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to cenfure, to ftab under the mask of friendship, is the loweft detc. tion and the fouleft treachery.

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The writer's intention is evidently to deprefs Cambridge in compa. rifon with Oxford. To effect this, he calls St. John's the first college in the former univerfity, and then derogates from its merit by a malig. nant and envious afperfion, while Oxford has his abfolute and unqua lified approbation.

I have nothing, I truft, of that foolish and offenfive vanity, which leads men to boat of themfelves and their connections, ftill lefs would I make invidious comparisons; but it is allowable to commend our. felves for the purpose of repelling an accufation. I call on this writer, therefore, to name that college in Oxford, where a plan of useful learning is purfued with that spirit, vigour, and effect, which are ap parent in the difcipline of St. John's in Cambridge. As to the ine legance of our manners, this is a' calumny which has its foundation and fupport in envy alone. A refidence for many years has given me a very extenfive acquaintance with the members of the college; fo large a fociety muft comprehend men of various acquirements and defects. I could mention a long lift of Johnians, who are not inferior in virtues and accomplishments to any gentlemen in the kingdom; and, I could name too, from other colleges, and even from the writer's favourite univerfity, men as inelegant in their manners, as the lefs refined members of St. John's.

What the writer's own elegancies may be, does not appear. He may be qualified to fhine at routs and affemblies; to "gallant the fan," and to "trip it on the light fantastic tee;" these exterior graces, whilft we know not who he is, we cannot fay he has not. But truth and honour, and the confcious dignity of a gentleman, difdain ing every thing bafe and mean, and abhorring fecret calumny and detraction; thefe are elegancies which he certainly does not poffels. The illiberality and grofsnefs of his language, at the very inftant he is cenfuring others for inelegance, prove his head to be as bad as his heart. This circumftance is fo abfurd as to melt our indignation into laughter, and make even depravity ridiculous.

MARGARETSON.

SIR,

TO THE EDITOR.

IN the commencement of the fixteenth century, when the anabaptifts affumed the character of humble, zealous, and devout Chrif. tians, Martin Luther fupplicated Frederic, Duke of Saxony, that he would treat them favourably within his dominions, for (that their er rors excepted) they feemed good and pious men, and applied to them the fentence of Lactantius:

"O quam honefta voluntate miferi errant."

But

Bat thefe reformers of all communities, according to fome literal and fingle expreffions of the gofpel, when, by fuch merciful toleration, they had gathered ftrength and power, at laft perfuaded themselves that they were doing God acceptable fervice, by expelling their opponents from their habitations, by enriching themselves with the fpoil and pillage of the country, and devaftating a great part of Germany, for the period of the New Jerufalem was arrived, when "the meek ones fhall inherit the earth."

In the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles, the Puritans affected extraordinary meeknefs, fuperior fanétity, and a disregard of all worldly concerns, and contempt of earthly governments. The rump tyranny, infolence, and intolerance, fully illuftrate the real principles The conduct of fuch hypocrites when exalted above their brethren. of the Quakers, of the cobbler George Fox, of the prefumptuous Barclay, who gives a new interpretation to the gofpel, without a knowledge of Greek, and of the war-abhorring Penn, that fitted out fhips. to capture a privateer, ferves to exhibit more strongly the falfe pretenfions of fuch deluding enthufiafts.

