country are poor, let us thank God devoutly for the advantages his almighty power has given to the poor; and let our feeble powers work together with and under the commands of that power, and "let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted; but the rich in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." All shall pass away, and all men shall go down to the grave and see corruption; and then their inequality in this world will be as nothing to what the inequality of mankind will be in the next: 66 some shall arise to everlasting glory, some to everlasting contempt;' and the rich may become the most contemptible before God.* Biography. THE LIFE OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. [Continued from Number CCIII.] In order to give a connected view of Mr. Wilberforce's labours in regard to the slave-trade abolition, I overstepped the strict chronological order of his life. I now therefore return to some particulars previously omitted. His was not a mind so contracted as to embrace but one object of pursuit at once; and, accordingly, whenever any field was open for benevolent exertion, he was sure to be found indefatigably at his post. In 1793 the renewal of the East India Company's charter came before parliament. This seemed a favourable opportunity for rendering, by the spread of Christianity in Asia, our empire there a blessing to the nations subject to our sceptre. Having therefore consulted with the archbishop of Canterbury, Mr. Wilberforce proposed certain resolutions, pledging the house to the "peculiar and bounden duty of promoting by all just and prudent means the religious improvement" of the natives of India. These were agreed to in general terms; but when he proceeded to give them a more practical bearing, by providing for a supply of chaplains and schoolmasters throughout the Indian provinces, he was met by strenuous opposition on the part of the directors of the Company, and from other quarters; and his clauses were thrown out. About this time occurred his first political differ • Jones of Nayland says truly, "If any member of a Christian society now pleads his natural rights, he thereby declares that he intends to break through the laws of civil society, and the restraints of religion, and go back, as fast as he can, to the state of nature."-Vol. vi, p. 344. And how beautifully does Hooker write-" Of law there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world: all things in heaven and earth do her homage, the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest as not exempted from her power; both angels and men, and creatures of what condition soever, though each in different sort and manner, yet all with uniform consent admiring her as the mother of their peace and joy."-Eccles. Pol., book i. c. 16. A little work of the present day, called "Clarissima, or the Rule of the Christian Heart," seems to lay down sound principles regarding government and the governed. It says, p. 41, "Violence must be hateful in any shape to God. It is forbidden in private life, and must be doubly dangerous in public. A whole mob may be morally guilty of murder. Violence also greatly hinders the cause it professes to espouse." The above little work, I am sure, would be of inestimable benefit to the righting of many a poor victim of the deluding orators. And why not reprint Jones of Nayland's tracts? | ence with Mr. Pitt. He imagined-how vainly, events have since abundantly proved-that by a more conciliatory tone on the part of the British government, the war with France might have been either first averted or afterwards easily terminated. To such a length did his feelings carry him, that in 1795 he moved an amendment on the address to the king's speech; and in the course of the same session introduced another motion of similar purport. It is needless to say that he was on each occasion beaten by a large majority. Every credit for integrity of motive will be willingly conceded to Mr. Wilberforce for this conduct; but as little can it be denied that his extreme sensitiveness overpowered his better judgment. His wisest friends faithfully represented to him the error into which he had fallen; and it is one of the beautiful characteristics of his temper that he received with the most affectionate gratitude the remonstrances of Dean Milner, Mr. Robinson of Leicester, Dr. Burgh, and others. The opposition of his beloved friend appears deeply to have grieved Mr. Pitt. Such was the habitual serenity of that great statesman's mind, that it is said two events only in his public life were able to disturb his sleep: one was the mutiny at the Nore; the other, the first open opposition of Mr. Wilberforce. But it did not dissolve their friendship. After a very brief interval of absence, rather than of alienation, they were found on the same terms of close intimacy as before. In the autumn of the same year, the revolutionary spirit which unhappily pervaded the country seemed to call for legislative interference. Accordingly, bills were introduced into parliament, which Mr. Wilberforce, now thoroughly convinced of the necessity of strengthening the minister, zealously supported; and then came one of the most remarkable crises in his political career. He had originally, it will be remembered, while yet the