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Mr. URBAN, Rolvenden, June 1. S I consider your Miscellany to be a general depository, or shrine, of literary relicks, I transmit to you the enclosed Reply of Dr. Young, to an Enquirer respecting, if I may so speak, the Scripturality of the Doctrine of Final Perseverance. From the manuscript, now in possession of the Widow of the Gentleman to whom it was addressed, I transcribed it. It has never been published hitherto. Without pledging myself, on either side, as to the sentiment which it contains, I entrust it to your disposal. J. G. DURHAM.

DEAR SIR-The Scripture only can give us light as to our final acceptance with God. Our own fancied impulses may deceive us. No man can have a full assurance of salvation, for this plain reason, viz. "Because the end can never be certain, when the means of attaining that end are uncertain." Now, though for the time past a man may have lived well, yet he is not sure that he shall do so for the future. And the Scripture has cautioned us against flattering ourselves with full assurance of salvation, when it says, "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall."

That this short and plain consideration may restore your peace of mind, is the hearty prayer of, Your affectionate humble servant,

E. YOUNG.

To Mr. Wm. Slade, at Deptford, in Kent, Sept. 11, 1757.

Mr. URBAN, Harwich, June 2.

THE late much-lamented Prime Minister's Grandfather (see page 500) was Member of Parliament for this Borough, and contributed to the erection of the Workhouse here; as

appears by the following Inscription on a white stone in the West front of that building.

"This Workhouse was erected and fitted up at the expence of the Right Hon. John Lord Viscount Percival and Sir Philip Parker, bart. representatives of this Borough, (for the encouragement

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Mr. URBAN, Blandford, June 3. HE following observations originated in a strong impression of those feelings which were excited by a late most tragical event; an event of public notoriety, and of a nature so affecting, as, at the instant, to divest Party itself of its accustomed violence, and to unite in the utmost possible degree all the respectable members of society, in the expression of their heartfelt concern, together together with their avowed abhorrence of the atrocious act, which was productive of so direful a result. Many and striking indeed are the lessons it affords us. While, in common with other instances of mortality, and especially of sudden dissolution, it demonstrates the instability of sublunary things; it likewise reads us an instructive lecture on the necessity of self-government, and manifests the destructive effect of evil passions, when suffered to gain the ascendancy over the nobler powers of the mind. There is one object, however, to which, in committing these thoughts to paper, I would more particularly direct the reader's attention; an object to which it appears to me capable of being applied, although it may not, in all probability, have entered into the minds of so many persons, as the foregoing reflections, which are indeed what every rightly thinking man must inevitably form. The use I would willingly make of the afflicting circumstance, distinctly from the above mentioned, is to draw from it some strong arguments in favour of the truth and excellence of our holy Religion; arguments constituting an important internal evidence in its behalf, and therefore suited to come more directly home to men's business and bosoms, than any external proofs of its authenticity, which, being addressed to their understandings, may, and it is to be feared too often do, play round the head without coming near the heart.

Let us then observe, with a little attention, the feelings to which, by woeful experience, we find the whole human race to be more or less exposed, and from which if we have escaped, 'tis often greatly owing to the happy situation or circumstances in which a kind Providence has placed us; and how fully shall we be led to own the peculiar suitableness of the precepts contained in the Bible, to the condition of man. Let us mark the frequent and fatal domination of passions over the more exalted and legitimate powers of reason and conscience; and we cannot fail to confess the utility, and I might venture to add the necessity for that system, which has the most direct tendency to bridle and restrain every dangerous excess of criminal and lawless desire, and, especially, to root up and exterminate the latent seeds of malice and revenge, before they have time to expand and be called into action. To say nothing of those other various evil inclinations, against which our blessed Lord expressly warns us to be on our guard; let us for the present purpose only dwell on those particuIar charges contained in the Scripture, which expressly apply to the case under our consideration. Could any man who duly reflected on the import of the command to love our enemies, and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us; and who, at the same time, paid a just respect to the bright and consistent example set us by the Divine Author and Finisher of our faith, on all occasions, but more especially at the

