Sir James Mackintosh, by this memorable confession, has done essential service to the cause of Christian truth, and to the best interests of mankind; but he amply enjoyed the means of conferring upon the world incalculably more important benefits. If he had directed his exalted powers to the study of Revelation, he might have achieved a work that would have carried down his illustrious name to the latest posterity. Had he taken up the subject, for instance, of Prophecy, or of Christian Doctrine, or of Morals, or of Miracles, what a treasure he might have bequeathed to after ages! He was equal to any thing: he actually accomplished very little; and, amid meditations of mighty projects, his life was allowed to run to waste. The VINDICIA GALLICE, on which his fame was founded, was but a loose and crude composition, which, had his industry and energy been equal to his talents, he might have produced in a week. His Ethical Dissertation only serves, by its depth, its power, its elegance, and its splendour, to convict him, on a vast scale, of unfaithful stewardship. By this alone, however, small as it is, will posterity know him, and for this alone will it rank him with the great writers of a former age. His attempts in historical composition have added nothing to his reputation. O, my Lord, had Sir James been awakened to the importance of eternity, and to the claims and glory of Christ, what motives he might have thence derived for the cheerful, continuous, and intense exertion of his faculties and powers! These faculties and powers, had they been consecrated to God, would have peculiarly fitted him for religious composition, while the Christian system would have supplied him with innumerable themes. worthy of their highest efforts. But his means and opportunities of thus benefiting mankind and glorifying God were neglected; and now, my Lord, they are past and gone for ever! It behoves his surviving friends to profit from his errors. My Lord, where Sir James Mackintosh is, we shall shortly be in the world of spirits! Not a moment, therefore, is to be lost. If, in our little hour, we would do any thing to purpose, we must betake ourselves to it with a resolution, an industry, a perseverance, and a vigour, which, however strange and unaccountable they may seem to a generation of idle and thoughtless men, are an unalterable condition of success. Your lordship has accomplished much in connexion with time; but it is to be hoped that far nobler achievements are still to be performed. You have already done something in the way of Natural Theology, and you have done it well; but surely you will not rest satisfied with that dark and doubtful department of inquiry after God. You have entered the porch will you not pass the threshold, and penetrate the temple? If importance attaches to natural, how much more to revealed religion! You have much to do, my Lord, in various walks, that you may not be far outdone even by some of your great, though now almost forgotten legal predecessors. Lord Chief Baron Hale wrote at least six or eight times more than your Lordship has yet written on the subjects of science, of morals, and of law; to which must be added, his "Judgment of the Nature of True Religion;" "Discourse of Religion, under Three Heads;" "A Discourse of the Knowledge of God and of Ourselves; first, by the Light of Nature; and, secondly, by the Scriptures." Then, my Lord, there is the Lord President Forbes, whose patriotic career was, in some leading points, analogous to your own. He, too, did much to purify law and cheapen justice. According to Bannatyne, his biographer, " a number of causes that had been depending for twelve, twenty, or thirty years, were discussed in the very first session after he sat; and yet this great and active judge found time to think on the things of Eternity! His "Thoughts on Religion" is a work of great erudition, and of high value. His "Reflections on the Source of Incredulity with regard to Religion," and his "Letter concerning some Important Discoveries in Philosophy and Theology," did excellent service at the time of their appearance. But, after all that they, and such as they, have done, the subject is not exhausted; indeed, they have done little more than pitch their tents on the confines of a boundless territory, and make a few, sometimes cursory, observations on their respective vicinities. The field of Revelation presents a measureless abundance of subjects infinitely more than worthy of the highest exercise of your lordship's powers— subjects sufficient to task them to the uttermost for the space of ten thousand generations! What a prospect that field opens up to your lordship's inquiry! What a legacy of thought, argument, wisdom, and eloquence, in relation to the Inspired Volume, you may yet leave to mankind! With materials thence derived, you may construct a monument to your industry and genius which shall endure to the end of all things. But, O my Lord, this is the smallest consideration! Indeed, it is not admissible at all into the list of Christian motives. The thought of the love of Christ absorbs every other thought. In the world of perfect men, the glory of ONE occupies the minds of all. The ransomed millions resident in the Paradise of God can endure no praise but that of him who was slain, and who redeemed them to God by his blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and in its celebration. they are assisted by all the inhabitants of the heavenly world. Thus speaks the prophet of Revelation :—“ I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne; and the number of them was ten thousand K times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." May He who is Alpha and Omega in heaven be the same on earth! May your lordship speedily occupy a foremost place among the best friends of his cause, and the most efficient promoters of his kingdom! LETTER IX. TO THE REV. TIMOTHY EAST, TREASURER OF SPRINGHILL COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM. ON THE CHARACTER AND DEATH OF THE LATE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS. MY DEAR SIR,-Your life has been signalized by two events of the highest importance to the good of mankind and the glory of Christ-the conversion of the late Rev. John Williams; and the foundation of Springhill College. The good in which the former of these events has already resulted, and the benefits which will flow to future ages from the latter, it is impossible to estimate. To you, as the "father in Christ" of the great South Sea Missionary, the present letter is addressed, since I know of none to whom, with equal propriety, it could be inscribed. My object is, to delineate his person, talents, habits, and character, and to offer some reflections on his death. “ Vixêre fortes ante Agamemnona Nocte carent quia vate sacro.” The first thing, with regard to his person, that presents itself to us, is his great physical power, which materially contributed to success in his peculiar sphere of Missionary |