ful union and co-operation which the society in question aims to attain, for all my prepossessions are the other way, but that I may put my fellow members on their guard, and point out the rock on which, if any where, we shall be likely to split.

Those who are acquainted with the ecclesiastical history of Massachusetts, and especially of the town of Boston, will not think that I am conjuring up a mere chimera. Seventy years ago, the clergy of that town, were generally and decisively orthodox: Mayhew and Chauncey were among the leaders, in the introduction of error. When heresy began to show itself, it was by no means with a bold front, and in its most offensive form; but in a gradual and insinuating manner. The practice of systematick exchanges, every Lord's day, among all the ministers of the town, had been long established, and was a favourite plan for attaining the double purpose of saving labour in the composition of sermons, and of promoting fraternal intercourse among the ministers themselves; and also between the clergy and the different congregations, who were, by the operation of this plan, gratified with frequently hearing all the pastors in the town in turn. When several of the pastors began to deviate from orthodoxy, this plausible and convenient plan of stated exchanges, was still continued; as well between the orthodox and the heretical, as between those who remained uncontaminated.--The consequence was, that the orthodox, when they went into the pulpits of those who preached error, not wishing to appear hostile or uncivil, got into the habit of choosing and discussing subjects, on all such occasions, in such a manner as to give no offence. And as these exchanges occurred, not only regularly, but very often, there was a temptation, on both sides, to avoid all close, doctrinal, discriminating preaching. In a In

a

little while, such preaching gradually went out of vogue on all hands.

The people became accustomed to a sort of sermons, which, while they were not heterodox, had no distinct, or strongly marked Christian character: in a little while, they ceased to have a taste for any other kind of preaching; and, at length, by a very natural course of things, having lost sight of the peculiar and most precious doctrines of the gospel, they were prepared for almost any extreme of error.

And I do not hesitate to give it as my decisive opinion, that, in all cases whatsoever, that plan which discourages, or banishes the undisguised, faithful preaching of the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, will be the means of banishing the knowledge and the love of those doctrines from the church, in direct proportion to the degree in which it prevails; and that where the mass of any congregation have been in the habit for twenty years together, of attending on this lax, indistinct, and undiscriminating sort of ministrations, they will be ready, at the end of that time, for Unitarianism, or for any other form of heresy that the grossest errorist may think proper to propose to them. I would ask no better preparation for introducing Socinian opinions into the most decisively orthodox church now on earth, than that their ministers, however pious, should go on for fifteen or twenty years together, to veil the truth under serious, but vague and indistinct preaching. At the end of that time, I should expect to have no trouble at all in attaining my purpose.

My queries, then, are such as these:-Will the structure of the tract society, and of all similar institutions, tend to make the tracts and other works which they circulate, vague, pointless, and but little adapted to instruct or impress their readers?-Is there not some danger that the happy spirit of union and

TRAVELS IN EUROPE FOR HEALTH IN 1820. BY AN AMERICAN CLERGYMAN, OF THE SYNOD OF PHILADEL

PHIA.

(Continued from p. 351.)

to

Genoese Brig, Mediterranean, April 6, 1820. My dear Friend, The progress of time, which is carrying empires to ruin, and hastening the final dissolution of the world itself, equally carries forward the humblest individuals in their career of life, and finishes the incidents that go make up the little history of their existence. The few weeks that have elapsed since the date of my last, have brought about my release from the irksome confinement which detained me so long, and so much against my will, at Messina. But in our world of hopes and wishes, rather than of enjoyment, one adverse occurrence very commonly only gives place to another. I have got free from the hardships of quarantine, but very undesirably have been compelled once more to embark on the ocean, and submit to the privations of shipboard; and that too in a vessel of such diminutive size and lumbered cargo, as puts comfortable accommodation out of the question. This is the allotment of Providence, in lieu of what my fond hopes had anticipated, viz. travelling the classick grounds of Italy, and gratifying my curiosity, by surveying all that is interesting in Rome. But shall I be dissatisfied? That is, shall I call in question the wisdom that planned the universe, and conducts all its operations; or shall I doubt the VOL. III.Ch. Adv.

goodness of Him, who "so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but enjoy everlasting life?" My wishes have indeed been thwarted, and my expectations disappointed; but if infinite wisdom and infinite goodness has done it, I may well change my discontent for rejoicing, assured

that all is as it should be.

But as my communications have assumed the shape of history, however much the dignity of subject is wanting, it will be proper to resume my narrative where my last left it, and give, in regular detail, the incidents which have issued in my present situation. I believe I did not inform you, that we had a chaplain in the Lazaretto, who said mass once a day through the week, and twice on the sabbath. He had a little chamber in the wall, with windows opening into the yard, in which he officiated, and around which the worshippers collected, falling on their knees, and uncovering their heads. Attendance during the service was altogether voluntary, and no regard was paid to those who absented themselves, or continued their diversions, which I often noticed, at a distance sufficient to avoid giving disturbance. The chaplain, during the service, was arrayed in most splendid vestments, that gave him a very imposing appearance. I have sometimes met with him, walking in the yard in his every day dress, which was rather shabby. He possessed a countenance remarkably indicative of good natured simplicity. Having

3 D

nothing to do, and being so much out of society, I was very willing to have scraped some acquaintance with this clerical step-brother, and on one occasion took the liberty to accost him in Latin. But either my very deficient expression of the language, or his ignorance of it, prevented him from understanding me. He made no attempt to reply, except in Italian, which was just as much an unknown tongue to me.

