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We quote some remarks on Madame du Deffand's Letters, as being Mrs. Barbauld's testimony to the value of "religious hopes and feelings :"

"I am wading through the letters of Madame du Deffand, in four volumes. Have you read them? Walpole and she wrote every week, and they were continually grumbling at each other, yet they went on. Walpole, poor man, seems to have been terribly afraid that this old blind lady was in love with him; and he had much ado to reduce her expressions of friendship to something of an English standard. This lady appears to have been very unhappy. She was blind indeed, but she had every thing else that could make age comfortable; fortune, friends, talents, consideration in the world, the society of all the wits and all the people of rank of Paris, or who visited Paris, but she totally wanted the best support of all, religious feelings and hopes; and I do not know any thing that is likely to impress their importance more on the mind than the perusal of these letters. You see her tired of life, almost blaspheming Providence for having given her existence; yet dreading to die because she had no hopes beyond death. A lady told me she would not, on any account, let her daughter read the letters. I think, for my part, they give in this view as good a lesson as you can pick out of Mrs. More's Practical Piety, which, if you have not read, I cannot help it."—II. 68, 69.

A passing observation on Bible Societies may be seasonably extracted:

"We have had a meeting here (Stoke Newington) for an auxiliary Bible Society. Many ladies went, not indeed to speak, but to hear speaking; and they tell me they were much entertained and interested. I honour the zeal of these societies; but it is become a sort of rage, and I suspect outgoes the occasion."II. 95, 96.

Mrs. Barbauld sometimes moralizes, but it is without affectation. There

is no sickly sentimentality in any of her reflections. The following passage from a letter to Mrs. Estlin, relating to her spending a day at Chigwell, shews in what manner she turned passing objects to a moral account:

"The road to Chigwell is through a part of Hainault Forest; and we stopped to look at Fairlop oak, one of the largest in England; a complete ruin, but a noble ruin, which it is impossible to see without thinking of Cowper's beautiful lines, Who lived when thou wast such.' The immoveable rocks and mountains present us rather with an idea of eternity than of long life. There they

once

are, and there they have been before the birth of nations. The tops of the everlasting hills have been covered with snow from the earliest records of time. But a tree, that has life and growth like ourselves, that, like ourselves, was small and feeble, that certainly some time began to be, to see it attain a size so enormous, and in its bulk and its slow decay bear record of the generations it has outlived, this brings our comparative feebleness strongly in view. Man passeth away, and where is he?'-while of their children, and their children.”— II. 133, 134.

the oak of our fathers' will be the oak

In the Letters we find some allegories, a favourite species of composition with Mrs. Barbauld; but those on the New Year, II. 61, 62, and the Pedigree of Leisure, II. 72, 73, appear to us to be somewhat stiff and quaint, and the latter is open to other objections.

We find that the speech of the Curé of the Banks of the Rhone at the bar of the National Assembly, published in an early number of Mr. B. Flower's

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Cambridge Intelligencer," and reprinted in The Christian Reformer, I. 225-228, was a jeu d'esprit of Mrs. Barbauld's, written in 1791. II. 260.

The Rhapsody on Evil, II. 272276, is familiar to us, but we know not where we have read it.

Of the pamphlets published by Mrs. Barbauld, there are reprinted here"An Address to the Opposers of the Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts;" "Sins of the Government, Sins of the Nation; or, a Discourse for the Fast, appointed on April 19, 1793;" "Remarks on Mr. Gilbert Wakefield's Enquiry into the Expediency and Propriety of Public or Social Worship." The "Civic Sermons to the People," two we think in numbauld, are omitted; yet the reader ber, always attributed to Mrs. Barmay see by a fine passage from them in 446, that they are not unworthy of The Christian Reformer, IV. 442— the writer's reputation, high as it is and must ever be.

