THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE FAITHFUL AND WISE STEWARD. FUNERAL SER3ION PH LACKED IN ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, TRICHINOPOLY, APRIL IX, MDCCCXX VI. ON THE DECEASE * OF l'HE RIGHT REVEREND REGINALD, LORD BISHOP OF CALCUTTA. BY THE 11EV. THOMAS ROBINSON, M.A. DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN TO HIS LORDSHIP. WITH NOTES AND AN APPENDIX. LONDON : REPRINTED FOR C. & J. RIVINGTON, st. Paul’s church-yard, WATERLOO-PLACE, AND 148 , STRAND. 1826 . LONDON : PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, st. John’s square. TO THE ClIUllCH O E INDIA, BOTH CLERGY AND PEOPLE; AND ESPECIALLY TO THE BRITISH INHABITANTS OF TRICHINOPOLY. AT WHOSE REQUEST IT IS NOW PUBLISHED, THIS SERMON IS INSCRIBED, BY THEIR MOST FAITHFUL AND AFFECTIONATE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. * ■* ... .... * - ADVERTISEMENT. The Author begs to express his acknowledg- ments to Sir Charles Grey for allowing him to reprint in the Appendix his admirable Address to the public Meeting assembled at Calcutta; in which he traces, with so exact and masterly a hand, the character of Bishop Heber, as entirely to supersede every more hurried and imperfect sketch. Bishop's College , June 5, 1826 . a* ’ • -- v w; .. ; • ; ; ; - : ... <■ i;r * •• • ' Uj . - • ■’ j ' V A S E R 31 O N, #c. ST. LUKE, XII. 42, 43, 44. Who then is that faithful and tvise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household , to give them their portion of meat in due season 1 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he ivill make him ruler over all that he hath. A striking and unanswerable argument for the divine origin of our holy faith is drawn from its wonderful adaptation to all the circumstances of our present and future destiny ; the exact coincidence and agreement of its spiritual pro- visions with all the exigencies of our lost con- dition, and all the capabilities of our regenerate nature, — and, (as a part of the same beautiful and admirable order) the intimate and harmo- nious blending of all its most urgent commands. 8 its deepest and most affecting realities, with the moral constitution of our minds, the hopes and fears, the charities and sympathies of man. A religion thus framed could proceed from Him only who made the heart. Your own reflections will enable you to follow up this argument through all its interesting de- tails ; I mention it thus summarily, as it may suggest to us, on this sad occasion, the surest and best grounds for consolation and instruction in that feeling of general affliction with which every heart is filled. We are mourning this day for our Friend and spiritual Father. We are met to renew our prayers and tears over his grave, whom even strangers quickly learned to love ; whom they, who best knew him, loved and valued most ; and on whom the eyes and hearts of thousands rested with a deep and con- centrated affection. Ours is no private and individual sorrow. The event, which we deplore, will be heard with tears through every town in India ; and the same feeling will be deeply shared by every heart in our native country which had traced his progress with admiration, and gratitude, and hope. Not we only, but the Church of Christ throughout these heathen lands, mourns this day as a widow and an orphan. And how then shall I endeavour to direct your sorrow and my own ? Shall I exhort n you to receive this and similar dispensations of Divine Providence with stoical indifference, and to harden your hearts against the indulgence of natural grief, as if it were the enemy of moral virtue ? — Or shall I, like the idolater of pleasure, seek to divert you from the solemnity of this awful warning, and bid you sleep on upon your beds of roses, though the voice of death himself is in your ears ? Alas ! in either case I should prove myself a vain and miserable comforter ; in either case I should but prove my utter ignorance, not less of the nature of man, than of the religion of the Cross. Far different is the example of our Redeemer, and the spirit of his Gospel. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, though he knew that his friend was suffering only a temporary death : nor do I read that he blamed the tears of Martha and of Mary, while each severally exclaimed in the fulness of their hearts, “ Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” But he left them not to the morbid indulgence of an unavailing sorrow ; he made it the instru- ment of their instruction and improvement : he seized on that moment of suffering, when the heart was softened, for the reception of his heavenly teaching, to proclaim the blessed doc- trine of a Resurrection to Life eternal, and the necessity of Faith in Him, if ever we would 10 10 enjoy that blessedness. “ I am the Resurrec- tion and the Life — whosoever helieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever livetli and helieveth in me shall never die.” He wept over the desolations of Jerusalem ; and while he minutely foretels the ruin of that devoted city, and the still more fearful advent of the Son of Man to judge the world, he bids his disciples arm their spirits for the suddenness of that tremendous hour by con- stant watchfulness and prayer ; he alarms their fears for their country and the world ; but he makes use of that very fear to urge them to increasing vigilance and labour ; he tells them of the danger of supineness and inaction, and of a rich reward of superadded and eternal blessed- ness, to the faithful stewards of his household. “ Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over his house- hold, to give them their 'portion of meat in due season ? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.” My brethren, if we would sorrow as Christian mourners, let us imitate in our solemn medita- tions His blessed example. The Providence of God hath spoken to us in a voice which no sophistry can misinterpret, and from whose deep 11 11 impression no worldliness can escape. Had we stood by the grave of Lazarus, the realities of Death and a Judgment to come could hardly have been proclaimed more powerfully than in the awful event which we deplore. Scarcely could the suddenness of these fearful realities have been more strongly impressed upon our souls, if we had heard the Saviour himself ex- claiming, “ Be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh .” And Oh, believe it ! this house of mourning is the best school of heavenly wisdom. These im- pressions are the very means by which God seeks to turn you to himself. Humble yourselves there- fore under the mighty God. Wipe not from your memories these warnings of your own mor- tality ; quench not the ideas they impart of fu- ture and eternal realities : but seeing we look for such things, let us learn from the example of our dear departed Father, “ what manner of per- sons we ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” The first general lesson that our Saviour teaches us, in my text, is the tenure by which we hold whatever we call our’s on earth ; that we are the stewards of his property, not the masters of our own ; — that we are placed here in a state of trial and service ; — that the various talents in our possession, rank and influence, wealth and 12 learning, the love of friends, and the opportunities of leisure ; — every blessing within our reach, and every breath we draw ; — are entrusted to our charge by the Master of this great household ; not for our own aggrandizement, but for His glory and the good of our fellow-servants , — that though He is absent for a time, invisible to all but the eye of faith, and forgotten by the slothful and disobedient, yet His eye is ever over us, that “ He compasseth our path and our lying down, and is acquainted with all our ways — that though His voice is long unheard, and His hand unseen. He marks down in the book of his re- membrance every action and word and thought ; and that He will assuredly one day come to reckon with his servants, and to assign to each one his eternal portion of reward or punish- ment. Again, He teaches us that in this steward- ship it is required that a man be found faith- ful ; — that we must not squander or misapply the things committed to our care, but honestly and conscientiously appropriate them to the ob- jects for which they were designed. He instructs us, further, that prudence