pany, whose supreme delight is the adoring contemplation of God as a God of unspotted holiness, and who can have pleasure in our society only in as far as we are living monuments of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit; let our life and conversation be such that angels will delight to regard it.

to his servant till his eyes were miraculously opened | having made us partakers of a grace so marvellous. in answer to the prophet's prayer, so if we perceive Let us magnify his name for Christ Jesus, in and not these heavenly messengers, it may simply be through whom alone we are thus exalted. And, because, for the exercise of our faith, it has not yet remembering that the "innumerable company of pleased the Almighty to open our eyes to a pal-angels" to which we "are come," is a holy compable contemplation of them. Though we discern them not, they may, nevertheless, be in actual attendance upon us, exerting their noblest energies for our welfare. There is a period in every man's existence, when, amidst the weakness of infancy, he is not aware of the tender anxiety with which the mother that bore him looks upon his every movement, when, in as far as his outward perception is affected, her acts of kindness towards him are neither felt nor appreciated. And may there not also be a period in the existence of every man, comprising the entire duration of his life on earth, when it is God's design regarding him, that, although arrived at what we call maturity, there should still be much that is unknown to him, and that his eyes should not be opened to a perception of heaven's bright messengers who are watching over his every footstep?

I pretend not, indeed, to describe the manner in which, according to these views, we may now, as the apostle expresses it, be "come to an innumerable company of angels." Enough, however, is to be found in Scripture, to give us a very exalted idea of that relationship, in which, if believers, we at present stand to them; as when it is said, "He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways;" and again, The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Who, in such circumstances, can tell how much, as God's ministers for our good, they may know respecting us on earth, or how near they may be to us at this very moment, or what the offices may be which they are appointed to perform to us at the hour of our departure? Who can tell but that the peace and serenity, which at times almost illuminate the countenance of the dying, when all power of utterance is over, may be the result of angelic intercourse, of a nature to us unknown? As the connection with a world of sin is in the act of being dissolved, a more immediate experience of a nobler world may have begun. The eye which is closed on the earth and all that it contains, may have opened, even before the spirit's departure, to a vision of heaven and the hosts that people it, and a spectacle may be disclosed which fills the soul with a joy unspeakable."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

REV. WILLIAM HAMILTON, D.D.,

LATE MINISTER OF STRATHBLANE.

THIS eminent Christian and useful minister was born

in 1780 at Longridge, in the parish of Stonehouse, remarkably the child of Providence, having experiLanarkshire. In the helpless years of infancy he was enced the care and protection of the Almighty on more than one occasion of great danger. Thus, in the ex

cellent autobiography which Dr Hamilton has left behind him, and which has been published by his family along with other "Remains," we find the following references to the marked interposition of God in his behalf during his earliest childhood:

"When about four years of age, standing near the fire, a copper, by the breaking of the handle which suspended it over the grate, fell, and poured its boiling contents on the lower part of my body. If the boiling fluid had gone a few inches higher, I must have As it was, I had a very narrow been scalded to death.

escape. I was long confined to bed from the effects of this scalding, and my body will carry down to the dust the large broad scars which it occasioned. They are daily memorials of the obligations which I owe my kind Preserver."

And again, as another instance of God's preserving power, we find the following circumstance mentioned: When about six years, I was knocked down by the kick of a horse. One point of his shoe drove out a tooth, and the other injured the socket of my left eye, and rendered me blind for some months. Had the

whole force of the stroke been spent on the forehead.

the skull must have been fractured, and the blow would probably have been fatal."

His parents, by whom he appears to have been destined from his birth for the office of the ministry, were in easy, if not affluent, circumstances, and being themselves persons of remarkable piety, they were exceedingly desirous that their children should be trained up in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. The subject of our present Sketch, accordingly, may be said to have realized the character given of Timothy, that from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures. Under the tuition of his excellent mother, he acquired the art of reading, and along with it he was put in possession of much solid information on matters of religion. Speak.

And is it the believer's privilege to enjoy such a fellowship? How exalted the position which he occupies; and how poor, in comparison, every station of dignity and honour of which the world is accustomed to boast! How amazing, that sinners, deserving God's wrath and curse for ever-ing of his childhood, he thus remarks:more, should be so ennobled! Is our fellowship with angels, and are the most powerful as well as beneficent of created intelligences associated with us as our friends? How secure must we be amidst every danger! How safe against the assaults of every enemy! Let us bless the Lord for

"After the elements of reading had been mastered, I became fond of the information which it conveyed. The Bible was my class-book; my mother was my

tutor and in reading the Bible beside her, she was always ready to explain any difficulties which occurred, and to make the lessons a subject of conversation. The predictions which foretold the utter destruction of the

Chaldeans, and the lasting desolation of Babylon, were the first to impress my mind, and appeared the very perfection of the grand and terrible."

