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sufficiently well, if he suffered him to be their feeder. But his dirt is brought on him by necessity. Our provisions appear to be kept pretty clean, and are probably cleaner than those dress ed by many a greasy fellow on land, who has an opportunity of being clean if he would. Where inconveniences proceed from necessity and not from inclination, Providence almost always affords many kind mitigations of them in various ways through human care and contrivance.

(To be continued),

For the Christian Observer.

THE CONNEXION BETWEEN SIN AND MI-
SERY IN THE PRESENT WORLD, ILLUS-

vate so devout, that he sometimes spent whole nights in prayer. In all this his sincerity or the contrary can only be known to the searcher of hearts. Humanly speaking, however, his walk and conduct seemed to point him out as an example of the power of grace, which sometimes delights to display itself in triumphing most signally over education, example, and hereditary propensities to particular sins, as well as over the general corruption of our nature: but an unhappy marriage, with all the circumstances of inquietude and temptation which attend it; such as an home rendered unpleasant, the hours of devotion interrupted by family discord, and the spirit of it embittered by irritation, and on the other hand, too welcome a

TRATED BY AN ACCOUNT OF A WICKED reception in houses of public resort,

AND UNHAPPY FAMILY.

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ABOUT fifty years ago, there lived in the parish of W- and county of I, one L- B- a sub stantial farmer and yeoman. He was a nominal member of the Church of England, his wife an Anabaptist. He was an abandoned profligate, she a sullen and perverse religionist. They had three sons, who, as well as their parents, are remembered in the neighbourhood with some degree of borror; and no wonder, for their crimes and calamities were of no common magnitude.

In the first place, a travelling pedlar, whose wares were of sufficient value to tempt unprincipled avarice, was traced to their house, and never heard of more. A neighbour, who was supposed to have known too much of the manner in which the other disappeared, was found dead in an outhouse of the B's, and another, who was formidable to the family on a similar account, received a draught of warm beer from the hand of the wife, and died in a few hours after having drank it, with every appearance of

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a growing fondness for company, and oblivion of care purchased by intemperance, notwithstanding the charita ble remonstrances of his former friends, so far effaced every trace and sentiment of religion upon his heart, and left him apparently so given up of God, that he committed a murder upon one of his companions on a Sunday evening, for which he was tried, condemned, and executed.

It ought to be added, that the shock occasioned by the dreadful situation to which he had reduced himself, appeared to revive his religious impressions; and the self-abhorrence, humility, and resignation, manifested by him from the time of his surren dering himself (which he did voluntarily) to the moinent of his execution, were such, that the minister who attended him, expressed, in a sermon preached soon after, a comfortable hope of his salvation.

The third brother, who long sur vived both the rest of his family and their property, became the subject of an awful visitation of Providence : for having long made a practice of begging as a dumb man, he was really struck dumb by a sudden attack of the palsy while in the very act of im posture; and in this state he continued nearly to the time of his death, when he partially recovered the use of speech, which, however, he did not employ to glorify God either for his visitation or deliverance.

The following observation, without which the story would be incomplete, is not intended to countenance a superstitious, though sometimes, perhaps, a salutary, persuasion of the

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State of delight! where mortals listless

rove

Untouch'd by misery, kindness, friendship,

love:

hands,

One general object, one alone, commands
All hearts, all thoughts, all voices, wishes,
The public good! Idea, grand, refin'd,
Which blots all private feeling from the
mind,
Fills pigmy man with intellectual fire,
And bids him giant-like to heav'n aspire.
High favour'd race, whom no religion awes,
Where Justice reigns without the prop of
laws;

Where free from passion and affection, all
Move without springs of action, at the call
Of philosophic weal; where Ceres pours
From soils untill'd, unsown, her golden
stores;

Where without lab'ring hands, or fav'ring skies,

Equality the wants of all supplies.

Ah! grieve not, Anarchists, if heav'n assign
A transient hour to visions so divine,
If Nature reassume her rayish'd right,
And Godwyn's goddess vanish into night.
With truth and logic arm'd, lo, Greent

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away,

And you here register each passing day, May this small book, by honest friendship giv'n,

Remind you of the record kept in heav'n.

And, oh! may ev'ry hour of life afford
Such themes as these, for conscience to
record;

Duties perform'd, time zealously employ'd,
Talents improv'd, and happiness enjoy'd;
Errors corrected, sins and failings mourn'd,
Blessings receiv'd, and grateful praise re-
turn'd.
T. D.

ples of the new System of Morals, by Mr. + See Examination of the leading Princi

Green. From this work Dr. Parr has quoted several passages in his notes to his Spital Sermon, and his testimony in favour of the author is thus expressed: Mr. Green, whose penetration, whose taste, whose large views in philosophy, and whose great talents for composition entitle him to my respects.

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS,

LXXVIII. Unity the Bond of Peace and the Friend of Virtue; or, the Consequences of Schism morally and politically considered. Tracing its Progress, and pointing out some of the Means to check it. Rivington, London. 1802.

