eccentricity. He had the happiness, not long after, to see other members of the family partakers, through grace, of the promise of eternal life which he cherished and preached.

During all this time, while established in the elementary principles of the gospel, his mind was in a considerable degree unsettled on some points of Christian doctrine. His doubts were resolved by the perusal of Hall's* "Help to Zion's Travellers." Some of his friends told him it was poison: but he remarked that "it was so sweet he drank greedily to the bottom of the cup," and he never regretted that he did so. His attention being called to the subject by a sermon, he adopted the views of the Baptists, and received the ordinance of baptism at the hands of Dr. Ryland. Rev. Mr. Sutcliff, afterwards a warm coöperator in the missionary enterprise, remonstrated with him on the irregularity of his preaching. By his advice he offered himself to the church at Olney, and was soon after formally set apart to the work of the ministry. He arrived at this consummation not without sore trials. He had married at the age of twenty, his wife was of a feeble constitution, his business furnished him an inadequate support, which was not sensibly mended by any compensation he received for his preaching. Ordinary men would have fainted with discouragement, but he entered on the ministry not for reward, except he might win souls for his hire, and the same motives that led him into the work, sustained him unfalteringly in its prosecution.

He now settled at Moulton, a step which did not much improve his outward circumstances. He attempted to sustain himself by a school, which failed, and he was driven to labour at his trade, a fact that afterwards pointed the famous jest of Sydney Smith about "consecrated coblers." But on the whole, the period of his residence there was among the most important of his life. By an exact economy of time he made rapid progress in knowledge. It was here that he began the acquisition of languages, exhibiting that master talent which was destined to be the ground of his lasting fame, and what he valued more, his enduring usefulness. It is related that a friend having given him a volume in Dutch, he forthwith procured a grammar, and learned that language. His mind was quickened by intercourse with men whose names are now

*Rev. Robert Hall, senior.

the exclusive property of no religious sect, especially with Fuller and Pearce. Here, above all, was kindled in his bosom the missionary spirit, which he cherished and communicated to others, till their hearts glowed in sympathy with his own.

While teaching his pupils geography, his thoughts were turned to the moral condition of the world, and once fixed there, could not be diverted. On the wall of his workshop was suspended a large chart, in which were inscribed notes on the population and religion of various nations, and with this he occupied his thoughts while earning his scanty subsistence. Here he meditated the great theme, not with mere sentimental pity or the fervour of romantic enthusiasm, but with a calm and duteous sense of responsibility to God, and in a spirit of fidelity to the great commission of his Redeemer, in pursuance of which, though at first with an imperfect sense of its comprehensive magnitude, he had begun to proclaim the gospel. No voice from without cheered his lonely studies; the Divine Spirit visited him alone, prompted his aspirations and gave energy to his infant purpose. By persevering effort he succeeded in engaging a few persons in his plans. As early as 1784, at a meeting at Nottingham, it was resolved to set apart the first Monday evening of each month as a season of united prayer for the conversion of the world, an appointment now of nearly universal observance. It was about this time, at a meeting of ministers at Northampton, that he broached the question of "the duty of Christians to spread the gospel among heathen nations." Mr. Ryland, Sen., received the suggestion with surprise, and called him an enthusiast. His zeal was not to be damped, however, but he was content to "bide his time." He composed a pamphlet on the subject, which, at a later period, when his plans had ripened into a regular missionary organization, was given to the world at the request of his associates.

In 1789, the straits to which he was reduced led him to think of a removal to a more desirable residence, when he was called to settle at Leicester. There his circumstances were somewhat meliorated, he found ampler opportunities for acquiring knowledge, and his sphere of usefulness was enlarged. Yet he still found it necessary to teach a school for his support. No pressure of occupation, however, could divert his mind from the theme he had so long cherished. In the spring of 1791, at a meeting at Clipston, Northamptonshire, Mr. Fuller and Mr. Sutcliff preached on the subject, and Mr. Carey then urged the formation of a society. Regarding the proposal as prema

ture, they requested him to publish the pamphlet which they knew he had in manuscript. He did so, and a year afterwards, at Nottingham, preached his memorable discourse from Isa. 54: 2, 3, drawing from the text these exhortations that have long been the motto of Christian enterprise,-"Expect great things from God: attempt great things for God." The meeting caught the spirit of the discourse; it was resolved to organize a society, and in October, at Kettering, a plan was matured, a committee appointed and a subscription commenced. The sum subscribed was thirteen pounds, two shillings and sixpence, -an humble beginning that made a fine mark for scoffing wits. At this meeting Mr. Carey promptly offered himself, and was accepted as a missionary to India. His determination was announced to his father with that modest composure which uniformly characterized him. "To be devoted, like a sacrifice, to holy uses," he says, "is the great business of a Christian.-I consider myself as devoted to the service of God alone, and now I am to realize my professions. I am to go to Bengal, in the East Indies, as a missionary to the Hindoos. I hope, dear father, you may be enabled to surrender me up to the Lord for the most arduous, honourable and important work that ever any of the sons of men were called to engage in." But his calmness was not the result of insensibility, for he adds, "I have many sacrifices to make; I must part with a beloved family and a number of most affectionate friends. Never did I see such sorrow manifested as reigned through our place of worship last Lord's day. But I have set my hand to the plough." The fruit of his long and lonely struggles now began to spring up in his sight. It was but a handful of corn, but he knew the fulness of the Divine promise, and was assured that it would one day "shake like Lebanon."

