Clerk, catching Mr. Deacon's eye, told him by a very intelligent, but silent signal, to proceed. He therefore returned again to the first couple, and thence to the others, to receive and give their hands, and to direct them in giving the troth by a mutual stipulation. The youth and his giddy bride here received a second admonition, accompanied with a threat to proceed no further in the service, but upon the express condition of their manifesting a behaviour more suited to the occasion, and to the place in which they were assembled. This rebuke was conveyed in a manner so serious, that it created evident discomfiture in the parties, while the bride's maids on the one hand, and the bridegroom's companions on the other, taking the alarm, twitched and elbowed their friends into something like apprehension, and all proceeded on reverently. The decent-looking man was now called upon to produce the ring; but for this he referred to the bride, who after some rifling of her pocket, began to empty the contents of it into the hands of her maid in search of the precious trinket. She gradually disburdened herself, by first taking out a large bunch of keys, then a black spotted handkerchief, a huswife, a pair of scissors, a brass thimble, and a pincushion; then various pieces of ginger and sealing wax, a quantity of brown paper, a lot of halfpence, and a nutmeg-grater; and, at last, a little red-coloured wooden box, the lid of which being unscrewed with a noise that set the Curate's teeth on edge, she drew from a motley collection of silver money, the valuable token, which the object of her affections now took and placed upon her hand; but whether from fear or confusion, or from the heat of the weather, her fingers, which resembled a bunch of overgrown radishes, were so swollen, that it required all the robust violence of the bridegroom, and all the silent-suffering patience of the bride to submit to the operation of having this symbol of eternity fixed upon the root of that finger which it seemed destined never to quit." Body and Soul, Vol. II. P. 332.

"The decent-looking man now put on a pair of spectacles which, by griping the extremity of his nose, assumed an erect position; turning his tongue a long way out at the extremity of his mouth, and curling it in the direction of his left ear, he grasped the pen in a huge unbending hand, and after some toil and turmoil subscribed his name. His bride now taking the same implement, as if it had been the handle of a toasting fork, into her left hand, that she might the better place it between the thumb and forefinger of the other, and having in the operation squirted all the ink upon the book, commenced the labour of graving her maiden address: when laying the vacant hand upon the undried signature of her consort, after an interval of some minutes, accomplished, in the palsied perturbation of her nervous system, the point of having drawn, in a sort of Chaldee character, her Christian name; then returning the pen into the hand of the Curate, she declared her inability to do more, for that she was all over in a twitter.'' Body and Soul, Vol. II. P. 340.

That the author's talents are not limited to the ludicrous or the trifling, and that his theology does not absolutely deserve to be burned by the hands of the common hangman, will be evident upon a perusal of the following account of Dr. Freeman's death-bed.

"The curtains of the bed were now drawn aside, and the patient so raised as to be able to take the group into his view; when this was accomplished, an awful silence ensued, which for some time nothing but the sobs of those around disturbed. The dying man seemed gathering up all his strength, to make one expiring effort. More than once he essayed to speak; but he could not, and it was only upon the falling of the drops which trickled down his venerable face, that his utterance was finally unlocked. Honest John wiped these tears from his master's face with the same homely handkerchief that absorbed his own.

