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believed and loved by the mass of the population in this country.

Christianity, considered apart from its divine credentials, was a great experiment upon mankind; and no one, we think, will deny that it materially exalted the general tone of morals, and produced the best specimens of individual excellence which the world has witnessed. The rejection of Christianity and return to a more natural condition was also an experiment; and it was fairly made, though upon a smaller scale. Let its value be estimated by its results. Revelation was first rejected in France by men of education and reflection; by the literary and scientific members of the community. Can a single individual of the body be mentioned who accredited his principles by a strict and consistent morality? We have never heard of one; and all the most considerable characters among them were notoriously sullied with great and flagitious vices. Voltaire told the most deliberate falsehoods, which even his biographer, M. de Condorcet, does not attempt to excuse; though (to show the severity of his own morals) he maintains that lying is justifiable if oppression makes it expedient. Rousseau abandoned his own offspring. D'Alembert insulted his Creator. Diderot cheated his patroness; and his writings are an outage on all decency. Marmontel deserted the object of his early affections, who had been faithful to him through years of ab. sence and silence; and he had the heartlessness to put his infamy upon record for the amusement of his grandchildren, without breathing a single sigh of contrition or regret. In the midst of all these things they continued to applaud each other abundantly, and talked loudly of reason and virtue. By degrees the principles of the philosophers were diffused among the people, and at length the whole nation, by a general effort, threw off the yoke, and publicly renounced Christianity. What ensued? What bright gleams of opening glory and happiness illuminated the auspicious enterprise? What new constellations arose to shed their inAuence on a happier æra? All was dark. ness and horror. The heavens seemed to be " hung with black." France was for a moment blotted out of Europe; and then reviving, like a bedlamite from his trance, poured out her frantic rage on every surrounding nation. The fall of Christianity, instead of being hailed like its birth by angelic voices, speaking peace and love, was proclaimed by the groans of widows and orphans, and the savage howlings of demons. The Gospel descended upon earth attended with a heavenly train of graces and virtues, with the charities which soften and embellish this life, and prepare us for a better. The religion of nature ascended from beneath with a com

pany suited to her character; murder, profligacy, proscription; and civil anarchy and military despotism.

And yet some feelings of compassion are due to the men and to the nation whom we have condemned. They saw not the religion of Christ such as it proceeded from the hands of its divine Author, lowly and self-denied, benevolent and spiritual, separated from sin, and superior to the vanities and the sufferings of this transient scene. They saw it debased by its alliance to a superstitious establishment, and sustained by a civil authority at once arbitrary and contemptible. They saw the profession of Christianity often united to the practice of vice, or the policy of 2 worldly ambition; its dogmas peremptorily enforced, and its precepts habitually relaxed. The rapid progress of infidelity in France sufficiently proves the decay in that country of essential religion. The Gospel in all its power, appealing to the consciences of men, and carrying its credentials in the practice of those who acknowledge it, is alone capable of contending long against the pride and passions of a people who have once thrown off the bondage of an ignorant and implicit faith; and those who have the weakness to place their reliance on the authority of ancient institutions, or the seemly pomp of rituals and services, will assuredly discover, when it is too late, that these are but the perishable forms in which religion is enshrined, not the living and immortal spirit which can alone protect itself and us in the hour of danger. This is a truth which the guilt and the sufferings of France are peculiarly calculated to enforce. While we reprobate the men who conspired against Christianity, and deplore their success, let us never forget that there were other conspirators still more formidable, and to whom that success is chiefly to be attributedthe unfaithful ministers and professors of religion, who rendered it weak by their dissensions, odious by their bigotry, and contemptible by their crimes.

THE LABOURS OF THE CLERGY OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN DEFENCE OF CHRISTIANITY-From a Sermon preached at Wakefield, May 30, 1816, at the Visitation of the Rev. Archdeacon Markham, M. A. By the Rev. C. Bird, M. A. Rector of High Hoyland.

We are at liberty to call to mind, and to form a just estimate of the important services which learning, combined with piety, has rendered to Christianity, in every period since its establishment, and more particularly

to the reformed, Protestant communion. What other instrument, since inspiration and its miraculous signs are withdrawn, could have been powerful enough to beat down the consolidated strength of the Roman hierarchy, and the inveterate bigotry and idolatry of the laity, but that union of erudition and piety which shone forth in the Wickliffes, Cranmers, Jewels, Latimers, Ridleys, and other distinguish ed champions and martyrs of the truth, whom our Church gratefully enumerates among her first reformers and founders ?

