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 THE LIFE 
 
 REV. LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE DAIRYMAN'S DAUGHTER, 
 YOUNG COTTAGER, ETC. 
 
 COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES. 
 
 "If all the professed ministers and disciples of our Lord 
 shone with a radiance so mild, and exemplified a zeal so pious 
 and affectionate, then would the church imbodyher arguments 
 and persuasions in their most effective and impressive form." 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY G. LANE & P. P. SANDFORD, 
 
 FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE 
 OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 
 
 James Collord, Printer. 
 1843.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, by 
 G. Lane & P. P. Sandford, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
 Court of the Southern District of New-York. 
 
 ^
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Few ministers of the gospel have been 
 more generally esteemed and beloved than 
 Legh Richmond. His fervent piety, the 
 unaffected simplicity of his character, the 
 usefulness of his talents, and the zeal with 
 which he devoted himself to every good work, 
 endeared him to evangelical Christians of all 
 denominations. The tracts which he wrote 
 are, perhaps, the most popular and useful 
 productions of the kind ever published; 
 their circulation has been almost without 
 parallel, and their success in winning souls 
 to Christ such as never entered into the con- 
 ception of the author when he first prepared 
 them for the press. 
 
 Shortly after the death of Mr. Richmond, 
 an extended memoir of his life was given to 
 the public by his intimate friend, the Rev. T.
 
 4 PREFACE. 
 
 S. Grimshawe, and the remarkable favour 
 with which it was received was at once an 
 evidence and an effect of the general estima- 
 tion in which the lamented subject of it was 
 held by the Christian public. The work 
 was almost immediately reprinted in this 
 country, where six editions were issued in 
 less than two years. 
 
 In preparing the present work, the writer 
 has, of course, freely availed himself of Mr. 
 Grimshawe's memoir ; he has also drawn a 
 large amount of interesting information, not 
 contained in that work, from a more recent 
 publication, entitled, " A Domestic Portrai- 
 ture of Legh Richmond ;" and a few addi- 
 tional particulars have been gathered from 
 other sources. 
 
 S. B. W. 
 
 New- York, February ^ 1842.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. Paffe 
 
 I. From Mr. Richmond's birth till his ordination 7 
 
 II. His ministry in the Isle of Wight 19 
 
 III. Letter to his sister ; extracts from his journal 35 
 
 IV. Removal from Brading ; settlement at Turvey 47 
 
 V. Prominent characteristics of his preaching . - 63 
 
 VI. His connection with various religious societies 73 
 
 VII. View of his character as the father of a family 89 
 
 VIII. His tracts ; their extensive usefulness 109 
 
 IX. Tours for the Missionary and Jews' Societies 127 
 
 X. Letter of advice to his daughters 141 
 
 XI. Domestic afflictions ; notice of his eldest son 153 
 
 XII. Account of a spiritual child of Mr. Richmond's 165 
 
 XIII. He visits Scotland; death of his mother .. . 175 
 
 XIV. Revisits the Isle of Wight 197 
 
 XV. Sickness and death of his second son 207 
 
 XVI. Death of his eldest son ; decline of his health 229 
 
 XVII. Close of his life : letter from his widow 245
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 REV. LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FROM MR. Richmond's birth till his ordi- 
 nation, AND marriage. 
 
 Legh Richmond was born at Liverpool, on 
 the 29th of January, 1772. He was the eldest 
 son of Dr. Henry Richmond, a physician of that 
 place, and grandson of the Rev. Legh Richmond, 
 a clergyman of the Established Church. 
 
 It was his privilege to be blessed with an in- 
 telligent and piously disposed mother, who, ac- 
 cording to the best of her ability, early instructed 
 him in the Holy Scriptures, and the principles of 
 true religion. Speaking, many years after, of the 
 effect produced on his mind by her admonitions 
 and instructions, he says, " I well remember, in 
 the early dawn of my expanding reason, with 
 what care she laboured to instil into my mind a 
 sense of the being of God, and of the reverence 
 which is due to him ; of the character of a Saviour,
 
 O LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 and his infinite merits ; of the duty of prayer, 
 and the manner in which it ought to be offered 
 up at the throne of grace. Her way of en- 
 forcing these subjects was like one who felt 
 their importance, and wished her child to do so 
 likewise. First instructed by her to read, I 
 have not forgotten, in my Bible lessons, with 
 what simplicity and propriety she used to ex- 
 plain and comment on the word of God, its pre- 
 cepts and examples. These infantine cateche- 
 tical exercises still vibrate in my recollections, 
 and confirm to my own mind the great advan- 
 tage attendant upon the earliest possible endea- 
 vours to win the attention, and store the memo- 
 ry with religious knowledge. Her natural 
 abilities, which were of a superior character, 
 enabled her to converse with a very little child 
 with much effect ; and there was a tenderness 
 of affection, united to a firmness of manner, 
 which greatly promoted the best interests of a 
 nursery education. 
 
 " My mother had six children ; three of whom 
 died in infancy. A very affecting circumstance 
 accompanied the death of one of them, and was 
 a severe trial to her maternal feelings. Her 
 then youngest child, a sweet little boy, just two 
 years old, was, through the carelessness of his 
 nurse, precipitated from a bed-room window
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 9 
 
 upon the pavement beneath. I was at that time 
 six years of age, and happened to be walking 
 on the very spot, when the distressing event 
 occurred : I was, therefore, the first to take np, 
 and deliver into our agonized mother's arms, 
 the poor little sufferer. The head was fractured, 
 and he only survived the fall about thirty hours. 
 I still preserve a very distinct and lively re- 
 membrance of the struggle between the natural 
 feelings of the mother, and the spiritual resig- 
 nation of the Christian. She passed the sad 
 interval of suspense in almost continual prayer, 
 and found God a present help in time of trouble. 
 Frequently during that day did she retire with 
 me ; and as I knelt beside her, she uttered the 
 feelings and desires of her heart to God. I re- 
 member her saying, ' If I cease praying for 
 five minutes, I am ready to sink under this un- 
 looked-for distress ; but when I pray, God com- 
 forts and upholds me : his will, not mine, be 
 done.' Once she said, ' Help me to pray, my 
 child : Christ suffers little children to come to 
 him, and forbids them not, — say something.' 
 ' What shall I say, mamma ? — shall I fetch a 
 book V ' Not now,' she replied : ' speak from 
 your heart, and ask God that we may be recon- 
 ciled to his will, and bear this trial with pa- 
 tience.'
 
 10 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOJjD. 
 
 " The day after the infant's death, she took 
 me to the bed on which my little brother lay ; 
 and kneeling down, she wept for a few minutes 
 in silence ; and then taking his cold hand in one 
 of hers, and mine in the other, she said, ' Lord, 
 if it had not been thy good pleasure, it had not 
 been thus. Thy will be done ! I needed this 
 heavy trial to show me more of myself, and to 
 wean me from the world. Forgive my sins, 
 
 God ! and let me not murmur.' Then look- 
 ing at the cherub countenance of her babe, she 
 addea, ' Thou art not lost, but gone before me.' 
 She then put his hand into mine, and said, ' If 
 you live, my child, never forget this ; and may 
 
 1 one day meet you both in heaven !' 
 
 " These things occurred at Stockport, when 
 we were on a visit to my father's mother and 
 sisters, in the early part of the year 1778. The 
 recollection of what I have related is still clear 
 and impressive on my mind." 
 
 The pious care of Mrs. Richmond was well 
 repaid by her son, who, in after years, became 
 the happy and honoured instrument of impart- 
 ing to his beloved mother more correct views 
 of divine truth than she had previously pos- 
 sessed. 
 
 During Mr. Richmond's childhood he met 
 with an accident, from the effects of which he
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 11 
 
 never recovered. In leaping over a wall, he 
 fell with violence to the ground, and injured 
 his left leg so as to occasion an incurable lame- 
 ness, the injured limb being ever after shorter 
 than the other.* 
 
 In 1782 Mr. Richmond's parents removed 
 with their family from Liverpool to Bath. 
 Speaking of the anxious care with which they 
 endeavoured to preserve their children from the 
 ensnaring vices peculiar to places of fashion- 
 able resort, Mr. Richmond says, " In the whole 
 of their deportment, and in the management of 
 the family, my parents maintained great order 
 and propriety, founded upon conscientious prin- 
 ciples. They steadily resisted the torrent of 
 folly, vice, and dissipation, for which the gay 
 city of Bath is distinguished. While the giddy 
 votaries of fashionable life incessantly whirled 
 in the vortex of ensnaring pleasure, they culti- 
 vated, for themselves and their children, senti- 
 ments and habits of a domestic and rational 
 character. Regular and prudential in all their 
 household arrangements, they maintained a va- 
 
 * It is somewhat singular that a nearly similar accident 
 occurred to one of his own children. His second son, Wil- 
 berforce, when two years of age, fell from a window, and 
 was injured in the same limb, and ever after remained af- 
 flicted with the same kind of lameness as his father.
 
 12 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 luable intercourse with many estimable friends ; 
 and set their children a uniform example of 
 steady resistance to those temptations so inju- 
 rious to all, but especially to the rising genera- 
 tion. Their evenings were much spent at home, 
 in family reading, and improving conversation. 
 By pursuing this course, they hoped to lay a 
 foundation for future domestic usefulness in 
 their children's dispositions. I shall ever re- 
 tain a grateful remembrance of the sober and 
 temperate regulations which characterized my 
 paternal roof. It was their desire to bring 
 us up in the fear of God, and to teach us the 
 important lesson of self-denial so essential to 
 the formation of Christian principle." 
 
 Young Richmond received the rudiments of 
 his education under the tuition of his father, 
 who was an excellent classical scholar, and was 
 well acquainted with literature in general. 
 
 In addition to his classical and other ele- 
 mentary studies, he made great progress at this 
 period in the study of music, a science for which 
 he retained a strong attachment to the close of 
 his life. 
 
 He also manifested at a very early age a con- 
 siderable talent for poetry. The following is 
 a specimen of his versification, written at the 
 age of twelve.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 13 
 
 ON THE MORNING. 
 
 "Behold, the earth is clad in sober gray, 
 And twinkling stars foretel the approach of day. 
 The hare runs timid o'er the bladed grass. 
 And early shepherds on the meadows pass. 
 In splendid majesty the morning star 
 Welcomes Aurora in her rosy car. 
 The lark, the early herald of the morn, 
 Whose tender sides soft gentle plumes adorn, 
 Flies from her nest above all human sight. 
 And to the skies sublime she bends her flight. 
 Her pleasing notes the ambient hills repeat. 
 And day o'er half the world resumes its seat ; 
 The splendent sun's ethereal light appears, 
 And nature wipes away her dewy tears. — " 
 
 Mr. Richmond continued under his father's 
 tuition until his thirteenth year, when he was 
 sent to a school at Reading, and afterward to 
 another at Blandford. Having completed his 
 preparatory education, he entered college when 
 seventeen years of age. 
 
 It was in the year 1789 that Mr. Richmond 
 became a member of Trinity College in the 
 University of Cambridge. During his resi- 
 dence there his mother felt much anxiety 
 on his account. The infidel principles which 
 were so extensively promulgated at the breaking 
 out of the French revolution had infected many 
 young men in England, and not a few at the
 
 14 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 university ; and she dreaded the influence of 
 evil communications upon the mind of her son. 
 Her letters to him at this period breathed the 
 language of parental caution and solicitude. 
 The following extract is from one written in 
 1790:— 
 
 " I hope that my dear son does not, in the 
 midst of his literary studies, forget those that 
 pertain to religion. I cannot help trembling for 
 my country, in these days of infidel democracy. 
 I fear, too many young students at college treat 
 the Scriptures with neglect, if not with con- 
 tempt. Some such have lately passed the 
 Christmas vacation at Bath, and have made a 
 very unbecoming display of their sentiments at 
 the coffee-houses and public rooms. I sincerely 
 hope that you will be preserved from this con- 
 tagion. It has been my prayer to God from your 
 infancy that you might live and die a true 
 Christian. I am more anxious about this point 
 than about your classical and mathematical at- 
 tainments, important as they may be. I know 
 you will bear with a mother's exhortations ; 
 they come from a heart which has long beat 
 with anxiety for your welfare." 
 
 Mr. Richmond entered the university with 
 a high character for proficiency both in the 
 classics and in mathematics ; and while there
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 15 
 
 he applied himself to his studies with great 
 diligence. He was universally esteemed as a 
 young man of great abilities and correct conduct; 
 and at the annual examinations he stood each 
 year in the highest class. 
 
 It was the wish of Mr. Richmond's father that 
 he should embrace the profession of the law ; 
 and such was also his own intention ; but when 
 he had been four years at college, his mind 
 was strongly inclined to the ministerial office. 
 Having, after much deliberation, come to the 
 conclusion that it was his duty to devote him- 
 self to the ministry, he communicated his views 
 on the subject to his father, who cheerfully ac- 
 quiesced in his decision. 
 
 To Mr. Richmond's mother this was a source 
 of peculiar satisfaction. It had ever been her 
 secret wish and desire that her son might be- 
 come a minister of God's word ; but she had 
 never disclosed it to him, from a fear of creating 
 an undue bias in a matter which she considered 
 of so great importance. Her views of the mi- 
 nisterial profession were peculiarly serious, and 
 she dreaded the idea of a rash intrusion into 
 the sacred office. She wished her son to fol- 
 low the bent of his own mind, and hoped that 
 God would direct him in the right path. 
 
 In a letter written to him a few days after
 
 16 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 he had opened his mind on the subject, she 
 says : — 
 
 " Your account of the motives which have 
 determined you to enter into the church, as 
 contained in your letter to your father, has given 
 us both great satisfaction. Your determination 
 on this point appears to me as an answer to 
 the prayers which I have been offering up ever 
 since you were born. The character of a good 
 clergyman has ever stood foremost in my esti- 
 mation ; and on the other hand that of a careless, 
 idle, and dissipated, and, above all, an immoral 
 one, has been my dread and abhorrence. The 
 object of almost every other profession termi- 
 nates with this world and its concerns ; but that 
 of a clergyman looks to eternity. Here much 
 depends upon the character and conduct of the 
 minister of a parish. Your grandfather Rich- 
 mond was an excellent pattern of what a pastor 
 should be, and I sincerely wish you may tread 
 in his steps. I am sorry to say that Bath has 
 long been the annual resort of a class of young 
 clergymen, whom I hope you will never imitate. 
 The ball-room, the theatre, and the card-table 
 are not the appointed scenes of clerical occu- 
 pation." 
 
 " Your choice of your profession has eased 
 my mind of a considerable burden ; and the prin-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 17 
 
 ciples which you express give me hope that if 
 my life be spared, you will be a comfort to my 
 old age, and also a blessing to many others. 
 Pray to God for direction and counsel in all 
 your ways ; trust in the mercy of the Saviour ; 
 and pursue the path of duty, as the appointed 
 way to happiness." 
 
 He continued to reside at Cambridge, pur- 
 suing those studies which were more imme- 
 diately connected with his future destination, 
 till the end of the midsummer term in 1797. 
 In the month of June of that year he was or- 
 dained deacon ; in the beginning of July he took 
 his degree of M. A. ; on the 22d of the same 
 month he was married, immediately after which 
 he proceeded to the Isle of Wight, and entered 
 upon the curacies of the adjoining parishes of 
 Brading and Yaverland. Thus in the course 
 of a few weeks he became, to use his own 
 words, " academically a master of arts, domes- 
 tically a husband, and parochially a deacon." 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter 
 written to him by his mother soon after he was 
 ordained, and before he departed for his cu- 
 racy: — 
 
 " I passed the evening of the day on which 
 my dear son was ordained (last Trinity Sunday) 
 in privacy and prayer. Next to the day that 
 2
 
 18 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOJVD. 
 
 gave you birth, I consider it as the most im- 
 portant of your life. You are now become a 
 minister of the Church. Yours is a weighty 
 charge — ^may God give you grace to fulfil its 
 duties aright. You are going to reside in a 
 beautiful country, and I hope you will also find 
 ' the beauty of holiness' there. I always had 
 a desire to see the Isle of Wight ; and now I 
 have the prospect of visiting the young pastor 
 and his flock, as an additional inducement to 
 go there. I shall conclude by observing that 
 as it may now seem too presuming in me to 
 give lectures on theology to a reverend divine, 
 I shall henceforth rather expect to receive them 
 from you ; but a mother's prayers may be as 
 needful as ever, and her blessing no less ac- 
 ceptable than formerly. Take them both from 
 Your affectionate mother, 
 
 C. R."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MR. RICHMOND'S CONVERSION AND MINISTRY IN 
 THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 Mr. Richmond entered upon the ministry 
 with a sincere desire to discharge its important 
 duties in a consistent and conscientious manner. 
 Writing to his father a few days after his ordi- 
 nation, he says, " I am now preparing to under- 
 take what I cannot but consider as a most 
 serious and weighty charge — the sole responsi- 
 bility, as resident clergyman, of two parishes. 
 So far as information is required, I hope I have 
 not laboured in vain ; so far as good resolution is 
 concerned, I trust I am not deficient; as regards 
 my success and future conduct in this important 
 calling, I pray God's assistance to enable me to 
 do my duty, and to become a worthy member 
 of the Established Church. The character of a 
 fashionable parson is my aversion; that of an 
 ignorant or careless one, I see with pity and con- 
 tempt ; that of a dissipated one with shame ; and 
 that of an unbelieving one with horror." 
 
 But with all this Mr. Richmond appears to 
 have been but little aware of the magnitude 
 and responsibihty of the work in which he was
 
 20 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 engaged. Although in the general duties of his 
 new charge, and in his moral deportment, he 
 manifested such a propriety of conduct as to 
 acquire the character of a highly respectable 
 and useful young clergyman, yet one important 
 thing — the one thing needful — -was lacking. 
 As yet he was himself but little acquainted 
 with the things of God, and was therefore little 
 qualified to become the spiritual instructer of 
 others. He possessed the " form," but was in 
 a great measure destitute of the "power" of 
 godliness. 
 
 After he had resided at Brading about two 
 months, however, it pleased God, who had 
 marked him out as a chosen instrument of ex- 
 tensive usefulness in his church, by an appa- 
 rently trivial and unimportant circumstance, to 
 produce a complete revolution in his religious 
 sentiments. A thoughtless candidate for the 
 ministry, one of Mr. Richmond's college friends, 
 having been presented by a relative with a copy 
 of Mr. Wilberforce's celebrated work on Prac- 
 tical Christianity, and having no disposition to 
 peruse it, sent it to Mr. Richmond with a re- 
 quest that he would read it, and inform him 
 what he was to say respecting its contents. 
 In compliance with this request he began to 
 read the book, and became so deeply interested
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 21 
 
 that he did not lay it down till he had finished 
 the perusal. The effect which it produced we 
 state in his own words : — " I feel it to be a debt 
 of gratitude which I owe to God and man, to 
 take this opportunity of stating that to the un- 
 sought and unexpected introduction of Mr. Wil- 
 berforce's book on Practical Christianity, I owe, 
 through God's mercy, the first sacred impres- 
 sion which I ever received, as to the spiritual 
 nature of the gospel system, the vital character 
 of personal religion, the corruption of the hu- 
 man heart, and the way of salvation by Jesus 
 Christ. As a young minister, recently ordained, 
 and just intrusted with the charge of two pa- 
 rishes in the Isle of Wight, I had commenced 
 my labours too much in the spirit of the world, 
 and founded my public instruction on the erro- 
 neous notions which prevailed among my aca- 
 demical and literary associates. The Scrip- 
 tural principles stated in the ' Practical View' 
 convinced me of my error ; led me to the study 
 of the Scriptures with an earnestness to which 
 I had hitherto been a stranger ; humbled my 
 heart, and brought me to seek the love and 
 blessing of that Saviour who alone can afford 
 a peace which the world cannot give." 
 
 Having experienced the renewing influences 
 of the Holy Ghost, Mr. Richmond, with an en-
 
 22 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 liglitened understanding, and devoted zeal, now 
 set himself to " do the work of an evangelist." 
 Previously to this important change in his reli- 
 gious sentiments, he had in his preaching and 
 labours aimed at nothing more than an outward 
 reform of the habits and manners of the people ; 
 and this he had in a great measure effected. 
 He had made them more regular in attending 
 the services of the sanctuary ; and, so far as 
 their exterior conduct was concerned, had cer- 
 tainly wrought much improvement. But here 
 the effect of his labours had stopped ; for as re- 
 garded the great end of the Christian ministry 
 — the conversion of immortal souls — his preach- 
 ing had been utterly powerless. Awakened 
 to better views, the important and essential 
 doctrines of the gospel, — the fallen and ruined 
 state of man, and his deliverance and redemp- 
 tion by Jesus Christ, — now became the promi- 
 nent themes of his public addresses ; and the 
 happy conversion of many of his hearers fur- 
 nished unquestionable evidence that the preach- 
 ing of " Christ crucified" was indeed " the 
 power of God, and the wisdom of God." 
 
 He was not only instant in preaching the 
 word, but he also, like a faithful pastor, visited 
 his flock " from house to house," taking care to 
 make these opportunities occasions, not of
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 23 
 
 friendly intercourse merely, but of spiritual edi- 
 fication and improvement. 
 
 The children — those lambs of the flock — 
 were also the objects of his tender solicitude. 
 These he invited to meet him weekly at his 
 house every Saturday afternoon, when he heard 
 them read, repeat catechisms, hymns, and por- 
 tions of Scripture ; and he also engaged in fa- 
 miliar conversation with them respecting those 
 things by which he hoped to see them made 
 " wise unto salvation." In the summer sea- 
 son he frequently met his little flock in the 
 open air, under the shade of some trees in his 
 garden. 
 
 One of the happy results of these youthful 
 meetings is recorded in the memoir of " Little 
 Jane, or the Young Cottager," who, Mr. Rich- 
 mond states, was, so far as he could trace or 
 discover, his first-born spiritual child in the 
 gospel. 
 
 This little girl was a constant attendant on 
 these weekly meetings ; but being of a quiet, re- 
 tiring disposition, she was little noticed, except 
 for her regular and orderly conduct. About a 
 year after the commencement of her attendance 
 she was absent for several weeks, and Mr. 
 Richmond was informed that she was sick, and 
 would be glad to see him. He called the next
 
 24 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 morning at the cottage in which she lived. It 
 was a dwelling of the humblest kind, and suffi- 
 ciently showed the poverty of its occupiers. 
 He found little Jane in bed, and evidently far 
 gone in a consumption. He immediately en- 
 tered into conversation with her respecting her 
 spiritual state, and was both surprised and de- 
 lighted to find that the instructions he had given 
 her had been blessed to the conversion of her 
 soul. He says, " The marks of a divine change 
 were too prominent to be easily mistaken ; and 
 in this very child I for the first time witnessed 
 the evident testimonies of such a change. . . 
 As I returned home, my heart was filled with 
 thankfulness for what I had seen and heard. 
 Little Jane appeared to be a first-fruits of my 
 spiritual harvest. This thought greatly com- 
 forted and strengthened me in my spiritual pros- 
 pects." 
 
 The case of this child was rendered the more 
 affecting from the circumstance that both her 
 parents were persons of depraved character and 
 intemperate habits, and treated with cruel and 
 profane ridicule the admonitions of their dying 
 child, who was much concerned for their spi- 
 ritual welfare. 
 
 Mr. Richmond visited her constantly till her 
 death : and his conversations with her on these
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 25 
 
 occasions are imbodied in the deeply interest- 
 ing narrative to which we have referred. 
 
 It was during his residence at Brading that 
 Mr. Richmond became acquainted with the 
 subject of the most popular of all his tracts, 
 the " Dairyman's Daughter." Her name was 
 Elizabeth Wallbridge. She was a native of 
 Arreton, a small village in the Isle of Wight, 
 about six miles from Brading. At an early age 
 she left her parents and lived for several years 
 as a servant in respectable families. In none 
 of these families, however, was any attention 
 paid to eternal things ; and Elizabeth being of 
 a lively, thoughtless disposition, fond of dress 
 and finery, and possessing some wit, it is not 
 surprising that she not only manifested no con- 
 cern about religion herself, but also treated with 
 ridicule and sarcasm those who did. Thus she 
 lived till she was about twenty-five years of 
 age, when she and one of her fellow-servants 
 were induced, chiefly from motives of curiosi- 
 ty, to go and hear the Rev. James Crabb, a 
 Methodist preacher who occasionally visited 
 Southampton, where she then lived. They 
 were deeply affected by the sermon, and went 
 again, and the happy result was the conversion 
 of both, and their union with the Methodist 
 society.
 
 26 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 From this memorable period Elizabeth was 
 a " new creature." All who knew her, concur 
 in testifying that from the day of her conversion 
 she was entirely and steadily devoted to God. 
 She " adorned the doctrine of God her Saviour 
 in all things," and by her holy life and conver- 
 sation was instrumental in bringing her father, 
 mother, and one of her sisters, to the knowledge 
 and experience of " the truth as it is in Jesus." 
 She continued a member of the Methodist 
 Society until her death, which took place in 
 1801, in the thirty-first year of her age.* The 
 circumstances of Mr. Richmond's first commu- 
 nication and subsequent intercourse with her 
 are given in his tract, to which we shall have 
 occasion to refer in another part of the present 
 narrative. 
 
 Within the parish of Brading, at the distance 
 of about two miles, was situated the hamlet of 
 Bembridge. To this place Mr. Richmond went 
 once in every week to expound the Scriptures, 
 and to meet those who, through age and infirm- 
 
 * The name of the fellow-servant of Elizabeth, who went 
 with her to hear Mr. Crabb, was Elizabeth Groves ; she 
 was in 1837 yet living in the Isle of Wight, and still hold- 
 ing on in the good way, having been a member of the 
 Methodist Church more than forty years. — Carvossoi's 
 " Further Account of the Dairyman'' s Da^ighter^
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 27 
 
 ity, or other causes, were unable to attend the 
 parish church. 
 
 In the year 1801 he formed at Brading a 
 society which was productive of much benefit. 
 From the following " regulation," which affords 
 a general idea of its character and objects, it 
 will be seen that in many respects it strikingly 
 resembled a Methodist class meeting : — " The 
 society will meet every Wednesday evening, 
 when the director will attend, for the purpose 
 of explaining the Holy Scriptures, the Liturgy 
 of the Church of England, and other such godly 
 books as he may think useful and profitable for 
 the instruction and edification of the members ; 
 giving them such friendly and Christian ex- 
 hortation and counsel as each or all of them 
 may require ; answering any questions which 
 they may wish to propose, respecting the mean- 
 ing and design of the word of God, and their 
 own conduct and religious progress in general ; 
 and joining in prayer with them to Almighty 
 God, for a blessing upon themselves, their fami- 
 lies, their neighbours, and their country, and 
 the whole church of God, wherever dispersed 
 in the world." 
 
 In his first address to them (a copy of which 
 was found among his papers) he remarks : — 
 " It shall be my care to do all in my power to
 
 28 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 cherish and support you in all virtue and godli- 
 ness of living, to comfort you in affliction, to 
 clear up your doubts, to reprove your faults, 
 encourage your good resolutions, and to be, by 
 God's help, a spiritual pastor among you, to lead 
 you through the pilgrimage of this life to the 
 enjoyment of the glories of paradise. All that 
 I now ask and beseech of you is, that you will 
 be in earnest in your present profession, and 
 strive with heart and soul to persevere in that 
 good road, wherein I trust you are now going. 
 And remember how sad will be the lot of those 
 who, having put their hand to the plough, look 
 back again, and are no longer fit for the king- 
 dom of heaven. Be strong, then, in the Lord ; 
 and may his grace preserve you in your good 
 resolutions, and bring you to the full knowledge 
 of the excellence of Jesus Christ, and give you 
 the greatest of all blessings, the forgiveness of 
 sins in this world, and life everlasting in the 
 next." 
 
 To the soldiers that were occasionally quar- 
 tered in that part of the country, his ministry 
 was made highly useful. The case of one of 
 them is so remarkable that it deserves to be 
 mentioned. 
 
 A pious soldier who had frequently called on 
 Mr. Richmond, one day brought with him a
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. . 29 
 
 comrade who wished to dispose of some cler- 
 gyman's bands, one or two religious books, and 
 some manuscript sermons, in order to provide 
 himself with a few necessaries, which he had no 
 other means of procuring. The stranger, with 
 some embarrassment, communicated privately 
 to Mr. Richmond several circumstances of his 
 past life. He stated that he was the son of a 
 clergyman in Wales ; that he had himself been 
 regularly ordained, and had officiated for three 
 
 years in a curacy in the county of W ; but 
 
 that having by imprudence and inattention to 
 the decorum which suited his office, contracted 
 debts which he had neither the means nor the 
 prospect of paying, he had, to avoid disgrace 
 and imprisonment, enlisted as a common soldier, 
 had served in the late campaign in Holland, and 
 was now about to proceed with the army to 
 Egypt. He showed Mr. Richmond some let- 
 ters and papers establishing the correctness of 
 his story, and also wrote some sentences in his 
 presence, proving his handwriting to be the 
 same as that of the manuscript sermons he had 
 with him. Mr. Richmond was greatly con- 
 cerned at what he had related, and immediately 
 entered into a close and friendly expostulation 
 with him on the inconsistency of his present 
 course with the sacred profession to which he
 
 30 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 was bound by the most indissoluble ties, and 
 urged the duty of his endeavouring to return, if 
 possible, to the discharge of his ministerial du- 
 ties with a mind influenced and improved by 
 the experience of past hardships and misfor- 
 tunes. He, however, appeared but little dis- 
 posed to follow this advice, and it was evident 
 that no impression of a religious kind had been 
 made upon his mind. Mr. Richmond therefore 
 purchased the articles he had for sale, gave him 
 a couple of books, and dismissed him with a 
 blessing, once more entreating him to lay to 
 heart what he had said. 
 
 Two days after this interview, which took 
 place in 1801, the expedition sailed for Egypt, 
 and Mr. Richmond heard no more of the soldier 
 till June, 1802, when the pious comrade, who 
 originally accompanied him, again called on Mr. 
 Richmond, and gave him a relation, of which 
 the following is the substance : — 
 
 " You without doubt remember Mr. E , 
 
 the young clergyman whom I brought to your 
 house the year before last. At that time I knew 
 very little of him ; he, however, shortly after we 
 left you, observed with some emotion, that what 
 you had said to him had made more impression 
 upon his mind than any thing he had ever heasd 
 in the coiu'se of his life. He then made mo
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 31 
 
 also acquainted with his history, to which I 
 was before a stranger. I did not see him 
 again till after our departure for Egypt, and as 
 we embarked in different ships, it was not till 
 our arrival at Malta that we met together. Mr. 
 E took an immediate opportunity of say- 
 ing, ' W , I have long wished to see you ; 
 
 I want to tell you how greatly indebted I feel 
 to that dear friend of yours at Brading. I can 
 never forget him ; his words made a deep im- 
 pression on my heart, and I trust, by the bless- 
 ing of God, they will make a still deeper.' He 
 showed strong marks of penitence, and gave a 
 favourable hope of an important change having 
 taken place in his views and dispositions. I 
 was happy to find on the reassembling of the 
 regiment, that among the recruits were a few 
 
 seriously disposed. Mr. E and myself 
 
 soon formed a little religious society among 
 them, which gradually increased to the number 
 of twenty-four ; we met as often as possible to 
 read the Bible together, converse on the con- 
 cerns of eternity, and unite in prayer to Al- 
 mighty God for his blessing on our endeavours. 
 We derived much benefit from these meetings. 
 When we arrived on the coast of Africa, Mr. 
 
 E and myself were in the same boat at the 
 
 time of our landing at Aboukir. The French
 
 32 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND- 
 
 artillery kept up a tremendous fire upon us for 
 some time, but we both, through the mercy of 
 God, escaped unhurt. Our little society after- 
 ward continued its meetings as regularly as the 
 trying circumstances of our situation would ad- 
 mit. On the evening preceding the battle of 
 the 21st of March, 1801, we all met together. 
 Mr. E. then said, ' 1 cannot account for the 
 strong impression which has seized my mind, 
 that I shall not survive to-morrow's engagement. 
 No such prepossession ever occupied my 
 thoughts on any former occasion ; I feel, there- 
 fore, strongly affected by this ; but if it be thy 
 will, O God, thy will be done ! ' We then 
 united in prayer for him, for ourselves, and for 
 all Our brethren in arms, beseeching God to 
 prepare us for the awful trial, and give us grace 
 either to meet death with joyful hope, or to re- 
 ceive his sparing mercy, if our lives should be 
 preserved, with gratitude. Knowing the im- 
 portance of the next day's battle, and the little 
 chance we stood of all meeting again in this 
 world, we embraced each other with peculiar 
 attachment, and mutual recommendation to the 
 God of battle and the preserver of souls. O 
 sir ! it was a happy, but trying season to us ; I 
 
 saw Mr. E an hour before the horrors of 
 
 that bloody day commenced ; his words were.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOXD. 33 
 
 * Pray earnestly for me, and if I am killed, and 
 you should be spared, give my last blessing to 
 our worthy and dear friend at Brading ; tell 
 Mr. Richmond,' continued he, ' that I owe him 
 more than worlds can repay : he first opened 
 my heart to conviction, and God has blessed it 
 to repentance : through the unspeakable mer- 
 cies of Christ, I can die with comfort.' 
 
 " After the engagement, our little society met 
 according to agreement. Every life was spared 
 
 except that of poor Mr. E , whose head was 
 
 taken off by a cannon ball at an early period of 
 the action. Such was the will of God. While 
 therefore we returned hearty thanks for our 
 preservation, we blessed God's goodness for 
 sparing the life of our departed brother, till by 
 a lively exercise of faith and repentance, as we 
 had every reason to trust, God had made him 
 his own. I now also bless God, that I have 
 had this opportunity of seeing and relating to 
 you a story, which I know you rejoice to hear." 
 
 By the will of the Rev. Henry Brindley, 
 a benevolent clergyman of the Established 
 Church, provision was made for the annual de- 
 livery of a sermon on the subject of cruelty to 
 the brute creation. The sermon for 1801 was 
 preached by Mr. Richmond on the 15th of 
 3
 
 34 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 February in the Abbey Church at Bath, from 
 Genesis i, 26, " And God said, Lei us make man 
 in our image, after our likeness ; and let them 
 have dominion over the jish of the sea, and over 
 the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over 
 all the earth, and over every creeping thing that 
 creepeth upon the earth ^^ From these words the 
 preacher took occasion to show the nature of 
 that dominion over the brute creation with 
 which God has invested man — that it is a ma- 
 nifest part of the divine will that it should be 
 a merciful dominion ; and that no one who has 
 any claim to the name or character of a Chris- 
 tian will be guilty of any wilful and needless 
 act of cruelty. The sermon, which appears to 
 have excited considerable attention, was after- 
 ward printed at the request of the congregation.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LETTER TO HIS SISTER ON HER MARRIAGE ; 
 EXTRACTS FROM HIS JOURNAL. 
 
 The following letter was addressed by Mr. 
 Richmond in the early part of 1801 to his sis- 
 ter, on her marriage : it contains much appro- 
 priate and wholesome advice : — 
 
 " Forgive me, beloved sister, if I express my- 
 self with more than customary anxiety, in now 
 writing to you ; related as I am by the nearest ties 
 of kindred, and by the still more close bonds of 
 love and tender affection. I feel a lively interest 
 in all which concerns you ; and should be more 
 than commonly happy, if a brother's prayer, and 
 a brother's admonition, should prove in any way 
 conducive to the Avelfare and advancement of a 
 much-loved sister. 
 
 " I am desirous of seeing and knowing that 
 you will shine in the united characters of 
 wife, mother, friend, and Christian. I feel 
 truly and unequivocally anxious that you should 
 not, even in appearance, sink into the mere 
 accomplished and elegant woman. I wish you 
 to set a right estimate upon that far more ac- 
 complished, and infinitely more useful charac-
 
 36 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 ter, which exists chiefly within the walls of 
 your own house. Every thing depends on your 
 first outset. By the model which you frame 
 for your conduct tJiis very year, will probably be 
 regulated all your subsequent character and 
 conduct in every future station and relation of 
 life. 
 
 " You know well the affection, and I trust 
 will not despise the judgment and sentiments, 
 of him who speaks thus candidly and frankly 
 to you. I am well persuaded that a young wo- 
 man, to be truly respectable, must dare to be 
 laudably singular. There always will be a cer- 
 tain description of persons in every place, who 
 will wonder that you can exist without passing 
 your time as they do ; but among those whose 
 esteem and opinion alone ought to regulate 
 your own feelings and conduct, the more re- 
 tired and seldom-to-be-seen wife, whose theatre 
 of real action and real pleasure is within her 
 own house, in the fulfilment of sober, useful, 
 and exemplary duties, will ever be most be- 
 loved, most respected, and most befriended. 
 
 " By way of immediate occupation of your 
 time and thoughts, allow me to direct them to 
 the relief and benefit of the poor ; not by idle 
 gratuities, but by diligently seeking them out, 
 informing yourself of their wants and distresses,
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 37 
 
 and economizing in superfluities, in order that 
 thereby the poor may abound in needfuls, and 
 you may abound in their blessings. Be sys- 
 tematically charitable, both to their souls and 
 bodies. Promote plans for instruction ; assist 
 in superintending them ; employ yourself in 
 making clothes for them ; and rest not till you 
 have made it a settled and uniform part of your 
 character, to be actively, constantly, and watch- 
 fully charitable. 
 
 " Be scrupulously attentive to the observance 
 of the sabbath, both in public and in private, 
 both at church and at home ; and in all your 
 pleasures, all your pains, all your employments, 
 prospects, plans, and engagements, remember 
 that the use of this life is to prepare for a bet- 
 ter ; and that ' strait is the gate, and narrow is 
 the way that leads to eternal life, and few there 
 be that find it.' Read your Bible with prayer, 
 daily, under the impression of this awful truth : 
 and may God remember you, my dearest sister, 
 among those whom he especially loveth ; and 
 his grace render you Avhat I wish you may 
 always prove to be, a valued wife, a tender mo- 
 ther, an estimable friend, and a devoted Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, 
 
 " L. Richmond."
 
 38 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 In January, 1804, Mr. Richmond commenced 
 keeping a diary of his religious experience, 
 which he continued to August of the same year, 
 after which he does not appear to have ever 
 resumed it. A few passages from these daily 
 records will show the deep, humble, and expe- 
 rimental character of his religion. 
 
 " January 1 . A new year is begun, but where 
 is the new heart, and the right spirit ? O weak- 
 ness and wickedness ! Preached from Rom. 
 xi, 28, 29 ; and Job xvi, 22. Felt much satis- 
 faction, after the morning service, from J 
 
 and his wife proposing to become members of 
 my society. He shed tears of penitence and 
 joy. May God work all for good. In the af- 
 ternoon I felt something of the fear of man ; 
 but found, as I proceeded, more freedom. O 
 Lord, save me from fear of censure, and love 
 of praise ! Went in the evening to my society 
 at Arreton ; few, but meek, humble, and hope- 
 ful. Another member proposed, an infirm old 
 widow. 
 
