treachery of the heart. I confess that an ominous gloom settles upon my mind, as it ventures forward to explore the path of these persons through the darkness of futurity. I see them going away from this place, unaffected by all which they have heard, and returning to the haunts of sin with as keen a relish as ever. I see them becoming more and more hardened in vice, turning their backs upon religious instruction, and living as if eternity were a dream, and the word of God a fable. At no great distance onward in the path of life, I discover them struggling under the pressure of adversity. I hear them call to the world for assistance; but the world turns a deaf ear to their entreaties. I extend my views yet a little further, and see these same persons on the bed of death. I see by the sinking countenance, the fluttering pulse, the faltering accents, that their couflict with the destroyer has commenced. I cast an eye around me to see whether any of their former vicious companions are present, to try to sustain them in this awful exigency; but not one of them is to be seen theirs was the work of destruction, not of consolation. I see them writhing in agonies unutterable; oppressed and appalled by the prospect of an opening retribution, without a hold in the universe on which to hang a single hope. I hear their lamentations over a mispent life; their cutting reflections upon their miserable associates; their agonizing supplications for a longer space for repentance: and while my eye rests with horror on the frightful impressions that Despair has made upon the countenance, I witness the ominous change, which tells me that the soul is in eteruity. And then, amidst all the wailings of parental tenderness which surround me; and while my mind is busy in trying to recollect some word or look which might have been a symptom of repentance;-even then, from that world where "hope never comes that comes to all," I seem to hear echoed in groans of unavailing anguish, "the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." pp. 28-30.

ART. VII.-REVIEW OF WHEATON'S JOURNAL OF A RESIDENCE IN LONDON.

A Journal of a Residence during several months in London: including Excursions through various parts of England; and a short tour in France and Scotland, in the years of 1823 and 1824. By NATHANIEL S. WHEATON. A. M. Rector of Christ's Church, Hartford. Hartford, 1830.

OLD ENGLAND will be an object of lively interest as long as its white cliffs and rock-bound shores, its swelling hills and green fields shall endure; or its power, arts, literature, laws and religion shall survive in the memories of men. Could we suppose that at some future period, a catastrophe should befall it, like that which has laid Greece and Italy in ruins, not Greece or Italy would be a more interesting scene of research, or strike the mind of the thoughtful observer, with a profounder melancholy. The traveler would wander with a kindling admiration over a soil where the battles of freedom had been triumphantly fought, which was covered with the monuments of art, and genius, or the memorials of christian piety; and he would feel that the dust on which he treads, was once moulded into living forms embodying more true noble

ness of character, than has adorned the annals of any other people on the globe. Even now, this "island empress of the sea" is the favorite resort of travelers, especially from our own country. Though in architectural monuments it must yield to Italy, and with one or two exceptions perhaps to France; yet in the whole world beside, there are no country residences so splendid, or cottages so neat, or so tasteful a cultivation of the soil, or so much elegant comfort as in England. And the spirit, manners, and institutions of its people, are even more worthy of attention than its charming natural scenery, and artificial improvements, its "cloud-capt towers, and gorgeous palaces, and solemn temples." The champion of of modern liberty, the fountain of free institutions, the bulwark of christianity, the mother of great men, the mistress of the ocean, and the most powerful, the most industrious, the most enlightened, and the wealthiest nation on the globe-almost every thing which is written concerning England is read with avidity, and speculations concerning her future destiny attract a more than ordinary share of attention.

These thoughts have been naturally suggested by the perusal of Mr. Wheaton's work, and by our own reflections on the subjects suggested by the contents of this volume. It is not our design however to dwell on the character of the book, or to produce regular extracts from it, as specimens of its manuer, or of the information it contains; yet we would not pass over so respectable a production, without one or two observations on its general merits. Mr. W. is certainly not inferior in interest to the generality of those who have preceded him in the same path, and on some topics, particularly the state of religion in the establishment, he is more full and satisfactory than any of our tourists. There are not wanting in his book some kindling descriptions, aided by his literary recollections, and deriving an increased interest from a well regulated fancy; but these do not frequently occur. It is in general an easy, flowing, sober, judicious narrative, written in a neat and correct style, the topics being well digested, and the whole enlivened with a slight tinge of piquant humor and playfulness. If we find little that is original in sentiment, or profound in thought, neither are we annoyed with perpetual common-place. Good sense and valuable information sustain the attention of the readers; and the author very properly infers in regard to many objects, that they are too well known to need a particular description, or a repetition of their story in all its details. Though there is now and then a beautiful strain of moralizing, he has scarcely any thing like discussion or dissertation in the book, and if by this omission, he foregoes the opportunity of showing himself eloquent, or philosophical, or a deep observer of human nature, yet he appears better as a mere tourist. He has made a sensible remark on this subject himself, towards the

conclusion of his account of England. "I must leave it" he says, "with the reader to form his own judgment of the impressions I have received of the various interesting objects which have fallen under review. General-deductions are little regarded in the journal of a traveller. It has rather been my aim to describe what I saw, and what I heard, with fidelity; and to allow the reader to form his own conclusions." The extent of his reading in English history and English literature is perhaps the most striking characteristic of the book, if we may jndge from the great number and felicity of his allusions to both.

