were very wise and good men; preachers have worked upon the public mind.

and that a stranger shewed very little understanding or decency, who interfered in the established customs of a country.

No. CXIV.

Fame.

"Hear, O man, thy predeces sors in impenitence preach to thee from the infernal gibbets, from the Hames, from the rack, that thou shouldst repent. O look down into the bottomless pit. Seest thou how the smoak of their torment ascendeth for ever and ever! How black are those fiends! How furious are their tormentors! 'Tis their only musick to hear how their miserable patients roar, to hear their bones crack. "Tis their meat and drink to see how their flesh frieth, and their fat droppeth, to drench them with burning metal and to rip open their bodies, and pour in the fierce and fiery brass into their bowels, and the recesses and ventricles of their hearts." Pp. 188, 9. Ed. 1672.

At the close of his account of Thomas-a-Becket, our great historian, Hume, warmed above his ordinary temperature, speaks in a feeling strain of the frequent blindness and inequity of Fame. "It is indeed," says he, "a mortifying reflection to those who are actuated by the love of fame, the last infirmity of noble minds, that the wisest legislator and most exalted genius that ever reformed or enlightened the world, can never expect such tributes of praise as are lavished on the memory of pretended saints, whose whole conduct was probably to the last degree odious or contemptible, and Dr. Barrow's Description of an whose industry was entirely directed to the pursuit of objects pernicious to mankind. It is only a conqueror, a personage no less entitled to our hatred, who can pretend to the attainment of equal renown and glory."

No. CXV. Calvinistic Hell. Alleine's "Alarme to Unconverted Sinners" was once the most popular book of the Calvinists: it is a book from which a serious mind may still learn much; the preacher may draw from it resources of oratory; though it can only be recommended to such as know how to purge the alloy from the pure ore.

No. CXVI. :

honest Man.

As he doth not affect any poor base ends, so he will not defile his fair intentions by sordid means of compassing them; such as are illusive simulations and subdolous artifices, treacherous collusions, slie insinuations and sycophantic detractions, versatile whifflings and dodgings, flattering colloguings and glozings, servile crouchings and fawnings, and the like.

Works. Fol. i. 65.

No. CXVII. Advocat du diable. I consider a reviewer, says a distinguished one, H. Maty, as a kind of advocat du diable, who should speak all the evil he knows of a The following is not one of good book, for the instruction of Alleine's best passages, but it shews the writer and the edification of with what implements the popular the bystanders.

It is not, however, under this general view of the utility of pub. lished Sermons, that the volume before us, alone deserves our good opinion and will enjoy our feeble

its own, which will, we have no doubt, secure it a respectable rank and a permanent station amongst the works which are sacred to benevolence, peace and freedom.

This is, we believe, one of those Volumes of Sermons, which attest the friendship which so commonly prevails between Dis. senting Ministers and their con. gregations. It is natural that recommendation: it has merits of they who have for many years been instructed and edified by a preacher's discourses, should be desirous of having those composi. tions, which have afforded them Mr. Jervis is characterized as a pleasure and profit, delivered to them in a permanent form; and it writer by richness of fancy and is not unreasonable that the warmth of feeling; his style is preacher should feel a gratifica. always figurative and glowing. tion in perceiving that his labour' We know not indeed that he is enhas not been in vain,' and titled to the praise of originality should yield to the hope of use and invention; but if his genius fulness beyond the sphere of his be not creative, it is fertile in re personal services, and even be sources; he is master of the best yond the narrow limits of life. thoughts and the brightest images; We confess that we always view and there is more merit in using these memorials of a happy pas- happily the most valuable stores toral connection with pleasure. of the ablest minds than in merely There is indeed an abundance suggesting an idea which was neof Sermons before the public; ver before started, or in clothing but we do not think that there are it in a dress which it never before more good sermons published than assumed. are wanted every volume goes probably into some places where no other volume would go, and every author may be presumed to have readers whom his name alone induces to sit down to a book. Divinity is not the favorite reading of the age; and some service is rendered to religion when any that could not be prevailed on to devote their time to a doctrinal,

The Sermons are Twenty-Four in number; four of them (namely sermons xii. xiii. xiv. and xxiv.) are republications: the following is a list of the subjects, in the au. thor's order,—

"The Being of a God. The Truth and Excellence of the Christian Religi on. The Light of the Gospel. Religious Knowledge the foundation of Religious Principle. Education. Admonition to the Young. The Value of an

Unblemished Reputation. Death a Privilege in the condition of Man. The House of Mourning God the Highest Source of Virtuous Joy. The Glory of God in the works of Creation. The Social Worship of the One God, agreeable to Reason and Scripture. Genuine Reli gion, not Speculative, but Practical. The Danger of prevailing Custom and E ample. Moral Beauty. The Duties, Pleasures and Advantages resulting from the Exercise of Benevolence. Courtesy the Law of Social Life. The Consolations of Friendship. The Prayer of Agur, or the Moral Influence of Poverty and Riches. Consolatory Views of Providence amidst the Vicissitudes of Life. The Vanity of the World. Happiness the Heritage of Man. Reflections on the Great Journey of Human Life, appropriate to a New-Year's day. Reflections on the Lapse of Ages, and the State of the World at the Close of the Eighteenth Century."

