exposed, and the particular habits of life they had formed,— all which required that his prayers, his instructions, and the whole tenor of his ministrations, should be adapted to the changed circumstances in which he was placed. If he felt deeply anxious in this important crisis about his future prospects, the following letter from the elders of Wells Street must have been consolatory to his mind, by leading him to cherish a pleasing anticipation, that the prayers of such men would assuredly draw down from on high rich and seasonable blessings on both their minister and congregation.

"London, May 20, 1782.

6

"REV. AND DEAR SIR,-It gives us great pleasure and satisfaction, for which we cannot be sufficiently thankful, that the great and compassionate Minister of the upper sanctuary hath conferred on us the near and pleasant prospect of the fulfilment of one of his gracious words to us, though altogether unworthy, that our eyes shall see our teachers,' and that we shall have one to break the bread of life among us, and to be an instrument in the Lord's hand of spreading the renowned fame of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to the present only, but also to the rising generation. Blessings are doubly sweet when they are received as the answer of prayer. It has been our concern, though with much imperfection and much unbelief, to ask a pastor from the Lord; and we hope he hath heard us. Therefore, we desire to take the blessing from his gracious hand, and to render unfeigned thanksgiving. It is our earnest prayer, that the Lord may speedily supply the people of Newtown, and make up their present loss; and that he may direct your way to us in the fulness of the Gospel of peace."

We are indebted for the following incident to one of his earliest friends at the University of Edinburgh, to whom we have referred in a preceding part of this memoir:-" When he left Scotland, to take charge of the congregation in Wells Street, three of us, his sincere friends, met him at Horndean, near Cornhill, where, next morning, he was to take the coach for London. He lay down upon a bed to prepare himself for the fatigue of the journey; we sat by him; and one of the

most important subjects of conversation was regarding the way in which a Christian missionary should conduct himself in introducing the Gospel among rude and heathen nations, ―a conversation in which he warmly joined. Of the four present, Mr Waugh was afterwards eminently useful in bringing forward and establishing the London Missionary Society."

He arrived at London on the 14th, and commenced his ministry in Wells Street on the 16th June, 1782. His first sermon was from Psalm xlv. 2: "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." In this discourse he gave utterance to that ardent and affectionate regard to the best of masters which glowed in his bosom, and which communicated so much life and character to the whole of his ministry, manifesting on every occasion that he was indeed a minister of whom it might be said, "out of the fulness of his heart his mouth spake." He had three services every Sabbath : lecturing in the forenoon, and preaching in the afternoon and the evening; and this he regularly continued till near his death. His first communion was on the 10th November, 1782, when he preached from Isaiah lii. 14. Agreeably to the practice of the Secession church, he observed a day of fasting along with the congregation in the preceding week, when he preached twice; preaching also on the Saturday evening, when, after public worship was concluded, tokens of admission to the Lord's table were distributed to the members of the congregation. During the first year of his ministry he was not absent for a single Sabbath from his church; and preached only twice out of his own pulpit on week days, once at Penge Common (where he then lodged) to a small congregation on the green.

For some years after his settlement in London he spent a great part of his time in retirement, and employed himself in reviewing his classical studies, in a critical perusal of the sacred Scriptures, in reading various writers on doctrinal and practical theology, and in making himself acquainted with

general literature; so that his mind was richly stored with important and valuable information on every topic he was called to discuss. When his public avocations became afterwards very numerous, he was accustomed, in conversing with his younger brethren, occasionally to refer, with his usual modesty, to that course of diligent and laborious study which he had found so advantageous, not only to his ministerial labours, but also in greatly furthering the exertions he had been enabled to make, along with pious and good men, to extend the interests of religion and charity both at home and abroad.

In the summer of 1783 he revisited his native country, where he continued about six weeks, generally preaching three times every Sabbath.

