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striking a final balance, he found himself in debt to the amount of £1200. In this dilemma, agitated with the overwhelming apprehension of "dying insolvent," the only resource which occurred to him was to issue a circular to a few friends, stating the facts, and soliciting their purchase of his works in five volumes octavo, at a reduced price. The result was delightful. His friends exerted themselves on all sides. From Cambridge he received, through Mr Simeon, £590, as a present, beside a considerable sum for books." From Bristol and from York liberal donations were sent him, and in addition to the purchase of the works which he tendered for sale, he "received at least £2000, as presents, in little more than two months." On the 16th of April, 1821, this good and faithful servant entered into the joy of his Lord.

Bishop Middleton.

BORN A. D. 1769.-DIED A. D. 1822.

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THIS prelate was the only son of the Rev. Thomas Middleton of Kedleston, in Derbyshire. He was educated at Christ's hospital and Cambridge. After taking the degree of B. A. in 1792, he was ordained deacon, and in 1795 was presented to the rectory of Tansor, in Northamptonshire. Here he passed some years in comparative obscurity; but the appearance of his Treatise on the Greek Article,' in 1808, brought him into notice and repute in the literary world. In 1811 he was presented to the vicarage of St Pancras, Middlesex, and in 1812 to the archdeaconry of Huntingdon.

When it was resolved by government to introduce an Episcopalian establishment into the British possessions in India, Dr Middleton was recommended as the first bishop of Calcutta, and was consecrated to that office in May, 1814, at Lambeth palace. In the month of June following he embarked at Portsmouth, and in November reached Bengal. He entered with zeal on the duties of his high office; made a tour of five thousand miles with the view of inquiring into the moral aspect of Hindostan; established a Mission college at Calcutta ; and maintained an active correspondence with the Church Missionary society in England, on the subject of the spiritual wants of India. His career promised to be one of great activity and usefulness, but was suddenly cut short on the 8th of July, 1822.

Abraham Rees, D. D.

BORN A. D. 1743.-died a. D. 1824.

DR ABRAHAM REES was the son of the Rev. Lewis Rees, a Welsh dissenting minister. He was educated for the ministry; and in 1768 was chosen pastor of a congregation in the borough of Southwark, London. In 1786 he was chosen fellow of the Royal society, in consequence of the ability he had displayed in editing an edition of Chambers's Cyclopædia. In 1802 he published the first volume of his great undertaking, commonly known by the name of Rees' Cyclopædia,'

which he brought to a successful termination in 45 vols. 4to. He died in 1824.

David Bogue, D.D.

BORN A. D. 1750.-died A. D. 1825.

THIS excellent man was born on the 1st of March, 1750. He was the fourth son of John Bogue, Esq. of Halydown in Berwickshire. He studied at Edinburgh for the ministry in connection with the Established Presbyterian church, but ultimately embraced the principles of Independency, and became pastor of an Independent church at Gosport in England, in 1777.

Some years after Mr Bogue's settlement at Gosport his mind became powerfully affected with the conviction, that it was the duty of Protestant dissenting churches to attempt something for the conversion of the heathen to Christianity, and he embraced every opportunity in the pulpit, and in private conference, to mourn over their neglect, and to urge all around him to prayer and labour in this great cause. Whilst it would be folly to attribute to Mr Bogue the discovery of a principle, which burned in the bosoms of several nonconformist ministers, which was subsequently proposed to the churches by Dr Doddridge, and which, in our own days, animated at the same moment the minds of Williams, Carey, and Horne, yet Mr Bogue was providentially placed in circumstances peculiarly favourable to its exhibition, and thus has the honour of being amongst the very first, in modern times, to advocate this great but long-neglected duty. On the 30th of March, 1792, Mr Bogue preached at Salters' Hall, in London, the anniversary sermon before "the Correspondent Board of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge in the Highlands and Islands," and he availed himself of this favourable opportunity to press the topic on his hearers, and afterwards, for the sermon was published, on his readers. This excellent and animated discourse made a deep and wide impressiou, and, together with other co-operating circumstances, tended to produce a general conviction that little had been done for the conversion of the heathen world, and that it was the duty of every Christian to aim at the cultivation of this highly-important field. The subject continued to occupy his mind till 1794, when he visited the Tabernacle at Bristol, and was associated with the Rev. J. Stevens, then minister of Crown-court chapel, London, as his colleague, and to him, in company with Mr Hay, then minister of Castle-green Meeting, Bristol, he disclosed his plans, and it was agreed he should write a paper recommending missions to the heathen, and obtain its insertion in the Evangelical Magazine;' it therefore appeared in the number of that work for September, 1794, addressed "To the Evangelical Dissenters who practice infant baptism."

