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afternoon and evening. This occasioned me to have to walk, altogether, about eight miles on a Sunday, as well as to preach three times. I succeeded at Bradford so far as to establish a small congregation there; and there is reason to fear, had not I gone to reside in Wiltshire, the meeting-house would have been lost to us now it is, and I trust will continue to be, kept open by my worthy successor at Trowbridge.

4. I will briefly state wherein I failed of success. I had reckoned much on forming classes of young people, and delivering regular courses of lectures to them; but I could not obtain a sufficient number to form a single class. I had hoped to induce a number of the working people to come to my house for conversation and religious instruction ; but I could seldom get any individual to call without a formal invitation. I wished to establish a conference meeting, but could not succeed. I was anxious to establish occasional services in some neighbouring places. I did this for one year in a village, and gave it up for want of hearers. I tried in two neighbouring towns, but found it would not answer. I had hoped to have succeeded so far as to be able to provide for a young minister to assist me ; but the falling off of some of my resources, and the consequences of the change of times among the manufacturers, which greatly increased our parochial taxes, rendered this impracticable, though the British and Foreign Association offered to assist me in it. I certainly had expected to see more union and zeal in my own congregation, and to have had a greater increase of hearers, than I found in Trow, bridge. For a time we seemed to increase, and things had, on the whole, a more promising appearance; but, during the last of the five years, the congregation rather diminished than increased; and this, in connexion with the other circumstances, shewed me that my removal was necessary.

5. Though I failed of the success I had hoped for, I think I may say, I left the congregation in a better state, in every respect, than I found it. During the five years of my ministry an excellent Sunday-school was raised, (consisting, when I left, of a hundred and ten children,) which was well organized, with a number of active teachers, and writing had been introduced in the school with good success. A few pamphlets, which was all they had when I commenced my ministry among them, had increased to a

pretty good library, which seemed to be very well managed. The singing was greatly improved before I left them, by meetings being frequently held for the purpose. The moral and religious character of the congregation was on the whole improved. A plan of organization had been adopted, and was in progress, which I hope will lead to much good; a congregational committee had been appointed, and was in action, and proper officers chosen for the necessary purposes of the society. I had a great number of tracts distributed in Trowbridge and its vicinity, during my residence there, probably more than two thousand. In point of numbers I left the congregation better than L first found it; and their debt, which had increased during the time of my predecessor, was considerably diminished during my time. Both the Unitarian doctrine and its professors stood better in the view of many of their neighbours than they had done before. I think I may with great truth say, that much up-hill work had been done, the way prepared, and a foundation laid, for much future good, which I hope will render the labour less difficult, and the prospect of success more certain, to my worthy successor, than either possibly could be to me in the year 1822.

IV. It remains to state the considerations which determined me to remove from Trowbridge; which determination was the result of much serious and deliberate thought, and careful weighing of all the circumstances.

1. It is a maxim with me, that if a minister, especially when passed sixty years of age, cannot render himself so far popular as to command a pretty good prospect of success during the first four or five years of his ministry, in any given place, it is in vain for him to expect he shall do so by continuing there for a much longer time: that, consequently, if there be an opportunity for him to remove to another situation, where there is more likelihood of his doing good, he ought to embrace it. On this principle I have acted. The prospect of success at Trowbridge was: not such as seemed to me to authorize my spending what might remain to me of active life there, and, so far as I could form an estimate, there appeared to me a much better prospect of spending the evening of my life usefully. in this part of the kingdom than in Wiltshire.

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2. It appeared to me, from a careful review of all the circumstances, that whether I could be more useful in another place or not, another and a younger minister, if suited to the situation, would be likely to do more good at

Trowbridge and in its vicinity than I could; as the minister of that place must look chiefly to the rising generation, and a young man is more likely to excite and fix the attention of children and youth than a person at my age; besides, it seemed too late in life for me to wait and watch and labour till another generation should be grown up, to see the fruits of such labours; though I think a young man may do it with considerable confidence and, I thought, after what I had done there, the novelty of a new minister might produce good effects, and the tide of prejudice and bigotry not set in against him with so strong a current as it had done against me. For these reasons, I thought a change was necessary for the good of the congregation and the cause.

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3. I began to think it would be most proper for me to be with a congregation that was not on a Baptist foundation, as my doubts on the perpetuity of baptism were gaining ground in my mind; yet I do not suppose the congregation at Trowbridge would have wished me to leave them merely on account of my relinquishing baptism; the chapel at Bradford never belonged to Baptists.

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4. Had the prospect at Trowbridge been sufficiently encouraging, as to usefulness, I never should, nor could I in conscience, have left that place on account of income besides, I did not expect to increase my income by removing, nor have I any reason to think that will be the case, but rather the reverse.

I have not room, in this letter, to mention any thing I did, during my five years in Wiltshire, besides my labours at Trowbridge and Bradford. I remain, &c.,

Earthly Immortality.

