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viction in my mind on perusing the review just mentioned.

The first thing that struck me in it, was the complaint so often repeated, of Dr. Winterbottom's want of profundity and originality. "Surely, (exclaimed I) a reviewer so impatient of trite remarks, and so anxious to • hear some new thing, must be very profound and very original himself." A little examination convinced me how truly I had conjectured in this instance. I therefore send you a few specimens of the profound and original observations which I have carefully transcribed from the review of Dr. Winterbottom into my commonplace book, and which had no small effect in converting me to the Reviewer's general opinions. Of the profound take the following samples.

"We admire Virgil, Shakspeare, and Thomson, in their series of connection of descriptive, as well as of other matter."-"The third chapter describes the articles of food and mode of agriculture; and presents a very fair, though very common narrative of that subject."—" The seventh chapter describes the amusements and literature of the Africans in more minute detail, but much less forciblé impression, than Park."-" A book professedly intended to convey existing statistical information."—"The great desideratum in this work is the want of that additional knowledge, &c. &c." N. B. As the introduction of a Latin word into this otherwise happy sentence, may give it some cast of that pedantry which the reviewer repeatedly condemns in Dr. Winterbottom, might it not be thus Englished? "What is chiefly wanting in this work is the want of, &c. &c."

After you have sufficiently admired the above sentences, Mr. Editor, cast your eyes on the following, which are as new as the former are profound. "We cannot think poetry well adapted to mere matter of fact. It is always either above or beneath the mark.”-“ A material deficiency in many literary works is the want of unity of design.'

Having anxiously noted down these and similar beauties, I proceeded to examine the reviewer's defence of the Slave Trade; and for some time read smoothly on, unmolested by any ideas. The following argument at length changed tranquillity into delight, and doubt into certainty.—

" Moses informs us, that whatever Joseph did, God was with him; hence we are to regard every measure and counsel of Joseph, that is recorded to us by his historian, as ratified by the divine approbation. When Pharaoh's subjects were in great distress for want of bread, Joseph offers them provisions on their agreeing to become the bondsmen or slaves of the king.”

You cannot, I think, wonder, Mr. Editor, that this passage should have made so powerful an impression on my mind. But, alas, the infirmity of human judgment! I will not dissemble, that some strange scruples had well nigh overpowered my better reason, when, on turning with eagerness to the history of Joseph, I could not discover any place in which Moses makes the assertion attributed to him by our friend the Anti-jacobin. It is, indeed, true that Potiphar and the keeper of the prison are said to have observed that Joseph was under the immediate care of Providence ; but, unluckily, this observation was in both cases, made some years before the transaction took place on which our friend is commenting. Happily, however, I at last quelled my scruples on this point by recollecting, that Potiphar and the keeper of the prison were Egyptians, and the Egyptians were magicians, and that after all, I had only to suppose them endowed with a little of that species of sagacity, which has enabled our friend the reviewer to foresee that, until the nature of Africans be changed, they always “will and must be slaves."

I then remarked, Mr. Observer, that Moses does really say of Joseph, on two or three occasions, what the Anti-jacobin has made him say generally. Thus, when the patriarch was in Potiphar's house, we are told that "the Lord was with him." But then we are also told of David, on one occasion, that he behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him." Here again some awkward doubts obtruded themselves on my mind; as for instance: whether every measure and counsel of David throughout his whole life be justifiable? Whether the best and most favoured man should be considered as perfect? &c. &c. But these new doubts I by a great effort succeeded in banishing.

* 1 sam, ch. xviii. ver. 14.

. I now turned my attention to the account given by Moses of the terms on which Joseph enslaved the Egyptians! and here I read the following words in the address made by the patriarch on that occasion.

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Lo, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones." And afterwards we are informed that Joseph "made this a law."

I must own I wished for my learned friend, the Anti-jacobin reviewer, to resolve some foolish and puzzling questions which suggested themselves to me in this stage of the business. I could not help saying to myself, "In what sense are men to be called slaves, who are by law entitled to four-fifths of the gross produce of the lands they cultivate? Are the cultivators of land in our part of the world bondsmen, because the average rent which they reserve for the proprietor, is not a fifth, but a third part of the gross produce? Did our ancient Knights consider themselves as bondsmen when they held their lands of the

crown?