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"My good and faithful creatures,' said the dying Christian, I have sent for you to witness the departure of one whose only hope is in his Maker of one who knows that the merits of his Redeemer alone can make atonement for his manifold deficiencies, and finally reconcile him to God. To you I owe much for the assiduity and care which you have ever shown in my service: it is my wish to impress you with the notion of that dignity which, however apparently lessened by the lowliness of your birth and stations, you, in common, enjoy with the highest of mankind. Look now at me, and see that man, unaided by his fellow man, is the most weak and powerless of created beings. Placed beyond the reach of the kind, watchful, sympathetic aid of others, his first sufferings would be his last believe me, therefore, that those placed by Providence in your situation can never, while they are faithful and virtuous, become the objects of a good man's contempt. The proudest of mankind will find that those whom they despise as the meanest of their fellow-creatures, can lay them under obligations which they can never discharge; and with respect to myself, I declare that I have looked upon your many patient, condescending, and untired offices of fidelity with the most grateful admira. tion, and these acts have ennobled you in my esteem. After my death, you will find that your services have not been forgotten by me; and as I trust you have long looked upon me as your friend as well as master, let my last injunctions sink deep into your hearts. I am now hastening to that blessed and eternal country, where all who have loved and obeyed God are already gone before me; and to this state all my hopes lead, from the conviction that I have made sincere and earnest endeavours to make myself, by the death and merits of my Redeemer, in some respect fit to receive the blessings and promises which the Gospel holds out both to you and to myself. If it be your future desire to become inheritors of the same kingdom, and partakers of the same promises, you must live 'virtuously, soberly, and godly in this present life;"--but here is

your advantage over us; God has been pleased to entrust to your care, perhaps, a single talent; to us he has given many more : our responsibility is, therefore, much greater than yours; and if, with all our exertions, our zeal, and ability, we have not converted these many talents to a proper use, take care that the solitary one in your possession is not neglected;-in other words, do your duties honestly and conscientiously, and labour for the acquisition of the knowledge of Religion. If you attain to any degree of it, you will find when you come, like me, to lie upon your last beds, that it will administer consolation when all other sources fail; that it will inspire you with heavenly hope; that it will disarm death of his sting, and make you welcome the coming of your God.' Take, therefore, back to the world with you this my last admonition; the day and hour will assuredly come, when he will be the happiest who best follows this advice. To the care of my true friend here, I now commit you; and as long as you deserve, I am assured you will experience his favour and regard. I give you my hearty thanks for all your kindness, for all your offices of love towards me, and I pray Heaven eternally to bless you!'

"The good man seemed wholly exhausted by his efforts, but yet there played upon his countenance a holy serenity and composure, which seemed the result of an inward satisfaction,-a glow it was of the heart flushed from the first chill of death: his eyes were lifted upwards, as if in prayer, and Mr. Deacon, seizing the opportunity, knelt down with all the servants around the bed, and read with a fervent and impassioned devotion, the Litany of Bishop Andrews, so admirably suited to the time and occasion; at the close of which this holy man of God, turning his glazing eyes first upon his friend in acknowledgment of all his kindness, and then gradually upon those surrounding him, and finally casting them upwards, as if to draw down his last blessing upon them all, with one gentle sigh yielded his soul to those angelic spirits that awaited to bear it to eternity!" Body and Soul, Vol. II. P. 368.

We cannot conclude this long article without a brief notice of Mr. Evans's pamphlet. The controversy to which it refers is not suited to the pages of a review; but the moderate and Christian sentiments of Mr. Evans, and his judicious observations upon the occurrences to which he adverts, are deserving of every commendation. From the manner in which he handles the history of Calvin and Servetus, we cannot doubt that he is well skilled in Ecclesiastical History, and capable of applying it to its proper object. His remarks upon the Church Missionary Society are of great importance. We extract the conclusion of this part of the pamphlet.

"In reference to the enquiries which you have made concerning the support which has been given by the Nottingham Clergy to Church Missionary Objects, you say, "We ask these questions,

