in any other nation of Europe. To use the language of Swift, my Lord Martin has succeeded my Lord Peter, and the perpetual variation of the dissenting sects, which are necessarily divided, forms the only argument of Martin against the objections of Jack.

The King of England is the head of the English church. The bishops acknowledge his supremacy, and he may preach and administer the sacrament. Elizabeth, when she instituted a national faith, preserved many of the ceremonies of the Roman church, together with organs, ornaments, altars, mitres, surplices, &c.; her feminine vanity was gratified by pomp, which is one of the natural attributes of power. The English hierarchy consists of the superior clergy: that is to say, of two archbishops, twenty-two bishops, together with a host of deans, canons, and archdeacons ; and the inferior clergy, which is composed of rectors, curates, &c. The annual revenues of these religious functionaries amount to two millions sterling, exclusive of tithes; but, as may naturally be supposed, these spiritual benefits are not more equally distributed than worldly honours and privileges.

Deaneries, prebends, and rich livings, have sometimes been the rewards of learning; but now, as in former times, it is a subject of complaint, that the church has become the patrimony of the younger sons of powerful families. Many good livings are at the disposal of persons of rank and fortune among the laity, and two or three are often conferred on one minister. The English

rectors are severely reproached for what is termed non-residence. They accept of several livings, and bargain with a poor curate to perform their duties for them, for a moderate stipend. I say nothing of simony.

The doctrines and the service of the church of England are settled by the liturgy; which is, in many parts, remarkable for eloquence of style. Its imperfection has, however, been acknowledged by more than one holy prelate, in spite of the panical fear of innovation, which is the disease of England in religion, as well as in politics. There is, for example, a contradiction between the prayers which were inserted on account of the gunpowder conspiracy, and those which were composed on the accession of William III. The Armenians and the Calvinists dispute the explanation of several articles of the liturgy; and, in consequence, one of the English Bishops will not admit any minister into his diocese, until he has undergone an examination. When the reformers separated from the communion of the church of Rome, the pretence was the free use of the Bible. The English liturgy is extracted from the Scriptures, as are also most of the prayers contained in the Book of Common Prayer. Every member of the English church is required to place as much faith in the Prayer Book as in the Bible.

The English church, which was founded by the intolerant Henry VIII., long preserved a character of intolerance. Even the almost exploded weapon of excommunication was employed by the English

church long after its separation from the churchof Rome. It now occasionally boasts of being the most tolerant of all religions; and so it is as far as the frontiers of Scotland and the Irish sea. Intolerance, it is true, belongs less to the character of the English people, than to the policy of their government. However, the degree of intolerance which really exists in England, is not attributable solely to the clergy, or the ministerial party. The upper ranks of society are, to appearance, every day more closely embracing the doctrines of the church of England, and the consequences of those doctrines are implicitly adopted by that unenlightened portion of the people who, in all countries, devotedly serve the interests of the national church, and see only with the eyes of their preachers. The English church, being the religion of the state, necessarily views dissenters with an eye of jealousy; and the spirit of proselytism, which, in general, animates all sects, joined to the enthusiasm which distinguishes some of the most active, involves the English bishops and ministers in a continual contest. The example of our revolutionary atheism has been a great lesson to them, and places them equally on their guard against liberal ideas. Thus a degree of energy and activity animates all religious doctrines in England, because conflicting interests are continually brought into contact with each other, and are unrestrained by any superior power.

It is generally admitted that a clergy should not be dependent on public charity; but at the same

time, when their worldly interests clash with the interests of their flocks, they must necessarily be degraded in a country where free discussion is permitted, where wealth is jealous of all encroachment on its prerogatives, and where the spirit of trade and industry wages continual war against all kind of spiritual domination.

LETTER XLV.

TO THE SAME.

I ACCOMPANIED my friend, the young clergyman, on a visit to a little village, of which his father is rector. This worthy old man, who is sincere in his faith, and scrupulous in the observance of his duties, wins the hearts of his flock by persuasive good humour. He is fervently attached to the established church; but at the same time he is very tolerant in his principles. While his son and he went to pay a visit to a friend, I took a seat in the library, and amused myself by looking over a book entitled the Velvet Cushion. This title at first somewhat puzzled me, and perhaps it may not be perfectly intelligible to you without a little explanation. I must inform you, then, that the pulpits of the English churches are

each furnished with a cushion of velvet, on which the preacher lays his hands when in the attitude of prayer; and the little work to which I have just alluded, purports to be the history of one of these cushions, which, since the reign of Mary, has survived all the vicissitudes of the catholic, protestant, and dissenting faiths, and at length finds a place in the pulpit of a country church. The author of this innocent satire, which is not very remarkable for invention, supposes that, being suddenly endowed with the use of speech, the apostolic cushion becomes its own historian.

I

This novel piece of autobiography is, at the same time, a gallery of portraits. That of the vicar, to whom it is addressed, presents several traits which I immediately applied to my host. recognised the tranquil and regular habits which his son had described to me, and of which I was myself a witness on the day which I spent in his house. Every morning the good clergyman reads a chapter of the bible; he then joins in prayer with his old housekeeper, the gardener, and another servant, and gives them his blessing. After dinner, he employs himself in preparing his sermon for the succeeding Sunday, or he visits some of the neighbouring cottages, to administer consolation to the afflicted, to stimulate and encourage piety, and to censure neglect of duty. Unfortunately, his limited income prevents him from indulging the charitable feelings of his heart to any great extent. All his sensual enjoyments consist in a pinch of snuff, a nap after dinner,