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The scriptural argument, the forcible appeals, and Christian benevolence of this letter, excited a sacred ardour in the minds of thousands. Dr Edward Williams, then of Birmingham, replied to this address in the Evangelical Magazine,' stating that missionary objects had been recommended by the Warwickshire Associated ministers to their people,

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in a circular letter dated June, 1793. At length, on the memorable 4th of November, the first concerted meeting was held; it was a small but glowing circle of ministers of various connections and denominations, who resolved, on the most liberal principles, to embark in this holy enterprise. The opening of the year 1795 was occupied in preparing and circulating several interesting letters to ministers and churches, which are happily preserved in "the introductory memorial respecting the formation of the Missionary Society." On Tuesday, the 22d of September, 1795, at Spa-fields chapel, in the midst of a multitude powerfully excited by the novelty and benevolence of the object, the society was formed; meetings for worship and business occupied the two following days, and on the Thursday evening Mr Bogue preached, at Tottenham-court chapel, an able sermon entitled 'Objections against a Mission to the Heathen stated and considered,' in which his manly sense, sanctified benevolence, and vigorous faith in the promises of God, are conspicuously displayed. In his closing sentence his faith seems to have attained an elevation which led him to anticipate the verdict of coming generations respecting the transactions in which he was then engaged,-anticipations which it is only necessary to transcribe to convince every reader how happily they have been realized.

"This year will, I hope, form an epoch in the history of man; and from this day, by our exertions, and by the exertions of others whom we shall provoke to zeal, the kingdom of Jesus Christ shall be considerably enlarged, both at home and abroad, and continue to increase 'till the knowledge of God cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.' When we left our homes we expected to see a day of small things which it was our design not to despise but to cherish with fond solicitude. But God has beyond measure exceeded our expectations; he has made a little one a thousand, and has inspired us with the most exalted hopes. Now, we do not think ourselves in danger of being mistaken when we say, that we shall account it through eternity a distinguished favour, and the highest honour conferred on us during our pilgrimage on earth, that we appeared here, and gave in our names among the founders of the Missionary society, and the time will be ever remembered by us, and may it be celebrated by future ages, as the era of Christian benevolence."

Amongst other calumnies which were circulated against the founders of the Missionary society, was the ungenerous imputation, that they were ready to transport their brethren to ungenial climates, to labour amongst savage and heathen nations, while they continued to enjoy the delights of home. This reproach was as untrue as it was unkind; for Dr Bogue, joined with his friends the Rev. Greville Ewing and the Rev. William Innes, about the year 1796, in several memorials and petitions to the directors of the East India company, requesting permission that they and their families might go to Bengal, and devote their future years to the propagation of the gospel in our Hindoo empire. These repeated requests were most peremptorily refused, though made in language of earnest expostulation and Christian eloquence: one of these memorials was printed in their joint names, and circulated amongst leading and influential persons; and though no immediate effect resulted from it, yet it abides a monument of the personal devotion of its authors to the missionary work, and doubtless contributed to diffuse opinions which

have since so happily changed the policy of the honourable court. Though shut out from foreign labours, his assiduous application to study, especially in foreign theology and biblical criticism, was continually enlarging his capacity for usefulness at home, and this literary diligence could not be concealed. On the death of Mr Welsh, the patron of Gosport academy, it was found that he had made no provision for its continuance by bequest, and therefore that useful institution would have ceased but for the reputation of its tutor, which commanded the liberal support of several friends till 1800, when Robert Haldane, Esq. of Edinburgh, a gentleman of distinguished intelligence and Christian philanthropy, proposed to subscribe £100 annually, one-fourth of the expense, towards the support of ten additional students, if the churches in Hampshire would supply the remaining sum requisite for their education and support. This was accepted, and the County Association of Hampshire has continued to patronize the institution to the present time.

