him to the castle of Vilvorden, eighteen miles distant from Antwerp, where he remained prisoner about a year and a half. The English merchants procured letters from Secretary Cromwell to the court of Brussels for his release; but in vain, as his destruction was resolved on. When brought to his trial, he was offered an advocate and a proctor, according to the custom of the country; but he refused their assistance, preferring to plead his own cause. However cogent his arguments might be, they prevailed not with his judges, who condemned him by virtue of the Emperor's decree, made in the assembly at Augsburg. Being led to the place of execution, he was tied to a stake, calling out, " Lord, open the King of England's eyes!" He was then strangled, and his body consumed to ashes! During his imprisonment, he was instrumental in the conversion of the gaoler and several of his family. The imperial officers were so struck with his piety and conversation, that they pronounced him " a learned, pious, and good man." His course of life had been most exemplary for studious application and methodical arrangment. He used to call the first and last days of the week "his holidays." On the former, he regularly visited and relieved such of his countrymen as had fled from England on account of religious persecution; on the latter, he sought out in the lanes and corners of Antwerp such poor natives as stood in need of instruction and consolation. In bestowing alms, he appeared as an angel of mercy; in preaching the word, he spoke like an Apostle. On the Sabbath, the merchants used to meet in the house of some one of their number, when he attended and expounded to them the Scriptures. As a translator, his integrity is most satisfactory. "I call God to witness," said he, "when I shall appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, to give an account of all my actions, that I have not altered one syllable of God's word against my conscience; nor would I, for all the honours of this world, if they were laid at my feet." To Englishmen and Protestants his name is peculiarly dear. Bishop Bale declared," that for knowledge, purity of doctrine, and holiness of life, he ought to be reckoned the next English Reformer after Wickliffe; and that he was born for the edification and "conversion of many souls." He it was who furnished the basis of that Bible which millions of his countrymen have since "esteemed above their chief joy." Of the translation itself, Dr. Geddes has observed, that " though it is far from a perfect translation, yet few first translations will be found preferable to it. It is astonishing, how little obsolete the language of it is, even at this day; and in point of perspicuity and noble simplicity, propriety of idiom, and purity of style, no English version has yet surpassed it." He sowed the seed, that still shall spring and give Rich All fruits and flowers, that will long sur vive chance, all change: and though the night may come, And though the deeper darkness of the tomb, A Sun more bright than ours shall bid And on the very grave hope's buds will them grow, THE TWO CONVERTS. "ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," said the great Apostle; and perhaps there is no Scripture, the truth of which is more quickly experienced by those who are decidedly converted to God. respect may not give offence to the real parties, should it be recognized by others, are nevertheless substantially true. Phoebe and Priscilla were born in the same neighbourhood. They were the daughters of respectable parents; and, from the intimacy which subsisted between their respective families, they were very early acquainted with, and became attached to, each other. There always appeared to be a great similarity of disposition in them; though their subsequent conduct may perhaps incline your readers to think differently: but, be that as it may, the affection which they both che eulogium which Phoebe, who was a year older than Priscilla, passed upon the boarding-school at which she had been placed for half a year, caused the parents of Priscilla readily to give their consent that she should go to the same seminary, after the ensuing Christmas. As in the time of Isaac and Ishmael, he that was born after the flesh persecutes him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now *. No sooner is a sinner convinced of the error of his ways, and through God's mercy stirred up to follow after holiness, than the pride of the self-righteous formalist, and spleen of the profane, are provoked to oppose and throw obstacles in his way. At the same time, how-rished for each other, and the high ever, that the child of God must be prepared to experience, in some shape or other, the enmity of the unregenerate, it is of the first consequence to his own progress in grace, to the welfare of the church of Christ, and to the glory of his heavenly Father, that the young convert endeavour to bear and forbear in a spirit suitable to the new character which he is called to sustain. As some err in regard to proper firmness, so others do as effectually compromise the interests of religion from the want of that "meekness of wisdom," which is so necessary in order to recommend divine truth. The question, however, when to be firm, and how to be firm, frequently perplexes the sincere disciples of Jesus; and it may, therefore, with God's blessing, prove instructive to some of your readers, if I relate some circumstances bearing upon this point connected with the history of two young ladies; which