The National Register.
London, England, 1811-12-01 00:00:00

content to be themselves. Those who are thus greatly singular,
eminently deserve both thanks and praise.
Religion has recently been deprived of one minister, who (had
the wished prolongation of his usefulness at all consisted with
the inscrutable councils of God !) promised soon to discounte-
nance the puerilities of preachers. The late Rev. Thomas
Spencer's distinguished talents promised this good. Respecting
that really able, though youthful preacher, the present writer
some time ago delivered the opinion he had formed ; concluding
with a presentiment (unhappily too soon verified!) that his
pulpit career would not, although brilliant, be extended. The
loss of Mr. Spencer must be long felt ! " But our holy religion)",
observes the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine, " requires
meek submission to the rod, and leads us to adopt those judicious
remarks which the preacher (speaking of the Rev. H. F. Burder's
' Sermon, delivered at Horton Chapel, August 15th, 1811, on
occasion of the much-lamented death of the Rev. Thomas
Spencer') quotes from the works of the late excellent Mr. CeciL
" We are too much disposed (remarks Mr. Cecil) to look at the
outside of things. The face of every affair chiefly affects us.
Were God to draw aside the veil, and to shew us but a little or
the reality, and the relations of th, most apparently-mysterious
and complicated dispensations, we should acquiesce with re-
verence and admiration. A minister,
.for example, may be taken
away in the be inning of a premising career, or in the midst of
great usefulness. If we cannot perceive any direct reason for
this providence, we stand amazed; but if we could look forward
iiito the further life of such men, we should, probably, see that
they were taken away in mercy to themselves, to.the church, or
to the world." There is much supposititious ratiocination in all
this. One may kindly admit that such ministers are " taken
away in mercy to themselves," from the evil to come ; but it
does not seem quite so charitable to suppose that they " may be
taken away, in the beginning of a promising career," either "•in
mercy to the church—or to the world." Does not the World
most need them ? 11.1 SE not the Church long mourn them ?

Since the subject of this critique, the Rev. Mr. Lierchild has
escaped the contamination of clerical frivolity, and still stands
nobly aloof from this crying folly of his day, surely he will not
take it amiss to find himself here cautioned against yielding to
the opposite extreme, by degenerating, perhaps from too much
plainness, into that colloquial slovenliness which never can well
become his sphere. He is a scriptural, impressive, and search-
ing preacher,—excellent pulpit qualities ; yet these excellent
qualities are so far from being impaired by an attention to the
delicate decencies of preaching, that their effect is considerably
improved by it. This hint is tendered in good part.
Improvement might be suggested in his deportment. Let him
wisely avail himself of forms. Paley says of worship what ap-
plies well to preaching. Although he rests the main question
with the heart, yet " I do not say," declares this Divine, " that
modes of worship are indifferent things; for, certainly, one mode
may be more rational, more edifying, more pure, than another."
The pulpit has its decent modes.' Forms are of old and high
worth, essentially understood, and are felt so by wise men.
ONESIMUS.

Mr. HORNit TOOKF, it is stated, to the amazement of that
parochial assembly, appeared, a few d.iys since, at a concened
vestry meeting in the parish church of Wimbledon, and carried
his point, in favour of a reformation of its concerns, by a divi-
sion-18 to 7.

A FATAL Honx.—Some person who has thought proper to
show his or her ingenuity at !he expense of their orthography, on
Th ,irslay night sent a variety of tradesmen with artichis to a house
upon the Adelphi Terrace. The hoax, a very clumsy one, was
soon discovered, and the poor tradesmen had to carry back their
articles to the shops from whence they brought them, most of
them a long distance. One of them, however, missing .his step
at the top of the area stone stairs, tell down with his,burthen,
and fractured his skull. He died in half an hour afterward%
'File hoaxer will, no doubt, have some pleasant feelings at the
success of his attempt.