to this day a grateful recollection of the benefits he derived from his tuition. the result of his natural disposition, and in part of his occupations, formerly as a schoolmaster, and more latterly as engaged in agricultural pursuits. He never, however, neglected his pulpit preparations. His sermons were usually well studied, and not the mere product of such scraps of time, and effusions of crude and hasty thought, as his other occupations left him. He was an early riser, and secured as much time before he entered on his secular occupations as some men do who have the whole day at command. It must be admitted, that, had he not felt the necessity of engaging in scholastic pursuits, his preaching would have been still more excellent, and have risen to a high order. His strong, clear voice, his powerful imagination, and his masculine understanding, must have made him, had he been left to the leisure and habits of a sermoniser, a very popular preacher, and platform speaker. In his co-pastorate with Mr. Field, my dear brother was singularly and uninterruptedly happy. There is a prejudice in the minds of some aged ministers against a collegiate charge; and it must be confessed, that the many cases in which it has proved a source of uneasiness, not only to both parties, but also to the church, afford some ground for this objection. There have been instances, however, in which, through the amiable disposition of the aged pastor, and the kind, considerate, and deferential conduct of the younger one, the most entire and unbroken harmony has been preserved for a long series of years. An aged minister should be prepared to say in reference to the younger one, "He must increase, but I must decrease;" the younger should most affectionately and assiduously endeavour to sustain the declining powers and fading charms of the old one- Upon the whole, with the exception while at the same time the congrega- of one or two attacks of illness, he ention, amidst all their growing attach-joyed through life good health, and ment to the vigour and beauty of youth- continued his labours with little interful talent, should not omit the grati- ruption till the last. His constitution tude, the respect, and veneration, that was perceived by his family, so long ago are due to the aged man, who has worn as last winter, to be in some slight ont his life and collected his grey hairs degree losing its usual tone: but in in their service. All this was happily April the disease which brought him to exemplified in the two ministers who the grave showed itself by unmistakefor so many years occupied this pulpit. able symptoms, and from that time continued steadily and irresistibly to advance, in spite of skilful and devoted attention. As it approached its termination, it threw occasionally a cloud over his strong intellect, and for weeks rendered its exercise disturbed and incoherent. It was not permitted his family to enjoy the privilege of witnessing, in his case, the cloudless sunset of a calm and beautiful summer evening. Delirium, often distressing, prevented all this; and in this respect, and in this only, he had a dark and rough access to the gate of life. So long as his physical frame admitted the unimpeded exercise of his reason, he viewed his approaching death, if not with the exultation of triumphant hope, yet with the undis The life of the pastor of a church in a small town affords few incidents which demand attention. Mr. Keynes was too much occupied with home duties to be in any sense a public man, though, under other circumstances, he possessed talents which might thus have been employed with considerable advantage. The gale of applause with which he commenced at Poole would, if he had commanded leisure, have borne him onward on the tide of great | popularity. His services were highly esteemed by the neighbouring congregations, to whose pulpits he was always welcome. He certainly was never much of a pastor, a matter often lamented by his flock. This was in part illusive in themselves and as deceptive to survivors as are the physical, painful apprehensions of others. Medical science will attest, that, even where there is no delirium, some diseases tend to excitement and exhilaration, while others produce gloom and despondency. mayed expectation of a peaceful faith. Grace works no miracles for the most distinguished of God's servants, in counteracting the effects of disease on the cerebral functions; and even the children of light, like the children of this world, sometimes pass with gloomy hallucinations through the dark valley of the shadow of death. Thus many have been prevented, in the last scene of the conflict, from bearing their dying testimony either to the hope that was in them, or to those great truths which had proved the basis of it. This, however gratifying to their friends, was not needed to prove the sincerity of their profession, or the safety of their state. The testimony of a holy life is a still more veritable and impressive one than even that of a happy death: and though, when the intellect retains its power unclouded by disease, the one generally leads to the other, yet where, as in the present case, the feebleness and decay of the body extend to the mind, the usefulness and splendour of the orb, during its course, must be accepted in lieu of a brilliant setting. In the early stages of your minister's discase, his trust in the merits of the Saviour for eternal life was unshaken, and his hope of immortal glory peaceful, if not triumphant. My last interview with him was in May, when he had heard from his medical attendant, and felt in himself, the sentence of death; and rarely have I conversed with any one who spoke of his decease more unreservedly or more calmly. I felt there was no need, in order to his comfort, to avoid the subject altogether, or to advert to it only by oblique hints, or half-uttered insinuations. We spoke of his decease as a thing settled, and HE did it with more than the tranquillity of a philosopher-with the hope of a Christian. I have thus enlarged upon the subject because I believe the secrets of his dy-cessor, he walked the streets of this ing chamber have transpired, and had by some been misinterpreted into mental despondency and spiritual gloom. It is my firm conviction, that the joys of some, even in their deaths, are as It will not be expected, I hope, that I should attempt an extended delineation of the character of your