To every man who is acquainted with the history of the Christian Church, and feels a concern for the advance ment of its best interests, the subject of this work will appear to be of very considerable importance. It does not respect merely the orthodoxy of particular creeds, the legitimacy of certain forms of government, or the comparative merits of different administrations of ecclesiastical discipline; but it bears directly and strongly upon the catholic interests of picty, and the extension of the kingdom of Christ upon earth.

The purpose of the author before us (agreeably to the profession of his title page) is, to shew from history, observation, and argument, that unit is in all respects favourable, and, in some respects and cases, essential to the promotion of the interests of Christianity; and that schism is the parent of many evils, the destroyer of many moral and political advantages, and an impediment to the extension of christian truth, and to the cultivation of a christian spirit among the professors of the Gospel, and that, therefore, it is to be lamented as an evil, and avoided as a sin, by all, who are concerned for the welfare of christian society, and desire the propagation and preservation of religious truth, and of the pure service and worship of God.

In discussing so important a subject, and in pursuing so laudable a design, it is much to be wished, that the utmost care had been taken to state no facts as the ground of argumentation, but such as could be verified; and that the arguments built upon those facts had been fair and legitimate. In many of the positions contained in the work before us, we cordially acquiesce; in some, we think the author to have been misinformed as to circumstances; and in others, mistaken as to his inferences. We shall im

partially shew, as the occasions may occur, in what particulars, and on what ground, we consider his sentiments or conclusions to be erroneous.

The work commences with a view of "the consequences of schisms as they have respect to the ends of edification."

In treating this subject, the author justly observes, that the diversity, which is seen in the existing creeds, and modes of worship, shakes the faith of those whose opinions are unsettled; and that opposition in religious matters, as in all others, weakens the effects of exertion, and diminishes the influence of authority;-that separation is itself an implied and tacit censure of the Church, tending to depreciate it in the estimation even of those who continue in its communion; and that to this implied impeachment,

there are too often added others more

unequivocal, consisting of violent aspersions and virulent abuse. Deserved stress is also laid by this writer upon the well-ascertained fact, that the means which are used to detach the members of the Church from their pastors, though, in many instances, they fail of their full purpose, yet, in very many instances produce, in the minds of those, who still cleave to the Church, a diminution of respect for the established clergy, a contempt of their authority, and a want of confidence in the soundness of their doctrines, which cannot but have a fatal effect in checking the influence of their ministrations.

The following remarks are entitled to serious attention.

"The cause of religion needs the united influence of its best friends to counteract the zeal and efforts of its professed enemies, and to make its way into the hearts of a more numerous, and not less formidable body, the careless multitude, whom it is sufficiently difficult to interest or reach, without the counteracting efforts of a divided Church, to weaken the authority of its doctrines, or lessen the influence of

those to whom it is entrusted to minister

and dispense them.

"The clergy will always find enough to do, and a task that calls for every power they possess, to awaken the sinner to repentance, to impress the careless with a

sense of the important truths of the Gospel, to instruct the ignorant, to warn them that are unruly, to feed and keep together the flock that is committed to their care. They need the united influence and assist ance of all who have at heart the cause of virtue, and the good of souls; aided by which, they will find it difficult enough to persuade the multitude to be even hearers, much more doers of the word. They ought not to meet with any opposition or obstruction on the part of those, who might have the purest motives for what they do; much less should they be harassed and counteracted in their endeavours to fulfil the ends of their ministry, by the illiberal invectives and unjust reflections of those who have interested views in depreciating their character, and defeating their labours." (p. 23).

While we unreservedly acquiesce with the author of this passage in all the sentiments which it contains, we are not unaware, and we should not omit to remind others, that the greatest caution should be exercised, in the particular imputation of such motives as are mentioned in the latter clause of the quotation, lest we charge them upon those who have been, in no degree, actuated by them. Of the necessity of this caution, experience has afforded very satisfactory evidence. It would require no very elaborate research, to meet with instances of persons who have been accused of "interested views," "illiberal invective," and "unjust reflections," on account of remarks made by them upon the clergy of the establishment; which remarks have, nevertheless, appeared to every one who attentively considered them, and candidly and conscientiously interpreted them, to have been evidently dictated by an affectionate concern for the respectability and usefulness of the clergy-a concern so genuine, lively, and honest, that it would not pass over in silence what appeared capable of being corrected by faithful reproof, or improved by judicious admonition.

It must not be inferred, from our introducing these remarks in this place, that we intend to class the author of the work before us among those undiscriminating persons, who condemn all remarks on the defects or failings of the clergy, as resulting from interested views, and as chargeable with illiberality and invective, On the contrary, while his general reverence for the clergy, and earnest zeal for the Church, are unquestiona

ble, he does not deem it inconsistent with that reverence and that zeal, to charge the clergy, in unreserved terms, with a very censurable and injurious neglect, of which we shall have occasion to speak at large, in our consideration of a future chapter.

