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venture upon that gentleman, until you shall have satisfactory proof of his being a servant of God. If that should ever be the happy case, I entreat you not to refuse him on my account. I replied, that I hoped no consideration would induce me to accept of any person for a husband, who I had the least reason to think was not a Christian.

I cannot add any thing more, except that your niece de sires her duty to you, and that I continue, dear Madam, Your sincere friend,

And very humble servant,

EUSEBIA NEVILLE.

LETTER XXII.

From Miss Miranda Barnwell to Mrs. Worthington.

MY DEAR AUNT,

WHEN we consider the troubles and disquietudes of

life, what reason we have to bless our God and Father, that he has made our days but as a hand-breadth, and that our continuance in this porch of our existence is comparatively as nothing before him. With regard to myself, my happiness would have almost vanished, had it not been that I can go to a throne of grace, and, through the mediation of my Saviour, receive those inestimable blessings, peace of conscience, contentment with my lot, and an assurance that I shall be safely conducted to the regions of immortality.

Eusebia has informed you, Madam, that my father is married, and that I have been at the Abbey.

Miss Neville and father Albino behaved with civility to me the few hours I was there, and even desired me to stay, but as I had seen my dear friend, I thought it best

I saw Thomas and his wife, who are well, and desire their respects to their benefactress. They reside in a neat little thatched cottage with two rooms on a floor. I do not think I ever saw any persons equally happy. They live chiefly on barley bread and milk; which, where there is a good appetite, and a stomach undepraved by luxury, is an excellent food. I liked their house better than our own. A dwelling which has twenty times more room than we can occupy, seems to me to be of no more use than a grave twenty times too large for our coffin: nay, I think a great house a great evil; because, like every other advantage, real or imaginary, it is apt to produce pride, and to make us think of ourselves above what we ought to think. My station is likely to be very low in this life; but if my God bring my mind to a level with my condition, it is all that I desire. I trust he is daily teaching me not to envy the prosperous state of the wicked, nor to imagine that any are happy but those who are interested in his favour.

We have had many visitors to congratulate my father and Mrs. Barnwell on their marriage. How often have I wished to be with our friend Thomas and his wife. My habitual silence will, I suppose, be imputed to discontent. But, in fact, the conversation is generally upon such subjects as are either idle and uninteresting, or sinful.

Miss Louisa Pink is a great talker; and religion now and then comes in for some of her remarks. I find that she and my mother and Mr. Pink are Socinians, or (as they call themselves) Unitarians. When we were at tea this afternoon, I hope, Miss Barnwell, said she, you are not one of those wrong-headed people, who insist upon it that three are one, and that one is three.

The flighty manner in which she said this and other things, made me reply, that such important subjects deserved to be treated with a greater degree of seriousness. I added, that it was my desire to maintain those doctrines only which had been maintained by the prophets and apos

tles.

Undoubtedly, said Mr. Pink, religious subjects, when

ever they are introduced, ought to be treated with seriousness. But I think, Miss Barnwell, your good sense will not admit the notion of a plurality of Gods.

You quite mistake the matter, Sir, interrupted my father; when any one commences a profession of religion, he discards good sense, and even common sense: the greater the absurdity the more meritorious the faith. This girl of mine, before she associated with Presbyterians, was inferior to no one in good sense: but now, for a week together, I do not hear her say an agreeable or sensible thing.

There is enough, Sir, replied Mr. Pink, in the church of England, to find fault with; and Miss Barnwell, I doubt not, is able to assign sufficient reasons for her dissent As to myself, if there were a dissenting minister of my sentiments in the neighbourhood, I would not go to hear such a farrago of inconsistencies as the Common Prayer. And I think it a great hardship on the clergy, to be obliged to swear that they give their assent and consent to every thing contained in that book: it is to require perjury from the teachers of a divine morality, of which perjury their conscience must accuse them every time they read it. It is true, I go to church; but I never join in those parts of the worship which I think blasphemous.

Indeed, Sir, answered my father, you are more curious than I am. I never gave myself any concern about it; and I dare say ninety-nine out of a hundred of the clergy know as little, and think as little about the matter as I do,

Some conscientious men, Sir, said Mr. Pink, have resigned their preferments in the church, because they would not wound their consciences by reading the Athanasian and Nicene creeds, and many absurd passages in various parts of the service.

I firmly believe, cried my father, that the great body of them regard these things no more than I do and it is well they do not; for how could they help themselves? The church was as much intended to be a decent provision for the younger branches of the nobility, and gentry, as the

army and navy. They consider it simply in that light and if they were commanded to swear before induction, that they believed the tale of Bel and the Dragon, they would not scruple to do it. As long, however, as Sunday is set apart by the state to give a little rest to servants and horses, I would have every one go to his parish church: it would prevent a great deal of drunkenness, as well as hedge-breaking and poaching.

I thought, Sir, said Mr. Pink, that I was not above half a churchman; but you seem to have a worse opinion of the clergy than I have.

By no means, replied my father; they are as honest and learned a body as any in Europe: but they are men; and why should we expect them to possess a nature different from our own? If I had been educated for the church, do you think any one should have invented a creed that would have kept me out of it? Indeed he should not: and the clergy in general are of my mind. The sin lies at the door of those who impose creeds and subscriptions, as I have frequently heard the clergy observe. They are not blameable who are obliged to subscribe them; I say, obliged to subscribe them; for if eating and drinking be ne cèssary, subscription is necessary also.

Surely, Sir, said Mr. Pink, you forget that in the beginning of the reign of Charles II. more than two thousand ministers, rather than declare upon oath their assent and consent to every thing contained in the new servicebook, left the church. Indeed, a great number of them, before they had an opportunity of seeing it, were compelled either to take the oath I have mentioned, or to resign their benefices. They chose to do the latter, which proves that there have been conscientious men among the clergy.

If, Sir, replied my father, none could have been found to supply their place, there would have been more force in your argument But how many do you suppose could be persuaded to give up their livings now? Instead of two thousand, Í dare say not two of a thousand. The clergy now, like other people, attend to the main chance; and

they are in the right. Their education gives them the rank of gentlemen: and ought it to be expected that they should give up every thing and become beggars?

And pray, Miss Barnwell, cried Mr. Pink, do you think they act rightly in subscribing what they do not believe?

Yes, Sir, replied I, if Christianity is only a fable, invented by legislators and priests for the benefit of the younger branches of the nobility and gentry, which seems to be taken for granted. I acknowledge that there is such a kind of Christianity, which, with its teachers and hearers, has not been badly described.

If you, Madam, said Mr. Pink, had given such a description of the clergy, I should not have wondered: but that Mr. Barnwell, who is so zealous a churchman, should entertain no better an opinion of them, surprises me not a little.

Notwithstanding, Sir, replied I, my sentiments are in favour of a dissent from the church of England, and indeed from every other established church, yet I have a better opinion of a considerable part of her clergy than my father seems to have. I think that many of them entertain no doubt concerning the truth of what they have subscribed; and that many of the rest sigh and groan in secret, because they are obliged continually to countenance doctrines which they suppose to be false.

That is very true, Madam, said Mr. Pink. Really, Mr. Barnwell, continued he, your daughter understands these things well, I assure you.

I wish, replied my father, she understood obedience to her parent. Let her learn that in the first place. But I am sorry to say that this makes no part of her religion.Thus ended the conversation.

The want of respect from churchmen towards the clergy results from the very nature of a religious establishment. Those two grand bonds of affection are wanting, Free Choice, and Voluntary Support. The primitive Christians chose their pastors, (which practice continued during the three first centuries,) and voluntarily ministered to

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