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unsocial, not because he was austere, but because his mind was prone to abstraction. Yet he was far from being without the social feeling, any more than indifferent to public interests. He loved his friends; he looked from his retirement with complacency and benevolence on all men; and when he allowed himself to relax in conversation, young and old alike listened, delighted, to the overflowings of his affectionate heart, and the utterances which indicate without ostentation, the richly furnished mind, trained to habits of observation and sagacious reflection. His habits of abstraction, therefore, had nothing of the morose, and I think it was because his mind was possessed of the peace of the Gospel, and imbued with the love of God, as well as provided with the stores of philosophical and historical lore, that he was so uniformly happy,—alone or with others,— as the good man is said to be satisfied from himself.

"The latest hours of our departed friend were in harmony with the habits of his life. It was not simply the favour of God, but the likeness of God that his soul aspired after. It was not merely the more selfish question of safety that exercised his spirit, though that is, in itself, a great and important question, and he gave indications in his expressions of a contrite and humble mind, conversant with godly sorrow: he loved to hear of the gracious covenant and of the work and righteousness of Christ. He dwelt in love, as one dwelling in God; and I believe that in his view of Heaven itself, he looked, not so much at the idea of being free from all the ills of life, or possessed of self-gratifying joys, as the end to which salvation itself is the means, in a closer communion with the Father of spirits, and a larger participation of the Divine

nature.

"How mysterious is the Divine Providence! But a short while ago, his name was selected as among the likeliest candidates for a newly erected chair in our Uni

versity. I can bear witness to the equanimity with which he received the notification and waited for the issue. It has pleased God to assign a translation of a different kind; but it is not without satisfaction that his many friends can reflect that a long life of educational service did not close, without this testimony rendered with very general concurrent suffrages, to Mr. Esson's learning and his merits as an instructor of youth.

"There is reason to think that the rapid decay of his strength latterly, was the effect to a large extent, of long continued mental application. Ungrudgingly these labours were given, but they were of a kind,—and it is not always allowed for or understood,—to wear out the frame, independently of any organic disease seizing on the vitals. The intellectual anxieties which a keen imagination and a tender texture of the nervous system produces, press formidably both on the mind and body. The sword may prove too sharp for the scabbard; and it is affecting to witness the prostration of the finest powers, yielding, not without resistance from their natural buoyancy, to the stern progress of the destroyer, overcome by the exhaustion which was induced by their very great vigour and activity. "

Professor Esson's remains were conveyed to Montreal, and interred in Mount Royal cemetery.

The St. Gabriel Street Congregation had a marble tablet to his memory placed on one of the walls of the Church, on which the inscription reads :—

"Sacred to the Memory of Revd. Henry Esson, A.M., for twenty-seven years pastor of this congregation, and afterwards Professor of Literature and Philosophy in Knox's College, Toronto. Uniting in a rare degree the accomplished scholar and public spirited patriot with the energetic pastor and teacher, he commanded extensive respect from the community; and endeared himself to his flock and numerous friends, not more by his pulpit ministrations than by his faithful and affectionate private counsels, his generous spirit and amiable manners. He died at Toronto, 11th

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May, 1853, aged 61 years. Distinguished to the last by his enthusiasm in study and devotedness in the cause of education, his remains were brought to this city and interred in the Mount Royal cemetery."

This tablet and one to the memory of Rev. William Rintoul was procured with money raised in the congregation for the purpose of making a presentation to Dr. McLagan, on the occasion of his leaving the city, as a token of the people's sense of gratitude to him for his self-denying labours connected with the church, and especially for the exertions he had put forth to reach Rev. Mr. Rintoul when he was lying sick of cholera at Trois Pistoles. Dr. McLagan declining to receive any testimonial, the money, together with additional sums obtained from friends in the city, was devoted to this object. The Knox Congregation, as representing the main body of those who erected it, carried the tablet with them to their new church on Dorchester Street, on one of the walls of which it may be seen.

The following particulars regarding the condition of the church previous to 1831, furnished by Rev. Mr. Esson, in his interesting summary to the Synod already referred to, will be read with interest :—

"The usual number of worshippers may be estimated at about 450 to 500 persons, and the congregation, young and old, may be reckoned at 1,500. The sacrament is dispensed twice every year, except the last two years, as mentioned already. About eighteen and twenty years ago, the number of communicants was from 250 to 260; since that time they have increased considerably, and for several years past, have amounted to from 300 to 325 or 330; and in September, 1826, there were 370, of which 50 were communicants for the first time. But it is to be observed that a number of these communicants, perhaps 25 to 30, reside at a distance from Montreal, and are not considered members of the congregation; they come to town occasionally only, to attend the ordinances of religion, having no ministers residing near them."

"For a considerable time after our church was built and the congregation formed, the number of elders, it is believed, did not exceed four or five. But in 1819, nine additional were ordained, which increased them

to thirteen. None have since been added to the number, and the elders are now reduced to seven by the stroke of death."

"It is not customary to exact fees for marriages, etc., by the Ministers of the Scottish Church, though we have heard that a small fee of 2s. 6d. is often exacted by those of some other churches, not as a reward for their clerical duties, but for enregistering marriages, baptisms and funerals, which clergymen who obtain registers are required to do by a Provincial Statute. Marriages and baptisms are generally performed in the houses of the parties, which occasions more trouble and loss of time to the Minister than if performed in the church; and, in consequence, it has become customary, with those who can afford it, to give voluntarily some fee or gratuity. But these emoluments are quite fluctuating and uncertain, and do not add much, at the end of the year, to the Minister's income."

Rev. Dr. Donald Fraser of London gives his recollections of the state of matters in the church during the days of Mr. Esson's ministry :—

"The service in Mr. Esson's time was dreary enough, as in most of the Scottish churches of the period. Psalms and paraphrases were sung in a sitting posture, without any instrumental accompaniment,—the choir raised in a semi-circle at the foot of the pulpit, being led by a Mr. Cameron, who, I am sorry to recollect, kept a public house in the St. Lawrence suburbs. There were two prayers,

one very long, the other long.

And the sermon, which

was read to us, though never stupid, was dry and vague, and profited little."

CHAPTER XVIII.

Lord Selkirk, Sir Gordon Drummond, Lord Dalhousie, Rev. Dr. URQUHART, THOMAS TORRANCE, JOHN TORRANCE, HON. JUSTICE TORRANCE, REV. E. F. TORRANCE, GEORGE GARDEN, ANDREW WHITE, JAMES ROLLO, REV. Dr. Wilkes, Hon. Thomas Mackay, Hon. James Ferrier, Rev. Dr. Douglas.

In the early days of Mr. Esson's ministry, Lord Selkirk came to take up his residence in Montreal. The following announcement appeared in the Montreal Herald of the 4th November, 1815:—

"Yesterday evening, the Earl of Selkirk, his Countess and family, arrived in this city. They came from England via New York."

A few weeks afterwards, official announcement was made of the following appointments:—

"Quebec, 18th December, 1815.

'His Excellency, the Administrator-in-Chief, has been pleased to grant the following commission, viz:—

"To the Right Honorable Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, to be Civil Magistrate and Justice of the Peace for the Indian Territories. Robert Semple, James Bird and James Sutherland, do. do. do."

This was not Lord Selkirk's first visit to Montreal. He had been in the city as early as August, 1803, at the time he accompanied to this continent the Highland emigrants whom he induced to settle in Prince Edward Island. On that occasion he came into contact with the commercial aristocracy of the city, the fur traders, whom he found living in lordly style, a convivial fraternity of abounding hospitality. Most of them were, when they entered the

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