Calcutta. Thus he officiated at three distant points in succession every sunday.

He undertook the charge of the mission church without any remuBeration whatever, at a time when, without his voluntary ministry there, its doors must have been closed and the congregation dispersed. After he had filled that vacant pulpit about seven months, the managers of the orphan institution did not deem his assumption of the charge and service of the mission church compatible with his primary engagement as superintendant of their school; and while they declared themselves to be impressed with a just sense of the laudable motives which led him to officiate in that congregation, they insisted on his either relinquishing the charge of it, or terminating his engagement with them. With the unanimous advice of his religious friends, he persevered in that course which amounted to a reluctant choice of the latter alternative, and was dismissed by the management in August 1788.

While he resided at the orphan house, he had established a charity school at his own charge, and under his own superintendance, for such native children as were abandoned by their parents at a time of famine; but on his quitting that establishment, he had no means for continuing that school, being unable to fill up the vacancies occasioned by removal or death.

On separating from the orphan institution, he received private pupils into his own house. He delighted in the work of educating youth, and his domestic academy was much in request. He also executed with great attention the duty of inspecting visitor to a school then supported by the old charity fund, but now combined with the free school of Calcutta. He moreover attended the hospital and jail, on fixed days, to impart religious instruction.

In 1794, he received a new accession of professional duty, in the appointment of chaplain to the presidency; and now on each returning Sunday he preached once at the presidency church, without relaxing in his previous engagements to officiate once before the garrison and twice to the mission congregation he delivered besides a weekly lecture, and attended to the catechetical instruction of children.

Mr. Brown had now been under the eyes of three successive governors-general, Lord Teignmouth, Marquis Cornwallis, and Marquis Wellesley; and he found eminent favour from them all. In 1800, the last founded the college of Fort William, of which he appointed Mr. Brown the provost. The celebrated Dr. Claudius Buchanan was nominated at the same time vice-provost; they had been coadjutors as chaplains, and supported the duties attached to their new dignities with zeal and cordiality.

The provost saw in this institution a sphere of large utility open to him, into which he entered with alacrity. The first formation and arrangement of a collegiate esta. blishment brought with it new duties to exercise both the mind and the body, the nerve of application and the eye of superintendance. Under his care a striking improvement was effected in the deportment of the students; the rules of the college induced them to be regular in attendance on the public services of the church, the system of conduct in morals was gradually improved, the unprincipled tide of debt was stemmed, and the culture of talents became the prevailing taste.

The Civil Fund rose out of the college, and was instituted in honour of marriage. Its regulations redound greatly to the credit of the writers on the Bengal establishment for urbanity, judgment, and correct feelings.

he appearing now to feel some hesitation on the subject, I caught at it, and said, my lord, I am satisfied, I shall return to college; for my views have been to the ministry, and without ordination I shall not go to India, whatever offers are made me.' After a pause, however, he said he would ordain me, and that he would too have given me priest's orders the day following, if I had been of age to receive them. He appointed the next day for my examination, and ordained me the day after."

On the second of March Mr. Brown was elected a corresponding member of the society for promoting christian knowledge. From these reverend gentlemen he had presents of books, and every mark of attention; and the society addressed a recommendatory letter, of which he was the subject, to the court of directors. Sometime afterwards, when the court had received satisfactory testimonials of his character and qualifications, they gave him three hundred guineas for the expenses of the voyage, which were paid in advance. The magnitude of this aid exceeded his hopes; the grate ful impression was never effaced. While some unexpected difficulties, and the necessity of waiting for a passage, detained him in England, he kept a journal of daily occurrences, from which we have taken some passages relating to his intimate concerns. As we have seen, it was wished that the superintendant of the Bengal Orphan establishment should go out a married man to this, Mr. Brown saw no objection, and accordingly offered his hand to a lady to whom he had been some time warmly attached, and who was every way worthy of him; she was a Miss Robinson, of very respectable connections in Hull. They were married on the 4th of March 1785, in the expectation of proceeding at once to India; but it appears that insurmountable obstacles occasion

ed them to experience some temporary delay and embarrassment. The journal says, (p. 166,) "I am now to reside in Chelsea, and have very little money and food to provide for my wife and self."

During his stay in England, he performed the office of curate at Chelsea church. His means of living comfortably and respectably while he had to remain in this country, and of adequate preparation for the voyage to India, and the due discharge of his calling there, were consulted and extended by the spontaneous and unostentatious assistance of many sincere and closely attached friends; time would fail us to enumerate them all, and it would displease many still living to have their names mentioned. Some of them, imitating the friends of Job after his recovery, made him gifts, and others volunteered small loans: their contributions did not aim to confer opulence, but to make the good of the day competent to a full blessing; and Mr. Brown, as he ultimately had the ability to make returns with interest, treated all these friendly advances equally as loans, where he could shew this honorable remembrance of such kindness without offence.

The passage to Calcutta was completed in seven months. On Sunday the 18th of June 1786, he entered upon his charge as chaplain of the military orphan establishment. The interests of so many children demanded his zeal, and he watched over them with affection.

Within a few days after arriving, he was nominated chaplain to a brigade in Fort William. During the voyage, he had begun the study of Bengallee, and amidst these active labours he continued the pursuit of this acquirement.

In 1787, he superadded to his engagements the services of the mission church. The orphan institution was then altogether on the bank of the river opposite

It was impossible for him, with this additional responsibility, to continue the daily labour of performing the surplice-duties of the presidency. These accordingly he resigned to the junior chaplain, with the entire emolument accruing from them.

