The National Register. — London, England, 1808-09-11 00:00:00

last in ecclesiastical not the poor, that places of religious Instruction are erect ed ; and it is to the rich, instead of the poor, that many popular pastors ambitiou s ly address their labours. The Foundling-Chapel lap substantial claim to this distinction ; and, 1 believe, the Gentlemen of the Philanthropic are the only managers of these modern chapels, who, believing the poor have souls to be saved, as well as themselves, gra tuitously adihil them to their Chapel l Liberal minds will not overlook this honourable peculiarity, while enlighten ed minds will know bow to appreciate its effects. However inelegant the assertion may appear, whatever deficiency of taste tt may discover, I Must unequivocally object to the Node of conducting Divine Fl orship in the Fotinuunc, CHAPEL. It is theatrical in the extreme. SM.- vey the audience, particularly the female portion of it, banging on the extatic warbling', delightful thrillings, and eleciritying shakes of two practised singers.—" Charm ing !" softly exclaims one lady :—" Beautiful I divine !" rapturously adds her friend : while a third, unable to suppress her emotions, heaves the sigh of delectatioa, and scarcely restrains her applauding hands 1 ! I Are these divine cxtacies ? Is this the enthusiasm of devo tion ? Every thing studiously aids this sense of temporal fascination. The lightness of the building itself, and, at other times, the brilliancy of its illumination ; the youth and gaiety of the greater part of the assembly, not to call it an audience, composed of coquetting lasses and ogling lovers; and (what, however, is of secondary effect) a most accomplished, and fashionably captivating, style of hreaching. Religion, of course, ventures rarely to intrude erself among such splendid worshippers of melody and oratory. It is time to be serious. To expect in such a place, and ander such circumstances, that consecration of the heart without which christianity is but a name, is looking for grapes from thorns and figs from thistles. Levity may be gratified, but devotion is distracted. Infidelity remains unconfuted, disobedience unreproved,faith unexhorted.and transgression unreclaimed. Young persons are induced to consider the affairs of eternity as matters of laudable aniusement, while their elders can with difficulty attach themselves to the serious business of religion. Nor is this the whole of the evil. Reverting to those children who are the immediate objects of this charity, a rational spec tator will perceive the impropriety of the situation in which they are thus placed. They form a sort of Exhibition ; :aid, as far as the influence of example operates, they must, if they aspire to any particular publicity, be emulous of becoming public singers. Can any thing be more prepos terous ? Their patrons are absolutely 66 music mad," and the contagion is rapidly indisposing their whole system. I am anxious to be accurately understood. Seriously as I deprecate the foundling-worship, 1 wish not to see piety divested of its fair attractions, its becoming vestments, its appropriate ornaments, its lawful appendages. There is ostentatious plainness, as well as gorgeous pomposity s and, perhaps, Diogenes in hi s t u b was as p rou d as Al exan d er i n his palace. Addison, in one ofhis admirable essays, des c ribes the gra tification ie telt in accidentally hearing the Ritual of the Church of England seriously and emphatically read. The performance Of this portion of our Divine Service ought to be considered of the highest importances since, in the opi nion of many, it would admit of judicious curtailments : and its Keseni length, together with the frequency of its repetii.on, most be rendered acceptable principally by the manner in %Nh. c h it i s delivered. 