HENRY DRUMMOND.

it may. Lord King, and Carlile, A word now on the style of and the Ecclesiastical-Knowledge our correspondent's letter. He sees Society, may rejoice in their de- certain points so clearly that he canstruction; but I had rather say, and not understand how other men can still more rather feel, with our Lord believe otherwise; and he therefore, when he foresaw the destruction without hesitation, charges on the of the priesthood of his land, "Oh, great majority of his fellow-Christhat thou hadst known, even thou, tians, not merely a difference of opiin this thy day, the things which belong nion, or even a serious or fatal misunto thy peace! but now they are hid take, but dishonest perversions.” from thine eyes, because thou knew- Now this is precisely what we have est not the time of thy visitation." complained of again and again, both I am, &c. in the writers of the Morning-Watch sect, and some of their colleagues in the attack on the Bible Society. They are not content to confine themselves to arguments, but proceed to conjure up and impute motives-motives the most mean, selfish, and unchristian; carnal expediency, a desire to please Mr. Smith, or Mr. Wellesley, or his Majesty's ministers, or to accumulate " archdeaconries and chancellorships," or to court infidels, and Neologians-in short, in Mr. Drummond's own strong epithet, every thing that is "dishonest." Drummond is safe in speaking thus of his " Evangelical" friends; but if he said as much of his secular friends in a matter of politics, he would be requested either to explain his words, or to eat them, or to adopt some other alternative. We are not inclined, however, to be much offended at his language, as we believe him to be honest, though very mistaken; and his hard words, we can well conceive, flow from zeal and sincere conviction, and not from any unkind feeling: nay, we doubt

***We have stated, that it is not our intention to open a controversy with our correspondent upon the sentiments expressed in his letter. The follies at Mr. Irving's church will do more to enlighten the eyes of all sober-minded Christians as to the character and tendency of the whole system which Mr. Drummond advocates than a hundred arguments. At all events, we commit his letter in all fairness to our readers, and to those of our correspondents who may think that it requires an argumentative reply.

With regard to what Mr. Drummond says of our having " dragged his name" before our readers, in

a

manner uncalled for, and without much information as to his opinions, we need only reply, that we referred merely to what he has published with his name, and even in our own pages: we did not so much as allude to his speeches at public meetings, still less to all that is town's talk of books on "social duties," papers manifold and extraordinary in Morning Watches, and pamphlets multiform and of astounding portent; for we abhor and sedulously avoid the practice, now so common, of adverting in print to the gossip of drawing-rooms, dinnertables, committee-rooms, and newspapers, as to men's supposed opinions. But authentic published document is a just and proper subject for reference; and it were false delicacy, or worse, not to notice it, if requisite, in a spirit of truth and meekness.

Mr.

not but that the same charitable discrimination which could make Earl Grey addict himself to profligate measures without being profligate, and with no imputation of motive, no personal reflection, or intention to give pain, might equally absolve "the Evangelical clergy" and the poor Christian-Observer of all dishonesty in their "dishonest perversions," and leave them true believers and servants of Christ, notwithstanding all their " infidelity." If we thought otherwise, and that our

correspondent really meant in serious mood to impeach motives, as well as to reprobate conclusions, we should consider his letter as undeserving of notice. We, however, wish that he would addict himself to a less ambiguous manner of expression; and the more so, because nothing so much prevents good men of different sentiments weighing each other's opinions with calmness, and a desire to arrive at truth, as this uncandid and not very Christian spirit.

While we are penning these lines, the new Number of the Morning Watch has reached us; and as some of the matters in it link themselves very closely with what we have just written, we shall string them together. If we chose to follow the practice we have reprobated, of making individuals responsible on common, and even credible, report for what they have not actually put their name to, we should not hesitate to trace up to Mr. Drummond himself some of the most absurd, fanatical, and uncharitable papers, or parts of papers, which disgrace Morning Watches and Prophetic Dialogues. Nay, putting rumour aside, we might fairly ask, how is it that some of the papers in the very Number of the Morning Watch now before us contain, not only Mr. Drummond's own wellidentified statements and arguments, but actually his very words in expressing them? If, instead of exercising the delicacy which we have always evinced in this matter, we had " thought fit," as he charges us, though in a very forgiving spirit, with doing, of gratuitously "dragging his name and supposed opinions before our readers, we fear we might have identified him, not merely by report, but by actual collation, as the real Junius in some of the most exceptionable papers in the Morning Watch. To give one instance among many; in the number of that work now on our writing-desk, there is a long article on Spiritual Gifts," which, for superstition, fanaticism, and violent invective upon the faithful servants of Christ through

