tion of every great town excites those whom it does not confound; and so, men, bewildered, as in a sudden conflagration, take the first measures which occur, and risk injuring much, and impede one another by their precipitancy. But let any persons of commanding mind and station take the lead, and propose plans which may employ all this wasted or mischievous energy, and a calm time will ensue. Let the bishops but propose to us large schemes, instead of following in the wake of plans suggested by others, and this ferment, which is at present occasioned by a number of ill-digested schemes traversing one another, will subside. The very existence of definite plans, however large, has something calming and absorbing. Men gaze at the stately building as it rises, and the busy feeling of self is subdued. The Bishop of London's plan appears to me eminently of this sort. It proposes to remedy one tremendous evil by exertions proportionate. The simplicity of the plan has a tendency to concentrate men's minds upon it, and within it. So, again, a society for endowing new churches, under the direction of the bishops, will be tangible, and relieve people's minds by a continual progress towards a definite end, as well as much facilitate church-building. (On the other hand, a board, like the Pastoral Aid Society, for supplying lay teachers and curates, besides its obvious anti-episcopal character and tendency to produce a far worse and deeper schism than the Wesleyan, is distracting, from its very vagueness,-manifestly belonging rather to a missionary establishment, than to a settled church.) It is the being cumbered about many things,—our manifold guinea, or half-guinea, subscriptions to a number of unorganized, undigested, indefinite objects,which keep up our restless, unquiet, spirit; and therefore I hail this plan of the Bishop of London, because (beyond the enormous benefit which, I trust, under God's blessing, it may convey to the metropolis) it seems a dawn of a more ordered and calmer state of things. And should our churches be built, and our parishes subdivided, then one great source of excitement will be withdrawn, and we may go about our work more calmly, and so receive and digest the truths of the gospel more fully and more deeply.

(To be continued.)

BAPTISM.

SIR, I wish to draw the attention of your readers, and more especially of your clerical readers, to the mode in which baptism is usually administered in our church. It is universally admitted that, in primitive times, immersion was the rule, and affusion an exception allowed only in cases of sickness. As for aspersion or sprinkling, it may well be doubted whether such a thing was known in the early church. Now, we all know that, with very rare exceptions, the practice of sprinkling has obtained amongst ourselves, in opposition both to primitive order and the express injunctions of our church, as contained in the rubric. The following observations of WALL are surely worthy of our deep consideration, as indicating the opinion of

one well versed in the subject, both as to the unjustifiable ground upon which the modern practice rests, and also the injury which has been done by the introduction of this novelty:

"I am clearly of opinion, that it was not any scruple or offence taken at the baptizing persons in infancy that raised this schism [of the anabaptists]. As that has been from the beginning in our church, and in all churches, the unity and satisfaction of all people in it, from the beginning till of late, is a proof that it must be some new thing at which the offence was taken. There has no novelty or alteration that I know of in the point of baptism been brought into our church, but in the way or manner of administering it. The way that is now ordinarily used, we cannot deny to have been a novelty brought into this church by those which had learned it in Germany or at Geneva. And they were not contented to follow the example of pouring a quantity of water, (which had been introduced instead of immersion,) but improved it (if I may so abuse that word) from pouring to sprinkling, that it might have as little resemblance of the ancient way of baptizing as possible."*

Such an opinion, from such a quarter, 1 trust, will justify me in submitting the following questions to members, and more especially ministers, of the church of England:

1. Is not the practice of sprinkling (as distinguished from affusion) absolutely unlawful, being against the order of our church in any case, and having no other foundation than carelessness, or something worse ?+

2. Is it not incumbent upon the attached members of our church, both clerical and lay, to attempt, gently and prudently, a restoration of the primitive practice of immersion?

3. The difficulties in the way of such an attempt being admitted, are they of sufficient weight to excuse us from the obligation to obey an express order of our church, which also is recommended to us by primitive usage, and to justify us in adopting a practice which has been productive of schism, and in which we cannot fairly defend ourselves from the objections of schismatics?

The difficulties which will present themselves, I admit, will be very great.

