funeral, and hope I shall always remember it as an earnest of what he will do for me, upon all occasions, if I fly to his power.

"If I look out for ease from the present distress, any way but by resignation to the will of God, and desire of complete union with it, for the remainder of my life, I take myself out of his hands, suffer without improvement, am still at the mercy of events, and shall be unprepared for my own death.

"I have lost the dear partner of my heart, to whom I used to unbosom myself without reserve, and communicate all my thoughts and cares, designs and wishes, joys and griefs, and, in the want of her, seem to myself as if I was left alone in the midst of a desert. Recall thyself, O my soul, wake from this stupor of a vain sorrow, and do not indulge a thought to harden thyself in it. 'Where is thy God?' If thou hast him to go to, of what canst thou complain? Make him thy friend and counsellor. He is now inviting, and even forcing thee into his presence and familiarity. Speak as freely to him, as thou didst to her, and look so well to thyself that thou needest not be afraid to tell him all thy secrets."

It

The above meditation needs no apology. serves, indeed, to show, that the private thoughts of the author, arose from a heart susceptible of the kindest sympathies, and the most tender emotions. The severity of which some may complain, in the writings of Mr. Adam, is chiefly towards himself.

The grief of Mr. Adam was not "the sorrow of the world which worketh death," nor was it the

high-wrought feeling which some have published to the world, and, before a short year has passed, have entered into a new connexion. Mr. Adam felt that he had numerous duties to perform, and to these he applied himself with new diligence. He continued a widower to the end of his life. Some years after this event, the editor's mother was present, when some one was speaking to Mr. Adam upon the comforts to be obtained from marriage, by a clergyman in declining life. He replied, "one parish should suffice a clergyman, and one wife." Mr. Adam would not bind burdens upon others, which the scriptures do not; yet for himself, he seems to have formed the resolution to make Christ his bosom friend, and to have none other during his continuance in the world.

A trial of another kind awaited Mr. Adam; he was exposed to "perils from false brethren," and was made the strife of tongues. Some misrepresentations of the doctrines he taught had been made, and had gained credit. In the following letter he boldly refutes the calumny propagated to the injury of his character: and he warns his brethren in the ministry against Satan's device to divide the pastors, and alienate their minds from each other, on account of minor differences which do not affect the fundamental doctrines of the gospel.

"Perhaps you will wonder when I tell you I am not surprised to hear what has happened at Hud

dersfield. Wherever the gospel is preached, there will be mistakes even among the sincere; and opposers will catch at every shadow, and invent any falsehood, to keep off conviction, and harden themselves in the worst of errors. 'I an advocate for the merit of works! I abhor the very sound of the words from my heart, and cannot imagine what there was in my sermons* to ground such a misapprehension upon. I thank God I have long been

established in the belief of the Eleventh Article of our Church, not being able to find comfort or sure footing anywhere else; and would ask those miserable mistakers of the gospel, who are for laying any other foundation, whether they dare say in cold blood, that what 'they think the best action of their lives, or the choicest grace in their souls, will bear to be weighed in God's balance; and if not, what will they do with all the rest? There is no trifling here; the soul is lost by sin, and

how it can be remixture of sin in

covered by actions which have a them, as the best have, is not to be conceived. The consequence is plain; salvation is a gift from first to last, altogether free and undeserved; and the man was never humbled, never considered what a fiery trial he has to go through, who can think of challenging it as a debt, in whole or in part. I am not vindicating myself to you and Mr. Venn, on this point, which I suppose to be quite needless; but give you leave to mention what I have said, wherever you think it may be necessary, and have pricked my finger, as the poor boy Leaf did, to sign it. (See Fox, vol. iii. p. 306.)

* These seem to have been preached at Huddersfield.

“It is true, in all my discourses I endeavour as much as possible to take in the whole scheme-repentance, faith, and holiness; and if insisting upon the last, in its due connexion, and for right ends, is preaching up works, I cannot help it. Woe be to those who separate what God hath joined; for though faith alone saves us, and not according to the common gloss, if it works by love; yet I contend that faith is not faith, if it does not work by love, keep the commandments, and make us new creatures. My dear Mr. Venn will be upon his guard, and watch jealously over such of his converts as would make gospel grace a pretence for sloth, or low attainments, and, by not building themselves up in their most holy faith, give occasion to adversaries to the truth to speak reproach fully of it: and say further to him, Fear not: proceed quietly and steadily in dependence on the arm of the Lord. Let him tell his flock not to give heed to any other gospel, by whomsoever preached; if he expects to have things go on smoothly, he is sadly out of his reckoning; it is a poor artifice of the father-of-lies, to set me in opposition to him; but this calumny, if despised, will die away of itself.

I

"Those who are influenced by his preaching, and truly awakened, will soon discover what a wretched condition they are in with respect to works; the rest must fret and speak all manner of evil, and prop themselves as well as they can with their own doings. It is something remarkable, that commonly those who have the fewest good works; and are evidently not in a state of careful walking and working, should build most upon them. Ask them what

they mean by it, and you will find that it is little more than that they do not pick pockets, and knock down every one they meet.

"I desire my love to Mr. and Mrs. Venn, to whom I write this as well as to you, and am your and their affectionate

"THOMAS ADAM.

It is not improbable that the leaven alluded to in the above letter, which showed itself at Huddersfield, preyed much upon Mr. Venn's constitution, more than the fatigues of preaching, and led him to relinquish a post which many thought nothing but death should have induced him to give up.

In July, 1761, Mr. Adam experienced a very severe loss, in the death of the Rev. S. Walker of Truro. He had only one visit from him; but Mr. Walker entirely gained the affections of Mr. Adam, and commanded his admiration by the holiness of his life. In allusion to Mr. Walker he writes, "I think such men so much better than myself, that I could almost worship them." In his letters to his friends, he mentioned that " he had felt little less at his death, than at the loss of another wife."

One of the editors of his posthumous works remarks upon this circumstance in the following words: "This peculiarity of affection was probably founded in a similarity of mind, and the particular subject in religion which engaged their attention. They were both diligent students of the human heart. They who are deeply versed in this science, are, in divinity, as scholars in a higher class, who, though they have a general respect for all friends