The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-09-13 00:00:00

bIOCESAN risirAnok -Ole THE BISHOP OP
CHESTER.

, PEP'. .ILEXANWR PLETCHER. •
[Abridged from the Eaf?iOurgh Weekly Journall• .. . '
Mr. Fletcher preached in Leith'" for the last time Ibis
season," as he himself expressed it, on Sunday. The fore-
noon collection was to be given in aid of the funds of ISO=
ciety in Leith for the benefit of orphans whose fathers bate
perished at sea, anti that of the afternoon was to be reserved
thr the object which has brought the preacher to Scotland
-the erection of his new chapel in London. The sermon
was in the Old f?orth Leith church, and collections were
made both when the congregation entered and left it. The
boards appearej to be " weed heapit up wi' ba'pence," but
with halfpence only. As the crush at the doors was great,
in order that no one might go away without the opportunity
of contributing, a person stationed himself in the main
!passage i:ith a soup-plate in his hand, as the people
!were dismissing. The church was very much crowded
in the afternoon, not only the seats, but all the stand-
' ing-room being occupied. Benches were also placed on
a grass-plot ow the outside of one of the windows,
*here some. persons who (lid not choose to encounter
.the pressure in the church were accommodated. .
Mr. Fletcher a. pronunciation, though broad, ih not that
peculiar to Scotland, but that mongrel kind which some
Scotsmen acquire, after they have been so long out of their
!own country as to hare lost a little of their own wild wood
note, but not so long as to have gained any thing better in
!its place. His utterance is • tud, and though his voice is
powerful, he sometimes raises it so high that it fails him,
and produces most horrible discordancy. This is the
manner of his discourses, and it is, upon the whole, well
suited to their matter. In place of striving to exhale the
minds of his hearers, so as to It them for the cot,'
templation of rell‘ion, he, brings religion down to their
comprehensimi, by illustrations drawn ftom the most
,homely and every-day topics,—in this affecting to imitate
the divines who preach*/ at the period of the Reformation.
The consolation which a conedente IA divine support
affords to those who are "rejsssidll'' pined of mete
was what hessainly insiets4-00.6:4 of the passages
Ns
of Scripture which he rein might lie Construed as
having a distinct personal allusion, and these, too, he read
with a marked emphasis. The iiiirtion he selected in the
forenoon was the last chapter of Habakkuk, the closing
verse of which is—" The Lord God is my, strength, and he
will make my feet like hinds' feet, anti he will make me to
walk upon mine high places." The italics point out the
words on which the emphasis was laid in reading. Before the
dismissal of the afternoon congregation, Mr. Fletcher ie.
timated that he would preach on the Calton Hill it'-2 the!
evening. Several chapels in Edinburgh, he said, Wonld
have been opened to him ("Mark that," he interjeoted,
" they were offered to me") could he have remained a
while longer. He had at first expected to preach that
evening in the largest Dissenting Chapel in the town (Mr.
Scott's, Cowgate) ; the Managers and proprietors, with
the.concurrence of the Clergyman, had offered him the use
of it, but something had since touched the heart of the
Minister, and that purpose was frustrated. The propri.
*ors, anxious that he should preach upon their property,
had next suggested that the serOu might be delivered on
the green which surrounds the house, and which would
contain 10,900 hearers ; but he (Mt. F.? answered them,
" No ; 1 will goo and preach upon the Ca ton Hill ; I will
do nothing which may seem to do violence to the feelings
of your Minister." Men might charge him with enthu-
siasm, he added, but he was firmly persuaded that the
finger of God was here, and that it was fore-ordained that
be was to be the instrument Of some great work " upon
that eminence."
When Mr. Fletcher cattle in sight of the immense mul-
titude assembled oh the Calton-hill to receive him, there
was an instantaneous rush towards him, and he was locked
into the midst of a mob, where it was impossible for him
to choose his own station. The table and a chair were
ultimately handed over the heads of the mob, and when
the preacher mounted them, he found himself in the midst
of a natural amphitheatre, filled by a congregation more
numerous perhaps than was ever before assembled to hear
any one m'ntster preach, or perhaps any one human being
speak. The ground ocetipied was the back part of the
hilt, seen from the Win of Leith, forming a sort of
bosom, in the hollow of which the preacher was sta-
tioned, surrounded by not fewer than twenty thousand
persons. He requested any one from among the hearers,
who might be able, to lead the rest in singing a psalm
which he gave out. A young man accordingly came for-
ward, and mounting the erection la chair pla* upon s,
'table) from which Mr. F. tietuiendild, read the line, in the
manner still practised in many parishes in Scotland, and
was joined by the whole congregation in singing. When '
Mr. F. again mounted the chair, he read that part of St.
Ilattliew s Gospel (ch. v. ver. 1-20) which gives an ac-
.eonnt of our Saviour's Sermon upon the Mount. Here,
again there occurred a passage which it might be considered
that the Rev. Gentleman wished to be applied to his own
case ; it is in the 11th and 12th yams :—" Blessed are ye
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say. all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad ; for great is your reward
