of his independence in thinking and preaching, and who now has a sort of Independent Methodist society under his care, on being requested, readily granted me admission into his pulpit. Wednesday evening, therefore, June 13th, a general view of the belief and disbelief of Unitarians, was exhibited to an attentive audience of about one hundred and fifty persons. Immediately after the close of the services, the reverend gentleman in whose church I had been preaching, observed to the congregation, that a counterpart to the discourse just delivered would be preached in that place, next Sabbath morning, at the usual time of worship." As I did not preach the next Sabbath in the morning, I went and heard the "counterpart to my sermon. I confess I was agreeably disappointed. To be sure Mr Rdid not seem to have

a very extensive knowledge of biblical criticism, though, even in this department, he was not wholly a stranger but he gave ample proof of having thought much on the subject, and that too with no ordinary powers of mind. Throughout the whole, there was exhibited so much of the spirit becoming a disciple of Jesus, as made me in love with the goodness of his heart, though I could not, in all respects, subscribe to the infallibility of his understanding.

In the afternoon I preached in the New Jerusalem church, and as the Swedenborgian society held their services in the forenoon and evening, they, with much kindness and christian charity, which, from my partial acquaintance, I should think characteristic of the sect, granted the Unitarians the privilege of worshipping in their house when unoccupied by them. After this, our services were on Sabbath afternoon, and one evening of the week, the number usually attending being from one hundred and fifty to two hundred,-probably sometimes more than this number. You now have most of the incidents connected with my five weeks' preaching in C

"You ask me " What judgment I formed of things in that city?" I will tell you as briefly as possible. It is one of the most flourishing and rapidly increasing cities of our country. I give you one fact, that you may be enabled to judge of its trade. Between the 5th and 12th of February, 1827, twentyone steam boats, averaging two hundred tons each, arrived at and departed from

this place; and at the time I left, there were judged to be over three hundred houses then building. Here then is a city numbering nearly twenty thousand inhabitants, carrying on extensive trade and manufactures, increasing with unparalleled rapidity; containing a medical college, where students from that and the neighbouring States, attend medical lectures-and having also within its bosom a college for the education of its young men, which, though not now in actual operation, will doubtless soon be revived under favorable auspices. Add to these things, that hundreds—I had almost said thousands—during the unhealthy season, come up from the lower country,' some to spend a week or two, and then to pass on to the North and East, and others to spend the summer in that enchanting city—and then you may form some idea of the importance of this place, for diffusing widely correct and enlightened views of Christianity.

The materials for building up a Unitarian society in this place, I believe to be abundant and of good quality. The more enlightened among the different sects are fast becoming at odds with the exclusive and horrible systems of Calvin and his would-be followers. And if a Unitarian church could be built and a pastor settled, there are good reasons to believe that the society would soon be, to say the least, as numerous and respectable as any in the city. The few who now acknowledge themselves Unitarians do not feel able to erect such a church as they think would be most advantageous to the growth of the society. They want assistance-and if any circumstances may be regarded as a claim, I should think theirs might be.

You have asked my judgment in one thing,-permit me, in conclusion, to volunteer it in another. If a missionary go into the Western country, let him be well provided with tracts, that wherever he preaches he may sell them, or distribute them gratuitously. It is true you have depositories in that region, but they will go slowly from the booksellers' shelves, unless there is something to arouse the attention of the people to the subject. And when an extraordinary meeting is held in a city, and a stranger preaches,-and if, like Paul, when addressing the Athenians, he bring "certain strange things" to the ears of the attentive multitude

it is then, if ever, that like Paul's auditors, they are desirous of knowing something more of this "new doctrine.' And if the preacher have tracts, he would soon find himself surrounded with anxious inquirers after them.

I have made these observations, because, wherever I preached, tracts were very much sought after. In every place there seemed to be a growing dissatisfaction with the religious sentiments generally preached. The people are getting tired of hearing changes rung on the sublime mysteries of the Westminster Catechism. They want something more simple and practical, something whose tendency is both to enlighten the understanding and to purify the heart, and we believe that the doctrines of Unitarianism, which are those of pure Christianity, are every way calculated to supply their wants, and to effect those all important purposes, for which they were designed by the Author and Finisher of our faith.'

