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    as well' as to the * stuctentof botany ; Tht lives of LtnittaxiR , of Dkn&ftey , Toutnefort , Ray , SibthorfH Collinson , and many wore , evrnce tlie industry , gooef taste , arid ex * , cellent feeltnga of their writer , The uprightness , and liberally of- his mii > & appear ite the uniformly candid exi pression of his sentiments . I £ was Ms

    constant , earnest desire to banish ; jealousy 1 and rivalehip from the purstifls of science , and to cultivate a union and good understanding ; between the botanists of all nations ; exhorting them to adopt with a readiness and ungrudging alacrity , of which he set the example , the suggestions of foreigners , whenever the interests of science were concerned :

    The same steadiness and constancy with whiofr , from a conviction of its excellence , Dr . Smith devoted his life to the illustration of the scientific system of LinnsaviB , he equally eviuced iu the support of those principles , both religious and political , in which he had hee » brought up . His liberal education , and his- intercourse wiih men of all

    countries * holding various opinions , served bi > t to settle bis own ; and they were established on the only firm basis , that of investigation and reflection ! Placed in a situation of eminence-, he

    did not obtrude hia own private opinions where they would have been out of place ; but all who knew him can bear witness that , through life , no honours or distinctions , or fear of unpopularity , or devotion to scientific pursuits , could deter him from the most uureserved and

    steady avowal of his principles . He was visited by men of eminepce from all parts of the world , and was eagerly sought after in London , where he had not only a numerous circle of scientific friends , but an extensive acquaintance in the highest ranks of society . Many of these distinguished persons earnestly endeavoured to seat him

    in a Professor's Chair , and thus advance the study of Botany in the University of Cambridge ; but his appointment was prevented by a cabal among such as are every where found opposed to liberal opinions . In 1814 , he received the honour of Knighthood at the hands of his present Majesty > who was then Prince Regent , and had recently become Patron of the Linneean Society .

    The pursuits which occupied the atteution of this estimable man do not invariably ( however it might be expected ) heightetithe tone of religious feeling , or oven lead to an enlarged and poetic love of nature . A taate for mere ar * rangement and classification may render

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    Ttefsmy a pleasing study 5 but Sir . James Smithes , tninxl wasr imbued with a real love for —•— " those deligUtM Jiandy works of Him Who arch'd the heavens and spanp'd this solid earth . "

    " Is it not , " asks he , nn the beautiful Preface to his Introduction to Botany , ) " Is it not a privilege to walk with God in the garden of creation , and hold converse with h , is providence ? " His soul brightened at the contemplation , and the same spirit of p ious adoration accompanied his researches into the book of revelation . From that source ( whence many with equal sincerity derive very opposite

    ones ) he drew his religious conclusions . His creed was the New Testament ; and he read it , as a celebrated divine recommends , " as a man would read a letter from his friend , in the which , he doth only seek after what was his friend ' s miud and meaning , not what he can put upon the words . " Be delighted in dwelling upon the character of Jesus Christ :

    he felt tfce wisdom , the grandeur , the cloudless benignity of his spirit . Deeply impressed with the truth and importance of the Christian faith , h , e did much to recommend and enforce it . He attended public worship ^ not wi&fr the air of a man who was setting an example to Others , btft it ) the character of an humble follower of Jesus , and he ' * took the bread and wine in remembrance of him . "

    The mind of Sir James Smith was formed for devotion , not controversy . Yet he was aliire to $ he interests of the congrci * gallon of whieh he was a member and a deacon ,: he desired its good , he wished for peace , and made it . hi * delight to stimulate piety by the productions , of his pen .

    His poetical compositions are distiii * guisbed by elegance , and by frequent allusions to that world of nature towards which hie thought * perpetually turned , when in aeaneb of objects for love and grateful praiae . At the same time , let it not be thought that Christian topics were forgotten . Upon these his compositions were lest numerous , but upon

    none , perhaps , were they so beautiful . There is scarcely one to be found , in ail our collections of Hymns , that is more devotional in character , or more perfect in structure , than the following 5 which , firs } printed in a number of the American < f Christian Dfcjctyle , " hatj since found its appropriate place in the Norwich Collection .

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    360 Mkwtms-SirJ * . & Sfhiifi .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1828, page 350, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2560/page/62/