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 oS 
 
 LIBRA FlY 
 
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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLl NOI5 
 
 825 
 
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 ^
 
 THE 
 
 RECTOR OF AUBURN 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 AIL THAT I CAS SAY FOR MYSELF IS A DESIRE OP DOIKG GOOD, WHICH 
 IK IT WERE AS FERVENT IN RICHER HEARTS, THE CHURCH, WHICH NOW ME 
 SEE COMELY, WOULD THEN BE GLORIOUS. THIS HOKEST AMBITION HATK 
 CARRIED ME TO KKGLECT THE PEAR OF SEEMING PRODIGAL OF MY' LITTLE ; 
 AND WHILE I SEE OTHERS' TALENTS RUSTING IN THE EARTH, HATH DRAWN 
 MK TO TKAFPIC WITH MINE IN PUBLIC. 
 
 BISHOP HALL. 
 
 VOL. 
 
 LONDON : 
 SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL. STATIONERS' COURT ; 
 
 R. B. SEELEY AND "W. BURNSIDE, FLEET STREET ; 
 
 AND J. MITCHELL, RED LION COURT, FLEET .STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII.
 
 PRIKTED BT 
 L. AND O. SEELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURRKT.
 
 &S(3 
 
 % TO 
 
 THE VENERABLE GEORGE WILKINS, D.D. 
 
 ^ ARCHDBACON OF NOTTINGHAM, 
 
 r WHO, 
 
 THE FAITHFUL DISCHARGE OF HIS ONEROUS DUTIES, 
 HAS PROVED HIMSELF 
 THE STAUNCH AND ZEALOUS SUPPORTER 
 ^' OF THE CHURCH WHICH HE ADORNS ; 
 
 THE ORTHODOX DEFENDER OF HER RIGHTS 
 
 AND PRIVILEGES , 
 
 AND THE UNREMITTING GUARDIAN OF HER ALTARS ; 
 
 THESE VOLUMES, 
 
 DESIGNED TO PROPAGATE THE TENETS OF CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 \ ARE, 
 
 RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 BY HIS OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 It is a sad truism, and though of every- 
 day occurrence, not the less to be deplored, 
 that men, who suffer themselves to be ab- 
 sorbed in the busy affairs of life, seldom 
 discover the inclination, or, as they aver, 
 can spare the time, to devote to the perusal 
 of Scripture that decided attention, which is 
 obligatory upon all, who would ascertain its 
 precise drift and import. Others again, 
 who hang more loose upon the world, are 
 wont to plead in excuse for their neglect of 
 the Bible, that it is a dry and repulsive 
 study. 
 
 The Author of the following pages can 
 certify from his own experience, that few 
 employments have produced more heartfelt 
 satisfaction, than what he has inwardly felt 
 whilst grovmding himself in the evidences
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 of his religion ; a duty which no individual 
 should omit fulfilling, if, when the waters of 
 baptism have initiated him into the visible 
 Church of Christ, he would be a follower of 
 our Lord and Saviour, and enabled, when 
 called upon, to give a reason for the faith 
 and the hope which is in him. 
 
 But since the disinclination to search 
 the Scriptures, from whatever cause it may 
 arise, is not directly to be overcome by ar- 
 gument ; any innocent means may fairly 
 be adopted to undermine the barrier, 
 w'hich stands in the way of men acquir- 
 ing a knowledge of divine inspiration; 
 as an able officer will sometimes gain his 
 end by turning the enemies' flank, when an 
 open demonstration would be sure to fail. 
 
 In a similar spirit the Author ventures 
 to put forth the following w^ork ; where 
 the reader, attracted by a fireside picture, 
 not altogether, it is hoped, without interest, 
 may be perchance beguiled to learn and to 
 reverence the pure and unexceptionable 
 doctrines of the Church of England.
 
 PREFACE. VU 
 
 It need not be denied, nor in this inqui- 
 sitive age could it be concealed, that the 
 clergy are far from being unanimous in their 
 interpretation of divers passages of Scrip- 
 ture; — a consideration v^hich the Author 
 hopes will occur to the candid reader, 'ere 
 he reproach him for any apparent deviation 
 from orthodoxy, which peradventure a mi- 
 croscopic eye may here and there discover 
 in certain parts of the work. 
 
 At the same time, to prevent misappre- 
 hension, it should be observed, that the 
 Author is not conscious that he differs, in 
 any material respect, from the opinions 
 entertained by the highest authorities of 
 the church. It is to be regretted that any 
 diversity of sentiment should be found 
 amongst an order of men, whose holy cre- 
 dentials are in common, and who have the 
 same object at heart. But this can scarcely 
 be made a matter of surprise, still less of 
 scandal. Infinite are the original varieties 
 of human character, and as infinite the 
 modifications induced by education and cir-
 
 via PREFACE. 
 
 cumstances. It is not then without good 
 grounds that he indulges in the hope, that, 
 despite those lesser differences, the clergy 
 are actuated by the same sublime motives, 
 and alike moved by the living flame from 
 God's altar, in preaching fully to sinners 
 their redemption by Jesus Christ, and 
 thereby promoting largely, and in common, 
 the glory of the Almighty. 
 
 In recording opinions touching the eccle- 
 siastical polity of England, imbibed in his 
 early days and matured by time, the Author 
 has endeavoured to acquire the tone, and 
 to deliver himself in the spirit of true 
 Christianity. 
 
 It has been his sole aim to advance and 
 substantiate those doctrines, which he con- 
 scientiously believes, from much study and 
 after fervent prayer, to be in accordance 
 with the uniform tenor of Scripture. 
 
 His expositions may indeed prove a 
 stumbling-block to many of his readers ; 
 still he is inclined to rely upon receiving that 
 indulgence, which he^ who casts upon the
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 waters a book of this nature, would seem 
 almost entitled to claim. 
 
 He must, however, be permitted to prefer 
 one request, which is, that neither the 
 casual nor critical reader will pronounce 
 upon the merits or demerits of his slight 
 performance upon imperfect warranty, such 
 as the perusal of a part ; and that judg- 
 ment may not be passed until the whole has 
 been examined. 
 
 In conclusion, the Author would im- 
 press upon his readers, that the following 
 pages are not written in the spirit of con- 
 troversy, or designed to be offensive to 
 those who conscientiously may hold different 
 opinions. They have been composed with 
 the view of inducing others to follow his 
 example, and search the Scriptures for 
 themselves, and in the hope of staying, 
 according to his humble means, the tor- 
 rent, which, charged with all the collu- 
 vies of infidelity, is rolling its foul waters 
 over everything that is sacred, and should 
 be kept unsullied from every unholy stain.
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 If this little work succeed in the objects 
 which the Author has at heart, the can- 
 did reader will, he trusts, profit by his 
 research ; but should he fail, the conscious- 
 ness of having attempted to contribute to 
 his aid, feeble though it be, in such a 
 cause, will impart that inward satisfaction, 
 of which nothing earthly can ever deprive 
 him. 
 
 London, March 25, 1837.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE HERO 3 
 
 TITHES 25 
 
 THE ORPHANS 53 
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES 81 
 
 MORNING CALLS 155 
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST 219 
 
 REANIMATION 257 
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE 287 
 
 DOCTRINES 329
 
 THE HERO.
 
 THE HERO. 
 
 Dr. Truman was educated in the school of 
 severe discipline. His parents, unfortunately, 
 were led to exercise over his youthful mind an 
 authority, whose strictness did not arise from any 
 deficiency in that perfectly unselfish affection, 
 proper to their endearing relationship, but 
 from an over fondness and an anxiety which 
 only defeated its own purpose, and would 
 almost at times make themselves miserable. 
 Dr. Truman, when a boy, possessed a mind 
 which few children could boast of, and a heart 
 generous as it was kind. The restraint which 
 was put upon his actions at an early age, not 
 only tended to curb, but endangered breaking 
 his high and manly spirit. The sunshine of 
 
 B 2
 
 4 THE HERO. 
 
 the bosom was overcast, the first vintage of 
 his newly acquired senses of perception and 
 imagination was in a manner laid waste. And 
 how often do we find this to be the case ! 
 How many children at that epoch, which 
 should be the happiest of human existence, 
 when the mind is beginning to expand, are 
 thwarted and thrust aside from their innocent 
 desires by the caprice of their chartered 
 elders ? How many are punished and galled 
 with the iron yoke of despotism, when advice 
 and quiet reasoning would have been suffi- 
 cient? How many noble natures blighted in 
 their bud by the over-zealous parent or the 
 cruel schoolmaster ? Alas ! we fear too many. 
 Whoever has inquired diligently into the 
 annals of childhood, knows well, that at that 
 immature period of life, there are more 
 unheeded offerings of a broken heart before 
 the dark shrine of death, than occur after dear 
 bought experience has convinced the majority 
 of mankind of the futility and hoUowness of 
 this empty world. Although the mind of our 
 hero received many a rude shock from his 
 natural guardians, and although it bent almost
 
 THE HERO. 5 
 
 to breaking, beneath the hand of the preceptor, 
 to whose care he was consigned, still did it 
 rise above all these disadvantages. It never 
 succumbed in any humiliation. It never shrunk 
 to tyranny. It proved itself equal to all 
 inflictions. II pent prendre son parti. Dis- 
 mayed, trampled on, curbed, he yet nerved 
 himself to endurance ; with a pale smile after 
 every rebuff, would he recover his self-com- 
 placency ; and after having been struck to the 
 heart, his spirit would rebound with an elas- 
 ticity, almost indiscribable. Notwithstanding 
 this treatment, for many years in the dawn of 
 life, which would seem to have inferred the 
 ruin of his intellectual energies, our noble 
 hero grew up to manhood, gradually fulfilling 
 in the gaze of an admiring world the rich pro- 
 mise of his boyhood. Among all classes was 
 he beloved. The master spirits of the age 
 acknowledged his superior attainments, con- 
 fessed his talents and erudition, and were 
 proud to associate with him on a system of 
 equality. By the haughty and overbearing he 
 was held in awe and apprehension, whilst his 
 natural benevolence and kind feelings ever
 
 6 THE HERO. 
 
 prompted his charitable offices in behalf of the 
 poor man ; to him he proved himself a sincere 
 friend, and a christian advocate. But we will 
 not dwell longer upon his virtues, suffice it to 
 say, that as far as human nature permitted, he 
 was among the few faithful, and if not absolutely 
 faultless, at least his errors were only like 
 specks, that chequer the surface of some 
 splendid luminary, and are lost in the brilliancy 
 of its light. 
 
 After passing through the necessary routine 
 of education, and serving a village curacy. 
 Dr. Truman came into possession of a living 
 in a very populous town ; to this post he was 
 of course competent, and particularly qualified 
 to discharge its duties, as well from his profi- 
 ciency as a scholar, as from his resolute, though 
 mild disposition. To fill a situation of this 
 kind requires more nerve and zeal than fall to 
 the lot of the generality of men. Mere learn- 
 ing without resolution must inevitably sink 
 under the task ; and again the greatest zeal, 
 however supported by physical strength, must 
 fail in doing good, unless directed by a judi- 
 cious and cultivated mind. In order to become
 
 THE HERO. 7 
 
 a valuable and active minister in a populous 
 district, scholastic intelligence and zeal must 
 be under the guidance of sound discretion, 
 backed and supported by that undaunted 
 spirit and address, which no object could divert 
 and no machinations of the wicked depress or 
 humble. Dr. Truman had to contend against 
 heresy and schism, and the constant attacks 
 of the thoughtless and wicked, but fortunately 
 he possessed sufficient learning to refute the 
 one, and resolution and courage to withstand 
 the other : so that whatever opposition he met 
 with in performing his duty, did not produce 
 anxiety of mind, or tend to relax his spirit. 
 His energies enabled him to surmount every 
 difficulty, and in most instances to overcome 
 his most violent opponents. Dr. Truman, like 
 other clergy in large towns, had his enemies ; 
 and though such were, for the most part, far 
 beneath him in mental endowments, still did 
 he make it his study to try, in the mildest 
 manner, to convince them of their fault, or 
 remove their prejudice. If he failed in his 
 endeavour, he pursued that line of conduct, 
 which would necessarily terminate in a happy
 
 8 THE HERO. 
 
 issue. By these means he had often the pleasure 
 to convert the bitterest enemies of the church. 
 Besides having the trust of a large parish, 
 Dr. Truman, as the father of a numerous 
 family, had his domestic duties to attend to. 
 He had thus under his care two most respon- 
 sible charges ; the one without, of a serious 
 and arduous nature, and the other within, 
 equally binding and onerous. The care of a 
 large parish, even to the idle priest, is one 
 that requires no ordinary powers to rightly 
 manage, but Dr. Truman was very far from 
 being a drone in his office. He considered his 
 parishioners as his own children. Sooner 
 would he have sacrificed for ever his individual 
 happiness, than have omitted one single duty 
 which he owed to them. He was indeed a 
 father to them all. Often by the side of the 
 poor man's bed, as well as the rich, was he 
 found in genuflection, off'ering up prayers, and 
 invoking blessings from the Most High, to be 
 poured down upon the sick suff*erer. Often 
 would he pass the threshold of death and tem- 
 porary despair, when indeed that house was a 
 bouse of woe, and administer those heavenlv
 
 THE HERO. 9 
 
 comforts, which he derived from the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ. Often did he, like his Master 
 before him, raise the feeble hands, and wipe 
 away the moist tear, and cheer the desolate 
 widow, who was left in a harsh world, solitary 
 and forlorn. Often would he take under his 
 pure parental wing some virgin orphan, who 
 just entering life may have experienced the 
 two greatest losses which can befal a female, 
 that of a mother's tenderness, and that of a 
 father's protection ; and who treading this 
 dismaying wilderness alone, amid the snares 
 and scoffs of human kind, meets with no other 
 smile of sympathy to cheer her, no human 
 voice perhaps, save his, to bless. 
 
 Indeed Dr. Truman not only took all occa- 
 sions of mercy which offered themselves, but 
 went abroad, in search of the reprobate who, 
 would not, and he in chains, who could not, 
 come to him. Often would he seek the forlorn 
 captive, amidst the dismal complicated horrors 
 of his prison-house, (the abode of every cor- 
 ruption which poverty and wretchedness gene- 
 rate between them,) and pour the balm of 
 consolation into an almost despairing heart, 
 
 B 5
 
 10 THE HERO. 
 
 snatching him from that abyss of crime, which, 
 after swallowing up his temporal felicity, 
 yawned for his immortal soul. 
 
 In the self-approving consciousness of virtue, 
 would Dr. Truman dare at times the pestifer- 
 ous atmosphere of impurity. He would pierce 
 the central darkness of the brothel, and take 
 the drooping cyprian by the hand, by the magic 
 touch of sympathy melting the frozen heart of 
 infamy itself. He would wander, like an angel 
 of benevolence, in the unquiet haunts of wretch- 
 edness and gloom, would solace the melancholy 
 ritual of a sick bed, would press the sinner to 
 his bosom, (there was no contamination in the 
 contact, no defilement of the body, no pollution 
 of the mind,) would reveal to him the law 
 written on his heart, the privilege and the 
 indulgence of his nature. Would wring at 
 last, by the mellifluous accents of charity, the 
 tear of contrition from the sunken eye of the 
 fallen sufferer, stimulating the reluctant sob 
 of sensibility just quivering on his lip. Then 
 would he discover to him the vista of hope, and 
 in the prospect of futurity, point to ** another 
 and a better world." He would breathe com-
 
 THE HERO. 11 
 
 miseration in the ear of agony — infuse faith into 
 the bosom of despair — change the deep and 
 deadly curse of profligacy to the pious aspira- 
 tion of prayer. Yes ; his constant practice was, 
 even where he was ill requited, to go about 
 doing good ; and though his income was far 
 from adequate, still did he relieve the urgent 
 wants of those who needed pecuniary assis- 
 tance, and chase away the misery and beggary 
 which are too often to be found in the hut of 
 the poor man. By thus uniformly illustrating 
 in his own person, the character of the Chris- 
 tian pastor, he soon gained the respect of his 
 parishioners, and even the inveterate enemies 
 of the church were necessitated to admit that 
 Dr. Truman was indeed an example of piety 
 and virtue. Though he would often essay to 
 convert their ways, still did they grant that he 
 had no other end in view, than to make his 
 brethren happy, and to promote, to the utmost 
 of his ability, the glory of his Maker. 
 
 Besides the time and attention which Dr. 
 Truman bestowed upon his parishioners, he 
 was very far from omitting the duties, owing 
 to his family. To say that he was a good
 
 12 THE HERO. 
 
 parent, were small praise. He was kind and 
 indulgent, though not to excess. He hit the 
 right medium. With all his kindness he could 
 correct, and his indulgence was not of that 
 pernicious kind which was incompatible with a 
 due regard to the morals and education of his 
 children, whom he instructed in language, 
 adapted to their young apprehensions, and in 
 that tone of parental tenderness, to which God 
 has opened every fountain of the infant heart. 
 When at play he could, as a child, join in their 
 pastimes ; and when the time for study arrived, 
 with equal facility would he throw off the child, 
 and assume the office of preceptor. He brought 
 them up in ^' the nurture and admonition of 
 the Lord," and never allowed them to forget 
 that upon rising from, and going to their beds, 
 there was a duty owing to the Almighty, which 
 he claimed from his creatures as his universal 
 right. Every morning and evening he would 
 assemble his family, from the lowest menial, 
 around him, to return thanks to God for the 
 dispensation of his blessings, and to pray 
 through his Son for '* a new heart and a right 
 spirit," and a continuance of the same.
 
 THE HERO. 13 
 
 Thus was our hero's time wholly taken up in 
 the service of his Maker. Oh ! what under- 
 taking can be more honourable and delightful 
 than this ! to stand as a representative to the 
 Almighty, to proclaim the message of salva- 
 tion to lost sinners — to bring comfort to those 
 who are " weary and heavy laden" — to bring 
 Lome to the flock the long lost prodigals — to 
 infuse into the soul that peace " which 
 passeth all understanding" — to administer the 
 body and blood of Christ to sincere penitents — 
 and, at last, to receive that crown of glory 
 which fadeth not away, and which is as eter- 
 nal as the heavens. Can any calling be more 
 worthy of our attention ? Others may be the 
 means of accumulating greater stores upon 
 earth, *• of heaping up silver as the dust," 
 and thus ascertain their worldly interests, which 
 have a more powerful sway upon the minds of 
 thegreatbulk of mankind, than things spiritual, 
 but none can afford better opportunity of laving 
 up stores in heaven, where are joys incor- 
 ruptible, ** where neither moth nor rust doth 
 corrupt, and where thieves do not break 
 through and steal." But while on the
 
 14 THE HERO. 
 
 one hand the opportunity is great and advan- 
 tageous, the abuse of the privilege is awful. 
 With what sorrow and remorse must the 
 idle priest descend to the grave, after a life 
 spent negligently in the service of the Lord. 
 The punishment of the wicked is tremen- 
 dous, but what should be the apprehensions 
 of that man, who having sworn before God to 
 preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, has 
 committed violation against the most binding 
 of all oaths — has suffered the sheep to wander, 
 without stretching an arm to save them — has 
 permitted sinners to go down to the grave, 
 without having held out the hope of salvation, 
 by proclaiming the mercy of a crucified Sa- 
 viour. Dr. Truman avoided all remorse, con- 
 sequent upon a life led in the like manner, by 
 devoting his time, and strength, and power, to 
 his undertaking : and how happily did he 
 succeed ! He was not one of those who enter 
 into the holy office of the ministry with merely 
 secular views of preferment. His soul could 
 not be taken by surprise ; he was prepared to 
 surrender it whenever it should be required of 
 him, and lay himself down with the soothing
 
 THE HERO. 15 
 
 consciousness of having done his duty to his 
 God, his neighbour and himself. 
 
 The congregation of Dr. Truman consisted 
 of the most respectable class of people, and 
 one of his great objects in preaching, was 
 to adapt his style of language and delivery to 
 the meanest capacity ; so that there might not 
 be one amongst his hearers who did not 
 thoroughly understand the purport of his 
 discourse. While on the one hand, he 
 accommodated his turn of thought and diction 
 to the level of the most obtuse understanding; 
 he was mindful on the other, to exhibit such 
 talent and learning, as assured him of the re* 
 spectful attention of the more literate part of 
 his congregation. The sermons of the vene- 
 rable pastor were not what the world now 
 calls dry and moraly but were purely scrip- 
 tural in every sense of the word. They exhi- 
 bited the perverse nature of the creature, and 
 the benign love of the creator. They dis- 
 played man fallen in Adam, showed how he 
 was redeemed in Christ, and clearly demon- 
 strated how the Holy Spirit operates in jrre- 
 venting or assisting in his arduous struggle
 
 16 THE HERO. 
 
 between life and death : and then did they 
 conclude in a strain of eloquence which carried 
 away all hearts, arousing and alarming the 
 most supine, and bending down the unwilling 
 mind to conviction. 
 
 Nor did the Rector ever omit to inculcate 
 into the hearts of his hearers, the necessity of 
 fulfilling those moral obligations, due to God 
 and man. He considered them binding. He 
 argued, that unless these were duly and reli- 
 giously performed, that is, performed as 
 springing from a desire to obey the will of 
 God, and out of love to him, religion was all a 
 pretence, a mere pharisaical covering to im- 
 mask iniquity, and an outward display of god- 
 liness, while inwardly, all was mockery and 
 delusion. With these tenets it will not be a 
 matter of surprise, that the congregations 
 were exceedingly large. Every individual 
 was seen to hang upon the preacher's lips ; and 
 the closest attention and great eagerness, lest 
 a single word should escape, were visible in 
 all. Besides the eloquence and learning so 
 conspicuous in the sermons we refer to, they 
 were delivered with all that energy and fer-
 
 THE HERO. 17 
 
 vour, natural to the mind of Dr. Truman, so 
 that they invariably made the desired impres- 
 sion on his congregation. The glad tidings 
 flowed electrically from the uttering to the 
 listening heart, so that it was almost impos- 
 sible to do otherwise than to derive benefit 
 from the cheering announcement of the gos- 
 pel. He was an herald who proclaimed it, 
 with no feeble powers ; the whole blaze of 
 Christian light shone upon those people whom 
 he had to address. Christianity spread through 
 every heart, yielding those fruits which are 
 requisite for us to bear, before we can receive 
 the imperishable crown. Virtue was not hid, 
 but stood out on the pure brow of the believer. 
 Religion, the most prominent feature of his 
 hearers, was indeed the vital religion of the 
 soul, all the holy passions and graces were 
 brought into action, and resulting there- 
 from, the greatest good was effected. And 
 how could it be otherwise, when the example 
 of Dr. Truman in simplicity and loving-kind- 
 ness was in beautiful accordance with all he 
 uttered ? The omniscient sun looks not down 
 in all his round upon a more glorious specta-
 
 18 THE HERO. 
 
 cle, than that of such a benefactor expounding 
 the word of God to a circle of grateful hearers. 
 But, after all, there is no sermon on Chris- 
 tianity so eloquent as the silent appeal of a 
 Christian's life. It will cling and grapple 
 unto conviction, and though light as air, will 
 be strong as links of iron. It was here that 
 Dr. Truman was irresistible. Those who 
 knew him, the great majority of his congre- 
 gation, could trace him in his sermons. But 
 although the majority of Dr. Truman's parish- 
 ioners was grateful for his services, and bene- 
 fitted by his unremitting exertions, still were 
 there many who lived without God in the 
 world, and who on a sabbath day kept aloof 
 from his holy sanctuary. These were beyond 
 the Rector's power to retrieve ; but never did 
 he lose an opportunity which presented itself 
 of bringing the lost sheep to the fold, of 
 encouraging the wanderer with hopes of par- 
 don, and of animating him with the prospect 
 of a blissful eternity. By this means many 
 were found constant attendants at divine wor- 
 ship, who, before Dr. Truman's time, had 
 never entered a church ; these he, by gentle
 
 THE HERO. 19 
 
 means, had induced to attend regularly the 
 preaching of the gospel. There were indeed 
 a few on whom all argument was thrown away, 
 and who were deaf to the whisperings of their 
 heart, and the pleadings of Dr. Truman. 
 Others again there were, who being Dis- 
 senters upon principle, would have deemed 
 it a heinous offence to relinquish their peculiar 
 modes of worship. The parish which was 
 blessed by the superintendance of Dr. Truman, 
 contained many of this description of people, 
 who, although not adverse to the Rector per- 
 sonally, were inimical to the forms, discipline, 
 and doctrine of the Establishment, and not a 
 few felt so hostile to it, as to aim at its sub- 
 version ; whenever Dr. Truman, by accident, 
 encountered any of this denomination of people, 
 he always made a custom, as will be hereafter 
 shown, of communing with them, upon those 
 points wherein they differed. Dr. Truman 
 was assisted in his labours by two active 
 and zealous curates, not that he at all relaxed 
 from his work in consequence of these auxili- 
 aries, for they all stood equally in the duty ; 
 forty funerals per week was the average num-
 
 20 THE HERO. 
 
 ber, and every thing in the same proportion. 
 Every Sunday, from nine o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, until nine o'clock at night, were the 
 clergymen occupied with little intermission. 
 The Sunday School was the first thing which 
 invited their attention in the morning ; and 
 though in this department they might reckon 
 upon the assistance of the ladies, still was the 
 management of the whole under their control, 
 and only their presence would necessarily 
 ensure in the school the decorum and good 
 behaviour requisite. 
 
 It is the custom, more particularly among the 
 poor, to defer any work they may have for the 
 parson until the Sunday, consequently, the 
 duty on that day is exceedingly heavy. Mar- 
 riages, christenings, churchings, funerals, were 
 numberless. Often before the afternoon ser- 
 vice, forty or fifty mothers would be sitting in 
 the vestry, with the infant flock of Christ 
 ready to be brought to the font, and the infan- 
 tile chorus, as may be supposed, sounded far 
 from harmonious on the ear, but the sight of 
 so many little children born in sin, brought at 
 the same time to be reconciled to God, was
 
 THE HERO. 21 
 
 truly gratifying to the thoughtful and pious 
 spectator. There were seen the ministers of 
 the gospel receiving the infants in their arms, 
 and praying the Father mercifully to look 
 upon them, to wash them, and sanctify them 
 with the Holy Ghost, and to receive them into 
 the ark of Christ's church. While the God- 
 fathers and Godmothers, in the name of these 
 little ones, were to be heard, renouncing the 
 Devil and all his works, and promising obe- 
 diently to keep God's holy will and command- 
 ments. Oh ! this is a sight of all others 
 which must be truly consolatory to the Chris- 
 tian heart, recognising in the helpless little 
 ones, not the children of the dust alone, but 
 the heirs of immortality. 
 
 The labours which Dr. Truman underwent 
 in his parish, both mental and bodily, were 
 arduous in the extreme ; still it would have 
 been a much greater task for an active 
 mind like his, to have had no exercise or 
 employment. The scenes which he continu- 
 ally met with in his charge, were often trying 
 to his mild disposition, but he was always 
 possessed of sufficient courage to encounter
 
 22 THE HERO. 
 
 any opposition, and strength to overcome every 
 difficulty. All his actions were guided by 
 Christianity, and the Bible was to him the 
 rule and pattern of his life ; thus was he like 
 a great light set upon a hill, amidst a densely 
 populated district, to which every body looked 
 up, and which shed forth those heavenly rays 
 u[)on the hearts of all who came under its 
 influence. Such was our hero, and such will 
 he approve himself in the following pages.
 
 TITHES.
 
 TITHES. 
 
 The emolument which Dr. Truman derived 
 from the church over which he was Rector, 
 was in tithes, and, as is often the case, he only 
 received a tenth part of what was his due, but 
 he chose rather to submit to this, than to live 
 otherwise than in peace with his parishioners. 
 As he was sitting one morning in his study, 
 preparing for the following Sunday, Mr. David 
 Schoolbred was announced. Now David was 
 one of those rich farmers in the neighbourhood, 
 with whom the payment of Tithes could be of 
 very little consideration. Still he made it one 
 of great moment, because he objected to them. 
 It was his usual custom to pay them into the 
 Rector's bankers, but upon this occasion he 
 brought them himself. David Schoolbred was 
 c
 
 26 TITHES. 
 
 a very respectable farmer, naturally possessed 
 of good sound sense ; he had the advantage of 
 a good education ; in appearance he would not 
 be taken for a person of this description. He 
 was dressed in the habit of his country, being 
 a blue frock which entirely covered his under 
 dress ; though this, for a man in his situation, 
 was considered a shabby dress, still there was 
 something in his gait and manner, which 
 evinced respectability, and even bespoke the 
 gentleman. As soon as he was admitted into 
 the presence of the Doctor, and the usual com- 
 pliments and observations on the weather had 
 been interchanged, he took from his pocket 
 his leathern purse, out of which he drew a 
 few notes due to the Rector, and placed them 
 upon the table. * There,' said he, ' that is 
 what I believe you consider your right, it is 
 at all events what the law compels me to pay.' 
 * I have long wished,' replied the Rector, 
 * for the opportunity of submitting a few 
 observations to you upon this subject, because 
 I never knew you backward, however averse 
 to the payment of tithes, and I was the more 
 surprised at this, when I considered the quali-
 
 TITHES. 27 
 
 fications which you naturally possessed, and 
 also those which you have acquired by your 
 own industry.' 
 
 * Believe me, Dr. Truman,' said Mr. School- 
 bred, * that I never should be backward in the 
 payment of that which I considered to be 
 founded upon a just and fair principle. And 
 with respect to tithes, I am sure you will for- 
 give me, when I tell you, that the opinion I 
 always have entertained of them is, that they 
 are injurious and oppressive. Injurious to the 
 community at large, and oppressive to the 
 farmer.' 
 
 * Were you,' continued the Rector, ' one of 
 those who considered all religion as mummery, 
 and all priests impostors, my task of relieving 
 your mind from the impression under which it 
 labours, would be difficult, — but you are not. 
 You, I believe, are not in the habit of assenting 
 to any thing, till you are convinced of the truth 
 of it, and from the education which you have 
 had, it is the more astonishing to me, that you 
 never could reconcile the payment of tithes to 
 your conscience. How you consider tithes to 
 be injurious to the community at large, I am 
 
 C 2
 
 28 TITHES. 
 
 at a loss to conceive, and how they can be 
 oppressive to the farmer, I am the further 
 abroad.' 
 
 • I consider them,' replied Mr. Schoolbred, 
 
 * injurious, because they are the main cause 
 of all those envies, hatreds, and jealousies, 
 which often subsist between a clergyman and 
 his parishioners, and which, when they do, must 
 greatly tend to subvert that kind feeling which 
 should cement them together in each other's 
 affections, that the word of God may have its 
 due and proper effect.' 
 
 ' If this be the only fault,' said Dr. Truman, 
 
 * you have to find with tithes, the evil rests 
 with yourselves, not with us, for you cannot 
 for a moment suppose, that I should hold any 
 animosity against you, or any other tithe-payer, 
 simply because I was the receiver of that, 
 which is considered my lawful right. And 
 with respect to the oppression which the farmer 
 undergoes in having to pay his tithes, I must 
 observe, that for a moment, granting it be 
 oppressive, that oppression would be nearly 
 twenty times greater, were there no tithes at 
 all ; for in that case the owner of the laud
 
 TITHES. 29 
 
 would raise his rent, not in proportion to what 
 is now paid in tithe^ in the first instance by the 
 tenant, but which in reality falls upon the 
 landlord, but in proportion to the absolute 
 value of the estate, and thus would the farmer, 
 as fast as his landlord could renew his agree- 
 ment with him, be obliged to pay in addition 
 to his rent, twenty times as much as his tithe 
 now comes to, presuming a farm to continue 
 to let at a just and fair valuation.' 
 
 * It is not,' interrupted Mr. Schoolbred, 
 * the pounds, shillings, and pence to which 
 I feel repugnant, but to the system of tithes, 
 because I consider their operation fatal in 
 preventing the cultivation of poor soils, and 
 diminishing the outlay upon others. More- 
 over, I could never discover under what pre- 
 text clergymen claimed tithes as their lawful 
 right ; still less can I conceive upon what 
 grounds they can object to the state appropri- 
 ating to herself that revenue, which upon all 
 fair principles, as it seems to me, she has a right 
 to demand.' 
 
 ' I am glad,' replied Dr. Truman, * to hear 
 you speak out so boldly, this is at once coming
 
 30 TITHES. 
 
 to the point, and I doubt not, but that I shall 
 enlighten your mind upon the subject of tithes. 
 The observation which you have just made 
 involves two things : the one is the title to 
 tithes preferred by the church, and the other, 
 is the claim which the state seems inclined to 
 set up, to deprive her of them. Now the sim- 
 ple truth is, that the state has nothing what- 
 ever to do with them, and might with equal 
 justice remove your landmark, or purloin your 
 crop, as debar my receiving what you have 
 just paid me.' 
 
 * Indeed ! ' rejoined Mr. Schoolbred, ' since 
 the state in the first instance invested the 
 church with power by endowing her with a 
 tithe of the produce of the land, she retains 
 the right to reclaim the same, or to apply it to 
 other purposes.' 
 
 • That is a principle,' said the Rector, ' the 
 fallacy of which, a child at school would in- 
 stantly recognise. For one boy to make a gift 
 to his play-fellow, and afterwards require the 
 toy to be restored to him, under the plea that 
 he had not alienated his right, would be a 
 species of procedure which in a school of
 
 TITHES. 31 
 
 English lads, would quickly receive its meet 
 recompense : but in fact the state never did 
 give tithes to the clergy, and therefore they 
 have no pretensions whatever to alienate, much 
 less to convert them from their sacred purposes. 
 Tithes are as much the property of the church, 
 as your estate is yours ; nay, and I hesitate not 
 to affirm, that a better title can be made out to 
 them, than to any landed property in the king- 
 dom. You must be aware that in the pri- 
 mitive ages of Christianity, there were no 
 parochial divisions. But long before the inva- 
 sion of the Conqueror brought our church 
 into closer connection with Rome, the great 
 Saxon landowners, whose extensive domains 
 were so many independent territories, recog- 
 nizing the policy of having their vassals trained 
 in a faith which inculcated obedience, industry, 
 patience, and contentment, and perhaps feel- 
 ing a natural desire to retain always at hand 
 what spiritual aid they could command, built 
 churches upon their estates, and endowed 
 them for the maintenance of a resident priest. 
 Thus originated the wise and admirable 
 institution of tithes, whereby a tenth portion
 
 32 TITHES. 
 
 of the produce of all parishes, which in those 
 days were usually co-extensive with the estates 
 of the patron, were rescued to the end of time, 
 from the ordinary course of descent, the great 
 lord merely retaining to himself, his heirs and 
 assigns, the perpetual right of presentation to the 
 benefices, whenever they became vacant. This 
 they had aright to do ; and thus the annual pay- 
 ment of tithes became as much the property of 
 the appointed clergyman^ as the ordinary rent 
 of a farm paid by the occupier is the property of 
 the landlord. Thus, again, you perceive that 
 tithes were lawfully devoted to the support 
 of the church, from the earliest establishment 
 of Christianity in the country ; and that from 
 age to age, in the conveyance of landed pro- 
 perty, there has been transferred from father 
 to son, and from buyer and seller, not the 
 whole produce of the soil, but nine-tenths of 
 the produce, while the original gift remained 
 entire, or has been commuted for a quantity 
 of land equivalent to it. Hence no titles 
 to property are older or better establish- 
 ed : hence again, the dishonesty of those 
 who wish to deprive the church of what I con-
 
 TITHES. 33 
 
 ceive to be her inherent and undoubted pro- 
 perty.' 
 
 ' I can/ Mr. Schoolbred, after a pause, 
 hesitatingly made answer, * I can reconcile 
 this to my mind under the Jewish dispensation ; 
 but it appears to me that in these days, tithes, 
 like types and ceremonies, ought to be 
 abolished.' 
 
 * And where,' asked Dr. Truman, * do you 
 find a command to that effect in Scripture I 
 I know none. On the contrary, our Saviour 
 would seem to have sanctioned the payment 
 of tithes, when he said, '* Woe unto you, 
 Scribes and Pharisees ! for ye pay tithe of 
 mint J and anise, and cummin, and have omitted 
 the weightier matters of the law, judgment, 
 mercy, and faith : these ought ye to have done, 
 and not to leave the other undone." ' 
 
 * But, did not St. Paul,' demanded Mr. 
 Schoolbred, * preach without any remunera- 
 tion to the Corinthians and Thessalonians I ' 
 
 ' That is rather in favour of tithes than 
 otherwise,' replied the Rector, ' for the apos- 
 tle expressly insists upon his ' right to have 
 been burdensome, as an apostle of Christ,' and
 
 34 TITHES. 
 
 declares, ' / have robbed other churches, taking 
 wages of them to do your service,' but there 
 can be no dispute about the labourer being 
 worthy of his hire, for common justice concurs 
 with Scripture to assure us of it. 
 
 ' Again, how can the enforcement of the pay- 
 ment of tithes infer the least injustice or 
 oppression, seeing that every person who suc- 
 ceeds to an estate, whether by inheritance or 
 purchase, can only hold it on the implied con- 
 dition, that the tithes be paid to the church. 
 And whether it be lawful or otherwise for the 
 church to receive tithes, at all events there 
 can be no oppression in the proceeding, none 
 in the world, because the purchaser of an 
 estate will find a certain diminution in the 
 price, in consequence of there being a tithe 
 upon it. And the tenant will take care to 
 adjust his rent accordingly ; in truth, it is well 
 known that those estates which are tithe-free, 
 are let at considerably more in consequence, 
 and had there been a tithe, it would not have 
 made up the difference. And of course, Mr. 
 Schoolbred, you are conscious, that the pur- 
 chase-money which you paid for your property
 
 TITHES. 35 
 
 in this neighbourhood, would have been much 
 greater, had the land been tithe-free, and that 
 by several hundreds of pounds ; so that in 
 point of fact, you may congratulate yourself 
 on being every year several pounds in pocket, 
 in consequence of the tithe, for which you 
 have to thank my not enforcing by a twentieth 
 part that which is my right.' 
 
 Mr. Schoolbred seemed somewhat struck, 
 but presently again objected. * The term 
 benefice, in the feudal language^ not merely 
 signifies an emolument, but comprehends a 
 duty, and I would ask, whether it was not the 
 custom for the incumbent to support the poor, 
 as well as uphold the church ? ' 
 
 * Undoubtedly it may have been,' replied 
 the Rector, * at the time when the minister of 
 the parish received the full amount that was 
 due to him, but now, as I have observed, he 
 can count upon scarcely a twentieth part. 
 The church has been plundered of its propertv 
 to such an extent, and which property has 
 never been restored, that the clergy in these 
 latter days can scarce support themselves. 
 Give us back that which, under divers pre-
 
 3G TITHES. 
 
 fences, has been taken from us, and we will 
 readily engage to relieve all from the burden 
 of rates, whether for the poor or for the 
 cliurch. Instead of the clergy resorting to 
 modes of oppression, in the exaction of their 
 tithes, they themselves are the oppressed party, 
 being not only vilified by the ignorant, and 
 the necessitous poor who have nothing to lose, 
 but have their motives impugned, and their 
 legal rights invaded, by those, whose station in 
 life, and opportunity of acquiring information, 
 leave their conduct without any extenuation. 
 Take, as a single instance to exemplify what 
 we are discussing ; the income of ray rectory, 
 which is scarcely £600. per annum, and out of 
 which I have to assign an annual stipend of 
 j£100. to each of my curates, how could I, I 
 ask you, support the poor and keep the church 
 in proper repair, when already my indispen- 
 sable outlay exceeds by hundreds of pounds 
 my allotted means ; nor is mine a solitary 
 instance : the value of any Rectory or Vica- 
 rage in the land, would now-a-days be very 
 inadequate to effect those charitable offices, 
 and fulfil the purposes to which, when it was
 
 TITHES. 37 
 
 entire, it was fully proportioned. But sup- 
 pose tithe were to be done away with, the far- 
 mers would themselves be no gainers by the 
 abolition ; on the contrary, they would be 
 eventually considered losers, for so soon as 
 their existing leases were ended, the landlords 
 would make a point of raising their rents, and 
 thus saddle the cultivator with the payment 
 of a sum, larger than that the parson was con- 
 tent with. You perhaps may have heard the 
 answer made by the Devonshire farmer, upon 
 its being intimated to him, that were tithes taken 
 from the parsons, they would be given to the 
 landlord. Then, said he, / would rather they 
 should hide as they be, for I can always deal 
 better with the parson than I can with the 
 landlord' 
 
 • That,' said Mr. Schoolbred, ' cannot be 
 gainsaid.' 
 
 * But the question is narrowed to this 
 solitary issue,' rejoined the Doctor, ' whe- 
 ther a church, so unexceptionable in its arti- 
 cles, so immaculate in its order, and so lovely 
 in its rites, is to be upheld or not. If not, 
 then by all means do away with tithes, and
 
 38 TITHES. 
 
 take all emoluments, which appertain to the 
 Establishment, for the not less insane than 
 impious purpose of supporting Atheism, and 
 Deism, and Socinianism, and all kinds of ism, 
 but if on the other hand, the message of salva- 
 tion, and the joyful tidings are to be proclaimed 
 to the apostate sons of Adam ; if the heart- 
 cheering announcement is to be made known 
 to all nations, and if we are to derive comfort 
 and consolation from the vital truths with 
 which the gospel teems, not only as respects 
 this brief visionary scene, but those which 
 centre in the brighter realities of eternity, then 
 in God's name keep sacred the emoluments of 
 the clergy, count it sacrilege to touch them, 
 and be content and grateful that the Almighty 
 has appointed so easy a way in which sinners 
 can be directed to heaven.' 
 
 * Mistake me not for a moment,' said Mr. 
 Schoolbred, * I am not one of those who 
 would with sacrilegious hand tear down our 
 venerable churches to repair the roads, nor 
 could I patiently endure that the religion in 
 which I was born and bred, should be driven 
 from the land ; on the contrary, I would srive
 
 TITHES. 39 
 
 my whole heart and soul to avert the danger. 
 I would lay down my life to assist, even in a 
 small degree, in extending the knowledge of 
 the Lord. Gracious heaven ! should the time 
 ever come when the future shall be disbur- 
 thenedofits fear, and mankind, deeming re- 
 ligion mummery, turn from their God like the 
 Israelites of old, then, indeed, would the 
 law be broken, and lose its force, sin drop its 
 heinousness, and heaven and earth be set 
 adrift from one another : conscience would 
 be flung from her moorings, and life (if indeed 
 existence it could be called) would go on just 
 the same as if God had overlaid it with no 
 rule, and required of it no account. Then 
 would darkness overspread this lost earth ; 
 then would follow unmitigated sorrow, blighted 
 hope, absent consolation, absolute misery, and 
 utter despair. 
 
 * Feeling these truths so deeply as I do, 
 believe me, at the peril of my life, I would 
 uphold religion ; and make every sacrilice to 
 defend the clergy against the world, and, were 
 it necessary, the last drop of blood in my veins 
 should be spent, before I would permit aught
 
 40 TITHES. 
 
 but respect and honour to wait upon the most 
 respectable and the best educated of men. To 
 speak plainly, I love my Saviour, my Bible, 
 and my Church, but I entertain well-founded 
 objections to the mode in which the generality 
 of the clergy are remunerated. And really, 
 if the dissenters have one advantage over us, 
 it is in their superior regulations in this regard. 
 I am quite satisfied, from what you, Dr. Tru- 
 man, have adduced, that tithes belong by right 
 to the clergy, but I can never allow, but that 
 there is much room for reform on that head.' 
 
 * The latter part of what you have just ob- 
 served,' returned the Doctor, * I can very 
 readily assent to. Tithes are assuredly a mode 
 of collection peculiarly calculated to generate 
 ill will, and therefore one which the church is 
 al least as anxious to get rid of, as any body 
 else. If tithe-payers would give up a quantity 
 of land upon a fair valuation, in lieu of tithe, 
 the result would be most advantageous to both 
 parties, angry feelings would be allayed on all 
 sides, and thus would clergymen be enabled 
 to effect more good. But to your assertion, 
 that the dissenters have the advantage of us
 
 TITHES. 41 
 
 in the mode of paying their ministers, I must 
 be allowed to demur. If the clergy, one and 
 all, were simultaneously to surrender the tithe 
 of which you so disapprove, and depend upon 
 their congregations for, as it would prove, 
 supplying the necessities of a bare subsistence, 
 only those towns and villages would benefit by 
 the preaching of the gospel, which could main- 
 tain a minister ; the churches elsewhere would 
 fall to decay, no educated man being miserable 
 enough to accept the cure. Thus innumerable 
 villages and hamlets would be left without any 
 instruction at all. The lower classes, for the 
 most part, would be ignorant of the essentials 
 of religion. The opinions of all would be 
 perilously shaken and unsettled ; and deprived 
 of their old teachers, generations would grow 
 up in a state of doubt, and fall from doubt 
 into disbelief. Thus would thousands upon 
 thousands descend into eternity as they had 
 lived, like beasts that perish, and that simply, 
 because they were unable to accede to the 
 terms of the minister. And it would be a 
 natural consequence, that the living waters of 
 life would be doled out in proportion to the
 
 42 TITHES. 
 
 pay. Would not this furnish no light induce- 
 ment for the most able preachers to direct their 
 labors, not where the gospel was wanted the 
 most, but where the harvest, in a pecuniary 
 point of view, promised the greatest results. 
 Again, the doctrines which the hired ministers 
 would be obligated to promulgate, must neces- 
 sarily be accommodated to the tastes and 
 fancies of that part of their congregations 
 which were the best payers. From hence 
 would spring up behind the ceded barriers of 
 the Establishment, a vile spawn of sectaries, 
 who, distorting the texts, and warping the 
 tenets of holy writ, would accommodate God's 
 word to the crude, conceited, and even blas- 
 phemous opinions of certain of their congre- 
 gations. 
 
