very strikingly illustrates that feature of his character, that he carried principle into everything.

But while this posthumous volume has nothing to fear in a literary point of view, but is rather to be numbered with the creditable specimens of American genius and taste in the department of letters, it is on a very different account that we are anxious to introduce our readers to its contents. The titlepage does not say that Mr Haven was a religious man, and that every page of this volume, like every day of his life, illustrates the beauty and consistency of a christian character. Unpretending and unassuming, without loud profession or conspicuous display, he exhibited, in all his walks of life and in every station to which he was called, the equal, consistent, and useful example of one who acts from the high, equal, and useful principles of a firm and habitual faith. His writings are in this respect like his life. They are imbued with a christian spirit. It cannot be separated from them. Upon whatever topic they treat, the uncompromising integrity and purity of the christian morality, rule all and subject all to their standard; and no fit occasion, upon which it might naturally be introduced, is suffered to pass, without recurring to the truth and excellence of that religion, which so many profess to honor and yet forget to commend.

The Memoir prefixed to this volume, is an affectionate tribute, not highly colored, not exaggerated, to the memory of one who deserved to have all the truth told respecting him, and who needed nothing more. It is not a eulogy, not a panegyric, but a simple statement of truth. We shall avail ourselves of its beautiful language, in offering a sketch of Mr Haven's life and character, which we intend to follow with a few extracts from his writings.

He was born in Portsmouth, N. H. on the 14th day of January, 1790.

'Until he was three years old, his general appearance was so unobtrusive, and he took so little interest in the plays and occupations of childhood, that some of his family, and particularly his venerable grandfather, feared he might prove deficient in understanding. But soon after this, a marked change appeared. He learned to read more easily than is common to children; showed great docility and sometimes eagerness in the pursuit of knowledge suited to his years; and very soon gave proofs and instances of selfgovernment, which afterwards became a habit with him, and proved, at last, one of the most remarkable features in his character.' p. xii.

He was graduated at Harvard College in 1807. He was appointed to deliver a poem on the day of Commencement; at which time, however, he was suffering under a violent fever,

which threatened to prove fatal, and from which his constitution received a shock from which it never recovered. The succeeding year he passed in the office of assistant instructer in the Philips Academy, Exeter.

'He was naturally and almost necessarily called upon, in the course of it, to make his final decision as to the profession he would pursue. It was a subject, indeed, on which his thoughts had long been occupied; but its consequences were to decide so much of his future usefulness and happiness, that he now deliberated upon it with new care. His inclinations, for some time, had tended strongly towards divinity. His early education in his father's house had been such as a child receives, who is surrounded with religious influences and guarded by christian affection; but who hears nothing of theological controversy. Very soon, however, he was told by others, of dogmas and creeds, and listened to public instructions from the pulpit, in the severest forms of Calvinism. These he, for some time, believed to be essential to Christianity; and the consequence was, that, in his junior year at college, he was agitated by painful doubts respecting its divine authority. But it was not for a mind like his, long to continue in such bondage. He read Paley's 'Evidences,' the little tract of Priestley's, 'An appeal to the Serious and Candid Professors of Christianity,' and the 'Letters to Wilberforce, by a Layman.' By the careful study of these and other books, he gradually returned to happy and settled views of christian faith, but not to the creed of Geneva. Even before he left college, there are found among his papers proofs of the opening of a devout spirit; and, during the year he now passed at Exeter, they are not to be mistaken. The interest he took in the religious character of his pupils, the zeal and fidelity of his instructions, and the purity of his example, are still fresh in the memory of those with whom he was associated in the task he had undertaken; while many prayers, which he composed at this time, and which still remain among his papers, show how solemn he considered the nature of his duties to be, and how entirely he relied upon God for the strength necessary to fulfil them. Indeed, on all accounts, there can be no doubt, that, from this period of his life, religion constituted the foundation of his character, and essentially governed his conduct and life.

'It was natural, therefore, that, being called at such a time to make choice of a profession, he should have first thought of theology. But many circumstances opposed what, if his inclination alone had been consulted, might probably have been his final choice. His general health was not strong; his eyesight was doubtful; and, besides, he was the only son in his family, who thus seemed to require him to choose no pursuit, that would necessarily remove him from their immediate neighbourhood. He, therefore, reluctantly gave up the study of divinity, and determining to devote himself to the law, left Exeter in the autumn of 1808, carrying with him the permanent attachment of many, who had been drawn to him by the fine talents and interesting qualities in his character, which had there been so fast unfolded.' pp. xv–xvii.

