reading, and a liberal course of education. Indeed, he might be said to “intermeddle with all wisdom;" for there were few branches of literature or science to which he had not devoted more or less of his attention: he was no less remarkable for the diversity of his knowledge than for the extent of his attainments. Some men excel in one branch of study, and some in another; but the peculiarity of his mind was, that he seemed equally conversant with all. Chemistry, mathematics, and astronomy, were his favourite studies; to which we may add, a thorough acquaintance with the principles of mental and moral science, political economy, and natural philosophy. He possessed, at the same time, a keen taste for the beauties of nature; and could, with equal ease, expatiate in the regions of poetry and fancy, or engage in the profound calculations and patient researches of the more abstruse and exact sciences.

He was also distinguished, in his youth, by much vivacity of disposition and playfulness of manner, as well as by great activity and energy of character; and whatever his hand found to do, he might be said to "do it with all his might." Like many young men destined for the Established Church, he seems to have entered on the study of theology more with a view to qualify himself for a genteel profession, than from any deep sense of its vast importance to his own individual happiness. After the usual curriculum at the University of St. Andrew's, he acted as assistant for a short time to the late Dr. Charteris, in the parish of Wilton, near Hawick; and afterwards obtained a presentation to the parish of Kilmany, in the presbytery of Cupar, Fife, where he was ordained in 1803. He continued in that sphere till the year 1815, when he was removed to Glasgow, where he exercised his ministry with great efficiency and applause, till the year 1823, when he was chosen Professor of Moral Philosophy in the United College of St. Andrew's, in room of the late Dr. Crawford. Here he remained till the year 1828, when he was chosen Professor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh, which situation he held till the disruption of the Establishment, in 1843; he was then unanimously elected Professor of Divinity, and Principal, or President, of the Free Church College, Edinburgh, in which office he continued till his death.

During the first years of his ministry he devoted his chief attention to chemical

and mathematical science, and even offered himself as a candidate for the mathematical chair in the College of Edinburgh; but, happily for himself and the church, the application was unsuccessful, Providence having reserved him for a higher sphere. While at Kilmany, he seems to have satisfied himself with the idea that, being placed in a small secluded country parish, a very limited portion of his time might suffice for the performance of his official duties. At this period, though he could not be said literally to "destroy the faith" which he afterwards "preached,' it is certain, from his own testimony, that he was ignorant of the principles of evangelical religion, and had never experienced the power of divine truth upon his heart. His mode of preaching was very different from what it afterwards became, both in regard to matter and manner, and might well be called "another gospel." This he acknowledges with great candour and humility, in his "Farewell Address to the Inhabitants of Kilmany.' "For the greater part of that time" (he says, speaking of the twelve years of his ministry there) "I could expatiate on the meanness of dishonesty, on the villany of falsehood, on the despicable arts of calumny; in a word, upon all those deformities of character which awaken the natural indignation of the human heart against the pests and the disturbers of human society. Now, could I, upon the strength of these warm expostulations, have got the thief to give up his stealing, and the evil speaker his censoriousness, and the liar his deviations from truth, I would have felt all the repose of one who had gotten his ultimate object. It never occurred to me that all this might have been done, and yet every soul of every hearer remained in full alienation from God. . . . But the interesting fact is, that during the whole of that period, in which I made no attempt against the natural enmity of the mind to God; while I was inattentive to the way in which this enmity is dissolved, even by the free offer on the one hand, and the believing acceptance on the other, of the gospel salvation; while Christ, through whose blood the sinner, who by nature, stands far off, is brought near to the heavenly Lawgiver whom he has offended, was scarcely ever spoken of, or spoken of in such a way as stripped him of all the importance of his character and his offices, even at this time I certainly did press the reformations of honour, and truth, and integrity among my people;

but I never once heard of any such reformations having been effected among them." In fact, he was in a similar state of mind with Paul before his conversion, "alive without the law;" or like the Jews, ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish, in himself and others, man's own righteousness, instead of submitting to the righteousness of God.

