which were truly admirable.-Perfectly aware of his situation, he one day told a friend who was near him, he had hoped all would have been over before that time; but he supposed a little more discipline was necessary; and all was ordered right." At another time, he said to his physician, "I hope. I shall not have to go through all this long."-When momentarily expecting his awful change, he was most perfectly tranquil and collected in that expectation, and anxious for his release. He said, not long before his death, “he felt completely free from pain, happy and comfortable to the greatest degree."Again, to one who was most dear to him, he observed," Amidst my severe afflictions, I have many comforts, and much to be thankful for, though I do suffer a good deal; but I endeavour to be patient; and I wish to bring my mind to believe, that this bed is the best place for me. Some have a much rougher journey out of this system than I have."It was a striking observation of a neighbouring gentleman, for whom he entertained great personal regard-who, upon secing him in his sick room not many days previous to his dissolution, remarked, that "His was the only composed, or happy countenance in the house." He frequently expressed his desire to be released, and that he thought his time long. When a word or sentiment escaped him, he was the same precisely as ever, unchanged in sickness, suffering and in death. When rapidly advancing to the most awful and tremendous of all moments, he continued calm and serene, kind to others, and composed and dignified in his own views,-till at length he breathed his last without a struggle or a sigh,*—sunk into a state of sweet and gentle repose, and closed his eyes for ever on this world. "The chamber where the good man meets his fate, Is privileged beyond the common walk Of virtuvas lite, quite in the verge of heaven." Such were the interesting, awful scenes, such the sad train of concomitant circumstances, which I have partly witnessed, or which have been On Thursday evening, the 26th of December, 1816. represented to me with great accuracy and distinctness, as well as with deep interest, and the liveliest sensibility. So consistent, so dignified was the conduct, of this approved servant of God in circumstances the most trying to human nature, so enlightened, so vigorous were the principles which sustained and carried him through no common sufferings,so bright and cheering, the hopes which inspired his breast even within the precincts of the tomb. "His body is buried in peace"-but his memory is bles."-His good deeds are recorded on high, and his name is registered in heaven. The death of such a man exhibits a solemn and impressive scene. It will long be felt, and deeply regretted, as a loss to the world-to which, to his surviving family and to his long tried and approved friends, he has left a bright example of genuine merit and of sterling excellence an example, in which the virtues of the man were admirably blended with the acquirements of the Christian. It is, indeed, a subject of deep and unfeigned regret, that, in his death, theological science has lost a shining ornament; Christian truth and liberty, an able advocate; and the cause of humanity, a generous friend. Those who know his various uierits need no memorial of his virtues; they bear it in their own bosoms; they will not to remember him, as long as genuine piety, disinterested benevolence, unaffected candour, probity and singleness of heart, retain a place in the esteem of mankind. cease If testimonies were wanting to the virtues of so exalted a character, it were easy to adduce them without number. I shall content myself with quoting two or three passages from the correspondence of persons of eminence and long-established reputation for integrity and worth. "Human nature," says one, not be viewed in a more dignified attitude, than that which your last short, but most affecting, letter presented to my eyes. Even the tenderest performance of all the duties of a daughter to a worthy parent in declining health, meritorious as it is in a very high degree, seems to me less affecting than his calm fortitude, and truly Christian resignation to his Maker's will. Few can hope to reach so exalted a character; but many will feel its superiority to the tinsel virtues of the world, and may hope to be the better for it." These are the appropriate and emphatical sentiments of the truly venerable Mr. Wyvill.* In another letter to a common friend (dated January 16, 1817,) he observes" Mr. Disney's letters express the best sentiments, and the justest, on his father's uncommon merits, which were truly exemplary, and place the friend we have lost in the most distinguished station as a moralist, a Christian, and a friend to his country."And again, in a letter to the same correspondent, (February 17,)" To have had such a father, and such a friend, is one of the greatest, blessings that this life could afford; if we know how to value it as we ought." ་་ Another worthy and excellent person expressed himself in the following terms, in a letter of February the 6th: Dr. Disney's death is both a private and a public loss.-The value of the encomiums bestowed is enhanced and confirmed by the sanction of truth.-I believe his real character and conduct fully deserved them. This persuasion is general, and must render that tribute to his memory acceptable to the lovers of literature, and especially of moral worth among his numerous acquaintance, and peculiarly grateful and consolatory to his family and intimate friends. I can form no better wish for them, than that they may imitate, in their respective spheres, his probity, his virtuous fortitude, his conscientious regard to the rights of God and man, and be entitled to a similar future reward." Nor can I decline the satisfaction of adding the following extract from a letter addressed to a gentleman most nearly connected with the deceased, by a person of an elegant, correct, and highly accomplished mind, and possessed of very superior intellectual endowments and acquirements-to whom she observes, in terms that do honour to her own discriminating judgment, integrity, and indepen In a letter to Dr. Disney, of Nov. 8, 1816, in answer to the last letter he received from his lamented friend deceased. dence of character. Her words are these:-"The sad event you an nounced, though by no means unexpected for some weeks past, does not fall the less heavily. You have lost a father, whose name will command more respect for his descendants than his estates, a hundred times multiplied, could give them consequence.” A Catalogue of Dr. Disney's Works. 