We must not pronounce the Sermons immethodical, but the old and useful plan of announcing the divisions of the discourses is dropped, and the method observed is not always obvious. A rational theology pervades the volume, without being pressed, however, upon the reader. Not one of the sermons can be properly termed doctrinal; though Sermon xii. exhibits a general view of the ex. cellence of the Christian scheme. It may, possibly, be matter of regret to some readers that the Sermons are not more peculiarly and strikingly Christian; and we participate, in some measure in the feeling: but still it must be admitted that an author has a right to choose his subject and his mode of treating it, and that the variety thus introduced into books i fa vourable to the instruction and entertainment, and, of course, the improvement and happiness, of society.

A few extracts will enable the reader to judge better of the fairness of some of our strictures.

Sermon v. on 'Education,' from Prov. xxii. 6, is well introduced :

"Should it be asked, what is the best method of restraining the levity and inconstancy of youth? the answer is obvious-Education! What are the most effectual means of correcting the vices of a corrupt and degenerate age? Education! How shall we most effectually promote a general reformation of manners, and the revival of pure, uncorrupted religion? I should still reply-by a strict and conscientious regard to the right Education of children. This is the first step towards reformation, this is the beginning of wisdom.' In this view it appears that a liberal and virtuous edu→ cation is an unspeakable blessing. It is an object of the first magnitude, and of universal concern.

"And in vain do we lament the corruption of youth, if we take no pains to prevent it. We may complain of the progress of vice; but fruitless and unprofitable are all our lamentations, while we fold our arms in supineness and indolence, neglecting to employ the most vigorous efforts to oppose it. Unmeaning are all our invectives and complaints against the degeneracy of the times, if we do not exert ourselves to check the first appearances of evil, the earliest symptoms of vice, before its accumulated force bear down upon us like a torrent which cannot be resisted or controuled.

"To parents, and the instructors of youth, we are, in the first instance, to look for the prevention of crimes, and a manners of the times. From their timely exertions the happiest effects may be derived to individuals, and to society in general. Millions of intelligent beings destroyer; and the world at large may may be preserved from the paths of the become more wise, virtuous and happy." Pp. 79, 80.

radical reformation in the habits and

The following picture of a ' Captive' is in Mr. Jervis's usual style, and is a specimen of his powers of description;

"Behold the victim of oppression, for some offence of which perhaps he is not conscious, dragged from his home, his family, his children-thrust into the ed to an imprisonment which will tergloomy, subterraneous dungeon-coomminate only with life! See the poor

captive reclined upon his bed of straw!
he counts the lingering hours as they
pass.
He lifts the vacant eye of sorrow,
but no object is presented to his view:
it is again cast cown in fixed despair.
He shall no more taste the invigorating
freshness of the morning breeze, no
more feel the genial heat of the sun, no
more be cheered by his golden beam.
And thy terrors, O Solitude! are added
to fill up the measure of his woes. He
forgets the music of the human voice,
and shall never more behold the face of
a friend. In dreary despondency he
eats the bitter bread of misery, and
drinks the nauseous cup of sorrow. The
silent tear bedews his cheek; whilst no
glimpse of hope is left to sooth the sad-
ness of his soul. But death will one day
unbar his prison doors, unlock the fet.
ters of mortality, and restore liberty to
the captive death will release him from
the gloomy precincts of his cell, and set
him free from the remorseless cruelty of
man. Then will he rejoice, to go where
the sorrowful sighing of the prisoner
shall be heard no more; where the

wicked cease from troubling and the
weary,' the persecuted, the tormented,
'is at rest.' Pp. 138, 139.

condition in which providence may
place us. It is lovely, not to be rapa-
cious, covetous, and devoted to our own
selfish interest in all things, but to con-
sult the welfare of others, and to do all
we can to promote it.
It is lovely,
not to avail ourselves of the power we
may possibly possess, of acting accord-
ing to our own arbitrary pleasure or ca-
pricious will, without regard to the in-
clinations or feelings of those with whom
we are connected, but by all the means
in our power to render their lives easy,
comfortable and happy. It is lovely,
not to indulge moroseness of temper, to
give a loose to turbulent and irascible
passions, or to harbour sentiments of
malice, envy and revenge, but to exer-
cise the virtues of gentleness and humi-
lity; to be kindly affectioned one to-
wards another, each esteeming other
better than himself. Lovely is the or-
nament of a meek and quiet spirit, which
is, in the sight of God, of great price."

