1823.] REVIEW.-Ripon Guide.. of the Imperial Government of France. We have no doubt but he had just cause of complaint, as he was one of its unhappy victims;-so far all is fair; but what renders him truly ridiculous is the continued cant about the "virtues" and the "sufferings" of Ferdinand. Thus in adverting to a pusillanimous letter of Ferdinand's, disclaiming any wish to escape from Valençay, Kolli contends that it was a forgery, and could not possibly be attributed "to that Ferdinand VII. who at Bayonne displayed, in his resistance to Buonaparte, strength of mind, force of genius, and ability in negociation!!" Fortunate would it have been for his degraded country, had Ferdinand never left the prison of Valençay. During his absence, the Spaniards displayed the latent energies of their early ancestors; but since his return the petrifying breath of Superstition has benumbed their mental energies, and paralysed every noble faculty. Spain, enslaved by the sword of the Gaul, and the crosier of the priest, may labour under the dreadful effects of tyranny for ages to come. The Memoirs of the Queen of Etruria, a sister of Ferdinand's, may be regarded as a supplement to the preceding. They were written a few days after the liberation of Italy, in 1814. She was the third daughter of Charles IV. and Maria Louisa, Infant of Parma. She was born on the 6th of July, 1782, and married at an early age to the Infant Don Louis of Bourbon, eldest son of the Duke of Parma. These Memoirs commence at the period of her marriage, and contain much interesting matter. In 1814, they were addressed by the authoress to the Allied Powers, in vindication of her own rights, and those of her son, to the Duchy of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla; and the Congress of Vienna acknowledged the validity of her claims. 180. The Tourist's Companion; being a concise Description and History of Ripon, Studley Park, Fountains Abbey, Hackfall, &c. intended as a Guide to Persons visiting those Places. Ripon, Langdale. THIS useful Guide, issued from the Langdalian Press, has already passed three editions, and we should not be surprised at its reaching many more. To those who visit the places described, it will be an interesting as well as 445 useful companion. Unlike the generality of Guides, this small volume is not confined to descriptions of the elegance of the buildings, or the beauties of the scenery; but the Editor has given (what to us Antiquaries is of more value), the early history of those places; the benefactors to the religious foundations noticed in the volume-and has described what they were, as well as what they are. The first place noticed is the Town and Borough of Ripon, with its Minster, which, for length and breadth, is one of the best-proportioned Churches of the kind. Under the seats of the Choir are numerous basso-relievos, of which the following is curious, as marking the year, 1489, when they were erected: Among the numerous monuments in the Minster, is one to the memory of Hugh Ripley, who died in 1637, and obtained the dignity of Mayoralty to be conferred on this town, of which he afterwards became thrice Mayor. Not far from the Abbey, but adjoining the Town, is a large tumulus composed of gravel and human bones, called Ellshaw, "where (as Leland remarks) be al likelihod hath ben sum great fortress in the Britons tyme. "But from some coins, found by digging in it in 1695, of Osbright and Alla, transmitted by the Archbishop of York, to that ingenious Antiquary, Mr. Thoresby, it has been the general opinion that it is of Britons, and that it owes its name to Alla, a date long posterior to the time of the the Northumbrian King, who was slain in 867*. From the vast number of human bones found by digging (for even whole skeletons have been discovered within the last thirty years) where there is neither mortar nor cement, one would be induced to suppose that it has been a Burial-place *Saxon Chronicle. 446 REVIEW.-Gleig's Letter to Sir Edward Knatchbull. of the Saxons or Danes; but whether here were deposited the remains of Alla and his associates in arms, in the conflict between that prince and Hinguar and Hubba, must for ever remain in doubt." A singular custom still continued here, is that of blowing a horn every night at nine o'clock before the house of the Mayor, in imitation of the duty of the Vigilarius or Wakeman, in whom the government of the town was originally vested. We now proceed to Studley, in which grounds is situate Fountains Abbey, the remains of which are deservedly considered the most maguificent and interesting that our country, rich in these venerable and admired works of anti quity, retains from the wreck of the general dissolution. Copious extracts are then given from the communication of a valued Correspondent of our Miscellany *. "At the top of the North corner window of the Sanctum Sanctorum, is the figure of an Angel holding a Scroll, on which is the date 1283.". In a note to the above date, the Editor says he has given it "in conformity to the opinion of others, who have written on the subject," but is induced to believe that it should be 1483. With this last opinion we entirely coincide; but for the satisfaction of those who feel any doubt upon the subject, we have copied the date as given in p. 71; and beg to refer our readers to Mr. Gough's Introduction to the second Volume of "Sepulchral Monuments" for a complete dissertation on the subject of Arabic Numerals. The Plates, which are numerous, are engraved in a neat style. See vol. LXXXVIII. ii. 318.582. 