artist to be framed, and when finished I shall have much 1832, pleasure in forwarding it to England with as little delay as possible. Mons. Cappaccini speaks with gratitude of the attentions he received when he had the pleasure of seeing you; a satisfaction which I had some years ago, in company with my friends and relations, Mr. Blount, and the late Sir T. Constable, of Tixall. "Believe me, Sir, "Your very humble servant, Hard Fard: Weld "To the Chevalier E. Thomason, Birmingham." "Dear Sir, 66 "Finlagan, Londonderry, Ireland, By an unfortunate fatality, your kind letter of the 22nd January, 1831, only arrived at my residence in this country on the 11th inst. It appears to have been mislaid in a Government Office, where it was sent by my agent in London to be franked. My friend, Lieut. Drummond, of the Royal Engineers, discovered it on the 8th, and forwarded it to me through the Secretary of State. "It has afforded me the highest gratification to learn from you that my suggestions upon a subject of the first importance should have been considered worthy of your 1832. marked attention. The production of such a work as you allude to, illustrative of the Divine Wisdom in the redemption of this world by our Lord Jesus Christ, must be a source of the sublimest satisfaction to yourself, as contributing, in an eminent degree, to promote the glory of God. That stupendous event appears to me to have been a primary part of the providential system of God towards mankind. For the accomplishment of the salvation of all such as shall be redeemed, this world was created, and a mysterious system of providence carried into execution. For the accomplishment of it, the Son of God condescended to become incarnate, (thus God was manifest in the flesh,') to lead a life of humiliation and suffering, to die on the cross, and to be buried in the tomb. For the accomplishment of it, He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, (thus 'He led captivity captive, and received gifts for men,') and having sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, He makes unceasing and effectual intercession. "I therefore say with the Apostle, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, desiring above all things to be filled. with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom,' &c. For this end I am in the constant habit of searching the Scriptures daily. I find, as the result of all my research, that Christ, from all eternity, became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; whilst on earth He explained His own character as the propitiation of sin and the Saviour of sinners, the willingness of God to pardon, justify, and accept them on account of His righteousness, through faith in Him, accompanied by repentance, and followed by holiness of heart and life. t "He taught mankind that their character by nature 1832. is sinful and odious to God, and that their own obedience can never be accepted as an expiation for their sin or a ground of their justification. That unless they are born again of the spirit of God, and possess a new and spiritual character, they cannot see the kingdom of God; and that in acquiring this character they become His disciples indeed, and prove themselves to be such by 'doing whatsoever He hath commanded.' "In my humble view of the Christian religion, all these things united constitute that character which, being assumed, those who before were apostates return to God and to their obedience of His will, and may evangelically claim, through His promise, a title to eternal life, which, after all that can be said or done, is, in the present, the one thing needful' of the everlasting gospel. "As I take for granted, from the kind manner in which you write of my former communication on the subject of our holy religion, that some of my practical views of Christianity may not be unacceptable, I have taken the liberty of again addressing you, and I believe I do so to you as a gentleman of England who has recently received a distinguished mark of His Majesty's royal favour. From seeing an account of this in the public journals, I presume I have the honour of addressing you as Sir Edward Thomason, and I beg leave to say it will afford me great pleasure to hear from you, either by post to this address, or under cover to my friend, the Hon. and Rev. the Dean of Down, &c., &c., which envelope should be sealed and enclosed in another to the Right Hon. the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Stephen's Green, Dublin, in order to come free of post 1832. age; but a single letter will be better sent by post direct to my address here. "I have the honour to be, dear Sir, "Most faithfully yours, John Macaustund "Commander, R.N. "Sir E. Thomason, Birmingham." "29, Grosvenor Square, Sept. 18th, 1832. "Dear Sir, "The Sultan entrusted me, on leaving Constantinople, with a diamond snuff-box for you, and I beg you will name some one in London to whom I may consign it for safe transmission to your hands. I have much pleasure in conveying to you this mark of his Imperial Highness's munificence; and, in stating my wish that a suitable return should be made for the beautiful set of medals you sent him through me, I did but express the high esteem in which I hold your ingenuity and public spirit, distinguished even in a town which ranks among the first in England for both those qualities. You may justly feel proud of being the first individual who has ever received the thanks of a Turkish Emperor for a work of art exhibiting the principal events of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. "I am, dear Sir, with every good wish, "Your faithful and obedient servant, Whether Meaning "Sir Edward Thomason, Knt." |