The Theological Works of the First Viscount Barrington, including the Miscellanea Sacra, the Essay on the Dispensations, and his Correspondence with Dr. Lardner, never before published. To which are prefixed a Life of the Author, with a brief Memoir of his Son, Shute Barrington, the late Bishop of Durham. By the Rev. GEORGE TOWNSEND, M. A. Prebendary of Durham, and Vicar of Northallerton. In three vols. London: C. & J. Rivington, 1828. 17. 11s. 6d. THE Vicar of Northallerton has presented the theological student with an interesting and judicious work in the republication of the volumes before us. The noble writer shows great discrimination in tracing the methods taken by the Apostles and first preachers of the gospel for propagating Christianity, and in explaining the several gifts of the Spirit, by which they were enabled to discharge their office. He is said to have staggered the infidelity of Mr. Anthony Collins. But his labours are too well known to need any recommendation. We would be understood, however, as speaking of the general merits of the Viscount's works, not meaning to pledge ourselves to the accuracy of all his notions, of some of which we should speak in other language than that of approbation. Witness his creed with respect to the unconsciousness of disembodied spirit, and his fanciful interpretation of the garment of dignity, ("a badge of his dominion, bliss, and immortality,") with which he supposes Adam to have been clothed before the fall: witness his assertion that our Saviour's promise to the penitent thief is the only text, on which the opinion is built of Christ's going to paradise during his separate state: witness his mistaken construc

tion of that promise itself: witness his supposition, that

Canaan is promised to Abraham as an everlasting possession, because it will not only be for so long a term as a thousand years, but because it will be the last possession on this earth.-Vol. III. p. 282.

We notice these volumes with thanks to Mr. Townsend for his judicious undertaking, from which we have much pleasure in extracting the following very interesting particulars of the life of the late Bishop of Durham, to whom the present Editor of the Theological Works of Viscount Barrington was appointed chaplain in the year 1824.

From this period personal observation and experience assured me that the universal estimation, in which the Bishop of Durham was held by his cotemporaries, was established upon the only solid foundation of permanent eminence,-regard to the will of God in every action of his life. The strictest regularity prevailed in his household. At seven in the morning he was awoke by his valet; and, after the time allotted to dressing, he devoted to private prayer, and devotional reading, the time which remained before the assembling of the family, for morning worship, at a quarter past nine. Breakfast was then served up. The conversation, which had originated at breakfast, (and which generally arose from our informing each other of some remark or incident, which appeared worthy of remembrance, in the reading of the morning.) sometimes continued till post-time, when the Bishop retired to read and answer his letters. He was attentive to business to the last, and generally wrote from two to nine letters daily, answering every letter, if possible, by return of post. If any communication required a more deliberate reply, he would favour me by fully discussing with me the subject of the letter. After finishing his letters, he received his morning visitors, or read till one o'clock, when luncheon, at which he was accustomed

to take one mouthful of solid food, was served up. He then walked, or was driven out, for about two hours.

He dined at five. Small parties, never exceeding, with ourselves, eight in number, dined at his house, about twice a-week. It was at his own table that he particularly excelled in conversation, at once varied, intellectual, and useful. He never permitted the subject, on which we had begun to converse, so entirely to drop, that there should be any awkward or embarrassing pause, in the conversation. He carefully watched the moment, in which a new turn might be given to the dialogue, if there was the least discontinuance of animated and cheerful discussion. It generally happened that at every party one of the guests had been distinguished by some enterprise, or pursuit; or excelled in some department of literature, or branch of art. Whatever might be the subject, the Bishop would imperceptibly lead the conversation to some matter connected with the pursuit, or department, in which his guest had attained eminence; and he so used to proceed with questions, remarks, or hints, that the enthusiasm of the traveller, the artist, the author, or the professor, was gradually kindled. The more eminent guest became the principal speaker: curiosity was excited, attention fixed, and information was elicited, without pedantry in the speaker, or fatigue to the hearer. When we dined alone, we generally talked over the controversies, which were engaging the attention of the public, the debates in Parliament, or the literature of the day. The Bishop took a lively interest in every proceeding relative to the great national question which still divides us; and I remember that he strenuously encouraged me in writing my reply to Mr. Butler's work, "The Book of the Roman Catholic Church." He had none of that apathy, which is too frequently the misfortune of the aged, when they have not devoted their minds to intellectual pursuits. Literary curiosity, the comfort and refreshment of age, was an active principle in him to the last;-and the love of literary novelty, next to devotion and benevolence, his ruling passion.

