of Rome employed against the Reformers, and if they had yielded
to its influence, we should still have been in her communion. I
recollect having met, some time since, in the course of my reading,
with the following judicious reply to a satirical question which a
Catholic bishop proposed to a Protestant:--'_Where was your religion
before the days of Luther?_' 'In the Bible, Sir, where yours is
not, and never was.' The Bible, as Bishop Stillingfleet very justly
observes, is the religion of Protestants. You say that I have
exchanged an old for a new religion, but this I deny. I still admire
the Liturgy, and I still believe the Articles of the church; I still
retain that religion which you say is venerable for its antiquity;
but, then, I believe it is not to remain a religion of mere forms
and ceremonies, but that it is to operate on my heart, and produce
within me the peaceable fruits of righteousness. The new religion,
as you and others are pleased to term it, is not a corruption of the
old; but it is the old religion of our venerable Reformers, and the
good old bishops and pastors of our church, revived in its primitive
simplicity, and life, and power. It is the religion of the Bible,
which enlightens and renovates the inner man--which brings us into
fellowship with the Holy One--which preserves the broad line of
distinction between the real and the nominal Christian--and which,
by its progressive influence, makes us meet to become partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light."
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"But I do not think that you can, consistently
with your profession as a Churchman, leave your parish church to
attend one in another parish; the rector is the shepherd, whose
spiritual jurisdiction extends over the whole parish, and the people
are, ecclesiastically considered, his flock. Is it right for one
sheep to stray into another fold for pasture?"
_Mr. Roscoe._--"Your figure of comparison is more fanciful than
just. As we live in a land of freedom, where every man is permitted
to exercise his own judgment on every religious question, we may
believe what doctrines, practise what ceremonies, and hear what
minister we please, without offending against any law, or subjecting
ourselves to the interference of others."
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"But you are not sure that you will approve of
all the doctrines that Mr. Ingleby preaches, and may, after a while,
be under the necessity of going elsewhere."
_Mr. Roscoe._--"If I should be under the necessity of going
elsewhere, I ought to be thankful that I have the right, and also
the opportunity of doing so. But as this is an hypothetical case,
I feel under no obligation to reply to it, further than to say,
that as religion is now become essential to my happiness, and an
enlightened ministry[18] essential to my spiritual improvement, I
shall go where I can derive most advantage. Places and forms, times
and seasons, are the accidental associations of religion, not the
integral parts of it. That powerful ascendency which they once
retained over my imagination and prejudices is now destroyed, and I
am free to hear the truth wherever it is proclaimed, and to offer up
my sacrifice of prayer and of praise to God, in any place which he
will condescend to visit with his presence."
[18] "They that have any just sense of the importance of religion,"
says a judicious writer, "find that they need all the helps that
God has appointed. Suppose the Sabbath were abolished for a few
weeks--in what state, think you, would some of you find your minds?
Why, you would feel as if you had scarcely any knowledge or power
of religion at all." But there is no charm in the sanctity of
the day to keep up the power of vital religion in the heart of a
Christian, nor in the holy place where he may spend "the consecrated
hours"--this honour having been put on a faithful ministry, which
exhibits the truth in its purity and force. What a loss does
a Christian habitually sustain who deprives himself of such a
ministry, and worships where angels never stoop to celebrate the
conversion of one sinner to God! Instead of hearing that _glorious
gospel_ which enlivens and strengthens the mind, which purifies
and ennobles it, and which brings the remote and unseen realities
of eternity to moderate the impetuosity and cool the ardour with
which the fleeting shadows of time are pursued, the heart is often
disquieted, if not with "harsh and dissonant sounds," yet with
antichristian and dissonant sentiments, and the day of rest becomes
one of perplexity and mortification--Providence having determined,
that they _who observe lying vanities shall feel that they have
forsaken_ their own mercies (Jonah ii. 8).
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"But I presume you do not intend to leave the
church for any of the Dissenting chapels which are springing up
amongst us."
_Mr. Roscoe._--"You know that I am attached to the constitution
and the prescribed formula of the church, but I have a stronger
attachment for the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God to
salvation; and if I could not hear it preached within the walls of
the Establishment, I should consider it my duty to go where I could
hear it. Now, I will put one simple question, and I am perfectly
willing to be guided by your reply. Suppose the pure gospel was
preached in a Dissenting chapel, and another gospel was preached in
the church, to which place would the apostle Paul go to worship, if
he were a resident amongst us?"
