THE Success which has attended the sale of th first edition of this Memoir, and the very favourabl reception given to it by the religious public, are cir cumstances which have afforded me real pleasure and not the less on account of the emolument whic will thus accrue to Mrs. Bramwell. In the absenc of all pretensions to literary fame from the executio of the work, (my labour having been little more tha that of compilation, arrangement, and correction, it is yet most gratifying to find that the perusal of i has been attended with much spiritual benefit bot to saints and sinners: This is the result for which was most anxious, and I thank God that it has bee granted to me.

The supercilious manner in which certain portion of the Memoir have been viewed by a few profan persons has been no serious abatement to this grate ful feeling. For, as the preceding preface will show I had calculated, that so long as "the carnal mind i enmity against God," it cannot receive "the things of the Spirit," however clearly revealed or accurately expressed. To such persons these subjects "ar foolishness; they cannot know them, because they ar spiritually discerned."

MEMOIR

OF

MR. WILLIAM BRAMWELL.

CHAPTER I.

Mr. Bramwell's birth, parentage, and education-His father's excellent instructions-Anecdote-The moral qualities of his youth-Early indisposition-His antipathy to settling in Liverpool-He is bound apprentice to a currier.

MR. WILLIAM BRAMWELL, the subject of this memoir, was born in February, in the year 1759, at Elswick, (a village nearly ten miles from Preston,) in the parish of Saint Michael, Lancashire. His parents, George and Elizabeth Bramwell, had a family of eleven children, of whom William was the tenth. Mrs. Har greave, of Westgate Hill, near Birstal, and Mrs. Jones, of Liverpool, are now the only surviving members of this once large and flourishing family. The others have accomplished their warfare, and are gathered to their fathers. When we contemplate the disappearance of whole families, with many of whom the best affections of our hearts have long been associated, may we not join in the exclamation of the man of God,"Your fathers,-where are they? And the prophets, -do they live for ever?"

Mr. Bramwell's parents were warmly attached to the Established Church; and, according to the light which they possessed, educated their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But their religious views were exceedingly circumscribed. Nor were they singular in this respect; for spiritual darkness at that period nearly enveloped this Christian land. The gospel light introduced at the time of the Reformation had dwindled away into obscurity; and “blind leaders of the blind" were too frequently the

only guides of the people. Mr. Bramwell's native village, and several other towns in Lancashire, were among the most benighted parts of England. The Roman Catholics then composed, and still form, a considerable part of the population of that county. The members of other denominations therefore assumed not a little consequence from being styled PROTESTANTS. Without possessing greater spiritual light than their Popish neighbours, they considered this name as the test of religion, and the passport to sanctity.

A chapel of ease, called Cop Chapel, was the place of worship frequented by Mr. Bramwell's parents. Though it was situated about a mile from their house, yet, whatever might be the state of the weather, they were scrupulously exact in attending the service of the church, with all their family, every sabbath. It was their earnest wish, that their children should be observant of every moral obligation, and attentive to all the duties of life. Beyond this, their ideas of pure religion had never extended. In love with the form of godliness, they were destitute of its power. They did not perceive the necessity of constant divine influence and of spiritual regeneration. A rigid adherence to the ceremonies of the church, was the highest standard of their piety; and none of their children could be guilty of a more grievous offence against them than that of absenting themselves from the church service, or resorting to the meeting house of some other denomination. Mr. Bramwell's father was particularly reserved towards his children. On this account, they were prevented from making him their confident, and could approach him with no other feeling than that of awe or dread.

It was, however, a great benefit to Mr. Bramwell, that he was blessed with parents whose knowledge and practice so nearly coincided. We are at this day in the habit of looking back with pity and compassion on the ignorance of those elder times, and of expressing our thankfulness for the superior illumination of these

our glorious days. And in this we act aright, if the retrospect incline us to improve our privileges. But with our uncommon advantages, would there be any misapplication of Scripture, if this passage were repeated to us?" Wo unto thee, Chorazin! Wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!"

From his parents, whose religious attainments, it is seen, were very limited, Mr. Bramwell imbibed the most profound veneration for the Lord's day. And indeed what man ever attained to any eminence in piety, who was not very scrupulous in his regard to the sabbath? As an instance of his extreme tenderness of conscience in this respect, it may be stated, that, during his apprenticeship, he was much attached to botanical pursuits, and kept a number of curious plants and shrubs in the window of his lodging-room. Although some of them, from their delicacy, required particular care and attention, yet if he had neglected to water them on the Saturday evening, and found them drooping in consequence on the Sunday, he would not by watering them commit an act which he considered a breach of the observance of that sacred day, but postponed it until the following morning.

Proper attention to the sabbath must always lead in its train a corresponding love for the word of God, and regular habits of perusing it. In Mr. G. Bramwell's family, this was a part of the required duties of that holy day. All the children had their portion of reading assigned them, and were taught to regard the sacred volume as a revelation of mercy from heaven.

How salutary has an early knowledge of the Scriptures often proved! The holy principles which they inculcate, frequently remain latent in the youthful breast until they are elicited by providential circumstances. Then it is that their peculiar importance and gracious effects are very perceptible. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the word of God has been silently "preparing the way of the Lord;" and when

once the heart has been inflamed by a spark of grace, the subjects of this divine change have themselves been amazed at the readiness with which they could bring out of the treasure house of their memory, things new and old.

We may see the effect which this early acquaintance with Scripture truth produced in the mind of the Rev. John Newton, the friend of the poet Cowper. The portions of God's word which he had read when but four years of age, were brought to his recollection above twenty years afterwards, at the time of his short captivity on the coast of Africa. He wondered at the great harvest which had been almost unconsciously husbanded; and when he was not possessed of a Bible to which he could have recourse, and which, with the perverse feelings which he then evinced, he would have been unwilling to peruse,-his unassisted memory furnished him with supplies in abundance. At forty years of age, by a wonderful train ofcircumstances, he became a minister in the Established Church, and during a space of nearly half a century edified the age in which he lived, and left materials in his writings for instructing future generations. To a similar early initiation in scriptural knowledge, we may attribute the same effects in Mr. William Bramwell. It was owing to this cause that he became a good textuary, and with the utmost ease acquired the habit of referring to the Scriptures for the proof and illustration of the doctrines which he preached.

By his parents Mr. Bramwell was also instructed in a strict regard to truth. And this was not inculcated by precept or exhortation alone, but happily recommended by practice. His father, like the great Epaminondas, never told a lie, even in jest. Of whatever importance the affair might be in which George Bramwell's name was mentioned, if it were known that he had sanctioned any thing by his affirmation, his neighbours considered his word to be decisive, and required no farther proof of the authenticity of that matter. For the same humble imitation of the God of truth, his