suffer for the guilty, who can think without concern, or with hold commiseration, though fell necessity may sanction the devastations of war."

5. "Do you mean to insult me, Sir?" sternly demanded the Hero. "This canting hypocritical affectation of sentiment I will not brook. But you are too insignificant for my resentment.' "I confess my insignificance," rejoined the Sage," my actions have never been blazoned in gazettes; yet I have neither been idle nor uselessly employed. As far as my abilities would allow, I have endeavored to make mankind wiser and better. If I have failed to increase the stock of human happiness, my heart does not accuse me of diminishing its supplies. Few have an opportunity of doing much good; but the most insignificant and contemptible are qualified to do harm."

6. Here the Hero and the Sage parted; neither was able to convince the other of the importance of his services; the former ordered his coach, and was gazed at with admiration by the unthinking mob; the latter retired to his garret, and was forgotten.

1. I HAVE been, my dear S, on an excursion through the countries which lie along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge ;* a general description of that country and its inhabitants, may form the subject of a future letter. For the present, I must entertain you with an account of a most singular and interesting adventure, which I met with in the course of my tour.

2. It was one Sabbath, as I travelled through the county of Orange, that my eye was caught by a cluster of horses tied near an old, ruinous, wooden house, in the forest, and not far from the road side. Having frequently seen such objects before, in travelling through these states, I had no difficulty in understanding that this was a place of religious worship. Devotion, alone, should have stopped me to join in the duties of the congregation, but I must confess that curiosity to hear the preacher of such a wilderness was not the least of my motives.

3. On entering the house, I was struck with his preternatural appearance. He was a tall and very spare old man; his head, which was covered with a white linen cap, his shrivelled hands,

* A ridge of mountains in Virginia, east of the Alleghany range

and his voice, were all shaking under the influence of a palsy; and a few moments convinced me that he was blind. The first emotions which touched my breast, were those of mingled pity and veneration.

4. But ah! how soon were all my feelings changed! It was a day of the administration of the sacrament, and his subject, of course, was the passion of our Saviour. I had heard the subject handled a thousand times. I had supposed it exhausted long ago. Little did I expect that in the wild woods of America I was to meet with a man whose eloquence would give to this topic a new and more sublime pathos, than I had ever before witnessed.

5. As he descended from the pulpit, to distribute the mystic symbols, there was a peculiar, a more than human solemnity in his air and manner, which made my blood to run cold, and my whole frame to shiver. He then drew a picture of the sufferings of our Saviour;—his trial before Pilate;—his ascent up Calvary ;-his crucifixion, and his death. I knew the whole history; but never, until then, had I heard the circumstances so selected, so arranged, so colored! It was all new, and I seemed to have heard it for the first time in my life. His enunciation was so deliberate, that his voice trembled on every syllable; and every heart in the assembly trembled in unison.

6. His peculiar phrases, had such a force of description, that the original scene appeared, at that moment, acting before our eyes. We saw the very faces of the Jews,-the starting, frightful distortions of malice and rage. We saw the buffet ;-my soul kindled with a flame of indignation, and my hands were involuntarily and convulsively clenched.

7. But when he came to touch the patience, the forgiving meekness of our Saviour,—when he drew, to the life, his blessed eyes streaming in tears to heaven-his voice breathing to God, a soft and gentle prayer of pardon on his enemies: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," the voice of the preacher, which had all along faultered, grew fainter and fainter, until his utterance became entirely obscured by the force of his feelings; he raised his handkerchief to his eyes, and burst into a loud and irrepressible flood of tears. The effect was inconceivable. The whole house resounded with the mingled groans, and sobs, and shrieks of the congregation.

8. It was some time before the tumult had subsided, so as to permit him to proceed. Indeed, judging by the usual, but fallacious standard of my own weakness, I began to be very uneasy for the situation of the preacher. For I could not conceive how

he would be able to let his audience down from the height* t which he had wound them, without impairing the dignity and solemnity of his subject, or, perhaps, shock them by the abrupt. ness of the fall.

9. But-no: the descent was as beautiful and sublime, as the elevation had been rapid and enthusiastic. The first sentence which broke the awful silence, was a quotation from Rousseau: "Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ, like a God!!" Whatever I had been able to conceive of the sublimity of Massilon, or the force of Bourdaloue,|| had fallen far short of the power which I felt from the delivery of this simple sentence.

10. The blood, which, just before had rushed in a hurricane upon my brain, and, in the violence and agony of my feelings, had held my whole system in suspense; now ran back into my heart, with a sensation which I cannot describe; a kind of shuddering delicious horror! The paroxysm of mingled pity and indignation to which I had been transported, subsided into the deepest self-abasement, humility, and sympathy for our Saviour, as a fellow creature:-but now, with fear and trembling, I adored him as "a God!!"

LESSON CI. / ^ /

Specimen of Welch Preaching.-LONDON JEWISH EXPOSI

TOR.