Tea was brought in at half-past seven, and at eight the Bishop ended the day as he had begun it, by the perusal of devotional books, or by private meditation and prayer. I well remember his telling me, that he considered it to be a part of his duty to God to devote to him the remaining strength of his intellect, by dedicating to His service those hours, in which the faculties of his mind were most active: and for that reason he never gave his restless

and sleepless hours, which at his advanced age were unavoidably numerous, to prayer, and to devotional exercises. He preferred giving up the prime of his day, and the remnant of his intellect to the Almighty; and he surrendered the dross of his timesuch was his own forcible expression,-to inferior subjects, to literary recollections; or to soothing remembrances of the friends he had lost, whose conversation he recollected with pleasure.

At a quarter before ten, the family were summoned to evening prayer. A slight supper was then served, and at eleven the Bishop retired for the night. The pleasantest hours, which I passed with my lamented friend, were those which elapsed between the removal of supper, and the entrance of the servant who attended him to his room. He was now ninety years of age, and he had long been accustomed to live in the constant anticipation of death. Every night he composed himself to rest, not expecting to live till the morning. The conversations, therefore, which we were accustomed to hold at this hour were always grave and serious, though uniformly cheerful. He regarded death as a man of sound judgment and Christian principles will ever do, without fear, and without rapture;with well-founded hope, though with undefinable awe,-as a punishment decreed by the Almighty, yet as the introduction to a higher state of happiness than he could possibly experience, (though he possessed every worldly enjoyment,) in this state of his being. Though our conversation was sometimes directed to the literary, or theological publications of the day, or to the actions, demeanour, or conduct, of his more distinguished contemporaries, of whom he related numerous, and most interesting anecdotes; yet the more frequent topics of our conversation were derived from the possible or probable approach of the period when the body should be committed to the ground, and the spirit return to its Maker. He delighted to dwell on these subjects. The questions which appeared to interest him more than any others, were,—whether the soul slept in the grave, with the suspension of its faculties, till it awoke, with the reanimated body, in the morning of the resurrection, or whether (as he stedfastly believed) it passed in some mysterious manner into the more manifested presence of God immediately upon the dissolution of the body, the nature of future happiness and future misery,-the continuance of the mental habits which are formed in this state, and which constitute in some manner our future condition,-the extent of redemption, and the opposite opinions of

Christians respecting the invisible state;these and similar considerations were alternately discussed in these calm and silent hours; and he uniformly concluded these discussions by observing, -"I know not, and I care not, what may be the real solution of these questions; I am in the hands of a merciful God, and I resign myself to his will with hope and patience." All our inquiries, indeed, upon these subjects, though they may be very interesting, are merely speculative, and are always unsatisfactory. Yet the sight of an old man, full of days, riches, and honours, at the close of a religious and well-spent life, patiently expecting his end, abounding in every virtue which can adorn mankind,-in humility, in patience, in kindness, in charity to all,in serene submission to expected death,in implicit dependence upon the mercy of a God, whom he believed to be his Friend and Father, by the atonement, which had been accomplished by the Mediator of the New Testament,-the image of such a man can never be obliterated from my memory; and the continued enjoyment of his conversation, till within a few weeks of his death, while the strength of his body was gradually declining, and the intellectual, though not the spiritual powers, were decaying; that is, while he was beginning to be more averse to worldly business, and more intent upon devotional exercises,was a privilege, which I cannot too much appreciate, and which may be justly envied by all who can delight in the society of the wise and good; or who would contemplate the triumph of the spirit of man over the weakness of the mind, and the infirmities of the body.

Large as our extract has proved from the Memoir of the late Bishop of Durham, prefixed to Mr. Townsend's publication, we are persuaded that our readers will thank us for an opportunity of being thus introduced to the domestic habits of that venerable Patriarch. Perhaps we have a little too much of trifling detail, and more than enough of the enviable Chaplain; yet we cannot conceal the satisfaction we have derived from this biographical account, in which we have a remarkable testimony to the truth of the Psalmist's assertion,-" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright man; for the end of that man is peace."

Two Sermons relative to Confirmation.

To which is subjoined, a Sermon, preached in Christ Church, Newgate

Street, on September 21, 1825, being St. Matthew's Day. By the Rev. WILLIAM TROLLOPE, M. A. of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and one of the Masters of Christ's Hospital. London: Wix, Rivingtons, Cadell. 1829. pp. 62. Price 2s.

