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diff --git a/old/44769.txt b/old/44769.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..24fa26a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/44769.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22937 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2), by +Timothy East + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2) + Within and Without + +Author: Timothy East + +Release Date: January 27, 2014 [EBook #44769] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON, VOL 2 *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Robin Curnow, Julia Neufeld, One +image courtesy of Bridwell Library, Perkins School of +Theology, Southern Methodist University and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + +Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + + * * * * * + + +[Illustration: J. GODWIN. + +W. L. THOMAS + +THE FARM-HOUSE KITCHEN. + +Vol. ii. page 286.] + + + + +THE SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON + + + + +[Illustration: + + the + Sheepfold + & + THE COMMON, + OR + WITHIN & WITHOUT. + +BLACKIE & SON . GLASGOW EDINBURGH, & LONDON.] + + + + + THE + + SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON: + + OR, + + WITHIN AND WITHOUT. + + + VOL. II. + + "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow + me."--JOHN x. 27. + + "Them that are without God judgeth."--1 COR. v. 19. + + +[Illustration: publisher's mark] + + + BLACKIE AND SON: + GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND LONDON. + + MDCCCLXI. + + + + + GLASGOW: + W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, + VILLAFIELD. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +VOL. II. + + _Page_ + + Old Rachel, the Blind Woman, 1 + + Diversity of Opinion Very Natural, 18 + + Union Without Compromise, 37 + + The Stage Coach, 52 + + A Sabbath in London, 62 + + The Sceptic's Visit, 76 + + A Renewed Encounter, 94 + + The Effect of a Word Spoken in Season, 108 + + The Family of the Holmes, 123 + + A Misfortune often a Blessing in Disguise, 134 + + Christian Experience, 155 + + Doubts and Perplexities, 166 + + Theatrical Amusements, Part I., 177 + + Theatrical Amusements, Part II., 198 + + Unitarianism Renounced, 219 + + The Path of Truth Forsaken, 240 + + The Fruits of Apostasy, 261 + + The Farm-House Kitchen, 284 + + A Party at the Elms, 296 + + Family Sketches, 311 + + Amusements, 323 + + The Unhappy Attachment, 342 + + A Sequel to the Foregoing, 365 + + The Village Chapel, 386 + + Village Characters, 401 + + The Pious Cottager, 422 + + The Closing Scene of the Young Christian's Career, 431 + + The Happy Marriage, 449 + + An Old Friendship Revived, 462 + + The Wanderer's Return, 474 + + A Struggle for Life, 493 + + The Sceptic Reclaimed, 504 + + The Rector's Death-Bed, 518 + + The Rector's Funeral, 529 + + The New Rectors, 540 + + A Secession at Broadhurst, 551 + + A Farewell to Old Friends, 561 + + Conclusion, 575 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + +VOL. II. + + + _Page_ + + The Farm-House Kitchen, _Frontispiece._ + + A Contrast, _Engraved Title._ + + George III. and the Dying Gipsy, 7 + + Mistaken Charity--Mr. Sykes's Theory Refuted, 55 + + Sabbath Pleasure-Seekers, 64 + + The Conspiracy Defeated, 128 + + The Mother's Hopes Blasted, 179 + + Mr. Beaufoy's Emotion on receiving his Mother's Letter, 261 + + Bringing in the Last Load of Corn--The Reapers' Hymn of Praise, 285 + + Miss Holmes and Miss Martin taking leave of Mrs. Kent, 299 + + First Meeting of Captain Orme and Emma Holmes, 352 + + Mr. Swinson assaulted by the Mob, 396 + + The Bridal Party welcomed by the Villagers, 456 + + The Wanderer's Return, 480 + + + + +THE SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON. + +OLD RACHEL, THE BLIND WOMAN. + + +"And so I hear," said Mrs. Stevens to the Rector, when we were +spending an evening at his house, "that poor Old Rachel is dead. I +really thought she had died long since, as I have not heard anything +about her for a long time." + +"Yes, Madam," replied Mr. Ingleby, "she is dead, and was buried +yesterday; she lies very near some of the finest of my flock." + +"She must have lived to a great age, for she was an old woman when I +was but a little girl." + +"She was, I believe, upwards of ninety, and for several years she +lived with some relatives in a state of almost entire seclusion. +I had quite lost sight of her, and it was owing to a very casual +circumstance that my acquaintance with her was renewed." + +"How did you happen again to meet with her?" + +"It was in this way. I required some one to weed my garden; and +hearing that there was an active clever woman residing at Street, +about two miles from the rectory, who was a good hand at such +work, I took a walk to find her. On reaching her house I knocked +at the door, but received no answer; and just as I was going away, +rather disappointed at having made a fruitless journey, a neighbour +stepped out of the adjoining cottage, and said, 'If, Sir, you +want Mrs. Jones, she has just gone out, but I will go and look for +her, if you will perhaps come in here, and rest yourself for a few +minutes.' I thanked her, and followed her into the house, where she +placed a chair for me, saying, as she left to go in search of Mrs. +Jones--'It's no use, Sir, to say nothing to my mother there; she is +quite blind, and so deaf, that she can't hear a word which nobody +says to her.' The person to whom she pointed sat in an arm-chair, +on the opposite side of the fire, wrapped up in flannel, her face +nearly concealed by her cap and bonnet, and as motionless as a +statue. I sat for a few moments in silence, and then, yielding to +a feeling of curiosity, and I would also hope to a better motive, +to endeavour to ascertain whether I could impart the soothing +influences of religious consolation to the seemingly inanimate +object that sat opposite to me, I arose, and placing my lips as +near her ear as possible, without touching her, said, audibly and +distinctly, 'You are very old.' No reply. This was followed by +several common-place questions--such as, 'What is your name?' 'Do +you want anything?' 'Are you in any pain?' These and other questions +I continued to repeat; but they produced no more effect on her than +they would have done on a log. 'Poor thing,' I exclaimed, 'it's no +use to try, as she is living out of my reach. The door of access +is locked, and the key lost.' I resumed my seat. My anxiety to +gain access to her mind increased in proportion to the apparent +impossibility of succeeding, and I made another effort. '_Do you +ever think about dying?_' There was a slight convulsive movement +of the hand, but this was no satisfactory proof that she heard +my question; however, it showed that the inner spirit was awake, +and might possibly be bringing itself to a listening attitude. I +then put the all-important question--'_Do you know anything about +Jesus Christ?_' Never shall I forget the effect of this question. +Her hands were suddenly raised, her arms extended, and her face +glowed with more than human radiance, and, in a tone of transport, +she exclaimed, 'What! is that my beloved pastor? It was under your +ministry I was brought to know Christ, and feel the preciousness of +his love.' This unanticipated exclamation astonished and delighted +me, especially when I recognized, by the sound of her voice, _Old +Rachel_. To all my questions relating to her secular condition and +wants, she was as insensible as though actually dead. I stood and +looked on her with joyous wonder, never having previously known +a similar case. I repeated question after question, but had no +response, till I asked, '_Is Christ precious to you?_' Her reply +was prompt and audible: _He is precious to my soul--my transport +and my trust._' The reply had an electrical effect on my spirit. +Marvellous! I never witnessed such a scene as this. I varied my +questions again and again; but there was no sign of hearing, or even +perceptible motion, though I took hold of her hand. It was as though +some angelic spirit kept watch, to prevent any thought relating +to earth or time from obtruding itself on her attention, now she +was waiting on the verge of the celestial world. One question +more, and all intercourse was over. '_Do you long to see Christ?_' +She instantly replied, '_My soul is in haste to be gone._' Again +she relapsed into her statue-like appearance, and in that state +continued till the return of her daughter with Mrs. Jones, after +transacting my business with whom, I took leave, and walked home, +musing on the history of Old Rachel, and resolving that I would soon +again pay her a visit." + +"I should like," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "to have witnessed this +scene, and heard the retiring spirit thus appearing to bear +testimony to the more than magic power of the Saviour's name, and of +the preciousness of his love." + +"And so, Madam, should I," said the Rev. Mr. Guion; "it would have +been to me like a voice speaking from another world, in confirmation +of the genuineness of our faith, which sees the invisible, and holds +conscious intercourse with Him, though we hear him not. I generally +find, that a singular ending is closely connected with a singular +origin, or a series of eventful occurrences. Can you favour us with +some account of her history?" + +"Yes, Sir, I can, and it is both interesting and peculiar. I did not +know her till she was advanced in age, and had lost her sight; yet, +before I knew her, I had often heard her spoken of as an intelligent +woman, very fond of books, and remarkable for the neatness and +cleanliness of her person, and her regular and punctual attendance +at her parish church. When her sight failed her, she was compelled +to relinquish the school by which she had gained her livelihood; but +she was so much esteemed, that a good allowance was granted by the +parish, and this was augmented by weekly subscriptions from some +of the members of her church. On passing by her cottage one day, I +looked in to see her, though she was not one of my parishioners; +but as she had imbibed the Tractarian doctrines of her Rector, and +felt a strong repugnance to evangelical truth, I at once perceived +that my presence was more disagreeable than pleasing. I therefore +withdrew, not intending to repeat my visit until I had prepared her +to desire it. I soon hit upon a plan to accomplish this. The old +woman had a little favourite grand-daughter in my Sabbath-school, +and it occurred to me that I could employ her as the medium of +communication; and I commenced operations by giving her and lending +her some little books of anecdotes and descriptive stories. After +the lapse of several months, I gave her, as a reward for reading to +her grandmother, the sketch of the Rev. John Newton's conversion; +and this was followed by a tract on regeneration, with which the old +woman was so much pleased, that she requested the loan of another +on the same subject. No great while after reading this tract she +came to hear me preach, and soon became a regular attendant on my +ministry; and ere long she sent to say she should be glad if I would +call on her. I went; she apologized for her rudeness of manner on +my former visit, and excused herself by referring to the influence +which superstitious prejudices had acquired over her. From these +superstitions she hoped she was now rescued by the attractive power +of the gospel of Jesus Christ. + +"When it was noised abroad that Rachel, the old blind woman, had +left the church, where Tractarian doctrines and ceremonies were the +theme of the Rector's ministrations, she received a visit from some +of her lady friends, who were very anxious to get her to return, +intimating that if she did, they would continue their subscriptions +towards her support, otherwise she must not expect to receive any +more favours from them. She heard all they chose to say, and thus +announced her final decision:--'I have, ladies, attended my parish +church for more than fifty years without getting any benefit to my +soul, but where I have been only a few Sabbaths I have heard and +felt the truth as it is in Jesus, and there I shall continue to go +as long as my feeble limbs will carry me. I thank you for all your +acts of liberality and kindness to me, but I cannot barter away +my freedom, and run the risk of losing my soul. I must live free, +though in poverty; and my salvation is now the one thing I value +above all price.' She continued for several years both regular +and punctual in her attendance on my ministry, but at length was +compelled, by increasing infirmities, to give up her house and go to +reside with a married daughter. Years rolled on--the grand-daughter +had left my school--the cottage where the old woman had resided was +occupied by another--she gradually faded from my recollection, and +in process of time I had quite forgot her." + +"I used," said Mrs. Stevens, "to see her, with her grand-daughter +leading her, coming to church and going from it; but she sat in some +pew which concealed her from my sight when in the church." + +"She was, Madam, one of the most retiring women I ever knew; she had +a great objection to be seen, as she knew her conversion and her +leaving the ministry of her former Rector had excited a good deal of +talk." + +"The circumstances attending her conversion to the faith of +Christ," observed the Rev. Mr. Guion, "is an evident proof of its +genuineness, and of its having been effected by the Holy Spirit; +otherwise it would have been impossible for you to have gained her +over to the reception of salvation by grace through faith, as she +was so self-satisfied with her own Tractarian delusions, and so much +under the power of the active agents of the same fatal heresy." + +"I must confess that no event in my long pastoral career ever gave +me more real pleasure, or excited purer emotions of gratitude to my +Divine Master, than being allowed to witness the termination of her +course--so unexpected, and so novel." + +"I have known," said the Rev. Mr. Guion, "some delivered from their +terrors and misgivings, just prior to their departure, who have been +in bondage all their life, through fear of death, and then they have +felt even a transport of joy in anticipation of the end of their +faith, but I have never known a case like this of Old Rachel." + +"I recollect," said Mr. Roscoe, "reading in the _Times_, some +years ago, the report of a case bearing a strong resemblance to +it in some of its distinctive peculiarities. Mr. M----, of -----, +who had through a very lengthened course distinguished himself by +his activity in secular life, and by his practical piety, when +drawing near his latter end, appeared quite indifferent, if not +positively insensible, to everything bearing a relation to earth, +though surrounded by its wealth and honours; but even then he gave +unmistakeable signs to his pious relatives, that he was filled with +all joy and peace in believing, abounding in hope, through the power +of the Holy Ghost."[1] + + [1] In reply to an application which the author recently made in + reference to this case, an intelligent son of this eminent Christian + requests that the name of the deceased may be suppressed, saying, + at the close of his letter--"The prayer of my dearest father was, + God be merciful to me a sinner! and his last word, the name of that + Redeemer on whose merits he relied, and to whose honour he had + lived." + +Mr. Lewellin remarked:--"An intimate friend related to me, some +time since, the following circumstances, which belong to the same +remarkable order with that of Old Rachel and Mr. M----. He knew +a Mr. Griffith, who left Wales when a young man, and settled in +London, where he practised as a surgeon for half a century with very +considerable success; but feeling the infirmities of age coming on, +he disposed of his business and withdrew into private life. From +his youth up he had maintained a good report amongst his Christian +brethren. He lived for years after he had relinquished his practice, +but latterly fell into such a state of apathy that he was unable +to recollect his own children, and had even forgotten the English +language, which he had spoken for more than fifty years, using, +in his Scripture quotations and audible prayers, his native Welsh. +He would remain for many hours in succession without appearing +to notice any visible object, asking any question, or replying +to any observation relating to secular matters. He had withdrawn +from the world, living surrounded with invisible realities, the +varying aspect of his countenance indicating some active process of +thinking and emotion; but when he heard the name of Jesus mentioned, +or any allusion to his love in dying for sinners, his eyes would +sparkle with peculiar radiance, his hands would clasp together, +and he would pour forth expressions of gratitude and joy, which +betokened the vital energy of his soul, and the intense interest he +felt in anticipation of the grand crisis. On his favourite theme +of meditation he evinced no dulness, nor lack of mental energy; he +would emerge from his seclusion to hold intelligible intercourse +with his Christian brethren, when he heard them give utterance +to the joyful sound, and then drew back, without any distinct +recognition of their persons, to dwell alone in the pavilion of the +Divine presence."[2] + + [2] The following anecdote of George III. (from _Legends and + Records_, chiefly Historical: by Charles Tayler, M.A.), supplies + us with another interesting case of the aptitude of the mind to + understand and feel the power of religious truth, after it has + become inaccessible to every other mental communication. His majesty + had been hunting in Windsor Forest, and after the hunt was over, as + he was returning, his attention was arrested by a little girl who + sat on the ground weeping. He alighted from his horse, and, having + ascertained the cause of her grief, he followed her to a tent, in an + unfrequented part of the forest, where lay an old gipsy on her dying + bed, with her face towards the inside of the tent. She appeared + too far gone to hear any of the sympathetic inquiries which he + instituted. However, his eye was attracted by a torn and dirty book, + which lay open upon the pillow of the dying woman, and he had the + curiosity to see what book it was. + + "Ah, Sir," said an elder girl, "I believe there's a deal of fine + reading in that book; and my grandmother set great store by it, torn + and soiled as it is. While she could use her eyes she used to be + spelling it over and over again; but now, she says, the letters are + all dark and dim before her sight, she cannot see them." + + His majesty said nothing, but, taking up the book from the pillow, + he sat down on the green turf close to the head of the dying woman. + The book was the Bible. He chose some of those beautiful passages + which are easy to be understood, and, at the same time, full of + hope and comfort to the sinking and fearful heart. He read of the + tender compassion of the Father of mercies to his guilty creatures, + in giving his own Son Jesus Christ to die for them, that whosoever + believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life! + Though she heard not what he said when he first spoke to her, she + heard and felt the words of the Scriptures, for she turned entirely + round and opened her dull eyes with a vacant stare; she endeavoured + also to speak, but could only make a faint uncertain sound, in which + no word could be distinguished. Then she drew her hands together, + and clasped them as if in prayer, taking that way, it seemed, to + show that she was quite sensible to hear and understand what was + read to her; and the young girls drew near, and kneeled down quietly + beside the bed, listening also to the sacred words of life, and + feeling a sort of happiness in their sorrow, as they looked upon + their beloved parent, now as calm as a sleeping infant, except that + tears stole down her hollow cheeks; but any one might see that they + were tears of joy, for all the while a smile was on her lips. + +"These are spiritual phenomena," said the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, "which, +like the phenomena of nature, are too plain and palpable to be +denied, even though it may not be in our power to give all the +explanations about the causes of them which our curiosity would like +to receive." + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN. W. L. THOMAS. + +GEORGE III. AND THE DYING GIPSY. + +Vol. ii. p. 7.] + +"Very true, Sir," said Mr. Ingleby; "but there are certain +statements and expressions in the New Testament which throw light +enough upon such phenomena to demonstrate that they have their +_natural causes_, and thus they are rescued from the supposition +that they are self-originated and self-sustained movements of +the human spirit, in some complexed and eccentric condition of +existence. Our Lord says to his disciples, 'I am the vine, ye are +the branches; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth +forth much fruit' (John xv. 5). The life of the branch depends on +its adhesion to the tree which supplies the sap of nourishment. +Again, he says, 'I in them' (John xvii. 23). The apostle says, 'I +live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me' (Gal. ii. 20). Again, +'Your life is hid with Christ in God' (Col. iii. 3), denoting +its invulnerable security. From the passages which I have now +quoted, and there are many others of the same import, we arrive +at this conclusion, which is an explanation and a defence of the +spiritual phenomenon, that there is an actual, though inexplicable +inhabitation of Jesus Christ in the soul of a believer (Rev. +iii. 20), sustaining the spiritual life within him, as the vine +nourishes the branch which bears its own fruit. And as He has life +in _himself_, he can do this with perfect ease, not only when the +believer is in vigorous health, and in the full exercise of all his +mental faculties, but when he is labouring under those physical +diseases and mental infirmities which, by a slow progression, lead +to his decay and death." + +The Rev. Mr. Guion observed, "That to deny the existence of such +phenomena, and others which bear some affinity to them, simply +because they are extraordinary, would be an act of absurdity which +no spiritual or even philosophic mind would venture to defend, +because the evidence in proof of their actual occurrence is so clear +and conclusive. The real question of difficulty to decide is simply +this:--Are they supernatural manifestations, or illusions of the +imagination? but, in either case, they go off into their own element +of mysteriousness, compelling us to believe what we cannot explain. +On a supposition that they are real manifestations of Divine power +and love, which I fully believe they are, I cannot help thinking +that the highly-favoured spirit (Old Rachel, for example), while in +such a state of _lucid and active unconsciousness_, if I may use +such an expression, must exist in something like an intermediate +position between the material and immaterial world--dying off from +one by a very slow progression, and getting meet for the other by a +similar process; occasionally stepping back to give unmistakeable +signs of the continued possession of the faculties of thought and +emotion, and then retreating, as into a citadel standing near the +dark frontier of the invisible world, and into which its celestial +rays sometimes penetrate." + +"In these cases of rare occurrence," said Mr. Roscoe, "it is the +soul of the spiritual man retreating from visible and audible +fellowship with his pious associates; but biography supplies us +_with another order of moral phenomena_ equally inexplicable, yet +equally gratifying, tending to confirm the reality of the connection +between the visible and invisible world which the Christian +revelation so plainly and positively announces. I received, some +time ago, the following statement from an elder of a Scotch church, +on whose testimony I can place implicit dependence:--'About the +month of August, 1838, I went to see my grandfather, a pious old +man, ninety-two years of age. I sat by his bedside, and others +also were with him. He had been silent and motionless for about +five hours, when he opened his eyes, his countenance beaming with +joy, and raising his hands he said, I see heaven open, and Jesus +Christ at the right hand of God, and the angels of God descending +to receive me. These were his last words, and when he had given +utterance to them he expired.'" + +"This reminds me," said Mr. Lewellin, "of an incident which occurred +at Stepney College,[3] not long ago. When Ebenezer Birrel, a student +there, was dying, he requested all who were in the room with him to +keep silence. He also was silent and motionless. At length he looked +and gazed in rapture on some glorious object, which to him alone was +visible, exclaiming, as he gazed, '_Beautiful! beautiful!_' and in +uttering the word 'GLORY!' his head fell and he expired." + + [3] The Baptist College, Stepney. + +"The case of Dr. Gordon, of Hull," said the Rev. Mr. Guion, +"differing, as it does in some particulars, from all the specimens +we have had of these spiritual phenomena, is, I think, deserving of +our special notice. 'He appeared,' says his biographer, 'just as he +was expiring, no longer conscious of what took place around him. +He gazed upwards, as in wrapt vision. No film overspread his eyes. +They beamed with an unwonted lustre, and the whole countenance, +losing the aspect of disease and pain, with which we had been so +long familiar, glowed with an expression of indescribable rapture. +As we watched, in silent wonder and praise, his features, which had +become motionless, suddenly yielded for a few seconds to a smile +of ecstasy which no pencil could ever depict, and which none who +witnessed it can ever forget. And when it passed away, still the +whole countenance continued to beam and brighten, as if reflecting +the glory on which the soul was gazing. This glorious spectacle +continued for about a quarter of an hour, increasing in interest to +the last.'" + +"I have heard of other cases," remarked Mr. Ingleby, "bearing a +strong resemblance to some which have been mentioned; but I have +never made much use of them, except as supplementary proofs in +confirmation of my own belief in the inseparable connection of +the two worlds. They are not absolutely necessary to establish +this great fact; yet we must all admit, that such proofs _can be +supplied_, if it should please God to do so; and we know he has done +it more than once. Not to dwell on the vision of the apostle Paul, +I would just advert to the case of Stephen. When his enemies were +gnashing on him with their teeth, expressive of their indignation +against him, for accusing them of having betrayed and murdered the +JUST ONE--'He, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly +into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on +the right hand of God' (Acts vii. 55). He saw clearly what the +others saw not, and for reporting what he saw he was denounced a +blasphemer, and was led out and stoned to death. This case settles +two great facts:--First, that God can, when he pleases, unveil to +mortal vision the glorious forms and appearances of the invisible +world; and secondly, that he has done it." + +"I feel unwilling," said the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, "to object to any +evidence which tends to confirm our belief in the connection +between the visible and invisible world; but I think great caution +is necessary in employing such cases as have now been reported in +proof of it. What the old Scotchman and the youthful student saw, or +thought they saw, may, after all, have been nothing more than the +illusions of their own disturbed imagination, left at the closing +scene uncontrolled by the immortal spirit itself, while in the act +of passing from its material tabernacle, and away from its material +senses, into another, a higher, and more congenial economy of +existence." + +"True, Sir," said Mr. Ingleby; "but then, if we admit that they +really are illusions, we must also admit that they are illusive +only by a _forestalling process_; the imagination bringing to +the senses, yet bounded by the material economy, objects of +vision belonging to another state of existence--framing types of +invisible realities--lifting up, in the living temple of humanity, +prefigurations of what will be seen when the fulness of time comes +for the disembodying of the soul and its glorification. The illusion +then relates, not to the UNREALITY of _what is seen_ and _felt_, but +to the _unreality_ of the _act_ of _vision_, and its _consequent +excitement_ and _impression, both mental and physical_." + +"We know," said. Mr. Roscoe, "that God very rarely deviates in +his providential administration, from the established laws of his +government; but we also know that he does sometimes, and for the +purpose of making us know more impressively that he is the LORD, +who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the +earth, for in these things he delights. Hence, there have been +two translations from earth to heaven, without the intervening +infliction of death, but only two, since the fall of man. In +reference to the remarkable cases under consideration, there may be +some difficulty in deciding whether the persons actually saw what +they are reported to have seen, or were imposed on by the mysterious +action of their own imagination; but yet I cannot bring my mind to +the conclusion, that the visions were positive illusions, and that +the happy spirits who saw them, and spake of them, and whose radiant +countenances betokened the truthfulness of their testimony, were +dying under the spell of self-deception. Such cases, we know, but +very rarely occur, and when they do occur they make their appearance +quite unexpectedly; but I think they occur often enough, and with +such varying peculiarities, as to make us hesitate to pronounce them +positive illusions, even if we cannot admit with confidence that +they are positive realities." + +"At any rate," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "the spell of self-deception, +if they were deceived, was soon broken, as in each case death came +immediately after they uttered their last joyous exclamation; and +then the sublime vision of immortality opened upon them, with all +its glorious realities." + +The Rev. Mr. Guion here remarked that, "in general, the Lord's +people die in hope and with great calmness; and sometimes they rise +to confidence, and even to joy, and joy unspeakable. Few, indeed, +rise higher than this; but I have known enough, and heard enough, +to satisfy me that some do. The case of Dr. Gordon, who uttered +no exclamation, is to me a decisive proof of this. He is calm, +motionless, wrapped in profound thoughts, when his countenance, +which had long been marked by the lines of disease and pain, begins +to radiate, till at length its lustre was so clear and bright, +attended by an ecstatic smile so ethereal, that the spectators were +awe-struck, standing and gazing for the space of a quarter of an +hour on this more than human vision. At least, they thought it more +than human while they were gazing on it." + +"Every effect," said Mr. Ingleby, "must have some adequate cause; +and this extraordinary radiation on the countenance of Dr. Gordon +was produced either by the action of his own thoughts, or by +the intervention of a supernatural power. If produced by his +own thoughts, what a hold must his soul have taken of invisible +realities when he was dying, to give such a glowing brilliancy +to his pallid face! If produced by the intervening action of +supernatural power, it was a premature shining forth of the glory to +be revealed more fully in the disembodied state. In other words, he +did what was done by the impulse of his _own_ conceptions, or God +was especially with him in his dying chamber, shedding upon him some +effulgent rays of his own glory." + +"But to return," said the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, "to the case of Rachel, +the old blind woman, which, because it is capable of a more +practical bearing, I must confess, interests me more than the +splendid case of Dr. Gordon, interesting as it is. But, before +I touch on this, will you permit me to ask how long she lived +after your unexpected interview with her? and whether there was a +recurrence of the astonishing responses to your inquiries?" + +"I sat gazing on her," said the Rev. Mr. Ingleby, "some time after I +ceased speaking; and before I left her, her countenance had resumed +its statue-like appearance of positive insensibility; and every +feature was fixed, as though set by the cold hand of death, and +there was not a movement of any part of her body, except the breast +and the shoulders, from the more powerful action of the lungs. The +following week I took a friend with me, in expectation of having +another interview with her; but I was disappointed. On entering the +cottage, her daughter informed me, that having awoke in the night, +and thinking she heard her mother utter some sound, she went with a +light to her bedside, when the old woman, after a slight convulsive +struggle, raised her hands, and said, '_Dear Saviour, I come to +thee_,' and died." + +"What a splendid transition!" said Mrs. Stevens; "the cottage +exchanged for a mansion! What a glorious sequel to all her +privations and sufferings! Her happy spirit, long confined in total +darkness, is at last liberated, and is now beholding the glory +of Christ, and living and moving amidst the celestial beings and +sublime grandeur of immortality." + +"And yet we are told," said Mr. Roscoe, "that the faith of Christ, +which unveils such grand prospects of a future state of existence, +is a mere delusion, and that we who indulge them are self-deceived. +If we admit this, we must also admit that it is a very remarkable +delusion, as it usually comes in its most vivid forms, and with its +most attractive influences, just at that period of human existence +when all things of earth and of time are vanishing away. At that +awful crisis, when the pomp of distinction, the fascination of +sensible objects, and the grandeur of wealth, are all losing their +hold on us--and nothing is left to man but the shroud, the coffin, +and the grave --at that very time the Christian faith opens up +a scene of grandeur which no words can adequately describe; and +yet the dying man, who feels his departing spirit embracing these +revelations as sublime realities, is told by the cold-hearted +sceptic that all is a delusion, and he is self-deceived. But he +heeds not such random assertions. He moves forward, repeating the +soul-inspiring words, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the +shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod +and thy staff they comfort me' (Psal. xxiii. 4)." + +"But this case of poor Old Rachel," said the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, "does +something more than exhibit the efficacy of the Christian faith, in +sustaining the human soul when the _dread hour comes_--it supplies +a proof of the immateriality, and, by a fair inference, of the +immortality of the soul itself. We are told, by some sagacious +sceptics, that the mind of man, like his body, is material, only +that it has passed through a more refined process, and is endowed +_by nature_ with certain faculties analogous to the senses; and as +they came into existence together at the time of his birth, and live +together through life, so they will go out of existence together +when they pay the debt of nature, and, at last, perish together. +And I must confess that humanity has, in some instances, seemed +to give a confirmation to this opinion, as the body and the mind +have appeared to wither and decay together, as age and infirmities +have come upon them. Hence there has been a loss of memory with +the loss of animal vivacity--a loss of intellectual vigour with +the loss of physical strength--a loss of imaginative power with +the loss of sensitive acuteness--the mind and the body undergoing +this reciprocal decay before the change comes which, according +to the sceptic's theory, is to end in their extinction. But, +then, I have met with another class of cases bearing some analogy +to this reciprocal decay, but, at the same time, putting forth +indications in confirmation of a reversed issue, as in the history +of Old Rachel. In her we see the memory losing the impression of +earthly objects, but retaining the impression of heavenly ones. Her +intellect lies prostrate and powerless in the presence of sensuous +and secular inquiries, but it springs into vigorous activity +when spiritual ones are addressed to her. The affections of her +heart have died off from the relationships of life; but they are +concentrated on the perfection of moral beauty, and cleave to Jesus +Christ with an intensity and ardour surpassing that of a youthful +passion. Here we have a living exponent, and a confirmation of the +truthfulness of the apostolic expression, 'Though our outward man +perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.' (See John xi. 25, +26)." + +"And there is another practical lesson," Mr. Ingleby remarked, +"which this case of Old Rachel teaches us, and it is this:--When a +man is enlightened by the Spirit, and is brought into fellowship +with Jesus Christ, and has felt the power of the world to come, +he never outlives his knowledge of these wondrous realities which +stand out in bold relief when his remembrance of all other +things is blotted out. He may forget the wife of his bosom, and +the children who revered and loved him--he may forget his mother +tongue, and not recognize the hand which feeds and clothes him--and +he may live till almost every sense has become extinct, and the +avenues of communication between the imprisoned spirit and the +living world are blocked up--but he will never forget by whose +blood he has been redeemed--he will never become insensible to the +charm of His name or the preciousness of His love--nor will he +ever lose sight of the bright and unfading inheritance of which he +has received the earnest. Old Rachel was living at ease, conscious +of her possessions, even when, in the estimation of others, she +was unconscious of her own existence; and indulging the sublimest +anticipations of faith and hope, while in the dark cell of her +confinement." + +"Without giving any opinion," said the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, "as to +which of the cases reported this evening is the most remarkable, +or presuming to decide, whether they are to be referred to some +mysterious action of the imagination, or to a real, yet marvellous +manifestation of the Divine presence--leaving each case to stand for +your decision on the ground of its own merits--I think we may make +a good practical use of the whole of them, as, when we see lights +burning, though of varying degrees of brightness, we may avail +ourselves of their radiance even if we cannot tell by whom they are +enkindled. We believe that the evidence which the Bible supplies, +in confirmation of the existence of another world, is sufficiently +ample and decisive to satisfy us of its reality; but still it is +not so ample and decisive as to preclude the desirableness of some +additional evidence. This is often given in the death-chamber of +the Christian believer; and not only to him, when dying, but to +those who are eye-witnesses of the mode of his departure. When, +for example, we see a man of intelligence, of taste, of great +sobriety of thinking, and of courteous speech, quite calm on his +death-bed, and alternately strongly excited--when we hear him +speak of the hope he entertains of a glorious immortality--when we +see him rising above hope into full assurance, eager to depart, +though surrounded by many of the attractions of earth--when every +look, and aspiration, and utterance, beats in harmony with his +long-settled expectation of a grand issue to his faith--we may very +naturally take his experience, not only as a safe guide, but as +a valid testimony to the certainty of what we believe in common. +But now suppose, if, in addition to this tranquil state of mind, +we should see a bright radiance beaming on the countenance of our +dying friend, previously pallid and careworn by disease--and suppose +we should see him raise himself up in bed, looking intently, as +if seeing some beautiful object concealed from us, and, after a +profound silence and stillness of some minutes, we should hear him +speak of actually seeing, while in the body, what we believe he +will see the moment he is out of the body--would not this tend to +strengthen our faith, even though we are unable to decide whether +he actually saw, or merely thought he saw, the scenes he described? +I think it would; and that even the most dubious on the question of +illusion or reality would retire from such a hallowed spectacle, +filled with emotions of deep solemnity and joyous delight, similar +to what a primitive believer must have felt when looking on the face +of Stephen, shining with angelic brilliancy, a visible attestation +of the reality of his miraculous vision." + +"I think so too," said the Rev. Mr. Guion. "I should like to witness +such a sight and hear such an exclamation; and though I will admit +that such things may be nothing more than the illusive action of +the imagination, yet how comes the imagination, when performing its +very last operations, to act with so much power, as to imprint such +a visible radiance on a death-struck countenance? I cannot resist +the impression that such cases as Old Rachel's and Dr. Gordon's, +belonging certainly to a diverse order of spiritual phenomena, are +real manifestations of the glory and love of God, and are intended +by him, like the translation of Enoch and Elijah, as supplementary +evidence to confirm the faith, and animate the hope of his redeemed +and beloved children. At any rate, such is the effect they have on +me." + +"They have the same effect on my mind," said Mr. Ingleby; +"especially this case of poor Old Rachel, which will retain its +power of impression as long as I exist. I shall never forget the +last interview I had with her, nor her death-like appearance when +I left her; but when I see her again--and I trust to see her ere +long--she will appear in a beauteous form, arrayed in the spotless +robe of celestial glory. We know that our latter end is coming, but +we know not _when_ it will come, or who of the living will be with +us when it does come; nor do we know whether we shall pass away, +like Dr. Gordon, while beams of glory are radiating our countenance, +or steal out of life like poor Old Rachel, as from under a pile of +material ruins; but, for our consolation, we know that our dear +Redeemer has promised that _He_ will come to receive us to himself +when we depart hence, and that where he is we shall be also, and for +ever: 'Wherefore, comfort one another with these words' (1 Thess. +iv. 18)." + + + + +DIVERSITY OF OPINION VERY NATURAL. + + +One morning, while Mrs. Stevens was conversing with Mrs. John +Roscoe, a girl who had been attending Mrs. Stevens' Sabbath-school, +and who was going into service, called at Fairmount for a Bible +which had been awarded to her for her diligence and propriety of +behaviour. After expressing her thanks on receiving it, she added, +in a very modest tone, "I shall value it for your sake, Ma'am, and I +hope I shall love it for its own sake." + +"I was very much pleased," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "with the +appearance and manners of your young protege. The reason she gave +for loving the Bible is a proof of superior intelligence, and, I +should hope, of decided piety." + +"Yes, she is an amiable girl, and I hope she is pious. She is +a _rescue_ from a godless family. Her parents are very profane +persons, and their other children are following their example. I +have no doubt of her attachment to the Bible, for she has made +herself very conversant with it." + +In the evening, when a few friends were assembled, Mrs. John Roscoe +mentioned how much pleased she had been with the Sabbath-school +girl, and repeated the remark she made on receiving the Bible from +Mrs. Stevens. + +"FOR ITS OWN SAKE," said the Rev. Mr. Guion; "that is a +substantially good reason for loving the Bible. It is a somewhat +singular fact that no book, on any subject or in any language, +has so completely divided public belief and sympathy, both on the +question of its origin and its practical utility." + +"It certainly," Mr. Roscoe replied, "is a very singular, and a very +wonderful book: wonderful, if true; more so, if false. If true, we +can account for its origin; but how can its origin be accounted for +if it be false? If false, it is an invention; and not the invention +of one man, but of an organized conspiracy, and a conspiracy of good +men, for the Bible is too good a book for bad men to write." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"I admit that a bad man may write a good book; +but to suppose that a number of bad men would conspire to write such +a good book as the Bible, is to admit as great a moral impossibility +as to imagine that a number of good men would form a confederacy +in fraud and duplicity, and then palm off their lying inventions +as positive realities. Now, let us look at the case fairly, and I +think we may make some logical progress in settling the question +of its origin. Here is a Bible, and it consists of two parts--the +Old and the New Testament; and we must recollect that the Old +Testament would be incomplete without the New, and the New Testament +would be incomplete without the Old. Each of these parts consists +of different books, or distinct writings, variously designated, +occupying the space of nearly 2000 years in the composition of +them. If the Bible had been written by any one man in any one age, +or if it had been written by contemporary writers living in the +same city or country, its integrity might be open to very strong +suspicion. But the writers of the Bible lived in different ages and +in different countries, spoke different languages, belonged to very +different ranks in social life, and most of them were unknown to +each other; and yet there is, on all the facts and doctrines, and +institutes of these records, an exact concurrence[4] of testimony +running through the whole of their writings. Amongst the writers +we find legislators, kings, poets, herdsmen, fishermen; one was +a publican, and another a tent-maker, who, at one period of his +life, denounced as false some of the facts of its record, which, on +investigation, he found to be true, and attested the integrity of +his new-formed belief by yielding to a martyr's death. And it will +be at once perceived by the intelligent reader, that these men were +no common-place writers; they moved in no beaten pathway of general +knowledge; they are no copyists--they are originals; what they tell +us no other men had ever thought of, or, if they had, their thoughts +died with them, as they never gave publicity to them. The writers of +the Bible appear amongst us as scribes coming from another world, +well instructed in the mysteries of a unique faith, admirably +adapted to the peculiar exigencies of disordered and perplexed +humanity. In addition to the origin of the world and of evil--the +mediatorial work and government of the Son of God, the moral +character and condition, and responsibilities, and final destiny +of the soul of man--and a future economy of existence to last for +ever--are the momentous truths which they make known to us, through +the media of their multifarious and diversified compositions; of +history, prophecy, parable, poetic songs, and plain didactic prose." + + [4] The sceptic will sometimes endeavour to perplex and entangle the + faith of an unlearned believer, by insinuating that, as he has never + traced, through the medium of exact evidence, the origin of the + different books of the Bible to their source, he cannot be assured + that his belief is substantially a true belief--it may be, after + all, nothing but the belief of a fiction. The following quotation + from a distinguished writer, will, I think, prove as a shield of + defence to the faith of the unlearned, and convince the sceptic + himself, that his objection, plausible in appearance, is wanting + in logical force:--"It is manifest that the concurrent testimony, + positive or negative, of several witnesses, when there can have been + no concert, carries with it a weight independent of that which may + belong to each of them, considered separately. For though, in such + a case, each of the witnesses should be even considered as wholly + undeserving of credit, still the chances might be incalculable + against all agreeing in the _same_ falsehood. It is on this kind of + testimony that the generality of mankind believe in the motions of + the earth, and of the heavenly bodies, &c. Their belief is not the + result of their own observations and calculations, nor yet again of + their implicit reliance on the skill and good faith of any one or + more astronomers; but it rests on the agreement of many independent + and rival astronomers, who want neither the ability nor the will + to detect and expose each other's errors. It is on similar grounds + that the generality of men believe in the existence and in the + genuineness of manuscripts of ancient books. It is not that they + have themselves examined these, or that they rely implicitly on + the good faith of those who profess to have done so; but they rely + on the _concurrent_ and _uncontradicted_ testimony of all who have + made, or who _might make_, the examination--both unbelievers and + believers of various hostile sects, any one of whom would be sure + to seize any opportunity to expose the forgeries or errors of his + opponents."--_Whately._ + + This observation is the more important because many persons are + liable to be startled and dismayed, on its being pointed out to them + that they have been believing something, as they are led to suppose, + on very insufficient reasons, when the truth is, perhaps, that they + have been merely mis-stating their reasons. + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"And what is especially deserving of our +attention, is the perfect ease and harmony with which they write +on these new and sublime discoveries of moral truth, while they +all write independently of each other. They admit that they are +subordinates, unworthy of the honour of their appointment; yet each +one speaks and writes, and without any appearance of dogmatism or +ostentation, in the same dignified tone of absolute authority; the +voice which speaks and the hand which writes, is human, but what is +said or written, comes from some other source." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir, I think the correctness of your +remark can be demonstrated; at least, it comes as much within the +range of demonstration, as any moral or historic truth, or fact, +can be brought. The Old Testament is incomplete, and comparatively +valueless, without the New; and yet it is written under the obvious +impression and belief, that it would be completed; but on what data +could its writers base their calculation, that they should have +successors who would carry on and perfect what they had begun and +advanced through several stages of its progress. Now, I readily +believe, that a person of a very acute and comprehensive mind, +who has carefully watched and studied the facts and philosophy of +history, may, on some special occasions, give some general outline +of what will be the state of things within a very _near_ futurity, +if he cautiously avoid going into specific and minute details. But +the writers of the Old Testament have opened up the roll of a _very +remote_ futurity,[5] and have recorded extraordinary events, with +their dates and localities, long before their actual occurrence, +portraying the likeness of MESSIAH the PRINCE, ages before his +appearance on earth, and doing it with so much exactness, that it is +a perfect resemblance of the wonderful original. How could they have +done this, unless they had been guided by a prescient Spirit, to +whose eye all the future is as visible as all the past?" + + [5] Deut. xviii. 15; Psal. xlv. 1, 2; lxxii.; Isa. liii.; Dan. ix. + 22, 27; Zech. ix. 9; Mal. iii. 1. + +"Foretelling at the same time," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "his tragical +death; which no one would have expected as the termination of his +benevolent career." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"It is, I believe, a law in the republic of +letters, which no one has attempted to repeal, that all writers +shall have the right of giving, if they please, their authorities +for what they say; and of letting us know from what source they +derive the information which they supply to us. Hence, no one +can reasonably object to let the writers of the Bible have the +protection of this law, which is of universal application. And +what do they say on the question relating to the source of their +knowledge? We will take their answer, and then form our own +judgment of its integrity from the facts and evidences of the +case. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God:[6] holy men +of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."[7] This is +a concise statement of their testimony on this great question; +and its integrity is fairly sustained by positive and incidental +evidence. We see that they have given proofs of foreknowledge which +far surpasses the capabilities of the most acute and comprehensive +human mind; while, at the same time, they have made known to us a +connected series of moral and spiritual truths, to which no other +writers make any allusion, and of which they could have formed no +conception, unless they had been under superhuman tuition. What +they have done, is its own defence against the imputation of fraud +and dishonesty--standing as an imperishable memorial of the love +of God to man; and of the fidelity of his servants, in disclaiming +the honour of inventing a theory of faith and morals which justly +claims a Divine origin. This view of the case, which is their +own explanation, settles the question, without requiring us to +believe physical impossibilities, or compelling us to reject the +unrepealable law of moral evidence." + + [6] 2 Tim. iii. 16. + + [7] 2 Pet. i. 21. + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"And we may, I think, very properly regard the great +_moral power_ of the Bible as a very telling collateral argument +in favour of its Divine origin. You may take any other book, on +any other subject, and put it into circulation amongst a mass of +people, either semi-barbarians or highly-polished citizens, but it +will work no beneficial changes in the general aspect of their moral +character. It will leave them, as it finds them. If it finds them, +as in India, bowing down and doing homage to stocks and stones, it +leaves them worshipping the workmanship of their own hands--still +revelling in their cruel and obscene abominations. If it finds them, +as in Rome, kissing the crucifix--offering up their adorations +and orisons to the Virgin Mary--or visiting the tomb of a real or +legendary saint, in expectation of some miraculous healing, it +leaves them practising these puerile and senseless exercises. If +it finds them, as in Russia, crouching in terror before the great +Tyrant, doing his biddings like beasts of burden, it leaves them in +this prostrate state of degradation and misery. But put the Bible +into circulation amongst the same class of people, and, after a +while, you will perceive that it is taking effect upon them. One +reads it, and feels its moral power on his conscience and his heart; +another reads it, and he is subdued by its authority; others read +it and the same result follows: they are drawn together by the +attractive power which emanates from it, and become the nucleus of a +new order of human beings springing up in the midst of the unchanged +natives of the place. They are of the same ancestral origin, and +follow the same civil and social avocations and professions; but +they are a peculiar people, resembling the primitive believers of +the New Testament in intelligence and daring courage. They are new +creatures in Christ Jesus; and, in process of time, as they increase +in number and consequent activity, they give a new tone and energy +to the moral, the political, and the religious sentiments and +feelings of an entire community. It is to the Bible that Scotland +is indebted for her moral greatness; and England never would have +risen to her present eminence had it not been for the old Puritans, +who were animated and sustained by the examples, and principles, +and spirit of the Bible, in their passive sufferings and active +exertions in resisting the encroachments and the cruelties of +tyranny and oppression." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Your argument, Sir, is a legitimate one, and +it is as logical, as it is historically true. The book which effects +the changes which are essential to the happiness and well-being of +men as individuals, or men living in a community, but which cannot +be effected by the wit or eloquence of man, may fairly put in a +claim to a higher and a purer origin than mere humanity." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"Unbelievers, in general, do not trouble themselves +to account for the origin of the Bible; they take for granted that +it is a book of mysticism and fraud, and at once direct their +virulence against it, and hold it up to scorn and contempt." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"And yet, notwithstanding all these attacks on +the Bible, it still lives and commands attention. In the estimation +of wise and good men, it takes precedence of all other books: they +not only admire, but revere and love it. I have in my parish a +good old man who has a large library, and has been a great reader +for upwards of twenty years, but now he very rarely reads any book +except his Bible. On referring, one day, to his devoted attachment +to the Bible, he said--'I feel, when reading it, in the presence +of God, and what I read comes with authority and power. The more I +read it the more is my attention fixed on another world, and the +more intensely do I desire to depart hence. This is a mean and +comfortless place of residence when compared with the mansion our +Lord is preparing for us in his Father's house.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Pious people are very fond of the Bible, and +their attachment to it increases as they advance in years; their +passion for it is often very strong in death." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"Your remark, Sir, recalls to my remembrance +what passed, the other day, in a casual conversation between an +intelligent, yet very candid sceptic, and myself. 'There is,' he +said, 'one phenomenon connected with the Bible which has long +puzzled me to account for; if you can solve it, I shall feel +obliged. I have noticed wherever I have been--and I have travelled +through Europe and America--I have visited India and some of the +islands of the South Seas, and resided for awhile amongst the black +population of the West Indies--and whenever I have met with any +persons who believe in the truth of the Bible, whether they were +refined and intelligent or the reverse, they uniformly evinced +for it the same profound reverence and supreme attachment.' 'The +solution,' I replied, 'is easily given. They revere it as their +statute-book, containing the code of laws which their Divine +Legislator has issued to test their obedience to his authority; and +they love it, as bringing life and immortality to light; making +known to them a Saviour who is able and willing to save them from +the wrath to come, and to give them peace of soul as an earnest and +a pledge of future and eternal happiness; and they value it for +its exceeding great and precious promises, which have a soothing +and sustaining influence over their hearts in the times of their +sorrows and afflictions.' 'But how is it,' he added, 'that while +they cherish such a profound reverence for the Bible, they differ +so widely in the interpretation they put on its meaning? How will +you account for this rather puzzling fact?' The sudden entrance of +several strangers into the room prevented me from making a reply." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"This difference of interpretation, which +sceptics often bring forward as a plausible argument against the +Divine origin of the Bible, very frequently perplexes conscientious +believers. I recently received a letter from a gentleman who +says--'When I think of the sentiments which are held by different +bodies of Christians--sentiments which are directly opposed to each +other, and which appear to me to admit of no adjustment; and when I +recollect that they all profess to derive them from the same source, +and are in the habit of appealing to the same authority in support +of them--I feel myself approaching a difficulty which I know not +how to solve. Is the Bible really such a mysterious book that it is +incapable of being understood? Is it an oracle which utters truth +and falsehood? If so, it cannot be a safe guide; and if it be not +so, how do you account for the very different interpretations which +it receives?'" + +_Mr. Stevens._--"How did you meet the difficulties of the case?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"I did not go fully into the question, because +I knew, from the cast of his mind, that he would work himself right. +I merely stated that conflicting opinions do not, of themselves, +possess sufficient weight to set aside any law, or destroy the truth +of any proposition which comes attested by its own proper evidence. +And to give force to this very obvious truism, I reminded him of our +judges, who sometimes give different interpretations of a statute +law, without impairing its authority; and of our philosophers, +whose different opinions on the primary cause of motion, do not +disturb popular belief in the diurnal revolution of our earth. But, +after all, we do not differ in our interpretations of the Bible so +much as many imagine. It is true there are separate and distinct +denominations of Christians, who are regarded by the ignorant and +bigoted as the disciples and abettors of very opposite religious +creeds; yet if we inquire into the actual state of the case, we +shall find that most of them agree in all that is essential and +vitally important in the Christian scheme, and that they differ only +on what is subordinate, and comparatively unimportant." + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"It is supposed by many that this diversity +of interpretation which is given to some parts of the Bible would +have been prevented if a logical or systematic order had been +scrupulously observed. If, for example, the sacred writers had +arranged the facts, the doctrines, the precepts, the institutions, +the sanctions, the evidences, and the final recompense of the +Christian faith, systematically--presenting the whole in a +compendious form--there would be, in that case, so much compactness, +such symmetrical order--one part of the theory would hang so +naturally on another--that it would be extremely difficult, if not +impossible, for any division of opinion to spring up amongst us +on the question of its import or design. We should then think and +believe alike. This is what I have heard some speculatists say; but +I have no confidence in the integrity of their opinion."[8] + + [8] "No such a thing," says Archbishop Whately, "is to be found in + our Scriptures as a catechism, or regular _elementary introduction_ + to the _Christian religion_; nor do they furnish us with anything + of the nature of a systematic creed, set of articles, confession + of faith, or by whatever other name one may designate a regular, + complete compendium of Christian doctrines; nor, again, do they + supply us with a liturgy for ordinary public worship, or with forms + for administering the sacraments, or for conferring holy orders; + nor do they even give any precise _directions_ as to these and + other ecclesiastical matters--anything that at all corresponds to + a rubric, or set of canons." Why these omissions? A great defect + in our Scriptures, say some; but, in my opinion, it amounts to a + self-evident confirmation, that the writers of the New Testament + were under the special dictation of the Divine Spirit, as to what + they _should_, and what they _should not_ record. If they were + carrying out a fraudulent design, conceived by their predecessors, + who wrote the Old Testament, they would, from their educational + training and desire to act in character with their confederates, + have imitated their example, and been very specific and minute in + all their ecclesiastic arrangements. They would have inserted the + law of dictation and prescription, which was so absolute under the + Jewish theocracy, in the Christian code, and thus have rendered + division of opinion and freedom of action impossible. The question + then turns upon us: Why did they not do what it was very natural + they should do, and what the necessity of the case would seem to + require to be done, according to the judgment of every intelligent + and reflective mind, who looked at it through the medium of the + existing ecclesiastical regulations of the age and country? Their + _not doing_ what was thus natural _they should do_, and what the + necessity of the case, according to human judgment, _required them + to do_, is of itself a proof that they were not left to the guidance + of their own understanding, but were held in subjection, according + to their own confession, by the controlling power and wisdom of the + Holy Ghost, under whose inspiration all Scripture is given. "The + Jewish ritual, designed for one nation and country, and intended to + be of temporary duration, was fixed and accurately prescribed. The + same Divine wisdom, from which both dispensations proceeded, having + designed Christianity for all nations and ages, left Christians + at large in respect of those points in which variation might be + desirable. But I think no _human_ wisdom would have foreseen and + provided for this. That a number of _Jews_, accustomed from their + infancy to so strict a ritual, should, in introducing Christianity + as the second part of the same dispensation, have abstained not only + from accurately prescribing for the use of all Christian churches + for ever the mode of Divine worship, but even from recording + what was actually in use under their own directions, does seem + to me utterly incredible, unless we suppose them to have been + restrained from doing this by a special admonition of the Divine + Spirit."--_Whately._ + + At any rate, whether these omissions are to be attributed to the + controlling power of the Holy Ghost, or the extraordinary policy of + the writers of the New Testament, we arrive at the same conclusion, + that, while we are required to believe, and to contend earnestly for + the essential facts and doctrines of the Christian faith, which are + set out with great precision and explicitness, a freedom of action + is allowed on what may be deemed the subordinate and non-essential + parts of the same faith. Hence we may differ on some things, without + any valid impeachment of our Christian wisdom and integrity, + unless we allow our difference of opinion to produce alienation + of brotherly affection. When it does this, we make a sacrifice of + our honour, and give a sanction to the accusation of the common + adversary, that our hostile divisions are a proof that our religion + does not come from a wise and benevolent Being--that it is of the + earth, earthy. + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"The objections against an inspired compendium +of Christian doctrine and practice, are, in my judgment, more +powerful than the arguments in favour of it. If we had it, we +should revere it, and learn it; it would perpetually recur to our +recollection in our reflective moments, and by rendering a studious +examination of the other parts of the Scripture unnecessary, we +should be liable to sink into 'a _contented apathy_' of spirit, +under this conviction, that as we can repeat all, we know all that +is necessary for us to know." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Archbishop Whately, when alluding to this +subject, says, 'that if we had this compendium, both it and the +other parts of the Scriptures would be regarded as of Divine +authority; but the compendium itself would be looked upon by most as +the fused and purified metal; the other, as the mine containing the +crude ore. And the compendium itself, being, not like the existing +Scriptures, that _from which_ the faith is to be learned, but _the +very thing to be learned_, would come to be regarded by most with an +indolent, unthinking veneration, which would exercise little or no +influence over them.'" + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"Universal experience proves, that facility in +obtaining a supply to our physical necessities, is not so beneficial +to the energy and vigour of the human constitution, as difficulty, +which stimulates to labour and invention. Compare, for example, +the natives of the South Sea Islands, whose bread-fruit ripens of +itself, with the hardy Highlanders of Scotland, who have to toil +for their living through frost and snow, as well as sunshine--what +a difference in their muscular and masculine conformation and +appearance. And the same remark is equally applicable to the mind of +man, whose knowledge on any subject, in any department of science, +and especially the science of Biblical theology, is accurate and +profound, in proportion to the efforts he is obliged to make in its +acquisition. A compendium would be the bread-fruit, within reach, +and easily plucked. We should, if we had it, become dwarfs in +Biblical theology. It is only when our energies are roused by a love +of the truth, and stimulated by the difficulties connected with its +attainment, that our knowledge in the mystery of Christianity gets +perfected, and becomes practically powerful in its influence over +the heart and the character." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"And in addition to the relaxing influence +which a compendium would exert over the mind--indisposing it to any +labour in searching the Scriptures, except the labour of the memory, +and that to a very superficial extent--I have another objection to +such a projected scheme, which is this:--I do not think it possible +for the Christian faith to be reduced to such a compact, or what +you term compendious form, as shall secure amongst its advocates +and defenders a perfect unity of belief on all points, without the +perpetual exercise of a supernatural agency in the illumination and +guidance of the mind, which would amount to something like a plenary +inspiration to every believer. Now what can be more logically +explicit than the articles of our church; and yet what a very +different construction do different men put upon them!" + +_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"That is true. If I were in a church on a +Sabbath morning listening to a Tractarian; if I returned in the +afternoon, and heard a Moderate; and if, in the evening, I occupied +the same pew, while an Evangelical was doing duty in the pulpit, I +should find myself in a modern Babel, witnessing, on a small scale, +a new specimen of the confusion of tongues." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"But this difference of opinion and diversity +of interpretation on the same theory of belief, prevails amongst +others as well as amongst us. Even amongst unbelievers, who almost +deify reason--asserting and maintaining, that it is fully equal to +all the exigencies of humanity, without being under any obligation +to a Divine inspiration--there is almost an endless diversity of +belief and opinion on all questions relating to God, to human +responsibility, and the final destiny of man. They are obliged to +pass a toleration act to live in peace." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"I like a toleration act; it is essential to +our peace. The period is coming when we shall _'see eye to eye_;' +but that will be under a dispensation very different to the present; +we must now agree to differ, and while contending earnestly for +the faith once delivered to the saints, we must live together as +brethren." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Jesus Christ said to his disciples--'These +things I command you, that ye love one another' (John xv. 17); and +he says the same things to us. And if we love one another, we shall +never vote for a repeal of our toleration act, which admits of some +shades of difference in our religious belief and opinions." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"It was doubted, a few years since, whether +even the spiritual members of our various denominations cherished +any fraternal esteem and affection for each other--they often acted +more like gladiators than brethren; but now they are cultivating a +spirit of union and peace." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"This change in their spirit and conduct is a very +gratifying and auspicious event; but some good men maintain that the +entire abolition of the distinctive denominations and their union +in one undivided body, would be more conducive to the honour of +Christianity, and more favourable to its progressive triumphs." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"This I conceive to be impracticable during the +partial obscurity of the present dispensation; and I must confess +that I do not think it advisable. I have no objection to those +divisions of opinion which separate us into different denominations, +though I deplore the spirit which they sometimes engender. I think +that a variation in belief, on some of the minor questions of +religion, by keeping our attention awake and active, tends to +preserve the more important truths in a purer state; and the action +and re-action of one Christian denomination on another, prevents +that stagnation of feeling, and that inertness of principle, which +an unbroken and undisturbed uniformity admits of." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"But, would not the church assume a more imposing +aspect, and put forth a more powerful energy, if she could unite all +her members in one undivided body, under the immediate authority +of one Head, than she does now, broken as she is, into so many +subdivisions?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir, if she could preserve her purity +uncontaminated; but we ought never to forget, that while the +religion we profess is Divine in its origin, and indestructible in +its nature, it is human in its forms and administrations. Hence it +alternately displays resistless power and exhausted weakness--the +sanctity and grandeur of its Author, along with the infirmities +and imperfections of the agents to whom it is intrusted--sometimes +exciting the profound veneration of the multitude, and at other +times their contempt or indifference. And it is this admixture of +what is human with what is Divine, that renders it expedient that +there should be some exposure to the influence of that re-action of +distinctive opinions, and of social attachments, which, by keeping +us alive to _the purity and extension of our separate communions_, +tends to promote the purity and extension of the faith which we hold +in common." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"Your opinion exactly accords with my own. Hence, +instead of regarding the Established Church, and the various +denominations of orthodox Dissenters, as hostile foes, aiming at +each other's humiliation and destruction, we should look on them as +subjects of the same monarch, each bearing the distinctive insignia +of his own order; yet mutually supporting each other without the +formality of a visible contact, and, as his sovereign will directs, +advancing, each in his own way, the work of reclaiming to a state of +allegiance the people who have revolted from his authority." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Or, to vary the figure, we may view them as +so many servants belonging to the same master, who are employed in +cultivating the great moral vineyard, whose reward at last will be +in proportion to their fidelity to him, and their affection for each +other. If this comparison be just, then, if we cherish a complacent +feeling exclusively for those who belong to our own class, and +attempt to lord it over our fellow-servants who may belong to +another, or treat them discourteously, we dishonour ourselves, and +offend against the law of our Lord, who has commanded us to love +each other as brethren." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"When I consider the fallibility of the human +mind--the prejudices of education--the influence of accidental +reading and associations--and the extensive prevalence of erroneous +opinions, instead of being astonished by the shades of difference +which prevail amongst us, I am surprised that we think so nearly +alike. We agree on the substantial facts, and doctrines, and +institutes, and precepts of revelation, while we differ on some of +its forms and ceremonial enactments. But these trifling differences, +which do not endanger the safety, nor add to the stability of +our faith, ought not to excite jealousy and suspicion, and cause +alienation of affection, as though we were avowed enemies. No. When +this is the case we give a decisive proof that we do not possess the +spirit of the gospel; or, if we possess it, we do not display it, +which aggravates rather than extenuates our sin." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"In the last prayer our Saviour uttered, just +before he presented himself the expiatory sacrifice for human guilt, +he earnestly entreated that all his disciples, in every future age, +might be one, even as he and his Father are one; and he assigns the +reason--_That the world may know that thou hast sent me._ For some +ages, the object of that prayer was realized in the harmony which +prevailed amongst Christians whose religion was a bond of union +more strict and tender than the ties of consanguinity; and with +the appellation of brethren they associated all the sentiments of +endearment that relation implied. To see men of the most contrary +characters and habits--the learned and the rude--the most polished, +and the most uncultivated--the inhabitants of countries alienated +from each other by institutions the most repugnant, and by contests +the most violent--forgetting their ancient animosity, and blending +into one mass, at the command of a person whom they had never +seen, and who had ceased to be an inhabitant of this world, must +have been an astonishing spectacle. Such a sudden assimilation of +the most discordant materials; such love issuing from hearts the +most selfish, and giving birth to a new race and progeny, could +be ascribed to nothing but a Divine interposition; it was an +experimental proof of the commencement of that kingdom of God--that +celestial economy, by which the powers of the future world are +imparted to the present." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"It must have been a spectacle no less delightful to +the eye of the Christian than astonishing to the unbeliever; and had +the visible church always exhibited such a spectacle of union and +affection, her history would have been the records of her spiritual +triumphs, rather than of her persecutions and her miseries. But +her bonds of union have been broken asunder, and her love of the +brethren has been quenched in the bitter waters of strife. We +are the descendants of the holy men who first caught, and first +displayed the spirit of the Prince of Peace, but how little do we +resemble them! We imbibe the same faith, plead the same promises, +claim the same privileges, participate in the same spiritual +enjoyments, bear the same distinctive and relative character, and +anticipate the same high destiny; but we too often act as though +we were released from the obligations which they admitted and +discharged; and instead of attempting to convince sceptics and +unbelievers of the divinity of our Lord's mission, and the moral +efficacy of his death, by our union and our reciprocal affection, we +strengthen them in their infidelity by our anti-Christian spirit. +Can no remedy be devised to correct this noxious evil, which, like a +withering blight, tarnishes the moral lustre of all our distinctive +denominations, and does more to embitter the spirit, and extend the +triumphs of infidelity, than the most virulent works which issue +from her corrupt and hostile press?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Why, Sir, I hope the evil is in some small +degree abated by the influence of our public institutions. Those +who, a few years since, were envious and jealous of each other, now +associate together on the most friendly terms. If the Bible Society +has not terminated the contest, it has been the means of concluding +a truce between them; and I flatter myself that there will be +no renewal of hostilities, even though some of the more bigoted +belonging to the different denominations should feel disposed to +revive them." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"I fear, Sir, you are rather too sanguine in +your expectations. In the little circle in which we move, in this +isolated spot of the religious world, the spirit of fraternal love +and union is cherished; but what commotion and strife prevail just +now between both the clerical and lay members of our own church!" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir, I know it and deplore it. It is the +spirit of dry formalism setting itself in array against the spirit +of vital Christianity; and the contest will be severe, but the issue +is certain--the Word of the Lord will prove more powerful than the +traditions of man." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"I must confess that I am rather sanguine in my +calculations of the moral influence of the Bible Society on the best +and most active men of our age. Dr. Mason, of New York, says, in +the preface to a work which he has published--'Within a few years +there has been a manifest relaxation of sectarian rigour among +the different denominations in America, so that the spirit of the +gospel, in the culture of fraternal charity, has gained a visible +and growing ascendency. This happy alteration,' he adds, 'may be +attributed, in a great degree, to the influence of missionary and +Bible societies.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"And it is so amongst us to some extent. Till +the Bible Society arose, and gained a settlement in our land, we +had not an inch of neutral ground on which we could assemble, and +unite with each other in any religious enterprise; but now we have +the province of Goshen assigned us; and the air of that place is +so salubrious, the light so clear and brilliant, the atmosphere +so temperate and serene, and the harmony of its inhabitants so +profound, that we venerate it as the mystic inclosure in which we +have an emblematical representation of the celestial inheritance--in +which the spirits of the just live in closest union and sweetest +concord. May the catholicism of grace and truth wax stronger and +stronger, till Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim; +the strife of sect being overcome and banished by the all-subduing +love of God our Saviour!" + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"And what is it but prejudice, arising from ignorance +and misconception, which prevents this cordial union and fraternal +attachment? No one, I am conscious, who understands the genius of +Christianity, or who has ever felt his bosom glow with supreme +love to the Redeemer, can for a single moment presume to recommend +disunion amongst the members of the household of faith, though they +may occupy different compartments, and commune at separate tables. +It is prejudice that kept me aloof from Dissenters, and made me +unwilling to associate with them; because I understood that the +generality of them rejected the essential doctrines of Christianity; +but now my error is corrected, I esteem them as my brethren in +Christ; and as I hope to meet them in heaven, and unite with them +in the sublime exercises of that holy place, I feel a pleasure in +mingling with them on earth." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"I have lived on terms of intimacy with many +who do not belong to the church of which I am a minister, and some +of the happiest moments of my life have been spent in social and +spiritual intercourse with them. Our conversation, when we have +been together, has not turned on the questions on which we differ, +but on those on which we agree; and I have often retired from these +interviews with my mind relieved from its cares, and both animated +and enriched by the interchange of devout sentiment and feeling. +And in looking forward to the final consummation, I indulge a hope +of partaking of much holy delight in associating with Luther and +Calvin, with Fenelon and Claude, with Whitfield and Wesley, with +Hall, Foster and Chalmers, and other illustrious men, of the same +and other denominations, who have entered into rest. I have lived in +stormy times, but I have never increased the fury of the tempest. I +have seen the spirit of party raging with desolating violence, and +have known some of those, who have borne the image of the heavenly, +stand in opposing columns to each other in the field of fierce and +angry debate; but I have been enabled, through the grace of our +Lord Jesus Christ, to hold on my way unconnected with their unhappy +hostilities; and now it is with no common feelings of gratitude +and delight that I indulge the hope of leaving the church and the +world at a period when, if the temple of war is not actually closed, +yet our denominations are forming a more correct estimate of each +other's relative strength and importance, in the conflict which +we have to sustain against the combined powers of superstition +and infidelity; and this will necessarily tend to increase our +reciprocal esteem and confidence." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"If, in our intercourse with each other, we +always acted on your prudential maxim, of conversing on questions +of general agreement, rather than on controversial ones, the spirit +of discord would be exorcised from amongst us, and then we might, I +think, justly calculate on a more copious measure of the influences +of the Spirit poured down from on high, when we should intuitively +feel, by a force of evidence too powerful to be withstood, that +_God is love_, and that we never please him more than when we +embrace, with cordiality and esteem, all who bear his image, without +distinction of sect or party." + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"In these sentiments of Christian liberality and +charity I now concur most heartily." + + + + +UNION WITHOUT COMPROMISE + + +The Rev. Mr. Ingleby, on resuming the discussion of the question +of union amongst the various denominations of believers in the +Divine origin of the faith of Christianity, made the following +very pertinent remarks:--"If it were the will of God that the +various denominations of Christians should all think and act alike, +as the tribes of Israel were required to do under the Levitical +dispensation, we should have laws laid down for our guidance with +the same minuteness and explicitness as was done for them. But such +is not the case. We have certain general principles laid down, +and the motives by which all our actions should be governed set +before us with clearness and precision, but we have no particular +directions as to the external form of church government. We are +therefore left free to adopt that ecclesiastical system which, after +careful examination, we find most in conformity with the spirit of +the New Testament." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"You mean, Sir, I presume, that we are left free +to choose either the Episcopal, or Presbyterian, or Congregational +form of church government?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir; and though I do not profess to +be deeply read in casuistry, yet I believe that very much may be +collected from the facts and incidents recorded in Scripture, and +from the casual expressions of the sacred writers in favour of each +of these forms of church government." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"And so I think. We are not living under a law +laid down with minute exactness, like the ancient tribes of Israel, +but have the right of exercising our choice on these matters of +church polity, and our choice is determined by preference or +expediency, or both. That is, I may deem it expedient to be an +Episcopalian in one country, or a Presbyterian in another, or a +Congregationalist in a third; and I may, at the same time, most +decidedly prefer one of these modes of church government to either +of the other, as being, in my opinion, the nearest approach to +the teachings of the New Testament. To adopt such a principle as +this is, appears to me more in harmony with the spirit of the New +Testament dispensation, than putting in a claim for the Divine +right of Episcopacy, or Presbyterianism, or Congregationalism; +it is an equitable concession to others of the liberty we claim +for ourselves; and hence, without being guilty of any degree of +inconsistency, we can cultivate Christian fellowship with our +brethren of other denominations, without compromising our own +principles." + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"You will still leave, I presume, as a question +open for discussion, the relative conformity of each mode of church +government to the New Testament model?" + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Most certainly; and when discussions go on, +untainted by the dogmatism and acrimony of party predilections and +antipathies, and are conducted in a liberal and loving spirit, they +tend to give solidity to the foundation on which our relative union +is based; and show, at the same time, that it can be cemented and +perpetuated without any dishonourable compromise." + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"I was present in a company some time since, when +an ingenious Scotchman made out, as he thought, a very strong claim +for the superiority of Presbyterianism to the other forms of church +government. Episcopacy, he remarked, has the monarchical element +too dominant in her constitution--_the clergy are everything;_ in +Congregationalism, the democratic element is too dominant--_the +people are everything_; but Presbyterianism unites the two elements, +and in about equal proportions _the clergy and the people act +together_--they are a combined power." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Ingenious, if not just. However, without +pausing to discuss this question, I think it is very plain that the +writers of the New Testament evince a much stronger predilection +for the facts and doctrines of the gospel than they do for its +rites and ceremonies--deeming the one essential to the integrity +of the faith, while the other is subordinate and non-essential; +and I think we cannot do better than imitate them; for after +all, the forms and ceremonies of church government are but as the +chaff to the wheat--the mere attire of a living personage, not +the person himself. I prefer Episcopacy to either of the other +forms, though I will not take upon myself the task of defending +every appendage which has been affixed to it; yet, with all my +predilections in its favour, if the pure faith of Christianity +were ejected from an Episcopal pulpit, _as it often is_, I would +go and worship in a Congregational chapel; and I have no doubt but +a spiritually-enlightened Presbyterian would rather listen to the +glad tidings of salvation in one of our churches, than to a merely +moral sermon in one of his own. In my opinion, the three distinct +orders of churches may be planted on the same soil, may grow in +harmony side by side; and without any compromise of principle, may +co-operate with each other, in combined movements, against either +their Papal or sceptical opponents, and feel also a high degree +of joyous satisfaction in witnessing each other's prosperity and +honour." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"Yet I still prefer fellowship with our own church, +while cherishing fraternal esteem and fellowship with our Christian +brethren of other churches." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Certainly. When we say that the members of +our church, and the various orders of Dissenters who have seceded +from it, ought, in obedience to the authority of the Lord Jesus +Christ, to cherish reciprocal esteem, and live in peaceful harmony, +we do not mean that they are to separate themselves from their own +communions, or cease to give them a decided preference." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"In that view of the case I heartily concur; +for if the spirit of a comprehensive brotherly love and fellowship +were to lead to alienation from our distinctive denominations, it +would want one of the evidences of being a peace-maker--healing +the breaches which party spirit has unhappily made amongst us. As +a member of a family ought to feel a stronger regard, and take a +deeper interest in its prosperity and happiness, than he is expected +to cultivate towards the community at large, so I think the member +of any individual Christian church, may and ought to cherish a +greater affection for his brethren with whom he lives on more +intimate terms of fellowship than he does for his fellow-disciples +in general." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"You have, Sir, very clearly expressed the view +I now entertain of our relative obligations. We are to do good +to all when we have an opportunity, but more especially to those +of the household of faith with whom we are united in church +fellowship--uniformly endeavouring, by our prayers, our influence, +our wealth, and our sympathy, to promote their individual and +collective prosperity and happiness." + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"You are now leading us from the sentimental and +ceremonial to the practical department of Christian obligation, in +which I think, from motives of gratitude to our Divine Master, we +ought all to be increasingly active, provoking one another unto love +and good works. This will be acting more in harmony with our faith, +and prove more beneficial to ourselves and others than a rigid +adherence to any sectarian form. When returning home the other day +from one of my pastoral visitations, I met a very poor man, who had +a severe affliction in his family, and he said rather abruptly, 'I +wish, Sir, you would give us a sermon from the words of the apostle +John, 'But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother +have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how +dwelleth the love of God in him?' (1 John iii. 17).' I was not +surprised at this application, when I found that he had just been to +the Hall, the residence of a very wealthy professor of religion, to +ask some assistance for his distressed family, but had received only +a few words of vague sympathy and regret for his misfortunes." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Well may the apostle say--how dwelleth the +love of God in such a heart! But, alas, wealth too often proves a +curse to its possessor. How kindly and tenderly does the apostle +address us: 'My little children, let us not love in word, neither in +tongue, but in deed and in truth.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Our Divine Master exhibits himself as the model +for our imitation; making, at the same time, our love for each other +the test of the genuineness of our Christian character: 'A new +commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have +loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know +that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another' (John +xiii. 34, 35)." + +_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"_As I have loved you!_--emphatic words, +expressive of the spirit we ought to cultivate towards all our +Christian brethren, especially the afflicted, and prescribing the +rule for our conduct towards them. If we imbibe this spirit and act +upon it, we shall then endeavour to cheer them with our sympathy in +the hours of their grief and mourning, and cheerfully draw from our +worldly resources to afford them relief when in want. I remember now +an anecdote told by the Rev. Mr. Jay:--A pious, but poor member of +his church being visited by one of the deacons, and presented with +five shillings as a church gift, with the remark, 'Here is a trifle +for your necessities,' replied, 'What you call a trifle, I call an +estate.'" + +_Miss Roscoe._--"I believe, dear uncle, that you now have in your +congregation an organized society, labouring to promote the physical +as well as the spiritual good of the needy and destitute." + +_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"O yes, we are working the principle of +practical benevolence, and on the basis of a comprehensive union; +and I am happy to say it works well in spite of the grumblers who +would rather sleep on and take their rest than be roused to action. +The gentlemen take the management of the domiciliary society, going +from house to house with tracts, &c., &c., and the ladies manage +the Dorcas society, which is in a very flourishing condition. In +addition to a pretty large number of subscribers, we have twenty +working members who meet once a fortnight for the purpose of making +clothes for the poor. Some of these are persons of wealth, others +are in moderate circumstances; and, as in the gentlemen's society, +some are church people, and some are Dissenters, you may there see +sitting in peaceful harmony, members of the various denominations, +all busily engaged in the same sort of labour, and heartily +prosecuting the same work." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Then you have grumblers amongst you!" + +_Mrs. Roscoe._--"Indeed, we have. They are a very prolific +family--they may be found everywhere, and the whole fraternity is +distinguished by a strong family likeness." + +_Miss Roscoe._--"Do you give the clothes to the poor, or do you sell +them?" + +_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"In general we sell what we make, yet very much +below the cost price; but in extreme cases we give clothing, and, in +addition to this, when any of those who require relief are ill, we +visit them, and we often find that a kind visit is esteemed as much, +if not more than our gratuities." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"I can easily believe that, because there is +great power in sympathy to alleviate the sorrows of the heart. We +cannot explain the action of moral power, nor conceive the mode +of its operation, however sensible we may be of its effects. What +power, for example, in a frown to depress! and in a smile to elevate +and tranquillize! What power in words both to cheer and sadden the +heart! _As I have loved you_--these expressive words should guide +our fraternal intercourse with our Christian brethren, who, when +they feel our sympathy to be real, will often attach a much greater +value to it than to any amount of pecuniary assistance." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"We are too apt to forget that our Christian +brethren, in common with ourselves, are children of one Father, +and that we are all now passing through a preparatory discipline +to fit us for a higher and purer condition of existence in another +world. If these great facts were more powerfully impressed on our +hearts, there would be more sympathy and more charity; the rich +would cheerfully administer to the wants of their poor brethren, and +those who have but little worldly substance to bestow, would more +often soothe and enliven them by their sympathy and good wishes. +Christian fellowship would then be more than a mere term--it would +be a reality." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Your remarks, Sir, are quite correct. And +here we see the wisdom as well as the love of our Redeemer in +grafting our obligations to the most intimate Christian fellowship +on the very constitution of our nature, which inclines us to live +in social intercourse; guarding us at the same time from the danger +of contracting a sectarian spirit by enjoining on us the duty of +doing good _unto all men_, as well as to those who belong to the +_household of faith_." + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"It is to be lamented, Sir, that there are many +who do not keep pace in liberality of sentiment and feeling, and +generosity of disposition, with the denomination or church to +which they belong--they will not labour in the field of practical +benevolence, and they do not like to see others exerting themselves; +in fact, they will do nothing but find fault with the active +labourers, either impeaching the purity of their motives, or +predicting the failure, if not the pernicious results of their +efforts. And when these morbid grumblers happen to be imbued, as +is often the case, with a sectarian spirit, and take rank with +high churchmen or with bigoted Dissenters, the moment they see a +conjunction of the different orders, they tremble for the safety of +the ark of _their_ covenant, and raise a hue and cry against the +union of the sects--become bitter in their spirit and censorious +in their speech--and appear in a light very unbecoming the genuine +disciples of our Lord." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Such professors do essential injury, not only +to the honour of the church and denomination to which they belong, +but to the cause of religion in general. The evil which results +from the anti-Christian temper and spirit of these arrogant and +censorious professors, who usually contrive to attract more notice +than the rest of their fellow-members, is incalculable. It supplies +infidels with their most plausible topics of invective; it hardens +the conscience of the irreligious, weakens the hands of the good, +and is probably the principal obstruction to that ample effusion of +the Holy Spirit which is essential to the renovation of the world. +If, then, we wish to make any deep and permanent impression on the +sceptical and irreligious--to silence their objections and convince +them of the Divine origin of the faith which we profess--we must +correct our tempers--we must live in peace amongst ourselves, +discover no disposition to injure or annoy each other, and give +unequivocal proof that the questions on which we differ are the +subordinate tenets of revelation, which may be received or rejected +without affecting its truth, or impairing its strength; and, by a +union of affection and concentration of our talents, we must advance +in the beautiful development of our Christian life, remembering +that the wisdom which is from above is 'first pure, then peaceable, +gentle, and easy to be intreated; full of mercy and good fruits, +without partiality, and without hypocrisy.' When the pious members +of the Establishment and the various denominations of evangelical +Dissenters are brought to merge their speculative and ceremonial +differences in the cultivation and display of this Christian temper, +the eulogium pronounced on the primitive disciples may then with +truth be applied to us--'See how these Christians love one another!'" + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"The novelty of the sight would certainly command +attention; and though I am fully persuaded that nothing but a +supernatural power can renovate the human heart, yet such a display +of united affection might have a wondrous effect, almost approaching +that of a miracle, in the conversion of the world." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"If it be true that our personal happiness bears +a proportion to our conformity to the spirit and temper of Jesus +Christ, it is evident that a liberal-minded Christian must partake +of a much larger share of enjoyment than one who lives under the +influence of that sectarian bigotry which keeps him in a state of +alienation from his brethren of other communions." + +_Mr. Stevens._--"Most certainly, Sir; and by your permission I will +now read you a paragraph with which I was very forcibly struck when +I first lighted upon it. The author is speaking of bigotry, and he +says, 'This sectarian and intolerant spirit can view no excellence +out of its own pale, and deems every opinion heresy that does not +bow to its authority. Its plans of doing good always betray the +selfishness of their origin; and unable from its very nature to +form designs commensurate with the grandeur of religion and the +necessities of the world, it not only refuses to co-operate with +Christians of another party in promoting the well-being of society +and the advancement of religion, but contemplates with jealousy and +often with abhorrence, the noblest efforts of benevolence, when not +performed under its exclusive auspices. Persons governed by such a +spirit cannot view with complacency the separate divisions of the +universal church, though there is nothing in their constitution +that necessarily militates against _the unity of the spirit_ and +_the bond of peace_. This unlovely bigotry narrows the range of +the intellect--perverts and contracts the best affections--and, +under its influence, even good men forget the charities of their +renewed nature, and sometimes prostitute their talents to bear +false witness against each other. To this bigotry, that religion, +whose very essence is love, is directly opposed. Christians who +imbibe the spirit of the New Testament, and who suffer that holy +book to operate with full force upon their minds, are distinguished +by a noble freedom from sectarian antipathies. They can say from +the heart, 'Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in +sincerity.' Without verging to the extreme of latitudinarian +indifference, they can rejoice in the success of parties different +from their own, and they do not complain because 'devils are cast +out by those who follow not with them.' Every man is a friend and a +brother who consecrates his being to the glory of the Saviour, and +every society a church in whose temple Jesus evidently records his +name.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"Yes, Sir, I am conscious that a pious man, +who possesses the pure spirit of his religion, is at once the most +useful and the most happy man. As his happiness arises from sources +more refined than those to which the men of the world have access, +his usefulness is of a more important and more durable nature. +I remember an observation which was once made on a friend of my +own, when he withdrew from a select company to which he had been +communicating some benevolent scheme--'When he visits us he always +leaves something behind that is worth thinking of and worth talking +about.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir; as the spirit of the gospel is a +liberal so it is an active spirit. It does not wish to monopolize +the immunities of religion, but to diffuse them; and such is the +intensity and ardour of its benevolence that the meanest, the most +abject child of sorrow, the poor outcast from the common sympathies +of humanity, the forlorn object of woe whom few men would pity, whom +no man could save, are the partakers of its bounties." + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"As the general well-being of society is essentially +benefited by the active benevolence of Christianity, may we not, +Sir, indulge a hope that the prosperity of vital religion in our +different communions, would be promoted by the cultivation of a +reciprocal affection?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"There may be, I grant, external prosperity in +our churches, even while the vital spirit of religion is languishing +in the hearts of the people; as the oak may send forth its spreading +branches and luxuriant foliage, when at the heart the tree is hollow +and rotten. And perhaps the vital spirit of religion is exposed to +more danger in the season of external prosperity than in the season +of external adversity. When the congregation is large, and the +spirit of unanimity and liberality is generally displayed--when a +cordial attachment subsists between the pastors and their people; +and the lookers-on are heard to exclaim, _they are of one heart +and of one soul_, some may be tempted to forget from whom these +invaluable blessings proceed, and cherish a self-complacent, if not +an independent spirit. But I never knew vital religion flourish +amongst any people _who were not united_. The Spirit of the Holy +One never comes to breathe on the dry bones of the slain when the +valley echoes with the neighing of the horses, and the rattling of +the chariots of war. Wars must be made to cease, the bow must be +broken, and the spear cut in sunder--the chariots must be burned in +the fire, and the tranquillity of unruffled peace must reign over +the whole scene, ere he descends to unite the disjointed parts, +and animate the lifeless body. It is to the influence of the Holy +Spirit over the mind that we are to ascribe that portion of vital +religion which we enjoy. He still dwells amongst us, yet not in +the plenitude of his power. _Occasionally_ he descends in the +ministry of reconciliation, and effects a moral transformation on +the character of a large proportion of the people, as in the islands +of the Pacific Ocean; but in general, the exercise of his power +is restricted to a small number in our congregations, who are, at +distinct and distant intervals, made alive from the dead. But as +this is emphatically termed the dispensation of the Spirit, and as +the honour of glorifying Christ, in giving efficacy to the truth +which he has revealed and attested, is reserved for _Him_, to what +secondary cause shall we attribute his very partial communications, +except to the offence which our discords and alienation of +attachment have given him? If He require peace and affection in an +individual church, as the precursors of his gracious visitations, +does He not require the same amongst the separate divisions of his +universal church?" + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"Most unquestionably, Sir, though the fact has +not produced that deep impression on the popular mind which its +importance demands. But the day of peace, I hope, is dawning upon +us, and the union of Christians of various denominations will, I +trust, be drawn closer as time moves on in its course. The voice +of prayer is more frequently and more generally heard for the +outpouring of Divine influence on the external means of grace, and +already we see here and there some verdant spots of spiritual beauty +and of life, amidst the surrounding desolations of evil and of +death; thus exhibiting to us, as in miniature, the future state of +the whole moral world, 'when judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, +and righteousness remain in the fruitful field; and when the work +of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, +quietness and assurance for ever.'" + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"The miraculous gifts with which the apostles +were endowed, while they had to contend 'against principalities, +against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, +against spiritual wickedness in the high places' of pagan idolatry, +and social profligacy, have long since ceased, with the exigency +which called them forth; but the renewing and sanctifying agency +of the Spirit remains, and will continue to the end of time--the +express declaration of our Saviour not admitting of a doubt of its +perpetuity:--'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you +another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.' And if, +as we have reason to believe, his extraordinary outpouring on our +churches will not take place till we are united in the bonds of +peace, it behoves each individual Christian to cultivate the spirit +of concord, with the utmost degree of vigilance and caution. To our +prayers for his concurring testimony with the word of life, we must +add a watchfulness over our own tempers, lest we should be involved +in the charge of preventing the bestowal of the blessing which we +solicit, by grieving the Agent on whose will it depends." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Your remarks, Sir, are just, and I wish they +were deeply engraven on the heart of every Christian, by the Spirit +of the living God; and then the ministration of righteousness, +intrusted to us, would display a glory surpassing the brightest +emanation of the Divine presence which the annals of the church +record. Then we should see the prejudices of the people, which now +obstruct the progress of pure evangelical religion, giving way; and +the result would bear a spiritual resemblance to the blessed effects +produced by the descent of the angel of Bethesda." + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"May we not suppose, Sir, that the general +impression which is produced amongst the pious of all denominations +of the absolute necessity of the outpouring of the Spirit on the +labours of ministers at home, and of missionaries in foreign parts, +viewed in connection with the growing liberality and esteem we +cherish towards each other, is one of the spiritual signs which +indicate the bestowal of the blessing so earnestly implored?" + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"I think we may. It is the beginning of +that great work which the Divine Spirit will complete when the +fulness of the time comes, and the effects of which being of a +moral and spiritual nature, will continue to bless the world after +the subordinate agents of its production have entered into rest. +'Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens +and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.'" + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"And as this union and affection will form one of +the most powerful evidences of the divinity of our Lord's mission, +it will, at the same time, be a practical refutation of some of the +charges which have been brought against Christianity, as though it +had an anti-social and repulsive tendency; and it will also exhibit +the finest representation of the internal economy of the heavenly +world which can be given. _There_ is diversity of rank but unity of +thought; and though the various orders of beings may occupy superior +and subordinate stations under the government of the Eternal +King, yet no one is envious of another's elevation, or jealous of +another's influence." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"There is one circumstance connected with our +entrance into heaven, which I think ought not to be overlooked. +It is this. When we enter, or when we are anticipating that +great event, we shall place no dependence on our distinctive +peculiarities; nor advert to them, except to express our regret +on account of the evil effects which they too often produce. At +that period in the history of our being, the mind will be too +deeply absorbed in the contemplation of its specific character +and condition--will be too solemnly affected by the anticipation +of its final destiny, and will feel too deeply abased, under a +consciousness of its utter unworthiness of the Divine favour, to +dwell even for a moment on any other subject than its redemption +from all evil and from all misery by the death of the Lord Jesus +Christ. In comparison with this, every other subject that has +engrossed our attention, or interested our feelings, will vanish +away, as a thing of nought; and after having thus disengaged +ourselves from all association with the minor questions, which now +agitate, and divide, and dishonour us, we shall be free to enter the +joy of our Lord, as sinners redeemed by his blood, rather than as +saints belonging to any one denomination of Christians." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"I have just had, Sir, a practical illustration +of the truthfulness of your observations. I was sent for early, +a few mornings ago, to visit a pious member of my own church, +and in the evening of the same day, at the request of a friend, +I went to see a member of a Dissenting church, a very godly man; +and, to the rejoicing of my heart, I found them breathing the same +spirit--avowing the same belief--deriving consolation from the same +source--and giving utterance to the joyful anticipations of mingling +their grateful feelings together in the same heavenly temple, where +they hope to serve the Lord day and night in harmony and peace." + +_Mr. Lewellin._--"And, as we shall mingle together in heaven, +I presume, Sir, we shall _know_ each other _there_. Some pious +Christians entertain doubts on this subject, but as it is one which +has such a tendency to reconcile our minds to the departure of our +friends, I cannot avoid cherishing it with fond attachment." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"Yes, Sir, some good people have their doubts +on the subject; but I wonder how they can entertain them. Even +though on such a subject we receive no light from the testimony of +Scripture, still it is so congenial with the dictates of enlightened +reason, and the warm attachments of pure friendship, that I am at a +loss to conceive how any one can disbelieve it. + + 'Deep, deep the love we bear unto the dead! + Th' adoring reverence that we humbly pay + To one who is a spirit, still partakes + Of that affectionate tenderness we own'd + Towards a being, once, perhaps, as frail + And human as ourselves.'" + +_Mr. Roscoe._--"Nothing, in my opinion, is more calculated to dispel +the fear of death, than a firm belief that we are going home to +dwell in our Father's house along with our departed brethren in +Christ, whom we shall meet and recognize. This thought, which is so +gratifying to our feelings, is supported, I think, by the language +of the New Testament." + +_Rev. Mr. Ingleby._--"I think so too. The apostle, when writing +to the Colossians, says, 'That we may present every man perfect +in Christ Jesus;' by which, says Dr. Paley, I understand St. Paul +to express his hope and prayer, that at the general judgment of +the world, he might present the fruits of his ministry perfect +in every good work; and if this be rightly interpreted, then it +affords a manifest and necessary inference that the saints in a +future life will meet and be known again to one another; for how, +without knowing again his converts in their new and glorified state, +could St. Paul desire or expect to present them at the last day? +The celebrated Baxter says, and I think there is much force in the +statement, 'I must confess as the experience of my own soul, that +the expectation of loving my friends in heaven, principally kindles +my love to them on earth. If I thought I should never know them, +and consequently never love them after this life is ended, I should +in reason number them with temporal things, and love them as such; +but I now delightfully converse with my pious friends, in a firm +persuasion that I shall converse with them for ever; and I take +comfort in those of them that are dead, or absent, as believing I +shall shortly meet them in heaven, and love them with a heavenly +love that shall there be perfected.'" + +"Then," said Miss Roscoe, "death will merely suspend our intercourse +with our friends for a little while--it will not break it off for +ever. This is a thrilling subject of thought and meditation. We +part, but shall meet again in a purer and happier world, and in a +more glorious form, and then we part no more. We may then hail Death +as a herald of mercy, instead of shrinking from his approach as the +King of Terrors." + +_Rev. Mr. Guion._--"Then, when mingling together, if we ever advert +to the scenes of our earthly existence, as we probably shall often +do, we shall rejoice that our union is now complete, unbroken by any +discordant opinion; and, while exulting amidst the unfading glories +of the celestial world, we shall gratefully ascribe our salvation to +the free and discriminating grace of God, our Father and Redeemer." + + + + +THE STAGE COACH. + + +The time had now come for my departure from Fairmount, which I +quitted with much regret, Mr. Lewellin accompanying me as far as +London, where it was arranged that I should stay a few days with +him previous to returning home. Our kind friends were very urgent +in pressing us to remain a little longer; but business required Mr. +Lewellin's immediate attention, and I was getting anxious to resume +my pastoral duties. We left Fairmount in the carriage early in the +morning, and reached the turnpike gate about a quarter of an hour +before the mail came up. There was one outside passenger, and two +inside. Having bidden adieu to Mr. Stevens, who had accompanied +us thus far, we stepped in, heard the well-known signal from +the guard, _All's right!_ and felt ourselves moving towards the +imperial city at a rapid pace. Though I have not, like Lavater, +studied physiognomy, and have often experienced the fallacy of its +conclusions, yet on this occasion, as on most others, I began to +examine and note carefully the features of the two strangers who +sat opposite me. The one was a Friend, who had long since passed +the meridian of life. He was dressed in the neat garb of his order, +had a fine Roman nose, keen blue eyes rather deeply set, and a +countenance whose expression of intelligence and benignity strongly +prepossessed me in his favour. But had his general appearance +been less attractive, I should have felt a profound respect, as +I once had a mother who spoke the plain language, and taught me +to speak it in my younger days; and though in riper years, I left +the denomination of my youth, yet I still revere that interesting +Society of professing Christians. The other was a lusty gentleman, +about the age of fifty, but there was no feature in his face that +gave me any pleasure. + +We rode on in silence, till we came to D----s, where we changed +horses; and while we were waiting for the guard, who was detained +at the post office, we amused ourselves in looking at a group of +boys who were playing at trap-ball, in the market-place. The stout +gentleman (whom I shall call Mr. Sykes) said, pointing to the +boys, "There is perfect happiness." As no one offered to make any +reply to this remark, Mr. Lewellin observed, "Perhaps, Sir, their +happiness is not perfect. In the midst of their gambols, and while +feeling elated with the high honour of winning the game, the sudden +recollection of a lesson yet unlearned, that must be said to-morrow, +may perchance give them a pang." This natural remark, expressed +in the most good-natured manner, gave offence to Mr. Sykes, who, +assuming that demeanour of defiance which appeared most natural to +him, said, "And pray, Sir, do you not suppose that the happiness of +childhood is the most perfect happiness which mortals ever enjoy!" +"It ought not to be, Sir," replied my friend in a very modest tone. +"Ought not to be, Sir!" Mr. Sykes returned, with some degree of +sarcastic warmth; "then, Sir, how must you have spent those days +of innocent mirth, not to be able to look back on them with envy!" +This sarcasm roused the spirit of my friend Lewellin, who, though +mild, was not disposed to be run down by unprovoked insolence; and +he said, in a tone somewhat elevated, "Then I presume, Sir, you look +back to the days of your childhood, and sigh over joys departed, +never to return; but permit me to ask, how have you spent the years +of manhood, not to have yet attained the possession of a much more +rational and exalted happiness than you enjoyed when you were flying +a kite or spinning a top? If you think, Sir, that I misimproved +my boyish days, by not acquiring that perfection of happiness +which they generally bring, you force me to conclude that you have +misimproved the years of manhood, if in the decline of life you are +compelled to look back to your childish days, as the happiest you +have ever known." + +Mr. Sykes, perceiving, from the smartness of this reply, that he +stood no chance of carrying his point, without assistance, turned +round, and appealed to the Friend, who did not appear to have taken +any interest in the question. "Why, truly," said the Friend, "I +think with my neighbour opposite, that if thou wert more happy when +a boy, than thou art now, thou canst not have improved thy time as +thou oughtest to have done." "Well," said Mr. Sykes, "as this is +the first company in which I have ever heard the sentiment called +in question, I suppose I am along with a class of human beings of +a new order." "Perhaps thou art," rejoined the Friend, "and at any +rate thou must confess, that this new order of human beings, as thou +art pleased to term us, excel all thy former associates in one very +important point." "In what point, Sir?" inquired Mr. Sykes, in his +native tone. "Why in this: while thou and thy friends have outlived +your happiest days, we are now enjoying ours. Hence, while it is to +our advantage to live in a state of manhood, it would have been to +yours, to have continued in a state of childhood." + +This remark re-established the reign of silence, which continued +undisturbed, till some children ran out from a few miserable-looking +huts, which stood near the roadside, and followed the coach for a +considerable distance, attempting to excite our generosity, by their +piteous moans, and antic gestures. "There, Sir," said Mr. Sykes, +"If you look out, you will see the picture of perfect happiness." +Our sagacious Friend, who appeared to have high purposes revolving +in his breast when not engaged in conversation, was rather startled +by this observation, as he had not seen the group of juvenile +beggars, by which we were annoyed; but on looking out, as requested, +he shrewdly replied, "I was not aware that perfect happiness was +reduced so low in life, as to become a common beggar." "Poverty, +Sir," said Mr. Sykes, "is no disgrace, and poor people are happy +as well as rich." "Very true," replied the Friend; "but it is a +disgrace to any parents, to train up their children to the practice +of begging. These children certainly look healthy and sprightly, but +if thou wert to be present when they return from an unsuccessful +race, thou wouldest see a picture of perfect sorrow." "Well," +said Mr. Sykes, "they shall have one happy day," and immediately +tossed out a few halfpence. "Now," said the Friend, "if thou wilt +look back, probably thou wilt see a violent contention between +them; some crying because unable to get the prize, and some +fighting over the division of the spoil." "I suppose, Sir," Mr. +Sykes remarked sarcastically, "no one ever fought over any of your +scattered gifts." "I never saw any," the Friend replied, "as I am +not in the habit of scattering my gifts with an indiscriminate +hand; nor do I approve of those acts, misnamed charitable, which +have an evil tendency." "But, Sir," said Mr. Sykes, "what evil can +result from giving a few pence to some poor miserable-looking boys +and girls?" "Why," replied the Friend, "thou hast seen one evil +in the contention which immediately followed, but this is not the +greatest; these children who are initiated into the begging system +at such an early period of life, are taught the art of deception; +they are thrown off from the resources of industry and frugality, +on the precarious supplies of charity; and if from the influence of +vagrancy, they are not led to thieving, they will never feel any +reluctance to receive support from the parish rate. Charity is a +virtue which we all admire, and which we ought to cultivate; but +I have long thought, that where its bounties are not administered +with discretion, society sustains more injury, than it derives +advantage." "Discretion! O yes, discretion!" said Mr. Sykes, "is +a great virtue; with Sir John Falstaff it is the better part of +valour, with you of charity; but in my opinion it is more frequently +an apology for cowardice, or for covetousness." + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN. W. L. THOMAS. + +MISTAKEN CHARITY.--MR. SYKES' THEORY REFUTED. + +Vol. ii. p. 55.] + +We soon after parted with Mr. Sykes, when our sage Friend addressing +himself to Mr. Lewellin, said, "I have no doubt but the passenger +who has just left us has some excellencies, but he does not excel +in the art of rendering himself agreeable, an art which few learn, +and fewer practise; but it is one of great importance to personal +dignity and relative comfort." + +His place in the coach was soon occupied by a young man in a +red coat, who was going to a fox-hunt near M----. He was very +loquacious, but his conversation turned principally on horses, and +dogs, and game, and the various qualifications of a good shot. +Mr. Lewellin made several efforts to introduce other topics, but +he could not succeed, as no pointer ever stood truer to his bird, +than he did to his favourite theme. He told us of his hair-breadth +escapes, of the fatigues which he had endured, and the feats which +he had achieved, with as much glee as the huntsman throws off at +a chase; and dwelt with peculiar delight on his good fortune the +preceding day, when out of twenty-five who started, he was the +only one _in at the death_, and exhibited the _brush_ as the proud +memorial of his honour. After he had told and re-told his tales, +which gave no one pleasure but himself, he fell into a dead silence, +hummed "Old Towler," and commenced beating a sort of tattoo with +his fingers on the coach window. At length, turning himself to +the Friend who sat by his side, and whose patriarchal simplicity +appeared to amuse him, he said, with an air of low satire, "I +believe, Sir, your sect are not much given to such sports?" "Why, +no," replied the Friend, "we have too much humanity, to attempt +to extract pleasure from the sports which inflict torture on dumb +animals." "I have read," said the sportsman, "all your objections; +but, Sir, they have no point--they don't hit the mark--nature +points to game, and we are to follow. I love the sound of the horn, +more than the silence of meditation." "I have no doubt," said the +Friend, "that thou dost, but thou shouldst remember, that some +prefer silence, to noise." "I take you, Sir; you intend to say, +that you would rather have silence, than my conversation." "I have +no objection," the Friend replied, "to conversation, when it is +interesting or profitable, but thou must be aware, that the present +company take no interest in the detail of thy field achievements." +"Well, Sir," said the sportsman, "I have no objection to turn the +conversation to a graver subject; and as I am a young man, just +beginning to turn my attention to religion, you will permit me to +ask you one question, which puzzles me. It is this, Sir: As we have +so many religions in this kingdom, which is the best?" "Why," said +the Friend, "that which makes the simple wise, and teaches young men +to cultivate the grace of modesty." "Very smart, Sir: then you think +such a religion would do me good?" "I think it would." + +When the sportsman left us, his place was immediately occupied by +a gentleman who, as I afterwards learned, had lately returned to +England, after an absence of many years. He was an interesting and +intelligent looking man; and I flattered myself from his general +appearance, that we should have agreeable society during the rest +of our journey. Nor was I disappointed. He was rather reserved +at first, but after Mr. Lewellin and I had engaged for some time +in a desultory conversation, he fell in with us, and willingly +contributed his share. There is a strong propensity in some minds +to sacrifice truth, in narration and description, especially when +relating their own adventures. They will not utter direct and +palpable falsehood, but they are so accustomed to exaggeration +and high colouring, that a man who respects his own reputation +will never venture to repeat their statements. Their design is to +produce _effect_, and hence they often leave the beaten path of +sober truth to amuse or astonish their hearers with the fanciful +or the extravagant. But nothing of this kind was visible in our +companion; as he gave us no description of persons, of places, or of +things, which staggered our belief. He had sailed on the boisterous +sea, without having just escaped the horrors of shipwreck; he had +passed through woods and mountains, without encountering brigands +or assassins; he had resided in crowded cities, and had traversed +lonely wastes, where he met with no flattering attentions from the +great, or rude insults from the vulgar. He had travelled through the +greater part of Europe, had visited the East and West Indies, and +had spent the last two years in America: but intended now to fix his +abode in his native country, where he said he hoped to rest in the +same grave with his fathers. + +"You have seen, Sir," I remarked, "a great part of the world; but as +you intend to fix your final residence in Old England, I take for +granted that you have not discovered any country which rivals her in +your estimation." + +"No, Sir," he replied, "I have not. I love England--I love her +changing seasons, and her fruitful soil--her fine national +character--her political constitution, and that spirit of liberty, +both civil and religious, which she cherishes and which she +diffuses--I love everything that is English; and I disown the +Briton who is not enthusiastic in the praise of his country." + +"The love of liberty," I remarked, "is a passion which gives a +peculiar and powerful energy to our national character; but you must +confess, Sir, that this passion is not exclusively ours. America +cherishes it with an equal degree of ardour." + +"Yes, Sir," he replied, "she does, but her love of liberty is a +selfish passion. She has fought for her own freedom, and she has +won the laurels, but she continues to enslave others. When the +foot of a poor captive touches the soil of Britain, his chains +burst from around him; his life is taken under the protection of +the law; no one can insult him with impunity; he is as safe in his +hut, as the lordly baron is within the walls of his castle. But in +the United States of America, there are upwards of three millions +of human beings, now living in a state of slavery, bought and sold +like cattle--subjected to the cruelty of men, in whose bosoms +every atom of humanity has long since been annihilated. What, Sir, +is freedom, where all are not free--where the greatest of God's +blessings is limited with impious caprice to the colour of the skin? +Having bled at every pore, rather than submit to wear the yoke of +a foreign authority, why does she not, amid all her prosperity +and improvement, act a just and generous part towards her black +population? She is worse than the chief butler of Pharaoh, who, when +he had gained his freedom, merely forgot his fellow-prisoner: but +she remembers those who were once in bondage with her, and rivets +the chains of slavery still closer upon them. She may vaunt herself +on the love of liberty, and on her rising greatness in the scale of +nations; but as long as the groans of three millions of human beings +resound through her land without obtaining redress, she will have +a badge of infamy affixed to her national character, from which no +virtues will ever redeem her. We did a noble deed when we abolished +the slave-trade, but we did a still nobler deed when we abolished +slavery. We have thus set America a good example, which, in spite of +all opposition, she will some day follow." + +We were very much pleased with the polite manners and the +interesting conversation of this gentleman, who formed a striking +contrast to our other coach companions. On taking leave of him at +the Swan with two Necks, we exchanged cards, when we found that the +stranger's name was Wilcox, and he exacted a promise from me that I +would call and see him before I left London. + +A few days after this, as I sat in Mr. Lewellin's front parlour +listening to the strange cries of London, and observing the +countenances of the numerous pedestrians, who, with hurried steps, +passed to and fro, as though each was intent on some great purpose, +I saw the postman at the door, who brought me a letter, which +on opening I found to be from our interesting fellow-traveller, +requesting that we would dine with him on the following day. We +accepted the invitation, and spent a very pleasant evening together. + +On this occasion Mr. Wilcox informed us that he had been pressed +to sign a petition for the repeal of the Maynooth grant; but had +declined doing so, because he knew nothing about its origin, or the +reasons which induced the government to make it; adding that, as a +general rule, he thought America acted more wisely than we do on all +such questions; she repudiates a _state religion_, and therefore +leaves every religious sect to act and provide for itself. I then +gave him a brief history of the matter as follows:--On the 14th of +January, 1794, the Roman Catholics of Ireland presented a memorial +to the government, praying for permission to erect a college for +the education of their priests, who, up to this time, had been +compelled to get their education in foreign countries; stating in +their memorial, that they were both able and willing to build the +college, and defray its current expenditure at their own expense. +Their prayer was granted: and to their astonishment the Irish +Parliament voted a grant of L8000 per annum towards its support, +which in the year 1807 was increased to L13,000. No pledge was given +that it should be a permanent grant, and as a proof of this, in the +year 1799 it was withheld altogether, and during that year they +were compelled to do what they said, when they declared that they +were able and willing to defray its expenses by their own voluntary +contributions.[9] + + [9] In 1845 Sir Robert Peel introduced a measure, and carried it, to + increase this grant to nearly L30,000 a-year. + +"It seems somewhat strange," said Mr. Wilcox, "that the government +should vote a large sum of money, when they are told that it +is neither expected nor needed. To account for such an act of +profligate expenditure, we must suppose there was a strong +undercurrent of political influence forcing them to do so." + +"Why, Sir, the fact is, that Ireland was at this time, and for +a long time after, in a strongly excited state; one outburst +of popular tumult succeeded another, with so much rapidity and +violence, that our leading statesmen, both Whigs and Tories, +became alarmed, and they hit upon the expedient of attempting to +conciliate the priests, by proposing to take their church into union +with the state, and thus render them independent of the voluntary +contributions of their people; and this munificent generosity in +behalf of the Maynooth College, was the gilded bait of allurement. +However, that projected union is now abandoned as a Utopian vagary; +for the Roman Catholics disdain to come into ecclesiastical +fellowship with Protestants, and therefore common sense requires, +that as they are resolved to stand by themselves, they should be +left to do what they said they were able and willing to do--educate +and support their clergy by their own contributions." + +"I think the principle is bad," said Mr. Wilcox, "both politically +and morally, which compels one sect to educate and support the +clergy of another sect. There is an outrage committed on the +conscience of an enlightened Protestant, if he be compelled to +contribute to the education and support of the Roman Catholic +clergy, not simply because they are the ministers of another church, +but because they are ministers who, in his estimation, reject the +essential doctrines of Christianity, and substitute in their place, +dangerous and fatal heresies; and not only so, but he believes, and +their past history confirms him in the belief, that they constitute +the vital, the most active, and the most unscrupulous part of an +organized conspiracy, whose object is to extinguish both civil and +religious liberty throughout the world." + +"Toleration," said Mr. Lewellin, "is all that such a dangerous set +of men ought to receive under a Protestant government, and to that I +should not object; but it is an act of legalized injustice to compel +me to pay for the training and comfortable support of Roman Catholic +priests." + +Mr. Wilcox remarked, "We don't punish the footpad till he has +committed his crime; but we should deem the wealthy traveller +a maniac at large, who would voluntarily contribute towards +the training of such desperadoes. I will certainly, now that I +understand the matter, sign for the repeal of the grant, and do +all in my power to hasten it. Indeed, I would not give my vote to +any parliamentary candidate, unless he pledged himself against the +continuance of this very obnoxious grant." + +"My attachment to Christianity," said Mr. Lewellin, "makes me revolt +against this offensive grant, as my loyalty to our queen would make +me abhor a proposition to contribute to the training of traitors, to +subvert her throne and bring her to the block."[10] + + [10] When Lord John Russell was speaking in favour of the measure + brought before the house by Sir Robert Peel in 1845, to increase + the grant to nearly L30,000 per annum, he said--"But if you found + you were doing that which was mischievous to the community, and + that the religious scruples of the community would not allow of the + continuance of the grant, or, with reference to civil and political + reasons, you found that those you meant to be teachers of religion + had become the teachers and conductors of rebellion; if I say," his + lordship added, "you found from any of these causes that there was + ground sufficient to refuse this grant, then I can see no valid + reasons why any compact should restrain you, or why, upon strong + grounds of this kind, the house would not be justified in declaring + that it would give no further allowance." (See Hansard's _Debates_, + v. 3, p. 92, session 1845.) The Right Hon. William Gladstone, M.P., + recorded his opinion of this grant, before Sir Robert Peel brought + forward his measure in 1845. "In principle the grant is wholly + vicious, and it will be a thorn in the side of these countries as + long as it is continued." There are several reasons, which, in the + judgment of Lord John Russell, would justify the discontinuance + of this grant, without subjecting our government to the charge of + violating any existing compact; but I merely mention the following, + which I give from the speech of his lordship: if "_the religious + scruples of the community would not allow of the continuance of + it_." Now let us see how the case actually stands, and then we shall + be able to form a correct judgment of what the British government + and we ourselves ought to do. It is an undisputed fact, that the + measure of 1845 was forced through parliament in direct opposition + to the most unequivocal expression of hostility on the part of the + religious community, of all denominations; and their hostility to + its continuance is increasing in inveteracy and strength as time + moves on in its course. I am at a loss to conceive how any one + except a Roman Catholic who has a beneficial interest in this money + grant, or a lukewarm Protestant, who cares no more for the spiritual + religion of the New Testament than he does for the legendary + tales of Popery, can come forward as its advocate and supporter. + The Catholics say they are able and willing to support their own + religion and its institutions. Let them do so; but do not compel us + to work with them, when we believe that their religion, with its + institutions, is the greatest curse that ever has been inflicted on + man since the Fall; and when we believe that its clergy, if they had + the power, would immediately establish the Inquisition amongst us, + and at once consign us to torture and to death, if we refused to bow + down and to do homage to their pontiff and his myrmidons. + + + + +A SABBATH IN LONDON. + + +In the institution of the Christian ministry, we have one of the +most salutary provisions ever made to promote the improvement and +happiness of man. If we suppose, with the enemies of Christianity, +that it is of human origin, and that its functions are discharged by +human agents, who are actuated and governed by selfish or ambitious +motives, still it will occupy, in the estimation of every wise man, +a high station, as a powerful ally to the cause of patriotism and +of virtue. It enjoins on the various ranks and orders of society +submission to the powers that be, and reverence for God; and it +explains and enforces, with the utmost precision, our relative +duties towards each other; while the veneration in which it is +generally held in this kingdom is favourable to its influence. To +say that every one is strictly virtuous who listens to its maxims +of wisdom, would be to advance an assertion which facts would +contradict; but if we judge from the present state of society, we +shall be compelled to admit that there is a larger portion of virtue +amongst those who attend upon a stated ministry, than among those +who treat it with neglect and scorn. Hence its abolition would be a +national evil, as disastrous to our moral improvement and happiness, +as the triumphs of political anarchy would be to the well-balanced +constitution of the British Empire. + +But even this institution, with all its advantages, would prove +comparatively useless were it not for the appointment of the +Christian Sabbath; for such is the ascendency which the cares, +the pleasures, the fascinations, and the commerce of the world +have acquired over the public mind, that very few would have an +opportunity to benefit by it, unless some specific portion of time +was set apart for this express purpose. If the husbandman were +compelled to toil in the field, and the mechanic to labour in the +shop--if the tradesman, the merchant, and the other members of the +community had to devote themselves to their respective avocations +without any intermission, except what caprice or indolence might +dictate, the minister of the gospel might faithfully proclaim all +the words which relate to the life to come, but he would not be +surrounded by a large and an attentive audience. The temple would +be forsaken, and the powers of _this_ world would so engross the +attention of men, that those of the next would be generally, if not +universally disregarded. To prevent this fatal evil, one day in +seven is set apart, by the immediate authority of God, which we are +commanded to devote to the exercises of private and public worship; +but alas! how many treat this sacred injunction with contempt. Some +in the higher ranks of life, who disdain to be thought religious, +employ it as a day for travelling or for feasting; and multitudes +of the lower orders, regard it as a day either for pleasure or for +dissipation. + +On the Sabbath after my arrival in London, as I was walking down +Bridge Street on my way to Surrey Chapel, I saw a party of young +people whose gaiety of manner ill accorded with the sanctity of +the day, and just as I was passing them I heard one say, "Indeed I +think we shall do wrong; my conscience condemns me; I must return." +"There can be no harm," replied another, "in taking an excursion on +the water, especially as we intend to go to chapel in the evening." +"I must return," rejoined a female voice; "my conscience condemns +me. What will father say if he hears of it?" By this time they had +reached the bridge, and the foremost of the party was busily engaged +with a waterman, while the rest stood in close debate for some +minutes, when they all moved forward towards the water. + +I watched the party as they went down the stairs to the river. +Two of the gentlemen stepped into the boat, two more stood at the +water's edge, and the females were handed in one after another; but +I could perceive great reluctance on the part of the one who had +previously objected, till at length she yielded to the importunities +of her companions, and the boat was pushed off. It was a fine +morning, though rather cold. Many, like myself, were gazing on +them, when a naval officer called to them through the balustrades +and said, "A pleasant voyage to you." One of the gentlemen arose +to return the compliment, but, from some cause which I could not +perceive, he missed his footing and fell into the water. This +disaster threw the whole party into the utmost consternation; and +each one, instead of retaining his seat, rushed to the side of the +boat over which their companion had fallen, by which the boat was +upset, and all were instantaneously plunged into the river. The +scene which followed, when the spectators beheld this calamity, +exceeded any I had ever witnessed. Some females screamed, the +passers-by crowded together to the parapet of the bridge, and +everything was bustle and excitement; boats immediately put off; +and in a few minutes I had the satisfaction of seeing the watermen +rescue one, and another, and another from a premature grave. Having +picked up every one they could find, the different boats were rowed +to shore, where some medical gentlemen were in waiting. But when the +party met together, no language can describe the horror depicted on +every countenance when they found that two were still missing. + +"Where's my sister?" said the voice which had said, only a few +minutes before, "There can be no harm in taking an excursion on the +water, especially as we intend to go to chapel in the evening." + +"Where's Charles?" said a female, who had appeared the most gay and +sprightly when I first saw them. + +At length two boats, which had gone a considerable distance up +the river, were seen returning; and on being asked if they had +picked up any one, they replied, "Yes; two." This reply electrified +the whole party, and some wept for joy. + +[Illustration: SABBATH PLEASURE SEEKERS. + +Vol. ii. page 64.] + +"Here's a gentleman," said a waterman as he was coming up to the +foot of the stairs, "but I suspect he's dead." + +"Where's the lady?" said her brother, "Is she safe?" + +"She is in the other boat, Sir." + +"Is she alive?--Has she spoken?" + +"No, Sir, she has not spoken, I believe." + +"Is she dead; O tell me!" + +"I fear she is, Sir." + +The bodies were immediately removed from the boats to a house in +the vicinity, and every effort was employed to restore animation. +In little more than ten minutes it was announced that the gentleman +began to breathe, but there was no allusion made to the lady. Her +brother sat motionless, absorbed in the deepest melancholy, till the +actual decease of his sister was announced, when he started up and +became almost frantic with grief; and though his companions tried to +comfort him, yet he refused to hear the words of consolation. + +"O my sister! my sister! Would to God I had died for her!" + +They were all overwhelmed in trouble, and knew not what to do. "Who +will bear the heavy tidings to our father?" said the brother, who +paced the room backwards and forwards. "O! who will bear the heavy +tidings to our father?" He paused; a death-like silence pervaded the +whole apartment. He again burst forth in the agonies of despair--"I +forced her to go against the dictates of her conscience; I am her +murderer; I ought to have perished, and not my sister. Who will bear +the heavy tidings to our father?" + +"I will," said a gentleman, who had been unremitting in his +attentions to the sufferers. + +"Do you know him, Sir?" + +"Yes, I know him." + +"O! how can I ever appear in his presence! I enticed my only sister +to an act of disobedience, which has destroyed her!" + +How the father received the intelligence, or what moral effect +resulted from the disaster, I never heard, but it suggests a few +reflections which I wish to press upon the attention of my readers. +As the Sabbath is instituted for the purpose of promoting your moral +improvement and happiness, never devote its sacred hours to pleasure +and recreations. He who has commanded you to keep it holy, will not +suffer you to profane it with impunity. He may not bring down upon +you the awful expressions of his displeasure while you are in the +act of setting his authority at open defiance, but there is a day +approaching when you must stand before him as your judge. And can +you anticipate the solemnities of that day, while continuing in a +course of sin, with any other than the most fearful apprehensions? +You may, like many, suppose that that day is very far off; but you +may be undeceived by a sudden visitation of Providence; and in a +moment may be removed from amongst your gay companions, to appear in +his presence. And should this be the case, with what terror-struck +amazement will you look on the awful scene around you; with what +fearful and agonizing emotions will you listen to the final +sentence--_Depart!