R. WRIGHT.

Napoleon being in the gallery of the Louvre one day; attended by Baron Denon, turned round suddenly from a fine picture, which he had viewed for some time in silence, and said to him-"That is a noble picture, Denon." "Immortal," was Denon's reply. "How long," inquired Napoleon," "will this picture last?" Denon answered, that," with care, and in a proper situation, it might last, perhaps, five hundred years.' "And how long," said Napoleon, "will a statue last?" "Perhaps," replied Denon, "five thousand years. "And this," returned Napoleon, sharply, " this you call immortality!"

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OBITUARY.

Rev. JAMES HOLT.

1828. Jan. 30, died at his house in Hackney Fields, in the 72d year of his age, the Rev. JAMES HOLT. He was born August 2, 1756, in the parish of St. Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex, of parents in humble life, though he had some obscure notion that he was of the same family as Lord Chief-Justice Holt. In the year 1773, he was apprenticed to an engraver, and made such proficiency in the art, the common branch of it, that he earned, as he was accustomed to relate, six guineas per week before the expiration of his apprenticeship. Part of his earnings belonging to himself, he found himself at this period in the possession of sixty guineas. He had been brought up in the Church of England, but was converted to Calvinistic Methodism by the preaching of a Mr. Bryant, of Jewry Street. In consequence of this change, he attended the various popular preachers of the same class, but becoming more sober in his views, he united himself with the Independent Church in Hare Court, Aldersgate Street, under the pastoral care of Mr. Joshua Webb, of whom he always spoke in terms of strong affection. By this gentleman's advice, his attention was turned towards the Christian ministry, and under his patronage he entered, in 1780, the Independent Academy at Homerton, with the savings of his industry in his pocket. He continued here seven years under the tuition of Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Daniel Fisher, Dr. Henry Mayo, and Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Benjamin Davies. On leaving the academy, which he did with very satisfactory testimonials, signed by his three Tutors and five other Independent Ministers, he preached at various places. His first engagement was at Bere, Dorset. He was then for a few months at Bury Street, St. Mary Axe, London, where Dr. Savage, and before him Dr. Watts, had been minister. In the beginning of the year 1789, his papers shew that he was at Weymouth, as an assistant to Mr. Wilkins. From this place, he removed to Martock, Somerset, and then to Creaton, near Thrapston, Northamptonshire. He next spent some time with the congre gation at Daventry. His perceptible change of opinions might be one cause of these frequent removals. We now find him in a different, connexion, first at Plymouth Dock and then at Dartmouth, with Presbyterian congregations in those places. At Dartmouth he continued five years, on a salary of 351. per annum, out of which he contrived to lay by something. About the year 1799, he removed to take charge of the Presbyterian congregation at Crediton, where also he remained five years. Within this last period, he married Miss Burton, of Dartmouth, who dying suddenly, in 1806, left him property, which was a

competency for the remainder of his life. After this event, he resided for some time in the neighbourhood of London, but was soon induced to accept the pastorship of the Presbyterian congregation at Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, vacant by the removal of Mr. Fry. In this, his last ministerial connexion, he continued for ten years; at the expiration of which he retired on account of his infirmities to Hackney, where he closed his life. He desired it to be recorded on his tomb-stone, in the Gravel-Pit Burial Ground, Hackney, in which his body lies, that "after ten years' earnest, incessant inquiry, he became a decided Unitarian, and continued so invariably until death." Under these words, upon the tomb-stone, are the following :→→ "His Executors consider it due to his piously-charitable mind to record also, that he has bequeathed the residue of a moderate estate for the education of Students for the Unitarian Ministry."

At Nantwich, Cheshire, January 24th, in her 35th year, ANN, wife of Mr. Ralph, CAPPUR. She became a convert to Unitarian views of Christianity about nine years ago, in consequence of attending on the ministry of the Rev. W. Bakewell, then of Chester. She possessed strong natural powers of mind, and a determination to think for herself on a subject so important as religion; the result of her inquiries was a full conviction that the leading views of Unitarian Christians are much more conformable to the instructions and example of Christ, than those adopted by Trinitarian Christians. While, however, she steadily adhered to her own convictions, she displayed a spirit of candour and Christian charity towards the more worthy of other sects of professing Christians than they generally manifest towards Unitarian Christians. She often lamented the bigotry of many of her professedly orthodox acquaintance, whom, in other respects, she esteemed, but never exhibited the same unchristian spirit towards those who differed from her on religious subjects. The subject of this obituary notice was one of the many whose conduct, under long and severe affliction, and in the prospect of dissolution, proves the power of Unitarian principles to support and cheer the mind. In varied forms she expressed her full satisfaction with her religious views, and during a long and, in many respects, distressing illness, humbly but confidently relied for pardon and acceptance on the bene volence and mercy of God communicated to mankind by Jesus Christ. Her views of the paternal government of Jehovah induced her on one occasion, a short time before her death, to say, "I am well satisfied that my heavenly Father does not afflict me for his own pleasure: he has, I doubt not, some wise and good end to accomplish by the visitation. I honestly confess I have a wish for life on account of my children, yet if it be the will of God to remove me hence I shall not repine."

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