French Monuments; as the stones were scattered in every direction, it was impossible to form any idea of their united effect. We observed, however, three very rude figures carved in stone which it seems from an inscrip In this respect we might with advantage take a lesson from our continental neighbours. SIR, T. C. J-r. Nov. 2, 1817. HE letter which I lately trans account of Lord Nithsdale's escape, was written by Lady Nithsdale to her sister, an abbess, at Bruges. The original is in the hands of Mr. Maxwell, of Yorkshire, who is descended from Lord Nithsdale. From an intimate friend of Mr. Maxwell I obtained the copy which I transmitted to you. SIR, FOR T. C. HOLLAND. tion, of which the following is the sub-mitted to you, (p. 460,] giving an stance, were intended to represent the Trinity! "Peter Abelard, founder of this abbey, lived in the 12th century: he was distinguished by the profundity of his learning and the rarity of his worth; but having published a work on the Trinity, which was condemned by the Council of Soissons, in 1120, he retracted, and, to shew that his opinions were orthodox, he made out of a single stone these three figures, which represent the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity." The burial ground is kept in excellent order, to preserve which several gens d'armes are constantly on duty: some of our party who had inadvertently trespassed, by leaving the path and crossing the grass, were rather roughly accosted by the soldiers on guard, who were scarcely pacified by information that they were foreigners and consequently unacquainted with the rules of the place. A feeling of respect for the remains of the dead, and a wish to preserve them from insult, seem natural to the human heart; we find traces of it in the remotest ages of antiquity; whatever variety of customs as to the disposal of the dead may have prevailed in different nations, or even in the same nation at different periods of its civilization, they all had one uniform object in view, that of protecting their remains from profanation and insult. And does not the same feeling beat responsive in our breasts? Who of us but must have felt shocked (when passing through the common receptacles of mortality, particularly in the neighbourhood of our metropolis,) to see the want of decency and respect with which the remains of former generations are treated, at seeing their bones handled and thrown about with the utmost carelessness and indifference, exposed to the idle gaze of every passenger? Do they not seem to say to us with the unburied skeleton of Archytas"Nor thou, my friend, refuse with impious hand Exeter, Oct. 13, 1817. NOR the satisfaction of your correspondent Historicus, in your last Number, [p. 525,] I have looked into Socrates for the fact he mentions, and have readily found the passage to which Sir E. Coke alluded, of which I send you a free translation. Socrat. Hist. Eccl. L. i. cap. 38:-"The Emperor wishing to put Arius to the test sent for him to the palace, and asked, him whether he submitted to the Decrees of the Council of Nice: he readily, without any delay, but with a fraudulent intention, signed in the Emperor's presence what it had decided respecting the faith. Constantine, surprised, required an oath in addition, and he carried his deceit so far as to satisfy him even in this. The fraud which he practised in subscribing was, as I have heard, as follows:-They say, that Arius having written his own opinions upon a parchment which he had with him, carried it under his arm and swore that he really believed according to what he had written. This last fact I have related only from hearsay, but that he added an oath to his subscription, I have asserted on the authority of the Emperor's letters." In the last sentence of this passage Historicus may perhaps find a reason for the story having been neglected by Mosheim and Priestley; but he should have been very sure that it was a fabrication before he ventured to charge Sir E. Coke with so wanton and useless a falsehood as inventing it and ascribing it to Socrates. W. H. SIR, Birmingham, Oct. 21, 1817. collect some information respecting A REVEREND Gentleman having the Jews in Honan, from a Mahome asserted, in a large company, that Dr. Priestley was in the practice of preaching sermons composed by other people, I am desirous of ascertaining, if possible, whether such be really the fact. Every one, at all acquainted with the Doctor, knows that he was a very ready and a very rapid composer; and, from his acknowledged talents and extensive information, the presumption is against the truth of the assertion. Some of your correspondents, who knew Dr. P. intimately, and therefore well informed as to his habits, will perhaps have the goodness to state what they know on the subject, as calumny, whether of the dead or the living, ought not to pass unnoticed. TH AMICUS VERITATIS. Jews in China. HE following unsatisfactory memorandum on this subject is made in the "Journal of the late Embassy to China. By Henry Ellis, Third Commissioner of the Embassy." 