 * The minister, — pastor no longer — would 
 be under a strong temptation, looking to the 
 wants of his family, to eclipse the rays of 
 truth, and please, not his master, " which is in 
 heaven," but his fellow creatures, upon whom 
 he would feel himself entirely dependant. 
 This humiliating remembrance would inevitably 
 militate against his discharging his religious
 
 TITHES. 43 
 
 duty with that freeness and fearlessness with 
 which the gospel of Jesus Christ should ever 
 be proclaimed. And the messenger of God, 
 commissioned to call sinners to repentance, 
 speaking no longer as one conscious of his high 
 credentials, with authority and power, would 
 find his ministry, to all the intents of vital 
 religion, as ineffectual as it would be tem- 
 porizing and heartless. 
 
 But this further evil would ensue. How 
 many speculators would qualify themselves for 
 orders, starting from behind their counters, 
 and erecting buildings from the profits of their 
 shops, for the purpose of distinguishing them- 
 selves, in the richest towns in the kingdom ; 
 and these tabernacles (consecrated or not as 
 might happen) could not be supplied by the 
 most judicious candidates, but by such as 
 could make the speculation answer the best. 
 Thus would the church of Christ be infested 
 with a parcel of money makers, and the system 
 reduced to one of pounds, shillings, and pence. 
 We retain in our church, according to the 
 opinions of many wise and devout men, some- 
 what too much of Catholic observances ; but
 
 44 TITHES. 
 
 at least, the arched roof, the cathedral state, 
 the human voice, and all the powers of evan- 
 gelic harmony, as yet combine to give a soul to 
 duty, and sway the senses to salvation. But 
 what plea can be urged in favour of an exhi- 
 bition, which would be only the straining of 
 every nerve to secure the dross of this world, 
 not the treasures of the next. Religion would 
 be made a cloak for avarice, and in effect be 
 rendered odious, and all pretence to piety 
 would soon be suspected. Recourse would be 
 had to every species of excitement, in order to 
 attract a congregation, and thus to obtain con- 
 tributions. See how the system fails among 
 the dissenters ; the scanty stipend they dole 
 out, I admit frequently to unqualified incum- 
 bents, must operate greatly to the decay of 
 learning. Many of those whose high literary 
 acquirements have been the result of years of 
 application at considerable cost, find their ser- 
 vices estimated at a lower rate than those of a 
 menial domestic. I could name ministers, 
 connected, by their talents and character, with 
 the higher classes of society, who, owing to 
 the meanness of those for whom they labour,
 
 TITHES. 46 
 
 * waste ' their lives * by slow degrees,' in seclu- 
 sion from the world, on a miserable pittance. 
 I know of others unto whom the temptation 
 has proved too strong, and who, by keeping 
 pace in expence with their friends and asso- 
 ciates more happily circumstanced, have pre- 
 pared for themselves a load of trouble and 
 anxiety, and many such have gradually sunk 
 under the weight into an untimely grave. It 
 is clear that this illiberality, so prevalent 
 amongst those who volunteered to maintain 
 their own pastors, is highly derogatory to their 
 character ; and if persevered in will indubita- 
 bly tend to the degradation of the dissenters as 
 a body, to the disparagement of learning and 
 knowledge, and consequently inflict a serious 
 injury on the cause of truth itself. And let 
 me ask, what think you would be the issue, if 
 this sort of optional largess wer^e to become 
 the universal and only system in the land. 
 Would it not indeed be in the words of Tacitus 
 — ' eventu tristia ? ' 
 
 * My opinion,' replied Mr. Schoolbred, * is, 
 that we cannot form an accurate judgment on 
 the principle, until it be universally tried.'
 
 46 TITHES. 
 
 * But why,' rejoined the Rector, * incur the 
 risk of abolishing one system which answers so 
 well, in order to establish another which might 
 bear in its train irremediable vices ? You must 
 admit, that there would be a chance of volun- 
 tary contribution not proving so successful as 
 they who recommend its adoption sanguinely 
 anticipate ; and let me ask, is religion so 
 light a matter as to be left subject to chance I 
 Are we to do away an unobjectionable system, 
 through a vague hope that another may turn 
 out more profitable, and perhaps give greater 
 satisfaction, although the probability is of its 
 engendering extreme disgust and discontent ? 
 Is religion a trivial thing, that it may be 
 reduced to a mere speculation ? Are we to 
 incur the risk of losing souls for the sake of 
 essaying a new fangled scheme, which how- 
 ever has been tried, and is tried every day, and 
 in nine cases out of ten, is inoperative. Oh ! 
 no, Mr. Schoolbred, if any improvement could 
 have been effected, or were any reform needful 
 as respects the emoluments of the clergy, be 
 assured the fact would not have escaped the 
 vigilance of so many centuries ; but men, for-
 
 TITHES. 47 
 
 sooth, are wiser than of yore, and what our 
 ancestors would have shrunk from desecrating 
 by a touch, thousands in these latter days 
 would not scruple to overthrow.' 
 
 ' What you have just advanced,' said Mr. 
 Schoolbred, * has I confess a great effect upon 
 my mind, and is certainly worthy of further 
 consideration, but there remains yet one argu- 
 ment on my side, the force of which you can 
 scarcely evade. I allude to the system of 
 paying ministers voluntarily, advancing learn- 
 ing, and inducing industry on their parts, an 
 incentive which would be wanting, were they 
 secure of remuneration from a regular source, 
 and at certain periods.' 
 
 ' I hope,' interrupted the Rector, * you do 
 not mean to insinuate that there is any lack of 
 energy and exertion in our ministers, because 
 they receive their emoluments from appointed 
 funds, for I am persuaded that there exists not 
 a race of men more active and more strongly 
 influenced by the desire of doing good, than 
 the clergy of the Established Church. But 
 my dear Sir, were ministers to use energy and 
 activity, only for the sake of voluntary contri-
 
 48 TITHES. 
 
 butions, these men would be unworthy of the 
 name of Christian Divines, and it would be 
 " better for them that a mill-stone luere hanged 
 about their necks, and that they were drowned 
 in the depths of the sea.*' Excuse me speak- 
 ing so pointedly, but believe me I speak 
 feelingly.' 
 
 ' You greatly misapprehend me,' replied Mr. 
 Schoolbred, * I meant not to infer that energy 
 and exertion should arise solely from a desire 
 of augmenting the amount of the voluntary 
 subscription, but that this being one of the 
 objects in view, more systematic energy and 
 exertion would be excited than a stipulated 
 payment, flowing from some established fund, 
 would be likely to occasion.' 
 
 * That but little modifies your former obser- 
 vation, returned the doctor, ^you have only 
 substituted a part for the whole. You place 
 voluntary donations as one of the objects, which 
 the minister proposes to himself, when he calls 
 into requisition his best energies. Now T wiil 
 maintain that the zealous preacher of the Gos- 
 pel can have no other end in view than the 
 salvation of souls. And he whose energy and 
 
 #
 
 TITHES. 49 
 
 exertion spring only from a love of lucre or of 
 popularity, is as unfit for a minister of Jesus 
 Christ, as a child to lead a large army to vic- 
 tory. I will grant you, and that readily, that 
 any extraordinary zeal of the minister in dis- 
 charging the duties of his holy office, tends to 
 draw a large congregation, but unless the 
 motive which impels his exertion and energy 
 be the glory of God, they can never produce 
 their desired effect. It takes little to excite 
 the generality of people ; and when men are 
 once excited, where will they not go to 
 have their ears tickled, while their hearts are 
 far from being touched. Many attractions 
 may cause a full church, but unless peo- 
 ple attend the preaching of the Gospel with 
 a proper feeling, how can they expect to derive 
 spiritual consolation, and ensure the presence 
 of the Saviour, who has promised ** to he 
 amongst those wJio meet together in his 
 name ? " 
 
 ' I cannot controvert your argument,' said 
 
 Mr. Schoolbred, * the attempt would be idle 
 
 to impugn it, nevertheless, as I promised you, 
 
 I will give the subject my best consideration.* 
 
 D
 
 50 TITHES. 
 
 ' God grant,' replied the Rector, ' that it 
 may have a happy result.' 
 
 Here Mr. Schoolbred took his leave, in a 
 more thoughtful mood than on his entrance, 
 and betook himself to the ordinary occupation 
 of his farm.
 
 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 D 2 
 
 # S.T.o..umaB
 
 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 Amongst the many virtues which distin- 
 guished Dr. Truman, that of charity, as we 
 have already intimated, was not the least 
 remarkable. He felt that the habitually inter- 
 esting himself in the welfare of his fellow- 
 creatures was the highest possible command 
 promulged by infinite power, and the highest 
 imaginable interest held out by infinite wisdom. 
 On this conviction he acted. To the utmost 
 of his ability he cherished worth wherever he 
 found it, thus augmenting the great mass of 
 individual happiness, and by condolence and 
 sympathy he would alleviate the burden of 
 individual wretchedness ; and, to the extent of 
 his means, considered it his bounden duty to 
 relieve the indigence of his parishioners. His
 
 54 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 purse was always open to their urgent wants, 
 and at the head of every list of subscribers for 
 the relief of sufferers was his name to be found. 
 To the different hospitals and infirmaries did 
 he lend his pecuniary aid, and he possessed 
 such a method of exercising his charity, that 
 his right hand hardly knew what his left hand 
 did. His benevolence proceeded not from any 
 principle of ostentatious display, but from a 
 truly Christian spirit. As a proof of kind 
 feeling, when at College he had formed an 
 acquaintance with a man, almost if possible 
 the counterpart of himself, this gentleman held 
 a living but a few miles from Dr. Truman, 
 consequently the same friendship and intimacy 
 was observed between them as constituted much 
 of their happiness when at the university. 
 Mr. Blaclock had an only daughter, who long 
 before she could estimate the real value of her 
 loss, was deprived of her parents, by an infec- 
 tious disease which carried them both off in the 
 same week. Dr. Truman, out of respect for 
 the memory of his friend, took the child into 
 his own house, and she was indeed unto him as 
 a daughter. The first words which she prat-
 
 THE ORPHANS. 55 
 
 tied out were papa and mamma, and never 
 were those endearing appellations more appli- 
 cable, than to Dr. and Mrs. Truman from the 
 mouth of Julia. They made no distinction 
 between her and the rest of the children — the 
 same masters directed her studies — the same 
 colored cloths adorned her person, and the 
 same kind hand was ever over her, as shielded 
 those whom she was wont to style her sisters 
 and brothers. 
 
 The personal and mental advantages which 
 Julia Blaclock possessed were truly great. 
 She was one of those dark beauties which 
 arrest the attention of every beholder. And 
 while her large dark eyes flashed with a kind 
 of fire expressive of her heart, they bespoke 
 mildness and amiability, her predominant cha- 
 racteristics. Her whole form and gait were 
 eminently elegant, and she appeared altoge- 
 ther, as if more than ordinary care had been 
 bestowed upon her by the Maker of us all, 
 that she might surpass in beauty and loveliness 
 the rest of her sex. The outward advantages 
 which Julia possessed were not to be compared 
 with those which she, with the assistance of
 
 56 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 nature, had acquired from a close application 
 to the different branches of female education. 
 As a bud, when brought into a warm tempera- 
 ture, opens and displays the beauties of nature, 
 exhaling those perfumes and fragrances which 
 cause so much delight, so did the mind of Julia 
 under the fostering care of Dr. and Mrs. 
 Truman expand and develope those virtues 
 and qualifications, which endeared her to all 
 with whom she was connected. Naturally she 
 was kind, generous, and feeling; quick in 
 perception, and clever at every thing she 
 undertook. In short she was one of those who 
 seem born to excel, and often to surpass 
 expectation. After accompanying the Miss 
 Truman's in their morning visits to the poor, 
 she would employ her time with music, draw- 
 ing, and the other fine arts, accomplishments 
 which render women such desirable and cheer- 
 ful companions to soothe the cares and troubles 
 to which men are naturally exposed. She 
 indeed grew up the admiration of all who knew 
 her, not only on account of her great beauty, 
 but her mild and amiable disposition. 
 
 While the ladies were seated after their
 
 THE ORPHANS. 57 
 
 breakfast, over their work, the conversation 
 turned upon the different accomplishments 
 which adorn the female character. Some con- 
 sidered the acquirement of one art to be supe- 
 rior to another while others differed in their 
 opinion. Julia, who was a proficient both in 
 music and drawing, gave the preference to the 
 latter, while Miss Truman contended that 
 music bore the palm. 
 
 ' Is not music,' said Miss Truman, * the 
 charm of the soul ? does it not cheer us in 
 those hours of listlessness, when we need some 
 kind of excitement to save us from the insi- 
 dious encroachments of what, since the English 
 language can furnish no word equally express- 
 ive, I must e'en call ennui. Oh ! what power 
 is there in music, it not only affects the ear, 
 but it touches the heart, it braces the nerves 
 and puts spirit through the whole frame. 
 Drawing does none of these, drawing pleases 
 the eye and that is all. But you must remem- 
 ber Moore's beautiful lines upon music. 
 
 ' When through life unblest we rove, 
 Losing all that made life dear, 
 
 Should some notes, we us'd to love 
 In days of boyhood, meet our ear ; 
 D 5
 
 58 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 Oh ! how welcome breathes the strain, 
 Wakening thoughts that long have slept. 
 
 Kindling former smiles again, 
 
 In faded eyes, that long have wept. 
 
 Like the gale, that sighs along 
 
 Beds of oriental flow'rs, 
 Is the grateful breath of song, 
 
 That once was heard in happier hours. 
 Fill'd with balm, the gale sighs on. 
 
 Though the flowers have sunk in death : 
 So when pleasure's dream is gone, 
 
 Its memory lives in music's breath ! 
 
 Music ! oh ! how faint, how weak. 
 
 Language fades before thy spell ! 
 Why should feeling ever speak. 
 
 When thou can'st breathe her soul so well ? 
 Friendship's balmy words may feign. 
 
 Love's are e'en more false than they; 
 Oh ! 'tis only music's strain 
 
 Can sweetly sooth, and not betray ! ' 
 
 * But I am surprised, dear Julia, to hear 
 that you give the preference to drawing, en- 
 joying, music, so much as you do.' 
 
 ' I love music,' replied Julia, * it is indeed 
 as you say, the charm of the soul, but without 
 limiting its powers, T must contend that draw- 
 ing is the more useful and gratifying accom- 
 plishment. By the art of drawing, the most
 
 THE ORPHANS. 59 
 
 beautiful landscape can be brought before us 
 in a small compass ; by the art of drawing, our 
 long-lost friends breathe again, and are ever 
 before us, and when the artist is no more, the 
 performer lives in the performance, just like a 
 sculptor who chips and hews the rude marble, 
 till the cold stone grows animate beneath his 
 promethean touch : not so I think in music, 
 when the musician is gone, those tones which 
 were admired for their sweetness or their beau- 
 tiful touch, — those tones, which erst would 
 waken a responsive chord on that sympathetic 
 instrument, the human heart, which would 
 stimulate the starting tear, and urge the plain- 
 tive sigh, vibrate no longer on the ear.' 
 
 * Nay,' rejoined Miss Truman, ' if he be a 
 composer, does he not survive in his compo- 
 sition t ' 
 
 . * Only so long,' answered Julia, * as fashion 
 shall keep him alive ; but a picture, the older 
 it becomes, the more is its value enhanced. 
 Situated as I am, I may be prejudiced in 
 favour of drawing. For, alas ! do I not owe 
 to art all that I have ever seen of the dear 
 authors of my being ? Can you not conceive
 
 60 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 then how invaluable those two portraits must 
 be to me ? Music indeed affects the feelings, 
 but believe me, they, — Oh ! they come home 
 to the inmost soul of sensibility. Nor/ sub- 
 joined the excited girl, after a pause, * Nor do 
 I apprehend that I am a solitary instance. 
 Oh! 
 
 ' Blest be the art that can immortalize, 
 The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim 
 To quench it.' 
 
 as Cowper says.' 
 
 Here the feelings of the susceptible orphan 
 were so overcome, that Miss Truman deemed 
 it necessary to change their current, and pro- 
 posed a walk to visit some of the neighbouring 
 poor. In the parish which makes the locale 
 of our story, were established, what are every 
 day becoming more prevalent. Ladies* Visiting 
 Societies : each set of ladies were confined to 
 their respective district^ within which they 
 would take it by turns to administer relief to 
 those who stood most in need of assistance. 
 Thus, after the clergyman had applied that 
 healing balm to the lacerated soul, which it 
 Mere vain to seek from any other source, save
 
 THE ORPHANS. 61 
 
 the consolations of religion, the ladies would 
 step in, and supply those craving wants which 
 press so hardly upon our fellow-creatures, 
 who, sunk in the abject depths of penury, and 
 wasted by disease, too often have not where- 
 with to procure sufficient, to save them 
 from perishing through very inanition. The 
 visitors of these societies made it a point never 
 to countenance idleness. They knew that it 
 is one of the mysterious ordinations of a kind 
 providence, that every human being should 
 derive his own subsistence by the sweat of his 
 own brow, and therefore they limited the objects 
 of. relief to those poor creatures, whose acti- 
 vities, from age, or from disease, or, in short, 
 from any disabling infirmities, have been de- 
 stroyed. Especially would they have an eye 
 to those worn-out and decrepid beings, who, 
 in the last stage of human debility, hover on 
 the verge of the grave, and whose sense of 
 suffering can alone, in reality, be alleviated by 
 the prospect of death, and of the life to come. 
 Whether the tide of public prosperity ebb or 
 flow, these poor wretches remain alike forlorn 
 and stationary, and obscure. The swelling
 
 62 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 waves of human vicissitude roll on unmarked 
 over their heads, and agitate with no percep- 
 tible ruffle the stagnant abyss of their humble 
 lives, like the sea-weed, still vital and afloat, 
 though fixed and withering on the rock, in the 
 profoundest depths of ocean, far, far beneath 
 the influence of sunshine, or the desolation of 
 storm, too low to sink, too fast to be ejected, 
 till the hand of time plucks them by the roots, 
 and casts them on the shore of eternity. To 
 such like ministering angels would they lend 
 their ear, hearkening to all their complaints, 
 and endeavouring to soothe and satisfy them 
 by encouragements, as well as by pecuniary 
 aid. And who so well fitted for such an occu- 
 pation as woman, — whose heart so soon to be 
 melted into compassion as woman's ! whose 
 hand so ready and anxious to banish misery 
 and hunger, from the cold hut of cheerless 
 poverty, as that of woman's. Ah, she, the 
 most feeling, the most sensible, the most amia- 
 ble, and the greatest possessor of all virtues 
 which adorn humanity, was indeed the last, 
 but assuredly the best of nature's gifts. 
 
 Shortly after the ladies had left the Rectory,
 
 THE ORPHANS. 63 
 
 a gentleman of the name of Harry Seymour 
 waited upon Dr. Truman ; the object of whose 
 visit proved to be one of interest. Mr. Sey- 
 mour was a man, who, at an early age, had 
 succeeded to his father's large fortune. At the 
 period we introduce him to the reader, he 
 was six and twenty, and during the five years 
 since he had been put into possession of his pro- 
 perty, he had by his improvidence and prodiga- 
 lity greatly diminished it. While Harry was 
 under the control of his parents, he was 
 receiving a good education ; but soon after 
 their decease, he laid aside his studies, and 
 abandoned himself to every description of 
 folly and extravagance. For one year he 
 sojourned at Oxford, but soon becoming tired 
 and disgusted with the exacting discipline of 
 his college, he quitted that seat of learning, 
 to take up his abode where he might give full 
 license to his passions, and partake, " without 
 circumscription and confine^" of the unhal- 
 lowed illusions of the world. Harry Seymour 
 had long lived, as the phrase goeth, '* on the 
 tawny'' he had no fixed abode in London, his 
 club-house was the place whither his letters
 
 64 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 were addressed, but the gaming-house was 
 the haunt where he was most likely to be 
 found. In short, there were few localities 
 noted for folly and vice in the metropolis, 
 which did not * prate of his whereabouts' It 
 may excite surprise, that with all these disad- 
 vantages, Harry should be admitted into the 
 best society. This was partly owing to the 
 world remaining in ignorance of his manner of 
 living, or at least as to the extent of his dissi- 
 pation. Being respectably connected, and 
 possessed of a large fortune, which however he 
 had considerably lessened, boasting no ordinary 
 personal advantages, he was commonly es- 
 teemed a promising and very fine young man. 
 The ladies looked upon him with interest, 
 the only feeling which he inspired in their 
 bosoms, being that of pity. ' What a pity it 
 is,' they would remark, * that a man, endued 
 with such agreeable qualities, should be so 
 wild, and at the same time so delicate.' 
 Little did they think, that the pallid counte- 
 nance, the sunken eye, the care-worn brow, 
 and the emaciated figure, were caused by 
 debauch upon debauch of the lowest descrip-
 
 THE ORPHANS. 65 
 
 tion. But even with rake stamped upon his 
 physiognomy, he was an imposing personage, 
 standing full six feet high, a physical pre- 
 eminence, which the sex is extremely apt to 
 overrate. He was well proportioned, and 
 his handsome and manful look yet shone 
 through the haggardness which he had fixed 
 upon his countenance, by his own foolish 
 courses. Besides the advantages which nature, 
 with a liberal hand had lavished upon his per- 
 son, he had acquired that elegant prevailing 
 mein, that maniere d'etre, by the means of 
 which he knew how to insinuate himself into 
 any one's favour, who was not aware of the 
 extent of his delinquencies. Many an anxious 
 mother looked up to Harry in the fond hope 
 that she was about to receive the proposal for 
 her daughter's hand. Never would they 
 patiently hear of his follies, averring that it 
 was through jealousy that he was so traduced. 
 They would indeed allow, that he might have his 
 lapses like other young men in his * unhoused 
 free condition ; ' but, said they, it would all 
 be remedied when the ^^/ace?^* uxor should 
 sustain his better purposes, by the softening
 
 66 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 sense and silken trammels of a virtuous home. 
 How miserably did they deceive themselves 1 
 How could they surmise, how many were the 
 victims whom he had seduced and brought to 
 wretchedness, but maternal solicitude, kindled 
 by hope, kept alive in them the earnest desire 
 that Harry's first proposal of sincerity might 
 be to them. No mean or ordinary person 
 would do for Harry Seymour, he had fixed his 
 affections upon one, the most beautiful of her 
 sex, the most amiable, the most replete with 
 fascination that nature, in her utmost prodigali- 
 ty, ever produced. Julia Blaclock, was the 
 object of his love. But her fine and delicate 
 mind could not reciprocate his attachment. 
 Though on the one hand, she could appreciate 
 his elegant manners, and esteem the few 
 virtues which be still retained ; on the other, 
 she could not but abominate those follies and 
 vices which were so conspicious to those, who 
 had sufficient moral taste to discern them. 
 Moreover their characters presented a striking 
 contrast. Julia was quiet and domesticated — 
 Harry gay and rakish, so that possessing such 
 opposite qualities, they would seem very ill-
 
 THE ORPHANS. 67 
 
 suited for each other's society. It was not 
 for her qualifications and acquirements that 
 Harry admired Miss Blaclock, but on account 
 of her excessive beauty. He could not suf- 
 ficiently restrain his ardour, to persuade him- 
 self that that must fade, but whenever the 
 visible fascinations of any lady recommended 
 her to the eyes of Harry, that moment his rea- 
 son would leave him, and passion prevail 
 over his discretion. Julia was no stranger to 
 Harry Seymour. From children they had 
 known each other, and the circumstances of 
 their often meeting at parties in the neighbour- 
 hood, afforded him favourable opportunities 
 of whispering into the ear of Julia, the secret 
 desire of his soul ; but upon our sensible and 
 amiable heroine, all his blandishments were 
 thrown away. She allowed that he might be 
 a very agreeable companion for an evening, 
 but she knew, that the companion for life re- 
 quired very diff'erent qualifications. She 
 therefore gave him no encouragement, but con- 
 stantly repelled his advances, telling him, that 
 his addresses and pretty speeches in that quar- 
 ter, were to no purpose, since he never should
 
 68 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 prevail. Harry, ill satisfied with finding him- 
 self so thwarted, was determined to take the 
 earliest opportunity of making proposals to her 
 foster parent in due form, an expedient which 
 he reckoned the most likely to accelerate an 
 object, so dear to his heart. But he met with 
 no better success with Dr. Truman, than he 
 had done with Julia herself. Dr. Truman 
 candidly declared to him, that a man who turned 
 debauchery into a science, and centered all his 
 regards upon ministering to a base passion, 
 exclusive of every virtuous consideration, was 
 verv unfit to have consigned to his legal pro- 
 tection, a being, whom instead of making 
 happy, he would indubitably render miserable. 
 In vain did Harry implore and beseech, as 
 often did the worthy rector refuse, and at last 
 he assured Harry that he would sooner give 
 his life into his hands, than sacrifice her, whom 
 he had brought up with so much care and 
 attention. Harry finding himself thus bafiled 
 on all sides, knew not whether to betake him- 
 self, or what to do ; in vain did he try to 
 smother his desires, but, like fire, they would 
 only burst out the fiercer, which made him at
 
 THE ORPHANS. 69 
 
 times almost mad. One day he would resolve 
 to discontinue every thing* on his part, which 
 might occasion offence, and on the next would 
 return to his old courses, and suffer his old 
 habits to enchain him anew, so that in fact his 
 vain struggles only rivited his thraldom. This 
 went on for some time, until he brought himself 
 to the brink of despair. In this state was he 
 to be seen, more like a lunatic who had broken 
 loose from some asylum with sufficient cunning 
 to conceal himself from view, than one, who was 
 in the enjoyment of his unrestrained liberty. 
 And, oh ! the bitterness of his reflections. There 
 was a time, when Harry Seymour might have 
 looked up with confidence to the hand of Julia, 
 but now, all hope of that happiness had fled, for 
 he himself, by his own misguided and heedless 
 conduct had chased it away. To what a state of 
 things had he arrived ! The most holy passion, 
 instead of constituting his happiness, was a 
 curse upon his days. Instead of love yielding 
 those pure joys and real comforts, which are to 
 be derived from it, if well and judiciously 
 placed, it only engendered misery and discon- 
 tent. But he, in point of fact, knew nothing
 
 70 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 of the tender passion, his mind was too de- 
 graded by his unhallowed pursuits, to allow 
 any thing of the kind making an impression 
 on him. He could feel indeed that there was 
 a craving void in his heart, which required 
 satisfying. The base and filthy lust, which he 
 dignified by the name of love, differed as much 
 from that pure and vestal fire, as the burning 
 of a fever from the glow and heat of vitality. 
 The unfortunate object, upon whom he might 
 fix his attention, would very soon find herself 
 desolate and degraded. Alas ! Harry was one 
 of those remorseless and unprincipled slaves, 
 who, tainted with the jail distemper of con- 
 tagious sensuality, corrupted themselves, and 
 corrupting all about them, throughout all their 
 history, seem only to leave the trail of the ser- 
 pent whereby to track their footsteps, who 
 ministering to their headlong passions, or, worse 
 yet, their inordinate vanity, are their own 
 pioneers through all that beautiful panorama of 
 humanity, they help to darken and make de- 
 solate. They pass forward, like Sin preceding 
 the shadow of Death, shedding her poisons, 
 and distilling her influence, and preparing the
 
 THE ORPHANS. 71 
 
 nectar she touches for mortality ; the piercing 
 retrospect of which ruin, it is almost piety to 
 believe, will constitute their adequate and 
 proper punishment. Such was Harry Sey- 
 mour, and it was very difficult for the gene- 
 rality of the sex, to guard against this gay 
 deceiver. But Julia was not framed in an 
 ordinary mould. She was conscious that 
 even if his affection was sincere, and his 
 object honourable, she could never find in 
 Harry, a man, like unto him, whose mental 
 and bodily presence she had often conjured up 
 in her refined imagination. She felt for his 
 situation, nay, she could sympathise with 
 suff*erings her perfections had caused, and 
 what more could be expected ? The object of 
 her happiness, she often affirmed, would be 
 obtained, if she could only devote her time 
 and attention upon those revered benefactors 
 when old, who had bestowed such love and 
 affection upon her, — if she could only repay in 
 a small degree the kindness, which had been 
 showered upon her to any branch of Dr. 
 Truman's family, the fondest hope of her life 
 would be realised to the fullest extent. When-
 
 72 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 ever the subject of matrimony was mentioned 
 to Julia, she invariably declared that she 
 would never give herself up to it, until she 
 had discharged that debt to her foster-parents, 
 which nothing but the consecration of her whole 
 life to their service, would enable her to do. 
 
 * Why should I,' she would say, * change 
 my situation, which is at present one of satis- 
 faction and delight, for a state of things, 
 which might bring with it the very opposite 
 to these. Why should I entail upon myself 
 possible miseries, in the place of substantial 
 comforts, or change my bed of roses for one 
 of thorns and briars. Oh, no, happy is the 
 girl who, zoned in purity and peace, w alks the 
 green sod of earth with clear spirit and elastic 
 step, looking for no greater luxuries than 
 those which a bounteous providence hath 
 already dispensed, and more happy she who 
 is contented with them. A mind contented is 
 always at rest, and by the alchemy of its own 
 natural piety, can convert whatever happens, 
 whether of weal or woe, into real and joyous 
 satisfaction, but a discontented and trouble- 
 some spirit, who can bear it V
 
 THE ORPHANS. 73 
 
 With such thoughts as these ever uppermost 
 in the mind of Julia, it was not in the nature 
 of things for her to be otherwise than happy. 
 She was one of those finely tempered beings 
 who make happiness their study, and if any 
 thing occurred which threatened to impede it, 
 she knew from whence it came, and perceived 
 that it was only a bitter to mix with the sweet, 
 that the draught might be the more palatable. 
 She believed with the Bard of Hope, that 
 * Fear and sorrow fan the fire of joy,' and 
 could feel that God, who was the distributer 
 of all good gifts, would often also send dark- 
 ness, despair, and trouble, in order to try his 
 creatures in the night of adversity, so that after 
 triumphing with a serene joy, they might be 
 the more grateful for his genial rays, when the 
 sun of prosperity again bursts from his pavilion 
 of gathered waters, and divideth the dense 
 clouds of the morning. Such was the philo- 
 sophy of Julia, but she was young, and her 
 temperament was sanguine, and those strokes 
 which sometimes stun us by their sudden 
 infliction, had not yet assailed her. But never 
 was being more finely framed to dafl* aside 
 those arrows of outrageous fortune, which 
 £
 
 74 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 sooner or later are the heritage of humanity. 
 Religion was unto her a panoply of defence. 
 The pious mind will ever discern in the blows 
 of adversity, how acute soever their moment- 
 ary agony, if not a prominent, at least a covert 
 blessing, and where it sometimes fails to recon- 
 cile the mysterious dispensations of heaven, it 
 will turn an eye of faith on those chastisements 
 which may seem unmerited, remembering that 
 the object of our merciful Father in taking 
 from the Christian the world, is to give him 
 himself, and that his ways concern the trap- 
 pings and baubles of time, no farther than these 
 might work out, in joy or sorrow, our ever- 
 lasting happiness. In the words of Massillon, 
 La Religion est la fin de tons les disseins de 
 Dieu sur la terre. 
 
 Nevertheless, however inexperienced in the 
 ways of this wrong world, Julia had formed a 
 pretty correct estimate of the sinfulness and 
 vanity of human repinings in the vast majority 
 of cases. They are sinful, thought she, because 
 they arraign the wisdom and goodness of an 
 infinitely wise and good Being ; and they are 
 vain, because half the misfortunes which hap- 
 pen to men ^re of their own causing, and half
 
 THE ORPHANS. 75 
 
 their miseries exist only in their own imagina- 
 tion, or are of their own creating. 
 
 Discontent brings with it a whole train of 
 disorders, and thus the mind having lost its 
 point d'appui, with nothing to hope, shrinks 
 back upon itself, and becomes dissatisfied with 
 every thing around it, and consequently 
 miserable. The dark soil of hypochondriasis 
 wherein bad passions germinate, is peculiarly 
 unfavourable to that a-ro{x.a.liKatov which even 
 the humane heathen (Plutarch) esteemed 
 essential to piety. On the other hand, the 
 rationally cheerful man bears a charmed tem- 
 perament, which is, or ought to be, not only 
 the teeming parent of every virtue, but as a 
 celebrated writer (Lord Shaftesbury) ex- 
 presseth it, * the best foundation for piety and 
 true religion.' He mistakes the means for 
 the end, who is disappointed because he can- 
 not attain perfect felicity on this side of 
 heaven. It is an attribute of the Creator, as 
 incommunicable as perfect power, omniscience, 
 or eternity. But a nearer approach may be 
 made to that heavenly joy, which in its per- 
 fection, constitutes the necessity of an angel's 
 E 2
 
 76 THE ORPHANS. 
 
 being, than is commonly supposed. Employ- 
 ment, and a rational occupation, with a grate- 
 ful mind, are the grand secrets of temporal 
 happiness. He who gave our nature, gave it 
 to be perfected in this state of being. He 
 willed at the same time the means of its perfec- 
 tion — active virtue. The mind being occupied 
 has no opportunity to wander too far from 
 itself, its attention is riveted to its pursuit, 
 and thus by diligent application to its object, 
 it experiences that delightful peace and equa- 
 nimity which makes the whole creature glow 
 with inward satisfaction at every variety of 
 fortune. To this serenity had Julia brought 
 her mind ; she had discovered that the deepest 
 and truest philosophy consisted in content- 
 ment, and that contentment, if not happiness, 
 was the nearest approach to it permitted to 
 man in this probationary state. 
 
 The position in which Julia was placed in 
 relation to Harry Seymour, she felt to be 
 truly distressing to her natural sensibility. To 
 be beloved by a man must ever be a matter of 
 grateful pride to any female, but the conscious- 
 ness of not being able to return his passion.
 
 THE ORPHANS. 77 
 
 however honourable, cannot but prove the 
 source of sorrow to the sensitive heart of woman . 
 Still Miss Blaclock could never weakly yield. 
 Her disposition might have allowed her to 
 have sacrificed herself, at some future period, 
 had she thought she could have made Harry 
 happy, but she knew too well, that were she 
 at last to consent, ruin would be her lot, and 
 eternal perdition his portion. She had suffi- 
 cient sense to see through the illusions of first 
 love, and penetrate the misery then only 
 in the far perspective, with a light and pain- 
 ted veil thrown over its countenance. She 
 felt that the removal of that veil would present 
 to her hardships scarcely to be encountered, 
 and woes hardly to be endured ; with this per- 
 suasion she took her stand, resisting every 
 effort and entreaty so urgently made by Harry, 
 who outwardly assumed the character of her 
 constant and devoted lover. Not to be daun- 
 ted by refusals, he had fixed his basiliskan eye 
 upon his victim, and was determined to per- 
 severe in his base and villainous designs, even 
 were death itself held out as the result and 
 meet reward of the deed he meditated.
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES.
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 Upon Dr. Truman looking at his watch after 
 one of his constitutional walks into the country, 
 he found he had an hour to spare before his 
 attendance was required at the church, to 
 inter the body of a young female, who had met 
 with a premature death under very distressing 
 circumstances. Having so much time on his 
 hands, he resolved to call upon Lady Smith, a 
 fashionable personage with a large family, who 
 resided not very far from the Rectory. 
 
 ' Ah, Doctor,' said Lady Smith upon his 
 entrance, * I am happy to see you, it is a long 
 time since I have had that pleasure.' 
 
 * I believe my Lady,' observed the Doctor, 
 with a scarcely perceptible coldness of tone, 
 * that I was at my post but yesterday.' * Ah, 
 
 E
 
 82 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 Doctor/ returned Lady Smith,' * you're too 
 severe, but fashion is an exacting taskmaster, 
 and often takes us from our duty. Nay, I am 
 positive you shall not scold me upon that head, 
 come, come, here are my daughters, don't look 
 so serious, or you will frighten them. You 
 cannot imagine how vastly they are improved 
 in all their studies.' Here three beautiful 
 children, with all that glow and grace so char- 
 acteristic of the immature experience, but high 
 mental culture of young females among the 
 higher classes in England, like steps one above 
 another, so many miniatures of their mamma, 
 entered the room, ' Allow me to introduce my 
 children to you. Doctor' said Lady Smith. 'This 
 is Mary, though only sixteen years old, she is 
 a perfect proficient on the piano-forte ; her 
 beautiful touch is the astonishment of us all, 
 and every body allows that her songs are sung 
 with exquisite taste. As for Christina, her 
 execution upon the harp is wonderful. And 
 little Nelly, (heads up my love !) succeeds so 
 well in her drawings, that I anticipate great 
 things from her : she too displays a decided 
 taste in all kinds of fancy ornaments. In
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 83 
 
 dancing and waltzing, their master himself 
 owned only the other day, he could take them 
 no further. And it is not only in those accom- 
 plishments which you know are indispensable 
 to young ladies of their fashion, that they 
 excel ; I assure you that they are also tho- 
 roughly well-informed. Yes, Sir, the cultiva- 
 tion of their minds has not been neglected. 
 In a very short space of time, they will be 
 mistresses of all the living, as well as the dead 
 languages, some of which they speak, if pos- 
 sible, with more fluency than English. Span- 
 ish, Latin, Greek, are the objects of their 
 studies ; German they can read with ease, and 
 pronounce French so well, you might mistake 
 them for Frenchwomen. I have the very best 
 masters for them, and hope soon that they will 
 be such proficients, that should they travel in 
 the different countries, they will be scarcely 
 discovered as being foreigners. 
 
 ' Don't you think,' asked the Rector, 
 with a faint smile, * that it is desirable 
 for young people to be well grounded in one 
 branch of study before they begin another. 
 You will pardon me, but I often find young
 
 84 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 ladies of the present day with a smattering of 
 divers foreign languages, although they are 
 far from speaking their own with correctness.' 
 
 ' That may happen in other families,' replied 
 Lady Smith, with some formality, * but not 
 amongst my daughters, believe me, they have 
 long been very good grammarians. And their 
 governess informs me that the different lan- 
 guages are so connected with one another, 
 that they readily, as it were, suggest each 
 other, so that only the same time is required to 
 learn them all.' 
 
 ' The Italian and the Spanish,' resumed the 
 Doctor, * bear a certain analogy to the French 
 and Latin, but I can perceive no affinity 
 between the others you have named. And 
 even were it so, I cannot conceive, how it 
 should only require the same diligence to attain 
 to the perfection of a native in so many foreign 
 languages, as to acquire a certain fluency in 
 one ; and I am wholly unable to comprehend 
 how any young Lady, how great soever her 
 talents, can attend to all at one and the same 
 time.' 
 
 * It is according to the last new method,'
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 85 
 
 said Lady Smith, * so is female education regu- 
 lated nowadays, and it really seems to me an 
 improvement upon the jogtrot system in 
 vogue when we were children.' 
 
 ' Upon my word,' replied the Rector, * we 
 seniors ought to go to school every year, did 
 we care to keep pace with the novel theories 
 attempted of late to be reduced to practice.' 
 
 The Doctor paused, but presently subjoined, 
 * How is it. Lady Smith, if I may be allowed 
 to ask the question, that these young ladies 
 have not sent in their names as candidates for 
 Confirmation, the time is drawing near when 
 the Bishop will visit us for the purpose.' 
 
 Lady Smith coloured, but almost imme- 
 diately made answer, ' Oh 1 my girls have 
 never yet been christened, I, having disap- 
 proved of Infant Baptism, intend when they 
 come of age, that they should be regularly 
 baptized in the literal meaning of the word, 
 you understand me, not merely sprinkled, but 
 dipped, immersed overhead.' 
 
 * May I be permitted to ask,' said the Doc- 
 tor, • upon what grounds you disapprove of 
 Infant Baptism I '
 
 86 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * Because/ replied Lady Smith, * I am 
 inclined to believe that it is unscriptural, and 
 being so, you cannot wonder at my not 
 allowing my children to be baptized, since to 
 conform herein were to do violence to my con- 
 science.' 
 
 * Excuse me, my Lady,' replied the Rector, 
 ' it is so far from being unscriptural, that it is 
 according to the meaning and tenor of holy writ. 
 If you will allow me the use of that beautiful 
 bound book, which I presume is a Bible, I 
 will endeavour to set you right upon the point 
 wherein we differ. I will first read the 12th 
 and 13th verses of the 17th chapter of Genesis, 
 and you will there learn that it was as an express 
 command of God for children to be circum- 
 cised, and we know that circumcision was a type 
 of baptism. "And he that is eight days old 
 shall be circumcised among you, every male 
 child in your generations ; he that is born in 
 the house, or bought with money of any 
 stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is 
 born in thy house, and he that is bought with 
 thy money must needs be circumcised ; and 
 my covenant shall be in your flesh for an ever-
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 87 
 
 lasting covenant." Since then God commanded 
 infants to be circumcised, which rite was a 
 type of baptism, the inference in favour of 
 infant baptism is not to be evaded.' 
 
 *lf you can shew me,' said Lady Smith, 
 'that circumcision was a type of baptism, I 
 must admit your argument would be allowable 
 enough.' 
 
 ' It was indeed a type of baptism,' replied 
 the Rector. ' It was given to confirm the 
 promise of a temporal blessing to the family of 
 i^braham, whilst it served as a solemn pledge 
 of those spiritual benefits which form the most 
 essential part of the Abrahamic covenant. The 
 mention of it, in the Old Testament, is asso- 
 ciated with spiritual blessings : as, when it is 
 said, " Circumcise the fore-skin of your heart." 
 In the New Testament we find the unequivo- 
 cal assertion of St. Paul, that circumcision 
 was a sign and seal of the righteousness of 
 faith, Abraham had while uncircumcised. — 
 (Romans iv. 11.) This was the original design 
 of the institution ; and as such it served an 
 important purpose during this primeval econo- 
 my, for the encouragement of those who were
 
 88 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 living in expectation of the coming Messiah. 
 To them, and to all the faithful in subsequent 
 periods of the church, during which it was in 
 force, it was indeed an important type. It 
 was a sign, it was a seal, and it was a 
 sacrament of initiation into the covenant of 
 promise.^ 
 
 ' Again, the Jews not only circumcised, but 
 also baptized proselytes of the Gentiles, that 
 were converted to their religion. And if they 
 had male children, they were both circumcised 
 and baptized ; if females, they were only bap- 
 tized. That this custom prevailed is notorious. 
 And if it had been faulty, our Saviour would 
 have at once forbidden it, but on the contrary, 
 he said, " Suffer the little children to come 
 unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is 
 the kingdom of heaven." Thus it appears 
 that God is willing to receive infants into his 
 favour, and hath by Jesus Christ declared 
 them capable of that grace and glory which, on 
 God's part, are promised in this baptismal 
 covenant ; whereby the sureties need not fear 
 to make the stipulation on their part, since 
 
 ' Wilson on Types.
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 89 
 
 they have God's own word, that there is no 
 impediment in children to make them incapable 
 of receiving that which he hath promised, and 
 will surely perform.' ^ And again, our Sa- 
 viour commanded his Apostles to "go and 
 teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 
 of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." 
 We also find that whole households were bap- 
 tized. In the 15th verse of the xvith chapter 
 of the Acts, it is said, " And when she was 
 baptized, and her household'' Again, in the 
 33d verse of the same chapter, ** And he took 
 them the same hour of the night, and washed 
 their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, 
 straightway." Now it is very unlikely that 
 these households were without children. Again, 
 we read in the 14th verse of the xviith chap- 
 ter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, thus : 
 " Else were your children unclean, but now 
 they are holy.*' And to make holy was a 
 common expression among the Jews for bap- 
 tizing. Besides all this evidence, we have 
 the testimony of the ecclesiastical writers of 
 the next succeding ages of the apostles. 
 
 ' Wheatly on Common Prayer.
 
