From the foregoing sketch, as well as from the general contents of the volume, Mr. Mortimer’s character is clearly seen, and cannot fail to excite admiration:—let every reader here add a prayer to be enabled to imitate as well as to admire. That my friend was possessed of no peculiarities, or of no defects, I do not affirm; but they were blended with so much purity of motive, integrity of principle, and correctness of conduct, that his general excellences were visible to all, his peculiarities were known but to few. His _extreme carefulness_ in expenditure, and his—seemingly, at least—_over anxiousness_ to preserve unimpaired, if not to increase, his fortune, led him to the adoption of some measures, which by many of his friends were thought questionable. It is, however, exceedingly difficult to judge another in this matter, or, indeed, to set up any precise and universal standard by which to form a judgment in the case. So many among the clergy, it is to be feared, err in the opposite extreme, and so much reproach has been brought upon the Church and the clerical character, by the want of a sufficient prudence and economy in secular affairs, to prevent pecuniary embarrassment, that the error of too much care is much to be preferred to that of a want of it, where it is attended by such counteracting properties as marked Mr. Mortimer’s management of his income. His systematic charity, his cheerful and bountiful liberality, and his strict integrity, more than balance any defective peculiarity in his secular matters.
If I might venture to sum up Mr. Mortimer’s character in a few words, I should say that his whole life, from the time of his becoming a decided Christian, was characterized by firm faith, deep humility, great decision, steady consistency, self-denial, holy zeal, and patient perseverance; and his manners were characterized by urbanity, kindness, and sweetness of address peculiar to himself. As a pastor, as a private Christian, as a relative, and as a friend, he has left an example worthy of imitation. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.”
Mr. Mortimer, just before his death, gave directions to destroy all his papers and writings, and it does not appear that he kept any record of the events of his life, or of his Christian experience: no specimen, therefore, of his regular composition has come into the hands of the writer. The following fragments or remains have been collected from different sources, and show his opinions on the several subjects of them.