1. Memoirs of the Life and Wris tings of Arthur Ashley Sykes, D. D. With an Appendix, 8vo. 1785, 5s. 2. The Works, Theological, Me. dical, Political, and Miscellaneous, of John Jebb, M. D. F.R. S. With Memoirs of the Life of the Author, 3 vols. 8vo. 1787, £1. Is. 3. Discourses on various Subjects. To which are added, Considerations on Pluralities. By Samuel Disney, LL. B. late Vicar of Halstead, Essex. With a Preface, 8vo. 1788, 6s. 4. Memoirs of the Life and Wri tings of John Jortin, D. D. 8vo. 1792, 5s. 5. The Book of Common Prayer. Reformed, for the Use of Unitarian Congregations, 1792, 2s. 6d. 6. The Book of Common Prayer Reformed, for the Use of Unitarian Congregations, with the Book of Psalms, and a Collection of Hymns, 1802. 7. Memoirs of T. B. Hollis, Esq. 1808. 4to. 8. Sermons, Vols. 1 and 2. 8vo. 1793. 9. Sermons, Vols. 3 and 4. 8vo. Letters from Thomas Muir, Esq. and the Rev. Thomas Fyshe Palmer. SIR, THE Clapton, May 4, 1817. HE following letters may very suitably appear in the same volume with the letter from Mr. Palmer (p. 204). The first of them was written by Mr. Muir, on board the Surprize, and the second while the vessel touched at Rio on the voyage. The third and fourth are printed copies which I received from Dr. Disney, who had employed the press, from his usual courteous disposition to gratify his friends. The fifth was, I believe, the last letter which reached me from Mr. Palmer, though probably, he wrote again before he left Sydney. I ought, perhaps, in justice to his memory to have mentioned in my former letter the treatment which he experienced, immediately on his removal to the Hulk, at Woolwich, from on board the vessel which conveyed him from Scotland. Mr. Palmer once shewed me the place which was, at first, his only dormitory. This was the hold of the vessel, where he had a hammock slung to the ceiling. A great number of convicts lay around him on bulk-heads, without any separation. As obvious consequences, he was presently robbed of his watch and every thing valuable, obliged to hear the most horrible conversations, and subjected to other inconveniences which cannot properly be described. Whether this treatment were the effect of criminal inattention or more criminal design I know not. It should however be added that the evil had been redressed before the time when I first visited Mr. Palmer. He then was permitted to have all the accommodations which such a situation could afford, and messed with the captain, whom he, not unreason, ably, considered as a spy on his conduct and his associations, though the captain seemed to me to overact his part by expressing the most unqualified democratic sentiments. Mr. Muir was, I believe, under the same specious surveillance; for when I first visited him, there was present a gentleman, yet living, who had lately published a work, quite out of the track of courtly politics. A copy of this work he had presented to Mr. Muir, and the captain of that Hulk complimented the author in my hearing, by telling him that the mate of the vessel so admired the work that he would scarcely suffer it to go out of his possession. A man must have known little of the world not to have set a guard on the door of his lips in such company. J. T. RUTT. We shall sail the first fair wind. Two days ago our convoy gave the signal to the different ships to hold themselves in readiness. I leave this country with no other regret than in being so soon separated from a circle of friends in England whose memory shall ever live in my affection. I shall chearfully embrace every opportunity of writing you, but in the mean time you would readily excuse these few hurried lines, if you knew the inconvenient situation in which I write. Believe me to be, my dear Sir, With sincere esteem, your's, Remember me in the warmest manner to your friend Mr. Gurney, and present my congratulation on his late appearance in publick. J. T. Rutt, Esq.. Letter 11. Ria di Janeiro, 20 July, 1794. MY DEAR SIR, IT is a pleasant, but at the same time a painful duty, for me to write to my friends. The remembrance of former happiness, the recollection of hours never to be recalled, and the uncertainty of the fate of the persons to whom I address my self, fill my mind with such mixed sensations as render me both willing and afraid to take a pen in my hand. For you and for those common friends, who along with you walk the same path of honour and of freedom, I can only pour out un availing prayers. The storm may, perhaps, have passed over me, but you and they stand yet exposed in the midst of the conflict of the elements. May he who can temper their wildest ry, temper it in that hour when ready to burst over your heads, or if burst it must, enable you to stand unmoved by the shock. Painful and disagreeable circumrtanees have occurred in the course of the voyage. Soon enough will you be acquainted with them. To me they have been the fruitful sources of many melancholy days. But I know that niy mind, however agitated by private affliction, never can be shaken by publick suffering. Your's truly and sincerely, J.T.Rutt, Esq. Letter III. Sydney, N. S. Wales, June 13, 1795. MY DEAR SIR, WHEN Mr. White, the principal surgeon of this settlement, sailed last December in the Dædalus, I entrusted him with what is dearer to me than life, my character. I was under the necessity of defending this against the infernal machinations of master of the Surprize transport, who had hired and suborned some of the outcasts who sailed with him, to swear away my life by the accusation of mɑtiny, and the intended