THIS little offering is a sufficient testimony that Mr. Trollope is a sound, and bids fair to prove, in these perilous times, a valuable member of the Church, The first two discourses appear to have been written in compliance with the general directions issued, on a late occasion, by his diocesan, and are extremely well adapted to the purpose for which theywere composed. They are couched in a plain, unaffected, but not inelegant, style; well suited to the comprehension of the catechumens, to whom they were more particularly addressed; and for whose use they exhibit a brief but luminous exposition of the nature of those solemn engagements which they were about to enter into in their own persons. Tracing sin to its first origin, Mr. T. infers and proves the necessity of an atonement in a manner at once concise and perspicuous, guarding his youthful hearers equally against the fallacious doctrine of human merits maintained by the Church of Rome, and the no less dangerous error of those of our own communion, who set aside the necessity of any works whatever as a condition of salvation. "In

stituting a just distinction between the

meritorious cause and the covenanted condition of eternal life;" he teaches his little flock to "look up to Jesus Christ as the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, and, at the same time, (trusting, however, in nowise to their own righteousness) to seek for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to establish them in that faith, and perfect them in that holiness, without which no one can see the Lord." His remarks on the force of habit, and on the numbers who absent themselves from the Lord's supper, from no other motive, are just and appropriate, well followed up by the inferential and impressive exhortation in which he recommends to those just entering life an early and habitual attendance at the holy table.

The

concluding sermon is one well calculated for the occasion on which, and the audience before whom, it was delivered; and contrasts very happily the false glare of Pagan virtues with the mild spirit of benevolence as exhibited throughout the Christian system, and especially evinced in the foundation of charitable institutions from the days of the pious widow who, according to St. Jerome, first set the example to those of the royal founder of the establishment, in which the author holds so responsible a situation, and down to the present time. We can safely recommend this little work to the perusal not only of the young, for whose advantage it was more especially written, but also to Christians of every age and station in life.

A Sermon, preached before the University of Cambridge, on Sunday, Feb. 1, 1829. By WILLIAM VALENTINE, A. M. of Trinity College. London: Rivingtons. 1829. 8vo. pp. 29.

JEREM. xlviii. 10.-After some general remarks on the sin of insincerity, more especially in doing the work of the Lord, the Preacher proceeds to point out a few instances of deceitfulness, of which both the private Christian and the minister of God may be guilty, though they are apt to persuade themselves of their faithful attachment to the service of Christ. Under the first division of the subject, is noticed the guilt of those, who content themselves with merely entering God's house, and with kneeling before him in the closet, with an empty show of reverence indeed, but without exhibiting the real devotion of the heart; of those who bring their children to baptism, merely as a matter of form, without serious consideration of the nature of the rite; of those who regard confirmation as a ceremony, which may be deferred at liberty to any period of life, or do not treat it with that seriousness which it evidently demands; and of those who abstain wholly or partially from the celebration of the Lord's Supper. With respect to ministers of the Gospel, after a few observations on the sin of undertaking the sacred office with any other view than

that of faithfully and honestly discharging its duties, the practice of loosely regarding subscription to the Articles, and of understanding them in such a comprehensive sense, as to admit of almost any interpretation whatever, is clearly and decidedly reprobated; and the Sermon concludes with an encouraging exhortation to do the work of the Lord faithfully. We cannot withhold from our readers the following extract:

The practice of loosely regarding subscription, as little or nothing more than an engagement not to disturb the public tranquillity has probably afforded the first foundations for an equally lax construction of the nature of other engagements, of a similar kind. It has apparently extended its influence to the interpretation of the meaning and obligation of oaths in general; and it has even been asserted, that in an instance, wherein the wisdom of our ancestors has provided the security of this solemn pledge, from the highest authority in church and state, in defence of our ecclesiastical as well as civil interests, the propriety of receding from this pledge, is to be estimated by considerations of political expediency, and not by the unsophisticated dictates of conscience. P. 22.

A Catechetical Exercise; chiefly compiled from Bishop Mant's and the Oxford Catechisms, and Crossman's Introduction to the Christian Religion, for the use of National and other Schools, and Private Families. By a COUNTRY CLERGYMAN. London: Rivingtons. 1828. 12mo. pp. 60. We think this a very useful little compendium, and recommend it to the use of those, for whom it is designed. Its nature and object are sufficiently stated in the Title-page.

Roberti Leighton, S. T. P. Archiepiscopi Glasguensis, Prælectiones Theologica; Paraneses; et Meditationes in Psalmos iv. xxxii. cxxx. Ethico-Criticæ. Editio Nova, Recensente JACOBO SCHOLEFIELD, A. M. R.S. L. S. Græcarum Literarum apud Cantabrigienses Professore Regio, et Collegii SS. Trinitatis Nuper Socio. Deightons, Cambridge; Rivingtons & Seeleys, London. 1828. pp. 353. 9s.

THIS posthumous work of Archbishop Leighton was first published