Fort William, April 14, 1826. The Right Honourable the Governor General in Council has received the painful intelligence of the sudden death of the Right Reverend REGINALD, Lord Bishop of Calcutta, on the 3d instant, at Trichinopoly. This distressing event having occurred at a distance from Calcutta, His Lordship in Council has not, as on a former melancholy occasion, to invite the community to join in paying the last solemn honors to the deceased Prelate, but he entertains the conviction, that every individual acquainted with the learning and worth of Bishop Heber, will participate in the deep and heart-felt sorrow of the Government, at the loss of one who was endeared to this Society, by his engaging manners, extensive benevolence, and unaffected piety. The late Bishop had recently finished a long and laborious Visitation through the territories of Bengal and Bombay, during which he had secured the good-will and veneration of all classes with whom he had communication, by his gentle and unassum→ ing demeanour, and had proceeded to the Provinces under Fort St. George, in order to complete this important branch of his Episcopal duty, when a sudden and awful dispensation deprived Christianity of one of its most enlightened, most ardent, and most amiable ministers. The Governor General in Council is pleased to direct, that minute guns, to the number of forty-two, corresponding with the age of the deceased Bishop, be fired this evening, at sunset, from the ramparts of Fort William. By command of the Right Honourable the Governor General in Council. C. LUSHINGTON, Chief Sec. to Government. [Govt. Gazette Ext. 14th April, 1826.] It is with the feelings of the deepest sorrow, that we announce the death of the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, at Trichinopoly, on his Visitation of the southern parts of his Diocese. The universal love and esteem, in which Dr. Heber was held over all India, will best proclaim the value of his truly pastoral character, and the grief, which at this moment pervades every rank amongst us, bespeaks the extent of the loss, which society, the Church of England, and the Christian world, have sustained by the death of this distinguished and beloved Prelate. [John Bull, April 14.] We perform the melancholy duty of informing our readers of the demise of the Right Reverend Reginald, Lord Bishop of Calcutta. His Lordship was found dead in his bath at Trichinopoly, on the 3d instant, and it is supposed that over exertion and the heat of the weather having induced him to visit it for refreshment, the coldness of the water caused an apoplectic fit, in suffering under which his Lordship expired. In consequence of the above melancholy intelligence, the intended performances at the Chowringhee Theatre yesterday evening were postponed. Though his Lordship's sojourn among us was so limited, yet his kind and unpretending manners endeared, while the ac quirements and talents with which he was so eminently gifted, made him respected and looked up to by all who were honoured with his acquaintance, or favoured by his friendship. The zeal with which he took in hand the work of his Maker, can only be justly valued by those who know the purity of the motives which influenced his conduct through a life spent in the service of God.' One consideration that must alleviate the grief and soothe the feelings of surviving friends, is, that it pleased his Master to call his servant to himself, even while he was untiringly exerting himself in preaching the words of truth and of life to the heathen, and labouring in an undertaking he had much at heart, that of bringing the natives of India to a knowledge of the gospel doctrine, and salvation through Christ,-and confidently and exultingly may they say,! "He has finished his course, he has kept the faith." [Ben. Hur. April 15.] Our readers have already been made acquainted with an event which has here caused the most unfeigned and general sorrow, and will, we believe, be universally lamented throughout British India, the death of the Right Reverend the Bishop of Calcutta. The news was as unexpected here as the event itself proved sudden; and the conse quent shock caused by the awful intelligence was the greater, as the last accounts from Madras mentioned that the Bishop was in good health, and actively engaged in the duties of his visitation. As the cir cumstances connected with the last mo ments of this truly good man and exem-. plary servant of his Heavenly Master, must be interesting to all who had the honour and happiness of knowing him, we have taken some pains to find out the particulars of his death, and the following may be re lied on, as coming from a most authentic source. It appears that this beloved Prelate arrived at Trichinopoly on the 1st instant, in his usual health and spirits; that on the morning of the 2d, he preached to a crowded congregation, and in the evening confirmed several persons, and delivered an exhortation to them from the pulpit. During the whole of this day he appeared in excellent spirits, although