dread hour when his malicious enemies were employed in the execution of their most cruel designs against him? could any man who rightly reverenced the injunction, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is

written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord?" could any man who paid proper attention to the admonition, "Be ye angry and sin not; let not the Sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the Devil;" or, lastly, could any man who claimed forgiveness from Heaven but in proportion as he himself should exercise it towards his offending brethren of mankind-bedrawn in, by any temptation whatsoever, to commit so inhuman a deed as the murder of a fellow-creature? How ought we then to appreciate that divine revelation, which, from its benignant tendency, bears such intrinsic marks that it is indeed worthy of a Divine Legislator! and how diligent should we be in the cultivation of those dispositions, whose blessed tendency it is to promote "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace, good-will toward men!" М. С.

Mr. URBAN, Andover, June 8.

TOU will much oblige me by in

on a tablet in the cloisters of Winchester Chapel, put up at the expence of the late Mr. Walter Jeffreys, whose death is noticed, and whose worth is very justly recorded, in your Magazine for October last. Jane, therein mentioned as the wife of Mr. Benjamin Jeffreys, was a niece of the late Judge Blackstone, and a very accomplished and amiable woman. husband was inconsolable on her death, and survived her only 16 months. Yours, &c.

"M. S.

Her

W. G.

dilectorum in vitâ, defletorum in morte, reverendi Benjamini Jeffreys, A. M.

hujusce Collegii Socii,

et

Janæ uxoris;

quorum
ille obiit

die 7mo Jul. ann. æ. 53, A. D. 1800; hæc die 12mo Mart. ann. æ. 40, A. D. 1799. In utrosque

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hoc marmore posito testatur suum amorem

Gualterus frater superstes."

Mr. URBAN, Rolvenden, June 10. HE institution of the Rolvenden Lecture having so repeatedly been discussed in your very valuable Miscellany; I rely upon your accus

tomed candour for the insertion of the inclosed Remarks by the Institutor thereof, J. G. DURHAM.

It may not be improper to exhibit the plan of the Rolvenden Lecture, as some have ventured to condemn what they did not correctly know. Πολλοις αντιλέγειν μεν έθος τσερι παντος

ομοιως,

Ορθως δ' αντιλεγειν, εκεῖι τετ' εν εθει. Once every month, when the moon was at its full, on a Thursday evening *, at past 6 o'clock, after that the Prayers had been read and the Psalms sung, I used to explain from the desk one of the Lessons of the day, or else some other portion of holy writ. Where was the impropriety of this? Where the slightest "departure from ecclesiastical order?" What Court, or what Canon, is there which interdicts it? The Lecture was delivered in a village, but it is a populous one, containing near 1200 souls: it was an Evening Lecture, but it was given at those seasons only when it was physically impossible that "deeds of darkness" could be committed. As to those Clergymen who "omit in the performance of the public Service, the Litany, or the Communion," I surely am not responsible for them; I defy any one to level that charge against myself; and as " to carelessness and disgusting haste" in the reading of the Prayers, the commendations of my severest adversaries, for a very contrary conduct, entirely preclude the necessity of my making any reply to that in

sinuation.

As your Correspondent subscribes himself " A Christian of the OLD School," it is reasonable to presume, that he cannot be ignorant of the antient method of ecclesiastical instruction-he cannot be ignorant that the very method which he so rigidly censures is that which Ezrat, which the Apostles, which Christ himself adopted: nor did it terminate with them-the Church hath employed it at every period since her first formation. The effects which, in the pre

* Wednesday, being a Church-day, would have been chosen rather than Thursday, had it not been that our organist was then engaged. + Nehemiah viii. 5-8. Acts xiii. 15. Luke iv. 17-21.

