publicly to express his views on the French Revolution. This was at a meeting of the freeholders at Stirling, where the late Duke of Montrose presided, and when Mr. Haldane delivered a speech, which made much noise at the time, partly on account of the talent it displayed, and partly in consequence of its being greatly opposed to the views of the nobility and country gentlemen with whom he was brought most frequently in contact.

But it was about the year 1794, that Mr. Haldane's views were turned from worldly politics, to a loftier subject. His own explanation of his change of sentiment, with regard to religion, is contained in the following extract from his " Address to the Public on Political Opinions," published at the close of the last century :

"Before the French Revolution," said Mr. Haldane, "having nothing to rouse my mind, I lived in the country, almost wholly engaged by country pursuits, little concerned about the general interests or happiness of mankind, but selfishly enjoying the blessings which God in his providence had so bountifully poured around me. As to religion, I contented myself with that general profession which is so common and so worthless, and that form of godliness which completely denies its power. I endeavoured to be decent, and what is called moral, but was ignorant of my lost state by nature, as well as of the strictness, purity, and extent of the Divine law. While I spoke of a Saviour, I was little acquainted with his character, the value of his sufferings and death, the need I stood in of the atoning efficacy of his pardoning blood, or of the imputation of his perfect obedience and meritorious righteousness, and of the sanctifying influences of the Eternal Spirit to apply his salvation to my soul. When politics began to be talked of, I was led to consider every thing anew. I eagerly catched at them as a pleasing speculation. As a fleeting phantom, they eluded my grasp; but missing the shadow, I caught the substance,

and while obliged to abandon these confessedly empty and unsatisfactory pursuits, I obtained, in some measure, the solid consolations of the gospel; so that I may say, as Paul, concerning the Gentiles of old,' He was found of me, who sought him not.""

It was characteristic of Robert Haldane, that "whatever his hand found to do," he did it "with all his might." And now, penetrated with a deep sense of the overwhelming importance of the gospel, he determined to devote his whole power and energy to its diffusion in the world. At a period when missionary enterprise had scarcely begun to awaken attention, and nothing considerable had been attempted by societies then in their infancy, he himself imagined a scheme, on which it is impossible to look, without admiring the grandeur of its aim, and the selfsacrifice it implied.

He determined to part with his estates, and, with his wife and daughter, proceed to India, there to attempt the evangelization of that mighty empire. With this view he secured the co-operation of the late eminent and excellent Dr. Bogue, whose ministry he had in his youth attended, when residing with Lord and Lady Duncan, at Portsmouth, and who had also for a time acted as his private tutor, and likewise travelled with him on the Continent. The Rev. William Innes, then minister at Stirling, was also well known to him as a neighbour in the country, and manifested his devotion, by consenting to abandon his comforts at home, and embark as a missionary to the heathen. A third, of approved talent and acquirements, was found in the brother-in-law of Mr. Innes, the late Mr. Greville Ewing, then assistant minister in Lady Glenorchy's church, Edinburgh Others were also to have gone in subordinate capacities, while ample provision was made for all through the munificent liberality of Mr. Haldane, who not only agreed to provide handsomely for their support during their continuance in India, but also engaged to pay to each of his principal coadjutors a sum of 3,500l.

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a-piece, at any time they thought fit to return to Britain. But all these designs were frustrated by the refusal of the East India Government to encourage any scheme for disturbing the superstition of their Pagan and Mohammedan subjects. While negotiations on the subject were pending, his principal estate was purchased by the late General Sir Robert Abercromby, and in the address from which we have already quoted, Mr. H. thus speaks of the transaction: I accordingly at last found a purchaser; and, with great satisfaction, left a place, in the beautifying and improving of which, my mind had once been much engrossed. In that transaction I sincerely rejoice to this hour, although I gave up a place and situation which continually presented objects calculated to excite and gratify 'the lust of the eye and the pride of life. Instead of being engaged in such poor matters, my time is now more at my command, and I find my power of applying property usefully, very considerably increased."