 " Jan. 3. I am very deficient in steady, per- 
 severing diligence. Let me think much of 
 this, and learn to set a right value on time. 
 O, how precious ought every hour to be, when 
 each may be the last ! Thought much of Cow-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 39 
 
 per's description of a preacher.* God impress 
 it on my heart ! B. is buried to-day ; how 
 dreadfully unprepared to meet his God ! How 
 far am I responsible ? Alas ! how great is the 
 burden of the pastor ! Lord, give me grace to 
 see it, and feel it more and more, and enable 
 me to bear it with good conscience. I have 
 been delighted, and I hope profited, by Bid- 
 dulph's funeral sermon on Mr. Drewitt ; O that 
 I were like him ! I now wonder that I had not 
 more correspondence with that holy man ; I 
 shall ever think with pleasure of my introduc- 
 tion to him. God bring us together at the last. 
 I trust my resolutions gain strength. O God, 
 in thy mercy strengthen me ! May my 
 thoughts now close with blessed Drewitt, and 
 
 * " Would I describe a preacher, such as Paul, 
 
 Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own, 
 Paul should himself direct me. I would trace 
 His master strokes, and draw from his design. 
 I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; 
 In doctrine uncorrupt, in language plain. 
 And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste, 
 And natural in gesture ; much impress'd 
 Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, 
 And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
 May feel it too ; affectionate in look, 
 And tender in address, as well becomes 
 A messenger of grace to guilty men." — Task, b. ii.
 
 40 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 sink to peacefulness with a blessing on the 
 meditation, 
 
 " Jan, &. A beautiful frosty morning. Teach 
 me, O Lord, from the beauties of nature, to 
 learn the beauties of grace. Every returning 
 morning reminds me what a mercy it is I am 
 still alive ; and have space and time given me 
 to repent and believe. Take my heart, O God, 
 into thy keeping, and then it will be safe. If it 
 be thy good pleasure to rescue me from tempo- 
 ral perplexity, let my gratitude appear ; if not, 
 let it be ground for submission and patient 
 resignation. With thee, I cannot do ill ; with- 
 out thee, I cannot do well. Heard Nugent's* 
 morning prayers. May he learn early the les- 
 son, which I for so many years neglected, and 
 now perform so unworthily. Prayer is the 
 breath of faith. 
 
 " Jan. 7. Surprised by a letter from Hannah 
 More, inviting me to succeed Mr. Drewitt, at 
 Cheddar, or to recommend a curate. O, I am 
 unworthy, could it be brought about. Yet what 
 a field to act upon \ Lead me, O God, to that 
 which is right. Shall I make any overtures to 
 remove there or not? It has filled me with 
 mingled contemplation and solicitude. Is it a 
 
 * Mr. Richmond's eldest son, then about five years and 
 a half old.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 41 
 
 call from God, or ought I rather to do his work 
 here ? Direct my heart, O God, from doubts 
 and wanderings, into thy paths. 
 
 " Jan. 8, Sunday. Snow and sleet. How 
 cold are my affections, like this season. Warm 
 my heart, O Lord, till it burn with the flames 
 of devotion. Compose my thoughts into holy 
 meditation, and let not the events of the day 
 destroy them. 
 
 " My heart heavy in reflecting how unworthy 
 I am to think of succeeding Mr. Drewitt : to 
 be placed in such a parish, with such neigh- 
 bours and friends as that country would afford, 
 might be an unspeakable benefit to me, and my 
 dear Mary ; but I hardly dare think of it. 
 Lord, direct me for the best. I am a poor, 
 weak, irresolute, sinful creature ; without thee 
 I can do nothing. 
 
 "Jan. 10. What an awful idea is eternity! 
 Am I prepared to encounter it ? ' O spare me 
 a little, that I may recover my strength before 
 Lgo hence, and be no more seen !' Settle my 
 opinions steadfastly, and above all, my affec- 
 tions on thyself, O Lord ! Have mercy on the 
 dear children whom thou hast given me, and 
 may I give them back unto thee in Jesus Christ, 
 their and my Saviour. I fear I have not taught 
 N. all I ought, and of which he is capable.
 
 42 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 Let me lay this to heart, and recommend him 
 to God in prayer. 
 
 " Much perplexed what to say to Mrs. More. 
 Surely if vanity wanted food, it is here — to be 
 solicited by a Hannah More to supply the place 
 of a Drewitt ! But a sense of unworthiness, 
 thank God, represses emotions like these. 
 
 "Jan. 14. One fortnight more, and I shall 
 be thirty-two in years by nature, but how old in 
 grace ? Sloth, detested sloth, how does it in- 
 jure my advancement ! Would to God I might 
 now break all bonds, and fly in heart and soul 
 to the possession of my God ! There are mo- 
 ments when all heaven seems open before me ; 
 and others, when I tremble over the pit of sor- 
 rows. 
 
 "Jan. 15. The sabbath is ended. I preached 
 on the reason why Christ delivered his doc- 
 trine in parables, Matt, xiii, 10, 11. At Yaver- 
 land, read the homily on the time and place of 
 prayer. Went to Arreton ; my excellent, though 
 humble friend, J. W., was there. I pray God 
 I might sit at his feet in the kingdom of heaven; 
 I know no other such Christian here. Would 
 to God I were like him. I found much com- 
 fort with my society. Returned in thunder, 
 lightning, and rain. Thought of death and of 
 judgment. O, awful meditation ! Let me ex-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 43 
 
 amine my heart on its faith, hope, and love. 
 Help me, O God, to pray; and so may thy 
 blessing rest on me and mine. 
 
 "Jan. 18. This day, with thy blessing, I 
 shall go to feed my sheep at Bembridge. Grant 
 me to do so with a faithful and a single heart. 
 I always look upon that society as an humble 
 ground for hope that the Lord means to do good 
 through me ; yet how often do I perform that 
 duty with slothfulness ! Give me, O God, more 
 will, and strength, and grace, and power, and 
 blessing, and success ; and teach me to judge 
 (if it so please thee) by the state of my people, 
 of my own. Provide Cheddar with a succes- 
 sor to Drewitt after thine own heart, and in- 
 crease the number of true pastors, and of true 
 sheep in thy pasture. 
 
 " Jan. 19. How vain are all attempts to find 
 peace in aught but the gospel ! How the 
 world steals upon the mind, and usurps the 
 throne of God ! ' Video meliora prohoque, dete- 
 riora sequor.''* Make me more discreet and 
 considerate in the management of my property. 
 Let justice and generosity be equally and forci- 
 bly remembered. I find my prayers languid 
 and lukewarm to-day. Why is this ? The 
 fault must lie within. 
 
 * I see and approve the better, but follow the worse.
 
 44 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 " Jan. 29. The Lord's sabbath, and my 
 birth-day. O ahnighty God, sanctify this day 
 to my heart ; herein and henceforth may I rest 
 from sin and spiritual sorrow, except that sor- 
 row which worketh repentance unto salvation. 
 
 " Jan. 31. May God strengthen me to keep 
 my birth-day resolutions ; I am very weak and 
 unstable. 
 
 " A momentary fit of anger, which, blessed 
 be God, I immediately tranquillized, and 
 sought present reconciliation. Let the fear 
 of God's anger ever make me afraid of my 
 own. 
 
 " February 1 1 . This day there is to be an 
 eclipse of the sun. What a beautiful emblem 
 of those eclipses of the soul, which sometimes 
 hide the face of God from the sons of earth ! 
 O revive me with thy presence, my God, even 
 thy effectual and abiding presence ! I have 
 been meditating on the parable of the good Sa- 
 maritan, in a spiritual application, with a view 
 of preaching on it. May both its literal and 
 mystical sense shine forth in me. 
 
 " To-morrow is thy day, O God of hosts ! 
 may I sanctify it, and may my words be blessed 
 to the hearts of my hearers. Enable me to 
 speak from the heart to the heart. 
 
 " Feb. 17. Harassed with foolish thoughts.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 45 
 
 I grow more and more ashamed of myself, that 
 such things can lay hold of my heart, and that 
 I should have such deadness toward heaven. 
 * O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the 
 Lord!' 
 
 " I have been to Bembridge, and read Bur- 
 der's poetical abridgment of the Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress, with profit and delight to us all. How 
 much more am I in my element, among my lit- 
 tle flock, than scheming in the world ! Drank tea 
 at John Wheler's ; his cottage is God's palace. 
 
 " Feb. 20. Let me reflect on the fleetness 
 of time, and on the uncertainty of my life. 
 Drewitt was taken away just at my age — the 
 hand of death may be close. O what folly to 
 imagine it at a distance ! May I then die daily. 
 
 " Feb. 26. A serene fine morning is an em- 
 blem of rest — rest from storms and rain ; how 
 ought I to seek an earnest within of that ' rest 
 which remaineth for the people of God !' In 
 all my ministrations this day — in the sanctuary, 
 the house, the closet — may all be to thee, and 
 for thee, and by thee. I feel my own deficien- 
 cies daily more and more ; O God, may I feel 
 them till I lose them ! 
 
 " March 12. One day nearer death and 
 eternity. Lift up my heart, O God, in earnest 
 prayer for real blessings. Let me be more
 
 46 LIFE OF LEGM RICHMOND. 
 
 desirous of graces than gifts, and yet remember 
 that both are from thee. 
 
 " March 24. I purpose to preach five evening 
 lectures next week, on the progress, nature, and 
 extent of Christ's sufferings. May the subject 
 animate my soul, and through grace give life 
 to my weak faith ! 
 
 " March 27. I feel much dissatisfied with 
 myself. Lord, what am I, that thou shouldst 
 so regard me ? A worm, a vile worm of the 
 the dust. I am to preach to-night a lecture on 
 Christ's sufferings. What do I suffer for him ? 
 
 "March 30. Good Friday. I bless God 
 that my first act has been weeping for thy sor- 
 rows, O my Saviour !" 
 
 It is impossible for any person to peruse the 
 foregoing extracts without being deeply con- 
 vinced of the sincerity and earnestness of the 
 writer.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MR. Richmond's removal from brading, and 
 
 SETTLEMENT AT TURVEY. 
 
 Mr. Richmond continued with his little flocks 
 in the Isle of Wight until the year 1805, when 
 he acceded to a proposal which was made to 
 him to assist the Rev. Mr. Fry in his laborious 
 duties as chaplain to the Lock Hospital in 
 London. His chief inducements to make this 
 change- were the prospect of a more extended 
 sphere of usefulness, and the inadequacy of his 
 income to meet the demands of an increasing 
 family. 
 
 While he was on a visit to London, making 
 the necessary arrangements for entering upon 
 his new appointment, he addressed the follow- 
 ing letter to Mrs. Richmond, who appears to 
 have been about this time awakened to a seri- 
 ous concern respecting her spiritual state : — 
 
 ''London, April 20, 1805. 
 
 " My Dear Wife, — I really feel it as an 
 
 answer to very many prayers which I have for 
 
 years past offered up for you, that you are now 
 
 seriously thinking on the all-important subject
 
 48 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 of religion. I trust you will henceforth become 
 my spiritual monitor and counsellor, my help- 
 meet in every good word and work, and my 
 wife indeed, united in grace as well as in pro- 
 vidence. With respect to the inward conflicts 
 and doubts which you entertain in your mind, 
 you must seek spiritual armour to fight the bat- 
 tle. Remember that if you truly desire to over- 
 come all the evil tempers, affections, desires, 
 and principles of your natural heart, you have 
 an evidence within that God must have wrought 
 it, and that he will not suffer you to be tempted 
 above what you are able to bear, but will, with 
 the temptation, make a way to escape. With 
 respect to prayer, I recommend you to consider 
 the precept "pray always" and "without ceas- 
 ing." Thse evidently refer to that perpetual 
 disposition of the heart to lift itself up in sud- 
 den, short, ejaculatory prayer, which is one of 
 the most necessary means, and proofs of grace. 
 It is this alone which can render the appointed 
 and regular devotions of the church, the family, 
 and the closet, lively, strong, and efficacious. 
 Satan will lose much of his strong hold, if you 
 thus laboriously strive to obtain a prayerful 
 frame of heart, an habitual meditation upon 
 Christ and eternity, a frequency of conversing 
 on sacred things, and above all, experimental
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 49 
 
 contemplation and conversation. The world is 
 a deadly enemy to spiritual attainment ; you 
 cannot too soon see the high importance of be- 
 ing less conformed to it, in all its vanities, vices, 
 follies, and unprofitable waste of time, gifts, and 
 talents. The Christian will appear even in the 
 simplicity of every personal ornament. The 
 dress, the countenance, the tone of voice, the 
 address, will lose its former levity ; and in the 
 minutest trifles of common life, you will see 
 the hand of God leading to important events, 
 and his linger pointing to the life that is to come. 
 I have just been praying most earnestly that God 
 may carry on such a work in your heart. The 
 grand work of all is to believe. This is the 
 root and fountain of all graces. That believing 
 look at the Saviour which sees an interest in 
 him, or which at least leads to full conviction, 
 both of his sufficiency and efficiency to save 
 our own souls, is the master work of God. May 
 you be led fully to see this, and in God's own 
 time to rejoice in it. Accustom yourself to 
 talk constantly with Nugent and Mary on the 
 substantial parts of Christianity, and appeal to 
 those little instances of experience which even 
 a child may comprehend. 
 
 " I wrote to you yesterday, and hope you 
 have got my letter. I have this instant received 
 4
 
 50 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 your's of Tuesday. I hope to be able to leave 
 
 London by the time you mention 
 
 Our final removal, if we can get a curate, must 
 be in the middle of June. I am asked, and 
 have consented to preach the charity sermon at 
 Newport, on May 16th. I must once more 
 assure you that I shall not stay a day longer 
 than absolute business requires. I trust our 
 separation has been for the best, and that our 
 temporal and spiritual concerns, our views and 
 resolutions, tempers and principles, will all 
 thrive and prosper for the better. God bless 
 the dear children. Kind regards to your fire- 
 side from your truly affectionate husband, 
 
 " L. Richmond." 
 
 Mr. Richmond's first sermon at the Lock 
 Chapel was, there is every reason to believe, the 
 means, under the divine blessing, of effecting a 
 saving change in the heart of at least one in- 
 dividual. His continuance at this chapel, how- 
 ever, proved to be of short duration. He had 
 been settled in London but a few weeks when 
 the rectory of Turvey in Bedfordshire became 
 vacant by the death of the Rev. Erasmus Mid- 
 dleton. The right of appointing his successor 
 belonged to Mrs. Fuller, a lady of eminent 
 piety, who, being desirous of conscientiously
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 51 
 
 discharging the important trust, wrote to the 
 late Ambrose Serle, Esq., (author of the " Chris- 
 tian Rembembrancer," " Horse Solitariae," and 
 other religious works,) stating the benefit she 
 had received from his writings, and offering to 
 present the vacant rectory to any clergyman, 
 of similar sentiments with himself, whom he 
 might recommend. Mr. Serle, who at that 
 time attended the Lock Chapel, immediately 
 fixed on Mr, Richmond, who was, however, 
 with difficulty persuaded to accept the appoint- 
 ment. His objection arose from the apprehen- 
 sion that he should enter a sphere of much less 
 usefulness than that in which he was at present 
 engaged. He was not then aware that the po- 
 pulation of Turvey amounted to eight hundred 
 souls. Yielding at length to the judgment of 
 his friends, he was inducted to the rectory of 
 Turvey on the 30th of July, 1805, and in the 
 month of October following he removed thither 
 with his family. 
 
 The village of Turvey, the scene of Mr. 
 Richmond's future labours, is situated between 
 the towns of Bedford and Olney, being about 
 eight miles distant from the former, and four 
 from the latter. For many years the religious 
 improvement of the inhabitants had been greatly 
 neglected. The duties of the parish church
 
 52 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 were very irregularly performed, and there was 
 never more than one service on the sabbath-day. 
 The natural consequence of this state of things 
 was a disrespect for the ordinances of religion, 
 and a general prevalence of ignorance and im- 
 morality among the people. 
 
 During the incumbency of Mr. Middleton, a 
 clergyman distinguished for his learning and 
 piety, matters had somewhat improved. The 
 number of public services was increased, and 
 the work of reformation was gradually though 
 slowly advancing, Avhen this faithful minister 
 was prematurely cut off in the midst of his ex- 
 ertions, having retained his office only for the 
 short period of one year. 
 
 Mr. Richmond succeeded Mr. Middleton, 
 and entered on his new appointment with a 
 reputation for talents and piety v/hich excited 
 a great interest in his neighbourhood, and an 
 expectation of extensive usefulness among his 
 parishioners. The text of his first sermon was 
 1 Cor. ii, 2, " For I determined not to know any- 
 thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified.''^ From these words he uniformly 
 preached on every returning anniversary of his 
 settlement till the last year of his life. 
 
 Mr. Richmond held two regular full services 
 on the sabbath, besides an evening lecture de-
 
 LIFE OF LEOII RICHMOND. 53 
 
 signed more especially for the young. On 
 Tuesday evening he attended to what he called 
 his cottage lecture, from its being held succes- 
 sively in the cottages of the poor whom he 
 assembled for the pm-pose of more familiar and 
 direct instruction than could with propriety be 
 delivered in the public services of the church. 
 On Friday evening he delivered a lecture in 
 the church, the prayers for the evening service 
 being previously read ; and once a month he 
 met the communicants, on the Saturday pre- 
 ceding the sacrament. He had also a weekly 
 service at the work-house. But his labours 
 were not confined to his public services. He 
 regularly visited the dwellings of his parishion- 
 ers, scattering the precious seed, making himself 
 acquainted with their spiritual state, and gather- 
 ing from their answers useful hints and reflec- 
 tions for the service of the succeeding sabbath. 
 A Sunday school had been established at 
 Turvey for many years, through the liberality 
 of a gentleman who had bequeathed for that 
 purpose the sum of $1425, the interest of which 
 was annually devoted to its support. The 
 school, though- well attended before, had its 
 numbers considerably increased, and its regu- 
 lations greatly improved, by the new rector. 
 He placed a man of real piety at its head, justly
 
 54 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 considering that on the principles and character 
 of the superintendent the efficiency and useful- 
 ness of the institution would materially depend. 
 He was accustomed to visit the school previous 
 to divine service ; and it was chiefly for the be- 
 nefit of the scholars that he held a third service 
 in the church on Sunday evenings. Here the 
 first-fruits of his ministry in this place appeared. 
 The conversion of two young persons, who 
 afterward died in the faith, followed his intro- 
 ductory address to the children. Indeed he 
 was peculiarly successful on these occasions, 
 and no part of his labours was attended with 
 more striking eff*ects. It is remarkable that 
 both at Turvey and at Brading the first memo- 
 rials of his usefulness occurred in the conver- 
 sion of children. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's exertions on the week-day, 
 as might have been expected, contributed in no 
 small degree to give efi'ect to his ministry, and 
 attach the people to it. The church was nu- 
 merously attended ; the sabbath became a hal- 
 lowed day, and its approach was anticipated 
 with lively expectation. The gospel v/as faith- 
 fully preached, and listened to with deep and 
 solemn interest. Instances of sound and solid 
 conversion were not unfrequent ; and even those 
 who received little spiritual benefit learned to
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 53 
 
 treat religion with respect, and began to exhibit 
 a decency of outward deportment. 
 
 Mr. Richmond did not, like too many clergy- 
 men of the Established Church, admit all per- 
 sons indiscriminately to the sacrament of the 
 Lord's supper. Persons proposing themselves 
 to the communion were examined as to their 
 religious principles and character ; and there 
 were probably few parish churches whose com- 
 municants exhibited more satisfactory evidences 
 of piety. The attendants at the sacrament were, 
 chiefly, the fruits of his own ministry, and 
 the dearest objects of his heart : he was re- 
 garded by them as a father ; they consulted him 
 on all occasions, and received his advice and 
 sympathy in all their affairs, both temporal and 
 spiritual. At once respected and beloved by 
 " the children which God had given him," he, 
 in return, watched over them with anxiety, 
 prayed for them with earnestness, instructed 
 them with diligence, and regarded them with 
 the affection of an apostle. 
 
 On each successive return of his birth-day 
 he was accustomed to preach a sermon to his 
 congregation, and endeavour to improve the 
 lapse of time by acts of prayer and praise. The 
 summons was cheerfully obeyed, and the parish 
 bells rung merrily. Great numbers attended
 
 56 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 church to worship God, and congratulate their 
 pastor on the occasion. On the following day 
 he invited a party of his parishioners to dine at 
 the rectory. This birth-day entertainment was 
 looked forward to by them with great interest, 
 and was made an occasion of courteous hospi- 
 tality. The company were of a mixed charac- 
 ter, and were received by Mr. Richmond with 
 a kindness and attention to their innocent re- 
 creation, which never failed to gratify his guests. 
 The evening was spent in music, and his family 
 formed a little band of performers in full concert. 
 In the course of the day he usually addressed 
 a letter to his mother, affectionately reminding 
 her and himself of their endearing relation. 
 The following is an extract from one of these 
 annual epistles : — 
 
 " My Dearest Mother, — The return of this 
 day reminds me of life, death, and eternity ; it 
 reminds me of times past, and anticipates times 
 to come ; it reminds me of my dear mother also, 
 and of the many affectionate sensations which 
 the successive anniversaries of my birth have 
 from year to year given her, arising from the 
 mingled hope of good, and fear of evil. . . . 
 Accept my kind, tender, and dutiful assurances 
 of filial love and veneration, and ten thousand
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 57 
 
 thanks for all your cares and prayers on my 
 account, for six-and-thirty years, nor ever let 
 it be thought that I am insensible to what I owe 
 you. Happy shall I feel, if enabled and per- 
 mitted to contribute to the ease and consolation 
 of your declining years, and to mitigate the in- 
 firmities of old age, by the duly applied exer- 
 tions of younger years ! It seems but a little 
 while since I was. a boy myself, returning home 
 from season to season, to enjoy the blessing 
 and comfort of parental and sisterly society and 
 affection at your home ; and now I see myself 
 surrounded by my boys and girls at my own 
 home, growing apace, and preparing to occupy 
 the station in the world which we now fill up. 
 It is an old and worn-out remark, ' How time 
 flies !' Yet we cannot help all making it in our 
 turn ; we feel its force, and out of the abundance 
 of the heart the mouth speaketh. One cannot 
 help sometimes ejaculating with good old Da- 
 vid, ' O spare me a little that I may recover 
 my strength before I go hence and be no more 
 seen !' What a scene does eternity present ! — 
 the years of life past — early connections dis- 
 solved — the secrets of all hearts laid open — 
 souls saved or lost — Christ a frowning judge 
 or a welcome Saviour — all mistakes and errors 
 in religion at an end — every false foundation
 
 58 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 undermined — a world in flames and consumed, 
 as though it had never been — time itself no 
 more — eternal ages of ages rolling on in cease- 
 less bliss or wo ! Who is sufficient even to 
 speak on these things ? 
 
 " Pray for me, that since the Lord has spared 
 me another year I may not prove such a barren 
 fig-tree as heretofore. I could look back on all 
 that is past, and view myself- as no better than 
 a cumberer of the ground. But the gracious 
 Vine-dresser intercedes, and his prayer is full 
 of love and mercy : may the owner of the vine- 
 yard hear, and answer it. I have been very 
 unwell, but am now much better : the poor fig- 
 tree is not yet cut down. May it bear fruit to 
 the glory of the Father. Accept our love, and 
 give it to those around you ; and believe me 
 your affectionate son, 
 
 " Legh Richmond." 
 
 Shortly after his settlement at Turvey Mr. 
 Richmond issued the prospectus of an extended 
 and important work, entitled " The Fathers of 
 the English Church," which was published in 
 numbers, and ultimately completed in eight 
 volumes. It contained selections from the 
 writings of Tindal, Ridley, Latimer, Cranmer, 
 Hooper, Bradford, Jewel, and others of the
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 59 
 
 English reformers, and was made extensively- 
 useful in disseminating the doctrines of the 
 Reformation among the ministers of the Esta- 
 blished Church. It proved, however, the occa- 
 sion of some pecuniary embarrassment to the 
 author. 
 
 A few months after his removal to Turvey 
 Mr. Richmond received intelligence of the 
 death of his father, who died at Stockport in 
 1806. He immediately hastened thither for 
 the purpose of consoling his widowed mother, 
 and to pay the final tribute of respect to his 
 departed parent. The following letter, written 
 from thence to his wife, gives some information 
 relative to the last moments of his father, and 
 exhibits the pious resignation of his bereaved 
 and afflicted mother. 
 
 " Dearest Mary, — I sent yon a few hastily 
 penned lines last night. As soon as I had 
 finished them, I went to our medical friend, 
 from whom I had a regular account of the me- 
 lancholy event which has brought me here. 
 I had previously written a note that I might be 
 shown into a room with my dear mother alone. 
 I then went with Mary, and found my mother 
 in a most interesting struggle between divine 
 consolation and natural affection. My first
 
 60 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 words, after an interval of silence, were, ' Are 
 you supported, my dear mother V ' Beyond 
 all hope and expectation,' was the reply. ' Do 
 you feel the consolations of religion V 'I am 
 resigned to the stroke, though it rends my heart 
 in two. I may weep ; but I dare not, will not 
 complain. I never deserved hi?n ; he was lent 
 to me, and now God has taken him again. 
 You are come to support a poor widowed mo- 
 ther's heart ; and I know you will be, what 
 your dear sister Fanny has already been, the 
 prop and strength of my age and affliction.' 1 
 was astonished and melted at her fortitude and 
 resignation. I find that my dear father's mind, 
 for three weeks past, was calm and tranquil, ex- 
 pressive of much faith, patience, and hope. 
 My mother was reading that exquisite com- 
 mentary of Bishop Home on the 23d Psalm. 
 He observed, at the close of the fourth verse, 
 ' That is heavenly, and it is my comfort.' He 
 then suddenly said, ' My head is giddy,' stag- 
 gered to the sofa, and fell into my mother's 
 arms ; his eyes fixed, and a deadly paleness on 
 his face. She contrived to ring the bell, and 
 instantly returned to him ; he gasped for breath, 
 and groaned twice. The servant came in, and 
 lifted up his legs ; he gave one more slight 
 struggle, and breathed out his soul in my mo-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 61 
 
 ther's arms. She sat with him two hours in 
 silent composure ; unable to weep, but calm 
 in grief. That night she could not sleep, but 
 gained relief by much weeping. Fanny arrived 
 on Sunday evening, and slept with our dear 
 mother. After I had sat for half an hour yes- 
 terday evening, the rest came in, one by one, 
 and we fell into a solemn but tranquil conver- 
 sation. My very heart was ready to burst ; but 
 I concealed my feelings as much as possible. 
 After a while I went to see the body of my 
 father. As we proceeded up stairs, I found my 
 legs tremble, and when I came to the room 
 door, I staggered ; but instantly offering up a 
 prayer for strength, felt relieved, and advanced. 
 " Instead of seeing any thing to inspire ter- 
 ror, 1 beheld his well-known and honoured 
 countenance so calm, heavenly, mild, and unal- 
 tered, that it seemed only like a sweet sleep. 
 I never felt more composed ; and we sat three 
 quarters of an hour, chiefly in silent contempla- 
 tion. I could only now and then interrupt it 
 by, ' O how sweet a countenance ! there is no- 
 thing terrible in this ! It is the emblem of peace 
 and composure. O my dear father ! I could 
 have wished to have closed your eyes ; but 
 God's will be done !' With difficulty I left the 
 room. I went down to supper. Afterward I
 
 62 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 requested all the house to assemble, and read 
 1 Cor. XV ; and then offered up a solemn and 
 appropriate prayer. Great feeling pervaded us 
 all. 
 
 " This morning, at nine o'clock, commenced 
 the business of the funeral. My heart again 
 failed me. I was excessively tried in the pro- 
 cession through the church-yard, and in the 
 church. I was, however, inwardly strength- 
 ened, and shed the last tear over his remains. 
 
 " On returning to the house, for a moment I 
 fainted, but recovered. Indeed, my dear love, it 
 has been a very trying scene to me, A thousand 
 tender recollections of past days have succes- 
 sively crowded upon my mind ; and every ob- 
 ject here reminds me so much of a beloved and 
 revered parent, that I cannot but feel deeply. 
 
 " He seems to have had a presentiment of 
 his approaching end, but rather concealed it 
 from others. I never felt myself of such power 
 to console as at this moment. My dear mother 
 says, ' You are my oak, and I am a poor ivy, 
 clinging around you ; now you are my chil6 
 indeed.' "
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 63 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PROMINENT SUBJECTS AND CHARACTERIS- 
 TICS OF MR. Richmond's preaching. 
 
 The present chapter will be devoted chiefly 
 to a brief notice of the subjects and character 
 of Mr. Richmond's preaching, drawn from the 
 account furnished in Mr. Grimshaw's Memoir. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was often heard to declare 
 that two great subjects pervaded the Bible — sin 
 and salvation from sin, — and that these ought to 
 form the basis of the Christian ministry. In 
 his own practice he carried out the excellent 
 rule which he gave to a brother clergyman : — 
 " Never preach a single sermon, from which an 
 unenlightened hearer might not learn the plan 
 of salvation, even though he never afterward 
 heard another discourse." 
 
 In his addresses from the pulpit he never 
 failed to point out, distinctly and forcibly, man's 
 ruin by the fall ; his condemnation under the 
 law, and his moral inability to deliver himself, 
 by any power or strength of his own ; the di- 
 vinity and incarnation of the Son of God ; free 
 and full justification, through faith in the aton- 
 ino" blood and righteousness of the Redeemer ;
 
 64 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the nature of justifying faith, its fruits and evi- 
 dences ; the agency of the Holy Spirit, in the 
 regeneration and sanctification of believers ; and 
 the necessity of a renewed heart, and of holi- 
 ness in the life, not as the title to heaven, but 
 as a meetness for its enjoyment. These are 
 fundamental doctrines of the gospel, in which 
 all true Christians without distinction of sect or 
 party cordially unite. 
 
 As a preacher he was Scriptural — experi- 
 mental — practical — comprehensive — powerful 
 and impressive in his appeals to the heart and 
 conscience — full of pathos and interest. 
 
 1 . He was Scriptural. A rich vein of divine 
 truth was diffused through his sermons. The 
 law and the gospel were clearly and distinctly 
 exhibited in all their characteristic features, 
 and enforced to their respective ends. He as- 
 serted no doctrine which he did not establish 
 by an appeal to the authority of the Scriptures, 
 with the contents of which he was familiarly 
 acquainted. Without a diligent application to 
 the study of the sacred oracles, accompanied 
 with prayer and meditation, it is impossible for 
 any man to become a sound and enlightened 
 divine. The connection of solid piety with an 
 intimate knowledge of the Scriptures is indis- 
 soluble. This forms, indeed, the manual of
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 65 
 
 every Christian, but belongs in a more especial 
 degree to the minister of the sanctuary. It is 
 the armory whence he must draw all his wea- 
 pons ; it is the treasury whence he is to be 
 supplied with every motive and every argument 
 which, through the grace and power of the 
 Holy Spirit, can fix conviction on the mind, 
 rouse the torpid conscience, excite the affec- 
 tions of the heart, and elevate the soul to God ; 
 it is the sceptre of righteousness, by which he 
 rules and guides the flock ; the depository of 
 every promise that can cheer their passage 
 through the valley of the shadow of death ; and 
 by it they are taught the "new song," which will 
 animate their praises in the land of their inhe- 
 ritance. " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, 
 to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
 strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing, 
 for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 2. He was experimental. Divine truth, from 
 his lips, was not a cold speculative statement ; 
 but was so interwoven with all the* inward ex- 
 periences of the human heart, as peculiarly to 
 promote the edification of his hearers. He 
 could appropriate the language of the apostle, 
 and say, " That which we have heard, which 
 we have seen with our eyes, which we have 
 looked upon, and our hands have handled, 
 5
 
 66 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 of the word of life, declare we unto you." From 
 the heart he preached to the heart, and seemed 
 to enter into all its secret recesses. He de- 
 tected the illusions by which it is beguiled ; 
 he traced human action to its hidden springs ; 
 he accompanied the soul in the alternations of 
 doubt and hope, of fear and joy, in its conflicts 
 with despair and unbelief; till, led to the foot 
 of the cross, it was able to repose on the pro- 
 mises of God, and realize the sweet enjoyment 
 of pardon and peace. 
 
 3, He was practical. Some preachers are too 
 exclusively doctrinal. Others are no less exclu- 
 sively practical. Mr. Richmond avoided both 
 extremes. He preached doctrine practically, 
 and practice doctrinally. He connected precept 
 with promise, and privilege with duty. As a 
 spiritual workman, he considered doctrine to be' 
 the foundation, and practice the superstructure 
 to be erected upon it ; adopting the sentiment 
 of one of his favourite reformers, " Truly it is 
 said, ' Without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord ;' but this I know, without the Lord, no 
 man shall see holiness." The operation of 
 the Spirit, and its gracious fruits ; genuine 
 faith, and its necessary consequences ; holiness, 
 and the means of attaining it ; Christ the 
 Saviour, and Christ the example ; the insuffi-
 
 LIFE OF-LEGH RICHMOND. 67 
 
 ciency of works as a procuring cause of salva- 
 tion, and their indispensable necessity not only 
 as evidences, but as glorifying God ; these 
 great and important truths were enforced with 
 the fidelity of a Christian pastor, and with the 
 wisdom of a scribe well instructed in the king- 
 dom of heaven. 
 
 4. He ivas comprehensive. Christianity, in his 
 mode of exhibiting it, was a grand and compre- 
 hensive whole, while the symmetryof the several 
 parts was faithfully preserved. He did not give 
 to one part of divine truth any undue preponde- 
 rance over another. Each truth seemed to be 
 in its right place, and in its just measure and 
 proportion. All the doctrines, and all the pre- 
 cepts — all the promises, and all the characters 
 to whom they are made — all the privileges, and 
 all the duties, were, in turn, the theme of his 
 discourses. It is this beautiful order, and har- 
 monious combination of all its various relations, 
 that constitutes one of the characteristic fea- 
 tures of a revelation from above. 
 
 5. He was impressive in his appeals to the 
 heart and conscience. Few men better under- 
 stood that part of a discourse which consists 
 of the application. Some preachers are veiy 
 deficient in this respect ; either wholly omitting 
 to apply their subject, or for the most part fail-
 
 68 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ing in discrimination. A discourse, to be pro- 
 fitable, must come home to our own case. 
 
 Mr. Richmond, in appealing to his hearers, 
 was faithful, searching, forcible, and impressive. 
 " He reproved, rebuked, exhorted, with all long- 
 suffering and doctrine ;" but his exhortations 
 were accompanied by the most affecting dis- 
 plays of the mercy, power, and grace of God 
 in the gospel ; and while his own experience 
 of the truths he uttered gave an authority and 
 efficacy to his words, God put his seal to the 
 testimony, and crowned his labours with suc- 
 cess. 
 
 In presenting this delineation of Mr. Rich- 
 mond's mode of preaching, something would 
 yet be wanting, to give its complete character, 
 if it were not stated more specifically, that the 
 Saviour, in his various offices of prophet, priest, 
 and king, was the grand theme of Mr. Rich- 
 mond's ministrations. His excellence, like that 
 of a skilful painter, consisted in so arranging 
 all the subordinate parts of his picture, as to 
 give due prominence and effect to the principal 
 figure. Christ Jesus was the soul of all his 
 discourses ; and every precept, every promise 
 derived its force and value from its bearing in 
 relation to him. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's natural endowments contri-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 69 
 
 buted in no small degree to the success of his 
 ministry. He was an eloquent speaker ; but 
 his eloquence was not laboured and artificial ; 
 it was the simple and glowing expression of a 
 mind deeply impressed with the importance of 
 his subject, full of affection, and anxious to im- 
 part the same feelings to those who heard him. 
 He did not follow the practice, so prevalent 
 among clergymen of the Established Church, 
 of reading his sermons.* He was strictly an 
 extemporaneous speaker. He made himself 
 thoroughly acquainted with the subject on which 
 he was to preach, but trusted to the moment 
 of delivery for the words in which his ideas 
 should be expressed. His first attempt to 
 
 * It is a fact no less extraordinary than true, that Eng- 
 land is the only country in Europe in which the practice 
 of reading sermons from the pulpit prevails to any extent. 
 Mr. Grimshaw states, from personal observation, that it 
 is not the custom in " France, the Netherlands, Switzer- 
 land, or Germany," either among Popish or Protestant 
 churches. Even in England it is almost entirely confined 
 to clergymen of the Established Church ; and it was un- 
 known in the best days of that church — in those of the 
 Reformation, and down to the time of Charles I. It 
 seems to have had its origin about 'the commencement of 
 that general declension of the Church, both in zeal and 
 doctrine, which characterized the 17th and 18th centuries ; 
 of which declension this practice may doubtless be regard- 
 ed as having been both a cause and a consequence.
 
 70 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 preach extempore was a complete failure ; he 
 was so ashamed of it that he determined not to 
 repeat the attempt, and it was only in conse- 
 quence of the urgent solicitation of a brother 
 clergyman that he was induced to make a se- 
 cond trial, when he succeeded beyond his ex- 
 pectations, and never afterward found any diffi- 
 culty. The following anecdote will show the 
 eminence to which he afterward attained as an 
 extemporaneous speaker : — The late Mr. Whit- 
 bread once went to hear him preach at Bed- 
 ford, accompanied by a gentleman who had ex- 
 pressed a wish to be present. The church was 
 remarkably crowded, the preacher animated, and 
 the interest of the congregation strongly excited. 
 After the service had proceeded for some time, 
 the gentleman observed, " He has now preached 
 with incredible fluency, both of matter and lan- 
 guage, for three quarters of an hour, and he 
 does not seem even yet to be exhausted, or to 
 be drawing to a close." " Exhausted !" replied 
 Mr. Whitbread, " he can hold on in the same 
 way, if necessary, for two or three hours longer." 
 In his preaching he was very plain and fa- 
 miliar, so as to be understood by the most un- 
 "learned in his congregations ; nor was he satis- 
 fied till he had explained an idea in every 
 possible variety and point of view. On this
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 71 
 
 account he sometimes seemed, to persons unac- 
 quainted with his design, to employ a needless 
 number of words. It was once pleasantly said 
 by one who heard him, " An excellent sermon, 
 but with too many various readings." 
 
 He used to refer his friends, who conversed 
 with him on the subject of preaching, to the 
 advice of his college tutor : " Don't use terms 
 of science. The people have no abstract ideas ; 
 they cannot understand comparisons and allu- 
 sions remote from all their habits. Take words 
 of Saxon derivation, and not such as are de- 
 rived from Latin and Greek. Talk of riches, 
 not affluence ; of trust, not confidence. Pre- 
 sent the same idea in a varied form, and take 
 care that you understand the subject yourself. 
 If you be intelligent, you will be intelligible." 
 