Although I could not directly answer these questions, they soon lost their importance in my eyes, on my discovering that Moses talks of the Egyptians being bought and sold. Now a man who is bought and sold (methought) must, for that very reason, be a slave, and neither four-fifths nor nine-tenths of all the gross produce of the world can ever make him a freeman. But a clergyman of my acquaintance, who surprised me thus musing, and to whom, as he is a biblical student, I submitted the case, vehemently resisted this reasoning. He arged, that the expressions buying and selling must be explained by the context; that the Hebrew words so rendered, are probably words of more general import; that in particular, the word translated to sell, is elsewhere applied by Moses to lands merely mortgaged for a short term of years, and to men not only not in a state of absolute slavery, but most expressly and repeatedly distinguished from "bondsmen*" I confess 1 here felt

*Leviticus, chap xxv.

myself a little nettled and perplexed; but I was by no means convinced. It occurred to me that this reverend gentleman might be one of those false philanthropists whom the Anti-jacobin reviewer so well exposes: I knew him to be a warm enemy to the Slave Trade; I determined not to believe a syllable he uttered, and all my scruples vanished.

Previously, however, to this happy consummation, I acknowledge I had more than once been disposed to blame the Anti-jacobin for not having more fully discussed the question on which he has given such excellent hints, but in considering which I had experienced such harrassing perplexities. I even find that, in a moment of spleen, the following note somehow found its way into my memorandum-book. I send it merely as a monument of my weakness and irritability.

"The great desideratum in the series and connection of descriptive, as well as of other matter contained in the Anti-jacobin's Remarks on the Egyptian Slave Trade, and the slavedealings of Joseph, is the want of an intelligible narrative of that subject, conveying existing historical information in forcible impression." T. T.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

I HAVE no reason to suppose that you are otherwise than impartial in your animadversions on contemporary periodical publications. I am, moreover, aware, that it is impossible for you to attend to every circumstance of an objectionable nature which may be introduced into these works. In the EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, however, for April last, some things were inserted which I confidently expected would not have escaped your allude been censureable merely on the notice. Had the passages to which I ground of absurdity, or vulgarity, or cant, I should have judged it wholly unnecessary to distinguish them by any particular observations. But con ceiving that their plain and obvious tendency is deeply to injure the inte rests of vital religion; I shall be excused, I trust, for calling your attention to them. The insertions in ques

tion, being extracts of letters from ministers in America, which give an account of the revival of religion in that country, will be found at the 187th and 188th pages. They are as follows:

"The work of grace I mentioned in my last as a small cloud, is now spreading so as to fill the whole settlement. Nor is it confined to those places where the gospel is preached; many places where they had not had a sermon for six months, are as much engaged as those who have statedly enjoyed the preached word; and some of them considerably more. They now meet in societies; and it is no uncom mon thing to spend the whole night in religious exercises, even the very persons who could not have been induced to have staid one half hour to have heard the best preacher on the continent (if they could have been gotten to the place at all) now nothing restrains them from prayer and praise to the Most High, and with a spirit of devotion sufficient to shame Christians of the best standing and talents. It has now spread into five counties; and often lays hold of the most stout and hardened rebels, and makes those who were leaders in iniquity, the leaders in the work of God. This is the Lord's doing; and, indeed, it is marvellous in our eyes. Pen cannot disclose, tongue describe, nor fancy paint the wonders of the Lord we daily see amongst us. It is by no means the form of preaching, &c.; impressions are made in riding, walking, working, sleeping, and in every circumstance of life, and often by those who have not heard a sermon fr years. No sooner do they become impressed, but they begin to pray ardently; -love one another and mankind fervently; and serve the God they before despised with their heart."

"I think I mentioned to you in my last, that there is a deep religious impression at Durham. I preached there the Sabbath before last. There was, in the audience, a certain indescribable something, which I never before witnessed. I cannot convey an adequate idea of what I observed, by saying there was the greatest apparent seriousness, accompanied by a death-like stillness. It was the easiest thing imaginable to preach. A neighbouring brother, at Rocky Hill, made the same remark. In the parish of Durham, nevertheless, Satan seems to be very busy. Would you have thought it? A man, who Irad always been deemed a decent character, and been in the habit of attending public worship, was so displeased with his daughter for joining in church fellowship, as to turn her out of doors; but he afterwards received her. This reminds me of what I heard last week from Mr. Woodward, of Woolcot, at whose house

