prospect of beauty cut down like a Hower-the recollection of past afflictions and joys, all come mellowed over the heart by a thousand tender remembrances which take all that is earthly from sorrow. So even death itself is softened in the anticipation, not only by the holy hopes which look beyond it, but the images with which fancy encircles its victims. We think of it as of a placid slumber as a shadow thrown from a passing cloud-as a humbler of human pride that levels artificial distinctions, and gathers all the children of men to rest together. The garlands of affection are hung gracefully on the tomb where the weary reclines from his labours; beauty looks most lovely in the tears it sheds there; and all the malevolent passions and uncharitable thoughts of the bitterest foe are melted into tenderness beside it. Images of funereal pomp have charms for the imagination, as well as solace for the heart. This appears the true secret of that mysterious pleasure which we some times feel at the exhibition of fictitious guilt or distress. They are the mere materials on which the poet works-the back ground of the pictures that delight us. We are not gratified because we see our fellow creatures in suffering, but because from their suffering they rise triumphant-because in grief the mighty energies of the soul are called forth in the fulness of their strength, or the sweet instances of affection receive a holier tinge. It is not the province of a poet merely to draw tears or make us shudder: rather it is his triumph to render grief soothing to shed a tender enchantment over the scenes of woe-to break the force of affliction by the gentleness of his own imagination, through which he ena bles us to survey it. If this be not the case, why is the "Gamester" inferior to "Lear," or "George Barnwell" to "Macbeth" or "Othello?" Why are not the works of Mrs. Opie preferable to those of Richardson? If mere horror be required, how inferior is the tale of Duncan's murder to many examples of atrocity with which the Newgate calendar will supply us! The truth is that if a man of real genius choose materials of mere human interest, he will so adorn them with mild and joyous associations, and so interweave them with the sweetest emotions of the heart, that the darker shades which remain will seem rather to blend in harmony than to operate as a contrast. The doctrine of eternal torments is a theme for eloquence, for energy, for passion. But inagination is formed of no elements of human passion; it enters not into the intensity of suffering; it is too celestial in its movements to beat with the pulse of agony. It" broods over the vast abyss and makes it pregnant." It throws its own lovely radiance over all the objects which it contemplates. It softens down all the asperities of things, lightens the sad realities of actual existence, and makes us view a broken and discordant world silent and harmonious as a picture. The popular ideas, therefore, of eternal misery are no themes on which a poet can dwell.* Some perhaps may think that these observations may be answered by the word MILTON. But a little reflection will convince them that the works of that great post furnish the best exam ple of the position I have ventured to develope, He has indeed the words "Satan" and "Hell," but O, how unlike are his descriptions of them from the ideas which the orthodox receive! It was impossible for a genius like his to paint the hell of a bigot. Setting out with a vague description of its misery, as if he meant to suit it to the taste of the Assembly the present day has, however, thought fit * The most popular writer in verse of occasionally to hint at eternal torments, merely to add energy to his verse or to point his curses. As it is evident from various parts of his writings that he utterly disbelieves in the doctrine, he must do it from a mere taste for the shocking. De stitute of any spirit of joy, he is incapable of entering into the true sources of delight, and can, at best, only strew a few flowers over objects of repulsiveness and horror. In one of his late poems-if so it can be termed he has wished that the grave of a human being may be sleepless. He descends into the regions of darkness, not to break in with the glories of imagination,-not to leave there the imperishable monuments of talent--but to light the torch of personal animosity at the flames of the furies! The use he makes of the doctrine of undying woe is a fit example of what its abstract poetical merits are, when it is not moulded and softened by the magic influences of genius. Treatment of the Insane, 1561. of reverend divines, he ends with making it almost a paradise. We lose the idea of horror in that of grandeur, We pass over the burning marl without pain when Pandemonium rises in its beauty. In the very catalogue of the satanic armies we are carried to all the solemn temples and glorious images of the ancient world. And for the leader of those armies bright, who ever felt any thing but admiration and sympathy? To make a stand against omnipotence makes him more than conqueror. If the doctrines of Calvinism were ever so true, Paradise Lost would remain as pure a fiction as ever was written. Those worlds of heaven and hell, that magnificent chaos