effects, with regard to his bufinefs and religious frame. "While I have had company with me, he writes, my work hath been interrupted; fecret devotion traitened; the divine life reduced to a low ebb, as to its fenfible workings, though my heart continued right with God." At another time; "Too much com pany, though very agreeable to me, led me to neglect fome part of my bufinefs, and turned that, in which I fo much rejoiced as a very pleafing circumftance, into a mischief rather than a be nefit. Had I been refolute to have commanded an hour or two in the morning, I fhould have been lefs embarraffed through the day. I will therefore be more watchful and felf-denying on this head." He was defirous to do the work of every day in its day, and never defer it till the morrow; knowing there would be bufinefs enough remaining for that day, and all the days and hours of his life. He thought (and his own temper fhewed it) that "activity and chearfulness were fo nearly allied, that one can hardly take a more effectual method to fecure the latter, than to cultivate the former; efpecially when it is employed to fow the feeds of an immortal harveft, which will be rich and glorious, in proportion to our prefent diligence and zeal." So folicitous was he to improve every moment, that one of his pupils generally read to him, when he was dreffing and fhaving. In thefe fhort intervals he was improving himfelf and them, by remarking on their manner of reading, and pointing-out to them' the excellencies or defects of fentiment and language in the book read. When he was upon a journey, or occafional vifits to his friends, where he spent the night, he took his papers with him, and employed all the time he could feize, efpecially his morning-hours, in carrying on fome good work for his people, his pupils or the world. While he was preparing his Familyexpofitor for the prefs, he did fomething at it daily. When an intimate friend had expreffed fome fear, left his academy fhould be neglected, while he was preparing fome works for the public, he thus wrote to him; " So far as I can recollect, I never omitted a fingle lecture on account of any of the books, that I have publifhed. The truth is, I do a little now and then; fomething every day, and that carries me on. I have wrote fome of my pieces in short-hand, and got them tranfcribed by my pupils, and thus I do by many letters. This is a help to me, and fome confiderable advantage to thofe I employ. I fearce fail being in the lecture room three hours every morning; that carries me through my stated work; and, with the concurrence of my affiftant, I over-fce the academy pretty well."--So great was his diligence in his mafter's work, that he often preached feveral days in a week in different villages about Northampton, and chofe the evening for thofe fervices, that his lectures might not be omitted.During his annual vacation, which con

tinued two months, one of them was fpent in close study, pastoral visits, or making little circuits among the neighbouring congregations, by the defire of their refpective paftors; preaching to each in his way, not excepting fome of different fentiments and denominations from himfelf. In the other month, he vifited his friends in London, and other parts of the kingdom, finding fuch excurfions and journeys ferviceable to his health; yet he purfued his ftudies and writings, and frequently preached occafional fermons, especially in London and its environs, almoft every day. I find that in fome years he preached one hundred and forty times, in others many more; besides his repetitions, expofition, and devotional lectures at home. So that the exhortations he gave his brethren, in his difcourfe on The evil and danger of neglecting the fouls of men, came with peculiar grace and propriety from him, as they were illuftrated by his own. example.

Nor muft I, in this connection, omit his correfpondence; which was almost large enough to have taken up the whole time of a person of common abilities and induftry. His letters were principally of bufinefs, and that of the most important kinds. Befides his correfpondence with the parents and guardians of his pupils, he had many letters to write in answer to queftions of moment, propofed to him by his brethern, especially those who had been his pupils, and by congregations at a diftance, who applied to him for direction and affiftance. His judgment was often defired by learned men, concerning critical difficulties, or works which they were preparing for the prefs; and his own publications would naturally enlarge his work of this kind. His correfpondence with fome perfons of the firft rank for wisdom and learning in the established church required much attention and delicacy. Several foreign gentlemen and divines, who had heard of his character and read his works, fought his epiftolary acquaintance, and correfponding with them in Latin or French required fome particular application. It is furprizing to find how many hundred letters he received and anfwered in the fpace of one year. I may fay of him, as Pliny of his uncle," when I confider his difpatch of fo much bufinefs, I wonder at the multiplicity of his reading and writing; and when I confider this, I wonder at that." But his refolution was indefatigable, and God had given him an happy facility in the dispatch of business. He was mafter of the contents of a book upon a fummary view, and could readily exprefs his thoughts upon the most abftrufe questions with cafe and perfpicuity. It is wonderful that his tender conftitution fhould, for fo many years, fupport fuch an intenfe application to bufinefs, fo unfavourable to health. His friends were often expreffing their painful apprehenfion, that it would impair his health and REV, Feb. 1766.

