Page images
PDF
EPUB

occasion of a kindred character at all approaching it. The pleasant and the pathetic were strikingly combined. The great and the littlethe private and the public-the attributes of the man, the minister, the husband, the father, the tutor, the friend, were all so incorporated as to present such a combination of interest and excellence as has rarely been met in any individual. The discussion which followed was appropriate and touching. In the course of Mr. Stoughton's dissertation, he brought forth a curious fact of the Doctor's little daughter sitting in the window of the Lecture Room, with a favourite lap-dog on her knee, which she was heard to catechise; and on the return of no response by the pet, she broke out, and said, "You Dr. Doddridge's dog, and can't say your catechism!" a fact overheard by the Dr. himself, which he turned to striking account in the Lecture Room. By some singular felicity, the Rev. Thomas Binney happens to possess, and, on the occasion, brought out, the very collar of this little catechumen. Among the other touching small matters, the most affecting was that adduced by the Rev. T. P. Bull-the short-hand notes of the sermon which Doddridge wrote, on the coffin of this, his only daughter, which completed the scene.

The Rev. John Angell James, with an eye ever awake to the welfare of the Churches, considered that the present would be a suitable time to revive the knowledge of that matchless Ministerial Biography, the "Life of Doddridge, by Job Orton," and hence he proposed that the laymen should subscribe to a large impression, that a copy of it, with the Sermon on the "Guilt and Danger of Neglecting Souls," might be placed in the hands of every minister. This excellent proposal somehow fell through, but the Committee of the Union determined that the idea should not be lost sight of. It was therefore proposed, and carried unanimously, that the

Editor of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS should be requested to carry this matter into accomplishment, on the same principle as the Works of Robinson.

After dinner, business, as usual, occupied the meeting to the latest moment. On this occasion the Rev. Mr. Bennett, of Northampton, made a remarkably interesting speech, showing the necessity of organization among the Independent Churches, in order to self diffusion, and the furtherance of the Gospel in connection with Congregational principles in these lands.

In the evening Dr. Raffles delivered a splendid and powerful discourse in Commercial Chapel, the general object of which was to awaken the Churches to the claims of the nation, and to point out the increased urgency which now attends the great duty of spreading, by all possible means, the Gospel of Christ, both at home and abroad.

Thus ended a series of as interesting and important meetings as has ever been held in connection with the Congregational Union. We cannot close without bearing our cordial testimony to the kindness of the Northampton Ministers and Churches, which was inferior to nothing and higher praise cannot be awarded to it that has hitherto been experienced in these ambulatory Annual Conferences. It was a privilege to be present on the occasion, to see what we saw, and hear what we heard, and we shall continue to reflect on it with grateful pleasure. While praise is due to all, especial prominence belongs to the Rev. E. T. Prust, whose praise has been long in all the Churches, and whose munificence in this, as in other matters, redounds alike to the credit of his principles and the honour of the great town which is blessed by his ministry, adorned by his character, and stands so prominent in the annals of British Nonconformity.

Essays, Extracts, and Correspondence.

CLERICAL ELOCUTION.

THE Clergy, among other things, begin to pay a little attention to the subject of Elocution. The English Churchman, who generally devotes a portion of his space to matters of this description, has the following:

With the composition of Sermons we do not propose that the teacher of "Clerical Elocution" should deal. This would make his duties far more extensive and complicated than we contemplate: moreover, this might be justly regarded as interfering too closely with the spiritual functions of his pupils. We would restrict him entirely to what we will call the mechanical features of Clerical Elocution. But we may observe that, with respect to the composition of Discourses, we apprehend that one of the most prevalent mistakes is that, while writing their Sermons, the Clergy are often absent in mind as well as body from the several classes and characters of which their congregations consist-they do not constantly and vividly realise the fact that,

while they are writing, they are virtually speaking to the people, addressing them, exhorting them, teaching them, explaining God's Word and Will to them; and that every word, and line, and sentence, should be constructed with this view, and tested by this fact, that it may be consistent and appropriate. The consequence of losing sight of this feature is, that there is far too little of the hortatory, and of direct ap. peal to the heads and hearts of the people-too much of the Essay, and of mere abstract argument. If the Preacher be eloquent in his delivery, he may make some impression upon the people by his mere manner, even with such a composition, but, generally speaking, it will be found very difficult to infuse much life and animation into sentences which are evidently calculated for readers, and not for hearers-for private meditation, and not for public instruction.