out the land who do not adopt the
Morning-Watch whimsies, disgraces
even this new and enlarged Moore's
Almanack. Let our readers just
mark the curious identity of style.
In Mr. Drummond's letter to us,
with his name, as above, we find him
charging "the Evangelical preach.
ers with "
perverting men by a
process of delusion which they call
spiritualizing ;"" they have a moral
incapacity to believe God's word;
they say that earth means heaven,"
&c. In like manner the writer of
the paper on Spiritual Gifts in the
Morning Watch says, 'the Evan-
gelical teachers have taught men to
handle deceitfully the word of God
under the system which they call
spiritualizing; by which they have
imbibed a moral incapacity of be-
lieving such a plain thing as that
land means land, and not sky." We
might quote much more equally
dove-tailable; but on the strength
of one such sentence,—the argu-
ment, the style, the very words,
particularly "spiritualizing," and
"moral incapacity,"-a jury would
convict Mr. Drummond of writing
the article in question. We, being
more charitable, and not sworn to
give a true verdict, only presume
that some pilferer purloined the copy
of his letter to us, and has availed
himself of a good imitation of his
style, to palm on the editor of the new
Moore's Almanac * his own vaga-

In twice using this appellation we
speak gravely, and most painfully; for
strange is it that, when the absurd predic-
Moore have caused his pages to be super-
tions and superstitious fables of astrologer
seded-the very publishers being ashamed
of them-by "British" and "Useful Know-
ledge" Almanacs, absurdities as great as
publication only being different) are re-
his own (the motive and object of the
vived in a work professing to be grave
and religious. Yet so it is, for some of
the predictions in this very Number of the
Morning Watch are as groundless and un-
authorized as those in Moore himself; and
some of the marvellous tales are quite as
anile. Who but a worthy successor of
Moore would, under the title of "The
Progress of the English Revolution," have
set himself seriously to glean out of the
and elsewhere, as
newspapers
warnings
before the judgments," and portentous

66

to

ries, thinking they might be mistaken for Mr. Drummond's. Now, if we listened to common fame, or even to internal evidence, and wished drag" our correspondent before our readers, this paper would furnish indications of the speedy approach of Christ in his corporeal presence to judge the world and set up a temporal kingdom at Jerusalem, a long catalogue of " earthquakes, storms, eruptions of burning mountains, fireballs, columns of fire, avalanches, meteoric stones, meteors, sea storms, inundations, hail-storms, and extraordinary heat, which have occurred during the last few years;" with "the signs in the sun, and zodiacal lights, and aurora borealis of last year;" the flood at St. Petersburgh in 1825; a shock at Venice and Parma last September, a mountain split the same month in Switzerland: the sun (not the moon) looking 66 green," ," and having "a singular and unpleasant aspect at New York, on the 18th of last August; "a shade of rose colour, and then a delicate violet" on the sun at Genoa, in the month of August; with numerous similar prodigies? These things the Morning Watchman avers, are "signs of the forthcoming judgments' upon apostate Christendom; and he calls on his readers diligently "to look out for themselves" as to all such portents, that they may not be deceived in the matter, but be prepared to see Christ shortly appear.

So much for predictions; then, as to anile tales: but here we know not where to begin or end, as the work is full of them; but we will give a specimen from the above-named notable paper on "Spiritual Gifts;" not by any means fathering them upon so good and judicious a man as Mr. Drummond, but only lamenting that the pilferer of his bureau bas so shamefully imitated his style, and caught by anticipation not only his ideas and arguments, but often his very words. The pilferer thus writes:

"A German clergyman, formerly a Popish priest, was converted several years ago, by a direct revelation from Heaven, to the doctrine of justification by faith. He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, and immediately preached all that he knew on the subject. One day, while meditating upon whether he ought to continue his practice of extempore preaching, or whether he had not better write his sermons beforehand, seeing that the subjects on which he had to treat were to him, a supernatural fire suddenly descended upon his paper, and consumed it before his eyes. was still in great He error upon many other branches of doctrine, and, amongst others, disbelieved in the existence of the devil. In walking through a neighbour

now

SO new

[DEC.

