glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." May he who is Alpha and Omega in heaven be the same on earth! May your lordship speedily occupy a foremost place among the best friends of his cause, and the most efficient promoters of his kingdom! LETTER IX. TO THE REV. TIMOTHY EAST, TREASURER OF SPRINGHILL COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM. ON THE CHARACTER AND DEATH OF THE LATE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS. MY DEAR SIR,-Your life has been signalized by two events of the highest importance to the good of mankind and the glory of Christ-the conversion of the late Rev. John Williams; and the foundation of Springhill College. The good in which the former of these events has already resulted, and the benefits which will to future ages from the latter, it is impossible to estimate. To you, as the "father in Christ" of the great South Sea missionary, the present letter is addressed, since I know of none to whom, with equal propriety, it could be inscribed. My object is, to delineate his person, talents, habits, and character, and to offer some reflections on his death. "Vixêre fortes ante Agamemnona Multi: sed omnes illacrymabiles Urgentur, ignotique longâ Nocte carent quia vate sacro." The first thing, with regard to his person, that presents itself to us, is his great physical power, which materially contributed to success in his peculiar sphere of missionary effort. He was massive rather than muscular, and strong without remarkable activity: his stature was somewhat above the middle size, his chest one of unusual breadth, the shoulders considerably rounded, and the whole frame bulky and broadly set. His aspect was a little singular; indeed, he was often taken for a foreigner. Few men, skilled in the physiognomical attributes of nations, would have pronounced him an Englishman: most would, perhaps, have found it difficult to determine whether he was of Welsh or of Scotch extraction, but to the one or the other of these countries, and more probably the former, they would have assigned him; though perhaps, some would have pronounced him a German. The Welsh and Scotch, in several points, closely resemble each other; they are both generally of a dark complexion, of hard features, of a somewhat heavy, and rustic appearance, with but little of that airy, elegant, lofty, and, not seldom, reserved deportment, which are chief characteristics of the English. Mr. Williams was strongly marked by the simplicity, kindness, and cordiality of manner which distinguish the inhabitants of the Principality and of the North. There was something strikingly peculiar in the aspect of Mr. Williams. Having been once seen, he was ever after easily recognised; and you could instantly point him out, at a distance, among ten thousand men. The head was very large and long, and greatly wanting in that conical elevation so generally found associated with extreme benevolence-a quality for which, notwith standing, he was so remarkable. The forehead was an oblong square, of no great breadth, and retired considerably. The countenance altogether was one of uncommon benignity; it had all the serenity of the finest summer's eve, shaded with a slight expression of sadness. The eye was soft and lustrous; it sparkled from beneath his dark brows, distinctly bespeaking the benevolence that glowed within. All his features were rounded. This absence of every thing angular about his countenance strikingly indicated the cast of his mind and manners; while there was nothing in his face highly expressive of either intelligence or feeling, every feature evinced simplicity of character, tranquillity of heart, and honesty of purpose. The entire visage, in fact, was so deeply stamped with the impress of good nature and good-will, as to inspire every beholder with immediate confidence. The intellectual corresponded to the corporeal part of Mr. Williams. He was decidedly a man of geniusof great genius-but of genius wholly mechanical. He was also strongly marked by the chief intellectual infirmity of most men of that class. His judgment, although sound, was neither strong, comprehensive, nor exact. Its moral movements closely resembled those of his bulky frame; they were heavy and lagging-wanting in rapidity, dexterity, and decision. He arrived at conclusions by a slow and circuitous process, and yet his long deliberation seldom added to the strength of his convictions. Like most men of great mechanical genius, he was unskilful in the collection, analysis, and balancing of moral evidence; and hence, at times, he had great difficulty in making up his mind to any particular course of conduct. He occasionally lingered long amid L the tortures of suspense. Even after dropping his anchor, he was often driven from his moorings, and tossed on the billows of a painful uncertainty. He was for these reasons much at the mercy of counsellors; and often found that among their "multitude" there was fully as much distraction as "safety." This infirmity arose in part from the "fatal facility" of his disposition. To few able men was the description of the poet less applicable,— "Justem et tenacem propositi virum, Mente quatit solidâ." It is a settled law, in the economy of human affairs, that only decided men can be successful rulers. This fact has been, in all ages, exemplified by the dominant spirits of our race. Mr. Williams was not suited greatly to influence the deliberations, and still less to sway the counsels, of civilized and cultivated men. For this work he was too humble, too modest, and too amiable. There was very little of the agonistic in him, He was too much loved to be sufficiently an object of reverence and of fear. His extreme softness gave him at times an air of weakness. Social influence and severe self-discipline had done nothing towards rectifying this defect; he was, indeed, scarcely conscious of its existence. Previous to his departure for Polynesia, he had received but little moral or mental culture, and his situation there precluded the possibility of much intense application to such pursuits as tend to discipline the will and the understanding. He was too busily employed about still more important matters. The intellectual stature |