He had still enough of ministerial and other labours to prove his invincible zeal, industry, and perseverance. He had been at intervals tried by much domestic and private affliction, and by many anxieties and mortifications. By the effect of all these and an enfeebling climate, his naturally strong constitution was at length sensibly impaired; and having now resided about twenty years in India, he had become subject to severe attacks of fever. These often reduced him very low; but his vigour and alacrity of spirit was alternately restored.

Among the incidents which had depressed him, was the loss of many valued friends by death. His first beloved wife, who suffered much at the returns of the hot season, could not be induced to go to England without him. She at length sunk under the recurrence of debility, in July 1794. After two years widowhood, he thought it his duty again to marry, and fixed his choice on the daughter of Capt. Cowley, of the Bengal infantry, a lady well known to his first wife, who knew and admired her, and had often said to her husband, in her exuberance of concern for him: "How happy would Miss Cowley make you! I wish you none other, should it please God to take me from you." Mr. Brown's second marriage took place 19th July 1796.

His correspondence with his friends in England was at one time almost totally suspended; so did application to the high duties, for the discharge of which he was responsible, absorb his attention. At length he was constrained to take some degree of rest from his public

labours, by the decision of the hon. Court of Directors to remodel the college of Fort William, on a diminished scale of establishment and expenditure, and so to lessen the number of the students as to render the higher appointments unnecesary. Among the offices annulled was that of provost, which he had held nearly seven years.

Such are the grounds for diminishing the establishment stated in the orders from home. Extract from a Public General Letter from the Hon. the Court of Directors, dated 21st May 1806.

Para. 6.-"We think the writers may complete their studies in the oriental branches, in one year, at the college at Calcutta, provided they devote their time and attention exclusively to this object. The expense, therefore, of the institution may be reduced within a much more limited scale than at present.

7.-"Considered upon these principles, it will be unnecessary to continue the offices of provost and vice-provost : all requisite superintendence may be found in the professors, or in occasional visitations of the governor-general or the members of the council."

Sir G. H. Barlow, Bart. was then the Governor-general and the visitor of the college. To him Mr. Brown addressed a paper, of which it will be enough to cite the principal passages, to manifest the disinterested concern which he displayed on the occasion.

"Hon. Sir:-From conviction that I cannot devote my time and attention more usefully in the service of the hon. Company, than by promoting the success of their collegiate institution, I am induced to offer the continuance of my superintendence, if my doing so be thought eligible, and to officiate without salary, if that is. considered necessary by the government under present circumstances.

"In making this proposal, I am more actuated by moral feeling than by any other. As head of a numerous family, I feel for the best interests of the rising generation. The vast difference between even imperfect discipline and no discipline, must be obvious to the mind of every parent. Restraint, in point of ex

pense alone, must be considered as no small advantage in a distant country, where the habit of contracting debt, and the danger of native jufluence, are so prevalent.

"The settled state of the college,

under the vigilant inspection of the governor-general, during the last year, enabled me to make reports very satisfactory, and highly creditable to the institution. The agitation which again prevails has produced, within a few weeks, considerable irregularity, as appears from the returns of the professors; and there

are other symptoms of rapid departure from the rules of the college, which nothing but established discipline, enforced with more rigour than has heretofore been found necessary, can check.Fort William, 23d Dec. 1806."

The government did not judge proper to depart from the letter of the orders received, and to accept his spirited overture, until the further pleasure of the court should be known. The circle of his public labours was thus suddenly circumscribed. Some time afterwards, the appointment of a chaplain to the mission church relieved him from over-strained efforts in another field, and salutary leisure seemed within his reach. From the year 1809 he had little occupation in Calcutta, besides that which arose from his chaplaincy, and voluntary services in the mission church to assist the new pastor.

He considered himself as placed by Divine Providence in every office to which he was called, so long as there was work for him to do in it; but when the plain commission ceased, he considered the call to cease just as the day-labourer, employed only to plough the field, does not repine at not being permited to gather in the fruit, but cheerfully turns to whatever other work his master directs him to pursue.

The Court of Directors assigned to Mr. Brown a pension in India, in addition to his salary as chaplain, in consideration of his disappointment in the abolition of the office

of provost to the college. With this succour he was enabled to continue his pious care of his parents, by a liberal support while he lived.

About this period a new field for exertion opened to him, in aiding the operations of the bible and church-mission societies in invited to be their secretary, an Asia. He was the first whom they office which he zealously filled.

And now to educate his rising family demanded from him increasing attention. In one of his letters, dated 1810, he says, "I changed my exalted employment of provost to a college for the humble occupation of schoolmaster to my own children." In the languages of the original scriptures, Mr. Brown prepared grammatical helps for their instruction; and with the extended view of facilitating bible translations, he commenced a polyglot vocabulary of several eastern languages, accompanied with Greek and

Latin.

He had acquired, from the celebrated Yuseph Emin, an estimate of the language of Armenia, which attributed to its radical part pure remains of the tongue spoken by the immediate descendants from

the family of Noah. The learned natives represent it to be the parent of the Persian, and to surpass it in sweetness. In another letter Mr. Brown observes:

"We must not quit Calcutta, the Athens of the East, without some knowledge of the Armenian tongue. The Armenian is the version of the scriptures, above all others (except the Syriac), which I should like to read."

It was Mr. Brown's design to give that impulse to his children's minds which was calculated to cause them to proceed through life in the line which in British India had been found pre-eminently useful, that of making literature. subordinate to business. But just as he had grounded them, with