provided for; bread, fuel, and clothing* are freely distributed amongst them, and when old age comes on with all its train of sorrows, the gates of the asylum and almshouses are opened to them, where they may find shelter from the storm, and spend the evening of their lives in piety and peace.

There is an endless source of sterling happiness in the contemplation of this subject, but we dwell with increased interest on the closing scene; there is not, we are confident, a more agreeable and satisfactory occupation than to frequent the almshouses of the poor; many are deterred from them in consequence of the querulous garrulity attendant on old age, but it should be recollected that it requires the greatest exertion of the most cultivated mind to suffer in silence, and conceal poverty from those, who have the power, and whose presence betrays the wish, to alleviate its sorrows and privations. We have spent hours in these humble abodes, and have listened with unwearied attention to all the little narratives and chronicled events rehearsed by their inhabitants, who form a kind of connecting link between the present days and those that have long been numbered with the past: they tell us of the history and all the minute and interesting particulars of our families, or those of friends and associates, whose names we delight in listening to, having probably fulfilled a faithful servitude with some of their ancestry; they tell us of the

* What riches give us, let us now enquire,

'Meat, fire, and clothes,-what more? Meat, clothes, and fire.'

Pope.

manners and customs of their early years-the good old times

'Ere England's griefs began,

'When every rood of ground maintained its man;'-
When 'Squire and Pastor from their pockets drew
The book, the tract, but gave the shilling too.

but above all they tell us of the feelings and expectations of persons dwelling on the verge of the grave: we have never visited these little sanctuaries without feeling happier and better on our return,—they have given us a peace of mind and religious contentment which the banquets of the rich, with all their midnight revelry, had not to bestow; and often have we envied the calling of those whose duties bring them so frequently to these peaceful scenes of life that seem to lead the way to a happy eternity.

CHAPTER X.

The Dissenters.

CHRISTIANITY had scarcely become established, and the labour of the apostles had scarcely terminated, before various sects arose that continued afterwards separate from the primitive church; these sects were multiplied during several succeeding centuries until the catholic religion became predominant. At this period the clergy used every exertion to keep the people in a state of ignorance on every subject connected with religion, and a knowledge of the contents of the bible was confined almost exclusively to the priesthood; but when the Reformation burst forth with all its illuminating splendour on this darkened land,-when the art of printing became more generally understood, and consequently when the scriptures became more universally promulgated, a spirit of enquiry rapidly arose, and the truth of particular doctrines was closely and freely examined and discussed.

It is a striking fact' observes the elegant and learned author of the Life of Leo X.,* that mankind, when they begin to cultivate their intellectual powers, have generally turned their first attention towards those abstruse and speculative studies which are the most difficult of comprehension,' and this observation which was applied to the increasing enquiry into the metaphysical doctrines of Aristotle and Plato at the period to which we refer, may be applied with equal force to the rapidly spreading enquiry into the mysterious doctrines contained in the holy scriptures.

It is not surprising that during this their extensive and zealous investigation, persons should discover some particular points on which they imagined even the protestant reformers to be in error; and these points would be fastened so constantly on their attention, that they would gradually increase in importance, and at last the parties would deem what they considered a correct view of them so essentially necessary to salvation, that they would on that account separate from the church; and as they were generally persons of bold and enterprising spirits, disciples were soon found to flock around them, and they formed themselves into separate societies.

These objections, however, to particular doctrines were not, as we have seen, altogether the invention or discovery of modern times, as Milnert has justly observed in his Church History,' they have been revived

* Roscoe's Life of Leo X., vol. 3, (8vo. ed.) p. 73, c. 20. † Vol. 2, p. 396, c. 4.

from age to age with new names and under new dresses, carrying only the appearance of something original.'

No sects of any importance have been established within the last half century, but the congregations of those that previously existed have very considerably increased. The causes of this increase are, we fear, too easily to be traced; but they do not necessarily fall within the scope of our present undertaking, and as it is a subject which excites within us the most painful feelings, we willingly desist from the enquiry.

The principal and more religious classes of the dissenters differ only from the Church of England on some one particular point of doctrine, but they all, as we shall perceive, unite in their objections to its discipline and mode of government. It is, however, exceedingly difficult to ascertain the precise tenets of each particular sect, as they have no catechism, articles of faith, or other well-authenticated records from which they can be collected, and we can only discover them from the writings and memoirs of the individuals who were the original founders.

The dissenters in the town consist principally of Methodists, Calvinists, Independents, Unitarians, Quakers, Baptists, and Particular Baptists.

The sect of Methodists was founded in this country in 1729, by Mr. John Wesley, who was the son of a clergyman, regularly educated for the church at the University of Oxford, and elected a fellow of Lincoln College about the year 1725.

A few fellow-students (Wesley being amongst the number,) first met together in the university to read the scriptures, and exercise themselves in private prayer: