whom they have persecuted and oppressed, or whom they have failed to
relieve; when the proudest Sons of Learning, Genius, or Wit, may shrink
at the superior lustre of those whom they have ridiculed and reviled;
HOWARD will shine encircled by thousands, who will gratefully plead for
his beatitude in those blessed words of our Redeemer, 'I was in prison,
and he came unto me!'

"Yes, my Brethren, the day will assuredly come, when the servant so
signally faithful will be called to a reward, surpassing the utmost
reach of our conception, by the voice of his Righteous Master--then, and
then only, will praise be fully proportioned to his transcendant merit;
when this consummate Christian is raised to glory by the glorified
Messiah, when his pure spirit exults in the commendation of his GOD.

"The imperfect efforts, that mankind may make to do honour to such a
Being, cannot, indeed, so much promote his glory, as they may conduce to
the interest of human nature. Subject as it has been to the wildest
excesses, human panegyric, in all its shapes, may be safely devoted to a
personage, whom it is hardly possible to praise with sincerity, without
feeling our disposition improved. In a beneficent, a sublime, and truly
religious character, there is a sort of magnetic virtue, which to those
who are affectionately drawn towards it, though only in idea,
communicates a portion of itself. Hence arises, what we cannot too
fondly cherish, the delight and the utility of commemorating departed
worth. If its title to commemoration be justly proportioned to its
magnitude, its singularity, and extent; not only various individuals,
but different Nations, will become rivals in promoting the fame of
HOWARD. As the glorious qualities, which his life displayed, are equally
open to the emulation of the great and the humble; every class of human
creatures is peculiarly interested in his praise. If to honour his