SERMON. 265 



a sermon I penned on the death of 

 the old king, George III., which, without 

 permission, I had dedicated to this excel- 

 lent divine. It was at the instigation of 

 some friends at St. Albans 1 had written 

 it, because I happened to say the dis- 

 course I had heard at the Abbey church 

 did not come up to my idea of what a 

 sermon ought to be, on such a subject. 

 Here the obsequies of the deceased mo- 

 narch were celebrated ; and when the choir 

 of the old building was hung with black 

 and lit with torches, it presented a novel 

 and imposing scene. The printing this 

 production may have been an unpardon- 

 able act of vanity; the dedication was an 

 expression of heartfelt gratitude to one, 

 whose eloquent expositions of the Gospel, 

 and clear and imposing manner with which 

 he read our beautiful Liturgy, were in- 

 delibly impressed on my memory. 



But the chief occurrence that marked 