We do not pretend to criticise those works of Mrs. Barbauld's that have established her name as a beautiful been long before the public. She has writer; she is, in our judgment, the first of English feinale authors; and we should find it difficult to name more than two or three modern authors of the other sex who can stand a comparison with her in both verse and prose.

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O! BEAUTIFUL in life and spirit! Thou
Hast truly learned Christ, and in thy breast
His pure and gentle precepts are imprest,
A Christian's peace upon thy calm white brow.
Thou fear'st not sorrow-and the overthrow
Of fondest hope in thee could never raise
E'en one distrustful sigh-for round thee plays
Religion's light and virtue's angel glow.

Thou dost not shrink from pain-and when the cross
Is heavy on thee, still thy smile of love

Beams sweetly through thy tears-and far above
Thy 'rapt heart soars for comfort in its loss.
God is in all thy thoughts, and in thy face

Beam faith, and tenderness, and heavenly grace.

LINES.

Go, Pilgrim, take the word of life,
The light, the glory of thy path,
And fearless enter mortal strife,
All trial human nature hath.

Thou shalt not fail if by that guide
Thy steps are led-if in thine heart
That blest commandment thou dost hide
Which in eternity hath part.

When thou goest forth, by it be led

When sleep falls softly o'er thine eyes,
Be that the guardian round thy head,

The trust that soothes tired nature's sighs.

And when the gentle light of heaven,
Revives thy soul, be thy first thought
The hope, the peace that word has given-
The joy, the virtue it has wrought.

So fix thine eyes-and if they move

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From the blest record here below, boo be it to that Heaven above,

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That source whence all our blessings flow.
So walk through life, thy Father's hand,
Although invisible, thy guard;
And thou shalt reach that purer land,
Where faithfulness hath its reward.

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J. E. R.

O open to that young and suffering heart,
Father of Mercies! that bright blessed ray
Of power to chase the fiends of care away,
And tenderer thoughts and sweeter hopes impart.

Unfold Thyself, all goodness as Thou art,
All excellence and beauty, to his soul;
Be Heaven's own softness in the tears that start,
And every sigh breath'd in thy blest controul.
O! raise him from the things of time and earth,
The hopes, and fears, and sorrows born of dust,
To the high glories of his heavenly birth,

And manly duties of his earthly trust;

Till doubt, and grief, and youthful anguish cease,
And Thou Thyself become "his strength and peace.”

FRAGMENT.

ON THE HOPE OF HEAVEN.

Crediton.

Beautiful Hope! that-like the lily's light,
Silvering the waters ere they wind away-
Mak'st, as they glide, the waves of time all bright
With the pure reflex of diviner day!

Halcyon of Heaven! beneath thy wing, the dark
And stormy Future trembles into smiles;
And sweet winds breathe, to waft the mourner's bark
To fairer oceans, and to greener isles !

Oh, what were life, wert thou not near to throw
Thy radiant Iris o'er its clouds and tears-

To pour, upon this jarring world below,
The prophet music of elysian spheres ?

OBITUARY.

1825. JUNE 16, at Hofstelton, Près de Thun, in Switzerland, Mrs. M. BROWN, wife of P. J. Brown, Esq., late of Thistle Grove, Middlesex, and only daughter of the Rev. T. Latham, of Bramfield, Suffolk, aged 31 years. She was married at the age of 19 to Mr. B., in whom she enjoyed one of the most excellent and most affectionate of husbands, and he enjoyed in her a most amiable and estimable wife. Their mutual attachment was such as rendered the conjugal relation a source of the purest pleasure, and conferred a happiness on each which is rarely exceeded in the domestic walks of life. But as this world affords a paradise for none of its inhabitants, and the great Father of all has made this life a state of trial and discipline to all his rational offspring, He was pleased in his wise and gracious providence to exercise the virtues of this amiable couple by the very delicate state of health which Mrs.