in heaven ; for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you." But the most remarkable allusion which this
chapter was meant to convey was to the similarity of the
situations in which the sermon of Christ, and that of Mr.
Fletcher were delivered. " And seeing the multitude,"
the chapter begins, "he went up into a mountain ; and,
• when he was set, his disciples came unto him : And he
opened his mouth and taught them," &c. We should have
The Goldfinch Leeward Island packet arrived yesterday.
taken no notice of this, as an intended parallel, had Mr.
The letters from Grenada, of the 27th of July, notice the
favourable state of the weather, and the consequent pro-
Fletcher himself not made the application in his prayer
sperity of the island. The letters from Barbadoes are to which followed the reading of the chapter, and ex-'
the 19th of July, and from St. Thomas's to the 4th of tended the irreverent Icomparison by likening himself to
August. Those from Antigua are to the 29th July, one Christ upon the Mount of Transfiguration, with this dif-1
ference, that Jesus saw around him only "foes and. fiends,"
of them states that nothing can be more unfavourable than
the weather for taking off the crop. whereas he (Mr. F. saw none, as he was pleased to say,
but dear friends. The text he chose was from Nehemiah,'
Letters from New York, of the 15th August, state that
ch. viii. v. 10--" The joy of the Lord is your strength."
a great deal of money was made by the shippers of cotton
during the early
immense sums, and many part of this year, but that the later adven-
As the sermon was wholly declamatory, it is not possible
turers must sink
will be involved Ito give an outline of it. He exerted himself to the ut-
in ruin. most in deliVering the discourse, and by the time it was
IRON BRIDGE 072 R THE 11.17 ER IrEAR,—WO learn
finished his voice had become hoarse, anti he was
I the time of the arrival of Mr. Fletcher till the dia.
that on the 12th of last month, Mr. Edward Nixon, super-
otherwise much exhausted. The whole service, from
intendant of this bridge, took out a bar of iron, 16 feet
long, which laid in the groove of tha patent of the bridge; ; missal of the assembly, did not occupy quite an hour.
In the address which preceded the closing of the service,
and it is satisfactory to know that it was not in the least ,
corroded, but as perfect as it was on the day Mr. Nixon put Mr. Fletcher described the motives which had induced
it in, 30 years ago. It was taken. to the Town-hall for the
him to visit Scotland. He protested solemnly that he had
,
inspection of the Comtnissioners. Much credit is due to done so from any wish to 'stir upenmity against the
Mr. Nixon for the great attention he devotes towards the Associate Synod, or to show his contempt for that body,
bridge and road to the head of Bridge-street. We will! but that he bad come solely as an enemy to sin in the hearts
venture to say that there is not a finer piece of road any of those whom he addressed. He concluded by informing
them where his friends would be stationed to receive con-
where to be met with. This adds greatly to the bea:tit
tribetions. When the blessing had been pronounced, and
of the bridge, which has just now been handsomely paint
—Durham Chronicle. I the immense congregation had begun to disperse, a tumid.',
tacos rushing towards the spot whet* Mr. Fletcher was,
A most curious natural production has been dug up !
stationed took place among time who were anxious to ob.'
during the present week, in a field on the Andover-road,-
fain a nearer viaw of him. By this time a female, said to'
called Gallows Field (being the site of that instrument of
be the sister of Mr. Fletcher, had got upon the table be-
death before the erection of the present drop). It is a'
aide him. When Mr. Fletcher observed the fearful tom-
turnip, which, without the least modification after its list tide
of the multitude around him, he again raised him.l
covery, presented the exact form of a human hand, with
the four fingers, thumb, wrist, knuckles, palm, &c. corn-
self upon the chair from which he had preached, and
pletely shaped, except that the thumb (correctly situated) besotetht them to dispense quietly, as, if a single child
rather small in proportion to the rest of its parts. It is were injured at the present assemblage, " the whole
is
press
now in the possession of the man who found it, whose name of England would be upon hint." The crowd,
howev
is Gale, a resident in Wincliester.—Country Pope,. er, still pressed upon him, and at last be
On Tuesday last a man, of the name of Thos. Mountain, gave hie gown to a friend, and hurried off somewhat
was summoned before the Magistrates at our Court-house, nastily*
red Gentleman, although his precipitate retreat was No disrespect was ever shown to the Reve-
under the provisions of Mr. Martin's Act, for cruelty to a
the occasion of some merriment among those who witnessed
bull. It appeared that on the 30th of August last, amongst
other festivities at Beeston Feast, a bull was about to be it. The collection was made as had been stated by Mr.
Fletcher, hats, handkerchiefs, soup-plates, and the collet'.
baited, and the necessary preparations were made for amuse
tion-plates from some church, being used for the purpose of
ing the spectators, and the cruel attack had actually corn,
receiving it. Notwithstanding the remark we heard from
menced, when the constable interposed, and a dreadful
several groups who stood observing upon the scene they had
scuffle ensued. Mountain was convicted in the penalty of
.51. and costs—Leeds Mercury. witnessed ; namely that Mr. F. would " get mile to look
• hire - for

