whom I consult have advised me to collect
(should necessary studies allow me leisure) as much as I can of such
information as will be useful to me in the sacred office I shall be
called upon to fill. What I shall lose in attainments, I will endeavour
to make up in Christian conduct. That God, who is the sole Dispenser of
all the blessings that has been showered upon my path, claims my first
duty. My next ambition will be to fulfil my ministry with that zeal and
decorum which characterize the spirit of our venerable Establishment;
while gratitude will prompt me to dedicate my leisure hours to the
literature of my native Principality.

That I may thus live, is my fervent prayer; and all I ask in addition, is
a situation where I may watch over the wants of my poor, but worthy
parents; and make as far as depends on human aid, their evening set in
smiles.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
J. BLACKWELL.

CALVINISM.

_To the Committee of the Welsh Church in Liverpool_.
_Neptune Hotel, Liverpool_,
_July 20th, 1827_.

GENTLEMEN,

I was nurtured among Calvinists. To their Sunday School I am indebted
for almost all the education my youthful years were blessed with. Towards
some of them I was taught in infancy to look up with reverence and
esteem; and the recollection of their Christian virtues proves to me that
whatever tendency Calvinism may have to relax the ties of moral
obligation, the argument cannot be drawn from the lives of many of its
professors. With many Clergymen who take Calvinism for their creed, I
have still the happiness to live in bonds of Christian friendship; but my
respect for the men does not blind me to their opinions. I am no
Calvinist, and ever since I have been capable of forming a judgment upon
theological subjects, I have not been a Calvinist. The sincerity of my
attachment to our national Church cannot, I trust, be doubted. I was
made a member of her by Baptism, and ever since I have attained to years
of discretion, my public devotions have been offered up within her pale.
For many a dark year--long before the idea of my being elevated to the
clerical function had received a shadow of existence, I had resolved to
live and die an humble worshipper at her altar.

J. BLACKWELL.

AT EI FAM, PAN OEDD WEDDW.

_Athrofa'r Iesu, Rhydychen_,
_Hyd. 19eg 1827_.

FY ANWYL FAM,

Fy nyledswydd ydyw hysbysu i chwi, gyda phob brys, fy mod wedi cyrraedd
pen fy nhaith yn gysur