and wisdom also is necessary, if we would approve ourselves to our Divine Master ; that a faithful steward will be wise, in choosing out of many instruments the one most proper to effect the object lie has in view, in selecting the most favourable time for action, for counsel, and for secret thought; in deciding accurately between claims of duty apparently equal and conflicting, and in know- ing well what plans of benevolence and justice will best advance the honour of his Lord, and the welfare of those within his influence or au- thority. Such is the condition, and such the duty of all men, of whatever rank or order in society; for all have some share of their Master’s goods ; “ to one hath He given Jive talents, to another two, to another one ; to every man according to his several ability .” But it is evident, from the expression of the text, which is an indirect and most impressive answer to the question of St. Peter, “ speahest thou this parable to us, or even unto all ?” that our Lord had especial, though not exclusive, reference to his chosen Apostles, and their successors for ever, the higher ministers of his Church, the chief stewards of the mysteries of God : for they are emphatically “ made rulers over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season ” Bear with us, brethren, while as ordinary stewards of the divine mysteries, we magnify our office. We do it from no desire of vain glory or earthly pre-eminence, — God is witness ! and this, at least, is no place, this is no time for dissimulation. We do it that we may impress 14 it more deeply on our own consciences, and where could we better seek to renew the im- pression than before the altar of our Saviour, and at the grave of our beloved Bishop ? “ to how weighty an office and charge we are called ; that is to say, to be messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the Lord: to teach and to pre- monish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family ; to seek for Christ’s sheep that are disr persed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever. We would have it always imprinted in our remembrance how great a treasure is committed to our charge. For they are the sheep of Christ which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom we serve is his spouse and his body If, in ordinary men, fidelity and wisdom is re- quired in the discharge of their several duties, how much more in those who are entrusted with an office of so great excellency and so great diffi- culty ! If the special assistance of the Holy Ghost was necessary to the artificers who were employed in the construction of the Tabernacle, that all its parts might be framed according to the pattern in the Mount, how much greater * Ordination Service. 15 need have we, who are fellow-labourers with God, in building up his spiritual temple, to pray for that “ ability which is given of God alone,” that by the daily help of his Holy Spirit we may be wise to win souls ! And Oh! if it becomes others, who are entrusted with secular gifts and worldly talents, to prepare for that day when they shall be called to give a strict and solemn account at the judgement-seat of Christ ; with what fidelity and zeal, with what continual and unwearied diligence, with what patient and humble watchfulness, must we who are the stewards of his heavenly treasures, wait on our holy ministry, “ lest out' Lord come in a day when we look not for him, and in an hour ivheti we are not aware!" We are animated and encouraged in our work by promises of con- tinual support and eternal blessedness, if we con- tinue faithful to the end; but the danger of our fall is infinitely greater, and the punishment more fearful. But the words of my text have a meaning still more appropriate to the occasion for which I have chosen them ; they refer to a higher dig- nity in the Church than ours, a larger and more honourable field of labour, a more weighty and tremendous responsibility, and a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They refer to the Apostolical office itself; and to that which has 16 succeeded it in its more peculiar and charac- teristic duties, — of ordaining other ministers to the Lord’s vineyard, and superintending them in the exercise of their ministry. For as you, the children of our spiritual care, are obedient unto us, and receive from our hands the nourish- ment of your souls, so has it been our privilege to obey in all things the paternal authority of our Spiritual Governor, to whom the economy of the Church amongst us was mercifully en- trusted, even as he was subject to Christ, the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls, and as Christ himself, in the days of his earthly ministry, was subject to his Heavenly Father. I quote the words of a primitive martyr and com- panion of the Apostles. “ All of you,” says St. Ignatius, “ follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ followed his Father — and the presbytery, as the apostles,- and the deacons, as the ordinance of God. Let no one do any thing relating to the Church without the Bishop. Let that be re- puted valid eucharistic service, which is per- formed under the Bishop, or one whom he has . licensed to that duty. Where the Bishop ap- pears, there let the congregation be ; even as where Christ Jesus the great Bishop is, there is the Catholic Church. — It is not allowed to bap- tize or hold the feast of charity independently of the Bishop ; but whatsoever he approves that 17 should be adopted as well pleasing to God, that all may be stable and permanent which is done among you Who then was that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord thus made ruler over his house- hold, to give them their portion of meat in due season ? “ He was a burning and shining light, and ye desired f for a season, to rejoice in his light." Alas, ye desired in vain ! that light is suddenly extinguished, and we are left to judge by tire present darkness of our minds, its excel- lence and beauty. But let us not mourn in vain, or sit, eyen here, with our loins ungirt. We can learn no longer from his lips, but let us study, with pious care, the example lie has left us, and let us endeavour to follow it with so much the greater earnestness, as it is now sealed by the hand of death and endeared to us by the sanctity of a filial affection. He was born of an ancient and distinguished family ; and from circumstances of connexion, as well as birth, might reasonably have looked for- ward to eminent public offices in the service of his country, and an honourable career of political ambition. To this his high and buoyant spirit, his thirst of noble praise, his ardent love of liberty, and a mind glowing at once with the examples of * S. Ignat. Epist. ad Smymseos. t ffie\ffaarc. Joh. vi. 35. B 18 ancient greatness, and sensibly alive to the imita- tion of living excellence, would all have conspired to lead him : nor have I ever met with one, who seemed more strongly marked hy a rare com- bination of amiable and commanding qualities, to he at once the idol of the people, and a favour- ite with the source of power. His career of aca- demical labour was distinguished by several of the highest honours ; his mind was richly stored with a vast variety of ancient and modern learn- ing; and even in early youth, his name held no ignoble place in the literature and poetry of Eng- land. Whatever yet seemed wanting to fit liim for the theatre of the world, was added by his extensive intercourse with foreign European countries, of the fruits of which no ordinary spe- cimen was exhibited in his enlightened researches respecting the northern nations, to the foot of Caucasus and to the western boundaries of Asia. The record of those researches is given, with its just tribute of praise, by one of the most in- teresting and distinguished of our modern tra- vellers *. But this career of fame and human praise, whatever were its value, and whatever facilities were presented to him for its acquisition, had for a mind like his but a feeble and transient Dr. E. D. Clarke. 