the articles of the Christian faith; but a closer view, a more careful investigation, will disclose, in both cases, the prevailing opinion, that religion primarily and chiefly consisted in external actions and forms. And if, from the study of the hagiographies of the period, the Lives of hermits and monastics, for instance, -from such a study, I mean, as shall give a clear insight into its real character, its originating principles, its more commanding convictions, the real form into which it was resolved to force, however violently, the moral, and even the intellectual, man; if we say, "Here are the examples; " here, then, by fair analysis, are the principles; and here, by equally fair synthesis, is the religious system, which these examples assume to be true:-if from these studies, bringing with us the well-understood system, we come to the New Testament, and gathering, especially from the Epistles, the system there revealed and established, we proceed to compare them, it is impossible not to be struck with the resistless conviction, the systems are not the same. The asceticism of hermits and monks was no real part of that system, a comprehensive account of which might, by legitimate reasoning, be collected from those few words of St. Paul: "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality." (Rom. xii. 10-13.)

Since the English Reformation, the love of religious biography has rather grown than diminished; and, from the circumstances of the country, the church, existing in various sections, all holding the great truths of Christian orthodoxy, has, from its very divisions, furnished the larger number of " Lives" of eminent, or thought to be eminent, Christians. As might have been anticipated, among these there is very great variety of expression;

but it will soon be seen by the care. ful observer, that this variety is more in expression and form, than in principle and substance. The saints-if I may so term themthe saints of the Reformation-school evidently belong to the same religious system. There is, among them all, the exaltation of Christ as the only and glorious Saviour; the acknowledgment of the reality of the comforting and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit; the deference to holy Scripture, as the word of God; the admiring and practical submission to the holy law, given in Scripture, and established by faith; and, what demands special observation, all that is sacred in communion with God is preserved in the midst of ordinary life, and its providential duties. There is secrecy, but it is the secrecy of the heart; there is retirement, but it is the retirement of the closet. It is, in a word, a sanctity evidently consistent with the order of society, as established by Providence; a sanctity existing in society, and spreading its powerful influence not only over the whole surface of society, but throughout the entire mass, showing plainly how lump is to be leavened, and how the surface is to be polished.

the

Nor do the biographies of the Wesleyan system at all deviate from this general Reformation, and, we believe, most scriptural model. In them all will be found the clear expression of justification by a penitent faith in Christ; the sanctification of the Spirit; obedience to God, having for its rule the holy law, as given by God himself; a benevolent and active desire to promote the true well-being of mankind, both temporal and spiritual; and all this in the bosom of domestic life, and in the midst of society. Nothing is found which, by condemning the original nature of man, as given by God himself, tends to the subversion of society, as constituted by a divine and continually-operating Providence, but every thing which tends, in evident consistency with the plans of the same Providence, to the purifica

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rents in Ireland, in early life he felt the struggle between nature and grace; and, resorting to some of the methods prescribed by the more devout writers and Preachers of his Church, the usual effects ensued: the evils which he felt were exasperated, and the condemnation that oppressed his conscience became darker and heavier. In this state of mind, being now in the eighteenth year of his age, he was persuaded to read the New Testament; and, though he had been an earnest disputant in favour of Romanism, yet he could not resist the light which disclosed the falsehood of several doctrines he had hitherto received. The doctrine of merit, for instance, and that of the invocation of mediator-saints, he saw to be not only without warrant of holy Scripture, but in direct opposition to its whole spirit and system. The result was, his conformity to the Protestant Episcopal Church; though, as yet, not clearly seeing the way of salvation, he found not the relief he desired. Shortly after, however, (in March, 1749,) in Limerick, he heard a Methodist Preacher, out of doors, inviting the weary and heavy-laden to come to Jesus Christ, that they might find rest to their souls, and at the same time earnestly exhorting them to search the Scriptures for themselves to see whether these things were so or not. The subject arrested his attention. He saw at once that if the Preacher were right, he must seek for peace in another direction. He read the Scriptures; and, perceiving the way in which his spiritual wants were to be supplied, he "sought the Lord earnestly, and with many tears." Nor was he long before he obtained deliverance. Faith in the blood of Christ (to employ his own words) "brought heaven into his breast, and filled him with righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." And with the peace that he experienced was connected heavenly power; for "in the Lord he had righteousness and strength."