he complained of a slight headache, which was attributed to the excessive heat of the day before. When called up at day-break of the 3d, he appeared very sleepy, and his servant afterwards observed, that his Lordship seemed unusually drowsy when undressing for the bath. At six o'clock he attended divine service at the Mission Church in the Fort, and returned home about half-past seven, and was, both going and coming, engaged in an animated conversation with the gentlemen who accompanied him. Immediately on his return, he visited his friend and chaplain, Mr. Robinson, who was ill in bed, talked with him in his usual spirits, then unrobed, and went to the bath. This bath, which contained cold water, was large and deep, and adjoined the house. Having remained in the bath an unusual time (about half an hour), his servant became alarmed, and knocked at the door. Receiving no answer, he entered the bathing-room, and found his master lifeless in the water. The alarm was instantly given, and the body was conveyed to the house, and every available means tried to restore animation, but, alas! in vain. The medical gentleman who examined the body, have, we understand, given it as their decided opinion, that apoplexy was the sole cause of death, as all the vessels of the head were found turgid with blood. Thus prematurely died a Prelate, who was famed for his genius, distinguished for his learning, and eminent for his piety and widely cherished worth. In him Christianity has lost a shining light, and society has sustained an irreparable loss. If, as was said by a celebrated Pagan, the happiest death be the most sudden and unforeseen, what must it be to the devoted servant of the Most High, called away even while in the performance of his Master's work, to fulfil a higher destiny? May all of us, when our final hour comes, suffer as little, and be as well prepared to meet the dread change, as this upright and holy Minister of Christ. It has been the lot of but few to inspire such general respect, veneration, and affection, as the lamented Bishop Heber did. Indeed, to know him was to love him; and in him the genius of true Christianity might be seen at once reflected; for he was mild and kind, and breathed peace and goodwill among men: he was a model of spiritual exaltation, without austerity. Nor was it by his own flock alone that this "good shepherd" was beloved in life, and is lamented in death. All sects of Christians held him in the highest estimation. In this sentiment they were joined by the natives of this country, who had an oppor tunity of appreciating his character, and who, if they could not become his proselytes, were the unfeigned admirers of his tolerance, benignity, and charity, and hold his memory in sincere reverence. Just as we had concluded the above comments, we received the following expressive tribute from a member of the Church. We give it as we received it, it being forcibly illustrative of the truth of some of our remarks. "The late Bishop Reginald of Calcutta. "The universal love, esteem, and respect, in which this ever-to-be-lamented and revered Prelate was held, by all classes of Christians in India, for his engaging manners, humility, benevolence, learning, worth, and unaffected piety, has occasioned a gloom, which at this moment pervades every class of society in Calcutta; for in him, not only the Church of England, but the Christian world at large, is bereaved of one of its best and endeared members, such as is perhaps to be scarcely met with. His kind and social intercourse with the Armenian Church, and its community, has made them deeply feel this sudden and awful dispensation-so much so, that one of its members, who had the honour of being intimate with his Lordship, and had enjoyed his Lordship's company, as a de monstration of heartfelt sorrow, has had a funeral service performed, at his own expense, at the Armenian Church of Calcutta, yesterday morning, and had, according to their usage, the bells of that Church tolled, corresponding with the age of the deceased Bishop of blessed memory. The text was from the 11th chapter of St. Matthew, 25th to 30th verse, from which the following words may be collected as very appropriate: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."" [The India Gazette, April 17th.] Proceedings of the Meeting held at the Town Hall, Calcutta, on the 6th May. Pursuant to a notice of the High Sheriff, a numerous and respectable Meeting of the inhabitants of Calcutta was assembled at the Town Hall, on the morning of the 6th instant, for the purpose of expressing the deep feelings of sorrow with which they viewed the unexpected death of their beloved Bishop, and of taking into consideration the most desirable mode of perpetuating his revered memory. The High Sheriff having read the requisition in which the meeting originated, and stated the object for which it was convened, Sir C. Grey was called to take the Chair, upon the motion of Lord Combermere, and with the universal concurrence of the Meeting. Sir Charles Grey having