It must, indeed, be obvious to every discriminating mind, that there is a very wide interval between gratuitous and blind adulation of whole bodies of men, and as gratuitous and blind an abuse and condemnation of them. He who cannot discover between these two extremes, a middle path, in which truth and charity will accompany him, must not plume himself on any very pre-eminent powers of discernment: and he who would not pursue such a path, when it presents itself to his choice, will do well to be diffident in enforcing any claim to the praise of very scrupulous integrity.

The second chapter contains a review of "the consequences of schism as they respect the ends of harmony and peace." To shew that schism is injurious to harmony and peace, may appear, at first sight, to be altogether a supererogatory labour; as much sa as to demonstrate that sickness is inconsistent with health, or that light is destructive of darkness. Nevertheless, although the injurious consequences of schism, in the respect just stated, can scarcely be questioned, it is very possible that they may be overlooked or disregarded. To remind the inattentive, therefore, that such consequences do arise from schism, and to obtain from the inconsiderate a conscientious attention to the fact, is a task of expedience and importance. The subject is judiciously and clearly investigated in the chapter before us, and the following passage is entitled to particular attention:

"Whatever might be the legal right to a separation of worship, it would be a question of grave consideration in the mind of every serious Christian, whether the difference of opinion, in point of doctrine or mode, be of such serious import as imperiously to require or need a separation, which is in its consequences so hurtful to the cause of religion, and so injurimust be very great indeed in the national ous to the public peace. Those errors creed or worship, and of essential concern to their salvation, which will justify a schism that will obstruct the ends of the Gospel, lay the foundation of jealousies

and uncharitable affections in the hearts of its professors, and eventually operate to the overthrow of the Church by law established, and therewith the state, which would be involved in its ruin." (p. 53). The title of the third chapter is "the consequences of schism confirmed by the experience of our own Church and Country."

After asserting, with great justice, the progressive spirit which universally characterizes revolutions; the author proceeds to collect some of the abundant proofs of it, "which the history of our Church affords, from the reformation to its fall, in the unhappy reign of Charles the First."

From the works of Neal, Fox, Strype, Fuller, Burnet, and a few other inferior authorities, he has brought together a number of facts, illustrating, in no small degree, the positions, which it is the object of his work to establish. The occurrences of those woeful days, whose records are here summarily traced, are probably altogether unknown to a very large majority of those, whose principles and practices are considered by this writer as tending to the reproduction of the anarchy and licentiousness, which heretofore subverted the Church, and brought a monarch to the scaffold. To such uninformed men, who, while sowing the seeds of evil, anticipate the production of good, the contents of this chapter will afford some very necessary instruction.

The fourth chapter introduces to the reader a subject of very immediate interest; it is "the progress of schism in the present day." In tracing it, the author notices the great increase of dissenting societies, and of houses for dissenting worship, which has taken place within these few years. He refers to the language of Drs. Price and Priestley, for instances of hostility to the existence of the Established Church; and shews that, at least in one instance, even the Quakers have expressed no little enmity towards it. On the Methodists he dwells with more circumstantial particularity: he estimates their zeal to promote separation from the Church to be great; and their Success in this endeavour he apprehends to be nearly correspondent to their zeal. On their occasional violent abuse of the clergy of the establishment, he pronounces a censure, in the justice of which they at least

will acquiesce, who have had opportunities of witnessing for themselves the stile and degree of the abuse complained of.

The subject of what is called villagepreaching has also, with good reason, engaged the attention of this writer. It is a subject of no inferior moment, and calls for a fuller and more detailed investigation than he has given, or than we can supply. Village preaching is, at all events, a powerful engine. The direction and appli cation of it merit attentive observation. We beg leave, however, to suggest to whomsoever it may concern, that the dangers to be apprehended from village-preaching are not to be obviated by abusing either those who framed, for those who execute this novel scheme of diffusing religious knowledge. We shall do well to remember, that in certain cases, while we sit still abusing our adversaries, they not only go on successfully, but, perhaps, succeed the better for our abuse of them. The dangers in question, whatever they may be, we are persuaded will best be obviated by increased exertions on the part of the clergy, and by a care on the part of the governors of the Church to provide adequate means of instruction for every village which may be destitute of them. That in many parts of the kingdom, (the cause we pretend not at present to investigate), thousands are unacquainted even with the first rudiments of religious knowledge is too notorious to be denied: and experience has abundantly proved, that the perfunctory performance of a weekly service, in a place into which, perhaps, the poorer part of the community can scarcely find admission, will neither arrest the progress of religious ignorance, nor anticipate the unwearied labours of the itinerant Methodist or Dissenter. We feel unwilling, therefore, to pass a sentence of undistinguishing censure on all who, under any circumstances, may attempt to remedy the want of regular instruction: for there is, doubtless, a wide distinction between that purely schismatical spirit, which leads men to intrude themselves into the parishes of laborious and useful clergymen, for the purpose of drawing the people from the Church; and that solicitude for the spiritual welfare of the ignorant, which may some. times influence even the warm friends

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