world happened to frown upon one of her tenants of late; and though fhe, as landlady, was fo much befriended by the law, as to recover her whole rent, having seized of his flock, at his own tequeft, yet her confcience would not suffer her to take it, but generously compounded for nine fhillings in the pound, by which condefcenfion the reft of his creditors had a proportionable share with her ladyship, who otherwise must neceffarily have lost their whole debts.

If ever the tranfgreffed that golden rule of doing to others as they ought to do to her, it was to her own prejudice alone, but never to that of her neighbours: and if ever that glorious character of a perfect and righteous man, which the royal Pfalmift describes, Pfalm xv. might be literally applied to any person, it may very properly belong to her. She certainly led as uncorrupt a life as this imperfect fate would admit of.

As the was flesh and blood, fhe was often impofed upon by a wicked and ungenerous world. Failings, it is true, the muft neceffarily have laboured under, fo long as the continued in this mortal flate; but they were fewer in number, and of a differing nature, than thofe of any perfon I was ever acquainted with. They were infirmities, but not prefumptions; not in the least proceeding from evil inclinations, much less from vicious habits, but from an eafinefs of nature, from a gracious and tender difpofition of foul. She ever did the thing she thought was right, and was ever fo fincere in her profeffions, that the always spoke the truth from her heart, The ufed no deceit in her tongue, neither did fhe evil to her neighbour, and was fo far from flandering her neighbour, that he ever put the most candid, I had almost faid, forced, constructions upon their actions, left she should be guilty of a breach of charity, the very bond and perfection of all virtues. She was lowly in her own eyes, and always made much of them who feared the LORD; and, whenever the promised any favour to her neighbour, fhe did never dif appoint him, though it visibly tended to her own hindrance, and most apparent prejudice.

If these be characteristics whereby to diftinguish a true and faithful difciple of our bleffed Saviour, as holy David affures us they are, than may we be confident that the refts upon God's holy hill of Zion; for, faith he, whofo doth thefe things fhall never fall fhort of the mercies and loving-kindness of the LORD.

S

Vol. XIII. Churchm. Mag. før Auguft, 1807.

Laftly,

Laftly, fhe was cloathed with humility, and had, in a moft eminent degree, that ornament of a meek and quiet fpirit, which St. Peter affures us, is, in the fight of God, of fo great price. I never met with one who had a truer understanding of matters of the greatest consequence, even of those which accompany falvation; and yet no one could have a meaner apprehenfion of her own worth and merit, than she had; though The had the feweft faults, yet fhe humbly implored God's pardoning mercy, as if fhe had the moft, and even they of the most crimson dye. Her converfation was ever affable and obliging, her countenance always ferene and gracious, never returning injury for injury, or railing for railing, but contrariwife.

Thus confcientiously did she perform her duty to God and man; she was an ornament and glory to the religion fhe profeffed, and departed this life, full of years, and full of honour.

All these were bright and fhining ornaments through the whole conduct of her ladyship's life. Thus eminently pious was the during her pilgrimage here; very fubmiffive during her greatest bodily lingering torments, and patiently refigned both foul and body to the wife difpofal of an all-gracious God, and moft merciful Redeemer.

To finish her ladyship's truly noble and just character, requires a ftronger genius and more able pen than I can pretend to be master of; however, this small sketch of her extraordinary virtues will be a grateful remembrance of her exalted piety and charity, înce God, of his infinite mercy, has been pleased to release her from the pains and miferies of this perifhing, finful fttate, and give her admiffion to the feats of eternal felicity.

Few, if any, lived with fuch demonftrations of daily piety to the God of their falvation; and none abounded with greater charity to their fuffering brethren: and, though her character, here delineated, may seem great, yet I am fatisfied in my conscience I have afferted nothing but what is ftri&t truth.

She died in April, 1715, and was buried, the fame month, at Auburgh, in Lincolnshire.

Review of New Publications.

A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocefe of Glouces ter, at the Triennial Vifitation of that Diocefe in the year 1807. By GEORGE ISAAC HUNTINGFORD, D. D. F. R. S. Bishop of Gloucester. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Cadell and Davies.

IN

N this excellent Charge, the clergy of the establishment are ably and temperately vindicated from the unjuft accufation of not preaching the Gofpel, because their doctrine is practical, and they are frequent in enforcing the neceffity of Chriftian morals.

After vindicating this mode of public inftruction, from the example of the reformers, the fathers, the apostles, and our bleffed Lord himself, in his admirable Sermon on the Mount, the bishop refutes the accufation more closely by appealing to a fact of public notoriety.

