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    the success of my voyage , and readily believe thai I shall be eager to return , to bear a part in the work of 'Christian reformation . " In a subsequent letter he writes , " Whatever be the result of my / sickness , I trust you will be content . 1 am not indifferent to

    this result , and cannot but hope it will be life . Life , though accompanied with many troubles , is still an invaluable gift , and I prize it , —many things I wish to learn , many things to do ; but if it be appointed otherwise , * I have hope towards God / that not even death will be able to

    separate me for ever from his favour . " Notwithstanding the flattering changes so common in Mr . Goodier ' s disorder , pone of its symptoms were overcome , and all the time he was in France he suffered dreadfully from large boils , that broke out on his limbs

    and body ; yet , through all he endured , he preserved that charm of manners and sweetness of temper which , even in a land of strangers , endeared him to all around , and

    procured those soothing attentions which € fully prove / 1 as he said , in making grateful mention of an old French servant at Bordeaux , " that sympathy is not confined to one language or one nation . "

    The letters dictated by this invaluable young man on his death-bed , give ample testimony to his acquiescence in the will of heaven . The following is addressed to the whole of his beloved family , and is dated July 12 , 1818 :

    " I find myself at length forced to the performance of a painful duty , which by deferring I had hoped to escape , viz . that of making you fully acquainted with my present painful and feeble situation . I wish you to be prepaved for all events ; and when I tell you that I write this letter from a sick chamber , to which I have been

    confined for almost a week , chiefly in bed , in a state of such helplessness , as to be absolutely dependent on the kind offices of the family with whojrn 1 lodg £ , who have been forced for

    several nights past to watch with me ; that for a month past I have been forced to employ the skill of an eminent physician of the town , who visits i * ie twice a day—you will agree with me , that it is very possible you have

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    seen me for the last time on thisf side the tomb . J wrote to you , by a friend , last week , a general account of the reverses which have led to this state .

    1 wish not to expatiate ; mj sufferings have been , and continue to be , very great , and it is quite sufficient that 1 have to bear them myself without making you suffer , &c .

    " Under these painful circumstances , the mercy of God has provided me every possible consolation , and in general rny mind is tranquil and happy j oftencr indeed disturbed on your account than on my own : and I earnestly pray , and confidently hope , that these consolations will soften

    your portion of this mysterious dispensation , as they do mine . The grand truths of the gospel , especially that of the universal Jove and fatherly character of Him in whose hands our breath is , confirmed as this doctrine

    is by reason and by past experience , fill me with humble confidence ; and though deaht is awful , it has ceased to be terrible . When I look back on the merciful dealings of his providence during my long sickness , and reflect on the numerous and unexpected

    softenings I have constantly received from his paternal goodness , how can I doubt that all is working together for my good ; that in the hands of a Father I shall always be safe ; and that if his wisdom sees good to remove me from this earthly scene , it is only to remove

    me to another , where my enjoyments will be increased , and where my per- * ceptioijs of his everlasting mercy will be more lively , my views of his glorious designs for the children of irien more extensive and enchanting ? " If I had had a doubt on this

    subject , the wonderful interposition of his providence in leading me , almost in spite of myself , to this house , would have removed it . There is not a single person in the family who does not strive to aid me , and the mistress is beyond all praise . All the day long she is in my chamber , with the

    Exception of a few moments devoted to family affairs . She exhibits all the tenderness of a mother , performs the most menial offices with pleasure , and after all , she assures me that the pleasure of my acquaintance and friendship is an ample reward - I trust , however , my friends will enable me

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    Memoir of the Rev . Benjamin Goodier . 145

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1819, page 143, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1770/page/7/