THEIR AUTHORS AND ORIGIN. 259
the preaching of Mr. Whiteficld. He heard Mr. Whitefield s last two sermons in London, and reported and printed them.
At the age of twenty- three, he became a member of the Church at the Tabernacle in London, and having received some encourage ment from the celebrated Mr. Fletcher, he began preaching, and at length relinquished his artistic pursuits to devote himself en tirely to the ministry. After preaching at Ulverstone and Lan caster, he was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church at Lancaster, on the 29th of October, 1778. There his labours were useful, and he made journeys in the neighbourhood, and in various parts of England and Wales, in order to preach the Grospel. In 1781 he was united in marriage to Miss Harrison, of Newcastle-under-Lyne. In November, 1783, he removed to Coventry, Avhere he became minister of the West Orchard Chapel, and maintained a useful ministry for twenty years.
Before leaving London, Mr. Burder had published, in 1776, a small book for children, called "Early Piety." This did much good, and its ready sale and acknowledged usefulness encouraged the author. In 1781 he published and circulated at Lancaster a tract, "The Good Old Way ; " and afterwards others, called " Vil lage Tracts." Seeing how the cause of Christ could be served by the press, he published editions of " Bunyan s Pilgrims Progress," with the observations he had made thereon at his Monday evening prayer meetings, and the "Holy War," and an abridgment of Dr. Owen s work on the Holy Spirit, and other works. The failure of Mr. Burder s London bookseller pointed to the necessity for a society equal to the large undertakings re quisite for the supply of the public. Hence, in 1799, Mr. Burder called together some influential ministers and others in London, and with their co-operation commenced the " Religious Tract Society," whose course has been continually progressive, and whose useful agencies extend to every quarter of the world.
Impressed with the moral necessities of our village populations, Mr. Burder prepared, in 1797, a volume of "Village Sermons." These were so well received that he was encouraged to prepare
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