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practitioner, an attentive perusal of the work, which has furnished the occasion of these animadversions. Dr. Marcet's style we think admirable. It combines scientific precision with graceful ease.... The plates, which are by Milton, from drawings by Thomson, are executed as much to the life, as any graphic illustrations of pathological subjects we have ever seen. This performance of Dr. Marcet, although perhaps containing very little more than had already been advanced in the Philosophical Transactions, and other scattered publications, is an elegant and classical compendium of the present state of chemical, physiological, and medical science, in reference to the particular subject upon which it professes to treat.

Art. VII. Sermons on the Death of HER ROYAL Highness the PRINCESS CHarlotte.

(Continued from Page 90.)·

E had intended to resume, at some length, in our last Num

ber, our notice of the numerous discourses which have been published on this melancholy occasion. But ere this time, our readers will have made their selections from the list, and laid the volume by in their libraries. We shall now therefore restrict ourselves to a very brief discharge of what we feel to be an invidious task, humbly entreating the authors of any sermons we may omit to notice, to accept, in apology, the distinct admission we hereby make, that their claims are probably not inferior to the claims of such as are more fortunate in attracting our notice.

The Sermons we have already adverted to, would have furnished matter for abundant remark. Dr. Chalmers's, in particular, embraces the consideration of some very important, but very irrelevant political subjects, which we may take some future occasion of discussing, but for the present they must be passed by. We confess that we have been much the best pleased with those Sermons, in which the doctrines of the Gospel are made more prominent than the politics of the preacher. A remark of this nature we have made before; and though it might seem too indiscriminately to bear, in a way not exactly intended, upon sermons of a very opposite complexion, we see no reason to retract our opinion, that whatever was adapted to excite the angry feelings of party, or to divert the attention from the personal improvement of the occasion, was at the best injudicious. In some instances, a much stronger word would not be inapplicable.

A sermon by the Rev. C. J. Hoare, vicar of Blandford, founded on Psalm xxxix, 9, seems entitled, by the good sense which is manifested in treating the subject, to be distinguished as one of the best which have proceeded from the clergy. After considering what, in such a season of calamity, " we ought not to do,”—

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under which division he judiciously remarks, Let us not be tempted too deeply to speculate upon the secret intentions of our heavenly Father in such a visitation,'-the Preacher proceeds, in the following remarks, to state what we ought not to do.'

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I. Let us, then, begin with acknowledging the imperfection of our own blind and fallible judgment, which had led us to build our hopes so high upon a passing shadow-the semblance, indeed, and but the semblance, of a great and permanent national blessing. It was unquestionably an error, though like many others known only by the event, that we had conceived that one circumstance so essentially necessary to the best interests of this nation, which God has now taught us in more than words not to have been necessary. There is no one, I am sure, amongst us, rash enough, on this or on any occasion, deliberately to confide in the wisdom of his own choice, rather than in the wis dom of the Divine appointment. For my own part, I most freely confess, that if any one consideration more than another has prevailed to afford relief to my own mind, under the pressure of this heavy disappointment, it has been the single thought, that could I have previously known the will of God respecting the event in question, I should not have dared, even for a moment, to have wished that will reversed; nor, even as I tendered my own and my country's best advantage, to have" stayed His hand, or to have said, What dost Thou?" It is my desire, and let it be also yours, to learn from this consideration, more and more to distrust the wisest calculations of all human foresight; to be prepared for every reverse: and with greater confidence to commit all our ways into His hands, whose "tender mercies are over all His works," and who alone infallibly knows what is best for us.'

