people, who once professed, alone, what now forms the general glory of the land." -pp. 65, 66.

66

To the liberal spirit cherished by Dissenters, England, also, owes much of its eminence in various branches of literature and science. They have always exercised considerable influence over the press; and from the time that Elizabeth compelled the puritans to establish private circulating presses, to the last of the Stuarts, who subjected the nonconformists to the tyranny of a licenser, they struggled to avail themselves of this mode of appealing to the tribunal of the public.

"It is, however, to their immortal honour, that their laurels are principally gathered from Mount Zion; and their literary labours, like those of the Hebrew sages, consecrated to the service of the temple of God. Ainsworth, the rabbi of the Independents, gave the first specimen of just expositions of Scripture; and struck out the path, in which Lowth and Horsley have since made such honourable advances. Among popular commentaries on the whole of the Sa

cred Volume, none can vie with that of Matthew Henry. The labours of Mr. Scott, un evangelical clergyman in the Establishment, deserve high praise, particularly for the valuable collection of marginal references; by which he has far surpassed Brown, on whose shoulders, however, he had the advantage of standing.

"No work on a single book of Scripture is equal to Dr. Owen's Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews;' valuable on many accounts, but chiefly for diligent research into the mind of the Spirit, expressed in the Scriptures. Doddridge and Guyse are celebrated commentators on the New Testament; and if Scottish Presbyterians be accounted Dissenters, Brown, Macknight, and Campbell, deserve honourable mention, as valuable writers on the Christian Scriptures. Dr. Taylor's Hebrew Concordance has afforded great assistance in the study of the Old Testament; and Dr. Ashworth's Hebrew Grammar is still in general use.

"Nearly all the bodies of divinity in the English language, are the produc tions of Dissenters. Baxter, Lawson, Ridgley, Gill, and Watson, have each given systems of theology, valuable, as presenting a comprehensive view of the whole subject; however objectionable as distorting particular parts. In the philosophy of theology, president Edwards, and Dr. Williams, his editor and commentator, are unrivalled. The esta

blishment might have borne the palm in defending the outworks of Christianity,

but for Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel,' which is as valuable for its aid to other advocates of the Christian Revelation, as for its own intrinsic merits.

"Of detached theological publications, the far greater part have been written by Dissenters, if we include the ponderous folios of Owen, Howe, Baxter, Flavel, Bates, and many others of nearly equal worth. That the most popular published sermons should be preached by Dissenters, might have been expected; since preaching is deemed of more importance by them than it is in the establishment, where the liturgy is generally considered as more than a sufficient substitute."pp. 67, 68.

The morals, and the political principles of Dissenters, are vindicated with equal force by this spirited writer. The tolerant principles of the house of Brunswick are justly eulogized. The regium donum is a sufficient proof of the liberality of George Ist. His successor quashed the prosecution commenced by certain "dignitaries of the Established Church," against Dr. Doddridge, "for the crime of teaching an academy at Northampton."

"Thus did the King of England again confirm the declaration made by him, on ascending the throne, that, during his reign, there should be no persecution for conscience's sake.' A declaration which

he repeated, when it was represented to him, that those profound theologians, the English rabble, instigated by the established clergy, and country justices, inflicted their usual arguments of mud missiles, stones, and manual violence, upon Mr. Wesley, and his followers. Accordingly, when no redress from these grievances could be obtained from the rural magistrates, the Court of King's Bench did prompt and ample justice on the rioters; and the Arminian Methodists were permitted to labour unmolested in their vocation."-p. 90.

George III., and George the IVth, have avowed, and acted upon the same liberal principles, in all cases where the liberties of Dissenters have been threatened or infringed. The contrast exhibited by the Stuarts to this admirable conduct of the Brunswicks, is described with a vigorous pen, and the frivolous character, and

persecuting spirit of Laud is powerfully drawn.