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Thefe ideas occurred to me, when I read fome parts of your two laft numbers; for whatever character or perfon (Mask,) a methodist, may now affume, I contemplate him in my mind's eye with greater fufpicion than Hooker beheld the levelling Calvinifts at the clofe of Queen Elizabeth's reign. For what can be more alarming to a church and king-man, than to fee a multitude of thefe fchifmatics, members of the national ecclefiaftical body, and numbers of them, conftituents in the king's lower council, having the ear and, confidence of a great premier and ftatefman? On'fuch an occafion, Icannot but exclaim," dolens dico, gemens denuntio, facerdotum quod apud nos intus cecidit diu ftare non poterit." But, fortunately for prudent and energetic friends to our establishments, fome of thefe amodiogi Zorras, these makers of fects, have difclofed their plans and proceedings in undue feafon, for the profeffed faints now cry, we with they had held themfelves longer in, and not fo dangerously flown abroad before the feathers of the caufe had been grown." I now appeal to all friends of church and state, as by iaw established, whether the methodists are not adopting the fame means to overthrow our reli. gion and government, that the Anabaptifts and Puritans heretofore ef. fectually ufed? Are not these the schemes by which they intend to carry their defigns into execution? They first display a wonderful zeal towards God, this ailures many followers; they next exhibit a fingular fhew of hatred to fin, and here, taking an opportunity of railing against all authorised guides, both fpiritual and civil, eafily gain numerous wil ling hearers and converts. Afterwards they addrefs their audience with the most favourable titles, faints, eie&t, chofen, regenerated brethren of Chrift, children of grace, and afperfe all other teachers as time fervers, greedy of filthy lucre, dumb dogs, who cannot speak the faving doctrines of the gofpel, or enfure falvation to their Chrif tian brethren. By fuch delufions, and by particularly appealing to

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the vehemency of affection, not the reafon or understanding, and by addreffing female minds eafily fufceptible of impreffions, when alarmed by apprehenfions of eternal mifery, fuch hypocrites obtain the charac ter of true and fincere gofpel minifters.

I wish, Sir, the Church of England was reftored to the ftate in which it exifted previous to the times of Welley, Whitfield, Romaine, and other enthufiafts or deceivers. I wish that the parochial dutics in the diocefe of London were discharged in ftrict obedience to the canons of our church, and the good old ufage in the times of Bishop Gibfon. But we have now churchings at home in private houfes, to return thanks to Almighty God for recovery from childbirth, on the pretencce that the ladies are not well enough to visit the temple of the Lord. We with that the good maxim of a late curate of Aldgate univerfally prevailed in the metropolis, who, on fimilar applications, always read a note from a poor woman requesting to return thanks to the Almighty for again being enabled to vifit his house. We wish that home-baptifms, that is, receiving children into the

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congregation of Chrift's Church," in private rooms, before five or fix people was abolifhed, or, as is obferved with great propriety, by an old rector in the Tower Hamlet, that our liturgy in fuch cafes, might be altered from "you have brought this child here to be baptized," to "you have brought me HERE to baptize this child." "I conclude, át prefent, with the fincere wish, og nur wμida, may our old conftitution be restored. Your's,

I

June the 25th, 1799.

SIR,

THE SHADE OF HOOKER.

TO THE EDITOR.

Am under the painful neceffity of occupying a small space in your pages, of which I know the full value. It is relative to an article in your last number, of which my romances form the title, and in which fomething is really to be found concerning them.

Your Critic afferts that the article "Romances in the Encyclope dia Britannica" is not copied from me. The affertion is bold, but it is not true.

In the Encyclopædia Britannica, third Edition, the article "Romances" begins with thefe words :-"Many authors of the first name have written on the ancient romance. It has exercifed the pen of Hurd, of Warburton, &c. We have not, however, feen any where fo concife, juft, and elegant an account of the origin and progrefs of Romances, as in D'Ifraeli's curiofities of literature." The article is then entirely inferted ad verbum, from that work.

You have compelled me to tranfcribe my own culogium, for I would rather appear a vain man than a liar. As for the reft of your Critic's opinions, relative to an anonymous work, to which he affixes

my

my name, I blame his want of delicacy, and his violation of the MORALS OF CRITICISM; but when he tells us, he can eftimate my character, by "giving me full credit for my abilities, while he perfectly comprehends their nature and their extent," I fay, Sir, refpecting all this, you cannot conceive how I envy him his fagacity! I am, Sir, yours, &c. &c.

J. D'ISRAELI.

Answer to D'Ifraeli's Letter to the Anti-Jacobin Reviewers.

WE are always happy to rectify mistakes from which, not pretending to the gift of infallibility, we do not hold ourselves to be exempted.

