his "Defensio Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ," and his "Comment on the Book of Common Prayer."

His "Defensio was published in 1707, and was written in Latin for the purpose of shewing foreigners, especially our continental Protestant brethren, the character and excellencies of the Church of England. He was very anxious for a union among Protestants; and he proposes to appeal to the Lutheran and Calvinistic churches, as arbiters in the disputes between the Anglican Church and English Nonconformists. It will be remembered, that at that period there was a strong desire, in which the primate Tenison heartily concurred, to draw closer the bonds of union among the Reformed Churches.*

The English translation of the "Defensio" was made by the author. The work is written with moderation and candour, and contains a condensed record of useful facts; but we cannot say that it always sets forth Anglican doctrine correctly. For instance, upon the infinitely important subject before mentioned, of a sinner's justification before God, he expresses himself in a manner which must have conveyed to our foreign brethren, whose formularies, like our own, are scripturally clear upon this point, a very incorrect view of Anglican theology. He says, (p. 191, ed. 3. 1730): "The thing on God's part, in the justification of a sinner, is his merciful acceptance (after sincere repentance and amendment of life) of our imperfect righteousness and lame observance of the divine laws, esteeming this, if it be but sincere, as perfect and complete, in virtue of that gracious cove

* In proof of this we might refer to the early records of the Christian Knowledge Society, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Our bishops and clergy in those days, with the exception of the non-jurors and the old Laudite school, felt no scruple in giving the right hand of fellowship to their continental Protestant brethren.

In

turning to some of the Propagation Society's old documents, to find the date when Dr. Nicholls became a member, we opened on the "Abstract of proceed ings for 1714," and there we read "Some eminent foreigners have been admitted," and then are enumerated several, as "the minister of the Reformed Parochial church in Berlin," &c. &c. In the Society's "Collection of Papers," 1715, the very first two names among the members, in alphabetical order, are "Narcissus, Archbishop of Armagh," and "Dr. Achenback, chaplain to the king of Prussia." The seventh name on the list is "Mons. Ancillon," another of the king of Prussia's chaplains. Again, in the "Abstract for 1716," among the new members we find "Mons. Olearius, Professor of Leipsic;" "the Reverend Mr. Lewis Saurin;" and "the Rev. Mr. Clermont, of the French church of Amsterdam." We have thought it not unmeet to advert to these facts, which probably are novelties to some

of the zealous young gentlemen who have lately been so highly displeased with Archbishop Howley and his right reverend brethren, touching their intercourse with the king of Prussia. Dr. Nicholls appears to have been deputed by_the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to correspond for the Society, with the foreign Protestant churches. A volume of his correspondence with eminent foreigners was presented by his widow, in 1712, shortly after his death, to Archbishop Tenison, to be preserved either in the Tenison library at St. Martin's, or in the Archiepiscopal collection at Lambeth. It was deposited in the latter. (Lambeth MSS. No. 676.) In this volume there is a letter from Dr. Nicholls to the Antistes of Zurich, telling him he is chosen a member of the Gospel Propagation Society; and he asks for an account of the churches of Switzerland. Again, M. L'Enfant writes to return thanks for being chosen a member. M. Ostervald also echoes back his correspondent's wish for union among Protestants, and expresses his veneration for the Church of England. There is another letter to a German professor, recommending unity among Protestants. There is no trace, that we can find, of Dr. Nicholls in the St. Martin's Tenison MSS.; nor are any of his works among the printed books.

nant which Christ, by his sacrifice and perfect obedience, hath obtained for us, and hereupon rewarding our weak but honest endeavours with the infinite blessing of the kingdom of heaven." The simple question is, Does God pardon us freely for Christ's merits; or, by enabling us to merit for ourselves, not in strict justice, but under the conditions of a remedial law? Of the latter system we see no trace in Scripture, or our own formularies; but it was the popular fancy among our clergy at the time when Nicholls wrote.

Of Dr. Nicholls's great work, published in 1710, and the Supplement published next year, what can we say in the space of a few cursory remarks? The very title-pages are tables of contents. We will only say, that in regard to the mass of matter collected relative to the Anglican Prayer-book, no one work is so copious or so valuable. We have expressed our opinion of his doctrinal system; but in ritual matters he is, upon the whole, our best Anglican expositor. He is removed from the worst notions of our modern Tractarians, whose ultraisms, as maintained by their Laudean predecessors, he frequently condemns, as of course he does those which he considered verged to the opposite extreme. He complains that there were two parties, and that "men have gotten into their heads a notion of two Churches of England;" and he says that he wished to avoid the error on both sides, which had caused the destruction of the Church in the days of Charles the First. His work must have cost him great labour during many years; and he published it, he says, for the special aid of those clergymen who wished to study ecclesiastical antiquity, and the Anglican Prayerbook, " but the narrowness of whose circumstances will not supply them with a collection of such books as are necessary for that end."

In the Dedication to Queen Anne the author says, that "all the copies of it are either bought up, or bespoken before it sees the light;" and in the list of subscribers, amounting to more than ninehundred, we find both the archbishops, and a majority of the bishops, with many noblemen, and a large number of the clergy. Yet the very year after its publication we find him writing the melancholy letter above-quoted; and the same year apologising in the Preface to the Supplement for not having done all he wished on account of illness. " I have made what progress therein I have been able, and more than I could have well expected, considering a long fit of sickness which God has pleased to visit me with, and a very unestablished state of health, both before and after it." This is the last allusion to his personal narrative which we can find, except that he died next year, probably worn out with studious toil and increasing infirmities, at the early age of forty-eight years.

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

MEMOIR OF THE LATE REV. WATTS WILKINSON.

A Memoir of the Life and Ministry of the late Rev. Watts Wilkinson, B. A., Sunday Afternoon Lecturer of St. Mary Aldermary; and Tuesday Morning Lecturer of St. Bartholomew's Exchange, London; and formerly Chaplain of Aske's Hospital, Hoxton; with Extracts from his Correspondence. By the Rev. H. W. WILKINSON, Perpetual Curate of St. Gregory, Sudbury, and late Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. London, 1842.

We have devoted so much of
our Number to reviewing old
books and old matters, rather
than new ones, that we cheer-
fully turn to the memoir of a
venerable man of our own days,
whom we had occasion to allude
to in a former page as the pastor
of Alexander Chalmers; but who
would have been incredulous had
he been told that any friend-
even that prince of biographers,
Chalmers himself could have
constructed a goodly octavo vo-
lume of his remains. And truly
if adventure is the necessary
condiment of biography, the affair
is rather astonishing; for the
long life of Mr. Wilkinson was so
uniform, that a page might suffice
for its dates, and a sheet for its
narratives. We have not even
the variety of ordinary clerical
memoirs; for Mr. Wilkinson did
not much busy himself with
schools, or societies, or com-
mittees; he was known chiefly in
the pulpit; and even with regard
to his preaching, his friend, Mr.
Howells, uttered the following
eulogy upon him: "He has
preached the same sermon twice
a week for fifty years." There
was more truth in this remark
than always belongs to epigram-
matic speeches; for we remember,
nearly forty years ago, hearing
Mr. Wilkinson preach on a Good
Friday from this text: "He
died and rose again according to
the Scriptures;" and we con-
cluded he would dwell at least
upon the former clause, perhaps
reserving the latter for Easter
Sunday; but to our surprise he
said that he should speak upon
some things which were
cording to the Scriptures;" and
then came the fall of man; the

"ас

election of grace; the effectual calling of the elected; and the final perseverance of the effectually called; but not one word, that we can recollect, of the special topic of the day and of the text.

Yet this very paucity of incident furnishes food for reflection. We live in a day of business and excitement, and we bless God that there is much business and excitement of a right and useful kind. Our clergy in populous parishes are forced into incessant activity; their schools, their clubs, their societies, their beadroll of "cases," their multiplied visitings, and added services, and cottage lectures, allow them little time for reading and quiet meditation; so that their whole life is a constant scene of exhausting expenditure. All this the exigency of our times demands; and such exertions God has been pleased abundantly to bless. And yet, on the other hand, it has not been unprofitable that we should have had so long spared to us a type of men of another class, to remind us of certain defects in our own. If they did not do as much in our way as we do, may it not be that they did some things which we neglect? May not their abstraction lead us to ask whether we are abstracted enough? If they read too few books, besides the Bible, may not we read too many, or in an ill-judged proportion ? If they had too few out-door projects, may not we have too many? If they might with advantage have attempted more in active labours, might not we sometimes with advantage attempt less and pray more? If the peculiar exigencies of this our