In the first place it may be urged, the very young children cannot be subjected to immersion without danger to their health. This, however, is a matter which rests entirely in the judgment of the sponsors. If they certify that the child is not able well to endure immersion, the minister's responsibility ceases, and he must be satisfied with affusion. To parents and sponsors, however, it may be well to remark, that this objection to immersion, with respect to the generality of children, must be fanciful, since it is universally practised in the Greek church in many countries where the climate is colder than our own. This objection is treated of, at some length, by WALL. Next, to baptize the child naked would, probably, be objected to in our fastidious con

* Wall. Vol. iv. p. 458. Cotton's Edit.

This is surely giving

↑ I have been present at some baptisms at which the clergyman has just dipped his finger in the water, and touched the forehead of the child. an unjustifiable latitude to the sense of the word baptize.

VOL. X.-Dec. 1836.

4 Y

gregations. For my own part, I think this should be required, as in the primitive church, and in the Greek church to this day; otherwise, the child would be baptized with wet clothes rather than with water. But on this point I should wish to obtain the opinion of others.

Next, there is a difficulty in the size of our fonts, which, owing to the modern practice, have been made not sufficiently large to admit of immersion. And Canon 81 enjoins that in this "only font shall the minister baptize publicly." This difficulty would require a reference to the bishop or ordinary.

Another difficulty, which many clergymen would feel, might be, that a restoration of the primitive usage might tend to make some Christians dissatisfied with the baptisms which have been administered otherwise, as if they were not valid. This difficulty, of course, might be much obviated by teaching on the subject. But, in truth, it is an objection which equally lies against all reformation.

Some clergymen, also, might feel an objection to break in upon established usage without the direct sanction of the bishop. Of course, it would be only right and dutiful to consult with the bishop; but at the same time it should be remembered, that a single bishop in his diocese is only the executive, and not the legislative, authority in the church; and the legislative authority has already decided in favour of immersion, in the rubric. "In the church of England," says Bishop Jeremy Taylor, "there is a law, that when children are baptized they shall be dipped in water; only if they be sick it shall be sufficient that it be sprinkled [poured] upon them; but yet the custom of sprinkling all does prevail. In this case we are to stand to the law, not to the custom, because the law is still in force, and is actually intended to prevail according to the mind of the church; and it is more agreeable with the practice, the laws, and customs of the primitive church, and to the practice of Christ and his apostles." And, again, we are to follow her [the church of England's] command, because that command is not only according to the meaning and intent of the word Barriere in the commandment, but agrees with the mystery of the sacrament itself; "for we are buried with him in baptism," saith the apostle. "In aqua tanquam in sepulchro, caput immergentibus, vetus homo sepelitur et submergitur; deinde nobis emergentibus; novus resurgit inde;" so St. Chrysostom, "the old man is buried and drowned in the immersion under water; and when the baptized person is lifted up from the water, it represents the resurrection of the new man to newness of life." In this case, therefore, the contrary custom, not only being against an ecclesiastical law, but against the analogy and mysterious signification of the sacrament, is not to be complied with, unless in such cases as that can be, of themselves, sufficient to justify a liberty in a ritual and ceremony; that is, a case of necessity."-Of the Power of the Church in Canons and Censures. Vol. xiv. pp. 55-64, Heber's Edition.

If it should, in any case, be felt impracticable, at once, to restore the primitive usage, I would suggest that a step towards it might be attained by having the font filled with water, (instead of the usual

custom of having a small bason inside the font,) and by holding the child over it while the water is poured upon it.

Would it not also be well in new churches to take care to have the fonts made sufficiently large to admit of immersion if required? CATHOLICUS.

I am, &c.

A CONVERT TO ROMANISM.

SIR, A young English lady, who had recently renounced the communion of her own church, has entered a convent of Carmelites, at Rome; and the circumstances of her conversion have been considered so important and interesting that they have already been published in three different languages. Cardinal Weld has printed a narrative of them at Rome, with an Italian translation, and Mr. Drach, librarian of the Propaganda, has translated the work into French.

