*

"While residing at Cambridge he became known to, and admired by, some of the most distinguished scholars of the age. From this celebrated seat of learning he went to Leicester; and from Leicester he was called, by the congregation of Baptists in Bristol, to succeed the late Dr. Ryland, at Broadmead, in 1826. How well he fulfilled his arduons duties, the affection and sympathy of his flock are the best evidence. Mr. Hall has left a widow, one son, and three daughters. His death, to them, and to his numerous admirers and friends, is a great and irreparable loss, but to himself gain unspeakable; by it he, no doubt, exchanges a state of pain and suffering for one of unbounded bliss." — Bristol Gazette, February 24. 1831.

، Death is an event of such ordinary occurrence, that it produces a deep impression on the public mind only in those rare instances in which the departed individual was rendered a conspicuous or important portion of human society-as the possessor of uncommon qualities, or the instrument of extensive effects. That such an individual existed in the late Robert Hall, none who were acquainted with his character, his ministry, or his writings, will for a moment question. To consign in silence to the weekly record of death the sudden removal from our world of a man so prominent in whatever has the strongest claim on intellectual, moral, or religious admiration, would leave a degree of reproach on that city which has been blessed and honoured by his presence during the last five years of his valuable life. By this melancholy event, a star of the first magnitude and splendour has been eclipsed; and death has seldom claimed a richer spoil.

"To speak of this incomparable man in language propor

. It may not, perhaps, be generally known, that Dr. Barrington, Bishop of Durham, offered Dr. Hall high preferment in the church, if he would be ordained in it; but this flattering offer he, from conscientious motives, declined. To the preceding act of rigorous adherence to purity of principle may be added the following instance of his genuine modesty. In September, 1817, the honorary degree of D. D. was conferred on him, unsolicited, by Marischal College, Aberdeen. But such was his humility, that the few friends who were aware of the circumstance could never persuade him to assume the title.

tioned to his merit, is far beyond the pretension of this hasty memorial: his just eulogy would require an eloquence like that which his generous spirit has so often displayed at the grave of departed eloquence; like that with which he has represented the feelings of the nation on the death of the Princess Charlotte-the feelings of Leicester on the death of Mr. Robinson or those of Bristol on that of Dr. Ryland; an eloquence like that which has so long charmed into admiring attention the thousands who hung upon his lips. The tones of that hallowed oratory haunt us at this moment with a mental echo that will not soon die away; - but, alas! the living voice, or another like it, will be heard no more!

"In the sublime and boundless themes of religious contemplation, this sacred orator, this Christian Demosthenes, triumphed, as in an element congenial with the amplitude and grandeur of his mind. His preaching was as far superior, in magnificence of thought and expression, to ordinary preaching, as the "Paradise Lost" is superior to other poetry. It was, if such an image may be allowed, like harmony poured forth by a harp of a thousand strings. But he has himself unconsciously portrayed it, in his exquisite remarks on the preaching of Mr. Robinson:

"You have most of you witnessed his pulpit exertions, on that spot where he was accustomed to retain a listening throng, awed, penetrated, delighted, and instructed, by his manly unaffected eloquence. Who ever heard him without feeling a persuasion that it was the man of God who addressed him; or without being struck by the perspicuity of his statements, the solidity of his thoughts, or the rich unction of his spirit? It was the harp of David, which, touched by his powerful hand, sent forth more than mortal sounds, and produced an impression far more deep and permanent than the thunder of Demosthenes, or the splendid conflagrations of Cicero !'

"The energies of this great spirit were concentrated in devotion, consecrated, through a long course of years, to the religious benefit of man, and the glory of a redeeming God.

The intellectual sublimity and beauty of his mind were in perfect harmony with the moral elevation and spiritual grace of his character. The singular humility of his heart, the remarkable modesty and affability of his deportment, presented an affecting contrast to the splendour of his genius: his conscientious and unearthly indifference to fame or emolument was rendered the more striking by his ability to command them, had he wished, with his tongue and with his pen.

"Combining the intellect of a Paschal with the oratory of a Massillon, he retained through life a transparent simplicity and sincerity, as great as the wonders of his reason and eloquence; while his endowments were embalmed and crowned by a seraphic piety. But praise is useless here; his praise is in all the churches:' so long as genius, hallowed and sublimed by devotion, shall command veneration, the name of Robert Hall will be remembered among the brightest examples of sainted talent. And, above all, his record is on high' he has passed from a state of protracted suffering into that glory to which he had long and fervently aspired, and which he had often portrayed with the vividness of one who had caught an anticipating glimpse of the beatific vision.” — Farley's Bristol Journal.