through which the hero makes so sublime a progress in a hundred lines, those angels whether successful or defeated-the gorgeous palaces of hell, and that everlasting throne, which have so real a presence in the poem-have no existence in any creed which has ever been invented. They are the mighty creation of the poet's own genius, assoiled from all encumbrance of systems, untrammelled even by any distinctions of matter and spirit, and orthodox in nothing but in name. At all events the doctrine of endless misery, if it has any thing sublime about it, must be disbelieved in order to be enjoyed. Indeed how is it possible to enter into any of the enjoyments of life with an idea of such a reality present with us. While we think that the people among whom we live and move, those with whom we are holding daily intercourse by the perpetual courtesies of life, those perhaps whom we love with an affection that death cannot extinguish-will be tormented in unspeakable agonies for ever, we can scarcely derive gratification from the sublimity of our own conceptions. A man might rather exult in having witnessed the mortal agonies of a friend, to shew in what dreadful colouring he could paint them. In this world, thank God, there are no beings of this description. That any one can talk of the sublimity of his contemplation on eternal torture, shews that he does not in heart believe it. The man who, in the mansions of blessedness, could derive satisfaction from the miseries of his brethren, must be truly unfit for heaven. Even the emperor who fiddled on a tower 385 SIR, may serve to compare, or rather to contrast the wise and humane treatment of the insane which is now peculiarly encouraged, with the ignorance and barbarity formerly displayed towards that afflicted portion of our race. It may well be expected to moderate the admiration of the golden days of good Queen Bess and to excite the admonition, Say not that the former days were better than these. Bedlam, which had been for many years a receptacle for lunatics, was then on the spot which is now called Old Bethlem. The Marshalsea, in Southwark, appears always to have been a prison. "1561-The 10th of April was one William Gefirie whipped from the Marshalsea in Southwark, to Bedlem without Bishopsgate of London, for that he professed one John Moore to be Christ our Saviour. On his head was set a paper, wherein was written as followeth: William Geffrie, a most blasphemous heretic, denying Christ our Saviour in heaven. The said Geffrie being stayed at Bedlem gate, John Moore was brought forth, before whom William Geffrie was whipped, till he confessed Christ to be in heaven. Then the said John Moore being examined, and answering overthwartly, was commanded to put off his coat, doublet, and shirt, which he seemed to do very willingly, and after being tied to the cart, was whip ped an arrow's shot from Bedlem, where at the last he also confessed Christ to be in heaven and himself to be a sinful man. Then was John Moore sent again into Bedlem, and Geffrie to the Marshalsea, where they had lain prisoners nigh a year and a half, the one for professing himself to be Christ, the other a disciple of the same Christ." Hollingshed, 111. 1194. Such were the moral discernment and the Christian spirit of an age which had undertaken the extraordinary task of forming articles and imposing creeds to save posterity, Christ IT has long been a subject of regret with me that I cannot find any book of sermons which appears to me to be adapted to the use of families. The works which I have made use of I have found deficient in some quality or other which I think essential, in compositions intended for that purpose. In some, the language is too lofty, and the style too much ornamented; others are logical and argumentative, abounding in nice distinctions; and others contain mere moral essays, devoid of those all-important motives which are only to be derived from the gospel. The work I am desirous of possess ing is one plain and simple in the style, persuasive rather than argumentative, abounding in scriptural mo tives and illustrations, and dwelling frequently upon those glorious pro mises, and those awful threatenings, which appear in almost every page of the gospel, and elevate Christianity far above every other system. Such a publication is, I think, a desideratum in all Unitarian families. It would be extremely useful among persons of the middle ranks of life, whose education has been confined, and whose daily employments preclude them from much reading. It would also be much more beneficial to servants, and the younger branches of families, than the books which are generally made use of. And there is another description of persons, for whose use such a publication is, I think, particularly required. I mean those who have departed from the prevailing creeds of the day, and embraced Unitarianism. Such persons must be, I suppose, wholly at a loss for books to substitute in the place of those numerous publications, which are circulated with zeal by Christians of other denominations. This may not be the case with persons of liberal education and cultivated minds, for whom there is an ample supply in the many elegant and perspicuous works which have been written by