Baffled in the design of going to India, Mr. H. did not abandon his great object-of promoting the diffusion of the gospel. His younger brother, Mr. J. A. Haldane, animated with the same feelings, and urged forward by the same zeal, had been already led, by a series of providential causes, to abandon an honourable and lucrative profession as an East India captain, and to turn his energies to the revival of religion in his native country. While the elder brother was busily employed with the scheme for the East India mission, Mr. James Haldane was as actively employed, at his own expense, in promoting the gospel at home, and in devising means to supply a remedy for the spiritual destitution of his fellowcountrymen, more particularly in the Highlands and Islands. His first efforts were signalized by the attention awakened, in some of the neglected villages and in the collieries round Edinburgh, to his earnest, solemn, and spirit-stirring declarations of the gospel. By degrees he was led to take a wider range, till,

from the south of Scotland to Caithness, and the far off Orkney and Shetland islands, his gratuitous and disinterested labours were accompanied by an awakening now gratefully acknowledged by many of the most eminent clergymen of the Established church. In these tours he was accompanied at different times by the late excellent Mr. Aikman, by Mr. Innes and Mr. Rate, of Alnwick, who both survive.

When the scheme of the Indian mission was finally abandoned, Mr. Robert Haldane, who engaged, with heart and soul, in all that he undertook, immediately adopted measures for taking advantage of the excitement occasioned by the preaching of his brother, "Captain Haldane," as he was usually designated, and of his like-minded coadjutors. With this view, he induced the celebrated Rowland Hill to pay two successive visits to Scotland, in the years 1799 and 1800, visits which have become memorable in the annals of religion in Scotland. Regardless of expense, Mr. Haldane erected places of worship in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Dumfries, Elgin, Thurso, Dunkeld, and other places, and brought down from England various popular preachers, who helped to awaken public attention. Nor did he stop here. As there was a demand for preachers, which could not be supplied, he instituted seminaries for the instruction of pious young men in different places, and at an enormous expense. The number thus educated by Dr. Bogue, at Gosport, Mr. Ewing, at Glasgow, Mr. Innes, at Dundee, and by Messrs. Aikman, Cowie, Campbell, and Walker, at Edinburgh, amounted to nearly three hundred, among whom many have attained to eminence, as may frequently be perceived in the obituaries of the "Evangelical Magazine," as time, year after year, terminates the course of one or another. Nor was the good thus effected limited to the immediate sphere of his own operations. By Mr. Haldane's encouragement, donations, and example, others were stimulated to come forward, and the records of

various Institutions, including the Village Itinerancy Society, could testify how largely they are indebted to the subject of this brief memoir. The building of tabernacles did not succeed, and brought with them, in some instances, many of those troubles and inconveniences which are more or less incident to the tenure of property, where there are clashing interests or opposing sentiments. Into these questions we do not enter. To dwell on the history of that period would lead us far beyond our limits. But it may be

proper to observe, that a separation from the Church of Scotland, formed no part of the original designs of either of the Messrs. Haldane. They were simply actuated by a sense of the importance of eternity, and the value of immortal souls; and whoever shall hereafter review their long and honourable career, will at once perceive, that at no period did the love of popularity, or a desire to make a name in the world, ever stain the purity of their hallowed motives. When "The Pastoral Admonition of the General Assembly" was fulminated against the itinerant preachers; when Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, as well as Mr. Hill, were ignominiously pointed at; when these, with other preachers from England, whether of the Episcopalian or Congregational communions, were formally excluded from the churches of the Establishment in Scotland, it seemed no longer possible to maintain connexion with a church in which the cold, careless, and almost infidel spirit of moderatism, had then obtained the entire ascendant. The result was, that congregational churches were formed, and, by degrees, questions concerning ecclesiastical discipline and government, and finally, concerning Baptism, led to divisions, which marred a prospect at one time full of beauty and promise.