_ + +Resist the _first_ temptation to evil, or your ruin may be the +inevitable consequence. "Indeed I think we shall do wrong; my +conscience condemns me; I must return," said the unfortunate girl, +when she got near the river; but having yielded to the first +temptation, she was induced to overcome her scruples, and within +less than half an hour from that time she was hurried into the +eternal world. Had she refused when her brother solicited her to +leave home, she might have lived to comfort her father in his old +age; but by complying, she first lost her strength to withstand +temptation, and then her life. What a warning! And is this the only +one which the history of crime has given you? Alas, no! Have not +many, who have ended their days on the scaffold, traced their ruin +to the profanation of the Sabbath? This is the day in which the +spirits of evil are abroad, enticing the young and the thoughtless +to vice and impiety; and if you wish to avoid the misery and +degradation in which others have been involved, devote its sacred +hours to the purpose for which they were appointed. Attend some +place of worship, where the truths of the Bible are preached with +earnestness and power, and attend regularly; and though some of your +associates may ridicule you for your habits of devotion, yet will +you suffer yourself to be conquered by such weapons? The youth who +regularly attends a place of worship on the Sabbath, and receives +the truth under a deep conviction of its excellence and importance, +often enjoys a high mental feast, and becomes imperceptibly +fortified to resist the fascinations of the world; but he who spends +the sacred hours in the society of the thoughtless, amidst scenes +of gaiety and dissipation, becomes an easy prey to the worst of +temptations, often retires to rest reproaching himself for his folly +and impiety, and is gradually led from one crime to another till +iniquity proves his ruin. + + * * * * * + +As I wished to hear a celebrated preacher in the evening, I +asked Mr. Lewellin to accompany me, but he declined, for reasons +which raised him in my estimation as a young man of prudence and +consistency. "I am, Sir," he observed, "decidedly of opinion that +London offers many temptations to professors of religion which +require, on their part, constant vigilance to withstand; and one of +the most specious is, the celebrity of popular preachers." + +"But," I replied, "do you think it wrong to go and hear these +ministers?" + +"I would be cautious how I censured any one; but I certainly think +that the love of novelty in religion often proves pernicious, not +only to those who are enslaved by it, but to their families. Let me +suppose a case. Here is a religious family who professedly attend +the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Watkins, but the father is in the +habit of hearing every celebrated preacher. Will not this roving +disposition prevent his forming that attachment towards a pastor and +his flock in which the essence of Christian fellowship consists? And +will not the influence of his example have an injurious effect on +his children? If he take them with him, he imperceptibly teaches +them to believe that he is not so much delighted with the truth +as with the agent who conveys it. And what is this but sinking +the importance and value of the truth in the estimation of those +whose hearts are naturally averse to it. If he refuse to take them +with him, and compel them to go, while they are young, to their +regular place of worship, yet, as he does not go with them, they +are left without the controlling influence of his presence, and +are exposed to the temptation of absenting themselves for some +scene of amusement. If he leave his more stated minister to go +after these popular preachers, unless he has a greater measure of +prudence than such roving professors generally possess, he will +institute comparisons in the presence of his children between them +and the settled pastor. And will not this excite prejudice in their +minds against the clergyman whose ministry they are _forced_ to +attend? Will not this prove injurious to them? Will not this tend +to alienate their minds from the love of the truth, and to make +them regard its accidental associations as the main thing; and by +teaching them disrespect for their stated minister, they may, in +time, turn away contemptuously from the message he delivers. And +these are not the only evils which result from the indulgence of +this roving disposition; it is invariably found no less injurious to +the private reputation of a Christian, than to his domestic piety." + +"But how so?" I replied. "What injury can it do the private +reputation of a Christian?" + +"Why, he will be regarded as an unstable man; and though he may have +many virtues, yet if this imperfection be associated with them it +will materially injure him. For what influence can an unstable man +ever acquire, unless it be the power of doing evil? Who can respect +him? Who can place any dependence on him?" + +"But," I asked, "may not a Christian leave the ministry of one +preacher, to attend that of another, without sustaining or producing +any moral injury?" + +"Most certainly," said Mr. Lewellin; "we are at perfect liberty to +go where we please, and to hear whom we please; but we should avoid +that fickleness of disposition, which is ever moving from one place +to another. Some admire the last preacher they have heard more than +any preceding one, and have the censer always ready to throw the +incense of flattery around the _next_ who may make his appearance. +Instead of examining themselves, to see what progress they make in +knowledge and in grace, and attending to the religious instruction +of their children and their servants on the Sabbath, they are ever +asking, Who is in town? or, Who is expected? But though I condemn +most decidedly such a volatile spirit amongst professors, yet I +think we _ought_ to attend that ministry which we find the most +profitable. _The truth which we hear is Divine, but the agent +who preaches it is human_; and though the tone and the manner of +proclaiming it will not add to its importance, yet it may tend to +give it a more commanding power of impression; and hence, it is both +our duty and our privilege to attend the ministry of that man, whose +style of preaching is the most calculated to profit us. The poet in +speaking of government, has said, + + 'Whate'er is best administered is best.' + +The same may be nearly said with regard to sermons. There is not +such a great difference between the thoughts and arrangements of +one preacher and another as some imagine. But who has not been +struck with the difference of the impression and effect? One man +shall speak, and how dry, and sapless, and uninteresting is he! Let +another deliver the very same things, and there is a savour that +gives them freshness--the things seem perfectly new. One preacher, +by his monotonous tones and manner, soon lulls us to sleep; while +another, by his earnestness, his pathos, and his impassioned +appeals--by the aptness of his illustrations, the chasteness of his +style, and the unction of his spirit--not only fixes our attention, +but penetrates the inner man of the heart; we feel ourselves +subdued, enlightened, and powerfully excited by the Word of God. +When a man of this attractive order appears in the pulpit, by the +mysterious action of the sympathetic faculty, his presence is felt +by the people, even before his voice is heard; and in the lines of +Cowper we see a great moral fact, clothed in the vestments of poetic +beauty:-- + + 'When one that holds communion with the skies + Has filled his urn where these pure waters rise, + And once more mingles with us meaner things, + 'Tis e'en as if an angel shook his wings-- + Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide, + That tells us whence _his_ treasures are supplied. + So when a ship well freighted with the stores + The sun matures on India's spicy shores, + Has dropp'd her anchor and her canvas furl'd + In some safe haven of our western world, + 'Twere vain inquiring to what port she _went_-- + The _gale_ informs us, laden with the scent.'" + +"But, Sir," I remarked, "if we do not derive improvement and +consolation from the ministry on which we generally attend, we ought +to attribute it to some fault in ourselves. I remember being very +much struck with a remark which I heard a venerable clergyman make +when addressing his congregation--'If, my brethren,' he said, 'you +come to hear _me preach_, instead of hearing _the truth_ which I +deliver, be not surprised if you are permitted to go away without +having felt its purifying and consoling influence. I can do no more +than give utterance to the sublime doctrines and promises of the +gospel; it is the province of my Master to make them effectual to +your salvation; and if you neglect by strong and ardent prayer to +implore his blessing, he will withhold it.'" + +"A very just and important remark," replied Mr. Lewellin, "and one +which I hope we shall never forget. We ought at all times to go into +the temple in a devotional spirit, and to remember that as every +good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down +from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither +shadow of turning, we should, in the most humble manner, invoke his +presence; and then we shall feel less disposed to rove and less +occasion to complain of the want of spiritual enjoyment." + +We were now interrupted in our conversation, by the servant, who +informed Mr. Lewellin that there were two gentlemen below who +wished to see him. "Desire them to walk up. I am not aware," said +Mr. Lewellin, "who they are; and I regret their call, as I am not +in the habit of receiving company on the Sabbath." They entered the +room, and after offering an apology for this act of intrusion, one +said, "I know, Sir, you will excuse it, as I have made up my mind +to go with you to chapel this evening, along with our friend Mr. +Newton." + +I did not immediately recollect this gentleman, though his manners +and voice seemed familiar to me; but on hearing his name, I +instantaneously recognized Mr. Gordon, whom I once met in the +country[11] when enjoying an evening's ramble. "I am happy to see +you, Sir" (addressing him), "as it gives me an opportunity of +reminding you of a promise which you have not yet redeemed." + + [11] See vol. i. page 94. + +"Indeed, Sir! You have the advantage of me. Did I ever make you a +promise, which I have not redeemed?" + +"Yes, Sir, indeed you have done so." + +"Where, and when, Sir, may I ask?" + +"Were you never in a thunder-storm?" + +"I beg your pardon. I hope you are well. I am happy to see you in +London. I hope you will do me the honour of a call.--Why, no. I have +not been able to inform you of the result of my inquiry; for, to be +very candid, I have been too much engaged to turn my attention to +it; but I have not forgotten it.--What a storm! How did you escape +it? I took shelter in a cow-shed." + +"I ran to a cottage, where I was kindly received, and in which I +witnessed a deeply interesting sight. I regretted you were not +with me, as I there saw an evidence in favour of the truth and the +excellence of the gospel, which I think you would have admired." + +"Indeed! what visible evidence do you refer to? A miracle?" + +"If we define a miracle to be something above the production of +human power, I should not hesitate to call what I saw a moral +miracle." I then gave an account of the decease of the woodman's +child, which he called a very interesting tale; but said he was +not sufficiently enlightened to perceive how such a fact tended +in any way to establish the truth or display the excellence of +Christianity. "We may," he remarked, "have an opportunity to debate +over it before you leave our great city; but, as we propose going +to chapel this evening, perhaps we had better not begin, lest +we should be obliged to break off the thread of our argument at +an unfavourable point. But, though I have not investigated the +important question which we discussed when we accidentally met, +yet I will do it. You see the company which I keep (pointing to +Mr. Lewellin and Mr. Newton) is a proof that I am _religiously +inclined_; and, if a few doubts should still darken my powers of +mental vision, yet the light which emanates from their chaste +reasoning may ultimately disperse them, and we all _may_ become +believers together." + +"A consummation I should hail with delight." + +"I believe you, Sir; and I honour the motive which prompts such a +devout exclamation." + + * * * * * + +On passing along Cheapside on our way to the chapel which Mr. +Lewellin usually attended, we were astonished at seeing a placard, +announcing that the Rev. Mr. Guion was to preach that evening at +Bow Church, in behalf of the Church Missionary Society; and at my +earnest entreaty, we decided on hearing him. By a statement he made +at the commencement of his discourse, we found his appearance in +the pulpit was in consequence of the sudden illness of a brother +clergyman who stood engaged to preach on the occasion; and this +accounted for our not hearing of this London visit when we were with +him at Fairmount. Having my note-book in my pocket, and my pencils +in good working order, I took down his sermon, and will transcribe +from my manuscript a few passages, which, when delivered, made a +deep impression on the whole congregation. His text was taken from +1 Tim. iii. 16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of +godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, +seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the +world, received up into glory." His arguments in confirmation of +the divinity of Jesus Christ were few, but popular and conclusive, +yet not common-place. + +"HE WAS SEEN OF ANGELS."--"Our knowledge," said the eloquent +preacher, "of angels is very superficial; yet we know, they are +beings of a superior order--holy, intelligent, powerful, and +benevolent. Jesus Christ was seen of them, at his birth, during +his temptation in the wilderness, when enduring the agonizing +conflict in the garden of Gethsemane, and on the morning of his +resurrection; and they came to witness, and to take a ministering +part in his ascension, when he went to resume the glory which he +had with the Father before the world was. This SEEING him, denotes +the intense interest they felt in his personal honour, and in the +design of his mission to earth. 'Which things,' says the apostle +Peter--that is the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should +follow--'the angels desire to look into.' They pry into and labour +to comprehend the grand theory of human redemption; and watch +with intense solicitude its practical working in the soul of man. +Hence, our Lord says, 'There is joy in the presence of the angels +of God over one sinner that repenteth.' Yes, brethren, these pure +and exalted spirits become comparatively insensible to the glories +of the celestial world, when in the act of seeing a sinner who is +ready to perish, rescued from the fearful peril of his condition, +as we should become comparatively, if not absolutely insensible +to the grandest and most picturesque scenery of nature, if we +stood on some eminence, gazing on the heroine coming out of her +father's cottage, hastening to the frothy beach, springing into the +fishing-boat, braving the fury of the tempest and the wild uproar +of the storm, to rescue the shipwrecked mariners from a vessel +sinking in the deep waters. For it is a law of their nature, no +less than of ours, that gratification shall yield to sympathy, and +that the sight of deliverance from fatal danger, shall have a more +gratifying effect on a sensitive and benevolent heart, than the +most brilliant and exciting scenes which can be presented to the +imagination, or to the senses;--thus demonstrating by a process +as certain as any undeviating law of the material economy, that +every order of being, except infernal spirits, have an instinctive +abhorrence of the disastrous crisis in the progress of suffering; +and that they feel an ecstasy of emotion which no sights of grandeur +or of beauty, and which no sounds of melody can excite, when they +behold an unanticipated deliverance from some horrifying and fatal +termination. There stands the poor criminal on the fatal platform, +and the minister of death is near him, making the necessary +arrangements for his execution; deep sympathy is expressed in every +countenance, many sighs are heaved, and many weep; the silent prayer +is offered up, and all are breathless, expecting the drop to fall +which is to hurl him with convulsive agonies into the other world. +But there is a momentary pause, as an act of homage to a stranger, +who very unexpectedly makes his appearance. This stranger, to whom +all the officials and the doomed man pay marked attention, is +also an official armed with power, not the power of death, but of +life; he is the herald of mercy; and with a loud voice proclaims +his pardon. The multitude, long absorbed in sympathetic grief, now +raise the shout of gladsome triumph, as they gaze on the once doomed +man, as he passes from the death of agony and infamy, to newness +of life; they revel in the excess of ecstatic bliss; and feel more +joyful in spirit over this one criminal saved from the horrors of an +ignominious death, than over a whole community of righteous persons +who were never involved in a sentence of condemnation. + +"HE WAS BELIEVED ON IN THE WORLD."--"The testimony of the Bible, +and the records of ecclesiastical history, attest this fact, +Rev. vii. 9, 10; _and he is still believed on in the world_. I +know, brethren, that many persons of refined taste, and exquisite +delicacy of feeling, greatly admire the character of Jesus of +Nazareth, the Son of Joseph and of Mary; and they feel a deep +interest in the perusal of his history. Their imagination expands +in reflecting on that magnificent scene beheld by the shepherds +of Bethlehem, when his birth was announced by the angel of the +Lord. His healing the sick in the temple--his opening the eyes +of blind Bartimeus--and his raising the only son of the widow +as the procession was moving to the grave, has a fine effect on +their sensibilities. The Transfiguration of Tabor sheds a halo of +glory around his Divine form, which attracts and gratifies their +love of the marvellous. They catch the inspiration of a powerful +sympathy on seeing him bathed in tears, as he stands beholding in +the distant vision the desolations coming on the city of Jerusalem. +And when they gather around his cross, they feel intense regret, +intermingled with no slight degree of astonishment, that one so +kind, so humane, and withal such a friend to suffering humanity, +should be so rudely and so cruelly treated, and the falling tear +bespeaks the sorrow of their heart. Now go amongst these refined, +these poetic, these sentimental believers in the Divine origin +of the Christian faith, with the blood of atonement, and what +consternation will you produce! They will soon evince a strange +revulsion of feeling; the term itself is harsh and unintelligible; +it is the jargon of the uncouth and the vulgar; the crucifix +charms their sentimentalism--they abhor the cross. Go and talk to +them about the necessity of believing in the Son of God to save +them from perishing; go and talk to them about joy and peace in +believing, and about the good hope through grace, and you will +soon lose caste, and be sent adrift amongst the wild fanatics of +the age. They will bow down and do homage to the Divine origin of +Christianity--that ideal Christianity, which takes its nature, +shape, and hue from the creations of their fancy; but let the +Christianity of the New Testament come before them in her simple +form--pure and spiritual, breathing her own spirit, speaking her +own language, delivering her own precepts and her own promises, +advancing her own claims, and offering her own celestial gifts, on +her own humiliating and changeless conditions, and they will treat +her, as the Jews did her illustrious Author, with contemptuous +scorn; and would rather have her driven from the face of the earth, +than be enrolled as her devotees, or retained as her advocates. Be +it so. But this you regret, on _their account_, as you know that +they who believe not, will die in their sins and perish for ever, +even though superior intelligence be blended with the fascination +of the most distinguished accomplishments. And you also regret this +terrible calamity on your _own account_, as the pardoned criminal +necessarily feels an abatement of his joy when set free, by knowing +that others are left for execution. But you, Christian brethren, +believe on Him, and have the witness within. You believe on Him, and +love Him; and to you he is precious. You believe on Him, and know +that all is safe for time, safe in death, and safe for eternity." + +"Really," said Mr. Gordon, as we were walking away, "I am almost +tempted to believe in the truth of the Christian theory, on two +accounts--it brings us into such close contact with beings of a +superior order, so that in passing into the invisible world, we +shall find that we are known there; and then it gives such security +to the mind against the horrors of death." A sudden storm of heavy +rain prevented any reply to these half-serious, half-ironical +remarks; but on taking leave, as we were getting into our separate +hackney coaches, he added, "I will call to-morrow evening, after +business hours, and chat over those grave questions; and perhaps I +can prevail on Newton to accompany me. Have patience; I may become a +believer in the course of time." + + + + +THE SCEPTIC'S VISIT. + + +Just after Mr. Lewellin had left home, to meet a friend on a matter +of business, Mr. Gordon called, agreeably to his promise on the +previous day, and we spent the evening together. + +"I had a lucky escape yesterday," said Mr. Gordon, "but I did not +know of it till I took up the _Times_ this morning." + +"From what did you escape, Sir?" + +"I had an engagement, for yesterday morning, to go with a pleasure +party on an excursion up the river, but I over-slept myself; and it +was well for me that I did so, for the boat upset, and I regret +to say that a very excellent and accomplished lady, whom I much +admired, was drowned." + +"As I was passing Blackfriars' Bridge, in going to Surrey Chapel, I +witnessed an accident such as that to which you refer." + +"Indeed! It no doubt was the same, for it was just as they were +setting out from Blackfriars' stairs that the disaster happened; it +must have been an appalling sight!" + +"It was, indeed, a harrowing sight; and I trust I shall never +witness the like again. I heard that the lady who was drowned was a +very interesting creature, and the only daughter of a pious father. +The tidings of her loss must have been a sad blow to him." + +"Yes, Sir, her father is one of your way of thinking, and I believe +him to be a very worthy man." + +"Have you seen him since the fatal accident?" + +"No, no! I have no heart to visit such a house of mourning. The +fact is, I shall never be able to see him again, for I planned the +excursion, and induced his son and daughter to join it. This I now +regret; but regrets are useless things." + +"Regrets do sometimes produce happy results, and I should think that +yours, just now, must be very keen." + +"Indeed, they are intensely keen. It will be a long time before I +get over the impression this fatal accident has made on me." + +"You should take it as a warning." + +"Well, I don't know how it is, but I never feel quite myself when +taking a Sunday excursion; I feel a little qualm of conscience, +even though I do not hold the Sunday in such reverence as you do. I +thought some time[12] ago that I had got over these qualms, but they +will come back at times in spite of me." + + [12] Vol. i. page 17. + +"I am glad to hear you say that your conscience does reprove you +when you profane the Sabbath, and I hope its reproofs will be more +severe than they ever have been. They may be your protection against +some fatal danger." + +"Then, Sir, if I do not mistake your meaning, you wish me to be +frightened into the adoption of religious habits. Is this a fair +specimen of your Christian charity?" + +"The storm sometimes saves the vessel which might become a wreck in +the calm, as we heard in the sermon last evening; and I assure you I +should be highly gratified to see you agitated by a salutary feeling +of dread and perplexity regarding the state of your soul, as I then +should indulge a hope that you would 'flee from the wrath to come,' +and take refuge in the promises of the gospel." + +"Well, I must confess that Mr. Guion is one of the most eloquent +preachers I ever heard. The conclusion of his sermon was truly +sublime; the congregation appeared to quail under its terror--a +feeling which by no means surprised me. There is, indeed, a fearful +terror in the words the _wrath to come_; and there was almost an +irresistible impressiveness in the look and tones of the preacher +when urging his audience to flee from it. I felt, just before he +finished, that I must take refuge in the promises of the gospel; but +the internal commotion soon subsided when I found myself beyond the +reach of his voice, though still I cannot forget it." + +"Now, Sir, to be candid; is not the terror you felt, when listening +to the sermon we heard, and the abiding recollection of it, +something like an unconscious homage instinctively paid to the +positive reality of the Christian faith? for we can hardly suppose +that you would invest a mere fiction with such power of impression." + +"Why, no; I can scarcely admit that. My idea is, that my present +feelings are merely the lingering influences of early religious +training, with its accompanying associations; and we all know that +such influences may subsist long after we have been led to form +different opinions in our maturer years." + +"They live to admonish and to warn, as well as to chastise. There +_may_ be a _wrath to come_. This you must admit, simply because you +do not know there is not; nor can you know, unless God is pleased +to tell you so. _Hence your scepticism needs a Divine revelation +to sustain it_--mere disbelief goes for nothing in settling such a +question." + +"Well, I know there is great difficulty, and sometimes an +impossibility, in proving a negative; but one thing is absolutely +certain--I cannot compel myself to believe what you believe, any +more than you can compel yourself to disbelieve what I disbelieve." + +"My belief has evidence to sustain it; but your disbelief has none. +And while your disbelief is accompanied by a feeling of uneasiness +and perplexity, my faith exerts a soothing influence, which keeps my +mind in perfect peace." + +"Well, I admit that your faith does more for you than my disbelief +does for me; but I cannot believe what you do without impeaching +both the wisdom and the beneficence of the Deity. In other words, +the Deity must sink in my admiration before I can admit the Divine +origin of Christianity." + +"But how so?" + +"The eloquent preacher whom we heard last evening, when discoursing +on the expression in his text, _he was believed on in the world_, +advanced two distinct propositions, which he endeavoured to sustain +by arguments taken from your Scriptures. The first was, that _there +is salvation for the chief of sinners if they believe in Christ and +trust in him_. You believe and are safe, and are happy because you +expect to be saved. Now, I have no objection to advance against +this; because I know that faith, or trust in Him, does produce these +moral effects on true believers. But my nature revolts against his +second proposition, which was, _that none can be saved who do not +believe in Christ, and trust in him for salvation_." + +"In sustaining those propositions the preacher said--and there is +great force in the remark--that we can have no assurance that any +will be saved but by a Divine testimony in proof of it; and that +if it please God to limit the exercise of his saving power to one +prescribed method, our objections against it will be altogether +unavailing." + +"Yes, Sir, you quote correctly. Now, in my opinion, it would be a +reflection on the wisdom and beneficence of the Deity to suppose +that he has bound himself under such a forced law of restriction +as compels him to exclude all from a state of future happiness but +the few who do believe and do trust in Christ. Why, have we not +amongst us many men of unsullied honour, of princely generosity, +and of the most amiable dispositions--men who take the lead in +benevolent enterprises and social improvements--poets, philosophers, +historians, and statesmen, who are applauded in public, and admired +and esteemed in private life, but who cannot bow down and do homage +to Jesus Christ, by reposing an absolute dependence on him for a +hope of future blessedness, even though they unwillingly pay an +external homage to the regulations and institutions of Christianity? +Are men of such a high order of mind--of such brilliant virtues--men +who are the very life and soul of society--to be cast off and left +to perish along with the dissipated and the worthless? It cannot be." + +"Your objection, then, does not lie so much against the salvation +of the great sinners, who repent and believe in Christ, as it does +against the law of restriction, which excludes all who do not repent +and believe from the hope of salvation." + +"I can admit your first proposition, without much difficulty, +even though I do not say that I actually believe it; but I cannot +entertain a belief that the Deity has enacted a law which restricts +the exercise of his beneficence to a select few, some of whom, on +your own admission, are more distinguished for their vices than for +their virtues." + +"But is not the law of restriction, even now, a fundamental law +of God's administrative government? For example, are superior +intelligence, genius, or wealth, made common property--to be +possessed by men share and share alike? Do we not see that the few +surpass the many--that some are brilliant stars while others are +mere glowworms; and while some occupy stations of affluence and +grandeur, others are left without a settled home, or any of the +comforts of life?" + +"Why, if we really do believe that we are living under the +administrative government of the Deity, then there is no denying +the existence of this restrictive law. Facts are stubborn things; +those you mention are strongly corroborative of your views. But it +does not necessarily follow that this law of restriction applies to +our final destiny, even though it may be applicable to our present +condition of existence." + +"But this admission deprives you of the basis on which you rest your +argument, that a law of restriction would be a direct impeachment of +the wisdom and the beneficence of the Deity." + +"Well, perhaps it does." + +"If, then, facts compel us to admit that this law of restriction is +in full operation _now_, while we are on earth, surely we must admit +the possibility of its continuance in a future state of existence, +without impugning the wisdom or justice of the Deity?" + +"I never enter on a discussion on the questions at issue between us, +without feeling compelled to do one of two things; and yet I cannot +bring my mind to do either. I must admit the truth of revelation and +its explanations, and this I cannot do; or I must abandon myself +to _universal_ scepticism, and this I feel unwilling to do. But I +do confess that I feel it more easy to disbelieve than to believe. +However, waiving further reference to this difficulty, allow me to +call your attention to another point, which, if not more difficult +than the one we have just been discussing, assumes, at least in my +estimation, an aspect of great perplexity. Assuming then, for the +sake of the argument, that the Deity does restrict the bestowal +of future happiness to those who do believe and trust in Christ, +could he not have devised some other scheme for this purpose, and +one equally perfect and effective--one, in fact, less open to +objections?" + +"I will reply to your question by asking another. Could not God +have made a world different to the one in which we live--one more +congenial to our taste, and less exposed to those privations and +hardships to which we are often subjected, and which we sometimes +so much dread?--A world, for example, in which every convenience +and necessary should be placed within reach; the earth producing +spontaneously the supplies of corn and fruits necessary for our +subsistence--a sufficient supply of dew as a substitute for rain +with its discomforts--the purification of the air effected by gentle +breezes instead of by tempests and hurricanes--no diseases to rack +the body nor cares to harass the mind; a world, in fine, in which +universal happiness should prevail, and sorrow and toil be unknown?" + +"Yes, there is no denying that the Deity could have done this." + +"But God has not done it; and therefore to object to what he has +done, because we can imagine he could have done something better, +is as useless, as it would be childish. Now, suppose for a moment +some other plan of salvation had been devised, it would have been +to accomplish what is effected by the present scheme--namely, the +final happiness of man. The present scheme, then, answers the +beneficent purpose of its Author--another plan could do no more +than this; but it would be romantic to suppose that it could be +so arranged, in its various parts and modes of application, as to +preclude the possibility of any objections to it, when we well +know it is next to impossible to find any twenty men who all think +alike even on the most obvious facts. Christianity places before us +two great practical facts, in which our present safety and final +happiness are involved: first, there is a way to heaven or to a +state of future blessedness--this should excite our gratitude; +there is only one way--this should make us cautious, lest, through +ignorance, prejudice, or carelessness, we come short of so glorious +a consummation." + +"Your explanations, Sir, may be satisfactory to yourself, but they +are not so to me. Indeed, the more I think of it, the more I feel +disinclined to bow down and do homage to the Christian faith. Now, +for example, it is an indisputable historic fact that many ages +elapsed before Christianity was promulgated; and, during this long +period, what countless millions of human beings must, on your +hypothesis, have perished, without ever having had a chance of being +saved! Would the Deity have remained silent so long if he had bound +himself to your law of restriction--to save none but the few who +believe and trust in Christ for salvation?" + +"If Christianity, which is the completion of the original scheme +of salvation, was not promulgated till a comparatively late period +in the history of our world, yet the essential substance of it was +known from the earliest period of time. The apostle says, that +Abel, the first man who tasted the bitterness of death, offered his +prefigurative sacrifice in faith, which is a proof that he knew +the way of salvation, to be perfected by the death of the promised +Saviour; and we may fairly presume that what he knew, would be +made known to his descendants, from one generation to another. And +the same apostle says, when speaking of his Jewish ancestors--'For +unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them; but the word +preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them +that heard it' (Heb. iv. 2). And Jesus Christ himself says--'Your +father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad' +(John viii. 56). From the time of Abraham to the actual coming of +Christ, the clearest and fullest revelations of this scheme of +salvation were limited to Abraham's descendants; but we can collect +from the records of ancient history, scanty as its materials are, +sufficient evidence to prove, that amongst the people of other +nations it descended by traditional report and testimony, from one +generation to another, so as to leave them without excuse, if they +perished in their disbelief, or from their own neglect of giving it +due attention. At length they became so corrupt and debased that +they were left, as a judicial visitation from God, to suffer the +consequences of their depravity and impenitence (Rom. i. 21-25)." + +"But what immense numbers of human beings must, on your hypothesis, +have perished during this long reign of ignorance and moral +corruption; and I do not see that the state of things is much +improved at the present time. Now, let us look at the case just as +it is. Christianity has been in existence and in active operation, +so you say, for nearly two thousand years; and yet how small is the +space on the surface of our globe which is illumined by what you +call her celestial light, in comparison with the vast regions which +are enveloped in moral darkness!" + +"I admit it," I replied. + +"But how will you reconcile such a tremendous state of things, with +the acknowledged wisdom and beneficence of the Deity?" + +"You are aware, Sir, that we are often compelled to admit as +indisputable facts, what we cannot reconcile with the wisdom and +benevolence of God--as the slave-trade, for example, slavery as it +now exists in America, and the perpetration of murders, and other +social crimes." + +"Very true, Sir; these are confounding facts. They often stagger me." + +"Permit me to say, that the arguments you adduce to disprove, if +possible, the truth of the Christian faith, and its practical +utility, are precisely those I would employ in proof of its Divine +origin and beneficial tendency. Going back to an early period of +time, let us consider some of the indisputable facts of history. The +tribes of Israel, we know, had been held for centuries as slaves +in the land of Egypt; and after their emancipation they went to +reside in Palestine. In most of those qualities which command the +respect and admiration of mankind, the Jewish nation was remarkably +deficient. With the exception of their sacred writings, their +literature appears to have been meagre in the extreme; no eminent +philosophers, historians, or orators adorn their annals, and the +fine arts seem scarcely to have had any existence among them. +Compared with the Greeks and Romans, and other nations of antiquity, +they were barbarians; and were spoken of in the language of scorn +and contempt by their more accomplished and renowned contemporaries. +In ONE department of knowledge, however, the despised Jewish people +far surpassed the haughty statesmen and polished sages of Greece +and Rome. They knew the only true God, and spoke of him in a style +corresponding with his greatness, his condescension, and his +paternal love. While the inhabitants of all other countries were +abandoned to the grossest and most abject superstition and idolatry, +the Hebrews alone adored one God, and alone appear to have possessed +any suitable ideas of the dignity and holiness of the Supreme +Being; and while the worship of the pagan divinities was licentious +and cruel, that of the God of the Jews was distinguished by its +mildness and purity. Here is a contrast which must be traced to some +adequate cause." + +"The Jews most certainly, in this department of knowledge, claim a +just superiority over other ancient nations; but this may have been +owing to their isolation and their training." + +"That I grant; but their isolation was a Divine arrangement, and +their training a Divine dispensation. They were separated from all +other people by the express command of the Lord their God; and their +teachers who trained them in this department of knowledge--the +knowledge of the only true God, and of the way of salvation, +proclaimed that God had made himself known to them by special +revelation." + +"Yes, they said so, and I will admit that they believed it was so; +but as they were not infallible, they may have been mistaken." + +"Why, Sir, any person of common sense can easily distinguish +between a discovery, and a communication as to matters of fact. +However, to account for their superior knowledge on these sublime +and recondite subjects, without admitting the correctness of their +own testimony,'that God spake to _their fathers_,' is absolutely +impossible, unless we believe--what would be an outrage on common +sense to imagine--that there is more acuteness in mental dulness +than in superior intelligence; and that an untutored people, +while devoting themselves chiefly to agriculture and the rearing +of cattle, could eclipse, by the grandeur and sublimity of their +discoveries, a people who has long enjoyed the highest degree of +intellectual culture." + +"But, Sir, your Scriptures prove that the Jews had amongst them +men of genius and of great mental power. Isaiah, for example, in +sublimity and lofty grandeur of conception and description, has +no superior in any age or country; and the pastoral odes of David +equal, if they do not surpass, anything we meet with in Pope or +Addison. As a legislator, Moses stands at the head of his order, +and, if my memory serves me, the great critic Longinus says he +was no ordinary man; and, therefore, it is not a matter of such +wonderment that they made discoveries of the Deity which no other +philosophers ever made." + +"But you forget that what you call their discoveries were +inspirations, which came upon them from the Source of all knowledge; +and to these inspirations they uniformly attribute their knowledge +of the only true God, and that scheme of salvation which he had +devised on behalf of man. And this belief was entertained by all +the tribes of Israel, not simply because their teachers said so, +but because, they confirmed the truthfulness of their testimony by +signs, and wonders, and divers miracles." + +"And yet after all their novel and sublime discoveries in regard +to these all-important subjects, and after all the miraculous +attestations which you say were supplied in confirmation of their +truthfulness, we find that they apostatized from the worship of +their Deity, and relapsed again and again into idolatrous worship +and practices, and became corrupt and debased like the people of +other nations." + +"That is very true, Sir; and the consequences resulting from their +apostasy supplies a very cogent argument in favour of my hypothesis. +While they adhered to the worship of the true God, and observed the +statutes and ordinances which he gave them, they were a united, +virtuous, and prosperous people; and, though few in number, they +were great in power. No invading force could subdue them, nor +could any adjoining country into which they carried their arms +withstand the shock of their assaults. But when they renounced their +allegiance to Him, and relapsed into idolatry, practising at the +same time the cruel and obscene rites of heathenism, they became +debased and corrupt like other pagan nations; and then, when the +protecting arm of the Lord their God was withdrawn, they fell an +easy prey to their enemies, who reduced them to a state of slavery +more galling to their national pride than that of Egypt. And, +in further confirmation of my argument, just let us look at the +present moral state of those countries which have not yet received +and submitted to the authority of Christianity. There we find +most triumphant evidence in favour of the moral superiority of the +Christian system over every other at present existing in the world, +in regard to promoting the dignity and happiness of mankind. Without +descending to the gross idolatries of Fetichism, and other abject +forms of superstition, what is the social condition of nations where +Mahometanism or Buddhism is professed? and what, on the other hand, +is that of those countries, where Christianity has been established?" + +"To you, Sir, who believe that the Deity restricts the bestowal of +a state of future blessedness to that comparatively small number +who believe in Jesus Christ, the condition of those nations where +Christianity is not established must appear truly appalling; but to +myself it presents no such painful aspect, because, as the Deity +has permitted this state of things to descend from one generation +to another, for such a series of ages, I believe he looks with an +_equal eye_ of compassion and beneficence on all his offspring; +and that, _if there be a future state of blessedness in reserve_, +he will discard your law of restriction, and confer everlasting +happiness on all, without respect to their faith, or their religious +rites and customs. Hence I see no absolute necessity why you should +embark in that crusade of missionary enterprise and labour, which we +heard recommended and enforced with so much eloquence last evening; +for we are not sure that if such a transfer of homage, and change +in the mode of worship, could be effected, it would augment the +happiness of the people who are the subjects of it, or improve their +social habits and dispositions." + +"I am rather surprised to hear you make these remarks; however, +without noticing all of them, I think I can convince you that on +some points you are labouring under a species of delusion, and +that I shall endeavour to point out. I proceed, then, at once, to +real or very probable matters of fact. A vessel, richly laden and +scantily manned, may sail up the Thames or the Clyde in perfect +safety, even if there are no weapons of defence on board; but if she +were to venture near the coast of some parts of the Indian seas, +her passengers and crew would run the risk of a contest for their +lives and liberty with the savages on shore. If a vessel should be +wrecked on the shores of the once savage, but now Christian islands +of Tahiti or Raratonga, its crew and passengers would be sure of +a kind reception from the natives; while, if a similar disaster +should happen on the shores of the Feejees or of Sumatra, they +would run the risk of being seized and devoured; or, if spared this +fate, would be compelled to live in degradation and misery. Here +are striking contrasts, amongst human beings who are endowed with +the same powers of intelligence and sympathy as ourselves; but to +what singular cause are these to be referred, unless it be to the +influence of the Christian faith, which, you doubt, will work no +beneficial change in the character and condition of man?" + +"You strike home now, and I feel I must surrender. But still, while +the diffusion of Christianity may tend to tame the wild savage, and +make him more like a human being, I do not see any necessity for +your missionary labours amongst the Chinese or the Hindoos, who are +highly civilized, and, upon the whole, intelligent. Why should any +efforts be made to dispossess them of their religion, with its rites +and ceremonies, which they inherit from their forefathers?" + +"I think that no compulsory efforts should be made to achieve this +end; but I presume you would not think it wrong that our government +should introduce the humane laws of Britain into all her foreign +dependencies?" + +"Why, no; such a measure, I think, would be very advisable." + +"I thank you for this admission in favour of the necessity of +Christian missions, especially to India, where cruelties are still +practised in broad day, such as we should be apt to regard as +monstrous inventions, fitted only to gratify a morbid appetite for +the horrible, were they not attested by faithful eye-witnesses. +What think you of this specimen? At the annual festival in honour +of Muha Div (the great god), many persons are suspended in the air +by large hooks, thrust through the integuments of their backs,[13] +and swung round for a quarter of an hour, in honour of this deity; +and often over a slow fire. Others have their sides pierced, and +cords are introduced between the skin and ribs, and drawn backwards +and forwards, while these victims of superstition dance through +the streets. Others cast themselves from a stage upon open knives, +inserted in packs of cotton. Sometimes one of these knives enters +the body, and the poor wretch is carried off to expire. If an infant +refuses his mother's milk, it is often hung up in a basket on a +tree, to be devoured by the vultures. This is no criminal offence, +as it would be amongst us, but a ceremonial regulation of their +faith. And in India, the mother often sacrifices her first-born, +to conciliate her guardian deity in behalf of her unborn progeny. +When the child is two or three years old, she takes it to the river, +encourages it to enter, as though about to bathe it, but suffers it +to pass into the current of water, when she abandons it, and stands +an inactive spectator, beholding the struggles and listening to the +screams of her perishing infant." + + [13] We find, from a document which has recently come from India + (December, 1856), that some of these cruel rites are abolished in + a few of the provinces; and there is now no doubt but the work of + legislative humanity and enlightened policy having been begun, will + steadily advance, till the triumphs of missionary enterprise in our + Indian empire are complete. + + "An order has just been promulgated by the magistrate of Poonah, + under instructions from government, prohibiting hook-swinging and + other barbarous practices throughout the Poonah Zillah. Such a + measure has long been desired by all who wish for the improvement + of the natives. Of old it was believed--or careless and idle minds + found it convenient to believe--that it was dangerous to meddle + with any native practice, however immoral or revolting, that was + connected with or claimed the sanction of religion. But times are + changed, and innovations which might not safely have been attempted + a century or half a century ago, the age is now ripe for. + + "Another barbarous custom, also prevalent at Jejooree, is + interdicted by the proclamation of Mr. Davidson. A man runs a sword + through the fleshy part of his leg for about a foot, and, drawing + it out, sprinkles the blood on the entrance of the temple. For this + feat he receives large free-will offerings; and the right to perform + it is vested, as a valuable privilege, in a body of about fifteen + families, to each individual of which it comes round once in about + six or seven years. These men, however, long ago declared that they + would be glad to discontinue the practice (which some think is a + remnant of the rite of human sacrifice) if their incomes could be + assured to them." + +"I would have all these cruel rites and ceremonies put down by the +force of law; which, of course, would supersede the necessity of +your missionary enterprise." + +"As experience is a safe guide in the settlement of doubtful +questions, a reference to it, on the present occasion, will +supply palpable evidence that the labours of our missionaries +in India have been of great importance and value, both to the +natives themselves, and also to the government, by facilitating +the introduction and peaceable establishment of a humane policy. +The history of their labours proves that they were not visionary +speculatists, but sober-thinking men, who knew and realized the +fact, that wherever Christianity prevails it uniformly conduces to +the progress of mankind;--that it communicates that just manner +of thinking upon the most important subjects, which, extending +its influence thence to every department of speculative and +moral truth, inspires a freedom of inquiry, and an elevation +of sentiment, that raises its disciples immeasurably above the +level of unassisted nature. This great historic truth gave them +confidence in the prosecution of their herculean labours. Let me +now notice what they have already accomplished, and that without +creating any popular disturbances amongst the natives, thus +falsifying the predictions of their opponents, who, from the press +and in both houses of parliament, were accustomed to say, that the +safety of our Indian possessions was endangered by the presence +of our missionaries there; and that our Indian empire would be +irrecoverably lost if any legislative measure were introduced +to suppress or control the superstitious customs and rites of +the natives. In the first place, the missionaries have given us +correct information on all matters relating to the Hindoos--their +worship, and its various ceremonies--their character, and social +habits; and thus, by an accumulation of authentic facts, they have +disproved the statements of our popular writers, that the Hindoos +are not only an intelligent, but a very virtuous people; and that +their religious rites and services, though novel and repulsive +to Europeans, are both chaste and humane. Since the missionaries +exposed this deception, which had been so long practised upon us, no +one has ventured to eulogize the virtues, or defend the religious +practices of the Hindoos. In the second place, they established +schools for the education of the youth of India, both male and +female; and thus they have succeeded, to a very considerable extent, +in diffusing both scientific and biblical knowledge, which is +noiselessly but effectively rescuing them from the dominion of the +debasing ignorance and superstition under which their forefathers +had been living from time immemorial. And no one doubts, who is at +all conversant with the present state of things in India, but the +rising generation will far surpass any preceding one, in mental +acuteness, in knowledge, and in moral character. In the third place, +by their writings, their preaching, and their intercourse with the +natives, they have proved useful pioneers in clearing the way for +the peaceable introduction of the laws promulgated by the British +government for the suppression of many of those cruel practices to +which I have already alluded. In the fourth place, without employing +any undue modes of attack and exposure, they have succeeded, to a +very considerable extent, in shaking the confidence of the Hindoos +in the truth of their national faith; and a powerful conviction is +impressed on the Indian mind--an impression which is becoming deeper +and deeper every day--that the days of their mythology are numbered, +and that ere long its humiliation and subversion will be achieved. +And, in addition to these proofs and indications of their success, I +have to report another of their triumphs, and that refers _to your +own fraternity_--the conversion of many of our own countrymen, who, +on their settlement in India, became first speculative, and then +practical unbelievers--rejecting, as visionary or fabulous, the +faith of their early training, and often distinguishing themselves +by their virulent hostility to the Christian missionary and his +labours; but who now zealously co-operate with him in his exertions +to spread the knowledge of the way of salvation." + +"To you, these doings of your missionaries are splendid triumphs in +confirmation of the Divine origin of that faith, which restricts +the bestowal of a state of future blessedness to the comparatively +few who believe in Jesus Christ; but to me they appear nothing +more than the natural consequences of a well-concerted attack on +a long-established and nearly worn-out order of things, which we +know invariably results in dividing popular opinion. On all such +occasions _Divide and conquer_ is the motto, and when this is done, +then the pruning off from the old stock of belief and opinion, +and the engrafting on the new one, is an operation as natural as +it is easy. Human nature is given to change; the love of it is an +essential element in our mental constitution, and nothing is more +common than going from one extreme to another, or more likely than +the change from Brahminism or Buddhism to the faith of Christianity." + +"And from Deism to Christianity also, as I have shown you. Hence, +to quote your own words, I indulge the hope that you will become a +believer, if we have patience." + +"A possible event, on the assumed correctness of your hypothesis, as +then I may be operated on by some Divine influence, which I shall +have no power to withstand; but on my own supposition, as remote +from possibility as the junction of the antipodes." + +"We shall see. You have already advanced some way in the right +direction. But to return to India. Here is a fact, which was +not publicly known amongst us, till it was reported by our +missionaries--that one whole tribe in India has uniformly destroyed +every female child born amongst them, so that they have been obliged +to take their wives from the tribe next in rank to them. On one +occasion a father's heart recoiled when the emissaries of murder +demanded his daughter; and he repelled them from his presence. Her +life was spared, and she grew up tenderly beloved by her parents; +but the sight of a girl rising to maturity in the house of a +Rajpoot, was so novel, and so contrary to the customs of the tribe, +that no parent sought her in marriage for his son. The grief-worn +father, suffering under the frowns of his own tribe, and trembling +for the chastity of his daughter, and the honour of his family, bore +her off to a pathless desert, where, with his own hand, he slew her, +leaving her body to be devoured by wild beasts." + +"Horrid! horrid! Such transactions as these, if true and believed, +are enough to rouse popular indignation against our government +for not adopting some prompt and severe measures to prevent their +repetition. I would annihilate the whole tribe, rather than suffer +such inhuman monsters to live on earth." + +"You then would recommend a wholesale massacre to save a few lives; +while I would advocate the introduction amongst them of a pure and +humane faith, which teaches and enforces the relative obligations of +parents and children as they prevail amongst ourselves. This sense +of relative obligation, and the social improvement which necessarily +follows it, Christianity, by its mild and persuasive influence, +has already succeeded in establishing in the cannibal islands of +the South Sea, and also, to some extent, amongst the natives of +civilized India. Christianity can do, and I have no doubt will do, +for India what she has done for Britain--subvert her idolatry, +with its cruel and obscene rites, and raise up an enlightened and +renovated native population, who, with gladsome voices, will sing +the song of Bethlehem, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth +peace, good-will toward men' (Luke ii. 14)." + +Mr. Gordon, on rising to take his leave, said, "Well, there is no +denying the fact, that the world is in a sad disordered state; +and if you think you can improve it by your missionary labours, I +will not impeach the benevolence of your motives, though, without +hesitation, I may predict the failure of your sacrifices and +exertions." + +"But, Sir, you must acknowledge that it is more honourable to fail +in the cause of philanthropy than to make no effort." + +"This honour, I believe, is in reserve for you, though I must say +you merit one more brilliant. Go on, my dear Sir; but don't be +too sanguine. Utopia I know is very rich in splendid scenery, but +unfortunately it partakes much of the nature of the mirage. Good +night; with many thanks for all your good wishes." + + + + +A RENEWED ENCOUNTER. + + +The night before I left London, Mr. Gordon again called, and, after +some desultory conversation, our attention happened to be directed +to the book entitled _No Fiction_, which was lying on the table. +This led to a somewhat sharp and lengthened encounter. + +"I dipped into that book," said Mr. Gordon, "the other day, and it +gave me some amusement, as the tale is made to appear a very natural +one. Its author narrates and sketches extremely well, for a divine, +and it is highly creditable to his talents, which must certainly be +of a superior order." + +"Yes, Sir, he is quite a superior man. There is one paragraph of his +tale to which I should like to direct your attention, and which, by +your permission, I will read to you." + +"Read on, Sir, and I'll give all due attention." + +I then read as follows:-- + + "I have often been delighted," said Douglas, "in reading the + accounts of the power of religion on the minds of children; but + this is the _first_ instance which has fallen beneath my own + eye. What a religion is ours! How great--and yet how plain! It + is so sublime, that it rises beyond the conception of the most + enlarged mind! and so simple, that it brings home its lessons to + the bosom of a little child! The elements of the gospel, like + the elements of our nourishment, are adapted to the endless + varieties of age, and character, and circumstance, throughout + all the human race." + + "And this appears," said Lefevre, "to be a feature in our + religion which distinguishes it from all false religions. As + far as I am acquainted with the subject, no one of the pagan + systems _could_ have been rendered universal. They all received + their character from national prejudice, national policy, and + predominant national vices." + + "Yes," rejoined Douglas, "and as, in their own nature, they + were not adapted for the benefit of mankind as such, so their + great teachers discovered an indifference to the bulk of the + human race, incompatible with everything which deserves the + name either of religion or morality. With haughty pride they + exulted in their own wisdom, and looked down with scorn or + ridicule on the folly of those who were not initiated into + their false philosophy. Man scarcely deserved their notice, + but as he claimed the proud titles of rich, or wise, or noble; + and women and children were utterly abandoned to ignorance and + wretchedness. Jesus, our blessed Saviour, was the first Master + in religion who opened the door of knowledge _to all_--who + carried his instructions and his tears to the cottage of _the + poor_! This appears to me to involve a powerful evidence of the + truth of Christianity, that may well perplex and confound the + hosts of infidelity. I have more than once thought that the + psalmist must have referred to this use of the subject, when + he said, 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast + ordained strength, because of thine enemies: that thou mightest + still the enemy and the avenger.'" + +"This passage, if I remember rightly," Mr. Gordon remarked, +"refers to a tale very similar to your story of _The Woodman's +Daughter_; but I must confess, with all due deference, that I see +nothing very remarkable in it; and how you can think of adducing +it as an argument in favour of the Divine origin of Christianity, +rather surprises me. Children, we know, are imitative. They take +the manners, the habits, and the tones of their parents and +teachers; and if they should adopt their sentiments, feelings, and +expressions, it certainly ought not to be considered remarkable. But +yet I should like to hear how you contrive to connect such a fact +and the divinity of the gospel together." + +"Such a fact, Sir, proves that the Christian religion is adapted +(as we may fairly presume it would be, if of Divine origin), to the +moral condition of man, irrespective of his age--of the strength +or weakness of his intellect--or the peculiar shades of his moral +character. To suppose that this adaptation is by accident, would be +no less objectionable than to conclude, with the sceptics of the +French school, that it is by chance we see, hear, and speak. If you +are prepared to admit that the marks of contrivance, which we can +easily discover in the construction and organization of our senses, +supply us with a legitimate argument in favour of the existence +of a God, by whose power and wisdom this organization has been +arranged, I cannot conceive how you can avoid admitting the marks of +contrivance which we can as easily trace in the Christian scheme of +salvation, as conclusive evidence in favour of its Divine origin." + +"O Sir! it has been invented by a few crafty men, who wished to +display their skill at the expense of our credulity, and they have +done it most dexterously. They were certainly adepts in invention." + +"I know that this is a favourite opinion with you Deists; but I do +not think that you can support it. How came these men to devise a +scheme of religion which is so admirably adapted to the moral state +of man? From whence did they gain their information? They tell us +that they wrote under the dictation of an infinitely wise Spirit, +and, in common fairness, their testimony ought to be admitted; +and, I think, a candid examination of what they have done, and the +style in which they have done it, will satisfy us that they are +truth-speaking men. I form my judgment on this point as I should on +another somewhat analogous to it. If, for example, I saw an epic +poem equal to that of Virgil or Milton, or a treatise on logic +superior to that of Dr. Watt's, written by a boy of ten years of +age; and, if on expressing my astonishment and admiration, he +should say--'The writing, Sir, is mine, but nothing more--I wrote +from the dictation of Wordsworth and Whately,' I should at once +believe him, from a consciousness of his incompetency to produce +such compositions by his own unaided powers. So with the sacred +writers. We know that, with very few exceptions, they were unlearned +and ignorant men, and their contemporaries who knew them spoke of +them as such; and yet they have surpassed all other men in the +science of moral and spiritual truth. In confirmation, too, of this +internal evidence of the truthfulness of their testimony, that +they wrote under the dictation of an infallible Spirit, we find, +on examination, that the various parts of their comprehensive, yet +minute theory, are in perfect harmony with each other, while, at +the same time, the theory itself is admirably adapted to the moral +condition of humanity. The marks of contrivance are too obvious to +allow us to refer the arrangements to chance, or the mere skill of +man. For our guilt, it provides a propitiatory sacrifice, whose +blood cleanses from all sin--for our depravity, it provides a +renovating influence, by which, we are made partakers of the purity +of the Divine nature; regarding us as oppressed with cares and +sorrows, it animates us with exceeding great and precious promises, +by which we are enabled to put our trust in God, and thus rise above +the trials of this life; and, viewing us as panting for immortality, +it unveils futurity, and delights us with the sublime vision of +endless happiness." + +"To you, who are initiated into a firm belief of the Divine +origin of Christianity, this apparent adaptation of it to our +moral condition and necessities, and its revelations of a future +state of happiness, must appear as the consummation of wisdom +and benevolence. But I cannot resist the impression, that it is +to the activity of your imagination you ought to attribute this +correspondence, rather than to any actual fact; and that you are, +at least so I think, unconsciously beguiling yourself with pleasing +anticipations which will all prove visionary." + +"The gospel, Sir, is a living reality, and it works moral wonders." + +"I don't quite comprehend your meaning." + +"I mean, that it answers the purpose for which it was intended, or, +in other words, it does the moral work which is ascribed to it, +and does it effectually; this I can prove by an appeal to living +testimony. Hence, when it is received by faith, it _does_ give peace +to a wounded conscience; it _does_ infuse a renovating power, by +which man becomes a new creature, in his moral principles and social +habits; it does administer the most soothing and strengthening +consolation to the child of sorrow, and it animates the dying +believer with the hopes of a blissful immortality. These are moral +facts which the experience of myriads can attest." + +"Yes, I see how it is; the imagination traces a correspondence +between its own impulses, and aerial flights, and the component +parts of your scriptural theory; and you very naturally think that +you would be robbed of an inestimable treasure, and the world at +large sustain an irreparable loss, if your theory of faith should be +exploded as a worn-out relic of an antiquated superstition." + +"But, after all you say against the Christian faith, I do not think +you would vote for its expulsion from the earth, even if you thought +you could succeed in effecting it; and I will tell you why. Its +expulsion would be as great a calamity to the moral world, as the +total disappearance of the solar light would be to the physical--we +should at once relapse into a state of profound ignorance on +all the important questions which relate to God, to our origin, +our immortality, and our destiny. We should then find ourselves +groping about, like the ancient heathen, amidst vain and foolish +speculations, striving to unravel the mysteries of our nature, and +finding no resting-place for our troubled spirits. I have often +thought, when musing on such a fearful occurrence, what an awful +gloom would spread over the world if we knew that the fatal hour +was coming, when, by some supernatural process, all our knowledge +of Jesus Christ, and the design of his mission and death, would +suddenly pass away from human recollection; and when every leaf in +our Bible, and of all other books referring to him, should become +as blank as they were before they were printed--leaving us, like +the doomed spirits of the infernal world, without a Saviour, or any +promise of mercy." + +"_You_ would anticipate such a strange event with sad and awful +forebodings. The disappearance of Jesus Christ from your theory +of belief would be to you, and to all of your way of thinking, an +irreparable calamity; though I must confess, that I cannot account +for the hold he keeps on your imaginations. To me, this is a mystery +which deepens in profundity the more I try to fathom it. His very +name appears to be a charm, and of more than magic power." + +"Yes, Mr. Gordon, there is a charm in the name of Jesus, which +at all times, but more especially under circumstances of great +privation and danger, both soothes and elevates his disciples. They +fear not to die in the tranquillity of their own homes or the raging +of the tempest, on the scaffold or the battle-field." + +"I will not attempt to deny a fact which general testimony confirms; +but permit me to ask, if you can assign any rational cause for what +appears to me so mysterious?" + +"I can; the fact admits of a fair explanation. Those who have faith +in Christ believe that, though invisible, He is ever near them to +succour and to comfort them. Hence, the sailor, when pacing the deck +during the dark and stormy night, prays to HIM, who, when sailing +with his disciples, rebuked the winds and the waves; and he feels +that he is addressing one who hears him, and can save him. Yes! and +in the dreary cell of tyranny--at the stake of martyrdom--in penury, +suffering, and in death--the name of Jesus is uttered with thrilling +accents, and awakens associations which have tenfold greater power +over the soul than the kindest expressions of human sympathy +and love. I was an eye-witness, not long since, to a display of +Christian heroism in death:--A young man, of superior intelligence +and station in life, who had been rather sceptically inclined, was +taken ill, and during his continued illness his sceptical notions +vanished, and he became a simple believer in Christ Jesus. After the +lapse of some months, his physician told him he must die, as his +disease was beyond the reach of human skill. I was present when this +announcement was made, and he received it without expressing either +surprise or regret. When his medical attendant withdrew, he said to +his mother and his sisters, who stood weeping by his bedside--'I am +not surprised by your tears, for I know you love me; but weep not +for me, for I am nearing the end of my course. My confidence of a +glorious issue is placed on HIM, who is mighty to save; he is with +me, though I see him not. Death's dark vale is illumined with the +light of life, and I shall soon pass through it, and then I shall be +safe and happy for ever.'" + +"Most marvellous! and yet I believe it. Such incidents as these are +most impressive. We are mysterious beings, alternately terrified by +our own imaginary fears, and excited to ecstasy by the illusions of +our own fancy." + +"But the extinction of Christianity and its sacred records might +prove a great disaster to you sceptics; especially at some of the +turning points of your history." + +"To us! you now really take me by surprise; but, to be serious, how +do you make this out?" + +"Why, it is well known that sceptics, when in expectation of death, +often call on Jesus Christ to save them." + +"A drowning man will catch at a straw." + +"He would prefer a life-boat." + +"True." + +"I ask you one plain question--If you lived on a dangerous coast, +would you ever scuttle a life-boat which has rescued many from +destruction, and which possibly you may live to need?" + +"I see your drift, and admire your ingenuity. Of course, I would +not." + +"Well, I will venture on another supposition, and leave you to +decide whether I am not right in my conjectures, that even you, +with all your antipathies to Jesus Christ, may be surprised in +circumstances which would render the sound of his name the most +effectual solace that could be given. Suppose, for instance, we were +walking together in some vast forest in the far northern part of +America, and saw advancing toward us a band of apparently ferocious +savages, should we not tremble with fear and apprehension? But +suppose, while in this state of terror, we should hear them singing +in chorus a verse of some familiar hymn, would you then recoil in +terror? Would you experience additional consternation on perceiving +that these barbarians had been instructed in the Christian faith?" + +"I like your illustrations--they amuse me. Can't you favour me with +another?" + +"I will try. Suppose you were sailing among the islands of the South +Seas, and, when nearing one of them, would you not rather see the +natives on the beach clothed in European dresses, as at Tahiti and +Raratonga, than in a state of savage nudity? and would you hesitate +to drop anchor if you heard them singing in harmony-- + + 'Jesus shall reign where'er the sun + Does his successive journeys run: + His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, + Till moons shall wax and wane no more.'" + +"In arguing," said Mr. Gordon, "there is nothing more desirable than +a good illustration, which gives pleasure, even when it does not +produce conviction. Well, then, I will admit that there is a strange +fascinating power in a name, and in mental associations, for which +our most sagacious philosophers are unable to account; but that's +no reason why I should give it my sanction, if I believe, as I do +in these cases, that it springs out of a superstitious belief; and, +therefore, leaving the sailor in the storm, and the prisoner in the +cell, with the rest of your illustrative examples, and not caring +to conjecture how I should act or feel if I were placed in such +circumstances as you describe, I certainly, according to my present +views and impressions, would vote for the expulsion of Christianity, +if my suffrage could bring about such an event; but I fear that it +is too deeply fixed in the prejudices of the public mind ever to be +rooted up--at least in our time." + +"But would you not tremble in anticipation of the success of such +an effort? Expel Christianity from the earth! Why, what evil has +she done? You may trace her progress by the improved condition +of the people whom she has visited and blessed. Where she finds +a wilderness, she leaves a fruitful field for the sickle of the +husbandman; she meets with briars and thorns, and converts them into +the myrtle tree and the rose; she encounters all the base lusts and +ferocious dispositions of our nature, and supplants them with the +tranquillizing affections of purity and peace. She improves the +intellect, refines the taste, and humanizes the character; and, +by raising men to a state of spiritual communion with the Supreme +Being, imprints on them the image of his benevolence, and animates +them with his love of righteousness. She mitigates the violence of +sorrow--binds up the wounds which adversity inflicts in the heart +of man--reconciles the mourner to his bitter loss--disarms death of +his terrors--and exhibits beyond the grave a scene of tranquillity +and of joy which no hand can portray or tongue describe. Expel +Christianity from the earth! Then, Sir, you would give perpetuity to +those horrid systems of idolatry which maintain their dominion over +the great majority of the human race, as no power will ever destroy +them but that which the gospel of Christ displays. Nay, Sir; if you +were to succeed, you would prove the greatest enemy to man that ever +visited the earth since the author of all evil triumphed over our +first parents: for how many thousands would you, by such a wanton +act of cruelty, deprive of their sweetest sources of consolation, +and their brightest prospects of happiness!" + +"You are eloquently severe; but, my dear Sir, you may spare your +severity, as it is not likely that I shall ever make the attempt, +and less likely that I should succeed, were I vain, or, to quote +your own language, wanton and cruel enough to do it. I willingly +admit that Christianity has done some good, but you must allow +that she has done some evil; and it is but fair to balance the one +against the other, to see which preponderates. If she has promoted +peace in one country, she has planned massacres in others; if she +has blessed one family, she has introduced discord and division into +others; and if there are a few solitary individuals animated by her +promises of mercy, there is a larger number who tremble under the +awful denunciations of her vengeance." + +"Her promises of mercy are addressed to all, and all are invited +to receive the blessings which she is willing to bestow; but if +they disdainfully reject them, and treat her message of grace with +contempt, she turns away, and announces their approaching doom; +and she does this in a tone, and with a lofty majesty of speech, +which often makes the most daring quail before her. But why do they +tremble, if they believe she has no power to punish? Your other +charges against her I will meet by a quotation from a book[14] which +I wish you would peruse, and which I shall be happy to present to +you:-- + + "That men calling themselves Christians have persecuted others + with unrelenting cruelty, and have shed rivers of innocent + blood, is but too true. Did Christianity countenance this + conduct, it would merit unqualified reprobation. But far from + such a disposition, it forbids all violence and injury to be + employed in its defence. Christianity never shed a drop of its + enemies' blood since the day that Christ died on the cross; but + it has been lavish of its own. It never forged a chain to bind + a heretic or an adversary, nor erected a prison to immure him. + Christianity never dipped her pen in tears of blood, to write a + penal law denouncing vengeance on infidels. She never made her + bitterest foe heave a groan, from any bodily suffering inflicted + by her hands. Her only weapons of offence and defence are truth + and prayer. She returns good for evil, and blessing for cursing. + + "If men, wearing the garb of the disciples of Jesus, instigated + by pride, and the lust of dominion, and a desire to gratify + the worst passions of the human heart, injure any of the human + race under a pretence of zeal for religion, they act in direct + opposition to the gospel, and you cannot condemn them with too + much severity. But surely Christianity should not be condemned + for what it forbids men to perpetrate under pain of the Divine + displeasure. Or if such as were truly Christians ever sought + to put a stop to infidelity or error, and to propagate the + gospel in the world by force (and it is to be deplored with + tears of blood that such there have unhappily been), they will + receive no more thanks from Christ than the three disciples when + they wished him to bring down fire from heaven to destroy the + Samaritans:--'Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of: the + Son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' + Nor would he account the words, which he directed to Peter on a + different occasion, too severe to be used to them here:--'Get + thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offence unto me; for thou + savourest not the things which be of God, but the things which + be of men.' Both the principles and precepts of the gospel, + and the conduct of Christ and his apostles, are as remote from + persecution as the east is from the west." + + [14] Dr. Bogue's Essay on _The Divine Authority of the New Testament_.] + +"I admire the candid and amiable spirit of the writer, and will +certainly read his book, if only from respect to the friendship +which dictates the present; but I will not flatter you with any hope +of bringing me over to your belief. However, waiving all personal +remarks, allow me to ask you if you really believe that Christianity +will ever become a universal religion? and, if so, how do you think +it will be propagated through the earth?" + +"That it is _adapted_ to become a universal religion, no one +can doubt who has ever inquired into its nature and design, or +who has ever read the history of its progress. It is suited to +man as a rebellious subject of the Divine government; and it has +been embraced by men of every rank, of every clime, and of every +description of character. Hence, if you could bring together, in +one place, some natives of Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, +or from any of the islands or cities which belong to either of +these great divisions of the earth; and could, by some miraculous +influence, impart to them the power of speaking the same language, +you would find them all, if they had embraced the pure faith of +Christ, giving utterance to the same sentiments--expressing the +same feelings--exulting in the same prospects--and disclosing all +the peculiarities of the same singular and extraordinary spiritual +character." + +"But, Sir, if this hypothetical statement be correct, how will you +account for the endless divisions which prevail amongst those who +are known to embrace the same Christian faith?" + +"You ought, Sir, to distinguish between a real and a nominal +Christian; and though I will not deny but there are diversities of +opinion even amongst real Christians, yet they relate to minor and +subordinate questions. Consider Christianity as coming from God--it +is pure and unspeakably good; view it as received by men--it will +be, as the schoolmen say, _secundum modum recipientis_. If the +difference of capacity, and the prejudices and passions of mankind +be duly weighed, we shall not account it strange if they do not +all think alike, nor receive the truth in all its purity. But this +is not peculiar to the Christian religion. There are divisions and +dissensions in matters of religion among pagan idolaters, among +Mahometans, and among Deists. You cannot deny it. But the Deist does +not consider this as a reason for rejecting Deism. If so, neither +is it a reason for rejecting Christianity. More particularly, +some men are destitute of every noble principle--they are full +of deceit, avarice, pride, and sensuality. We see them abuse the +gifts of nature, and of Providence; is it wonderful, then, if they +pervert Christianity too, and entertain different ideas of many of +its doctrines from wise and godly men? It is no more an objection +against Christianity being from God, because such persons come +short of its purity, than against the gifts of nature and other +temporal blessings being from God, because they are often abused. +Weakness of intellect will produce peculiarities of sentiment on +every subject, and, consequently, on religion. The prejudices of +education and early habits will generate attachments to certain +opinions and rites; hence, also, differences in religion will arise; +but the fault is not in Christianity, it is in man. From similar +causes we see a diversity of opinion among the learned regarding +sciences of great utility--medicine, law, politics, philosophy; +but, notwithstanding this, all allow them to be highly beneficial +to mankind--none deny their usefulness, although people differ +about some particular points. To reject the gospel, because bad men +pervert it, and weak men deform it, and angry men quarrel about it, +displays the same folly as if a person should cut down a useful tree +because caterpillars disfigured its leaves, and spiders made their +webs among its branches." + +"I have no objection at present to offer to this fair explanation of +the difficulty which has often perplexed me; but you will permit me +to refer you to my former question--Do you think that Christianity +will ever be universally established?" + +"I do, Sir; and my belief is founded on the following basis. +Christianity is adapted for a universal religion; it foretells the +fact of its universal establishment; its disciples are commanded by +the Lord Jesus Christ to seek its universal propagation; and it is +now spreading itself with unexampled rapidity through the nations +of the earth. You cannot, Sir, but be conscious that the aspect of +the times indicates some approaching change in the destinies of man; +and though you, on your principles, cannot hail any redeeming power +by which the curse that inflicts such mighty evils on suffering +humanity can be rolled away, yet we can on ours; and hence, while +you are left to speculate on the charms of a philosophy which has +never ameliorated the moral condition of man, we can speak with +confidence of the intervention of _Him_, who will turn the curse +into a blessing, and make this earth the abode of purity, of +harmony, and of bliss." + +"But how do you expect this great and mysterious change to be +brought about?" + +"Not by force. That has been tried by short-sighted rulers in former +times, and has utterly failed. Conversion to Christianity which +is effected by such means produces no change in the human heart. +The _man_ remains the same, though his professed belief may vary. +The circulation of the Scriptures, the distribution of religious +treatises, and the preaching of the gospel, are the only means which +we employ to accomplish this great design. But, even when these +means are used in the most judicious manner, we do not calculate +on accomplishing the purpose which we have in view without the +influence of a supernatural co-operation; for it is not by the power +of man that the demon of superstition, or the Moloch of idolatry is +to be dethroned, and Christianity established, but by the Spirit of +the Lord." + +"I rather admire your dexterity in avoiding, _on principle_, the +mortification attendant on any failure in your pious efforts in +behalf of the perishing heathen." + +"I don't quite understand you." + +"Why, you say, your success is dependent on the concurrence of a +supernatural power; and, consequently, if you fail in your pious +undertaking, you lay the blame on the inactivity of this supposed +preternatural influence, never for a moment doubting your own +sagacity, or questioning the efficacy of the means which you employ." + +"If you examine the theory of the Christian faith, you will find +that, in every moral operation, this concurrence of supernatural +power with human agency forms an essential part of it. 'Man sows the +seed of truth, it is God who gives the increase.'" + +"As such a theory must tend to limit exertion, and depress an ardent +mind, it strikes me that it is an ingenious invention to provide a +pleasant solace in the season of disappointment, which, I believe, +has its periodical visitations in your ecclesiastic annals." + +"It has analogy in its favour. We eat and drink to sustain life, but +the efficacy of the nourishment to sustain life depends on God. The +farmer casts the seed into the soil, but it is God who causes it to +grow and yield its increase. His confidence in God gives a stimulus +to his own exertions." + +"Well, I won't dispute this point with you; but, after all, does it +not tend to discourage your pious exertions, when you believe that +a successful issue is dependent on an influence which you cannot +control, and over which you have no power?" + +"No. It has a contrary effect, as in the case of the husbandman. +We look upon ourselves as mere active instruments employed in +accomplishing the Divine purpose of grace and mercy in behalf of +the perishing heathen; and the established law of the economy of +our faith and practice is embodied in the following record of +inspiration:--'For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from +heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and +maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, +and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of +my mouth: it shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish +that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I +sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: +the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into +singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands' +(Isa. lv. 10-12)." + +"I bow before such an ingenious theory of faith; but still entertain +my doubts. Patience must still hold on, or you will abandon me in +despair." + +"I will continue to hope, even against hope; because I know there is +an unseen power which is capable of effecting such a transformation, +as I devoutly trust may yet be accomplished in you." + + + + +THE EFFECT OF A WORD SPOKEN IN SEASON. + + +Not long after I had returned home, and was again busily engaged +in my pastoral duties, I received a letter, informing me of the +last illness and death of an esteemed friend and occasional +correspondent, Mrs. Hastings. Her history is an interesting one, and +aptly illustrates the effect of a word spoken in season. + +"You must often," says Dr. Chalmers, "have been sensible, in +the course of your history, how big, and how important the +consequences were, that emanated from one event, which in itself +was insignificant--how on the slightest accidents the greatest +interests were suspended--how, moving apparently at random, you met +with people, or with occasions, that gave rise, perhaps, to far the +most memorable passages in your life--how the very street in which +you chanced to move, brought you into contact with invitations and +appointments, or proposals of some sort, which brought results of +magnitude along with them; insomuch that the colour and direction +of your whole futurity have turned on what, apart from this mighty +bearing, would have been the veriest trifle in the world. A word--a +thought--an unforeseen emotion--an event of paltriest dimensions in +itself--may be the germ of an influence wide as a continent, and +lasting as a thousand years--may, in fact, change the current and +complexion of a person's social history and character, and lead to +consequences which shall be durable as eternity." + +Many years ago, I was unexpectedly called to London, on a matter +of great emergency. My travelling companion, for part of the way, +was a lady, attired in deep mourning. I endeavoured to draw her +into conversation, by referring to the beautiful scenery, and other +common-place topics, but I could not succeed. At length, on seeing +her drop a tear, which she endeavoured to conceal, I said, "This +world is rightly denominated a valley of weeping." + +"Yes, Sir, it is," replied the stranger. "I hope you will excuse my +weakness. I have sustained the greatest loss that can ever befall a +woman. I am a widow. I had one of the best of husbands; but cruel +fate tore him from me, even without permitting me to see him, till +his corpse was rudely exposed before me." + +She then told me that her husband left her early one morning to go +out shooting, but, on passing through a hedge, it is supposed, the +trigger of his gun got entangled in the briars, as he was found, an +hour after the report had been heard, lying on his face, with his +gun by his side, and his dogs crouching before and behind him, as +though their master was asleep. + +"Since that fatal hour, Sir, I have not had one pleasant feeling +in my desolate heart; and now I have left a spot on which nature +has lavished her beauties, to seek a tranquil death in some distant +shade." + +"But, Madam, do you never expect to see another happy day?" + +"No, Sir, never! No, never! I have tried every expedient in my +power, but they have all failed. I have been to Bath, to Cheltenham, +to Brighton, and have travelled on the Continent. I have read the +most popular novels of the English and the French schools; but all +is useless--mine is a hopeless case." + +"No, Madam, it may not be hopeless. I can direct you to a source of +consolation which you have not yet thought of." + +"Indeed, Sir; then I'll try it. I would freely part with wealth for +mental ease; for wealth, without happiness, is but an aggravation of +misery." + +"I would recommend you, Madam, to read the Bible. That book was +composed for the express purpose of promoting our happiness; and +if you read it with attention, and pray for wisdom to understand +it, and for a disposition to receive the truths which it reveals, +you will find that it will do you more essential good than all the +expedients which you have been trying." + +"If, Sir, I had not received a favourable impression of your +benevolent disposition, I really should imagine that you were +disposed to turn my intense grief into ridicule. Read the Bible! +Why, Sir, what is there in that obsolete book to interest me?" + +"No, Madam; the book is not obsolete, and never will be, as long +as human misery abounds in the world. That book has healed wounds +as deep as yours, and mitigated sorrows no less poignant; and, if +you examine it, you may find it as a well-spring of life to your +withered happiness." + +"Your advice, Sir, is prompted, I have no doubt, by the kindest +sympathy; but my heart instinctively recoils from adopting it." + +"Why, Madam?" + +"Because I cannot conceive how the reading of a book, which I have +always regarded as a collection of legendary tales, can remove or +assuage such sorrows as wring my spirit. I have neither faith nor +taste for such reading." + +"Have you ever read the Bible, Madam?" + +"O no, Sir, never! I may have read some passages as a school lesson, +but I don't remember any. My mother died when I was but a little +girl. From what I have heard an old servant say, I believe that she +was fond of the Bible; but my father abhorred it, and he trained me +to abhor it. He used to call it the Grand Mogul of superstition. +Its style of composition, I have heard him say, is as offensive to +correct taste, as its sentiments are revolting to a cultivated mind." + +"If you will permit me, Madam (taking out my little pocket Bible +while speaking), I will read you a few passages, and then you can +judge how far your belief is supported by evidence." + +She bowed assent, and I then read the twenty-third psalm. I saw, by +the expression of her countenance, that the chaste imagery of the +psalmist pleased her; but before we could interchange any remarks +the horn blew, and the mail suddenly stopped. However, when she +alighted to step into the carriage which was in waiting to receive +her, she said, in a tone of subdued seriousness, "I will follow +your advice, Sir, and read the Bible to form my own judgment of +its character and tendencies; and if you will favour me with your +card (which I gave her) I may, possibly, some day let you know the +result, especially if it should be what, I do not doubt, you wish it +may be." + +A long period had elapsed after this occurrence took place, and +it had nearly passed from my recollection, when it was very +unexpectedly revived by a letter from the lady. The letter was +subscribed Susannah Hastings, and, after calling to remembrance +the circumstances in which we had met, she proceeded to give me +a general outline of her subsequent history, accompanied by an +interesting account of her severe mental conflicts in her spiritual +inquiries, and a pressing invitation to call and see her, should I +ever pay a visit to London, where she then resided. I acknowledged +the receipt of the letter, congratulated her on the great moral +and spiritual change through which she had passed, and stated that +she might expect to see me very soon. Not long after that I had +occasion to be in London. Within a few days after my arrival, I +called on her, and had from her own lips a more detailed account of +the process of her conversion from darkness to light, than she had +given me in her letter. My visits were repeated during my sojourn +there, and since then we kept up an occasional correspondence. +From these two sources of information--her letters and her verbal +communications--I am able to give a finished sketch of her somewhat +marvellous, if not romantic history. + +Having entertained, from early childhood, a belief that the Bible +was a very objectionable book, both in point of sentiment and style +of composition, she says, in her first letter, "I was not only +surprised but delighted, by your reading the twenty-third psalm. I +saw the rural scene vividly depicted; the sheep feeding in the green +meadows, while the shepherd was reclining on the bank of the gently +flowing stream, watching the glad movements of the sportive lambs, +as the evening sun glided in noiseless splendour through the sky. +I at once resolved to purchase a Bible, thinking, _then_, that it +was merely a work of the imagination--an antique relic of some early +poetic age." But on her arrival in London, she was prevented from +doing this so soon as she intended, in consequence of the assiduous +attentions of her friends, who were ceaseless in their efforts to +raise her drooping spirits; naturally thinking that, if they could +succeed in doing so, she would get reconciled to her fate, and again +enjoy life. Hence she was lured from one gay scene to another still +more exciting, and every expedient was adopted which ingenuity could +devise, to amuse and gratify her. But she soon found, that neither +the opera, nor the theatre, nor the fascinations of private parties, +could assuage the tumultuous agitations of her heart. "I moved +amongst them," she said, "more like an automaton than a living being +who felt any pleasure in existence." + +An incident now occurred, that led her into a new train of thought, +which proved the beginning of an eventful issue in the history of +her life. On passing her bookseller's, she looked in, to inquire +about a new novel, which she had seen announced as just issued +from the press. There she saw on the counter a small Bible, which +brought our conversation in the stage coach to her remembrance, +and she purchased it. In her first letter, she says, "I soon found +the twenty-third psalm, and as I re-perused it, its poetic imagery +appeared to my mind more beautiful than ever. I then turned to Psalm +ciii., which I read with more solemnity of feeling. It made me think +of myself, and it brought me imperceptibly into contact with God. +I was delighted by his assumption of the paternal character. This +was the first time in my life I felt any force, or perceived any +intelligible meaning, in the petition in the Lord's Prayer--_Our +Father, who art in heaven_; but yet my perceptions of its meaning +were very vague and indefinite. They did not excite any emotions +of love, or of gratitude, or filial trust; but they left a strong +impression on my mind. It was a strange and startling impression, +that, though an inhabitant of earth, I was moving towards another +world. I am sure I had not thought so much about God or another +world all my life, as I thought that night, and particularly when +my head was on my pillow. My day-thoughts came up in my dreams, and +in a more lucid form, and produced a more powerful effect. When I +awoke in the morning, I felt a strange sensation of mental ease, +which greatly astonished me, as I knew not by what cause it had been +produced. The agitating forces of bitter grief and sullen discontent +were in a state of quietude; and though not really happy, yet my +spirits were buoyant, rising at times to cheerfulness." + +At this juncture she had to fulfil a long-standing engagement--to +accompany a party of friends on a tour to the north; and though she +endeavoured to excuse herself, yet she felt compelled to yield, +as the excursion had been planned principally on her account. +When alluding to this excursion, at my first interview with her, +she said:--"At an earlier period of my life, I should have been +delighted, when wandering through the Trosachs or sailing on +Lochlomond, when gazing on the wonders of Staffa or surveying +the magnificent scene from the top of Goatfell; but my mental +susceptibilities were unstrung, and I felt no response to the scenes +of beauty and grandeur which I beheld. But never shall I forget +the little unobtrusive inn at Brodick, nor my neat little bed-room +there, as I there saw a Bible, the first I had seen since I left +home. I sat me down, and, in addition to the two psalms that had +become favourites with me, I read Psalm cvii., which greatly excited +me, as it revived the fearful emotions of the preceding day, when, +on nearing Arran, we had to encounter a terrific storm." + +On her return home, she resumed her reading of the Scriptures, +and passed from the Psalms to the Prophecies of Isaiah. The bold +imagery of the prophet delighted her, but she could not trace its +application, or its meaning; and, in reference to his sixth chapter, +she was greatly perplexed to decide whether it was a poetical +fiction, or a real description of heaven. "My first course of +reading," she says in her letter, "left an impression on my mind +that we have not, in any of the walks of literature, such a class +of men as the writers of the Bible. These men possess some rare +endowments; they appear to know more about God and another world +than any other writers whose works I have ever read. There is a +majestic simplicity, and sublime grandeur, in all their statements +and descriptions of the unknown world, and its great spirits." + +Having no one to guide her in her study of the Scriptures, her +reading was very desultory; she passed from one book to another +in great mental perplexity, and could not discover any obvious +connection between them, resembling the continuity preserved in +other works with which she was familiar. At length she turned +to Paul's Epistles, but they were dark and mystical, and rather +repulsive to her taste, being so unlike the poetic and the prophetic +books; to her mind they presented no sublimity or beauty; and +yet she admitted, it was a strange repulsiveness--it gave her no +offence, or even distaste to the Bible. "I now," she adds, "began +reading the Gospels. They were more intelligible. The narratives +pleased me. I was delighted with some of the scenes, particularly +the Prodigal Son, and the Pharisee and Publican in the Temple. The +tales interested me; they seemed to wear the air of truthfulness, +and yet at times I thought them inventions. The history of Jesus +Christ very soon took a strong hold of my imagination, and I soon +began to admire the fine blending of majesty and meekness, of +dignity and tenderness, of lofty bearing, which no insults could +disturb, and sweet compassion, which his character so broadly +exhibits. Yes, I often said, he is a real person, for no human +genius could invent such a person, or draw such a character. I +followed him through the dark period of his agonizing sufferings, +from his prostration in the garden to Calvary, where he was +crucified. I wept when I saw him on the cross." + +In one of the interviews I had with her, she said, that two +things both surprised and perplexed her. She was at a loss to +conceive the reason why his countrymen treated Jesus Christ with +so much unkindness and cruelty, when he was such an extraordinary +benefactor, and so benevolent--going about doing them good, healing +their sick, restoring their injured senses of sight and hearing, +and even raising their dead. The other thing that surprised and +perplexed her was, that he should continue to live amongst them, +when they were so rude in their manners, and insolent in their +speech, and when he knew they were often plotting to take away +his life. Why did he not leave them, and go and live amongst some +more humane and generous people, who would return such a style +of treatment by courtesy and gratitude? The more she thought of +these things, the more she was perplexed. She felt so bewildered, +that she put her Bible in her book-case, under an impression she +should never be able to understand it. And yet she could not let +it remain there long. Her curiosity was too much excited, and her +self-imposed prohibition tended to increase her eager solicitude +to make out the meaning of what she read. Hence she resumed her +reading exercise; and on going through the Gospel of John very +carefully, a ray of light fell on _one fact_ in the history of +Jesus Christ, which, while it increased her perplexity, opened the +way towards a discovery to be made in some future stages of her +inquiry. The fact was this: she perceived that, when in conversation +with his disciples, he occasionally made emphatic allusions to the +_necessity_ of his death. This she thought very strange, as it +was a case without a parallel within the compass of her reading. +However, it fixed her attention; and, on a more minute examination, +she perceived that he professed to come from heaven, and avowed +his intention of returning thither; and that he spoke of dying, as +though he had a stronger interest in death than in life, foretelling +to his disciples the agonizing death he was to die (Matt. xx. +17-19). His not recoiling from such a death, and doing everything in +his power to escape it, led her to think that he was some incarnate +being of a peculiar order, who had some special mission to fulfil, +and yet she could not imagine what that mission could be--a mission, +depending for its accomplishment on death, rather than on life, +appeared to her a mystery too profound for human ingenuity to +unravel. "At length," and I cannot do better than quote from her +letter, she says, "a thought struck me and I acted on it, and the +labour of doing so produced a momentary suspension of my oppressive +anxiety. I arranged, as well as I could, some of the passages which +appeared to assign the reasons for Christ's death, to which he often +alluded, particularly the following:--'Even as the Son of man came +not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a +ransom for many' (Matt. xx. 28). 'I am the good shepherd: the good +shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' 'As the Father knoweth me, +even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.' +'Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that +I might take it again.' 'No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down +of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it +again. This commandment have I received of my Father' (John x. 11, +15, 17, 18). I endeavoured to work out an intelligible meaning from +these passages, but I could not. A mysticism enveloped them which I +could not penetrate. I wanted a living expositor. I longed for an +interview with you, and more than once half-resolved to come and see +you, as, though you were a stranger, I felt you were a friend, and +I knew no other whom I could consult. I had no book in my library +which gave me any help, and I knew not what book to inquire for, +if I applied to my bookseller. No language can depict the excited +state of my heart. I felt intuitively assured there was some latent +meaning in these mysterious sayings of Jesus Christ, or he would not +have uttered them. He was too wise and too good to utter what was +false or foolish. But I could not trace out the clue of discovery. +This at times repulsed me, but, on cool reflection, it appeared like +a silent proof that the Bible was not a book of human invention, as, +in that case, I thought, by dint of application, I should be able to +decipher its meaning. One thing now surprises me, and that is, that, +while cherishing the idea that the Bible was a Divine book, rather +than a human one, I never thought of lifting up my heart in prayer +to God for wisdom and grace to understand it." + +In this state of painful bewilderment, depressed by repeated +failures in her efforts to acquire the knowledge which she deemed +essential to her happiness, yet resolutely determined to prosecute +her inquiries, she wrote to her uncle, a clergyman of the Church +of England, stating her case, with its painful perplexities, and +desiring his sympathy and advice. He replied, expressing some +surprise at the receipt of such a letter, and intimating his +apprehension that she had been hearing some methodistical or +evangelical preaching, which he denounced as a fatal heresy, more +calculated to drive people into a state of derangement, than to +advance them in virtue or in happiness. He assured her that, as she +had been, in baptism, made a member of Christ, a child of God, and +an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, she need not cherish any +anxieties about her spiritual safety or final salvation. He advised +her to banish the absurd chimaeras, which were disquieting her, +and go and take the sacrament, which, he said, was the spiritual +nourishment which Almighty God had provided to sustain the inner +life of the soul; and, in addition, he recommended her to mingle +rather more in the circles of gaiety, so as to drive away her +melancholy ideas. This letter was both mystical and unsatisfactory. +It contradicted her experience, and she felt astonished that a +clergyman should advise her to go more frequently into the gay +world. "I knew," she said, "that my own ideas were not fanciful, +but the vague conceptions of some great truths of the Bible; and +I felt as unable to banish them from my heart, as a person, when +asleep, feels unable to banish the dreams which disquiet him." +However, she decided on joining in the communion; and being then at +Bath, away from all her gay friends, she went to church, and took +the sacrament--a thing she had never done before. But it had no +tranquillizing effect; indeed, it increased her perplexity, and for +awhile made her think that her case was a hopeless one, and that +it would be better for her to abandon all further solicitude and +inquiries, than to cherish and prosecute them. But she could not +bring herself to such a decision; and the more she laboured to do +so, the more anxious she became to get the clue of discovery, which +she thought was to be found _somewhere_. In this state of intense +anxiety and great depression, she returned to her town residence. +Her friends were more assiduous to please than ever; but some were +mortified, and others were offended, because she would not again +enter into the gay scenes and habits of former times; occasionally +they hinted their apprehensions that she would soon turn an +Evangelical, and become as scrupulous and devout as any of the sect. +These sarcasms, in conjunction with her uncle's letter, suggested +to her the idea of going to some church, where an evangelical +minister did duty, thinking it possible that he might give her the +explanation she so much desired; but she long hesitated about doing +this, as she had not gone to any place of public worship for many +years, with the exception of the time when she took the sacrament +at Bath. Her desire at length became so strong, that one Sunday +morning she left home, not knowing where to go; but, on passing +along the street, she saw some respectable and sedate-looking people +going into a church, whither she followed them. This church was a +Dissenting chapel, which, she said, she should not have entered if +she had known it, as she had been accustomed to hear Dissenters +spoken of as an uneducated and uncouth people. She felt a strange +sensation on seeing the clergyman ascend the pulpit in a plain black +coat, instead of going into the reading-desk in a white surplice; +but the soft melody of the singing, and the emphatic solemnity of +his style of reading the Scriptures, calmed her momentary agitation, +and she listened to his prayer with devout seriousness. This was +the first extempore prayer she had ever heard; and when speaking of +it, in one of our interviews, she remarked that, in one particular, +it bore a resemblance to her Bible reading--parts were plain and +intelligible, and parts were under a veil of mysteriousness. The +minister seemed to know the desires and emotions that were stirring +within her, and he expressed them with so much accuracy and force, +that it greatly astonished her. "Had I confessed to him," she +remarked, "he could not have had a more perfect knowledge of what +was passing in my mind." + +When God has any special design to accomplish, we may often trace +the harmonious conjunction of the various agents and agencies which +he employs in effecting it. The Ethiopian eunuch was sitting in his +chariot, reading the prophet Esaias, when Philip, under a Divine +impulse, went and seated himself by his side. The passage he was +reading was veiled in darkness, and he asked for an explanation, +which was immediately given, understood, and felt; the moral +transformation took place by the concurring action of Divine power; +he avowed his newly originated faith; was baptized, and went on +his way rejoicing--the visible agent of the great transaction +disappearing, that the tribute of adoring gratitude might be offered +up exclusively to the God of all grace. We pass from this wondrous +scene to another, stamped with the same moral insignia, though +not quite so obviously conspicuous. Here is a person of superior +intelligence, who has long been labouring, by her own unaided +reason, to decipher the hidden mysteries of the truth as it is in +Jesus, and labouring in vain. She leaves her own home on a Sabbath +morning in quest of a living expositor, yet not knowing where to +find one. An unseen hand guides her to a chapel, which she would +have disdained to enter had she known its denominational character. +Her latent prejudices spring up into powerful action when she +observes a slight deviation in the order of the service from that +with which her eye was once familiar; and yet they are overcome by +a devotional exercise, which surprised her by its novelty, while +it strongly interested her by its appropriateness. The question +she left home to have solved is a simple, yet a very important +one; and on its solution her happiness is dependent. The second +hymn is sung. The minister rises in his pulpit; his Bible is open +before him, and, after a short pause, he announces his text, "And +I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. +This he said, signifying what death he should die" (John xii. 32, +33). The sketch he gives of the crucifixion is thrilling; and many +weep while he presents to their view the chief actors who performed +their parts on this tragical occasion. Mrs. Hastings also weeps. +The preacher now passes from description to explanation; from a +detailed statement of facts, to an elucidation of the design for +which the Son of God groaned, and bled, and died. She listens with +breathless attention, as he unravels the thread of mystery which +ran through all the passages of the Bible which she had arranged +and studied, without perceiving their import. "I felt," she said, +"intuitively assured, when he entered on this part of his subject, +that the light of explanation was coming; and I was intensely eager +to catch every utterance. I now perceived that the death of Jesus +Christ was a voluntary ransom, to redeem and to save the lost and +the guilty. The first part of his sermon awakened my sympathy; +the latter part touched another chord of my heart. I wept again; +but from a different cause. My sins made me weep; and the love +of Christ in dying to expiate them, made me weep--and I now wept +as I had never wept before. It was with some difficulty I could +refrain weeping, even when the clergyman had finished his sermon, +which lasted rather more than an hour. I could have listened to him +much longer. I never knew time go so rapidly. I left the hallowed +place with reluctance, thinking, as I paced back to my home, that I +was now entering as into a new world of existence, abounding with +mystic, yet intelligible wonders. I was in a tumult of emotion, yet +it was a calm ecstasy of feeling. I clasped my Bible, and pressed it +to my bosom. I thought of your words, which I never forgot, though, +when I first heard them, they sounded in my ear as the mockery of +grief:--'That book has healed wounds as deep as yours; and if you +examine it, you will find it a well-spring of life to your withered +happiness.' I now can attest the truth of your declaration. I have +tasted its sweet waters; they are indeed the waters of life. None +other so sweet or powerful. I can now respond to the truthfulness of +the following paraphrase of Dr. Watts, whom I now prefer to Byron or +Wordsworth--he is the poet of the heart weighed down by sorrow and +anxiety:-- + + 'Lord, I have made thy word my choice, + My lasting heritage: + There shall my noblest powers rejoice, + My warmest thoughts engage. + + 'The best relief that mourners have, + It makes our sorrows bless'd: + Our fairest hopes beyond the grave, + And our eternal rest.'" + +I was happy to find that she had withdrawn from the gay circles of +fashion, and, while she kept up a partial intimacy with some of her +former associates, her spirit and example bore a testimony against +their vain and ensnaring pursuits. She had put on a religious +profession, and felt it to be an honour to obtain membership with +the church of which her spiritual counsellor and guide was the +pastor. This gave great offence to her clerical uncle, and also to +some of her other relatives who resided in London, but she was too +independent in spirit to submit to the arbitrary control of those +who were the secret enemies of the cross of Christ; and though she +did not court reproach as a desirable test of principle, yet she +gave proof, by her steadfastness in the faith, and the amiable +placidity of her temper, that it possessed no power to warp her +judgment or disturb her peace. She was too retiring in her habits +to take an active part in any of the public institutions connected +with the church and congregation of which she was a member, but she +became a generous contributor to their funds, doing good and working +righteousness, not desiring to be seen of men--a devout woman, who +feared God above many. She might again and again have changed her +widowed state, and with flattering prospect of distinction and +happiness, but she had fully made up her mind, that she would never +put off the weeds of widowhood till the set time came when she was +to pass away from earth, to be arrayed in the vestments of the +heavenly world. She cherished through every stage of life the memory +of her dear departed husband with an intensity of feeling which +appeared to increase as she advanced in years. To the poor of the +household of faith she was a warm-hearted and liberal benefactor; +in no exercise did she take more delight than in visiting the sick +and afflicted; and though a Dissenter, she was free from bigotry and +prejudice, and could say, with the apostle, "Grace be with all them +that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen" (Eph. vi. 24). + +Our correspondence was kept up for a number of years, and in one +of her last letters she says:--"I am truly thankful to God that +he gave me grace to withdraw from the gay world. It is altogether +a gorgeous sham--a fascinating delusion; felt as such even by +those who are spell-bound by its charms. I often look back, dear +Sir, with astonishment and gratitude, to our casual meeting in +the stage coach, which has proved to me the most eventful and the +most important occurrence of my life. It has been the introduction +of a new era in my history. The mystery of my irreparable loss is +now explained. The husband of my devoted attachment was smitten, +and died. He was taken from me without my being permitted to say +farewell, and, even to this hour, I feel a bitter pang when I think +of his melancholy end. Had he been spared to feel what I have felt +of spiritual sorrow, and of spiritual consolation and hope, we +should have lived in the sweet anticipations of eternal life. I +pine, but I dare not murmur. The past is the fearful thunder-storm +of desolation, from which, praise be to God, I have now emerged, and +enjoy the brightness and calm of a serene and unclouded sky. + +"When, my dear Sir, I contrast, as I often do, my present, with my +former self--my present, with my former tastes--my present, with my +former habits, and my present bright prospects of immortality with +my former prospects, overshadowed by the deep gloom of ceaseless +sorrow--I appear a wonder to myself. I am the same person I was +when I repelled your advice to read the Bible, thinking it a +piece of wild fanaticism; but how changed am I now in heart and +feeling--become, I trust, a new creature in Christ Jesus." Psalm +ciii. 1-5. + +My friend who announced to me the decease of Mrs. Hastings, informed +me that her preceding illness was not of long duration, nor was it +attended by any severe physical sufferings. During its continuance, +her mind was kept in perfect peace; and at times, she felt a joy +unspeakable in anticipation of beholding the Son of God, who +was crucified on Calvary, seated on his celestial throne; and of +mingling with the countless myriads, in offering their adorations +and praises. Her last intelligible utterance was, "Lord Jesus, +receive my spirit;" and, after a slight convulsive struggle, she +cast one look on the friend standing by her side, and then expired. + + + + +THE FAMILY OF THE HOLMES. + + +On my return one afternoon from a round of pastoral visits, I was +informed that a gentleman was waiting to see me; and I received a +most agreeable surprise in finding that it was no other than Mr. +Holmes, an old and much valued friend, and whose eldest daughter +Louisa has already been casually mentioned as a friend and +correspondent of Miss Roscoe.[15] He informed me that he had just +left his family at Dawlish, their favourite summer resort, where +they had been rusticating for nearly two months, and had come to +transact some business in my neighbourhood. I pressed him to remain +a few days with me, but he would consent to stay only one night, +as he had already been occupied a longer time than he expected. +Before leaving, he extorted a promise from me that, as soon as my +avocations permitted it, I would pay him a visit at the Elms, his +seat near London, whither he and his family expected to return in +the end of the summer. + + [15] Vol. i. page 232. + +The history of Mr. Holmes' career in life is an interesting one, +and furnishes a striking example of those gradual elevations from +poverty and obscurity to affluence and an honoured position in the +world, which are, perhaps, more frequently to be met with in the +ranks of English society than in those of any other country. I will +here give some account of it, as exhibiting an instructive example +of persevering industry and upright conduct, crowned by honour and +success. + +Mr. Holmes was the second son of a respectable farmer, who rented +a small estate in the county of Warwick. When a little boy he was +very inquisitive, fond of mixing with his seniors and superiors, +from whom he gained much information; and though there was no good +school in the neighbourhood, yet, by the assistance of the kind and +amiable Vicar of the parish, he acquired the rudiments of a useful +education. That leisure time which other children usually devote +to play, he gave to reading and study, and before he was fourteen, +he was a very good accountant. He happened, when about nine years +old, to read the popular story of _Whittington and his Cat_, and +such was the deep impression it made on his mind, that it became +the perpetual subject of his conversation; and he would often amuse +the other members of the family with visionary tales of his future +eminence. He would say to his brothers, "I will leave _you_ to feed +cows, and pigs, and horses, and turn up the clods of the field; but +when I grow up, I will go to London, and see if I cannot become as +great a man as Whittington." So completely had this passion gained +an ascendency over him, that he would often walk miles to see the +mail coach pass along the road towards the far-famed city; and after +listening to the sound of the horn, with an ecstasy of delight which +no other notes could inspire, he would return home to talk and to +dream of his future adventures. + +When about the age of fifteen, his father died, leaving a large +family unprovided for; and as Henry could not think of remaining any +longer at home, his mother gave him a guinea and a few shillings, +and he set off to seek his fortune. His youthful ardour kindled into +rapture when he first saw the distant dome of St. Paul's towering +above the buildings and smoke of the wondrous metropolis. Though +he occasionally shed a tear of affection at the remembrance of his +beloved relatives in his native village, yet he was so absorbed in +the visions of his own fancy, that he was rarely depressed. Several +days were spent in fruitless efforts to obtain a situation--his +few shillings were expended, and the shadows of another night were +deepening into darkness, when he sat down on the stone steps in +front of a gentleman's house to rest himself. While he sat there +ruminating over the scenes of his boyhood, and pleasing himself with +the hopes of brighter and better days, a gentleman in a gig drove +up to the door; and as he was getting out, Henry rose and offered +his assistance by holding the horse. The quickness of his movements, +and the pleasing smile on his fine ruddy countenance, attracted the +notice of Mr. Lucas, who asked him his name and place of residence. +"My name, Sir, is Henry Holmes," he replied; "I was born in the +county of Warwick; my father was a farmer, and he is just dead. I +did not like to stay at home to be a burden to my mother, who has +a large family to bring up, so I left home last Monday, to see if +I could get a place of work in London; and if you will hire me, +Sir, I will try to please you." This simple, artless tale made its +way to the heart of Mr. Lucas, who said, "How long have you been +in London?" "Three days, Sir, but I have not been able to get any +work." "Have you any money?" "Yes, Sir, I have a guinea which mother +gave me when I left home, but I am afraid to change it, for if I do, +all my money may soon be gone." This circumstance gave Mr. Lucas +such a high opinion of Henry's carefulness of disposition, that +he at once resolved to take him into his service. Having obtained +his mother's address, he wrote to her and also to the Vicar of the +parish. In a few days he received an answer which confirmed the +truth of the statement of the adventurous youth, and at the same +time bore honourable testimony to his fidelity and industry. + +Mr. Lucas was a grocer, who lived in Fore Street, and had acquired +a handsome fortune by his trade. Like most wealthy citizens, he +had his country-house, where he resided during the summer months, +coming to business in the morning and returning in the evening. +As his groom had just left him, the thought struck him that this +country lad might very well supply his place; and Henry rejoiced to +enter on his new employment. He had to clean the horse and gig, +the knives and shoes, and look after some choice poultry; and such +was the attention he paid to his work, and the amiability of his +disposition, that he soon became a favourite with the whole family. +On their return to town for the winter he accompanied them; and as +he possessed talents which fitted him for a higher situation, his +master took him into the shop, where he distinguished himself by his +close attention to business. No one was cleaner in his person, or +neater in his dress; no one was more obliging in his disposition; +the rusticity of his appearance soon wore off; his punctuality and +habit of despatch became proverbial; and though his temper was +hasty and irritable, yet he kept it in a state of subjection, and +uniformly displayed a union of excellencies, which is but rarely +found in so young a person. + +Such is the precarious tenure on which men hold their reputation +under the mysterious dispensations of Providence, that it is often +endangered no less by their virtues than their vices; and those who +at one period are esteemed and admired by the wise and the good, +are at another plunged into the depth of misery by the malignant +cruelty of the wicked. Thus it was with Henry. There were two +persons belonging to the establishment, his seniors in age, and +superiors in rank, who were jealous of him; and as they could not +shake the stability of his character by any just accusations, they +resolved to destroy it by artifice. One of them who had the care of +the till-drawer complained for several succeeding evenings of having +missed some money, and it was arranged that some marked money should +be put into the drawer. This was done; at nine o'clock the money was +counted, and the sum of five shillings and sixpence was missing. +This fact was immediately communicated to Mr. Lucas, who called +all the servants into the counting-house, and proposed that each +one should have his person and his boxes searched, without being +permitted to leave the room. To this proposal they all assented; and +lots were drawn to determine the exact order in which the search +should be made. The first name drawn was the head-shopman, who +immediately gave up all his keys to Mr. Lucas, and underwent the +strictest examination, but he was pronounced innocent; the second +was the man who had the care of the till, and he also was pronounced +innocent; the third was Henry Holmes, who, after being searched, +said, "My box, Sir, is not locked." Mr. Lucas then quitted the room +to search it, and on his return, looking steadfastly in Henry's +face, said, "I certainly did not suspect you, Henry, but I have +found the money in your box" (producing it), "and as you have given +me such a proof of your ingratitude and perfidy, you shall leave my +house to-morrow morning." + +"Sir," replied Henry in a firm tone, "I am innocent. Some one has +placed the money in my box which might be very easily done, as I +scarcely ever lock it." + +"I have suspected you for a long time," said one of the shopmen; +"for no one is so likely to be guilty of fraud, as he who overacts +the part of virtue." + +Mr. Lucas now withdrew into the parlour, when he related the whole +circumstances, and as soon as Mrs. Lucas heard the accusation of +the shopman, she said, "Henry is innocent. He is the victim of +another's treachery, and some plan must be adopted to detect the +culprit. In my opinion the accuser is the guilty party, or at least +an accomplice. It is fair to presume that he who stole the last sum, +stole the preceding sums that have been lost. How then will you +account for finding only the five shillings and sixpence?" + +"It is impossible," said Miss Lucas, "that Henry can be the thief. +We never lost anything when he was with us in the country, and we +know that he does not go out to places of amusement like the others, +and therefore he is under less temptation to extravagance than they +are. There is a plot to effect his ruin, which I hope and trust will +be discovered." + +While they were talking, the housemaid entered the parlour, and +said, that she had just overheard the two young men talking together +on the subject, and she distinctly heard one say, "It was well +planned, and well executed, and now we shall get rid of him." She +was requested to take no notice of what she had heard, but to act +as though she really believed that Henry was guilty. As these two +young men slept together, Mr. Lucas removed some tea chests which +stood against a thin partition that separated their bedroom from an +upper warehouse, and having placed himself near an aperture in one +of the boards, he waited till they retired to rest. Having, from +their conversation, received a full conviction of their guilt, he +withdrew, and informed his wife and daughter that he was perfectly +satisfied of Henry's innocence. + +The next morning he rose rather earlier than usual, and before +the porter had opened the shop, he summoned all the shopmen into +his presence, and charged these two men, first, with the crime +of stealing the money, and then with the still baser crime of +attempting to involve an innocent person in their guilt. This +unexpected charge--the indignant firmness with which it was +brought--the involuntary movement of Henry, who came forward to look +his accusers in the face, confounded and abashed them; and though +each made some faint efforts to deny it, yet when Mr. Lucas repeated +the conversation which he had overheard the preceding night, and +threatened that if they did not immediately acknowledge their guilt, +and solicit Henry's forgiveness, he would send for the police, they +made a full confession, and implored mercy in the most suppliant +manner. Henry at once forgave them, and interceded for them; but Mr. +Lucas would not consent that such men should remain in his service, +and having paid them their arrears of wages, he discharged them. + +This plot, which was laid to effect Henry's ruin, led to his +advancement, and he now rose rapidly, step after step, till he +became the manager of Mr. Lucas' establishment. + +We often see tradesmen, when they have amassed a large fortune, +affecting contempt for the rank of life in which they have moved, +discovering at the same time a strong anxiety that their children, +especially their daughters, should form alliances with those who +move in the higher and more exalted circles of society. Hence they +will often sacrifice a daughter at the shrine of their vanity, +and give a large portion of the wealth which their industry +has accumulated, to some titled pauper, whose extravagance first +reduces her to beggary, and whose unkindness at length breaks her +heart. But Mr. Lucas was a wise man. He never rose in feeling or in +expectation above the level of his station. He had but one child, +and he wished to see her happy; and when he perceived that a mutual +regard subsisted between her and Henry, he expressed his entire +approbation, and they were married. On this event taking place, Mr. +Lucas retired from business, and at his decease, which happened +about twelve months after that of his wife, he left the greater part +of his property to Mr. Holmes. + +[Illustration: THE CONSPIRACY DEFEATED. + +Vol. ii. page 128.] + +Mr. Holmes, who had thus risen, by the Divine blessing on his +industry, from a humble situation to a position of wealth and +eminence, would often allude in conversation to his original +condition, and exhibit his guinea as a proud memorial of his +former poverty;--thus rebuking, by his example, the pride of many +a modern Croesus, who is no less anxious to conceal from others +his origin, than to make an ostentatious display of his wealth. +He had a large family, and as he took considerable pains with the +education of his children, and set before them an example worthy +of their imitation, he had the pleasure of seeing them growing +up, esteemed and respected, bidding fair to be the ornaments of a +future generation. His two eldest sons were in partnership with him, +his youngest was studying medicine, one daughter was married to a +country gentleman in Warwickshire, and three were still living with +him. He had long resisted the importunity of his children to take +some country residence, that they might enjoy an occasional retreat +from the noise, and smoke, and bustle of the city; but when his +wife urged the measure, it was at once adopted, as he was no less +anxious to gratify her wishes than she was to avoid the indulgence +of unsuitable gratifications. + +After many unsuccessful efforts to obtain an eligible residence, +he purchased a small estate about seven miles from London, where +he erected a neat and commodious mansion; and as his two sons were +now able to manage his business, he retired from the more active +and laborious duties of it, to spend the evening of his days amidst +rural scenes, with which his earliest and deepest impressions were +associated. Having been accustomed, when a child, to attend his +parish church on the Sabbath, he regularly observed the practice +through life; and though for many years he had no clear perceptions +of the nature or the design of the gospel, yet soon after the +settlement of the Rev. Mr. Newton at St. Mary Woolnoth, he began to +feel its enlightening and purifying influence. At first he disliked +his style of preaching, and the pride of his heart rose up against +that plan of salvation which requires the man of virtue to implore +mercy in terms as humiliating as those which the chief of sinners +employ; but as his knowledge increased, his prejudices gradually +subsided, and though he could not remember any specific time when +the great moral change was effected, by which he passed from death +unto life, yet he uniformly spoke of it as the most important and +blissful event of his history. + +The renovation which the grace of God produces in the human +character, often leaves the ruling passion to retain its ascendency, +while it gives it a new direction; and he who undergoes it, usually +displays the same bold decision or hesitating precaution--the +same spirit of active enterprise or prudent consideration, in his +religious profession, that he has been accustomed to display in the +avocations of everyday life. But on some occasions it is just the +reverse; and we see the avowed infidel, when convinced of the truth +of the gospel, halting between two opinions--the active tradesman, +who keeps the machinery of a large and complicated concern in a +brisk and constant motion, a lukewarm Christian--and the man who +could face, without flinching, the most appalling dangers, discover +a shrinking timidity when the obligations to a life of practical +devotedness to God are pressed upon his attention. To account for +such a moral phenomenon would be absolutely impossible, unless +we advert to the powerful influence which sensible objects are +known to possess over the mind, especially during that period +in the religious experience of a Christian when his faith in +the Divine testimony is weak and defective; but as that great +moral principle increases in strength and animation, the natural +dispositions recover their native tone and vigour--the mind no more +vacillates--but rising to a full conviction of the superior value of +the things which are unseen and eternal, gives to them its supreme +attention and affection. + +Mr. Holmes felt the transforming power of the truth soon after +his marriage, which led him to the adoption of religious habits +and customs; but he was too deeply involved in the cares +and perplexities of business to become a very zealous and +public-spirited Christian. His moral character was unimpeachable, +and he brought the great principles of religion to regulate his +conduct in the ordinary affairs of life; but his heart was too much +in the world--the fervour of his devotional spirit bore no just +proportion to his diligence in business, and he was less anxious for +the higher attainments of faith than for the acquisition of wealth. +He regularly attended the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Newton on the +Sabbath; but that ministry was more frequently the word of reproof +than consolation; and though the hope of a blissful immortality +would sometimes dawn upon him, yet it shone with too feeble a ray to +afford him entire satisfaction; as it is wisely ordained that a full +assurance of eternal life shall be imparted only to those who give +_diligence_ to make their calling and election sure. + +Mrs. Holmes was certainly more devout than her husband, and devoted +a larger proportion of her time to reading and meditation; but +her associations were unfavourable to the growth of her piety, +which, though sincere, was too much tinctured with superstition. +She thought more of her duties than her privileges--of her defects +than of Him who came to repair them--placed more dependence for +consolation and hope on prayer and watchfulness than on the blood of +sprinkling; and, while she did not doubt the truth of the promises, +she uniformly gave a more implicit assent to the threatenings of the +sacred volume. She was rather a disciple of the mortified Baptist +than of the merciful Redeemer. Her devotions were sincere and +fervent, but not elevating. They consisted much in contrition, but +little in praise--much in sorrow for sin, but little in hope of its +pardon. She did not sufficiently cast her confidence on the great +Propitiation. She firmly believed all that the Saviour had done and +suffered for sinners, but she could not claim for her own enjoyment +the benefits resulting from his mission and death. While she was +painfully working out her salvation with fear and trembling, she +indulged the most unfounded apprehensions of the Divine displeasure, +and lived more in dread of perishing than in expectation of being +saved. + +No circumstance gave them so much uneasiness, on their removal +to their country seat, as the loss of that ministry under which +they had been brought to feel the power of the truth; especially +as the Vicar of the parish was decidedly opposed to evangelical +sentiments. The junior branches of the family were intelligent and +accomplished, but they made no profession of religion; and now +they were liberated from the restraints which a faithful and an +enlightened ministry had thrown over the evil tendencies of their +nature, they evinced a strong inclination to adopt the habits, and +conform to the customs of fashionable life, which greatly perplexed +and depressed their pious parents, especially their mother. An +intimate friend (Mrs. Loader), who spent some weeks at the Elms, saw +this manifest change in their predilections, and availing herself of +a favourable opportunity, she alluded to it, when in conversation +with Miss Holmes, and delicately, yet most earnestly, urged her to +be on her guard, or the change in their place of residence would +become a snare, if it did not break up all their religious habits, +and prove fatal to their spiritual happiness and safety. This +admonitory warning Louisa received with gratitude, as a fresh proof +of the kind concern her friend felt for the best interests, both of +herself and of the entire family. "Indeed," she remarked, "the world +abounds with evil, but no temptation is so pernicious, or so much +to be dreaded, as irreligious society; and this is the only society +which we now have. I fear it will prove destructive of all the good +impressions we have received under the ministry of the venerable Mr. +Newton. His appeals operated as a check and as a restraint on the +evil tendencies of our nature; but now we are allured into worldly +habits, by being told from the pulpit that we ought to see life, +and have free access to all its scenes and sources of pleasure and +amusement. Mamma has been endeavouring to persuade papa to take +an excursion to Dawlish, which will remove us from this scene of +danger, and I hope on our return we shall be enabled to withstand +every enticement injurious to our religious habits." On taking +leave, Mrs. Loader presented her with a copy of Doddridge's _Rise +and Progress of Religion in the Soul_, which Miss Holmes said she +had read, but promised to peruse again, as a compliment to the +kindness which had dictated the present. + +Miss Holmes' two sisters, Emma and Jane, were several years younger +than herself. They bore some resemblance to each other in the +general outlines of their character, but materially differed in +some of its more prominent features. As they had just finished +their education in a school, where all the accomplishments could be +acquired, except the one most essential to human happiness, they +felt themselves in their native element when moving in the circles +of gaiety and folly. Emma had the finest figure, but Jane possessed +the most cultivated mind. The former excelled in gracefulness of +manners, the latter in sweetness of disposition; and while Emma +was rather fond of display, there was an unobtrusive modesty about +Jane which inclined her to conceal her most attractive charms. Emma +appeared to most advantage in a large party, where she moved, and +spoke as though she were the presiding spirit of the scene; Jane, +in a select circle, where the interchange of thought and sentiment +could take place without being subjected to the interruptions and +breaks which a promiscuous throng invariably occasions. Emma was +rather of a satirical temper, with a keen sense of the ludicrous; +but Jane surpassed most of her own age in that practical good sense +which is more valuable than artificial polish. Though, however, they +thus differed so materially in some of the more prominent features +of their character, they were nevertheless passionately fond of +each other, and much attached to their parents, their brothers, and +sisters. + +As Mr. Holmes had applied himself to the toils of business with +unremitting constancy for so many years, and had acquired a large +fortune, he yielded without hesitation to the solicitations of Mrs. +Holmes and his daughters, and took a tour with them through the +west of England, visiting in their route all the localities either +famed for their natural beauty, or interesting by their historical +associations. Travelling by easy stages, they at last reached +Dawlish in Devonshire, with which they were so much delighted that +they remained there for several months. Here it was that Miss Holmes +was introduced to Miss Roscoe, with whom she formed an acquaintance, +which soon ripened to an ardent friendship, and proved in future +years a source of much spiritual enjoyment. + + + + +A MISFORTUNE OFTEN A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. + + +Shortly after the return of the family to the Elms, from their +Devonshire excursion, Miss Holmes sustained an accident, which, +though apparently an untoward occurrence, she used afterwards to +speak of as having exercised a most salutary influence on her +character. As she was stepping out of the carriage one day, the +horses suddenly moved forwards, by which her foot got entangled +between the step and the wheel, and she was very much injured. +A messenger was immediately despatched for a surgeon, who, on +examining the bruised parts, reported that no bones were broken, but +said that the ancle joint had been violently sprained. After the +application of leeches, and giving orders to prepare a fomentation +to reduce the swelling, he requested that she would immediately +retire to rest; and if she felt any pain in the morning, not to +attempt to walk, but keep her foot in a horizontal position. These +instructions were attended to; but she passed a very restless night, +and in the morning was much worse than had been expected. This +accident confined her a close prisoner for some months, so that she +had no opportunity of renewing her former intimacies, which had been +interrupted by the excursion to the west of England. Many called +and left their cards, and some of her more intimate friends would +come occasionally and sit with her; but a sick chamber possesses few +attractions for the votaries of pleasure, who generally turn from it +with careless indifference. + +As she usually enjoyed a great flow of spirits, and was rather +volatile in her disposition--more fond of the pleasures of society +than the grave exercises of meditation--she was very depressed and +irritable during the first few weeks of her confinement, often +censuring in strong terms the inattention of the servant in leaving +the horses; but she gradually became more reconciled to her state, +and at length turned her attention to reading, to divert her mind +and beguile the tedious hours. She would have preferred some of the +popular tales and novels of the day to any of the volumes in her +father's library; but she had too much regard for his authority and +his feelings to send for works which she knew would be displeasing +to him. + +One afternoon, when her parents and sisters went to dine with her +brothers in London, leaving her alone, she requested the servant to +bring her a book; and one book after another was brought, and closed +almost as soon as she had read the title-page. At length she thought +of the book which her esteemed friend, Mrs. Loader, had given her, +and of her promise to peruse it. She took it up from the table +near which she was sitting, but after turning over a few leaves +put it from her, saying, "I have read it." But as she had pledged +herself to read it again, she took the book once more--reluctantly +and carelessly read the running titles which are prefixed to its +different chapters, till she came to the tenth, when her attention +was imperceptibly arrested, and she perused it with a degree of +interest which no other religious composition had ever excited.[16] + + [16] The author has transcribed, from Doddridge's _Rise and + Progress_, nearly the whole of this chapter and the subjoined + prayer, as he conceives they will prove very acceptable to those of + his readers who have not the original work. + +"Thus far have I often known convictions and impressions to arise, +which, after all, have worn off again. Some unhappy circumstance +of external temptation, ever joined by the inward reluctance of an +unsanctified heart to the scheme of redemption, has been the ruin of +multitudes. And, 'through the deceitfulness of sin, they have been +hardened,' till they seem to have been 'utterly destroyed, and that +without remedy.' And therefore, O thou immortal creature, who art +now reading these lines, I beseech thee, that, while affairs are in +this critical situation, while there are these balancings of mind +between accepting and rejecting that glorious gospel which I now lay +before you, you will give me an attentive audience, while 'I pray +you in Christ's stead that you would be reconciled to God.' + +"One would indeed imagine there should be no need of importunity +here. One would conclude, that as soon as perishing sinners are told +that an offended God is ready to be reconciled--that he offers them +a full pardon for all their aggravated sins--yea, that he is willing +to adopt them into his family now, that he may at length admit them +to his heavenly presence--all should, with the utmost readiness +and pleasure, embrace so kind a message, and fall at his feet in +speechless transports of astonishment, gratitude, and joy. But alas! +we find it much otherwise. We see multitudes quite unmoved, and the +impressions which are made on many more are feeble and transient. +Lest it should be thus with you, O reader, let me urge the message +with which I have the honour to be charged; let me entreat you to be +reconciled to God, and to accept of pardon and salvation in the way +in which it is so freely offered to you. + +"I entreat you, 'by the majesty of that God in whose name I come,' +whose voice fills all heaven with reverence and obedience. He +speaks not in vain to legions of angels; but if there could be any +contention among those blessed spirits, it would be, who should be +first to execute his commands. Oh, let him not speak in vain to you! +I entreat you, 'by the terrors of his wrath,' who could speak to you +in thunder--who could, by one single act of his will, cut off this +precarious life of yours, and send you down to hell. I beseech you +by his tender mercies, which still yearn over you, as those of a +parent over 'a dear son,' over a tender child, whom, notwithstanding +his former ungrateful rebellion, 'he earnestly remembers still.' +I entreat you, 'by all this paternal goodness,' that you do not +compel him to lose the character of the gentle Parent in that of the +righteous Judge. + +"I beseech you further, 'by the name and love of our dying Saviour.' +I beseech you, by all the condescension of his incarnation, by +that poverty to which he voluntarily submitted, 'that you might be +enriched' with eternal treasures; by all the gracious invitations +which he gave, which still sound in his Word, and still coming, +as it were, warm from his heart, are 'sweeter than honey or the +honey-comb.' I beseech you, by all his glorious works of power and +of wonder, which were also works of love. I beseech you, by the +memory of the most benevolent Person, and the most generous Friend. +I beseech you, by the memory of what he suffered, as well as of +what he said and did; by the agony which he endured in the garden, +when his body was covered 'with a dew of blood.' I beseech you, by +all that tender distress which he felt, when his dearest friends +'forsook him and fled,' and his blood-thirsty enemies dragged him +away, like the meanest of slaves, and like the vilest of criminals. +I beseech you, by the blows and bruises, by the stripes and lashes, +which this injured Sovereign endured while in their rebellious +hands; 'by the shame of spitting, from which he hid not that kind +and venerable countenance.' I beseech you, 'by the purple robe, the +sceptre of reed, and the crown of thorns which this King of glory +wore, that he might set us among the princes of heaven.' I beseech +you, by the heavy burden of 'the cross,' under which he panted, +and toiled, and fainted in the painful way 'to Golgotha,' that he +might free us from the burden of our sins. I beseech you, by the +remembrance of those rude nails that tore the veins and arteries, +the nerves and tendons, of his sacred hands and feet; and by that +invincible, that triumphant goodness, which, while the iron pierced +his flesh, engaged him to cry out, 'Father, forgive them, for they +know not what they do.' I beseech you, by that unutterable anguish +which he bore, when lifted up upon the cross, and extended there as +on a rack for six painful hours, that you open your heart to those +attractive influences which have 'drawn to him thousands, and ten +thousands.' I beseech you by all that insult and derision which +the 'Lord of glory bore there;' by that parching thirst, which +could hardly obtain the relief of 'vinegar;' by that doleful cry, +so astonishing in the mouth of the only-begotten of the Father, +'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' I beseech you, by +that grace that subdued and pardoned 'a dying malefactor;' by that +compassion for sinners, by that compassion for you, which wrought +in his heart long as its vital motion continued, and which ended +not when 'he bowed his head, saying, It is finished, and gave up +the ghost.' I beseech you, by the triumphs of that resurrection by +which he was 'declared to be the Son of God with power;' by the +spirit of holiness which wrought to accomplish it; by that gracious +tenderness which attempered all those triumphs, when he said to her +out of whom he had cast seven devils, concerning his disciples, who +had treated him so basely, 'Go, tell my brethren, I ascend unto my +Father and your Father, unto my God and your God.' I beseech you, by +that condescension with which he said to Thomas, when his unbelief +had made such an unreasonable demand, 'Reach hither thy finger, and +behold mine hands, and reach hither thine hand, and thrust it into +my side; and be not faithless, but believing.' I beseech you, by +that generous and faithful care of his people, which he carried up +with him to the regions of glory, and which engaged him to send down +'his Spirit,' in the rich profusion of miraculous gifts, to spread +the progress of his saving Word. I beseech you, by that voice of +sympathy and power, with which he said to Saul, while injuring his +church, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' by that generous +goodness, which spared the prostrate enemy when he lay trembling at +his feet, and raised him to so high a dignity as to be 'not inferior +to the very chiefest apostles.' I beseech you, by the memory of all +that Christ hath already done, by the expectation of all he will +further do for his people. I beseech you, at once, by the sceptre +of his grace, and by the sword of his justice, with which all his +incorrigible 'enemies' shall be 'slain before him,' that you do +not trifle away these precious moments, while his Spirit is thus +breathing upon you--that you do not lose an opportunity which may +never return, and on the improvement of which eternity depends. + +"I beseech you, 'by all the bowels of compassion which you owe to +the faithful ministers of Christ,' who are studying and labouring, +preaching and praying, wearing out their time, exhausting their +strength, and very probably shortening their lives, for the +salvation of your soul, and of souls like yours. I beseech you, by +the affection with which all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in +sincerity long to see you brought back to him. I beseech you, by +the friendship of the living, and by the memory of the dead; by the +ruin of those who have trifled away their days and are perished in +their sins, and the happiness of those who have embraced the gospel +and are saved by it. I beseech you, by the great expectation of that +important 'day, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven;' +by 'the terrors of a dissolving world;' by the 'sound of the +archangel's trumpet,' and of that infinitely more awful sentence, +'Come, ye blessed, and depart, ye cursed,' with which that awful +solemnity shall close. + +"I beseech you, finally, by your own precious and immortal soul; +by the sure prospect of a dying bed, or of sudden surprise into +the invisible state, and as you would feel one spark of comfort in +your departing spirit when your flesh and your heart are failing. I +beseech you, by your own personal appearance before the tribunal of +Christ (for a personal appearance it must be, even to those who now +sit on thrones of their own); by all the transports of the blessed, +and by all the agonies of the damned, the one or the other of which +must be your everlasting portion. I affectionately entreat and +beseech you, in the strength of all these united considerations, as +you will answer it to me, who may on that day be summoned to testify +against you; and, which is unspeakably more, as you will answer +it to your own conscience--as you will answer it to the eternal +Judge--that you dismiss not these thoughts, these meditations, and +these cares, till you have brought matters to a happy issue--till +you have made a resolute choice of Christ, and his appointed way of +salvation; and till you have solemnly devoted yourself to God in the +bonds of an everlasting covenant. + +"And thus I leave the matter before you and before the Lord. I +have told you my errand; I have discharged my embassy. Stronger +arguments I cannot use--more endearing and more awful considerations +I cannot suggest. Choose, therefore, whether you will go out, as +it were, clothed in sackcloth, to cast yourself at the feet of him +who now sends you these equitable and gracious terms of peace and +pardon; or whether you will hold it out till he appears, sword in +hand, to reckon with you for your treasons and your crimes, and +for this neglected embassy among the rest. Fain would I hope the +best; nor can I believe that this labour of love shall be entirely +unsuccessful--that not one soul shall be brought to the foot of +Christ in cordial submission and humble faith. 