Providence, not to be anticipated, may produce unsatisfactory results. "The love of antient things," says the venerable Hooker, "argues staidness; but levity and want of experience lead to innovation. That which wisdom began, and hath long continued with good men, challenges the allowance of posterity, though it plead nothing for itself. That which is new, no man can trust until it be tried. So that few things are known to be good, till such time as they grow to be antient. It is demanded, therefore, that when no notable public inconvenience can be alleged against any observance, antiquity, custom, and law, are most sufficient reasons for upholding the same *." Mr. Evelyn, therefore, not being a novus homo, and regularly catechized and confirmed in his political principles, unsettles no faith; but, avoiding such annoying subjects as mere baits for inconclusive argumentation, limits himself to the more engaging topicks of general science, history, description, and pleasant literature; for in the best societies, even now, politicks and religion are not conversational subjects. A Pig regards not meum and tuum, But thinks that every thing is suum. Mr. Evelyn, wisely knowing that in times of civil war and anarchy, the multitude are, in Mr. Burke's phrase, really swinish, went abroad, in order to protect, as far as he was able, without compromising his principles, his person and his property. He was plainly a man of business, and of the world, of which it is one master-rule to avoid scrapes; nor could it be of use to fish in troubled waters, where the first bite of the great parliamentary fly would carry off his hook and his line, or drag him into the stream. A fighting man is not one of contemplative habits. He is commonly devoted to outdoor active occupations, fond of riding and fieldsports, and never at rest but at the convivial table. Mr. Evelyn was not, therefore, qualified to serve his suffering Monarch in the field; for, probably, in the first campaign, he would have experienced the fate of Archimedes, absence being a quality of Kennicott's Analysis of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, p. 26. mind not to be tolerated in Officers. Nor would a wise General choose to confide even a Sergeant's guard to a man addicted to brown studies. If Cromwell or others of that description read, it is only to use the knowledge which they acquire as a tool of trade, for their better proficiency in the necessary indispensables of Popularity or Diplomacy. But Mr. Evelyn was not a needy aspiring adventurer. He considered his fortune fixed; and he did not desire to correct the usual lounging form of a gentleman's life, but by knowledge and philosophy. (To be continued.) 28. A Sermon preached in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, June 18, 1818. By the Rev. James Hook, LL.D. Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Rivingtons. AS devoted friends to the Esta blished Institutions of our Country, we hail with great satisfaction the appearance of this Sermon, preached in 1818, before the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge; and we regret only that the publication has been so long delayed. "He (Jehoshaphat) sent Levites, and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests; and they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people."-2 Chron. xvii. 8, 9. The Archdeacon thus commences his masterly exposition of the text: "It was some years after Asa had succeeded Abijam in the throne of Judah, and had manifested no inconsiderable degree of zeal in the cause of Religion, that the Spirit of God fell upon Azariah, the son of Obed, who went forth to meet the that the evils which had befallen the peoKing, commissioned to declare to him ple of Israel were occasioned by their neglect of divine ordinances, being without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law+;' so that nation (he reminded him) was destroyed of nation, and city of city,' and 'great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries ;' civil discord and national distress being the necessary and inevitable consequences of ignorance and irreligion. Then applying himself to the assembled people of Judah, as well as to the King, he exhorted them, 'to be, therefore, strong in the good cause they had undertaken, and not to let their hands be weak: for that their work should be rewarded §.' +2 Chron. xv. 3. Ibid. xv. 5, 6. § Ibid. xv. 7. "Asa, "Asa, thus admonished, avowed the necessity of religious reformation, and sedulously applied himself to effect it. He began by breaking down the images and cutting down the groves' of the Pagan idols, whose worship had superseded that of the true God. The people'sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets *.' He issued edicts to compel them to seek the God of their fathers, and even threatened death to those, whether small or great, whether man or woman, who would not seek the Lord God of Israel +. But Asa struck not at the root of the evil. Enthusiasm is an unsteady guide; and our best feelings, at all times, require to be supported by the steady arm of fixed principle. The zeal of Asa slackened when the duties of religion appeared to be inconsistent with his interests; and the one was eventually sacrificed to the other. He had professed to abide by the law of