181. [Nov. A Letter to Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bart. one of the Members of Parliament for the County of Kent, on his accepting the Office of President, at a Meeting of an Auxiliary Church Missionary Association, held in the Town Hall of Maidstone, on the 14th of August last. By G. R. Gleig, M. A. Rector of Ivy-Church; and Perpetual Curate of Ash, in the County of Kent; and Domestic Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Earl of Dunmore. 8vo. pp. 96. Longman and Co. THIS Letter, though addressed to one of the Members for the County of Kent, is by no means to be considered and respectful address to a distinguishas a local pamphlet. It is a temperate ed Member of Parliament, written for the purpose of opening his eyes into the subject of an association to which he has, with the best intention (but, as it appears to his correspondent, with erroneous impressions), lent his name. It is known to all who attend to the that there is at present a party in it concerns of the Established Church, who style themselves evangelical, for enforcing doctrines not to be found in the Evangelists; nor to be deduced from St. Paul's Epistles, but by great violence done to his arguments. Also that the same persons, standing opposed to a very large majority of all orders in the Church, presume to think themselves the true Churchmen. Such persons, united with a number of others, who are altogether estranged from the discipline of the Church, have formed themselves into an association, to which they have given the name of the Church Missionary Society. This title, ostensibly assumed to distinguish it from the Baptist and other Missionary Societies, has had the effect, whether intended or not, of seducing many attached members of the Established Church to join it, and among others, as it seems, the worthy Baronet here addressed; of whose unwillingness to take any steps really hostile to the Church, no doubt whatever is entertained. To him, therefore, Mr. Gleig writes in a tone of becoming respect, merely to explain to him that the Society so styling itself is not in truth a Church Society, and that its proceedings are in direct opposition to the discipline of any Episcopal Church, and at once unnecessary and pernicious. This explanation, though written for the County of Kent, must manifestly be important to every other part of the Kingdom -1823.] REVIEW.-Gleig's Letter to Sir Edward Knatchbull. "First, that the Society styling itself the Church Missionary Society, is not a Church Missionary Society, if by the term Church be meant the venerable and apostolic Church of England; and, consequently, that its present appellation is a palpable, though specious, misnomer. Secondly, that the very ground-work of its proceedings, the very first principle upon which it acts, is in direct opposition to the distinguishing doctrine of our Church. Thirdly, that its existence as a Church Missionary Society is not required; and, fourthly, that even upon general grounds, its modes of operation are calculated to do no good, whilst there is every reason to suspect that they do harm." The Letter-writer contends, that, constituted as our Church is, no body of men can properly be called a Church Society, that is not countenanced and supported by the Bench of Bishops, and a majority of the Clergy, &c. Un der this description, he shows that there are really two Church Missionary Societies, and only two;-the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and that all who really wished to act with the Church for a purpose of this kind, should join themselves to one or other of these, or to both. The other points proposed are also ably argued. It is particularly urged, that Missionaries who intrude themselves into places where a regular Bishop presides, if they are Clergymen, act in direct violation of their ordination vows; and if they are laymen, cannot be authorized at all to preach and teach, much less to baptize. The nature of the conversions which have been made among the lowest Hindoos, and among actual savages, is shown by several curious examples; and it is contended that persons so ignorant cannot be fit ob jects for conversion. It is shown too that, in the present state of things, the conversion of those who lose their caste by it, is more likely to retard than promote the progress of the Gospel, by setting the most violent preju dices of all the castes in array against it. The following petition to the late 447 Bishop of Calcutta will much illustrate the subject: "To the Right Rev. Father in God, Thomas, Lord Bishop of Calcutta. "The humble petition of Rutton Ghose, Kantoo Doss, Needy Ram Saha, Bhyrobchund Mullick, Budhee Saha, Bokul Šaha, and Gour Dhobee, for themselves, and on behalf of one hundred Christian converts: "Sheweth, that your petitioners are by birth Hindoos, and heretofore did, as is the custom of Hindoos, perform the worship and ceremonies of their religion, as laid down in the shastras and other holy books, agreeably to the rites which have been established from time immemorial in these regions. "That some years since certain people, denominated Missionaries, arrived from Europe for the express purpose of converting the natives of this country to the Christian faith. Among these Missionaries, one named William C- better known by the designation of Doctor C, did, by the seductive art of persuasion, and by artful representations of the truths and efficacy of the Christian doctrines, as the only sure and certain guides to salvation, at the same time condemning the shastras, tantras, and poorauns of the Hindoos to be the works of Satan, and as such would inevitably lead their believers to damnation and eternal punishtitioners, that, led by their fears on the one ment, so operate on the minds of your Pehand, and seduced on the other hand by the hope of support and protection which he held out to such as should embrace the Religion of Christ, your Petitioners were induced to forsake the religion of their ancestors, and to suffer the ritual of baptism. "Your Petitioners, placing entire reliance and confidence on the word and faith of Dr. C; for how could they suppose that a teacher of Christian morality could be found defective to his promises?