questions on Christian politics are taken up, and the argument is conducted in the midst of the shoals and tumultuous waves of that agitating subject, with admirable moderation and clearness; and yet, with an uncompromising adherence to the great prineiples of the word of God.

But besides eminence of reason, Mr. M'Nicoll was, what the Germans would call, "a spiritualist." Every thing physical, according to his views and feelings, was animated and pervaded by a living spirit, and was full of God. He heard his voice in the thunder and in the tempest; he beheld his power and majesty in the mighty agencies at work in the universe; he tasted his goodness and love in the harmony, utility, beauties, and provisions of nature; he traced his footsteps in all created things, and seemed to take delight to meet him in the lonely mountain, the dark night, by the side of the flowing stream, or on the foaming sea, as well as amid the joys of animated creation, and the fine displays of his glorious perfections, still remaining in the rational world. Christianized by the introduction of Messiah and the peculiar blessings of redemption, portions of Pope's "Universal Prayer," or Thomson's “Hymn of the Seasons," would suit his taste and express his modes of thought and feeling :

"To thee, whose temple is all space,

Whose altar, earth, sea, skies,
One chorus let all beings raise,

All nature's incense rise!"

It

These were the feelings of this excellent man; and as they stood associated with evangelical views of religion and a happy enjoyment of its blessings, they were not only not dangerous to him, but added greatly to the joy and serenity of his spirit. is, no doubt, the intention of the great Father of the human family that his children should taste and enjoy his goodness in all the modes of its manifestation. When reconciled to him in Christ, this becomes possible; so that, in truth, the peace of the cross can alone restore us to a state in which God can be really enjoyed in his works. Mere sentimentalists and poets separate the material world from Christianity, build independent fanes, set up rival altars, hymn the praises of God, or rather the powers of nature, and invoke their presence and their inspiration. We have much sublime and beautiful poetry constructed on this principle. The Bible does not teach us to seek religion through

the realms of nature, but, having sought and found it at the cross of the Saviour, we are taught to add all its loveliness and blessings to the spiritual and heavenly inheritance. One danger exists, when this taste happens to be possessed by the public teacher of religion: It is that of intermixing the philosophy of nature with evangelical teaching. In seeking the salvation of lost sinners, or, indeed, in pouring consolation into the bosom of the believer, it is requisite to present the great truths, promises, and provisions of the Gospel, to their attention and faith in the most tangible and prominent manner possible. No flowers or garlands plucked from the most beautiful and fragrant garden of earth must be hung on the cross of our Lord. They can add nothing to its glory, and will only tend to withdraw attention from the "One Sacrifice," and attract it to the earthly embellishment.

The power of analysis was much more prominent in Mr. M'Nicoll's mental constitution, than that of combination. That great and useful quality by which the scattered details of truth, fact, principle, and discovery, are harmonized, and applied to some useful practical result, was not possessed by him to any great extent, or, if enjoyed, he took no great pleasure in its employment. His mind loved to expatiate in a mental wilderness, free from restraint. In his hands truth, like matter, seemed almost capable of infinite divisibility. It was only necessary to listen to some of his most elaborate discourses to discover this feature ; and it may be found in any of his publications. The bent of his mind seemed to be, to extract as many given results from any single truth as possible, and to place these in an almost endless variety of colouring and aspect. It is evidently this quality which renders some of his writings (as was the case with some of his living discourses) extremely ethical and intangible. Instead of his subjects coming on his reader or hearer in strong, bold, grappling demonstration, they touch him with infinite delicacy; and it is only in the exercise of great abstraction, mental elevation, and the exercise of the most refined feeling, that his course can be exactly traced, his beauties perceived, and his spirit felt. When this can be done, the reader will find himself in a most enchanting Arcadia of mental and spiritual enjoyment and pleasure.

In reading Mr. McNicoll's book on the Stage, I thought I discovered a great similarity between the style of that work and some of the best productions of the age of Addison. The thorough knowledge which he discovers of his subject; his acquaintance

with the classics and poets of our own country; the subtlety of argument and delicacy of sentiment; as well as the great beauty. and richness of style displayed in many passages, seem to transsport one back to the Augustan age of English literature. His familiar acquaintance with the writers of that period is most manifest in this production; and, in arguing the question of the evils of the drama, he takes the disciple of the stage on his own ground, and, instead of denouncing his pleasures by the stern anathema of religion, opposes him in strains and touches of eloquence as delicate and refined as would have been employed by the advocates of this enchanting deception in the purest and best days of its existence.*

But it is most pleasing to know, that, for several of the latter years of Mr. M'Nicoll's sojourn on earth all his peculiar mental qualities merged in an elevated religious state of feeling. He regretted to one who knew him best, that he had not made the Holy Bible more entirely the subject of his studies, and stated his resolution to do so, had he his time to live over again. Few men, it is believed, were capable of tasting with greater relish whatever could be ministered to the mind by knowledge; and yet we find, that a period came when he was led to see its emptiness when dissevered from religion; and he thought, as many others have done, that he had paid too great a price for its attainment. As he has left no record on the subject, we have not now the means of tracing the manner of the sanctifying process which was evidently going on in his mind for a long period before his death; but the Sacred Scriptures, and purely religious and theological writings, became the chief and almost only books to which he devoted his attention; whilst his spirit, conversation, preaching, and general habits, all indicated, that God was preparing him for the solemn change which awaited him.