"That fact is, the existence of innumerable volumes composed by the Clergy of the Establishment, for the sole and direct purpose of elucidating the Gospel, and of admonishing men to embrace and follow Gospel truths. And here allusion is not made to the works, either of those who are usually styled the old Divines; or even of those who were most eminent at no long period before the middle of the last century. We refer to the writings produced by authors, of whom, if some have rested from their labours in the Christian cause, yet others are still exerting their efforts in support of real and vital Christianity; and of whom, all either heretofore have been, or still are, contemporary with persons now present. We hesitate not to affirm, that the works of these wri ters, collectively taken, form a body of evidence clearly demonstrating, that the Clergy of the Establishment do preach the Gospel; and that not only in their respective congregations they preach, but also before the world they openly maintain, they honestly, faithfully, and conscientiously expound the Gospel, in all that variety of manifold and complex parts, which every intelligent mader must well know the Gospel contains." $ 2

The

The bishop closes his Charge with an earnest exhortation to a vigilant union among the clergy for the vindication of themselves, and the fupport of the Church.

"When a citadel" says he, "is beset on every side by combined armies contending for its overthrow, the besieged, if they regard their own safety, will not altercate about names and words, nor about the design with which some minuter parts of the garrison were originally built. They will rather consider themselves as being all fellow-soldiers, engaged in the same warfare, exposed to the same danger, and expecting safety from the same means; they will rather see if the whole of their castle be strong, and guarded in its general structure; they will defend their fortress as behoves men; they will stand by each other as becomes brethren in arms, taken up in the service of the same country, and for mutual protection against assailing fees. This illustration you will easily apply to our own situation, and to existing circumstances, which in their nature and tendency affect our establishment.

"There are many things in life, which we do not rightly appreciate, till some inconvenience, or greater evil, arising from the loss of them, makes us sensibly perceive their real value. This is particularly the case with regard to customs and usages. During their continuance, and whilst we are observing them, we seldom reflect on their utility, or on the purposes for which they were appointed. But when, from their cessation, we have experienced some serious and ill consequence, then we discover the end which they had in view, and the wisdom in which they originated.

customs and usages ecclesiastical, delivered down to them from early days, those who framed the polity of our Reformed Church retained such as they conceived were calculated to render the clergy individually and collectively more respectable, and thence more efficient. Either through less knowledge of mankind, or relaxed attention, or inconsistent desire of secularity, or affectation of what is called liberality, their successors in after-times, in this respect departed from the prudence of those who lived be fore them; and most assuredly such departure was not to the spiri tual advantage either of clergy or laity. The usage of Visitations still however remains. They are not indeed holden with primitive rigour; for happily the correct morals of the clergy in gene ral have now superseded the necessity of rigour; but they are nevertheless productive of so many salutary effects, that the omis sion of them would soon furnish too just occasion for sincere regret. Your appearance here this day, so creditable to yourselves and gratifying to your Diocesan, in itself evinces the right sense you entertain of the propriety and utility attached to Visitations. You therefore need not be exhorted to attend with regularity, at ALL the seasons when you are officially convoked.

"But it might not be superfluous, if through you, the future. candidates for our ministry and cures were told, That in ecclesiastical, equally as in civil government, obedience to laws is a duty;

that

that on the clergy, who have solemnly promised to conform, and to obey their Ordinary and other chief Ministers, unto whom is committed the charge and government over them,' the obligation of obedience to laws is doubly binding. That among other ap pointments, the laws of our church have ordained stated clerical assemblies. That observance of those laws, and attendance on those assemblies should be made matters of conscience.

"With a view moreover to that union among ourselves, which many weighty considerations urge us to cultivate, and which therefore has been recommended to you; with a view to that most det sirable object we should persevere in paying due regard to the institutions of which we are speaking. For, by frequently conven ing, we promote familiar intercourse. Familiar intercourse creates attachment; attachment not only of individuals to each other, but of all who so assemble, to the order of clergy in general.

"Those, who wish not well to the civil and religious polity of this nation, are not insensible of the efficacy derived from frequent association with persons engaged in the same cause, They have therefore their private conferences, their local classes, their exten sive connections, their general assemblies, by means of which they co-operate from one part of the kingdom to the other. Fas est et ab Hoste doceri.' If our malignant and subtile adversaries eme brace every possible opportunity of convening, for the purpose of concerting measures to undermine our civil and religious Constitution, far be it from us to neglect any occasion, by which we can hope to coalesce in closer union and combine in stronger force, for the preservation of what we should value as the basis of national_religion and virtue, of national prosperity and happiness, our wisely-constructed and long-tried Establishment in Church and

State."

In a note the bishop of Gloucester pays a handfome compliment to feveral of the Clergy of his diocefe, by enumerating a variety of works published by them in philology, antiquities, poetry, and divinity.

A SERMON, preached in the Chapel of the Magdalen Hofpital, before the Prefident, Vice-Presidents, and Governors of that Charity, at their Anniversary Meeting, on Thurfday, April 23, 1807. By THOMAS LEWIS O'BEIRNE, D. D. Lord Bishop of Meath. 8vo. 1s. 6d.

THIS

HIS eloquent difcourfe is infcribed to Mr. Park, one of his Majefty's counfel, and from the dedication we extract the following with pleasure.