And whilst watchful over those committed to his charge he was not unmindful of that solemn hour which has come upon him. For some time previous to his death, he seemed to have the subject continually present to his mind, and would frequently observe to the servant who drove him, on returning from his accustomed rides, “Once more the Lord has brought us home in safety;” and particularly during the last week his conversation at every house he visited, was on death, and the necessity of a constant state of preparation for it, warning the careless, and entreating the almost Christian to come out from an ungodly world, and so to live as to be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man, when he shall come to judge the world in righteousness. A few days since he observed to his servant, “I shall not be long here,” and mentioned with satisfaction that the house was his private property, and that Mrs. Mortimer would not have to leave it, as she must have done had it been a parsonage. These remarks were made when his bodily health appeared to be improving, and, humanly speaking, there was every probability of his being spared many years; and it is satisfactory to dwell on these minute particulars now, as they give us the most certain evidence that the sudden call to render up the account of his stewardship found him ready and watchful for the summons. Our beloved friend was found watching, and the blessing promised is his portion; he received the earnest of it in this world, he doubtless enjoys it more fully now. He was blessed in the enjoyment, in no small degree, of the confidence and affection of his people; he was looked up to as a father and a friend, and the outward demonstrations of respect and sorrow which appear on every side this day prove that the loss is felt to be no common one, and many are ready to exclaim, “My father! my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.”