2. Painful, however, as we doubtless feel this severe act of the Divine Sovereignty; let us next consider, that as our sins have most clearly deserved all there is of chastisement in it, so that our repentance alone, and deep contrition for sin, can avert its worst consequences as a national curse. When the Almighty appears to us in the dispensations of his providence, he will be seen; when he speaks to us in the thunders of his power, he will be heard. Vain is it when thus admonished, to reply in the language, or the spirit of Pharaoh," Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" Vain is it to harden ourselves, like him, against repeated warnings; or, when forced, at length, to mourn almost as if "there were not an house where there was not one dead," still, like him, after a little alarm, and a few momentary relentings of conscience, to return to the very same courses which had brought this evil upon us. 6. Of you, beloved," may I have cause, and that on the best grounds, to say, that "I am persuaded better things, and things that accompany salvation." God grant that the impression upon your hearts, and upon those of the nation at large, made by this day's ceremony, may be deep, lasting, and effectual; that we may see a positive and rapid advance amongst us all in the fervours of a rational devotion, the convictions of a well-grounded faith, the fruits of an abiding holiness of life; and that these free-will offerings of a nation's grief may be accepted, not as an atonement for

our guilt, but as a pledge of our own acceptance, by faith, of that ONLY ATONEMENT which can avail for our pardon-even the full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice" of a Saviour upon the cross.'

pp. 19-22.

Very different is the recommendation of the Rev. Dr. Gray, who, in his Sermon, traces this affliction of the land, to the murmurings and dissensions of the wicked and depraved; and directs us to contemplate in the diversified scenes of misery experienced by neighbouring countries,' a series of awful 'lessons against civil discord and a love of change.' He alludes pretty explicitly to the parodies on the Liturgy, and the treasons affirmed, on the authority of Oliver and the documents in the Green Bag, to have been somewhere or other meditated, as the circumstances which call for contrite reflection. Our old friends the Christian Observers seemned, we recollect, to be of the same opinion; that is to say, that, first of all, the sound, and peaceable, and loyal, and church-going part of the nation, which they would themselves allow to be by far the larger part, are, on this hypothesis, visited with what must be regarded as a great calamity to the country,-the machinations of seditious and wicked men, and then, this innocent majority are still further punished for the sake of these few despicable delinquents, by another calamity. The wisdom exhibited in this supposition, is on a par with the narrowness of feeling it betrays. And now for Dr. Gray's spiritual prescription!.

If I have been warranted in presuming that God may have been offended by discontent, and by a disposition and a malicious abuse of liberty, it must be by gratitude, and by a reverence for lawful authorities, that we recover the divine favour.'

The venerable Rector of Aston Sandford is a man of a different spirit. His Sermon is one of the very best we have seen.

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But

Many, I fear,' says this good mau, will take occasion from the events which we this day are assembled to deplore, to inveigh against the conduct of others, without attempting to amend their own. in this respect I would be wholly silent; except, as I feel myself required as a minister of God to hint two particulars, in which none of us here present is concerned.'

These two particulars are, indeed, considerations of no small importance, and coming from Mr. Scott, they will not, we hope,' be charged upon either a spirit of sectarianism or of disloyalty.

I must confess, that I have frequently regretted, and now more than ever regret, that no public prayer should have been offered up in our service, for one whose life and welfare were not only so near the heart of Britons in general, but of so great importance to the nation at large; and especially in the prospect of her becoming a mother and I feel conscious of criminality, that I did not offer public as well as private prayers, in her behalf; and so excite others to VOL. IX. N.S.

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do the same. I feel this as a criminality in myself, and probably many, upon reflection, may find themselves involved in some measure of guilt on this account.

I would also just hint, yet with respectful deference to every part of our legislature, whether the restrictions put upon the marriages of the royal family, can be supported on scriptural ground? And whether they have not a direct tendency to produce that very state of things, in respect of our royal family, which we now more than ever regret, and which enhances our solicitude on this mournful occasion?' p. 19.

Mr. Scott deprecates the general and almost universal disposition, prevailing among men of the most discordant sentiments, political and religious, without excepting some zealous professors and preachers of evangelical truth, to trace back every painful event connected with our many late trials and deliverances, to the criminal misconduct of some description or other of their fellow mortals, without "seeing the name of "the Lord," or hearing "the voice of the rod," and recollecting "who hath appointed it."

