explicitly as he, that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,' and who have exemplified as fully the fruits of the Spirit;' but there are few of the professors of this vital power of godliness,' whose clear-sightedness and habits of close thinking more completely exempt them from the suspicion of enthusiasm and self-delusion.

has

The memoirs of a merely literary man, daily pursuing the same or similar occupations, and secluded in his study from the changeful scenery of human life, exhibit few of those incidents that awaken general interest. But where an individual has raised himself from obscurity by superior intelligence, boldly grappled, in the outset of his career, with the evils of ignorance and poverty,- has struggled successfully against the opposing current of circumstances, and won for himself honourable renown; and all this commenced in the ardour of religious feeling, sustained by the spirit of genuine piety, and prosecuted throughout in sincere and faithful reliance on that Almighty Being to whom all his abilities and successes were ascribed; not only is our curiosity gratified, and our admiration raised, but the religion of Christ is exalted in our estimation, and, through the feelings induced by such an example, our hearts are made better.

Among those who know little of vital Christianity but from the caricatures which its enemies have drawn, and of which its thoughtless friends sometimes furnish the originals, an opinion is very prevalent, that it is inimical to scientific pursuits. This, however, is an opinion entirely destitute of

foundation: and whatever tends to undeceive in a matter so important, must be valuable to every friend of religion, and every lover of truth. If those views of Christianity, to which reference has been made, have any influence on the pursuit and application of knowledge, its influence must be beneficial. It cannot be supposed, that those convictions of the justice, goodness, and mercy of God, which fasten on the mind of the pious believer, will indispose him to trace out the wisdom and the power displayed in all the works of Deity. It cannot be credited, that the energetic principle which regulates our passions, controls our temper, and harmonizes our moral system, will incapacitate us for mental exercise or intellectual enjoyment. Nor can it be reasonably thought, that the faith which supplies a purer motive, and promises a more glorious reward, than wealth or fame, will furnish a less powerful incentive to honourable exertion.

Without yielding the truth of a proposition, which we believe may be satisfactorily established upon abstract principles, but which it would be foreign to our present purpose to pursue, we may confidently leave it to the evidence of facts. The accumulation and comparison of these will lead to the conviction, that the religion of the heart is favourable to the highest displays of the intellect, and confirm the scriptural declaration, that godliness is profitable for all things.' Each succeeding generation has furnished evidence that this proposition is true; and our own days are not without brilliant examples.

SECTION 11.

Family Connexions and Parentage.

THE ancestors of Mr. Drew have been represented as respectable and affluent; but the elderly female, in whose memory the family archives were chiefly deposited, having been several years deceased, with her are gone the proofs of ancient gentility. His great grandfather came from Exeter into some part of Cornwall, where he kept a tavern; and a son of his, named Benjamin, followed the father's occupation in St. Austell. He married a person of considerable property; but assuming the rank of an independent gentleman, and plunging into dissipation and extravagance, he squandered his substance, and brought himself and family into difficulties. Nine of his children, seven of whom were females, lived to maturity. Benjamin, the elder son, settled in the neighbouring fishing town of Mevagissey, where the junior branches of his family still reside. The descendants of the married daughters are now found in the Cornish families of Osler, May, Bayley, Julyan, and Hockins.

The attention of Joseph, the second son, the father of Samuel Drew, was first directed to the welfare of his soul, at the age of eighteen, under a sermon of the Reverend George Whitefield. With some of

C

his youthful companions, he attended the out-door preaching in a neighbouring village, as a matter of frolic; but, like many who were attracted in those days by its novelty, though he went to scoff,' he remained to pray.' The truths of religion were set forth in a manner so new and so convincing, maintained by arguments so powerful, and enforced by eloquence so resistless, that he was struck to the heart. He returned to his father's house; but finding its scenes of riot and dissipation perfectly uncongenial with his newly-acquired feelings, he withdrew from the company of his old associates; sought opportunities for secret prayer; and diligently attended the ministry of Messrs. Whitefield, Wesley, and the early assistants of their itinerant labours.

It is not to be supposed, that this alteration in his deportment passed unregarded by his irreligious relatives. In his case, the prediction of Christ respecting the treatment of his followers, that a man's foes shall be they of his own household,' was literally verified. A storm of persecution was raised against him, and all manner of evil was said of him falsely' by his nearest relatives. But he sought divine aid, received it, and stood unmoved.

A further and a severer trial, however, awaited him. From all the family his serious deportment had subjected him to acts of unkindness; but from his father he experienced the most cruel treatment. Unrelenting severity was exercised towards him, with the expectation of overcoming his resolution; and, ere long, he was subjected to the painful alternative, of giving up his religious duties and

connexions, or quitting the paternal roof.

Brought

up to no business, and accustomed to a life of indolence and indulgence, the trial to him was most painful. Like Moses, however, he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.'

An outcast from his father's house, and spurned by his nearest kindred, the dissevering of the ties of relationship caused the bonds of religious union to be the more closely drawn. He now became a member of the society formed by the Rev. John Wesley, in St. Austell, and continued in that connexion to his dying day. His worldly prospects being thus sacrificed, for peace and a good conscience,' he sought a means of livelihood suited to his circumstances. To the drudgery of daily labour he cheerfully submitted; and in the sweat of his face he ate bread,' until a late period of life.

In the year 1756, when about twenty-six years of age, Joseph Drew married Susanna Hooper, who died childless before the end of three years. His circumstances could not, at this time, have been more favourable than when he was driven from his father's door; for he was considered exceedingly fortunate, and raised beyond his just expectations, in marrying a person who, had she outlived her parents, would have been entitled to property of the value of twenty pounds.

An incident connected with his first wife's death, proves how relentless were his persecutors and slanderers. Before he became the subject of those religious convictions which so influenced his future