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nursery for the Church. He entered on the duties of this appointment with cordiality; performed them with fidelity and diligence; and remained one of the most active and punctual of the whole Board, until within two or three years of his death; when, with the same disinterested and noble spirit which had long governed him, he resigned the office; assigning as his only reason, that he could no longer, as usual, discharge its duties; and soliciting the appointment of a more youthful and active member in his place.

But while the zeal and public spirit of Mr. Rodgers were directed to objects of various kinds, abroad as well as at home; and while, in every sphere in which he moved, his piety and diligence were conspicuous; he shone with peculiar lustre as a minister of Christ, and in discharging all the diversified, arduous, and interesting duties of a Christian Bishop. His family visitations; his incessant attention to the catechising and other instruction of the youth; and his unwearied vigilance in watching over the interests of the flock of which he had been made overseer, have been already mentioned. It is also worthy of notice, that his more public services were not confined to the pulpit or the

sabbath. Whenever his health and the weather permitted, he was accustomed to appoint, from time to time, to preach on week days in the houses of the sick, the infirm, or the aged; and thus, while he went as a messenger of consolation to those who would not have been otherwise able to attend on his ministry, he carried the glad tidings of salvation to every corner within his reach, and to multitudes who had no disposition to seek them. He performed evangelical servi ces of this kind, in private houses, so frequently, that almost every habitation in his parish had been more than once, and a number of them many times, employed in the solemnities of public worship.

It is hardly necessary to say, that a minister thus ardent, unwearied, and affectionate in all his pastoral duties, was highly popular in the neighbouring parishes, as well as his own. So great indeed, was this popularity, that it became, indirectly, the cause of no inconsiderable evil. Several of the adjacent congregations becoming vacant, by the death or removal of their ministers, while Mr. Rodgers resided at St. George's, so strong was the desire of all the members of those congregations who could travel so far, to attend

on his preaching; and so small their hopes of being able to obtain pastors of comparable popularity with his, that they absolutely remained vacant as long as he continued to reside there; and, (to use the language of the venerable friend* who communicated this information,) would probably never have thought of any other man as long as he remained within their reach. In truth, the friends of religion, for many miles around, considered him as a spiritual father; looked up to him for counsel, and followed his ministrations with admiring ardour, to a degree rarely witnessed.

One little anecdote shall close the list of proofs on this subject. A year or two before Mr. Rodgers removed from St. George's, Mr. Whitefield had appointed, on a certain day, to preach within a few miles of his residence. The people of the neighbourhood assembled, at the appointed time, to the number of five or six thousand. Owing to some circumstances, now unknown, Mr. Whitefield never came. The people, after waiting in vain

* The Rev. Dr. Thomas Read, of Wilmington, Delaware, to whom the writer is indebted for several interesting facts in the early part of the ministry of Dr. Rodgers.

for a considerable time, urged Mr. Rodgers, who was present, to rise and address them. For any man, even with the best preparation, to take the place of Whitefield, and preach to an audience which he had been expected to address, would have been an arduous task; but to do this on a sudden call, and with scarcely any preparation, was much more so. Mr. Rodgers, however, made it one of the first principles of his ministry, never to shrink from any service to which the providence of God evidently called him. He, therefore, determined, without hesitation, to comply with the request of his friends; and, after a few moments pre-meditation, rose and preached to the multitude in the open air. The conseqences were happy. It proved, indeed, a day of power. It was the opinion of many who heard him, that, notwithstanding all the disadvantages of the occasion, the preacher scarcely ever spoke so acceptably or so well. He out did himself. The congregation on dispersing unequivocally manifested that they had not been disappointed; and numbers had reason long to remember the solemnities of the day with grateful and adoring joy,

But Mr. Rodgers' ministry at St. George's was now drawing to a close. The death of the pious

and venerable Mr. Bostwick, one of the pastors of the church in New-York, laid the members of that church under the necessity of looking out for another minister. They again, as they had done ten years before, directed their views to Mr. Rodgers, and after a short time gave him a unanimous and affectionate call to be their pas

tor.

This call was dated in the month of January, 1765. Its unanimity, importance, and urgency, on the one hand, and his attachment and usefulness to the people of St. George's, on the other, exceedingly agitated and embarrassed his mind, and rendered him unwilling to decide on the path of duty for himself. He therefore, when the call was laid before the Presbytery to which he belonged, on the 16th day of April following, referred the question, whether he ought to accept it or not, to that body. But the Presbytery, after hearing the commissioners from New-York, plead at great length, and with much eloquence, in favour of their call; and those from the congregation of St. George's, with no less ability and affection, against the removal of their pastor, determined that it was not expedient for them to decide the question; but referred the decision of it