It is sufficient to mention, that no change of sentiment on these subjects, and no alteration of plan, even for one moment, induced either of the two brothers to falter in the pursuit of that hallowed object, to which they had de

liberately consecrated their lives. The "classes" which Mr. Robert Haldane instituted for students were not, and, from the magnitude of the cost, could not have been designed to be permanent; nor could any ordinary private fortune have continued to sustain the expenditure which, for several years, he incurred. This, however, was a calculation too often forgotten by those who criticised his proceedings; and with many, it would appear that his liberality, which was boundless, when a particular object was to be achieved, seemed only to argue that his resources were immense, and his means inexhaustible. But nearly to the close of his life, he continued to promote the education of preachers, either in this country or on the Continent, and one of his "classes" was for several years conducted at Paris, under that excellent pastor, Mr. F. Olivier, of Lausanne, who thus found the means of useful and honourable employment, when banished from his native country for the testimony of Jesus.

We do not profess to furnish any specific statement as to the amount of the vast sums expended by Mr. Haldane in the promotion of the gospel. The account we have seen in a respectable Edinburgh newspaper, and which professed to come down only to the year 1810, we have reason to know is understated. But in a publication of Mr. Haldane's, issued at the period of the changes alluded to, he calculated that his expenditure on chapels alone then exceeded 31,000l., while it is certain, that on general objects, he had spent almost as much as upon chapels, even without including the education of nearly three hundred preachers. It is, however, proper to add, that any money obtained from the sale of chapels, was afterwards more than expended in other plans for the spread of the gospel, while the sum specially received from the Glasgow Tabernacle, together with the interest, was scrupulously appropriated to the circulation of the Bible in different parts of the world. Nor was Mr.

Haldane's philanthropy bounded by the limits of his native country. At an early period, when engaged in his extensive operations in Scotland, his benevolence suggested the design of doing something for the Christianization of Africa. Through the medium of the late Mr. John Campbell, of Kingsland, he arranged a plan with Mr. Zachary Macaulay, for bringing home from Sierra Leone a number of children of chiefs, about thirty, we believe, who were to have been educated at Mr. H.'s expense, in Edinburgh, and sent back to Africa when grown up. The children were brought home. A bond for 7,000l. was given by Mr. Haldane, to secure their support for the destined period; but the interest they excited in London induced Mr. Macaulay and his friends to detain them at Clapham, a determination which was no doubt aided by the declaration of Mr. Pitt, that the intelligence of these children had done more than anything else, to convince him, that there was no innate inferiority in the African race.

Mr. Haldane's visit to the Continent in 1816, was one of the most remarkable eras in his life, and succeeded a period during which he had been less publicly occupied, and when those, who were ignorant of his pursuits, imagined that at his estate of Auchingray, he had again become, during a great part of the year, exclusively engaged in country pursuits. In the drainage and improvement of land, in the planting and transplanting of trees, and similar occupations, he never ceased to feel pleasure; and in these, as in other pursuits, he carried on his operations on the same extensive scale, and with the same characteristic energy and enterprise. But such pursuits no longer engrossed his mind. While residing in the country, he promoted the preaching of the gospel, both personally, and through the instrumentality of others. In the winter months he, for some time, acted as the colleague of his brother in the Tabernacle, at Edinburgh; while his work" On the Evidences of Christianity," which he published before his

departure for the Continent, was one of many proofs of the good account which he was able to give of his retired residence at Auchingray.

