PREFACE. SINCE the publication of Mr. Drew's Life, in 1834, another generation of readers has arisen. For some of these, to whom the name of Samuel Drew may be less familiar than it was to their sires or grandsires, a few explanatory words may be desirable. 66 In the first volume of the Autobiography of Dr. Adam Clarke, the renowned Commentator and Divine, the following statement occurs: Among those whom "Mr. Clarke joined to the Methodists' Society was "SAMUEL DREW, then terminating his apprentice"ship to a shoemaker, and since become one of the "first metaphysicians in the empire; as his works on "the Immateriality and Immortality of the Soul of "man, the Identity and Resurrection of the Human Body, and the Being and Attributes of God, suffi ciently testify. A man of primitive simplicity of "manners, amiableness of disposition, piety towards "God, and benevolence to men, seldom to be equalled; "and, for reach of thought, keenness of discrimina "tion, purity of language, and manly eloquence, not "to be surpassed in any of the common walks of "life. In short, his circumstances considered, with "the mode of his education, he is one of those prodigies of nature and grace which God rarely ex"hibits; but which serve to keep up the connecting "link between those who are confined to houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, and beings "of superior order, in those regions where infirmity "cannot enter, and where the sunshine of knowledge "suffers neither diminution nor eclipse." However large an allowance may be made on the ground of strong personal attachment, it is indisputable that the subject of such a eulogy, thus permanently recorded, was no ordinary man; while the frequent allusions in the pages of living writers to Samuel Drew and his Life, show that his biography has more than a transient value. To trace his instructive career is the design of the following pages. Not in one aspect only, is our narrative a Life Lesson. To the working man, or the humble tradesman, struggling against adverse circumstances to improve his social position, it is a lesson of encouragement. To the untutored man, longing to traverse the field of knowledge, but excluded by poverty from its usual avenues, it is a lesson of perseverance. To the youth pursuing evil courses, or resolving with divine aid to renounce them, as well as to the believer, feeling his responsibility, and anxious to fulfil his christian duty, it is a religious lesson. Nor is it less a lesson of hope to those parents who mourn over reckless or ungodly children. 66 "No man, whose intellect has, like yours, sprung up amidst the shallows of this world's advantages, "dieth to himself," were the words of an intimate friend of Mr. Drew, when urging him to put on record the events of his life. Even before this appeal, a consciousness of the lesson embodied in his personal history, led him to say, "Should God spare me to return in health to Cornwall, I intend to employ my leisure in writing some account of my life, and leave it for others to publish when I am gone." The execution had been too long delayed. The desired return to Cornwall in health was not vouchsafed; and the hoped-for period of leisure never came. Bodily weakness not permitting the use of the pen, some particulars of his infancy and boyhood were committed to writing at his dictation, before he left London, when the encroachment of disease forbad further progress. There were already extant two short biographical sketches from his own pen, of an earlier date, chiefly descriptive of his difficulties in the path of literature. In the present, as in the former narrative of his life, all the facts thus personally recorded are incorporated. Many other portions of it are given in his own words. The book has, therefore, in no small degree, the value of an autobiography. The recollections of his sister and of his early friends supplied many incidents illustrative of his life prior to the time of the compiler's own knowledge. For its completion, ample material was found in his correspondence and published works. To many readers, the original memoir was a sealed book, because of its price. It is therefore hoped that an acceptable public service will be rendered, by presenting the narrative in a cheap and portable form. This book is not a mere abridgment of the former, though sold below one-third of its price. The reduction has been chiefly effected by using a smaller type, making fewer sectional divisions, condensing portions of minor interest, and omitting letters that relate principally or wholly to the controversies of bygone days. No fact or incident of importance has been excluded. On the contrary, additional matter has been introduced; and it will be seen, on comparison, that both in language and arrangement, this is, to a great extent, a new biography. To such readers as may wish to know more of Mr. Drew from his correspondence, or from those parts of the narrative that have been condensed, the larger volume is still accessible. JACOB HALLS Drew. BODMIN, CORNWALL, |