sent instance, attended the means used, are sufficient to recommend it to the attention of every liberal mind. Multitudes crowded to hear the Scriptures explained, they became more addicted to the reading of them at home; the morals of the parish were improved, and Sunday-selling and other enormities more easily suppressed. "Solemnity and decorum" peculiarly characterised the assembled worshipers; nor, "from the more gloomy parts of the Church," did any of " those unseemly noises" proceed, which have so unaccountably affected the imagination, and disturbed the peace, of my unknown antagonist. instead of his exclaiming, "Behold what a weariness is it!" the word of truth explained, and the path to Heaven opened, were the joy and rejoicing of the honest rustick's heart. Instead of his being fatigued by the services of God's house, so refreshing were "the waters that issued out from under the threshold thereof," that impatiently did he long for, and gladly did he hail, the return of the sweetly solemn hour which recalled him from the cares of time to the contemplation of eternity, from the labours of the hand to the repose of the soul, from the thorns and thistles of earth to the fruits and flowrets of Paradise.

Let the effects then, I repeat it, justify those means which the word of God sanctions, and which the institutes of man do not condemn.

On the subject of extemporary exhortation, allow me to add a few observations. The "Christian of the Old School" ought to have recollected that the use of written discourses in the pulpit is an innovation, and that it is, in the fullest sense of the word, an insulated practice. The Orator in the Senate, the Pleader at the Bar, the Lecturer in the Schools, all reject it; the Pulpit is its only refuge, and that but recentioris ævi. But let me be rightly understood; I trust that I am no Bigot. It is the matter, not the manner, which is most to be regarded. Truth is truth, whether read from a book, or extemporaneously announced; and truth, in any form, must ever be acceptabie and amiable in the eye of an impartial man.

I have long been of opinion, that what St. Paul said of meats may well be applied to Sermons."Let not him that 'readeth' despise

him that readeth not; and let not him that 'readeth' not, judge him that readeth: for God hath received him."

Σοι μεν ταυτα δοκενῖ' εςιν, εμοι δε ταδε. Perhaps, the preaching by notes is the least objectionable mode - Wilkins recommended it, and Burnet used it. It comprehends in itself, more than any other scheme which can be devised, the accuracy of the written, and the energy of the extemporaneous. Were it but cultivated in our preparatory course of education, with a fourth of the assiduity with which many inferior objects are pursued, it would not be so rare an attainment as some may apprehend. In proof that there has been no exaggeration of statement, or colouring of facts, I would refer, in attestation of what has been advanced, to the evidence of that loving and beloved people among whom I now reside, and among whom I have not heard of a single irregularity having occurred, in consequence of the Lecture having been instituted. Instead of feeling any regret on account of the course which I have followed here, I should be happy to see it more generally pursued; and heartily do I pray for the fulfilment of that glorious prophecy, announced by the evangelical Prophet, as characterising the winding-up of the last dispensation: "It shall come to pass that from one new-moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall ALL flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."

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Mr. URBAN, Greville-street, June 2. HE following statement of the very frequent occurrence of Hernia, at different periods of life, has been obtained principally from patients relieved by the City of London Truss Society, within the short period of four years and a half, and entirely under my own observation. It appeared to me to form an interesting article of reference to the medical, philosophical, and general reader: as such I have taken the liberty of transmitting it for publication in your valuable Journal, if it meets your approbation.

In 3176 patients 2702 were males, and 474 were females,

202 patients under 10 years of age. 160 ditto, between 10 and 20 ditto. 310 ditto, ........ 20 and 30 ditto.

L.

From the most accurate estimation which I have been enabled to make, I have no doubt of this malady existing in one person in eight through the whole male population of this kingdom, and even in a much greater proportion among the labouring classes of the community, in manufacturing districts, particularly in those persons who are employed in weaving.

JOHN TAUNTON, Surgeon to the City of London Truss Society, the City and Finsbury Dispensaries, and Lecturer on Anatomy and Surgery.