10 fascination. Me had a higher and more noble ambition ; the object of his pursuit was less splendid in the eyes of men; it was one of secret virtue and self-denying diligence ; but if esti- mated (as we around his grave can now mea- sure it) by the standard of eternity, it was the path of the purest happiness on earth, and ter- minating in certain and imperishable glory. His society was much courted by the world, and in the learned retirement of his college; and never surely was any one so formed to enjoy the society of those around him, or to win their admiration and affection by the varied and inexhaustible charms of his own delightful conversation. But he devoted himself to the humble duties of a Parish Priest in a retired village, and thought he had attained his highest happiness, and most honourable distinction, in becoming the Friend, the Pastor, the spiritual guide of the simple villagers around him ; in consecrating liis talents, his time, and his resources to the service of his God and Saviour. The more humble was the sphere of his duty, the more did his heart re- joice in its performance. He laboured to accom- modate his instructions to the comprehension of all ; a labour by no means easy to a mind stored with classic elegance, and an imagination glowing with a thousand images of sublimity and beauty. He rejoiced so to form his man- b 2 20 ners, his habits, and his conversation, to those who were entrusted to his care, that he might gain the confidence and affection of even the poorest among his flock; so that he might the more surely win their souls to God, and finally, in the day of last account, present every man faultless before his presence with exceeding joy. He was, above all, singularly happy in his visitation of the sick, and in administering conso- lation to those that mourned, and his name will long be dear, and his memory most precious, in the cottages of the poor, by whose sick beds he has often stood as a ministering angel. His labours, however, were not confined to the village of his care. He sought, indeed, no higher employment than that which he had chosen, but they who knew his worth, and could appreciate his talents, were anxious to draw him from his retirement ; he preached not unfrequently from the pulpit of the University, of which he was considered one of the brightest ornaments : and his Sermons on the Nature and Influences of the Holy Spirit, delivered on his appointment to the Bampton Lecture, remain to the Church of God, a monument of his deep and varied learn- ing, his powerful and majestic eloquence, and his zeal and fidelity in resisting the most subtle and pernicious of modern heresies *. He was subse- See Note (A.) 21 quently appointed preacher to the learned Society of Lincoln’s Inn ; and it will not soon be forgotten by those who then enjoyed his ministry, how well and admirably he united the force of argu- ment and the beauty of illustration, with the plain enunciation of his heavenly message, and a pow- erful and affectionate appeal to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. But his Divine Master had other and more important labours for his servant ; and, on the sudden removal of the excellent Prelate who first presided over our Indian Church, and who is yet freshly remembered in the hearts of those wiio hear me, he was chosen to the care of this extensive diocese, and consecrated to the highest and holiest order in the Christian Church. He left his native land with no common sacrifice of private interests, of individual affections, and of all the reasonable hopes and prospects of his family and admiring friends ; for such had been his life, that they who were but his acquain- tance loved him as a friend ; his friends loved him as a brother; and his family cherished him as a part of their own existence. He left his na- tive land (I speak from intimate knowledge and full conviction) with the devoted spirit of a true Christian Bishop, with no selfish feeling, and no shrinking from the arduous and perilous duties which he well knew awaited him. He sought 22 not the office ; blit felt, while he undertook it, the heavy burden which it imposed, and the awful responsibility of the charge. Indeed, if there was any thing in my honoured friend and master which I presumed to think a fault, it was that he thought too little of the external dignity which is annexed to his spiritual power; and, from a feeling of entire humility, and from that modesty and gentleness which pervaded every word and every action, sought rather to escape from that homage and respect which it was equally our duty and our happiness to pay. He came to this country, accompanied by the prayers and bless- ings of thousands; and I speak only the language of many hearts in every distant province, when I say, that he came to us, his immediate charge, and to the heathen nations among whom we dwell, in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. Little more than tw'o years have elapsed since he first arrived in India, but in that short period he had visited almost every station where a Christian Church could be assembled, and, while engaged in the longest and most difficult duties of any Bishop since the earlier ages of Christi- anity, lie employed himself, wherever he came, not only in the higher functions of his office, but in the more humble and laborious duties of an ordinary pastor, lie had thus become known to all his clergy and to all his people, in the plains and mountains of Hindostan, in the wilder tracts of Central India, in the stations of Guzerat, the Deckan, and the western coast, in the hills and valleys of Ceylon, and in these southern provinces, the scene of his latest labours, and henceforth of his dearest memory. In the course of these journeys, and in all his other labours, his heart was most earnestly and intently fixed, not only on the government of the existing Church, but on the extension of Christ’s kingdom in these strongholds of heathen and Mahomedan superstition. He delighted to con- sider himself as the chief missionary of India, a character implied, in his judgment, in the nature of his episcopal office itself : and while he felt it to be his bounden duty to confine his pecuniary aid and direct influence to the establishments of that Church, whose orders and ministry he received as apostolical, yet most sincerely did he rejoice in the successful labours of all Christian Societies of whatever denomination, in the field of India ; for he felt, that, while marshalled against a common enemy, there should be none other than a generous rivalry, and a brotherly emulation between our separate hosts ; and that even thus the fortune of the field is best secured, if each army keeps its own ranks unbroken, and its own discipline inviolate. The several 24 Societies connected with our Church partook largely of his regard aiid active support ; parti- cularly the Venerable chartered Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, whose general cause, as connected with their central establishment of Bishop’s College, he had successfully pleaded at the several Presi- dencies of Bombay, Colombo, and Calcutta; and which he purposed, on his return to Madras, to recommend there also to the benevolence of the Christian world : — the Church Missionary Society, to Whose labours and the character of their missionaries he repeatedly bore the most honourable testimony: and the Venerable So- ciety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, whose interests literally occupied his dying thoughts *. The Missions of this last-named Society, at Tanjore and in this place ; the foundations of the apostolic Schwartz, and the apostolic men who have walked and are still walking in his steps, awakened, in a most powerful degree, and beyond any thing he had previously seen, the affections of his heart ; and to devise and arrange a plan for their revived and more extended pros-* perity, was the object which occupied for many days, and to the last hour of his life (as several who now hear me can bear witness), his anxious Note (B,) thoughts, his earnest prayers, and the concen- trated energies of his mind. Again and again did he repeat to me that all which he had wit- nessed in the native Congregations of these Missions, — their numbers, their general order, their devout attendance on the services of the Church, exceeded every expectation he had formed; and that in their support and revival he saw the fairest hope of extending the Church of Christ. Never shall I forget the warm ex- pressions of his delight, when, on Easter-day, he gathered them around him as his children, as one family with ourselves, administered to them the Body and Blood of our common