might be greatly elucidated by genealogical trees,* and the historians of heresy, from Epiphanius downward, might have assisted themselves as well as their readers by introducing them. In the present instance, if M. Gregoire had formed one, however incorrectly, it would have suggested to him some kind of method, in which his book is now utterly defective. The different sects are arranged neither with any relation to each other, nor chronologically, nor geographically, nor even in alphabetical order, (the easi est and laziest of all modes of arrangement,) but with as little method or connection as the paragraphs in a newspaper.

If the Ex-Bishop of Blois, in imitation of Langius, had constructed a map of the Land of Heterodoxy, they who are really acquainted with the ground might smile at some of the positions which would have been found there. He informs us, for instance, that the belief of the existing English church bears no resemblance whatever to that of Cranmer, Parker, and Laud; that the present. dissenters, though enemies to the clergy, make common cause with them against the Catholics; that one of the great theological disputes which have recently occurred in England, related to the reform of the Athanasian creed, and that à cette discussion se rattache la controverse Blagdonienne entre le Curé de Blagdon, près de Bristol, et Miss Hannah More. With equal accuracy le designates one of the distinguished advocates of Calvinism as le poëte Sir Richar Hill, Baronnet; and informs us that Mr. Wilberforce is a disciple of Methodism, and has defended its principles in his writings. M. Gregoire has fallen into these errors by writing upon subjects with which he is very imperfectly acquainted; there are others into which he has been misled by his imperfect knowledge of English. For example, he accuses Robert Robinson, the Baptist-historian, of saying that the whole life of Bossuet was nothing but a torrent of iniquity: (et dont la vie entière n'est qu'un torrent d'iniquité.) Upon referring to the original the words prove to be these: nothing stopped his career; he rolled on, a mighty torrent of mischief, driving all before him.' This misrepresentation of Robinson's words has clearly arisen from misapprehending them. In another instance he appears to have followed some faithless translation: speaking of Wesley's Primitive Physic, he quotes the following prescription as bizarre-Pour guérir une colique venteuse, prenez une femme saine, et tâtez-la tous les jours: remède éprouvé par mon père. The easy but singular substitution of tátez

* We have seen them in convents, upon a large scale, applied to monastic history, The hint was perhaps taken from a passage in the works of St. Antoninus of Florence: -Quemadmodum arbor una 'est in radice et trunco, multiplex autem in ramis et fructibus, qui tamen humorem et vigorem habent a radice et trunco, ita status monachalis in Occidente unus est, ab uno Patre derivans, a radice Regulæ Benedicti habens vigorem.

la

la for tetez-lu might be ascribed to the printer, if it were not evident that M. Gregoire could not have had the original work before him; because the remedy of human milk is advised by Wesley for consumption, and not for colic. It seems to have been prescribed as commonly in former times as asses-milk is now. Baxter tells us that he used it four months, and was somewhat repaired by it; and it was the last remedy which was ordered for the merciless Alva. The account of Methodism is equally superficial and inaccurate. The author has chiefly followed Lackington, and seems not to have known that Lackington, after he was reconciled to the Methodists, published a retractation of the work which is here relied on. The letter purporting to be written by Wesley at the age of eightyone, to a lady of twenty-three, is also given, without any doubt being implied of its authenticity. The letter is in itself so grossly incredible, that M. Gregoire ought to have seen its falsehood; and, in point of fact, it is known to be a forgery, by the avowal of the person who forged it.

The sectarians of whom M. Gregoire speaks with most indulgence are the Quakers. This partiality towards them arises from the honourable manner in which they contributed to the abolition of the Slave Trade; the aid which he has contributed to the same cause being the redeeming part of his public life. This sympathy induces him to sum up the character of the society by saying, that if the title of Primitive Christians, which they claim, cannot be allowed them on the score of their belief, they have some right to it on account of their morals; and that among all Christian ɛects, theirs appears to be one of those which, being characterized by the greatest integrity in the conduct of the members, are at the same time a model and a reproach to others. The account which he has given of them is vague and desultory, scarcely touching upon their history, and not attempting to trace or account for the gradual but great change which they have undergone. When he describes the works at Coalbrookdale as their creation, he imputes to the spirit of Quakerism what has been produced by the spirit of trade; aud when he characterizes that district as a tract où les bonnes mœurs, le travail et l'aisance ont fixé leur séjour, he shows how little he is acquainted with the state of morals and domestic comforts in manufacturing or mining countries.