stripling member for Hull, been a main instrument in directing the voice of Yorkshire into approval of Mr. Pitt's infant administration; he was now again to awaken the same powerful energy on the same side in this hour of the country's peril. This was, indeed, good service; for " Yorkshire and Middlesex between them," it had been said, "make all England." A public meeting was projected by the opposers of government, to petition against the bills in progress; and so secretly were their plans concocted, that it was not till he was on his way to church in London, on Sunday, Nov. 29, that Mr. Wilberforce received, by express, the accounts which demanded his presence at York on the following Tuesday. He instantly consulted with Mr. Pitt; and feeling that here was a plain necessity, to which the usual rules of Sabbath-rest must bend, he set off after church in the minister's carriage, his own .not being prepared in time. On the appointed day, the freeholders of Yorkshire were assembling in vast masses; the friends of the government far outnumbered the other party; but they were destitute of a leader, and their efforts were likely to be paralysed for want of concentration. At that critical moment, Mr. Wilberforce, unexpected by the majority, dashed into the city in his chariot and four, welcomed by the acclamations of thousands, and springing hastily upon the hustings, was the main instrument in winning, by On his spirit and eloquence, a decisive triumph. Friday evening he was again in his place in the House of Commons, with the petition of his constituents in favour of the bills, signed by 7000 names, while the opponents of them could muster no more than 309. Other counties followed the example; and the general voice of England was heard on the part of order and authority. In the midst of his public duties, Mr. Wilberforce was not unmindful of more private calls. Thus, for instance, he was frequently contributing with great liberality to Mrs. Hannah More's Cheddar Schools. Indeed, the origin of those excellent institutions seems to have been with him. He had a few years before visited the romantic cliffs; but instead of exclusively admiring the natural beauties of the scenery, his mind had been occupied in studying how to relieve the moral wretchedness of the inhabitants; and on his return, with his heart overflowing with Christian zeal, he assured Mrs. More, "If you will be at the trouble, I will be at the expense." In all his social intercourse, too, he was sedulously watchful to be of use to those he conversed with; so that, as other men have been known to provide themselves with wit, before they entered into company, he used to store his mind with topics (which he playfully called launchers), by the use of which, his conversation might be such as became the Gospel of Christ. His " I In 1797, his "Practical Christianity" was published. He had been for some time engaged on this work; and though his bookseller apprehended-such was then the little demand for religious publications-but a small sale, it passed speedily through many editions. By 1826, it may be added, fifteen large impressions had been issued in England, and twenty-five in America; and the book had been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and German. Its influence, both from its own intrinsic worth, and the station occupied by the writer, was very extensive. friends were warm in their acknowledgments. heartily thank you for your book," wrote Lord Muncaster: "as a friend I thank you for it; as a man I doubly thank you; but as a member of the Christian world, I render you all gratitude and acknowledgment. I thought I knew you well, but I know you better now, my dearest, excellent Wilber." Doubtless many will have occasion to bless God for ever that this work was given to the world. Burke spent much of the last two days of his life in reading it, and said that he derived great comfort from it, and that if he lived, he should thank Wilberforce for having sent forth such a book. And it is well known that the beloved Legh Richmond owed to the perusal of it his first serious impressions. If, then, there be considered the good done by those to whom it was blessed, extending perpetually in fresh circles, the author may justly be denominated "the father of many nations." Many will there be to be his joy and crown. On May 30 in this year, Mr. Wilberforce was united in marriage to Barbara Ann, eldest daughter of Isaac Spooner, Esq. of Elmdon Hall, in the county of Warwick. Four sons and two daughters were the issue of this marriage: of whom the four sons survive their father. I pass over, with very cursory notice, many of Mr. Wilberforce's labours of love. He took an active part in the formation of the Church-Missionary and other religious societies. He aided in the establishment of that respectable periodical the "Christian Observer." He endeavoured to suppress Sunday newspapers. He resisted the project for Sunday drilling. He opposed an attempt to alter the toleration act: and indeed, wherever, as a Christian man and senator, his influence could be of service, it was unsparingly employed. I can pay but brief attention to his minor political actions: but I must not omit all mention of his remarkable election-contest in 1807. The parliament had been unexpectedly