What Barrister would ever attempt to influence a Jury by such a mode of address as that? And this question reminds us to repeat what we have suggested on former occasions-that

the Clergy would do well, in this matter, to take a leaf out of the book of our most successful pleaders. They do not make use of Essaythey do not even write out their Speeches-but they have their facts well arranged, their points, parallels, and illustrations, ready to their hands -they SPEAK to the Jury, not READ at themand their sentences being cast in a colloquial, but not undignified mould, they are able to "run alone" some distance, without perpetual recurrence to their briefs and memoranda. The result is a Speech, an Address-not an Essay or Disquisition. By the same means we believe that nine Clergy out of ten, after a little practice, and taking care not to get beyond their depth, to proceed too rapidly, nor to soar too high, would, if they were thoroughly in earnest, be able to address their congregations far more vividly and effectively than they do at present. O course there are some subjects which it would not be desirable to preach upon without having every word written down: and in general, we should strongly recommend tolerably copious "notes" of the argument and illustrations, with whole sentences, or even paragraphs, here and there, where the subject required it, or in case the Preacher should be at a loss to fill up his outline. With good "notes," and a thorough acquaintance with, and consistently sound views of the Scriptures, and of the teaching and Formularies of the Church, there would, generally speaking, be very little danger of a Preacher's making any other than mere verbal errors, and these would not only disappear, in a great measure, after a few weeks' study and practice, but they would, we are convinced, be far less damaging to the influence of a Preacher than is the formal reading of an entire discourse, from a manuscript, from which he never, or rarely, lifts his eyes. Surely, what Roman Priests and Dissenting Preachers can do in this way, the Orthodox Priests of the English Church are capable of doing-and we will venture to add that they must do it if they would increase, or even preserve their present influence. We will only add, that what is termed Expository Preaching, by which we understand the explaining, illustrating, and applying whole Chapters, Lives, Parables, or Narratives of Holy Scripture-a class of discourse strangely rare in the present day appears especially calculated for the cultivation of such a method.

There is much excellent sense and profitable suggestion in these paragraphs, and we are right glad to find such notions making way in such a quarter. We heartily wish they may have free course throughout the land, amongst all classes and conditions of men, for sure we are such an event will be the precursor of many other reforms, and much improvement. We are not only glad to find the English Churchman contending for free speech, but also recommending expository instruction. We have had enough of oratory, and the world can testify to the result. Let us now have a little of

Nehemiah's preaching—“Reading distinctly in the book of the law of the Lord, and giving the sense, and causing the people to understand the reading.' We would not give this for all the eloquence of a Massillon.

A Correspondent of the Churchman bas the following racy paragraph:

Dr. Chalmers, the late eminent Scottish Presbyterian Divine, is stated, in the volume just published of his Life, to have greatly admired the choral services of our Church, as well as much of its ritual and system; but he, at the same time, strongly expressed, after one of his visits to the South, that the preaching, in general, of the English Clergy was, in his opinion, at a very low ebb, for effectiveness, eloquence, or any of those qualities which the pulpit demands. His own opinion, expressed elsewhere, was, that sermons should be "Hortatory Addresses," rather than lifeless moral essays, without force or point.

We are having frequent communications on the subject of reading public instructions, from which we have reason to fear the practice is upon the increase. Making all allowance, however, for certain persons and certain places, we do trust, as a rule, it will never prevail in our Nonconformist circles; for if so, it will be a sure sign that "the glory is departing."