Though always original and animated as a speaker, there was so little of devotional feeling, at this period, in his public ministrations, that pious people who knew him then have assured me they always felt uneasy and disappointed when they saw him enter the pulpit; and so little was his heart in his proper work, that when taunted, many years afterwards, (by an advocate for pluralities,) with having had plenty of time then for his mathematical studies, as well as ministerial labours, he acknowledged with humility the truth of the observation; but added, that, amidst all his calculations, he never thought of estimating the proportion between two quantities-the littleness of time and the grandeur of eternity. Towards the close of his ministry in Kilmany, about the year 1812, his mind underwent an important revolution on the subject of personal religion-an event which he never afterwards attempted to conceal, and which he sincerely regarded as the period of his conversion to God. The circumstances that led to that change are but imperfectly known, though it is to be hoped he has left ample records of it among his manuscripts. Some have ascribed it to his having been employed by Dr. (now Sir David) Brewster to write his celebrated article on the evidences of Christianity for the Edinburgh Encyclopædia-a commission which seems to have led him to reflect whether he himself knew anything of its internal or experimental evidence: others have referred it to the conversations he had with a pious Dissenting minister in the neighbourhood:* others to a threatening illness with which he was then seized. All these causes may have concurred; but in whatever way it was brought about, the change itself was most conspicuous and decided. As in the case of our apostle, it was evident to the most careless and prejudiced observer; and the fruits of it were soon apparent in the altered style of his preaching, as well as in the whole tenor of his conduct. The purity and consistency of

*The late Mr. Johnston, of the Secession Congregation, Rathillet.

his subsequent life afforded the best evidence of its sincerity, as well as of the hallowing influence of those doctrines which he now taught, and which are sometimes ignorantly stigmatized as leading to licentiousness.

His previous habits of thought peculiarly qualified him to convince gainsayers, and to meet the infidel and the sceptic on their own ground. They might be ready to turn away in disgust from the teaching of men of inferior minds, and to regard them as ignorant fanatics or dreaming enthusiasts; and their prejudices against evangelical truth might be excited by the homeliness of the dress in which it was presented; but here was a man of lofty intellect, who had not only embraced the doctrines of grace from personal conviction of their truth, but who could clothe them in all the splendour of imagery, and eloquence of style, for which, as a writer and speaker, he was so remarkable, and so universally admired. In his work on the Evidences, he has pointed out the proper province of reason in matters of revelation-not to sit in judgment on the supposed fitness or rationality of its doctrines, but to ascertain the weight of evidence on which they rest their claims to inspiration, and, when satisfied of this, to bow with submission and child-like docility to the testimony of God. In his "Astronomical Discourses," he proves the harmony that subsists between the discoveries of science and the doctrines of revelation, and illustrates the bearing of our Saviour's mission and atonement on the destinies of the whole intelligent creation. In his "Discourses on ordinary Occasions," he excelled in exposing the various pleas of self-righteousness under which men seek to justify themselves in the sight of God, and in "shutting them up to the faith," according to his favourite phrase: he delighted to dwell on the freeness and universality of the gospel call, and showed, in the most forcible manner, that the righteousness of Christ is offered for the acceptance of all, and the gift of the Spirit is promised to all. On such words as "all," "whosoever," "every one,' sinners,' "the world," where they occurred in his text, he enlarged with peculiar energy, demonstrating their unlimited application to men as such. As a preacher, he was no less distinguished by the earnestness of his manner than by the vigour and originality of his style. He threw his whole soul into his work, and literally laboured in the pulpit. It was impossible to hear him without

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being convinced that this was no venal orator, no professional actor, but a man who felt as he spoke, and who was giving utterance to the warm feelings of his own heart. His preaching was at the same time eminently practical. He never lost sight of the close connection between justification and sanctification; enforced the latter as the fruit and evidence of the former, and showed that we must not only have a title to heaven, but acquire a meetness for it. Though possessed of all the acuteness of the late Dr. Andrew Thomson, and of all the fervour of the late Edward Irving, he had nothing of the sarcasm of the one, or of the eccentricity and affectation of the other, and seemed anxious never, by speech or writing, unnecessarily to wound the feelings of an opponent.

The natural energy of his mind found ample scope amidst the vast population of a Glasgow parish. Strangers visiting the city, on business or pleasure, made a point of going to hear the celebrated preacher, and many of the merchant princes of that great commercial town were among his stated hearers.

His

faithfulness, and the peculiar adaptation of his instructions to this class of persons, are seen in his "Commercial Discourses." Besides the ordinary duties of the pastoral office, which he discharged with much fidelity, he devoted much of his attention to the relief of the poor of the parish; and by liberal collections, and a well-arranged system of domiciliary visiting, under the management of a numerous and able body of lay elders, entirely superseded the necessity of a legal assessment for their support. On removing to St. Andrew's, the fame of his genius drew many young men of piety and talents from various parts of Scotland and England to attend his prelections, in whose personal comfort and success he took a lively interest, and some of whom were destined to hold important stations in the church. Among these may be mentioned the late lamented John Adam, John Urquhart, Dr. Duff, Dr. Alexander, and others whose names are well known in the religious world. In his hands the science of moral philosophy assumed a truly Christian aspect, and appeared as the handmaid of revelation, whose authority was ever represented as paramount and conclusive. His course, indeed, formed an excellent introduction to the study of theology.