The Rev. Mr. Roscoe made no reply to this somewhat hampering
question; but his wife, who was rather more ingenuous in her
disposition, and less anxious about the consequences of any fair
concession or admission, said, "I have no doubt but he would go to
the Dissenting chapel, and take others with him."
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"My dear! do you really think so? you must be
more guarded."
_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"Yes, I do most certainly think so; and I'll
tell you why. He has pronounced a woe against any one who shall dare
to preach another gospel than that which he preached; and therefore
it is not likely that he would sanction an official service, against
which he has recorded his solemn and awful denunciations. It would
be exposing himself to the consequences of his own anathema if he
were to do so."
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe_, smiling.--"I bow to the Spirit, that will rule in
spite of apostolic prohibition."
_Mrs. John Roscoe._--"Yes, when it rules in righteousness, as in
this case, rebellion would be treason, no less to logic than to
apostolic authority."
* * * * *
On the following Sabbath morning we were delighted to see Mr. Roscoe
and his family enter the church, Mrs. John Roscoe accompanying
them. As this was the first time they had come to hear Mr. Ingleby,
we were very naturally somewhat excited on the occasion. He read
the prayers with great solemnity and pathetic earnestness; and it
was evident, from the expressive responses of the congregation,
that they felt engaged in a devotional exercise, blending, in the
name of the glorious Mediator, supplication with thanksgiving. His
subject was taken from Revelation iii. 21, "To him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne." After a few prefatory
remarks, the venerable rector said, "I shall endeavour to prove
from these words that the Christian is animated in his course by
the hope of attaining the honours which wait him at the end of it."
He had, in this sublimely interesting subject, ample scope for the
exhibition of some of the most attractive and impressive parts of
revealed truth; and such was the ease, energy, and animation with
which he spoke, that the audience listened with fixed attention; and
though he knew not that Mr. Roscoe's family was present, yet, from
the tenor of his remarks, some thought that the sermon was intended
solely for them.
After service, when strolling leisurely through the church-yard,
Farmer Pickford pressed through the crowd, and rather abruptly gave
me his hearty hand-shake, and we walked away together, his modest
wife by his side.
"We have had an excellent sermon this morning."
"That's true, Sir, and no mistake. Mr. Ingleby speaks as though he
believed and felt what he says. He is wonderfully clever. He knows
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; and methinks he could repeat
it without looking at it. And what a smart voice he has--not too
loud for them that sit near him, and loud enough to make people hear
outside the church if a window happens to be open."
"He is indeed an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures; that
is, he has extensive and profound knowledge of them."
"He has more verses of the Bible in one sarmunt than Parson Cole
puts in threescore; and I take notice that they are all different,
while Parson Cole is always repeating two, which I have learnt
by heart. One is, 'Be not righteous overmuch;' and t'other, 'In
the last days perilous times shall come.' He has given me a bit
of a liking for the Bible. I read one chapter every night to the
youngsters before they go to bed, and two on a Sunday."
"I hope you understand and feel what you read, and what you hear
from the pulpit?"
"Why, Sir, as for that I can't say much; but I can say this, I like
what I hear, and I can make out Mr. Ingleby's meaning a bit better
now than I could at first. What he says often _comes home_ here,"
placing his hand over his heart, "and then I can't help feeling, and
at times I feel desperately; but then, worse luck, it all goes off
on a Monday."
"I suppose, though, you sometimes think during the week on what you
hear at church on the Sabbath?"
"I can't help doing that; but, worse luck, I can't make out his
meaning by my own thinkings so cleverly as he does in his sarmunts."
"That's very likely; but I suppose you now reflect at times on the
worth of your soul, and the possibility of its being lost?"
