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Two years ago I took the oversight of you in the Lord. What solemn events have been crowded into that brief period !

About fourteen months since, she who had been the wife of my youth was taken from me. For three-and-twenty years we had travelled together; and after enduring a great fight of afflictions, the hand of death terminated the painful conflict. Within one month from that period, the youthful niece of my now departed wife was taken, when full of promise, and with whose brief history you are all acquainted.*

Now her aunt, whose marriage to your mourning pastor was solemnized not quite four months ago, has been mysteriously called to her reward.

All is solemn. I feel it. My hearth is desolated. My soul is bowed down within me; yet, "it is the Lord." I can, through his infinite mercy, bow to the stroke. I am assured the Judge of the whole earth must do right.

I wish not, neither do I murmur. If clouds and darkness are round about him, judgment and righteousness are the basis of his throne. My anxiety and my prayers are, that my heavy-heavy trials may be made useful to me, both as a Christian and a pastor. It is in times of trial, when earthly friends can be but partial comforters, that the religion of the gospel is of unspeak able consolation. This I have felt, and I

* Vide an Obituary of this interesting young lady in our number for October last.

VOL. XXV.

have endeavoured to inculcate the same experience upon you. I could wish myself to be a living exposition of my ministry among you. The Lord pardon my manifold shortcomings!

The affecting bereavements referred to address themselves not only to me, but to you also. They speak loudly and powerfully. They proclaim, trumpet-tongued, that we are all dying; that both pastor and people are fast nearing eternity.

64

My dear people, how stand you in relation to that, as yet untried, eternity? What effect has my ministry produced in you? Alas! to many, too many of you, I fear, I have only been as one playing upon an instrument." Well, if from the gospel, through the living voice of a Christian, you have turned away the ear, will you not listen to the ministry of Providence-Providence preaching "by terrible things in righteousness,"-Providence, saying, by stroke rapidly succeeding stroke, "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel?"

O my dear friends, let not the solemn, rapid visitations of death among us be disregarded. They summon to immediate attention; they urge every soul to deep heartsearchings-to personal examination. As I may possess your confidence and affection, I beseech every one of you, in this, the day of my calamity, not to neglect the " great salvation." Give it now your undecided concern. We shall all soon be in eternity! Shall we meet in heaven? Some among you have long been in the way; others have just taken the pilgrim's staff; some hesitate, "halt between two opinions ;" and others again, scarcely think at all. Oh! my heart's desire and prayer to God for you is, that you may all be saved. Turn this most awakening Providence to the best acYou, who profess to be on "the Lord's side," who have passed from death unto life, who have felt the attraction of the cross, who have started for the "incorruptible crown,' in your families, in the solitude of the closet, in the social meeting, for your pastor, not only that he may be and in the assemblies of the faithful, pray

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sustained in the hour of trial, but that he may come out more fitted to make full proof of his ministry.

And, now, by all the solemnities of death, by all the dread realities of eternity, by the everlasting song of the redeemed before the throne, by the wailings of the finally lost, by the incalculable value of the soul, and by all the arguments appealing from bleeding love, I once again implore every one of you in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. to seek an interest in the salvation which is

I am your faithful and affectionate
servant in Christ,

D

J. BARFETT.

34

Home Chronicle.

RECOGNITION OF THE REV. JOHN

KENNEDY, A.M., AT STEPNEY.

Mr. Kennedy, having accepted a very cordial invitation to the pastorate of this ancient and respectable church, was solemnly set apart to his work, on Wednesday, the 16th December. The congregation, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, was good, and the attendance of ministers unusually large. Dr. Henderson read appropriate Scriptures, and implored the Divine blessing on the engagements of the day. The Rev. George Smith, of Poplar, delivered the introductory discourse. Dr. Burder proposed some interesting questions, which were responded to by W. A. Hankey, Esq., the senior deacon of the church, and by the Rev. John Kennedy, who witnessed a noble testimony for "the truth as it is in Jesus." The Rev. Mr. Kennedy, of Inverness, (the newly-elected pastor's venerable father,) offered up the designation prayer, with a holy and scriptural pathos. Dr. Morison gave the charge to his respected friend. The Rev. Mr. Stovel concluded

with prayer. The Rev. Josiah Viney, of Bethnall-green, preached in the evening to the people.-A numerous circle of friends sat down to dinner with Mr. Kennedy, in the adjoining school-rooms. The occasion was peculiarly solemn and delightful; and the prospect of usefulness which opens to Mr. Kennedy is in a high degree encouraging.-Messrs. Freeman, Talbot, Seaborn, and Drs. Campbell, Hewlitt, and Carlile assisted in the religious solemnities of the day.

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support of Christians, I am induced to request the insertion, in your next number, of a short paragraph relative to its recent operations.