After he had read over the Bible once or twice with his mother, he was sent to the parish school, then taught by the Rev. James Smellie, now of St. Andrews, Orkney. Here he continued for a short time, when his parents, finding that he was averse to the learning of Latin, withdrew him from the school, that he might learn the art of weaving, with the view of ultimately becoming, along with his second brother, a Glasgow manufacturer. With this employment he became also dissatisfied, as much so, indeed, as with the study of Latin. He quitted the weaving, therefore, in a very short time, and joined two of his brothers in their labours on the farm. It was not long, however, before his eldest brother saw that he showed a decided desire for learning, and, at his recommendation, William left the farm in 1794 to return to school. He now devoted himself with the utmost ardour to the study of the classics, and made considerable proficiency, when, in his sixteenth year, he was seized with small-pox of the worst description. The fever ran high, and he was blind for sixteen or seventeen days. His life was despaired of,

and so certain did his death seem, that grave-clothes
were provided for him. In the good providence of
God, however, he was again restored to health, and, |
in the course of four months, he resumed his studies.
In November 1796 Mr Hamilton was enrolled a stu-

subject of conversation long after his return from these sacred festivals. It was my privilege, for three summers, to be his companion on Sabbath, in travelling to and from the house of God; and never have I been more edified and interested than by his rich and savoury discourse on these occasions. His natural, easy, and judicious remarks on these sermons we heard, and the books which we had been reading through the week, not only simplified the truth, but clothed it in that attractive form, which at once impressed it on the memory, and recommended it to the heart. His knowledge of the Christian system was clear and comprehensive, and I have never found occasion to renounce or alter a single opinion which I heard him express on religious doctrines, or Christian experience. From what I have learned from him, I know that no words can express the blessing that a pious, intelligent, and warm-hearted brother or sister proves to the other members of a family. Whatever good God has honoured me to accomplish, either from the pulpit or the press, must, in a great measure, be ascribed to the advantage which I received in early life from his society."

Shortly after the decease of his brother, Mr Hamilton drew up a brief narrative of his latter days, which was printed exclusively for the use of his friends. It may be interesting and useful to our readers to obtain a glimpse of the closing scene:—

"From the first moment that he was taken ill, he appeared convinced that the hand of death was upon him. On the afternoon of the Lord's day immediately following his first attack, he rose from bed with assistance, but instantly fainted. When recovering from the swoon, he, with the utmost energy, exhorted all around dent in the University of Edinburgh; and although him to prepare for death, adding, that he himself had his opportunities of previously acquiring classical know-long lived in expectation of such an event, but that, ledge had been more limited than those of many of his class-mates, he showed himself inferior to few in the correctness of his preparation of the tasks prescribed. On returning home at the end of the session, elated with the prospect of spending a happy summer in the society of his father's family, little did he think that

a severe and sudden bereavement was so soon to be-
cloud the enjoyments of the domestic circle. One
of his brothers was seized with inflammatory fe-
ver, and in ten days he breathed his last. The loss
was deeply felt, and by none more than by the subject
of this Sketch, who candidly acknowledges himself to
have been laid under lasting obligations, by the infor-
mation and encouragement which he had received from
the piety and mental vigour of his deceased brother.
It is but due to the memory of this excellent young
man, that we should extract the following reminiscences
of him from the autobiography of Dr Hamilton, which
forms, indeed, the groundwork of our present Sketch :
"From the Shorter Catechism, the Bible, the writ-
ings of the covenanters, the puritans, and non-confor-
mists, and the instructions of his parents, he acquired
a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and, by the
blessing of the Holy Ghost, its sanctifying and saving
power had been early impressed on his heart.
veral summers, he attended the ministry of Mr Kirk-
wood of the Relief meeting-house, Strathaven; and,
to enjoy the affectionate and powerful preaching of the
Gospel, made long and toilsome pilgrimages to the tent
preachings, at the administration of the Lord's Supper
in the churches of East Kilbride, Carmunnock, and
New Monkland. The Word of the Lord was pre-
cious in those days:' and when my brother heard it
proclaimed by such men as Dr Balfour and Mr Joseph
Hodgson, it was not easy to describe the enjoyment
which it imparted. It was food to his soul, and the

