people. I went out empty and returned comparatively full. I went out into the ministerial field of labour, with only one talent in knowledge and gifts; but now, through the diligent use of reading, meditation, and prayer, and the blessing of the Great Head of the Church, that one talent has increased to five. For it is with humility and gratitude, and to the praise and glory of the Father of Lights, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift,' that I venture to say my capacity for acceptable and useful preaching, when I returned from Lewes, compared with what it was when I went there, was in the full proportion of five to one. I had not only acquired more knowledge, by reading and study, but I had discovered, through an acquaintance with Claude's Essay,' some glaring inconsistencies in my composition, especially the practice of accommodating texts. This determined me to make it my first object to discover the true meaning of the words, by a careful perusal of the whole paragraph with which they were connected, as well as by a reference to the principal characters and circumstances to which they stood related. I acquired, also, more order and regularity in the disposition of the matter I intended to deliver, more skill in the choice of words, more self-possession in my delivery, and greater ease and dexterity in the use of my notes, to which I closely adhered."

6

On Mr. Townsend's arrival in London, he found himself appointed to the station at Kingston; many of the leading persons there, having been delighted with his plain and unadorned sermons.

The reception he met with, was kind and affectionate, and arrangements were finally made for his settlement. The salary was small, not more than sixty pounds a year, and, of that sum, one individual gave twelve guineas.

Fixed in this situation, he commenced Greek and Hebrew, which he soon laid aside that he might devote his whole time to theology, in the study of which, he passed fourteen, and sometimes sixteen hours a day. His aim was not to shine as a speaker-to preach useful and instructive sermons was his highest ambition. It may not be unprofitable to the reader, to young ministers especially, to trace the probable progress which the subject of this memoir made, to the honourable and influential station which he afterwards filled in society. Humility, and a deep sense of his own insufficiency and weakness, were the bases of future influence and usefulness. Conscious of the necessity of extraordinary diligence, he seized every opportunity of increasing his limited knowledge of scriptural and experimental theology. That he might collect a store of excellent and interesting materials for ministerial use, he adopted the following plan, which is given in his own words. "Method being necessary, I procured three quarto books, consisting of four hundred pages. One of these, I appropriated for the Old, another for the New Testament, and the third, for a body of divinity alphabetically arranged. If any text, either in private or family reading, impressed my mind, I indulged the feeling, and wrote all that was freely suggested in its proper place. The

first train of thought sometimes branched into so many parts, and with such facility, that in a few minutes I had formed a plan for an hour in preaching. On reading a well-written book, or on conversing with well-instructed Christians, I marked every thing new and important, treasuring it up in my memory, till I had an opportunity of committing it to paper. Somewhat resem→ bling the industrious bee, I strove to make the flowers of every garden contribute to increase the stock of my (as yet) ill furnished hive." This practice so enlarged his treasures in divinity, that his books were soon filled, and to these was added a large store of materials, written on loose pieces of paper, as he never walked in the country without providing himself with the latter, and a pencil, that some meditation or remark from the work he was reading might be preserved. This habit gave him such facility in writing, and induced such a power of abstraction, that when he afterwards became so fully occupied in committees, he could write during the progress of speeches to which he intended a reply, and yet take up every point of discussion in the cléarest and most perspicuous manner. The contemplations of Bishop Hall were a source of rich instruction and entertainment. So enraptured was he with their beauty, and so charmed with the light which they threw on the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament, that he would scarcely allow himself time for food or rest. Gurnall's Christian Armour was also a favourite work at this period. Through the influence of a friend he received a large box of

books from the late John Thornton, Esq., among which was Brown's Self-interpreting Bible, and his Dictionary. These made a good addition to his yet small, but, to him, valuable, library. "Among the many ways (remarks Mr. T.) in which rich Christians may do much good, one is to give a few standard books in divinity to poor students, who have not the means of procuring them, and to whom, if I may speak from experience, they would be more precious than gold."

On the 1st of June 1781, Mr. Townsend was ordained Pastor of the Independent Church at Kingston; having the consent of the Society to model it according to the usual order of that denomination. In the same month he was united in marriage to Miss Cordelia Cahusac; concerning whom, he thus writes in his diary several years after, (but without date):-" Her person, her piety, her prudence, her industry, her economy, have been all that a Christian could expect or desire. She has been a help-meet in reality. In our lives we have been pleasant to each other; and our parting will be truly painful. But oh! the blessedness of a good hope through grace. Our friendship will be renewed and perfected, and will become unfading in the kingdom of glory." To meet the increase of family expenses, Mrs. T. in 1783 commenced a boarding school. Many anecdotes are left on record, of the effects produced on the minds of the young people, by the amiable and blameless conduct of her husband, whose example influenced, even more than his precepts.

Kingston was a barren and unpromising soil:

religion was much neglected. Like Gallio of old, the higher classes cared for none of these things, and the lower were so irreligious and brutal, that they sometimes assaulted those who attended at the Meeting. The minister having incurred a risk of personal injury, had the ringleaders secured and brought before the Magistrates, who committed them to Bridewell. The offenders were, however, liberated, on giving security for future good behaviour; as prevention of the evil, not revenge, was the only remedy sought. On referring to this period in his journal, he writes," I can say I was not much depressed by the reproaches or persecutions of the world. These things were to be looked for, in such days of darkness and prejudice. But I began to feel some of the cares and difficulties of a settled minister. The vile and detestable heresy of antinomianism began now to spread through the whole vicinity of Kingston, Mr. Huntington's place of residence. Weekly sermons were preached by him at Thames Ditton andRichmond. Though he spent his Sabbaths and most of his days in London, yet these weekly services constituted a rallying point, not only for such as had imbibed the poison so artfully blended in his writings, with the great doctrines of the holy Gospel of Christ; but, also, for all that were constitutionally fickle, or of a rugged and restless temper of mind. Every effort was made by the party that could be devised, to inoculate the whole church and congregation with their unscriptural sentiments, and with their more mischievous temper. Every new book written by their oracle,