THE REV. WILLIAM O'NEILL. OUR laborious and zealous friend, the Rev. William O'Neill, one of the Agents of the Home Missionary Society, has been for some years redeeming his time, with a view to an extended study of the Scriptures, which, at length, has taken a practical turn, inasmuch as he contemplates publication. We have seen his Prospectus, and are pleased with it. These "Biblical and Theological Gleanings, consisting of a collection of Comments, Criticism, and Remarks, explanatory or illustrative, extend to upwards of 2,500 passages in both Testaments, and comprise especially those that are generally accounted difficult." It will be seen that this is an undertaking, therefore, that comprises a large amount of labour, and that is eminently calculated to be of service to the middle-class portion of the Christian public. The Work will comprise a Preface to each book, and corrections in Chronology, divisions of chapters, improved readings, the meaning of numerous Scripture terms, copious illustrations of Eastern customs and manners, useful Tables, and profitable reflections, selected from more than 500 writers and Commentators, with some original contributions. The Work, we believe, is to be published by subscription, and we cannot doubt that our worthy friend will meet with a measure of success corresponding with his merits, for he is unquestionably one of the most self-denying, laborious, and successful Missionaries now in the field.

Review and Criticism.

Popery Calmly, Closely, and Comprehensively Considered, as to its Claims, its Causes, and its Cure. With Interesting and Important Documents, not generally known.

He

tage. Mr. Weaver's enlightened views of the Gospel of the kingdom of Christ have been of no small service to him in dealing with this part of the subject-a part to which no Churchman has ever yet done anything like justice. Mr. Weaver shows that the general cause of Popery is to be found in the Churches' departure from the simplicity that is in Christ, and that, consequently, that which has now overtaken them is merely the fruit of seed deliberately sown by their own hands.

By the Rev. R. WEAVER. Partridge and Oakey. MR. WEAVER's name is already well known to multitudes among our readers, by his very valuable book, "A Complete View of Puseyism," one of the best books on the subject that has yet appeared, and which gave much wholesome counsel, while it sounded a note of timely warning. The production of that volume showed how deeply alive Mr. Weaver was to the evils of the system, and the dangers which threatened this countrya state of mind, together with the knowledge here indicated, which largely prepared him for the task he has now most ably performed. The motives which prompted him, as set forth by himself, are very satisfactory. He was fired with the importance of Divine truth; he considered it desirable to state the belief of others, without misapprehension. was deeply convinced of the propriety and necessity of avoiding invective, and that a work on Popery that should treat the great subject in question, not in detail, but comprehensively, was specially calculated to be useful at the present time. As to the practical part of the operation, we think Mr. Weaver has succeeded. He excels in the statement of a case, possessing eminently the capability of distinguishing between what belongs to a subject and what does not, and sometimes so states a point, that the mere statement enables the reader, without argument, to determine for himself the probabilities of its truth or falsehood. The rare gift of which we speak particularly distinguishes the volume before us. From beginning to end, it is marked by a beautiful simplicity, to which general brevity has not a little contributed.

In the First Part he has gone into the Claims of Popery, and viewed its pillars, with an attempt to undermine them. After this he proceeds to descant on the Character of Popery-a Part which comprises four very important chapters. Thus far, however, Mr. Weaver has necessarily done little more than has been done a thousand times before; but when he proceeds to Part III., in which he discusses the Cause of Popery, it is much otherwise, and here, under three chapters, we have a valuable exhibition of important truth, which all classes, whether Churchmen or Dissenters, may read with advan

Mr. Weaver next descants on the particular Causes, showing how it is that men's minds may be so beguiled_from the simplicity that is in Christ, and may so soon become corrupted; and here we have a great deal of most instructive, edifying, and salutary matter. He has shown the effect of the natural man in a church supposed to be composed of spiritual men, which is generally manifested by a preference for a religion of sense, rather than a religion of faith,- -a disposition to put sense for things signified, to turn from the unseen to the seen. He shows, likewise, that a love of pomp and parade have had their place in the backgoing process, while intolerance, connected with an excessive regard to human authority, has winked at the progress of the delusion. Having so well stated his premises, Mr. Weaver proceeds to illustrate these points by a series of historical facts.