Saviour, and blest them in their native tongue : and when, in the evening of that day, he had seen before him not less than 1,300 natives of those districts, rescued from idolatry and superstition, and join- ing as with one heart and voice in the prayers and praises of our Church,- — I can never forget his exclamation, that he would gladly purchase that day with years of life. Those of you who heard his parting address on the succeeding day from the grave of Schwartz will never lose the deep impression of that solemn moment, when (as if he had foreseen that his departure was at hand), he commended you to God and to the word of his grace, charging you by the love of your Saviour and of each other, 10 26 and animating you by the memory of your de- parted Father, and by the near prospect of your eternal reward, to perseverance, fidelity, and Christian order. Of his last public ministrations in this place I need not speak to you ; the me- mory of them is fresh in every heart, you treasure them as the last words of a departed friend. You remember well the earnestness and affection of his manner, how he exhorted , and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God who hath called you to his kingdom and glory. Alas ! who could have foreseen, while hanging on those lips, that they would so soon be closed in death ; that the voice of your shepherd, whom you had just begun to love, should be heard by you again no more for ever ! His sun was in its meridian power ; and its warmth most genial, when it was suddenly eclipsed for ever. He fell, as the standard-bearer of the cross should ever wish to fall, by no lingering delay, but in the firmness and vigour of his age, and in the very act of combat and of triumph. His master came suddenly, and found him faithful in his charge, and waiting for His appearing. His last hour was spent in his Lord’s service, and in minis- tering to the humblest of his flock. He had scarcely put off the sacred robes with which he served at the altar of his God on earth, when he 11 was suddenly admitted to his sanctuarry on high, and clothed with the garments of immortality. What mean then these tears for his removal ? and why mourn we for our departed father as men without hope? He was that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord had made ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season. And Oh, blessed ! eternally blessed, “ is that servant whom liis Lord when he came found so doing!” He has exchanged a life of labour, and anxiety, and imperfection, for the repose and blessedness of heaven. His war- fare is accomplished ; and he has passed from the conflicts of the church on earth to the glories of an everlasting triumph. But his full reward is not yet received. The morning of the general resurrection shall first dawn, and all nations shall be gathered before the throne of God, and all his faithful children from every age and every clime shall be assem- bled, before his joy can be full. “ For what was his hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? are not even ye at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ?” Ye and all the other children of his care, shall, in that day, be his glory and his joy. The connexion between the ministers of Christ and the people committed to them, can never be dissolved. It hath in it nothing perishable, 28 and death itself hath no power to break it. It may be interrupted by many changes ; the pastor may be removed to another flock ; one and another may be taken from him, but the bond of their connexion is eternally the same. The bread with which we feed you here is the bread of life. The cup which we give you is that spiritual stream that follows the church of God from the rock of Horeb to the borders of Canaan, and that which supports and nourishes you now will form assuredly your blessedness hereafter ; and may we not hope that those, who have been the honoured instruments of your spiritual nourishment on earth, may administer to the satisfaction and blessedness of your souls in heaven, that you may receive, by communication from them, the hidden manna, which is in the sanctuary of God, and the waters of the river of life, which cometh forth from the throne of God? And surely, if the contemplation of heavenly objects is endeared to us by communion with those we love, it may well be thought that one part of the blessedness of heaven may consist in that communion rendered perfect and entire. That blessedness assuredly can be no other than the knowledge and love of God, of him who is the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier of our souls ; that beatific vision where to know 29 and to love is one act of the delighted spirit, and where “ God is all in all” Yet the angels in heaven (though their happiness is similar) have still their appointed services, and their service is their glory. The Church, which is now militant on earth, shall then be triumphant ; but its minis- ters and servants will still find there a ministry and a service, a service of no worldly sanctuary, and mingled there with no imperfection and alloy ; they will find an increase of their own individual blessedness in adding to the blessedness of those who first learned from them the way to heaven, and in witnessing, by perfect and intimate com- munion with the former children of their care, the completion of their earthly labours. The voice, then, of our father, whose loss we mourn, is silent only for a time : w r e shall listen again to its accents : he will speak to us again, (but in tones how different !) “ when this mor- tal shall have put on immortality .” We shall hear from him again (but by a communication how blessed!) the words of eternal life; and in him and all other faithful stewards of His household — we shall behold that solemn promise of our Saviour accomplished, “ verily , I say unto you, he will make him ruler over all that he hath.” And now, brethren, beloved in the Lord ! com- fort one another with these words : We mourn 30 for our honoured father thus suddenly removed from us, his spiritual family. The church of Christ is mourning for the disappointment of her best hope and fairest promises. Yet, what les- sons of heavenly wisdom may we learn at his grave ! We are deprived of his instruction, of his counsel, of his paternal government ; but his example is left for our study and imitation. “ He being dead, yet speaketh” He approved him- self to his heavenly Master as a faithful and wise steward ; we also, each one of us, have our place of service in the same great household. The hour is coming when we also shall be called to “ give account of our stewardship, for we may be no longer stewards' ’ His day of trial was suddenly and abruptly closed ; ours is still passing ; but ours may close suddenly and ab- ruptly too. Oh let not this warning be unim- proved by any one that hears me ! Lay it se- riously to heart ! You have heard it frequently before ! You have now heard it as it were audibly proclaimed by a voice from heaven. “ Be ye ready also. For the Son of Man comet li at an hour when ye think not.” Learn this lesson from your sorrow, and you will have cause to rejoice for ever. “ Gird up the loins of your mind ; be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” 31 Yet suffer me. My Brethren, before I leave you, to suggest what appears to me the best and most appropriate testimony of your regard and reverence for his memory. You remember, when our Blessed Lord was now about to as- cend into heaven, his thrice-repeated question to the disciple who was thenceforward his stre- nuous and faithful servant, “ Simon, lovest thou vie 2” How deeply did the the tender and affec- tionate command of Christ sink into his heart ; and how zealously did he obey the injunction, “ Feed my sheep !” The time and circumstances of the event which we are now deploring seem to point out to your kindness and protection those who were the objects of his latest care, and amongst whom he left his latest blessing ; I mean the native Protestant congregations of this place. This was the first mission established by the Venerable Schwartz *, and his successors have for many years watched over its interests. But their hands are feeble, and the Church, which is already gathered from among the heathen, requires the aid of a nursing father to rear and protect its infancy. We fondly hoped it