He pursued his professional studies at Portsmouth, with great diligence and a high aim, having an elevated idea of the profession itself, and of its responsibilities and duties.

'It was, I doubt not,' says his biographer, 'in a great degree, because Mr Haven thought so highly of his profession as a moral science, and had so

well settled his opinions about it, even while studying its elements, that he pursued it with such earnestness, perseverance, and success.' p. xix.

He was admitted to the bar in 1811, and designed in the following spring to visit Europe. But a violent inflammation of his eyes came on, which detained him until after the declaration of war in June.

'For three months, he was shut up in a darkened room, and, the greater part of that time, he was confined to his bed, enduring severe pain. Even when he was so far recovered, as to be able to go abroad into the light, the effects of this illness remained in his constitution. During ten years he was able to read only in the daytime; sometimes only a small portion of the day; so that, for a most important period of his life, he was deprived of means of improvement, which seemed to be essential to the kind of success he sought.

But the beneficial effects of this visitation of God's providence, though, perhaps, not so immediate and certainly not so obtrusive, were more important and lasting. Mr Haven's mind, during this long period of suffering and privation, underwent a striking moral discipline. His thoughts were turned inward, and gained a clearness and exactness, which they never lost afterwards; his powers of reflection and reasoning were strengthened by solitary and silent exercise; his faculties became harmoniously balanced; and his own judgment of himself, of his objects in life, and of the means he possessed to accomplish them, were finally settled. I have no doubt, he was a wiser and better man, for this illness, all his life afterwards.

'Perhaps one circumstance contributed, at this particular time, to give a more than commonly serious direction to his thoughts. In March, 1812, just before he was confined by this distressing illness, he had publicly professed his belief in the christian religion and become a member of the church, over which his venerable grandfather had so long been the pastor. His mind had been, for some months, determined on this point, and, indeed, his education and feelings had long tended to it. But the particular time he selected, was certainly appropriate. He had just finished the study of his profession; the world was more distinctly and immediately before him than it had been at any previous period of his life; and he was just about to encounter its cares and assume its responsibilities. He paused for a moment, therefore, on the threshold, and first publicly dedicated himself to God. In doing this, he neither expressed nor entertained any superstitious feeling. He attributed no particular efficacy to the rite he sought, except as a means of increasing his reverence of the religon he was no less bound to obey without it. He approached the altar of Christianity, therefore, simply in a spirit of great humility, making no professions of his own piety, but humbly expressing his belief, and praying that he might be strengthened to show his faith in his life and conduct.' pp. xxii, xxiii.

In connexion with this passage, we would quote a paragraph from a letter written in 1818, in which he bears witness to the benefits received from his trials.

'It is a dangerous habit-because it leads to superstition to be continually inquiring, why a particular event happened at a particular time, or why it came at all. But believing as we do, in the overruling providence of God, we cannot doubt that every event, proceeding from him, was designed by infinite goodness, and directed by infinite wisdom. Í

have no reason to think, that my life has been marked by any peculiar circumstances; yet in looking back upon it, I think I can perceive some good purpose intended or produced by every disappointment or trouble which has befallen me. My first serious impressions were received in sickness; and if they have been preserved or deepened, it has been by repeated attacks of disease. I am certain, that, if I had enjoyed a life of uninterrupted health, I should have been far less deserving of the esteem or affection of my friends. I wish to bring myself, and you, and all my friends, to such a perfect confidence in the goodness of God, as to submit with patience and even cheerfulness, to the discipline of life. I am sure, that we are never nearer to happiness, than when we can speak of the afflictions of life, and, from trust in God, can add, that "none of these things move me.' p. 321.

In 1815 he visited Europe, was at Waterloo a few days after the battle, and returned to the United States in November. In the succeeding January he married; and the picture of his domestic life and principles we must quote at length.