 90 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * Justin Martyn, who lived forty years after 
 St. John distinctly affirms baptism is in the 
 room of circumcision.' Ireneus, nearly forty 
 years subsequent, alludes to infants as * by 
 Christ born unto God.' Origin, fifty years 
 later speaks of infant baptism as a known and 
 undoubted practice. But Tertullian, who is 
 placed about one hundred years after St. John, 
 dissuades from early baptism (thus admitting 
 the custom of it) until the age of reason, 
 provided there be no apprehension of death. 
 Augustin lived three hundred years after St. 
 John, and he says, * that he never heard of 
 any Christians who taught any other doctrine 
 than that infants are to be baptized. And 
 Gregory Nazianzen stated, * that if infants 
 are out of all danger of dying, his own opinion 
 is, that they should be baptized when about 
 three years old.' ^ Thus, you perceive, that we 
 can trace infant baptism as customary under 
 the old dispensation, at the time of our Saviour, 
 and likewise regularly from that epoch until 
 the present day.' 
 
 * But do we not read,' asked Lady Smith, 
 
 1 Key's Lectxires, Vol. iv. p. 279.
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 91 
 
 * of many adults having been baptized in the 
 time of the Apostles 1 ' 
 
 * Certainly,' replied the Doctor, * but that 
 fact cannot in the least affect my argument. 
 Adults were baptized, and are so now, when 
 the ceremony has been omitted, while they 
 were children. But what we maintain is, that 
 infant baptism is not repugnant to scripture. 
 What a privilege and valuable blessing it is, 
 that God has provided a way in which children 
 born in sin can be reconciled to him, and be 
 made members of Christ, and inheritors of his 
 kingdom.' 
 
 *But, wherefore,' asked Lady Smith, 'should 
 we depart from the original custom of complete 
 immersion, and thus nullify the meaning of the 
 word baptise ? ' 
 
 * We do not,' replied the doctor, * refuse 
 complete immersion whenever the party ex- 
 presses a wish for it. But we consider the 
 sprinkling to answer the same end. I will 
 grant you that the word baptism implies both 
 dipping and effusion, but baptism is only an 
 external rite, representing an internal and 
 spiritual action, and the divine grace is not
 
 92 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 measured by the quantity of water used in the 
 administration of it.' 
 
 * But by what authority,' said Lady Smith, 
 
 * has the church discontinued what appears 
 to have been the original practice?' 
 
 ' We have good reason,' replied the Doctor, 
 
 * for omitting complete immersion. Great 
 danger to the child might immediately accrue 
 from it, owing to our country being so much 
 colder than the one in which dipping was 
 originally practised. Looking back to original 
 customs, there can be no doubt but that the 
 primitive Christians received baptism by com- 
 plete immersion, but we find the Jews were 
 indifferent about the matter. And it is not 
 to be supposed when any of them were bap- 
 tized in haste, that water happened to be close 
 at hand for immersion. When the jailor and 
 his family were baptized by St. Paul, the same 
 hour of the night that they were converted, 
 we have every reason to conclude that the 
 ceremony was performed by effusion only. 
 We also read of prisoners being baptized ; 
 now it is very unlikely that there could have 
 been water sufficient in their prisons for per-
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 93 
 
 forming a religious duty, where the common 
 necessaries of life were scarcely provided. 
 Again, when the three thousand persons were 
 converted on the day of Pentecost, it is not to 
 be supposed that they all received baptism by 
 immersion ; and we may reasonably infer, that 
 water was brought into the apartment when 
 Cornelius was baptised. But independent of 
 all this, my Lady, the church is ready to dip 
 the child, when it can well endure it, conse- 
 quently, when the minister is prepared to 
 perform the ceremony in the manner which 
 the party shall deem obligatory, it is not just 
 that any caviller should urge the not dipping 
 and immersion as a plea for not having their 
 children baptized at all.' 
 
 ' I must allow,' replied Lady Smith, * that 
 that objection is entirely removed, if the priests 
 be ready and willing to perform the ceremony 
 whatever way the party should direct, but I 
 cannot conceive what influence the application 
 of the water without, can have upon the child 
 within. From many causes, a grown-up person 
 may be aff*ected, and on that account principally, 
 I amdesirous to defer the baptism of my children.*
 
 94 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * We are taught,' said the Doctor, * in our 
 catechism, that baptism is an outward and 
 visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, 
 and why should not, I ask, spiritual grace 
 descend inwardly to a child, as well as to an 
 adult? Why may not the death unto sin, 
 and the new birth unto righteousness, be sown 
 in the heart of the infant, that they may grow 
 with his growth, and strengthen with his 
 strength.' 
 
 * But then,' interrupted Lady Smith, * it is 
 required of persons who are baptized, to repent, 
 and to have faith in the promises of God ; how 
 can any infant repent, seeing that it has not 
 the faculty of reason.' 
 
 * In that case,' replied the Doctor, • sureties, 
 or what are commonly called godfathers and 
 godmothers, are provided to promise for the 
 child, that when he comes of age, he will per- 
 form all those things in his own person, which 
 they have promised for him. 
 
 * Then great must be the responsibility,' 
 said Lady Smith, * of these sureties, if, upon 
 them depends the conduct of the child up to a 
 certain age.'
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 95 
 
 * Doubtless,' continued the Rector, * the 
 responsibility is great, but not so great as to 
 exclude the necessity of proper persons coming 
 forward for the occasion, for I consider that if 
 the godfathers and godmothers have every 
 reason to be satisfied that the natural parents 
 are well disposed to perform their duty, they 
 may safely leave it to their discretion ; but if 
 any doubt be entertained as to neglect on their 
 parts, the child's natural guardians, with re- 
 spect to the spiritual state of his soul, it 
 becomes imperative upon sponsors to in- 
 terpose.' 
 
 * I cannot,' said Lady Smith, * but coincide 
 in what you have advanced, and as we are 
 upon the subject I should wish to know, if you 
 hold that every child that is baptised goes to 
 heaven, should he die before he becomes 
 responsible for his own actions ? ' 
 
 * We believe him,' answered the Rector, 
 * to be regenerated or born again, or recon- 
 ciled to God, and made meet to partake of his 
 grace. We may therefore justly conclude, 
 that God will receive him, should he die when 
 an infant, into his eternal mansions ; but if he
 
 96 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 live until reason and conscience have dawned 
 within, and religious instruction, which he is 
 capable of comprehending, has been imparted 
 to him, he undoubtedly becomes responsible 
 for the sins which he commits, and jio less than 
 a more aged person has need to recover his 
 faith, and to repent before he can be restored 
 to God's favour, and to the privilege of salva- 
 tion, through the atonement of Jesus Christ.' 
 
 * Then do you believe,' again asked Lady 
 Smith, * that every child who is not baptised, 
 is excluded from heaven ?' 
 
 * By no means,' replied the Doctor, we 
 know that * God's mercy is from everlasting to 
 everlasting,* and upon that we humbly and 
 charitably rely. 1 do not apprehend in the 
 instance of the omission of baptism, that the sin 
 of the parent will be visited upon the child.* 
 But there remains another strong argument I 
 have to urge in favour of Infant Baptism. 
 Every one must allow, that children at their 
 birth are affected with original sin, this is 
 believed by almost every sect, whatever ex- 
 travagant notions they may entertain with 
 regard to other dogmas. In order then to
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 97 
 
 counteract the effects of the sin in which 
 a child is born, baptism would appear indis- 
 pensable. That, as the water without, 
 cleanses the child in the first instance from 
 the defilements of the womb, so when we 
 are admitted into the church, we are baptized 
 (whereby the Holy Ghost cleanses us from the 
 pollutions of our sins, and renews us unto God) 
 and become, so to speak, spiritual infants, 
 entering- into a new life and state of being, 
 which before we had not. And besides, we 
 should be satisfied, that there is no express 
 command in Scripture to forbid infants being- 
 baptized, which there would have been had it 
 not been God's will to have them brought to the 
 font. And it can never be otherwise than a 
 sublime spectacle, to bring a child contami- 
 nated with the effects of original sin, into the 
 presence of the great Jehovah, to invoke his 
 blessings upon it, to beseech him mercifully to 
 look upon it, and sanctify it with the Holy 
 Ghost, so that it may be admitted, after being 
 delivered from the impending wrath of God, 
 into the ark of Christ's Church. 
 
 * Then, Doctor,' inquired Lady Smith, ' do 
 
 F
 
 98 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 you consider that all the effects of original sin 
 are washed away by baptism. 
 
 * We hold, my Lady,' replied the Doctor, 
 * that the effects of original sin are so far done 
 away, that at the time of baptism the child is 
 regenerated, or born again, and made meet to 
 partake of grace from on high, so that by being 
 reconciled to God, his wrath is removed, and 
 the child placed in that situation wherein he 
 may, (although not necessarily will), be saved. 
 But notwithstanding the privilege to which the 
 child is admitted, the original stain, the old 
 hankering after evil, and the liability of falling 
 into temptation, still cling to his human 
 nature, so that it requires the assistance of 
 God's Holy Spirit, to enable him to work out 
 his own salvation. 
 
 After what I have adduced, my Lady, I 
 trust I shall have your two eldest daughters at 
 the ensuing confirmation ; they are quite old 
 enough for themselves to understand the nature 
 of baptism, and I hope before long to have the 
 gratifying task of performing it. I doubt not, 
 my lady, but your good sense will excuse the 
 observation I am going to make ; in fact the
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 99 
 
 situation I hold in this parish authorizes my 
 taking- that liberty. Provide first your children 
 with spiritual food, and all things which have 
 a minor import shall be added thereunto." 
 
 Upon saying this the Rector rose to depart, 
 and was much pleased to find from Lady 
 Smith's manner that the result of his visit was 
 likely to terminate as could be wished. 
 
 Being very nearly the time for the funeral, 
 the Doctor proceeded towards the church, and 
 in the distance he observed the melancholy 
 procession drawing near. He hastened to meet 
 it, and pronounced with an audible voice the 
 sentences which commence the burial service. 
 The most profound attention was apparent, 
 and though there was an assembly of more than 
 five hundred people, exclusive of children, 
 the greatest silence prevailed, and the utmost 
 decorum was observed. After they had taken 
 their respective seats in the church, and the 
 appointed psalm had been read, came the most 
 impressive of all chapters, that is always read 
 upon similar occasions. Many a tear fell from 
 the faces of the congregation ; some were 
 affected by the remembrance of their having 
 
 F 2
 
 100 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 attended the funerals of their lately deceased 
 relatives ; others by the consciousness that the 
 service must soon be read over them ; and 
 others again, by a natural sympathy with the 
 melancholy mourners around them, and the 
 gloom which always prevails at such scenes. 
 But many were most sensibly touched by the 
 service itself, and the solemn manner in which 
 it was performed. Dr. Truman always made 
 a point of taking the greatest pains to give the 
 occasional services their due effect, aware that 
 many attended them who never entered a 
 church for the purpose of hearing a sermon. 
 He considered that by an impressive delivery 
 of the service, he might tempt them to hear his 
 preaching, and avoid a shock to the feelings 
 of those who came for the purpose of burying 
 their relatives. During the ceremony, he 
 noticed a young man apart from the congre- 
 gation, who seemed much more affected than 
 even the mourners themselves. He sat in a 
 pew by himself, and at times his sobs were so 
 loud as to excite the attention of those around 
 him. When the procession moved with solemn 
 step towards the grave, the same person was
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 101 
 
 seen in the crowd making- his way toward the 
 coffin, as if to take another and last look at 
 the shroud, which held the remains of one who 
 had been the dearest to his heart. When 
 they were on the verge of the grave, the same 
 individual was remarked resting over a tomb- 
 stone, and shedding" those tears of sorrow and 
 regret, which only flow under distressing and 
 trying circumstances. On the conclusion of 
 the service. Dr. Truman returned to the ves- 
 try, and was followed by a person, who came 
 to give the correct name of the deceased, and 
 to see that it was properly registered. When 
 this was finished, the stranger turned to Dr. 
 Truman and said, ' I have witnessed many 
 funerals, but I cannot remember having at- 
 tended one which produced such an effect upon 
 my mind, as that awful ceremony we have just 
 solemnized with our tears. I cannot do other- 
 wise than express my approbation of the whole 
 ritual observance. The service itself — the 
 manner in which it was performed — the silence 
 and decorum that prevailed, must have struck 
 the most careless observer. Before to-day, I 
 always considered the service appointed by
 
 102 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 the Church of England to be read over the 
 dead, to be mummery, but I must acknowledge 
 this day, I have been staggered. I know not 
 why I should trouble you with this avowal ; 
 I may be detaining you, from some other occu- 
 pation of more moment.' 
 
 * Not so, sir,' replied the Rector, * I assure 
 you, I am only happy to find that the service 
 has had so good an effect. And if there be 
 any thing in it which you find hard to recon- 
 cile, I shall be most willing to talk to you 
 upon the subject.' 
 
 * I am exceedingly obliged to you, sir,' 
 answered the stranger, * this is indeed more 
 than I had any right to expect, however, I will 
 venture to propose one question. Does not 
 the church express a certainty that all, over 
 whom the service is read will, indiscriminately 
 go to heaven, when she says * in sure and cer- 
 tain hope of the resurrection to eternal life?^ 
 and again, when she prays that * ive may rest 
 in him, as our hope is, this our brother doth.' ' 
 
 * The church,' replied the Rector, * does 
 not express any certainty whatever of all those 
 ascending to heaven who have her service read
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 103 
 
 over them — far from it ; she entertains a 
 charitable hope, but nothing- more ; she means 
 not to express a sure and certain hope that the 
 body committed to the earth shall arise and 
 enter heaven without being: judged — she only 
 expresses a certainty of the resurrection. And 
 with respect to the sentence, * in sure and 
 certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.' 
 it is not thence to be inferred that every per- 
 son over whom the service is read shall have 
 eternal life, else the church would be guilty of 
 holding doctrines contrary to scripture. But 
 if you go through the sentence, * In sure and 
 certain hope of the resurrection (not a resur- 
 rection, observe, but the resurrection) through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ,' the meaning plainly 
 is, that all those who have had faith in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ may entertain a certain 
 hope of the resurrection to eternal life. That 
 this is the correct construction, we may con- 
 clude from the sentence, which immediately 
 follows : ** I heard a voice from heaven, say- 
 ing unto me. Write, from henceforth blessed 
 are the dead which die in the Lord,'' — not all 
 the dead, but only those who die in the Lord.'
 
 104 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * There appears another objection,' said the 
 stranger, ' that the church, in opposition to the 
 most eminent reformers, still continues to pray 
 for the dead, a practice which has been found 
 so lucrative to the Roman Catholic Church; 
 for in her funeral service she undoubtedly prays 
 that we, together with all those that are de- 
 parted in the true faith of God's holy name, 
 may have * our perfect consummation and bliss 
 in eternal and everlasting glory.' ' 
 
 ' Well,' said the rector immediately, * this 
 is agreeable to the practice of the Christian 
 church in the earliest times, and surely there 
 can be no impiety in the expression of such 
 sentiments (no where forbidden in the word 
 of God.) It may tend to exalt and purify the 
 hearts of the living, even if the benefit thence 
 arising to the dead be questionable. And if we 
 are commanded by our Lord, to pray that God's 
 kingdom may come, why should we not pray that 
 the consummation here referred to, may take 
 place ? But whatever the effect of this prayer 
 may be, yet do we by it, manifest thai charity, 
 which we owe to all those who are fellow- 
 servants with us in Christ.'
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 105 
 
 * But are we not left to infer/ again de- 
 manded the stranger, ' from the prayer itself, 
 that all those who have it read over them will 
 have their perfect consummation and bliss? ' 
 
 * No ! ' replied the Doctor, ' We do not, 
 nor can we ensure that the dead, in conse- 
 quence of the prayer being uttered, will have 
 ihe'iY perfect consummation and bliss, but that 
 they may have it, that we with them and they 
 with us, may be made perfect together, both 
 in body and soul, in God's eternal kingdom.' 
 
 * But if the soul after its separation from 
 the body,' objected the stranger, * goes to 
 bliss or to misery, why need we pray for that 
 which is irrevocable ? ' 
 
 * A soul,' replied the Rector, * may be in 
 joy and felicity, but not in such a degree that 
 it cannot be enhanced, and therefore we be- 
 seech God that he will vouchsafe it a full and 
 perfect consummation of bliss both in body and 
 soul, you mark me, both in body and soul, in 
 his eternal kingdom of glory. So that you 
 perceive we pray not only that the soul, but 
 that the soul, together with the body, may be 
 happy ; and why should we not pray for that, 
 
 F 5
 
 106 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 seeing that it will not take place till some fu- 
 ture day, so that our prayers are not necessarily 
 in vain, were they only for that purpose.' 
 
 ' I am perfectly satisfied/ returned the 
 stranger, * with your explanation, and I shall 
 ever consider myself fortunate in having em- 
 braced this opportunity of opening my heart 
 upon the subject ; should any further doubts 
 suggest themselves, I am sure I may rely upon 
 your kindness and ability to remove them.' 
 
 * At any time,' replied the Rector, * should 
 you find the clouds of unbelief darken the 
 walk of your soul, you may reckon upon ray 
 best counsel and assistance, to pierce, and 
 scatter, and dissolve them, till not a single 
 rack be left to obscure the face of heaven.' 
 
 The stranger hereupon made his obeisance, 
 and having left the vestry, the Doctor shortly 
 returned to the rectory, where he joined his 
 family at dinner, and afterwards engaged in 
 the usual occupations and amusements which 
 employed their time during the evening. 
 While he was thus fulfilling the recommenda- 
 tion of Horace, decipere in loco, a loud knock 
 at the door, followed by a hasty ring of the
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 107 
 
 bell, startled their attention. The Doctor 
 apprehended something had happened which 
 required immediate assistance, and he did not 
 err. Dr. Truman was requested to attend the 
 bed-side of an aged gentleman, residing in the 
 town, who, to all appearance, lay at the point 
 of death. The worthy Rector obeyed the 
 summons immediately. On entering the house 
 he was met, we cannot say welcomed, by an aged 
 female, who, bathed in tears, and wringing her 
 hands, seemed to be enduring the greatest pos- 
 sible distress. Near her were two other females, 
 considerablyyounger,participatinginhermisery. 
 And well at that moment might the excess 
 of their grief overwhelm them. There lay the 
 husband and the father writhing in convulsions 
 at the horrible death which impended. On 
 that bed, at the threshold of eternity, whereon 
 * shadows^ clouds, and darkness rest, lay 
 extended the hardened sinner, whose almost 
 lifeless trunk seemed to invite the outrage of 
 the worm. There might be discerned, in all 
 their horrors, the workings of a guilty con- 
 science, the gnawings of the worm that dieth 
 not, — there might be heard the deep-drawn
 
 108 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 groan, uprising from the heaving breast ; there 
 the appalled spectator might perceive hag- 
 gardness sitting scowling upon the forehead, 
 and recognize the remorse and inward bitter- 
 ness which were lodged in the furrows of an 
 emaciated and indented countenance. And 
 what did these lineaments betoken ? a mind 
 haunted by the horror of a deeply-seared 
 conscience, startled every instant by the invol- 
 untary and sudden recollection of deeds basely 
 perpetrated, and crimes foully and cruelly com- 
 mitted. The actions, the thoughts, the omis- 
 sions and commissions of a life, uprose in all 
 their portentous significancy before his imagi- 
 nation, and in the visions of the night, by the 
 alchemy of a distempered conscience, the 
 wretched criminal would live anew the hours 
 long since elapsed, hours replete with horror, 
 and pregnant with remorse. Deeds, which 
 might make the blood curdle but to think of, 
 would the dying man, despite himself, be forced 
 to re-enact. All this and more, and worse, 
 were depicted in the countenance of the stricken 
 dreamer. Most gladly would that aged sinner 
 have compounded for annihilation ; most gladly
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 109 
 
 would he have eased his mind, appeased his 
 apprehension, and applied the assuasive opiate 
 to his conscience, that he was only the child 
 of the dust, and brother of the worm. But no, 
 all endeavours to delude himself were of no 
 avail. Already the dread presentiment of the 
 last day was made manifest to his distracted 
 sight, already he apprehended the appearing 
 before the bar of God, *' to give an account of 
 the deeds done in the body." 
 
 As soon as the Rector was introduced to the 
 bed-side of this wretched object, and the glared 
 eye of the dying man rested on the minister of 
 Jesus Christ, he stretched his hand to that 
 which appeared to offer the semblance of hope, 
 as a wrecked and exhausted mariner will 
 snatch at the slightest piece of floating timber, 
 to save him from the gaping waves. 
 
 * Ah, Sir,' he exclaimed, * behold a sinner, 
 the greatest of sinners.' 
 
 * For whom,' instantly rejoined the Rector, 
 * the Saviour lived and died. But what is your 
 complaint ? What does the doctor say to you ? ' 
 
 * Ah, Sir, my complaint lies far beyond the 
 aid of medicine, or skill of surgery, to heal.*
 
 no OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * But still,' replied the Rector, with an 
 impressive voice, * not beyond God's/ 
 
 * I have,' resumed the sick man, ' such a 
 load of sin, such a body of guilt, that my bur- 
 den is more than I can bear. There is not a 
 crime with which I have not been familiar, 
 nor sin under heaven, in which I have not been 
 a partaker. And what has it all come to ? 
 What,' reiterated the wretched sufferer, in an 
 access of mental agony, ' has it all come to ? 
 Oh, Sir, I am suffering most acutely.' 
 
 * God grant,' replied the Rector, ' that you 
 may only suffer in this world. Your case is 
 dangerous, but not hopeless.' 
 
 Here the eyes of the sick man lighted up, as 
 they met those of the Rector, and an anxious 
 hope evidently flickered in his bosom, which 
 seemed to inspire him with a little confi- 
 dence. 
 
 * Do you repose trust in your Saviour ? ' 
 asked the Rector. 
 
 ' None,' replied the old man, * I know 
 nothing of him, and why should he bear me in 
 remembrance. And yet, oh my God, at this 
 my hour of dissolution, I feel from the bottom
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. Ill 
 
 of my soul, that I am in want of him, but the 
 thought comes too late, I am lost — lost. 
 
 * You must know your Bible,' interrogated 
 the Rector. 
 
 At this, his whole frame heaved beneath the 
 impulse of the spirit within, which seemed 
 struggling for release ; he shook, and his con- 
 tortions might suggest the idea of some strong 
 athletes contending in his bosom ; it was as it 
 were, the contest of life and death for mas- 
 tery. What did these denotements signify? 
 The extreme agony of conscience 1 
 
 Mr. Soams, for this was his name, had been 
 the author of many wicked, blasphemous pub- 
 lications, which not only denied the Saviour, 
 but even, so to speak, crucified him anew in 
 every possible way. His knowledge of the 
 Bible he had converted into a suicidal sword 
 with which to cut himself off, as he drew his 
 last convulsive breath, from every anticipation of 
 happiness. He had himself conjured up that dark 
 curtain which shrouded the horizon of futurity. 
 
 When he had in some measure recovered 
 from the sudden shock produced by the inquiry 
 of the Rector, he made answer —
 
 112 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 * I am well acquainted with my Bible.' 
 
 * Therein,' said the Rector, ' you find the 
 words of eternal life. I will read you a few 
 passages, and see if we cannot thence derive 
 some little comfort, which will, I trust, relieve 
 and give you rest.' The worthy man then read 
 part of the 15th chapter of St. Luke, which 
 contained the history of the prodigal son, who 
 after having wandered far and wide, at length 
 returned, and was welcomed with open arms 
 by a merciful Father. When the Rector had 
 finished reading as far as suited his purpose, 
 he closed the book, and begged the sick man to 
 inform him, whether he could not discern aught 
 there applicable to his situation. 
 
 * No,' returned the other, * I dare not even 
 hope for so great a mercy, I am a sinner, and 
 only that terrible truth I know and feel.' 
 
 ' Such ever,' returned the Rector, * must be 
 the inition of true repentance, it is the first 
 round on the ladder, it is the stepping-stone to 
 holiness.' 
 
 ' Alas ! ' cried the sick man, * how can I be 
 holy, seeing that I am at the point of death.' 
 
 * You may not,' answered the Rector, * sur-
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 113 
 
 vive to be practically holy, nevertheless upon 
 confessing your guilt before God, and praying 
 him to assist you, and to pour down his holy 
 Spirit to enable you to put your trust in the 
 Saviour, you may yet set your soul free from 
 the clinging interests of time, and depart a 
 sincere and contrite Christian into eternity. 
 Remember, king David committed the greatest 
 sins against God, but upon reflection he was 
 struck with remorse and repented of his ini- 
 quity, and God graciously accepted his repent- 
 ance, because he was sincere. St. Peter also, 
 after denying his Lord and Master, went out 
 and wept bitterly, and God was pleased at his 
 tears, and he became a true and devout disci- 
 ple of his Master. Look again how the Saviour 
 pardoned the thief upon the cross at the last 
 hour, a man stained with every crime, and the 
 greatest of sinners ; but he trusted in Christ, 
 he believed in the divinity of the crucified ; and 
 our Lord assured him that he should be with 
 him that day in Paradise. But let us recur to 
 what I have just read to you. Put yourself in 
 the situation of a man, who has wandered far 
 and wide from his father's house, that is from
 
 114 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 the house of God, for God is meant as the 
 parent represented in the parable. According 
 to your own confession you have sinned against 
 your father, and are no more worthy to be 
 called his son ; arise then and go to him, and 
 say unto him, that you are a sinner, that you 
 are unworthy of his notice, but pray unto him 
 graciously to look upon you, and to have mercy 
 upon you, for his dear son's sake, and then see 
 if he do not, like the Father in the parable, 
 receive his returning son with open arms, 
 forgiving him all that he has done amiss, and, 
 should he live, granting him grace whereby to 
 withstand the temptations and snares of a 
 wicked world. Remember what is impossible 
 with man is not so with God. Remember that 
 ** the Son of Man came to seek and to save 
 that which was lost ; that whosoever believeth 
 in him should not perish, but have eternal life." 
 *'Ifwe take the yoke of Christ upon us, we 
 shall find rest unto our souls ; for his yoke is 
 easy, and his burden light.'* " God hath loved 
 us, and hath given us everlasting consolation, 
 and good hope through grace ; which hope we 
 have, as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 115 
 
 stedfast." *' God who is rich in mercy, for 
 his great love, wherewith he loved us, even 
 when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us 
 together with Christ, and made us sit together 
 in heavenly places in Christ Jesus?" The 
 Lord will strengthen the believer upon the bed 
 of languishing, he will make all his bed in his 
 sickness." ** The Lord is plenteous and rich 
 in mercy ; the Lord is very pitiful and of ten- 
 der mercy." *' The mercy of the Lord is ever- 
 lasting ; and his compassions fail not." **The 
 Lord is long-suffering, full of compassion, 
 slow to anger, not willing that any should 
 perish, but that all should come to repentance." 
 ** As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure 
 in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked 
 turn from his way and live." ** Cast thy 
 burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain 
 thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be 
 moved." " Come unto me, all ye that labour, 
 and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." 
 When the Rector had pronounced these 
 texts, he perceived that the old man appeared 
 calmer ; so much so, that he had every reason 
 to hope that a considerable change for the
 
 116 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 better had taken place. He then affectionately 
 took him by the hand, and asked whether he 
 would like to join with him in prayer, to which 
 application the sick man immediately assented. 
 Hereupon the Rector drew a prayer book 
 from his pocket, and offered up to God one or 
 two of those prayers, which appeared to him 
 most applicable. Then taking the sick man 
 again by the hand, he promised that he would 
 come and see him the following day ; the poor 
 fellow returned the grasp as well as his weak- 
 ness permitted him, and then burst, in the 
 attempt to say something, in a large flood of 
 tears. When the Rector was satisfied that 
 nothing serious was likely to happen, he left 
 him, after having again promised to repeat his 
 visit. 
 
 Dr. Truman, as may be supposed, was 
 greatly aff*ected at what he had just witnessed, 
 nevertheless he was truly gratified to find that 
 he had been the humble instrument in the 
 hands of God, of conveying balm to the bosom 
 of one, who stood in such absolute need of 
 consolation. Such scenes as that which we 
 have detailed above, were of no uncommon
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 117 
 
 occurrence with the Rector ; often was he 
 called upon by the expiring sinner to impart 
 instant peace, and lull the conscience to 
 serenity ; often did the awakened sinner appeal 
 to him in the time of danger, as if he possessed 
 powers of miraculous efficacy to ensure salva- 
 tion to the benighted soul ; to this task he was 
 of course incompetent, but he seldom failed to 
 inspire the departing spirit with that consola- 
 tion and hope, which is only to be sought, and 
 can only be derived, from the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. At no time was he more strongly 
 impressed with the advantage inseparable from 
 leading a life of holiness, (which expression 
 includes the performance of all things required 
 to make our calling and election sure,) than in 
 the trying moments of the soul and body's 
 separation ; then was the time which told the 
 tale of sorrow and remorse, or of joy and 
 satisfaction. 
 
 When Dr. Truman was making his way 
 back to the Rectory, revolving in his mind 
 what had just taken place, his attention was 
 suddenly arrested by the appearance of a per- 
 son in the church-yard ; it was not dark, for
 
 118 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 the moon had just arisen, so that there was 
 sufficient light to convince the Rector that he 
 was not mistaken. Through the church-yard 
 there ran a path which led to the main street, 
 from a very long back lane, which the Doctor 
 had just traversed. As the person whom the 
 Rector descried, loitered remote from the path 
 in question, he concluded that he could not be 
 after any good. The Rector further inferred, 
 that he might be disinterring the corpse which 
 he had buried that day, and therefore he 
 directed his steps towards the individual, with 
 all possible haste. As he approached, he could 
 distinctly catch deep groans and sighs, as if 
 some one was in distress ; whereupon he quick- 
 ened his pace, until having come within a few 
 yards of the object, he hailed him. ' Who are 
 you ? * he demanded, * and what are you doing 
 at this late hour t ' There was no answer, and 
 as the individual accosted seemed to be gliding 
 away, with a view to conceal himself among 
 the tomb-stones, the Doctor straitway went up 
 to him, and pressed the same questions upon 
 him. It was only at the repeated instances of the 
 worthy Rector, that the unknown made answer.
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 119 
 
 * I am the keeper of the murdered, conse- 
 quently the child of sorrow; if you wish to do 
 a fellow-mortal service in this sad hour,' — then 
 abruptly breaking off, he ran wildly to the 
 grave where the young female had been buried, 
 and began to tear up the earth with his hands, 
 as if what he had said had reminded him of all 
 his woe, and made him for the time completely 
 insane. 
 
 ' Tell me,' he presently exclaimed, * I con- 
 jure you, tell me, can this dead body live 1 
 and pause ere you speak, for on your answer 
 depends my future happiness — happiness, alas ! 
 I fear it is too far from me.' 
 
 * My dear Sir/ said the Rector, * compose 
 yourself. Let us, at once, retire from this 
 solitary spot. The very being here is sufficient 
 to render you unhappy.' 
 
 Hereupon the Rector, with an admirable 
 mixture of force and persuasion, took the 
 young man, and led him, half by force and half 
 by entreaty, from the church-yard. By this 
 time, having a little composed himself, he said, 
 * I perceive, Sir, that you are the clergyman 
 who performed the service upon this late
 
 120 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 melancholy occasion. Only satisfy my mind, 
 will that beautiful piece of earth, yet safe from 
 the outrage of the tomb, be ever reanimated. 
 Tell me, can that fine and exquisite frame, 
 which you have this day consigned to the last 
 receptacle of mouldering mortality — can it 
 rise ? Can the vital spark ever again resume 
 its ashes ? The misery in which you found me 
 has arisen entirely from a disbelief of the 
 resurrection. Oh, could I once persuade 
 myself of the truth of that doctrine, I should, 
 I am sure, be more reconciled to my privation. 
 
 * Do you doubt the possibility of it,' asked 
 the Rector. 
 
 * I do, I do,' answered the young man,' and 
 therefore the certainty.' 
 
 Here again the unknown gave himself up to 
 the most poignant grief, and such was his 
 paroxysm, that it required the nicest manage- 
 ment of the Rector to recompose him. Being 
 moonlight, the Doctor proposed a walk^ in 
 hopes of administering that consolation which 
 he considered himself able to bestow, and of 
 which the young man stood so much in nfeed. 
 He embraced the Doctor's proposition with
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 121 
 
 apparent delight, and proceeded to accompany 
 him on his way. 
 
 * If,' said the Rector as they walked along, 
 * the proving the certainty of the resurrection 
 would be any ease to your mind, — which I can 
 readily believe, — I have no hesitation in saying, 
 that I can doit satisfactorily, provided you are 
 open to conviction, but if stubborn prejudice, 
 and what is harder' — Here the youthful 
 stranger interposed — ' I am ready to grasp at 
 any thing like hope. I know not how, but I 
 have imbibed the horrible idea of there being 
 no resurrection after this brief and feverish 
 life, and you will scarcely wonder that of all 
 men I am the most miserable.' 
 
 * But how came you,' inquired the Rector, 
 half upbraiding, but in a most soothing tone of 
 voice, * how came you to allow yourself to 
 doubt the truth of the resurrection, seeing that 
 it is so explicitly laid down in Scripture, as a 
 part of our faith. You must admit that our 
 rising again involves no impossibility, for it is 
 God who raises, unto whom every thing is 
 possible, otherwise he would not be what we 
 all admit him to be, all-powerful ; and if God 
 
 G
 
 122 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 could make man in the first instance out of the 
 dust of the earth, a fact wherein the curious 
 sceptic finds no loophole for a doubt, it calls 
 for no uncommon faith to suppose that he can, 
 with like ease, recombine his human elements 
 out of decomposition itself. If he can make 
 the warm summer to necessarily succeed the 
 cold winter, and the cold winter to rise out of 
 the warm summer ; if he can make the clear 
 day the natural sequence of the dark night, 
 and the day to decline again into darkness ; if 
 he can set the glorious luminary to rule by day, 
 and the moon in her lucid softness to rule by 
 night ; if he can put a bound to the mighty 
 ocean, and hold "the winds in his fists," if he 
 can create a world and all that it inherits, 
 and every inanimate and animate thing therein, 
 out of nothing, can we be at any loss to conceive 
 the possibility that our bodies, the clay that we 
 carry about with us, after being coffined and 
 lowered and scattered perad venture to unknown 
 lands, in separate particles, shall be again 
 collected and remoulded into what they once 
 were, — forms of matter, instinct with vitality 
 and volition. Surely in this you can descry no
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 123 
 
 impossibility, nor indeed is there any impro- 
 bability : for if the soul be immortal, the body 
 was created to be a companion for the soul, and 
 it follows that it must rise after death, and fulfil 
 the ultimate object of its Creator. Again, if 
 there be rewards in the next world, it follows 
 that the body must revive, in order to receive 
 its recompense, since in this state of being 
 none is awarded. Our bodies, being capable of 
 good and evil, are consequently amenable to 
 reward and punishment ; we have to give an 
 account of the deeds done in the flesh, there- 
 fore it would seem indispensable that the body 
 should arise ; but I take it, no stronger proof, 
 exclusive of the unimpeachable testimony of 
 holy writ, can be brought home to a man's 
 mind, of the certainty of a resurrection, than that 
 which his own conscience supplies ; — the dis- 
 agreeable feeling excited by the committal of 
 a bad action, induces a dread more or less 
 strong, that that action must hereafter be 
 judged. Again, from the course of material 
 and immaterial things, wherever they are 
 known to us, we are left to infer the probabi- 
 lity of a resurrection. All analogy is in favour 
 G 2
 
 124 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 of it. The animal and the vegetable worlds 
 are in everlasting correspondence. A regene- 
 rative principle is carrying on for ever, which 
 makes vegetation support life, and life admi- 
 nister back again to vegetation, extracting 
 from the sepulchral womb of earth its sterile 
 quality, and out of the very corruption of 
 vitality presenting the seeds of renovation, per- 
 petually revivifying the system of creation, and 
 reproducing, from materials continually over- 
 worn, the countless generations of mortality. 
 Death itself propagates to succession ; in the 
 words of Massillon, * Les morts et les vivants se 
 &uccedent et se remplacent continue! lement.' 
 The seed which is buried in the ground, and 
 which in time actually decays, will afterwards, 
 through the very precipitation of mortality, 
 spring up and become alive. The day is 
 buried in night, and gradually rises into morn- 
 ing — the winter is buried in spring, and out 
 of the spring rises the summer — the plants and 
 flowers revive, and grow, and bloom ; the buds 
 rise out of the stalk, and from the buds the 
 leaves ; and, in short, the whole face of nature 
 presents a continual resurrection, not new
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 125 
 
 THINGS UPON IT, BUT NEW THINGS RISING 
 OUT OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE OLD. 
 
 And can we imagine that God will raise all 
 these things to newness of life, and not 
 raise man? Will he restore all things to man, 
 and not man to himself? The case can admit 
 of no improbability, and certainly no impossi- 
 bility, and therefore we may conclude that it 
 is absolutely certain. But let me turn your 
 attention to several passages in the Old and 
 in the New Testament. Daniel tells us, that 
 " many of them that sleep in the dust of the 
 earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, 
 and some to shame and everlasting contempt." 
 The words of Job are very expressive: '* I 
 know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he 
 shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ; 
 and though after my skin worms destroy this 
 body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." And 
 if we turn to the New Testament, we shall 
 tind many revelations of a resurrection. Our 
 Saviour tells us, that when we make a feast, 
 we should call the poor, and that for so doing, 
 we " shall be recompensed at the resurrection 
 of the just." See how Christ refuted the
 
 126 OCCA.SIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 Sadducees, and confirmed the doctrine of a 
 resurrection. '* As touching the resurrection 
 of the dead, have ye not read that which was 
 spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the 
 God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
 God of Jacob ; God is not the God of the 
 dead, but of the living." This argument 
 silenced the Sadducees, and astonished the 
 multitude. And St. Paul thus argues, in that 
 most beautiful chapter which you heard read 
 to-day. " If the dead rise not, then is Christ 
 not raised, and if Christ be not raised, your 
 faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then 
 they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are 
 perished. If in this life only we have hope in 
 Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 
 And thus does he go on, in the most moving 
 strains of sacred eloquence, not only to shew 
 the possibility y but the certainty of the resur- 
 rection. And whilst upon this subject, I must 
 not forget to remind you, that under the law 
 three persons were actually raised from the 
 dead ; and we have three to equal them under 
 the gospel. In the Old Testament, we find 
 that God heard the voice of Elijah for the dead
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 127 
 
 child of the widow of Sarepta, " and the soul 
 of the child came into him again, and he re- 
 vived." We also read of Eiisha raising the 
 child of the Shunamite from death. Again, 
 when they were burying a dead man *' they 
 cast the man into the sepulchre of Eiisha, and 
 when the dead man was let down and touched 
 the bones of Eiisha, he revived and stood on his 
 feet." In the New Testament we read, that 
 when the daughter of Jairus was dead, Christ 
 said unto her, ** * Talitha cumi,' damsel arise, 
 and her spirit came again, and straightway the 
 damsel arose." Again, when he drew nigh to 
 the gate of Nain, there was a dead man carried 
 out, and he came nigh and touched the bier, 
 and said, ** Young man, I say unto thee arise, 
 and he that was dead, sat up, and began to 
 speak." Again, when Lazarus had been dead 
 four days, Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
 '* * Lazarus, come forth,' and he that was dead 
 came forth." 
 
 But whatever presumption, almost amount- 
 ing to certainty, the above instances afford of a 
 resurrection, they contain neither the only nor 
 the greatest scriptural proof of that stupen-
 
 128 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 dous truth. Christ the Saviour died, and 
 Christ the Saviour rose, he emerged from the 
 dark tomb, spoiled death of his sceptre, and 
 carried the keys of his prison-house in triumph 
 to heaven. His resurrection is an earnest- of 
 our own. He has assured us that " because 
 he lives, we shall live also." He is the head, 
 believers are his members, and therefore shall 
 have communion with him in his life. But we 
 have yet another Scriptural proof of the resur- 
 rection. We are told that at the time of our 
 Lord's death, many of the saints arose and 
 appeared unto many. Oh, how great must 
 have been the awe and amazement of the 
 spectators, when they saw the graves open, 
 and bodies emerge from them. Here, per- 
 haps, was to be seen the venerable figure of 
 some aged patriarch, or the antique visage of 
 some antediluvian, gradually lighting up into 
 existence, and throwing off the folds and 
 wrappings of the embalmer. Here, perhaps, 
 was recognized the beloved form of some 
 cherished child or parent, whose hallowed 
 earth was still moist with the tears of the 
 unhappy mourners. Those who were alive in
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 129 
 
 those days, and saw the grave deprived of its 
 sting, and the prison-doors fly open, and the 
 long-slumbering captives set free, must have 
 been inspired with an awe and dread, feelings 
 which could not fail to shortly subside in holy 
 reverence and obedience to the great God of 
 the universe. Oh, Sir, be sure that the resur- 
 rection of the body is infallibly certain, and 
 that all the graves shall give up the dead that 
 are contained in them. The scattered parti- 
 cles shall be collected, and again formed into 
 shape and symmetry. The bones shall come 
 together, the sinews renit, and the flesh and the 
 skin shall cover them. The body shall revivify, 
 doubtless it shall breathe and live. Yes, the 
 object of your aff'ections, whom you have com- 
 mitted to so cold a bed, and upon whom you 
 have poured down so many tears of regret, 
 shall put on life again, the clay-cold skin 
 shall be warm, the rigid limb move, the dor- 
 mant pulse beat, the pallid lip quiver, the 
 tongue grow vocal, the livid cheek wel- 
 come the tint of health, the fallen jaw, the 
 pinched nostrils, the fixed staring eye, shall all 
 be once more animated. In all and each, the 
 
 G 5
 
 130 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 functions of life shall be renewed. Those who 
 breathed before, and those who passed their 
 pilgrimage on earth after the flood, shall at the 
 same time arise, at the blow of the last trump, 
 " for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
 shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
 changed. Marvel not then at this, for the 
 hour is coming, in the which all that are in 
 their graves shall hear his voice, and shall 
 come forth, they that have done good unto the 
 resurrection of life, and they that have done 
 evil to the resurrection of damnation." * 
 
 While the Doctor, with the utmost earnest- 
 ness was endeavouring to demonstrate the 
 certainty of the resurrection, the young man 
 seemed to hang upon every syllable with the 
 most anxious attention, though at times he 
 could not prevent his inward emotion from 
 breaking out into audible distress. 
 
 The arguments of the Doctor had produced 
 their natural effect upon his conviction, and he 
 felt almost persuaded to believe in the life to 
 come. But alas ! errors of opinion, early 
 imbibed, adapted to and falling in with pecu- 
 liar modes of thought, and rooted by the obli-
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 131 
 
 quities of education, are not to be eradicated 
 on the sudden. They are in their very nature 
 chronic, and require, not merely an effort of 
 the will, but devout study, and above all, ear- 
 nest supplication to the throne of grace, for 
 their correction. 
 
 The unknown having expressed his heartfelt 
 thanks for the Doctor's extreme kindness to a 
 stranger, intimated his desire to be left to the 
 indulgence of his reflections. * But before we 
 part,' said the Rector, ' I should wish to learn 
 the cause of this great anguish of mind. I 
 presume that your affections were set upon this 
 young female, and that you have been deprived 
 of her, no doubt for some good purpose, at a 
 time when you least apprehended, and when 
 you could least bear, the infliction ; but the same 
 being who took her from you at this sad hour, 
 can, and will, at your intreaty, through the 
 merits of his Son, vouchsafe you other blessings.' 
 
 * The being,' answered the young man, with 
 emotion, * who deprived me of Matilda, and 
 Matilda of life, was a villain who can ill bestow 
 aught in compensation for his guilty crimes ; 
 he — he was a murderer.'
 
 132 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 ' What ! ' exclaimed the Rector with asto- 
 nishment, * Has the tabernacle of life been 
 broken into by foul means ? Have I, in igno- 
 rance, been interring some innocent victim of 
 the crimes of man ? Pray, Sir, relieve my mind 
 from this state of incertitude, by explaining 
 the whole of this mysterious affair.' 
 
 ' No, Reverend Sir,* responded the young 
 man, * it is not permitted me to resolve your 
 doubt upon the subject. The villainy of the 
 individual to whom I have been betrayed into 
 allusion, is too great. I will not offend your 
 ears by the details. He is indeed a murderer, 
 who hath already immolated many, and will 
 yet destroy more.' 
 
 ' Since, Sir,' returned the Rector with deter- 
 mined mien, * you have already revealed so much, 
 it becomes imperative upon me to call upon you to 
 make a disclosure of the whole transaction. This 
 I require of you before we part to night, else — ' 
 
 ' Nay, say not so,' interrupted the young 
 man, * to utter the name of that moral assassin 
 would madden me^ the very thoughts of him 
 call up the anguish yet flying about my soul. 
 Be content, — that at some future time — '
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 133 
 
 * This moment,' interposed the Rector, * or 
 I shall consider it my duty — ' Here the young 
 man again went off into a paroxysm of grief, 
 and it gave the Doctor the greatest possible 
 difficulty to recover him. However, after some 
 time, having become more composed, the Doctor 
 renewed his instances, and in the most solemn 
 manner urged him to clear up the fearful mys- 
 tery his late language imported. It was not 
 until after great remonstrance and persua- 
 sion, that the unknown consented.' 
 