dissolved, and candidates appeared from each of the noble houses of Fitzwilliam and Harewood. Mr. Lascelles, of the latter family, had previously represented the county, but had been thrown out at the preceding election a few months before. The clothiers-a very numerous body—were much opposed to him; and a supposed connexion between him and Mr. Wilberforce was now unfavourable to the latter. But the unbounded wealth of the two rival houses was what most alarmed Mr. W.'s supporters, as they were sensible that his private fortune could not supply the sinews of war for such a contest as was impending; and thus, that, though possessing the good-will of a majority of his voters, he might easily be defeated, from simple inability to bear the expense of bringing up his friends to the poll. He was advised, therefore, to retire: but this he spiritedly refused, and called on the county to assert its independence. Subscriptions were immediately entered into; and though the show of hands was against him, and on the first day he was but second, on the third lowest, on the poll; so that his own professional adviser declared, “ I can see, gentlemen, clearly enough, how this will turn out; Mr. Wilberforce has obviously no chance, and the sooner he resigns the better:"—yet an energetic zeal was at work, which ere long manifested itself. Sums of money poured in from all parts of the kingdom, till nearly 70,000l. had been raised. But little of this was needed. For while the joint expenses of his opponents were 200,000.; the total charge of his election was but 28,6007. The voters came from the extremities of the county with the utmost enthusiasm, at their own expense; placed him, on the fourth day, in a triumphant majority; and finally returned him in his usual situation, with Lord Milton as his colleague. 64 He continued to sit for Yorkshire till the general election of 1812. In then determining to retire from his honourable post, he was influenced in some measure by the state of his health,-never very strong, and which appeared with advancing years less likely to bear out the fatigues of close parliamentary attendance-but more especially by his anxiety to train his growing children in the right way. His concern for their welfare had been continually apparent: but in the busier seasons of public occupation he had little more than the Sunday to bestow upon them, and therefore little opportunity of studying their characters, directing their judgment, and gaining their confidence. The hours which he did spend with them were highly prized, and are still most fondly cherished in the memory of those who survive him. Yet as he could not feel justified in retiring altogether from the political stage, he embraced the proposal of Lord Calthorpe to sit for the borough of Bramber. The nature of this seat did not impose on him the obligation of such constant attendance as that for a county. The news of his resignation was received in Yorkshire with deep regret, and the assembled freeholders voted him their cordial thanks for his laborious services as their representative during a period of twenty-eight years. His chief objects, as marked out by himself, were now, "first, my children; secondly, parliament; thirdly, when I can spare time, my pen to be employed in religious writing ;" and he was as actively engaged as at any former period of his career. The question of "Catholic Emancipation" was soon being stirred; and here, unhappily, Mr. Wilberforce was led to advocate concession. He had always strongly opposed the mischievous grant to Maynooth college, which he, with reason, regarded as a hot-bed of bigotry and superstition: but he imagined that now, so much having been yielded to the Romanists, it was inexpedient, nay, impossible, to refuse their further demands. Moreover, judging of others by his own integrity, he urged in the debate: "Political power, sir, you have given them already [in the elective franchise]; it is vain, therefore, to attempt to stop where you now are; but the present is a golden opportunity, in which you may accompany the concession with the necessary safeguards: for even if the consciences of the Roman Catholice should not be bound by the oath which they will take, where can gentlemen be found, who, after swearing not to disturb or endanger the established Church, would dare to rise and propose any measure to its detriment?" It was a great misfortune that Mr. Wilberforce adopted these mistaken-as time has sufficiently proved them-notions: for the influence of his character weighed with multitudes, especially of the more religious part of the community; opponents were disheartened, the wavering were brought over; and an impulse was given to the public mind which, though not then effective of the threatened step, undoubtedly contributed very much to its being ultimately taken. His motives were most pure and praiseworthy; the error was in his judgment. At this time, too, he was anxiously engaged in the discussions on the renewal of the East India Company's charter. Witnesses had declared that the opening of India to Christian instruction-nay, that a stir for such an object in London-would kindle at once in our Asiatic empire the flames of rebellion; and some had gone so far as to maintain that Hindooism was a better religion for the