by all means pause, nothing should be done rashly; but whilst they pause, let them consider the numbers who are perishing for lack of knowledge, and the paucity of instructors, and let them do all they can, and increase the amount of faithful labourers.

To the second I would say, I have no objection that an increased caution should obtain in the recommendation of candidates to the several colleges. But let pas tors and churches beware how they prevent those, on whom God has bestowed necessary qualifications, from entering into a work for which those qualifications, with the abounding need of the world at large, form an imperative call.

And, therefore, thirdly, I would say, rather than the number should be reduced, I think urgent demands present themselves, in the condition of our perishing fellowcreatures, to use every effort to increase the number of those to whom the benefits of such preparatory education might be afforded, and the churches of Christ furnished with a suitable succession of educated and holy men for the work of the ministry.

I am, Gentlemen,
Yours respectfully,

་་་་་་་་་

P.

THE TRUE ELOQUENCE. THE gift of speech is a wonderful and most valuable faculty. Of all the bodily properties which the Creator has bestowed upon us, there is, perhaps, no one, with which the pleasures of life, and the enjoyments of human society are so closely connected. But eloquence of speech-that high degree of this faculty by which man is enabled to express his thoughts in the clearest and most impressive manner, has always commanded admiration. It is a quality felt by savages as well as sages; and

is recognised as explicitly, if not as extensively, where science and refinement have never dawned, as where they have reached their zenith. There are on record many striking instances of the power of eloquence. It has won victories more astonishing than any that

were

ever won by the force of arms; and wrought effects far surpassing all that has been wrought by the other talents and faculties of man. We need not wonder at the effects said to have been wrought by eloquence in ancient times, nor at what we may have witnessed or felt ourselves; for eloquence is the combination of excellence in all the faculties of the mind, and in the gift of speech, that noblest of bodily endowment, which the bard of Israel pronounced the glory of our frame. What force and point does it give to reason, what a soul does it infuse into truth! Contrast the same sentiments uttered by two different tongues. The one is the. landscape in winter, the other, the same landscape in joy-inspiring spring. There are the same trees and rivers, the same hills and vales, the same earth and sky, but yet the scenes are not the same, and the effects upon human feelings are vastly different.

But though, strictly speaking, there is only one kind of true eloquence, yet in the common language of men, there are many varieties of this magical gift. It is not easy to set up a standard that shall meet all opinions, or to give a definition that shall include the ideas of the various parties who profess to admire and to feel eloquence. Much, however, that pleases one class of men is disgusting to another; and he who is eloquent among the populace, would be esteemed a babbler among the educated and the critical. Yet whatever in speech obtains a general ascendancy over the minds and feelings of men,

must be admitted to be eloquent, though it may not be of the purest kind nor in the highest degree. There is an artificial or affected attainment, not destitute of power, which some men have acquired, and which appears to possess the lowest pretensions of all the different kinds of eloquence. It is the ambition of little and sophisticated minds. It deals in every thing but simplicity and nature. With minds similarly constituted it has great influence, and becomes their supreme standard, their universal test. It is imposing, but shallow in its pretensions. Oppressed with weight of ornaments, but deficient in weight of sentiment. Of this showy attainment it has been well said by an old writer, it makes all its discourses like those pictures of Helen, which were all of gold. There is nothing but drapery to be seen. There is such a redundancy of dress, that you cannot distinguish the foot from the hand, or the head from the shoulder; or there is such an excess of splendour in the attire, that the beauty of the form, and of the human face divine are lost. Such talents may subserve the cause of error, but they are totally unworthy of the better cause with which they are not unfrequently combined. Truth is caricatured, and its real friends disgusted by seeing it made only a secondary object, while the display of the orator's eloquence and genius are evidently foremost in his own thoughts, and must necessarily be so in his auditors'. Truth in the humblest russet garb is surely more pleasing, and far more likely to engage the hearts that are worth the winning, than when thus assimilated to the bedeckings and beseemings of a harlot. There is power enough in truth, and eloquence enough in the natural feelings of the heart; to let the one shine by its own light, and the