 * Matilda Armstrong,' he began, ' was the 
 daughter of a rich merchant, brought up in the 
 enjoyment of most luxuries, and exulting in 
 the possession of every blessing which this life 
 could afford. She was accomplished, mild, 
 and amiable, besides these, she, alas ! was dis- 
 tinguished by uncommon beauty and loveliness, 
 the symmetry of parts was conspicuous in every 
 lineament, and in the adaptation of every 
 limb. She was a perfect model of her sex. 
 Every thing that was charming in grace, sim- 
 ple in elegance, and alluring in loveliness, was 
 marked in the person of Matilda. But for 
 none of these did I esteem her, I had loved
 
 134 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 her long before these perishable features of 
 humanity had developed their fatal fascina- 
 tions. Having known her from a child, I can 
 speak correctly concerning her qualifications; 
 in early years we were accustomed to play 
 together ; our toys and pastimes, pursuits and 
 recreations were in common. We insensibly 
 imbibed almost the same ideas, and from the 
 opinion of the one, it was upon all occasions 
 easy to anticipate the opinion of the other. 
 Our parents having observed this, concluded 
 that no two persons were more fit for each 
 other's society than ourselves, and therefore it 
 was settled between them, that when the time 
 came, in which I was in a situation to marry, we 
 were to be united in the holy estate of wedlock. 
 This engagement was ratified and confirmed 
 by the mutual confession of our own hearts ; 
 the day fixed upon for our union arrived, every 
 thing was prepared, but, alas ! in the mean 
 time, a monster in human form took clandes- 
 tine means to snatch from me my only hope. 
 He falsely represented to her that I was lead- 
 ing a dissolute life. He instilled the insidious 
 lie into her ear. He imputed to me faults and
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 135 
 
 follies, of which I was altogether innocent, 
 nay, scrupled not to charge me with crimes of 
 which my nature is incapable. The tempter 
 too was rich, and expended his money as a bait 
 to his victim, and in the purchase of every thing 
 that he deemed likely to turn her affection 
 from me upon himself. Alas ! with too credu- 
 lous an ear did she listen to his entreaties, 
 until at length in an evil hour, the deluded 
 girl consented to his proposals. 
 
 ' I was no more thought of — the sight of me 
 to Matilda, which before called up all the holy 
 passions of the soul, was distressing, and if I 
 chanced to speak, the voice which erst was 
 music to her ears, became grating and dis- 
 agreeable. In vain I implored a hearing, in 
 vain did I endeavour my utmost, to satisfy the 
 mind of Matilda that I was wrongfully 
 accused, she shunned my remonstrances, and 
 laughed to scorn my explanations. 
 
 Often would I recal to her mind the many 
 happy hours we had passed together when life 
 was dawning to our hopes ; often advert to 
 scenes which had happened, and excursions 
 which we had taken, when the opening affec-
 
 136 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 tions of our young hearts were fixed upon each 
 other. Often did I remind her that it was the 
 last fond wish of her dying parents, for our 
 hands, with our hearts in them, to be united, 
 but all to no purpose ; at the detail of these 
 things a silent tear would trickle down her 
 beautiful cheek, and when I fancied that I was 
 gaining ground upon her faith and her affec- 
 tions, she would thrust me away with all the 
 cruelty imaginable, and liken me to the once 
 innocent lamb wandering from the homely 
 hearth amongst stray sheep, without a fold or a 
 shepherd to keep them from destruction. How 
 could innocence endure such taunts as these ? 
 I found it hard to restrain myself from in- 
 flicting punishment upon my traducer, but 
 reason and judgment alike arrested the arm of 
 vengeance. Oh ! had I yielded to my inclina- 
 tion, that sweet flower which has been cutoff, 
 would have been saved in its beauty, and that 
 wretch from a crime which must be registered 
 in heaven. To make short, sir, for my feelings 
 overpower me, the villain under the promise 
 of marriage, abducted her from her guardian's 
 house^ and after seducing her from the path
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 137 
 
 of virtue, abandoned the victim of his sensuality 
 to the scoffs and further snares of her fellow- 
 creatures, deserted her with no apparent re- 
 source, save to wander for the short remainder 
 of her career, in infamy and disgrace. But 
 her mind became not debased to her condition, 
 something of its original purity yet remained, 
 and she spurned the thought of persisting in 
 the sin to which she had been betrayed. 
 Though cast from society, branded with a 
 moral excommunication, and shunned by all 
 for having sacrificed her virtue to the base 
 passions of an unprincipled villain ; she, with 
 the trifling independence which remained to 
 her, secluded herself from the public gaze, 
 and lived almost in obscurity ; but the barbed 
 dart had struck home, the grief was too poig- 
 nant for her mind to bear up against ; she not 
 only mourned the sin which she had committed, 
 but my misery — a misery which she herself 
 had entailed upon me, weighed heavy on her 
 soul. Her regrets and melancholy retrospec- 
 tion affected her peace of mind, and eclipsed 
 that sunshine of the breast so essential for our 
 happiness, until at last the sincerity of her
 
 138 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 repentance and remorse was evidenced in an 
 untimely death. She felt that the only charm 
 that could hide her guilt, and cover her 
 shame, and wring the bosom of her seducer, 
 y^as — TO DIE. Theheartof Matilda broke, she 
 had not sufficient strength to bear up against her 
 difficulties, and at last, when we had every 
 reason to suppose that time would have 
 brouffht her to her former state of content- 
 ment, she sank into the grave. We depended 
 upon time, but time brought death, together 
 with the misery in which you found me.' 
 
 During this mournful narrative, the Doctor 
 was greatly affected, both on account of the 
 young man, and the undefined dread that crept 
 across him, that notwithstanding all his care, 
 his foster child might be destined to the same 
 unhappy fate. 
 
 * And who,' asked the Doctor, * was the 
 person who deprived you of your happiness ? ' 
 
 ' Who 1 the very name sits ill upon my lips, 
 and my tongue would falter in my jaws were 
 I to attempt to tell it, ask it not, spare me the 
 pain which it would give me, were I to dis- 
 close it.'
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 189 
 
 * It is absolutely requisite that you inform 
 me,' said the Doctor. 
 
 * If that be so,' answered the young man, 
 
 • Harry Seymour was the villain.' 
 
 * Harry Seymour l' ejaculated the Rector, 
 
 * Harry Seymour! I had a strong presenti- 
 ment that he was the culprit. Oh ! what an 
 omission in our criminal code, that there is no 
 law to punish such delinquents. There is no 
 crime more injurious to society, no sin (if there 
 be a difference in sin) more heinous than the 
 seduction of an innocent female. To lead 
 virtue astray and play upon the charms of 
 innocency are crimes which the laws of our 
 country do not recognize. And the seducer is 
 admitted into what is called genteel society. 
 Man does not sacrifice his honour by his in- 
 iquity, nor is he unfortunately amenable to 
 punishment, but if ever punishment was due 
 to any crime, it is to that of seduction. It is 
 cowardice, it is villany — cowardice to take ad- 
 vantage of woman's weakness — and villany to 
 reduce innocence to misery. Oh ! sir, I thank 
 you most cordially for having made this dis- 
 closure. And God grant that what I have
 
 140 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 said to you this evening may have its desired 
 effect.' 
 
 The young man appeared much more recon- 
 ciled after having unburdened his mind, and 
 the Doctor exliorted him not to place his 
 affections on the perishable things of this life, 
 but to fix his heart in higher regions, for 
 ** where your treasure is," concluded he, 
 " there will your heart be also." 
 
 Just as he had thus finished, a third person 
 came up, who proved to be a friend of the 
 young man's, to whom the Doctor narrated 
 every thing, and after having committed him 
 to his care, he returned to his family, who had 
 been waiting his arrival for some time. 
 
 The next morning, the Rector, according to 
 his promise, went to repeat his visit to the 
 sick person whom he had the night before 
 attended. He found him considerably better 
 than when he had first seen him, but still there 
 remained a weight upon his conscience, which 
 rendered him far from being happy. Upon 
 the Doctor asking him how he found himself, 
 he said, ' Thank God, I am much easier in 
 my mind, but I fear I shall never recover that
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 141 
 
 quiet composure of which I stand at this time 
 so much in need. The sin which I have 
 committed has extended itself to many, and, 
 in all prohability will entail its deadly virus 
 on future generations. As I told you before, 
 I am the author of many blasphemous publica- 
 tions, which have been received by the world 
 as delicious morsels : in them I have denied 
 the Saviour ; I have stirred men up to open 
 rebellion ; I have represented the scriptures 
 as being false; in short, I have proved myself 
 a traitor, ay ! even to the inward conviction of 
 my own bosom. Look then at the conse- 
 quences, at the extent of my sin, it is not only 
 an individual transgression, not merely con- 
 fined to myself, but extends to others far be- 
 yond my reach to retrieve, far beyond my power 
 to recover. 
 
 * Let us,' said the Rector, * pray and trust 
 that God will not suffer the poison which you 
 have sent abroad to take effect. And should 
 you be spared to leave this bed, which God 
 grant you may, let your first work be, to 
 publicly renounce your former writings ; by 
 these means you will at least neutralize
 
 142 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 their effect, you will show the world that 
 what you produced was the result of a de- 
 praved and wicked disposition, and came forth 
 under the influence of an evil spirit. Do 
 this at once, and use fervent prayer to God 
 that he will continue you in your present mind, 
 and uphold you in your resolution, and I 
 doubt not but you will soon receive the 
 benefit.' 
 
 * But, oh ! I have to reflect,' answered the 
 sick man, * that many have gone down to the 
 grave whose minds have been poisoned by my 
 productions, their guilt I have upon my own 
 head.' 
 
 * Let us hope otherwise,' answered the Rec- 
 tor, * if the sin which you have committed be 
 great, which doubtless it is, remember that 
 Christ is both able and willing to take it upon 
 himself, and will do so, if you, with a sincere 
 and penitent heart, humbly confess your sins 
 before him, and resolve to lead a new life 
 with a lively faith in his atoning merits.' 
 
 * He is a merciful Saviour,' replied the sick 
 man, * I have already felt the eflJects of his 
 love.'
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 143 
 
 ' What service, then/ asked the Rector, 
 can you render unto him which he will be 
 pleased to accept ? ' 
 
 * "What service,' demanded the sick man, 
 can a vile sinner like myself hope to render 
 unto the Lord.' 
 
 * Is there no command,' again asked the 
 Rector, ' which he gave to his followers at his 
 last dying hour, ''Do this,'' said he, ** m 
 remembrance of me'' ' 
 
 * Oh ! sir,' exclaimed the awakened invalid, 
 * how can I, a sinner, an outcast, a vagabond 
 upon the face of the earth, just before I enter 
 my grave, eat and drink my own damnation. 
 Let me not heap coals on that fire which is 
 burning so furiously within, and consuming my 
 very soul.' 
 
 ' I mean not at present,' answered the Doc- 
 tor ' that you should receive the holy sacra- 
 ment, but in the course of a day or two, during 
 which time I trust you will examine yourself 
 to see whether you repent truly of your former 
 sins, whether you have resolved to lead hence- 
 forward a holy and religious life, whether you 
 have a livelv faith in Jesus Christ, and whether
 
 144 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 you have gratitude for what he purchased for 
 you when he died upon the cross. For if 
 you do these things sincerely, then may you 
 draw near with faith, and take the holy sacra- 
 ment to your comfort, then may you spiritually 
 eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood, 
 then will you dwell in Christ, and Christ in 
 you : and so far from eating and drinking your 
 own damnation, you will receive that inesti- 
 mable benefit, which will give comfort and 
 health to your soul.' 
 
 ' I never,' replied the sick man, * have yet 
 received the sacrament, because I was mind- 
 ful of that eternal damnation denounced on such 
 as receive it unworthily.' 
 
 ' For that simple reason then,' said the 
 Rector, ' you should now take it. You need 
 not fear eternal damnation in consequence of 
 performing this good work. The damnation 
 to which you allude meant nothing more, at the 
 time the Bible was translated, than condemna- 
 tion, and had no reference to eternal torments. 
 The original word occurs frequently in the 
 New Testament, and means simply condemna- 
 tion ; so that literally, if we eat and drink un-
 
 OCCASCONAL SERVICES. 145 
 
 worthily, we purchase to ourselves condemna- 
 tion, and therefore, of course, render our- 
 selves obnoxious to punishment. 
 
 St. Paul does not refer to eternal damna- 
 tion; as in the following verse, he says, *' For 
 this cause many are weak and sickly among 
 you, and many sleep.'' And it is very evi- 
 dent that the compilers of our Liturgy did not 
 intend to apply the word damnation from what 
 follows : " We kindle God's wrath against 
 us ; we provoke him to plague us with divers 
 diseases, and sundry kinds of death.'' Again, 
 when St. Paul pronounced this denunciation, 
 he expressly addressed himself to the Corin- 
 thians, who had been guilty of great abuses in 
 the celebration of the Lord's Supper. They 
 came to the communion, not to commemorate 
 the death of our Lord, but as to a convivial 
 feast, where they indulged their appetites to ex- 
 cess, and therefore did St. Paul tell them, that 
 they ate and drank their own damnation. But 
 there is no danger of your coming in that 
 spirit, and therefore you cannot even be liable 
 to the punishment ; and to be on the safe side, 
 if you duly prepare yourself, you will reap 
 II
 
 146 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 every advantage which that sacrament can 
 bestow. In fact, it is a duty incumbent upon 
 you ; it is a command, which our Saviour gave 
 just before his death. And if, let me ask you, 
 if the sincerest friend you have should die, 
 and beg of you to perform something which 
 you could do without the least inconvenience, 
 would you not readily do it ? How much 
 more then is it incumbent upon you to obey 
 the last injunction of your master, from whom 
 you have acknowledged to have lately derived 
 some comfort ? Do you think that the suffer- 
 ings to which the Saviour of the world sub- 
 mitted for your sake, deserve no remembrance? 
 Can you hope for salvation, or secure to your- 
 self peace, even in this world, unless you obey 
 his commands ? But I wish you not to receive 
 it, solely in obedience to his will, but out of 
 love and gratitude to him who has purchased 
 for you and all, salvation upon so easy condi- 
 tions. " Whosoever''' said he, *' eateth my 
 jlesh and drinketh my Mood, hath eternal life'' 
 I do not in the least wish to persuade you to 
 receive the Sacrament unworthily, but I have 
 seen sufficient change in you to authorize me
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 147 
 
 to urge you to prepare for it. You have 
 shown visible signs of repentance, go on in the 
 good work begun ; repent in every sense of 
 the word, and with a lively faith in Jesus 
 Christ, you will have remission of sins.' 
 
 * My dear Sir,' said the sick man, * your 
 encouragements are very consolatory, I feel the 
 comfort of them inwardly, and I hope through 
 the blessing of God, to be ready the next time 
 you come.' 
 
 * I am,' replied the Doctor, * very happy to 
 hear you say so, now I will offer up, with your 
 permission, a prayer to Almighty God for his 
 mercies, and for a continuance of them, and 
 that he may give you such a measure of his 
 grace, as to enable you to receive the Sacra- 
 ment worthily, and to reap benefit therefrom.' 
 Here the Doctor knelt down and prayed, in 
 which act of devotion the sick man seemed 
 sincerely to join. When he had finished, he 
 marked several chapters in the Bible, which 
 he wished the sick man to read, and left with 
 him a book upon the subject, with a promise 
 to see him on the morrow, in the hopes of 
 administering the Holy Sacrament. 
 
 II 2
 
 148 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 Besides the many duties Dr. Truman had to 
 perform, he was surrogate to the district; and 
 on his return home he found a party waiting 
 to obtain a licence for marriage. The person 
 who required the license was an old man, who 
 had come there upon two former occasions for 
 the same purpose, and who had but very lately 
 buried his last wife. Upon the Doctor ex- 
 pressing some surprise, he said, * I hope indeed 
 this will be the last time I shall require your 
 services, either for the purpose of granting me 
 a licence, or for solemnizing the ceremony, for 
 I trust that soon, marriages will be performed 
 in a very different way.' 
 
 * Do you not,' asked the Doctor, ' approve 
 of our service I ' 
 
 ' No,' answered the old man, * I consider 
 marriage to be rather a civil contract than a 
 religious obligation ; at least I should wish all 
 sects to be married in their own way, and 
 according to their own forms.' 
 
 * What,' exclaimed the Doctor, * marriage a 
 civil contract, which was instituted by God 
 himself, long before any civil officers existed ! 
 That ceremony which Jesus Christ honoured
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 140 
 
 with his presence when he performed the first 
 miracle in Cana of Galilee, when the ''modest 
 water saw its God and blushed V that cere- 
 mony a civil contract ! That ceremony a civil 
 contract in which man and woman are joined 
 together so firmly that death alone can separate 
 them ! That a civil contract which is of so 
 sacred a nature that St. Paul has represented it 
 as being typical of the '* union between Christ 
 and his church!" Oh! no, Sir, never. Never 
 yet amongst the rudest nations has marriage 
 been performed without some religious service, 
 and among the Christians especially, from the 
 very first age of the church, those who have 
 been married have been always joined together 
 in a solemn manner by an ecclesiastical person. 
 And it is declared to be no less than prosti- 
 tuting one's daughter to give her in marriage, 
 without the blessings of the priest. And as 
 for your wish for all sects to be married in 
 their own way, and according to their own 
 forms, do not, I pray you, expose us to 
 innumerable clandestine marriages, which 
 would be the result, if by any mischance your 
 wish were to be gratified. The minister of
 
 150 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 every sect would claim his right to marry 
 according to his own form, so that in time, 
 there would be no stated rule, and we should 
 be at a loss to know who were, and who were 
 not, living in the holy estate of wedlock. Order 
 would become disorder, and society and 
 rational intercourse, from being a blessing, 
 would become the greatest curse upon earth.' 
 
 * Oh ! but Sir,' interrupted the old man, 
 * these things are going to be altered by the 
 state, and it will provide against the dangers 
 to which you allude.' 
 
 ' The State,' answered the Doctor, * has a 
 right to alter and change laws, as it seems 
 meet, and it is not for me, out of the spirit of 
 opposition, to offer any thing against what it 
 may judge best; no doubt it is guided by prin- 
 ciple, and its desire is to do good. But if it 
 assume the popular cry, as an authority to 
 disturb our sacred ceremonies, instead of defer- 
 ring all things to the word of God, then it 
 would be belter for the State, without speaking 
 disrespectfully of any of its members, to dis- 
 solve itself till it had learnt to regulate its 
 actions by the Bible, which cannot err. It is 
 for those who hold the reins of government to
 
 OCCASIONAL SERVICES. 151 
 
 be cautious how they handle the sacred things 
 of God ; it is for them to consider that they 
 are not handling temporal affairs, but spiritual, 
 and that upon them, in a great measure, will 
 the prosperity of our land depend. But I wish 
 not to enter politically with you on the subject ; 
 if there be any dissatisfaction in the perform- 
 ance of the ceremony in our church, modelled 
 upon that of the early Christians, who received 
 it from the Apostles themselves ; if the praises 
 and prayers which are offered up there, in the 
 most solemn and sacred manner, be repugnant 
 to the feelings of any party, or if the ceremony 
 itself be considered to be of so trifling a nature 
 as to admit of no religious obligation, then it 
 behoves those who disapprove of our mode of 
 procedure, to form a better plan for the cele- 
 bration of this holy estate, and to let us alone, 
 who are not only satisfied, but consider the 
 ceremony as performed in our church, the most 
 imposing, the most binding, and the most 
 sacred that God ever instituted.' 
 
 Upon saying this the Doctor prepared the 
 license, and after the usual proceedings were 
 over, the old man left the Rectory, without 
 venturing another word upon the subject.
 
 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 H 5
 
 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 It was Dr. Truman's custom to employ several 
 hours every day in visiting, not only the poor, 
 but also the rich in his parish. And it was 
 his invariable rule to make no distinction as to 
 those who had separated themselves from his 
 church ; he considered that they were all his 
 parishioners, consequently entitled to his minis- 
 tration. Whenever those whom he considered 
 churchmen stayed from church for more than 
 two Sundays, he made a point of at once ascer- 
 taining the cause ; by these means he was 
 enabled to know who were unwell in his 
 parish, and who were actuated by other mo- 
 tives for forsaking their calling. He had two 
 or three upon his list of this description ; the 
 first whom he waited upon was a Mr. Revel,
 
 156 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 who had not been seen with his family at 
 church for the two preceding Sundays. Mr. 
 Revel was a man of a very unstable disposition, 
 but had been considered by the Rector to be a 
 sound and conscientious churchman. His wife, 
 too, was one of those ladies vvho in their con- 
 duct are rather led by fashion and novelty than 
 influenced by duty, and of course the children 
 were imbibing the same principles. It was 
 about one o'clock when the Doctor knocked at 
 their door ; he was informed by their footman 
 that his master and mistress were at break- 
 fast, notwithstanding which he thought they 
 would be happy to see him. Dr. Truman 
 conceived that his presence, and at that time, 
 might be of service, if it only had the effect of 
 shaming them for keeping such late hours ; 
 but no, these people were not so easily to be 
 ashamed. On his entering the breakfast room 
 he perceived Mr. Revel seated in a large easy 
 chair with a loose gown carelessly put on, 
 after the Turkish fashion, his feet or rather 
 his toes were enclosed in a pair of yellow slip- 
 pers, and his eyes fixed upon the Morning 
 paper, his mind being apparently absorbed
 
 MORNING CALLS. 157 
 
 with the debates, or more likely the announce- 
 ment of amusements advertized to take place 
 that day. Mrs. Revel sat by his side in a 
 dress which appeared more suitable for a robe 
 de chamhre, than one for receiving visitors ; her 
 feet too, like her husband's, were luxuriating 
 in a large pair of carpet slippers, edged with 
 white fur, and her fingers were covered with 
 beautiful rings, the stones from which shed a 
 glowing lustre as she moved her hand, which 
 she made a point of doing oftener than was 
 requisite. Her daughters and son were seated 
 around the table, more or less conspicuously 
 attired, and altogether a more rakish-looking 
 party was never before seen by the Rector. 
 Upon his apologizing for thus intruding at 
 their breakfast hour, and signifying his regret 
 that he should have taken them so by sur- 
 prise, they assured him that he was a most 
 welcome guest, and that they were truly 
 happy to see him, for it is a charity, subjoined 
 Mrs. Revel, for any one to call at this hour, 
 early as it is, to relieve us from mornings 
 which are at this time of the year so dull and 
 ennuiyant.'
 
 158 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 * Allow me,' said Miss Revel, * to offer you 
 some breakfast, Doctor.' 
 
 * Breakfast, my dear ! ' iterated the Doctor, 
 * I have breakfasted four hours ago, and have 
 since then been marrying, granting licenses, 
 and visitins: the sick without number.' 
 
 * Ah ! ' said Mrs. Revel, * yours must be an 
 irksome life, a monotonous routine of the same 
 disagreeables, without any novelty to excite, 
 or any pleasure to gratify.' 
 
 * Pardon me, Madam,' replied the Doctor, 
 ' the pleasure I derive from my office is of such 
 a nature as to preclude the possibility of being 
 otherwise than happy ; there are, as you ob- 
 serve, disagremens, but these are so out- 
 balanced by pleasures, that in point of fact I 
 don't feel the disadvantages to which you 
 allude. And with respect to novelty, my 
 duties involve a series of excitements, but were 
 it otherwise, the opposition which the con- 
 scientious clergyman encounters in their per- 
 formance, is sufficient to excite and increase 
 his energy and zeal. Were the novelty not 
 quite so great and incessant, would people not 
 so readily change their good old habits for new
 
 MORNING CALLS. 159 
 
 ones, nor be such slaves to that lady called 
 Fashion, I think we should be enabled the 
 better to succeed in keeping our parishioners 
 from wandering from the right road, into one 
 which leads to destruction and ruin.' 
 
 ' But only to mention,' rejoined Mrs. Revel, 
 ' the visiting of the sick, I am sure that must 
 be an ungrateful office, and one that can yield 
 no satisfaction.' 
 
 ' Again,' replied the Doctor, * pardon me. 
 That great ingratitude exists among the poor, 
 as oftentimes among those who should know 
 and act better, cannot be denied ; but we look 
 not for gratitude from their hands, so not ex- 
 pecting it, we meet with no disappointment; 
 we look for payment from a higher source, 
 and if, from our consciences we feel that we 
 are doing the work, and fulfilling the wish of 
 God, we have obtained our end. And it can 
 never be less than a great thing to proclaim 
 the glad tidings, to administer consolation at 
 the time when the soul most requires it, and to 
 be able, with God's help, to turn the house of 
 mourning into one of joy. I may say with the 
 greatest confidence, that the minister of Jesus
 
 160 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 Christ is very often an instrument, in the 
 hands of Deity, to save souls from destruction, 
 which would have been their inevitable lot, 
 had they not used the means provided by the 
 gospel for their conversion ; and feeling this, it 
 is sufficient to buoy the mind up under every 
 disagreeable and adverse circumstance, and 
 to sustain it under every pressure. And so 
 far from yielding no satisfaction, it produces 
 the greatest, inspiring the mind with that 
 inward peace and content, which enable us 
 to perform our duty with cheerfulness and 
 alacrity.' 
 
 * Considering it,' replied Mrs. Revel, * in 
 that light, it removes entirely the unpleasant- 
 ness, and renders it rather an agreeable pas- 
 time, than a work of irksomeness ; but I must 
 confess, my daughters and self soon got tired 
 of visiting the poor, whom we found to be so 
 ungrateful.' 
 
 * Despite their apparent ingratitude,' re- 
 joined the Doctor, * the same good might be 
 effected, and the same gratification obtained, 
 provided the same perseverance was used, and 
 the same determination to conquer any rebuffs
 
 MORNING CALLS. 161 
 
 which might be made on their parts ; but if 
 you once set out with a view, and in the hopes 
 of having your kindness returned to you, or 
 perhaps of witnessing the manifestation of 
 grateful hearts, in the place of those things which 
 the poor cannot return, . . in lieu of making 
 all other motives subordinate, to that of con- 
 tributing to the glory and honour of God, you 
 open yourself to disappointment, and conse- 
 quently disgust. Observe, moreover, that it 
 requires a little discrimination on our parts to 
 distinguish between what is and what is not 
 meant for gratitude, for what might seem to 
 some to indicate that feeling, may be consi- 
 dered in a very different light by more expe- 
 rienced observers. Again, is it not a very 
 hard case, in consequence of the many, who 
 (the more to be pitied,) know no better, evin- 
 cing ingratitude, that the more deserving 
 should be utterly forsaken?' 
 
 * But,' observed Mrs. Revel, * is it consist- 
 ent with common sense, to make no acknow- 
 ledgment of kind offices done unto us ? Why 
 even amongst the brute race, especially with 
 those animals which are domesticated, there
 
 162 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 may be discerned evident symptoms of grati- 
 tude for acts of kindness. Let me feed or 
 caress my dog, and I immediately elicit 
 manifestations of thankfulness ; nay, it is 
 the same with my cat, and I see no reason 
 to join in sentiment with Buffon, who 
 supposes the feline tribe more actuated 
 by self-interest, than any other species of 
 animals. 
 
 ' Excuse my interrupting you, Madam,' 
 returned the Doctor, * but supposing these 
 signs you speak of were not observable, would 
 you in consequence expose your cat or dog to 
 starvation ? I am sure otherwise ; but how 
 can you contemplate dealing more hardly with 
 your fellow-creatures, your co-heirs of immor- 
 tality, than with the beasts than perish I But 
 in point of fact, it is a duty incumbent upon 
 us, not to limit our charity to supplying the 
 poor with pecuniary aid, but to advise, instruct, 
 sympathise, condole, and share those mental 
 possessions which God in his goodness hath 
 bestowed upon us. " From him unto whom 
 much is given, much will be required ; " and if 
 we fail or fall short in evincing our gratitude
 
 MORNING CALLS. 163 
 
 to our creator, — and mere prayer be it remem- 
 bered, is adoration — not service ; how can we 
 complain of ingratitude on the part of our fellow- 
 creatures ? Only by assisting- one another do we 
 become a part of creation, and auxiliary mem- 
 bers of God's system, and the most considerable 
 and lasting benefit in our power to confer, is the 
 inculcation of the momentous truths of the 
 gospel. Thereby too, we pursue our proper 
 avocation, and acquire a genuine, serene and 
 solid satisfaction. Oh, never heed ingratitude, 
 trust me, *' Charity never faileth," and the 
 height of charity is to prevail upon the mistaken 
 pauper, the poacher, and the outcast, at once 
 the starvelings and the Arabs of civilized soci- 
 ety, to cut the cables and snap the chains 
 which tie them to an unfaithful shore, and 
 enter the friendly port that shoots its moles, 
 and mounds, and banks, far out into the main, 
 to receive and shelter them. There is no 
 period of his life, in which the thoughts of 
 man incline more naturally to his creator, than 
 when his pride is broken down, and his heart 
 affected by the tender offices of his fellow- 
 creatures ; and we never acquire so complete
 
 164 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 a mastery over the passions of others, and can 
 at no time so perfectly mould them to our 
 purpose, as after having evinced an abandon- 
 ment of self in their behalf; after having re- 
 lieved their wants, sympathized with their dis- 
 tress, and *forgiventhem their trespasses against 
 us.^ By this Christian policy, ** we heap coals of 
 fire upon the heads of our enemies,'' and the 
 ore of the most stubborn must melt. We 
 touch the heart ; we reach the affections of the 
 reprobate and the lost, which, through the 
 seasonable application of the divine word, we 
 might turn to the best account, to the down- 
 fall of the reign of Satan, and the accomplish- 
 ment of the kingdom of God.' 
 
 The eloquent divine paused. A flush was 
 on his cheek, and a faint smile played about 
 his lips, probably at the idea of his having 
 suffered his feelings to carry him so far 
 away. 
 
 * Ah, Doctor,' returned Mrs. Revel, * vou 
 always contrive to have the best of the argu- 
 ment. It is impossible to cope with you, when 
 you warm into such oratory.' 
 
 * I trust, Madam,' rejoined the Doctor, * I
 
 MORNING CALLS. 165 
 
 may continue to have, provided I am on the 
 right side of the question, but not unless.' 
 
 During this conversation, Mr. Revel sat in 
 perfect silence, although he appeared to be 
 listening with the greatest attention. The 
 Doctor, nevertheless, perceiving a shade of 
 dissent upon his countenance, presently in- 
 quired what he thought upon the subject? 
 
 * Upon my word, sir,' replied Mr. Revel, 
 
 * I must admit what you have advanced may 
 be very just and veritable, but really people 
 in our station of life cannot be expected 
 to pass their days in ministering to the ne- 
 cessities of the poor. There are so many 
 things which demand our attention, that 
 we have no opportunity of doing what, ab- 
 stractedly considered, I must acknowledge 
 to be our duty.' 
 
 * Why, Doctor,' interrupted Mrs. Revel, 
 
 * if I were only to enumerate the host of visi- 
 tors which we are necessitated to receive daily, 
 to say nothing of parties and other engage- 
 ments, you would readily excuse us from the 
 task, which you seem anxious to impose upon 
 us.'
 
 166 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 * My dear madam,' answered the Doctor, 
 * I am far from being desirous to impose any 
 task upon you, contrary to your own sense of 
 duty, but I must candidly tell you that T think 
 some portion of the twenty- four hours in each 
 day, should be set apart for charitable offices, 
 and more important obligations than 'fandango, 
 ball, and rout." 
 
 ' Our doing so,' observed Mr. Revel, 
 ' would be found so to interfere with our 
 amusements, that we should be obliged either 
 to devote our whole time to the one or the 
 other. And as for giving up our society, our 
 friends, and our parties, I cannot suppose that 
 you would require such a sacrifice, at all events, 
 it is quite out of the question,' 
 
 * Quite out of the question,' reiterated Mrs. 
 Revel. 
 
 ' You greatly mistake me,' resumed the 
 Doctor, * I would not wish you to lay aside 
 any of those customs from which you imagine 
 you derive so much pleasure, unless they in- 
 terfered with the duty which you owe to your 
 poorer brethren. I am sure you will excuse 
 me speaking plainly, but suppose you were to
 
 MORNING CALLS. 1C7 
 
 attend one party less in a week, and devote the 
 time which that would occupy, to visiting the 
 poor, or in performing objects of charity, I will 
 venture to engage, that you would find it not 
 in the least diminish your pleasure, but rather 
 enhance it.' 
 
 ' Do you, in short,' asked Mrs. Revel, * re- 
 commend a separation from the world, a kind 
 of seclusion, and the leading a monkish life. 
 Is that the miserable existence you insist upon, 
 and deem so indispensable ?' 
 
 ' Very far from it,' responded the good Doc- 
 tor, with a smile. ' Let me not be suspected of 
 desiring to abridge the pleasures and enjoy- 
 ments of life, on the contrary, I am a great 
 advocate for all kinds of innocent and rational 
 amusements, and I candidly tell you, could 
 hardly pass my days without them. Desipere 
 in loco, (I ask pardon Mrs. Revel) has ever 
 been my motto. Society well selected is ab- 
 solutely necessary for the health of the mind, 
 and is a great relief after the more arduous 
 fatigues, but if that society unfits us for our 
 duties, then it becomes injurious and danger- 
 ous. So far am I from being an enemy to
 
 168 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 rational recreations, that I recommend to every 
 body such sports as inspire mirth and hilarity, 
 and promote health, by steeling the constitution 
 with pleasing labour, being persuaded, more- 
 over, that enjoyed in moderation, they greatly 
 tend to make us more assiduous in the im- 
 portant affairs of life.' 
 
 ' Enjoyed in moderation,' repeated Mrs. 
 Revel, * that is such a relative expression, 
 who shall draw the nice line of demarcation ? 
 besides, what definition do you put upon ra- 
 tional amusements?' 
 
 * That must entirely,' answered the Doctor, 
 ' depend upon the taste of the party ; what 
 constitutes an amusement to some, being: an 
 object of disgust to others ; I for my part reap 
 the greatest satisfaction when I am doing the 
 most good ; but, generally speaking, I consider 
 those amusements to be rational, which afford 
 us relief from the more sedentary occupations 
 of life, and which are in themselves harmless, 
 both with respect to others and ourselves ; but 
 whenever they tend in any way to absorb our 
 whole attention and time, or fatigue us to such 
 a degree as to incapacitate us for the necessary
 
 MORNING CALLS. 169 
 
 occupations of life, it would seem, to my mind 
 at least, a strange perversion of language, to 
 term them rational. Mais les ondes aient les 
 retours ; and it invariably happens that those 
 persons who entirely give themselves up to 
 strenuous idleness, who waste their strength 
 therein, in a very short space of time find the 
 pleasures of this life, ennuyant and difficult to 
 prosecute. Lavish of lustrums, they may blink 
 the obligations with which their life is overlaid, 
 they may, for awhile, in their hey-day of folly, 
 scatter their thoughts abroad whilst their 
 fancy dances after meteors of happiness kindled 
 by itself, — they may dissipate their days in 
 pursuing like the swallow, the inconstant sum- 
 mer of delight and beauty, which invests the 
 visible scene — they may scour over the bound- 
 less expanse of that variegated heath, whose 
 horizon always flies before them ; it is only for 
 awhile, even on this side of eternity, the gay 
 glory of time will depart. The votaries of 
 dissipation at last retire from the scene, either 
 in utter disgust, or a determination to follow 
 their exacting delights no longer. Hence 
 whatever amusements engross the attention, 
 I
 
 170 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 however innocent, abstractedly considered, 
 they may appear, to the exclusion of other 
 important duties which we owe to God, our 
 neig"hbour, and ourselves, are injurious, since 
 they not only render the body incapable of 
 benevolent exertion, but endanger those celes- 
 tial rewards to which an immortal soul should 
 necessarily aspire.* 
 
 ' That is all very true/ replied Mr. Revel, * but 
 I should like to know what are those amuse- 
 ments you will allow to be rational and innocent.' 
 
 * That,' answered the Rector, ' must en- 
 tirely depend, as I have already had occasion 
 to remark, upon the taste, as also upon the age 
 and station in life of the individual. Dancing 
 is rational for young people, but scarcely so 
 for you or me. The sports of the field may 
 by some be considered rational, but it would 
 be quite inconsistent with my situation to join 
 in them : and so with every other amusement.' 
 
 * I am glad, at all events,' interrupted Mr. 
 Revel, * to find that you approve of hunting, 
 shooting, and other such manly exercises.' 
 
 * I approve,' answered the Rector, ' of all 
 manly and athletic sports where they are inno-
 
 MORNING CALLS. 171 
 
 cent. They tend to invigorate and harden the 
 constitution , they supefsede in the mind the 
 desire for sedentary and destructive games of 
 chance ; they serve as an antidote to the insa- 
 lubrious effects of confinement within doors ; 
 above all, they conduce materially to the pro- 
 duction of a vigorous and healthy offspring. 
 They are an excellent preparation for the mili- 
 tary exercises, and render men fit to become 
 defenders of their country* The sage Plato 
 himself, as we are informed by Diogenes 
 Laertius^ was accustomed to frequent the 
 public spectacles, and even to wrestle on the 
 public theatre. But with respect to the par- 
 ticular exercise which you have adduced, it is 
 cruel to the animals which are employed for 
 the sport, as well as to the thing hunted, not 
 to mention the risk of limb and life to which 
 the huntsman is himself obnoxious.' 
 
 ' Wherein consists the cruelty,' asked Mr. 
 Revel. 
 
 * It can,' answered the Doctor, ' be regarded 
 as nothing else than cruelty, to put both 
 horses and dogs beyond their strength. Nay, 
 it is cowardly also to urge beyond his powers, 
 
 I 2
 
 172 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 a force de baton, by goading tortures of whip 
 and spur, the most generous of all animals, 
 whose peculiar characteristic is willingness 
 even unto death ; who never stops to expostu- 
 late, and who ought in this case, peculiarly, 
 to be a sharer in our joys, rather than the 
 victim of our barbarous madness. Is it not 
 cruelty to torture out the life of a gallant 
 steed, which had struggled to the last sob of 
 expiring nature to serve you ? They, as well 
 as ourselves, has e feeling Sy and therefore are 
 affected more or less by exertion and fatigue. 
 I will add further, they have rights, and the^'w^ 
 aniinalium ought to form a part of the jurispru- 
 dence of every system, founded on the principle 
 of justice and humanity. And with respect to 
 the thing hunted ; — Alas ! what crime hath 
 the timid hare committed, or the deer which 
 weeps, that they are made to undergo the 
 horrid punishment of being harassed by mortal 
 affrights, and tortured, torn, and mangled to 
 death by piecemeal ? I know from the ana- 
 logy of instinct in the hound, it will here be 
 said, we are following nature ; but it is brute 
 nature, uninformed, and unillumined bv reason,
 
 MORNING CALLS. 1^3 
 
 which is the soul, and ought to be the director 
 of nature. It is surely enough that these 
 innocents forfeit their lives to pamper our 
 appetites, and nourish our bodies. The gun 
 and the knife afford them a speedy and unex- 
 pected exit, and they are entitled to the privi- 
 lege of an undisturbed life, and an easy death, 
 by every law of reason and humanity. 
 
 * Hunting the fox, which is a beast of prey, 
 greedy of blood, a robber prowling about, 
 seeking what creature he may devour, is not 
 liable to a single one of the preceding objec- 
 tions^ nor indeed to any one in a moral view, 
 with which I am acquainted. 
 
 ' He is a fair object of sport who sports with 
 the feelings of all other creatures subjected to 
 his powers ; and a fierce and pugnacious animal 
 can experience none of those horrors, either 
 in his pursuit or capture, which must inevi- 
 tably agonize the feelings of the timid. The 
 proper line of discrimination therefore lies 
 (ita videtur) between the chace of fierce and 
 predaceous animals, and that of such as are of 
 a timid and harmless, or domestic nature ; the 
 former is a natural and rational pursuit, a
 
 174 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 legitimate sport, and worthy of kings and 
 heroes; the latter a mean and contemptible 
 exercise of cruelty, which a blind and unre- 
 flecting obedience to custom alone, can cause to 
 be productive of pleasure to generous minds.' 
 
 ' But surely,' objected Mr. Revel, * the 
 services between man and beast were intended 
 to be reciprocal ; and the greater part of the 
 latter can by no other means requite human 
 labor and care, than by the forfeiture of life. 
 Besides, were it not permitted to hunt ani- 
 mals down, it is evident that the country would 
 be overrun with them, the consequent injury 
 would be immense, not to remark that in num- 
 berless cases, it becomes an act of mercy to 
 take their lives.' 
 
 ^ That,' answered the Doctor, ^ is a very old 
 excuse, but it does not sanction the super- 
 fluous infliction of misery ; there are various 
 other ways of destroying these animals without 
 putting them to so much pain and distress.' 
 
 ' But, Doctor,' interrupted Mr. Revel, ' I 
 have yet an argument on my side, the force of 
 which you can hardly evade. If God consi- 
 dered the pleasures of the chase to be, as vou
 
 MORNING CALLS. 175 
 
 assert, cruel and cowardly, why did he pro- 
 vide so many things, as if for the express 
 object. Why does he give us such gallant 
 coursers, and so many sagacious hounds, gift- 
 ing the one with fleetness of foot, and endowing 
 the other with strong and unerring scent.' 
 
 * That may,' answered the Doctor, * seem 
 an argument in your favour, but we should 
 remember that it is our place not to misuse 
 God's gifts, and that in things indifferent, 
 criminality exists only in the abuse, in which 
 also lies the punishment. Though he has 
 given fleetness to the horse and to the dog, it 
 does not follow that we are to misdirect those 
 attributes to the furtherance of cruelty. God 
 hath endowed man with strength, but it is not 
 meant that he should exert it upon every 
 occasion to the destruction of those things 
 which are weak, and require his protection. 
 God hath blessed him with faculties, but he is 
 not to abuse them, by applying them to wrong 
 purposes, or to the detriment of any living 
 thing. Again, to reason from analogy, the 
 cutler makes an instrument with every capa- 
 city for destruction, but who would infer that
 
 176 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 therefore it is to be taken up by man, and used 
 to the sacrifice of the lives of human beings.' 
 
 * But we read,' rejoined Mr, Revel, * of 
 many persons in Scripture, who were termed 
 hunters, in those days.' 
 
 ' It follows not,' answered the Doctor, ' that 
 they acted right, for there were many who did 
 evil in the sight of the Lord, so that that argu- 
 ment has no force. Besides, these huntsmen 
 may have taken means to destroy the animals, 
 after which they were in search, by killing 
 them suddenly, without putting them to the 
 sense of a lingering death, or the worst pains 
 of apprehension, and in that case there could 
 be no cruelty imputed, since God undoubtedly 
 intended most animals which are hunted for 
 our use.' 
 
 * And I presume,' observed Mrs. Revel, 
 interrogatively, * that you would condemn 
 shooting upon the same principle V 
 
 * By no means,' answered the doctor, 
 * shooting is assuredly a rational amusement, 
 and does not imply the same cruelty which is 
 used in hunting, as the lives of the birds are 
 instantly taken, without any lingering pain »
 
 MORNING CALLS. 177 
 
 SO that if the partaking of this recreation be 
 compatible with our duty, it may be pronounced 
 innocent.' 
 
 ' May I venture, as a question more germane 
 to my feelings, to inquire in what light you 
 regard balls, dinners and card-parties ? ' — 
 demanded Miss Revel. 
 
 ' I can only,' replied the doctor, ' make the 
 same answer in respect to these as to other 
 amusements, that if they do not interfere with 
 our duties, and be not carried to excess, they 
 are perfectly harmless simply considered, and 
 void of crime and aggression, consequently, I 
 apprehend, they may be enjoyed without par- 
 taking of sin. And with respect to cards, I 
 hold they are injurious because they tend to 
 gambling ; if a party can sit down as to chess, 
 and be content to play without any stake, or so 
 small an one, as to make the gain or loss of no 
 consequence, then that to a certain extent 
 alters the case ; but I think, as a general rule, 
 the passing away hours together in shuffling 
 and dividing a pack of cards, with no higher 
 conversation than what is made up of a few 
 game phrases, and no other ideas but those of 
 I 5
 
 178 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 black or red spots, ranged together in different 
 figures, should as much as possible be abstained 
 from. And let me add, that not an amuse- 
 ment has been mentioned, which I would allow 
 to take place on a Saturday, because they unfit 
 us for the sublime imperative duties of the 
 morrow.' 
 
 ' Ah ! doctor,' said Mrs. Revel, ' there is no 
 eluding the force of your last observation. We 
 have, I must confess, been absent from church 
 the two last Sundays, inconsequence of having 
 been over-fatigued with the dissipation of the 
 preceding nights ; and it does not require much 
 consideration to discern that these things are 
 wrong.' 
 