departed pastor. I am not over fond of these post mortem examinations and pulpit dissections of the character of the departed ministers and members of our churches. In too many cases funeral panegyrics are nothing better, or more, than the incense of flattery burnt by the hand of affection at the shrine of friendship. What our friends were is already better known than we can describe. My dear brother has not, after more than fifty-one years' residence among you, left it to be disclosed to you by any biographer what he really was. His character was no problem left for me now to solve in the pulpit, where, and to the people among whom, for more than half a century, he preached the gospel of our salvation. His strong intelligence and masculine understanding-his inflexible integrity and uprightness-his noble generosity and abhorrence of all that was mean, sordid, and selfish-his unwcaried industry and diligence-in short, all that side of his character as a man, which was turned toward his fellow men, is well known to you. He walked in wisdom towards them that are without, and let his light so shine before men, and they secing his good works glorified God his heavenly Father." His congregation never had the mortification of being taunted with the inconsistent conduct of their minister, nor reproached with his debts, which they were called upon to discharge. Like his venerable prede town, without having the finger of scorn pointed at him, as one who, whatever he might be in the pulpit, out of it soiled the cloth he wore, and dishonoured the office he filled. He has gone to his grave without the shadow of a shade of imputation having passed over the surface of his reputation, or without the fly-blown taint of calumny having been insinuated into its substance. And is ministerial consistency of so little value, or is ministerial delinquency of such rare occurrence, that more than half a century's following "the whatsoever things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report," is no cause for congratulation, and no subject of thanksgiving on behalf of our dear friend? The public testimony to his character, not only by his own friends and congregation, but by the townspeople generally, among whom he has so long dwelt, and by whom he was so well known, first at the celebration of his jubilee, and then on the day of his obsequies, is a proof of the esteem in which he was held. He was no busybody in other men's matters-no sower of discord—no turbulent meddler-no restless agitator of the public peace. There are seasons and occasions when it is not only felt but confessed, that Christian excellence, though it may be found as to its home in ONE particular denomination, belongs in fact to the holy catholic church,—as when around the grave of the departed saint we drop our sectarianism, and take up cur charity, and feel that we are all one in Christ, and that, in the removal of so eminent a Christian, we have sustained a common loss. Expressions of respectful sympathy from not only members, but clergy of the Church of England, have not been wanting in the present case and no wonder, for our departed brother, though a firm and consistent, was not a bigoted or waspish, Nonconformist: he was a lover of all good men, and sought after the things that make for peace. As a theologian, Mr. Keynes was an admirer of the writings, because a believer in the sentiments, of our great * The shops of the town were closed, and the minute bell was tolled by order of the Rector and the Churchwardens. Puritan and Nonconformist Divines. He was no follower of the new lights that have been kindling around us, and which, with meteoric flutter and delusiveness, are beguiling, I fear, some of the younger ministers of the present day into the gulf of error. The ancient gospel, which, though old, is always new, was HIS theme. Yet he possessed a bold, independent, and rather speculative turn of mind. He knew that Christ crucified was his appointed and appropriate theme, and he kept to it, and yielded no more than did Paul, to the clamorous demands of a philosophising age, and an Athenian passion for some new thing. An abstract, cold, and heartless intellectuality he knew was another gospel, and yet not another, and he would not preach it. What the world needs is--the old truths, set forth with new powers. God in his mercy forbid that our churches should ever tolerate any other men in their pulpits than such as, like the great apostle of the Gentiles, glory only in the cross of Christ; or should think more of the talent of the preacher, and the sermon, than the doctrine which the preacher holds, and the sermon contains. We do not depreciate talent, nor make light of genius: we hold that the gospel is a theme suited to the noblest powers of the noblest minds: but it is more than probable that, in the present day, there is a danger, especially among our young members, of setting talent almost above truth and piety; or, at any rate, of being more ardent in the worship which they conduct around the shrine of genius, than in the sacrifice they offer on the altar of faith. The first and most emphatic, and indeed almost only expression we hear from their lips when they are seeking after a minister is, "We must now have a man of talent." As a Christian man, (and what minister is he whose Christianity does not include a practical and vital Christianity ?) my dear brother has of late years, to my own judgment at least, been acquiring additional degrees of spiritual excellence. I do not think that origin- | which are provided by the mercy of ally he was what is denominated goodtempered; but he had by grace subdued his natural disposition. Generous, affectionate, and kind, he always was; but, in my earlier intercourse with him, I thought him somewhat dogmatical and litigious, fond of disputation, and not only pointing his arguments with logic, but barbing, and sometimes poisoning them, with severe irony and stinging sarcasm. During the decline of life I have seen that the gentle and passive virtues, which are after all the most Christian ones, were brought out into bolder relief, and the meekness and gentleness of Christ were more beautifully imitated. The fruits of the Spirit have appeared in him in all their autumnal richness and ripeness. My brother has had his trials. If Luther said three things make a minister-study, prayer, and afflictions, your pastor wanted not the influence of the