If a judgment may be formed from the extensive intercourse, which the author seems to have had with persons in the higher ranks of life, with noblemen, bishops, and scholars, he must have been favorably situated for observation; and as he sought every opportunity to hear the most celebrated British preachers, and has remarked freely on their performances, he has presented us with some valuable information on this subject. His connection with the protestant episcopal church in America, and the errand on which he was sent, gave him peculiar facilities for interesting remarks on the English establishment. And he seems to have acquitted himself well in this respect. The general spirit and tone of his representations are unexceptionable; and though he very naturally shows an attachment to his own modes of worship, we could not reasonably expect greater liberality towards others than his work exhibits It is evident that he favors decidedly the evangelical party in England, and his dissatisfaction with a large portion of the preaching in the Establishment, may be reasonably supposed to evince his own settled conviction of the worth of sound doctrine. In one instance the tenor of the above remarks may perhaps need to be modified, and as it refers to the only questionable representation of any consequence that we recollect, it may be well to notice it here, and thus conclude our critical remarks.

I am persuaded says Mr. W. that a higher tone of piety prevails, than would be expected from the general style of pulpit instruction which it has been my lot to witness. That the latter has undergone, however, a great change within the last fifty years, that it has become more purely evangelical, that the doctrines of man's depravity by nature, of the necessity of a spiritual regeneration, of justification by faith alone through the merits of Christ, have been, and still are, more frequently held up to view, that there has been a general movement in the national establishment towards a return to the standard of her own articles, and of the reformation, are facts which admit of no dispute. This change in the spiritual views of a large and influential portion of the clerical body, has to a considerable extent, produced a corresponding one among the people. The piety of the dissenters, I have been frequently assured, is in a great measure transferred to the national church; while many of their own chapels, once blessed with an orthodox ministry, have passed with their endowments into the

hands of those who preach another gospel. The case of the dissenters of the present day, affords a striking example, how difficult it is for a religious community to hold fast the profession of their faith, without the standard of a liturgy, to which the doctrines of the pulpit may constantly be referred. p. 159.

And it may be added, in a spirit not inconsistent, we trust, with evangelical candor, how difficult with the standard of a liturgy, if a part of what the author has said before, is founded in fact! Almost the whole of the national establishment, it seems, are moving backward to their early standards, in asmuch as they had notoriously departed from them in times past! We know not the exact extent of the defection which Mr. W. speaks of, as existing among the dissenters, how many chapels have passed into the hands of the heterodox, how many theological schools, like that of Doddridge, have experienced a melancholy change. But the defection, it is perfectly well known, has never been general; nor in proportion to their numbers has it equaled that which has existed in the establishment for more than a century, and which still exists there. The great body of the clergy of the church of England, without doubt, had departed, on essential points, from an evangelical spirit, were loose in sentiment, or preached an accommodating inorality, and indulged in a worldliness and pursuit of pleasure, equally dishonorable to their profession, and contrary to the precepts of the bible. According to our author, it is not till comparatively of late, that a better spirit has obtained among them; and even the work of reform, if the commonly received accounts are correct, does not embrace quite one third of their number. Of the ten thousand clergymen in the establishment, not more than three thousand are considered as belonging to the evangelical class. For aught that appears, then, notwithstanding the security to be derived from the standard of a liturgy, most of the established clergy have failed to preach the pure doctrines of the gospel, or have been essentially deficient in other respects, and consequently have suffered souls to go astray and perish. Such a standard must be of far less use than is sometimes imagined, if any or all can deviate thus openly from its acknowledged principles. Facts demonstrate, that a liturgy has no more effect in commanding the full and faithful dispensation of the truth, than the plan which the dissenters adopt. It is not the want of a liturgy that leads preachers and people into error and ruin, but a more radical and serious want in human nature itself-the want of a good heart. It has long been understood, that the anti-evangelical portion of the establishment, strenuously oppose the attempts that are made by their brethren to promote serious, heart-felt piety, that they deride the latter under the name of methodists or fanatics, that a gay and dissipated life is led by vast multitudes of the people, and connived

at by their teachers; yea in many instances that these teachers are foremost in the ranks of dissipation, that subscription to the articles is very generally felt to have no binding authority over the subscriber's faith, and that though ground has been gained of late by the consistently pious, much more remains to be gained. The church of England tolerates even gross Unitarianism in its bosom. Among others of the more distinguished rank, Dr. Parr may be mentioned. Mr. W. remarks in a note concerning him thus.

His being overlooked in the dispensation of church patronage, was owing to his Unitarianism, and general laxity of religious principle; of which he made little secret. For sometime before his death, it was his custom to mutilate the liturgy, still retaining his living in the national church, to whose articles and formularies he had repeatedly subscribed his assent." p. 36.

And from this example and others that might be mentioned, it appears that notwithstanding the existence of correct standards of faith, Unitarianism and other unsound doctrine can not only be preached but exemplified by the clergy in a worldly and pleasureloving life. Indeed if the truth were told respecting the majority of the clergy in England, who subscribe to its articles and liturgy, it would fill the mind of every serious man in this country with absolute horror. Some facts on this subject may be gathered from Rowland Hill's Dialogues, and a multitude of them force themselves on the notice of every one who has resided even for a short time in England.

In the observations which grow out of a book giving an account of England, (though it should be only the journal of a traveler,) we feel more the difficulty of compression, than of enlargement. We shall direct the attention of our readers therefore to a few only of the many topics of a general nature, on which we could wish at this time to dwell. We would remark then in the first place, on the happy consequences of the daily enlarging intercourse between Great Britain and this country. The intercourse we speak of is at length becoming one of a pacific, and friendly character, deeply affecting all our relations, political, social, literary and religious. We perceive it in the present boundless spirit of travel, in the frequent exchange of country for the purposes of business or residence, in the numerous connections formed by marriage, and in the extensive interchange of newspapers, periodicals, and books of all descriptions. We may add also, as very important in this enumeration, and as peculiarly characteristic of the present day, the many communications of religious societies, and the union of christians in both countries, in the benevolent enterprises that now prevail. The day we hope is approaching when these enterprises are to become the great bonds of nations. In their very beginning, they awakened in Great Britain and America an interest in each other