"During twelve years of the maladministration of this merciless, bigotted formalist, four thousand emigrants escaped with life, from his murderous persecution, to America; and twenty-seven clergymen, ordained in the Church of England, became pastors of American congregations, prior to the year 1640. These persecutions drained England of half a million sterling, a sum, at least, equal in value to ten millions of dollars at present; and also drove from her an immeasurable aggregate of piety, talent, learning, industry, and efficiency. So serviceable is a persecuting Church Establishment to the cause of religion, and to the country upon which it is fastened by the iron chain of secular power.

"Multitudes more would have followed the earlier pilgrims to these transatlantic shores; but Laud forbade them to emigrate, that he might gratify, though he could not glut his archiepiscopal malignity, in mangling and mutilating their bodies at home.

Both

Charles and Laud, however, afterwards enjoyed full leisure to regret the having issued their writ of ne exeant regno, to Oliver Cromwell, and some of his sturdy

companions, who wished to come to this

country.

"No human language is sufficient to describe the imprudent insolence, the childish superstition, the extreme violence, the personal animosity, the unrelenting, blood thirsty persecution, that marked, and characterized, and pervaded, and darkened the whole course of Laud's ecclesiastical administration. He executed the plans of the arbitrary Stuart, and furthered the views of his own clerical ambition, with singular cruelty, and unrivalled folly.

If

"He did every thing insolently. the law of the land opposed his schemes, he spurned it with contempt, and violated it without hesitation. He heaped upon all whom he chose to designate as puritans, every species of injury, and vexation, and suffering; and laboured to exterminate them by imprisonment, by torture, by murder.

"He rejected publicly, so early as 1625, the first year of Charles's reign, the Calvinistic doctrine of predestination, as contained in the seventeenth article of the Anglican Church; and notwithstanding the opposition and remonstrance of Archbishop Abbot, insisted upon substituting the Arminian system in its place. He did not indeed, venture openly to abrogate the thirty-nine articles, and cause the tenets of Arminius to be incorporated into the creed of the Church of England; but in 1625, he

wrote a small treatise to prove the orthodoxy of the Arminian doctrines; and by his influence with the Duke of Buckingham, he got Arminian and anti-puritanical chaplains placed about the King.

"These facts are worthy of notice, as contrasted with his subsequent flat denial of having ever encouraged Arminianism; and should be, occasionally, remembered by those churchmen, on both sides of the Atlantic, who so much admire this father and founder of Protestant Episcopal formalism, and hang his picture up in their closets, as papists do the images of their patron saints.

"On his trial, Laud utterly denied himself to be, either an Arminian, or a promoter of Arminianism- I answer, in general,' said this prevaricating prelate, that I never endeavoured to introduce Arminianism into our church, nor ever maintained any Arminian opinions. I did neither protect, nor countenance the Arminians, persons, books, or tenets. True it is, I was, in a declaration of the Commons House, taxed as a favourer, advancer of Arminians and their opinions, without any particular proof at all; which was a great slander to me."pp. 127—129.

While proving and illustrating the Arminianism of Laud in opposition to this declaration, Mr. Bristed introduces the following

statement.

"Dr. Gleig is a Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, and one of the ablest and most admired of the contributors to the British Critic, and the Antijacobin Review; two journals, avowedly instituted and supported as orthodox champions of the Anglican Church Establishment; and the sworn foes of all non-episcopalians; but more particularly inveterate against all evangelicals, whether in or out of the pale of the state church. Bishop Gleig has inserted a dissertation on original sin, in his edition of Stackhouse's History of the Bible.

"Able and learned, undoubtedly, is this dissertation; as, indeed, are all the writings of the author of the articles, metaphysics and theology, in the Encyclopedia Britannica; but its orthodoxy, to say nothing of its evangelism, many will be disposed to doubt, when they find that it teaches, how Adam's disobedience to the Divine command only in curred the penalty of bodily death; that his posterity derive no moral taint or corruption from him; that children are born into the world quite pure and innocent; that all the iniquity of human kind proceeds from the errors of education and association. in a word, that there is no such thing as

"Has a copy of Laud's Book of Sports found its way into the city of New-York? In the month of July 1821, several of the most respectable and meritorious of the clergy, of various denominations, proposed to the corporation to call a meeting in the City Hall, in order to devise some means of bringing about a better observance of the Sabbath, than the present too prevailing mode of spending that sacred day, in steam-boat excursions, in public gardens, in taverns, in carriages, on horseback; in a word, any where, and any how, except attending divine worship. The proposal was merely to procure the execution of the laws already in being, for the decent ob

servance of the Lord's-day.

