pursuits which before had been so habitual to him; and, above all, his spirituality of mind, which, at the advanced age of eighty, could delight, with all the vivacity of youth and the firmness of manhood, in never-wearied meditations, and discussions upon those high and holy subjects which involve the last and dearest interests of all mankind."

In July, 1805, he was elected Perpetual Curate of LaneEnd, a populous village in the Staffordshire Potteries, containing at that time about six or seven thousand inha bitants; to which place "he was allured principally by the prospect of abundant work, which presented itself to the eye of a Christian minister." "When I arrived there," said he to an intimate frier.d, " and found myself in the streets with the people swarming about me in all directions, I looked at them till I loved them so that I made up my mind not to leave them (should the will of God be so) till I had laboured hard and long among them to do them good." Hard and long did he labour among them, and much good, no doubt, he did among a people so affectionate and attached as numbers of them were to him. On the Sunday, he conducted two full services, and a lecture in the evening. During the week he had a service in the church, and his other evenings were spent in private readings, in teaching the children, or in visiting the sick. He established a very large Sunday school; and in every possible way laid himself out for the good of the inhabitants.

In 1808, Mr. Cotterill married; and when his family increased, he was compelled to add to his other labours, the care of pupils, for his income, while at Lane-End, never exceeded a hundred pounds a year. He could not, consequently, now devote every evening in the week to his parochial labours; but he had an extraordinary art of finding time for all his duties; and he debarred himself even of necessary rest, in order to prepare a volume of Family Prayers, which have met with general approba

tion.

At the commencement of 1817, he obtained the Perpetual curacy of St. Paul's, Sheffield, in a manner as honourable to the worthy vicar on whom the appointment devolved as to himself. That gentleman having formed a favourable opinion of Mr. Cotterill's character and talents from general report, and from the perusal of a visitation sermon which he had published, was so anxious to ascertain how far his qualifications as a preacher fitted

him for so important a situation, that he went over to Lane-End for the purpose of being present during divine service. Every thing which he there heard and saw convinced him of Mr. Cotterill's ministerial excellence, and the result was the removal of the latter to Sheffield in the following summer. In this new situation, which was, in every respect, one of increased importance, he showed himself, as he had ever done, "ready to every good word and work."

His ministerial duties (till a few months before his death) consisted of two services at his own church, and a sermon once a month at the parish church on the Sunday, and also on the Wednesday evening, besides occasional services. In turn with the other clergy of the place, he visited the infirmary and workhouse. He also gave regular instruction of a more private nature to some of the poor, who, from old age or other circumstances, stood in peculiar need of it; and once a week he assembled the teachers and scholars of the Sunday school connected with his church. It needs scarcely to be remarked, that he was also in the constant habit of visiting the sick and afflicted. Being no less able than willing to give suitable advice in most exigencies, either of a temporal or spiritual nature, a considerable portion of his time was occupied in attending to such applications. He delighted in the office of a peace-maker, and he was peculiarly fitted for it by his quick discrimination of character and his unfailing sweetness of temper. He never thought of himself when an opportunity occurred of doing good to others. Every one could read in his countenance, "Here I am; employ me as you will for your benefit, provided the object be a lawful one." With such a disposition and such unusual powers of usefulness, his employments, amidst so large a population as that of Sheffield, would have been quite as much as his strength would allow, even if he had not unhappily been obliged, from the smallness of his income, to receive pupils into his house, who occupied seven or eight hours of his laborious day. The consequence was, that he seldom had leisure for the preparation of his sermons,--an occupation which afforded him the highest enjoyment, till late in the evening; and sometimes he devoted whole nights to that object. No constitution could long bear up under such a pressure of engagements; and, about six months before his death, his friends saw with anxiety that his health was gradually declining. At their earnest solicitation he reluctantly gave up preach

ing at the parish church, and about the same time spent a few weeks for the benefit of the sea air at Bridlington, chiefly, however, on account of the ill health of his wife. But this was a season only of comparative rest. While there, he preached regularly in the church, and exerted himself in various ways with such unaffected modesty and humility that he will be long remembered at Bridlington as a faithful and affectionate minister of "Christ's flock scattered throughout the world."