had found that protecting hand in our late excellent Bishop. He loved, and, if God had spared his Note (C). life, he would have cherished them as his chil- dren. A few minutes only before lie expired, he spoke to me of their distress and helpless state, and of his plans for their revival and per- petual establishment. Brethren ! I commend them now to you. I leave them with confidence to your protection, your patronage, your support. I know you will not leave them destitute. I know you will not suffer the plans just formed for their benefit to fall to tlie ground. Your love for his memory forbids me to fear it ; above all, your love and gratitude to him who hath purchased both them and you with his own blood, forbids me to fear it. Surely, if our de- parted friend could now speak to you from his place of rest, this would be his earnest appeal to your hearts, “ Feed my lambs F and if now his happy spirit still hovers over us, and beholds our labour of love, he will indeed rejoice in this proof of your Christian faith, that you love those little ones for whom Christ died. Your excellent pas- tors will detail to you the necessities of the mis- sion, its capabilities of extended usefulness, and the plans which had been arranged for its im- provement. Let your bounty carry those plans into effect, and you could not, l am well persuaded, raise a more noble monument over his dear and hallowed grave. And you, my fellow-servants, my fathers and 33 brethren in Christ, pardon me, I beseech you, that my affection has carried me on thus far, to speak of him whom we all loved, when I should rather have learned from you. I feel that I am most unworthy to speak of him ; but I could not give to another the chief place in sorrow. Let us pray for ourselves and for each other ; remember- ing that the time is short, and the work which is committed to our hands is not ours, but His that sent us. Let us wait on our ministry with deeper humility, and with encreasing earnestness. We are still on the field of battle, let us not put off our armour, but let us exhort and strengthen one another to be faithful unto death, that we may receive the crown of life. We need much the help of the Almighty for the strengthening and refreshing of our souls. Let us seek it at the table of our Lord. There we shall best remember our sins, where we see the sacrifice provided for them. There we shall most surely find the influences of his Spirit, where He has promised to vouchsafe them ; there we shall most effectually obtain the confirmation of our faith, and hope, and love : and thence returning purified by sorrow, and prepared for our various services on earth, we may look for- wards with humble hope to that day, when “ a great voice shall be heard from heaven , saying, Behold the tabernacle of GOD is with men, c 34 and he will dwell with them, and they shall he his people, and he will he their GOD. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall he no more death, neither sor- row, nor crying, neither shall there he any more pain, for the former things are passed away. NOTES (A.) These Lectures contain an admirable view of the doc- trine of Divine Influence, the most vital and essential article in the Christian system. The reality and importance of that influence is asserted and vindicated with great clearness of reasoning, and with no less energy of impressive eloquence. Beside these, a few of his occasional Sermons only have hitherto been given to the public ; but all who are either acquainted with these, or have had the happiness of listening to him from the Pulpit, will join in the earnest hope that many of those papers which he has left behind may yet be permitted to see the light. The short career of his public life was spent in active and useful labour, not in establishing a literary fame, the materials of which were so largely within his reach. His beautiful poem of “ Palestine ” was recited in the theatre at Oxford, A. D. 1803, in his twentieth year. He commenced his travels in Russia, and the North of Europe, in the year 1805; and soon after his return from the con- tinent, A. D. 1807, he entered into holy orders. He delivered the Bampton Lectures in the year 1815, was appointed Preacher of Lincoln’s Inn in 1821, and was consecrated Bishop of Calcutta in June 1823. c 2 36 (B.) Of the three Church Societies here mentioned, it may not be inappropriate to observe, that the whole of the missionary concern of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in the South of India, has been transferred to the Incorpo- rated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the former hereafter devoting itself entirely to its appropriate objects of circulating religious knowledge among the European Christian community. With respect to the new Society, the Church Missionary Society to Africa and the East, we cannot give a more pleasing instance of the paternal care with which the late Bishop protected its labours, and at the same time of the facility with which his accomplished mind could take the tone of other ages and manners, than in the following beau- tiful commendatory letter, given to Mr. Doran, a young Irish clergymen in the service of that Society, proceeding to join the mission to the ancient Syrian Churches in Tra- vancore, The Metropolitan, Mar Athanasius, had been seen by the Bishop the preceding summer at Bombay, when on his way from the patriarchal see of Antioch, to take charge of those Churches : he was received and recognized as their Metropolitan, in full convocation, on Christmas day, 1825. To the excellent and learned Father Mar Athanasius, Bishop and Metropolitan of all the Churches of Christ in India, which walk after the rule of the Sy- rians, — Mar Reginald, by the grace of God, Bishop of Calcutta, — Grace, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I have earnestly desired, honoured Brother in the Lord, to hear ot thy safe passage from Bombay, and of thy health 37 and welfare in the land of Malabar. I hope that they have rejoiced at thy coining, even as they rejoiced at the coining of Mar Basilius, Mar Gregorius, and Mar Johannes*. And it is my prayer to God, that He who led our Father Abraham the beloved from the land of his nativity, through faith, to a strange and distant country, may in like manner guide, protect, and prosper thee, in health and grace, and every good gift, in the love of thy people and the spiritual fruit which thou shalt receive of them; as it is written, “ Commit thy way unto the Lord, and trust in Him : and He shall bring it to pass.” Especially, I have been desirous to hear from thee of the good estate of our brethren, the faithful in Malabar, the bishops, presbyters, and deacons ; and also of my own chil- dren in Christ, the English presbyters who sojourn among you at Cottayam ; may God reward you for your love towards them, and may the good will which is between you be daily stablished and strengthened ! Furthermore, I will you to know, my brother, that the desire of my heart and my prayer to the Lord is, that the holy name of Jesus may be yet further known among all nations, and also that all who love Him may love one another ; to the intent that they which are without, beholding the unity and peace that is among you, may glorify God also in the day of their visitation. Like as was the desire and prayer of the holy Bishop Thomas Middleton, my honoured predecessor in this ministry ; whose memory is blessed among the saints of Christ, whether they be of the English or the Syrian family ; not that there are two families, but one, which both in heaven and earth is named after His name who sitteth * The last Syrian Bishops (before Mar Athanasius in 1825) who went to rule the Church in Malabar in 1751 ; all the Metropolitans after them, (called Mar Dionysius, or Cyrillus, or Philoxenus, severally) being Indian Bishops of their ordainiDg. 