And at a subsequent period, when that religious liberty for which they had so successfully contended and so profusely bled, ran wild into licentiousness and fanatical phrenzy, it was the enlightened faith, the rational zeal, the well-grounded conviction and constancy of Juxon, Hall, Taylor, and a host of learned and pious divines, which maintained the contest amidst persecution and penury, bonds and banishment; till at length "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," unsheathed by learning, and guided by discretion, triumphed over the hydra of fanaticism, as it had formerly done over the monster of papal tyranny and superstition.

Or to descend to times nearer our own, and to events still fresh in the memory of many who hear me.When infidelity and sedition combined their united efforts to subvert the foundations of religious faith and civil society, who can refuse to acknowledge the advantage derived to this country from having in its bosom an educated ministry, ready and able, on every emergency, to give a reasonable account of the faith that is in them? It was therefore, that although an infidel philosophy had to boast a Voltaire, a Condorcet, a Hume, and a Gibbon among its advocates-men, it must be confessed, adorned and fortified with all the advantages of science and literature, yet, accomplished and formidable as they were, our venerable and learned establishment was able to single out from her own ranks, men not less distinguished by literary accomplishments and sci

entific attainments; not less profound in research, ingenious in argument, and eloquent in language-Hurd, Watson, Paley, Burke; who were able, by their extensive erudition, to meet the adversary on every fresh ground he took; whether he chose to dive into the remotest depths of antiquity, in search of historical means of offence-whether he sought to set the Scripture in opposition to itself, or the works of God at variance with his word,-our defenders were every where prepared to frustrate his attacks, and guard every approach to the sacred citadel.

The authority, therefore, of the heaven-taught Apostles-the example of those studious and pious men, who were, partly, the reformers and founders, partly, the advocates and defenders of the Protestant faith-the very spirit itself of our venerable Church,

call aloud on her sons to stand forward, as their predecessors have done, in the very foremost ranks of those who have made literature and science subsidiary to the diffusion of religious knowledge, and to the maintenance of the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. That by whatever instrument the truth is assailed, whether by the perverted philosophy of the literary infidel, or the mistaken zeal of the unlettered schismatic, or the injudicious interference of seeming friends, defenders may never be wanting, ready and able to protect her cause and support her authority. So if it should please God to grant the enemies of our Church a temporary triumph, by disguising from her members the true source of the danger, or blinding her eyes to her real interests, then, being well satisfied, by patient and strict examination, of the certainty of those things that are believed among us, we may the more confidently hope, through divine help, to follow those noble examples of doing and suffering, with which the history of Christianity abounds; and prove ourselves not unworthy to be the successors of those saints and martyrs, to whom we owe the profession of a pure and Protestant faith.

But if, as we rather pray and hope,

it shall please God to extend his accustomed protection and favour to this vineyard, which his saints have planted by their labour and watered by their blood, and which, by his blessing, has yielded such an abundant increase of rational piety and religious knowledge; then will the sense of the arduous duties they have to perform, the great responsibility attached to their office, the various qualifications requisite for its due discharge, effectually guard its ministers from degenerating into indolence and supineness. Then will it prompt them not only to be instant, at all seasons, in teaching and exhorting their own hearers, and in resisting with meekness those that oppose themselves, but to be diligent in examining the grounds of their own faith, and in deriving their doctrines from the original sources; that knowing for themselves the certainty of those things, they may with greater confidence and sincerity persuade others.