"Ay, that I do; more now in one hour than I ever did all my life
long before. Parson Cole never made me feel or think, but when he
was lashing away at the _schesmeatics_, as he calls the Methodists,
and then I used to feel mightily pleased. I often think we were two
fools together--one for lashing the Methodists, who never offended
him, and t'other for being pleased with it. I never come from church
now without thinking about myself and my sins, and about Jesus
Christ who died on the cross, and about heaven and hell. These are
now to me great realities. Nothing else, as you said to me when you
first talked to me, is of equal importance. But I am very stupid in
such matters, worse luck. Wife knows a power more about such things
than I do, and she often helps me a bit to mind and understand
Mr. Ingleby's sarmunts. We often sit up an hour or so after the
youngsters and the sarvunts are gone to bed, to talk over these
matters. I like her talk, as I understand it a bit."
"I suppose you understand Mr. Ingleby much better than you used to
understand Mr. Cole; and I daresay you would not very willingly go
back to your parish church?"
"I have been there, Sir, _for the last time_, and no mistake. When
there, I could sit thinking about my crops and my cattle, but I
can't do that at church now. No; Mr. Ingleby takes my heart along
with him; and at times he gives such terrible back strokes that he
makes me tremble--ay, and cry too; and I a'n't ashamed to confess it
to you."
"I am thankful to hear you say what you do say, and I have no doubt
but you will, by and by, know spiritual things much better than you
do now."
"And so I tell him, Sir; I tell him he is now like the man of whom
we read in the Gospel of Mark, who, when the Lord began to open his
eyes, saw so confusedly, that men appeared like trees walking; but
after a while he saw things as clearly and as distinctly as other
people."
"The Lord grant it may be so; then I shall be a power happier than I
be now. I sha'n't mind death then."
"I suppose, Mrs. Pickford, things are now more comfortable at home
than they used to be?"
"Yes, Sir; I see a blessed change in my husband, and a change in
my family. Sunday is now kept as it ought to be, and we all go to
church, servants and all, which makes me very thankful to God for
working this change in our homestead, and to you, Sir, for the part
you have taken in it."
"I have a good wife, Sir, who looked after me when I neglected to
look after myself, and who looked after the youngsters when I was
for letting them run wild. I used to feel a power of anger against
her for her Methodist ways and talk, and at times I refused to let
her go to chapel on a Sunday; but I did this in the days of my
ignorance. I know a bit better now, thank the Lord. She says she
sees a change in all of us, but I hope she will see greater changes
yet. I now know that my heart must be changed, and I pray to God to
change it. I hope, Sir, you will come again to see us before you
leave Fairmount, and give us a bit more prayer. That prayer you gave
us at your last visit has never been off my heart since I heard it,
and I don't think it will ever go off."
"Yes, Sir, do come again," said Mrs. Pickford, "I will try to make
you comfortable, and you may do us some good."
"Why, Sir, I got more good to my soul by your talk when you looked
in and tasted our brown loaf and cream cheese, than I got from all
the parsons that ever visited us, and we have had a power of them in
the shooting season. They would talk about game and dogs, but not a
word about the soul and its salvation. I'll tell you what my belief
is--one half of them would make better gamekeepers than parsons; and
I'll tell you why I think so--a man, to be a right sort of a fellow
for his work, should have a liking for it; and he should stick to
it, and not gad about, minding other things."
"Very true; the ministers of religion should try to save the souls
of their people."
"That, Sir, is my thinking; but no parson ever said anything to me,
or to any of us, about my soul and its salvation, though they all
knew I was a badish sort of a man, apt to swear a bit, and sometimes
get drunk, worse luck."
"Well, Farmer, I hope now you will work out your salvation with fear
and trembling, and then you will never again commit such sins."
"I will, Sir, the Lord helping me; and I hope we all shall; we shall
then be a power happier, and no mistake."
* * * * *
On their return from church, Mrs. John Roscoe said, "We have heard
a very judicious and impressive sermon this morning. I was much
pleased with the vigour and occasional elegance of Mr. Ingleby's
style; but this was a source of gratification far inferior to the
elevating sentiments which he delivered. I could have sat another
hour with great pleasure, but not without coveting the feelings of
a man who spake of the joys of heaven as one who had passed through
all the necessary preparatory trials, and was living in the sweet
anticipation of his final happiness."