For se

after all, he found it a serious thing to die. Monday
evening being remarkably fine, he went to the door to
enjoy the freshness of the air, being supported on the

arm of another. The house commands a most exten-
sive prospect. For a few minutes he surveyed with
rapture the beauties of the landscape, heightened by
the rays of the departing sun, and seemed to feast his
eyes with a last gaze on that scenery which he had so
often contemplated with delight. In this attitude he
was found by a brother, who came from a small dis-
To this question he re-
tance to inquire how he did.
about the shores of mortality, and longing to be away."
plied, I am just like the weary pilgrim, lingering
Discoursing afterwards on the shortness of life, he
concluded with these lines of Dr Watts:—
A span is all that we can boast-

An inch or two of time;

There are but few whose days amount

To threescore years and ten.'

To every person who visited him, he addressed himself in the most affectionate manner, upon the great concerns of their salvation, urging on all, the necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus, holiness, and zeal for the cause of Christ and religion. His bodily pain was very great, but he never uttered the least murmur. He was patient under his affliction, and perfectly resigned to the appointment of his heavenly Father. For although, at one time, he was heard to express a desire to live a little longer to behold the glory of the Lord in the land of the living, his language was that of submission. God, whom he served, was graciously pleased to stand by him in the hour of distress, and to proportion his strength to his day. Thus did the Spirit make the Word of God, and the love of Christ, the joy and rejoicing of his soul, when to earthly friends and physicians, he was forced to say, 'Vain comforters are ye all, and physicians of no value.' But Satan, who never desists from his attempts against the peace of God's elect, even here found means, for a moment, to disturb the serenity of his mind, suggesting to him

that the Bible was all a lie, and his faith mere fancy. | of medicine. But the great Head of the Church was Being desired to keep firm hold of his hope, as he might pleased to call him to immediate service in the vinewell conclude from the nature of that suggestion, that yard. The providential circumstances which led to it was only a device of the adversary, and an evidence his first employment in the work of the ministry are that he was none of his, he immediately replied, “Oh, no! I cannot doubt the sincerity of Jesus' love to me. He thus mentioned by himself:would never love me when an enemy and hate me when a child: his own precious words are, Whom I love 1 love unto the end,' and 'Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.'

"On the day of his departure he became a great deal worse, and it was evident to all, that his dissolution was at hand. Whilst able to utter a word, he continued to magnify the love of Christ to his soul, and spent his latest breath in praise. Being asked if he now had a sight of Christ; if he died, like Simeon, with the Saviour in his arms? He replied, "Yes, yes! I see him, I see him, whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.' He then uttered some broken sentences, such as ' Welcome to a Saviour's blood,'- Saved by blood, to sin no more, Farewell life, and welcome death.' Having desired those around his bed-side to praise the Lord, we sung the latter part of the hundred and third Psalm, when, to our surprise, he joined in the first measure. This was the last exercise in which he engaged on earth. The last words which we could distinctly hear were, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.'"

"Having no prospect of any employment through the winter, I went to Edinburgh on the following Monday, intending to study anatomy under Dr Monro, and the theory of physic under Dr Gregory. But, calling on Tuesday for Mr Ramsay, (now of Gladsmuir,) I met Mr Ritchie, who was leaving the assistantship at Broughton, to enter on the pastoral charge of Athelstaneford. He proposed that I should accompany him to Broughton, in Tweeddale, and preach there on the Sabbath se'night, in the prospect of succeeding as assistant to Mr Gray, the clergyman of the parish. Fond of ministerial employment, and thinking, that a maxim of Dr Davidson was applicable to this case,'Whenever Providence opens a door, step in;' I instantly accepted his invitation; set off with him in due time; preached in the parish church and before leaving the manse of Broughton, arranged with the old gentleman to return by the third Sabbath of January, to officiate as his assistant."