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Our apostolical guides, in their inspired writings, warrant none of the notions of the harmlessness of never-ceasing change, and indefinite multiplication of opinions; and so far from sanctioning this entire indifferency of the peculiar tenets of any of them to the salvation of mankind, all we are by them taught is substantially and literally in direct opposition to it! They exhort us, in the very teeth of the liberal philosophy of the present day, that "henceforth we are no more to be carried about, and tossed to and fro, by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, where by they lay in wait to deceive." We are enjoined by Scripture to make a distinction between doctrines, some of which are termed the doctrines of devils; and it is to be remarked, that expressly opposed to those doctrines of devils, are the peculiar invitations to a godly life; for "godliness," says the Apostle," is profitable unto all

things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." Be then," speaking to Timothy"be then an example of the believers; in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." "Take heed unto thyself, and unto thy doctrine, (still opposed to those doctrines of devils), continue in them, for in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and those that hear thee." Here, then, we shall labour in vain to find an authority for the unfortunately too prevalent opinion of indifferency as to the variety of doctrines by which men ። are tossed to and fro," and whose very diversity is opposed to the leading principle of the apostolic injunction, and implies a liability to the penalty denounced by St. Paul in the opening of his Epistle to the Galatians-Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you, than that we have preached to you, let him be accursed!" And here, also, it is to be noticed, that the motive of St. Paul in addressing himself to the Galatians, was not to proto correct the mischievous tendency scribe any foreign or new faith, but of certain false doctrines, which had been preached among the converts to Christianity, by unauthorized missionaries from Judea. The principal point in question appears to have been a dispostion, on the part of those converts, to adopt into the Christian scheme, upon the suggestion of their false teachers, certain ceremonies of the Mosaic institution; and if we read this Epistle with attention, it will be difficult to discover any portion of the lukewarmness and indifference which characterize our own times, in the style and manner of the Apostle, in refusing to compromise the doctrines of the Gospel, by any concession to the passions or prejudices of the people. Let liberality, as it is miscalled, read a lesson here" Do I ask," exclaims he, "to please men ?" for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."

We find, therefore, that, neither by experience, nor by the word of God, is warranted that equalization of all tenets and opinions, to which the arti

fice of our spiritual enemy, and the epidemical phrenzy of thoughtless or vicious men, have given so general a currency.

A DEPARTING PRAYER. Grant unto thine unworthy servant, of thy unspeakable goodness, that I may meet my end with resignation to thy blessed will, with thanks and manly firmness! reposing all my fears and all my apprehensions under the shadow of thy protection; founding my perfect trust on the efficacy of our redemption, through the mediation of thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

O Lord, my God! accept these my fervent prayers, for the extension of thy protecting grace; and that thou wilt not abandon or forsake me at my approaching separation from mortality.

I have sinned, and by thy grace, have been brought to repentance. I' thank thee infinitely for that alteration of mind, which constitutes true repentance. An entire desire to abandon every evil thought, word, or work: an abhorrence of vice, and a love for virtue, are the genuine and blessed fruits of thy co-operating spirit.

I do trust in the expiation and atonement offered up by my Redeemer, for all my sins: I do most fully acknowledge my multiplied guilt: I earnestly, with the anxiety of my whole heart and soul, do solicit pardon and grace from thee, O thou most worthy Judge Eternal!

Weak and frail nature, still trembling in awful reverence and holy fear, humbly presents itself before thy throne: conscious of great imperfection in its best efforts to break away from the thraldom of sin; fearful, not through doubt of thy goodness and compassion, but of such deficiences as sinful habits cause in the mind, which weaken and avert it from a steady pursuit of devotion and obedi

ence.

Fain would I put on the wedding garment to obtain an heavenly reception and entertainment; to partake of which thou hast invited us; but mine is not without spot; it is not

even yet completely suited; and my conscience fills me with a sense of my own unworthiness.

Be not extreme, O Lord, to mark what is still in me amiss ; but strengthen my soul and spirit in every effort to attain a farther degree of purity, of resignation, and of a consequent reviving tranquillity and hope.

The world I am now about to leave, abounds with manifestations of thy merciful compassion and forbearance; teaching all men that thou wouldest not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent and live: yet how late have I deferred a just consideration of this! how inattentive to the applying of it to my own life and conversation in the world!

Father of the Universe! beyond all our imagination, great and glorious! vouchsafe of thy boundless grace and compassion, to pardon me, and accept my long deferred return to the ways of genuine holiness!

Favourably, with mercy, hear my prayer! Let the angel of thy presence be with thy servant :-give unto all, and in an especial manner to my kind and faithful friends, pardon and peace, bestowing upon them grace and opportunity, that they may lay to heart in time the exceeding great danger of an unhappy infatuation for the seductions of life, and a thoughtless neglect of the means of acceptance, while the door of heaven is open for them, inattentive to the near view of another and better country.

