1852 - Barrett, A. The Life of the Rev. John Hewgill Bumby - CHAPTER III. HOME MINISTRY.

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CHAPTER III.

HOME MINISTRY.

OUR friend, whom we shall henceforth call Mr. Bumby, was now summoned to sustain the full burden of ministerial responsibility. Some persons may think that he was as much a true Minister of Christ before, as he was after, his ordination; and so far as the designation of the all-wise God was concerned, he may have been such. But the call of God, in order to be distinguished from fanatical presumption, or the working of an ambitious fancy, must be tested or proved, according to that direction of the Apostle Paul which is both implied and asserted in several places of his Epistles to Timothy: (1 Tim. iii. 1--10; vi. 3; 2 Tim. ii. 21:) and as such probation implies the possibility of mistake on the part of those who at first have had to judge, and of error and self-deception in the candidate himself, who may, indeed, by slow degrees, have fallen away from grace, even the grace of the call,--it is not for nothing that in historical Scripture ordination by ministerial act, in the presence of a consenting congregation, is taken to be the acknowledgment, both on the part of Pastors and

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people, that the will of the Head of the church, in reference to the applicant, is truly recognised; that His law so far has been obeyed, and the elect person is now, ipso facto, separated from worldly concerns, to fulfil his one great business of carrying on the work of Christ; watching and feeding as a shepherd, and contending as a soldier.

With these views the Conference, being responsible for carrying out amongst the Societies the order observed by Christ's church from the beginning, has restricted its authority for administering the Sacraments to separated Elders; an arrangement which, with sacred instinct, the people have always sustained and approved, without withdrawing any portion of their love and confidence from those whose different offices did not include this function, so closely connected as it is and must be, in some of its aspects, with pastoral rule and oversight, and the admission of persons to catholic communion.

In this new exercise of administration, although the Liturgical forms of the Church of England are used amongst us with slight verbal alterations, the yearning heart of John Bumby found new vent for its prayerful and benignant longings, inasmuch as he was perfectly free (as are all other Ministers) to pour forth, in addition, to the people around, the extemporaneous

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expression of his own inspirations. He was gladly received by the Birmingham Societies as one of their fully-acknowledged Ministers. It was known on all hands, at the same time, that he was exceedingly delicate; but, with all this delicacy, his power in the pulpit was evidently on the increase. His impaired health did not merely arise from a morbid state of the chest and respiratory system, but from general debility produced by an impassioned and long-continued praying and preaching, re-acting upon a most peculiar and sensitive organization. He was not at this time, or afterwards while in Birmingham, remarkable for practising very detailed house-row visitation: to a great extent, the people conceded to him a freedom from this usually-required labour, partly on account of his limited strength, and partly on account of his influence and success in the pulpit. A less influential Preacher, or a stronger man, would not have been so generally excused. His visits, therefore, to a considerable degree, were confined to those persons with whom he had the strongest union of soul, and such sick and dying individuals as he might be summoned to attend. The mere bodily exercise of visiting a number of families, and exchanging with them pleasant acknowledgments and socialities, involves but little toil to the frame; oftener it exhilarates: but the pastoral duty of kindly

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questioning, removing difficulties, resolving scruples, convincing of errors, setting right wrong opinions, offering sympathy and engaging in prayer, many times a day,--all this involves an expenditure of thought and feeling, even to exhaustion, that the invalid shrinks from with a most reasonable fear. The congregations could not spare their young Preacher from the pulpit and the class-room, and therefore were content that he should not appear so often elsewhere. So affectionate were the Birmingham people, and especially his own particular friends, towards him, that his private intercourse with families tended rather to the solace and refreshment of his own mind, liable as he was, notwithstanding his manifest growth in grace, to be chafed by temptation, and depressed in spirit by occasional discouragements in his work. He seemed to have come away from the Conference, and joined his colleagues, with deeper convictions than ever of the momentous character of the Preacher's office.

