The National Register. — London, England, 1814-06-05 00:00:00

362 .. LIFE OF THE Latc REV. HENRY FOSTER, M. A. TOGETHER WITH REMARKS ON THE ELECTION OF HIS SUCCESSOR IN THE RECTORY: Mr. Foster nsed notes. That such memoranda were of c.or:dary importance to him, however, might be satisfac is •. , c-rained by obsei vine him pi each. Thotigh he re ferre;: to his notes, he cUd not depend on them. lntel:igibility appeared to be his wish, and hence ha made himself undeistood. None could well misconceive and ml - applv what he said Nothing like enthusiasm belonged to him ; he w:s never incoherent or incongruous. His exordia were natural and interesting; his illustrations were pertinent and practical ; his exhortation, prtiticuladv when % ejactilatory..were forcible; and his applications came home to the consciences of men. His language, always eqnal, seldom sunk. Ile wai in earlier life distinguished for au amiable eloquence; and, al tho,ugh latterly he was compelled to sit during preaching, he did not materially lose the character of his original style. He had, neveitheles, his faults. "Perhaps there was some of ti inn:deg, betwixt . the Antinominn and Arminian, gomething of halting, in his system; and there seemed to he, slow and th:-n, something not unlike scolding in his renroofs. About three months before his death, _Mr. Foster so fat recovered his strength, for the lime, as once ag-tin `o enter th , :' reading desk of his churcl4 whence he finally rlddressed hi, flock, he'LagAilijte unable to ascend the pulpit. He often reverted to this of trctin:; list "stages of his illness, and always with an energy th It indicated t;,e interest be then let', and th heartfelt satisfaction it had impattnd t' bite. 'Otherwise lie had eviden , ly become alienated fr.mi the concerns of time, as he approached towards th;it inherit ance *hid) is undefiled and incorruptible. 11? was in wait ing to he gone. Resembling the NVIFC virgin;, his lamp was trimrned, with nniading oil, and he was anxiously listeling for the cry of the.buid , .groom. That cry he at length heard. Having in filial served his generation, according to 1)e best of his ability, awl thus adorned the doctrine bet-oght, he was (about nine 'o'clock on the morning of May the 9.6:h, 3 R 14) delivered from the body of death, and called up to hip recompence of inward ! Mr. Faster never guarded. Early in life, however. he Was suppi;sed to hate formed an affection for a Miss Winter, daughter of the Rev. Richard Winter, who was uncle to the present Dr. Robert W inter, and Pastor of Nuw-court Meet rm, near Carey-stieet, from 171.9 to 09. Nonconformists then hesitater) before, they affianced themselves with episco pal:ans. This attachment, therefore, not being acceptable to the lady's relations, solely on the score of religion, she afterwards married the Rev. Mr. flamilton, by whom she has left issue, having died boot seven years since. Sincerity in this atThir has marked • the conduct of Mr. Foster. 'lle las retnaiied through life constant to the passion he first conceived, as is evident from the circumstance of•his pre: ferring celibacy to the last. , Charity was 'with him habitual: Where he communicated 114: cvonsul, GP likewise ►►pened his purse. Ile was the friend t.t the frit - lidless, in the best possible sense; because he not Poly ”mpa!hiscd in their ?offerings, but, at the same. time, relieved their necessitiOs. He knew that words were but words. Calamitv fon rid-, -therefore, in him, not merely advice, I.)ut-dts Ibtaut e. Hence he died poor, as tc property; having THE NATIONAL REGISTER. JUNE 5. imparted.much of .his substance to those who needed his be neficence. Mr. Foster was no author. Excepting a Sermon on the Revolution of 1688, preached many years ago, and sonic prefatory recommendations to religious works, written to serve the proprie'ors, he is not believed to have produced any publication. lie was more intent on enrolling his fellow sinners under the banner of the cross, than desirous of ex hibiting his own prowess in the lists for literary fame. Without the display of shining talents, his ministry wag, nevertheless, always acceptable; and was attended with those beneficial c onsequences which ministers of more attractive gifts, humanly estimated, have failed roexperience. was his object. Above all cimsiderations of self, .therefore, was his anxious desire to do good; labouring as one that was to give an account, not only of his own gaol, but of the souls of the numbers who fiocketl to his prvaching. [[is wot I: is now done. But " though the tongue be mute, the discourse which proceedttl from it live;'' for " the relation of his office to immortality, gi ves a kind of immortality to the me nutrial of the man. IV bile the name of the wicked shall rot, and the exploits c f the slaughterer and tlie tyrant shall he written in the dust, the Christ!an Mini•ter shall survive him— self, and shall be vcnetatea and loved ; his maxims shall be recollected, and his precepts practiced, till, pC•lhaps, the very insci iption on his tomb shall he illeigiLle." funeral of Tr. foam The funeral of Mr. Foster must not be lightly passed over; it was not the funeral of an ordinary man; it was not the fu neral of even an oiditi.uy Minkter of ti r Coz:rel,—')ut Of one vl►om his Divine Master had honoured through life, anti was ire-ervedlv lamented in death. Friday June the 3d, the remai , s of the late Rector of Clerken , vell weie finer eally conducted fray) his dwelling, house, in Wildernes row, to his Church, where the pro reesion arrived a after one o'clock : it consisted of a lielrse with four horses, carrying the body of the deceased, a hoard of lealhers being borne before the hearse; of three ni.-7urniug coaches, each with four . horses and feathers, in which were the Relation , . of NI r. Foster, tre.:ether with certain Clergynr._ n ; and of eleven other mourning enriches, with only two hot ies each, in which many of his Parishioners fol lowed, closing thi , mom nfid kind of exhibition. It was with no light difficulty that the coffin was carried up the hiA range of steps at the entrance of the church. Among the clergymen who attended the funeral, each in his robes, woe obscu red the Reverend Met-sieurs Addy, Burder, Faulkner, Leese, Sheppard, Watkies, NVilkinson,.and Wright... The coffin could tint be placed in the middle of the center aisle, and therefore was rested just under the front gallery,. baying been introduced at the great western door. Every thing beinz so far adjusted, the Rev. W. E. Faulk• ner, B. A. ascended the reading-desk ; where he performed his part,. in an audible but certainly not an affecting manner. Hespouted it. . After this scene, there was some gratification. hearing the F ig of the chat itv elnidien,.which the effei.t of touching the hearts Of all present. The church presented a spectacle sufficient to solemnise, every mind. Mourning was every where exhibited. The pulpit and desks were covered with black, the altar was also black, and the front seats of the galleries were occupied by respectable individuals all in black, while the body of the building was filled with tninisters, mourners, attendants, and parishioners, by far the grcater.portinn of whom were clothed in black. Nor was . this - all. Scarcely a dry eve was peen ; fox evert devout men were constrained to weep at this burial. •