[From Core', Liverpool Adrertiser.l
On Thursday the Right Rev, our respected Diocesan
met the clergy of this district of his diocese, in his qrat
vi-
sitation. The morninis service was performed in St. Peter a
Church. The Rev. -P. Bulmer, A.M. read the service.
I The Rev. Augustus Campbell, late of Wallasey.; now of
St. George's, Liverpool, preached the sermon. 4-Us text
was, net. ii. 4, " Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because thou bast left the first love." the Rev.
Clergyman diechursed ably upon his text, turning his argu-
ment appropriately upon the occasion. He spoke of
the hostility to the Church Establishment which cer-
tain shallow, self-called philosophers and politicians
of the present times show, drawing in their train a
portion of the ignorant multitude. He spoke feelingly
of the possibility of these agitators effecting some of their
evil wishes upon the reverend establishment : " as in for.
aver times had been, so, perchance, again might be per-
mitted that our Zion should be removed." 'He inquired
into the causes of the defection from the Established
Church, the chief of which he owned to be, the inatten-
tion of the legislature to keep the increase of the church
establishment in just measure with the Increase of the
people. Recently this error has been seen by the governs
molt, and means have been put in action to remedy the
evil, which God graht, said the preacher, may not be ton
late. He sought also into the professed causes -if animosity
to, or dissatisfaction with, the clergy—the affirmed luke-
warmness of their doctrinal discourses, the luxuriousness
of their lives, and the indecorum of their manners and
conversation. Wherein there was justice, or show of jus-
tice, in those complaints, he exhorted his brethren to
amendment; wherein, as mostly is the case, they are un-
just and false, he proved that injustice, and exposed that
falsehood. He urged, with earnestness, the necessity of
the clergy being at least as active and industrious in their
sacred calling, as the other orders of the community are;
in the paisuit of theft honest and gainful callltsgs. Irweir
a mild, dear, and most sensible discourse, and perfectly
adapted to the occasion.
The Bishop pronounced the Wessing from his seatbeside
the pulpit.

