are the admonitions which the same apostle gives to the Corinthians and the Ephesians, that they preserve the unity of Christ's body, the Church; and no less valuable are the instructions on the same subject given in the epistles to Titus and Timothy.

What I complain of in the modern evangelical school is, that they see Christianity only in one view, and shut their eyes to the other. All their zeal (and it is most worthy of praise and imitation) is directed to spread the Christian doctrine, and they care little for the Christian fellowship, without which any complete system of doctrine is impossible. For whereas Christ declared, "he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved," the burden of their preaching is, "only believe, and thou shalt be saved." The doctrine of the sacraments they omit or explain away, considering them as mere edifying ceremonies, emblematic of Christian doctrine, or, as it were, acted sermons; instead of being, as they are, the instrumental means of our union with the body, and partaking of the Spirit, of Christ. The mode in which the early Christians" continued in the fellowship," namely, by obeying the same spiritual pastors, joining in the same worship, partaking together of the body and blood of Christ, all these acts of Christian communion they speak of slightingly,whereas, in fact, they are the very means whereby the baptismal fellowship is continued, whereby we continue one with Christ, and He with us,” and we with each other, in holy and mysterious union.

66

The consequence of this defective preaching has been most prejudicial to the cause of the gospel. Missionaries who have been sent out with a view to gather in the heathen to the fold of Christ, preaching, as they supposed, evangelical doctrine, but neglecting the rules of apostolic order and fellowship, have not been attended with that success which, had they preached the gospel more fully, they might reasonably have hoped from God's blessing on their zeal and earnestness. It has been just the same in There has been a great in

our parishes at home. culcation of (so-called) evangelical doctrine, insomuch that few persons who attend public worship can fail of knowing the doctrines of justification by faith, the atonement, and other peculiar truths of the Christian religion. But, with all this, never were professing Christians so wanting in true fellowship-never was there so much schism and division; and for this the obvious cause is the extraordinary forgetfulness of one half of the ministerial commission, and the utter neglect to inculcate the doctrines of apostolic order and fellowship, and to set forth the modes ordained by God whereby this order and fellowship are to be maintained.

Within the last few years a decided improvement has been made, and the full and entire scheme of the gospel has been more generally preached. My observations in this chapter apply more strictly to the state of things which existed some twenty years back, which is the period at which my story commences.

There were many parishes then, and I fear there are many, though not so many, even now, in which the doctrine of the apostolic fellowship, or of Churchunion, was never so much as heard of, and the sinfulness of schism utterly unknown; in which serious people, nay, even ministers, considered that if they believed only certain evangelical truths, it was of no matter whether they worshipped and held communion with the apostolic Church or not; and many, even earnest-minded persons, who "sat under" what they termed a gospel-ministry, scarcely knew whether they had ever been admitted by one of God's commissioned ministers into the fellowship of the Church through baptism, and had never partaken of the holy communion in their lives. The enormous evil of this system is apparent in the present prevalence of latitudinarianism and dissent, and has been one very principal cause of the infidelity and lawlessness which has spread throughout the land. For they who acknowledge not God's authority as exercised by His Church are not likely to yield a willing obedience to any other government. This principle will be more fully illustrated in the course of the ensuing narrative.

CHAPTER III.

How it happened that our Hero's Parents separated
from the Church.

"The thing that hath been, it shall be:"

The self-same pride this hour
Bids headstrong myriads round us flee
The Church's sheltering bower.

Lyra Apostolica,-Idolatry and Dissent.

"Ir does not signify," said Mr. Lever to his wife, as they sat comfortably together by the fire after having been at the evening service; "I will not sit any longer under Mr. Onslow. I declare positively I could not keep awake this evening, all I could do. I shall begin snoring some day, and then how foolish I shall look!"

Mrs. Lever might have said, that if John had drunk a glass of ale less at his dinner, he would have been more likely to have kept his eyes open at the sermon; but she did not like to say any thing which might offend her husband, who, to speak the truth, though without any notion of self-denial, could not be charged with intemperance. So she did not re

turn any direct answer to her husband's remark, but observed,

"Mr. Onslow is a very good gentleman. I am sure scarcely a day passes that he does not visit poor old deaf Mr. Baker next door; you may hear his voice through the wall reading the Bible to him till he is hoarse; and then he crosses over to the school and spends an hour or more in teaching the children. I do believe every moment of his time is spent in his duties."

66

Very like, very like," said John Lever, “but what is all that to me? I want to hear a good sermon, like Mr. Wilson's. Eh, dear! what a figure Mr. Onslow cuts after him! Poor man! to see him that day he tried to preach extempore. What a boggle he did make of it, to be sure! I could have hid my face for shame. But it is his own fault : what did he come here for, if he could not do better than that?"

Now Mrs. Lever felt all the while that John was wrong somewhere, but did not precisely know where it was. She was an excellent good-hearted woman, and an amiable wife, who never crossed her husband's somewhat dogged temper, though she often had the skill to direct him without his being aware of it; but in the present instance she did not know exactly what to answer. Having herself been trained in a false system, she did not know that people went to church to pray as well as to hear sermons. Though she prayed very sincerely herself, it had never been