In looking around, he seemed to see that men in general, in this Christian country so called, had a much greater knowledge of the Gospel, and of revealed truth in general, than they allowed to be operative upon their heart and life; that they would read Christian books, and yield a cold assent to their sentiments and

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reasonings, and then go and plunge with eager avidity into a sphere of unbroken carnal-mindedness, as much as if the current of their thoughts had never been interrupted; that mere abstract truth, however Divine and holy, might be entertained by any of them for a few moments, as a subject of elevated contemplation, and then dismissed without an emotion, or so much as the breath of an inward prayer; that, in fact, the public mind needed rather arousing, alarming, vivifying, than illuminating; and a vital agency was required, all instinct with spirit itself, to thrill through the spirits of others, and make them all eye and all ear towards God. And so, when he turned his attention to the results which were produced by the ministry of some of his brethren, he saw that plain and ordinary truths, which were delivered with earnestness and compassion, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, came with lightning-like force upon minds which had been long accustomed to them, and startled those minds into penitence and prayer; just as though they had been new and glorious revelations from heaven. Had our Preacher been now living, he would have been told, by modern theorists, that the truth needs continually presenting in new dogmatic forms and aspects, in order to secure its life; for otherwise it becomes effete or worn out. But he had not so learned Christ: he

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had seen the truth in all its forms made perfectly quiet and dead; and he knew that, without the Holy Ghost living in and prompting the speaker, it was only like a serene moonlight, cold, clear, and waning away night by night. Accordingly, he guarded and held to our established expository deductions from the sacred volume with jealous care, imbuing them with life by living in the Spirit, and breathing after His richer influence. No matter what the secret feelings of enmity were in men's minds, God had not laid on him the responsibility of providing against all these, any farther than he might do so by exposing them; but rather of delivering the Gospel word, and looking for its efficacy in its results. He began, with this view especially, to read much, and pray much; and though this was done in secret, the Lord rewarded him openly. His preaching was more characterized by power. With laudable and manly sense, he discarded mere tinsel and prettiness. There was still enough of metaphorical allusion and illustration, to make his sermons fascinating to the younger part of his congregations; but as they were chiefly drawn from holy Scripture, and were enunciated with deep feeling, they all tended to the accumulation of strength. Affliction, too, had driven, and retirement drawn, him to search into those rich mines of holy thought which abound in the

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devotional Scriptures, and the works of our practical Divines; and thus he became more abundantly fraught with that matter which, satiated by the unction of the Holy One, is the ready instrument of awakening conviction for sin, or more ardent desires after the fulness of a reconciled God. Half an hour's discussion in his own way, on a great Gospel theme, would prepare his own heart for dictating, and his hearers (though unconsciously to themselves) for receiving, a most cogent and impassioned appeal, often most hallowed in its tone, and occasionally electrical in its startling force. Many who had a name to live and were dead, were aroused to see their empty formality and danger, and to come to Christ for life; and many open sinners were thoroughly awakened and converted,--brought from the bondage of sin and Satan, into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Still, true as these sentiments of his were, they are only part of the whole truth. Events have transpired in sufficient number since then, to prove that, in order to accomplish all the purposes of the New-Testament salvation, a teaching as well as quickening ministry is needed, especially among Wesleyan congregations. The terms of admission into our united Societies are remarkably easy. Any reasonable evidence a person may give of "a desire to flee

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from the wrath to come," is deemed a sufficient qualification for being taken under a Leader's oversight, and made the special object of exhortation and prayer; and as the main anxiety respecting him generally is, that he should be delivered from guilt, and made happy by pardoning mercy,--though too often the attainment of this is neglected,--so, when this is accomplished, numbers rest as though all were accomplished; whereas there are no adequate views of the wide range, the profound reach, the universal obligation, of Christian holiness, viewed as the imparted image or mind of Christ, or as acquiescence in and conformity to His law; and therefore, when trying times arise, and popular theories are mooted, which flatter selfish prejudices, and impugn every form of wise authority, there is nothing to stay the minds of even well-meaning people against the influence of current Antinomianism; a tendency which, so long as murder, or adultery, or robbery is not committed, can revel amid the sins of the spirit without a pang, and apparently without a conviction,--can bring the awful verities of the glorious Gospel into a flippant dialogue, and point them as weapons of party strife. To guard against evils like these, O how much is a teaching and (in the best sense of the word) a learned ministry needed! Apollos must follow Paul, and the children of

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Cephas may learn from both; and in order that men and women may have the mind of Christ, it is of the highest importance that a gifted pastorate should set forth Christ in His Person, His life, and ministry, as well as in His redeeming offices and His atonement. Priests and Papists are afraid that the Bible should be read and taught too much; evangelical Pastors, that it should be read and taught too little. Holy and truthful men fear nothing which the Bible can be proved to teach.

