ART. I.—Remarks on Clarkson's Portraiture of Quakerism. Continued. Psalmody: It is time the author should speak for himself on the subject.

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"The members of this Society differ from other Christians in the rejection of psalmody, as a service of the Church. If persons feel themselves so influenced in their private devotions, that they can sing,' as the apostle says, with the Spirit and the understanding,' or can sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord; the Quakers have no objection to this as an act of worship.-But they conceive that music and psalmody, though they might have been adapted to the ceremonial religion of the Jews, are not congenial with the new dispensation that has followed; because this dispensation requires, that all worship should be performed in Spirit and in Truth. It requires that no act of religion should take place, unless the Spirit influences an utterance, and that no words should be used, except they are in unison with the heart. Now this coincidence of spiritual impulse and feeling with this act is not likely to happen, in the opinion of the Society, with public psalmody. It is not likely, that all in the congregation will be impelled, in the same moment, to a spiritual song, or that all will be in the same state of mind or spirit, which the words of the Psalm describe. Thus, how few will be able to sing truly with David, if the following verse should be brought before them: As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God!' To this it may be added, that where men think about musical harmony, or vocal tunes, in their worship, the amusement of the creature will be so mixed with it, that it cannot be a pure oblation of the Spirit; and that those who think they can please the Divine Being by musical instruments, or the varied modulations of their own voices, must look upon him as a being with corporeal organs, sensible, like a man, of fleshly delights,—and not as a Spirit, who can only be pleased with the worship that is in Spirit and in Truth."

VOL. IV.

(a) Clarkson, Vol. ii. p. 305.

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I may now confess (and own myself thankful to God for it) that it has happened to me, not once or twice but at various times in my life, to be thus influenced when alone: yet not knowing, (merely for the want of instruction and practice, in childhood or youth) how to sing with the spirit' the shortest and plainest of that abundance of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with which even our Society is now provided.

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As to making melody in the heart, I take this to be quite another matter, and a mere evasion of the argument. If we be at any time cheerful before the Lord, James v. 13. and inclined, (as the very birds in the fields might teach us,) to utter those holy and exalted feelings which the Spirit of the Lord at such favoured seasons may bring over us, let us sing; and that not 'with the spirit' (or breath) only, but with understanding'—in a fit and reasonable manner; so that men or angels, hearing, might approve the offering, and God, who alone is worthy, be honoured thereby. Rightly done, as it seems to me, such song is little more than reading, from the book or from the memory, in a manner adapted to the nature of the subject; and which the very tones brought at seasons upon a preacher, who knows at all how to manage the voice, shew to be as natural to the new man, as for the feathered choirs to put on their warblings- by us interpreted as done in the Creator's instinctive praise. Psalm cxlviii.

As for things without life giving sound'-pipe or harp, or that giant psaltery the organ-or worse, the spiritually dead, pleasing the ear alone with unintelligible strains, I give them up with my Friend Clarkson (who I believe will agree with me in this) to the Old Covenant for worship, and to the world' for the amusement, at so much a time, which they may afford: and shall here dismiss the subject!

The Theatre: p. 72. The stage in the time of Charles the Second, when the Quakers first appeared in the world, was in a worse state than even in the Grecian and Roman times.'

I think the objection to the exercise of the profession of a Mimic, by a Christian, is well founded: the rest of the observations go, as before, to the abuse of the thing. And Friends had quite enough before them, of this, to enable them justly to pronounce Theatrical entertainments a vanity; and a corruptive one.

The Dance, again, however innocent for mere exercise or pastime (an object certainly attainable without so much of art) is even now too full of seduction, for serious persons to be found engaged in it. Friends retain their objection to it in full force; and it falls (along with its light music) under the description of vain sports' in the queries.

Novels are at best but sickly pastry, for the craving stomachs of the weaker sort of readers—and, some of them, poison for the strong: they are therefore rightly, and without constraint, still rejected by Friends.

Field-sports have been somewhat too indiscriminately treated as ' vain.' On New Testament principles, the occupying of a portion of time in suitable company, by persons of property, in coursing, fowling

or fishing, for the mere exercise of their powers, and the enjoyment or recreation to be found in it, is not to be condemned as a vanity. What is not (when thus examined) immoral, we should be careful not to make an offence: evil company kept on such pretences we should, still, denounce as such. But they are said to be a source of suffering to the animal creation-so is going on the public roads with jaded horses! I believe Christian principle leads to a humane conduct: and sentiment in individuals may be allowed to go further, and refine on religion or duty; but we should not make sentiment the rule for a whole community nor should such people eat game! Fox-hunting I am ready to give up to the full condemnation of the author; as respects our religious society, and its rules. There are, I conclude, who follow it to make themselves fit for adventure, and hardships of other kindsto keep their bodily powers in exercise and vigour: but this might surely be done in another and a more laudable way. For the foxes, we know they are carefully spared for this object, and would soon be disposed of (were we desirous of it) in like manner as our wolves have been, centuries ago. Cockfighting is a practice I should, with Clarkson, pronounce criminal, were it not that I choose to confine that epithet to offences marked by the law with a penalty-which is, properly, the crimen of the deed. It is immoral in a high degree, and equally unmanly and unchristian: I believe we are quite clear of it. There is a great deal more, I may observe, of sentiment, than of argument on religious ground, in all that is offered by our author on these subjects.