God, and his people had sworn to be obedient to it: but they were not sufficiently instructed in what their duty consisted, and, consequently, were both equally incapable of performing it. "His successor, Jehoshaphat, profiting by the experience of his father, pursued the measure of reform by the only rule which could render it effectual. Not content with destroying the vestiges of Paganism, he exposed the folly as well as wickedness of idolatry. Not satisfied with awakening the zeal of the people, he laboured to give it a legitimate direction. He called upon them, as Asa indeed had done, to seek the Lord God of their fathers,' and to do the law and the commandments;' but he did not, like Asa, leave them to themselves to collect their duty from doubtful or obscure sources. He provided the only means through which they could properly learn the greatness and goodness of God, and feel permanent motives to worship and obedience. ་ He sent Levites, and with them priests,' that they might teach' throughout the kingdom. He made them take the book of the law of the Lord with them, and they went about through all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.' The event was such as the prophet had foretold. The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war upon Jehoshophat. The Lord stablished the kingdom in his land; and he had riches and honour in abundance §.' "It may be safely affirmed, that few causes have contributed more fatally to disturb the peace of the Christian Church, since the time of the Reformation, than a mistaken apprehension of the plainness and simplicity of the Christian Scriptures; for their plainness and simplicity, in a certain degree, being granted, it is thence illogically inferred, that they are perfectly intelligible, and that too in all doctrinal points, to the humblest and most limited capacity: But if the authority of those very Scriptures were not directly against this inference, the fallacy of it might be demonstrated from the various opposed and contradictory interpretations of them which have been obtruded on the world, from the first promulgation of the Gospel down to the present hour. If the Scriptures are so very intelligible, how could this diversity have arisen; if so plain, how happens it that so many have misunderstood them? Of all these interpretations all cannot be equally true: error, therefore, must prevail in some, and that, of course, in the majority. It is true that the doctrines and duties of our holy Religion are plain and obvious, when carefully gathered from a comparison of Scripture with itself; but it is not true that this process can be effectually carried on without much patient labour, much painful study, and long dispassionate meditation, together with such a knowledge of the different parts of Holy Writ as may enable men to comprehend the great and ultimate purpose of the Almighty, in THE WHOLE of His revealed Will," "The difficulties which Christianity has to encounter, in the present day, are not confined to the interpretation of the Scriptures in their more obvious 'construction. Subtle questions and metaphysical inquiries concerning the nature of God aud of his dispensations, which were formerly confined to the closets or studies of the learned, are insidiously framed for popular acceptance, and urged with the confidence and pertinacity of unquestioned axioms; and the Scriptures are 'wrested,' in order to give a colour and consistency to doctrines which are calculated to invalidate the very conditions of the Christian covenant. "Calvin himself, a man whose ability and learning were, perhaps, exceeded only by his zeal, from whom may be said to spring all those doctrines concerning election and reprobation which have been since rendered subservient to the worst passions and propensities of our nature; Calvin, the high authority for the most mischievous error that ever introduced discord into the Christian world, deprecates the discussion of such questions in the discourses of his followers, or the introduction of them in their instructions to the people. It is, nevertheless, under the sanction of his name, that opinions have been been sedulously and earnestly inculcated among the lowest and most ignorant classes of society, which, founded on a partial view, and, I have no hesitation in adding, in a glaring misinterpretation of Scripture, contradict the assurances and purpose of a merciful and an universal dispensation, and depreciate the performance of all those duties which constitute the test of our adherence to Christ, and are so expressly, so anxiously, and so uniformly enjoined by him; doctrines which impute to the God of mercy and truth a denial of his own revealed word, by the imputation of an arbitrary, irreversible, and irrespective decree of eternal punishment, where pardon and mercy are proclaimed as glad tidings to repentant sinners, by the Lord of long-suffering to us-ward; who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance *;' 'who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth +."" "The Bible, although an inspired work, does not convey inspiration. The study of it must be prosecuted like every other object of buman research, and where apparent contradictions present themselves to our first perceptions, which will frequently be the case in