 He was also singularly felicitous in impart- 
 ing interest to what, in familiar phraseology, is 
 called a dry subject. He was once known to 
 preach an hour and three quarters* on the inci- 
 
 * This sermon was one of a course of lectures on the 
 evidences of Christianity, preached at Olney by the neigh- 
 bouring clergy. Mr. Richmond took his plan from the 
 " Horse Pauliaae," and applied Dr. Paley's principle to 
 every book of Holy Scripture, with great ingenuity and 
 success. It is much to be regretted that nothing remains 
 of the sermon except a few short heads of discourse, used 
 by Mr. Richmond at the time of preaching.
 
 72 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 dental evidences of Christianity. On this oc- 
 casion it was said by a sensible man who heard 
 him, " This is indeed a magnificent sermon ! 
 I always thought Mr. Richmond a good man, 
 but I now know him to be a gTeat man." 
 
 He possessed a fine taste, and an almost en- 
 thusiastic admiration of the beauties of nature. 
 From these he often selected illustrations, and 
 embellished his subject with allusions to them. 
 He used to say, " There are three books to be 
 studied — the book of creation, the book of pro- 
 vidence, and the book of grace. They confirm 
 and illustrate each other." 
 
 The eflfect of his preaching was greatly 
 heightened by the affectionate manner of his 
 address. It has been observed that some mi- 
 nisters preach as if they were " scolding their 
 hearers." It was Mr. Richmond's uniform aim 
 to win by affection. No preacher more fully ve- 
 rified the remark, " speaking the tmth in love." 
 
 From the preceding account of the matter 
 and manner of Mr. Richmond's preaching, the 
 reader will not be surprised to hear that he 
 never failed to attract a crowded congregation, 
 and seldom preached without the most decided 
 proofs of a divine power accompanying his 
 ministrations.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 73 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MR. Richmond's connection with various 
 
 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 
 
 The labours of Mr. Richmond were not con- 
 fined to the regular duties of his parish. He 
 faithfully exerted his talents for the spiritual 
 benefit of the world at large, and his name is 
 intimately connected with some of the principal 
 religious institutions of the day, especially the 
 " British and Foreign Bible Society," the 
 " Church Missionary Society," the " Religious 
 Tract Society," and the " Society for promoting 
 Christianity among the Jews." In behalf of 
 these institutions he made many an eloquent 
 appeal in various parts of the kingdom, and by 
 his zealous labours contributed much toward 
 exciting that spirit of benevolent enterprise 
 which is the glory of the Christian church of 
 the present age. 
 
 His exertions in behalf of these benevolent 
 institutions appear to have commenced with 
 his preaching the annual sermon of the Church 
 Missionary Society, in London, on Tuesday, 
 May the 23d, 1809. 
 
 He took for his text on this occasion John
 
 74 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 xxi, 16, " i7e saith unto him again the second 
 time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? He 
 saith unto him. Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I 
 love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep^ 
 After a brief introduction, in which he de- 
 duced from the text the proposition that love 
 to Christ is the only adequate and Scrip- 
 tural stimulus to missionary exertion, the 
 preacher proceeded to inquire, 1 . Who are the 
 sheep of Christ ? 2. Why ought they to be fed ? 
 3. When ? 4. By whom ? 5. With what food 
 must they be fed, nourished, and supported 1 
 
 In answering the fourth inquiry, ^^Who shall 
 be the missionaries ?" he observed, " The shep- 
 herds whom you set apart to this honourable 
 labour of feeding and nourishing souls for 
 Christ must be men who love Christ for the 
 salvation which he hath wrought in their own 
 souls ; men who ' feel in themselves the work- 
 ing of the spirit of Christ, mortifying the works 
 of the flesh, and their earthly members, and 
 drawing up their mind to high and heavenly 
 things.' They must be men, not of warmth 
 and zeal alone, but of solidity, patience, and 
 perseverance ; men who, like their Lord, can 
 endure the contradiction of sinners. For the 
 most part, it is not so often men of extensive 
 learning, of genius, and superior literary talents,
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 75 
 
 who are wanted, as men of simplicity and sin- 
 cerity ; men of prayer and meditation ; men 
 who so love Christ as to be willing to spend 
 and be spent for his sake ; men of subdued 
 passions and mortified minds, who patiently 
 wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 In his next important consideration, " where- 
 with must they he fed,^'' the following remarks 
 claim the attention of all who are engaged in 
 the cause of missions : — 
 
 " Preach Christ as a free, full, perfect, and 
 all-sufficient Saviour to the greatest of sinners. 
 The sheep of Christ, whether at home or 
 abroad, will hear and know their own good 
 Shepherd's voice, and none other. Proclaim, 
 as from the house-top, ' that God commendeth 
 his love toward us, in that, while we were yet 
 sinners, Christ died for us ;' and thus accom- 
 plished that wonder of men and angels, ' that 
 God might be just, and the justifier of the sinner 
 which believeth in Jesus.' 
 
 " Preach to them the blood of Christ ; its 
 atoning and cleansing power. Send over your 
 missionary shepherds, to feed the flock of Christ 
 among the heathen with the wholesome bread 
 and the pure water of life. We must not trifle 
 in this matter. It is the cause of God and 
 truth. Mingle therefore nothing with their food ;
 
 76 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 disguise it not with any self-accommodating 
 explanations. It is not the equivocal language 
 of a mere fashionable profession of the gospel 
 that will convey the word and substance of sal- 
 vation to the soul of either a nominal Christian, 
 or a real heathen. 
 
 " Let the hemisphere of light, which is to 
 burst upon the dark mountains where now the 
 heathen sheep are scattered, be unsullied and 
 without a cloud. Be ye pastors according to 
 God's heart, and feed them with knowledge and 
 understanding. Christ living, Christ obeying, 
 Christ dying, Christ risen, Christ ascended, 
 and Christ interceding for sinners, this is the 
 true bread of life. Our commission to feed his 
 sheep runs thus, ' Go ye and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' Hence 
 the love of the Father, in giving sinners to 
 Christ ; the love of the Son, in dying for their 
 redemption ; and the love of the Spirit, in sanc- 
 tifying and preparing them for glory, are the 
 grand themes for Christian meditation. When 
 these invaluable truths are enforced in a prac- 
 tical and experimental manner, the sheep of 
 Christ are truly fed, according to their good 
 Shepherd's design and commandment ; and so 
 shall they live and prosper.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 77 
 
 In illustration of the foregoing remarks, he 
 quotes the following testimony of Johannes, a 
 converted heathen, who also became a blessed 
 witness of the truth to his own nation. The 
 cicumstance is recorded in the history of the 
 missions of the United Brethren among the In- 
 dian nations of North America. 
 
 " ' Brethren, I have been a heathen, and have 
 grown old among them ; therefore I know very 
 well how it is with the heathen, and how they 
 think. A preacher once came to us, desiring 
 to instruct us ; and began by proving to us that 
 there was a God. On which we said to him, 
 ' Well, and dost thou think we are ignorant of 
 that ? Now go back again to the place from 
 whence thou earnest.' 
 
 "'Then again another preacher came, and 
 began to instruct us, saying, ' You must not 
 steal, nor drink too much, nor lie, nor lead 
 wicked lives.' We answered him, ' Fool that 
 thou art, dost thou think that we do not know 
 that ? Go and learn it first thyself, and teach 
 the people v/hom thou belongest to, not to do 
 those things. For who are greater drunkards, 
 or thieves, or liars, than thine own people V 
 Thus we sent him away also. 
 
 " ' Some time after this, Christian Henry, one 
 of the Brethren, came to me into my hut, and
 
 78 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 sat down by me. The contents of his dis- 
 course to me were nearly these : ' I come to 
 thee in the name of the Lord of heaven and 
 earth. He sends me to acquaint thee that he 
 would gladly save thee, and make thee happy, 
 and deliver thee from the miserable state in 
 which thou liest at present. To this end he 
 became a man, gave his life a ransom for man, 
 and shed his blood for man. All that believe 
 in the name of this Jesus obtain the forgiveness 
 of sin. To all them that receive him by faith, 
 he giveth power to become the sons of God. 
 The Holy Spirit dwelleth in their hearts ; and 
 they are made free, through the blood of Christ, 
 from the slavery and dominion of sin. And 
 though thou art the chief of sinners, yet if thou 
 prayest to the Father in his name, and believest 
 in him as a sacrifice for thy sins, thou shalt be 
 heard and saved, and he will give thee a crown 
 of life, and thou shalt live with him in heaven 
 for ever.' 
 
 " ' When he had finished his discourse, he lay 
 down upon a board in my hut, fatigued by his 
 journey, and fell into a sound sleep. I thought 
 within myself, ' What manner of man is this ? 
 There he lies, and sleeps so sweetly ; I might 
 kill him, and throw him into the forest, and 
 who would regard it ? But he is unconcerned ;
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 79 
 
 this cannot be a bad man ; he fears no evil, not 
 even from us, who are so savage ; but sleeps 
 comfortably, and places his life in our hands.' 
 
 " ' However, I could not forget his words ; 
 they constantly recurred to ^y mind; even 
 though I went to sleep, yet I dreamed of the 
 blood which Christ had shed for us. I thought, 
 ' This is very strange, and quite different from 
 what I have ever heard.' So I went and inter- 
 preted Christian Henry's words to the other 
 Indians. 
 
 " ' Thus, through the grace of God, an awaken- 
 ing took place among us. I tell you therefore, 
 brethren,' said he, ' preach to the heathen 
 Christ, and his blood, his sufferings, and his 
 death, if you would have your words to gain 
 entrance among them ; if you wish to confer 
 a blessing upon them.' "* 
 
 But the passage in Mr. Richmond's sermon 
 which produced the strongest impression upon 
 his hearers was the following : — 
 
 " I stand before you this day as an ambassa- 
 dor for Christ, in the cause of those who are 
 
 * See Crantz's History of the Greenland Mission, a most 
 interesting publication ; in which mission the preaching 
 of the cross led to a general awakening of the Greenland- 
 ers, after the preliminary truths of religion had been brought 
 before them nearly eighteen years with little or no effect
 
 80 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ready to perish. In his and their name, I be- 
 seech you to hear me, while I propose a few- 
 considerations to your attention. 
 
 " Consider the state of the world, its empires, 
 nations, kindredsi, and tribes. When a map of 
 the world is presented to the eye, with what a 
 variety of affections is it viewed, according to 
 the character and pursuits of the inspector ! 
 
 " The mere statesman diligently examines 
 the magnitude, position, and boundaries of other 
 countries, with a sole reference to the political 
 aggrandizement of his own. Wars, conquests, 
 treaties, alliances, and a multitude of consider- 
 ations connected with ambition, power, and na- 
 tional honour, dictate^ and accompany all his 
 speculations on the map. And then he has 
 done with it, and lays it down. 
 
 " The merchant takes up the map, and eager- 
 ly traverses the delineation of seas, continents, 
 and islands, with anxious inquiry as to the pe- 
 cuniary profit and loss of trade and merchandise. 
 His thoughts are absorbed in considering how 
 much may be gained by his speculations to 
 some distant island or foreign shore. He me- 
 ditates on the track of his vessel upon the ocean, 
 marks its course upon the hazardous waves, 
 and is full of agitation with respect to its fate. 
 There is his golden treasure, and his heart is
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 81 
 
 there also. As he views the map, he conjec- 
 tures, hopes, fears ; and, with much solicitude, 
 contemplates his future gains, or dreads im- 
 pending losses. The map is again laid down, 
 and he has done with it. 
 
 " The curious traveller takes up the map of 
 the world, and is occupied with the remem- 
 brance or anticipation of the various customs, 
 manners, dresses, languages, buildings, and ce- 
 remonies ; with a long list of wonders and 
 amusements that have engaged his attention. 
 In such a way his imagination travels over the 
 whole globe ; and then this man's contempla- 
 tions on the map are likewise concluded. 
 
 " The natural philosopher investigates the 
 various productions of this diversified globe 
 with another object. Theories of the earth's 
 formation, the animal, vegetable, and mineral 
 kingdoms, the origin of volcanoes, the cause 
 of earthquakes, the variation of the magnetic 
 needle, all afford him endless subjects of exa- 
 mination. Every continent, sea, climate, and 
 zone, which the map presents to his eye, fur- 
 nishes him with matter for inquisitive specula- 
 tion ; and then he has done with it also. 
 
 " But when the Christian beholds the world's 
 map, he has a subject of investigation far be- 
 yond them all. What they have overlooked
 
 82 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 and disregarded is every thing to him. His 
 great inquiry is, ' Show me the visible kingdom 
 of Christ ; name the countries where Christ is 
 known and worshipped. O, when shall the 
 kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord, and of his Christ ? When shall 
 the heathen fear the name of the Lord V 
 
 " As his eye traverses the globe, he sighs 
 over the awful contrast which its different por- 
 tions exhibit. His own soul loves Jesus, the 
 Saviour of men. But how small a part of these 
 immense tracts of country which the map pre- 
 sents to his view so much as know whether 
 there be any Christ I What nations immersed 
 in heathenish idolatry ! How many overrun 
 with the tyrannical superstition of Mohammed ? 
 Yea, where even the name of Christ is pro- 
 fessed, how many are sunk into the deep mire 
 of popish corruption, or virtual infidelity ! How 
 small a portion seems as yet to belong to Christ! 
 
 " He mourns over the prospect, but does not 
 lay down the map and think no more of it. 
 Again and again he takes it up, prays for the 
 sheep of Christ in distant lands, recommends 
 their case to God, and meditates plans for their 
 deliverance. He surveys the vast continents 
 of Asia and Africa, and for the most part it 
 seems to be darkness visible. Then he looks
 
 LIFE or LEGH RICHMOND. 83 
 
 for his native island at home, endeared to him 
 by a thousand considerations, but most endear- 
 ed on account of the gospel light with which 
 she is blessed. And shall not the rays of that 
 light soon be diffused, as from a centre, to all 
 the surrounding world ? Doth not a voice from 
 above, in an especial manner, say unto Britons, 
 ' Go ye into all the world V Wherefore ? Only 
 for political aggrandizement, — for merchandise, 
 — for travelling recreation, — for collecting of 
 philosophical rarities ? Are these your only 
 objects? No; saith the Word, ''Go ye into 
 all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature !' 
 
 " From such a meditation on the map the 
 Christian retires, — not to slumber over the con- 
 victions of duty ; not to say much and do no- 
 thing. He freights a vessel to carry the pearl 
 of great price to those who neither know of its 
 existence nor its value. The missionary is on 
 board the ship. The messenger of God is 
 crossing the seas ; not, as formerly, to make 
 the Ethiopians afraid, but to proclaim the glad 
 tidings of salvation to the heathen, to preach 
 the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-heart- 
 ed, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
 recovering of sight to the blind. While the 
 Christian at home, who has been the instrument
 
 84 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 of sending him forth on this errand of love, 
 anxiously waits to hear the happy news that 
 Dagon is fallen upon his face to the ground 
 before the ark of the Lord ; that Bel boweth 
 down, and Nebo stoopeth, while the great trum- 
 pet is blown ; and that they which were ready 
 to perish in the land of Assyria, and the out- 
 casts in the land of Egypt, are now worshipping 
 the Lord in his holy mount. 
 
 *' O ye statesmen, merchants, travellers, and 
 philosophers, take up your maps once more. 
 
 "Again consider the state of the church ; and 
 if you love Christ, feed his sheep." 
 
 The collection on this occasion amounted to 
 upward of $1500, being the largest sum ever 
 contributed at any of the anniversaries of the 
 Church Missionary Society. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's exertions in behalf of the 
 religious societies began from this period to 
 form a very prominent feature in his life. With 
 a persevering energy, which no labour could 
 weary, he advocated their cause, both from the 
 pulpit and the platform, to crowded and de- 
 lighted auditories, and roused the public feeling 
 in almost every part of the kingdom. 
 
 As a public speaker, says Mr. Grimshaw, he 
 possessed a felicity of idea and expression pe- 
 culiar to himself. His thoughts were natural
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 85 
 
 and simple. They seemed to flow without 
 eflbrt, and to be the spontaneous productions of 
 his mind ; but his imagination clothed them in 
 a form that resembled the various tints, the 
 brilliant glow, and the harmonious colouring 
 of the rainbow. His addresses were marked 
 by extraordinary powers of description, and 
 by an eloquence peculiar to himself, which 
 must have been witnessed to be duly ap- 
 preciated. His images were frequently bor- 
 rowed from the scenes of nature, which were 
 made to illustrate some instructive and spiritual 
 truth. The lofty mountain and the verdant 
 vale, the tranquil rivulet or broad expanse of 
 ocean, all became tributary to his imagination, 
 and supplied materials to his creative fancy. 
 He could affect the heart by touches the most 
 natural, and by appeals the most pathetic. He 
 could restore the spirit of a meeting when it 
 was cold or languid ; could speak early or late ; 
 could select his topics from the ideas of prece- 
 ding speakers, or invent them for himself, while 
 his delighted auditors would listen with a smile 
 on the countenance, and with a sensation of 
 joy in the heart, that seemed to take from time 
 its flight, and from fatigue its weariness. If it 
 be said that this style is less adapted to reli- 
 gious subjects, and must have possessed more
 
 86 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 of taste than solidity, more of what was inter- 
 esting to the imagination than edifying to the 
 mind, or awakening to the conscience, truth 
 and justice require us to remark that he never 
 forgot the spiritual improvement of his hearers. 
 For the purpose of assisting the funds of 
 these societies he occasionally undertook a tour 
 of two or three months' duration, and some- 
 times succeeded in obtaining from three to five 
 thousand dollars, and even more, in a single 
 journey. This fact, when we take into consi- 
 deration the strong prejudices against these 
 societies which prevailed in many portions of 
 the Established Church, is a sufficient proof of 
 Mr. Richmond's popularity, and of his peculiar 
 adaptation for this interesting work. But a still 
 more beneficial effect of his labours than their 
 immediate pecuniary results, was the establish- 
 ment of correct principles on the subject of 
 missions, the removal of prejudices, and the 
 enforcement of the claims of Jews and Gentiles 
 on the prayers and benevolence of the Christian 
 public. There was also another thing of which 
 he never lost sight, namely, the close connection 
 of the missionary cause with the advancement 
 of personal piety. While he spoke of the souls 
 of the heathen or Jews, he faithfully reminded 
 his hearers of their own ; admonished them of
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 87 
 
 t'heir obligation to improve their Christian pri- 
 vileges ; and of the possibility of many, at the 
 last day, being admitted " from the east, and 
 from the west, and from the north, and from the 
 south," while the children of the kingdom might 
 be cast out ! that nominal Christianity was, 
 after all, little better than heathen ignorance ; 
 v.'hile it involved greater guilt and a more tre- 
 mendous responsibility ; that personal religion 
 was one of the best securities for missionary 
 zeal and exertion ; and that no one was likely 
 ever to be successfully engaged in communi- 
 cating the gospel to others, who had not first 
 felt its power and experienced its peace in his 
 own heart. 
 
 During these periodical excursions his own 
 charge was not allowed to suffer by his ab- 
 sence from home. It was his fixed determina- 
 tion never to enter upon a public engagement, 
 till a provision had been made for the services 
 of his parish ; and he seldom left home without 
 procuring a resident minister. Subsequently, 
 when the claims of the different public socie- 
 ties, and the calls of his distant friends required 
 him to give up a large portion of his time, he 
 appointed a regular curate, who also undertook 
 the care and tuition of his children. In the 
 midst of his unceasing, various, and exciting
 
 88 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 labours abroad, he never forgot the claims of 
 those whom he had left behind ; and his pasto- 
 ral letters to his flock, as also his correspond- 
 ence with his family while on these journeys, 
 show his ceaseless solicitude for their spiritual 
 welfare. 
 
 For his services in behalf of the religious 
 institutions whose cause he was in the habit of 
 pleading he received no pecuniary compensa- 
 tion. Writing on this subject to a friend who 
 had heard it reported that his services were 
 recompensed by a salary, he says, "I must 
 request that justice may be done to me, and to 
 the cause which I espouse. The report is false. 
 I never did, nor ever would accept of a single 
 farthing, from a single individual. The whole 
 has ever been completely gratuitous, and disin- 
 terested. Many valuable clergymen are pur- 
 suing the same path of usefulness in their oc- 
 casional excursions from home ; but they act 
 as volunteers, and not as hirelings ; we seek 
 no reward in this world, but that of seeing good 
 done, and mankind benefited."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 89 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 VIEW OF MR. Richmond's character as the 
 
 FATHER OF A FAMILY. 
 
 While as a minister of the gospel, and the 
 advocate of religious societies, Mr. Richmond's 
 " praise was in all the chm*ches," his character 
 shone with equal lustre in private life. We 
 will therefore invite the reader to turn aside for 
 a short time from more public scenes, and view 
 him in the domestic circle, in the interesting 
 and responsible relation of father of a family. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's family was large, consisting 
 of five sons and as many daughters, besides 
 two children who died in their infancy. Re- 
 garding these as immortal spirits, destined to 
 an eternity of happiness or of wo, his first con- 
 cern was not their temporal support, but their 
 spiritual welfare. His " heart's desire and 
 prayer to God" for them was " that they might 
 be saved." On the birth of his first child, which 
 took place in 1798, he says, " My responsibili- 
 ties are greatly increased by the birth of a son, 
 and I have need of wisdom to preserve this 
 loan of the Lord, and train up an immortal 
 soul for heaven." With those tender and afTec-
 
 90 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 tionate emotions which none but a Christian 
 parent can feel, did he take each new-born babe 
 in his arms and invoke upon it the divine bless- 
 ing. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was a decided advocate of the 
 plan of home education, and all his children ap- 
 pear to have had their early instruction under 
 the parental roof. He was of the opinion " that 
 though a good school is better than a bad home, 
 a good home is the best of schools." 
 
 His chief objection to sending his children 
 to public schools was a fear lest their morals 
 should be corrupted by forming intimacies with 
 improper associates. Indeed, so sensitive was 
 he on this point that he rarely allowed his chil- 
 dren, when at home, to hold any intercourse 
 with others, except under his own watchful eye 
 and diligent superintendence. 
 
 His first object therefore was to make home 
 the happiest place for his children, and so to 
 interest them in domestic enjoyments as to pre- 
 clude the disposition so common among young 
 people to wander abroad in search of pleasure 
 and employment. In this he so completely 
 succeeded that none of the family could leave 
 home, even for an occasional visit, without feel- 
 ings of regret, and the period of return was al- 
 ways looked forward to with fond anticipation.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 91 
 
 A happy home greatly depends on the recre- 
 ations and amusements v/hich are provided for 
 young people. It is no small difficulty to give 
 a useful direction to their play hours : little 
 more has usually been contemplated in the 
 gambols of youth than the health and activity 
 of their bodies, and the refreshment of their 
 spirits. It is well when these objects can be 
 attained without the indulgence of sinful tem- 
 pers ; but youthful sports often foster pride, 
 ambition, and contention. 
 
 Mr. Richmond endeavoured to occupy the 
 leisure hours of his children in such a manner 
 as should tend to their moral and intellectual 
 improvement. It was a maxim with him that 
 the mind needed not idleness or frivolity to 
 restore its activities or fit it for graver studies ; 
 but that it might always find sufficient relaxation 
 in variety; and his success in associating some 
 useful pursuit with the recreations of his chil- 
 dren proves the correctness of his judgment in 
 this respect. He had recourse to what was 
 beautiful in nature, or ingenious in art or 
 science ; and when abroad he collected mate- 
 rials to gratify curiosity. He fitted up his 
 museum and his library with specimens of 
 mineralogy, instruments for experimental phi- 
 losophy, interesting curiosities from various
 
 92 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 parts of the world, and authors of every country 
 who treated on the improvements connected 
 with modern science ; whatever, in short, 
 could store the mind with ideas, or interest and 
 improve the heart. When he travelled he kept 
 up a correspondence with his family, giving 
 them accounts of the places he visited, and the 
 persons and adventures he met with ; and on 
 his return he enlivened many a leisure hour by 
 larger details of all that he had observed to 
 amuse and improve. 
 
 It was truly a gratifying sight to witness the 
 affectionate parent in the professor's chair, 
 with a mind richly stored, and a countenance 
 beaming with kindness, fixing the attention of 
 his youthful auditors on subjects abstruse in 
 their character, but rendered interesting and 
 intelligible to the happy group which surrounded 
 him. 
 
 Music was another source of domestic amuse- 
 ment in which Mr. Richmond excelled, being 
 both a good composer and no mean performer. 
 Many of his children also played on some in- 
 strument, and occasionally joined their father 
 in a " concert of sweet sounds." 
 
 With so many sources of innocent and im- 
 proving amusement, it is not surprising that 
 Mr. Richmond's children felt no regret at the
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 93 
 
 interdict which he placed on all games of 
 chance, dancing, the theatre, oratorios, and 
 other similar sources of gratification, which he 
 justly thought to be utterly inconsistent with 
 the spirit of religion. 
 
 Discipline is a subject of no small moment 
 in the education of a family. Offences must 
 needs come ; and the " foolishness" which is 
 " bound up in the heart of a child" will discover 
 itself in acts of disobedience to God and to 
 parents. There has been much difference of 
 opinion among wise and good men, how this 
 is to be met and subdued. Mr. Richmond's 
 method of discipline was perhaps pecviliar to 
 himself; while he was firm and unyielding, 
 and never ceased to remonstrate, and employ 
 means to reduce his child to obedience, and to 
 awaken him to a sense of his error, he was 
 never known to resort to corporeal chastisement. 
 The chief way in which he marked his dis- 
 pleasure was by those signs of extreme distress 
 which penetrated the heart of the delinquent, 
 and softened rebellion into regret, and by keep- 
 ing the offender at a distance, in separating him 
 from the society of the family, as one unworthy 
 to share in their privileges and affection. None 
 of his children could long endure this exclusion, 
 or bear with sullen indifference a countenance
 
 94 LIFE OF LEGH RlCHMOxND. 
 
 which silently expressed the deepest anguish. 
 Perhaps there never was a family where the 
 reign of love suffered less interruption. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was an early riser, and he 
 endeavoured to train up his children in the same 
 habit. He used to read with them in his study 
 as early as six o'clock in the morning. He 
 was very attentive to their regularity, neatness, 
 and good manners. At the table he endea- 
 voured to make the conversation useful and 
 improving. Sometimes he proposed a subject 
 for discussion, and when he perceived youthful 
 spirits rising to excess, he would throw in a 
 remark to check the exuberance. He allowed 
 and even encouraged perfect freedom and ease, 
 yet every one felt that there was an eye and 
 an ear over every thing. 
 
 He seemed anxious that his children should 
 always have some subject upon which to em- 
 ploy their minds during those hours which 
 usually run to waste, — the moments and inter- 
 stices of time. He used to say, " An idle mo- 
 ment is Satan's opportunity." 
 
 The principal characteristic, however, of his 
 mode of education, was the piety infused into 
 every employment or pleasure. Whether in 
 the field or the museum, whether he examined 
 what was beautiful to the eye, or indulged in
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 95 
 
 what was harmonious to the ear, whether he 
 made an experiment or related an event, every- 
 thing was connected in his own mind, and in 
 that of his children, with Him " who giveth all 
 things richly to enjoy ;" every thing afforded 
 him an illustration of some religious truth, or 
 v/as employed to inspire some devout affection. 
 The connection of religion with science was a 
 favourite topic, on which he used to enlarge 
 with great satisfaction. " I would have my 
 children," said he, " to see God in every thing. 
 It is not merely a transitory emotion I wish to 
 raise in their minds, but a habit of referring, in 
 all they see, to their Maker with delight and 
 reverence. I will never consent to shut God 
 out of his own universe, or to divorce science 
 and religion, which he has joined together to 
 dwell with each other in unity and love." 
 
 He provided each child with a separate 
 sleeping-room ; thus securing a comfortable 
 place of retirement and devotion. These little 
 sanctuaries were always accessible to himself; 
 he often visited them to leave a note on the 
 table ; for while at home, as well as when 
 abroad, he kept up a correspondence with his 
 family, which he used to call his " home mis- 
 sion ;" and to these notes he sometimes requested 
 a reply. Explaining to a friend his reasons for
 
 96 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 adopting this singular method of communicating 
 with his children on the subject of religion, he 
 said, " I feel an insurmountable backwardness 
 to close personal conversation with my chil- 
 dren ; when I begin they are silent, and it is 
 not long before I also feel tongue-tied ; yet I 
 cannot be easy without ascertaining the effect 
 of my instructions, and hence I have been 
 driven to use my pen because I cannot open 
 my lips." 
 
 This plan of home correspondence, though 
 it appears to have been adopted rather from 
 necessity than choice, was not without its ad- 
 vantages. Conversation with children on the 
 subject of religion is apt to be nearly all on one 
 side ; but a communication by letter admits of 
 freedom and reflection, and if a reply be ex- 
 pected, obliges an interchange of sentiments. 
 It also teaches young people to think and 
 compose. 
 
 The anniversaries of his children's birth-days 
 were always seasons of festivity among them, 
 and were also made occasions for promoting 
 their spiritual improvement. We have already 
 informed our readers of the manner in which 
 Mr. Richmond's own birth-days were observed ; 
 those of his children were kept with no less 
 reverence to religion, though in a more private
 
 LIFE 01" LEGH RICHMOND. 97 
 
 manner. He generally awakened them in the 
 morning with his congratulations and his bless- 
 ing. Like the patriarch of Uz, " he rose up 
 early and offered sacrifice, according to the 
 number of them all : this he did continually," 
 Job i, 5. He addressed to the child whose 
 birth-day it was an affectionate and pious note, 
 which was usually accompanied by a present 
 of some useful article. The day was spent in 
 innocent enjoyment, and the evening was em- 
 ployed in the museum, where he gave a lecture 
 on experimental philosophy. These seasons 
 were anticipated by the young people with 
 much delight, and their recurrence contributed 
 greatly to promote the harmony of the family, 
 by a mutual interchange of affectionate interest 
 among its members. " I live," says one of 
 them, " to recall those innocent and happy days 
 when our dear father, even in our childish 
 sports, was the mainspring of our joys, and the 
 contriver of every amusement." 
 
 We subjoin a few specimens of Mr. Rich- 
 mond's birth-day letters to his children. The 
 first was addressed to one of his daughters who 
 had just reached her twelfth year. She ap- 
 pears to have been from home at the time ; 
 but the birth-day was always kept, and a letter 
 of conjjratulation written on the occasion, as
 
 98 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 usual, whether the child was present or ab- 
 sent : — 
 
 " To my K. 
 
 " Let not my loved little K — suppose that 
 her father forgets her. Yaxham may seem a 
 long distance from Turvey ; Glasgow is much 
 greater, but in neither place can my heart for- 
 get my child. I remember you a little babe in 
 arms*. I loved you then. I remember you lying 
 in your little cot, and I swung you there, and 
 loved you the v,^hile. 
 
 " I recollect your first attempts to walk, and 
 your many consequent little downfalls. I raised 
 you up from your stumblings and yom* tumb- 
 lings ; I dried your tears, and loved you still 
 more. I have not forgotten your endeavours to 
 talk, nor your droll little prattlings ; nor your 
 first calling me papa, and dearly I loved you 
 for it : and although these things have long 
 since passed away, and time has added to your 
 years, my love for my K — is not diminished. 
 I often see you in imagination, and draw fanci- 
 ful pictures of your occupations in your new 
 dwelling ; but what is my love compared with 
 that of your heavenly Father ? What is the 
 strongest earthly affection, when contrasted 
 with that which said, ' Suffer little children to 
 come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 99 
 
 is the kingdom of heaven V Has my child's 
 heart an earnestness, a real unfeigned earnest- 
 ness, to share in the love of such a Father, and 
 to come when so mercifully called to such a 
 Saviour ? By nature ' foolishness is bound up 
 in the heart of a child ;' nevertheless by grace 
 a young child's heart may become the temple 
 of the Holy Ghost, and the residence of God 
 himself. Think of little Jane, the Young Cot- 
 tager. May you resemble her in whatever she 
 resembled Christ. She was a dear little girl, 
 and I wish there were thousands more like her. 
 ]\Iany have been made sensible of their sinful 
 state while reading that story, and, through the 
 blessing of God, have been brought to love the 
 same Redeemer, and lived and died rejoicing 
 in their Saviour. I hope, my child, you pray 
 not only with your lips, but with your heart. 
 While you are actively and dutifully employed 
 in acquiring useful knowledge, ' be fervent in 
 spirit, serving the Lord.' In a little time you 
 will be in your teens, and the very sound of 
 that word should awaken you not to the usual 
 folly and vanity of this period of life, but to the 
 responsibility of growing years and increasing 
 privileges ; to the cultivation of holy learning 
 and Christian habits ; to the love of Jesus and 
 communion with his Spirit. It is my prayer,
 
 100 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 let it be yours. And now farewell, my dear 
 K — . May you realize every fond hope, tem- 
 poral, spiritual, and eternal, of your affectionate 
 father, L. R." 
 
 The next letter was written to his third son, 
 who was named, after his father, Legh : — 
 
 " My much-loved Boy, — You expressed 
 some disappointment at dinner, because you 
 had not received your dear mamma's promised 
 letter on your birth-day. What has been the 
 cause of the failure I know not, but I will try 
 to compensate for the disappointment by giving 
 you a few lines. The return of a birth-day, 
 when rightly viewed, is a subject for very seri- 
 ous meditation : I wish it may prove so to you. 
 We have seen, in the death of your dear bro- 
 ther, how little health and strength are to be 
 trusted. Childhood, and youth, and time, are 
 swiftly passing onward, and our journey through 
 this vale of tears, whether longer or shorter, 
 will soon be over. Can you too early learn 
 the value and importance of time ? Will you 
 not hear the counsel of a father, and meditate 
 on those things which belong to your everlast- 
 ing peace ? You have an immortal soul, to be 
 lost or saved for ever. You have an under- 
 standing, to distinguish between good and evil.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 101 
 
 You are therefore a responsible being, who 
 must render an account of the deeds done in the 
 body, whether they be good or whether they 
 be evil. Childhood is the period when the cha- 
 racter and habits of the future man are formed. 
 Trifle not therefore with your childish days. 
 Set a firm and valuable example to your younger 
 brother : he will more or less imitate your ways 
 and dispositions, be they better or worse. Re- 
 member, the eye of God is upon you in every 
 place. Be where you will, do what you will, 
 you may always say with Hagar in the wilder- 
 ness — ' Thou God seest me,' I have of late 
 known but little, too little, of your state of mind 
 and your views of things, temporal and spirit- 
 ual. I have had occasional uneasiness on this 
 subject. You ought ever to be putting forth the 
 energies of your mind in every proper and pos- 
 sible way. It is time that your attention should 
 be drawn to your future station in life, what- 
 ever Providence may design it to be. Every 
 day and every hour should bear witness to some 
 progress and improvement in useful learning, 
 and above all, in that knowledge which maketh 
 wise unto salvation. You have on all subjects 
 much to learn, and it will not be acquired with- 
 out much labour, and firm determination of mind 
 and talent to the acquirement. What may be
 
 102 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the inclination of your own mind as to busi- 
 ness, profession, or occupation, I know not : 
 but I wish you most seriously to take this sub- 
 ject into deliberate consideration, and let me 
 in due time know the result, that I may give 
 you counsel and advice. In the mean time, a 
 thirst for useful knowledge, and a laborious 
 attention to its attainment, will best evidence 
 your fitness for that state of life into which it 
 may please God to call you. But you can do 
 nothing well without faith and prayer, — without 
 much anxious reading of the Holy Scriptures. 
 And now, my child, may every blessing attend 
 you, for this world and the next, for time and for 
 eternity. May the return of this birth-day re- 
 mind you of many an important duty and prin- 
 ciple. Look into the real state of your heart, 
 and never be afraid or ashamed to make me 
 acquainted with it. ' The end of all things is 
 at hand, be ye therefore sober and watch unto 
 prayer.' The heart that now loves and watches 
 over you on earth, may ere long, and must in 
 time, become cold in the grave : but seek Him 
 who never dieth, and his love which never de- 
 cayeth, and all shall be well with you here and 
 hereafter. So counsels and prays your affec- 
 tionate father, 
 
 " Legh Richmond."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 103 
 
 The following effusion was addressed by 
 Mr. Richmond to Wilberforce, his second son, 
 on his fourth birth-day: — 
 
 " It was early this mom, as I waked from my rest, 
 An unusual emotion sprung up in my breast, 
 The occasion of this, do you wish to be told 1 
 'Tis my little boy's birth-day — he's just four years old. 
 
 Foolish father ! cries one, is this all you can say, 
 Is this to disturb all your feelings to-day 1 
 Yes — and were you a father, you would not feel cold, 
 On your little boy's birth-day, when just four years 
 
 old. 
 Old maidens and bach'lors who no children have, 
 Your patience I ask, for your pardon I crave, 
 While this child to my heart I so warmly enfold, 
 On the little boy's birth-day, who's just four years old. 
 Ye mothers, who clasp your dear babes in your arms, 
 And watch o'er their youth with a thousand alarms, 
 Set yours down for one instant, my child to behold, 
 Tis the little boy's birth-day, he's just four years old. 
 Ye that doat on your own lads can feel for another's, 
 And bear with the fondness of fathers and mothers, 
 I invite your attendance, so deem it not bold, — 
 'Tis the little boy's birth-day, he's just four years old. 
 
 He can prattle and talk, with a sweet little smile, 
 Which my heaviest moments will often beguile ; 
 So I value him more than ten millions twice told : 
 'Tis my little boy's birth-day, he's just four years old. 
 
 Dear wife, on whose breast the dear babe hung so long, 
 Shall my muse, on this day, forget thee in her songi
 
 104 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 Come and kiss the poor lad, and rejoice to be told 
 'Tis your little boy's birth-day — he's just four years old. 
 
 My sweet boy ! I've been writing these verses for you, 
 They show more of the father than poet, 'tis true ! 
 Yet in spite of the critics, papa will be bold : 
 Little boy, 'tis your birth-day — ^you're just four years old. 
 
 May the blessing of God, in abundance pour'd down. 
 Give thee grace while on earth, and in glory a crown ; 
 As thou growest in years, may thy virtues unfold, 
 'Tis my prayer on thy birth-day, when just four years 
 old." 
 
 We cannot, we think, more appropriately 
 close this account of Mr. Richmond's parental 
 character, than by the following extract of a 
 communication written by one of his daughters 
 shortly after his death : — 
 
 " It was ever the first wish of my beloved 
 father, that our home should be happy; and he 
 was never so well pleased as when we were 
 all sitting around him. Both in our childhood 
 and youth, every innocent pleasure was resorted 
 to, and all his varied attainments brought into 
 exercise to instruct and amuse us. He was the 
 sun of our little system, and from him seemed 
 to be derived the light and glow of domestic 
 happiness. Like the disciple, whose loving 
 spirit I have often thought my dear father's re- 
 sembled, his motto was, * Little children, love
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 105 
 
 one another ;' and he taught this more effectu- 
 ally by example than even by precept. Reli- 
 gion was unfolded to us in its most attractive 
 form. We saw that it was a happy thing to be 
 a Christian. He was exempt from gloom and 
 melancholy, and entered with life and cheer- 
 fulness into all our sports. 
 