Unitarians; but for the poor (I mean the unlearned) to whom, at least equally with others, the gospel should be preached, the food is scanty indeed. I might enlarge upon the advantages to be expected from a publication of sermons such as I have described; but, not to occupy any more space in your valuable Work, I will conclude with a hope that if any of your correspondents can point out such a work, he will do so; and if that cannot be done, that some one will endeavour to supply the deficiency; and besides the satisfaction of being extensively useful, I have little doubt that he would reap an ample pecuniary reward for his labour. A which was manifested by the company at the last Anniversary of the Unitarian Fund, there was one cir cumstance referred to, at which I felt considerable regret, viz. the fear expressed by Mr. Rutt, that he should be under the necessity (for want of encouragement) of relinquishing his project for publishing by subscription the Theological Works of the late Dr. Priestley. MIDST the general satisfaction Anxious to promote (though in a feeble manner) so desirable a purpose, I have taken the trouble to transcribe two extracts from the very interesting "Memoirs of the late Rev. Theophilus Lindsey, M. A." by Mr. Belsham, which appear to me particularly suit able and deserving of notice at the present moment, and which, with the few remarks that follow, I shall be obliged by your inserting. The first is taken from the fourth chapter of that work, in which the author giving an account of the earliest hearers of Mr. Lindsey at the chapel in Essex-street, mentions " Mrs. Rayner, a near relation of the Dutchess of Northumberland and of Lord Gwydir, a liberal patroness of the cause of truth," of which the following (p. 120), is but "one instance out of many That "to this lady the Christian world Mechanism; an Allegory. is indebted for the publication of one of the most learned and most useful theological works which the age has produced-Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions concerning Christ: a work which demonstrates in a manner which never has been, and never can be confuted, that from the earliest age of the Christian religion down to the fourth century, and to the time of Athanasius himself, the great body of unlearned Christians were strictly Unitarians, and consequently that this was the original doctrine concerning the person of Christ. This most valuable treatise was a work of great labour and expense, the demand for which could by no means have defrayed the charge of the publication. But Mrs. Rayner, with exemplary generosity, supplied the money, and to her the work is with great propriety dedicated." The other extract is from a note in page 447, in which the writer of the was Memoirs, apprehensive lest the Christian world might be deprived of the benefit of his (Dr. Priestley's) most valuable labours for want of a sufficient fund to enable him to publish the work, it occurred to him that if a hundred persons could be found to subscribe five pounds each for a copy of the whole of both the works, and to pay their subscriptions in advance, every difficulty would be surmounted." The proposal adopted with great ardour and zeal by Dr. Priestley's numerous friends, so that the sum wanted was very soon far exceeded. The list of subscribers was numerous and respectable. The Duke of Grafton subscribed fifty pounds, Lord Clarendon twenty, and Robert Slaney, Esq. of Tong Lodge, thirty guineas, with a promise of more, if more should be wanted." And the late Rt. Rev. Dr. John Law, Bishop of Elphin, inclosed a draft for one hundred pounds in a letter to Mr. Lindsey, to be applied in aid of Dr. Priestley's publication, in any way he chose. appre I trust, Sir, that those friends to the memory of Dr. Priestley, who are in affluent circumstances, and who ciate his valuable labours, will not fail to imitate as far as is necessary, such bright examples of liberality; and afford that support to Mr. Rutt, who is so well qualified for the work, which will ensure the success of his design. Not, however, to throw an undue portion of the burden upon the wealthy friends to the cause, I beg 387 further to state, that there are at prethe proposed work, and I understand sent about one hundred subscribers to that with two hundred Mr. R. would venture to proceed. Now, Sir, if each of the present subscribers would use their influence with their friends to obtain one or more new subscribers, that number would soon be completed. I have the pleasure to announce two new subscribers-and trust that at a time when the principles so ably detending, all alarm for the failure of so fended by Dr. Priestley are widely exdesirable a purpose will be entirely dissipated. That increasing success may attend your valuable Repository, is the sincere wish of J. CORDELL. Mechanism; an Allegory. Section I. A having constructed a great number of very curious machines, but of a somewhat complicated structure, put them under the management of a corresponding number of individuals, with the view of gradually training them to the employment of working these instruments after the most advantageous and beneficial manner. He accustomed them from their childhood to some of their more simple and