latter; but I believe he knew how to turn his sorrows to a good account. Yet he sometimes, perhaps, suffered little annoyances experienced in his church, (of which he had very few,) to affect him more than they need to have done. It would be quite needless to dwell on his conduct in the domestic relations of life. What he was as a husband, she could testify, were she permitted to speak from the skies, whom now he has joined in eternity. What as a father, his numerous family know, in whose hearts their parents will have a monument which filial affection will delight to honour. For them his midnight hours and mid-day labours were often employed, as far as consistent with the claims of his church and congregation. On the review of life, no man was more sensible of defects, both as a Christian and a minister, than he was. The most profound humility characterised his frame of mind: and such was his deep sense of deficiency, that sometimes, even when his mind was not under the power of delirium, he deprived himself of the full consolations God, in the gospel scheme of salvation, for all those who can trust in that blood which cleanseth from all sin. He has now reached that blessed world, which is ever drawing to itself all that is holy on earth-upon whose deathless and eternal shores the tide of time is ever setting, and conveying the souls of the redeemed family, where "mortality will be swallowed up of life." The spirits of just men made perfect, and the innumerable company of the angels, have received him to their exalted and blessed fellowship. God, the Judge of all, has welcomed him to his presence, and Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, has said, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" No widow remains to mourn his loss, for she who would have been such had she survived him preceded him to glory. May his children, whether settled in this country, or in the lands afar off,* be thankful that they had a father at whose name they will never have cause to blush-and may their father's God be theirs: then, when the dispersion ever going on in this world is over, they will meet him at the gathering together of the saints unto Christ, in that world where there is no more sea or separation—no more death. The To his church and congregation I would say, Be thankful you had him, and had him so long. Dear brethren, confide in Christ for the future. history of this church has, in one particular, been almost, if not quite, unexampled. For the first time for a century and a half certainly, perhaps for a longer time, it has not till now beer destitute of a minister.† At the decease of Mr. Blake, who had been pastor for fifty years, there was Mr. Field, his assistant, still remaining. At the decease *Three of his sons are in Australia. The church of Blandford is one of the oldest in the country, and was formed, in all probability, during the Commonwealth, or soon after. And it is remarksuccession of only four pastorates. Mr. able, that, during two centuries, it had a Field was minister there sixty-six years. of Mr. Field, there was his co-pastor, whom you have just lost: so that your church has been unusually blessed, in being exempt from those perils which ever attend the filling-up of a vacancy in the pulpit. May you be kept in May you be kept in harmony and unbroken unity, and the future history of this church be as peaceful and happy as the past has been! For this let all seek in the spirit of love, and all pray in the spirit of faith. Prepare to meet your pastor at the bar of God, when you will hear him say, "I take you to record, I am clear from the blood of all, for I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God." Fearful will it then be to have him appear as a swift witness against you. Fearful will it be to have the consciousness that his ministry was only a savour of death unto death. Fearful will it be to hear, from the lips of Christ, the doom of the unprofited hearer. Fearful will it be to pass to the world of retribution, and spend eternity in suffering the punishment of a misimproved ministry. On the contrary, may you be among those, and many such there will be, who will be his crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ! THE FIRST SABBATH IN THE YEAR. AN ADMONITORY ADDRESS. "The year is born!-the year is born!The past is numbered with the dead! What thoughts arise on New Year's morn! hopes have fled ! what New time arrives-new work's to do New cares-new dangers are in view." Stray Leaves. THE return of every Sabbath is a most interesting period, especially to the person who loves God, who loves the truth, and who loves holiness. It is connected with the most animating duties; with the purest and most grateful enjoyments; with the most kindling and delightful associations. There is something, however, pre-eminently in teresting connected with the first day and the first Sabbath in the year, and it ought to inspire emotions correspondingly pleasurable, as well as powerful. The return of every Sabbath is, also, the arrival of a period in our individual and domestic history which is peculiarly solemn. Viewed aright-in the light of Holy Scripture, and in the light of eternity-it is clothed with the deepest solemnity; but the first Sabbath in the year is one which is solemn in a pre-eminent degree. Thoughts are then awakened-feelings are then excited-impressions are then made-and recollections are then induced-which rarely occur at any other period. Every Sabbath, moreover, is a time, an occasion, of marked importance and significance: the events contemplated; the doctrines recurred to; the obligations imposed; the assemblies convened; the objects regarded; the responsibilities involved, combine in attaching to it the utmost value and moment; but the first Sabbath in the year is associated, unquestionably, with peculiar, with undefinable, preciousne ness and importance. All who value the soul, who recognise the surpassing solemnity and moment of the revelations of Christianity, and who are impressed, as they should be, with the lapse of time, the brevity and fragility of life, the nearness, and the vast, tremendous issues of the future judgment. ment will, beyond question, think and feel in this manner. Let us, then, on the arrival of this hallowed and memorable day, the First Sabbath in the year 1854, cherish those sentiments, those affections, those anticipations, which ought to be called forth, - |