prayer, by the bed of the departing, to hesitate to supply, however imperfectly, the absence of the minister of religion. I, accordingly, read some portions of scripture, which I deemed appropriate to the occasion, and concluded with some of the appointed prayers of our church, in which I was joined by as many of the crew as could be spared from the watch.

When the service was finished, the patient, who, during its performance, was lying on his back, with his eyes partly closed, and his hands clasped together upon his breast, exclaimed, "Blessed be God, who has visited with the consolation of His Spirit the bed of a dying sinner: now I know that my Redeemer liveth; and that, though my sins be as scarlet, they shall be made whiter than snow; though they be red like crimson, yet shall they be as wool.""

Shortly after he had given utterance to these words, the last mortal struggle ensued, and his spirit abandoned its tenement of clay, to be received, it may be hoped, into the blessed companionship of those who "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

< This was not, be it remembered, one of those sudden, I may not say impossible, conversions which are alleged to take place between the passing of the sentence and its execution on the scaffold, and in many of which instances, it is feared, a dread of punishment is mistaken for a hatred of the crime; it was the result of a deep and humiliating consciousness of sin, and a long and persevering use of the appointed means of grace. In making this distinction, I do not presume to set bounds to that mercy which is illimitable, and to urge the inefficacy of a repentance which is wrought by the prospect of death; God forbid that I should attempt to weaken the faith of the dying: but I would wish to caution the living against the danger of believing, that purification from a life of pollution and crime, is the easy work of a few hours.'-pp. 94, 5.

Sentiments like these would disarm criticism, even were we disposed to exercise our privilege of finding fault. We might, perhaps, object against some of the incidents as improbable; only that it has sometimes happened to us to know of facts in real life, which would sound quite improbable in a tale; and the most unlikely parts of a fiction are not unfrequently, we believe, copied from actual occurrences. The general tone of these narratives is remarkably free from exaggeration. There is a quiet, domestic, serious, and yet engaging manner about them, which excellently comports with the assumed character of the Writer; and we cannot lay down the book without expressing the fervent wish that that imaginary character were more frequently realized. Many such tales could Physicians tell: would that there were many more such Physicians!

Art. VIII. 1. The Life and Diary of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, A.M. of Stirling, Father of the Secession Church. To which is prefixed a Memoir of his Father, the Rev. Henry Erskine, A.M. of Chirnside. By Donald Fraser, Minister of the United Associate Congregation, Kennoway, Fifeshire. 12mo. pp. xx. 543. Price 7s. 6d. Edinburgh, 1831.

2. Memoirs of the Rev. William Wilson, A.M. Minister of the Gospel at Perth, One of the Four Brethren, the Founders of the Secession Church, and Professor of Theology to the Associate Presbytery. With Brief Sketches of the State of Religion in Scotland, for Fifty Years immediately posterior to the Revolution; including a circumstantial Account of the Origin of the Secession. By the Rev. Andrew Ferrier. 12mo. pp. 388. Price 5s. 6d. Glasgow, 1830. 3. A Memoir of the Rev. Edward Payson, D.D. late Pastor of the Second Church in Portland, U. S. 12mo. pp. viii. 502. Price 68. London, 1830.

THE

HE Author of the Memoir of Dr. Payson introduces his work with a remark cited from our pages, (without naming, however, the source from which he borrowed it,) that the memorials of the good constitute one of the most sacred posses'sions of the Church of Christ.'* Adopting this position, he infers, that it is not submitted to our choice, whether or not 'we will preserve and hand down the characters of such as have ⚫ been eminent in their day for the savour and strength of their 'piety, the ardour and stedfastness of their devotion, the con'sistency and power of their example, and the abundance and 'success of their labours in the cause of their crucified King; 'the duty is imperative.' This appears to us going a little too far. It is a duty, we admit, to cherish the memory of the just; but the duty of writing their lives is at least one of imperfect obligation. We do not retract our opinion, we retain the sentiment in its full force, that, 'next to the Scriptures and the pro'mises which they contain, we may estimate the living evidences ' of Christianity which such records serve to perpetuate, and to 'make the common property of the Church Catholic.' But how can it be reasonably asserted, that the preservation of such memorials is not submitted to our choice, when the very nature of the case requires the exercise of choice, since what is clearly impracticable and undesirable in many cases, must be purely discretional on all occasions? The assertion of the American Biographer would in fact, impute to the contemporaries of the Apostles the gross neglect of an imperative duty, which, if binding upon us, must have been still more obli