38 at the right hand of God, in whom all nations, tribes, and languages, are united and shall be glorified together. I also pray thee to write me word how thyself and they that are with thee fare, and how my own children the English presbyters fare, and in what manner of conversation they walk with you. Furthermore, it is my hope, that by God’s * blessing, I may be strengthened shortly to pass to Madras, Tanjore, and Trichinopoly, visiting the churches there which belong to my nation : whence my mind is, if God will, to pass on to salute thee, my brother, and the churches under thee, that I may have joy beholding your order, and partaking in your prayers. And if there be any thing more, it may be explained when we meet; for a letter is half an interview, but it is a good time when a man speaketh face to face with his friend. This letter is sent by the hand of a learned and godly man, John Doran, one of the presbyters from before me : who purposeth, with thy permission, to sojourn in Cottayam, even as the presbyters, Benjamin Bayley, Joseph Fenn, and Henry Baker, have sojourned until now with licence of the godly bishops of the Church of Malabar, to teach learning and piety to all who thirst after instruction, doing good, and offending no man. And 1 beseech thee, brother, for my sake, and the sake of the Gospel, to receive him as a son, and as a faithful servant of our Lord, who is alone, with the Holy Ghost, most high in the glory of God the Father: to whom be all honour and dominion for ever. Amen. Moreover, I beseech thee, brother, to beware of the emissa- ries of the Bishop of Rome, whose hands have been dipped in the blood of the saints, from whose tyranny our Church in England hath been long freed by the blessing of God, and we hope to continue in that freedom for ever : of whom are they of Goa, Cranganor, and Verapoli, who have in time past done the Indian Church much evil. I pray that those of thy Churches in Malabar * who are yet subject to these men, may arouse themselves and be delivered from their hands. Howbeit, the Lord desireth not the death of a sinner, but his mercies are over all his works, and He is found of them that sought him not. Our brother Abraham, Legate of the Armenian nation, who is sent from his Patriarch at Jerusalem, — may God rescue his holy city from the hands of the Ishmaelites ! — who is with us in Calcutta, salutes thee. He also brings a letter which was sent by his hand to thee from the Syrian Patriarch at Jerusalem, and has not found means hitherto of forwarding it to thee at Malabar: and has therefore requested me to send it now to thee. All the Church of Christ that is here salutes thee. Salute in my name thy brethren Mar Dionysius, and Mar Philoxenus f, with the presbyters and deacons. — We, William Mill and Thomas Robinson, presbyters, that write this epistle in the Lord, salute you. The blessing of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be with you evermore. Amen. (Signed in Syriac) REGINALD, BISHOP. By the help of God, let this letter go to the region of Travancore, to the city of Cottayam, and let it be delivered into the hands of the grave and venerable Bishop, Mar Athanasius, Metropolitan of the Church of Malabar. Examples of composition not less primitive and oriental, and yet more touching than the foregoing, (which was written * i. e. all Clmrclies of the Syro-chaldaic ritual, one half of which still are under the Romish yoke imposed by the Synod of Diamper. See Geddes and La Croze. t The former governor of the Church, who resigned the chair to the last Mar Dionysius, and now lives in voluntary retirement at Codau- galangary or Anhur in the North. 40 in December, 1825) might be found in two subsequent Syrian letters, indited by the Bishop within a very few days of his death : the one to the same metropolitan Mar Athanasius, — the other to Mar Philoxenus the senior of his two Indian suffragans mentioned in the foregoing letter: but the occa- sion of these letters would require a description foreign to this place and occasion. The circumstance of the letters to Atha- nasius not having been received by him for whom they were destined, is an additional reason for publishing one of them here. (C.) This great and good man, whom no one who has com- pared the wisdom and succcess of his labours with those of other Missionaries, will hesitate to pronounce the best and greatest of all who in later ages have borne that honourable name, arrived at Tranquebar, in the service of the Royal Danish College, July 30, 1750. In the course of twelve years he made frequent journeys to Tanjore and Trichinopoly, and fixed his residence at the latter place in May, 1762. In the troubles that ensued, he acquired the confidence and affec- tion of the reigning Prince of Tanjore, who protected his labours, and appointed him the tutor and guardian of his son, the present Rajah. On the 10th of October, 1768, he engaged as a Missionary in the service of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: and in 1778, when he removed finally to Tanjore, he left the care of the church he had formed at Trichinopoly to the late excellent and venerable Mr. Pohle, who died A. D. 1816. There is a church in the Fort capable of containing 1,500 or 2,000 persons, but requiring considerable repairs, — a house for the residence of the Missionary, with small school rooms for Tamul and English. The present number of the con- 41 gregation is 490 persons, and it is melancholy to find this number annually decreasing, entirely from the want of a resident European Missionary, and the necessary establish- ment of Catechists and Schoolmasters, for which the funds have hitherto been utterly inadequate. The whole income of the Mission appears to be about 30 rupees per month. There can hardly be desired a field of greater promise than this interesting congregation. Labourers only are wanting to make it realize, to the fullest extent, the hopes of its first founder and its last friend. It was his Lordship’s inten- tion to place here a resident Missionary with as little delay as possible, and to make other arrangements for their future prosperity. And the author rejoices in the hope that these intentions will not be altogether frustrated. He records with great thankfulness, that the appeal which he took the liberty of making on this occasion, to the liberality of the British inhabitants of Trichinopoly, was nobly answered on the following morning ; when a meeting was convened at the Church for this object, the proceedings of which will be found in the Appendix. APPENDIX SPEECH OF THE HONOURABLE SIR CHARLES GREY, CHIEF JUSTICE OF CALCUTTA. Gentlemen, Before I proceed to any thing else, I am reluctantly com- pelled to correct a seeming mistake, as to the object of this meeting. — A notice has appeared this morning, professedly by authority, which, though probably well meant, has in it something too much of the character of solicitation. I know not on what authority it speaks, but the Friends of the late Bishop are anxious only, that expression should be given to the feeling with which the community regarded him. Sub- scriptions for his Monument, if they are the spontaneous in- dications of respect and sorrow, will be valuable testimonies, but not otherwise : and I trust that neither solicitation, nor influence, will be employed to swell their amount. Leaving this matter, it is with real agitation and embarrassment that I find my duty to mark out the grounds on which this Meet- ing appears to me to have been called for. Assuredly it is not that there is any difficulty in finding those grounds, nor that I have any apprehension that you will not attend to a statement of them with willingness and indulgence. But this is a very public occasion, and my feelings are not en- tirely of a public nature. Deep as my sense is of the loss \vhieh the community has sustained, yet, do what 1 will, the sensation which 1 find uppermost in my heart is my own pri- vate sorrow for one who was my friend in early life. It is just four and twenty years, this month, since I first became acquainted with him at the University, of which he was, be- yond all question or comparison, the most distinguished stu- dent of his time. The name of Reginald Heber was in every mouth, his society was courted by young and old ; he lived in an atmosphere of favour, admiration, and regard, from which I have never known any one but himself who would not have derived, and for life, an unsalutary influence. To- wards the close of his academical career he crowned his pre- vious honours by the production of his “ Palestine;” of which single work, the fancy, the elegance, and the grace, have se- cured him a place in the list of those who bear the proud title of English Poets. This according to usage, was recited in public ; and when that scene of his early triumph comes upon my memory, that elevated rostrum from which