accordingly taken his seat, opened the business of the day with observations to the following effect : "GENTLEMEN,-Before I proceed to any thing else, I am reluctantly compelled to correct a seeming mistake, as to the object of this meeting. A notice has appeared this morning, professedly by authority, which, though probably well meant, has in it something too much of the character of solicitation. I know not by what authority it speaks, but the friends of the late Bishop are anxious only, that expression should be given to the feelings with which the community regarded him: subscriptions for his monument, if they are spontaneous indications of respect and sorrow, will be valuable testimonies, but not otherwise; and I trust that neither solicitation nor influence will be employed to swell their amount. Leav ing this matter, it is with real agitation and embarrassment that I find it my duty to mark out the grounds on which this meeting appears to me to have been called for; assuredly it is not that there is any difficulty in finding those grounds, nor that I have any apprehension that you will not attend to a statement of them with willingness and indulgence. But this is a very public occasion, and my feelings are not entirely of a public nature. Deep as my sense is of the loss which the commu nity has sustained, yet do what I will, the sensation which I find uppermost in my heart, is my own private sorrow for one who was my friend in early life. It is just four and twenty years this month since I first became acquainted with him at the University, of which he was beyond all question or comparison, the most distinguished student of his time. The name of Reginald Heber was in every mouth, his society was courted by young and old; he lived in an atmosphere of favour, admiration, and regard, from which I have never known any one but himself who would not have derived, and for life, an unsalutary influence. Towards the close of his academical career he crowned his previous honours by the production of his "Palestine," of which single work of the fancy, VOL. VIII. NO. XI. the elegance and the grace have secured him a place in the list of those who bear the proud title of English Poets. This, according to usage, was recited in public: and when that scene of his early triumph comes upon my memory; that elevated rostrum from which he looked upon friendly and admiring faces; that decorated Theatre; those grave forms of ecclesiastical dignitaries, mingling with a resplendent throng of rank and beauty; those antique mansions of learning, those venerable groves, those refreshing streams, and shaded walks; the vision is broken by another, in which the youthful and presid ing genius of the former scene is beheld lying in his distant grave, amongst the sands of Southern India,-believe me, the contrast is striking, and the recollections most painful. "But you are not here to listen to details of private life. If I touch upon one or two other points, it will be for the purpose only of illustrating some features of his character. He passed some time in foreign travel, before he entered on the duties of his profession. The whole continent had not yet been re-opened to Englishmen by the swords of the noble Lord who is near me, and his companions in arms; but in the Eastern part of it the Bishop found a field the more interesting, on account of its hav ing been seldom trodden by our countrymen; he kept a valuable journal of his observations, and when you consider his youth, the applause he had already received, and how tempting, in the morning of life, are the gratifications of literary success, you will consider it as a mark of the retiring and ingenuous modesty of his character, that he preferred to let the substance of his work appear in the humble form of notes to the volumes of another. This has been before noticed: there is another circumstance which I can add, and which is not so generally known. This journey, and the aspect of those vast regions stimulating a mind which was stored with classical learning, had suggested to him a plan of collecting, arranging, and illustrating all of ancient and of modern literature, which could unfold the history, and throw light on the present state of Scythia, -- that region of mystery and fable—that source from whence, eleven times in the history of man, the living clouds of war have been breathed over by all the nations of the South. I can hardly conceive any work for which the talents of the author were better adapted, hardly any which could have given the world more of delight, himself more of glory; I know the interest which he took in it. But he had now entered into the service of the Church; and 4 U and finding that it interfered with his graver duties, he turned from his fascinating pursuit, and condemned to temporary oblivion a work which, I trust, may yet be given to the public. "I mention this, chiefly for the purpose of shewing how steady was the purpose, how serious the views, with which he entered on his calling. I am aware that there were inducements