B. has generally been subjected to for more than eleven years past. When every means that the tenderest affection could devise to restore her to health had been tried, without the desired effect, as the last effort, Mr. B. removed to the Continent, purely to obtain for her the benefits of a salubrious climate. But the great Power, in whose hands is the breath of all mankind, had fixed the bounds which she could not pass. Youth, and beauty, and riches, were vain. Affectionate solicitude, and the most humble and earnest importunity at the throne of grace, proved unavailing to add to the appointed term of life; and, as one among the ten thousand proofs which every day affords us, that all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man but as the flower of grass," this excellent woman was thus early snatched from all the enjoyments and occupations of the present state. She expired so tranquilly

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SEPT. 1, at his house in the West Street, Chichester, in the 78th year of his age, WILLIAM GUY, Esq., Surgeon.

If general and signal worth of character, united to a sincere and enlightened attachment to those views of Christian doctrine which for so long a series of years the Monthly Repository has most ably and successfully advocated, may give a claim to a place in its obituary, few individuals can have a greater claim to that distinction than the subject of this article.

Mr. Guy was born at Northampton. His mother dying when he was very young, his father, who was of the medical profession, removed to London, and soon afterwards to Chichester, in the near neighbourhood of which city several of his more immediate relatives filled respectable situations as agriculturists. The line of Mr. G. sen.'s practice was that of an apothecary, and was therefore necessarily confined: he nevertheless took his son, when he left the grammar-school, as an articled apprentice. In the latter part of this connexion the young medical élève entered into a temporary partnership with some itinerant inoculator for the small-pox. This proved a source of no small pecuniary emolument. After a very short interval Mr. G. entered on his professional studies in London, when he was received as a house pupil under Mr. John Hunter, and as a dresser, and in other respects as an assistant, to Mr. Bromfield at St. George's Hospital. In all these situations he attended with great diligence Dr. George Fordyce on the different subjects on which he lectured, and Dr. William Hunter on anatomy, and his host and preceptor J. Hunter on surgery. In the year 1772, his pursuits were interrupted by a severe illness, and by the measures necessary to confirm his recovery from it. After no long interval he returned to Chichester, and entered into partnership with his father, practising as a medical surgeon and accoucheur, and continuing to perform the laborious duties

of these professions for the space of nearly half a century, with a degree of acceptance and popularity which has been seldom surpassed. His benevolence, liberality, and disinterestedness, recommended him to all classes, insomuch that his opinion had greater weight with the public than that of most of his contemporaries. This was not to be ascribed to any thing like ostentation or puffing on his part, for no one could be more free from that infirmity; but the cheerfulness of his temper led him to see every thing in a favourable light, so that his hopes and predictions encouraged and supported his patients under maladies which the utmost efforts of his skill, and of that of his professional brethren, were insufficient to remove. Iu aid of this a peculiar vein of humour, which he never failed to make subservient to some goodnatured purpose, had very considerable effect. It is not therefore to be wondered at that he was fond of his profession; the fatigues of which he continued to encounter long after the infirmities of age, and the frequent attacks of a painful disease, should have warned him to retire.

During his professional studies in the metropolis, attendance on the public services of the celebrated Mr. Martin Madan, and other divines of that class, made him extremely partial to a system characterised more by orthodoxy than by reasonableness or moderation. Afterwards a candid spirit of inquiry led him to peruse with attention the theological and metaphysical writings of Dr. Priestley, and he became a thorough convert to most of the opinions advocated by that distinguished man. On the subjects of the controversy between the Unitarians and their opponents, his diligence of research could be equalled only by his impartiality. He read almost every thing of consequence on both sides of the question: and, not content with reading, he extracted, and with unwearied labour brought together in opposition, the innumerable texts, topics, and arguments adduced by each party. The ostensible result of all this was several bulky volumes of manuscript, and the internal effect a deep-rooted conviction that Unitarianism is the doctrine of the gospel. In connexion with this, his ideas of the Divine government were in perfect unison with those so ably and pleasingly stated in Mr. Lindsey's Conversations on that subject. Of these sentiments the natural and happy result was a fervent and cheerful piety, and an entire submission to his Maker under very painful trials.