was holden our monthly meeting :-One of his parishioners, a sober-minded, serious, and judicious man, was just returned from New Connecticut, a terrritory on the back of Pennsylvania. There, it seems, religious impressions have commenced in a very remarkable manner. Persons, under their first influence, fall down in the midst of the congregation, and remain for some time utterly helpless, but generally retaining the full exercise of their senses, so as to be able afterward to give a distinct account of every transaction in their presence. The preaching, it was observed, had nothing remarkable, either in manner or matter."-" When persons fell down, they would make such an exclamation as 'Lord have mercy!' No confusion took place. They were properly attended until they recovered. He said that the effect could not be counterfeited. Those who fell down, generally continued under the influence of religion: some of them relapsed; and such, it was said, were most frequently in a state of insensibility after the seizure in falling down. When one of the quarterly meetings was approaching, a young woman, at a distance, signified to her father a desire to attend. He, after some consideration, without any apparent reluctance, carried her to the place. During the preaching, she fell down, and upon her recovery, appeared deeply impressed by religious truths. The father was very much displeased; and in going home, finding his reasoning with her unavailing, he horse-whipped her very severely. He repeated the same treatment, I think, twice after their arrival at their common residence. His behaviour was so outrageous, as to oblige the daughter to claim the protection of the magistrate. When before him, the father refused to make any concessions or promises of good behaviour. His mittimus was written out, and he committed to the proper officer; but while on the road to prison, he fell down, and when able to speak, confessed his fault, and promised amendment :-moreover, he owned, that during the whole of his outrageous behaviour, he had been under strong convictions, which he endea voured resolutely to resist."

Now, Sir, if the design of the conductors of the Evangelical Magazine had been (what I verily believe it is not) to expose religion to ridicule and contempt, I question whether they could have more effectually accomplished their purpose than by the insertion without any censure of such extravagant relations. Do they really mean to exhibit to the world these strange occurrences as a proper representation of what may be called "a revival of religion." Then must

I grieve over the ten thousand families who are said to regard this work as oracular. It may, perhaps, be said in their vindication that, although they insert these accounts from a persuasion that they will prove gratifying to the depraved appetite of their readers, they do not intend thereby to give them the stamp of approbation. If such a plea could be justly preferred, it would be as severe a condemnation of their moral principles, as the former supposition, that these transactions were really suited to their taste, would be of their religious discernment. What, in reality, would be the language of such a procedure? "Popularity is our object. But this object is unattainable if we oppose, nay, it we do not countenance, prevailing errors." This point, however, is placed beyond all doubt, by the expressions of approbation with which the accounts of these outrageous proceedings have generally been accompanied *.

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Many of your readers, and, perhaps, you yourself, may think I have employed too strong language: but if the extracts which I have sent are closely inspected, it will, probably, appear to require no extenuation. Impressions,' we are informed, "are made in riding, walking, working, sleeping, and in every circumstance of life.' To these impressions, whatever they may be, for their nature is not explained, no small efficacy is ascribed. "No sooner do sons become impressed," as it is called, but they begin to pray ardently; love one another and mankind fervently and serve the God they before despised with their heart." These, Mr. Editor, are, unquestionably, very excellent effects. But then, they are effects which I have been taught to consider, could be produced only by the hearing or reading of the word of God, under the divine teaching-the enlightening, and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. In the accounts before me, however, not a syllable is said of reading the word of God as a mean of conversion; and in many cases, it is expressly asserted, that the individuals operated upon had not heard a sermon for years. Whence,

* I would refer the reader for many pertinent remarks on this subject, to your own work for October, 1802, p. 667, and for January 1804, p. 55.

then, is it, that these poor people derive their religion? From immediate revelation? Such is the only interence which the letter-writer leaves us at liberty to make. But can, this be any other than a gross delusion? Is that account entitled to any credit which directly contradicts the Bible? "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God:"-" Sanctify them by thy truth, &c. &c." St. Paul tells us, that it is the scriptures which made men "wise unto salvation;" and St. Peter, that men were born again" by the word of God." But that mode, it should seem, is obsolete: things have now taken a diffe rent course: impressions do every thing. They even achieve such wonders, that "the most stout and hardened rebels,"-"those who were leaders in iniquity," become "leaders in the work of God:" by which, I presume, we are to understand that, under the teaching of impressions, ministers are suddenly formed from the habitually profligate and profane. And yet these impressions, of which so much is made, are left to be defined according to each man's fancy, and seem to be as indescribable as the something which made it "the easiest thing in the world to preach" at Durham and Rocky Hill. Surely, it would be at least decorous, if not prudent, to appoint a term of probation to these leaders in iniquity, before they become leaders in the work of God. What will be the result of such proceedings it is not difficult to foresce.