'Fiore is, however, much to unntlalo s oc on this head. Either the ministers of religion do sot rigfy estimate the nature of this part of their duty, or they are too generally, incompetent to the discharge of it. Cowper, among his accusations against the clergy, complains f "mills that cannot teach ;" but 9f tongues inful and 'numerous as they are, he lcapacity and indevotion on the art generate inattention and indifer minds his hearers; what he performs as a task, they feel as a toil; and, instead of entering into the spirit of its liturgy, many members of the established church, otherwise heartily attached to it, merely endure the rou tine of its rites and ceremonies. What aggravates this evil is the cause to which chiefly it may be traced. It is not the want of a volume of voice; it is not the absence of im perative looks and authoritative tones, of arranged gestures and studied emphases ; these arc not the deficiencies which I should specify in a clerical reader. Tremulousness of sup plicatinn, and distinctness of enunciation, arc the qualifica tions he should most cultivate. If his heart be but serious, it will ,oive light to his understandin,g, and to his manner an awful dignity. His situation is holv; and the sacredness of the office confers sanctity on him who officiates. His de portment, indeed, may dissipate this divine illusion t but, what shall extenuate his offence ? Chapter Coffee-house, Paten-Tiroster-row. ONESIMUS has received several letters, and his Corres pondents may rest assured that he will, as far as practicable, avail himself of their communications. He has not done with that extraordinary personage, WILLIAM 111:NTINcnoit, S. S. of antinomian celebrity I nor have the efforts of his Advocates escaped notice.— 4micus, or Observator, will not be forgotten: the contents of his letter are mostly correct, but the Subject of them requires more extended illustration.-4 miens Sistceres puts, an important interrogatory, to which, however, only a general answer can be given. " Extemporary Preaching" is not Prohibited by any known " Rules of the Established Church " of England ;" but then it is discouraged, as far at least as Episcopal Authority can operate ; and it is unnecessary to re mind this correspondent, how muck even the requests of supe xiors to commands ! Certain " Verses, addressed to the Inhabitants of St. James's " Westminster, on the Death of Dr. Parker and the Presenta " tints of the Rev. Gerrard Andrews," have been most duly re ceived ; and, if the poetry of the writer had but equalled his piety, their length would not have precluded their publicity. Let their circulation. therefore, continue to be prudentially restricted; and, as heretofore, let them still lie " banded about "in manuscript" only. This advice is given without the re motest affectation of superiority. ** * My next number will anal ize the clerical character of the PREACHERS OF THE FOUNDLING CHAPLL. NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE. Notice was on Friday received front Yarmouth, that some vessels from Riga were in the Offing. If this intelltgetice be correct, some relaxation must have taken place in the Franco- Russian system of opposition to British commerce. The Gloire fripte, Captain Carthew, cruising off the coast of France, a few das since, discovered two of the largest clan of French frigates, near Cape.Bartieur. Notw ithstaudipr this immense odds, Captain C. with the utmost intrepidity, rusolved on attacking them. In a few minutes the ship was clear- fur action, every gun double shotted, and it was thought one broad side would so disable the sternmost ship, as to enable him to cut her of. The enemy, on perceiving his intention. itumediately crowded all sail, and, with the assistance of a strong in-shore current, effected their escape into Cherbourg,but not without re ceiving a broadsidelfrom the Gloire, as they entered the mouth of the harbour. What is still more convincing how much the ene my feel their own inferiority, the Amphitrite, a fine nos fri gate, ready for sea at Cherbourg, never made the least move ment to assist her magnanimous comradee, or even to giro theta a tow into port. 1)11:1) Lot week, at Maidenwell, near Louth, Mr. South4rt 11, in his 100th year. He enjoyed a good state of health till within a few days of his death. The 24th August, at Gosford, after a short illness, tired 85 the Right Hon. Francis Charteris Wemyss, Earl of Wemyss. Un the 9th ult. aged 87, the Rev. Sir Wm. Ullithorn Wray. Bait. of Darley, Derbyshire, of which parish he had bhp 41 years Rector. - . SEPTEMBER 11. TIIE NATIONAL ITEGIStrR. 1 of their common Creator, in the way to their common that cannot read, painful and numerous as they are, Maven I Theological affairs seem lamentably reversed. makes uo mention. incapacity and indevotion on the Those to whom the Gospel was pit preached, are now the of the reader, naturally generate inattention and indil ka in ecclesiastical consideration: It is for the rich, and ence ih• the minds of his hearers; what he performs 1 ~ . , _.__i -,~ . ft ..