seven.

"Adelphi, 1776.

"I wish it were possible for me to give you the slightest idea of the scene I was present at yesterday. Garrick would make me take his ticket to go to the trial of the Duchess of Kingston; a sight, which, for beauty and magnificence, exceeded any thing which those who were never present at a coronation, or a trial by Peers, can have the least notion of. Mrs. Garrick and I were in full dress by At eight we went to the Duke of Newcastle's, whose house adjoins Westminster-Hall, in which he has a large gallery, communicating with the apartments in his house. You will imagine the bustle of five thousand people getting into one hall! Yet in all this hurry we walked in tranquilly. When they were all seated, and the King-at-Arms had commanded silence on pain of imprisonment, (which, however, was very ill ob served,) the Gentleman of the Black Rod was commanded to bring in his prisoner. Elizabeth, calling herself Duchess dowager of Kingston, walked in, led by Black Rod and Mr. La Roche, courtesying profoundly to her judges. When she bent, the Lord Steward called out, Madam, you may rise,' which, I think, was literally taking her up before she was down. The Peers made her a slight bow. The prisoner was dressed in deep mourning, a black hood on her head, her hair modestly dressed and powdered, a black silk sacque, with crape trimmings; black gauze deep ruffles, and black gloves. The Counsel spoke about an hour and a quarter each. Dunning's manner is insufferably bad, coughing and spitting at every three words; but his sense and his expression pointed to the last degree; he

made her Grace shed bitter tears. I had the pleasure of hearing several of the Lords speak, though nothing more than proposals on common things. Among them were Littleton, Talbot, Townsend, and Camden. The fair victim had four virgins in white behind the bar. She imitated her great predecessor, Mrs. Rudd, and affected to write very often, though I plainly perceived she only wrote as they do their love epistles on the stage, without forming a letter. The Duchess has but small remains of that beauty of which Kings and Princes were once so enamoured; she is large and ill-shaped; there was nothing white but her face; and, had it not been for that, she would have looked like a bale of bombazeen. There was a great deal of ceremony, a great deal of splendour, and a great deal of nonsense: they adjourned upon the most foolish pretences imaginable, and

did nothing with such an air of business as was truly ridiculous. I forgot to tell you the Duchess was taken ill, but performed it badly.” (Vol. i., p. 83.)

She was likewise present at part of the trial of the celebrated Warren Hastings. She says to her sister,

"I was over-persuaded by Lord and Lady Amherst to go to the trial, and heard Burke's famous oration of three hours and a quarter without intermission. Such a splendid and powerful oration I never heard, but it was abusive and vehement beyond all conception. Poor Hastings sitting by, and looking so meek, to hear himself called villain, and cutthroat, &c. The recapitulation of the dreadful cruelties in India was worked up to the highest pitch of eloquence and passion, so that the orator was seized with a spasm which made him incapable of speaking another word, and I did not know whether he might not have died in the exertion of his powers like Chatham. I think I never felt such indignation when Burke, with Sheridan standing on one side, and Fox on the other, said,

Vice incapacitates a man from all public duty, it withers the powers of his understanding, and makes his mind paralytic.' I looked at his two neighbours, and saw they were quite free from any symptoms of palsy." (Vol. ii., p. 109.)

In the close of the year 1777 her tragedy of Percy was brought out, and was very successful. This, with two others subsequently written, were published sometime afterwards with an excellent preface, in which her own change of opinions on theatrical amusements is very decidedly expressed. An extract or two from this preface will be read with interest. She says,

"From my youthful course of reading, and early habits of society and conversation, aided, perhaps, by that natural but secret bias which the inclination gives to the judgment, I had been led to entertain that common, but, as I must now think, delusive and groundless hope, that the stage, under certain regulations, might be converted into a school of virtue. On these grounds, (while, perhaps, as was intimated above, it was nothing more than the indulgence of a propensity,) I was led to flatter myself that it might be rendering that inferior service to society which the fabrication of safe and innocent amusements may reasonably be supposed to confer, to attempt some thea

(Works, Vol. ii.)

