Among his numerous good qualities, a hospitable temper was not the least engaging. Nothing could be more friendly and cordial than his reception of those visitors at Swansea, who were either previously known by him or recommended to his attentions.

A sister of this individual was the first wife of Mr. Phipson, surgeon, who resided for many years in London; himself a senior member of a family long and honourably associated with Protestant Dissenting congregations in the town of Birmingham. This lady died March 29, 1787.

Mr. Fletcher, a respectable manufacturer of that place, married another sister. He was father, by a former marriage, of the Rev. J. Fletcher, who having been educated first at Daventry, and, after some interval, at Hackney, was suddenly removed from the world, by an apoplectic seizure, in the midst of high promise and expectations. Let a companion of the studies of this young minister be permitted to speak of his excellent talents, principles and feelings, and of his distinguished industry and ardour. His memory was uncommonly retentive; making approaches to that of Dr. Furneaux. He could recollect with admirable exactness, not merely the substance, but the arrangement and the language of any long discourse or speech, to which his attention had been particularly given. The death of Mr. John Fletcher took place June 27, 1794; that of his mother-in-law, (once Miss Sarah Howell,) Jan. 28, 1804.

Her sister, Mary Howell, was the former wife of Mr. Joseph Rogers, the second son of a very estimable family in Birmingham, in the manufactures and trade of which he was long engaged, together with some of his relations. His apprenticeship had been served at Kettering, in Northamptonshire, where he was accustom ed to join in religious worship with the Independent congregation: hence, probably, he gained an attachment to the creed and discipline of that denomination of Nonconformists. He was

Mon. Repos. XVII. 286.

+ Letters to Blackstone, Pref, to 2nd ed. vi. vii.

a leading and exemplary member of the Society Meeting in Carr's Lane, Birmingham; zealous for what he deemed the purity of Christian faith, but equally zealous for the maintenance of practical religion. At the age of 70, and on July 20, 1811, he paid the debt of nature.

Mr. Samuel Rogers, his younger brother, also married a daughter of Mr. Howell, of Winson Green. Thus the two families were cemented to each other still more closely. It is not easy to represent in adequate language the hospitality and affection which marked the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Rogers. In the happiness of their numerous relatives and friends, they uniformly took the warmest interest. Their house, the abode of piety and order, was frequently visited by Dissenting ministers of their own connexion, and of other denominations in Birmingham, the vicinity, and from a distance. Like the late William Hunt, Esq.,* of the Brades, Mr. S. Rogers experienced more than usual pleasure in the company of such guests; and like that highly valuable man, he was "the Gaius + of his neighbourhood." Throughout the midland and eastern districts of the kingdom he was well known and much esteemed, as the punctual and upright tradesman. He expired June 25, 1820, within six months after the death of his consort, and little more than a month before that of his sister. §

Mrs. Mary Rogers, to whose decease a reference has just been made, maintained, through a life extended rather beyond the usual limit, a most consistent and well-proportioned, a most truly respectable and engaging character. A sound judgment, a correct taste, the purest affections and principles, aided by long experience, and adorned by perfect kindness of temper and propriety of manners, enabled her not only to be irreproachable and exemplary in her personal deportment, but to become the wise and faithful adviser of those around her; some of whom, now filling with ho

have not merely acquiesced in, but from age to age upheld by argument, the doctrine of the Trinity, and expressly repelled that of Unitarianism, if not as unscriptural, yet as lagging far short of the sum and substance of Revelation.

U. It is pretty obvious, however, that if there have been such occasions to uphold the doctrine by argument, the impugnment of it is not to be treated as an innovation, or, if you like the expression better, as a novelty, either of this or of the preceding generation. And could no names of at least equal celebrity with your champions be adduced, in support of an opposite conviction? No confessors? No martyrs? What, if I should surprise you with one unconsidered, but irresistible, authority?

T-One that you might think so! Still, the weight of such immense majorities might, if candour or modesty

P.S. I should feel obliged to any correspondent, who would assist me in a difficulty of recent occurrence. Although the great family of Christians has consisted of Gentiles, yet Jews were the first disciples of Jesus, and whatever numbers fell off at the crucifixion, a multitude continued stedfast, and many converts were made amongst them by the apostles. In course, they would be put out of the synagogues, and be under a necessity of associating separately, which would naturally produce intermarriages, and a kind or degree of insulated community. What became of them all and of their descendants? How is the striking fact accounted for that there are no Jewish Christians by descent? And where am I to find the latest historical notice of them?

