blood-thirsty hearers as our Lord said to James and John, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the son of man came not to destroy men's lives but to save them." "The duties of the second table," says Mr. Neal, " were too much neglected." This might have been safely inferred if he had not stated the fact; for such always is the case with ministers, both in their preaching and their practice, when they are influenced by party passions and disposed to "point all their artillery against" those who dissent from their creed. "The duties of the second table," however, were the very things which the ministers of religion should have urged, when they saw their brethren arming for mutual slaughter. "By this, said the Saviour, shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." But mutual love never arms men for mutual murder.

Is there not then much reason to believe that a great portion of the blood which has been shed in Christendom will be required at the hands of the clergy? How often have they been in a direct manner the instiga

tors of war! How constantly have many of them been employed in angry controversies by which the minds of men have been misled as to the nature of pure and undefiled religion! And how commonly have the precepts of the gospel relating to brotherly love been either "too much neglected" in preaching, or so explained and tortured as to admit or justify the very passions and crimes which they were intended to prohibit-even every species of calumny and reviling, persecution, homicide and war!

Let the ministers of religion of every sect, thoroughly imbibe and exemplify the spirit of Christ-let them explain his commands by his benevolent and forbearing conduct--let them urge conformity of heart and life to his precepts and example as the essence of the Christian religion--let them extol no faith but that which worketh by love-encourage no hope but that which disposes the possessor to purify himself even as Christ is pure ;-then a new aspect will be given to the Christian religion, its votaries will cease to be man-killers and will be known by love one to another.

SIR-It may be gratifying to you to learn what reception your Miscellany has met with in places out of your immediate vicinity. You must know then that I am a country clergyman, living at a convenient distance from the capital, and have tak

en considerable pains to make myself acquainted with the various opinions which are entertained with respect to the merits of your work. You doubtless remember what a hue and cry were raised against it at its first appearance, and how much

zeal was manifested by some very worthy persons to prevent its circulation. Now, all this clamour is bushed. I do not mean, that you or your work are regarded with a whit more indulgence than before, by any who have the reputation of being rigidly orthodox. They probably think, with what justice time must determine, that so much candour and moderation will never gain much favour; and therefore that you and the work you superintend will never do much harm.

In looking over one of the first volumes of the Christian Observer, a work similar in its spirit to the Christian Disciple, especially as it was conducted at first, I accidentally met with an article, which pleased me much, and which I thought might afford entertainment to some of your readers. If your views accord with mine, you will give it a place in the Disciple.

In a future number I intend to give you some of the opinions, which your friends and patrons entertain of your work, and should be glad to be aided in my design by communications from other sources.

"To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

66 "SIR-As I presume that you esteem it lawful, not only to tell a person of his faults, but also (if possible) to foretel his misfortunes; I make no apology for what I am going to address to you.

"That I may neither torture your curiosity by prolixity in coming to the point, nor impeach your fortitude by an affectation

of delicacy, in gradually breaking to you my intelligence, I proceed at once to inform you, that, whatever you may think, and however your friends may flatter you, the Christian Observer, as it is now conducted, will not, cannot prosper.

“Allow me, sir, to tell you that your system is radically wrong; and the grand error of it is, that you consult, not the prejudices of the million, but the judgement of the few; and thus, by sacrificing what is politically expedient, to what is morally right, deprive your work of the thousand various attractions to which the greater number of periodical publications owe their fame and circulation.

66 But, sir, let me assure you, that an obstinate perseverance in your present plan must necessarily operate as a fatal impediment to the success of your undertaking: and I am extremely ambitious of giving you a timely warning, that you may consider, before it be too late, and wisely amend your system.

"A very absurd and prejudicial circumstance in your scheme, is the maintenance of so much moderation upon all subjects. Now, sir, where have you lived, not to know, that nine hundred and ninety-nine people in a thousand hate moderation!

"In order to illustrate my position and demonstrate your error, I must take the liberty to inform you, that your moderation upon certain controverted points of religious doctrine, has displeased all the zealous partizans on both sides of the question.

"The bigot to the extremes of

Calvinism abhors you for supposing that an Arminian is any thing better than a deist; and the bigotted Arminian is equally enraged with you, for not agreeing with him, that every Calvinist is a madman. The rigid and intolerant highchurchman will never forgive you, for appearing to suppose that any man can possibly be saved out of the pale of his own communion; and the dissenting zealot thinks fire and fagot too good for you, for giving such a decided preference to our excellent, venerable, and apostolical establishment.

