The Life and Letters of the Rev. George Mortimer, M.A. John Armstrong
Читать онлайн книгу.
giving us some directions for our conduct in life, and adds, “But even the worldly things which ye do are spiritual, for ye do all things in Jesus Christ.” Oh that this may be the temper and spirit of our lives; may all our worldly things be offered upon this altar, which sanctifies the gift; and after this transitory scene of being is ended, may we with pleasure retrace a life entirely filled with God. I remain, my dear Armstrong,
Yours, affectionately and sincerely,
G. Mortimer.
He was accustomed to spend his long vacations, during his residence at Cambridge, with a private tutor, who spent the time in some salubrious and pleasant part of the country. The following letter was written on one of those occasions, and is a proof of his taste for fine scenery, as well as of his great application to study.
TO HIS SISTER.
Dawlish, near Exeter, Aug. 12th, 1809.
My dear Sister,
You are, no doubt, returned from Broadstairs, and enjoying the pleasures arising from quiet and regular movements, and now and then, perhaps, in the midst of your retirement a thought wanders towards Devon, and you begin to wonder “what has taken the little fellow that he does not write.” I confess, time has glided on so insensibly, that I was not aware how long I had been here; I shall really feel sorry to leave my present situation, for I never spent five weeks so agreeably before. I lodge with good people, who do all they can to accommodate me. I make progress in my studies, which is another source of gratification, and I am situated in the midst of a country the most diversified and beautiful. As it is quite new to me, and I may probably never visit it again, I avail myself of the present opportunity of seeing everything worthy of notice, and since my purse will not allow me to enjoy any “leathern convenience,” I have commenced pedestrian, and frequently walk from fourteen to eighteen miles a day. I take a syllabus with me, and go over my subject in my mind, so that a peep now and then is all I require: by this method I lose no time, and combine profit with amusement. My stated walks, however, are much shorter, and devoted to relaxation only. But there is another source of gratification which I must mention, and which far exceeds all the rest; it is this, I feel I am advancing in the best of things; religion has an increasing and diffusive influence over my mind; it seems more and more my element, and I am enabled to live in that spirit which a friend of ours on a late occasion attempted to ridicule—I mean a spirit of recollection and prayer; not, indeed, so much so as I could wish, or as I ought to do, but still much more so than formerly. When my time for devotional exercises comes round, it is welcomed as the happiest of the whole day, and my Sabbaths are days of real pleasure and permanent good. May such in kind, though greater in degree, be the happy experience of my dear sister, and may no studies, no employments whatever, be prosecuted, but in subordination to those of a spiritual nature. Religion, I am persuaded, should be everything or nothing; here only a middle course is dangerous. If we profess to admire and to be influenced by heavenly objects, we should prize them above everything; and yet, alas! (O shame to our Christian profession!) to what poor and paltry considerations are they not daily sacrificed! Adieu, my dearest sister; may God preserve you pure and unspotted from the world until the day of his appearing!
Yours, most affectionately and sincerely,
Both in Christian and fraternal bonds,
G. M.
TO HIS SISTER.
Cambridge, December, 1809.
Study is, I am persuaded, at present my duty; but I shall be heartily glad when another year is over, and I shall be left to pursue the duties of the sacred office in peace and quietness, if it please God. … How often do I picture to myself these happy scenes, and “catch a momentary joy;” but, perhaps, this hand which now glides swiftly, along the page may soon forget to move. I may be summoned to another world in the midst of my academical pursuits, and may never have the honour granted me of building the house of God. Should this be the case, should your brother be called to the peaceful tomb before another revolving year, bear in mind, when he is gone, that his supreme wish has been unfulfilled, and that his studies and trifling successes have not so filled his mind as to call it off from the care of souls, and the earnest wish for their salvation. In this work I would gladly live and die; but the Supreme Disposer of events knows what is best, and in that I hope, not only to acquiesce, but to rejoice. You wish for my thoughts on letter-writing. I do not think you should make two copies of any letters, except it be necessary to keep one by you for reference; few such circumstances occur, and therefore I would advise you to write at once what you intend to send. I do not mean that you should put down whatever comes into your mind, but write deliberately and with caution. I would illustrate my meaning by referring to what takes place in polite conversation; supposing yourself to be in company, and obliged to converse, you would not weigh and ponder your sentences over and over, but merely endeavour to avoid anything indecorous, and to express yourself in tolerably good language; or, if you will, in the best manner you are able. When you write, then, you should endeavour to let your thoughts flow freely and easily, and express them in the most suitable words which occur at the moment, but by no means to be solicitous in seeking fine words or eloquent phrases. Horace has a famous line in his Art of Poetry, which has great strength in the original, but I must content myself with Francis’ translation,
“For if the mind with clear conceptions glow, The willing words in just expressions flow.”
The substance of what I would say is this, having settled your subject in your mind, write at once, in the best manner you are able at the time; practice will give considerable ease, and you will shortly write, not only well, but with despatch.
TO THE REV. JOHN ARMSTRONG.
Queen’s, June 24th, 1810.
My very dear Friend,
You are now, Armstrong, engaged in an employment to which you have been for years looking forward as the most pleasing in your life; your ardent spirit could not bear inactivity in your Master’s service, and now your wishes are granted, and you at last experience the blessedness of sounding in the ears of a thoughtless and giddy multitude the glad tidings of reconciliation through the death of our blessed Redeemer. I need scarcely tell you that you have of late engrossed many of my thoughts, and been the subject of many of my prayers. I hope that I feel no common degree of interest when I hear of any true labourer being called into the vineyard of our Lord; and shall I be less concerned when one of the dearest friends I have upon earth is called to a similar employment? You are entitled to my best of wishes; you have them freely; and I have no doubt but the blessings of God will rest upon your labours, and that many in that great and dreadful day of account—many will arise from Melchbourn and Bletsoe, and declare in the ears of an assembled world,
“I owe it to his care that I am here,
Next to Almighty grace; his faithful hand,
Regardless of the frowns he might incur,
Snatched me, reluctant, from approaching flames,
Ready to catch and burn unquenchable.”
O my friend, when I think of these inestimable blessings as connected with the sacred office, I long to lay aside the drudgery of mathematics; but I check myself; the future should employ but little of my thoughts; how to improve the present should be my principal concern. Much is to be done here as respects my studies, and much more as to the formation of my mind, the subjugation of my tempers, and the sanctification of my heart. I would, therefore, content myself with my present situation, and endeavour