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wards Dr . > Chat > itte ? v Mi ? . Thomas Mole , Mr . George ( after this Dt . ) Benson , Mr . Joseph Siminon'dfe and Mr . Sandercoc k * Dr . Hunt preached , Mr . Chandler gave the charge / He made ho other confession than ibis *
"That he believed the New-Testament writings to contain a revelation * werthp of God to give and of man to receive ^ and that it should be his endeavour to recommend them to the people in the sense tn which he should ,, from time to time , understand them . He did not submit to the imposition of hands 9 which he considered as an unwarrantable
mimicry of the apostleSp and liable ta misconstruction He married " the daughter of Mr . John Harris , of Harstal& in Derbyfijfrire , by whom he had ten children , one only surviving Mm . The Doctor was ,, in the strict sense
of the term , a Unitarian ; and on account of the many things in which his judgment differed from the more current interpretation of scripture doctriecs * and from the malevolent reproaches of bigotry , his appointments at Bart hole mew Close had been so
narrowed * as to render him not capable of providing the needful succours for his family . In this situation , as he sat o » e Tuesday in Hamlm ' s Coffeehouse * he was engaged by his friend , the late Rev . Mr . Wetherfy , to supply
Dr . James Foster ' s place at Pinner ^ Hall . This was in the year 1753 m After the service , Timothy Hollis * Esq ., who knew nothing at all of him , went into the vestry and inquired who he was . He came after this to
hear him at Bartholomew Close , proposed hist * to the gentlemen of the vestry as a proper person to be assistant preacher to Dr . Foster , and was the principal instrument in the hand of Providence , in giving him tile seasonable succour he then stood so much inneedofi
Some time after this * one LordV day morning , an old gentleman out of Suffolk , » . ¦ Reynolds , EsijF l * appemng to sleep on the Saturday night in town , at an fill * tn Bishopsgatestreet * he came to Finiier ' s Halt . Alter service be desired ttie clerk fo wait 9 U Him . * t hja inn next morning . He accordingly ; went Mr : Reynolds in - quired * ^ heftier ttyie person he had hea * d succeeded Dr . Foster , and whether he always preached with
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that freedom . ? He told him , yes About four or five monrtfr ^ after , this gentleman dfed , and left his estate to Dr . Scott , a physicianv and a legacy of a hundred pounds to him , under the description of the gentleman who
succeeded Dr . Foster at Pinner ' s Hall , mid who speaks deliberately . This legacy Dr . Scott very generously paid him on the first opportunity . Dr . Fleming observed to his friends , that he could not but look upon it as a very remarkable providence ; that he did
not pretend to determine what were the motives which operated on the mind of the testator , but could easily imagine some divine impression every way consistent with the freedom ot his own volitions , and analogous to
the plan of one wise and good universal system . He added , that he would not an any consideration be denied the pleasure of so directing the sense he had of kis own dependence on , and Ki& obligations to , the Supreme Governor .
El is style was remarkable and pointed , and his manner of delivery such as to fix the attention . His sermons , although generally on doctrinal points , were also most earnestly practical * and his appeals to the minds of his hearers , on the profligacy of the times , invariably awakening a nd impressive . The amiable Eh * . Jeremiah Hunt took him
under his friendly patronage , and expressed great readiness to advise and encourage him in the pursuit of his studies , and this at a time when numbers of professed patrons bad cooled in their affections towards him .
on account of his not preaching at all by church to / stem . Alter the IXoctor ' s removal from these earthly scenes . Dr . Nathaniel Lardner , who before this had not taken any notice of him , though thev both lived in the same Square , ( Htoxton , ) immediately sent
to him , cultivated his friendship , and possessed his confidence , till the time of his death . He observed , that he had reason to say with the excellent Jacob Ball , that he had often hem in sight of real want , but he ihanhfd <* good God it never quite reached kim *
From a child , the Lord ' * day v ** preferable to all others in his esteem } a desire of knowledge had been habitual ; he early made himself master of short hand , in order to take obwit sermons , and at scvenlefttt sat down at the Lord ' s table .
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410 Memoir of the Life ofih * Mev . Caleb Flemingf J > . D .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1818, page 410, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2478/page/2/
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