heartily and unitedly to say: "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.'

The moderator, Dr. Henderson, of Glasgow, in returning thanks to the deputation, made special reference to the same bereavement: I cannot conclude without referring to an event which my friend Dr. M'Kenzie made allusion to,—the removal of a beloved friend and townsman of my own; but of whom I speak here, not so much as my friend, but as the friend of our church and your church,—the late Mr. James Nisbet, who, as you have reminded us, stood on that step on the first night of the Disruption Assembly, and with a gushing heart and tearful eye, laid on the table, or rather put into the hands of Dr. Chalmers, his munificent offering. That event has not passed from our memory. The man will live long in the remembrance of those who knew him. He was a man, in some respects peculiar ; a man of strong feelings, of strong prejudices, and of strong affections. He had a most intense love of presbytery, and yet he had a heart which took into the embrace of its affections every man whom he recognised as a brother in Christ, whatever his denomination. Many are the servants of God who had experience of his Christian hospitality. He received many a righteous man as a righteous man. He received many a prophet in the name of a prophet; and I believe that

17. He has left behind him a splendid name, and though now he be the foremost to sing, as he was on earth, "To Thy name be all the glory," yet doubtless his loving Lord and Master has vouchsafed him his fitting and full reward.'—A. T.

18. The remembrance of his friendship and affection for myself for more than twenty years is very pleasant, and will remain so while I live. The last thing I heard him do was, in the name of the session, to thank Mr. Main for his ministrations amongst you during the month of August. He spoke like a man not only gratified by the preacher, but edified by the word, and overflowing with gratitude to God for the season of refreshing he had enjoyed.'—J. H.

19. 'I, for my part, cannot realize to my mind London without my friend Nisbet. Ah! beloved friend, allow your tears to flow, and bless the Lord who has enabled that child of God to be not only esteemed and consistent in his faith, but also devoted to the service and honour of Jesus.'-C. M.

20. 'It was my privilege in early life to form acquaintance with Mr. Nisbet under his own hospitable roof, and whenever Providence brought us afterwards together, I always experienced the warmth and faithfulness of his Christian friendship. I never, to the latest day of my life, can forget the kindness which pressed me to make the same hospitable house my home, at a time when the Lord's chastening hand

was upon myself and my wife, and when I was very unfit to be either an agreeable or edifying guest. But my experience has been that of very many to whom his heart and house were ever open for Christ's sake, and because of the love he bore to the truth and people of the Lord.'—R. E.

21. 'I was deeply affected by receiving the intelligence of the decease of my old, and true, and valued friend Mr. Nisbet. He was the last person I spoke to in London. He came to the Plymouth train to see us off. I cannot think of London without thinking of him, and feeling that I have truly lost a friend.' -M. M.

22. Next month it will be eight years since we lost Mr. Nisbet. His memory is still fresh and warmly cherished, and his works still follow him.'— J. H.

23. I was particularly struck with his richness in prayer. He visited me on my desolate return to England, and well he executed the friend and elder's part. He was indeed a large succourer of many, and I doubt not led many souls to salvation. Dear Dhanjibhai will lament as over a parent.'—R. N.

24. He was a rare man, rarely endowed by nature and by grace for the accomplishment of the important and peculiar work to which his Master had called him. His zeal, his untiring energy, his unbending firmness of purpose, his amazing devotedness

to his Master's cause, his boundless generosity, and other such-like gifts and graces, could not fail to render his life one of pre-eminent usefulness, and greatly to endear him to all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.'-A. D.

25. Amid the many solemnizing changes that are now taking place with such startling rapidity, none has so much impressed me as that which has broken up the family circle that used to be to me like a second home. The intercourse I have enjoyed in it during the many hours and days I have spent in its atmosphere of prayer and communion with God, the fatherly counsels I have received, and the acts of worship in which I have often joined, I must always reckon among the most privileged of my life.'— A. P. S.

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26. My residence in London was always with Mr. Nisbet, bookseller. He and his family were warm and affectionate friends of missionaries. Three or four of us have been at his house at once. He greatly assisted us in preparing for our embarkation ; and I have always found a home at his house since. His friendships have not been overlooked by the Master. As it was with Obed-edom, so it has been with Mr. Nisbet. The Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom, because of the ark.'-BIRRELL'S Life of Knill, p. 56.

In these extracts, there are many touching allusions

which a mere stranger may not be able fully to appreciate; but in the hearts of those who were on habits of intimacy with him whom they miss, and over whom they mourn, they will awaken sweet memories of the bright and joyous days they were privileged to spend in his genial presence, or under the shelter of his hospitable roof. These reminiscences, however, can scarcely fail to be shaded and subdued by the sad thought, that the comfortable mansion is now closed, the family is entirely broken up, all its inmates are away, even their very graves are far apart from one another. The dust of James Nisbet is reposing beneath the pavements of Regent Square; his venerable partner, and a little one whom he greatly loved, in the churchyard at Hawick; his eldest daughter, at Elie, in Fifeshire; and his youngest, in the cemetery at Highgate. We trust that those who were so lovingly devoted to one another on earth, have all reached the Father's house, where there are neither tears nor parting, and are now communing and worshipping together on the golden pavements of heaven, high in salvation and the climes of bliss.' But to those who are left below, the change from what once was, to what now is, is startling and solemnizing. For myself, I cannot think of it, without hearing, in the profoundest depths of my heart, the slow and measured movements of the pendulum in the old clock on the stairs.

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