'Take with you,' +therefore, 'words, and turn unto the Lord,' and say unto him, 'Take +away all iniquity, and receive me graciously; so will I render the +praise of my lips.'" + +The impression which this reading produced was such as she had never +previously felt; the arrow of conviction had pierced her heart, +but the feelings excited were more those of joy than of grief. She +re-perused the chapter; it disclosed new beauties--it sent forth +a still stronger power of excitement. Her soul was alternately +elevated and depressed, agonized and composed, as though she had +no control over its movements. She recalled to her remembrance +those powerful, yet momentary impressions of truth, which she had +experienced in former years, when sitting under the ministry of +the venerable Newton; and trembled lest those under which she was +now labouring should prove equally transient. It was this fearful +apprehension which gave her more pain, than a discovery of her moral +danger; because she knew that there was salvation for the chief of +sinners; but she knew that if these impressions left her they might +never return. She arose from the couch of weariness and suffering, +and stood resting on the back of her chair, while she gave vent to +her feelings in the following form of prayer:-- + +"Blessed Lord, it is enough! it is too much! Surely there needs not +this variety of argument, this importunity of persuasion, to court +me to be happy, to prevail on me to accept of pardon, of life, of +eternal glory. Compassionate Saviour, my soul is subdued; so that I +trust the language of my grief is become that of my submission, and +I may say, 'My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing +and give praise' (Psalm lvii. 7). + +"O gracious Redeemer! I have already neglected thee too long. I have +too often injured thee; have crucified thee afresh by my guilt and +impenitence, as if I had taken pleasure in 'putting thee to an open +shame.' But my heart now bows itself before thee in humble unfeigned +submission. I desire to make no terms with thee but these--that +I may be entirely thine. I cheerfully present thee with a blank, +entreating thee that thou wilt do me the honour to signify upon it +what is thy pleasure. Teach me, O Lord, what thou wouldst have me +to do; for I desire to learn the lesson, and to learn it that I may +practise it. If it be more than my feeble powers can answer, thou +wilt, I hope, give me more strength; and in that strength will I +serve thee. O receive a soul which thou hast made willing to be +thine! + +"No more, O blessed Jesus, no more is it necessary to beseech and +entreat me. Permit me, rather, to address myself to thee with all +the importunity of a perishing sinner, that at length sees and +knows 'there is salvation in no other.' Permit me now, Lord, to +come and throw myself at thy feet, like a helpless outcast that has +no shelter but in thy generous compassion; like one 'pursued by the +avenger of blood,' and seeking earnestly an admittance into the +'city of refuge.' + +"'I wait for the Lord; my soul doth wait; and in thy word do I +hope,' that thou wilt 'receive me graciously.' My soul confides in +thy goodness, and adores it. I adore the patience which has borne +with me so long; and the grace that now makes me heartily willing +to be thine; to be thine on thine own terms, thine on any terms. +O secure this treacherous heart to thyself! O unite me to thee in +such inseparable bonds, that none of the allurements of rank, or +of fortune--none of the vanities of an ensnaring world--none of +the solicitations of sinful companions, may draw me back from thee +and plunge me into new guilt and ruin! 'Be surety, O Lord, for thy +servant for good,' that I may still keep my hold on thee; till at +length I know more fully, by joyful and everlasting experience, how +complete a Saviour thou art. Amen." + +As she sat musing on the wondrous scene which had passed before her, +adoring the long-suffering which had borne with her follies, and +the grace which had so unexpectedly invested the truth with such +attractive and subduing power, she was roused by the entrance of her +mother. "I hope, my dear Louisa," said Mrs. Holmes, "you have spent +a more pleasant day than you anticipated." "I have been more free +from pain than usual," she replied; "and upon the whole, the hours +have passed away agreeably, though I certainly felt my solitude to +be irksome." + +Many who have felt the renewing influence of the truth, when +looking back to the earlier periods of their history, can recal +to their remembrance some text of Scripture, an observation in a +sermon, or a remark in conversation, which had an extraordinary +effect at the time it was heard; fixing their attention as though +it spoke with commanding authority; and which may be regarded as +the first strivings of the Spirit of God within them. These sacred +occurrences have served as the rallying point of hope, when the mind +has been driven to the remotest distance from the faith of Christ; +and notwithstanding the preference which may have been given for a +season to the pleasures of sin, there has been a secret inclination +for those of righteousness--God having implanted a witness in the +bosom who has never ceased to warn and to reprove. + +Miss Holmes, when about the age of twelve years, heard Mr. Newton +make the following remark, in addressing himself to children: "You +should treasure up in your memory, while you are young, all the +religious knowledge which you can obtain, as it may be of great +service to you at some future day, when your attention may be +directed to the momentous question of your salvation. You will then, +when convinced of sin, and awed by the terrors of the world to come, +know how to obtain relief, and be kept from that state of deep +perplexity in which many are plunged, who are brought to see their +danger, while ignorant of the way of escape." + +This judicious remark struck her with peculiar force, and ever +afterwards she listened to the preaching of the gospel, in +anticipation of the future benefit which she might derive from it. +From that moment she lived in the full expectation of the great +spiritual change, which was ultimately produced in her mind. Often, +at different periods, would she retire from the fascinations of +the world to pray for a new heart; and though she had urged her +request till hope began to wane, yet she was never permitted to +despair of obtaining the blessing. It is true, the paralyzing +influence of her new connections and habits had greatly diminished +her anxieties and solicitudes for the one thing needful; but the +early impressions of its importance which she had received, when +listening to the faithful appeals of Mr. Newton, were too deeply +imprinted in her heart ever to become obliterated; and though +she usually assumed great ease of manners, and wore the smile of +complacent cheerfulness, yet beneath these outward appearances there +lay concealed a wounded, and at times an agonized spirit. She would +sometimes join in the satirical play of wit on the eccentricities +of professors, but always discountenanced any attack on the truth +or sanctity of religion; and though she was becoming more and more +conformed to the world, yet she could not disengage herself from the +influence which the powers of the world to come had early acquired +over her judgment and her conscience. She had too much religion to +be happy with the gay, and too little to be happy with the pious; +mingling with each, yet not being able to partake of the enjoyments +of either, she was doomed to a life of perpetual mortification. + +As her character usually received its peculiar tone and complexion +from the society with which she last associated, it was perpetually +varying from gay to grave and from grave to gay; her spirits would +occasionally rise to the highest mirth, and then sink to the +lowest depression; sometimes she appeared open and bland, at other +times reserved and gloomy; alternately devoting herself to the +pleasures of the world, and the external exercises of religion, it +was not till after she became a new creature in Christ Jesus, that +her most intimate friends could ascertain the real cause of such +extraordinary changeableness in her character. + +The impressions of Divine truth on the heart, when produced by a +supernatural power, are deep and permanent; but when they claim +no higher origin than the agency of man, they soon pass away like +the morning cloud and early dew, and leave no trace of their +existence. They may, during their continuance, induce an order +of thought and reflection, in strict accordance with the general +tenor of the Scriptures, but they effect no real change in the +heart or character. As they bear a resemblance when they are first +received, and at successive periods, to the operations of the Holy +Spirit, they are frequently mistaken for them, and a profession of +religion made under their influence is often abandoned as soon as +they subside. Hence the annals of the Christian church record the +names of many who have outlived their avowed attachment to the faith +of Christ; and the most awful passages of the sacred volume are +directed against those who, after pleading its promises, with the +hope of obtaining eternal life, relapse into a course of worldliness +or infidelity. + +It was under a trembling apprehension of the transitory nature of +her religious convictions and feelings, that Miss Holmes formed a +resolution to make no reference to them, till by a process of trial +she had acquired some satisfactory evidence of their permanency. +She remembered an observation which she once heard the venerable +Newton make, when preaching on the parable of the sower:--"Genuine +religion is distinguished from that which is spurious, not so much +by the dissimilarity of its first impressions, as by its power to +resist temptation, and to bring the dispositions of the heart into +subjection to the authority of Jesus Christ." + +Her indisposition, though severe and protracted, was at no +period considered dangerous; it kept her away from the scenes +of gaiety to which she would otherwise have been exposed, and +gave her an opportunity of devoting her attention more calmly +and dispassionately to that subject which now began to appear +pre-eminently interesting and important. She knew that her sins +were more in number than she could calculate, and that the sentence +of condemnation which stood recorded against her might be executed +without any impeachment of the justice or benevolence of God; but +such was the strength of her faith in the efficacy of the Saviour's +death, and in the power of his intercession, that she "was filled +with all peace in believing, abounding in hope, through the power of +the Holy Ghost." Her transition from a state of nature to a state of +grace--from vain and passing pleasures to those of religion--from +the delusive charms of the visible to the more attractive glories of +the unseen world, was sudden, but tranquil--unattended by those deep +convictions of guilt and that overpowering apprehension of future +condemnation which sometimes torture and distract the mind of the +young disciple. This was primarily owing to the accurate knowledge +of the scheme of salvation which she had acquired by sitting under +the enlightened ministry of Mr. Newton; for while it must not be +concealed, that the beginning and consummation of personal religion +in the heart is to be attributed to the immediate action of a +supernatural power, yet it is equally evident that its progress in +allaying the fear that produceth torment, in instilling the peace +which passeth all understanding, and in elevating and fixing the +affections on things above, is usually in proportion to the accuracy +and extent of the theological information which is possessed. + +"Many," says an interesting writer, "are too prone to look for a +conversion always uniform, not only in its effects, but in its +operation, and too much bordering on the miraculous. The soul +must be first overwhelmed with fear--then pierced by grief and +anguish--then plunged into despair--then suddenly filled with hope, +and peace, and joy; and the person must be able to determine the day +on which, and the sermon, or the paragraph, or the providence by +which the change was wrought. But this is by no means necessarily, +or generally the case. There is a variety in the temperaments +and habits of men, and in the methods employed to bring them to +repentance. We should remember that there are differences of +administration, but the same Lord; that often he prefers to the +earthquake, the wind, and the fire, the small still voice; that he +can draw by the cords of love and the bands of a man; that he can +work as effectually by slow as by instantaneous exertions; and that +he may change the soul in a manner so gradual and mild, as to be +scarcely discernible to any but the glorious Author. And here we +are furnished with evidence from analogy. In nature some of God's +works insensibly issue in others, and it is impossible for us to +draw the line of distinction. The path of the just is as the shining +light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. But who +can ascertain which ray begins, or which ends the dawn? If you +are unable to trace the progress of the Divine life, judge by the +result. When you perceive the effects of conversion, never question +the cause. And if perplexed by a number of circumstantial inquiries, +be satisfied if you are able to say, One thing I know, that whereas +I was once blind, now I see." + +The chastened seriousness of spirit which Miss Holmes exhibited, and +the new course of reading which she adopted, induced the family to +suppose that she was taking a religious turn, though she cautiously +abstained from making any reference to it. She felt convinced that +some essential change had taken place, yet at times she doubted if +it was anything more than the effect of her own spontaneous thoughts +and reflections; and as she had, more than once, experienced a +mental excitement of a similar nature, she rejoiced with trembling. +She knew that the righteous hold on their way, because they are kept +by the power of God through faith unto salvation; but as she was +often perplexed, when endeavouring to ascertain whether she belonged +to that specific denomination of character, she could not anticipate +the issue of her impressions with unmingled satisfaction. She felt a +distaste for those objects of pursuit and sources of gratification +which had acquired such a powerful ascendency over her; and now she +longed to partake of the more refined enjoyment which results from +communion with the members of the household of faith and the public +exercises of devotion; but she dreaded the prospect of coming into +contact with the world, lest another relapse of feeling should take +place, which would leave her still more insensible than ever to the +unseen realities of eternity. + +The Saviour, in his various offices, was now precious to her, as he +is to all them that believe. She dwelt with holy awe and delight +on that union of majesty and condescension, purity and compassion, +justice and grace, which he displays in his mediatorial character; +but she was apprehensive, that when exposed to the rival influence +of temporal pursuits, her mind would again be enslaved by their +charms, and she would lose the relish she now felt for her new +themes of contemplation and enjoyment. + +Thus it is wisely ordained, that at every period in the experience +of the Christian, there shall be some circumstances to perplex +his judgment--some uncertainty to darken his prospect--some +apprehensions to disturb his peace, to convince him that here +'perfect bliss cannot be found;' and that no attainments, however +high--that no anticipations, however bright and animating--are +capable, while we are encompassed with infirmities, of yielding +unmingled satisfaction and delight. At times Miss Holmes felt very +anxious to disclose to some one the change through which her mind +was now passing, that she might have the advantage of Christian +sympathy and guidance; but the perplexing question was, to whom +should she make the communication. She often thought of speaking +to her mother, but when she made the attempt, her courage failed +her. At length she addressed the following letter to her friend +Mrs. Loader, who had evinced so much solicitude for her spiritual +welfare:-- + + "THE ELMS, _16th Oct., 18--_. + + "MY DEAR FRIEND,--I am much obliged by your affectionate + epistle, which I received on the 10th; and I regret that you + should deem any apology necessary for the introduction of that + specific advice which it contains. My obvious indifference to + the momentous question of personal religion, and my growing + conformity to the customs and habits of the gay world, must, + I have no doubt, have given you very considerable uneasiness; + and I assure you that it often plunged me into the deepest + depression of spirit. I was often cheerful, but never happy; + often trying fresh expedients to divert my attention from what + I deemed _the gloomy subject_, but never could succeed; and + though I became more insensible to the attractions of religion + as I grew in years, yet I exposed myself more frequently to + the keenness of its reproofs and the awful terrors of its + threatenings. My associates, who had not had the privilege of a + pious education, could enjoy the world, and treat with levity + the prohibitory injunctions of the Scriptures, but I could not. + I never could divest myself of the full conviction that God has + the first claim on the affections of the heart; and that he has + appointed a day when every human being 'must appear before the + judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things + done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be + good or bad.' These thoughts would rush into my mind, not only + when alone, but also when in the midst of the gayest company, + and by no expedient could I succeed in driving them away. + + "It was under the most agonizing mental conflict I ever + sustained, that I hailed our tour to the west as likely to + dissolve the fatal charm by which I was subdued and enslaved; + but I found, on my return, that my _heart_ had undergone no + change, as I often secretly anticipated a re-entrance into + those scenes which my conscience so severely condemned. I once + heard Mr. Newton remark, that as our dangers often spring out + of our comforts, so the greatest blessings sometimes grow out + of our heaviest afflictions. The correctness of this remark I + can _now_ attest from experience. It was on our return from + Devonshire that I met with the accident which has confined me a + close prisoner for more than two months; but to that accident + which I called disastrous, I owe all my present happiness and my + prospect of eternal glory. + + "You express a hope that I have given the book which you so + kindly presented to me, a candid perusal, presuming that no + season can be more favourable for such subjects of inquiry than + those which we denominate afflictive. Yes, my dear friend, I + have read it, though I felt such a reluctance to do so that I + put it from me several times; and had not my word stood pledged + to read it, I had still been a stranger to its soul-stirring + contents. I read on carelessly till I came to the tenth chapter, + when the subject fixed my attention, and I hope penetrated + my heart. Then I _felt_ that I was a sinner--then I _felt_ + that I stood solitary and alone, in the immediate presence of + my Legislator and my Judge, confounded, because righteously + condemned--then I _felt_ that I needed a Saviour. I have had + many strong convictions of the truth and the necessity of + religion in the earlier seasons of my life; but those produced + on this occasion were more clear, and full, and impressive, than + any that ever preceded them. They came with an authority which + I could not resist; they prevented all vacillation of mind, + and constrained me, with a force which I had no disposition to + withstand, to yield to their power; and though my evil heart + of unbelief would sometimes suggest that all is a delusion, + artfully practised on my imagination by Satan, who sometimes + transforms himself into an angel of light, yet I can say, in + reference to Him who is the chief among ten thousand--'Whom + having not seen, I love; in whom, though now I see him not, yet + believing, I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' + + "When, my dear friend, I received that present from your hand, + I did not calculate on the effects which it was ordained to + produce; for though I feel unworthy of the notice of the Friend + of sinners, yet, on reviewing the recent change which has taken + place in my sentiments, my taste, and my feelings, I cannot + avoid ascribing it to his sovereign and predetermined will. + But though I am fully convinced that a great change has been + produced, yet I must not conceal from you the dread I sometimes + feel lest it should prove only a momentary excitement. I now can + see the vanity of the world; but shall I do so when I am again + able to go about? I now can consecrate myself to the service of + the Redeemer; but shall I have courage to take up the cross and + follow him, when again enticed to mingle with the gay votaries + of fashion? It is not my province to dictate to infinite Wisdom, + nor prescribe the method by which my religious principles shall + be tried; but it is my earnest, and my daily prayer, to be kept + within the walls of my solitary retreat, till He whose I am, and + whom I wish to serve, has prepared me to resist every temptation + by which I may be assailed, and to perform every duty which may + devolve upon me. + + "Now that I have given you this explanation, you will doubtless + be able to account for that singular variation in my disposition + and manners, which you must have so often noticed; but if + you had known the strange revulsion of feeling to which my + poor unhappy mind was perpetually subjected, you would have + considered it as perfectly natural. I am by nature a child + of imitation--apt to catch the spirit and temper of those + with whom I come into contact--easily captivated by imposing + manners--averse to all appearance of singularity--volatile and + impetuous in my disposition; yet at the early age of twelve, + I was so powerfully impressed with the truth and necessity of + personal piety, that I do not think I ever spent a day without + giving it my most serious attention. Hence, when carried away + by the example of others to scenes of gaiety, my spirits would + naturally rise to a high pitch of feeling, yet on returning to + my graver and more important subjects of reflection, I felt so + abased and confounded--so terrified and alarmed in prospect of + futurity, that I could scarcely endure the anguish I was doomed + to suffer. I do not know that I can better describe the state of + my mind, than by quoting the language of Dr. Watts, with a few + slight alterations:-- + + 'I was a helpless captive, sold + Under the power of sin: + I could not do the good I would, + Nor keep my conscience clean. + + 'My God, I cry'd with fervent breath, + For some kind power to save, + To break the yoke of sin and death, + And thus redeem the slave.' + + "The charge which is often brought against religion, as + tending to abridge our comforts, and induce a melancholy and + dejection of spirit, I can repel from experience. Infallible + Truth declares, that her ways are ways of pleasantness, and her + paths are paths of peace; and now I know, and feel it. My mind, + which has been tossed about on the surging billows of doubt and + perplexity, has at last gained that haven of rest, where, I + trust, it is destined to remain. + + "No one of my family has any knowledge of the present state + of my feelings, as I have cautiously abstained from making + any allusion to religious subjects; not because I am ashamed + of religion, but because I am unwilling to make a premature + profession; and though perhaps you may censure me for + withholding from my dear parents a communication which is so + calculated to give them pleasure, yet if I should be permitted, + after having made it, to relapse into my former course of + gaiety and folly, the disappointment will be so great that it + may entail on them perpetual sorrow. Pray that I may be kept + in the evil hour--that I may be enabled to walk circumspectly + towards them that are without--that I may have courage to make + a profession of my attachment to the Lord Jesus, and grace to + adorn it, and at length be presented faultless before the + presence of his glory, with exceeding joy. + + "I need not say how acceptable another letter from you would be; + but I certainly should prefer a personal interview, if you could + make it convenient to pay us a visit. I am happy to inform you + that I am much better, and that all the rest of the family are + well.--Yours affectionately, + + LOUISA. + + "To Mrs. Loader." + +True piety does not act to be seen of men, nor speak to gain their +applause; but though for a season it may remain unobserved, yet +the meekness of its spirit and the lustre of its character are +marks by which it will always indubitably be known. For the reasons +which have been previously assigned, Miss Holmes had abstained +from communicating to her family the change which had taken place +in her sentiments and feelings; but she was not able to conceal +from them the external proofs of it which her conduct and her +occasional conversation necessarily supplied. As she was reserved on +the subject, so were her parents; and though they felt anxious to +ascertain if her great seriousness of manners was anything more than +a recurrence of her former deep depression of spirit, yet they knew +not how to do it. + +It often happens that young persons can make a more free statement +of their religious experience to strangers or distant friends +than they can to their own parents; but this in general argues +some essential defect in the bringing up and arrangements of the +family. There may be, I grant, on the part of the child, in the +earlier stages of his experience, a reluctance to disclose to any +one "the secret movements and operations of his heart towards the +best of Beings;" but if Christian parents were to incorporate, in +their course of religious instruction, the habit of a free and +unreserved conversation on the practical effects of truth, and if +they would occasionally retire with their children, to pray _with +them_ and _for them_, specifically and alone, it would imperceptibly +beget such a union and intimacy of spirit, that _they_ would be +no less anxious to unburden to them the anxieties and sorrows of +their heart, than the parent would feel delighted to become their +spiritual counsellor and friend. + +When Miss Holmes was sitting with her mother, one Sabbath evening, +an allusion happened to be made to the sermon which had been +preached at church, and with which Mrs. Holmes expressed her +dissatisfaction. "Perhaps," remarked Louisa, "it would be difficult +to procure a more pleasant residence than our own, or one which +is more conducive to our general health; but I assure you that I +often deplore the consequences which must inevitably result, from +our being deprived of the privilege of attending an evangelical +ministry." + +"It gives me pleasure, my dear, to hear you deplore the loss of such +a privilege, as it is a proof that you value it." + +"Yes, Mamma, I do value it, but now, alas! I have no prospect of +enjoying it. Yet I feel more for others, than I feel for myself, +especially for the junior members of our family; as I fear, now that +they are removed from the restraints which pure evangelical truth +imposes on the heart and conscience, they will devote themselves +to the pleasures of the world, which will give them a distaste for +those of religion." + +"And does my dear Louisa then prefer the pleasures of religion to +those of the world?" + +"I trust, Mamma, I do; though I am almost afraid to speak with +confidence on such a delicate and important question. I know from +past experience, that there may be deep religious impressions, and +powerful religious excitement, even while the heart retains all +its evil propensities and antipathies; but I hope it hath pleased +God to employ my late affliction as the means of bringing me into +fellowship with himself, and his Son Jesus Christ. I murmured when +he smote me, but now I can say, 'I know, O Lord, that thy judgments +are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Before I +was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.'" + +"Both your father and I have thought," said Mrs. Holmes, "that God +was dealing graciously with your soul, and we have often prayed +that you might come out of this affliction a new creature in Christ +Jesus; yet we could not overcome the strange reluctance we felt to +speak to you on the subject; but as it hath pleased God to answer +our prayers, I must convey the glad tidings to your father, who will +embrace you as one alive from the dead." + +"As you have drawn me into a premature disclosure on this subject, +I certainly cannot object to your communicating to my dear father +the substance of our conversation, but I must request that you will +take no notice of it to any other person. For if I should now make +a profession of religion, and on the return of health and energy, +should relapse into my former course of gaiety and folly, I shall do +essential injury to others." + +"But, my dear, you may be 'confident of this very thing, that he +which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of +Jesus Christ.'" + +"Yes, I know, that when the work of grace is begun, it will be +carried on, notwithstanding the various impediments which may +obstruct its progress, or the artifices which may be employed by +the great adversary to effect its destruction; but I am not quite +satisfied that what I feel _is_ the work of grace. It may be nothing +more than the effect of my own fears; and if so, it will disappear +as soon as they subside; or it may be the necessary consequence of +that train of serious thought and reflection, which a lengthened +indisposition generally originates; and if so, every trace of its +existence will be obliterated, when I again intermingle in the +pursuits of active life." + +"But have you not, my dear Louisa, _tasted_ that the Lord is +gracious, as well as _felt_ his terrors which have made you afraid? +and can you, on cool reflection, suppose that He will ever abandon +you, now that you have surrendered your heart to him?" + +"I have felt none of the terrors of religion, which may be an +essential defect in my experience; and the excitements which I have +ascribed to the love of God shed abroad in my heart by the power of +the Holy Ghost, may prove the momentary joy of the stony-ground +hearer, in whom the seed of truth could not thrive, because it took +no root. If, after a period of trial, I am induced to believe that I +have felt the renovating power of Divine grace, I trust that I shall +then have courage given me to make a decided profession of the faith +of Christ, without regarding the remarks to which it may subject me; +but till then, it is my earnest wish, that you intrust to no one but +my dear father the communication which I have almost unintentionally +made to you. I have seen so many throw off their religious +profession, and return to the course which they had abandoned; and I +have such a dread of apostasy, that it is my fixed determination to +have some practical proof of the efficacy of my principles to resist +temptation, and bring the dispositions of my heart into subjection +to the authority of Jesus Christ, before I make any profession." + +"I approve, my dear, of your decision; but while jealous of +yourself, you must guard against mistrusting the faithfulness and +loving-kindness of God your Saviour, who has pledged his honour to +keep you by his power through faith unto salvation." + + + + +CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. + + +The scene which opens on the imagination of the young Christian +is often so beautiful and enchanting--it so deeply fixes his +attention, and enchains his affections--that he turns with an eye +of comparative indifference from the objects and pursuits to which +he has been previously devoted, under a full conviction that they +cannot _now_ yield him the gratification they once did; and that +he cannot _now_ derive permanent happiness, except from that new +source of felicity which he has discovered. It is, when he is under +these novel and powerful impressions, that the long neglected +Bible discloses new beauties; no theme of meditation or discussion +presents any subduing charm in comparison with Christ Jesus, and him +crucified; and having felt the transition from a state of spiritual +death to a newness of life, to be attended by such hallowed +emotions, he is in danger of anticipating too large a portion of +spiritual enjoyment, which not unfrequently becomes the occasion of +great mental perplexity, and sometimes of deep depression. + +During the continuance of her indisposition Miss Holmes felt so +intensely interested in reading her Bible, that she might clearly +understand the sublime theory of the Christian faith, and so +absorbed in her spiritual exercises, that her health sustained +some injury by the severity of her application. As a very natural +consequence, a shade of melancholy was cast over her spirit. She +was forewarned of the possibility of such an effect being produced; +but the usual apology which she made to her pious mother was, "Can +I take too much interest in that important subject, into which +angels desire to look? or can I ever hope for a more favourable time +for its investigation than the present, when I am precluded from +mingling in the employments or the amusements of the world?" + +The following form of self-dedication to God she now drew up and +signed, having vowed in the most solemn manner to observe it to the +full extent of her pledge:-- + +"Eternal and unchangeable Jehovah! thou glorious Creator of heaven +and earth, and adorable Lord of angels and men, I desire with the +deepest humiliation and abasement of soul, to bow down at this +time in thine awful presence, and earnestly pray, that thou wilt +impress my heart with a clear perception of thine unutterable and +inconceivable glories. + +"To thee do I now come, invited by the exceeding great and precious +promises of thy Word; trusting for acceptance in the efficacy of +the Saviour's death, beseeching thee to 'be merciful unto me a +sinner.' The irregular propensities of my depraved nature have in +ten thousand aggravated instances wrought to bring forth fruit unto +death. And if thou shouldst be strict to mark my offences, I must be +silent under a load of guilt, and immediately sink into destruction. +But thou hast graciously called me to return to thee, though I have +been a backsliding child. I come unto thee, O Lord, convinced not +only of my sin, but of my folly; and while I implore mercy through +the mediation of Jesus Christ, I would be no less importunate for +the purifying influences of the Holy Spirit, that I may be entirely +conformed to thee. Permit me to bring unto thee those powers and +faculties which I have ungratefully alienated from thy service; and +receive, I beseech thee, thy poor revolted creature, who is now +convinced of thy right to her, and who desires nothing in the world +so much as to be thine. + +"I bring to thee a dark benighted mind, to be illuminated with +Divine knowledge. Thou hast the words of eternal life; I therefore +resign my understanding to thy teaching. I bring to thee a corrupt +and deceitful heart; do thou cleanse and make it upright before +thee. Do thou expel all the evils which lurk within it, and make it +a temple for thyself. May the same mind which was in Christ Jesus be +in me. May I possess the same humility which he displayed, the same +indifference to the riches and the pleasures of the world, the same +spirit of zeal for thine honour, and of benevolence towards man. May +I ever wear the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit; be enabled to +adorn the profession which I hope to make; and finally be admitted +into the kingdom of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. + +"And I do now most solemnly give myself unto thee, as one whom +thou hast made alive from the dead, with a firm and unalterable +determination to live devoted to thee; loving thee supremely, +walking in thy fear, and glorifying thee in my body and my spirit, +which are thine." + +The practice of self-dedication, which is often recommended to the +young Christian, may tend to increase his reverence for God, and to +make him more watchful over his own spirit; but unless he has very +clear perceptions of the way of salvation, it may be productive +of essential spiritual injury. For though we are told in the most +express language, that "we are saved by grace through faith, and +that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest +any man should boast;" yet when the distinction between obedience, +as the fruit of faith, and obedience as the hope of reward, is +not accurately and perpetually observed, there is a danger of +contracting a self-righteous spirit, which by aiming at personal +perfection for ostentatious display, or as a source of mental +confidence, may bring the soul into a state of spiritual bondage. + +Miss Holmes having most solemnly dedicated herself to God, and +formed a sanguine opinion of the high capabilities of the renewed +mind, began to prescribe a set of rules for her self-government, +which she resolved to observe. If these rules had related merely to +her conduct in social life, she might have kept them; but as they +included the regulation of the disposition, and the frame of her +mind towards God, they were founded on a mistaken conception of her +own ability. They imperceptibly diverted her attention from the +perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, by faith in which sinners +are accepted and justified, to a laborious effort to attain a high +degree of sinless excellence; and as she progressively discovered +so many, and such lamentable defects in her obedience, the peace of +mind which she enjoyed when "first she knew the Lord" was destroyed, +and she gradually sunk into a state of despondency. By making this +fatal, yet common mistake, she was led to the conclusion, that the +attainments of the genuine Christian were placed beyond her reach, +and that it would be an act of presumption if she attempted to +acquire them. + +An evangelical ministry is instituted to promote the edification +of them that believe, no less than to convert sinners from the +error of their ways; to guard them against those misconceptions of +truth, which may prove injurious to their happiness and spiritual +prosperity; and to explain that mysteriousness which rests over +their earlier experience, when there is a constant, and often +a rapid interchange of hope and of fear, of sorrow and of joy, +of a bright prospect of future blessedness, and a foreboding +apprehension of future woe. Those who attend such a ministry, +partake of the advantages of it, without being conscious of the +benefit which they receive; but if indisposition, or any other +circumstance, prevent a Christian from availing himself of this +ordinance of grace, he may linger for a long time, especially in the +earlier stages of the spiritual life, in a state of great mental +perplexity, and may gradually sink into a morbid depression, without +being able either to remove or account for it. + +Domestic engagements prevented Mrs. Loader from paying a visit to +the Elms; but the following letter is a proof of the deep interest +which she took in the welfare of her friend, and also of her ability +to give her judicious counsel:-- + + "MY DEAR LOUISA,--I am fearful lest you should construe my + silence into indifference; but I flatter myself, that the + following explanation will protect me from such an imputation. + I was from home when yours of last month arrived; and since my + return, family matters so engaged my attention, that I have + been prevented replying to it. It is impossible for words to + express the pleasure I felt on the perusal of your first very + interesting letter; and though the degree of that pleasure was + somewhat diminished on the reception of your second, yet I + cannot refrain from offering you my sincere congratulations, + on account of what the Lord has done for you, and is still + doing. Clouds and darkness are often round about him, while + he is silently and unobserved carrying on his own work; and + when it is not in our power to trace the operation of his + hand, we are required to stand still, and he will show us his + salvation. In the early experience of the Christian there are + many circumstances which perplex and confound him, and which + appear to place his good hope in the most imminent danger; but + it is the province of faith calmly to wait the issue, which is + certain, and will be glorious. + + "I am not surprised, my dear Louisa, that you should regret + having made what you call a premature disclosure of your + Christian experience, especially as you begin to entertain some + strong doubts of its being genuine. This is very natural, and + very common. If the experimental influence of the truth fell + under the immediate observation of our senses, we should be + able to mark its progress with the most perfect accuracy; but + as the seat of its first and most powerful operations is the + heart--that province which the eye can never penetrate; and as + it merely diffuses itself over the exercise of our intellectual + and moral faculties, without acting alone, and independently of + them, we almost necessarily, at times, suspect whether we have + ever felt it. It is true, we may see a change in our conduct, + and a change in the disposition and temper of our mind; but as + this uniformly takes place in consequence of our full conviction + of its propriety, we may, especially in a gloomy hour, be + incapable of tracing it up to a supernatural cause. + + "The first impressions of Divine truth on the heart are + generally strong and deep--they produce a powerful excitement + of the affections; and such is the intense degree of interest + which is sometimes felt at such a period, that no variation + is anticipated, except it be some higher and more blissful + elevation of soul--some ascent to a spiritual Pisgah, from + whence the lot of our future inheritance with the saints in + light may be clearly seen. But when the mind becomes more + familiar with the sublime truths of religion, they lose somewhat + of their novelty; and though they still retain their ascendency + over the judgment, yet the impressions which they produce become + less powerful. This change in the feelings often induces the + young Christian to suspect, that the cause of its original + production must be found, not in the grace of God, but the + uninfluenced operations of his own faculties and passions. It is + when the mind is thus variously exercised, that the invisible + enemy of our peace often comes to augment our perplexity, by + insinuating, that if we were renewed, the fact of our renovation + would be so conspicuous, that we could never doubt it--that + if we did really love the Lord, our love would glow with + undiminished ardour--that if our faith were genuine, we should + never be permitted to stagger at any of the promises of God + through unbelief--that if we were made partakers of the Divine + nature, we should for ever escape the corruption that is in the + world--and if our spiritual emotions were actually produced + by the operation of a supernatural power, they would neither + subside nor fluctuate. + + "If then, my dear Louisa, you should doubt, where others have + doubted before you, and if you should feel those causes of + perplexity and depression operating on your mind, under which + the faithful in Christ Jesus in every age have laboured, you + ought to comfort yourself by the reflection that you are now + passing through the usual trials of Christian experience. If you + had no doubts, you would have cause to fear; and if you knew no + change of feeling, you would have cause to suspect your change + of heart. + + 'Come then--a still, small whisper in your ear,-- + _She_ has no hope, who never had a fear: + And _she_ that never doubted of _her_ state, + _She_ may perhaps--perhaps _she_ may, too late.' + + "I am happy to find, by your last letter, that you have + disclosed the state of your mind to your dear parents; for + while I certainly approve of the motive which induced you to + conceal it from them, yet I think you have acted wisely in + breaking through your resolution. As they so often wept over + you, when you were living without God, and without Christ in + the world; and have, with so much fervour, intermingled their + supplications at the footstool of the Divine throne for your + conversion, it would have been an act of unkindness to have kept + them in a state of ignorance on a subject in which they are so + deeply interested. You should communicate to them not only the + general fact, that you are _now become 'a fellow-heir of the + grace of life,'_ but also the perplexities which disquiet and + depress you, as they are so well qualified to give you that + instruction and consolation which you may require. It is by + giving vent to the feelings of the soul, that we gain relief + from our most poignant griefs; and though you perhaps can more + readily communicate your experience to an absent friend than + to your own parents, yet, if you make the effort, the barrier + which obstructs an unreserved disclosure of all you feel, and + all you fear, will soon be broken down, and then your spiritual + intercourse will be free and unfettered. It will require, on + your part, I have no doubt, a great sacrifice of feeling, to + take the step which I now venture to recommend; but you know who + has said, My grace shall be sufficient for thee--as thy day, + thy strength shall be; and if you by prayer and supplication + with thanksgiving, make your request unto Him, He will give you + wisdom and strength to follow the advice I now offer. + + "I have often regretted your removal from London, especially + when I found that you are not favoured with an evangelical + ministry in the church. This circumstance must operate as a + serious drawback upon your social happiness; and now you are + brought to feel the importance of religion, I am not surprised + that you should deeply deplore it. You ask me what you are + to do, now you are able to attend public worship. This is an + important question, but I feel no hesitation in giving you the + advice which I have given to others, who have been placed in + similar circumstances. If there be no Dissenting chapel within + a convenient distance, in which the gospel is preached, go to + your parish church as usual, to avoid the appearance of Sabbath + profanation; but if there be one, I think it your duty to attend + there. I do not recommend you to secede, for the mere sake of + secession; but for your spiritual improvement, which will depend + more on a pure evangelical ministry, than any other secondary + cause. Some, I am aware, would urge you to prefer your parish + church to a Dissenting chapel, even if the minister be an + irreligious man, and to stay there till it shall please God to + introduce the gospel into it; but as it is not in my power to + reconcile such advice with the injunction of our Lord, _Take + heed what ye hear_, you cannot expect that I can approve of such + a course. The eminently devout Christian loves the habitation + of the Lord's house, and the place where his honour dwelleth; + but we have no reason to believe that God visits any place with + the manifestations of his love, where the minister does not + preach salvation by grace through faith. But suffer the word of + exhortation. You are now coming out amongst the difficulties + of a public profession of religion; one friend may recommend + you to adopt one plan, and another, another; and the more you + consult, the more you may be perplexed, till at length you may + be incapable of coming to any decision. To obviate this evil, + go and meditate seriously on the following passage--'Trust in + the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own + understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall + direct thy paths.' Reduce to practice the admonition of the wise + man, and you will find that the Lord will give wisdom, as well + as strength. + + "I am much obliged by your kind invitation to the Elms, and + intend, as soon as I can leave home, to pay you a visit, when + I hope to find you in perfect health. Remember me very kindly + to every member of your family, and believe me to be, yours + affectionately, + + E. LOADER." + +One of the most common-place charges which is brought against +evangelical religion, is, that it has a tendency to make its +possessor melancholy; and if we were to form our judgment of it +from the appearance and manner of some who profess it, we should +be disposed to admit its correctness. They not only abstain +from all the pleasures and amusements of the social circle; but +habitually wear a gloom on their countenance, which indicates a +singular dejection and moroseness of spirit. But this dejection +of spirit, which we may sometimes discover in a professor of +evangelical religion, is not produced by his religious principles, +but by his sense of personal guilt, and his want of that assurance +of forgiveness, which the gospel of Jesus Christ is intended to +convey. He may be permitted to remain for a season, by the Holy One +of Israel, whose laws he has violated, and whom he has neglected +to glorify, under the sentence of self-condemnation; but when he +is enabled to rely on the atonement made by Jesus Christ, and to +appropriate the promise of mercy, he enjoys the peace which passeth +all understanding. If then, we wish to form a correct estimate +of the real tendency of evangelical truth, we must not go to the +penitent sinner while he is suffering under the deep convictions +of guilt, as then he is more prone to put from him the words of +consolation, than to embrace them; but we must go to the established +believer, who, having received the truth in the love of it, is +enjoying its sacred and blissful influence. He will repel the charge +as a libel on his faith, and unblushingly avow, that he never knew +solid and substantial happiness till he derived it from communion +with God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, and a hope of being +presented faultless in his immediate presence. And though the spirit +of scepticism, which is so prevalent in all ranks of society, may +ridicule such an avowal, as a delusion attempted to be practised on +human credulity, yet surely no one, on reflection, can presume to +say that a Christian is not competent to bear testimony to a fact of +his own experience. The religious principles which he has embraced, +are represented by those who have never felt their influence, as +having a tendency to make their possessor melancholy; and yet he +declares that he has had more mental satisfaction since he embraced +them than he ever had before. Whose testimony shall we admit to be +most conclusive?--the testimony of those who are entirely ignorant +of the subject, or of those whose knowledge qualifies them to +speak? Suppose, for example, a question to arise respecting the +excellencies or defects of a piece of music, we should not venture +to place any dependence on the opinion of a man who has no taste +for the science. If we did, we should expose ourselves to ridicule +or contempt. On such a question we should require the opinion of +a competent judge; and I appeal to the sound sense of my readers, +if they can allow those persons to pronounce a judgment on the +tendency of religion who have never felt its holy influence on the +heart. They may express their opinion, and they often do express it, +but of what value or importance is it in relation to the subject? +They may say that its tendency is to make us unhappy; but how can +they prove it? Not certainly by appealing to the obvious design of +Christianity, for that has been so unequivocally announced by the +celestial messengers, that we cannot misconceive it. "And the angel +said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of +great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this +day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. +And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly +host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on +earth peace, good-will toward men." And if they venture to appeal +to the experience of the religious man, he candidly says, "I am +happy; but my happiness differs from yours, it takes its rise from +a different source, and possesses qualities which are peculiarly +its own; it is more pure, more exquisite, more substantial, because +more intellectual and spiritual than yours. My happiness is the +peace that passeth all understanding." But when we mention peace, +we mean not the stupid security of a mind that refuses to reflect; +we mean a tranquillity which rests on a tried and durable basis--a +peace which, founded on the oath and promise of Him who cannot +lie, and springing from the consciousness of an ineffable alliance +with the Father of spirits, makes us to share in his fulness, and +become a partner with him in his purity; a repose serene as the +unruffled wave, which reflects the heaven from its bosom, while it +is accompanied with a feeling of exultation and triumph, natural to +such as are conscious that ere long, having overcome, they shall +possess all things. + +There are many periods in the history of human life, when the +power of religious principles over the mind commands the respect, +and excites the admiration of the most inveterate infidel. Go +and see the poor Christian, contented amidst his privations--the +suffering Christian, patient under his protracted affliction--the +dying Christian, resigned and happy in prospect of his approaching +dissolution; and if you do not pay a spontaneous homage to the +influence of the principles which have such an effect in elevating +and supporting the soul of man, when visited by these direful +calamities, it must be referred either to a want of taste, or to a +want of judgment. + + "He is the happy man, whose life ev'n now + Shows somewhat of that happier life to come; + Who, doom'd to an obscure, but tranquil state, + Is pleased with it; and, were he free to choose, + Would make his fate his choice. + + * * * * * + + Content, indeed, to sojourn while he must + Below the skies, but having there his home. + The world o'erlooks him in her busy search + Of objects more illustrious in her view; + And, occupied as earnestly as she, + Though more sublimely, he o'erlooks the world. + She scorns his pleasures, for she knows them not; + He seeks not hers, for he has proved them vain. + He cannot skim the ground like summer birds + Pursuing gilded flies; and such he deems + Her honours, her emoluments, her joys. + Therefore in contemplation is his bliss, + Whose power is such, that whom she lifts from earth + She makes familiar with a heaven unseen, + And shows him glories yet to be revealed." + + + + +DOUBTS AND PERPLEXITIES. + + +The change which had taken place in Miss Holmes, became the topic +of general conversation in the circle of her gay associates; and +though some of them predicted that she would again appear amongst +them, when "the fit of melancholy" was over, their anticipations +were disappointed. She returned the calls of inquiry as soon as +her health permitted; but she left a deep impression on the mind +of all her friends, that worldly pleasures had lost their charms +for her, and that other and nobler objects of pursuit now engrossed +her attention. One of the first proofs of her decision, was +consenting to become secretary to a female branch of an Auxiliary +Bible Society, which was established in the vicinity of the Elms, +and which brought her into immediate connection with several +pious families. Having derived so much spiritual benefit from the +Scriptures during her long confinement, she felt anxious that they +should be universally circulated; and voluntarily devoted a large +portion of her time and her influence to secure the co-operation of +others in accomplishing this important object. + +One of the most conspicuous professors in her neighbourhood was a +Mr. Corrie, whose father had attended the ministry of Romaine, and +transmitted to his son a profound veneration for the memory of that +distinguished clergyman. He was a widower, rather advanced in life, +a man of wealth; and had residing with him two unmarried sisters. +These ladies were amiable and intelligent--zealous and active in +the cause of humanity and religion--and their chief delight was in +going about doing good. Mr. Corrie usually spent the forenoon in +his study, while his sisters went forth on their visits of mercy to +the cottages of the poor; and they generally passed their evenings +in agreeable and profitable conversation, or in reading to each +other. They often read a portion of Mr. Romaine's Works, which they +considered the standard of orthodoxy; and though they were willing +to submit every religious opinion to the test of Scripture, yet they +never thought of subjecting his opinions to such an ordeal. His +treatises on the Life and Triumph of Faith, and some Letters which +have been published since his decease, they regarded with almost as +much reverence as the Epistles of the inspired writers; believing +that no author equalled him in correctness of sentiment and depth of +experience. + +Miss Holmes, in her perambulations on behalf of the Bible +Society, happened to call on the Misses Corrie, to solicit their +subscriptions, just as they were sitting down to tea; and being +pressed to remain, she consented to spend the evening with them. +Their cheerfulness--the spirituality of mind which they discovered +in their conversation--the fervent spirit of devotion which was +apparent in Mr. Corrie when engaged in family prayer--and the +confidence with which they spoke of their interest in Christ, +operated so powerfully on her feelings, that she remained with them +much longer than she intended; and when the lateness of the hour +compelled her to leave, she could not do so without requesting +permission to repeat her visit. "We shall be happy to see you at +any time," said Miss Corrie; "and if it be in our power to teach +you the way of the Lord more perfectly, we shall consider ourselves +highly honoured." + +Religious conversation is one of the most useful methods of +instruction and consolation we can employ; but sometimes, when +a false standard of experience is adopted, it becomes the means +of perplexing and distracting inquiring minds. Our Lord taught +his disciples, as they were able to receive instruction; keeping +alive their attention, while he allayed the restlessness of an +unprofitable curiosity, by saying--"I have yet many things to say +unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit +of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall +not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he +speak: and he will shew you things to come." And on this wise maxim +the Holy Spirit condescends to conduct His process of instruction, +that we may not be confounded by communications which we are unable +to understand; but be led on step after step in the province of +Divine knowledge, till we are "able to comprehend with all saints, +what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know +the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled +with all the fulness of God." And it is of great importance, in +relation to the government of our conduct towards others, and for +our own tranquillity and spiritual improvement, that we rigorously +adhere to the same maxim; or we may inflict a wound, while +attempting to impart the consolations of our faith, and absolutely +retard that growth in knowledge which we are anxious to cultivate +and advance. + +Mr. Corrie was eminently pious, but a man of rather weak +understanding, and who had associated with but few intelligent +Christians in the earlier part of his life. His first undigested +thoughts had grown up into firm and immoveable opinions; and though +he devoted a large portion of his time to reading the Scriptures, +yet, owing to the bias of which he was not conscious, he more +frequently searched for passages in support of his own peculiar +notions, than studied them to enlarge his views of the entire scheme +of Divine truth. He was positive, but not perverse; inflexibly +attached to his own belief, but not disposed to inveigh against +that of another; and though he imbibed some religious opinions +which have done great injury to the dignity and the amiability of +the Christian character, yet in him their tendency was neutralized +by the sweetness of his natural disposition and the fervour of his +devotional spirit. He dwelt much on the high points of election +and predestination; maintained with great pertinacity that human +nature undergoes no moral improvement, but remains as impure and +deceitful after the great change has taken place, as it was before; +and he considered an assurance of our final salvation so essential +to the nature of faith, that he would not regard as a true believer +a person who did not enjoy an unclouded prospect of eternal glory. +These topics bounded the range of his inquiry; and though at times +he would unawares make concessions which compromised their accuracy, +yet when apprized of his danger, he would step back with singular +adroitness, and resist the force of an argument to expose their +fallacy, by saying to an antagonist, "_You_ see through a glass +darkly, while I see face to face." If these opinions had been +confined within the circle of his own family, and the few pious +friends who were of the same theological school, he would have done +no injury, as their devotional spirit and habits would have proved +a safeguard against their pernicious tendency. But by bringing them +forward in promiscuous company, and by holding them up as essential +articles of the Christian faith, he often involved the judgment of +the young disciple in great perplexity, and unintentionally threw +down some of those barriers which the Scriptures have raised to +restrain the evil propensities of our nature. The effects of these +opinions on the mind of Miss Holmes may be seen in the following +letter, which she addressed to her friend Mrs. Loader, a few weeks +after her introduction to this family:-- + + "MY DEAR FRIEND,--I should have replied earlier to your last + letter; but since my convalescence I have been so engaged with + my new duties, as the secretary to our Auxiliary Bible Society, + that I have not been able to find time. I cannot express to you + in words, how much pleasure I derived from your communication. + It came at a season when my mind was sinking into despondency, + and when I was tempted to give up my hope; but the Lord was + pleased to employ it as the means of dispersing the darkness + which was hovering around me, and I was enabled to rejoice once + more in the light of his countenance. I had gained that elevated + spot--that spiritual Pisgah, to which you so beautifully allude; + from whence I could read + + 'My title clear + To mansions in the skies;' + + and from whence I thought I should never be displaced; but + alas! I am again compelled to give utterance to a feeling of + despondency. + + "I had my fears at the very commencement of my religious course, + that my convictions and impressions, like the morning cloud and + early dew, would soon pass away, and that I should be permitted + to relapse into my original state of darkness and indifference; + yet these fears came upon me only at times, like a sudden gust + of wind in a serene evening. Now, alas! I have to mourn over + their perpetual presence and desolating power; and I sometimes + think, the doom of a backslider, or an apostate, awaits me. I + shudder in anticipation of such a dreadful issue; and though + I often pause and listen, yet I hear not the voice of the + Comforter. Yet I cannot go back; perhaps I may say, when taking + a survey of the more general state of my heart, I move slowly + onwards between hope and fear. + + "I have lately formed an intimate friendship with two excellent + ladies, who reside with their brother, not more than a quarter + of a mile from the Elms; and in whose society I spend a + considerable portion of my leisure hours. From the influence + of their example, and from their conversation, I anticipated + much spiritual improvement; but the oftener I visit them, the + deeper I am plunged in mental despondency; and though I have + ventured to allude, in indirect terms, to the perplexed state of + my mind, yet I cannot obtain from them the words of consolation + which I need. They and their brother have adopted the views of + Romaine as their religious standard; and hold his memory in such + veneration, that they rank him next to the inspired writers, and + tacitly condemn all who, on any religious points, differ from + him. They have lent me his treatises on the Life and Triumph of + Faith, which I have read with close attention; but instead of + deriving from them that satisfaction which I was led to expect, + they have revived all my former fears, and invested them with + a tenfold poignancy. He says, when addressing the believer, + 'Thou must be first persuaded of thine interest in Christ, + before thou canst make use of it, and improve it; and therefore + the knowledge of thy union with him must be clear and plain, + before thou canst have a free and open communion with him.' I + might have passed over this passage, without having taken any + particular notice of it, had it not coincided with the belief + which has been so often expressed by my excellent friends, the + Misses Corrie and their brother. They say, in the most express + terms, that an assurance of our interest in Christ, and of our + final salvation, is essential to faith; but this assurance + I do not possess. Sometimes I have thought that the Saviour + has looked with an eye of compassion on me, and has raised my + desponding soul to the ineffable manifestations of his love; + but I cannot say that 'he gave himself for me.' I rely on the + efficacy of his death for acceptance and eternal life; but I + dare not say that my dependence is genuine. In some favoured + moments, I have anticipated the blissful interview, when I have + hoped to see him as he is, but I cannot speak with confidence--O + no! I dare not. While my necessities compel me to go to the + Saviour, and plead his promises, my want of assurance keeps me + back; and thus, being suspended between these propelling and + repulsive powers, I suffer extreme mental torture. + + "But this is not the only subject on which my mind is perplexed. + In a conversation the other evening, when we were tracing up the + bestowment of every good and every perfect gift to the free and + unmerited grace of God, Mr. Corrie asserted, with the utmost + degree of confidence, that no true believer in Jesus Christ can + doubt his personal election to eternal life. This assertion, + made by so good and amiable a man, and which met the decided + approbation of his sisters, fell upon my ear with all the terror + of the condemning sentence; and from that moment to the present, + I have been driven, as an outcast, from the promises of mercy, + I have read the Scriptures to satisfy my mind on this point, + and there I read of sinners being chosen in Christ before the + foundation of the world--of their being elected according to the + foreknowledge of God the Father--of their being predestinated; + but this high point appears invested with such terror, that my + spirit recoils when attempting to approach it; and though I have + prayed for faith to receive the hidden mysteries of revelation, + and for wisdom to understand them, yet I cannot believe that I + am one of the selected number, whose name has been enrolled in + the Lamb's book of life. But should I feel all this terror on + my spirit, when adverting to a doctrine which appears stated, + with the utmost degree of explicitness, by the inspired writers, + if I had that faith which is of the operation of the Spirit + of God? Should I, if I possessed like precious faith, recoil, + with almost instinctive dread, from a subject on which my pious + friends speak with so much animation and delight? Surely there + must be some defect in my experience, which renders me incapable + of disengaging myself from the bondage of fear in which I am + held; and which holds me back from a participation of that + glorious liberty which I see enjoyed by the children of God + around me. + + "There is one point of resemblance between my experience and + that of my friends, too striking to pass unnoticed; yet, when + reading the Scriptures, it has merely served to involve me in a + still more perplexing labyrinth of difficulty. It is this--they + maintain 'that our hearts undergo no moral improvement when + the great renovation takes place, but remain as impure and + deceitful as before.' I certainly did anticipate, when I first + felt the influence of the truth, that I should grow in grace + as well as in knowledge; and that I should attain to a more + near conformity to the image of Jesus Christ; but on a close + and impartial examination, I am compelled to believe that I + have made no progress: indeed, I fear I have made a retrograde + movement. I do not feel that calm satisfaction, or any of the + blissful emotions I felt, when my attention was first arrested + by the unseen realities of eternity. I do not feel that + indifference to worldly objects, which I felt when confined to + a couch of pain and languor. I am not so deeply affected by the + unparalleled love of Christ, as I was when I first viewed him + bearing away the iniquities of the people by the agonies of his + death; nor does sin appear so exceedingly sinful, as when I + first experienced its bitterness. I am neither so grateful for + my mercies, nor so abased on account of my transgressions, as I + was when the light of a supernatural manifestation first threw + open to my view my neglected obligations and concealed defects. + I feel, if possible, more fully convinced of the absolute need + of a Saviour, than I was when I first felt the burden of guilt + upon my conscience, but yet I am less able to exercise faith in + him; and instead of that peace which was diffused through my + heart when I first believed, I am sometimes driven to the verge + of despondency. + + "I have not yet communicated to my dear parents the present + perturbed state of my feelings, as I am unwilling to give one + pang of sorrow to their tender bosom; and though I sometimes + pray that the Lord would be pleased to turn away from me the + face of his anger, and comfort me, yet I cannot pray in faith. + Surely no one else ever felt what I feel, or suffered what I + suffer. There are two verses in a favourite hymn, which, I + believe, was composed by the venerable Newton, which I can + repeat with intense earnestness:-- + + 'Lord, decide the doubtful case; + Thou who art thy people's Sun, + Shine upon thy work of grace, + If it be indeed begun. + + 'May I love thee more and more, + If I love at all, I pray; + If I have not lov'd before, + Help me to begin to-day.' + + "I am happy to inform you, that there is a Dissenting chapel + about three quarters of a mile from the Elms, in which the + gospel is preached with great simplicity and power, and where + my esteemed friends, the Corries, usually attend; so that a kind + Providence has made that provision for our spiritual necessities + outside the pale of the Establishment, which we should have + preferred within, but which is denied us unless we go to a + considerable distance. We have attended this chapel regularly + for some time, and are much delighted with the minister. He is + an amiable, unobtrusive man--imbued, I trust, with the spirit of + his Master--cheerful in his disposition, but rather reserved. + Those who are admitted into more familiar intimacy, speak of him + in the highest terms of affectionate respect; and he is much + esteemed by his people. You know we are attached to the Church; + but, after mature deliberation, we are satisfied that it is + our duty to hear the gospel; and as it is not preached by our + Vicar, we feel it no less a duty than a privilege to go where + the Lord has sent it. Our decision has offended some of the + _anti-evangelical_ high church families, who regard the Church + of England with as much veneration as a Roman Catholic would a + relic of St. Peter; but we must obey the dictates of conscience, + which will no longer permit us to attend a ministry where the + truths of the gospel are not preached. + + "From some of our new clergyman's discourses I have derived + consolation, but he has not touched on any of the points of + perplexity in which my mind is involved; and though at times + I have thought of soliciting a personal interview, to make + known to him all I feel, and all I fear, yet I cannot assume a + sufficient degree of confidence to do it. Indeed, I cannot speak + freely on such delicate subjects to any one but to you; and I + hope, if you cannot spare time to pay us your long promised + visit, that you will favour me with your advice, and I know you + will not neglect to pray for me. + + "My sister Emma, I regret to say, continues to manifest a + decided aversion to the things of the Spirit of God--they are + foolishness to her; but Jane is becoming much more serious. I + do not think that she is yet decided, but I hope the good work + is begun. I often find her with her Bible, and sometimes she + retires to her own room in the evening, where I hope she spends + some portion of her time in praying to her Father in secret; + and if so, He who seeth in secret will ultimately reward her + openly.--Yours affectionately, + + "LOUISA. + + "To Mrs. Loader." + +When a young Christian searches the Scriptures for correct +information on the great questions of religion, and is favoured +with the assistance of judicious and pious friends, he usually +passes on from one degree of knowledge to another without meeting +with the formidable obstructions and perplexing embarrassments to +which he is exposed, by the conflicting opinions which are prevalent +amongst us. The light which shines on the sacred page, when it comes +_directly_ from above, is clear and pure, and makes distinctly +manifest, to the judgment and the conscience, the truth as it is in +Jesus, in its simplicity and power. But when it passes through a +human medium, it often shines in an oblique course, throwing into +the shade some essential parts of the economy of Divine truth; and +hence a defective theory is sometimes embraced, which always proves +unsatisfactory, and sometimes fatal to our peace. It is therefore +impossible to exercise too much caution, in the early periods of +our experience, in the choice of our religious associates, and of +the books which we read; as it is in the power of error, whether +it comes from the lips of friendship or from the press, to do more +essential injury than the truth may be able to repair, till after a +lengthened period of extreme anxiety and disquietude. And as we are +so liable to receive pernicious impressions from the numerous errors +which are in perpetual circulation around us, we cannot depend with +too much simplicity, or docility of disposition, on the Holy Ghost, +whom the Saviour has promised to his disciples. "And I will pray the +Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide +with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot +receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know +him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. He shall teach +you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever +I have said unto you. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive +of mine, and shall shew it unto you." Hence it is indispensably +necessary for the Christian, in every period of his life, but +especially when entering on his religious course, to implore the +gracious influence of the Divine Spirit, to guard him against every +species of error--to lead him into all truth--and to invest the +truth with that holy unction, which will render it no less a source +of the highest intellectual improvement, than of the most exquisite +mental enjoyment. Such a habit of dependence on Divine aid will be +an effectual safeguard against the spirit of self-sufficiency, which +proves so fatal to those who are enslaved by it; and while it will +stimulate to mental diligence in searching the Scriptures, that we +may ascertain what is the mind of the Spirit, it will keep us in a +state of independence of human opinion. + +But while I wish to point out to the attention of the young +Christian, the dangers to which he is exposed from the society of +his pious yet injudicious friends, and to bring him into immediate +connection with the Spirit of truth, I would, at the same time, +guard him against indulging any visionary expectations respecting +the mode of His instruction, or the infallible certainty of the +opinions He may permit us to form. He teaches through the medium of +the Scriptures, even while the judgment is altogether unconscious of +any supernatural assistance; but His communications are restricted +to those points in the system of truth which are essential to +salvation; leaving us to form our own judgment on questions of minor +importance. Hence the agreement amongst the disciples of Christ, on +what is essential, and their diversity on what is non-essential. + +But even when we are taught by the Holy Spirit, and thus imbibe +the truth in its most perfect state, it will not always retain its +original power of impression, but will admit of a partial declension +in moving the affections, even while its authority over the judgment +and the conscience remain undiminished. Hence the lines of Cowper +are often employed as expressive of the disconsolate state of the +heart:-- + + "Where is the blessedness I knew, + When first I saw the Lord? + Where is the soul-refreshing view, + Of Jesus and his Word? + What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd! + How sweet their mem'ry still! + But they have left an aching void, + The world can never fill." + +And this cessation of a powerful excitement, which usually +succeeds the first impressions of truth, is often regarded, by the +Christian, as an indisputable evidence of the decay of his religious +principles, when it may be nothing more than a necessary consequence +of the more advanced progress of his personal experience, as the +change of the leaf, from living green to the auburn hue, is a plain +indication that the fruit is advancing in its ripening process. + +The above account presents an instance, which has many parallels, +of the struggles, anxieties, and perplexities, which so often beset +the mind of the believer on his first entering on his career of +Christian experience. I shall return soon to the continuation of the +history of Mr. Holmes' family; but, in the meantime, must beg the +courteous reader to accompany me back, for a short space, to my own +town, from which I have been led by this digression in my narrative. + + + + +THEATRICAL AMUSEMENTS. + +PART I. + + +One morning, while musing on the changing scenes of my eventful +life, recalling the past, and speculating on the future, I received +a letter from an old friend, requesting that I would call on +her as soon as I could make it convenient. From the tone of the +letter, and some expressions contained in it, I judged she was in +trouble, and accordingly proceeded immediately towards her house. +As I was passing along, I remembered that, several years before, +I had received a similar note, written by the same hand, and in a +similar strain of grief. The writer was a widow, whose husband had +been cut off in the flower of his days, leaving her to provide for +their children, who were at that time all dependent on her. On the +occasion I speak of, I found her bewailing the alarming illness of +her only son, a youth of about fifteen years. She complained with +bitterness that the Almighty, who had taken away her husband, was +now about to take away her first-born also. I attempted to bring her +mind into a state of acquiescence to the Divine will, by reminding +her that no affliction came by chance--that he who works all things +after his own counsel, often sends an early affliction, to prevent +a more painful one--and that when he is pleased to take from us our +choicest comforts, it is "for our profit, that we might be partakers +of his holiness." She replied that the Almighty might tear her son +from her, but she could not surrender him. When I expostulated with +her, she did not attempt to justify her opposition to the will of +God, but excused herself from the affection she bore her son; and +earnestly requested me to pray for him, and pray that his life might +be spared. We prayed together for the lad, and in due time he was +restored to health. Having removed soon after this to a different +quarter of the town, I had seen but little of him or his family for +a considerable time. + +Perhaps, thought I, as I drew near the house of sorrow, the life +of this son is again in danger. He has been spared a few years, +as the staff of his mother's strength, and now she is inured +to her troubles, he is about to be taken from her. Indulgent, +yet mysterious Providence! The lines of the poet recurred to my +recollection with peculiar force-- + + "The ways of heaven are dark and intricate. + Puzzled with mazes and perplex'd with errors, + Our understanding traces them in vain-- + Lost and bewilder'd in the fruitless search. Nor sees + With how much art the windings turn, + Nor where the regular confusion ends."--_Addison._ + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN. + +W. L. THOMAS. + +THE MOTHER'S HOPES BLASTED. + +Vol. ii. page 179.] + +When I entered the room, I found her reclining on a sofa, and in +tears, her three daughters weeping apart. Though I knew not the +cause of their distress, I felt at once that some great calamity had +befallen them. My presence seemed to revive their grief, for when +they beheld me, there was a spontaneous burst of anguish. At length, +when nature had given vent to her feelings, and recovered a portion +of that strength which had been consumed by the violence of grief, +the sufferer informed me that her son had brought upon them a deluge +of sorrow. Without going into particulars, she requested me to read +the following letter, which was lying on the table:-- + + "MY DEAR MOTHER,--Apprehensive that you may be alarmed by the + abruptness of my departure from home, I write to inform you + that I am well; and when I reach the place of my destination, + I will send you my address. I now regret the course I have + taken, but this will not bring back my departed reputation, + nor heal the wound which I have inflicted on your peace. Had + I taken your advice, and kept myself from evil companions and + vain amusements, I had still been a virtuous and happy man--your + comforter, and the support of the family; but I disregarded your + lessons, and became a regular attender of the theatre, to the + fatal attractions of which, I am convinced, I now owe my ruin. + From the theatre, it was but one step to the tavern and the + gaming table. To gratify my passion for the latter, I embezzled + my masters' property, and am now a wretched fugitive from the + pursuit of justice. Remember me very kindly to my sisters, and + tell them never to enter a theatre, for it is to my attendance + at that place of dissipation, that I attribute my first + deviation from the right path.--Your undutiful, yet affectionate + son, + + W. HARVEY." + +"Oh! my poor William," exclaimed his mother, "oh! that I should ever +have lived to see this day! Our disgrace is all over the town this +morning. Look at this, too," she continued, producing a hand-bill +offering a reward of L50 for the apprehension of William Harvey, +absconded. + +After perusing these, I expressed my heartfelt sympathy with the +family, and tried to soothe their feelings and offer words of +comfort; but what comfort could I impart in such circumstances! In +answer to my inquiries, I drew from her, amidst sobs and tears, an +account of her son, and the causes which had produced the fatal +transformation in his character. It was to the following effect:--At +the decease of his father, he was removed from school, and placed +in the counting-house of Messrs. ----, extensive merchants in the +town. Being a lad of strong natural powers and quick perceptions, +active and industrious in his disposition, he soon made himself very +useful, and within the space of three years, had so established +himself in the esteem and respect of his employers, as to be +promoted to a post of responsibility and trust. He was distinguished +from most young men of his age, by the soundness of his judgment, +and the sobriety of his habits, and so devotedly attached to +his mother and his sisters, that he made the promotion of their +happiness his constant study. In the morning he went to the duties +of his station with cheerfulness; and in the evening, when the toils +of the day were ended, he either retired to his own room, to read +the amusing or instructive page, or passed it away in their society. +He would often admit, when conversing with his pious mother, +the necessity of personal religion, yet he thought some distant +futurity a more convenient season for attending to it than the +present time; and hence the strong impressions which he occasionally +received, when engaged in the public exercises of devotion, were +soon obliterated by the tumultuous anxieties of commercial life. +But when about the age of eighteen, he began to feel the necessity +of personal religion; and though he did not suffer its interesting +and important inquiries to divert his attention from his secular +pursuits, yet he was convinced that it was no less his duty to be +"fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," than diligent in his business. + +His mother witnessed this moral renovation of his character with +peculiar delight; and soon had the pleasure of hearing him lead the +devotions of the family both morning and evening. For the space +of two years, he was equally distinguished for his diligence in +business and his fervour of devotion, till at length he fell into +the company of a young man who ultimately effected his ruin. This +young man was the son of a wealthy citizen, as accomplished in +manners as he was corrupt in principles; and though he made no +profession of religion, yet he affected to treat it with great +respect, and thus more effectually gained an ascendency over young +Harvey. Their first acquaintance soon ripened into the maturity +of an ardent friendship; and notwithstanding the dissimilarity +of their opinions, they became almost inseparable companions. +Each felt anxious to gain the other over to his own course, and +adopted what he conceived to be the most likely method; but it soon +became apparent, that evil communications more speedily corrupt +the virtuous, than good communications reclaim the vicious. One +of the earliest symptoms of this corruption of principle, was his +becoming an occasional frequenter of the theatre, a place which, +hitherto, the pious admonitions of his mother had prevented him from +entering. Then came abandonment of his home, and of the society of +its inmates, after the business of the day had terminated, which +broke in upon the devotional order of the family, and often led +to inquiries and remonstrances which were natural, but painful. +These gentle and affectionate remonstrances at first had a powerful +effect, and he was induced to return to his former habits; but +in process of time, they were either heard with indifference, or +resented, and he who had officiated at the family altar, in a +humble and apparently contrite spirit, informed his mother that he +should in future decline engaging in such a responsible office. She +besought him in the most urgent and imploring manner, to rescind +his avowed determination, and once more break away from that fatal +charm, which was seducing him from the path of righteousness and +peace; but she could not succeed. He was resolute and decided; and +after this time rarely returned home till very late at night. + +"I have sat alone," said his mother, "watching for his return, +till one, two, three, and even four in the morning; and when I +have opened the door, he more often abused me for my kindness, +than apologized for his misconduct. Having spent his midnight +hours in dissipation, he consumed those of the morning in sleep; +and sometimes did not get to business much before noon. Though he +foresaw what might be the consequences of his folly and impiety, yet +no arguments were sufficient to induce him to change his course. +He grew worse and worse, till at length he disappeared two days +ago, and I heard nothing of him till yesterday, when I received +the letter which has thrown us all into such misery. This trial, +which would have been a severe one under any circumstances, is to +me peculiarly poignant; as it brings to my remembrance my sins. It +is now just seven years since the Almighty appeared to be taking +him from me, and such was the heavenly frame of his mind, that he +was not unwilling to go. Had he died then, I should have wept over +his grave, but I should have had the prospect of meeting him in +a better world. Or if I had felt resigned to the will of God, he +might have been restored to me in mercy, as was Isaac, when the +angel of the Lord forbade his venerable father to slay the sacrifice +which he had so willingly bound, and placed on the altar; but I was +rebellious. I prayed for his life, because I thought it essential to +my happiness; and his life has been spared; but alas, he is become +the destroyer of our peace. It is now, Sir, only two years since he +began to turn his attention to religious subjects, and to lead the +devotions of our family; and though, like most parents, I rejoiced +with trembling, yet hope preponderated, and I thought he would have +been my support and comfort in my old age; but alas, the vision of +bliss has disappeared, and I am left to desolation and despair." +Here she paused to weep, and then resumed her tale of sorrow. "I +watched his gradual departure from the ways of righteousness with +much anxiety, and made many efforts to reclaim him; and though he +yielded at first to my solicitations, and made many solemn promises, +yet he broke them all, and gave himself up to the company of the +wicked. _The stage has been his ruin._ Till he entered the ill-fated +theatre, which throws out its unhallowed attractions to beguile and +captivate the thoughtless and the gay, he was one of the best of +sons, and one of the kindest of brothers, fond of home, and devoted +to his mercantile duties; but after he had acquired a taste for +its scenes and its performances, he became undutiful to me, unkind +to his sisters, indolent and extravagant, unwilling to submit to +the control of authority or of reason, and determined to follow +the devices and desires of his own heart, even though he should +plunge us all in ruin. It was in the theatre that he fell into bad +company--it was there he lost his strength to resist temptation; +and being once overcome, he surrendered himself, a willing captive +to the service of iniquity. Ill-fated place! There many a virtuous +youth has become the victim of sin! and there my William fell, and +in his fall he has destroyed my happiness for life. Where he is +gone, I know not, nor do I know what destiny awaits him; but this +I know, from bitter experience, that the theatre will corrupt the +most virtuous; and while it professes to afford only amusement and +instruction, it often becomes the destroyer of personal honour and +of social happiness." + +I retired from this scene, my mind loaded with anxiety on behalf +of the unfortunate family, deeply regretting that it was not in +my power to afford them any effectual relief. I could not reclaim +the infatuated youth, nor yet repair the moral injury which the +attractions of the theatre had brought upon the honour and peace of +their household. I was grieved by their tale of sorrow; but it did +not surprise me, as I had met with too many proofs of the debasing +tendency of theatrical amusements, to be astonished by such a +narrative. + +I had an engagement to spend the evening of the day on which the +above conversation took place, at the house of a friend, who had +invited me to meet a gentleman from London, an acquaintance of his, +who was then paying him a visit. On arriving there I found a small +party assembled. In the course of the evening, after a desultory +conversation on various matters, we found ourselves involved in a +close, though not angry debate. The circumstance which led to this +spirited discussion, was a reference to a recent verdict which had +been given against a celebrated comedian, for a crime which never +can be visited with too much severity, as it tends not only to the +corruption of public morals, but the destruction of private and +domestic happiness. + +"It is of importance," said Mr. Proctor, the gentleman at whose +house we were spending the evening, "that they who lash the vices +of the age, and who hold them up to scorn and contempt, should be +virtuous themselves, or they will do more injury by their example, +than they will do good by their professional labours." + +"Very true, Sir," replied a Mr. Talbot, one of the party, who was +a great admirer of the drama, "but we must not expect to find the +perfection of human nature in a profession which is exposed to so +many and such powerful temptations!" + +"The perfection of human nature!" exclaimed Mr. Proctor's London +friend, Mr. Falkland, "perhaps it would be impossible to find a +class of men, in any single profession, in which we shall find so +little virtue and so much vice as in the theatrical profession." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, do you really mean to say, that the +stage never exhibits, in the private character of its performers, +the beauty and consistency of virtue? Surely you are not so +uncharitable!" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I will not say that every one who appears on the +stage is immoral, in the broad acceptation of that term; but I mean +to say that the great majority are more depraved in their tastes, +habits, and conduct, than the general average of society. This is +a fact which I presume no one will attempt to deny, who possesses +an accurate knowledge of the character of the performers at our +theatres." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"There is, I admit, too much truth in what you now +say; and how will you account for it?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"To account for it is not difficult--the moral +tendency of their profession is a sufficient reason; and that we may +have the most palpable and unequivocal evidence of its nature, it +is allowed by Providence to operate in the first place and to the +fullest extent on the morals and character of the persons who are +engaged in it." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"There, Sir, I am at issue with you; for I maintain +that the moral tendency of theatrical amusements is favourable to +the cultivation and growth of private and public virtue; and though +some who are touched with the puritanical spirit of the age, may +assert the contrary, yet I think they will not be able to prove it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, if the moral tendency of theatrical +amusements be favourable to the cultivation and growth of private +and public virtue, will you be kind enough to say, how it comes to +pass that the very persons who are employed to conduct them, are, in +general, the most profligate members of society?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, they are profligate before they enter the +profession." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But can't men of high-toned virtue be induced +to enter a profession, which is intended to promote the moral +improvement of the age--to make us wiser and better?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Very few. The majority are persons of talent, who go +'_through all the vagabondry of life_,' and then offer themselves to +the stage as a _dernier_ resort." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"They first become profligate, and then betake +themselves to the stage, as a forlorn hope!" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"They are profligate before they enter on the stage, +which is an evil every virtuous man must deplore." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"And _remain_ profligate after they are on." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Too many." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"The majority, Sir." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Perhaps so." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, if the tendency of their profession be +favourable to the cultivation and growth of virtue, how is it that +it does not reclaim these profligate players? How is it that it does +not scatter the seeds of virtue among them, and raise it to a high +state of culture?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, are there not many who wear the gown +immoral?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I fear there are, Sir." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"And yet, I presume, you will admit, that the moral +tendency of the clerical profession and duties is favourable to the +cultivation and growth of private and public virtue." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Most certainly, Sir." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Then, how comes it to pass, if it be so, that these +men still remain immoral?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Permit me to say, that the introduction of this +question is no satisfactory reply to my argument. Answer that in the +first place, and then you are at liberty to propose what queries +you think proper. If the tendency of the theatrical profession be +favourable to the cultivation and growth of virtue, how is it that +it does not reclaim these profligate players? This is the question +under debate, and let us keep to it. We may ramble after we have +settled it." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, there are two reasons which may be +assigned--their extreme profligacy before they enter their +profession; and the numerous and powerful temptations to which they +are exposed after they have engaged in it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, theatrical amusements will not reclaim +extreme profligacy, nor produce virtue where it is most needed?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Perhaps not." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, you require a stock of virtue to insert +your graft on, or you do not calculate on raising any good fruit?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Exactly so, Sir." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, as men of high-toned virtue, with few +exceptions, cannot be induced to engage in the theatrical +profession; and as it is found incapable of reclaiming the +profligate, we can never expect to find a preponderance of virtue +amongst the members of that profession; and, consequently, we are +reduced to the necessity of admitting this astounding fact--the men +who are employed to chastise the vices of the age, and to cultivate +its virtues, are, with few exceptions, the most profligate in their +manners!" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, will you make no allowance for men and +women who are necessarily exposed to so many temptations in the +discharge of the duties of their profession?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Why, Sir, what peculiar temptations to vice ought +to stand connected with the duties of a profession which is intended +to promote private and public virtue?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, you know they often appear, when on the +stage, in a rank far above the level of their condition, which may +imperceptibly induce them to cherish those habits of extravagance +in private life, for which they are so notorious. But the most +fatal temptation to which they are exposed, is the too familiar +intercourse which necessarily takes place between the actors and +actresses on the stage, which cannot be avoided, unless the most +popular plays are suppressed; and would it not betray an ignorance +of human nature, to expect that this circumstance should produce no +injurious effect on their moral character?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Certainly. You reason very properly. You have +given a faithful, just, and true account of an evil which is +generally admitted. But, in accounting for this evil, have you not +made a concession which invalidates the correctness of your general +position, that the tendency of theatrical amusements is to promote +the cultivation and growth of private and public morals?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"No, Sir, I have merely assigned the causes of that +general profligacy of manners which prevails amongst players, as a +reason why you should be more indulgent towards them; and why you +should not expect the perfection of virtue to grow in such near +contact with the most fascinating temptations." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I know full well what you intended to do, and also +what you have done. May I be permitted now, to place your leading +assertion, and your last concession, in one sentence?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Yes, provided you do it fairly." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I will attempt it. The tendency of theatrical +amusements is to promote the cultivation and growth of private and +public virtue; but the actors and actresses, who are employed in +this good work, are necessarily placed in a position which destroys +their own virtue, and brings on amongst them a general profligacy +of manners. That is, their representation of vice and vicious +characters on the stage often leads to immoral practices in their +private conduct. Does not this prove that the tendency of their +professional duties is injurious to their own morals?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Have I not admitted it, Sir?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, and proved it, at the extreme hazard of +endangering your own proposition, that the stage is favourable to +the interests of _private_ virtue." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, are there not many who wear the gown, and +who make much higher pretensions to virtue than players do, who, +after they have given their public lectures on morality, will retire +and sin in secret. Now, permit me to ask, if the sanctimonious +hypocrite is not a more odious character than the profligate player?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I regret, Sir, that you should overstep the bounds +of the question under discussion, to attack the clerical profession; +but lest you should imagine that you are occupying a position from +which no fair argument can displace you, I will for once attempt to +follow you. I admit, then, for the sake of the argument, that there +are some who make higher pretensions to private virtue than the +actors and actresses of our theatres, who, after delivering their +public lectures on morality, retire and sin in secret; but will the +vices of one class of men justify the vices of another? If some of +the clergy are corrupt, will the fact of their corruption diminish +the magnitude of the players' vices? Why you have introduced this +charge against the clergy into the discussion I cannot say, as +it has nothing to do with the question at issue, which is the +necessary connection between a player's profligacy of manners and +the duties of his profession. That is, that the very performance +of his duties, when he is engaged in promoting the morality of the +public, has a tendency to produce a corruption of his own morals. +But you can bring no such charge against the moral tendency of the +clerical duties. A clergyman is not compelled, in the discharge +of his functions, to give utterance to any expressions, or to +perform any actions, which have even a remote tendency to vitiate +his taste or corrupt his morals; so that if he should turn out a +bad man, you must look for the cause of it, not, as in the case +of the stage-player, in any impure and contaminating influence of +his profession, but in the depravity of his nature. If he become +immoral, he acts an inconsistent part, offers an insult to the +sentiments of the virtuous part of mankind, and loses his place +in society--as a man who is a disgrace to his profession, whose +example is in direct opposition to the acknowledged tendency of +his ministerial functions. But as a pure moral character is not +necessary to qualify a man to appear on the stage, no one feels at +liberty to charge a theatrical performer with inconsistency, even +if he should become notorious for swearing, gaming, drunkenness, or +debauchery. He may revel in these vices, and yet appear before an +audience with as much confidence of affording them gratification by +his performances as he would feel if he were a man of the purest +moral excellence. It is true, that if publicly convicted of some +flagrant offence, and held up, through the medium of the press, +as the base wretch who violates the sanctity of friendship, the +admirers of the drama will express a virtuous indignation, and +wish him to perform a sort of quarantine before he again makes his +appearance before them; yet they will never regard it as a lasting +disqualification for his professional duties." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Well, Sir, after all the attacks which you have +made on the character of theatrical performers, and the defence +which you have set up in favour of the clergy, I maintain that +the sanctimonious hypocrite who retires from the pulpit, where +he has delivered his grave moral lectures, to sin in secret, is +a more pernicious character than the most profligate player that +ever disgraced his profession. For do not the vices of the clergy +shake our confidence in the truth of religion, which you know is +never done by the vices of the stage; and is not their example, in +consequence of their more powerful influence over the public mind, +more destructive to the morals of society?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"If, Sir, your belief in the Divine origin of +Christianity is ever shaken by the vices of its professors, you give +a decisive proof that it does not rest on the legitimate evidence +which is offered in confirmation of it. Christianity claims a Divine +origin, and she adduces irrefragable arguments in confirmation of +it; but the consistent conduct of _all_ her professors is not one +of them. Judas was a traitor, but his treachery did not weaken the +force of evidence which the miracles of Jesus Christ supplied in +favour of his Divine mission; and though it is very common for us +to look for an exact correspondence between the life of a Christian +and the purity of his professed faith, yet if all who profess to +believe in the Christian religion should become as licentious in +their manners as the most notorious libertines, their profligacy +would not weaken the evidences on which Christianity founds her +claims to our belief. They would be convicted of the crimes of which +they are guilty; but by what process of fair argumentation could you +bring the verdict recorded against them to disprove the divinity of +a system of religion which is supported by the evidence of prophecy, +of miracle, of testimony, its own internal purity, and its more than +magic power in the renovation and transformation of the most impure +and debased of men?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Well, perhaps I made a slight mistake by saying that +the vices of the clergy tend to shake our confidence in the divinity +of our faith. It would have been more correct to say, they have a +tendency to make us mistrustful of the integrity of the clerical +character. But will you not admit that they have a most pernicious +influence over the popular mind--more especially on young men who +are just entering into active life?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, Sir, I readily concede that the vices of +the clergy have a more pernicious effect on the morals of society +than the vices of players, because the clerical character is held +in higher estimation, and because the clergy have free access +to families who would feel themselves degraded if a player was +to be introduced into their company. The clergy who support the +dignity of their profession, as the great majority of them do, +are esteemed and respected--their friendship is highly valued and +assiduously cultivated; but players are doomed to neglect when off +the boards--they are shunned in the ordinary intercourse of social +life, and kept in a state of exclusion, which is something like an +instinctive evidence, pervading all classes, with a few exceptions, +that they must be kept aloof from the sacred precincts of the family +circle. And it is to this sensitive abhorrence, which the virtuous +part of society feels, against any familiar intercourse with +players, that we are to attribute the comparatively trifling injury +which the profligacy of their private character does to the morals +of the public; but if ever this safeguard should be broken down--if +ever the line of demarcation which estranges us from them should be +removed, and they should have free access to our homes--allowed to +associate with our sons and daughters, they would introduce amongst +us a degree of moral corruption which no authority could check or +influence subdue." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, I have known some players introduced into +the highest intellectual circles of London and Edinburgh. Why, it is +a well-known fact, that the Kembles and Siddons, Bannister, Young, +and many others, were often guests at the mansions of some of the +most virtuous and accomplished of our nobility." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I admit, Sir, that the intellectual eminence of a +few of the profession has procured for them an admission into the +society of literary men; but a virtuous public, and even that part +of the public which admires the drama, with few exceptions, will not +receive them into its private or social friendship. And in the case +of the few exceptions into whose circles they have been received, +shall we find no husband or father who has not had occasion to rue +the day when he consented to call an actor his friend? It would be +invidious to give names, or I could, from my personal knowledge, +mention some instances of the lamentable results of intimacies +with players. Enough was brought before the public to justify the +remarks of the _Times_:--'The conduct of persons who appear on the +stage has never been the most irreproachable; and it may be doubted +whether such a mass of living vice, as the actors and actresses but +too generally present in their private lives, is not more injurious +to public morals than the splendid examples of virtue which they +exhibit in their theatrical characters are useful.'" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"And, Sir, has no unsuspecting family had occasion to +rue the day when they received into their friendship the ministers +of religion? Have _they_ never broken down the fence that guards +the sanctity of domestic virtue? Have _they_ never been publicly +convicted of crime?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, Sir; but when you compare the relative +numbers of the two professions, you will be compelled to admit that +there are but very few of the clerical order who trample on the +decencies and virtues of social life, and yet continue to discharge +their ministerial functions. Only let a clergyman be suspected, and +he is shunned; but let him be convicted, and he is disrobed, and +held in abhorrence, not only by the public, but by his brethren. +And though the light and trifling spirits of the age are fond of +traducing the reputation of the ministers of religion, and often +impute to them crimes of which they are not guilty, yet I fearlessly +assert that, with rare exceptions, they are an ornament to society, +and are not surpassed, if equalled, by any order of men, for +sobriety, chastity, benevolence, and all the virtues which bless and +adorn social life." + +_Mr. Proctor._--"I very much dislike the introduction of reflections +on the clerical order into these discussions, because they are +irrelevant to the question before us, and tend to perplex and +embarrass it rather than to bring it to a fair issue. The question +is simply this, '_Is the moral tendency of theatrical amusements +favourable to the cultivation and growth of private and public +virtue?_' It is admitted that the members of the theatrical +profession are, with few exceptions, loose in principles and +profligate in manners; and our friend has attempted to prove that +their profession has a tendency to make them so. Now, I think if +these amusements are favourable to the cultivation and growth of +virtue, we have a right to expect that the persons who are employed +to conduct them should exhibit in their own character the virtues +which they profess to inculcate. But they do not. This is a fact. +We never think of recommending our sons or our daughters to go +to the actors and actresses of the stage, for models from which +to mould their own character. If we knew that they were forming +an intimacy with any of them, we should forbid it, under a full +conviction that such intimacies would sink them in the esteem of +the more respectable part of society, and expose them to the most +powerful and seducing temptations. Thus far, I think, our friend +has gained his point; but the question is not yet decided. The +players may be profligate, and a close connection may be traceable +between their professional labours and the corruption of their +moral principles and habits; but notwithstanding this, _we_ may +derive great advantage from their theatrical representations. 'Their +business is to recommend virtue and discountenance vice--to show the +uncertainty of human greatness, the sudden turns of fate, and the +unhappy conclusion of violence and injustice'--to expose the folly +of pride, the baseness of ingratitude, the vileness of hypocrisy, +and to prove, by an appeal to the senses, rather than by logical +reasoning, that virtue is its own reward and vice its own tormentor; +and surely, Sir," addressing himself to Mr. Falkland, "you will +not presume to say that the immorality of 'their private lives' +disqualifies _us_ from receiving the moral benefit of their public +labours? This, I think, would be a position which you could not +maintain." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But, Sir, I maintain that the frequenters of our +theatres sustain, with rare exceptions, more moral injury from +the representations they witness on the stage, than they receive +moral benefit. Your friend Mr. Talbot admitted, in an early part of +this discussion, that familiarities of expression and action take +place on the stage which offend modesty, and if so, I appeal to you +whether such expressions and actions can produce any other effect +than an impure and demoralizing one." + +_Mr. Proctor._--"But these offensive familiarities are not of +perpetual occurrence." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But they are of frequent occurrence; and when +they do occur they taint a pure mind and inflame a corrupt one. The +following is a just critique on our popular comedies:--'The English +comedy is like that of no other country. It is the school in which +the youth of both sexes familiarize themselves with vice, which is +never represented there as vice, but as mere gaiety.'" + +_Mr. Proctor._--"I admit the correctness of this statement to a +certain extent; and will confess that I have at times wished my +children out of the theatre, from an apprehension of the possibility +of their sustaining some injury from what they saw and heard; yet I +still cleave to the stage, for a reason which, I think, you will not +controvert." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"And what may that be?" + +_Mr. Proctor._--"The stage is a source of amusement--I may say, of +great amusement. It drives away the vapours, raises our spirits, +and gives an agreeable variety to life. I willingly overlook what +is objectionable in expression and action, for the sake of the high +gratification which a good comedy yields; and so do others. To be +candid, we think less about our virtue than our enjoyment. We must +have some sort of excitement to help us to endure the cross purposes +and the ups and downs of life." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I have no doubt but the great majority who +frequent the theatres, enjoy, even to ecstasy, the scenes which are +exhibited, and retire from the enchanting place deeply regretting +that the dull uniformity of life presents no attractions half so +exciting. They smile and laugh, and even chuckle with delight, +when the intrigue of double-dealing has ensnared its victim--when +the lewd debauchee ogles his mistress, and by some sudden spring +seizes her by surprise--when virtue is made to look ridiculous by +the tenderness of her scruples--when the doctrines and precepts of +our holy religion are caricatured by the profane witling of the +stage--and when vice, disgusting and appalling vice, speaks out +its profanity, or acts its part with the adroitness of consummate +villainy. Then it is that 'the feast of soul' is enjoyed, and the +spirits which have been exhausted by _ennui_, or by the monotonous +duties of a long day's labour, are recruited, and the agreeable +alterative of the mind takes place. O yes, the stage amuses! It +is indeed an elysium of bliss; and if it should be closed, many +would weep and sigh who never wept or sighed over a remembrance of +their sins; and deem that life a burden which was given, not for +the participation of such polluting enjoyments, but for the nobler +purpose of deriving pure felicity from the invisible Fountain of all +goodness and excellence." + +_Mr. Proctor._--"But, my good friend, must we be always weeping over +our sins, and never allowed to partake of any pleasure but what +arises from religious pursuits?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I presume, Mr. Proctor, you will admit that we +ought sometimes to mourn over our sins; and ought _sometimes_ to +devote our attention to religious pursuits, unless we reject the +entire system of revelation as a cunningly devised fable?" + +_Mr. Proctor._--"I think, Sir, I am as firm a believer in the Divine +origin of Christianity as yourself, though probably we may differ on +some high points of speculative opinion; yet I cannot perceive that +Christianity condemns the theatre, nor am I disposed to object to +its performances _in toto_, because an audience sometimes derives +a momentary gratification from scenes and expressions which a +severe moralist might condemn. I admit that the stage would derive +some benefit by being submitted to a purifying process, but I +would rather retain it as it is, with all its faults, than have it +abolished." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"If, as Mr. Falkland appears to contend, the +Christian religion condemns theatrical amusements, and if, +notwithstanding, they are innocent and rational, it then follows +that man was not made for the Christian religion, although that +religion was made for man; the scandal of such an inference, and +its infallible support of scepticism, cannot but make it highly +desirable to prove that the Christian religion does _not_ condemn +them." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"If they are innocent! and if they are rational! +But I maintain they are not innocent; and, if viewed as they ought +to be, in connection with our eternal destiny, I maintain they are +not rational. But to avoid anticipating arguments which may be +afterwards adduced, I at once challenge you to bring forward proof +from the Scriptures in favour of these corrupting amusements." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"I have no positive proof to adduce in favour of +them, as the Scriptures are entirely silent on the subject; but is +not that silence a strong presumptive evidence in their favour? +Did any of the apostles ever condemn the theatrical exhibitions of +the times in which they lived? but would they not have done it if +they thought their tendency had been at variance with the spirit +and design of that religion which they came to propagate amongst +mankind?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, because they did not in their epistles, +which were addressed to the converted pagans who had renounced their +former evil customs, condemn the gladiatorial exhibitions of Rome +and of Greece, you think that a fair argument arises in favour of +them?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, if they had considered them unfavourable to the +morals of the people, they most certainly would have condemned them." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"What if the persons to whom they wrote had +previously renounced them?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But we have no proof that the early Christians did +abstain from these sources of amusement." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"There, I think, you are mistaken. We have +incontestable evidence to prove that the early Christians not only +abstained from them, but condemned them in the most unqualified +terms of reprobation; and I will now, with your leave, read a +collection of testimonies on the subject, with which I was lately +favoured by a friend:-- + + "'The Romans,' says Caecilius, the heathen, in Minutius, + 'govern and enjoy the world, while you Christians are careful + and mopish, abstaining even from lawful pleasures. You visit + not shows, nor are present at the pomps; you abhor the holy + games--a melancholy ghastly people ye are.' + + "'True,' says Octavius, 'we Christians refrain from the + play-house, because of its intolerable corruptions. We cannot be + present at the plays without great sin and shame.' + + "Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, who flourished about the year + 170, in his book to Autolicus has these words:--'It is not + lawful for us to be present at the prizes of your gladiators, + lest by this means we should be accessories to the murders + there committed. Neither dare we presume upon the liberty of + your shows, lest our senses should be tinctured and disobliged + with indecency and profaneness. The tragical distractions of + Tereus and Thyestes are nonsense to us. We are for seeing no + representations of lewdness. God forbid that Christians, who + are remarkable for modesty and reservedness--who are obliged to + discipline and trained up in virtue--God forbid, I say, that we + should dishonour our thoughts, much less our practice, with such + wickedness as this!' + + "Tertullian, who flourished in the same century, is copious + upon this subject:--'We Christians have nothing to do with the + frenzies of the race-ground, the lewdness of the play-house, or + the barbarities of the bear-garden.' + + "Clement Alexandrinus, who lived about the year 200, affirms + that a circus and theatre may not improperly be called the + 'chair of pestilence.'--_De Paedag._ lib. iii. + + "St. Cyprian, who lived in the third century, has spoken at + large upon the stage, and after having described the diversions + of the play-house, he expostulates in this manner:-- + + "'What business has a Christian at such places as these? A + Christian who has not the liberty so much as to think of an ill + thing?--Why does he entertain himself with lewd representations? + Has he a mind to discharge his modesty, that he may sin + afterwards with the more boldness? Yes: this is the consequence. + By using to see these things, he will learn to do them. Why need + I mention the levities and impertinences in comedies, or the + ranting distractions of tragedy? The folly of them is egregious, + and unbecoming the gravity of believers. + + "'As I have often said, these foppish, these pernicious + diversions must be avoided. We must set a guard upon our senses, + and keep the sentinel always upon duty. To make vice familiar + to the ear is the way to recommend it. And since the mind of + man has a natural bent to extravagance, how is it likely to hold + out under example and invitation? If you push that which totters + already, whither will it tumble? In earnest; we must draw off + our inclinations from these vanities. A Christian has much + better sights than these to look at.' + + "St. Cyril, who lived in the fourth century, in his Catechism + for the newly baptized, has these words:-- + + "'You have said at your baptism, I renounce thee, O Satan; I + renounce all thy works and all thy pomps. The pomps of the + devil are the diversions of the theatre, and all other the like + vanities; from which David begs of God to be delivered: 'Turn + away mine eyes,' says he, 'that they behold not vanity.' Do + not then suffer yourself to be led away by a fondness for the + entertainments of the stage, to behold there the extravagancies + of plays full of wantonness and impurity.'"[17] + + [17] The author is indebted to the late Rev. Mr. Simpson for these + testimonies. + +The discussion between Mr. Talbot and Mr. Falkland was here broken +off, but shortly afterwards resumed, as follows in the next chapter. + + + + +THEATRICAL AMUSEMENTS. + +PART II. + + +"These quotations which you have read from the ancient fathers," +said Mr. Talbot, "merely express their private opinion on the +expediency of not attending such scenes of amusement; but as they +were not endowed with the spirit of infallibility, their opinions +may be submitted to the ordeal of examination no less than your own." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Nay, Sir; these quotations do more than express +the private opinion of the historians from whose works they are +taken; they record the fact that the primitive Christians did not +attend public places of amusement, because they knew that their +moral tendency was unfavourable to the cultivation and growth +of virtue. They also prove that the stage undergoes no moral +change--indecent and profane in the olden times, when amusing Greeks +and Romans; indecent and profane still--_semper eadem_." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, do not the expostulations of these +writers, and the arguments which they employ against an attendance +at the theatres, lead us to the conclusion that some of the early +Christians did attend them?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"No doubt, Sir, that some of the early Christians +did attend them; but their attendance was considered as the first +step to the abandonment of their religious principles--as an act +of inconsistency, which subjected them to the censures of their +brethren--an approximation to the customs of the votaries of +paganism, which, if persisted in, was visited by an exclusion from +church-fellowship. This, I think, you must admit to be decisive of +the opinion which the pure part of the primitive Christians held +respecting the lawfulness and tendency of theatrical amusements." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, waiving the opinion of the ancient +fathers, allow me to ask you one question: If the moral tendency of +such amusements be unfavourable to private virtue, how is it that +there are no express prohibitions against them in the writings of +the apostles?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But, Sir, do you believe that the apostles +approved of every practice which they did not _expressly_ condemn?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, yes, Sir, and I think there is strong +presumptive evidence in favour of such an opinion. Were they not +employed to furnish us with a code of laws for the government of our +conduct? and is not that code perfect? If, then, there be no law +to condemn our attendance at such places of amusement, are we not +at liberty to believe that their silence is a tacit, though not a +positive sanction?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"If, Sir, we adopt the principle for which you are +now contending, we shall be reduced to the necessity of admitting +that every modification of evil, which is not expressly condemned by +the sacred writers, is actually sanctioned by them. The absurdity of +such an opinion is not more flagrant than its tendency would prove +pernicious to the welfare of society. Is the crime of gaming, or +bull-baiting, or of forgery expressly condemned by the Scriptures? +and yet, Sir, would you venture to appeal to the silence of the +Scriptures as a tacit sanction of these vices? Some of the vices to +which human nature is addicted, in every age and in every country, +are expressly condemned, while others, which spring out of local +customs, and casual temptations, are condemned only by implication. +As a proof of the correctness of this assertion, nothing is said in +Scripture against the savage custom of exposing children; nothing +against slavery; and nothing expressly against duelling. But is not +the exposing of children condemned in that charge against the Romans +that they were 'without natural affection?' Is there not a strong +censure against slavery conveyed in the command to 'do unto others +as you would have them do unto you?' and against duelling, in the +general prohibition of murder contained in the sixth commandment?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"I admit the validity of your argument, in its +application to the crimes which you have mentioned, because they +are the more refined modifications of crimes which are expressly +condemned; but permit me to say that I do not recollect any passages +in the sacred volume, which by a fair implication, really condemn +theatrical amusements." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, by your permission, I will quote a few. +'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, +nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the +scornful' (Psal. i. 1). Does not this passage condemn our going +into the assemblies of the ungodly? 'But I say unto you, that every +idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in +the day of judgment' (Matt. xii. 36). Are there no idle--no profane +words spoken on the stage? and if it be a crime to utter them, can +it be less than a crime to go and listen to them? 'Let no corrupt +communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to +the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers' +(Eph. iv. 29). Do no corrupt communications proceed from the mouth +of players? and if it be a crime to advance them, can it be less +than a crime to receive them? 'But fornication, and all uncleanness, +or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh +saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which +are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks' (Eph. v. 3, 4). Are +there no filthy expressions--no unhallowed jesting on the stage? +and if these vices are not to be named amongst Christians, ought +they to be sanctioned by them? 'For the time past of our life may +suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked +in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, +and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye +run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you' +(1 Pet. iv. 3, 4.) Does not the apostle, in this passage, commend +those to whom it was addressed, for having renounced their former +revellings and banquetings? and does he not arm them against the +reproaches which their exemplary conduct would bring upon them? and +can we suppose that, if the apostle was now on earth, he would give +his sanction to the practice of some modern Christians, who are to +be seen, now at church, and anon at the theatre?--now receiving +the sacrament on bended knees, and anon kindling into rapture by +the exhibitions of the stage?--now giving utterance to the solemn +words, _O God, the Father of heaven, have mercy upon us miserable +sinners_, and anon applauding expressions and sentiments which no +lips can articulate but the lips of impurity? And, Sir, lest we +should, through inadvertency, expose ourselves to the hazard of +being overcome by the force of temptation, are we not commanded to +'abstain from all appearance of evil?' (1 Thess. v. 22);--to have +'no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather +reprove them?' (Eph. v. 11). Are not these injunctions violated by +those who frequent the theatre? Are we not taught to pray, _Lead us +not into temptation, but deliver us from evil?_ and do we not +offer a violence to our own belief, and an insult to our Father in +heaven, when we pass from the attitude of prayer, into the place +over which the evil spirit reigns in undisturbed sovereignty, and +where temptations of the most seducing tendency abound?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, in the application of these passages +of Scripture against an attendance on theatrical amusements, you +have taken for granted that their moral tendency is injurious to +the cultivation and growth of private and public virtue, which, +permit me to say, without intending to reflect on your good sense, +is a species of logical artifice, which I did not suppose you +would condescend to employ. It is an attempt to carry a position +by surprise, which you should have approached openly--a jesuitical +manoeuvre to take the question of debate by the adroitness of a +sheer cunning, rather than by fair argumentation. If, Sir, you had +first proved that their tendency on the morals of society is, what +you assert it to be, injurious and pernicious, I grant there would +be a propriety in the application of the passages of the Bible which +you have made, and the contest would soon be terminated; but, as +that point has not been proved, and as I now challenge you to the +proof of it, allow me to say that your reasoning has produced no +effect." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"You are at perfect liberty to examine any +arguments which I may adduce against theatrical amusements with the +utmost degree of severity, and to employ what terms you please when +expressing your opinion of their character, or of their effect; but, +Sir, you cannot expect that I shall submit to your descriptions if I +think them unjust. You accuse me of taking for granted what remains +to be proved, which, you say, is not only unfair but useless. But +I appeal to your candour if I took more for granted than what was +tacitly admitted in proof, if not actually recorded. Has it not +been admitted, that expressions are sometimes uttered on the stage +which the lips of virgin modesty could not utter? If so, will you +presume to say, that the quotation which I made does not condemn +them--'But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall +speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment?' Has +it not been admitted, that expressions are uttered, and some actions +are performed in the theatre, which have a tendency to corrupt the +minds of the actors and actresses? and if so, will you say that the +injunction which commands us _to abstain from even the appearance of +evil_, does not prohibit our witnessing such actions or listening +to such expressions? If this be not proof against theatrical +amusements, what will you call proof? If this argument does not +fairly apply, it is not because it has not strength to strike, but +because you are endeavouring to raise the dust, that you may bear +off your colours to prevent them being taken. But that you may not +shout victory on your retreat, nor taunt me with unfair dealing when +you are going down, I will consent to clear the space, and meet you +on the question of the obvious and direct influence of the stage on +the morals of society." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"I grant, Sir, that the Bible censures all indecent +and profane expressions, and that it points the severity of its +rebuke against every action which has a demoralizing tendency +either on the mind of the performer or the spectator; but I presume +you will not take upon yourself to say, that our best and most +popular comedies come under this sentence of condemnation? There +are two questions, I apprehend, which have an immediate claim on +our attention--first, What is the design of comedy? and, secondly, +Will the desired result be attained through its instrumentality? +In reply to the first question, I will quote the language of the +celebrated Dr. Blair:--'Comedy proposes for its object, neither the +great sufferings nor the great crimes of men: but their follies +and slighter vices--those parts of their character which raise in +beholders a sense of impropriety, which expose them to be censured +and laughed at by others, or which render them troublesome in civil +society.' And I doubt not, but with all your rancour against the +amusements of the theatre, you will agree with him in the following +opinion which he pronounces on the tendency of such a mode of +attack:--'This general idea of comedy, as a satirical exhibition of +the improprieties and follies of mankind, is an idea very moral +and useful. There is nothing in the nature, or general plan of this +kind of composition that renders it liable to censure. To polish +the manners of men, to promote attention to the proper decorum of +social behaviour, and above all, to render vice ridiculous, is +doing a real service to mankind.' This is the design which comedy +proposes to accomplish; and now, Sir, we will, if you please, pass +on to the consideration of the second question, Will the desired +result be attained through its instrumentality? By the exhibition of +folly and vice, in the persons of the actors and actresses, who are +held up to ridicule and censure, a moral effect is produced on the +audience, who retire from such a scene, where the absurdities of the +human character have been exhibited to their view, infinitely more +disgusted by them, than they ever felt when listening to the grave +lecture of censure or condemnation from the pulpit. And I think, +Sir, you will admit that the worthy doctor has given us a proof of +the correctness of his judgment, when he said, that, 'Many vices +might be more successfully exploded by employing ridicule against +them, than by serious attacks and arguments.' And though, Sir, I +have too much reverence for the pulpit to treat it with contempt, +and form too high an estimate of its moral utility in correcting the +disorders of society, to run it down, yet I doubt whether it _can_ +wield such a keen and powerful weapon against the folly and vices of +the times, as the well-regulated and well-conducted stage." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Your last remark, Sir, savours so much of +infidelity, that it is both offensive to my taste, and repugnant +to my understanding; and though it does not affect the question at +issue, yet I cannot let it pass without replying to it. The pulpit, +Sir, when it is the oracle of truth, is denominated the _power of +God_--that moral instrument which he uses to renew and sanctify +our corrupt nature; and on which he has conferred the singular +honour of employing it as the means of subverting the idolatry +of ancient and modern times, and of reclaiming many thousands of +the children of disobedience to the wisdom of the just; but has +he ever identified himself with the stage? has he ever employed +the stage to turn men from darkness to light--from the power of +Satan to himself? O no! Did the stage ever recover Greece or Rome +from their licentious and barbarous rites and ceremonies? It found +them corrupt, and corrupt it left them. And what has it done for +modern Paris, where it exists in the plenitude of its glory? +There you have a proof of the weakness of its strength to reform +a people, and of the charm of its power to corrupt them. Indeed, +Sir, it requires a high degree of moral corruption as the basis +of its exhibitions, for it will be found that its performers, and +its admirers, are alike strangers to that elevated moral purity, +which brings the human spirit to some degree of resemblance to the +immaculate sanctity of the Divine nature. Hence, while many who +profess and call themselves Christians, rank amongst its advocates +and its friends, it is a fact too notorious to be concealed, that +they who are a _peculiar people_, and whose moral peculiarities are +those which the Scriptures hold out as the distinctive evidences of +the Christian character, shun it, as the habitation of evil, from +whence they are excluded no less by the force of principle than by +the voice of authority. A real Christian in a theatre, animated +and delighted with the scenes which he must behold, and with the +sentiments and expressions which he must hear, would be as great a +phenomenon as a stage player weeping at church when confessing his +sins, or overpowered with gratitude when receiving, on his knees, +the sacramental memorials of the Saviour's death." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"I was not aware, Sir, that the accidental expression +of an opinion, which has no bearing on the question at issue, would +have called forth such a spontaneous burst of disapprobation; and +though it would not be very difficult to turn back some of your +pointed interrogations to your own annoyance, yet as that would +probably consume too much of our time, we will, if you please, +confine our remarks in future to the subject under discussion. To my +questions, Sir, if you please." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Well, Sir, then to the first question. You have +given such a very flattering description of the _design_ of comedy, +that you remind me of a certain painter who engaged to draw a +likeness that should represent a whole fraternity, but when he +produced it, it was found to resemble no one, having been sketched +from fancy rather than real life. I admit that a comic writer, of +rare and extraordinary powers, could get up a piece that would keep +in view, through the whole of its plot, the censure and reprobation +of the follies and vices of mankind; but have the writers of English +comedy done this? Did not the author from whom you have made your +quotations speak the truth when he said, '_that the English comedy +has been too often the school of vice_?' And is it not so? Do +not the most popular plays that are acted on the English stage +exhibit such scenes as must compel virtue, if present, to hide her +blushing face, and wish herself away? Do they not give utterance +to sentiments and expressions, which, to say the least, border on +profanity and blasphemy, and which, if admired or approved of, must +contaminate and defile?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, I hope in the ardour of your zeal against +the stage, you will not overlook the distinction which the wisest +and best of men have made between the use and the _abuse of a +thing_. I grant that certain abuses, at various periods of its +history, have disgraced this department of the drama; but what +then? is it an argument against the thing itself, any more than +the impositions of priestcraft are arguments against the value of +true religion? I grant you that the most obscene and licentious +compositions have disgraced the stage, but is the abuse of a thing +any objection against its use? Licentious writers of the comic +class, as Dr. Blair very justly remarks, have too often had it in +their power to cast a ridicule upon characters and subjects which +did not deserve it; but this is a fault not owing to the nature of +comedy, but to the genius and turn of the writers of it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"It happens unfortunately, however, for your side +of the question, that its _abuse_ has hitherto been almost the +universal characteristic of comedy, while its _use_ has scarcely +ever been exemplified. Indeed, I defy any one who has a regard for +propriety to go to a theatre without hearing something to shock his +moral feelings." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, you are aware that no play can be acted +on the English stage unless it is licensed by the lord-chamberlain, +fourteen days before it makes its appearance in public; and do +you not know that he is invested with full power to prohibit the +representation of any play, if he thinks it militates against the +interests of virtue?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, if I understand you, it is lawful to +introduce any play on the stage which the lord-chamberlain licenses?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Exactly so, Sir." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Indeed! is not this rather singular! But if a +licentious play should pass through the chamberlain's office without +being detected, and come to be represented on the stage, what would +be its reception? Are you quite sure that it would be hissed off by +a British audience?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Nothing, Sir, can be a stronger proof of the respect +which a British theatrical audience feels for pure virtue, than the +well-known opposition made to the re-appearance of K----, after his +disgraceful conduct." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"That determined opposition on the part of the +more respectable public was very gratifying; but yet I am decidedly +of opinion, that if he had absented himself for a few months, or +weeks, till the public feeling had somewhat subsided, he would have +met with a cordial reception on his re-appearance on the stage. But +he was precipitate, he did not dream that there could be much more +virtue before the scenes than behind; in this, so far happily, he +was mistaken. He forgot that many who will connive at the vices of +the stage while they remain in comparative obscurity, or are only +whispered abroad in private circles, dare not, out of respect to +the decent little observances to which they are attached, connive +at them when they are sent out of a court of justice with a badge +of indelible infamy hanging about their necks. His precipitancy +was the cause of his rejection, rather than his crime; for even his +greatest opponents promised him their support, if he would refrain, +only for a fortnight, from appearing on the boards, in deference to +the taste and voice of the public." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Well, Sir, after the public had expressed their +disapprobation of his disgraceful conduct, and compelled him to +perform a theatrical penance, did you expect them to force him off +the stage for ever?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"No, Sir, I did not expect it. I know them too +well. The vices of the players will never be the means of excluding +them from the stage, if they possess the talent of pleasing the +admirers of the drama. These are a humane people whose mantle of +charity is so broad, that it will easily cover a multitude of sins; +and though some of them, when goaded by the severe invectives +of the press, will raise their indignant voice against the bold +transgressor who passes at once from a court of justice, where his +delinquencies have been exhibited in all their enormity, to the +stage, the so-styled school of morals, yet the lapse of a short +interval will soon induce an oblivion of his offences, and the +charms of his acting will soon re-establish him in the favour of the +public. But I must now return to the question under consideration. +It is not, What will a theatrical audience do, when an actor is +convicted in a court of justice of one of the worst of crimes +that can be committed against the sanctity of domestic honour and +happiness? but, What is such an audience _accustomed to do_, when a +lewd or profane comedy--a comedy which is the abuse of the thing--a +comedy which is the school of vice--is brought on the stage, and +acted in their presence?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, I presume you know that the public often +reject plays?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, when they are not to their liking." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Well, Sir, then the point is decided." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Nay, good Sir, not till you have proved that their +lewdness, their profanity, and their demoralizing tendency, was +the cause of their being rejected. Prove that, and you have gained +your point, and redeemed the audience from the heavy charge which +I bring against it, of having uniformly given the least degree of +support to the purest plays, and the greatest degree of support +to the most objectionable. When the writers of comedy mix up with +their plots incidents which we could not tolerate in virtuous life, +and introduce characters in their scenes which we should shun as +the corrupters of our manners, and do this to excite ridicule and +contempt against the religion of our country by holding pious people +up to obloquy, the audience have uniformly exclaimed, 'Ah, ah, so +we would have it! This is to our taste!' The play is again and +again called for. What you call the abuse of the thing, has been, +and still is, more popular than the thing existing in what you call +its purity. How will you account for this, unless you admit that +the taste of the audience is formed from the character of their +amusements, which tend to deprave and vitiate it?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, Sir, I admit that many who attend our theatres +are persons of dubious virtue; yet, formerly a great play-goer, I +can flatly contradict this imputed propensity on the part of the +public to applaud a licentious play. I have always heard noble +sentiments echoed in public applause, and, on several occasions, +the lurking remains of the old broad comedy received with marked +disapprobation. And whatever be the opinion of those who do _not_ go +to the theatre, these facts will be corroborated by all who _do_." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"You say that all who go to plays corroborate +the facts that noble sentiments are always applauded, and obscene +expressions are marked with disapprobation. Now, Sir, I can flatly +contradict this assertion, though not from personal observation, +yet from undoubted testimony. I grant that fine passages, delivered +in an eloquent style, and which breathe the noble sentiments of +patriotism, and valour, and benevolence, and indignation against +some _unpopular vice_, are heard with pleasure; but the self-same +audience, which makes the house ring with its acclamations on these +occasions, not only silently sanctions but likewise loudly applauds +profanity and indecency at other times. If this be not the case, how +is it that the plays, which are the school of vice, still appear on +the stage, and still retain their hold on popular favour?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"What plays do you refer to?" + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Why, Sir, _The Hypocrite_ is one." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"_The Hypocrite!_ What! do you object to _The +Hypocrite_?--A comedy which was applauded by royalty, and in which +a striking example is afforded of the attempt of fanaticism to +undermine the principles and well-being of society for its own +individual advantage, under the specious garb of religion! Surely, +you must be a very fastidious person indeed, to find anything +objectionable in that most excellent comedy! I can hardly think you +are serious." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"The design of that comedy is to hold up personal +piety to ridicule and contempt, by associating it with the weakness +of the intellect, the vulgarity of unpolished manners, and the +vices of the human character; and though the writer makes an effort +at the conclusion to redeem it from such an imputation, yet such +is its obvious tendency, and such is the effect which it is known +to produce on an audience. But as I wish to shape my objections +into a tangible form, allow me to say that the introduction and +exposure on the stage of any person making pretensions to elevated +piety is, of itself, an objectionable feature, and more calculated +to excite prejudice against all professions of religion, than to +induce the hypocrite to throw off the mask. Is this favourable to +the cultivation and growth of virtue? It may be of the virtue of a +theatrical audience, which reaches not the maturity of its growth +till it has acquired the art of caricaturing righteousness, after it +has been accustomed to make a mock of sin; but it is destructive of +that pure religion which teaches us to avoid all 'foolish talking +and filthy jesting;' and to correct our personal imperfections, +instead of making sport with the vices of others. I have read this +disgusting comedy, and I do not hesitate to say, that its indecent +allusions and profane language, are enough to corrupt any mind; and +that the woman who can retire from the theatre after the curtain +drops with a desire to see it performed again, must have lost all +that refined delicacy of feeling which forms the greatest ornament +of her sex." + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Stop, Sir! I cannot allow this libel to be +pronounced, without entering my protest against it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"No, Sir, it is not a libel. The allusions, the +language, and some of the actions of that play, are more becoming +a house of ill-fame than the school of virtue, as you wish me +to believe the play-house is; and I am conscious that no decent +persons, in any rank of life, would tolerate such allusions or +actions in their families. Allow me to ask one question, What +opinion would you form of a female who would consent to read that +comedy in the presence of an indiscriminate assemblage of young +people?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Of course, Sir, I should not solicit her to do it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But suppose she was solicited to do it, and +suppose she did it without faltering and without blushing, what +opinion would you form of her modesty, or of the tone of her mind? +Would you like that female to be either your mother, your wife, your +sister, or your daughter?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Perhaps not." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"So I presume; for, as the poet says-- + + 'Immodest words admit of no defence, + For want of decency is want of sense.' + +If, then, you would not like to hear a female read that play in a +private party, especially if that female was your own daughter, how +can you attempt to justify your conduct in wishing her to go and see +it performed?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Why, there is a little difference between the two +cases." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, I grant there is a little difference between +the circumstances of the two cases; but, Sir, I appeal to your +candour and to your judgment, whether that comedy, when acted on +the stage, can promote the growth of virtue, which would have a +demoralizing effect if read in a private circle?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"In a theatre, each one is lost in the mass of the +audience, and hence no immediate effect is produced." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then, Sir, how can the stage, when it exists +in its purity, promote the growth of virtue, and how, when it is +abused, does it become the school of vice, if no immediate effect is +produced by the sentiments and actions which are there delivered and +performed?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"I mean, Sir, that a female does not sustain that +injury in the opinion of others, who goes to see this comedy +performed, which she would, if she read it to a promiscuous +assembly." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"I grant it, Sir; but will her imagination sustain +no injury by the polluting impressions which it will receive? Will +her moral taste sustain no injury by the obscene sentiments and +allusions which she will hear? Will she retire as pure from all +corrupt associations, as she was when she first entered the theatre? +Will her memory carry away no expression which you would rather she +would forget?