it's own Witness, aside, owing to what you said against Establishments in the preface.' F. Why, Sir, could you not have construed it as the British Critic has?' 1 C. 'How is that?' F. 1 think they say to this effectThe Author protests against Establishments of Christianity for political purposes: but as ours assuredly is not for such ends, he cannot mean that; and therefore we recommend it to our readers. Both replied, 'We apprehend they construed you more favourably than you deserved."' F. Well, it seems then I should have put it at the end instead of the beginning of the book.' 1 C. I see you do not approve of Establishments. F. I do not Sir.' 1 C. Well I am persuaded we are greatly indebted to ours.' F. The friends of Christ would be such without it.' 1 C. True, but the enemies would not be kept in such decency.' F. I was riding last night from

to

with a drunken sea-officer: passing through, he pointed to the cathedral, and said, 'That is our relision.... we are all for relision!' 2 C. Ah, that was honey to you.' F. I felt for the poor man.' 2 C. You think hard of Bishop Horsley? F. I do.' 2 C. 'I think his remarks about Sunday schools have been made too much of; he does not condemn the institution, but the abuse of it.' F. He represents village preaching as a political measure, and as pursued by the same men as for

merly cried up rationality, which is absolutely 1 false.' 1 C. He had heard some things of Dissenters.' F. Yes, and I have heard some things of Yorkshiremen.' 2 C. 'What, that they are bites!' F. Well, and would be it fair to condemn all the natives of that county upon hearsay? 1 C. He is a man of a bad temper.' F. I have heard that he is, after all, an infidel; : I do not know how true that may be; but he is a violent man, and full of misrepresentation.' 1 C. 'What he has said of the body of the Dissenters being turned from Calvinism, is true of the old Dissenters: those that you now call the body of your people have come from the Church.' F. That may be true in part, especially respecting the Presbyterians, but not of the Independents or Baptists-and we can account for the decline of Presbyterianism in England on the ground of their Pædo-baptism.' [All laughed, as though they should say, Bravo! How is that?] F. The old orthodox English Presbyterians made so much of their seed, and the dedication of them to God, as they called it, by baptism, that, presuming on their conversion, they sent them to seminaries of learning, to be ministers before they were Christians; and as they grew up, being destitute of any principle of religion, they turned aside to any thing rather than the gospel. The effect of this was, some of the people, especially the young and graceless, followed them; the

rest have become Independents or Baptists.' 1 C. All your old places that were opened at the Revolution are now Socinianized.' F. "The Presbyterian places are mostly so; but we do not mind the places being Socinians, as long as the people have left them. As to the body of our people coming from the Church, it is little more than fifty years since the Church was almost destitute of serious ministers and people; yet there were at that time, perhaps, nearly as many serious Dissenters as now.

Conversation on Doctrine.

First C. There are different shades of Cal

vinism I suppose amongst you.' F. Yes, there are three by which we commonly describe, namely, the high, the moderate, and the strict Calvinists. The first are, if I may so speak, more Calvinistic than Calvin ́ himself; in other words, bordering on Antinomianism.' 1.C. Have you many of these?' F. Too many.' 1 C. Do they not reckon you a legal preacher? F. Yes, at this very time, I am represented through the religious circles of London, as an Arminian.' 1 C. On what ground?' F. What I have written in a note in the Gospel it's own Witness.' 1 C. ‘I remember that note. I and my friends approve of it, and think it agrees with the doctrine held by our church. But what do you call a moderate Calvinist?' F. One that is a half

Arminian, or, as they are called with us, Baxterians.' 1 C. And what a strict Calvinist? F. One that really holds the system of Calvin. I do not believe every thing that Calvin taught, nor any thing because he taught it; but I reckon strict Calvinism to be my own system.'

I think the following instance of his sound judgment and inflexible integrity well worth recording.

A preacher, (1 shall not say at what place or time,) had fallen into temptation. Brother Fuller, Sutcliff, and another worthy minister, whom I shall not name, lest it should prove a clue to the whole story, were consulted by some of the principal people, on which Mr. F. wrote thus.

“He is, I find, very open, and has not been guilty of completing the crime; but what he has done he allows was 'foolish and wicked.' It is so much divulged that there is no hope of it's being concealed. He professes to have repented, and to have received divine forgiveness. Some seemed inclined to restore him to his work on that ground. At present he is only silenced by desire of some of the chief friends to the cause, without any church act. Mr. seemed to lean to his restoration. He alleged that the minister was a man of spirit, and considering himself as a penitent, and as called to the work of the ministry, he would preach some

where, if not in the old place of worship, yet probably in the neighbourhood, and thus would divide the church. He himself had said he could divide the church, &c. I replied, suppose he has repented, yet there is a sort of atonement necessary in cases of public scandal. I endeavoured to argue from Num. xii. 14. If her father had but spit in her face, &c. and from the case of the Corinthian fornicator, concerning whom Paul determined what should be done, without any proviso concerning his penitence: also from the case of David, that seeing he had sinned publicly and dishonoured God's name, God would bear testimony against him, before the sun. In short, the same arguments that would prove the insufficiency of repentancé without an atonement to God, would prove the point in hand. But, in the second place, it seemed to me doubtful whether he did repent. I did not like his talking of his repentance, nor yet of his having received divine forgiveness, and still less his saying that he could divide the church. My advice was therefore, Try the sincerity of his repentance, at the same time that you bear open testimony against what cannot be kept secret. If he repent, he will not divide the church; if he attempt it, infamy will cover him, and you will be justified. If he be of a proper spirit, he may be restored; and if you should be provided with a minister, he may go elsewhere. If you cover it over now, it will