with his fellow-christians was in this place, a few Sundays ago, when he heard a sermon, designed to shew that all divine punishment in this world and the next is corrective and purifying; the subject touched his heart: he could have left the world unconcerned, if the goodness of God had not been set before him: but before this he melted into repentance, gratitude and love. He expressed to me his pleasure in the prospect of the rest which remaineth for him in the grave; he had served the world, he added, and the world had ill-requited him; he had neglected God, but God was mindful of him in the decay of his nature, and was laying underneath him his everlasting arms, and making all his bed in his sickness. Having in a moment of pain dropped a word which might seem to indicate impatience, he immediately added, 'But shall I not quietly wait for my heavenly Father, who has so long waited for me? I have been,' he concluded, 'an undutiful child; I have been scourged for my benefit; I hope my sufferings have been sufficient; if not, I am in the hands of God for eternity, and he will not afflict me above measure and without end. Tell,' said the failing voice, the speaker taking me by the hand, 'Tell your friends what I say, what I feel; it may do good to the living.'

"I have fulfilled my promise, and I have only to add my prayer to God that this death-bed attestation to the value of truth may not have been made in vain."

Mr. Aspland's next publication was, "A Selection of Sermons, in Chronological Order, from the Works of the most ancient Divines of Great Britain, during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries; with Biographical and Critical Notices." The general title was given to the work of "British Pulpit Eloquence." For such a work he was well qualified by his familiarity with the lives and writings of English theologians. He had no sympathy whatever with those who in modern days affect to despise the pulpit eloquence of England, but thought, with Dr. Johnson, that subsequently to the Reformation the English language had "been chiefly dignified and adorned by the works of our divines." The first preacher selected is Richard Hooker. In strictness, he belongs entirely to the sixteenth century, in the last year of which he died; but his sermons were not published till after his death. They are only seven in number: that selected is certainly in every respect the best; it is entitled, “A learned Sermon of the Nature of Pride.' It is to be regretted that no specimen is given of Bishop Andrews' preaching. Fuller, in his Worthies of England, styles him a "peerless prelate," and "an inimitable preacher in his way." His style was indeed peculiar and very artificial, but one of his sermons would have well filled up the gap between Hooker and Chillingworth. The specimens of the pulpit eloquence of the seventeenth century are taken from Chillingworth, Jeremy Taylor, Henry More, Richard Allestree, Benjamin Calamy, Barrow, Wilkins and Whichcot. It will be observed that all are Church-of-England divines. In the Preface, the editor declared that he made it a point of conscience "not to prefer authors on account of their theological creed." Although the work was published anonymously, and through a bookselling firm not identified with heretical books, it was regarded with suspicion by that not small class of theological readers and book-buyers who refuse confidence to every volume that comes to them unstamped by a sectarian imprimatur. The sale of the numbers was so small, that the work terminated on the completion of the first volume. Had its editor been encouraged to proceed, not merely South and Tillotson (both his special favourites), but several of the more eminent Nonconformists, such as Baxter, Howe, Manton and

Bates, would doubtless have been enrolled in his list of eloquent divines of the seventeenth century.

The biographical sketches which precede each sermon, though necessarily brief, are full of important matter, and indicate the writer's familiarity with the theological literature of the period, and his possession of an accurate judgment. If for no other reason, the non-completion of the selection is to be regretted, because it broke off this series of useful biographical sketches. What became of the impression of "British Pulpit Eloquence," is now not remembered. Probably it became the prey of some of those Adjutants* of unsuccessful literature who seize divines and poets with equal avidity, and, with catholic impartiality, relish orthodox and heterodox reams alike. As the volume is now of rare occurrence, two or three extracts from the Memoirs may be acceptable.

HOOKER.

"Hooker has left behind him a rare character for simplicity of mind, strength of understanding, purity of heart, benevolence of life, and warm and unaffected piety. His main work, the Ecclesiastical Polity, though a fragment, sprung up at once into public favour, and has maintained its place amongst standard English books. It is controversial, but not uncharitable, and abounds in deep thoughts and manly eloquence. Pope Clement VIII. pronounced of it, that it would get reverence by age, and that there are in it the seeds of eternity.' Three successive English sovereigns, Elizabeth, the first James and the first Charles, were professed admirers of Hooker; the last unhappy prince recommended him to the study of his son, Chas. II. And his name is scarcely ever used by our best writers but with certain epithets which denote the highest respect, as Learned, or Judicious, or Venerable, or Immortal. Of his style, Bishop Lowth says, in the Preface to his Introduction to English Grammar, 'that in correctness, propriety and purity, he hath hardly ever been surpassed, or even equalled, by any of his successors;' and Bishop Warburton, in his book on the Alliance between Church and State, often quotes from him, and calls him 'the excellent, the admirable, the best good man of our order.""-Pp. 3, 4.

CHILLINGWORTH.

"Chillingworth is distinguished as an author by closeness and cogency of reasoning, and by clearness and strength of style; on account of which qualities, Mr. Locke recommends him to be read over and over again.'