4to. 1817. This, like most other passages in the book, only raises the reader's curiosity to disappoint it. "Mr. Morrison* endeavoured to Mr. Morrison is a Missionary in China from the London Missionary Society, and has made great progress in translating the Scriptures into the Chinese. (For some account of him, see Mon. Repos. VI. 124.) The following passage, in the "Journal,' bears witness to his proficiency in the difficult language of China. "The intimate knowledge of the Chinese possessed by Mr. Morrison, naturally pointed him out as the principal medium of future communication with the Chinese, and he was immediately employed in the translation of the Prince Regent's letter and other documents, which he executed with a facility much beyond any idea I had formed of European acquirement in this most difficult language." P 58. The following account of this gentleman is from the Newspapers." Mr. Morrison, who was attached to the Chinese Embassy on its arrival at Canton, as principal interpreter, is a native of Aberdeenshire, from whence he was sent some years ago to Macao, in the capacity of a Missionary. Mr. Morrison was labouring in his vocation with great zeal, when he was called to assist in the grand ceremonial of the Embassy, as interpreter, which he per tan, the only person whom he had met with acquainted with their existence. The man's knowledge was so confined, that he threw little light upon their actual condition. Their numbers are much diminished. Pere Jozane, in 1704, describes them as paying the usual Chinese honours to the temple of Confucius, the tombs of their ancestors and to the tablet of the Emperor. Their books did not reach lower than the Pentateuch; they were, however, acquainted with the names of David, Solomon, Ezekiel and Jesus, the Son of Sirach. Their entrance into China took place about two hundred years before the Christian era." P. 282. IA On Congregational Unitarian Funds. LETTER I. SIR, Nov. 16, 1817. AM so powerfully struck with the extensive benefits likely to arise to the cause of evangelical truth, from the associations which have been advocated of late in your pages, that I am desirous of contributing, if I can, towards their general adoption. That class of Dissenters from which the Unitarians have chiefly been formed, though liberal when applications have been made to them, have not been so much exercised in the practice of collections at the door and subscriptions for religious purposes as their orthodox neighbours by much. Orthodoxy has certainly been a far more expensive concern to its friends than heresy has formed with such intrepid fidelity, that the Courtly Mandarins were afraid to record some of his explanations. His habiliments as a Missionary, however, not being suitable to the splendor of the dress of the other persons composing the suite of the Embassador, Mr. Morrison was under the necessity, sorely against his will, of submitting to the operation of being clothed in a richly embroidered scarlet coat, the uniform of the Commissioners, with a chapeau-bras, which he placed most mathematically on his head, as an equilateral triangle! By extraordinary diligence and perseverance, he has acquired so perfect a knowledge of the Chinese language, that he has for a considerable time been employed in compiling a Dictionary of that tongue, which is now printing at the Company's press at Canton." been to ours. The cause is obvious: for although it is "after the manner they call heresy that we worship the God of our fathers," yet, it has hitherto been but little of our concern whether others worshiped him so or in another way, while importance seems in them to have attached itself to systems, in proportion as they verged from the straight road of truth. I flatter myself that our benevolence will, by means of the auxiliary funds, not only be methodised, but also that it will, with inconceivable ease, be made efficient of every useful purpose. There are four institutions which ought to be allowed to have a permanent claim upon these congregational funds, the Institution of York, for the education of our young ministers, under Mr. Wellbeloved; that under Mr. Aspland at Durham House, Hackney; the Unitarian Fund and the Widows' Fund in London. The collections in the four quarters of the year may be made answerable, each in its turn, to one of these great objects, the amount sent to each proportionate to the amount collected, leaving all minor claims to be answered by the surplus. Our congregations would surely find an obligation lying upon them to exertions of this kind, if they were to consider the language of their Lord to his apostle Peter, and through him, as I conceive, to his disciples in all after ages-When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren. It is not in small matters that the point of similarity arises between the state of things in Peter's days and that of our days. There are strong marks of similarity between the errors of ancient and those of modern times: and there can be no reason assigned why the faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus, who sees the errors in which his brethren lie, and their evil influence on society, should not now also exert himself with a virtuous activity to remove them. I will forbear taking up your readers' time with a statement of these errors, wishing rather to make a few remarks on the duty itself, and the objects which it embraces. The great duty of strengthening our brethren, in the faith which was delivered to the saints, both in Peter and in us, arises from these considerations -the importance of the subjects of Divine revelation, the immediate in fluence they have on the public mind, and the fatal consequences which must follow from these subjects being misunderstood. These three