I was prepared to expect some great persecution had taken place, on reading that Satan had been very busy. To me, Sir, he appears to have been more busy than the letter-writer at all suspected; and to have been securing his empire more effectually by those very impressions which are so much extolled, than he could have done by the most vehement opposition.

But I will just advert for one moment to the report of " the soberminded, serious, and judicious" parishioner of Woolcot. Ile takes it upon him to assert, that the effect of these impressions, could not be counterfeited: and yet he tells us, in the same breath, that they were counterfeited; for " some relapsed." He has attempted, however, to give us a very concise and comprehensive rule for distinguishing a real from a coun

terfeit impression. Those who con-, tinued to have all their senses about them during the impression, afforded a good hope of future perseverance; while such as were so violently impressed as to lose all sense, were to be viewed with suspicion. Experience must unquestionably have great weight. But previous to experience, I should certainly have been disposed to think, that if these impressions were of any value at all, they were valuable in proportion as they were powerful; and therefore that what deprived a man of all his senses was worth more than what merely deprived him of

one or two.

This same gentleman has represented a father as severely chastizing his own daughter. The cause is not very distinctly specified, but if I may judge from what follows, her frowardness had some share in it. The daughter, under the influence, I presume, of these same impressions, has her father taken up, and brought before a magistrate; and because he would not make concessions and promise good behaviour, he is sent (at the instance of his daughter,) to jail! Here, however, these convenient and all-powerful impressions again interfere; and the father, finding there is now no other remedy, falls down according to usage, whether in a state of insensibility or not seems uncertain; and when able to speak, confesses his fault, (to his daughter, I presume,) and promises amendment. Here we have a very eminent instance of the power of impressions: but whether

impressions of a jail, or of a more preternatural kind, the reader is left to conjecture.

I beg leave to close these remarks with an anecdote which I have copied verbatim from Boswell's Life of Johnson, Vol. III. p. 246, and which seems to me to throw considerable light on the doctrine of impressions. It is as follows:

"I mentioned that I had in my possession the Life of Sir Robert Sibbald, the celebrated Scottish antiquary, and founder of the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, in the original manuscript in his own hand-writing; and that it was, I believe, the most natural and candid account of himself that ever was given by any man. As an instance, he tells us that the Duke of Perth, then Chancellor of Scotland, pressed him very much to come over to the Roman catholic faith; that he resisted all his grace's arguments for a considerable time, till one day he felt himself, as it were, instantaneously convinced, and with tears in his eyes, ran into the duke's arms and embraced the aucient religion: that he continued very steady in it for some time, and accompanied his grace to London, and lived in his household: that there he found the rigid fasting prescribed by the church very severe upon him: that this disposed him to reconsider the controversy; and having then seen that he was in the wrong, he returned to Protestantism."

A SINCERE FRIEND OF THE CHURCH
OF ENGLAND.

LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE, &c. &c.

GREAT BRITAIN. STEREOTYPE PRINTING was described in the Christian Observer, Vol. I. pp. 185, 186, in the following manner:-"The solid pages, used in Stereotype Printing, are cast from pages first set up, in the usual way, with moveable types. A mould or impression is taken of each page in any suitable plastic material, and afterwards as many solid pages are cast into the mould as may be wanted."

Earl STANHOPE has, we understand, devoted much time and money to the improvement of Stereotype Printing, and CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 30.

the introduction of it into this country. Mr. ANDREW WILSON, Printer, in Great Wild Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, has brought the art, under his Lordship's assistance and protection, to a great degree of maturity. A theological work, translated from the German by HER MAJESTY, and revised by the BISHOP of LONDON, is now nearly ready for publication, and will be the first Stereotype work published in this kingdoin. So well satisfied are the Syndics of the Cambridge Press of the great importance of this art, and of the degree of perfection to which it is now

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