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From this time his course was very uniform. He had already joined the Methodist society; and

having (in the expressive language then often used) begun to call sinners to repentance, he was soon, by Mr. Wesley, called to a full devotion of himself to that solemn employment. In this work he continued labouring like a man who had but one object in life, but that one inexpressibly important, till fatal consumption put a period to his labours in the twenty-eighth year of his age.

But though the narrative contains little of what is usually called incident, there is one principle which places it in a very different aspect. And as the principle applies to religious biography generally, it may be proper to examine it in the outset. Assuming that nothing deserves the name of "incident," but what refers to the present world, and appears in close connexion with worldly prosperity or adversity, joy or sorrow, the reader, who is unacquainted with the real character of spiritual exercises, passes over the statement of them as not sufficient to break the tedious uniformity of the narrative. But, are they real? That is the question. Have we really broken the law of God? Are we indeed justly condemned by it? Is there a salvation actually to be experienced; and is it to be sought directly and personally? Is spiritual culture, in order to spiritual growth, a reality? Is spiritual conflict, in order to spiritual victory, such? And do all these exercises refer to the prosperity of the soul, to its real pleasure, honour, wealth? Do they lead to that glorious inheritance which, while it encourages both faith and hope, surpasses not only description, but conception? If these things are realities at all, they are realities of inexpressible importance; and, to the spirituallyminded, the contemplation of those relations to them in which an individual may from time to time stand, cannot be otherwise than interesting and instructive; often, interesting and instructive in the highest degree. As he who had only learned the characters of the Greek language, and the laws of its pronunciation and prosody, would find no incidents in those very verses of Homer,

which, when once made to speak to his mind, would speak of nothing else; so he, who is only tutored by "the minding of the flesh," will read over a narrative like the memoir of Thomas Walsh, and find in it not a single occurrence to engage his attention.

But though devoid of this species of interest; and indeed, of that, likewise, which arises from the beauty of composition; the Life of Thomas Walsh is not one which will permit the mind of the truly pious reader to remain unimpressed. It is full of religious experience, and of religious experience in earnest. Its earnestness, perhaps, sometimes approaches the borders of austerity. Thomas Walsh seems to have had very impressive convictions of the divine holiness; and sometimes, in the solemn and strenuous devotion with which he sought to be conformed to it, he was in danger of overlooking that sacred joyousness which honours God, and encourages the timid. Still, the Life of Thomas Walsh is a valuable piece of religious biography; and the more so, as, while in his religion there was somewhat of the colouring of the asceticism to which so many Romanists have turned, the principle had no place there. With him, mortifying the flesh was an inward work; and he never lost sight of the blood of Jesus Christ, as that which alone cleanseth from all sin. It is scarcely possible to read the volume without being admonished and aroused, or without being encouraged, so far as relates to the success of efforts which, though they may be too gloomy, cannot be too unremitting and earnest.

The Life of John Nelson furnishes a variation equally pleasing and instructive. As a record of religious experience, indeed, all the leading principles are the same; but there is none of the ascetic colouring. John Nelson's religion was eminently cheerful,-cheerful, in the best sense of the word. And while in Christian simplicity and humility he was exemplary, his candour, his honesty, his unshrinking

courage, his plain good sense, his manly independence, all conspired to make his character as attractive in expression, as it was sound in principle. The "Life" is written by himself; and, in its own sphere of usefulness, is not less valuable than the memoir of Thomas Walsh. It is somewhat plainer, and is therefore likely to be read by many who would, for a time, at least, be deterred from reading the other. And as the exterior path of Nelson, though marked by nothing romantic, was far from being devoid of incident, the narrative si thus often interesting to the young, and to those who, though not blind altogether on spiritual subjects, do yet only see men as trees walking. Acquaintance with John Nelson will prepare the reader for being introduced to Thomas Walsh.

The Life of John Haime, in proportion to its smaller size, is scarcely inferior in interest to that of John Nelson. In Thomas Walsh, more is said of what he was, than of what he did; in John Nelson and John Haime, more is said of what they did, than of what they

were.