considerations will furnish much reflection, which I will leave to your readers, and will proceed with observing, that the all-important question with us is, how shall the great end of the gospel, the present welfare and the final salvation of mankind be best brought about? Now, the solution of this question must depend upon what we conceive to be productive of the greatest present good, and best corresponding with the instructions and the purposes of the Messiah. It is impossible for us to see the proper consequences of some of those opinions which are called the doctrines of the gospel, without deprecating their spread in society; while of others we can only say, that they becloud rather than enlighten the mind, and instead of rendering the understanding efficient of the best purposes of life, they besot and stupify it, and forbid it ever to rise to grand and enlivening views of nature and of God. If thus we view the systems of religious truth which now prevail in the world, it is scarcely to be conceived how we can remain unmoved when we see the zeal and animation of those who entertain, as we believe, false views of Christian truth. They are eager to promote those views. They spare not their time, their diligence nor their wealth, to make converts to error by sea and by land. So did the corrupt Jews in the Saviour's time: and moved by this consideration, it was the command given by his great Master to the apostle Peter, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Be not satisfied with the pleasure that springs in your own breast, when you see at a distance from you the error you have escaped, and the danger you have avoided. Act upon the great principle of social virtue. Shew yourself worthy of the privileges which, as an intelligent being, you possess. Communicate. your happiness to others: drive the phantom of superstition from their breasts, pluck up the root of error and of vice out of their heart, tear the bandage of mystery and of darkness from their eyes, free their thoughts from error, their lives from vice, their spirits from the doubts and fears which brood over them. Let the sun of righteousness shine full upon their minds, and let joy and peace in be lieving be their portion. But, Sir, we still may meet, we actually do meet the objection against individual exertions which has been made with a better grace in former times. "What we can do towards promoting the cause of truth is of small importance, and can produce but a small effect. The cause of truth is the cause of God, and he will employ effectual and sure methods of propagating it at the period which he shall see best." That the exertions which individuals can make are of small import will not be admitted as an argument against these exertions being made, if it be considered that the greatest works of man's device, and I will add the greatest works which in the moral dispensation of Providence have ever been effected, have been so effected by the single but repeated endeavours of individuals. By what means has the solid quarry become a habitable and beautiful city, but by the single strokes of a man's arm? How rose the immense pyramids, which for thousands of years have defied the tooth of time but by the single, but united labour of man? How have distant provinces, and distant countries been united by canals, and enjoyed all the advantages of navigation and commerce but by that toil which you may trace to the spade? See but the vast work completed, measure its extent, calculate its value, and trace back the steps by which it has been produced, to the first stroke of the pickaxe and the fasting hour of him who first removed a stone, your mind is almost overwhelmed with astonishment, and you perceive the immense disproportion between the first cause and its effect. Yet we know that those petty operations, which might once have been looked on with contempt, continued without intermission and with an animated mind have surmounted the greatest difficulties, have levelled mountains, have filled up seas, have excited the gratitude and the admiration even of those who once shook their heads in scorn. But nature herself offers us a yet more striking lesson of steady continued exertion than even the experience of man: for, from the smallest beginning's we behold in her works the most powerful, the most magnificent effects. How is that incalculable force acquired with which the mighty river rolls along, and to which the gigantic resistance of the earth itself offers but an insufficient restraint? There are in some parts of our earth streams which pour into the ocean a volume of water of more than a hundred miles in breadth. And where do these originate but in the dripling rivulet at which the bird can scarcely quench his thirst? It steais unseen through the wood, or amidst the grass, which hides it from the view of man; but it soon breaks forth to observation, In its progress it joins other streams as feeble as itself, and swelling as it proceeds it unites with the multiplied waters of the whole country around, till it is swollen to a navigable river, deepening and widening as it goes, and at length in silent majesty it rolls its mighty waves into the vast abyss. In the moral world we have seen effects as vast, produced by the united virtue of many minds. The history of the world furnishes various instances of the improvement of the mental powers by the exertions of a few