* See the review of Oberlin's Life in Eclectic Review, 2d Series, Vol. XXVIII. p. 289.

gatory upon them. The old saying, what is every body's business, is nobody's, will hold good in this reference. Upon whom does this imperative duty devolve? Surely, qualification must form an element of the call, and a sound discretion must determine the fitness of the occasion.

The individuals who are the respective subjects of these three volumes, were of that eminence in their sphere and day, that some memorial of each of them could not fail to be both acceptable and useful. Mr. Erskine and his friend and colleague acted so prominent and leading a part in the ecclesiastical transactions of their country, that their names belong to history; and the biography of the individual becomes, under such circumstances, a valuable illustration of the occurrences of the times. Independently, therefore, of the practical use which may be made of these volumes, as holding up examples of eminent sanctity, they derive a specific interest from the historic details they include. Were we, indeed, to review these publications analytically, it would be requisite for us to enter into the transactions of the times much more minutely than our limits will admit, or than we could do to our own satisfaction without extended investigation. We could not altogether take the history of those transactions as we find it here represented, without being chargeable with relying on ex-parte evidence; and we have not at hand the means of collating it with other documents. Not that we have any suspicion of unfair dealing or gross partiality on the part of the writers, or of any material inaccuracy or improper colouring in their statements. But Mr. Fraser candidly avows, that his prepossessions are in favour of 'the man and his cause,' of which he is the biographer; and that he has been aware of the necessity as well as duty of attempting to divest himself of all undue partiality, and to ex'hibit a faithful and unvarnished statement of facts.'

His chief object, in undertaking this work, was to perform a useful service to all the Churches of Christ, by presenting a just portrait of a distinguished Christian and minister. Conformably to this design, he has allotted to the detail and vindication of Mr. Érskine's procedure in conducting the secession from the established judicatories, nothing more than its proper proportion in the book; has studiously shunned whatever appeared to him contrary to Christian candour; and has gladly seized opportunities of honouring the memory of several estimable clergymen who remained in the Communion of the National Church, as well as of those who considered it their duty to secede.' p. xi.

To deny, or to palliate the faults and imperfections of the Secession Church, either in its ministers, or members at large, would be equally unfair and unwise. But whether we take a view of its numbers and extent, or of the good which it is directly and indirectly the means of doing, no candid person will question its title to some consi

deration and respect. Nor can it be reasonably doubted that the magnitude and usefulness which it has attained, should dispose, not only those immediately connected with it, but all of every persuasion to whom the prosperity of Zion is dear, to take an interest in the history of its FoUNDERS.

Independently of the public influence which the Fathers of the Secession exerted on its affairs, their personal excellencies were fitted to command veneration; and their general conduct exhibits much, that posterity would do well to admire, and to imitate. Even writers who disapprove, in the strongest terms, of their ecclesiastical procedure, expressly admit that they were "men of worth and principle."

Among these worthy and conscientious men, Mr. EBENEZER ERSKINE took the lead in declaring the secession. His faithful remonstrances against prevailing defections, in a Sermon preached at the opening of the Synod of Perth and Stirling, gave occasion to those proceedings of the Judicatories against the Four Brethren who were first associated in this cause, and the other Four who subsequently joined them; which terminated in a total separation betwixt them and the Courts of the Established Church. However far he was from arrogating superiority in any respect to his much esteemed Brethren, who honourably shared with him in the toils and perils of the conflict, a sovereign Providence was pleased to place him in the front of the battle; and both friends and enemies have, in consequence, been accustomed to regard him as eminently the Father of the Secession Church.