Part IV. of the volume specifies the Cure of Popery, and here, after some chapters on more general principles, he brings forth a refutation of the tenets held by the Church of Rome, in succession. We have here a series of very satisfactory sections, which give place to Part V., in which Mr. Weaver deals with the subject of an effective and permanent Cure, which, he contends, will require a return to the Church order established by the Apostles. He has hope in nothing short of a re-adoption of a primitive, the model of the Divine, pattern. This, again, is a very valuable part of the work, distinguishing it from all publications issued by Churchmen, and also from the excellent volume published by the Tract Society, which is necessarily interdicted from anything that might be

deemed sectarianism. We consider this as adding very much to the value of the work before us, forming, as it does, a most important supplement to the publications now extant. We know not what Churchmen will think of the writer, but they ought to hail him as an important monitor upon great and long forgotten principles. They will deem him a man who has brought strange things to their ears, but if they will try his statements by the New Testament Scriptures, they will find that these statements are not more strange than true. The volume has our very hearty recommendation.

Watts's Psalms and Hymns, Re-Arranged, in One Series. By JOSIAH CONDER. Snow.

MR. CONDER, not satisfied with the excellent service he did to the Sweet Singer of the British Nonconformist Israel, by his "Poet of the Sanctuary," has proIceeded to deal with his Psalms and Hymns, with a view to render them more convenient for public service in Christian assemblies. In an excellent preface Mr. Conder gives the reason of the method he has adopted- reasons which will commend themselves to all men whose judgment is not warped by prejudice. We would cite the points of the preface, did we deem it necessary; but it is not so. They who are interested in the subject will, of course, at once procure for themselves a copy of the work, that they may see what the Editor proposes, and what he has accomplished. There was room and need for something of the kind, and there is not in the Denomination a fitter man for the undertaking than Mr. Conder, since there is no other who has less to fear from the canon of our great Bard Critic:

"Let them teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well."

Mr. Conder has written much and written well, both in prose and in verse; and as the Compiler, and in part the writer, of the "Congregational HymnBook," he had a sort of prescriptive right to the present undertaking. It will be generally agreed that in no other hands would the delicate task be more safe, and the experiment likely to call forth so little jealousy, fear, and opposition. It is, however, to be regretted that another Edition, on somewhat the same principle, should have been issued at the same time. We refer to the very excellent Edition of Mr. Burder, just out, which has also

great merit. It is but just to say that Mr. Burder was in the field before Mr. Conder, and having advanced far with his plan, he determined to go through with it; and we think he was right, but it is an awkward conjunction, since either edition was a great improvement upon the old book of Watts, and would have served the Denomination equally well. As it is, there is now a chance of collision; but that is not our affair.

An Earnest Plea for a Reign of Temperance and Peace. By JAMES SILK BUCKINGHAM, Esq. Jackson.

THE object of Mr. Buckingham is to show that Temperance and Peace will prove conducive to the prosperity of nations,a subject he was anxious to bring before the visitors of the Great Exhibition. The volume consists, first, of an eloquent, copious, and wide-viewed Address, thickly studded, and adorned with important facts, statistical and medical, which is followed by an Appeal to the British People, and especially to the opulent and influential, on the greatest reform yet to be accomplished. This invaluable oration, for such it is, deserves the widest measure of circulation. This alone is calculated to effect more good than all the legislation of the last half-dozen Parliaments. The third document is from the Speech of Mr. Buckingham, on the Extent, Causes, and Effects of Drunkenness, delivered in the House of Commons, in June, 1834. This is a glorious manifesto. No such speech was ever brought forth in the British Senate, and the probability is, that nothing like it will soon be uttered there again. It was only such a man as Mr. Buckingham that could deliver it. No man of inferior talents, courage, and experience, dared have attempted it, or would have been listened to. There are other productions from the pen of Mr. Buckingham scarcely inferior to this. Altogether, the volume is one of unbounded value.

Memorials of James Mackness, Esq., M.D. Churchill.

