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ftill remain in a doubtful dependent tempered by reflection. Befides, when love, even innocent love, is the whole employ of your lives, your hearts will be too foft to afford modefty that tranquil retreat, where the delights to' dwell, in clofe union with humanity.

fituation, and only be loved while ye
are fair! The downcaft eye, the rofy
bluth, the retiring grace, are all pro-
per in their feafon; but modefty, be-
ing the child of reafon, cannot long
exist with the fenfibility that is not

THE WIDOW: A Character.
[ From the SAM E. ]

LET fancy prefent a woman and whofe approbation is life; but

with a tolerable understanding, her imagination, a little abftracted for I do not wish to leave the line and exalted by grief, dwells on the of mediocrity, whofe conftitution, fond hope that the eyes which her ftrengthened by exercife, has allowed trembling hand closed, may still fee her body to acquire its full vigour; how the fubdues every wayward pafher mind, at the fame time, gradually fion to fulfil the double duty of being expanding itself to comprehend the the father as well as the mother of her moral duties of life, and in what hu- children. Raised to heroism by mis man virtue and dignity confist. fortunes, fhe repreffes the first faint dawning of a natural inclination, before it ripens into love, and in the bloom of life forgets her fex-forgets the pleasure of an awakening paffion, which might again have been inspired and returned. She no longer thinks of pleafing, and confcious dignity prevents her from priding herself on account of the praise which her conduct demands. Her children have

Formed thus by the difcharge of the relative duties of her ftation, fhe marries from affection, without lofing fight of prudence, and looking beyond matrimonial felicity, the fecures her husband's respect before it is neceffary to exert mean arts to please him and feed a dying flame, which nature doomed to expire when the object became familiar, when friendfhip and forbearance take place of a more ardent affection. This is the natural death of love, and domeftic peace is not destroyed by struggles to prevent its extinction. I alfo fuppofe the husband to be virtuous; or the is ftill more in want of independent principles.

Fate, however, breaks this tie.She is left a widow, perhaps, with out a fufficien provifion; but she is not defolate! The pang of nature is felt; but after time has foftened forrow into melancholy refignation, her heart turns to her children with redoubled fondness, and anxious to provide for them, affection gives a facred heroic caft to her maternal duties. She thinks that not only the eye fees her virtuous efforts from whom all her comfort now must flow,

her love, and her brightest hopes are beyond the grave, where her imagination often strays.

I think I fee her furrounded by her children, reaping the reward of her care. The intelligent eye meets hers, while health and innocence fmile on their chubby cheeks, and as they grow up the cares of life are leffened by their grateful attention. She lives to fee the virtues which the endeavoured to plant on principles, fixed into habits, to fee her children attain a ftrength of character fufficient to enable them to endure adverfity without forgetting their mother's example.

The talk of life thus fulfilled, she calmly waits for the fleep of death, and rifing from the grave, may say

-Behold thou gaveft me a talentand here are five talents..

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REFLECTIONS on the FRENCH REVOLUTION. [From Bishop Watson's Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Landaff, in June 1791.]

A Revolution, as to the mode of and ariftocratic demagogues, ftill

its accomplishment, unparalleled in the annals of the world, has taken place; or, to fpeak more properly, is now taking place in the civil and religious conftitution of one of the greatest kingdoms in Europe. I deliver no opinion of cenfure or approbation on the fupporters or oppofers of this revolution: it would be unfeasonable to do it in this place, even if I was perfectly acquainted with all the causes and occafions which have produced it; and it would be improper for me to do it in any place; becaufe, however well informed other men may think themselves to be on this fubject, I profefs that my knowledge of the internal government of France, of the ftate of parties in it, of the temper of the people, of the finances of the country, and of the other circumstances which have given rife to this political phenomenon, is not fuch as to enable me to pass a decided judgment on the utility or inexpediency of the meafure. As a friend to civil freedom, which confifts not in democratic licentiousness, but in obedience to laws enacted by the general fuffrage of a free people, I cannot but rejoice in the emancipation of the French nation from the tyranny of regal defpotifm: but, detefting the defpotifm both of popular