Mr. URBAN, Kingston, June 12. "The of England," first made its appearance, and Messrs. Brayley and Britton were the editors, I was applied to for information, and sketches in the neighbourhood of my then residence on the confines of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk: and among other communications I forwarded a Drawing of Swaffhum Two Churches, in Cambridgeshire, so called from the circumstance of two Churches being placed in one enclosure; the receipt of which was acknowledged by Mr. Brayley, both personally, and on the blue cover of the 7th Number of the work in question. Since which time Messrs. Brayley and Britton have both (I believe) withdrawn from the direction of this publication; whether it has fallen into better hands is for the publick to determine. But I have some reason to complain of an inaccuracy in No. X. vol. XIII. (which I received a few days since); where an engraving, by Scott, is given from my drawing; but it is attributed to a Mr.Thomson, and it is called Swaffham Churches, Norfolk. As my sketch is well known to many literary friends, both of yours and mine, I could have no difficulty in proving the truth of my assertion. I have also to cemplain that the engraver has not done justice to my sketch, for the accuracy of which I can vouch, however deficient it may be in execution. The spire

WHEN that elegant work,

spire of the further Church was remarkably light, but there was a projection towards the base, which I had noticed in my sketch, because, from this trifling defect, it was thought fit to pull down the spire: although two spirited gentlemen, then resident in the parish, offered their assistance, liberally, towards repairing the building as it then stood. Sir Charles Watson, bart. and John Allix, esq. since deceased, with several of the parishioners, were anxious to preserve an edifice that was a beautiful object for a great many miles round. From the delay of near eleven years, since I made this sketch for the Beauties of England to its appearing in the work, I was induced to imagine the editor had determined that it should not appear in their work, or had lost the sketch. I had it therefore in contemplation to offer it to your valuable Repository, as it is curious both from its architecture and situation and several other circumstances, as well as that now it has entirely lost its character, the spire being demolished, in doing which a beautiful specimen of church architecture, the porch, was destroyed by the workmen battering down the spire upon it. The other church has been modernized in a style that has been very well called Carpenter's Gothic.-Happy would it have been if your animated Correspondent, "An Architect," had previously seen it, and by his timely and spirited remonstrances prevented this barbarous demolition.

If, however, you think, after its appearance in the work above mentioned, it might be acceptable to your Readers; having the original sketch, I will send it to you, with some further remarks upon it *. C. W.

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June 5.

will abundantly supply; of which circumstance, the publick are sufficiently aware, the Author of the Gleanings will avail himself; particularly, as we presume he intends affixing his name, since it is given in the prospectus. That it merits his best attentions, no persons (who have visited a spot which has afforded the best evidence of its superior claims of air and water, and their salutary influence) will deny; uniting the most beautiful walks, rides, es, drives, and every other accommodation, amidst the luxury of some of the finest roads in England; conducting to many of the most magnificent mansions, prospects, and ruins in the empire. With all these agremens there has certainly been hitherto a dearth of interior attraction, till Mr. Bisset (the proprietor of the Museum in Birmingham, and well known as the author of many pleasant, useful, and moral publications) has, in a most spirited and ad venturous manner, led the way to some higher orders of amusement and curiosity, for the gratification of the publick; by opening an elegant picture gallery, news room, and promenade, where the London and Provincial papers are regularly taken in, also the most eminent periodical publications and other works of taste, so as to render it at once a place of intellectual and rational amusements. Mr. B. has certainly displayed great taste in the elegance of its decorations; and there can be no doubt but that the undertaking will succeed, as the subscribers are numerous and of the first rank, and it is already become a most agreeable and fashionable place of resort, being a desideratum long wanted to complete the attractions of the Spa. It is to be hoped that his example will be followed by other liberal and ingenious men, as the place advances in reputation: but, in the mean time, he will have the merit of having introduced and established one of the most scientific and interesting sources of entertainment and information. The rapidity of the new buildings is as if produced by magic; among the prime of them must be reckoned the superb assembly-room, and the new baths. Your known love of public good, and the labour or ingenuity that produces it, will recommend the objects above described to your liberal attention. Yours, &c. MIGRATOR. A METE