The following "Sketch of his Character" was read at the close of a funeral sermon preached in Pitt-Street chapel, Liverpool, on occasion of his death, on January 13th, 1836; and may fitly close this imperfect account :

Mr. M'Nicoll possessed those powers of mind which caused him to stand out from the general mass of mankind in prominent,

A copy of this work was presented to Sir Walter Scott, some of whose opinions on this subject had been freely canvassed and opposed; and, notwithstanding this diversity of sentiment, he very liberally expressed his approbation of the spirit of fairness, and neatness of style, in which it was written

definite, and distinctive character. He was one of the men of the age and the community to which he belonged, who could not be lost in the crowd, or mingled, without mark or notice, indiscriminately, amongst the ordinary characters of his profession. Without effort or design on his own part, the prominence of his mental faculties, his ordinary conversation, and even the most ineffective discharge of his public duties, could not but arrest the attention of his contemporaries, and they must at once mark him out as a genius. It is extremely difficult, sometimes, to seize the most prominent features of mind; and, even when so perceived, it is equally difficult, with delicacy, precision, and fidelity, to communicate the impression. In order to bring Mr. McNicoll as fully and clearly before you as I can, I shall consider him, in his mental, his ministerial, and his religious character.

1. There is a basis of mental strength, and an element of qualities, in every man, which must give character to all the productions and developements of mind. This is of great importance in religious men, and especially in ministers; for, although Divine grace is the true principle and cause of all holy and sanctified feeling, yet, as the light of the sun is reflected in varied beauty from the different formations of nature, so the light of truth, the power of religious principle, the hallowing influence of the Holy Spirit, and the ennobling tenderness of Christian love, must all take their tone and colouring from the natural characteristics of the mind in which they exist, and from which they are reflected on the attention of the church and the world. If the mind of Mr. M'Nicoll be fairly analyzed, and the distinctive features of his intellect traced to their primary element, I believe he must be ranked amongst the poetic and imaginative class of mankind. Other very strong and vigorous qualities belonged to him; but this was the leading, predominant, and primary. He was a metaphysician. He wrote, sometimes preached, and often conversed with his friends, on subjects of metaphysical science; but it was never in dry and scholastic terms. Even in this subtle field of thought, he invariably invested the most abstruse speculations in the language of fancy and imagination, taking care to clothe his metaphysical forms, as God clothed the spirit of man, in a tangible and beautiful body. He had great acuteness and strong reasoning powers; but, even in the employment of this faculty, fancy was so predominant, that he would begin

his process of arguing at any point where his mind happened to be floating at the time,-the circumference, or the summit of his theme,—and, when questioned, had to find his way down to first principles, sometimes by a difficult and circuitous route. When, however, he laid aside imagination, and took time to adjust his principles and lay his foundation, his deductions, ratiocinations, and modes of illustration were convincing and irresistible. These powers of reasoning and metaphysical subtlety are not at all at variance with our position,-that the leading features of Mr. M'Nicoll's mind were poetic. One of our most eminent and living poets is not more celebrated for the chaste, simple, touching, and natural grace of his verse, than for a subtle, inspiring, or metaphysical spirit, which lives and breathes in every thing he writes.

It was this same spirit which caused Mr. M'Nicoll to dwell much more in the world of ideas than in the world of living things. Hence, he had no taste for business, knew extremely little of secular concerns, and even took no very lively interest in the stirring political questions of his time. His mind sought a purer region; and whilst other men were busily engaged in attaining the rewards of business and ambition, his soul was expatiating in the universe of abstract being, or roaming amidst the beauties of nature, or the great truths of religion. This feature was very strongly marked. Not giving himself to meditate much on worldly things, it followed, that, whilst others were fretting and exciting themselves by the presence or apprehension of impending evils, he was free from care, and lived in great ease and happiness.

A taste for the beautiful, as a feature of Mr. M'Nicoll's peculiar mental constitution, was also very predominant. He had a most lively perception of the beautiful in nature. His friends have listened with the highest pleasure to his descriptions of the picturesque scenery he had beheld on his journeys in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, as well as in various parts of this country. On these occasions he so grouped his different objects, as to present his hearers with a fine ideal landscape; whilst his spirit seemed to throw life into the scenery; and his animated countenance, his sparkling eye, and the action of his hand, indicated the absorption of his soul, and how deeply he had taken the impression of what he was describing to others. But his perception of the beautiful was not limited to living forms. He equally