His private diary, from which we have previously taken some interesting extracts, will pleasingly aid us in carrying forward this section of the memoir. This brief record was so secretly kept, that none of his family were aware of its existence till it was discovered, among some other papers, after his decease. It appears to have been written solely to assist his own grateful recollections of what Divine goodness had done for himself and his family, and to give expression to the devout aspirations of his heart to the God of all his mercies. Many of the subsequent extracts will be deemed valuable, not merely as a record of transactions and events, but as affording a faithful representation of the prominent features of his mind, and particularly of the fervent piety which glowed in his bosom towards that heavenly Friend "who seeth in secret," into whose ear he was accustomed to pour forth the unreserved and confidential breathings of his soul.

He thus notices the death of his revered father, the intelligence of whose dangerous illness had hastened his journey to Scotland:

“July 6, 1783.-It was six hours after his departure that I arrived at Caldron-Brae; where I found my dear, my excellent mother, with my brother and sister, dissolved in grief, yet wonderfully supported by the consolations of our holy religion. This was on Sabbath; and on the Tuesday follow

ing, according to the usage of the country, he was buried in the church-yard of Gordon, and his funeral attended by a large and respectable number of the friends of the family. It happened, providentially, that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was dispensed on the following Sabbath at Stitchell; the solemn services of which were found strengthening to our hearts.

"And now, blessed God! when my earthly father is removed from me, do thou take me up. Under thy wise, and kind, and powerful administration, I shall enjoy more safe guidance, more tender care, and more sure protection, than from any created relation I could ever receive. I look up to thee; on thine arm will I lean. Guide me with thy counsel while here, and afterwards receive me to glory. Be thou the husband of my widowed mother, and the father of her children. Bind us together with the cords of love, and enable us to soften and to smooth the rugged paths of old age to her feet."

It would appear, from a long letter addressed to him by one of his most intimate friends, soon after his settlement in London, that his great acceptability, not only as a minister, but in the intercourse of private life, and his fondness for literary society, excited considerable apprehensions in the breasts of some of his brethren in Scotland. They naturally dreaded lest his pleasing urbanity of manners, his social frankness in congenial society, and his generous unsuspecting temper, might prove snares to him, by alluring him too much into company, which, whatever might be its recommendations in some respects, had a tendency to occupy his thoughts with other pursuits than that of his high calling; and which, if permitted to acquire undue influence over his affections, might even bring his ministerial character and usefulness into imminent hazard. This letter of admonition is too long, and otherwise unfit, for insertion; but we may observe, that it is written with the unreserved plainness and earnestness of warm attachment, and is equally creditable to the friend who wrote, and to him who received and carefully preserved it.

It is a great blessing to a young man to possess such a friend; it is still a greater to be so worthy of one as was the subject of this memoir. Whatever were the fears of his friends, they were, through the blessing of God, soon happily removed, by his diligent devotedness to his ministerial labours, and by the secluded studies to which for some years he chiefly devoted his leisure hours. His marriage, which took place three years afterwards, opened to his heart a new range of duties and enjoyments, for which he was by natural disposi-tion most peculiarly adapted. The increase of his family, though necessarily bringing with it many temporal privations and many anxious cares, was yet accompanied with blessings and comforts which few men were ever more fitted than he deeply to appreciate. The new relationships of husband and father, while they unlocked the hidden fountains of his heart, by developing all his tender sympathies and solicitudes, enriched him at the same time, in the only mode in which he ever coveted riches, by an abundant harvest of reciprocal affection.

In his diary, his marriage is thus recorded:-

"August 10, 1786.-After regular proclamation of bans in the churches of St Mary-le-bone and of St Clement Danes, I was married, by the Rev. John Riddoch, minister in Coldstream, to my dear wife, at her father's house, in Edincrow, in the parish of Coldingham, and county of Berwick."

His aged widow (whose maiden name was Mary Neill) still lives to weep over his grave, and to anticipate with humble hope that "gathering day" to which he so often and so confidently alluded. It were indelicate, therefore, to record more prominently than by referring to his letters to her, how richly he experienced the fulfilment of the blessings promised by the inspired author of the Proverbs to the possession of a pious, prudent, and devoted wife. May the testimony so feelingly given by her husband to her devoted kindness, fidelity, and prudence, and the affectionate gratitude of her numerous family for her tender care and pious counsels, be taken by her as a pledge of the faithfulness of Him who