he looked upon friendly and admiring faces ; that decorated theatre ; those grave forms of ecclesiastical dignitaries, mingling with a re- splendent throng of rank and beauty ; those antique mansions of learning ; those venerable groves, refreshing streams, and shaded walks ; the vision is broken by another, in which the youthful and presiding genius of the former scene is lying in his distant grave, amongst the sands of Southern India, — believe me the contrast is striking, and the recollection most painful. But you are not here to listen to details of private life. If I touch upon one other point, it will be for the purpose only of illustrating a feature of his character. He passed some time in foreign travel before he entered on the duties of his profession. The whole continent had not yet been re-opened to Englishmen by the swords of the Noble Lord who is near me, and his companions in arms, but in the 44 Eastern part of it the Bishop found a field the more interest- ing, on account of its having been seldom trodden by our country; he kept a valuable journal of his observations; and when you consider his youth, the applause he had already received, and how tempting, in the morning of life, are the gratifications of literary success, you will consider it as a mark of the retiring and ingenuous modesty of his character, that he preferred to let the substance of his work appear in the humble form of notes to the volumes of another : this has been before noticed. There is another circumstance which I can add, and which is not so generally known, this journey, and the aspect of those vast regions, stimulat- ing a mind, which was stored with classical learning, had suggested to him a plan of collecting, arranging, and illustrating all of Ancient and of Modern Literature, which could unfold the history, and throw light on the present state of Scythia — that region of mystery and fable; that source from whence, eleven times in the history of man, the living clouds of war have been breathed over all the nations of the South. 1 can hardly conceive any work for which the talents of the Author were better adapted : hardly any which could have given the world more of delight, himself more of glory. 1 know the interest which he took in it ; but he k had now entered into the service of the Church, and finding that it interfered with his graver duties, he turned from his fascinating pursuit, and condemned to temporary oblivion a work which, I trust, may yet be given to the pub- lic. 1 mention this chiefly for the purpose of shewing how steady was the purpose, how serious the views, with which he entered on his calling. I am aware that there were in- ducements to it which some minds will be disposed to regard as the only probable ones ; but 1 look upon it myself to have been with him a sacrifice of no common sort. His early celebrity had given him incalculable advantages, and cverv part of literature was open to him ; every road to the temple 4 of fame; every honour which his country could afford, was in clear prospect before him, when he turned to the humble duties of a country church, and buried in his heart those talents which would have ministered so largely to worldly vanity, that they might spring up in a more precious harvest, lie passed many years in this situation, in the enjoyment of as much happiness as the condition of humanity is perhaps capable of — happy in the choice of his companion, the love of his friends, the fond admiration of his family ; happy in the discharge of his quiet duties, and the tranquillity of a satisfied conscience. It was not, however, from this station that he was called to India : by the voice, I am proud to say it, of a part of that profession to which I have the honour to belong, he had been invited to an office which few have held for any length of time without further advancement. His friends thought it at that time, no presumption to hope that ere long he might wear the mitre at home ; but it would not have been like himself to chaffer for preferment : he freely and willingly accepted a call which led him to more impor- tant, though more dangerous —alas ! I may now say, to fatal labours. What he was in India why should I describe? You saw him ! You bear testimony. He has already received in a sister Presidency the encomiums of those from whom praise is most valuable ; especially of one whose own spotless integrity, and a sincerity far above suspicion, make every word of conmmendation which is drawn from him of tenfold value. I have reason to believe, that short as their acquaint- ance had been, there are few from whom the voice of praise would have sounded more gratefully to him who was the subject of it. Would that he might have lived to hear it ! What sentiments were entertained of him in this metro- polis of India, your presence testifies : and I feel myself authorized to say, that if the noble person who holds the 46 highest station in this country had been unfettered by usage, if he had consulted only his own inclinations and his regard for the Bishop, he would have been the foremost upon this occasion to manifest his participation in the feelings which are common to us all. When a stamp has been thus given to his character, it may seem only to be disturbing the im- pression to renew, in any manner, your view of it ; yet if you will grant me your patience for a few moments, I shall have a melancholy pleasure in pointing out some features of it which appear to me to have been the most remarkable. The first which I would notice was that cheerfulness and alacrity of spirit, which, though it may seem to be a com- mon quality, is, in some circumstances, of rare value. To this large assemblage I fear I might appeal in vain, if I were to ask, that he should step forward who had never known his spirit sink when he thought of his native home, and felt that a portion of his heart was in a distant land ; who had never been irritated by the annoyance, or embittered by the disappointment, of India. I feel shame to say, that I am not the man who could answer the appeal. The Bishop was the only one, whom I have ever known, who was entirely master of these feelings. Disappointments and annoyance came to him as they come to all, but he met and overcame them with a smile ; and when he has known a different effect pro- duced on others, it was his usual wish, that “ they were but as happy as himself.” Connected with this alacrity of spirit, and in some degree springing out of it, was his activity. I apprehend that few persons, civil or military, have under- gone as much labour, traversed as much country, seen and regulated so much as he had done, in the small portion of time which had elapsed since he entered on his office ; and if death had not broken his career, his friends know that he contemplated no relaxation of exertions. But this was not a mere restless activity or the result of temperament. It was 15 47 united with a fervent zeal, not fiery nor ostentatious, but steady and composed, which none could appreciate, but those who intimately knew him. I was struck myself, upon the renewal of our acquaintance, by nothing so much as by observing that though he talked with animation on all sub- jects, there was nothing on which his intellect was bent, no prospect on which his imagination dwelt, no thought which occupied habitually his vacant moments, but the furtherance of the great design of which he had been made the princi- pal instrument in this country. Of the same unobtrusive character was the piety which filled his heart. It is seldom that of so much there is so little ostentation. All here knew his good-natured and unpretending manner : but I have seen unequivocal testimonies both before and since his death, that under that cheerful and gay aspect there were feelings of serious and unremitting devotion, of perfect resignation, of tender kindness for all mankind, which would have done honour to a saint. When to these qualities you add his desire to conciliate, which had every where won all hearts; his amiable demeanor, which invited friendships that were con- firmed by an innocence and purity of manners, which bore the most scrutinizing examination, you will readily admit that there was in him a rare assemblage of all that most de- serves esteem and admiration. But I will not leave the matter upon these grounds. What we do this day, we do in the face of the world ; and I am loth to leave it open even to the malignant heart to suppose that we have met here on a solemn, but hollow pretence ; that we use idle, or exaggerated words, or would stoop to flattery, even of the dead. The principal ground of all on which I hold the death of the Bishop to have been a public loss, was the happy fitness and adaptation of his character for the situation and circumstances in which he was placed. There is no man, whether he be of the laity or a churchman. 