The obfervation which we delivered on the fubject in queftion, arofe from our having looked over the article novel instead of romance, in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Reading the obfervations on novel, and particularly the criticiẩm upon Tom Jones, we conceived it to be beyond the powers of that author, who, in his Vaurien, with fuch flippancy and mifconception, pretends to defcribe the intellectual charac ter of the Bishop of Rochester, and praifes the profoundness of Voltaire. Since we received his letter, we again confulted the Encyclopodia, and under the head" Romance" perceived the praises of Mr. D'Ifraeli, which he here repeats :

-Quæ plurima fando
Enumerare valet."

There he is right, the praifes of himself are by himself accurately reported. We were in that inftance wrong, and acknowledge our

error.

It frequently happens that the oftenfible motive for writing letters, as well as for other actions, is not THE REAL. Had Mr. D'Ifraeli's reafon been merely to convince us or others, that we were mistaken as to the fact, a reference to the documents would have been fufficient; but as he has not confined himself to what we have advanced on his romances, we have to look for the caufes which have extended his ftrictures. Accustomed to letters from authors, difappointed that we do not rate them fo highly as they are pleafed to rate themfelves, we can perceive in the epiftle before us, the pique of mortified vanity. In his first paragraph he evidently intimates that there is not enough faid upon his Romances. In difcuffing thefe works, we bestowed as much attention and space on them as we confidered their value to deferve or require.

What the author means by an anonymous work, we have not fagacity to difcover, as we never reviewed any publication of his but Vaurien and the Romances, which are avowed by himfelf; therefore, we cannot speak either as to the want of delicacy, or violation of what he calls the morals of criticism..

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From the concluding paragraph of his letter we are forry to obferve, that he must be very prone to envy. He fpeaks of the fagacity which can comprehend the nature and extent of his! abilities as admirable and enviable. Entirely affured that we have, in our strictures on his Vaurien and his Romances, judged fairly of thefe works, inveftigated and eftimated his talents fully and justly, we take no credit to ourfelves for any fuperior fagacity! What we faid was very plain and fimple, on a fubject that required merely common obfervation and common understanding thoroughly to comprehend.

SIR,

TO THE EDITOR.

N confequence of your reviewing Cadogan's Sermons, and the Strictures, in your last number, and the controverfy fuch review and letters may probably have excited, I take leave to corroborate your ftatement relative to the prevalence of methodistical enthusiasts in the metropolis, and its vicinity. In Whitfun week, two converted faints were ordained Ministers of the Gofpel, in Lady Hun. tingdon's chapel, Clerkenwell. Previous to receiving the laying on of hands," they were called upon to give an account of the day and hour of their converfion, by whofe miniftry they were faved, and to relate their spiritual experience. One stated, that he received the divine influx under Mr. Abdy; the other, under Mr. Goode, These are clergymen of the established church, and yet are making profelytes to SCHISM; nay, one is delivering lectures in the church of Bow, the peculiar of the Metropolitan of all England. Now, for what purpofe are thefe Huntingdonian Minifters ordained?-To accompany Mr. Rowland Hill in an excurfion to Ireland, this fummer, who leaves the octagon to Mr. Hay and Mr. Jay, who will damn all the non-elect, and abrogate redemption, by enforcing damnation on all but the babes of grace.

The diocefan of the metropolis has properly required that the names of all preachers fhould be regularly entered in a book, provided for that purpofe, according to the canons of our church. In the parish church of St. John, Wapping, a charity-fermon has been preached by a perfon, advertising himself in the papers as Mafter of a diffenting Academy, within thefe two months. Surely, neither Dr. Willis, the Rector, nor Dr. Porteus, the Bishop, are acquainted with this circumftance? The name and character of this conventicler may be found in fuch parish.

In a parish not a hundred miles diftant from thence, a chapel has been very lately confecrated by a Clergyman of the established church, a Rector, well known for not refigning a living conditionally prefented to him, and a thunderer in an Eaftern fchifm-shop, for the fervice of the members of the Church of England. The liturgy of our church is read in fuch chapel with a trifling variation in one or two collects, and the indifcriminating frequenters of public

worship

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