other express itself in its own way will be the best eloquence for every man. There is a native charm in truth, and an enchanting power in genuine feeling, which makes them, when united, powerfully and extensively commanding. Education, as the word imports, is the leading forth or development of nature's own powers, not the acquisition of an artificial abstruseness in conception and affectation in feeling. The simple-hearted, truth-enamoured speaker, is the man that wins the heart. His style may be plain and artless, but it is efficient. Without rhetoric, and without high-wrought emotion; without a laboured quaintness, or an equally laborious polishing, it makes its way directly to the heart; it speaks in a sort of universal language which is common to human nature every where, and which reveals itself to the soul by its own light and power, like natural signs-they need no index. Such was the eloquence of Jesus Christ; apart from all considerations of the spiritual influence which he could command, there was an eloquence in his words which was the very perfection of truth and of natural feeling. There are effects recorded of his eloquence which transcend every thing recorded of the words and sayings of every other being that ever had the gift of speech. "Never man spake like this man,' was the exclamation of a party of officers which had been despatched by public authority to take him into custody; but who returned to their employers with this answer, being themselves in bonds to the power of his eloquence. His themes were the most interesting, his knowledge the most profound, his authority the most commanding, and his manner the most courteous and engaging. If the standard of pulpit eloquence were placed in an approximation to the words of our

unerring Master, we should see a considerable reformation. With the secular, and the large class of persons who cultivate polite literature, our preachers might cease to be styled eloquent; but I have too good an opinion of

the most of them, not to think they would rather their words should "stand in the power of God than in "Let such acthe wisdom of man." cept a friendly hint, and remember their engagements to truth and Jesus Christ. Επισκοπος.

XXXI.-A Letter from a Clergyman, to the Rev. John Newton, on the death of the Rev. Ellis Williams, Curate of Clehidon, near Wellington, Somerset.

-THE day Mr. Williams was buried, people were afraid of the infection, and would not venture into the house; and they who did, would not go into the room, till I came, when I went and lay before them over the corpse. Then the house filled, so that there was not room to receive them. We sang, Ah, lovely appearance of death! Such a scene I never desire to see again; though it is hard to say, whether joy or grief were the greatest. In finishing the service, when I said, "We commit his body to the ground"-"We give thee hearty thanks for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world!" Oh how did these words rend the hearts of the people! They cried-the poor cried Oh my dear minister! They pressed about the grave's mouth, stared in my face; seized me by the hand; and some would say "Oh how our master loved you, Sir," wishing me, it seems, to tell them that I loved him whom they loved.

On the Sunday following I preached at Clehidon from these words, 2 Pet. i. 15, "I will endeavour that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance." This was a fine day. All within me was on fire; and the hearts of the people were prepared. In comparing St. Peter's doctrine and spirit with dear Williams's, I was often obliged to mention the name of the latter; and the serious people, indeed almost all the people, were obliged to cry out, to give vent to their feelings. No wonder; for his affectionate spirit, his fatherly care, and his irreproachable life and behaviour, engaged the love of the good, and forced respect from all. His manner of life was unusual; too, too generous for his

income - The poor were fed by him, though he himself was as poor as theyThe naked were warmed at his fire, and because he could not clothe them. He he would weep and bless them; weep, was steady in his affection, and in his principles, and he always acted up to them. In preaching he prayed much; his sermons being made up as much of prayer as of teaching. These prayers were accompanied with strong cryings and tears. This mode was not very pleasant to people who had not a religious taste. But his people were plain: and never had a man the hearts of his congregation more than he.

The Sunday before he was taken ill, preaching in the afternoon at Clehidon, which was his last sermon, he could not give over. He said twice or thrice, "my dear people, this may be the last time that we shall meet on earth. Forgive my warmth; my heart loves you. God knows how sincerely I desire your salvation, and your advancement in holiness. I know not how to part with you. O remember the Redeemer, remember him; he is the glory of heaven; all its beauty centers in him" In his honest, heartless way, he repeated these and similar expressions again and again. But little did his honest flock think that they and he were to be parted so soon.

