laugh at or pity us. I am sitting in the middle of the room surrounded with beds, chairs, tables, boxes, etc., and every room is the same. But our brains are in still greater confusion, not knowing what to do. Have you heard this new alarm. It is said that the French are actually embarking." In the homes of England, hitherto peaceful and enjoying the sense of security, the fear was entertained that scenes of tumult, confusion, and cruelty, like those of the continent would soon be witnessed. The name of Napoleon was a word of terror to old young. Many who deprecated the policy of the war with France, held in utter detestation its impious ruler. and "A man," said Robert Hall, "bred in the school of ferocity, amidst the din of arms and the tumult of camps; his element, war and confusion, who has changed his religion with his uniform, and has not spared the assassination of his own troops; it is easy to foresee what treatment such a man will give to his enemies, should they fall into his power; to those enemies especially, who, saved from the shipwreck of nations, are preserving as in an ark the precious remains of civilization and order, and whom, after destroying the liberties of every other country, he envies the melancholy distinction of being the only people he has not enslaved. Engaged with such an enemy, no weak hopes of moderation or clemency can tempt us for a moment to relax in our resistance to his power, and the only alternative which remains is, to conquer or die.” * The tidings of victory were received with emotions of transport mingled with tears of sympathy for those who had lost their fathers or sons in the conflict. Mr. Collyer gave the first utterance in his oration to his own feelings, and well expressed the sentiments of his excited hearers. * Works, Vol. i—p. 185. "In the struggles of the last and present contest," he said, "England has been deeply involved. Her liberties and her prosperity have been regarded with the most determined hatred by her proud neighbours; and their object is to destroy, if possible, the tranquillity to which they themselves are strangers. Marked for destruction as she has long been in the hopes and the hearts of her enemies, her share in the general calamity has been comparatively small. At this moment her situation is the most enviable of all the nations assaulted by the violence of the present conflict. War has shaken the powers of the continent for years, with little intermission; for some time past it has also menaced our fields and cities with desolation. But it has only menaced us; while it has penetrated the very heart of other countries, and raged at the very gates of the capital of their enemies. "The power of France has swept with the rapidity and violence of a hurricane, from the verge of the sea, through the southern circles of Germany, marking its progress with ruin and desolation. The shout of victory among her destructive legions has rolled from the Rhine to the Danube; and their waves with those of the Adige and the Inn, have been stained with the blood of the slain. From the shores of the British Channel, and down the sides of the Alps, the torrent has poured with resistless impetuosity even to the walls of Vienna. In six weeks the armies of France have passed in a line almost the whole extent of the German Empire, to the very borders of Hungary. And we, have we felt the shock? While providence has permitted the ambition of our adversary to riot in indulgence almost unlimited, it has covered his arms with shame and defeat, when levelled against the liberties of Great Britain. And to the thunder of war has been added, on the continent, the scourge of famine and of pestilence. Spain has suffered from all these dreadful plagues, and has felt combined horrors. Her inhabitants have been thinned by hunger; her cities depopulated by fevers; and her navy destroyed in battle. The vintage has failed also in Germany; and her people, oppressed by a foreign enemy, pine in the most distressing want. They have been reduced to the necessity of baking bran for bread, of using grass for vegetables, and in some instances, of plundering the places where dead horses are thrown, for the purpose of feeding upon their flesh. Saxony, Lusatia, Silesia, Bohemia, and Austria, are all thus visited. What in the meantime is the state of these happy islands? At this moment our arms are victorious by sea to an extent unparalleled in any history, by any country, at any period. Our harvest has been uncommonly productive, so that there is abundance of provision in our land, and no complaining in our streets; our kingdoms are filled with tranquillity and unanimity. The scourge of war is felt only in our taxes, and in the loss of the brave men who devoted themselves for their country. And while the balance of Europe is destroyed for the present, Great Britain alone weighs down the enormous preponderance of French power, and checks the prodigious strides of French ambition. "We have stated these wonderful facts, and pointed out the contrast subsisting between ourselves and the other nations, not tɔ minister to pride, neither to boasting, but to excite your gratitude, and to convince you of the decency and propriety of a day set apart for thanksgiving to Him who alone maketh empires, as well as individuals to differ. As were the Israelites of old, so is Great Britain chosen, not because we are more in number than any people, but because the Lord loved us.' We should blend humiliation with our thanksgiving, because we have in so small a measure loved in return the God who has been in all generations our 'glory and defence.'" In pleading for contributions on the behalf of the wounded, and the widows and orphans made desolate by the stroke that preserved the domestic tranquillity of others, he said: "I appeal to you, my friends, as Protestant Dissenters. You do love your country; you are fervently attached to the government under which you live. You have ever been ready to prove that attachment. You are sensible of the privileges which you enjoy, and you prize them highly. I call upon you once more to give a public testimonial of your patriotism; that whereas, some speak of you as evil doers,' you may by actions more powerful and decisive than language, 'put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." The ministry of Mr. attractive to young people. Collyer was peculiarly the neighbourhood two hundred and fifty pupils attended the chapel. In his visits to them he sought to improve their minds and especially to interest them in Evangelical truth. He was not less attentive to the children of the poor. In 1802, he commenced a course of lectures on Scripture Evidences. Lectures on The interest of these discourses increased as they went on. A request was made for their repetition in London, and the importunity for their publication increased. Lord Erskine expressed his decided approval of their scope and aim. Ultimately they were issued from the press in seven volumes. In a long list of subscribers we find the names of Lord Grenville, the Premier; Lord Moira, Master of the Ordnance; the Bishops of London (Dr. Porteous), Peterborough (Dr. Spencer Madan), Llandaff (Dr. Watson), the Dean of Windsor (Dr. Legge), with many of the nobility; and in addition to these, William Wilberforce, Ambrose Searle, Robert Southey, and other celebrities in the learned professions. Whatever blemishes and defects the critic might find in the series of volumes as they appeared, or in the earlier productions of the young Dissenting divine, he had won for Nonconformity a large amount of admiration and respect, and for the cause of truth, a greater gain. At the close of the series of lectures, a diploma was sent to the author from the University of Edinburgh by the hands of the Duke of Kent, who became his sincerely attached personal friend. CHAPTER VI. Honourable position of the faithful Congre gational Pastor. THE colleges continued to supply the churches in the principal towns and villages with "able ministers of the New Testament." Failures, from various causes were inevitable, and the progress of the truth under the most favoured conditions was not uninterrupted. The "night of weeping" was alternated with the "morning of joy." But the position of the faithful Congregational pastor, under all circumstances, though not the highest in social rank, was truly honourable. Continuing in the same sphere for fifteen, or five-and-twenty years, and, in some instances, for half a century; his name was associated with the name of the place in which he was known and respected by the local community as a peaceful and useful citizen, always ready to take his part in the service of philanthropy in any form; in his own congregation he was the friend and adviser of all, and their willing servant in everything that might contribute to their welfare. The members of the church honoured him with their confidence, and he moved in the tide of their sympathies and prayers. He was with them in all seasons, welcomed to their hospitality, valued for his excellence of character, |