and an admirer of the purity and simplicity of its language. To a mind like his, it was impossible that the dictates of a book thus regarded should be in different. Accordingly, he professed publicly the religion which it enjoins, and adorned his profession with a life irreproachable. Through the great and the gay world he passed without a stain. On its follies he looked with pity, on its splendours with self-possession. No opinion, no practice was adopted by him, because it was fashionable. In the de votions of his closet, and in the duties of Christian benevolence, he found a satisfaction which grandeur rarely knows, and applause can never confer. Humble, sincere, and submissive, he often shed in intimate religious conversation the tear of contrition, and lamented his want of fervour in his addresses to God. When his end was approaching, with a consciousness that it was near, he said, I have peace of mind. It may arise from stupidity; but I believe it is founded on a belief of the Gospel. My hope is in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.' The divinity of the Saviour he admitted without a question, and, it would seem, from a minute investigation of the subject."-pp. 119, 120. The account of the Shakers or Shaking Quakers is complete, and well drawn up, though we could have wished that one or two of their indecent practices had been less distinctly referred to. They describe themselves as having originated in England, among the immediate disciples of the French Prophets who made themselves so absurdly conspicuous in the beginning of the last century. They had taken it into their heads that the work which the Almighty had announced as to be accomplished in the latter day, was " eminently marked out by the Prophets to be a work of Shaking," and to prove and illustrate this hypothesis, they quoted, en masse, all the Scripture texts which contain the word "shake." As a specimen of their egregious trifling in this way, we may mention as one of their favourite texts, Haggai, ii. 7. I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come." About the year 1770, Anne Lee, "a cutter of hatter's fur," began CONG. MAG. No. 67. 66 her testimony of salvation and "Among other early peculiarities this was one, that they were always under the immediate and inspiring guidance of the Spirit of God. The direction of this divine agent was made 3 B A known to them by an involuntary extension of the right arm, pointing always towards some object, or business, which, though absolutely unknown to themselves, demanded, with a call fron heaven, their immediate attention. man of my acquaintance, whose mind had always been wandering, who had gone from sect to sect, to find one sufficiently religious, and from doctrine to doctrine, to find a scheme sufficiently. rigid for his own taste, ultimately attached himself to this fraternity. Agentleman, at whose house he was with some other company, asked him to drink some punch. He declined the proposal, and said, that the Spirit did not move him to drink punch, but to something else. In an instant his right arm was stretched out, and he arose and followed the direction. It led him out of the door, in a straight line, to a hog-trough, by the side of which he dropped upon his knees, and made a hearty draught of the swill, with a number of pigs, who were regaling themselves on the same beverage." pp. 144, 145. The Shakers claim the power of working miracles, and the faculty of" speaking with tongues." 6 "I have mentioned, (says Dr. Dwight,) that the company, at whose worship I was present, declared, that they could speak with tongues, and that both the words and the tune which they sung were inspired. It is unnecessary to add any thing concerning the tune. I observed to them, that the sounds which they made, and which they called language, could not be words, because they were not articulated. One of the women replied, How dost thee know, but that we speak the Hotmatot language? The language of the Hotmatots is said to be made up of such sort of words.' I challenged them to speak either Greek, Latin, or French, and told them, that if they would do this, I would acknowledge that they had the power of speaking with tongues, but they were silent. They professed, not only that Mother was perfect, but that a considerable number at least of the fraternity were perfect also. I accosted the only man among thein, who appeared to have any sincerity, in this manner. Look me directly in the face, and remember, that you are in the immediate presence of the all-seeing God, who is your judge and mine, and tell me, if you dare, that you are perfect, or that you ever saw any person whom you believed to be perfect.' The man trembled like an aspen leaf, and after declaring, that he did not consider himself as a perfect man, refused to say, and most evi dently was afraid to say, that he ever had seen any