'Few persons have enjoyed more of the purest domestic happiness than fell to his lot, during the ten remaining years of his life;-not that he was without sorrows and disappointments, for he had more than most persons of his age, in the loss of children and friends;-but his marriage was the result of a deep attachment, and its happiness was secured and sustained by the influence of that religion, which is so peculiarly adapted to the quiet and peace of domestic life. He was, too, remarkably sensible to what he enjoyed, and fully aware of the sources from which it flowed. He was married with religious hopes; and the last letter he ever wrote, and one, which was written without any apprehension of his approaching illness and death, bears witness, in a very remarkable manner, to their entire fulfilment. Indeed, in all his relations with his own family, Mr Haven eminently enjoyed the peculiar happiness, which a Christian should seek. For Christianity was not with him a thing of forms and decencies. It was a pervading principle, which entered into all his concerns, all his thoughts, all his hopes. He had no interests so strong or ambitious, that they were not controlled by it; no happiness so reserved, that religion was not a part of it. As the head of a family, in particular, he devoted himself earnestly and continually to the religious instruction and improvement of his household and dependents, drawing the tender minds of his children early to God, and interesting their young and unoccupied hearts in those simple views of religion, which were suited to their simple thoughts and years. Two beautiful and promising children were, at different times, taken from him, when his hopes and happiness in them were as full as a father's ever were. He suffered on both occasions most severely; but each time, as soon as death had set the final seal on his hopes, he collected his family, and, by religious rites and religious persuasions, tranquillized their minds and prepared them and himself to resume, at once, the ordinary duties of life. But he never afterwards seemed to be separated in thought from the children he had thus lost; and, when speaking of them, evidently felt, as if they were only removed to an adjacent apartment, where he should soon and certainly rejoin them. Indeed, in all things and on all occasions, in the even tenor of common enjoyments, in sickness, in sorrow, and in death, whatever might occur, his own spirit and the spirits of those nearest to him remained balanced by religious principle, or if they were disturbed, were disturbed but for a moment; and those who became intimate in the cir

cle, which his affection had gathered round him, and which his gentleness retained under his influence, felt, that it was good for them to be there.' p. xxvii, xxviii.

A man of such a spirit could not be a useless member of society. He would be on the alert for opportunities to do good. Accordingly Mr Haven devoted much time to public objects; and especially, showed himself always willing to make exertions in favor of anything which he thought would tend to raise the religious, moral, and intellectual condition of the whole mass of society in which his life was to be passed.'

He particularly devoted himself to the duties of a Sunday school, which was established by his exertions in the south parish of Portsmouth, and which, through the judgment and spirit which have characterized its management, was singularly successful. It appears to have been framed on a more liberal scale and prosecuted with a more elevated aim than has been by any means common in similar institutions. His labors in this department were most persevering and praiseworthy.

'He gave much time, which he greatly valued, in preparing himself for his lessons, which were sometimes of a character so elevated, that his faculties and knowledge were tasked to fulfil them.- -He made a great sacrifice, in giving up his Sundays to this school; for he held it to be very important to make Sunday a cheerful and happy day to his children and family, by giving himself up to them almost entirely. He rose earlier on this day than on any other; and read and conversed much with his children, to whom he succeeded in rendering it, what it certainly always ought to be, the happiest day in the week.

Mr Haven was interested in few things, during his life, more than in this Sunday school. And this might well be anticipated; for the number of children, who received its instructions, was very great; and, though he had excellent friends, who cooperated with him earnestly, he was himself its moving and governing spirit. That he felt the responsibility and was much excited by it to exertion, there can be no doubt. His papers are full of it. There are many prayers that he offered up for it; great numbers of memoranda, which he used in his instructions; many hints for its improvement and extension; and an excellent practical "Address," which he delivered before its teachers, to explain to them their duties, and urge them to zeal and activity. Let me not, however, be mis understood. Mr Haven, it is true, sometimes acted on larger masses of the community and in more extensive relations; but for efficient, practical usefulness, few persons have done more than he did in this humble school; and the condition and character of a great number of children, to whom, in the course of eight years, he patiently and discreetly commu nicated this best and most unostentatious of charities, will long bear a witness to the value of his services, which cannot be mistaken.' pp. xxxi-xxxiii.

While he was thus pursuing the walk of diligent usefulness, every day growing in the respect and confidence of those around