tomed. Such was the American Education Society, which he regarded from the beginning, as a worthy object of his patronage, and to which, at the commencement of his last sickness, he contributed a thousand dollars. Such too was the American Temperance Society, the formation of which he welcomed with all his heart, as it coincided perfectly with his own settled principles and habits, and the sober results of long observation. To this Society he made a donation of five hundred dollars. He previously contributed five hundred dollars for the benefit of Greeneville College, Tenn., and fifteen hundred to the town of Newburyport, when it was visited with a destructive fire. By his last Will, he bequeathed six thousand dollars to be kept as an increasing fund, till it should be adequate to the perpetual support of a public Grammar school in Newburyport; one thousand dollars to the Howard Benevolent Society; and one thousand acres of land in Brownville, Me., to the Theological Seminary in Bangor. He also gave a large amount of legacies to various individuals, who were not lawful heirs to his estate.

You perceive that our honored friend did not copy the example of some rich men, who retain their property with an iron grasp as long as life remains, and then, by Will, give away something, because they can hold it no longer themselves. He made a liberal use of his estate while he lived, while in health, while engaged in business, and while capable of enjoying the satisfaction of seeing the good resulting from his charities.

But the crowning excellence of his character was religious principle. His life gave evidence of his humility and devotion. He loved the doctrines of revelation, the strictness of evangelical truth. Never was there a man, who seemed to think less of himself; who was further from making any claims upon the divine favor, or indulging any hopes of heaven on the ground of his good works, though few men ever had more of these than he. But they were of no account with him in the affair of justification before God. In this respect, he regarded them as of no value, and looked for salvation to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. His character had long been such, that

Christians would have rejoiced to welcome him to the Lord's Table. But from this he was deterred by his extreme self-distrust, and by an impression, which was probably not altogether correct, of the nature and design of the ordinance. But the heavy afflictions, with which it pleased God to visit him a few years since, in the death of his amiable partner, and his only child, were evidently the means of producing greater decision and maturity of Christian character, and preparing him for greater enjoyments. In consequence of this, he was induced to unite himself with the church of Christ by a public profession. I am free to express my wish, that he had done it long before, and my conviction, that he committed a serious mistake in neglecting it.

And now, brethren and friends, when we review the subject, and fix our eyes on the character of the beloved man, who has lately been removed from us to another world; we cannot but be impressed with the littleness and insignificance of wealth, devoted to selfish, worldly purposes. Oh! it is all nothing-worth, all-contemptible, as the judgment day will show. We honor the poor man, who cheerfully gives a few cents to promote the cause of his Saviour. But the man who possesses wealth, and who lives and dies, without giving any considerable portion of it to benevolent and pious objects, has no honor from God, and deserves none from man. He sinks his name and his riches into contempt. though he may leave a large estate to his heirs, he leaves no blessing of God with it. But blessed are they whose hearts are warmed with divine love, who are "rich in good works, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

And

A SERMON

ON THE DEATH OF JEREMIAH EVARTS, CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE A. B. C. F. M., DELIVERED IN ANDOVER, JULY 31, 1831.

WE have assembled, brethren and friends, to show our respect to the memory of a faithful servant of Christ, and our sorrow at his death. That friend to the heathen, that benefactor of mankind, who has been taken from us, enjoyed the esteem and affection not only of his relatives, of the Prudential Committee, and of the American Board, but of all those in our country who love the cause of Christ. He was very dear also to the missionaries whom we have sent forth, and the tidings of his death will fill their hearts with sorrow. In Palestine, in India, in the wilderness of America, and in the Isles of the Pacific, there will be great mourning for our beloved Secretary.

Far be it from me to bestow unmeasured applause upon any man, especially upon the man whose death we deplore. The highest honor I would give him is to say, that he was a Christian, and that, in imitation of his Lord and Master, he went about doing good. Our departed friend was of a humble heart and contrite spirit. He disclaimed all personal worthiness, and was among the last to seek or to desire applause. And now that he

is gone to a world of perfect holiness, he will be deaf to all praise, except that which is ascribed to God and the Lamb.

In this solemn service, I shall attempt to show by what attributes of character, and by what arrangements of divine providence, we are to account for the eminent usefulness of our lamented brother, the late corresponding Secretary of the American Board.

I shall first notice his intellectual character. The faculties of his mind were originally strong and active, and were improved by a thorough literary and scientific education, and a regular course of study in law. There are few men, whose acquisitions are more extensive or more solid. On all subjects to which he turned his attention, whether literary, political, or religious, he formed clear and comprehensive views; and whether he undertook to write or speak, he exhibited the riches of his mind in a diction uniformly natural, perspicuous and forcible. The extemporaneous addresses he made on public occasions were peculiarly modest and plain; but full of vivid, pertinent, and weighty thought. He was distinguished by patience and fairness in his investigations, by the clearness and force of his reasoning, and by correctness and despatch in business. In all his habits, whether of thought or action, he showed as little liability to mistake, as can be expected of any man in this state of imperfection.

Now it is upon the character of the mind, that our ability to do good in a great measure depends. If a man is in this respect superior to others, he will in all probability accomplish more good than they. The usefulness of his labors, unless prevented by special causes, will be very much in proportion to the amount of his intellectual powers and acquisitions.

This is a subject, on which young men, in different stages of their education, frequently entertain erroneous views. They look forward to their future profession with impatience, and are in haste to engage in its labors, apprehending that spending so much time in preparation will detract from the good they might accomplish. This is a great mistake. For all experience shows, that the whole of a man's usefulness is not so much according to the length of the time in which he is engaged in active service, as to

the amount of his qualifications; and that if any one would be sure to rise to the highest degree of usefulness of which he is capable, he must spend more time than is common in preparation, leaving less for action.

The whole time which Mr. Evarts devoted to classical, scientific and professional study unquestionably contributed to his usefulness. Even those acquisitions, which might have been thought less necessary, proved serviceable in some part of the work assigned to him. For example; the knowledge he acquired of jurisprudence qualified him to perform that work of benevolence in behalf of the suffering Indians, which will be so lasting an honor to him in the view of all who love justice and feel for the oppressed. And if some of his previous studies did not in the same manner come into direct use in the cause to which he was devoted; they still had an influence in giving strength and elevation to the character of his mind, and in preparing him more effectually to accomplish his great object.

In the second place, I shall notice his moral and religious character.

In the strict evangelical sense, Mr. Evarts was a good man. His life afforded the most satisfactory evidence that he had experienced the renewing of the Holy Ghost; that he repented of sin, and believed in Christ as the only Saviour, and that he rendered habitual obedience to the divine commands.

Now this spirit of Christian piety contributed in the highest degree to his usefulness. It was this which gave a right direction to his intellectual powers, and led him to make a right use of his acquisitions. It was this, which constituted his great inward motive to a useful life. Had he possessed the same intellectual furniture, without piety; his influence, instead of being beneficial, might have been mischievous. He might have spent his life in spreading moral pestilence. And even if he had avoided this excess of iniquity, and devoted himself to the business of the profession which he originally chose; he might have done little more than to pursue his own private interests. The spread of the gospel and the salvation of the world would have had no