The obstacles to the enterprise on which these faithful brethren had entered were numerous and perplexing. The attempt was new, they had no clear precedents to guide them, and they must strike out their own path. Their means were scanty. The church at Birmingham, through the ardent zeal of their pastor, Samuel Pearce, nobly responded to the voice that summoned them to "attempt great things," and raised the subscription for the committee to nearly one hundred pounds, and others lent their aid. Carey was resolved to go forward, in the trust that the churches would furnish all needful aid, but there was much in the state of the Baptist denomination to shake a weaker faith than animated him. A form

of theology that might be termed a caricature of Calvinism, paralyzed all zealous effort for the salvation of men. Fuller had exerted his great powers to demonstrate that the gospel is "worthy of all acceptation," but the duty of all men to receive it was still but partially admitted, and it was hardly to be expected that persons who stumbled at this truth would devote themselves to the task of preaching the gospel to the heathen, while practically denying the efficacy of preaching at home. By others the superior claims of home evangelization were arrayed, as they are occasionally now, against foreign missions. Moreover the movers in the work, though now viewed as among the great lights of their age, were obscure men, and their plans were received with distrust. Only one Baptist minister in the metropolis sanctioned the movement, and though treated with great personal respect by Dr. Stennett and the venerable Abraham Booth, Carey when in London received his chief encouragement from Rev. John Newton, whose warm sympathies could not be restrained within the exclusive limits of the established church, of which his piety made him a distinguished ornament. Even if these impediments were overcome, it was doubtful whether the missionaries would be permitted to enter Bengal. The jealousy with which the East India Company viewed such a movement, though not fully displayed till a later period, was well understood. More painful than all else, he met obstacles in his own household. Mrs. Carey would not consent to his design, and refused to accompany him; and though her resolution was overruled, her society, in the absence of sympathy, was no help to her devoted husband. Wearily did he bear this heaviest of calamities, before he discovered, many years afterwards, its true source in her evident insanity, and found in this overwhelming sorrow a relief from the more poignant anguish which her unexplained conduct towards him had caused.

But Carey walked by faith, not by sight, and if he ever entertained a momentary doubt of success, it was resolutely silenced. He tendered his resignation of the charge in which he he had been so useful and beloved, which was accepted with regret but without murmuring by his affectionate people. The self-sacrificing spirit with which they gave up their pastor, and contributed to the cause to which he devoted his life's energies, had its reward. Few churches in the kingdom were more prosperous than that in Leicester under his successors, among whom the name of Robert Hall is illustrious. He

took leave of his friends, and urged his preparations for the voyage with all his characteristic force and methodical perseverance. As if with a triumphant assurance of success he said to Mr. Ward, a pious and intelligent youth, a printer by trade, "We shall want you in a few years to print the Bible; you must come after us." The words were never forgotten, and Mr. Ward a few years after, had the honour of fulfilling more amply this prophetic suggestion.

The selection of a companion to share his labours was among the first cares of the committee. One was providentially at hand. Mr. John Thomas, a gentleman educated to the medical profession, who had practised for some years in London, visited Bengal in 1780 as a surgeon on board the Oxford, East Indiaman. On his arrival he sought to devise some plan for the spread of the gospel there, but was unsuccessful, and on returning to England united with a Baptist church in London. He now began to preach occasionally. On a second visit to India, in 1786, he became acquainted with a few pious persons with whom he met for prayer, and afterwards preached to them on Sunday evenings. One of these requested him to remain in the country, and preach to the natives. He shrank at first from the proposal, for he had never intended to engage personally in the work; he disliked the climate, dreaded a protracted separation from his family, and doubted whether he could with propriety leave his ship. The subject, however, could not be driven from his thoughts, and after much prayer he made the effort. His labours were blessed to the hopeful conversion of two Europeans, and he was much encouraged by the seriousness of two or three natives, one of whom, a man of more than common capacity and attainments, assisted him in translating the Gospel of Matthew and other portions of the New Testament. These tokens of the Divine favour led Mr. Thomas to visit England for the purpose of enlisting coadjutors and securing pecuniary aid. The committee believed that his providential call to India, his acquaintance with British residents there, his knowledge of the country and the language, and his evident missionary zeal, eminently fitted him to be associated in their first enterprise, and accordingly he was appointed. The decision was no doubt for the best on the whole, but Mr. Thomas' improvident habits had already involved him in debts that embarrassed the beginnings of the enterprise, and afterwards brought the mission into serious straits, while a degree of fickleness and eccentricity severely tried Carey's patience, till, as in the case of his wife, the manifest proofs of