 * I am glad to hear you allow so much,' said 
 the doctor, ' since the confession of a fault is 
 said to be half its cure ; and I sincerely trust 
 your conduct, in this regard, may go to prove 
 the truth of the observation. You perceive 
 that I am not one of those who would put 
 restrictions upon rational and innocent sports 
 and recreations of one kind or other, whenever 
 they do not interfere with our duty, or render 
 us incapable of performing it. They are often
 
 MORNING CALLS. 179 
 
 necessary to relieve our minds and bodies from 
 too constant attention and labour. And I con- 
 sider the best rule by which to regulate our 
 actions, where Scripture is silent, to be that of 
 conscience, which generally will tell us what 
 is right and what is wrong. And if we be 
 guided by it, we shall, in nine cases out often, 
 be upon the safe side. And with respect to 
 general conduct, I am not one of those who 
 would put on such a serious demeanour, and 
 such a Pharisaical preciseness, as to induce 
 people to think that I wish to be considered 
 better than they ; nor would I prohibit those 
 innocent amusements and social intercourses 
 which God himself intended, as a relief to our 
 more arduous duties and cares ; nevertheless, 
 in every thing taste, situation, and age must 
 be consulted. All recreations are not equally 
 becoming to all persons, and at all times. What 
 might be well enough for the young, and indi- 
 viduals loose upon the world, would want 
 something of propriety in the elderly, and such 
 as hold a responsible station in society. I am 
 inclined to think, however, if we zealously and 
 conscientiously perform our respective dutie>i
 
 180 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 as Christians towards God, our neighbours, 
 and ourselves, there can be no great harm in 
 the indulgence of that which is rational, and 
 not displeasing in the eyes of God, provided 
 in all our actions we aim at extending the 
 glory and love of the Almighty, rather than the 
 avoidance of punishment, or to preserve our 
 station in society ; because the motive makes 
 a vast difference in the performance of moral 
 duties. We may keep from stealing, not 
 because we are inclined to obey a command of 
 God, but for fear of punishment, and the same 
 with respect to our self-controul in other par- 
 ticulars ; so that an act to be really good, — to 
 be worthy of commendation, should spring 
 from a right motive, and have a proper end in 
 view ; indeed, unless this be the case, our 
 actions, however they may appear praisewor- 
 thy, are far from being so.' 
 
 ' Well, doctor,' replied Mr. Revel, I cannot 
 demur to the sense or truth of what you have 
 been saying, and though I cannot exactly 
 engage to set aside occupations, from which I 
 derive so much satisfaction, I will at least 
 promise, that they shall not henceforward so far
 
 MORNING CALLS. 181 
 
 interfere with our duty, as ever again to keep 
 us from Sabbath worship.' 
 
 ' I am happy,' replied the doctor, ' to hear 
 you say thus much, and I hope shortly to learn, 
 that so far from this determination having res- 
 tricted your pleasure, that it will be found to 
 have heightened it considerably.' 
 
 Dr. Truman thereupon took his departure, 
 and paid his next visit to an individual of a 
 very different character. Upon his entering 
 the room of the gentleman we allude to, he 
 found him seated on an easy chair, having an 
 immense bible displayed before him, with 
 whose page he seemed intently occupied, 
 poring over the large type through a pair 
 of spectacles, which, from their appearance, 
 might have been the property of some long- 
 buried ancestor. At length he broke the 
 strangely protracted silence by requesting the 
 Rector to be seated, and expressed his gratifi- 
 cation at seeing him. Now our host, who re- 
 joiced in the name of Clinch, was a person who 
 was wont to receive those who did not exactly 
 agree with him in sentiments, with a cool kind 
 of welcome, and such, at first, was the reception
 
 182 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 which the Doctor met with. To describe this 
 old gentleman minutely, would indeed be dif- 
 ficult, nevertheless, with the reader's indul- 
 gence we shall attempt it. His usual habili- 
 ments were of the olden time ; viz. a round 
 cut coat composed of claret cloth, with an 
 antique waistcoat, cut square, and descending 
 very low in front ; pockets prodigally em- 
 broidered of course; appended thereunto were 
 cuisses or breeches of velveteen, whose knees 
 glistened with golden buckles. His shoes, 
 which came high over the instep, were adorned 
 with massive clasps. He had on liis head a 
 fanciful cap trimmed with fur, surmounted by 
 a huge tassel, which hung from the centre. 
 Mr. Clinch had not been accustomed to attend 
 church regularly, and for this cause the 
 greater was the worthy Doctor's surprise, 
 upon inquiry, to find him in such good health.' 
 * The reason,' said Mr. Clinch, after the 
 interchange of a few customary observations, 
 * you have not seen me at church lately, per- 
 haps never will again, is not because of my 
 having been indisposed, to which probably you 
 attributed mv absence, but because I have
 
 MORNING CALLS. 183 
 
 taken a disinclination to your service. It ap- 
 pears to me dry and dull, readinor the same 
 prayers every Sunday ; I met with nothing 
 touching to the soul, no heavenly comfort ; and 
 as for your sermons, there is nothing animating 
 in them ; and so far from their inspiring one to 
 holiness, I positively might as well get ray 
 daughter to read aloud one of Blair's or 
 Paley's at home to me.' 
 
 ' These are sad complaints,' responded the 
 Rector, * whence comes this sudden change ; 
 there was a time, and that not long since, 
 when you admired our service, and I think, I 
 may say our sermons at least, if I might judge 
 from the great attention you appeared to pay 
 to them.' 
 
 * Through the recommendation of an intimate 
 friend of mine,' rejoined Mr. Clinch, * I went 
 one Sunday to hear a most popular man in 
 this neighbourhood. A more clever preacher 
 I never gave ear unto, and truly edified I 
 was in consequence ; and then I could perceive 
 nothing in the shape of a book, to suggest his 
 language and disenchant his congregation, but 
 all he uttered sprang naturally from his heart.
 
 184 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 Ah^ sir, I have derived indeed a deal of com- 
 fort from his doctrine. He is a pious man.* 
 
 ' Well, Mr. Clinch,' said the Rector,' it is 
 not for me to insinuate aught against the per- 
 son to whom I presume you allude, because I 
 know nothing of him, except by report ; but I 
 must be allowed to disapprove of his system 
 of extempore effusions.' 
 
 '"Why so?' asked Mr. Clinch, * I was 
 aware that the system did not meet with your 
 approval, although I could never imagine upon 
 what grounds. It appears to me, that a person 
 who performs the duty extempore possesses 
 such an advantage over him who prays and 
 preaches from a book.' 
 
 ' There we are at issue,' answered the Doc- 
 tor, * And first, I would have you consider 
 what a risk he runs of introducing false doc- 
 trine and heresy into the worship of God, who 
 prays and lectures extempore ; his liability to 
 wander in his orisons ; the chance of his 
 omitting some important petition — the incom- 
 prehensible language he may use — the terms 
 which, in the inconsideratiou and impulse of 
 the instant, he may wrongly apply ; all these
 
 MORNING CALLS. 185 
 
 possibilities go to prove the disadvantage of 
 extemporary effusions.' 
 
 • These accidents/ said Mr. Clinch, * may 
 happen to the ignorant and inexperienced 
 preacher, but hardly to those who are pre- 
 viously well versed with their subject, besides 
 I recollect no rule in scripture to keep us to 
 pre-composed forms.' 
 
 ' Again,' replied the Doctor, * I must crave 
 your pardon. The Jews used pre-composed 
 forms. Let me turn your attention to the 
 XV th chapter of Exodus and the first verse, 
 there we read, ** Then sang Moses and the 
 children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and 
 spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for 
 he hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and 
 his rider hath he thrown into the sea.'' Now 
 the children of Israel could not have sung 
 together, had not what they sang been pre-com- 
 posed. Again, in the expiation of a certain 
 murder, the elders of the city which is next to 
 the slain, are expressly commanded to say a 
 form of prayer, pre-composed by God himself. 
 (Deut. xxi. 8.) '* Be mercifid, O Lord, unto 
 thy people of Israel, whom thou hast redeemed,
 
 186 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of 
 Israel's charge." And, in other places of 
 Scripture, we meet with several forms pre- 
 scribed by God. If we turn to 1 Chron. 
 xxiii. 30, we shall find that David appointed 
 the " Levites to stand every morning to thank 
 and jyraise the Lord^ and likewise at even" 
 This rule was observed in both temples. 
 Again, the whole book of the Psalms contains 
 forms of prayer, or of thanksgiving, or of peni- 
 tential confession, as appears from the Psalms 
 themselves, as well as from other parts of 
 Scripture. It is clear then, upon Scriptural 
 evidence, that set forms of prayer were usual 
 among the Jews ; and when our Saviour came 
 upon earth, he joined in with the pre-composed 
 forms of prayer. Had he not done so, the 
 Jews would soon have upbraided him for des- 
 pising prayer. Our Saviour's command is very 
 express vipon this point — ** When ye pray,*' 
 said he, "say after this manner , Our Father,'' 
 &c. Hence, our Saviour actually himself 
 composed a prayer, and commanded bis disci- 
 ples to use it, and we further know that his 
 disciples did use it. Therefore we may con-
 
 MORNING CALLS. 187 
 
 elude that praying in a pre-composed form was 
 conformable to established custom before our 
 Saviour's time, during his pilgrimage upon 
 earth, and afterwards ; for it is very clear that 
 both the Jews and the primitive Christians 
 were accustomed to a set form. But inde- 
 pendent of these Scriptural proofs, our own 
 reason should instruct us how superior the one 
 is to the other.' 
 
 ' I am very sorry," said Mr. Clinch, * to 
 disagree with you, but I must confess that I 
 disapprove in toto of set forms of prayer. That 
 it was the ancient custom of the Jews and 
 primitive Christians to use them, I am not pre- 
 pared to gainsay, but I do deny that it is 
 advisable to persist in the practice. Men in 
 our days require novelty, i. e. they must have 
 their ears tickled, before an impression can be 
 made upon their hearts.' 
 
 * The object of prayer,' replied the doctor, 
 ' is not to tickle men's ears, but to thank God 
 through Jesus Christ for the blessings and 
 favors he hath dispensed to his creatures, and 
 to pray for a continuance of them. But how 
 few are there who are capable of making
 
 188 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 prayers at all, much less extemporary 
 prayers I ' 
 
 * With respect to the capability,' observed 
 Mr. Clinch, * it rests with God, not with men.' 
 
 ' By that remark,' rejoined the doctor, * you 
 would seem to insinuate, that in your opinion, 
 God inspires men to extemporize in prayer, 
 which extraordinary operation has long since 
 ceased. And with respect to our Liturgy, 
 next to the Bible, it is admitted to be the finest 
 composition in existence. Therein, in the most 
 eloquent and devout language, are prayers 
 offered up for the wants of every individual, as 
 far as those wants are reasonable. Yes, what- 
 ever a person requires from God, whether he 
 be in sorrow, need, sickness, or under any 
 adverse circumstances, he will find a supplica- 
 tion in our excellent Liturgy adapted to his 
 purpose. It is in that particular that it trans- 
 cends all other human compositions, and is far 
 better suited to the object of devotion than any 
 extemporary effusion is likely to be. More- 
 over, should there impend any national cala- 
 mity, we are allowed to introduce a prayer to 
 God to avert it, provided it be so ordered
 
 MORNING CALLS. 189 
 
 by tbe proper authorities. Again, it is a point 
 not to be overlooked, that the clergy of our 
 Establishment are all fully sensible of the value 
 of our Liturgy, and adhere to it, however some 
 few may give way to extemporary praying.' 
 
 ' Do you likewise,' asked Mr. Clinch, * con- 
 demn extemporary preaching ? ' 
 
 * As a general custom, assuredly,' replied 
 the doctor, ' and that simply because so few 
 men possess the faculty of speaking ex cathedra, 
 without premeditation. It often happens in 
 an extemporaneous discourse, that a preacher 
 cannot be understood, owing to his not having 
 previously arranged his matter and selected 
 his terms and expressions — in this respect a 
 prepared sermon possesses a vast advantage. 
 And the inordinate length to which extempo- 
 rary sermons generally run, indicates that the 
 preacher is apt to forget himself, and lose sight 
 of his subject, or else must have dealt much in 
 tedious repetitions. Besides, it is obvious 
 that a discourse arranged and studied before- 
 hand must have more effect than one delivered 
 on the spur of the moment, or at least, is more 
 worthy of respectful reception. For when you
 
 190 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 consider that the souls of thousands come to 
 learn the road to heaven, and to be instructed 
 in the vital truths of religion by the preachers, 
 you must admit that too much care cannot be 
 taken to preach the Gospel truly and faith- 
 fully, and that in this respect a minister will 
 not have done his duty unless he study his 
 subject, and prepare his sermon beforehand, 
 making- it a work of time. Yes, Sir, I think 
 we may conclude with Dr. South, *' that the 
 extemporizing faculty is never more out of its 
 element than in the pulpit." ** Let all their 
 extempore harangues," said he, " be consi- 
 dered and duly weighed, and you will find a 
 spirit of pride, faction, and sedition predomi- 
 nate.' " 
 
 * After all I must be allowed to retain my 
 opinion,' said Mr. Clinch, ' that the extempo- 
 rary preacher has in many particulars an 
 advantage over him who merely repeats from 
 his book what he has therein written.' 
 
 * If he be capable,' replied the Rector, ' of 
 doing it well, which is not the gift of one in a 
 thousand, he may possess an advantage ; 
 otherwise his apparent sway over the wilder-
 
 MORNING CALLS. 191 
 
 ness of free miDcls is confined to the unlettered 
 and the ignorant, which reduces it to a very 
 small measure indeed. But suppose a man be 
 qualified by education and original power to 
 preach extempore^ there remains another 
 objection, which is, that by so doing, he may 
 delude the ignorant into an idea of his being 
 inspired, not to mention the liability of his 
 being led away by enthasiasm or by excite- 
 ment. I grant there is a vast distinction 
 between extemporary prayers and extemporary 
 preaching, for the one is, or rather should be, 
 addressed to God, the other to men. In 
 prayer therefore, every desire and want ought 
 to be expressed in the most appropriate lan- 
 guage, and every word duly weighed, which 
 it is obviously impossible to ensure in an 
 extemporary effusion.' 
 
 ' Well,' observed Mr. Clinch, ' your argu- 
 ment is good, but old men are difficult of per- 
 suasion.' 
 
 ' There must sure be an exception to that 
 rule,' replied the doctor, with a smile, * or me- 
 thinks we had not missed you in your seat at 
 church for the two last Sundays.'
 
 192 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 ^ I am averse to making rash promises,' 
 answered Mr. Clinch, ' so will not vow that 
 you shall never see me there again, but I must 
 own, despite all you have been saying, that I 
 continue to give the preference to extemporary 
 prayers and preaching.' 
 
 * In these partialities,' replied the doctor, 
 * would it not be as well to ascertain whether 
 what you admire be really and truly that which 
 it professes to be. You are surely aware that 
 many who appear to pray and preach extem- 
 pore, either mentally compose their prayers, 
 or write them beforehand, or at least come 
 prepared with what they call notes, concealed 
 within their Bibles, a proceeding which, as 
 respects their congregation, might almost be 
 termed deception.' 
 
 * But granting that a man,' returned Mr. 
 Clinch, * be accustomed to do as you affirm, 
 still, to all intents, his sermon is extemporary.' 
 
 Hardly so,' ' replied the Doctor. • That 
 only is extemporary, which is delivered 
 from the moment on the occasion : in this 
 respect, it is opposed to premeditated compo- 
 sition. Wherever this sort of apparent off-
 
 MORNING CALLS. 193 
 
 hand effusions occur, by aid of memory, short- 
 hand notes, and the like, a falsity would seem 
 to be implied, and the attempt to deceive is 
 wicked. Now by abiding by a set form, we 
 avoid all such danger ; our congregation can 
 join in with us, in offering up prayers to 
 Almighty God, in returning thanks for mercies 
 shown, and in supplicating for future bless- 
 ings^ which, unless they be confined to a pre 
 scribed formulary, it is impossible for them to 
 do. Unless their minds be prepared for what 
 is coming, they are busy anticipating the turn 
 of a period, or the conclusion of a sentence. 
 They are carried away by the mere human 
 eloquence of the minister. They are canvass- 
 ing the truth of the doctrine, which he is 
 earnest in broaching, and perhaps criticising 
 the niceties of language, the style or fitness of 
 the prayer itself: and while their attention is 
 thus distracted, all devotion and pious feeling 
 are necessarily absent. The heart may indeed 
 be bent upon the minister, but far from God. 
 There may be every appearance of hanging 
 upon the preacher's lips, but it rather springs 
 from a species of morbid curiosity, than from 
 K
 
 194 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 any due sense of the importance of the reli- 
 gion he is inculcating. I assure you I can 
 recognize no advantage whatsoever in extem- 
 porary prayer, except on the very question- 
 able plea of attraction.' 
 
 * Why should you lay such a stress upon 
 these defects ? ' rejoined Mr. Clinch, * they 
 seem to me to be no less incident to the recital 
 of sermons off book.' 
 
 * On the contrary there is a vast distinc- 
 tion/ replied the Rector. ' A sermon is not 
 addressed to God, but to the congregation, 
 and contains generally explanations and eluci- 
 dations of a certain text from Scripture, con- 
 cluding with exhortations applicable to all 
 hearers. If a clergyman were entirely to omit 
 his sermon, he might, notwithstanding, merit 
 the title of a preacher of good tidings, from 
 reading the beautiful Liturgy, and those por- 
 tions of Scripture appointed to be read every 
 Sunday. Sir, you must excuse my apparent li- 
 cense, but I cannothelp remarking that a person 
 who turns from our beautiful prayers, so admi- 
 ably adapted to all the circumstances of life, 
 to every vicissitude of condition, and to all the
 
 MORNING CALLS. 195 
 
 purposes of devotion, in disgust, must be deplo- 
 rably wanting in taste. In our service we 
 meet with the prayers of distress, the praises 
 and exultations of triumph ; passages fitted 
 alike for the indulgence of joy, or the soothing 
 of sorrow ,* chasing away despondency and 
 affliction, and furnishing gladness with the 
 strains of holy and religious rapture. What 
 deficiency of taste to turn from such a service 
 to the rant of the conventicle ! Are you 
 aware. Sir, that parts of our service made the 
 manual of the Son of God himself in the days 
 of his flesh ? What can convey a higher idea 
 of the intrinsic excellence of any composition ? 
 The beginning of the twenty-second psalm 
 was pronounced upon the cross ; part of the 
 thirty-first made the last human utterance of 
 our Saviour. By far the greater part of our 
 Liturgy consists of passages and extracts from 
 Holy Writ, presenting religion to us in the 
 most engaging dress; communicating truths 
 past philosophy to investigate, in a style sur- 
 passing poetry, calculated alike to profit and 
 to please ; to inform the understanding, ele- 
 vate the affections, and entertain the imagina- 
 
 K 2
 
 196 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 tion, grateful as the manna which descended 
 from above, and conformed itself to every 
 palate. Other productions after a few peru- 
 sals, however fair, wither like gathered flowers 
 in our hands, and lose their fragrancy, but 
 these, like the unfading plants of paradise, 
 become, as we are more accustomed to them, 
 still more and more beautiful; their bloom 
 appears to be daily heightened, fresh odours 
 are emitted, and new sweets are extracted 
 from them. He who has once tasted their 
 excellences, will desire to taste them again ; 
 and whoso tastes them oftenest, will relish 
 them best. And for this, factious, peevish, and 
 perverse spirits would substitute the chance 
 bursts of a meretricious or false oratory. It is 
 not a mere question of taste, though that, 
 rightly considered, comprehends much, but 
 where can be the due sense of propriety and 
 fitness, where especially the religious feeling ? 
 Not that I mean to insinuate — ,however hard I 
 find it, to enter into their motives, for attribu- 
 ting undue importance to some particular 
 point, contemplating a part instead of the 
 whole, and splitting as it were, for the sake of
 
 MO^INING CALLS. 197 
 
 one prismatic colour, those rays of truth, in 
 whose combined light the members of the 
 national church live, — however difficult I find 
 it to reconcile their proceedings to my notions ; 
 I would not insinuate that Dissenters are defi- 
 cient in religious feeling, because I am in- 
 clined to think, that at least amongst the well- 
 informed, the fact is otherwise. It is indeed 
 worthy of note, that the majority of Dissenting 
 ministers admire our Liturgy, and so much, 
 that they will often introduce parts into their 
 own worship ; and that sect which are follow- 
 ers of Lady Huntingdon, uniformly adopt, and 
 use nearly the whole of it. These may appear 
 minor considerations, but should not be over- 
 looked. There is another point which strikes 
 me, and to which I must call your attention. 
 Shallow people, that is to say, the million, are 
 apt to imagine, that the clergy cannot preach 
 extempore, because they do not, this is far 
 from being the case. If you refer to the 
 public speeches of our clergy, you will find 
 them for the most part, to abound in close 
 argument and sound reasoning, set off by 
 learning, piety, and Christian love.'
 
 198 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 ' Well, Doctor,' returned Mr. Clinch, half 
 biting his lip, and obviously more abashed 
 than he cared to confess, ' what you have been 
 saying would seem rational, but I should fancy 
 and, and,' while he hesitated how to adjust his 
 argument. Dr. Truman broke in. 
 
 * Fancy,* he ejaculated, ' fancy has no busi- 
 ness here at all, and should never be allowed 
 to take the initiative of reason ; before we fol- 
 low ministers, whose sole object is to attract, 
 not to instruct, we should reflect that the 
 immortal soul is at issue on our conduct, and 
 upon that minister will the responsibility fall. 
 I trust you will revolve over in your mind all 
 that I have spoken, in its diff'erent bearings ; 
 do so, Sir, coolly and dispassionately and — I 
 believe you to be a sensible man, — you may 
 then act as jour conscience dictates. I make 
 no doubt of the result.' 
 
 The Doctor then took his leave, and made 
 his way to the residence of a family, where 
 a very different scene took place. 
 
 Mr. Hopkins, at whose house Dr. Truman 
 next presented himself, had retired from a 
 lucrative business, into one of his own free-
 
 MORNING CALLS. 199 
 
 holds in a fashionable part of the town. He 
 was a person, who, having acted uprightly 
 and honestly in all his dealings, had gained 
 the respect of all who knew him. Notwith- 
 standing his good qualities, and the tokens of 
 opulence with which he was surrounded, he 
 was not admitted into fashionable and genteel 
 society. After having served in a shop for 
 nearly forty years, it was not to be expected 
 that he could all at once discover that degree 
 of information and knowledge, which is only 
 the result of a finished education, and is 
 indispensable to the completion of the gentle- 
 man; besides the habits which he acquired 
 while in trade, precluded the possibility of his 
 being noticed by those who mixed in a higher 
 circle, and who had imbibed from their early 
 youth, that calm uninterrupted quiet, which 
 pervades all the actions and habits of people, 
 accustomed to good society. True ! the few 
 last years of Mr. Hopkins's life, had been spent 
 in the endeavour to acquire that undefinable 
 and unconstrained air, that maniere d'etre, 
 wherein he felt himself deficient. With this 
 view he had crossed to France, had mixed
 
 200 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 with the natives, had partially learnt the lan- 
 guage, but to little purpose, owing to his inad- 
 equate knowledge of his own ; he had joined 
 the society at Tables d'Hate, of people of all 
 nations ; he could converse respecting all these, 
 as if he had been admitted to their private 
 intercourse ; he could describe their countries 
 partly from personal knowledge, and partly 
 from what he had read ; he could tell you the 
 expense of travelling in his own private car- 
 riage, and specify the different charges at the 
 first inns, in this and other countries, but all to 
 no purpose : society stood aloof, and would 
 not recognise his claims. For while he at- 
 tempted to disguise, or at least polish off the 
 marks which the shop had produced on 
 his manners, by the flimsy ornament of 
 French affectation, he only rendered his innate 
 vulgarity the more conspicuous, in the eyes 
 of those, who had been brought up differently. 
 Nor was Mr. Hopkins a singular instance* 
 We frequently see people endeavouring after 
 a superior behaviour, but like the natural and 
 easy style which Horace speaks of, it is so very 
 hard to hit, when it is not inborn, that the
 
 MORNING CALLS. 201 
 
 abortive attempt only excites ridicule. So it 
 happened with our retired citizen. -His over- 
 wrought bearing, like a borrowed court suit, 
 never became him, and even tended at times 
 to superinduce upon his original straight-for- 
 ward, honest mode of acting, an appearance of 
 flippancy which was highly unbecoming. But 
 with all these disadvantages, Mr. Hopkins 
 possessed many good qualities. He was a kind 
 father, he brought up his children properly to 
 a certain age, when his notions of education 
 so misled him, that he wholly failed in his 
 endeavour to make them, what the thinking 
 part of the world could approve of, though, as 
 is commonly the case, they were to him per- 
 fection. His object being to teach them every 
 thing, it almost necessarily followed that they 
 acquired nothing ; they could speak a little of 
 this language and a little of that, but nothing 
 beyond, and in respect to more useful labours, 
 they were made entirely subordinate to gaudy 
 and flowery accomplishments. 
 
 Dr. Truman found Mr. Hopkins and his 
 three daughters just off a journey, which they 
 had been taking on the continent. Their 
 K 5
 
 202 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 whole conversation was taken up with what 
 they had witnessed, and the different incidents 
 which had broken or varied the monotonous 
 agremens of their travels. The immediate 
 occasion of Mr. Hopkins's visit to France, was 
 to fix upon a school to finish^ as he termed it, 
 his daughter s education^ though the eldest 
 was only fifteen years old. 
 
 ' Let me/ observed the Rector, on being 
 given to understand Mr. Hopkins' intentions, 
 ' dissuade you from so rash a step. There 
 are masters in our own country duly qualified, 
 and who are competent to instruct your daugh- 
 ters in all useful knowledge and needful 
 accomplishments, under your own eye, without 
 your risking their acquiring things which they 
 should never learn. There are so many temp- 
 tations in France, which, however destructive, 
 the immature experience of the youthful mind 
 cannot be expected to resist or to avoid.' 
 
 * I entertain no fear,' interrupted Mr. Hop- 
 kins, * of any of the dangers to which you 
 allude; my girls will go under the care of a 
 trustworthy lady, who will have the manage- 
 ment and direction of their studies. They will
 
 MORNING CALLS. 203 
 
 exhibit on their return those kind of manners, 
 which must naturally secure them the affec- 
 tions of every body.' 
 
 * Believe me, my dear sir,' replied the Rec- 
 tor, * that the consequences you desiderate, 
 will have a very contrary effect. The admira- 
 tion of young men of the present day is to be 
 won by something more solid than affectation 
 at second hand, or the adulterate manners of 
 la grande nation. For an Englishman to copy 
 those frenchified graces or vices (as may hap- 
 pen) which must ever be foreign to him, only 
 renders him, in most cases, a laughing stock to 
 his countrymen. But where an English 
 gentlewoman so mistakes her native dignity as 
 to err in the same way, trust me, the only 
 sentiment she excites amongst well-educated 
 people, is not admiration, but pity. Every 
 nation possesses its own peculiar manners, 
 which being a matter of gradual growth, and 
 appropriate to climate and circumstance, can 
 hardly ever be wrong ; but however admirable 
 per se, when assumed by a foreigner (for it is 
 an assumption) the pretension becomes int^f- 
 fably ridiculous.
 
 204 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 * There is a work lately fallen under my 
 notice by M. Aime- Martin, written for the 
 French nation, in which he makes the follow- 
 ing observations on their women : 
 
 ' ' What indifference f' says he, * on the part 
 of ivomen towards important affairs ; what 
 ardour for frivolities ! Their minds unceasingly 
 agitated hy the fashion of the day, turn with 
 passion to the nothings of the moment ; for 
 the sake of these do they feign a character 
 different from their own, do they torture them- 
 selves, suffer heaty cold and hunger, destroy 
 their health, and risk their lives. Alas! we 
 give to our daughters the manners of courte- 
 zans, to our wives the instruction of a child, 
 and then ask for glory and happiness from 
 heaven. What is the result ? The frivolity 
 of one sex necessarily influences the habits 
 of the other : women become trijling to please 
 us, and we must become frivolous to find favour 
 with them/ 
 
 * I give no opinion as to the correctness of 
 this passage, as relates to the French women, 
 though I have seen sufficient in my travels to 
 do so, but I am ready to challenge the whole
 
 MORNING CALLS. 205 
 
 world to pass such a censure on the daughters 
 of our happy island, with justice or truth. 
 And I will venture to say, and that with the 
 greatest confidence, that no where is virtue, the 
 grand ornament of the sex, more appreciated 
 or more indispensable than in England. What 
 is wanting here to make our children every 
 thing a wise parent can desire ? And are we 
 to send our daughters from home to be taught 
 virtue, the indigenous quality of English 
 women? Or rather to acquire a laxity of 
 manner, utterly disgusting to the refined taste 
 of Englishmen? Or those flimsy airs and graces, 
 which terminate in vanity and sensuality — 
 mere modifications of the voice or useless pos- 
 tures of the body, through which we can easily 
 discern innumerable imperfections and con- 
 ceits ? Or to make palpable efforts to please 
 all, while in point of fact, they alienate every 
 body's good will ? Oh ! no, pray don't sacri- 
 fice your daughter's happiness, by sending them 
 abroad to learn manners, and so render them 
 unacquainted with all the duties of life. To walk 
 a salon with a confident air and mincing pace, 
 to exhibit their affected graces to the eyes of
 
 206 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 indolent and debauched young men, to dissi- 
 pate their husband's patrimony in riotous and 
 unnecessary expences — these are your con- 
 tinental accomplishments — these the main arts 
 cultivated by foreign women.' 
 
 ' But Englishmen,' rejoined Mr. Hopkins, 
 * are fond of French manners.' 
 
 * Not in English women/ said the Rector. 
 ' They may admire them in the natives, for the 
 sake of passing a few hours in amusements of 
 different kinds, but never as being conducive 
 to real and lasting happiness. You seldom or 
 ever find that an Englishman will take a 
 French woman to wife. And wherefore so i 
 simply because their ideas of happiness are 
 irreconcileable. The levity of manner charac- 
 teristic of French women, is utterly repugnant 
 to the taste of Englishmen, consequently they 
 can never hope to experience in their conjugal 
 society those true delights, which they can 
 calculate upon with their own countrywomen. 
 They regard not merely those female graces^ 
 which contribute to polish the manners of men, 
 but they expect in the companion of their bo- 
 som those /e?;ia?e morals, which influence their
 
 MORNING CALLS. 207 
 
 conduct. What women have it more in their 
 power, by a chaste and intellectual connection, 
 to reciprocate man's joys and alleviate his sor- 
 rows, than the English ? What women, (and 
 I have no wish to disparage those of other 
 countries) more noble in sentiment, more 
 virtuous at heart, or more unpretendingly re- 
 ligious than the English ? Ah, sir, our women 
 can boast of charms, personal and mental, such 
 as the sex in no other country on the earth can 
 exhibit. Yes, I repeat, among them is to be 
 found every thing, which can tend to mitigate 
 our sorrows or soothe our cares. Ah ! she, the 
 charm of the soul, the source of man's felicity, 
 his bosom companion through this thorny pil- 
 grimage, should not be left exposed on the 
 highway of life, so as to render the very bless- 
 ings proper to her, little better than curses ; 
 her power of promoting our happiness being 
 enfeebled by wrong principles, and a misguided 
 and superficial education.' 
 
 ' Well, Doctor, as we used to say in the 
 shop,' returned Mr. Hopkins, * that which 
 sounds the best and looks the clearest, is the 
 finest glass, and certainly, what you observe
 
 208 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 is very plausible, but if our English women 
 have innate virtue, why need they apprehend 
 being contaminated ? ' 
 
 * I entertain small fear in that respect,* 
 replied the Doctor. * An Englishwoman being 
 contaminated, as a general rule, is out of the 
 question, their virtue being too solidly 
 grounded on right principles, but there is a 
 danger, and no slight one, that children may 
 acquire those habits, which are any thing but 
 pleasing to the taste of our countrymen.' 
 
 * But it is so fashionable,* again objected 
 Mr. Hopkins, * for young ladies in these clays 
 to go abroad.' 
 
 ' When the mind,' said the Rector, * is 
 sufficiently formed, there can be no objection 
 that I can perceive ; but to send them thither 
 for the sake of education, with the object of 
 making them good homely daughters and 
 virtuous wives, appears to me to be a most 
 irrational and ill-advised proceeding.' 
 
 * Oh ! sir,' interposed one of the Misses 
 Hopkins, ' I hope you will not use your in- 
 fluence to dissuade Papa from going to France, 
 it would be such a source of disappointment.'
 
 MORNING CALLS. 209 
 
 * If it be in my power,' answered the Rec- 
 tor, ' assuredly I will, at least to postpone the 
 trip. How infinitely better it would be for 
 you to defer your visit thither, till your minds 
 have become more stable, when you will be 
 qualified to distinguish between the various 
 follies and frivolous amusements with which 
 that country abounds. So prepared, you will 
 be able to avoid what are injurious, and to 
 enjoy those pleasures, which, to amusement, 
 join the higher advantage of being innocent. 
 You will then be able really to appreciate 
 what should give you delight — to approve of 
 that which is right, and to avoid that which is 
 wrong ; and since your manners will have been 
 previously formed, you will not expose your- 
 selves to the liability of learning aught, but 
 what will meet with the approval of your own 
 countrymen. These are considerations which 
 are not to be eluded, and really it is only de- 
 fering the hope a little longer, when I am sure 
 you will have reason to congratulate yourself 
 on having followed my advice. But where 
 is Mr. John Hopkins, your eldest son, did 
 you contemplate his making one of the party ? '
 
 210 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 * Oh ! ' replied Mr. Hopkins, * he is already 
 in France ; we have left him there.' 
 
 ' Left him there ! ' repeated the Rector, 
 * I am truly sorry to hear you say so. How 
 often do we witness the open and generous 
 youth of England sent to that dangerous land, 
 in the fond hope that they may there be gifted 
 with those many advantages, which will qualify 
 them to be admitted into any society ; but, 
 mournful to relate ! they return ruined in 
 character and principle, or, at the best, inocu- 
 lated with those frivolous and unmanly man- 
 ners, which assimilate them rather to apes than 
 Englishmen.' 
 
 * You cannot think how hurt I am,' remarked 
 Mr. Hopkins, ' to hear you speak thus against 
 the natives of France.' 
 
 * You mistake me greatly,' returned the Rec- 
 tor, ' I admire their country, and am ready to 
 admit that the men themselves possess qualities, 
 sufficient to render them an admiration to other 
 nations ; but I can never approve of an English 
 man or woman adopting those modes, or as- 
 suming those manners, which, where they be 
 not indigenous, are worse than worthless.'
 
 MORNING CALLS. 211 
 
 Here the footman entered the room with a 
 a letter, upon the superscription of which. Miss 
 Hopkins had no sooner set her eyes, than she 
 kissed it, saying, * It is from John ; excuse 
 my opening it, Doctor/ 
 
 * By all means,' answered the Rector, * 1 
 trust you will read a good account of your 
 brother.' 
 
 Miss Hopkins having broke the seal, and 
 unfolded the paper, prepared to peruse the 
 fraternal communication, but she could scarce- 
 ly have read a few lines, ere she gave a loud 
 scream, the letter dropped from her relaxed 
 hold, and she fell back on the chair and fainted. 
 
 ' Oh ! what now,' exclaimed Mr, Hopkins, 
 ' my son ! my son.' 
 
 Silence of the most gloomy cast ensued; 
 on one chair sat Mr. Hopkins in the greatest 
 consternation, on the sofa his other daughters, 
 hardly less agitated. On the carpet lay the 
 fatal letter, open, but untouched ; no one had 
 sufficient courage to raise it, and learn the 
 cause of Miss Hopkins' distress. 
 
 ' Oh that fear ! 
 When the heart longs to know, what it most dreads to hear*
 
 212 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 The Doctor, in his endeavours to assist the 
 young lady, applied restoratives one after the 
 other, but evidently to no purpose, one fit 
 was the precursor of another, and the only 
 words she uttered between each, were * Oh ! 
 my brother, my brother.' 
 
 The more manly nature of Mr. Hopkins 
 seemed entirely to fail him, and he gave him- 
 self up without resistance to the overflowing 
 emotions of a heart, too full to exist without 
 the strongest demonstrations of feeling. The 
 peculiar and embarrassing situation in which 
 the Doctor was suddenly thrown, had more 
 or less its effect upon him. On the one side 
 reclined Miss Hopkins, whose successive faint- 
 ing fits gave her rather the appearance of a 
 corpse than that of a living being : on the other 
 were her sisters, apprehensive, yet without 
 knowing what had happened, in the greatest 
 perplexity and distress, and in the midst stood 
 the father, confounded and overcome. And 
 there lay extended the portentous letter, 
 whose fatal tidings had caused all this con- 
 sternation. After some moments, Miss Hop- 
 kins appeared a little restored, but no sooner
 
 MORNING CALLS. 213 
 
 did her eyes light upon the ominous epistle at 
 her feet, than she relapsed into insensibility. 
 
 ' Allow me,' cried the Doctor, at length, 
 * at once to arrive at the nature and the extent 
 of a calamity, which as yet we only dimly 
 apprehend ; perhaps after all, it ought not to 
 have been the source of so great distress.' 
 
 Mr. Hopkins made a permissive motion for 
 the Doctor to ascertain, by a perusal of the 
 letter, the fearful circumstance which must 
 have happened. 
 
 The Rector then raised the letter, and upon 
 delivering its contents aloud, it was found 
 that Mr. John Hopkins, ill advised and igno- 
 rant of the custom of the country, had been 
 led into a quarrel with a Frenchman, which 
 had eventuated in a duel : the consequences 
 were serious. The unfortunate youth had 
 been severely wounded, and at the time when 
 the letter left Paris, the greatest apprehen- 
 sions were entertained of his life. The Doctor 
 was naturally very much shocked, although he 
 could not be said to feel any surprise at the oc- 
 currence. What however could he do in that 
 situation ? he had not the power to divert the
 
 214 MORNING CALLS. 
 
 tide of woe, or infuse the balm of immediate 
 peace to the distressed breast of the parent. 
 But he felt warranted in holding* out hope, 
 and so persuaded, he exclaimed, in a firm and 
 almost cheering tone, — * My friends, forget 
 not that John Hopkins lives, thanks be to 
 God ! ' 
 
 This seasonable remark produced an asto- 
 nishing effect upon them all ; the tide of exis- 
 tence flowed anew, and she, who the instant 
 before appeared a corpse, became resuscitated. 
 Mr. Hopkins partially recovered his self-pos- 
 session, and the tears of the younger daugh- 
 ters were for a time dried. The Doctor then, 
 in as mild a way as he could, enjoined them 
 not to lose a moment ere they fetched the 
 wounded man home, and transferred him from 
 the cold tendance of strangers, to the kind 
 offices and ministering care of his sisters. 
 Then having given them every possible assist- 
 ance in his power, he bade them to submit 
 with resignation to what was past prevention. 
 He told them not to despair * as men without 
 hope,' but to look forward to the time of meet- 
 ing, if not in this world, in the next ; and in
 
 MORNING CALLS. 215 
 
 conclusion urged them to remember, that while 
 there is life there is hope. He presently after 
 left them with a promise to see them very 
 shortly, and encouragingly remarked, that he 
 trusted the wound might not be so dangerous, 
 as to hazard the chance of death.
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 It was two days since the doctor had seen 
 Mr. Soames, the invalid unto whom, as the 
 reader will probably recollect, he had given so 
 much comfort on a former occasion. He now 
 directed his steps to his abode, in the hopes of 
 administering to him the Holy Sacrament. 
 The sick man on his entrance signified the 
 pleasure he felt upon seeing him, but added, 
 that he was not quite prepared to perform the 
 promise which he had given to the doctor. 
 
 ' My thoughts,' said he, ' have been fixed 
 upon the Author of Christianity, and upon 
 the scheme of his redeeming love. As I con- 
 fessed to you, till very lately, I denied the 
 Saviour of the world, and before I receive the 
 Sacrament, I should like to hear you prove his 
 L 2
 
 220 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 divinity, not that now I entertain the least 
 doubt, but I wish it, in order that my faith 
 may be strengthened and established by con- 
 viction, and that I may give a reason for the 
 hope that is in me. With respect to the 
 Deity, every thing around me intimates his 
 presence, and satisfies me of his existence. 
 And nothing more so than the manner in 
 which his goodness has wrought upon me 
 lately. I felt and feel from the bottom of my 
 soul, that it was divinity that moved within me. 
 Upon your first seeing me, all, like the waves 
 of a troubled ocean, was confused and bois- 
 terous, the thoughts and senses destined by 
 the Almighty to administer to our pleasures, 
 conveyed to me only pains and tortures ; the 
 memory of deeds committed in days gone 
 by, .... the sting of conscience harassed my 
 peace of mind, and brought me to that 
 wretched state wherein you found me. But 
 God, blessed be his name ! has worked mira-- 
 cles in my behalf; he has partially calmed 
 the troubled soul, and the halycon Peace again 
 broods over the face of the waters. He has 
 spared me, no doubt, to bring about his good
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 221 
 
 purpose, aDd you, Sir, have been the instru- 
 ment in his hands. I acknowledge his good- 
 ness, I appreciate his blessings, and have 
 prayed that his mercies may continue, and yet 
 what hope can I indulge in? I am a wretched 
 man, a miserable sinner. I have denied the 
 Saviour, and (horrible reflection !) have taught 
 others to deny him also. But the truth forces 
 itself upon me, and convinces me that he is God 
 also. T have experienced his power, and when I 
 looked up to him and prayed in the bitterness 
 and earnestness of my soul, I felt peace infuse 
 itself over the whole man. I confess to you, 
 I believe on him, but before I perform his 
 command, I must have Scriptural evidence. 
 An indiscribable consciousness tells me that 
 he is God, but I should receive much greater 
 satisfaction, would you kindly aff*ord me a few 
 proofs of this great truth. Mistake me not, I 
 do not disbelieve, I believe firmly, and it is in 
 order to keep the mind from erring or wan- 
 dering that I desire this. The mind of man is 
 treacherous and often deceives ; at one time it 
 believes, at another it surrenders itself to fancies 
 and follies, which, unless it be bound by argu-
 
 222 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ment like bands of iron to its object, it cannot 
 be firm. For this cause then I require my belief 
 to be confirmed, and my hope strengthened, by 
 any evidence, which you will have the kindness 
 to bring forward upon the subject.' 
 
 * I am truly happy,' returned the Doctor, 
 * to hear you make this confession ; I have no 
 doubt but that we shall now go on, step by 
 step, and at last arrive at our point with satis- 
 faction, for conclusions derived from evidence, 
 and truths believed in from conviction, can 
 hardly ever be effaced from the mind and are 
 destined to produce a lasting effect ; but be- 
 fore I proceed, it is requisite, I should be in- 
 structed in what light you have heretofore 
 viewed the Saviour of the world, both with 
 respect to his divinity and his humanity, and 
 also his several attributes.' 
 
 * I have,' answered Mr. Soames, * until the 
 last day or two, considered him as a mere man, 
 who was competent of himself, or enabled by 
 God, to perform a few miracles. I admitted, 
 for I could not do otherwise, that this man 
 preached doctrines of the purest and most ex- 
 alted morality, and that he had accordingly
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 223 
 
 many followers. But my conceit in my carnal 
 knowingness would not let me recognize aught 
 further. I refused to acknowledge and be- 
 lieve in his divinity, because blinded by the 
 bastard wisdom of this world, I rejected all 
 evidence in its favor.' 
 
 ' Then, I think,' returned the Rector, * if 
 your mind be at length open to moral certainty, 
 I shall find it no hard task in settling in you a 
 conviction, that Jesus Christ was truly the Son 
 of God. From scripture we must take our 
 proofs. But before we proceed, it is requisite 
 I should be informed whether you are pre- 
 pared to grant without qualification or reserve, 
 the authenticity of the scriptures, else all that 
 we may advance must necessarily fail, since it 
 will be without foundation.' 
 
 ' I have,' answered Mr. Soames, * as I have 
 already apprised you, drawn the utmost upon 
 my poor human wit to impeach the truth 
 of the scriptures, I therefore should prefer 
 clearing the ground, by treating upon that 
 subject first. And while you are establishing 
 your facts, I shall not hesitate to require you 
 to elucidate any point, or resolve any difficulty
 
 224 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 which I deem of importance ; but you must 
 not therefore imagine that I question what you 
 advance; I shall interrupt you only for the 
 sake of strengthening your argument, and 
 thereby impressing it more strongly upon my 
 mind.' 
 
 * Granted,' replied the Rector, * the first 
 thing which I have to observe,' he proceeded 
 after a short pause, * is that the scriptures, or 
 rather the Bible, is divided into two parts, 
 the Old Testament and the New, the fact of 
 the Jews, the enemies of Christianity, having 
 admitted the former to be authentic, is a strong 
 argument of its being so. The Pentateuch, 
 that is, the first five books, were written by 
 Moses, and deposited in the tabernacle long 
 before he died, as were also some of the other 
 books.' 
 
 ^ But,' interrupted Mr. Soames, * was not 
 this temple burnt by Nebuchadnezzar, and 
 therefore may we not reasonably infer, that the 
 scriptures were burnt with it.' 
 