1. Ar a meeting of ministers at Bristol, the Reverend Mr. L invited several of his brethren to sup with him; among them was the minister officiating at the Welch meeting-house in that city. He was an entire stranger to all the company, and silently attentive to the general conversation of his brethren.

2. The subject on which they were discoursing, was the different strains of public preaching. When several had given their opinions, and had mentioned some individuals who were good preachers, and such as were models as to style and composition, &c., Mr. L turned to the Welch stranger and solicited his opinion.

* Pronounced hite.

+ John James Rousseau, a celebrated philosopher, born in Geneva, ir Switzerland, A. D. 1711.

A famous French preacher, born in A. D. 1663.

A distinguished French preacher, born in A. D. 1632.

A city in the western part of England, situated on the river Avon.

3. He said he felt it to be a privilege to be silent when such men were discoursing: but that he felt it a duty to comply with this request; 66 but,' "said he, "if I must give my opinion, I should say you had no good preachers in England.” “No!" said Mr. L. "No," said he, "that is, I mean, no such preachers as we have in the principality."

4. "I know," said Mr. L., "you are famous for jumping in Wales, but that is owing, I suppose, as much to the strain of preaching which the people hear, as to the enthusiasm of their characters." "Indeed," said the Welchman, "you would jump too, if you heard and understood such preaching."

5. "

Why," said Mr. L., " do you not think I could make them jump, if I were to preach to them?" "You make them jump!" exclaimed the Welchman, "you make them jump! a Welchman would set fire to the world, while you were lighting your match."

6. The whole company became very much interested in this new turn of the subject, and unanimously requested the good man to give them some specimen of the style and manner of preaching in the principality.

7. "Specimen," said he, "I cannot give you; if John Elias was here, he would give you a specimen indeed. Oh! John Elias is an excellent preacher." Well, said the company, give us something that you have heard from him.

do

8. "Oh, no!" said he, "I cannot do justice to it; besides, you understand the Welch language?" They said no, not so as to follow a discourse. "Then," said he, "it is impossible for ye to understand, if I were to give you a specimen."

9. But, said they, cannot you put it into English? "Oh!" said he, "your poor meagre language would spoil it; it is not capable of expressing those ideas which a Welchman can conceive; I cannot give you a specimen in English without spoil

ing it."

10. The interest of the company was increased, and nothing would do but something of a specimen, while they promised to make every allowance for the language.

11. "Well," said the Welchman, "if you must have a piece, I must try; but I don't know what to give you; I do not recollect a piece of John Elias; he is our best preacher. I must think a little;—well, I recollect a piece of Christmas Evans.

He was

12. "Christmas Evans was a good preacher, and I heard him a little time ago, at an association of ministers. preaching on the depravity of man by sin; of his recovery by the death of Christ, and he said- Brethren, if I were to pre

sent to you, in a figure, the condition of man as a sinner, and the means of his recovery by the cross of Jesus Christ, I should present somewhat in this way.

666

13. Suppose a large grave-yard, surrounded by a high wall, with only one entrance, which is by a large iron gate, which is fast bolted; within these walls are thousands and tens of thousands of human beings, of all ages and of all classes, by one epidemic disease bending to the grave; the grave yawns to receive them, and they must all die; there is no balm to relieve them, no physician there-they must perish.

14. "This is the condition of man as a sinner-all, all have sinned, and the soul that sinneth it shall die. While man was

in this deplorable state, Mercy, the darling attribute of Deity, came down and stood at the gate, looking at the scene, and wept over it, exclaiming, oh, that I might enter, I would bind up their wounds, I would relieve their sorrows— -I would save their souls.

15. While Mercy stood weeping at the gate, an embassy of angels, commissioned from the court of Heaven to another world, passing over, paused at the sight-and Heaven forgave that pause-and seeing Mercy standing there, they cried, Mercy, Mercy, can you not enter? Can you look upon this scene and not pity? Can you pity and not relieve? Mercy replied, I can see, and in her tears added, I can pity, but I cannot relieve.

16. "Why can you not enter? Oh, said Mercy, Justice has barred the gate against me, and I cannot, must not unbar it. At this moment, Justice himself appeared, as it were to watch the gate. The angels inquired of him, why will you not let Mercy in? Justice replied, my law is broken, and it must be honored: die they, or Justice must.

17. "At this, there appeared a form among the angelic band, like unto the Son of God, who, addressing himself to Justice, said, what are thy demands? Justice replied, my terms are stern and rigid; I must have sickness for their health, I must have ignominy for their honor, I must have death for life.Without shedding of blood there is no remission.

18. "Justice, said the Son of God, I accept thy terms; on me be this wrong, and let Mercy enter. When, said Justice, will you perform this promise? Jesus replied, four thousand years hence, upon the hill of Calvary, without the gates of Jerusalem, I will perform it in my own person.

19. "The deed was prepared and signed in the presence of the Angels of God, Justice was satisfied, and Mercy entered, preaching salvation in the name of Jesus; the deed was com