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and which saintly King Edward designed, had never been provided." In return for all these wrongs, the Reformation had effected one great advantage it had set the intellect of the nation free, and, from spiritual bondage and idolatry and superstition, had emancipated the soul. But too little care had been taken to embue the better classes early with this better faith, and the population were in a state of heathen, or worse than heathen, ignorance.

Three measures, then, says the biographer of Wesley, on this subject," three measures, then, were required for completing the Reformation in England: that the condition of the inferior clergy should be improved; that the number of religious institutions should be greatly increased; and that a system of parochial education should be established and vigilantly upheld. These measures could only be effected by the legislature. A fourth thing was needful,—that the clergy should be awakened to an active discharge of their duty; and this was not within the power of legislation. The former objects never for a moment occupied Wesley's consideration. He began life with ascetic habits and opinions; with a restless spirit and a fiery heart. Ease and comfort were neither congenial to his disposition nor his principles wealth was not necessary for his calling, and it was beneath his thoughts: he could command not merely respectability without it, but importance. Nor was he long before he discovered

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what Sir Francis and his followers and imitators had demonstrated long before, that they who profess poverty for conscience sake, and trust for daily bread to the religious sympathy which they excite, will find it as surely as Elijah in the wilderness, and without a miracle. As little did the subject of national education engage his mind; his aim was direct, immediate, palpable utility. Nor could he have effected anything upon either of these great legislative points. The most urgent representations, the most convincing arguments, would have been disregarded in that age, for the time was not come. great struggle between the destructive and conservative principles -between good and evil-had not yet commenced; and it was not then foreseen that the very foundations of civil society would be shaken, because governments had neglected their most awful and most important duty. But the present consequences of this neglect were obvious and glaring; the rudeness of the peasantry, the brutality of the town populace, the prevalence of drunkenness, the growth of impiety, the general deadness to religion. These might be combated by individual exertions; and Wesley felt in himself the power and the will both in such plenitude, that they appeared to him a manifestation, not to be doubted, of the will of heaven: every trial tended to confirm him in this persuasion; and the effects which he produced, both upon body and mind, appeared equally to himself and to his followers miraculous. diseases were arrested or subdued by the faith which he inspired; madness was appeased, and, in the sound and sane, paroxysms were excited, which were new to pathology, and which he believed to be supernatural interpositions, vouchsafed in furtherance of his efforts by the Spirit of God, or worked in opposition to them by the exasperated Principle of Evil. Drunkards were reclaimed; sinners were converted; the penitent who came in despair, was sent away with the full assurance of joy; the

dead sleep of indifference was broken; and oftentimes his eloquence reached the hard brute heart, and opening it, like the rock of Horeb, made way for the living spring of piety which had been pent within. These effects he saw; they were public and undeniable; and looking forward in exulting faith, he hoped that the leaven would not cease to work till it had leavened the whole mass,-that the impulse which he had given would surely, though slowly, operate a national reformation, and bring about, in fulness of time, the fulfilment of those prophecies which promise us that the kingdom of our Father shall come, and his will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

With all this there was intermingled a large portion of enthusiasm, and no small one of superstition; much that was erroneous, much that was mischievous, much that was dangerous. But had he been less enthusiastic, of a humbler spirit, or a quieter heart, or a maturer judgement, he would never have commenced his undertaking. Sensible only of the good which he was producing, and which he saw produced, he went on courageously and indefatigably in his career. Whither it was to lead he knew not, nor what form and consistence the societies which he was collecting would assume, nor where he was to find labourers as he enlarged the field of his operations, nor how the scheme was to derive its temporal support. But these considerations neither troubled him, nor made him for a moment forslack his course. God, he believed, had appointed it-and God would always provide means for accomplishing his own ends. In all this belief he was right; for those ends were accomplished, and their accomplishment proved the matter to be of God.

The great objection to the union proposed, is, we apprehend, the recognition by the Church of lay-preachers, or, at best, of those whose ordination is equivocal, though of apostolical descent; Wesley, like Luther, having proceeded from the Established Church. But the historical line is not of such importance as to justify a Church historian, with a leaning to sectarianism, in his anxiety to find proof of a presbyterial Church at all hazards, nor to vindicate an episcopal Church in the non-adoption and neglect of whatever is expedient for the safety of souls and her own temporal interests.