P. 265.

We meet with a golden maxim in the sermon on Courtesy, (No. xvii.) p. 300,-" VIRTUOUS MO

RALS ARE THE BEST FOUNDA

TION OF GOOD MANNERS." The following sentence from the same sermon, p. 297 is, we think, peculiarly unfortunate: "The duty

The Sermon on "Moral Beau. ty," (No. xv.) from Philipp. iv. 8, is one of the most interesting in the volume. We shall give an extract on the loveliness of virtue; but of Christian courtesy is founded first we must venture an objection to the preacher's recommendation of religion to the young, on the ground of its inculcating nothing that can injure the finest complexion or derange the most per. fect symmetry of features. This is, we think, an instance of sink. ing; and reminds us of Dr. Fordyce's alluring young women to their prayers by telling them that they are never so lovely as in the posture of devotion; a prettiness properly laughed at by Mrs. Woll stonecraft.

"It is lovely, not to be impatient, restless, and disconcerted by every untoward accident, or depressed by disappointment and misfortune, but to be patient, resigned, and contented in every

upon the equitable doctrine of
doing unto others as we would
that they should do unto us'-
the golden precept of Christianity!
and the very quintessence of cour
tesy!" Common usage, the only
arbiter of language, has appropri-
ated the word doctrine' to an
article of faith, and has degraded
the word quintessence' to a bur
lesque sense.

We take an example of Mr.
Jervis's best style from the sermon
(No. xxiii.) on The Journey of
Life:-

the road many stages of rest and accom-
modation, yet these are no more than
caravanseras or inns; places of occa-
sional reception and refreshment for the
weary traveller: who is still passing on
to another country, seeking a better,
and a more lasting habitation. It were
well, if, in each of these places of rest,
these intervals of relaxation from toil
and fatigue, we were to erect a pillar
of remembrance, a monument of praise,
inscribed To the Almighty Preserver !
"As we pass along the road of life,
we perceive many objects on the right
hand, and the left, on which, in large,
and legible characters, we read the aw-
ful memento of death, pointing to the
grave, the house appointed for all
living. The aged tree in the forest, the
falling leaf, the mouldering tower, the
declining day, the waning moon, we
may contemplate as so many expressive
emblems of our mortal decay. While
we behold the sun in his diurnal course,
rising and setting, without pause or in-
termission, we are reminded that our days
are posting away with the utmost cele-
rity and speed. The wheels of nature
never stand still. The grand pendulum
of time, recording the moments as they
fly, vibrates with a perpetual motion.
The index that marks the rapid succes-
sion of the passing hours, enables us to
count the number of our days, and with
minute exactness, to calculate the sum
of our advancing years. These are
faithful monitors, warning us, that we
are going the way whence we shall
not return." "We are travelling,' as it
is eloquently expressed, directly to the
house of death, whose doors lie open at
all hours and to all persons: for this
tide of man's life, after it once turns and
declines, ever runs with a perpetual ebb
and falling stream, but never flows again.
Our leaf once fallen, springs no more.'
Pp. 400, 401.

We close our extracts with a passage from the last sermon (No. xxiv.) on the "State of the World in the Eighteenth Century."

"The age of reason and philosophy, the golden age of Christianity, of wisdom, virtue and benevolence, is not yet realized. We are still involved in numberless evils resulting from the depraved state of society, and the defects and imperfections of human institutions. We have not yet seen the iron rod of op

pression broken, and the wolf and the
lamb' feeding together. The gloomy
and fanatical spirit of superstition has
not yet subsided; nor has the power of
persecution been subdued and disarmed.
Conscience is still shackled and burdened
by impositions. The right of individual
judgment and opinion in matters of re-
ligion is still embarrassed and restrained,
and the outward profession of the Chris-
tian faith and worship is liable to penal-
ties and disabilities, disgraceful to a li-
beral nation, and an enlightened age:
while the Protestant religion, debased by
a narrow policy, and the little jealousies
which are generated by bigotry and in-
tolerance, is far from having attained to
that state of purity and benevolence
which ought to be its end and aim, far
from being yet settled on the true, the
only solid basis of Christian knowledge,
With all the great
truth and freedom.
advantages by which we are distinguished
above every other nation under heaven,
yet we cannot glory in the unqualified
enjoyment of civil or religious liberty,
in the general prevalence of virtuous mo-
rals and simple manners, in the inestima-
ble blessings of natural justice, of pure
philanthropy, of domestic tranquillity, of
universal peace.

"Are we not still insensible to the cries of the poor, and unmindful of those regulations and arrangements respecting them, which in the view of a sound and enlightened policy, are necessary to their sobriety and industry, as well as to the peace and good order of society? Do we not remain still deaf to the sorrowful voice of the prisoner groaning under the lash of the oppressor? Do we not still encourage the wanton waste of life, the systematic effusion of human blood? And, by fomenting the irreparable mischiefs and miseries of war, do we not still multiply and aggravate the sufferings of humanity?

"If there be merit or demerit, accountableness and responsibility, attached to human actions; if the conduct of individuals or of states be cognizable at the bar of eternal justice; if certain measures of conduct do, in their natural tendency, directly lead to internal peace and assurance of mind, while contrary measures do as necessarily produce perplexity and embarrassment, then surely we can plead no right to an exemption from defeat and disaster, to unalloyed prosperity, victory and conquest; we can claim no title to the approving