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Amongst other schemes of usefulness which arose out of the religious excitement produced by the establishment of the Missionary society, was the admirable plan of a Religious Tract society, "to print and distribute small pieces on subjects purely religious." This valuable institution was founded in May, 1799, and the subject of this memoir took a prominent part in describing its character and asserting its claims. He penned the first tract in the series, An Address to Christians, recommending the distribution of cheap Religious Tracts,' in which he proclaims that “ pure truth" is to be the exclusive subject of its publications; and adds, nor should any worldly scheme be interwoven with the truth, nor attempted to be concealed under its folds. should not be seen the slightest vestige of any carnal end, in any form, or for any purpose, however laudable some may think it; nothing but divine truth, unmingled, unadulterated, and pure, as it came from heaven, fit for the whole human race to imbibe." Such wise principles naturally commended their author to the managers of this catholic society, and they requested him to advocate its cause from the pulpit of Dr Hunter, where he preached an able sermon, in May, 1800, from Psal. xliii. 30. and which discourse he afterwards gave to the public, entitled The Diffusion of Divine Truth;' in which he re-asserts those principles which cannot be too much enforced on the attention of the religious public at the present moment.

About the same time the Missionary society's directors wisely resolved to place their future missionaries under a course of preparatory studies, and, in deliberating on the best means of establishing the proposed seminary, they observe, in their report for 1861, "the superintendence of a person of eminent abilities, of exemplary piety, and of a true missionary spirit, seemed to be an acquisition first in order and importance in this business. With these views, they were directed to their reverend brother, Dr Bogue, whose laudable zeal and efficient labours they have before acknowledged and recorded, and whose disposition to promote the designs of the society, and his devotedness to the cause of God, were again manifested by his consenting to accept the office of tutor to the Missionary society." He therefore added to his other lectures a course suited to form ministers for foreign missions, and three students were, for this purpose, immediately placed under

in a circular letter dated June, 1793. At length, on the memorable 4th of November, the first concerted meeting was held; it was a small but glowing circle of ministers of various connections and denominations, who resolved, on the most liberal principles, to embark in this holy enterprise. The opening of the year 1795 was occupied in preparing and circulating several interesting letters to ministers and churches, which are happily preserved in "the introductory memorial respecting the formation of the Missionary Society." On Tuesday, the 22d of September, 1795, at Spa-fields chapel, in the midst of a multitude powerfully excited by the novelty and benevolence of the object, the society was formed; meetings for worship and business occupied the two following days, and on the Thursday evening Mr Bogue preached, at Tottenham-court chapel, an able sermon entitled 'Objections against a Mission to the Heathen stated and considered,' in which his manly sense, sanctified benevolence, and vigorous faith in the promises of God, are conspicuously displayed. In his closing sentence his faith seems to have attained an elevation which led him to anticipate the verdict of coming generations respecting the transactions in which he was then engaged,-anticipations which it is only necessary to transcribe to convince every reader how happily they have been realized.

"This year will, I hope, form an epoch in the history of man; and from this day, by our exertions, and by the exertions of others whom we shall provoke to zeal, the kingdom of Jesus Christ shall be considerably enlarged, both at home and abroad, and continue to increase till the knowledge of God cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.' When we left our homes we expected to see a day of small things which it was our design not to despise but to cherish with fond solicitude. But God has beyond measure exceeded our expectations; he has made a little one a thousand, and has inspired us with the most exalted hopes. Now, we do not think ourselves in danger of being mistaken when we say, that we shall account it through eternity a distinguished favour, and the highest honour conferred on us during our pilgrimage on earth, that we appeared here, and gave in our names among the founders of the Missionary society, and the time will be ever remembered by us, and may it be celebrated by future ages, as the era of Christian benevolence."

Amongst other calumnies which were circulated against the founders of the Missionary society, was the ungenerous imputation, that they were ready to transport their brethren to ungenial climates, to labour amongst savage and heathen nations, while they continued to enjoy the delights of home. This reproach was as untrue as it was unkind; for Dr Bogue, joined with his friends the Rev. Greville Ewing and the Rev. William Innes, about the year 1796, in several memorials and petitions to the directors of the East India company, requesting permission that they and their families might go to Bengal, and devote their future years to the propagation of the gospel in our Hindoo empire. These repeated requests were most peremptorily refused, though made in language of earnest expostulation and Christian eloquence: one of these memorials was printed in their joint names, and circulated amongst leading and influential persons; and though no immediate effect resulted from it, yet it abides a monument of the personal devotion of its authors to the missionary work, and doubtless contributed to diffuse opinions which

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