There are two excellent practical discourses on that passage in the Epistle to the Corinthians, "Brethren, the time is short," &c.; the one preached before the University of Cambridge, by the Rev. George Cornelius Gorham, Fellow of Queen's College, the other, at the Independent Meeting-house, Blackburn, by the Rev. Joseph Fletcher. The latter contains some passages in a very elevated style, but we transcribe the following, as a specimen of the exactly proper direction which ought to have been given to the thoughts of the audience.

And now, my friends, having briefly illustrated the admonitory cautions in the text, let me inquire-What is your portion-What is the source of your chief felicity?

"They build too low, who build beneath the skies."

What does it avail a much lamented Princess, that she was the descendant of monarchs, and the expectant of a throne! Would the thought of this splendour blunt the dart of death, or afford any alleviation of its pang? You lament as you ought to do, this melancholy event-you see an affecting instance of the uncertainty and vanity of all earthly distinctions-and the appeal to the sympathies of your nature is enforced by the associations of dignity, and youth, and beauty, and high moral excellence, with the character of the departed Princess. But let not these national feelings, this indulgence of your sensibilities, this mental luxury of grief, that excites the imagination to melancholy musings, and fills the heart with genuine sorrow-Oh! let not these passing emotions, nor the political speculations that may mingle with them, bound and limit your meditations. Be concerned above all things, that your thoughts and reflections should re-act on yourselves-your own character-your own destiny. While you think of the sudden transition from all the

scenes of earthly grandeur to the darkness and solitude of the tombthe exchange of all the bliss of domestic life and conjugal happiness, for the icy touch and chill embrace of death-Oh! remember that you are mortal; you too must make a transition, and it may be as sudden as hers; you must feel that touch, you must meet that "last enemy!" If any thing in this world be your portion, you must then leave it for ever. Is it not then of eternal consequence to ascertain whether you have a portion that will survive the last conflict, that will continue to satisfy you in another world, and be your possession for ever! Do you enquire what is that portion, which is adapted to the capacities and desires of your immortal nature, and which alone can make you happy-I answer-it is the favour of God! How can that favour be your portion? Only through the mediation of Jesus Christ, by whose appearing it is manifested, and who "came into the world to save sinners."

pp. 28,-29.

The sermons of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers, published on this occasion, are, we believe without exception, characterized by a warmth of loyalty to the House of Brunswick, which has ever associated itself with an attachment to those principles of civil and religious liberty, which placed them on the British throne.

The grief called forth on the present occasion, (remarks Mr. Philip, in a sensible Sermon on Peter v. 6.) furnishes a great moral lesson to Princes. It shews them that much of the stability of the throne depends on the character of the sovereign who fills it, and that if they are not wanting in respect to themselves, they will seldom have to complain of the loyalty of their subjects. The inhabitants of these lands, as in all free states, may differ in opinion respecting the measures of administration; but there is no prejudice against royalty in this country, no want of reverence and affection to the house of Brunswick. This is sufficiently evident from the eagerness frequently manifested by the people, to dwell upon any favourable redeeming circumstance in the character of our Princes, and from their proneness to idolize, and to carry their admiration beyond ordinary bounds, as on the present occasion, when the character is formed on virtuous principles.

• While the most enlightened nation in the world, is at this moment holding up to surrounding states, an edifying example of its loyalty; let the Princes of the earth remember, that the affection and esteem of their subjects are not to be commanded, by a parade about the principles of legitimacy, or by the mere trappings of royalty; but by the cultivation of those virtues which adorned the character of our lamented Princess, and which are necessary to respectability in the ordinary walks of life.' Philip's Sermon, delivered in the Congregational Chapel, Aberdeen. pp. 34, 35.

The following extract from the Discourse preached at the Independent Meeting-house at St. Neots, by the Rev. Thomas Morell, will place the preacher's loyalty in full view, but we

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