From what has been said above, no one will be surprised to learn that the interval between Mr. Bumby's Sabbaths, or other days of public labour, should often have to be filled up with little visits of restorative retirement. His exhaustion on a Sabbath evening was very great; as, in addition to the exertion of preaching, he would often spend an hour at the prayer-meeting in the vestry, and pray in special intercession for persons seeking spiritual blessings, several times in the course of that hour; and, as he would persist in the observance of certain severe, though well-meant, austerities, especially as regards beverage, notwithstanding the remonstrances of several of his kind friends, that exhaustion was with great difficulty relieved. His occasional calls to preach anniversary sermons, and attend public Meetings elsewhere, were often, however, so managed as to stand

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blended with a little open-air recreation; and in this way, and with the constant ministrations of kindness on the part of a generous people, he was enabled to labour on, and see fruit of his labour.

A peculiar friendship was formed about, or a little before, this time, between our friend and Mr. and Mrs. Hyde of Birmingham. Many circumstances contributed to its formation; but the chief were, a powerful attraction towards him as experienced on their part, prompting them to many acts of generous and delicate kindness; and a responsive interest and gratitude on his. The following extracts are from letters addressed to them in his occasional intervals of absence from his Circuit:--

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The above is a good specimen of his frequent style in the pulpit, which, when sustained by strong feeling, was often greatly effective, and for the best purposes. Indeed, a cold heart would never dictate such a strain.

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We add also the following to a friend visiting in the country at a date somewhat subsequent:--

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And again to the same:--

In order to explain the allusion in the extract dated April 29th, it is necessary to observe that the year 1885 was a period of great distraction in many parts of the Wesleyan Connexion. At the preceding Conference of

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1834 the Report of the Committee for considering a "Plan for the Improvement of the Junior Preachers," was brought up and adopted. Dr. Warren, who disapproved of the details, all at once placed himself in a position of determined hostility against his brethren on the entire subject; and, after Conference, published and circulated a pamphlet amongst the Societies, with a view to stir up prejudice and enmity against the most influential Ministers of the Connexion, and excite the Societies to rebel against its constituted order. For this offence he was summoned before a Special Meeting of the Manchester District-Committee. The authority of this tribunal he set at nought and denied, and left the presence of his brethren, who, according to their lawful usages, were empowered to hear and deal with the case. The District-Meeting, for such contumacy, could do no other than suspend him from his functions as a Minister in the Wesleyan chapels, until the ensuing Conference. Dr. Warren, without waiting for the assembling of this Conference, commenced a suit in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery, with a view to assert his right of access to the pulpits as usual, notwithstanding the ministerial sentence just mentioned. The civil decision, as affirmed both by the Vice-Chancellor and the Lord Chancellor, was against him: it confirmed the validity of

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Mr. Wesley's Deed of Declaration; secured to the Preachers appointed by the Conference the inalienable occupation of the pulpits; recognised the pastoral supervision and authority of the Conference, as the supreme tribunal, exercised, when needful, through the medium of its District-Committees; and afforded the ample security of British law to the general economy of Wesleyan Methodism. But Dr. Warren in the mean time had co-operated in the formation of what was called a Central Association, consisting of persons who had been excited to agitation by his efforts; and this body sought to overawe the sound and attached portion of the Connexion, and coerce the spiritual administration, by the gathering of violent and schismatic meetings, and demanding changes in the constitution which would have totally altered its character and ruined its energy. The aid even of the ungodly was accepted, and one venerated and blameless man, still living, was stoned, as others have been in more recent instances, in the public streets. At the Conference of 1835, by indulgence, Dr. Warren was fully heard in appeal, though all right of appeal was denied to him; but no correspondence was held with the Delegates of the Association referred to. The result of the deliberations was, that the Conference resolved to uphold the constitution unimpaired, from a sense of the obligation

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imposed by a high trust; from a conviction that they were thereby asserting and defending New-Testament principles; and from the assurance that they were throwing the shield of their protection, against agitation and wrong, around tens of thousands of godly people in the British Isles and throughout the world, to whom Methodism as it is and had been was most dear. In all this the Conference was sustained by the largest Committee of influential lay persons, from all parts of the Connexion, which was ever gathered together. But Dr. Warren himself, whose enmity unhappily remained unabated, was expelled from the Connexion; and, for some months after, continued to head the schism and agitate the Societies, until the storm which he had raised became rude and repulsive toward himself, when he retired from the Association, and some time afterwards obtained ordination in the Church of England. It can be no matter of surprise that at this time, when slander was rife, and circulated by means of corrupt and lying publications, many who were simple and uninformed should be led astray, and many others staggered. Little did the movers in these lamentable factions understand the characters of the men they were calumniating; and though they paraded their professed desire for the spiritual privileges of the people as being