person, even Mother herself, whom he believed to be perfect." -p. 148. Implicit faith and passive obedience are the cardinal principles of this Association; the elders are believed to be inspired, and, consequently, infallible; excepting apostates from their own sect, they believe that none will be eternally lost, and they hold the lawfulness of criminal actions for the advancement of the good cause. Meacham, who succeeded to the direction in 1787, gave system and coherence to the body; this man was believed to be the son of man, spoken of by Ezekiel, and the destroyer of Gog and Magog." He died in 1796. "One of their tenets has certainly a claim to respect. They hold, that a dirty, slovenly, careless, indolent person cannot be religious. Accordingly every member of the brotherhood, and every sister, must be continually employed in moderate labour. "I believe that they are more decent than they were in the earlier periods of their establishment. Mr. Brown observes, that several things which took place are omitted in his book for the sake of modesty; but he says they stopped every avenue of their houses, so that the world's people could not see them, and had one or two of the brethren out to watch. What passed within will probably be imperfectly known until the final disclosure. Anne called some persons who opposed her dogs, dumb dogs, and damned dogs. Several of the brother* hood professed to have gifts to curse such as censured their conduct, and to tell others to go to hell. There are also gifts for trembling, shaking, whirling, jerking, jumping, stamping, rolling on the ground, running with one or both hands stretched out, barking, crowing, hissing, brushing, and driving the devil out of their houses, groaning, crying, laughing, loud shouting, and clapping their hands. These ridiculous extravagances seem gradually to be passing away; and instead of them there has been adopted a regular scheme of industry, of acquiring wealth, and of improving in agricultural and mechanical business."-pp. 156, 157. siastic, policy will here take place of ex"As in other sects, originally enthutravagance. The reserve, the distance, 1823. in New England and New York. the mysticism of the elders; the found ignorance, babitual submission, proand Asiatic veneration of their votaries; and the strong propensity of individuals scattered throughout the world, to relish what is strange and mysterious, merely because it is so, will in all probability prolong this delusion until it shall be terminated by the Millennium."-p. 157. Dr. Dwight is a zealous pleader in behalf of legislative interference for the support of public worship. Many of his remarks in illustration of this point are judicious, but there is too little of what is specific and direct, to give us a fair opportunity of engaging in the controversy. With some of his positions we fully agree, with others we are at entire variance. There is much, for instance, that is truly excellent, though defective in precise limitation, in his observations in proof that religion is indispensable to the welfare of a free country. We shall cite a portion of them. "No free government has ever existed for any time without the support of religion, Athens, Sparta, and Rome, stood and fell with their religion, false and gross as it was; because it contained some of those great truths, and solemn sanctions, without which man can possess no conscience, exercise no virtue, and find no safety. To their religion, Britain, Switzerland, and the United Netherlands, have owed most of their happiness and their permanency; and might say to this celestial denizen, in every period of their prosperity, as the devout and humble Christian to his God, "Having obtained help of thee, we have continued to this time." "In the history of the globe there is recorded but one attempt, seriously made, to establish a free government without religion. From this attempt has sprung new proof, that such a government, stripped of this aid, cannot exist. The government, thus projected, was itself never established; but was a mere abortion; exhibiting doubtful signs of life at its birth, and possessing this dubious existence only as an ephemeron. During its diurnal life it was the greatest scourge, particularly to those for whom it was formed, and generally to the rest of mankind, which the world has ever Instead of being a free, just, and 371 its blessings, than an inundation of ther to be informed, were the result of "These evils, my antagonist is furerecting a government without religion. the only experiment, ever made, of They are the only specimen of the genuine efficacy of infidelity and atheism on the during the only opportunity, which they mind and on the happiness of man, have enjoyed, of possessing an unlimited control over human affairs. Until the remembrance of this experiment shall have been lost, it can never be made again."