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not because we would have them spend their zeal on such matters, and reserve none for other occasions, but because the state of the pulse on these important points is a pretty sure indication of the disposition of the mind towards others.” Shall I, Sir, be deemed illiberal, in considering this passage as similar in import to those already quoted from the Proceedings,' and in applying it to the same comment? The question, to me, is one of considerable importance: for, if, by the disposition of the mind,' which you look upon as so intimately connected with an interest in this Society, you mean to imply not an exclusive attachment to Calvinistic doctrines; nor a pharisaical deportment; nor a fanatical spirit; nor an uncharitable judgment ; but merely, a frequent reflection upon the seriousness of the office which we have undertaken, and of the weighty responsibility attached to it; a strong sense of the value of religion; an ardent desire to impart to others the advantages which we enjoy; and a diligent search into, and a temperate use of, the methods by which those advantages may best secured to our flocks:-if such has been your meaning, then have I been illiberal, not only in the conclusions at which I have arrived, but in that objection (to your strong enforcement of this Society) on which they are grounded. It happens, fortunately, that a ready solution is at hand. You, Sir, as an inhabitant of the town of Nottingham, (and such you represent yourself,) cannot be ignorant that one of the Incumbents in that town, while he differs with what are called the Evangelical Clergy, in many important points of Doctrine, yet bears a strong resemblance to them in those parts of Practice, which furnish to them a continual source of proud humility: that he is a very frequent, and animated, and energetie preacher, that, in preaching, he applies the Gospel truths most powerfully to the consciences of his hearers, and that he is an extempore preacher: that, avoiding the gay and busy scenes of life, he devotes himself most peculiarly to the duties of his calling,and those words of comfort which he diffuses in the House of God, he is not slow to dispense in the Chambers of the Sick: and that all these professional services acquire an additional grace, and are rendered more effectual, by retired manners, and by a uniformly serious and sedate demeanour. Such a man is the Rector of St. Peter's! and when, in your Survey of the Nottingham Clergy, a separate place was allotted to Mr. Wilkins, it may well be asked, why a separate place was not also found for Mr. Almond? Why was this in-part Evangelical' clergyman, (and, like Mary, he has chosen the good part,) why was he included in your ban of con demnation? Was it, although, in many respects, he resembles your party, that he is yet distinguished from it by superior talent, superior prudence, and superior moderation?-that, being a philosopher and a man of science, as well as a religionist, his comprehensive mind can grasp, and his liberal nature admit, all those causes, whether external or internal, which operate upon the human character that, in his judgment upon others, he fairly

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weighs, and makes reasonable allowance for, those circumstances arising from peculiar constitution of body or of mind, from education, from habit, from situation, from connections, from pecuniary and domestic affairs, and from a thousand little varieties, all of which may lead to a course of thinking and acting, different to that which he himself pursues ?-and that thus he evinced not a Missionary Spirit? Or, Sir, Was it, that this exemplary man is too prominently connected with another Missionary Establishment,acting as Secretary to the Nottingham District Committee of THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE? Master, we see one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us, and we forbad him, BECAUSE HE FOLLOWETH NOT US!" Evans's Nottingham Controversy, P. 93.

Mr. Evans takes leave of the subject in the following temperate and manly passage; and much good may be anticipated from such an excellent example, in a neighbourhood which has been agitated by more personal animosity among members of the same holy profession, than the unitiated reader will believe.

"My letter having extended to a far greater length than I originally contemplated, I now draw it to a close: although your Remarks' would yet furnish ample ground for criticism, were I disposed to pursue it. The Calvinistic Controversy, I never intended to enter upon, because all that can be said upon the subject, pro and con, has, I believe, been said already, and better said than either you or I can say it. If, however, there be any local circumstances which render it desirable that this Controversy be agitated in our immediate neighbourhood, and by persons residing here, and that, among the mighty men of Israel, none are ready to go forth to the valley of Elah*, there is, Sir, a youth with a sling and a stone, whose 'heart will not fail' him in the contest. But, I repeat, I consider such a Controversy to be altogether unnecessary, nor should I ever engage it, but upon the defensive: you will remember that Shochoh belonged to Judah!" Ibid. P. 106.

ART. XIV. Memoirs of the Life of the late Mrs. Catharine Cappe. Written by herself. Second Edition. 482 pp. Longman & Co. 1823.

THE first question a reader may be expected to ask upon the sight of this book, is, who was Mrs. Catharine Cappe? When he hears that she was the wife of an Unitarian teacher at York, he will proceed to enquire, why she should

"This illustration is so natural, as to render it hardly necessary for me to say that I had anticipated its use, previous to the publication of the second volume of 'Body and Soul. See preface to that work, p. viii.