 " But we should not have been thus happy in 
 domestic affection, had not our beloved father 
 so carefully trained us in the religion of Jesus 
 Christ. This was his chief concern, his hourly 
 endeavour. He did not talk much with us 
 about religion ; but the books, studies, and even 
 amusements to which he directed us, showed 
 that God was in all his thoughts, and that his 
 great aim was to prepare his children for hea- 
 ven. Religion was practically taught in all he 
 said and did, and recommended to us, in his 
 lovely domestic character, more powerfully 
 than in any other way. He had a thousand 
 winning ways to lead our infant minds to God, 
 and explain to us the love of the Saviour to 
 little children. It was then our first impres- 
 sions were received; and though for a time 
 they were obscured by youthful vanities, they 
 were never totally erased ; he lived to see them, 
 in some instances, ripened into true conver- 
 sion. It was his custom, when we were verv
 
 106 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOxND. 
 
 young, to pray with us alone ; he used to 
 take us by turns into his study ; and memory 
 still recalls the simple language and affecting 
 earnestness with which he pleaded for the 
 conversion of his child. I used to weep be- 
 cause he wept, though I understood and felt 
 little of his meaning ; but I saw it was all love, 
 and thus my earliest impression was associated 
 with the idea, that it was religion which- made 
 him love us so tenderly, and that prayer was an 
 expression of that love. I was led in this way 
 to pray for those who were kind to me, as dear 
 papa did. 
 
 " In conversation, he did not often urge the 
 subject of religion directly on our attention, or 
 question us much as to our personal experience 
 of it. He has sometimes regretted this, and 
 called it his infirmity ; but I think he adopted a 
 more successful plan. He used to watch over 
 us most cautiously, and express his opinion in 
 writing : we constantly found letters left in our 
 rooms, with directions to think and pray over 
 them. Reproof was always conveyed in this 
 way ; and he also took the same method of 
 questioning us on experimental religion, and 
 of '^'cseeching us to become more decided for 
 God. Sometimes he required an answer, but 
 generally his own request was, that we would
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 107 
 
 * spread his letter before the Lord, and think 
 over it.' 
 
 " His reproofs were inexpressibly tender. 
 He Was never angry with us ; but when we 
 displeased him, he showed it by such a sad 
 and mournful countenance, that it touched us 
 to the very heart, and produced more effect than 
 any punishment could haA'^e done, for we saw 
 that it was our dear father who suffered the 
 most. In this way he gained such an ascend- 
 ency over our affections, that none of us could 
 feel happy if his smile was withdrawn, and all 
 regarded that smile as a rich reward. 
 
 " I cannot express the veneration and love 
 with which he was regarded by every one of 
 his children. With an understanding of the 
 very first order, a mind elegantly refined and 
 polished, and feelings of the most delicate 
 susceptibility, he had a heart overflowing with 
 intense affection toward each of them, which 
 was shown by daily and hourly attention of 
 the most winning nature ; and they found in 
 him not only a counsellor and instructor, 
 but a companion and bosom friend. They 
 clung to him, indeed, with an almost idolatrous 
 fondness. Each of my brothers and sisters 
 will agree with me in the sentiment of dear 
 Wilberforce (it was one of my brother's re-
 
 108 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 marks a little before he closed his eyes upon 
 his weeping parent,) ' When my heart feels too 
 cold to thank God for any thing else, it can 
 thank him for giving me such a father.' He 
 was the spiritual as well as the natural father 
 of that dear boy, and I trust others of his chil- 
 dren are thus bound to him by a tie strong and 
 lasting as eternity itself. Surely the world does 
 not contain a spot of more sweet and uninter- 
 rupted domestic happiness thanTurvey rectory 
 presented, before death entered that peaceful 
 dwelling."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PUBLICATION OF HIS TRACTS ; THEIR EXTENSIVE 
 CIRCULATION AND USEFULNESS. 
 
 Those interesting narratives which have 
 rendered the name of Legh Richmond almost 
 as familiar to the Christian world as that of 
 the author of the Pilgrim's Progress, were ori- 
 ginally published in successive numbers of a 
 London periodical, entitled, the " Christian 
 Guardian," in the years 1809, '10, '11. 
 
 These communications having attracted con- 
 siderable attention, Mr. Richmond was induced 
 to publish them in the form of tracts. The first 
 that made its appearance in this sbape was the 
 " Dairyman's Daughter," which was soon after 
 followed by the " Negro Servant," and the 
 ''Young Cottager." In 1814 they were con- 
 siderably enlarged by the author, and published 
 together in one volume, under the title of, " An- 
 nals of the Poor," with the following appropri- 
 ate motto, from Gray's Elegy : — 
 
 " Let not ambition mock their useful toil, 
 Their homely joys and destiny obscure ; 
 Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
 The short and simple annals of the poor."
 
 110 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 The " Dairyman's Daughter" rapidly ac- 
 quired an unexampled celebrity, and soon 
 became the most popular tract of the day. In 
 order to ensure it a more extended usefulness 
 the author generously presented it to the Reli- 
 gious Tract Society,* by whom it has been 
 translated into most of the languages of Eu- 
 rope ; and we believe also into some of the 
 Asiatic tongues. It has likewise obtained a 
 very wide circulation in America. At the time 
 of the author's death, in 1827, it was estimated 
 that two million copies had been published in 
 the English language alone ; and since that 
 period the circulation has not only been con-> 
 tinned, but carried to a much greater extent. 
 In a multitude of well-authenticated instances, 
 it has been, under the blessing of God, signally 
 effective of good. Mr. Richmond was informed 
 of numerous cases in which it was acknow- 
 ledged to have been instrumental to the con- 
 version of its readers, of which one was that of 
 a female convict at Botany Bay. The last in- 
 stance of its usefulness of which he was in- 
 formed was communicated to him only two days 
 
 * Of this Society, Mr. Richmond, at the urgent request 
 of the committee of the institution, afterward became one 
 of the secretaries, an office to which at that time no salary 
 was attached.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. lH 
 
 before his decease, and, from its peculiarity, 
 deserves to be mentioned : — 
 
 *' A clergyman, who had conceived a violent 
 antipathy to the Tract Society and all its pub- 
 lications, procured the * Dairyman's Daughter,' 
 for the purpose of criticising it, and exposing 
 its defects. In its perusal, however, he was so 
 arrested by the interest of the story, and so 
 penetrated by the power of the religious truths 
 which it contained, that the pen of criticism 
 dropped from his hand, prejudice was charmed 
 into admiration, and he became another trophy 
 of that grace which had shone so brightly in 
 the life and death of the dairyman's daughter." 
 
 A suspicion has been expressed by some as 
 to the entire genuineness of the narrative of the 
 " Dairyman's Daughter," arising from an im- 
 pression that the language and sentiments of 
 her letters were far beyond the capacity of per- 
 sons in her situation in life. Mr. Grimshaw, 
 who once entertained the same doubt, ventured 
 to express his feelings to Mr. Richmond, who, 
 in consequence, produced some of the original 
 letters, which were carefully examined ; and the 
 result was that no alteration was found to have 
 been made, except the correction of the spelling, 
 and the occasional change of a single word for 
 one which better expressed her meaning.
 
 112 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 In further confirmation of the genuine cha- 
 racter of the narrative, it may be stated that the 
 late Rev. Joseph Hughes, (a Baptist minister, 
 and one of the secretaries of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society,) in company with a 
 friend, visited the cottage in which the dairy- 
 man's daughter formerly resided, and inquired 
 of her brother whether the circumstances of 
 the story were precisely the same as they were 
 related in the tract. He replied that there was 
 only one fact that was misrepresented. Being 
 asked, with some degree of anxiety, what that 
 fact was, he observed, that Mr. Richmond had 
 described a " vine," trained near the side of the 
 window, whereas it was not a vine, but an apple 
 tree. If historic truth had never been more 
 seriously violated than in this instance, the 
 credibility of facts would seldom have been 
 impeached. 
 
 We have made these statements for the pur- 
 pose of correcting the impression, that Mr. 
 Richmond's object in this tract was to convey 
 religious truth under the garb of fiction, — an 
 impression which, wherever it is entertained, 
 cannot fail to diminish the interest and profit 
 which would otherwise attend its perusal. 
 
 In a former chapter we gave some account 
 of the conversion of the dairyman's daughter,
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 113 
 
 and* her connection with the Methodist society. 
 Few, comparatively, of the readers of the tract 
 are aware how much the subject of it was in- 
 debted to Methodism for that " seasoning pow- 
 er," which has rendered her a blessing to so 
 many souls in so many lands. On this subject 
 we will give some extracts from a " Further 
 Account of the Dairyman's Daughter," written 
 by the Rev. Benjamin Carvosso,* in 1837, and 
 published in the Wesleyan Methodist Maga- 
 zine for that year. 
 
 The first extract is from a letter which she 
 wrote to her brother Robert in 1796, soon after 
 her conversion, and three or four years before 
 any of her other letters that have been pub- 
 lished. 
 
 " Southampton, March 3. 
 " My Dear Brother, — I received your 
 kind letter the 2d instant, and you may think 
 what a transport of joy I felt to receive such 
 an affectionate letter from a brother I had so 
 little regarded since he had left the world and 
 me. You may well say what great joy it gave 
 you to hear I was converted to God. But are 
 you the only one ? No, my dear brother. Think 
 
 * A son of the late venerable William Carvosso, whose 
 well-known memoir is among the most popular and useful 
 biographies published at the Methodist Book Room. 
 8
 
 114 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 what shouting and rejoicing there was with the 
 angels of God in heaven, that are around the 
 throne. 
 
 " It was when I was sitting under that delightful 
 man, Mr. Crabb, that the Lord opened my eyes. 
 It was the second time that I heard him. And 
 on Sunday last, in the morning, I was standing 
 at the window, and he came past, and when I 
 saw him my heart leaped within me for joy ; 
 for I believe him to be commissioned from the 
 most high God to preach the gospel of salva- 
 tion and peace to all that will hear it. My dear 
 brother, I know it is not good to be partial to 
 any of God's creatures ; but I liken him to St. 
 Paul, for he seems to labour more than they 
 all ; yet not he, but the grace of God which is 
 in him, and that is extended to all that hear 
 him speak. It seems as if I could say with 
 David, when he is there, ' O that I could dwell 
 in the house of my God for ever !' I shall ever 
 have the highest esteem for him as a minister 
 of God and Christ. 
 
 " And now, my dear brother, as I have no 
 money with me, I beg you will apply to my 
 dear mother for six guineas [thirty dollars] of my 
 money, and give them to Mr. Crabb. Buy Mr. 
 Crabb a very large Bible, that when he looks 
 upon it he may bless his God, and think what
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 115 
 
 good he hath done for my poor soul through 
 the gracious influence of the Spirit of God ; 
 and the rest he may dispose of to the glory of 
 God and the good of poor souls. And what is 
 between you and me think no more of; and 
 pray, my dear brother, send your children to 
 school, and I will pay for them as long as I am 
 able. And do see that our dear brother is not 
 in want of any thing that I can do for him.* I 
 hope God will be merciful to all my dear friends 
 who are yet in darkness. May they be filled 
 with the Spirit of God, and may they feel the 
 pardoning love of God shed abroad in their 
 hearts ! Do, my dear brother, if possible, as- 
 semble them together, and prevail on that good 
 man, Mr. Crabb, to be with them, if possible, 
 (I know he is a dear lover of souls,) that he 
 may assist them in turning to God. I fear what 
 you can say to them will be of no great use ; 
 for, remember the words of our Saviour, that a 
 ' prophet hath no honour in his own country.' 
 My dear brother, how can you rest seeing any 
 so nearly related to you so far from God ? O 
 when will God cease to be merciful ! It is said 
 when the tide ceases to ebb and flow, then may 
 God cease to be merciful. 
 
 " Be sure you do as I have desired in the 
 * He was then afflicted, and in needy circumstances.
 
 116 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 name of the Lord, and for the glory of his holy 
 name ; and my love to all that are in him, and 
 that are wanting to turn to him. Pray excuse 
 this, and write as soon as you conveniently can. 
 Adieu, dear brother. 
 
 "Elizabeth Wallbridge."* 
 
 " She lived in the spirit of obedience to that 
 useful direction of Methodism, 'Exhort, instruct, 
 reprove all you have any intercourse with.' 
 None were spared ; not even old professors, 
 when she saw any hope of being useful. And 
 a word of exhortation or reproof was sometimes 
 followed by an act of kindness in reference to 
 temporal circumstances, in order to enforce at- 
 tention to matters of higher moment. A little 
 before her death, happening to be at a house in 
 Newport, a neighbour stepped in, a poor woman, 
 and destitute of religion. Elizabeth seized the 
 opportunity of conversing with her very closely 
 
 * The original letter, from which the above is an extract, 
 was given by her brother to a gentleman in Cowes, Isle 
 of Wight, who has expressed the value he sets upon it by 
 putting it into a handsome frame, between two plates of 
 glass, and suspending it among the ornaments of his par- 
 lour. The handwriting and orthography are just such as 
 might have been expected from an uneducated servant 
 girl ; but it contains the genuine effusions of a heart over- 
 flowing with love to God and man.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 117 
 
 about her soul, and the affairs of another world ; 
 and, that she might fasten the words of holy- 
 counsel on the heart of the poor woman, she 
 immediately afterward sent her one of her own 
 gowns, of some value. 
 
 " Such was the dairyman's daughter, when 
 she so providentially fell into the hands of Mr. 
 Richmond. Till that period it does not appear 
 that she had intercourse with any other Chris- 
 tian friends but the Methodists. By them her 
 dying bed was surrounded, and they followed 
 her remains to the grave. The ' remarkably 
 decent-looking woman,' of whom Mr, Richmond 
 speaks in his beautiful description of Eliza- 
 beth's funeral, was the late Mrs. Prangnell, of 
 Merston, the leader of the class there, and truly 
 a mother in our Israel: in whose class Eliza- 
 beth occasionally met, and of whom an inter- 
 esting memoir was published by the Rev. A. B. 
 Seckerson, when he travelled in the island. 
 The singing in the open air, with which Mr. 
 Richmond was so surprised, delighted, and edi- 
 fied, and of which he has given an account at 
 once impressive and attractive, was led by one 
 who is now a venerable member of the Wes- 
 leyan seciety at Newport. 
 
 " As this account has been written partly to 
 correct a mistake into which Mr. Richmond
 
 118 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 has fallen, it is necessary to take some notice 
 of it before I close. Ke not only gives no hint 
 of the fact that the dairyman's daughter was a 
 Methodist, — this might have been very proper, 
 circumstanced as he was, — but he conducts the 
 reader to the full impression that she was 
 indebted to a clergyman of the Established 
 Church for the instrumentality of her conver- 
 sion. By this means, not only are those de- 
 prived of the honour which is their due, but it 
 is ascribed to a quarter to which it does not 
 belong. On this account the author of that per- 
 haps unequalled tract has been even severely 
 censured, — not indeed by those w^ho had the 
 privilege of knowing his character, and his 
 truly catholic and most affectionate spirit, but 
 by those who have been imperfectly informed 
 of the facts of the case. The matter is scarcely 
 worth explanation, except as it is one of those 
 overwhelmingly numerous instances which 
 abundantly prove that God does work, not as 
 though bestowing his ' uncovenanted mercies' 
 sparingly, occasionally, and as an evident ex- 
 ception to his established order, but liberally, 
 constantly, regularly, by the instrumentality of 
 persons not occupying a certain position in 
 what has too often been asserted to be the ex- 
 clusive order of the ministry.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 119 
 
 " Whether Mr. Richmond did or did not 
 know that Elizabeth Wallbridge was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist society, I cannot learn ; 
 but I have a full conviction that, when he re- 
 presents her as informing him that she was 
 awakened in the Established Church by a ser- 
 mon from a missionary clergyman, it was a 
 mere mistake, very naturally resulting from the 
 imperfect recollection he would have of the 
 terms which she employed. Mr. Crabb would 
 at that time be called a missionary, as the tract 
 of country over which his labours were spread 
 would then be called a home mission among 
 us ; and as Mr. Richmond wrote from memory, 
 some years after the events had occurred, and 
 when he had left the island, and resided in an- 
 other part of the kingdom, he might easily 
 confound the words which were floating in his 
 memory, and suppose it was some wind-bound 
 missionary who had come ashore at the island 
 while the vessel was detained on the coast. 
 
 " As the Rev. J. Crabb is still living, now a 
 venerable and highly respected minister of a 
 congregation at Southampton, and has very 
 kindly furnished the writer of this account with 
 a letter on the subject, an extract from it will 
 set the matter in a clear and candid light. Mr, 
 Crabb says, —
 
 120 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 " ' You request me to give you some informa- 
 tion relating to the conversion of the late Eli- 
 zabeth Wallbridge, known by the name of ' the 
 dairyman's daughter.' Perhaps it is known 
 to thousands that I was the honoured, though 
 unworthy, instrument of leading her to Christ 
 Jesus, her only and dearest friend. Several 
 friends have urged me many times publicly to 
 correct the little inaccuracies in Mr. Rich- 
 mond's narrative ; but I have felt very unwill- 
 ing to do it, lest I should in any measure lessen 
 the importance and value of the tract ; espe- 
 cially as these little mistakes no more affect 
 the truth of the facts stated, than if a man were, 
 through forgetfulness, to make a mistake as to 
 the right name of the person by whom a very 
 fruitful vineyard had been planted. What does 
 that signify when it is seen that the trees live 
 and bear fruit? I was well acquainted with 
 that highly and deservedly beloved servant of 
 Christ, who visited the interesting family in 
 their affliction j and I once ventured to ask 
 him, at his own house, ' Pray, did you know 
 the instrument of Elizabeth's conversion T 
 ' No,' was the answer ; ' but I expect it was 
 under the ministry of a missionary who was 
 going abroad to New South Wales, — I think it 
 must have been Mr. Marsden.' The remark
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 121 
 
 evidently showed how he had misunderstood 
 Elizabeth's reference to a missionary. I said 
 no more, only rejoicing in my own heart that 
 the Holy Spirit had converted her. Mr. Rich- 
 mond must have fallen into the mistake by only 
 writing from his memory some years after the 
 events had occurred, and not having understood 
 at the time the exact import of the words which 
 fell from the lips of the dying Elizabeth. I 
 lost sight of her myself for several years, being 
 obliged to retire from my public duties on ac- 
 count of ill health ; but one day a friend came 
 to me, and said, ' I have a guinea sent to me 
 by the brother of Elizabeth Wallbridge for you. 
 It comes from her death-bed, and she desires 
 your acceptance of it as a small token of Chris- 
 tian love to you as the instrument of her con- 
 version.' I valued the manner in which it was 
 done, and received the token as the grateful 
 gift of a dying Christian. I love her memory, 
 and rejoice that the memoir has been the 
 instrument of converting and comforting thou- 
 sands of my poor fellow-sinners ; and I most 
 fervently pray that it may long continue to be a 
 blessing to the church and to the world. And 
 I trust also that your account of dear Eliza- 
 beth may satisfy all who have heard imper- 
 fect statements of the business. May all the
 
 122 
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 glory be given to God for all his grace bestow- 
 ed on us mortals.' " 
 
 The simple annals of the dairyman's daugh- 
 ter have conferred a lasting interest upon the 
 little village of Arreton, and visiters from vari- 
 ous parts of the world repair thither to look 
 
 upon the humble dwelling in which she lived, 
 and from which her happy spirit took its flight 
 to a better world. 
 
 The length to which we have extended our 
 remarks on this tract, will render it necessary
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 123 
 
 for US to be more brief in our observations on 
 the others. 
 
 In interest, popularity, and usefulness, " Little 
 Jane, or the Young Cottager," stands next to 
 the " Dairyman's Daughter ;" and has proved 
 especially beneficial to the rising generation. 
 Indeed, the Rev. John Ayre, son-in-law to Mr. 
 Richmond, in his " Introduction" to an edition 
 of the " Annals of the Poor," seems disposed to 
 give the preference to " Little Jane." He says, 
 " There is something, in my judgment, irresist- 
 ibly engaging in the character and history of 
 that simple girl. I can venerate the exalted 
 piety of the dairyman's daughter, who, with a 
 masculine strength of understanding, had ever 
 her word of counsel even for the minister ; but 
 I love the little, backward, neglected, retiring 
 child, who starts forth at once in all the moral 
 beauty of Christian attainment. There is some- 
 thing in the condition of Jane which seems 
 especially to call for our sympathy. The dairy- 
 man's daughter was constantly surrounded by 
 a circle of affectionate relatives, who regarded 
 her with reverence and love ; while Jane's 
 religion was, at best, little appreciated, often 
 despised and ridiculed, by her family, and her 
 last hours were disturbed by sounds of blas- 
 phemy proceeding from a parent. Many of
 
 124 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the incidents also of this narrative might be 
 appealed to as conferring upon it a peculiar in- 
 terest. The scene, for example, where Mr. 
 Richmond, in his first visit to her, while speak- 
 ing of the good news of the gospel, inquires, 
 ' Who brought this good news V and is an- 
 swered, ' Sir, you brought it to me ;' I know 
 not who can read unmoved. Her parting bene- 
 diction, too, — ' God bless and reward you,' — 
 when with an unexpected exertion she threw 
 her arms around him and died — is inexpressi- 
 bly affecting." 
 
 Mr. Richmond, in writing home to his family, 
 while on a tour in Scotland and the north of 
 England, states that in the course of his jour- 
 ney he had met with about thirty instances of 
 young persons who had been benefited by the 
 perusal of this tract. 
 
 The " Negro Servant," is a record of con- 
 versation held on the subject of religion, during 
 the summer of 1803, with a poor, unlettered 
 African, once a slave, who lived in the service 
 of an officer in the neighbourhood of Brading, 
 where Mr. Richmond at that time resided. 
 
 The two little pieces entitled, " Cottage 
 Conversations," and " Visit to an Infirmary," 
 were, like the preceding narratives, originally 
 published in the " Christian Guardian," but
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 125 
 
 were not printed in the " Annals" with the other 
 tracts until after Mr. Richmond's death. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was also the author of another 
 tract, which is written in the ballad style, and 
 entitled, " The African Widow." The follow- 
 ing is his own account of it : — " On reading 
 the report of a society instituted for the relief 
 of the wants of the poor African and Asiatic 
 strangers, whom various circumstances in Pro- 
 vidence have brought to England, I was much 
 struck with the very affecting narrative of a 
 black woman, which is added to the report. It 
 occurred to me that it might be well to state 
 the circumstances of her life in a few plain and 
 simple rhymes. The attempt is here made, 
 preserving the particulars of the history as 
 they are recorded in the account above men- 
 tioned." 
 
 The unexampled popularity of Mr. Rich- 
 mond's tracts is to be attributed chiefly to the 
 beautiful simplicity, touching pathos, and 
 graphic descriptions which they display, and, 
 above all, the ardent piety which breathes 
 through the whole. The author's exquisite 
 paintings of scenery, the pious rapture with 
 which he seems to dwell upon them, and the 
 spiritual lessons which he draws from almost 
 every feature in the prospect, have, no doubt,
 
 126 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 reminded many a reader of those beautiful lines 
 of Cowper, in which he enumerates the enjoy- 
 ment of natural scenery as among the cove- 
 nanted privileges of the believer : — 
 
 " He looks abroad into the varied field 
 Of nature ; and though poor, perhaps, compared 
 With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, 
 Calls the delightful scenery all his own. 
 His are the mountains, and the valleys his, 
 And the resplendent rivers ; his to enjoy 
 With a propriety that none can feel, 
 But who, with filial confidence inspired. 
 Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, 
 And smiling say. My Father made them all /"* 
 
 * Cowper' s Task, book v.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 127 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MR. Richmond's excursions for the mis- 
 sionary AND jews' societies 
 
 We have already alluded to Mr. Richmond's 
 excursions for the benefit of various religious 
 societies. Some of these occupied as much as 
 two or three months, and his journals of them 
 sufficiently show the zeal an(J efficiency with 
 which he laboured to promote the benevolent 
 objects of the institutions on whose behalf they 
 were undertaken. 
 
 As these journals are confined chiefly to a 
 detail of the various services in which he en- 
 gaged, the amounts of money collected, and other 
 matters of local and temporary concern, we 
 shall extract only a few of the more interesting 
 passages. The following are from journals 
 kept during his tours in 1812, 1814, 1815, for 
 the benefit of the Church Missionary Society, 
 and the Society for promoting Christianity 
 among the Jews :* — 
 
 * " There was something in the cause of poor benighted 
 and outcast Israel, which seemed peculiarly congenial with 
 Mr. Richmond's affectionate and sympathizing spirit. To 
 exhibit their wrongs, and paint their sorrows, was a work
 
 128 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 "Manchester, Sunday, Oct. 25, 1812. —Arrived 
 at St. Stephen's, Salford, to preach for the Sun- 
 day schools : upward of eight hundred children, 
 and two thousand people besides, notwithstand- 
 ing a very rainy morning. The scene highly 
 grand and animating ; and the singing thrilled 
 through every pious nerve and tender affection. 
 Preached from John xxi, 15, ^Feed my lamhs.^ 
 Collection, $384. Spoke with much freedom, 
 and hope I felt the love of God and of poor 
 children in my heart. 
 
 " Preached again in the same church, in the 
 afternoon, from Rev. xi, 15. Church as full as 
 in the morning. Before the doors were open- 
 ed, observed more than a consolidated acre of 
 umbrellas waiting for admittance : the church- 
 yard was like a tabernacle of silk and cloth. 
 
 "Went in the evening to St. James' church. 
 With much difficulty I got to the pulpit — even 
 the pulpit stairs were filled to the top. Preached 
 fortheJewsfromPsa.cxxii,6. Collection, $254. 
 
 " Thursday. — At seven went to St. Clement's 
 church. I think I never saw such a week- 
 
 in which he delighted to be engaged ; and he did so with 
 such genuine feeling and pathetic eloquence, that few 
 could resist his appeals ; and it would not be easy to de- 
 fine how much under God, that now widely diffused com- 
 passion for this interesting, but long neglected people, is to 
 be attributed to his pious and able exertions in their behalf."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 129 
 
 evening congregation, — the largest church in 
 Manchester full to the doors ! I preached from 
 Luke xix, 4L Never felt such liberty and 
 power in the pulpit on this subject before. A 
 grand chorus, exquisitely sung, from the ' Mes- 
 siah' of Handel, burst forth when the sermon 
 ended. It had an electrical effect : toward the 
 conclusion, near three thousand voices were 
 performing it — it was astonishing ! 
 
 " Sunday, Nov. 1. — Set out to preach at the 
 collegiate church of Manchester, to the war- 
 den, fellows, and congregation of that cathedral 
 establishment. A magnificent and immense old 
 church ; congregation estimated at more than 
 five thousand, by the best judges. The interest 
 and popularity which the cause and preaching 
 excite, exceed all calculation. I never was con- 
 cerned in any thing that approached it. 
 
 " Sunday, 8. — Went, at eight o'clock, to visit 
 and exhort the noble Sunday school, under Mr. 
 Thistlewaite's management. A most interesting 
 sight. The children sent a petition, that I might 
 address them : there were fourteen hundred. 
 
 " Morning service at half-past ten. I preach- 
 ed a sacramental sermon, from Luke xxii, 19. 
 In the afternoon, at half-past two, a noble con- 
 gregation assembled. Preached for the Jews, 
 from Romans x, 1. At half-past six, a stil) 
 9
 
 130 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 more numerous one appeared, (about three 
 thousand five hundred,) and near five hundred 
 turned back for want of room. The scene and 
 singing magnificent, almost beyond precedent. 
 I preached from Psa. li, 18. Service concluded 
 with that glory of Handel, the musical art, and 
 religion itself — the Hallelujah Chorus. The 
 church resounded, as with the clear and har- 
 monious strains of angels and archangels. I 
 was electrified from head to foot, and could not 
 refrain from weeping, though I concealed many 
 tears of strong afl^ection. Hallelujahs ran in 
 reiterated peals from every part of this immense 
 congregation of united Christians — responsive 
 to each other and to the subject, with such an 
 effect as perfectly overwhelmed me. The organ 
 was finely played ; — an excellent trumpet was 
 in the band, and added much to the brilliancy 
 of the effect. The collection was $387. Fif- 
 teen guineas [about seventy-five dollars] were 
 in copper : it took three hours to count it; four 
 men could with difficulty lift one basket into 
 the chaise, to convey it from the church. 
 
 " Thursday, 12. — Shut myself up for two 
 hours, to prepare for my sermon at night. The 
 congregation not less numerous. Many Jews 
 present : ten were planted directly before me. 
 I preached from Romans i, 16, 17. Entered
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 131 
 
 into a full investigation, whether the Messiah 
 is come or not : I made it also a vehicle of 
 practical address to Christians. The service 
 concluded with the grand hymn, ' Crown him 
 Lord of all.' The Jews never took their eyes 
 off me, — rooted, fixed attention, from first to last. 
 My address to them was heard with a solemnity 
 and anxiety of countenance by all present, such 
 as I never witnessed. A Jew spoke to me as 
 I went out, saying, ' Sir, we thank you for 
 your kind spirit toward us, but you Christians 
 do not understand the law and the prophets. — 
 Good night, sir.' "* 
 
 [There has been some discussion as to what 
 was the most efficient mode of preaching to the 
 Jews. Mr. Richmond, conversing one day on 
 this subject with Mr. Grimshawe, his biographer, 
 observed, " I know of no Scriptural way of 
 preaching to men, otherwise than as sinners ; 
 and why the Jews, whose sins are of so aggra- 
 vated a nature, should be dealt with in a differ- 
 
 * Mr. Grimshawe, who heard this sermon, says, " he 
 well remembers the immense congregation, and intense 
 interest excited on the occasion. At that part of the ser- 
 mon where he addressed the Jews, who were very distin- 
 guishable by their expression of countenance, there wag 
 the most profound silence, and marks of the most fixed 
 and earnest attention prevailed that he ever saw in so 
 large a mass of people."
 
 132 LIFE OF LEGH lUCHMOND, 
 
 ent way, I do not see. I would address the 
 Jew as I would address any other man ; — that 
 is, as a sinner ; and till he is convinced of his 
 sin, he will never believe in a Saviour. ' Christ 
 crucified' is declared to be ' to the Greeks fool- 
 ishness, and to the Jews a stumbling block ; 
 but to them that believe, the power of God and 
 the wisdom of God.' No man will ever feel 
 the power of God, whether he be Jew or Gen- 
 tile, till he learns it at the foot of the cross."] 
 
 "August 10, 1814. — Proceeded to Derby and 
 Matlock ; delighted with the High Tor, [a ce- 
 lebrated rock ;] resolved on its being my text, 
 in illustration of Deuteronomy xxxii, 4. Con- 
 gregation and evening quiet, calm, and inter- 
 esting. The beauty of this place increases, to 
 my apprehension, every time I revisit it. 
 Blessed be the Rock of sah^ation ! I returned 
 to M. B. by twilight. The scene exquisitely 
 fine. God made all these beauties ! May I see 
 Him in them ! 
 
 " Sept. 1. — Found many letters ; one from my 
 dear wdfe, which I answered. Children all 
 well at home. O, how merciful is God I I 
 have laboured much this last fortnight, but am 
 in no respect the worse, and in many the better 
 for it. And so may he ever give his beloved rest, 
 not /row?, but in labour. The harvest is plente-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 133 
 
 ous, but the labourers are few. The import- 
 ance of such a work as I am engaged m ap- 
 pears daily more and more in its effects on in- 
 dividuals, places, and districts. May the Mas- 
 ter, whom I serve, give me strength, according 
 to my day, and use me for his own glory, and 
 the good of the church of Christ, ivhere, when, 
 and how he pleaseth ! 
 
 " Sept. 2. — Stayed in the house all day. En- 
 deavoured to collect some matter for my mis- 
 sionary sermons. Had an hour's conversation 
 with the pious and exemplary Mrs. C — , of 
 Stockport. ' Spent a comfortable day with my 
 mother and aunt. Sat up before I went to bed 
 and meditated on the blessings which God had 
 mercifully bestowed on me, in giving me so 
 valuable a wife, and so many dear children. I 
 then prayed for them, and retired to rest. 
 
 " Sept. 5. — Rose early, and was struck with 
 the singularly beautiful effect of the morning 
 fog or dew, rolling, or rather reposing in flakes 
 and masses on the valley seen from my win- 
 dow. The hills around me were clear, the 
 sun shining, the objects in some part of the val- 
 ley beginning to appear. At length, all became 
 clear and uninterrupted. The whole was highly 
 interesting. Went through the beautiful val- 
 ley. Saw a comment on my text of last night;
 
 134 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 a large tract of harvest land, and one solitary 
 person reaping it ! 
 
 " Sept. 10. — Breakfasted at Bonsai : then 
 read, wrote, and meditated for to-morrow. The 
 Lord of grace and glory help me in my work, 
 and bless it to me a poor sinner, while I preach 
 for and to other poor sinners ! 
 
 "Oct. 11. — Arrived safe at Turvey, at half- 
 past seven o'clock ; finding the dear children 
 well. What shall I render unto the Lord for 
 all his benefits unto me ? 
 
 " Thus ends a journey marked by manifold 
 mercies, pleasures, useful labours, and gratifying 
 events. Many valuable friendships formed ; — 
 religious and personal influence extended ; — 
 the cause both of Jews and heathen furthered ; 
 — knowledge gained, love increased, and Chris- 
 tian esteem established and cemented. Glory 
 to God in the highest. 
 
 " August, 1815. — Commenced a journey for 
 the Jews' and Church Missionary Societies. 
 
 " Aug. 27. — Preached at Bolton, to between 
 three and four thousand people, for the Sunday 
 schools. Collection, $805. A magnificent 
 appearance. The singing was grand and im- 
 pressive in the highest degree. Anthems, 
 Handel's chorusses, &c., were sung, and ac- 
 companied by trumpets, horns, &c., in a very
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 135 
 
 fine style indeed. My mind was much affected, 
 and I found considerable enlargement, though 
 not without much inward temptation and strug- 
 gle to the contrary 
 
 " Aug. 30. — Went to see Lancaster church 
 and castle. Examined the interior of the castle, 
 visited the criminals, &c. Had much affect- 
 ing information from Mr. H. relative to some 
 criminals, executed at various periods. What 
 a picture of man does a jail afford ! — how it re- 
 minds me of the saying of John Bradford, the 
 reformer, on seeing a criminal taken to the 
 place of execution — ' But for the grace of God, 
 there goes John Bradford.' 
 
 " Huddersfield, October 1 . — Preached for the 
 Church Missionary Society, from Acts xxvii, 
 23. Church much crowded. Preached in the 
 afternoon at Slathwaite chapel, from Mark xvi, 
 15. About two thousand persons present. In 
 the evening preached at Longwood chapel, 
 from Psalm Ixxxix, 15, 16. An immense mul- 
 titude. Upward of $803 collected at these 
 services. Had a day of great labour and appa- 
 rent usefulness. Was carried through very 
 mercifully, in all the three sermons. I hear 
 of good effects from my sermons of last year in 
 this vicinity, particularly that at Huddersfield, 
 from Eph. iii, 17-19, on the love of Christ."
 
 136 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 Although during these excursions his ser- 
 mons and addresses attracted immense crowds 
 in almost every place he visited, his popularity- 
 appeared to have exercised no injurious effects 
 upon his mind. His habitual devotion, his sin- 
 gular simplicity, and unfeigned humility, pre- 
 served him from the ensnaring tendency of 
 human applause. " No man," says Mr. Grim- 
 shawe, "more uniformly abstained from the lan- 
 guage of praise toward others, or discouraged 
 it more unreservedly toward himself." 
 
 In the course of his travels he had frequent 
 opportunities of gratifying his taste for natural 
 scenery, which were also made occasions for 
 elevating his heart to God ; for, like most good 
 men, he loved to trace the hand of the Creator 
 in his works. On this subject he has the fol- 
 lowing reflections : — 
 
 " There is a peculiar sweetness in the recol- 
 lection of those hours which we have spent 
 with friends of a kindred spirit, amidst the 
 beauties of created nature. The Christian can 
 alone find that congeniality in associates, who 
 not only possess a lively and cultivated sense 
 of the high beauty which landscape scenery 
 presents to the eye ; but who can also see cre- 
 ation's God in every feature of the prospect. 
 The painter can iniitate, the poet describe, and
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 137 
 
 the tourist talk with ecstasy of the sublime 
 and beautiful objects which constitute the 
 scene before him. But he only can be said to 
 enjoy them aright, whose talents, taste, and 
 affections, are consecrated to the glory of Him 
 by whom ' all things were made, and without 
 whom was not any thing made that was made.' 
 When the pencil that traces the rich and ani- 
 mated landscape of mountains, lakes, and trees, 
 is guided by a grateful heart as well as by a 
 skilful hand; then the picture becomes no less 
 an acceptable offering to God, than it is a 
 source of well-directed pleasure to the mind of 
 man. And when the poet, in harmonious num- 
 bers, makes hill and dale responsive to his song, 
 happy is it if his heart be in unison with the 
 harp of David, and if he can call on all created 
 nature to join in one universal chorus of grati- 
 tude and praise. The Christian traveller best 
 enjoys scenes like these. In every wonder, he 
 sees the hand that made it ; — in every land- 
 scape, the bounty that adorns it ; — in rivers, 
 fields, and forests, the Providence that minis- 
 ters to the wants of man ; — in every surround- 
 ing object, he sees an emblem of his own spirit- 
 ual condition ; — himself a stranger and a pil- 
 grim, journeying on through a country of won- 
 ders and beauties ; alternately investigating,
 
 138 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 admiring, and praising the work of his Maker, 
 and anticipating a holy and happy eternity, to 
 be spent in the paradise of God, where the 
 prospects are ever new, and the landscapes 
 never fade from the sight !" 
 
 Amid all his labours and joiirneyings he was 
 never forgetful of his own household. The let- 
 ters which he wrote to his children during his 
 absence from home are characterized by paren- 
 tal tenderness and Christian fidelity. The fol- 
 lowing was addressed to one of his daughters : — 
 
 " October, 1815. 
 
 " My Dear Child, — This may probably reach 
 you on your birth-day. It is a day which should 
 remind you of the importance of time, and the 
 swift approach of eternity. It bids you remem- 
 ber your Creator in the days of your youth. 
 But have you ever done so aright ? Have you 
 ever seen yourself a sinner, and gone to the 
 blood of Christ for pardon 1 Forms and notions 
 never yet saved a soul ; and have you, indeed, 
 ever gone further than forms and notions 1 My 
 child, be in earnest ; it is no trifle whether you 
 have real grace or not : it is every thing to as- 
 certain this point, and to act upon it. Do you 
 feel a burden of sin for daily offences 1 — do you 
 repent ? — do you pray from the heart ? Suppose 
 God were to see good to bring you to a bed of
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 139 
 
 death, where are your evidences that you are 
 really his child ? Think in how many ways you 
 have offended him in thought, word, and deed ? 
 What but a Saviour's blood can wipe the guilt 
 away ? 
 
