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remotely situated from the great mass of the people; and as service was very irregularly conducted, and by a clergyman who lived in another parish, very few of them ever attended his ministry. The children grew up without receiving any religious instruction; the youth of both sexes devoted "the consecrated hours" to the sports of the village; the aged and infirm passed away their time in thoughtless ignorance; and the neighbourhood of the public house usually presented an affecting scene of drunkenness, gambling, and rioting.

It was, when gazing on this scene, that Mr. Holmes formed the praise-worthy resolution of building at his own expense a neat chapel, and supporting the minister till the people felt disposed to do it themselves. As soon as he made known his determination, his son-inlaw, and several other gentlemen voluntarily offered to co-operate with him. One gave a piece of land, another supplied part of the timber, and others subscribed their money; and though some ridiculed the design, and a few interdicted their tenants and their labourers from assisting in its accomplishment, yet, like the sacred temple, it gradually rose, in spite of all opposition, till at length it was finally completed.

As the clergyman of the parish was much displeased by this act of encroachment on his province, Mr. Holmes sought the pleasure of an interview, to explain the reasons and motives of his conduct, when the following conversation took place:

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Mr. Holmes. I have called, Sir, to explain the reasons which have induced me to erect a chapel in the village of ; and I assure you that I am not actuated by any spirit of hostility to the church, nor by any feeling of disrespect towards you. I am a native of the village, and I have a daughter who has recently settled there. On my late visit, I found that the parish church is too far off from the people, and that they usually spend their Sabbaths in idleness and dissipation. Well knowing that it is not in your power to preach amongst them, I felt it a duty which I owed to some of the members of my own family, and the poor people who live in the village which gave me birth, to avail myself of the tolerating spirit of our constitution, by building for them a chapel, where they may enjoy the advantage of Christian instruction."

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Rev. Mr. O "But, Sir, by so doing, you will take away my congregation, and by introducing another religion, you will give rise to a spirit of religious strife and contention in the parish. This is an evil which I have ever felt anxious to avoid, as I con sider it more destructive of social happiness, than any other with which a parish can be visited."

Mr. Holmes. In the first place, I assure you, Sir, that no service shall be conducted at the chapel, when you perform your duties at the church, so that, instead of diminishing the size of your congregation, I think it is very likely to increase it. The inhabitants who now go to no place of worship, will be taught to keep holy the Sabbath day; and when there is no service at the chapel, they will press to the church to attend on your ministry. You intimate that we shall introduce a new religion; but, Sir, I assure you, no doctrines will be introduced, but such as are contained in the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England; and the spirit of contention and strife, to which you have made an allusion, I hope will not arise." Rev. Mr. O "But, Sir, this spirit has already risen, and the parish, which has been in a state of found stillness on religious subjects ever since I have been with them, are now in a commotion. I have no doubt, Sir, but you wish to do good, but I fear you will do evil. I see the storm rising, and I dread the consequences!"

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Mr. Holmes. "But, Sir, what evil can be done? It is my intention to have the children of the poor cottagers taught to read the Scriptures, so that they may learn their duty to God and to man. Then, Sir, when you have no service, the people will be invited to the chapel, where they will have explained to them the doctrines of your own church."

Rev. Mr. O

"But, Sir, I explain these dectrines to them, and that is quite enough."

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Mr. Holmes. But you know, Sir, that your other duties will not allow you to preach to them very often ; and beside, there are but very few who attend your church at present."

Rev. Mr. O

"That, Sir, is their own fault. If I do my duty, I am not to be blamed if the people neglect theirs."

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Mr. Holmes. "Very true, sir, nor do I wish to cast even the shadow of blame on you. They are inattentive to their duty; and the object which I have in view is to excite their attention to the discharge of it. They are ignorant, and I wish to have them instructed. They are depraved, and I wish to see them reformed. They are living and dying without any just perceptions of the nature, or the design of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which so deeply affects me, that I cannot conscientiously see them perishing, without doing all in my power to prevent such a fatal calamity."

Rev. Mr. O. "Why, Sir, I must confess that they are ignorant and depraved, and if the measures which you intend to adopt will reform them, I assure you, they shall have my concurrence. I want to see my parishioners virtuous and happy; and though I cannot see how your speculations will bring about such a desirable state of things, yet you are at perfect liberty to make the trial. Your motives, I have no doubt, are good; and I hope you will not be disappointed in the result. I suppose, Sir, you think that illiterate minis ters are better adapted to work a reformation amongst an ignorant population than those who have received a learned education."

