“The next great impression which I received from him was that of the sufficiency of the mind to its own happiness, or of its independence on outward things.” Notwithstanding his poverty and infirmities, “he spoke of his old age as among the happiest portions, if not the very happiest, of his life. In conversation, his religion manifested itself more in gratitude than any other form.” His voice was cheerful, his look serene, and he devoted himself to his studies with youthful earnestness. “On leaving his house, and turning my face toward this city, I have said to myself, how much richer is this poor man than the richest who dwell yonder! I have been ashamed of my own dependence on outward good. I am always happy to express my obligations to the benefactors of my mind; and I owe it to Dr. Worcester to say, that my acquaintance with him gave me clearer comprehension of the spirit of Christ and of the dignity of a man.” JAMES LACKINGTON, A celebrated bookseller of Finsbury Square, London, and proprietor of the great bookselling establishment there, which he called the “Temple of the Muses,” was born in 1746, and brought up a shoemaker, at Wellington, in Shropshire. By industry and perseverance he succeeded in the bookselling business, almost beyond precedent. On the publication of the seventh edition of his memoirs, written by himself, in 1794, he had set up his carriage, and his profits in each of the two preceding years, were £5,000 (equal to $24,000). He observes that-- “Cobblers from Crispin boast their public spirit, And all are upright, downright men of merit.” Lackington mentions a brother shoemaker, named Ralph Tilney, who died in 1789: “one who had not dignity of birth or elevated rank in life to boast of, but who possessed what is far superior to either, a solid understanding, amiable manners, a due sense of religion, and an industrious disposition. Among other acquisitions, entomology was his peculiar delight--his valuable cabinet of insects, both foreign and domestic, supposed to be one of the completest of a private collection in the kingdom, all scientifically arranged, with peculiar neatness, and in the finest preservation.” “Honor and shame from no condition rise; Act well your part, there all the honor lies.” “You’ll find if once the monarch acts the monk, Or, cobbler-like, the parson will get drunk, Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow, The rest is all but leather or prunella.”