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the cause and reason of their violence, it was abundantly evident, from subsequent events, that the Conference by its firmness did really preserve those privileges from peril. It required no small fortitude on the part of the excellent Presidents of those two eventful years,--the Rev. Joseph Taylor and the Rev. Richard Reece,--and the able men who acted with them in council, to maintain their position with uncompromising fidelity and yet with Christian meekness; but their luminous and comprehensive principles, held with a pure, good conscience, and administered with unshaken trust in God, sustained them. The ministerial brethren, and the Societies in general, were assured and animated by the firm and Christian bearing of these chief Pastors; confidence was restored, and, though thousands had seceded in the strife, prosperity rapidly returned to the Societies, and, by the end of the year ensuing, notwithstanding the secessions, an increase of above two thousand members, even in Great Britain, was realised. In Birmingham, especially, the labours of the brethren had been greatly owned of God, insomuch that at the very Conference of 1835, where these solemn matters had to be adjusted, the Circuit was divided into two, under the respective heads of the Cherry-street and Belmont-row chapels. Mr. Bumby remained in

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connexion with the former, together with his seniors, the Rev. William Naylor and the Rev. John Slater; and so entered upon another year of encouraging harmony and success. He greatly venerated the fathers and guides of the Connexion, and he had just reason for doing so; nor was he less attached to the administrative and disciplinary system of the body as a whole. With him there was no secret gnawing at the reputation of eminent brethren, no carping about details, or making the worst of disputable matters; and thus his heart was kept free from the corroding influence of petty passions, and, as far as his relations to his church were concerned with his peace, he had perfect peace. With open and almost brusque frankness he maintained the principles and details of John Wesley's Methodism; and this honesty, so transparent, called forth in most instances as honest a response. With faithful Leaders and Local Preachers he co-operated in warmhearted and sincere friendship, without assuming any supercilious air on his part, or doing anything to produce reserve on theirs. As to the temptations by which Wesleyan-Methodist Ministers, because of their close association together, are so frequently assailed; over these he had great power. There is reason to believe that he had now begun to look upon a superior in the ministry, that is, a superior in attain-

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ments and influence, with real pleasure and delight.

So encouraging bad been the prosperity of the work in Birmingham, that the influential members of the congregations greatly desired that the ensuing Conference should be held there. Their desire was granted: the Ministers for the first time assembled together in that town on the last Wednesday of July, in the year 1836; and were treated with the most affectionate and generous hospitality.

Dr. Bunting was chosen, by the brethren, that year, and for the third time, as President; and thereby not only was a due honour accorded to eminent wisdom and ability, but affirmation was given of those great leading principles lately controverted, of which Dr. Bunting in his public life had been the unvarying representative. In harmony with the same procedure, likewise, a Committee of Birmingham gentlemen invited the Conference, and the leading members of the Wesleyan families there, to a public breakfast at the great Town-Hall. The occasion was one of high interest, and of the interchange of hallowed sentiment and confidential friendship. When Dr. Melson, who took a leading part in this sacred festivity, came to address the President personally, be became much affected; he alluded to the Doctor's invaluable labours and services, to the threatening

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storms of the preceding year, to the calm which was happily following; and paying a just tribute to the character and worth of several of the President's contemporaneous associates, he concluded an eloquent speech by presenting to him and the Secretary, the Rev. Robert Newton, each a little elegant token of admiration and Christian regard. The venerable Mr. Reece, in his speech in the Conference on retiring from his Presidency, had alluded to our Lord's appearance on the Sea of Galilee, as related in John vi., where the disciples, in their labouring vessel, were borne through the darkness and storm to a port of safety; and by this he illustrated the deliverance of the Connexion, by the same almighty Saviour, from the dangers that threatened it. Dr. Melson reproduced the figure in an altered and somewhat classical form. With Mr. Reece, the deliverer was "the Pilot of the Galilean lake;" with Dr. Melson, "the Master of the elements." However, the subject and imagery both were matters of grateful reference and sacred joy throughout the sittings of that Conference. In that year, too, it was, that ordination of probationers by imposition of hands, and according to Mr. Wesley's form, was first adopted; and the deepened impression which was thereby given to the service, seemed to predict the most salutary effects, in connexion with the same solemnity in