About two years ago, the chapel of the Scottish Hospital, Fleur-de-lis-Court, Fetter-lane, was engaged by the Rev. R. Simson, M.A., and friends, as a place of worship for a class of people of whom, it is supposed, there are not less than 1,500 residing in London. Many of these are in the lowest depths of poverty, while some belong to families of considerable wealth and respectability. Mr. Simson soon collected a congregation, and was joined in this generous effort to "save the souls of the needy" by Mr. Banks, who has gratuitously performed the laborious task of interpreting, by signs, the prayers and discourses of his ministerial friend.

In January last the first anniversary of the society was held in the school room and chapel of the Rev. J. Robinson, Soho. Being one of a number of ministers who took part in that service, and feeling deeply impressed with the obligation devolving on the servants of Christ to care for these longneglected souls, I signified a willingness to hold the next anniversary in our Tabernacle at Paddington. Arrangements were made accordingly, and on November 30th the interesting service took place. One of our deacons, Henry Willman, Esq., ́ provided tea in the school-room for two hundred persons, including the deaf and dumb, at journed to the chapel, to hold a more public his own expense. Tea being over, we admeeting. Mr. Simson made a statement of the affairs of the society, and appealed to the congregation for help in defraying the expenses involved by the rent of the chapel, and by sundry needful appliances in conducting its worship. Mr. Banks interpreted the addresses that were delivered to the mutes by the different speakers. Several letters were read from deaf and dumb persons, expressing their gratitude to Mr. Simson for his kind attention to their welfare, and professing to have derived saving benefits from his labours. One deaf and dumb gentleman, Mr. Burns, interpreted a written address of his own to his afflicted brethren and sisters, while the chairman read it to the auditory. At the close of the meeting a collection was made, which, together with the profits arising from the sale of tickets for the tea, amounted to a handsome sum.

Permit me to add, that if the ministers of our metropolitan chapels would follow up the example set by Mr. Robinson, and each, in his turn, give an annual entertain

the unanimous invitation of the church and congregation assembling in the Independent chapel, Marden, Kent, cominenced his stated services on the 15th November, 1846.

ment to the beneficiaries of this too obscure | Surrey Mission Society, having accepted society, they would be acting in the spirit of Him who astonished the people on the coast of Decapolis “ beyond measure," constraining them to say, "He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."

Yours, in the work of the Lord,
W. UNDERWOOD.

Paddington, Dec. 8, 1846.

PROVINCIAL.

ORDINATIONS.

Rev. John Reynolds.

The ordination of Rev. John Reynolds, late of Cheshunt College, over the Congregational Independent church, Clavering, Essex, took place on Wednesday, Sept.

30th, 1846.

Rev. H. Bromley, late pastor of the church, commenced the morning service, by reading the Scriptures and prayer; Rev. S. S. England, of Royston, delivered an admirably luminous discourse on the nature of the principles of a church of Christ; Rev. J. H. Hopkins, of Newport, Essex, proposed the usual questions; Rev. W. A. Hurndall, of Bishops Stortford, offered the ordination prayer; Rev. W. Lucy, of Bristol, delivered the charge to the young minister; and the Rev. D. Davies, of Stanstead, Essex, concluded with prayer.

GORLESTON, SUFFOLK.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, the Independent chapel, in the village of Gorleston, Suffolk. was re opened for Divine service, when sermons were preached, afternoon and evening, by the Revs. Isaac Ford and John Alexander, of Norwich. On the Lord'sday following, sermons were also preached, in the morning by the Rev. Joseph Pike, minister of the chapel, and in the evening, by the Rev. J. S. Russell, A.M., of Yarmouth. The entire amount collected was 127. Is. 2d.

It will be gratifying to the friends of Evangelical religion, and the Voluntary principle, to be informed, that about 1707. have been raised by this infant church, among themselves and in the neighbourhood; and as the entire cost of the enlargement will be about 1807., only 107. remains to be paid. We confidently believe that this trifling sum will soon be raised, and the church and congregation being free from debt, and rejoicing in their liberty, will gird themselves aftesh, for renewed efforts to promote the cause of the Great Redeemer.

The church and congregation at Gorleston would take this opportunity of return

An excellent collation was provided in the British School-rooms, which were ele-ing their sincere thanks to their numerous

gantly decorated with appropriate mottoes, &c., by the ladies of the congregation. Many interesting speeches were delivered during the afternoon.

In the evening, Rev. John Harris, D.D., President of Cheshunt College, preached a most eloquent and impressive sermon to the people.

Rev. Messrs. Hartland, of Chatteris ; Trigg, of Thirfield; Hodgkins, of Stortford; Player, of Langley; Grundy, of Duxford; Haycroft, of Walden; Leth bridge and Burgess, of Cheshunt, engaged in the services of the solemn and interesting occasion.