48 to whom I will yield in earnestness of desire to see Chris- tianity propagated and predominant throughout the world : but it would be sinful, if it were possible, to banish from our recollection the truths which the experience of former ages has left for the guidance of the present. It is an awful, but an unquestionable fact, that a fuller knowledge, a more per- fect revelation of the will of God, has never been communi- cated rapidly to large masses of mankind, without their being thrown into confusion. To some it has seemed that religion is so important an element of moral and social order, that no alteration can be made of its quality and proportion, with- out the whole mass dissolving, fermenting, and assuming new forms ; that, by some mysterious condition of the lot of humanity, all mighty blessings are attended by some great evil, that every step to Heaven is still to be won by fresh sacrifices and atonements. There is another, and I trust, a better mode of reasoning on these symptoms, of inter- preting these terrible signs ; I will not readily believe that religion has been one of the causes of disorder ; but rather that the vices of men having prepared the crisis, and called for the revulsion and re-action of the preservative principles of society ; religion has then manifested herself in a more visible and tangible form, and come as a ministering angel, only to enable those who were struggling for the right to persevere and to prevail. The appalling fact, however, re- mains not the less indisputable that it is in scenes of ex- tensive disorder, amidst mortal strife and terrible misery, that she has achieved her greatest triumphs, displayed her strong- est powers, and made her most rapid advances. When Christianity had first spread itself over the face of the Ro- man Empire, all the powers of darkness seemed to be roused to an encounter : the storm blew from every point of the com- pass ; unheard of races of men ; and monsters of anarchy and misrule, more like the fantastic shapes of a dream 49 than the realities of life, appeared amongst the gloom ; and that period ensued which has been perhaps rightly con- sidered as the most calamitous in the whole history of man. When that New World was discovered, which now pre- sents such fair and animating prospects, religion was im- parted to the southern portion of it by carnage and by torture ; I say that in South America the ground was cleared by the torch and dug by the sword, and the first shoots of Christianity were moistened with the blood of unoffending millions. Again, when in Europe the Church cast its old slough, and re-appeared in somewhat of its pristine simplicity, all Europe was convulsed by civil war for a century and a half. Witness in France those battles and massacres, and assassinations of the Huguenots and Catholics : in Germany, that closing scene of thirty years confusion, in which the grotesque and barbaric forms of Wallenstein and Tilly are seen struggling with the indomi- table spirit of Mansfield, and the majestic genius of Gusta- vus Adolphus. Witness in England the downfall of its ancient throne, and the eclipse of royalty. Let me not be misunderstood on points such as these. There is no one who lias rightly considered these events, who will not, even while he mourns over them, admit that it is now better the changes took place, even with their terrible accompaniments, than that they should not have taken place at all. But whilst I avow this, I hope it is not presumptuous to breathe a fervent prayer, that India may receive the blessing without the attendant misery : not faint-heartedness, that I tremble at the possibility of all Southern Asia being made a theatre of confusion ; not lukewarmness, that rather than see Religion advance upon the rapid wings of strife, I would prefer to wait for her more gradual approach, preceded by commerce and the arts, with peace and knowledge for her handmaids, and with all the brightest forms of which human felicity is susceptible, erowd- D 50 mg in her train. I confidently trust, that there shall one day be erected in Asia a Church, of which the corners shall be the comers of the land, and its foundation the rock of ages; but when remote posterity have to examine its structure, and to trace the progress of its formation, I wish they may not have to record, that it was put together amidst discord, and noisd, and bloodshed, and confusion of tongues, but that it rose in quietness and beauty, like that new temple, where “ no ham- “ mer, or axe, nor any tool of iron, was heard whilst it was in “ building or, in the words of the Bishop himself, “ No hammer fell, no ponderous axes rung ; " Like some tall palm the mystic fabric sprung!” That such may be the event many hands, many spirits, like his must be engaged in the work ; and because of my con- viction that they are rarely to be found, I feel myself justified in saying that his death is a loss not only to his friends, by whom he was loved, or to his family, of whom he was the idol, but to England, to India, and to the world. 51 At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of Trichinopoly held in St. Johns Church, on Monday the 10 /// cf April, 1826 . Major General Hall in the Chair, Resolved, I. That this Meeting, desirous of testifying their affectionate regard and veneration for the memory of the late lamented Lord Bishop of Calcutta, do enter into a subscription in aid of the Trichinopoly Mission whose interests engaged the last hours of his Lordship’s life. II. That this fund be entrusted to a committee of manage- ment, consisting of the General of the Division, the com- manding officer of Trichinopoly, one of the three Judges of the circuit court, the Collector of the district, the Chaplain and Missionary (provided the gentlemen filling these situations are willing to undertake the charge) and seven other members, to be chosen by the subscribers at large at their General Meet- ings : it is necessary that it be distinctly understood that the committee merely act as trustees for the right application of the funds, without exerting any interference in the internal economy of the Mission. III. That the Reverend Missionaries of Tanjore be request- ed to suggest from time to time the best means for supporting the existing Mission at Trichinopoly, until a Missionary be regularly appointed to this latter station. IV. That the office of Patron to the Trichinopoly Mission Fund be reserved vacant, and that the succeeding Bishop of Calcutta, on his arrival in India, be requested to fill it, and that the Venerable the Archdeacon of Madras be requested to accept the office of Vice-Patron. V. That books be immediately opened for Donations and Subscriptions, and that the Chaplain be requested to receive the sums subscribed, until the Committee have prevailed upon one of their members to accept the office of Treasurer. VI. That the Reverend Thomas Robinson be requested to present these Resolutions to the Venerable the Archdeacon of Calcutta, and to state, as he can from his own personal know- ledge, the urgent need in which the Mission stands, of a re- gularly ordained and resident Missionary, and that the Arch- deacon will endeavour to grant one as early as possible. VII. That a copy of the proceedings of this Meeting be respectfully submitted to the Honourable the Governor in Council for his information and approval, and that the aid of Government be solicited for carrying into effect the intentions of our late revered Prelate, the funds of the present mission being at their lowest ebb. VIII. That the Chaplain be requested to accept the office of Secretary to the Trichinopoly Mission Fund pro tempore. IX. That the thanks of this Meeting be voted to Major- General Hall for his kind and conciliatory conduct in the chair. (Signed) TrICHINOPOLY, 1 1 Oth April 1826. j Jos. Wright, Secretary. the end. Printed l>y K. (