-bebaptized, as they were taught to think, into came converts to his doctrines, and were Christ his church. But what must be the poignancy of their feelings, to discover that these flattering prospects of support and protection are as unstable and fleeting as the visionary objects of a dream? Expelled from their caste, and expatriated their homes and families, deprived of the countenance and support of those to whom they are allied by the ties of hature, and become objects of contempt and derision to their Hindoo brethren, they now, in this state of humiliation, experience the fallacy of Condemned, like outcasts of society, to dethose promises by which they were deluded. pend for a precarious subsistence on the lukewarm generosity and benevolence of strangers, to whom shall your petitioners, in the overwhelmings of their affliction, look up for support and protection, unless to 448 REVIEW.-Harmer's Miscellaneous Works. to your Lordship, who hath been selected to fill the highest and most respectable station of the Episcopacy in India? "Your Petitioners, therefore, most humbly solicit your Lordship's attention to their miserable condition, and, with hopes of exciting your Lordship's commiseration, they humbly crave permission to approach your Lordship with this relation of their sufferings, and your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray. "Calcutta, June 16, 1817." It is not improbable that this Letter may have its due effect where addressed, and be of use in many other places. 132. The Miscellaneous Works of the late Rev. Thomas Harmer, Author of " Observations on various Passages of Scripture," containing his Letters, Sermons, &c. with an Introductory Memoir by William Youngman. 8vo. pp. 328. MR. HARMER appears to have been an amiable and worthy Dissenting Preacher, who had a strong desire for illustrating the Bible by Oriental Manners; and was therefore re proached by a sapient female, "for not having published a good book," meaning a Homily. In p. 73 we have been astonished to find a disquisition, foreign to the purpose, upon cats sitting upon the heads of idols-a circumstance quite familiar to those who have seen any figures of Egyptian Deities. In the same manner, the most common antiquities are discussed as novelties. But these are only incidentals. The matter in the main appertains to Dissenters, and to them will be a very useful book. It is written in their own forms of piety; in strict non-conforming orthodoxy, but in a spirit of peace. It is as grave and serious as midnight, without whining or cant, and shows the Author to have been a conscientious and good man. It is singular, however, that both the Editor and Mr. Harmer should as sign, in the following paragraphs, the persons ad strongest reasons for all hering to the Establishment. first passage is this. The "There are sources of disunion arising out of the Reformation itself, and forming a sort of counterbalance to the advantages of that great event. The Reformers were, in their own justification, obliged to insist strongly on the right of individual judgment, and the duty of separating from a corrupt Church, and so powerful has been the tendency of these principles, as to produce state of things quite unlike that of the pri [Nov. mitive Church. The first principle of Christianity is union, and separation is an awful exception to it, which requires for its justification the existence of something essentially hostile to Christianity." p. 15. This essential hostility consists as to the views of Dissenters, in creeds, interferences of the civil power, and every man's not being the arbiter of his own faith (see pp. 7, 8.) In opposition to those positions we find the following paragraph. "However affecting to the passions the discourses among the Methodists may be, they are by no means proper to promote a growth in true knowledge." p. 10. Now here are the Methodists absolutely tried by a creed; for on the principle of "Every man his own parson," they cannot be in error for exercising their own judgments. Any particular profession of certain tenets is a creed, and can be nothing else; without such a reference in the mind nor can persons be justly censured of the critick. The consequences of self-interpretations of the Scriptures are thus pointed out, to the great injury of the favourite notion of "Every man his own parson:" "I remember, when young, to have seen a small book, in support of infant baptism, and a long list of Scriptures in proof of it adduced, of which, perhaps, not more than one out of ten was at all to the purpose; this only tended to excite doubt, instead of satisfying the mind." p. 87. 133. Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will. Written in answer to the Diatribe of Erasmus on the Free Will. First published in the Year of our Lord, 1525, and now Translated by the Rev. Henry Cole, of Clare-hall, Cambridge, and late Lecturer of Woolwich, Kent. 8vo. pp. 402. LUTHER is selected by Robertson as a remarkable example of the danger of despising obscure enemies. Had Leo the Tenth not contemned him at his outset, the great Reformer would have perished at the stake. Providence in its goodness thought proper to order matters otherwise; but biographical events are not to our present purpose. To Luther, the Scriptures were the simple armour of David, the stone and the sling, and with these under God he conquered. He had on his side a strong party, who had great points to gain by his success; and settled matters with the Pope by means of 1923] REVIEW.-Miscellaneous Reviews. of the carnal weapon of temporal power. Erasmus was in a different situation; he was obliged to tack and trim, and obey signals from his convoy. He mixed up with his discussions high classical knowledge and human learning. Luther meets him with the Scripture alone; and adds to it only his very strong sense. Uncommon superiority in this faculty appears through the whole work; which is one for the study. Erasmus seems to have subjected God to necessity. The following short extract will show the subject of the controversy in a concise form: "Dost thou understand, friend Diatribe, what thou sayest? (To say nothing of that which has been already proved, that the will cannot will any thing but evil.) How 134. Mr. ACKERMANN has been induced, by the liberal patronage of the publick to his elegant production of last year, entitled Forget Me Not, (noticed in vol. xcii. ii. p. 447,) to continue it as an annual offering; and he has been stimulated to increased exertion to render the work more suitable to the particular object of its destination, by some interesting contributions from the pens of the Poets Barton, Wiffin, Montgomery, and others; of which we have given some specimens in our Poetical Department this month. These are the best parts of the Volume. The prose stories savour too strongly of the German and French sentimental school, and we heartily wish them away, as it pains us not to be able to recommend every page of so elegant a Volume. We hope that another year Mr. A. will form his entire Volume from the productions of British Writers, with true British feelings. The Graphic Illustrations, twelve in number, are very pretty, and well executed. 135. In consequence of repeated calls on Mr. DYER, in our Magazine, relative to his Privileges of the University of Cambridge, he has thought it necessary to print an Address to his Subscribers. This will be read with interest, detailing minutely the causes of the long delay which has taken place, principally arising from Mr. Dyer having been engaged in furnishing Literary Notices of the editions and translations of the several authors, in Mr. Valpy's series of Classics.-The greater portion of the two volumes of " Privileges," &c. has been printed some time, waiting for a Latin Introduction, or a "Dissertatio Generalis, sive Epistola Literaria, Viris Academicis præsertim ad Cantabrigiam commorantibus, humillimè oblata;" it is to contain a Review of the contents of the two VoGENT. MAG. November, 1823. 449 could Judas change his own will, if the immutable prescience of God stand grant ed? Could he change the prescience of God, and render it fallible?" pp. 231, 232. The postulata of Theology are these. Man must be allowed to have free will, or God is the author of evil; nor is any thing in the mind of God deemed immutable, unless he swears that it shall be so," And God sware unto Abraham," &c. but such oaths refer only to his own purposes; not to human actions. Immutable prescience is manifest nonsense. God foreknows; and accordingly predestinates issues to preserve his own wise government, but he does not influence. He only withdraws his grace, where habits are reprobate, and extracts good out of evil committed; or makes it a punishment. lumes. This Address is intended to shew to the Subscribers what they are to expect from the work,-a clue to University History, a guide to its charters, its laws, its literature, and political economy; and sketches literary and bibliographical. That division of it entitled "Privileges," consisting of dates and references, notices of particular events, and heads of public business. Some matters of a lighter nature, or "Fragmenta Cantabrigiana," are to be added to the Work. The Author absolves those gentlemen who may be desirous of withdrawing their names from his List of Subscribers, and solicits new friends. We wish the learned author health and spirits to complete his work, which he looks forward to publish early in the next year. 136. Of the Simple, Original, and Practical Plan for suppressing Mendicity, we shall only say, that it consists in giving paupers estates to maintain them. But no plan which renders pauperism desirable will benefit society, or the subjects of its application. If a manufacturer receives all the wages of his workmen, and honestly expends them for their good, we have no doubt that by the prevention of waste and improvidence, and the superior advantage of the mess principle, the poor will be much better provided for, and in this we think consists the essence of Mr. Owen's plan; and were an overseer to receive all the earnings of a pauper, as a penalty of his becoming chargeable beyond at least a certain amount, we think, that every check which is fair would be opposed to the increase of poor's rates; in short, that they would nearly be annihilated. Charity indiscriminately exercised, is false philanthropy, and we refer the author to Mr. Neild's Observations on the Shrewsbury House of Industry. LITE |