years afterwards vicar of the almost contiguous parish of Claybrook. In his parochial charge he conducted himself in such a manner as to obtain general respect and esteem. Though he mixed freely with worldly company, and entered into the amusements of fashionable society, he was never inattentive to the proprieties of the clerical character, nor suffered pleasure to interfere with the outward duties of his ministry. Indeed, such was his kindness to the poor, his attention to the sick, and his diligence in catechising the young, that he was looked upon by the world at large as a complete model of a young parish priest. His theological studies also were pursued with great interest: he read attentively the writings of the early fathers; studied critically, with the help of approved commentators, the sacred text; and took great pains with the preparation of his sermons. Yet there is the best authority for saying, that neither at the time of his taking orders, nor for some years after, had he by any means that deep sense of responsibility which a just view of the sacredness of the ministerial trust never fails to produce. From his being at that time not duly impressed with the worth of his own soul, nor animated by a grateful sense of individual obligation to the Redeemer, his religion was rather professional than personal. He had not been made to feel "the plague of his own heart," the insufficiency of his strongest efforts, and the sinfulness of his best performances in the sight of a pure and holy God; and the consequent necessity of a simple, exclusive dependence on the atonement, righteousness, and intercession of the Son of God, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. Hence, his preaching was very defective, and, in some important respects, fundamentally erroneous. On the cardinal point of justification, his statements, in his early published sermons, are, to say the least, ambiguous and unsatisfactory. Their characteristic defect is a cold and feeble exhibition of the doctrines of Divine Grace, which are stated obscurely and with reserve; nor do we meet with those powerful appeals to the conscience, that attractive exhibition of the love of Christ, and that anxiety to hold him forth in his varied offices, which

afterwards gave to his discourses so much impressive warmth and energy. Limited in his spiritual progress by the influence of such views, Mr. Ryder seems to have passed the first eight or nine years of his ministry at Lutterworth. The change, which appeared about the year 1811, was probably preceded by deep yet silent impressions, and promoted by domestic affliction, arising from the loss of his revered and beloved father, and soon after, in 1807, of a sister to whom he was affectionately attached. At this time he received much comfort and instruction from Cecil's "Friendly Visit to the House of Mourning;" a little work which has been, in God's hand, the guide of many to the only true source of consolation.

In Mr. Ryder was strikingly illustrated the truth of our Saviour's declaration, "if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." Even while his views were defective, he acted faithfully and conscientiously, up to the light he had received. He was diligent in study, assiduous in the active duties of his profession, and remarkably conscientious in the choice of his curates. They were men of spiritual views and humble piety, from whose conversation and example he derived many valuable hints, which, with characteristic simplicity and lowliness of mind, he carefully improved and acted upon. In conversing with them on the spiritual condition of the sick, whom they visited in common, there is reason to think that he acquired his first lessons in that spiritual anatomy in which he afterwards became so great a proficient. He likewise derived much advantage from intercourse with other decidedly pious persons, and from books of a more devotional character than he had formerly been in the habit of perusing; such as Newton's "Cardiphonia," and "Letters to a Nobleman."

During the early years of his ministry, he had looked with suspicion, though not with hostility, upon men of evangelical sentiments: hence he stood aloof from the pious and venerable Mr. Robinson, of Leicester; and declined all participation in the religious institutions, at that time exciting so

deep an interest in society. But these prejudices gradually wore away; and in the year 1811, we find him subjected to the reproach of the world, for studiously seeking the companionship of men of acknowledged piety. In this year, likewise, he presided at the annual meeting of the Leicester Auxiliary Bible Society, and in the strongest terms expressed his approbation of its principles and designs. Two years after this he preached in St. Mary's Church, Leicester, on occasion of the sudden death of its reverend pastor, Mr. Robinson, a sermon, in which he distinctly avows his own cordial reception of all the great fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, in a style and tone strikingly contrasted with some other sermons preached by him in the same town a few years before. It was at this period of his life, too, he commenced daily family prayer, and the reading of the Scriptures, morning and evening.

