round his table in his kingdom? This question involves more than my own peace or comfort, and is submitted to your consideration by Your much indebted And constant Reader, A MEMBER OF THE CATHOLIC To the Editor of the Christian Observer. IT is not unusual with Arian and Socinian writers, to call in question the orthodoxy of Newton and Locke. And the Edinburgh Reviewers have, in their last Number, endeavoured to fix this charge upon them, and thus both to cast a reflection upon these illustrious persons, and to deprive orthodox religion of their support. Now, although the charge might easily be disproved even by so incompetent an advocate as myself, you have so many correspondents whose knowledge and leisure are greater than my own, that I cannot but call upon them to furnish you and your readers with some information upon this not unimportant point. C. To the Editor of the Christian Observer. IN " A summary Account of the Proceedings of the British and Foreign Bible Society," which has recently been published, there is the following extract from the Report given by the Rev. Ebenezer Henderson, of his visit to Iceland, for the purpose of distributing Bibles among its interesting population.* "Owing to my hurried departure from Reykiavik, and the indisposition of Bishop Vidalin, he deeply regretted that it was not in his power to have the letter of thanks ready, of which he intended to make me the bearer to the Society: but he assured me it should be forwarded by the first opportunity; and put into my hands a beautiful *The Report is dated Copenhagen, Oct. 16, 1815. CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 181. poem, sealed with the episcopal seal, in which Iceland, personified, expresses her warm sense of gratitude for the benefit conferred upon her by the British and Foreign Bible Society. It is composed by the translator of Milton, the Rev. Jon. Thorlakson, of Bægisâ, and is one of the finest specimens of Icelandic poetry extant. It unites the beauty both of the ancient and fectly alliterated, but displaying modern Scalds; being not only perLatin translation by my friend, the the charms of a triple metre. A learned Professor Finn Magnusson, of Iceland, shall accompany the original." Your readers will probably dispense with the insertion in your pages, either of the original Icelandic poem, or of the Latin translation of it; but in the same pamphlet is contained an English Imitation of this poem, which, if I may judge from my own feelings, they will read with no small plea-. B. sure. ICELAND TO THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. SOCIETY of CHRIST! whose fame The world shall raise o'er thy compeers Thou most deserving of such name, Or in the past or present years Thy beam has shone more lovely bright Than solar blaze or lunar ray; Has shone, when all around was night, And bade the darkness pass away. When they, our unbelieving foes, Would crush the hopes they could not feel, You, sons of England, then arose, With hearts all love, and hands all zeal. You, bound by Charity's blest tie, And fearless in defence of truth, Spent in our aid, unsparingly, Riches, and pow'r, and age, and youth. And what! tho' near the Arctic pole, And, like a heap of drifted snow, The chilling north-winds round me roll, The land of ice-call'd rightly so; Tho' circled by the frigid zone, An island in a frozen sea; Yet I this charity have known: This Christian zeal has glow'd for me. E For, see, the messengers of Peace, Ye friends to God and Iceland, hail! One visits me-thou Great First Cause, Inthron'd in majesty above; 'Tis here I recognise thy laws, And feel how mindful is thy love. And shall I, when thou deign'st to bless, Forgetful sleep the years away; And, sunk in torpid listlessness, Nor strike the lyre, nor raise the lay? Th' unfeeling heart, the sordid hand, Would mourn, perchance, the vast Yet, what your ardent breasts could lead These gifts to spread, these toils to dare? Could hopes of gain impel the deed? Could thoughts of avarice be there? No: 'twas the love of Him on high, The safety of the poor on earth; Hence rose your sun of Charity, Hence has your star of Glory birth. Society of CHRIST! most dear To Heaven, to virtue, and to me! For ever lives thy memory here: While Iceland is, thy fame shall be. The triumphs of the great and brave, The trophies of the conquer'd field, These cannot bloom beyond the grave: To thee their honours all shall yield. Thy fame, far more than earth can give, Shall soar with daring wing sublime; And wide, and still more wide, survive The crush of worlds, the wreck of time. Thus Thule and her sons employ Their hearts to pour the grateful song; And long thy gifts may we enjoy, And pour this grateful tribute long! Aged, and clad in snow-white pall, The north-wind with our minstrelsy. These strains, tho' rigid as the clime, Rude as the rocks-oh! scorn not thou! These strains, in Thule's elder time, Kings have receiv'd-receive them now. Yet not the harp, and not the lay, Can give the praise and blessing due; May He whom heav'n and earth obey, Ye Christian Fathers, prosper you! May He, if pray'rs can aught avail, No joys in life or death deny ; Crown you with fame that shall not fail, With happiness that cannot die! "CHILD of man, whose seed below "Child of