Haime's youth was spent in wildness, which ended in his enlisting into the army. (1739.) Even in his wildest days, his conscience was not asleep. Some of his descriptions, though not so painfully minute, are yet as vivid and fearful, as if they had been given by John Bunyan himself. He briefly narrates his own "life;" and while it is plain that he wrote, not for effect, but to express the leading occurrences and feelings which were impressed on his memory, yet, writing in this Christian simplicity, he wrote with considerable power. He was in the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, where, in the midst of danger, he manifested the highest degree of courage. Cool and selfpossessed, when, in the battle of Fontenoy, after seven hours' exposure to the hottest fire of the enemy, a cannon-ball killed the horse on which he was riding, an officer, who witnessed the occurrence, cried out, Haime, where is your God now?" The answer was promptly

given, "Sir, he is here with me; and he will bring me out of this battle." It is remarkable that, soon after, the officer was himself slain.

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The "Extract from the Journal of Mrs. Elizabeth Harper," though exceedingly brief, deserves especial attention, not merely on account of its own worth, but because it was published by Mr. Wesley, who, in a few prefatory remarks, states (among other things) what was his object. He says, To set the doctrine of Christian perfection too high, is the ready way to drive it out of the world. Hence, we should always carefully guard against this, by insisting, it is no more and no less than giving God all our heart; loving him with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. This is well consistent with a thousand infirmities, which belong to every soul while in the body. To place this in the clearest and fullest light, I have 'published the following extract from the artless Journal of a plain woman, wrote merely for her own use." It is not necessary to add much to this. Mrs. Harper appears to have been a woman of plain sense, and very earnest piety, without what might be termed, "intellectual information and culture;" but for this very reason, as well as because of the almost extreme brevity of the "Extract," persons in similar circumstances will be likely to derive the greater benefit from a record which, small as it is, and possessing no distinguishing peculiarities, (unless, indeed, their absence be regarded as one,) possesses substantial merit. It deserves, and would well repay, a revived circulation.

"The Life of Silas Told" is another autobiography, and, in many respects, an exceedingly curious one. It belongs to the class in which those of John Nelson and John Haime are included; that is, it consists chiefly of narrative. It was published by Mr. Wesley; who, in point of fact, describes the general character of the sketch, by the eight or nine lines of advertisement which he prefixed:-" Mr. Silas Told was a man of good un

derstanding, although not much indebted to education. In his Life are many remarkable instances of divine providence, some of which are of an extraordinary kind; yet we may easily credit them, if we consider, on the one hand, that he was a person of eminent veracity, and, on the other, that he relates what he saw with his own eyes, and heard with his own ears. I believe those very passages will be of use to serious and candid readers." In the early part of his life, Mr. Told was much at sea, and suffered many hardships. After his connexion with the Methodist society, he had the charge of the charity-school at the Foundery; and, for many years, he was accustomed to visit the condemned malefactors, for the purpose of praying with them, and imparting religious instruction. His fervent spirit, his correct knowledge of the way of salvation, his unconquerable affection, his untiring patience and perseverance, rendered him, by the blessing of God, eminently useful to the unhappy, and generally extremely ignorant, objects of his Christian care. Some of his visits appear to have had the most salutary results. The description of his interviews with the celebrated Elizabeth Brownrigg, whom he attended to the place of execution, is very affecting.

To the above, may be added, "The Life of the Rev. John Valton," edited by the Rev. Joseph Sutcliffe, A. M. Mr. Valton was one of "Mr. Wesley's Preachers." He was born in 1740; and being of only a delicate constitution, and subject to numerous and frequent infirmities, he died in 1794, when scarcely beyond the maturing prime of life. He was of respectable parentage: his father and mother were French Roman Catholics, (in which profession their son was educated,) and came over to England in 1738. Mr. Valton, sen., one of the pages to George II., and

was

"The Life and Labours of the Rev.

John Valton, written by himself; and now edited with many Additions and Letters. By Joseph Sutcliffe, A. M. 12mo. pp. 138. Mason."