circumstances, though I have purposely confounded and altered the relationships, in order that too accurate a narrative in this * Gal. iv. 29. In process of time, the vicar of the parish in which the boardingschool was situated died, and was succeeded by a minister whose doctrine and manner of life soon became the common topic of discourse. Some cavilled at the truths which he brought forward, declaring them to be dangerous, and calculated to encourage people to sin; others found fault with the holiness of his life, which they said was far more strict than the Gospel of Jesus required. Mrs. A. the lady under whose care Phoebe and Priscilla were placed, although she might with propriety have been termed, previously to the arrival of the new minister, a woman of a pious spirit, was nevertheless unacquainted with those fundamental truths which are inculcated by the Bible, and echoed by the Liturgy of the 66 Church of England; and consequently (for holy conduct and sound doctrine are inseparably connected) she was conformed to the ways of the world in many things which the spirit of the Gospel condemns, and deficient also in many labours of love" which the same Gospel recommends. She acted, however, according to the light she had received; was an upright, affectionate, moral, and charitably disposed woman; and was perhaps somewhat similarly circumstanced with Cornelius, who, although he practised prayer and almsgiving, needed the instruction of a faithful servant of God in order to the salvation of his soul *. It was the custom of Mrs. A. to interrogate the young ladies on the Sabbath evening respecting the subject of the morning, and afternoon discourses; and she took great pains to lead them to what, in her apprehension, was a right understanding of the sermons they heard. As the town-talk, therefore, concerning the new minister had reached the ears of her pupils, it was with no little curiosity that some of the elder of them (but more particularly Phoebe and Priscilla, for they had become deeply interested in his sermons) looked forward to the customary exposition of Mrs. A., in order that they might ascertain her opinion before they ventured to decide for themselves in matters concerning which the whole town was now divided. From the very first, however, of the new minister's arrival, the expositions of Mrs. A. had degenerated into mere interrogatories, for the purpose of ascertaining whether her pupils had paid becoming attention; and now that their interest was awakened, to the surprise of all, and the mortification of several, the customary catechising was discontinued. "What can be the reason of it?" (whispered Pris * Acts, x. 4-6. cilla to, Phœbe) "I fear Mrs. A. does not approve Mr. "The suspense of the young ladies was, however, very quickly relieved by Mrs. A. who came one day into the school-room with a smiling countenance, and told her pupils, that she had news for them which she trusted would be gratifying. Mr. 66 -," continued she, Our new minister, has kindly offered to visit you occasionally, and explain the Church Catechism and the Scriptures; which offer I have very gratefully embraced, and he will be here for the first time tomorrow." A lively satisfaction beamed in the countenances of all. There were a few, as I have already hinted, who were beginning to be seriously impressed; whilst the remainder only wanted the voice of elders and superiors to decide them either one way or the other. Their prepossession was in favour of Mr.'s goodness, as they called it; but had their elder companions, or Mrs. A., proved of an opposite opinion, it is to be feared they would have gone with the stream, and condemned him without a thought. With regard to Mrs. A. the real state of the case was this. From the first moment of her hearing Mr. preach, she was satisfied that she herself knew literally nothing of religion; and when she reflected, that she had nevertheless undertaken to guide the footsteps of youth, she was under inexpressible concern for the account which she would one day have to render concerning those committed to her charge. These considerations, and a sense of her present blindness (for the Scriptures now appeared to her like a book which had only been opened for the first time), induced her to forego her exposition, until she should find her own understanding enlightened on the subject; and to seek with earnest prayer, according to the pulpit exhortation of her minister, the teaching of God's Holy Spirit. But In the mean while, she had not been indifferent to the various sentiments which were put forth concerning Mr. ; but, as she was one in whom was no guile, she reasoned over these matters with herself. "Mr. is accused," she would say, "of introducing doctrines which are not orthodox; but he supports them by sound quotations from the Bible, the Homilies, and the Prayer Book; what better test can I have of orthodoxy? The coincidence of his sentiments with these testimonies,. leads me to question the orthodoxy of those who differ from him. some call his doctrines dangerous, and stigmatize them as having a tendency to encourage sin: yet, again, others complain of his principles as being too strict. Surely both charges cannot be true! He appears to be free from all those things which ordinary moralists call sinful; and to abstain from many other things, as sinful, which worldly people openly defend. Have his followers become more zealous of good works or less so? Undoubtedly more zealous. I cannot shut my eyes to this plain truth; and if we are to