Thus did Mr Hamilton commence his labours at Broughton in little more than a month from the date at which he was licensed; and as Mr Gray was laid aside entirely from his pulpit, as well as other duties, the whole charge of the parish, combined with the stated preparations of the Sabbath, rendered the office of assistant, in his case, one of peculiar responsibility The encouragement, however, which he met with, in the discharge of his ministerial work, was remarkably pleasing, and he often looked back with feelings of high satisfaction on the short time which he passed in Broughton. His remarks upon the state of the parish, and the character of its population, during his residence there, will be read with interest :—

During the period of his attendance at college, Mr Hamilton was most assiduous in his attention to his studies, and, instead of limiting his desire for knowledge to the regular routine of clerical study, he attended the classes also of Anatomy, Chemistry, and Materia Medica, thus enlarging his sphere of information beyond the ordinary acquirements of young clergymen. To the modern languages, also, he devoted some portion of his time, so as to become acquainted with French, Italian, and German. Botany was with him a favourite pursuit, and formed a rational amusement in his hours of recreation. While thus diligent in the pursuit of useful knowledge, Mr Hamilton was far from being inattentive to his spiritual improvement. While attending college, besides enjoying the friendship and counsel of such devoted servants of Christ as the late Drs David-riousness. son, Buchanan, and Hunter, he attended statedly for six winters on the ministry of Mr Black, of Lady

Yester's Church, who still holds a high and honourable place in the recollection of many true Christians. The last two winters Mr Hamilton spent in Edinburgh were divided betwixt Dr Davidson and Sir Henry Moncreiff. Under such eminent ministers of the Lord Jesus, he experienced a sensible progress, not merely in his knowledge of divine truth, but in a saving acquaintance with its practical efficacy and power.

In the summer of 1802 Mr Hamilton went to the family of the late Mr Colquhoun of Killermont, Lord Register of Scotland, as chaplain to his father. While there, he generally walked in to Glasgow that he might have the privilege of attending the ministry of Dr Balfour. After a residence of two years in Mr Colquhoun's family, he returned to his father's house, and in December 1804 he was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Hamilton.

"The people in Broughton were frank and social. My style of preaching interested them. My discourses must have been very poor and feeble, for I was young, and without knowledge and experience. But I was in earnest; and having encountered no freezing and benumbing criticism from cold and methodical men, I was enabled to speak naturally, and with affection and seThe people crowded the church. Several A blessing persons attended from other parishes. improvement animated me to make still greater efforts seemed to accompany my labours. Their attention and to promote their welfare. Though there were many wild and incorrigible characters in the parish, the great body of the people were friendly to religion, and loved plain, direct, and practical preaching. I was often refreshed by hearing of individuals who had been savingly profited by my ministry. Some of them were called into their everlasting rest soon after I left the neighbourhood. Of the others I have heard almost nothing for twenty years; but it is likely that very few of them can remain to this day."

Scarcely had Mr Hamilton begun to see the effects of his labours in this secluded parish, when, having officiated only sixteen months, to the entire satisfaction both of the incumbent and the parishioners, he was called to another sphere of exertion. Through the influence of his friend the Lord Register, he obtained the appointment to the office of assistant and successor to Mr Maconochie, minister of Crawford. This ap

Mr Hamilton, after having preached only one Sab-pointment, however, Mr Hamilton was prevailed upon bath in the church of his native parish, set out for to relinquish in favour of another, and by the advice of Edinburgh, intending to prosecute still further the study Mr Colquhoun, he accepted the office of assistant to

Mr Sym at New Kilpatrick. In this parish he appears perseverance of the ecclesiastical authorities in refusing to have been neither so comfortable, nor, as far as he or evading repeated solicitations to correct these abuses, could ascertain, so useful as at Broughton. "Neither and the violent opposition made to all who attempted then, nor to this hour," says he, writing towards the to expose and denounce them-such appear to be the end of his life, "have I heard of a single instance in true causes which gave occasion to the proceedings which my labours were blessed in that place." Not- which have ended, for the present, at least, in a sepawithstanding this complaint, however, we are far from ration. No doubt, it may be true, that the leaders thinking Mr Hamilton warranted in imagining that his of the Secession, in the heat of youth, and under much labour was thrown away," The faithful minister provocation, have been somewhat hasty, impetuous, may often feel inclined to adopt the language of the and intemperate, and that if they had conducted themprophet, "Who hath believed our report?" but the selves with greater prudence and propriety, they might great day alone will reveal what has been the full effect have remained in the communion of the Church, which of any one's exertions in the cause of the Redeemer. If they might have gradually leavened with a better spirit, the seed be diligently and prayerfully sown, the increase and restored to a sounder mind. This, however, is may be safely left in the hands of Him who alone can give the judgment which the more cautious and timid disit; and we are not sure but there may be one or more ciples of Jesus uniformly pronounce upon the sons of individuals still alive in New Kilpatrick who would be thunder, by whom, nevertheless, it is, and not by their ready to acknowledge the benefit which they and their censors, that all great works have for the most part, families received from the ministrations of Mr Hamilton. under his providence, been achieved. It is easy for To be Continued. quiet and cool observers to note and reprove the excesses of keen temper and an ardent zeal in the men who are too hotly engaged in the very thickest of the good fight of faith, to see so many difficulties, and to stand upon so many points, as they do. We must have such men for the most arduous enterprises of the Christian warfare-men of energy-of indignation-of action, not too sensitive, nor too circumspect. And we must take them as we have them. And certainly it can never be fair or reasonable to plead their occasional errors of judgment, in vindication of those, who deli

THE RECENT PERSECUTION IN HOLLAND.
No. IV.

