In his Autobiography Leigh Hunt admonishes his colaborators of the literary guild not to care for original compositions, inventions, theories of their own, which the many would be slow to apprehend. "Stick," says he, "to the works of others. Write only in magazines and reviews; or, if you must write things of your own, compile, tell anecdotes, reproduce memoirs and topographies. Repeat in as many words of your own as you can other men's criticisms. Do any thing but write to the few-and grow rich." If this be irony-and to suspect that it is not would only argue our own intellectual opacity-it is an irony that we very much admire. We fear, however, that it has been taken by some for honest advice, to be taken in its most literal sense. If in the common walks of literature such a practice as the one thus satirized is provocative of indignant dissent, surely we may enter a protest against its being accepted as in accordance with the canons of homiletic literature. The need of such a protest meets us in quarters in which we have not been accustomed to confront charlatanry of any kind.

An influential paper, representing one of the oldest and wealthiest denominations in the United States, in discussing the "degree and manner in which young ministers may profit from other men's labors," enters into a labored argument to prove "that it is lawful to avail ourselves of other men's labors in the discharge of our office; and that it is a duty incumbent especially on young and inexperienced ministers to do so." Unless they do so, they are told that "their ministry, after having attained, perhaps, a temporary popularity, will become dull, monotonous, and wearisome." The conscience of this ecclesiastical mentor does not seem to have been entirely dead, for he does say, before sending off them inisterial novitiate on his bunt for whole or broken meat, "In quoting passages, it may be well to intimate that you are quoting, though it may not be necessary to mention in the pulpit the name of the author from whom the quotation is taken." It were impossible, in our opinion, to have given more vicious advice.

The enormity of offenses against literary fair dealing is, of course, affected by the status of the criminal convicted. If the President of the United States was detected in pilfering from the pocket of a poor, dependent, and defenseless negro, even though it were but his corn-cob pipe, it would excite an aver

sion which we could never feel for the negro, though he should be caught in the act of filching the President's purse. So when a man apparently endowed with all intellectual gifts, stoops to plunder, it may be from some poor unknown, he puts himself below ordinary contempt. When Macaulay criticises the author of "Satan, a Poem," and shakes the dusty Turkey carpet about his ears, and then convicts him of the grossest plagiarism, we do not feel that pang of revulsion which we should have felt had the charge been brought against some one of our enshrined gods of gold. Montgomery being only very common clay, we can bear to see him splashed, and even remorselessly shoved into the gutter, by the critic's dashing chariot, without being either enraged or shocked out of measure.

Disraeli attributes to one of his characters, Vivian Grey, the marvelous faculty of securing attention to his own utterances by a kind of inversion of plagiary; instead of stealing the thoughts of others, he invented thoughts for them-a form of literary misdemeanor as difficult as it is rare. "It was a rule of Vivian Grey never to advance any opinion as his own. He had been too deep a student of human nature not to be aware that the opinions of a boy of twenty, however sound and however correct, stand but a poor chance of being adopted by his elder, though feebler, fellow-creatures. In attaining any end it was, therefore, his system always to advance his opinion as that of some eminent and considered personage; and when, under the sanction of this name, the opinion or advice was entertained and listened to, Vivian Grey had no fear that he could prove its correctness and its expediency. He possessed, also, the singular faculty of being able to improvise quotations; that is, he could unpremeditatedly clothe his conceptions in language characteristic of the style of any particular author; and Vivian Grey was reputed in the world as having the most astonishing memory that ever existed, for there was scarcely a subject of discussion in which he did not gain the victory by the great. names he enlisted on his side of the argument. His father was aware of the existence of this dangerous faculty, and had often remonstrated with his son on the use of it."*

We might almost wish that this inverted plagiarism was one of the vices of our day. It is not, however; so far from it are

*In this instance Vivian was Disraeli himself.

we that we have to reiterate the advice of Johnson, and say, Learn the art of forgetting." Bailey supplies the reason:

ART. V. THE PARISH OF WESLEY.

