without the mask of disguise, which he never assumed,” but "with all that openness of temper, that generous frankness of nature, by which he was remarkably characterized," thus describes his last illness: "His health had been sensibly declining for a considerable time; but he endured a painful and lingering illness with a fortitude and composure which were truly admirable. Perfectly aware of his situation, he one day told a friend who was near him, he had hoped all would have been over before that time; but he supposed a little more discipline was necessary; and all was ordered right.' At another time, he said to his physician, I hope I shall not have to go through all this, long.' When momentarily expecting his awful change, he was most perfectly tranquil and collected in that expectation, and anxious for his release. He said, not long before his death, he felt completely free from pain, happy and comfortable to the greatest degree. Again to one who was most dear to him, he observed,—'Amidst my severe afflictions, I have many comforts, and much to be thankful for, though I do suffer a good deal; but I endeavour to be patient; and I wish to bring my mind to believe, that this bed is the best place for Some have a much rougher journey out of this system than I have.' It was a striking observation of a neighbouring gentleman, for whom he entertained great personal regard, who, upon seeing him in his sick room not many days previous to his dissolution, remarked, that 'His was the only composed or happy countenance in the house." me. "He frequently expressed his desire to be released, and that he thought his time long. When a word or sentiment escaped him, he was the same precisely as ever, unchanged in sickness, suffering, and in death. When rapidly advancing to the most awful and tremendous of all moments, he continued calm and serene, kind to others, and composed and dignified in his own views. - Till, at length, he breathed his last without a struggle or a sigh, sunk into a state of sweet and gentle repose, and closed his eyes for ever on this world. 'The chamber where the good man meets his fate, Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven.' "Such were the interesting awful scenes, such the sad train of concomitant circumstances, which I have partly witnessed, or which have been represented to me with great accuracy and distinctness, as well as with deep interest, and the liveliest sensibility. So consistent, so dignified was the conduct of this approved servant of God in circumstances the most trying to human nature, so enlightened, so vigorous were the principles which sustained and carried him through no common sufferings,—so bright and cheering, the hopes which inspired his breast even within the precincts of the tomb." --- At length, on the evening of Thursday, December 26, 1816, he was released by death from those afflictions produced by a long and lingering illness, which he appears to have borne, not only with a manly fortitude, but an heroic constancy. Thus died in the 71st year of his age, John Disney, D. D. F.R.S., a man whose memory will be long respected by all denominations of Christians, on account of the immense sacrifice made by him to his religious principles, when his infant family was as yet unprovided with the gifts of fortune, and while he himself only enjoyed the scanty means usually allotted in this country to younger brothers. But, while he differed with, and withdrew from the pale of the Anglican communion, his conduct, in respect to the established church, was respectful and urbane. In 1792, he defended the practice of "public worship," from the attack of the learned Gilbert Wakefield; and Christianity itself from the "Age of Reason," written by Thomas Paine. On the other hand, he was always anxious to advocate the principles of "Unitarian Christians," particularly in a series of letters to Vicesimus Knox, D. D. against all those who thought proper to impugn them; while he anxiously endeavoured to promote their spread by means of "sermons," and "dialogues," and still more by an uniform good and virtuous prac tice. Indeed, his own life, conduct, and conversation, formed the most popular and powerful aid on this, and indeed, every other similar occasion. Some idea of his religious opinions may be gathered from his account of those of his friend Mr. Brand Hollis, as exhibited in the life of that gentleman.* After stating that he had been educated in the principles of a Protestant, dissent from the established church, chiefly with reference to the power of the civil magistrate, in matters of religion, &c. he adds as follows: "But from his subsequent reading and reflection, he became a firm believer in the Unity and Supremacy of the one God and Father of all: and in the divine mission (of) Christ as the messenger and prophet of God; and he was, agreeably to such his faith, not only a member of the chapel in Essex Street, London, but a liberal benefactor to it. "He was unequivocally a believer in the resurrection of Christ: the evidence of a future state,' says he, in a paper now before me, is such as leaves no doubt in my mind.' And I remember his very seriously, and emphatically observing, that 