house. He was welcomed by all, and delighted with his reception. After entering his name in the Society's book he returned home greatly strengthened and encouraged. He printed a poem entitled Jehovah's Mercy made known to all Mankind in these Last Days; or an Invitation to all Men of Religion to accept the Mercy of the Lord, as now manifested by His Messenger and Scribe the Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg. This poem had a large circulation, and reached several editions.

Immediately after his visit to London, he received an urgent request to prepare a volume of original hymns for the use of the public worship of the New Church. With this request he at once complied; and in the brief space of about three months presented a MS. copy of upwards of 300 hymns. These were greatly approved and an edition was printed in 1790. In the second edition, printed in the following year, 1791, several additional hymns were inserted suitable for particular occasions and special subjects. In England the sixth edition was reached, and in the Conference Hymn Book, which superseded its use in public worship, a large proportion of Mr. Proud's hymns are more or less included.

He was soon convinced that it would be impossible to remain in Norwich as the Minister of Ber-street Chapel. Although by the title-deeds, the Chapel, Minister's house, &c., were his own for life, yet, having changed his religious sentiments, he felt that he could not conscientiously hold them, although he had no prospects before him. He, therefore, freely conceded their use to the General Baptist denomination, and one of the last acts of his life was to convey the whole to trustees of their own selection. In the course of a very few weeks, however, he received a pressing invitation to visit a gentleman in Birmingham, who was engaged in building a temple for the use of the New Church, to see what was doing, and whether he could make the needful arrangements to become the stated minister. He paid this visit in June 1790; and it was soon amicably arranged for him to take the charge of the congregation, when the temple was completed. On making application in London, he

was ordained a Minister of the New Church, on the 3rd May, 1791, by the Rev. James Hindmarsh. This Temple was the first place of worship ever built for the promulgation of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. No reasonable expense was spared in its erection; and it was opened for public worship, on Sunday, June 19th, 1791. On this occasion Mr. Proud preached two discourses, morning and evening, from 2 Samuel vii. 29; in which he took occasion to announce the general doctrines to be advocated in that place. These sermons are before the public; and a contemporary observes respecting them, "that they were masterly compositions, were delivered with the utmost propriety, and were satisfactorily received by an overflowing audience."

In the same year, the celebrated Dr. Priestley addressed a series of Letters to the Members of the New Jerusalem Church, to which Mr. Proud printed a reply in the month of November; and in the following month, a sermon on The True Nature of the Soul and the Resurrection. Early in the year 1792, he printed a discourse on The Fundamental Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, preached at Birmingham and Bristol. In September of the same year he published a volume of Twenty Practical Discourses; and in October, a sermon entitled General Proofs of the Lord's Second Advent, preached in the Unitarian Chapel at Warwick, and another entitled Jesus Christ the Supreme Head of His Church, preached in Birmingham.

The Temple was regularly crowded to excess, and great indeed were the expectations formed of the future prosperity of the Society; expectations, alas! not then to be realized. While multitudes were flocking to hear "the great New Jerusalem Preacher," and the Temple was begun to be enlarged, the gentleman who had erected it, was unexpectedly involved in ruin before any trustees were appointed, and the property was claimed by his creditors, but found to be heavily mortgaged. Mr. Proud had reposed so much confidence in him as to place in his hands all his little savings, the hard-earned produce of many years of labour and thrifty economy. He lost all, together with his

situation as a Minister; and with a family to provide for was suddenly thrown upon the world without any apparent means of support. In this trying position, Mr. Proud had no resource but the Divine Providence. He made no loud complaints, but endeavoured to bear his heavy trials with christian fortitude and submission. Nor was he left without consolation. To the sincere sympathy of his friends, was likewise added, that of strangers. Dr. Madan, the then rector of St. Philip's Church, called at his house, expressed his grief for him in the tenderest manner, and begged his acceptance of a handsome present. Several gentlemen of the Established Church kindly visited him, and liberally contributed to his necessities. A few gentlemen of the Unitarian Societies generously waited upon him with a subscription of £30, to which, subsequently, considerable additions were made. Many others seemed delighted to express in every way their love and goodwill, and to afford him substantial help. Mr. Proud was truly astonished at the friendship expressed, and the benevolence received. So unexpected a reverse, and so unsolicited an expression of sympathy, overwhelmed his sensibilities for the time. He felt truly grateful that, notwithstanding the cause of goodness and truth had thus early received so severe a blow, in the dishonourable conduct of a professor, he was sustained by the assurance, of being still personally held in universal respect and esteem, by the inhabitants of the town. Such, however, was the irritated feeling of the public, excited towards the principal cause of all the mischief, that fears were entertained of the temple being burned to the ground. Threats to this effect were uttered, and though an extra watchman was provided, and great precaution taken, some combustible matter was projected through a window by a person unknown, and set the place on fire. It was soon discovered, and the damage done was but slight.

