sures thereof as its chief good, ridicules the wise and holy pilgrim who regards these destructive delusions with a detecting glance, and passes on in his journey Zionward.

We will not say that there were no men such as Burley among the Covenanters, nor that some approach to the extravagances of Mucklewrath or the absurdities of Kettledrumle might not have been found among their preachers, but we object to the selection of individuals, marked by offensive or ridiculous peculiarities, as the representatives of a whole body, and we condemn, as unjust and immoral, that system of distorted and exaggerated representation which puts forward the defective qualities of an individual without reference to his undeniable virtues, and which holds forth the failures of the men as marking qualities, when they were, in reality, nothing more than the mere accidents of character, obscuring, but not impairing, its substantial worth. The Puritan in "Peveril of the Peak," though we believe he was designed as a somewhat more favourable representation of his tribe, than the extravagant caricatures of "Old Mortality" were of the maintainers of the "Solemn league and Covenant," bears palpable traces of the same deficiency either in knowledge or in candour. These publications, however, go forth among readers of all descriptions, and are received as correct as well as masterly delineations of specific character; the impression is indelible, and the feeling of respect for religious feeling and profession is weakened, if not obliterated. The language of courtesy and affected liberality by which these descriptions are introduced, makes the matter worse. The author gets credit for restraint and forbearance; he is supposed to lean rather to the favourable than to the sarcastic view, and the reader quits

the volume with an entire persuasion that circumstances are much worse than they have been made to appear. It is in this way that such works as the Scotch novels and Southey's Life of Wesley, have a most mischievous effect: they excite no angry emotion certainly; they may rather incline the world to tolerate and treat with kindness the evangelical enthusiast; but they substitute the feeling of contempt for the rage of persecution; they tend to avert injury from the person of the scorned fanatic, but they increase the prevalent disposition to set at nought the genuine principles of "pure and undefiled religion, and to acquiesce in a vague and customary profession.

There is, however, an intrinsic dignity, a moral grandeur, in the character which has been thus selected as the subject of misrepresentation and ridicule, which has enabled it to break through all these attempts to darken or depress it. This is so well urged by Mr Orme, that we shall adopt his language instead of pursuing the subject in our own.

"There is some reason to believe, that an extensive change in the public opinion, respecting the nature of genuine religion, has been silently operating for obviously not on the side of infidelity and irreligion. The faith of Christ is not entirely limited to the vulgar and the wretched. It has been adopted in all its peculiarities, and manifested in all its decision, by men of the highest order of intellect, and of the most brilliant parts. It is not so convenient as it once was, to decry seriousness as fanaticism, and It is dis

a considerable time. All the talents are

religious zeal as madness.

covered, that a Christian may be a gentleman; and that sourness and grimace have as little connexion with godliness as levity and profaneness.

"This change in the public mind appears, among other things, in the increased respect which is shewn to puritanical writings--puritanical characters --and, to what may be called, the puritanical age of English history. Even Oliver Cromwell has ceased to be re

garded merely as a hypocrite and a villain; and has found historians and

apologists, not only among Dissenters and Whigs, but among Church-men and Tories. The interesting memoirs of various individuals, who lived and acted through that age of turmoil and excitement, have dissipated much of the ignorance and prejudice which long prevailed on all sides. The account of Colonel Hutchinson, by his learned and accomplished lady, illustrates those religious views and feelings which obtained among the higher class of the nonconforming community; and clearly demonstrates, that even among the regicides themselves, there were men actuated by something else than the love of plunder and blood. The memoirs of the virtuous and cultivated Evelyn, have rendered an important service to the church and the cavaliers. Among the latter class, there were evidently better men than Sir Geoffrey--men who feared God as well as honoured the king; and who rendered

more valuable services to the exiled

monarch than his gay and dissipated companions."- pp. vi. vii.

Mr. Orme's observations on the austerity of the puritans are equally forcible. He admits the fact and gives its reasons. In the circumstances in which they were placed, crusted by an oppressive power, to which they were peculiarly obnoxious, and surrounded by the calamities of civil commotion

"Mirth and festivity would then have been unsuitable and unseemly. Men do not usually sport on the brink of a precipice, or while surrounded by the desolations of a plague or a volcano. Religion was necessary as a source of enjoyment, and a principle of action. What, in more favoured circumstances, is resorted to for occasional comfort and direction--as an auxiliary to other things--was then the solatium, and often the only prop of human life. It was not assumed as a badge, or worn as

a garment: but constituted the element in which they lived and moved. It was their life, their business, and their hope.