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"But, Sir, when people become familiar with the +stage, none of these evil effects are ever felt, which you imagine +must be the consequence of their attendance." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"They may not be felt so forcibly as at first, +because by habit the taste becomes reconciled to them, which proves +that the stage lowers the high tone of virtue, and brings it down +so softly and so imperceptibly on a level with impurity, that +eventually its more disgusting forms and expressions merely excite +the passing smile or the burst of laughter. + + 'Vice is a monster of such frightful mien, + As to be hated, needs but to be seen; + Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, + We first endure, then pity, then embrace.'" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"It is no use, Sir, to argue against facts. I have +gone to the theatre without being injured by it; and I have known +many of my friends who have never been injured by it." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"It may be so; but would you like a son or a +daughter to acquire a passion for theatrical amusements? And would +you suffer them, if they had acquired it, to go alone?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"No, Sir, I should not like my children to become +_passionately_ fond of the theatre, though I should not object to +their occasional attendance, yet I would not suffer them to go +alone." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Not like them to become passionately fond of an +amusement, which is intended and calculated to promote the growth +of their virtues! Surely, good Sir, you don't wish their virtues +to be stunted for want of nutriment; and though I can easily +conceive that the expense attending this source of gratification +and moral improvement, may form one formidable objection against +its repeated indulgence, yet, can money be better laid out, than on +the cultivation of our children's virtuous principles and habits? +Suppose, for example, you have a son who is somewhat inclined to an +evil course--one, over whose mind the grave lectures of morality +which the clergy deliver have lost their influence--who is rather +prone to treat parental authority with contempt; would you not +wish to see him cherish a passion for theatrical exhibitions, +which, according to the opinion of Mr. Proctor, and in which +opinion you concur, are designed and adapted to recommend virtue +and discountenance vice; and thus prove, by an appeal to the +senses, rather than by a process of reasoning, that virtue is +its own reward, and vice its own tormentor? If he should feel no +deep interest in these exhibitions, it is not likely that they +will produce any more powerful effect on his mind, than the grave +lectures of morality which he instinctively abhors; but if his +passions are strongly excited, and he returns to this school of +wisdom and of virtue, _con amore_--if he cannot refrain from going, +without doing violence to his feelings--if he long for the hour of +evening dress, and for the agreeable alterative of mind, which is to +divert him from the dull, monotonous duties of his station--if he +enter into the spirit of the comedy, which usually makes a libertine +the most attractive character in the piece--or if the spirit of that +character enters into him--do you not suppose that he will soon be +reclaimed from vice, and be so smitten with the charms of virtue, +as to follow her through evil and through good report? And suppose +several such young men should meet in the lobby of a theatre, which +you know, Sir, is not impossible; and suppose they should sit +together during the play, and should retire together, after the +curtain falls, and the last charms of the comic muse have passed +from the eye and the ear, do you not think that they will very +naturally begin to resolve on amending their evil course, and as +naturally resolve to become chaste, and temperate, and domesticated +in their habits? Of course you cannot for a moment imagine that they +will retire from this school of virtue to the tavern or the brothel! +No, Sir! The comic muse would stand in their way, and dispute +their passage, even if they should have a secret predilection for +such haunts; as a dumb ass once reproved the madness of a certain +prophet, on whose mind no other agent of persuasion could operate!" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"Satire is no argument, Sir." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But it often puts forth a biting one, from under +the folds of its concealment; yet, as you seem to dislike it, I will +dismiss it, and return to the more grave form of debate. Permit me, +then, to ask you, if the company into which the young are introduced +at a theatre, does not form a very powerful objection against it?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"This is an objection against theatrical amusements, +which I have been expecting to make its appearance for some time; +and now it is out, I am not unwilling to meet it. I will then +confess, 'that the English box lobbies are too much disgraced by +the open display of female prostitution,' and that too many of the +baser sort of our own sex frequent the theatre; yet, as the wisest +and the best are always to be found in attendance on the comic muse, +we may very easily keep with them, and thus avoid that contagion +of evil, to which you imagine we are necessarily exposed. We know +that vice, like every other marketable commodity, will be offered +for sale in all great public assemblages. But, Sir, can you see the +vast majority of an audience rivetted on the scenic representation, +without confessing that many a youthful passion is preserved +from the _out-of-doors_ temptation to vice, by this intellectual +occupation of his time within? London, and all large towns, are, +by reason of their congregated numbers, hotbeds of vice; you know +licentiousness would find other haunts, and not be one whit limited +by the suppression of the theatre; it would be hard, indeed, that +virtue should imprison itself, because vice frequented the same +resort; on that principle we might not walk the great streets of the +metropolis, in broad day light, because of the 'polluted' neighbours +on all sides." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Then you admit that the theatre is one of the +haunts of vice; and yet you say that the wisest and the best are +always to be found in attendance there, _and from choice_! How odd, +that the wisest and the best of our wise and good men and women, +young and old, should choose to go where the most profligate and +licentious resort! Surely, you will not adduce their conduct on +this point, as a conclusive argument in favour of their superior +wisdom, or their superior love of virtue! You say, if we go, we may +keep with them! But, how shall we know the wisest and the best from +the most depraved, in such a promiscuous throng as usually crowd a +theatre?--From instinct? or from some secret sign which, like that +of the Masonic order, is concealed from every one but the initiated?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"When I go to the theatre, if I go alone, I keep +apart from others; and if I go in company, I keep with them; so that +I have no intercourse with the general audience." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Very possibly; but do all who attend the theatre +adopt the same judicious maxim?" + +_Mr. Talbot._--"They may if they choose, and if they do not, they +alone are to blame." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"Yes, they may! but do they? No, Sir, they do not! +Is it not there that the evil spirits of impurity spread their +nets for thoughtless and unsuspecting youth? Is it not there that +he often picks up an acquaintance, who leads him, after the play +is concluded, to the tavern--to the gaming-table--and to the house +of ill-fame? Is it not there, that the profligate female practises +her arts of seduction,[18] that he learns a profane language, and +familiarizes himself with vice in its most disgusting forms? Is it +not to this school of virtue--to this resort of the wisest and the +best--to this elysium of bliss--to this paradise of excellence--that +many of the young of both sexes have ascribed their ruin? Wonder, +O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth! The school of virtue teaching +vice!--the resort of the wisest and the best the haunt of the +most licentious!--the elysium of bliss the common receptacle of +outcast misery!--where iniquity reigns, as in the high place of +its dominion, and on which thousands look in all the bitterness of +anguish, as the spot where they fell from their original purity and +honour to degradation and crime!" + + [18] An intelligent gentleman, who had served the office of + constable in a large midland town, once remarked to the author, + "I observed the number of prostitutes was considerably increased + very soon after the opening of the theatre; many also coming from + neighbouring towns during the theatrical season." Strange, indeed, + if the stage be the school of virtue, that these pests of society + should always be found existing near it! When we see the vultures + flying towards any particular spot, there we may expect to find + death and corruption. + +_Mr. Talbot._--"You can paint, Sir." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"But not the theatre as it is. That's impossible. +I cannot describe the evils, the contaminating evils, to which +a young person is exposed who visits this haunt of vice--this +dwelling-place of sin--this temple of lewdness, of whose priests +and priestesses 'it is a shame even to speak of those things which +are done of them in secret'--this Augean stable of infamy, which +no waters have ever been able to cleanse. You say, that while the +youth is within the theatre he is preserved from the temptations +which are out of doors--a truism no one will doubt; and so he is, +when in a gaming-room, and so he is when in a tavern; but, Sir, is +he not, when coming away from the theatre, exposed to the out-door +temptations, and very often prepared, by what he sees and hears, +to yield more easily to them. The following fact, which is too +well attested to be denied, lets us into the awful secret of the +tendency of theatrical exhibitions; and if it were necessary, I +could adduce many instances of the most promising young men, and of +the most amiable females, who, by frequenting a theatre, have lost +their character; blasted their prospects of happiness for life, and +brought down the gray hairs of their parents with sorrow to the +grave:-- + +"'The robberies committed daily in the streets, during the +representation of the _Beggar's Opera_, were beyond the example of +former times; and several thieves and robbers confessed in Newgate, +that they raised their courage in the playhouse by the songs of +their hero, Macheath, before they sallied forth on their desperate +nocturnal exploits. So notorious were the evil consequences of its +frequent representation become, that the Middlesex justices united +with Sir John Fielding in requesting Mr. Garrick to desist from +performing it, as they were of opinion that it was never represented +on the stage, without creating an additional number of real +thieves.' Thus we see the debt of gratitude which the morality of +the public soon contracted with this agent of its reformation, who, +for sixty-three nights in succession, during the first season of his +labours, delivered his maxims of wisdom, and his lessons of virtue, +which, by some peculiar fatality, became the means of corrupting +the audience to a most alarming extent; but to hold the stage +responsible for this, would be, of course, a breach of the law of +charity! 'The second season of this opera was as productive as the +first; nor were the provincial stages without their gleanings from +the poet's harvest; it was acted fifty nights at Bath and Bristol. +Not only Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, but Minorca, and other +distant regions, saw it in their theatres; while its songs were +everywhere to be read on fans, handkerchiefs, and fire-screens.' +Wherever this thief-maker went, he was received with raptures by the +admirers of the drama; they sung his praises and gave him the homage +of their affection as the idol god of their theatrical adorations, +and he had, like ancient Moloch, the high gratification of seeing +many of his devoted worshippers doomed to an untimely destruction. +And yet, Sir, with such facts staring you in the face--with such +confessions of convicted guilt--you have the temerity to maintain +that the theatre is favourable to the cultivation and the growth of +public and private virtue! Can you hope to gain proselytes to your +opinion? Do you imagine that we are to be duped into the admission +of an assertion which no argument can support, which recorded facts +so unequivocally disprove, and which the worst men, in common with +the best, reject as an insult offered to the obvious dictates +of their understanding? Do you suppose that we have reached the +dotage of our existence, when the intellect, paralyzed by some +extraordinary visitation of Heaven, or worn out by the intensity of +its own labours, is to sit down at the feet of absurdity, to receive +the monstrous extravagancies of convicted falsehood as the lucid and +resistless enunciations of oracular truth? No, Sir. A general belief +is gone abroad, and it exists no less firmly amongst many of the +admirers of the drama, than amongst its most determined opponents, +that while the stage may be vindicated as a source of amusement, +an attempt to vindicate it as the handmaid of virtue is no less +disreputable to the understanding, than it is to the moral taste of +the advocate, who, however dexterous he may be in his pleadings, +labours under the disadvantage of appearing in court, after the +judges have taken the verdict of an honest jury." + +_Mr. Proctor._--"I am now, Sir, decidedly of your opinion on this +point; though I must confess I have often enjoyed a good play. The +stage, in its present state, amuses many, and gratifies their taste, +but it certainly does defile the imagination, and too often pollutes +the heart; and where one young person receives any moral good, very +many, I do believe, are corrupted and ruined. It may be defended as +a source of amusement, but it is no handmaid of virtue; it is a very +demon in the art of seduction. I had many qualms of conscience, when +I did go to the theatre; but it is now more than two years since I +entered one, and I must confess, that the present discussions have +satisfied me, that I have acted a wise and a safe part by abstaining +from going; nor will I ever go again, or allow any child of mine to +go. In fact, I think it would be a public good, to shut up all the +theatres in the country." + +_Mr. Falkland._--"My respected friend, I assure you, I am highly +gratified to hear from your lips, such a candid confession and +such a noble resolve; and I think my formal antagonist in these +discussions, on cool reflection, will admit, that a passion for +theatrical amusements had better be repressed than encouraged; as it +is always hazardous, and sometimes fatal, especially to the young +and incautious." + + + + +UNITARIANISM RENOUNCED. + + +The power of early impressions and education is universally +admitted; and when erroneous views have been imbibed from infancy, +and become associated with everything that is hallowed in our +domestic recollections, the influence exercised by them on the mind +is so strong as very generally to maintain undisputed authority +throughout life. Truth will sometimes, however, assert her +supremacy, and succeed in producing conviction, even where she has +to contend with the most deep-rooted feelings and long-cherished +prejudices. These remarks are suggested by the history of Mr. +Macfarlane, an intelligent and pious young man, whom I met at the +house of Mr. Proctor, on the occasion of the discussion narrated +in the foregoing chapters. I had frequently heard of him from a +friend, of whose church he was a member, and been led to take a +great interest in him from the account which had been given me of +his religious history and that of his sister. This I shall now +proceed to narrate, as exhibiting the progress, from the frigid zone +of Unitarianism, to the warmth and sunshine of pure evangelical +religion. + +Mr. Macfarlane's father was a wealthy merchant in the town where +I resided, universally esteemed for his amiable character and +unsullied integrity. Descended from ancestors who had borne a +distinguished part in the struggles for civil and religious liberty +during the seventeenth century, he was himself the son of pious +parents, but their death, within a short period of each other, while +he was but a child, deprived him of the advantages which he might +have derived from their example and instructions. Left to the care +of a maternal uncle, whose sentiments were of no decided order, +he grew up to manhood with no one to guide him in his religious +belief; and having, on his first entering into business, formed an +intimacy with some zealous Unitarians, he imbibed their opinions, +and regularly attended the ministry of one of their most celebrated +preachers. He was too eager in the pursuit of wealth to devote much +time to speculative inquiries, and of too retiring a disposition +to take any part in discussion when theological topics became the +subject of conversation; but he cheerfully and conscientiously +supported the benevolent institutions connected with his +denomination, which he thought the most enlightened and intelligent +in the kingdom. While he admitted the truth of the Christian +religion, he thought its records so ambiguous, or so corrupted in +the early ages, that they ought not to be implicitly received. "I +will believe nothing," he often used to say, "which I cannot fully +comprehend; and I feel myself as much at liberty to dispute the +opinion of an apostle, when he speaks on any speculative doctrine, +as I do to examine the opinion of any other man." He rejected the +divinity of Jesus Christ as indignantly as a Christian would the +divinity of the pagan deities--often expressed his surprise that any +enlightened man could be brought to believe in the doctrine of the +atonement--and regarded the belief in the reality of a supernatural +influence over the human mind, as one of the corruptions of +Christianity, which exposed it to the ridicule and contempt of +infidels. + +But though a decided Unitarian, he did not condemn those who +differed from him, believing that the Supreme Being is altogether +regardless of our speculative opinions, if we do justice, love +mercy, and walk humbly with him. "If we are virtuous in this life +we shall be happy in the life to come,"--was with him a favourite +saying. He was the living personification of the social virtues; and +justly esteemed for his kindness, his generosity, his integrity, +and universal benevolence. Mr. Macfarlane, Senior, was a widower, +with two children, a son and daughter, who, at the time I speak +of, were between twenty and thirty years of age. The son was in +business with his father, and the daughter managed the household +affairs. Miss Macfarlane was a young lady of amiable temper, retired +in her habits, fond of reading, and devoted to the promotion of the +happiness and comfort of her father and brother. As she had a good +deal of leisure at her disposal, she was employed as the almoner of +her father's bounty; and took much pleasure in this work of mercy. + +She was somewhat religiously inclined; but as the system of +religion under which she was educated possessed no power to +interest the heart, her religion was confined to a cold assent to +a few speculative opinions, and the observance of some external +ceremonies. She occasionally read the Bible, but from her religious +training she yielded no submission to its authority; and, as a +natural consequence, she was strongly prejudiced against the +evangelical sentiments of orthodox Christians. Though she had +several friends belonging to their number, and among others Miss +Reynolds, a young lady of decided piety, yet even with her, +notwithstanding their great intimacy, she invariably declined to +enter into conversation on the subject. She usually accompanied +her father and her brother on the Sabbath to the Unitarian chapel, +where the celebrated Dr. R---- preached, to whose ministry they +were all much attached. On one occasion he delivered a discourse +from the beautiful words of the psalmist:--"Thou wilt shew me the +path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right +hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm xvi. 11). After an +eloquent dissertation on the nature of the Deity, and the assistance +afforded by Him to those following the arduous path of virtue, +he concluded thus:--"Supposing the ideas which I have set before +you to be no more than the speculations of a contemplative mind, +such as were wont of old to be indulged by the philosophers of the +Platonic school, still they would deserve attention, on account +of their tendency to purify and elevate the mind. But when they +are considered in connection with a revelation which we believe to +be Divine, they are entitled to command, not attention only, but +reverence and faith. They present to us such high expectations as +are sufficient to determine every reasonable man to the choice of +virtue, to support him under all his present discouragements, and +to comfort him in the hour of death. Justly may they excite in our +hearts that ardent aspiration of the psalmist:--'My soul thirsteth +for God, for the living God; O! when shall I come, and appear before +him?' But with this wish in our hearts, never, I beseech you, let us +forget what was set forth in the first part of this discourse;--that +in order to arrive at the presence of God, _the path of life_ must +previously be shown to us by him, and that in this path we must +persevere to the end. These two things cannot be disjoined--a +virtuous life and a happy eternity." + +As they were conversing together in the evening of the Sabbath, +a reference was made to this discourse, when young Macfarlane +expressed the high degree of pleasure which it had given him. "I +never," he remarked, "heard a more interesting sermon. What a +sublime prospect does Christianity open before us! I wonder how any +intelligent person can reject it." + +"Yes," said his father, "it was a very judicious sermon. I was much +delighted with it. We have something to look forward to when it +shall please God to remove us by death; for as I have often told +you, _If we are virtuous in this life, we shall be happy in the life +to come_." + +"But, father," said the son, after a short pause, "if only the +virtuous can attain to a state of felicity in heaven, as we were +informed this morning, what will become of the wicked?" + +"I cannot tell; and I think that Dr. R---- displayed his accustomed +good sense in making no reference to them." + +"But, father, we know that the majority in every age, and in every +country, are wicked; and it strikes me, though I confess I have +never thought on the subject before, that if the Deity condescended +to reveal a system of religion, to promote the present and future +happiness of his creatures, he would reveal one that is adapted to +the moral condition of the majority, rather than to that of the +select few." + +"We have nothing to do with others; it is enough for us to know, +that if we are virtuous in this life, we shall be happy in the life +to come." + +The subject was now dropped till after their father had retired +to rest, when it was resumed. "Your remark on the sermon we heard +to-day," said Miss Macfarlane to her brother, "I think is a very +just one. It certainly demands attention. If the virtuous only can +be saved, the great majority of the human race must perish." + +"Very true; and we know that many who become virtuous in old age, +have been dissipated in their youthful days. Can such persons expect +a state of future felicity as confidently as though they had always +been virtuous? And, after all, what is virtue? It is simply a line +of conduct that runs parallel with the requirements of the society +amongst which we live, and which we know varies so much in different +nations and amongst different people, that what some call a virtuous +action, we should condemn as an outrage on the feelings of humanity. +A Hindoo applauds the virtue of the eldest son, who sets fire to the +pile which is to consume his deceased father and living mother; but +were he to do such a deed here, he would be execrated as a monster, +and amenable to the law. Can we suppose that the Supreme Being will +award a state of future happiness to a Hindoo, for an action for +which he would punish an European, by excluding him from heaven? +Impossible!" + +"And beside," said Miss Macfarlane, "how shall we know when we have +acquired that _exact degree_ of virtue which will entitle us to +expect a state of felicity in the life to come? The more I think on +the subject, the more I am perplexed. What shall we do, for I feel +the subject too important to be dismissed?" + +After some further conversation, they resolved to examine the +Scriptures, to see if they could gain any information; and +providentially they turned to the fifth chapter of Paul's Epistle +to the Romans. There they read the following verses with deep +interest:--"For when we were yet without strength, in due time +Christ died for the ungodly.... God commendeth his love towards us, +in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.... For if, +when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his +Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." +"Here we find," said Mr. Macfarlane, "the apostle speaking of the +salvation of _the ungodly_, of _sinners_, and of _enemies_." They +proceeded in their examination, and perceived, from many passages +which they met with in other epistles, that the current language of +the Scripture plainly and unequivocally proves, that the revelation +of mercy was intended to benefit the guilty and depraved as well as +the virtuous. + +One passage particularly arrested their attention in the second +chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians--"And you hath he +quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time +past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to +the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh +in the children of disobedience." On reading these verses, Mr. +Macfarlane remarked:--"We are to remember, that at the period when +Christianity was first promulgated by the apostles, the whole of +the Gentile world was sunk into a state of the grossest ignorance, +superstition, and vice; and though some of its most celebrated +philosophers and statesmen were distinguished for their love of +virtue, yet the immense majority of the people were addicted to +almost every species of gross immorality. If, then, a state of +future felicity is reserved only for the virtuous, and no provision +is made for the salvation of the wicked, the labours of the apostles +must have been restricted to the few who had kept themselves from +the moral corruptions of the age in which they lived. But such an +opinion receives no sanction from this passage, which speaks of the +salvation of those who had their conversation in times past in the +lusts of their flesh, 'fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of +the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.'" + +On turning their attention to the brief delineation which the +apostle has given of his own character before his conversion to the +faith in Christ, they were struck with his declaration respecting +the design of our Lord's mission. "This is a faithful saying, and +worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world +to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I +obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all +long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe +on him to life everlasting." "You perceive," said Mr. Macfarlane to +his sister, "the apostle says, that Christ Jesus came into the world +to save sinners; and saved the chief of them, as a pattern for the +encouragement of others who may deem themselves equally guilty, to +hope in the mercy of God." + +"We thus see," said Mr. Macfarlane, "that the epistles prove that +Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners from a state of +future misery, and to fit them for heaven; but then comes the +question, What degree of dependence ought we to place on their +testimony? May they not have become corrupted in the course of time? +or may not the writers of them have committed some mistake?" + +"So, brother, we have been taught to believe, but it is possible +that we may be mistaken. However, as we cannot now, by any process +of inquiry, decide on the genuineness of the passages which we have +been examining, let us turn our attention to the gospels, and see if +they exhibit the same views on this subject as the epistles. Because +we may fairly infer, that if the whole of the Bible is written +by the inspiration of the Almighty, we shall find a continuity +and harmony of thought running through the various parts of it, +and especially on that paramount question which now engages our +attention." + +"As it is now getting very late," Mr. Macfarlane observed, "we will +not go into that question to-night; but I will contrive to get +home to-morrow rather earlier than usual, when we will pursue our +inquiries." + +"My mind, dear brother, is painfully excited by the discoveries we +have already made, as they have convinced me that our theory of +belief is in direct opposition to that of the apostles, who were +initiated into the Christian faith by the oral instructions of Jesus +Christ." + +"Yes, this I feel. But still the discovery should not distress us; +it should rather excite our gratitude; for if we find, on more +careful inquiry, that we have been holding false opinions, we can +renounce them, and adopt the true system of belief." + +They continued their investigations of Scripture from evening +to evening, sometimes together, sometimes apart, and made rapid +progress in the knowledge of Divine truth. + +"I have hitherto thought," said Mr. Macfarlane, as he sat with +his sister one evening, "that Jesus Christ came as a teacher, to +instruct us how to attain to a state of future happiness, and to +inculcate on us, by the purity of his example, the cultivation of +the social virtues. However, on a careful examination of the New +Testament, I feel very much struck with the express reason which He +gave to his apostles, for his coming into the world--'Even as the +Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to +give his life a ransom for many' (Matt. xx. 28). He certainly knew +what he came to do--and he says he came to die--to die voluntarily, +by giving his life, not giving it as an act of martyrdom, but as +a ransom to redeem many. Now this must refer to the _many_, in +some condition of danger; not to any select few of the amiable and +virtuous, in no danger." + +"I also," remarked his sister, "feel very forcibly impressed with +the reason which Jesus Christ assigns for his going to visit +Zaccheus, who appears to have been before his conversion a great +sinner. 'For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that +which was lost' (Luke xix. 10). There is nothing about teaching, +as the direct import of his mission, but seeking after sinners to +rescue them from the danger of perishing. This harmonizes with +the statement of the apostle Paul, which has already engaged our +attention." + +"Very true. And if we take for our guidance the undisputed axiom, +that facts determine and explain theory, we may, by a careful +examination of the narratives which are reported by the evangelists, +make some safe progress in the inquiry we are now pursuing as to +the design of the mission of Jesus Christ. You have been turning +your attention to the conversion of Zaccheus, and I have been +turning mine to that of the thief on the cross, both ranked among +the chief of sinners; but both were converted and saved by faith +in Christ. The malefactor, when dying, made his appeal to Jesus, +saying, 'Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom' (Luke +xxiii. 42). How prompt and benign is the answer, 'Verily I say unto +thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise!' What a solace this +promise must have been to the poor sufferer--a bright and soothing +prospect in the midst of his agonies! And with what authority Jesus +speaks--assuming the right of fixing the final destiny of this dying +criminal, and of advancing him to the honour of associating with him +in the celestial paradise! He must have been something more than +man to speak thus, and to assume such a prerogative, on such an +occasion." + +"Such a conviction," observed Miss Macfarlane, "forced itself very +strongly on my mind, when reading the Gospel of John, particularly +the following passages, which never attracted my attention before: +'For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and +giveth life unto the world.... And Jesus said unto them, I am the +bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that +believeth on me shall never thirst.... And this is the will of him +that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on +him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last +day.... I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any +man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I +will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world' +(John vi. 33, 35, 40, 51). 'As the Father knoweth me, even so know I +the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.... I and my Father +are one' (John x. 15, 30). We here see that he claims an equality +with his Father, which would have been an act of blasphemy to have +done if he were only a man; he lays down his life of his own accord, +for the benefit of man; asserts that the possession of everlasting +life is made dependent on our believing on Him; and says, that if we +do so, He will raise us from the grave at the last day." + +"You have compressed within a very narrow compass, a series of +truths which now appear novel to us both, though we must often have +seen them when reading the New Testament; and which most certainly +are of immense importance, demanding our most serious attention. +Hitherto we have regarded Jesus Christ as a mere man, though one +of a superior order--surpassing all other men in intelligence and +personal excellencies; but I begin to regard him as God in the form +of man, as on such an hypothesis, all his sayings and doings, I +believe, will be found to harmonize. On coming home this evening, I +stepped into a bookseller's shop, and asked for the best work on the +divinity of Jesus Christ. I bought the one recommended, and here it +is--_The Scripture Testimony to the Messiah_, by the Rev. Dr. J. P. +Smith. Let us then postpone all further discussion on the subjects +of our present inquiry, till we have carefully read Dr. Pye Smith's +book. When we have done this, we shall be better qualified to pursue +our inquiries, and arrive at some satisfactory conclusion. There +are three leading questions we have to attend to--_First_, What is +the testimony of the sacred writers as it relates to the person of +Jesus Christ?--is he a mere man, or does he unite in his person the +Divine with the human nature? _Second_, What is the express purpose +for which he came into the world?--was it to teach the lessons of +wisdom and of virtue, enforcing his instructions by the purity of +his example? or was it for the purpose of redeeming sinners from +some fatal danger? And, _third_, Are his sufferings expiatory--the +meritorious cause of human salvation? or must we look upon them as a +contingent evil, inseparably connected with his mysterious history?" + +"Yes," said Miss Macfarlane, "these three questions will include +everything we want definitively settled; and I hope the Spirit of +wisdom from above will guide us in our researches, to understand +what is revealed to us in the Bible. I will take, if you please, +the Doctor's second volume, which I see is an examination of the +narratives given to us by the evangelists." + +"And I will go through his third volume, which gives us the +testimony of the apostles; and when we have done this, we will +examine together his first volume, which is a record of what the +prophets predicted concerning him." + +The absence of Mr. Macfarlane, Senr., for a few weeks, on his +annual visit to a brother who resided in Yorkshire, gave them an +opportunity of devoting their attention more uninterruptedly to the +important inquiry in which they were now engaged. As they advanced, +they felt the evidence in confirmation of the divinity of Jesus +Christ, and his vicarious death, gradually increasing in clearness +and force, till they arrived at the full conviction that he was the +Son of God, on an equality with his Father, though appearing on +earth as the Son of man, and giving his life as a ransom to redeem +the guilty and worthless. + +They now began to feel anxious in behalf of their father, who was +living in the rejection of the essential truths of the Scriptures, +under the delusive spell of Unitarian error. They, however, deemed +it advisable to proceed with caution, lest he should peremptorily +refuse to have any discussion whatever on the subject. On the +Sabbath after his return, they excused themselves from going with +him to chapel, which astounded him; but he had too much respect for +the right of private judgment to attempt to impose any restraint. In +the evening, as they were conversing together, he said, "Why did you +leave the intelligent preaching of our learned minister, to hear the +mysterious doctrines of Calvinism enforced? Have you been as much +pleased as you were with the excellent discourse we heard the Sunday +before I left home?" + +"The discourse which we then heard," replied his son, "we thought +very excellent; but we were so much struck with the remark of Dr. +R----, that the felicities of heaven are reserved only for the +virtuous, that, on reflection, we could not agree with him; because +on such an hypothesis the vast majority in every age, and in every +country, would be consigned over to a state of hopeless misery." + +"And do you now think that any other but virtuous people will ever +be received into heaven?" + +"On searching the Scripture, which we have done with +diligence during your absence, we find that the ungodly--that +transgressors--that those who are enemies to God by wicked +works--that the children of disobedience--and that the chief of +sinners, may be saved. This new view of the revelation of mercy, +which is sanctioned by the current language of the Bible, appears to +us more consistent with the benevolence of the Supreme Being, and +much better adapted to the real character and condition of the great +mass of mankind, than the statement of Dr. R----." + +"By your permission, Papa," said Miss Macfarlane, "I will read Dr. +Doddridge's 'Paraphrase and Improvement of one of our Saviour's +Parables,' which I think is so excellent, and so much in point, that +it will afford you as much pleasure as it has given me." + +"I have no objection to your reading a quotation from Dr. Doddridge, +because I have always considered him a moderate, as well as a very +learned man. I think he is mistaken in his views of some of the +speculative truths of revelation; but I like him as a practical +writer." + +The parable is contained in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel +by Luke, and the paraphrase runs thus:--"But [Jesus] for the +encouragement of these few penitents, as well as to rebuke the +censorious and uncharitable Pharisees, spake to them this parable, +and said, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose +one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine, that were feeding +together in the pastures of the wilderness, and go from place +to place in search after it, and having at length found it, he +layeth it on his shoulders, greatly rejoicing, as a man in such +circumstances naturally would? And when he cometh home, he calleth +together his friends and neighbours, and says unto them with great +pleasure, My friends, you may now rejoice with me; for my labour +and search have not been in vain, but I have found my sheep which +was lost. And as he thus is more delighted with the recovery of the +sheep which he had lost, than with the safety of the rest, which +had not wandered, so I say unto you that greater and more sensible +joy will be in heaven among the blessed and benevolent spirits that +dwell there, over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety and +nine just persons which need no repentance, or such a universal +change of mind and character. + +"How graceful and lovely does our Lord appear, while thus opening +his compassionate arms and heart to those wretched outcasts, for +whose souls no man cared! Who can choose but rejoice at this jubilee +which he proclaimed among them, and at the cheerful attention which +they gave to these glad tidings of great joy? May we who are his +followers never despise the meanest, or the worst of men, when +they seem disposed to receive religious instruction, but rather +exert ourselves with a distinguished zeal, as knowing that the joy +of the heavenly world, in their recovery, will be in some measure +proportionable to the extremity of their former danger. + +"Let us often recollect the charity and goodness of these perfected +spirits, who look down from their own glory with compassion on +mortals wandering in the paths of the destroyer, and who sing +anthems of thankfulness and joy, when by Divine grace they are +reclaimed from them. Let every sinner be touched by a generous +desire that he who has been in so many instances the offender and +burden of the earth, may become the joy of heaven by his sincere +conversion." + +"You know, my children," said old Mr. Macfarlane, "that I have +endeavoured to train you up in the paths of virtue, and to give you +what I conceive correct views of religion; but if you on examination +feel dissatisfied with any opinions which I have inculcated, you +ought most certainly to renounce them. You have the same right to +think, and judge, and decide for yourselves, as I have; and I feel +too much affection for you to throw on the path of your inquiry +the slightest shadow of opposition. I know you are virtuous; and +if I see you happy, I shall be satisfied. You will proceed in your +inquiries after truth with caution--weigh with the greatest nicety +the evidence which may be submitted to you; as many opinions, when +they first strike our attention, appear very specious and plausible, +which will not endure the ordeal of a critical investigation. I +cannot give you better advice than that which the apostle gave to +the believers of Thessalonica, 'Prove all things; hold fast that +which is good.'" + +"To be candid, my dear father," said his son, "the result of the +investigation which we have been pursuing with close, and I may say +prayerful, attention, is a firm belief in the supreme divinity of +Jesus Christ; and also in the reality and efficacy of the atonement +he made in behalf of sinners by his vicarious death." + +"I certainly regret that you should adopt such a belief, which, I +have always told you, is a corruption of Christianity." + +"No, father, it is a belief which owes its origin to the concurrent +testimony of the sacred writers. If the sacred writers, and if Jesus +Christ himself had made no statements on this subject, the question +of his divinity would never have been agitated, neither would the +question of his atonement for the sins of the world. If, then, it +be an error, it is one for which they are responsible; they assert +the fact of his divinity so clearly, that I feel compelled to do +one of two things--either impeach their integrity, or admit his +divinity. To give you a specimen. The prophet Isaiah says, 'His name +shall be called Wonderful, the MIGHTY GOD;' the apostle Paul says, +'He was GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH;' and Jesus Christ himself, who +knew who and what he was, asserts his EQUALITY with his Father, +in _power_, in _knowledge_, and in his claims on the homage and +love of his disciples. Would the prophets and apostles have used +these expressions if they had been Unitarians believing in Christ's +exclusive humanity?" + +"You must not form your judgment from a few isolated passages of the +Bible, which are susceptible of a different interpretation." + +"I admit this; but, in the first place, Dr. Pye Smith, and other +men of learning, have proved, that the most correct interpretation +of the passages I have now quoted, is the orthodox interpretation; +however, waiving that debateable point, would any Unitarian, if left +to express his own opinion of the person of Jesus Christ, employ +terms which should allow any one fairly to infer that he is a Divine +Incarnation?" + +"Why, no, I should think not." + +"Then, why have the sacred writers done it? But to proceed: in the +next place--these isolated passages, dear father, are in exact +harmony with the general statement of all the sacred writers. Surely +we cannot suppose that the very men who were employed as the agents +of a Divine revelation, would be allowed to entrap us into the +double crime of idolatry and blasphemy, by compelling any one who +admits their integrity, to bow down and do homage to Jesus Christ +as to God. There is one fact in the history of our Saviour, which, +in my opinion, may set at defiance the most ingenious and subtle +casuist that ever made an effort to subvert or mystify human belief. +In addressing his opponents, he adopted a style of speech which +stirred up their wrath, and made them accuse him of blasphemy for +making himself God, that is, by trying to make them believe he was +God. Now, father, I put this plain, common-sense question, Would +any good man, especially one so good as Jesus Christ, when speaking +of himself, employ expressions which should convey to others the +idea that he was God in the form of man, to whom all men are to +pay homage, and on whom all who hope to be saved are to depend for +salvation and eternal life?" + +"There is a great deal of ambiguity in the language of the +Scripture, which, as the apostle Paul says, is hard to be +understood." + +"That I admit; but such an admission does not affect the question +before us; which is this--Would any man of intelligence and virtue, +when speaking of himself, use any expressions which should induce +people to believe that he was God? In fact, would not such an +attempt, if made, as has happened occasionally in modern times, be +considered a proof of insanity? The rejection of the divinity of +Jesus Christ would indeed reduce me to a very serious dilemma. In +the first place, I must impeach the integrity of the sacred writers, +which would compel me to reject the entire system of revelation, +as a gross imposition on human credulity; and, in the next place, +I must look on Jesus Christ as an insane person, or a blasphemer. +I see no alternative between universal scepticism and the devout +reception of the doctrine of the divinity of Christ and his +atonement." + +"I certainly should prefer what is called orthodoxy to universal +scepticism; but I shall never be able to bring my mind to receive +what I cannot comprehend; and this a believer in Christ's divinity +and atonement is compelled to do." + +"This, my dear father, is one of the delusive objections to the +orthodox faith, under which we have too long taken refuge. Why, is +not a Unitarian compelled to believe what he cannot comprehend? +For example, do you not believe in the eternal existence of God--a +glorious self-existing Being, who lives by the power of his own +volition, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of +turning?" + +"True; though I must confess it never struck me before. This +staggers me. Well, my dear children, our difference on points of +speculative belief will make no alteration in our mutual attachment; +you will remain, I have no doubt, pure and virtuous, as you always +have been; and I trust we shall together participate in the +felicities of heaven, when our earthly course is finished, even if +we should never, as we once did, believe exactly alike." + +In the course of the following week, Miss Macfarlane received a +visit from Miss Reynolds, her pious friend already referred to, who +was not more astonished than delighted by seeing her at the chapel +in ---- Street, on the preceding Sabbath. After a little desultory +conversation, Miss Reynolds said, "We were rather surprised to see +you and your brother at our chapel on Sabbath; but I hope we shall +have the pleasure of seeing you there again." + +"Your surprise," replied Miss Macfarlane, "is very natural. Yes, you +will see us again, as we have both decided to attend Mr. ---- in +future. The system of Unitarianism, in which we have been educated, +we have discovered is delusive--a fatal perversion of the theory of +revealed truth; and though it may suit the virtuous part of society, +who have no perceptions of the evil of sin, yet, as it makes no +provision for the salvation of sinners, it cannot afford peace to a +wounded conscience." + +"And has my dear Eliza at length discovered that she is a sinner!" + +"I have not only discovered it, but I have felt it; and I still feel +it. You know how I have repelled such a charge in time past; but I +can repel it no longer. My conscience bears testimony to its truth. +I cannot accuse myself of having violated any of the laws of social +life, but I perceive that I have broken the law of God, and stand +guilty in his sight." + +"As this is a new discovery, will you tell me how you made it?" + +"The first circumstance which excited our attention was a very +excellent sermon, preached a short time since by Dr. R----, on +the felicity of heaven, which he said was reserved only for the +virtuous. When conversing together on the subject, in the evening +of the Sabbath, my brother said to Papa, If the virtuous only can +attain a state of felicity, what will become of the wicked, who +we know constitute the great bulk of society in every age and in +every country? As his reply gave us no satisfaction, we began +to search the Scriptures, which soon convinced us that even the +chief of sinners could be saved. The subject of inquiry appeared +to us no less important than it was novel; it deeply engaged our +attention, and we pursued it with intense application. Dr. Pye +Smith's _Scripture Testimony to the Messiah_ settled our belief; +and now we feel compelled to withdraw from all religious fellowship +with those who refuse to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus Christ. +Knowing, from your testimony and that of others, that your excellent +pastor stands very high in public estimation, we decided on hearing +him, and I trust that the impression which his discourse made on our +minds will never be effaced. He has given to us, if I may use such +an expression, the clue of a clearer discovery on some important +branches of revealed truth; and now we can perceive beauties in +the sacred volume which lay concealed from our eye, and we can now +understand many passages which had ever before appeared obscure and +inexplicable. But at times I feel a depression of spirits which +I cannot remove; yet it does not proceed from any regret at the +step we have taken, or any mistrust in the truthfulness of our new +belief, but from a keen sense of my personal unworthiness of the +Divine favour." + +"I am rejoiced, dear Eliza," replied Miss Reynolds, "to hear you +utter such sentiments. God is dealing graciously with your soul. +He wounds to heal. He has convinced you of the evil of sin, and +unveiled before you that abyss of danger, to which you were exposed, +so as to prepare you for the manifestations of his favour, beaming +on you through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ." + +"But I fear that the Saviour will not look on me with an eye of +pity, as I have so often insulted him by denying his divinity, and +the efficacy of his death as an expiation for human guilt. I am +now astonished how I could reject doctrines which are so plainly +revealed in the Bible; and sometimes the guilt of my conduct appears +so great, that I am more disposed to despair of mercy than to +cherish the hope of obtaining it." + +"If you still persisted in denying his divinity, and rejecting the +atonement which he has made for sin, you might despair of mercy; but +if you admit these essential doctrines of the Christian scheme of +salvation, you may plead the promises of grace with confidence. The +Redeemer will execute judgment in the last day upon ungodly sinners +for all the hard speeches which they have spoken against him, if +they die in a state of confirmed impenitence; but if they repent +of their evil deeds and hard speeches, he will, as a faithful and +merciful High Priest, have compassion on them, will intercede for +them, and will save them." + +"I now receive these doctrines as essential parts of the system of +revealed truth; but yet I sometimes feel a recurrence of my former +prejudices against them, which causes me unutterable distress. When +pleading the atonement as the foundation of my acceptance with God, +I am tempted to mistrust its efficacy; and when my heart begins to +glow with warm affection for the Redeemer, it is suddenly chilled +and suppressed by the influence of early opinions and associations. +They have taken such a firm hold of my imagination, that I cannot +disengage myself from them; and I fear they will always continue to +perplex and depress me." + +"That does not surprise me. It is no easy thing for the human mind +to disengage itself from the influence of early opinions, even +after they have been renounced; but the Lord has laid help upon One +who is mighty, and whose grace will be found sufficient for you. +I would advise you to read the Scriptures with close and devout +attention; but your greatest dependence for deliverance from your +early associations should be placed on prayer. For the judgment may +be convinced of the truth by a logical process of investigation and +reasoning, even while the heart is unimpressed by it; God having +reserved to himself the power of making the truth effectual to the +salvation of them that believe, which power he exercises in answer +to prayer. The language of the psalmist is very applicable to the +present state of your mind--'Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my +soul. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy +truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee +do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy +loving-kindnesses: for they have been ever of old. Remember not the +sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy +remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.' + +"There is one part of the system of revealed truth," continued Miss +Reynolds, "which has not yet engaged your attention, and as it is +one of vital importance, I cannot avoid alluding to it. The part to +which I now refer, is the agency of the Divine Spirit, by which we +become strengthened in our inner man, to receive the truth in the +love of it, and to discharge the high and sacred obligations which +devolve on us. By your permission, I will read to you an extract +from a book which I happen to have brought with me:[19]-- + +"'As we are indebted to the Spirit for the first formation of the +divine life, so it is He who alone can maintain it, and render it +strong and vigorous. It is his office to actuate the habits of grace +where they are already planted; to hold our souls in life, and to +'strengthen us, that we may walk up and down in the name of the +Lord.' It is his office to present the mysteries of salvation; the +truths which relate to the mediation of Christ and the riches of his +grace, in so penetrating and transforming a manner, as to render +them vital operating principles, the food and the solace of our +spirits. Without his agency, however intrinsically excellent, they +will be to us mere dead speculation--an inert mass: it is only when +they are animated by his breath, that they become spirit and life. + +"'It is his office to afford that anointing by which we may know +all things; by a light which is not merely directive to the +understanding, but which so shines upon the heart, as to give a +relish of the sweetness of Divine truth, and effectually produce +a compliance with its dictates. It belongs to him 'to seal us to +the day of redemption,' to put that mark and character upon us, +which distinguishes the children of God, as well as to afford a +foretaste, as an earnest of the future inheritance. 'And hereby,' +saith an apostle, 'we know that we are of God, by the Spirit which +he hath given us.' It is his office to subdue the corruption of our +nature, not by leaving us inactive spectators of the combat, but by +engaging us to a determined resistance to every sinful propensity, +by teaching our hands to war, and our fingers to fight, so that the +victory shall be ours, and the praise his. It is his office also to +help the infirmities of saints, who know not what to pray for as +they ought, by making intercession for them 'with groanings which +cannot be uttered.' He kindles their desires, gives them a glimpse +of the fulness of God, that all-comprehending good; and by exciting +a relish of the beauties of holiness, and the ineffable pleasure +which springs from nearness to God, disposes them to the fervent and +effectual prayer which availeth much. In short, as Christ is the +way to the Father; so it is equally certain, that the Spirit is the +fountain of all the light and strength which enable us to walk in +that way.'" + +"I assure you, my dear Matilda, both my brother and myself feel +devoutly thankful to the God of all grace, for rescuing us from the +fatal delusion of Unitarianism, which we conscientiously renounce +as an anti-scriptural system, no less derogatory to the honour of +God, than inapplicable to the moral condition of man--a system +which flatters the pride of the heart, but which makes no provision +for the relief of a wounded conscience; and which, by placing the +hope of final blessedness on the attainment of personal virtue, +supersedes the necessity of the Saviour's death and mediation, which +constitute the most prominent and essential parts of the grand +scheme of redemption." + + [19] See a _Treatise on the Work of the Holy Spirit_, by the + celebrated Robert Hall, of Leicester. + +After the lapse of a few months, Mr. and Miss Macfarlane were +admitted as members into the chapel in ---- Street, of which the +Rev. Mr. ---- was pastor. They were received into communion amongst +their Christian brethren, with the utmost degree of cordiality +and affection, and are still living, the faithful witnesses of +the truth as it is in Jesus. They had many virtues adorning their +character when they were called Unitarians, but now they carry +their virtue to a greater height, by deriving their motives for +its practice from the authority of God, rather than the praise of +man. While, therefore, they feel it to be their duty still to add +to their "virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to +temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, +brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity;" they are +fully conscious of their innumerable defects, and wait in humble +expectation of eternal life, not as a reward for their good deeds, +but as a sovereign and unmerited favour. + + + + +THE PATH OF TRUTH FORSAKEN. + + +If all who make a public profession of religion remained faithful +unto death, we should be led to form such a high opinion of the +steadfastness of the Christian character, that we should never +dread any change of feeling or of principle. But, alas! who has +not seen the most ardent zeal grow cold--the most fervent devotion +degenerate into a lifeless formality--and the most spotless +integrity become corrupted by the maxims of the world? Who has +not seen the most eager stopping short in their course; and some, +who once bade fair to occupy stations of honour and usefulness in +the church, break away, either suddenly or gradually, from all +their religious connections, to mingle again with the workers of +iniquity, and place themselves in the seat of the scorner? What more +melancholy sight than this can be presented to the real Christian? +and how can he sufficiently deplore such a calamity? In plaintive +accents he often says, "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes +a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain +of the daughter of my people!" But there are circumstances which +sometimes render this melancholy occurrence peculiarly affecting. +If the renegade from the faith be a near relative, or an intimate +friend--one with whom we have taken sweet counsel, and walked to the +house of God in company--one who rejoiced over us "when first we +knew the Lord"--who poured the soothing words of consolation into +our minds when we first felt the deep convictions of guilt--who +was our guide and counsellor--and whom we loved with an ardent and +tender affection--how much more intense is the pain of such an +infliction; and how applicable that noble passage of Robert Hall to +such an event:--"Where shall we find tears fit to be wept at such +a spectacle? or, could we realize the calamity in all its extent, +what tokens of our compassion and concern would be deemed equal to +the occasion? Would it suffice for the sun to veil his light, and +the moon her brightness, to cover the ocean with mourning, and the +heavens with sackcloth? Or were the whole fabric of nature to become +animated and vocal, would it be possible for her to utter a groan +too deep, or a cry too piercing, to express the magnitude and extent +of such a catastrophe?" + +In the previous chapter I have described the influence of truth +prevailing over long-cherished feelings and deeply-rooted +prejudices, and the substitution of correct evangelical views for +the erroneous tenets of Unitarianism. The history I am now about +to record is of a different description, and presents a melancholy +contrast to the former, exhibiting the abandonment of the faith +after a fair and apparently sincere profession, and teaching us the +necessity of constant labour and watchfulness, if we wish "to make +our calling and election sure." + +Henry Beaufoy was the only son of poor but respectable parents, who +resided in the beautiful village of Brookcombe in Devonshire. This +village remained for a long series of years in a state of spiritual +darkness, till it was visited by some of the local preachers of the +Methodist Connexion. At first, when they declared the glad tidings +of salvation amongst the people, they were insulted and reproached; +and the few who received them became a by-word and a proverb +amongst their ignorant and bigoted neighbours. But regardless of +all opposition--bearing patiently every species of reviling--and +demonstrating by their gentleness of spirit, that they knew how to +return good for evil, they ultimately succeeded in subduing the +prejudices of ignorance and the violence of bigotry, and established +a flourishing society. + +It happened here, as in many other places where the introduction +of the gospel has been opposed, that some of the chief of the +opponents were the first to feel its renovating power. Among this +number the parents of Henry Beaufoy held a distinguished station. +At first they, in common with many others, entertained strong +prejudices against the preachers, and endeavoured to persuade others +from attending their ministry; but at length their curiosity was +awakened, and they went to the chapel. They listened--the word +came with power--they felt the deepest contrition for their past +sins, especially their sin of opposing and ridiculing the gospel +of Christ; and eventually became no less distinguished for their +attachment, than they had been for their enmity to the faith. Their +son Henry was about twelve years of age, when this moral change +took place in his parents, and though he felt somewhat surprised at +the suddenness of the transition from the most determined hostility +against the Methodists (as they were reproachfully termed), to the +most cordial attachment, yet he was too young and too thoughtless to +examine into the causes of it. He generally accompanied them to the +little chapel, which was erected under the brow of a hill; and as +he was fond of music, and had a fine voice, he assisted in leading +the psalmody of the congregation. No material change, however, +took place in him, till after he had attained his eighteenth year; +when, being on a visit to Plymouth, he went to hear the Rev. Samuel +Bradburn, who was one of the most celebrated and one of the most +useful ministers of his day. The text from which he preached on that +occasion was selected from Heb. iv. 12--"For the word of God is +quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing +even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints +and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the +heart." Young Beaufoy was struck with the colloquial simplicity +of his style of address, no less than by the force of his +argumentative reasoning; but when he directed his bold and masterly +appeals to the consciences of his hearers, his heart was deeply +wounded, and, like the Philippian jailor, he could not refrain from +saying, "What shall I do to be saved?" On his return home, the +unusual gravity of his manners, his more frequent attendance at the +village chapel, his habit of reading the Bible, and of retirement +for the purposes of devotion, led his parents to indulge the hope +that their Henry was become a new creature in Christ Jesus, and +after the lapse of a few weeks, they had the satisfaction of hearing +an account of his conversion from his own lips. + +If it be possible to excite in the soul of a pious parent a feeling +of joy approximating to the pure unmingled bliss of the heavenly +world, it is when his child comes to him to state the fact, and +detail the manner, of the great spiritual change which has taken +place in his heart. It is then that the prayers of the godly father +are turned into praises--that the deep and tender anxieties of the +virtuous mother begin to cease, as they then can recognize in their +son or daughter, a fellow-heir of the grace of life, with whom they +expect to live for ever and ever. + +It was about this period that I first became acquainted with the +Beaufoy family. I had gone to Devonshire for change of air for a few +weeks, and took up my abode in the village of Brookcombe, where I +lodged in the house of the father and mother of young Beaufoy. I was +much pleased both with them and their son, the latter of whom used +frequently to accompany me on my excursions into the surrounding +country. On these occasions we used to have long conversations +together, in which he displayed an intelligence far above what +might have been expected from his position in life, and this, +joined to his amiable temper and pleasing manners, led me to take +a great interest in him. On leaving Brookcombe, I suggested that +he should occasionally write to me--a proposal which he received +with much satisfaction, and we maintained for a number of years a +close correspondence. Shortly after parting with him, however, an +event occurred which materially changed his prospects in life. The +same intelligence and amiable qualities which had won my heart, +recommended him to the notice of a wealthy citizen of London, who +came to visit his patrimonial estate in the neighbourhood, and he +gave him the offer of a lucrative situation in his employment. The +offer was accepted, and he prepared to leave the scenes of his +youth. His pious mother, who dreaded the temptations of London +as much as she would have dreaded the plague, said to him on his +departure, "My Henry, I am sorry you are going to leave us. I +wish you could have remained amongst us, and continued the solace +and comfort of your father and myself. But when you are far away, +exposed to the snares and dangers of the great city, I shall have no +sleep at night, for I shall lie awake to pray for you; and I shall +have no peace by day, for I shall be always trembling for you, my +child." + +"Oh! mother," said Henry, whose heart was full of the thought of +parting, and whose fortitude began to fail at the sight of his +mother's tears, "do not weep. God can keep me from the temptations +of the city as well as the temptations of the village; and I have no +doubt but I shall escape them. I'll come and see you once a-year, +and then we will rejoice together." + +"But how can I endure the thought of looking on you, my child, only +once in the year, on whom I have gazed these one and twenty years +with so much delight! My eyes will be dim with sorrow before the +first year is up." + +"But I will write, mother, once a-month." + +"But letters can't speak as I have heard you talk for nearly twenty +years. I wish the gentleman had never come amongst us. He has broken +down the fence of our union, and taken away the first-fruits of our +wedded happiness, and what have we left to make up for our loss? But +I know I must be resigned--yet I have not Abraham's faith. The Lord +bless you, and keep you, and bring you back to your father's house +in peace, that we may bless you before we die." + +Henry set off in company with the gentleman who had taken him +under his patronage, and though he felt the pang of separation to +be violent, yet he bore it with firmness, and, turning away his +thoughts from the scene of grief which he had just left, he began to +amuse himself with the varied objects which presented themselves to +him in the course of this his first journey to the metropolis. + +On arriving in London, he took lodgings in the City Road, in +the house of Mr. Jordan, whom the reader will remember as the +worthy landlord of Mr. Lewellin.[20] This was shortly after the +return of the latter from the country, on recovering from the +dangerous illness which had produced so important a change in +his moral character. From residing together in the same house, a +close intimacy sprang up between Mr. Lewellin and young Beaufoy, +which was much strengthened by the similarity of their religious +sentiments. Though belonging to different evangelical bodies, they, +nevertheless, zealously co-operated together in the advancement of +all the various schemes instituted by Christian benevolence, for the +promotion of the spiritual and temporal happiness of our fellow-men. +Mr. Beaufoy, who had received his first religious impressions +amongst the Wesleyan Methodists, and imbibed all their peculiar +opinions, very naturally chose to attend their chapel. They received +him with their usual kindness, and for several years he grew in +their esteem and confidence, as a young man of superior intelligence +and decided piety. For a considerable time I both corresponded with +young Beaufoy, and also, on one or two occasions, when in London, +I called on him, and invariably met with the warmest reception. I +frequently held conversations with him on the subject of religion, +and from the deep interest which he seemed to take in the subject, +I believed that he had indeed become a decided Christian. But how +deceitful sometimes are appearances, and how cautious ought we to +be in forming conclusions from mere external circumstances, however +fair the prospect may be which they present! + + [20] Vol. i. page 12. + +Henry Beaufoy possessed a mind admirably qualified for business, +and his abilities, in this respect, enabled him to make rapid +progress in the counting-house of his employer, where he soon +filled a lucrative and responsible situation. About five years +after his first arrival in the metropolis, he married a young lady +occupying a good position in society, but who made no decided +profession of religion. She attended the chapel because she had been +accustomed to do so from her earliest childhood, and felt attached +to the people amongst whom her parents lived and died; but she had +no clear perceptions of the nature or design of the gospel, nor +had she ever felt its enlightening or renovating power. She was +handsome, amiable, and intelligent, but she did not possess _the +one thing needful_; and though her habits and associations were of +a religious nature, yet being destitute of its pure and heavenly +spirit, she became a snare to her husband, by drawing off his mind, +by imperceptible degrees, from things that are unseen and eternal, +to those that were visible and temporal. + +Mr. Beaufoy's income was, as already mentioned, considerable, which, +together with the fortune he had with his wife, enabled him to live +in a style far above his early expectations; but he had too much +good sense to involve himself in debt, and too much regard for his +parents to allow them to be in difficulties, while he had abundance. +He often used to say, when in his native village, "I covet wealth +that I may enjoy the luxury of doing good;" and when Providence +granted him his desire, he partook of this source of gratification +to a very large extent. His regular remittances to his parents +exceeded their wishes; while his liberality to the poor, and every +religious institution with which he stood connected, raised him high +in the esteem of his Christian brethren. But, alas! his spirituality +did not keep pace with his prosperity; nor did the fervour of his +devotional spirit equal the degree of his diligence in business. + +In compliance with custom, he spent the first few weeks after his +marriage amidst scenes of gaiety and pleasure--in receiving and +returning the visits of his friends and associates; and though he +found an apology for this course of life in the example of others, +yet he felt it to be injurious to the religious tone of his mind, +and longed to return to his more settled religious habits. Had Mrs. +Beaufoy possessed a similar spirit, this incursion into the land of +the enemy would not have been productive of any essential injury; +but as she was now treading on her native soil, and moving in an +element congenial to her taste, she succeeded in estranging her +husband from the simplicity of a religious life, and induced him +to adopt the habits of the men of the world. The prayer-meeting, +in which his voice had often been heard, leading the devotion +of others, was now deserted for dinner and evening parties. The +sacredness of religious conversation with those who loved and feared +the Lord, was exchanged for the vain and trifling conversation of +the votaries of fashion; and though on the Sabbath-day he was seen +in his pew, yet the marked seriousness and peaceful serenity of his +countenance was supplanted by the knitted brow, or the listless +and inattentive air. The society of his former religious friends, +including Mr. Lewellin, now became less agreeable to him than that +of some gay worldlings, into whose company he was frequently thrown. +His letters to myself also were shorter and more reserved; but I +was still far from suspecting the dangerous nature of the career on +which he was now entering. Thus while retaining a name and a place +amongst the members of the church, he was rapidly receding from the +purity and fervour of the Christian spirit. + +One of the earliest symptoms of apostasy from the pure faith of +Christ, is a fastidiousness of hearing, which few preachers can +please. The truth as it is in Jesus is tolerated on account of the +form or the manner in which it is presented; and the messenger is +admired more than the message which he delivers. Though we would not +condemn a predilection for the more graceful and the more eloquent +appeals of the pulpit, nor insinuate that a correct taste is a +_prima facie_ evidence of a heart in a state of departure from God, +yet it requires no lengthened argument to prove that when the truths +of the gospel are not loved and received for their own sake, and on +account of their beneficial tendency, it is a decisive proof that +the tone of the mind is injured; and that, notwithstanding the +outward appearance of devotion which may be kept up by a professor, +he is not walking in the fear of the Lord, nor in the comfort of +the Holy Ghost. He may have his favourite preachers; but if the +truth which they preach is not esteemed when it is delivered by men +equally zealous, and equally devoted to God, though not equally +gifted, we are supplied with a melancholy symptom of his being in a +backsliding state. It was this spirit of preference for the learning +of Paul--for the eloquence of Apollos--and for the peculiar charms +of Cephas, amongst the members of the church of Corinth, that the +apostle regards as an evidence of their indifference to Christ; and +which he adduces as a proof that a corrupt leaven was then working +amongst them. "For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I +am of Apollos," is it not a convincing proof, that the speaker is +more delighted with the correctness of the language which a preacher +employs, than the purity of the doctrines which he preaches? + +Mr. Beaufoy, on his settlement in London, gave a decided preference +to the most evangelical and the most experimental preachers in his +Connexion; but now he began to admire the most fanciful and the +most florid, to whom he listened as an amateur does to a piece of +music--more for the gratification of his taste than the spiritual +improvement of his mind; and as he could not always hear them, he +began to absent himself from the chapel when they were not expected. +His habit of attendance at length became so irregular, that some +of his Christian brethren, who had watched with great anxiety +the progress of his defection, felt it their duty to have him +admonished; and they deputed an aged elder, in whom dwelt the spirit +of wisdom and of grace, to visit him. + +The manner in which reproof is received often developes the +real temper and disposition of the mind, and supplies us with +a good criterion to form a correct judgment of character. "Let +the righteous smite me," said the Psalmist, when reviewing the +imperfections of his conduct, "it shall be a kindness; and let him +reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my +head." And it is by the kind admonitions and the gentle reproofs +that we timely receive from those of our friends who watch over +us, that we are often indebted, under the Divine blessing, for our +spiritual prosperity, and to which we may trace our recovery from +that state of religious declension, to which we are so fatally prone. + +"Indeed," said Mr. Beaufoy to his venerable friend, in whose company +he had formerly passed many a pleasant hour, "I think I am at +liberty to attend where and when I please, without being subject to +the inquisitorial interference of others. And though you are pleased +to say, that my late conduct has given my best friends reason to +fear that I am not so spiritual as when they first knew me, yet you +will permit me to say that I am the best judge on that subject." + +"You certainly," replied the venerable elder, "are at liberty to +go where you please; but I hope you will not go away from Him who +'hath the words of eternal life;' and are at liberty to go when you +please; but do not forget the Divine injunction which commands us +to 'consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works; +not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of +some is.'" + +"I hope I shall not, Sir; but I must be permitted to consult my own +taste in the choice of the preachers on whose ministry I attend, +without being censured for any decrease in the spirituality of my +mind. If I do not talk quite so much on religious subjects as I +once did, that is no proof that I feel less; as we become reserved +on these high and awful considerations in proportion as we are +impressed by them." + +"The Psalmist says," replied the elder, "'While I was musing the +fire burned; then spake I with my tongue.' I know you are displeased +with me, my brother, for the language which I have addressed to you; +and I assure you, that your displeasure gives me greater sorrow than +the cause of my visit, inasmuch as it convinces me that your heart +is not right with God. I have but a few years to live, and perhaps +only a few hours; and as I may not live to repeat a visit which +is as unacceptable to you as it is painful to myself, I cannot +leave you without giving you and Mrs. Beaufoy a message from the +Lord--'Take heed, lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief, in +departing from the living God.'" + +"I have no doubt, Sir, but your motives are good, and that you deem +the solemn admonition of the apostle necessary; but you will permit +us to form our own judgment on the propriety of its application." + +The venerable elder then arose, took his young brother by the hand, +and wept; and after struggling for some moments to subdue the +feelings which were agitating his breast, he said, "My brother, I +fear that you have departed from the Lord, and that his Spirit has +departed from you; but let us kneel together at the throne of grace, +as we used to kneel when the light of his countenance shone upon +you, and pray for its return." He then knelt down, and offered up +a solemn and affecting prayer, which bespoke the fidelity of his +affection for his erring brother. When he arose, he received the +cold thanks of courtesy for his labour of love, and retired under a +strong presentiment that he should see his fellow-member's face no +more. And so it proved; for his feeble frame had received a shock +that evening from which he had not strength to recover. He hastened +home as fast as his tottering limbs would carry him--partook of +his frugal meal--read the twenty-third Psalm, and, in company with +his pious housekeeper (for he had buried his wife about six weeks +before this affliction came upon him), he knelt down, and closed the +toils of the day in the hallowed exercise of communion with God. +One petition he presented which he had never been heard to utter +before--"And if, Lord, it should please thee to call thy servant +this night, I thank thee that I am at last enabled to adopt the +language of Simeon--'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in +peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.'" This petition was +expressed with an energy of voice which indicated the animation of +a mind feeling its near approach to the prize of its high calling +of God in Christ Jesus. He retired to bed at his usual hour, but he +was restless and feverish; and about midnight he rang the bell. His +housekeeper entered his room, and on drawing aside the curtain of +his bed, heard him say, + + "O! the pain, the bliss of dying." + +He requested her to fetch his pious medical friend, who speedily +arrived, but it was only to confirm his old servant's worst fears. +The dying elder now related to the doctor, as a member of the same +church with himself, the particulars of his visit to Mr. Beaufoy. "I +know," he said, "I am dying, and that in a very few hours I shall +see the King in his beauty; but death hath lost its sting, and I +have lost my fears. I have long waited for my salvation, and now it +is come. I die in full and certain hope of a joyful resurrection +to eternal life. Give my dying love to my dear wandering brother, +and tell him that the language of the prophet is so impressed on my +mind, that I cannot leave the body without expressing a desire that +he will meditate on it. 'Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, +and thy backsliding shall reprove thee; know, therefore, and see, +that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord +thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of +hosts.'" He now gently waved his hand as he repeated the triumphant +language of the apostle:--"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, +where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength +of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory +through our Lord Jesus Christ;" and reclining on the bosom of his +friend, he had one strong convulsive struggle, and then expired with +a smile settled on his venerable countenance. + +The sudden death of this devout elder, who had been for more than +fifty years an ornament to his Christian profession, produced a +powerful sensation through the whole Society; and many attended his +funeral as an expression of the esteem and veneration in which they +held his character. Deep and heartfelt was the sorrow expressed on +the countenance of the assembled throng on that occasion, and every +one seemed to mourn as though he had lost a father or a brother. +On the following Sabbath, his funeral sermon was preached in the +chapel by the Rev. Mr. R----, from the words, "The hoary head is +a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness" +(Prov. xvi. 31). After a correct delineation of the character of +the deceased, he described the closing scene of his life. "He +was," said the preacher, "not only a good, but a devout man, and +pre-eminently endowed by the God of all grace, with a double portion +of the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Tremblingly alive for +the honour of his Master's cause, he would often weep when it was +endangered by the inconsistent conduct of its professed friends; +and it was to an extraordinary excitement occasioned by a visit of +mercy to a fellow-member, that we may ascribe his sudden decease. +His tender and sympathetic spirit yearning over the object of its +solicitude, was thrown into an agitation from which his feeble frame +never recovered. Having finished the work assigned him, he sunk +beneath the weight of his own grief, but not till he had assured +his mourning friends that he died in full and certain hope of a +joyful resurrection to eternal life. Be ye followers of him, who +through faith and patience is now inheriting the promises; and be +on your guard, lest, in departing from the living God, you should +bring down the gray hairs of some venerable elder with sorrow to +his grave, whose love may impel him to manifest a care for your +soul." Mr. Beaufoy heard this discourse, but it was evident by his +restlessness, and the indignant look which he cast towards the +preacher, that his pride was mortified, by the allusions which were +made to him. + +Fidelity on the part of a minister is essential, not only to his +happiness, but his usefulness; yet when he permits his feelings to +overpower the dictates of prudence, he is in danger of frustrating +the design he wishes to accomplish. He should declare the word of +life without fear; but in administering reproof, he should never be +so personal in his remarks or allusions, as to turn the eyes of an +audience on the individual who may deserve it. By the adoption of +such a course no one would feel secure from attack, when he comes to +hear the message of grace; nor is it likely that the offender will +be reclaimed from the error of his way, when he finds himself made +a spectacle of reproach in the presence of his brethren. Instead of +relenting, he will be hardened; and may be induced to abandon the +place which the angel of mercy visits with his healing power, rather +than remain to receive instruction and reproof. A minister should +always combine the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of +the dove; and while he desires to be faithful in the pulpit, he +should be solicitous to guard against all appearance of personality. + +When the power of vital religion is declining in its influence over +the mind of a professor, and he begins to cherish feelings and adopt +habits which are opposed to the purity of his avowed principles, +he will not be able to endure the close appeals of the pulpit. +Prudence will often keep him from making any complaints against the +general fidelity of the ministry, even while his heart is writhing +under it; and his habits of intimacy with his Christian brethren +will sometimes prevent him from leaving a society with which he +has formed a close and a sacred union; but when the principle of +apostasy has gained ascendency over his conscience, and he begins to +treat the friendly remonstrances and admonitions with contempt, he +will soon discover some justifiable cause of offence, and retire in +disgust, if not in wrath. + +Thus it was with Mr. Beaufoy. Stung to the quick by the allusions +which the preacher made to the visit of the venerable elder, and +the supposed cause of his sudden death, he left the chapel in the +greatest indignation; and the following morning, he sent his arrears +of subscription to the managers, requesting, at the same time, that +they would consider him as no longer a member of their church. + +On being informed of her husband's abandoning his connection with +the Wesleyans, Mrs. Beaufoy was rather pleased than disappointed, +as she hoped she would now have greater scope for sharing in the +amusements of the gay world. Both thought it right, however, still +to attend some place of worship, and thus keep up the appearance +of respect for the public services of religion. Where to go, was +a question which they could not easily determine; but as some of +their friends, whose acquaintance they had lately made, attended a +Socinian meeting in E---- Street, they resolved to go there on the +following Sabbath. This sudden transition, from the fervid devotion +of Methodism, to the frigid apathy of Socinianism, produced no +unpleasant impressions on the mind of his wife, but Mr. Beaufoy was +not quite prepared for it. His heart was become hardened through +the deceitfulness of sin, yet he still believed in the essential +doctrines of Christianity, which retained their dominion over him, +though they had lost their original power of impression. They +were both struck with the gracefulness of the preacher's manner, +and admired his elocution; but Mr. Beaufoy could not renounce +the divinity, or the atonement of Christ, nor could he regard +the doctrine of regeneration as a corruption of the gospel. Mrs. +Beaufoy thought that every modification of Christianity was equally +acceptable to God, but Mr. Beaufoy was capable of distinguishing +truth from error; and while she adopted for her creed the poet's +stanza, + + "For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; + His can't be wrong, whose life is in the right," + +he was convinced that no man ought to be considered a Christian, who +rejected the leading doctrines of revelation. + +At length, when expressing his abhorrence of some of the daring +charges which he heard advanced against the orthodox faith, and +which he considered as tending to universal scepticism, she replied, +"Well, my dear, you can very easily retain your own opinions, and +yet attend on Mr. B----'s ministry, because he cannot force you +to believe against the dictates of your own judgment, and if you +sometimes hear them controverted, that circumstance ought not to +disquiet you. As your belief is founded on evidence, and matured by +deep reflection, you are in no danger of being carried about with +every wind of doctrine, but may fairly calculate on your ability +to hold it fast, amidst all the efforts which may be employed +to destroy or disturb it." "Very true," he replied, "I like the +morals of Socinianism better than the doctrines. Well it shall be +so;"--and so it was. They took their pew, and occupied it; and as +the only restraint which had kept them for a long time from a more +extended course of gaiety was now removed, they began to walk more +openly in the ways of their own heart, and in the sight of their +own eyes. Hitherto they had kept up some semblance of religion, +but now they began to conform to the customs of the world, and to +avail themselves of the various sources of gratification which its +pleasures and amusements afford. Family-prayer, the last vestige of +their former habits of devotion, was now entirely neglected. The +Bible, which they once revered as their guide to everlasting life, +was thrown aside; and though Mr. Beaufoy could not forget that he +had been a religious man, yet he wished others to believe that now +he was a more happy one. + +It has been very justly observed, that when we begin to think +lightly of error we are in great danger of being corrupted by it; +and the experience of all ages proves, that if a professor hold +the truth in unrighteousness, he is ultimately given up to believe +a lie. That there have been many departures from evangelical +principles in modern times no one will presume to deny; but if they +were closely examined, it would be found that they were preceded +by a neglect of private prayer, watchfulness, self-diffidence, and +walking humbly with God; and every one may perceive that they are +followed with similar effects. It has been acknowledged by some +who have embraced the Socinian system, that since they entertained +those views they have lost even the gift of prayer. Perhaps they +might draw up and read an _address to the Deity_; but they could +not pray. Where the principles of the gospel are abandoned, the +spirit of prayer and all communion with God will likewise depart. +The confession of Peter, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, +is thought to be that which our Lord denominates the rock on which +he would build his church. We are sure that the belief of this +article of faith was required as a test of Christianity; and who +can look into the Christian world with attention, and not perceive +that it still continues the key-stone of the building? If this +give way, the fabric falls. Relapses of this nature are infinitely +dangerous. He that declines in holy practice has to labour against +the remonstrances of conscience; but he that brings himself to think +lightly of sin, and meanly of the Saviour (which is what every +false system of religion teaches), has gone far towards silencing +the accusations of this unpleasant monitor. He is upon good terms +with himself. The disorder of his soul is deep, but it is of a +flattering nature. The declension of serious religion in him is no +less apparent to others than the physical decay of the body in a +consumption, where in each case the party himself frequently has no +suspicion of his danger. + +As Mr. Beaufoy had no family, the love of accumulation had less +dominion over his mind than the passion for display, which had taken +an earlier possession of his mind than he himself was aware of, and +to its fatal tendency may be attributed, in a great measure, all the +evils and misery of his subsequent life. + +On this subject we may here quote the words of a judicious +writer:--"We need not affect singularity in things indifferent, +but to maintain a constant endeavour to follow in the train of +fashion, is not only an indication of a vain and little mind, but is +certainly inconsistent with pressing towards the mark for the prize +of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The desire of making an +appearance has ruined many people in their circumstances--more in +their characters--and most of all in their souls. We may flatter +ourselves that we can pursue these things, and be religious at +the same time; but it is a mistake. The vanity of mind which they +cherish destroys everything of a humble, serious, and holy nature, +rendering us an easy prey to the temptations which are thrown in +our way. A Christian's rule is the revealed will of God; and where +the customs of the world run counter to this, it is his business to +withstand them, even though in so doing he may have to withstand +a multitude--yea, and a multitude of people of fashion; but if we +feel ambitious of their applause, we shall not be able to endure +the scorn which a singularity of conduct will draw upon us. Thus +we shall be carried down the stream of this world; and shall either +fall into the gulf of perdition, or if any good thing should be +found in us towards the Lord God of Israel, it will be indiscernible +and useless." + +Mr. Beaufoy's amiable disposition, and admirable conversational +powers, made his society courted by an extensive circle of +acquaintances. Balls, parties, and theatres now consumed the hours +of the evenings which were once devoted to reading, meditation, +and prayer; and not unfrequently the sanctity of the Sabbath was +violated by excursions to the country. It was just after they had +made an engagement to take an excursion on the Thames on the ensuing +Sabbath, that Mr. Beaufoy received a letter from his aged mother, +whom he held in the highest veneration, and from whom he wished to +conceal the fact of his apostasy. It breathed a spirit of gentle +reproach and remonstrance, and opened to his view her agony of mind, +occasioned by the intelligence of the defection of her beloved son +from the paths of righteousness:-- + + "BROOKCOMBE, _12th July, 18--_. + + "MY DEAR HENRY,--You know I always dreaded your going to London, + and now, if what I hear be true, I have cause for my fears. A + friend called on us the other day, and told us that you had + left our Society and become a Socinian. I don't know much about + Socinians, but I understand they say that Jesus Christ is + nothing more than a man, and that we must not expect 'redemption + through his blood, or the forgiveness of sins through the riches + of his grace,' but from our own good works. And have you, my + Henry, forsaken that Saviour whom, unseen, you loved when you + lived at home with us? and have you made a shipwreck of that + precious faith which once filled you with so much joy and peace + in believing? and have you departed from the ways of the Lord + for the pleasures of sin, which are only for a season? We have + had no rest since we received these awful tidings, and the + spirit of your poor dear father is so broken with sorrow, that + he has not had a smile upon his countenance since. And can + you, my dear Henry, leave the Saviour who once had compassion + on you, and did such great things for you, as you so often told + us of? If you leave him now, how will you be able to stand + before him, when he comes with 'ten thousand of his saints, to + execute judgment upon all; and to convince all that are ungodly + among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly + committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners + have spoken against him?' O let me entreat you to return to the + Lord with weeping and supplication, and he will yet have mercy + upon you, and heal all your backslidings; he will accept you + graciously, and love you freely. I cannot give you up, no, I + cannot! You are my child, and I cannot endure the thought of + living separated from you in another world. Let me hear from + you directly, and tell me if you are as happy, and as holy, and + as spiritually-minded now, as when you first believed in the + Lord Jesus Christ. Your father joins me in love to you and dear + Sophia, and in beseeching both of you to consider the error of + your ways ere it be too late. --Your affectionate mother, + + AMELIA BEAUFOY." + +This letter shook the unhallowed purpose of his soul, and neither +he nor his wife could venture on their excursion up the river. It +brought over their imagination the scenes of departed bliss--revived +recollections which were sacred and subduing--and plunged Mr. +Beaufoy into deep mental agony. Mrs. Beaufoy, however, was of a more +heedless turn of mind, and endeavoured to assuage her husband's +grief by saying, "You know you still believe the gospel;" but she +had no power over the anguish which was consuming his happiness. +"Yes," said he, "I do believe it, or this letter would not disquiet +me. I have departed from the Lord, and I am gone past recovery. +Mine is no common apostasy. My doom is fixed. My end will be awful. +Where, ah! where can I go when he cometh 'to execute judgment upon +all?' Yes, I do believe the gospel. I feel I do. I believe it, and +tremble. Its terrors are upon me. The piercing language of the +prophet has been following me ever since the death of that holy +man, whose warning voice I despised, and now they enter as fire +into my bones: 'Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy +backslidings shall reprove thee: know, therefore, and see, that it +is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy +God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.'" + +The Lord employs various means to recover his people from a +backsliding state; and though for a season he compels them to feel +the evil and the bitterness of their sin, yet he finally restores +unto them the joy of his salvation. When, however, an apostate has +been given up to the hardness of his heart, neither the language of +mercy, nor the terrors of judgment will produce any other effect +than that of accelerating the dreadful catastrophe. He goes on from +bad to worse, till at length he comes to the fearful end of his +career. Thus it was with Mr. Beaufoy. The extreme agony into which +he was thrown by the simple appeals of his mother's letter gradually +abated; but he felt it necessary to adopt some new and extraordinary +expedients, to gain some small degree of tranquillity. His +attachment to his wife was strong, and it had gained such ascendency +over him that he refused to leave his home except she accompanied +him; but now a melancholy gloom was cast over all his pleasant +things, and those from which he had extracted the sweetest comforts +of life became as bitter as wormwood to his taste. Though he +forbore, at this early stage of his mental anguish, to reproach her +as the cause of his apostasy, yet he secretly laid the sin to her +charge, and began occasionally to feel that her society aggravated +the evil, which her kindness prompted her to attempt to alleviate. +He became reserved, refused to attend any place of worship, and +often stayed from home to a very late hour. At first Mrs. Beaufoy +hoped that another sudden change would take place, and bring back +the domestic happiness of former times; but at length she was +awakened to a full discovery of the extent of the misery by which +she was surrounded. Her husband was no more the interesting and +affectionate companion of her retired hours--no more the attentive +and fond lover. He became now a thoroughly dissipated character, +rarely returned home till long after his wife's eyes had become +heavy by watching for him; and when he did, it was only to exhibit +his own disgrace, and torture her feelings. She would sometimes +venture to remonstrate with him, and hang over him with all the +affection of former days, when he would relent, and pledge himself +to change his course; but he had lost the power of self-control, +and felt compelled to seek for ease from the anguish of his spirit +amidst scenes of convivial mirth and folly. + +The whirl of dissipation and the riot of intemperance are expedients +to which many resort when trouble comes upon them; but they increase +the evils sought to be removed; for though a temporary exhilaration +of the spirits may be produced, and the fearful forebodings of +future woe driven away for a short season, it is only to make them +return with redoubled force to inflict keener anguish. A voice is +sometimes heard speaking from the celestial glory, saying, "Call +upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee;" but that voice +cannot be heard amidst the revelling and excitement of a theatre or +tavern. It speaks to the penitent sinner when he is alone--bowed +down beneath his burden and despairing of help. Retire then, thou +poor backslider, from the haunts of evil--and yet hope for mercy. +Thy guilt is great, thy wound is deep, but there is virtue in the +balm of Gilead when applied by the great Physician. Go, then, into +thy closet, shut the door, confess thy sins, shed the penitential +tear, and implore forgiveness. Here others have acknowledged their +iniquities, and here they have obtained consolation. Your case +may be desperate, but it is not hopeless; and though you may be +tempted to despair, yet resist those whisperings of Satan, which, if +listened to, would seal your final doom. + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN + +W. L. THOMAS. + +MR. BEAUFOY'S EMOTION ON RECEIVING HIS MOTHER'S LETTER. + +Vol. ii. p. 261.] + + + + +THE FRUITS OF APOSTASY. + + +As many months had now elapsed since either Mr. or Mrs. Beaufoy +had been to any place of worship, the latter availed herself of +an opportunity which occurred to allude to it, when her husband +replied, "I wish you to go, Sophia, for it is enough that one of us +perish." Dreading the return of his paroxysm of agony, she diverted +his attention from the subject, and endeavoured to soothe and cheer +his spirits. She so far succeeded as to bring over his countenance +the pleasant smile of former times, but little did she imagine +that this pleasing sign was so soon to be obliterated. The servant +entered the parlour with a letter, which she gave to her master. He +placed it on the table and sat musing for some minutes. He wept, +though unconscious of the tear that involuntarily trickled down his +cheek, and sighed, as if unconscious that any ear was listening. He +again took the letter--pressed it to his lips, and wept, and sighed +again, as though he thought himself alone. "Yes, my mother, I know +thy hand, and if thou knewest the agony of my heart, thou wouldst +pity me." He opened it; but he had not read many words before he +started from his seat, as if wounded by an invisible hand, then, +with firmly pressed lips, perused the letter, threw it on the floor, +and was retiring abruptly from the room, when he recognized his +wife. "What's the matter, Henry?" she exclaimed, as she attempted to +follow him. "Read that," he sternly replied, pointing to the letter, +and, suddenly, walking to the door, left the house. Mrs. Beaufoy, +with trembling hand, picked up the letter and read as follows:-- + + "MY DEAR HENRY,--Your father is no more: he died last night, + just as the clock was striking eleven. He ne'er smiled on us + after he heard that you had forsaken the Lord, and he went to + the grave mourning. He said just before he died, 'Tell my dear + boy, for he is still my son, that my last tear was shed on + his account.' When I wiped off the big tear that was rolling + down his cheek, he became composed for a few minutes, and then + prayed, 'O Lord God, heal the backslidings of thine Ephraim,' + and died before he could finish the supplication. + + "And now, my son, you have broken your father's heart, I grieve + to say it, and, I believe, will bring down my gray hairs with + sorrow to the grave. O! consider your dreadful state, and how + fearful to think of, should you be suddenly cut off in it! + Remember your dear father's last words. + + "I feel quite unable to write you a longer letter to-day. If you + can come down to the funeral, I need not say how glad I should + be to see you; if not, may the Lord reclaim and bless you. + + "I know you love Sophia, and I wish you to love her; for she has + been a kind wife to you, and a most attentive daughter to your + father and myself, but I fear she has been a snare to you. If + she had feared the Lord she would have kept you from evil. May + the Lord bless and reclaim you both.--Your bereaved mother, + + "AMELIA BEAUFOY." + +On reading this communication, Mrs. Beaufoy's conscience smote +her, and she wept long and bitterly. Then perusing it anew, she +exclaimed, "Cruel charge! A snare to my husband! the cause of his +being led astray! cruel charge! Is it not enough for me to bear his +unkindness, without having to endure such reproaches?" She threw +the letter from her, and rose, endeavouring to cast off the load +of sorrow which oppressed her spirit. "I cannot endure it. I am of +all women the most miserable. I have no one to share my grief. Oh +death!--no!--I am not prepared to die." She resumed her seat, and +though the letter possessed a sting sharper than that of a scorpion, +she took it, read it again, and again it wounded her. "If she had +feared the Lord she would have kept you from evil." "Cruel charge! I +have tried to keep him, but could not." She paused, then could only +ejaculate, "Woe is me!" + +The ringing of the bell announced the return of Mr. Beaufoy; but +his dark, lowering look bespoke the inward conflict. On taking his +seat his eye caught sight of the letter near the place where he had +thrown it down a few hours before. Moving back, as if from an adder, +he said, "Have you been reading it?" + +"Yes, Henry, I have." + +"And what do you think of the charges?" + +"They are cruel." + +"Rather say, they are just, though severe." + +"You know that I have often attempted to reclaim you." + +"But did you not first lead me astray? Till I knew you I was a +happy, because a religious man; but from that ill-fated hour when, +enticed by your influence and example to abandon the house of prayer +for the theatre and ball-room, I have had no mental peace. I have +forsaken God, and he, in anger, has forsaken me." + +"But why recriminate on me the guilt of your own sin? You have +withdrawn from me your love and your society, and will you now in +exchange give me your reproaches? If we have sinned together, and +provoked the Lord to anger, let us now kneel together before his +mercy-seat, and together confess our sins, and implore forgiveness." + +"You may pray and obtain mercy, but I cannot; no, I cannot." + +"The Lord waits to be gracious." + +"Yes, to the penitent, but my heart is too hard to feel penitential +sorrow." + +"But is not the Redeemer exalted to give repentance?" + +"To _you_ he will give it, but not to _me_. I have fallen away, +and incensed justice renders it impossible to renew me again to +repentance, for I have crucified the Son of God afresh, and put him +to an open shame." + +"But justice relents when a sinner prays, and mercy"-- + +"Oh! speak not of mercy." + +"But mercy rejoiceth over judgment." + +"Yes, but when mercy is rejected, as in my case, justice avenges +the insult in a terrible form. Let us change the theme, Sophia. I am +too full of agony to dwell on it. It awakens recollections that I +wish to banish for ever. It is like handling the deadly weapon which +is to extinguish life." + +"The blood of Christ, dear Henry, cleanseth from all sin." + +"But I have counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was +sanctified an unholy thing." + +"But, Henry, is He not still able to save to the uttermost all that +come unto God by him; and have you sinned beyond his recovering +grace?" + +"I know my doom," he curtly replied. + +It is not always in our power to ascertain the precise moment when +the Divine Spirit begins the good work of grace in the heart, +nor yet to say what specific means he employs to effect it, but +sometimes an unpremeditated effort to convey instruction, or +warning, or consolation to another, is made to re-act on the speaker +to produce the great change. Thus it was in the experience of Mrs. +Beaufoy. She felt the force of her own remarks, and when reflecting +on them, at a subsequent period, she could not but yield to their +influence. The charge brought against her, of having led her husband +astray, she _now_ admitted to be just. But what an admission! to +be not merely accessory to his apostasy, but the primary cause +of it--not merely a partaker of his guilt, but the means of its +contraction and its accumulation. Her sin, which had been concealed +from her, _now_ started up in all its aggravated form and appalling +aspect. "Yes, 'tis true; if I had feared the Lord, I might have +kept him from going astray, and we might have been walking in his +commandments and ordinances blameless. I enticed him from the paths +of righteousness, and into what an abyss of misery are we both +plunged! I remember the night when I first induced him to leave the +house of prayer to accompany me to the theatre, and I remember the +anguish of his spirit after our return. I then told him that he +would not injure his principles by yielding sometimes to the customs +of the world, but alas, I was deceived! I alone am to blame, and +if I could suffer alone, I would patiently endure the terrible +inflictions of justice I have merited. But alas! I have raised the +storm which has long since laid waste all our domestic felicity, and +which is now threatening a deluge of wrath! Where, O where, can we +take refuge from the impending evil!" + +As she was thus bemoaning her unhappy state, she thought of her +long-neglected Bible, and taking it from the book-case, she pressed +it to her lips and prayed for grace to understand and feel its +instructive and consolatory truths. On turning over its pages, her +eye caught the following passage, which in a few moments mitigated +in a slight degree the agitation of her mind--"And a man shall be +as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as +rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a +weary land." But as there are + + "No wounds like those a wounded spirit feels," + +so there is + + "No cure for such, till God, who makes them, heals;" + +and though her distressed spirit was lifted up above the +overwhelming flood, yet it was still enveloped by the gloom of +desponding fears. She attempted to pray, but her heart was too +tightly bound by mental anguish to give vent to her grief. Hitherto +she had borne her sorrows with an unbending spirit, and usually wore +a placid aspect when in the company of her husband or her other +friends; but now her countenance was changed, and it was evident her +soul was in trouble. + +"You appear unhappy," said her husband, one day, on finding her in +tears; "is it on my account or your own?" + +"I am unhappy on your account, Henry, and I am unhappy on my own; +and I know not where to go for relief. I feel the justice of our +dear mother's charge, though I deemed it cruel at the time. I have +indeed led you astray, and am the guilty cause of all the misery +into which we are both plunged. If I could suffer alone, it would be +an alleviation of my anguish, but I cannot. O, Henry, return with +me to the Lord, from whom we have departed, and as we have sinned +together, and now suffer together, let us enter his presence, and +confess our guilt; and then his anger will be turned away, and he +will comfort us." + +"_You_ may obtain mercy, Sophia, but _I_ cannot; yours have been +the sins of ignorance, but mine have been committed against the +clearest light and the deepest conviction of their aggravated guilt. +You may plead the promises of the Bible, as a sinner under the +first convictions of sin; but I bear upon me the reproach of having +forsaken the God of my mercies; and while there are no obstructions +in the way of your access to the throne of grace, that throne is +guarded by a flaming sword which turneth every way to keep me off +from touching the sceptre of mercy. I know my doom, and I deserve +it." + +He continued in this frame of mind for many months; and though he +abandoned the society of his former companions, and the haunts of +evil which he had been accustomed to frequent, yet no arguments, +however weighty, or entreaties, however urgent, could induce him +to revisit a place of worship, or resume his practice of family +devotion. At length an insidious disease, which had long been +undermining his constitution, began to manifest itself, and it was +evident that his course in this world was fast coming to an end. +He was urged to try change of air; and with this view he proceeded +with his wife to the pleasant village of Parkdale, from which I +was somewhat surprised, shortly after my return from Fairmount, to +receive a letter written by Mrs. Beaufoy, earnestly beseeching me to +come and see her husband, as she feared he had not long to live, and +had expressed a wish to see me. My intercourse with Mr. Beaufoy had +been completely suspended for some years past. As already mentioned, +his letters first became shorter and more reserved, and at length +ceased altogether. On one occasion that I called on him in London, +his manner was so dry, and expressed so little cordiality, that I +felt convinced my visit was disagreeable, and, consequently, never +repeated it. On hearing, however, of his lamentable defection from +the path of truth, I deemed it my duty to address two or three +letters to him on the subject; but to none of these did I receive +any answer. When at Fairmount, Mr. Lewellin informed me that he +had seen nothing of Mr. Beaufoy for a long time, as latterly he +had become quite estranged from his early friends, and established +himself in the midst of gay and irreligious society. On receiving +the above communication, I at once resolved to proceed to Parkdale, +about forty miles distant, in the earnest hope that I might be of +some benefit to Mr. Beaufoy, whom, notwithstanding all the past +coolness between us, I still continued to regard with considerable +interest. On my arrival, I found that I had been anxiously expected +by his wife, who appeared to be much relieved at seeing me, and +after a short conversation, led me to her husband's room. He +received me with strong expressions of affection, and regret for +his past rudeness and neglect. "O! Mr. ----," he exclaimed, "this +is indeed kindness to come and see a poor dying wretch, whose +conduct has been so deserving of censure. I have been a wicked man, +an undutiful son, and a renegade from the faith; and now I feel a +dagger thrust through my heart, which can never be removed." + +"Dear Sir," I replied, "there is one Physician who can remove it, +and one specific that can heal the wound." + +"I know it. I do not doubt his power, as that would be an insult +to his omnipotence; but I cannot believe in his willingness. No, I +cannot!" + +"But which is the greatest insult, to doubt his ability to save to +the uttermost, or his willingness? Has he not said, 'Him that cometh +unto me I will in no wise cast out?'" + +"But, Sir, the passage which you have now quoted, is addressed to +sinners under the first convictions of sin, and not to apostates who +have fallen from their former steadfastness. My doom is fixed, and +you have only to read the words of the prophet to know its nature. +'Because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt +not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my +fury to rest upon thee.'" + +"But why, my friend, should you appropriate that awful passage to +your condemnation, when you live under a dispensation of grace, +which has made provision for the salvation of the chief of sinners?" + +"I do it, Sir, because I know and feel that it is a debt of justice +which I owe to the insulted grace of Heaven. That passage is the +only one in the Bible on which I can dwell with any degree of ease." + +"But can you derive any mental ease from reflecting on a passage +which denounces indignation and wrath?" + +"Yes, Sir, because then I sink to the level of my condition, and +silently approve the equity of the sentence; but when a promise +of mercy recurs to my mind, its involuntary stirrings to embrace +it throw me into a more agonized state of feeling. But I do not +complain. I deserve all I suffer, and all I have to suffer, and I +will submissively bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have +sinned against him." + +"May you not hope, that this spirit of submission to the righteous +manifestations of the Divine displeasure, is a proof that you are +not totally abandoned by him; for if that were the case, you would +feel disposed, either to impeach the goodness, or murmur against the +justice of God?" + +"No, Sir, I am not abandoned by him! If I were, I should enjoy the +fatal ease of _unfelt_ guilt. I am held in bondage, I am alive +to the peril of my state, and am compelled by the irresistible +convictions of my conscience to admit the equity of my condemnation, +but I dare not hope for any symptoms of returning mercy. Returning +mercy! No, mercy is clean gone for ever." + +"Nay, my friend, the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever; he +delights in it, and I have no doubt but the Sun of Righteousness +will break in upon the midnight darkness of your soul, and cheer you +with the returning light and bliss of hope." + +"O! speak not to me of mercy or of hope! You do but agonize me with +fresh tortures." + +"But will you not admit that God _can_ turn away his anger from you, +and comfort you?" + +"I admit, Sir, that all things are possible with God, which are in +accordance with his purity and his justice; but I do not think that +he can renew me again unto repentance, because I have crucified to +myself the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. I wish, +therefore, you would allow me to remain undisturbed by any allusions +to mercy, as such allusions bring to my recollection joys that are +past, never to be recalled, and plunge me deeper and deeper in the +abyss of mental agony. O that I had passed from the nuptial altar +to a premature grave! then I should have been resting in peace; but +I will not reproach. May my sad doom operate as a warning to others +against a departure from God." + +I was much distressed at this scene, but still did not abandon +hope; and, therefore, at the urgent solicitation of Mrs. Beaufoy, +consented to remain with them for a few days. His disorder continued +to increase, and on the morning after my arrival, he consented that +his mother should be sent for--a proposal which he had hitherto +always rejected, as his attachment to her, which was sincere, +made him averse to occasioning her any alarm. On receiving the +intelligence of his illness, which had hitherto been concealed from +her, she hastened to Parkdale. Her son, on hearing of her arrival, +said to his wife, "Conceal from my dear mother the state of my mind; +she cannot help me, and if she knows that I die in despair, she will +never taste another drop of comfort in this vale of tears." As she +entered the room, he raised himself on his bed and embraced her, and +they wept in silence together for some minutes. + +"And why, my son," she remonstrated, "did you not let me know of +your illness before now? I would have come and nursed you as I used +to do long ago." + +"I hoped that I should recover, mother, and I was unwilling to alarm +you." + +"Well, my son, I hope the Lord is dealing graciously with your soul +now you are in the dark valley?" + +"He is dealing righteously." + +"Yes, my child, he always deals righteously; but is he dealing +graciously?" A long pause ensued. + +"But why are you silent, my son? Tell your mother how the Lord is +dealing with you." + +"He is dealing righteously with me, and it is our duty to bow in +submission to His will." + +"I am happy to hear that you are resigned to His will; that is +a proof that He is dealing graciously. May the Lord continue to +bless you, my dear child, and may He lift upon you the light of his +countenance and give you peace." + +On resuming her inquiries next day, she asked him, "Have you a good +hope through grace, of being presented faultless before the presence +of the Lord with exceeding joy?" + +"To throw off the veil of concealment which I wished to rest over +the state of my mind, I confess, my dear mother, that I have no +hope." + +"No hope, my child! Not one cheerful beam of hope! Is the Lord's arm +shortened, that he cannot save? or is his ear heavy, that he cannot +hear?" + +"No; he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and it is his +immutability that plunges me into despair." + +"How so, my dear son?" + +"He is immutable in his threatenings against those who depart from +him." + +"And is He not immutable in his promises of mercy to those who +_wish_ to return?" + +"But there are no promises of mercy that suit my case." + +"No promises! Why, don't you recollect what our blessed Lord said, +'Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out?' And don't you +recollect what Paul says, 'Wherefore he is able also to save to the +uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to +make intercession for them?'" + +"Oh, mother, I have gone away from Him who hath the words of eternal +life." + +"Then come back; He will not cast you out. Does the shepherd refuse +to take back the lamb into his fold, which has happened to stray +from him?" + +"But I have no strength to return." + +"But you can pray; and as the shepherd goes to look after the +strayed lamb, when he hears his bleating, so our blessed Lord will +have compassion on you who may be out of the way, and will not +suffer you to perish, if you wish to return to him. Don't despair +of mercy, my son, while our blessed Lord lives to intercede for the +chief of sinners." + +These tender appeals coming from the lips of his mother, reduced his +spirit to a more composed state, and for the first time he wept. +When she saw his tears, she wept with him, and said, "I am glad to +see you weep; it is the first sign of returning mercy." + +"Mercy! no!" he replied; "mercy, I fear, will return no more! I have +despised and insulted mercy, and am consigned over to the offended +justice of Heaven. It must be a miracle of mercy to recover me from +the ruin I have brought upon myself." + +"Very true, my child; and mercy often performs a miracle of grace; +and if you look by faith to Christ, he will recover you, and he will +put a new song into your mouth, 'even praise unto our God: many +shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.'" + +On the evening of the day following his mother's arrival, as we were +all standing round his bedside, she asked him if he yet felt more +composed, or if he could indulge a good hope of future happiness. + +"Composed, mother! No, I am in perfect anguish, and expect to be +lost." + +"But he who raiseth the whirlwind, and directeth the storm, is the +God of salvation; and though he allow all his waves and his billows +to go over you, yet he will command his loving-kindness in the +daytime; and when the thickest darkness of the night comes upon you, +then his song shall be with you, and your prayer shall be unto the +God of your life." + +"O mother, I am about to leave you, and you, my wife; and I leave +you with a full conviction that we shall never meet again. A few +hours will decide the long-agitated question-- + + 'Am I his, or am I not?' + +I wish you would retire and leave me, nor suffer any one to disturb +me, as I wish to be alone for a little. I shall ring the bell when I +am prepared to see you again." + +We withdrew to an adjoining room, when his mother said to his +afflicted wife, "This is a solemn moment. You are about to lose a +husband, and I a son; but if it should please the Lord to visit him +with the light of his reconciled countenance, I trust we should then +be enabled to bow down in submission to his sovereign will." I then, +at their request, knelt down and prayed, as Elijah prayed when he +besought the Lord to send forth the rain of heaven to refresh the +parched lands of Israel. When I had finished, old Mrs. Beaufoy said, +"Let us go and see if there be yet any signs of returning mercy." +"But," said her daughter-in-law, "perhaps he is now wrestling with +the Lord, and if we go we may disturb him and ruffle his spirits." +Such, however, was the yearning of his mother's heart, that she +could not refrain from going to listen, if, peradventure, she might +hear something to comfort her. She heard him repeat again and again, +"Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me! Lord, save, or I perish!" + +Just as she was returning to inform us that the silence of +despondency was broken by the voice of prayer, the bell rang, and +we entered the room together. "Well, my child," said his mother, "I +hope the Lord is now dealing graciously with you." "He is dealing +righteously; and against the equity of his conduct I can raise no +objection. He is just when he takes vengeance." + +After a long pause, during which time the terror of unabated agony +was depicted in every countenance, he raised his down-cast eyes +towards heaven, and, with a feeble voice modulated to the subduing +tenderness of the expression, he said-- + + "Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord, + Whose hope, still hovering round thy word, + Would light on some sweet promise there, + Some sure support against despair." + +He now became exhausted, and reclining his head on the pillow, fell +asleep, and slept several hours. When he awoke, he was composed and +calm, and said, "My sleep has been refreshing to me." + +"I hope," said his mother, "that your soul is refreshed, as well as +your body." + +"I am more composed than I ever expected to be, but I am not happy. +My composure is no less a source of terror than my former agitation, +as I know that the cessation of pain is sometimes an indication +that the disorder is approaching a fatal termination, even when the +patient may be anticipating his recovery." + +"But, my friend," said I, "the terror you feel under your composure, +is a proof that you are unwilling to seize a premature hope; and +may be regarded as an evidence, that the Lord who refused to appear +in the whirlwind, in the earthquake, or in the fire, is graciously +appearing in the still small voice of love." + +"Oh, my old and tried friend, my sins appear too great and too +aggravated to be forgiven." + +"But, Henry, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin; and +He is sent, not only to proclaim liberty to the captive soul, but to +heal the broken-hearted." + +"Oh!" he exclaimed, "I would believe. Lord, help my unbelief." + +Death was now rapidly approaching; and having pressed the hands of +each of us, he reclined his head on his wife's bosom, and fainted +away. On recovering from this fit, which lasted several minutes, +he once more opened his eyes, and casting a mournful look on us, +said, "I die an unworthy and guilty sinner at the foot of the cross; +but will He permit me to perish when crying to Him to save me? +Impossible!" he exclaimed; and then, as if having exhausted all his +strength by this last effort, his head fell back on the pillow, and +he expired. + +Thus died Henry Beaufoy, who, in his youthful days, bade fair to +exhibit, in after life, an example of the beauty and consistency +of the Christian character; but having been seduced from the paths +of wisdom and of piety, he entered upon a career of evil, which +at length brought him to a premature grave. His submission at the +last to the visitations of Providence, as an infliction which he +deserved; and the avowal he made, when yielding up the ghost, gave +to his surviving friends _a hope_ that he died in the Lord, and is +at rest from his sorrows; but still gloomy shadows would sometimes +fall upon their spirits, and they often sighed and wept over his +memory, as of one who had come short of the kingdom of heaven. + +As female influence is so powerful, and has often been employed to +seduce the man who fears the Lord, from the paths of righteousness +and the ways of peace, let him be on his guard when about to form a +connection for life, and not suffer beauty and accomplishments to +become a substitute for decided piety. He may think that he shall +be able to withstand every ensnaring art, and every fond entreaty, +and that he shall ultimately gain over his wife to the obedience of +faith; but in this he may be deceived, and have cause to mourn over +the consequences of his imprudence, when it is too late. But if a +man should violate the sanctity of the Divine law, and marry a woman +who is not decidedly pious, let her be on her guard, lest she become +the cause of his moral ruin. Let her beware of enticing him to a +theatre, or an evening party, when his inclinations would take him +to the house of prayer--let her beware of manifesting a spirit of +indifference or hostility to the practice of family devotion, which +his conscience constrains him to observe. She may not regard such +proceedings as wrong, or likely to prove injurious to the reputation +or the happiness of her husband, but she may be mistaken; and if her +persuasions or her indifference should prove successful, as is too +often the case, she may be called to feel the bitter consequences +of her folly and her guilt, amidst the wreck of domestic happiness. +She may suppose, that the religion of her husband, like her own, +has nought to do with the inner man of the heart, and that it may +be thrown aside, and resumed, as caprice may dictate, but she is +mistaken; and if she should induce him to abandon it for a season, +she may live to be stung by his reproaches, and tortured by her own, +when he is brought to suffer the due reward of his deeds. + +From the preceding sketch, which has been taken, not from the +conceptions of my own fancy, but the facts of real life, we may +see that it is an evil thing to forsake the Lord God; and though +his tender mercy may stoop to recover the backslider just as he +is sinking into despair, yet he seldom throws the light of his +countenance over the death-bed of such an individual. I am aware +that some employ the partial and the final apostasy of professors, +as an argument to prove that our perseverance in religion is quite +precarious and uncertain, depending solely on ourselves, without any +regard to the counsel of Jehovah. That it does depend on ourselves, +I admit--but not solely. We are to walk in the ways of the Lord; +but he has promised to uphold our goings, that our footsteps slip +not. We are to cleave to him with full purpose of heart; but he +has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us. We are commanded +to keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our +Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; but he has promised to keep +us by his power through faith unto salvation. We know that the +beginning of the work of grace in the heart, is to be ascribed to +the immediate operations of his power; and it is to be viewed as +the commencement of a continued series of operations, which will +ultimately issue in the salvation of the soul. And though the faith +of some may be overthrown, "nevertheless, the foundation of God +standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are +his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from +iniquity." His designs will be accomplished, but accomplished in a +natural way. They do not supersede the necessity of our exertions. +They do not suppose that we are passive machines, acted on by +some supernatural power; but living agents, endowed with a Divine +principle, which works within us "both to will and to do." They +do not relax our obligations to watchfulness--to prayer--to an +avoidance of evil--and to the cultivation of the spirit and habits +of devotion, but increase them; and the reciprocal influence of our +exertions, and of the concurrence of Divine strength, is so nicely +balanced in the purpose of grace, that while we are compelled to +ascribe to God the honour of our preservation and final salvation, +yet we are made responsible for every act of transgression and +disobedience. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take +heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. x. 12). + +One of the chief causes of decay in religion, is our forgetting +that the means necessary for first bringing us to God, are no less +essential for retaining us steadily in a close walk with him. To +watch and pray was no less the duty of the disciples, when they had +left all for Christ, than when they first approached his presence, +and sought his pardon and love. He has prayed that we may be kept +from the evil of the world; but we must look for an answer to this +prayer--in our choice of good, and rejection of evil--in the control +of our passions--and in the integrity and uprightness of our conduct. + +It has been observed, that apostasy begins in the closet; secret +prayer is at first carelessly performed--then occasionally +omitted--and then entirely neglected. When this is the case, +the religious taste becomes fastidious--a roving habit is often +indulged--the customs of the world are yielded to, and the principle +of sin, which once lay dormant in the heart, rises up with renewed +strength, and breaks forth in open manifestations of evil. This +process in moral degeneracy may be slow or rapid, according to the +degree of influence which circumstances may be permitted to supply, +but when it has once begun, it is always going on; and though it +may not be in our power to assign the _primary_ cause, yet too much +secular prosperity is generally one of the most operative. The +more a Christian is indulged with temporal blessings--the higher +he or his family rises in the world--the more he ought to have his +heart glowing with love and gratitude to God. But so inveterate +is the depravity of human nature, that uninterrupted prosperity +imperceptibly deadens the best affections of the soul, which +becomes so completely engrossed in worldly objects and pursuits, +that religion is rarely thought of but on Sabbath, and even then it +is entangled and mixed up with the things of time and sense. When +prosperity comes thus to act on a person who possesses only the form +of godliness, while destitute of its power, its fatal effects may be +looked for with almost perfect certainty. + +Another cause of the evil which we are so often called to deplore +is the indulgence of a speculative turn of mind in matters of +religion. We are commanded to search the Scriptures--to prove all +things, and hold fast that which is good. When this investigation +is pursued from a pure motive, and a spirit of prayer attends +it--keeping the mind in a teachable and devotional frame--the +greatest benefit will be the result. But when once the Word of God +is treated with levity--when liberties are taken with it--when +one part of it is impugned as mysterious, another rejected as +apparently contradictory--when its doctrines are denounced, as +incomprehensible, and its precepts objected to, because they are +too unaccommodating to the habits of the age--an evil spirit enters +into the heart, which first corrupts it and then entangles it in a +labyrinth of error. This spirit of unbelief commences its operation +by reducing the magnitude of the evil of sin; the necessity and +then the reality of the atonement is rejected; prayer is considered +useless; the influence of the Holy Spirit in the renovation and +sanctification of the heart is denied; and then the apostasy becomes +complete. + +But one of the most prevalent causes of this evil is an adoption of +the principles and a compliance with the customs of the world. There +are some customs which exist amongst us to which we must conform; +but there are others from which we are commanded to abstain. We may +mingle with the men of the world in business, and also in social +life; but we are to have "no fellowship with the unfruitful works of +darkness, but rather reprove them." We may, in common with others, +have our social enjoyments, and partake of the innocent recreations +of life, without sustaining injury to our morals or our Christian +reputation; but if we venture to cross the line which separates the +lawful from forbidden ground--if we form habits which the spirit +of the gospel condemns, and venture into those places of amusement +to which the children of folly are so much attached--though we +may not immediately feel their corrupting influence, yet we shall +become bitterly sensible of it at last, when the evil is beyond +our control. We may silence the remonstrances of conscience, by +resolving not to depart from the ways of righteousness, and may +affect to treat with contempt the kind admonitions of our more +pious friends; but by no species of artifice shall we be able to +form a junction between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of +the world; or retain the fervour of devotion within the walls +of an assembly-room or a theatre. The experiment has been often +made, and the result always proves morally disastrous. In some +instances the professor has passed from all connection with pure +spiritual religion, into a state of confirmed indifference or avowed +hostility; in others, he has retained the form, while he has lost +the spirit of devotion, and the closing scene of his life has been +occupied by the most heart-rending reproaches and the bitterest +lamentations of misery and woe. + +As apostasy from the faith and purity of the gospel, from whatever +causes it may proceed, invariably inflicts on the apostate, when +awakened to a clear perception of his sin and danger, the most awful +and agonizing mental sufferings, I wish to do all that is in my +power to arrest his progress ere it be too late, and lead him back +to the source of pure felicity, which he has forsaken. I would ask +him if the gaieties, the follies, and the amusements of the world, +afford him such substantial happiness as he once enjoyed, when he +walked in the light of God's countenance? I would ask him if he does +not often regret the exchange he has made? and as often condemn +himself for his folly and ingratitude in having made it? I would ask +him if he does not wish to return once more to taste that the Lord +is gracious--once more to feel that Christ is precious--once more to +partake of the peace which passeth all understanding--and to live, +as in the early days of his profession, in the sublime anticipations +of eternal glory? I would ask, Have you never made the attempt? As +time advances, are you not gradually sinking into a state of mental +dejection, from which you see no chance of being delivered? I do not +propose these questions to inflict fresh torment, or increase the +anguish which presses upon your guilty conscience, but to induce +you to return to the Lord from whom you have departed, that you may +again experience his loving-kindness, and that your prayers, mingled +with songs of praise, may again ascend to the God of your salvation. + +In illustration of this subject, I shall here conclude by quoting +the following from a deceased divine:--"If you ask, But how am I +to return? how am I to regain my long-lost peace? I answer, In the +same way in which you first found rest to your soul, namely, by +repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. + +"In general, I may observe, the Scriptures assure us of the +exceeding great and tender mercy of God, and of his willingness to +forgive all those who return to him in the name of his Son. It is +necessary that we be well persuaded of this truth, lest instead of +applying as supplicants, we sink into despair. If a sinner, newly +awakened, be in danger of this species of despondency, a backslider +is still more so. His transgressions are much more heinous in their +circumstances than those of the other, having been committed under +greater light and against greater obligations; and when to this is +added the treatment which his conduct must necessarily draw upon him +from his religious connections, he may be tempted to relinquish all +hopes of recovery, and consider himself as an outcast, both from +God and man. Unhappy man! Thy sin may be great, and the language +of an awakened conscience may suggest, Who can heal me? Yet do not +despair. 'Hear what God the Lord will speak. He will speak peace +unto his people and to his saints: but let them not turn again to +folly.' + +"There are circumstances which may render it almost impossible for +forgiveness to be exercised amongst men; and therefore men are ready +to think it must be so with respect to God. 'But with the Lord there +is mercy, and with him there is plenteous redemption.' He will not +only pardon, but pardon abundantly: 'for his thoughts are not as our +thoughts, nor his ways as our ways. For as the heavens are higher +than the earth, so are his ways than our ways, and his thoughts +than our thoughts.--The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth +from all sin.--If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to +forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' +The threatenings against the unpardonable sin itself do not affect +the truth of these merciful declarations: for that sin is all along +described as excluding repentance, as well as forgiveness. The party +is supposed to be given up to hardness of heart. If, therefore, +we confess our sin with contrition, we may be certain it is not +unpardonable, and that we shall obtain mercy through the blood of +the cross. + +"But the great question is, How we shall repent of our sins, and +return to God by Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly it is much easier to +get out of the way, than to get in again; to lose the peace of our +minds, than to recover it. Sin is of a hardening nature; and the +farther we have proceeded in it, the more inextricable are its +entanglements. But, however this be, we either do desire to return, +or we do not. + +"If my reader be in such a state of mind, it is with a mixture of +hope and tenderness that I attempt to point out to him the means of +recovery. + +"I would recommend you to embrace every possible season of +retirement for reading the Holy Scriptures, especially those parts +which are suited to your case, and accompany your reading with +prayer. God's Word hid in the heart is not only a preservative +against sin, but a restorative from its evil effects. It both wounds +and heals; if it rebukes, it is with the faithfulness of a friend, +or if it consoles, its consolations will melt us into contrition. + +"Read especially those parts of Scripture which are addressed to +persons in your situation, as the second chapter of Jeremiah; or +those which express the desires of a returning sinner, as the +twenty-fifth, thirty-second, thirty-eighth, fifty-first, and +hundred and thirtieth Psalms. You may not be able to adopt all this +language as your own; but, nevertheless, it may be useful. To read +the genuine expressions of a contrite heart, may produce at least a +conviction of the disparity between the frame of mind possessed by +the writer and yourself; and such a conviction may be accompanied +with a sensation of shame and grief. + +"It is also of importance that you read the Scriptures _by +yourself_. To read a portion of them in your families is right, and +ought not to be neglected; but there is a great difference, as to +personal advantage, between this and reading them alone. Your mind +may then be more at liberty for reflection; you can read, and pause, +and think, and apply the subject to your case. + +"It is of still greater importance to unite prayer with it. Reading +the Word of God and prayer are duties which mutually assist each +other: the one furnishes us with confessions, pleas, and arguments, +while the other promotes solemnity and spirituality of mind, which +goes farther towards our understanding of the Scriptures than a +library of expositions. + +"It was in one of these seasons of retirement that David put up this +petition, 'I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant, +for I do not forget thy commandments.' He seems to have had in his +thoughts the condition of a poor wandering sheep, that had left the +flock and the rich pastures where it was wont to be led, ranging +rather like a native of the woods, than one who had been used to +be led, and fed, and protected by an owner. Bewildered by its own +wanderings, entangled in the thorns and briars of the wilderness, +and exposed to beasts of prey, it feels its forlorn condition, and +bleats after the shepherd and the flock! Is there nothing in this +that may suit your case? Yes, thou art the man! Thou hast gone +astray like a lost sheep, got entangled in thine own corruptions, +and knowest not how to find the way back; yet it may be thou hast +not utterly lost the remembrance of those happy days before thou +wert led to deviate from the right path. Let thy prayer then be +directed, like that of the psalmist, to the good Shepherd of the +sheep: 'Seek thy servant.' + +"Prayer is a religious exercise which is necessary to accompany +all others. 'In every thing by prayer and supplication, with +thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.' Solemn +approaches to God are adapted to impress the mind with a sense of +sin, and to inspire us with self-abhorrence on account of it. It was +by a view of the holiness of God that Isaiah felt himself to be a +'man of unclean lips;' and it was by conversing with the Lord that +Job was brought to abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes. The +very exercise of prayer carries in it an implication that 'our help +must come from above;' a truth which in all cases it is absolutely +necessary for us to know, and with which, in this case especially, +we cannot be too deeply impressed. We easily get out of the way; but +if ever we return to it, it must be by His influence, who restoreth +our souls and leadeth us in the paths of righteousness for his +name's sake. + +"To tell a person who is out of the way, that he has no help +in himself, and that if ever he get in again it must be by the +restoring grace of God, may seem to some people paradoxical and +disheartening; but it is a truth, and a truth which, if properly +understood and felt, would go farther towards our recovery than we +at first may apprehend. Paul found that 'when he was weak then was +he strong,' and many others have found the same. The more we are +emptied of self-sufficiency, the more sensibly shall we feel our +weakness, and the more importunately implore that the Lord would +save us, and restore us. + +"This was the way in which we at first found rest for our souls, +and this must be the way in which we recover it. An awakened sinner +frequently labours hard after peace, without being able to obtain +it. Wherefore? 'Because he seeks it not by faith, but by the +works of the law.' In all his labours there is a large portion of +self-righteous hope, or an idea that God will pity him on account +of his endeavours to please him. But if ever he obtain peace, it +must be by utterly despairing of all help from himself; and falling, +as a sinner entirely lost, into the arms of sovereign mercy. This is +walking in the good old way, which brings rest to the soul; and the +same sense of our insufficiency which is necessary to find rest in +the first instance, is equally necessary to find it on all future +occasions. + +"We may pray from year to year, and all without effect. It is +only the 'prayer of faith' that succeeds; the distinguishing +characteristic of which is a sense of there being no help in us, +and a laying hold of the mercy and faithfulness of God, as revealed +in the gospel. David for a time _groaned_, and even _roared_, +'by reason of the disquietness of his heart;' but he obtained no +relief from this. On the contrary, he sunk deeper and deeper into +despondency. At length he betook him to another manner of praying: +'Out of the depths cried I unto thee--and thou heardest my voice!' +We find him here pleading the exceeding greatness of God's mercy, +and the plenteousness of his redemption. Here he found rest for +his soul! Jonah also for a time was in much the same state. With a +conscience so far awakened as to deprive him of all enjoyment, he +retired to the bottom of the ship; and, wearied with the load of +his guilt, slept away his time. Even the horrors of a tempest did +not awaken him. At length being roused and reproved by heathens, +and marked out by lot as the guilty person, he confesses who he is, +and what he had done, and advises them to cast him into the sea. +Humanity struggles for a time with the elements, but in vain; he +must be cast away. Think what must have been his state of mind at +this time! He is thrown into the deep, is swallowed by a fish, and +retains his reason even in that situation; but no light shines upon +his soul. Conceiving himself to be on the point of death, his heart +sighed within him, 'I am cast out of thy sight!' But ere the thought +had well passed through his mind, another struck him, 'Yet will I +look again towards thy holy temple!' He looked, and was lightened: +'Out of the belly of hell cried I unto thee, and thou heardest my +voice! When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my +prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.'"[21] + + [21] The author is indebted to a work of the late Rev. A. Fuller for + the quotation with which this chapter closes. + + + + +THE FARM-HOUSE KITCHEN. + + +In the parish of Woodford, about twenty miles from the town where +I resided, there were a few cottages, pleasantly situated on an +eminence which commanded a beautiful and extensive view of the +surrounding country. They were principally occupied by the peasantry +who were employed on the neighbouring farms. No less than five +church spires could be seen rising in the distance, from amongst the +trees, of different parishes; but they were too remote for the aged +and the infirm to visit, and the more robust and healthy were also +very ready to plead the length of the way as an excuse for their +non-attendance at public worship. + +Mr. Annesley, a Dissenting minister in the village of Woodford, +on passing this hamlet one summer evening, had his attention +arrested by an interesting looking young man, about the age of four +and twenty, who appeared to be in the last stage of a decline. +He presented to him a few religious tracts, which the young man +received with an air of indifference; but when informed that they +were intended to prepare him for that world into which he was likely +soon to enter, he seemed pleased, and said, "That is what I want, +Sir." This young man, who was the son of a respectable farmer, lived +about two months after the first interview Mr. Annesley had with +him; and died avowing his entire dependence on the death of Jesus +Christ for eternal life: blessing God in the most simple and ardent +terms, for his goodness in sending to him at the eleventh hour a +knowledge of the way of salvation. + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN + +W. L. THOMAS. + +BRINGING IN THE LAST LOAD OF CORN. + +THE REAPERS' HYMN OF PRAISE. + +Vol. ii. page 285.] + +After his death, the old farmer, his father, when lamenting that +they enjoyed no religious advantages in that remote part of the +parish, very readily consented to have his large kitchen licensed +for preaching; and Mr. Annesley engaged to give them a sermon +on Tuesdays every week. When he commenced his labours he had to +pass through the ordeal of mockery and contempt. Sometimes he was +insulted by the poor rustics, when attempting to explain to them the +mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but by visiting them in their +own cottages, and displaying a kind and affectionate disposition, +he gained their confidence and esteem, and they pressed to hear him +with devout and earnest attention. + +Having resolved to make an excursion to Woodford, and pay a visit to +this rural place of worship, of which I had often heard, I took my +seat in the coach, one afternoon in the month of September, as far +as the village of Woodford, from which it was a walk of three miles +to the farm-house. The weather was unusually hot for the season of +the year; but towards the evening, the cool breezes which sprung up +made me enjoy my journey exceedingly. + +After getting down from the coach, I quitted the village by a cross +road, and then turned aside into a fine shady lane. On passing by +a farm-yard, I observed an extraordinary rush of men, women, and +children, and being anxious to know the cause of it, I advanced into +the yard, where I saw a group marching before the last load of com, +which they were bringing from the field, and singing the following, +as a harvest hymn of praise:-- + + "But now his hand hath crown'd our toil, + We joy like those that share the spoil, + The harvest home to bear: + With shouts the laughing pastures ring; + With grateful hearts we reapers sing + The praise of heaven's eternal King, + Through whose paternal care we bring + The produce of the year." + +I tarried some time, intermingling my feelings with those of the +enraptured swains, and participating with them in this feast of +innocent delight; but on looking at my watch I found that I must +hasten onwards, or I should be deprived of the higher gratification +of witnessing a more interesting and a more important sight. On +proceeding up the lane that led to the rural temple of devotion, +I occasionally heard the harmony of Zion's strains, which became +more distinct and impressive as I drew nearer, till at length I was +enabled to catch the following words which the congregation were +singing:-- + + "Shall I beneath thy gospel stay, + And hear the call of grace; + And at the awful judgment-day, + Be banish'd from thy face?" + +I got into the passage just as Mr. Annesley arose to pray, but I +did not choose to advance, lest I should disturb the devotions of +the little assembly. While standing there, two ladies approached +towards the door, and, like myself, waited in silence till the +prayer was ended, when we all entered together. Our appearance +excited considerable attention, but whenever we had taken our seats, +every eye was attentively directed towards the minister. To one +who has been accustomed to offer up his prayers and his praises, +in the fixed and appropriate language of our national liturgy--and +to listen to the enunciation of life and immortality within the +walls of a church--the scene of rustic simplicity exhibited in this +farm-house kitchen must have appeared very singular. Mr. Annesley +stood in a corner of the room, his Bible lying open before him on +a small round deal table, the family clock ticking behind him; his +rustic audience was variously disposed of--some sitting on the +dresser to his right, others in the chimney-corner to the left, the +majority on forms in front of him, and a few bending forwards from +the passage, being incapable of gaining admission. As they were +singing the hymn which intervenes between the prayer and sermon, an +expression which I had recently met with came to my mind, and with +such force, that no external decoration was wanted to render +either the place or the truth more acceptable to my taste--"A +religion without a Saviour, is the temple without its glory, and +its worshippers will all desert it." Just as the minister read his +text, the countenances of several changed; all were attentive, and +appeared to have forgotten the toils and the fatigues of labour, +while listening to the discourse, which was founded on the following +words of Jesus Christ:--"But there are some of you that believe +not" (John vi. 64). He had not been speaking long, before my spirit +involuntarily said, "Here is religion with a Saviour, and wherever +his truth is preached, there he condescends to dwell." + +[Illustration: J. GODWIN. + +W. L. THOMAS + +THE FARM-HOUSE KITCHEN. + +Vol. ii. page 286.] + +The sermon delivered was simple, perspicuous, and well calculated to +fix the attention of the audience. The figures of illustration and +description were selected from the rural scenes and occupations with +which the congregation were familiar; and from the looks, the tones, +and the actions of the speaker, it was evident that he was really +in earnest, and desired to impress his hearers with his own views +and feelings. When expostulating with those who did not believe, he +suddenly paused, his eyes, more than half suffused with tears, told +more forcibly than language could express, how deeply he felt; while +his lips, quivering with tremulous anxiety, gave utterance to the +interrogation--"_Why won't you come to Jesus Christ, and be saved?