ness in preaching, avoiding country squires, visiting the poor, attention to their children, a slight acquaintance with surgery, a moderate love of books, with tolerance of spirit, and an abstinence from politics, as among the qualities to be principally desired in a country clergyman. This sort of outline seems, in the general estimation, to constitute the great sublime" of clerical excellence. By a respectable clergyman" is currently understood one who is regular in his morals, decorous in his manners, loyal in his politics, and who possesses a competent share of learning for the ordinary duties of his station. But excellent as are these and other qualities, without which the clerical character would certainly be incomplete, there are still higher virtues which, though unknown to the thoughtless part of the world, are yet essential to him who is emphatically denominated, " an ambassador for Christ," and a "steward of the mysteries of God." A spirit of devotion, which does not enter into the above enumeration, ought in fact to be the most marked and prominent feature of a clergyman's character. Whether, to use the language of the primitive Herbert, it be "the parson praying," or " the parson preaching,"" the parson in his house," ""the or" in his church," or "in his circuit," whether "arguing" or "comforting," whether "in

mirth" or "in contempt," he must still be "spiritually-minded:"" the life which he lives. in the flesh he must live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him."

It would be quite superfluous to remark, that a clergyman, if he would promote either the extension of devotion or the honour of the church, must abstain from all doubtful employments and unprofessional recreations. The very heathens demanded sacrifices like these from those who ministered at their idolatrous altars. The apostate Julian, as cited by the historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, thus describes what should be the character of Pagan priests :-" Their humility should be shewn in the plainness of their domestic garb. When they are summoned to officiate before the altar, they should not, during the appointed number of days, depart from the precincts of the temple; nor should a single day elapse without the prayers and the sacrifice which they are obliged to offer for the prosperity of the state and of individuals. The exercise of their sacred function requires an immaculate purity both of body and mind; and even when they are dismissed from the temple to the occupations of private life, it is incumbent on them to excel in decency and virtue the

rest of their fellow-citizens. The priest of the gods should never be seen in theatres or taverns his conversation should be chaste, his diet temperate, and his friends of honourable reputation his studies should be suited to the sanctity of his profession; licentious tales, or comedies, or satires, must be banished from his library, which ought solely to consist of historical and philosophical writings,-of history which is founded in truth, and of philosophy which is connected with religion. The impious opinions of the Epicureans and Sceptics deserve his abhorrence and contempt; but he should diligently study the systems of Pythagoras, of Plato, and of the Stoics, which unanimously teach, that there are gods, that the world is governed by their providence, that their goodness is the source of every temporal blessing and that they have prepared for the human soul a future state of rewards or punishments."

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But to the Christian minister it ought to be

"sacrifice," or at least a voluntary and delightful one, to abstain from those vain or vicious pursuits which are followed with such avidity by the great body of mankind. Where the soul is intensely devoted to God, and the thoughts are engrossed with the concerns of eternity, to live in some measure above the vanities of the world will be a necessary con

sequence. The affections, the conversational intercourse, and the whole deportment of a man thus divinely influenced, will indicate a renovated and spiritual state of mind; that "transformation," of which the sacredwriters so often speak, and which they so forcibly contrast, not merely with gross vice, but with a general spirit of worldly conformity. And if private Christians are thus to live" a life of faith;" to be "crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts;" to be cultivating a hallowed communion with the "God and Father of our spirits," and to be growing in all the holy and self-denying graces of the Christian character; how much more powerful is the argument when applied to the ministers of Christ, whose duty and privilege it is to be in a peculiar manner "ensamples to the flock?” Spiritual mindedness" is a sacred virtue little known to the mass of those who "profess and call themselves Christians;" but it is one for the absence of which nothing can compensate, especially in a minister of religion. Learning, benevolence, and the largest catalogue of other virtues cannot form a character such as that of St. Paul, for example, without a deep infusion of this all-pervading element. Secularity is the bane of a Christian church; and where it exists it will "eat as doth a canker." We have much to fear from it in our own communion :

it is therefore of the highest moment that all who value our truly primitive and apostolic form of doctrine and church government, and especially the clergy, who are the guides and examples of others, should evidence, by the elevated piety of their lives, that the sobriety which characterises our Established Church, is not by any means adverse to the most fervent spirit of devotion; and that while it powerfully tends to extinguish the mere meteor of a false and ostentatious profession, it is equally efficacious for the nourishment of genuine piety, and for cherishing the ripest and the richest fruits of a holy and devout life.

In thus adverting to the necessity of deep and fervent devotion for maintaining and increasing the honour, stability, and influence of the Established Church, the author has but echoed the sentiments of many of our most eminent divines. The following monitory remarks from the pen of Bishop Horsley will strengthen the preceding observations, and will shew how closely that distinguished prelate was accustomed to connect the interests of the National Church with a spirit far surpassing what he denominates "a frigid decency of character" in her functionaries. "The promise of perpetual stability," observes the Bishop, "is to the church catholic: it affords no security to any particu