For this pseudo Mr. Drummond has a very painful occasion for so doing. lical teachers," pious and zealous the effrontery to charge " Evange clergymen, the writers in our religious journals, and the friends of our ing town, he was seized hold of by maniac, who with great strength threw him on the ground, then raised him up and out all the time, You don't believe in dashed him to the ground again, crying priest was moved to command the evil me, don't you?' On hearing this the spirit, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stantly the spirit obeyed, leaving the to come out of the maniac; when inmaniac quiet and in his right mind."

France, there is an establishment for the
"At Glay, near Montbelliard, in
education of ministers and schoolmasters
dull habits and small intellectual or phy-
There was lately in it a young man of
sical powers.
served to become insensible to every thing
On a sudden he was ob
that was passing around him; and in that
this whole period, instead of speaking little
state he continued several weeks. During
and with difficulty, he would pray aloud
with the greatest fluency, and in beautiful
veloped in a mode equally unusual; in-
language. His physical powers were de-
would ascend the scaffolding of the house,
stead of being heavy and inactive, he
which at that time was being built, and
run along the parapets like a squirrel, to
the terror and surprise of the workinen.
His mother was sent for to see him: up
to that period she had evinced no ear-
preached Jesus to her, and she became
nestness on the subject of religion: he
converted, and has continued a consistent
pious woman ever since.
renounced all religious observances, and
however, is said to have subsequently
He himself,
profession of religion."
at this present time scarcely makes any

"A pious French minister, settled at
Paris, had, within these few months, a
young man as a pupil, who had fits of ab-
straction of a similar nature to the other
effects.
at Glay, with, however, very different

The physical energies of this
his intellectual faculties on other subjects
young man were not improved, nor were
quickened; but if a Greek or Latin book
were presented to him he would pass his
mained closed, and instantly repeat the
hand over the page, while his eyes re-
contents, and render the original in good
French. His instructor fearing some
trick, and that he was a better scholar
than had been supposed, gave him a He-
brew Bible, of which language he was
morally certain that he did not understand
a word, and the same effect followed."

"The devil assaulted an eminent saint
year, and one who has had good proof in
of God in this country within the present

and Remarks upon it.

"We have received an account of se

veral visions seen by persons in Edin-
burgh, all of the lowest class except one-
namely, the pious minister who trans-
mitted it. An officer in the navy also,
now on service, and distinguished for his
coolness and intrepidity in the hour of
danger, had a vision of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as accurately seen by him, and
when he was wide awake, as
other object was presented to his senses.
The person who is above referred to as
having been assailed by Satan, had also
had visions predicting events to befal
them in their private affairs, extremely
improbable to be accomplished, but which
they have faith to believe will come to
pass."

ever any

But it is time to cut short this long

note; not for want of materials, but of

patience, and from a serious doubt whether the very exposition of such follies, even had Mr. Drummond's name been responsibly affixed to them, is not making too much of them, and injuriously adding to their notoriety. And yet because the Christian Observer does not fill its pages with such tales, and call them visible manifestations of the Holy Spirit, it is an infidel and blasphemous publication. May the Author of all mercy forgive the defamer: we heartily do.

to the sword and to the deep, as it
was by the scoffers of the French
""
The Evangelical
Revolution.”
clergy" and "religious world"
would do well to leave the poor
gentleman who writes in this style,
whoever he may be, to settle matters
with his own conscience. To waste
words upon him were superfluous;
except to pray that God would be
pleased to forgive his slander, and
bring him to a better mind.

pare with this the following declara- ed at law, nor called out into a field of forty paces, but shall be merely noted down in our tablets, as a monitory specimen of all that a Christian man should avoid when he sits down to pen a theological discussion, and all that common courtesy would shun even in a newspaper political warfare. The reviewer in the Morning Watch is a zealous defender of the writings of the late Mr. Vaughan of Leicester; and he seems thoroughly to have imbibed his sentiment, that in theological controversy the end is to vanquish your opponent, and that you need not be very nice about the mode of so doing.