tions with the greatest composure for his funeral, and requested that the Rev. Dr. G―, whose visits had been a source of much comfort to him, should speak at his grave. On one occasion he remarked to a friend, "It seems to me more difficult for ministers of the gospel to be saved, than for other men." He then spoke of himself as a sinner, as indeed he daily did, frequently uttering the fervent ejaculation, "God be merciful to me a sinner. On Sabbath morning, two days before his death, he said, "this is the Sabbath; I wish to be in the spirit on the Lord's day." He then repeated:

"Sweet is the day of sacred rest,

No mortal care shall seize my breast:
O may my heart in tune be found,

Like David's harp of solemn sound."

On the evening of that day, he said "I am a sinner, it is true," (and every man that dies must say that,) "but hoping for heaven through the merits of the Lord Jesus; and now I am resigned to go; and feel that I should delight to join the glorified and happy spirits that surround the throne: and Oh that I might hope to meet the whole human family there. I would not be a Universalist-but how dreadful the thought that even one human being should be lost; and God would have all men to be saved. If fire and the want of water be faint emblems of the miseries of the lost, what, Oh my God! must be the reality." On one occasion, he exclaimed, with strong emotion-"I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." "Let me die," said he, "the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." During the last week of his life, he spoke with great feeling of a pocket English Bible which he always carried with him, and to which he was very much attached. "That little Bible,' "said he, "has been my companion over many a mile of land and ocean.' He then marked several appropriate passages with his own hand. On the last day, he remarked, "I am dying: but I fear not death; my trust is in the Saviour of sinners." There was a deep and affecting solemnity in all that he said, the last night of his life.. He was evidently fast ripening for Heaven; his path was shining more and more unto the perfect day. To him may justly be ap

plied the words of the Psalmist, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." Instead of murmuring or repining on his bed of languishing, his heart seemed to overflow with love and gratitude. A day or two before his death, when presented with a draught of cold water, he said, "O how delightful! fresh from nature's fountain. How good our heavenly Father is in providing us so many comforts, notwithstanding our sinfulness. The goodness of God far exceeds his severity." On another occasion, when his shutters were opened, and he beheld the sun, he exclaimed, "the Lord God is a sun and a shield, the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly." Several times he said, "I am dying," yet no symptoms of immediate danger were visible; his sleep was easy, his voice clear and strong. A few minutes before he departed, he said to his wife: "You can come to me, though I cannot return to you." After some moments of intense pain, he desired that his head might be raised. It was done, when immediately his eyes became fixed, and his spirit was released without a groan or struggle. He died after an illness of six weeks, on the morning of the 2d of December, 1829, in his 32d year, leaving a widow, and six children all under ten years of age.

Mr. Ashmead read with ease, the French, Spanish and Italian languages, though entirely self-taught. In the winter of 1825, he commenced the translation of Saurin's Historical, Critical and Theological Discourses, of which he was under the impression there was no English version. He had proceeded so far, as to complete eight of them, with very copious notes, when admonished by ill health of the necessity of relinquishing every study, except what was indispensable to prepare him for the pulpit. These Sermons are among his manuscripts, and are written with the greatest accuracy and neatness. In the German language he also made considerable proficiency, though his declining health obliged him to give up the study. He was very fond of good poetry, and had all the sensibility and fancy of a poet, though he never attempted that kind of composition.

He was a good Mathematician also. But the study of the human mind was to him the most interesting of all. Accordingly he read with profound attention all the different systems of moral science and metaphysics. But, after all his learning and research, he declared, when recovering from the fever which attacked him

on his return from Charleston, that he would in future study the Bible more, and other books less. Let it not hence be inferred that he had hitherto neglected the holy volume. Far from it. He was in the daily practice for many years not only of reading the English version, but of reading every morning, a chapter in the Hebrew Bible, and every afternoon, another in his little Greek Testament, which he always carried with him.

In 1826, he published an essay on Pauperism, addressed to the State Legislature, then in session, in which are displayed great ingenuity and originality in applying the Christian principle, "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat," to the subject of a legal provision for the poor. The argument is not a popular one in the native State of the author, but the time is coming, when, we doubt not, its force will be admitted by all. The literary merits of the essay will be acknowledged by every reader of taste and judgment.

Among the manuscripts of Mr. Ashmead, there are from 170 to 200 Sermons, written out, and possessing nearly equal merit : several works which have not been given to the public; one is enti tled, "the Laws of the Greek Accents;" one is on "The Advantages of the Sabbath, considered as a Civil Institution;" another on "The Influence which Christianity has exerted on the Political Condition of the Worid;" another is entitled, "The Scripture Doctrine of an Intermediate State between Death and the Resurrection, defended." There are also "An Abridgment of the Manual of Epictetus;" "An Epitome of Brown's system of Theology;" and a Criticism on "Sermons by a Layman." These are all written with the most perfect neatness, not a sentence being abridged or a word omitted.

