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Wild, Rev. Joseph, M.A., D.D., Pastor of Bond street Congregational Church, Toronto, was born at Summit, Littleborough, Lancashire, England, on the 16th of November, 1834. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Joseph Wild, was one of the best of men—a thorough practical Christian, who was respected by all classes of the community in which he lived. It was a notable fact that no one passed from time to eternity without the prayers of Joseph Wild first being sought, and no funeral was considered complete without his being present at the ceremony. He dressed plainly, following the style of Bourne and Clowes, and other noted founders of the Primitive Methodist church. In manner he was simple, easily approached, kind, sympathetic, generous, and affectionate. His greatest concern seemed to be for children and aged people, and on all occasions he had a kind word to say to them as he passed through the streets or from his home to the chapel. As a preacher he was plain and conversational, his object seeming to be to show the best and nearest way to Heaven without the interposition of too many stiles. When he died his funeral was the largest ever seen in the village, and to this day his memory is revered. Rev. Dr. Wild’s mother was a kind and quiet woman, and lived to do her duty to God and her household, set her children a good example, and died in the favour and affection of her neighbours and kinsfolk. Coming from such a stock, we need not wonder that the doctor should now possess such a power in the pulpit and among the people. At an early age he began to earn a livelihood, and was apprenticed to the business of iron moulder and machinist. It is perhaps in consequence of the knowledge acquired in the workshop that he is now enabled to give occasionally such plain and practical illustrations, as the following will show: While he resided in Belleville, a fire having broken out, the fire engine would not work, and every one in the neighbourhood got alarmed and feared an explosion of steam—even the engineer deserted his post, and left the machine to its fate. The doctor, however, felt no alarm, and going to the engine made an examination and found that the piston rod had stuck, and at once put it to rights amidst the applause of the multitude, and for this the mayor and corporation passed him a hearty vote of thanks. Rev. Dr. Wild, although he had not all the educational advantages the young people of this country have, yet he was always considered sharp and intelligent, and when first licensed as a local preacher, was able to give the people something worth listening to. He was possessed of indomitable perseverance, and early adopted the motto, “What man has done, man can do again.” Possessed of an active brain, quick perception, a strong physical constitution, and a warm heart, England became too contracted for him, and he felt that Canada alone would be sufficient to satisfy his wishes and desires for thorough usefulness in the cause of God and humanity. Therefore, in 1855 he left fatherland, and made his home among strangers. Few men have landed in America under more unfavourable circumstances. He had no friends to meet him, and very little money in his pocket when he landed in New York. Shortly after his arrival he started on a tramp through some of the western and southern states, and having satisfied his curiosity with regard to those places, he resolved to see what Canada was like, and visit some friends who had lately arrived from the old country. With this desire he started, and soon reached the country of his successes and his triumphs. Here he became the subject of impressions convincing in their tendency, that it was his duty to thoroughly consecrate himself to the work of the ministry, and from that time he resolved to devote himself to the preaching of the gospel. He was denominationally connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, and received from it his first station in the city of Hamilton. After having served about a year in this place, he began to feel the great importance of the “high calling”—wished to be a minister of power, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” and believed that God’s work was a grand work calling for good, holy, and educated men. Being poor, he had not the means at his disposal to enable him to carry out his aspirations, but a friend kindly aided with money. He then made all the necessary arrangements, and went to the Boston Theological Institute, where he remained several years, and completed his course of literary, classical, and theological studies, graduating from that institution. On leaving college, he made arrangements to enter the Methodist church, South, but in consequence of the breaking out of the southern rebellion he was forced to abandon the idea. He then returned to Canada, and after having preached at Goderich for a year, he sailed for Europe, determined to gather up information from the various learned institutes of the eastern continent, and thereby prepare himself for a wider sphere of usefulness. In England, after his return there, he lectured and preached on many occasions, and was a wonder to the friends who had known him before he went to America. On his return from Europe, he received a station at Orono, where he preached for two years, and from this place he moved to Belleville, the seat of Albert University, where he remained about eight years. At this time the Genesee College conferred upon him the degree of M.A., and the Ohio Wesleyan University that of D.D. While stationed at Belleville, Rev. Dr. Wild did double work, acting as pastor of the Methodist Church and professor of Oriental languages in the university. At the time he went to Belleville the university was greatly embarrassed for want of funds, but he undertook the position of treasurer, and through preaching and lecturing succeeded in raising $20,000, and put the institution on a firm footing. During the years he was engaged at this work he refused to take one cent as remuneration for his services as professor or treasurer. Belleville to this day remembers him with pride, and the poor of the place with gratitude for the many kindnesses he showed them while he went in and out among them. Too close application to his many duties, and the loss of his valuable library and manuscripts by fire, wrought heavily on his mind, and he resolved to leave Belleville and re-visit Europe. In 1872, while preparing to leave, he was appointed a delegate from the Church in Canada to the conference of the Methodist church of the United States, which was to be held in the city of Brooklyn the same year. While attending this conference the doctor was invited to preach in the Seventh avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, and having done so, the congregation decided on giving him a call, which he accepted. Having served them three years, he then accepted a call from the Union Congregational Church, remaining with them for nearly six years. During the years he occupied the Brooklyn pulpit he was honoured with overflowing congregations. In 1880 he was invited to take charge of the Congregational Church, Bond street, Toronto, and decided once more on making Canada his home. When the Rev. Dr. Wild took charge of this work the congregation was small, an immense debt was on the handsome edifice which graces the corner of Bond street and Wilton avenue, and things generally wore a very discouraging aspect, but he had no sooner put himself at the head of affairs than a new impulse was given, and to-day it is one of the most thriving churches in Toronto—having a membership of nearly eight hundred, about a thousand seat-holders, the Sunday night congregations numbering often three thousand souls, and the debt on the sacred edifice reduced to a minimum. Without doubt the Rev. Dr. Wild is the most popular preacher at this moment in the Queen City of the West, and it is wonderful how he succeeds in holding the attention of the great numbers of people who come to hear him. The grand secret, however, is that the doctor never enters his pulpit unprepared. He honours his audience by refusing to foist on them a subject at hap-hazard. His very tread indicates confidence in his preparations, and his voice and gesture indicate the force of his own convictions upon himself. Rev. Dr. Wild is a little above the medium height, is very strongly built, has an erect and dignified carriage. His face is a remarkable one, and his features easily play to the run of his thoughts. He has a large brain, and a high and prominent forehead, and with his hair worn long and his flowing whiskers, he presents the picture of a man of careful thought and great physical endurance. He loves his friends, and is most kind, free and open to all, and, it may be added, he is the friend of all and enemy of none.