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future. At this Conference, Mr. Bumby was appointed, with the Rev. Messrs. J. Rigg and T. H. Squance, to the Birmingham East Circuit; and as he had laboured in the entire field previous to its division, this arrangement scarcely had the effect of separating him from any friends: it merely diverted his ministerial labours to the other set of chapels. The services of the entire occasion gave a new impulse to his ministerial zeal; and when all the Preachers had left for their own Circuits, and everything fell into its ordinary form, he gave himself afresh to the great work of his life with increased and quenchless ardour. In the course of his entire period of labour in Birmingham, he had, in order to conserve the fruit of his own ministry, gathered a number of awakened persons, chiefly young, into regular Society-classes. At one time he had no less than three of these. He watched over them week by week with anxious fidelity and care; mourning over any who seemed to be laggard in the heavenly race; directing to the cross of Christ those who, as yet, were destitute of saving faith; and rejoicing unutterably over others who, like himself, were now enabled to run in the way of God's commandments, with an enlarged heart. Thus, while some young Ministers were seeking their solace in part from the acquired reputation of being intellectual Preachers,--a solace which utterly

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fails to aliment and sustain the inner man; oftener in turns enfeebles by its opiate lull and alarms by its opposition to conscience,--our friend was giving himself up to save souls from death; and was delighting in the reward which, next to the favour and peace of God, consisted in obtaining the affections of those whose salvation he had been the instrumental cause of procuring. This assuredly must be the most elevated joy of good men on earth; and if human faculties were as vital and ardent as those of angels in heaven, it would vie with any joy that they can call theirs. It is the highest form of mercy; and, according to Christ's word, makes its human subject to be "blessed," for it casts him into mercy's immeasurable sea.

As rescuing precious immortals from sin and wrath is the means of opening a little heaven in the bosom of each one thus rescued, so it proves often a refluent heaven, flowing back into the bosom of the faithful witness, making it unutterably large for holy benignity and humble joy. As a lost soul, who has been the means of alluring others by the press, or by direct personal influence, to their eternal doom, shall find,--as each mass of ruined mind comes rolling into eternity on, over, and around him in fearful successions, through the impulsive causes he has left behind,--how awfully capable of augmentation, and in what deepening depths, per-

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dition may lie; so a redeemed spirit, which has turned many to righteousness, shall find his own ocean of joy rise higher and higher the more there are who, from the circle of his own ministry, shall come to plunge in its depths. O how faithful men may, in some sort, enter into the secret of their Master, and through Him (with reverence be it spoken) see of the travail of their soul and be satisfied! Mr. Bumby's preaching, too, had become more compact and cogent, as to its thoughtfulness. In proportion to the maturing of his understanding, was his appreciation of the solid and the simple in theology; he now loved sound and comprehensive exposition better, and so had become a better expositor; and there is reason to think, that his general reading was more of a strengthening character than in his earlier years, involving less of mere Christian sentiment, and more of patient and close scriptural reasoning. Though never possessing a high order of genius in theology, he generally accumulated, previously to his entering the pulpit, a treasure of sacred thought, acquired by meditation and expository study; and this, when offered to God, burning with holy fire, doubtless became his, as it is any Minister's, most appropriate and accepted sacrifice. But still his great power was his power of application and appeal. A person who was not liable to be strongly affected without cause,

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has been heard to say, that on listening to him on a Sabbath evening, in Cherry-street chapel, the accumulative effect upon himself (the hearer) was such, that he hardly knew whether to leave such a source of overpowering emotion by retiring, or give vent to it at once by lifting up his voice to shout or to weep. It is said respecting the great John Chrysostom, that when he preached at Antioch, the audience testified their delight at his eloquence by clapping of hands and other gestures of acclamation. But the congregations of our friend were in a different mood from the frivolous Antiochians: when John Bumby was burying himself in the sacred passion of his appeal, no one was so little thought of as himself; and yet his hearers were rapt in silence or suffused with tears. From this time our friend truly aimed high. His labours were great; but his austerities remained unabated, and were very injurious. Mr. Naylor and Dr. Melson had often remonstrated with him respecting them, but in vain. It was matter of conscience with him, and so, he inferred, of duty; and therefore they were obliged to leave him to his own course. With regard to excessive labour in prayer-meetings and the like, far be it from us all to say, that a Minister's conduct should be limited and controlled by a cold, worldly prudence. There are times when men, who yearn over sinners, should be