 • No,' replied the Rector, * had that been the 
 case, the circumstance would have been made 
 a subject of lamentation, which it was not ;
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 225 
 
 besides, Daniel refers to the Book of the Law 
 as then existing, whilst he was in captivity, 
 and Ezra read and explained the law to the 
 people. Moreover Ezra and the members of 
 the synagogue compiled the scriptures after the 
 rebuilding of the temple, and then they were 
 increased by many more books. Again, there 
 is sufficient historical evidence to shew, that if 
 Ezra's copy was destroyed, Judas Maccabagus 
 restored every thing to the temple, so that up 
 to that period a copy of the scriptures had 
 been preserved. Another strong argument in 
 favor of the authenticity of the scriptures is, 
 that neither Christ nor his Apostles ever 
 charged the Jews with having corrupted the 
 text. And when the destruction of Jerusalem 
 by the Romans took place, the enmity which 
 the Jews bore to the Christians was a security 
 for the correctness and preservation of the 
 scriptures. Again, through the diligence of 
 many learned men, nearly seven hundred manu- 
 scripts were collected which all, except in a 
 few minor variations, agreed in their readings. 
 The Jews too, are a living proof of the au- 
 thenticity of the scriptures, they have adhered 
 L 5
 
 226 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 to them, in all ages and various countries, and 
 through every persecution. We may further 
 establish our proof from the New Testament. 
 The Old Testament contains predictions of the 
 Messiah, all of which were actually fulfilled in 
 his person. And Christ himself gave decisive 
 testimony, ''All things,'' said he, ''written in 
 the laiv, the Psalms, and the prophets, concern- 
 ing me must he fulfilled." Besides, the New 
 Testament abounds with particulars, corrobora- 
 tive of the authenticity of the Old.' 
 
 * Excuse me again interrupting you,' said 
 Mr. Soames, * but what you have advanced is 
 only from those internal evidences with which, 
 I grant, Holy Writ is replete, and which 
 doubtless is strong, but what external evidence 
 can you bring forward, I mean what proof 
 besides that of scripture 1 ' 
 
 'Every possible proof,' replied the Rector. 
 * The universal concurrence of all antiquity is 
 the strongest, and amongst all the hostile sects, 
 embracing every shade of opinion, whether of 
 ancient or modern times, we meet with no 
 doubt, no question, no disbelief of the truth of 
 the Scriptures. They may differ, and they do.
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 227 
 
 upon inferences or points and doctrine, but 
 never upon the authenticity of the Scriptures 
 themselves. The rival tribes of Judah and 
 Israel, the hostile sects of Jews and Samari- 
 tans, were at all events unanimous upon this 
 point ; and the innumerable sects which exist 
 amongst us in the present day never dream 
 of mooting that indubitable point. Not a Scep- 
 tic, not one, who would question the truth of 
 divine revelation, but acknowledges the authen- 
 ticity of the Old Testament. Again, the nar- 
 ratives of many ancient histories coincide with 
 events recorded in the Old Testament, and 
 many of these histories doubtless were written 
 without the author's having cognizance of the 
 books of Moses. If this was the case, it esta- 
 blishes the veracity of Scripture beyond a 
 doubt, since it is impossible for authors to 
 correspond in their relation of events, without 
 having been acquainted with each other's 
 writings, unless they drew from the same facts, 
 which at once established their belief, and 
 assisted them in recording them. Again, it is 
 impossible to suppose that books could have 
 been imposed upon the Jews, who were at all
 
 228 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 times a very incredulous people, neither would 
 they have conformed to the laws and ceremo- 
 nies contained in them, unless they had pos- 
 sessed the strongest ground for believing their 
 contents.' 
 
 * Another thing I am inclined ta object to, 
 said Mr. Soames, * is this, that there appears 
 a sameness of language and style in the books 
 of the Old Testament, and not a suflScient 
 variation, considering the different ages in 
 which the books profess to have been written.' 
 
 * I am surprised/ — returned the Rector. 
 * Such an objection is far from being well 
 founded ; there is assuredly as much diver- 
 sity in style and language in the books of the 
 Old Testament, as occurs between different 
 Greek writers who lived at the distance of one 
 thousand years from each other. But granting 
 that there is not that difference, nothing surely 
 can be inferred from the fact, because the 
 books themselves having been written by 
 inspired writers, we must of course conclude 
 that they were well acquainted with every 
 thing required for their purpose. But it is 
 not a fact. Compare the language of the Pen-
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 229 
 
 tateuch with that of the Prophets, and you will 
 discover as much difference between them, as 
 there is between our first prose and verse 
 writers. No, Sir, the proofs of the divine 
 authority of the Scriptures are so positive that 
 no reason either metaphysical or speculative, 
 can shake them, and the more you " search 
 the Scriptures," to examine the grounds of 
 belief, the firmer do they appear. And with 
 respect to the authenticity of the books of the 
 New Testament in particular, there are scat- 
 tered throughout libraries, divers ancient ma- 
 nuscripts, some dating a thousand years gone 
 by, together with versions of them, done into 
 languages which have long ceased to be 
 spoken. The peculiar style in which the books 
 of the New Testament were written goes far 
 to demonstrate their truth. Had they been 
 fables they would have been ascribed to men, 
 more eminent and conspicuous in the eye of 
 this shallow world. Consider moreover the 
 national character of the individuals who 
 penned the several books in the New Testa- 
 ment, they were themselves among the most 
 ignorant of the Jewish people ; and also con-
 
 230 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 sider the character which these books obtained 
 amongst those with whom they were distri- 
 buted, and the effect which they produced, ap- 
 proaches to miraculous. The men who wrote 
 the books had no fictitious influence, no ex- 
 trinsic power, nought save the indubitable 
 veracity of their narrative to circulate and 
 establish them ; and had what they narrated 
 been false, or even questionable, they must in 
 the nature of things inevitably have died 
 away. But no ! despite of every opposition, 
 they stood out beacons of light as from a 
 tower, and gradually dispersed that gloom in 
 which the whole world was involved at their 
 first appearance. Again, the authors were 
 themselves eye witnesses of the facts which 
 they recorded, and it is next to an impossibility 
 that they could, one and all, have been deceived. 
 And the very circumstance of the four gos- 
 pels, composed by different hands, recording 
 the same facts, each in a peculiar style and in 
 a different manner, proves the authenticity of 
 them.' 
 
 ' But,' again interposed Mr. Soames, ' do 
 not many discrepancies occur in the Scrip-
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 231 
 
 tures, which must tend to weaken the force of 
 their evidence ? ' 
 
 ' There may be,' answered the Rector, 
 * but they are of such minor importance, as 
 cannot invalidate the subject. Each writer of 
 the different books recorded what struck him 
 as most important, so that any occasional 
 omissions, discrepancies, and contradictions, 
 which I am aware may be descried in their 
 several narratives, so far from effecting their 
 general truth, furnish the strongest confirma- 
 tion of it. They do away in toto with all idea 
 of connivance or conspiracy. Had there been 
 design or concert, the Evangelists must have 
 been in one tale even to the letter. Their 
 revelation is the same in substance, and the 
 points wherein they differ do not militate 
 against their veracity.' 
 
 * There is another question,' said Mr. 
 Soames, * which I wish to ask you. You have 
 observed that the four gospels, although re- 
 cording the same incidents, were written by 
 different persons. Now might not one gospel 
 have been taken from another, and thus their 
 evidence, to a certain extent, be weakened ? '
 
 232 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ' Far from it,' replied the Doctor, * if any 
 one of the g^ospels be authentic, it is sufficient 
 to prove our point ; and if they be distinct and 
 separate evidences, which we have every rea- 
 son to pronounce them, the proof becomes the 
 stronger ; but granting that one authority did 
 consult another, it must strengthen the vali- 
 dity of that other's evidence, and establish the 
 fact. But these gospels were received as 
 separate records, and therefore each gospel is 
 a distinct narrative, confirming in every main 
 point the veracity of the rest, however it may 
 difl'er from them in style or scope of relation. 
 
 * The last argument which I shall here urge 
 to establish my position, is the consideration of 
 the many persecutions which the disciples 
 endured, rather than deny the truth of Chris- 
 tianity. The propagators endured the great- 
 est torture, frequently only to terminate with 
 death. They submitted calmly, yea, smilingly, 
 to these cruelties, rather than concede that, 
 which, through strong faith and confidence, 
 they knew to be founded upon facts. And 
 would any one, think you, endure martyrdom 
 for the sake of that which they did not, at all
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 233 
 
 events, feel to be veritable? — and recollect their 
 senses in many cases, as with the first mar- 
 tyrs, were cognizant of the truths they died 
 for, would they do so, or teach doctrines of 
 morality and virtue, at the sacrifice of their 
 lives, unless the motive were overwhelming?' 
 
 * From what you have adduced,' said Mr. 
 Soames, * I am quite satisfied that there does 
 not exist a shadow of a doubt concerning the 
 authenticity of the Scriptures, and upon the 
 foundation of holy writ, I am quite persuaded 
 you will easily prove the divinity of the 
 Saviour.' 
 
 * I will endeavour to do so,' replied the 
 Doctor, ' and we will begin by considering the 
 miraculous manner in which he was born. 
 Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and 
 born of a virgin. An angel of the Lord came 
 to Mary, and said unto her, '* Fearnot, Mary, 
 
 for thou hast found favor with God. And 
 behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and 
 bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 
 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son 
 of the Highest : and the Lord shall give 
 unto him the throne of his Father David : and
 
 234 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 he shall reign over the house of Jacob for 
 ever ; and of his kingdom there shall he no 
 end. Then said Mary unto the angely how 
 shall this he, seeing I knoiv not a man ? And 
 the angel answered and said unto her. The 
 Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the 
 poiver of the highest shall overshadow thee^ 
 therefore also that holy thing which shall he 
 horn of thee, shall he called the Son of God," 
 Here observe, that two miracles took place ; 
 the conception by the Holy Ghost, and a virgin 
 bearing a son. And when the time came for 
 Jesus to be born, all the prophecies relating to 
 his nativity were fulfilled, as to his family, the 
 place, and the manner of his birth. Jesus, as 
 had been prophesied, was of the tribe of 
 Judah, and of the family of David ; he was 
 born, as was literally foretold, at Bethle- 
 hem ; and as was written of him centuries 
 before, of a virgin, and at his birth every par- 
 ticular relating to that circumstance was veri- 
 fied. And not only were these prophecies 
 fulfilled, but every minute incident pointing to 
 the Messiah, received in him its illustration, 
 and could be confirmed and exemplified in no
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 235 
 
 other individual. Jesus, in his doctrines, 
 actions, sufferings, and every thing he obtained 
 for us, nicely corresponds to what was pre- 
 dicted of the Saviour, and the Son of God. 
 In Zechariah we read, They weighed for my 
 price thirty pieces of silver. In Matthew, 
 the fulfilment. And they covenanted with 
 him for thirty pieces of silver. In Isaiah we 
 read, He was wounded for our transgres- 
 sions, he was bruised for our iniquities^ the 
 chastisement of our peace was upon him, and 
 with his stripes we are healed. In Zechariah ; 
 he was pierced. In the Psalms we read; 
 They pierced my hands and feet. All the 
 Evangelists fully show that these cruelties 
 actually took place. Again in the Psalms ; 
 They shall laugh him to scorn, and shake 
 their heads, and say, he trusted in God, let 
 him deliver him. Matthew says the same 
 words. In the Psalms also ; My God, my 
 God, why hast thou forsaken me ? In 
 Matthew ; Eli, Eli, Lama sahacthani. In 
 Isaiah, He was numbered with transgres- 
 sors. In Matthew the fulfilment; " He was 
 crucified between two thieves. In the Psalms ;
 
 236 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 Gave me vinegar to drink. They gave 
 him vinegar to drink, says St. John. In the 
 Psalms again, They parted my garments, 
 and cast lots for my vesture. — Let us not 
 rend it, but cast lots, says St. John. Again, 
 he was led like a lamh to the slaughter, so 
 was Christ. Nay, not only in his life and in 
 his passion, but even after his death and his 
 resurrection, were things fulfilled in Christ 
 which were predicted of him. Secondly, his 
 divine msision may be proved from his actions, 
 and from the innumerable miracles which 
 he performed.' 
 
 ' Did not Moses,' objected Mr. Soames, 
 ' perform miracles to the amount of seventy- 
 six, and were not seventy-four attributed to 
 other prophets ? ' 
 
 * Jesus,' replied the Doctor, * performed 
 so many, that St. John in the hyperbolical 
 style of the east, tells us ** if they were writ- 
 ten, the world would not contain the hooks 
 that should he written concerning the things 
 which Jesus did. Besides there was a vast 
 difference in the manner in which Jesus per- 
 formed miracles. Moses and the other pro-
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 237 
 
 phets never acted without prayer, without a 
 reference, without an appeal, as it were, to a 
 higher power. On the contrary, Jesus at once 
 commanded, and every thing obeyed. Diseases 
 sank before him, the dead came to life, and 
 nature itself recognized his divinity, and 
 acknowledged his superior power.' 
 
 ' But in one or two instances,' said Mr. 
 Soames, * Jesus is said to have prayed to 
 the Father.* 
 
 * You are right,' answered the Rector, 
 * but not for power to accomplish that which 
 he willed. The prayer to which I suppose 
 you allude, was of thanksgiving that his 
 divinity had an opportunity of being manifested 
 before men. It is evident that he performed 
 miracles without word or sign, as in the 
 woman's issue of blood, and even whole mul- 
 titudes sought to touch him, and virtue went 
 out of him and they were healed. Oh ! what 
 power, let me ask, except that of divine, could 
 still, by a single word, the ragrngof the mighty 
 billows, and the tempestuous bowlings of the 
 wind ? What power could, with five loaves 
 and tw small fishes, feed a multitude of five
 
 238 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 thousand people, except it were divine. 
 What, save Omnipotence, could give sight to 
 the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the 
 dumb, and life to the dead. Well might they 
 cry out, what manner of man is this, that 
 even the vjinds and the sea obey him.' 
 
 ' But more than enough, let us now transfer 
 our attention to the internal evidence of 
 Christ's divinity. St. John says, " In the 
 beginning was the Word and the Word was 
 with God, and the Word was God. Now 
 that the Word means Christ, may be shewn 
 by the creation being attributed to Christ, 
 God hath in these last days spoken to us by 
 his Son, by whom he also made the worlds. 
 Again, scripture saith. The Word was made 
 jlesh and dwelt amongst us, and John calls 
 Christ the Word, He ivas clothed with a 
 vesture dipped in blood, and his name teas 
 called the Word of God. This establishes 
 the divinity of Christ. Jesus himself said he 
 was God : I and the Father are one, for 
 which the Jews took up stones to kill him. 
 And when the High Priest adjured Christ by 
 the living God, ^rt thou the Christ the
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 239 
 
 Son of the living God?'* He replied, '*Thou 
 HAST SAID," which was the eastern mode of 
 an aflBrmative. All the epistles prove dis- 
 tinctly the divinity of Christ. He was in the 
 form of God, and thought it no robbery to be 
 equal with God ; he was declared to be above 
 angels, and to be the Son of God ; he was 
 manifested in thefiesh, justified in the Spirit, 
 seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, 
 believed on in the world, received up into 
 glory ; which shew that he was the Messiah. 
 Again, Christ does not censure Thomas when 
 he cries out. My Lord, and my God. Again, 
 God calls himself the FIRST and the 
 LAST, and this name is assumed by Christ : 
 These things, saith the First and Last, which 
 was dead and which is alive. And the names 
 and attributes of God are given to Christ ; he 
 is called the true God, the King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords. And the word JE- 
 HOVAH is given to him ; besides he was 
 acknowledged by all the early converts to be 
 Christ ; his own resurrection and his ascension 
 prove him so." 
 
 * I am,' interrupted Mr. Soames, * per-
 
 240 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 fectly satisfied, and I now can cry out, both 
 from an inward conviction and outward tes- 
 timony, that Jesus Christ was truly and really 
 the Son of God, and that he died for our sins, 
 and rose again for our justification/ 
 
 * Yes,' resumed the Doctor, * we will now 
 say a few words concerning his redemption. 
 Christ, we are told in our second article, 
 suffered to reconcile his Father to us, and was 
 a sacrifice not only for original sin, but also 
 for the actual sins of men, so that he brought 
 redemption from sin and death, and an intro- 
 duction into eternal life. The fall of Adam so 
 affected the human nature of his posterity, that 
 a large sacrifice was necessary to restore man 
 to the favour of his Creator. In God's actions 
 both justice and mercy were preserved. It 
 was necessary that one should die for the sins 
 of the world ; God required an atonement, and 
 thus did he evince his justice, and he gave 
 his Son to suffer for us, thereby evidencing his 
 mercy. Christ is called the Lamb of God 
 that taketh away the sins of the world. He 
 was made sin for us. He was the propi- 
 tiation of the sins of the whole world. He
 
 THE DIVINITV OF CHRIST. 241 
 
 suffered once for sin, the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring us to God. God dis- 
 covered his sense of the deep enormity of sin, 
 by requiring so costly a sacrifice as that of 
 Christ. At the same time assuring- us, that 
 whosoever shall believe on his Son shall have 
 everlasting life. These are the terms and 
 conditions of the gospel, and it is only by ad- 
 hering to these terms that we can entertain 
 hope of salvation.' 
 
 * The whole scheme of redemption,' said 
 Mr. Soames, •' appears wonderful to a degree, 
 but I cannot rightly understand why God 
 should insist upon so large a sacrifice, for the 
 sins of the world, or indeed wherefore in his 
 mercy he could not receive man again into 
 favor, without requiring any at all.' 
 
 * No,' replied the Rector, ' in default of 
 sacrifice there can be no remission of sins. 
 And were the sinner absolved without any 
 expedient to satisfy the Divine justice, the 
 moral law would be reduced to nothing: all 
 distinction between right and wrong would 
 cease. The Almighty would no longer have 
 the attributes of justice. The guilt of Adam 
 
 M
 
 242 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 was so great and so extensive, that no man, 
 nor any collective body of men, could atone 
 for the sins of the world. It was necessary 
 for a victim to be offered — the Son of God was 
 the only meet sacrifice — the Almighty was pro- 
 pitiated, — he accepted the oflPering, and God 
 became reconciled to the world, so that hence- 
 forward mankind became justified freely by 
 grace, through the redemption in Christ Jesus.' 
 
 * Another question,' said Mr. Soames, * has 
 just struck me, which I am anxious to have 
 resolved. Did Christ die for the sins of those 
 who cease to exist on earth, before Christ 
 came into the world ? ' 
 
 * That inquiry,' replied the Rector, ^ hardly 
 concerns us now. We have reason to infer 
 that when Adam sinned in Paradise, Christ 
 stood between God and him, because man did 
 not instantly die upon committing the offence, 
 he only became subject to death and all other 
 infirmities. We know that Christ was from 
 the beginning, because he has assured us of it. 
 *' Before Abram was, I aw," and therefore 
 he might, and no doubt did, interpose, and 
 prevent man's immediate destruction.'
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 243 
 
 * How then/ again interrogated Mr. Soames, 
 * could people who walked this earth before 
 Christ came into the world, have had faith in 
 the Saviour, seeing they could not possibly 
 have forecasted his existence, nor have known 
 any thing about him.' 
 
 * Before Christ came into the world to suffer 
 for men,' answered the Rector, ' there were 
 types of him which were designed by God to 
 prefigure his Son — thus, under the old dispen- 
 sation, the scape-goat and the paschal lamb 
 were types of our Saviour; there were other 
 innumerable types wherein the mental eye of 
 faith might have beheld the Messiah ; thus 
 Abraham saw the day of Christ and was glad. 
 If you look into the ancient histories of the 
 world, you will find, that the practice of expi- 
 atory sacrifices has existed from the earliest 
 times. A beast was commonly offered for 
 sacrifice in the room of the offending person : 
 this oblation was accepted, at once as the 
 acknowledgment and as the punishment of sin, 
 and the sinner was again received into the 
 favor of God. The thing offered was a type 
 of Christ, but when Christ appeared, the 
 
 M 2
 
 244 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 shadow was no longer required, and in his per- 
 son the substance was substituted. Christ 
 thenceforward became the only hope by which 
 we could obtain salvation — he presented him- 
 self as a stupendous sacrifice, an atonement, 
 an expiation, a propitiation, a satisfaction for 
 the sins of the world — and we are certified, 
 that whosoever believeth in this Lamb shall 
 be saved.' 
 
 ' Upon your resolving one remaining diflS- 
 culty,' said Mr. Soames, ' I shall feel myself 
 perfectly satisfied. How can a man believe ? 
 How could I, for instance, unless having been 
 brought to this bed of sickness, I had the 
 opportunity of profiting by your valuable mi- 
 nistration ; how otherwise could I have be- 
 lieved.' 
 
 * You may herein discern,' replied the 
 Rector, * the invariable providence of God, 
 how he takes every means, short of shackling 
 his free-will, to bring sinful man to repent- 
 ance ; he works upon him in divers manners, 
 either by sickness, by loss, or by some other 
 calamity, and thus, so to speak, prompts and 
 induces him to be saved. This sickness, for
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 245 
 
 instance, has been sent to you for a beneficent 
 purpose, since now I trust you have become, 
 from having been the greatest infidel, a sincere 
 believing Christian.' 
 
 * I have,' ejaculated Mr. Soames, with 
 grateful fervour, * and you have made me so.' 
 
 * No,' answered the Rector, * I have been 
 only the humble instrument in the hands of 
 God, to him, as his due, be all honour, and 
 praise, and glory for evermore.' 
 
 * True ! ' rejoined Mr. Soames, * to him be 
 the glory ; and now I am ready to off*er unto 
 him any acknowledgment, which he will deem 
 worthy his acceptance from a sinful creature. 
 I will receive the cup of salvation, and rejoice 
 in the name of the Lord.' 
 
 ' That you shall,' said the Rector, * but 
 allow me to suggest the propriety of your 
 giving the subject, upon which we have been 
 conversing, your earnest consideration, in case 
 there should remain the least doubt on any of 
 the truths, I have done my best to inculcate. 
 I will be with you early to-morrow morning, 
 and then perhaps your wife and daughters 
 will join with us in celebrating the holy
 
 246 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 eucharist. But let us, at least before we part 
 offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to Almighty 
 God for his late mercies, manifested unto 
 you ! ' 
 
 Here the Doctor knelt down and prayed, 
 in which orison, the sick man heartily joined. 
 Dr. Truman then took his leave^ and on the 
 morrow, according to his promise, was by the 
 bed-side of Mr. Soames, ready to administer 
 the sacrament. 
 
 * I have been turning over in my mind,' 
 observed Mr. Soames, * every point which we 
 have been discussing, and can easily reconcile 
 every thing to my mind. But, after all, I 
 would be glad to learn how we actually eat and 
 drink the Lord's body, if you will only be 
 kind enough to explain this to me, I shall be 
 quite prepared to receive the sacrament.' 
 
 ' We do not,' answered the Rector, ' actually 
 eat and drink the Lord's body. Our Saviour 
 certainly did say, " This is my body which is 
 hrokerif" but he miei\diedi\i figuratively y indeed 
 it is impossible for us to understand it literally, 
 inasmuch as his body was at that time in an 
 unbroken state, so that the bread was meant
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 247 
 
 as a memorial of his body, and the wine as a 
 memorial of his blood, about to be shed. We 
 are to understand what our Saviour said, in a 
 spiritual, not in a carnal sense. The bread 
 and wine are a symbolical representation of 
 the body and blood of Christ; a sacrament 
 is an outward and visible sign of an inward 
 and spiritual grace, but if you convert the 
 sign into the thing signified, you overthrow 
 the nature of the sacrament, and destroy the 
 beautiful emblem which Christ intended this 
 sacrament to convey. St. Paul says, As oft 
 as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do 
 shew forth the Lord's death till he come ; 
 implying- that the whole was a figurative 
 memorial of Christ's sacrifice. He also calls 
 the sacrament the communion of Christ's body 
 and blood, and not strictly the body and 
 blood, implying that there was a spiritual 
 communication of blessings along with the ele- 
 ments, and not an actual change of them. 
 Indeed it would be absurd to suppose that our 
 Lord was the subject of a feast before he died, 
 and that he has continued to be so even until 
 the present time.'
 
 248 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ' The word figuratively,^ interrupted Mr. 
 Soames, * sufficiently expresses to my mind, 
 that which before I did not correctly appre- 
 hend. I shall now be happy to partake 
 spiritually in the body and blood of Christ, 
 and I pray God that our souls may be 
 strengthened as our bodies are by the bread 
 and wine. And in receiving this holy sacra- 
 ment^ I beg to assure you that I do so, in a 
 lively faith in Jesus Christ, as being the Son 
 of God, whom before I despised, and whom I 
 crucified afresh. But, as you have advised, 
 should I be permitted by the Almighty to rise 
 from this bed of sickness, I will renounce 
 publicly my former delusions, and confess be- 
 fore God and man, Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified ; and may God grant that the poisoned 
 arrows which, in my insane ignorance and con- 
 ceit, I have heretofore sent abroad, may fall 
 harmless, and without taking effect upon any 
 human creature, but if any have gone down to 
 the grave infidels^ through my fatal agency, 
 then may their punishment be allotted unto 
 me, nor God visit on their heads my proper 
 sin.'
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 249 
 
 ' Such a declaration, although it be no more 
 than I expected, is worthy of you/ returned 
 the Doctor. * It enables me to hold out this 
 encouragement, that you have performed half 
 the duty of repentance, which is the being truly 
 sorry for your sins ; go on in the course so well 
 begun, and by the publication of godly works 
 evince the sincerity of your sorrow, thus will 
 you, through the merits of Jesus Christ, be an 
 inhabitant of his holy mansions/ 
 
 Dr. Truman thereupon administered to the 
 interesting group around him, the Lord's 
 Supper; and never any one partook of that 
 heavenly feast with more holy feelings, and 
 sincere love, than did Mr. Soames. From 
 having been previously a confirmed infidel, he 
 thenceforward became from conviction a sin- 
 cere Christian. 
 
 After the celebration was completed, the 
 Rector, before he took his leave, said he would 
 relate an anecdote concerning the subject of 
 transubstantiation, which they had lately been 
 discussing, and which he anticipated would 
 prove very impressive to the mind of Mr. 
 Soames. 
 
 M 5
 
 250 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 ' I require/ returned Mr. Soames, ' no fur- 
 ther conviction whatsoever upon the subject ; 
 nevertheless, I shall be happy to hear any 
 thing" which you will be kind enough to 
 narrate.' 
 
 ' It is a story,' rejoined the Doctor, ' which 
 may be very briefly delivered, yet I think it 
 likely to produce a lasting effect.' 
 
 ' When Villiers, Duke of Buckingham was 
 very ill, James the Second sent a popish priest 
 to him, with directions, if possible, to convert 
 him to the Roman Catholic faith. The Duke 
 being prepared for the visit of the priest, and 
 happening to be apprized of its object, re- 
 ceived him very courteously, and proposed 
 their taking a glass or two of wine before they 
 entered upon any discussion. After sitting a 
 few minutes, the Duke drew the cork out of 
 the bottle, and placing it upon the table, re- 
 quested the priest to favour him with his 
 judgment upon the qualities of his fine horse. 
 
 * Horse ! ' echoed the priest in amazement, 
 * what horse i ' ^ The gallant steed that I am 
 leading,' replied the duke, patting the cork and 
 moving it from side to side, as if the table
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 251 
 
 were a manege and he were showing- its 
 paces. ^ Don't you think he is a very fine 
 fellow ? ' * Your Grace has chosen a very 
 untimely season to be merry/ remarked the 
 priest gravely. * Merry,' rejoined the Duke, 
 ' I assure you, I was never more serious in my 
 life; does your Reverence mean to insinuate 
 that this is not a horse ? ' * Your grace must 
 be as well aware as myself,' returned the other, 
 dubious for an instant of the noble's sanity, 
 
 * that it is no horse, and nothing but a cork, 
 which you have this moment extracted from 
 the bottle.' • Nay, Father,' said the Duke, 
 
 * you would find it hard to prove that this is 
 nothing but a cork.' * I can do so very easily 
 indeed,^ replied the priest; * for I taste it, and 
 taste it is a cork ; I look at it, and see it is a 
 cork ; I feel it and feel it is a cork ; by all the 
 evidences of my senses,! am persuaded it is 
 nothing but a cork ! ' ' Well, well,' said the 
 Duke, * I believe you're right, for I begin to 
 see that this horse of mine must be a delusion 
 of the brain, with which I have been occasion- 
 ally troubled since my illness ; we will now 
 therefore, if you please, Father, proceed with
 
 252 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 
 
 the business on which you have come/ The 
 priest then began to explain the mysteries of the 
 popish church, and after having run on with 
 much volubility for about a quarter of an hour, 
 the Duke suddenly stopped him, saying, * If 
 you will only satisfactorily explain to me the 
 doctrine of transubstantiation, I will take all 
 minor points for granted.' Accordingly the 
 priest proceeded to give the required elucida- 
 tion, summing up his argument with the fol- 
 lowing words — * so that you see after the con- 
 secration of the holy elements, the wine is 
 changed into the actual blood, and the bread 
 into the actual body of Christ.' * Hold there,' 
 interrupted the Duke, ' I think I can refute 
 that, and by your own arguments too. For I 
 taste, and taste it is bread ; I look at it, and 
 see it is bread ; I feel it, and feel it is bread ; 
 by all the evidences of my senses I am per- 
 suaded that it is nothing but bread. Remem- 
 ber the cork. Father, remember the cork ! ' 
 Thus by this illustrative bit of pleasantry the 
 Duke disproved the bread and wine being the 
 body and blood of Christ.' 
 
 ' Ah ! quite satisfactory,' said Mr. Soames,
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 253 
 
 ' that alone should have induced the priest to 
 have renounced those excrescences which in 
 the long night of centuries had been foisted on 
 our divine religion/ 
 
 Dr. Truman then rose, and having congra- 
 tulated Mr. Soames upon what had lately taken 
 place, departed. 
 
 After the above memorable incident of his 
 life, Mr. Soames survived many years^ most 
 happy to controvert and disprove the opinions 
 inculcated in his former writings, and contri- 
 buting many standard works upon Christianity, 
 which caused his name to be repeated with 
 respect and affection, long after he was no 
 more.
 
 REANIMATION.
 
 REANIMATION. 
 
 Amongst the many acquaintances with whom 
 Dr. Truman had the pleasure of associating, 
 was a family of the highest respectability, con- 
 sisting of three daughters and an only son, 
 besides the parents. Only a few years gone 
 by and a much larger circle had inhabited their 
 beautiful domicile — A house situate on an 
 eminence, two miles from the town where the 
 Doctor resided. But that insidious despoiler, 
 Consumption, had reduced their numbers. It 
 is no less remarkable than true that those, 
 whom that wasting disease marks out for its 
 victims are ever amongst the most beautiful 
 and lovely of the human race. Whether the 
 malady itself imparts an interest to the patient, 
 or our compassion a prejudice in favour of
 
 258 REANIMATION. 
 
 what Mrs. Siddons has styled * a frightful fas- 
 cination/ we know not — but so it is. Pity 
 works upon our feelings, and interest takes 
 possession of our hearts. 
 
 In the family to which we have just alluded, 
 five of the daughters of Mr. Honeywell had 
 descended to an untimely grave. Margaret 
 was to all outward appearances following them 
 to the same cold repose. To the eye of the 
 uninitiated she seemed to be enjoying the best 
 health, and the rich false hectic flickering upon 
 her lovely cheeks bore evidence to those who 
 did not sufficiently understand the case, of a 
 good constitution, and even in others inspired 
 a hope, approaching to confidence, that her 
 situation was far from critical. But the secret 
 working within, the gentle, slow, but sure and 
 Tarquin strides which death was taking towards 
 her, convinced Margaret herself that she was 
 fading away, and that the earth must soon 
 close over her body, as it had done over her 
 sisters before her. 
 
 Margaret Honeywell was an object of great 
 admiration to every one who set eyes on her. 
 She was beautiful and accomplished, of a dark
 
 REANIMATION. 259 
 
 complexion, and of a comely form. Her jet 
 black eyes beaming with expression betokened 
 very conspicuously the kind feelings of her 
 heart, and told the nature of her mild and 
 benevolent disposition. Her whole counte- 
 nance, marked with fine and regular features, 
 bespoke the fatal truth, that she was more 
 fit to be an inhabitant of the other world, than 
 to move with feeble tread along the sharp and 
 thorny thoroughfares of this low earth, so full 
 of cares and sorrows, so rife with subterfuge 
 or violence, so inhospitable to its fragile deni- 
 zens. Reader, imagine for a moment a beau- 
 tiful creature of the age of eighteen, formed 
 as it were by the Almighty expressly to be 
 received into his own abode, the home of her 
 nativity, there to join in with the company of 
 celestials, to proclaim all that is heavenly and 
 heart-cheering. Imagine one with scarce suflS- 
 cient time allowed her to taste the bitters of 
 this dreary passage to eternity, unto her an 
 insensible translation to the house of the great 
 Jehovah ! Imagine more than mortal beauty, 
 and all the comeliness of refinement meeting in 
 the same angelic form — a being just from the
 
 260 REANIMATION. 
 
 hands of God, sent like a beautiful butterfly to 
 expatiate for a season over this garden and 
 grave of earth, to droop at the unexpected 
 advent of autumn, and then to die when an 
 untimely winter has enwrapped all nature in 
 its cold embrace. In short, imagine one too 
 sensitively delicate and beautiful to drag on a 
 wearisome existence, when the dew of life was 
 sipped, and the gloss tarnished, among coarser, 
 baser natures, or to take interest in mere 
 terrestrial objects, and you will picture to 
 yourself the person of Margaret Honeywell. 
 
 Death was fast approaching, but the lovely 
 candidate for eternal happiness was resigned ; 
 she felt confident of exchanging this uneasy 
 state of being for a better ; her hope was 
 almost sublimed into certainty that her name 
 was registered in heaven. Though this was 
 felt to be the case, it was nevertheless con- 
 sidered desirable, that Dr. Truman should 
 commune with her daily, to relieve her mind 
 from any occasional melancholy which might 
 invade her peace, and so overcast her few re- 
 maining days of pilgrimage on earth, precipi 
 tating her fate, and terminating even more
 
 REANIMATION. 261 
 
 prematurely than would otherwise be the case, 
 an existence so dear to those around her. 
 
 The situation of the abode of the Honey- 
 wells was truly beautiful, presenting features 
 of scenery of the most romantic order. The 
 house, though not large, was replete with all 
 those comfortable appliances which the most 
 luxurious Sybarite could desire, or the most 
 ample means command. Taste of a refined 
 order had been exhibited as well in its erection, 
 as in the furniture and decorations with which 
 it was supplied. There was an * admired dis- 
 order,' the result of exquisite tact and culti- 
 vated skill, visible in the disposition of the 
 draperies and arrangement of the furniture, 
 which took from them that set character and 
 air of stiffness, so generally objective and ob- 
 jectionable in the internal economy of our 
 modern great houses. The grounds about 
 were of a picturesque description, and without 
 ostentation or parade, were kept up in the most 
 tasty style imaginable ; trees, shrubs, and plants 
 were gracefully disposed about, which made 
 the appearance truly charming to the beholder ; 
 and while the beautiful plants exhaled perfumes
 
 262 REANIMATION. 
 
 of the most fragrant odour, the aged oak would 
 here and there extend its knarled arms, afford- 
 ing a not unwelcome shade and shelter to the 
 cattle scattered over the park. A sheet of 
 water, on which was often to be descried from 
 the distance, the sails of a small boat, relieved 
 the eye from that sameness and uniformity 
 which otherwise affected the panorama of the 
 surrounding country. In the centre stood an 
 island, wherein had been erected a slight 
 obelisk. It was the memorial of some faithful 
 animal belonging to Margaret, and to which, 
 during its life, she had been attached. All 
 the eye rested on was lovely and serene, 
 nought was admitted to jar with the beauty 
 and unity of the scene ; Nature in one of her 
 most exalted moods appeared to have sur- 
 passed herself, lavishing more than ordinary 
 care upon the objects around. With the as- 
 sistance of art she had created a spot which 
 might almost be deemed to emulate the garden 
 of our first parents ; but unlike Eden, it owned 
 all the charms of nature unalloyed by the temp- 
 tation of disobeying the commands of the 
 Deity. The tree of knowledge and the tree
 
 REANIMATION. 263 
 
 of good were planted in the grounds, but the 
 tree of evil was not there ; everything around 
 bloomed with joy and delight, and the little 
 lambs which cropped the flowery pastures, as 
 if conscious of their happiness, were to be 
 seen frisking and skipping before the windows, 
 in frolicsome innocence and pleasure. 
 
 As Dr. Truman was approaching one morn- 
 ing towards the house by the carriage drive, 
 which wound on either side the mansion, and 
 which was bounded by rich foliage 'and plants, 
 mostly reared by the delicate hands of the 
 young ladies ; his attention was suddenly 
 arrested, through the trees, by a white object, 
 which at first was hardly discernible : upon 
 his drawing nearer, he distinguished the figure 
 of a female, apparently occupied in prayer. 
 He stood for a moment looking upon the ap- 
 pearance before him, and soon recognized who 
 she was. It was Margaret. The decaying 
 beauty, the very heau ideal of all that men 
 love and women envy, had, as she thought? 
 secluded herself from the gaze of this low 
 theatre of desires and frailties, and was of- 
 fering up a prayer to her Almighty Father in
 
 264 REANIMATION. 
 
 secret. The Doctor passed on, careful not to 
 disturb her devotions, and unwilling to startle 
 her by his sudden appearance. He arrived at 
 the house, and not long after he had seated 
 himself Margaret entered the room ; little was 
 she aware at the time, that she had just been 
 the subject of the Doctor's surprise, and that 
 she had been seen by any other eye, save God's, 
 at a time when the still sanctuaries of her soul 
 were consecrated to his services. She was 
 cheerful, and communicative, and immediately 
 expressed her pleasure at seeing the Doctor 
 so much earlier than she had expected. 
 
 * The few engagements which I have on my 
 hands to-day,' returned the Doctor, * combined 
 with the inviting beauty of the morning, will 
 account for my early appearance.' 
 
 * I wish,' observed Margaret, * that your 
 engagements were less numerous, then we 
 might oftener have the pleasure of seeing you, 
 for it is indeed a pleasure to hold inter- 
 course with one of your character, whose 
 outward profession so truly indicates, and so 
 exactly corresponds with your inward virtues. 
 Your face, (you will pardon my enthusiasm,
 
 REANIMATION. l^b'D 
 
 my dear Sir,) is indeed the mirror of your 
 heart, upon which is reflected all those quali- 
 ties which I am sure must endear you to 
 every one who is honoured by your intimacy, 
 or blessed with your friendship. A.nd if I 
 have one desire upon earth, that I wish to be 
 gratified in heaven, it is that I may recognise 
 you with my dear relations in the realm of 
 bliss. Shall this thing be? 
 
 ^ That is a question,' replied the Doctor, 
 * which has occupied the minds of the most able 
 divines, and still they disagree in their conclu- 
 sions : many arguments may be adduced upon 
 both sides. When the child of the wife of Uriah 
 died, David appeared comforted with the hopes 
 of seeing it again. / shall go to him, said he, 
 hut he shall not return to me, implying a 
 consciousness of his meeting the child again. 
 But OQ the other hand, when the Sadducees 
 came to Jesus with a desire to have the same 
 question solved, he at once silenced them. In 
 the resurrection, said he, they neither marry, 
 nor are given in marriage, but are as the 
 angels of God in heaven. Thus our Lord 
 maintained a reserve in confirmation of aught 
 
 N
 
 266 REANIMATION. 
 
 further than the happiness which is in heaven, 
 The question relating to the woman who had 
 married seven brothers, was precisely of a 
 nature to have elicited from him an account of 
 the state of human beings in the next world ; 
 and, undoubtedly, had it accorded with the 
 wisdom of Christ to have given us an intima- 
 tion of heavenly things, he had done so. His 
 silence in this regard, merely implied that the 
 righteous would be as angels of God in heaven. 
 Therefore I think we should humbly be satis- 
 fied with knowing, as in a glass dimly y that 
 the soul will exist in heaven without a cloud 
 to sully its purity, or darken its intelligence, 
 in a state of happiness such as eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, without diving into fur- 
 ther mysteries, that only prove the source of 
 wildness and enthusiasm.' 
 
 ' True, Doctor,' said Margaret, * I stand 
 corrected ; we ought to be suflSciently thankful 
 that God holds out to us sinful creatures, 
 such prospects of bliss, though I am sure 
 that you must allow, it is very natural for 
 us to be anxious concerning the salvation 
 of others, more particularly of those whom
 
 REANIMATION. 267 
 
 we love, as well as our own prospects in 
 futurity.' 
 
 * Doubtless,' immediately answered the 
 Doctor, * it is incumbent upon us so to do, but 
 not, I think, to indulge in any curiosity beyond.' 
 
 At this moment the physician entered, and 
 motioned the Rector, as if he wished to speak 
 to him in the adjoining room. On his joining 
 him, the Doctor's distress was extreme, to be 
 informed that the life of Margaret was hanging 
 upon a thread, and that in all human proba- 
 bility, she would not survive many days. The 
 physician begged Dr. Truman to apprise her, 
 as well as her friends, of the imminent danger 
 of her situation. 
 
 * Can this be true?' earnestly demanded the 
 Rector, whose hopes almost impelled him to 
 disbelieve the awful tidings. 
 
 * What I notify to you, is, I fear, too cer- 
 tain,' replied the physician, in a faltering 
 accent, and he turned aside his head, unable to 
 add more. * But how can this thing be?' ob- 
 jected the Rector, * she is certainly more lively 
 to-day, and evidently in much better spirits than 
 I have witnessed with her for some weeks past ! ' 
 
 N 2
 
 268 REANIMATION. 
 
 ' That may be,' replied the physiciao, ' but 
 as a spark on the point of expiring will revive, 
 so do the spirits of Margaret at the eve of the 
 separation of soul and body flicker higher, and 
 kindle hopes of the continuation of life, but alas ! 
 with her death, like a stone thrown from some 
 lofty precipice, which increases in velocity 
 the nearer it approaches the earth, and acce- 
 lerates his pace as the awful transit to eternity, 
 draws near. I must leave you, in order that 
 without delay, you should make it known to 
 her parents, whom I hear approaching, and 
 likewise that you signify to herself, the im- 
 minent danger of her situation.' 
 
 ' I have no hopes,' added the Doctor, after a 
 pause, and in a solemn voice, * none dear Sir, 
 save of her existence in a better world,' an- 
 swered the physician. 
 
 At this moment Mr. and Mrs. Honeywell 
 entered, in anxious expectation of hearing a 
 favourable account of their beloved child, but 
 upon inquiry, the physician shook his head, 
 and immediately quitted the apartment. The 
 mind of the Doctor for a time was staggered, 
 and he felt unable to perform the task that
 
 REANIMATION. 
 
 the physician had imposed upon him. He 
 stood mute, but the silent tear rolling down 
 his venerable cheeks, disclosed to the discon- 
 solate parents the real and melancholy truth. 
 The Father, in the worst agony of suspense, 
 between hope and fear, desired an immediate 
 explanation, while the sobs of the distracted 
 mother called the two youngest daughters to 
 be auditors of the melancholy tidings. When 
 the Rector had in some measure recovered his 
 self command, he told them candidly the full 
 extent of the impending bereavement, and sig- 
 nified his wish, that the object of their affec- 
 tion should be made acquainted with her situa- 
 tion. When quiet was partially restored, and 
 the near kindred of the departing damsel were 
 more composed, if not more resigned, to the 
 mournful catastrophe which was about to 
 happen ; the parents pressed the Rector to per- 
 form the task of communicating with their 
 daughter upon the subject. It was so concluded 
 upon. He went forthwith in search of Mar- 
 garet, but she was nowhere to be met with. 
 
 ' May be,' said he to himself, * I shall find her 
 on the same spot, in the garden where I be-
 
 270 REANIMATION. 
 
 held her secluded on the bended knee, at her 
 private orisons. But how can I have the heart 
 to go about this ? Often indeed have I certified 
 and enunciated from my pulpit, that man was 
 born to die, but how can I, in cool blood, go 
 to a young female, and like death's messenger, 
 blow in her ears that her time is at hand, that 
 she, who to all appearance basks in health and 
 beams with beauty, must in a few hours be- 
 come the victim of the insatiate grave, and 
 food for the carrion worms.' 
 
 He slacked his pace, and then stopped short, 
 like one who suddenly sees a snake in his 
 passage, and in the extremity of his fear is 
 unable to advance or recede. His bosom 
 became full of indescribable emotion, which 
 wrestled like strong athletes therein, and he 
 suffered from the internal struggle as if the 
 various feelings which overcame him were con- 
 tending for supremacy. In this state of incer- 
 titude he stood for awhile unable to advance a 
 step, looking more like a man paralyzed than a 
 sentient being. Just at this point of time he 
 caught sight of a figure approaching him with 
 rapid steps, as if aware that his mind was
 
 REANIMATION. 271 
 
 labouring under some mighty difficulty. It 
 was Margaret — she had been watching him for 
 awhile, till at last, apprehensive of conse- 
 quences, she had burst upon his presence in 
 the manner we have related. 
 