 " It is full time, my dear Fanny, that you 
 show a decision of character, in that humble, 
 yet determined separation of life, which distin- 
 guishes a common (alas ! too common) nomi- 
 nally Christian child, from a child that believes 
 in Christ, loves God, and is taught by the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 " Secret, free prayer, is a great testimony 
 that a work of grace is begun. But do you 
 thus pray ? Have you found out the sins into 
 which you are most liable to fall, and most 
 easily tempted to commit ? These are your 
 bosom foes, and must be resisted in a different 
 strength from any which you naturally possess. 
 That strength is only to be obtained in Christ, 
 and by believing in him and him alone. Grace, 
 free grace, reigns in every step of the Christian 
 progress. Do you ever feel these things as a 
 matter of uneasiness, or desire, or hope, or fear? 
 It will not satisfy me, and I hope it will not 
 satisfy you, that you have had so many advan- 
 tages of a Christian education, unless you prove 
 to yourself and me, that there is a work of the
 
 140 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 Spirit in your heart. What a delightful display 
 the Lord gave us of his goodness and power, 
 when that dear and beloved woman, your mother 
 and my wife, (it is my highest earthly privilege to 
 call her so,) lay, as we thought, on the bed of 
 death ! You cannot have forgotten it ; — no one 
 that saw it ever could. But that day was a 
 warning and a consolation for us ! — O may we 
 use it as both. But do not deceive yourself, — 
 mere natural feelings and meltings of heart are 
 not enough. Sin, sin is the great cause of sor- 
 row ; and therefore must you weep. Carry sin 
 to Jesus, he will hide it for ever from his Fa- 
 ther's sight. Angels rejoice when children 
 weep for sin. 
 
 " Read ' Little Jane !' Two Sunday scholars 
 at Manchester have been converted to God this 
 summer by reading it ; — and must my own dear 
 child heed it not? I trust not. Pray, dear 
 Fanny, for faith and love to the Saviour. Happy 
 shall I be to hear from yourself, (when it does 
 indeed come from your heart,) either by letter 
 or word of mouth, that you feel a true concern 
 for your never-dying soul. 
 
 " Love to my dear Henrietta. 
 
 " From her and your truly affectionate fa- 
 ther."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 141 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LETTER OF ADVICE TO HIS DAUGHTERS, ON 
 VARIOUS IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. 
 
 The following letter, or, as Mr. Richmond 
 himself terms it, " Chapter of Admonitions," 
 addressed by him to his daughters, contains 
 such an amount of judicious, valuable, and 
 Christian advice, on a variety of important 
 topics, as fully justifies its insertion almost en- 
 tire. It is an edifying testimony of the writer's 
 parental solicitude and love. 
 
 " To my Daughters : — 
 
 " With a heart full of affection, I sit down to 
 express a few sentiments and intimations of 
 my wishes, as connected with your conduct, 
 in the course Bf any journey, or absence from 
 home. I wish each of you to preserve a copy 
 of it, my dear children, and often look at it ; 
 take it with you when from home, and keep it 
 safe when at home. 
 
 " Many temptations will occur,- to induce you 
 to yield and conform to habits and principles, 
 the very reverse of those you hear me support- 
 ing, both in the pulpit and the parlour. Be not 
 ashamed of firmlv, though modestly, in such
 
 142 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 cases, resisting them. State what mine and 
 your principles are, and heed not the moment- 
 ary unpleasantness of appearing singular, when 
 conscience and duty require it. You may easily 
 say, ' My father does not approve of such and 
 such things, neither can I.' No person, whose 
 estimation is worth having, will think the worse 
 of you for such instances of mild, but decisive 
 firmness. 
 
 " All descriptions of public amusements, no- 
 vels, popular amorous poems, plays, songs, 
 vanities, and finery, and all the sad tribe of 
 poisonous and dangerous pursuits, should be 
 regulated by this principle ; and O, that your 
 own simplicity and love to Christ may never 
 give way to one sad influence of false senti- 
 ment, even among those whom, on other ac- 
 counts, we may esteem and regard. The half- 
 religious are often more dangerous than those 
 who are less so ; because, we are more on our 
 guard in the latter case than the former. The 
 great number of instances in which I have seen 
 the young people of religious families deeply 
 injured in their spirits and habits by much 
 visiting with persons of different views and 
 customs from those of their own household, 
 has made me, I confess, from pure motives of 
 conscience and prudence, very averse to much
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOxVD. 143 
 
 of that sort of visiting in my own children's 
 case, which I know to have been productive 
 of bad consequences in others. And the diffi- 
 culty of drawing the line has always appeared 
 very great with my numerous friends and ac- 
 quaintance. Still, I wish to make you happy 
 in every reasonable way ; and I am glad to give 
 you the advantage of new scenes and company, 
 when they are of the right sort. I know many 
 families, and you know a few, where, perhaps, 
 the parents are religious, but their young peo- 
 ple are very imperfectly, if at all so ; in such 
 cases, you may, from equality of age, be thrown 
 much more into the light, frivolous, and objec- 
 tionable conversation of the younger, instead of 
 the more useful communications of the elders 
 of the family. Here, often, there is danger ; 
 ever prefer and choose those, of whatever age, 
 in whom you think you discover a holy, seri- 
 ous, benevolent, consistent way of acting and 
 speaking. 
 
 "A young professor of religion has not, in 
 most instances, so difficult a task to sustain, 
 when in conversation with those of a decidedly 
 religious deportment, as with worldly persons, 
 and those who can scarcely be ranked as con- 
 sistently serious, although often to be met with 
 in religious parties. If, however, your con-
 
 144 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 science be correct, you will see more and more 
 the duty of acting and speaking aright, and you 
 must ever pray for grace to direct and govern 
 you. Difficulties and dangers of this kind 
 greatly multiply when those who, from rela- 
 tionship and family regard, stand very near to 
 natural love and affection, are, nevertheless, in 
 great measure strangers to the power of true 
 religion, and, therefore, mingle with the world 
 wholly, pursue its pleasures, and support its 
 customs. I entreat you to be much on your 
 guard in all such cases. Decays in religious 
 feeling and conduct continually arise from this 
 source, and endanger the temporal, spiritual, 
 and eternal welfare of many a hopeful family. 
 " I will now add some remarks, placed under 
 select heads, which may make them more con- 
 spicuous, and better remembered : and may 
 God render them useful to you ! Keep them 
 constantly with you, and let them be always 
 read over, at least, once a Aveek. 
 
 AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 " Plays, balls, public concerts, cards, private 
 dances, &c., &;c. 
 
 " Serious, consistent Christians, must be 
 against these things, because the dangerous 
 spirit of the world and the flesh is in them all :
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 145 
 
 they are the ' pomps and vanities of this wicked 
 world,' so solemnly renounced at bapusm. To 
 be conformed to these seductive and more than 
 frivolous scenes, is to be conformed to this 
 world, or to be opposed to the character and 
 precepts of Christ. They that see no harm in 
 these things are spiritually blind ; and they who 
 will not hear admonition against them are spi- 
 ritually deaf. Shun, my girls, the pleasures of 
 sin, and seek those which are at God's right 
 hand for evermore. You cannot love both. 
 
 " Blessed be God, you have been kept far 
 from those who make such recreations their 
 idols to wean their hearts from God. Never, 
 in any conversation, speak lightly or triflingly 
 of these subjects, as if you had not imbibed 
 proper sentiments concerning them. 
 
 BOOKS. 
 
 " Characters are speedily discerned by 
 their choice of books. — Novels in prose, I 
 need not now forbid ; ignorant as you are of 
 their bad tendency by experience, you, I am 
 persuaded, trust me on that head, and will never 
 sacrifice time, aflection, or attention to them. 
 But bew^are of novels in verse. Poets are more 
 dangerous than prose writers, when their prin- 
 ciples are bad. Were Lord Byron no better 
 10
 
 146 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 poet than he is a man, he might have done little 
 harm ; but when a bad man is a good poet, and 
 makes his good poetry the vehicle of his bad 
 sentiments, he does mischief by wholesale.* 
 Do not be ashamed of having never read the 
 fashionable poem of the day. A Christian has 
 no time, and should have no inclination for any 
 reading that has no real tendency to improve 
 the heart. 
 
 " The finest rule I ever met with in regard 
 to the choice of books, is this : — ' Books are 
 good or bad in their eflects, as they make us 
 relish the word of God the more or the less 
 after we have read them.' There are too many 
 valuable books on a variety of subjects, which 
 ought to be read, to allow of time to be dedi- 
 cated to unworthy and useless ones. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 " Shun all the wretched folly and cor- 
 ruption of light, silly, and amorous songs, 
 on the same principle that you would shun 
 books of the same nature. Sacred music is the 
 
 * " Lord Byron's writings," said Mr. Richmond, "will 
 be a lasting bane to the country, and must continue to in- 
 jure religion so long as infidelity, blasphemy, and vice can 
 obtain circulation and popularity when clothed and armed 
 with the splendours of great genius and talent.''
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 147 
 
 true refuge of the Christian musician. I wish 
 your ears, your hearts, and your tongues were 
 oftener tuned to such melodies. The playhouse, 
 the opera, and the concert-room have deluged 
 the world with the abuses of the heavenly art 
 of music. Music was designed to lead the soul 
 to heaven, but the corruption of man has greatly 
 perverted the merciful intention. Do not you 
 belong to such perverters, nor seem to take 
 pleasure in those who do. 
 
 DRESS. 
 
 " Aim at great neatness and simplicity. 
 Shun finery and show. Be not in haste to 
 follow new fashions. Remember, that with re- 
 gard to dress. Christians ought to be decidedly 
 plainer, and less showy than the people of the 
 world. 
 
 BEHAVIOUR IN COMPANY. 
 
 " Be cheerful, but not gigglers. Be serious, 
 but not dull. Be communicative, but not for- 
 ward. Be kind, but not servile. 
 
 " Beware of silly, thoughtless speeches : 
 although you may forget them, others will not. 
 Remember God's eye is in everyplace, and his 
 ear in every company. 
 
 " Beware of levity and familiarity with young 
 men ; a modest reserve, without affectation, is
 
 148 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the only safe path — grace is needful here ; ask 
 for it ; you know Avhere. 
 
 JOURNEYINGS. 
 
 " Cultivate knowledge as you travel : — His- 
 tory, antiquities, — in cities, towns, churches, 
 castles, ruins, &c. ; natural liistory, — in plants, 
 earth, stones, minerals, animals, (fee; pictur- 
 esque taste, — in landscape scenery and all its 
 boundless combinations. 
 
 " Cultivate good-humoured contentment, in 
 all the little inconveniences incident to inns, 
 roads, weather, &c. 
 
 " Cultivate a deep and grateful sense of the 
 power, wisdom, and goodness of God, in crea- 
 tion and providence, as successively presented 
 to your notice from place to place. 
 
 " Keep diaries and memoranda of daily 
 events, places, persons, objects, conversations, 
 sermons, public meetings, beauties, wonders and 
 mercies, as you travel. Be minute and faithful. 
 
 " Ask many questions of such as can afford 
 useful information as to what you see. 
 
 "Write your diary daily; — delays are very 
 prejudicial. You owe a diary to yourself, to 
 your friends left at home, and to your father, 
 who gives you the pleasure and profit of the 
 journey.
 
 LIFE or LEGH RICHMOND. 149 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 " Strive to preserve a praying mind through 
 the day; not only at the usual and stated peri- 
 ods, but everywhere, and at all times, and in 
 all companies. This is your best preservative 
 against error, weakness, and sin. 
 
 " Always remember you are in the midst of 
 temptations ; and never more so, than when most 
 pleased with outward objects and intercourse. 
 
 " Pray and watch ; for if the spirit be will- 
 ing, yet the flesh is deplorably weak. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 " Keep ever in mind, that you have a reli- 
 gious profession to sustain ; and this both in 
 serious and worldly company. Be firm and 
 consistent in them both. Pray to be preserved 
 from errors, follies, and oflences, which bring 
 an evil name upon the ways of God. You may 
 sometimes hear ridicule, prejudice, and cen- 
 sure, assail the friends of true religion — it ever 
 was, and will be so : ' but blessed are they 
 who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, 
 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Be not 
 ashamed of Christ here, and he will not be 
 ashamed of you hereafter. 
 
 " Court and encourage serious conversation 
 with those who are truly serious and conversi-
 
 150 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ble ; and do not go into valuable company 
 without endeavouring to improve by the inter- 
 course permitted to you. Nothing is more un- 
 becoming, when one part of a company is en- 
 gaged in profitable and interesting conversation, 
 than that another part should be trifling, gig- 
 gling, and talking comparative nonsense to each 
 other. 
 
 " Ever show the interest which you take in 
 the subjects of schools for the poor, the distri- 
 bution of tracts, the Bible and Missionary So- 
 cieties, and all those important topics which so 
 deeply occupy the people of God : and when you 
 can find a congenial friend, talk of heaven and 
 eternity, and your soul and your Saviour. This 
 will be as a shield to your head and your heart. 
 
 ESTIMATE OF CHARACTERS. 
 
 " Look first for grace. Do not disesteem 
 good people on account of their foibles, or de- 
 ficiencies in matters of little importance. Gold 
 unpolished is far more valuable than the bright- 
 est brass. Never form unfavourable opinions 
 of religious people hastily, — ' Charity hopeth 
 all things.' Prize those families where you 
 find constant family prayer ; and suspect evil 
 and danger, where it is avowedly unknown and 
 unpractised. Always remember the astonishing
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 151 
 
 difference between the true followers of Jesus, 
 and the yet unconverted world, and prize them 
 accordingly, whatever he their rank in society. 
 
 " Gentility and piety form a happy union ; 
 but poverty and piety are quite as acceptable 
 in the eyes of God, — and so they ought to be 
 in ours. Not only are the poor far more in 
 actual number than the rich, but experience 
 proves that the proportionate number of the 
 truly serious among the poor is much greater 
 than the corresponding proportion of numbers 
 among the rich. Take one thousand poor and 
 one hundred rich ; you will probably find ten 
 of the latter serious : but two hundred of the 
 former shall be so at the same time. 
 
 " Beware of the critical hearing of sermons 
 preached by good men. It is an awful thing 
 to be occupied in balancing the merits of a 
 preacher, instead of the demerits of yourself. 
 Consider every opportunity of hearing as a 
 message sent you from heaven. For all the 
 sermons you have heard, you will have to ren- 
 der an account at the last day. 
 
 PARENTS. 
 
 ^' Seek to make them happy in you. 
 *' If you perceive that any thing in your ways 
 makes them otherwise, you ought to have no
 
 152 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 peace until you have corrected it : and if you 
 find yourself indifferent or insensible to their 
 will and wishes, depend upon it yours is a car- 
 nal, disobedient^ ungrateful heart. If you love 
 them, keep their commandments ; otherwise 
 love is a mere word in the mouth, or a notion 
 in the fancy, but not a ruling principle in the 
 heart. They know much o^ the world, you 
 very little : trust them therefore, when they 
 differ from you and refuse compliance with 
 your desires, — they watch over you for God, 
 and are entitled to great deference and cheerful 
 obedience. You may easily shorten the lives 
 of affectionate and conscientious parents by 
 misconduct, bad tempers, and alienation from 
 their injunctions. Let not this sin be laid tO' 
 your charge. 
 
 " I shall add no more at present, than that I 
 am your affectionate father, 
 
 " L, Richmond,"
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 153 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MR. RICHMOND'S DOMESTIC AFFLICTIONS. PAR- 
 TICULARS RESPECTING HIS ELDEST SON, 
 
 A COURSE of uninterrupted happiness was 
 never yet the portion of one of our race. Even 
 the most eminent of God's servants are conti- 
 nually meeting with occurrences that remind 
 them of the uncertain tenure of all earthly 
 hopes and possessions, and admonish them 
 that this is not their rest. " Man," said one 
 of old, " is born to trouble," and universal ex- 
 perience confirms the truth of the declaration. 
 In this respect, indeed, " one event happeneth 
 to all," — to the righteous as well as the wicked ; 
 with this difference, however, that the former 
 in all their affliction have a never-failing source 
 of consolation which the latter know nothing 
 of. " In the world," said our Lord to his sor- 
 rowing disciples, "ye shall have tribulation, 
 but in ME ye shall have peace." 
 
 Although in this particular Mr. Richmond 
 was favoured beyond many, yet his path through 
 life was far from being a thornless one. 
 
 In the year 1814 he was greatly afflicted 
 by the serious illness of his wife, which as-
 
 154 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 sumed such an alarming character that, after 
 the utmost exertion of medical skill, her reco- 
 very was declared to be hopeless. In expecta- 
 tion of her immediate dissolution she had taken 
 leave of all the members of her family. Mr. 
 Richmond, in writing to a friend at the time, 
 says, " I never witnessed such a triumph of 
 grace : it has shone more bright than the ten- 
 derest hope could have expected. Jesus bore 
 her through the most painful and affecting scene 
 more than triumphantly. Her manner of taking 
 leave of me and our eight children around her 
 bed was more striking than you can conceive 
 or I can describe." 
 
 Mr. GrimshaM^e, who, with a (ew other inti- 
 mate friends, was permitted to see her on this 
 occasion, says, " On entering the room to pay 
 this mournful visit, I was surprised to see an 
 expression of joyful feeling in the countenance 
 of the wife, and a calm and delightful serenity 
 depicted in that of the husband. I could not 
 help exclaiming, ' Is this the chamber of 
 death V Death was so stripped of its terrors, 
 and religion so surrounded with all its consola- 
 tions, that the place looked more like the portal 
 of heaven than the gloomy vestibule of the 
 tcmb. The triumph of faith in the dying wife 
 seemed to support the otherwise afflicted hus-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 155 
 
 band, and to impart to him a corresponding 
 elevation of feeling. He forgot for the moment 
 his own sorrows in her joys ; his own loss in 
 her gain ; and did not wish to arrest her ex- 
 pected flight to the world of happy spirits, or 
 indulge his grief while she was rejoicing in the 
 mercies of redeeming love." 
 
 The affectionate sympathy of Mr. Richmond's 
 parishioners at this trying season deserves to 
 be mentioned. The most fervent prayers had 
 been offered up daily for the recovery of Mrs. 
 Richmond ; and those prayers were heard. 
 Contrary to all human expectation, the symp- 
 toms of the disorder abated, and her life was 
 spared. It seemed as if she had entered into 
 the valley of the shadow of death, — explored 
 all its secret recesses, — penetrated to its utmost 
 confines, and seen the light which could alone 
 dispel all its darkness ; and then, — led by the 
 hand of Him who says, " I kill, and I make 
 alive : I wound, and I heal ;" — she once more 
 returned to the days of her pilgrimage, and sur- 
 vived to follow to the grave the husband, who 
 thirteen years before had resigned her to the 
 mercy of his God. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was also long and sorely tried 
 by the untoward conduct of Nugent, his eldest 
 son, who, through the corrupting influence of
 
 156 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 an unprincipled associate, to whom he had at- 
 tached himself at school, was unhappily drawn 
 aside from the path of virtue and piety. He 
 ran away from the school, and spent his time 
 in dissipation with the young farmers in the 
 neighbourhood. Parental expostulation, en- 
 treaties, and prayers appearing to produce no 
 effect upon him, it became necessary to remove 
 the bad example from the family ; and as the 
 youth, now sixteen years of age, was unwilling 
 to settle at any useful employment, and had a 
 strong inclination for a seafaring life, his father, 
 not without great reluctance, yielded to the 
 advice of his friends, and procured for him a 
 situation in the Arniston, a merchant vessel 
 bound to Ceylon. This was not done with the 
 design of fixing him permanently in a seafaring 
 life, but merely to try what effect employment 
 and a temporary absence from home might have 
 in reclaiming him. The ship was expected to 
 return in two years. 
 
 To Mr. Richmond, whose feelings both as a 
 Christian and a parent were peculiarly deep and 
 tender, the misconduct of his son was a trial 
 of the severest kind. He was his first-born, — 
 whom in his earliest infancy he had fondly de- 
 voted to the work of the ministry, and whose 
 education had been conducted with a view to
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 157 
 
 his engaging in that sacred office.* But these 
 hopes were now doomed to bitter disappoint- 
 ment : the plant was blighted in the bud. 
 
 Mr. Richmond met his son at Deptford, and 
 again at Portsmouth, when the vessel arrived 
 there. He urged whatever affection and duty 
 could suggest ; prayed with and for him ; and 
 after presenting him with a Bible, which he 
 conjured him carefully to peruse, and a paper 
 
 * There was nothing censurable in Mr. Richmond's 
 wish that his son should enter the ministry ; but consider- 
 ing the peculiar character and - requirements of a minister 
 of the gospel, it may be doubted whether it would not be 
 more consistent that the designation of a young person to 
 that sacred profession should follow, rather than precede, 
 
 a discovery of fitness for it It is an error, not 
 
 "uncommon even among religious parents, to select the 
 ministry for the future occupation of their children on the 
 general grounds of correct conduct and amiable disposi- 
 tions. God has taken into his own hand the work of the 
 sanctuary ; when he calls and separates by his Spirit, we 
 may co-operate with his purposes, and supply materials 
 and tools for his workmen ; but it is seldom desirable to 
 anticipate the divine will on this head, or forget that there 
 must be, not only a real conversion of heart to God, but a 
 peculiar aptness for the work to justify an entrance in the 
 sacred calling. 
 
 Such was Mr. Richmond's judgment in after life ; and 
 his tender mind sometimes reverted to his disappointment 
 in poor Nugent's delinquencies, as a rebuke for his pre- 
 sumption. — Domestic Portraiture.
 
 158 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 of admonitions and instructions for his conduct, 
 he committed him to that God who has said, 
 " I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my 
 blessing on thine offspring." He witnessed the 
 departure of the vessel, and lingered on the 
 shore till its white sails were no longer dis- 
 cernible. They saw each other no more. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's feelings on ^his occasion 
 are thus described in a communication written 
 some years after : — " As I stood on the shore 
 of the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1814, 
 and watched with a father's eye, and a father's 
 heart, the departure of the ship which con- 
 tained my child, I mused over the past, the 
 present, and the future, until the shadows of 
 the night interrupted my view. One moment 
 suggested, ' my child will soon be afar off;' 
 the next, as it were, replied, but ' the promise 
 is unto you and to your children, and to as 
 many as are afar off.' The thought consoled 
 me as I returned homeward, and I prayed for 
 my little ones, that God would speak peace to 
 him who was " afar off," and to " them that are 
 nigh." 
 
 The errors of Nugent appear to have been 
 the result of a thoughtless and yielding dispo- 
 sition, rather than of a deep-rooted and vicious 
 propensity ; he sincerely loved his father, and
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 159 
 
 preserved to the last, vvith a kind of religious 
 veneration, the parting testimonies of his re- 
 gard. He had not been long at sea before he 
 began deeply to repent of the follies which had 
 rendered it necessary to remove him from home. 
 He Avrote to his father two letters during the 
 voyage, and a third on his arrival at Ceylon, 
 which he reached in January, 1815. In these 
 letters he manifested the sincerest regret for 
 his past conduct, and expressed a hope that he 
 might yet prove a consolation to his parents. 
 The period of his return was looked forward to 
 with pleasing anticipation. His father longed 
 to welcome home the poor wanderer, and min- 
 gle his tears with those of his child, saying, 
 " This my son was dead and is alive again, was 
 lost and is found." But these fond hopes were 
 not to be realized. 
 
 In the spring of 1816 Mrs. Richmond was 
 once more brought near to the gates of death, 
 but was graciously raised up again, and her 
 valuable life spared to her family and friends. 
 During her illness the case of her exiled son 
 was much upon her mind, and she wrestled in 
 earnest and believing prayer for his soul to be 
 reconciled to God. 
 
 Not long after Mrs. Richmond's recovery, 
 intelligence was brought, by a vessel from the
 
 160 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope, that the Arniston, while 
 on her voyage home, had been wrecked in a 
 dreadful storm near the Cape, and there was 
 reason to believe that all on board had perished. 
 Still, no official intelligence had been received ; 
 and the mind of Mr. Richmond and his family- 
 were kept in the most painful suspense. Au- 
 thentic information at length came, that the 
 vessel was wrecked near Cape Lagullas, on 
 the thirtieth of May, and that of three hundred 
 and sixty persons who were on board only six 
 were saved ; the names of these were speci- 
 fied, and Mr. Richmond's son was not among 
 the number. 
 
 On the receipt of this intelligence the whole 
 family went into mourning. How their minds 
 were sustained under the trial will appear by 
 the following account, extracted from letters 
 written at the time by Mr. Richmond : — 
 
 " I was prepared by contradictory reports, for 
 some weeks past, to meet the confirmation of 
 this sad catastrophe, and so was my dear wife 
 in a measure : but last Saturday morning, as 
 we and the three elder girls were breakfasting 
 at Mr. Livius's, at Bedford, the newspaper, 
 containing the whole melancholy narrative, was 
 taken up by my wife, and she instantly and 
 suddenly saw the account. It was a trying
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 161 
 
 hour, and we all melted. Nobody but our- 
 selves can rightly estimate this trial, because 
 none else can know what we went through on 
 that poor boy's account. Yet we feel it to be a 
 great mercy that, making all necessary allow- 
 ances for human defects and failings, we cannot 
 reproach ourselves for misconduct toward him. 
 We did what we believed to be right and best 
 for him, from his infancy : the precepts, the 
 principles, the instructions, and the examples, 
 which we endeavoured to set before him were, 
 to the utmost of our power, according to the 
 word of God, to the time of his leaving us. 
 And then we were perfectly satisfied that God, 
 in his providence, had opened the best and only 
 possible way of avoiding greater evils, when he 
 showed us and our child, that it was right and 
 necessary he should choose a sea-life as his 
 appointed path. However contrary to our for- 
 mer wishes, we submitted to the will of God ; 
 and he very cheerfully set out on his voyage. 
 The Lord who saw good that this should be 
 his lot and portion, has forbidden his return 
 home again, and our boy has gone the way of 
 all flesh. ' The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away, — blessed be the name of the Lord.' 
 But here is our hope and consolation. Nearly 
 eighteen years' prayers have been unceasingly
 
 162 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOxND, 
 
 offered up for his spiritual welfare, and I be- 
 lieve that none of those prayers were unavail- 
 ing. I am willing to believe that, in addition 
 to all others, the prayers of his apparently dy- 
 ing mother, a fortnight before the shipwreck, 
 were too fervent and spiritual not to avail much 
 for her son. The Lord heard her for herself; 
 and may we not hope that he who says, ' the 
 promise is to you and your children,' would 
 have been for him likewise? — I do therefore 
 hope, that, amidst the trials and wonders of the 
 deep, faith and repentance might be granted to 
 our poor boy, before he departed hence, and 
 was no more seen. . . . We feel a calm 
 resignation to the will of God, and recognise 
 evidences of his covenant love in the consola- 
 tions which he vouchsafes us. Nature and 
 memory will now and then be very busy, and 
 we feel greatly. Then we think of the efficacy 
 of prayer, in connection with the promise, and 
 are strengthened and supported." 
 
 Those who can enter into the feelings of the 
 parents at this time may perhaps conceive the 
 joy which they felt when, three months after- 
 ward, they received a letter in the handwriting 
 of the very son whom they had all this time 
 mourned as dead. It appeared that having a 
 desire to see Calcutta and jsome other parts of
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOXD. 163 
 
 India before he returned, and being unable to 
 obtain the consent of the captain to whom he 
 had been intrusted with direction to bring him 
 back to England, he had abandoned the vessel 
 before she sailed, and was, at the time he wrote, 
 ignorant of her fate. The transition of feeling 
 to which this letter gave rise produced an effect 
 almost as overwhelming as that which the re- 
 port of his death had occasioned. The family 
 mourning was laid aside, and Mr. Richmond 
 trusted he might recognise in this signal inter- 
 position of Providence a ground for hope that 
 his child's present deliverance was a pledge of 
 that spiritual recovery which only was now 
 wanting to fill up the measure of his gratitude. 
 
 Soon after leaving the Arniston, Nugent ob- 
 tained a situation as' an officer in another 
 vessel. Of this appointment he informed his 
 father, adding, — 
 
 " And now, my dear parents, while you are 
 living quietly at home, I am tossed about the 
 stormy ocean in all weathers, and never know- 
 ing that I am safe a moment. I hope Wilber- 
 force will take warning from my sad wander- 
 ings, or he will never be happy. Receive my 
 kind love, dear father and mother : the same to 
 my brothers and sisters. I hope God will take 
 care of me, forgive and convert mc. He is the
 
 164 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 best friend : do not cease to pray for me, and 
 remember me still, for I am your affectionate 
 son, Nugent Richmond." 
 
 We close this chapter with an extract from 
 another letter written by Nugent about two 
 years after he left home : — 
 
 "So the Arniston was lost! O! merciful 
 escape. — It shocks me to say, my dear father, 
 I have only been to church about twelve times 
 since I left England ; indeed, sailors scarcely 
 know what church is, except on board men-of- 
 war, where there is a chaplain ; nevertheless, 
 if we cannot go to church, we seldom work on 
 a Sunday as hard as on a week-day ; so that 
 I have time to read the Bible and pray. You 
 gave me a Bible when I left you, and I have it 
 still, and hope always to have it. O that I 
 knew how to make a right use of it !— Pray for 
 your poor Nugent ; think when you are in bed 
 and by your fireside, I am toiling by day and 
 watching by night, tossed about in gales of 
 wind, scared by storms of thunder, lightning, 
 and rain, ignorant of my fate for a single hour. 
 
 ! a sailor's life is wicked, miserable, and de- 
 plorable ; but this is all the fruit of my sin, and 
 
 1 justly deserve my chastisement. N. R."
 
 LIFK OF LEGH RICHMOND. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF A SPIRITUAL CHILD 
 
 OF MR. Richmond's. 
 
 Besides the many cases of conversion 
 through the instrumentality of his tracts, of 
 which Mr. Richmond received accounts by let- 
 ters, he met with numerous similar instances 
 in the course of his various journeys. The 
 narrative of " Little Jane" appeared to have 
 been rendered remarkably useful to young per- 
 sons by whom it was read. In the course of 
 a visit to the north of England in the fall of 
 1817, he met with an instance of its usefulness 
 so singularly interesting that we cannot forbear 
 relating it somewhat at length. Mr. Richmond 
 himself was so much affected with it that he 
 purposed to make it the subject of another nar- 
 rative, intended as a companion to the " Dairy- 
 man's Daughter," and the " Young Cottager ;" 
 and from the outline and materials of it, which 
 were found among his papers, there can be no 
 doubt that it would, had he completed it, have 
 been little inferior, either in interest or useful- 
 ness, to those highly honoured memorials of 
 the triumphs of divine grace.
 
 166 LIFE OF LECxH RICHMOND. 
 
 The title of the projected tract, as left in Mr. 
 Richmond's own hand, is as follows : — 
 
 MEMORIALS OF LYDIA G , 
 
 Of Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; who died Feb. 14, 
 3 825, aged seventeen years ; a spiritual child 
 of " Little Jane, the Young Cottager." 
 
 From her infancy Lydia had manifested 
 what is called a good disposition. She was 
 never known to utter a falsehood, or even to 
 stoop to an equivocation. 
 
 Her mother died in the Lord when Lydia 
 was only seven years of age. The child's health 
 had long been delicate, and shortly after her mo- 
 ther's death a physician and a surgeon were 
 consulted, who agreed that her case was a dis- 
 ease of the heart, for which there was no cure, 
 but which might be somewhat relieved by 
 bleeding. This mode of alleviation was accord- 
 ingly resorted to, but her strength was thereby 
 reduced to the lowest point consistent with the 
 continuance of life. 
 
 It was about this time that " The Young 
 Cottager" was placed in her hands. She made 
 no remark upon it ; nor was any one aware 
 that its perusal had produced any unusual effect 
 upon her mind, until several months after, when
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 167 
 
 Mr. Richmond, in the course of one of his be- 
 nevolent tours, visited Newcastle. 
 
 Lydia's health was at this time in a most 
 precarious state. Her disease rendered quiet- 
 ness and seclusion almost necessary to the 
 hourly continuance of her life. Her sisters 
 were led to hear Mr. Richmond preach, and 
 they mentioned his name in her hearing. Her 
 attention was instantly aroused, and she eagerly 
 exclaimed, " ! I must go and hear him ! He 
 taught little Jane the way to heaven, and he 
 will teach me." Her sister told her that she 
 could not permit her to think of it that evening, 
 (Sunday,) ill as she was ; but that Mr. Rich- 
 mond was to preach again on the Thursday, 
 when she might perhaps be better. " But," she 
 added, " how will you be able to get there — 
 you cannot walk ?" " O dear !" she answered, 
 " but I will try, and we will go by the by- 
 ways, and you will carry me when I cannot 
 get on." In the interval between Sunday and 
 Thursday, her sister remarks, she was more 
 careful of her health, and anxious to gain 
 strength, than young people usually are when 
 expecting to join a pleasure party. The sisters 
 S€t out, and an idea may be inferred of the state 
 of Lydia's health, from the fact, that they con- 
 gratulated themselves on being so happy as to
 
 168 "life of legh Richmond. 
 
 reach the church after a painful struggle of an 
 hour and a half. " Now," says Lydia, " I must 
 be where I can see Mr. Richmond." In this, 
 too, they succeeded, and the sister expected 
 that when the service was concluded, she 
 would contentedly return home ; but to her 
 great surprise, the poor girl's agitation in- 
 creased, and she exclaimed, " I must speak to 
 him !" 
 
 Her sister's astonishment at this desire was 
 very great. Lydia, who was then under ten 
 years of age, was naturally timid and bashful. 
 She was now in a weak and feeble state of 
 body, inducing great nervousness ; and it may 
 be judged from these circumstances, what must 
 have been the ardent feelings of her soul, which 
 could break through all these obstructions, and 
 force her to seek a conversation with one so 
 far removed from her, in age, circumstances, 
 and education, as Mr. Richmond. " My dear 
 Lydia," said the sister, "I cannot go to speak 
 to him ; and what would you say, if you could 
 get to see him ?" " O ! I want so to talk to 
 him ; and you must go and speak to him, and 
 tell him so ; I am sure he would not be dis- 
 pleased ; I know he would not !" 
 
 Her earnest beseeching quite distressed her 
 sister, who, not daring to go into the vestry to
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 169 
 
 Mr. Richmond, followed him, with Lydia, along 
 the street, watching for an opportunity of ad- 
 dressing him. When his pace quickened, liydia 
 had to be carried, lest he should get out of 
 sight. He stopped to speak with some one, 
 and on his parting from the person, Lydia beg- 
 ged her sister to go and speak to him. " My 
 dear," she replied, " what can I say to him, 
 you must speak to him yourself." " ! tell 
 him," said Lydia, " I want to talk to him about 
 what he said to little Jane !" Mr. Richmond 
 reached his friend's door, and entered the house. 
 Her grief increased, and she exclaimed, " O ! I 
 shall never see him again, — O ! what shall I 
 do !" She stood opposite the house, weeping, 
 and lamenting the loss of the opportunity, and 
 was with difficulty persuaded to leave the spot. 
 Her sister, on returning home, acquainted 
 her father with Lydia's earnest desire, and her 
 grief. He hesitated what to do; but at last, 
 through the intervention of a kind friend, Mr. 
 Richmond was made acquainted with the cir- 
 cumstances, and called upon the little girl. The 
 conversation which took place between them 
 must have been deeply interesting ; but no re- 
 cord of it has been preserved, and the deficiency 
 cannot now be supplied, as both the parties en- 
 gaged in it have left this lower world, and, we
 
 170 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 may suppose, have enjoyed many hours of 
 happy and holy converse in the abodes of bliss. 
 The following letter, however, remains, which, 
 as its language shows, was addressed to Lydia 
 on the ensuing day : — 
 
 ^^ Durham, November 1, 1817. 
 " My Very Dear Child, — As God in his 
 tender mercy permitted me to witness for a lit- 
 tle while, yesterday morning, how much your 
 heart has been interested in the story of my 
 ever dear child in the faith, Little Jane, the 
 Young Cottager, I wish to tell you once more 
 how sincerely I desire that it may please our 
 gracious Saviour to make you like unto her. 
 If my little book has in any way been the means 
 of stirring up in your mind a real desire to be 
 found in the way everlasting, surely I may be 
 permitted to call you, in that respect, one of 
 my little ones, and to feel for you something of 
 a father's love and affection. Had I known 
 your wish to have seen me sooner, I would 
 have gladly come, and talked to you more about 
 Little Jane, and about the things that belong to 
 your everlasting peace ; — as it is, I feel my 
 heart strongly inclined to give you these few 
 lines, as a proof of my good-will and true re- 
 gard for your soul's welfare. 
 
 "Our acquaintance, my dear little girl, has
 
 I.IFE OF LEUH RICHMOND. 171 
 
 been short, but perhaps both you and I feel, as 
 if we were friends in the Lord already. May 
 my prayers for your salvation and support in 
 trials, and your patience in suffering, be an- 
 swered for the sake of Him who died upon the 
 cross to save sinners. What a Saviour is he ! 
 O ! my child, seek him, love him, bless his 
 holy name ! Think of him when you are in 
 bodily pain, and remember how much greater 
 were his pains. Think of him when you want 
 instruction, and may he be your wisdom. Think 
 of him when you reflect on your sins, and may 
 he prove your righteousness. Are you afraid 
 to come to him ? What ? afraid of him, who 
 said, ' Suffer the little children to come unto 
 me.' No, my dear girl, fear not, he is willing 
 that you should come, for he is the way, the 
 truth, and the life. He is the way to heaven — 
 there is none other; O ! may you walk in that 
 way, and find rest to your soul therein. Little 
 Jane and I used to talk about heaven and hell, 
 and Christ, and sin, and mercy, and pardoning 
 love, till our hearts burned within us ; — you 
 have read a little of our conversations, in the 
 Annals of the Poor ; but that is only a small 
 part of what we said to one another. I often 
 think of those days with great thankfulness, and 
 it makes me very glad to see that she, though
 
 172 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 dead, yet speaketh to the living by her simple 
 story. Behold, how good God is ! she died 
 before you were born, yet you are become ac- 
 quainted with her, and can see how the Lord 
 blessed her in life and in death. Her faith, 
 and love, and humility, are a pattern for you, 
 and through God's loving kindness, I hope you 
 will be like her in these things. 
 
 " You probably may be too young or too un- 
 well to write to me, and tell me something 
 about your thoughts and feelings, and what first 
 made you feel a desire to be saved, and what 
 you have felt when you read the story of the 
 Young Cottager. I could wish to know more 
 of your heart, and what you think about sin, and 
 pardon, and Jesus Christ. But this perhaps 
 cannot be, unless some one should write for 
 you; but then every word and thought must 
 be your own. The Lord save you, my child, 
 and give you the gospel blessing, and may you 
 trust in Christ with all your heart. Remember 
 Little Jane, and in your prayers remember like- 
 wise your affectionate friend in the Lord, 
 
 " Legh Richmond. 
 