It is worthy of remark, that the only unfinished Sermon among his manuscripts, is on these words: "And the dust shall return to the earth, as it was." It is supposed to have been commenced between his illness in July, and the last fatal attack. It breaks off abruptly with these words, which seem to have been prophetic: "Then, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory."

The Rev. Wm. Ashmead was richly endowed by nature. The God whom he served with the zeal, simplicity and faithfulness of the apostolic age, had bestowed upon him talents, far superior to those, which are given to the vast majority of mankind. Conscious

of his powers, and acknowledging the full force of the obligation which they imposed, he cultivated his mind with the fidelity of a Christian, and the enthusiasm of a scholar. It is not therefore, surprising, that he should have attained in comparatively few years, an extent, variety and depth of knowledge, which few of the Clergy ever attain, even in the course of a long life. His Theological acquirements especially, were extraordinary for his age; and serve to show us what intellectual ability can accomplish, when stimulated by a sense of Christian duty; and by an ardent love of study. It has often happened that the profound and learned Theologian, too deeply imbued with the spirit of controversy, and becoming a devotee, if not a bigot to his own sect, has but little affection for the Church Universal, and for the common cause of Christian benevolence, too little sympathy with other denominations, and too little respect for their pious labours. But Mr. Ashmead, though an accomplished scholar in divinity, valued religion more than sectarian Theology, and the broad diffusive charity of the New Testament, more than the narrow-minded jealousies, which often separate the members of different communions, even where they harmonize in essentials. He loved and venerated the principle o mutual fellowship and mutual labour, and was ever ready to unite on common ground, with any of the Evangelical denominations. His liberality, therefore, seemed the more remarkable and captivating, because he had not only travelled the broad road, but had explored the narrow winding paths of biblical learning; and had surveyed minutely, as well as comprehensively, the various religious opinions, which divide the Christian world. From these he selected such as he was satisfied the Scriptures sanctioned: and hence his scheme of religion was evangelical, and his ecclesiastical tenets Presbyterian. Inflexible in these sentiments, as derived from the pure fountain of Scripture, he yet acknowledged in others, most cheerfully and sincerely, in thought, in word, and in deed, the privilege of judging and acting for themselves. He insisted with fervour and energy, uniformly and steadily, on the peculiar requirements of the gospel: and declared, as a herald of the cross, the whole counsel of God. To his people, he addressed himself, with the authority of a pastor; with the gravity and earnestness, which became their spiritual guide; with the tender ness and solicitude of a brother and a friend; with the humility of a fellow-servant; and with the penitence, the gratitude, the faith

of a sinner, sanctified by the same holy spirit, redeemed by the same precious sacrifice, and accepted by the same almighty Father. He preached as one who had bound himself, for the rewards of eternity, to strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees, to lead the blind, and to encourage the fearful, to bring back the wanderer, to bind up the broken heart, and to warn the strong, that he take heed, lest he fall. He preached as one who had experienced in himself the regenerating power, and the purifying influences, the holy enjoyments, rich consolations, and eternal sanctions of the gospel.

But there are other points of view, in which we may advantageously contemplate the character of Mr. Ashmead. We have said that he was gifted with fine talents, and he accordingly trained himself, by the assiduous cultivation of his mind, to a thorough knowledge of its capabilities, and a complete mastery of its powers. -Hence, while the Christian heard with gratitude and humble joy, the message of salvation, delivered in the very spirit of the gospel, kind, considerate and simple: the scholar was charmed by the display of a logic, clear, vigorous, convincing; of a judgment, sound and discriminating: and of a taste, at once pure and beautiful. His reasonings in favour of religion were delivered with all the energy of truth, all the fervour of piety, and all the chastened elegance of an accomplished preacher.

It is believed that very few of the numerous clergymen who have visited our city, during a long course of years, so speedily established such an enviable reputation, as a Christian minister, as a scholar and a gentleman.-Whilst he was loved as a pious and amiable man, he was admired as an able and eloquent preacher, and respected as a faithful servant of his crucified Master. The character, which he had developed and finished, during eight years of service at Lancaster, had attained such a state of perfection, that a display of its moral beauty and intellectual excellence seemed rather to be spontaneous manifestations of its power, than deliberate purposes of the mind. The large and enlightened audience which attended his preaching, attested the general satisfaction which he gave. The unanimous call to fill the vacant pulpit of the 2d Presbyterian Church, was at once the reward of his labours, and a testimony to his sterling merit. The deep regret of the Lancaster church, at parting with him, and the affliction of the 2d Presbyterian church at his decease, bespeak the gratitude