REV. W. P. LYON.

The Rev. W. P. Lyon, B.A., has removed from Albany chapel, Regent's Park, London, to Stowmarket, Suffolk, having accepted a very cordial invitation from the church at the latter place to labour among them. Mr. L. commenced his labours at Stowmarket on the second Sunday in Oct.

The Rev. John Hedgcock, agent of the

friends at Yarmouth, Norwich, and other places, who have so kindly and liberally assisted them in their time of need.

TRINITY CHAPEL, CARDIFF.-DEDICATORY

SERVICES.

The services connected with the dedication of the above sanctuary, took place on Thursday the 5th, and Sunday the 8th, of Nov., in the following order :-On Thursday morning, at eleven o'clock, the Rev. T. G. Carver, minister of the chapel, offered the dedicatory prayer; after which, the Rev. W. Gregory, of Clifton, delivered the sermon. In the afternoon, at three o'clock, the Revs. J. Hughes, of Dowlais, and W. Jones, of Bridgend, conducted Divine service in Welsh; and in the evening, at half-past six, the Rev. T. Rees, of Chepstow, in English. On the following Sunday, the services were continued-the Rev. G. Richards, of Alnwick, Northumberland, conducting those in the morning and evening; and the Rev. J. Robinson, of Merthyr, that in the afternoon. Although the weather was unfavourable, the congregations were large -most of them crowded. The sermons

were lucid and masterly statements of evangelical truth, without one element of sectarian peculiarity. The collections realized the liberal sum of nearly 231. This church dates its origin from the earliest struggles of Puritanism in the Church of England, almost thirty years prior to the secession on Bartholomew-day, 1662. Its first pastor was the celebrated Walter Cradock, the Evangelist of the Principality. For upwards of a hundred years, however, "another gospel, which is not another," was preached in its pulpit. But a better day arrived. The present minister entered on his duties

in Aug., 1845. The old chapel, which immediately became too small, was taken down, and the present one erected. It is in the Norman style, and reflects great credit on the taste of the architect, Mr. G. Clinton. In addition to his subscription, and ceaseless exertions, G. Insole, Esq., has given the gallery. It is only just to record the pleasing fact, that the influential Churchmen of the district (especially the Most Noble the Marquis of Bute, T. W. Bodker, Esq., and R. Reece, F.S.A.,) have generously rendered aid in the erection of this sanctuary.

General Chronicle.

POPERY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ON THE CONTINENT.

To the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine.

on

SIR,-Having lately travelled the Continent, I send you a memorandum of a few of the sights there; and am, sir, yours obediently, J. F.

At the cathedral, or duomo, at Milan, there is inscribed the words of our Lord, "I am the good Shepherd," over a very large figure of a cardinal archbishop, there being only a very small crucifix quite below it.

At Duomo D'Ossola, near the pass of the Simplon, there is a zig-zag paved way up the side of a mountain, with a notice at the foot of it, that all who go to the top in a certain devotional manner, shall have the same indulgence as if the person had gone to Jerusalem.

Altar pieces, or canopies, are numerous at Milan, where the letter M (for Mary) is written, with a crown over it; although this place is purer than many others where the Roman religion is dominant, as the Ambrosian liturgy is suffered to be used by Rome; an exception which proves that Rome should not boast of even external unity.

At the duomo at Milan, also, I saw written prayers at an altar, addressed to the five wounds of Jesus Christ, by saying which five times, Pope Leo X. had granted indulgences for 10,000 years, (I presume in purgatory.)

GERMANY,

THE AIX-LA-CHAPELLE RELICS.

The following account, by an eye witness, of the Aix-la-Chapelle rareeshow, may,

perhaps, prove amusing to your readers :"On the 11th of July, the city magistracy and royal government officials were invited to be present at the solemn unveiling of the sacred relics, and every approach to the minster was guarded by military, to insure that none of lower dignity should attain to the pre-eminence; and yet, so uncertain are all human exclusions, a fortunate coincidence procured for my unmagisterial self a favour. able position for viewing the whole drama. The ceremony' (as the officiating priest himself termed it) began with the singing of a choral, after which four cathedral priests appeared, each bearing one of the packages into which the relics are divided, placed them on a table in the middle of the choir, and, amidst a burst of triumph from the organ, and the chant of countless choristers, freed them from their silken coverings, and then carried them round, one by one, for the inspection and veneration of the closelywedged worshippers. Yet, strange to tell, as if even in this select company secret danger was apprehended to lurk, each relicbearer was at each round preceded by four guards with fixed bayonets, and followed by four others with drawn swords! As to the relics themselves, my heretical eyes saw nothing in them beyond a parcel of disgusting rags, of which every old clothes shop could produce a hundred. The swaddling band, in which Jesus was wrapped in the Bethlehem stable,' is formed of a kind of felt. The shift of the blessed Virgin, with the marks left by her milk,' (I repeat the reverend showman's words,) is five feet six inches long; so that Mary must have possessed the sublime stature of seven feet, at least. The cloth in which John the Baptist's head fell is provided with a quantum sufficit of brown spots, which, doubtless, could and would resist every detergent as obstinately