enforcing the obligations of particular duties, they must, instead of being wrested' and torn from their context to create new and contending modes of interpretation, be reconciled by a consistent view of the whole tendency and bearings of the subject under investigation. No part or portion of revelation can have been made in vain; and the perfect will of God can be known only by analysing, comparing, and combining each separate and individual notice of the divine purpose, and embodying the result of our inquiry into a system which may safely and conscientiously be made the rule of Christian life. This is not the work of one man, or of one age. All human knowledge is progressive, and the labours of one generation form the basis of more extended information in those which succeed, and the comparison and balance of opinions thus collected, offer a second and no less laborious pro cess in the investigation necessary to arrive at sound and wholesome conclusions, more especially upon questions which embrace the eternal interests of the whole race of mankind. Aided and enlightened by such a process, in which learning, experience, prudence, judgment, and all the energies of a sound mind are scarcely less requisite than the zeal of piety, we arrive at the nearest approximation to truth which is open to human enquiry. Upon this principle that the Church of England, receiving the great body of evidence collected from the whole record of revelation, hath formed it, under the superintending care and tempered zeal of the eminently pious and learned fathers of our Esta blishment, into a code of institutes, sufficiently comprehensive to embrace all who profess the great distinguishing characteristics of the Gospel, and narrowed only to the exclusion of those whose principles militate against the doctrines of Christianity, and the clear and obvious purposes of revelation." To select all the striking passages, would be to transfer the whole Discourse into our pages; but the following is so much in unison with our feelings, that we are tempted to make one other extract: "Behold the estimation in which this country stands in the eye of Europe! It is not its conquests, its riches, its power, great and distinguished as these are, that have thrown round it the air and majesty which renders her the admiration of the world. It is its moral character, formed under its public institutions, and founded deep in the religious habits and principles of the people. Power, riches, conquest, are but the fruits of these; the result of education formed upon fixed principles and of rational liberty, which the people have been taught to revere, and have not yet surrendered to the withering touch of political innovation under the profession of reform." This Sermon is announced as a republication of the annual Sermon distributed by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge: but we believe the Society's Report is not likely to appear at present. And we may be permitted to suggest that so long a delay on a subject of immediate interest must be very detrimental to the cause. It may not be possible to bring forward the Report with more expedition; but, if the Sermon of the curReport of the year preceding, it rent year were published with the which increases annually with the would at once obviate a disadvantage annual extension of the venerable Society. 29. Harold the Exile, pp. 913. 3 vols. (Concluded from p. 154.) THE second volume of this Work is filled with repetitions of the charms of the Countess, who, as you may easily believe, is deeply in love with Harold, and consequently tries all the arts of a Syren, to make him break break with the ever-accomplished Gabrielle; and thereby seconds the views of the treacherous Berington, who, in short, marries the angelic Gabrielle, dissipates her large fortune, and uses her so ill, that she dies of a broken heart, after having pardoned Lord Harold, upon a mutual explanation, which takes place between them a few days before her death. Lord Harold, in consequence of promises made to Gabrielle on her death-bed, breaks off with the Countess of Marchmont; returns to London, and is now introduced by his mother to a Lady Emily, who, by the bye, has been for three years before desperately in love with him his mother intreats him to marry her, to which, after some hesitation, he consents, with the declaration, however, that he could never love her as he did Gabrielle, but would do his best to be a good and honest husband, and make her happy.' Unfortunately, Lady Emily's 'Mind was not formed for moderate enjoyment; with her it was either ecstacy or despair, rapture or agony, and her imagination, imbued with the romantic reveries of her favourite Rousseau, beheld no medium between the transports of passion and the cold feelings of indiffer ence. The ravings of a distempered fancy she regarded as the genuine language of love, and the idea of adoration was always associated in her mind with that of a beloved object." The consequence was, that "Lady Emily, who had expected to find an adoring and devoted husband in the object of her ardent attachment, was hurt at the tranquil and unimpassioned affection of Harold, which was rather displayed in his uniform tenderness and attention, than by sudden starts of fondness or expressions of