plainest evidence of his not being in such a state, in his own person;-I affirm, again, that he must have the regeneration ascribed to him, either in the persons of his sponsors, (some, or all of them) or in that of some other individual, or those of some other individuals; and, it will then remain for you to show, who this other individual is, or who those other individuals are.

"And, here, I would, as I promised, briefly hint at the bold expedient which the Church of England is reduced to the necessity of adopting, in order to carry through her system of making unconscious infants, and wicked children, into believers, She must assume, and contrary, in many cases, to the clearest evidence, persist in bolding, that the sponsors of all the baptized children, are not only pious at the time of the children's baptism, but that they continue so till the moment of their (the children's) confirmation. What they may be after that event will, however, in no degree, affect the children's state, or safety.

"And now, Sir, having tried to show the extreme impropriety of this boy's confirmation, I will request you to tell me who is to blame, for the not less disgraceful fact, that he has, latterly, for several successive weeks, been invited, and encouraged, by his Minister, to say that he (the boy) is a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Here I censure not the boy, who has so little spiritual understanding, that he scarcely knows what he is saying; nor the Clergyman; nor the Bishop, if they have no misgivings of conscience on the sub. ject. I, then, rather pity, than blame them, for the incalculable mischief they are doing to the souls of their fellow-creatures; and the aid they are unconsciously affording to him who loves darkness rather than light, and was a murderer from the beginning

-a murderer of souls. where.

Still blame must rest some

"If you will take the trouble to attend the confirmation at on Wednesday next, I will venture to say, that of the young men who shall have been confirmed, you may find some, and it may be not a few, drunk, at night, in public houses ;-for such things, I am told, do take place at these seasons of holiday, and festivity. You may afterwards hear of their going home as riotously as if they were returning from a cockfight; probably not even remembering what they have said, or heard said, in the morning; and certainly proving themselves not to be, what they were then pronounced-regenerate,' and pardoned. On what individual-body of individuals -or ecclesiastical authorities, does this reflect disgrace? I ask for information.

CHAPTER XIV.

"WE have been led to see," continued Mr Smith, when next at the house of Mr Fenton (who, by the way, was not yet returned from a visit to his friends in —shire),— “ we have been led to see, by what has already been said on the subject before us, how much is done, in a succession of services, to lead the child to rest in FORMS; and, suppose, that having been baptized, learnt the catechism, and received confirmation, it shall, certainly,-if it never commit murder, nor any other gross crime; and, if in addition to this, it observe the outward decencies of religion; it shall, certainly, I say, then, not fail to obtain the blessedness of heaven.* In the meantime, whilst undue importance is thus attached to outward rites, the great work of the Atonement of Christ is proportionably depreciated.

"I do not mean to say, Sir, that any direct attempt is made to do this; but, that assigning an uncovenanted efficacy to any outward rite, must have an inevitable tendency to make the need of a Saviour appear less; whilst in the degree in which this is effected, that Saviour's glory becomes obscured, and His person little loved. Nor, is this all; from the same cause, the work of the Spirit of God, in the daily increasing light of the renewed mind, and daily

How different this, from the declarations of God's Word! That Word pronounces the way of eternal life narrow, and says that few find it. Were the system which we have been considering correct, surely, in a Christian country, few could miss the path of safety.

improving sanctification of the believer's heart, is, comparatively, if not altogether, lost sight of. In short, that happens, which always happens, when forms are substituted for living faith, and gracious feeling, and external rites, are made to take the place of the Holy Spirit's work in the soul;-religion becomes little more than a name; the watchword of a party.

"It is true, that enlightened and pious Ministers in the Church of England, do, by and by, teach their serious people better; point out to them the danger of resting in forms, and the absolute necessity of spiritual regeneration; but, why, in the meantime, should these people be exposed to the danger of being misled? And, why the Minister's mind harassed by a prescribed service, for which no necessity can be pleaded?

"The proper subject of baptism being decided on, which is a question that I would leave every man to judge of for himself, all that the word of God requires is, that the individual thus set apart, should have water applied to him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Why, then, should the use of a needless form of words be persevered in, calculated to confirm the unenlightened part of the community in errors so gross, and so dangerous? Why, amongst other things, is the learning of one catechism, so hard to be understood; so difficult to be reconciled with the simplicity of gospel truth; and which, in its second answer does, as we Dissenters think, put a gross falsehood into the mouths of the children; -why is the learning of this one catechism, I say, to be insisted on, when there are so many evangelical catechisms at hand, composed both by Church-people and Dissenters?

But, now, as it respects the various services at present made the subjects of discussion;-services so distressing-so very distressing to many good peo

ple, both without and within the Church;-suppose, that the views here taken of them, should be found perfectly incorrect, or perverted, or superficial, as I am willing to allow they may be; yet, can it be justifiable, and is it not cruel to enforce the use of them, when there are within reach expedients so simple, and so scriptural, by embracing which, the reasonable wishes of all parties might be satisfied, and which could not wound the consciences of any.

"As it respects the baptismal service, why should not the plan before suggested be adopted; the plan, I mean, of merely using the words prescribed in the New Testament? As it relates to the Church catechism, why not abolish it altogether? And, if the rite of confirmation is to be retained, why should not the nature of the service be so completely new-modelled, that its old-friends, should I say, or victims,― shall know it no more; and, that henceforth, none but, in-good-hope, proper subjects should be admitted to it?

"With regard, indeed, to the baptismal service, there would be no necessity for such a complete abscission as I have suggested. The excellent prayers in behalf of the child, as used in that service, might still be retained. O that the Bishops, and other influential persons, in the English Church, would take this matter into consideration! Who, feeling properly-even amongst those who most warmly admire the baptismal service-would object to an arrangement which would relieve many consciences, and could wound none, unless, indeed, they were diseased in a most extraordinary degree, and prejudiced to a most astonishing extent.

"But, alas, Sir, how palpably does the evil of a connexion between Church and State appear here! Suppose the wound inflicted on many consciences by the baptismal service to be ten times as deep as it is;-suppose the expediency and safety of repeal