Mr. Garrick died in January, 1779; and with this event the first part of the memoir closes. We may quote the introduction to the second part: "The death of Mr. Garrick may be considered an æra in the life of Hannah More. His gaiety, his intelligence, and his wit, added to his admiration of her genius, and the warmth of his personal friendship for her, while, in the opinion of all mankind, his favour was a great privilege and distinction, formed the strongest spell that held her in subjection to the fascinations of brilliant company and a town life, in opposition to those inbred and original propensities which disposed her strongly, in the midst of these blandishments, to cultivate in retirement a better acquaintance with herself, and a better use of her great capacities. She was not a person, however, to be actuated by sudden and overpowering impulses, or to be hurried into any adoption, especially one which implied a change of principle and habit, without

much consideration both of the end and

the means. From the death of Garrick to her retreat to Cowslip-Green, an interval of about five years, she gradually proceeded in redeeming her time, and detaching herself from enjoyments which, however agreeable to her taste and talents, kept her from answering the higher vo

Ication which summoned her to the service of the soul, and to, labours of love." (Vol. i., p. 156.)

On

Mr. Roberts has certainly given us the outline of the plan which, for the five years in question, she appears to have pursued. We should have been glad, however, to see something more decided on the subject of that great change to which the term conversion is ofnecessary, not merely by the comten applied, and which is rendered gression, (for in this case it would mission of gross and glaring transonly be necessary for some,) but by that "fault and corruption of our nature," whose existence no one acknowledged more distinctly and frequently than Hannah More. the subject of this change her own views were far from being clear, nor do we think those of her biographer much more so. justification is brought before us as In the Scriptures, a blessing which introduces us directly into a state of acceptance with God, and as bestowed on individuals on their exercising a true and lively faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,-on their " fuge to lay hold on the hope set befleeing for refore them." In the Homilies, salvation by grace, and salvation by faith, are never considered as synonymous forms of expression. The writers well knew that as the first referred to the source of the blessing, so the second to the way in which They, therefore, speak of three it was to be personally received. things in our justification: "Upon God's part, his great mercy and grace,-upon Christ's part, the satisfaction of God's justice by the offering up of his body and the shedding of his blood,-and upon merits of Jesus Christ." And they our part, true and lively faith in the say of this faith, that it “doth directly send us to Christ for remission of our sins;" and that "by faith given to us of God we embrace the promise of God's mercy, and of the remission of our sins;" and that "the first coming to God is through faith, whereby we be justified before God." Two of the three things thus stated in the Homilies as observable

in a sinner's justification, she well knew, and the proposition, that justification is by faith, she acknowledged; but that it was by a faith sending us to Christ, coming to Christ, a faith trusting and appropriating, she never seems clearly to have understood. And hence, excellent and valuable as are her writings in other respects, they are on this point exceedingly defective. We have sometimes wondered at this; but since reading these memoirs our wonder has ceased. From one part of the reproach of the cross she turned away. She evidently loved (as Mr. Roberts acknowledges) the praises of her friends, and of the public generally. She was flattered by the attention paid her by persons of rank in Church and State, and she was unwilling to endanger it by any the least connexion with those whom it was the fashion to brand as sectaries, enthusiasts, and fanatics. Dr. Johnson was not ashamed of having John Wesley introduced to him, and spoke of him afterwards in terms which proved that he knew how to estimate his worth. Not so Hannah More. We have no wish to travel out of the record; but we find there enough to awaken the suspicion that

her sisters were not so fastidious as

herself on this subject, and that the family knew Mr. Wesley better than one member of it was willing to acknowledge. During her illness in 1822, Mr. Roberts says, that in conversation with a friend,

"Returning to the earlier part of her life, which was passed in more promiscuous society, she mentioned John Wesley's having once said to her sister, 'Tell her to live in the world; there is the sphere of her usefulness; they will not let us come near them.""

(Vol. iv., p. 148.)