natives than Christianity. Such were the dreadful opinions to be resisted; and nobly did Mr. Wilberforce bear himself in this combat. He reminded the house of his having twenty years before appeared as the advocate of the same cause, and of their own general resolution at that time: and such was the blessing of God vouchsafed to his exertions, and those of other friends of religion, that the foundation of an organised church in India was then laid, by the appointment of a bishop and three archdeacons; and the restrictions which had hitherto well-nigh prohibited the preaching of the Gospel there were in great measure removed. Further steps have since that time been taken; yet even now the cause of Christianity in India needs the watchfulness, the prayers, and the exertions of all good men. There are still stains to be purged out; and we have, as yet, been far from fulfilling our duty as a Christian nation to those whom the providence of God has, for his glory, placed under our control. I am unable to do more than glance at Mr. Wilberforce's continued labours in behalf of Africa. He was indefatigable in using every means to induce other nations to abolish, as England had, the traffic in slaves. The political events of 1814 and 15 were eagerly seized as affording opportunities of urging this great measure of justice. With many of the influential foreigners who at that time visited England, he had personal interviews, and especially with the Emperor Alexander of Russia, who was well disposed to his object: he also pressed it on the notice of our own statesmen who attended the continental congresses. If all was not gained that could have been desired, yet a great advance was made towards that total extinction of slavery throughout the civilised world which he desired to see. Between 1810 and 17 the trade was abolished by Venezuela, Chili, Buenos Ayres, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and France; and pledges were given by Spain and Portugal that they also would abolish within a specified term of years. It was at the time of the visit of the illustrious foreigners that Mr. Wilberforce was brought repeatedly into the society of Madame de Staël. The impression made by his manners on this celebrated lady is well worth noticing, as it serves to refute the hackneyed calumny against religion, that it makes men melancholy. "Mr. Wilberforce," said she, "is the best converser I have met with in this country. I have always heard that he was the most religious; but I now find that he is the wittiest man in England." Indeed, every circle was studiously desirous of entertaining him. When at Brighton, in 1815, he received repeated invitations from George IV., then Prince Regent, some of which he accepted,-the prince kindly assuring him that he should never hear any thing in his house to give him pain; and considerately inviting other guests whom he thought Mr. W. would like to meet. In succeeding years he was employed in endeavouring to introduce qualified instructors into Hayti; in opposing, eventually with success, state lotteries; in attempting a compromise, which might have spared the country the distressing scenes of the trial of Queen Caroline. He was also looking forward to introduce the subject of slave-emancipation. But several circumstances intervened. His eldest daughter died, in the humble hope of the Gospel, after a tedious and distressing illness, in 1821; and his own strength was so much diminished as to induce him to resign the leading place to a younger man. Finally, after repeated attacks of illness, he came to the resolution of withdrawing altogether from parliament, after fortyfour years' service. His last frank, dated Feb. 22, 1825, carried a letter to two of his sons at Oxford. My dear boys,-When Charles I. was on the very point of exchanging, as I trust, a temporal for an eternal crown, he was forced to be short, so he said but one word; and now I have but a moment in which to use my pen; and therefore, my dear boys, I also 66 Or the many portraits drawn of our "maiden queen," none gives a more striking representation of her real deportment, and the manner of her court, than the following extract from the travels of Hentzner, who resided some time in this country as tutor to a young German nobleman. After some preliminary remarks, he observes:-"We arrived next at the royal palace of Greenwich, reported to have been built by Humphrey duke of Gloucester, and to have received very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here Elizabeth, the present queen, was born, and here she generally resides, particularly in summer, for the delightfulness of the situation. We were admitted, by an order Mr. Rogers had procured from the lord chamberlain, into the presence-chamber, hung with rich tapestry; and the floor, after the English fashion, strewed with rushes, through which the queen commonly passes in her way to the chapel. At the door stood a gentleman dressed in velvet, with a gold chain, whose office was to introduce to the queen any persons of distinction that came to wait on her it was Sunday, when there is usually the greatest attendance of the nobility. In the same hall were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great number of councillors of state, officers of the crown, and gentlemen, who