to it which some minds will be disposed to regard as the only probable ones; but I look upon it myself to have been with him a sacrifice of no common sort. His early celebrity had given him incalculable advantages, and every path of literature was open to him, every road to the temple of fame-every honour which his country could afford, was in clear prospect before him, when he turned to the humble duties of a country church, and buried in his heart those talents which would have ministered so largely to worldly vanity, that they might spring up in a more precious harvest. He passed many years in this situation in the enjoyment of as much happiness as the condition of humanity is perhaps capable of. Happy in the choice of his companion, the love of his friends, the fond admiration of his family-happy in the discharge of his quiet duties and the tranquillity of a satisfied conscience. It was not, however, from this station that he was called to India. By the voice, I am proud to say it, of a part of that profession to which I have the honour to belong, he had been invited to an office which few have held for any length of time without further advancement. His friends thought it at that time no presumption to hope that ere long he might wear the mitre at home. But it would not have been like himself to chaffer for preferment; he freely and willingly accepted a call which led him to more important, though more dangerous, alas! I may now say to fatal labours. What he was in India why should I describe? You saw him! You bear testimony! He has already received in a sister presidency the encomiums of those from whom praise is most valuable; especially of one whose own spotless integrity and a sincerity far above suspicion, make every word of commendation which is drawn from him of tenfold value. I have reason to believe that short as their acquaintance had been, there were few whose praise would have been more grateful to the subject of it. Would that he might have lived to hear it. What sentiments were entertained of him in this metropolis of India, your presence testifies -and I feel authorized to say, that if the noble person who holds the highest station in this country had been unfettered by` usage, if he had consulted only his own inclinations and his regard for the Bishop, he would have been the foremost upon this occasion to manifest his participation in the feelings which are common to us all. When a stamp has been thus given to his character, it may seem only to be disturbing the impression to renew, in any manner, your view of it; yet if you will grant me your patience for a few moments, I shall have a melancholy pleasure in pointing out some features of it which appear to me to have been the most remarkable. The first which I would notice was that cheerfulness and alacrity of spirit which, though it may seem to be a common quality, is, in some circumstances, of rare value. To this large assembly I fear I might appeal in vain, if I were to ask that he should step forward who had never felt his spirit to sink when he thought of his native home, and felt that a portion of his heart was in a distant land,-who had never been irritated by the annoyance, or embittered by the disappointment of India. I feel shame to say, that I am not the man who could not answer the appeal. The Bishop was the only one whom I have ever known, who was entirely master of these feelings. Disappointments and annoyances came to him as they come to all, but he met and overcame them with a smile; and when he has known a different effect produced on others, it was his usual wish that "they were but as happy as himself." Connected with this alacrity of spirit, and in some degree springing out of it, was his activity. I apprehend that few persons, civil or military, have undergone as much labour, traversed as much country, seen and regulated so much as he had done, in the small portion of time which had elapsed since he entered in his office; and if death had not broken his career, his friends know that he contemplated no relaxation of exertions. But this was not a mere restless activity or result of temperament. It was united with a fervent zeal, not fiery nor ostentatious, but steady and composed, which none could appreciate but those who intimately knew him. I was struck myself, upon the renewal of our acquaintance, by nothing so much as the observation, that though he talked with animation of all subjects, there was nothing on which his intellect was bent-no prospect on which his imagination dwelt, no thought which occupied habitually his vacant moments, but the furtherance of that great design of which he had been made the principal instrument in this country. Of the same unobtrusive character was the piety which filled his heart. It is seldom that of so much there is so little ostentation. All here knew his good-natured and unpretending manner: but I have seen unequivocal testimonies both before and since his death, that under that cheerful and gay aspect there were feelings of serious and unremitting