These words seem to imply very clearly that Mr. Wesley was on friendly terms with her sister, and knew very well both the situation and employment of Hannah herself. And some correspondence with John Wesley would not have been useless to her even then, and the record of it would have been no discredit on her memory. The obloquy which was cast on his name while living is

passing away; and the day is not far distant when full justice shall be done to him. Perhaps Miss More's most evangelical friend was the excellent John Newton; and he, with perhaps more than the Calvinism of the Nonconformists, wanted their distinctness as to "the first coming to God" of the sinner for remission of sin. In the very painful (and to her opponents, disgraceful) controversy in which she was engaged in consequence of her efforts, in conjunction with her sisters, to rescue the children and adults in some parishes in her neighbourhood from the worse than heathenish darkness in which they were plunged, her letter to the Bishop of the diocese shows that she had avoided all connexion with conventicles and conventiclers with a carefulness which ought to have satisfied the most bigoted High Churchman. She says,

"As to connexion with conventicles of any kind, I never had any. Had I been irregular, should I not have gone sometimes, during my winter residence at Bath, to Lady Huntingdon's chapel, a place of great occasional resort? Should I never have gone to some of Whitefield's or Wesley's tabernacles in London, where thirty years? Should I not have strayed I have spent a long spring for near

now and then into some Methodist meet

ing in the country? Yet not one of these things have I ever done."

(Vol. iii., p. 125.)

And what if she had? Was it really necessary for her, in order to prove her own sincere attachment tc the Church, thus to stand in complete separation from all who were not of her own communion? and at such a time too, when she herself needed instruction of a much purer and higher character than she would generally receive in a church? It was well for her that she did not carry her Churchism so far as he who said to his bookseller, "I never read Dissenting divinity." To Dissenting divinity Miss More was great debtor. Her writings, defective as on some important points they are, would have been far more defective had she placed the writings of Doddridge, Howe, Baxter, and such men as they were, in her index of prohibited books. But she really

a

does seem as though she had wished (perhaps she was scarcely aware of the real character of the feeling) almost to bribe Lords, and ladies, and Prelates, to receive the instruction which her writings might communicate, by joining them in their exclusive and uncharitable feelings. This was her fault, and it brought its own punishment with it. Her works

possess not that value which they would have possessed had she known how to declare the whole counsel of God. Nor can we help feeling throughout that she was, in point of Christian experience, far below the not less intelligent Lady Maxwell. And even at a late period of her life, if her language be correctly stated, her opinions on some important subjects were, to say the least, very confused and indistinct. Mr. Roberts tells us that during her

illness in 1820,

"She one day observed that such lengthened sufferings showed how greatly she needed purification; and being told of the death of a neighbour, a very amia

ble and worthy man, after a short illness, she said, Ah, how many more stripes have I needed than he! A few days' suffering carried him to his rest, while I have required many, many months.'In acute Lord, how long! But I have not yet suffering she exclaimed, How long, O suffered enough for my purification.'

999

(Vol. iv, pp. 87, 91.)

It was during this illness, that "in an interval of severe suffering," she herself adverted very distinctly to the grand source of personal comfort. "She cried, "Lord, say unto my soul, Thy sins be forgiven thee!"" Yes; the soul is never satisfied unless the Divine Spirit gives the asthe heart (to refer to the beautiful surance of pardon; thus creates in language of Bishop Pearson) a sense of the paternal love of God towards us. Had Hannah More sought this blessing early, early she would have found it, and her subsequent writings would have been as explicit on the subject of Christian privilege, as they are generally admirable on the subject of Christian duty.

The Wesleyan Mission in France: with an Account of the Labours of Wesleyan Ministers among the French Prisoners, during the late War. By Wil liam Toase, late Missionary on board the Prison-ships in the River Med. way. 12mo. pp. 84. 1s. 6d. Mason. The Wesleyan Mission in France was begun under very peculiar circumstances, strongly indicative of a special interposition of divine Providence. It has often been prosecuted amidst great discourage ments; but in many places has led to the most important and satisfactory results. Conversions, not only to Protestant ism, but to scriptural Christianity, in its spirituality and power, have attended the labours of the faithful men who have been employed in this work. It is ex

ceedingly desirable, on various accounts, that this Mission should be prosecuted with energy and perseverance. Popery and Infidelity, productive of practical ungodliness, and of almost incredible levity and folly, divide the people of France; who, nevertheless, to a consi derable extent, enjoy religious liberty. Important facilities therefore exist among them for the circulation of the holy Scriptures, and the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Such is the cha racter which France sustains, and the relative position which it occupies among the continental nations, that should the flame of Christian piety be generally kindled among the people, they may be fairly expected to carry the light of divine truth to various surrounding coun