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allowed to be beside themselves for their cause, as St. Paul was; times when health and everything should be sacrificed, in order to save them. But the most ardent and jealous of Mr. Bumby's friends would hardly say that these were such times, or that this lavish expenditure of physical strength was now necessary. It was done to Christ, however, though mistakenly. Those whose natures are made, by Divine grace, into flame, will not be content unless they burn, should they even burn away. He was still very frequently laid aside for a fortnight together, and had to resort, at such times, to a restorative journey, with very light, or with an entire freedom from all, engagements; and while absent on these occasions, his letters to his special friends breathed the same spirituality, and poured forth the same gratitude, as before. In the month of May, 1837, the writer was called to sustain a bereavement similar to that which summoned Mr. Bumby, in 1831, from Waltham-Abbey to his father's house. I had occasion to pass through Birmingham in my way to my former home, where the last mournful offices for a beloved parent had to be performed; and shrinking from publicity while awaiting the morning coach, I spent a quiet evening, or part of one, with Mr. Bumby at Mr. Hyde's. With the exception of my opportunities at the Conference season of 1836, I had

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not seen him since the time of his brief sojourn in Hull. He was much paler, and greatly attenuated: his whole appearance gave evidence of the effects of wasting labour. His former restless and eager gestures were subdued into a calm but yet living and speaking demeanour. His countenance beamed with an expression of wondrous peace; that is, peace more than ordinary, an expression which could no more be confounded with apathy than with anger; while his eye was inexpressibly benignant, yet in such a way as still to disclose a natural lurking tinge of melancholy. He received me with his usual frank and transparent kindness; and on learning the cause of my sorrow and depression, his brotherly sympathy was at once both excited and thoroughly expressed. Shortly before this, the Rev. John (now Dr.) Harris had preached a beautiful and impressive sermon in behalf of the Wesleyan Missionary Society in London, from Isaiah xliii. 10: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." The sermon made a powerful impression at the time, and was afterwards published. It stirred many youthful hearts in the Wesleyan Connexion; and was the means of inciting several ministerial candidates to devote themselves to the Missionary work. Our friend sought to draw me into conversation; and as the subject of preaching to him was ever dear, its exercise being the busi-

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ness and joy of his life, he alluded to this sermon, and to the inexpressible value to the church of God of the ordinance of a faithful publication of the Gospel; calling forth my own responsive sentiments on the same theme. Speaking of Dr. Harris, and the unction with which he was favoured on the occasion referred to, he said, "Ah! this kind of thing is not so much the whirlwind, earthquake, and fire, as the still small voice which comes after." He was always fond of Scripture imagery; and there was a good deal more to the same effect. On my rising to depart, he proposed prayer. We kneeled down, and he poured forth his heart with great simplicity and feeling for us all; that we might have readier access to the Cross; that our faith in the atoning blood might be more constant and influential in procuring life through Christ's name; that our comforts might be drawn from our filial access to, and communion with, the Father; that God's discipline of us might make us more spiritually minded; that our affections might ever be set on things above; and, for me in particular, that the Lord might be far more and better to me than parent or friend, or any other object of interest and love; and that He would overrule the present stroke, to promote my faith as a Christian, and my usefulness as a Minister. The prayer was closed at length, in the spirit of

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cheerful solemnity, with the usual apostolic formula. He was evidently an object of anxious interest to his friends. We parted in peace, and I saw his face no more.

In the course of this year, and particularly towards its close, it was hinted amongst the circles of Wesleyan friends in Birmingham, that Mr. Bumby had serious thoughts of offering himself for some department of the foreign Missionary work. It is quite true that a purpose or desire of this nature had been now for a short time back secretly working in his mind. It will be seen, by reference to his preceding correspondence, that a proposal had been made to him by the Missionary Committee to go out for two or three years to aid the work in the British possessions of North America; believing, as those gentlemen did, that the sea-voyage and frequent travelling would greatly tend to strengthen and establish his health: and the more this scheme is considered, the more it commends itself for its wisdom and kindness. As at that time, however, he seemed to be so firmly established in his attachment to the home pastoral work, the Committee did not earnestly press their request, and nothing more was heard of the matter in this form. Still the Missionary field was not forgotten; and just now there was much sacred excitement in the Connexion on the subject. The Society was

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extending its operations, and realising great successes, especially amongst pagan tribes. Wise and senior brethren were wanted in several instances to go out and take the general superintendence of Mission churches where the labourers were comparatively inexperienced, and had but few means of access to each other: and to meet this want, in part, Mr. Waterhouse, our friend's former Superintendent, was already designated, in intention, at least, for Van-Diemen's Land, with a view that he should watch over the Australian Missions in general. Mr. Bumby greatly loved and esteemed Mr. Waterhouse; and it was found, by little and little, that he had begun to speculate upon the possibility of going out with him.