―p. 391. The following reasoning in favour of a compulsory tax, for the maintenance of ministers, is as finished a specimen of special pleading, as any thing in the mask of argument ever exhibited. "Besides, St. Paul, 1 Cor. xvi. has determined, that a tax is the right and proper manner of doing all this. In Corinthians to lay by them somewhat,' the second verse, he commands the as a contribution to the relief of their fellow Christians; every man as God had prospered them,' Between contributions for their fellow Christians and contributions for ministers there is no moral difference. The contribution of a sum, in proportion to the prosperity is nothing but a regular and proportional God has given men, is a tax : for a tax contribution. This proportion cannot be established but by authority; for, quired to render an account of their except by authority, men cannot be reapproach so near to equity as that, which circumstances. Nor can any proportion is formed under the direction of the le-✔ gislature. Here, then, the rule of St. Paul, the rule established by God, is as exactly pursued as it can be by human wisdom and, if it was a right rule in one ecclesiastical case, it is a rule equally right in every other."-p. 396. : it is obvious that the Apostle is If there be meaning in words, here speaking of free contributions, and not of an authoritative poor's rate. thing of select vestries, nothing He says nobeneficent system of administration, it was more despotic than a Persian cali- of grave Presbyteries making inphate; more wasteful of life, and all quisition into men's incomes, as seen. the foundation of a pro rata levy. We hear nothing of legislatures and parish officers, but we have a simple and intelligible recommendation that every one should lay by him in store, as God had prospered him. The miserable sophistication by which these contributions are worked up into taxes, and taxes into a necessity for legislative compulsion, is equal to any of the mystifying processes of the old Rosicrusians. The following powerful exposure of the efforts made by infidelity, to contaminate the popular feeling in America, is strikingly descriptive of the similar exertions which are, in this country, in progress at the present time. "From France, Germany, and Great Britain, the dregs of infidelity were vomited upon us at once. From the Systeme de la Nature and the Philosophical Dictionary, down to the Political Justice of Godwin and the Age of Reason, the whole mass of pollution was emptied on this country. The two last publications, particularly, flowed in upon us as a deluge. An enormous edition of the Age of Reason was published in France, and sent over to America to be sold for a few pence the copy; and, where it could not be sold, to be given away. You may perhaps be astonished, that such men as these, the merc outcasts of creation, could do harm at all. In my apprehension, they were exactly fitted for a sphere of mischief, of vast import in the empire of destruction which, perhaps, no other men could have filled. Satan needs his scullions and scavengers, as well as his nobles and heroes. They were industrious, bold, and enterprising. They were impudent beyond example, were not destitute of imagination, and possessed a popular manner of writing. It is true, they were incapable of understanding the force of an argument, or the nature of evidence; but they were no less delighted with falsehood than better men are with truth; were equally triumphant in a victory and a defeat; and, like the Lernæan snake, had a spare head for every new combatant. At the same time they were conveniently lost to principle and to shame; and uttered villainy, obscenity, and blasphemy, not merely with a brazen front, but with the sober, intrepid serenity of apparent conviction. Such men are incomparably better fitted to persuade ignorance, and embolden vulgar iniquity, than superior villains. The writings of such villains are beyond the reach of mankind at large. These men are fitted to invade the cottage and the fireside. On the people of New-England their influence, though sensibly felt, was not extensive; on other parts of the Union it is declared, as I believe with truth, to have been great."