"Immediately, those profound theologians, the doers of newspapers, Christian, Jew, and Gentile, opened in full cry against these clergy, for their unmannerly interference with the Sabbatical recreations of a free and an enlightened people. The epithets, puritan, persecuting, ambitious, hypocritical, intolerant,' and so forth, rang from side to side, against these unfortunate divines. A large counter-meeting was got up, consisting of the purest patriots in the community, among whom were some hundreds of Hebrews, the best of all possible judges how a Christian Sabbath ought to be kept; and this goodly concourse of pious people passed a resolution, that the interference of clergy in such matters was highly improper. Huge outcries were raised against church and state, clerical tyranny, and similar enormities; and all design of keeping the Lord's-day any better in future, than in time past, was completely quashed.

"It is but justice to state, that the

newspapers distinctly declared, that the New-York Protestant Episcopal clergy, generally, had no part nor lot in this attempt to procure a more devout observance of the Sabbath."—pp. 149, 150

The Life of the Right Honourable Willielma, Viscountess Glenorchy, containing Extracts from her Diary and her Correspondence. By T. S. Jones, D. D. Minister of her Chapel, Edinburgh. 8vo. 10s. 6d. London: 1822. QUOCUNQUE modo scripta, delectat, is a phrase as appropriate to biography as to history. There is something indescribably attractive in a species of composition professing to unfold the motives and the impulses which constitute the essentiality, and mark the distinguishing features, of character. Every individual, in society, acts more or less under a mask. However refined, however consistent, the moral sentiments and the exterior habits may appear, there will yet be a decided difference between the same person in his closet, in his family, or in the world; and the adage that no man is a hero to his valet de chambre,' may be expressed in much stronger terms, when applied to the secrecies of the heart, and to the verdict of conscience. Now, though all biography does not afford, nor even promise, this minute inspection of characteristic quality, it is valuable or otherwise, in proportion as it approaches to, or recedes from, this its proper

aim.

The writer who gives us nothing more than a meagre delineation of the res gesta of his hero's public life, falls far short of him who delineates the domestic scene, and exhibits the heart and intellect in their active and untrammelled exercise within the familiar circle; and more interesting still will be the anatomy of mind and feeling, that is to be obtained only from diaries and adversaria, the records of circumstances, reasonings, and motives, unknown to

Dr. Jones's work is of a mixed character, and without ranging precisely under either of the above classes, partakes to a certain extent of them all.. He gives a general narrative of Lady Glenorchy's life, accompanied by suitable reflections and explanations, and illustrated by extracts from her diary. In this way he has made up an interesting book, though we could wish that he had been less resolute in his determination to coldly furnish forth' an 8vo. of 520 pages His own part is well done, and his selection from letters and personal papers is entirely judicious; but there was hardly enough of variety or strongly marked feature in the character, habits, and experience, of Lady G., to command the attention of an age grown fastidious from abundance, through the long array of nineteen chapters. We do not complain for ourselves, but we fear the general impression will be, that the book is somewhat heavy. To the well-judging, however, to those who are arrested by the substantial qualities of authorship, rather than by the mechanical dexterities of bookmaking, the good sense, expressed in a manly and unaffected style, which distinguishes the portion that belongs to the biographer, together with the piety, the conscientiousness, the humility and devotedness displayed in the writings and in the life of the excel

CONG. MAG. No. 65. .