Treating of the prohibitions of the society he says, p. 162, In adverting to the Old Testament, they [the Quakers] find that no less than nine out of the ten Commandments of Moses are of a prohibitory nature! And in adverting to the New, that many of the doctrines of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, are delivered in the form of prohibitions. Very true: but are we now to be ruled by Law, or by Gospel? By specific injunctions and prohibitions, contained in so many clauses of a set of queries and advices; or by a spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind'-such as the doctrine of Christ and his apostles, received into the heart as into good ground, would bring forth in us; and by which we should discern at once the hurtful thing, and be led to avoid it? Will it not be better, than to multiply rules in order to meet all possible cases, to imbue the minds of our youth with Christian principle, and thus set them out on the road of life, in the hope that they will be induced to prefer the new and living way; though the old, leading to destruction, may still appear open before them? And they can scarcely fail thus to do, if they once come to relish the Truth in substance; and, through some measure of obedience to it, to know how good the Lord is! An education, without this seasoning of their spirits, in mere ignorance of the world and its ways, will avail them little as a preservation from its more obvious corruptions: and nothing at all as an antidote to the more dangerous, because less suspected, poison of the love of money-that' root of all [manner of] evil. I am not an advocate, any more than the author of the Portraiture,' for a

deliberate exposure of young persons to some of the forms of vice, in order that they may know what vice is, and so shun it. It was the very plea of the tempter with our first parents, that the fruit of that tree should make them like the gods [like the spiritual natures with which they were in intercourse,] knowing good from evil in consequence of having proved both. But what came of the experiment? Disgrace and ruin; and the hurt of their posterity after them! In the first age of the Society, its members were brought by near approach to danger, and by frequent hard assaults in public upon their faith and patience, into vigorous conflict with their spiritual foes: we seem more inclined to hold the fortress. Accordingly it is said, p. 166. Prohibitions, as far as they have a tendency to curb the spirit [which severe trials of faith are more apt to rouse] would not be injurious in the opinion of the Quakers, because it is their plan in education to produce humble, passive and obedient subjects; and because spirit, or highmindedness, or high feeling, is no trait in the Christian character!"

Humble, in whose sight: passive, under what discipline: obedient, to what Lord? I am afraid a great part of this has, now, relation only to the Ministers and Elders, and the Monthly Meeting. And I must again refer to the Apostle and his companion, at Philippi; nay, to the whole behaviour of Paul towards the unrighteous Sanhedrin of his country. If ever spirit, high spirit with undaunted firmness, was displayed in a cause worth contending for, we have it here! Read, again, the trials of our early Friends, as cited only in the pages of this work; there will appear enough to shew that spirit, joined with meekness, is not inconsistent with the character we propose to form.

has an

There is little occasion, now, for the remark that a quaker boy unnatural appearance' from a sedateness above his years. Our school-boys are released from the exclusive drab or grey with leather small-clothes, and look as natural as others in their caps and trowsers-no longer subjected by a Pharisaical policy to the badge of plainness' (as it was termed) in the form of a stayed hat. The very standing closet, made in hexagon form and full of triangular shelves, which once held these (at Ackworth) is now sold off with other lumber, and gone I know not whither. Wonder not, Reader, that I am thus particular on dress: It is because the world is pleased, on these minutiæ (which a high-minded Paul would scarce look down upon) to be very particular indeed! While these were retained by us, they were the badge' of a sect, to be run down every where and laughed off the island now, that they are going the way of all trumpery, there are who affect to pity us; as if principle were indeed let fall with them, and all consistency at an end:

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:

The moles and bats, in full assembly, find

On special search the keen-eyed Eagle blind!'

Let the 'world' now see to its own morals: they will more and more stink (unless reformed by sincere conversions, and a better training of the youth) in the nostrils of sober persons of every Church of Christ in the land.

unknown.'

I do not know but it may be said at the present moment (as by our author, p. 172) that a Quaker-prostitute or a Quaker-criminal is If the case be now so good with us, no thanks at least to the enemy of our peace; who hath certainly been doing his utmost for many years (and with the aid of times very unfavourable to general integrity) to effect the contrary. We defend ourselves, iudeed, by timely disownments; but the stain is not often effectually so removed: and I was once set upon, I remember, by a tart female tongue in a stage-coach near London, with the charge of turning loose all our disorderly members upon her communion. Well might we boast, she said, of our goodness, while we sent all the wicked to them! But surely, it will now become us all as Christians (whatever the denomination) to promote each other's good in respect of integrity and moral conduct; and to rejoice, each in the other's consistency with the standard of the gospel, in these things. That it is not thus with us, in too general a way, in the Religious world, must be ascribed to the decline of CHARITY; which has unhappily become more rare among us as gifts and knowledge, and wealth, and worldly prudence have more abounded.

(To be continued.)

ART. II. Further account of the Essenes. From Josephus de Bello Judaico, Lib. 2. cap. 8. (See No. LXXXV. p. 208.)

After stating that the Jews had three sects of their own, who philosophized (so he expresses it, writing for the Romans) the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes; the last the most severe of the three; the Historian proceeds to describe the manners and opinions of these, as follows.

They were Jews by birth, and more strongly attached to each other than those of the nation at large. They esteemed all pleasures alike corruptive, but observed continence as an especial virtue, and of course shunned the marriage tie: but they took the children of others to bring up in their way. They despised riches and held a community of goods; every member being obliged, on entrance, to throw his all into the common stock. They wore always white, and shunned the use of oil on the person; wiping it off, when at any time they chanced to touch it. [This observance was probably a part of their self-denial ;—the anointing the head with oil, and occasionally the body, being essential to personal comfort in that arid climate].

The property they hold in common, (he says) is managed by persons chosen from among themselves; and they have in every town (for they dwell many in a place, as it happens) these stewards, who receive such of the society as come from a distance, and supply their wants. Hence they are under no necessity of taking victuals with them, when they travel: but they are free to carry arms for protection against robbers. In dress, and all that regards the person, they are under