"I was much struck," said Mrs. Roscoe, "at the size and listening
attitude of the congregation. How audibly and impressively they
uttered the responses. It was the sound of many voices, yet all in
harmony; I saw no one gazing about, as though he were a stranger in
a strange place, but every eye seemed fixed on Mr. Ingleby. I have
been more pleased than I expected; and if this be a fair specimen of
evangelical preaching, I shall feel no reluctance to go again."
This remark overpowered the feelings of Miss Roscoe, whose mind had
been filled with anxiety respecting the issue of this first visit of
her parents to the church in which she had so often listened with
delight to the truths of revelation, and she could not refrain from
shedding the tear of joy.
"Yes," said Mr. Roscoe, "the service was indeed interesting and
impressive. The preacher displayed a spirit and a manner which
became the place he occupied, and the responsibility of the sacred
duties devolving on him. His mind was absorbed in his subject;
and his principal aim was, by showing us our danger, and the
resources of our safety, and by exhibiting before us the honours
and felicities of the unseen world, so to awe and animate us, as to
secure our devout and permanent attention to the momentous truths
which he brought forward. I felt that the revelation of mercy was
to him not a mere system of philosophical speculation, which, by
exercising the reasoning faculties, improves the intellect without
refining the moral sense; but that it was, what it professes to be,
a restorative scheme of salvation, which, by renovating the heart,
restores man to his long lost purity and bliss--deriving all its
efficacy from the grace of Him by whom it was first announced."
"I never retired from a service," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "with
such feelings as those that influenced my heart this morning; so
dissatisfied with myself, and yet I know not why; I feel that I
need something to solace my heart, and yet what that something can
be I know not. I am, indeed, dear Sophia, in a state of almost
overwhelming perplexity."
"Your observations, dear aunt, remind me of a passage in the
history of the apostle Paul, who at one period of his life was in
the same state of mental perplexity, which led him to say, 'When
the commandment came, sin revived;' that is, when he felt the
condemnatory application of the law of God to his conscience, he was
in a tumult. Before this application was made, he thought that his
heart was very good, but afterwards he felt himself a great sinner,
and that he had within him many evil principles, which had been
lying in such a dormant state, that he had no suspicion of their
existence. The new discoveries which you are now making, and which
occasion such painful perplexity, are preparing the way for other
discoveries, which will soothe, and yield the sweetest consolation;
and you will be led gradually onwards to a clear and comprehensive
view of the grand theory of revealed truth; and then, like Paul, you
'will abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.'"
"I hope, my dear, it will be so; for I feel when associated, as I
too long have been, with our Tractarian fallacies and delusions,
such a craving of soul for some yet unknown spiritual helps
and consolations, that I am painfully disquieted, and at times
alarmed, lest I should be seized by death in my present state of
unpreparedness for that solemn event. I hope, my dear, you and your
papa will pray for me, for I now feel the need of the prayers of
others. I know not how to pray myself. Forms are now useless to me,
especially those I once used and admired, but never felt; I cannot
use them now; and yet I know not how to pray to the Almighty without
a written form."
"You will soon know, dear aunt."
THE UNHAPPY ONE.
Mrs. Denham was quite disconcerted by not seeing the Roscoes at
church on Sunday; and therefore, accompanied by her daughter, she
made a call the next day, to ascertain the cause.
"We were much surprised yesterday," said Mrs. Denham, "by not
seeing any of you in your pew. We thought some of you must be very
ill. We had a most charming sermon. Mr. Cole took his favourite
text--'_Be not righteous over much_.' He read most excellently. Mr.
Denham very much admired the sermon, and so did Sir Henry Wilmot;
I heard him say that Mr. Cole surpassed himself. He showed us the
folly and the danger of being too religious. We should have called
in the evening, only we know that Mr. Roscoe has some scruples now
about Sunday visitors."
"Perhaps," said Mrs. Roscoe, "you will be surprised when I tell you
that we all went to hear Mr. Ingleby."
"Indeed!"
"And did you really?" said Miss Denham. "I heard him once. Is he not
a most solemn preacher? I think if I were to hear him often I should
be brought over to his religion, he enforces it with such awful
power."
"You know, my dear, our objections to his religion; and I hope you
will never think of leaving your own for it."
"Why, mamma, if I speak the candid truth, I must confess that I have
no religion to leave."