As the young lady was only eighteen years old when she abandoned her church, the public will be curious to know what could have been her motive for so unnatural a proceeding; and happily we are not left in the dark. She informs us in her narrative, that "her doubts respecting the orthodoxy of the Anglican church commenced with her earliest childhood, and that from the moment she began to learn the Apostles' Creed she ceased to be a protestant!"

Romanism is not usually considered very favourable to the exercise of the right of private judgment; but here, forsooth, we have a cardinal holding up to the admiration of the Roman-catholic world a precious instance of it, in a child (we may presume) of four years old beginning to question the orthodoxy of the Anglican church! We are told that it ceased to be a protestant before it had quite got by heart the Apostles' Creed; but, unfortunately, we are not informed which article of that creed effected its conversion. As, however, there is an instance on record of a protestant servant in a Romancatholic family being induced to change his religion mainly by his master pointing out to him that he had all his life been professing his belief "in the holy catholic church," we may presume that it was the same potent argument which opened the eyes of the cardinal's protegée.

The young lady's subsequent impressions and reasonings were equally satisfactory. "From her infancy she felt an attachment to Romish ceremonies, and all that was Romish made an impression upon her.

When four years old, she visited a convent of Carmelites, and remembers it still. In Ireland, at ten years old, she had occasion to see some Roman catholics, and enter a Roman-catholic chapel. She accidentally met with an Ave Maria in Italian, and learnt it by heart. Notwithstanding, (!) her ideas of religion were very vague. One thing only she was convinced of namely, that the Anglican was not the catholic church, the inference which she had drawn at four years old from the Apostles' Creed.

These particulars are taken from a review of the young lady's work, in a very able French periodical-« L'Ami de la Religion."

The reviewer's reflections upon it (it is a Roman-catholic publication) are, of course, of a somewhat different character from those which have just been made. He informs us further, that she had much to suffer, when residing with an uncle in Germany, (à ce qu'il paroit) on account of her bias to the Roman-catholic religion-i. e., he is not quite sure that all she suffered was for this reason. Part of her suffering might, perhaps, have arisen from her own imprudence, forwardness, or bad temper. But her sufferings were all for the gospel's sake, for all that appears to the contrary!

The young lady formally renounced her religion in London, April 25th, 1832, when she was not quite nineteen; and, having previously converted her mother, set off with her two days after for Rome, as the reviewer adds, quitting England for ever.

And this is a convert from protestantism, of whom the Romanists are so proud that a cardinal of their church has published a narrative of her conversion in three different languages!

P.

AFTERNOON DUTY.

SIR,-A correspondent, in your last number, inquires, what is the best method of instructing, and keeping together, a Sunday afternoon congregation in a country parish? I beg to send an extract from a book which I have lately published on preaching, which seems exactly to suit his case. I do not make any apology, because the greater part is taken from Paley. "So important did Paley consider this sort of preaching (i. e., lecturing), that he delivered a charge (his fourth) expressly upon the advantages of lectures, and particularly recommends them after the afternoon service, in country parishes. 'Lectures may be given,' he says, on the creed, the Lord's prayer, the commandments, the articles; but expositions of scripture possess manifest advantages above other schemes of teaching. They supply a more extensive variety of subject; as one short chapter, or half a long one, will always be sufficient for one occasion.' 'I am apt, also, to believe, that admonition against any particular vice may be delivered, in commenting upon a text in which such vice is reproved, with more weight and efficacy than in any other form. The scripture will seem to lead you to it, so that it will exclude the suspicion of intentional personality, even though you speak freely and pointedly.' He might, perhaps, have added, with equal truth, that lectures of this sort afford opportunities by which the great truths also of the gospel may be impressed on the minds of many hearers more advantageously than in any other way. In addition to this advice, he affords us the valuable authority of his own experience of the good resulting from such a mode of instruction. The afternoon congregation, which consisted of a few aged persons in the neighbourhood of the church, seldom amounted to more than twelve or fifteen; since the time I have commenced this practice, the congregation has advanced from under twenty to above two hundred. This is a fact,' he goes on to say, "worthy your observation, because I have not a doubt but every