"Let me also hint to you, that the authors, whose works you review, must needs be almost universally dissatisfied with you. You, forsooth, cannot tell us of a writer's excel lencies without also disclosing his faults; so that of wholesale unqualified praise, at your hands, no man can now entertain any reasonable expectation. You appear to be a total stranger to the many happy little arts of conciliating literary men, especially to that of celebrating their mèrits in full-flowing strains of panegyric, unbroken by any ungrateful mention of errors and imperfections.-Fie ön it! oh, fie! You a reviewer! "Deign, my good sir, to accept a few instructions from me. I do not pretend to the merit of inventing the expedients which I recommend. On the contrary, I confess that I have collected all of them from

some

one or another of the Reviews and Magazines, in the production of which, the present rich, happy, and learned age is so astonishingly prolific. Vol. V.-No. 8.

"In the first place, it is absolutely necessary for you to make a decided choice of one side or the other, upon every disputed point, especially in religious concerns. You must not suppose, that (for instance) it is sufficient for you to sup port simple Christianity upon the broad basis of God's word: you must, if you would be read, if you would please and be popular, attach yourself closely and exclusively to some one peculiar human system; and, when you have done this, if you go all lengths with your party, call your antagonists by an abun dance of severe appellations, and bespatter them, once a month, with plenty of abuse, you may assure yourself of a host of readers, admirers, and patrons, even though you do not exhibit a grain of merit in any other instance.

"If you should choose the Arminian side, you must declare, that "no person ever wrote upon the Calvinistic scheme like a gentleman"-that all Calvinists are fatalists, necessitarians, blockheads, idiots, mad men, schismatics, and republicans. If, on the contrary, you attach yourself to the Calvinistie party, you must then pronounce all Arminians to be poor, dull, blind creatures, who know nothing of the gospel, and are to be held, if not burnt, as hereties. I presume, sir, to give you these hints, as I am apprehensive, that you may need these, and even more, in order to put you into the right and accustomed method of exercising, with energy, dexterity, and vivacity, the rhetoric of vitupe

ration.

"You must also, sir, either maintain, that the Dissenters are the only true worshippers of Christ; or plainly intimate, that they will, one and all, be inevitably lost. No middle course will be acceptable.

"It will not do for you to cleave to the church yourself, and, at the same time, charitably hope, that they, who may be educated Dissenters, or who, through ignorance and prejudice, forsake the church, or, who are placed by Providence in countries in which no such church exists, may possibly be saved; for, although it might be right, just, and Christian-like to do so, it is not-mark me, sir-it is not politic: for there are certain people, who will affirm, that he who allows that a Dissenter can possibly be the object of the "covenanted mercies of God," must inevitably be a thorough paced Dissenter himself. Consider also that your mild spirit of liberal toleration, however it may conciliate the respect of the pious, conscientious, and sober-minded Dissenter, will, however, be insufficient to satisfy or please the main body of separatists. To gratify them, you must not only tolerate; but you must encourage them; nay, you must justify their secession, and laud their violence against the church, as a holy zeal for the independence of man, and for the spirituality of religion.

"In the conducting of your review, you must also attend to another piece of instruction, which is to be gathered from the examples of contemporary critics. The main point to be considered, on your commence

ment of a critique upon any work, is, whether the author be of your party-if he be not, you must allow him no merit, and show him no mercy. If he be, you must not impute to him one fault, although he may have a thousand; and an illimitable scope must be given to all the hyperbole of praise, in order to accumulate every imaginable honour upon his head, and to exhibit him as a paragon of excellence-as the monopolist of more than human perfections, and the fit and deserving object of universal idolatry.

"But I must close this detail of admonitions, lest I tire your patience. Let me, however, add, as a general principle, that conscientious impartiality and quiet moderation may be very good qualities, but they are not very profitable ones; and therefore, if you would thrive and prosper, you must make haste to discard them..

"If you follow my advice, I shall entertain some hope of your growing success. But if you reject it, if you prefer the solid and temperate approbation of the sober-minded, to the impassioned and clamorous admiration of the enthusiastic and impetuous-if you prefer the doing good, to the gaining fame; and the promoting genuine piety, to the supporting a human system, or the pleasing a religious party-if you refuse to gratify the lovers of controversy, by fierce contentions; or the admirers of slander and sarcasm, by bitter philippics-if, in short, you are obstinately bent upon making no sacrifices to popularity; and upon pursuing peace, truth, and righteous...