individuals, and of the consequent removal of what was the disgrace of the human character from amongst them. We need not go out from that truly sentimental and humane nation amongst whom it is our happiness to live, for decisive proofs of the infinite impor tance of individual exertions. What has been done by the united endeavours of individuals of all classes of Christians in circulating, not through this country alone, but through the world, the knowledge of the Christian Scriptures, by the distribution of Bibles! and great is the good we may reasonably hope, will accrue to the world by this most useful step. How immense are the sums which have been raised by the religious societies of Great Britain to promote missionary scemes in foreign parts! Numbers would scarcely tell them! It may indeed be questioned whether those sums would not have been far better employed in enlightening the minds of our neighbours at home, or in spreading first the blessings of civilization and of humanity amongst savage nations, before the attempt was made to teach them doctrines at which their common sense revolts. The design however is virtuous, and the object is effected by small means. The history of the Slave Trade, a horrid object, which we can only look upon without shuddering because it lies vanquished before us, and is we trust, drawing its last breath, is a memorable and will be an eternal evidence of the value of small beginnings and of many and repeated exertions, to work good impressions upon the minds of even an enlightened society. With whom did the warfare which was waged against it begin? Who drew the first sword, not of steel but of reason, to lay the monster low? Recollect the little importance, both in a national and a political view, of that virtuous society to whom it owes its fall, the firm and furious opposition they met with from almost all public bodies of men, from entire cities rich and populous, from most of our public characters and from the legislature of the realm. Yet small strokes cleave the mountain oak. The public opinion, by repeated and repeated exertions, was brought to bear against it, a virtuous prince was moved to execrate it and after many a struggleand many individual sacrifices, the slavery of our fellow-man was abolished; never, may it please God, to be sanctioned, never to be tolerated more. And in order to demonstrate the importance of united endeavours, however small they may be, shall I point to the noble edifices which still are rising, the ornament and the delight of our towns and villages around; one of them now lifting its dignified head in the town in which we live? These are built by a society composed chiefly of the lower orders of the people; who, by uniting their pence, can raise their thousands. May the Divine blessing accompany and follow all their labours! To the best of their knowledge, and with an admirable activity and virtue, they try to serve the cause of truth and of God. This neighbourhood and the adjoining county testify how much their labours are beneficial to man and good for society. Let us not merely look on and admire: let the very poor give us an example and let us never despise the day of small things. But in urging upon you the neces sity of repeated and even of small exertions to produce a moral good, let us not forget the lesson taught by our blessed Redeemer, the object in whose view was the greatest that ever expanded the breast of man. For this too was effected by means, which, on account of their insignificance, were a scandal in the Jews' esteem and folly to the Greeks. All the great purposes of God are brought about by human means. These must of necessity be slight in their original texture and in their first effects; but these are they which shall eventually enlighten the world, and bring in those blessed days of which prophecy speaks, when there shall be nothing to hurt or to destroy. The Saviour saw the weakness of his apostle, he shewed him his compassion by foretelling his fall and his subsequent rising again, and he charged it as a duty of the highest importance to the cause of truth," When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Truth ought to be of as much value to us as it is to any other set of rational creatures in the moral creation of God. There is no reason why we should adopt the Unitarian faith, and assemble in an Unitarian place of worship in preference to any other but because we believe, that the views which are there professed of Scripture are those which come nearest to the truth. Now if we possess the truth it would be well for us to consider, whether we do not possess a talent which it is incumbent upon us to employ for the purpose for which it was given; which purpose could have been no other than the general good of the society of mankind. Ought we not then to endeavour to make it more generally known and employ all upright and honourable means to extend the knowledge of that interpretation of Scripture which we have obtained through the labours of eminent men, and by the exercise of our own intellectual and moral capa-. cities? And let it not be said that it is the minister's business to teach and to propagate scripture truth. The minister can do little compared with the people. He may speak from the pulpit and he may write from the press; but neither of these means, nor both together, will be of any decisive advan tage without the concurrence of those |