In his last illness, till within two or

three days of his dissolution, he enjoyed the perfect use of his faculties, and gave frequent proofs of that characteristic quickness of perception, and facetiousness of manner, which in health bad so often delighted his friends. In these circumstances it was singularly pleasing to witness the effects of those mental habits which he had taken so much pains to acquire. Although he entirely acceded to the hypothesis of an ingenious writer in the Theological Repository, [Vol. II. p. 350, 3d Edit.], that to every man "the resurrection takes place immediately after death," he had no ecstatic or enthusiastic anticipations of his future condition. His mind was filled with a calm and humble hope of the forgiveness and favour of his Maker, promised by his Saviour to all who truly believe and obey him. Very justly did one of his physicians (Dr. Forbes) remark to him, "We can do you no good, but you do us a great deal, by giving us an example how we should feel and act in your situation." In one of the intervals between the fits of somnolency, in which, at one period of his illness, he passed much of his time, the writer of this article congratulated him on the degree of rest and exemption from pain which he enjoyed, he replied, "in cœlo quies, and I hope this is the beginning of it." On another occasion, when suffering much from the distressing effects of an irritable stomach, he said to the same person, "This is all right: I am sure it is so; it is no otherwise than it should be." He repeatedly avowed his perfect satisfaction with the system he had adopted, and was in all respects a signal example of the efficacy of that system in supporting the sincere Christian in his conflict with the last enemy.

Mr. Guy's family were members of the Church of England. He was educated in that communion, and continued in it to the end of his life, regularly attending its evening services. For reasons which were perfectly satisfactory to his own mind he adopted this course. Arguments of a general nature, and (in my apprehension) of invincible force, may be urged against it. What in particular cases can be said for it, must be left to the individuals concerned, and with no others is it a proper subject of inquiry. In the relations of social and domestic life Mr. Guy was most exemplary and amiable. His liberality in the exercise of his profession will be long

remembered by the objects of his kindness, and by their descendants. HYLAS.

Chichester, Sept. 17, 1825.

AT the manse of Wilton, in the vicinity of Hawick, the Rev. SAMUEL CHARTERS, D.D., in or about the 84th year of his age, and 57th of his ministry. The father and grandfather of Dr. Charters were successively ministers of Inverkeithing, in the Presbytery of Dunfermline. Dr. Charters, after going through his preparatory studies at the college of Glasgow, and obtaining a licence to preach the gospel, passed a short time on the Continent, and was, after his return, ordained minister of Kincardine, in the Presbytery of Dunblane, in the year 1763. During his incumbency there, and ever afterwards, he enjoyed the friendship of the late eminent judge and scholar, Lord Kames, whose country seat, Blair Drummond, was in the parish. He had thus a favourable opportunity of extending his literary acquaintance, and his knowledge of the world. In the year 1772, he was translated to the church and parish of Wilton. In that retired and rural residence on the banks of the Teviot, far from the strife and bustle of the world, he passed the remainder of his useful and unambitious life, attracting to his hospitable dwelling not only many of his early friends, who delighted to renew their intercourse with him from time to time, but enlightened strangers, who were desirous of cultivating his acquaintance. Dr. Charters published 2 vols. of sermons at Edinburgh in 1786, and several single sermons, some of which were collected into a volume printed at Hawick in 1807. That on the duty of making a will is curious, but judicious and useful. No one indeed can read any of Dr. Charters's sermons without instruction and pleasure. They are simple and colloquial, and abound in anecdote and passages of history, and on these accounts may be recommended to congregational libraries, and other collections of books for young persons. The theology found in them is liberal, the morality is Evangelical. One of the characters eulogised in the excellent discourse on Alms-giving is that of Thomas Firmin, the celebrated benefactor to the city of London, and one of the earliest avowed Unitarians in England.

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