earnestness in the cause of truth, where more was reasonably to be expected, without making due allowance for that diversity of constitution and temperament by which the most worthy characters are seen to be distinguished. Opinions which he had taken up for want of a right understanding of the circumstances upon which they were founded, he betrayed somewhat too great reluctance to relinquish when his mistake was pointed out. His great infirmity of difficult hearing appeared occasionally to affect his spirits, and to impress him with a mortifying suspicion that his presence was of little value in company, though, generally speaking, he was pleasingly affable and agreeably cheerful. Though he displayed considerable quickness in taking the meaning of a speaker, either by the gesture of his person or the peculiar motion of his lips, yet there were times, when, confiding too much to his discernment, he quite mistook the import of what was said; and, when it was intimated that he was wrong, he would try again, and guess amiss a second and perhaps a third or fourth time,

which seemed somewhat to ruffle the usual serenity of his mind, and render him uneasy and disturbed.

That great humility and diffidence which he possessed, and which were most honourable to him, were thought by his best friends to lead him to extremes, insomuch that he was dissatisfied with his companions or correspondents, applying to him the epithets of worthy or excellent; and those who felt their obligations to him to be considerable, as the Editor can truly affirm that he did, were forbidden to speak in merited terms of his benevolence; even to be denominated a patron, though he was, in many cases, most justly entitled to the appellation, was more than he thought himself deserving of. If these were weaknesses, they almost merit to be called amiable ones, as they arose from those traits of character which reflect the highest honour upon any human being. The same observation may be made in reference to the great urbanity of his mauners, which seemed sometimes almost

to degenerate into ceremoniousness, and might be called ultra politeness. But this arose from the noble principle of preferring others to himself, and deriving pleasure and satisfaction from making thein comfortable and happy.

It may be proper to mention that this excellent man was very fortunate in his private connections. The lady whom he married was of a very amiable disposition, of good family and fortune, and he lived with her in the sweetest harmony of mutual affection. But she was taken from him by the will of an all-ruling providence many years before his death. His children he had the felicity to see respectably and comfortably settled in life, and two of them survive to lament the loss of an affectionate and benevolent parent, and to imitate the admirable example which he set them. It is pleasing to add, that Mr. and Mrs. R. agreed exactly in their religious sentiments; she, as well as himself, being a well-convinced worshipper of the one God, the Father of Jesus Christ and of all mankind; and both of them understanding, in

their plain and obvious sense, the words which the Evangelist John assures us his honoured Master uttered in a solemn prayer to his Father, "This is life eternal, that they "might know Thee to be the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast

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sent, i. e. Jesus to be the Christ whom "Thou hast sent."-John xvii. 3.

Not long before his death Mr. R. drew up an imperfect sketch of a preface to his prayers, in which he took pains to obviate an objection against the too great length of his invocations to the Almighty, and the enumeration of his attributes and perfections; vindicating them from the charge of unnecessary enlargement and repetition; alleging, to use his own words, that "the displays of the divine perfections "are endless; and it is natural to suppose, "that every truly devout mind will find edi"fication and pleasure in contemplating and "expressing its sense of them." As he was willing, however, to submit to the judg ment of his friends in this as in most respects, he consented to an abridgment of the introductory sentences, and the reader will find them considerably curtailed.

The latter part of the sketch is most worthy of attention, as it breathes the finest spirit of devotion and benevolence, and is well calculated to make us see the genuine excellence of his pious and good mind. I "believe," he says, that as I am now

leaving the world, and know that the cur"tain will soon drop between my view and "all it contains, I cannot do my brethren "of mankind a more essential kindness than

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offering my earnest and warmest recom"mendation to strive seriously and diligently after a spirit of piety and devotion, " where it is not already attained; and to "maintain a constant attention to it where "it may be already happily acquired. All

"

may be assured that its possession and improvement will produce the purest enjoy"ment of the present life, and be the best preparation for the future state, where "their happiness will be increasing and im"proving through all eternity. But the true spirit of devotion can never be attained "until we have acquired just ideas of our heavenly Father, and just conceptions of "his adorable perfections-until we conceive

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