admiration. Neither his time nor his thoughts were exclusively engrossed by her, nor did he entirely relinquish every intellectual study and manly exercise, because their pursuit included a temporary separation from his fair partner. Her society, indeed, was always welcome; but an unavoidable absence did not call forth from Harold any of those violent demonstrations of alternate regret and rapture, which are the criterion of affection in romantic minds. In the eyes of Lady Emily all this was a direct violation of the laws of Love, which required, in her opinion, an exclusive devotion to the beloved object, and her husband could not possibly feel that sentiment for her, since he was able to find pleasure or amusement from any thing in which she did not participate. "The visionary schemes of extatic bliss and rapturous tenderness, in which her romantic fancy had delighted to indulge, were now completely banished, and with a sensation of extreme uneasiness Harold quietude and discontent, and perceived beheld her lovely brow clouded by inthat nothing but her natural sweetness of temper enabled her to retain her usual appearance of good humour. Unconscious of any cause existing for such a change, he forbore for some time remarking it; but when he observed her cheerful gaiety of manners give place to silence and dejection, he could no longer refrain from enquiries, whose answer was a passion of tears, and an exclamation-That she was certain he did not love her!' "And what leads you to think so, ed at this abrupt assertion. Emily,' replied Lord Harold, much shock "Because people that really love are every thing to each other, and can have no idea of any separate and individual enjoyment. Now you, Harold, find many pleasures in which I have no share, while I have no satisfaction in any pursuit in which you do not participate. In this case, then, it plainly appears that it is I only who love.' "Harold in vain represented to her, that a mutual attachment was by no means incompatible with a difference of pursuit, or an observance of the common forms of society. Lady Emily was not to be convinced, and quoted a hundred absurd writers in support of an opinion as absurd, when, finding that argument on this point was unavailing, he gave up the attempt; but from that time he neither engaged in hunting, sporting, or any other diversion, which Lady Emily did not share, and to avoid the uneasy feelings occasioned him by seeing the latter expose herself to fatigues and inconveniences unsuited to her sex and delicacy, they were soon altogether relinquished." We have thought proper to give this long extract, which, in our opinion, explains perfectly well the nature of the quarrel, which has ended in the present separation of Lord Harold with his present wife. The remainder is occupied by a second episode, in which a gentleman of the name of Fitzabin gets into the conby Lord Harold, who, in a duel, fidence of Lady Emily; is suspected wounds him desperately, and, in his distress, applies again to the Countess of Marchmont, who takes advantage of his present troubles, and entraps him to a nocturnal rendez vous, where he is surprized by the Count her husband, who institutes a suit at law against him, and recovers 10,000l. This of course makes much noise, and brings Lady Emily and her friends to a final determination of offering to Lord Harold articles of of Lady separation. The letters Emily and her friends are written with high spirit; and the pride of our hero is so much wounded, that he resists the advice of his best friends, and sanctions the articles of separation. Here end the adventures of Harold the Exile. There are many incidental events besides; but they are hardly worth mentioning. As we have already exceeded our limits, we can only inform our Readers that the whole is well written, and shows, in a great many instances, that poetical enthusiasm in prose, which the Author knows well how to make use of in verse. 30. Aonian Hours, a Poem, in Two Cantos, with other Poems. By J. H. Wiffen. (Concluded from p. 152.) THE remembrance of the good and truly great Howard, who resided in the neighbourhood of the scene in which the Poem is laid, and which it appears he sometimes visited, is always grateful to the mind; not only for his devotion to the cause of suffering humanity, but also for the brightness of the example which he has left to others, to guide and animate them in the same difficult and divine pursuit; and particularly so, when presented in the habit of such language and sentiment, as the tribute conveyed in this Poem. We, however, prefer the noble stanzas on this subject, which conclude the volume, to those which have called forth the present remarks; and as they have been presented to the Publick in an interesting "Life of Howard," by J. B. Brown, Esq. we shall forego the pleasure of quoting them on the pre sent occasion. A lily of the valley is thus eloquently eulogized: LXIV. Around, to screen her from her suitor suns, once. LXV. Lock'd in the twilight of depending boughs Where nightingales repeat their marriage In naked gloominess the pilgrim stands, A statue on its marble pedestal, "Look on that flower-e daughter of Whose nervous limbs some unguess'd pas the vale, The Medicean statue of the shade! sions shake, [to ache. Where Grief seems to repose, or Agony |