gable proof of a shallow age." In connection with this systematic and thorough course of reading, he commenced the study of Hebrew, and prosecuted it with interest and success, reading daily, to the close of his life, a portion of the Old Testament in the original. He recurred also to his mathematical studies, and his object in doing it was, "the acquisition of so much geometry, trigonometry, and conic sections, as would enable him thoroughly to comprehend the entire scope of the reasoning in Maclaurin's Account of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophical Discoveries.' For this, indeed, his college studies had in a great measure prepared him; and there would have been but little to learn, could he have been satisfied to proceed as students often do. But it was not n his nature to advance, unless he ascertained the firmness of the ground at every step. He reasoned philosophically, for instance, upon the nature of ratios and proportions, so that we had to clear our way through the recondite lectures of Barrow relative to these points, before we could advance to trigonometry. His logical habits, also, made him very reluctant to pass over any geometrical proposition in which he could not trace the analysis as well as the synthesis. In this manner, and with such views we went through the proposed course. With the same thoroughness, was a course of reading on intellectual philosophy taken up and prosecuted. These things were done in mature and professional life, they were done as a part of the important and responsible business of life; and in the doing of them, Hall is worthy of praise and imitation. His diligence and habits of literary application administer a severe rebuke upon that spirit of indolence and neglect of classical culture, which prevails so generally in the professional ranks in this country. We speak with confidence and grief. The evidence is too clear to be resisted, of a premature and unresumed abandonment of literary pursuits by the majority of our educated men. There are some, it is admitted, and would that there were more, who prosecute, amid manifold and absorbing duties, a course of classical and scientific study. They are men who work upon system, and who of course find time and accomplish much, and grow in intellectual strength and stature. But with others it is unfortunately different. They have no system, and life runs to waste under the embarrassments of duties and accidents. Having no fixed plan and course, they become the sport and prey of an ever assaulting contingence.

They float on and do little or nothing. The material which nurtures the mind, and gives health to its essence, and symmetry to its features, is not administered. Unfed, untasked, the mind hardly retains its own, at best it is stationary. Study being repudiated when the profession is acquired, if not before, it follows inevitably, that scholars must be few, profound and eloquent men rare. Such a man as Hall is a prodigy and is praised. We look at his stature and wonder. But let it be remembered, that it was not by birth nor by chance, but by sober intention and inflexible toil (pardon the repetition) that he acquired his strength and celebrity. We hold up his course and character as a model and an incitement. There is no other method of success-no royal road to intellectual greatness. There is no end to an education. It is never completed so long as a man breathes. The rule is, be students even to the death-bed. The rule is practicable and efficacious. The object gained by its adoption is a great one-the growth, and power, and influence of mind. Neglect brings palpable guilt. Indolence is sin against the laws of our being, the requisitions of our Creator, and the moral interests of the world.

Having glanced at our author's habits of study and persisting efforts at acquisition, we will now turn to the manner in which he employed the splendid powers and rich treasures of his mind. We will consider him, first, as a preacher, then as a writer; interweaving, as we proceed, the prominent incidents of his life, and analyzing the peculiar traits of his character. He exercised his ministry in the following places, viz. in Bristol, as assistant pastor to Dr. Caleb Evans, of the Baptist chapel, Broadmead; in Cambridge, as successor to the Rev. Robert Robinson; in Leicester, and finally in Bristol, where he finished his earthly course Feb. 21, 1831. Mr. Hall's preaching was admired at the commencement of his public efforts, "The place of worship was often crowded to excess, and many of the most distinguished men in Bristol, including several clergymen, were among his occasional hearers." The brilliancy and force of his eloquence were universally acknowledged. But the effort, and the excitement it produced, were chiefly intellectual. At this time, Mr. Hall's mind appears to have been in advance of his heart; his intellectual in advance of his religious qualifications for the pulpit. According to his subsequent judgment, his piety, at this period, was very inadequate and superficial,

if not entirely wanting; nor was his religious belief by any means intelligently matured and settled; for he was a materialist, and rejected the personality of the Holy Spirit. But the disciplinary hand of Jehovah contributed to correct his errors and give depth and intensity to his piety. "His materialism he buried in his father's grave." A severe and dangerous sickness, in 1799, augmented still more his attachment to the doctrines of grace, having felt their power to impart peace and support on the near approach of eternity. The process by which, in connection with this visitation, he was convinced of the doctrine of the personality of the Spirit is interesting and instructive. "He was struck with the fact, that whenever in private prayer he was in the most deeply devotional frame, most overwhelmed with the sense that he was nothing, and God was all in all, he always felt himself inclined to adopt a Trinitarian doxology." This circumstance occurring frequently, and more frequently meditated upon in a tone of honest and anxious inquiry, issued at length in a persuasion, that the Holy Spirit is really and truly God, and not an emanation. A still more vigorous impulse to his religious character, and a very marked augmentation of his spiritual qualifications as a preacher, occurred in 1804. An event befell him of a most humiliating and melancholy character. It was no less than a temporary derangement of intellect. This great mind lost its balance and became apparently a mere wreck. There were two seasons of eclipse, occurring near to each other. When he had recovered from the last attack, he exhibited a piety of altogether another spirit and tone. "His own decided persuasion was, that however vivid his convictions of religious truth, and of a necessity of a consistent course of evangelical obedience had formerly been, and however correct his doctrinal sentiments during the last four or five years, yet that he did not undergo a thorough transformation of character, a complete renewal of his heart and affections, until the first of his seizures." However this might be, there was at this period a marked advancement in holiness, a change as palpable and striking almost as the original conversion of the soul to God. One of his first acts, after his recovery, was a solemn dedication of himself to God. The paper which expresses his feelings and resolutions, on this occasion, is incomparably impressive and interesting.