BY THE REV. ROBERT S. CANDLISH, A. M.,
Minister of St George's Parish, Edinburgh.

In contemplating the origin of the Secession from the Dutch Church, many interesting questions arise. The first of these naturally is: where does the blame of this separation lie? There is an easy way of disposing of that question by the trite and insipid observation, that there have been faults on both sides a reply as irrele-berately persevere in the wrongs which have roused vant for the most part as it is unsatisfactory. an honest vehemence of rebuke, and resent and punish any remonstrance that is made against them.

There is another very interesting speculation connect

For it not only declines to pronounce a judgment, but really evades the matter at issue. There must always be faults on both sides while men are the combatants-buted with this subject. When we observe the sad effects the inquiry still remains, with whom rests the actual sin of the schism? For schism certainly involves sin; and apart from all other offences naturally occurring in the progress of the controversy-the main and original sin of the schism can be ascertained and determined only by a regard to the merits of the controversy. Nor does the manner in which the separation is ultimately effected settle the point. It may be by voluntary secession on the part of those who retire. It may be by a forcible expulsion of them on the part of those who remain. In the one case, notwithstanding their voluntary act, they may be free from all the guilt of schism. In the other case, notwithstanding the compulsion to which they are ultimately subjected, they, and not the party who thrust them out, may be the real schismatics. The reformers, when they came out from the Church of Rome, were not schismatical. Heretics, when excommunicated for their false doctrines,

are.

The Dutch Seceders are in the condition partly of persons expelled, and partly of persons voluntarily departing from the Church. But in either view, they scem, if we may judge from our present information, to have a good case to plead in justification of their conduct. The unconstitutional innovations introduced into the government of the Church, the arbitrary usurpation of almost unlimited power by a central junta, the relaxation of discipline, the modification of the form of subscription to the standards, the avowed toleration of false doctrine-these, and similar abuses, not only allowed, but even sanctioned; above all, the

which in the lapse of years have flowed in our own country from a Secession for which it must be confessed that at the time there was great cause, the gradual widening of the breach from one generation to another, the entire shifting of the very ground of the separation, and the apparent hopelessness of any speedy return to unity, we are almost compelled, not indeed to justify those proceedings on the part of the Church of which the Seceders complained, but to wish that they themselves had exercised a little more patience, and had persevered a little longer in their attempts to maintain within the Church the contest against error and declension. It is well known that the very first General Assembly, after that which sanctioned a severe sentence against the fathers of the Secession, were disposed to open the door again for a negotiation of peace, and did, in fact, adopt very decided measures, such as one short year before might have removed the chief occasion of separation. We do not say that the Seceders should have met otherwise than they did, these tardy overtures of conciliation. They had received some lessons in the school of suspicion and distrust. We do not blame them for the steps which they subsequently took. We admire and honour the noble stand which they made for purity of doctrine, and the rights of the Christian people. We gratefully acknowledge the good service which they have done to religion in days of coldness and dead formality. We admit that their very position as Seccders gave them some advantages, and a certain prominency and power, for commanding a large,

portion of the public mind. At the sametime, we cannot forget, that they left in the Church a body of men like minded with themselves; not large, perhaps, but made still smaller, and discouraged and disheartened, by the loss of their best allies. The departure of these men from the national communion was certainly a heavy blow to the remaining friends, as it was a triumph to the enemies, of evangelical truth and liberty. It was followed by a long period in the history of our Church, on which few religious persons now look back with satisfaction. And there can scarcely be a reasonable doubt, that if our Seceding fathers had felt themselves at liberty, notwithstanding all the offences and provocations with which they had met, to unite with their brethren within the Church, in helping forward its revival and reformation, the good which they earnestly sought, might have been far more speedily and effeetually attained—and the evil, which had they seen it in prospect, they would, above all things, have deprecated, might have been averted.