M. Gregoire is not more accurate in saying jamais une Quakeresse ne fut marchande de modes; for Quakers there are, both male and female, who deal in such pomps and vanities without scruple and without reprehension, Nay there are some who have traded in guns and gunpowder, so difficult is it for any sect to separate itself from the general concerns of that society wherewith it is surrounded. The spirit of the age has acted upon them with better

A 2

better effect in exciting a desire for intellectual improvement, and the Quakers of the present time have not only their chemists and naturalists, who hold a high rank among their contemporaries, but their poets also. If some of these betray no marks of their profession, the poems of Bernard Barton bear the decided stamp of Quakerism, and are equally honourable to the society and to the individual. Some of his pieces are written directly upon the principles of the community to which he belongs, such as the stanzas on Silent Worship, the Quaker's Burial Ground, and the poem entitled Napoleon, in which he takes occasion, from the character of that merciless destroyer, to inculcate the opinions of the Quakers concerning the unlawfulness of war. But all his compositions breathe the same pure and religious spirit. One little piece we shall quote to justify the terms of commendation in which we have spoken of this writer, by exemplifying his merits: though written with a Quaker's views and feeling, its beauty will be felt by Christians of every denomination.

Among them there was one, whose eye
Had often seen the waters stirr'd;
Whose heart had often heav'd the sigh,
The bitter sigh, of hope deferr'd;
Beholding, while he suffer'd on,
The healing virtue given―and gone!
III.

No power had he; no friendly aid
To him its timely succour brought;
But, while his coming he delay'd,

Another won the boon he sought;–
Until THE SAVIOUR'S love was shown,
Which heal'd him by a word alone!
IV.

Had they who watch'd and waited there
Been conscious who was passing by,
With what unceasing, anxious care
Would they have sought his pitying eye;
And crav'd, with fervency of soul,
His Power Divine to make them whole!

But

V.

But habit and tradition sway'd

Their minds to trust to sense alone;
They only hoped the Angel's aid;

While in their presence stood, unknown,
A greater, mightier far than he,

With power from every pain to free.

VI.

Bethesda's pool has lost its power!

No Angel, by his glad descent,
Dispenses that diviner dower

Which with its healing waters went.
But He, whose word surpass'd its wave,
Is still omnipotent to save.

VII.

And what that fountain once was found,
Religion's outward forms remain-
With living virtue only crown'd

While their first freshness they retain ;
Only replete with power to cure
When, Spirit-stirr'd, their source is pure !
VIII.

Yet are there who this truth confess,
Who know how little forms avail;
But whose protracted helplessness
Confirms the impotent's sad tale;
Who, day by day, and year by year,
As emblems of his lot appear.
IX.

They hear the sounds of life and love,
Which tell the visitant is nigh;
They see the troubled waters move,

Whose touch alone might health supply;

But, weak of faith, infirm of will,

Are powerless, helpless, hopeless still!
X.

SAVIOUR! thy love is still the same

As when that healing word was spoke;
Still in thine all-redeeming NAME

Dwells POWER to burst the strongest yoke!
O! be that power, that love display'd,
Help those whom THOU alone canst aid!'

pp. 182-185.

The information which M. Gregoire has brought together concerning the English sects, is brief, inaccurate, and altogether unsatisfactory. What he says of the minor sectarians in Scotland is chiefly taken from Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account. They

have been as evanescent as they were numerous. 'Particular countries,' say the joint-historians of the Dissenters, have their endemical diseases. The plague has from time immemorial ravaged Egypt; the yellow fever is the scourge of the West Indies; and goitres afflict and disfigure the inhabitants of the Alps. A malady of the soul similar to the last seems to be the curse of Scotland. An excessive zeal for little things, like an enormous wen, has with but, perhaps, one exception, disfigured every sect that has arisen in that country; and, drawing away the vital energy which should have communicated strength, weakened its spiritual powers. To ascertain the cause would be important, as it might operate as a preventive in future; but it is certainly a striking peculiarity in the Scotch character; and if it could be purged by hellebore, the whole produce of Anticyra could not be purchased at a price too high.' This is at least as applicable to the first Puritans, whom these writers eulogize so highly, as to the Scotch. The truth is, that the minor sects in Scotland have mostly originated in craziness, and left as few traces behind them as the Muggletonians in England; and that since Scotland, by the joint operation of church discipline and parochial education, was reclaimed from a state hardly less barbarous than that of Ireland at present, sectarianism has not prospered there. Neither Quakers, nor Moravians, nor Methodists have met with any success in Scotland. The church has been too efficient to leave room for interlopers, and the soil suffers no weeds but its own. The few schisms of modern growth have related to points of church government, and originated in that sort of temper which is provoked by an election or a lawsuit. Fanaticism in that country has spent itself, and the deadlier venom of infidelity is now at work.

Concerning the Dunkers, the Shakers, the followers of the allfriend Jemima, and other wild sects in America, M. Gregoire communicates nothing but what is well known in England from books of travels, and the common sketches, or dictionaries, of religious opinions, which are in every person's hand. He tells us indeed of an Irishman who, under the inexplicable name of Shady Iland, preached at Boston, and held all his meetings at night, without candles, because, he said, he was the light, and all other light was useless where he was present. Such a preacher, whether knave or madman, or both, was soon silenced, by the proper interference of the magistrates. He has not noticed the dancing Quakers, who reject marriage, nor has he mentioned the new religious exercise of jerking. The Jerks are not confined to a peculiar sect, or order, like spinning, quaking, and jumping. They are described by an eye-witness who believes that they are permitted by the Almighty asia means for awakening and convincing the unconverted.