In singling out particular traits in the character of Dr. Chalmers, we were par

ticularly struck with his humility, which was no less conspicuous than his popularity: in fact, the former seemed to keep pace with the latter; he became more humble as he grew more popular; and public applause was rather endured, as a necessary tax on his usefulness, than courted as a subject of self-gratulation. No man in our day was ever followed by such crowds of admirers, or was exposed to a more severe ordeal of adulation: all ranks and denominations vied with each other in doing homage to his genius, and the highest nobles of the land paid court, both in public and in private, to the humble presbyter of the Scottish Church. Even those who differed from him in opinion were constrained to acknowledge the superiority of his talents; and whatever judgment might be formed by some of the wisdom of his plans, no one ever doubted his sincerity, or questioned the integrity of his character, or the simplicity of his aims. While, by the eloquence and force of his appeals, he seemed to sway the minds of men at his will, no one seemed to enter more fully into the caution which our Lord addressed to his disciples, "In this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Nothing seemed to affect him so much with mingled feelings of humility and gratitude, as when informed of any instance of conversion produced by his ministry one such case, however humble or obscure the individual might be, evidently afforded him more real satisfaction than the applause of listening thousands. Never was any modern preacher less corrupted by flattery, though exposed to temptations and allurements that would have overcome men of ordinary minds.

His disinterestedness was seen in his refusing to receive certain emoluments connected with his office as a Professor in St. Andrew's, to which he considered he had not a sufficiently legal title. It was also displayed in his afterwards abandoning the honourable and responsible situation he held in the ecclesiastical establishment of his native country. To that establishment he was devotedly attached, from early association as well as from principle, and had been one of its most able and eloquent defenders; he had a great veneration for its universities, churches, and schools. Nothing excited more powerful or more tender emotions in his heart than the sight of a village spire, rising among trees in the distance,

and nothing but a strong sense of duty could have induced him to forego the advantages of the Establishment, or to break off all connection with an institu. tion of which he had long been the brightest ornament, and to the interests of which he had devoted his best exergies. Large sums were realized from the extensive sale of his numerous and popular writings, but he never studied the art of accumulating, and it is believed he has not left his family in affluent circumstances.

Benevolence was another prominent feature in his character. Even before the period of his conversion, when connected with the volunteer corps, which had been raised throughout the country, to repel the threatened invasion from France, he delivered a course of lectures on chemistry to his brother officers, and paid over the whole of the proceeds to the family of a poor but deserving Dissenting minister, who had previously been deprived of his situation in consequence of some misunderstanding with his congregation. The same feeling led him afterwards to take a part in those great movements of modern times for the advancement of true religion, both at home and abroad, and his heart and hand were ever open to aid religious and charitable institutions. Soon after his conversion, he preached his celebrated discourse on behalf of the Bible Society; in which he advocated the plan of penny a week subscriptions, as one of the best means of elevating the moral character of the working classes, by inducing habits of forethought and economy. Indeed, this mode of collecting, which has since so extensively prevailed, might be said to owe its efficiency mainly to the new and attractive light in which he placed the subject. The cause of Missions also found in him an able and eloquent defender. One of his most powerful sermons was delivered in Surrey Chapel, at the anniversary of the London Missionary Society in 1817, and produced an extraordinary sensation among the inhabitants of the metropolis; and during his residence in St. Andrew's, he regularly presided over the monthly meetings of the Society for Missions, and conducted the greater part of the service himself, which afforded an opportunity (almost the only one) to his numerous friends of enjoying his instructions. Deputations from England and from foreign countries were always welcomed to his house. To the late Dr.

Marshman he paid particular attention, as one of the founders of the Serampore Mission College. Dr. Morrison from

China, and Dr. Yates, late of Calcutta, were also introduced to him at St. Andrew's. And while thus warmly alive to the propagation of the gospel abroad, he was no less assiduous in his efforts for its more general diffusion at home. Sabbath evening schools were patronised and encouraged by him; for their use he published his "Scripture references," and while resident in St. Andrew's did not think it beneath his dignity as a Professor to conduct one in his own house. He was also the means of providing additional church-accommodation in many destitute parts of the country, especially in our larger towns, to meet the spiritual wants of the growing population; and one of the last public acts in which he was engaged, was the opening of a new place of worship, erected through his instrumentality, in one of the poorest and most neglected districts of Edinburgh. To the Christian philanthropist, the West Port Chapel and School will always be interesting, as associated with his zeal for the moral and spiritual welfare of the

poor.

