or mentioned in his hearing. In that venerable house, indeed, at the period of his connection with it, there was much-very much ignorance upon points relating to ecclesiastical polity,-points which it is of the utmost importance for the people of God to understand, because of their spiritual and practical bearing. If, however, young Williams had received upon this subject no lessons of truth, neither had he of error. He went forth with his mind a comparative blank respecting all that appertains to controversy about church order and Christian ordinances. Wherever he found a consistent believer, he found a brother, and as such he was ready to embrace him. He knew no church but the church of Christ: he was for all that were for his Lord! A mind like his, however, so industrious and so inquisitive, was not likely to remain long without some settled notions on this great and important subject. When he arrived in England in 1834, he accordingly manifested a perfect acquaintance with it. He had become, from conviction, sincere and deep, a Dissenter from the Church of England and from all Ecclesiastical Establishments. He perceived them to be rotten at the core-founded in fatal error, and irreconcilably hostile to the quiet of nations, the peace of churches, and the true interests of Christ's kingdom. This opinion he most firmly, though mildly held; and, upon all proper occasions, was ready to avow it. But these correct views upon this momentous question did not in the least sour his temper, contract his heart, or cool the ardour of his charity. He was the sameunchanged and unchangeable-in his love to the people of God, and benevolence to the whole family of man. He had learned to love his principles without hating his brethren! No man, for instance, was more opposed than he, to some of the tenets, both religious and political, of the Wesleyan Methodists; yet hear how nobly he speaks of that most active and praiseworthy body: —“In my visit to Tongatabu, I was truly delighted to find that the missionaries had received a printing-press, and that it was most actively engaged in preparing the word of life for the people. Its invaluable operations were commenced in April, 1831, and by November, 1832, twenty-nine thousand one hundred copies of small books, containing five millions seven hundred and seventy-two thousand pages, had been struck off. Such facts furnish delightful evidence of the untiring diligence of the missionaries who supplied the matter, and of the perseverance of Mr. Wood, who had charge of the mighty engine. Indeed, if sterling piety, and entire devotedness to the cause of God among the heathen, can insure success, our Wesleyan brethren at the Friendly Islands will have a distinguished portion."* "Et meæ, si quid loquar audiendum, Mechanical ingenuity was a striking feature in the character of Mr. Williams. He was highly endowed with the faculty of invention, and would have attained distinction had he devoted himself to the improved application of mechanic powers. The exercise of his genius in this direction was one of the sources of his amazing success in the missionary field. Magic and miracles would not have stood him in half the stead of his skill in the useful arts. His exhibitions in this way spoke to the senses of the savages, who stood in dumb amazement, and confessed the white man's superiority. The art to which he had been specially bred, -that of a smith,-was, of all arts, to him infinitely the most important. The art of working in iron stands at the head of all others: they are all subordinate to it, and dependent upon it. In no country has civilization ever been known to precede the use of iron. It is essential as an instrument in the cultivation of the soil, * Williams, p. 123. and in the production of every comfort of civilized life. Combined with this highly important fact, is the wellknown circumstance, that the art of working in iron surpasses in usefulness all other arts, as much as iron itself surpasses all other materials put in requisition by the wants and habits of civilized life. Cicero well observes that there is an affinity among the sciences, so that he who has become an adept in one, is, to some extent, initiated in the rest. So likewise is it in regard to languages. But besides the affinities,-the principles common to them all,-there are leading sciences, and leading languages, the mastery of which renders further conquests an easy achievement. The analogy is complete in the case before us. He who has thoroughly acquired the art of working in iron will be at no loss, though at first but rudely, to work in other substances. All sorts of wood-work, house-building, ship-building, agricultural implements, and all that is necessary to the early stages of civilization, will come within his province and his power. The mathematical principles of these two trades, in particular, have much in common; and working in wood is simple and easy compared with iron. These facts explain the secret of Mr. Williams's remarkable skill in all mechanical operations-operations which, in the first instance, constituted his great charm in the eyes of the poor natives-operations which so amazingly contributed to his success in promoting civilization, and operations which form one of the chief and most interesting features of his "Enterprises." Had he been bred to any other art, he would have made a very different and a very subordinate figure in Polynesia. Had he gone to any other part of the mission field, his skill in working iron, and his great mechanical genius, had been of comparatively little use, and, in most places, of absolutely none. Had he been appointed to the West Indies, to Hindostan, to China, to Madagascar, or to South Africa, he would still have been a respectable missionary; but he would never have shone with that peculiar and peerless splendour which now surrounds his name. No man ever owed more to providential circumstances than John Williams they made him. No man, on the other hand, ever more promptly and aptly met the enlarged and ever-varying demands of such circumstances, mastered their current, and turned them to his purpose. In all great movements, priority is immortality. There can no more be a second Williams than a second Diaz, a second Columbus, or a second Newton. From first to last, events conspired to stamp his character with an undying reputation. His labours in Polynesia, the record of those labours in the "Enterprises," his favour in the eyes of the noblest aristocracy of England,—the original idea of a missionary ship, his public embarkation for the field of his ministerial triumphs, the martyrdom of Erromanga,—this, my dear Sir, was a series of events which could not fail to secure for John Williams a niche in the temple of immortality; and if, in after ages, some educated Polynesian shall be called to furnish the inscription, he will write, A spirit of adventure strongly marked the character of Mr. Williams. His undaunted soul bore him through a multitude of difficulties which would have deterred most men. Yet, with all his courage, he was far from being rash. Prudence regulated every movement of his life; and, till the fatal hour of his martyrdom on the ruthless shores of Erromanga, we see, upon all occasions, one uniform course of manly courage, combined with undeviating discretion. He was in his element when searching for a new island, or pro |