with his family at South Port, a bathing place, on the coast of Lancashire, about 20 miles north of Liverpool. He was accompanied thither by the Rev. Thomas Smith, who was then the tutor to his children. For two or three summers previous to this, there had been preaching in the diningroom of one of the hotels in South Port; and Mr. Smith commenced the service for that summer in the same room, with very encouraging prospects of success. The room was not registered under the Toleration Act, from deference to the ministers of the established church, who had occasionally officiated in it, and who might be expected to do so again. The curate of the parish, however, took advantage of this circumstance to prevent the preaching; and Mr. Smith from that time preached regularly in the house occupied by Mr. Spear, with the full consent of its owner, who was a Roman Catholic. The curate, who interfered in this business, was the successor to an aged clergyman, who had been curate of the parish nearly 40 years, and was, at that time, in great affliction and deep poverty. When Mr. Spear was made acquainted with his circumstances, he caused notice to be given for a collection to be made the following Sunday in his house after preaching, in aid of the poor superannuated curate and his family. The sum of money raised on this occasion was very handsome; and he would have sent the amount the next day to the dying minister, but the person whom he wished to convey it was desirous that he should accompany him, and present the money himself. He consented to do so, and a gentleman, then on a visit at South Port, a member of the church of England, went along with them. It was a most affecting interview. The modesty of Mr. Spear caused him to defer presenting the money until he was about leaving the room. A few minutes before this took place, the young curate, who had so unhandsomely interfered to prevent Mr. Smith's preaching at the hotel, entered the apartment; and was himself a witness to the deed of benevolence, which so remarkably illustrated the liberality and kindness of this amiable man, who, though a decided Dissenter, had been making this generous effort to relieve a distressed clergyman of his own church. The gentleman who accompanied Mr. Spear was much touched by this instance of "charity without partiality," and remarked, that if the mind of the young curate was capable of being softened, such a scene as that must do it. Not many months after, the young clergyman died, and the following letter from Mr. Spear will shew how deeply he felt on his sudden removal:

"I was duly favoured with your letter of the 1st ult., the contents of which I duly noticed, and intended to write to you again bye and bye; but what a subject to correspond concerning has death furnished us with! On looking over the Liverpool paper this morning, I came to the deaths, when lo! I read, to my great surprise, the death of the Rev. Mr. Y-, of North Meols, in the 24th year of his age, after a short illness. What a very striking providence to you and to me! How we should adore the mercy and forbearance of God, that we are spared to serve him in the land of the living, and to humble ourselves under his mighty hand! Pray did you see Mr. Y in his confinement? Did you go without [invitation] to fulfil the commands of your Lord, or did he send for you? I am anxious to hear from you with all the particulars, and I shall be very glad indeed, as you will believe, if you can say that you have strong grounds to conclude that he died in Christ. I have heard of his preaching very good sermons, that he corresponded, and was a favourite too, with the bishop."

This anecdote, perfectly characteristic of the man, fully justifies the remark of one of his intimate friends, who observes of his benevolence: " It was limited to no country, and to no party. His account, in this particular, lies chiefly between himself and his approving God. No one ever knew the extent of his beneficence. It was without ostentation, and without noise. The great day alone will discover its vast and silent operations. He sent considerable sums of money in letters, with a request that they might be inserted as the gifts of a friend; and these were even unknown to his own family; thus guiding himself by our Saviour's rule, 'Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.' He was afraid of being thought too well of."

He visited England in the spring of 1817; but the winter of that year was most disastrous to his health. He was attacked with a violent inflammation of the lungs, was long in extreme danger, and though he recovered, his constitution was much enfeebled by the shock it had sustained. During the whole of his affliction, the principles of religion were in lively operation. When in the full expectation of his death, he spoke collectedly; and some of his expressions were peculiarly forcible. He appeared "just on the verge of heaven," and, as one about to leave the world, addressed many impressive exhortations to his family. On his recovery he writes thus: "Yet I must say that I desire to feel grateful to the Lord for his great mercy to me and my family, in my affliction, as

well as in my recovery; for I trust I can say 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may keep thy statutes.' Oh! may I ever retain those lively impressions made upon my mind in the time of my sickness, concerning the vanity of the present life; except as it relates to another and a better the importance, interest and honour, O yes! honour, of devoting ourselves to the service of God, in any way whatever; the solidity, the infallible certainty of the ground of a sinner's hope of pardon and acceptance through faith in Christ Jesus, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.'. O yes! Allow me, therefore, my dear sir, as one recovering from the grave, to encourage your hands in the prosecution of every good work, to abound more and more in faith and good works. Now is your day of labour, of seed time, and of stewardship. Your reward of grace, you know, not of debt, is certain; don't fear! Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.""

In the following spring he again visited England. He spent some time in Manchester, Liverpool, and London; and returned to Edinburgh by sea.