That he equalled all his coadjutors in every talent and acquirement, is by no means affirmed. The Rev. WILLIAM WILSON, of Perth, of whom an interesting Memoir has recently been given to the world by one of his descendants, very probably excelled him in a turn for laborious research; while in a rich vein of fancy, his own brother, RALPH, of Dunfermline, was superior to both. Yet EBENEZER ERSKINE was unquestionably possessed of high endowments, well suited to the precedency assigned to him. Richly furnished with the treasure of Scriptural knowledge, as well as "unequalled in dignity of manner," his ministrations in the pulpit made him uncommonly popular among hearers of every class; while by sterling good sense, singular energy, and manly intrepidity, he was peculiarly qualified for the post allotted to him in the arduous struggle maintained by the Four Brethren against the corrupt and arbitrary measures of the Judicatories. His published discourses, too, we may add, with the exception of BOSTON's Writings, have perhaps commanded as extensive and as lasting a circulation, as those of any other Scotish minister of that age.' pp. v-vii.

The view which these publications give us of the internal state of the Church of Scotland, is indeed a most melancholy one; and the state of religion generally in that country, at the beginning of the last century, appears to have been most deplorable. It is thus described in Mr. Wilson's Diary, under the date of Feb. 1732.

"Religion was at this time very low. Our nobility and gentry,

for the most part, had not even the form of godliness. Many of them had drunk in deistical principles. Through their frequent visits to London, and their conforming themselves there to the worship and ceremonies of the Church of England, they were altogether careless and indifferent about the worship and government of the Lord's House in Scotland. The most of our barons were corrupt and loose, both in principle and practice; and our commons were generally without that concern about the things of God, which has sometimes appeared amongst us. Few of the young men who are entering the ministry, have any acquaintance with systematic Divinity: yea, they despise it; and what is worse, many of them appear to be strangers to the power of godliness. They are puffed up with airy speculations; and their heads are filled with new notions. This is the deplorable situation of the Church of Scotland at this time."

This,' continues Mr. Ferrier, is the testimony, not of an enemy, or of a troubler of Israel, but of one of the most tried and devoted friends of the Presbyterian religion, as established in Scotland. Yet, even the best friends of the Church of Scotland, and the best friends of many of the Churches of the Reformation, did not perceive the extent of imperfection by which these Churches were still marked, and the length of that course of improvement, through which, before they could completely realize the Scriptural model, it was necessary for them to advance.

It appears, by his writing, that Mr. Wilson was by no means satisfied with the constitution of the Revolution-Church, but regarded it as requiring advances, in order to reach the Scriptural standard. Yet, neither he nor any of the friends of Reformation, in his time, fully perceived the extent to which many of the evils, of which they justly complained, might be traced to a civil establishment of religion; and, far less did they perceive, that such establishment of religion is itself antichristian. They saw not its inconsistency with the Bible, more than Luther did, at first, that of the supremacy of the Pope. But Mr. Wilson's efforts, in conjunction with those of some of his friends, have brought a large proportion of the Church, in our land, into circumstances favourable to more correct views on this subject,-views which are pervading the public mind, and which, we doubt not, will, at length, effectively prevail.

"The spirit of a religious establishment," says an author on this subject, to whom the public is much indebted, " is a sectarian spirit; it breaks, at the very outset, the bond of peace, and scatters through the land the seeds of discord-seeds which, of all others, require the smallest culture. Taking one form of Christianity, it separates it from the rest, and incorporates it with the state,-pronounces it, when so incorporated, The Church,-constitutes it part and parcel of the law-stamps the doctrines and the institutions of it with the authority of the Sovereign, whether they have or have not the authority of God-clothes it with all sorts of exclusive privileges-enriches it with all sorts of liberal endowments-makes it, as nearly as possible, the very image of the political fabric with which it is connected-and then calls upon all good and loyal subjects to lend it their support. If any scruple about obeying the call, and plead the liberty of thinking for