waited the queen's coming out, which she did from her own apartment, when it was time to go to prayers, attended in the following manner:-First went gentlemen, barons, earls, knights of the garter, all richly dressed and bare-headed; next came the chancellor, bearing the seals in a red silk purse, between two, one of whom carried the royal sceptre, the other the sword of state in a red scabbard, studded with golden fleurs-de-lis, the point upwards: next came the Queen, in her sixty-fifth year, as we were told; very majestic; her face oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her eyes small, but black and pleasant; her nose a little hooked, her lips narrow, and her teeth black (a defect the English seem subject to from their immoderate use of sugar); she had in her ears two pearls, with very rich drops; she wore false hair, and that red; upon her head a small crown of gold; her bosom was uncovered, as all the English ladies have it till they are married, and she had on a necklace of exceeding fine jewels; her hands were small, her fingers long, and her stature neither small nor low; her hair was stately, her manner of speaking mild and obliging. On that day she was dressed in white silk, bordered with pearls of the size of beans, and over it a mantle of black silk, shot with silver thread; her train was very long, the end of it borne by a marchioness; instead of a chain, she had an oblong collar of gold jewels. As she went along in all this state and magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one, then to another, whether foreign ministers, or those who attended for different reasons, in English, French, and Italian; for, besides being well skilled in Greek, and the languages mentioned, she is mistress of Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch: whoever speaks to her, it is kneeling; now and then she raises some with her hand; while we were there, W. Slanata, a Bohemian baron, had letters to present to her, and she, after pulling off her glove, gave him her right From "Davenport's Historical Class-Book." hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels, a mark of particular favour. Wherever she turned her face, as she was going along, every body fell down on their knees. The ladies of the court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and for the most part dressed in white. She was guarded on each side by the gentlemen pensioners, fifty in number, with gilt battle-axes. In the ante-chapel, next the hall where we were, petitions were presented to her, and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the acclamation, "Long live Queen Elizabeth!" she answered it with "I thank you, my good people!" In the chapel was excellent music: as soon as it and the service were over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the queen returned in the same state and order, and prepared to go to dinner. But while she was still at prayer, we saw her table set out with the following solemnity: a gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him another who had a table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three times with the utmost veneration, he spread upon the table, and after kneeling again, they both retired. Then came two others, one with the rod again, the other with a salt-cellar and a plate of bread; when they had kneeled as the others had done, and placed what was brought on the table, they too retired with the same ceremonies as were performed by the first. At last came an unmarried lady (we were told she was a countess), and along with her a married one, bearing a tasting knife; the former was dressed in white silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three times, in the most graceful manner approached the table, and rubbed the plates with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the queen had been present. When they had waited there a little while, the yeomen of the guard entered bare-headed, clothed in scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs, bringing in at each turn a course of twenty-four dishes, served in plate, most of it gilt. These dishes were received By a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the table, while the lady taster gave to each of the guard a mouthful to eat of the particular dish he had brought in, for fear of poison. During the time that this guard, which consists of the tallest and stoutest men that can be found in England, being carefully selected for that purpose, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle-drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. At the end of this ceremony, a number of unmarried ladies appeared, who with particular solemnity lifted the meat off the table, and conveyed it into the queen's inner and more private chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes to the ladies of the court." SACRED POETRY. BY JAMES CHAMBERS, ESQ. Herrick-Heywood-Donne-Hall-Carew-Overbury. WHILE penning the preceding notices of sacred poets, numerous unmentioned names occurred to my memory, and many a hidden fount of song murmured sweetly in my ear. Though presenting claims to attention, I was compelled to pass them by, and content myself with mentioning those authors only whose writings form a necessary link in the chain