Calcutta. The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr Adam, the Unitarian Missionary at Calcutta.

A salary of one hundred and fifty rupees per month is attached to the head teachership of Rammohun Roy's Anglo-Hindoo School, and he authorizes me to say that he holds it open for the acceptance of any Missionary who may be sent to Calcutta, and who may be competent and willing to aid me occasionally in English preaching, and in general Missionary duties. If he is a single man, he could live (and he could do no more than live with any tolerable degree of comfort and respectability) on three hundred rupees per month, and by this offer, therefore, you have one half of his salary already provided for. May I not hope that exertions will be made to obtain the remaining half, and that some one will be found to "come over and help us?">

British and Foreign Unitarian Association. [The following account of the Third Anniversary Meeting of this Society, which was held on Wednesday, the 28th of May, is abridged from the Monthly Repository for July last.]

The religious services, at the Chapel in South Place, Finsbury, were attended by an unusually large congregation. The introductory and de

votional services were conducted by the Rev. Dr Phillips of Sheffield; after which the Rev. Dr Hutton delivered a discourse from 1 Cor. iv. 4, 5.

'After service, C. Richmond, Esq. was called to the chair. The minutes of the last General Meeting were read by Dr Rees and confirmed.

The Treasurer read the statement of the year's accounts of the Society.

Mr Aspland, Mr Edgar Taylor, Mr Bowring, and Dr Rees, then read the Report of the Committee under its different heads.

1. In what may be called the Missionary department, the Report detailed all the proceedings of the Committee during the past year, noticing the cheering results of the assistance given in the establishment of a Unitarian Congregation at Northampton, and various instances in which assistance had been afforded to other congregations.

2. In the Civil Right department the Report details the flattering prospect which had presented itself of the subject of the claims for relief from the operation of the Marriage Act being effectively considered. The Report then congratulates the Dissenters generally on the successful result of the exertions of the United Committee for the abolition of the Sacramental Test.

3. The Book Report detailed the progress of the usual business of that department.

4. The Foreign Department comprised a great deal of interesting matter. The state of things in Calcutta and Madras furnished great ground for satisfaction, and the Report contained some valuable information as to the state of Unitarianism in America.

5. Under the head of Miscellaneous Observations, the Committee suggested a direction to their successors to prepare and circulate a short abstract of the design, plan, and history of the Association. The Report then noticed the state of religious opinion in Ireland, and after paying a suitable tribute of respect to Dr Drummond, suggested that the Meeting should, by a vote, invite him to preach their next anniversary sermon; and also, that a visit should be undertaken to Ireland by some minister accredited to the mission by the Association.

Resolutions on the subject of the abolition of the Sacramental Test, were proposed and passed, among which were the following ;

"That no difference of religious opinions, however wide, can lessen the sensibility of this meeting to the liberal and generous support which they received, in the late application to Parliament, from the Roman Catholics of the United Kingdom; and that common gratitude would compel them to make, in return, a tender of their best wishes on behalf of the claims of the Roman Catholics, for unrestricted and . equal religious freedom, if they were not bound to aid, according to their means, the cause of these their fellow subjects and fellow Christians, by the still higher obligations of patriotism and religion,-believing, as they do, in the sincerity of their minds, that the existing disqualifications which aggrieve the British and Irish Roman Catholic population, are in open hostility to the peace and union and prosperity of the kingdom, and are, at the same time, a sure hindrance to the progress of the Protestant faith, and a violation of and dishonor to our common Christianity, which establishes no point of morality more plainly, nor commands any duty more solemnly, than that one Christian shall not make the condition of another more wretched or less happy on account of his faithful adherence to the dictates of his conscience and the law of his God."

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A much larger proportion than usual of the congregation remained to take part in the subsequent proceedings, and all expressed a strong feeling of interest and satisfaction in what passed.

Upwards of two hundred and fifty friends to the Society sat down to dinner at the London Tavern, William Smith, Esq. M. P. in the Chair.

The greatest harmony and good order prevailed throughout the evening, and the whole of the proceedings of this Anniversary were considered to exceed in interest any former occasion.'