'he utterly hated an immoral action.' • Where then,' continues he, 6 may we expect to find a better source, or greater security for the religion, and virtuous conduct of any man, than in the conviction of the government, wisdom, and goodness of the one only God; -- in a belief of the divine mission of Jesus, and of a resurrection to a future state of distributive justice and mercy; and connected with these, in the profession of a rooted aversion to every immoral action. More copious articles of faith may be professed, and believed, by good and excellent men of all religious persuasions; but men are not necessarily good and excellent, because of their lengthened creed. Indeed, when any creed is imposed, the very act of imposing implies suspicion on the part of the imposer: and such imposition may invite, and in some hard cases will compel men to become hypocrites. And the world has been long told by the history of the Christian church, how very inadequate such means are to the advancement of 6 * Memoirs, p. 54. that truth and charity, which peculiarly belong to Christianity, and constitute the great character of its master." In respect to his political opinions, he was at once mild, gentle, and firm. But these, like his religious creed, shall be here enumerated, and expressly in his own words, first premising, that he was an enemy to violence of all kinds; that he wished to succeed by argument alone, and that he both hated and constantly refused to associate with those, whatever their professed pretensions might be, who wished to deface and destroy, rather than to repair and rectify. He knew and he boasted that we possessed the noblest and freest constitution in the world; and he never went further than to express a wish coupled with an honest intention of removing some of those practices introduced by time and corruption, which are supposed, instead of adorning, to blemish and disgrace the fabric. After stating the particulars of a petition to parliament, by the Yorkshire Association in 1780, "To enquire into and correct the gross abuses in the expenditure of public money, to reduce all exorbitant emoluments, unmerited pensions," &c. he continues as follows: "How earnestly and how repeatedly these well-intentioned and well-digested measures have been pleaded, and with what supercilious disdain, or barefaced evasion they have been treated by the venal satellites and sycophants of power, the present* existing situation of our bleeding country loudly proclaims, and will continue to proclaim, till imperious necessity shall extort from parliament the radical reform of the constitution of the House of Commons, and set limits to the wanton extension of the House of Lords. "But the impracticability of obtaining the redress of these grievances will continue so long as Parliament continues unreformed in its elections; and so very unequally to represent the constituent body of the people; so long as dilapidated and rotten boroughs shall send the same (number of) members, This manifestly alludes to the state of Great Britain, in 1808. as the 30,000 freeholders of Yorkshire; so long as great towns like Leeds and Manchester shall not be admitted in such representation, and the city of Westminster allowed only to equal that of Old Sarum. So long, with respect to all questions of political reform, shall we continue to proceed in a retrogade direction, and only lament our demonstrative folly, when we are finally a ruined people." On Sunday morning, the 26th of January 1817, was delivered the funeral sermon of this celebrated divine, who had performed the same sad office at the demise of Dr. Priestley, in 1804. It is entitled "The Memorial of the Just," and was preached in Mill-Hill Chapel, Leeds, by the Rev. Thomas Jervis. "His death," said he, "may be truly considered as a public loss. I should, therefore, deem it a species of injustice to the public, were I not to attempt, however inadequately, to do justice to his memory; not by an ostentatious display of his exalted merits, which need not the imposing aid of panegyric to emblazon them, but to pay that sacred tribute of the heart, which his memory justly claims from those who were best acquainted with his many admirable qualities. This office has been already pointed out to me by the suggestion of some friends, whose opinion upon this subject, though perhaps too partial, yet is entitled to my attention and respect. Perhaps I may be allowed to observe, that, in the course of an undeviating, uninterrupted friendship of nearly thirty years continuance having seen him under a variety of circumstances, and without the mask of disguise-which he never assumedbut with all that openness of temper, that generous frankness of nature, by which he was remarkably characterised I should consider myself utterly destitute of observation and discernment of character, if I were not in some measure competent to estimate his talents, and to appreciate his virtues. 66 Having recently been near him in some of the last interesting scenes of his valued life; and, at his lamented death having joined with many highly respectable persons to pay the last solemn tribute of honour and affection to the departed, in |