leaft hurt; but in the violence of the mo tion, and the way he came down, the curtain was thrown on her breast, and she lay for fome moments ftunn'd upon the ground. In a minute however I fnatched her up, and fet her on her feet. She came to herself immediately, and thanked me for my care of her; but was vexed to the heart at what had happened. She requested I would not mention the thing to her brother, or Mifs Fox, and hoped I would be fo generous as not to fpeak of it to any one.

-Mifs Berrisfort (I faid) it is not in my foul to extract a mirth from the bad fortune of any one; and much less is it in my power to ridicule, or laugh at a woman of distinction, for an accident like this. You may believe me, when I promise you, upon my word, and fwear it by every facred thing, that I will not fo much as hint it to any mortal while you remain in this world. This gave her fome relief, and by her foot in my hands, I lifted her into her faddle again. Two benefits were from this mifchance derived. One was, that for the future, this lady hunted with a little more caution, and did not take the leaps fhe was wont to do:-the other, that it gained me her heart, (though I did not know it for many months), and thereby fecured for me the greatest happiness, against a day of

distress.

distress. From the most trivial things the most important do often fpring: but I proceed.

Areligious converfation Berrisfort between Bobe and Jack Buncle.

93. Vexatious as the fall was to this young lady, it was I however that had all the pain, by the mischief I received when my horse threw me. My eye was in a fad black way, my fide troubled me, and the fkin was off half my face: yet I did not much mind it, as the diverfion was good, and that immediately after the death of the ftag, we haftened back to an excellent dinner, and fome flafks of old. generous wine; to which Bob Berrisfort and I fat for two or three hours. The ladies. had left us, to change their drefs, and walk. in the gardens, and we fell into very serious chat.

I am thinking (Mr. Berrisfort faid, after a confiderable paufe, as we fat finoaking a pipe over against each other), that the caufe you gave Dr. Whaley, on fhip-board, for the decay of chriftianity,, was the best I have heard. I remember you told this divine, that it was not a want of faith in the prefent generation that made fo many renounce christianity; for, the world were no enemies to a republication of the law of K 4

nature:

nature by the man Chrift Jefus; but the thing that makes infidels, and supports infidelity, is the extravagant doctrines which the theologers have obtruded upon the church, as effential parts of christianity. Enthufiafm, abfurdity, and error, and the blind and bloody fcenes of cruelty and fuperftition, have been the great ftumblingblocks to mankind, and given the most fad, fevere and lasting stabs, to the interests and fuccefs of the pure and peaceable gospel of Chrift. This is juft. But exclufive of this, may we not fay, that there are fo many feeming contradictions, and a multiplicity of obfcure paffages in it, that it looks as if it could not be, in its prefent condition, a rule of faith: and that chriftians differ fo much about the meaning of the texts of their Bible, that reafon knows not what to say to a religion fo variously reprefented. It is not only the two great camps, papist against proteftant, and proteftant against papist, who make the religion as different as black and white: that the reformed miffion at Malabar tell the Indians they must not hearken to the jefuits if they expect falvation; and the monks at Coromandel declare, on the contrary, to thofe Indians, that they will be damned to eternity, if they are converted to what the Danish ministers call christianity; which made the famous bramin

Padmanaba

Padmanaba fay, that it was impoffible for him to become a chriftian, till the learned christian priefts had agreed among themfelves what christianity was; for he had not erudition and judgment enough to decide in the intricate controverfy: but, exclusive of this, proteftants are fo divided among themfelves, even the church of England against the church of England-Diffenters against Diffenters and give fuch different accounts of the revealed fyftem, that it requires more understanding, and strict, ferious enquiry, than the generality of people have, or can spare, to be able to determine in what party of the celebrated critics and expositors true religion is to be found: and when the controverfy is fo dark and various, and the authorized profeffors can never agree among themselves, what can a man of a plain understanding say to it? This makes many (I imagine) turn from the fcriptures to study nature, and the general laws which are established among the feveral gradations, ranks and claffes of beings, fo far as they are connected with intelligent, moral agency. In the natural, agreeable pages of that infinite volume, we fee and perceive beauty and order, art, wisdom and goodness, and are thereby led to the Creator and Governor of the world, the univerfal caufe, preferver, and director of nature,

We discover his providence, measures and benevolence, the rules and principles of eternal, immutable wisdom and reason, and by them are compelled to confefs a univerfal, intelligent Efficient; one infinite, eternal, omnipotent, wife, good Being, from whom all others derive, and on whom all others neceffarily depend, and that continually. In fhort, by ftudying nature, we discover a God of truth, order and rectitude, and as we find perfect univerfal truth, and moral rectitude to be the highest perfection in the Deity, our reafon informs us, that we ought to fhew our love of God, by a love of thefe; and that a regular, uniform pursuit of them, must be the only true and rational pursuit of human happiness. Here is a plain and good religion. Can we wonder then that many study and follow nature, and difregard those interested commentators, who, like oppofite counsel at the bar, multiply and make void the law by different and contradictory pleadings on it? Here Bob ended, and lit his pipe again, while Jack laid his down, and went on in the following manner :

An apology

for true chriftianity.

As chriftianity was inftituted by its great Author and Publither, for the benefit of man

kind, it is to be lamented that the divines

fhould