-p. 368. But we must close our review of these volumes, since it has already extended beyond convenient limits. We could, indeed, have wished to find room for the Doc tor's defence of the American character, from the uncourteous and uncandid attacks which have been made on it by European travellers and writers. His eulogy on Jonathan Edwards is ably done, and his comparative estimate of the English and New England Clergy, is cogent against the former. With one short extract from this part of the work, we shall take our leave of the present work. "I have read a considerable number of the most celebrated British sermons; and think it no injustice to say, that we have many, which are not at all inferior to most of them in good sense, sound theology, or the power of making deep impressions on the conscience. None of them can boast the eloquence and sublimity of Robert Hall; but some of them are eloquent and sublime. At the same time they are rarely trifling; rarely are they merely attempts to display the preacher to advantage. We have no Sidney Smith sermons; gewgaws in. tended to be shown like a diamond ring or snuff-box, to prove that the preacher is the owner of such trinkets. Rarely are they intended to be mere means of whiling away the time. We have no fifteen minute sermons. Rarely are they regarded by the preacher as an oppressive tax upon his industry; a hard task, through which he struggles, as a lazy school-boy through his lesson, because he cannot escape from his thraldom. We have few, very few, of those preachers, whom the author of the Task reprobates; but many, very many, of those whom he commends."-p. 429. A Letter to the Rev. H. H. Norris, A.M. containing Animadversions on his " Respectful Letter to the Earl of Liverpool," on the Sub dates, the complete falsehood of Mr. Norris's charges. In your late publication, (says Dr. Paterson) we have a repetition of all your idle tales about pawnbrokers' shops, Jew-boys, Puritans, Socinians, United Irishmen, foul conspiracy against Church and State, subversion of authority, newspaper paper accounts, anonymous correspondents, misstated speeches, &c. &c. Nine years' experience ought to have produced the conviction, that these are not the weapons with which to attack the Bible Society, with any hopes of success, as they have already repeatedly recoiled on your own head. Had you will not say, of a clergyman, you would first have cleared your character of the innumerable charges brought against you, of bearing false witness against your neighbour, before you ventured again to enter the lists in the character of a knight errant, against what you consider the common enemy of mankind.”—pp. 6, 7. ject of the Bible Society. By the Rev. John Paterson, D. D. St. Petersburg. 8vo. 2s. 6d. London: Hamilton. 1823. DISSENTERS as we are, and cordial as is our attachment to the Bible Society, we really cannot help feeling something like an emotion of pity for the restless and unfortunate "Curate of St. John's, Hackney." Baffled in his early assaults, he lay quiet for some time, busily engaged in collecting fresh materials, or in new vamping such of the old ones, as might be a lit-possessed the feelings of a gentleman, I tle the worse for wear. At length he came forth with his memorable "Respectful Letter;" but the public seems to have been fully aware of Mr. Norris's character as a controvertist, and to have treated his vapouring with merited contempt. Mr. Scholefield, with rather more deference than the occasion or the man deserved, but with perfect calmness, answered, unanswerably answered, the formidable appeal to the Earl of Liverpool. Still there were a few points on which, however lightly Mr. N.'s vituperation might be accounted of, elucidation and 'exposure of his misrepresentations might, by some, be deemed expedient. For instance, he had indulged himself in a very absurd strain of invective against certain proceedings in St. Petersburg, and with a management, to which we will not apply a more discourteous term, had jumbled together names, facts, and mistatements, till he contrived to extract, from the midst of the confusion, articles of charge against the Bible Society. Dr. Paterson now comes forward, with all the advantages of his local knowledge, high character, and distinguished talents. He unravels the tortuous clue which the Curate of Hackney had been so long, and with so much satisfaction to himself, employed in intertwisting, and he shows, by reference to simple facts and With all this, however, Dr. P. felt no disposition to meddle; but when he came to the part which converts the Russian Bible Society, with its specific and exclusive connexion with Russian residents and interests, into an attack on the parent society in England, he felt it right to step forward and to expose the futility and falsehood of the Rev. H. H. Norris's aspersions. On the authority of the Rev. Edward Law, of St. Petersburg, at least of a letter signed with that gentleman's name, Mr.N. had accused the Bible Society of occasioning "schisms and divisions" among the episcopalians resident in the Russian capital. Dr. P. clearly proves that the Bible Society had no concern whatever in the establishment of a new interest, and that he, though the contrary appears to be indirectly indicated by Mr. N., knew nothing whatever of the actual or intended opening of a new place for divine worship. It is of course impossible for us to give a satisfactory analysis of the minute statements furnished by Dr. P.; but we shall first extract a part of Mr. Norris's charges, and then in |