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    which had been impaired by the fatigues and anxieties to which his susceptible temperament and conscientious spirit rendered him remarkably sensitive , in the discharge of his duties as an instructor of the youug—sank at length under an internal decay , which brought him by slow and gradual steps to the grave . A

    constitutional difficulty of breathing , which was painfully increased by auy keenness in the atmosphere , prevented him from takiug that cons taut exercise in the open air which his sedentary and Studious habits rendered so indispensable for the preservation of health . His digestive powers at last completely failed ; even pure water producing excessive nausea . In the final stages of decay , his

    mind continued singularly cheerful and serene . Bodily weakness and frequent sickness unfitted him for the enjoyment of his favourite pursuits , or for any prolonged intellectual exertion ; but his affections and his moral feeliugs survived in undimiuished vigour to the last hour of his earthly existence . The wish that he most ardently expressed , had it been the will of Providence , was to have had all his children round him on that

    occasion . But of his sous one was a resident in a distant quarter of the globe ; and the painful intelligence of the untimely decease of another , on his voyage to India , was conveyed to him only a few weeks before his own removal from this world . Yet he was not without the richest comforts and consolations . In the

    bosom , of his family , the object of uuceasing attention and solicitude , gratefully sensible of the kindness which he experienced , and breathing , in his last articulate accents , the most affectionate prayers for the harmony and happiness of all whom he left behind—calmly and imperceptibly , almost as in a gentle slumber , he resigned his spirit to his

    Creator , and passed away , as he himself firmly believed , to another and a happier state of being . His affectionate flock , deeply feeling their loss , and desirous of recording , by every public demonstration , their high sense of the value of his example and ministrations , have

    spontaneously and unanimously resolved , with equal honour to themselves and to the departed , to raise a sum by contributions of every ampiint from the congregation at large , for the purpose of erecting a tablet to his memory within the walls which for so many years had been the scene of bis living labours .

    Mr . Tayler ' s mind was remarkable for its purity and simplicity , its habitual rectitude of purpose , cautiousness of judg-

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    ment , and scrupulous love of exactness . The striking excellencies of his character were allied to these qualities ; and the imperfections , from which , with the best of men , he was not exempt , might be traced to a predominance of the same temperament . Studying late for the ministry , with a very high estimate of the

    qualifications for the office , and beiug determined to repair by severe study the disadvantages of his early career , he applied himself , at College , with extreme assiduity to the learned languages , in which , under the assistance of his friend and tutor , the Rev . Gilbert Wakefield , he found , as he was often accustomed to

    declare , that he had almost as much to unlearn as to acquire . This feeling , and a determination to gain the exactness which might have been obtained , without difficulty , in the ordinary routine of an education originally destined for the ministry , led to a scrupulous and anxious habit of mind in matters of minute

    accuracy , which probably impeded the full and natural development of his faculties , and prevented them from appearing to the same advantage as if they had beeu allowed a freer play , and not checked by an undue distrust in the accuracy of his own attainments . This fearful ness of

    mistake , combined with a natural modesty and timidity of mind , rarely allowed him to put forth the whole strength of his faculties in a promiscuous company ; and it was those only who knew him well , and who had opportunities of watching the various aspects of his mind in the easy and familiar intercourse of domestic life , that could form an accurate estimate of the powers which he actually

    possessed . His intellect , naturally , perhaps , distinguished rather for vigour than for comprehensiveness , was too often embarrassed in its exercise by a scrupulous attention to details , when it should have been satisfied with grasping the general result ; and sometimes lost sight of the end in anxiously weighing a choice of equally subservient means . But if , in this respect , he occasionally seemed inferior to bolder and leas conscientious

    spirits , he more than atqned for this partial efficiency by the reaction of his moral feeJing on his understanding , and strikingly exemplified how closely soundness of judgment Is alliecj to purity of heart . His plain and simple mind always took a single view of an object ; and , never perplexing itself with the subtleties of a worldly selfishness , aimed solely to p peak aud to practise , what was true and right , and then abandoned ! every ulterior consideration . When his feelings were

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    562 Obituary . —Rev * James Tayler .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1831, page 562, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2600/page/58/