B.

fluence in the scale.

U.-A decisive one?

T.-That, indeed, might be requiring too liberal a concession; but the solid and voluminous vindications

U.—Let me spare you the task of enumerating writers and their works, by admitting to the extent all that you are prepared to say of their superabundance and shrewdness. Pile their bulky tomes, like Pelion upon Ossa, to Heaven's gate, which they never can obstruct. I care not what glosses the schoolmen have put upon the Scriptures. They are open before us, our blessing and our guide. What has learning to do with the main question, the gospel having been preached, as it ought to be unceasingly, to the poor? Never has a plain subject been so confused by human trash as the sublime, but simple, doctrines of that gospel. I abandon all conjecture. I found myself upon knowledge-yes, securely but unvauntingly, -upon knowledge, and am at no loss what to denominate primitive Christianity. I know that Jesus was the first Christian. I know-whom he worshiped. I know-whom he taught and enjoined us to worship. And I know—that Jesus was a confirmed, a consistent and an exemplary Unitarian. T.-Mercy on us!

-

BREVIS.

No. II.

MRS. MORE AND MRS. BAR-
BAULD.

my last communication I expressed my intention of not noticing more of the works of Mrs. More, as I conceived that their plan and tendency were very similar to those of Practical Piety; but I have, since that time, been led to give particular attention to her Essay on St. Paul, which demands our consideration from its excellence, and from the rank it holds among works of the class of which I am now treating.

Great advantage may be gained from the attentive study of any one character, for "the noblest study of mankind is man." Eminent persons form the most interesting study. We love to observe in what respects we resemble them, and in what we differ from them, and to what their superiority is owing. We make ourselves one with them, learn to enter into their feelings, to understand their motives of action,-and while we thus feel, our admiration for their virtues and our regret for their failings may be attended with most beneficial effects upon our own hearts. If these are the consequences produced by biography in general, how worthy of attention must be the study of the mind,

character and history of such a man as the Apostle Paul! He is not raised so far above us as to prevent our taking him for an example. He was subject to error, exposed to the influence of strong passions, during the earlier part of his life, and he had not the privilege, enjoyed by the other apostles, of personal intercourse with our Saviour. We may, without reservation, take him for an example; and if, with this desire, we peruse the enlarged history of him, here presented to us, we may reap great advantage, for, to induce us to do this, was it written.

Mrs. More has in this work paid her usual attention to perspicuity and accuracy. She has divided her Essay into chapters, in each of which some characteristic quality of the apostle's mind is expatiated on. By this arrangement, his various and, as some think, incompatible virtues cause no confusion, but are each suffered to make a separate impression on the mind of the reader. One chapter is on his heavenly-mindedness, another on his attention to inferior concerns; one on his inflexible integrity, another on his respect for constituted authorities; thus shewing us that those qualities which are often deemed contradictory, may be beautifully blended in the Christian character without losing any of their original force. Our Authoress has done wisely in not laying so much stress on the doctrines of St. Paul as on his practical religion, the effects of which were exemplified in himself. He was obliged by his office, and by the circumstances which gave rise to his writings, to explain and to reason upon points of doctrine, but he invariably ended with a practical application of them. It is a great mistake to denominate him the writer on Faith, in distinction from James and others who are called writers on Good Works. What did Paul mean by the "faith" on which he wrote so much? Surely, not only the simple assent of the understanding to the doctrines and facts contained in the sacred records: he meant also the effect of this belief upon the heart, and its practical application as a rule of life; and, therefore, these two points, which are so often preached up in opposition to each other, have

an inseparable connexion, and should always be considered as depending on each other. Let us hear what Mrs. More says on this subject. "Let us close our frequent reference to St. Paul as a pattern for general imitation, by repeating one question illustrative of those opposite qualities which ought to meet in every Christian. If the most zealous advocate for spiritual influences were to select, from all the writers of sacred antiquity, the most distinguished champion of his great cause, on whom would he fix his choice? And if the most strenuous assertor of the duty of personal activity in moral virtue, were to choose from all mankind the man who most completely exemplified this character in himself, where must he search? Would not the two antagonists, when they met in the field of controversy, each in defence of his favourite tenet, find that they had fixed on the same man,-Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles? If, then, we propose him as our model, let us not rest till something of the same combination be formed in ourselves.”—II. 344.

