itution warned him that the laws of nature had been transgressed.
Dryden has described Shaftesbury as

A fiery soul, which, working out its way,
Fretted the puny body to decay,
And o'er-informed the tenement of clay;

and it has all along been Dr. Ker's misfortune that his body would not
bear the strain imposed upon it by his active and vigorous mind. As
might be supposed, he was at this time a prominent speaker in the Church
Courts, where his sage counsel and kindly disposition made him a
favourite and a power. In 1857 he was requested by the Synod of his own
Church to accept the office of Home Mission Secretary. The whole Synod
stood up in token of their approval and esteem when the appointment was
moved; and Dr. Andrew Thomson of Edinburgh, in supporting the nomination
of Dr. Ker, remarked of him that "his very presence was a benediction."
To the infinite disappointment of the Synod, however, Dr. Ker declined,
for private and no doubt weighty reasons, to undertake the appointment.
The choice of the Synod then fell on Dr. M'Gill, who continued to
discharge the functions of Home Mission Secretary with zeal and
efficiency until he was changed to the "Foreign Office." The result of
too close attention to his ministerial duties led Dr. Ker into a
dangerous illness, from which he suffered severely for a period of three
years. During that time he visited many places both at home and abroad,
travelling in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and America. In the
course of these journeys Dr. Ker cultivated his _penchant_ for
antiquarian lore and old traditions. He also improved his very extensive
knowledge of the Continental languages; and there are few men so
thoroughly conversant with German, French, and Italian, who have not
made these languages a special study. In addition to modern languages,
however, Dr. Ker is a master of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.

At the time of the Irish revivals several years ago, Dr. Ker took a deep
interest in the spiritual awakening, and he travelled over the country
with the view of assisting its promotion, preaching very frequently
every day in the week. Nothing is more remarkable in Dr. Ker's character
than the immense power of mental and physical endurance he has displayed
as a preacher. He has not unfrequently delivered four sermons or
homilies in one Sunday, besides preaching more or less frequently during
the week. These sermons are not thrown off on the spur of the moment.
E