murder of him and his principal officers. Of this murderous attempt of sent the most indubitable evidence of many depositions made before a magistrate. In the hurry, Mr. Ellis sent the attested, copies, as well as the originals, so that my character depends on the safe arrival and honesty of Mr. White. They were accompanied with the dismal narrative of my sufferings (of which last I have a copy) and trusted to the care of Mr. I am extremely auxious for the fate of them. My history since then is little else than a register of vexations and persecutions. en The officers have monopolized all the trade of the colony. They suffer no one but themselves to board any ship that may arrive. They alone buy the cargo, and sell it at 1, 2, 3, 400, and even 1000 per cent. profit. Mr. Ellis and Boston were ordered into confinement for entering a ship and endeavouring to purchase things, not prohibited, for their use. With great respect, but firmness, they remonstrated against this invasion of the common rights of British subjects. This was construed into an audacious attack upon the privileges and interests of tliese military monopolists. And from that time (now many months ago) they have set their faces against them and me. They have had no grauts and no servants. Mr. Boston, though. He had been in Mr. Palmer's service in Scotlaud, and procured leave to accoinpay him. R. + These numerous documents came safely to my hands, and from them Mr. Joyce compiled his Narrative. There is an aliccting enumeration of the sufferings endured by Mr. Skirving and Mr. Palmer, in Mr. P.'s letter to the Rev. T. Lindsey, dated Sep. 15, 1795. See Rev, T. Belsham's Memoirs, &c. p. 523. R. sent out by government principally to cure fish and make salt, has been the whole time unemployed. My men, which I bought at a monstrous rate, with a farm, have been taken from me. A message has been sent me to pull off my hat to the officers, or I should be confined in the cells, and punished. Public orders have been twice given for no soldier to speak to me, under the penalty of 100 lashes. Now I never had omitted the ceremony of capping the officers, and never conversed with the soldiers. The most impudent claims on my property from the most unprincipled thieves were listened to, and enforced, without deigning to hear a single word I had to say. The situation the colony is in at present is dreadful. It is put on half allowance, and even at this rate there is not enough in the stores to last three weeks. They have begun to kill the live stock. The cows are condemned, but all the stock in the colony will not last a month. The only resource is about three months provisions of Indian corn, a food inadequate to labour. In this state Mr. Boston wrote to the commanding officer that he was sent out by government on purpose to make salt and cure fish, and that he would undertake, with the assistance of boats and men, to supply from Lord Howe's Island, in the neighbourhood, a full or even a double allowance of well cured fish, at a third of the price of beef and pork. Can you conceive that little or no notice was taken of this, and nearly a flat denial given? Yesterday a large ship came in from India, the Endeavour, Bampton, with the company's colours flying. These were called American, by others the colours of Britain,-of a frigate sent to fetch us over. Good heavens! What were my sensations! mocked with groundless joy to be plunged again into melancholy. She brings live stock, arrack, tea, sugar, muslin, buffalo-fat, but only fourteen barrels of provisions. Fowls sel at 5s. each; cabbages 6d. ; pork 1s. 6d. per pound. I have never accepted any provisions of any kind from the stores, that no pretence might be made to demand my labour, and find living enormously dear. Mr. Muir, myself, Mr. and Mrs. Boston and Ellis live together, and are all well. It gave me great pleasure on landing to see the harmony between the natives and whites. This was owing to the indefatigable pains of Governor Phil, lips, to cultivate a good understanding with them. When hiniself was speared he would suffer no vengeance to be taken, and on no account an injury to be done thein by a white man. The natives of the Hawkesbury (the richest land possibly in the world, producing 30 and 40 bushels of wheat per acre) lived on the wild yams on the banks. Cultivation has rooted out these, and poverty compelled them to steal Indian corn to support nature. The unfeeling settlers resented this by unparalleled severities. The blacks in return speared two or three whites, but tired out, they came unarmed, and sued for peace. This, government thought proper to deny them, and last week sent sixty soldiers to kill and destroy all they could meet with, and drive them utterly from the Hawkesbury. They seized a native boy who lived with a settler, and made him discover where his parents and relations concealed themselves. They came upon them unarmed, and unexpected, killed fire, and wounded many more. The dead they hang on gibbets, in terrorem. "The war may be universal on the part of the blacks, whose improvement and civilization will be a long time deferred. The people killed were untfortunately the most friendly of the blacks, and one of them more than once saved the life of a white man. Governor Hunter, whose arrival is so anxiously expected, will come out with just and liberal ideas, I trust, of policy, and correct the many abuses and oppressions we groan under, as well as those of the poor natives. seems a strange time to drive these poor wretches into famine, the alinost certain consequence of driving the from their situation, when we are so near it ourselves. Ever since I landed I have been attacked by the malady of the country, sore eyes; so that I have been obliged to give up writing and reading. I have now blisters behind my ears, from which I find some relief. Some luse their sight, but, in general, after the first attack, their vision is as good as ever. You may be sure I am all anxiety concerning the fate of those men, who are suffering for the welfare of others. Remember me to them, if you have |