"Besides the celebrated persons already mentioned, Chillingworth numbered amongst his friends the ever-memorable Mr. John Hales, of Eton, and Lord Falkland: this enlightened and accomplished nobleman was joined with Chillingworth in a common saying at Oxford in their day, namely, 'that if the great Turke were to be converted by naturall reason, these two were the persons to convert him.'

"We have not the means of judging accurately of Chillingworth as a preacher; none of his sermons were published by himself; and there is reason to apprehend that, with the exception of one, they were not printed from his manuscripts. There is in them a frequent hardness of phraseology which the author would have worn down in going over his composition with a view to the press; and there are sentiments occasionally which the reader will not know how to receive from the author of 'The Religion of Protestants.' Still, as Des Maizeaux remarks, a judicious reader may soon perceive that they come from a masterly hand: he will find in them a noble simplicity, attended with

&c.

* For the useful functions of the gigantic crane so called, see the Cyclopædias,

sublime and exalted thoughts, and a constant unfeigned zeal for the glory of God and the good of men's souls.

The Roman Catholic writers have succeeded in making a general impression amongst biographers that Chillingworth did not acknowledge some of the fundamental doctrines of his church; and Hobbes, of Malmesbury, who knew him, pronounced 'that he was like a lusty fighting fellow that did drive his enemies before him, but would often give his own party terrible smart back blows;' but it is justly said by Granger, in summing up the character of our author, that Chillingworth, Tillotson and other great men who have employed the force of reason in religion, though under a proper restraint, have been branded with Socinianism."-Pp. 29, 30.

JEREMY TAYLOR.

Bishop Jeremy Taylor was one of the completest characters of his day. His person was uncommonly beautiful, his voice musical, his conversation pleasant, his address engaging. To sum up all in a few words, this great prelate had the good humour of a gentleman, the eloquence of an orator, the fancy of a poet, the acuteness of a schoolman, the profoundness of a philosopher, the wisdom of a counsellor, the sagacity of a prophet, the reason of an angel, and the piety of a saint."*

6

"The British pulpit is indebted to Jeremy Taylor, more than to any other divine, for its reformation. He was not without some of the faults of his age; but he set an example of excellencies, in the presence of which all blemishes disappear. He was 'the Barrow of an earlier date,'t but superior to Barrow in the force of his expressions, and above all in the splendour of his imagery. In some points there is a great resemblance between these two eminent orators, and one remark made by a very competent judge (Dr. Parr) upon them both is strikingly just: Without any attempt to preserve the peculiar forms of philosophical investigation, without any habit of employing the technical language of it, without any immediate consciousness of intention to exhibit their opinions in what is called a philosophical point of view, their incidental representations of man in all the varieties of his moral powers and his social relations, have so much depth, so much precision and so much comprehension, as would have procured them the name of philosophers, if they had not borne the different and not less honourable name of Christian teachers.""-Pp. 76, 77.

During the year 1814, Mr. Aspland found time to edit an edition of Hopton Haynes's "Scriptural Account of the Attributes and Worship of God," and prefixed a brief biographical sketch of the author.

It was at this time also that he planned and made preparations for publishing a second Unitarian Magazine. He saw that there was room for a periodical which should diffuse religious knowledge and promote scriptural inquiries amongst a humbler class of readers than those for whom the Monthly Repository was adapted. He also wished the Unitarians to have a periodical less controversial, and marked by a more decided practical bent. Had he consulted his pecuniary interests, he would scarcely have embarked on this experiment. The Repository, now in its ninth year, had only recently begun to yield more than its actual cost. During its early years, it was a source only of loss. Some of his friends foresaw that the second would eventually endanger the prosperity of the first Magazine. His hopeful temper, however, combined with his earnest desire of usefulness, made him disregard these prudential considerations. There was, five-and-thirty years ago, but little literature, especially of a religious kind, suited to intelligent

*Rust, Fun. Serm., pp. 20, 21.

† Birch's Life of Tillotson, 2nd ed., 1753, p. 22.

artizans. The early race of scholars, as they left the Lancasterian and the Sunday school, and rose to manhood, found little that met their wants in either the standard literature or the periodical publications of the day. There were no precedents, therefore, to justify great expectations of success for a religious Magazine adapted to humble readers. It was found difficult to adopt a title which should be significant without being sectarian and arrogant. That eventually adopted was, "The Christian Reformer, or New Evangelical Miscellany." The new Magazine was warmly supported by many of the habitual contributors to the Monthly Repository, especially Mrs. Mary Hughes, Mr. Wright and Mr. Marsom. The first No. made its appearance on the first day of the year 1815, and, notwithstanding many hindrances and difficulties, it continued to enjoy the editorial superintendence of its founder for thirty years, during nineteen of which it preserved its original duodecimo form; during the last eleven, it was increased in size and price, and became a kind of successor to the Monthly Repository, which had then passed into other hands, and had ceased to supply the religious wants of the Unitarian body. The early volumes of the Christian Reformer were largely indebted to the ready pen of its editor. If any one is surprised how he could, with the numerous avocations of his pulpit, the Academy, the press, the weekly conference, and general business, both private and public, find leisure for the conduct of a second Magazine, the only solution of the difficulty that can be offered is, that it accords with experience that it is the busy, not the disengaged members of society who do all the new work that is perpetually arising and demanding attention. The spare minutes of the energetic man are often more productive of practical results than the days and weeks of the loiterer or the bustling trifler. This is one of the numerous exemplifications of the Divine promise, Whosoever hath, unto him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.