The Sunday before he died, many farmers and others went in to see him. He said to one, "O! Mr B-, I am glad to see you here. This is heaven I die in this way, only upon earth. by believing that Gospel which I have preached to you for nine years. So happily will you all die, if you believe what I have preached to you."

He never spoke of the affairs of this world but once; and then not for above two minutes-leaving a poor delicate wife, without a house, without money,

*This lady, alike venerable for her years and her piety, yet lives to witness to the fidelity and goodness of HIM who said "Let thy widows trust in me."--Ed.

without rich relations; with six children, the eldest but ten years of age, the youngest at the feeble mother's breast. He bore away with a full sail, not casting one look behind, to the best of my knowledge.

Oh, how often has his honest zeal for God made me blush! He would not yield an inch to accommodate himself to those who dislike the truth. In all companies his God and Saviour, and that religion which never was, which never will be in fashion, were honestly confessed. Thus lived, and thus died, Ellis Williams, in the thirty-second year of a laborious and useful life; having seen many seals to his labours for God; having, through grace, changed a rude people into as benevolent and kind a people as most that I know; and leaving behind him a name which will not be soon forgotten, and which well deserves to be had in remembrance.

It is no small pleasure to me, that my little cottage hath a hundred times received him, that he hath eaten and drank in it, and that there never was any thing known between us, but love and peace. May the Lord sanctify the remembrance of his life and death to me.

J. S. N.

XXXII.-Letter of the Rev. John Newton, to a Clergyman, on the death of the Rev. Ellis Williams, of Clehidon.

Coleman Street Buildings, August 9, 1790. DEAR SIR,-I thank you for your account of dear Mr. Williams. I feel for the removal of a friend whom I greatly loved, and of a minister so amiable, exemplary, and useful. But I know that the Lord's servants are immortal

till their work is done. He fought the good fight, he kept the faith, he finished his course with honour and joy; and he

is now before the throne. He is not a

proper subject for grief, nor did I grieve long for him. May we have grace to follow him as he followed his Lord. My

chief concern now is for the widow and

the fatherless. I sincerely sympathize with Mrs. Williams; such a bereaving stroke, added to her malady, and her concern for her young family, must be very heavy; but the Lord our God is

all-sufficient and faithful; he can support his people under the severest trials, and he has promised that he will, I trust he will, provide for her and hers. I hope I shall be honoured as the instrument of procuring her some assistance; and if Lord Dartmouth should have a nomination to Christ's Hospital next spring, he has promised to give it to a son of Mr. Williams's. His Lordship does not yet know that he is gone to a better world. We are apt to wonder, when the Lord takes away a faithful minister in the midst of his usefulness, and from a people who prize and love him; but what the Lord does must be right. Perhaps one reason is for a warning to us who are still preserved, that we may not suppose ourselves necessary to him upon the account of any gifts or services with which he has honoured us. We are liable to be deceived into a spirit of self-importance, as if his work could not well go on without our help; but he has no need of sinful man; the residue of the spirit is with him. When Elijah was taken to heaven, there was an Elisha prepared to succeed to his office and his mantle. I am sorry for the people of Clehidon, and the neighbourhood, wish I could point out a fit person to take up the work, but I know no one at present. Perhaps the death of Mr. Williams may be of more service to some of his hearers, than his sermons when living. They will remember what he said, and lay it more to heart, and though dead he will yet speak to them; and the Lord will be near to those who seek him, to maintain the work he has begun in them. Whoever dies, he is a living Saviour, and his presence can make up every loss and want. He is able to uphold and save to the uttermost.

May you, and I, and all our brethren, who hear the voice of this solemn providence, be enabled to profit by it. May we watch and pray, may we have our and be honestly and diligently employed loins girded up, and our lamps burning, in our several lines of service, that we may be found of him in peace, if he should come to us likewise suddenly.

I pray him to bless you in your person, family, and ministry, and request your prayers for me and nine.

I am sincerely, Your affectionate Friend and Brother, JOHN NEWTON.