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fhorten

fhorten his days, and addreffing him with that carnal advice,
"Mafter, fpare thyfelf:" And, with regard to his laft illness in
particular, it might have been happy for them and the world had
he regarded it. But love to God and man, and zeal for the
falvation of fouls bore him on. He needed no recreation; for
his work was his highest pleafure. When he faw any fuc-
cels of his labours, and found that his writings were useful
to many, it gave him fresh fpirits and refolution. When he
was advised, by a friend, to relax a little and not preach so often,
his answer was, "Be in no pain about me. I hope that we
have the presence of God among us, and that he is bearing
teftimony to the world of his grace. I take all the care of my
health, which is confiftent with doing the proper duties of life;
and when I find myself refreshed, rather than fatigued with these
attempts of fervice, I cannot think myself fairly discharged from
continuing them." To another friend he thus writes; " I am
indeed fubject to a little cough, but I never preached with more
freedom and pleafure. I am generally employed, with very
fhort intervals, from morning to night, and have feldom more
than fix hours in bed; yet fuch is the goodness of God to me,
that I feldom know what it is to be weary. I hope my labours
are not vain. There are thofe, who drink in the word with
great eagerness; and I hope it will be found, that it is net
merely as the barren fand drinks in the rain, but rather that it
falls on ground, which divine grace will make prolific, This
animates me to my labours." In fhort, he lived much in a
little time; and thought it was better to wear himself out in
his mafter's fervice, than ruft in literary indolence, or drag on a
longer life, when his vivacity and activity might be so much
diminished, as in the courfe of nature they generally are.
The motto of his family-arms was, Dum vivimus vivamus; un-
der which he wrote the following lines, very expreffive of his
general temper:

"Live, while you live," the epicure would fay,
"And feize the pleasures of the prefent day."

Live, while you live," the facred preacher cries,
"And give to God each moment as it flies."
Lord, in my views let both united be;

I live in pleasure, when I live to thee.'

There are many other parts of the work now before us, which it would give us great pleasure to lay before our Readers, but we muft not enlarge; nor indeed is it neceffary that we fhould, as the above particulars may perhaps excite a general defire to perufe the whole performance. Several objections, ws are fenfible, will be made to it, by the generality of Readers; but Mr. Orton's preface, which is written in a fenfible and ju dicious manner, appears to contain a fatisfactory anfwer to any objections

objections that can reafonably be urged against it. Be this, however, as it may, no good man, we are certain, ean read it, without receiving confiderable pleasure and advantage.

MONTHLY

CATALOGUE,

For FEBRUARY, 1766.

POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL.

Art. 16: An Account of a late Conference on the Occurrences in Ame→ rica. 8vo. I S.

TH

Almon.

HE conference here meant is an imaginary one, at Mr.fomebody's houfe in the country, where feveral gentlemen were met, to spend a Christmas holyday; and the great question concerning our right of taxing the colonies and their right of reprefentation here, was the fubject. The interlocutors are a fet of very intelligent gentlemen; and they manage the debate with decency and good fenfe;-but the ftrength of the argument lies altogether on the fide of America. The refult of the whole, is a cutious plan of union for all parts of the British empire; which we have not room to epitomize: and therefore must refer to the pamphlet.

Art. 11. Reflections on Reprefentation in Parliament; being an Attempt to fheiv the Equity and Practicability, not only of establishing a more equal Representation throughout Great Britain, but also of admitting the Americans to a Share in the Legiflatnre. 8vo. 1 s. Almon.