Lady G. was the youngest daughter of Mr. Maxwell, a medical gentleman of large fortune, in North Britain, who died soon after his marriage, leaving two children, Mary and Willielma, to the care of a mother who watched vigilantly over their education, as far, at least, as artificial accomplishments were concerned, while her ambitious views anticipated for them the honours of rank and title. Her wishes were gratified. Beautiful, graceful, and wealthy, "the Misses Maxwell" attracted universal admiration ; Mary, the eldest, married the premier Earl of Scotland, and became Countess of Sutherland. The nobleman to whom she was united, is described as strikingly handsome in his person, and as possessing "all the dignity and amenity of manners and character which give lustre to greatness, while she was every thing which could be desired by such a husband." In the twentieth year of her age, Willielma became the wife of John, Viscount Glenorchy, only son of the Earl of Breadalbane. With this wayward heir to wealth and title, she does not seem to have enjoyed much happiness, though this part of her history is passed over slightly. The first years of her marriage were spent in the usual routine of high life; she travelled on the Continent with her husband, and indulged in the vain splendours and dissipating amusements of fashionable existence. Among his various changes of residence, Lord Glenorchy sometimes resided at a seat which he possessed in Staffordshire, "at no great distance from Hawkstone, the celebrated seat of Sir Rowland Hill, Bart." With the pious members of this family, Lady G. formed a happy intimacy, which led her to sericus thoughts respecting her eternal concerns. During the

2 L

with a putrid fever, that awakened in her mind a host of anxieties and fears, which had slept while health enabled her to put at a distance the thought of a future state. A letter received by her, while in a desponding frame, from Miss Hill, then only twenty-four years of age, contains so admirable and judicious a statement of gospel truth, expressed with such frankness and firmness, and yet guarded by so much wisdom and discretion, that we regret our inability, from its great length, to insert it here.

"This letter, by the blessing of God, produced what was intended by Miss Hill, and what was desired by Lady Glenorchy. It was the means employed by the grace of God, to bring her out of the horrible pit and miry clay of despondency, to set her feet on the Rock of Ages, to establish her goings, and to put a new song in her mouth, eren praises unto God. It may now be said of Lady Glenorchy, Behold she prayeth. arose from her knees at Taymouth, as Saul of Tarsus did from the ground near Damascus, a wonderful monument of the

She

power and grace of God. From that in

teresting moment, without hesitation or conferring with flesh and blood, she resolutely turned her back on the dissipated world, and without reserve de voted herself, and all that she could command and influence, to the service of Christ and the glory of God; and in this she invariably persisted to her latest breath. Her future path of life lay through evil report and through good report; in the midst of deep adversity and high prosperity; of severe trials and strong temptations, both temporal and spiritual. But none of these things

moved her from the steadfastness of her

Christian profession. Although her road was often rough in the extreme, and her enemies cruel, strong, and numerous, yet on she went in her Christian course, never deviating to the right hand nor to the left; but ever pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.". PP. 12.

It was a happy dispensation that gave to Lady Glenorchy such a correspondent as Miss Hill, whose letters are marked by an experimental knowledge, and a skilful application of spiritual

Our

her friend, which excite highest admiration of the writer. In her despondencies, her sicknesses, her trials, her resolutions to abandon the scenes of dissipation, Lady G. had constant recourse to this wise and faithful counsellor, and was strengthened by the intercourse. In 1766, she sustained a severe privation in the loss of her sister. Lord and Lady Sutherland, deeply affected by the death of a beloved child, instead of seeking consolation at a throne of grace, sought it in the bustle of worldly amusement, and found Fever first misery and death. seized upon the husband. His wretched wife watched the progress of the malady during twentyone anxious days and nights, and then sunk under exhaustion and infection. The mother of Lady S. hastening to attend the summons to her dying daughter, and alighting from her carriage at an inn on the road, made inquiry respecting two hearses standing by the gate, and received for answer, that they contained the remains of Lord and Lady Sutherland. At Edinburgh, Lady Glenorchy derived much profitable gratification from meetings held, for religious edification, by a number of females of rank and fortune. At these assemblies were accustomed to attend, the Marchioness of Lothian, the Countess of Leven, Lady Banff, Lady Maxwell, Lady Ross Baillie, and many others. At first they were held at different places; but ultimately they took place at the house of Mr. Walker, senior minister of the High Church, who was accustomed to lead the devotions, and to address the members. In 1770, probably at the suggestion of Lady Maxwell, Lady G. determined to endow a place of worship, on the liberal plan of opening the pulpit to preachers of Evangelical sentiments, without any distinction of sect or party.