Just at this time a very large and beautiful Church was in course of erection in Peter Street, Manchester, for a seceding clergyman of the established Church, who had become an avowed receiver of the New Church doctrines. Mr. Proud was

invited to be his colleague, and accepted the invitation. From a scene of great trial he immediately removed thither. On Sunday, August 11th, 1793, the New Church was consecrated and opened for public worship. He preached on that occasion two able and impressive discourses from Isaiah lx. 1, 2. His preaching proved as popular at Manchester as at Birmingham, and the spacious Church was speedily thronged with attentive hearers, who listened with delight to his eloquent appeals. A painful disagreement with his colleague, however, soon disturbed the peace of the society, and made Mr. Proud's situation at Manchester, so peculiarly distressing, as to render it impossible for him to stay. He received earnest solicitations to settle at Bristol, and at Liverpool also, where a new Temple was then erecting; but, in the mean time, the Society at Birmingham had collected their scattered remains, and with great exertions, a few zealous friends, who were warmly and materially assisted by our late friend, James Meredith, Esq., built a second Temple, within a few doors of the former, but considerably smaller, being only designed for a temporary accommodation. Mr. Proud was then urgently intreated to return; and he accepted the offer after an absence of only seven months. He preached his farewell sermon at Peter-street, on Sunday afternoon, January 19th, 1794, from Mark xiii. 34, and left the congregation amid universal regrets.

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He consecrated and opened the new Temple in Birmingham, on the 30th of March, when he preached three interesting sermons; in the morning from Isaiah liv. 11—13; in the afternoon from Psalm xi. 7, 8; and in the evening from Psalm xxxvii. 27. Again the congregations were overflowing, the Society was prosperous, and harmony prevailed. Indeed, such was his celebrity, while at Birmingham, that to hear 'the great NewJerusalem preacher,' was thought a matter of necessity by strangers visiting the town; and the Society fully expected, had he remained, soon to be able to obtain as large and commomodious a chapel as that which they had lost." In 1796, he printed two New Year's discourses On the Great Importance of

Improving Time, and also, A Fast Sermon on the occasion of the War.

Early in the year 1797, a gentleman from London waited upon him with the information, that he and another friend were building a commodious and handsome Temple in Cross-street, Hatton-garden, for the express use of the New Church, without the most distant view to temporal advantage, and purely to promote the extension of the New Church doctrines; and as a minister would be required, he was come down to Birmingham to have a personal interview with him and to persuade him, if possible, to accept the appointment, as promising to open out a most extensive field of use. The Society in Newhall-street were convened during the gentleman's stay, and were reluctantly prevailed upon to consent to his removal, and a final arrangement was accordingly made. On the 7th of May he ordained his successor, delivering a sermon and charge from Mark x. 16, 17, and again quitted Birmingham for a new sphere of labour.

The New Jerusalem Temple at Cross-street, Hatton-garden, was consecrated and opened on the 30th of the following July. Mr. Proud preached in the morning from Isa. lxii. 10; and in the evening from Dan. ii. 44. Here his services were crowned with almost unexampled success, "and we can state," says a contemporary, "for we continually witnessed it, that the crowds which then pressed to obtain a hearing of Mr. Proud were not fewer than those which more recently flocked after the celebrated Mr. Irving at that same Chapel. Of the matter of his discourses, a judgment may be formed from those which are in print: as compositions, they were by no means faultless; but they presented the leading doctrines of the New Church in a very striking and convincing manner, and exposed the opposite errors with great strength and energy; while in pressing home moral considerations they were powerfully persuasive. His delivery, at the time of which we are speaking, notwithstanding some provincialisms of accent, certainly did possess an extraordinary charm his voice, look, action, and whole manner, were strong