Mr. Miller, and his grave was hallowed by the tears of those, who, but for their respect for his character and sympathy in his death, might be called strangers.

On the intelligence of his death at Beverly, the bells were tolled, a mournful silence pervaded the streets, customary business was in many instances suspended, and the pulpit and church clothed in black for förty days. Appropriate public services were performed at the request of the parish, and a discourse delivered by the Rev. Dr. Flint, in which the characteristic qualities of the lamented subject are portrayed with a discriminating power. How deep was the general sympathy at the sudden prostration of common hopes at the moment when they were highest, may appear from the following extract.—“ It is no rare occurrence for a bereaved individual or mourning family to appear within these walls. To-day we have come together, at the call of a mysterious Providence, one entire assembly of mourners, to mingle our tears, our sympathies and prayers, as partakers in a common calamity.

"One mournful and affecting image is present to the thoughts of all,—that of the good shepherd of this bereaved flock and the honored head of this afflicted family fallen the untimely victim of disease, at the moment when recruited health had given promise of lengthened years of usefulness and peace, in the bosom of his beloved charge and household. The aspect of universal sadness and grief, which I see before me, occasioned by this event, admonishes me, that you deplore with no common feeling of bereavement, the unlooked for sum mons of your religious monitor, guide, counsellor and

friend to his early rest and reward, leaving you, as it has pleased God he should, to mourn over the sudden prostration of hopes, that had been so recently raised almost to the certainty of fruition. * * * And it is, therefore, no small addition to the pain of bereavement, when the loved form of the friend we mourn is laid in a distant grave,-when

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"By foreign hands his dying eyes were closed,

By foreign hands his lifeless limbs composed,

By foreign hands his lonely grave adorned,

"By strangers honored, and by strangers mourned."

"The death of a neighbour, or of a casual acquaintance, in the obscurest walks of life, brings a shade of sadness and solemnity over the mind of the most unreflecting and unconnected witness of the event. But God speaks to us with a louder warning and more solemn emphasis, when the eminent and the good are taken away, who have long filled a large space in the public regard, and sustained the most responsible relations that exist in human society. A thousand common objects may, we know, be removed out of their place, without attracting the notice of many observers. But the sudden disappearance of a lighthouse or watchtower, that had long stood, as a guide to the mariner, or the traveller, cannot take place, without awakening a general interest and attention. And if, as we have all so often seen and felt, the impression be slight and transient, when the living read the lesson of their frailty in the frequent funerals of the promiscuous crowd of all ages, whose existence and exit are alike unknown beyond their immediate vicinity, it is not so, it cannot be

so, when death has selected, as in the instance we mourn, an elevated and shining mark, and, by removing with a stroke a distinguished individual, has deprived, not only a family of its dearest earthly dependence and solace, but a numerous and united people of their spiritual father, and the visible centre and bond of their union; the church and commonwealth of a pillar and an ornament; his brethren in the ministry of a brother, whose presence was to them as the light of the morning, whose friendship and hearty counsel have so often rejoiced their hearts, given ardor to their zeal, wisdom. and elevation to their purposes, and imparted a charm, a sweet and hallowing influence, to their intercourse on earth, the remembrance of which they will love to cherish, while they live, as an earnest of the higher and dearer communion, which they hope to share with him in heaven."

The late visits of Dr. Abbot at Charleston had strongly endeared him to that enlightened and hospitable community. "Members of all sects and denominations," writes the Rev. Mr. Gilman, "constantly stop me as I pass through the streets, and express the deepest concern, as if they had lost a father." At a numerous meeting of the worshippers at the second Independent Church, and several other respectable inhabitants of Charleston, the following preamble and Resolutions were submitted and passed :

"The mournful intelligence recently received of the death of the Rev. Abiel Abbot, whilst on his return to his beloved family and flock, has excited in ev

ery bosom of this congregation the most unfeigned and heartfelt sorrow.

"When we remember the mild and christian virtues, which adorned the character of that exemplary man, and which won the affections of all who knew him, we cannot but sympathize with his bereaved family and congregation, whose irreparable loss they must long deplore :—

"Resolved, That the Pastor of this church be requested to address a communication to his afflicted family, and offer to them our sincere condolence on the late afflicting dispensation of Divine Providence."

In the circumstances of Dr. Abbot's death, at the moment when the hopes of prolonged usefulness, cherished by his friends and the community, were highest, which gave an almost overpowering weight to the first impulses of grief at the sudden extinction of a light, which shone so bright in the relations of public life, and shed so pure a warmth over the bereft circle of private affection, the consoling conviction, inspired by our holy religion, of the perfect wisdom and benevolence of the Providence which rules events, and the remembrance of that cheerful piety which his own counsels breathed, and his life illustrated, may be suffered to administer their healing balm in mitigating the pains of bereavement. He was summoned to his reward in the meridian of his fame, with no blight coming over his faculties, with no slow and lingering decline. In this he realized the answer of his prayers, and the absence of the only fears, which were associated in his mind with

the idea of dissolution. He was spared the pain of following a daughter, in whom kindred talent, affection and worth were blended, to an early tomb. In these circumstances the devout believer must recognise alleviations, attending his removal, mingled even with the severity of the sudden and overwhelming bereavement.

The lamented subject of this notice was characterized by qualities of mind and heart eminently adapted to usefulness and success in the sacred office. His mind exhibited an union of the various faculties in balanced and harmonious proportion. His education contributed to develope no individual mental quality in remarkable ascendency over the rest. Though endued by nature with fine powers and quick perception, no single quality of the mind seemed to acquire by cultivation an obvious ascendency. His imagination was rich, and his judgment sound. He united patience of research with rapidity of invention. He was unambitious of the glory, which minds, in which the several powers are less balanced and blended, often covet of shining like the meteor with a dazzling brightness, unmindful of the moral disorders, with which its momentary brilliancy may be connected, but consecrated his various gifts by common improvement to the glory of the giver, and laid them on the altar of his God, by an able and faithful discharge of the functions of the sacred office, the object of his early predilection.

In the characteristic qualities of his heart, he exhibited a shining pattern of eminent piety and christian gentleness. His affections, naturally ardent and sus