By the same rescript which requires that every man shall have a reason to give for the faith that is in him, even were the orders and offices in the Church as clearly defined in the written word, as they are clearly otherwise, still the Church would not be bound in a slavish bondage to refrain from doing things not commanded. "Let them cast back their eyes unto former generations of men," says Hooker, " and mark what was done in the prime of the world. Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Job, and the rest that lived before any syllable of the Law of God was written-did they not sin as much as we do in every action not commanded? That which God is unto us by his sacred Word, the same he was unto them by such like means, as Eliphaz, in Job, describeth. If, therefore, we sin in every action which the Scripture commandeth us not, it followeth that they did the like in all such actions as were not by revelation from Heaven exacted at their hands. Unless God from heaven did by vision show them what to do, they might do nothing-not eat, not drink, not sleep, not

move.

Yea, but even as in darkness, candle-light may serve to guide men's steps, which to use in the day were madness; so when God had once delivered his law in writing, it may be, they are of opinion, that then it must needs be sin for men to do anything which was not there commanded them to do, whatsoever they might do before. Let this be granted, and it shall hereupon plainly ensue, either that the light of Scripture once shining in the world, all other light of nature is therewith in such sort drained, that now we need it not, neither may we longer use it; or if it stand us in any stead, yet as Aristotle speaketh of men whom Nature hath framed for the state of servitude, saying, They have reason so far forth to conceive when others direct them, but little or none in directing themselves; so likewise our natural capacity and judgement must serve us only for the right understanding of that which the Sacred Scripture teacheth. Had the Prophets who succeeded Moses, or the blessed Apostles which followed them, been settled in this persuasion, never would they have taken so great pains in gathering together natural arguments, thereby to teach the faithful their duties. To use unto them any other motive than Scriptum est,-" Thus it is written,"-had been to teach them other grounds of their actions than Scripture; which, I grant, they allege commonly, but not wholly. Only Scripture they should have alleged, had they been thus persuaded, that so far forth we do sin as we do anything otherwise directed than by Scripture. St. Augustine was resolute, in points of Christianity, to credit none, how godly and learned soever he were, unless he confirmed his sentence by the Scriptures, ' or by some reason not contrary to them.' Let them, therefore, with St. Augustine, reject and condemn that which is not grounded either on the Scripture, or on some reason not contrary to Scripture, and we are ready to give them our hands in token of friendly consent with them." The fact is, that wherever there is Man, there is a Word of God embodied; and wherever there is such Word embodied, there is a temple of the Spirit of God. The garden of Eden, while yet Adam was its only tenant, was a Church-and the written Word is but a record of the acts of such Church, whether existing in a single individual, as of Adam or Christ, or in a body, as of the sons of Adam and the disciples of the Saviour-a record not to supersede all or any such acts in future, but to constitute a book of precedents for reference and example.

NOTES ON SWEDEN.

THOUGH the larger portion of the royal cast-off garments of a cast-off dynasty, which are daily exhibited to the public gaze in certain apartments of the Palace at Stockholm, might certainly prove much more interesting in respect of fashion to a dealer in antiques, or a manufacturer of masquerade dresses, than to the general visiter, yet do many of them possess an interest both tragical and historical. The collection commences in point of date with some habiliments once worn by Gustavus Ericson Vasa; and after exhibiting innumerable dresses which have during succeeding ages adorned every one of his successors, terminates with some belonging to their present Majesties. Among the most

historically interesting of the collection is, perhaps, the cloth which was employed to stop the death-wound of the great Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Lutzen in 1632. Of Charles XII. there are likewise here many relics and mementos, commencing with his cradle and rocking-stool, and terminating with the hat through which he received his mortal wound at Frederickshall in 1718. Of intermediate dates to these, may likewise be seen the disguise dress in which he escaped from prison in Turkey, as well as his usual huge form of pantaloons, exhibiting as many, and as capacious pockets as an ordinary billiard table. Perhaps still more interesting, as being a part of his military system, are to be considered some specimens of those surtouts of tanned elk-skin, nearly half an inch thick, which were worn in winter by his body-guard. As a tragical termination to this gallery of garments, I shall conclude with the blood-stained dress which Gustavus III. wore when shot by Ankerström, the assassin, at a masquerade in Stockholm, in the year 1792.