one,

more than that of individual mcnarchs, my rejoicing is held back, left that emancipation fhould be more apparent than real. I trust, however, it will in its effects be real: for, whatever may be the final iffue of this wonderful struggle, I am induced to think that the French will obtain three things-a trial by jury-an Habeas Corpus act and an incorrupt adminiftration of public juftice-Bleffings these of inestimable value! which were not till lately fo much as heard of in France; which conftitute the felicity of Great-Britain; and in the enjoyment of which it is our duty, as men, to with all nations to participate. There may be fome things in our civil, and fome in our ecclefiaftical conftitution, which call for a temperate reform; but ftill we are a happy people, and do well to be jealous of any violent attempts to amend either *But omitting the confideration of the civil ftate of France; I will advert to the change which has been effected in its ecclefiaftical confiitution, and which was the only reafon for my making any mention at all of a revolution, which has fo greatly excited the attention of Eu rope.

None of you can have been fo incurious as not to have remarked many

Profeffions of attachment to our confitution in church and state have been made by me on fo many occafions, that I think it needlefs to repeat them on this. If any from the freedom with which I have been accustomed to speak of certain defects in both, fhould be difpofed to question the fincerity of thefe profeffions, nothing that I could fay would remove his prejudice; I pray God to give him a more charitable mind. I leave it, however, to impartial men to decide, whofe attachment to the conftitution is the greatest-that of him who labours to remove fuch rotten parts of the glorious fabric of civil and religious freedom, as daily invite the attack of its enemies or that of him who, not unconscious of the danger, contents himself with thinking that it will not fall in his time. May the wifdom of our rulers, fhewn as well by their modera tion in removing what is unfound, as by their firmness in retaining what is whole, preferve this mighty edifice, the work of ages, and the envy of the world, from being levelled to the ground by the rude hand of popular difcontent, of fanatical zeal, or republican violence!

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alterations in the Gallican church, which have been introduced into it by the decrees of the national affembly. I fhall content myself with bringing to your recollection three of the chief.

The first refpects the diminution of the immenfe revenues of fome of the minifters of the church, and the augmentation of the fcanty ones of others. Confidering the different talents, natural and acquired, of different minifters; the different degrees of minifterial capacity requifite for the due difcharge of the feveral offices exifting in an established church; and the utility of diftinction and fubordination in fuch establishments; I cannot think that many reasonable men would be defirous of feeing all church preferments reduced to the fame level: but it may be wished by all, that not only in France, but in England, and in every part of Chriftendom, fuch a well-apportioned provifion might be made for the clergy, that none of them might have fo much, as to render them inattentive to the discharge of their respective functions; none of them fo little, as to render an accumulation of benefices neceffary for the fupport of any one. The time, I think, will come, though I may not live to fee it, when a more equitable diftribution of the revenues of the church of England will be fettled in a quiet and legal way. At prefent, pluralities and non-refidence are fuch a. difgrace to our establishment as all ferious men wish to fee removed; they are, I am difpofed to own, neceffary evils, fpringing from the great number of appropriations and impropriations which have taken place among us, by which fome thousands of livings are become of fo little value, as to be utterly inadequate to the decent maintenance of a clergyman; and we all know how frequently the poverty of the minifter brings religion itself into contempt, with the rude and undisciplined part of mankind. The revenue of the church of England has been magnified, I apprehend, by many writers, much above 5

the truth: I at least have no reason to think that it is more than fufficient for making a proper provifion for all its minifters. But without wishing to fee all preferments of the fame value, I fhall never cease to wish, that no living in the kingdom may be fo fmall, as to render it neceflary for any man to have two. The church of France, notwithstanding what it has loft, is yet richer (if I am rightly informed) abfolately and relatively than the church of England: its abfolute revenue is faid to be about fix millions fterling; that of the church of England falls much fhort of two. In France there are about twenty-four millions of inhabitants to be inftructed by their clergy; in England about eight.