those to whom we have last referred. The Lord undoubtedly had need of both kinds of work, and he fitted his servants for their respective spheres. Rowland Hill as an itinerant, Venn as a parish minister-both were useful-both had many seals of their ministry and apostleship in the Lord. It would seem, however, as if it were a rule of the Spirit, who is the author of order, to adapt his operations to the arrangements of the Church; and as these arrangements require that the field of labour shall be portioned out and allotted among the different labourers, so the Spirit, when he visits the field, visits it, not at one point only, but at many. He touches, at the sametime, the hearts of many of his servants, and quickens one here and one there, so that from many different centres in which fountains are by his immediate agency opened, the living streams may, through the customary channels, flow over and enrich the whole land. Without pushing this idea too far, it may seem to warrant a very safe and important conclusion in regard to a regularly formed Christian Church. He who is called in one sphere or department of the Lord's work, may assume that the same Spirit who has awakened him, is awakening others also elsewhere. He may reckon upon co-operation in other quarters, and may proceed upon the faith that there are movements begun in other parts,-it may be unknown to him,-which going steadily forward, will shortly meet and coalesce. He may not, therefore, under his new impulse, feel himself obliged to go beyond the sphere originally assigned to him, and to disregard ecclesiastical rules, though they may seem for a time to interpose a barrier in the way of the diffusion of piety and zeal. We do not judge how far the authors of Methodism ought to have acted according to this view. In that case, much of the good effect which they very suddenly produced, might have been too long postponed. The fact, however, unquestionably is, that at the commencement of their system, there was a very decided revival already in progress in different parts of the Church, -that the progress of that revival within the Church did apparently receive some temporary check from the turn which religious affairs then took, and the violent prejudices and passions which were excited, that it has, notwithstanding, been steadily advancing,-that in the midst of incalculable blessings which the Methodist Secession has unquestionably conferred upon the country, it has entailed some disadvantages, which now, perhaps, when its early enthusiasm is somewhat cooled, are beginning to be more and more felt, and that the spirit which is pervading more thoroughly every day the Christian ministers and Christian people in connection with the English Establishment, is one which the

A similar reflection may be made regarding what may be called another Secession in the southern part of our island. When the founders of Methodism, in England, began their labours, they were moved by a sense of the necessities of the people, and the general decline of spiritual religion in the English Church, to adopt an eccentric and irregular course, which ulti- | mately led to their separation, and to the formation of a distinct society. The immediate, the instantaneous effect of that energy, which, breaking through the barriers of ecclesiastical order, made their loud voice heard through all the land, was thrilling and startling to a degree far beyond what could probably have been realized by the work of many years carried on more quietly and decorously. And, perhaps, the universal and deathlike slumber was such, that it needed a trumpet like theirs, which at least gave no uncertain sound, to ring forth the awakening alarm. It is remarkable, however, that about the very time when the Wesleys and Whitefield were themselves enlightened, there was a manifest revival taking place, in many different parts of the country. In particular, not a few of the clergy, were, by a wonderful coincidence, without any concert or communication with one another, led simultaneously to a knowledge of the truth, and powerful advocates were raised up here and there to maintain the cause of vital godliness. Berridge, Hicks, Grimshaw in England, Rowlands and Charles in Wales, with several others who might be mentioned, became thus instrumental in raising, at their several posts, the standard of the Cross, and gathering under that banner the people more immediately committed to their charge. Some of these men afterwards adopted the plan of the Me-heavenly ardour of Wesley, and the glowing zeal of thodists, and joining their body, shared in their separation from the Church. Others, among whom may be reckoned Walker and Venn, and at a somewhat later period, Cadogan, Newton, Romaine and Simeon, adhered to the regulations of the Church, continued in her communion, and became the seed, so to speak, of that large and increasing harvest of faithful, evangelical pastors, which makes the parishes of England now rejoice. It is vain and idle, perhaps, to conjecture what might have been the effect, had Wesley and his adherents seen it to be their duty to follow more Such lengthened remarks may seem somewhat foreign nearly the example, and to act upon the principles of | to the subject of these papers. We cannot help think

Whitefield, would have gratefully and rapturously hailed. There are, it is true, other influences at work in that Church, of a character and tendency by no means so cheering. These, however, are altogether independent of any causes connected with this inquiry; and they do not affect our conjecture, that had the holy men of whom we speak lived in these days, they might have found plenty of coadjutors, and enough of scope, withont going beyond the bounds of the very Church from which formerly they separated.