which He who made him well knew, and for which He would undoubtedly make great allowance. The forgiveness of God is large and absolute; so large, that though in general He calls for confession of our sins, He sometimes dispenses with that preliminary. Such instances, perhaps, may not be common, but I know that there have been such, and it might be so with Nathan." There is a cubical stone, surmounted with a small obelisk, and surrounded with iron railings, to the memory of Nathan Sample in Olney churchyard.

110. Carey at Olney.-June, 1785.

For some time past the English eye had been turned towards our then new dependency, India. We had lost our Western empire—now the United States-and it seemed to many there was great danger, owing to the contention about East Indian patronage, of our losing our Eastern empire too. India at this time presented a melancholy scene of rapine and corruption. It was said by Burke that every man became unbaptized in going to India, and that, should it please Providence, by some unforeseen dispensation, to deprive Great Britain of her Indian empire, she would leave behind no memorial but the evidences of her ambition, and the traces of her desolating wars.

Bemoaning this sad state of affairs, in a letter to Newton (January 25, 1784), Cowper says: "Every man has his sentiments upon this subject, and I have mine. Were I constituted umpire of this strife, with full powers to decide it, I would tie a talent of lead

about the neck of this parag
depths of the sea. To speises
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therefore? I distrust the

I put the Company etre” sa s
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in the East Indies

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that England would sem er
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did not occur a Cowner.
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turning-point in his life was an address delivered in the village by the Rev. Thomas Scott, then of Ravenstone, and he now turned his attention with greater fervour than ever to the study of the Scriptures. Scott, who subsequently met Carey at Mr. Old's, prophesied that the "sensible-looking lad, in his working apron, would prove no ordinary character. In after days Scott used to speak of Mr. Old's house as Carey's college. After residing several years at Hackleton and the adjoining village of Piddington, Carey joined the Baptist church at Olney, then under the pastoral care of Mr. Sutcliff. Mr. Sutcliff put a Latin Grammar into his hand, and owing largely to Sutcliff's help Carey was able to continue in his studies, with a view to entering the ministry. On July 17, 1785, he preached his first sermon at Olney, a sermon that was "so crude and weak" that the members of the church "doubted whether he possessed sufficient ability to make a useful minister." Owing, however, to the personal influence of Sutcliff the point was carried, and Carey was subsequently "called to the work of the ministry." There are five entries respecting him in the Baptist Churchbook at Olney. Carey's last sermon at Olney is thus alluded to by Teedon : "March 26 (1793). I went to Mr. Sutcliff's meeting and heard Mr. Carey preach, the missionary to go to the Hindos [=Hindoos], with his Son about 10 years of age. A collection was made; I gave 6d.; it amounted almost to £10. The Lord ›rosper the work.”

It would be out of place in this book to pursue Carey's career further. Those who wish to know how e preached and starved at Moulton, how the Baptist

25

about the neck of this patronage, and plunge it into the depths of the sea. To speak less figuratively, I would abandon all territorial interest in a country to which we can have no right, and which we cannot govern with any security to the happiness of the inhabitants, or with-out the danger of incurring either perpetual broils, or the most insupportable tyranny at home."

And he winds up his letter with: "What shall I say therefore? I distrust the court, I suspect the patriots; I put the Company entirely aside, as having forfeited all claim to confidence in such a business, and see no remedy, of course, but in the annihilation, if that could be accomplished, of the very existence of our authority in the East Indies."

The idea that a moral revolution might take place, that England would redeem her character, and become a blessing to the country over which she had tyrannized, did not occur to Cowper. Such, however, as it is our happiness to know, has been the case. Curiously enough, one of the agents in this reform was at the very time Cowper was writing this letter living in the neighbourhood of Olney, and a little later spent several years in Olney itself. This was William Carey, the father of modern missions. Born 1761, at Paulerspury, in Northamptonshire, of poor parents, William Carey was, at the age of fourteen, bound apprentice to Charles Nickolls, a shoemaker, at Hackleton, about six miles from Olney. Here he not only learned the gentle craft, but spent his spare time in study, and made some acquaintance with the Greek New Testament. On the death of his master, Carey transferred his apprenticeship to a neighbouring shoemaker named Old. A

turning-point in his life was an address delivered in the village by the Rev. Thomas Scott, then of Ravenstone, and he now turned his attention with greater fervour than ever to the study of the Scriptures. Scott, who subsequently met Carey at Mr. Old's, prophesied that the "sensible-looking lad, in his working apron,' would prove no ordinary character. In after days Scott used to speak of Mr. Old's house as Carey's college. After residing several years at Hackleton and the adjoining village of Piddington, Carey joined the Baptist church at Olney, then under the pastoral care of Mr. Sutcliff. Mr. Sutcliff put a Latin Grammar into his hand, and owing largely to Sutcliff's help Carey was able to continue in his studies, with a view to entering the ministry. On July 17, 1785, he preached his first sermon at Olney, a sermon that was "so crude and weak" that the members of the church "doubted whether he possessed sufficient ability to make a useful minister." Owing, however, to the personal influence of Sutcliff the point was carried, and Carey was subsequently "called to the work of the ministry." There are five entries respecting him in the Baptist Churchbook at Olney. Carey's last sermon at Olney is thus alluded to by Teedon : "March 26 (1793). I went to Mr. Sutcliff's meeting and heard Mr. Carey preach, the missionary to go to the Hindos [=Hindoos], with his Son about 10 years of age. A collection was made; I gave 6d.; it amounted almost to 10. The Lord prosper the work."

It would be out of place in this book to pursue Carey's career further. Those who wish to know how he preached and starved at Moulton, how the Baptist