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The horrors which the French Revolution had. produced, and even to this day is producing*, in every country in Europe, and the total overthrow of all sound principles in politics, morals, and religion, could not fail to affect the mind of this excellent man with the deepest concern, and which concern, soon after the total overthrow of the ancient monarchy of France, by the murder of their Sovereign, he thus expresses in letters to Bishop Skinner, and to a young friend, and explains, though shortly, the cause of such a miserable dereliction of all sound principles; and still looks forward with the eye of faith and hope of a Christian, beyond the present cloud, to Him who ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and who will shew that he is King, be the people never so impatient; that he sitteth upon the cherubim, be the earth never so unquiet.

"The times are awful, and appearances, so unusual, that the Almighty, one should suppose, had some great work in hand. Extraordinary events may be expected from the extraordinary operations now carrying on. The more than diabolical fury of the French Atheists is utterly astonishing; they compass sea and land to make proselytes, and have been too successful; but one thing they cannot do, they cannot make them more the children of hell

more, yet in soundness of doctrine, in solidity of learning, and in innocency of life, her Clergy are still a burning and shining light amidst a crooked and perverse generation; and although by the sure word of prophecy, the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church of God, yet in the inscrutable dispensations of Providence it may hereafter be asked, where is the Church of England? As we now say, where is the Episcopal Church of Scotland? Let them consider these things and act accordingly.

See a Sermon of Bishop Horsley. **It need scarcely be added, that this was written originally before the peace of 1814..

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than themselves. Whether for their own punishment, or the punishment of others, all this is permitted, God only knows, and time will discover. Mischief was meant against us, but seen soon enough, I trust, to be prevented and as God can bring good out of evil, I am inclined to hope, from the effect it seems already to have had on us, that the fatal tendency of this levelling spirit, and dereliction of principle, will be so manifest as to lead us to ask for the old ways, that we may walk therein."

Again he says to his young friend:

"As oratory has been prostituted so much of late to the vilest of purposes, I hope you will employ yours to counteract the mischief that this speechifying seems to be bringing on all Europe. We are come to such a pass, that with the new philoso phers, there is no such thing as malum in se, or malum prohibitum. We have left our Bibles, and no man thinks of obedience for conscience sake. Therefore does all this evil come upon us: and in our punishment we may see our sin. Do not you, my young friend, suffer yourself to be carried away with the abominable principles of the present times, respecting Government: but read the old black-letter: have recourse to the law of God, and to the testimony thereof: if they speak not according to them, there is no truth in them.”

It was about this time that Mr. Stevens and several of his friends were deeply impressed with the dread that such principles, as those which were openly avowed in France, and too much encouraged by the licentious and profligate in England, would gain daily strength, especially among the young and inexperienced, if not strongly counteracted by a recurrence to some fixed and steady rules which had governed our forefathers, in establishing our

glorious Constitution both in Church and State. It was thought that those, who were to become the authorized instructors of others, should themselves be taught to walk in the good old paths, alluded to by Mr. Stevens in the letter above quoted; and it was also feared, that the department of literature would, if not narrowly watched, be made the vehicle of disseminating unsound opinions both in politics and in religion. Accordingly, to promote this counteraction of false opinions, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Jones, of Nayland, and some others, formed "A Society for the Reformation of Principles," from which originated the Review, called "The British Critic," and a most admirable collection of tracts compiled for the use of the younger Clergy, with a preface by the Rev. William Jones*, of Nayland, entitled, "The Scholar armed against the Errors of the Times."

In consequence of the alarm, which at that time pervaded the minds of all good and serious men, Mr. Jones sent out two letters, of which Mr. Stevens thus speaks in a letter to Bishop Skinner:

"Our good friend, Mr. Jones, did great execution by a letter from Thomas Bull to his brother John. It took the public fancy hugely, and hurt the Republicans not a little, as was plain by their barking; for you know, when you throw a stone at a dog, and he yelps, you may be sure you have hit him. Probably you have seen it, as well as a second letter, and a small whole length of Dr. Priestley; but lest you should not, I will sendt

them."

In the year 1798, the truly learned and most pious Mr. Jones, of Nayland, became so much shaken in his health, that he was obliged to relin

*See Jones's printed Works, Vol. XII. p. 376.

quish the further care of pupils: a matter not only to be deplored on account of the pecuniary loss thereby occasioned to the venerable teacher, but by those parents who might look forward to have the future characters of their sons formed by such a guide. Another distress in Mr. Jones's case, and à most serious one to a person of his thoroughly conscientious mind was, his incapacity to discharge, agreeably to his own wishes, all his pastoral functions, and his inability to pay a Curate. But here again the active and benevolent mind of Mr. Stevens, exerted in the cause of friendship, shewed itself, as usual, with such a delicacy to his friend's feelings, and at the same time with such a fixed determination to do what he thought would tend to the benefit of that friend, as cannot fail to raise our admiration and esteem. The whole transaction is better related than I could do it by Mr. Stevens himself, in a letter to Mrs. Gunning, dated the 8th of September, 1798, including a passage of a letter from Mr. Jones himself, which proves the delicacy and secrecy with which Mr. Stevens had conducted the business.

"As concerning Old Jones, (as he sometimes called him, and sometimes the Old Boy) about whom we were in no small distress, when I left Farnborough, I have much to say. I sent the letter which gave me so much uneasiness to my oracle at Cheltenham, who said, it was very affecting, and reflected shame somewhere; he advised me to do as I proposed, and enclose the very letter, which he returned for that purpose, to his Grace of Canterbury (Dr. Moore), which I accordingly have done, accompanied with a short one from myself, in which I express my persuasion that the case being so, his Grace would, from his particular regard for the party, wish to be acquainted with it. And this I did, although before the letter went, I re

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ceived one from the Old Boy, in answer to mine, which I had written to comfort him, by taking upon me the expence of a Curate for him, wherein, to my great satisfaction, he says, that I have dispelled at once the dark cloud that hung over him, and given him hope that he may finish his voyage without being aground. The prospect of wanting a Curate whom he could not afford to pay, and the assessments swallowing up his income, under the infirmities of age, overcame and overthrew him: what was to be done he could not foresee: but now there is a way to escape; and if I will give him leave to thank God first, he will thank me next. Well, what a blessed thing, says he, is Christianity, which teaches the strong to support the weak, and help the helpless!"

Then in a Postscript Mr. Stevens says:

"Since writing the foregoing, I have received a letter from Old Jones, in which are these words :On the present occasion I write to you first, to tell you that the Archbishop, hearing of illness, (Did you tell him?) has offered me something to comfort me under the form of a sinecure, where, or of what value, I know not.'"

Mr. Stevens adds, and well he might thus write:

"I do not know that I ever did any thing which gave me greater, or so much satisfaction, as my writing first to the Old Boy, with an offer which comforted him so much, and then writing to the Archbishop, which has produced so good an effect. I never mentioned to him that I had written to his Grace, not knowing what might be the success, though I had no doubt in my own mind but it would answer: and now I am clear that the sine cure is only a piece of delicacy in his Grace, choos

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