devotion, of perfect resignation, of tender kindness for all mankind, which would have done honour to a saint. When to these qualities you add his desire to conciliate, which had every where won all heartshis amiable demeanour, which invited a friendship that was confirmed by the innocence and purity of his manners, which bore the most scrutinizing and severe examination, you will readily admit that there was in him a rare assemblage of all that deserves esteem and admiration. "But I will not leave the matter upon these grounds. What we do this day we do in the face of the world, and I am loath to leave it open even to the malignant heart to suppose that we have met here on a solemn, but hollow pretence,-that we use idle or exaggerated words, or would stoop to flattery, even of the dead. The principal ground of all on which I hold the death of the Bishop to have been a public loss, was the happy fitness and adaptation of his character, for the situation and circumstances in which he was placed. There is no man, whether he be of the Laity or a Churchman, to whom I will yield in earnestness of desire to see Christianity propagated and predominant throughout the world; but it would be sinful, if it were possible, to banish from our recollection the truths which the experience of former ages has left for the guidance of the present. It is an awful but an unquestionable fact, that a fuller knowledge, a more perfect revelation of the will of God, has never been communicated rapidly to large masses of mankind, without their being thrown into confusion. To some it has seemed that religion is so important an element of social order, that no alteration can be made of its quality and proportion, without the whole mass dissolving, fermenting and assuming new forms; that by some mysterious condition of the lot of humanity, all mighty blessings are attended by some great evil; that every step to heaven is even yet to be won by fresh sacrifices and atonements.— There is another, and, I trust, a better mode of reasoning on these symptoms of interpreting these terrible signs: I will not readily believe that religion has been one of the causes of disorder-but rather that the vices of man having prepared the crisis, and called for the revulsion and re-action of the preservative principles of society; religion has only thus manifested herself, in a more visible and tangible form, and come as a ministering angel, to enable men, those who were struggling for the right to persevere and to prevail. The appalling fact however remains not the less indisputable, that it is in scenes of extensive disorder, amidst mortal strife and terrible misery, that she has achieved her greatest triumphs, displayed her strongest powers, and made her most rapid advances. When Christianity first spread itself over the face of the Roman Empire, all the powers of darkness seemed to be roused to an encounter. The storm blew from every point of the compass; unheard of races of and monsters of anarchy and misrule, more like the fantastic shapes of a dream than the realities of human life, appeared on the stage; and that period ensued which has been perhaps rightly considered as the most calamitous in the whole history of man. When that new world was discovered, which now presents such fair and animating prospects, religion was imparted to the southern portion of it by carnage and by torture; I say that in South America the ground was cleared by the torch and dug by the sword, and the first shoots of Christianity were moistened by the blood of unoffending millions. Again, when in Europe the Church cast its old slough, and re-appeared in somewhat of its pristine simplicity, the whole Continent was convulsed by civil war for a century and a half. Witness in France those battles, and massacres, and assassinations of the Huguenots and Catholics. In Germany, that closing scene of thirty years confusion, in which the grotesque and barbaric forms of Wallenstein and Tilly are seen struggling with the indomitable spirit of Mansfield, and the majestic genius of Gustavus Adolphus-Witness in England the downfall of her ancient throne and the eclipse of Royalty-Let me not be misunderstoodI hold, that there is no one who has rightly considered these events who must not, even whilst he mourns over them, admit that it is better the changes took place even with their terrible accompaniments, than that they should not have taken place at all. But while I avow this, I hope it is not presumptuous to breathe a fervent prayer, that India may receive the blessing without the misery,--not faint-heartedness, that I tremble at the possibility of all Southern Asia being made a theatre of confusion,-not lukewarmness, that rather than see Religion advance upon the rapid wings of strife, I would prefer to wait for her more tardy approach, preceded by Commerce and the Arts, with Peace and Knowledge for her handmaids, and with all the brightest forms of which human felicity is susceptible, crowding in her train; I confidently trust that there shall one day be |