dust, corruption's son, "Child of sin, by guilt oppressed, "Child of Heaven, by me restored, THANKFULNESS. SING to the LORD with cheerful voice: From realm to realm the notes shall sound, And heaven's exulting sons rejoice When, starting from the shades of night At dread JEHOVAH's high behest, The sun arrayed his limbs in light, And earth her virgin beauty dressed; Thy praise transported Nature sung In pealing chorus wide and far; The echoing vault with rapture rung, And shouted every morning star. When bending from his native sky, The LORD of life in mercy came, And laid his bright effulgence by, To bear on earth a human name; The song by cherub voices raised, Rolled through the dark blue depths above, And Israel's shepherds heard, amazed, The seraph notes of peace and love. And shall not man the concert join, For whom the bright creation rose; For whom the fires of morning shine, And eve's still lamps that woo repose? And shall not he the chorus swell, Whose form the incarnate Godhead wore; Whose guilt, whose fears, whose triumphs tell How deep the wounds his SAVIOUR Long as yon glittering arch shall bend, To cheer with hope the fainting soul; Thy praise shall fill each grateful voice, Shall bid the song of rapture sound; And heaven's exulting sons rejoice To bear the full Hosannah round. REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocess of Carlisle. By SAMUEL, Lord Bishop of that Diocess, at his third Visitation, in June, 1816. Published at the Request of the Clergy. London: Rivington. 4to. pp. 24. AMONG the many distinguished functions attached to the episcopal character, none is more important, or more venerable, than that of holding, from time to time, a solemn personal conference with the inferior orders of the clergy, and of addressing them in the words of serious pastoral monition. The privilege of granting holy orders, though prior (if we may so say) in time to this, does not appear superior in dignity. To select, indeed, and to consecrate those who shall "feed the church of God, which he hath bought with his own blood," is no light or menial office. But it seems, if possible, an occasion of a still higher nature, when the existing body of clerical functionaries undergoes an official supervision from the established superiors of the church; when assembled, as it were, between the porch and the altar, they are warned, exhorted, entreated, animated, to discharge their duty with fidelity and wisdom. Nor in any part of his stated calling, does a prelate more immediately appear the vicegerent of the Supreme Ruler of the church, than when he thus summons his brethren to a solemn interview; when he labours to "stir up their minds by way of remembrance;" when he examines if their loins are girt and their lamps burning; when he exerts his parental influence to rouse or to edify, to relume faded ardour, or to regulate misdirected exertion. In point of manner, the episcopal addresses delivered on such occasions admit of little variety. When they are grave, calm, earnest, pious, affectionate, they are all they should aim at; and, to say the truth, their excellence is of no common rank. With regard to matter, they are, perhaps, less restricted. Their essential character, indeed, and their ultimate object, must be the same; but their immediate topics will bear to be indefinitely diversified. They are employed, either in the refutation of prevalent errors, or in accrediting and establishing such truths as are doubted or forgotten. They borrow, therefore, their shape in a good degree from the actual state of opinions, that is, of the most volatile and capricious of all elements, and may be expected to vary with the varying phases of the Christian world. In his general conception of the nature of such an address, the Bishop of Carlisle appears (if we may presume to judge on the subject) very accurate. He is, for the most part, mild, serious, unaffect ed, and conciliatory. He also justly considers it as a part of his office to repress the circulation of mistaken notions and the propagation of incorrect practice. Thus far all is well; but, in the application of this principle, persons of good intentions may differ. In the composition before us, the chief, or rather the exclusive, subject of episcopal objection is the Bible Society. To be severe in criticising productions of this sort, so far as respects mere style, would be very idle, if not somewhat arrogant. Deference is due to advanced age and high station; especially to station of an ecclesiastical kind. It is, therefore, of little conse quence-perhaps it is worse than unnecessary-to inquire, whether such writings are lucidly reasoned and clearly worded on the one hand, or, on the other, are the indistinct enunciation of confused sentiments. Much that is true, and much that is pious, may consist with a very moderate share of literary or logical merit. But, when the weight of an episcopal name is employed, with whatever purity or excellence of purpose, for the discouragement of that which is good, and the promotion of that which is evil, the right of free, though respectful, remonstrance immediately takes effect, however humble the quarter in which it is to be exercised. By those who deem the Bible Society one of the most efficacious instruments of religious