At the end of this time he was invited by Sir John Hartopp to reside in his family, at Stoke Newington, near London, as tutor to his son. Here he remained until 1702; but on the completion of his twenty-fourth year (in 1698), he preached his first sermon, and was chosen soon after assistant to Dr. Chauncy, pastor of the Independent Church then meeting at ISIark Lane. In 1702 he was persuaded to succeed Dr. Chauncy in the pastoral office; but soon after his entrance upon this charge he was seized with a dangerous illness, which left him with a constitution so greatlj' im- paired that the congregation decided to procure him an assistant. His health returned gradually, and he continued to labor in this field until 1712, when he was seized by a fever so violent and of such contin- uance that he never fully recovered. While in this afflicting situation he was invited to the house of Sir
Thomas Abney, at Theobalds, whither he went expect- ing to remain a week, but he continued there for thirty- six years — the remainder of his life. Here he contin- ued preaching in his Church, overlooking his congrega- tion, or engaging in literary work, as health and incli- nation prompted him. During the last years of his life, the conduct of some of his near relatives caused him much bitterness of soul, and seemed to so stupefj' him that he took but little notice of anything about him. But the worst part of this misconduct was kept from him. Says a correspondent of Doddridge, "Lady Ab- ney keeps him in peaceful ignorance, and his enemies at a becoming distance ; so that in the midst of this cruel persecution he lives comfortably. And when a friend asks how he does, says, ' Waiting God's leave to die.' " In this peaceful state he died, Nov. 25, 1748, and was buried in Bunhill Fields.
Dr. Watts wrote largely for almost all classes of read- ers, students of all ages, in science, literature, poetry, and divinity. His principal published works are the following: Ilorce Lyricm (Lond. 1706); poems chiefly of the lyric kind : — Hymns (ibid. 1707) : — Orthodoxy and Charity United (1707): — Guide to Prayer (1715): — The Psalms of B avid (1719): — Divine and Moral Songs for Children (1720): — Sermons on Various Sub- jects, Divine and Moral (1721-23): — Logic; or. The Right Use of Reason in the hiquiry after Truth (1725): — The Knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth Made Easy ; or. The First Principles of Geography and A s- tromimy Explained (1726): — Dissertations Relating to the Christian Doctrine of the Trinity ( eod. ) : — Essay on the Freedom of the Will in God and in Creatures ( 1732 ) : — Philosophical Essays ( 1733 ) -.—The World to Come (1738) : — Essay on the Rain and Recovery of 3fankind (1740): — Lnprovement of the Mind (1741): — Glory of Christ as God-man Unveiled (1746) : — Evan- gelical Discourses (1747): — and many others. His complete works have been published in various editions of from six to nine volumes. Of his literary merits Dr. Johnson, in his Lives of the English Poets, says, '• Few men have left behind such purity of character or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided in- struction for all ages — from those who are lisping their first lessons to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke; he has left neither corporal nor spiritual nature unexamined; he has taught the art of reasoning and the science of the stars. His character, therefore, must be formed from the multiplicity and diversity of his attainments rather than from any single perform- ance, for it woidd not be safe to claim for him the high- est rank in any single denomination of literary dignity; yet, perhaps, there was nothing in which he would not have excelled if he had not divided his powers to dif- ferent pursuits. As a poet, had he been only a poet, he would probably have stood high among the authors with whom he is now associated. . . . He is, at least, one of the few poets with whom youth and ignorance may be safel}^ pleased; and happy will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verse or prose, to imitate him in all but his Nonconformity ; to copy his benevolence to man and his reverence to God." Of his Hymns Mr. .James iMontgomery (fntroducfory Essay to the Christian Psalmist) says, " Every Sabbath, in every region of the earth where liis native tongue is spoken, thousands and tens of thousands of voices are sending the sacrifices of prayer and praise to God in the strains which he pre- pared for them a century ago; yea, every day 'he be- ing dead yet speaketh' by the lips of posterity in these sacred lays." His works on logic and philosophy are of no great value at the present time, having been su- perseded b}' later and more discriminating treatises.
Dr. Walts was small in stature, being little more than five feet high; and was never married, although, it is claimed, not by his own fault. Monuments have been erected to his memory in Abney Park and Westminster Abbey ; a statue by Chantrey was dedicated at South- ampton in 1861 ; and the foundation of a memorial hall