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ON THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE

METHINKS, I see grim Slavery's gorgon form,

Like one condemn'd for blackest crimes, aghast, Writhing with inward Agony's pent storm,

To hear her sentence by stern Justice pass'd! Methinks too, Pity's angel shape I see,

Wiping the tear from Misery's scalded cheek;, While Freedom ratifies the just decree,

That fell Oppression's shackles soon shall break! Humanity in triumph lifts her voice,

To Heaven the prayer of Piety ascends; With holy rapture all the good rejoice,

While the poor Negroes' persecution ends!

Go, ruthless Avarice, lament thy loss,

Forbidden to pursue the barbarous trade;
Thou, who count'st Man compar'd with golden dross,
When in thy balance of injustice weigh'd!

Go howl, thou savage, drawn are thy fell fangs;

No longer may'st thou torture, maim, or kill; ➡ No longer mock the frantic captive's pangs,

Torn from his native land, thy fields to till!

Afric, exult, through all thy vast domain,

From Niger's fount to Nile's sea-mingling flood, Britain, at length, destroys the galling chain,

Bath'd in such torrents of thy tears and blood! To You who urg'd her to the righteous deed,

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Time shall engrave your honours on his urn! And grateful nations from oppression freed, Their benedictions pour, their heartfelt thanks return!

HAFIX,

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HYMN

IF bound to that desired shore,
Where wave on ware can dash no more,
My little vessel shall not fail,
If Mercy has but spread her sail :
Tho' dangers threaten ev'ry day
To sink her on her destin'd way,
And clouds o'erspread, and billows rise,
To check her progress to the skips;
Sails often torn, and compass lost,
And way is hid, and bark is tost;
Tho' winds blow hard, and storms suc-
ceed,

And tempests oft her way impede,
Fearless, unmov'd my bark shall be,
If but my Pilot smile on me!
Fresh life his countenance will give,
And make my drooping faith still live.
I'll call upon him till the last,
Till each distressing gale be past:
Then farewell each unhappy day,
Thy griefs and pains are fled away;
Then farewell Tempter, Death, and Sin,
My port's in view, I'm putting in.
Farewell, vain world, the angels stand,
And beckon to the heav'nly land.
come, the signal word is giv'n;
And Earth exchange for highest Hea-

yen!

H.

Sung by the Children of a Charity School, on Occasion of a Sermon for their Benefit.

SUPREMELY good! supremely great!
Thy bounty we adore!
In all those gifts of Providence

Which mark each passing hour! From the first dawn of infant life

Thy goodness we have shar'd;
And still, thro' scenes of human woe,
By sov'reign mercy spar'd!

To seek thy grace, to do thy will,
O Lord, our hearts incline!
And o'er the paths of future life
Command thy light to shine!

While taught to read the word of truth,
May we that word receive!
And when we hear of Jesus' name,

In that blest name believe!

Let not our feet incline to tread

Sin's broad destructive road; But trace those holy paths which lead To glory and to God!

Printed by G. AULD, Greville Street, London,

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Red J. Scrimorour
Edinburgh.

Bublifhd by Williams & C.Stationers Court April 1207

EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE.

APRIL, 1807.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

OF

THE LATE REV. HENRY MEAD,

FORMERLY JOINT LECTURER OF ST. JOHN'S, WAPPING, &c.

[Though we have already inserted in our Obituary a short account of Mr. Mead, we trust that this Memoir, which records more fully the circumstances of his conversion, and his entrance into the ministry, will be acceptable to our readers.]

MR. MEAD was born in the year 1745, in or near the city of Bath. His parents were obscure persons, possessing small property; and to these circumstances may be ascribed the defects. of his early education. We cannot ascertain what religious instruction was afforded him; but when only five years of age, he had some knowledge of his having offended, God, and that he was liable to punishment; on the nature of that punishment, "he thought as a child," supposing that he might be ordered to some place where he should be treated with neglect. This apprehension arose from the manner in which his mother corrected him for offences, by ordering him to a corner of the room, and not permitting any one to regard him.

His father dying when Henry was young, and his mother marrying the second time, he was put out apprentice to a low mechanic; but did not remain till the legal expiration of the term; for, upon the death of his mother, his father-in-law made away with the little property which Heary had expected. This so wounded his feelings, and left him so destitute, that he abandoned his master, and went off to London. Here we interrupt the narrative to state, what was at once both the genuine effect of that religion he afterwards possessed, and much to the credit of the profession he made, that he returned, and filled up that which had been lacking in the service due to his master. In the meantime, instead of seeking to recover the loss he had sustained, or to improve the disappointment which vexed h.m, by increased

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diligence and sobriety, we find him in the midst of the dissipations of the metropolis, seeking to divert his mind from reflection by the vain and criminal pleasures of this world. He chose persons of corrupt manners for his companions; and by telling merry tales and singing vain songs, he often raised their boisterous mirth. The Sabbath was to him a busy day in promoting the reign of Sin; so greatly was his mind darkened, that he thought God did not desire the labouring poor to go to church; and he pitied the clergy who were obliged to attend on the duties of religion, while he was at liberty to take a pleasant walk, or to visit a public tea-garden, &c. On one of those days, which should have been sacred, but, alas! so frequently profaned, he could not meet with any of his associates; therefore, to get through the long and tedious hours of that day, he purposed in his mind to go to Long Acre chapel; but on his way thither, he recollected to have heard of a Dr. Whitfield; and from the reports which had reached him, he expected to find in his preaching what would gratify his curiosity, and furnish him with matter for humorous remarks: he therefore directed his course for Tottenham Court Chapel. The preacher was the Rev. Howell Davis. While this faithful minister pointed out the different practices of the impious, Mr. Mead found his own life described; but he remained unmoved, till the energetic penetrating close of the sermon, when the condemnation of such characters was set forth in a striking light. He felt distressed, went home, and, in retirement, began again to read his greatly-neglected Bible; and resolved to love God. Still he remained ignorant of the nature of faith in Him who is the only Saviour. The work was an outward reformation, not the communication of an inward vital principle; his visible reform was observed by his acquaintance, who were surprized at its being so sudden. The Religion (if it may be called by that name) which he knew at this time, was of a pharisaic cast: he said his prayers morning and evening, he bought a book of prayers for every day in the week; and in this way he proceeded for some weeks, still attending at the chapel: but the Lord, who had determined to take possession of his heart, opened to his view the evils of his nature, and both the seat and demerit of inward depravity. Spiritual convictions, those arrows of the Lord, took deep hold of him, and he groaned through disquietude. Now he found his book of prayers was of no service: it was laid aside; and from his deep-felt misery, he cried to Heaven, “ Lord, undertake for me, for I am oppressed!" He had for a time to wait as well as pray: his burden appeared to increase, so that in the day he could not find rest, and by night he bathed his pillow with tears. Indeed, some nights he was afraid to lie down, lest he should awake in Hell. With a mind so uneasy, and his rest so broken, it was no wonder that his body was brought near to the chambers of Death. When he heard some scoff, and say that

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