The fuppreffion of monafteries in the Gallican church is another change meriting our approbation. Many perfons in the retirements of the cloyfter had, unquestionably, their minds mortified to all worldly concerns, and lifted up to heaven with the pious fervour of true devotion; it would be want of charity to fuppofe otherwise : but it is no want of charity to suppose that many perfons of both fexes were in early youth, and before they could form a due judgment of what would be for their future happiness, immured in those living fepulchres, from fordid confiderations of family expediency. Monaflic inftitutions have never wanted their defenders; they are fuited to the gloomy apprehenfions of enthufiafts, and to the bafe views of hypocrites: they are not peculiar to Christianity; but wherever they exist, they have for their main fupport either the credulity of the vulgar, or the fuperftition of the opulent; and they will be abolished in all countries, fooner or later, in proportion to the increase of learning or the continuance of ignorance,

A third change in the ecclefiaftical conftitution of France deferving our notice, is that complete toleration which it holds out to all mankind in concerns of religion. If any one

fhould

fhould think this to be a change in the dividual of the human race the abfolute civil, rather than in the ecclefiaftical right of worshipping God in his own conftitution, I fhall not difpute with way, without Jofing on that account him about words; but proceed to re- the benefits accruing from a flate of mark, that the alliance (as it has been civil fociety.-Thou art a Chriftian, called) between church and ftate is not and believeft that Jefus Chrift was in France fuppofed to be fo intimate, fent from God, and that there is no that danger must be apprehended by other name by which men can be the ftate, unless churchmen alone are faved;-go and profefs this thy beeligible to all civil offices. Men who lief at Pekin or Conftantinople, and neither celebrate the mafs, or pray being there fpurned with contempt, to the Virgin Mary, or invocate and excluded from all civil trust and faints, or worship images, or practife authority for not admitting the divine auricular confeffion, or believe in miffions of Confucius or Mahomet, tranfubftantiation, or fear the pains of think whether thou wilt not have reapurgatory, or conform either in faith fon to accufe the ruling powers in or worship to the doctrines and rites thofe immenfe empires of injuftice. of the eftabished church-thefe men If God Almighty thinks fit to tolerate are not in France excluded from the rights of citizenship, on account of their religious opinions. When we take an enlarged view of the nature of man, and of the different fituations in which not only different nations, but different individuals in the fame nation, are placed with respect to religious attainments, we must feel the neceffity of vindicating to every in

different religions in the world, fuited, there is reafon to believe, to the different intellectual and moral attainments of mankind, furely it becomes us to be kindly affectioned toward thofe who, agreeing with us in all the fundamental verities of the Chrif tian religion, differ from us only in matters of little importance.

OBSERVATIONS on the RIGHTS of CONSCIENCE.
[From the SAM E. ]

It must be ad, trived from the
equality in which we all ftand to Chrift
our common master, that no fociety
of Chriftians whatever, or however
distinguished by rank, power, wealth,
numbers, learning, can have the leaft
claim to any juft authority of com-
pelling others by threats, or calumnies,
or penalties of any kind, to a fellow
fhip of worship. You, they ought to
fay to all who diffent from them, are
as free as we are; we affect no domi-
nion over your faith, we are not the
Lord's of God's Heritage: go and
worship the Creator and the conferva-
tor of the universe in your own way;
ufe no ring in marriage, no furplice
in public worship, no particular pof-
ture in receiving the facrament, no
sponsors when your children are bap-

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grown up but fuffer us alfo to Wor fhip God in our way; let neither of us find fault with the other, but preferving good-will, practising courtesy, interchanging good offices, let us all be perfuaded that at the last day our different fervices will be accepted by him, whom God hath appointed judge of all, with equal regard to the rectitude of our feveral intentions, and to the means we have used in acquiring information concerning the truth. One of the beft means we can use for the attainment of this end, is to keep our minds unprejudiced, open to argument, and free from every degree of acrimony of fentiment or expreffion, against those who differ from us on any point either of doctrine or difcipline. If I know myself, I have

tized, no confirmation when they are

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