In a few minutes be took his seat at the altar. The
clergy assembled around him, and after their names and
titles had been separately read, he addressed to them his
zharge.
W lien we consider the person pronouncing this address,
the persons to whom it was addressed, and the solemnity of
the occasion, and then turn to think of ourselves, and the
channel through which we are uttering our thoughts, we
feel, we own, a strong sense of impropriety in taking upon
us any sort of criticism of this discourse, though that criti-
dam were only, as assuredly it must be, praise. In such a
circumstance as this, ours is the part of an humble and re-
spectful hearer only ; and a newspaper, where all that is
light, trivial, and nonsensical, meet and jostle in ludicrous
confusion, seems no fit place for recording the sentiments
of reverence, or the feelings of serious gratification which
the hearing of such an address may have created.
We pray, then, that we may not offend in venturing,
with modesty, and with much fear of offence, to express,
in a line or two, our deep-felt sense of the excellence and
suitableness of this discourse of the Right Reverend
Prelate's.

This was an address to his clergy only ; and never, for a
moment, did he depart from the limited boundary which
the put pose of his address ascribed. Addressing grave and
intelligent men upon the important duties of their office,
no ill-placed affectation of eloquence, nor any popular to-
pic, for any instant seduced his perfect good taste front the
line of plain propriety. He spoke strongly of their duty as
members of an estahlishment, to the ancient and well-pon-
dered laws and ordinances of which their obedience was
due, and against. which none might take upon him to op-
pose his private opinion. He spoke of their moral and re-
ligious duties in a tone of amiable and earnest exhortation,
commending to them, especially, that decent gravity of be-
haviour, in all their intercourse with life and society, which
denotes the habitual occupation of the mind by the great
cares and awful responsibility of their office. He pointed out
some irregularities in clerical discipline and forms, which he,
expressed his firm determination to oppose and to reprobate.
He commended to their special care the charities more im-
mediately connected with the church, and with its minis-
ters ; and finally, in a tone of deep feeling, he prayed from
them the same sympathy with his cares and duties, that he
r felt and expressed for theirs'
Never have we beard any address or discourse more per-
fectly excellent and suitable in every part—plain, earnest,
unaffected, amiable, and sensible. It displays in this
reverend prelate, a character devout, without,enthusiasm or
bigotry ; strict without severity, and amiable without weak-
ness; above all, deeply via thoroughly imbued with
reverence and love of the establishment of which he is a
dignified member, and possessed with the deepest feeling
of the duties which he owes to it, to secure it in its re-
verence in the national mind, and in its utility to the na-
tional character.

The church was not much crowded.
The Right Rev. Prelate dined in company with about
forty-five of his clergy in the evening, at the King's Arms,
Castle-street.

We understand that, at the request of the Clergy, the
Bishop consented to allow his address to be published.

On Saturday night last, a serious accident took place at
Hetton Colliery, by which four men unfortunately lost
their lives. They were employed in sinking a shaft fur a
new pit, when an immense quantity of sand fell in
upon them, and completely covered them. From the
weight of the sand, it is supposed their deaths would be
instantaneous. The bodies of the deceased had not been
dug out on Tuesday ; but we have not heard whether they
have been mowed since that time.--Daritam Paper.
Last week a large viper, measuring a yard In length and
four or five inches in circumference, was taken alive in the
mill-race of the King's Mills at Bradford. The belly is
beautifully variegated, and the back is nearly black. Ile
reptile is now in tbt possession of Mr. eockshott, the
druggist, in Westgate.

. -
at him thin gie him ought," the funds building his
chapel in London received an accession, upon the present
occasion, of, it is said, about 401.
Mr. Jones, Mr. Fletcher's chief friend among his London
congregation, was present, and boasted that there were not
more than 28 individuals of the Albion-street congregation
who did not still adhere to Mr. Fleteher's ministry.
On Monday, he set off, we understand, with the inten•
tion of visiting and preaching at Aberdeen.
Winowa' PENFIONS.—The widows' pensions, due the
fith ult. will be in course of payment on Thursday next.
The approaching Meeting at Doncaster promises to be
the largest ever known ; at this time rot a bed is to he pro-
cured, and lodgings, which teat yea: wire to be had for
twenty guineas, ari: now fifty.