Though attached, naturally enough, to his own denomination, few men were more free from party spirit, or rejoiced more in the efforts of other evangelical communions. As a necessary consequence, he was justly esteemed the common friend of all the property of the universal church. Even when in the Establishment, he regarded dissent not as an object of jealousy or alarm, but as an important auxiliary to the national church; and evinced his superiority to sectarianism by allowing his family to attend the Independent Chapel, St. Andrew's, during their residence there, besides being frequently present at the week-day services of the chapel himself. He also pleaded with much earnestness for liberty to the students of the Established Church to attend whatever place of worship they preferred. From the same motive, he was among the first of the Established clergy to advocate the cause of Catholic Emancipation-not so much from political considerations, as on the ground that the Protestant faith stood in no need of pains and penalties for its defence, and that such a course was not likely to conciliate the minds of the Catholic population, and pave the way for the reception of the gospel. He delighted in intercourse with Christians of different

communions, and frequently invited the members of various churches to meet together at his own house; and it was pleasing to see how, on such occasions, he sought to smooth their minds by friendly conference from the asperities of party feeling, and with what tact he would contrive to turn the current of conversation into another channel, whenever he perceived anything like the bitterness of controversy likely to break out. He rejoiced in the formation of the "Evangelical Alliance," as a prelude to that Catholic communion for which he contended through life, and which he earnestly longed to see realized among all "who held the Head." Among his last publications, was a pamphlet which he addressed to the members of that association, recommending them to combine their energies for some common object; as the defence and advancement of Protestantism against the inroads of Popery, or the formation of a great home mission for the United Kingdom; and in the last conversation I had with him, about six weeks before his death, he lamented that the different parties were so prone to give undue prominence to their individual interests, and were too sensitive on the supposed danger of co-operation, to allow of the harmonious working of the whole. He was no fanciful theorist, and judged of the value of things by their utility. On this account, he felt a peculiar interest in the Moravian Missions, as conceiving they were most successful in the work of civilizing the heathen.

His plans were therefore strictly practical; and when any means of usefulness was suggested to him by others, he never hesitated to avail himself of their experience, though in other respects much inferior to him. He had none of that paltry jealousy which is the characteristic of narrow minds; but while conscious of his own intellectual power, was respectful and affable to all, and "condescended to men of low estate."

In the true spirit of the primitive pastors, he was "given to hospitality ;" and as his time was necessarily much occupied with official duties, he generally invited strangers to sup or breakfast with him, when, without interruption, they could enjoy the pleasure of his conversation.

In the domestic circle, he appeared to great advantage. He never omitted family worship at the stated hour, whoever might be present, and generally conducted the service himself. In his own

VOL. IV.

house, he assumed no airs of superiority, but made every one feel himself at home, and conversed with his guests on those subjects which he thought would be most familiar to them. He took special care to invite no company on the Lord's day, nor would he accept of any invitations on that hallowed season. When there were no strangers with him, he delighted to unbend his mind by familiar conversation with his children, or in seeing them engaged in their youthful sports; or, in company with his amiable partner, would contrive some little excursion for their amusement.

But it was his deep and unaffected piety that threw a lustre over all his other qualities, and imparted a moral grandeur to his character, which no merely intellectual endowments could confer. Yet there was nothing morose or unsocial in his religion. He was eminently a happy man; and, being blessed with a vigorous constitution, he was able to go through a vast amount of business. In his latter years, he generally availed himself of the help of an amanuensis or secretary, who was commonly some licentiate of the church. His exertions in aid of the funds of the Free Church were unremitting, and the amount of labour he bestowed on arranging and maturing its schemes was truly astonishing, at his advanced period of life, and no doubt tended to accelerate his death. The closing scene was peculiarly solemn and affecting; his end was more like a translation than a dissolution. His mind had long been familiarized to the subject of death by devout meditation and fervent prayer, and by the repeated attacks of illness to which, for some years past, he had been subjected. He frequently alluded to the uncertainty of life in conversing with his more intimate friends, and in the growing spirituality of his mind, and increasing meekness of disposition, seemed to be as ripening for a better world. In the beginning of last month, (May), he was summoned to London, to give evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons on the site question, and while there preached with his usual fervour in presence of the Prime Minister, and other persons of distinction. He afterwards visited Brighton and Gloucester, (where a near relative resides,) and returned on Friday, the 28th, to Edinburgh, apparently in improved health and spirits. Next Lord's day, he attended public worship at Morningside Free Church, in the immediate vicinity

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