_ +Do you think you need no Saviour? Impossible! Do you imagine that +he is unable to save you? Do you suppose he is unwilling to save +you? Impossible! Do you think you are in no danger of being lost? +Do you imagine that the misery of a lost soul is less terrible than +the Scriptures represent it? or that the happiness of a redeemed +spirit is less joyous? Impossible! _Why then won't you come to +Jesus Christ, and be saved?_" No profound arguments were employed +in pressing on the attention of his rustic audience these pointed +questions, and yet they came with an almost irresistible force. +As the people were retiring, I heard some of them saying to one +another, "Ah! why don't we come to Jesus Christ, and be saved?" + +Being seated nearly opposite the two ladies who entered along with +me, I could not avoid noticing the behaviour of one of them, which +contrasted strongly with the simple and devout attention of the +cottagers. Sometimes she listened with apparent seriousness, but +more than once the smile of contempt and the look of scorn seemed to +gather on her countenance; and at one part of the sermon, when the +preacher was speaking of the entire depravity of the human heart, +she made an effort to leave, but was apparently prevented from doing +so by her friend. When, however, this simple question fell from Mr. +Annesley's lips, she became still and thoughtful, and I observed +tears fall from her eyes, an unconscious response to the earnest +appeals of the preacher. + +After service I introduced myself to Mr. Annesley, who insisted +on my spending the night at his house. On our talking over the +occurrences of the evening, I mentioned what I had noticed in the +conduct of one of the ladies, and expressed my belief that her heart +was penetrated by what she had heard. "If, Sir," he remarked, "that +lady should be converted, she will be a living witness of the truth +of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and afford a strong corroborative +testimony of its Divine origin. I have," he added, "no personal +acquaintance with her; nor was I aware that she was present this +evening, till I saw her leaving at the conclusion of the service, +but I have long known her character; she resides at Hollyton, a +village about a mile and a half distant, and, I believe, is one +of the most agreeable women you could meet with in society, but +she is a professed infidel; and though most of her relatives and +friends are religious, she will rarely consent to attend any place +of worship with them. She says that the scheme of salvation is a +cunningly devised fable, got up by the priesthood, and palmed upon +our hopes and fears by the policy of our rulers; and unhesitatingly +avows that it is the duty of every person, who feels a proper +respect for the dignity of the human species, to employ all his +influence to dissipate the delusion. She will not, I understand, +enter into any discussion on the Christian religion, because, she +says, no evidence could induce her to believe it--no, not if she +had seen the miracles performed which are ascribed to Christ and +his apostles--and often quotes the inconsistent conduct of its +professors, to show that its moral tendency is unfavourable to +the growth of virtue. The lady who accompanied her is of a very +different stamp, and a pious member of the church. I presume her +influence has induced Mrs. Farrington to attend our meeting this +evening. I trust that she may yet be led to see and repent of her +errors." + +"I am mistaken," I remarked, "if her scepticism has not received its +death-blow to-night. She will be thinking soon about coming to Jesus +Christ to be saved." + +"Amen. The Lord grant that it may be so." + +I then referred to the interesting scene I had witnessed on my +way to the farm-house, and was informed by Mr. Annesley that the +labourers whose festivities I had witnessed, belonged for the +most part to his regular congregation at Woodford, and were in +the employment of Farmer Hopkins, one of the most esteemed and +influential members of his church. + +The next morning, as we were sitting at breakfast, a note was handed +to Mr. Annesley from Mrs. Farrington, requesting that he would be so +kind as call on her in the course of the forenoon. She added, that +she understood he had a clerical friend with him at present, whom +she had observed at the meeting on the previous evening, and that +she would feel much gratified if he would accompany him. + +"Your discourse," I observed, "has already borne fruit." + +"I trust so," he replied. "You will of course go with me on this +visit to Mrs. Farrington's. I have never been in her house, and I +should like to have a friend with me, more especially as she seems +anxious for it herself." + +I would have excused myself, on the ground that I had already been +longer absent from home than I had intended; but my objections +were overruled, and I consented to remain another night with Mr. +Annesley, and return to town next morning. In the course of the +forenoon, we proceeded to Mrs. Farrington's, and were received by +her with the utmost courtesy. She mentioned that she had recognized +me the previous evening as a clergyman in ----, whom she had once +heard preach, and on her way home she had learned that I was to be +the guest of Mr. Annesley for the night. She endeavoured to assume +her accustomed ease and sprightliness of manner; but still I felt +persuaded that she was labouring under strong mental depression, +which she was anxious to conceal. The conversation turned on the +scenery around us, which had now assumed the beautiful autumnal +tinge; and when Mrs. Farrington pointed to a double row of fine elm +trees, whose thick and extended branches overshadowed a lovely walk +in the front of her cottage, I could not refrain from repeating the +following lines of Cowper:-- + + "Meditations here, + May think down hours to moments. Here the heart + May give a useful lesson to the head; + And learning wiser grow, without his books." + +"But," said Mrs. Farrington, "to quote from the same author-- + + 'Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, + Have ofttimes no connection. _Knowledge_ dwells + In heads replete with thoughts of other men; + Wisdom in minds attentive to their own.'" + +"Very true," said Mr. Annesley, "and hence we sometimes see those +who are endowed with the greatest intellectual talents, and enriched +with the largest stores of knowledge, acting the most foolish parts +in the drama of life, and terminating their career without any hope +of a blissful immortality." This allusion to a future world, threw +a shade over the countenance of Mrs. Farrington, and more than once +she endeavoured with difficulty to suppress a sigh. + +"We have high authority for saying," I remarked, "that it is not +good for the soul to be without knowledge; but considering the +relation in which we stand to God, and our condition as sinners +against his righteous government, there is no knowledge so essential +to our happiness, as a knowledge of his character, and the way in +which his favour is to be conciliated. Without this, we are left +in absolute uncertainty respecting our final destiny, which must be +perplexing and alarming, in proportion as we seriously meditate on +the capabilities of the human soul to suffer or enjoy in a future +state of existence. Hence arises the desirableness of a revelation +of the will of God; and the advantage of having such a revelation, +when made, committed to writing, that it may be preserved from the +corruption and uncertainty to which oral tradition is necessarily +exposed. This revelation we have in the sacred Scriptures; its +purity and adaptation to our moral condition are strong internal +evidences of its genuineness; and I am at a loss to conceive how +any one can reject it, without destroying his own peace of mind. It +delineates our character, as guilty, depraved, and unhappy, with the +most perfect accuracy; and points our attention to a Saviour, who +came to save and to bless us, and to fit us for a nobler life than +we can ever live on earth." + +Mrs. Farrington became deeply affected, burst into tears, and +left the room, but soon after returned, offering as an apology +for her weakness and her rudeness, as she termed it, an excessive +nervous irritability under which she was then labouring. After a +moment's pause, Mr. Annesley said:--"Pray, Madam, is not your mind +now powerfully affected by those religious truths which you once +rejected as the fallacious opinions of man?" + +"Yes, Sir," she replied, "it is, and has been since I heard you +preach last night in Farmer Rogers' kitchen. I have hitherto +rejected the gospel as a cunningly devised fable, and generally +looked with pity or contempt on those who embraced it, but then I +was convinced of its divinity, and by the force of an evidence which +I had not previously examined." + +"What fresh evidence of the divinity of the gospel," said Mr. +Annesley, "did you receive last night, for I do not recollect +advancing any?" + +"The evidence of experience," she replied, "for the gospel came +not in word only, but in power, and I could no longer resist it. +Curiosity led me to that sequestered house of prayer; and at first +I was disposed to treat the whole affair with contempt. The pride +of my heart rose up against the statement which you gave us of the +entire depravity of our nature, and I should have left in disgust, +had not my friend prevented me; but when you proposed that simple +yet important question, '_Why won't you come to Jesus Christ, and +be saved?_' I felt as though an arrow had pierced my soul, and from +that hour till now, I have been suffering the agonies of a wounded +spirit. I could get no sleep last night, reflecting on my condition; +and early this morning I despatched a messenger to your house, +with the note which you received. I feel deeply obliged for the +promptness with which you and Mr. ---- have responded to my request, +in coming to see me." + +"But," inquired Mr. Annesley, "as the interrogation you refer to was +no direct proof of the Divine origin of the gospel, how came it to +produce such a conviction in your mind?" + +"I have been revolving that question, and it has created some strong +doubts of the correctness of my present belief; but yet now I can no +more reject the gospel as false, than I could before receive it as +true. That interrogation came with a power which was superhuman, and +its impressions on my heart bore the stamp of the same agency; and +now, Sir, the only question which I wish resolved is this: May I be +permitted to hope that that Saviour whom I have so long rejected, +and so often and so grossly insulted, will ever condescend to cast +one tender look of compassion on me?" + +"In the conversion of a sinner," said Mr. Annesley, "it pleases God +to display his sovereignty, no less than his power and his grace; +and hence he generally accomplishes it in a way which compels us +to acknowledge his direct and immediate agency. Had he chosen to +convince you of the Divine origin of that system of truth, which you +have so long rejected, by the slow and rational process of a logical +argument, your judgment might have been convinced, while your +heart remained unaffected by its awful and sublime communications; +but by convincing you of your guilt, and of your danger, and of +the necessity of a Mediator and a Saviour, he has rendered that +argumentative process unnecessary, in compelling you at once to seek +the consolations of mercy as essential to your happiness." + +"Oh! yes, Sir, they are essential to my happiness, indeed they are, +but I fear they will be withheld. What plea can I urge for mercy? On +what basis can I rest a hope of acceptance?" + +"It is usual," Mr. Annesley replied, "for a person who is just +awakened to a belief of the gospel of Christ, to suppose that its +consolations are far beyond his reach, whilst he stands in dread of +its awful denunciations; but this is a delusion which fear practises +on the imagination. In the operations of Divine truth on the heart, +there is a natural process observed on the part of the great +invisible Agent who conducts it; the convictions of personal guilt, +connected with an apprehension of merited punishment, prepare the +way for the reception of pardon and salvation, as the free gifts of +God." + +"Am I then to consider what I suffer and what I dread as preparatory +visitations of Divine grace, to compel me to take refuge in Christ +from the wrath to come?" + +"Yes, Madam. The feelings which you now experience, and which excite +so much alarm, are intended to prepare you for the manifestations +of the Divine favour and love. You have now to fix your attention +on Jesus Christ, who is able and willing to save all who come unto +God by him. And hear the encouraging and consolatory language he +employs--'All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him +that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out' (John vi. 37)." + +"But what reason have I to believe that such gracious words relate +to myself?" + +"Their insertion in the Bible is your authority for so applying +them to yourself. But lest you should suppose that this gracious +declaration was designed, in any sense, for the exclusive relief of +those to whom it was originally given, the revelation of mercy and +grace concludes with language equally encouraging:--'And the Spirit +and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And +let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the +water of life freely' (Rev. xxii. 17). Why then should you doubt? +Why should you pause? Why should you continue to linger around the +promises of salvation, and not embrace them as the source of your +comfort?" + +"I do not hesitate to plead the promise of salvation from any doubt +of its necessity, or of its truthfulness. I feel, however, such a +burden of guilt on my conscience, for having uttered so many hard +things against the Redeemer and his great salvation, and feel so +oppressed by a sense of unparalleled unworthiness, that I seem more +inclined to endure the chastening of the Lord, than venture to +implore the exercise of his pardoning love and mercy." + +"You are, it is true, unworthy, but not unwelcome; unworthy, but not +unfit: for + + 'All the fitness he requireth, + Is to _feel_ your need of him. + +How simple! Believe, and be saved; come to me, and I will give you +rest." + +"Yes, Sir, the plan of salvation is both simple and suited; but +these attributes of its character stagger and perplex me." + +"How so, Madam?" + +"It appears more consonant to the awful majesty of Divine justice +to demand from me some costly sacrifice--to call upon me to endure +some severe privations and sufferings, as the condition of pardon +and acceptance, rather than to offer them freely and gratuitously. +I ought, I think, to suffer some extreme and prolonged infliction, +before I ought to cherish a hope of salvation." + +"That is true; but, as the apostle says, 'By grace are ye saved +through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; +not of works, lest any man should boast' (Eph. ii. 8, 9)." + +"I feel thankful that I am not now what I was yesterday--a proud and +haughty sceptic; looking with scornful contempt on the Bible--on the +Sabbath, and its public services--and on all who make a profession +of love to Jesus Christ; but I dare not lay claim to the spiritual +blessings which God graciously bestows on his redeemed and renovated +people. I hope in his mercy, and pray for its manifestations to my +guilty conscience, but I cannot do more; indeed, at times, I tremble +while cherishing a hope in his mercy, lest I should add the sin of +presumption, to the many other sins I have committed against him." + +We now closed the interview by reading the Scriptures and prayer; +and then returned, devoutly thankful to the God of salvation for +what we had seen and heard. + +In this state of agitating uncertainty, as to the final issue of +her hopes and her fears, Mrs. Farrington continued, as Mr. Annesley +afterwards informed me, for several months, suffering at times +intense remorse, and often strongly tempted to abandon herself to +despair. But by a patient continuance in the study of the Bible and +listening to the ministry of the Word, in meditation and in prayer, +she felt in process of time the sacred power of the promise of mercy +and grace; tasted that the Lord is gracious, and eventually had hope +and peace in believing; living through life in the fear of God, and +giving a practical exemplification of the truth of the apostolic +declaration, that "the grace of God that bringeth salvation, +teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should +live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking +for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God +and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might +redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar +people, zealous of good works" (Titus ii. 11-14). + +The conversion of this lady to the Christian faith, after having +signalized herself for many years by her unceasing hostility to it, +is a very strong evidence in confirmation of its Divine origin. What +human power could have effected such a moral renovation as that +which was produced while she was listening to this sermon by Mr. +Annesley? She anticipated no such a change, nor did she desire it. +In the sermon, which curiosity prompted her to hear, there was no +concentration of argument to carry conviction to her judgment--no +outbursts of eloquence--nor any decorations of style, to impress her +feelings or attract her taste, but merely an interrogation, and that +one of the most simple. From whence, then, came the all-powerful +energy by which her haughty spirit was made to quail before the +truth, which she had so long stigmatized as a cunningly devised +fable? Whence, unless from Him who can easily subdue all things +to himself; and whose spiritual triumphs are often graced by the +spontaneous submission of his most malignant enemies; thus turning a +prophetic announcement into an historic fact--"Thy people shall be +willing in the day of thy power." + + + + +A PARTY AT THE ELMS. + + +I must now request the courteous reader to return with me to +Mr. Holmes and his family, at the Elms, where, as it will be +recollected, we left Louisa, the eldest daughter, in a state of +great mental perplexity, though somewhat soothed by the judicious +letter of her worthy friend Mrs. Loader. It will also be remembered +that Louisa had addressed a second letter to the latter, detailing +further her career of Christian experience, and asking additional +advice and assistance as to her future course.[22] + + [22] Vol. ii. p. 177. + +According to annual custom, a large party dined at the Elms, +consisting principally of Mr. Holmes' old city friends, who came +to enjoy a day in the country, and have a talk over the events +of former times. They had all sprung from an obscure origin--had +commenced to push their fortunes in London about the same time--and +were now in the possession of considerable wealth. The party +dined early. When the cloth was removed, the worthy host said he +would give a toast, which he hoped the ladies would respond to as +well as the gentlemen, though he admitted he ought to apologize +for attempting to revive a practice which was now becoming +obsolete--"Prosperity to the citizens of London; and may they ever +express their gratitude to God, by supporting the institutions of +benevolence." This toast having been duly honoured, the ladies +withdrew, leaving the gentlemen to their debates and discussions. + +Miss Holmes proposed a walk--a proposal which the ladies and young +people gladly fell in with. It was a fine tranquil evening, at the +close of one of those beautiful days which frequently occur in +this country in the month of October. The sun was sinking in a sea +of crimson and gold, behind a finely wooded hill to the west, and +throwing his rich amber light through the foliage of the pleasure +ground in which the party was now sauntering. Everything tended to +soothe and tranquillize the mind, while not a sound could be heard, +but the rustling of the autumn leaves beneath the feet, or their +fall as the branches vibrated in the almost imperceptible evening +breeze. + +Among the young people composing the party that day at the Elms, +was Miss Martin, an intimate friend of Miss Holmes, and decidedly +religious, but between whom and Louisa there had hitherto been +but little sympathy on this subject. Without possessing the years +and experience of Mrs. Loader, she nevertheless possessed an +affectionate disposition, with a fund of sterling good sense, and +was thus well qualified to impart consolation to the agitated and +distressed mind of her friend. Louisa felt her heart gradually +lightened as she conversed with Miss Martin; and the two ladies, +walking on together a little in advance, got engaged in so +interesting a discussion, that they soon lost sight of the younger +members of the party, who had set off to amuse themselves in another +direction. Louisa now recollected that she had promised a Bible +the day before to an old woman in the neighbourhood, and invited +Miss Martin to accompany her with it there--a proposal to which her +friend gladly acceded. They accordingly proceeded down a narrow +path which led from the shrubbery to a retired country road. They +then walked along a short distance till they came to a neat cottage, +at the door of which they gently tapped. It was opened by the old +woman, Mrs. Kent, who invited them to walk in and sit down. They +readily consented, and spent there a most interesting hour. + +"I feel deeply obliged, ladies," said Mrs. Kent, "by your kindness +in fetching me this Bible. It is indeed a treasure. A large printed +Bible like this is just what I have long been wishing to procure, +as my eyes are become so dim I cannot see to read this small print" +(exhibiting a Bible which bore the marks of age). + +"I am very glad, indeed, that you are pleased with it," replied +Louisa, "and I trust you may long be spared in health to enjoy its +stores." + +"I have great reason to be thankful to God for the health he has +given me. I am in his hand--he doeth all things well." + +"You have really a pretty cottage here," said Miss Martin, "and it +is very tastefully adorned. Have you lived here many years?" + +"About twenty years. I was turned out of the cottage I lived in +before, by Lord Harwood's steward, because I would not give up my +religion; but the Lord opened the heart of a good man who lives in +the village, and he built this little cottage for me, and I have +lived here rent free ever since." + +"How long may it be since you first knew the Lord?" + +"More than forty years. I was, when young, a very thoughtless girl, +and took great delight in vain pleasures; but the Lord was pleased, +blessed be his name, to call me to a knowledge of the truth, and to +love and serve him, when I was about your age." + +"And you are not weary of his service?" + +"Weary of his service!" said the venerable matron, her eyes +sparkling as with youthful ardour--"no, Miss, though I often wonder +that the Lord is not weary of me, as I am such an unprofitable +servant." + +"Then after forty years' experience, you can bear testimony to +the truth of what Solomon says of religion: 'Her ways are ways of +pleasantness, and all her paths are peace?'" + +[Illustration: JAMES GODWIN. + +W. L. THOMAS. + +MISS HOLMES AND MISS MARTIN TAKING LEAVE OF MRS. KENT. + +Vol. ii. p. 299.] + +"That I can. I have been a widow five and twenty years. I have +outlived all my children but one, and I have not seen him for more +than sixteen years. I have had many troubles, but the Lord has +brought me through them all. He has given me a spirit of resignation +and contentment, and I can say, Let him do with me as seemeth good +in his sight. He is too wise to err." + +"Then you don't envy the rich and the noble?" + +"No, Miss, I envy no one. If the rich have comforts that I have not, +they have cares and temptations, from which I am protected. May the +Lord incline you, my young friends, to seek him in your youth, and +then you will find a treasure which is of more value than thousands +of gold and silver." + +"I hope he has inclined us to seek him," said Miss Holmes; "and as +you have known him so many years, I shall be happy to come and visit +you, that you may teach me the way of the Lord more perfectly." + +"I shall be glad to see you at any time, if you will condescend to +come and see me; but it is not in my power to teach you. The prophet +says, 'All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall +be the peace of thy children.'" + +"I will soon come back again and have a long chat. Good night." + +"Good night, ladies. May the Lord bless you." + +"She is a dear old woman," said Miss Martin. "I have quite fallen in +love with her." + +"Yes, my dear Mary, she is one of the Lord's hidden jewels, set +apart for himself. I am very glad to have made her acquaintance, but +I confess that I neglected to do this till the other day, though I +had often seen her knitting on the seat in front of her cottage as I +passed by." + +The two friends now re-entered the avenue, and, taking a by-path, +ascended a little rising ground, which commanded a fine view of +the surrounding country. "How delightful it is, Louisa," said Miss +Martin, "to get a day's excursion away from the bustle and smoke of +London. What a beautiful landscape you have here--that venerable +church tower rising in the distance among the trees, and that fine +old mansion at the foot of the hill, with the deer feeding in the +park in front; and see what a pretty object Mrs. Kent's cottage +makes, when seen through this vista in the trees." + +"It is certainly a beautiful prospect, Mary. I often come here +to contemplate it. I made a sketch the other day of Mrs. Kent's +cottage, which I shall show you when we get into the house. It is +both a picturesque object when viewed from a distance, and loses +none of its attractions on a near approach. She has displayed great +taste in the way she has disposed the evergreens and flowers around +it. But its chief glory is within." + +"Very true, my dear Louisa. It is a sacred spot--often visited by +unseen messengers, when they come to earth on errands of mercy. +Strangers would pass by, and admire only the neatness of its +external appearance, but we have seen its concealed beauties." + +"I was quite delighted," said Miss Holmes, "with the first visit +I paid her. She certainly possesses a very cultivated mind for a +person in her station. She has been a great reader in her time, but +now her favourite study is divinity, and the Bible is her text-book. +She gave me some particulars of her history. Her life has been a +chequered one. I was quite taken with the artless simplicity of her +conversation, and with the ease, I may almost say elegance, of her +manners. I shall certainly often stroll to her cottage for a chat; +and you must come here again soon, and pay her another visit along +with me." + +"I am glad, my dear, that you are partial to her," replied Miss +Martin. I shall be delighted to accompany you again to Mrs. Kent's. +I hope you will often visit her. You will derive, I have no doubt, +much spiritual benefit from her conversation. There is nothing +which so polishes and refines the character as the influence of +religion. It improves the taste, without making it fastidious; +enlarges the intellect, without engendering vanity; softens and +sweetens the temper; and inspires a consciousness of individual +worth and importance, while at the same time it pays a respectful +regard to the laws and customs which prevail in society. Hence a +Christian appears as dignified in a cottage as in a mansion; and +living comparatively disengaged from the temptations of the world, +he is more at liberty to commune with the Redeemer, by which he +imperceptibly receives a more perfect impression of his image." + +"But do you think, Mary, that every Christian exemplifies the +correctness of your remarks?" + +"No, my dear. Some do not feel the influence of religion till late +in life, when their taste has been vitiated, their habits formed, +and their tempers set; and though it will correct some of the evils +which they may have contracted, yet it rarely happens that their +character receives such an amount of refinement as it would have +done, had they felt its transforming power at an earlier period." + +Just at this moment they were startled by a deep groan, that came +from the wood near which they were standing, and on running to +afford some assistance to the supposed sufferer, Miss Holmes beheld +her facetious sister Emma, with a group of young friends, attempting +to conceal themselves, but who burst out into loud laughter when +they were discovered. + +"What's the matter, girls?" + +"Nothing, ladies; O nothing!" said Lucy Cooper, with a suppressed +smile. + +"We were afraid, from the groan we heard, that some one had been +hurt, or was suddenly taken ill." + +"It was only Emma, feigning illness, to disturb you in your grave +musings." + +"O! Emma, I wonder how you could be so foolish! I am glad, however, +that there is nothing the matter; and I do not regret having been +disturbed, as it appears to have contributed to your mirth." + +"We have just been seeing Mrs. Kent," said Emma, "and she told us +that you, and I suppose Miss Martin, had been there." + +"O what a lovely place!" exclaimed several voices. + +"How I should like to live in that beautiful cottage!" said a little +girl; "I wish grandpapa would buy such a one for me." + +"The old lady," said another, "was looking over the Bible you gave +her when we tapped at the door, and she rose and received us with as +much grace and ease as though she had been a duchess. She appears to +be a very contented, nice old woman, and seems to be very religious +in her way. Is she not, Emma?" + +"Yes, she is." + +"Aye, she is at a good age to become religious, and she has nothing +else to engage her attention. I should like to have another talk +with her." + +"We shall be happy to see you, Lucy, at any time," said Miss Holmes; +"and I think both you and Emma would be all the better for a few +lessons of staidness and sobriety from Mrs. Kent." + +"O yes, I know I should; but as my propensity is to be religious, I +must check it, or I shall get quite unhappy. It won't do for me to +associate much with such devout people. I shall be sure to catch the +infection, from my natural habit of imitation." + +Miss Holmes would have made some reply, but the appearance of her +brothers, and some of the gentlemen from the house, put a stop to +further conversation. + +"Come, ladies," one of them exclaimed, "where have you been rambling +to all this time? We thought we had lost you. You have forgotten how +late it is, and we must be off for town in an hour or two." + +The youthful party, thus summoned, hastened to the house, where, +after partaking of tea, the guests prepared to depart, just as the +moon began to rise. The family then being left alone, drew their +seats round the fire for a few minutes before they retired to rest, +and began to talk over the incidents of the day. + +"This has been a very happy day," said Mr. Holmes; "for though our +friends are not all religious people, yet they are very worthy, +excellent persons." + +"It must be a high gratification to you, father," said his eldest +son, "to see the companions of your youth sitting around your table, +with your children, and, by mutual intercourse, recalling the early +scenes and incidents of your career." + +"Indeed it is, William; and I hope God has reserved the same +enjoyment for you all; and that, when I am resting in the grave with +my fathers, you will think and talk of these gone-by times." + + * * * * * + +A few days after this, Miss Holmes received the following letter +from her esteemed friend, Mrs. Loader, which she had been anxiously +expecting for some time:-- + + "_29th Oct., 18--._ + + "MY DEAR LOUISA,--I received your letter of ----, and was + glad to find that you were so far restored as to be able to + occupy yourself in the service of Christian benevolence. The + duties which now devolve upon you are no less novel than they + are important; and while you may provoke others to scorn by + the activity of your zeal, you may sometimes likewise involve + yourself in perplexity and mortification. You already begin + to feel the loss of the spiritual enjoyments which you so + largely participated in when "first you knew the Lord," and you + suppose that this is a conclusive evidence of the declining + influence of religious principle over your mind; but you ought + not to draw such a conclusion. If, dear Louisa, you expect + that the realities of the unseen world will always retain that + ascendency over your affections which they acquired when you + first felt their power, you proceed in your calculations on + mistaken data. When you were first impressed by the truth, you + were a prisoner--confined in the solitary chamber; you held but + little intercourse with the world around you, and your feelings + were rendered more susceptible of strong excitement, from the + influence which a protracted affliction had imperceptibly + acquired over them; but now you are out and abroad--your spirits + are braced up by the pressure of calls and engagements, which + demand your attention; and you are compelled to engage in the + duties and pursuits of social life. Can such a change in your + habits take place without having some powerful effect on the + state of your affections? Impossible! An active life is less + favourable to devotional feeling than a contemplative one; and + though I would not throw out a remark which should operate as + a discouragement to exertion in the cause of Him who became + obedient unto death for us, yet I assure you, that in proportion + as the number of your employments increase, you will be deprived + of the pleasures of retired devotion, even though the truths of + religion retain their ascendency over your judgment, and its + holy principles reign in your heart. + + "I have thought it right to make these observations, to guard + you against the common error into which young Christians often + fall, in supposing that their faith is not genuine, because it + does not uniformly act with the same degree of activity and + power. + + "That you should, at times, admit the possibility of the entire + passing away of your religious convictions and impressions, and + should look forward with shuddering dread to the consequences + and final issue of such a calamitous event, does not surprise + me, neither does it give me any alarm. This is usually one of + the earliest mental trials a young disciple has to endure. You + say that, notwithstanding the ceaseless terror which agitates + your heart, you are moving forward, though slowly, between + hope and fear: and if so, you are safe in the right way to the + city of habitation, as fear will keep you from presumption, + and hope from despair. Yes, my dear Louisa, the harmonious + blending of these affections of the soul, will ever prove, + in their restraining and sustaining influence, a shield of + defence against the subtle temptations of the great adversary, + and a well-spring of consolation in the season of gloom and + depression. We read, 'The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear + him, in those that hope in his mercy' (Psal. cxlvii. 11). But + you are unconsciously guilty of a capital error--you think, and + feel, and write, as if there were no being in existence who is + able to keep you from falling, and who, at the same time, has + no personal interest in doing it. Has a father no personal + interest in the preservation of the life and happiness of his + child? Hear what your heavenly Father says, when speaking to you + from the celestial glory--'Can a woman forget her sucking child, + that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, + they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have + graven thee upon the palms of my hands' (Isa. xlix. 15, 16). Can + you suppose that Jesus Christ, after dying to redeem you, will + abandon you and leave you to perish, when you are praying--'Lord + save me!' He loves his own; and all who come to him to be saved + are his own, and none else will come; and when they come, he + will in no wise neglect them or cast them out. Meditate often + on the following words, which he spoke when on earth to his + disciples, and which he has had recorded in the sacred volume, + for the consolation of his disciples of all future times--'I + pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but + that thou shouldest keep them from the evil' (John xvii. 15). + You may have great and sore trials in your Christian course--you + may be exposed to severe temptations and great moral dangers, + but you are safe; HE will not overlook you, or leave you, who + gave his life as a ransom for your redemption. Your final + salvation depends on no doubtful contingency. It is fixed and + certain. And HE who gave his life for you, is now preparing a + place for you in heaven--is doing something in your behalf which + implies the exercise of power--getting in readiness, as I heard + an eloquent preacher remark the other Sabbath, a quiet chamber + for the accommodation of his beloved disciple in the house of + his Father. And after preparing this mansion, he will not suffer + its intended occupant to perish by the way. No; 'My sheep hear + my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto + them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall + any man pluck them out of my hand.' (John x. 27, 28). + + "I am happy that you are intimate with the Corries, who used to + be our next-door neighbours when we lived in London. They are + a very excellent family, decidedly pious, and very benevolent. + They are Christians of the old school--still retain their + attachment to the singular phraseology which at one time was + much in vogue amongst our evangelical preachers--and have + imbibed a few opinions which, I think, need revision. + + "You appear to have had your peace disturbed, and your cheering + prospects darkened, by your intercourse with them; but be not + alarmed, as the more your faith is tried, the stronger it will + grow; and instead of sustaining any injury from the conflicting + elements of doubt and suspicion, which threaten to tear it up by + the roots, it will strike them still deeper and deeper in that + holy soil, in which it is ordained to flourish. + + "Your friends are not singular in their views of the nature of + faith, but I do not think that they are correct; and as you have + requested me to give you my opinion, I will cheerfully do so. + They confound a plenary conviction of the truth of the Christian + scheme of salvation, with an assurance of a personal interest + in its invaluable blessings. This is the error into which they + have fallen, and on the eve of which you are now standing; but + it does not require much force of reasoning to show its fallacy. + Faith is an assent of the mind to some truth, or some system + of truth, which is established by satisfactory evidence. As + this assent becomes weaker or stronger, in proportion to the + clearness and force of the evidence by which it is produced, a + full assurance of faith is that high degree of it which admits + of no suspicion. Hence, you are convinced that Jesus Christ came + into this world--that he sojourned in the land of Judea--that + he performed the miracles which are ascribed to him--that he + died on the cross to expiate the guilt of sin--rose from the + dead--and is now seated on the right hand of the majesty on + high, receiving there the ascriptions of praise from the lips of + the redeemed. + + "You want no miracle wrought in your presence to induce you to + believe this, because you believe it on the testimony of the + inspired writers; nor is it necessary that a voice should speak + to you from the celestial glory to confirm it. But though you + are fully convinced of these facts, yet you are not so fully + convinced that he died _for you_--or that he is gone to heaven + to prepare a mansion for you, in the house of his Father. + You believe that there is 'redemption through his blood, the + forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;' but + you sometimes doubt whether _you_ are redeemed and forgiven. You + believe that 'he is able to save them to the uttermost that come + unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for + them;' but you are not fully persuaded that he is interceding + for you. You feel your need of such a Saviour; and you know that + 'all that the Father giveth him shall come to him;' yet you + doubt whether the Father ever gave you to Christ, or whether + you have ever come unto him in a scriptural manner. You cannot + believe the truth of the gospel more firmly than you do believe + it--you cannot place a more entire dependence on Christ for + salvation than you do place--you cannot feel more disposed to + give him all the honour of your salvation than you do feel; and + yet, at times, you doubt your acceptance--your safety--and your + final blessedness. Does not this clearly prove that faith in + Christ, and an assurance of an interest in him, are essentially + distinct? + + "Nor can we doubt the correctness of this assertion, if we + attend to the order of the Spirit's operations on our mind. + He inclines us to believe the truth which he exhibits; and he + enables us to do it. 'For he shall not speak of himself; but + whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew + you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive + of mine, and shall shew it unto you; all things that the Father + hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, + and shall shew it unto you.' This is his _first_ act; but it is + a _later_ act, to bear testimony with our spirit that we are + born of God; and as some space of time must necessarily elapse + after he has performed the first act, before he performs the + second, it is evident that faith may exist in its purity, and + in its power, even when there is no assurance of it. Hence it + follows, that a person who relies on the atonement of Christ for + salvation is as safe, though he live and die without any firm + persuasion of his future blessedness, as one who is enabled to + rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Indeed, my dear Louisa, I + should tremble to make the final happiness of my soul depend, + in the slightest degree, on my personal assurance of its safety. + This would be nothing less than intermingling a personal + attainment with the efficacy of the Saviour's death; and placing + my hope of a blissful immortality on the precarious basis of a + fluctuating feeling, rather than on that immoveable foundation + which God has laid in Zion. If you peruse the biographies of + some of the most eminent Christians, you will perceive that + during their pilgrimage on earth, they frequently complained + of that alternation of feeling which you now experience; and + some have been left for days, and for months, to walk in mental + darkness without the light of the Divine countenance. Your + favourite poet, Cowper, was a man eminently embued with the + spirit of Christ; and yet in what a dark and gloomy frame of + mind did he leave this world. His biographer says, that within + a few days of his decease, after a near relative had been + attempting to cheer him with the prospect of exchanging a world + of infirmity and sorrow, for a far more exceeding and eternal + weight of glory, he threw from him the words of peace, and + exclaimed, 'Oh, spare me! spare me! You know, you _know_ it to + be false.' Having given utterance to this despairing language, + he sunk into a state of apparent insensibility, in which state + he continued for twelve hours, and then expired without moving a + limb, or even uttering a moan. Thus terminated the mortal career + of one of the greatest poets that ever consecrated the powers + of his mind to the cause of Christ: entering death's dark vale + without a ray of light to cheer him in his lonely passage. + + "But shall we say that he died without faith, because he + died without an assurance that he possessed it? Would not + such an opinion necessarily tend to destroy our confidence + in the sufficiency of the atonement of Christ, by making our + final happiness depend on the peculiar frame of our mind in + that solemn hour, when some latent physical cause may bring + over the spirit a gloom which no human effort can dispel? If + we _trust_ in Christ, we shall be saved; and though we may + sometimes doubt the genuine nature of our act of faith, yet + that circumstance will not endanger either our present safety + or our future blessedness. Indeed, I have known some most + exemplary Christians, who have trembled to speak with confidence + of attaining the recompense of reward. Removed at an equal + distance from the dread of perishing and an _assurance_ of being + saved, they have been enabled to cherish and display those + dispositions and principles which have satisfied their judgment + of their safety, without affording an entire relief to all their + anxieties. + + "But though, my dear Louisa, an assurance of your interest in + Christ is not essential to your salvation, yet it is essential + to your happiness. You cannot doubt it, without feeling a deep + pang; and if you should habitually doubt it, you will live in a + state of perpetual dejection. I urge you, then, to attain it in + the spring-time of your experience; or you may accustom yourself + to feel more inclined to cherish, than to expel despondency. + 'Wherefore,' says the apostle, 'give all diligence to make + your calling and election sure.' And that you may attain this + assurance of hope, which will be as an anchor of the soul + during the perils and conflicts of time, look up, by faith and + prayer, to the invisible Source of all consolation and joy; ever + remembering that 'the Spirit itself beareth witness with our + spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then + heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ' (Rom. viii. 16, + 17). This witnessing testimony is as necessary to superinduce + this assurance, as the precious blood of Christ is necessary to + remove the guilt of sin. Never forget this. + + "And if you should not immediately attain a full assurance + of your interest in Christ, do not suffer your mind to be + overwhelmed with anxiety; as this is an attainment which belongs + to the more advanced Christian, rather than to the young + disciple. It will not come at once by an overpowering force, + driving away every gloomy fear, and throwing open before you + a clear prospect of a blissful immortality, but gradually, at + intermitting seasons, weakening the strength of your doubts, and + strengthening the weakness of your faith; till at length the God + of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing. I was + much struck with a paragraph in a devotional treatise which I + recently perused, and which I here quote--'Great consolation + is often received at different seasons, even during the period + when our general feelings are intermingled with dark and painful + forebodings. Hence, the weakest believer sometimes returns from + the closet, and from the sanctuary, strong in faith, though he + may again relapse into his more stated frame of despondency. + The clouds occasionally separate, to enable him to view the Sun + of Righteousness, and feel the healing virtue of his presence, + though they may again unite to obscure his vision, and leave him + to grope on his 'darkling way.' These intermitting seasons of + darkness and light, of high enjoyment and deep dejection, have + a salutary effect, and serve to prepare him for that state of + settled assurance, which, in fact, they tend in some measure to + produce.' + + "As I have so far exceeded the ordinary bounds of a letter, I + shall not enter on the other very important questions to which + you refer in your last; but will do it at some future period. + It gives us great pleasure to hear that you have such an + excellent minister near you, and though he preaches in a chapel + which does not belong to our Establishment, yet, if he preach + Christ and him crucified, I have no doubt you will enjoy his + labours. The feet of the messenger that publisheth peace, are + no less beautiful on the mountains, than in the city; and his + proclamation is as interesting to the self-condemned sinner, + when delivered in the unconsecrated chapel, as in the majestic + cathedral; and though we may retain our partialities to forms + and places, yet, if we ever suffer our prejudices to deprive us + of our spiritual privileges, we shall be guilty of a suicidal + act against both our peace and steadfastness in the faith. + + "The account which you have given me of your sisters has + awakened an opposite class of feelings in my breast. Emma, I + fear, is under some fatal influence which you have not yet + detected, and will, unless subdued by the loving-kindness of God + our Saviour, devote herself to the pleasures of the world. Her + beauty has made her vain, and the versatility of her talents + is a snare to her. You must watch over her with great care, + and pray that He who called _you_ out of darkness into his + marvellous light, would be pleased to renew her in the spirit of + her mind. Jane is a lovely girl. She has an elegant mind, and if + the good work is begun in her heart, she will be an interesting + companion to you. Let me hear from you as soon as you can spare + a few moments from your numerous engagements, and believe me, + yours affectionately, + + E. LOADER." + + + + +FAMILY SKETCHES. + + +In a large family we often find that some of the children discover +a peculiar aversion to the religious habits which prevail amongst +them. Though the primary cause of this hostility may be traced +up to the depravity of our nature, yet we ought not to overlook +the secondary causes which may have contributed to its growth and +manifestation. For though there is an innate propensity to evil +in the heart, and though that propensity is much stronger in some +than in others, yet it rarely breaks through the barriers which a +judicious course of instruction throws up, unless it is brought into +contact with strong temptations, which _might_ have been guarded +against. Hence most pious parents, when mourning over the impiety +of their children, have to reproach themselves for some omissions +or compliances which have directly or indirectly tended to produce +the evil, and which very naturally lead to a fatal indifference +or open hostility to the claims of religion, which no subsequent +remonstrances are able to correct or control. + +This was the case in the family of the Holmes. Miss Emma was a +beautiful girl. Her manners were exceedingly graceful. She was +witty and satirical in her disposition, and from her childhood gave +unequivocal proofs that she required more than ordinary attention +in the cultivation of her mind and the formation of her character. +From the superior vivacity of her spirits, the playfulness of +her fancy, and her intellectual acuteness, she gained a powerful +ascendency over the affections of her parents, who, trusting too +much to the maturity of her judgment for the correction of budding +ills, paid less regard to the formation of her habits than they had +done with their other children. The partiality for dress, which she +discovered when a child, increased as she grew up, till at length +she lavished nearly the whole of her attention on her external +appearance. After having spent a few years in the establishment +where her elder sisters had finished their education, she was +sent, at the age of sixteen, to a fashionable boarding-school, +in which too much attention was paid to mere personal graces and +accomplishments. It was here that she formed an intimacy with the +daughter of Colonel Orme, who resided near the Elms, and which +proved a source of poignant sorrow to all the members of her family. +After leaving school, she was permitted by her unsuspecting parents +to exchange visits with her young friend, who was, by the influence +of her sentiments and example, gradually destroying that reverence +for the authority of religion, and that attachment to its practices, +which they were so anxious to cherish and to strengthen. Miss Holmes +saw with deep regret the fatal bias which her sister's mind was +receiving; and though she availed herself of every opportunity which +circumstances offered to check and subdue it, yet she constantly met +with determined resistance. + +"Indeed," said Emma, after her sister had been urging her to return +some novels which her friend had sent for her perusal, "I shall not +do it till I have read them. They are amusing and interesting; and +if they contain any objectionable sentiments, I can easily reject +them." + +"Yes, they may amuse and may interest, but they will not improve +your mind. They will give you false views of nature and the +world--imperceptibly reconcile you to sentiments and opinions at +which you would now shudder--induce such a love for the marvellous +and romantic that you will be dissatisfied with the dull uniformity +of life, and destroy all the religious impressions which our dear +parents have been so anxious to produce." + +"When I feel the injury to which you allude I will give them up, but +till then you must permit me to follow my own inclination without +control. I am old enough to judge for myself." + +Whether the varieties which are apparent in the human character are +to be traced up to the different methods employed in its formation, +or to some inherent peculiarity in the constitution of the mind, is +a much vexed question amongst philosophers. Education and example no +doubt exercise a most material influence, but they do not operate in +a uniform manner, as we have known the most opposite characters rise +out of the same family. To account for this, unless on the principle +that there is some inherent propensity in our nature, which gives +to each person an individuality of character, would be extremely +difficult, if not impossible, as we should naturally expect a +uniformity of result where the same means are taken to secure it, +unless there be some latent cause by which this is prevented. Hence +some of the most improved systems of education make provision +for a difference in the style of instruction, and in the mode of +treatment, to accord with the natural temper and inclination of the +pupil; supposing, that by such a judicious arrangement, his moral +and intellectual improvement may be more effectually advanced. + +But how often does even this method fail of accomplishing its +intended effect; as we see the children of a large family +discovering a diversity in their taste--their disposition--and their +habits--no less striking than they would have done, if no wisdom +or discretion had been employed in their cultivation. Meekness +and irritability--an affable demeanour, and a proud hauteur--a +placidness and tenderness of disposition, and a violence and +resentment of spirit--a love of display, and a native modesty which +withdraws from public notice--a passion for some individual pursuit, +and a restlessness which no object can fix--are the moral lights and +shadows which often fall on the members of the same family, giving +that variety of hue and tinge which we discover in the aspect of the +natural world. + +Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, in their plan of domestic government, +endeavoured to do three things--to attach their children to their +own home; to encourage them to repose unlimited confidence in +their parents; and to train them to cultivate pure and ardent love +for each other. By the adoption of these maxims, they displayed +their good sense and parental regard; as it is uniformly found, +that when a child outgrows his love for his father's house, he has +lost the sheet-anchor of his safety; that if he have not free and +unrestricted access to his parents, he will become suspicious of, +and estranged from them; and that if he feel no peculiar pleasure in +the society and interest in the welfare of the other branches of the +family, he will cherish a jealous and envious disposition, not more +destructive of their happiness than of his own. + +When speaking of the excellencies which so finely budded on the +opening character of some of their children, they often expressed +their regret at the unpromising appearances of others; yet indulged +the hope that they would outgrow their "flaws unseemly," and +ultimately display, not only the strength of reason, but the beauty +of virtue. As they advanced from childhood to youth, and from +youth to riper years, they gradually developed the peculiarities +of their tempers and dispositions, which were so dissimilar, that +no uniform mode of discipline could be adopted with any chance +of proving beneficial. Mr. Holmes was too much occupied in his +commercial affairs, to pay any great attention to his children +while they were young, and, therefore, the chief responsibility +of their education devolved on their mother, who, feeling anxious +to discharge the trust reposed in her, availed herself of all the +information which she could acquire. The following paragraph, +which she met with in a favourite author, gave her an insight into +the art of a judicious management. It inspired her with a good +hope respecting those who appeared the most unpromising, because +the most untractable:--"A discriminating teacher will appreciate +the individual character of each pupil, in order to appropriate +her management. We must strengthen the feeble, while we repel the +bold. We cannot educate by a _receipt_: for after studying the best +rules, and after digesting them into the best system, much must +depend on contingent circumstances; for that which is good may +be inapplicable. The cultivator of the human mind must, like the +gardener, study diversities of soil, or he may plant diligently, +and water faithfully, with little fruit. The skilful labourer knows +that, even when the surface is not particularly promising, there is +often a rough, strong ground, which will amply repay the trouble of +breaking it up; yet we are often most taken with a soft surface, +though it conceal a shallow depth, because it promises present +reward and little trouble. But strong and pertinacious tempers, +of which, perhaps, obstinacy is the leading vice, under skilful +management, often turn out steady and sterling characters; while, +from softer clay, a firm and vigorous virtue is but seldom produced. +Pertinacity is often principle, which wants nothing but to be led +to its true object; while the uniformly yielding, and universally +accommodating spirit, is not seldom the result of a feeble tone of +morals, of a temper eager for praise, and acting for reward." + +It is often remarked, that children are men and women in +miniature; and as they grow up to their full stature, we often +see them exhibiting, in broader and more palpable development, +the excellencies and defects of their juvenile character; but +when they are subjected to the operation of extraordinary causes, +they sometimes undergo an entire transformation, and become new +creatures. The most hopeless turn out the most valuable--those who +have inflicted the most pungent sorrow ultimately become the source +of the purest delight--the prematurely promising have faded in the +spring-time vigour of their virtue--and those who have been endowed +with the greatest talents have brought down the gray hairs of their +parents with sorrow to the grave. + +The eldest sons of this family, William and Edward, who succeeded +to the business when the father retired, had turned out everything +their parents could wish, but presented no prominent traits of +character, beyond that of well-conducted, pious young men. The +youngest son, John, who was devoted to the medical profession, +possessed more adroitness and vivacity than his brothers; but either +from the laxity of parental control, or the peculiar connections +which his pursuits in life led him to form, he disappointed the high +expectations which he had raised, and eventually became the source +of domestic grief. He was greatly attached to his sister Emma, whom +he most nearly resembled, not only in person, but in disposition; +and having imbibed sceptical notions on religious subjects, soon +after he commenced his professional studies, he infused them into +her mind, and thus did her great injury. There was an unobtrusive +modesty about Jane, which naturally induced her to retire from +public notice, and rendered her fully appreciated only by her more +intimate friends; while Emma's good qualities were unfortunately, +to a great extent, obscured by her inordinate vanity and desire of +admiration. The love of dress, as already mentioned, early took +possession of her mind, and her parents injudiciously nourished this +passion, by allowing her to do as she pleased in this respect, not +conceiving that by such a compliance she would sustain any moral +injury. But they lived to see and deplore their error. + +"It is a just remark," says an excellent writer, "that objects +in their own nature innocent, and entitled to notice, may become +the sources of disadvantage and of guilt; when, being raised from +the rank of trifles to ideal importance, they occupy a share of +attention which they do not deserve; and then they are pursued +with an immoderate ardour, which at once indisposes the mind +to occupations of higher concern, and clouds it with malignant +emotions." Perhaps there is no subject which will more strikingly +illustrate the correctness of this remark, than that passion for +fashionable attire by which some are enslaved. "If, in addition +to that reasonable degree of regard to propriety of dress, which +insures the strictest neatness, and a modest conformity, in +unobjectionable points, to the authority of custom, a young woman +permits her thoughts to be frequently engaged by the subject of +exterior ornaments, occupations of moment will be proportionably +neglected. From the complacency natural to all human beings, when +employed in contemplating objects by means of which the flattering +hope of shining is presented to them, she will be in the most +imminent danger of contracting a distaste to serious reflection, +and of being at length absorbed in the delusions of vanity and +self-love. It is, undoubtedly, a matter of indifference, whether a +lady's ribands be green or blue; whether her head be decorated with +flowers or with feathers; whether her gown be composed of muslin +or of silk. But it is no matter of indifference, whether the time +which she devotes to the determination of any of these points is +to be reckoned by hours or by minutes; or whether, on discovering +the elevation of her bonnet to be an inch higher or lower, and +its tint a shade lighter or darker, than the model which prevails +among her acquaintance, she is overwhelmed with consternation and +disappointment, or bears the calamity with the apathy of a stoic." + +The love of dress, like every other improper affection, has a +material influence over the formation of the character; and though +it operates by a silent process, yet it is invariably found to have +a pernicious tendency. It induces habits of expenditure, which are +often beyond the resources of the individual; saps the foundation +of morals, and involves in inextricable difficulties. Bills are +left unpaid, and every excuse and apology which ingenuity and +artifice can devise, is employed to silence the remonstrances of the +creditor--whom the debtor avoids with an instinctive dread, no less +sensitive than the child does the place supposed to be haunted by an +evil spirit. + +But, if the resources are sufficient to satisfy the demands of +justice, has benevolence no claim on the female sex? "The fact +is, that an unguarded fondness for ornament has been known, in +a multitude of examples, to overpower the natural tenderness of +the female mind, and to prevent the growth and establishment of +dispositions pronounced in the gospel to be indispensably requisite +to the Christian character. If the purse be generally kept low by +the demands of milliners, of mantua-makers, dealers in trinkets, and +of others who bear their part in adorning the person, little can be +allotted to the applications of charity. But charity requires, in +common with other virtues, the fostering influence of habit. If the +custom of devoting an adequate portion of the income to the relief +of distress be long intermitted, the desire of giving relief will +gradually be impaired. The heart forgets, by disuse, the emotions in +which it once delighted. The ear turns from solicitations now become +unwelcome. In proportion as the wants and the griefs of others are +disregarded, the spirit of selfishness strikes deeper and stronger +roots in the breast. Let the generous exertions of kindness be +tempered with discretion: but let a disposition to those exertions +be encouraged on principles of duty; and confirmed, in proportion +to the ability of the individual, by frequency of practice. Before +the world has repressed, by its interested lessons, the warmth of +youthful benevolence, let experience establish a conviction that +the greatest of all pleasures is to do good. She who has accustomed +herself to this delight, will not easily be induced to forego it. +She will feel, that whatever she is able, without penuriousness +or improper singularity, to withdraw from the expense of personal +ornament, is not only reserved for much higher purposes, but for +purposes productive of exquisite and permanent gratification. + +"Another, and a very important benefit which results from fixed +habits of moderation as to dress, and all points of a similar +nature, will be clearly discerned by adverting to the irreparable +evils into which young women are sometimes plunged by the contrary +practice. The lavish indulgence in which they have learned to seek +for happiness, becoming, in their estimation, essential to their +comfort, is able to bias their conduct in every important step. +Hence, in forming matrimonial connections, it exercises perhaps a +secret, but a very powerful influence. The prospect of wealth and +magnificence, of the continuance and of the increase of pleasures +supposed to flow from the pomp of dress and equipage, from sumptuous +mansions, showy furniture, and numerous attendants, dazzles the +judgment, imposes on the affections, conceals many defects in moral +character, and compensates for others. It frequently proves the +decisive circumstance which leads the deluded victim to the altar, +there to consign herself to splendid misery for life. + +"There are yet other consequences which attend an immoderate passion +for the embellishments of dress. When the mind is fixed upon objects +which derive their chief value from administering to vanity and the +love of admiration, the aversion, which almost every individual of +either sex is prone to feel towards a rival, is particularly called +forth. And when objects attainable so easily as exterior ornaments +occupy the heart, there will be rivals without number. Hence, it is +not uncommon to see neighbouring young women engaged in a constant +state of petty warfare with each other. To vie in ostentatiousness, +in costliness, or in elegance of apparel--to be distinguished by +novel inventions in personal decoration--to gain the earliest +intelligence respecting changes of fashion in the metropolis--to +detect, in the attire of a luckless competitor, traces of a mode +which for six weeks has been obsolete in high life--these frequently +are the points of excellence to which the force of female genius is +directed. In the meantime, while the mask of friendship is worn, +and the language of regard is on the tongue, indifference, disgust, +and envy are gradually taking possession of the breast; until, at +length, the unworthy contest, prolonged for years under habits +of dissimilation, by which neither of the parties are deceived, +terminates in the violence of an open rupture. + +"The Scriptures have spoken so plainly and so strongly respecting +solicitude about dress, that I cannot quit the subject without a +special reference to their authority. Our Saviour, in one of his +most solemn discourses, warns his followers against anxiety as to +'wherewithal they should be clothed,' in a manner particularly +emphatic, classing that anxiety with the despicable pursuits +of those who are studious 'what they shall eat, and what they +shall drink;' and by pronouncing all such cares to be among the +characteristics by which the heathens were distinguished. It +ought to be observed, that these admonitions of Christ respect men +no less than women. The apostle Paul speaks pointedly concerning +female dress, saying--'I will, in like manner also, that women adorn +themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety: +not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but, +which becometh women professing godliness, with good works.' In +another passage, St. Peter also speaks expressly of the female +sex: and primarily of married women, but in terms applicable with +equal propriety to the single--'Whose adorning, let it not be that +outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, and of +putting on of apparel. But let it be the hidden man of the heart' +(the inward frame and disposition of the mind), 'in that which is +not corruptible; even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, +which is in the sight of God of great price.' It would be too much +to assert, on the one hand, that it was the intention of either +of the apostles, in giving these directions, to proscribe the use +of the particular kinds of personal ornament which he specifies; +but, on the other hand, it was unquestionably the design of both, +to proscribe whatever may justly be styled solicitude respecting +any kind of personal decoration; and to censure those who, instead +of resting their claim to approbation solely on the tempers of the +soul, in any degree, should ambitiously seek to be noticed and +praised for exterior embellishments, as deviating precisely in +that degree from the simplicity and the purity of the Christian +character." + +The young ladies of the Holmes family, were allowed a stated income +to meet their current expenditure, besides receiving occasional +presents. One custom prevailed in this family, which the writer +hopes will never become extinct amongst us, as it belongs so +appropriately to the English character. The birthdays, especially +those of the parents, were duly celebrated, and an interchange of +presents made between the members of the family. On the occasion +of the recurrence of Mr. Holmes' birthday, which took place a few +weeks after the party referred to in the foregoing chapter, the +usual compliment of presents was made in the morning; and in the +afternoon, after the old gentleman's health, and many happy returns +of the day, had been drunk with due honours, he presented to each of +his daughters an envelope, containing a bank note for L20. + +In the evening, as the young ladies were taking their walk, their +conversation turned on the unexpected liberality of their father, +when Emma asked her sisters what they intended to purchase. + +"I intend," said Jane, "to purchase my freedom." + +"Your freedom, my dear!" said the facetious Emma; "I did not know +that you were in bondage to any man; but if you are, surely you do +not think of offering to pay him for your liberty?" + +"I am not," replied Jane, "in bondage to _any man_." + +"No! To whom then?" + +"To woman kind!" + +"Woman! What! Woman enslave her own sex!" + +"Even so." + +"What woman are you in bondage to?" + +"The mantua-maker! Here are the fetters of my captivity (exhibiting +the undischarged bills), which I will now go and break asunder, and +hope never more to wear them." + +"You are to be commended, my dear," said Miss Holmes, "and I hope +Emma will follow your example; for, with our liberal allowance, and +the presents we receive, we ought to have something to spare to the +claims of religion and benevolence, rather than have the disgrace of +unpaid bills lying in our drawers." + +"Indeed," Emma replied, "I think Papa gives away quite enough +to purchase our redemption from the taxes of charity. When I am +settled in life, it is my intention to appropriate a regular sum to +charitable purposes, but now I cannot afford it. We must be just +before we are generous." + +"On that maxim I shall act," said Jane; "I will discharge my debts +as an act of justice, and then I shall have it in my power to be +generous to the poor and needy." + +"I have no doubt, Emma," remarked Miss Holmes, "that you are +sincere in your proposed intentions respecting your future +charities; but I suspect, if you go upon the principle of waiting +till you are rich, you will never have anything to give. You must +know, dear Emma, if you reflect on the subject, that you are +now forming your habits for life--giving to your principles and +propensities a fixed and changeless tendency; and is it not of great +importance that you should begin now to cultivate the virtues of +charity and self-denial?" + +"It may be so, but there is no rule without an exception; and as +your habits and mine, dear sister, are so dissimilar, you cannot +expect that I can follow your example in all things." + +"Then, my dear, follow the example of Jane, and you will feel more +at ease; and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that those +you are indebted to are not distressed by the want of the money you +owe them." + +"Indeed, I am at ease. They charge enough, for the few articles I +purchase, to allow me to take a long credit." + +"That is very true. They charge in proportion to the length of +credit they give; and hence, you pay such an exorbitant price for +your dress. You impoverish yourself by the very method you employ in +expending your money; and never have the satisfaction of being free +from the pressing claims of dress-makers and milliners. Thus you +deny yourself the noble gratification of relieving the necessities +of others; for when an appeal is made to your benevolence, you are +obliged to resist it, because you have previously exhausted your +resources." + +"You reason admirably, dear sister, and I shall not forget your +observations; but I must get a new dress, as I have worn my old one +so long. I will spare something out of the next present Papa gives +me. I hope this will satisfy you, as you know I always keep my word." + +It is, generally, in the more private occurrences of domestic life, +that the peculiarities of the human mind are developed; and events, +trivial in themselves, often acquire a degree of importance from +the indications of character which they exhibit. The bestowment +of a birthday present, was an expression of paternal regard, but +what different dispositions and tendencies did it call forth, and +what a different moral effect did it produce!--Miss Holmes devoted +a portion of her present to the claims of charity and religion, and +with part of the remainder, she purchased a silver snuff-box, which +she presented to her father, with a few appropriate verses. Jane, +who had been enticed into extravagance by following the example of +her sister Emma, went and discharged her debts; while Emma, after +ordering her dress, and paying a sum towards her previous account, +took a fancy to a beautiful shawl, and ordered it to be sent to the +Elms, and in this way got deeper in debt than she had been before. + + + + +AMUSEMENTS. + + +Miss Orme, the friend of Emma Holmes, accepted an invitation to +spend a few weeks at the Elms, and being aware of the religious +habits of the family, she resolved to conform to them with the +most scrupulous exactness. When she played, she generally selected +sacred music, as a compliment to the taste of her pious friends; and +even condescended to accompany them to chapel, though she avowed +her decided preference for the forms and ceremonies of the Church. +She was naturally of a very pliable disposition, and had she been +under a different course of moral training, she might have devoted +her attention to the claims of religion; but being surrounded by +the fascinations of gay life, and taught to regard the pursuit of +pleasure as the chief end of her existence, she became one of the +most zealous devotees that ever bowed down at the shrine of fashion. +She possessed an intelligent mind; but the books she read, and +the subjects on which she generally conversed, had a tendency to +impair its strength, and to keep it from ranging in the field of +useful knowledge. She was rather shrewd, and would sometimes make a +reply, or give a turn to an observation with considerable effect; +but her resources were soon exhausted, and she would fall back into +a state of ennui, unless the conversation related to the fashions +or the amusements of the day, and then she would speak with great +fluency and animation. In her disposition, she was so good-natured +and amiable, that she would bear reproof with the utmost degree of +mildness, but never thought of amending her ways; would acknowledge +herself in the wrong, when it was pointed out to her, yet persisted +in its practice; and often confessed that she had no doubt but +a religious life was most acceptable to our Maker, yet as often +expressed her astonishment that any young person could think of +becoming religious. + +As Mr. Holmes could not conscientiously suffer his daughters to +attend any of the public amusements to which society devotes such a +considerable portion of its time, he endeavoured to compensate for +the loss of such sources of gratification, by making them happy in +their home; and by treating them with occasional excursions, where +they might enjoy a change of air and of scenery, without running the +risk of sustaining any moral injury. To gratify her friend, Emma had +persuaded her father to take them to Windsor, where they were to +spend one night, and return the following day; but there had been +so much rain in the early part of the morning, and it continued to +descend in such torrents, that they were obliged to postpone their +visit. This disappointment was borne with great cheerfulness by all +but Miss Orme, who felt it to be a most irksome burden, and said +more than once during the day, "What a misfortune that Providence +should allow it to rain to-day, when, I suppose, he knew we were +going to Windsor!" + +"Why, perhaps," said Mr. Holmes, "he has sent the rain to prevent +some calamitous accident." + +"Dear Sir, do you think he ever pays any attention to us, and such +little things as a pleasure excursion?" + +"Yes, most certainly. Our Saviour says--'Are not two sparrows sold +for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall to the ground without +your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.'" + +"Then of course it is so, but it never struck me before. I always +thought that God looked after other worlds and their inhabitants, +and that he left us to our fate." + +"You forget the first petition in the Lord's Prayer--'_Our Father_, +who art in heaven.' A kind father--and God is love--pays great +attention to his children." + +"Exactly so, Sir, but it never struck me before." + +As she was sauntering up and down the house, leaning on the arm of +Emma, bitterly deploring the continued descent of the rain, which +precluded the hope of their getting out of doors, she broke in upon +Miss Holmes, busily engaged in finishing a dress for a poor woman, +who was daily expecting the birth of her firstborn. + +"I beg your pardon, Miss Holmes, for this act of intrusion. We are +sauntering away dull time." + +"Walk in, and I will give you some employment." + +"Indeed, I am not fit for work. This is one of the dullest days +of my life. I wish the rain was over and gone. Is it not a great +misfortune that it should come to-day?" + +"Perhaps, my dear Miss Orme, it is sent by our heavenly Father to +prevent some greater misfortune." + +"That's what your Papa has just been telling us. What a striking +coincidence between his sentiments and yours! They are new ideas to +me. Very devout and proper." + +"Sister is Papa's living echo," remarked Emma. + +"As you two idlers," said Miss Holmes, "have nothing to do but +saunter away time, perhaps (addressing Miss Orme) you would have no +objection to read, it may prove a little relief to your dulness." + +There were several books lying on the table, which she carelessly +examined and closed, when Emma said, "Here is one which you have +not seen." She took it, read the title--_An Inquiry into the Duties +of the Female Sex_. "A learned dissertation, I have no doubt, on +woman. I wonder what he says. He has, I see, a chapter on the +employment of time; shall I read that, Miss Holmes?" + +"If you please." + +"Time is a sacred trust consigned to us by the Creator of the +universe. To use it well is a lesson which duty and reason concur +to suggest. The duration of the period to be confided to our +management, though predetermined in the counsels of Omniscience, +is undisclosed to the individual concerned, and is placed beyond +the reach of calculation; that uncertainty respecting the future +may operate as a continual and powerful admonition wisely to employ +the present hour. Would you perceive the ingratitude and folly of +squandering so precious a deposit? Reflect on the gracious purposes +for the accomplishment of which it is committed to you. Reflect how +plainly incompatible a habit of squandering it is, with the frame +of mind which is the fruit of Christianity. Reflect on the infinite +importance which you will hereafter attach to time past, when the +consequences flowing from the right or wrong use of it, will be +discerned and felt by you in their full extent." + +"This is too grave a subject for me," said Miss Orme. "It will just +add to the load of melancholy on my mind, which is already oppressed +beyond endurance by the horrid gloom of the weather. I am fond of +reading, but I prefer the lighter productions of the press." She +closed the book and was taking up another, when Miss Holmes said, +"You will oblige me by reading another paragraph in that chapter, +which may prove advantageous to you, even though it may not exactly +accord with your present taste." + +"Certainly, if you wish it." + +"To every woman, whether single or married, the habit of regularly +allotting to improving books a portion of each day, and, as far +as may be practicable, at stated hours, cannot be too strongly +recommended. I use the term _improving_ in a large sense; as +comprehending all writings which may contribute to her virtue, +her usefulness, and her innocent gratification--to her happiness +in this world and in the next. She who believes that she is to +survive in another state of being through eternity, and is duly +impressed by the awful conviction, will fix, day by day, her most +serious thoughts on the inheritance to which she aspires. Where the +treasure is, there will her heart be also. She will not be seduced +from an habitual study of the Holy Scriptures, and of other works +calculated to imprint on her mind the comparatively small importance +of the pains and pleasures of this period of existence; and to +fill her with that knowledge, and inspire her with those views and +dispositions, which may lead her to delight in the present service +of her Maker, and enable her to rejoice in the contemplation of +futurity. At other seasons, let history, let biography, let poetry, +or some of the various branches of elegant and profitable knowledge, +pay their tribute of instruction and amusement. But let whatever +she peruses in her most private hours be such as she needs not to +be ashamed of reading aloud to those whose good opinion she is most +anxious to deserve. Let her remember that there is an all-seeing +eye, which is ever fixed upon her, even in her closest retirement. +Let her not indulge herself in the frequent perusal of writings, +however interesting in their nature, however eminent in a literary +point of view, which are likely to inflame pride, and to inspire +false notions of generosity, of feeling, of spirit, or of any other +quality. Such, unhappily, are the effects to be apprehended from +the works even of several of our distinguished writers, in prose +and in verse. And let her accustom herself regularly to bring the +sentiments which she reads, and the conduct which is described in +terms, more or less strong, of applause and recommendation, to the +test of Christian principles. In proportion as this practice is +pursued or neglected, reading will be profitable or pernicious." + +"Now, really, my dear Miss Holmes," said Miss Orme, stopping short, +"I cannot go on with such reading. Have you nothing in the shape +of a novel? I can take an interest in _that_. You object to such +compositions, I believe?" + +"Yes." + +"But why, when they display so much ingenuity, are so delightful, +and have such a good moral tendency?" + +"I cannot reply to your present remark in more forcible language +than the writer has done, whose book you hold in your hand, and if +you will permit me I will read an extract." + +"Very well," replied Miss Orme, with a yawn. + +"Works of this nature not unfrequently deserve the praise of +ingenuity of plan and contrivance, of accurate and well-supported +discrimination of character, and of force and elegance of language. +Some of them have professedly been composed with a design to favour +the interests of morality. And among those which are deemed to +have, on the whole, a moral tendency, a very few, perhaps, might +be selected, which are not liable to the disgraceful charge of +being occasionally contaminated by incidents and passions unfit +to be represented to the reader. This charge, however, may so +very generally be alleged with justice, that even of the novels +which possess high and established reputation, by far the greater +number is totally improper, in consequence of such admixture, to +be perused by the eye of delicacy. Poor indeed are the services +rendered to virtue by a writer, however he may boast that the +object of his performance is to exhibit the vicious as infamous +and unhappy, who, in tracing the progress of vice to infamy and +unhappiness, introduces the readers to scenes and language adapted +to wear away the quick feelings of modesty, which form at once +the ornament and safeguard of innocence; and, like the bloom upon +a plum, if once effaced, commonly disappear for ever. To indulge +in a practice of reading novels is, in several other particulars, +liable to produce mischievous effects. Such compositions are, to +most people, extremely engaging. That story must be singularly +barren, or wretchedly told, of which, having heard the beginning, we +desire not to know the end. To the pleasure of learning the ultimate +fortunes of the heroes and heroines of the tale, the novel commonly +adds, in a greater or less degree, that which arises from animated +description, from lively dialogue, or from interesting sentiment. +Hence, the perusal of one publication of this class leads, with much +more frequency than is the case with respect to works of other kinds +(except, perhaps, of dramatic writings, to which most of the present +remarks may be transferred), to the speedy perusal of another. +Thus a habit is formed--a habit at first, perhaps, of limited +indulgence--but a habit that is continually found more formidable +and more encroaching. The appetite becomes too keen to be denied; +and in proportion as it is more urgent, grows less nice and select +in its fare. What would formerly have given offence now gives none. +The palate is vitiated or made dull. The produce of the book-club, +and the contents of the circulating library, are devoured with +indiscriminate and insatiable avidity. Hence, the mind is secretly +corrupted. Let it be observed too, that in exact correspondence +with the increase of a passion for reading novels, an aversion to +reading of a more improving nature will gather strength. Even in +the class of novels least objectionable in point of delicacy, false +sentiment unfitting the mind for sober life, applause and censure +distributed amiss, morality estimated by an erroneous standard, and +the capricious laws and empty sanctions of honour set up in the +place of religion, are the lessons usually presented. There is yet +another consequence too important to be overlooked. The catastrophe +and the incidents of these fictitious narratives commonly turn on +the vicissitudes and effects of a passion, the most powerful which +agitates the human heart. Hence, the study of them frequently +creates a susceptibility of impression, and a premature warmth of +tender emotions, which, not to speak of other possible effects, have +been known to betray young women into a sudden attachment to persons +unworthy of their affection, and thus to hurry them into marriages +terminating in unhappiness." + +"He reasons excellently well against such books; but to be candid, +dear Miss Holmes, and I know you idolize candour, I must confess I +am rather partial to them. They serve to beguile away the tedious +hours of unoccupied time, and remove us to an enchanted land where +we forget the mortifications of life. Then they often enable us to +get through a day with tolerable composure, when we are prevented +taking our walks or drives abroad. And what a relief do they afford +us when indisposed! Indeed, I don't know what I should do, if I were +interdicted from such a source of exquisite gratification." + +"I have no doubt but such reading affords you gratification, and +enables you to get through the tedious hours of time with some +degree of patience; but is it profitable? Does it enlarge and +strengthen the intellectual faculty, or extend the boundary of our +practical knowledge? Does it refine the _moral_ taste, or call into +action the best feelings of our nature? Does it tend to prepare us +for our final destiny, as candidates for immortality?" + +"Well, I don't know. Then, as you object to the novel, I presume you +are equally averse to the card-table?" + +"I am." + +"But why, when it affords so much gratification?" + +"Because it often gives rise to a passion for gaming, which has +brought many to ruin." + +"Well, I will admit, that it does sometimes lead to such a fatal +issue; but I will suppose a case which frequently occurs in social +life. A virtuous family receives a visit from a few select friends; +and in the evening the card-tables are brought out, and they divide +themselves into small parties, and play a few games for their own +amusement, without risking more than a few shillings. Now, what evil +can result from such a method of passing away the evening?" + +"In the first place, there is a great sacrifice of time, without any +adequate compensation. If the time thus devoted to an unprofitable +amusement were employed in instructive conversation, some moral +benefit would result from it. Then important and interesting +questions might be discussed and answered--the events of the day +would pass under review--enlivening anecdotes might be told--and +every one would have an opportunity of displaying and increasing the +resources of his mind." + +"But, begging pardon for interrupting you, does not the +introduction of cards, by occupying the attention of a party, +prevent the conversation from degenerating into gossip and scandal? +This advantage you have overlooked, but I have no doubt, on +reflection, you will admit it to be a very important one." + +"Why not, dear Miss Orme, allow a sense of honour and strict +integrity to impose restraint on the tongue of scandal, without +requiring the charm of the card-table to do it? This principle, when +inwrought in the mind, will be always present, and vigilant in the +exercise of its restraining power; but you cannot always have the +card-table with you. But now to advert to the hypothetical case of +the virtuous family receiving a visit from a few select friends. +I admit, that they may sustain no positive injury, either moral +or social, by spending the evening together in such a way; but if +we advert to some facts which have come within our own knowledge, +we must admit, that some of the party may sustain great, if not +irreparable injury. I know a lady who never touched a pack of +cards till after her marriage, but as soon as she did touch them, +she became passionately fond of them. She first played with her +husband--then a few select friends were invited to the game--then +larger parties thronged her drawing-room--till at length, the +passion became so inveterate in its influence over her, that she +neglected all her domestic duties, involved her husband in pecuniary +embarrassments by the sums she lost; and eventually abandoned her +home and children, with a worthless wretch, who, after degrading +her, threw her off on the merciless contempt of the world! In a +conversation which I lately had with her, when endeavouring to +point her to Him who came to save sinners (for she is now in the +last stage of a decline), she owned that her ruin was owing to her +passion for cards, which became so strong that she was unable to +control it." + +"This is a most painful case," observed Miss Orme: "happily an +extreme one!" + +"I admit this; but there is no disputing this fact, that +card-playing very frequently kindles in the female breast, no less +than in the breast of the other sex, a passion for gaming. Yes, many +a husband would have been saved from ruin, if his wife had employed +that influence to subdue his passion for the card-table, which she +has employed to keep it alive and vigorous. She has lived to deplore +the evil, when it has become irreparable." + +"Both the novel and the card-table," remarked Emma, "are the +forbidden fruit of our Eden." + +"I have no doubt, my dear," replied Miss Orme, "that your parents +act conscientiously in prohibiting novels and cards; but you know +that religious people, in general, do so: though I have known some +rather conspicuous professors who have not objected to play a game +at whist after family prayer in the evening." + +"Yes, and so have I. I was on a visit at Mr. Ridout's, some few +months since, when the card-table was brought out for our amusement; +and I don't know when I have spent a more pleasant evening." + +"And who is Mr. Ridout, my dear? Is he a pious man, or does he +belong to the world?" + +"He professes to be a pious man; and I should suppose he is one, for +he has prayer in his family morning and evening." + +"Had he family prayer, the evening you refer to, _before_ or _after_ +the games were introduced?" + +"O! it was omitted that evening." + +"And why, Emma," here interposed Miss Holmes, "was it omitted? Was +it not because he was ashamed to place the Bible on the same table +with the cards; and because, after enticing others to a conformity +to the customs of the world, he could not, in their presence, go and +pray, that they might be renewed in the spirit of their mind? Do you +recollect the remark which you made on your return home?" + +"It has escaped my recollection." + +"That he wanted only one thing to finish his character." + +"And did I say what that one thing was?" + +"Yes; you said, and said very justly, it was consistency." + +"O! I recollect, that was the opinion I then entertained." + +"And have you changed your opinion? Do you not think that religious +people ought to abstain from the appearance of evil? Does your +moral sense, dear Emma, receive no offence, when you see a person, +who makes a profession of personal piety, acting like a worldling?" + +"Yes, it does. I remember that droll creature, Bessie Lane, came and +whispered in my ear, just as we began a fresh game,--'Make haste, +as Mr. Ridout has just rung the bell for prayers!' This remark was +heard by all our party; and I must confess that I was hurt by some +of the observations which were made." + +"I don't know," said Miss Orme, "why the most religious people may +not indulge themselves in these amusements as well as others; but +certainly we think it strange when they do so." + +"I love consistency," replied Miss Holmes. "If a family have prayer, +they ought not, in my opinion, to spend the evenings in games which +certainly have not a religious tendency; and if they have these +games, they had better leave off prayer, as they cannot be prepared +for it. I knew a young friend, the daughter of pious parents, who +once had her mind very deeply impressed by a sense of the vanity +of the world and the importance of religion; but in consequence of +paying a visit to the house of a professor, who in the temple was +grave, and in the parlour gay--who alternately played and prayed, +sang songs or psalms, as fancy dictated--she lost all her pious +impressions, and from that time she became inveterately averse to +religion; and in a conversation which passed between us only a few +days since, a reference being made to it, she frankly said she could +not conquer her aversion, and she thought she never should. Example +has a powerful influence, especially in doing moral injury; but the +most pernicious and dangerous, is the example of a religious man who +acts in opposition to the obligations of his profession--who, while +he professes to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, displays a spirit +that is at variance with the sacredness of that character--and +retains his religious habits, even while he conforms to the customs +of the world." + +"Well, my dear Miss Holmes, no one will impeach your consistency; +for you are, without exception, one of the most decidedly religious +I ever knew." + +"Yes," said Emma, "my sister goes rather too far; and I sometimes +tell her that she is in danger of becoming a Pharisee. She sees, +or think she sees, a dangerous moral tendency in almost every +amusement; and such is the influence she possesses over the fears of +our parents, that they are kept in a state of constant terror lest I +should read a novel or dance a polka." + +"And is it possible, my dear Miss Holmes, that either you or +your parents can object to dancing!--an exercise so conducive to +health--so calculated to give elegance to the form, to the walk, +and to the action--an accomplishment of so much importance, that no +female can be fit to move in polished society who has not attained +it? I believe you learned at school, dear Emma; did you not?" + +"Yes; but now I am not permitted to go out to parties, which I +consider very mortifying. My parents allowed me to learn; and now +I have learned, and am fond of the amusement, they will not suffer +me to practise, except at home, where we never have any dancing +parties." + +"This is sadly mortifying." + +"They permitted you to learn dancing," replied her sister, "that you +might derive from it those personal accomplishments which Miss Orme +has so well described; but as they are aware of its dangerous moral +tendency, they very properly object to your going into large mixed +parties." + +"Then ought they not to have refused letting me learn to dance, if +they intended to deny me the pleasure of it?[23] This is like a +father teaching his son the art of engraving, and then taking away +his tools lest he should be transported for coining." + + [23] The author knows a lady who, when young, requested her pious + father to permit her to learn to dance. "No, my child," he replied, + "I cannot consent to comply with a request which may subject me to + your censures at some future period." "No, father, I will never + censure you for complying with my request." "Nor can I consent to + give you an opportunity. If you learn, I have no doubt but you will + excel; and when you leave school, you may then want to go into + company to exhibit your skill. If I then object to let you, as I + most likely should, you would very naturally reply, Why, father, + did you permit me to learn, if I am not permitted to practise?" + This reply convinced her that her father acted wisely, though he + opposed her inclination: and though she did learn, yet, not having + his consent, she never ventured to expose herself to the dangers of + the assembly-room; as she well knew that she could not do it without + grieving her affectionate father. She is now become a parent; has + often mentioned this occurrence as having had a powerful moral + influence over her mind in her young and thoughtless days; and has + incorporated this maxim in her system of domestic management--Never + to comply with a request which may subject her to any future + reflections from her children. + +"You may dance for the purposes for which you were permitted to +learn; but I appeal to your good sense, if it be not an act of +kindness, on the part of our parents, in withholding their consent +from your visiting the ball-room, when they apprehend you will +sustain some moral injury?" + +"But you know, dear Miss Holmes," remarked Miss Orme, "that +the chief gratification which we derive from any attainment or +accomplishment, is the opportunity of displaying it. What pleasure +would there be in learning to paint, unless we had the liberty +of exhibiting our drawings--or who would submit to the labour of +learning the notes of the gamut, if, after she has succeeded, she is +to be prohibited from playing?" + +"We certainly ought to acquire the accomplishments which are +necessary to fit us to act our parts in refined society; but to +acquire them for the purpose of mere display, will be productive of +two evils: in the first place, it will injure the moral tone of our +mind; and, in the next place, it will expose us to the severe satire +of the opposite sex, who have little charity for female vanity." + +"I am sure the gentlemen admire a lady who can sing well, and play +well, and dance well, and move with grace as she enters or leaves a +room." + +"Yes, my dear Miss Orme; but if she have no higher accomplishments, +though she may be admired, she will not be respected; she may have +her name mentioned with _eclat_ in the circles of fashion, but she +will not be held in esteem among the wise and the good; and she may +do very well as a partner for a quadrille, but no man of sense would +think of her as his companion for life. The bee is an insect of more +value than the butterfly." + +"But do you wish the assembly-rooms deserted? If so, I fear you +will never have your wishes realized. But, to come to the point, +what are the evils which you think result from such scenes of +amusement?" + +"I do not expect to see such places deserted, as they hold out so +many attractions; but they are productive of so many evils, that I +consider them essentially injurious to the morals of society. There +is the expense which they incur, and the long train of evils which +often follow. What costly dresses! What a profusion of useless +ornaments must be purchased, beside the incidental items of expense +in going and returning, and paying for the admission ticket! If +the whole expense of one evening's gratification were accurately +calculated, it would astonish us. And what is the consequence of +this? The bills of tradesmen are often left undischarged--the claims +of benevolence are rejected--and a habit of useless extravagance is +formed, which extends its destructive influence to other branches +of domestic expenditure. But I have a still more serious objection +to urge against such scenes of amusement: the perilous risk which a +female often runs. She goes clad in a light attire--moves about in a +warm room--and then suddenly exposes herself, without any adequate +increase of clothing, to a cold and damp atmosphere, by which she +often sacrifices her health, and sometimes her life." + +"But you know, Miss Holmes, that this objection will apply with +equal force against our attending a crowded place of worship." + +"Not with equal force; because in a place of worship we remain still +during the time of service, and usually go in warmer, not to say in +more decent attire. The moral influence which such public amusements +have over the mind, is another very powerful objection against them. +By your permission I will read a paragraph from a good writer, who +expresses himself in very correct and forcible language:--'The +objects which, during the season of youth, most easily excite vanity +and envy in the female breast, are those which are presented in the +ball-room. This is deemed the stage for displaying the attractions, +by the possession of which a young woman is apt to be most elated; +and they are here displayed under circumstances most calculated to +call forth the triumph and the animosities of personal competition. +This triumph and these animosities betray themselves occasionally to +the least discerning eye. But were the recesses of the heart laid +open, how often would the sight of a stranger, of an acquaintance, +even of a friend, superior for the evening in the attractions of +dress, or enjoying the supposed advantage of having secured a +wealthier, a more lively, a more graceful, or a more fashionable +partner, be found to excite feelings of disgust and of aversion, +not always stopping short of malevolence! How often would the +passions be seen inflamed, and every nerve agitated, by a thirst for +precedence; and invention be observed labouring to mortify a rival +by the affectation of indifference or of contempt!'" + +"But do you not think it possible for a female to attend a ball +without having her breast inflated with vanity, or surcharged with +envy?" + +"I certainly admit that it is possible, but not probable. If she +excel others in the richness or the elegance of her dress, or if +she receive any peculiar marks of attention, will she not feel +the flush of vain-glory? And if others excel her, or receive more +marked attentions, will she not retire from the company stung with +envy? And can either of these passions be excited without producing +some demoralizing effect? If she become devoted to her personal +decoration, she will be under a strong temptation to neglect the +improvement of her mind; and while this passion enslaves and governs +her, the more amiable and lovely graces will be neglected. And if +she become envious of the superior attainments or honours of others, +she will be restless--mortified, consume her time and expend her +money in making useless efforts to equal or surpass them, and may be +induced to invent or to circulate tales of calumny to their injury." + +"But you do not mean to say that these effects are invariably +produced?" + +"Not invariably; because there are some females who merely visit +these places as a passing compliment to the fashion of the +age. They attend as spectators of the scene, rather than as +actors[24]--to oblige a friend, rather than gratify themselves; +and having accomplished the design of their visit, they retire +uninjured, because they felt no desire to be seen or heard, alike +indifferent whether they have been the objects of attention or have +remained unnoticed." + + [24] The author has known some professors of evangelical religion + who have occasionally frequented these scenes of amusement; and + though he would not condemn them as insincere in their religious + profession, yet he cannot conceive how they can approve of their own + conduct. If they go occasionally, others will feel at liberty to go + habitually; and though they may go, and retire without sustaining + any material injury to their principles, yet they know not how much + injury their example may do to others, and especially their own + children. + +"You have stated the evils which you think often result from such +public amusements, but you have made no allusion to the advantages +which attend them; amongst which I reckon, the introduction which +they give to the best society. You know that we are confined within +the precincts of home--our duties and pursuits are of the more +retired order--and though we may take our walks, and occasionally go +to Bath or Cheltenham, or some other fashionable resort, yet, if it +were not for these public amusements, we should have no opportunity +of being introduced to the company of the other sex. Here we are +brought together; and you know, dear Miss Holmes, that the most +important consequences often follow." + +"Very true; but these important consequences are not always the most +beneficial. The writer to whom I have previously referred, has made +some good remarks on this subject, which, by your permission, I will +read to you:-- + +"'An evil of great moment, which is too frequently known to occur +at the places of amusement now under notice, is the introduction of +women to undesirable and improper acquaintance among the other sex; +undesirable and improper, as I would now be understood to mean, in +a moral point of view. Men of this description commonly abound at +all scenes of public resort and entertainment, who are distinguished +by fortune and birth--gay and conciliating manners--and every +qualification which is needful to procure a favourable reception +in polite company. Hence, when they propose themselves as partners +in an assembly-room, a lady does not always find it easy, according +to the rules of decorum, to decline the offer; and she is sometimes +enticed, by their external appearance, and by having seen other +ladies ambitious of dancing with them, into a reprehensible +inclination not to decline it. + +"'Women, in various occurrences of life, are betrayed by a dread +of appearing ungenteelly bashful, and by a desire of rendering +themselves agreeable, into an indiscreet freedom of manners and +conversation with men of whom they know perhaps but little; and +still more frequently, into a greater degree of freedom with those +of whom they have more knowledge than can fitly be indulged, except +towards persons with whom they are connected by particular ties. +The temptation is in no place more powerful than in a ball-room. +Let not indiscriminate familiarity be shown towards all partners, +nor injudicious familiarity towards any. To reject every boisterous +and unbecoming mode of dancing, and to observe, in every point, the +strictest modesty in attire, are cautions on which, in addressing +women of delicacy, it is surely needless to insist.'" + +"Well, I assure you, my dear Miss Holmes, I think both you and the +writer you have just quoted, overrate the dangers to which we are +exposed by attending such scenes of amusement; for I have never +known a friend injured by them, nor have I ever heard of such a +thing." + +"You forget what befell Miss Moss."[25] + + [25] Miss Moss was a young lady of rare accomplishments--the only + child of a pious and affectionate mother. Shortly after leaving + school, she succeeded, with much difficulty, in obtaining her + mother's reluctant consent to go _once_ to the assembly-room, just + to see the parties. She was dressed most elegantly; and having a + graceful form, and a fine open countenance, glowing with health, + she excited considerable attention. One gentleman, who had been + very polite during the evening, and who was her superior in rank, + solicited the honour of conducting her home, which was granted. + Having ascertained the usual time and place of her evening walk, he + met her--made her an offer, which she accepted; when, having secured + her affections, he accomplished her ruin, and left her. This broke + her mother's heart, and eventually broke her own; and the parent and + the daughter were buried in the same grave, at the distance of about + six months from each other's funeral, each deploring, when too late, + the danger resulting from the assembly-room. Nor is this an uncommon + instance. At these places the spirits of evil resort, availing + themselves of the freedom of intercourse which is tolerated; and + having marked their victim, they proceed, with all the cunning and + duplicity of the author of all evil, to accomplish their unhallowed + purpose. If, then, parents wish to preserve the honour of their + children uncontaminated, or if females, who are grown to years of + discretion, wish to avoid the snares in which others have been + overtaken, they ought to shun the resorts of the licentious and + impure, as no one can be safe in their society. + +"I beg pardon. I do. Ah! that was a tragical event." + +"And how many tragical events have risen out of these scenes of +amusement! You have read, I have no doubt, the following account +of one which befell a very holy man:--'When Herod's birth-day was +kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. +Whereupon he promised, with an oath, to give her whatsoever she +would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, +Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was +sorry: nevertheless, for the oath's sake, and them which sat with +him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and +beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, +and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.' How this +damsel could so far subdue the common feelings of human nature, and +still more the natural tenderness of her own sex, as not only to +endure so disgusting a spectacle, but even to carry the bleeding +trophy in triumph to her mother, is not easy to imagine; but it +shows, that a life of fashionable gaiety and dissipation not only +prevents the growth of the more amiable and useful virtues, but +sometimes calls into action those feelings and passions which lead +to rapine and murder." + +The late excellent Bishop Horne closes his life of St. John in such +a forcible and beautiful manner, that the author does not conceive +it necessary to offer any apology to his readers for its insertion +on the present occasion:-- + +"The Baptist's fate being determined, 'immediately the king sent an +executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went, and +beheaded him in the prison.' This deed of darkness must have been +done in the season proper for it--the middle of the night; and +St. John was probably awakened, to receive his sentence, out of +that sleep which truth and innocence can secure to their possessor +in any situation. The generality of mankind have reason enough to +deprecate a sudden death, lest it should surprise them in one of +their many unguarded hours. But to St. John no hour could be such. +He had finished the work which God had given him to do. He had +kept the faith, and preserved a conscience void of offence. He had +done his duty, and waited daily and hourly, we may be sure, for +his departure. He was now, therefore, called off from his station +with honour--to quit the well-fought field for the palace of the +Great King--to refresh himself, after the dust, and toil, and heat +of the day, by bathing in the fountain of life and immortality--to +exchange his blood-stained armour for a robe of glory--and to have +his temporary labours rewarded with eternal rest--to sit down with +Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God--and as the +friend of the Bridegroom, to enter into the joy of his Lord. From +the darkness and confinement of a prison, he passed to the liberty +and light of heaven; and while malice was gratified with a sight +of his head, and his body was carried by a few friends in silence +to the grave, his immortal spirit repaired to a court, where no +Herod desires to have his brother's wife--where no Herodias thirsts +after the blood of a prophet--where he who hath laboured with +sincerity and diligence in the work of reformation is sure to be +well received--where holiness, zeal, and constancy are crowned, and +receive palms from the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world. + + 'So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed, + And yet anon uprears his drooping head, + And tricks his beams, and with new spangled ore, + Flames in the forehead of the morning sky-- + He hears the unexpressive nuptial song + In the blest kingdoms meek of joy and love. + There entertain him all the saints above, + In solemn troops and sweet societies; + That sing, and singing in their glory move, + And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes.'"--MILTON. + + + + +THE UNHAPPY ATTACHMENT. + + +The institution of marriage is a provision made by Divine Providence +to promote human happiness; but owing to the imprudence and haste +with which it is sometimes contracted, it not unfrequently becomes a +source of extreme wretchedness. This union should never be formed, +except by those who have a strong affection for each other; and even +then, the utmost degree of prudence should regulate their conduct, +both in the appointment of the time when it should take place, and +the adjustment of the various interests which it involves. When +persons marry mainly for the purpose of adding to their worldly +estate, or obtaining a higher position in society, it rarely +happens that an alliance entered into from such motives can be +productive of domestic happiness. And even when the purest feelings +of affection and love influence the youthful pair, inspiring them +with the determination to sacrifice the esteem of friends, and the +attractions of this world's wealth, rather than break the solemn vow +and separate for life, they should beware of rashness and headlong +impetuosity, pondering well the desirableness of the connection they +are about to form, and feeling well assured that it is really a step +which must conduce to their welfare. + +When persons, who have no parents or judicious friends whom they can +consult, are making arrangements for marriage, they should exercise +more than ordinary discretion, lest they plunge themselves into +difficulties from which no one can rescue them. But when parents +are living, not to consult them, and pay some degree of deference +to their opinion, is an offence against the law of propriety, and +generally productive of the most fatal evils. Parents are more +deeply interested in the marriage of their children than any other +persons, and no pledges ought to be given between the contracting +parties till they have been spoken to on the subject. This is a +mark of respect to which they are justly entitled. And are they +not, from their age, and experience, and affection, qualified to +give advice? How far it is binding on a young person to obey his +or her parents, who may disapprove of a proposed marriage, is a +question which I shall not presume to decide; but that no young +person ought to give or receive any inviolable pledge, till they +have been solicited to give their opinion and sanction, is a point +too obvious to the dictates of good sense and filial attachment, +to need any lengthened discussion. But how very rarely is this the +case! An affection is formed and cherished--it grows up into ardent +and romantic attachment--interviews take place--letters and presents +are exchanged--and after the imagination has been captivated with +bright visions of future happiness, the parents are requested to +give their permission, not their advice. If, now, they object, +either from caprice, or from a full conviction that the proposed +union is improper or unsuitable, what direful consequences often +result! Their objections, in some cases, are treated with scorn, +and the marriage takes place in defiance of their authority; +and, in some instances, when their objections are admitted to be +valid, they are still doomed to see the fairest flower of their +family fade and die under the slow, yet fatal influence of a +passion, which is too strong to be quenched, and too baneful to +be cherished. These evils, which are so often springing up within +the domestic circle--destroying the peace and the happiness of +parents and of children, and setting at variance the members of the +same household--might be avoided, if, before adopting any decisive +measures, the parents--who have a right to expect such a mark of +respect, who have so much of their own respectability and happiness +at issue, and who are, in general, so well qualified to give +judicious counsel--were consulted. + +But do not parents sometimes bring upon themselves, and upon their +children, the very evils which they are anxious to avoid? Do they +not, by their reserve--by their sternness--by their positive +unwillingness to admit their children into familiar intercourse, and +by their uniform habit of neglecting to encourage them to ask their +advice in their different pursuits in life, indirectly compel them +to concealment, from the dread of a furious outbreak of passion? +How many a dutiful son has been known to say, "I would consult my +father, but he will not listen to my solicitation!" How many an +amiable daughter has said, on an offer being made her, "I should +like to take counsel from my parents, but they will not give it. +They will condemn my attachment without inquiry--without respecting +my feelings, and without assigning any reasons for their decision!" +Thus, the inexperienced child is often thrown on her own resources, +in reference to the most momentous step in life, in consequence +of being unable to apply for the advice of her parents; and dire +necessity compels her to profound secresy, till the fact of her +attachment, having been discovered by some accident, is heard with +indignation. An order to discontinue all further correspondence +with the object of her affection is now peremptorily issued, which +merely serves to increase the ardour of her attachment, and make +her resolute in her choice, without regard to consequences. Let +parents, then, if they wish to guide and control their children on +these important occasions, induce them to repose in them an implicit +confidence--to consult them, as friends, on every occasion of +difficulty; and by the avoidance of dictation, imperative command, +or stern, unexplained prohibition, endeavour to rule over them by a +mild authority, tempered with the purest affection; and, by a course +of practical wisdom, in assigning plain, palpable, and important +reasons for the advice they give, make it evident that they are +influenced by a regard for their children's welfare, rather than by +mere caprice or an arbitrary will. And though instances may occur in +the history of human life, in which such a wise method of procedure +may fail in the accomplishment of its object; and a perverse or +reserved disposition may lead the son or daughter to set at naught +the kindest and best advice, when given in the most unexceptionable +manner; yet there is reason to believe, that where parents have +acted towards their children as they ought to act, such a disastrous +result will be of rare occurrence. + +As we are commanded by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, +to make known all our requests unto God, I cannot conceive of any +matter in which we ought to seek his direction more earnestly, than +in the choice of the person who is to be our companion for life. +He knows our tempers, our dispositions, and our propensities; the +future temptations and trials to which we shall be subjected, and +all the various ills that will intersect our path in life; and he +has promised, that if we acknowledge him in _all_ our ways, he +will direct our steps. Ought we not to implore his guidance in +the selection of a suitable partner, to share our sorrows, and +enhance our joys?--one who will soothe us, under the agitations +of distress, tranquillize the irritation of passion, assist us by +judicious counsel, and who will give a higher tone to our character, +by inducing us to add to "virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, +temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; +and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, +charity." But how rarely is this duty attended to, even by those +who make a profession of religion, till they see one who captivates +their heart; and then the sanction of God is requested, rather than +his counsel; and he is importuned to remove the obstructions which +impede the gratification of our wishes, instead of being solicited +to keep us from forming an alliance which will be injurious to our +happiness, our usefulness, and our honour! + +And are not Christian parents, in general, too inattentive to this +branch of their duty? Are they not, in the case of the marriage +of their children, apt to depend too much on their own judgment +to decide on its fitness? And are they not more frequently +influenced in their decision by the love of wealth, and of worldly +respectability, than by those moral and religious considerations, +which ought ever to maintain an absolute authority over them? As +their own peace, and the present and eternal happiness of their +children, and their children's children, depend so much on this +important measure, they ought often to pray, as their children are +rising to maturity, that he who fixes the bounds of our habitation, +and determines for us the number of our years on earth, would be +pleased to form their connections, and sanctify their marriage +by his blessing? Is it not by the adoption of such a course of +practical devotion, that parents are encouraged to expect that their +sons and their daughters will be preserved "from the hand of strange +children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and whose right hand is a +right hand of falsehood:" and be induced to form those alliances +which will be no less a source of happiness than of honour--handing +down not only their names, but their principles, their example, and +their influence to bless and adorn the succeeding generation. + + * * * * * + +The intimacy which subsisted between Emma Holmes and her young +friend Miss Orme proved essentially injurious to the moral tone +and feelings of her mind; and eventually brought on the family a +series of trials which overwhelmed them in the deepest sorrow. This +intimacy commenced at school, just as her character began to receive +its complexion and its tendencies; and when she stood most in need +of those checks and restraints, and that salutary advice, which +she would have received, if her companion had been imbued with the +grace of pure religion. From the cast of her mind, which bore no +resemblance to that of either of her sisters, she imbibed, at an +early age, strong prejudices against evangelical piety; and though +at one period she felt the reproaches of an evil conscience, and the +terrors of the law falling upon her, yet she soon cast them off, +and became still more volatile and gay. The inconsistent conduct of +some professors was the immediate cause of effacing her deep and +solemn impressions of the vanity of the world and the importance of +religion; and though she would readily admit that this circumstance +was no valid argument against the reality of personal piety, yet she +could never conquer that painful aversion which it had excited in +her mind against the love of the truth. + +This strong aversion was strengthened and increased by many +accidental circumstances, from which at the time no bad effects +were apprehended. Her sister Louisa had established a periodical +interchange of visits between her own family and the Corries, and +their uncouth phraseology of speech was no less offensive to +Emma's taste, than their dogmatic opinions were revolting to her +moral feelings. Their intellectual weakness imperceptibly destroyed +that reverence for the Christian faith which she had felt, when +contemplating it as associated with minds of a higher order, and +greater degree of refinement. Their perpetual recurrence to a few +favourite opinions--the tenacity with which they held them, even +when fairly refuted by sound argument--the self-complacency which +they discovered in their assumed superior illumination, after an +unsuccessful effort to support the dogmas of their belief--and +the sang-froid with which they condemned as unenlightened and +unconverted every one who professed sentiments differing from their +own--excited in her mind a great dislike to evangelical religion. +While these good people required from the chosen few a more entire +renunciation of the world than is compatible with its claims on our +attention; and while they visited with severe censures the slightest +degree of conformity to its style of dress or of living--condemning +even a taste for music, poetry, or art, as a proof of a carnal mind; +they gave to the unconverted the utmost latitude, and maintained +that pious parents should not attempt to impose any restrictions on +their children, assigning as a reason that if they were not elected +to eternal life, this was the only state in which they could enjoy +happiness, and that to deprive them of it by prohibiting them from +"walking in the ways of their own heart, and in the sight of their +own eyes," would be an act of cruelty and folly. In vain did Mr. +Holmes argue, that secret things belong to God, and the revealed +promises and prohibitions to us and to our children; they invariably +met his arguments by saying, that the mysteries of the kingdom were +concealed from the wise and the prudent, being revealed only to +babes. + +These speculative notions, if confined within their own pious +circle, would have done but little injury, but being introduced as +the theme of frequent discussion and debate in Emma's presence, they +supplied her with a powerful argument in justification of her own +predilections. + +It was at this period, when her mind was vacillating between +a lingering reverence and a positive aversion to evangelical +religion, that she happened to pay a visit to Redhill, the seat +of Colonel Orme, her friend's father. Here she passed at once +from the chastened seriousness and fervent devotion of domestic +order and piety, to the levity and gaiety of fashionable life; +and being removed from the control of her parents, she devoted +herself to worldly pleasures and amusements with an ardour of +feeling which bespoke the energy of her ruling passion. The Colonel +was a good-natured, pleasant man; he had been gay in his younger +days, but was now become very domestic in his habits. He was a +professed infidel; and though he had too much politeness to make +a direct attack upon religion in Emma's presence, he nevertheless +availed himself of every favourable opportunity to lower it in +her estimation. He related facetious stories which had been got +up for the purpose of burlesquing the doctrines of the new birth, +and salvation by grace--introduced some grave tales to calumniate +the conduct of the evangelical clergy, and gave it as his decided +opinion, that the fanaticism of the country would destroy the energy +and glory of the English character. + +Mrs. Orme was quite the lady of fashion, fond of dress and cards, +operas and balls; and as for Sunday, she was sometimes seen at +church, but then it was principally to show a mark of respect to the +clergyman, who was a particular friend of the Colonel's. + +The Colonel had three daughters by his present wife, and one son +by a former marriage. As it required all his income to support the +style in which he lived, he could make no provision for his son +beyond the commission he had obtained for him in the army, yet he +flattered himself on being able to form for him some good alliance; +and understanding that Mr. Holmes was possessed of great wealth, +he resolved, if possible, to secure Emma as a partner for his son. +He broached the subject to his wife and eldest daughter, and both +agreed that the idea was most excellent. + +"Indeed, Papa," said Miss Orme, "I think she is the very woman for +Charles. I am sure he will be captivated with her. Such beauty, such +elegance of manners, so much wit; and I should suppose, from the +style in which the Holmeses live, such a handsome fortune." + +"I don't look at beauty," said Mrs. Orme, "for that will fade; nor +at elegance of manners, for that obtains no distinction in the +present day; nor yet at wit, for that often brings people into +trouble; but I look at the fortune. Can you form any idea how much +she is likely to have? Have you ever spoken to her on the subject?" + +"O dear, yes, Mamma; I said to her one day, as we were walking down +the Green Lanes, just when we came opposite that beautiful house, +with the lawn and carriage sweep before it: 'I suppose, Emma, +nothing less than a carriage and four will please you,' at which she +smiled. I do think she expects a very handsome fortune." + +"Ay, ay," said the Colonel, "these London citizens never retire from +business till they have feathered their nest very comfortably; but +they are, like old birds, rather wary, and we must be cautious how +we set the nets, or we shall not be able to catch the game. This +business requires management, and as I understand how to manoeuvre +you must leave it to me. You women are too hasty in your movements." + +"Well, well," said Mrs. Orme, "I don't care who takes the management +of the business, so that it is managed properly. But I must suggest +one idea before I have done, and that is, Emma herself had better be +asked the question, whether she is engaged, or has any objection to +the army." + +"Yes, exactly so, Mamma. That idea struck me just now; and I think +it a most excellent one; and as we are to walk out in the evening, +I will propose it. I have no doubt but she will tell me; and if, +Papa, she feels any reluctance, I could argue the case with her, and +I have no doubt I should succeed. I am so delighted the idea ever +entered your mind." + +"You will each keep at your posts," said the Colonel, "and not move +or speak in this business till I give the word of command. The first +thing to be done is to ascertain if Charles will put off his present +engagement with Miss Collingwood, and the next is to see whether he +will take a fancy to Miss Holmes." + +"Why, Colonel," said his wife, "I am surprised to hear you talk +so irrationally! Do you think he would hesitate breaking off +that engagement a single moment? Why, he said to me just before +he left home, 'I am apprehensive, from what I heard at the mess, +that Collingwood is not the man of wealth I thought he was when my +intimacy with his family commenced, and I must make more particular +inquiries.'" + +"Perhaps he won't object," said the Colonel, "though you know it is +a point of honour which every man can't pass; but as he has passed +it once, he may again." + +In the evening, just before they sat down to cards, the Colonel +opened the campaign, by saying, "It is natural for every man to give +a decided preference to his own profession; but for my part, if I +were to begin life again, and had my choice, I would enter the army. +There it is a man acquires glory." + +"And there it is," said Emma, "he is exposed to danger." + +"Why, very true, Miss Holmes, but you know that the field of danger +is where the crown of honour is won!" + +"Yes, but what sacrifice of feeling does it require?" + +"Why, very true, but you know feeling is rather sentimental!" + +"Sentimental, Sir!" said the lively young lady, "and did you think +so when you received your wound in the head? It was then, I suspect, +felt to be real." + +"Why, yes," said the Colonel, somewhat embarrassed, "very true; but +we don't pay much regard to feeling when engaged in the conflict." + +"So I suppose; nor much regard to feeling in prospect of the +conflict, and still less when it is over." + +"There you are mistaken; for before the battle begins, a death-like +horror comes over the most courageous spirit; but when it is over, +the shout of victory gives an ecstasy of delight." + +"But how is it changed when you look round on the mangled bodies of +the slain--on your friends and comrades weltering in their blood--or +think of the wives and children whom the sword makes widows and +orphans!" + +"Ah, true, that's the worst of it: but you know that wars and +fightings have been from the beginning, and will be to the end; and +some must engage in them." + +"I presume," said Emma, addressing herself to Mrs. Orme, "you must +have felt intense agony of mind, every time the Colonel left you for +actual service!" + +"At first I did, but after I got used to it, I did not regard it, +for use, you know, my dear, is second nature; and then there was so +much pleasure on his return." + +"There is, certainly," said the Colonel, "some danger attending the +profession of arms; but it is the most honourable profession in +which a gentleman can be engaged; and though humanity may shudder at +sight of the evils attending it, yet a true soldier is one of the +most tender-hearted men living." + +"Your eloquence, Sir," said Miss Emma, "brings to my recollection +what I once read:--'One murder makes a villain--a thousand a hero;' +and though you descant most feelingly on the tenderness of a +soldier's heart, you no doubt refer to it, when touched by the point +of the sword." + +"Or," said the Colonel gallantly, "when pierced by a woman's eye!" + +Here the conversation ended, and they passed the evening at their +favourite game. "I fear," said Mrs. Orme, as soon as she found +herself alone with her husband, "she has no predilection for the +profession; and if so, our hopes are blasted." + +"Yes, yes, she has, only she has thrown up a masked battery in her +own defence; but when Charles comes, you will see with what ease he +will destroy it." + +A few days after this conversation, Colonel and Mrs. Orme +entertained a large party at dinner, at which a brilliant company +of fashionable friends and acquaintances was present. As this +was the first party that had been invited during her visit, Emma +bestowed a more than ordinary attention on her personal appearance. +Her dress, if not expensive, was elegant, and though there were +other ladies who surpassed her in the richness of their attire, +there was no one who equalled her in the beauty of her figure, or +the grace and elegance of her movements. She now felt herself, +for the first time in her life, in a position which gave her an +opportunity of displaying her attractions, which she did with so +much grace, that she excited the envy and admiration of the company, +who were astonished when they heard that this was the daughter of +Mr. Holmes. In the course of the evening the rumble of wheels was +heard at the door, and soon after a handsome young man entered the +drawing-room, whom Emma at once perceived to be Charles Orme, on +his parents and sister hastening forward to meet him. He had just +got leave of absence, he said, for a few weeks, and sooner than +he expected, which had brought him to Redhill, without previously +sending any notice. Emma was quite charmed with his appearance, and +still more so when the Colonel, walking up to her, said, "Allow me, +Miss Holmes, to introduce to you my son Charles--Charles, Miss Emma +Holmes. + +"This is an unlooked-for pleasure, Miss Holmes," said Captain Orme, +performing his part in the ceremony of the introduction with the +most polished gallantry; "I have often heard of you from my sister +in her letters. What charming weather this is! Pray, may I have you +as a partner, as I see they are getting up a quadrille?" + +Emma gracefully consented; and from that moment her destiny in life +was fixed. On the other hand, Captain Orme was quite struck with her +beauty; and though the apparent heartiness of his manner, at his +first introduction, was merely the result of that vanity which seeks +to engross for itself the company of the most elegant woman present, +he could not help experiencing, even in his cold and selfish heart, +a somewhat deeper and more serious feeling, as he conversed with +this young and beautiful girl. Colonel and Mrs. Orme viewed, with +great satisfaction, the evident impression made on their son by +Emma's beauty; and, accordingly, after their guests had departed, +they communicated to him the matrimonial speculation they had in +view for him. + +[Illustration: FIRST MEETING OF CAPTAIN ORME AND EMMA HOLMES. + +Vol. ii. p. 352.] + +"I am sure, Charles," said his father, "there could not be a +more desirable match: youth, beauty, and last, not least (with a +significant leer), a very handsome fortune." + +"Has she her fortune at her own command?" asked his son. + +"Why, no, the wealth of the Holmes family has all been accumulated +by the old man; and I should suppose the amount of this girl's +fortune must be dependent on his will. But he will, doubtless, give +her a handsome portion, if he is satisfied with the match." + +"Now, that is just the difficulty," said Mrs. Orme. "The family, +always strong Evangelicals, have lately turned Dissenters, because, +forsooth, Mr. Vaughan's sermons are not sufficiently methodistical +to please them. Mr. Holmes has a great prejudice against the +military profession, as one both of a questionable nature in itself, +and beset with numerous temptations. We must, then, play our cards +well, and act with caution." + +"The first thing," said the Colonel, "is for you, Charles, to pay +your addresses to Miss Holmes. I do not think there will be much +difficulty with _her_." + +"Well, I should rather suppose there would not," replied the modest +youth, contemplating, with considerable satisfaction, his elegant +figure in the mirror over the drawing-room chimney-piece; "it shall +not be my fault if she does not become Mrs. Orme. But good night. I +was up all last night at Lady Fortescue's ball, and must be off to +bed." + +"One word, Charles," said his mother, "what are you going to do with +Miss Collingwood?" + +"O, that has all been over for some time. I learned that her father +has nothing to depend on but his pay, and that his daughter's +fortune, left her by an aunt, amounts only to three thousand +pounds, and is so tied up, that I should never be able to touch a +shilling of it. So I am well out of that affair." + +The Captain was a young man about the age of twenty-five. He had +inherited from his mother a handsome fortune, which he received on +coming of age; but such had been his profuse extravagance, before +and after he entered the army, that when he had paid his so-called +debts of honour, and the Jew brokers who had advanced him money, +he found himself unable to defray the bills of his tradesmen, who +were clamorous for the settlement of their accounts. Various were +the expedients which he employed to keep them from carrying their +threats into execution; and at length he resolved on marriage, as +the only alternative he could devise, to extricate himself from his +embarrassments. He first paid his addresses to the eldest daughter +of a country gentleman, but soon quitted her on ascertaining the +small amount of fortune which she possessed. A similar reason, +as above-mentioned, induced him to desert Miss Collingwood, the +daughter of a retired major in the Indian army; and now he prepared +to pay his addresses to the more accomplished and the more wealthy +daughter of Mr. Holmes. He, of course, concealed from the latter +the history of his former life, spoke of the fortune which fell +to him by the death of his mother, as though it were still in his +possession, and assured her that he had no other motive in view +than the honour and felicity of being permitted to call her his +wife. Unaccustomed to the duplicity of the world, and fudging of +others, from the integrity of her own heart, she listened to his +overtures with pleasure, and though she proposed speaking to her +parents before she ventured to give any decisive reply, yet this was +overruled by Mrs. Orme, who suggested the expediency of deferring +it for the present. "You know, my dear," said the intriguing woman, +"your Papa and Mamma, from their peculiar sentiments on religion, +may feel some objection to Charles's profession, and it will be +necessary to adopt some plan to reconcile them to it; and, as an +opening has now been made, the Colonel and I both think that we had +better establish a close intimacy with the Elms, before anything is +said on the subject." + +On her return home, she intermingled with the family as usual, +preserved the same degree of decorum in her attention to religious +duties, and at times appeared thoughtful and sedate, which induced +her unsuspecting sister to imagine that she was beginning to feel +the deep impressions of religion on her heart. Amidst all her +gaiety, and sprightliness, and aversion to decided piety, she had +always displayed an honest frankness when speaking on the subject, +but now she had a part to act which required duplicity; and having +been tutored to this vice at the Colonel's, she soon became a +proficient. As her sister Louisa had made some reference to her +comparative sedateness, and expressed, in very delicate terms, her +hope that it was the beginning of the great change, she resolved +to assume a more uniform gravity of manner, that she might more +effectually conceal the passion which had taken such strong hold +of her feelings. She made no allusion to the scenes of gaiety she +had recently witnessed, and in which she moved as one of the most +admired figures; nor did she express any wish to repeat her visit, +which rather tended to confirm the hopes of her sister. + +"Jane and I," said Miss Holmes, as they were all rising from the +dinner table, "are going to see Mrs. Kent; will you accompany us, +Emma?" + +"Certainly. I long to see the old lady. She is a real Christian, +I have no doubt; and if her mind had received the same degree of +cultivation as her heart, she would have exhibited the majesty and +force no less than the amiable traits of religion." + +"I was not aware," replied Miss Holmes, with a smile of pleasure, +"that you ever associated such qualities with the pure religion of +Jesus Christ." + +"O yes, I do; and I am delighted when I see them embodied in a +living character; but they must be blended to produce their full +effect." + +"But is not the beauty of religion more attractive than its +grandeur?" + +"It may be so to some persons, but not to me. I prefer a mind that +can discourse on the doctrines of Christianity in a style of speech +which bears some analogy to their sublime greatness." + +"I hope, dear Emma," said Miss Holmes, "you do not now feel +that strong antipathy to the Corries which you have heretofore +manifested; for though they are weak Christians, yet you must +acknowledge they are pious." + +"Yes, they may be pious," replied Emma, with some sarcastic warmth +of manner; "but who that has any feeling of respect for the honour +of Christianity does not regret that their piety is not confined to +a cloister? Mrs. Kent exhibits the beauty of religion, the Corries +its deformity: Mrs. Kent would make an infidel believe, but the +Corries would make a Christian doubt; she, by the artless simplicity +of her instructions, would + + ... 'rear the tender thought, + And teach the young idea how to shoot;' + +till the principle of grace grows up laden with the fruits of +righteousness; they, by their vanity and self-conceit, their +dogmatism, and perverse obstinacy of opinion, would shake the +strongest faith. Or, to speak in plain terms, such Christians as the +Corries should never speak on religious subjects in the presence of +the irreligious; for if they do, they will confirm the enmity which +they wish to subdue, and give a degree of encouragement to sin which +they do not intend." + +The old woman had just finished reading a letter when the young +ladies entered her cottage; and though she received them with her +usual kind manner, yet she could not conceal the powerful agitation +of her feelings. + +"I hope," said Miss Holmes, "we are not intruding." + +"No, Miss, I am very glad to see you; and I hope you will not allow +my distress to give you any trouble." + +"O," said Emma, "if you are in trouble let us know the cause of it; +though I ought to apologize for having asked such an impertinent +question." + +"The question is not impertinent, and therefore I beg you will say +nothing about an apology. I have just received a letter from my dear +boy, who has been absent from me these fourteen years, and as I had +not heard from him for many months I thought he was dead." + +"Where is he?" + +"He is with his regiment at the Cape of Good Hope, very ill in the +hospital, and says he does not expect that I shall ever hear from +him again. He was once a good, obedient son, much attached to his +mother, but he fell into evil company, and was enticed to enlist as +a soldier. He said nothing to me about it for many days after he had +done it, or I could have got him off by speaking to Squire Ridgeway; +but I did not know anything about it till the night before he was +marched off, and since then I have never seen him; and now he is +confined in the hospital so far off that I can't go to nurse him, +nor speak to him about the Saviour who came into the world to save +sinners. I hope you will excuse me, ladies, but a mother can't help +weeping." + +While the poor old woman was telling this affecting tale, the +countenance of Emma underwent very perceptible changes, from the +deep crimson blush to a deathlike paleness, till, overpowered by her +feelings, she fainted in the arms of her sister. She was taken into +the open air, and various expedients were adopted to restore her, +which after a short time proved successful. "Dear creature," said +Mrs. Kent, fanning her, "she has a tender heart, and can't bear to +hear of another's sorrows. I am grieved that I said anything about +my affliction, it has proved too much for her." + +"She has," Miss Holmes remarked, "a great esteem for you, which is +the cause of her having felt so great an interest in your calamity; +but she will soon be better." + +On recovering, she expressed her regret that the weakness of her +nerves should occasion so much trouble; and having taken a draught +of water, she rose, and leaning on the arms of her sisters, soon +after walked home. During the evening she endeavoured to resume her +usual cheerfulness, but she could not, and dreading a recurrence of +the fit, she complained of indisposition, and retired to rest. In +the morning, when her sister Louisa went into her room, she found +her in a sweet sleep; and, as she was stealing away, she saw a +miniature lying on her dressing-table, and on looking at it thought +it bore a strong resemblance to Captain Orme, who, after Emma's +return home, had one day called with his sister. + +The following day Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were surprised by a call from +the Colonel and Miss Orme, who came to invite them to meet a select +dinner party; and, though they had resolved not to intermix with +the gay world, yet they knew not how to refuse such an expression +of politeness, especially as they had been so kind to Emma. They +therefore consented. + +"Mamma requested me," said Miss Orme to her young friend, "to offer +you the loan of this book, which she thinks you will like. _It is a +very religious one. You may open it at your leisure._" + +The emphasis which was placed on this sentence, viewed in connection +with the miniature painting, awakened the suspicion of Miss Holmes, +who now believed that some secret correspondence was going on +between her sister and Captain Orme; and an accidental occurrence +took place in the course of the day, which removed every doubt from +her mind. Emma on taking her handkerchief out of her reticule, as +she was retiring from the parlour after dinner, dropped a letter, +which her mother picked up, and read. She immediately presented it +to Mr. Holmes, who also read it. This was a letter which Mrs. Orme +had inclosed between the leaves of the book she had sent to Emma, +informing her that Charles was well, and wanted to meet her that +evening, at Mrs. Paton's. She added that she hoped she had contrived +to keep all at the Elms ignorant of the affair, as the Colonel was +still of opinion that they should not be spoken to on the business +till everything was properly arranged. + +This letter, which explained the obscure parts of Emma's conduct, +involved the whole family in great perplexity; and they were at a +loss to know what course to pursue, that would save her from the +snares which had been laid to entrap her. At length it was resolved +to replace the letter, and leave the room. This was done, and on +passing through the hall, Mr. Holmes met her, and said, + +"I am going, my dear, to take a ride in the carriage this afternoon, +will you go with me?" + +"Certainly, Papa." + +On entering the parlour she found her letter, and eagerly seized it, +presuming that it had escaped detection. + +She had given her promise to accompany her father when her feelings +were strongly excited by the dread of having Mrs. Orme's letter to +her discovered; but now she began to complain of indisposition, and +wished to decline the proposed ride. However, her objections were +overruled, and she went. + +On the following morning, her father, finding her alone, took +the opportunity of alluding to his anxiety for her spiritual and +temporal welfare, and hoped that she would take no important step in +life without the advice and approbation of her parents. + +"Do you think it possible, Papa, that I could be so unwise or so +undutiful as to take any important step without consulting you?" + +"Tell me, my dear child," said her father, taking her by the hand, +"have you not already been induced to do so, and that by the +persuasion of others?" + +This question, proposed in the mildest accents, and with every +expression of parental tenderness, staggered and confounded her, +and, after a momentary pause, she fell on her knees and implored +forgiveness. + +"Yes, my father, I have been induced to act a part which I sincerely +regret. Forgive me, I beseech you." + +She frankly confessed the whole plot; offered to return every letter +and present she had received, and promised that she would never +suffer herself to be again beguiled from the path of duty. These +presents Mr. Holmes sent back to the Colonel's, accompanied by the +following letter:-- + + "SIR,--Since your call on Thursday morning, I have detected the + intimacy which has been formed between my daughter and your son; + and am surprised that you and Mrs. Orme should so far forget + the obligations which are due to a parent, as to dissuade my + child from consulting me on a measure of so much importance to + our happiness, and her own. Had the young people resolved to + practise this species of deception on me without your knowledge + or consent, I should blame them only; but as this plot has been + got up by you, I must say, that the amount of their fault is + lost in the greater magnitude of yours; and I have no doubt + but your object is to repair the ruined fortune of your son + at the expense of my daughter's happiness. You will therefore + allow me to say, that all intimacy between our families has + ceased.