At this point we must pause, to look on Mr. Bumby's position. He was now at the height of his popularity, and had a greater share of it than usually falls to the lot of young Ministers. To all classes in the community he was an object of respect and affection. His special charge was increasing, his preaching successful; and even persons of other Christian denominations would often come and listen with profit and pleasure to the eloquent and zealous addresses which, in the fulness of his heart, he poured forth, especially on Sabbath-days. All studied to provide for any want of which he might be conscious, all endeavoured to afford

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him sympathy under those cares and trials which even the most popular cannot avoid: his ministerial brethren gave him their generous confidence,--a confidence which he had justly won, and had ever held most dear. The soothing amenities of the quiet Christian circle had, up to this time, been almost necessary to the permanence of his energy: and yet now he proposes, all at once, and without parleying, to break away from every silken tie, and plunge at once into the rigorous hardship of a Mission among savage tribes! where the spirit can have little or no rebound, and where sympathetic aids can only come from associates in trial and labour. Was it that he feared his popularity might be secretly endangering his spiritual safety, making the favour and affection of his fellow-creatures too necessary to his peace, and, at the same time, injuring them as well, leading them by insidious degrees to attach too much importance to him, and too little to his Master? Did he deem that there was a snare of hurtful prosperity implicating him and his circle, and that, therefore, it was his duty to burst it at a bound? or was it an undefined and inward constraint, of which no account can be given, except that the Holy Spirit sometimes produces it in the minds of good men, apart from and beyond their ministerial call, and by means of it often leads them to special places of labour?

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To these questions no accurate reply can be given, as the principal witness is now with God. However it was, self-pleasing or self-interest could have no share in producing the bias or influencing the ultimate determination. The shrinking and sensitive youth, who, seven years before, had impatiently wished he might be taken to rest, to get rid of toil and care, was now actually contemplating a burden a hundredfold heavier, and that, too, under circumstances far more repulsive to the flesh. Divine grace had done much in the interval. A half-morbid, half-sentimental love of heaven had given place to a healthy and intense love of Christ. He had learned to come to the holiest place through the blood of Jesus, and ask and receive that his joy might be full. As the accepted child of a reconciled Father, and having boldness of access through Christ, even amid all his infirmities, failures, and negligences, he had often come to ask for a Father's gift, the sanctifying Spirit; nor had he asked in vain. The answer had not only brought him peace, and love, and power over sin, but had raised and strengthened every faculty,--understanding, conscience, will, affections; had infused patience and fortitude, and left Christ the Lord and Master of the whole.

To say that Mr. Bumby's relatives were at first opposed to his scheme, will excite no surprise; but his ministerial friends and colleagues

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were of opinion that a foreign station, and especially one among uncivilised tribes, was not the sphere for him in which to exercise his ministerial call; and the Missionary Committee were inclined to a similar judgment. He was likewise a single man, though, as such, he had always conducted himself, especially in the presence of young persons of the other sex, with more than ordinary propriety and prudence. In this particular his conduct was exemplary to all young Ministers. He had never taken steps towards a matrimonial connexion; and, with his deep conscientiousness and fear of involving others in trouble, perhaps deemed that his health was never in a state to warrant his doing so. His sister Mary kept his house. All parties at the same time duly estimated his disinterestedness and devotion in offering himself for foreign labour, and felt that it would be wrong in them to stand in the way of a powerful conviction of duty.