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Mr. Holmes. I certainly think, Sir, that a minister must descend to the capacities of his hearers, if he wish to convey instruction to their minds, which some are either unwilling, or unable to do. It is to this cause I attribute the very trifling degree of attention which the lower orders of society pay to the discourses which are delivered by some of our most learned men. They prefer a more popular mode of address, which is more on a level with their own habit of thinking, and style of speech."

Rev. Mr. O- "Then, I presume, Sir, the person whom you intend to appoint to preach in your chapel, has not received any education-trusting solely to his own natural and unimproved talents."

Mr. Holmes. "I have not yet, Sir, fixed on any one; but as soon as the chapel is finished. I shall apply to some seminary where men are educated for the Christian ministry; as I am anxious to procure a suitable person for the station. I want a man who has felt

the influence of the truth on his own heart, producing repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus; and then, though he is enriched with none of the treasures of literature, though he may not be qualified to charm an intellectual congregation by the splendour of his genius, yet he will be enabled to edify and impress a rustic audience with the important message which he may deliver amongst them. But, Sir, though we do not believe that a learned education be indispensably necessary to qualify a man to preach to unlettered villagers; yet we think it proper that he should receive an appropriate education, that he may be able to teach others." Rev. Mr. O- "Then your ministers do receive an education to fit them for their duties?" Mr. Holmes. "Yes, Sir."

Rev. Mr. O "I was not aware of it-I certainly knew that the dissenting ministers who are stationed over respectable congregations in our large towns and cities, undergo a course of preparatory instruction before their ordination; but I always understood that your village preachers were a set of men taken from their trades and callings, and sent forth to preach, even before they had acquired an accurate knowledge of their mother tongue."

Mr. Holmes. "There is, Sir, a seminary near where I reside, in which ministers are educated for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel in the unenlightened villages of the kingdom; though I believe there are many pious tradesmen, who devote their talents to this service on the Sabbath-day."

Rev. Mr. O- "I do not feel that objection to a regularly educated minister, which I do to lay preachers; because, Sir, I think it is beneath Christianity to employ such men in her service."

Mr. Holmes." But, Sir, was not Christianity founded by the son of a carpenter? and did she not employ tax-gatherers, and fishermen, and tent-makers, as her first accredited ministers? And, why? but to prove that she does not depend for her triumphs over the passions and prejudices of men, on the talents of the agents whom she employs; but on the concurrence of a supernatural power." Rev. Mr. O

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"But, Sir, that was at an extra

ordinary period; when there was no other description of men whom she could employ. But now, Sir, the scene is changed. Christianity is now established; men of learning, of rank, and of power, yield subjection to her authority-support her claims-and enrol their names on the records of her history. Hence it is expedient, that her ministers should be selected from the most respectable classes of society, or these descriptions of persons would not attend her public mini

strations."

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Mr. Holmes. "I have no objection to select them from the most respectable classes of society; but 1 see no reason why she may not sometimes make a choice from the inferior ranks. She wants men of talent and of piety; and are not the highest order of talents, and the purest virtue, sometimes found in the lowest order of society? and though some of the more noble and distinguished would feel a repugnance to attend the preaching of such men; yet I presume you will not attempt to prove that such a spirit would be in accordance with the genius of Christianity. But, Sir, the inferior classes do not feel such a repugnance; and notwithstanding the respect in which rank is justly held in this kingdom, I believe the ministers of religion are esteemed in proportion to the purity of their conduct, and the zeal which they display in preaching the gospel of Christ.”

Rev. Mr. Ò. "Well, Sir, I hope, the person whom you may appoint to officiate in your chapel will be a virtuous and intelligent man, and that he will succeed in effecting an entire reformation in the Village."

Mr. Holmes. "I thank you, Sir, for your good wishes, and I presume, that we may not calculate on meeting with any opposition from you in our benevolent exertions on behalf of the poor cottagers."

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Rev. Mr. O- Opposition! No, Sir: I trust I feel too much respect for my own character, and too much respect for the moral welfare of my parishioners, to offer any resistance to the efforts of Christian benevolence, even though I may not approve of the peculiar manner in which they may be employed."

Mr. Holmes was very much pleased with his interview with this clergyman; and he retired with a high opinion of the amiability of his temper, and the catholic liberality

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