"THE field is the world," said the Master to his disciples. "I look upon all the world as my parish," said Mr. Wesley to his friends, when the churches were closed against him, and his right to preach in the open air in the parish of another was questioned. He wrote, "I look upon all the world as my parish-thus far, I mean, that in whatever part of it I am I judge it right and my bounden duty to declare unto all who are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation." He little dreamed of the prophetic character of his claim to a world-wide parish. He only intended to assert that the neglected population of his country, those practically without the Gospel in England, afforded an ample field for his ministry, not thinking that the movement which he was setting on foot would so soon spread to many nations, with the promise of salvation to all people. Already the field of the Messiah and the parish of Wesley are becoming identical in extent. Will the revival which began under the labors of Mr. Wesley spread over the whole earth? The answer is with his followers. Has this movement power to bring the tribes of men, now destitute of the Gospel, under the influence of the Christian religion? Without doubt, and within a few generations. The Wesleyan Churches have sufficient numbers, wealth, intelligence, position, ecclesiastical appliances and moral force, aided by divine grace, to evangelize the world in less time than has elapsed since Mr. Wesley uttered this gospel slogan. The Methodist Episcopal Church, which is pre-eminently the embodiment of the Wesleyan spirit and ideas, as

well as the strongest in numbers and influence of the Wesleyan branches, is able to carry the glad tidings of peace to all men within one hundred years from this time.

The growth of the Methodist Episcopal Church affords encouragement and instruction to Christian workers, and impressive warnings against schism. Beginning at zero in New York, under the labors of Philip Embury and Captain Webb, and in Maryland under Robert Strawbridge, in 1766, ten years before the declaration of American independence, it soon developed into a vigorous ecclesiastical body. This work in America was first named in the Minutes of Mr. Wesley in 1770, and in the following year it was reported as having 316 members, most of whom were in New York and Philadelphia, Captain Webb having been careful to organize societies and provide churches, while Mr. Strawbridge was neglectful of these matters. In 1773 the number of members and probationers was 1,160; 1774, 2,073; 1775, 3,148; and at the Declaration of Independence, in 1776, 4,921 members and probationers, and 24 preachers; total, 4,945. There was an increase every year during the Revolutionary War, notwithstanding the condition of the country, the sufferings of the people, and the loss of those preachers who returned to England; so that during this decade, from 1776 to 1786, including the seven years of war, the increase was more than fourfold, reaching in that year 20,681, and in 1787, 25,842; 1788, 37,354; 1789, 43,262; 1790, 57,631, the increase that year being 14,369. In these early days the Church openly and strongly opposed slavery.

Then followed the O'Kelly excitement and schism, in 1792. This organization, though small, and coming to naught in a few years, did serious damage to the cause by the agitation and bitterness indulged, and through unjust attacks upon the denomination and its leading men, Bishop Asbury in particular. The increase in 1792, the year in which the secession took place, was only 2,711; and in 1793 still less, 1,663; and in 1794 there was a loss of 1,035; in 1795, 6,317; and in 1796, 3,627. It is impossible to measure the harm done by this schism. Here is a loss of 10,979 to be attributed directly to it, in addition to the fact that the increase would, no doubt, have averaged eight or ten thousand annually more than it did for several years, but

for this blighting influence. In spite of this unfortunate occurrence, however, the membership more than doubled in this decade, advancing from 20,681, in 1786, to 56,664, in 1796. The next decade was peaceful and prosperous, the membership more than doubling in numbers, reaching 130,570 in 1806. Rapid growth continued to follow in each successive year till 1814, the increase the year preceding being 18,950, the largest of any one year up to this date; but in 1814 there was a decrease of 3,178, and in 1815 a decrease of 36.

This decrease was owing to several causes. The first of these, no doubt, was the war with Great Britain, the influence of which upon the morals as well as the finances of the country was felt for a considerable time. Besides this, two serious errors in the administration of the affairs of the Church occurred during this decade. First, in point of time, was the rejection of Jacob Albright, as missionary to the Germans who had settled in this country. He was converted and licensed as a local preacher in 1790, and in 1796 began to itinerate among his people, believing that he was called of God to labor in their interest, and to preach in the German language. The most happy results followed. Many were converted and joined the Church. The Discipline was published in German, and the foundation laid for lasting work among that people. Mr. Albright begged to be appointed missionary by the authorities of the Church, but the objection was made, as to Dr. Nast in later years, that our preaching must be in English, in order to Americanize the German population. Had Mr. Albright been appointed to this field and encouraged, as he should have been, it is easy to see that an ample harvest would have been prepared for the reaping of Dr. Nast and others. Not being recognized by the Church in the capacity to which he felt divinely called, he and his German converts were constrained to withdraw in 1807, and organize an independent conference. This was not fol lowed by an actual decrease of members, but by a sadly diminished increase, especially in 1808. This German conference has grown into an excellent and prosperous Church, the Evangelical Association, numbering 100,000 members. A similar mistake occurred with the colored people. Denied some of the rights which in the nature of things belonged to them, many withdrew and formed the African Methodist