The change thus gradually produced in Mr. Ryder's mind had the happiest influence on his parochial ministrations, which were extended beyond the customary routine. His preaching was faithful, fervent, and affectionate, characterised by a prayerful spirit; and his very animated manner gave to a written sermon much of the air of an extemporaneous address. Besides a cottage lecture at Claybrook, he held a weekly lecture on the premises of a large manufactory at Lutterworth, with a particular view to the benefit of the persons employed in it; and such was the deep and lively interest he took in the instruction of the young, especially when preparing for confirmation, that many are now living, who have reason to bless God, they were the objects of his pastoral instruction, care, and love.

About this time, this truly exemplary clergyman was raised to the deanery of Wells, which he exchanged a few years ago from conscientious motives, for the less lucrative appointment to a prebendal stall in Westminster. He was also a canon of Windsor. Already eminent for his pulpit talents, his active zeal, and his genuine piety and liberality, he was raised, in 1815, to the episcopal bench, as Bishop of Gloucester, from

which he was translated, in 1824, to that of Lichfield and Coventry. He adorned the mitre by his amiable virtues and personal sanctity, and was constantly distinguished by his unaffected courtesy and liberal feeling towards all sincere Christians. In the discharge of the ecclesiastical duties of his high station, his affability and condescension were truly admirable. On occasions which obliged him to oppose the wishes, or reprove the conduct, of those who appeared before him, the refusal lost half its sternness, and the reproof more than half its severity, in the mildness of his language, and the unaffected gentleness of his deportment. He gave the most liberal pecuniary assistance to benevolent undertakings, especially in his own diocese, to the interests of which he was ever attentive; and his zeal and activity in the personal discharge of his episcopal functions were unwearied.

During the last two or three years of his life, his Lordship's health had been visibly declining. A total prostration of strength, accompanied with an organic affection of the heart, appeared to be the proximate cause of his death. A few days before this event, he uttered with deep emotion to one of his sons, a sentiment which was habitual to him: "Others may praise me, and speak of what I have done; but I wish you all to remember, that I look upon my best services as nothing, and worse than nothing; and that I desire to cast myself as a poor sinner at the foot of the cross." He expired at Hastings, March 31st, 1836, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.

In him the established church has lost one of its brightest ornaments, and our religious institutions one of their most catholic, right-minded, and zealous supporters. Of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in particular, he was a steady and most efficient patron and advocate; always listened to with pleasure and attention at its meetings, to which the admirable spirit of his addresses powerfully contributed to give a salutary tone. We could ill afford to lose one of the very few prelates who have in recent years stood by the principle of the Bible Society, and shown by so doing their preference of the common interests and fundamental principles of

Christianity, to the supposed interest of any denomination or party.

For the foregoing Memoir we are indebted to the "Christian Keepsake."

His Lordship married, in 1802, Sophia, daughter of Thomas March Phillips, Esq., who survives him, and by whom he had ten sons and three daughters, all of whom survive him, with the exception of one son, Charles, who was drowned at sea in 1825. The eldest of his children, the Rev. Henry Dudley Ryder, is a canon residentiary of Lichfield, vicar of Tarvin, Cheshire, and of High Offley, Stafford; he married, in 1828, Cornelia Sarah, youngest daughter of George Cornish, Esq., of Salcombe, Devon, and has issue. The Bishop's eldest daughter, Anna Sophia, is married to Sir George Grey, Bart. M.P., nephew to Earl Grey.

Should the recommendations of the Church Commissioners be adopted, as is most probable, the title of the see will in future be Lichfield only, and will comprise the counties of Stafford and Derby; those parts of the diocese situated in the county of Warwick being added to the Bishop of Worcester's charge, and those in Salop to the Bishop of Chester. The Commissioners state the net income of the diocese, as at present constituted, to average 39237. in the three years ending 1831; and estimate that the future net income may, at no distant period, average 4350l. per annum.

Bishop Ryder was not distinguished as an author; but published several single sermons, among which were those for the Leicester Infirmary, 1806; at the Bishop of Lincoln's Visitation at Leicester, 1806; "On the propriety of preaching

The Editor of the Annual Biography and Obituary, with the greatest respect for the memory of Bishop Ryder, is desirous of guarding himself from being supposed to coincide in the religious views and sentiments expressed and implied in this Memoir.