The preacher quoted largely from Jeremy Taylor, "giving the passages with an excellence of enunciation and expression which impressed them on my mind in a manner which will not allow me to forget them." Alack! I _have_ forgotten every word of them! I remember, however, perfectly well, without any reference to my diary, hearing--it must have been much about the same time--Sydney Smith preach a sermon at St.Paul's, which much impressed me.

He took for his text, "Knowledge and wisdom shall be the stability of thy times" (I write from memory--the memory of half a century ago--but I think the words ran thus).

Of course the gist of his discourse may be readily imagined.

But the manner of the preacher remains more vividly present to my mind than his words.

He spoke with extreme rapidity, and had the special gift of combining extreme rapidity of utterance with very perfect clearness.