Ordination at Hardwick.-The Rev. John M. Merrick was, on Wednesday, August 27th, ordained pastor of the Congregational Church and Society in Hardwick. Introductory Prayer, by the Rev. Mr Clark, of Princeton; Sermon, by the Rev. Mr Bartlett, of Marblehead; Ordaining

Prayer by the Rev. Mr Thompson, of Barre; Charge by the Rev. Mr Bascom, of Ashby; Right Hand of Fellowship by the Rev. Mr Sewall, of Danvers; Address to the Society by Rev. Mr Wilson, of Petersham; Concluding Prayer by Rev. Mr Harding, of New Salem.

Ordination at Providence, R. I.On Wednesday, September 10th, the Rev. Frederick A. Farley was ordained pastor of the Westminster Congregational Society in Providence, R. I. Introductory Prayer and Selections from Scripture by the Rev. Mr Greenwood, of Boston; Sermon by the Rev. Dr Channing, of Boston; Prayer of Ordination by the Rev. Dr Edes, of Providence; Charge by the Rev. Mr Parkman, of Boston; Right Hand of Fellowship by the Rev. Mr Gannett, of Boston; Address to the Society by the Rev. Mr May, of Brooklyn, Conn. Concluding Prayer by the Rev. Mr Walker, of Charlestown.

Dedication at Belgrade, Maine.— On Thursday, the 11th of October, a new church in Belgrade, Maine, was solemnly dedicated to the service of God. Introductory prayer by the Rev. Mr Farmer, of Cambridge; Reading of the Scriptures by the Rev. Mr Brimblecom, of Norridgwock; Dedicatory Prayer by the Rev. Mr Hutchins, of New Portland; Sermon by the Rev. Mr Wells, of Kennebunk; Address to the Society by the Rev. Mr Drew, of Augusta; Concluding Prayer by the Rev. Mr Brimblecom; Benediction by the Rev. Mr Hutchins.

Dedication at Raynham.--On Wednesday, October 15th, the new church, erected by the Second Congregational Society, in Raynham, was solemnly dedicated to the service of the only true God, through the only Mediator Jesus Christ. Selections from the Scriptures, by the Rev. Mr Goldsbury, of N. Bridgewater; Dedicatory Prayer, by the Rev. Mr Clark, of Norton; Discourse, by the Rev. Mr Huntoon, of Canton; Concluding Prayer, by the Rev. Mr Hamilton, of Taunton.

DIED, at Cambridge, September 19, JOHN MELLEN, Esq. aged 76.

We should be guilty of injustice to the community, if we did not speak of the character of this honored friend. His life was an active and useful one, but was passed in the discharge of duties which did not extend themselves over a wide sphere of relations. His name, therefore, might not be familiar to many of our readers, if he had not spent his last years in a place in which, from the peculiar constitution of its society, his trials and virtues were brought under the notice of men from every part of our country. Few, who have resided in Cambridge of late years, have not carried away with them a respect for the sightless man, whose cheerfulness, courtesy, and instructive conversation were known by report even to those who did not enjoy the benefit of his acquaintance.

Mr Mellen was for some time the minister of Barnstable, a village of some importance below Plymouth, in this Commonwealth. Having received from his father, who was himself a clergyman in the interior of this State, the principles of a religious education, his mind was early and permanently interested in religion, and it was through life the subject of his most earnest and pleasant thoughts. The prolonged illness of Mrs Mellen, occasioned by her residence in Barnstable, and for whose restoration a removal into a different atmosphere was considered necessary, induced him to resign his connexion with a people, whom he had faithfully served, to whom he was strongly attached, and who never speak of him, at this distant day, but in terms of respect and affection. Domestic circumstances induced him to fix his abode at Cambridge, where his desire of usefulness and love of activity caused his influence to be felt in municipal concerns, as well as in the social circle. He was chosen to represent the town in the legislature; and other offices of trust to which he was elected, so long as his ability of active service continued, showed the confidence in his character with which he had inspired the minds of his fellow citizens.

