prejudice against me in the mind of this sensible and worthy gentleman (for so he unquestionably was, notwithstanding the narrowness of his mind;) the one, that I had not had what he esteemed a regular introduction into the christian ministry; and the other, that I often preached in places where the Liturgy of the Church was read."

The poor of Rotherhithe being in a sad state of irreligion and ignorance, some of the parish officers requested him to attend the poor-house, and preach gratuitously. To this he consented, though his ordinary engagements were five sermons in the week. The first text was from the 1 Cor. ii. 2. For I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. One of the churchwardens, a zealous and ardent churchman, wrote a letter, containing expressions of disapprobation that a dissenter should preach to the ignorant paupers; intimating that evil consequences must arise from such an anti-episcopal service. After this opposition Mr. T. withdrew from the post of gratuitous chaplain to these poor people.

The year 1787 introduced him to an extended sphere of ministerial usefulness. Many are the jewels which will adorn his crown of rejoicing in the great day of account, from his introduction to Orange-street chapel.* When this

* This chapel belonged originally to the French Refugees in the reign of Charles II. and was occupied by their successors till the year 1776, when the Rev. A. M. Toplady engaged to occupy it on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, and there closed his life and labours in 1776. It was then occupied by the Rev. Messrs. Cecil

place was opened under the Act of Toleration, he preached on the first sabbath.* The impression made on the trustees, induced them to request a permanent arrangement for four sermons in a month. To this assent was given, and the pulpit labours of thirty-nine years, have left on record numerous interesting facts of persons in various ranks of life, who there heard the tidings, first proclaimed by the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem. As a dissenter, Mr. T. was censured by some who were more rigidly attached to systems than himself, and the following remarks appear in his journal.

Dining with a friend, the conversation turned on the order and consistency, which should be preserved by dissenting ministers; and it was said that, for the latter to preach in chapels, where the Liturgy of the Church was read, marked a dereliction of principle. "I affirmed," says Mr. T. " that it was the duty of the christian minister, to preach the Gospel when and where opportunity offered; that this was acting on the extensive and unlimited nature of the first commission: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature ;—

and Foster, till they removed to Long Acre Chapel, after which it was licensed, and came into the hands above-mentioned. See Wilson's Dissenting Churches, Vol. iv. p. 22.

* His text was Ephes. i. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, &c. This first sermon, Mr. Townsend notes, was blessed to the conversion of a niece of the Rev. Mr. K. who went expecting to hear the Rev. Rowland Hill; she afterwards joined Mr. T.'s church, of which she was an honourable member,

that the Apostles and early ministers of the New Testament, proclaimed the whole counsel of God in private houses, market places, Jewish synagogues, heathen temples, &c. To come nearer our own times, the eminent men ejected by the Act of Uniformity, would have exercised ministerial duties in churches, could they have so done without wearing the surplice, and conforming in other contested points; that if to preach in chapels was to be vile, I would be still viler, for, could permission be obtained from Romish Priests, I would stand on the altar after mass had been performed, and proclaim to the erring disciples of Popery, the Power and the Grace of that Saviour whose Gospel they have perverted, and whose ministers they have persecuted."

The amiable spirit which began at this period to steal over the christian world, may be considered as the dawn of that glorious era, which has since witnessed the union of churchmen and dissenters, when the great interests of their common faith required their co-operation. The principalities and powers of darkness had, by the universal bigotry of christians, brought back the dark ages, even in the reformed churches of the eighteenth century.

In the autumn of this year died the Rev. Dr. Peckwell, and as he had been well known to most of the congregation at Orange-street Chapel, Mr. Townsend was requested to preach a funeral sermon for him, which he did from 2 Sam. iii. 38. Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

D

On the day which ushered Dr. Peckwell into the world of spirits, the excellent and affectionate mother of Mr. Townsend closed her eyes on the cares and enjoyments of life. Her loss gave rise to the following reflections, which must be given in the words of her son :-" Peace to thy memory, thou tender, affectionate, and faithful guardian of my youthful years! To thee, I owe, under God, the education I have obtained, and, consequently, the honourable station I fill, and the useful, though not splendid, services I have been enabled to render to the Church and to the world, for a long and happy course of years. Thy sterling worth, my endeared and departed parent, is now imprinted so deeply on my heart, that scarcely one day passes without paying to thee, in the recollections of my mind, some homage of esteem and affection. While my eyes were blessed with the sight of thee on earth, I had not fully learned thy excellence, nor felt thy intrinsic worth!"

"Take, young people," proceeds Mr. Townsend, "a lesson of instruction, and appreciate more carefully the inestimable value of wise and affectionate parents, whilst they live. Let them have the full and overflowing gratitude of your heart, and suffer not any of their sighs and tears to originate in your thoughtlessness or your disobedience; and, as much as possible, contribute to soothe their anxious minds, to alleviate their growing infirmities, and, if needful, to relieve their temporal necessities."

"And you, fond and anxious parents, who have sacrificed your ease, your rest, your worldly pro

perty, your health, your all, for the comfort and prosperity of your offspring; perhaps, too, for unfortunate, for disobedient, yea, even for cruel children; it may be you have wept, you have prayed over them, you have waited and longed for their return to the paths of righteousness; but all is still unpromising and dark; you refuse to be comforted, fearful that your grey hairs may go down to the grave with sorrow. Be not cast down, there is yet hope. Continue to wrestle for the blessing; God is all-powerful and gracious. Prayer and faith may yet do wonders. Those children over whom you now weep, may, by and by, weep over your tomb, and repent of all the wrong they have done to fond and afflicted parents, and go, perhaps, from your grave to the footstool of the throne of grace, crying, Father, we have sinned against heaven and before thee. Remember He is faithful who has promised. For myself, I will hope even against hope. I cannot well do otherwise, because I have seen so many instances in which a parent's influence has been felt after he has passed into the world of spirits. Scarcely has he ceased to breathe, when the blessing has descended in copious streams. Perhaps the very departure of a praying parent has been the arrow that penetrated the thoughtless heart of the wayward child,-the wanderer from the paths of righteousness. Surely in such cases, parents, who have departed in the faith will share the joy which is in heaven on the return of the repentant prodigal."

The year 1788, being the centenary of the glo