THIS is an interesting piece of Medical Biography, and notwithstanding its brevity, it comprises a large amount of locomotion, a multitude and a variety of facts, all fraught with instruction to cultivated men, whether medical or not. The life of Dr. Mackness was somewhat chequered at the outset, but every step was in ad

vancement towards the high position he ultimately attained as a physician at Hastings. In addition to his being a devoted student of his own profession, he had a literary taste, which prompted a good deal of diversified reading and study. He also occasionally wrote respectable verses, of which there are specimens interspersed throughout the volume, giving it an additional interest, especially in the circles in which the excellent Doctor moved. His Diary indicates religion at once sincere and deep. Had we not been informed as to his habits, it might have been supposed it was the production of a minister of the Gospel, or rather of some retired gentleman, of cultivated mind, and an eminently devotional spirit. The volume, as a whole, presents more of the moral and religious than of the medical aspect of his life, and as such it will take a respectable place in Christian Biography.

Education for God; or, The Pure Word of God. Seeleys.

THIS work professes to be a "record of real life, and is a memorial of one that fell asleep in Jesus, aged nineteen." The book constitutes a strong and fervent appeal to parents on the subject of Education for God, and while its object is the highest that can occupy the mind, the execution is not unworthy of it. There is, to our taste, too much Church in the thing, and too much of a disposition to glorify what we must consider a system deeply corrupt. We are told that "the Church of England is the subject of a revived activity in our days." It is so, but certainly an activity that moves more speedily towards Rome than towards Mount Calvary. We are, moreover, informed, that "a new energy diffuses its action throughout her constitution, which reaches through the various branches of her beautiful parochial system." We see right little "beauty" in that system, but everywhere a mass of deformity. Beauty, indeed! to find hundreds and thousands of hard-working Curates-men straining to be useful to the souls of men-on the perpetual brink of starvation, often glad to receive cast-off clothing for themselves and their families, and grateful for the crumbs which rich men suffer to drop into their children's mouths, from their well-replenished tables! This is beauty: Curates doing the work, whilst idle men, in multitudes, are pocketing a handsome revenue, which they are wasting at Bath

or Cheltenham, at Rome, in Paris, or elsewhere. This is beauty! To our view, instead of beauty, the parochial system of England is one mass of deformity. Notwithstanding these exaggerated notions of an Establishment, there is, nevertheless, much in the production of which we highly approve. There is a strong conception of the miserable condition, spiritually considered, of the Millions, and the duty that rests upon the Church of Christ to send them light for their darkness, and spiritual food for their famine. The former, which is copious, is in many points excellent, weaving up great truths, sound maxims, interesting facts, saving doctrine, and wholesome counsel. The volume will be read with advantage and interest by young people, more especially young females.

A Practical Introduction to English Composition. By ROBERT ARMSTRONG. Part I. Simpkin and Marshall. THIS is the third book on this subject which has appeared within the last few months, but they are all on a plan so different, that neither trenches upon the other, and consequently there is no supersession. There is still abundant room for further labour in this direction. Walker's Themes, Rippingham's Outlines, and the Work of Irvine, have all had such a run-although none of them are overburdened with merit-as to show the demand which exists for such publications. The volume which was issued some years ago, by Parker, is good, so far as it goes,-in many respects, quite equal to the Work before us; but in others, the advantage is on the side of Mr. Armstrong, who, as Head Master of the Normal Institution, Edinburgh, understands his business experimentally; and of that experience the public are now to receive the benefit. The First Part of the intended Work-which is to comprise two-only is here. The present treats of the Simple Sentence, the Complex Sentence, and of Punctuation and Dictation; while the fourth book applies the principles laid down under these three heads, and the pupil is exercised in the construction of Simple Narrative. The volume, in this way, provides labour for half a year. Part II., which will be of equal magnitude, is to treat of the higher branches of English Composition. Heretofore-that is, in the present book -Mr. Armstrong has, with steady step, marched side by side with a considerable

« PreviousContinue »