A véry fenfible production in favour of the scheme for a more equal reprefentation throughout the whole British dominions. The Author clearly enumerates the benefits which would naturally arife, from fuch a regulation of this part of our political conftitution, not only to the colonies, but alfo to the mother-country.

Art. 12. The true Intereft of Great Britain, with regard to her American Colonies, ftated, and impartially confidered. By a Merchant of London. 8vo. I s. Kearfly.

This rational and candid mercantile Politician, appears to be a tho rough master of his fubject. He fets out with a clear ftate of the vast importance of our colonies to the mother-country; points out the proper means for encouraging the industry and promoting the trade of our fellow-fubjects of North-America; fhews the impolicy (to fay nothing of the injustice) of diftreffing them by ill-devifed taxes, reftrictions and probibitions; and particularly points out fome inftances of oppreffion under which the commerce of our American brethren has for a long time groaned; in order to fhew, that though the stamp-duty has been the oftenfible cause of the late disturbances in that part of the British empire, yet that, in reality, is but a fmall portion of their grievances. But though our Author afferts the impropriety of our late minifterial conduc

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towards

towards the colonies, and efpecially the ftrange fcheme of raising money upon them, who have no money,-yet he is far from infifting that they ought not to pay the neceffary taxes; but then he thinks they fhould be paid in fuch kind of commodities as will be beneficial to Great Britain, and at the fame time of advantage to themselves. Nor is there. any innovation or novelty in a scheme of this kind, fince, as he obferves, this plan has been long adopted, in respect to the windward iflands; which actually do now pay a duty of 4 per Cent. of all their fugars to the king; which fugars are fhipped home, and difpofed of by the commiffioners of the customs. Agreeable to this idea, the Author proposes a new tax, in lieu of the ftamps, which he apprehends would, without aggrieving the colonists, produce not only the revenue wanted to be raised, but even be attended with the moft folid advantages in other refpects :-for farther particulars we refer to the pamphlet.

Art. 13. Conflitutional Confiderations on the Power of Parliament to levy Taxes on the North-American Colonies. 4to. 6d. Wilkie. On perufal of these confiderations, we were reminded of what Swift fays, in his inventory of the furniture of a woman's mind:

Her arguments directly tend

Against the cause she would defend..

In like manner, when this Author undertakes to prove that the colonies ought not, in found policy, to be allowed a reprefentation in parliament, and urges, as a reafon, their numbers, extent, fituation and advantages of every kind being fuch, that they only want a government properly regulated, to become the matters of Europe; does not this very argument, if justly founded, fufficiently evince the abfurdity of our attempting to hold them in fubjection by mere coercive means? Does it not fully expose the inconfiftency and weaknefs of his notion of our enforcing the execution of laws made here, for taxing the Americans, by a military power,' acting, as he expreffes it, in a due courfe of law, under the civil magiftrate-But we may juftly recommend to our conftitutional Confiderer, the prayer of Ajax, which he himself quotes, when speaking of the ordinary run of our coffee-houfe politicians, who, he fays, bewilder themselves in a fog of incongruous and confused ideas :

Give me to fee, and Ajax afks no more.'

Art. 14.. The Legipative Authority of the British Parliament, with refpect to North America, and the Privileges of the Affemblies there, briefly confidered. By J. M. of the Inner-Temple, 8vo. 6d. Nicoll.

A vindication of the legislative jurifdiction, on the principles of law. The Author appears to be very juftly apprehenfive of the confequences, fhould we, after the oppofition already made, give up that very important point of legiflation, the regulating all general affairs concerning the colonies, as a colieative body, with respect to trade and commerce, and all other matters of a general nature and tendency, which must ever be for the welfare of those who call this power in queftion, and cannot be done by the limited power of their particular assemblies.'-The Author feems, however, in common with almost every other writer, on whatever fide the question, to give up the Stamp-act, as ineligible, in

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fome