Lord, be thou still merciful to those who come unto thee, even at the eléventh hour, with a willing heart; and graciously accept us: but let not vain hope deceive any, to linger beyond the accepted time!

Comfort thy servants, O Father of heaven, and support their affiance in thee, when their warfare shall be accomplished, that we also having seen and experienced thy salvation, may depart in peace.

May God Almighty give and continue his grace to those of my friends who may survive me, that they still press forward, notwithstanding their infirmity, towards the prize of t

high calling that is set before us, seeking it first, and before all things, by true and fruitful faith, in humility and meekness; amidst whatever mortifications, still in constant persevering hope.

Grant a favourable ear, O blessed Lord God, to these my most earnest and devout supplications; that in the dark night of tribulation, at the approaching hour of death, and in the day of thy great judgment; thou mayest succour, help, comfort, and receive us, when all in this world falls and crumbles from under us; when time to us shall be no more.

flegmatic temper and fiery courage of William the Third-and the mean and audacious spirit of Buonaparte. But of this species of history, minute truth and accuracy ought to be, more than of any other, the essential characteristics: because the portraits are painted by faint and scattered touches, the falsehood of any one of which tends to destroy the value of the whole; and because the most important anecdote may depend on the single testimony of an individual; and we know, in the most ordinary occurrence of life, how much men are in the habit of colouring their report of any particular

event.

It has been under these impressions that we have hitherto traced the course of Buonaparte, from the Russian campaign down to his seclusion in St. Helena.

While we have admitted all those inter

"O thou who hast poured out thy soul unto death; who sufferedst thyesting and authenticated facts, which dis

self to be numbered amongst the transgressors; who bearest the sins of many; and who continuest to make intercession for the transgressors;' favourably, with mercy, hear my prayer! Amen.

Warden's Letters concerning Buonaparte. The following article, extracted from a late number of the QUARTERLY REVIEW, not yet re-published here, comes within the department of this Journal as a literary Register, and is inserted with a view of enabling our readers to judge what credit is due to a work which he excited very considerable interest in this country.

Letters written on Board His Majesty's Ship the Northumberland, and at St. Helena; in which the Conduct and Conversations of Napoleon Buonaparte, and his Suite, during the Voyage, and the first Months of his Residence in that Island, are faithfully described and related. By WILLIAM WARDEN, Surgeon on Board the Northumberland.

Anecdotes of the private life of remarkable persons are one of the most amusing and not least valuable depart ments of history; they bring the reader more intimately acquainted with the character of the individual than public events can do. The latter are never entirely a man's own; a thousand circumstances generally influence or contribute to them; it is in familiar life alone that a man is himself; there his character exhibits all his various shades, and thence we become best acquainted with the familiar chival. ry of Henry the Fourth-the ingenuous and simple magnanimity of Turenne-the

played his real character, we have rejected all that was apocryphal, and have not condescended to repeat even the minutest circumstance, of the truth of which an accurate inquiry had not previously satisfied us. Of the necessity for this precision, Mr. Warden is so convinced, that of the Letters before us, he says, 'every fact related in them is true; and the purport of every conversation correct. It will not, I trust, be thought necessary for me to say more, and the justice I owe to myself will not allow me to say less.'

Now we are constrained to say, that, notwithstanding this pompous asseveration, we shall be able to prove that this work is founded in falsehood, and that Mr. Warden's profession of scrupulous accuracy is only the first of the many fictions which he has spread over his pages. 'It will not, we trust, be thought necessary for us to say more, and the justice which we owe to our readers will not allow us to say less.'

Our first proof will astound our readers, and, perhaps, decide the affair.

Mr. Warden's first letter is dated at sea; he has indeed cautiously omitted to prefix to any of his letters the day or the month, the latitude or the longitude; but this prudence will not save him from detection. In this he announces to his correspondent the surprize he must feel at receiving a letter which, instead of the common topics of a sea voyage, should contain an account of the conduct and information respecting the character of Napoleon Buonaparte, from the personal opportunities which Mr. Warden's situation so unexpectedly afforded him.' And again he says, 'such has been the general curiosity about Buonaparte, that he feels himself more than justified in supposing that particulars relative to him and his suite, will be welcome to the correspondent, and those of their common friends to whom

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