Though several of these relics are by no means pleasant to behold, it is yet probable that their very disagreeableness tends to impress the mind more indelibly with the tragical events they bear witness to, than the purer pages of history could do.

In an adjoining apartment of the palace, many pearl-covered saddle cloths, jewelled cups, and richly adorned sword scabbards were shown to us; but these do not differ from such similar objects as are everywhere met with.

As a practical proof of the hospitality and kindly disposition of the Swedish people, it is proper to mention, that two days since we were waited on by a young Swedish officer, who had been our fellow passenger from Gottenburg, and invited to spend a day at the country house of one of his near relatives. Being entirely ignorant of both the Swedish and German languages, and possessing only a very limited supply of French, I deemed it prudent to decline encountering the colloquial difficulties that must have awaited me at such a party; but my companion, being more happily situated in respect to these acquirements, availed himself of the invitation. The party proved to be a magnificent reunion of about fifty persons, met together to celebrate the anniversary of the marriage of one lady, and the return of another from a distant part of the kingdom to her home. The giver of the feast was, it appears, one of the principal merchants of Stockholm; and as the heads of that body are, in Sweden, considered at least equal to the nobles of the country in regard to wealth, intelligence, and refinement, the occasion was a peculiarly favourable one for seeing to advantage the manners of the country. The two hours which immediately preceded dinner were passed by the guests in wandering through the romantic neighbourhood, as well as the pretty grounds which surrounded the mansion itself, and at two o'clock they sat down to a splendid and varied repast. After both wine and punch had been for some time pretty freely indulged in, singing, dancing, and general merriment filled up the remainder of the evening; and my friend states, that many of the gentlemen embraced him on parting with an enthusiasm he could readily have excused, declaring at the same time with warmth their attachment to England and its people.

Such instances of hospitalities bestowed on persons without introductions, have, however, become, even in this remote quarter, less frequent than they used to be, and must soon, no doubt, entirely cease, as the steam-vessels daily arrive at Stockholm with increasing numbers of travellers. The still lingering practice of such hospitalities towards strangers, may, however be considered as sufficient evidence of the kind and unsuspecting disposition of the people.

Having in five days pretty nearly exhausted the sights of Stockholm, we resolved on making an excursion to Upsala in order to fill up the interval of time previous to the sailing of the steam-vessel for Abo, and had certainly no reason to regret having so employed ourselves. The weather happened to be lovely, and the scenery contained all the peculiar beauties usually met with in this country, viz. a fine inland sea, lined on all sides by pine forests, with birch and roan trees skirting the water's edge, and lending a lighter green, and more grateful foliage to the scene.

Sigtuna, one of the faded towns which we passed on our right, is replete with historical and antiquarian interest, as being the oldest city of Sweden, and having, it is believed, been founded by the immortal Odin, on his arrival in this country from the confines of Asia, about a hundred years before the Christian era. The history of this God of the dark ages, his descendant and fellow god Thor, or the other deified members of his family, should not yet have entirely ceased to interest the world.-Odin, being a great and successful warrior himself, appears to have taught his followers that all merit was comprised in valour, which necessarily led to a glorious immortality and never-ending feast in the walls of Valhallah.

The worship of Odin seems to have endured for about seven or eight hundred years in Sweden; after which Christianity happily became introduced, and the cruel unnatural religion of war yielded to the divine mission of peace. The name of Odin is in German written, Woden, and from this the name of one of our days of the week (Wednesday) is said to be derived; while the name of Thor has in like manner been given to Thursday; and that of Freyer, another of the Scandinavian gods, to Friday.

The oldest pagan legends of Scandinavia allege that Odin (himself a deity) created the human race, male and female, out of an ash and an elm tree-besides which, he is reputed to have fixed the stars, arranged the succession of day and night, and the seasons, as well as many other little matters of the same sort. Odin brought with him, probably from the East, some knowledge of the Mosaic history of the Creation; and this, in the progress of time, his ignorant worshippers began to attribute to their favorite leader.

Before reaching Upsala, we passed a more extensive district of cultivated and pasture land than any other which we had yet met with in Sweden; and the immediate neighbourhood of the city is so destitute of forest, as to present little of the Swedish character of scenery. Upsala contains the principal University of the kingdom, and many antiquities, some of which have been removed to it from the more ancient Upsala of the neighbourhood. The most distinguished of these are the mutilated, yet striking, remains of a colossal statue of

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