To the question, why the author has resolved on publishing his sentiments, he would briefly reply, that his determination has arisen from the firm conviction that such a work was still a desideratum to the mourner, Sustaining this character himself, by the removal of his nearest and dearest relatives, he was induced, in his hours of solitude, to seek that sympathy, instruction, and support, which his situation required, from the pen of those who had written professedly on the subject. It is true, that much which is kind, and useful, and excellent, is to be found in these little books; but it is equally true, (at least so it proved in his own case,) that no one, nor indeed all combined, are exactly suited to the wants and fears, the cares and sorrows, of the genuine mourner. He would desire fully to appreciate the valuable labours of those who have preceded him, but still he would consider "A Tribute of Sympathy, addressed to Mourners," as desirable; and with parental fondness he would conceive the present little work calculated, in some measure, to supply the existing deficiency.

During a season of sorrow the mind is softened, and prepared to receive the instruction which may be derived from its present circumstances. But to gain access to the heart, to engage the attention, and awaken the judgment to the arduous duties which the afflicted are invited to perform, it is necessary that their sorrows

should be soothed, that their anguish should be respected, their feelings participated, their anxieties allayed, and their distress alleviated. The eye suffused with tears is incapable of perusing and deriving advantage from the intrinsically excellent, but frigid declamations of the uninterested observer. The wounded heart must be healed, and the tearful eye must first be dried, by the tenderest sympathy, ere it can attend to the lessons of instruction. The troubled bosom must be calmed, before it can be animated with the genial glow of resignation to the will of God, or be enabled to appropriate the important truths conveyed in this gloomy and mysterious providence; before it can appreciate the duties connected with its situation, or realize the prospects of mercy and comfort with which it is surrounded. And since the mind, oppressed with care, will very soon become fatigued with simple argumentative disquisitions, in which, oftentimes, it can scarcely feel an interest; it is devoutly to be wished, that truth should be conveyed in a style so pleasing and so chaste as to engage the understanding, while it wins its way to the heart. And though the author laments most sincerely that his situation, and constant professional engagements, disqualify him for the task of gratifying the refined taste of individuals, who may possibly honour him with a perusal of his work; yet he trusts that he has in some measure

succeeded in gaining a readier access to the heart, and in preparing it for the reception of truths which, in another form, might have been probably overlooked. The circumstances of the mourner acquire a peculiar claim upon our tenderest regards. We are accustomed to feel compassion for every case of distress, and the hand of benevolence is readily outstretched for the relief of the indigent and the suffering poor. The sick and the miserable demand our attention, and all those comforts which a kind Providence has enabled us to bestow. Yet the mourner, in a much higher degree, is entitled to our sympathy. He has lost, perhaps, the friend in whom centered all his plans of earthly happiness, his every prospect is clouded by the gloom of desertion and despair, hope has abandoned a heart already overwhelmed with grief, and there is none to comfort him. If, then, we can be interested by the tale of human wo, if we can be animated with the liveliest sympathy towards those whose distress results simply from present and bodily privation; can we refuse to drop the tear of pity over the mental sufferer; can we withhold our exertions to impart relief, or conceive an object more worthy of our active beneficence? Hence it will be acknowledged, that every attempt to alleviate the sorrows of the afflicted, to administer comfort to the mourner, and lead him to the only source of solid peace, is entitled, in so far as

it accomplishes this object, to be received with indulgence.

Such, indeed, has been the exclusive design of the author, in offering to other mourners those considerations which served to calm his own mind, those brightening prospects which led him forward to the glorious realities of an infinite and eternal world, and those reflections which, he trusts, had a tendency to animate him to the love and service of God. In presenting his thoughts to the public, he has no interest to serve, no party views to promote, no favourite dogmas to enforce; his simple view is to adininister consolation to the afflicted, and to lead them to make a proper improvement of their sorrows. If he has failed in accomplishing this object, it has not been from want of sincerity, of earnest desire, or of as great a devotedness to the pursuit, as his professional engagements would admit, but from incapacity.

How far the present little work fulfils these intentions, must be left to the decision of an impartial censor: if the author must relinquish the attainment of the good he has designed, he will still enjoy the satisfaction of having attempted what he conceived to be necessary, and if he shall have so far succeeded, as to administer to the comfort and improvement of such as are called to mourn for those who are translated from earth to heaven; if he may have the happiness

to smooth the thorny pillow, to still the troubled bosom, to elevate the heart to God, and lead it to the only fountain of peace and consolation; then will he indeed rejoice in the delightful task he has undertaken, then will he render thanksgiving and praise to the gracious Hand which visited him with suffering, in order to prepare him for this labour of love. He now desires to leave his little work in the hands of Him who alone can bless it; imploring, with humble fervency, that an Almighty Father would be graciously pleased to smile on this feeble attempt to promote the honour of his name and the glory of his kingdom: and that He would render it instrumental in cheering and supporting the weary and the sorrowing, and in leading them to himself, as the only source of comfort. That those heart-broken mourners into whose hands this little Treatise shall fall, may share in the consolations of the Spirit of Grace, prays, with sincerest desire,

Their obedient Servant,

THE AUTHOR.

Farnham, April 26, 1817.