These facts would lead us to suppose that the character

of Mr. Hall's preaching changed very much in the course of his life. Such was really the case. In the early part of his ministry, there was a sad deficiency of evangelical sentiment and spirit. "The extent of God's mercy-the depth of the mystery of his designs-the inexhaustible treasury of his blessings and graces-the wonderful benefits flowing from the incarnation, humiliation, and sacrifice of the Son of God-the delightful privileges of the saints," were themes recurred to and enlarged upon with an inexcusable infrequency. But in his maturer labors he did much to redress and redeem these injurious deficiencies of his youth. He delighted to dwell and expatiate upon the heavenly topics of redemption. He would soar, as far as possible, up towards the height of its wonders, and sound the depth of its mysteries, and from the treasury of the gospel bring forth and diffuse a vivifying influence upon hearts and souls dead in sins. Perhaps we can in no other way be more successful in conveying an idea of Mr. Hall's manner and talents as a preacher, than by quoting from the description of an American gentleman who heard him at Bristol about two years before his lamented decease. "On account of Mr. Hall's public health, the service was commenced and continued to the close of the first prayer by Mr. C., one of the professors in the Baptist theological seminary in this place. He then left the desk and Mr. Hall walked in from the vestry and took his place. He is about a medium height, is rather inclined to corpulency, has a bold and striking countenance, and an eye the most expressive and piercing. The appearance of the man is altogether extraordinary; such as, if had never heard of him, would lead you to expect you that he would not speak long, without exhibiting intellectual greatness. He announced his text with so feeble a voice, that it required an effort for me to understand a word of it. ..... For the first few minutes, I must acknowledge that I was disappointed. The manner was extremely feeble, and the thoughts were not greatly distinguished either for boldness or originality. Before he had proceeded far, however, I perceived that his feelings began to kindle, and that I was coming, almost insensibly, under a sort of electrical influence. Though not a word of his discourse was written, his delivery was extremely rapid, and every thought was expressed with as much precision and elegance, as if it had been carefully committed to paper. There was the same length of sen

tences, the same graceful and flowing style, the same majesty of conception by which his printed sermons are so strikingly characterized. His manner, as he advanced, became powerfully impressive; the awkward gesture with which he began, of pulling the leaves of the Bible, he exchanged for a dignified and energetic motion of the hand; and his burning thoughts seemed to brighten every feature of his countenance, and nerve every muscle of his frame. His eloquence was the furthest possible from any thing like rhetorical flourish; it indicated nothing like effort, not even the consciousness of its magic power to sway, and melt, and agitate at pleasure; it seemed rather the natural and simple operation of a mind, which could not move without leaving behind it a track of glory; whose element was the brilliancy of the sun combined with the grandeur of the storm. His discourse, at its commencement, was like a stream at its rise, so inconsiderable that you might almost pass it without observation. In its progress it was like the same stream, expanding itself into a bold river, whose deep and crystal waters, rolling in silent majesty, reflect the brightest images which the sun ever paints upon the clouds. At its close, it was like the same stream pouring itself over a mighty cataract, with an impetuosity which causes the earth to shake around you, and yet with all the brilliancy which the sun, shining in his strength, and the rainbow casting its beautiful hues upon the surges, could impart. I had no doubt that I had had the privilege of hearing one of the noblest performances of this extraordinary man;.....I must acknowledge, after the specimen which I have had, I am quite prepared to accord with the popular sentiment in Great Britain, that Robert Hall is the greatest preacher of the present day."

Having given this eloquent general statement of the style and effect of Mr. Hall's preaching, it may be proper to subjoin a few remarks of a more specific character. Every one knows that he had many and transcendent excellencies as a preacher, combined with some deficiencies. Both, however, his excellencies and his faults, flowed directly from the peculiar and noble structure and habits of his mind. His mind was great in all its elements, rapid, glowing, excursive in its operations. It had an intense affinity to truths, and scenes of grandeur, and sublimity. Of course in his pulpit. performances he had not come down to those distinctions, exceptions, and qualifications, which the circumstances of his