 " Give my Christian regards to your sisters; 
 pray with them, and may you all meet in heaven 
 at the last, as sinners freely saved by the blood 
 of Jesus Christ ! — Farewell, my dear child."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 173 
 
 The conversation and correspondence of Mr. 
 Richmond were made the means of conveying 
 true peace to her soul ; and she w^as soon ena- 
 bled to rejoice in the love of God. 
 
 I>Jotwithstanding the rapidly declining state 
 of her health at this time, Lydia lingered 
 some years longer than had been anticipated. 
 The following brief particulars of her last hours 
 are extracted from Mr. Richmond's papers : — 
 
 When her disorder had made such progress 
 as gave warning of her approaching dissolution, 
 she was strongly tempted to believe that the 
 work in her soul had not been genuine, — that 
 her religion had been too much that of a Phari- 
 see ; but she soon attained such a degree of 
 comfort as to be able to say, in the near prospect 
 of death, " I am now perfectly happy, and would 
 not exchange situations with any one." To 
 another friend she said, " I have had a sore 
 conflict, but all is peace now !" 
 
 About an hour before her death, a pious lady 
 called to see her, and prayed with her. She 
 was unable to converse, but her friend said, 
 " My love, I do not wish you to speak ; but if 
 you are able, tell me, by holding up your hand, 
 whether you are quite happy." Immediately, 
 as with a last effort, she raised her half-dead 
 arm as high as she could. Shortly after, the
 
 174 LIFE Oi' LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 flickering flame of life rose again, and, having 
 tasted nothing for four and twenty hours, she 
 asked for something to drink. Her sister 
 brought it to her, when she put her arms round 
 her neck, and said, " Now raise me up." The 
 last struggle of nature prompted this desire, but 
 on being moved, her agony was extreme, and 
 she cried out, " O ! pray that I may be suflered 
 to go now." Folding her hands in the attitude 
 of prayer, she continued for about three minutes, 
 and then said, " I want breath ! — Hold me still ! 
 — I am sfoins; — now !" and sunk into her sis- 
 ter's arms, a corpse. 
 
 She had desired a little silver purse, being the 
 most valuable thing of the kind she possessed, 
 to be sent after her death to Mr. Richmond, 
 saying, " He has been my best friend on earth ; 
 I wish him to keep it in remembrance of me." 
 
 The preceding narrative may perhaps be 
 considered somewhat of a digression in the 
 present work ; yet as the case was one in 
 which Mr. Richmond felt for some years a 
 deep interest, it has been thought best to insert 
 it. It cannot be read without profit ; and we 
 think there are few readers who will not deem 
 it well worth the space it occupies.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MR. RICHMOND VISITS SCOTLAND ; DEATH OF 
 HIS MOTHER ; SECOND VISIT TO SCOTLAND. 
 
 In the summer of 1818, Mr. Riclimond, ac- 
 companied by his eldest daughter, set out for 
 Scotland, having previously received frequent 
 invitations to visit that country. Of this journey, 
 the immediate object of which was the ad- 
 vancement of the cause of the Jews' Society, 
 we have no other notices than a few letters 
 addressed to various members of his family, 
 from which we take the following extracts : — 
 " Edinburgh, July 17, 1818. 
 
 " My Dear Mary, — The respect, regard, 
 friendship, and affection with which both my- 
 self and my cause are received, in every place, 
 by the religious people in Scotland, constitute 
 a feature in my life never to be forgotten. My 
 whole mind is deeply busied in meditations 
 upon the goodness and love of God. I can 
 hardly expect to interest your mind in all the 
 minuti(B of my hourly intercourse ; but I believe 
 your eyes would be often filled with tears of 
 gratitude, if you saw and heard all which I see 
 and hear.
 
 176 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 " My wish is, that my loved and honoured 
 wife may receive this on our wedding-day. If 
 posts occasion a failure, let the will be accepted 
 for the deed. My desire is to express to you 
 on that day, (an anniversary most dear to my 
 heart,) some little portion of that love and ho- 
 nour which I bear toward you ; and to assure 
 you, that a distance of four hundred miles, and 
 a most active and unceasing train of business, 
 impair not, but rather enhance, the feelings of 
 my heart toward you and our dear children. 
 Scenes, indeed, of a natural, moral, and spiritual 
 character are passing here before me in striking 
 succession, far beyond what I can express ; 
 but I trust they are ripening for domestic good ; 
 and I never felt more than now that great bene- 
 fits to myself and to others are originating in 
 my missionary excursions. God only knows 
 what I have felt on my reception in Scotland, 
 as connected with my tracts and sermons. I 
 am surprised, gratified, and humbled. 
 
 " A leading feature in my late transactions 
 has been derived from visits to Sunday, and 
 other schools, where, after hearing the children 
 examined, I have addressed them. In every 
 instance they have made juvenile collections 
 for the Jewish children. On Sunday last I 
 visited a school of two hundred children. It
 
 LIFE OF LECH RICII.IIOND. 177 
 
 was the half-yearly day for distributing reward 
 books. The sixty most deserving scholars were 
 to receive the ^ Young Cottager' as their re- 
 ward. Three of them had already been bless- 
 ed, some time ago, in hearing it read at school. 
 I was requested to present each child with a 
 tract, as they were successively brought up to 
 me, in presence of about two hundred grown-up 
 persons of all ranks. It was a most solemn 
 and affecting scene. The gentleman who 
 manages the school offered up a most affectino- 
 thanksgiving for the good which had attended 
 the distribution of my tracts throughout Scot- 
 land, and in his school in particular, and for 
 the opportunity now aHbrded of introducing me 
 personally to so many children, ' who had lonn- 
 loved me with all their hearts.' Immediately 
 all the company and all the children suno- a 
 thanksgiving hynm. Then followed what 
 affected me greatly. The children were drawn 
 up m a triple semi-circle, in the centre of which 
 I stood. Each successful candidate success- 
 ively stepped forward and received from my 
 hand a ' Young Cottager,' and from my lips a 
 short exhortation and blessing. Not an eye 
 was dry, and my own with difficulty allowed 
 me to go through the simple and interesting 
 ceremony. One girl, who was two years since 
 13
 
 178 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 converted by God's blessing on the tract, as 
 she approached me, was so affected, that she 
 dropped on her knees and burst into tears." 
 
 "My Dear Fanny, — I was unspeakably 
 gratified at Newcastle, in seeing two little girls, 
 one of ten, the other of twelve, the spiritual 
 fruits of my ' Young Cottager ;' the latter of the 
 two I had not seen before. I never before, 
 except in the case of ' Little Jane' herself, saw 
 so clear and so early an instance of decided 
 grace, and of a truly enlightened mind : you 
 Avould have thought her conversation equal to 
 eighteen at least. I apprehend that I have be- 
 come acquainted with above thirty cases of 
 decided usefulness in youth, from that tract, 
 since I came into the north. O ! what a mer- 
 cy I In this, ' goodness indeed follows me.' 
 
 " My visit to Scotland has been marked by 
 more affection and usefulness than any I ever 
 made ; numerous public and private occurrences 
 overwhelm me with gratitude. The vScottish 
 scenery is of the very first class. Whatever is 
 beautiful, whatever is grand, whatever is wild 
 and romantic, — all are to be found in almost 
 unlimited variety of display. Noble rivers, 
 lakes, and waterfalls, picturesque hills and 
 mountains, lovelv land and ftea views, fine
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 179 
 
 towns and buildings, — all speaking the good- 
 ness, power, and wisdom of God ! The marks 
 of affeclion, regard, and esteem, with which I 
 was received, far exceed what I have ever wit- 
 nessed ; and I have reason to believe much ac- 
 tual good has been done to many individuals, 
 while I was there." 
 
 In the early part of the following year Mr. 
 Richmond lost his mother, who died at Leigh- 
 ton Hall, near Lancaster, on the thirtieth of 
 January, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. 
 He had visited her about three months before, and 
 remarked that she looked more aged, though not 
 complaining; but she expressed her apprehen- 
 sions that they were meeting for the last time. 
 
 Her funeral sermon was preached by her 
 son, who says, in a letter to his daughter, — 
 
 " Mv Dear Fanny, — I am just returned, 
 after executing the difficult and affecting task 
 of preaching a funeral sermon for my most 
 excellent and revered mother, at her parish 
 church. I took my subject from Psalm cxv, 1, 
 as best suited to her humble, meek, and believ- 
 ing frame of mind. It was indeed a trying 
 effort ; but God carried me through surprisingly. 
 Her last message to me was — ' Tell my son, I 
 am going direct to happiness.'
 
 180 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 " Never was there a more delightful and hea- 
 venly countenance than hers, as she lay in her 
 coffin : it combined every sentiment which the 
 most devout mind could desire : love — ^joy — 
 peace — gentleness — goodness — faith — meek- 
 ness — charity, all shone serenely bright. I 
 followed her to her grave, in Lancaster church- 
 yard, where she lies under a sycamore tree, 
 amid the magnificent landscape of sea, mount- 
 ains, rivers, castle and church, around. You 
 remember its high beauties. But you very im- 
 perfectly know the high qualities of head and 
 heart which your grandmamma possessed — I 
 never met with her equal at the same age. I 
 occupy her little room, adjoining her bed-room, 
 by day ; and it is a great consolation to me to 
 sit in her arm-chair and think of her, and read 
 her papers on various subjects. There you and 
 I took leave of her, in November last — but, 
 alas ! her place knoweth her no more ! I look 
 out of the window, at the grand range of snow- 
 capped mountains, which are now beautiful in 
 the extreme. And then I think of my dear mo- 
 ther, and how she enjoyed their characteristic 
 grandeur. 
 
 " Letters pour in daily, from all parts of Eng- 
 land, condoling with us in our great loss. My 
 mother was loved and honoured most exten-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 181 
 
 sively. Dear woman ! for forty-seven years I 
 have proved thy affection, and can trace, from 
 earliest infancy, the tokens of thy worth. May 
 I follow thee in humility, faith, and love ; and 
 cherish thy memory with gratitude and honour!" 
 
 In 1820 Mr. Richmond again visited Scot- 
 land, the object of his journey being the same 
 as that of his previous one, viz., the collection 
 of funds for the Society for promoting Christi- 
 anity among the Jews. From his journals and 
 letters we extract such parts as we judge will 
 prove most interesting to our readers. 
 
 " July 29th. — It would be no easy task to 
 describe the laborious circuit of engagements 
 and accompanying solicitudes, in which I am 
 deeply engaged. Next week I enter the depths 
 of the Highlands, and so far north : if all be 
 well, the w^eek after next I shall reach Staffa, 
 the isle of wonders ; and lona, the isle of caves 
 and kings. Among tl>e spiritual mercies I have 
 this week met with, are three new and distinct 
 instances of the conversions and happy deaths 
 of children in Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock; 
 two, through ' Little Jane.' The wide disper- 
 sion of, and impression connected with, these 
 tracts in Scotland, is scarcely credible. I have, 
 in this respect, seen far beyond ' the travail of
 
 182 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 my soul.' When I reflect upon the simplicity 
 of their origin, and the little idea entertained 
 of their ever going beyond the limited circula- 
 tion of the Christian Guardian, I am sometimes 
 lost in wonder at the success attending their 
 publication. Surely, we may unitedly praise 
 God for his unspeakable mercy to us in this 
 one unexampled instance. 
 
 "August 14th.— Aros, (island of Mull.) In 
 some of these remote islands, where the Gaelic 
 language is chiefly spoken, (though not to the 
 exclusion of the English,) where diff'erent man- 
 ners, dress, habits, dwellings, &c., prevail, it 
 seems difficult to conceive that it is still Bri- 
 tain. I propose this evening to gather a little 
 company of Highland cotters, and to preach to 
 them in a wild glen in this romantic island. 
 The parish church is fifteen miles distant. 
 
 " Yesterday I came from Oban, which is 
 thirty-five miles by sea from this place. I think 
 in our voyage I saw twenty ruined castles, and 
 three inhabited ones, and above twenty-five of 
 the islands of the Hebrides. The intelligent 
 boatmen tell you all manner of ancient legends 
 and histories connected with their ancient mas- 
 ters. They carry you back to the days of 
 Norwegian, Danish, and Irish story. I saw 
 the spot where a part of the Spanish Armada
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 183 
 
 was wrecked; and a gun still remains on a 
 rock, belonging to one of the Spanish ships. 
 
 *'Aiigustl8th. — I have seen Staffa, and write 
 this from Zona. What I shall say, I know not, 
 for really I can say nothing as I ought. When 
 I entered the cave of Fingal,! knew not whether 
 to burst out into one unceasing cry of astonish- 
 ment, meditate in unbroken silence of over- 
 whelming wonder, or fall down upon my knees, 
 in devout adoration of Him who formed such 
 a scene of sublime beauty. It beggars all de- 
 scription. 
 
 ''August 19th. — Set off for a second view of 
 Staffa. No words can describe the whole : we 
 had the afternoon sun upon all the most striking 
 features of this magnificent group. The water 
 was so calm that we went into the great cave 
 in the boat, and thus obtained the finest view 
 possible. We sung a hymn ; it was sweetly 
 
 echoed My travelling friend, Mr. 
 
 P., is of a truly congenial mind, and we have 
 mutual pleasure in using the scenes of nature 
 as means of grace. Returned to lona at eight 
 o'clock. 
 
 " You have seen my prints of Staffa ; but 
 you have not seen them large and solid as the 
 original. The sublimity, beauty, magnificence, 
 singularities, wildness, and overwhelming in-
 
 184 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 iluerice of the whole, quite stop my pen, and my 
 breath, when I attempt either to write or speak 
 on the subject. I have made two separate 
 visits to Staffa^ arid seen it within, and without, 
 with every possible advantage." 
 
 The most interesting part of Mr. Richmond's 
 tour was his visit to the once celebrated island 
 of lona. This island is one of the Hebrides, 
 and is the most noted place of Caledonian an- 
 tiquity. It was formerly a seat of the Druids, 
 some of whose sepulchral remains are still to 
 be seen. Christianity was introduced into the 
 island by St. Columba, after whom it was called 
 I-colm-kill, or Columba's cell. St. Columba 
 came from Ireland to lona in the sixth century, 
 accompanied by twelve of his disciples. He 
 founded a monastery and a college in the island, 
 and made it the seat and centre of literature 
 and piety. Through the missionary labours of 
 the Culdees, as the disciples of Columba were 
 called, the greater part of Scotland was con- 
 verted to the Christian faith ; and they were 
 instrumental in diffusing the blessings of reli- 
 gion and learning in nearly all the countries 
 of Northern Europe. Teachers were frequently 
 drawn from them for seminaries in England, 
 and they undertook missionary expeditions to 
 Norway, and even to Russia. They taught, in
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 185 
 
 a great measure, the principles of primitive 
 Christianity, rejecting both the vows of celiba- 
 cy, and the ceremonies of the Romish Church. 
 The ruins of the ancient edifices of lona, and 
 especially those of its once splendid cathedral, 
 still remain as . memorials of the apostolic 
 labours of Columba, his associates, and suc- 
 cessors, and cannot fail to interest the travel- 
 ler, and to excite the deepest emotion in the 
 heart of the Christian.* 
 
 * It was under the influence of recollections like these, 
 that Dr. Johnson composed the following celebrated pas- 
 sage, which is found in his " Journey to the Western 
 Islands of Scotland : — 
 
 " We were now treading that illustrious island which 
 was once the luminary of the Caledonian regions ; whence 
 savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefit of 
 knowledge and the blessings of religion. To abstract the 
 mind from all local emotion would be impossible if it were 
 endeavoured, and would be foolish if it were possible. 
 Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses ; 
 whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future pre- 
 dominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of 
 thinking beings. Far from me, and from my friends, be 
 such frigid philosophy, as may conduct us, indifferent and 
 unmoved, over any ground which has been dignified by 
 wisdom, bravery, and virtue. The man is little to be en- 
 vied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the 
 plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer 
 among the ruins of lona."
 
 186 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 The burial ground attached to the cathedral 
 is said to contain the remains of forty-eight 
 crowned heads of Scotland ; but this tradition 
 is rather discredited by Dr. Johnson, who says, 
 " lona has long enjoyed, without any very credi- 
 ble attestation, the honour of being the reputed 
 cemetery of the Scottish kings. It is not unlikely 
 that, when the opinion of local sanctity was 
 prevalent, the chieftains of the isles, and per- 
 haps some of the Norwegians and Irish princes, 
 were reposited in this venerable enclosure : but 
 by whom the subterranean vaults are peopled 
 is now unknown ; the graves are very numer- 
 ous, and some of them undoubtedly contain the 
 remains of men who did not expect to be so 
 soon forgotten."* 
 
 The island now contains a population of 
 about four hundred souls : but its ancient glory 
 has long since departed. 
 
 Dr. Johnson, who visited it about seventy 
 years ago, says, " There are only two houses 
 that enjoy the luxury of a chimney, and in one 
 of these it was of little use ; the farmers who 
 possess it make their fire in the middle of the 
 room, and, notwithstanding the dignity of their 
 mansion, they rejoiced like their neighbours in 
 the comforts of smoke. — The inhabitants are 
 * Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 187 
 
 gross and remarkably neglected : I know not 
 that they are visited by any minister. The 
 island, which was once the metropolis of learn- 
 ing and piety, has now no school for education, 
 nor temple for worship ; only two inhabitants 
 that can speak English, and not one that can 
 read or write." 
 
 The state of the island does not appear to 
 have been very greatly improved at this time, 
 as Mr. Richmond found there neither church 
 nor ordinances of religious worship, except in 
 the occasional visits of a Scotch minister from 
 an adjacent island ; and the appointment of a 
 schoolmaster, who assembled the children in a 
 rude building.* 
 
 We now resume our extracts from Mr. Rich- 
 mond's journals and letters. 
 
 " August 20, Sunday. — I am just preparing 
 to preach to as many of these poor islanders as 
 can understand English, in the open air. A 
 rock my pulpit, and heaven my sounding- 
 board ; may the echo resound to their hearts. 
 * By the following passage of a letter of Bishop Meade, 
 who visited Scotland in 1841, it appears that the same 
 schoolmaster was at that time still living and exercising 
 his vocation at lona. The bishop says, " For fifty years 
 one man has been the schoolmaster and minister, until 
 very recently, when the government, in pity, provided him 
 some help in his old age."
 
 188 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 I trust that some good will result from this visit. 
 This will more than repay the delay occasioned 
 in my journey, by this most interesting excur- 
 sion to the Hebrides. It will somewhat lengthen 
 my journey and time ; but I feel a persuasion 
 that my own soul and those of others are to 
 profit by it. 
 
 " Went at eleven to the school-house, and 
 gave a service. I preached to a large company 
 of these poor lonians, from 2 Cor. v. — At four 
 gave another service, preaching from Luke xxiv, 
 47. At half-past six gave a third, chiefly to the 
 children. The last, by the schoolmaster inter- 
 preting in Gaelic, sentence by sentence. 
 
 " Passed a most comfortable evening, in con- 
 versation with these worthy lonians. Surely 
 I have learned much here ! A day to be re- 
 membered. I hope to raise a sufficient sub- 
 scription to build a new school-house for lona." 
 
 In the interval between the morning and 
 afternoon services Mr. Richmond . spent two 
 hours alone, in solemn and peaceful meditation, 
 amid the ruins and graves of the cathedral. 
 Writing to Mrs. Richmond on the same day, he 
 says, " You may tell Willy, I knelt down upon 
 the graves of ancient monarchs, mouldering in 
 the dust, and prayed God to * remember him 
 for good ;' to make him a holy and happy be-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 189 
 
 ing, both in time and eternity. I asked of the 
 Lord, that my child might share in the Chris- 
 tian privileges, character, and literature of the 
 once renowned Christian divines of lona, the 
 missionaries and theologians of a primitive pe- 
 riod, on whose ashes I was treading; I prayed 
 that if (and only if) his heart were rightly di- 
 rected, God would make him a minister of 
 Christ's church on earth ; but that he might 
 never enter on the sacred office, if likely to be 
 a careless, carnal, unconverted servant of the 
 sanctuary. My heart was full of holy freedom, 
 as I offered up a father's petition on the birth- 
 day of my child." 
 
 The kindness of Mr. Richmond's heart ren- 
 dered it a peculiar pleasure to him to be the 
 means of imparting happiness to others. It 
 seemed to be his constant aim "to instruct 
 by pleasing ;" and he entered into every inno- 
 cent feeling of children, and readily shared 
 their recreations. The school at lona particu- 
 larly interested him ; and he soon gained on the 
 children's affections, who listened to his instruc- 
 tions with confiding simplicity. During his 
 stay in the island he rewarded their diligent 
 attendance with a public entertainment. The 
 best sheep to be found in the island was pur- 
 chased for the sum of six shillings. But a dif-
 
 190 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ficulty arose on the occasion, — there was fuel 
 to roast it, but the whole domain could not sup- 
 ply the necessary apparatus for its dissection. 
 The children assembled on shore, and picked up 
 shells, to answer the purpose of knives and forks. 
 How interesting a scene ! Two hundred 
 children and their parents, assembled on the 
 sea-shore, — every countenance beaming with 
 delight ! The hearts of the guests might be 
 full of joy in the novelty of the amusement, and 
 in the hospitality of their benefactor ; but the 
 master of the feast, amidst the wreck of great- 
 ness, the tombs of the mighty dead, and the 
 anticipation of the revival of former piety among 
 these remote islanders, would taste the higher 
 luxury of doing good. 
 
 At the conclusion of the festivity, all sung 
 the following hymn, which Mr. Richmond, in 
 the glow of his benevolent feelings, had com- 
 posed on the spot, and which was interpreted 
 by the schoolmaster : — 
 " Thou God of all grace, O omnipotent Lord, 
 Fill our hearts with the power of thy soul-saving word I 
 Have mercy, Jehovah ! and be it thy will 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 Thy Spirit came once on the wings of a ' dove,' 
 And proved to our fathers how great was thy love : 
 Have mercy again, Lord ! and be it thy will 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill !
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 191 
 
 M^hen idolatrous Druids polluted the land, 
 To banish them hence thou didst stretch forth thy hand : 
 Thou art still the same Lord ; and ! be it thy will 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 
 On thee all our hope, in our poverty, stays — 
 
 Revive, Lord, thy work, in the midst of the days ; 
 
 We will trust thee, O Lord ! then be it thy will 
 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 
 Though remote be our dwelling and humble our lot, 
 
 Yet our God has a blessing for each little cot : 
 
 Have mercy, dear Saviour ! and be it thy will 
 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 
 May our breasts feel the power of the blood that was shed, 
 
 "When Christ on the cross for our sins ' bovv'd his head ;' 
 
 May that blood be our trust ; and ! be it thy will 
 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 
 Bless our parents and teachers, and make it their joy 
 In seeking our welfare their time to employ ; 
 O ! bless their instructions ; and be it thy will 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill ! 
 
 Nov*? hear our petition, God of the Isles : 
 That we all may partake of thy heavenly smiles : 
 In life and in death be thou merciful still. 
 And save the poor children of Icolumbkill I 
 
 And at the last day, when our bodies shall rise. 
 To behold the great Saviour and Judge in the skies — 
 Then let it be known 'twas thy pleasure and will 
 To save the poor children of Icolumbkill !" 
 
 On one occasion, when Mr. Richmond was 
 preaching in the school-house, he adverted to
 
 192 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the Jewish mission. The hum of the children 
 was heard, " We will give, we will give !" 
 Some persons present attempted to check their 
 zeal, and keep silence, but all voices were 
 raised in reply — " The bairns will have it — 
 the bairns will have it !" meaning the children 
 icould make a collection : and they presented 
 to him the sum of £2 Os. 9c?.* If not all their 
 living, yet a magnificent offering to Him whose 
 grace had touched their hearts and inspired 
 their zeal. Of these poor islanders it might be 
 truly said, " Their deep poverty abounded unto 
 the riches of their liberality." 
 
 The impression made on the people of lona 
 by Mr. Richmond's visit, appears from the fol- 
 lowing anecdote. He had hired a boat and two 
 sailors, to take him to Fingal's Cave, a place 
 of great curiosity, and of which he never spoke 
 without the deepest emotion. On his return, 
 he asked the boatmen what he had to pay them. 
 But they refused to accept any remuneration ; 
 and though he urged them to name their charge, 
 
 * Equal to about ten dollars. This seems a large sum 
 for so poor a place as lona, but we have the authority of 
 Mr. Richmond's journal for the fact ; where it is also 
 stated, that he repeatedly declined accepting the boon, but 
 the islanders forced it upon him, as a testimony of regard 
 to him and to his cause.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 193 
 
 they firmly persisted in their resolution ; looked 
 at him with tears in their eyes, and exclaiming, 
 " No, no, no, sir. Love has brought you to 
 lona, and love shall find you a boat." 
 
 Mr. Richmond, before he quitted this inte- 
 resting scene of his labours, addressed the chil- 
 dren ; about two hundred of whom were pre- 
 sent. The master desired that as many as 
 wished to thank their benefactor for his kind- 
 ness to them would lift up their hands. All 
 raised their hands above their heads. " Is this 
 from your hearts ?" said the master. Instantly 
 one hand was laid on their hearts, the other re- 
 maining up : " and in this posture," says Mr. 
 Richmond, in his journal, " the dear children 
 stood, while I gave them a parting blessing. It 
 was a most touching sight," 
 
 He left lona amidst the tears of its popula- 
 tion, nearly the whole of whom attended him 
 to the sea-shore, with the most lively demon- 
 strations of gratitude and love. " Farewell," 
 he observes, " dear, interesting lona. May I 
 think much and profitably on my visit, and on 
 what I saw and enjoyed there." 
 
 Writing to his daughter Fanny, he says, 
 
 " No words can express the deep and affecting 
 
 interest excited by the ruins and associations 
 
 of this island. I slept four nights therein, in a 
 
 ]?,
 
 194 LIFE OF LEGH RICH3I0ND. 
 
 little hut, such as you never saw, amid the ve- 
 nerable ruins of all the great literary and reli- 
 gious establishments of ancient days, when 
 Zona was the fountain of learning and piety to 
 all Europe. I preached thrice on Sunday to 
 such a group of poor islanders, in such a poor 
 place as you cannot easily conceive. — Never 
 did I see such a sight, or feel such a feeling 
 before." 
 
 To Mr. Richmond's visit, lona is indebted 
 for a new school-house. Before he quitted this 
 island he had formed a plan for raising by sub- 
 scription the means of building it ; and when 
 he returned to Edinburgh he made an appeal to 
 the public ; from which we extract the follow- 
 ing passage : — 
 
 " Divine service is performed in lona, by the 
 minister, four times a year. There is a school 
 in lona, under the charge of a pious master, 
 who receives a salary from the Society for pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge in the Highlands 
 and Islands of Scotland. This schoolmaster 
 reads a sermon to several of the inhabitants, 
 every sabbath-day ; but the house appropriated 
 to the purpose of the school is in so ruinous a 
 state, and so very unsuitable to the design, in 
 regard to size, light, and general convenience, 
 that neither the education of the children nor
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 195 
 
 the instruction of the adults, can be carried on 
 with advantage. The inhabitants of this remote 
 island are four hundred and fifty in number. In 
 the hope of promoting their religious and moral 
 welfare, it is proposed to raise a subscription 
 for the purpose of building a very plain, but 
 commodious school-room, for the instruction of 
 the islanders. The tenants and cotters are too 
 poor to raise a subscription among themselves, 
 although they are desirous that such a house 
 should be built, and will assist in the carting 
 and carrying of the materials to the place. 
 ' Gold and silver they have none ; but such as 
 they have they will give to the cause.' The 
 schoolmaster is much esteemed among them, 
 and has been the instrument of considerable 
 usefulness to the inhabitants ; and there is 
 every reason to believe that the accommodation 
 thus proposed will, if carried into execution, 
 greatly increase it. The requisite steps will 
 be taken to ensure the permanent appropriation 
 of the building to the purpose for which the 
 subscription is raised. It is estimated that .£90 
 [about $430] will be adequate to the accom- 
 plishment of the plan." 
 
 When Mr. Richmond had raised about jGTO 
 toward this object, he opened a communication 
 with the duke of Argyle, who was the proprie-
 
 196 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 tor of the island. The duke, it appears, chose 
 to erect the proposed building at his own ex- 
 pense ; and the money which had already been 
 subscribed was appropriated in some other 
 manner, for the moral and religious benefit of 
 the islanders. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's journal abounds with the 
 most grateful recollections, and honourable 
 mention of his friends in Scotland, who had 
 liberally and generously aided the missions he 
 had come to advocate. The travelling, too, 
 had contributed much to his general health and 
 strength, and altogether he had been much gra- 
 tified with his visit. 
 
 During one of his visits to Scotland Mr. 
 Richmond left his eldest daughter a while un- 
 der the care of a friend who resided near Glas- 
 gow. While there an attachment was formed 
 between her and the Rev. James Marshall, a 
 Presbyterian clergyman, which meeting the 
 approbation of her father, they were united in 
 marriage in the spring of 1822. On the day 
 of their marriage Mr. Richmond addressed to 
 his daughter a letter containing counsels for 
 her guidance in the new and responsible rela- 
 tion upon which she had entered.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOM:). 191 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MR. RICHMOND REVISITS THE ISLE OF WIGHT; 
 EXCURSION TO IRELAND. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was a zealous and perse- 
 vering friend of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, an institution whose object was to dis- 
 pense the bread of life to every nation under 
 heaven. To eflect this grand enterprise of 
 Christian benevolence, men of all ranks and 
 denominations, laying aside party distinctions, 
 met on common ground, and exhibited a union 
 hitherto unknown in the annals of Christen- 
 dom ; — a union of all hands and of all hearts ; 
 holy in its character, and yielding the fruits of 
 righteousness and peace. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's public labours in the cause 
 of the Bible Society were rather occasional 
 than regular, (his tours being chiefly taken for 
 the benefit of the Church Missionary and Jew- 
 ish Societies,) but his services were willingly 
 offered whenever opportunities occurred. He 
 usually attended the annual meetings of its aux- 
 iliaries within his own neighbourhood ; and 
 frequently made A^oluntary excursions to assist 
 in the formation of branch societies.
 
 198 LIFE OF Li:an Richmond. 
 
 In August, 1822, he was appointed by the 
 parent society in London, to accompany Dr. 
 Steinkopff, one of their secretaries, to Chiches- 
 ter, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of 
 Wight. The recollections of his former resi- 
 dence were too strongly associated with all 
 the early events of his ministry, not to render 
 the proposal highly acceptable to him. We 
 give the following passages, from his jour- 
 nals and letters written during this tour, in 
 which he was accompanied by one of his 
 daughters : — 
 
 "August 27, 1822. — Saw views of the Isle 
 of Wight. What associations crowd upon my 
 heart ! Arrived at Portsmouth. Joyfully and 
 affectionately received by my old friends, Mr. 
 and Mrs. T. Talked over old times about the 
 Isle of Wight, Brading, Bembridge, &c. 
 
 " I entreat thee, O my God, to sanctify this 
 season to my soul and to the souls of others ! 
 May this visit be a blessing. Time is going 
 on — eternity is at hand. Strengthen my heart, 
 head, and tongue, and keep me from evil. 
 
 "August 28. — Went to the Bible meeting. 
 Well supported. Good feeling. Proceeded to 
 Southampton Profitable conversation with Dr. 
 S. on the necessity of retirement and prayer, 
 in the midst of public and official duties.
 
 IIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 199 
 
 *•' Lord, guide me in this pilgrimage ! Keep 
 my heart — give me judgment — direct my tongue 
 — preserve me from sin ! 
 
 "August 29, — Went to the Bible meeting 
 at Southampton. I told the miner's story.* A 
 poor widow brought an interesting girl, about 
 eighteen, to acknowledge with tears of grateful 
 affection how much she was indebted to the 
 tract of ' The Young Cottager' for a change 
 of heart and hope. She showed a simplicity 
 of character that affected me greatly. Pro- 
 ceeding to Newport, I am once more in the 
 Isle of Wight; God bless this visit. My heart 
 yearns over this spot. Lord, sanctify all things 
 to me and to thy children ! 
 
 "August 30. — Newport. Met Robert Wall- 
 
 * The story to which he alludes is very affecting. In 
 one of the Newcastle collieries, thirty-five men and forty- 
 one boys died by suffocation, or were starved to death. 
 One of the boys was found dead, with a Bible by his side, 
 and a tin box such as the colliers use. Within the lid he 
 had contrived to engrave, with the point of a nail, this last 
 message to his mother : — " Fret not, my dear mothex-, for 
 we are singing the praises of God while we have time. 
 Mother, follow God more than ever I did. Joseph, think 
 of God, and be kind to poor mother." Mr. Richmond 
 brought the box from the north, and in his mode of com- 
 municating this affecting incident, used to awaken feelings 
 of the most lively interest. — London YoutWs Magazine, 
 vol. vii, page 24.
 
 200 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 bridge, and talked about his sister and father. 
 Attended the Bible meetincr. The Brading 
 pulpit is offered me for Sunday morning. 
 
 "August 31. — ^Set out with my daughter 
 Fanny, and went through Brading to Mr. L.'s 
 cottage at Sandown. All the way felt strong 
 associations. Every tree, hedge, gate, house, 
 revived them. Returned through Brading. Was 
 much affected on reading many grave-stones — 
 so many that I once well knew! Drank tea 
 with the curate. I felt much while sitting in 
 the Brading vicarage parlour, — so many do- 
 mestic recollections. Returned to Ryde. 
 
 "September 1. — Sunday. Went after break- 
 fast to Brading. Before church saw many 
 friends, who most affectionately greeted me. 
 Preached from Psalm viii, 4, ' What is man, 
 that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, 
 that thou visitest him V Church most crowded. 
 I was much affected by the whole scene. After 
 many interesting circumstances went to Ryde, 
 and preached there in the afternoon. At eight 
 went to Bank Cottage, where a multitude heard 
 me pray, and expound John vii, 37, ' In the last 
 day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood, and 
 cried, saying. If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto me and drinkJ How many gave me the 
 affectionate right hand of fellowship!
 
 LIFE OF-LEGH IIICHMOXD. 
 
 201 
 
 " Sept. 2. — Went to Brading. Showed Jane's 
 cottage to Fanny. Called on numbers of peo- 
 
 ple. Much friendly and kind reception at 
 Brading : religious and devotional feeling in 
 every direction. 
 
 " Sept. 5. — A day much to be remembered. 
 After breakfast went with Mr. Butterworth, &c., 
 to distribute tracts, according to promise, at 
 Bembridge Point, to which I had invited all the 
 population of Bembridge. More than five hun- 
 dred men, women, and children came down to
 
 202 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the sea-shore, where I sat upon a rock, and I 
 gave to each a tract and a blessing. It was a 
 scene full of deep and trying affection. Such 
 meetings, welcomes, congratulations, smiles, 
 tears, salutations from some hundreds of per- 
 sons ! 1 can never describe it, or think of it, 
 without ardent feelings. 
 
 " Had many proofs of past usefulness. God 
 bless this day to me and many ! Dined at six, 
 with a Christian party. Expounded the twenty- 
 third Psalm. 
 
 " Sept. 9. — Visited Robert Wallbridge and 
 Mrs. A. Had much useful conversation about 
 the dairyman's daughter. She gave me a lock 
 of her hair. We went to Arreton church, and 
 visited her grave. 
 
 "Sept. 12. — A day much to be remembered. 
 On this day twenty-five years since I first read 
 Mr. Wilberforce's book on Christianity, in my 
 little study, in the vicarage house at Brading ; 
 and thence and then my first serious, and, I 
 hope, saving impressions ! 
 
 " A memorial stone was this day put up over 
 the grave of little Jane, the young cottager — 
 my first convert and seal in Brading. Multi- 
 tudes attended — old and young, from all the 
 vicinity. Her parents bent weeping over the 
 grave. What did I not feel ! We then ad-
 
 LIFE or LEGH RICHMOND, 203 
 
 journed to the cottage where she lived and 
 died, and I distributed a number of ' Young 
 Cottager' tracts to the inhabitants and neigh- 
 bourhood, who came in throngs to receive 
 them. A truly affecting scene !" 
 
 On this stone was placed the following epi- 
 taph, from the pen of Mr. Richmond : — 
 
 " Ye who delight the power of God to trace, 
 And mark with joy each monument of grace, 
 Tread hghtly o'er this grave as you explore 
 * The short and simple annals of the poor !' 
 A child reposes underneath this sod, 
 A child to memory dear, and dear to God : 
 Rejoice, yet shed the sympathetic tear, 
 Jane, the ' Young Cottager,' lies buried here." 
 
 "Sept. 18. — A stone was this day put up for 
 the dairyman's daughter, in Arreton churchyard." 
 
 On each of the preceding occasions some 
 hundreds of persons attended, to whom copies 
 of the tracts respecting the deceased were dis- 
 tributed. " It was," says Mr. Richmond, " a 
 time of great feeling. Some were there weep- 
 ing with gratitude, in having been brought to 
 God through the reading of those very tracts." 
 " Sept. 19. — Portsmouth. A nursery girl, 
 who lived with me at the time of my leaving 
 the island, is come fifty-five miles on foot, on 
 purpose to see me here, and to thank me as the
 
 204 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 instrument of her conversion, while she was 
 my servant ; and to-morrow she sets out to 
 walk fifty-five miles back again. I did not 
 at that time know she was under any religious 
 impressions. She was then fifteen years old. 
 God be praised for his mercies. 
 
 " I left the island yesterday, with strong feel- 
 ing. I preach here on Sunday, and above thirty 
 persons arrived from the Isle of Wight, to see 
 me once more, and to say, ' Farewell in the 
 Lord.' " 
 
 On his return to Turvey he writes thus to a 
 highly respected friend, Mr. John Wheeler, one 
 of his old parishioners in the Isle of Wight : — 
 
 " The remembrance of the days and hours 
 which we spent together in the Isle of Wight 
 is very refreshing to me. I hope that the nu- 
 merous meetings which we enjoyed, have been 
 profitable to not a few of those who assembled 
 together. My daughter and I frequently look 
 back upon the two days passed at Bembridge 
 and Brading, when the tracts were distributed, 
 and the grave-stone put up, with such affection 
 and gratitude, I think they will never be for- 
 gotten by many. I did feel a lively hope, that 
 so much seed would not be sown in vain, and 
 that the Lord would give a blessing to such
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 205 
 
 means as I trusted he had put into our hearts 
 to employ. My affections for the island are 
 founded upon many of those circumstances 
 which you will remember in our younger 
 days. It was there that my own heart was 
 first made acquainted with the infinite value 
 of immortal souls, and of the difficult office of 
 a Christian minister. It was there that those 
 means of grace were enjoyed, which have been 
 since felt and remembered by some, as * times 
 of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.' 
 It was there that I met with the dairyman's 
 daughter, the negro servant, and the young 
 cottager, and with my respected friend, John 
 Wheeler. These, and many more events, bind 
 my heart to the place with very tender ties. 
 When you see our friends at Bembridge, tell 
 them how much I feel toward them. Some of 
 them are the children of my early ministry ; 
 others are their children ; and others again 
 have been brought to the knowledge of the 
 truth, through the Lord's blessing upon instruc- 
 tions established and blessed when I first knew 
 them. These are strong ties for spiritual re- 
 gard. I pray, my dear friend, that you may 
 grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the 
 Lord. He that has accompanied you thus far 
 in your way, \/ill not leave nor forsake you.
 