"Of nothing is the writer of these pages more strongly convinced, than that the design and tendency of the Gospel are to make those who receive it happy. This is the revealed affirmation respecting its object. Its sublime discovery of the infinitely perfect and amiable character of God--its statements respecting the sacrifice and mediation of Christ, as the ground of hope, and the means of pardon and healing to the guilty--the elevating influence of the spirit which it communicates--and the grandeur of that hope which it inspires, and of which it

furnishes so sure a foundation--all prove how admirably adapted it is to relieve the heart from sorrow, and to produce joy unspeakable and full of glory.'' pp. ix. x.

After vindicating the domestic character, and asserting the disinterestedness of the Puritans, Mr. Orme adverts to the ridicule which has been lavished on their long and impassioned devotions.

"Why," he asks, “should an apology be necessary for spending considerable portions of time in the service of the Creator? Is it because religious people now feel it to be a drudgery? Or because sinful creatures have discovered that it is no longer necessary? When we hear of Parliament spending twelve cussing the business of the country, it or fourteen hours at a sitting, in disthat the same body spent, occasionally, excites our approbation. When we read the half of that time, during a period of fearful agitation, in fasting and prayer before the God of heaven, it perhaps excites a smile. Ought it to do so? An address of three or four hours to men, is regarded as a proof of earnestness, or a display of genius. A prayer to God, which should last one hour, Iwould be denounced as fanaticism and

hypocrisy. For the enthusiasm of patriotism or genius, a ready apology is always found; but the warmth and decision of religion experience no quarter in the world. For this, however much a genuine Christian will deplore it, be will not be very solicitous. He will remember, If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, much more they of his household '"'—pp. xiii. xiv.

There is no part of this excellent "introduction" with which we are better pleased, than with Mr. Orme's comments on the sentiments expressed by a " celebrated Essayist," on the subject of evangelical phraseology. We have always thought the essay referred to, the most questionable section of that powerful and original writer's admirable volume. are decidedly for maintaining the terms which the use of centuries has made universally understood in their application to doctrinal distinctions, and to the service of the sanctuary. Nothing would be gained by giving them up; the world would not thank us for the

We

concession, nor would the doc trine which is according to godliness be made more acceptable to the carnal mind, were it dressed in the most classic garb.

The life of William Kiffin is, as we have before intimated, an interesting and important memoir, and may be considered as exhibiting a fair example of the general character of puritans in the middle classes of society. Kiffin was a merchant who, by prudence, perseverance, and the divine blessing, rose from the depression of "a mean calling," to wealth and eminence. He was a pious, prudent, and sensible man, and in the midst of the many hazards to which he was exposed, while he neglected none of the common means of safety, his main confidence was derived from an unshaken trust in God. We do not feel it expedient to occupy much space with the details of his life, since they have been, to a considerable extent at least, repeatedly before the public. Noble, Wilson, and Ivimey, have made much use of the manuscript, and too many of our readers are intimately acquainted with their works, to justify us in venturing on a specific abstract or on large citation. William Kiffin was born about the 1616. His year parents were probably in good circumstances, since he speaks of himself as having been deprived of his inheritance by the unfair dealing of his relations. He was the

ap

prentice of the redoubtable John Lilburn, of whom Judge Jenkins pithily said, that, "if the world was emptied of all but John Lilburn, Lilburn would quarrel with John, and John with Lilburn." The various means by which he was brought into a state of acceptance with God, are simply but clearly described, and at the age of 22, he joined an Independent Church. Disease and persecution pressed heavily upon him; but he

had strong faith, and the mercy of God interfered for his deliverance. He engaged in foreign traffic and became wealthy; he was made assessor of taxes by the Parliament, and held the rank of Lieut. Colonel in the militia. At the Restoration he was much harassed, but he contrived to make friends at court, no doubt by a skilful application of the golden mean, and escaped the snares of his enemies, though, on one occasion, Buckingham himself assailed him, probably with a view to obtain, either in the way of bribe or mulct, a share in the plunder of the successful merchant. He was firm in resisting the attempts made by James to cajole the Dissenters, and distinguished himself by his zeal against popery. died on the 29th of December, 1701, in the 86th year of his age; "being great among the Baptists, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed."

He

The chapter entitled "the Hewlings," contains an affecting account of two amiable young men, the grandsons of Kiffin. They joined in Monmouth's rebellion, were taken prisoners, and executed, one at Lyme, the other at Taunton. They died with triumphant confidence in Christ, and their deportment in the last scene, as well as throughout their imprisonment, seems to have made a deep and general impression. In connexion with this event, Mr. Orme inserts the following anecdotes among his notes; they have been frequently quoted, but they

are so characteristic both of James

and of Kiffin, as to call peremptorily for a place here.

"Kiffin was personally known both to Charles and James; and when the latter deprived the city of the old charter, deof these princes, after having arbitrarily termined to put many of the Dissenters into the magistracy; under the rose, he