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and left him as well as usual , only a little fatigued with the walk . On entering the house , he sat down , by the fire , but had not sat many minutes , before the servant perceived his hands fall and his head droop , as though he was asleep ; but on nearer inspection found he was actually
dead . The family , who happened not to be at home , were immediately summoned , and medical assistance procured , but , alas ! without avail ; the vital sparl ^ was extinct , and he had expired without a struggle or a groan . Thus suddenly , though not unexpectedly , has an All-wise Providence removed , in the midst of
much enjoyment and usefulness , one of the most amiable and best of men . Such was he deservedly esteemed by all who knew him , particularly by the writer of this memoir , who had been intimately acquainted with him between thirty and
forty years ; ( fourteen of which they had resided together under the same roo , f ;) and who , in all that time , never observed any thing in his temper or deportment which was not perfectly consistent with the character of a Christian and a
minister . Mr . Howe was born at Uffculme in Devonshire , about the year 1759 , of re ^ - spectable and pious parents , who , observing his mild and serious disposition and promising talents , early devoted him to the service of the sanctnary . With this view they placed him under the instructiou of the Rev . William Lamport , at that time the minister of Uffculme and
afterwards of Honiton . About the age of 15 , he was sent to the Dissenting Academy at Hoxton , then under the superintendence of Dr . Savage and Dr . Rees . There his amiable manners and exemplary deportment secured for him the esteem and affection of his fellow-students and his
respectable tutors . On leaving that seminary , he was for a short time domestic chaplain and assistant to the Rev . Sir Harry Trelawney , who , notwithstanding the change which took place in his religious sentiments and connexions , ever retained for him and expressed towards him the highest esteem and friendship . On Sir
Harry ' s conforming to the Established Church , Mr . Howe removed to Ringwood in Hampshire , where he resided a few years , the highly-esteemed minister of a small Presbyterian society . On the death of the Rev . Mr . Waters , in the year 1787 , he received an unanimous invitation to
Bridport , where , in the following year , he was ordained the pastor of that people , who , on this occasion , were favoured with the assistance of the Rev . James Manning and the Rev . Drs . Kippitf and Rees . In that place he spent the remaining thirty-three years of his life , in the faithful and honourable discharge of his
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pastoral duties , and in the uninterrupted enjoyment of the esteem , friendship and affection of a numerous , respectable and generous society , who , as they well knew how to appreciate hia worth , vied with each other in promoting his comfort and happiness .. And , that he had a just claim
to auch distinguished regard , no one that knew him could deny . His talents were not only in themselves good , but were diligently cultivated and usefully applied . His memory was retentive and his judgment sound ; his temper naturally sweet and his feelings lively . In the friendly circle he was uniformly cheerful ,
communicative and instructive , and in the world , the warm , but teraporate advocate of peace , truth and liberty . His religious principles , early imbibed and habitually cherished , had a powerful influence over his whole conduct . He was truly pious
and devout without superstition ; kind and benevolent to all ; firm and zealous in what he conceived to be the truth , yet perfectly candid and liberal to those who differed from him . His theological sentiments were the result of close and
impartial investigation . For several years after he left the Academy , he was a professed believer in the pre-existence of Jesus Christ , but on farther examination , in which he was greatly assisted by the writings of Dr . Priestley , he became what is commonly termed a decided Unitarian , believing not only that the Almighty
Father is the only object of supreme worship , but that Jesus Christ is truly and properly a man , the most distinguished of all the prophets , and divinely commissioned and qualified to be the instructor , saviour and judge of mankind . As a Christian minister , few have more conscientiously and faithfully discharged the
important duties of the pastoral office . Scrupulously careful in the improvement of time , his mornings were diligently employed in reading and composition ; his evenings usually . spent in friendly and pastoral visits . The Monday in each week he particularly devoted to those who by sickness had been detained from public worship . His discourses were
plain , serious and scriptural , sometimes critical aud doctrinal , but always highly practical , admirably adapted to the capacities and circumstances of his hearers , and delivered in an animated , agreeable and . impressive manner . Pie might , in the best sense of the word , be called a time-server , that is , studiously availing himself of every opportunity of improving the various events and occurrences of a
public or private nature for the instruction and benefit of his hearers . To the younger part of his flock he paid particular attention , not merely by occasional appropriate addresses , but also by regular
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Obituaryj-rRao . Thomas Howe . 53
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1821, page 53, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2496/page/53/
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