 206 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 He is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for 
 ever. Cast your care upon him, for he careth 
 for you. The promise is to you, and to your 
 children, and to as many as are afar off, whom 
 the Lord shall call. Let me hear from you 
 soon. May grace, peace, and mercy, be with 
 you and yours. Pray for me and mine, and 
 believe me, faithfully and affectionately, your 
 friend in Christ, L. Richmond." 
 
 In 1823 Mr. Richmond, having occasion to 
 visit his daughter in Scotland, availed himself 
 of the opportunity to make a short excursion to 
 the north of Ireland. Of this journey we have 
 no other particulars than are contained in a 
 letter addressed to a friend at Turvey, and 
 which contains nothing of general interest.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH OF WILBERFORCE, MR. 
 RICHMOND'S SECOND SON. 
 
 The course of our narrative will now render 
 it necessary to give a somewhat extended no- 
 tice of Mr. Richmond's second son, who about 
 this time began to exhibit symptoms of that 
 disease which after a long and lingering illness 
 terminated his earthly existence. 
 
 This youth, who was named WJlberforce, 
 after the author of the book which was the 
 means of leading Mr. Richmond to a more per- 
 fect acquaintance with the plan of salvation, 
 was born in 1807. His constitution was natu- 
 rally delicate, and was probably rendered more 
 so by an accident which happened to him in 
 his infancy, and occasioned him to be lame 
 ever after. 
 
 Being thus incapacitated for the usual recre- 
 ations of boyhood, he applied himself with the 
 greater diligence to his studies, in which he 
 made more than ordinary proficiency. His 
 chief pleasures and recreations were in the 
 study; and he would employ himself in making 
 experiments in natural philosophy, or in read-
 
 208 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ing some book of science, while his brothers 
 were engaged in their sports. He was always 
 his father's companion in his literary and phi- 
 losophical pursuits ; and a congeniality of mind 
 and pursuits occasioned so strong an attach- 
 ment between them that the one seemed to be 
 almost an integral part of the other. Mr. Rich- 
 mond had a peculiar talent for connecting sci- 
 ence with religion, and Wilberforce seemed, 
 more than his other children, to afford him ma- 
 terials for successful cultivation. 
 
 From his childhood Wilberforce seems to 
 have been of a serious turn of mind, and he had 
 ever a strong desire to become a minister of 
 the gospel ; but as yet he had manifested no 
 evidence of that change of heart, which Mr. 
 Richmond justly considered as indispensable in 
 every individual aspiring to so responsible an 
 office as that of an ambassador from God to a 
 guilty world. Much as he desired to see his 
 son in the ministry, he has been heard to say 
 that he would rather follow him to the grave 
 than that he should assume so sacred an office 
 without being graciously qualified for it ; he 
 therefore felt the more solicitous that he should 
 possess a piety the most decided and unequi- 
 vocal. 
 
 The following extract from a letter written
 
 LIVE OF LECiH RICHMOND, 209 
 
 by Wiiberforce, in answer to one from his father, 
 on the subject which lay nearest the heart of 
 both, will give some idea of his spiritual state 
 at this period : — 
 
 " I have thought and considered a great deal 
 on the contents of your last letter ; I read it, I 
 assure you, with many tears, but they were 
 fears of love to you, and of sorrow that I fell so 
 far short of your v/islies and reasonable expect- 
 ations. You say you wish me first to be a true 
 Christian, and th'en a true minister ; believe 
 me, when I say, that though it is the first, the 
 nearest, and the dearest wish of my heart, I 
 would not have a desire, not the slightest de- 
 sire of entering the church in an unfit state of 
 mind. I would rather engage in the meanest 
 occupation pf life, than be a disgrace to the re- 
 ligion of Christ, by entering into the holy pro- 
 fession while I am uiifit for it. When I lock 
 at the apostles of old, and mark how full they 
 were of love to Christ and their fellovz-creatures; 
 or when I look to good men of our own day 
 who tread in tlieir steps, I shrink from assuming 
 a jjrofession for v^diich I cannot but knov/ my- 
 self most unv^'ortliy. I am conscious of being 
 a great sinner, and 1 seem to myself utterly 
 incompetent to be more than an humble disciple 
 in ihc church of God. But I know that the 
 14
 
 210 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 blood of Jesus Chri&t cleanseth from all sin, 
 and hi& Spirit can enable me, sinful as I am, 
 to love and serve him. I have much to be 
 thankful for. I ought to be thankful that I am 
 permitted to think about these things. At times 
 I have felt very happy in prayer and reading 
 the Scriptures. My joy has been such, that I 
 seemed ready not only to love God, but give up 
 all the world for his sake ; then again the cares 
 and pleasures of life have laid hold of me, and 
 sunk me into sorrow. 
 
 " Pray for me, my dear father, that my waver- 
 ing mind may be fixed in the paths of truth, 
 and may choose that better part, which, when 
 once obtained, shall never be taken away from 
 me ; and may God direct me to that profession 
 of life, in which I may most promote his glory, 
 and my own good, and that of my fellow-crea- 
 tures." 
 
 The above was written in 1823, when Wil- 
 berforce was sixteen years of age. He was just 
 beginning to unfold a fine understanding, and 
 his intellectual attainments were very superior 
 for his age. His mind had been cultivated with 
 much care; and the same degree of taste and 
 delicacy of feeling so prominent in Mr. Rich- 
 mond's character, seemed likewise to mark that 
 of his cherished boy. There was a strong affi-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 211 
 
 nity in their characters, and they were tenderly 
 endeared to each other. Wilberforce was now 
 preparing for college, and sanguine in the hope 
 that he might distinguish himself; and his 
 father was looking forward with deep interest 
 to this period. 
 
 In the spring of the following year his friends 
 began to be alarmed about his health. He took 
 cold from a wet ride, and a slight cough suc- 
 ceeded. One morning in the month of May he 
 began to spit blood, and exhibited symptoms 
 of having ruptured a blood vessel. Mr. Rich- 
 mond's fears were greatly awakened, as appears 
 from a note in one of his papers : — 
 
 " As I looked on him that morning I felt a 
 shock which seemed to shatter me to the very 
 soul, and I have never recovered it." 
 
 In a short time his appearance was consider- 
 ably altered, his spirits were depressed, and 
 symptoms of a consumptive nature gradually 
 developed themselves. A journey to Scotland 
 was recommended, with a view to consult Dr. 
 Stewart, whose method of treating pulmonary 
 disease was supposed to have succeeded in 
 many instances. It was hoped that the benefits 
 of his advice, with the effects of a sea voyage, 
 and change of air, might possibly arrest the 
 progress of the insidious disorder.
 
 212 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOXD. 
 
 When this journey was first proposed Mr. 
 Richmond was greatly agitated, the more so 
 because it Vv-as impossible that at that time he 
 should accompany him, and he dreaded even a 
 short separation from his beloved child. His 
 feelings will be best shown by the following ex- 
 tract of a letter written at the time : — 
 
 " St. Ncots, Monday night. 
 
 " My Ever-dear Love, — No one knows, or 
 ever can know, the anxiety which I have felt 
 on our dear child's account. Little as it may 
 have been perceived, I have been inwardly 
 agitated beyond expression, and this must apo- 
 logize for any weakness or inconsistency of 
 which I have been guilty. God only knows 
 what I have suffered. I have been taken by 
 surprise. The alarming symptoms in the dis- 
 ease of our beloved child have awakened a 
 thousand feelings and fears. I have reflected 
 on his bodily, but much more acutely on his 
 spiritual state. I have been unwilling to sepa- 
 rate from him under all the probable, or at least 
 possible, contingencies of the disorder. I have 
 wept and trembled. I have mourned over my 
 past deficiencies toward him. I have had my 
 hopes, not being ignorant of the exercises of 
 his mind for j^ears past. Yet I have had my 
 fears, lest he should have fallen from his first
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOXD. ^ 213 
 
 love, and lest his literary pursuits. should have 
 weaned his heart from God. For more than a 
 year past, I have hourly meditated on the course 
 of his education and preparation for the sacred 
 ministry. He has been the star of my hopes, 
 the source of my anxieties. I have anticipated 
 with exquisite, though unuttered joy and hope, 
 his entrance on the glorious work of preaching 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ, and I have 
 also been full of anxiety in a view of the falls 
 and disappointments which yearly occur amidst 
 the contaminations and injurious companionship 
 of a college career. Yet I have never ceased 
 to hope that God will work with him and by 
 him. My declining years have been cheered 
 by associations connected with my interesting 
 boy; but the Lord now sees good, — and blessed 
 be his name, — to hang a dark curtain between 
 me and all these thoughts and visions. Hence 
 I am sometimes fearful, sad, and heavy. 
 
 " I see fully the necessity and propriety of 
 the proposed journey, but I doubt his strength 
 and ability to encounter the fatigue and trial 
 inseparable from it. Chiefly I dread being ab- 
 sent from him when heart and strength may 
 fail, and I may only see him again, .sinking into 
 the grave, unaided, unstrengthened, unblessed 
 by his affectionate father.
 
 214 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 " I have many fears mingled with the hope 
 of his recovery. I feel very anxious from day 
 to day. May God overrule all these things 
 for the good of each of us. Give my love to 
 all, and an especial blessing to Willy.* 
 
 "Your affectionate L. R." 
 
 On the morning of the day fixed for his de- 
 parture Wilberforce was very silent. It was 
 his first separation from the parental roof, and 
 his mind became deeply aflfected when the 
 parting hour arrived, and he was to bid farewell 
 to his beloved mother, to brothers and sisters, 
 to the home of his infancy, and to almost every 
 person, place, and thing with which he had been 
 accustomed to associate happiness. The agita- 
 tion of his feelings increased the weakness of 
 his frame ; he looked pale and languid ; a pain- 
 ful contrast to the smile which usually played 
 on his countenance. 
 
 Mr. Richmond followed his son in the course 
 of a fortnight. During the interval of separa- 
 tion he corresponded with him, and endeavour- 
 ed, but without success, to draw from him an 
 unreserved communication respecting his spi- 
 ritual state, that he might satisfy himself more 
 
 * The name by which Wilberforce was usually called 
 in the family.
 
 LIFE OF LEliU RICHMOND, 215 
 
 fully of the reality of his piety, of which he 
 had some doubts, amidst many hopes. 
 
 When he joined his son in Scotland, the lat 
 ter looked much better ; the voyage had agreed 
 well v/ith him, and their meeting inspired reci- 
 procal feelings of hope and joy. He engaged 
 a, cottage in the isle of Bute, at a convenient 
 distance from the physician's residence ; and 
 from thence they made frequent excursions 
 both by sea and land. For a few weeks Wil- 
 berforce was in good spirits, and apparently 
 mendings and his father did not yet despair of 
 his recovery. The following are extracts from 
 two letters, written about this time to the family 
 at home ; the former was addressed to Mrs. 
 Richmond, the latter to his curate : — 
 
 " My Dear Love, — Here we are in some- 
 thing like an earthly paradise, if beauty, subli- 
 mity, and diversity of scenery, may constitute 
 one. The air is most salubrious^ the rides de- 
 lightful. I am glad to say the country agrees 
 well with Wilberforce, who is stronger and in 
 better spirits than I could have expected. He 
 varies occasionally, but suffers little at any 
 time. There is certainly an improvement The 
 northern experiment has so far answered that 
 it has cheered his spirits and afforded hira re-
 
 218 LIFE OF LEGH RICPIMOND. 
 
 creation a^d change of air. I have frequent 
 hopes of his amendment. We have therefore 
 reason for gratitude, Avhatever may be the in- 
 scrutable designs of Providence. My mind re- 
 poses with thankfulness on the goodness of 
 God, amidst a thousand anxieties respecting 
 my dear boy. We are constant companions, 
 and have much Christian intercourse together. 
 We pass daily the ho^r after breakfast in reli- 
 gious exercises. I trust we are going on use- 
 fully and prosperously. I think I am in my 
 right place and employment, watching, instruct- 
 ing, nursing, and giving myself wholly to the 
 comfort of my boy under his infirmities and 
 vicissitudes. His cough is troublesome twice 
 or thrice in the day. He pursues a bracing 
 system, and a generous diet. To what extent 
 the disease may be preying on the vitals, I dare 
 not conjecture. His present state and appear- 
 ance are certainly satisfactory, but the com- 
 plaint is variable and flattering, and I must re- 
 joice with trembling. O ! for a quiet, recon- 
 ciled, patient, waiting mind ! L. R." 
 
 "My Dear Friend and Brother, — During 
 many an hour, as I have been floating on the 
 waves, pacing the mountains and glens, ad- 
 miring the islands and the rocks, tracing the
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. ' 217 
 
 progress of sun or moon upon the ocean or 
 landscape, and amidst all, fixing an anxious and 
 afiectionate look upon our dear invalid as he 
 sat by my side ; have I dwelt with solicitude 
 and regard on the domestic and parochial 
 scenery of Turvey, — where my poor boy was 
 born and trained up with brothers and sisters 
 no less loved than himself. Our intercourse, 
 and conversations under existing circumstances, 
 are deeply interesting to me. He is upon the 
 whole in cheerful spirits, and the air of this 
 delightful island particularly suits him. I am 
 just returned from a hill walk with him, of a 
 mile and a half, and have been surprised at the 
 degree of strength which he evinced. The 
 general symptoms are just now, I think, more 
 favourable. Still there are evident marks of 
 deep-rooted disease, and I am often much per- 
 plexed by the fluctuations in his case. It is 
 one in which I feel it wrong either to encour- 
 age over-sanguine expectations of permanent 
 amendment, or to give way to any over-despond- 
 ing sensations as to the result. Happily he is 
 without pain, and in many respects he enjoys 
 himself. He delights in the scenery around 
 us, which is in the highest degree magnificent 
 and beautiful. He enters with his wonted taste 
 into mineral and geological examinations, and
 
 218 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 wanders gently by the sea-side, hunting for 
 pebbles, animals, shells, sea-weed, &c., and I 
 wander with him. Sometimes a little exertion 
 fatigues him, at other times he bears considera- 
 bly more Avithout complaining. He has been 
 a thousand miles on the water since we left 
 London, and sailing always agrees with him. 
 I have every reason to be satisfied with the 
 plan we are pursuing. It much contributes to 
 his strength and comfort, and peace of mind ; 
 and, to say the least, has checked the weaken- 
 ing effects of the disorder, and mingled en- 
 couragement with apprehensions which might 
 otherwise have gained daily ground. He is 
 evidently thinking very seriously and rightly 
 about his state, and our Christian conversation 
 forms no small part of my comfort, and I trust 
 I may add, of his comfort also. Whatever may 
 be God's will, I feel satisfied that the present 
 dispensation is profitable to us both. 
 
 " Wilberforce thanks you for your kind let- 
 ter. I hope he will soon feel able to answer 
 it. Dear boy! — he talks with hope of returning 
 to Turvey with amended health, and telling 
 you in person how much he enjoyed the scenery 
 of the north. Pray for him and me, that we 
 may lay in our heavenly Fathers bosom like 
 children, and wait his pleasure like believers.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 219 
 
 You will not forget the other dear boys, — they 
 are in your hands for good, and may God bless 
 you to them all. Believe me, yours affection- 
 ately, L. R." 
 
 One of Mr. Richmond's daughters, who was 
 the companion of her father and brother in this 
 visit, says, — "About this time my father began 
 to prepare Wilberforce to receive the holy sa- 
 crament for the first time, and they used to re- 
 tire together every day after breakfast during 
 our stay at Rothsay. Willy listened to instruc- 
 tion with respectful silence, and seeming ac- 
 quiescence in the sentiments laid before him : 
 he appeared interested and anxious to be re- 
 ceived into full communion with the church of 
 God, and was often observed to be in deep 
 thought, and sometimes greatly depressed. His 
 unwillingness, however, to free communication 
 rather increased, and as his health was not 
 materially improved, his father's anxiety often 
 amounted to agony, and he could not conceal 
 the mental agitation which afflicted him. He 
 continued to weep and pray in secret for his 
 child's confidence. From Wilberforce's con- 
 versations at a later period, and from letters 
 written about this time, unknown to his father 
 till after his decease, we learned what had been
 
 220 LIFE OF LEGil RICilMOXD. 
 
 the deep exercises of his mind — that he was 
 then earnestly seeking the knowledge and en- 
 joyment of God — that eternal things were daily 
 subjects of his contemplation and inquiry, and 
 that he also suffered much from an insurmount- 
 able repugnance to make known his feelings, 
 his wishes, and wants. He told us afterward, 
 that though he suffered more from suffering 
 alone, he seemed like one bound with a chain, 
 and could not venture to lean or place his con- 
 fidence on any human help." 
 
 After spending the months of July, August, 
 and September in Scotland, the party set out 
 on their return for home, spending by the way 
 a few days in Yorkshire. Apparently there 
 was little change in the state of Wilberforce's 
 health, yet his disease had been gradually, but 
 certainly, advancing. He, however, not being 
 fully aware of the delusive character of his 
 complaint, considered himself much better, 
 entertained hopes of recovery, and expressed 
 great pleasure in returning to Turv^ey. They 
 reached home in the early part of November, 
 and six weeks elapsed with little or no altera- 
 tion in the appearance of the invalid. 
 
 Mr. Richmond, in a letter written about this 
 time, says, — " Dear Willy is much the same. 
 I wish he was more confidential and communi-
 
 LIFE or LEGH RICHIvIOXD. 221 
 
 cative as to the real state of his soul. O ! what 
 would I give for one voluntary conversation or 
 letter, detailing the former and present history 
 of what is passing in his mind. I think well 
 yet, and I hope it is comfortable ; but I want 
 to know it from himself. Many a secret tear 
 does his silence cost me. 
 
 It was evident to all around him that his 
 mind was at this time strongly exercised on the 
 subject of religion. " He never," says one of 
 his sisters, " spoke of death, but he must have 
 been sensible of increasing inward decay. He 
 could not hide from himself or his family the 
 depression and anxiety of his spirit. He was 
 much alone, and when he returned from his 
 closet to the family, the signs of sorrow and the 
 traces of some deep mental conflict were fre- 
 quently visible in his countenance. The Bible 
 was scarcely ever out of his hand, and after his 
 return from the north, he seldom took up any 
 other book, religious or literary ; which was 
 the more remarkable, as his chief occupation 
 and delight had ever been in reading authors 
 on almost all subjects. He would now sit for 
 hours, and nearly whole days, over the Bible, 
 in deep abstraction ; he was still silent to all 
 about him, and it v.^as sometimes more than my 
 dear father could bear, to witness the increasinor
 
 222 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 uneasiness of his mind, and the sufferings of 
 his body. After so many ineffectual efforts to 
 penetrate the real state of his heart, our afflicted 
 parent had but one resource, — to commit his 
 child to God, in faith, and under the pressure 
 of his agonized feelings to cry, * Thou hast 
 wounded, and wilt heal ; hast broken, and wilt 
 bind up again,' " 
 
 Hitherto Wilberforce's decline had been so 
 gradual as scarcely to be observed by those 
 who were constantly about him. He rode on 
 horseback daily, sat much with his father in the 
 study, and appeared to his family nearly as 
 usual, except that an increased anxiety was 
 visible in his countenance. But early in Janu- 
 ary, 1825, a considerable alteration was appa- 
 rent ; the wasted form, the hectic look, the 
 sunken eye, and the increasing difficulty of re- 
 spiration, all denoted that the hour of dissolu- 
 tion was at hand. His reluctance to a free 
 communication on the subject of religious ex- 
 perience now entirely gave way. He opened 
 his whole heart to his father, told him minutely 
 all his past conflicts, spoke of his present com- 
 forts, and begged that he might be closely ex- 
 amined. He would sit for hours with his father 
 in the study, supported in an easy chair, telling 
 him all he had gone through, entreating his
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 223 
 
 pardon for the uneasiness he had occasioned 
 him by his past silence, and expressing his 
 great joy at now being able to converse with 
 freedom, and mingle their souls together in the 
 delightful interchange of confidence. 
 
 Mr. Richmond's mind was now greatly re- 
 lieved. He says, " My prayers are answered 
 at last, the door of utterance is opened, and I 
 am truly thankful. — I am so comforted, by my 
 dear boy's unreserved communications, that I 
 frequently forget the pain of parting. — The close, 
 deep, and searching conversations which I en- 
 joyed with him produced the most convincing 
 demonstration that he had been ripening for 
 glory, beyond our thoughts and imagination." 
 
 His decay was exceedingly rapid. His father 
 was ever at his dying pillow, reading to him, 
 praying with him, and comforting him by day 
 and night. At length, after a happy and even 
 triumphant experience of the power of religion, 
 he breathed his last gentle sigh in the arms of 
 his afflicted parent, on the 16th of January, 1825. 
 Mr. Richmond pressed the lifeless body to his 
 bosom, and struggling with nature's anguish, 
 burst into a flood of tears. At length subduingr 
 his feelings, he said, " My child is a saint in 
 glory." He then collected his family in his 
 .study, and praised God for his mercy and
 
 224 LIFE OF LEGH RICHi"\iOND. 
 
 loving-kindness. He opened the Bible, and 
 read the last two chapters ^f the book of Reve- 
 lation, and then knelt down and prayed with 
 them. It was a moment not to be forgotten. 
 He appeared so absorbed in the contemplation 
 of his child's entrance into heaven, and his 
 union with the spirits of the just made perfect, 
 as to be scarcely conscious of the presence of 
 his family around him. 
 
 " Between the death and funeral of my bro- 
 ther," says Miss Richmond, " my dear father's 
 mind was often severely exercised. Sometimes 
 he would v/eep, and say, ' All thy waves and 
 storms are gone over me,' and then, 'Precious 
 in the sight of the Lord is the death of his 
 saints.' ' He giveth and he taketh away, and 
 blessed be his holy name.' He Avould rise 
 early in the morning to gaze on the peaceful 
 countenance of his departed child. We over- 
 heard him giving vent to the mingled emotions 
 of his heart in the chamber of death. But he 
 was comforted in tribulation, and he returned 
 to his family, to soothe their sorrows with the 
 comfort wherewith he was comforted of God. 
 He said little, but his calm and subdued spirit 
 bespoke Christian resignation. He used to 
 teach us that disquiet was the result of distrust, 
 and we saw in his silent submission an exam-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 225 
 
 pie of his own principle, that his heart trusted 
 in God." 
 
 Mr, Richmond had for many years been ac- 
 customed to write pastoral letters to his parish- 
 ioners, which were read in the school-room to 
 those who chose to attend. The following was 
 written soon after the death of his son : — 
 
 "My Dear Friends, Neighbours, and Pa- 
 rishioners, — In the midst of my sorrows at 
 the removal of my dearly-loved child, I wish 
 you to know that the Lord supports me won- 
 derfully, I cannot yet come out among you, 
 but I cannot be quite silent. I have therefore 
 desired my friend and fellow-labourer to read 
 this letter to you. I have preached the gospel 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ to you more than nine- 
 teen years, and through his mercy I have seen 
 some precious fruits of these labours among 
 you, but never have I witnessed a more beau- 
 tiful or triumphant evidence, that I have not 
 taught, preached, or lived in vain, than in the 
 case of my dear son, now a sharer of the Re- 
 deemer's glory in heaven. — I am persuaded 
 there are many of you who feel deeply for me. 
 You can weep with me when I weep, and re- 
 joice with me when I rejoice. You have prayed 
 for my child. It was the delight of his heart 
 15
 
 226 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOXD, 
 
 to hear of your love and sympathy, and he dwelt 
 on the interest you took m his welfare, to the 
 very day of his death. He was indeed a boy 
 of no common mind, and the Lord sanctified 
 his great natural endowments to his own glory. 
 I feel more and more every hour what a trea- 
 sure I have lost ; but at the same time I see 
 more and more what a blessedness he has 
 attained. I have been watching him at home 
 and abroad, with a parent's eye and a Chris- 
 tian's heart, both for his body and soul, ever 
 since disease fastened on his frame last sum- 
 mer, and no one will ever know what my anx- 
 ieties have been during that period. But I trust 
 God meant all for my good. The trial, severely 
 as I have felt it, has shown me more of myself, 
 and more of my God. My prayers for my dear 
 child have been abundantly answered. Blessed 
 be God ! he was enabled to disclose his whole 
 heart to me, and to others, before he was taken 
 away. He conversed with many in a most 
 useful and edifying manner, exhorting them to 
 prayer, faith, and holiness. He could tell them 
 all, that he knew in whom he tnisted, and could 
 look at death with perfect peace. Believe me, 
 then, when I tell you, that though I am greatly 
 affected, and humbled in the dust with a sense 
 of sin and sorrow, yet that my mercies are so
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 227 
 
 abounding in abounding chastisement, that I 
 can, and do rejoice in tribulation. O ! may it 
 work patience, and patience experience, and 
 experience hope, and may hope make me more 
 faithful and diligent, that I be not ashamed of 
 the gospel in principle or practice, for your 
 sakes, as well as my own. It is a great com- 
 fort to me now, as I am kept from ministering 
 to you for a season, that you have one among 
 you who preaches the same truth, and in the 
 same spirit. May our common Lord and Sa- 
 viour bless him, and you, and me together. I 
 beg your prayers, at this season in particular, 
 for me and mine. — Pray especially for those 
 who watch for your souls — that we may expe- 
 rience help and comfort in ourselves, and dis- 
 pense the word of life with more zeal and love. 
 Pray that there may be no divisions or wander- 
 ings of heart among us — that we may be all of 
 one mind and judgment in the things which make 
 for our everlasting peace. Pray that the young 
 children may be brought up in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord. My dear boy sent 
 them a message on his dying bed, which was 
 read to them a short time before his believing, 
 happy soul entered into rest. May the whole 
 school remember it for his sake, and their souls' 
 sake. God bless you all, my dear friends lean-
 
 228 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 not doubt, but that you will bear me on your 
 hearts to a throne of grace. Your affectionate 
 minister, L, Richmond." 
 
 Mr. Richmond purposed to have written a 
 memoir of Wilberforce. The blessing which 
 had attended the perusal of his tracts encou- 
 raged him to put on record the piety of his son, 
 which he trusted would have proved no less 
 consoling and strengthening to young Chris- 
 tians, than that of the dairyman's daughter, or 
 young cottager. The design, however, was 
 never carried into effect. " There are," says 
 his daughter, " a number of papers in my fa- 
 ther's hand- writing, relating to my brother's 
 character and dying hours, which are indeed so 
 unconnected and unfinished, that scarcely any 
 use can now be made of them ; but they show 
 how interesting a detail the memoir would have 
 been in his hands. He would sit for hours in 
 his study, perusing and adding to these frag- 
 ments; but the excess of feeling and mental 
 agitation, which the contemplation and remi- 
 niscence of the past never failed to renew, 
 greatly impaired his health, and forced him to 
 lay aside his purpose."
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOJND. 229 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DEATH OF MR. RICHMOND'S ELDEST SON ; 
 DECLINE OF HIS OWN HEALTH. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was not a little comforted, 
 under his late afflicting bereavement, by the 
 blessed effects which it produced in his con- 
 gregation. There appeared to be a general 
 revival of religion in the parish among both 
 young and old, but especially the former ; and 
 scarcely a day passed in which some one did 
 not anxiously inquire, " What must I do to be 
 saved ?" The congregations were large and at- 
 tentive, and Mr. Richmond gave himself up to 
 the work of the ministry with redoubled dili- 
 gence. He went daily from cottage to cottage 
 among the poor, warning, exhorting, comfort- 
 ing, and confirming the souls of the disciples 
 in the grace of God. He used to meet persons 
 nearly every evening in the week, for prayer 
 and exposition of the Scriptures ; and on Sun- 
 day nights, after his fatiguing duties in the 
 church, he met those who had been newly 
 awaked to spiritual life. His heart seemed 
 particularly interested in this last little party, 
 whom he used to call his " spiritual nursery."
 
 230 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 He was yet more comforted by the gracious 
 influence produced in his own family by Wil- 
 berforce's happy end. The seed which he had 
 sown with many prayers, and watered with 
 many tears, though it had hitherto lain dormant, 
 now began to spring up to the consolation of 
 his bereaved heart, two, at least, of his children 
 being at this time brought to the knowledge 
 and experience of the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 Thus his dear boy's death appeared to be the 
 life of many souls, who, to use Mr. Richmond's 
 own language, " were the spiritual roses bloom- 
 ing on the grave of his Willy." 
 
 In the summer of this year he visited JiOndon, 
 from which place he addressed the following 
 to two of his children : — 
 
 " London, June, 1825. 
 
 " Dear F. and Dear H., — Between the 
 morning and evening services of this day, I 
 have a leisure hour, in which I feel as if I 
 should like to sit down and talk with you two. 
 I miss our early morning exercises much, and 
 this for the present must be the substitute on 
 my part. I have nothing very particular to re- 
 count, only that I have been to a few places, 
 where I was last summer with my beloved 
 Wilberforce, and I have indulged the silent 
 tear as I retraced incidents never again to
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 231 
 
 recur. At some places, where my friends 
 remember his visits and conversations, I am 
 asked, ' How he is V with interest in their man- 
 ner, and have to tell how he has taken his flight 
 to another and a better world ; and it aff'ects me 
 greatly so to do. I know not how it is with 
 me, in regard to that dear boy's loss, but I talk 
 less and think more than ever about him. * * 
 
 " It is my weakness, my fault, my misfor- 
 tune, that I cannot express more of my mind 
 and feelings to you both. Dear, dear Henry ! 
 you are now become the prop and stay of my 
 declining years ; think much of tho station in 
 which God has placed you. My first-born is a 
 distant wanderer, and God knows when or 
 whether I shall see him again on earth. My 
 second boy is taken from me, you are my third, 
 but now my first. Be such to your two bro- 
 thers, particularly to Legh ; he needs your con- 
 stant, superintending care ; watch over him, do 
 not leave him to seek unprofitable associates ; 
 cherish the little germ of hope, which God has 
 planted in my bosom concerning him ; let your 
 example, influence, and your kind attentions, 
 encourage him in every good way, and think 
 much of your own soul. * * * 
 
 " And my Fanny also ; are you as much 
 aiive to spiritual things, as when you hastened
 
 232 LIFE OF LEGH RrCHMON'D, 
 
 to the dying bed of dear Willy, — as when you 
 wept over his coffin ? My child, dread all de- 
 cays, aad may the flame of spiritual piety never 
 grow dim amidst the mists of unworthier specu- 
 lations! Visit the cottages, — forsake not the 
 poor, for yo-vir father''s sake, 
 
 " I have been this morning where you might 
 least have expected to find me ; but I went not 
 from curiosity,, but from a conscientious wish 
 to know and judge for myself, viz., to the Ro- 
 man Catholic Chape-1 in Mso-rlields, to hear 
 high mass, I was astonished at the decora- 
 tions, the gorgeorus dresses of the bishop and 
 priests, charmed with the exquisite beauty of 
 the music, disgusted at the ceremonial mum- 
 mery of the service, and unconvinced by the 
 bishop's eloquent sennon in defence of transub^ 
 stantiation. It was all illusion, delusion, and 
 collusion. The service lasted near four hours. 
 I bless God more than ever for true Protest- 
 antism. * * * 
 
 "My dear, my most dear children J press 
 forward to the prize of the mark of our high 
 calling in Christ Jesus. There is an immense 
 gulf to be passed. '■ Who is sufficient for these 
 things r h. R." 
 
 A few days after the date of this letter Mn
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 233 
 
 Richmond's third daughter was married to the 
 Rev. John Ayre, who was then his curate. 
 The affection displayed by the A'illagers on this 
 occasion was truly gratifying to the feelings of 
 the family. When the party arrived at the 
 church they found the walls decorated with 
 evergreens, and the pavement leading to the 
 altar strewed with flowers. Two hearts formed 
 with the heads of flowers, and the words, " May 
 God bless you," traced in the same manner un- 
 derneath, exhibited both the taste and the affec- 
 tion of the parish clerk. This rustic attempt 
 at elegance, so unsought for and unexpected, 
 was a pleasing testimony to the interest excited 
 in the parish by every event connected with 
 their beloved pastor. 
 
 Before his daughter left the paternal roof 
 Mr. Richmond manifested his solicitude for her 
 future welfare, by giving her proper admoni- 
 tions for the government of her conduct as a 
 Christian and the wife of a Christian minister.* 
 
 Mr. Richmond was much troubled in his 
 mind by the predilection which his youngest 
 son began to manifest for a military life. Of 
 this choice he expressed his disapprobation in 
 
 * This young woman did not long survive her father. 
 She died in great peace, about eighteen months after the 
 death of her revered parent.
 
 234 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the Strongest terms. " Any thing but this," 
 said he, " any thing but this ; the very mention 
 of a military life fills me with horror; I cannot 
 bear to think of a child of mine engaging in 
 scenes of bloodshed and destruction. — Hating 
 war as I do from my very heart ; convinced 
 as I am of the inconsistency of it with real 
 Christianity, and looking on the profession of 
 arms as irreconcilable with the principles of 
 the gospel, I should mourn greatly if one of my 
 boys chose so cruel, and, generally speaking, 
 so profligate a line of life. — No consideration 
 on earth could extort my consent. It would 
 make me really miserable." 
 
 At the time Mr. Richmond was watching the 
 decay of his beloved son, his own frame was 
 giving way ; and his health was now in a very 
 precarious state. Of this he seemed to be fully 
 aware, though he said nothing to his family, 
 but continued his pastoral labours as usual ; 
 and when any of them expressed their fears 
 respecting him, his usual and only reply was, 
 " I must work while it is called to-day. The 
 night cometh when no man can work." 
 
 In the month of August he paid another visit 
 to the Isle of Wight, in the hope that the ex- 
 cursion would prove beneficial to his health and 
 spirits. While there his feeble frame sustained
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 235 
 
 another severe shock from a report of the death 
 of his eldest son, which then reached him. 
 
 Of the departing of this young man for a 
 foreign land we have already given an account. 
 Eleven years had now elapsed, and during that 
 interval many singular and affecting circum- 
 stances had occurred. He had been thrice 
 shipwrecked ; and on one occasion he with a 
 few others were all who got safe to shore. In 
 his youth his wayward course had been a 
 source of much sorrow to his parents, but in a 
 far distant land his heart was turned to the God 
 of his father ; and his friends in England had 
 received the most satisfactory testimony of his 
 conversion. His shipwrecks and losses, his 
 exposure to hardships by night and day, the 
 insalubrity of the climate, and, above all, the 
 sudden death of a pious young lady to whom 
 he was engaged to be married, had so seriously 
 injured his health that he had determined to 
 return to England in the hope of re-establishing 
 it, and had written home to that effect. 
 
 The expected return of Nugent filled every 
 heart in Turvey rectory with delightful antici- 
 pations. The whole family were eager, either 
 to embrace a relative whom they scarcely knew 
 but by report, or to renew an affection which 
 lime and distance had strengthened rather than
 
 236 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 effaced. Mr. Richmond's sensitive feelings 
 were strained to the highest pitch in expecta- 
 tion of meeting his dear sailor-boy, and he was 
 preparing to welcome the " son who was lost 
 and is found, was dead and is alive again," 
 when the rumour of his death reached him. 
 
 Not being fully assured of the truth of the 
 report, the family were for some months in a 
 state of the most painful suspense. At length 
 a letter was received from the Rev. Mr. Thom- 
 ason, a missionary at Calcutta, stating that Nu- 
 gent had left that place in July, 1824, in a ves- 
 sel bound to the Mauritius, intending to pro- 
 ceed from thence to England: that he had pre- 
 viously been seized with a fever, from which 
 he was not perfectly recovered at the time of 
 setting sail : that afterward, being exposed to 
 very severe weather, he experienced a relapse, 
 and was occasionally delirious, but still did not 
 excite ideas of immediate danger : that he 
 went to bed one night at twelve o'clock, and 
 the next morning at six, to the grief and sur- 
 prise of all on board, he was found dead in his 
 cabin. A little ivory box, containing a few 
 jewels and gold chains, which he had intended 
 as presents to his sisters, was found in his 
 pocket after his decease. On the inside of the 
 cover, the following lines were written in his
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 237 
 
 own hand in pencil, apparently a short time 
 before his death: — • 
 
 '* Where vice has held its empire long, 
 'Twill not endure the least control : 
 None but a Power divinely strong 
 Can turn the current of the soul. 
 
 Great God, I own thy power divine. 
 That works to change this heart of mine : 
 I would be form'd anew, and bless 
 The wonders of redeeming grace." 
 
 " Both the mind and body of my dear father," 
 says Miss Richmond, " were shattered by this 
 intelligence. But though suffering most acute- 
 ly, he was, as in the former bereavement, the 
 comforter and stay of his family; concealing 
 his own feelings, to mitigate theirs. 
 
 " He used to be much at home at this time, 
 communing with his own heart, in his cham- 
 ber, in silence, and no doubt it was his fervent 
 and frequent devotion which strengthened him 
 ' to comfort those who were in trouble by the 
 comfort wherewith he himself was comforted 
 of God.' 
 
 " He had shut himself up for six weeks, and 
 never appeared in public, except on the Sun- 
 day ; but vi^hen he heard of the anxiety of the 
 people to see him, and share the sorrows of 
 their beloved pastor, he desired them to assem-
 
 238 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ble in the school-room, and he went there to 
 meet them. It was evidently too trying and 
 exciting for his weak frame. For some time 
 he could not speak; but when he recovered 
 himself, his address was inexpressibly touch- 
 ing, and yet comforting. The people wept with 
 him, and felt his sorrows as their own. He told 
 them, that conscious of their interest in him, 
 and of their anxiety to know his state of mind 
 under this afflicting rod, he had come on pur- 
 pose to tell them what God could do for the 
 soul that looked to him for help ; that they 
 might magnify the Lord with him, and exalt 
 his name together. He said, that while he had 
 been shut up in the solitude of his study, for 
 the last six weeks, in silent communing with 
 God, he had learned to feel, ' it is good for me 
 that I have been afflicted,' — that the experience 
 of his soul during that trying season had been, 
 ' in the multitude of my thoughts within me thy 
 comforts have refreshed my soul.' 
 
 " He now resumed his usual cottage meet- 
 ings ; and though his constitution was evidently 
 sinking, and he was labouring far beyond his 
 strength, he could not be persuaded to relax or 
 lessen any of his pastoral engagements. We 
 earnestly pressed him to retire for a season 
 from his duties ; but, contrary to his usual
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 239 
 
 yielding temper, he remained inflexible, adding, 
 either ' it does not injure me ;' or, ' I shall suffer 
 more in my mind, by giving them up, than in 
 my body, by attending to them.' The last year 
 of his life he had a constant irritating cough, 
 which finally settled upon his lungs ; and was 
 no doubt much increased by such frequent 
 talking and exposure to the night air. 
 