He now entered upon a correspondence with the Mission-House on the subject; and the following letters to Mr. and Mrs. Hyde, his beloved friends, will show its progress and results:--

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The Conference of 1838 was held in the city of Bristol. The Rev. Thomas Jackson, at that time Editor of the Wesleyan publications, was chosen as President; and by his luminous wisdom, dignified bearing, and fervent zeal, he gave a character to the sittings of the assembly which will not easily be forgotten by those who were present. The examination of the candidates in the presence of their fathers and brethren, and their subsequent ordination to the ministry in public, were ordinances that were conducted with uncommon solemnity and power. The prayers that were offered on the last occasion by Mr. Samuel Jackson and Mr. John Anderson, were memorable for the enlargement of heart with which they were poured forth, and the glorious unction which seemed to be the pledge of the answer. Mr. Anderson's spiritual state, in particular, seemed at that time to fulfil the beautiful predictive language of the opening of Psalm xci.: "He that dwelleth

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in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;" for, in every place and company, he seemed to possess great heavenliness of perception and demeanour, and never went through a public exercise without powerfully arresting the attention and affecting the hearts of his hearers. This baptism of fire, which melted his naturally fervid constitution into love, abode upon him to the close of his career, which took place not very long after.

The charge to the newly-ordained young Ministers was delivered by the Rev. Edmund Grindrod, the ex-President, and founded on Zech. hi. 6, 7: "And the Angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." The Preacher, taking advantage of the typical veil which was cast upon the prophetic vision, so directing the thoughts to its deeper Christian meaning, found no difficulty in transferring the whole force of the charge to the Ministers of Christ; and then, with his well-known chaste and lucid diction, and his comprehensive range of theological thought, he enforced the cultivation of an ardent and serious piety, a blameless and holy

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walk; and offered to the faithful shepherd, on the authority of the text, the reward first of influence for good in the church below, and then the society of holy angels in the presence of God for ever and ever.

Such were the delightful and edifying services of this annual gathering. Mr. Bumby attended them, and participated in the blessing they afforded with peculiar emotion. He deemed it might be the last time he should ever mix in the society of his fathers and brethren on earth. Mr. Waterhouse knew that it was his own final interview; for he had no purpose of returning. Many serious and affectionate greetings took place between both of them and their immediate friends; for although Pastors in their circumstances pass through much which chafes and often chills their affections, yet, after all, there is a bond of hearty and manly love uniting those who have laboured and suffered together, which grows stronger until death, and which even the coldness of the world tends rather to strengthen than destroy. As the business of the Conference drew towards a close, they were especially commended to the faithful remembrance and prayers of the brethren assembled. At the call of the President, Mr. Waterhouse arose, and said, "I feel I make a great sacrifice in thus leaving my brethren and my country, for I go for life;

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but since I made the offer, I have been in a delightful state of peace. I only regret that I have not more to give to God and His church; that I am not better qualified for the great work. Still I have some experience: I am not a young man, and this may be of some advantage." Mr. Waterhouse went on to say, that he felt very much at parting with brethren whom he had met at so many Conferences; that he should always remember them, and trusted that they also would remember him. He said, they knew him, and his principles of Wesleyan conservatism; and he believed they could trust him in a far country to carry out the principles which he had endeavoured to act upon at home. He earnestly begged for their prayers, that, as they had reposed a great trust in him, he might have grace to be faithful. He would endeavour to do the work of God for which they sent him, and fully confide in them for encouragement and support.

Mr. Bumby endeavoured to address the Conference, but did it with great difficulty. He said, he reiterated what his esteemed friend had said. He was the servant of the Lord, and of His church. He was fully persuaded of his call to the ministry: that was his path of duty. As to fulfilling it in the Mission work, his way was clear, not only from inward conviction, but concurrence of providential circum-

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stances. He yielded to no one in love for his fathers and brethren. As a young man, he had all his heart could wish; but he felt he must devote himself to the work of God in a foreign land. He knew what he was about. He did not expect to escape privation, perils, and hardships: he trusted he could say, "None of these things move me." He concluded by very solemnly, and with unaffected but powerful feeling, repeating the lines,--

The President then said, that they could not but acknowledge that the spirit of their beloved brethren was indeed from God. They felt at parting with such men; but they parted with them for the sake of the cause which was more dear to them than life itself. These excellent men would be blessings to nations yet unborn. "They will be far from us; but we shall be one in affection and one in heart," continued Mr. Jackson; "and not many years will elapse before we shall all be one before the throne of God." He then took leave of them by shaking hands with them in the presence and on behalf of the Conference. Perhaps more powerful emotion was never felt in any Conference. The Preachers seemed to be for the time unmanned, and wept audibly.

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Mr. Bumby then returned to the circle of his friends at Birmingham, and made arrangements, amid the regrets of all the people, for concluding a most successful and honoured pastorate.