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, gives 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."