 ' What,' exclaimed she, as she came up, 
 * can have happened ? I fear that you must 
 be dreadfully indisposed — tell me, that I may 
 afford every assistance in my power.' 
 
 The Doctor, thus taken by surprise, felt 
 absolutely unable for some time to utter a 
 syllable — at last he made answer — 
 
 * I labor under the difficulty of my task, my 
 dear young lady, — summon up your fortitude, 
 I have a melancholy one to perform.' 
 
 ' Relieve your mind,' interrupted Margaret, 
 ' I see it is that that suffers ; trust me, reve- 
 rend Sir,' she presently added, ' I can bear all 
 that I have to endure here, for the few re- 
 maining days I have to stay.' 
 
 * Who,' asked the Doctor, ' has thus ap- 
 prised you of your approaching fate, for even 
 that was the sole object of my seeking you in 
 this garden.' 
 
 ' God !' instantly and solemnly answered the
 
 272 REANIMATION. 
 
 pious Margaret. ' In my secret soul I have 
 been long prepared for my exit — long expect- 
 ing to resign my being into the hands of its 
 Creator. I can cry out with holy Job — The 
 Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, 
 blessed he the name of the Lord.' 
 
 * When this/ said the Doctor, * is the case, 
 we can much better endure the parting from 
 those whom we love, because we are persuaded 
 that they are going to exchange the transitory 
 joys of this world, for an enduring substance 
 in futurity.' 
 
 ' This is my case,' replied Margaret, * I feel 
 that I am ascending to happier and better 
 regions. T make no boast that I have by 
 my own merits acquired this favor, I am too 
 convinced of my human frailty, but I know that 
 my Redeeiner liveth, who by his intercession and 
 blood has procured it for me. I was born a 
 sinner, I have lived a sinner, but I have been 
 washed in the blood of the Lamb, in whose pre- 
 sence I must soon appear ; — though my body 
 be consigned to the earth in dishonour, yet 
 shall it rise in glory ; and though it be buried 
 a natural body, yet shall it be raised a spiritual
 
 REANIMATION. 273 
 
 body, to enjoy for ever the privileges, which 
 the Saviour has purchased for all those who 
 believe faithfully in him.' 
 
 ' Faith here,' said the Doctor, *is indeed 
 perfected in sight, and a hope of resting in 
 the bosom of Jesus rendered certain from a 
 firm belief in his atoning merits. And if it 
 be your lot, Margaret, to depart so young out 
 of this troublesome world, whither the wicked 
 cease from troubling, — God's will be done ; 
 and may those who are left behind be com- 
 forted in the assurance that it is his providence 
 which is about to take you from them thus 
 early, 'ere you be known to sorrow and tempt- 
 ed by sin, and that it is his will in mercy to 
 remove you 'ere time shed his sere leaves 
 upon your brow.' 
 
 Margaret appeared, from the excitement 
 which she had just undergone, to be grow- 
 ing faint and weak, which the Doctor 
 perceiving, he led her into the house, where 
 were assembled her dearest relations in 
 the deepest grief and consternation. When 
 they saw her look so fair and pure, hope for 
 an instant revived in their bosoms, but soon 
 N 5
 
 274 REANIMATION. 
 
 departed, leaving them, if possible, in a worse 
 state than before. The Doctor did all he could 
 to mitigate their sorrows and soothe their 
 distress, but to no purpose ; they wept like 
 Rachael, and refused to be comforted, because 
 she upon whom they doated stood like some 
 etherial thing upon the horizon of this world, 
 hovering 'twixt life and death. 
 
 The Doctor then took his departure, after 
 wishing the beautiful girl farewell, and he began 
 to apprehend that the words of the Physician 
 would be too soon verified, for he saw that the 
 beauteous frame of Margaret was fast decay- 
 ing away, like a too early flower nipped in its 
 opening bloom. When he took his leave of 
 her, she had more the appearance of a corpse 
 than of a living individual, but still the traces 
 of superior beauty remained, sublimed and 
 etherialized, as it were, by the effluence of 
 approaching beatitude. The regularity of 
 those fine features assumed an angelic cast. 
 When she grasped his hand, as if conscious 
 that it would be for the last time, she ex- 
 pressed herself warmly for all the kindness he 
 had evinced to her, assuring him that if her
 
 REANIMATION. 275 
 
 heart, which was now almost still, could speak, 
 it could never tell sufficiently the gratitude 
 which she owed to him. She prayed that his 
 kindness might be as strongly registered in 
 heaven as it was engraven on her heart, and 
 that she might meet him in those mansions, 
 whither she was fast hastening. 
 
 The Doctor bent his steps in silent melan- 
 choly towards the Rectory, deeply impressed 
 with the scene which he had witnessed. On 
 his arrival he entered his closet, and prayed 
 his Father that he would graciously receive 
 the soul of the young female whom he was 
 about to take from this world of probation, 
 and strengthen the hearts of those, who were 
 left behind to mourn over the hallowed remains. 
 
 Early on the following morning Dr. Tru- 
 man made a point to visit the interesting 
 family of Mr. Honeywell. An unusual cast 
 of dulness came over his mind. As he ap- 
 proached the house, the same feeling, almost 
 deepening into sadness, brooded over him. 
 Every thing abroad was still, not the smallest 
 breath of wind rustled among the trees the 
 morning was fine, but owned that gloomy
 
 276 REATSIMATION. 
 
 character in unison with, and suggesting 
 thoughts of the most desponding description. 
 Nature herself appeared as if she had staid 
 her course, the sun discontinued to shed his 
 rays, and his disk, obscured by lurid va- 
 pours, was scarcely visible; all outward things 
 seemed fraught with strange oppressive 
 melancholy. On Dr. Truman entering the 
 avenue which led to the abode of Margaret, 
 the same dull appearance of all animate and 
 inanimate things struck him forcibly. The trees, 
 which only the day before, seemed to flourish 
 with healthful, vigorous life, now languished, — 
 the several plants and flowers no longer shed 
 forth their peculiar sweetness — the very ani- 
 mals with instinctive consciousness seemed to 
 droop beneath the unusual influence. The 
 little lambs, as if awe-stricken, had sought the 
 protection of their dams, and were quietly 
 lying by their sides. The cattle, without mo- 
 tion, stood under the foliage, (shade it could 
 not be called,) of the wide spreaking oaks. All 
 was still — not a breath was heard, save at in- 
 tervals the scream of the wild owl, as if raised 
 from its rest untimely, pierced the ears of him.
 
 REANIMATION. 277 
 
 who appeared the last man upon the face of 
 the creation. 
 
 None met him to hail his arrival with a 
 smile, the large Newfoundland, heretofore 
 accustomed to bay his deep-mouthed welcome, 
 and wag his tail upon seeing him, only growled 
 as he passed the kennel ; the birds were ob- 
 served roosting upon the trees, the drooping 
 leaves of which could scarcely afford them a 
 safe retreat ; the hall clock had stopped ; the 
 blinds of the house were all lowered, the bell 
 was mufifled ; and gloominess of the most un- 
 wonted description, sat like an incubus upon 
 all around. 
 
 An old servant who encountered the Doctor 
 as he drew near the mansion stopped short and 
 would have accosted him, but his voice fal- 
 tered — it mattered not ; what need of words 
 at such moments I Oh ! there is a sympathy, 
 a free-masonry in looks which transcends all 
 articulate expression. The tears which rolled 
 down the furrowed check of the aged domestic 
 told their own tale, there were syllables trem- 
 bling on his tongue, but mental or bodily 
 strength was wanting to give them utterance.
 
 278 REANIMATION. 
 
 As we have said, all appeared inanimate — 
 time itself seemed as if it was brought to an 
 end ; but Margaret was alive, if indeed the 
 condition into which she had sank could be 
 called existence. Nearly insensible to those 
 around, she lay betwixt consciousness and dis- 
 solution, as fair a piece of earth as ever the 
 approach of death came unto, with the beauty 
 of the steps that upon the mountain top bring 
 good tidings, '' publishing Veace Salvation." 
 
 It was evident that life and death were 
 contending together, and it was only too 
 obvious that the struggle would eventually 
 end in the dust returning to the earth as it 
 was. All those symptoms of decay which with 
 singular beauty and philosophic precision Solo- 
 mon describes as preceding the instant of dis- 
 solution, were apparent; ** or ever," as he goes 
 on in those figurative expressions which really 
 seem to anticipate the illustrious Dr. Harvey's 
 discovery of the circulation of the vital fluid, 
 "or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden 
 bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the 
 fountain, or the ivheel broken at the cistern.'' 
 
 The Rector having been requested to attend,
 
 REANIMATION. 279 
 
 for the last time, upon the dying Margaret, 
 with gentle step entered the room, and drew 
 near the bed ; the mother was by the side of 
 the couch well nigh breathless as her child, 
 watching through her tears those few remaining 
 sparks of life, which flickered in the frame of 
 the expiring sufl^erer. Mr. Honeywell and his 
 other two daughters were seated near a small 
 fire almost reduced to ashes, in uncontrollable 
 distress. They could only intimate their con- 
 sciousness of the Doctor's presence by motions. 
 The dying girl raised her languid eyes, and 
 faintly smiling, as though she caught far off 
 the still sweet fall of the angelic choir, again 
 closed them. Was she no more ? It was too 
 terrible for belief. The Doctor took her hand 
 within his own palm, and thought the fingers 
 closed upon him with a pressure, so slight, 
 that to his mind it remained a doubt ; the hand 
 was cold, moist, and clammy, death was upon 
 it. She seemed to go softly to her last slum- 
 ber, decaying like the expiring lamp, unseen 
 away. The worthy minister watched her for 
 some time. Her thin lips, pale as the youngest 
 leaf of the wild rose, seemed stirred with
 
 280 RE ANIMATION. 
 
 prayer. She revived a little, and recognized 
 who were near her, but presently became again 
 insensible. The Doctor then knelt down, and 
 offered up the prayer to heaven appointed to 
 be used for those at the point of departure. 
 He commended the soul of Margaret into the 
 hands of a faithful Creator, and besought him 
 that he would wash it in the blood of that 
 immaculate Lamb, that was slain to take away 
 the sins of the world. When he arose, he 
 found that Margaret signified her approbation 
 of what he had done, by a scarcely percep- 
 tible movement of her lips ; he pressed her 
 hand, and again felt the pressure slightly re- 
 turned. Having given her his blessing, he 
 soon after departed. 
 
 Dr. Truman returned to his family, with 
 feelings more easily to be imagined than de- 
 scribed ; and in the course of that same evenings 
 as he had apprehended, the intelligence reached 
 him that Margaret was no more. 
 
 Two days subsequent to that evening, in the 
 course of which the soul of Margaret had 
 taken its flight to its native sphere, the Doctor 
 went to Mr, Honeywell's house to ascertain
 
 REANIMATION. 281 
 
 what arrangements he wished to make concer- 
 ning the funeral. He found the family, as of 
 course he expected, in great distress, but as 
 resigned to the will of God as could be hoped 
 for, under the immediate pressure of their 
 bereavement. This was on the Monday, and it 
 was intended that the body should be interred on 
 the Wednesday following ; accordingly, prepa- 
 rations were made. By the Rector's advice, 
 the funeral was to be as private as possible .; 
 few persons except her nearest relatives, were 
 asked to join in with the procession. Two coaches 
 and a hearse were considered all that were 
 requisite, though many gentleman's carriages 
 were ready, out of respect to Margaret and 
 the family, to follow the corpse to that cold 
 bourne, whence it would only rise to put on 
 immortality. 
 
 After the necessary arrangements were con- 
 cluded on, Mr. Honeywell expressed a desire 
 that the Doctor should view the corpse ; — the 
 Rector would have declined. * Recall not to 
 my memory,' said he, ' more vividly the form 
 of her, who is now, alas, an angel in bliss ; let 
 me not witness how cold insensate Death hath
 
 282 REANIMATION. 
 
 set his seal on the charms of beauty. Her 
 body, I doubt not, is yet lovely in decease, 
 and her spirit, T feel well assured, hath re- 
 turned to the guardianship of its creator.' 
 
 * It is our united wish, my dear Sir,^ re- 
 urged Mr. Honeywell, * for you to behold her ; 
 there is nought to alarm ; she bears more re- 
 semblance to the carving of a beautiful sta- 
 tue than the lifeless trunk of a female.* 
 
 * At this sad hour,' said the Doctor, ' I 
 would willingly accede to any request in my 
 power, so if it be indeed your united wills for 
 me once more to set eyes on the beautiful 
 Margaret, let me accompany you at once to 
 her shroud, that I may take my last farewell.' 
 
 Mr. Honeywell then slowly led the way, 
 and they presently found themselves in the 
 chamber where Margaret yet sojourned in 
 the flesh. There lay the corpse. The picture 
 of her last repose was beautiful, more beau- 
 tiful, if possible, than when radient with youth 
 and joy, and consciousness. The features 
 were not marked with agony, nor had been 
 deformed by the last convulsive pangs of 
 dissolution. The cold brow was not ploughed by
 
 REANIMATION. 283 
 
 furrows, but upon the forehead was the glim- 
 mering of that star and the mark of that cross, 
 which were stamped upon her when she was 
 made a Christian ; there was a lifeless trunk 
 indeed, but one that had emitted its spirit to 
 the bosom of its Redeemer, and one that was 
 waiting till the trump of the archangel should 
 arouse the dead, and proclaim the victory over 
 the grave. 
 
 The Doctor remained for some time, with his 
 head inclined over the body in silent emotion — 
 not a word for a long interval passed between 
 him and Mr. Honeywell — the chamber of death 
 was felt to be a sacred thing, and the mutual 
 silence was deep and impressive. For more 
 than a quarter of an hour the Doctor's eyes 
 had been fixed upon the still calm spectacle 
 before him — and at last he said in a low agi- 
 tated voice — ' I find it difficult to persuade 
 myself that she is dead ! ' he paused for a 
 moment, and then suddenly exclaimed with 
 uncontrollable emotion — * She is not dead! 
 She is not dead ! ' 
 
 The wonderful annunciation was true ! Upon 
 placing a glass before her mouth they were
 
 284 REANIMATION. 
 
 certified that breath was upon it. No time 
 was to be lost, Margaret was alive. The 
 physician was instantly sent for, and in the 
 interim the Rector succeeded in getting a few 
 drops of liquid between her lips, and with 
 every drop fresh indications of her existence 
 were elicited, till at last it was manifest that 
 she had only been in a trance, out of which 
 she was fast resuscitating. 
 
 Her parents, between the hope of her being 
 alive, and the fear of having after all to wit- 
 ness as it were a repetition of her last agony, 
 scarcely knew what they were about. The 
 physician arrived, and all their most sanguine 
 hopes were realized. Margaret was not only 
 restored to life, but soon after, to the inex- 
 pressible delight of all who knew her, to con- 
 valescence, and the Doctor, a few years subse- 
 quent, had the pleasing duty of uniting her to 
 his own son in the bands of wedlock, instead of 
 having to bury her by the side of her sisters 
 who had gone down to the grave before her.
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE.
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 It was the annual custom of Dr. Truman to 
 leave his parish for a month in the course of 
 the summer, in order to relieve his mind from 
 those arduous labours to which it was daily 
 subjected, a relaxation to which none could 
 object. His family had anticipated his de- 
 parture by a day or two, and he was about to 
 rejoin them at a watering- place, situate not 
 many miles distant from his rectory. 
 
 Dr. Truman had secured an inside place, and 
 on seating himself in the coach, he recognized 
 in two of his travelling companions, his own 
 parishioners. The other passenger was an 
 utter stranger. 
 
 As is generally the case, the conversation 
 ran through every variety of topics, but the
 
 288 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 Doctor took at first little or no part in their 
 discourse, though they uniformly appealed to 
 him for his opinion. 
 
 ' In politics generally,' remarked the Rector, 
 on one of these occasions, * I take little or no 
 interest, but whensoever I am called upon to 
 answer a question relating to the church, then, 
 as one of her ministers, I feel in duty bound 
 to defend her, according to my humble com- 
 petence and to the best of my ability^ such is 
 my rule, and I see no reason why I should be 
 backward in this.' 
 
 ' Permit me, if such be the case,' made 
 answer Mr. Clark, with a smile, * to ask you a 
 question which you will allow to be pertinent; 
 Do you consider that your church does not 
 need any reform ? ' 
 
 * The word reform,' replied the Doctor, * is 
 of an ambiguous meaning. If you take the 
 modern sense, which political agitators are 
 pleased to put upon the term, viz. a levelling 
 or a destruction, then I am pretty strongly of 
 opinion that our establishment needs no such 
 reform. But, on the other hand, if you mean 
 by the word reform, a change for the better.
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. , 289 
 
 provided that change does not infringe upon 
 any of her fundamental ordinances, or affect 
 her property, I would say that she needs it ; 
 upon the obvious principle that nothing that is 
 governed by " earthly vessels " can exist with- 
 out requiring reparation. But it is a mere 
 radical sequitur to infer, because a part of her 
 machinery is out of repair, therefore the des- 
 truction of the whole machine ought to be 
 meditated.' 
 
 * That indeed,' returned Mr. Clark, ' is very 
 candid on your part. Then admitting, as you 
 seem inclined to do, that there be abuses, don't 
 you opine that a man may well be excused 
 for leaving the church ? ' 
 
 * By no means,* answered the Doctor. * We 
 have, as I have already granted, abuses in our 
 establishment,— unworthy members both lay and 
 clerical, but, comparatively speaking, very few, 
 considering how extensively our work is car- 
 ried on, and how many hands are necessarily 
 employed in the undertaking. We possess 
 every thing in our establishment necessary to 
 bind men to the church, and we have function- 
 aries, qualified by education, bound by the 
 
 o
 
 290 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 most recognised authority to correct and extir- 
 pate our abuses. Now, Sir,' continued the 
 Rector, * as we have entered upon the sub- 
 ject, I will inform you upon what grounds I 
 became a member of our church, that you may 
 at once see 1 acted upon principle, taking the 
 Scriptures as my guide. I became a minister 
 of the Church of England not rashly, nor being 
 constrained thereunto, but upon firm con- 
 viction, the result of much studious inquiry, 
 that her doctrines and her worship were pure 
 and apostolic — because she is one of the oldest 
 branches of the Christian church — because she 
 holds fast the truths of the gospel, and exhi- 
 bits in her articles, creeds, and services, the 
 doctrines of the apostles — because, like unto 
 the primitive church, she had three distinct 
 orders, bishops, priests, and deacons — because 
 the most able, learned, talented, and most sin- 
 cere Christians are to be found in her commu- 
 nion — because her services are distinguished 
 for beauty in style, piety in sentiment, and 
 characterised by charity in all things — because 
 her prayers are so plain, so full, so fervent^ 
 and adapted to every capacity, that let a man
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 291 
 
 be in any trouble, in sorrow, in need, sickness, 
 or any other adversity, he will find a prayer in 
 our beautiful liturgy, meet to offer unto God : 
 again, because I hate disunion ; the Scripture 
 says, " Mark them which cause divisions, and 
 avoid them/' and I know that the church, as far 
 as can be, is free from that opprobrium : — be- 
 cause I wish to submit myself to every ordinance 
 of man, not revolting to my reason, for the 
 Lord's sake ; and to forsake the church would be 
 to despise the ordinance of man ; for the estab- 
 lishment to which I belong, is protected by the 
 institutions under which I live : because I see 
 the blessing of God resting upon his everlasting 
 tabernacle : and though environed by enemies, 
 and attacked on all sides, still the church stands 
 majestic, smiling upon the feeble attempts of 
 men to subvert her — because I observe the 
 lives of her sincere members to be simple, and 
 exemplary, and distinguish among them more 
 exalted virtue and piety, than are anywhere 
 else to be found — because I find upon examin- 
 ation, that her doctrines and ordinances are 
 Scriptural, and that those who adhere to them 
 must be, according to our Saviour's promise, 
 o 2
 
 292 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 inhabitants of his kingdom. And lastly, be- 
 cause I was induced, under all these concur- 
 rent circumstances, from an innate principle, 
 which, under the direction of reason, can never 
 lead astray, and which, I entertain no doubt, 
 was called into action by the Holy Spirit, to 
 exercise the faculties with which the Almighty 
 has endowed me, in his service, and in his 
 church.' 
 
 ' Those certainly,' remarked Mr. Clark, 
 after a pause, * are arguments in favour of 
 your church, difficult to controvert, and I 
 make no question you are actuated, as you 
 say, by your own conscience ; but why then not 
 grant to others the same liberty, you claim for 
 yourself? I mean liberty of conscience, and 
 permit them to dissent from you.' 
 
 * I look upon it,' replied the Doctor, * that 
 an unhallowed liberty of conscience is a dan- 
 gerous thing in matters of religious worship.' 
 
 * But why,' rejoined Mr. Clark, * should 
 men be obliged to serve God after any other 
 mode than that, which their own conscience 
 dictates.' 
 
 * You would ask,' replied the Doctor,
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 293 
 
 * wherefore every man should not be a follower 
 of that worship, which is most agreeable to his 
 taste or fancy 1 ' 
 
 * Such is my inquiry,' said Mr. Clark. 
 
 ' Suppose,' continued the Doctor, * a man's 
 conscience should induce him to worship a 
 stone, or to bow down to images carved by his 
 own hand, upon your reasoning, which I am 
 well aware upon occasion is acted upon by 
 many, there would be no sin, because he only 
 conforms to the dictates of his conscience. But 
 have you no ultimate appeal ? Do you acknow- 
 ledge no rule by which you are guided, limit- 
 ing the licence of faith, or the freedom of 
 worship ? ' 
 
 * None, I apprehend,' replied Mr. Clark, 
 
 * but that of a man's own conscience.' 
 
 * We, on the contrary,' replied the Doctor, 
 ^ consider the Bible to be the rule and stand- 
 ard of our faith. I am not to suppose that 
 you have no Bible, but only that you will not 
 allow that book to be the rule by which to 
 regulate, and upon which to establish, your 
 faith.' 
 
 ' That,' said Mr. Clark, * would be to push
 
 294 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 the argument rather farther than seems war- 
 rantable. When I talk of liberty of con- 
 science, I mean in contradistinction to any 
 compulsion which may be used with men, in 
 respect of their religion/ 
 
 * In this country,' returned the Doctor, 
 * compulsion is never resorted to on such occa- 
 sions ; the state tolerates Dissent, and men 
 are not forced or compelled to serve God, 
 after any set form, or in any particular way. 
 And the reason why the state upholds the 
 Church Establishment, is because her tenets 
 and ministrations appear more consonant to 
 Scripture and reason, than those of any other 
 church in the world.' 
 
 * I must beg to differ from you upon that 
 point,' again objected Mr. Clark, * I cannot 
 reconcile myself to there being an established 
 religion. I mean a religion upheld by the 
 state. It is wholly repugnant to the temper 
 of my mind : no argument, no reason, no Scrip- 
 ture, can in fact justify it.' 
 
 * If you will allow me, Sir,' mildly made 
 answer the Doctor, * I will endeavour to 
 throw more light upon the subject, than you
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 295 
 
 appear at present to possess. You are perhaps 
 not aware that all the nations of antiquity had 
 religious establishments. Their universality, 
 therefore, in all ages, is an argument in favor 
 of them. And if we look to scriptural evi- 
 dence, the Patriarchal appears to have been 
 the first form of government exercised by the 
 heads of families over their household. Thus 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were severally 
 heads or kings over their subjects, and we are 
 instructed, that one of the first acts which 
 Abraham performed after leaving his own 
 country, was to establish a family altar — Isaac 
 also, and especially Jacob, erected the altar 
 of God amidst his people — here then we find 
 the principle acted upon, and established. The 
 same may be aflSrmed of all the other patri- 
 archs, and of Noah before them. But we go 
 on to the Mosaic dispensation. The govern- 
 ment assumed at that time the character of a 
 theocracy. Moses, the leader of the Israelites, 
 was merely a temporal viceroy — here then, 
 not only was public worship instituted, but 
 appointed to be observed by God himself. 
 And it is not irrelevant to bid you note, that
 
 296 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 whenever the Israelites turned from God, who 
 was their king, unto idolatry, that instant did 
 he withdraw his protection from them ; and 
 when in their compromise between devotion 
 and lawlessness they chose to have recourse to 
 ih2it juste milieu, implied in obeying an earthly 
 king instead of an heavenly one, the principle 
 which God himself established was strictly 
 observed. Their kings were ex-officio the 
 regulators of the religious instruction of their 
 subjects. If then the Jewish kings were bound 
 by God himself to attend to the spiritual wants 
 of their subjects, why, upon every principle of 
 analogy, are not the kings of England I * 
 
 * But Sir,' asked Mr. Clark, ' did not the 
 Jewish National Church merely typify the 
 Christian, and were not types and shadows 
 entirely abolished upon the appearance of our 
 Saviour I ' 
 
 * If you grant that the Jewish National 
 Church,' replied the Doctor, ' was a type of 
 the Christian, you must also allow that the type 
 was designed by God to foreshew some future 
 circumstance : though the coming of Christ did 
 supersede any necessity for types and shadows.
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 297 
 
 still in their place he introduced the substance, 
 so that the moral principles and obligations 
 were not abrogated, ** I came not,'' said he, 
 ** to destroy the law and the prophets, hut to 
 fulfil \' as if he had announced that, wherever 
 that is a shadow, I will substitute the thing 
 signified, the object mystically wrapped up.' 
 
 ' But our Saviour,' interrupted Mr. Clark, 
 * pronounced nothing in favour of National 
 Establishments, and since he gave no command 
 concerning them, why are we bound to be sub- 
 ject to them V 
 
 * Our Saviour's silence,' replied the Doctor, 
 'argues just nothing. Let it suffice that he 
 uttered not a word in disapproval of a National 
 Establishment, which he assuredly would have 
 done had such been his sentiments. Nothing 
 was delivered by our Saviour to bind men to 
 keep the Sabbath, because, the observance of 
 it already existing, it was not necessary for 
 him to touch upon the point. So with respect 
 to a national religion, our Saviour found his 
 hearers, by education, the hallowed recollec- 
 tions of their history, and long usage, impressed 
 in favour of it ; and therefore there was no 
 o 5
 
 298 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 occasion to enforce it. He found that the 
 prophecy was fulfilled, ^' Kings shall he thy 
 nursing -father Sy and their queens thy nursing- 
 mothers,'' and so forbore to express himself 
 upon this point. Thus, Sir, I have shewn you, 
 that a national church was encouraged by God 
 under the patriarchal dispensation, actually 
 established by him under the Jewish, and 
 sanctioned by him under the Christian dispen- 
 sation. And now let me ask what can be more 
 binding ? Again, human nature is so corrupt 
 that religion cannot well subsist without some 
 adventitious aid of that kind. Where there 
 existed no established religion, there would 
 soon be no religion at all. Religious instruction 
 must be amply provided, and religious institu- 
 tions maintained by the state, or it is plain that 
 those who may be disinclined to receive the 
 one and are inimical to the other, i. e. the great 
 majority of mankind, will never be at the 
 pains to seek them, or at the cost to pay for 
 them. Besides, were the state indifferent 
 about the matter, and held out no encourage- 
 ment to the well-educated and well-informed 
 part of the community to take orders, ignorant
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 299 
 
 men would soon thrust themselves into the 
 ministry, and thus would religion fall into con- 
 tempt and disorder, as is the case, I think in 
 many conventicles throughout the country. 
 This must necessarily happen. For what pru- 
 dent father of a family, with a view to the 
 scanty and precarious stipend of the voluntary 
 system, would bestow upon a son that costly 
 education, which in these days (when all ex- 
 traordinary inspirations have long ceased) is 
 absolutely requisite to fit him for the clerical 
 office ? 
 
 * It is very clear that no church can stand 
 without some ecclesiastical polity. The ques- 
 tion then arises, whether it is to be governed 
 democratically by its own members at large ; or 
 by an authority, vested in the crown, and in its 
 spiritual dignitaries. If you say * by its own 
 members,' then look at the different sects to 
 see how that rule acts. Indeed it has been 
 asserted by one, who was no great friend to the 
 church, 'Look out for a people entirely desti- 
 tute of religion : if you find them at all, he 
 assured, that they are hut few degrees removed 
 from brutes.'
 
 300 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 * But let US consider the object of a State 
 Establishment — here we find that it is to 
 ensure to the people ministers of the Gospel, 
 who are ready to pray with them, to preach 
 to them, and to teach them, both in public and 
 in private, the great truths of revelation. 
 Again, our church, from being in connexion 
 with the legislature, furnishes a succession of 
 men capable of this great work ; and if they 
 forsake or neglect it, they are amenable to 
 punishment. She supplies religious instruc- 
 tion to the poor man as well as the richest 
 and noblest in the land, and brings them toge- 
 ther as worshippers in the same temple ; 
 whereas, in modern conventicles, the poor 
 man has to pay from his scanty pittance some- 
 thing towards his soul's good. What, I ask, 
 would become of the poor ? What would be- 
 come of those numerous villages throughout 
 the realm, inhabited only by farmers suffi- 
 ciently depressed, and their labourers in a still 
 more forlorn and wretched condition, were 
 there no established religion? It would come 
 to this, that those parishes which could not 
 maintain a minister would soon learn to live
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 301 
 
 without God in the world. And in no long 
 time, more than half the parishes in England 
 would be deprived of the blessings of the Gos- 
 pel, and thus sink into a state of heathenism 
 and moral darkness, not to be surpassed by 
 that of the wild savages themselves. Look 
 back to the time of Cromwell, when the church 
 and state were separated ; what numerous 
 conflicting sects overspread the land, which to 
 this day have left their foul and filthy pollution 
 behind them, and contaminated, like the fabled 
 harpies, the food of sound religion with their 
 nauseous infection. Look at the unbridled 
 licentiousness of France at the time of her 
 last great Revolution, how the passions of the 
 people, unrestrained by religion, dared to 
 insult and defy the Deity. The ruling powers, 
 in the enthusiasm of their false liberality, 
 dressed up a figure as the goddess of Reason, 
 and invited the populace to fall down and 
 worship the idol that they had set up. With 
 such beacons for our instruction, would it 
 evince prudence to dismiss the state religion of 
 this country, and leave men to follow the bent 
 of their own inclinations, which we must all
 
 B02 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 allow to be prone to evil ? Would it be advi- 
 sable i Would it be the act of ratioual beings ? 
 Would it accord with Scripture ? 
 
 * But even supposing,' said Mr. Clark, 
 ' some established religion be indispensable, 
 why should it be that of the Church of 
 England ? ' 
 
 * I will furnish you with a reason, and that 
 a simple one,' replied the Doctor. * Because 
 the number of churchmen exceeds, very 
 greatly, that of the dissenters. And the 
 opinion of the majority, in all cases of differ- 
 ence, is held to be more likely to be founded 
 on what is just, than that of the minority. You 
 are permitted by the government to dissent 
 from us, and to worship God as your con- 
 sciences direct you. Suffer us without vitu- 
 peration to do the same, not only as our 
 consciences dictate, but as our Bible teaches 
 us.' 
 
 * I cannot but maintain,' rejoined Mr. Clark, 
 * notwithstanding your plausible argument, 
 that men ought to be left entirely free to 
 adopt whatever religion they incline to, with- 
 out having their judgment biassed, by the
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 30S 
 
 circumstance of a state religion, and I can 
 entertain but a very poor opinion of an es- 
 tablishment, which stands in need of being up- 
 held by government. If it were founded upon 
 the rock of Christ, why should it hold its very 
 existence unstable, unless it dreamt beneath 
 the broad imperial shadow of the state.* 
 
 'That argument,' replied the Doctor, * does 
 not by any means tell against the necessity of 
 an establishment, it only proves the depravity 
 of human nature. Our establishment requires 
 being upheld, because so many wicked men 
 are desirous to subvert it ; but the simple fact 
 that our church looks for this protection from 
 the government, is in nowise derogatory to it ; 
 on the contrary, the support which sensible 
 men, men who in all ages have been considered 
 the most learned, the most erudite, and the 
 most pious, — the support they have afforded, 
 and do still afford to our establishment, is 
 ample evidence of their opinion of its value. 
 But let us look to the probable result, were the 
 government to withdraw this protection. 
 
 ' That result would be the rapid decay and 
 decrease of religion throughout the nation ,•
 
 304 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 the poor would be shortly deprived of having 
 the blessed truths of the gospel preached to 
 them, and also of the services of their respec- 
 tive ministers. Again, the result would be, that 
 it would offer a temptation to avarice and other 
 bad passions : Religion, so to speak, would 
 be in a mart, the price of which would vary ac- 
 cording to the powers and ability of those who 
 had to sell it. And were men left to choose 
 that creed and religion which might happen to 
 be accommodated to their consciences, with- 
 out having their attention directed to some 
 authorized form ; it is morally certain they 
 would end by selecting none at all. We know 
 how depraved the imagination and the thoughts 
 of men are, and that their inclinations are evil 
 continually ; we may therefore justly conclude, 
 if all denominations of religion were placed 
 upon a footing of equality in the eye of the 
 state, were one sect to hold more unscriptural 
 tenets than another, that the generality of men 
 would cleave to that, which in all human pro- 
 bability would be least opposed to the indul- 
 gence of their pride, their lusts, or any other 
 modification of selfishness. It is not to be
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 30Z 
 
 calculated upon, that, generally speaking, men 
 would be at the pains and cost to provide 
 religious instruction for themselves ; daily 
 experience convinces us of the fallacy of such 
 an expectation ; nay, there are, alas ! too 
 many who will let escape the opportunity of 
 having it, although it is provided for them 
 without money and without price. What then 
 would be their indifference if they had this 
 provision to make for themselves 1 A factious 
 spirit of opposition may indeed at present 
 stimulate, as it does in this country, a small 
 minority to set up and to support heresies of 
 their own. But even in this case, when there 
 was no longer an opposition and a rivalry to 
 be maintained, zeal would cool, and luke- 
 warmness and indifference would take its 
 place.' 
 
 ' Were this indeed to be the result,' said 
 Mr. Clark, ' I would be the last to deny 
 that it would be injurious — the first to depre- 
 cate its adoption ; but, I confess, I should 
 like to see others put upon the same footing 
 with the state as are churchmen.' 
 
 'They can easily,' answered the Doctor,
 
 8®6 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 'place themselves upon the same footing, by 
 becoming members of their community/ 
 
 * That they cannot do/ returned Mr. Clark, 
 * in consequence of the existence of so many 
 abuses in the doctrine and discipline of the 
 establishment.' 
 
 * But parliament,' answered the Doctor, 
 *is doing its utmost to obviate that objection, by 
 taking steps to correct these complained-of 
 abuses ; and with respect to the doctrines of 
 our church, with the exception of the Uni- 
 tarians and of the Baptists, in one single par- 
 ticular, they are not very different from the 
 doctrines of the great body of dissenters, at 
 least there is not such an irreconcileable dif- 
 ference as can justify dissent; therefore, I 
 may presume, when the commissioners ap- 
 pointed to examine and correct the abuses of 
 our church shall have their recommendations 
 sanctioned by parliament, that the dissenting 
 class of the community will no longer object 
 to fall back into the ranks of the establish- 
 ment. But should any of the complained- 
 of abuses, after all, remain unredressed, why 
 should the wholesome draught be rejected,
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 307 
 
 because the dregs may have a smack of 
 bitter ? ' 
 
 * Parliament,' replied Mr. Clark, ' will never, 
 depend upon it, alter the discipline of your 
 church, and therefore upon that score we shall 
 under any circumstances be justified in con- 
 tinuing to dissent from you.' 
 
 ' With respect to the discipline of our 
 church, I can descry nothing objectionable,' 
 said the Doctor. ^ There is this difference be- 
 tween us and you: you say, that every congre- 
 gation has in itself what is necessary for its 
 own government, and is not subject to other 
 churches, or to their deputies. This mode of 
 church government is adopted by the dissen- 
 ters in general. The Church of England, on 
 the contrary, submits to the authority of the 
 King, who is the supreme head, and under 
 him, to that of two Archbishops and twenty- 
 four Bishops, and she insists on the divine 
 origin of these and other officers. She allows 
 no one to officiate, except those who are law- 
 fully called ; and she judges those lawfully 
 called to the work, who have been publicly 
 ordained by men, authorized to that duty.
 
 308 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 ^ Now, sir, if I prove our ministers' authority 
 lawful, and founded on the declared will of 
 God, it must follow that the dissenting ' call* 
 is illegal, and therefore that those who officiate 
 in virtue of it, are acting out of ' order/ The 
 ministers of religion are God's ambassadors. 
 Nothing, therefore, but a divine appointment 
 can qualify any person to hold that sacred 
 office. It is our business, then, to consider 
 by what mode of procedure a man becomes 
 divinely appointed. We know, that among 
 the Jews, none could approach the presence 
 of God in a sacerdotal character, but such as 
 were appointed by him. Aaron and his sons, 
 and the Levites, were consecrated by the ex- 
 press command of God, and all of them had 
 their distinct commissions from heaven ; and it 
 was a principle generally admitted and acted 
 upon, both in ancient and modern times, that 
 fit persons should be duly appointed and set 
 apart to perform the offices of public worship. 
 At the time of our Saviour's advent, none 
 dared to exercise the office of the Christian 
 ministry, till they were commissioned by him. 
 The twelve apostles were first appointed by
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 309 
 
 him, and subsequently the other seventy. 
 After his resurrection, he breathed upon them 
 the Holy Ghost, and then gave them authority 
 to perform all the functions of the church, and 
 to convey the same authority to others, pro- 
 mising that he would confirm what was done 
 in his name, and that he would be with them 
 and their successors, even unto the end of the 
 world. The work of the ministry became so 
 great in process of time, that the Apostles 
 appointed deacons to assist them, and after- 
 wards elders. We read of St. Paul appoint- 
 ing elders in all the churches which he 
 founded ; and he directed Timothy and Titus 
 to do the same. Thus it appears that minis- 
 ters should derive their authority from Jesus 
 Christ ; and no one can be said to have this 
 authority, but those who have received ordina- 
 tion from the hands of a Bishop, who has been 
 himself duly consecrated ; for the power to 
 ordain is the exclusive right of a Bishop. Our 
 Saviour said to his Apostles, '* As my Father 
 sent me, so send I you ; and, lo ! I am with 
 you always, even unto the end of the world." 
 Hence it is evident, that the Apostles' com^
 
 310 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 mission is of divine institution, and that they 
 were empowered to ordain others. And it is 
 equally clear, from authentic history, that there 
 has been a succession of persons, derived from 
 God himself, authorised to ordain, as the occa- 
 sion might require. It appears, moreover, 
 that God was pleased and satisfied with the 
 mode of proceeding ; for at the death of Judas, 
 Matthias was appointed ; and at the day of Pen- 
 tecost *' they ivere ALL (including Matthias) 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
 speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave 
 them utterance." Yes, it is very evident that 
 our Bishops derive their authority from the 
 Apostles themselves, and they from our Sa- 
 viour, so that there has been an uninterrupted 
 succession of ministers, regularly ordained to 
 their sacred office, from the commencement of 
 Christianity, to the present time — an unbroken 
 chain of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons — a 
 regular succession has taken place, at the 
 death of one, another was appointed, and so 
 on, until now. Besides, our reason, and our own 
 experience concur to convince us, that unless 
 men be properly educated, and duly called to
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 311 
 
 the ministry, individuals of heated fancies, of 
 vulgar tongues, and of very little knowledge, 
 will raadly rush in * where angels fear to tread,' 
 and inducting themselves into the priesthood, 
 cause the service of God to be loathed and 
 laughed at.' 
 
 * I cannot suppose,' said Mr. Clark, evi- 
 dently not quite pleased with the course which 
 the discussion was taking, * that you would 
 insinuate any complaint against our mode of 
 educating our ministers. We have, as you are 
 doubtless aware, academies in which the 
 greatest care is taken to make the pupils 
 efficient ambassadors of Christ, to arm them at 
 all points in the holy cause they will have to 
 advocate, and moreover, and above all, to 
 ensure their becoming popular preachers. 
 They are accustomed to hold forth from the age 
 of sixteen before the other students, and by 
 this practice do they acquire a confidence, 
 which must necessarily prove very advan- 
 tageous.' 
 
 ' Allow me on my pa^t,' returned the Doctor, 
 ' to inform you how candidates for Holy 
 Orders are obliged to proceed, before they can
 
 312 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 enter the church, and you will at once perceive 
 the vast difference between the qualifications 
 requisite to a self-appointed minister, and those 
 demanded from one appointed according to 
 God's holy word, 
 
 * Before a person can enter the church as 
 deacon, he has to undergo six examinations, 
 and must pass through seven, before he be in 
 full orders/ 
 
 ' How do you make them out?' asked Mr. 
 Clark, exhibiting in his tone and manners 
 obvious marks of surprise. * I was not at all 
 aware of those precautions.' 
 
 * Few people are so,' replied the Doctor, ' I 
 will enumerate them to your perfect satisfac- 
 tion. The candidate for Holy Orders must 
 have been at least three years at one of our 
 universities, during which period he has to 
 stand the ordeal of three college, and two 
 university examinations, before impartial and 
 indifferent examiners ; and unless he pass suc- 
 cessfully these examinations, he is not at 
 liberty to present himself to the bishop for 
 ordination. Independently of his certificate 
 of having passed these examinations, he is
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 313 
 
 required to bring one signed by the Master 
 and Fellows, and Tutors of his college, who 
 have had opportunities of judging concerning 
 his fitness for the sacred oflSce, and another 
 from an university Professor, stating that he 
 has attended a certain number of divinity lec- 
 tures. In addition to these most laudable 
 precautions, there is yet another of which I 
 am sure, Mr. Clark, you cannot but approve. 
 A notice is publicly read in the church of the 
 parish wherein the candidate for orders resides, 
 stating that he intends to offer himself for the 
 ministry at an ensuing ordination. That he is 
 about to apply forthwith to a particular bishop 
 with that object, and inviting such as may be 
 aware of any just cause or impediment where- 
 fore he ought not to he admitted into Holy 
 Orders, to signify the same forthwith to the 
 bishop before mentioned, or to declare it openly. 
 Well, having by dint of exertion and blameless 
 conduct, obtained these certificates, he is re- 
 quired to procure one to the same effect from 
 three beneficed clergymen in the neighbour- 
 hood where he has lived, and who have known 
 him for the previous three years ; thus armed, 
 p
 
 314 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 does he go for examination before a bishop, 
 again, he it noted, an indifferent person ; and 
 should he be deemed fully qualified and com- 
 petent, he is not, after all, (mind me,) per- 
 mitted to enter the priesthood rashly, but put, 
 as it were, upon trial for one twelvemonth. 
 At the end of this period of probation, he may 
 not have insured the consummation of his 
 endeavours for so many years. He finds him- 
 self under the necessity of obtaining another 
 testimonial from three beneficed clergymen to 
 certify that, as far as they know, he has be- 
 haved godlily and virtuously, and moreover 
 has not preached any false doctrine. Thus fully 
 qualified, does he present himself before the 
 bishop for the last examination, in the which 
 should he approve himself to his Lordship's 
 satisfaction, which is far from being a matter of 
 course, since it wholly depends upon the extent 
 of his theological attainments, he is allowed to 
 officiate in the church as a priest. From what 
 I have stated, you will perceive that the great- 
 est precaution is used to preclude the possi- 
 bility of illiterate and ungodly men serving at 
 our altars. But only mark the very different
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 315 
 
 mode of procedure adopted by any of the 
 innumerable sects which are in the world.' 
 
 * I assure you/ returned Mr. Clark, not a 
 little piqued, ' that the education of indivi- 
 duals destined to so solemn and responsible a 
 trust as that of preaching the word of God to 
 a dnful world, is a matter of the greatest 
 solicitude with Dissenters, at least,' he sub- 
 joined after a pause, and appearing slightly 
 confused, ' I can answer to its being no easy 
 task, the procuring leave to officiate amongst 
 our denomination.' 
 
 I cannot possibly conceive,' replied the Doc- 
 tor, ' how satisfaction can be said to exist at all 
 amongst the Dissenters, with respect to the edu- 
 cation of their ministers, or wherefore should 
 they discover such uncommon solicitude, or 
 evince so great desire to have their sons gradu- 
 ate in our colleges ? ' Mr. Clark appeared some- 
 what baffled, at least so the good Doctor inferred 
 from his clouded brow, he pondered for a moment, 
 ere, palpably evading the force of his reverend 
 antagonist's last remark, he replied, * of course 
 I have no objections to offer to the precautions 
 taken in your church, though, after all, your 
 p 2
 
 316 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 ministers appointed only by men, are obligated 
 to swear that they are inwardly called. 
 
 * No such thing,' rejoined the Doctor, ' I 
 happen to have a Prayer Book in my pocket. 
 I will turn to the ordination service. Here I 
 find it thus asked. 
 
 * Do you think that you are inwardly moved 
 by the Holy Ghost, to take upon you this 
 office and ministration, to serve God for the 
 promoting of his glory and the edifying of his 
 people I ' 
 
 Answer. ' I trust so.' 
 
