Accidentally (as men say) we mentioned the name of the Rev. G. W. Straton, the first correspondent who greeted us as Editor, in 1840. We were neither aware of his being known to the Bishop, nor of his being in town at the time. Two hours after his lordship and he were engaged to meet, when the former said, “I have met a lady this morning who has wanted to see me for fifteen years past, and she has introduced to me a man of your acquaintance." "It would be strange,” replied Mr. S., "if it should be the man whom, when your lordship first spoke to me, I thought I should like to bring you in contact with." It was the same. Reader, will you not say, "Here is the finger of God?" Neither we nor any one else had had any communication with Mr. Straton upon the subject. We had seen him but once, and that but for a few minutes, many months before. Subsequently, Mr. S. called upon us, saying, “Now, I should like the Bishop to have Mr. Irons's testimony concerning you." Scarcely had he said the words, when Mr. Irons was announced, who immediately said, “Mr. D—— must be left to his own conscience about entering the Church of England, but I can only give one testimony respecting him." Without our interference an interview was arranged between the Bishop and Mr. Irons; and the indulgence at a throne of grace on that eventful morning will ever be sweet to our remembrance. Privileged to lay the whole matter afresh before God, and to plead once more his own divine guidance with a fervour and importunity but seldom realized, we opened the Bible, begging for a word of counsel. "I have a message from God unto thee" (Judges iii. 20), were the first words that caught the eye. "Lord, what is the message?" was the inquiry. "For this I am waiting; speak, for thy servant heareth." Again we opened the Word, prayerfully and tremblingly, directly upon these words, "My sons, be not now negligent, for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him" (2 Chron. xxix. 11.) "But Ireland, Lord, Ireland—that dreaded place, and I such a poor, weak, timid worm." Instantly that precious promise in Isaiah (xli.15) rolled into the mind, "I have made of thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth. Thou shalt thresh the mountains and make them small;" and Zech. iv. 9, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands also shall finish it;" and (Mic. vii. 25) "The Lord will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham.' However exalted all these passages in their principal and primary meaning, yet the circumstances and feelings under which they were quoted to the soul, were such as to afford a peacefulness and satisfaction as none but such as want to have matters made very I clear to them can understand. Still our inward unbelief suggested, "But what if all this be a delusion? If deceived, how awfully deceived!" We ventured to express these fears to the Lord; and once more opening the Bible, the first words which again met the eye were, "Then was I in his eyes as one that found favour" (Solomon's Song viii. 10.) Twelve months, and upwards, again passed away, during the latter part of which the Lord once more opened his sweet communings in reference to the ministry, and to Ireland. On one Sunday evening, in particular, we found access to his throne, and, the heart being open, and the tongue set at liberty, we were permitted to rehearse, as to a friend, circumstance after circumstance-objection upon objection-and promise after promise, precisely as the whole had occurred or been applied. Still the Lord would give no answer at the present as to the then position. There was no rebuke as to the past-no burden upon the mind as to any mis-conception. But the anxiety was respecting the present course; more especially as a curacy had been proposed in the north of England; and the flesh suggested one's own country would, after all, be preferred to the greatly-dreaded Ireland. On the Tuesday following these words came to the mind with much power and sweetness, Certainly I will be with thee." "That is all I want," was the answer, "but where, Lord? where wilt thou be with me?" A few minutes after a letter was put into the hand, the leading clause of which was, "The Lord hath opened his way into Ireland, and into Ireland must go." "Certainly I will be with thee," came again directly. "No, no ; I cannot take this. It cannot bear upon this letter. It was applied before, and therefore had no reference to it." Still it was repeated again and again the whole day, "Certainly I will be with thee; certainly I will be with thee." At length the scruples began to give way. There was a thankfulness of spirit afforded, but (Gideon-like) further evidence was necessary. It was an important-an all-important matter and therefore without the most positive testimony we could not venture. The next passage was given in a dream about a fortnight afterwards, "I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it;" with these words we were awoke, the mind being instantly directed to Ireland, with all the past train of circumstances in connexion. But this would not suffice. "One more passage, Lord, and that shall suffice. What it is, or where it is, we know not; but thou canst read one out of thy word with power into the heart." Sitting a few days afterwards, and musing upon what one and another would say if we entered the Church of England, we were silenced as if by an audible voice, "Of what consequence is it what they say? Have not I commanded thee ?" Reader, this was enough. We could not- -we durst not-ask the Lord for any further testimony, and we felt it would be hypocrisy to ask again, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" for this he had already told us. Month after month passed. We took no step, but were resolved to "stand still and see the salvation of God;" when one morning passing along by the Royal Exchange (Judges vi. 12) was applied very powerfully to the heart, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." "I am anything but this, Lord," was the reply. "This can by no means apply to me." Still there was an unction with the words; and the mind being as usual carried over to Ireland, the inquiry went forth again and again, "Wilt thou be with me? Wilt thou be with me? Assure me of it, then I can venture even to Ireland. Within a week or ten days of this (and many months after there had been any communication with his lordship) we received a letter from the Bishop inviting us to Templemore, the sphere of the last winter's labours. The flesh recoiled at the thought of leaving family and friends, to go over into the troublous Tipperary; but the promise was given instantly upon reading the letter, "For the Lord shall go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rereward," which was immediately followed by the