then printed by order of the court, the one on the Lawfulness of Judicial Swearing, which was much talked of at the time, drew forth an answer from Mr. Bevan, a leading member of the Society of the Friends.

. Mr. Dodd has been the architect of his own reputation. You," says the Rev. Lawrence Gardner (whom Mr. Dodd succeeded, at South Lambeth Chapel), in a Farewell Sermon to that congregation, delivered on June 19, 1803,

You will have the advantage of a public instructor in every respect worthy of the appointment he is going to fill. Were he not present, I should speak of him in a manner more agreeable to my own feelings, and to his merits, than I now with delicacy can do. I shall therefore merely say, that, I verily believe, for correctness of moral conduct, for purity of principles, for soundness of doctrine, and for excellence of manner, he has very few, if any, superior to him.' Mr. Dodd is now Rector of St. Mary at Hill, near Billingsgate; the Afternoon Lecturer of Camberwell Church; and, having entirely

quitted South-Lambeth Chapel, the Evening • Preacher at the Asylum.

Manliness of mind, and christianity of conduct, constitute the leading pretensions of this preacher. When he enters the pulpit, it is with the seriousness of one chiefly solicitous for the good of the souls committed to his charge. Of his almost peculiar excellence in repeating the Lord's Prayer, I confess myself incapable of conveying, by writing, an adequate idea to others. His plain, but nervous language, his inculcation of doctrines no less than duties, and the judicious conciseness of his applications, are eviden- ces alike of his earnestness and ability. Proceeding from the heart, his preaching, at once, appeals to the heart. While the understanding is satisfied, the affections are rectified.

During the ceremonial as well as the preceptive part of religious duty, worshipping as teaching, Mr. Dodd is altogether uniform. Preachers have been so long accustomed to join in congregational services, that any objection to the practice will doubtless appear singu

lar. Considering, nevertheless, what it is to fill the pulpit, how much of solemn meditation.' is required, and how much of private emotion it may occasion, I have almost concluded that the preacher should be left entirely to himself, to spiritual solitude, till he appears in his proper sphere. Much has he previously to do, in which no human being can participate. He is not with men. His presence may indeed grace their devotions, but the association must be distracting to him; employed, as he ought then to be, in absolute communion with divinity!

It is not enough, however, to have filled the pulpit with effect; to have ascended it circumspectly, and occupied it impressively. Consistent throughout, the pious preacher will not, after having spoken wisely,

at the close,

Grow wanton; and give proof, to ev'ry eye,
Whoe'er was edified, himself was not!'

He, therefore, will not hurry from his sacred station as if he felt fatigued by its demands,

or was eager to meet the salutations of the vestry, or anxious to escape to some more pressing or pleasing engagement; but, like the subject of this sketch, he will remain where duty placed him, awaiting the time for modestly withdrawing from the gaze or compliments of his hearers. He will bar all intrusion. He will be solicitous only to avoid notice, and avert congratulations.

Mr. Dodd, though successful, is not inaccessible; and I shall therefore advert briefly to his deficiencies.

Animated as generally he is, he has yet too much the air of reading his discourses; and he is given to finger his manuscript, turning över leaf after leaf, with such precision as considerably weakens his powers of address. His delivery is not sufficiently diversified, the fulness of his voice occasionally impedes his articulation, and his emphases are sometimes prolonged till they approximate to pauses. I know the detestation in which he holds fanaticism, but I trust it will never drive him from spirituality.

Why do I write in commendation of Mr. Dodd? If he is among the few whom, as clerical characters, I venerate, it is because his conduct, as far as I can learn, demands my respect; and because his talents have acquired him my warmest approbation. Full of his charge, but negligent of himself, he accomplishes every thing without affecting any thing. His sincerity is his energy; his simplicity is his dignity.

As it is painful to me to be compelled to expose the delinquencies of clergymen, so do I feel it truly exhilarating when circumstances authorize me to admire the characters, and ap plaud the exertions, of ecclesiastical instructors. My opinion of Mr. Dodd has not been immaturely advanced. He is now far, very far, above those christian pastors, described by our divine Milton, to whom

• The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed,
But swoln with wind; and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread!'