Among the many sketches of this excellent man that have been already given by different persons, the following brief, but characteristic, touches ought not to be omitted. They were taken down as delivered by the Rev. H. Melville, of Camden Chapel, Camberwell, on February 27th, 1831: "I cannot refer you to a better antidote against infidelity than to a sermon on modern infidelity by the Rev. Robert Hall. If majesty of composition-closeness of argument— flow of eloquence-but, above all, fervour of piety, can delight you, you will find them all united in that great composition. Perhaps this is the greatest work which has been left us by this gifted man, who has, within the past week, entered into that rest for which he had so long sighed.

"Though the living voice be for ever hushed in the silence of the tomb, yet shall this sermon remain, to after ages, an im

pregnable barrier against all the assaults of infidelity. Though a minister of a sect from which we, as members of an apostolic church, widely differ, he was a prime master of divinity. His oratory was the oratory of thought. He carried his auditory with resistless energy before him, one idea not departing till a greater and loftier filled its room."

The funeral of the Rev. R. Hall took place on Wednesday, the 3d of March. About half-past eleven o'clock the procession left Ashley Place; and, on its arrival at the Baptist Seminary, it was joined by the students, the Dissenting and Wesleyan ministers of Bristol and its neighbourhood, and the congregation and friends of the deceased. The procession, which now amounted to several hundreds, proceeded to Broadmead. On arriving at the chapel, the body was placed at the upper end of the centre aisle, immediately under the pulpit. As soon as the persons composing the congregation had seated themselves, the funeral service was commenced by singing the 90th Psalm - "O God! our help in ages past." The Rev. Mr. Anderson then ascended the pulpit; and, having read a part of the 15th chapter of St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, he offered up a most solemn and impressive prayer. The 17th hymn of the 1st Book of Dr. Watts's Collection having been sung, the Rev. Mr. Crisp delivered an affecting funeral oration; at the conclusion of which the body was removed from the chapel, and deposited in a vault behind the pulpit with that of the late Dr. Ryland. The Rev. W. Thorpe concluded the service by prayer. Notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the weather, the chapel was in some places crowded to excess; the galleries were filled with ladies attired in deep mourning. The chapel was rendered peculiarly mournful on this solemn occasion, by the frontage of the galleries and the pulpit being hung with black cloth. The respect and esteem in which the worthy pastor was held by his congregation were fully apparent in every countenance; and his memory will be long and affectionately cherished by his beloved flock.

The funeral sermon was preached at Broadmead by the

Rev. J. Hughes, of Battersea, from Job xiv. 14. on Sunday morning, March 6th, to a crowded congregation. It is unnecessary to add, that it was a very suitable, chaste, and descriptive discourse, As an evidence of the high esteem in which Mr. Hall was held, and that his removal is considered a public loss, we understand that the pulpits of other chapels were covered with black cloth; and know that discourses suitable to the occasion were delivered to commemorate his worth. The immediate cause of Mr. Hall's death was a disease of the heart. The post mortem examination, it is said, did not disclose the cause of the excruciating pain that he was accustomed to endure in his back, when in an erect position. A calculus was found in the kidney.

That Mr. Hall's death was in perfect unison with his life, the following brief memorial of his last moments will fully attest:-"He lingered until four o'clock on Monday afternoon, when he uttered these words, I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ. Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.' In a few minutes his prayer was answered, and he was admitted into the immediate presence of that adorable Saviour, whom, having loved and faithfully served, he longed to behold face to face."

For many valuable and interesting observations, incorporated in this narrative, we have to acknowledge our obligations to Dr. Gregory, of Woolwich, who, for many years, was an intimate friend of the deceased. A memoir, published in the Imperial Magazine for December, 1827, has also furnished an outline of Mr. Hall's early life. For a still more considerable portion, however, of the information embodied in this biographical sketch, respecting Mr. Hall's residence in Bristol, his death, funeral solemnities, the attachment of his numerous friends, and the delineation of his character, we are indebted to the author of the following letter, in which the writer's own views and feelings are more particularly portrayed. "Mr. Hall was truly a liberal man; and he rejoiced greatly at the diffusion of truth and knowledge. But his liberality was not of that false kind, friend as he was to the liberty of