 " I was his constant companion in his visits 
 to the cottages ; and he often looked so worn 
 and fatigued, and his spirits sometimes so much 
 affected, apparently with thoughts which he did 
 not express, that I have turned away to weep, 
 and felt undefinable sensations of dread, as the 
 idea crossed my mind that he was meditating 
 on the final separation. 
 
 " His public discourses at this time were 
 particularly awakening as well as confirming. 
 While he warned his flock, with deep solemni- 
 ty, ' lest any man fail of the grace of God,' he 
 enlarged on the divine promises, the glory of 
 the Saviour, and the blessedness of the redeem- 
 ed. A poor woman remarked to me — ' Your 
 dear papa preaches as if he was near home.' " 
 The last of Mr. Richmond's public la- 
 bours for the religious societies with which 
 he was connected was in the summer of 1826, 
 when he attended the anni\'ersaries at Nor-
 
 240 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 wich ; after which he proceeded to Cromer, a 
 bathing place in Norfolk, for the benefit of his 
 health. He had for some time laboured under 
 an affection of the lungs, which no change of 
 air or power of medicine had hitherto succeeded 
 in removing ; though he experienced a tem- 
 porary revival of strength and spirits by his 
 excursion, and returned home with improved 
 health. 
 
 But the scenes of his former afflictions re- 
 newed the depression of his spirits. Amidst 
 the affectionate welcomes of his family, he 
 seemed to feel yet more keenly the absence of 
 his departed son. He would say, " No time 
 nor succession of events can wean my affec- 
 tions from the chancel vault." Though increased 
 tenderness marked his intercourse with his re- 
 maining children, his heart still wept over his 
 beloved Wilberforce. There was a visible 
 change in his appearance, and his family felt 
 cause for alarm. He said little, but his mind 
 seemed to be greatly exercised. He sometimes 
 repaired to the grave of his son, remaining 
 long, absorbed in his own reflections. The 
 silence and solitude of this hallowed spot 
 soothed and comforted his mind: " the waters 
 of healing issued from the sanctuary," and he 
 probably delighted to contemplate the blessed-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 241 
 
 hbss of the eternal world, in such immediate 
 connection with his own dear child. On one 
 occasion, accompanied by his daughter, he sat 
 nearly an hour, in deep musing, without lifting 
 his eyes from the stone that covered the beloved 
 remains. At length rising, he exclaimed — 
 *' Thanks be to God, which giveth us the vic- 
 tory, through our Lord Jesus Christ !" 
 
 The following interesting meditation, which 
 was written in the privacy of his study, to which 
 he was confined by indisposition, will further 
 disclose the state of his feelings : — 
 
 " I am this day staying at home, during di- 
 vine service in the afternoon, owing to a cold, — 
 Mr. Ayre being here to assist me. The last 
 Sunday afternoon on which I was similarly de- 
 tained was in December, 1824, with my dear 
 Wilberforce ; he was then within a few weeks 
 of his decease. This day twelvemonth* was 
 the day preceding his death. 
 
 " Dea r, blessed boy ! in the midst of our daily 
 domestic cheerfulness of spirits, now my heart 
 moans and mourns in tenderest recollections ! 
 I see the dear child in all his debilities of body; 
 
 * This is an error ; it should have been, " this day two 
 years,'" as Wilberforce died January, 1825, and this paper 
 is dated 1827. 
 
 16
 
 242 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 I hear him speak, — I retrace the look of his 
 eye, — I hang upon his spiritual language, — his 
 affectionate expressions, — his devotedness to 
 God, — his faithful admonitions, — his languid 
 frame, — his sweet countenance, — his willing- 
 ness to die. 
 
 " I lament my own want of more feeling : 
 and yet I feel much. O blessed God I help 
 me ; strengthen me ; save me ! Make his death 
 to be a source of life to me, through the death 
 of Christ, — sanctifying his memory to my soul ! 
 I want to see more deep and solemn serious- 
 ness among my children at this time ; and yet 
 I know they are not deficient in much good 
 feeling on this subject. Lord, help, bless, and 
 save them also ! 
 
 " My Nugent, too, is since gone — or rather, 
 I have since heard it ; for he died some months 
 before his brother, little as we apprehended it 
 when Wilberforce was so beautifully speaking 
 about him, a few days previous to his own death. 
 "O, my dear boys; your memorials are most 
 dear to my soul! 
 
 " I tremble when I think how poorly I have 
 profited by these parental warnings ; yet I take 
 some encouragement from the feelings which I 
 am conscious I retain. Lord, increase their 
 influence ! Tn the midst of life I am in death.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 243 
 
 Who may be taken away next ? I sometimes 
 have fearful forebodings — -I look aroimd my 
 beloved little circle, and sigh. I check these 
 feelings again, and am ashamed of my weak- 
 ness. Lord ! make Christ to be every thing to 
 me — and then all will, all must, be well. 0! 
 keep my Fanny in a serious frame. Let her 
 not forget her past impressions ! Bless my 
 Henry, and preserve him in a steady mind, un- 
 tainted by levities ! Cherish my poor Legh, 
 and let not my good hopes concerning him be 
 blighted ! Bless the little ones, and make them 
 thine own for ever ! 
 
 " Pardon my weakness, O God ! and bless 
 this whole meditation to my soul. L. R. 
 
 ' Turvcy, Sunday, Jan. 15, 1827." 
 
 There can be little doubt that Mr. Rich- 
 mond's life was shortened by the extraordinary 
 exertions which he made when on his mission- 
 ary tours. Besides the fatigue of hastening 
 from one place to another to fulfil his engage- 
 ments, Mr. Richmond generally preached three 
 sermons on the sabbath, and often five or six 
 more in the course of the week. His fatigue 
 was also increased by the crowded congrega- 
 tions that assembled to hear him. The hours 
 which should have been given to a cessation
 
 244 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 from labour, were unceasingly occupied, in 
 conducting family worship, and conversing at 
 every meal with persons who were invited to 
 meet him. On these occasions he took, as was 
 expected, a prominent part in the conversation ; 
 which, however useful to others, must have 
 insensibly exhausted his strength. Mr. Grim- 
 shawe, who accompanied him in some of these 
 tours, often expressed a fear that he would be- 
 come a wreck in mind and body, as the inevi- 
 table result of such continued exertions. His 
 reply was generally the same, " I am not fa- 
 tigued ; I do not feel it :" but it was impossible 
 not to entertain the apprehension, that imbe- 
 cility, or a premature old age, must ultimately 
 succeed such unceasing and exhausting efforts.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 245 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CLOSING SCENE OF MR. RICHMOND'S LIFE ; 
 LETTER FROM HIS WIDOW. 
 
 We are now fast approaching the termination 
 of the life and ministry of this excellent man. 
 "My dear father's cough," says Miss Rich- 
 mond, " still continued ; he became very thin, 
 and every one remarked how ill he looked. 
 But he appeared not to notice it, and we thought 
 he did not apprehend danger : we have since 
 found that we were mistaken, and that he 
 always looked upon the cough as a summons 
 from above ! 
 
 " He abated nothing of his work, and still 
 continued his visits to the poor. It was in the 
 cottage of sorrow, and by the bed of the dying, 
 that my beloved parent's character appeared 
 the brightest. He was the father as well as 
 the minister of his people ; and they brought 
 all their difficulties and troubles to him, and 
 ever found in him a tender and judicious advi- 
 ser. He had particular pleasure in conversing 
 with the pious poor, and said he had learned 
 some of his best lessons from them ; that the 
 religion of the poor in general was more spirit-
 
 246 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 ual and sincere than that of the rich ; that they 
 lived more simply the life of faith o-n the Son 
 of God. I have seen my beloved father in 
 public, when the gaze of admiration was fixed 
 on him, and in the private drawing-room I have 
 beheld him the delight and entertainment of 
 the company, and my heart has exulted in him ; 
 but it was when smoothing the pillow of poverty 
 and death, that I most loved and venerated 
 him ; and discovered the image of that Saviour 
 ' who went about doing good.' " 
 
 In the month of February, 1827, he went to 
 Cambridge, to enter his son Henry* at the uni- 
 versity. This was a subject of great solicitude 
 to his mind, and he passed many anxious days 
 and sleepless nights in anticipation of the 
 event. He well knew the temptations incident 
 to a college life, and he dreaded lest they should 
 prove the means of injuring the religious prin- 
 ciples and corrupting the morals of his son. 
 The subject seemed to absorb his thoughts, 
 and depress his spirits : "What," said he, "if 
 my son should fall a victim to the associations 
 which have blasted the fairest hopes of many 
 a Christian parent. He may do without learn- 
 
 * This was Mr. Richmond's third son ; now his eldest. 
 He was a youth of decided piety, and purposed to devote 
 himself to the ministry.
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RIcrfMOND. 247 
 
 ing, but he is ruined body and soul if lie be not 
 wise unto sah'ation." 
 
 Mr. Richmond remained at Cambridge a 
 fortnight, and when he returned his family 
 thought he looked somewhat better. He had 
 been among many friends whom he loved, and 
 had derived much pleasure from his visit. He 
 now entered into conversation with spirit, and 
 appeared more cheerful and lively than he had 
 done for the last two years. He continued 
 about a week in this improved state of health 
 and spirit, and then relapsed into his former 
 thoughtful silence. 
 
 His public labours were, to the end, remark- 
 ably blessed of God. The two last Sundays 
 on which he preached were in the beginning 
 of March. On the former of these occasions, 
 a person attended the church, who, having taken 
 some offence, had secretly made a rash resolve 
 never to enter it. He was both thoughtless and 
 dissolute, and a bitter persecutor of religion in 
 those who professed it ; but on this day was 
 constrained, by circumstances that need not be 
 mentioned, to alter his determination. The 
 text of the sermon was taken from Psalm li, 10, 
 *' Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew 
 a right spirit within meP Sharper than a two- 
 edged sword is the word of God ; and in its
 
 248 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND, 
 
 application by the power of tbe Spirit to this 
 poor man> it proved "^to be the hammer that 
 breaketh the rock in pieces." He confessed 
 that immediately on his return home, he fell for 
 the first time on his knees, and with crying and 
 tears poured forth the strong emotion o-f his 
 heart in the language of the publican, " God be 
 merciful to me a si-nner !" 
 
 The next Sunday Mr. Richmond's sermons 
 were particularly solemn. In the morning he 
 preached from Col. iii, 2^ " Set your affections 
 on things alxme^ And this address was directecl 
 to the true disciple for his comfort and confirma- 
 tion. In the afternoon he preached from Psalm 
 cxix, 52,. 55y '^' / remembered tliy judgments of 
 oldf O Lordy and JiG^e comforted myself Horror 
 hath taken hold report me, because of the imcked 
 that forsake thy law.^ This sermon was an; 
 awful and solenrn appeal to the consciences of 
 unawakeried sinners. It was remarked by a 
 person going out of churchy " This sonnds as 
 if it came from the lips of a dying man." 
 
 The next week he caught a fresh eold^ and 
 his cough returned with greater yiolencer yet he 
 would have preached on the following Sunday 
 if his voice had not entirely failed him, and it 
 was with some difficulty that he was restrained 
 from, being carried into the church ~ A gloora
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 249 
 
 of sorrow overspread the parish, and " prayer 
 was made without ceasing of the church" unto 
 God for his recovery. But his ministry was 
 now closed ; he never more left the house, and 
 soon became sensible that his beloved flock 
 would " see his face no more," till they should 
 meet him at the judgment-seat of Christ. 
 
 A clerical friend, who visited him, shortly 
 before he died, says, " His brethren saw little 
 of him during the last few months of his life. 
 In his confinement he shrunk from all inter- 
 course beyond the circle of his own family. 
 He continued the regular performance of the 
 duties of his parish till within a few weeks of 
 his death, and we did not apprehend that he 
 was so soon to be taken from us. 
 
 " After making repeated inquiries about his 
 state of health, and receiving very unsatisfac- 
 tory answers, I consulted his medical attendant, 
 whose report determined me to lose no time in 
 seeking an interview. Of his spiritual state 
 there could be no doubt ; but I thought if, like 
 his family, he felt persuaded of his recovery, it 
 might be important on many accounts that he 
 should be apprized of his approaching end. 
 
 " I wished, among other things, to induce 
 him to use his influence with the patron of the 
 living in the appointment of a suitable successor.
 
 250 LIPE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 We had a conversation of some length on this 
 subject, and which I regretted when I perceived 
 how greatly it exhausted his weak and shat- 
 tered frame, and disabled him from entering on 
 matters of still deeper interest. I was anxious 
 to hear his dying testimony to the great truths 
 he had so long taught, and so strikingly exem- 
 plified by a consistent and holy conduct. The 
 idea, too, that a friendship which had suffered 
 no interruption for more than twenty years, en- 
 deared by the remembrance of his judicious 
 advice and affectionate sympathy in my hours 
 of trial and affliction, was soon to be dissolved, 
 gave a solemn and affectino- interest to this in- 
 terview, and I longed to express my gratitude, 
 as well as to be quickened and confirmed by 
 his dying counsels. 
 
 " An opportunity offered, and I said, ' Dear 
 brother, I owe you much love, and am pained 
 to be the messenger of evil tidings. Still I 
 cannot think it right to withhold from you my 
 apprehension of the dangerous nature of your 
 disease.' ' I know it, brother,' he replied, 
 * seven months aga I was well satisfied from 
 whence this cough came ; that it was a mes- 
 senger from above. I knew what it meant — ■ 
 but I cannot talk : F , do you talk.' 
 
 "I had scarcely resumed the conversation,
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 251 
 
 with a remark on the immense vahie and im- 
 portance of our principles, when he raised him- 
 self upright in his chair, and with great solem- 
 nity of manner, said, ' Brother, we are only- 
 half awake — we are none of us more than half 
 awake.' He seemed unable to proceed, for his 
 feebleness was extreme, and to relieve him I 
 began again ; but he made another effort. * The 
 enemy, as our poor people would say, has been 
 very busy with me. I have been in great dark- 
 ness — a strange thought has passed through 
 my mind — it is all delusion. Brother, brother, 
 strong evidences, nothing but strong evidences 
 will do at such an hour as this. I have looked 
 here and looked there for them— all have failed 
 me — and so I cast myself on the sovereign, 
 free, and full grace of God in the covenant by 
 Christ Jesus ; and there, brother, (looking at 
 me with a smile of tranquillity quite indescriba- 
 ble, and which I shall never forget,) there I 
 have found peace." 
 
 We finish our account of the closing scene 
 of Mr. Richmond's life, in the language of his 
 daughter. Miss Fanny Richmond, as contained 
 in a letter written by her to a friend. 
 
 " There were no violent symptoms to mark 
 the approach of death, but a gradual decay of 
 strength. He sat with us as usual in his study-
 
 252 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 chair to the very last day, — ahnost to the last 
 hour. I recollect many things which I did not 
 then understand, but which now show me that 
 he was preparing for death. With surprising 
 calmness he set his house in order. He made 
 a catalogue of his principal books, with memo- 
 randa how they were to be disposed of; also 
 of his minerals and philosophical apparatus ; 
 he emptied all the cupboards round the room, 
 which had not been done for many years ; he 
 burnt every book which he thought of an injuri- 
 ous tendency. All this was done for the most 
 part in silence, it being painful for him to speak, 
 even in a whisper. I have seen him sit for an 
 hour together in the deepest abstraction of 
 thought — then he would raise his eyes, the 
 tears streaming down his pale cheeks, clasping 
 his hands, as if in the fervency of importunate 
 prayer — and again all was composure, and he 
 looked peaceful and happy. He seemed to be 
 maintaining a constant communion with God. 
 I know he felt deeply for his children, whom 
 he was about to leave young and inexperienced 
 — exposed to a world of sin and temptation. 
 My brother and I have frequently heard him 
 break forth in prayer for us when we had 
 scarcely closed his door. The sounds were faint 
 and broken, but we understood their import;
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 253 
 
 and the unutterable tenderness of his manner to- 
 ward us is even now too affecting to dwell upon. 
 He would sometimes open his arms for me to 
 come to him, and laying his head upon my 
 shoulder, would fall again into deep thought. 
 His parish also was always on his mind. He was 
 continually inquiring about the people, and send- 
 ing me with messages to them; and he listened 
 with much interest to the report I made of them. 
 " One of his converts, a young girl of nine- 
 teen, was at this time on the bed of death, and 
 my dear father regretted much he could not visit 
 her ; but he was very anxious to comfort and 
 instruct her through me. She survived him 
 two months, and died in the same peace, per- 
 haps with more triumph. She said, just before 
 her death, ' she longed yet more for heaven, 
 because her dear minister was there to wel- 
 come her.'* I know that he was full of anxiety 
 for a suitable successor, and the idea of his 
 flock being dispersed hung heavy upon his 
 
 * This will remind some of our readers of a passage in 
 Mr. Everett's Memoir of Samuel Hick, " The Village 
 Blacksmith." When that holy and eminently useful, 
 though unlettered man, had gone to his reward, some of 
 the simple-hearted people among whom he had laboured 
 were heard to say, " I love heaven the better, because of 
 Sammy Hick being there "
 
 254 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 spirits. One morning, when I was sitting necir 
 him, he burst into tears, and said, ' O ! my 
 parish ! my poor parish ! I feel as if I had done 
 nothing for it ; as if it had been so much neg- 
 lected. I have not done half that I ought.' It 
 was more than I could bear to hear him speak 
 in this way ; for I had seen him in weariness, 
 and painfulness, and watchings, spending and 
 being spent, if by any means he might win 
 souls to Christ. I suggested to him his labours, 
 and the singular usefulness of his ministry, 
 especially within the last two years : he would 
 still reply, ' No thanks to me, no thanks to me. 
 I see it so different now, as if I had done just 
 nothing. I see nothing but neglect, and duties 
 left undone.' I could not help reflecting on the 
 diflferent aspect things must have when eternity 
 is opening upon us. 
 
 " He often recurred to Henry's residence at 
 college, and talked of his fears for his dear boy 
 till he was quite spent. He would say, ' I have 
 seen the ruin of so many promising yoHths by 
 a college life, and those apparently as amiable 
 and pious as my own dear child. I know the 
 difficulty of maintaining spiritual religion at 
 Cambridge. Even studies which are in them- 
 selves lawful, and which he ought to pursue, 
 have a tendency to weaken piety, and inter-
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 255 
 
 rupt private devotion. Christ has often been 
 crucified between classics and mathematics. I 
 wish him to be diligent in his studies, but the 
 Bible is the proper library for a young man en- 
 tering into the church. If he does but under- 
 stand the Bible experimentally, I shall be con- 
 tent. Bid him, Fanny, to be very careful of his 
 companions, that they be few, and more ad- 
 vanced in religion than himself; and particu- 
 larly that he attend Mr. Simeon's ministry. It 
 cheers my heart, that there is such a ministry 
 at Cambridge. Be sure you talk to him about 
 these things. Warn him of declensions, and 
 against sacrificing religion to the desire of dis- 
 tinction. That dear boy, and his approaching 
 trials, are never out of my thoughts ; I think 
 of him by day, and dream of him by night.' 
 
 " He had often expressed a great desire to 
 see a son in the ministry, ready to take his 
 place. ' If I might but hear a true gospel ser- 
 mon from one of my children, I should die in 
 peace.' On another occasion, he expressed 
 
 great delight that his young friend, C. H , 
 
 visited the poor, and said, ' You must recom- 
 mend this to Henry, as the very best prepara- 
 tion for the ministry. Try, my dear Fanny, to 
 keep him up to it. Tell^ him his poor father 
 learned his most valued lessons for the minis-
 
 256 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 try, and his most useful experience in religion, 
 in the poor man's cottage.' 
 
 " On Easter Sunday the sacrament was ad- 
 ministered at the church. This day he regarded 
 with peculiar reverence, and some new con- 
 verts generally partook of the sacred ordinance 
 at this time, whom he had been preparing du- 
 ring the past year. This was the first Easter 
 Sunday during his residence at Turvey that he 
 had been prevented from joining his church, 
 and commemorating the resurrection of our 
 blessed Redeemer, and he seemed to feel the 
 privation deeply. Before we went to church, 
 he told us to remember him at the table, and he 
 would join the communion of the saints in his 
 study. He said, ' I shall look at my watch, 
 and mark the exact time and read the service, 
 that I may be one with you in the fellowship 
 of the redeemed.' On our return we saw the 
 prayer-book open before him, and he was still 
 intent on the communion service. He looked 
 up with great composure in his countenance, 
 and said, ' I have followed you in every sen- 
 tence, and I think I may say, I have indeed been 
 with you and enjoyed a sweet communion.' 
 
 " He had a great dislike to keep his bed ; 
 and I cannot but acknowledge the goodness of 
 God, that it was not necessary. He rose every
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 257 
 
 day, to the last, and sat as usual in his study : 
 only getting up a little later, and going to bed 
 earlier, as his strength gradually failed him. 
 The last fortnight he was very silent, and ap- 
 peared constantly in prayer and meditation — 
 waiting his dismissal, and the end of his earthly 
 pilgrimage. At this time nothing seemed to 
 disturb him, and he appeared to realize the full 
 import of that blessed promise, * Thou wilt keep 
 him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on 
 thee.' It was indeed an unspeakable delight to 
 us to observe the unruffled calm of his soul ; and 
 it confirmed our minds in the truth and value 
 of the doctrines he had taught for thirty years. 
 " Two days before his death he received a 
 letter, mentioning the conversion of two per- 
 sons,* (one of whom was a clergyman,) by the 
 perusal of his tract, ' The Dairyman's Daugh- 
 ter.' When the letter was given him he seemed 
 too feeble to open it himself, and desired Henry 
 to read it to him. The contents deeply inter- 
 ested him. He raised himself in his chair, lift- 
 ed up his hand, and then let it fall down again, 
 while he repeatedly shook his head. His man- 
 ner showed the greatest humility, as if he would 
 say — ' How unworthy of such honour !' For a 
 few minutes it seemed to administer a cordial 
 
 * See pages 110 and 111 of this volume. 
 17
 
 258 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOIS^D. 
 
 to his fainting spirit, and led usto contemplate, in 
 reference toourdear father, the near fulfilment of 
 that promise, ' They that turn many to righteous- 
 ness, shall shine as the stars for ever and ever/ 
 
 " On Tuesday, the eighth of May^ he rose 
 later than usual ; I think it v/as twelve before 
 he got into the study y and he was so weak, 
 that he had great difficulty in walking there 
 from his bed-room. His breath was short, and 
 he looked very pale, but he said he felt no pain. 
 He sat on his reading-chair, with bis head rest- 
 ing on a pillow ^ his countenance and manner 
 were calm and peaceful. In the afternoon he 
 could scarcely support himse^lf ; and I kneeled 
 on a chair behind him, and he laid his head on 
 my shoulder. Once he seemed to be fainting, 
 but he soon revived ; and looking calmly at me 
 he said, '- Better now, love.' 
 
 " Mamma could no longer stay in the room, 
 and I was left alone with him till five. He still 
 said nothing, except to assure me he felt no 
 pain. To the very last, it appeared to be his 
 great desire to spare our fe-elings. We now 
 persuaded him to go to bed, but we little thought 
 death was so near. He could not walk, and we 
 were going to ring for a servant to assist him ; 
 but he said, '■ I should like Henry to carry me.' 
 He was wasted to a skeleton : Henry took him
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 259 
 
 Up with great ease, and we all followed. I shall 
 never forget this most affecting moment : it was 
 a moment of anguish to me, more than the last 
 scene. He seemed to know that he was leav- 
 ing the study, never to return to it ; his look 
 told me that he knew it. This was his favourite 
 room, where for more than twenty years he 
 had constantly carried on his pursuits. There 
 he had written his books — studied his sermons 
 — instructed his children — conversed with his 
 flock, and offered daily sacrifice of praise and 
 prayer. I watched him, as Henry carried him 
 out ; his countenance preserved the same look 
 of fixed composure. He raised his head and 
 gave one searching look round the room, on 
 his books — his table — his chair — his wife — his 
 children ; — and then the door closed on him 
 for ever ! He g^-e the same look round the 
 gallery through which we passed, as if he was 
 bidding farewell to every thing. There was a 
 peculiar expression in his countenance, which 
 I cannot describe ; it seemed to say, ' Behold 
 I die, but God will be with you !' Henry seated 
 him in a chair, and he sat to be undressed, like 
 a little dependant child, in deep silence, but 
 without the ruffling of a feature. 
 
 " About ten o'clock he signified to mamma, 
 in the gentlest whisper, that he wished to be
 
 260 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 left alone — to send us all away, and draw the 
 curtains round him. 
 
 "About half-past ten the nurse tapped at 
 my door. I was reading the Bible, and had 
 just reached that verse, ' That ye be not sloth- 
 ful, but followers of them who through faith and 
 patience inherit the promises.' I have thought 
 the coincidence remarkable, at least I trust it 
 will ever give a quickening influence to that 
 passage, when I read it. She told me to come 
 and look at my father. She said, she could 
 hardly tell whether there was any change or 
 not. I hurried to him. He raised his eyes to 
 heaven, and then closed them. I put my cheek 
 upon his ; and I believe at that instant I felt, 
 fori could not hear, his dying sigh. I thought 
 he was sleeping, and continued looking at him, 
 till Hannah said, ' Your dear mpa is in heaven.' 
 I did not think him dead ; unCrL rubbed his still 
 warm hands, and kissed his pale cheek, and 
 entreated him to speak one word to me ; but I 
 soon found it was the silence of death. All 
 turned to poor mamma, who was insensible ; 
 and I was thus left alone with my dear father, 
 kneeling beside him, with his hand in mine. 
 The same holy calm sat on his countenance, 
 and seemed to say — ' Thanks be to God, who 
 hath given me the victory !'
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 261 
 
 " The scene that followed was truly afflict- 
 ive. The grief of the widow and the fatherless 
 was unchecked ; for he who had always com- 
 forted them, and bid them kiss the rod, was no 
 longer with them. The contrast between the 
 after-scene of Wilberforce's and our beloved 
 parent's death was peculiarly affecting to me. 
 When my brother died, my father assembled 
 us together, to implore resignation and offer 
 praise, but when he himself departed, all seem- 
 ed gone. There was no one to collect us ; 
 and we were scattered in wild sorrow, with a 
 feeling of desolation which was quite unutterable. 
 
 " We cannot, we ought not to forget such a 
 father. Yea, I would add, ' when I forget thee, 
 may my right hand forget her cunning.' 
 
 "The hand of God has gone out against us — 
 yet 'the seed of the righteous is not forsaken.' 
 He has cut o^the 'stream which made us 
 glad' — but praised be his name, he invites us 
 to the 'living fountain,' where our souls may 
 drink and be satisfied. F. R." 
 
 Mr. Richmond died on Tuesday, May 8th, 
 1827, and was buried in the church at Turvey, 
 and in the same vault which contained the re- 
 mains of his beloved Wilberforce, and of two 
 infant sons. The affecting circumstances of
 
 262 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the funeral are thus described by a friend, who 
 was a spectator of the mournful scene : — 
 
 " I was hastening to observe the sad obse- 
 quies of this excellent man ; the bell tolled 
 heavily, and seemed to smite on my ear with 
 more than ordinary solemnity. Sorrow was 
 depicted on every countenance, and the mourn- 
 ers crossed my path at every step. Even the 
 aged and the sick, who had long heard from 
 his lips the glad tidings of salvation, crept out 
 of their cottages, resting on their crutches, or 
 leaning on the arm of friendship, to gaze on the 
 mournful cavalcade, and weep over their melan- 
 choly bereavement. 
 
 "Every eye exhibited the struggle of feeling, 
 and spoke more for the memory of the deceased 
 than volumes written in his praise. Multitudes 
 from the neighbouring villages, and many from 
 remoter places, were attracteiPto the spot, and 
 came to pay their tribute of affection to the 
 memory of one with whose name they had long 
 associated feelings of respect and esteem. The 
 body was carried by six bearers, and the pall 
 was held by the same number of clergymen 
 from the neighbourhood, whose countenances, 
 marked with profound sorrow, seemed to say, 
 'Alas, my brother!' There followed as mourn- 
 ers, the family — the more respectable of the
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 263 
 
 parisMoKers — ^the communicants — the Sunday 
 and day schools — and a long tram of the poor, 
 who were present on the occasion. The whole 
 presented ix> my eye the most affecting picture 
 of deep and sincere sorrow I ever witnessed." 
 At the request of the family an address was 
 delivered at the grave, by Mr. Grimshawe; 
 and on the following Sunday a funeral sermon 
 was preached in the church, by the Rev. 
 T. Fry, rector of Emberton, to an overflowing 
 ocongregation. So great was the number of 
 persons that attended, that many went away, 
 unable to procure admittance. Not only was 
 every space in the church and the chaacels 
 occupied, but the marble monuments were 
 covered with people, and even the large beams 
 which supported the roof. Mr. RichnK>nd, 
 some years before his decea-se, had selected 
 a passage of Scripture^ and Mr, Fry, in 
 compHaace with the wishes of his friend, took 
 his text from Romans vii, 24, 25, ^* O wretched 
 ■man that I nm ^ mho shtdl deliver me from the 
 body of this death ? I thank God, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lerd^ 
 
 The following testimony to the domestic cha- 
 racter and virtues of Mr. Richmond, contained 
 in a letter from his widow to Mr. Grimshawe,
 
 264 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 is here appended as an appropriate conclusion 
 to this memoir of his life : — 
 
 "Dear Sir, — Allow me to assure you of the 
 unfeigned satisfaction which I feel in address- 
 ing you, as the biographer of my late most dear 
 and lamented husband. 
 
 "That the task has devolved on you, who 
 were better acquainted than most others with 
 the qualities of him whom you so justly loved 
 and valued, is a melancholy pleasure, connect- 
 ed with my afflictive bereavement. 
 
 " The confidential and affectionate inter- 
 course, which for so many years subsisted be- 
 tween yoUj afforded numerous and varied oppor- 
 tunities for making a just estimate of his cha- 
 racter : and I feel full confidence that you will 
 be faithful in your own observations on this 
 honoured servant of the sanctuary. 
 
 "To AwTz, indeed, it is a thing of naught ; — 
 his witness is in heaven, and his record is on 
 high. But to those whom he has left behind 
 in this vale of tears, it is, I think, a lawful 
 source of anxiety and interest, that * his name 
 should be had in remembrance.' 
 
 " His public character you had more frequent 
 and diversified means of appreciating than I 
 had. But in the private and family circle, it
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 265 
 
 may naturally be supposed that to myself he 
 was best known. 
 
 " In the endeared relations of husband and 
 father^ those only knew his value who are now 
 left to deplore his loss. The honoured but un- 
 worthy partner of his weal and wo can bear 
 grateful testimony how truly he fulfilled the 
 apostolical injunction of loving his wife : how 
 patiently he bore with her infirmities, and with 
 what tenderness of mind, and refinement of feel- 
 ing, he manifested the daily recurring instances 
 of his affectionate and devoted attachment. 
 
 "The subject is sacred and delicate, and my 
 pencil might be thought to colour too highly ; 
 but on my own heart is indelibly impressed the 
 fond remembrance of what he was to me — a 
 remembrance which death only can efface ; and 
 which I humbly hope will be renewed, with 
 increased powers of recollection, when I shall 
 have come out of this great tribulation, washed 
 in the blood of the Lamb, and made meet for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light. 
 
 " Nevertheless, I feel myself called upon to 
 offer the tribute of my heart's best effusions of 
 gratitude, for a continued course of connubial 
 felicity, enjoyed by few to the same extent. 
 To him I was indebted for thirty years of do- 
 mestic happiness, from the recollections of
 
 266 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 which, ' visions of past enjoyment rise, in long 
 and bright array ;' while I am painfully remind- 
 ed that they are joys departed ; for, ' in the for- 
 saken tomb the form beloved is laid !' 
 
 " But it is as a candidate for heaven that I 
 supremely feel my obligations to my departed 
 husband. Here the dispenser and the possessor 
 of all earthly joys must have their close ; — 
 here all sublunary bliss must cease ! But there^ 
 mortality shall put on immortality ; and the 
 pleasures at God's right hand are for evermore. 
 To his instrumentality I owe the hope of never' 
 ending happiness ; and I rejoice in the blessed 
 prospect, that from having been fellow-pilgrims 
 on earth, we shall be fellow-heirs of glory in 
 heaven. And if celestial happiness can be in- 
 creased by the reunion of terrestrial objects of 
 affection, mine must receive addition from again 
 beholding him. The anticipation cheers my 
 widowed heart. O ! that we may again meet, 
 ' with our old and with our young, with our sons 
 and with our daughters.' 
 
 "As di father, he possessed a tenderness and 
 sweetness of affection almost peculiar to him- 
 self. How does my heart now thrill, while I 
 recall the affectionate and parental emotions 
 with which he took each new-born babe in his 
 arms; and, like Simeon of old, blessed it ! Those
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 267 
 
 prayers were registered in heaven, they have 
 descended in blessings on his children, and 
 they are yet the ' portion and inheritance for 
 ihem, in their Father's house :' a bequest more 
 precious than silver and gold, I doubt not that 
 those prayers were accepted for the Saviour's 
 sake ; and the surviving parent adds her pe- 
 tition — ' Therefore, now let it please thee to 
 bless the house of thy servant, that it may con- 
 tinue for ever before thee : with thy blessing 
 let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.' 
 
 " In portraying the general character of my 
 dear husband, his peculiarly prominent feature 
 of benevolence should be specially noticed ; for 
 he possessed it in the most extended and com- 
 prehensive meaning of the word. 
 
 "It was a universal kindness and good-will, 
 best described by the charity which ' beareth 
 all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, 
 endureth all things. A charity which never 
 failed.' There were occasions when, according 
 to man's wisdom, this virtue might have been 
 and was thought to partake of the works of 
 supererogation. And certain it is, that in some 
 instances, the unsuspecting simplicity of his 
 disposition subjected him to consequences 
 which fully proved that the children of this 
 world are wiser in their generation than the
 
 268 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 children of light ! But he was ever mindful of 
 the admonition, ' Never impute a bad motive to 
 any one, while you can find a good one.' 
 
 " The motto which encircled his heart was, 
 * Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, 
 good- will toward men.' This was his Christian 
 badge ; nor can I recollect a single instance in 
 which he ever laid it aside. ' Speak not evil 
 one of another,' was a very remarkable cha- 
 racteristic of my beloved husband. With Da- 
 vid he said, ' I will take heed to my ways, that 
 I sin not with my tongue.' He appeared never 
 to lose sight of this caution, nor did he ever fail 
 to check the forgetfulness of it in others when 
 occasion required. 
 
 " You, dear sir, need not be informed of his 
 unwearied labours of love, when publicly en- 
 gaged in the cause of God. You well know 
 that he counted no personal sacrifice too dear, 
 so that he might win souls to Christ. 
 
 " Were any tempted to think that he robbed 
 his own to enrich others, and that enthusiasm 
 carried him too often and too far from kindred 
 ties, and from the appointed flock over which 
 God had made him overseer ? Let wife, chil- 
 dren, and flock, separately and unitedly declare, 
 without partiality and without hypocrisy, what 
 was the spirit in which he returned among
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 269 
 
 them. Was it not invariably, 'in the fulness 
 of the gospel of peace,' replenished with fresh 
 arguments for each, that ' laying aside all ma- 
 lice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envy- 
 ing, and all evil-speakings; denying ungodli- 
 ness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
 righteously, and godly in this present evil world ; 
 laying up in store a good foundation against the 
 time to come V How animating were the details 
 which he gave of his progress through the varied 
 scenes of his pilgrimage, and how calculated to 
 impress the conviction, that the love of Christ 
 constrained him ! 
 
 "Nor let it be supposed that the breath of 
 fame kindled in his bosom any desires at vari- 
 ance with the duties of that more confined 
 sphere in which he was permanently stationed. 
 I always considered his missionary labours as 
 productive of fresh energies for the discharge 
 of his parochial duties. 
 
 " Instant in season, out of season, he preach- 
 ed the word with invigorating power and de- 
 monstration of the Spirit. ' Giving all diligence 
 to add to his faith, virtue ; and to virtue, know- 
 ledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to 
 temperance, patience; and to patience, godli- 
 ness ; and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and 
 to brotherly kindness, charity.' These things
 
 270 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 being in him, and abounding, they made him, 
 that he was ' neither barren nor unfruitful in the 
 knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
 
 "It might naturally have been expected, that 
 the horizon around this setting sun would have 
 been gilded with many a bright, though depart- 
 ing ray; and that he would have winged his 
 flight to glory, commencing the hallelujahs on 
 earth, so soon to be attuned to harps of gold in 
 heaven : — that finding the end of all things was 
 at hand, he would have spoken 'as the oracles 
 of God, — declaring that he had not followed 
 cunningly devised fables, when he made known 
 the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.' That 
 such was not the case, can, I think, be best 
 accounted for by those who have most cause to 
 mourn the deprivation. 
 
 "The feelings of the husband and the father 
 were too sensitive for the weakened frame, 
 which shrunk from the excitement to be appre- 
 hended from any direct allusion to the mournful 
 event which was about to rend asunder a link 
 so strongly uniting the family chain. This was 
 the bitterness of death. For his own soul, he 
 had long committed it to the keeping of God, 
 in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator ; but 
 he would not hazard an interruption to the 
 peaceful calm with which he anticipated his
 
 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 271 
 
 dismissal from the body. He saw the restrain- 
 ed anguish of my heart, and forbore to probe 
 the wound, which he knew was rankling. This 
 it was that imposed silence. 
 
 "A more tranquil departure could neither 
 have been wished nor granted. Every tumult 
 was hushed, — all was serene, — death had lost 
 its sting, for he had gained the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. With the utmost com- 
 posure he put his house in order, feeling that 
 he must die, and not live. The placidity of his 
 countenance expressed the peace within, speak- 
 ing more than words could have don« ; ' and 
 now. Lord, what wait I for ? truly my hope is 
 even in thee !' Can I ever forget the morning 
 of that day which closed upon me as a widow 
 (O ! word of sorrow) and desolate ? With what 
 prophetic earnestness did he pronounce the as- 
 surance, ' God will never leave you, or forsake 
 you ! It is impossible V 
 
 "This may be said to have been his parting 
 benediction. For though some few hours more 
 did elapse, before the departure of the spirit to 
 God who gave it, yet the powers of nature were 
 so exhausted, that briefly reminding me 'how 
 merciful the Lord had been to us for many 
 years,' and with a short exhortation to resigna- 
 tion, he continued in silent composure, waiting
 
 272 LIFE OF LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 the arrival of the heavenly convoy, to be ush- 
 ered into the presence of Him whom, not having 
 seen, he loved — and whom now beholding, and 
 knowing even as he is known, he falls down 
 and worships. — ' Mark the perfect man ; and 
 behold the upright, for the end of that man is 
 peace.' 
 
 "Such was my beloved husband, in life and 
 in death. What he is in glory, * eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into 
 the heart to conceive.' 
 
 * Thus much (and this is all) we know, — 
 He is supremely blest ; 
 Has done with sin, and care, and wo, 
 And with his Saviour rests.' 
 
 Mary Richmond." 
 
 THE END.
 
 UCSB LIBRARY '