tries, at present overrun with superstition, impiety, and unbelief. Mr. Toase has been connected with this interesting Mission in almost every stage of its progress, and has embodied in this pam phlet the leading facts of its history. For several years he was successfully employed in preaching to the French prisoners of war; and in a large and beautiful lithographic print has presented to his readers a view of the ships in which the people of his charge and benevolent solicitude were contined. We are the more obliged to Mr. Toase for this authentic account of the French Mission, because of the base and iniquitous attempts which have been recently made to injure it, by an adventurer, in whom the Wesleyan Missionary Committee once unhappily placed a generous and unsuspecting confidence, of which he has demonstrated himself to be in every respect unworthy.

32mo.

The Christian Sacrament and Sacrifice. By Daniel Brevint, D. D. Abridged by the Rev. John Wesley, M. A. pp. 62. 6d. Mason.-This very edifying tract was published by Mr. Wesley at a very early period of his public labours. It was prefixed to the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper," and, in connexion with those sacred compositions, passed through several editions. We earnestly recommend it to all who desire correctly to understand the nature of the holy sacrament, and to derive the greatest benefit from that ordinance. A devout perusal of it, accompanied by secret prayer, cannot fail to prepare the mind to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup," to great spiritual advantage. That it should, for so many years, have been in the hands of very few people, is deeply to be regretted.

Miscellaneous Musings: containing the United Friends, a Tribute of Friendship to the Memory of the Rev. John James and the Rev. Richard Watson, late Secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. By William Naylor. 12mo. pp. 80. 1s. 6d. Mason. This is an age of poets and poetry. From the loftiest genius to the humblest rhymer, the press teems with poetical productions. It has too often been our painful task to notice the highest order of talent and genius desecrated to the service of infidelity and sin. By many of our poets of great name, the affections are often captivated by poetic imagery, while the poison is imperceptibly conveyed to the heart with all the fragrance of the most costly perfumes. Works of this kind, whatever be their merit otherwise, we

shall ever feel it our duty to expose and condemn. Religion, from the earliest ages of the world has consecrated poetry to its own use; and amidst the multitudes of profane writers of verse, in these modern times, we are glad to find some who employ their cultivated minds, and rich stores of precious thought, in the service of the sanctuary, and the cause of God. When we perceive the muse only attempting to fly, if her aim be heavenwards, we are not disposed to be severe upon the youth of her feathers, or the want of strength in her pinions. Her flight may not be so majestic, or so easy, as that of others who have long been practised in the art, but her course is clear, and her path is safe. With such views as these we regard the little volume now before us. The author, in a modest preface, says, " he never pretended to the exalted name of a poet, being fully aware, that around the sublime genius of that gifted character, there is an intellectual halo which it would be presumptuous in him to profess to approach. To present them (the poems) to the public was never designed by him, until he received repeated solicitations to publish his Tribute of Friendship; a piece too long for any periodical work to which he had access: and in complying with the request of his friends, he seeks no fame; he expects no gain." The compositions are orthodox in sentiment, and expressive of feelings truly devotional.

Dissent not Schism. A Discourse delivered in the Poultry Chapel, December 12th, 1834, at the Monthly Meeting of the Associated Ministers and Churches of the London Congregational Union, and printed at their request. By T. Binney. 8vo.—Mr. Binney informs us that this discourse was delivered by the appointment, as well as published at the request, of the Ministers of the London Congregational Union. He has performed the task imposed upon him with his characteristic ability. The first division of the sermon is devoted to a somewhat elaborate examination of all the passages in the New Testament where the word "schism," and the verb from which it is derived are found. That "the literal idea," suggested by the verb, is in every instance only that of "a rent, rupture, or division in a thing," may perhaps be questioned. In John xix. 24, for instance, where the soldiers say, in reference to "the coat" of Jesus, "Let us not rend it," the verb axis must be understood in a stronger sense. The rending meant is something more than such a dividing of