in comparison with truth. He refused to purchase any worldly good, and was unwilling to retain even the approval of those in whose society he delighted, and whose friendship he valued, at the cost of disguising his sentiments, and sacrificing his convictions. Independent of the opinions which might be in favour with the public, he asserted and enjoyed the right of free speech, as well as of free thought. He felt with Milton, in whose magnificent prose writings, as well as in whose poetry, he took the greatest delight, as holding intercourse with a congenial spirit-" Give me the liberty to know, to utter, to argue freely, according to conscience, above all liberties." He regarded it a wrong done to society, for any man to conceal what he thought to be true and useful. He was always willing to hold friendly intercourse with men of all opinions, and never threw away kindness, from whomsoever it might proceed: though to obtain it, he would not sell his liberty or his conscience. Often has the author heard him say, he should feel himself indeed degraded, if he occupied a position, however exalted, which his judgment condemned, and where he could not at all times both think with freedom, and boldly utter what he thought. He was eminently one who, to use the words of an eloquent living author, "dares to take up truth, when trampled on in the streets, and to say to all men,This is a holy and divine thing;

foully as it has been treated, it is worthy of worship, and I am resolved henceforth to worship it.' A splendid falsehood may be riding by in purple and gold, with all the world prostrate before it; but when it says to this man, 'Fall down and worship me, and say that I am the truth'he straightway answers, 'I will not worship thee, nor call thee the truth; for thou art a lie.'

The reader is again reminded that he is not asked to admit, that all the opinions which Dr. Gordon advocated were truth, but only that they were so regarded by himself. The outward splendour of any principle had no charms for him. Its being trampled upon could not make him ashamed of it. It was at a great and constant pecuniary sacrifice that he advocated the total abstinence question; but the loss thus entailed on him, and the contempt with which some affect to regard the holders of those principles, only made him the more earnest in their advocacy.

Possessing the full confidence of the working classes, his denunciations of violence, and earnest advocacy of peace, good order, and obedience to the laws, had such effect, that at a recent period of political excitement, no opportunity was given for the intrusion of those demagogues who went about for their own selfish ends, to excite their deluded followers to acts of insubordination. Being remonstrated with, by many of his friends, on the

imprudence of attending certain meetings at which he might be identified with individuals of questionable principles and character, he replied, "If they are so bad, the more reason for us to go among them. Would you leave the people to the influence of dangerous men? If, because some are violent and unprincipled, you are to abandon instead of going among them to improve them, what hope can there ever be of their amendment?" Certainly such conduct, whatever else may be thought of it, manifested, considering his position in society, a manly disinterestedness which is seldom exhibited, but which all must admire.

In Dr. Gordon's manners, bearing, and language, refinement and taste of the highest order were always evident. He could not do a rude, a vulgar, or an unlovely thing. His sympathies might therefore have been expected to attract him to the more cultivated classes of society. But he thought that to do good was far better than mere self-gratification; and therefore, indifferent to the favours and opinion of men of his own rank, he cast himself as a moral reformer among the working classes. Yet, in the midst of men in humbler grades of life, he never ceased to be the gentleman. He did not descend from his own level, but sought to raise others up to his. Courtesy and kindness pervaded all his intercourse with them; yet he was never familiar, and, acting towards them with respect, he

was ever treated respectfully by them in return. Haughty condescension may often receive the stern rebuke it merits; but Dr. Gordon proved that it is only necessary for a man of superior station, character, and ability, to treat the humbler classes with genuine kindness and courtesy, in order to secure from them a hearty respect and love, which are seldom found beneath the formalities of more polite society.

He was, in a word, "the poor man's friend." Many hours every day were devoted to prescribing gratuitously for crowds of the indigent who frequented his house, all receiving from him the most kind and patient attention. Numerous were the cases in which he not only gave medical advice, but relieved the pecuniary wants of his poor patients; and meals were constantly provided in his kitchen, to be sent to the abodes of want and disease. In many ways, of which the public knew nothing, it was his delight to render help to the needy; and this so unostentatiously, that his left hand knew not what the right hand gave. Many a heart breathed for him the prayer, which the author remembers a poor Irish woman whom he had befriended, offering on her knees before him-" May the blessing of the Son of God rest upon ye!" "When the ear heard him, then it blessed him; when the eye saw him, it gave witness unto him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came

upon him, and he made the widow's heart to sing for joy. He was a Father to the poor; and the cause which he knew not, he searched out." To how great a degree he gained the affection of the poor, was evident by the universal anxiety expressed by them during his illness, and by the many thousands of true mourners who followed his remains to the tomb.

But it was at home and amongst his intimate friends that the loveliness of such a character could alone be fully appreciated. There his equable temper, his unselfish benevolence, his kindness in little things, his constant endeavour to make all around him happy, endeared him to every heart. His servants loved him as a friend, as well as respected him as a master. He gave his orders rather as if requesting a favour than issuing a command, and never suffered the least service to be rendered him without a kind acknowledgment.

In his company, conversation never flagged. There was no subject in which he did not take interest, and few on which he could not throw light. His pleasantry and wit, combined with his affection, made sunshine and joy wherever he went.

His professional and public engagements occupied the day, while his studies were often continued far into the night. His pleasures were all of the domestic kind, and as a matter of taste, irrespective of principle, he never frequented places of public