On his return to Sheffield, his friends were grieved to find that he had derived little benefit from change of air, yet he continued the performance of his usual duties, till Sunday, November 23d, when he was so much exhausted after the morning service, that he gladly accepted an offer of assistance in the afternoon. In a few days he was attacked by a fever, which appeared soon to yield to the remedies employed; but, attempting to resume his labours with his pupils, he brought on a relapse, which assumed a very alarming aspect. From this time he was evidently impressed with the idea that he should not recover; and even during his delirium eternity seems constantly to have occupied his mind. Often would he imagine his beloved flock before him, and address to them the most affectionate and awakening expostulations on the vanity of the world, the nearness of eternity, and the necessity of a heavenly mind for the enjoyment of future blessedness. Sometimes he would call successively for his children; and, reminding them of their peculiar failings and dangers, he would address them on that great subject which filled his mind, with all the authority of a father, yet with a sweetness of voice and manner which was peculiar to him, and never forsook him. "Upon more than one occasion," Mr. Price states in his sermon, "in the earlier part of his illness, when he was quite himself, calling me by my name, he said, with great affection and solemnity, The day, the day is nearer than you conceive.'" Mr. Price adds several remarks which he made during his mental wanderings, but which he mentions merely as showing the habitual bent of his thoughts. He gives a most affecting account of him in one of his lucid hours. His wife and his friend had been praying by his bed-side. "When his friend," continues Mr. Price," had ceased praying, your lamented minister raised himself upon his left elbow, and with his right hand earnestly stretched out towards heaven, and with a voice in its full strength, addressed one of the most clear, con

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nected, pertinent, and awful prayers to God, that was, perhaps, uttered by man. It comprised a reference to his wife, his children, himself, and his friend; and then distinctly to his own flock, and all the people of the place, and to the extension of Christ's kingdom throughout the world." His chief request was, that "they might be prepared to stand before the Son of Man." At the close, he sunk down powerless and exhausted on his bed. He continued for about ten days in a state of the greatest danger, and twice he seemed rescued from the grasp of death by the assiduity and skill of his medical attendants. At the end of that time, a favourable change in the disorder renewed the hopes of his anxious friends. The delirium gradually subsided, but he was too weak to admit of conversation. Still the peaceful state of his mind was evident to all around him, and his gentle, affectionate spirit made him endeavour by words and looks of kindness to show his gratitude for their attentions and services. The extraordinary interest felt for him was not confined to his own family and congregation, but seemed to pervade the whole population of the town in which he resided.

The hopes which had been excited, were soon crushed by a return of fever, which in two days put an end to his sufferings. The same holy calm reigned within his breast to the last. Not a shadow of a doubt seems ever to have crossed his mind with respect to his future prospects; and his own will seemed to be annihilated, being absorbed in the will of God. The day previous to his death, his brother having remarked to him that heaven was a blessed place, his countenance lighted up, and he exclaimed, "O yes, it is indeed." "And you," his brother replied, "will soon be there." He paused, and with an expression of voice and countenance, as if he dared not indulge a wish for immediate blessedness, he rejoined, "That must depend on the will of Him with whom are the issues of life and death." Just before he expired, his afflicted family being assembled round his bed, he prayed for a considerable time in the most fervent and energetic manner, with all his faculties evidently in full exercise. At last his strength failed, and he continued his intercourse with Heaven in a lower tone, when the word temptation' struck the ear of his anxious brother; but, on listening attentively, he perceived with delight, that he was praying for his children, that they might be kept from "the temptations of the world, the flesh, and

the devil." His voice then gradually sinking, in a few minutes, without a sigh or a struggle, he closed his earthly labours, and entered into his eternal rest. The feelings of all present during the heart-affecting stillness which succeeded, were in perfect unison with the expression of one amongst them, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."

When Mr. Cotterill's death was announced, it seemed as if every one who heard the mournful intelligence had lost a son, a father, or a brother. A few days after his decease, a meeting of the seat-holders of St. Paul's was held, for the purpose of expressing their sorrow for the loss of their minister, and their respect for his memory. The whole congregation were requested to put themselves in mourning; and as if they felt every mark of kindness and attention to their departed friend (the name by which they affectionately designated him) as a personal favour to themselves, votes of thanks were passed to the medical gentlemen who had attended upon him with unwearied assiduity, and to those ladies who had watched over him and ministered to his wants with maternal tenderness.

It was well known to Mr. Cotterill's congregation, that his family, consisting of a wife and five children, were left without provision, and they hastened to afford them effectual aid. The day after the funeral a meeting was convened which was marked by a truly generous flow of Christian feeling and benevolence. Nor were this feeling and benevolence confined to the neighbourhood of Sheffield. In Staffordshire, where Mr. Cotterill had previously exercised his ministry, and indeed wherever his character was known, the esteem and affection with which he was regarded, have been evidenced by liberality towards those whom he left behind him.

Though the character of Mr. Cotterill has been, to a considerable extent, developed in the preceding historical sketch of his life, it may be desirable to advert more particularly to some of its leading features, with a view, chiefly, of illustrating the cause of his ministerial usefulness. He was remarkable, not for originality of genius, but for vigour and soundness of intellect; not for the exhibition of one dazzling talent that attracted the admiration of one class of hearers, but for possessing a union of mental endowments which rendered him interesting and useful to all. His mind was so constituted and so balanced as exactly to fit him for his work. It was