The

tion, an impatience of ease, a perseverance of purpose, a moral courage, which, if Providence had thrown him into some other course, would probably have given to his life all the interest of romance. But he was reserved for higher purposes than heroes or statesmen are destined to achieve. qualities which were fitted for the admiration of the world, in meekness and simplicity of heart he devoted to the glory of God. With a passionate fondness for the beauties of nature and rural pursuits, it was his earliest plan to pass his days in the calm and unambitious occupations of a country clergyman's life, and to the last he sighed for retirement and peace. But though such was the natural bent of his inclination, the sphere was too narrow for the exertions of his ardent and active mind. He was soon drawn from his retreat, and entering with characteristic vivacity and zeal upon the duties of his new situation, he at once attracted general notice, acquired an influence in the councils of the Church beyond his years, and at a very early period was called to direct them in that high office which he so pre-eminently honoured and adorned. From that time his life was full; but it was for the most part spent in an uniform succession of labours, differing only from year to year in the greater extent to which they were carried, and the increasing promptitude and diligence with which they were performed. There were but few of those incidents in it which amuse the general reader, though it abounded with circumstances which interest the Christian and divine. In the maintenance of the peculiar and distinctive principles of the Church of

which God had made him an overseer, and in the
defence of a policy which in some instances brought
upon him an unmeasured degree of odium, but
which more regarded as his glory and his crown,
he was almost continually involved in controversies,
upon which he never hesitated to enter, and from
which he generally retired with success.
The no-
tice of these questions, and a fair representation of
his views on all prominent points, will be considered
essential to the vindication of his principles as a
zealous defender of the truth, and to the honour
which is due to his character as a Christian, whose
life and whose death were "precious in the sight of
the Lord." These discussions-which, for the most
part, were unsought, though never declined-were
often mixed up with personal considerations, con-
necting them with the memory of the dead and the
feelings of the living. On account of the respect,
therefore, which is due to both, the writer of the
Memoir looks forward to this part of his work with
a trembling solicitude. His anxiety is also in-
creased by the unaffected persuasion, that neither
the habits of his life, nor the daily and pressing
calls of his station, will enable him to do that
justice to the subject which its delicacy and im-
portance demand. But in a spirit of charity, and
at the same time with a sacred and awful regard
to what he conscientiously deems the interests of
truth, he will employ that ability in the work which
God has given him, most earnestly hoping and
praying that it may be to the honour of both.

John Henry Hobart, the second son of Enoch and Hannah Hobart, was born in Philadelphia, on

the 14th day of September, 1775. His paternal ancestors were originally from the county of Norfolk, in England. In the reign of Charles I., urged either by the spirit of enterprise so common at that period, or by religious considerations, they removed from their native country to Massachusetts Bay. It appears from the early history of the town of Hingham, that his grandfather, Joshua Hobart, took a conspicuous part in the affairs of that infant settlement. The Rev. Peter Hobart, a Presbyterian divine, who was the brother of Joshua, and who had received his education at the University of Cambridge, was employed as a minister of the Gospel for several years at home. "His parents, brothers, and sisters had, to his great affliction, embarked for New-England. Some time after, owing to the persecutions in England, he also resolved to move to New-England. Accordingly, in the summer of 1635, he embarked with his wife and four children, and after a tedious voyage, and constant sickness, he arrived at Charlestown on the eighth of June, where he found his relations, who had safely arrived before him. Several towns now addressed him to become their minister; but he chose, with his father's family and some other Christians, to form a new plantation, which they called Hingham.' There gathering a congregation, he continued in the faithful discharge of his duties for about forty-three years."* He was an indefatigable student. His acquirements were va

Extracted from the parish record in Hingham, kept by the Rev. Peter Hobart.

rious and extensive. His sermons were well studied, and, independent in his own feelings, they partook of the vigour and strength of his character. Five of his sons were educated at Harvard University. Four of them embraced his own profession, and one* attained to such a degree of eminence, as to be held, by the pious and learned, in peculiar veneration and esteem, as a scholar, gentleman, and Christian.

The father of the subject of this Memoir, though less extensively known than some of the members of his family, sustained, however, the respectability of his name by his uprightness, piety, and worth. He married an estimable woman, of a family of the name of Pratt, who, long surviving him, fulfilled the double duties towards her children which devolved upon her, with the prudence of a father's judgment and the tenderness of a mother's love. Left with a small competency in troublesome times, she was enabled to bring them up in a way which was gratifying to maternal pride, and, by a rigid economy and great self-denial, to give to one of them that liberal education which, in its first-fruits fulfilling her hopes, repaid her, during her own life, for all her sacrifices, and which afterwards, had that life been long enough, would have recompensed her an hundred fold.

It is but seldom the case, in regard to the most eminent among men, that childhood presents much that is worthy of notice at the time, and it is still more rare that there should be any thing so strikJohn Henry Hobart.

Dr. Nehemiah Hobart.

ing as to be recollected in after-life. The fond anticipations of friends, indeed, often attach a great degree of importance to circumstances which are trifling in themselves, but which are regarded as indications of future greatness. Even these are apt to be forgotten by the most partial, unless they happen to correspond with the event. In respect to Mr. Hobart, it is known that the most flattering expectations were indulged by those who were near to him; that some of them lived to witness his growing reputation; that others were spared long enough to behold the fulfilment of all their wishes-but it appears that these things were reserved for the secret and cherished enjoyment of their own hearts-for the free communications of the domestic circle, or the correspondence of family friends. I have learned from one who knew him in youth, and who was intimate with his family, that his deportment, conversations, opinions, and habits were the frequent and favourite theme of their discourse, and that they often dwelt with delight on those incidents which shadowed out the very character that he finally established. But the relatives who were his elders or cotemporaries, are all dead and gone: no note is left of those circumstances on which they so fondly dwelt; and in the lapse of more than forty years, the very correspondence which they kept up with him and each other, is, for the most part, either lost or destroyed. This is peculiarly to be regretted in regard to his correspondence with a sister, of whom he was often heard to speak with admiration, as a person of a highly gifted mind, and whom he loved with more