About two weeks before our quarantine expired, we underwent a fumigation, rather more ludicrous than comfortable; designed, I presume, to destroy any pestilential taint, that might still be lurking about our persons. One of the soldiers, who had been stationed on shipboard with us, and in consequence, had to perform quarantine before he could be readmitted into the city, was furnished with an iron pot, containing burning charcoal, with a paper of rosin, sulphur, and a variety of ingredients, but little allied to spicery. Having called us into a back apartment, and closed the door and window, by throwing some of the ingredients from time to time on the burning coals, the room was soon filled with a very dense and suffocating vapour. By squatting on the floor, I for a while was able to endure it. Fif teen minutes, we were told, was the time allotted for this purification. Before much more than the half of it had expired, I took the liberty of opening the door, and extricating myself from any hazard of suffocation, by going into the open air. The soldiers soon followed me, too glad, I believe, to be themselves released, to compel my return. Surely the good folks of Messina, by their sufferings at different times from the plague, must have been frightened almost out of rationality on the subject, to be induced to adopt such absurd and rigorous quarantine regulations, to prevent its return upon them. But the thing that astonishes me be

yond measure, is, that it should never come into their heads, to adopt any regulations favourable to cleanliness, among their preventives. Had it been the middle of summer, I would have been seriously afraid, that the amount and variety of filth, with which the place abounded, would of itself have generated some pestilential disorder. Once, during our stay in the Lazaretto, a physician inspected the health of the inhabitants, having them paraded before him in the yard: but any inspection of the state of the establishment as it regards cleanliness, I believe was never made, during this time. What the situation of things must have been, you may be able to guess, from the following statement, which, I believe, may be considered as a sample of what frequently took place. Mr. O, myself, two soldiers, and a labourer, who had all been on board the ship together, made what might be considered one family, occupying one house in the building. This house consisted of one large room below, and two above. The lower apartment being without a floor, and having a hearth without a chimney, was used chiefly for cooking. Mr. 0, and I, assumed the right of appropriating the front room above, to our exclusive use, assigning the back apartment, through which we had to pass to get below, to our companions. They, we observed on the first day of our residence in the place, commenced their housekeeping, with the practice of clearing their table, by discharging all its offal, the dish-water not excepted, on the brick floor. And, moreover, one of the soldiers, an old grey headed man, who gave evidence of being the victim of a class of vermin, equally disgusting with fleas, I observed in the evening, went no farther than the head of the stairs, to answer the call of nature. As our companions expected some perquisites for waiting on

us, we were able, by strong remonstrances, to bring about some better management. Filthiness, is, beyond a doubt, a part of the degradation, and, I may add, depravity, that belongs to fallen human nature: and no small amount of the physical evil to which man falls a prey, is the offspring of this very depravity. We need exceedingly, in our defiled world, the power of Christianity to make us clean. It is moreover, no small testimony, in favour of the gospel, that wherever it exerts its proper influence, it is found to purify the outward, as well as the inward man. A filthy people, can hardly be a truly religious people: they may be a superstitious people; like our old soldier, who at times appeared very devout, and through the night, kept a puny lamp burning before a tawdry picture of the Virgin Mary, probably to assist his prayers to her ladyship, for protection from pestilential disease.

Our consul had told us, that he thought he would be able to beg off a few days, in the rear of the forty, to which our quarantine had been fixed. Whether he failed in the attempt, or forgot to make it, I am not able to say; but it so happened, that it was two days over the pe; riod, before the much-wished for emancipation arrived-owing, I be lieve in part, to the difficulties that existed in arranging the disposal of us, when released. Long after we had been locked in our apartments, when it was quite dark, and all hope of deliverance for that day (the forty-second of our confinement) had expired, to our great joy, the consul arrived with a boat, to take us from the Lazaretto. Our joy however was soon damped, on being informed that he had failed to overcome the difficulty that existed on the subject of our passports. The government was peremptory in enforcing their regulations, and these regulations enacted, that all strangers, whose passports were not

countersigned by the Neapolitan consuls, at the place where they were granted, should be escorted by the police to the frontiers, and discharged as vagrants. Some relaxation in our favour, the consul had effected. He had prevailed upon Capt. U-, of Boston, whose ship lay at the wharf, to receive us on board with him, and with great generosity, to enter bail for our safe keeping-that we should not be allowed to come on shore, nor have any intercourse with the people on shore; and, moreover, that we should leave the place in eight days. Such were the best terms that could be obtained for us; and they were so great a mitigation of the original severity of the law, as to entitle us to accept them with thankfulness. But oh! how we felt the value of American liberty, now no longer enjoyed, which gives a stranger a right of admission, into the country, without the formality of a passport, and to protection while passing from one end of it to another, if he only conducts himself with propriety.

Our situation on board Capt. U- -'s ship we had reason to regard as a change much for the better, though we were still in confinement. We had here excellent accommodations for shipboard, a very orderly company, the captain much the gentleman, and very attentive to our comfort. I shall long feel myself under special obligations to this man, for his gentlemanly and very hospitable treatment, rendered without charge, in addition to the heavy responsibility, under which he came to the police for our safekeeping. "I was a stranger and ye took me in." I think I have a right to know a little better than I ever did before, the value of this item of Christian morality, which, when exercised from Christian motives, we are sure will at last meet with a special reward. Capt. U, however, I am afraid, is not a Christian. This I infer from his unhappy habits