judge of doctrines by their fruits *, how can I resist the conclusion that this minister's doctrine is from above? The influence which it has upon my own mind is a sufficient testimony in this respect; for, instead of making me content to walk with greater disregard of God than formerly, I see myself condemned in many points wherein I never even suspected myself; and feel, that I must perish, unless I also declare decidedly for the Lord. Indeed, it would seem as if the holiness of his life, and his separation from the ways of the world, were the real cause of his being railed at, however his doctrines may be the * Matt. vii. 15-20. avowed cause; for I have certainly heard many of the truths which he delivers occasionally preached in a random manner by others: but then their lives gave a different commentary on them; whilst the moment he explains what he means by renouncing the card-table, the theatre, and the pernicious vanities and follies of the world, he is denounced as heterodox and abominable." Such were some of the arguments which passed at different times through the mind of the excellent Mrs. A.; and the result was, that she came at last to the resolution of requesting an hour's conversation with Mr. in the course of which her difficulties were removed, her future conduct determined upon, and Mr. -'s offer of instructing the young ladies accepted. bit of visiting her school at stated periods, for the purpose of communicating religious instruction; the many wondered that a woman of her sober character should have become an enthusiast, and a Methodist, and a Calvinist, and many other frightful things, at her time of life; whilst a few who claimed acquaintance with her, called with a fixed determination to reason her out of this " nonsense.' The arguments of Mrs. Positive were perhaps the most plausible and cogent; and as they contained the sum and substance of the whole, I shall briefly name them. She repre 66 sented that, however other people might choose to follow the wild notions of Mr. it was not becoming in her, who held a peculiar situation, to be singular in her principles or conduct; that she would run a very great risk of losing her scholars, as their parents would not be willing to send them to her, when they were likely to be instructed in principles contrary to their own; and further, that her conduct passed a tacit censure upon many very good people," who thought the things which she condemned quite innocent; and did not see the necessity for making so much fuss about religion; moreover, that their late vicar was her friend, and as worthy and good a creature as ever lived, and he never saw things in this light, consequently it was injurious to his memory to act as she did, for there could be no doubt but that he was in heaven. To this Mrs. A. modestly, but firmly, replied, that she would not presume to pronounce upon the present state of her late friend; only she thought it argued a disbelief of God's word to bring him forward in opposition to its plain commands; and she could not but wish that he had known, and preached, and acted up to, the doctrine of Mr. both for his own sake and the sake of his parishioners. As to censuring other people by her conduct, she did not intend so to do; but she was persuaded she should incur the censure and just wrath of Almighty God, if she did not act according to her own light, without considering what "other people" did; and that it was not her fault if, in so doing, she seemed to condemn them. With regard to her situation as a schoolmistress, she thought Mrs. Positive could not surely have given it a serious consideration; for, so far from conceiving herself excused thereby from boldly confessing Christ, there was perhaps no female in the town upon whom it was so incumbent; for she considered herself responsible, not to public opinion, but to God, for the souls committed to her care; and her example was of the first importance, in order to enforce or recommend the doctrines of the Gospel. She had made up her mind, therefore, with God's help, to become one of the Lord's "peculiar people;" and, though she might lose all her scholars in so doing, it would be far better than losing her own soul, and being instrumental in the perdition of theirs by a contrary conduct. She could not think from whom practical lessons of piety were to be expected, if not from those who had the tuition of youth. Mrs. Positive left her in high dudgeon, declaring to her friends that Mrs. A. was mad; and though it pleased God to put the sincerity of Mrs. A. to the test, by suffering her to lose many of her pupils on this account, yet he supplied her with grace to rejoice in the midst of her trial, and ultimately her school became better established than ever. I now return to Phoebe and Priscilla. Many were the promising symptoms which occasionally appeared among the pupils of Mrs. A. in consequence of her own efforts, and of the ministerial labours of the new vicar; and many the disappointments over which they mutually mourned. Alas! who that has been actively and anxiously engaged in the endeavour to train up youth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but has experienced similar encouragements and depressions. The youthful heart, not yet hacknied in the ways of the world, but full of sensibility, is like the stony ground in the parable-it receives the word with joy; but when temptation arises, or tribulation on account of it, there is no deepness of earth, and presently its promising appearance withers, and is no |