--Yours," &c. + +After this abrupt termination of an intimacy which had opened +before her the prospect of a connection for life, she appeared for +a few days relieved from an oppressive burden of anxiety, and was +assiduous in her attention to her parents; but her appearance and +her manners soon proved that her affections were entangled, and +that nothing but time and the tenderest treatment on their part +could disengage them. She became low and dejected--careless of her +person--unwilling to mingle in any company--the healthful bloom of +her countenance passed away, succeeded by the sickly and pallid +hue; she seldom took part in conversation, and endeavoured to avoid +all intercourse with the other members of the family. At length +her mother became much alarmed, and said it was her opinion, that +unless they consented to a renewal of the intimacy with the Ormes, +they must prepare to follow their daughter to the grave. "I never +can give my consent to the connection," said Mr. Holmes; "and would +rather follow her to the grave than see her united to such a person. +Captain Orme is a man who has squandered his fortune; destroyed the +strength of his constitution by dissolute habits; is involved in +debt by his extravagance; and would sacrifice the happiness, and +even the life of Emma, with as little remorse as he now feels for +his past crimes. He is bad, but his parents, if possible, are worse; +for they have not only given the sanction of their approbation to +his conduct, but attempted to corrupt our child, and thus ruin our +domestic happiness." + +The conduct of a female, who accepts the addresses of a gentleman +without consulting her parents, or her guardians, is deserving of +censure; but when she is beguiled into the measure by the entreaties +and persuasion of others, and especially those who have children +or wards of their own, the voice of censure should reserve its +severest expressions of reprobation for her tempters and seducers. +Their delinquency, it is true, does not cancel hers, but it offers +some slight degree of extenuation. What evils often result from +that system of manoeuvring, which is so much tolerated, nay, even +applauded, in society! These match-makers and busy-bodies--these +common nuisances and pests--who trample on all the sacred principles +of honour and of friendship, and display such indifference when +detected--ought to be excluded from every family which wishes to +preserve the honour and happiness of its female members. Nor ought +we to hold in less detestation and abhorrence, the conduct of those +who allow our children to hold secret and forbidden intercourse with +each other at their houses, or consent to become the agents through +whom a correspondence is carried on. Such persons may express their +tender sympathy for the young people who are not permitted to meet +openly and in the face of day, and may pass some heavy censures on +the cruelty of their parents; but can they, on reflection, approve +of their own doings, and think themselves entitled to respect? +Impossible! They are acting a part over which they wish the veil +of secrecy to be thrown; and, often sacrificing on the same altar +the virtue and happiness of the child, with the peace and honour of +the parent, can offer no other apology for their conduct, than that +"they did not mean any harm." + +Mr. Holmes saw, with great anxiety, the declining health of his +beloved Emma; and on surprising her, in tears, one morning as he +entered her room, he expressed his fears that she was unhappy. + +"Yes, my father, I am unhappy; and I believe that I shall never see +another happy day in this unhappy world." + +"But I understood, when I spoke to you on the subject, that it was +your determination to renounce all further thoughts of Captain Orme." + +"Yes, I said I would return his letters, and never suffer myself +to be again beguiled from the path of duty; but I cannot subdue my +feelings. I think if you knew him you would not object." + +"My dear girl, I have strong objections to his profession, which is +not favourable to the cultivation of those domestic virtues on which +the happiness of a wife depends." + +"But, Papa, he is one of the most attentive and amiable of men; and +would, I have no doubt, make me happy." + +"It is very rarely, indeed, that a rake ever makes a good husband." + +"A rake! Papa; you are misinformed." + +"Ah, my child, you are not aware of the deception which has been +practised on you, by those you once thought, and perhaps still +think, your friends. I have made the most minute inquiry respecting +his habits, his property, and his character; and I can assure +you, on evidence the most decisive, that he is dissolute in his +habits--impoverished in his fortune--and his general character is +the very reverse of what you imagine." + +"O Papa! I think you have been deceived. He has his mother's +fortune, which is very handsome. I have seen the original deeds +which secured it to him." + +"He had his mother's fortune, my dear, but he squandered it away +before he came of age; and when it was actually transferred to him, +it was not sufficient to pay all his debts." + +"Are you sure, Papa, that you are not misinformed?" + +"Perfectly sure, my dear Emma." + +"And may I be permitted to ask, how you gained this information, +which is so contrary to every statement I have received; and which, +if true, must change my opinion of him?" + +"I gained it, in the first instance, through the medium of your +brothers; but as I was unwilling to believe such an unfavourable +account, even on their testimony, I obtained a personal interview +with several of his creditors, who gave me ocular proof of the +correctness of their statements. Indeed, one of them arrested him +last week, for the sum of twenty pounds, which had been due more +than a year and a half; and others have been induced to wait a few +months longer, from the representations of the Colonel, who has told +them that his son is just on the eve of marrying a wealthy citizen's +daughter, when every claim shall be settled." + +"Impossible! Such treachery cannot dwell in the human bosom!" + +"It is true, my child." + +"I am forced to believe it, Papa, and yet I cannot. Perhaps it is +only a temporary embarrassment, arising from some act of generosity, +or some species of fraud, that has been practised on him. And you +know, Papa, a gentleman who is reduced to poverty, may rise again in +society; and gaining wisdom by his experience, he may become more +careful." + +"Yes, my dear, if he be a man of probity and virtue; but if not, he +will never rise." + +"And is not Charles Orme a man of probity and virtue?" + +"I am sorry to say he is not. He may appear such in your presence, +and he may be described as such by his own family, but when his mode +of life is inquired into, he will be found frequenting places and +societies which a virtuous man would shun as offensive to his taste, +and destructive of his honour." + +When a forbidden passion has once gained an ascendency over the mind +of a female, it very often throws such a spell around her, that she +becomes either unable or unwilling to see the inevitable ruin that +lies before her; and though she will listen to the advice of her +friends with apparent interest, and sometimes profess to adopt it, +under a full conviction that it is such as she ought to follow, yet +as soon as she comes into contact with the fatal object on which her +affections are irrecoverably placed, she feels an influence which +destroys all her wise resolves, and hurries her to her doom. + +Thus it was with the infatuated Emma, who, after struggling with +her affections for many months, and endeavouring to recover that +mental peace which she formerly enjoyed, rashly determined to follow +the impulse of her will, though her ruin should be the inevitable +consequence. + +The family had accepted an invitation to spend a few days with an +intimate friend, who resided near Tunbridge Wells, but as Emma did +not wish to go into company at present, she was excused, and took +leave of her parents and sisters with the tenderest expressions of +attachment, and said she hoped they would enjoy the visit. On their +return they were informed by the housekeeper that Miss Emma had not +been home since the day after they left, but had requested her to +present the following letter to her father as soon as she saw him:-- + + "MY DEAR FATHER,--Before you receive this, I shall have + committed an act which will plunge you and every one of our + family into the greatest distress; but I have been compelled to + it by dire necessity. I could not conquer my passion for Captain + Orme, and am therefore now his wife. Had I not consented, my + life would have fallen a sacrifice to my feelings; and as I am + not prepared to die, I judged it prudent to perpetuate a life, + with some chance for happiness, rather than lose it, with a + certain prospect of misery. I hope you and my dear mother will + forgive me; and if you cannot suffer me to visit you, I hope + you will pray for me. My present home is at the Colonel's, and + though I do not expect to find it such a one as that which I + have left, yet I trust it will not be without its comforts. With + every affectionate regard to you, my dear Mamma, and sisters, + and brothers, I am your undutiful, yet much attached, + + "EMMA." + + + + +A SEQUEL TO THE FOREGOING. + + +The distress into which the Holmes' family were plunged, on +hearing the contents of the letter just referred to, exceeds all +description; and though, during the first ebullition of their grief, +they gave utterance to heavy censures and bitter reproaches, yet, on +cooler reflection, they felt more disposed to pity than blame the +poor deluded Emma. "A deceived heart," said her father, "hath led +her astray, and she needs not the vial of our displeasure to fill up +the bitter cup which she has to drink. We, as a family, have had," +he continued, "a larger proportion of happiness for a long series of +years than has fallen to the lot of most; and if, in the decline of +life, it should please an all-wise Providence to cast over us the +clouds of sorrow, we must not repine, but rather bow in submission +to his righteous will, and pray for wisdom and for grace, to guide +and support us, when walking through the darkness by which we are +now surrounded." + +"But," said Mrs. Holmes, "this is an evil which I did not expect. +I thought she had too much regard for her own honour, and too +much respect for our feelings, to steal away from us in such a +clandestine manner, as though her home were a prison, and her +parents tyrants. She deserves all she may suffer; and if she has not +become as callous as a rock, must endure a martyrdom of anguish." + +"Yes, my dear, but she is still our child; and though she has torn +herself away from us, we must not abandon her." + +"Abandon her! no, impossible! I can never forget that I gave her +birth; that I watched over her in infancy and childhood; and that +she was the pride of my heart in my old age. It is the strength of +my affection that gives me such intense pain when I think of her +ungrateful conduct." + +Her clothes, &c., were carefully packed up, and sent to Colonel +Orme's, according to her own request, accompanied by the following +letter, which inclosed a draft on her father's banker for L50:-- + + "MY DEAR EMMA,--I shall not attempt to describe our + consternation when on returning home we received your letter, + which informed us of the step you have taken. To reproach you, + now the deed is done, will not repair the evil, nor will it + afford any alleviation to our distress. We hope you may be + happy, and may meet that kindness from your new connections, + which you, no doubt, have anticipated; but which we do not + expect. I have inclosed a draft for your _own use_, as a token + of my affection, and assure you that you will always meet with a + welcome reception at the Elms, when you choose to visit us; but + you must come alone. As you are now an inmate in a family which + makes no profession of religion, I fear you will be exposed to + temptations, which will efface every devout impression you have + received; and you may be induced to treat with indifference, if + not with contempt, the faith in which you have been educated. + Remember, my dear child, that the fashion of this world is + passing away, and that in a few years you will have to stand + before the judgment seat of Christ, and if, in that solemn and + awful moment, you should be separated from us, by the impassable + gulf, with what feelings will you await your sentence! We will + pray for you; but our prayers will be useless unless _you_ + likewise pray, and repent, and believe the gospel.--I remain + your affectionate father, + + H. HOLMES." + +Her husband took this draft to the bank and got it cashed, but he +kept the money; and when his wife ventured to ask him for it, he +requested her to apply to her father for more. This she refused to +do, which drew from him the first unkind expression she had heard +him utter. As the news of his marriage spread abroad, his creditors +became very clamorous for the settlement of their accounts; and +though by dexterous manoeuvring, he contrived to keep them from +adopting any violent measures, yet he felt conscious that the +crisis was fast approaching, unless Mr. Holmes could be persuaded +to assist him. He made a contrite apology to his wife for the +unguarded language he had used--pledged his honour never more to +wound her feelings--and assured her that nothing but dire necessity +had induced him to appropriate the money to his own use, which was +designed exclusively for hers. She accepted the apology, but felt +startled by his allusion to pecuniary embarrassment, though she felt +the subject to be too delicate to notice. + +Her husband's family treated her with the utmost degree of respect +and affection, and every one strove to promote her happiness. +Captain Orme was unremitting in his attentions, studied her +gratification in all his arrangements, and conducted himself with +so much propriety, that she flattered herself with the prospect +of enjoying a large portion of conjugal felicity. Six months had +now passed away without any fresh interruption to her happiness, +when she began to perceive a fixed gloom on the countenance of her +husband, who absented himself more frequently, and for a longer +space of time than he had been accustomed to do; and she heard some +ambiguous expressions from her father and mother-in-law, which she +knew not how to explain; nor would her high spirit suffer her to ask +an explanation. At length, one day the Colonel informed her that +some application must be made to her father for a settlement, as his +son's pay was not equal to the expenses of the family which he was +now likely to have. + +"Captain Orme informed me, Sir, when he solicited me to leave my +father's house to become his wife, and you assured me that his +statement was correct, that his fortune was large, and that it was +quite immaterial to him whether my father gave me a fortune or left +me penniless." + +"I deny it, Madam, and now tell you that your husband is in +embarrassed circumstances, and it is useless to conceal the fact any +longer. Something must be done, or you are both ruined." + +"No gentleman, Sir, ever ventured to suspect the truth of my +testimony, and I am sorry that I ever gave you an opportunity to do +it." + +"Well, well, I beg your pardon for the abruptness of my reply. +Perhaps I did say that his statement was correct; but to be frank, +he is in difficulties, and we must endeavour to get him out as well +as we can; and no one has so much at stake in this business as +yourself." + +"If his difficulties have come upon him since our marriage I will +submit to any privation, and will take upon myself any task to +extricate him; but if they existed before, I do not know that it is +in my power to forgive an act of deception so cruel and unjust as +that which you have all practised upon me." + +"You talk," said the Colonel, "like one who lived before the fall, +in a state of paradisiacal innocence, rather than like one who has +seen the world as it is. The world is governed by deception; in +church, in state, in all the departments of social life; and if you +have been deceived by any statements which might have been given to +allure you to the altar, we have all been deceived since your return +from it." + +"Not by me, Sir." + +"No, Madam, but by your father." + +"My father! no! impossible! As he is too humane to reproach, he is +too sincere to deceive." + +"Why, we all expected, when the marriage was over, that he would +provide handsomely for you." + +"I have no doubt that he will, ultimately, but I never gave you any +reason to expect it." + +"But we _did_ expect it, and I think we have a _right_ to expect it. +Can he suppose that my son is to meet all the expenses which you and +your family may bring upon him, without receiving some assistance! +If he do, he is deceived, and will entail on you and himself +disgrace and misery." + +"But you know, Colonel," said Mrs. Orme, "it is no use to wound the +feelings of dear Emma so much. If Charles is in trouble, I know she +will do what she can to assist him, without being very particular +respecting the cause of his difficulties; and I would propose, +without any farther remarks on this very painful question, that she +write to her father on the subject, or give her consent for you to +write." + +"What are his difficulties?" inquired Emma. + +"O dear, only a small account which he is obliged to pay +immediately." + +"And cannot he pay a small account?" + +"Why, my dear, he has had to settle several lately, which has taken +from him all his ready money." + +"How much is this small account?" + +"O, only about L200." + +"And do you consider this a trifling sum to owe one tradesman?" + +"Certainly, my dear, for a gentleman of his profession." + +"Well," said Emma, "I will have some conversation with Charles on +the subject when he returns; and we will decide on the adoption of +some plan." + +"Why, my dear, I am sorry to inform you, that he is at present +detained by the formalities of the law." + +"Detained by the formalities of the law! I do not understand you." + +"Perhaps not; but he cannot return home till the money is paid or +some security is given that it shall be paid." + +"Then, where is he?" + +"Why, my dear, it will afford you no pleasure if I tell you. You had +better not press the question." + +"But I must press the question; and I must request to know where he +is." + +"Well, my dear, since you must have it, the gentleman who waited +on him for the payment of the money, has very kindly given him +permission to stay in his house till it is paid." + +"What! is he in prison?" + +"No, not exactly in prison; only the formalities of the law require +that he should remain with the gentleman till the money is paid." + +"Can I see him?" + +"Why, you had better not. You had better write to your father on the +business, or let the Colonel write." + +"Then let the Colonel write, for I can never consent to tell such a +tale to my father, after having treated his remonstrances with so +much contempt; and violating my most solemn pledge, that I would +never suffer myself to be beguiled again from the path of duty." + +The Colonel wrote to Mr. Holmes, requesting that he would give his +daughter some portion of her fortune; delicately hinting at the +temporary embarrassments of her husband; soliciting, at the same +time, the honour of an interview, when he had no doubt, but some +expedient could be devised to bring about a friendly reconciliation, +by which the happiness of both families might be placed on a +substantial basis. To this letter Mr. Holmes replied, that he felt +it his duty to make every provision in his power for the personal +comfort of his daughter; but no circumstances should induce him to +pay the enormous debts which he knew her husband had contracted by +a course of extravagant profligacy; and while he was willing to +admit her under his roof, it was not his intention ever to form the +most distant intimacy with a family who had acted with such cruel +duplicity towards his child, and sacrificed her happiness for life. + +On the receipt of this letter, the Ormes were thrown into the +greatest degree of perplexity; and though they did not read it to +Emma, because it contained some severe reflections on their conduct, +yet they judged it expedient to inform her, that Mr. Holmes refused +to comply with their request. "You must now, my dear, apply for some +cash," said Mrs. Orme, "as you will soon want many conveniences, +which it will not be in Charles's power to procure, and I would +advise you to press for a generous remittance." This application, +however, was rendered unnecessary, as a few days afterwards, she +received a letter from her father, inclosing a draft for L30 for her +own use, and informing her, that if she preferred being confined at +the Elms, everything was ready for her reception. + +She now began to see the extreme delicacy of her situation, and to +feel the direful consequences of her own imprudence; but she had no +friend in whom she could confide or who could sympathize with her +misfortunes. Her mind was in a state of perpetual anxiety, often +deeply wounded by the neglect, or unkind looks and expressions of +those who once professed the utmost degree of affection--with the +near prospect, too, of becoming a mother, without a home, or any +provision for herself or child, except by returning to her father's +house--a step which she contemplated at present with extreme +reluctance. + +After an absence of several days, Captain Orme returned home in +high spirits, informing his wife that he had had an interview with +her father, who very generously forgave him, and drew a check on +his banker for L300. "Now," said the Captain, "I'll give you a +proof of my honour. I'll take you to the bank, you shall receive +the cash, and pay yourself the L50, which necessity compelled me to +appropriate to my own use." + +"No, Charles," replied his wife, "if my father has forgiven you, so +will I; and still indulge the hope, that our union, which has been +embittered with grief, may yet prove a source of mutual felicity. I +request that no further allusion be made to the money." + +"Indeed, I cannot be happy unless you allow me to redeem my honour, +which stands pledged to you for it. You must consent to take it, +and I'll accompany you to the bank. You will wound me if you make +another objection." + +She entertained no doubt of the truth of his statement; and they +accordingly drove to town together the following morning. Just as +they were going into the bank, he said, "There's a friend whom I +have been anxious to see some months; you will step in and get the +cash, and after I have seen him, I will return and meet you." + +As she was well known to one of the partners in the banking firm, +who had often visited at the Elms, the check was honoured without +much inspection; and having the money, she gave her husband L250, +and then begged his acceptance of the L50, as an expression of +her attachment. With this sum he paid the debt for which he was +arrested; and prevented another arrest which he had been daily +expecting. + +Things now wore a brighter aspect, and the unsuspecting Emma was +induced to decline accepting her father's offer; choosing to be +confined at the Colonel's, where she could enjoy the society of +her husband, without giving any trouble to the members of her own +family. Though often pressed to pay a visit to the Elms, she had +always deferred doing so; but she now proposed a visit to express +the pleasure she felt in prospect of a reconciliation between the +two families. On mentioning this, however, to her husband, he urged +her not to do it till after her confinement, saying, "The heir will +be our advocate, and heal the breach." The eventful time drew near, +and everything necessary for the occasion had been sent, with a +pressing invitation to spend a few weeks at home, as soon as she was +capable of doing so. + +"I am happy to inform you," said her husband, a few weeks after the +occurrences above narrated, "that I have had another interview with +your father; after expressing his good wishes for your welfare, +and requesting that I would accompany you to the Elms after your +convalescence, he very generously said, that as our expenses +just now must be very heavy, and he wished you to have the best +professional advice, and every comfort that money could procure, he +would beg my acceptance of this check for L400. Now, my dear Emma, +we will go to town in the morning, and you shall get the cash, and +do what you like with it." This was accordingly done in the course +of the following day. + +At night the family retired to rest as usual; but about midnight +they were disturbed, and ere day-break the birth of a fine boy +was announced. The news was immediately despatched to the Elms, +with a particular request from Mrs. Charles Orme, that her sister +Louisa would come to see her. The interview was interesting and +affecting; for though the two sisters bore no resemblance to each +other in taste or in disposition, yet their attachment was mutual; +and increased on this occasion by the influence of misfortune and +sorrow. Miss Holmes remained at Redhill nearly three weeks; and on +her return, when detailing the incidents of her visit, she referred +to her father's generosity to Captain Orme. + +"Indeed, my dear," said Mr. Holmes, "I have done nothing which has +not been previously agreed upon by us." + +"Why, father, it is very good in you to speak so of your generosity +to Captain Orme. We were rather surprised, however, at your not even +mentioning to us that you had seen him." + +"I have not seen Captain Orme since the day of his marriage, and I +am at a loss to conceive to what acts of generosity you refer." + +"Not seen him, Papa! why, have you not given him two drafts on your +banker, for a considerable amount?" + +"I never did anything of the kind! You must be dreaming, Louisa." + +"Emma informed me that you had; and that she went, at her husband's +urgent request, and got them cashed." + +"Then he has forged my check; and again imposed on the credulity of +our dear child." + +He immediately rode off to his banker's, and found forged checks +to the amount of L700. This discovery involved the family in great +distress; but they resolved not to take any steps in the business +till they had seen Emma, which they expected to do in the course +of a few days. On the morning she left for the Elms, Captain +Orme requested that she would make no allusion to her father's +generosity, as he did not wish it to be known. As she had already, +however, mentioned the circumstance to Louisa, the request came too +late, and Mr. Holmes, as above-mentioned, had now become aware of +the villainy of his son-in-law. His resolve to question Emma on the +subject, after her arrival, was abandoned, on witnessing the joy +which she displayed on again meeting with her parents and sisters. +The family all agreed that it would be cruelty to broach the matter +at present, and that it had better be deferred to some more fitting +opportunity. + +Mrs. Orme had been at home a month, and was preparing to return to +Redhill, when her father took an opportunity of asking her who it +was she saw at the bank, how often she had been there, what sums of +money she had received, and what circumstances induced her to go. +To all these questions she replied in very direct terms, and when +she had finished, expressed her gratitude to her father for his +kindness, and hoped that now he would consent to be reconciled to +her husband. + +"Your husband, my child, has been pursuing one uniform plan of +deception, from the time he first saw you to the present hour; and +though this last instance of his duplicity is not the most fatal to +your happiness, it is certainly the most hazardous for his own. I +gave him no drafts, nor have I seen him since your marriage." + +"Not seen him, father!" + +"No." + +"Nor given him any checks!" + +"Never." + +"How in the world did he get them then?" + +"He has forged my name, Emma, and made you the innocent agent in his +villainy." + +"And is it possible! Am I the wife of such a man!" + +"Such a man is your husband; and if the law now take its course, he +will be liable to transportation for life." + +"O! father, spare Charles. Have mercy on your poor Emma; though he +were the most wicked man alive, he is still my husband." + +"I shall refrain from prosecuting him; but it will be necessary to +put a stop to such a system of fraud." + +"O! my father, what will now become of me and my babe!" + +"You have left your home once, my child, without my consent, but I +hope you will not leave it again." + +"Never, father! if you will permit me to remain, though I fear my +presence will be a source of perpetual anxiety." + +Mr. Holmes, after deliberating on the matter, sent the following +letter to Captain Orme, unsealed, in an envelope, addressed to the +Colonel:-- + + "SIR,--I have seen the forged checks which you got cashed at my + banker's; and on inquiry find that you induced my daughter to + present them, by telling her that I had given them to you, as + a token of my reconciliation. I presume you are aware of the + consequences to which you have subjected yourself; though you + may suppose that a regard for my daughter's feelings, and the + reputation of her child, will induce me to forego a prosecution. + I have, however, to warn you against the repetition of such + a base and hazardous course, for there are bounds which the + tenderest humanity will not suffer to be passed with impunity. I + should hope, for the honour of your father's character, that he + was ignorant of the crime which you have committed; but I fear + you are not the only person that is involved in the guilt of its + commission." + +To this letter he received the following reply the next day:-- + + "SIR,--You say you have detected my fraud, and express your fear + that I am not the only person that is involved in the guilt of + it. Very true, Sir. Your own daughter suggested to me this mode + of getting at some portion of her fortune--procured the blank + checks--and went herself and got them cashed; and now you are at + liberty to let the law take its course, if you please. She is + unfortunately my wife; and as she is once more under your roof, + I hope she will remain there till I send for her, which will not + be till you are induced to give her a fortune equal to my rank, + as I was fully entitled to expect on marrying her. My father, + who feels too indignant at your base insinuation to reply to it, + begs me to say, that he does not choose to admit your daughter + into his house again. You will, therefore, permit me to return + your own compliment, by saying, that all intimacy between our + families has ceased, and you may be assured, that I regret that + any intimacy was ever formed.--Your obedient servant, + + "CHARLES ORME." + +This letter confirmed the suspicions which had been, for a long +time, excited in the breast of Mrs. Charles Orme; and though the +open avowal of her husband's baseness produced a painful impression, +yet it decided the course which necessity compelled her to adopt; +and she could not forbear sending him the subjoined letter:-- + + "MY HUSBAND,--I cannot, in justice to myself, remain silent, + after reading your letter to my father--a letter which is a + very natural sequel to your perfidious conduct. That you should + feel at liberty to charge upon me the baseness of suggesting + the crime of which you have been guilty, is more than I could + have imagined; but it has relieved me from that bitter regret + which I should otherwise feel in being separated from you + for life. You have betrayed me--you have reproached me--you + have insulted me--but this, it appears, is not enough: you + now try to disgrace me. Have you lost all sense of honour? + Does no feeling of generous sensibility move in your breast? + Are you become an alien from every virtuous principle? and do + you wish, if possible, to sink me into contempt, after having + abandoned me and your child? I feel too indignant to throw + back the reproaches which you have cast on me. I have a home, + and a peaceful one, and you may rely upon it, that no false + professions of attachment shall ever again induce me to leave + it. I am unable to judge of your state of mind; but if you have + the slightest degree of remorse left, conscience must reproach + you bitterly.--Your much injured + + "EMMA." + +I shall now anticipate my narrative a little, and conclude the +history of Captain Orme. Soon after sending the preceding letter to +Mr. Holmes, he obtained a military appointment in the East Indies, +through the influence of Lord ----; and immediately embarked, +without making any communication to his wife, or expressing any wish +to see his infant child. She knew not the place of his destination +for nearly two years after he had left his native country, when +she received a letter from him. On opening the letter she very +naturally expected to find some relentings for his past unkindness, +and some promises of future amendment, but she was disappointed. +The influence of time, which generally softens down the asperities +of temper, and brings about a cordial reconciliation between the +most hostile parties, had only increased the malevolence of his +disposition; and as though he had not already inflicted a wound +sufficiently deep, he now proceeded to the most heartless and +unmanly abuse. He accused her of infidelity; reproached her for her +attachment to her own family, whom he reviled in the lowest terms; +and concluded by saying, that she might now put on her weeds, as it +was not his intention of ever returning to claim her as his wife, or +even to acknowledge as his son the child she had borne. + +As she still cherished an attachment for him, notwithstanding his +cruel treatment, and had indulged the forlorn hope of seeing him +reclaimed from the paths of evil, the contents of this letter +produced at first a deep melancholy; but as she had now begun to +derive consolation from a source of happiness which is concealed +from the eye of the gay and the dissipated, she soon regained her +composure, though she ceased not to pray for her erring husband. +At length the report of his death reached her through the medium +of a friend. She wept when she heard of his decease, and expressed +a strong anxiety to know the cause of it. Many inquiries were +made, but no information could be obtained, till she received a +letter from a military officer who had known him in the East. +This gentleman spoke in high terms of his courage, and of the +important services which he had rendered to the government of India; +expressing, at the same time, his regret that he fell a victim, not +to the sword, but to his habits of intemperance, which became so +inveterate, that neither reason nor authority could subdue them. +Thus terminated a union planned by treachery, which a perverse will +led Emma Holmes to contract, but which she lived to regret with +bitter and unavailing sorrow. + +Her husband's cruelty, in first abandoning his wife and child, +without bidding them adieu, and then insulting her by his base +accusations, was not more flagrant and unjust than his perfidy +in first inducing her to become his wife. Though pity could not +withhold the sympathy which her sufferings excited, yet every +impartial spectator was compelled to acknowledge that she had +brought them on herself by her own imprudence. And though such +instances of cruelty and treachery are frequently occurring in +the history of human life, and though they are held up by the +moralist as beacons to warn the incautious female of the danger to +which she is exposed, yet how often, alas! do we see such warnings +disregarded. Women are too often smitten by external appearances, +and too easily imposed upon by the artful tales of the perfidious +and the crafty, to listen to the advice of their best friends. Thus +braving the opposition of their parents, they plunge themselves into +a state of misery, without having, as a melancholy alleviation to +their anguish, the solitary consolation that they were not apprized +of their danger. I have seen, in my passage through life, many +fine characters wrecked on this fatal rock, and wish to guard the +thoughtless and inexperienced from a similar catastrophe, and though +I cannot suppose that I shall be able to change the purpose, when +it is once formed, yet I do not despair of exciting some degree of +precaution in the unfettered and uncorrupted mind. + +As that union, which is ordained to be the source of the purest +felicity, or of the bitterest anguish, and which nothing but death +or guilt can dissolve, is the most important that can be formed, +no one ought to propose it, or consent to it, till after the most +mature deliberation. In some instances it has been known that +_short_ courtships have led to happy marriages; but the instances +are comparatively few. Two persons accidentally meet--strangers +to each other--an offer of marriage is made, and immediately +accepted; a few weeks of intercourse, or of correspondence elapse, +and they are united for life. Can such a hasty union, which has +taken place while the parties have been almost entirely ignorant +of each other, be expected to yield much domestic felicity? It +may, but the chances are against it; as the history of social life +demonstrates this fact, that domestic happiness is less dependent on +the agreeableness of each other's persons, than on the harmony of +each other's disposition; and though a magic charm often renders us +blind to the defects of the beloved object, this blissful dream is +soon dissipated when the wedded pair come to seek their happiness +in the amiability of each other's tempers, and the goodness of each +other's principles. And considering the immense importance of this +correspondence in mental taste, tendencies, and inclinations, as a +source of permanent domestic happiness, and the amazing diversity +of tempers and dispositions which is known to prevail amongst human +beings, will a wise man, or will a prudent female, venture to risk +their felicity for life by a sudden and precipitate union? What! +shall we deem it necessary to institute a severe inquiry respecting +the temper, and disposition, and principles of the servants we take +into our dwellings, and whom we may dismiss at our pleasure; and +think that no such inquiry is necessary in relation to the person +to whom we are to be united for life--who is to be our comfort or +our torment, the means of elevating us to honour or sinking us into +contempt! Would this be an act of wisdom or of discretion? + +And is it not to be regretted that the period of courtship, which +is intended to give to the parties an opportunity of judging of +their fitness for each other, is usually the period in which the +greatest degree of duplicity prevails? It may be justly denominated +the intermediate state between the two conditions in human life, +over which the evil spirit of deception presides--investing the +character with imaginary charms--softening down rugged and uncouth +tempers into the smoothness of the most subduing tenderness--curbing +restless and ungovernable passions with the restraints of a crafty +policy--and giving such a fascination to external graces, that they +are received as substitutes for the most solid and substantial +virtues. This is the fatal period, when suspicion is usually +asleep; when a slowness of heart to believe the rumours of report +becomes proverbial; and it is not till the parties emerge from +this delusion, to the realities of married life, and resume their +real character, that they discover the deception they have been +practising on each other. Then the work of mutual recrimination and +reproach commences. Then it is their eyes are opened to see their +folly and their danger, but their repentance, like that of Esau's, +comes too late to repair the evil which they have brought upon +themselves. + +As the period of courtship is the most dangerous in the history +of life, because the most deceptive, those who wish to enjoy a +state of permanent domestic happiness, cannot, at this period, be +too observant of each other's tempers and dispositions, or too +inquisitive respecting each other's connections and manners. If +they now discover a dissonance in any of these particulars, they +would act a wiser part to separate by mutual consent, than to form +a union which will inevitably become a fruitful source of misery, +and may terminate in disgrace, if not in ruin. Some severe moralists +contend, that when an offer of marriage has been given and accepted, +no circumstances will justify either party in withdrawing from their +pledge, but that it ought to be held as sacred and as obligatory +as the marriage vow. Though the writer would not hazard an opinion +which would tend to sanction a wanton inconstancy, yet he claims +the privilege of differing from such casuists. For what purpose +has the unanimous consent of mankind required some period of time +to elapse, after the offer has been made, before it is formally, +and for life decided? Is it not that the contracting parties may +have an opportunity of judging of their relative fitness for each +other? If not, they may pass at once to the nuptial altar, after +mutually consenting to their union; but if it be, they are invested +with a moral right to revise their decision, when fresh discoveries +of character are made, which change their opinions, and diminish, +if not alienate their affections. Suppose a gentleman makes a lady +an offer, and she accepts it, under a firm conviction that he is +a man of honour, of integrity, of virtue, and of prudence, whose +disposition is amiable, whose circumstances are respectable, and +who is capable of maintaining her in the rank in which she has +been accustomed to move. Suppose that on a subsequent inquiry, +she finds out that these sterling qualities do not adorn his +character--that he is violent in his passions--and that his means +to support a family are not adequate to its demands. If she is now +convinced that by consummating the union, her happiness for life +will be sacrificed, ought she to be compelled to do so? She may be +censured for giving her consent too hastily; but is a consent given +under false impressions, and while in a state of total or partial +ignorance, to be binding, when she discovers the delusion which has +been practised on her, and sees nothing but misery and wretchedness +before her? I think it is not. If Emma Holmes, when she returned +the letters and presents to Captain Orme, had never more consented +to see him, would any wise or prudent person have passed a sentence +of condemnation on her conduct? No! Why not? Because she had given +her consent under false impressions of his character; but after her +marriage, though that took place under the same false impressions, +she was bound by the laws of God and man to remain his wife. + +But as there is always some risk of reputation, and sometimes +some pecuniary risk, in breaking off an engagement which has been +formed, it should not be done hastily, nor for trifling reasons. +Though the mutual pledge is less binding than the nuptial vow, yet +if it be treated with levity and contempt, society will resent the +insult which is offered to its sense of delicacy and of honour. The +faithless and inconstant will be marked out as the objects of its +censure and reproaches. And no censures can be too severe, nor any +reproaches be too bitter, to be directed against the man who gains +the affections of a female, and then abandons her from caprice; or +against that female, who acts the part of a coquette, by giving +pledges she never intends to redeem, and exciting expectations she +has resolved to disappoint. And this risk ought to operate as a +powerful motive to induce the utmost degree of caution when making +or when accepting an offer. As the right of overture is claimed +and exercised by man, he is supposed to institute every necessary +inquiry before he makes his election, and to be perfectly satisfied +that the female whose friendship and whose affection he courts +is capable of promoting his happiness; and though on a closer +intimacy he may discover some shades of imperfection which were not +visible when he first knew her, yet if they are only the ordinary +imperfections which belong to the human character, he would act +an unwise, if not a criminal part, by making them the ostensible +cause of breaking off the connection. We should ever remember, that +the nuptial vow always unites two imperfect beings, whose mutual +imperfections will call for the exercise of mutual candour; and +when pure and ardent love glows in the breast of each, they will +bear with each other's failings, and strive to promote each other's +happiness. + +It is then, in the opinion of the writer, only when some radical +defect is discovered in the character--some strong repulsive +quality, or some untoward and ungovernable passion--that the +male sex, who exercise the prerogative of choice, ought to feel +at liberty to disengage themselves, unless the female give her +unqualified approbation. In that case the connection may be +dissolved at any time, as it cannot be supposed that a marriage +between two persons who are willing to separate for life can be +productive of happiness. + +But without acting capriciously, or presuming to encroach on the +principle of equity, I should be disposed to concede to the female +sex a greater degree of liberty on this point. When an offer is made +to a lady, she may feel no reluctance to it--the person who makes it +may be agreeable to her, and, by the ardour of solicitation, she may +be induced to yield assent to the proposed union. She may do this +before her modesty allows her to make those inquiries respecting +temper, disposition, principles, and resources, which the gentleman +is supposed to have made before he ventured to disclose his wishes. +She may have been pressed to a compliance before she acquired that +specific information which would justify and sanction it; and which, +if advantage had not been taken of her amiable weakness, she would +have withheld till she had obtained it. And perhaps, in addition to +this, she has been induced to conceal the overture from her parents, +or her guardians, till some convenient season should arrive to make +it known--that convenient season being to be determined, less by the +decision of her own mind, than the mind of her lover. When these +circumstances occur in the history of a courtship, though I would +not say that the lady is quite as free to reject the offer, as she +was when it was first made, yet I think she is more at liberty to +decline it, than the gentleman who made it. Yet she ought not to +act capriciously, nor ought she to sport with the feelings of the +person to whom she has given her promise; but slighter reasons for +breaking off the connection will justify her in doing so, than those +which will justify him. She may discover no radical defect in his +character, yet she may perceive "the flaw unseemly"--she may behold +no predominating principle of evil, yet she may see its corrupting +influence--she may feel no strong repulsive qualities, yet her +affections may die off, while she knows not the cause--she may +witness no sallies of an ungovernable passion, yet she may strongly +suspect the amiability of his temper--she may not be able to find +out any fixed habits of inconsistency, or positive vice, and yet she +may be convinced that her happiness would be sacrificed for life if +she consented to the proposed union. + +A question now arises in which both parties are deeply interested. +Ought a female to marry when she feels conscious that she cannot be +happy with the person who wishes her to become his wife? or would it +be an act of wisdom, or prudence, or of piety, in a man to drag a +victim to the altar, who feels an abhorrence, not to the ceremony, +but to its appalling consequences? No. As mutual love is the only +substantial basis of the union, where that does not exist, the union +ought not to be consummated; and though some evils generally result +from a dissolution of the mutual pledge, yet they are fewer and less +awful and destructive than those which follow a marriage without +affection--or when the affection of one has to struggle against the +cool indifference or positive dislike of the other. + +And if circumstances should render it imperatively necessary that +either party should break off the connection, this should be done in +the most delicate and honourable manner. The reasons in most cases +should be expressly and unequivocally stated; all vacillation should +be conscientiously avoided; no words of reproach or invective should +be uttered; and for their mutual credit they should speak of each +other among their friends in terms of respect. + +But let no female expect that a libertine in principle, or a +rake in practice, will ever make a kind and attentive husband, +notwithstanding any professions he may make. Her charms may for a +season operate as a spell on his passions, and he may, under their +powerful influence, appear "a new creature." The company of the +dissolute may be forsaken for the pleasure of her society; and the +habits of vice may be broken off while he is courting the living +image of virtue; but his character will remain the same. He may +affect to deplore his past follies, and he may speak in praise of +goodness and of religion, but, unless his _heart_ is changed, he +will soon give ocular proof that he is the same man as when he made +an open mock of sin, and publicly contemned righteousness. That +some who have been dissolute in their early days have become the +ornaments of society, good husbands, kind parents, and faithful +friends, is a fact too generally known to be doubted; but their +reformation has usually preceded their marriage--rarely followed +it. They have separated themselves from evil-doers, and they +have learned to do well, before they have dared to solicit the +affections of a virtuous female; and then having re-established +their character, and fixed their habits of goodness and of religion, +they have lived to repair the injury they have done to their own +reputation and to the morals of others, by walking in a course of +exemplary consistency. + +But there are no females who ought to be so cautious on this subject +as the children of pious parents. If they have imbibed the spirit +of pure and undefiled religion, they ought to marry _only in the +Lord_. No intellectual talents, no degrees of moral excellence, and +no resources of wealth, should induce them to a violation of this +positive injunction of the law of God. It would be, in addition to +an insult offered to Divine authority, a suicidal act in regard to +personal honour and happiness; uniform experience proving that the +intermarrying of the pious with the unconverted is followed by the +most disastrous social and spiritual consequences. + +And if they are not decidedly pious, yet if they have been +accustomed to habits of religion, they ought not to calculate on +permanent happiness if they consent to marry a person who is an +avowed infidel, or one who cannot distinguish between the form of +godliness and its power. For such a marriage will separate the +woman from all intimate connection with her pious friends, and she +will thus become to them a source of deep and poignant sorrow. But +this, though an evil which a daughter ought to guard against, out +of respect to the feelings of her parents, is a minor evil, when +compared with the influence it will have over her own mind. The +irreligion of her husband will tolerate none of the customs with +which she has been so long familiar--no family prayer--no reading +of the Scripture--no reverential references to God--to Providence, +or to an eternal world--the Sabbath will be employed as a day of +business, or of indolence, or of pleasure--or if the husband attend +a place of worship, he will go, not + + "Where the violated law speaks out + Its thunders; and where, in strains as sweet + As angels use, the gospel whispers peace;" + +but where + + "The things that mount the rostrum with a skip, + And then skip down again; pronounce a text,-- + Cry hem; and reading what they never wrote, + Just fifteen minutes huddle up their work, + And with a well-bred whisper close the scene." + +Can this strange change take place without producing some ill +effect? will she be satisfied and contented? will conscience never +reproach her? will she have no misgivings? will the days of her life + + "----glide softly o'er her head, + Made up of innocence?" + +Will she never institute a comparison between her present home, +and that in which she drew her infant breath, and spent the years +of childhood and of youth? Will she never contrast the piety of +her father with the irreligion of her husband?--the devotional +lessons of her mother with her present course of life? But suppose +she should outlive all reverence and respect for the habits of +domestic religion, which she has been accustomed to revere and +observe from the days of childhood, and yield herself to the +beguiling fascinations of gaiety and worldliness, what will be her +reflections and feelings in the hours of sickness, and from whence +can she derive consolation and hope when death approaches? Ah, it +is _then_ the secrets of her soul will speak out! it is _then_ +that her criminal folly will appear in all its aggravated forms of +guilt! it is _then_ she will revert to her former home, her earlier +associations, her pristine impressions of religious truth. Alas! she +now goes back to these scenes, not for comfort, but for torture; +not to gather up the fragments of hope, but to give a keener point +to her desponding fears; to call back "joys that are departed," and +to increase the intensity of her mental anguish, by contrasting it +with the happiness she once enjoyed. Yet, if she discloses what +she feels, she is either ridiculed for her superstitious folly, or +suspected of partial derangement--as no one understands her case. +She lingers through the last stages of her life in sorrow and in +sadness, the victim of self-consuming anxieties and grief; and may +die in agonizing apprehension, if not in absolute despair. + + + + +THE VILLAGE CHAPEL. + + +The painful and prolonged excitement occasioned by Emma's unhappy +marriage, and its disastrous consequences, so greatly impaired the +health of Mrs. and Miss Holmes, that a change of air and scene was +deemed absolutely necessary. Dawlish, their favourite retreat, was +thought of, and they were making preparations for their departure +thither, when a letter arrived from Mr. Newell, Mr. Holmes' +son-in-law, in Warwickshire,[26] announcing that the new chapel +which Mr. Holmes had been the means of rearing near his native +place, was all but completed, and inviting them to spend some time +with him, and be present on the opening day. This induced them to +change their mind. "I certainly," said Mr. Holmes, "ought to go, to +witness the accomplishment of my design." "And we," said his wife +and daughter, "should very much like to accompany you; we may thus +reap a spiritual benefit while endeavouring to recruit our bodily +health." + + [26] Vol. ii. p. 129. + +The village of Lynnbridge, Warwickshire, near which Mr. Newell +resided, was delightfully situated on the slope of a hill, +commanding an extensive and beautiful prospect. At the foot winded +the Lynn, much renowned as an excellent trouting stream, and here +crossed by a handsome stone bridge, over which lay the highroad to +London. A narrow lane, richly adorned in summer with dog-roses and +other wild flowers, led to the village above, which was rather of +a straggling description, without any principal street. The houses +were for the most part of a humble order, few rising to the dignity +of two stories, but all displaying that air of neatness and comfort +which so distinguishes our English villages above those of any other +country. Each had a flower garden in front, very prettily kept; and +the cottages, which were generally white-washed and thatched, had +their walls often adorned with vines, ivy, or honey-suckle. At the +extremity of the village, looking down upon the river, stood the +parish church, a venerable Gothic edifice, with its churchyard, +encircled by a row of ancient yew trees. Adjoining the church was +the rectory, a picturesque and comfortable-looking old English +mansion, with its pointed gables, well cultivated garden, and rather +extensive pleasure grounds. Shady lanes led in all directions to the +surrounding country; the prospect of which, as already mentioned, +was of the most charming nature, comprehending an endless variety +of hill and dale, wood and corn-fields, and reminding the gazer +unconsciously of Cowper's lines-- + + "'Tis pleasant, through the loopholes of retreat, + To peep at such a world." + +The population was for the most part agricultural, but there +were some gentlemen's seats in the neighbourhood, besides a few +farm-houses, and several villas with a few acres of ground attached +to each. + +Whether humanity is more depraved in a city than in a village, +still remains an open question; but I have uniformly found that in +both, the old and the young evince the same predilection for what +is evil, and the same antipathies to what is pure; and if left +without any enlightening and regenerating process, will bear a +striking resemblance to each other in the great outlines of their +moral character. Observation proves, I think, that the city, by its +more varied attractions, facilitates the broader and more marked +development of the essential depravity of our common nature. Yet in +the inhabitants of a village we not unfrequently discover appalling +ignorance, with its consequent vices of impiety, profanity, and +intemperance, associated with extreme vulgarity of manners; an +abject submissiveness to their superiors, and an extreme rudeness in +their intercourse with each other. + +In regard to moral and social features, Lynnbridge was a very fair +specimen of an English village, neither better nor worse than the +average number; it had its church and its rector, its wardens to +attend to ecclesiastical matters, and its overseer to look after the +poor. There was no school, however, for the training of the young +in the way in which they should go; nor had the pure gospel of the +grace of God ever been preached to the people. In the neighbourhood +of this village, Mr. Newell had taken a farm, and been settled there +a few years before the date of the occurrences which I intend to +narrate. + +The farm rented by Mr. Holmes' father, and on which he had been +born and brought up, was situated a few miles from Lynnbridge, and +from old associations he naturally took an interest in the village. +On one of his visits to his son-in-law, he was much shocked with +the appearance which it presented on a Sabbath evening. The large +green on the banks of the river was crowded by the youth of both +sexes, devoting the sacred hours of the day of rest to various +popular sports, while their seniors filled the public-houses. Loud +bursts of laughter were heard from all quarters, and he learned +that brawls and boxing matches were by no means of rare occurrence. +It was while contemplating this scene of disorder that Mr. Holmes +formed the praiseworthy resolution of having a chapel built, and +supporting the minister till the people were able and felt disposed +to do so themselves. As soon as he made known his determination, +his son-in-law, and several other gentlemen, voluntarily offered to +co-operate with him. One gave a piece of land, another supplied part +of the timber, and others subscribed their money; and though some +ridiculed the design, and a few interdicted their tenants and their +labourers from assisting in its accomplishment, yet, like the Hebrew +temple, the chapel gradually rose, in spite of all opposition, till +at length it was finally completed. + +Having heard that the Rector of the parish was much displeased +with this projected encroachment on his ecclesiastical province, +Mr. Holmes called on him, to explain the reason and motives of his +conduct, and though he failed in obtaining his concurrence, yet he +was assured that he would offer no opposition, as he held sacred the +principle of unrestricted religious liberty. He returned from this +interview more gratified than he expected he should be, having found +the old Rector an amiable and intelligent man, far advanced beyond +many of his order in the catholic liberality of his opinions and +principles. + +The chapel was finished within the space of six months; and when +every preparation was made for opening it, Mr. Newell, as already +mentioned, sent notice to Mr. Holmes, who accordingly set out for +Warwickshire, accompanied by his wife and eldest daughter. On +arriving at Lynnbridge they found Mr. Newell waiting with his chaise +to take them to Thornwood, about two miles distant, where they were +received with the greatest joy by Mrs. Newell, the second daughter +of the Holmes family, whom neither her mother nor sister had seen +for a considerable time. After the first greetings were over, the +conversation, as might be expected, turned on the late unhappy +occurrences in the family, in connection with Emma's marriage. +Then the subject of the new chapel, which was to be opened on the +ensuing Sabbath, was introduced by Mr. Newell, who informed his +father-in-law that the opposition raised against the measure had +gradually died away, and some of the most violent and bigoted of its +opponents had been brought to admit, that it was likely to prove +advantageous to the morals of the people. After some discussion of +this topic, which served to divert their attention from more painful +matters, Mr. Newell assembled his household for evening worship, and +shortly afterwards the family retired to rest. + +The following days were employed by the ladies in visiting the +dairy, the garden, the poultry-yard, and examining other objects of +rural interest; and by Mr. Holmes and his son-in-law in rambling +over the farm, and discussing the various agricultural operations +then in progress. At length the Sabbath morning dawned on which +the chapel was to be dedicated to God. Mr. Holmes rose at an early +hour, but was rather disappointed to find the sky looking dark and +lowering; on going, however, into the fold-yard, he met the old +shepherd, who, on being asked his opinion of the weather, quietly +surveyed the sky, and said, "I think, Sir, the dark clouds will blow +off, and we shall have a fine day." This remark quite raised his +spirits, as the shepherd was considered a sort of weather prophet, +and this time at all events his words proved true, for as the +morning advanced the clouds began to disperse, the bees were seen +passing and repassing the parlour window; and just after the family +had finished breakfast, the sun burst from the dark mantle in which +he had been enveloped, and diffused his bright and enlivening rays. + +"It is a pleasant thing," said Mr. Holmes, "to see the sun; but I +have never gazed on it with more delight than at this moment." + +"A fine emblem," Miss Holmes replied, "of Him, who sometimes in an +unexpected moment breaks in upon the midnight of the soul; and who, +I trust, will arise and shine on the inhabitants of this benighted +village, and bless them with the light of life and immortality." + +The chapel, a neat plain structure, was erected on a piece of +freehold land, near the bank of the river, where the villagers had +been accustomed to spend the sacred hours of the Sabbath in riotous +amusement. It was crowded to excess, many persons having come from a +great distance to be present at the opening. The Rev. Mr. Broadley +of B---- commenced the service by reading a hymn, which was sung +with great animation and delight. This was followed by reading +the Scriptures, and prayer; and then the Rev. Mr. Wyatt, who had +arrived for the occasion from London, preached a very beautiful and +impressive sermon from John iii. 16--"For God so loved the world, +that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him +should not perish, but have everlasting life." + +"I am not aware," he remarked, after he had repeated his text, +"that I could have selected a more important, or a more interesting +passage than that which I have just read. So powerfully does it +exhibit the love of God towards fallen man, that though I could +speak with an eloquence equal to that of an angel, I should be +incapable of doing it adequate justice. God so loved the world, +that he gave his only begotten Son; and yet, by many, this gift is +esteemed as a thing of nought; and all references which are made +to its immense value, are regarded as the sallies or excesses of a +disordered imagination, or a mean and contemptible fanaticism. He +has 'so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that +whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting +life.' But alas! the danger which awaits us is disbelieved; and the +happiness the Son of God came to bestow is despised." + +Mr. Wyatt divided his text in the following order:-- + +I. The moral condition of men, of every rank, and of every +description of character, is alarming. + +II. To deliver them from this state of moral danger was the express +design of our Lord's mission. + +III. Such is the tenderness of his compassion, that whosoever +believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. + +IV. Saving us from the misery which we deserve, by the gift of his +only begotten Son, is a most astonishing display of the love of God. + +When speaking under the second division of his sermon, on the design +of our Lord's mission, he delivered the following passage, which +made a deep impression on the audience:-- + +"Had one of the highest orders of angels assumed a human form, and +announced to us some scheme of redemption from evil and from ruin, +it would have been on our part an act of folly and ingratitude to +have treated the message of mercy with indifference. But, brethren, +no angel, however exalted, could redeem man from the curse of a +violated law, or conduct him to the repossession of that purity +and honour, from which, by transgression, he has fallen. Therefore +God gave his only begotten Son, who united in his own person every +attribute of Deity, and every perfection of humanity; displaying a +majesty, combined with a tenderness of character, which alternately +excite our awe and confidence. With what ease did he rule the +elements of nature--heal the maladies and disorders produced by +sin--recal the souls of the departed from the invisible world; +while, with all the familiarity and compassion of a near and beloved +friend, he mingles his tears of sympathy with the suffering mourner, +and diffuses the peace of heaven over the heart oppressed with +sorrow. + +"Suppose, my brethren, one of the elders of Israel, after having +been present at the giving of the law at Sinai, and after having +seen and heard the mysterious sights and sounds on that mount +of awful majesty and terror, had then fallen into a trance, and +continued in that state till the night before the vision of the +shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem. Suppose he had then awoke +and been told, that the law, which had been given with so many +awful accompaniments, had been broken, and that the Lawgiver was +on the eve of sending his only begotten Son into the world--would +he not have concluded that his mission must be one of vengeance? +But no! 'God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; +but that the world through him might be saved.' He gave his only +begotten Son that we might not perish, but have everlasting life. +What is it for man to perish? I cannot tell--I have never seen +the judgment-seat of Christ!--I have never beheld the awful glory +of that scene of terror!--I have never heard the final sentence, +Depart!--I have never been banished far and for ever away from +bliss!--I have not endured the agonies of the worm that never +dies!--the fire that is never quenched! Indeed, my brethren, I +cannot tell what it is to perish! It is a state of misery which no +imagery can represent--which no language can describe--which no +imagination can conceive.--'But have everlasting life!' It is life +which gives to every other possession its determinate value. For +what is beauty without life but a fading ornament? what is wealth +without life but a useless substance? what is honour without life +but a bursting bubble? Skin for skin, all that a man hath will he +give for his life. So much do we prize this invaluable possession, +that rather than lose it, we will consent to part with one limb, +and one sense after another, till all are gone. But, brethren, the +period is not far distant, when, like our forefathers, we must +resign it, and be numbered with the dead; yet Jesus Christ says, +that he that believeth in him shall never die. This promise must be +taken in a restricted sense, as his disciples are no less liable to +the visitations of death than his enemies. Their faith in him does +not operate as a charm to repeal the law of mortality; neither does +it exempt them from the diseases and pains which usually precede +its infliction. But though they die a natural death, yet they +immediately enter on the full enjoyment of eternal life--when they +dissolve their connection with the inhabitants of this world, they +become fellow-citizens with the saints in light--when they close +their eyes on this earthly scene, they open them on the visions of +celestial glory--and when their bodies are committed to the tomb, +their immortal spirits are enjoying that endless life, over which +death has no power. This life will be a life of perfect purity--of +perfect knowledge--and of perfect felicity; and will continue +unimpaired by sickness, and undisturbed by care, for ever and for +ever. + +"And our text says, that _whosoever_ believeth in the Son of God +shall have everlasting life. No one is denied the invaluable +blessing on account of the obscurity of his origin, or the +inferiority of his rank; for though these circumstances of +distinction have a powerful effect on us, yet they have no influence +over the mind of the Saviour, who looks with as much benign regard +on a penitent villager as a repenting citizen; and is no less +willing to save a poor neglected pauper than the rich nobleman who +fares sumptuously every day. Whosoever believeth in him shall not +perish, but have everlasting life. The most debased, impure, and +worthless, if they truly lay hold of the Saviour, come within the +circle of this comprehensive promise, and have the same warrant to +expect forgiveness and final salvation, as the apostles of Jesus +Christ had. 'And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him +that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And +whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely' (Rev. xxii. +17)." + + * * * * * + +A short time after the Village Chapel had been set apart for +the worship of God, and the Rev. Mr. Swinson, its minister, had +commenced the discharge of his regular services, a spirit of +opposition arose from a very unexpected quarter. Some of the more +respectable farmers, and two magistrates, waited on the clergyman of +the parish, to express their astonishment that he should give his +sanction to a measure, which, in their opinion, was calculated to +endanger the Church. + +"Indeed, gentlemen," said the Rector, the Rev. Mr. Trevor, "I have +not sanctioned it. When Mr. Holmes called on me to explain his +motives for building the chapel, he said his object was to reform +the village. I expressed a wish that he might succeed in that +particular, but at the same time told him that I did not think he +would." + +"Reform the village, Sir!" said one of the magistrates, "the village +wants no reformation. The people are honest, industrious, virtuous, +and happy; and what reformation do they require?" + +"But they are rather remiss in their attendance at church; and they +have frequently pastimes on the green on a Sunday evening, which I +think ought not to be tolerated." + +"Why, certainly, Sir, they do not attend the church quite so often +as they ought to do; but as for the pastimes on the green, I rather +think you must have received some exaggerated report of them, for I +candidly confess that I never saw anything to disapprove of." + +"I have heard of their dancing on a Sunday evening," replied the +Rector, "and of many of them getting intoxicated, which you must +allow, gentlemen, are not very reputable engagements for a Sunday +evening." + +"They are a cheerful, merry set of folks, Sir; and some of them may +sometimes take a little more ale than is good for them; but I never +saw anything in their amusements to disapprove of. Indeed, I think +the scene which the green presents on a Sunday evening is one of the +most picturesque which a country life can exhibit; displaying, as it +does, such varied lights and shades of rustic character. The young +and old intermingle together; and those who are too infirm to engage +in the innocent frolics of their youthful days, look on, while +others react the parts they once performed. The utmost degree of +hilarity prevails amongst them; and in these relaxations they forget +the toils and cares of the week." + +"Well, gentlemen," replied Mr. Trevor, "I certainly think that the +poor, no less than the rich, ought to be left to choose their own +pleasures, without being controlled by others; and if any of them +prefer worshipping their Maker on a Sunday evening, to joining in a +public gambol, they ought to be permitted to do it. I cannot consent +to impose any restraint on the consciences of others, as I should +not like to submit to any restraint myself. Indeed, opposition +on our part would be both impolitic and unjust; the spirit of an +Englishman rises up in defiance against any interference with his +religious opinions, and his opposition becomes more decided and +more zealous in proportion to the efforts employed to restrain his +liberty of conscience." + +Though these persons could not induce their amiable and intelligent +Rector to unite with them in their attempt to put down what they +termed _the new religion_, yet they resolved to employ all the +influence they possessed to accomplish their purpose. How to do it +in the most effectual way, and yet not involve themselves in any +hazardous responsibility, was a question which perplexed them. After +various discussions they resolved to prohibit all their tenants and +servants from attending the chapel--to withhold parish pay from +those paupers who went--and to refuse associating with the more +independent and respectable parishioners who gave it the sanction +of their presence. Having agreed on their plan of operation, they +proceeded to act on it with vigour, and the effects were immediately +felt; for on the following Sabbath the congregation assembling +at the new chapel was reduced to less than one-half of its usual +number. This determined opposition was rather discouraging; but +as yet Mr. Swinson and those who adhered to him were permitted to +remain unmolested. But a storm was gathering; and the evil spirits +who had set themselves against the introduction of evangelical +religion into the village, resolved to make one desperate effort to +expel it. Some of the baser sort were selected as the agents of the +plot; and everything being arranged, they came in a body on a Sunday +evening, and while Mr. Swinson was preaching, they entered the +chapel, and by their noise and tumultuous behaviour, compelled him +to desist and the people to retire. As he was quitting this scene of +confusion, he was grossly insulted, some of the rioters brandishing +their sticks over his head, and threatening that if he dared enter +the chapel again, he should not be permitted to escape with his +life. + +[Illustration: MR. SWINSON ASSAULTED BY THE MOB. + +_Vol. ii. p. 396._] + +The report of these proceedings soon spread through the neighbouring +country; and while some raised the "loud laugh," and defended the +conduct of the assailants, others came forward to aid in resisting +the tyranny which was attempting to trample on the rights and +liberties of the people. It was well known that the actors on this +occasion were instigated secretly by parties behind the scenes--that +they were the mere agents of "the respectable and intelligent +few," who had resolved on the extermination of this so-called new +religion; and though Christian sympathy wept over their ignorance, +and mercy pleaded for their forgiveness, yet it was felt by Mr. +Holmes and his friends, as a duty they owed to the reputation of +the clergyman who had been insulted, and to the liberties of the +people which had been trampled on, to bring the perpetrators of this +disturbance to punishment. Warrants were immediately granted by a +neighbouring magistrate for the apprehension of all the culprits, +and they were bound over to appear at the next sessions, there to be +tried for disturbing Mr. Swinson and his congregation, while engaged +in public worship, and for threatening the life of the minister, if +he attempted to continue the discharge of his pastoral duties. + +No sooner had these thoughtless and misguided young men returned +from the presence of the magistrate, than they began to regret the +part they had acted; and frankly confessed, that they should never +have engaged in the affair, had it not been for Mr. Wingate, an +extensive proprietor in the neighbourhood, and his friends. "They +put us up to it," one of them said, "and promised that no harm +should come to us if we would kick up a _row_." + +There is no class of men in society who occupy a more respectable or +a more enviable station than our country gentlemen. But living on +their own patrimonial estates, in the midst of a thinly scattered +population, consisting for the most part of poor and ignorant +peasantry, they frequently display more of the domineering spirit +of feudal times than any other class of men in the kingdom: and +though they have made some progress in intellectual cultivation, +in accordance with the spirit of the age, yet they still lag +far behind the great body of their countrymen in liberality of +sentiment and benevolence of disposition. They are too apt to regard +the peasantry with supercilious contempt, and endeavour to keep +down, by oppression, the rising spirit of freedom. They too often +seem to consider those who have no riches, as beings having no +rights--whose quiet complaint is to be considered as provocation, +and whose mildest remonstrance is to be regarded as insolence. They +have been in past times most active in opposing the introduction +of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the villages over which they +exercise an authority; and many of the popular outrages which have +been committed against the ministers of the gospel, have originated +in their suggestions or direct efforts. But now a change has come +over the land for the better. This may be partly attributed to +that spirit of independent inquiry which is spreading amongst our +peasantry, who seem disposed to withstand all encroachments on their +freedom of choice and action; and while they are not wanting in +civility and proper subjection to their employers, bow not, as their +forefathers did, to the yoke of arbitrary oppression. + +When the sessions came on, the friends of the accused made every +possible effort to defeat the ends of justice, but they were +foiled in the attempt. The case was stated in a clear and forcible +manner--the evidence which supported it was full and conclusive--and +though their acquittal would have given many of the spectators of +their trial a triumph, yet an honest jury returned the verdict which +the injured laws of the country demanded, and the rioters were found +guilty. As they made, however, a handsome apology, and entered into +a recognizance to keep the peace, and to come up for judgment when +called on to do so, Mr. Holmes and his friends consented to stay any +further proceedings, and this gave general satisfaction. + +After this decision, the spirit of persecution declined, and the +peasantry, finding that they were protected by the laws of the +country, resolutely determined to enjoy the freedom which no man +could take from them. They now pressed in greater numbers to hear +the preacher, who had given such decisive proofs that he knew how +to practise the forbearance which he enforced, and exercise the +mercy which it was his duty and his delight to proclaim. When +preaching one Sabbath evening, shortly after the trial, from 1 +Tim. i. 13--"Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and +injurious: but I have obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in +unbelief"--he saw two of the ring-leaders of the late riot sitting +in a back seat in the gallery of the chapel. Without appearing to +notice them, he took occasion, from the subject he was discussing, +to make a strong appeal to their consciences. After delineating the +character of Paul, as a blasphemer and a persecutor, and as one who +had injured the reputation and destroyed the peace of others, he +passed by a natural transition to his present audience, and thus +addressed them:--"Happy would it have been for the world, if the +spirit of persecution had died out of it when Saul of Tarsus was +converted to the faith of Christ; but alas! my brethren, it survived +that memorable event, and has continued in existence to the present +day. In former times it dragged the disciples of the Redeemer to +prison, confiscated their property, and then consigned them to the +flames; and though its power is now restrained by the laws of our +country, yet it still retains all its native rancour and malignity. +It would now react the part by which it formerly disgraced our +national history, and plunge us into all the horrors and sufferings +which our ancestors endured; but thanks to a kind and merciful +Providence, we are guarded from its violence by the majesty of the +British law, and are permitted to assemble together, where and when +we please, without dreading opposition or disturbance from any one. + +"Our duty in relation to our persecutors is to pity them, for they +do it ignorantly in unbelief, and to pray that they may obtain +mercy. And have we not encouragement to do this, seeing that God +is sometimes pleased to transform the persecutor into a preacher +of the gospel? Hence the apostle, when writing to the church at +Galatia, says: 'But they had heard only, that he which persecuted +us in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.' +What a change! What a miracle of grace! What a proof that Christ +Jesus came to save the chief of sinners! And am I now addressing +any one who has attempted to disturb us in the enjoyment of our +religious privileges, or who has been in the habit of reviling or +threatening us? You see how we are protected, and though we have not +chosen to enforce the full penalties of the law, yet a repetition +of the offence will render such forbearance in future absolutely +impossible. But I flatter myself, that those who have opposed us, +will do so no more; and that even the persecutors themselves may be +induced to implore mercy. Yes, O persecutor, He against whom thou +hast raised the rebellious hand, waits to be gracious--_he_, whose +authority thou hast trampled on, and whose grace thou hast despised, +is now looking down with an eye of compassion, more willing to +pardon and to save, than to punish and destroy. If you continue in +a state of rebellious impenitence, you will treasure up to yourself +wrath against the day of wrath; but if you now repent and pray, and +believe in him, you will be forgiven, and finally admitted into +his presence in heaven, where you will enjoy a state of purity and +happiness for ever. Let me then urge you to return home, and on your +knees pour forth the prayer of the publican, 'God be merciful to me +a sinner;' and should it please God, who 'delighteth in mercy,' to +answer this prayer, you will then feel a stronger attachment than +you ever felt aversion to the gospel of Christ." + +It often happens that the cause of the Redeemer is promoted by the +very means employed to crush it; and of the truth of this remark +the above narrative furnishes a striking instance. Mr. Swinson's +congregation at Lynnbridge increased so rapidly, that _it_ became +necessary to erect a large front gallery in the chapel; and many of +the inhabitants of remoter parishes, being induced to come and hear +the man who had been so unjustly treated, solicited him to visit +them and preach during the evenings of the week. "So mightily grew +the word of God, and prevailed" (Acts xix. 20). + + + + +VILLAGE CHARACTERS. + + +A few weeks after the termination of the struggle, so successfully +maintained by the managers of the village chapel, against the +encroachments of bigotry and intolerance, I received a letter +from Mr. Newell informing me that Mr. and Mrs. Holmes had quitted +Thornwood to return to the Elms, but had left Miss Holmes to remain +a little longer with him and Mrs. Newell. He proceeded to say, +that as his friends who had filled his house were now departed, he +should be very happy if I would pay him a visit, and that if I could +arrange to remain for a little time, I might then accompany Louisa +on her return to the Elms, and thus fulfil the promise which I had +formerly made to Mr. Holmes. This invitation came very opportunely, +as I had just been labouring under a slight indisposition, for which +change of air was strongly recommended. I had a great desire, too, +to see again both Mr. Newell and Miss Holmes; and, accordingly, +after arranging matters for an absence of a short period, I took my +seat in the coach to Lynnbridge, where Mr. Newell was waiting to +receive me with his chaise. Till then I had never before been in +that part of the country, and was quite delighted with the beautiful +drive from Lynnbridge to Thornwood. On arriving there I had the +pleasure of meeting again Miss Holmes and Mrs. Newell, neither of +whom I had seen since the marriage of the latter a few years before +in London. I need not here enlarge on the kind reception which +I received from all, or recount the details of the pleasant and +cheerful conversation in which we spent the evening. + +The following day, after an early dinner, Miss Holmes, Mrs. +Newell, and myself (Mr. Newell having some business to attend to) +sallied out for a walk. "Louisa shall be our cicerone," said Mrs. +Newell; "I think she knows more of the country hereabouts than +I, who have lived in it for several years." "Perhaps, Mr. ----," +she continued, addressing me, "you would like to see some of our +VILLAGE CHARACTERS. They are to be found everywhere; but I think +this place has rather more than its share of them. Louisa, I +believe, knows them all already, as she is a most ardent student +of the different phases of humanity." I, of course, expressed my +readiness to accompany the ladies wherever they chose to lead me; +and we, accordingly, bent our footsteps towards a homestead about +a mile off, occupied by Mr. William Harris, one of the finest +specimens of the old English farmer I had seen for a long time. He +was a stout-built man, rather inclined to corpulency, with a fresh +ruddy face and a sharp keen eye; but the best description I can give +of him is that furnished me by Miss Holmes, as we walked towards his +house. + +"Mr. Harris," she said, "is, as might be expected, blunt in his +manners, but frank and obliging in his disposition, of an hospitable +and genial nature, and as regular as clock-work in all his domestic +arrangements. He lives in the house in which his grandfather was +born, and which is shaded by a large oak tree, that has outlived +many generations, and is likely to outlive many more. He rises in +the summer about five, breakfasts at half-past six, takes his dinner +exactly as the clock strikes twelve, smokes his pipe in the porch +between six and seven, then takes his supper, and retires at nine, +to sleep away the long and tedious hours of night. He is, upon the +whole, a very worthy man, though rather pedantic in his way. He +received what he calls an _edecation_, when young; his father having +sent him for six months to a boarding-school about twelve miles off; +besides giving the old parish clerk two guineas to teach him the +rules of addition and multiplication. He farms a small property of +his own, on which his modest mansion stands, and rents another farm +about double the size, under Lord ----; and is regarded by most of +his fraternity rather clever in his profession. He is a good judge +of live stock; is celebrated for the excellence of his butter and +cheese; decidedly attached to his Church and his Queen; generally +consulted on all parish questions; and universally admitted to be +one of the best weather-tellers in the neighbourhood, though the +shepherd says he has known him out in his reckonings. He has served +the office of overseer eleven times, which forms one of his chief +tales in all companies; has been churchwarden six times; was, when +a young man, regularly enrolled amongst the yeomanry of the country +at the time of the threatened invasion in the year 1804, and often +expresses his regret that no opportunity ever occurred to enable him +to distinguish himself in the annals of war. He goes to church with +his comely dame every Sunday; repeats the responses in an audible +voice; reclines his head on the top of his staff, while _appearing_ +to listen to the sermon; reads one chapter in the Old Testament and +one in the New every Sunday afternoon; and then indulges himself +with an extra glass and pipe with a few friends, either at his own +house, or at the inn on the green. But he is, to quote his own +language, a _mortal enemy_ to the Methodists; and will not suffer +any of his servants, if he knows it, to attend the chapel. He says +that the old religion is the best; and he thinks that no one ought +to be suffered to change it. He often says he hopes to live long +enough to see the Toleration Act repealed, which he declares is a +disgrace to parliament." + +He happened to be smoking his pipe, with his arms resting on the +little gate in the front of his house, as we were approaching it; +and in exchange for the courteous salutation we gave him, he invited +us to taste his ale, which, he said, was a prime fresh tap. This +offer we declined with thanks, as we preferred a glass of cold +water, which excited his astonishment. + +"You like water better than good ale! well, every one to his liking, +I say; but give me a good tankard of prime home-brewed. You be a +stranger, I think, Sir, in these parts," he continued, addressing +me, "I don't remember of ever seeing you here before." + +"I have never been in this part of the country before," I replied, +"and have just been admiring the fine scenery which surrounds your +village on all sides. There is a good proportion of hill and dale; +and the parish church on the brow of the hill, looking down to the +river, is a most interesting object." + +"Yes, Sir, it looks very well. There were no trees about it, except +the old yews, till I was appointed churchwarden, fourteen years +ago, last Easter Monday, when I had them planted, and they have +thriv'd very well. I have heard many gentlemen say it is a great +improvement. They say it gives a kind of a finish to our church. +They have often drunk my health for doing it." + +"But the inside of the church is not so neat and clean as the +outside is imposing." + +"No, Sir, it's sadly neglected now; but when I was warden, it was +the cleanest church in our parts." + +"How often have you duty performed in it?" + +"Once every Sunday, when I and my dame go as regularly as the doors +are opened; except when it's very wet, and then I go alone. She +has a touch of the rheumatics in bad weather; worse luck: and gets +deafish if she goes." + +"As it is so small, I suppose it is crowded on the Sunday?" + +"Why, no, not much of that; for the people go to the chapel that's +built yonder on the green. People now-a-days an't satisfied with the +good old religion of the Church; they must have this new religion +that's springing up all over the country." + +"Do you know what this new religion is?" + +"No, Sir. I'm satisfied with the religion my fathers had before me, +and so I don't trouble my head about it; but I understand it makes +people very miserable. Now, my religion never made me miserable, and +I don't think it ever will. I am for letting well alone." + +"I suppose you wish to go to heaven when you die?" + +"Aye, to be sure, I do. I shouldn't like to go to t'other place. +They are badish off there, so the parsons tell us; and I suppose +they know all about it, as they studied at the univarsaty." + +"But we ought not to expect to get to a place unless we go the right +way." + +"That's true, and no mistake." + +"Have you ever thought much about the difficulty of getting into +the right way which leads to heaven? I suppose you have read +what Jesus Christ says on this point? 'Enter ye in at the strait +gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to +destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait +is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few +there be that find it' (Matt. vii. 13, 14)." + +"Aye, I recollect reading them _varses_ t'other Sunday, and I felt a +bit puzzled to make out their meaning." + +"But, Farmer, they have a meaning, and a very important meaning." + +"So I guess, or Jesus Christ wouldn't had them put into the Bible. +Can you tell me the meaning, as I should like to know?" + +"Why, the meaning is just this: the many get into the broad way, +that is, the wrong way, and they are lost, and perish in hell. Have +you not read the verses which almost immediately follow?--'Many will +say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy +name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done +many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never +knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity' (Matt. vii. 22, +23)." + +"Now, Sir, allow me to ask you one question. If we go to church, +and pay every one his own, and are as good as we can be, do you not +think that we shall go to heaven when we die? We can't be better +than that, you know, Sir; and there are not many in these parts so +good as that." + +"As you have asked me a question, will you allow me to ask you one?" + +"Yes, Sir; twenty, if you please." + +"Are you as good as you can be?" + +"Why, to be sure, Sir, I might be a bit better; but you know we are +all sinners: the more's the pity." + +"Then, how can you expect to go to heaven on your own principle +of reasoning? Now, Farmer, let me tell you, that you are under a +delusion which will prove fatal unless you are undeceived. If you +read the New Testament with attention, you will perceive, that two +things are necessary to fit us for heaven: the first is, we must be +born again; and the second is, we must repent of, and forsake all +our sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." + +"Repentance: aye, that's very proper when people do wrong; but I +have never done anything I am ashamed of. Why, Sir, I have been +overseer eleven times; and there's ne'er a pauper in the parish but +will say that I always acted with the greatest charity. I go to +church--read my Bible--and pay everybody his own; and I don't think +God requires anything more than this; and I suppose you will think +this is very fair as times go?" + +"But are you born again?" + +"I don't know what that means; it puzzles my brains; but then I'm no +scolard; though I know a good bit about farming, like." + +"Then if you do not know what it is to be born again, that's a proof +that you are not born again, for if you were, you would understand +what it is." + +"Well, I suppose I should. Then according to your talk, though +I go to church, I am not likely after all to go to heaven. If +you are right, I am on the wrong tack; but what must I do to get +right? 'Tis time I looked about me, for I shall be sixty-eight next +Lady-day, and that's a great age; though my father lived till he was +fourscore, and my grandfather was ninety-one when he died; and I +had an uncle who lived to see a hundred and three. You see we are a +longish-lived set--about the oldest livers in these parts." + +"I think you can't do a better thing than overcome your prejudices, +and go and hear the preaching at the village chapel, where these +things will be explained to you; and it is very likely that there +you will gain in a few months more information on religious subjects +than you have acquired in all your life." + +At the mention of the chapel he shrugged up his shoulders and said, +"Why, if I was to go there I should have half the parish laughing at +me. I shouldn't be able to show my face at market. My old friends +would give me the cold shoulder. No, no, it will never do for an +old warden, who has been in office so often, to leave church and our +old Rector, for a Methody chapel and a Methody parson." + +"One word, Farmer, and I will soon finish. Are you such a coward as +to care for what others say, when you are doing a thing for your own +advantage? Will you suffer the laugh of the ungodly to deter you +from getting into the _narrow_ way that leads to heaven; and consent +to be lost with the many, rather than saved with the few?" + +"These sartanly are plain questions, and I'll give them a turn over +in my mind. I must confess that your talk has satisfied me--that I +know but little--the more's the pity--about the good things of the +Bible; and I think as how I shall take your advice, and go and hear +the gentleman who preaches in the chapel. If I don't like what he +says, I need not go again, and it is but right to give him a hearing +before one condemns him." + +"Very true." + +We now wished Mr. Harris good day, and proceeded on our walk. A +short distance onward we passed a neat cottage by the roadside, in +the little garden in front of which we saw a lady walking up and +down at a solemn pace. As Mrs. Newell was acquainted with her she +stopped to ask her how she did. As she did not perceive us before +Mrs. Newell spoke, being wrapped up in her own airy musings, she +seemed startled, as though some spectre had suddenly made its +appearance, but recovering her composure, she politely invited us to +enter her modest habitation. + +"I am sorry, Madam," said Mrs. Newell, in her usual kind manner, "to +see you so indisposed." + +"Indeed," said Miss Newnham, "I am very ill--very ill indeed. I was +never worse in all my life. I have not had a wink of sleep these two +nights. I sent for the doctor yesterday, but he did not come till +this morning; and he says that I am not ill. But I feel that I am +very ill indeed. Dr. Bland does not understand my case. I shall send +for Dr. Gordon, who is more clever in his profession; so my aunt +tells me, and so my old servant says." + +"Have you been ill long, Madam?" I inquired. + +"O no, Sir! I was very well this day fortnight. I spent the evening +at Mrs. Paul's with a party, and stayed rather later than usual; and +on coming home, just as I was passing along the churchyard, I saw a +very bright star shoot down from the sky." + +"It did not, I suppose, fall on you?" + +"O no! it didn't fall on me; but, Sir, I had such a dream! and I +awoke about three o'clock in the morning in such a terror, that I +have not been well since. And every night, but two, since then, the +screech owl has perched itself on the ledge of my window, and kept +up its hideous noises so long, that I have been obliged to have my +servant sleep in the same room with me ever since, and that's a very +unpleasant thing: particularly so." + +"And if, Madam, it be not an impertinent question, may I be +permitted to inquire into the nature of your dream?" + +"O Sir! I dreamed I went to Weston to purchase a new dress; and the +shopman, by mistake, took down some crape instead of printed muslin; +and just at that time in came Mr. Noades, the undertaker, and said +he wanted some stuff for a shroud, for a lady who had died suddenly. +And I awoke in such a fright! Indeed, I have not been myself since. +My nerves are so shook. My very shadow makes me tremble. I am afraid +I'm going to die." + +"Well, Madam, it is certain you will die, and you may die suddenly; +but do you think that this dream will hasten the time of your death?" + +"But, Sir, when I awoke I heard the death-watch as plainly as you +now hear me speak." + +"And do you suppose, Madam, that the Supreme Being has communicated +to this insect a knowledge of your approaching death, and sent it, +in the stillness of the night, to give you warning?" + +"But, Sir, I heard the death-watch several times when my sister was +ill of a decline, and she died about six months afterwards. I said +she would die. I was quite sure she would." + +"Very likely; and though you may trace a connection between her +disorder and her death, yet what connection can you trace between +the noise of this little insect and her death?" + +"But, Sir, since the screech owl left my window, our dog has done +nothing but howl for the last two nights. O! it is so dismal to lie +awake and hear it. It makes me tremble like an aspen leaf." + +"And do you think that the howling of the dog is a prognostic of +your death, any more than the death of either of your servants?" + +"I remember, Sir, the dog howled most awfully just before my +grandmother died: and when she heard it she said she should be sure +to die, and she did die sure enough." + +"And how old, Madam, was your grandmother when she died?" + +"Ninety-two, all but four weeks and three days." + +"And she really did hear the dog howl some short time before her +death?" + +"Yes, Sir, about five nights before she died; and all the servants +heard it; and they were so frightened; and they all said, nothing +can save her after these howlings." + +"Very likely; and as most dogs occasionally howl in the night, +it would be very strange if some person did not die after such +howlings; but can we suppose that the Supreme Being employs shooting +stars, insects, owls, and dogs, to announce to us the approach of +our death?" + +"And don't you believe, Sir, in such omens? Everybody does in our +parish." + +"I believe that ignorance and superstition have invested these +sights and sounds with an ominous import, and that many allow +themselves to be terrified by them; but what can be a stronger proof +of the absurdity of such a habit, than the fact that the star often +falls, the death-watch often ticks, and the dog often howls, when +the patient recovers, and lives for years to relate the terror and +alarm which these scare-crows of superstition had excited in his +breast." + +"I hope, Sir, I may live, and if I do, I shall then have a proof +that there is nothing in it." + +"And pray, Madam, have you never known a patient recover from his +illness even after he has been warned of his approaching death by +these omens of terror?" + +"O yes, Sir, my dear mother was once very ill, and for seven nights +our dog howled as he did last night; but she lived seven years +afterwards, and when she died no noises were heard." + +"Now, dear Madam, excuse me, a stranger, taking the liberty of +talking so to you; after what you have just mentioned, what stronger +proof do you require of the folly of being alarmed by sounds which +the inferior tribes of nature utter, and which you must know, on +reflection, are no sure indications of any future event in the +history of human life? That you will die is certain; and that you +will enter the eternal world is certain; and that you will stand +before the judgment-seat of Christ is certain; and that you are +ignorant of the exact time when these great events will take place +is equally certain; but instead of allowing your mind to be agitated +by these senseless sounds, you ought to be preparing for the final +issue of life." + +Here our conversation ended, and we then took our leave, Miss +Newnham thanking me for the interest I had taken in her welfare, and +hoping that I would call again on her before I left Thornwood. + +Addison has a good paper on the propensity which weak and +superstitious people indulge, to give an ominous meaning to many +of the casualties of life; and to allow themselves to be more +terrified by the screeching of an owl, the clicking of an insect, +or the howling of a dog, than the real and afflictive dispensations +of Providence. As society improves in knowledge, especially the +knowledge of the Scriptures, this propensity will become weaker and +weaker; and though some traces of its existence may be discovered, +at times, in the most cultivated minds, yet it is not invested +with that magic power which it exercises over the illiterate. Many +efforts have been employed to expose its absurdity, but if we +intermingle with the uninformed inhabitants of a village, we shall +have indubitable evidence that its influence still continues to +operate. The same elegant writer to whom I have just referred, +observes:--"I know but one way of fortifying my soul against these +gloomy presages and terrors of mind, and that is, by securing to +myself the friendship and affection of that Being who disposes of +events, and governs futurity. He sees, at one view, the whole thread +of my existence, not only that part of it which I have already +passed through, but that which runs forward into all the depths +of eternity. When I lay me down to sleep, I recommend myself to +his care; when I awake, I give myself up to his direction. Amidst +all the evils that threaten me, I will look up to him for help, +and question not but he will either avert them, or turn them to my +advantage. Though I know neither the time nor the manner of the +death I am to die, I am not at all solicitous about it; because I am +sure he knows them both, and that he will not fail to comfort and +support me under them."[27] + + [27] In connection with the above subject, the author may be + permitted to narrate the two following cases which occurred a few + years since in the town where he then resided:--The chief actors + in the scenes to be described were persons occupying a respectable + station in society, and who habitually associated with intelligent + and pious people. He and his wife accepted an invitation to dine + with a large party. The dinner was laid out in first-rate style, + grace was said with becoming solemnity, and we took our seats in due + form, when our hostess rose suddenly and rushed out of the room, + pale and affrighted, as though the turkey which she was preparing + to dismember had suddenly metamorphosed itself into a hobgoblin. We + then heard her exclaim, when she found herself alone in the hall, + nearly breathless with terror, "O dear, O dear! there are thirteen!" + I looked at my wife and she looked at me, in utter amazement, + wondering what presage of coming evil could lurk under the number + _thirteen_. At length our good-natured host said to one of his + daughters, "Eliza, you must retire, and we will send your plate to + you in the other room. You know your Mamma's objection to sit down + at the table with such an unlucky number." Eliza quietly withdrew, + and then her mother silently entered, almost as pale as a corpse, + but her natural colour returned soon after she commenced her carving + labours. _Thirteen_ an unlucky number! How odd! I could not make it + out, and continued to puzzle my head with it during dinner. However, + we were informed, before the party broke up, that one person was + sure to die very soon after eating a hearty dinner with _twelve_, + however hale and vigorous they might all be. + + The other case is as follows:--A friend of the author had been + married, and he and his wife went to pay the customary wedding + visit. The sister of the bride was in waiting to receive the + company; her mother keeping watch, to see that everything was done + in due order. There was a goodly muster of persons, including uncles + and aunts, first and second cousins, and friends and acquaintances + almost without number. At last the uncle of the bride, a fine + portly man, made his appearance, and was in the act of entering the + parlour with his hearty congratulations to his niece, when the door + was suddenly and rather unceremoniously slammed to by his sister, + as though he had been some grim demon, bent on mischief. "Daniel, + don't come in; Daniel, you must not come in; Daniel, you shan't come + in," exclaimed the lady. "What's the matter now?" said Daniel, who + apparently was as much surprised at not being permitted to see us + as we were at not being permitted to see him. "What's the matter!" + re-echoed his sister; "_why, you have got your black coat on!_" + Daniel was obliged to doff his black coat and put on a blue one, + made for a much smaller man, and then he appeared amongst us. Moving + nearly as gracefully as a man would do in a strait waistcoat, his + appearance was a severe tax on our gravity. The mystery of the black + coat rejected, and the blue coat honoured by a presentation, still + remained unsolved to my wife and myself, till we overheard a grave + matron say, "It was very lucky, as the dear creature wouldn't die + now." That is, as was more fully explained afterwards, the black + coat would have betokened the death of the bride, if she had seen + it. Alas! poor human nature. What a specimen of its absurdity and + folly! The black coat of the author was invested with no fatal + presage, as he belonged to the clerical order; otherwise, like Uncle + Daniel, he must have changed it before he could have tasted a bit of + the wedding cake. + +Shortly after leaving Miss Newnham, we turned aside into a fine +old park; and feeling rather fatigued, seated ourselves beneath a +clump of trees that stood near the foot-path. As we sat watching the +hares and rabbits which came out of a neighbouring coppice, and the +stately deer which fed around us, unawed by our presence, the Squire +passed by, and in a most good-humoured and kindly manner invited us +to take some refreshment at the Hall. The invitation was accepted; +and we soon found ourselves in a large antique parlour, in which the +spirit of hospitality had dwelt from time immemorial. + +The Squire, or to call him by his own name, Mr. Bradley, was a fine +looking old gentleman, of about sixty years of age, but with a deep +trace of melancholy imprinted on his countenance. He had one child, +who was sent, when eleven years of age, to a first-rate classical +school, to be prepared for Oxford. When about the age of fourteen, +according to a barbarous custom which still prevails in most of our +great schools, he was chosen by a senior scholar to fight another +boy about his own age. After contending till his strength was nearly +exhausted, he received a blow on his right temple, which sent him +lifeless to the ground. At first the boys thought him only stunned, +and taking him up carefully, they carried him into a shed, when, to +their horror, they found that he was dead! Horror-struck at this +ghastly spectacle, they knew not what to do; but at length the +dismal news reached the ears of the master--medical assistance was +sent for, but it came too late. This fatal catastrophe happened +just before Christmas, when the fond parents were preparing to +receive their child once more under their roof during the holidays. +When the tidings reached them, they were frantic with grief, and +resolved to punish the authors of their calamity; but on cool +reflection they forbore doing so, and sunk down into a state of +melancholy, from which they have never perfectly recovered. + +This sad bereavement brought about a singular change in the habits +of the Squire, who now became a very religious man. He had family +prayer morning and evening, attended church regularly, and observed +the fasts with a degree of monkish austerity which is rarely met +with amongst Protestants. As his religion, however, contained no +recognition of a living Saviour, it did not reach his heart, nor +produce that exquisite taste for the enjoyment of spiritual things +which is formed when the inner man is renewed in its spirit and +disposition. + +And here the author would remark, before he gives the sequel of this +interview with the Squire, that the Christian scheme of salvation +differs from every other system of religion in one very important +particular--it does not admit any person to the denomination of a +believer, who does not feel its influence on his heart; nor can a +person discern its adaptation to the moral condition of man, till +such influence is felt. Hence it discriminates between the man +who holds the truth in unrighteousness, and the man who receives +it with meekness and in faith; and while it imparts to the latter +all its consolations and its hopes, it pronounces the sentence of +condemnation on the former, although his moral character may be +adorned with the varied beauties of social virtue. To the one it +unveils a scene of contemplation, which displays the purity and +grandeur of the Divine nature--the equity and glory of his wise, yet +mysterious dispensations of providence and of grace; to the other it +remains as an unconnected and unharmonious scheme of religion, which +no skill can simplify, and which no labour can methodically arrange. +To the one it opens a fountain of living waters, of which they who +drink never thirst after a more salubrious draught of happiness; to +the other it is as a stagnant lake, whose waters are bitter, like +those of ancient Marah. To the one it makes known a Saviour, in +the efficacy of his death, in the riches of his grace, and in the +prevalence of his intercession: to the other it exhibits him as the +Man of sorrows, who once fasted in the desert, and preached in the +temple--who once wept on Olivet, and groaned on Calvary--and who +derives all his celebrity from the records of history, rather than +from the manifestation of his love in renewing and sanctifying the +soul. So that while these two persons profess the same faith, bear +the same denominational character, worship in the same church, and +observe the same ceremonial rites and institutions; they cannot hold +any communion with each other in spirit, because their perceptions, +taste, and moral inclinations are as much opposed to each other as +the purity of the Divine nature is opposed to the impurity of the +human. + +"It is now," said the Squire, "fifteen years since I lost my son. +It was a grievous affliction--one which has embittered life to me: +and if I could overcome the dread of death, I should long to lie +down in our family vault, to rest in peace with the dead of past +generations." + +"To lose a child," I replied, "in the common course of nature, must +be a severe affliction to a parent; but to lose an only son, and in +such a way as you lost yours, must be a trial almost too heavy to be +borne." + +"O, Sir, it nearly bereft us of our senses; and we have gone but +little into company since. There's his likeness," pointing to a good +painting hanging over the fireplace, "and it is a very correct one; +and here is his favourite dog, which we have preserved; but you see, +like his master, his life is gone. This is the end of man." + +"Yes, Sir, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after death the +judgment." + +"And it is this judgment after death which makes death so dreadful. +I have been preparing myself for my latter end ever since the death +of my child; and the more I think of its solemnity and importance, +the more I am alarmed. We know what this life is; but of the next +life we have no knowledge; and we know the beings with whom we now +associate; but who can form a conception of disembodied spirits?" + +"The dread of death often operates as a spell on the happiness of +life; and brings down the wealthy and prosperous to a state of +mental wretchedness, equally deplorable with that of the destitute +and forlorn." + +"Sir," said the Squire, with great emphasis, fixing his eye on +myself as he spoke, "it brings us lower, because, as we have +stronger temptations to the love of life, we have greater reluctance +to resign it. Here we are distinguished by greater possessions, +occupy a more exalted station, and have a greater variety of +enjoyments at our command; but we are not sure that we shall be even +admitted into the kingdom of heaven when we die; and, for aught we +know, the same fate may await us which befel a certain rich man, of +whom we read in the Bible." + +"That fact, Sir," I replied, "is calculated to excite a high degree +of terror in the breast of a rich man, because it teaches us, that +God does not continue the line of distinction between the rich and +the poor beyond this life." + +"The distinction, Sir, may be preserved, but it may be against us, +as poor Lazarus was comforted, while the rich man was tormented. +I have a servant, who works for me in my garden, on whom I often +look with envy; and if I could attain that composure in prospect of +death which he possesses, I would gladly exchange my mansion for his +cottage." + +"I presume, Sir, he is a religious man?" + +"Yes, he is a religious man, and so am I; but he has the art of +deriving consolation from his religion, while I can derive none from +mine." + +"But how is that? Is he a more learned or a more virtuous man than +you are?" + +"No, Sir; he is virtuous, and he is intelligent for a person in his +rank of life; but he says he does not derive any consolation from +his virtue." + +"I presume, Sir, he is a man of prayer?" + +"Yes, and so am I, though I use a form, and he prays extempore--so I +have heard." + +"I presume he attends a place of worship?" + +"Yes; he now goes to the chapel which has lately been built in the +village. This is the only thing in his conduct I disapprove of. I +think we ought to keep to the Church, and not sanction this new +religion, which is overrunning the country." + +"But now, suppose this new religion, as you term it, should be the +very religion from which your gardener derives all his consolation +against the fear of death, would it not be an act of cruelty and of +injustice if you were to attempt to deprive him of it?" + +"But why can't he derive his consolations from the religion of the +Church of England?" + +"Then, Sir," I replied, "why don't you? You say that you have +attended your parish church regularly for the last fifteen years, +and yet you are as much in dread of death as you were when you first +entered within its doors." + +"Very true; there's a mystery about it which I can't unravel." + +"Shall I explain it, Sir?" + +"I wish you would; and as it is a question which perplexes Mrs. +Bradley no less than myself, I will fetch her, if you will excuse me +for a few minutes." + +The Squire soon returned, accompanied by his lady, who welcomed us +to the Hall, with the greatest cordiality and politeness. + +"Now, Sir," said the Squire, "if you will explain to us how it is +our gardener derives that consolation against the fear of death from +this new religion, which we cannot derive from the good old religion +of our forefathers, you will confer a great favour, and we shall +esteem your visit the most agreeable one we have ever received." + +"In the first place," I observed, "you have fallen into a mistake. +The religion of the chapel is not a new religion, but the religion +of the Bible, exhibited in a simple and popular form, and does not +differ from the doctrinal articles of the Established church." + +"Indeed, Sir. Why, then, my gardener and I profess the same faith. +But how is it he derives so much consolation from that which gives +me none?" + +"Because, to quote the language of the Scripture, he has been +renewed in the spirit of his mind, and has had the eyes of his +understanding enlightened, so that he is enabled to trace the +connection between the facts of Christianity and their application +to his mind; while you, for want of this supernatural illumination, +admit the facts only, without perceiving how they can, or how they +do, produce the intended effect. For example: you admit that you +are a guilty sinner in relation to God, and under a sentence of +condemnation, which is the reason why you dread death; and you admit +that Jesus Christ died for sinners; but you cannot perceive _how_ it +is that his death operates to remove guilt, and to inspire a hope +of eternal blessedness. There is, if I may use such an expression, +a palpable darkness intervening between the fact of human guilt, +and the fact of the Saviour's death for its expiation, which +prevents your seeing how the latter does actually become the means +of removing the former. Hence your faith in the death of Christ +does not give you that consolation of which you sometimes hear your +pious gardener speak; because, for want of an adequate power of +perception, you cannot see how to apply its moral efficacy to your +heart and conscience." + +"How to apply the moral efficacy of the death of Christ to my +heart and conscience! Why, I was not aware that anything more was +necessary, on my part, than simply admitting the fact of his death." + +"Then what meaning can you affix to the language of the +apostle--'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our +Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I +unto the world?' But such is the spiritual darkness that rests +on the human mind, that the moral design of his death cannot be +perceived without the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Why, the +prayers and liturgy of your own Church most unequivocally recognize +the necessity of this supernatural illumination."[28] + + [28] See vol. i. p. 313. + +"I never felt the necessity of this spiritual illumination to which +you refer, or most likely I should have sought after it." + +"I presume you would; but your not feeling the necessity of it forms +no valid objection against the necessity of it. It may be necessary, +and yet you may not perceive it; as the natural man, according +to the testimony of St. Paul--that is, the man unaided by Divine +assistance--'receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they +are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are +spiritually discerned." + +"You have certainly opened a new path of inquiry before me; and +though I cannot at present see the need of any supernatural +assistance to enable me to understand what I read in my Bible, yet, +if the necessity of it be clearly stated in Holy Writ, I shall not +hesitate to admit it.[29] But, to advert to the religion of this +village chapel, am I to understand that the doctrines of the Church +of England are preached in it?" + + [29] The reader is referred to vol. i. p. 249. + +"Yes, Sir." + +"Then they have not brought a new religion into the village?" + +"No, Sir; they have brought no new religion into the village, but +merely present the old religion of the Bible and of Protestantism in +a new form." + +"And yet when they talk on religious subjects, they employ a very +different phraseology of speech from that which we have been +accustomed to use." + +"Very likely, because they are more familiar with the phraseology of +the Scriptures than you are; and they feel the power of religious +truth on their heart more forcibly than you profess to do. Your +religion, if I judge from your conversation, is the religion +of opinion, theirs of belief--yours of speculation, theirs of +principle--yours of forms and ceremonies, theirs of knowledge and of +feeling--yours of times and seasons, theirs of habitual devotion; +and while you derive no consolation from the routine of duties which +you perform, they have peace with God through Jesus Christ." + +"I have heard," said the Squire, "that their religion makes them +happy, and raises them above the fear of dying--the great points I +have been aiming to reach for fifteen years, but I am as far off as +when I first began the pursuit." + +"If, Sir, you had been labouring under some physical malady for +the space of fifteen years, without deriving any benefit from the +prescriptions of your regular family physician, I presume you would +call in other advice?" + +"I have no doubt of it, Sir; I should suspect his want of judgment." + +"Why not, Sir, act on the same principle, on the more important +question relating to your soul--its peace, and its salvation? +Your attendance at the church has been in vain. Why not dismiss +your prejudices, and go to the village chapel? You have ocular +demonstration, that the people who worship there are happy, and +live in the anticipation of future happiness. Why not make the +experiment, which can subject you to no loss, and may lead to a +glorious issue?" + +"We are slaves, Sir, to prejudice. Yes, we create our own tyrant, +and then yield to his iron sway! What fools we all are!" + +"I should not object," said Mrs. Bradley, "to go to the village +chapel, if I thought I could obtain any spiritual benefit. I am +weary of life. I want something to bring peace to my heart." + +"Make the experiment, Madam." + +"I feel inclined to do it; but yet I have a strange reluctance." + +"I will venture," said the Squire, "and give a proof that I am +sincere in my efforts to obtain the hope of salvation." + +We now left the Hall, much pleased with our visit, and bent our +steps towards home. It was a beautiful evening, and as we passed +along we were charmed by the varied notes of my favourite bird, the +thrush, whose harmony was occasionally disturbed by the cawing of +the rooks on their return from their daily pilgrimage. We returned +to the public road just as the sun was setting, and while admiring +the lustre which he threw around him on his departure, I remarked +to Miss Holmes, what a fine emblem it presented of the dying +Christian, whose pathway through life resembles the shining light, +which shineth brighter and brighter, yet reserves its brightest +splendour for its setting, when a halo of glory encircles him as he +disappears, leaving spectators astonished and delighted more by the +closing scene, than by the progressive majesty of his course. + +On ascending the slope leading to the entrance of the village, a +respectable looking man stepped out of a cottage by the roadside, +and on recognizing Mrs. Newell and Miss Holmes, with myself, as a +clergyman, invited us to walk in. His large Bible was on the table, +and the family were preparing for evening worship. After a little +desultory conversation, he begged that I would lead their devotions, +a request with which I gladly complied--reading a chapter of the +Bible and offering up a prayer. + +"I am happy, ladies," said the cottager's wife, when service was +concluded, "to see you in my house; it is an honour which I have +long coveted, but never expected; and we are much obliged to you, +Sir, for your kindness in praying for us this evening. May the Lord +reward you." + +"And I am happy," I replied, "that you have an altar of devotion +erected in your family; and I hope that your morning and evening +sacrifices, like those of the Hebrew temple, will regularly ascend +before the Lord of hosts, and be accepted by him." + +I was now agreeably surprised to find myself in the cottage, and in +the company of the gardener, whose religion had been the subject of +discussion at the Hall. + +"We have just had," I remarked, "a long and interesting conversation +with the Squire on religious subjects; and we were much pleased +with the seriousness of his manner, and the eagerness with which +he listened to our remarks, but like many others, he has no clear +perception of the nature or design of the gospel of Christ." + +"He is, Sir," said the gardener, "a most singular man. Sometimes +he is very devout--reads his Bible with great attention, and will +often come to me in the garden, to talk about religion, and I have +sometimes seen him so powerfully impressed by it, that he has shed +tears when speaking of the restless state of his mind; but at other +times he is equally gay and thoughtless, and disposed to turn +religion and religious people into ridicule. He is very unhappy, +though he is very rich; and has many good qualities, though he is +not a spiritual man." + +"I suppose," I said, "you would not exchange your cottage for his +mansion, if you were obliged along with the exchange to part with +your consolations and hopes?" + +"O, no, I would not exchange situation and state with my master; for +I am happy, but he is not--I can think of death with composure, but +he dreads it--I can look forward to eternity with delight, but he +shrinks back from its approach, as a child would recoil in terror on +seeing some hideous figure." + +This pious gardener was the only son of a venerable elder of the +Scotch church, who rented a small farm in the county of Stirling. He +was a most industrious hard-working man; and his wife was a pattern +for economy and frugality. For more than fifty years they lived +together in the enjoyment of domestic happiness; but just as they +reached the evening of life, they experienced a series of reverses, +and poverty advanced upon them as an armed man, compelling them to +give up their farm, to be cultivated by other hands. Their son took +a little cottage for them near the church in which his venerable +father had worshipped God for many years; and having acquired a +scientific knowledge of horticulture, he obtained, through the +medium of a friend, his present situation at the Squire's; and to +his honour he supported his aged parents till it pleased God to +take them to himself. When he came to England, he was a moral but +not a pious man; nor did he feel the influence of the truth on his +heart till after his marriage. His wife was the daughter of a worthy +man, who gave her a superior education; and to this the God of all +grace had added the ornament of a meek and a devotional spirit. By +her chaste conversation, and the influence of her example, she won +over her husband to the reception of the pure faith of Christ; and +though, like most others, they have had the ebbings and flowings of +prosperity and adversity; yet, to quote their own language, goodness +and mercy have followed them all the days of their life. + +Had the gardener's father remained exempt from misfortunes, his +son might have been living in the house in which he was born, and +cultivating the farm his father tilled for fifty years; but then he +had never seen his pious wife, and might still have possessed only +the form of religion. That dispensation which came as the whirlwind +and the storm, to drive him from his home and his country, led him +at length to attain the blessings of contentment and peace. Thus +we often see in the history of life, disastrous events proving the +precursors of personal and domestic happiness, as the dark and +tempestuous morning is not unfrequently followed by a serene and +joyous evening; exciting gratitude and love to the wise Disposer of +all human affairs, in exchange for the perplexity and sorrow which +they may have occasioned. + + + + +THE PIOUS COTTAGER. + + +After staying for about a week under the hospitable roof of Mr. +Newell, I quitted Thornwood, to pay my long promised visit to +the Elms, and was accompanied thither by Miss Holmes. We had the +gratification of finding all well on our arrival, and I spent with +my old friends a few days very pleasantly; after which it was +necessary for me to return home, though much urged by Mr. and Mrs. +Holmes to remain with them for a little time longer. During my stay +at the Elms, I more than once accompanied Louisa to call on Mrs. +Kent, in whom I felt much interested, but who, for some time past, +had been in a very feeble state of health, and was now evidently +hastening to her end. The evening before my departure she rallied a +little, and on the ensuing Sabbath felt herself so strong as to be +able to walk to chapel, at about a quarter of a mile's distance. On +Monday, however, she was again obliged to return to her bed, from +which she never rose. She now gradually sank, and in the course +of ten days peacefully expired. Her history, and some incidents +connected with her death, will be found in the following letter from +Miss Holmes to Mrs. Loader:-- + + "THE ELMS, _17th June, 18--_. + + "MY DEAR FRIEND,--I have just sustained a great loss. Poor + Mrs. Kent died yesterday, and I feel that I have indeed lost a + friend. You have often asked me to give you some particulars of + her history, and this I shall now endeavour to do. + + "She was left a widow when about the age of forty, with four + children, almost entirely dependent upon her for support. + Her husband, who was a pious man, died of a consumption; the + symptoms of which made their appearance within a few years after + their marriage. But as his outward man decayed, his inner man + was renewed day by day. During his protracted illness, though he + had no raptures when anticipating his death, and the glory to + follow, yet he was favoured with great composure; and when the + hour of his departure came, he died in peace. While he lived, he + and his wife had regularly attended the little Dissenting chapel + in the village, and had always been allowed to do so unmolested, + but shortly after his death the steward of Lord Harwood informed + his widow, that unless she gave up her religious notions, and + went to the parish church, she should not be allowed to remain + any longer in her little cottage. Her reply to this unmanly and + anti-Christian threat, at once displayed the characteristic + independence and firmness of her mind:--'As I would not give + up my religion to please his Lordship, you cannot suppose that + I will do it to please you, Sir. You may turn me out of the + cottage, but my Father, who knows that I want a dwelling for + myself and children, will provide me with another, over which + you will have no authority.' + + "As soon as this threat was known, a very general murmur was + expressed through the hamlet. Many, indeed, thought that it + would not be carried into execution; but a pious gentleman, who + felt a great respect for the memory of her husband, and who knew + that she would always live in terror, while under the power of + this petty tyrant, built a little cottage for her on his own + estate, which she occupied, free of rent, till her death. Three + of her children, one after the other, fell victims to their + father's complaint, and were all buried in the same grave. She + was a very industrious, frugal, and prudent woman; greatly + respected by her religious friends, who, much to their honour, + provided an ample maintenance for her, when she became, through + infirmities, unable to support herself. + + "Her cottage, which was built on a piece of rising ground, + within sight of the turnpike road, was the neatest in the + parish, and bore, in legible characters, the following + inscription:--'A refuge from persecution.' This memorial of + his cruel spirit mortified the steward, by exciting public + attention; and after smarting under it for some time, he offered + to make any apology to the widow, on condition that it might + be effaced. She became his advocate with her landlord, and the + stone was removed; but ere he had made the application, Lady + Harwood, on riding past in her carriage, having seen it, was + induced to stop, and ask Mrs. Kent why her cottage bore such + a singular inscription. The reason was given, and when she + informed his Lordship, on his return from the Continent, he felt + so indignant, that he sent for his steward, and, after a severe + reprimand, dismissed him from his situation. + + "I have spent many pleasant, and I trust profitable hours in + Mrs. Kent's company; and now she is gone, I find the remembrance + of our conversations a source of great consolation. Her + knowledge of the Bible was very accurate and extensive; and + the remarks which she sometimes made on different passages + were pertinent and striking. In her the word of Christ dwelt + richly; it composed her perturbed feelings--induced a spirit of + resignation to the will of God--opened before her the prospect + of future bliss, and supplied her with subjects of reflection + and conversation, which made her society a source of much + improvement to others. She was well qualified to guide the young + Christian, amidst the perplexities which are apt to entangle + his faith in the early stages of his experience, and guard him + from the fatal evils by which he is often surrounded in his + passage through life. To her conversation my sister Jane is more + indebted than to any other means of religious instruction; and + even Emma would often gladly spend an hour in her society. + + "A few months ago her infirmities began to increase upon + her; but we were not alarmed by any symptoms of approaching + dissolution, till about a week before our visit to Lynnbridge. + When sitting with her one fine spring evening, listening to the + song of the blackbird and the thrush, I spoke of the bountiful + provision which our heavenly Father has made for our necessities + and gratifications, she replied in the beautiful language of the + poet: 'Yes, + + '----not content, + With every food of life to nourish man, + He makes all nature beauty to his eye, + And music to his ear.' + + But this is not the only provision he has made for us. He is now + preparing a place for us, and soon he will come to receive us to + himself.' + + "On asking her if she had any fears in anticipation of the end + of her faith, she said-- + + "'I have had many, but they are all gone, and though I still + have my spiritual trials, yet I can anticipate the final issue + with great composure. I know in whom I have believed, and am + persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed + unto him against that day.' + + "'You long to be gone, I have no doubt?' + + "'I certainly long to see HIM, whom unseen, I have loved for + nearly fifty years, because then I shall be like Him; but I am + not impatient. Indeed, I am not yet prepared to go, for the ties + which bind me to earth are not all broken.' + + "'Then this earth still possesses some attractions?' + + "'Yes; I have enjoyed, and do enjoy a large proportion of its + comforts; and though I have felt, at times, the storms of + adversity, yet I can say, 'The lines are fallen unto me in + pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.' Here I am, + in my calm retreat--far away from the noise of contention and + strife--waiting patiently the great change; and if the Lord + should be pleased to answer my prayers for the salvation of my + dear son, I should then say, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant + depart in peace, according to thy word.' + + "'Then you think your son is still living, notwithstanding the + report of his dangerous illness in the hospital at the Cape?' + + "'Yes, I believe he is. As Abraham saw Isaac in a figure rising + from the dead, so the Lord gave me a somewhat similar vision, + the night after I received my son's letter. I saw him leaving + the hospital well, though leaning on his staff, and pale and + wan, as if just recovered from illness. I have now only one + painful trial.' + + "Presuming that she referred to the spiritual state of her son, + I remarked, that parents must feel intense agony of mind, in + prospect of having their children separated from them in the + eternal world. + + "'I have not that prospect to distress me. I have three already + in heaven, and I doubt not but the grace of God will ultimately + reach the heart of my prodigal son. I cannot doubt it. It would + be a sin to doubt it. I have felt such a spirit of prayer come + upon me at times, on his behalf, that I have wrestled for his + conversion, as Jacob wrestled with the angel at Peniel; and + though I have heard no voice saying to me, 'It shall be unto + thee even as thou wilt,' yet I have departed from the throne of + grace in peace, and found my faith strengthened with power from + on high. My faith is so strong and so uniform in its exercise, + that it has cast out fear from my heart; and I can rejoice in + prospect of meeting all my children in my Father's house.' + + "During my absence at Lynnbridge her illness continued to + increase, and Jane used frequently to call on her, and take + her some little comforts which her feeble state required. On + my return I took Mr. ----, who was paying us a short visit, + to see her, and she seemed to derive great comfort from his + conversation and sympathy. She now gained a little strength, + and in a day or two felt herself so much better as to be able + again to go about, and on Sabbath actually walked to chapel. The + exertion, however, had been too much for her, and on calling at + her cottage on the Monday forenoon I was grieved to learn that + she had found herself so weak as to be obliged to return to bed. + I left with her a little wine, which I had brought with me, + and called again to see her in the evening. I perceived that I + must now forego all hopes of her recovery, as her strength was + evidently sinking fast. After some conversation regarding her + bodily ailments, she said to me, 'I have been struggling through + deep waters since your last visit, and even now the swellings of + Jordan are rising higher and higher upon me; and though I have + not lost my anchor, I have been tossed as upon the billows of + the great deep. I trust, indeed, all will be well at last; but + I now feel a terror in prospect of death, which I never felt + before. I am now on the verge of eternity. I shall soon, very + soon see God--the final sentence will soon be uttered; and if I + have been deceiving myself and others, what will be my doom!' + + "'But, my dear Mrs. Kent,' I remarked, 'you should look back on + your past life, and think of the sacrifices which you have made + for the cause of the Redeemer, and the numerous indications of + his approbation which you have received.' + + "'I dare not look back,' she replied, with great solemnity, + 'unless it be to increase the intensity of the anguish which + at times weighs down my soul, for I have been an unprofitable + servant, and am one of the greatest of sinners that ever + indulged a hope of entering into heaven. Look back! no, my + dear. I am obliged to 'lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from + whence cometh my help.' + + "Two days after this visit I again called, and found her sitting + up in her bed. On extending her hand, she said with great + animation, 'The storm is over, and now the sun is shining upon + my soul, in his full noon-tide strength. The bitterness of death + is passed; and I have nothing more to suffer, except a few + convulsive struggles, which nature will feel, when the moment + of my departure comes.' Then raising her hands and her eyes to + heaven, she burst forth into a strain of enraptured devotion. I + have preserved a few of her expressions, which were principally + quotations from the Bible, or Watt's Hymns; but it is not in + my power to portray the calm dignity of her countenance, or + the intense fervour of feeling with which she spoke. 'Blessed + Saviour! thou art my Redeemer! Thou hast borne my sins, and + carried my sorrows! Thou hast suffered the just for the unjust, + to bring me to God! Thou art the chief among ten thousand, and + altogether lovely! Thou art the author and finisher of my faith! + To thee do I yield myself, to be redeemed from all evil--to be + sanctified--to be presented faultless before thy Father's glory + with exceeding joy! Yes, + + '----every smile of thine, + Does fresh endearmonts bring;' + + and fixing her eyes, as though she saw her Lord, she extended + her arms, and said, + + 'Haste, my Beloved, fetch my soul, + Up to thy bless'd abode, + Fly, for my spirit longs to see + My Saviour and my God.' + + "I happened just then to turn my head to the window, when I + saw a soldier walking up the pathway in front of her cottage. + Without thinking what I was saying, I exclaimed, 'Here is your + son, Mrs. Kent, come back to you from the Cape!' Never shall I + forget the scene which followed. + + "'My son!--impossible!' + + "We heard the latch of the door lifted up, and a deep manly + voice calling 'Mother!' On that word reaching her ear, his + mother sprang up in her bed, and exclaimed, 'It is my son!' but + her feelings were so strongly excited that she had not strength + to restrain them, and before I could return to her assistance, + she fell back, and for some moments we thought her gone. I felt + her pulse, but it had ceased to beat--her eyes were fixed--and + while engaged with her faithful nurse in employing the usual + means to restore suspended animation, the door of her chamber + was opened, and her son entered with a smile on his countenance, + which was soon exchanged for the strong expressions of filial + grief. He saw what was the matter, and forbore to speak, but + stepping gently to her bedside, he kissed her, and let fall a + tear on her face. 'How long has she been ill?' he inquired; and + just as these words were uttered, we saw a slight motion of her + hand, and soon after she began to breathe softly. On returning + to consciousness, her first impulse was to embrace her long lost + child. No words were uttered by them, but a frequent interchange + of the expressions, 'My child!' 'My mother!' I withdrew to the + window while they remained for many minutes locked in each + other's embrace. I then handed the dying saint a glass of + wine, which revived her; and after reclining on the bosom of + her son for some time, giving vent to her feelings, she became + sufficiently composed to converse with him. + + "'O mother, I am sorry to find you in this state; but you will + get well soon, I trust.' + + "'Never while I remain in this world, my dear son. But I have + every reason to be thankful. God has always dealt graciously + with me. Even in the midst of the greatest tribulation, He has + enabled me to sing, + + 'Bless'd is the sorrow, kind the storm, + That drives me nearer home.' + + But this last expression of his kindness, in permitting me + to see you before I die, is so unexpected, that it is like a + miracle wrought in answer to prayer.' + + "'O mother,' the soldier replied, weeping as he spoke, 'your + prayers have been the means of my salvation, and I am thankful + that your life has been spared till I could come and tell you of + it.' + + "She sat and listened with great interest to his account of + his adventures. While in hospital at the Cape he was visited + by a pious missionary, to whose conversation he ascribed his + conversion to God. 'Before I saw him,' he continued, 'I had many + qualms of conscience; and was often terrified at the thought of + death, but never _felt_ that I needed a Saviour till he spoke + to me. His appeals were like an arrow shot through my soul, + and I could get no comfort till I prayed to Jesus Christ.' + He paused to weep, and we wept with him; when he renewed his + narration, and after giving us a detailed account of his recent + preservation during a violent storm on his return to England, we + knelt down, and he commended the soul of his dying mother into + the hands of the Lord Jesus, after which I took my leave. + + "Mrs. Kent remained for several days without undergoing any + material change; but on the eighth day after her son's return, + he called at the Elms, and said that his mother was not expected + to live through the day, and wished to see me. I immediately + went, accompanied by my sister Jane. We found her in a most + heavenly frame of mind. After a conversation which lasted about + half an hour, I observed a sudden alteration in her countenance, + which convinced me that the time of her departure was drawing + nigh. She now sat for several minutes in perfect silence; a + death-like stillness pervaded the room, and we all felt an awe + on our spirits that seemed to betoken some great event. She then + raised her head, and first expressed her gratitude to her nurse + for her kind attention; thanked me and Jane for the few favours + we had been enabled to show her; and then taking the hand of + her son, she pressed it to her lips, and said, 'Yes, thou art + a faithful God! and as it hath pleased thee to bring back my + long lost child, and adopt him into thy family, I will say, 'Now + lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: + for mine eyes have seen thy salvation;' then smiling, she fell + back on her pillow, and with one deep sigh her gentle spirit + passed away and left us. + + "Thus lived, thus suffered, and thus died, one of the Lord's + '_hidden ones_,' set apart for himself, to show forth his praise + first here on earth, and now for ever in the celestial world. + + "I am happy to say that I can now refer, with some degree of + satisfaction, to dear Emma, in whose welfare I know you take + a deep interest. I speak with caution, yet I think I can say + there are some appearances, which give us reason to hope, that + her afflictions are beginning to yield the peaceable fruits of + righteousness. She is now more frequently alone and with her + Bible; still very reserved on the question of personal piety, + but references and allusions accidentally escape her lips, which + induce me to believe that the Lord is gradually drawing her to + himself. Dear creature! she has passed through a sad ordeal, + but I trust she will yet be enabled to say with David, 'It is + good for me that I have been afflicted.' Pray for her, my dear + friend, and also for your attached + + LOUISA." + + + + +THE CLOSING SCENE OF THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S CAREER. + + +Miss Holmes, as the reader has already been informed, had suffered +much in her health, by the unfortunate marriage of her sister +Emma; but her visit to Lynnbridge had contributed greatly to her +improvement, and her parents now fondly hoped that she was in a fair +way of recovery. Shortly after the death of Mrs. Kent, however, she +experienced a return of her former alarming symptoms, and an eminent +physician was consulted, whose opinion, though rather reservedly +given, was not of a very hopeful nature. Conscious herself of the +extreme delicacy of her constitution, and apprehensive that she had +not long to live, she now prudently declined an advantageous offer +of marriage which she had received. Her suitor was Mr. Alfred Reed, +the only son of an intimate friend of her father's; a young man, +about her own age, decidedly pious, and who was likely to come into +the possession of a large fortune. He had been bred to mercantile +pursuits, but eventually decided on entering the Church. His father +opposed his inclination, till, being fully convinced that he was +actuated by proper motives, he cordially gave his consent. He had +passed through his examinations at Cambridge with great distinction, +and was now spending the vacation at home, preparatory to taking +orders. His person, his manners, and his profession combined to +render him an acceptable suitor to Miss Holmes, who united in her +character the varied excellencies which are necessary to qualify a +female to fill the important station of a clergyman's wife. She was +intelligent, amiable, discreet, and zealous in the cause of religion +and benevolence, without the smallest tincture of ostentatious +display. Her sense of duty, however, would not permit her, in her +present state of health, to contract a union which might speedily be +dissolved, and involve her husband in much perplexity and grief. + +By the advice of her medical man, she was induced again to try a +change of air as the best means of arresting the progress of her +disorder. After much deliberation it was decided to go to Dawlish +in Devonshire, both because they had so much enjoyed their former +visits there, and Louisa preferred its retirement to the noise +and gaiety of a more fashionable watering-place. Mr. Reed, who +still continued faithful in his attentions to her, notwithstanding +her refusal of his offer, and still cherished the hope of his +proposals being accepted, on Miss Holmes' restoration to health, +was allowed, at his earnest request, to form one of the party. He +accordingly set out first, to secure a suitable lodging, and it +was no small gratification to the family when they found he had +taken the same house which they had occupied some years before. +As they had travelled by easy stages, and had been favoured with +pleasant weather, Miss Holmes appeared much better on her arrival at +Dawlish than when she left the Elms; and she continued to improve so +rapidly, that all began to anticipate her entire convalescence. Her +spirits, which had at times been deeply depressed, soon rose to the +level of her accustomed cheerfulness; and though the hectic flush +occasionally added fresh beauty to the sweetness of her countenance, +yet, as it did not return so often, nor appear so deeply tinged +by the florid hue as formerly, it did not occasion any alarm. On +returning from a lovely walk, as they passed the little chapel which +benevolence raised for the accommodation of the Christian pilgrim, +who thirsts for the pure water of life, she facetiously remarked, +addressing herself to Mr. Reed, "I presume, Sir, we cannot calculate +on your accompanying us to-morrow to this unadorned house of prayer." + +"Why not, Miss Holmes?" + +"Of course, Sir, your clerical profession will lead you elsewhere!" + +"I am happy to say, that I am not ashamed to go to offer up my +sacrifice of prayer and of praise in any place in which the God of +salvation will condescend to accept it. I prefer the village church +to the village chapel, most certainly; but, as I have no wish to +become a _dissenter_, I shall conform to the religious customs of +the party during our visit." + +"A clergyman in a Dissenting chapel! The last wonder! Of course, we +must all be sworn to secrecy, and keep our pledge, or no bishop will +ordain you." + +There is no indisposition under which the human frame labours that +assumes such a deceptive appearance as a consumption. In its early +stages it will often work so insidiously on the constitution, that +its subject is unconscious of its presence; and even, when it +has advanced to a very considerable extent, there are generally +those intervals of vigour and vivacity, that occasion sanguine +expectations of a recovery to be entertained even to the last. +And it is during these seasons, when the animal spirits return +with great force--giving a degree of energy and activity which is +regarded as an unequivocal proof of restored health, that exertions +are made by walking and by visiting, which often accelerate the +fatal issue. To confine to the house the invalid, who longs to +breathe the fresh air, or to keep her out of company, when the +pleasures of social intercourse relieve the spirits from languor, +is a task which the kindness of friendship cannot always perform; +and hence she is often permitted to run the risk of shortening her +life by efforts which exhaust her strength; or by exposures to the +keen night air, which give a fresh impetus to the disease. It was +during one of these intervals of renewed strength that Miss Holmes +was induced to pay a visit to a family, who resided about two miles +off; and though her father proposed to take her in a carriage, she +preferred walking. She reached her friends' house without feeling +fatigued; after dinner enjoyed a ramble in the country; and then, +having taken tea, returned to Dawlish. It was a pleasant evening, +but the air was rather cold; and though she bore the exertions of +the day with great cheerfulness, yet before she got home she began +to feel exhausted. On entering the drawing-room, she threw herself +on the sofa, and said, "I fear I have gone beyond my strength." +After resting herself some time, she retired for the night; but +when she awoke in the morning, instead of rising at her usual hour, +she requested to have her breakfast in bed. At noon she made her +appearance amongst the family, in apparently good spirits; but her +mother, who had watched the progress of her disorder with deep +anxiety, felt alarmed on seeing the hectic flush on her cheek, +accompanied by an occasional cough. Towards the evening the height +of her pulse was considerably increased; the palms of her hands +became dry and hot, and she complained of being chilly. These +symptoms excited fresh alarm; yet, as they came on immediately +after the fatigue of a long day's excursion, her friends flattered +themselves that they would go off when she had taken another night's +rest; but in this they were disappointed. On the following morning +they assumed a more threatening aspect; her cough became more +troublesome, the pain in her side returned, and though she appeared +cheerful, yet it was accompanied by an unusual gravity of look and +manner. At length it was judged expedient to call in a medical man, +who prescribed some medicines that afforded her a little temporary +relief. When asked for his opinion, he said, "I do not despair of +her recovery, though she must be very cautious. She must not exert +herself beyond her strength, nor yet expose herself to the night +air." The following letter, written to her friend Miss Martin, whom +the reader will remember accompanying Miss Holmes to call on Mrs. +Kent,[30] exhibits the state of her mind at this critical period:-- + + "MY DEAR MARY,--An all-wise Providence has been pleased to + guide my steps once more to Dawlish, where we expect to spend a + few months. In revisiting it again, I naturally advert to that + period of my life when I was living in a state of alienation + from God--devoted to the pleasures and vanities of the world. + Happy should I now be to ramble with you through this beautiful + country, and talk of Him who lived and died for sinners; but, + as that pleasure is denied me, I will converse with you through + a more circuitous medium. You are aware that our journey here + is mainly on my account. On my arrival I grew much better, + and continued for some weeks to improve in my general health; + but a short time ago I caught a severe cold, and have never + been well since. Though my friends still cling to hope, as + the sinking mariner hangs on the broken plank of the vessel, + till the returning wave comes to drive him off, I am now very + apprehensive as to the result. I know that my heavenly Father + can lengthen out the thread of my life, and restore to full + vigorous health the constitution which disease is gradually + wasting away; but I think He is about to remove me. It costs, + indeed, a hard struggle to view with composure the approach of + death at my age, and nothing could reconcile me to it but the + hope of immortality by which I feel animated and sustained. My + Alfred is with me, and his kind attentions often depress me. + He is still anticipating the day when he shall lead me to the + altar; but alas! fond youth, I am marked out as a victim for + the grave! Yes! and though I still feel I love him, yet I must + give him up, and all the prospects which open before me on this + side the tomb, to go and dwell with Him whom unseen I love! But + 'thy will, O my Father, be done!' + + "Though I have received the sentence of death, I do not expect + that it will be executed speedily. No! I shall not be taken till + all are prepared to resign me; and till every tie is loosened + which now fastens my affections to 'things seen and temporal.' + This is a kind provision which our heavenly Father usually makes + to afford some alleviation to the sorrow of surviving friends; + and to enable his children to retire from this vale of life, + without retaining any lingering desires for a longer continuance + in it. + + "I have hitherto concealed from the eyes of others the most + alarming symptoms of my complaint, nor have I yet given them an + intimation of my own opinion; as I do not feel inclined to be + at present the bearer of such heavy tidings. They still try to + amuse me with the visions of futurity, and talk of my marriage + with Alfred, and all its attendant circumstances, as if length + of days was appointed for me: and though I feel conscious that + a few months, unless a miracle of mercy prevent, will change + the theme of social discourse, yet I cannot bring my mind to + the severe trial of attempting to banish these fond hopes and + anticipations from others. + + "I am happy to inform you that my dear sister Emma is become + decidedly pious. Her severe afflictions have had a salutary + effect; and now, being purified and softened by their influence, + she exhibits the features of the Christian character in all + their attractive loveliness. Her natural volatility and + satirical humour are now transformed to chastened vivacity and + the sportive sallies of innocent wit. + + "I need not say how much I should enjoy your company at Dawlish, + if you could make it convenient to pay us a visit; but as that + is too great an indulgence for me to expect, you will not + refuse me the gratification of hearing from you as soon as + possible. All here join me in kindest love to you, and your + Papa and Mamma, who, I trust, are both enjoying their usual good + health.