necessary movements, and admonished them of the sad conse quences of neglecting his instructions, to pursue the impulse of their own fancies and humours. But youthful inexperience and vivacity soon precipitating them into considerable errors, he took occasion from a palpable breach of an express injunction † to acquaint them that they must be kept to their business by a severe course of discipline, and that, anticipating their mismanagement, he had made the machines of a fragile structure so that they would last but for a time; the length of which, and the benefits of which they would be productive, would depend very much upon the use which they made of them. He however gave them some kind intimations of their future success, and of the blessings which might ultimately result from its GENIUS of a superior order A long course of experience and 'discipline accordingly ensued, in which the genius occasionally interposed, to maintain his authority, to remove hurtful errors, to impart the necessary instructions, and to cultivate among the operators in general an increasing skill in their employment, a comprehensive acquaintance with its true nature and design, and a growing estimation of its beneficial effects; and consequently a just principle of obedience and gratitude to himself, as their beneficiary and in structor. At length when they had made considerable attainments, but had nevertheless, from neglecting his instructions, and following the devices of their own imaginations, fallen into some capital errors, more especially with regard to the higher movements of the machines, it pleased the genius to select one of the greatest proficients and the most docile to his instructions, as his leading instrument, in removing those errors, and more fully unfolding his designs. Through this person he imparted many instructions remarkable for their perspicuity and comprehensive utility; and such was the extraordinary manner in which the powers of the genius were exerted on this occasion, that many of the particular evils resulting from the fragile structure of the machines, and the mismanagement of the operators, suddenly disappeared, like the pestilential vapour before the breath of heaven: machines which had been injured, were repaired with astonishing rapidi ty, and some which had been thrown aside as useless, and were actually dropping to pieces, quickly resumed their wonted functions. All these words and deces of beneficence but served to usher in the grateful intelligence, that the genius at an appointed time would re-fabricate after an improved plan the whole system of the machines; and that then those operas who duly kept in view his designs in constructing them, carefully adhering to the spirit of his instruc tions, and working them after that admirable pattern which this distinguished operator had exhibited in his own practice, would reap inestimable advantages from the use of machines of such superior excellence and durability; but that those who scornfully or heedlessly rejected this gracious intelligence, and preferred the gratification of their own humours to the wise instructions of the genius, would quickly experience the consequences of their obstinacy and ingratitude, in their incapacity to operate upon instruments of such powerful efficacy, to which however they must be trained by a much severer course of discipline than any which they had hitherto experienced. He indeed gave strong intimations that the designs of the genius being purely beneficent, would be pursued till all the operators became duly trained to their employment, and were well skilled in the art of working their machines to the greatest advantage, when they would all conspire in the production of benefits of immense magnitude. To confirm more fully his assertions, by an actual specimen, and as the com mencement of what he announced, which in his case was to be effected immediately, on account of his superior attainments, he voluntarily submitted to have his own machine wholly taken, or rather beaten to pieces, by the mad fury of some neighbouring operators; after which within the space of three days, it was reconstructed by the genius upon that highly improved plan which he had described. From this time it has been constantly held forth as the pledge and pattern of that universal effort of the genius, in re-fabricating the system of the machines, the annunciation of which constituted the great object of this extraordinary errand. A long interval again passed, i which great numbers of operators were successively trained up in the anticipation of this event, and in that improved method of operation, which accorded with the instructions and pattern which had been given. The influence of the genius was still con spicuous, in the first instance, in promoting the exertions which were now inade for the circulation of the intelligence, and in aiding the first efforts of the operators upon the new plan. But when the intelligence, with every requisite instruction, had been widely spread, and preserved in authentic writings, and many operators had been sufficiently introduced to the new method, this extraordinary influence, was withdrawn. The operators were now left to make the best use of their instructions and |