as it is well-known Rizzio's blood (even though a less boly martyr,) still does in Holyrood House! Shoals of pilgrims from the Rhenish provinces, (those from Treves were specially numerous,) Westphalia, and Belgium, came pouring into Aix-la-Chapelle from the first day of the relic exhibition. Ten thousand at least must have found their way thither daily; but one glance at their countenances sufficed to ascertain in what category of talent, whether natural or acquired, they deserved to be placed. On the first Sunday, the archbishop himself appeared in the procession, attended by the bishops of Treves and Luxembourg. The procession lasted from five to six hours, during which horse and foot soldiers were ceaselessly on duty, trying to keep some sort of order. Every afternoon the relics were displayed from the highest point of the cathedral tower towards all the four winds of heaven. And while I beheld the clergy making their rounds at that giddy height, from which their chants reached our ears only by snatches, and then turned to look on the gazing awe-struck crowd below, whose eyes were rivetted on the mysterious spectacle, I was involuntarily reminded of the Mexican priesthood perfoming their fierce rites on the lofty platforms of their temples, and of the submissive, deluded multitude,looking up in speechless but undoubting expectation to the ruthless mediation between them and their blood-thirsty idols. And yet all the worshippers at Aix-la-Chapelle were not of the lowest class. Some few, whose birth and education ought to have taught them better, mingled with the crowd; though it may be that curiosity had its share in attracting them thither. And great as was the concourse, it was, by all accounts, far from emulating that of former occasions; and this is openly ascribed to German Catholicism, and that by its foes no less than its friends. Another proof that the Letter to the Archbishop of Treves' has not been wholly useless, even to the Romanists, is afforded by the fact, that Provost Grosman, even while extolling in his sermon the value and importance of relics, and declaring that heretics deserved the contempt of the orthodox, were it only for despising them, still condescended to hedge off, by warning the people against worshipping these precious things when exhibited for their veneration only; and as the bitter fruits of the Treves Tunic are not yet forgotten, the Aixla-Chapelle pilgrims were forbidden to kneel to the relics! Devotional feelings were, however, by no means in excess; for the provost found himself necessitated more than once to interrupt his introductory discourse by exclaiming from the pulpit, I must request, gentlemen, you will chatter less there below! Nor had any miracle occurred,

One

(during my stay at least,) to cheer the hearts of the faithful. But, on the other hand, the bookshops teemed with Romanist pamphlets and edifying tales of former miraculous manifestations, which the pilgrims carried home in great abundance, if not to their own spiritual benefit, at all events to the temporal gain of the booksellers. of these, entitled The Relic Pilgrimage,' draws its defensive weapons from the Protestant camp, and enlists many heretic authors on the side of relics; besides which, Luther himself is introduced as confessing that his Reformation was good for nothing! More need not be adduced in proof that modern Romanism does not, any more than the ancient, stick at trifles, when a bold assertion is needed to stand in the stead of argument."- Continental Echo.

FRANCE.

ARBITRARY EXPULSION FROM THE KINGDOM, ON ACCOUNT OF RELIGION.

A most flagrant violation of the charter has recently occurred in the department of the Var. Two years since, a petition was addressed to the Chamber of Deputies by a number of the inhabitants of Cannes, praying that they may be allowed the benefit of religious freedom, according to Art. V. of the Charter, and be permitted to celebrate evangelical worship without molestation. Though the petitioners received no reply, it appears that orders were given to offer no immediate obstruction to their worship, and they continued to meet peaceably every Sunday. In the absence of a minister of the gospel, worship was conducted by a schoolmaster who settled at Cannes three years ago. Some weeks before the recent elections, and without any circumstances whatever having occurred as ground of complaint, a decree was received at Cannes, signed by the Prefect of the department, and countersigned by the Minister of the Interior, ordering the expulsion of the schoolmaster from France. The only shadow of justification for this act seems to have been that the individual in question was by birth a Swiss, and not a Frenchman; accordingly, the prefect ordered him to be conducted at once to the frontiers of Piedmont. Great was the sorrow of the inhabitants of Cannes, by whom this excellent man was much respected. After much solicitation, the sub-prefect allowed him three days to quit the kingdom. After his departure, sixty-nine of the most respectable inhabitants of the town addressed a memorial to the Minister of the Interior, showing the wrong that had been inflicted on an unoffending individual, requesting in

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