Probably no two men could be more devoted to the religious interests of their church and the community at large than these, yet Mr. Prince records, eighteen years after the beginning of his pastorate, that the ministers of Boston made an extraordinary effort to arrest the decay of godliness, but with no abiding results, and this was particularly noticeable in his own congregation. There seemed to be no change in this respect until the coming of Whitfield, in 1740, when he preached "to breathless thousands in the old South Church." Mr. Prince welcomed this apostle with enthusiasm. His own sermons were full of vigor, and a brilliant imagination embellished them with abundant illustrations, but depth of thought and zealous research made the majority of his writings far above the comprehension of the multitude. His printed funeral sermons are quaint in their deep, black borders, with drawings of death's heads similar to those that adorned the tombstones. His sermon after the death of George I. may have embodied the feeling prevalent at that time; but, in view of the more critical light thrown upon the character and reigns of the Georges by historians and satirists of our day, this eulogy is a curiosity, with its almost childish enthusiasm and simple-hearted loyalty. The following are passages from his sermon:-- For my part, I shall never forget the joy that swelled my heart when in the Splendid Procession, at his Coronation, preceded by all the nobles of the kingdom and his son and heir-apparent, one other hope, with their Ermine Robes and Coronets, that Royal face at length appeared, which Heaven had in that moment sent to save these Great Nations from the Brink of Ruin. Nor do I speak of it as my case alone, but as what appeared to be the equal transport of the multitudes around me. The tears of joy seemed to rise and swell in every eye, and we were hardly able to give a shout thro' the laboring passions that were swelling in us. He was in some respects a Father to the Kings of the earth, or at least a powerful and decisive mediator and umpire among them. The eyes of the greatest princes were turned to him. In these distant parts of his Dominion we have felt the happy influences of his happy reign. He was the darling and protection of his people, the great support of the reformed interest and the arbiter of Europe. George II. is a Prince of winning countenance and manly aspect, had considerable treasure of useful learning, and with him a most amiable Princess, the reigning glory of her sex for beauty, knowledge, wit, discretion, the sweetest temper, the most cheerful, affable and engaging countenance and carriage, with every charming virtue; in the bloom of her youth preferred her chaste religion to all the glories of the Imperial family, and became the love and admiration of every protestant.