of sacred poetry. I would here guard any reader against imagining, that because some specimens of sacred poetry may be gleaned from the works of an author, therefore he merits the character of even a moral poet. Many of the volumes which have contributed their quota of illustration to these columns I should be the last to recommend indiscriminately. The in delicacies which contaminate the pages of our most celebrated ancient moralists in rhyme may serve to excite feelings of thankfulness in us, that the purifying influence of our holy religion has been manifested in no small degree by the popular literature of the nineteenth century. My object is to trace the progress of sacred poetry, not to analyse the lives or characters of those whose poems furnish occasional illustrations of its course. I now resume the chronological notices of sacred poets, which terminated in my last paper with George Wither. Robert Herrick (1591-16**) is generally known as the author of several beautiful Anacreontic lyrics. His sweet poem on "the Daffodils" is included in almost every selection of miscellaneous poetry; and it would be difficult to point out a composition more full of that sweet, plaintive pathos, which speaks so directly to the heart. Some of his songs are marked by a licentiousness of thought and expression, which no one can regret more deeply than he himself did in after-years. Comforting is the hope, that when in the hour of affliction, though " but a withered flower," the dew of heavenly grace descended from on high to purify, refresh, and renovate his repenting soul. His "Prayer for Absolution" is warm with pious fervour. "For those my unbaptised rhymes, Writ in my wild, unhallow'd times; For every sentence, clause, and word, That's not inlaid with thee, my Lord; Forgive me, God, and blot each line Out of my book that is not thine. But if, 'mongst all, thou find'st here one That one of all the rest shall be The glory of my work and me." Can any one read the above lines, and doubt that the golden sceptre of mercy was extended to this humble suppliant? A writer in the seventh Number of the Quarterly Review gives an account of a visit which he paid to Dean Prior,* hoping to obtain some memorials of Herrick's residence there. He only met with one relic of the poet; and this was furnished him by an old woman, who, when unable to sleep at night, was accustomed to repeat it. Let the reader determine whether the eight stanzas of the "noble numbers" thus obtained did not well repay our investigator for his journey into Devonshire. I know nothing, except Bishop Ken's" Evening Hymn," that can be compared with them. "In the hour of my distresse, When temptations me oppresse, Sweet Spirit, comfort me. When I lye within my bed, Our poet obtained this living through the interest of the Earl of Exeter. He was deprived of it at the Rebellion; but recovered it at the Restoration. Some particulars of his life will be found in the second volume of Nicholl's "History of Leicestershire." When the passing bell doth toll, Sweet Spirit, comfort me. When the tapers now burn blue, Sweet Spirit, comfort me. Sweet Spirit, comfort me. When the tempter me pursu'th, Sweet Spirit, comfort me. When the flames and hellish cries Fright mine cars and fright mine eyes, And all terrors me surprise, Sweet Spirit, comfort me. When the judgment is reveal'd, Sweet Spirit, comfort me." I would advise the candid and intelligent reader to compare the above poem with Dr. Johnson's oracular* declarations respecting sacred poetry in his lives of Waller and Watts. Had "that blind old man," who wrote a certain poem on "Paradise Lost," never existed; had Fletcher and Young, Watts and Cowper, gone down to their graves without leaving a single line behind them, this one exquisite poetical " Litany to the Holy Spirit," would have been sufficient to prove that Dr. Johnson's argument is as sophistical as his deduction is false. In this instance, as in a thousand others, prejudice weighed too heavy against truth in the balances of justice. I am induced to extract the following lines "To my Saviour," by the hope and expectation that many a child of affliction, who, with aching heart, watches for the slow-coming morning, will remember them in the stilness of midnight, and feel the bed of sickness made more soft by the cheering thoughts and blessed consolation they suggest to the Christian's heart. "Night hath no wings to him that cannot sleep, Sick is my heart; O Saviour, do thou please Let me thy voice betimes i' th' morning heare; Call, and I'll come; say thou the when and where; Draw me but first, and after thee I'll run, And make no stop until my race be done." His other sacred poems are the "Thanksgiving for his House," "Dirge of Jephtha," "Christmas Carol," I have called his declarations "oracular" for two reasons: first, because it is difficult to extract a clear and well-defined meaning from the words in which they are proposed; secondly, because, like most other ancient and modern oracles, they are untrue. I allude to Dr. Johnson's far-famed argument, en passant, that the reader may not peruse this beautiful litany without observing how very strikingly it demonstrates the falsity of the doctor's position. In the sequel of this series; I hope to treat his logic as it deserves. |