But the providence of God called him to another and more painful exhi

bition of christian deportment. Blindness, that sorest of personal calamities, came upon him. The light of the body' was extinguished, the beautiful forms of nature were veiled in darkness, the countenances of friends were seen only through the eye of memory, the pages that breathed the spirit of divine and human wisdom were sealed from his vision, and the paths in which his feet had run to obey the calls of benevolence were to be trodden with a slow and cautious step, or no more entered. They who have not experienced the trial, cannot know what it is, to have all those avenues of communication with the outward world, which we enjoy through the sight, closed-to feel one's self dependent as an infant upon the watchful attentions of others, and to be turned at once from all that has interested and occupied the mind in visible life to the resources which the soul has accumulated in itself. The severity of this change Mr Mellen endured, and his conduct showed that he had not lived and looked on the works and word of God in vain. After using such means for the restoration of his sight as skill and prudence united in recommending, he relinquished the hope of resuming his former pursuits, and gathered up his thoughts for a cheerful submission to his lot. years he dwelt in utter darkness. Through this period not a complaint was heard to escape his lips, nor did gloom settle on his countenance. Uniformly tranquil and happy, he shed a moral brightness over the domestic circle. He suffered as a Christian; a stranger would not have known that he suffered. He never spoke of his loss of sight, unless in obedience to the call of others, and then in tones which, while they expressed his sense of calamity, indicated an entire resignation to the Divine will. His mind seemed to be even more active than before his blindness. The knowledge which he had laid up in former years was now an inexhaustible fund, from which he brought the materials for new processes of thought, and the aids to a constant moral improvement. The truths, and to a wonderful extent, the words even, of the New Testament were engraven on his memory, and its spirit had long

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been cherished in his heart. The evident pleasure with which he listened, and the judicious criticism of his remarks, converted the office of reading aloud into a privilege, and he never wanted friends who were glad to avail themselves of such an opportunity of doing and of acquiring good. He was thus enabled to maintain an acquaintance with the current literature, and with the theological writings of the day. In the latter, he took a deep interest, and observed the progress of religious opinions with a dispassionate but attentive mind. His own belief in regard to the great topics in discussion was distinct and firm, and was the result of those exercises to which he had been accustomed, through a long course of religious thought and experience. He had never been a pupil of the Calvinistic school, nor ever regarded Christ as equal with the Father who sent him. During the many hours of meditation, which constituted a blessing rather than a trial consequent on his exclusion from active employment, he pursued his inquiries after truth. His friends saw in him a remarkable instance of one, who, in the decline of life, was untouched by the control of prejudice, and whose mind was willing to receive, and anxious to obtain, light on every subject connected with the christian faith. His mind was in the highest sense liberal; candid in its judgments, and tender to the infirmities of others, but honest in its scrutiny, and open to every true conviction. The consequence was, that he advanced with advancing truth. Ethical subjects had for him peculiar attractions, and he studied them, as they are best studied, in his own heart, and under the teaching of Christianity.

It need not be said, that the society of such a man was delightful to all who knew him. The unbroken tranquillity of his soul, the holy contentment of his spirit, and the rich stores of his intellect, gave to his conversa

tion an irresistible charm. It was a privilege, for which we could not but be grateful to Him who gives us the good examples of his servants, to witness the silent life of such a Christian. It was yet a higher blessing, to listen, While the voice

Discoursed of natural and moral truth
With eloquence, and such authentic power,
That in his presence humbler knowledge stood
Abashed, and tender pity overawed.'

The testimony which such excellence bears to the efficacy of a simple faith, is valuable. Mr Mellen was a Unitarian, an avowed and consistent Unitarian. In this faith he lived; in this faith he endured, for years, one of the greatest privations, without repining, and without losing the energy of his mind; in this faith he anticipated the approach of death, during a severe illness, when neither fear nor rapture possessed his soul, but in a calm reliance on the mercy of God, and in a hope of eternal life, drawn from the gospel of Jesus Christ, he appeared as a servant waiting for his master's coming; in this faith he died. Of him, if of any one, may we not believe, that he has passed into that world, where there shall be no darkness, where the righteous shall forever behold the works and glory of God, and where the soul that, amidst the trials and sufferings of the present state, pursued its researches after truth and goodness, shall be enabled to maintain an everlasting progress towards perfection, that world, which is emphatically light.

In his will, Mr Mellen remembered the people of his early charge, and the church, to which he had distributed the memorials of Christ. He left directions, that a valuable addition should be made to the service of the communion table at Barnstable, thus desiring, as it were, in his last thoughts, to associate the friends and duties of his ministry, with the expectations of an immortal life.