The year 1814 is memorable in European history, through the downfal of Napoleon, and his consequent retirement to Elba, and the conclusion of the war with France, which had for so long a period agitated all Europe. No one more cordially welcomed the return of Peace than Mr. Aspland. On the 7th of July, which was set apart by Royal Proclamation as a day of Thanksgiving, he poured forth in fervent strain his abhorrence of war and his joy at the restoration of peace. Taking for his text Ps. xlvi. 8-10, after a brief explanation of its words, he thus addressed the members of the Gravel-Pit congregation:

"When on various occasions during the late dreadful war the supreme authority of the nation invited the people to fast and pray for success to our fleets and armies, we found ourselves unable to comply with the request; for we worship not the God of Britain merely, but the God of the whole earth; and we should have feared the Divine rebuke by the mouth of the holy prophets, and especially of the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Life, if we had dared to implore from heaven the destruction of our fellow-creatures.* On these days we chose rather that the shutting up of the doors of this House of Prayer should expose us to hard surmises, than that we should seem to approve and

In a familiar letter to his mother, dated Jan. 13, 1814, he wrote "This is the Thanksgiving day" (for the defeat of Bonaparte at Leipsic, &c., and the triumph of the confederate armies); "but I feel no gratitude, and can express none, for the shedding of blood and the making of widows and orphans."

countenance war, the greatest of all evils under the sun, and the most subversive of the design of our religion. Here the command of God and the command of man seemed to us to be at variance, and we thought it right, acting under the responsibility of our Christian character, to obey God rather than man. At the same time, it may be observed that in this country Proclamations for the religious observance of special days are not of the nature of laws; the disregard of them is no breach of the peace, nor liable to any punishment; they are, as they have been just termed, requests and invitations, and have no further authority than that which is given them by every individual or every independent assembly of Christians; they do not even bind the ministers of the Court religion: and therefore, judging them not agreeable to the spirit of the gospel, we should have acted the part neither of good citizens nor of faithful Christians, if we had not dissented from the common practice for conscience' sake.

"But on this happy day our judgment and our feelings, our patriotism and our piety, concur to urge us to listen to the call of our rulers, and to join the multitude, and to come up to the House of God in company."

After powerfully depicting the physical horrors of war, he proceeded thus earnestly to describe its evil influences on manners and morals: "The young of one sex are tempted by the high valuation of martial prowess to despise the common and cheap virtues of domestic life; and the young of the other sex imbibe a taste for outward glare and glitter, for the show of festivity and for personal decoration, and an admiration of the spirit of pride and boasting and defiance. Revenge becomes a national passion: our children lisp in threats, and the lips of that part of society to whom gentleness and kindness are thought peculiarly to belong, grow too familiar with the language of malediction. We acquire insensibly a love of war; our houses are ornamented with its ensigns; venal writers accommodate themselves to the prevailing inclination, and the Gospel of Peace is forgotten, or is perverted to the public wish, and the few that dare to assert it are just tolerated, or more probably vilified and held out to scorn."

From this sermon, which was never printed, one still longer extract is offered, on account of the calm wisdom with which it surveys the war and appreciates the terms of the peace.

"The long war which is just brought to an end was begun on principles and pretences which can never be enough condemned; but its character was changed in its progress, and though originally unjust, it might in the end and for a time be necessary. It raised in France a fierce military despotism, infuriated by a wild ambition, which allowed of no repose and seemed to tolerate no show of independence in Europe. The Continent had fallen, or was falling, under one master, who knew no law but his will, and pursued no object besides military greatness. Nothing was heard from one extremity of the civilized world to the other but the clang of arms. Hosts such as were never before marshalled to battle, were rolled hither and thither at the nod of one despot. Little was wanting to the peace of all nations; but how different a peace from that which we this day celebrate-the peace of a desert, the silence of the grave! In this juncture, Divine Providence interposed; the elements fought against the troubler of kingdoms; that political strength which was considered to be as iron and brass, melted away; and after falls and changes more wonderful than any which history has on record, almost all Europe is in a state of external quiet, if not of internal repose.

"These extraordinary scenes have been so arranged by the hand of Almighty God as to keep down and rebuke human pride. So far from any individual person or power having brought about what we witness, no one calculated upon such a strange result. Events followed one another with a rapidity that outstripped imagination. All that the leagued powers of Europe had to do,