"Dear Matilda, you shock me. Why, can't you say the Catechism, and
the Belief, and the Lord's Prayer; and were you not confirmed by the
Bishop of Bath and Wells; and have you not taken the sacrament three
times, and thus made yourself a very good Christian?"
"No, ma', only twice. If you recollect, we had a large party last
sacrament Sunday."
"Yes, I now recollect it. I suppose (looking at Mrs. Roscoe) you
found the church prodigiously full?"
"There was a very large and a very attentive congregation."
"I have heard that before, and I wonder at it. I wonder what charm
people can feel in such a gloomy religion, to be so fond of it.
They should have the sermon preached to them which Mr. Cole read
on Sunday morning. It would soberize them. I am told Mr. Ingleby
preaches such awful sermons, and with so much vehemence, that he
makes people take up with his religion whether they will or no.
Pray, how did Mr. Roscoe like his preaching? He is a sensible
man, and one on whose judgment we may place some dependence,
notwithstanding his religious eccentricities."
"Mr. Roscoe was very much pleased. He thinks Mr. Ingleby a very
intelligent and a very eloquent preacher. Indeed, we were all so
much gratified, that it is our intention to hear him again."
"There, mamma," said Miss Denham, "I told you it would be so. Is he
not, ma'am, a most beguiling preacher? I have often wished to hear
him again; and yet I wonder at it, for he made me feel so awfully.
What was the subject of his discourse?" (Mrs. John Roscoe now
entered the parlour with Miss Roscoe.)
"He preached about the difficulties which a Christian has to
overcome before he can enter heaven."
"I wish," said Mrs. John Roscoe, "you had been with us. I think
all your objections against evangelical preaching would have been
removed. I never enjoyed a sermon so much. We certainly act a very
unwise part in cherishing antipathies against a style of preaching
which is so well calculated to direct our attention towards that
eternal world to which we are all hastening."
"It is very proper that we should all think about going to
heaven; but if we think too much on that subject it will make us
low-spirited. Mr. Cole very justly remarked yesterday, in his
sermon, that our Saviour never prayed that we should be taken out of
the world; and I think it would be wrong if we were to desire it."
"But you know that we _must leave_ it; and as we know not how soon,
is it not of importance that we should be prepared?"
"O, certainly; and I doubt not but, when our Maker is pleased to
take us unto himself, we shall be quite resigned to our fate; but
for my own part (rising as she spoke), I would much rather live than
die. We know what this world is, and here we are very well off, but
we know nothing about the next."
"I hope," said Mrs. Roscoe, "you and Miss Denham will accompany
us on Sunday to hear Mr. Ingleby, as I have no doubt you will be
much pleased. No one could have stronger prejudices against that
good man than myself; and though he advanced some things which I
did not very well understand, yet he preached with so much ease
and animation, that I felt more of the importance of religion last
Sunday than I ever felt before."
"I have no doubt but Mr. Ingleby is a very good man and a most
excellent preacher; but you know that Mr. Denham is so attached to
his religion, that he would not like for us to change ours. When,
Madam (addressing Mrs. John Roscoe), do you leave?"
"We think of going the early part of next week."
"No, no," said Mrs. Roscoe, "we cannot part with you so soon. You
must prolong your visit."
"Yes, dear aunt," said Miss Roscoe; "indeed you must."
"I hope, Madam, you and the Rev. Mr. Roscoe, accompanied by Mr. and
Mrs. and Miss Roscoe, will do us the honour of joining a select
dinner-party at Brushwood House this day week. Mr. Denham charged me
to take no refusal, he is so anxious for the honour of seeing you
all at his table."
"I feel obliged by your polite invitation; but I believe my husband
has to attend a clerical meeting, which will render it absolutely
necessary that we should be at home on Tuesday next. If he can stay,
you may expect to see us; and I will let you know immediately after
I have seen him."
"You see, my dear," said Mrs. Denham, on her way home, "the
propriety of the suggestion which I gave you some time since, to
avoid associating with Mrs. Stevens, as it is to her influence we
may attribute the entire secession of the Roscoes from our social
parties. They are all gone, as you may perceive from our interview
with them this morning; and their example will influence others.
It is prodigiously affecting to see the progress this evangelical
religion is making, and no one can say where it will end."