Many of the reflections presented to us in this work on the different characteristics of the Apostle's mind, in all probability occur to all who read his writings with attention and interest; but they are, notwithstanding, highly useful; for instead of our impressions being weak and transitory, as they sometimes would be, they are made permanent and tangible by the manner in which they are connected together, and one virtue made to lead on to the consideration of others. "The most interesting part of his very diversified character," his tenderness of heart, is thus beautifully treated of: "Among the peculiarities of Christianity, it is one of the most striking, that they who, in scripture language, love not the world, nor the things of the world, are yet the persons in it who are farthest from misanthropy. They love the beings of whom the world is composed, better than he who courts and flatters it. They seek not its honours nor its favour, but they give a more substantial proof of affection, they seek its improvement, its peace, its happiness, its salvation..... St. Paul's zeal for the spiritual welfare of whole com

munities did not swallow up his ardent attachment to individuals, nor did his regard to their higher interests lead him to overlook their personal sufferings. He descends to give particular advice to one friend respecting the management of his health. In his grief for the sickness of another, and his joy at his recovery, he does not pretend to a feeling purely disinterested, but gratefully acknowledges that his joy was partly for his own sake, "lest he should have sorrow upon sorrow." These soft touches of sympathy for individuals particularly dear to him, in a man so likeminded with Christ, in the instances of Lazarus and John, are a sufficient refutation of the whimsical assertion of a lively genius, that particular friendships are hostile to the spirit of Christianity."-Vol. II. Chap. i.

Much more could I write on this subject, and many beautiful and striking passages could I adduce from this work, but my limits will not allow me to indulge my inclination. I must, therefore, here conclude my remarks on the productions of Mrs. More, convinced that my readers will concur with me in a feeling of gratitude for the services she has rendered to religion by her literary labours. I trust she has already received part of her reward in the knowledge of the utility of her efforts; for I am convinced that no one can rise from the attentive perusal of her works, without feeling that his conscience has been awakened, his sensibilities touched, and his heart, for a time at least, made better. If the brief notice which I have taken of her productions should lead any to a more careful study of them, the chief purpose for which it was written will have been answered.

It is now my duty to take a cursory view of some of the few-too few fruits of the genius of our first living female poet, Mrs. Barbauld. Her powerful eloquence, her chaste enthusiasm, and her devotional feelings, make such an impression on her readers, that deep is the regret they feel, that her powers of writing should not have been more frequently employed. Nor is this regret felt only by those whose love and respect for her private character lead them to look with partial interest on the productions of her

pen. Who is there, of whatever sect or party, that has read her Essay on the Inconsistency of Human Expectations, her Address to the Deity, her Summer Evening's Meditation, her Thoughts on Devotional Taste, who does not long for more of the eloquent, elevated and tender breathings of such a mind? Her Thoughts, &c. includes some remarks on sects and establishments, a subject though so often treated of, yet not exhausted. We shall see how the one subject leads on to the other. The Essay begins with stating religion to be considered under three different views:as a system of opinions, in which the faculty of reason is employed; as a principle regulating the conduct, when it becomes a habit; and, lastly, as a taste, in which sense it is properly called devotion. The Authoress then proceeds to give the following description of the spirit of devotion.

"There is a devotion, generous, liberal and humane, the child of more exalted feelings than base minds can enter into, which assimilates man to higher natures, and lifts him above this visible diurnal sphere.' Its pleasures are ultimate, and when early cultivated, continue vivid even in that uncomfortable season of life when some of the passions are extinct, when imagination is dead, and the heart begins to contract within itself. Those who want this taste, want a sense, a part of their nature, and should not presume to judge of feelings to which they must ever be strangers. No one pretends to be a judge in poetry or the fine arts, who has not both a natural and a cultivated relish for them; and shall the narrow-minded children of earth, absorbed in low pursuits, dare to treat as visionary, objects which they have never made themselves acquainted with? Silence on such subjects will better become them. But to vindicate the pleasures of devotion from those who have neither taste nor knowledge about them, is not the present object. It rather deserves our inquiry, what causes have contributed to check the operation of religious impressions amongst those who have steady principles, and are well disposed to virtue." Among the causes which operate to check the spirit of devotion, are mentioned, the