--I am, yours most affectionately, + + LOUISA." + + [30] Vol. ii. p. 297. + +To this letter Miss Martin returned the following reply:-- + + "LONDON, _15th September, 18--_. + + "MY DEAR LOUISA,--I received yours of the 10th, but it is not + possible for me to describe the impressions which it produced + on my mind. I alternately wept tears of sorrow and of joy; and + though that overpowering excitement, which its first reading + produced, has somewhat subsided, yet I feel almost incapable of + replying. And is the wise Disposer of all events about to remove + you from amongst us? And have you, at such a comparatively early + period of the spiritual contest, fought the good fight of faith, + and gained the crown which fadeth not away? If so, I will say, + 'Happy, thrice happy saint!' thou art highly favoured of the + Lord! Yes, you will soon see the King in his beauty, and mingle + your notes of praise with the multitude around his throne! You + will soon partake of the fulness of joy, in which the spirits of + the just made perfect participate! + + "But how can we give you up? How can we take this cup of sorrow + without praying that it may pass from us? How can we offer up + the prayer, 'Thy will, O Father, be done on earth, even as it + is done in heaven,' without feeling it quiver on our lips as we + attempt to utter it? I now find that entire resignation to the + Divine will, when those objects are placed in jeopardy on which + our affections are strongly fixed, is an attainment which I have + not yet acquired; and though I doubt not but the grace of Christ + will be found sufficient for its full display, when the day of + trial comes, yet, at the present moment, I am bowed down with so + much heaviness of soul that I cannot give vent to my feelings. + What a contrast do you exhibit! While I am restless, under the + agitations of fear, you are calm, in the anticipations of hope! + While I am praying that you may still be detained amongst us, to + share our joys and our sorrows, you are fluttering on the wings + of eager expectation, ready to say, as you soar away from us, + 'Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves.' Happy spirit! + + "Indeed, my dear Louisa, your sweet composure at this awful + crisis--your bright anticipations, viewed in connection with + your attachment to your friends around you, have given me such + an exalted opinion of the efficacy of the Christian faith to + sustain the human spirit on the great occasions of its history, + that I am not so much astonished at your tranquil joy, as I am + at my own timid misgivings; and though I still hope I possess + the faith which is the evidence of things not seen, yet in me + it is small, like the grain of mustard seed, while in you it + resembles the wide-spreading tree, beneath whose branches you + rest in safety. + + "As you, my dear Louisa, when drawing nearer the closing + scene, may be subjected to the influence of the fears which + not unfrequently disturb the peace of the dying Christian, I + have taken the liberty of sending you an extract from a very + interesting memoir, which I have just read with great pleasure, + and which, with a degree of precision we rarely meet with in + theological works, points out the difference between faith and + hope. + + "'This difference,' the writer justly observes, 'is not always + sufficiently attended to; and much presumption on the one hand, + and despondency on the other, have arisen from confounding them. + One person considers himself a believer of high attainments, + because he entertains no doubt of his being in a state of + salvation; and another doubts whether he be a believer at all, + because he cannot persuade himself that his sins are forgiven. + But it is obvious that two distinct and very different acts + of the mind are here confounded and blended together;--one, + which assents to the fact of Jesus Christ being the only and + all-sufficient Saviour of sinners; and which places a reliance + on the atoning sacrifice, for pardon of sin and acceptance + with God, which is the province of _faith_; and another, which + appropriates to itself the blessings of this salvation, and + confidently expects a future state of felicity, which is the + province of _hope_. Now, it is clear that these persuasions + of the mind may exist separately from each other; and that one + of them may be very strong, whilst the other has scarcely any + existence at all. St. Paul clearly recognizes this distinction, + when he offers up a prayer for the Romans, that the God of hope + would fill them with all joy and peace in believing. It is + here implied that genuine faith may exist without either joy + or peace; and by addressing his prayer to 'the God of hope,' + he remarks that joy and peace are the fruits of hope, and are + distinct blessings to be superadded to the grace of faith.' + + "I regret that it is not in my power to visit you at Dawlish, + but I assure you that I have you in my remembrance, when bowing + before the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and while I + pray that you may yet be spared to us, I do not forget to pray, + that if you are to be removed, you may be favoured with a joyful + entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. + You will present my kind affection to your dear parents, and + your sisters.--Your affectionate friend, + + MARY." + +The alarming symptoms which immediately followed this return of +Miss Holmes' disorder, suddenly disappeared, and she was once more +restored to comparative health, though it was evident to all her +friends that the vigour of her constitution was greatly impaired. +She was again permitted to resume her rambles, and to breathe the +genial air of Dawlish, which once more enlivened her spirits. As she +now felt able to endure the fatigues of exertion, she was induced to +comply with the wishes of her kind friends in the country, to pay +them another visit. She rode there and back, and cautiously avoided +running any risk, either by too much exertion, or by any exposure to +damps or cold. + +On reaching home, she changed her dress, and soon after retired +to rest; but on awakening in the morning, felt a hoarseness, +accompanied by a slight fever. She remained within for several days, +but on the following Sabbath, felt so much better that she ventured +to go to chapel, where she commemorated the death of the Redeemer. +This religious service she afterwards spoke of as one of the most +impressive and the happiest of her life. When adverting to it, in a +letter which she wrote to Mrs. Loader, she observed, "I have often +felt a great degree of solemnity and delight when receiving the +sacramental memorials of the Saviour's death; but last Sabbath, at +chapel, I felt a joy which was unspeakable and full of glory. When +the minister repeated the memorable words, 'This do in remembrance +of me,' I could not refrain from saying, in the language of Dr. +Watts, + + 'Why was I made to hear his voice, + And enter while there's room; + While thousands make a wretched choice, + And rather starve than come?' + +"I think I have more than once alluded, in my free correspondence +with you, to my ceaseless dread of self-deception; and this makes +me hesitate to ascribe to a supernatural operation, the religious +impressions and tendencies of my heart; yet, on this occasion, I +could respond to the following declarations with perfect composure:-- + + ''Twas the same love that spread the feast + That sweetly forced me in; + Else I had still refused to taste, + And perished in my sin.' + +"Till that morning a gloomy shade always darkened my prospects +of the future; but then the true light shone into me with such +a bright radiance, that I abounded in hope through the power of +the Holy Ghost. I retired from the hallowed service refreshed and +invigorated; and in the evening, when denied the privilege of +returning to the house of prayer, I made a more solemn surrender +of myself to God, than at any former period. What scenes of wonder +opened to my view! The Lord of life and glory expiring on the cross! +The high and lofty One condescending to admit a sinful creature +into his presence! The Saviour making intercession for me! The gay +and the thoughtless may pour contempt on the sublime pleasures of +devotion, and rush for happiness into a world which abounds with +evil; and under the spell of a fatal illusion, may imagine they +have found it. But our joys would be ill exchanged for theirs; +and though it may not be in our power, while encompassed with the +infirmities of our nature, to perpetuate the vivid impressions which +we sometimes receive, yet they serve to demonstrate the superlative +value of the faith which originates them; and may also tend to +inspire within our breast an intense longing for that fulness of +joy in which the spirits of the just made perfect are allowed to +participate in the heavenly world." + +A few days after Louisa's visit to the chapel, the symptoms of her +complaint returned with renewed violence. The physician was again +sent for, and on entering the room, she said, with a smile on her +countenance, "I am happy to see you, Sir; but I am now convinced +that my disorder is beyond your power to remove." + +"Perhaps not." + +"Yes, Sir, it is; God can restore me if he please, but I do not +expect it." + +He sat and conversed with her about a quarter of an hour, and then +left her. + +"Pray, Sir," said Mrs. Holmes, "what is your opinion?" + +"She is very ill, Madam." + +"Do you think it is a confirmed consumption?" + +"I do. I fear the disease has made great progress." + +"Do you think that a longer continuance in the country will prove +beneficial to the dear sufferer?" + +"To be candid, Madam, I do not think that it is in the power +of human means to arrest the progress of the disease, though a +judicious course of management may greatly alleviate her sufferings." + +"Do you think, Sir, she can be removed without much inconvenience to +herself?" + +"She may, in the course of a few days, when her strength rallies; +but I am clearly of opinion, that if you wait much longer, it will +be impossible to remove her." + +This information came as a death-blow to the hopes of all the +family. Mrs. Holmes, with Jane and Emma, sobbed aloud. A more +silent though not less poignant grief marked the countenances of her +father and Mr. Reed. "If she must die," said her father, "she had +better be taken home to die." "My Louisa die! My dear Louisa die!" +said Alfred, clasping his hands in an intensity of anguish, "And +must she die? and must she be taken from me?" At length he became +more composed, when informed by Mrs. Holmes that Louisa had just +awaked out of a sweet sleep, much revived, and wished to see him. +The family sat conversing together the whole of the evening, and +arranged the plan for returning to the Elms, whither they determined +to proceed immediately. + +For the space of a fortnight after her return home, Miss Holmes +continued to improve so rapidly in appearance that the hope of life +began to beam once more upon all except herself. At this time she +wrote the following letter to Miss Martin, who had now gone with her +parents to Hastings for a short period:-- + + "MY DEAR MARY,--A kind Providence has permitted me to see the + Elms once more, and once more to commune with my absent friend + from my own room, a privilege which I could not have anticipated + a few weeks since. After the reception of your kind letter, my + disorder took a turn, and we again thought that the bitterness + of death was passed; but in the midst of our joy the symptoms + reappeared, and I was brought near to the grave. I have again + revived, but it is only to protract my course for a little + time longer. I may live through the winter, and I may live to + see another spring opening with all its beauties, but I do not + expect it. The symptoms of death are upon me. The silver cord + is broken, and my affections are dying off from earth. I am + beginning to feel as a stranger amongst my most endeared friends + and relatives; and though their sorrows excite my sympathy, + yet I have no wish to remain here longer. No! I hear a voice + they do not hear, and see a form of beauty they cannot see. I + long to depart. I can look through my window on the walks which + wind round our shrubbery, without wishing to retrace my former + footsteps. I can muse on the pleasures which I have enjoyed in + the social circle, without desiring to taste them again. I still + feel that I am a sinner--an unworthy sinner; my perceptions of + the evil of sin are more clear and affecting than at any former + period of my life; and at times I am almost overwhelmed by the + indescribable manifestations of the Divine purity; but it hath + pleased God to impart to me corresponding views of the efficacy + of the precious blood of Christ, so that I have no fears + ruffling my peace. I am entering the valley, but it is not dark: + nor do I hear any sounds but those of Mercy's voice. The enemy + has not yet been suffered to stir up his strength against me, + nor have I been once tempted to mistrust either the fidelity of + the Saviour, or his willingness to save me. I thank you for the + extract which you sent me. It defines the essential difference + between faith and hope with great accuracy and precision; but + I have now done with all human compositions. The only book + I now read is the Bible. This is the fountain from whence I + now draw the pure water of life; and though I feel thankful + for the writings of those good men which have contributed to + my spiritual improvement and consolation, yet, like withered + flowers, they have lost their beauty and their fragrance. + + "I do not think that I should have preferred any other period + of my existence for my departure, to the present, even if I had + been permitted to choose. If I had been taken earlier, I should + have left some of my relatives in the gall of bitterness; and if + spared longer, I might have left some hapless children; but now + I can embrace all as fellow-heirs of the grace of life, who are + nearly allied to me by the ties of nature, and I can quit the + world without leaving any chasm which may not soon be closed. My + friends will weep over my grave, but the hope of a re-union in + a better world will mitigate the violence of their sorrow; and + soon the days of their mourning will be ended, and earth will be + exchanged for heaven. + + "Farewell, my dear friend; but only for a season. We are soon to + be separated, but we shall meet again. With kind remembrance to + all.--Your dying friend, + + "LOUISA." + +Miss Holmes had now another relapse, which destroyed all hope of her +recovery. Addressing her mother, who was communicating, in a low +voice, to Mr. Reed the opinion of the physician, she said, "You need +not whisper, I have long known that I should not recover; and now +_you_ know it, let us converse together as those who are on the eve +of parting." + +"I have long feared it," said Mrs. Holmes, "though I have been +unable to express my fears." + +"But why, my dear Mamma, should you fear it? Death has lost its +sting. The grave has lost its gloom. I am merely preceding you, and +preceding you under the most auspicious circumstances." + +"Then has my dear Louisa no dread of death?" + +"No. I have outlived that dread of dying which once bowed down my +spirits; and can smile on the king of terrors, who now appears +transformed into an angel of deliverance." + +"But have you," said Mr. Reed, "no wish to live?" + +"I had, Alfred, but now I have not. I once wished to live to share +your sorrows and your joys, and animate you in the discharge of your +sacred duties; but now I wish to depart and be with Christ, which is +far better." + +On seeing her mother and sisters weep, she said, "I am not surprised +by your tears, because, if either of you were in my place, I should +weep. I know that nature must give vent to her feelings; but you +cannot expect _me_ to weep. Weep I cannot, unless I shed the tear of +grateful joy. No! My days of weeping are passed away; and soon my +days of suffering will be over." + +Though her disease had been for some time making rapid progress +towards the fatal issue, her spirits were yet buoyant, and +occasionally she was as energetic and cheerful as in former days. +One evening, when the family were sitting with her, she talked with +a vivacity and fluency which induced them to hope that she might be +spared to them for some months, if not years longer. While indulging +these expectations, they were aroused from their reverie by the +sudden entrance of Emma, who brought her the following letter, from +her friend Mrs. Loader, which the postman had just delivered:-- + + "MY DEAR FRIEND,--The affectionate letter which I have just + received from dear Emma, brings the mournful intelligence + of your relapse, and that now all hope of your recovery has + vanished away. This intelligence, though mournful to others, is + not, I am thankful to hear, a cause of sorrow to yourself. You + are now on Pisgah, with the dreary wilderness behind you; and + the goodly land of promise in view, overshadowed by no darkening + cloud. My sympathies I reserve for others; to you, I offer my + congratulations. The contest is over; the victory is won, and + ere long you will receive the fadeless crown of immortality. In + a few weeks or days, you, who are now an inhabitant of earth, + will be a glorified spirit, beholding the face of the Holy One, + and uniting with the saints in heaven in the grand chorus of + adoration and praise. What you will then feel, on looking back + on the scene through which you are now passing; or how you will + give expression to your thoughts and emotions, is beyond all + power of conjecture; but it is sufficient to be assured that you + will be perfectly happy, and released from all earthly cares + and anxieties. Happy spirit!--happy, because redeemed;--happy, + because brought in safety to the end of your pilgrimage;--and + happy, now that the shadow of death is flitting across your + path--the visible sign of the coming of your Lord, to take you + to himself. Adieu, my much-loved friend, but not for ever; the + hope of a re-union sustains the dying and the living. We shall + weep when _you_ are rejoicing with the spirits of the just amid + the unfading glories of the celestial world. + + "The Lord be with you. Again I say adieu, my much-loved friend; + but only for a season. My love and sympathy to all the dear + members of your family.--Ever yours, + + E. LOADER." + +Miss Holmes read this letter, shed a few tears, and then presented +it to Emma, saying, "When the crisis is over, acknowledge for me +receipt of it; and tell Mrs. Loader what pleasure it gave me." + +The tide of life was now rapidly ebbing; and on her father entering +her room, a few days after receiving Mrs. Loader's letter, she +stretched forth her hand, and said, "I hope you are prepared to +resign me, for I have not long to be with you." + +"I have had," he replied, "a hard struggle to do it; but the Lord +has at length enabled me to say, 'Even so, for so it seemeth good in +thy sight.'" + +"I am glad to hear it; and I hope you will all be enabled to feel +the same resignation to the Divine will. I wish you would now pray +with me, that I may be strengthened in my soul to endure the last +struggle." When this hallowed and deeply affecting exercise was +ended, she reclined her head on the pillow, and slept for two hours. +When she awoke, she rose up in her bed, and casting a smile on all +around her, said, "My sleep has refreshed me." After giving a few +directions respecting her funeral, she delivered the keys of her +desk, &c., to her mother, with a request that she would distribute +the few trifling presents she had marked for her friends, and then +added, "Now I have done with earth. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" +As she gave utterance to this prayer, her countenance beamed with +an indescribable glow of rapture, and with a gentle bending of +the neck, she bid all farewell, her lips distinctly articulating, +"Precious Saviour! thou art come," as they were closing in perpetual +silence. + + * * * * * + +The sketch which I have exhibited of Miss Holmes' character and +religious experience, has been taken from real life; and though +on some points her experience may differ from that of the pious +reader, yet that circumstance will not diminish the degree of +interest which may be felt on examining it. We see what human nature +is, even with all the advantages of a pious education, before the +great spiritual change takes place; we see the process which is +observed in the production of this change--the evidences by which +it is attested--the various and the numerous conflicts which the +subject of it has to encounter, while passing through this vale +of tears--and the influence which a pure faith in the efficacy of +the atonement has in sustaining the mind in affliction, and in +the prospect of death. And who can turn away from such a scene, +without wishing to be made a partaker of the like precious faith? +and without exclaiming, "Let me die the death of the righteous?" +Compare Miss Holmes' character with that of the devotee of fashion; +compare the uniform tranquillity of her mind, after she had obtained +peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the restless +uneasiness which agitates the gay; compare her death with the death +of the thoughtless and the trifling, and what will be the result? +What! a firm conviction must be produced, that the religion of +the Scriptures, when it is brought to operate on the human mind, +does more to elevate and refine it, and prepare it for its final +destiny, than all the discoveries of science, all the speculations +of philosophy, or all the boasted triumphs of reason. This is a +fact, which is not merely supported by opinion, but also by the +evidence of experience and testimony; and though it may not excite +that degree of attention which its importance demands, yet the +period may not be far distant when the reader will feel the force +of it. Yes, the hour may not be far distant, when you may be called +away from that circle in which you are now moving, and from those +scenes of pleasure which now captivate and hold you in subjection; +to bid farewell to lover and to friend, and let go your hold of +life. Yes, the hour may not be far distant, when you will feel +yourself entering an eternal world, when the solemnities of the +final judgment will open upon you in all their awful grandeur, and +when conscience, roused from her long repose of guilty quietude, +will speak to condemn. Yes, the hour may not be far distant, when +the raptures of bliss, or the agonies of despair, will be yours, +and yours for ever. And will you remain in a state of indifference, +while such solemn events are at hand? Will you pass on to meet +them, as though they were cunningly devised fables? Can no argument +produce a conviction of your danger, and can no motive induce you to +avoid it? Will you resolutely withstand all the efforts which are +made to save you from going down to death unprepared to meet your +God? and as resolutely devote yourselves to the follies and the +amusements of the world, as though you were to live for ever? God +forbid! + +But I hope that the intelligent reader has felt that moral +renovation of heart, without which all the attainments of the +purest morality will prove unavailing; and is looking for pardon +and eternal life through faith in the death and mediation of our +Lord Jesus Christ. If so, though you may have your occasional fears +respecting your personal interest in him; though you may often +dread, lest at some future period, the deep impressions under which +you now labour should be effaced from your mind; and though you may +even start back from the approach of death, as from the visitations +of a destroying angel, yet He who has begun the good work will +carry it on--He who has drawn you into fellowship with himself +will perpetuate it--He who has inclined you to hope in his mercy +will sustain that hope in the final hour, and give you a peaceful +entrance into the joy of your Lord. + +Go, then, to the footstool of the Divine throne, and there offer +up the sacrifice of praise to Him who has made you alive from the +dead, and yield yourself unto God, and your end will be everlasting +life. You may be reproached for such an act of decision--you may +be contemned--you may excite the pity of some, and the sarcasm +of others; but you will not repent the course you have taken, +especially when your latter end approaches. Reflecting, then, on +your past career in the world you are just quitting, and directing +your anticipations forward to that on which you are entering, you +will feel an elevation of soul which no remembrances can depress, +and without a sigh of regret, or emotion of fear, will close your +eyes in peace. + +And when the conflict is over, and you have gained the prize of +immortality--when you have undergone the anticipated assimilation +to the likeness of God, and are as perfect in purity and knowledge +as in blessedness--beholding the person and the glory of the +dear Redeemer--uniting with the innumerable multitude around +his throne, in their anthems of adoration and praise--you will +then feel, that in being a redeemed sinner, you have experienced +greater manifestation of Divine favour and love, than if you +had been created from the first an angel of the highest order. +And in your then glorified state you will often advert to your +earthly sojourn--to your sins and to your sorrows--retracing the +mysterious path of your Christian course, with the ineffably joyful +consciousness pervading your heart, that you have not again to +suffer, or to sin; that you have not again to pass through "death's +dark vale," or again to dread the possibility of perishing; but to +live for ever in the full enjoyment of unmingled happiness. Then, +with what emotions of gratitude will you adore and bless God for +having made you, when in this world, refrain from following the +example of the gay and thoughtless; who, alas! will then be where +the voice of mercy is never heard, and where the light of hope never +dawns! + + + + +THE HAPPY MARRIAGE. + + +During all this time that has elapsed, what has become of our +friends at Fairmount? + +The reader has now probably conjectured from the account of my visit +to Fairmount at Christmas,[31] that a marriage would ere long take +place between Mr. Lewellin and Miss Roscoe. It had been arranged in +a subsequent visit paid by Mr. Lewellin at Easter, that the wedding +should take place in the following June, and preparations were +already made for the joyful occasion, at which I was invited to be +present. On returning to London, however, to adjust some business +matters, Mr. Lewellin found to his dismay, that an affair of great +importance, which even threatened the stability of the mercantile +house with which he was connected, required him immediately to +proceed to Australia. The disappointment and vexation thus +occasioned to the youthful lovers may be conceived, but there was +no alternative, and the wedding was accordingly postponed to the +following spring, by which time it was hoped that the bridegroom +would have returned. Unfortunately, however, the business which +required Mr. Lewellin's attention at the Antipodes, proved of so +tedious and protracted a nature, that instead of reaching home in +the spring, as he expected, nearly two years elapsed before he could +return to his native country. In the interval poor Miss Holmes, Miss +Roscoe's attached friend, died, as I have narrated in the foregoing +chapter, and her loss was deeply felt by Sophia. During Miss Holmes' +last illness, Miss Roscoe was on a tour in Italy with her father +and mother; and though her friend had been suffering from a severe +cold when she quitted England, Sophia had no idea of the fatal issue +to which this would lead, and frequently anticipated, during her +travels, the pleasure with which, on her return, she would describe +to Louisa the beautiful scenery and objects of interest she had +seen while abroad. As Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe and Sophia travelled much +in Italy, seldom staying long in one place, their correspondence +with their friends in England was very irregularly maintained, and, +consequently, no tidings of Miss Holmes' illness reached them; +and it was not till passing through London, on their return from +the Continent, that they learned, to their grief and dismay, that +Louisa had expired about a fortnight previously. Before proceeding +to Watville, they paid a visit to the Elms, and did their utmost to +console the bereaved family. They were also very urgent in pressing +Emma and Jane to pay them a visit, which the feelings of the +latter would not permit them to do at the time, but they expressed +their readiness to do so as soon as their minds were somewhat more +composed. + + [31] Vol. i. p. 544. + +Not long after Miss Roscoe's return home, her spirits were most +unexpectedly revived by the arrival of Mr. Lewellin, who having +brought his business to a satisfactory termination, had immediately +thereafter stepped on board ship and reached England, a few days +before the letter which he had sent to announce his return. +The joy of the youthful pair at meeting again, after so long a +separation, is more easily imagined than described. Preparations +were now made for the consummation of their union, at which I was +earnestly invited to be present, but the multiplicity of my pastoral +engagements prevented me from doing so, much to my regret. I, +however, readily promised to pay a visit at Fairmount as soon as the +married couple should have returned from their wedding tour. + +At first it had been decided that the young people should settle +in the vicinity of London, and that Mr. Lewellin should continue +his mercantile pursuits as formerly, but this plan was ultimately +abandoned. "I presume," said Mr. Roscoe to Mr. Stevens, when they +met to adjust the final arrangements, "that your nephew will inherit +your property, as my daughter will inherit mine, when it shall +please God to remove us to a better world; and if so, I think they +will possess a fortune quite large enough, without running the +risk of losing any part of it by the speculations of commerce, and +without encumbering themselves with the difficulties and anxieties +necessarily attendant on them." + +"This question," replied Mr. Stevens, "has often engrossed my +attention, and I am happy to find that our sentiments on it +coincide." + +While Mr. Stevens and Mr. Roscoe were thus debating this grave +subject, and determining what income they would portion off for +the young people, they were disturbed by the sudden entrance of +Mr. Lewellin and the ladies, who were ignorant of the point under +discussion. "You two gentlemen look very grave," said Mrs. Stevens; +"one would almost suppose that you have been discussing some +question in which the destinies of Europe are involved." + +"No, Madam," said Mr. Roscoe, "we have not been agitating any such +question, but another, if not of equal importance, yet of equal +interest to you." + +"And what may that be, Sir?" + +"I see your curiosity is awakened; but cannot you restrain it for a +few hours, till you can coax your husband to gratify it?" + +"Why, Sir, a woman very naturally feels anxious to know what, when +known, will deeply interest her; and though you gentlemen sometimes +practise the art of tantalizing, yet you must admit, that we can +easily get at your secrets. When together, you can keep up the game; +but when you separate, you give up the prize. You glory in your +strength, when supported by each other's courage; but alone, you +soon surrender." + +"Ah! so it is; we, the lords of the creation, are compelled to pay +tribute." + +"Of course, Sir, tribute to whom tribute is due." + +"To Caesar, Madam!" + +"And to Caesar's wife, Sir." + +"I see you are restless; and as I have too much compassion to keep +you on the rack, I will announce in due form the question which we +have been agitating. It is this--Shall your nephew and my daughter, +after a certain event takes place, go to reside near London, or +shall they reside near us?" + +"A question, I presume, Sir, no less interesting to you than myself." + +"Equally so, Madam." + +"And how have you decided it, Sir?" + +"We have come to no decision; but we should prefer their settling +near us, rather than going so far away." + +"I am happy to hear you are of that opinion; it completely coincides +with my own views. I was always averse to George and Sophia being +settled at a distance from us." + +The reader will no doubt remember Miss Denham, whose death I +narrated in a previous part of the book.[32] Her mother did not +long survive the melancholy event; and Mr. Denham, being now left +alone, soon sank into a morbid melancholy, which embittered his +last days. He had outlived nearly all the companions of his youth; +followed those to the grave who were to have inherited his property; +and after languishing in a state of mental gloom and depression +for several years, he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. His +property, which consisted principally of land, he ordered to be +sold, and the proceeds to be divided amongst his poor relations, +with the exception of a small estate which he bequeathed to an +intimate friend. Mr. Roscoe became the purchaser of one of his +estates, which was situated in the parish of Broadhurst, not far +from Mr. Ingleby's rectory; and as the gentleman who had rented it +had just resolved on removing to a more distant part of the country, +Mr. Roscoe deemed it a most eligible location for the young people. +It consisted of a good house, very pleasantly situated, with about +eighty acres of arable and pasture land, well wooded and watered. + + [32] Vol. i. p. 421. + +When it was known that Mr. Roscoe had made this purchase, Farmer +Pickford called on him with the view of obtaining a lease of it for +his son Harry. + +"I hear, Sir, as how you have bought one of the farms belonging to +Mr. Denham; and I have made so bold as to call and say, I can get +you a goodish sort of a tenant if you should want one. One that will +do justice to the land, and no mistake." + +"And who is it you have been thinking of?" + +"My son Harry. He'll make as good a farmer as his father, and that +is saying a good deal; though, perhaps, I shouldn't blow my own +trumpet. I will stand score for the rent, and the proper tillage of +the farm." + +"I thank you, Farmer, for your offer; and I should have much +pleasure in accepting your son as a tenant, but I have purchased the +farm with an intention of offering it to Mr. Lewellin, if he should +feel disposed to become a farmer." + +"I beg pardon, Sir; I hope no offence. I wouldn't have said a word, +if I had known that. Howsomever, I shall be glad to have him for a +neighbour; and anything I can do to sarve him, I shall have a power +of pleasure in doing." + +"Thank you, Farmer. He will need instruction beyond what I can give +him; and I had resolved to call on you for a little advice." + +"That, Sir, I will give at any time, with a power of pleasure." + +"It is pretty good land, I believe, Farmer?" + +"The land, Sir, has a good heart in itself; but it has been +desperately run out. It will take a power of trouble and expense to +bring it into a good working condition, and no mistake. Mr. Denham +was a bad landlord. He never would make no improvements, nor help +his tenant to make any. And I always find a bad landlord makes a bad +tenant." + +"I am very glad, Farmer, that you have called, and have referred to +your son Harry; and I will now tell you what has been running in my +mind. I know the farm has been mismanaged, and that it will require, +as you say, much trouble and expense to bring it into a good working +condition; now, could you not spare your son Harry for a year or +two, to act as bailiff to Mr. Lewellin; and thus he will be doing +something for himself, which you know won't prevent him from taking +a farm, when you have an opportunity of doing so?" + +"It shall be, Sir, as you say." + +"Well, then, you and your son had better call in the course of a few +days, and we will settle the terms of agreement." + +"With a power of satisfaction. This will mainly please my mistress, +and Harry too, and no mistake." + +Farmer Pickford then took his leave, and Mr. Roscoe proceeded to +Fairmount to acquaint the family with the projects he had in view, +in which they all gladly acquiesced. "Indeed, George," said Mrs. +Stevens, addressing herself to Mr. Lewellin, "I think you will +sustain no loss by exchanging the smoke of London for the salubrious +air of Rockhill, and may part with your prospects of civic honours +without regret, to be enrolled on the list of country gentlemen. +Though you may not at first be so expert in farming as in mercantile +transactions, yet in process of time your rural occupations will be +no less interesting, if not quite so profitable." + +"The exchange, Aunt, will be made without regret, especially when +made in accordance with the wishes of my friends." + +"We all wish it," said Mrs. Roscoe, who had accompanied her husband +to Fairmount; "and it quite reconciles me to the idea of parting +with my dear Sophia." + +In the course of a few months Mr. Lewellin disposed of his business +in London; the house at Rockhill underwent a thorough repair, and +was neatly furnished, Harry Pickford was duly installed into his +office, the farm stocked with the usual variety of live cattle, +and the day for the celebration of the nuptial ceremony fixed. At +length the wedding morning dawned, when the sun shone without a +cloud, a circumstance which Sophia's good old nurse hailed as a +happy omen of her future happiness. Every one was astir at an early +hour. The friends invited to the wedding arrived, and the bride, +with her father and mother and the rest of her party, drove off to +the rectory, where they found Mr. Lewellin and Mr. and Mrs. Stevens +and their friends waiting to receive them. "I am happy," said the +venerable Rector, "that I have lived to see this day; and more happy +that Divine Providence has conferred on me the office of uniting you +in the bands of matrimony." + +He then knelt down and prayed with them, and as he prayed warm +tears were shed, but they were not tears of sorrow. Prayer being +ended, they at once proceeded to the church. The good old Rector, +dressed in the habiliments of his office, walked first, followed by +the bride leaning on her father's arm and the rest of the marriage +party. On entering the church they passed direct to the altar, where +the ceremony was performed by Mr. Ingleby with great solemnity, in +presence of a larger concourse of people than had been remembered in +the village on such an occasion for many years. As soon as it was +finished, the married pair proceeded to the vestry to attach their +signatures to the register of their marriage, when Mr. Ingleby thus +addressed them:--"I hope you will enjoy the excursion you are about +to take; that a kind Providence will watch over you, to preserve +you from all evil; and that you will return to us in health and +peace. Accept this small packet as a token of the interest I feel +in your happiness, and possibly you may retain it as a relic of +friendship long after I have left you for a better world." He then +placed it in the hands of Mrs. Lewellin, saying, "You may open and +examine it at your leisure." On re-entering the church, they were +both unexpectedly greeted by the village choir, who sung in sweetest +melody the 128th Psalm, from Sternhold and Hopkin's version-- + + "Blessed art thou that fearest God, + And walkest in his way; + For of thy labour thou shalt eat, + Happy art thou, I say. + + "Like the fruitful vines on thy house side, + So doth thy wife spring out; + Thy children stand like olive plants, + Thy table round about. + + "Thus art thou blest that fearest God, + And he shall let thee see + The promised Jerusalem, + And her felicity. + + "Thou shalt thy children's children see, + To thy great joy's increase; + And likewise grace on Israel, + Prosperity and peace." + +[Illustration: M. S. MORGAN T. BOLTON + +THE BRIDAL PARTY WELCOMED BY THE VILLAGERS. + +Vol. ii. page 456.] + +The bridal party on coming out of the church were received with +acclamations by the assembled rustics, who, all attired in their +holiday clothes, thronged the churchyard, and pressed forward to +wish the new married couple a long and a happy life. Nothing could +more unequivocally testify to the universal popularity with which +Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin were regarded among the villagers. The bells +in the old tower rung forth their merriest peals, while the village +children, with their little baskets, strewed the path with flowers. +On reaching the churchyard gate, the wedding party stepped into the +carriages which were waiting for them, and drove off to Mr. Roscoe's +mansion. There the young couple proceeded to dress for their +journey; and having partaken of some refreshment, left for the usual +tour. The wedding party were entertained at dinner, by Mr. and Mrs. +Roscoe, in celebration of the joyous occasion: while the company was +cheerful and lively, there was no appearance of that levity which +too often attends the celebration of the nuptial vow, even amongst +the decidedly pious. "There are some of the customs of the world," +said the venerable Rector, "which a Christian may follow without in +the least compromising his character; I shall therefore offer no +apology for giving the following toast--'MR. AND MRS. LEWELLIN, AND +MAY THEY LIVE LONG ON EARTH, AND FINISH THEIR COURSE WITH JOY.'" +This toast was duly honoured by the whole party, who soon afterwards +retired to the drawing-room, where the remainder of the day was +spent in innocent festivity and social intercourse. A sumptuous +rustic feast was likewise spread on the lawn for the villagers, +who were thus furnished with the means of participating with their +superiors in the general rejoicings of the day. + +We now return to the wedded couple. "I wonder," said Mrs. Lewellin, +as they rode along in the post-chaise, "what this packet contains: +I must open it, and have my curiosity gratified. Ah!" said she, on +discovering its contents, "it is just like Mr. Ingleby, he is always +so kind and considerate. Here is his pastoral advice to us, who have +just returned from the altar." She then proceeded to read to her +husband as follows:-- + +"I am happy, my dear young friends, that, in the union which has +taken place this day, there has been no sacrifice of Christian +principle--no violation of filial duty, and that it has been +consummated under the most auspicious circumstances. You are both, +my young friends, fellow-heirs of the grace of life; so that you +have each obeyed the Divine injunction by marrying in the Lord. +Here are your parents and your guardians offering you their +congratulations, while Providence is opening before you a scene of +prosperity, which, I trust, you will ever continue to enjoy. But +you will not find this world a paradise; nor will you be allowed +to pass through it without meeting with trials. It is not my wish, +certainly, on this joyful occasion, to darken your prospects with +the shades of threatening evil, but permit me, an old man on the +brink of the grave, to address a few words to you, which may be of +service after I have gone to rest with my fathers. + +"Ever remember that you are both imperfect Christians, which will +keep you from forming extravagant expectations, and guard you +against the depressing influence of those momentary disappointments +which you may feel. It is generally admitted, by the most competent +judges, that temper is the hinge on which the happiness of domestic +life turns; and if you can contrive to keep this always in a +good condition, you will never be disturbed by the gratings of +discontent, or the harsher sounds of anger or of discord. You are, I +believe, both amiable, and have, during a long courtship, preserved +the equilibrium of your temper-- + + 'Ne'er roughen'd by those cataracts and breaks, + Which humour, interposed, too often makes;' + +yet you have now entered on a course in which you will find the +correctness of the poet's remark exemplified-- + + The kindest and the happiest pair, + Will find occasion to forbear; + And something, every day they live, + To pity, and perhaps forgive.' + +"I have known some who have been very fond of each other before +marriage, and for some time after it, but their affection has +gradually dwindled into indifference, even while they have been +unconscious of any change. This is an evil against which I wish you +to be on your guard. You may now suppose that such an event cannot +occur; but what _has_ befallen others _may_ befal you. Pure love +is a delicate plant, which suffers by neglect; and though you may +imagine that by virtue of its inherent strength, it will perpetually +yield the fragrance and the fruit of conjugal felicity, yet it will +not do so without the most assiduous care. Endeavour, then, ever to +exercise towards each other an amiable and forbearing temper, which +will make you appear no less lovely in each other's estimation when +the gray hairs of age come upon you, than when in the full bloom of +youthful vigour. + + 'The love that cheers life's latest stage, + Proof against sickness and old age, + Preserved by virtue from declension, + Becomes not weary of attention: + But lives, when that exterior grace + Which first inspired the flame, decays. + 'Tis gentle, delicate, and kind, + To faults compassionate and blind; + And will with sympathy endure + Those evils it would gladly cure.' + +"But if pure affection may be regarded as the foundation on which +domestic happiness rests, it is the province of good sense to raise +the superstructure--to decorate and embellish it--to secure its +internal harmony, and to cast up those mounds and bulwarks which +will protect it from external annoyance and danger. I do not know +that I can define this expression better than by calling it, that +sense of propriety which is suited to the situation in which the +member of a family is placed. Good sense will teach you to keep your +proper station in your family; when to see and when not to see the +faults and the excellencies of others; when and how to administer +reproof, or to give commendation; and how to uphold your authority +without the appearance of severity. It will also induce you to +pay great attention to the little things of domestic life, which +exercise so material an influence in promoting its happiness. + +"As _your_ manners will have a material influence over all the +subordinate members of your household, the exercise of your good +sense will teach you the importance of keeping your proper station, +lest you should, by an act of encroachment, give excitement to any +evil tempers or dispositions, which the occasion may appear to +justify. I am aware of the extreme difficulty of marking out the +exact boundary within which you ought to keep in the exercise of +your authority, or in your habit of personal inspection; but as an +improper interference with the opinions or the prescribed duties of +others very rarely fails to give offence, even when no offence is +intended, good sense will keep you on your guard against rousing +unnecessarily irritable feelings. I do not wish you to suffer +your servants to govern you, nor do I wish you to stand in awe of +them, as I am convinced, from long observation, that the sceptre +of authority should be held by the heads of a family; but as your +comfort will depend very materially on those by whom you are served, +I would advise you to study their temper and their disposition, +and so to shape your commands as to secure obedience without a +murmur, and bring about reform without opposition. Remember that +your servants are not slaves, to be governed by authority without +reason--that they are not stoics, to be treated as though they had +no feeling; but are your equals in relation to God, though your +inferiors in relation to civil society--who have as strong a claim +on your generosity, as you have on their fidelity, and who will in +general reward your kindness and sympathy by their affection and +grateful obedience. + +"If there be one sight more lovely than another in the present +world, that sight is a happy family, whose different members live +together in love and in peace, bearing each other's burdens, +anticipating each other's wants, and endeavouring, by the thousand +nameless expressions of kindness which they may show to each other, +to secure and augment each other's felicity. + +"As you are both disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will, I +have no doubt, erect an altar of devotion in your habitation; but +you must guard against the supposition, that all the duties of +family religion are discharged when you have presented the morning +and evening sacrifice. You may have servants to instruct who are +ignorant of the nature and design of the gospel of peace, or whose +positive aversion to every form of religion renders remonstrance or +persuasion necessary. Though you may imagine that the instruction +of the pulpit will prove the means of removing their prejudices, +and imparting to them clear perceptions of the truth as it is in +Jesus, yet I would advise you not to trust entirely to it. A little +private conversation with them, when a favourable opportunity +occurs, or a few familiar remarks made before or after reading a +portion of the Scriptures, when you are collected together for +the purpose of family prayer, may have a powerful effect on their +minds, and lead them to work out their own salvation with fear and +trembling. And if you should be instrumental in bringing any of them +to repentance, and to the knowledge of the truth, you will have an +ample compensation for your anxiety and labour, in the more ardent +attachment which they will feel for you, and the greater fidelity +with which they will serve you. + +"I have more than once heard it remarked, that social intimacy very +often proves injurious to that intimate Christian fellowship, on +which the growth, if not the vitality of personal religion very +materially depends. Hence, husbands and wives, parents and children, +frequently converse more freely on the experimental influence of +religion with distant associates or comparative strangers than with +each other. But this ought not to be. They who are animated by the +like precious faith, and who have to encounter the same spiritual +difficulties, ought not to suffer the closeness of their union to +operate as a reason why they should hold no spiritual communion with +each other. Let me then entreat you, now you are just on the eve of +forming your domestic habits, to avoid this evil, into which too +many fall; and by the most unreserved mental communications, become +helpers of each other's faith and hope. + + 'If pains afflict, or wrongs oppress, + If cares distract, or fears dismay, + If guilt deject, or sin distress,' + +do not lock up your grief as a profound secret, which a false +delicacy may wish you to conceal from one another; but rather +disclose it without reserve, and you will meet in your reciprocal +sympathy a relief from your burden of sorrow. And that you may +cultivate this intimate religious fellowship, allow me to suggest to +you the adoption of a habit, which I think eminently conducive to +your spiritual prosperity. Always retire, during some part of the +day or the evening, to pray _with each other_, and for each other; +and you will find that the line of the poet records a fact, which +your own experience will soon attest to be true, that prayer + + 'Brings ev'ry blessing from above.' + +It enriches the mind with the treasures of spiritual wisdom, while +it imparts a sweetness to the disposition, and an amiability to the +temper, which cares and anxieties will not impair. + +"And though, my young friends, I cannot cheer you with the hope of +being able to pass through life without coming into contact with +its temptations, its disappointments, and its bereavements, yet He +in whom you trust, and to whom you have both devoted yourselves in +the spring-time of your life, will never leave you nor forsake you, +but will be a very present help in every time of trouble. If you +are spared till the time of old age, I trust you will be 'like a +tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in +his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth +shall prosper.' And if you should be removed in early life, you will +be transplanted to that celestial paradise, where you will flourish +in undecaying strength and glory for ever. It is but a little while +that I shall live on earth as a spectator of your bliss; but if +spirits are allowed in their disembodied state to visit, though +unseen, the abodes of mortals, I shall often be with you, 'joying +and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in +Christ.'" + + + + +AN OLD FRIENDSHIP REVIVED. + + +After a delightful tour through the west of England, and part of +South Wales, Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin arrived at Malvern, where they +intended to remain for some time previous to returning home. On the +Saturday after their arrival, in ascending the hill behind the town, +they passed two ladies, when Mrs. Lewellin said, "I think I know the +tallest; she appears to be an invalid, and, to judge from her fixed +look, I should infer that she had a faint recognition of myself." + +They turned back to pass them again, if possible, but they lost +sight of them in the little crowd of fashionables enjoying their +morning promenade. As they were sauntering along on their return +to their hotel, they passed what appeared to be a small place of +worship, and on making inquiries, they found it was a Dissenting +chapel. + +"We ought," Mr. Lewellin remarked, "to be devoutly thankful to +Divine Providence for raising up so many of these unobtrusive little +sanctuaries--they are the retreats of the gospel, when it is driven +out from the Established Church, as is too often the case." + +"To me," replied his wife, "any place is a Bethel, if its walls echo +to the name of Jesus." + +The next day was the Sabbath. They were seated near the door of the +chapel, when they saw the two ladies enter whom they had observed on +the preceding day; but as they passed on to occupy a pew near to the +pulpit, they could not get a sight of the face of either of them. +The service was conducted as usual with extreme simplicity--singing, +without the aid of any instrumental music, and extemporary prayer, +free, however, from monotony or tautology. The sermon was short +and impressive, setting forth the grand truths of revelation in +a simple, earnest manner, and enforcing them in tones of mild, +persuasive, yet commanding eloquence. The text would be considered +by many a very commonplace one, yet it is one which embodies the +whole theory of Divine truth--"This is a faithful saying, and worthy +of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save +sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. i. 15). When the two stranger +ladies were walking up the passage, after the close of the service, +Mrs. Lewellin contrived to be standing with her pew door partly +open, but drew it back as they were in the act of passing. The eye +of the invalid lady caught hers; she paused, and exclaimed with +emotion--"And is it you, my dear Miss Roscoe?" + +"Not Miss Roscoe _now_," replied Mrs. Lewellin, waving her hand +towards her husband; "I have exchanged it for Lewellin. And is it +you, my dear Miss Rawlins?" + +"Yes, still Miss Rawlins, your old friend. How marvellous that we, +who were once two such giddy girls, should meet after so great a +lapse of time in a Dissenting chapel!" + +"The God of grace often works wonders." + +"Always when he saves sinners." + +"And does my dear Miss Rawlins feel herself to be a sinner?" + +"Yes, and one of the chief. Some others may be more vile, but no one +can be more worthless." + +"Is this an illusion, or a reality? Am I in some fairy land?" + +"I do not wonder at your exclamation. It is more like romance than +reality." + +They walked away from the chapel together, and when parting, Mrs. +Lewellin said, "If you are at the chapel in the evening we will sit +in the same pew." + +"O yes, my dear; we greatly prefer the chapel to the church. _There_ +we have the pomp of religion; _here_ its beautiful simplicity. At +_church_ we hear the Church itself and its ceremonial rites held up +to us from day to day; _here_ the Saviour himself is placed before +us as the Alpha and Omega of the service. We are more partial to the +substance of the truth, than to shadowy forms." + +In the evening a minister officiated, who was on a visit to Malvern +for the improvement of his health. He was a fine looking man, though +much emaciated, and preached as one whose eye was turned away from +the vanities of time, contemplating steadfastly the glories of +eternity. His text was strikingly appropriate to his own condition +and to ours:--"The fashion of this world passeth away" (1 Cor. vii. +31). + +"The context to this passage," said the minister, "tells us, my +brethren, what experience confirms--that our abode on earth is +short. St. Paul, therefore, exhorts us, and we will do well to +attend to his exhortations, to guard against too fond an attachment +to any relation or possession in life. You who weep, and you who +rejoice, should moderate the intensity of your emotions; as you +will soon be far removed from the influence of the causes which +produce those feelings, and the possessions which you now hold +on the most secure tenure will soon be claimed by others. Set +not, therefore, your heart on this world, which you must so soon +leave. Its appearance is attractive, like the shifting scenes of +a theatre, or a gaudy pageant in a public procession; but it will +soon vanish from your sight, to amuse and beguile others in like +manner. There is another world--more splendid, more glorious, and +more durable--towards that you should turn your attention, and seek +with the most intense ardour of soul to be prepared to enter it. +Otherwise, when you depart from this world--and you may very soon +depart--you will go into outer darkness, and be lost for ever." + +"I hope, my dear Mrs. Lewellin," said Miss Rawlins, on the following +morning, when they were promenading by themselves in a retired walk, +"you will forgive me for not replying to the last letter I received +from you. Indeed, I have often reproached myself for not doing it. +It has been the occasion of bitter grief, and some tears, especially +of late." + +"I can very easily forgive you, dear Miss Rawlins; but will you +permit me to ask you why you did not reply?" + +"It was, at that period of my life, absolutely unintelligible. I +concluded you were become a mystic; and I foolishly imagined you +were contemplating taking the veil, and that I should soon hear you +had entered a convent. You will not be surprised at this when you +advert to the foolish letter I wrote to you about religion."[33] + + [33] Vol. i. p. 451. + +"If agreeable to you," said Mrs. Lewellin, "I should like to hear by +what means you were brought to see and to feel your real character +and condition in relation to God and the eternal world." + +"My history is a very singular one--abounding with incidents that +illustrate the workings of the special providence of God. You know, +my dear, in what a gay circle I moved. The concert, the drama, the +ball-room, card-parties, and novels absorbed my whole soul. I lived +in a perpetual whirl of excitement and gaiety. But I was not happy, +and often felt disgusted with my own frivolous pursuits. At length, +I had a severe and dangerous illness, brought on by imprudently +exposing myself to the cold damp air, in returning from a ball. For +some weeks my life was despaired of, and these were weeks of terror. +I was brought to the verge of the dark world, and felt appalled at +the thought of entering it. I was rebellious, too, and murmured +against God for depriving me of life at such an early period." + +"It was by a cold, caught at a ball, that your old friend, Miss +Denham, lost her life."[34] + + [34] Vol. i. p. 410. + +"Yes; I recollect you alluded to her death in a letter I received +from you. Were you intimate with her?" + +"I was with her when she died." + +"Indeed! I know she was a gay devotee to the world; and, therefore, +it may be painful to hear how she died. What myriads are offered as +victims to the Moloch of fashion!" + +"No, my dear, not painful. Her head was reclining on the bosom of a +pious friend, who was present with me at the interview; and her last +words were--'I am dying, but not without hope of attaining eternal +life, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.'" + +"How thankful I am to hear that. It is like the rescue of a +friend from shipwreck. But to resume my story. I was gradually +restored to health, and re-entered the gay world, amidst the warm +congratulations of my friends. At the close of the season we came to +Malvern to spend a few months. Here the mystic roll of Providence +began to unfold itself. One day, when rambling by myself over +the common, I saw a neat little cottage, which I entered. It was +occupied by an old woman, who sat reading her Bible. I apologized +for my act of intrusion; when she requested me to take a seat. + +"'I hope,' she added, looking at me benignantly as she spoke, 'you +love your Bible. It tells us about Jesus Christ; about his love +for poor sinners; and about his dying for them, to save them from +perishing; and it tells us that if we come to him He will never +forsake us. There is no book like God's Book.' + +"I felt confused, and soon left her; but her words followed me. +They were perpetually sounding in my ears; and yet I could not draw +out of them any intelligible meaning. A few days after this I met an +old school-fellow, looking very ill; and having promised to call on +her, I did so the following week. I found her confined to her bed, +and evidently with but a short time to live. She said to me, when +taking leave of her, 'You see, my dear Miss Rawlins, that I am now +going into another world: and I go in peace, because I look by faith +to Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners. He has assured me, in the +Bible, that if I come to him, and trust in him, He will save me. You +have been near death, but your life is spared; let me entreat you +to leave the gay and thoughtless crowd, and come by faith to Jesus +Christ to save you, and to make you happy.' + +"These last words made a deep impression on my heart, and gave +rise to some painful reflections. Must I then, I said to myself, +withdraw from the gay world to be happy? Can Jesus Christ make me +happy? How is this possible, when he is dead, and gone to heaven? +These references to Jesus Christ reminded me of your letter, which, +as it happened still to be in my writing desk, I again perused. I +was struck with the harmony of sentiment and testimony between your +letter, the observations of the old woman, and the appeal of my +dying friend; and I felt its influence, even though it appeared to +me, in a great measure, unintelligible." + +"It is said of Samson," remarked Mrs. Lewellin, "that the Spirit of +the Lord moved him at times; that is, he was occasionally acted on +by an unusual impulse. And something analogous to this may be traced +in our moral history; the recurrence of impressions and emotions, of +a singular character, proceeding from some unknown cause. The Lord +the Spirit is at work in the heart, but his operations are veiled in +darkness; happily, the time for explanation comes at last." + +"It has been so, my dear Mrs. Lewellin, in my experience. Singular +events have been employed to produce those singular emotions; but +at the time, I could trace them to no perceptible cause, nor did I +ever suppose they would lead to any important issue. But the mystery +is now graciously explained. Soon after our return home, another +incident occurred, which exercised a material influence on my mind. +We went to dine with an old friend of my father's, who lived about +ten miles from town, and intended to return in the evening, but such +a violent storm came on, that we were glad to accept our friend's +invitation to remain for the night. At nine o'clock the parlour bell +was rung, and in a few minutes the servants entered, and our own +coachman with them, when a large Bible was placed near a clergyman, +one of the party. He read the second chapter of St. Paul's Epistle +to the Ephesians, and offered up a very solemn and impressive +prayer. This was quite novel; I had never before been present at +such a service. I was again brought into contact with the great +facts of revelation; and when on my knees before God in prayer, I +became still more restless in my mind. I felt a strong inclination +to go again to scenes of gaiety, to dispel the strange thoughts, and +still stranger forebodings, which haunted me; and yet I recoiled +from doing so, under an instinctive apprehension that they would +make me still more restless and unhappy. I felt, at times, so +miserable, that I took no interest in life. At this crisis, another +incident occurred, trivial in itself, and apparently casual, but +it was one of those agencies which were working together for my +good. Our coachman brought with him, from the pious family which we +had been visiting, some religious tracts; and on passing through +the kitchen I saw one on the dresser; it was _Poor Joseph_.[35] +I took it and read it. It delighted me from its singularity. I +involuntarily exclaimed, when I had finished reading it, 'What a +contrast between this poor half-witted man and myself! he is in +ecstasy when referring to Jesus Christ coming into the world to save +sinners, but I can only refer to this great fact with apathy and +indifference. How is this?' It appeared strange, and was a heavy +burden on my heart." + + [35] Vol. i. p. 152. + +"Our Lord says, 'They that be whole need not a physician, but +they that are sick' (Matt. ix. 12). A man in health looks with +indifference on the physician; but not so the dying patient. It +is a deep sense of personal guilt, and a vivid apprehension of +positive danger, that fits a sinner to form a correct estimate of +the need and value of a Saviour. When such a discovery is made and +felt, then it is hailed with rapture, and mental repose is enjoyed +as the consequence of trusting on the Saviour for pardon and +salvation." + +"I now perceive and feel this; but it would still have been hidden +from me, had it not been for another circumstance. I had one gay +friend to whom I was much attached; indeed, with the exception of +my parents, she was the only person I really loved. She completely +ruled me, though one of the most gentle creatures I ever knew. +I was never so happy as when in her company. She was as fond of +the gay world as myself. On one occasion we had both accepted an +invitation to a grand ball given by Sir John Markham, but in the +morning I received a note from my friend requesting me not to expect +to meet her there; adding, 'I withdraw from the gay world, and +for ever. It is a vain show, which promises happiness, but yields +none. Don't be alarmed; I will explain when I see you.' This note +took me by surprise; but I was more pleased than distressed. I +refrained from going to the ball, and went to see my friend. She +then informed me that her attention had recently been turned to her +Bible, by a sermon she heard preached by the Rev. James Harrington +Evans, and she had resolved to seek lasting happiness by yielding +herself to God, through the redemption of Christ Jesus the Lord. Her +conversation, though somewhat unintelligible to me, was in perfect +harmony with the sentiments I had previously heard others express. I +now readily complied with her earnest solicitation to accompany her, +on the following Sunday morning, to hear the same eloquent preacher. +We went together. His text was, 'For through him we both have access +by one Spirit unto the Father' (Eph. ii. 18). When he was explaining +to us the nature of access to the Father, and showing us why and how +we ought to come to Him, the veil was removed, and the light of life +shone with clear radiance into my heart. I felt subdued, captivated; +and, for the first time of my life, I could say, 'Now I know where +true happiness is to be found.' _Now_ I could understand your +letter. I followed, then, without hesitation, my friend's example, +in withdrawing from the gay world." + +"I suppose," here remarked Mrs. Lewellin, "the secession of two such +gay devotees from the circle of fashion, occasioned some little +tumult?" + +"O, yes, we had a few calls from some of the more inquisitive, who +live on excitement; but we were both inflexible, and now we are +subjected to no annoyance." + +"What did your parents say?" + +"I think they were more pleased than otherwise, especially my dear +mother, whose health had been rapidly declining for some months. +Very soon afterwards she was confined to her room; and God honoured +me to be the instrument in directing her to the Lamb of God, who +gave his life a ransom for many. She passed through a severe ordeal +of mental suffering during her long illness; but when descending +into the dark valley, she saw, by faith, Jesus coming to receive +her; and she died in peace." + +"These varied conflicts, my dear Miss Rawlins, in which you have +been engaged, must have proved a severe trial to you." + +"They have rather seriously affected my health, which has given way, +and occasioned our present visit to Malvern." + +"I congratulate you on your rescue from the allurements of a vain +and giddy world. Now that you are made alive from the dead, you must +yield yourself to God, to fear, and love, and glorify him, and show +forth his praise." + +"As I have now, my dear Mrs. Lewellin, unbosomed to you the secrets +of my heart, I shall feel more at ease. But, O! where can I find +words adequate to express my grateful feelings to my adorable +Saviour, for the marvellous manifestations of his sovereign +compassion and love to my dear mother, my beloved friend, and +myself!" + +The next day Mrs. Lewellin went with Miss Rawlins, to see the old +woman who lived in the cottage on the common. On entering, they +found her in her arm chair, with her Bible open before her, so +intent on what she was reading, that she did not appear to notice +them, till she was spoken to. + +"Sit down, ladies; I am glad to see you." + +"At your old employment, I see," said Miss Rawlins. + +"Why, Miss, I don't know that I can be at a better. It is proper +that a child should read his father's epistles of love, and that a +servant should study to know what his master requires him to do and +suffer." + +"Do you ever feel weary of reading the parts of the Bible you have +read before?" + +"It is, Miss, with God's Word, as it is with God's world. We enjoy a +serene evening and the beauties and melodies of the spring, as much +this year, as we did in any gone-by year of our life. I was just +thinking, before you ladies came in, that I could say nearly off at +heart the third chapter of John's Gospel; and yet I could read it +again, with as much pleasure and profit, if not more, than I did the +first time I read it. There is such a wonderful depth, and such a +rich fulness and living power in God's Word." + +"What book," inquired Mrs. Lewellin, "do you like next to the Bible?" + +"O, dear, Ma'am, I have long done with all other books. I used +to like good John Bunyan's _Pilgrim_, and I have read it through +many times; but now I care about no book but my Bible. I sometimes +think I should like to take the Bible with me to heaven, as then I +should be able to have some dark sayings explained, which I can't +understand now." + +"You have no doubts, I suppose, about the certainty of your +salvation?" + +"No, Ma'am; not _now_. Some time since, I was greatly distressed +with doubts and fears, but now all my anxieties are at rest. I stand +with my staff in my hand, waiting to hear my Father call me home. He +will call soon." + +"How simple, and how dignified," said Mrs. Lewellin, as they were +leaving the cottage, "are the anticipations of an old disciple, when +approaching the entrance to the heavenly kingdom!" + +"And what a contrast," replied Miss Rawlins, "to the devotees of +fashion! They will amuse themselves at the card-table, till their +hands become too enfeebled to play; and even on a death-bed will +listen with deep interest to descriptions of operas and plays, a new +singer, or a new actor; inquire with eager curiosity who wore the +most splendid dress at the ball--what new marriage is now on the +_tapis_--in short, will listen to anything, however trifling, to +keep off the thought of dying." + +"Yes," said Mrs. Lewellin; "and when, for form's sake, the +officiating priest is sent for, and he has gone through the +prescribed ceremonies--has read the absolution and given the +sacrament, and they have thus made their peace with God--they still +live on, as long as they can live, amidst the gay scenes of former +times now gone from them for ever. But to that one great event in +their moral history, which is so certain, and so near at hand, +all references or allusions are imperatively forbidden, as though +its entire oblivion could prevent its actual occurrence. O, it is +painful to think of the terrific surprise and overwhelming horror +which will seize on their spirits, when they pass into the eternal +world!" + +"Yes, my dear; and if _our_ preparations for death, and if our +reminiscences and anticipations when dying, should bear, as I trust +they will, a nearer resemblance to the dignified deportment, and the +sweet serenity of the old woman on the common, than to the criminal +frivolity of these self-doomed devotees of fashionable life, we +must, in imitation of the devout Psalmist, and with tears of joyous +gratitude, ever say--'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy +name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake'--(Psalm +cxv. 1.)" + +On their return from this visit, Mrs. Lewellin said, with some +embarrassment of manner, "We have now, my dear Miss Rawlins, been at +Malvern longer than we contemplated. We leave to-morrow, but I hope +that we may again meet somewhere on earth, to renew the sweet and +hallowed intercourse we have so much enjoyed here." + +"I am thankful that you kept the secret of your departure to the +last moment. An earlier intimation of the exact time would have had +on my heart a very depressing effect. Our conversations at Malvern +will ever be held by me in pleasing remembrance, and I shall long +for an opportunity to renew them. Good night. We will have no formal +parting. It will be too painful." + +As Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin had exceeded the time which they had +originally contemplated spending on their tour, they now proceeded +homewards to Rockhill, where they found Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe, and a +few other friends, waiting to welcome them to their new home. The +meeting was a delightful one, nothing having occurred to either +party, during their absence, to occasion annoyance or perplexity. + +A few months after their return, Mrs. Lewellin received the +following letter from Miss Rawlins:-- + + "DEAR MRS. LEWELLIN,--It will give you, I have no doubt, some + pleasure to hear that I am again in my father's house, and in + the enjoyment of perfect health and vigour. And you will, I + doubt not, unite with me in humble adoration and gratitude to + the God of all grace, not only for the grace bestowed on me--one + of the most worthless of the unworthy--but for his marvellous + loving-kindness to my dear father, who is so much delighted, + and so deeply moved by the preaching of the Rev. J. H. Evans, + that he attends his chapel with me regularly every Sabbath. + Though there is no decisive evidence that he is become a new + creature in Christ Jesus, yet I hope he is entering the narrow + way that leads to life. He spends much of his time in reading + his Bible and Doddridge's _Exposition_, and is very earnest in + his inquiries about coming to Christ to be saved. Truly the + God of grace often works wonders. My endeared friend, Miss + Forrester, whom you saw with me at Malvern, is now, and is + likely to continue to be for some time, an inmate in our family. + We were one in spirit when we were living and moving amidst the + frivolous and ensnaring gaieties of life; and we are still one + in spirit now we are both united to the Lord; but it is a spirit + of a purer nature, and one that death cannot destroy. + + "I often think of our unlooked-for meeting at Malvern, and the + pleasant hours of Christian intercourse we spent together when + there. I hope both you and Mr. Lewellin have been enjoying good + health since your return home. I need not say how glad I shall + be to hear from you. Write soon, and believe me, ever yours, + + "LETITIA." + + + + +THE WANDERER'S RETURN. + + +Some months having now elapsed since Mr. Lewellin's marriage, I +set off to pay my long promised visit to my esteemed friend and +his lady. I was accompanied by Mrs. Orme, who joined me in London +from the Elms, and after a pleasant journey we arrived safely at +Rockhill. It was promptly decided that the first half of my time +should be spent with them, and the other at Fairmount, with Mr. and +Mrs. Stevens. The day after my arrival, I took a stroll round the +farm with Mr. Lewellin, and I was much gratified by its general +appearance. I did not see his bailiff, Harry Pickford, as he was +gone to Weyhill fair, to purchase a few South-down sheep; but I +had great pleasure in hearing that his master had every reason to +be satisfied with him, and that great confidence was placed in his +judgment and activity. "He is," Mrs. Lewellin facetiously remarked, +"an able professor in the science of agriculture; and I think, +Sir, if you examine Mr. Lewellin, you will pronounce him an apt +scholar. He has made much rapid progress in his studies during the +session;--he may possibly take a degree." + +On the Sabbath it was arranged, while we were at breakfast, that +Mrs. Orme should ride to church with our kind host and hostess; +but I preferred walking, as I wished to take the same route I +had taken some years before, and ascertain, if possible, what +practical effect had resulted from my casual advice to Robert +Curliffe, whom, on a previous occasion, I had found working in his +garden,[36] with his two sons. It was a fine autumn morning, without +a cloud; the air was genial and invigorating, and the stillness of +the solitary lane along which I was passing formed an agreeable +contrast to the noise and bustle of the thronged streets of my town +residence. Robert's cottage still stood where I first saw it, but +its appearance was greatly improved, and his garden was in a higher +state of cultivation. These were auspicious signs, and formed, as +will shortly be seen, fresh illustrations of an oft-repeated remark, +that the work of grace in the heart contributes to the promoting of +temporal as well as spiritual comfort. On entering his cottage, I +found him dressed in his Sunday clothes, with his Bible beside him +on the table, and in his hand Fuller's _Gospel its own Witness_. He +expressed great joy at seeing me; and his wife, offering me a chair, +said, "You will see a change here, Sir, since your first visit; the +grace of God is a wonder-working power." + + [36] Vol. i. p. 110. + +"And I suppose you are both happier than when you preferred working +in the garden on the Sabbath to going to church?" + +"Yes, Sir," said Robert, "we are; and we are better off in worldly +matters. Our home is a quieter home. Our lads are more orderly in +their manners, and both go to Mr. Ingleby's Sunday-school. We are a +reformed family." + +"I shouldn't like," said Robert's wife, "for things to go back into +their old state; it would be like a good garden going back to a +common waste." + +"You have now something of more importance to think about and talk +about, than about planting and weeding your garden." + +"Yes, Sir, the wonderful facts of the Bible; especially God's +unspeakable gift of a Saviour who is able and willing to save us." + +"What the Lord has done for us in our souls, since you had the first +talk with our Robert, has given me a wonderful liking to the Bible, +and to Mr. Ingleby's preaching. Before that time, if I read a bit +of a chapter, I could not make out its meaning; and if I heard a +sermon, it made no impression on my heart; it came in at one ear, +and went out at t'other. Ah! dear; things are wonderfully changed +in us. I shouldn't like them to be changed back again; it would be +worse than seeing our garden overrun with thistles and nettles." + +I now pressed on to church. The Curate read the Liturgy with +great solemnity and pathos. My Dissenting prejudices subsided as +I listened to the solemn words of prayer; and the responses had a +soul-inspiring effect. "Yes," I said to myself, "the prayers are +simple, sublime, and appropriate; they are such as a sinner should +offer up, when kneeling before the Lord; they prepare the heart to +unite with the voices of the heavenly kingdom in their chorus of +thanksgiving and praise." At length I saw the vestry door open; the +venerable Rector walked out, ascended the flight of stairs, and +entered his pulpit. After a short extempore prayer, he announced his +text--"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a +great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and +fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke xv. 20). + +On my previous visit to Fairmount, I had observed that the +infirmities of age were fast creeping upon Mr. Ingleby, and this +was now much more manifest, though it could scarcely be wondered +at, as the good Rector had considerably advanced beyond the period +generally allotted to the life of man, being now upwards of eighty +years of age. His voice, however, was still clear and sonorous; and +though there was less activity and brilliancy of imagination, yet +the same bold and impassioned appeals to the conscience and the +heart came from his lips as when I first heard him. He commanded +the attention of his audience, and he rewarded it. After describing +the old man walking anxiously up and down in the cool of the +evening in front of his rural mansion, situated, it might be, in +some remote quarter of Palestine, he proceeded to recount his +supposed soliloquy, while thinking of his long-lost child:--"'Is he +still living, or has he been devoured by some wild beast of prey! +Is he in affluence, or is he in want! Does he ever think of his +home, and of his father, or has he forgotten both! Shall I ever +see him again! Shall I ever embrace him again, as I embraced him +the morning he left me! Shall I ever hear him address me 'father,' +as I was once accustomed to hear him call me!' The old man is now +just going to retire for the night, when something is seen moving +in the distance--it advances--it is a man--a poor forlorn outcast, +come to ask for shelter; he shall not be denied; he looks more +fixedly--the figure advances, yet it is still a great way off; it +is--no, it cannot be; he looks--it is, it is my son! See how the +old man runs to embrace the traveller! What a joyous meeting! what +a night of gladsome mirth and hallowed devotion! And who, beloved +brethren, supplies me with the materials for this dramatic sketch? +Jesus Christ. For what purpose? To assure us that our heavenly +Father feels more compassion for a relenting sinner than he can feel +sorrow for his sins; and that He feels more paternal delight in the +exercise of mercy, than a sinner can feel joy by having all his sins +forgiven him." + +When the sermon was over, I saw Farmer Pickford and his wife +standing at the corner of the lane, waiting for my approach. + +"I am glad to see you back again. I have looked for this day, many +a day, and many a night, since you were preaching in the barn. You +look well, Sir. Time makes no change in your appearance." + +"I hope, Sir," said Mrs. Pickford, "you will come and see us; we +shall be so much pleased." + +"We have had, Farmer, a very touching sermon this morning." + +"It touched me to the quick, and no mistake. I have shed more tears +this morning than I ever shed in any morning since I was born. It +made me feel a power of trouble, like." + +"And it greatly affected me," said Mrs. Pickford; "it made me think +of our long lost George; shall we ever see him again?" + +"He, my dear friend, who brought back the prodigal of the gospel, +can bring back your dear son." + +"I hope he will," replied the Farmer. "I don't care in what +condition he comes home, so that he does come back, and I live long +enough to receive him. He may come in rags for what I care. I'll +give him a capital supper, and a new suit; and we'll have a joyous +merry-making, and no mistake. You'll give us another sarmunt in the +barn?" + +"Yes, do, Sir," urged his wife; "we shall be so pleased, and +profited, too. One of our neighbours, Mr. Richards, was so impressed +by your discourse on the conversion of Zaccheus, that he is quite a +changed character. He was, before he heard it, a very irreligious +man; but now he regularly goes to church every Sabbath morning, and +to Mr. Stevens' chapel every Sabbath evening. And he comes to our +weekly prayer-meeting; and we often have edifying conversation with +him." + +"Before he heard that sarmunt," said the Farmer, "Richards was just +what I was before your first talk to me about my soul--a drunken, +swearing sort of chap; but now he keeps as sober as a judge; and +his talk is quite heavenly. He gets on in the good things faster +than I do; I'm still but a dullish sort of a scollard; worse luck. +But after all, I know something about the one thing needful; that's +worth knowing. The Lord be praised; and many thanks to you, Sir." + +"I hope, Farmer, by this time, that you enjoy a well-grounded +assurance, that you are accepted in the Beloved, and feel safe for +eternity." + +"As for that, Sir, I must speak with great care. I must not be +too bold. Howsomever, I don't fear dying, and that's a main good +thing; a kind of a triumph, like; the Lord be praised. I love Jesus +Christ--that's certain; I love my Bible, and I love the services of +God's house more than I used to love the ways of sin, and that is +saying a good deal. Will you give us another sarmunt in the barn, +Sir?" + +"Yes; and I will let you know when I can do it." + +I dined in the course of the following week at Mr. Roscoe's, and +much enjoyed my visit. It revived a recollection of the discussions +of former times, between him and his Tractarian brother, now become +an able advocate of the faith he then laboured to destroy. I never +saw Mr. Roscoe looking better; his spirits were buoyant, rising at +times to youthful cheerfulness. He abounded with anecdotes, both +grave and facetious; and was, indeed, the soul of the social circle. +We were deeply interested by the narration of an occurrence which +happened on the preceding day, and which I will give in his own +words:-- + +"I walked yesterday as far as Brushwood House, on a little matter of +business, and on my return home, just as I came to the corner of the +coppice, I saw a respectable looking young man sitting on the stump +of a tree in the hedgerow. He rose, bowed, and said, 'My name, Sir, +is George Pickford, and I am just back from a long roving trip, on +board of a merchant ship, and I have been watching a long while for +some one to go and tell father and mother that I am back safe and +sound. I am afraid to go home till some one has told them that I am +here, because, as they don't know whether I am dead or alive, my +abrupt appearance may startle them. And if, Sir, you will be so kind +as to do this little job for me, I shall feel a power of gratitude. +It won't take you far out of the way.' After chatting awhile with +him about the places he had visited, I asked him whether he had been +successful and taken care of his money, 'Why, Sir,' he replied, +'as I am so near home, I don't mind confessing to you what I have +confessed to no man since I came on shore. I have saved upwards of +L130; and I have it in a leather bag belted round my body under my +shirt. I kept clear of the land sharks in every port we entered. I +have for the last four years kept within compass--never gaming on +board, and never drinking on shore; but before then I used to do +such things.' + +"Mrs. Pickford saw me approaching the farm-house. She was all hurry +and bustle to get herself, and her neat little parlour, in order +for my reception. I took a chair and talked some time about things +in general, and then alluded to the sermon we had heard on Sabbath +morning. The tear fell from her eye, as she said to me, 'Sir, it was +a most painful sermon; it brought my George so forcibly before my +mind,' + +"'You may possibly,' I remarked, 'see him again.' + +"'I don't expect it, Sir. He has been gone six years come the 8th of +October; and we have not heard from him, or a word about him, since +he left us.' + +"'Be of good cheer; you will see him ere long.' + +"'Her look was now wild and penetrating; and she exclaimed, 'What, +Sir, do you say, and shall I see my George ere long?' + +"'Be composed,' I added, 'I bring you glad tidings. Your George is +back safe and sound; and he has requested me to come and tell you.' + +"'Back, Sir! safe and sound; and you have seen him; tell me,' rising +as she spoke, 'where he is, that I may see him too.' + +"I then said, 'If you will sit down, and promise to remain seated +for the next quarter of an hour, you shall see him.' + +"'A hard promise, Sir; but I thank the Lord he has given me an +opportunity to make it.' + +"I stepped through the fold-yard, hailed George, who was on the +watch, and then led him to his mother. I shall not attempt a +description of the scene that followed. She sprang into his arms, +and he into hers. + +"'Mother, forgive me.' + +"'I do, my child.' + +"'I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight, my mother.' + +"'I forgive all, my dear, dear George; and bless the Lord for giving +me this opportunity of telling you so.' + +"His younger brother and his sisters, who stood gazing and weeping, +all gathered around him, as soon as his mother withdrew her +embraces. 'But where is father?' I heard him say, as I retired from +this scene of domestic joy and happiness. + +[Illustration: M. S. MORGAN. + +T. BOLTON. + +THE WANDERER'S RETURN. + +Vol. ii. page 480.] + +"One thing I must not forget to mention. When it came up in the +course of our conversation, at our first interview, that I knew his +old master, his robbery of whom occasioned his running away, he put +a letter into my hand, and asked me if I would deliver it to him. It +contained the amount stolen, with interest, and compound interest up +to the present date: with a confession of his crime, and an entreaty +for forgiveness." + +We were all deeply affected by this touching tale, particularly Mrs. +Lewellin and Mrs. Orme, who said, both speaking at the same time, +"We must go and see George and his mother, and congratulate them on +their happy meeting." + + * * * * * + +In the midst of life, we are in death. We had a most unexpected +confirmation of this during my stay at Fairmount. Mr. Stevens had +engaged to accompany Mr. Roscoe to Norton, on a trifling matter of +business; and as they were to start at ten o'clock, Mr. Roscoe rose +rather early, took breakfast with Mrs. Roscoe, conducted family +prayer as usual, and then retired into his study. Mr. Stevens +came, and as Mr. Roscoe did not make his appearance, Mrs. Roscoe +rang the bell, and desired the servant to call him. The servant +went to his room, knocked several times, but receiving no answer +she opened the door, and saw her master in the attitude of prayer. +This circumstance induced her quietly to retire, but on closing the +door, she was so much struck with the singular position in which she +had seen his head, that she returned towards him, and immediately +exclaimed in consternation, "My master is dead!" This exclamation, +which was heard by Mr. Stevens, induced him to run up stairs, +where he found the servant standing, petrified by terror, near +her venerable master, who had, when engaged in the holy exercise +of communion with God his Saviour, left the scene of his earthly +cares and bliss, to take possession of his heavenly inheritance. +His hands were yet warm, and his countenance had undergone no +change, but the eyelids and the mouth had fallen--there was no +respiration, no motion, for he had ceased to be a citizen of earth. +The consternation which this unexpected event occasioned cannot +be described. It burst upon the family like a thunder-storm. Mrs. +Roscoe hastened into the study. "My husband, my dear husband!" +she exclaimed, and was carried fainting into an adjoining room, +where she remained for a quarter of an hour in a state of total +insensibility, unconscious of her loss, till she saw Mr. Stevens +approaching her. + +"And is my husband dead, Sir?" + +"Be composed, my dear friend, it is the Lord's doing." + +"Yes, Sir, I know it; but it is still a terrible trial. Does Sophia +know it? Oh! tell her to come to me immediately." + +Mr. Stevens hastened to convey the mournful tidings to Mr. and Mrs. +Lewellin. When he rode up the lawn in front of their house he saw +them returning from a morning's walk, and after an exchange of a few +common-place inquiries, he took Mr. Lewellin aside, and communicated +the intelligence. Mrs. Lewellin, on looking through the parlour +window saw that Mr. Stevens was the bearer of some news that deeply +affected her husband; and feeling apprehensive that it bore some +reference to her parents, she immediately rushed out, and asked if +all was well. + +"Yes, my dear," said her husband, "all is well that the Lord does." + +"Yes, I know it; but what has he done?" + +"Your father"---- + +"My father! What! tell me!" + +"Your father," said Mr. Stevens, "was taken suddenly ill this +morning, and when I left him was not able to speak to me." + +"Is he living, Sir? O, tell me! Suspense tortures me! Let me know +the full extent of the calamity!" + +"Your father is now mingling his praises with the redeemed before +the throne!" + +"What! and have I lost my father? Is he gone without giving me his +blessing? How did he die?" + +"We found him dead on his knees in the study." + +"On his knees! O, happy saint!" + +"His death has indeed been a translation." + +"And how does my dear mother sustain the blow?" + +"She wishes to see you immediately." + +They hastened to the house of mourning, but on entering the +breakfast-parlour in which Mr. Roscoe had only a few hours before +partaken of his last meal on earth, Mrs. Lewellin's feelings +overcame her. On recovering from this hysteric fit she became more +composed, and expressed a desire to see her afflicted mother, and +being supported by Mr. Lewellin and Mr. Stevens, she was led into +the room where the bereaved widow sat, silent and motionless, in all +the solitude and agony of grief. She rose to meet her daughter, and +in a moment they were closely locked in each other's embrace, but +they were too much overpowered with anguish to utter any words but +those of sorrow. They wept aloud, but in their weeping there was the +majesty of grief, bending in unmurmuring submission to the will of +their heavenly Father. + +"And is my father dead?" + +"Yes, my child, you have lost your father, and I have lost my +husband." + +Mrs. Lewellin looked round the room, and having fixed her eye on +his full-length picture, she approached it, and said, "There he is! +yes, there he is! My father! speak, my father! It is thy Sophia that +speaks to thee!" She stood silent for a few moments, and then sunk +in the arms of her husband. For several hours she continued in a +state of high delirium, but became gradually composed, and retired +to rest. Next morning she awoke with her feelings less agitated; +and though she wept when she saw her mother, yet she spoke of their +mutual loss with more tranquillity. + +"Though it has pleased God," said the bereaved widow, "to deprive +us of the visible presence of one we so ardently loved, we must not +abandon ourselves to unavailing grief--we must not sorrow as others +that have no hope; but rather bow down our souls in submission to +his holy will and say, 'Even so, O righteous Father, for so it hath +seemed good in thy sight.'" + +"I hope, my dear mother, I can repeat that sentiment; but still I +feel that I have lost one of the best of fathers that ever called a +child his own; and if I should be unable to control my feelings, I +hope you will bear with me. Ours is no common loss." + + * * * * * + +To relieve myself in some measure from the depression which this +bereavement had occasioned, I bent my footsteps towards Farmer +Pickford's homestead, and there I saw his son George, and had from +him a rough outline of his adventures, which I will briefly narrate. + +He left the port of London, on board a merchant vessel, in company +with Jack Summers, who had seduced him into the ways of iniquity; +but poor Jack fell overboard, and was drowned, before he set sail. +His first voyage was to Havana; where, one day, he went on shore +with the ship's carpenter. They visited the slave-market, where +they saw men, women, and children sold like beasts of burden. This +sickened them, both of the West Indies and slavery; but he said, +"We served them out," for, on stepping into their boat they found, +coiled up in the jib-sail, a negro lad, about the age of fifteen, +who said, "Me let go wid you." They contrived to get him on board +without his being seen; George took off the top of an empty water +butt, put the negro in, gave him a bottle of water and some bread +and cheese, and told him to lie still till the ship was under +weigh. Early the next morning the negro's master came to inquire if +there was a black boy on board; and when the captain, who didn't +know anything about it, assured him that there was not, he turned +back; and soon after the vessel set sail. "We brought him away with +us," said George, "and he has been with me ever since, and he is +one of the best fellows of the crew for work." This voyage, upon +the whole, was a very pleasant one, and he took a strong liking +to a seafaring life. His second voyage was to Madeira, and this, +also, was a pleasant one, notwithstanding a short though violent +storm, which, to quote his own expression, "the little snug vessel +outrode in gallant style." His third voyage was to Calcutta; but, +on rounding the Cape, they encountered a tremendous hurricane, +which lasted several days and nights without intermission; fears +were entertained for the safety of the vessel, as she got fearfully +strained; and now it was that the captain discovered the superior +capabilities of George, for, having been apprenticed to a carpenter, +he was able to take the berth of the ship's carpenter, who died some +weeks before. On his return to port, the mate was promoted to the +captain's berth, who took the command of another ship; and George +Pickford took the berth of the mate. His character for sobriety and +activity gave much satisfaction to Messrs. B., his employers; and +he was a great favourite with the crew. Nothing occurred of any +great importance for the next three years, till his last visit to +Calcutta, when the ship was detained for upwards of two months; the +captain giving him permission to go ashore as often as he pleased. +Here he met a young man whom he knew--a native of Broadhurst, but +now a resident in Calcutta--a decidedly pious man, who invited +him to spend the following Sabbath with him. He did so; and they +went together to the chapel in which Mr. James Hill, an English +missionary, preached. As he sat directly opposite the pulpit, the +eye of the preacher fell directly upon him--at least he thought so; +and the text, "Be sure your sin will find you out," (Num. xxxii. +23), brought his sin of dishonesty to his master, undutifulness to +his parents, and his uniform forgetfulness of God, and contempt +for his authority, with such vividness to his recollection that he +hastened on board as rapidly as possible. There, in the quietude +of his own berth, he pondered over this new discovery, which was +accompanied by a train of novel and poignant emotions. His soul +was overwhelmed with grief; but yet it was a grief which gave him +more relief than pain. It was pungent, but it did not drive him +to despair. Mr. Hill, in the conclusion of his discourse, quoted +the words of Jesus Christ--"Whosoever believeth in him should not +perish." "I caught hold of that promise," he said, "and I kept hold +of it; and I found it a rope strong enough to save me. I believed I +should not perish; I tried to pray, but could not get further than +the prayer of the publican, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.'" He +stated that he longed for the return of Sabbath during the whole of +the week; and when it came, though his duties on board required his +attention in the morning, yet in the evening he was at liberty, and +he again heard the same minister preach the glorious gospel of the +blessed God. He felt its great moral power on his heart, reducing +the wild tumult of feeling to a peaceful calm, and giving him a good +hope, through grace, of pardon and salvation. The next morning the +ship weighed anchor, and set sail; and he closed his statement to me +as follows:--"I left my home a wild lad, and a criminal; I lived in +bold rebellion against God up to the age of twenty-three; I acted a +most unkind and undutiful part towards my dear parents, by keeping +them in a state of ignorance of my whereabouts. When I went into +Mr. Hill's chapel I had no more desire for conversion than I have +now to be unconverted; but the Lord had compassion on me, and has +saved me: glory be to his holy name. I am a brand plucked from the +burning, if ever there was one plucked; now I wish to live to show +my gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ, for saving me; and to do good +to my fellow-sailors. I am glad to say that two of our crew are +God-fearing men; and we often meet together for reading the Bible +and prayer. I had many precious moments, in prayer to the Lord, on +our voyage back; and sometimes felt his presence near me, especially +one night in a fearful storm. I knew he had the winds and the waves +under his command. I trusted in him, and felt secure. + +On my return to Fairmount, after this interview with George, I met +the Farmer, who gave me his usual hearty shake of the hand. + +"Have you been to my homestead?" + +"Yes, and have seen your son George, and had a long chat with him." + +"He is grown a finish sort of a chap. He's more of the gemman than +his father, and no mistake. He has seen a main bit of the world, +like. How well he talks; and what a power of matter he has to say. +He keeps us up rather latish with his stories. Some are funny +and make us laugh; and some are shocking. Man is a bad fellow +everywhere till the grace of God touches his heart. Howsomever, +George has scraped up a goodish bit of money. Ay, if a man has any +luck at sea, he often gets on faster than we do here on land." + +"Your son, I rather think, has found something more valuable than +gold, or silver, or precious stones." + +"The Lord be praised. Yes, he has found the precious pearl of great +price. That's a proof to my mind that Jesus Christ is everywhere, +or my George would not have found him in Calcutta, which, he says, +is thousands of miles off. I suppose he has told you about the +sarmunt that made him feel all at once that he was in a new world? +He must have been as much surprised, when going out of the chapel as +Zaccheus was when he dropped down out of the sycamore tree. What a +wonder-working power the grace of God is, and no mistake!" + +"You were not at home, I believe, when your son arrived?" + +"No, I had been all the morning, along with two of my men, doing +a bit of hedging and ditching in one of my lower meadows, t'other +side of the hill. And all the while I was working, I was thinking +over the sarmunt Mr. Ingleby preached on Sunday morning. It was one +of great power; it touched me to the quick, like. And just as I was +coming down the hill, to get a bit of dinner, I saw a chap running +across the fold-yard into the house. I wondered who it could be. +After a bit, he came out, and my mistress with him, and I saw her +pointing towards me. I felt all at once a power of strange thoughts +rush into me; and I stood still as the chap was running towards me, +jumping over hedge and ditch, like a greyhound after a hare. When +he got a bit nearer, about five hundred yards off, I thought all +at once it was the step and swing of George; and I heard him cry +out, 'Father! father!' as loud as he could bawl; but for the life +of me I couldn't speak a word more, and I couldn't have been more +frightened if I had seen two ghosts. I seemed stuck fast into the +ground with my tongue tied; so that I was obliged to leave him to do +all the work of hugging, and kissing, and such like. When I got a +bit over my fright, I told him I was main glad to see him back; and +that I would give him as good a supper as was put on the table the +night you gave us the sarmunt in the barn about the conversion of +Zaccheus." + +"It must have been a joyous meeting to you." + +"I have been thinking two or three times since, that it is almost +worth while to lose a youngster for a year or two, for the delight +of seeing him come back safe and sound. You should hear him read the +Bible and pray. It would do your heart good, Sir. Now, Sir, when +will you come and give us the sarmunt in the barn? George shall read +out the hymn, and pitch the tune, and then you will have a sample +of his cleverness in such matters. Old William, the shepherd, says +he'll take the biggest wether-bell he can find, and he'll go round +to all the cottages and farm-houses in those parts, and cry notice +of it. I must clear out both barns to find room for the people; +they'll come as thick as rooks after the plough. The Lord be praised +that I should ever live to see such joyous times and such wonderful +doings: no sham work; and I must not forget to thank you for the +part you have had in them." + +"You may expect me next Wednesday week." + +"Very well, Sir, I shall expect you on that day." + +"But one thing I have to request, and that is, that you don't get +such a splendid supper as you did last time." + +"I never trouble myself about kitchen matters. I leave that to my +wife, whose name is Martha; and you know that the Bible tells us +that Martha always has a liking to give a good treatment to our best +friends. No, no, I mustn't speak about such a matter; if I do, there +will be a rookery in the kitchen." + +"Then I must send her a note and make the request myself." + +"Well, just as you like, Sir; but I guess it won't matter. Women, +you know, don't like to be put out of their way; and I am sure of +one thing, that if you give us a good sarmunt, as you are sure to do +if you preach, she will give you a good supper, which she is sure +to do if she does the cookery. Why, Paul says, if you mind, Sir, +that we must give our carnal things to them that give us spiritual +things." + +As I was taking my leave of him, he said--"Please, Sir, just stop +one minute. It almost got out of my head; but it's back again. Did +George tell you what he says to his mother and me? He says he is +mate of this ship, which I suppose is a goodish sort of a thing; +and he says he thinks he shall be made a captain after he has had +another voyage or two, which I suppose is something better; and he +says he'll take his brother Sam with him and show him Calcutta and +----, I forget what he calls it, but it is where our tea comes from; +and he says he'll make him a bonny sailor, which he says is better +than ploughing or turnip sowing. But his mother don't like this +talk, for she says she shall never sleep at night when the wind gets +up and the lightning comes. Well, I would rather keep them both at +home, than let either of them go; but George has a desperate liking +for the sea: and it seems to be his calling, and we must trust the +Lord to take care of them. O dear, how I forget things! My thinkings +about George coming back to us and Sam going from us, drives almost +everything out of my head. I heard Bob Curliffe say, as I was +crossing the lane on the top of the hill, that he heard his master +say to Mr. Hyde that Mr. Roscoe is dead, is that true, Sir?" + +"Yes; he died suddenly, yesterday morning, when on his knees in +prayer." + +"That's just how I should like to die, and no mistake. What a +wonderful change for a man--all in a moment; from earth to heaven +in no time! Mr. Ingleby will give us a grand sarmunt on Sunday on +this subject, or I am no prophet. I shouldn't wonder if he takes the +matter of Enoch's getting into heaven without dying. I should like +that way of going, but we must leave all to the Lord. After all, I +don't care how I go, or who sees me go, so as I get into heaven at +last." + +The Farmer was right in his predictions. Mr. Ingleby did give us an +excellent sermon on the translation of Enoch; and this was followed +by an admirable sketch of the character of our deceased friend. But +I can do no more than transcribe the subjoined paragraph, which I +took down at the time I heard it:-- + +"When it pleaseth God to visit our friends with a lengthened +indisposition before he removes them, we have the pleasure of +administering to them the consolations of religion--of exchanging +the expressions of Christian sympathy--and catching from their lips +some sublime expressions of anticipated bliss. The sufferings, +however, which they generally endure are so keen and so poignant, +that in many instances we are thankful when the contest is over. +But if death comes in an unexpected hour, and bears off a friend +without giving us any warning, we are plunged into the lowest abyss +of sorrow, because we are denied the privilege of bidding him adieu: +yet as a mitigation of our anguish we have this consolation, that he +was not called to _walk_ through the dreary valley, being borne as +'on angels' wings' to heaven. In such a case his departure partakes +more of a translation than an act of dying; he oversteps the grave, +and enters into the possession of his purchased inheritance without +having his fears awakened by the solemnity of his removal, or his +peace disturbed by the anxieties and distress which it occasions to +others. One hour he is with his friends on earth, busily employed +in all the duties of his station--the next with his friends in the +celestial world, joining with them in their ascriptions of praise +to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb. One hour he is +mourning here below over the imperfections of his character--the +next he feels himself made perfect in purity and in blessedness; +and while those who revered and loved him are weeping around his +breathless corpse, he is taking his part in the exercises of that +sacred temple in which the worshippers serve the Lord day and night +for ever." + + * * * * * + +At last the long expected Wednesday night came, and Mr. Stevens +drove me in his gig to Farmer Pickford's, where I found the barn +full of people waiting my arrival. His son George commenced the +service by reading a hymn, and he read it very well; he then led +off the singing; his brother Harry, a good tenor, standing on his +left, and his father, a good bass, on his right. His mother, with +two or three younger females, stood behind, and altogether a very +effective rustic choir was formed. I selected for my text the 23d +verse of the 11th chapter of the Acts--"Who, when he came, and had +seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with +purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord." + +"This, my dear brethren," I observed, "is very likely the last +time I may ever meet you, and address you, in this rustic temple, +which is as glorious in the eyes of the Holy One of Israel, as the +magnificent temple at Jerusalem, which was his local dwelling-place +in ancient times. For here he has condescended to visit you, though +unseen, and listen to your prayers and your praises; and here the +glorious gospel of his grace has proved his power to your salvation. +Yes, when you have finished your course, and the conflict is over, +and when you have gained the prize of your high calling, your +recollections will hover over this hallowed spot, as the spiritual +birth-place of your immortal souls; where you were quickened into +newness of life; and where 'after that ye believed, ye were sealed +with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our +inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto +the praise of his glory' (Eph. i. 13, 14). I solemnly charge every +one of you to be faithful unto death, otherwise you will die in your +sins, and be lost for ever. And how dreadful would such a loss be!" + +The service closed in the usual way, and the congregation dispersed. +The Farmer introduced several persons to me, who had received +spiritual benefit from the sermon on the conversion of Zaccheus, +particularly his neighbour Farmer Richards, of whose conversion +he had previously given me some account, and who was invited to +sup with us. This meal was as sumptuous as the former one. It was +soon over; and then before I rose from the table I thus addressed +them:--"Great spiritual changes, my dear friends, have taken place +in your family since I took my first meal in this kitchen. You," +addressing Mr. P., "were then an unenlightened and an unrenewed +man, living without God in the world, without Christ, and without +hope; but now, with your dear wife, you have passed from death +unto life; have both tasted that the Lord is gracious; are made +fellow-heirs of the grace of life; and can rejoice in the hope +of your final salvation. Your first-born has long since yielded +himself to God, as one alive from the dead; and there sits by your +side your long-lost George, unexpectedly restored to you, and made +a new creature in Christ Jesus before he came back to receive your +parental benediction. And though the younger children are not yet +brought within the bonds of the covenant"--(I was here interrupted +by the Farmer, who, under an excitement he could not repress, +exclaimed, "I think our Sam is, for I saw him on his knees in prayer +the other night.")--"I am glad to hear this, and I trust that he, +like his two brothers, will yield himself to God, to be renewed, +sanctified, and saved; and that his dear sisters will follow their +example; and that all of you will be saved, and glorified in the +celestial world." "The Lord grant it may be so," said all. At the +urgent request of Mrs. Pickford, I read a psalm, and prayed with the +family. It was a solemn service--more solemn than any preceding one, +because it was the last. Many wept when on their knees, and some +wept when they rose up, to give and receive the final farewell. I +hastily shook hands with every one in the room, simply saying, as +I went out, "Lord bless you, and keep you. I hope we shall meet in +heaven." "Amen!" was the response, given with an earnestness and a +solemnity that was almost overpowering. + +When the Farmer came to button the apron of our gig, he again took +my hand; and he said, as the tear fell from his eye, "The Lord be +praised for sending you to taste my ale and cream cheese, and you be +thanked for coming. I hope you will pray for me, that I may stick +close to the Lord, with all my heart and soul; and I hope you will +always pray for our George and his brother Sam, when the wind gets +up. Good night, gemmen; a safe ride to Fairmount. Farewell." + + + + +A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. + + +One morning, while at breakfast at Fairmount, I was surprised by +a note from Mr. John Ryder, requesting the favour of a call from +me, at Aston, before I returned home. The reader will remember Mr. +Ryder[37] as a suitor of Miss Denham, and the affecting farewell of +the latter to him on her death-bed. + + [37] Vol. i. p. 420. + +"There is a mystery in this," said Mr. Stevens, "which I cannot +account for. I have not seen Mr. Ryder for many months. Miss +Denham's death was a dreadful blow to him, and since then he has +never recovered his wonted spirits, but become quite a recluse, +neither paying nor receiving any visits." + +"Who can tell?" I remarked; "her death may issue in his spiritual +life. I will send a reply, saying that I will call on him to-morrow +evening." + +"He is a noble character," said Mrs. Stevens; "and a young man +of great intelligence and most amiable disposition. I trust his +affliction has led him to direct his attention to the only true +source of consolation. Indeed, I have some grounds for hoping that +this is the case, as I understand he has been very regular in his +attendance at church for some time past." + +On going to Aston the following evening to call on Mr. Ryder, I +unexpectedly met him, and we walked together to his house. After +thanking me for my promptness in thus responding to his request, +he proceeded to disclose to me, without much reserve, the deep +perplexity and strongly excited state of his mind on the question +of personal religion; asking me, at the same time, for my advice, +and how he should act to obtain relief from his perplexities and +depression of spirit. + +He frankly confessed that prior to the death of Miss Denham, for +whom he had long cherished a most ardent attachment, he had imbibed +some vague sceptical opinions against religion. Her dying farewell, +however, both astonished and confounded him, particularly the last +words which she addressed to him:--"We now part, but I hope not +for ever. Death, which is now removing me, may soon call for you; +and then I hope you will find that consolation in the death of a +despised Saviour, which it has pleased God, very unexpectedly and +undeservedly, to give to me." "I never," he remarked, "heard her say +anything like this before. She was now entering the dark unknown +world; but it appears that she derived consolation from the death of +Jesus Christ. How is this? said I, as I withdrew from the chamber +of death; and how can it be? I have said thousands of times since. +However, what I saw and heard on that awfully appalling occasion +left an indelible conviction on my mind, that there is a something +in religion suited to humanity at the most momentous period of its +history. But what is that something? I said to myself. Is it a +hidden mystery which the great teacher death alone can explain; or +is it possible to get the mystery explained before death comes? This +is the emphatic question I wish you to solve, as my happiness both +in this world and the next depends on its solution." + +In token of his sincerity, he told me that he had altogether +withdrawn from the gay world; regularly attended his parish church, +and had taken the sacrament several times. He now read the Bible, +and other devotional books, in preference to novels and periodicals; +and went through a regular form of private prayer, both morning +and evening. He closed by saying:--"But, like a man surrounded by +a thick mist when crossing some wild moor, I know not whether I am +going right or wrong--I can obtain no satisfaction." + +I was about to reply to this communication, when our arrival at +Aston, and the appearance of Miss Ryder, to whom I was introduced by +her brother, put a stop to further conversation on the subject for +the present. We now entered the house, and while tea was preparing, +Mr. Ryder proposed that we should take a turn round the garden. In +passing along, my eye caught sight of a beautiful figure of Ceres, +resting on a pedestal. I remarked, that it was by a very slow and +painstaking process that things of real excellence were brought to +perfection. + +"Yes," replied Mr. Ryder; "a few months ago that beautiful figure +was a rough, shapeless stone. I have often thought, when standing +and admiring it, what an eye and what a taste its sculptor must +possess! But after all, it wants life to give the full expression of +beauty." + +"It stands as an emblematical figure." + +"Yes, Sir; of the productive power of nature." + +"And, Sir, of something else." + +"Of what?" + +"Of the man who has the form of godliness, but who has never felt +its regenerating and life-giving power." + +He paused, looked grave, but spoke not. After the lapse of a few +moments he moved on in silence, as though my words had excited a new +train of thought in his mind. At length he said:--"I do not clearly +understand what you mean by the expression--the regenerating and +life--giving power of godliness." + +"I mean the regenerating power of the Divine Spirit, creating anew +the human soul, and infusing into it spiritual life. 'You,' says the +apostle, when addressing the members of the church at Ephesus, 'hath +he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins' (Eph. ii. 1)." + +"But is man, at any period of his moral history, living in a state +of death? Such a supposition appears to me to be paradoxical." + +"Before the regenerating power of the Divine Spirit acts on the +soul of man, he lives in a state of death, in two senses. We say, +for example, of the culprit who is condemned to die, that he is a +dead man. His life is not his own; it is forfeited to the claims +of justice. And thus, while living in an unrenewed and unpardoned +state, we are legally dead; our life is forfeited to the claims of +Divine justice; and we are exposed to the penalty of the violated +law of God." + +"And what is that penalty?" + +"Condemnation, including in its infliction the forfeiture of the +favour of God; mental disquietude, remorse, and dread of death, +exclusion from a state of happiness, on passing into the eternal +world; and banishment to hell, in despair, for ever. For it is +written--'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things +which are written in the book of the law to do them' (Gal. iii. 10)." + +He again moved on in silence; and then suddenly stopping, and +resting his eye for a few moments on the ground, he replied, under +great excitement:--"This, Sir, is a fearful condition of existence. +It is appalling. It chills my blood to think of it. Then my present +restlessness and disquietude of soul are the lighter inflictions of +this tremendous penalty--the premonitions of the coming storm of +God's righteous displeasure." + +"Yes, Sir; and they are given in mercy and in love." + +"You surprise me. What! does mercy ever employ such terrific +forerunners to announce her coming? If so, for what purpose?" + +"To rouse man, while living in a state of false security, to an +apprehension of his guilt, and consequent danger. They are, in fact, +warning voices, warning man to flee from the wrath to come, to +repent of his sins, and to make him feel the absolute necessity of a +Divine interposition to rescue him from the peril of his condition, +that he may 'seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him +while he is near' (Isa. lv. 6)." + +We now entered a tastefully constructed grotto, covered with ivy, +situated at the upper extremity of the garden. Here we had an +enchanting prospect of the surrounding country, and stood gazing on +it for a while in silence, when Mr. Ryder remarked--"This, Sir, is a +beautiful world." + +"Yes, Sir," I replied; "and it would have been a happy world, if sin +had not entered and defiled it, and thus marred our happiness. The +beasts of the field and the birds of the air appear to have escaped +its withering influence. They are happy. It is only man, the noblest +specimen of the Divine workmanship, who is groaning and pining away +in mournful sadness, under its polluting and destroying power." + +"To me, Sir, it appears surprising that the Deity should have +permitted sin to enter this province of his vast dominions, and +allow it to become the active agent of so much crime and misery, +when he could so easily have prevented it, if he had chosen." + +"I am not surprised by your remarks, for unquestionably the +dispensation under which we are living is awfully mysterious; but +still, notwithstanding the impenetrable darkness which envelopes +certain parts of the Divine procedure, other parts are plain +and intelligible, obviously conducive to our present and final +happiness. Hence, if we act wisely, we shall turn our attention +from what we _cannot_ know, to what we _may_ know-from concealed +reasons and causes, to revealed facts. Instead, then, of perplexing +ourselves about the origin of evil, we shall sit at the feet of +Jesus, and he will tell us what God has done to repair the injury +of the fall--'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only +begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but +have everlasting life' (John iii. 16). This, Sir, is plain, and this +is intelligible; and we are assured by the Son of God himself, that +if we believe in him we shall not perish, but have everlasting life." + +"Your remarks, Sir, interest me. They illumine the darkness in which +my own thoughts have been long revolving in shapeless con fusion. +I begin to perceive that my salvation is possible. You referred +just now to another sense in which man is dead, in addition to the +forfeiture of his life, by his violations of the law of God; will +you explain what that other state of death is?" + +Our conversation was here interrupted by a summons to tea. Mr. Ryder +was now profoundly silent on the questions which had engrossed our +attention, leaving an impression on my mind that his sister had +no sympathy with his spiritual anxieties and depression. She was +about twenty-five years of age, of very pleasing manners, and an +apparently amiable disposition--neither obtrusive nor reserved; +sprightly, and somewhat of a facetious turn. When looking at +and listening to her, the words which our Lord addressed to the +accomplished young ruler of Judea involuntarily occurred to me--"One +thing thou lackest." Her brother now proposed another stroll in the +garden, which was prevented by the arrival of some visitors, and the +rest of the evening passed away without any recurrence to our former +topic of conversation. On taking leave, Mr. Ryder made me promise +that I would soon repeat my visit, which I accordingly did in the +course of the ensuing week. + +On this occasion I again met Mr. Ryder, as before, taking an +evening stroll, and we walked to Aston together. On passing an old +dilapidated mansion, we saw its proprietor standing in the porch, a +nondescript both in appearance and character. "That, Sir," said Mr. +Ryder, "is the most singular man I ever knew; he is very wealthy, +and leads a very selfish and sensual life; he loves nothing but +himself, his dogs, and his gun. He has sympathy for a dog when in +pain, but none for a human being. His dogs are fed sumptuously, and +taken the greatest care of, but he has never been known to give +anything in charity to his own species. He shuns all intercourse +with his fellow-men, and is, in fact, a perfect misanthrope--a +being without a heart. Not long ago, his father, who lives in +extreme poverty in the adjoining county, came to see him, but he +peremptorily ordered him away without giving him bit or drop." + +"This man," I replied, "loving nothing but himself, his dog, and his +gun, not even his own father, is happily a very rare case, but it is +one which is both illustrative and suggestive. He is a living emblem +of the unregenerate man; who is a selfish being, loving nothing but +what ministers to his own sensual gratifications. He has no heart +to revere and love his heavenly Father, and is consequently unfit +for heaven, and unfit to live amongst, and associate with the pure +and happy spirits who dwell there. If he were taken to heaven in his +present moral and spiritual condition, he would appear as strange a +being amongst them, as this man does amongst you--shunning all, for +want of congeniality of taste and disposition; and shunned by all +as odious and repulsive; his expulsion would be an act of necessity, +both in relation to himself and to others. Hence it is obvious from +the nature of the case, as well as from the Word of God, that before +an unregenerate man is meet for heaven, the sentence of condemnation +which is recorded against him must, by an act of free grace, be +repealed, and then all his sins are forgiven. In addition to this, +he must be renewed in the spirit of his mind, and a spiritual life +must be breathed into him by the power of the Divine Spirit." + +"I have, Sir, I think, a clear apprehension of what you mean by an +act of grace in repealing the sentence of condemnation recorded +against us for the sins we commit; but you say, that in addition to +this we need the infusion into our mind of a new life, which you +call a spiritual life. But if we are pardoned by an act of free +grace, will not this secure to us an admission into heaven, without +that additional operation to which you refer, and of which I can +form no clear conception?" + +"The exercise of free grace in pardoning a sinner is merely +exempting him from a liability to punishment in this world, +and in the world to come; but if he remain unrenewed, he will +be the same in his moral principles, in his predilections, and +antipathies, after he is pardoned, as he was while under a sentence +of condemnation. He will feel no filial reverence for God; the love +of Christ will not glow in his soul; he will possess no aptitude to +hold fellowship with the pure spirits of the celestial world; nor +can he live and move amongst them with dignity and ease, as one of +their order." + +"I perceive, Sir, the drift of your meaning; but yet it is enveloped +in mysticism. One moment I seem to have it; but it is gone ere I can +lay hold of it; it flits before me, and vanishes. However, there is +one question which I shall feel obliged by you replying to: By what +process can I originate, or get originated, this new spiritual life +into my soul; and how must I set about it?" + +"You cannot, Sir, originate it. As you cannot pardon yourself, +neither can you renew yourself." + +This remark fell with terrible force on his spirit, and cast a deep +gloom on his countenance. He looked fearfully anxious, like a man +who, on gaining an eminence apparently beyond the reach of the tide, +sees his connection with the shore cut off by the unexpected rising +of the waters. + +"I am, then, in a hopeless condition! It appears, Sir, from your +statement, that I came into existence in a state of spiritual death, +and consequent condemnation, without possessing any self-quickening +power. This, if true, forces upon me the conviction that I must look +upon myself as a poor unfortunate being, involved in a tremendous +calamity, which I could not avoid, and from which I cannot extricate +myself. Why, Sir, I am in a state of hopeless and irrecoverable +misery." + +"No, Sir, neither irrecoverable nor hopeless; for God, who is rich +in mercy to pardon, is also rich in mercy to renew and quicken you +into newness of life." + +"But will He do it?" + +"Yes, if you are willing to have it done." + +"Willing! Sir; I am anxious to be saved, and saved on any terms, +and by any process. I am willing to submit to any privations, any +self-humiliation, any physical or mental tortures, to obtain the +hope of salvation." + +"One of the principles of God's wise and gracious administration +is embodied in the following absolute promise made to his ancient +people, accompanied by its contingent condition:--'A new heart also +will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will +take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you +an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause +you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do +them. Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by +the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with +men like a flock' (Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, 37). A new spirit and a new +heart is what you need, and now want; this God alone can give, and +for this you must pray with great earnestness." + +We now arrived at Aston, where, after having tea, we sauntered +out as before into the garden, and entered the grotto to admire +the view. Here Mr. Ryder resumed the thread of our conversation +by saying:--"Permit me to ask you a question, which I feel to be +important. When the Divine Spirit breathes this spiritual life into +the soul of a man who has been living in a state of spiritual death, +is he conscious of the change produced?" + +"In some rare instances, I believe that a man does feel the action +of the renewing and life-giving power of the Divine Spirit, at the +very instant of time he is passing from death to life, though he may +not then know by whom the spiritual operation is performed." + +"But, Sir, as it is only rarely that such a sudden transition +from death to life takes place, by what signs are we to determine +its actual occurrence, when it is the result of a more lengthened +process?" + +"I believe the infusion of spiritual life in the soul of man is +always an instantaneous act, though a long time may and often does +elapse before he actually knows that he is quickened into newness +of life. And in all cases the signs by which we may decide as +to its actual occurrence, are very similar to those by which we +determine the reality of our physical existence. For example, I am +conscious that I am alive, because I breathe, feel, see, and hear, +which I could not do if I were not alive. By a similar criterion +we arrive at a satisfactory belief of the reality of our spiritual +life. I am made alive from the dead; and as a proof of it, I can +utter the voice of prayer and of praise. I _feel_ sin to be a +loathsome burden, offensive to my taste; I can _see_ the glory of +Christ displayed in his life, in his sufferings, and in his death. +I can _hear_ the voice of the Lord speaking to me in his promises, +to comfort and strengthen me; and in his precepts, commanding my +subjection and resignation to his sovereign will; I can _walk_ in +the way of his commandments, and feel obedience to be a source of +gratitude and delight. I often _hunger_ and _thirst_ after a more +perfect conformity to his righteousness; and now my meditations on +God are sweet and delightful; and I can say--'Whom have I in heaven +but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee' +(Psal. lxxiii. 25). These are the unmistakeable signs of spiritual +life." + +"You certainly, Sir, have supplied me with ample materials for +thinking and reflection, and made an opening for my more easy +understanding of the Bible. But there is one question of a more +direct personal nature, which I wish to propose, and it is +this--What am I to do? I am restless and unhappy. I want relief. +Where, and how, can I obtain it? What positive thing am I to do, +or suffer, to obtain it? That is the great question with me _now_. +I perceive that the ulterior design of the Christian scheme of +revelation is to restore man to the moral state from which he is +fallen; but I have now to do with the present time, and the present +state of my mind. What am I to do, or suffer, to gain peace of mind, +and get that new spiritual life, of which you have been speaking?" + +"I am happy, Sir, that it is in my power to give a specific, and +I trust a satisfactory reply to your question. You are awakened +out of your long dormant state of moral insensibility, to see and +to feel your real character and condition in relation to God and +eternity. This is the primary cause of your mental disquietude and +restlessness. You have sought for relief in the outward forms of +religion, and in the services and sacraments of the Church; but you +have not succeeded in obtaining it. These expedients have proved +to you the mirage of hope, not the well-spring of relief. Happily, +there is a relieving power yet in reserve, which will not deceive or +disappoint you--'For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that +which was lost' (Luke xix. 10). As Jesus Christ came into the world +to save sinners, he will not refuse to save any sinner who makes his +appeal to his compassion and his power. Indeed, he assures us--'All +that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to +me I will in no wise cast out' (John vi. 37)." + +He now arose, evidently much impressed, and walked slowly out of the +grotto, pacing to and fro along the gravel walk. After some time I +moved off in an opposite direction; but at length we again met. + +"I hope, Sir," he said, "you will excuse my uncourteous act in +leaving you; but I wished, by a little calm reflection, to settle in +my mind the important statement which you have given me, before the +vivid impressions which it produced went off. I trust I shall long +remember this interview; and I hope the day may come when you will +hail me as a fellow-disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ." + +I then prayed with him, and shortly after took my departure. I did +not see his sister on this occasion, as she was from home, but I +left a copy of Dr. Doddridge's _Sermons on Regeneration_, with a +note begging her acceptance of it, and a request that she would read +it carefully. + +Several months after this visit, when I had returned home to my +ordinary duties, I received the subjoined letter from Mr. Ryder, +which I read with emotions of gratitude and praise to Him who works +all things after the counsel of his own will:-- + + "ASTON, _25th February, 18--_. + + "REV. AND DEAR SIR,--The conversation which passed between us, + when I had the pleasure of a visit from you some months since, + supplied the clue which I had long been searching for, to a + right understanding of the Word of God on the great practical + questions relating to my present happiness and final salvation. + I know that my knowledge is still very superficial, but I trust + I now understand the hidden mystery; what it is to pass from + death to life; and from a state of guilt and condemnation to + pardon and acceptance. I have taken the one decisive step, + and cast myself at the feet of the Saviour, pleading his own + promise, and he has given me rest. I have now obtained--what I + long sought for in vain--peace of mind, and a good hope of final + happiness; because I have been diverted from the refuge of lies, + in which I too long trusted, to the true source of consolation. + + "You will not be surprised to hear, that the ministry of the + Rev. Mr. Cole became more and more distasteful, as I advanced + in my knowledge of Christ and the mystery of redemption, till + at length I reluctantly withdrew from his church, which I have + attended from my childhood. I now attend the church of the Rev. + Mr. Guion, an excellent preacher and pastor, whom I believe you + know. And it is with no slight emotions of joyous delight, that + I have it in my power to inform you, that my beloved sister has + been brought to feel the renewing influence of religion on her + heart. This blessed result has been brought about by reading the + incomparable sermons of Dr. Doddridge, which you so kindly gave + to her. Being favoured with the enlightened and soul-searching + ministry of our excellent pastor, she soon obtained joy and + peace in believing. While I was left to wander in darkness, or + in twilight, through many an anxious month, at times nearly + despairing of a successful issue, her translation from darkness + into light was almost instantaneous. She is now my helper in the + Lord; and the affection which always subsisted between us is now + doubly strengthened by the ties of Christian love and sympathy. + + "I hope that ere long you will again be in this part of the + country; and I need not say how glad my sister and I should be + to see you.--With every sentiment of respect, in which Anna + joins, believe me, yours very sincerely, + + J. RYDER." + + + + +THE SCEPTIC RECLAIMED. + + +Before leaving Fairmount to return home, I was unexpectedly +gratified by a letter from Mr. Gordon, who had learned, from a +mutual acquaintance, of my having gone to pay a visit to my friends +in the west of England. His communication, upon the whole, much +pleased me, and revived hopes which had almost ceased to exist. It +satisfied me that his mind was restless, yielding in some slight +degree to the force of facts and evidence, though he still clung +pertinaciously to his sceptical notions. He wrote as follows:--"I +have been prosecuting my inquiries on what you call the grand +question, having read carefully Dr. Bogue's essay, which you kindly +presented to me. I have also conned over some of the facts and +evidences which you brought forward at our last interview.[38] +This, I presume, you will say is taking a step or two in the right +direction; and I suppose you will wish to know the practical +result. I will first give you the negative: it has not issued in +what you would hail as a glorious triumph--my conversion to the +Christian faith. No; I am what I was when you left me--still a +decided unbeliever. My heart recoils from admitting that a theory +of religion, enveloped in such mystery, and accompanied by such +conditions, can claim a Divine origin. However, this much I will +confess, that it has led me to revise, in some slight degree, my +own theory of belief, or what you may call my disbelief. You will +excuse me going into detail, as that would spin out this letter to +a tedious length. I admit, then, that Christianity may work very +beneficially amongst savages; and it may promote the happiness of +persons of intelligence and taste, who are trained up under its +influence. I have now no desire to exterminate it. Indeed, I would +rather consent to let the venerable tree, which has taken such +deep root in popular prejudices, or, if you prefer it, in popular +sympathies, remain to afford shade and shelter to you who regard it +as the tree of life, than I would touch it to injure it. No, Sir; I +respect the taste and feelings of others too much to wish to deprive +them of the object of their attachment and veneration." + + [38] Vol. ii. p. 94. + +Mr. Gordon concluded his letter by saying that he hoped to have the +pleasure of seeing me in London, as he presumed that I should pass +through the metropolis on my way to my own town. + +About a week after receiving this letter I quitted Fairmount, +leaving Mrs. Orme, who was still to remain for a few weeks longer +at Rockhill. From the pressure of my engagements in the metropolis +I was unable to make out my purposed call on Mr. Gordon. Having +occasion, however, about four months afterwards, to go to London +to preach a charity sermon, I set out one evening to see him; but +on reaching his house, was concerned to find that he was in a very +precarious state of health, and had been unable to go out for some +time. On sending up my card, I was at once admitted, and found him +in the drawing-room reclining on the sofa. He looked very ill; but, +judging from the expression of his countenance, I thought he was +glad to see me. On making some inquiries as to the length of his +confinement, and the nature of his disorder, he made a reply which +brought on a lengthened conversation. + +"It is now," he said, "nearly three months since I was in the city; +and it is doubtful whether I shall ever go there again." + +"Is your disorder, then, of such a threatening character?" + +"Why, yes, it baffles Lawrence. But he is now trying another +medicine, which he hopes will take effect; if not, he says, I must +prepare for the worst." + +"I hope, then, you are making the necessary preparations." + +"To be candid, Sir, I am the same man as when we had the last +chat on the question of Christian missions, with this only +difference--then I was in vigorous health, but now I am prostrated +by disease, and disease which threatens to be fatal, though it does +not give me much pain." + +"You must no doubt feel some anxiety when so near death--on the eve +of the final extinction of your being, or of passing into another +world of existence, and for ever?" + +"Why, yes, I am no stoic; and therefore I feel emotions both novel +and painful. I would rather live than die, especially if I could +recover my usual health and energy; because it is better to be, +than not to be. The prospect of a termination to my existence is no +pleasing theme for reflection." + +"Then you still believe that when death comes you will cease to +exist, and perish for ever like the beasts of the field?" + +"That is my belief." + +"But you may be mistaken." + +"I admit it, because mere belief and positive knowledge are two very +different things." + +"Then you are living in a state of uncertainty; as you know not +whether you will be annihilated or live on for ever in another +state of existence. Surely this must give rise to some fearful and +depressing thoughts." + +"No, I cannot say that it does, because I think the Deity who +brought me into existence without my solicitation, and who has given +me such a large portion of enjoyment throughout life, will still +befriend me, if he decide that I shall continue to exist after death +in another world. That I shall continue to exist, however, I do not +expect." + +"But do you not perceive the fallacious ground on which your +expectation is placed, unless you believe, and without any clear +evidence, that the Deity has made a special dispensation in your +behalf?" + +"I don't quite understand you." + +"Why, you infer that your future condition of existence, if you +are to live after death, will be similar to the one which you have +enjoyed here, and which has been, upon the whole, a very favourable +one. Suppose another person proceed on the same principle, he +must infer, that his future condition will be a most painful and +unfortunate one, simply because his present condition is so. There +is, then, a self-evident and a dangerous fallacy in the proposition +which allows two persons to draw from it such opposite inferences, +the one for, and the other against himself, and without any +reference to personal conduct or character." + +"There may be a logical fallacy in my proposition, and in my +reasoning on it; but it is the only ground of hope, when, in some +moments of misgiving, I am led to admit the possibility of passing +into another state of existence." + +"Well, then, you are reduced to the necessity of making one +admission, which is a terrible rebuke to your sceptical theory." + +"Indeed! and what is that?" + +"That your position, in relation to death, is an unenviable one, +especially when placed in comparison with that of a believer in +Christ; indeed, it is one which should make you recoil in terror." + +"I admit it. Yes, Sir, if you were in the same condition with +myself, you would, I have no doubt, have visions of celestial glory +flitting before your imagination, and you would be in ecstasy. +Yes, a believer in Christ has a great advantage over us, when +he approaches the crisis of his destiny. No gloomy thoughts or +anxieties harass his soul; but on the contrary, a brilliant prospect +stretching far into eternity opens to his view. Yes, a believer in +Christianity ought to feel a transport of joy in anticipation of his +death." + +"Then, on your own admission, death to a believer in Christ is the +morning star of a glorious day; but to a sceptic, it is the dark +shadow of coming night." + +"I admit you have brilliant visions, when death is coming to bear +you off; we have none, we see nothing but darkness, and feel at +times the terror of uncertainty. I admit you occupy the vantage +ground then; you stand on what you believe is a rock; beneath us is +the moving quicksand. Yes, you die in general better than we do, +or can do. There is no denying this; and I shall not attempt to +disguise it." + +"Your condition, my dear friend, in my apprehension, is truly +appalling. It agonizes me. I see you standing on the edge of a +tremendous precipice. In a moment you may be lost, and perish, and +for ever. Shall I pray with you, before I leave you? The prayer of +faith may prevail for your rescue and salvation." + +"Excuse me, dear Sir, without supposing that I undervalue your +generous friendship. You would save me, I know, if you could. But +I have no faith, and therefore it would not be honest to appear +devout, and I cannot compel myself to believe." + +I called again before I left London, but as he was asleep, I did not +see him; but I saw his housekeeper, a very intelligent, pious woman, +in whose integrity I knew he had great confidence. She informed +me, that when sitting with her master during one very restless +night; and thinking, from some heavy sighs which he occasionally +heaved, that some new feelings were stirring within him, she said to +him--"It is a great pity, Sir, that you will cling so firmly to your +infidel opinions when they cannot comfort you. You had better look +up to the Saviour; he is able, and he is willing to comfort and save +you." + +"Well, Mary," he replied, "I admit it would be better if I could +believe in a Saviour, as you do, than to remain in my present state +of uncertainty; but I have no faith--I cannot compel myself to +believe." + +"Then, Sir, pray to the Lord Jesus, and he will give you faith to +trust in him for salvation. He has compassion for them that are out +of the right way." + +"But how can I pray, when I have no faith in prayer? It may all be +true what you believe, and if it should, I am irrecoverably lost, +and for ever; but I have no faith in such a tremendous issue." + +"But, Sir, such a tremendous issue may be certain, even though you +do not believe it; and the bare possibility of its occurrence should +alarm you." + +"I admit that, but I can't compel myself to believe." + +I returned home with a heavy heart, feeling as a humane person +feels, on coming out of the prison, where he has had the last +agonizing interview with an old friend, whom he has left under the +sentence of death. Having requested Mr. Gordon's housekeeper to let +me know if any change took place in his health, I received a note +from her a few weeks afterwards, saying, the crisis was past, and +that he was so far restored, that he was now at Maidenhead, trying +the effect of a change of air and scene. This gave me pleasure--as +a respite sometimes issues in a rescue. His form was ever before +me. Many a petition did I offer up to the Hearer of prayer in his +behalf; and more than once, on rising from my knees, I felt a strong +persuasion that the prayer of faith would prevail. It was after a +very remarkable season of special devotion, when I pleaded with the +Lord with intense and hallowed earnestness, that I received from +him the following letter, which was an ample recompense for all my +labours and anxieties:-- + + "REV. AND DEAR SIR,--I yield at last. My only hope for pardon + and peace is in the precious blood of Christ. My heart is too + full to write much. It is full to overflowing. Do come and see + me, and I will tell you all. I can secure you a spare room not + far from my own lodgings.