difcouraged from vifiting the indigent of every defcription, from inquiring into, and alleviating their diftrefs, and soliciting the fpiritual aid of fome neighbouring clergyman, more especially the minifter of the parish, who will, I am fure, affift and direct our benevolent endeavours to the best purpose the confolation of the afflicted-and the Salvation of the Soul.

AVING read a paper in the laft number of your work, on the "Burial of Deifts and Diffenters," I take the liberty of addreffing a few remarks to you on the fubject, but more particularly as it refpects the interment of the lat ter class.

As one concerned for the peace of fociety, I cannot but lament that your correfpondent fhould have meddled with a topic of difcuffion, which one would have hoped had often and long ago been fettled; and which, as he has managed it, has a tendency to produce unpleasant effects, to the clergy of the established church themselves, as well as to fome diffenters, should any of the clergy be influenced by his argu

ments.

Your correfpondent confiders Wheatley as an oracle, and is of his opinion, that "perfons baptized among the diffenters can have no juft claim to the ufe of the office of burial" by the church fervice; as the rubric exprefsly declares that it is not to be used for any that die unbaptized, as those are fuppofed to do, who have been baptized by diffenting mi

nifters.

On this matter, you will permit me to refer you to a few precedents of the clergy having refused to perform duty in fuch cafes, copied from a book now before me, entitled "An

Abstract

Abstract of the Proceedings of the Deputies and Committee appointed for fupporting the Civil Rights of Proteftant Dif fenters."-London, printed 1796.

"1748.-WATESFIELD. Burial was refufed to the chil dren of fome diffenters, on account of their not having been baptifed according to the rites of the Church of England. On application to the bishop of Norwich, he wrote to the clergyman, and expreffed his hope no occafion would be given for fuch complaints in future."

"1769.-MARSHFIELD. The vicar having refused to bury a child, the fecretary was ordered to write to him. He infifted on having done right. The cafe being then laid before the bishop of Llandaff, he pleaded that the child had been baptifed by a man, who was not an ordained diffenting minifter. The bishop reprimanded him, and ordered him for the future to perform fervice over the corpfe of any diffenter which fhould be brought to him, without afking any queftion." "1784. CHESHUNT. The curate having refused to bury the child of a diffenter, the fecretary wrote to him, on which he apologifed, and promised not to make any difficulty in future."

1792.-MARGATE. Complaint was made to the committee, that the vicar of this place refufed to bury a parish ioner who had been baptifed by a diffenting minifter, faying, he would bury no perfon who had not been baptifed in his church, and bid the friends go and bury the corpfe in the fields, &c. It was, however, fuffered to be buried in the church-yard, but the vicar would neither read the burial fervice, nor permit his curate to do it. The fecretary was ordered to lay the cafe before the archbishop of Canterbury. His Grace expreffed great difapprobation of the vicar's con duct, and was pleafed to fay, he fhould be reprimanded and left to the courfe of the law for any future mifbehaviour of that kind."

Thefe are a few cafes, out of many; which may serve to fhew, that the bishops confider diffenting baptifm as entitling them to the burial fervice, the church agreeing with the flate, which confiders it as valid in any court of judicature. As for myself, I have to fay, that I was baptifed in the Church of England; and yet according to the doctrine of Wheatley, I could not be entitled, in cafe of death, to the fervice of the church. For, fome years ago, on application to the clergyman, who was a friend of mine, to infpect t regifter, I was fomewhat difappointed with a non eft

ventum.

baptifm.

The clergyman had neglected to regifter the

Having feveral years ago become a diffenter, and not confidering any religious fervice as of ufe to the dead, (though it may be inftructive to the living) on the decease of a dear child of mine, who had been baptifed in the diffenting form, I wrote to the clergyman of the parish, requesting the child might be interred in the parifh burying-ground without the church fervice; the requeft was refused, and confequently the clergyman performed the ufual rites, as the diffenters of the place have no feparate burying place. This oppofes the doctrine of Wheatley, who thinks diffenters fhould be " content to put their dead into the ground (of the church-yard) without requiring the prayers of a minifter."

With refpect to the burial of Deifts, I have no concern. But many confcientious and good miniflers of the church have an awful concern, at being compelled to read the fervice over fuch characters, who may have died, as they fear, in fuch opinions; as they have alfo in the cafe of the death of profligates, who have given no evidences of repentance.

I have only farther to add, that the fentiments and conduct of fuch writers as your correfpondent, remind one of the description of the Orthodox Churchman, as given by the pen of the late Rev. Mr. Gilpin, a much refpected clergyman, who, in his "Dialogues on various Subjects," fays, "The Orthodox Churchman makes it his bufinefs (tooth and nail, as they fay,) to defend every thing that is establifhed. The government of the Church of England is fault, lefs.-The education of its members in our universities, fuch as cannot be improved. Its liturgy is perfect; creeds and articles cannot be amended; pluralities are defenfible; and the unequal provifion of the clergy right, and as it should be. Now, though I fhould defpife the man who should become a member of our church, without thinking it good on the whole, yet I could not but fufpect the fincerity of him, who would perfuade you there is nothing but good in it." pp. 299, 300.