In consequence of his severe illness the preceding winter, he was prevailed upon to spend that of 1818 in some warmer climate. In October he commenced his journey southwards, accompanied by Mrs. Spear. They proceeded through Manchester and Bath, and reached Penzance, the place of their destination, in safety. They were cordially received by a large circle of Christian friends, whose kind assiduity to promote his comfort, and warm expressions of regard, must have been peculiarly grateful to the heart of the interesting invalid. The climate had a most happy influence upon his health, so that he was not confined to the house during any part of the winter; and his spirits were as good as might reasonably be expected, when at so great a distance from his family.

But during his temporary abode in that place, an event occurred which would have cast the shade of melancholy over the brightest scenes. A lovely boy, about eleven years old, a most engaging and promising child, was removed by death. No situation can be conceived more trying than that in which these parents were placed at this awful juncture. Six of their children were afflicted with the measles at the same time; they were fully apprized of the extreme danger of one, and the alarming symptoms in others; but the sad intelligence was a full week in reaching them; so that their

suspense was embittered by the consideration, that when they sighed, and wept, and hoped, and prayed, the beloved object of their parental solicitude might be beyond the reach of their sympathy and their prayers. When the letter came, which they expected to be final, before opening it they joined in prayer for strength to receive with submission whatever information it might convey. But when, with a faltering voice, the father read the mournful account of the death of his son, Nature bowed beneath the stroke, and expressed her anguish in a flood of tears. It was not long, however, ere he recovered his accustomed composure, and devoted himself, with Christian fortitude, to the duty of administering comfort to his afflicted partner and distressed family.

The following extracts from his letters to his eldest son, on that trying occasion, cannot fail to be interesting, as they breathe all the placid resignation of the Christian.

"Penzance, Jan. 16, 1819.

"In the awful suspense as to the decease or recovery of our dear son Joseph, your dear mother and I will endeavour to commend him, if he is yet in life,-if, indeed, he is yet alive, and you all, (who are dear to us as ourselves,) to the blessing of God; saying, as the Lord commanded Moses to direct Aaron to bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and give thee peace:' and in this prayer is included all that we could desire and wish concerning you. Well then, if it please God to take unto himself our beloved child, and in this manner to bless the lad, in his abundant mercy, and in answer to our prayers, shall we murmur? Shall we complain? Oh no! Ought we not rather to rejoice and praise the Lord? But if we cannot do this, through the weakness of our faith, the remaining carnality of our hearts, we will not suffer ourselves, (by the aid of the Lord,) to indulge any unkind, ungrateful, unbelieving thoughts of the Lord's dealings towards us in this affliction; but, like Aaron, hold our peace, if we can rise no higher. And should it please God to spare and recover the child, in answer to prayer also, O that it may be for the glory of God; that the Son of God might be glorified thereby: that he may be a burning and shining light in the world: that he and his dear brothers may be the devoted sons of God, in the Gospel of his Son, our Saviour. Tell them, if they are all alive when you receive this, or if not, tell the survivors, that this is our prayer for them all." He then alludes most affectionately to his daughters, who, with one exception,

had escaped the contagion; and concludes with an earnest prayer, that the affliction might be sanctified to the whole household.

On receiving the intelligence of the death of Joseph, he wrote as follows:

"MY VERY DEAR SON,

Jan. 19, 1819.

"Now we find that your dear sister's and your own anxiety and sympathy for your beloved brother Joseph terminated on the evening of this day week, about seven o'clock, by his departure from this vale of tears. Well! it is well! Good is the will of the Lord; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord! We trust to hear something further from you to-morrow; but whatever be the result of one or more days hence, let me entreat you and your dear sister, and all the surviving family, indeed, to be of good comfort, to look up for Divine consolations, and to realize the same truths which you suggest to us. Meantime, I hope we shall be enabled to bear all God's holy will concerning us; and you all, our dear children, divide our love among you, and give a large portion thereof to the dear sufferers. We recommend you to God; and he only can give us all relief."

He returned home early in the spring; and as the summer advanced, assured by experience of the unsuitableness of the climate of the north to the delicate state of his lungs, he determined on leaving Edinburgh, and was anxiously engaged in forming plans for the future. The subject was much involved, and attended with many difficulties. The interests of his numerous family lay near his heart; and for their improvement he was disposed to make any lawful sacrifice; but to remain any longer there, was to expose his life to the most imminent peril, and therefore inconsistent with duty. These conflicting considerations, together with his various engagements, wholly absorbed his time, and in some measure preyed upon his spirits. But, in the midst of these perplexing cares, death laid his softest hand upon him, and relieved him from all further anxiety, by calmly introducing him to a state of perfect blessedness and rest.

In the month of July, 1819, he removed with his family to Porto Bello, a place on the sea-side, about three miles from Edinburgh. There he used sea-bathing, and frequently appeared much refreshed by it; but, in the meanwhile, disease was busy in his frame, and its operation was in all probability not a little facilitated by the cares that oppressed his mind.