words of the poet : "Plagues and death around me fly, Till He bids I cannot die; Till the God of love sees fit." And this again by the repeated application, " Immortal till our work is done." Still poor cowardly nature would object, and great was the conflict whilst waiting upon the Lord for an answer to the letter just referred. But the moment we hesitated to accept the proposal, Luke ix. 62, "And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God," came with such rebuke, that we trembled to reply in the negative. The reading of Jer. 32, and the first four chapters of Zechariah, were especially comforting to us at this time. The latter clause, 8th verse of Jer. xxxii. was especially forcible. Under these circumstances we wrote-engaged to go; and, to the honour of that God who proves himself all-sufficient under all circumstances, we are compelled to acknowledge, that in the whole course of our lives we never realized the peace and satisfaction which, for the most part, we enjoyed on our journey to Ireland. It must be experienced in order to be understood. For a record of the strength of heart and mind afforded at setting out, we refer our readers to the last page or two of the leading article for December last, which was written two or three hours before starting. What followed-the engagements of the last winter-have already from time to time been detailed in these pages. And as to the ordination itself, the Lord is witness that the prevailing cry, was "If thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence." But He did go with us; He did grant his presence; and through the whole of that most solemn service-conducted as it was with all that heart and soul with which our Reformers arranged it-we stood at that sacred spot with a peacefulness of mind-a satisfaction of heart-and a precious present realization of the presence and approbation of our God, which enabled us secretly to exclaim with good old Jacob, "Surely the Lord is in this place." * "This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." * Readers, our paper has extended to a length of which we had no previous intention; the present being a double Number, has induced us thus to trespass, together with the wish we had of furnishing you, ouce and for all, with an answer to your scruples. We trust in the foregoing simple narrative, we have proved that our leadings have been of God. We may have failed in description, but we have not been mistaken in realization. We know we have followed the footsteps of the flock. We know our God has been with us. We know that nought but his gracious hand could have conducted us, nor aught but his strength have sustained us. All has been well. We still have our bondage frames-our legal fears, both in the study and the pulpit; but anon we have in both places the presence and the power of HIM whose we are and whom we serve; and then is His service perfect freedom indeed. We do not set ourselves up as standards for others. "Let every one be thoroughly persuaded in his own mind." But for ourselves we can say, that, with respect to the services of the Church of England, that in the study and by the wayside, his communings have been most precious; in the desk the reading of his word and the offering up of those petitions have been most refreshing; and in the pulpit, with poor sensible sinners to listen and the Lord the Spirit realized as present to teach, and grant a door of utterance, we have at times felt as happy and as well satisfied as we ever expect to feel this side of eternal glory! Beloved readers, we continue yours to serve in the Gospel of Christ, The Protestant Beacon. "From the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable enormities, good Lord, deliver us."-Old Prayer-book Version. THE POUNDS, SHILLINGS, AND PENCE SYSTEM." MR. EDITOR, To the Editor of the Gospel Magazine. In the "Gospel Magazine" for August last, I read an extraordinary dialogue between Dr. Miley and the Pope-the former having written rather precipitately concerning the soul of O'Connell, and sending him to heaven without passing through the purgatorial ordeal of the church -the latter fearing an inconsistency should be apparent to any reflective mind, in celebrating masses to take our of purgatory a soul that never was in it. Your correspondent, however, leaves us in the dark, as regards the exact position of Dan. he leaves him in a very unsettled state, and the Church of Rome in a great dilemma, but we may feel assured that the church will not be over scrupulous in saying anything to get her out of the difficulty; and as to inconsistency, she thrives on A circumstance took place in this parish about a month since IT. that fully bears out this statement, and I should feel obliged by an insertion of it in your valuable Magazine, in order that England may see what she may expect by encouraging Popery. First, I must premise by saying, that, according to the Roman Catholic Faith, venial sins are ONLY forgiven in purgatory. Now in this very parish, within a month since, fourteen priests, with fourteen candles, have been declaring by their acts, that a man who kills himself by intoxication, goes to heaven, provided he leaves enough money to pay for masses-thereby proving drunkenness (which, according to their own theory, is a mortal) to be a venial sin, when cash is concerned. The person alluded to was a young gentleman, who, until he got ill, was scarcely ever sober, and of course subject to those vices attendant on inebriety. His dissipation kills him, and Rome, in sacerdotal array, goes to the parish chapel, with her fourteen priests, declaring there, before the people, that a man may go the devil's road while he lives, with a sure hope of heaven when he dies, provided he leaves money to pay them to celebrate masses for his soul. What an example to hold out to the youth of this country !-what a doctrine to inculcate on the rising generation of Ireland! Let the crimes of France, Italy, and Spain be traced to their right source-the hope that bad men may be forgiven by leaving money to the Church to pray for their souls when dead. How hardly can a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven, says our blessed Lord; how easy, says Rome, if he leaves his treasure to the Church. May England never forget her great privileges. She is pointed to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, instead of an imaginary purgatorial fire; and also to that text before which the lurid flames of purgatory are for ever extinguished. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John, i. 7). I remain, Mr. Editor, yours truly, Nov. 11th. S. LINES ON THE RIVER SUIR, Co. WATERFORD), IRELAND. For the Gospel Magazine. FLOW on, shining Suir, with thy waters so cheering, Flow on, shining Suir, to the deep ocean wending; |