 * Do you think that you are truly called 
 according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and the due order of this realm, to the minis- 
 try of the church ? ' 
 
 Answer. * I think so.' 
 
 * You will readily distinguish the vast differ- 
 ence between your statement and the purport 
 of what I have just read; and since I have 
 the Prayer Book in my hand, perhaps you 
 will allow me to direct your attention to the 
 twenty-third Article. 
 
 * It is not lawful for any man to take upon 
 him the office of public preaching^ or minister-
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 317 
 
 ing the sacraments in the congregation, before 
 he he lawfully called and sent to execute the 
 same ; and those ive ought to judge laivfidly 
 called and sent, which he chosen and given 
 unto them in the congregation to call and send 
 ministers into the Lord's vineijard.' 
 
 * Here, Sir,' resumed the Doctor, * is an 
 Article founded upon the written word of God 
 which cannot err ; and it behoves every can- 
 didate for the embassage of heaven, every 
 man who feels within himself the requisite 
 qualifications for becoming a minister of Jesus 
 Christ to be entirely guided by it. 
 
 ' It would seem,' interrupted Mr. Clark, 
 ' that the present argument hinges entirely 
 upon the precise definition to be given to the 
 phrase lawfully called. I must admit that as 
 the law now stands, your ministers are law- 
 fully ordained. But ours which are subject 
 to no government beyond the pale of their own 
 church, have a call of a more divine nature, in 
 virtue whereof they exercise their ministry to 
 the enlightening of God's people.' 
 
 * That the fumes of fanaticism shall confuse 
 a man's upper story till he conceive himself
 
 318 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 under the influence of a divine call is explica- 
 ble enough,' replied the Doctor, ' but that he 
 should be verily inspired from above as your 
 language importeth, like unto young Samuel 
 or the twelve Apostles, seems to me a vain 
 imagination, and is quite irreconcileable to my 
 mind. We are instructed by Scripture, 
 and we know from experience, that the 
 extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit 
 have long since ceased, and therefore the 
 divine call along with them. Hence we rest 
 satisfied with one of a legal nature, derived 
 from a divine origin, and based upon the 
 Scriptures. But we trust and confidently hope 
 that the ordi7iary operations of the Holy Spirit 
 do inwardly assist us, and that the blessing of 
 God doth rest upon our endeavours, enabling 
 us to follow, as much as lies within the medio- 
 crity of poor human nature, the example of 
 our Lord and Master. Thus you perceive we 
 lay no claim to inspiration, nor assume that 
 the Spirit working upon us affords us that 
 glimpse of light after any miraculous mode. 
 We pretend not to an afflation from Divinity, 
 but take the Scriptures as we find them ; and
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 319 
 
 they have appointed a way by which men shall 
 be ordained, and within that line of demarcation 
 do we cheerfully, though strictly confine our- 
 selves. We do not travel out of the record in 
 search of illuminations which can only turn out 
 so many ignesfatui.' 
 
 ' I cannot' replied Mr. Clark, * for a mo- 
 ment subscribe to the truth of the assumption 
 that runs through all your argument, namely, 
 that God has withdrawn all assistance from his 
 ministers ; still less am I prepared to admit, 
 that he vouchsafes this assistance to those only 
 who are ordained in a particular manner, to 
 the exclusion of those talented and conscien- 
 tious men who in our church consecrate their 
 lives to his service, and the saving of human 
 souls." 
 
 * To reduce this ' said the Doctor, * to its 
 simplest form, let us examine what evidence 
 each has to produce of his being a minister of 
 Jesus Christ. In our church, the clergyman 
 professes to have been ordained in an ordinary 
 and regular manner, by some one invested 
 with an authority derived in a direct line from 
 the Apostles ; he lays no claim to any extra-
 
 320 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 ordinary call. Your minister, on the other 
 hand, pretends that he is specially and directly 
 called and appointed by God himself. The 
 only evidence by which so extraordinary an 
 assumption can be borne out would consist in 
 the working of miracles. Indeed we are 
 fairly warranted in concluding, wherever a 
 minister can neither establish by evidence that 
 he has received ordination in a direct line from 
 the Apostles, nor in virtue of his office can 
 perform miracles, that he has arrogated to 
 himself a title of which he is utterly unworthy, 
 and ascribed to himself the hoi}' privileges of 
 an office, of which the very assumption consti- 
 tutes his disqualification. 
 
 * But, Sir, I would advert to another pro- 
 ceeding on the part of dissenters which I have 
 always considered very unscriptural, and that 
 is the election of ministers by the people, 
 though perhaps if the appointment were for 
 life, it might remove a little of what, without 
 wishing to speak harshly, 1 cannot but stig- 
 matize as a great scandal. The minister finds 
 on his exaltation, that he is so circumstanced 
 as to be necessitated to serve many masters.
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 321 
 
 There is not one verse in the Bible authoriz- 
 ing the people to choose their own minister, or 
 which by any warping of the sense can bear 
 that interpretation. On the contrary, we read 
 of St. Paul appointing ministers over the 
 church without ever consulting the people, and 
 we know that the Apostles commanded Timothy 
 and Titus to act in a similar manner. To 
 Timothy he says *' ordain elders in every city, 
 as I had appointed thee.'* If then you elect 
 your own minister, by what casuistry do you 
 imagine that you hold, as you profess to do 
 the primitive doctrines of the Apostles I ' 
 
 * We certainly do hold the doctrines of the 
 Apostles,' replied Mr. Clark, • though I con- 
 fess a little modified according to circum- 
 stances. We are obliged to adapt our actions 
 to the times, and to the minds of the men we 
 have to deal with ; things right in the abstract 
 are not always so in their practical application, 
 and thus is it that we find it politic a little to 
 vary.' 
 
 * That is, indeed, a grand confession,' re- 
 joined the Doctor, * you allow that you vary 
 from the Apostles, and believe that your wish
 
 322 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 to adapt your actions to the times and to the 
 minds of those persons with whom you have to 
 deal, sanctions so strange a procedure. Now 
 would it not discover more discretion, would it 
 not manifest a nicer sense of religious obliga- 
 tion, were you to endeavour to form the minds 
 of your congregations in accordance with the 
 doctrines of the Apostles, instead of distorting 
 the doctrines, until they be conformable to 
 the fancies of your flock ? Every successive 
 generation produces minds essentially varying 
 and different. So according to your argument, 
 the doctrines of Scripture require continual 
 renovation to adapt them to the new-fangled 
 fancies and ridiculous notions that spring up 
 in every age, until at last you would find your- 
 selves as far from pure doctrines, as you are at 
 present from a pure system. But there are 
 other reasons why the system is bad — a bad 
 feeling is generated in the breasts of your 
 congregations at the time of election — the 
 minister finds himself placed in a false position 
 — his sense of duty and his worldly interests are 
 put in unseemly opposition — they are often 
 directly at issue, and his situation is conse-
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 323 
 
 quently precarious ; not to mention the con- 
 stant dread that he must be in, lest he should 
 displease any of his flock by the unscriptural 
 mode of proceeding. I need not instance the 
 riots and divisions which generally take place 
 during an election — but you must allow that, 
 at that time envyings, jealousies, and evil 
 speakings exist among those who profess to 
 harbour no thought incompatible with the 
 religious feeling, and the *' peace which passeth 
 all understanding.'' ' 
 
 * I must e'en confess,' answered Mr Clark, 
 after a pause of irresolution, ' that these things 
 do take place but too frequently, and that to 
 the detriment of our religion ; I can only express 
 my sorrow at such occurrences, but they do 
 not in my opinion affect the policy and sound- 
 ness of the system,' 
 
 ' A system ' returned the Doctor, * can only 
 be said to answer when the beneficial effects of 
 its working make themselves manifest, — you 
 may know a tree by its fruits. The gospel 
 of Jesus Christ should produce love, concord, 
 and unanimity — not divisions, for "a house 
 divided against itself cannot stand.*' '
 
 324 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 
 
 ' I am ready to admit/ answered Mr. Clark, 
 ' that if the election rested with a very few 
 who were able to judge of the qualities and 
 capability of the candidate, that it would 
 obviate a great deal of unpleasantness, but I 
 retain my opinion that the right should be 
 exclusively confined to certain of the members ; 
 truly sorry should I be to be subject to some 
 far-off patron who rather studied his own 
 secular advantage than the eternal interests 
 of the people who required a minister.' 
 
 ' Excuse me interrupting you,' said the 
 Doctor with a placid smile, * but I am per- 
 suaded that you intend your last remark as a 
 hard hit at our church — there I see I am right 
 — you should however bear in mind, that the 
 person whom the patron nominates to any of our 
 livings, is one who has been regularly ordain- 
 ed, and the Bishop has the power, and does 
 exercise the power, to ascertain and determine 
 whether he be a fit and proper person to hold 
 the piece of preferment to which he is appoint- 
 ed. So that no far-off patron, studying only 
 his own interest, can present, unless unto a fit 
 and proper person to have the cure of the souls
 
 CHURCH DISCIPLINE. 325 
 
 of a parish, as it rests with the Bishop whether 
 or no he shall accept the nomination. These, 
 Sir, are points favorable to the discipline of 
 our church, which, I am sorry to say, are 
 generally overlooked, at least, our enemies are 
 not in a hurry to give us the credit which these 
 precautions seem to deserve.' 
 
 ' I was not aware,' observed Mr. Clark, 
 * that the Bishop could put his veto upon any 
 nomination.' 
 
 ' A case in point actually occurred not very 
 long ago,' answered the Doctor, * the Bishop 
 of Exeter refused to accept the nomination 
 of a person to a living in consequence of his 
 unfitness. And it is a power with which every 
 Bishop, presumed to be endued with the spirit 
 of government, is invested, and which he does 
 not scruple upon occasion to exercise.' 
 
 As the Doctor finished this sentence, the 
 coach stopped, and a waiter, opening the door, 
 announced with smirking visage and sarcastic 
 glance of the eye, that just twenty minutes, 
 and not a second longer, was the regular 
 time allotted, even to the slowest eating passen- 
 ger, who would wish to sit down and dine with 
 mine host of the Red Lion.
 
 DOCTRINES.
 
 J
 
 DOCTRINES. 
 
 When the twenty minutes devoted to the 
 discussion of their hasty meal, were expired, 
 the gentlemen, again inducted into their close 
 quarters, resumed their seats in the coach, 
 now about thirty miles distant from its place 
 of destination. After a few passing remarks, 
 Mr. Clark said, 
 
 * There remains, I believe only one other 
 point for us to consider. Doctor, and then I 
 shall have had the benefit of your opinion upon 
 all the vexatcB questiones, I mean doctrines, 
 on which we are at variance.' 
 
 * I am only sorry,' replied the Doctor, 
 * that there should be any necessity for contro- 
 versy at all, I trust that our differences of 
 opinion will not endanger our salvation, other-
 
 330 DOCTRINES. 
 
 wise the sooner we bring- our discussion to a 
 close the better, but what precise notion do you 
 entertain of the doctrine to which I presume 
 you allude ? ' 
 
 *We believe,' replied Mr. Clark, ' that a 
 certain number of human beings have been 
 chosen by God to everlasting glory in Christ, 
 before the foundation of the world, and that 
 pursuant to his immutable purpose, all such 
 are set apart of his free grace and love, with- 
 out the least foresight of faith, good works, or 
 any conditions performed by the creature ; 
 and we believe that he has pleased to pass 
 by, and ordain them to dishonour and wrath 
 for their sins, to the praise of his vindictive 
 justice. Secondly, that Jesus Christ, by his 
 death and sufferings, made an atonement only 
 for the sins of the elect. Thirdly, that all 
 whom God has predestinated to life, he is 
 pleased, in his appointed time, effectually to 
 call, by his word and Spirit, out of that state 
 of sin and death, in which they are by nature, 
 to grace and salvation through Jesus Christ : 
 and fourthly, that those whom God has 
 effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit,
 
 DOCTRINES. 331 
 
 shall never finally relapse from a state of 
 grace.' 
 
 ' Your tenets,' said the Doctor, * appear to 
 combine three distinct positions — election — 
 predestination — and irresistible grace, each of 
 which, if you please, we will canvass separately. 
 And as a preliminary, perhaps you will ex- 
 plain on what grounds you conceive yourself 
 authorized to hold the very obnoxious doc- 
 trines, that God has, without any conditions, 
 elected some men to life, and condemned 
 others to death.' 
 
 'The Bible is my warrant,' replied Mr 
 Clark, in the tone and with the air of a man 
 who has uttered something conclusive, * My 
 sentiments upon election are founded on the 
 expression of our Saviour, respecting his 
 having chosen his disciples out of the world, 
 and more particularly, on certain terms used 
 by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the 
 Romans, and in short, upon the views enter- 
 tained by all the sacred writers on that par- 
 ticular.' 
 
 ' If I mistake you not,' asked the Doctor, 
 * you conceive the word elect to imply a person
 
 332 DOCTRINES. 
 
 or persons chosen by God, without any con- 
 dition to dwell in his kingdom?' 
 
 ' Such would be my definition of the term/ 
 answered Mr. Clark. 
 
 * There is where we are directly at issue,' 
 rejoined the Doctor, ' I consider the word 
 elect to be synonymous with the word Christian, 
 because all true Christians having been elected 
 to the privileges of the gospel, may be called by 
 a very ordinary licence of language the elect. 
 Hence there can be no such distinction among 
 Christians as the elect — for God is no respecter 
 of persons. And when we call a set of people 
 Christians, or electa we mean that they are 
 chosen or elected to hear and to embrace the 
 word of God, not, as you have vainly imagined, 
 chosen or elected to eternal salvation. Thus 
 all true Christians may be called elect. But 
 observe, particularly, that I do not deny the 
 fact of election, else 1 should deny Christianity, 
 but would only reprobate the doctrine that 
 few are chosen out of the world for salvation, 
 whilst the many are passed by, notwithstanding 
 they may have made a right use of God's 
 grace imparted to them, and have performed
 
 DOCTRINES. 333 
 
 his holy will to the fullest extent of their 
 ability.' 
 
 ' Take, for example of my view of the 
 question,' interposed Mr. Clark, * the descen- 
 dants of Abraham, were they not the elect 
 people of God ? ' 
 
 ' Undoubtedly,' responded the good Doctor, 
 ' but to what, ' he demanded, ' were they ordained ? 
 Were they elected absolutely and certainly to 
 enter the promised land? If so, what could pos- 
 sibly have intervened to bar their entrance? 
 They were simply elected to the privilege of 
 having those blessings within their reach, on the 
 condition of their obeying the law, which God 
 himself had given them. Having disobeyed 
 the law, and forfeited the privilege, none 
 of those who departed out of the land of 
 Egypt were permitted to * take up' their pro- 
 mised rest, save Joshua and Caleb. Hence 
 we may fairly conclude that they were only 
 elected to the privilege, contingent upon the 
 right exercise of their own free-will, to enter 
 that land of promise. For had they been pre- 
 destinated by God there to set up their taber- 
 nacle, nothing which malignity could have
 
 334 DOCTRINES. 
 
 devised could have intervened to defeat his 
 immutable purpose. In the xivth chapter of 
 the book of Numbers, and the 29th and 30th 
 verses, we shall find that the Lord said to the 
 Israelites, " Your carcasses shall fall in the 
 wilderness : and all that were numbered of you, 
 according to your whole number, from twenty 
 years old and upwards, which have murmured 
 against me, doubtless you shall not come into 
 the land, concerning which I sware to make 
 you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Je- 
 phunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun'' Again, 
 you will find in the thirtieth chapter of Deu- 
 teronomy, and the nineteenth verse, that 
 Moses said, **/ call heaven and earth to re- 
 cord this day against you, that I have set 
 before you life and death, blessing and cursing; 
 therefore choose life, that both thou and thy 
 seed may live y Moses, you observe, does not 
 force his religion, but having shewn to the 
 Israelites the reasonableness of it, he left it to 
 themselves to decide. He knew where there 
 is no choice, there could be no virtue in obe- 
 dience. Again, all the types in the Old Tes- 
 tament are opposed to the opinion which you
 
 DOCTRINES. 335 
 
 entertain of the nature of election. The pas- 
 chal lamb, for instance, was typical of the 
 atoning sacrifice of the true Lamb of God. 
 The sins of all the people, not of a few of 
 them, were put upon the head of the lamb; 
 and thus were they expiated. Again, the 
 promised land of Canaan was a type of the 
 promised kingdom of God ; and we know that 
 none but those who use the utmost vigilance, 
 and by strenuous exertion, take heaven hy 
 storm, can hope to enter therein. But let us 
 look to the New Testament, and first we will 
 consider the parable of the talents. Here we 
 find that, to one he gave five talents, to ano- 
 ther two, and to another one ; and straightway 
 took his journey, leaving it to the choice of 
 the depositories whether or not they would 
 gain other talents. But the Lord came, and 
 found that that man, who had received one 
 talent had hid it in the earth. But what said 
 our Lord ? Take the one talent from him, and 
 cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer 
 darkness. This unprofitable servant, you will 
 note, was punished, not because he had only 
 been endowed with one talent, but because he
 
 336 DOCTRINES. 
 
 had let that one lie idle. But scripture says, 
 " If any man sin, we have an Advocate with 
 the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and 
 he is the projntiationfor our sins, and not for 
 ours only, but also for the sins of the vjhole 
 world. The Son of Man came to seek and to 
 save that which ivas lost ; that whosoever be- 
 lieveth in him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. As in Adam all die, so in 
 Christ shall all be made alive'' I forbear to 
 cite other passages which readily suggest 
 themselves, but I would gladly be instructed 
 in those, by which you imagine your creed to 
 be supported.' 
 
 * There are many which concur to that end/ 
 answered Mr. Clark, * and I will endeavour to 
 recal them to mind. We are told by St. Paul, 
 that we are as " clay in the hands of the 
 potter,'' who has power to make of the same 
 lump, vessels to honor and to dishonor, clearly 
 intimating at all events his opinion, that God 
 chooses some to glory and condemns others to 
 punishment.* 
 
 * Indeed ! ' returned the Doctor, ' I am so 
 dull that I cannot by any means admit your
 
 DOCTRINES. 337 
 
 inference ; and allow me to ask/ he proceeded, 
 * if ever a potter made a vessel to be broken V 
 
 * I should suppose not,' replied Mr. Clark. 
 
 ' Well, then,' rejoined the Doctor, * accord- 
 ing- to the same reasoning, God never made 
 man with the object of punishing him ; on the 
 contrary, he said, *' Ye would not come unto 
 me that ye might have life ; — " implying, that if 
 we come unto him, we shall have life.' 
 
 * How then,' asked Mr. Clark, in a subdued 
 but at the same time piqued tone of voice, 
 ' Would you have me interpret this passage — 
 Christ having chosen a certain number out of 
 his disciples to preach the gospel ? ' 
 
 * Why, truly,' replied the Doctor with a 
 smile, that, notwithstanding the actual kind- 
 ness of his disposition, had somewhat of an 
 arch expression — ' why truly there is nothing 
 that I can see to interpret. The numbers he 
 chose, he no doubt deemed sufficient for the 
 undertaking ; and it is remarkable, that in 
 selecting his disciples, he chose the most ig- 
 norant he could find. This however makes 
 nothing for your argument. If it did, we 
 might infer that all the lawful successors to 
 
 Q
 
 338 DOCTRINES. 
 
 those whom Christ chose, would in your sense 
 of the word be elected, i. e. predestinated to 
 be saved, which is far from being the case. 
 The lawful successors are indeed elected, be- 
 cause, like the primitive preachers, they are 
 set apart to preach the gospel, nothing more. 
 But again, if those only whom our Saviour 
 chose to preach the gospel were elected to 
 salvation, and the great mass of mankind were 
 rejected, 1 would thank you to point out what 
 necessity there was for their preaching? What 
 was the terminus ad quern which they sought? In 
 what did the cui 6owo of their mission consist ? ' 
 
 * Its use, I suppose,' answered Mr. Clark, 
 * must be referred to the benefits of this life.' 
 
 * Then why did St. Paul say' rejoined the 
 Doctor, ' ** Work out your own salvation/' 
 since it is evident that salvation can only take 
 place in the next world? In fact, in reading 
 the New Testament, we find few pages with- 
 out exhortations to obedience, and promises 
 of consequent reward in an after state of ex- 
 istence. Again, if it were possible that all 
 preaching were only intended to purify the 
 concerns of this uneasy world, preaching were
 
 DOCTRINES. 339 
 
 almost all in vain. Surely, if you reflect 
 for a moment, you cannot doubt that the 
 preaching of the gospel is one of the means 
 which God has vouchsafed to us for the 
 conversion of sinners.' 
 
 ^ But are we not expressly told,' interrupted 
 Mr. Clark, ' that whom God did foreknow, he 
 did also predestinate ? ' 
 
 * But to what?' demanded the Rector. 
 * Therein lies the pith of the argument ; not, 
 Sir, to eternal salvation, but only to the privi- 
 lege of being Christians.' 
 
 * You surely would not question,' persisted 
 Mr. Clark, somewhat testily, ' the foreknow- 
 ledge of God?' 
 
 *By no means,' ejaculated the Doctor, ' God 
 foreknows all things ; but it does not follow 
 that his foreknowledge hath any impulsive 
 power upon man's actions. If you see a per- 
 son directing his steps towards a precipice, 
 you know that, if he continues his walk, he must 
 inevitably be destroyed ; but your foreknow- 
 ledge is no proof that you influence his locomo- 
 tive faculty to his ruin. God never impels men to 
 sin and destruction ; on the contrary, his words 
 Q 2
 
 340 DOCTRINES. 
 
 are " Make you a new heart, and a new spirit : 
 for why tvill ye die, O house of Israel? " ' 
 
 ' What say you,' objected Mr. Clark, ' with 
 respect to Jacob and Esau ? Here, you know, 
 that while these children were in the womb, 
 and had therefore neither imagined good nor 
 evil, their destiny was forecast, it was declared 
 by the oracle of God that the elder should 
 serve the younger.' 
 
 * Well, what then ? ' said the Doctor, * It 
 was God's pleasure that it should be so, and 
 who dares to call that in question ? But there 
 is nothing uncommon in the elder serving the 
 younger. Look at the case of Joseph and his 
 brethren ! Joseph was made a ruler and go- 
 vernor, and he was a younger brother. Again, 
 David, the man after God's own heart, was 
 the youngest of ten brethren. But for what 
 did God choose the younger ? Did he choose 
 him to inherit eternal life ? and did he condemn 
 the elder to damnation ? No, he ordained the 
 elder to serve the younger ; this was the utmost 
 extent of the choice, which you think bears upon 
 your position. Moreover it is a curious fact that, 
 strictly speaking, the elder never did serve the
 
 DOCTRINES. 341 
 
 younger, but only the posterity of the one be- 
 came subject, in this ivorld, to that of the other.' 
 
 ' But Jacob and Esau,' said Mr. Clark, 
 * were set out as types. God chose the 
 younger, thereby manifesting that he was no 
 respecter of persons as to age.' 
 
 ' You would not have me infer,' replied the 
 Doctor, * that you imagine the history of 
 Jacob and Esau to have been typical of any- 
 thing that related to election.' 
 
 ' I conceive,' said Mr. Clark, * a type to 
 mean whatever circumstance we can find out 
 which will prefigure another.' 
 
 * My definition of a type,' * rejoined the 
 Doctor, * is, that it is a symbol of something 
 future and distant, or an example prepared 
 and evidently designed hy God to prefigure 
 that future thing. Now, if you can produce 
 any passage of scripture in which it is inti- 
 mated that Jacob and Esau were designed by 
 God to prefigure aught relating to election, I 
 shall be glad of the information.' 
 
 * If you were to look,' said Mr. Clark, * to 
 the ninth chapter of Romans and the eleventh 
 and three following verses, you will find it
 
 342 DOCTRINES. 
 
 thus : ** For the children being not yet horn, 
 neither having done any good or evil, that the 
 purpose of God according to election might 
 stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, 
 it was said unto her ; The elder shall serve the 
 younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved and 
 Esau have I hated, What shall we say then ? Is 
 there unrighteousness ivith God? God forbid," ' 
 ' It is very clear,' replied the Doctor, 
 ' from your distortion of the above texts, that 
 you cannot bring- forward that passage in 
 Scripture which will support the doctrine you 
 hold concerning election. The favour which 
 God showed to the younger brother, only had 
 relation to national privileges, because the 
 word " hatred," in the passage you have cited, 
 does not mean condemned, as you understand 
 it, but only slighted in comparison to the 
 other, i. e. not equally favoured and advanced. 
 Loving and hating in the Hebrew language, 
 often signify nothing more than choosing one 
 thing or person, and leaving another ; or pre- 
 ferring one before the other. The word hated 
 may be taken negatively, for not having loved, 
 not having had mercy ; and therefore it cannot
 
 DOCTRINES. 343 
 
 mean eternally condemned. And with respect 
 to the word elect in the original €KXeKroi, which 
 does not mean persons chosen, simply chosen, 
 but chosen out to certain pre-eminence, or for 
 peculiar privileges and blessings. In this 
 sense it is used for Christians.' 
 
 * I consider, Sir, the Scriptures to be so 
 clear,* remarked Mr. Clark, * that there can be 
 no necessity for us to refer to the original, to get 
 at the meaning. If there be any thing which 
 we do not understand in the text, we are fur- 
 nished with elucidations and notes sufficient.' 
 
 * Therefore,' replied the Doctor, with a smile, 
 * if you appreciate the advantage, it is incum- 
 bent upon you to be grateful to the prelates 
 and ministers of our church, for having by 
 their erudite labours enriched your libraries 
 with a most excellent version, both of the Old 
 and New Testament. I am sure you will 
 allow, how much the dissenting community, as 
 a body, are indebted to churchmen, for their 
 great exertions, in having, at the time of the 
 Reformation, extricated Christianity from the 
 moral darkness in which it was involved: and 
 afterwards for the many valuable works, writ-
 
 344 DOCTRINES. 
 
 ten in explanation of the Scriptures, and in 
 defence of true religion; works held in high 
 odour, and constantly in the hands of every 
 denomination of Christians.' 
 
 ' Yes,' acquiesced Mr. Clark, * we ought assu- 
 redly all of us to be grateful for these blessings.' 
 
 * Why then limit to a few individuals, the 
 advantages which these blessings are calcu- 
 lated to impart ? ' interrogated the Doctor. * If 
 we believe God to be infinitely just and mer- 
 ciful, we must infer, that he has indiscrimi- 
 nately enabled every man born into the world, 
 to work out his own salvation. For no pri- 
 vate persons are mentioned in Scripture, as 
 elected to eternal life by any absolute decree 
 of God. Paul was a chosen vessel, but he was 
 chosen as a minister of Christ's gospel. His 
 being chosen to the crown of life hereafter, 
 was the fruit of his earnest endeavours to keep 
 the faith. In fact, he was possessed with a 
 fear, lest, after having preached to others, 
 he should himself be a castaway.' 
 
 ' But does not,' asked Mr. Clark, 'your own 
 article upon Predestination militate against 
 your argument?'
 
 DOCTRINES. 345 
 
 * Predestination,' replied the Doctor, * is 
 akin to Election ; therefore we will turn to the 
 article itself and examine it. Here we find 
 
 PREDESTINATION TO LIFE IS THE EVER- 
 LASTING PURPOSE OF God, whereby (be- 
 fore THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD 
 WERE LAID,) HE HATH CONSTANTLY DE- 
 CREED, BY HIS COUNSEL, SECRET TO US, TO 
 DELIVER FROM CURSE AND DAMNATION, 
 THOSE WHOM HE HATH CHOSEN IN ChRIST 
 
 out of mankind, and to bring them by 
 Christ to everlasting salvation, as 
 vessels made to honour.' 
 
 * Thus far will be enough for our purpose. It 
 would appear, certainly, on a cursory con- 
 sideration, that the construction of this ar- 
 ticle is favourable to your view of the 
 question. But let us scan its purport more 
 attentively. In the article, we clearly un- 
 derstand God as offering the Gospel to THOSE 
 WHOM HE HATH CHOSEN IN CHRIST OUT 
 
 OF MANKIND, before the foundation of the 
 world ; and it has pleased him, even to this 
 day to confine the knowledge of the gospel to 
 a few of the human race. Those who are 
 Q 5
 
 346 DOCTRINES. 
 
 blessed with the light of the gospel may surely 
 be said to be predestinated to life, before they 
 enjoy the appointed means of salvation ; not 
 that we deal condemnation imto those who 
 may never have heard of the gospel, we leave 
 them with humble confidence in the hands of a 
 merciful God, knowing that the heathen are a 
 law unto themselves. Now the words of the 
 Article, ' To bring them by Christ to 
 EVERLASTING SALVATION,' seem Only to im- 
 ply, giving them the means, the opportunity of 
 salvation, as actual salvation does not take 
 place till after the day of judgment. St. Paul, 
 in his epistle to Timothy, from which the be- 
 ginning of this article is taken, speaking of 
 Christians in general says, ** Who hath saved 
 us, and called us with a holy calling,'^ Here, 
 again, the phrase " hath saved vs,*' seems, as 
 before, to imply nothing more than * hath 
 given us the means of salvation;' for it is not 
 to be presumed that all whom God hath called 
 will finally be saved, although it lies within the 
 competence of every individual to ascertain 
 his safety. St. Peter earnestly exhorts the 
 Christians to make their calling and election
 
 DOCTRINES. 347 
 
 sure ; and we are also warned that " many are 
 called, but few are chosen." And there is, 
 moreover, a caution to those who think they 
 stand, to beware lest they fall. Hence we may 
 conclude, that, before the foundation of the 
 world, God purposed to make known the gospel 
 to those whom he selected, leaving it to their free 
 choice whether they would embrace it or not. 
 This election, ' is full op comfort to 
 
 GODLY persons, but that '' FOR CARNAL PER- 
 SONS, LACKING THE SPIRIT OP ChRIST, TO 
 HAVE CONTINUALLY BEFORE THEIR EYES 
 THE SENTENCE OF God'S PREDESTINATION, 
 IS A MOST DANGEROUS DOWNFALL, &c/' 
 
 You must not omit to observe, that in this 
 Article two ways of viewing election are 
 instanced, the one full of comfort, and the 
 other a most dangerous downfall. And if you 
 will allow me to read the latter part of the 
 Article, you will perceive that what I have 
 stated is correct. ' Furthermore, we must 
 RECEIVE God's promises in such wise, 
 as they be generally set forth to us 
 IN holy scripture: and in our doings, 
 that will of God is to be followed
 
 348 DOCTRINES. 
 
 WHICH WE HAVE EXPRESSLY DECLARED 
 UNTO US IN THE WORD OF GOD.' ' 
 
 * It appears to me/ interrupted Mr. Clark. 
 ' that you wish to usurp from God the power of 
 saving man, and to make man his own Saviour.' 
 
 * There you sadly misapprehend me/ replied 
 the Doctor. ' This is our creed : If man be 
 saved, it is entirely through the merits of 
 Christ that he is saved ; but if he be con- 
 demned, it is in reality a self-condemnation, 
 the result of the worst species of suicide. 
 God grants the means — they are the gifts of 
 his beneficence ; and those means are sufficient 
 to lead men to eternal happiness. Therefore, 
 if men perish, after life and death are set be- 
 fore them and referred to their choice, they 
 perish by their own election — a doctrine this, 
 which it is impossible, upon just grounds, to 
 invalidate, unless you are prepared to overturn 
 the entire system of the gospel.' 
 
 ' Then do you suppose,' asked Mr. Clark, 
 ' that God does not necessitate the salvation of 
 men, I mean those whom he will have saved ? ' 
 
 * I cannot imagine,' answered the Doctor, 
 * that God compels any man to be saved. The
 
 DOCTRINES. 349 
 
 idea involves a sort of contradiction, for where 
 there is force there can be no choice. Doubt- 
 less he has the power, but although he " willeth 
 not the death of a sinner ^^^ it does not follow in 
 any case that he enforces his salvation. Man 
 is a responsible moral agent, consequently he 
 must not be saved by compulsion. The 
 Almighty, I grant, might unsheath the sword of 
 vengeance before him, and cause the flames of 
 hell to break forth athwart his path, and thus 
 induce him to drop the fardels of his iniquity, 
 but he efl^'ectuates his redemption only in the 
 capacity of a machine. If perversely you set 
 adrift the human soul from its sheet anchor, 
 depriving man of the means of salvation, you 
 cut otf the spring from the stream, remove the 
 foundation from the building, and scatter in 
 the dust the whole apparatus of mercy, which 
 Christ has reared for us, transforming the 
 stupendous miracle of his atonement into a 
 superfluous bagatelle. You make a just God 
 unjust, a merciful God unmerciful, and an 
 impartial judge, partial. Really it is hard to 
 conceive how any rational being, boasting the 
 title of Christian, can venture to hold such a
 
 350 DOCTRINES. 
 
 doctrine as that of self-election in the face of 
 earth and heaven/ 
 
 * Well/ said Mr. Clark, * I must needs own 
 there is reason in what you affirm, and perad- 
 venture you might change my sentiments in 
 this particular, were not persons of my per- 
 suasion embued with an inward feeling, 
 favoured from above with a kind o^ glimpse, 
 in the first instance, an effluence intimating 
 that we were chosen out of the world, by Christ 
 for his own peculiar people, and that we could 
 not fall away, and were infallibly certain of 
 being saved.' 
 
 * Oh ! Sir,' ejaculated the Rector, ' how 
 much on your guard you should be in cherish- 
 ing such a notion. How cautious in examining 
 yourself, and probing the inward man, to ascer- 
 tain, whether it be not the resultof enthusiasm. 
 Indeed it requires much study and earnest 
 prayer, to discover the vanity of that fond 
 hallucination to which I apprehend you allude, 
 when you talk of an effluence from heaven, 
 which probably is nothing more than an 
 acquired feeling, a mere delusion of the imagi- 
 nation, brought on by continually fancying
 
 DOCTRINES. 351 
 
 yourself one of the elect. Were you to trust 
 to such a persuasion, you would find it as 
 unsubstantial as the veriest bubble that ever 
 floated on the sunbeams. Remember, Sir, 
 that the salvation of souls is at stake. I speak 
 thus urgently to you, for my office constrains 
 me. I cannot forget that you are one of my 
 parishioners. Hold the doctrine of election in 
 what sense you deem meet, but never as you 
 value your soul's health, let it lull you to des- 
 truction, by inducing an inactive and self- 
 secure life ; there is only one password to 
 heaven, and whatever you may think, you 
 have not the privilege of the entree, nor can 
 you be confident of salvation, unless you use 
 the appointed means to that end, which at 
 present you seem to reject as unnecessary.' 
 
 ' You would not, Doctor, I am sure,' replied 
 Mr. Clark, 'say thus much if you partook of 
 half my confidence in being eventually saved. 
 I indeed use the means, God influences me 
 thereunto, because he will have those whom he 
 has chosen saved. His grace, which is irre- 
 sistihle, directs all my ways.' 
 
 * This intuitive conviction of yours,' said the
 
 352 DOCTRINES. 
 
 Doctor, ' brings us to the third topic on which 
 I fear we are at issue, irresistible grace ; 
 whereby I am to understand that you conceive 
 man has not the power to resist God's Holy 
 Spirit, and that upon whatever heart his grace 
 descends, that heart must necessarily yield to 
 its influence, which can only imply a certainty 
 of salvation/ 
 
 Precisely so,' said Mr. Clark, ' God never 
 begins a work without accomplishing it. And 
 it is an implication on his infinite wisdom to 
 imagine, that he would shed so rich a boon upon 
 the heart of man without its having its full 
 effect.' 
 
 ' It may,' answered the Doctor, ' but not 
 necessarily will take effect. Consider the 
 tenets in which the conceit of absolute election 
 to eternal life naturally eventuates, besides 
 producing a careless and arrogant confidence, 
 spiritual pride, a relaxation of all virtuous 
 efforts, a remissness in the practice of religion, 
 and the indulgence of carnal or other besetting 
 propensities. That such are the evils inherent 
 in, or necessarily flowing from the doctrine you 
 advocate, I will, by your permission demon-
 
 DOCTRINES. 353 
 
 strate, as concisely as I can, leaving you to 
 show, if you are able, the fallacy of my argu- 
 ments. Perhaps you scarcely need be reminded 
 that the operations of the Holy Ghost are of 
 two kinds, extraordinary and ordinary. The 
 former ceased at the death of the Apostles, to 
 be superseded by the ordinary operations, which 
 will continue to be efficient upon all Christians, 
 till the end of the world. Now the ordinary 
 operations of the Holy Spirit may be classed 
 under two modes of acting; the one Rpreve7itinyy 
 the other a co-operating influence. The grace 
 oiGoA. prevents y or goes before us to restrain us 
 from evil, and to incite us to good works ; and 
 if we do not resist it, then it co-operates with 
 our humble endeavours. If I mistake not, 
 the Apostles conferred extraordinary gifts not 
 upon a few, but upon every one without ex- 
 ception, of the converts, who believed, repent- 
 ed, and were baptized : at least, I can call to 
 mind no passage of Scripture which records 
 their bestowing these gifts on some, and not on 
 others. Allow me to turn your attention to 
 what St. Peter expressly said in his sermon 
 on the day of Pentecost — ** Repent and he
 
 854 DOCTRINES, 
 
 baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
 Christ ; for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
 receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost: for the 
 promise is unto you, and to your children, and 
 to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
 Lord our God shall call,'' It appears clear 
 from the above, and from passages of a similar 
 drift, that the influence of the Spirit, in one 
 or other of its two modes of acting", must be 
 common to all Christians. Then comes the 
 question whether we can resist that influence 
 in its ordinary agency. The latter part of the 
 fifteenth Article says, • But all we the 
 
 REST, (ALTHOUGH BAPTIZED AND BORN 
 AGAIN IN ChRJST) YET OFFEND IN MANY 
 THINGS ; AND IF WE SAY WE HAVE NO 
 SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES, AND THE 
 
 TRUTH IS NOT IN US.' And if we turn to 
 the next Article, we read — ^ After we have 
 
 RECEIVED THE HOLY GhOST, WE MAY 
 DEPART FROM GRACE GIVEN AND FALL 
 INTO SIN; AND, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, 
 WE MAY RISE AGAIN AND AMEND OUR 
 LIVES ; AND THEREFORE THEY ARE TO BE 
 CONDEMNED, WHICH SAY, THEY CAN NO
 
 DOCTRINES. 355 
 
 MORE SIN AS LONG AS THEY LIVE HERE, 
 OR DENY THE PLACE OF FORGIVENESS, TO 
 
 SUCH AS TRULY REPENT.' It is evident, 
 that although the Holy Ghost purifies our 
 minds, yet he does not entirely take away the 
 infirmity of our nature, nor does he destroy 
 our free-agency ; we may, therefore, despite 
 of his prevenient grace, fall away* But let us 
 look to a few examples ; King David, ** the 
 man after God's own heart," sinned after being 
 taken into God's particular favour. St. Paul 
 himself, "a chosen vessel " had a fear '' lest he 
 should be a cast-away.'' And Judas, one of 
 the original Apostles, committed the greatest 
 of sins, and heightened his wickedness by going 
 out and hanging himself. And let us not 
 forget that the Jews — the peculiar favoured 
 people Ol God — so gave themselves up to 
 every species of idolatry and sin, that God 
 utterly rejected them ; so that, according to 
 the fulfilment of his word, they are at the 
 present day sojourners in every land, '* their 
 days on earth are as a shadow : '* aliens ! to 
 whom no country is sacred, and no home sweet. 
 * Again, let me ask, to what end were all the
 
 356 DOCTRINES. 
 
 incitements and encouragements held out by the 
 Apostles generally to persons already baptized, 
 if it were impossible for them to fall away 1 — 
 or of what use is it for your minister to exhort 
 his congregation to work out their own sal- 
 vation, if they have already the infallible 
 means of grace ? Do you suppose that the 
 Apostle would^have said, ** quench not the 
 Spirit" if we had it not in our pawer to 
 quench the Spirit ? or would he say " grieve 
 not the Spirit '* if we had it not in our power 
 to grieve him ? or, to bring the matter more 
 home to our comprehensions, would you expect 
 your child not to do certain things which 
 would endanger his safety, if you knew that it 
 was not in his volition to do them ? " 
 
 ' If he,' interrupted Mr. Clark, ' was called 
 by God, he could not endanger his salvation ; 
 for the elect cannot fall from grace, nor forfeit 
 the divine favour ; the wicked actions men 
 commit are not really sinful, nor are they to 
 be considered as instances of their violation of 
 the divine law. An absolute decree prede- 
 termines their course of conduct, and overrules 
 all their better purposes, consequently they
 
 DOCTRINES. 357 
 
 have no occasion either to confess their sins, 
 or to break them off by repentance/ 
 
 * Can it be I am holding converse with an 
 Antinomian, — a Solifidian ? ' asked the Doctor. 
 
 * We are told/ said Mr. Clark, avoiding a 
 more direct reply, * that '* man is justified 
 without the deeds of the law."' 
 
 ' By the deeds of the law,' replied the Doc- 
 tor, ' are meant moral works. But the con- 
 text, the design of a passage should always be 
 kept in view, and not merely its isolated tenor. 
 St, James wrote his epistle to confute the 
 dangerous mistakes wherein so many have 
 stumbled and fallen irreversibly, of conceiving 
 heaven a reward of true opinions, and pretend- 
 ing to faith without works. " What doth it 
 profit,^' says he, " though a man say, he 
 hath faith and have not works ? Can faith 
 save him ? Faith without ivorks is dead. By 
 works a man is justified, and not hy faith 
 onlyT So far St. James, and in reference to 
 the text you cited, which may seem to contra- 
 vene his opinion, it should be borne in mind, 
 that when the Apostle Paul preached justifica- 
 tion by faith without the deeds of the law, he
 
 358 DOCTRINES. 
 
 addressed the Christians at Rome, who had 
 been converted from Judaism, and who were so 
 far from abandoning their prejudices, that they 
 retained in divine worship a great part of their 
 ceremonies. To eradicate this error, St. Paul 
 endeavoured to draw their attention to the 
 superior excellence of faith to works, that is, 
 to the ceremonial works of the law of Moses. 
 Take the examples of Abraham and Rahab, 
 in exemplification of good works, without 
 which, a living and true faith cannot exist. 
 The former was on the point of offering up his 
 only son ; and the latter sheltered the spies of 
 the Israelites. Thus did they manifest their 
 faith by their works. A real faith must produce 
 good works, just the same as a good tree 
 necessarily yields good fruit, and therefore if 
 faith yields no works, it is, as St. James ex- 
 presses it, '* dead." I grant that man is saved 
 by faith alone, if you comprise in the term 
 works, or if you give to it the comprehensive 
 definition of Bishop Taylor, who says, * Be- 
 lieving is the least thing in a justifying faith ; 
 our faith is an injunction of many ingredients, 
 and faith is a covenant, faith is a law, and faith
 
 DOCTRINES. 359 
 
 is obedience, and faith is a work, and indeed 
 it is a sincere cleaving to, and closing with the 
 terms of the gospel in every instance — in every 
 particular/ 
 
 * Really, Dr. Truman,' presently responded 
 Mr. Clark, * your arguments considering them 
 after the fashion of this world, are indeed 
 strong, and were it not that my creed is firmly 
 established in my mind, rooted there by an 
 inward feeling that supersedes the working of 
 reason, it is probable that the unquestionable 
 evidence you have adduced would alter my 
 sentiments. But until I can divest myself of this 
 internal feeling, which seems to me as conclusive 
 as the theorems of Euclid to those who under- 
 stand the demonstration, the validity of your ar- 
 guments can obtain no hold on my conviction.' 
 
 * The sooner,* replied the Doctor, ' you ex- 
 amine whence this illusive fancy hath its origin, 
 the better. My most anxious wish is for you, 
 after humble prayer to God, through Jesus 
 Christ, to review the whole matter in a candid 
 and impartial frame of mind ; and I trust that 
 the result will be, that ** the faith,'' in the true 
 and Christian sense of the term, will be es-
 
 360 DOCTRINES. 
 
 tablished within you, in the place of that fond 
 persuasion, rising from the conceits of an over- 
 weening brain, which only generates enthu- 
 siasm, and is pregnant with destruction.' 
 
 The coachman seemed to have waited the 
 close of the discussion ere he drew up, and 
 the coach came to a stop just as the worthy 
 Doctor concluded. 
 
 The passengers alighted, and having made 
 their several obeisances, speedily joined their 
 respective families. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that both Dr. 
 Truman and Mr. Clark parted on terms of the 
 greatest friendship, after having canvassed 
 with some warmth, the various dogmas of their 
 religion, on which they differed. Dr. Truman 
 made it a rule never to quarrel with any one 
 for entertaining a different opinion to himself 
 on points of faith. He invariably endeavoured 
 on every suitable opportunity to make converts 
 to that creed which was most consonant to his 
 own sentiments^ and, in his opinion, most ac- 
 cordant to the spirit of Christianity. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
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