paffage, I doubt not but I could find many of a like tendency were I to search their Magazines through. I have but just glanced over the 16th volume, and have difcovered a piece of poetry written expressly on the Restoration of all Things, by Mr. Cowper, extracted from the 2d vol. of his Poems, and inferted in the Arminian Magazine, vol. 16, p. 556. entitled “The groans of the creation shall have an end-a view taken of the Restoration of all Things--an invocation, and invitation of him who shall bring it to pass:" About the middle of which Poem is contained the following lines: -Heavenward all things tend. For all were once So God has greatly purpos'd, Thus, Sir, you observe, that while these people are thundering from the pulpit anathemas against the glorious truth which you promulgate, their writings abound with declarations in favour of it. It furely becomes them to reconcile thefe contradictions if they are skilful enough to do it. It becomes them either to fhew that these paffages in their works do not favour our fyftem, or elfe to difown them publickly; until they do the one or the other, I am fure they will not escape the censure of every honest and upright man who despises duplicity, especially in minifters of the gofpel: and who cannot be reconciled to men who efpouse one set of doctrines from the pulpit and another from the prefs. I am fure, Sir, that you nor any one who knows me, will accuse me of bearing any animofity to these people I have been reprobating in this inftance. I have the greatest efteem for them as a fociety of Chriftians, and I have given a proof of that esteem by a late publication in their favour, wherein I have endeavoured to exculpate them as a body from many unjuft charges brought against them; but in the above inftance I think they are really to blame, and therefore have taken the liberty to make these few animadverfions upon their conduct. In the course of my reading, I have met with feveral paffages in favour of the doctrine of the Restoration, in many authors where one fhould deem it unlikely to meet with them. When I began this letter I intended to send you an extract from an author that has been read as much any that I know of; but as I have already increafed this epistle to as great a length as I believe the bounds of your work will per. mit you to infert, I fhall defer fending it to you till another opportunity, opportunity. I will alfo, from time to time, fend you fuch other extracts of the like nature as may occur, if you can accept of them as coming within the limits of your work. I am, Dear Sir, Yours, &c. J. H. PRINCE. To the Editor of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany. DEAR SIR, 'N the clofe of Mr. Winchester's account' of part of his INth, as contained in the laft number of your mifcellany, we find that in America the churches profeffing the doctrine of the Univerfal Reftoration, met (by their reprefentatives) in convention, yearly, at Philadelphia; and Mr. Winchester profeffed a wish that the fame plan might be adopted in England. The reafon of my thus addreffing you, Sir, is the obfervation you make on Mr. W.'s with, that he did not live to fee that defireable event," by which I perceive you are of the fame opinion; and confider an event of that kind capable, under God, of facilitating the fpread of the true gofpel; and of course, that it is defireable. Now, if it bẹ admitted that it is defireable, let us afk ourselves this ferious queftion. What is the reafon it has not taken place? Is it because there are no churches capable of forming such a connection? No. Is it then because application has been made to them for that purpose, and they have refufed? No. What then is the reason? Let us frankly confefs-—It is be'cause there is, and has been, fuch a laffitude in those of us who first embraced the doctrine from the lips of Mr. Winchefter; therefore it is now high time to awake from our idle dreams, and to roufe ourselves into action, and while we enjoy sweet comfort and confolation from the gospel of everlasting love, to do all in our power to convey the fame bleffing to others. What I have to offer at prefent is but fhort, for I conceive it is quite fufficient to suggest the hint and leave you to improve it. I am convinced that your time is already filled up, but from the fituation you hold among the Univerfalifts, the task moft properly devolves upon you; and when you have finifhed your arduous, though no doubt pleasant, pleasant, work here below, the Mafter will reward you with a crown of glory which fadeth not away. The only step that can now be taken, is to afcertain the number of churches in England who profefs the doctrine, together with their fituations in the country: this may be eafily accomplished, as there is no doubt but you are acquainted with most of them yourself, and a letter in your Mifcellany (containing a lift of thofe you know, and defiring your correfpondents to inform you if there are any others) would difcover the whole. When this is done, a letter fhould be fent to each church to know their mind on the bufinefs, and their future proceedings muft afterwards be guided by the general opinion. I leave what I have written to the feriousconfideration of your judicious readers;-and believe Dear Sir, me, Sir, SOM I remain yours in Christian refpect, X. Y. Z. To the Editor of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany. OME time fince, as I was reading the 15th chapter of 1 Cor. in reading the 13th verfe," But if there be no refurrection of the dead, then