--Yours truly, + + ARTHUR GDORDON." + +I set off immediately, and spent several days with him; and had from +him and his housekeeper a detailed statement of the occurrences +which had taken place, and which I will now reduce to continuous +order, for the gratification of the reader. He had taken lodgings +in a cottage occupied by a poor but pious family, and which was +pleasantly situated near the banks of the Thames. Though he had no +regard for the exercises of family devotion, yet he had no very +strong antipathy to them. He therefore felt no annoyance by hearing +the good man read and pray with his family morning and evening, +though no one knew that he was in the habit of listening. The +simple, yet earnest petitions (as Mr. Gordon afterwards confessed) +which were offered up to the Hearer of prayer, in behalf of the +stranger, for his restoration to the enjoyment of perfect health, +and that his affliction might be sanctified to his spiritual +benefit, often made a deep impression on his heart, but it passed +away without any appearance of a beneficial result. + +An incident now occurred which had nearly proved fatal to him, +but it was overruled for good. He went with a party of friends to +spend the day at Marlow; and as they calculated on the probability +of seeing some wild ducks, one gentleman took his gun with him. On +their return down the river in the evening, they resolved, as it +felt rather cold, to walk the last two or three miles. In stepping +out of the boat, one of the party slipped, and at that moment the +loaded gun, which he carried in his hand, went off; Mr. Gordon, who +was a little in advance, and stooping down to fasten his shoe, fell, +and his hat was blown to shivers. All were terror-struck, under the +impression that he was killed; but it was soon discovered that he +had sustained no injury, beyond a slight wound on the right side of +his forehead, and the tip of his ear, which were slightly grazed. +They pressed around him with their congratulations; one facetiously +remarking, that he must have been born under a lucky star, to dodge +death so dexterously, when it was so near him. The accident, and the +escape, naturally engaged more of their conversation than any of +the other occurrences of the day; but there was no reference to the +special providence of God, except in the usual strain of sceptical +derision. "A pious believer," said the facetious man, "would be for +kneeling down, and offering up a tribute of thanksgiving for your +lucky escape, Gordon; and so should I, if I believed in a special +Providence." + +"I don't believe," said another, "that God ever interferes in such +little matters; if he did, he could easily have prevented the slip +of the foot, which was the first moving cause of the explosion; and +had he done that, Gordon would have saved his hat, and gone home +without his scars." + +These remarks, which at any other time would have been in harmony +with his opinions and sentiments, by his own admission, now grated +harshly on his ears; he felt his spirit recoil from them, and for +the first time in his life wished himself out of such company. He +was somewhat astonished, as he confessed to me, by the suddenly +awakened antipathies, which beat so strongly in his heart. On +arriving at his lodgings, he related to the family the particulars +of his narrow escape from death; when the good man exclaimed, in a +subdued tone of pious reverence, "The Lord be praised for protecting +you in such an hour of danger. This, Sir, is an instance of what +the Psalmist calls preventing mercy, for which you should be truly +grateful to the Lord." + +Mr. Gordon knew that his servant united with the family in their +evening devotions; and thinking that this accident and escape would +form a subject of reference in the prayers of the pious cottager, he +kept his door ajar, and sat and listened. He heard his servant say, +"My master is as kind a man as walks on the earth, and is thankful +for any attentions which are paid to him by any one; but he has no +gratitude in his heart to the God of his mercies. He lives, as the +apostle says, without God in the world." + +"Well, then," replied the good man, "if he offer up no thanksgivings +to the Lord for his miraculous escape from death, we will do it +for him; and pray that he may be brought to feel as a child of our +heavenly Father ought to feel." He then read the sixth chapter +of the Gospel of Matthew, remarking, at the conclusion, that it +was a great privilege to be able to believe the consolatory and +soul-sustaining truths which they had been reading. One sentence in +his prayer was uttered with emphatic earnestness--"We thank thee, O +Lord, for preserving the life of the stranger now sojourning with +us, when it was so near death; and we pray that he may feel towards +thee as a child ought to feel towards his heavenly Father." This +touched his heart. + +"I never," he said to me, "felt such an emotion as I experienced +when that simple prayer was uttered. It was as thrilling and as +powerful as it was sudden and unexpected. I immediately arose and +seated myself on the sofa, and was soon absorbed in a train of deep +thought. Yes, death came very near me to-night. He has marked the +signs of his nearness in the scar wounds on my forehead and my ear. +Was it mere chance which gave me a hair-breadth escape from a sudden +death? Yes, says infidelity; God never interferes in little matters. +But would it have been to me a little matter if I had had an arm +blown off, or a leg broken, or been sent out of life into another +world; and probably to ----. No. It would have been a great matter +_then_. Is my preservation from death to be regarded as a little +matter? Was God away from the spot where my friend's foot slipped? +Yes, says infidelity; and I should have responded to this saying +before the event occurred; but I cannot _now_. I doubt my own faith; +I renounce it. It may do at a club, or a convivial party; but it +won't do for the spot where death was coming, but where the victim +has been miraculously rescued from his power. 'AS A CHILD OUGHT TO +FEEL TOWARDS HIS HEAVENLY FATHER!' Beautiful expression! Yes, I +ought to feel grateful to God; but I have never considered him as +standing in the relation of a father to me. But has he not on this +occasion acted like one?" + +On turning and looking carelessly round the room, he saw his copy +of Tremaine lying on the side-board. He took it up and opened it; +the chapter on Providence caught his eye, and he read it. "This," +he confessed to me, he found to be but "starlight-reading; clear, +but cold; brilliant, but wanting in power; expanding the intellect, +and charming the imagination, but not finding its way to the heart. +I read, and believed; read, and yet doubted. I was," he said, +"completely bewildered; but I recollect saying, O that I had the +faith of the cottager, or my servant, my mind would be in perfect +peace." + +His housekeeper, who, as yet, was ignorant of the novel process +of thinking which was going on in his mind, informed me that she +was astonished and delighted one evening by his asking her for the +loan of her Bible. She fetched it, and on giving it to him, said, +"That book, Sir, will do you good, if you pray over it when you are +reading it." He read the sixth chapter of Matthew; read it several +times; and when referring to it in our conversation, he said, "What +a difference, Sir, between the two readings! Tremaine reasons +closely and clearly; he almost demonstrates and compels belief; but +there is no pathos, no power; the heart still remains sceptical and +unmoved. Jesus Christ asserts, commands, and promises; the heart is +captivated, and induced to place its trust in God. Yes! 'it must +be,' as the pious cottager remarked, 'an inestimable privilege to +be able to believe the consolatory and soul-sustaining truths which +I have now been reading.' I believe NOW. But how is this? Logic +has not been reasoning. My intellect is dormant; and yet it is +spell-bound by novel and solemn thoughts. It is making new spiritual +discoveries, which, I believe, are grand realities, but which I have +long despised and rejected as legendary tales; and I feel tranquil. +And yet, as the process of reflection goes on, I feel again +bewildered. My calm is becoming a tumult; and out of satisfaction +springs up anxiety. Is this a delusion, or am I waking up out of a +mental torpor amidst sublime spiritual realities? I am conscious of +a change which has come upon me, and very unexpectedly." + +"You do not doubt its reality?" + +"No, Sir; it is no sham. I am as conscious of its reality as I +am of my own existence. I am no sceptic _now_. I have no hostile +feeling _now_ against the remedial scheme of salvation. I adore +Christ _now_. I can give him my heart. I am astonished by my own +utterances; but they are the genuine expressions of my feelings." + +"I presume, Sir, you ascribe the great change which has taken place +in your belief, and in your moral taste, to a supernatural cause; to +what the apostle calls the grace of God?" + +"I do, Sir. There are three things which satisfy me that this +marvellous change is the work of God. In the first place, I had no +conception that such a change was either necessary or possible; in +the next place, I had no more power or inclination to effect it +myself than I have to raise a dead man to life; and then it has been +produced so suddenly, preceded by no intimations or anticipations +of such an occurrence, and by such apparently inadequate means. +The simple prayers of the rustic cottager subdued me. They touched +my heart. I could, as you know, withstand the assaults of the most +acute and powerful reasoning; your persuasive eloquence touched no +cord of my heart. I could repel, with a sarcasm, the most awful +warnings; and stand immoveable when death was advancing to execute +the penal sentence; but I could not stand out against the simple +prayers of the pious cottager. Indeed, I felt more inclined to yield +than to resist. It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in my +eyes. He made me willing in the day of his power. On this principle +it can be accounted for, but on no other. Reason, as well as +gratitude, compels me to say--By the grace of God, I am what I am. +But O, my friend, where can I find language to give full expression +to the astonishment and gratitude which I feel when reflecting on +the long-suffering and the forbearance of God, whose majesty I +have so often insulted, and whose authority I have set at nought, +defying his threatenings, and spurning his overtures of mercy! How +marvellous the condescending compassion and grace of the Lord Jesus +Christ, who has at last brought me to penitence and contrition, and +given me a hope of salvation!" + +"I suppose you now recal to your recollection, at times, some of +the subjects of our former discussions; both your objections to the +various parts of revealed truth, and how I endeavoured to refute +them?" + +"In the first place, I may mention, that from the outset, on the +Saturday evening we first met,[39] and through every succeeding +encounter, I had a latent apprehension that you were right; and +that your belief, with its consolations and prospects, was far more +conducive to human happiness, than my disbelief, with its suspicions +and uncertainties; I clearly saw, that on your hypothesis, the loss +of life, which is the greatest of human possessions, would be an +incalculable gain; but on mine, it would be an irreparable loss. +When reasoning in my calmer moments on these data, I arrived at +this conclusion--for man's sake the Christian faith _ought_ to be a +genuine faith, even if it is not so; and I recollect when you were +assigning the causes which invest the name of Jesus Christ with such +great power over the human mind on its passing through scenes of +extreme privation and peril, and especially when passing from one +world to another, I felt that I would gladly exchange my disbelief +and its uncertainties, for your faith and its assurances. I now, +Sir, by the grace of God, can add my testimony to the truthfulness +of what you asserted in that encounter. The Christian faith is both +a renovating and consolatory power, and it does the work ascribed +to it; it gives peace to a wounded spirit, and a hope full of +immortality to the guilty and morally worthless." + + [39] Vol. i. p. 94. + +"You would not now willingly be what you once were?" + +"Be what I once was! no, Sir. As readily suppose that a glorified +spirit, if left to his own choice, would choose to come back to +earth, to re-tread its polluting soil, to raise again the standard +of rebellion against the Majesty of heaven, and again intermingle +with the workers of iniquity. Be what I once was! no, Sir. Like the +man in the gospel who found the pearl of great price, I have no wish +to lose what I have miraculously found; I have found the Messiah, +Jesus Christ the Saviour, mighty to save; and to his service I now +consecrate myself for life and for ever." + +He took me one evening to the place where the gun-shot accident +happened, and when pointing with his stick to the spot where he +fell, he stood a while speechless, the tears trickling down his +cheeks, when he exclaimed, under the impulse of strong emotion, +"What a mercy that I was not blown from this spot into hell! On this +spot, Sir, I have stood every evening since the accident occurred, +to offer up my adorations and thanksgiving to the God of my mercies, +and to echo the utterance of Paul, 'This is a faithful saying, and +worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world +to save sinners; of whom I am chief' (1 Tim. i. 15). Yes, Sir, +and I will visit it when the gray hairs of age hang upon me, if I +am spared to old age; and shall I ever forget it when in heaven? +But the gun-shot and my escape would have proved the materials +for a profane joke in a convivial party, had it not been for the +sovereign grace of God, who employed it as the precursor of my +salvation--'Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, +bless his holy name'" (Psal. ciii. 1). + +He continued at Maidenhead till his health was thoroughly +re-established, and then he returned to London. On his reappearance +at the counting-house, in which he had long held an important +office, he received the hearty congratulations of the firm, and of +all his fellow-clerks, by whom he was greatly respected, for his +close application to his duties, his gentlemanly habits, and the +kindness of his disposition. + +Shortly afterwards he had occasion to pass through my town on some +business of his employers, and paid me a visit. We spent a very +pleasant evening together. He then informed me that he had had a +visit from Mr. Newton, and another infidel friend; who called with +their congratulations on his escape from the gun-shot, and the +recovery of his health, and to propose an excursion to Greenwich, +with a party, on the following Sunday. This invitation he at once +declined, and added, "You probably will be surprised to hear that +I renounce as false, and as fatal, all the sceptical sentiments +and opinions I once held; and now embrace with gratitude and joy +the glorious gospel of Christ, as a true and sublime revelation of +mercy and of grace. In future, my Sabbaths will be held sacred to +public worship, in preference to any other exercises or pursuits. +And I would earnestly entreat you to turn your serious attention +to the paramount claims of the gospel; its rejection, as a legend +of superstition, will embitter your reflections and appal your +anticipations in a dying hour." They listened to this with profound +astonishment, making no other remark than simply wishing him well, +and then abruptly left him. + +I took occasion from this reference to Newton and his companion, to +remark, that it would have been a great blessing for himself and +others, if he had undergone this change at an earlier period of his +life. + +"Ah, Sir," he replied, and the tear stood in his eye as he spoke, +"I reflect with shame, and at times with agonizing regret, on the +efforts I have made to seduce others from the way of righteousness +and peace. My friend Lewellin has happily escaped from the evil +course into which I led him on his first settlement in London,[40] +and he is now a bright star in the church of Jesus Christ; but I +fear that some have passed into the eternal world, under the fatal +delusions with which I perverted their minds. These two old friends +who lately paid me a visit of congratulation, and others still +living, who are lost in the crowd of gaiety and dissipation, have +sustained incalculable injury from the influence of my example, +and the fatal tendency of my former sentiments and opinions. A +recollection of these facts will entail upon me bitter regret and +stinging remorse through the whole course of my life; and though I +may obtain mercy from Him whose name I have so often blasphemed, +yet from them I can expect nothing but the severest invective for +having misled them, or the keenest satire and reproach for turning a +renegade, as they will term it, to the system of scepticism we once +professed in common." + + [40] Vol. i. p. 13. + + + + +THE RECTOR'S DEATH-BED. + + +For several years Mr. Ingleby's health had been gradually declining, +but to the last he displayed great vigour of intellect and vivacity +of spirit. When I saw him on the occasion of my wedding visit to Mr. +Lewellin, he appeared to be still hale and active, notwithstanding +the great age which he had attained. In common with the rest of his +friends, I expected that he might still be spared for a few years +to instruct them by his counsels, and animate them by his example. +Mr. Roscoe's death, however, proved a severe shock to him; he fell +into a state of nervous depression; and after a violent cold which +he took in going to visit a poor cottager, in a remote part of his +parish, his parishioners began to fear that he would soon be removed +from them. For several Sabbaths he was confined to the rectory; +but when he grew a little better, he resumed the discharge of his +pastoral duties. Though he brought into the pulpit the stores of +knowledge which he had been collecting for many years, and felt +his spirit still glowing with the ardour of an intense affection +for the spiritual and eternal welfare of his hearers, his energy +was now considerably abated; his voice, which was originally full +and commanding, became low and enfeebled, and he often appeared +exhausted by fatigue, even before he had half finished the service. + +We sometimes see a congregation, which a minister has collected +together in the days of his vigour, forsaking him in his old age, to +pay their homage to the rising sun of popularity; preferring the +voice of a comparative stranger to that of their former shepherd; +but the venerable Ingleby was never deserted. The people pressed +to hear him when the silver locks of age adorned his head, with as +much eagerness as when he possessed all the energy of youth; and +felt as deep an interest in the last services which he conducted, +as in any that had preceded them. It must be admitted that his +situation did not bring him within the immediate influence of +any strong competition for public favour; but though many of his +congregation resided much nearer other clergymen, they nevertheless, +at all seasons of the year, continued regular in their attendance +on the ministrations of Mr. Ingleby to the close of his life. This +attachment to their pastor took its rise in the usefulness of his +public labours; and as he had uniformly conducted himself amongst +them as a holy man of God, devoting his time and his influence to +promote their happiness, his character rose in their esteem as +circumstances gave him an opportunity of developing it. He acted on +the following maxims, which were given him by an aged clergyman, not +long after he took orders, and the practical utility of whose advice +Mr. Ingleby soon experienced in securing him the permanent regard +of his flock:--"Preserve the sanctity of your public character +in the intercourse of private and social life. Do not visit your +people often, except when they need your visits, and then convince +them, that while you have no time to spare for the purposes of +amusement or recreation, you are ever ready to attend to the claims +of pastoral duty. Avoid engaging in the commerce of the world; yet +never think that you are acting beneath the dignity of your station +when engaged in giving advice to the inexperienced, or assisting +others by your counsels, to guide their affairs with discretion. +Let the poor of your flock know that their pastor is their friend +in adversity, their advocate when oppressed, and will be their +comforter when on the bed of sickness or of death." + +About a month before his decease he arose on the Sabbath morning +free from pain, the spirit of former times came upon him, and he +felt that he could get through the labours of the day, without +availing himself of the assistance which his neighbour, the Rev. +Mr. Guion, had so kindly offered. The text from which he addressed +the congregation was taken from 2 Pet. i. 13, 14:--"Yea, I think +it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up, by +putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off +this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me." +When he read the words, the attention of the people was immediately +fixed on him. The effect which was produced by the delivery of +this discourse was very powerful. It was undoubtedly much aided by +the peculiar circumstances of the speaker, who was grown gray and +infirm in the service of the people, and who in his introduction +informed them, that he was led to the choice of the subject, +under an impression, which left no doubt of the propriety of its +application to himself. The aspect of the preacher, pale, emaciated, +standing on the verge of eternity--the simplicity and majesty of +his sentiments--the sepulchral solemnity of a voice which seemed +to issue from the shades, combined with the intrinsic dignity of +the subject--perfectly quelled the audience with tenderness and +terror, and produced such a scene of audible weeping as was perhaps +never surpassed. All other emotions were absorbed in devotional +feeling; it seemed to us as though we were permitted for a short +space to look into eternity, and every sublunary object vanished +before "the powers of the world to come." "I had often heard him," +says Mr. Stevens, in a letter which I received from him, "when he +was more energetic, but never when he was more impressive; when he +discovered more originality of genius, but never when he displayed +more intensity of feeling; when he employed a more polished and a +more imaginative style of address, but never when he spoke with more +authority and power; and, thinking with the rest of the audience, +that he was now terminating his labours, I felt a high gratification +that he was enabled to bring them to a close with so much credit to +himself, as the able and faithful minister of the New Testament. +His appeal to the people, after he had finished his discourse and +closed his Bible, delivered in simple and unaffected language, +subdued the whole audience, and left us, when he had finished it, no +alternative but an involuntary burst of sorrow that we should hear +no more that voice to which we had so often listened." + +The following is an extract from the Rector's farewell sermon:-- + +"My dearly beloved brethren, I have now served you in the ministry +of the gospel for more than forty years, and am on the eve of +closing my labours amongst you. Looking back on my life, I discover +many defects in my character, and many imperfections in the manner +in which I have discharged my public duties; these I most humbly +deplore; but I trust they have been only the ordinary infirmities +of a Christian minister, who has uniformly aimed to reach a higher +point of excellence than he could ever attain. If I cannot, like +the great apostle of the Gentiles, appeal to the holiness and +unblameableness of my behaviour amongst you; yet I trust I can +to the ardour of my affection, and the fidelity of my public +ministrations; and while I would entreat you to cast the veil of +charity over all the blemishes of my character, I would, at the +same time, charge 'every one of you, as a father doth his children, +that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his +kingdom and glory.' The truth which I have preached to you is now +my support in prospect of the scene which is before me. The time +of my departure is at hand. My course is nearly finished. I shall +soon stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. My eternal state +shall soon be decided; and I shall soon know the final decision. +But I am not alarmed. I do not dread death. The judgment-seat does +not appal me. The final sentence awakens no fearful forebodings of +sorrow. I am looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto +eternal life. Whether I shall ever be permitted to address you +again from this pulpit, is known only to Him who works all things +after the counsel of his own will; nor do I feel very solicitous +to do so. If I should, I shall appear amongst you in weakness, if +not in fear and in much trembling; and if I should not, I hope you +will be provided with another minister, who will, either in this +church, or elsewhere, as the Lord may direct, preach, to you with +more energy, and with more success, the glorious gospel which I have +so often proclaimed to you. But I cannot leave you without saying, +that as I have not shunned to declare the whole truth of God in +the most faithful manner, if any of you should eventually perish, +you will not have it in your power to say that it was owing to my +unfaithfulness. Any of you perish! What! will you reject the counsel +of God against yourselves? Will you refuse to come to Jesus Christ, +that you may have life? Will you neglect the great salvation, which +has been made known unto you; and sink down to endless woe under +the accumulated guilt of your impenitence? Must I be compelled to +appear as a witness against any of you, in that day when God shall +judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel? +and, instead of seeing you accepted in the Beloved, shall I see you +banished from the presence of the Lord for ever? And must I now +terminate my labours amongst you, under the awful impression, that +while they have been the means of saving some, they have become the +innocent occasion of aggravating the just condemnation of others? +and thus, like the apostle, while to some I have been the savour of +life unto life, must I be to others the savour of death unto death?" + +When the service was over, many of the people crowded into the aisle +though which he passed; some stood in the porch of the church, +others along the pathway which led across the graveyard, and some +few followed him to the rectory, to shake hands with him and bid +him farewell; sorrowing, like the elders of Ephesus, when they fell +on Paul's neck and kissed him, most of all that they should see his +face no more. This spontaneous expression of attachment, on the +part of the people, deeply affected the venerable man, who wept as +he reiterated his parting benediction to the aged and the young; +and though he had strength given him to go through this trying +hour, yet, on entering his parlour, he complained of a giddiness, +and immediately fell fainting into the arms of Mr. Lewellin. This +excited considerable alarm through the whole family; and one of +the servants, in the paroxysm of her agony, sent forth the report +that her master was dead. On his being removed into the open air, +however, he soon revived, though, from the distorted appearance +of his countenance, it was evident that he had received a slight +paralytic stroke. He slept the greater part of the afternoon, +but towards evening became very animated, and for several hours +conversed, with great cheerfulness, on the immortality of the soul, +and its final and blissful destiny. + +When Socrates was under sentence of death, he assured his friends, +who came to offer him their sympathy, that his chief support +in prospect of taking the fatal draught, was an expectation, +not unmixed with doubts, of a happy existence after death. From +reasoning and reflecting on the subject, he had been led to the +conviction that something of man remains after his decease, and that +the condition of good men will at last be better than that of the +bad; but he could not discover in all his researches, any positive +evidence in support of this opinion; and hence, while he expressed +a hope of entering the invisible world on passing away from this, +he candidly acknowledged that he had his doubts. "My situation," +said the venerable Ingleby, "is more enviable than that of the sage +of Athens. He doubted the immortality of the soul, while I firmly +believe it. And why do I believe it? Not because my nature revolts +at the thought of annihilation; not because I feel an instinctive +desire to outlive the triumphs of death; but because He who sees +the end from the beginning has said, that the wicked 'shall go away +into everlasting punishment; but the righteous shall go into life +eternal.'" + +"We ought," said Mr. Lewellin, "to be very thankful to the Author of +revelation, for having announced the fact of our immortality in such +a clear and unequivocal manner; for it has always struck me, that no +other argument can be admitted as conclusive, but the testimony of +one who has an actual knowledge of an endless futurity." + +"I quite agree with you," said Mr. Ingleby; "for how is it possible +for any being to know that I shall live for ever but that Great +Being who knows the end from the beginning? The communications +which we have in the Bible, on this subject, are professedly his +testimony; but if we reject these communications as fabulous, we +must either give up our hope of immortality, as an idle fancy, or +abandon ourselves to that state of dubious uncertainty, in which +the Athenian sage lived and died. And to this dilemma the infidels +of modern times are reduced; hence, while they cannot _disbelieve_ +in a future state of existence, they cannot anticipate it with any +degree of confidence. If the gospel be, what they say it is, a +cunningly devised fable, which has its origin, not in the records of +truth, but in the invention of man, it is a fable which is eminently +conducive to human happiness; and I should consider that man my +enemy, who would even attempt to expose its fallacy. I am now near +the close of life, the tomb is opening to receive me, and ere long I +shall cease to be an inhabitant of this world. Am I to perish like +the beasts of the field? or am I to exist in another state of being? +These are questions which now present themselves to my mind, with +an air of solemn majesty, which they never before assumed; but to +whom can I propose them, with any hope of obtaining a satisfactory +reply? There is no voice which speaks, but that which comes from the +excellent glory; and that voice tells me, that this mortal shall put +on immortality; that death shall be swallowed up in victory; and it +teaches me to offer my thanksgivings to God, who hath given me the +victory over the fear of death, and the terror of the grave, through +our Lord Jesus Christ." + +"The language," observed Mr. Stevens, "which our Lord addressed to +his disciples, just before his departure, to assuage the violence +of their grief, is no less calculated to afford us consolation +under our sufferings, especially when we are brought near the verge +of eternity:--'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, +believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it +were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. +And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and +receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.'" + +"I do believe in Him," replied the Rector, "and enjoy the influence +of that belief, in the calm placidity of my mind. I do believe +that he is preparing a place for me amongst the mansions of the +blessed, and I enjoy the influence of that belief in the sublime +anticipations of hope. Yes, I shall soon see him in all the glory of +his majesty, and in all the tenderness of his compassion; and with +the rest of the redeemed I shall soon bow down in his presence with +mingled emotions of astonishment and delight! With astonishment, +that he ever condescended to love me, and to employ me in his +service; and with delight, at the scenes which I shall then behold, +and the voices which I shall then hear. Then shall I be satisfied +when I am assimilated to the Divine likeness." + +"You have then no doubt of your final salvation?" + +"No, Sir; I wait for it as an event of absolute certainty." + +"I perceive," rejoined Mr. Stevens, "that you now make no reference +to the opinion which you have so often expressed respecting the +'different degrees of glory which the righteous will have conferred +on them in the heavenly world.'" + +"I am too deeply anxious on the more important point of getting +into heaven, to bestow even a moment's consideration on the degree +of my future happiness. I know I shall have infinitely more than I +deserve; even if I should have less than the least of all saints; +and I am perfectly willing to take what portion my Lord may assign +me, under a full conviction that-- + + 'The man who dwells where Jesus is, + Must be completely blest.'" + +"I once heard you say," remarked Mrs. Stevens, "that you had no +doubt but we should know each other in the heavenly world. Have +you, Sir, on more mature deliberation, been induced to change that +opinion?" + +"No, Madam. When I enter heaven, I shall not forget that I was once +an inhabitant of earth--that I once lived in a state of rebellion +against God--that he was pleased to bring me to repentance and +faith in the Lord Jesus Christ--that he employed me in the ministry, +and assigned to me the parish of Broadhurst as the scene of my +labours--that I associated in the days of my pilgrimage, with you +and your husband, your nephew and his wife, and other Christian +friends--and that in the exercise of social communion I once enjoyed +some tokens of the Divine favour. If then we shall retain a distinct +recollection of places and occurrences connected with our earthly +sojourn, we shall surely not forget the persons who gave to those +places and occurrences their chief interest and importance. Suppose +I should now, while you are sitting by my side, steal out of life, +and enter heaven, should I on my passage lose a remembrance of +the room in which I expired, or the events which have transpired +this day? Impossible! And could I remember these things, without +remembering you and my other pious friends? And when you arrive, +and are presented faultless, will you not be presented faultless +in the individuality of your person, with all _your_ remembrances +of places, of persons, and events fresh upon you? And will it +be possible for us to associate with each other without making +some reference to the former state of our existence, which will +necessarily lead to a discovery of who we are, and from whence we +came, even if there should be no more direct method of gaining a +knowledge of each other? But apart from this general reasoning, we +may appeal to the Scriptures, which, I think, give their decided +sanction to these views. Hence we find the apostle, when writing +to the Thessalonians, who had through his instrumentality been +converted to the faith of Christ, says, 'For what is our hope, or +joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our +Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.' I +cannot affix any meaning to this passage, unless I believe, that +each apostle, and every minister in every succeeding age of the +church, will know the persons who have been converted to God through +their instrumentality; and that from this knowledge will arise some +peculiar degree of glory and of joy." + +"Then, Sir," said Mr. Lewellin, "doubtless you can now anticipate a +high degree of felicity from this source, as God has been pleased to +make your ministry very useful?" + +"I have no doubt but I shall partake of this source of happiness; +but I am not now anticipating it. My mind is too deeply occupied +by the important question of getting into heaven, to bestow one +solitary thought on the minor questions of our speculative belief. +I am nearing the borders of the holy land of promise; living now +in the anticipation of soon seeing the King in his beauty, and of +undergoing that transformation which I shall feel when I see him." + +"Then, Sir, you think you will 'shortly put off this tabernacle,' +and enter that 'house which is not made with hands, eternal in the +heavens?'" + +"Yes, Mr. Lewellin; and I can put it off with as much composure as +I can throw aside a worn-out surplice. The time of my departure is +near." + +"But," said Mrs. Lewellin, "what shall we do when you are taken from +us? We shall be like the sheep, when the shepherd is gone!" + +"No, my dear friend, the great Shepherd may pitch another fold, and +lead you to another pasturage; but he will still 'feed his flock; he +will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and +will gently lead those that are with young.'" + +His friends now left him to repose. He slept through the +greater part of the night, but towards the morning became very +restless--often complaining of a strange sensation in his head. He +took a light breakfast, and as he felt rather drowsy, requested +that he might not be disturbed. About noon he awoke; but felt no +disposition to rise. He again took a little nourishment, and again +fell asleep, and slept till near five o'clock. When he awoke he +asked the hour, but he paid no attention to the reply which was made +to him. His physician now gave it as his decided opinion that he +would not live through the night. "He is in no pain; and if I judge +from the state of his pulse, I should suppose that his life will +gradually depart from him; perhaps when he is asleep." But about +seven o'clock he suddenly revived, sat up in his bed, and requested +to have his hands and his face washed. When this office of kindness +was performed for him, by Mrs. Lewellin, he looked on her for some +moments without uttering a word; and then stretching out his hand +he said, "My dear, I thank you. You have not anointed me against +my burial; but you have refreshed me to encounter the last enemy. +Death is upon me, but he does not come in a terrific form. No; he +is changed from the king of terrors into an angel of deliverance. I +will thank you, Sir," addressing himself to Mr. Lewellin, "to read +the eighth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and then pray +for me; and pray that I may be favoured with a sense of the Divine +presence when passing through the valley of the shadow of death." +Mr. Lewellin having complied with his wishes, the venerable pastor +then gave his friends his blessing; exhorting them to cleave to the +Lord with full purpose of heart. After remaining silent for some +minutes, during which time he appeared to be in the solemn act of +commending his soul to God, he looked round with great benignity of +countenance, and said, "Why, my children, do you weep?" + +"Is it possible, Sir," Mrs. Lewellin replied, "for us to lose such a +pastor and such a friend without weeping?" + +"Well, I will forgive your tears, because I know you love me; but +I cannot weep with you. Though I have not before me that scene +of martyrdom which presented itself to the great apostle of the +Gentiles, when addressing his son Timothy, yet I can adopt the +triumphant language which he then uttered, and with an equal degree +of confidence:--'I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my +departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my +course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a +crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall +give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that +love his appearing.'" And having uttered these words he reclined his +head on his pillow, and gently breathed his last. + + + + +THE RECTOR'S FUNERAL. + + +Upon the report of the pastor's death being spread through the +village, a sudden shock was felt by almost every one, though the +event itself did not excite much surprise. He had lived so long +amongst his parishioners, and had endeared himself to them by so +many acts of kindness, that they wept for him, as an affectionate +child mourns for the loss of his father; and even the worldly and +indifferent concurred in paying a just tribute of respect to his +memory. On the day of his funeral, an immense concourse of people +assembled. The instructions which he had given to his friend, Mr. +Stevens, respecting his funeral, were minutely attended to; and they +were in strict accordance with the chaste simplicity of character +which he had maintained through life. There was no hearse with its +nodding plumes--no hired mourners; he had selected twelve of the +senior members of his church to carry his body to the tomb, and +fixed on the spot where the bier was to rest while they relieved +each other from the fatigue of carrying his mortal remains. The +procession moved from the rectory about ten o'clock in the morning, +preceded by the Rev. Mr. Guion and two other clergymen--followed by +a few of his relations and a long train of friends, walking three +a-breast, in deep mourning--many of his poorer parishioners, having +only a piece of crape on their hats, fell into the rear, which was +closed by the children of the Sunday-school, who wore a similar +badge of grief. Immediately as the procession began to move, the +bell, which had been tolling for more than an hour, ceased till the +bier stopped at the appointed resting-place, when it again commenced +to send forth its melancholy sounds. + +On entering the churchyard, the Rev. Mr. Guion began the solemn +service by repeating the animating words of Jesus Christ--"I am the +resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were +dead, yet shall he live." The coffin was taken into the church, +and placed on an elevated platform before the pulpit, so as to be +distinctly seen by the whole congregation; and after a few minutes, +during which time the people were taking their seats, Mr. Guion +began reading, in a most solemn and impressive manner, the lessons +which are appointed for such an occasion. Agreeably to the custom +at funeral obsequies in former times, after he had finished the two +lessons, he ascended the pulpit, and delivered a discourse from the +following appropriate text--"Sorrowing most of all for the words +which he spake, that they should see his face no more" (Acts xx. +38). After a short and judicious introduction, he called attention +to the following remarks, which he illustrated and enforced with +great effect:-- + +"The decease of a minister is an event of great importance-- + +"I. In relation to himself. No class of men occupy a station so +important, or are called to discharge duties so momentous, as +ministers of the gospel. The eloquent advocate who pleads at the +bar, sometimes snatches the victim from the altar, against whose +life the foul conspirator has brought his charge, and he retires +from the scene of his labours amidst the plaudits of the people; +but in a few years they both sink into the same silent earth, and a +remote posterity remains ignorant of their anxieties and of their +triumphs. The fearless senator attacks iniquity in the high places +of its dominion, or rouses up the slumbering principle of justice to +vindicate her insulted honours; but he sleeps with his fathers, and +having received the honour of his country's applause he is conveyed +to the mansions of the dead. The effects of their labours terminate +with the occasion of their exercise; or if they should stretch into +a distant futurity, they are circumscribed within the boundaries +of time. From man they receive their commission, and to man they +resign it when it is executed; and though their conduct will undergo +a revision at the day of judgment, yet it is from man they receive +their official discharge. But it is not so with us. It is true +that we are under some degree of responsibility to our superiors +in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and it is equally true that we +are under some degree of responsibility to the people of our cure; +but our chief responsibility relates to a higher tribunal, and a +more important decision awaits us than any which man can pronounce. +Fix your attention for a moment on a minister of the gospel, see +him tottering on the brink of eternity--he falls, we catch his +descending mantle, 'sorrowing most of all that we shall see his face +no more; but while we are making preparations to perform his funeral +obsequies, he is giving up an account of his stewardship. Then the +motives which induced him to enter the ministerial office, and which +induced him to continue it--the manner in which he spent his time, +and discharged the hallowed duties devolving on him--will undergo +a strict investigation, and the final sentence will be pronounced, +which will fix his doom in raptures or in woe, for ever. If he be +found faithful, he will receive the commendation of his Master; but +if unfaithful, he will be cast into outer darkness, 'where their +worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.' + +"It is an event of importance in relation-- + +"II. To the people of his charge. They lose their spiritual teacher, +their counsellor, their friend, and their example. Yes! and some +of you who are now looking on that coffin, if permitted to give +utterance to your sentiments, would say, 'There lies the holy man of +God, who met me in my mad career of folly and of crime, and was the +means of turning my feet into the way of peace.' 'There he lies,' +another could say, 'who, when I was perishing for thirst, opened +my eyes, and showed me the well of living waters.' 'Alas!' another +would exclaim, 'I shall now see his face no more; who, when I was +sinking into despair, under the virulence of my moral malady, told +me of the balm of Gilead, and of the great Physician there, who +healed and comforted me, giving me renovated health and a deathless +life.' Farewell, holy man of God; we shall see thy face no more, +till we see thee the express image of thy Lord's person. + +"It is an event of importance in relation-- + +"III. To general society. No man, saith the apostle, liveth to +himself. While we are individually pursuing our separate interests, +we are advancing the general good, and not unfrequently serve +others, while intent only on serving ourselves. If this be true of +men in general, it is more emphatically true in relation to the +ministers of the gospel. While they are discharging the functions +of their office in relation to the people of their charge, they +are diffusing principles abroad in society which will be found to +operate more widely than is generally imagined. When they die, the +influence of their example, of their character, of their precepts, +of their individual exertions to promote private happiness, and to +support public institutions--and of their prayers--is a loss which +is felt not only in the immediate circle in which they moved, but to +a much larger extent; though it may not be felt so instantaneously +nor so deeply. + +"But, my brethren, it is not in my power to calculate the loss which +you have sustained by the decease of the venerated man whose corpse +is now before us; and who, for more than forty years, has preached +the gospel of peace in this pulpit. + +"When he first entered on the duties of his office, he found a +barren wilderness; but he has left a fruitful field. The church, +which was mouldering to ruins, he repaired and enlarged; the +congregation, which was scattered, he has gathered together; and +many who have preceded him through the dark valley, and many whom +he has left to follow him, he has been the means of saving from the +impending wrath of the Almighty. It is now many years since the +person who is now addressing you went, under the most unfavourable +impressions, to hear him preach; but the word that fell from his +lips came with power, and I, who went to scoff, returned to pray. +From that hour I revered him as my spiritual father in Christ; and +an intimacy soon after commenced, which continued unbroken and +undisturbed till death. If I were now to give full scope to my +feelings, I should probably be censured by some for pronouncing +an extravagant eulogy on his character; but I am conscious that +while he owed all his excellence to the renewing and purifying +influence of Divine grace, he uniformly displayed, both in public +and in private life, a degree of excellence which has been rarely +surpassed, if equalled, in modern times. As a preacher, he excelled +no less in the descriptive than in the argumentative style of his +address--combining in all his discourses strength of reasoning with +the most happy modes of illustration--equally capable of awing his +congregation by the solemnity of his manner, and subduing them by +the tenderness of his appeals; compelling them by the ardour of +his feelings, and energy of his utterance, to lose sight of the +messenger who was speaking, in a devout contemplation of the message +which he delivered; and giving to things unseen such a power of +impression, that those which are visible seemed to dwindle into a +state of absolute insignificancy. + +"As a man, he was courteous in manners, and amiable in +disposition; as a friend, he was disinterested and faithful in +his attachments; as a Christian, he was devout and catholic in +his spirit; as a minister, he was independent, yet attentive and +affectionate--uniformly endeavouring to incorporate in his character +the moral qualities which his Lord and Master developed in the +progress of his history; and though a nice observer might discover +a few shades of imperfection falling on it, yet they were scarcely +perceptible. He approached the nearest to the perfect man of the +Scriptures of any one I ever knew; but that which gave a distinctive +peculiarity to his character, and which made him the object of +general esteem and veneration, was his catholic liberality, his +ever-active benevolence, and his amiability--combined with a +chastened seriousness and sportive playfulness of disposition, +which exhibited the gravity of religion untinged by the gloom of +superstition, and its cheerfulness free from the levity of folly. + +"He thought and judged for himself on every part of revealed truth, +and maintained the doctrines which he held with the most determined +firmness; yet he never suffered his mind to be soured by the spirit +of controversy, nor was he ever known to treat those who differed +from him with contempt or with indifference. He loved the catholic +spirit of the gospel, no less than its sublime doctrines; uniformly +condemned that arrogance of spirit which leads the bigot to say +of the members of his own communion, 'The temple of the Lord! the +temple of the Lord are we!' and demonstrated by his conduct that he +was as anxious to preserve the bonds of peace unbroken amongst the +different denominations of Christians as to keep the unity of the +faith entire. And while he gave a decided preference to the Church +of which he was so bright an ornament, yet he felt a deep interest +in the prosperity of every other religious community which contends +earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints; and +admitted to his friendship and intimacy the pious Dissenter, with as +much cordiality as he embraced an Episcopal brother. + +"But his catholic liberality did not degenerate into +latitudinarianism. He was willing to cultivate Christian fellowship +with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and was +anxious to narrow rather than widen the ground of difference between +them; but he felt no inclination to compromise any essential +doctrines of the gospel as a compliment to the semi-sceptical spirit +of the age--choosing rather to run the risk of incurring the charge +of bigotry, than sanction a popular opinion that there is no danger +in speculative error, if the person who imbibes it be sincere in his +belief, and display an exterior amiability of temper and conduct, in +accordance with the laws of practical righteousness. His charity was +not of that deceptive cast, which places a human being who rejects +the leading doctrines of Christianity on a level, in the Divine +estimation, with the humble disciple of Jesus Christ who implicitly +receives them, as he was convinced 'that the charity which the +Scriptures so earnestly inculcate, consists in a real solicitude for +the welfare of others, not in thinking well of their state;' and +thus, while he gave ample scope for the exercise of his compassion +in aiming to promote the salvation of all his hearers, he felt awed +by that authority which separates the believer from the unbeliever, +and which marks, by a palpable line of distinction, the essential +difference between those who admit, and those who deny the truth as +it is in Jesus. + +"Some men are benevolent, but the principle of their benevolence +lies embedded in their mental constitution, like fire in the flint, +and it is only by hard and reiterated strokes that it can be +elicited. This principle, when exerted, may produce all the effects +of a spontaneous flow of feeling; but it looks so much like that +sullen selfishness which is absorbed in its own gratifications, that +its occasional exertions are regarded only as a novel tribute to its +own capricious taste. + +"Others are benevolent, but the principle of their benevolence is +associated with so much finesse and self-adulation, and with so +many disgusting and offensive requirements, that while it relieves +the wants of a sufferer, it inflicts a deep wound on his spirit, +and makes him feel such an oppressive weight of obligation, that +he cannot enjoy the comforts which have been administered to him. +But the benevolence of our deceased friend was the master-passion +of his soul, and it was ever wakeful--ever active; which required +no qualifications for its exercise, but misery in some of her +multiplied forms; it prescribed no bounds for its exertions, but +the limits of his own means; and he bestowed his bounties with so +much delicacy, that no other emotion was ever excited in the breast +of the recipient than that of the purest gratitude to his kind +benefactor. + +"His kindness of disposition led him to feel great tenderness for +the reputation of others; and though no one could reprove vice more +keenly, yet he never sanctioned that habit of depreciating the +character of absent individuals, which may be regarded as one of +the most besetting sins of human nature. Hence, few men possessed +more friends, or fewer enemies; it may be doubted whether among the +numerous list of the former he lost the esteem of one. + +"Perhaps no man ever united more closely in his private character +the dignity and the cheerfulness of religion--preserving unimpaired +the sanctity of his station with a lively and playful disposition; +and maintaining the reputation of a holy man of God, while hailed in +general society as the amiable, the intelligent, and the interesting +companion. The line which separates the harmless from the +pernicious he was never known to pass, so that he never injured the +sanctity of his public character by any levities in his demeanour, +but inspired a greater reverence for it, by the dignified ease of +his manners, and the uniform placidity and agreeableness of his +temper. + +"The closing scene of his life was no less beautiful than +impressive; and forces from us the exclamation of the worthless +prophet, 'Let me die the death of the righteous! and let my last end +be like his!' He is gone! That face on which you have looked with so +much pleasure, you will see no more; that voice to which you have +so often listened with mingled emotions of awe and pleasure, you +will hear no more, till you meet him before the judgment-seat of the +Son of God; and, brethren, permit me to ask you, whether you think +you are prepared to see him, and hear him there? He has preached +to you the gospel of peace, with great fidelity, and with equal +affection; but have you received it, not as the word of men, but, +as it is in truth, the word of God? He has watched for your souls +as one who knew that he must give an account; but have you, by your +submission to the truth which he proclaimed, enabled him to do it +with joy and not with grief? Is there no one in this congregation +who has remained insensible to his moral danger, though that danger +has often been pointed out to you in the most awful and impressive +manner? Is there no one who has remained impenitent, notwithstanding +the various efforts which the venerated deceased employed to bring +you to repentance, and to a belief of the truth? Is there no one who +has forced the aged pastor to retire from this pulpit to his study, +and there to weep and to mourn, and to say, in the bitterness of +his mental agony, 'When I speak they will not hear: but put from +them the words of life, and the way of peace they will not know?' +He is gone to enjoy the reward of his labours, and ere long you, my +brethren, will follow him. But are you prepared to give an account +of the manner in which you have improved his faithful services +amongst you? If you are, you will again meet and again intermingle +your social feelings and affections in a world where you will enjoy +an endless duration of bliss; but if not, let me beseech you to +retire, and on your knees implore mercy and forgiveness, lest you +should be taken off in the midst of your sins, and be cast out with +the workers of darkness, where there will be weeping, and wailing, +and gnashing of teeth for ever." + +When this discourse was finished, the corpse was removed to the +vault; and when placed in it, the remaining part of the Burial +Service was read. When the earth fell on the lid of the coffin, as +the impressive words, _ashes to ashes, dust to dust_, were uttered, +there was a spontaneous burst of audible weeping from the whole +assemblage, which, for a few moments, so overpowered the feelings +of Mr. Guion, that it was with some degree of difficulty he could +proceed. At length the service was concluded; but on returning from +the church the order of the procession was deranged, for while some +few walked back to the rectory, others pressed round the tomb; and +many stood about the churchyard in detached groups, recalling the +various incidents in their history connected with their deceased +pastor. "O!" said one athletic youth, who wept while he spoke, "I +was a bold transgressor till I heard him preach." "I went to laugh," +said another, "but I returned to pray." "He was my friend," said +many voices; and all expressed their opinion that they should never +see a successor equal to him. + +After the concourse of people had dispersed, Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin +continued wandering amongst the tombs, reading the epitaphs which +surviving friendship had engraven on the head-stones of their +departed relatives and friends. The place of sepulture in which they +were now walking, was one of the neatest of rural burying places. +The walks were free from weeds; there were no gaps in the hedges; +the graves bore no marks of being trodden by the foot of beast or +of man; the yew trees luxuriated in their native growth, without +assuming those fantastic shapes and forms which a capricious taste +sometimes compels them to take, and the green ivy overspread the +walls of the venerable church. Many of the inscriptions on the +earlier tombstones were nearly effaced, and those which were still +legible, like too many of the "good old times," recorded sentiments +and expressions which are no less offensive to a refined taste, +than to a scriptural faith. But in the later stones, which had been +erected during the lifetime of the venerable pastor, a striking +difference was observable. The inscription bore the name and the age +of the occupant of the tomb, and beneath it some appropriate text of +Scripture--recalling the words of an elegant writer, "It is meet, +pleasant, and soothing to the pious mind, when bereaved of friends, +to commemorate them on earth by some touching expression taken from +that book which reveals to them a life in heaven." + +Mr. Lewellin and his wife now entered the church, resolving to go +and indulge their solemn meditations beside the uncovered tomb of +the deceased pastor; but on passing down the aisle, were suddenly +startled by the deep sounds of sorrow. On looking towards the vault +where Mr. Ingleby's remains were deposited, they saw an aged couple +leaning on their staffs, looking into the grave, but they appeared +too much oppressed by grief to give any other vent to their feelings +than by sighs and tears. "Come, Dame, let us be gone," said the old +man to his wife; "it won't be long before we see him again." As +they turned round from the grave, Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin advanced +and kindly endeavoured to mitigate their sorrow. "O! Sir," said the +old man, "he was a good man, and a faithful minister of Christ; and +many will have to bless God for ever, for sending him amongst us. +We thought we loved him while he was with us; but we did not know +that we loved him so much till he was taken away. But it won't be +long before we shall see him again." "Then," said Mr. Lewellin, +"I presume you have received the gospel which he preached amongst +you, not as 'the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of +God.'" "Yes, Sir, we have been enabled to receive it. Before he +came to preach in this village we very seldom attended church, +and never thought about the salvation of our souls; but, blessed +be the name of the Lord, we were both called to the knowledge of +the truth through the instrumentality of his honoured servant; and +have, for the space of near forty years, been walking together as +heirs of the grace of life. It was a great shock to our feelings +when we heard of his death, though we expected it; but now he is +gone, it is our duty to be resigned to the will of God. But, Sir, +resignation may feel its loss; and the Saviour won't condemn us if +we weep at the grave of our departed pastor, as He once wept at the +grave of Lazarus. He was one of the most excellent of the earth. He +preached well, and he confirmed the truth which he preached by the +unblameableness of his life. He was a most benevolent man. He obeyed +the words of the Scriptures, and did good to all, especially to the +household of faith. We shall never see his like again." + +My friend and his wife felt so deeply interested by the affection +and piety of this aged couple, that they walked with them to their +little thatched cottage. "This little cottage," said the old man, +"was built for us by our pastor, who gave it to us for our life. +This is the chair in which he used to sit, and this is the Bible +which he gave us, and here is his picture, which we have had for +these thirty years--and this is his walking-stick, that he gave me +when I took my leave of him at the door of the rectory, the Sabbath +before he left us." "And when," said the old woman, "I could not +see to read my Bible, he gave me these spectacles; and he used to +come, and sit with us, and talk to us of Him who lived and died for +sinners, and made us forget the trials of the way, by discoursing to +us about the joys of the end of it. But it won't be long before we +see him again." + +Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin were much affected by this touching account +of their old friend, whose charity and benevolence formed a theme +of grateful remembrance in the minds of those poor cottagers. +Perceiving that their circumstances were much straitened, they +presented them with a trifling sum, and then, amid the blessings of +the aged couple, took leave and proceeded on their way to Rockhill. + + + + +THE NEW RECTORS. + + +Soon after the death of the venerable Ingleby, the Rev. Mr. Cole, +the Rector of the adjoining parish of Aston, whose health had been +gradually declining, was taken very ill. He had accompanied several +of his friends to a concert in a neighbouring town, and on his +return caught a violent cold. No danger was apprehended for several +weeks; but having imprudently accepted an invitation to spend an +evening at a friend's, where he was detained to a late hour at +whist, his favourite amusement, his indisposition gained a fresh +accession of strength by exposure to the night air. He now began to +entertain apprehensions of a fatal termination to his complaint, and +said to his wife, when she was consulting him on the propriety of +putting off a party which had been fixed for the following week, "My +dear, I shall never appear amongst you again." + +"Don't say so, Edward. You are getting low-spirited and +unnecessarily anxious. You should keep up your spirits, and +anticipate the pleasure which you will yet enjoy amongst your +friends." + +"I have no _wish_ to die, Emily, but I _must_ die. The doctors can +do nothing for me. I should like to see my old friends again, but I +have no spirit to entertain them." + +"I heard Dr. Bailey say, that he placed great dependence on the +prescription which he gave to Mr. Russel. Indeed, I think you look +better. He says he has no doubt but you will recover; and all your +friends say that you must banish the thought of dying, as nothing +will tend so much to accelerate that awful event. I think they had +better come: they will put new life into you." + +"Yes, they may tell me to banish the thought of dying, but I cannot +do it; it forces itself upon me in spite of all my resolutions to +avoid it." + +"Dr. Bailey suggested to me to read some amusing book to you. Here +are the _Pickwick Papers_. Let me read you a chapter about Pickwick +and Sam Weller. I know how they used to make you laugh; and a hearty +laugh, to my mind, does more good than all the medicine in the +world." + +"Neither Mr. Pickwick nor Sam Weller, my dear, would be proper +companions for me just now. I must pay respect to the sanctity of my +character. I should not object, if I get a little better, to your +reading me the _Vicar of Wakefield_, or a paper from the _Spectator_ +or _Rambler_. But I fear my disease has gone too far to be checked +by any human expedient. I must yield to the law of nature, and +prepare for death; and it is, I assure you, an awful thing to +die--to go from one world to another." + +"Well, my dear," replied his wife, "as you have long since made your +peace with God, you have nothing to fear; and therefore I hope you +will keep your mind composed." + +"My mind is tolerably composed, Emily, except when delirious +thoughts come and throw it into a tumultuous agitation, and then I +feel wandering about in a maze of confusion. Death may be looked +upon by some, who have no taste for earthly enjoyments, with +peculiar interest, as the forerunner of their future bliss; but I +would rather live than die." + +When Mr. Cole found himself getting worse, and his most sanguine +friends began to fear that the hour of his departure was at hand, +he wished to receive the sacrament; and the Rev. Dr. Greig, from a +neighbouring town, was requested to come and administer it to him. +The Doctor seemed much affected when introduced to his old friend; +and, after gently squeezing his hand, as a token of affection, he +sat down by his bedside. + +"I am sorry, Sir," said the reverend Doctor, "to find you so +extremely ill; but I hope you will yet recover." + +"That, I fear, is impossible; I must die; and I wish, before I die, +to receive the holy sacrament. I think it will put strength into my +soul, and enable me to meet death without dread." + +"I hope you have no dread of death." + +"Why, no, Doctor, I have no dread of death; but as it is the +passage into the eternal world, I feel that it is an awful thing to +die--more awful at the crisis than in anticipation." + +"It may be awful to the wicked, but it cannot be to you, who have +spent your life in the public service of our Church, promoting the +cause of virtue and religion." + +"I confess, Sir, that I have nothing to reproach myself with. I have +spent a long life in the service of our Church, and have endeavoured +to teach my parishioners the way to heaven; and as a recompense for +my well-meant efforts I hope eternal life will be given to me; but +now that death is near, I feel it to be a more awful thing to die +than when I viewed it at a distance. I now see the propriety of +the passage in our Burial Service--'O God, most mighty, O holy and +merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge, eternal, suffer us not at +our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee.'" + +Dr. Greig now proceeded to read the Communion Service; and having +partaken of the elements himself, and given them to Mrs. Cole and +the nurse, he presented them to his dying friend, who ate the bread, +and drank the wine, with great solemnity of manner. The service +being ended, he said that he had one more request to make, and +then he should die in peace. "I wish, Doctor, you would read the +Burial Service at my interment, and preach my funeral sermon on the +following Sunday; and you may tell my parishioners, that I _die in +charity with all mankind_." + +In about six hours after his friend left him, a change took place, +and he remained insensible the greater part of the night. Towards +the morning he awoke out of a deep sleep; and, having taken a little +refreshment, he sat very composedly for a few minutes. Looking +at his wife with intense earnestness, he said, "My dear Emily, I +suppose I must die;" and then he fell back on his pillow, heaved a +deep sigh, and expired. On the seventh day after his death he was +buried in a vault, near the communion table of his own church; and +Dr. Greig, according to his request, read the service, and delivered +his funeral discourse on the following Sabbath. The congregation, +which was unusually large, appeared deeply affected, especially +when the Doctor pointed to the tomb in which their deceased pastor +had just been interred. + +In delineating the character or Mr. Cole, Dr. Greig dwelt for some +time on his classical taste and his literary acquirements; paid +a just tribute of praise to his amiable disposition and obliging +manners, and commended him for his uniform attachment to the +Church, of which he had been a minister for the greater part of +half a century; and concluded by saying, "His religion was not +of that austere cast which prohibits the innocent amusements and +gratifications of society, and dooms its possessor to a life of +perpetual gloom and mortification. It was an enlightened piety--a +piety which united the gravity of wisdom with a cheerful and +facetious spirit, which courted no popularity by the vanity of its +pretensions; which sought retirement rather than publicity; and +conciliated the favour of the Almighty by the practice of virtue, +rather than by the dogmas of belief. His life is an epitome of moral +virtue and social goodness, which may be read by all men with great +profit. It will teach us all, and especially the clergy of our +Church, how they should live, and what recompense they may expect to +receive when called to die, as a reward for their fidelity to their +charge. He did not, as we all know, in imitation of the example +of some, rob other churches to fill his own; but was contented to +preach to the select few who favoured him with their presence and +their friendship; and who, I doubt not, will revere his memory as +long as the power of recollection remains; and who, when the duties +of life are discharged, will go where he is gone, to renew the +intimacy of friendship, and enjoy the felicity of social converse. +And who is not struck with the dignified serenity of his death! +There were no raptures of enthusiasm in prospect of dissolution; no +flights of fancy; no rhapsodies of expression, as though he were +weary of life and longed to lose it; but a submission to the law of +nature, which requires that we must die, accompanied by a sublime +avowal which he wished me to make to you, _that he died in charity +with all mankind_." + +In examining the character of these two clergymen, and reviewing +the temper of mind which they displayed in the immediate prospect +of entering the eternal world, the intelligent reader will perceive +a manifest difference; and though it does not become us to invade +the province of the Supreme Judge, and fix the final destiny of any +human being, yet we may be permitted to say, that the venerable +Ingleby bore the nearest resemblance, in his life and in his +death, to the ministers of the New Testament. If Mr. Cole was the +most learned man, Mr. Ingleby was the most spiritual; and though +Mr. Ingleby derived no gratification from the trifling amusements +of fashionable life, yet he uniformly displayed a cheerfulness +of disposition which became the sanctity of his office. Mr. Cole +consented to die because he could not live; while Mr. Ingleby +yielded up his life as a free-will offering to God who first gave +it, and then demanded it. In the death of Mr. Cole we can discover +no humility on account of the imperfections of his character--no +utterances of a mind delighting in communion with the great +Supreme--no reference to a Mediator, by whom the guilty and the +worthless are reconciled to the offended Sovereign--no ardent +anticipations of a state of changeless purity and glory; while, +in the closing scene of Mr. Ingleby's life, we behold a spirit, +yet inhabiting the tabernacle of earth, springing forward to meet +the great Deliverer--hailing his approach with mingled emotions of +awe and delight--giving utterance to the sublimest conceptions of +future bliss, and in language, such as Paul employed when treading +on the narrow isthmus which separates time from eternity. The death +of Mr. Cole was certainly the most calm; but it was the calm of a +stagnant pool, whose waters move not because they are unaffected by +any current; while the death of Mr. Ingleby resembled the peaceful +ripple of the crystal stream, as it moves tranquilly from its +source to swell the waters of the vast ocean. The one died like +a philosopher, over whose mind the light of evidence produced a +belief of the existence of an eternal world, which, alas! presented +no powerful attractions; the other, like a sinner, redeemed by the +precious blood of Christ, and made meet to possess the inheritance +of the saints in light, in comparison with which the brightest +honours of earth pass away as things of no value. + +When the pastor of a Dissenting church is called away from his +flock, to give an account of his stewardship to the great Shepherd +and Bishop of souls, an event occurs in its history which generally +produces a most powerful effect on the minds of the surviving +members. As he, while living, was the pastor of their choice, so, +when dead, they cease not to venerate and esteem his memory. They +pay him, it is true, no superstitious homage. All they show is the +feeling of pure nature, which requires no artificial expedients +to express its affection for the object of its esteem when he is +taken away. But amongst them, while the pastor dies, the ministry +lives. They turn away from his tomb to listen to the voice of his +successor; and though they cannot easily transfer that strong +attachment and profound respect which have been the growth of a +long and close intimacy, yet they receive him in the Lord with all +gladness, and hold such in reputation. + +In the choice of a successor they have great advantages over their +Christian brethren who are members of the Establishment. They are +not compelled to receive a pastor, but are left to choose one; and +hence, as is natural, they select one whose religious opinions +agree with their own, whose manner of preaching accords with +their own taste, and whose character is such as corresponds with +the sacredness of his profession. And though a popular election +is liable to some objections, yet, from the mode in which it is +generally conducted amongst them, they are but as the small dust +of the balance, when weighed against the sterling value of the +privilege which it involves and secures. The argument employed +by Dissenters in support of this practice is, in their judgment, +quite conclusive. They say, As we claim the right of choosing the +attorney whom we consult on a point of law--of choosing our surgeon +and physician when visited by sickness--of choosing the tutor under +whose care we place our children, we act still more in accordance +with the established laws of social life, and the most obvious +dictates of enlightened reason, when we exercise the right of choice +in relation to the pastor from whose public ministrations we are to +receive the consolations of the gospel of peace. In this instance, +no less than in others, a preference will be felt; and while we +hold all in reputation for their works' sake, who discharge the +sacred duties of the pastoral office with fidelity, we shall derive +a greater gratification, and higher degree of improvement, from the +labours of one for whose manner of preaching we may feel a decided +predilection and regard. When this right of choice is denied us, +we are compelled to receive a minister who has been appointed over +us by the authority of another, and if he be just such a one as +we like, no evil is produced; but suppose he reject the doctrines +which we receive as true, or suppose his style of preaching be in +direct opposition to our taste, or suppose his moral conduct be not +in exact accordance with his profession, what in such a case ought +to be our line of conduct? Can we expect to become established in +our faith, by going where that faith is perpetually assailed? Can +we expect to derive consolation, if we go where the manner in which +the message is offered offends our taste? Can we expect to venerate +the ministry, if the man who holds the hallowed office display not +the same mind which was in Christ Jesus our Lord? Impossible! We +may make the experiment, but it will not be found productive of the +fruits of righteousness and peace; as the laws of nature forbid us +to calculate on gathering grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles. + +Within a few weeks after the death of Mr. Ingleby, the living +of Broadhurst was presented to Mr. Porteous, the grandson of a +neighbouring magistrate of the same name,[41] who took offence at +the first sermon Mr. Ingleby preached; and though he felt a profound +respect for his private virtues, yet he withdrew from his ministry, +and usually attended that of Mr. Cole. This young man possessed a +fine person, and the graces of a popular and commanding elocution; +but he was gay in his manners, volatile in his disposition, addicted +to the sports of the field, and decidedly opposed to those peculiar +doctrines of the gospel which his predecessor had so long and so +faithfully preached. + + [41] Vol. i. p. 69. + +As his character was generally known through the parish, the pious +members of the Church were deeply depressed when they heard that he +was appointed to succeed their deceased pastor; but they prudently +resolved to hear him preach, having previously met on several +different occasions to pray that a double portion of the Spirit of +grace might rest upon him. The church was excessively crowded when +he delivered his first discourse, which was founded on the following +text--"Be not righteous over much." + +He read the prayers with so much seriousness and propriety of +emphasis, that the whole congregation was delighted with him. When +he announced his text, there was a simultaneous movement amongst +them; and for a few moments they looked at each other as though +deeply amazed, and then the eyes of all were fastened on him. After +adjusting his position and his attitude with great caution, and +surveying his audience with an appearance of complacency, he began +reading his sermon, which he delivered in fourteen minutes, and +then concluded the service. The sermon was a severe philippic on +the labours of his predecessor, and the piety of his hearers; and +though in the conclusion he paid a passing tribute of respect to +his private virtues, and the benefits which the parish had received +from his pastoral visits, yet he gave it as his decided opinion +that he had uniformly disregarded the _important_ injunction of the +text:--"That he erred from the purest motives we all must admit; +and it must be some consolation to know, that his error was all on +the side of virtue; but virtue is never so lovely as when she is +kept from all excess of feeling--as when she spurns from her those +restraints, which, by keeping her out of the circle of _innocent_ +indulgences, give her the appearance of grief-worn sadness--as when +she enjoys life, and is contented to wait for the reward which the +Almighty will confer on her honest and well-meant endeavours to +please him. That it will be my endeavour to avoid the error into +which my most excellent predecessor fell, my intelligent hearers +may calculate on; and I flatter myself by so doing, I shall diffuse +over the whole of my parish, the air of cheerful gaiety and social +pleasure; and that the gloom which has so long hung over you will +soon disappear, as the lowering cloud retires from the face of +nature, when the bright orb of day scatters his golden rays in +passing from the horizon to the meridian." + +When he had finished his discourse, he paused for the loud Amen; +but the good old clerk disdained to utter it; and when, on retiring +to the vestry, he was asked by Mr. Porteous, the grandsire of the +new Rector, why he had neglected his duty, he honestly replied, +"Because, Sir, I did not choose to sanction those perversions of the +gospel which the Rector has been guilty of this morning; nor appear +to commend the severe and unjust animadversions which he has made on +the character of my deceased pastor." + +"Then, Sir, you shall be turned out of office." + +"I will not wait to be turned out, Sir, I will resign it; for I +have too much love for the truth to sanction error, and hold the +reputation of my deceased pastor in too much esteem to say Amen, +after it has been so wantonly defamed." + +"Then, Sir, I suppose you intend to raise the standard of revolt +against my grandson; but if that be your mind, you shall suffer for +it." + +"As I live, Sir, in a land of freedom, and was never in bondage +to any man, I shall not, now I am grown gray in years, sell my +birth-right for a mess of pottage; and therefore, without wishing to +give either you or the new Rector any offence, I frankly tell you, +that while he continues to preach as he has preached this morning, I +will never return to hear him." + +"You are an obstinate fellow, and ought not to be suffered to speak +to your superiors in this style." + +"You asked for the reasons of my conduct, which I have given you; +and also for the line of conduct I intend to pursue, and I have told +you; and now, as you descend to abuse, I will retire." + +This altercation with the old clerk, who was greatly esteemed by the +congregation for his superior intelligence and decided piety, was +overheard by many of the people, who were much pleased; first, by +his silence at the conclusion of the service, and now, by the bold +stand which he made against the perversion of the truth, and the +unmerited attack on the reputation of the venerable deceased. On +coming out of the vestry, he was commended by them, and urged not to +suffer any threat to induce him to bend to the authority, which had +so unhandsomely endeavoured to intimidate him. + +As Mr. Lewellin had acquired a considerable degree of influence +among the pious members of the Church, during the short time he had +resided in the parish, they very naturally looked to him for counsel +at this critical juncture; and though he was unwilling to take any +premature steps, yet he gave it as his decided opinion, that they +ought not to suffer the gospel to be driven from amongst them. "I am +a Dissenter," said he to a few friends who waited on him; "but while +the gospel was preached in the Church, I felt perfectly willing to +worship there, and should have continued to do so, if the new Rector +had followed the example of our deceased pastor, but as he has +chosen to make such a bold avowal of his determination to extirpate +the serious and devout piety of the parish, that he may propagate +his gay and anti-Christian religion, I think we are called upon by +the voice of Providence to prevent it." + +"I cannot leave the Church," said one. + +"Nor I," said another. + +"Nor I," said a third. + +"I should not like to leave it," said another, "but if I cannot hear +the gospel in the Church, I will hear it where I can." + +It was finally determined to let things take their course for the +next few weeks, during which time they were to consult their friends +on the question. + +On the Sabbath after Mr. Porteous preached his first sermon at +Broadhurst, Mr. Hartley, Mr. Cole's successor, took possession of +his living at Aston, and preached his first discourse from Ezek. +xxxvii. 3--"And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? +And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." From these words, taken +in connection with the entire parable, he gave a description of +the moral condition of man, during the period of his unregeneracy; +demonstrated the inefficacy of all human expedients to recover him, +without the co-operation of a supernatural power; and traced the +progress of his spiritual renovation by the renewing power of the +Holy Spirit, from its earliest symptoms to its final consummation in +heaven. The sermon discovered some ingenuity, but more judgment; it +abounded with striking remarks, expressed in the most appropriate +language; but its predominating quality was a regular appeal to the +understanding and the heart of the audience, conducted with such +force of reasoning, and charm of persuasion, that many expressed +their astonishment at their former ignorance of revealed truth; +while those who had long enjoyed the ministry of the venerable +Ingleby, rejoiced that God had sent another faithful messenger +amongst them. Some few, who were the late incumbent's personal +friends, and who often participated with him in the amusements of +fashionable life, were displeased with the _length_ of the sermon, +though they were gratified with the chasteness of the language +which was employed; and reprobated the austere requirements of +the new religion, while they spoke in very complimentary terms of +the elegant composition and the good delivery of the new Rector. +The great majority of the people, however, were astonished and +delighted; and from the conclusion of the sermon were led to +anticipate in Mr. Hartley a very different pastor from Mr. Cole. + +"Hitherto, many of you have lived," said the preacher, "without any +deep repentance on account of your sins--without any active and +operative faith in the efficacy of the Saviour's death--without +enjoying any spiritual communion with the great Invisible--and +without anticipating your entrance into the eternal world with that +sublime awe which such an event ought to inspire in your breast. It +devolves on me to rouse you from this state of deep insensibility +and criminal impiety. You live; but what is that life which you +have lived? Has it not been a life of social pleasure--a life of +vain indulgences--a life of indifference to the interesting facts, +the sublime doctrines, the pure precepts, and the glorious promises +of the gospel of Jesus Christ! It now devolves on me to awaken +you, if possible, out of this mental delusion, that you may 'yield +yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead;' then +ye 'shall have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting +life.' To accomplish this, I shall add private admonition to public +instruction; and though I have no wish to pry into the secrets of +your families, nor to obtrude myself where my presence would not +be acceptable, yet it will be my endeavour, as far as possible, +to gain an accurate knowledge of the spiritual state of the whole +of my charge, in the hope that by God's blessing I may be able at +the last day to present every one of you perfect in Christ Jesus. +When you are afflicted, I will visit you; when in trouble, I will +administer to you the consolations of the gospel; in your dying +hours, I shall consider it a privilege to be permitted to cheer you +with the hope of immortality; and as I am placed over you as your +spiritual guide and friend, I assure you, that there is no sacrifice +which I will hesitate to make, nor any duty which I will not most +cheerfully perform, to promote your happiness; and I shall esteem +the gratification of serving you an adequate recompense for all my +exertions, as I seek not yours, but you." + + + + +A SECESSION AT BROADHURST. + + +When Mr. Hartley took possession of his cure at Aston, Mr. Stevens +immediately declined having public worship conducted in his chapel +any longer. On being remonstrated with by Mr. Langley, a zealous +Dissenter, for breaking up a society which had been flourishing +for many years, he said, "I dissented, not from choice, but from +necessity; but now I can hear the gospel in the parish church, I +think it no less my duty to return to her communion, than I once +felt it my duty to withdraw from it. The minister who is appointed +over us is a good man; and as the church in which he officiates is +large enough to contain the whole of the population, I see no reason +why the people should be divided, especially as most of them have +no conscientious objections against either the doctrines or the +ceremonies of our Episcopal Establishment." + +"But, Sir," replied Mr. Langley, "though the gospel be now preached +in the church, you are not certain that it will be after the death +or removal of the present incumbent; and then what are the pious +members of the church to do, if you now shut up your chapel? Would +it not be more prudent on your part, to secure the permanent +continuance of the gospel in the parish, by perpetuating its public +ministrations in your chapel, than thus hazard its entire expulsion? +If you adopt this plan, there will be a place of refuge for the +piety of the parish, if at any future time it should be compelled to +retire from the Established church." + +"Such a plan, I have no doubt," replied Mr. Stevens, "would meet +with the approbation of many pious Dissenters; but I am not disposed +to adopt it. If, under the ministry of our present Rector, the +people should receive the truth, not as the word of man, but as +the word of God, they will not suffer it to disappear from amongst +them, even if they should be deprived of it in the church; but will +most certainly avail themselves of their rights as British freemen, +and erect for themselves a chapel, in which they may worship God +according to the dictates of their conscience, and enjoy a ministry +of their own choice." + +But while the sun of prosperity was shining on the parish of Aston, +dispelling the gloom of ignorance and superstition which had hovered +over it for many years, it was setting on the adjoining hamlet, +which had for a longer time enjoyed the light of truth, leaving the +people in a most disconsolate state. "To lose our old pastor," +said an old Christian to Mr. Lewellin, "was a great loss; but to +have the candlestick removed from amongst us, and the light thereof +extinguished, is a much greater loss. While we had the light we +rejoiced in it; but I fear that, like the church of Ephesus, we have +lost our first love; and as we have not repented and done our first +works, the Lord has visited us with this grievous judgment." + +A few of the more influential members of the Establishment met at +Mr. Lewellin's to consider what plan they ought to adopt on the +present occasion. As they venerated the Church, and felt an ardent +attachment to its forms and ceremonies, they were unwilling to +withdraw from her communion. One gentleman said, he had been to +consult the Rev. Mr. Guion, who gave it as his decided opinion +that they should still attend their parish church, and pray for +the conversion of the new Rector. "If," he said, "you have not +the gospel in the pulpit, you have it in the desk; and though it +may not please God to answer your prayers, yet you will have this +compensation for the sacrifice you will be called upon to make--that +you have remained faithful to your Church." + +"I have no wish to leave the Church," replied another; "but I must +hear the gospel. I am commanded to take heed _what I hear_; and if +I disobey this injunction, how can I expect to enjoy the Divine +blessing?" In this opinion they all concurred; and as they could +attend the neighbouring church, it was proposed that they should sit +under the ministry of the new Rector at Aston. + +"But," said Mr. Lewellin, "though we who have vehicles can easily +go three or four miles on the Sabbath-day, to enjoy a pure and an +enlightened ministry, yet what are the poor and the infirm to do? +They cannot attend; and shall we leave them to spend the remainder +of their days in a state of spiritual destitution? Have they no +claim on our benevolent feelings? Shall we, by deserting them in +this their low estate, allow them to go and utter the mournful +complaint at the footstool of the Divine throne, '_No man careth for +our souls_?' Shall we provide no spiritual comforter, but suffer +them to live and die without having one near them to administer the +consolations of religion? Shall we stand still and see this fine +moral inheritance falling back into its original state of ignorance +and vice; when, by acting that part which our deceased pastor more +than once recommended, we may be the means of preserving it from +decay? Did he not say, in the last sermon he preached to us, that he +hoped the Lord would provide another minister, who would preach the +gospel to us either in the church, _or elsewhere_? And in a private +conversation, on the evening of his departure, he said, in reply to +a question, 'The great Shepherd _may pitch another fold, and lead +you to another pasturage_.'" + +"If," said a gentleman, "I were to consult my own inclination, I +should still attend with my family at Broadhurst; but I do not +think we should act a generous or a Christian part if we were to +make no effort to establish a gospel ministry in the parish. Cannot +we do what Mr. Stevens did under similar circumstances? and then, +if it should please God at any future time, to favour us with a +Rector who will preach the same doctrines as those which we have +been accustomed to hear, we can return to the Church, and live and +die in her communion. And if not, we shall have this compensation +for the sacrifice which we shall be called to make, that we have +acted in accordance with the wishes of our deceased pastor, and, I +trust, in accordance with the will of our Lord and Master." This +suggestion was eagerly seized by several others; and it was finally +determined to build a neat chapel, large enough to contain about +500 worshippers; and to obtain the permanent labours of some good +minister of Jesus Christ. As soon as this decision was made known, +the pious villagers expressed their gratitude in the most affecting +terms; and offered to contribute, out of the depths of their +poverty, towards the necessary expenses which would be incurred; but +their more wealthy Christian brethren rather chose to bear the whole +burden among themselves. + +One gentleman gave a piece of freehold land, on which the chapel +was erected; and adjoining it, a house for the minister, with +a large garden attached. It was built within the space of six +months; and by the exertions of Mr. Lewellin, Mr. Drew, a pious and +intelligent young man, was appointed to take the pastoral charge of +the people. Being of a catholic spirit, and wishing to render his +public ministrations generally acceptable, he prudently consented +to read the Liturgy of the Church of England. Though, at first, +some of the people sighed, and others wept as they passed by the +venerable building in which for so many years they had worshipped +the God of their fathers, yet in process of time they felt an +equal degree of attachment to this second temple, which, if less +imposing in its appearance, contained the Shechinah of truth, which +departed from the altar when the venerable Ingleby fell asleep in +Jesus. Some years after, in a conversation with the intelligent +clerk, who held the same office in the chapel as he had filled in +the church, he informed me, that his pastor bore a near resemblance +to the deceased Rector, in the amiability of his temper, and in +the ardour of his zeal for the salvation of his hearers, though he +differed from him in the manner and style of his preaching. "The +Rector, Sir," he remarked, "was a son of consolation, from whose +lips the words of mercy fell in soft and subduing accents on the +ears of the congregation; Mr. Drew is a Boanerges, the thunder of +whose eloquence awes us by its majesty; but when he has wrought up +our feelings to the highest degree of terror, he suddenly shifts the +scene, and exhibits to our view the Lamb of God, who takes away the +sins of the world. Mr. Ingleby, I think, had the finest imagination, +but Mr. Drew has the most powerful intellect; and though the former +could enter into all the variations of Christian experience with the +greatest ease, yet the latter applies the truth with equal force +to the wounded conscience. Mr. Ingleby was distinguished by the +gracefulness of his manner; Mr. Drew excels in the force and dignity +of his delivery; and though we shall never cease to respect the +memory of our former pastor, we are equally attached to our present. +Under his ministry, no less than under that of his predecessor, +many have been reclaimed from the error of their ways to the wisdom +of the just; while the young and the more advanced Christian have +been built up in the faith and the hope of the gospel. The poor are +visited in their cottages; the dying have a spiritual comforter +with them in their last moments; and over the whole parish a moral +vigilance is exercised, which receives the sanction of all the wise +and the good." + +After witnessing the changes which a few years had made in the +external establishment of religion in these two parishes, while the +same moral process was going on in the salvation of the people, I +felt how superior, in its nature and tendency, is the spirit of +the gospel to that of religious bigotry. Had Mr. Stevens felt a +bigoted attachment to the principle of dissent, he would have kept +open his chapel after the settlement of Mr. Hartley at Aston, and +thus have divided the people into two distinct societies; while +the congregation at Broadhurst, if they had venerated the church +in which the venerable Ingleby had so long preached, more than +the truth which he delivered, would have been left without an +evangelical ministry. But by acting the part of wisdom and of piety, +they perpetuated the truth in each parish, without occasioning +any division amongst those who were attached to it. Though in one +village they sat to hear its enunciations on unconsecrated ground, +while in the other it addressed them within the walls of the +Establishment; yet as it derived none of its importance or worth +from the places in which it is proclaimed, nor from the ministers +who preached it, they mutually received it with meekness, as the +engrafted word which is able to save the soul. Nor can I doubt that +the Saviour visited with equal delight each congregation which +assembled together in his name--that the Divine Spirit conveyed +the same resistless energy to the Dissenting as to the Episcopal +ministry--that the angels of heaven hovered over the village +chapel with as much pleasure as over the village church; and +that those who were made meet for glory on unconsecrated ground, +were received with equal rapture by the spirits of the just made +perfect, as their brethren who had worshipped within the pale of +the Establishment. They differed in their relation to the external +forms of Christianity, but possessing its pure and heavenly spirit, +they stood in the same relation to Jesus Christ, who was their +Saviour--to the Holy Ghost, who was their Comforter--and to heaven, +which was their undefiled inheritance; and when, at the appointed +time, any of them departed this life, they were neither commended +nor censured for their denominative attachments while on earth, +but admitted into the joy of their Lord as sinners redeemed by his +blood. A friendly intercourse was kept up between the pious members +of the two churches and their respective pastors, which demonstrated +to the villagers that their religion was substantially the same in +its nature and in its design, though it differed in a few external +ceremonies. If they went to church, it was to worship God--to +confess their sins--and to hear the glad tidings of salvation; and +if they went to the village chapel, it was to engage in the same +hallowed exercises, and listen to the same gospel of peace. As +they felt no superstitious attachment to the places in which they +assembled, nor imagined that the Episcopal form of ordination gave +to the clergyman a degree of sanctity which the Dissenting minister +did not possess, they intermingled in each other's society, not +to wrangle or contend for superiority, but to cultivate the unity +of their faith, and display the excellence of that grace which +"teacheth us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should +live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." Is it +not to be regretted, that a similar spirit has not been uniformly +cherished amongst the disciples of Jesus Christ? but, alas! they +have in general caught the spirit of the mother of Zebedee's +children, rather than that of their Master, and have been struggling +for the ascendency, instead of living in harmony with each other. +And is it not to this cause, more than any deficiency of evidence, +that we may fairly account for the too general rejection of the +gospel; for can we expect others to believe in its Divine origin, +when they see those who embrace it with the greatest eagerness, +displaying an intolerant temper, and refusing to hold communion with +each other because they happen to differ on a few points of opinion, +which they all acknowledge to be of secondary importance? Every +Christian should examine the following prayer of Jesus Christ, and +the reason which he assigned for presenting it:--"Neither pray I for +these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through +their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, +and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may +believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me +I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in +them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that +the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as +thou hast loved me" (John xvii. 20-23). + +When the spirit of religious bigotry takes possession of the +youthful breast, we naturally feel disposed to attribute it to the +immaturity of the judgment, or a deficiency in Christian principles. +We therefore conclude, that in more advanced life these unamiable +qualities will disappear, and a cordial attachment will be formed +for all of every denomination who love our Lord Jesus Christ in +sincerity and in truth. This, I believe, is generally the case, +though we sometimes see the evil spirit of bigotry souring the +temper of aged Christians, contracting their benevolence, and +rendering them more disposed to live apart from their brethren, than +on terms of friendly intercourse; and if we venture to remonstrate +with them, we are gravely told that they must preserve the +consistency of their character. Consistency! And why not preserve +the consistency of their character as Christians, who are required +to love each other as brethren, rather than the consistency of their +character as religious bigots, who neglect the weightier matters +of the law, to cultivate the mint and cummin of ecclesiastical +alienation and intolerance? Why not, when peculiar circumstances +require it, overlook the little points of difference that exist +between them; and unite as those who are endowed with the same +spirit of faith--who are governed by the same authority, and who are +moving on to the same state of blessedness and glory? + +There were a few Dissenters who could not conscientiously worship +within the walls of the Establishment, even though they revered the +character of the new Rector at Aston, and approved of his ministry. +Not being able to support a society of their own denomination, they +subjected themselves to the inconvenience and expense of travelling +several miles every Sabbath to enjoy the privilege of communion +with their brethren at Broadhurst. But though they could not unite +with their fellow-Christians at Aston in the exercises of public +devotion, they were, nevertheless, zealous in co-operating with them +in the execution of those plans of benevolence which related to +the moral improvement and the temporal advantage of the hamlet in +which they resided. A latitudinarian would be disposed to censure +this unbending spirit in reference to public worship, and feel +himself justified in holding it up to general reprobation; but a +wise man will be sparing of his animadversions on conscientious +scruples, when they are not suffered to disturb the harmony of +friendly intercourse, and do not disqualify those who feel them from +uniting with others of a different faith in the cultivation of the +affections and charities of social life. + +The Rev. Mr. Guion, who resided within a few miles of Broadhurst, +and who had been for many years the devoted friend of the venerable +Ingleby, was so much displeased when the pious members of the +congregation seceded from the ministry of Mr. Porteous, that he +broke off all intercourse with them, and not unfrequently expressed +his censures in rather strong language. As they chose, in opposition +to his advice, to withdraw from the pale of the Establishment, +though he knew that their new Rector preached another gospel +than that which they had heard from the lips of their deceased +pastor, he looked upon them as schismatics, with whom he could not +associate, even in the ordinary familiarities of friendship, without +endangering his reputation as a clergyman of the Church of England. +Though he admitted that some moral good might possibly result from +the establishment of a Dissenting ministry in the village, yet he +thought the evil would more than counter-balance it. He was a good +man, but not a perfect man; a zealous minister of the everlasting +gospel, but he wished that gospel to be preached only within the +pale of the Established church; and though in private life he +exhibited many traits of the Christian character, yet they were +rather too strongly marked by the blemishes of a sectarian spirit. + +He occasionally met Mr. Drew, the Dissenting clergyman at +Broadhurst, at the anniversaries of the various Bible Societies in +the country, and also at the houses of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Lewellin. +On these occasions he behaved to him with all the courtesy of a +gentleman, but for a long while he appeared more disposed to shun +than to court his society. He spoke of Mr. Drew in terms of respect, +but not with the warmth of a brotherly affection as one minister +of Jesus Christ should speak of another. On one occasion, having +spoken rather more unguardedly than usual, Miss Ryder, who was one +of his own hearers, with a delicate severity of rebuke, said, "I +presume, Sir, when an angel of the Lord reports to his fellow-angels +that a sinner on earth is brought to repentance, they do not pause +to inquire whether he is a Churchman or a Dissenter before their +rejoicing begins." + +"And I suppose," remarked Mrs. Stevens, "when they receive their +appointment to minister to any of the heirs of salvation, they do +not pause in their embassy, contending which shall have the honour +of waiting on a Conformist, in preference to a Nonconformist." + +This colloquy was here joined by Mr. Ryder, who was as catholic in +his spirit, as he was decided in his love of the truth. "To me," +he observed, "the ecclesiastical distinctions between church and +dissent, on which some rest such importance, appear superlatively +little and unimportant, when put in comparison with the essential +doctrines of the common salvation; and the less attention we pay +to them the better is it, I think, for our own peace and Christian +consistency. I am a Churchman in part, because I was educated as +one; and because I can hear the gospel preached by her clergy. If, +however, I were living in a parish where the gospel is disowned, +as it is at Broadhurst, I am sure I should, without a moment's +hesitation, turn a Dissenter, rather than not hear it." + +"And so should I," said several voices. + +It is satisfactory to be able to add, that Mr. Guion's prejudices +gradually subsided, and that in course of time he returned to the +catholic and liberal spirit which he had formerly displayed when +he contributed so generously to the necessities of the Rev. Mr. +Powell.[42] Though, in the views held by him regarding the great +body of Christians, he never attained to the largeness of heart +so eminently displayed by Mr. Ingleby; he bore, nevertheless, in +his character a strong resemblance to that excellent pastor, and +appeared as his living representative in all that was lovely and of +good report. + + [42] Vol. i. p. 224. + + + + +A FAREWELL TO OLD FRIENDS. + + +On quitting Fairmount, to return home, the reader will recollect +that I left Mrs. Orme to remain for a short time longer at Rockhill, +as Mrs. Lewellin felt much depressed in spirits by her father's +death, and required the presence of a cheerful and affectionate +friend to enable her gradually to dispel her grief, and regain her +wonted interest in her ordinary domestic employments. Mrs. Orme's +stay was protracted much longer than she originally intended, and +the close of the year had nearly arrived before her kind friends +would allow her to depart. During the period of her sojourn at +Rockhill, she had gained many friends, who were attracted as much by +the unsophisticated kindness and liveliness of her disposition as by +her painfully interesting and romantic history. Among others, none +formed a greater intimacy than Miss Ryder, who, with her brother, +was now a frequent visitor at Rockhill and Fairmount. Mrs. Orme +was invited to spend a few days at Aston, where she found herself +exceedingly happy in the cheerful society of her new friend Anna, +and the hearty hospitality of her brother, who was led to take +a deep interest in his guest from the fancied resemblance which +she bore to Matilda Denham, the departed object of his youthful +affections. On taking leave of Mr. and Miss Ryder, Mrs. Orme made +the latter promise that she would pay her a visit in the course of +the ensuing summer, at the Elms, as Anna generally went to London +once a-year to visit an elder sister, who had been married and +settled there for some years. + +About two months after Mrs. Orme's departure from Rockhill, Mr. +Ingleby died, as narrated in a foregoing chapter, and was shortly +followed to the grave by Mr. Cole, the Sector of the parish in +which Mr. and Miss Ryder resided. The reader is already aware of +the remarkable religious revolution which now took place in Aston +and the adjoining parish of Broadhurst, though of a very lamentable +description in the latter place. In the course of the same spring, +Mrs. Orme received intelligence of her husband's death, an event +which naturally excited painful emotions in her breast, though, +considering his past conduct, her grief for his loss could neither +be very deep nor poignant. Her little boy was now nearly two years +old, a lovely child both in appearance and disposition, and an +immense favourite with his grandfather, who had insisted on his +mother leaving him at the Elms when she went to visit her friends in +the west of England. + +On hearing of Captain Orme's death, Miss Ryder judged it best to +defer her visit to the Elms; and consequently it was not till +the following year that she had again the pleasure of renewing +her friendship with Mrs. Orme, and thus becoming acquainted with +the other members of her family. Nothing could exceed the kind +attention paid her by Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, who felt grateful for the +kindness she had shown to Emma while at Aston. They insisted on her +remaining for a considerable period with them, and also that Mr. +Ryder should pay a visit to the Elms, and take his sister home. + +Mr. and Mrs. Holmes had been much pleased with Miss Ryder, and also +with her brother when he arrived at the Elms. The happy change, +too, in his religious character, which had now taken place, led to +a strong congeniality of feeling in the intercourse between him and +his worthy host and hostess. Many a delightful excursion was taken +by the family in company with their guests; a feeling of happiness +pervaded every member of the household; and for the first time since +the death of Louisa, the family regained their former liveliness and +buoyancy of spirits. It was noticed, however, that on all occasions +Mr. Ryder contrived to secure the company of Mrs. Orme to himself, +both in the family excursions or when at home at the Elms. Various +excuses were invented to favour their being by themselves, without +awakening suspicion, which frequently excited a smile, and sometimes +a good-humoured sarcasm from her sister Jane. + +"Dear, dear," said Mrs. Orme, "I left a small needle-case in the +alcove where we were sitting last evening." + +"I will run, Emma, and fetch it." + +"By no means, dear Jane, I won't trouble you; I can very readily put +my hand upon it." + +Mr. Ryder of course accompanied her to the alcove--a sweet retired +spot; and then they extended their walk to a Roman camp, at a few +miles' distance--contriving to be back in time to dress for dinner. +On the following morning, Mr. Ryder, knowing that Miss Jane was +under a special engagement to meet an old friend, said at the +breakfast table, "I should like to take an excursion to town to-day, +if you young ladies will accompany me." + +"I believe, Sir," said the facetious Jane, with an arch look and +significant nod and smile, "you know that I cannot go, which +possibly may make the excursion the more agreeable." + +The carriage was ordered out; the excursion was taken; and an +apology was in readiness to be offered on their return for the +lateness of the hour. These, and many similar indications of a +mutual attachment, were too obvious to elude the notice of Mr. and +Mrs. Holmes, and therefore it excited no astonishment when Mr. +Ryder, one morning, with Mrs. Orme leaning on his arm, entered Mr. +Holmes' study, and requested his consent to their union. The old man +was so much delighted by this somewhat anticipated request, that +without hesitation, he replied, "I will most cheerfully give it; +and may the Lord bless you." At this moment Mrs. Holmes entered the +room, and joyfully expressed her concurrence in the proposed match, +which had already received the sanction of her husband. + +After all the preliminaries were duly adjusted the wedding took +place; and the ceremony was conducted by the Dissenting clergyman +whom Mr. and Mrs. Holmes attended, and whose ministrations had +proved so great a source of consolation to Louisa, on the last +occasion that she was able to go to chapel.[43] In accordance with +the feelings, however, both of the bride and bridegroom, it was +resolved that there should be no public display or large assemblage +of guests, and that none but the most intimate friends on both +sides should be invited. The marriage was consequently a very quiet +proceeding; but though unattended by the public acclamations which +greeted that of Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin, it was nevertheless quite as +happy a one, both at the time of its celebration and in its results. + + [43] Vol. ii. p. 440. + +On the ceremony being completed, the married couple started for a +tour of a few weeks on the Continent, proceeding by Antwerp and +Brussels to the Rhine, thence passing through Switzerland to Geneva, +and then returning home through France, by Lyons and Paris. On +arriving at Southampton, to which they had crossed from Dieppe, they +proceeded on their journey to the west of England, and in the course +of a day or two arrived at Aston, where Miss Ryder had everything +ready for their reception. And now the reader may suppose that as I +have so satisfactorily disposed of Mrs. Orme, there remains nothing +more to be said of their friends at the Elms; but I have not yet +quite done with the family of the Holmes. + +When a professor of religion renounces his faith, and goes off +into the world, we usually see, as in the case of Mr. Beaufoy,[44] +a most melancholy change in his character and in his habits. The +man of sobriety often becomes intemperate; the man of unsullied +moral character sometimes becomes a libertine; the habits of +domestic virtue and religion are broken up, and all is desolation +and misery. But when a sceptic embraces the faith of Christ, the +moral and social change is equally conspicuous; and it invariably +proves a personal and a relative blessing. Of this, a striking +exemplification occurs in the history of Mr. Gordon, Mr. Lewellin's +early friend. After he felt the renewing power of the grace of God, +the old things of evil, to which he had long addicted himself, +passed away, and he became a new creature in Christ Jesus--an +essentially different man, in taste, in principle, and in social +habits. He proved the genuineness of his conversion by the integrity +and consistency of his conduct in all the subsequent stages of his +career. In a letter which I received from him, some months after +he had passed from death to life, he said, "Though I cannot doubt +the reality of my spiritual renovation, and am compelled to ascribe +it to the sovereign grace of God, and though I am persuaded that +he will complete what he has begun, yet I deem it proper to let my +principles be fairly tested, before I make any avowed profession +of religion." On this resolution he acted. The first thing he did, +that bore the aspect of attachment to the Christian faith, was to +engage a pew in a church at Blackfriars', where the gospel was +preached in its purity; and he was very regular in his attendance. +And it so happened that his pew adjoined the one occupied by Mr. +William Holmes, the eldest son of my old friend; who now, along +with his brother Edward, carried on the business from which their +father had retired. Young Holmes was already slightly acquainted +with Mr. Gordon, having frequently heard of him from his sisters. +In consequence of their sitting so near each other in church they +frequently walked home together; a close intimacy sprung up between +them, and they often visited at each other's houses. The account of +Mr. Gordon's miraculous escape, and the marvellous change of mind +and character which immediately followed, naturally interested young +Holmes, and still more his family, who readily acceded to William's +proposal, that the next time he came to the Elms he should bring his +friend with him. Mr. Gordon was easily prevailed upon to accept the +invitation; and so favourable was the impression made by him on Mr. +and Mrs. Holmes, that he was requested to repeat his visit, and in +a short time became so intimate as gradually to be regarded as one +of the family. Many months had not elapsed before it was evident +that a deep reciprocal attachment had been formed between him and +Miss Jane, which at last terminated in a union, concluded under the +happiest auspices. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon went +to reside at Blackheath, where a few years afterwards I had the +pleasure of being their guest. They had then three fine children; +and though I have not seen either of them for some time, we still +keep up an occasional correspondence. I am also happy to be able to +say that after his marriage, Mr. Gordon became at once decided in +his profession of religion, endeavouring in all things to adorn the +doctrine of God his Saviour. His natural _hauteur_ was exchanged for +the meekness and gentleness of Christ; and he became as zealous in +the defence and diffusion of the faith once delivered to the saints, +as he had been in his hostility against it. He was much esteemed by +his Christian brethren, and so also was his wife, both of whom are +now advancing together to meet the grand crisis of their destiny, +without any dread of the final issue. + + [44] Vol. ii. p. 240. + + * * * * * + +Some time after Mr. Ryder's return to Aston, I received a letter +from him giving me a sketch of his tour, and urging me to redeem +the promise I had given him to pay the wedding visit. As the autumn +was advancing, I resolved to go at once; and I spent two very +pleasant weeks with him, visiting my other friends at intervals. One +evening we had at Mr. Lewellin's a large gathering of some of the +most prominent personages of my narrative, including the Rev. John +Roscoe and his lady, the Rev. O. Guion, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, and +Mrs. Roscoe. As soon as we were comfortably seated, with nothing to +do but to partake of our friend's hospitality, and enjoy the charm +of social fellowship, the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, addressing Mr. Guion, +said, "Can you, Sir, tell me anything about my old friends the +Misses Brownjohn? The last time I heard of them they were engaged +in a lawsuit about a fortune, to which they supposed themselves +entitled by the death of their nephew.[45] Did they succeed in +getting it?" + + [45] Vol. i. p. 380. + +"Yes, Sir; and it was, I believe, a very large property. They +started their carriage immediately afterwards." + +"Do you know how they got over the difficulties occasioned by the +non-production of the register of their birth and baptism?" + +"I don't know how they got over the legal difficulties; but the +other difficulty was not got over to Miss Susan's satisfaction for a +long time after she came into the possession of the property." + +"You refer, I presume, to the omission of her name in the parish +registry, recording the fact of her regeneration?" + +"Yes, Sir." + +"Such a document," Mrs. John Roscoe remarked, "must be of immense +value in the estimation of an unregenerated Tractarian. No getting +into heaven without it! A parish registrar must be a very important +functionary in the estimation of these High Church devotees. If he +fail in his duty, alas! their hope of salvation vanishes--they are +left to die in despair." + +"To solve her difficulties," continued Mr. Guion, "Miss Susan +applied to the bishop's secretary to lay her case before his +lordship for his opinion. The reply was to this effect: that as +she had taken the sacrament for many years, and had a distinct +recollection of having been confirmed, and a faint recollection of +her god-mother, it must be taken for granted that she was baptized. +But even this official opinion from the highest ecclesiastical +authority of the diocese, did not quite satisfy her, though her +sister, Miss Dorothy, often told her it ought; and gave it as her +opinion, that if there was any omission she was sure the Almighty +would overlook it." + +"Against this, Miss Susan demurred. 'Take for granted what ought +to be positively certain! no, sister, I cannot do that.' She was +restless--ever going about from one aged person to another, in the +hopes of finding some one who would give her some information as +to her baptism. At length she found an old woman who recollected +hearing that her uncle Robert, who died young, used to be spoken +of in the family as her god-father. She followed up this clue, +and found a son of this uncle Robert, who, on looking through an +old account book, discovered the following entry:--'Paid for a +silver cup, given to my god-child, Susan Brownjohn, of Norton, +L3, 10s.' This cup she still had in her possession, bearing this +inscription:--'The gift of Robert Fenton.' This was hailed as an +unmistakeable evidence of her regeneration; and now she felt sure of +going to heaven when the Almighty took her from earth." + +"How painfully absurd," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "to see an old lady +trotting about, without regarding wind or weather, in search of the +proof of her regeneration; or, in other words, of her title to the +kingdom of heaven! Are Miss Susan and Miss Dorothy still alive?" + +"Miss Dorothy is; but Miss Susan has been dead for nearly a +twelvemonth. It is generally supposed that her death was hastened +by her anxieties and exertions about the legitimate proof of her +baptismal regeneration. When symptoms of decay became alarming, her +sister engaged a professional nurse to wait upon her--an intelligent +old woman, who afterwards gave me the following account of Miss +Susan's last days:-- + +"'The first time I saw her, she was in her own room, seated in a +high-backed arm-chair; the neatest room I ever saw-so clean, and +everything in such prim order. 'Now, Mrs. ----, Mrs. ----,' she said +to me, 'I forget your name, and therefore I shall call you Mrs. +Nurse, I am going to die, for Dr. Black told me when I asked him, +that he thought it probable that the Almighty was going to take me +to himself; and I suppose it must be so. Now, Mrs. Nurse, I have a +good many prayers to read; and a good deal to read out of this good +book, _The Whole Duty of Man_; and I like to get all my reading over +before tea, and then I can enjoy myself. You will now go out of my +room, and not come back till I ring, which, I suppose, will be in +about an hour's time.' However, the bell rung in about a quarter +of an hour, and Miss Dorothy and I entered the room together. 'I +can't,' she said to her sister, 'get through my reading so well as I +used to do. I get sleepy as soon as I begin. But I see the cup.' + +"'O!' said Miss Dorothy, 'you are too scrupulous, dear sister; the +Almighty is sure to overlook it.' + +"'I suppose he will; but I like to be particular. However, it's +a great comfort to me, to see the silver cup, the proof of my +baptismal regeneration; the thing necessary, you know, dear sister, +to fit us for heaven. I would not part with it for another fortune +from the Indies.' + +"'I saw,' said the old nurse, 'a little old-fashioned silver cup on +the mantel-piece, on which she often looked with evident emotions of +pleasure: but I could not divine the reason, till one day she gave +me a detailed history of the whole matter. She then asked me whether +I was baptized at the church; and whether I had satisfied myself +that it was duly entered in the church register; assuring me, that +unless it was, I stood no chance of going to heaven. At length,' +continued the old woman, 'the crisis came.' + +"'I suppose,' said Dr. Black to her, after examining her pulse +very carefully, 'you would like to take the sacrament, before the +Almighty takes you to himself?' + +"'To be sure I should, Doctor; our Church appoints it.' + +"'Shall I request your Rector, Mr. Guion, to call?' + +"'To be sure not, Doctor. I never have had anything to do with the +Evangelicals while living, and they shan't come near me when dying. +No, no, Doctor; I'll keep to the clergy of the proper order--the +clergy of our fathers.' + +"'Very good, Madam; I know your predilections.' + +"'Yes, Doctor; and my antipathies.' + +"'The day and hour was fixed, and old Mr. Johnson, from Ottersley, +came to administer the sacrament; and Miss Susan was dressed for the +occasion, propped up with pillows in her high-backed arm-chair. Soon +after the ceremony was over, I saw,' said the old nurse, 'a change, +and I knew death was coming; Miss Dorothy was standing by her side.' +'I feel,' she remarked, 'a queer sensation coming over me. Give me +a glass of water;' but she expired when in the act of attempting to +take the tumbler into her hand.'" + +What a melancholy contrast this presents to the death of the pious +cottager, Mrs. Allen![46] + + [46] Vol. i. p. 187. + + * * * * * + +I was happy to hear from Mrs. John Roscoe, that the ministry of +her husband and his pious Curate was working moral wonders amongst +his parishioners. The church was uniformly crowded with attentive +hearers; the people flocked to it from distant villages and +hamlets. "But, Sir," she added, "my husband has to pay the usual +tax which is levied on all who distinguish themselves by their +zeal and energy, in exposing the absurdity and fatal tendency of +the popular superstitions, and trying to win souls to Christ. 'The +most favourable construction I can put on his conduct,' said an +old clergyman, in a large party, 'is this--he is a little beside +himself.' I immediately replied, 'It would be, reverend Sir, a great +advantage to many of your parishioners, if you also were a little +beside yourself; and then they would stop at home, and attend your +ministrations, instead of having to walk three or four miles every +Sabbath to hear my husband.' This startled him, as he did not know +that I was present. He then endeavoured to eke out an apology, which +he would have been much wiser to have let alone." + + * * * * * + +I was sorry to hear that my old friend Farmer Pickford had sustained +an injury by the slip of the ladder on which he was standing when +lopping a tree, and that he had been confined to his bed some +weeks. On seeing me enter his room, he stretched forth his hand, and +said, "I thought, Sir, you would give me a bit of a call, like. I am +main glad to see you. Here I am, the Lord's prisoner. I would rather +be the Lord's prisoner than the devil's free man, and no mistake." + +"I hope the injury you have sustained is not likely to prove a +lasting one." + +"Why, as for that, I can't say. But now and tan I think I shall +never be the man I was. I shall never be able to dig and trench, and +mow and thrash, as when I was a youngster. And, at my time of life, +I can't expect it. I am sixty-five come October. I tell you what, +Sir, I see mercy mixed up with this affliction; and, as one of the +Psalms says, I can sing of mercy and judgment. What a mercy that my +neck was not broken; and that I had no broken bones. I never felt +my heart so full of gratitude on going into my homestead as I did +the morning when I was brought in on the hurdle. I couldn't help +shedding some tears, like. The Lord be praised." + +"Then you do not murmur, or feel disquieted?" + +"No, no, Sir; not I. I an't going to commit that sin. I have had +much comfort while lying on this bed, and no mistake. My mistress +comes and sits by my side, and reads God's precious Book to me. I +get main fond of the Psalms: they are like upland springs, they +refresh my soul at once, like. And she comes, after church, on a +Sunday, and talks over the sarmunts she hears there; and they come +home to my heart. And Harry often comes, when he has struck off +work, and he reads a bit, and gives the meaning of it, in his plain +way, and what he says comes to my heart. So you see, Sir, I have +many mercies mixed up with this affliction." + +"Well, Farmer, I am happy to find that you are still holding on your +way to the kingdom of heaven, and are full of peace and hope as you +move onwards." + +"Why, Sir, I hope you didn't think I should turn back, when you +were gone. Turn back to the world and sin! and turn my back on the +precious Saviour, who had compassion on, and rescued me when I was +a lost sinner! No, Sir; I would rather be hacked to death first, and +no mistake. But I mustn't feel boastful. I don't keep myself. No. +The Lord is my keeper. I mind a sarmunt Mr. Ingleby preached one +Sunday morning. It made me strongish in faith, like; I got the text +by heart before I took dinner, and I can say it, without missing +a word--'And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never +perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand' (John x. +28)." + +"The Psalmist says, 'It hath been good for me that I have been +afflicted;' and I suppose, Farmer, you can say the same?" + +"Yes, Sir, I can, and no mistake. I am main glad for this +affliction. It gives me a bit of breathing time, like; I can think +over spiritual matters now I am in this quiet room, better than +I could while busy at the farm work. It's all right. The Lord be +praised." + +"You expect, I suppose, that you shall soon get about again?" + +"Why, as for that, I can't say. I have a main liking for this room. +It is so quiet, and my thoughts now and tan be so delightsome. It's +true I have had a power of pain and suffering, but this has been +overtopped by heart's ease and spiritual rejoicings. I can say, what +my mistress read out of the blessed book, 'The Lord has made my bed +in my affliction.' And here I am, willing to lie still or get up, to +suffer longer or go to farm work, just as the Lord pleases. I a'nt +much mindful about it." + +"I suppose, Farmer, you have thought sometimes during your +confinement, about your departure from earth, to be with Christ?" + +"Aye, that's it, and no mistake. T'other night, when I was thinking +a bit about dying and going into t'other world, I wondered how +I should feel when looking at Jesus Christ for the first time, +and what I should say to him, and what he would say to me. These +thinkings came to and again, with such power, that tears streamed +out of my eyes, and no mistake; and I wept on, till I fell asleep." + +"He will appear in his glory, when he comes to receive you to +himself; and it will be a glory very brilliant, yet it won't dazzle +or confound you, as your power of vision will be equal to the +grandeur of the spectacle." + +"What a marvellous wonder that he should ever take a bit of a liking +to such a wicked fellow as I was! But it's just like him. When he +was here, he looked out for the chief of sinners; after them that +are lost. I a'nt forgot your sarmunt in the barn about Zaccheus. I +shall think of it when I am in heaven, if I should ever get there, +as I hope I shall. And I shall have a bit of wish to see him, as he +had to see Jesus Christ, when he got up into the sycamore tree." + +I was much gratified by finding him in such a heavenly frame of +mind--so patient under his sufferings, so resigned to the Divine +will, so joyful in hope, and so strong in faith. I read a chapter, +making a few explanatory remarks, prayed with him, and left him; but +he would not let me go without a promise that I would see him again. + +On my next visit, I saw Mrs. Pickford, who appeared the picture of +grief. She wept, and said--"My dear husband has been very ill the +last two days, and in very great pain; I fear the Lord is going to +take him from me. However, I have the consolation of knowing, that +he has taken refuge in the ark of safety; he cleaves to the dear +Redeemer with all his heart. It is quite wonderful to hear how he +talks about the love of Christ; about feeling its power on his soul; +and about seeing him, and being made like him." + +I went into his room, shook hands with him, and had a long +conversation. When speaking of the Saviour coming, in the spiritual +manifestations of his presence, to comfort and animate his disciples +in the chamber of affliction, or when entering death's dark vale, +he interrupted me by a burst of natural eloquence, which greatly +delighted us--"I can speak to the truth of what you say. He does +come and comfort my heart. I have had more heart-rejoicings in +this room, than I ever had at church or chapel, when hearkening to +sarmunts, and that is saying a great deal. My soul has been taken +up to the third heaven, and though I have not seen Jesus Christ +with my bodily eyes as Paul did, yet I have felt the sweetness of +his love--the preciousness of his love, and no mistake. I say to +my wife, I say to my children, I say to my servants, and all my +neighbours, Take refuge in Christ, the living ark of safety, to save +you from the wrath to come; and love him with all your hearts, and +then when you die, He will come and comfort you, as he comes and +comforts me. I beg pardon, Sir, for stopping you, but I couldn't +hold no longer. My heart was too full." + + * * * * * + +It is now a long time since I was last at Fairmount; but I +frequently correspond with Mr. Stevens and Mr. Lewellin, and hear +how matters are going on in that part of the country, of which, +though not my native place, I may truly say, from the pleasing +associations connected with it, in the words of Horace-- + + "Ille terrarum mibi praeter omnes + Angulus ridet." + +My friends Mr. and Mrs. Stevens continue as formerly in the +enjoyment of good health and spirits, and though advanced in years, +are still active in promoting the religious and moral improvement +of the villagers in their neighbourhood. Mr. and Mrs. Lewellin have +now a young family growing up about them; and Rockhill is quite the +admiration of the country round for the great improvements effected +on it by Mr. Lewellin, who, by diligent perseverance, and the +valuable services of his bailiff, Harry Pickford, has become quite a +scientific farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Ryder are very happy, with two sweet +children, a boy and a girl, and a constant interchange of visits +is kept up with Rockhill and Fairmount. Miss Ryder still lives +with them; but it is doubtful whether this will be the case much +longer, at least it is currently reported in the village that Mr. +Hartley, the Rector of Aston, is shortly to lead her to the altar, a +statement which receives some corroboration, from the circumstance +that the Rector has lately been getting his house repaired and newly +furnished. Mrs. Roscoe, shortly after her husband's death, took up +her abode with her daughter and son-in-law, where she receives +every attention and kindness, and looks tranquilly forward to +joining her beloved husband in a better world. + +My old friend Farmer Pickford, after being confined for nearly +twelve months, gradually regained his health and his physical +energy, and is now become a hale old man, and has every prospect of +attaining a patriarchal age. A few months since I received from him +a basket of game, with the following characteristic note:-- + + "REVEREND SIR,--As you have left off honouring my wife's + cookery, she and I have been thinking that you would like to + taste a bit of our game in your own house. I shot the hares, + and Harry killed the partridges and the snipes. They are quite + fresh--all killed yesterday. We hope they will come safe. I am + happy to say that all's well at the homestead. We get a good + sarmunt now and tan, in the kitchen. I hope we shall all meet in + heaven, and no mistake.--Yours devoutly, + + JOHN AND MARTHA PICKFORD." + +His son George is now captain of a vessel, and Sam is his mate. +People say that Harry is to be married soon to a daughter of Farmer +Goddard; and if so, it is believed that he will leave his situation +at Rockhill, and occupy the adjoining farm, which will become vacant +at Michaelmas. + + + + +CONCLUSION. + + +The Author has now brought his labours to a close; and having thus +finally disposed of the various characters in his story, it may +justly be presumed that nothing more remains to be done but simply +to thank his readers for their courteous attention to his narrative, +and bid them a hearty and respectful farewell. But, perhaps, before +doing so, he may be permitted to cast a retrospective glance on the +course through which he and his readers have passed together, and +review some of the leading principles which he has endeavoured to +illustrate and enforce in the course of his work. + +In commencing his labours, the Author of the _Sheepfold and the +Common_ resolved to maintain a strict neutrality amid the various +conflicting sects in the Christian Church, and avoid everything like +an undue _clannishness_ or _esprit de corps_. Assuming a position +midway between the two principal religious parties which exist +amongst us--Church and Dissent--he resolved to hold the balance of +judgment and justice with an impartial hand--neither to lower the +one, nor unduly exalt the other--allowing each to retain its own +ecclesiastic polity, without presuming to encroach on the freedom +which both so equitably claim. He has, he admits, exposed some of +the imperfections of the Episcopal Establishment; but these very +imperfections have been pointed out and animadverted on by many of +its most intelligent and decided advocates and admirers, both of +the clergy and laity. In so doing, however, it has been very far +from his intention wantonly to impair the credit of the Church of +England, or alienate her members from her communion; but to render +his assistance in paving the way for a revision of her polity, +which is now so loudly called for, and which, in general belief, +will render her a greater and a more impressive instrument of moral +and spiritual power amongst the great mass of the people. He has +not attempted to set in hostile array against each other those who +are united in the same faith, though differing in denominational +opinions and practices. He has given no advice to a Churchman or +to a Dissenter which stands in opposition to the pure and catholic +spirit of the gospel; but he has endeavoured to induce all, from a +profound regard to the authority of Jesus Christ, as well as their +own moral dignity and happiness, "to add to their faith, virtue; +and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to +temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, +brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity" (2 Pet. i. +5-7). + +His main object throughout the whole of his labours has been to +present, in a popular form, the leading doctrines of the Christian +faith; and to vindicate its integrity and purity against its +ever-active opponents; and to prove, at the same time, that it is a +remedial scheme to recover man from the ruin occasioned by the first +transgression, rather than a mere educational or ceremonial one. +He is aware that the heart of every man, while in an unenlightened +and unrenewed state, presents an impassable barrier against its +claims; but the regular marshalled forces of opposition are +concentrated within the fortresses of scepticism and superstition. +Scepticism assumes different phases, and takes various grounds of +objection--alternately denying the truthfulness of the historic +records of Christianity--impugning the credibility of its witnesses, +and the rationality of its doctrines--inveighing against the +so-called arrogance of its claims and requirements--and rejecting it +as an ill-contrived theory, which answers no other purpose than to +gratify the visionary, or affright the credulous. In the person of +Mr. Gordon and others, the Author has allowed scepticism to express +its hostility to Christianity; and the reader will form his own +judgment of the way in which the arguments put forth by infidelity +have been met and repelled. (See vol. i. pp. 96-104, 133-144, and +137; ii. 76-107.) + +In endeavouring thus to explain and illustrate Evangelical +doctrines, the Author has necessarily been led, by the nature of +his subject, to expose and confute the various forms of heresy and +theological error which appear to be more especially characteristic +of the present age. On one of these--the Tractarian heresy--which +prevails to such a lamentable extent among many members of +the Church of England, he has deemed it expedient to dwell at +considerable length, and has frequently introduced the views +maintained by the High Church party, as a subject of disquisition. +On this point it may, perhaps, be necessary to enter somewhat into +detail, as to many persons the remarks on the doctrines professed by +the Tractarian body, and the animadversions on the teaching of their +clergymen, may appear somewhat severe and unwarranted. + +It cannot, the Author conceives, be denied by any Christian, +who bows to the absolute authority of the Bible, and its +obvious interpretation, that the only way to obtain eternal life +is by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and that the +spiritual regeneration of the soul is a necessary pre-requisite +and qualification for an admission into the kingdom of heaven. +But Tractarianism, like Romanism, virtually ignores this scheme +of mercy, by introducing a ceremonial apparatus, by which a +priestly power effects for its deluded victims and devotees all +that is necessary for final salvation, without the concurrence of +any supernatural grace, but what is supposed to flow through the +artificially prescribed channels. To expose the absurdity, as well +as the anti-Christian character of this heresy, the Author has +introduced, in the person of Mr. Roscoe, the character of a devout +and spiritually enlightened man, and in his brother, the Rev. John +Roscoe, that of an able and zealous advocate of the Tractarian +theory. The reader will form his own opinion on the merits of the +question at issue, and the force of the arguments maintained by the +supporters of the respective systems (i. 317-477). + +No one, the Author thinks, can read the New Testament with careful +attention, without perceiving that the sacred writers treat +of two distinct orders of human beings--the natural, and the +spiritual man; the one enlightened and renovated, and living in +mental fellowship with God; the other, living through life under +the governing influence of his constitutional principles, and +conventional predilections and habits--in whose estimation, whether +he be a libertine or a religious devotee, the necessity of a mental +regeneration is viewed as a fiction, or a mere theological dogma. +Hence, it devolved on the Author, in a work of this description, +to draw plainly the broad line of distinction, which he thinks the +intelligent reader will discover he has done in his illustrative +and confirmatory examples, as well as by the simple process of +reasoning, deducible from the authoritative data of the inspired +volume. (See vol. i. pp. 198, 342-346, 352-356; see also paper on +_Calm Discussion_, i. 246, and _A Struggle for Life_, ii. 493.) + +This broad line of distinction between the two orders of men, +becomes more marked and decisive when they are dying, or when +anticipating death. As an instance of this, the reader is presented +with a contrast in the narrative of the deathbed of Mrs. Allen +(i. 187, 188), as compared with that of Miss Susan Brownjohn (ii. +568-570), and in the respective accounts of the last moments of +Mr. Ingleby, the Evangelical pastor; and Mr. Cole, the advocate of +Tractarian principles (ii. 523-528, 540-544). + +In separate papers, which form essential parts of his work, he has +brought under the notice of his readers a variety of individual +cases, which may prove as beacons, or examples of great practical +utility. He would call the serious attention of the incautious, who +may be exposed to beguiling temptations, to the case of Mr. Lewellin +(i. 13), young Harvey (ii. 179), and Mr. Beaufoy (ii. 240). + +To the case of the ANXIOUS INQUIRER, who is intensely concerned for +his salvation, the Author has paid great attention, by explaining +the _cause_ of his mental disquietude, which is a penetrating +conviction of personal guilt, and a clear perception of its +consequent danger (i. 416 and 503). + +The great question, _What must we do to be saved?_ answered: see _An +Escape from a False Refuge_ (i. 530); also, _The Farm-house Kitchen_ +(ii. 292). + +The spiritual perplexities to which all are subjected, in some +degree, while working out their salvation, are specified and +adjusted, and these are:--_The defective nature of repentance_ (i. +176); _the declension of spiritual enjoyments_, and _the want of +an assurance of final salvation_ (ii. 159). See also Mrs. Loader's +Letter (ii. 303). + +In the person of Miss Roscoe we have a specimen of Christian +decision, its sacrifices, its struggles, its conflicts, its +triumphs, and its recompense of reward. Miss Holmes' religious +history presents a very different complexion; in her we see the good +work of grace beginning and advancing under favourable auspices; +her conflicts are mental, and the final issue is glorious. In the +case of Miss Emma Holmes is exhibited the painful consequences of +duplicity and headstrong rashness, in entering into the married +state. + +Nothing, in the opinion of the Author, has a more powerful influence +over the popular mind, to excite prejudice against Christianity, +and to lead the profane and sceptical to call in question its +Divine origin, than the multiplicity of sects which exist within +the pale of the visible church; especially when they perceive the +bitter and antagonistic spirit which they often cherish and express +towards each other. The evil of this and its remedy, the Author has +endeavoured to point out and illustrate (ii. 18-36.) + +The Author has interwoven, in the progress of his work, many +specimens of the wonder-working power of the grace of God, in the +regeneration and conversion of persons of varying degree of moral +excellencies and of moral worthlessness; and of the diversified mode +of operation which is observed by the Divine Spirit when effecting +it. He would call the attention of the intelligent reader to the +following cases, which are so many living witnesses in confirmation +of the Divine origin and blissful tendency of the truth, by which +they are called out of a state of spiritual death to give their +testimony:--Mr. Lewellin (i. 23), the Rev. O. Guion (i. 76), Miss +Roscoe (i. 129), Mr. Tennent (i. 151), Mr. Roscoe (i. 278), Farmer +Pickford (i. 47, 392, 571), Miss Denham (i. 414), Rev. John Roscoe +(i. 428), Miss Osbourne, the Quakeress (i. 503), Mr. and Mrs. Lobeck +(i. 528-544), Mrs. Hastings--see _The Effect of a Word Spoken in +Season_ (ii. 108), Mrs. Farrington--see _The Farm-house Kitchen_ +(ii. 284), Mr. Ryder--see _A Struggle for Life_ (ii. 493), Mr. +Gordon (ii. 511-515). + +That the papers are very unequal in point of interest and execution, +no one is more conscious of than the writer; but what he has +written, he wrote as well as he could when it was written; and he +must now leave it to be dealt with, just as the candid and impartial +critic may decide. He knows that perfection has never been attained; +and though he feels that partiality for his own productions with +which authors are charged, and to which they are compelled to plead +guilty, when they speak so as to be believed, yet he is not vain +enough to suppose that he has attained it. The work has its faults, +which he has not skill enough to conceal, nor temerity enough to +vindicate and if it possess no excellence, it will soon descend to +that state of oblivion from which no interest can redeem it. + +"And now," to quote the language of an elegant author, "could he +flatter himself that any one would take half the pleasure in reading +his numbers which he has taken in writing them, he would not fear +the loss of his labour. The employment detached him from the bustle +and hurry of life, the din of politics, and the noise of folly; +vanity and vexation flew away for a season, care and disquietude +came not near his dwelling. He arose fresh as the morning to his +task; the silence of the night invited him to peruse it; and he can +truly say, that food and rest were not preferred before it. Happier +hours than those which have been spent in composing them he never +expects to see in this world: very pleasantly did they pass, and +moved smoothly and swiftly along; for when thus engaged he counted +no time. They are gone, but have left a relish and a fragrance upon +the mind; and the remembrance of them is sweet." + +It has been justly observed, that there are few things not purely +evil, of which we can say, without some emotion of uneasiness, _this +is the last_. Those who never could agree together, shed tears when +mutual discontent has determined them to final separation. Of a +place which has been frequently visited, though without pleasure, +the last look is taken with heaviness of heart; and the Author, +who has by a series of papers contributed to the improvement and +gratification of society, may expect to be forgiven, if he should +feel some novel sensations pervading his breast, when his last essay +is before him. + +Thus in the planning and execution of our schemes, life passes +away, and we advance by unconscious steps towards its termination; +and though by a singular species of artifice we contrive to keep +our latter end in some distant perspective of futurity, yet in our +more serious moments of reflection we feel that it is approaching. +And can we anticipate it with cool indifference? Can we think of +taking a last look at the varied beauties of nature, which have so +often charmed the eye--of hearing the last words of friendship, +which have so often delighted the ear--of uttering the last adieu +which is to separate us from all communion with the inhabitants of +earth--without feeling a degree of pensive sadness, which nothing +can relieve but the hope of a blissful immortality? And even when +this hope breaks in upon our solemn musings, and dispels the gloom +which envelopes them, it is not always in our power to regain that +tranquillity which the approach of our _last_ hour tends to disturb. +Our _last_ hour! It may now be distant, but ere long it will be +near. Suppose it were now come! Suppose only sixty more minutes of +time were allotted to us on earth! Suppose we were now within a few, +a very few steps of the seat of final judgment! Suppose in a few +moments we should be called to give an account of the deeds done +in the body, whether good or evil! Suppose, ere the village clock +proclaims to the rustic inhabitants the departure of _another hour_, +we should be doomed to receive the decisive sentence, which will + + "Remove us to yon heav'nly place, + Or shut us up in hell," + +what would be the state of our mind? Should we be calm, like the +woodman, who after the toils of the day, goes home to enjoy his +rest? or should we be alarmed, as when the mariner sees the first +symptoms of the rising storm? Should we be in ecstasy, as when the +captive is released from the prison-house of wretchedness, and +restored to his home? or should we turn pale, and tremble like +the condemned criminal, when he hears the first sound of his own +funeral knell? These are questions which we may now dismiss under an +apprehension that they relate to a remote period; but that period +is not so remote, as when the questions first met the eye of the +reader; and ere long it will be _the present time_. Are we prepared +to live through our last hour; and to give up our life, when the +last pulse shall beat through our veins, without wishing to prolong +it? Are we ready to step across the boundary which divides the +visible from the invisible world, without faltering in our passage? +If so, we may live in peace. We need fear no evil. We may range +into futurity, without being appalled by any rising forms of terror. +We may anticipate the last hour with tranquil joy, and calmly wait +its approach. But if not, we ought to feel alarm. To be gay and +sportive when treading on the verge of eternal woe, would be no less +than a species of mental delirium. It would be an act of criminal +folly; a treasuring up to ourselves wrath against the day of wrath; +and impiously smiling as the storm of the Divine displeasure is +accumulating its stores of vengeance. + +Let me, then, before I have taken my final farewell of my reader, +urge him once more to "work out his own salvation with fear and +trembling." Let me once more point his attention to "the Lamb of +God, that taketh away the sin of the world." Let me once more tell +him, in the language which fell from the lips of the Redeemer, when +he was on the earth:--"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting +life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the +wrath of God abideth on him." + +I have now done; and commending my well-meant though imperfect +labours to the blessing of Him who alone can render them effectual +to the salvation of my readers, I now retire to the more private +duties of my station, yet not without indulging the hope of meeting +some in the celestial world, to whom I have been the means of +imparting consolation, while passing through this valley of weeping. + + +THE END. + +GLASGOW: W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFIELD. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's note: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained +as printed. Quotation marks are inconsistent; mismatched quotes are +not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where the missing quote +should be placed. + +The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up +paragraphs, thus the page number of the illustration might not match +the page number in the List of Illustrations. + +Page 174: The missing word "it" has been added by the transcriber: +"we are satisfied that it is our duty to hear the gospel". + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II +(of 2), by Timothy East + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON, VOL 2 *** + +***** This file should be named 44769.txt or 44769.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/7/6/44769/ + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Robin Curnow, Julia Neufeld, One +image courtesy of Bridwell Library, Perkins School of +Theology, Southern Methodist University and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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