His visit to Geneva, to use the words of M. Merle D'Aubigné, the distinguished historian of the Reformation, might constitute "one of the most beautiful episodes in the history of the church." The awakening of which he was the honoured instrument, was the more remarkable, as it was chiefly among the students and ministers, and included several whose names adorn the literature of Europe. His residence at Mon. tauban, in the south of France, was equally remarkable. "We have borne him in our hearts," says the venerable M. Marzials, President of the Consistory of Montauban, "ever since the day when the Lord blessed us, in bringing him amongst us; and the good which he did, and which is extending more and more in our churches, renders his memory more and more dear to us all. When he appeared in our town, the gospel was but little honoured, and its vital doctrines entirely misconceived, except by a few, who, encouraged by our venerable brother, began to preach it freely, in spite of opposition and unbelief. Now! thanks be to God, it is preached with force, and without opposition, at least of an ostensible kind. These things are the fruits of the good seeds sown here and elsewhere in France, by Mr. Haldane."

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Soon after his return from the Continent he became engaged in the Apocrypha controversy, which produced so much agitation at the time, and ended in the exclusion of the Apocrypha from the Bibles circulated by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The ability he displayed in that discussion, the determination with which he asserted the purity of the word of God, and the power with which he refuted all who were disposed to lower the standard of inspiration, are well known to the world. To the last, he continued to regard the part he took in this controversy, and the fruits it produced, as among the most important services he

was enabled to render to the church of Christ. It brought the question of plenary verbal inspiration prominently into view, and was the means of leading many eminent ministers, and even heads of theological seminaries, to discard the notions they had adopted as to distinctions in the extent of the inspiration of Scripture. For his services in recalling the church to the ancient doctrine on this subject, he received the formal thanks of several Synods and Presbyteries, while the late Dr. Steadman, of Bradford College, and the learned Marcus Dods, of Belford, not to mention living characters, were among those who acknowledged their misconceptions, and nobly avowed the correction of their

error.

His great work is his "Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans," which, in its first form, appeared in the French language, and embodied the substance of his instructions at Geneva and Montauban. He was afterwards prevailed on to republish it in English; it cost him much labour, but was a constant source of profit and delight. It was his earnest hope and prayer, that it might be useful in checking the growth of those novel views of the atonement and imputed righteousness of Christ, which have recently sprung up, and were, in his judgment, likely in their consequences utterly to subvert the faith. The last labour in which he engaged, was the revision and enlargement of a new edition of his "Exposition." But although failing in health, and anxious for the completion of this work, even it was suspended for a short time in his zeal for the observance of the Lord's day, and the endeavour to prevent its desecration in Scotland by the Glasgow railway. His tracts on this question were written with all his usual force and clearness.

His end was peace. To the very last, the strength and acuteness of his mental energies remained unbroken, even while his bodily frame was giving way. His confidence reposed unshaken on the Rock of Ages; and while conscious of his own insufficiency, he was

by faith enabled to triumph in the righteousness of Christ. He was for some months conscious of his approaching end, but he knew in whom he had believed. He deliberately reviewed the whole of his eventful career, and while he expressed much humiliation in contemplating his own personal unworthiness, he was enabled, as his brother declared, in his sermon, even when the cold hand of death was on him, to exclaim,' I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me in that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.'" He calmly expired on the 12th December, and the last words he was heard to utter, showed that his soul was absorbed with the thought of being "with the Lord for ever.”

It is too soon to pass any final judgment on his character. His writings will doubtless survive, and his example prove useful both to his contemporaries and to posterity. In him great acuteness, vigour, and grasp of intellect, were combined with remarkable energy of mind, and a spirit of enterprise, actuated by a singular determination of purpose and dauntless courage. But his chief distinction is to be found in his character as a man of God; as one who had been led to discern and to feel the powers of "the world to come," and, under an abiding conviction of its importance, to count all things as loss compared with "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ."

It was to what he deemed the cause of Christ that during nearly half a century he devoted his talents, his fortune, and his personal exertions. In the words of the resolution passed on his death, by the Edinburgh Bible Society, "He brought to bear upon it all the powers of a vigorous and cultivated mind, purified and adorned by the graces of the Christian character. He was truly a man of God,—a man of prayer. The pure word of God was the high