Mr. URBAN,

THE

Jan. 20. HE Unitarians, or at least that portion of the sect who term themselves Freethinkers, appear to be getting weary of that quiet obscurity into which they have hitherto been involved, and to have become very anxious to attract public attention to themselves and their doctrines, and in pursuit of that laudable object (the attainment of notoriety), having lately taken to protesting against the injury done to their consciences by being compelled to acquiesce in the Marriage ceremony of the Established Church, and on two late occasions, have caused considerable delay and confusion in the performance of Divine service in consequence. It is to be hoped, however, that if such kind of protests be again offered, that no illfounded pity for their supposed scruples of conscience will be suffered to prevail, or rather to avert that just contempt and indignation which such conduct is calculated to excite, when viewed in its proper light. It is but justice however to say, that on both the late occasions of protests being offered against the performance of the Marriage Ceremony, the officiating clergyman (but especially the Rev. Dr. Rice) displayed a proper sense of the indecency, and a fixed determination to resist it as far as possible.

These Freethinkers, it appears, entertain very strong objections against the Marriage Ritual of the Church of England; they consider that the invocation of the Trinity is impiety of the most dreadful kind, as elevating to the rank of Deity a mere human being, and paying divine honours to this human being, and to a third personage, whom they conceive to be the creature of fancy or mistake. Now even upon this objection, without taking into account those of a minor description, can we suppose that these men really do hold this opinion? or if they do, what idea can we form of their consciences, if they will, to secure any advantages whatever, deliberately and publicly repudiate this doctrine; nay, according to their view of the subject, commit positive and direct blasphemy. We must entertain the same opinion of them that we should of a professed believer in the divinity of our Saviour who should, under any circumstances,

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or for any purpose, deny the Godhead of his Redeemer, or the personality of the Holy Spirit; namely, that his pretensions to particular tenderness of conscience was base hypocrisy, that he possessed one of those placid consciences which never do their possessors any harm, and that, consequently, he was far, very far from being entitled to respect or even compassion.

Let these people be treated with the contempt they merit, if they should again present themselves to libel the ordinancy, and vilify the belief of the Church of England. Let them be told that the fathers of that Church were men who despised and forsook all worldly advantages, honours, or possessions, rather than act contrary to the dictates of their consciences-that they were content to be driven from their families, exiled from their country, nay even to lay down their lives at the stake, rather than offend the monitor within, rather than to acquiesce in tenets they denied, or submit to ordinances they disallowed. And let them be told, that the Church of England, at the present day (and not merely the Church of England, but all classes of Christians), refuses and rejects the claims of any man to peculiar tenderness of conscience, who will not do likewise; that it considers their protests in the light of deliberate insults, not however worthy of being resented otherwise than by reminding them how little they resembled the founders of the Protestant faith, to whom they affect to compare themselves.

Let it not be forgotten, by the Freethinkers, or any other persons who may affect to entertain conscientious scruples in regard to the Marriage Ritual of the Church of England, that if they chose to take a trip to Scotland, or even to cross the British Channel, they might be united in matrimony without giving their assent to the obnoxious doctrines they complain of, as marriage may be now contracted as a civil contract, without any profession of religious belief; and that the law of England recognises the validity of such marriages to the fullest extent. If, therefore, the Freethinkers choose to sacrifice their consciences rather than a few pounds, let them do so in silence, lest they provoke contempt rather than sympathy.

R. H.

1826.

To those who have seen the Juvenal of this highly-gifted man, the captivating piece of autobiography prefixed to that work must necessarily be familiar; and indeed on its first appearance in 1802, we gave a short epitome of it in vol. LXXXII. ii. 897. At the same time we think no apology necessary for our making, on this appropriate occasion, some more extensive extracts. In pe rusing that exceedingly interesting narrative, it is difficult to say which is most entitled to our admiration, the writer's manly candour in unfolding his humble origin, or his genuine modesty in veiling his acquired eminence, Mr. Gifford was of a Devonshire family, and was born at Ashburton in that county in April 1756. His ancestry he could trace no further than to his great-grand-father, who resided at Halsbury near that town, and was possessed of considerable property. This, however, his son and grandson entirely dissipated, and, at the period when Mr. Gifford entered the world, his mother was living alone on very scanty resources, his father having lately gone to sea as second in command of the Lyon transport. He did not return till 1764; and then, after having for about three years unprofitably carried on his business as a painter and glazier, sunk from intemperance into the grave, whither his widow followed him within a twelvemonth. "She was," says her son, "an excellent woman, bore my father's infirmities with patience and good humour, loved her children dearly, and died at last, exhausted with anxiety and grief,more on their account than her own."

