way of distinction, and to which belonged the late celebrated Chancellor Livingston.

Gilbert had five sons and two daughters. Henry, his first son, was the father of JOHN H;-and of Henry, it may be said, that he was an amiable, dignified, and excellent man. Blessed by nature, with a strong mind-liberally educated-elegant of manners-irreproachable in morals, he enjoyed, through a long life, the esteem and confidence of the community. He was for a considerable period a member of the colonial legislature of New York; and he was, by Letters patent, proprietor of the office of Clerk of the county in which he resided. This office he retained after the revolutionary war until his death. When the arduous struggle for Independence commenced, he espoused with some zeal a cause dear to every genuine American, and, throughout the contest, was a decided friend to his country.

He was born September 8th, 1714, and died February 10th, 1799, at his paternal estate, which is situate in Dutchess county, near Poughkeepsie, on the banks of the Hudson, and which is now in the possession of his grandson, Col. H. A. Livingston, having belonged to the family for more than a century.

CHAPTER II.

FROM HIS BIRTH, TILL HE FORMED THE RESOLUTION OF DEVOTING HIMSELF TO THE MINISTRY OF THE

GOSPEL.

To survey the life of a friend, whom we loved when acting his part among us, and mourned when death removed him from our sight, though it may awaken some sad recollections, or revive feelings upon which time has laid his lenient hand, is a gratifying task. And, if that friend was a child of God;-if we had been in the habit of regarding him as an humble, heavenly-minded christian, whose affections were set on things above, and who cultivated close communion with God, through the whole of his pilgrimage ;-if, moreover, he was a herald of the cross, distinguished by his talents, and learning, and virtues, and services, there is some profit, as well as pleasure, in tracing his path from the cradle to the grave-in following him through all the way in which the Lord had led him. Such an employment presents to our view beautiful exhibitions of the wisdom, and goodness, and sovereignty of God in the ways of his providence, suc

ceeding each other, in admirable correspondence, and ultimately conducting the individual to the station Heaven had appointed him to fill:-It makes us acquainted with the circumstances, which, under the divine blessing, introduced him into the school of Christ ;-it discovers the gradual expansion and improvement of his mind in that school, and the progressive operation of those gracious principles which rendered him so eminent an example of piety while here-and which finally matured him for a better world. In a word, it is both pleasing and instructive, as it shows, not only what, in the dispensations of mercy, had been done for him whose life is the subject of review, but also the particular connexion he had with the church of God, and in some measure the important benefits conferred upon her, through his honoured instrumentality.

The annals of such a man are not, indeed, of a cast likely to attract the serious notice of the men of the world. They can read with rapture the story of some great philosopher, statesman, or hero; but that of the humble, pious, faithful ambassador of Christ, as it savours of heavenly things, is not suited to their taste, or rather, speaks too forcibly to the conscience, in the perusal of it, however interesting its details, to afford them pleasure; and it is

Be it so;

not often, therefore, that religious biography receives much attention out of the church. still the memory of the just is blessed. His faith and charity and zeal-his fervent prayers-his affectionate counsels-his unwearied labours to promote the glory of God and the salvation of his fellow men, "smell sweet in death, and blossom in the dust." The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

In the preceding chapter, a briefaccount was given of the lineage of the REV. DR. JOHN H. LIVINGSTON, whose memoir occupies these pages,-a man, who, through a long and active life, by his ardent piety-by the dignity and affability of his deportment-by the uniform ability and faithfulness of his publick ministrations, commanded general confidence and esteem;-a man, whose praise is in all the churches, but particularly endeared by many pre-eminent services to the Reformed Dutch Church,-FIRST in her Councils,-FIRST in her honours,-FIRST in her affections.

The author will now proceed to give a narrative of the life of this excellent man.

He was the son of Henry Livingston, and S. Conklin his wife, and born at Poughkeepsie, in

Dutchess county, in this State, on the 30th of May, A. D. 1746.

Neither pains nor expense were spared in his education. Till he was seven years of age, he received no other than parental instruction, but at this period, there being no school in his native place, he was sent to Fishkill, and put under the care of the Rev. Chauncey Graham. When he had been with this gentleman between two and three years, his father obtained a competent private tutor for him. He was accordingly brought home, and Mr. Moss Kent, (the father of the late Chancellor James Kent, Esq.) a gentleman whose qualifications for the trust were very respectable, and of whose faithful attentions to him, he ever afterwards cherished a grateful recollection,-was now charged with the superintendence of his studies. With the assistance of such an instructer, and possessing a docile and inquisitive mind, his improvement, the two following years, in classical literature, and in such other scholastic branches as, at the time, were taught to prepare young men for admission into college, was considerable. And it is a fact, whatever may be said in favour of an early public education-and the advantages enjoyed in some seminaries are certainly great,-that private instruction, judiciously and faithfully impart