is Chrift not rifen." It immediately ftruck forcibly upon my mind, that the fense must be the fame if the text was reverfed thus "If Christ is not rifen, then is there no refurrection of the dead." The connection I thought confirmed it, particularly the 21ft verfe. "For fince by man came death, by man (i. e. Chrift) came alfo the refurrection of the dead" Now the thoughts that crowded in upon my mind in this view of the text, were thefe, viz. If there had been no Saviour, there could have been no refurrection of the dead; and if no refurrection, there could have been neither happiness or punishment în a rifen state; because there would have been no fuch state. And as moft denominations of Chriftians (fo called) believe in a punishment of fome fort after the refurrection-upon what bafis is that punishment built? is it not upon the refurrection of Chrift? or is not Chrift the procuring caufe of fuch punishment; feeing upon this hypothefi; there could have been no fuch ftate without a Saviour? The main point of my enquiry in this, is, that if that God difhonouring doctrine called endless mifery is a truth, would not the non Elect Elect (fo called) have been much better off without a Saviour than with one? And if fo, how can that paffage in John be reconciled, "I came into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be faved?" and with "behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which fhall be to all people?" and alfo, if there had been no Saviour, and finners deferve endless mifery, how would finners have met with their just deserts without a Saviour? Perhaps my common sense mode of reasoning, when investigated theologically, may be caft out as unworthy of notice; be it fo; I fhall ineet with no difappointment or mortification, for I have wrote only with a view of being serviceable, if poffible. And as I belong to no fect or party whatever, but worship God according to the dictates of my own confcience, and ftand entirely unconnected with the religious world, I beg leave to subscribe myself, A FREE MAN IN CHRIST. SINGULAR SHIPWRECK OF AN ENGLISH JOHN OHN CORNELIUS, of Maniken, being ordered upon the whale fishery in the year 1646, left the Texel on the 6th of May, and on the 3d of June arrived in the neighbourhood of Spitsbergen, but was prevented from anchoring in the Bay by the fhoals of ice. Accordingly he kept out to fea; and chancing to discover two whales in the offing, he fent his floop well manned in pursuit of them. While they were rowing up and down, watching an op portunity to make a fuccessful attack upon one of thofe enormous creatures, they discovered a large ice fhoal floating at a diftance with fomething white upon it, which they fuppofed to be bears; but Ellert Johnson, the harpooner, infifting it was fomething else, and that it was in motion, perfuaded them to row up to it. To which propofal, after fome altercation, they affented, and perceived it, on a nearer view, to be a fort of fignal of diftrefs waved by a man. This difcovery induced them to approach it as fast as they could, and there, to their great furprife, they found four living men and one dead. By their language they knew them to be English; they took them into the floop, and con veyed them on board their fhip in the Bay. They were at at this time reduced to the laft extremity by hunger and cold, having had nothing to feed upon for fome time before they faw the floop but a leathern belt, which they had divided into equal shares, and eaten up. The furgeon took all the care he could to recover them, but three of them died, in fpite of all his endeavours, in five or fix days after their being brought on board; the fourth alone survived, who was brought to Delft, upon the Meufe, in September 1646, from whence he got a paffage home to England. The account he gave was, that their vellel being wrecked on that ice thoal from which he was taken, the crew confifting of forty-two men, faved themselves upon it, with fome tools, victuals, and their floop: that they cut a deep hole like a cave in the ice, blocking it round the mouth with fuch pieces as they dug up, to fhelter them from the wind and waves, which intention it, in fome meafure answered, and that in this hole they burrowed fourteen days. In a few days the commander, thinking it impoffible that they fhould furvive long upon this thoal, refolved, with seventeen of his men, to make land with the floop, and fend her off for the rest with an account of his fuccefs. But as it blew a hard storm soon after, and they never heard more of them, there was reafon to believe they perifhed before they reached the fhore. Twenty-four of them remaining ftill on the ice, and provifions growing daily more scanty, so that they were reduced to a famishing condition, and scarcely hoped for any relief from any thing but death, they refolved to feparate and quarter upon different fhoals, in hope that by fome lucky turn of fortune they might be driven to land But whether they were taken up by any other fhips, or whether they reached the fhore, was never known. It, is most likely, indeed, that they were fwallowed up by the ocean; for John Cornelius ordered his floop upon a cruize in search of the furvivors, but without any fuccefs. Melancholy as the fate of thefe men must appear, this is only one of the many inftances of diftrefs in which northern voyages, above all others, are prolific. Scarcely a feafon paffes without the lofs of lives and fhips, and frequently attended with circumftances of peculiar calamity. VOL. II. N MATHE |