Mr. Gifford was thus left an orphan when not quite thirteen, with a brother hardly two, "and we had not," be says, a relation or friend in the world." His brother was consigned to the alms-house, and after a short life of hardship and suffering, died a youth. He was himself at first taken to the GENT. MAG. Fbruary, 1827.

house of a person named Carlisle, who, for money advanced to his mother, had taken possession of all her effects, and who was also his godfather. William Gifford had in his father's life-time, though to little profit, spent three years at the free-school, and his godfather, from "respect for the opinion of the town," now sent him again, and he studied with greater diligence, With the expense of this, however, Carlisle was soon tired, and after three months he removed his godson, and began to look round for some opportunity of ridding himself of a useless charge. Having been unsuccessful in persuading the boy to follow the plough, he

appears to have determined on some maritime employment for him, An arrangement was made that he should be fitted out to assist in a Newfoundland store-house, but the merchant on seeing him, pronounced him to be "too small;" and so humbled were his prospects after this, that his godfather next proposed to apprentice him in one of the Torbay fishing-boats. The matter was, however, compromised by his consenting to go on board a small coaster belonging to Brixham, and thither he went when little more than thirteen.

"In this vessel," he says, "I continued nearly a twelvemonth; and here I got acquainted with nautical terms, and contracted a love for the sea which a lapse of thirty years has but little diminished. It will be easily conceived that my life was a life of hardship. I was not only a ship-boy on the high and giddy mast,' but also in the cabin, where every menial office fell to my lot: yet if I was restless and discontented, I can safely say it was not so much on account of this, as of my being precluded from all possibility of reading; as my master did not possess, nor do I recollect seeing during the whole time of my abode with him, a single book of any description, except the Coasting Pilot.

"As my lot seemed to be cast, however, I was not negligent in seeking such information as promised to be useful; and I therefore frequented, at my leisure hours, such vessels as dropt into Torbay On attempting to get on board one of these, which I did at midnight, I missed my footing, and fell into the sea. The floating away of the

boat alarmed the man on deck, who came to the ship's side just in time to see me sink. He immediately threw out several ropes, one of which providentially (for I was unconscious of it,) intangled itself about me, and I was drawn up to the surface, till a boat could be got round. The usual methods were taken to recover me, and I awoke in bed the next morning, remembering nothing but the horror I felt, when I first found myself unable to cry out for assistance. This was not my only escape, but I forbear to speak of them. An escape of another kind was preparing for me."

This was an alteration in the conduct of his godfather, who, to allay a murmuring which had arisen amongst the townspeople, had now determined to recal him from his degraded situation, and restore him to school. This, as he wanted some months of fourteen, and was not yet bound apprentice, was easily effected; and " my heart," he continues, "which had been cruelly shut up, now opened to kinder sentiments, and fairer views."

"After the holidays I returned to my darling pursuit, arithmetic: my progress was now so rapid, that in a few months I was at the head of the school, and qualified to assist my master, Mr. E. Foulong, on any extraor dinary emergency. As he usually gave me a trifle on those occasions, it raised a thought in me, that, by engaging with him as a regular assistant, and undertaking the instruction of a few evening scholars, I might, with a little additional aid, be enabled to sup port myself. God knows, my ideas of support at this time were of no very extravagant nature. I had, besides, another object in view. Mr. Hugh Smerdon, my first Master, was now grown old and infirm; it seemed unlikely that he should hold out above three or four years; and I fondly flattered myself that, notwithstanding my youth, I might possibly be appointed to succeed him. I was in my fifteenth year, when I built these castles. storm, however, was collecting, which unexpectedly burst upon me, and swept them all away.

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"On mentioning my little plan to Carlisle, he treated it with the utmost contempt; and told me, that, as I had learned enough at school, he must be considered as having fairly discharged his duty; he added, that he had been

negotiating with his cousin, a shoemaker of some respectability, who had liberally agreed to take me without a fee, as an apprentice. I was so shocked at this intelligence, that I did not remon strate; but went in sullenness and si lence to my new master, to whom was soon after bound, till I should at tain the age of twenty-one.

"As I hated my new profession with a perfect hatred, I made no progress in it; and was consequently little regarded in the family, of which I sunk by degrees into the common drudge: this did not much disquiet me, for my spirits were now humbled. I did not, however, quite resign the hope of one day succeeding to Mr. Hugh Smerdon, and therefore secretly prosecuted my favourite study, at every interval of leisure. These intervals were not very frequent; and when the use I made of them was found out, they were rendered still less so. 1 could not guess the motives for this at first; but at length I discovered that my Master destined his youngest son for the situation to which I aspired.

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"I possessed at this time but one book in the world: it was a treatise on Algebra, given to me by a young woman, who had found it in a lodg ing-house. I considered it as a treasure; but it was a treasure locked up; for it supposed the reader to be well acquainted with simple equation, and I knew nothing of the matter. My master's son had purchased Fenning's Introduction this was precisely what I wanted; but he carefully concealed it from me, and I was indebted to chance alone for stumbling upon his hiding-place. I sat up for the greatest part of several nights successively, and before he suspected that his treatise was discovered, had completely mastered it. I could now enter upon my own; and that carried me pretty far into the science. This was not done without difficulty. I had not a farthing on earth, nor a friend to give me one; pen, ink, and paper, therefore, (in despite of the flippant remark of Lord Orford,) were, for the most part, as completely out of my reach as a crown and sceptre. There was, indeed, a resource; but the utmost caution and secrecy were necessary in applying to it. I beat out pieces of leather as smooth as possible, and wrought my problems on them with a blunted awl; for the rest, my memory was te