knowledge in existence, the cause of that Society cannot possibly be surrendered, even to the most imperative considerations of deference for exalted rank, or submission to constituted authority. There is another distinction which may be noted in this place. When men once admit the excellence of any given benevolent institution, it little matters, perhaps, what precise rank they allot to it, in comparison with other charities of the same class. Two centuries ago, the great casuists were wont to agitate such questions as this: Of all the benevolent purposes to which a rich man may apply his fortune, which is the best? Such inquiries wise and conscientious men might answer very differently, and yet might differ very little after all. In the same manner, at the present day, some persons might rather choose to subscribe to the Bible Society, and others to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, while the great utility of each institution was fully conceded on both sides. tion would then be one of bare preference, and might be discussed amicably, and decided variously. If this were all, we know not that The ques we should be very anxious to embark in the controversy, and at any rate should embark in it with feelings perfectly tranquil. It is only when such a comparison is instituted for the purpose of passing a positive censure on the Bible Society-it is only when that Society is decried as absolutely useless or mischievous-it is only when, through the sides of that Society, the sufficiency of the sacred Scriptures themselves is virtually, and in effect, though undesignedly, assailed, that we feel this to be a controversy of the widest possible extent, and the deepest conceivable importance. Whether the Society in question is or is not the most useful charity on record (though our own opinion inclines to the affirmative) appears to be a point which needs raise no controversy: let but its positive and eminent merit be allowed, and we are content to adjourn the question of its exclusive supremacy. It should be mentioned, to the honour of the Bishop of Carlisle, that, in treating a subject which has proved but too fruitful of acrimonious invective, he maintains a uniform tone of good temper and equanimity. Nor is he only moderate in language, but, generally speaking, candid in sentiment also. If this last remark admits of any exception, it is this; that, through out the Charge, there seems to run a tacit assumption that the true friends of the Church of England must of course be adverse to the Bible Society. On one occasion, which will be pointed out in the sequel, the assumption is made overtly. Meanwhile, it may be observed, that assumptions of such a nature are not the less injurious because not couched in broad or offensive terms. It will now be our business to present the reader with some extracts from this Charge; and, that we may do no injustice, those extracts shall be copious. In subjoining to them a few strictures of our own, it shall be our endeavour to avoid all unfairness and asperity, without any sacrifice of the freedom of opinion. "The most prominent among the many institutions which have been formed, is that of the British and Fo reign Bible Society. Under an idea of a general and simultaneous dispersion of the word of God throughout the whole world, and of combining all mankind in love and good-will towards each other, the fundamental rule of the Society was to distribute Bibles, and Bibles only, without note or comment for it was taken for granted, that by thus intermeddling with none of the various interpretations put upon the words of Scripture by different discordant sects, this harmony was to be pro duced. Whether this idea be well founded; whether human nature can thus be moulded, and turned out of its usual course, as to the determined prosecution of its several aims and objects, is to be doubted; and the kingdom has Both been strangely divided upon it. the learned and the unlearned have taken their sides. So that the great object, which was at first depended upon, has totally failed of its effect: general union and universal harmony are quite out of the question. "On thus entering upon the subject of the Bible Society, I am well aware how difficult, I might say how impossible, it is at this present time so to frame a discourse, or so to shape any argument, as not to be liable to reproach from some or other of the various supFor the porters of that institution. very idea of distributing the word of God seems to have such natural force and propriety, that nothing can be so obvious as to represent every opposition to the design, however injudiciously the design may have been carried on, as a wish to debar mankind from their just liberty of judgment, or from obtaining a true knowledge of the way to eternal life. A subject of this kind is calculated to supply abundant matter of declamation, and to convey to many, notions of standing upon elevated ground, while they contend, in popular phrase, for the unbounded diffusion of the holy Scriptures, whereby alone we can become wise unto salvation. "I would therefore here, in the very beginning, speaking in the mildest man ner, so far obviate all such remarks, as to declare, that nothing can more readily coincide with the regular purposes, and |