Wishing to appeal to the public, before whom your correfpondent has brought forward the subject through the medium of your work, I have to request the favour of your inferting the above remarks in your magazine, which will manifeft your regard to impartiality and juftice, and will alfo oblige yours, &c.

Basingstoke, 8th Dec. 1807.

A DISSENTER.

QUEEN ELIZABETH AND ARCHBISHOP

WHITGIFT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S
MAGAZINE.

A

SIR,

MONGST other articles very frequently of a fimilar defcription, and faid to be extracts from the port folio of a man of letters, the Monthly Magazine for November, page 369, contains the following refpecting queen Elizabeth.

The archbishop of Canterbury attended the queen in her laft moments: he endeavoured to confole her, by saying, fhe had every thing to hope from the mercy of the Almighty, for her piety, her zeal, and the admirable reformation which fhe had fo happily established. The queen, who had turned to the other fide of the bed, interrupted the archbishop by faying, My lord, the crown which I wore for fo many years, made me fufficiently vain while I lived; I beg you will not now increase my vanity when I am fo near death.' After this her refpiration failed, fhe fell into an agony, which lafted eighteen hours, and then expired."

6

Now, Mr. Editor, with whatever view this anecdote may have been recorded, or however juft and neceffary, if the occafion had called for it, would have been the dying princess's reproof, I think it but due to the memory of the venerable prelate, and (it may be) to that of the queen herfelf, to obferve, that there is rather better authority than the anonymous evidence of this man of letters in fupport of it, for saying that the story is not, and cannot be true.

As a proof allow me to refer to Strype, who in his "Life of Archbishop Whitgift," p. 558, has preferved an extract from a latin letter, written the very day after the queen's death to one Edmund Lambert, (MSS. D. Mich. Hicks, Efq. Aur.) in which the writer, who is unknown, fays, "that though fenfible to the laft, fhe was deprived of the power of fpeech for three days before her death." "Intelligendi vim ad extremum ufque fpiritum retineret; linguæ vero facultate tribus ante obitum diebus fuiffet privata." That any fuch re ply therefore as is here ftated, could have been made, no more than eighteen hours previous to that event, is utterly impoffible. And that the archbishop, or any of her fpiritual advisers, at 3 I

Vol. XIII. Churchm. Mag. for December 1807.

that

that awful moment, ever gave fuch occafion for it, is, on the fame authority, equally untrue. "She was impatient, (fays Strype, for which he refers to Cott. Librar. Julius. F. 6) of any speeches of others with her, yet fhe was ever well pleased to hear the archbishop, and the bishop of London give her comfort and counsel to prepare herself God-ward; and moft heartily and devoutly prayed continually with them, and making figns and fhews to her last remembrance, of the fweet comfort fhe took in their prefence and affiftance, and of the unspeakable joy fhe was going unto."

"Her death drawing near, the archbishop exhorted her to fix her thoughts upon God, the better to draw off her mind from other fecular things concerning her kingdom and fucceffor, that fome then of her court propounded to her. To which good advice to stay her at that hour, the answered him, fhe did fo, nor did her mind wander from God. And as a fign thereof, when she could not fpeak, fhe was observed much to lift up her eyes and hands to heaven." Camd. Eliz.

"We have, (he alfo adds) this further paffage of her religious belief, as it was related in the Paul's Cross fermon, preached by John Hayward, March 27th, being. the Lord's day next enfuing her death, from Pfalm xxiv. verse 1. wherein he fhewed his auditors "How her almoner rehearsing to her the grounds of the Chriftian faith, and requiring her affent unto them by fome fign, fhe readily gave it both with hand and eye, and that when he proceeded to tell her, that it was not enough generally to believe that those articles of faith were true, but that every Chriftian man was to believe them true to them, and that they themselves were members of the true church, and redeemed by Jefus Chrift; and that their fins were forgiven to them; fhe did again with great fhew of faith lift up her eyes and bands unto Heaven, and fo ftayed them long as a teftimony fhe gave of applying the fame unto herself,"

In all this there certainly appears but little or nothing that I can fee to give a fhadow of pretence for that rebuke, which the archbishop is faid to have received; and which how he deferved for endeavouring "to draw off her mind from other fecular things"; or her almoner, (who was Watson, bishop of Chichester) for exprefsly requiring a teftimony of her individual faith, at the fame time declaring the inefficacy of all other, even to his dying fovereign, is to be explained by those who like this man of letters, and many other contributors to the Monthly Magazine, are availing themselves of