was an ardent lover of peace. On no occasion did he of fend by haughtiness, negligence, the indulgence of a capricious humour, or the sallies of intemperate anger." "'* Although he came up among you with rich delight to his own soul, and with corresponding pleasure, and, I trust, benefit, to yourselves, in the services of this day and place, and upon additional occasions of your being here assembled, yet to other and humbler, and no distant, spots-to one spot in particular-he as duly resorted, with not less willing feet. There, too, he was honoured as a vessel, sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work :" there, also, he laboured, in word and doctrine, with great acceptance and success, as well as zeal. More than thirty-five years have fled away, since he began to preach the gospel to the poor, in a hamlet where the name of religion was almost unknown, or known only to be theme of profane jests and vulgar ridicule. Though, at that time, a "young man," he was "good,"† devout, * Memoir of the Rev. T. N. Toller, by Robert Hall, M. A. p. 61. The words marked with inverted commas are those of Dr. Priestley.-[Appeal to the Public, &c. Part II, p. 203. Appendix, No. XIX. The date of that volume (1792) should be carefully recollected.] Concerning the occasion of them some intelligence will be found in the Appeal, &c., &c. I transcribe the sentences in the midst of which they occur; and shall just premise, that they are brought forward merely to shew, how well Mr. Scott, even at the earliest period of his public life, could unite charity with zeal: "The minister of Cradley waited upon the rector of the parish, and assured him that he had no intention of disseminating any peculiar doctrines, that his only motive was to serve the best interests of his neighbours, and that if the people of the Establishment would subscribe towards building a church, he would abandon his design, and assist them in theirs; but this good young man has been unable to accomplish either." The principal scene of these well-directed labours was The Lye Waste, in the extensive parish of Old Swinford. This spot, which probably received its name from its wild, uncultivated state, and its contiguity to a sylvan pasture, adjoins closely to the hamlet of the Lye, and, according to some representations, had even in 1650 a few scattered cottages on its surface. Considering it perhaps in the light of common and waste ground, numerous vagrants took possession of it; nor was it then intersected by any road, or in the vicinity of well-peopled districts of the parish. At present it consists of many tenements, occupied chiefly by nailers, and stands on the high road from Birmingham to Stourbridge. It is probable, that, from various causes, the inhabitants of the Lye Waste had a still worse reputation than they deserved. Yet they were miserably uncivilized, and really, as well as to a proverb, conciliating, judicious, and persevering; and, having subdued much difficulty and opposition, he became God's favoured instrument in producing what I may call a moral creation. Many individuals-not a few who, through his instructions, have departed hence in faith and peace and hope, and others who survive and adorn their doctrinewere the witnesses and the subjects of this happy change; so that he was blessed and venerated by those who once thought lightly of his office, and even insulted his person. Nor can your populous and important neighbourhood forget, that he was the first who brought Christian light to those abodes of darkness; the first whose wise, disinterested, pious efforts, carried thither the means of civilization, by carrying to them the religion which teaches us," that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live righteously, soberly, and devoutly, in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.' "'* In addition to his numerous aud important labours of love, whether by his advice, by his bounty, or by his influence, whether in the management of trusts on the behalf of the families of his deceased friends, or in his attentions to the widow, the fatherless, the sick, the penitent, the dying, the aged, and the young,-or by writing or edit rude and lawless; being thus unhappily distinguished from the neighbouring villages. For more than thirty years past (such is the change!), The Waste has not been in the least degree remarkable for producing riotous assemblages, even in times of local commotion. On this neglected spot, there was no accommodation for public worship previously to 1790; and the parish church is distant, and quite inadequate to the population. Amidst difficulties, to which a reference has been already made, (in the pamphlets mentioned in this and in a preceding note,) Mr. James Scott, from 1790 and 1792, conducted divine service in licensed dwelling-houses in the year 1806, he opened a small chapel, advancing towards the erection of it the sum of £200, which his late aunt, Mrs. Ann Scott, [Monthly Repository, &c. Vol. VIII. p. 129] liberally reimbursed to him; and the remaining sum of £63, 88. was raised by himself and his friends. Here, on Lord's-day evenings, and at other times, he continued preaching the Gospel to the poor, until the end of his life. In addition, he defrayed the purchase of further land, and the expenses of repairing the chapel, and bequeathed £200 for its future support. Nor has he been unmindful, in his Will, of the Episcopal and the Dissenting congregations severally, and far more recently, formed in the immediate neighbourhood.. * Titus, ii. 12, &c. ing many a useful and pious manual,* he undertook the of fice of secretary to a neighbouring auxiliary Bible Society, from the period when it was founded.† This engaged much of his time and thoughts. It was an institution, the object and the plan of which were dear to his heart: it admirably suited his catholic and benevolent spirit; and he was very active, judicious, and successful, in advancing its interests. Here, again, who will be to us what he has been ? Who, let me add, will supply his place to those of his brethren that were most intimately connected with him in the Christian ministry? Who, like him, will gladden by his presence our stated meetings, and teach us by his engaging example what we should do, and what we should avoid? But I must hasten to a conclusion. It is chiefly time which can set limits to the review and the delineation * I subjoin as correct a list as I can obtain of the publications of the late Rev. James Scott: Supplement to Carpenter's Letter to Foley, 1792 Autumnal Reflections (a Sermon) 1797 Address to the Members of a Christian Church, on the Lord's on the Death of the Rev. Benjamin Carpenter; with the Address at the Interment 1816 Sermon at Lye Waste, (a Memorial of the Divine Goodness) 1824 1826 Resolutions and Reports of Stourbridge Auxiliary Bible Society (nearly from 1812 and 1813 to 1827 inclusively). Mr. James Scott was, besides, an occcasional contributor to the Protestant Dissenters' Magazine, to the Monthly Magazine, to the Monthly Repository [Vol. VII. p. 644, &c.], to the Christian Moderator [Vol. I. p. 267; Vol. II. pp. 89, 393, 467], &c. HE EDITED THE FOLLOWING TRACTS: Pious Cottager... 1820 By the late Rev. Ben1823 jamin Carpenter. + The successive Reports of the Stourbridge Bible Society, were generally framed by Mr. James Scott, and, for the most part, contain a large portion of interesting and valuable information in respect of the diffusion, &c., of the Holy Scriptures, and are not li mited to local intelligence. of such a character. Let the rest be told by the grief which is too deep for utterance; by mourning kindred; by fraternal, warm, invariable affection; by the tears of a colleague endeared to his soul, who served with him as a son, and honoured him as a father; by the lamentations of bereaved congregations, who can feel the extent and the nature of their loss; by those of domestics cordially attached to one of the most generous and considerate of masters; by the sighs of numbers whom he relieved and blessed; by the sympathies echoed from our churches in other and remote provinces of the kingdom; nor least, by the sensations which the sad tidings of his illness and death produced throughout the district where this incomparable man had so long resided, to which he was so pre-eminently a benefactor, and where, without distinction of party of any sort, he was universally admired, esteemed, and loved, for his character, and for his works' sake! FALL OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE. THE present tottering state of the barbarous government of Turkey, has led men's thoughts to such of the prophecies in the Bible as are supposed to relate to this subject. Most of the commentators have believed that they have discovered the event in the divine records. Amongst them we may number Dr. PRIESTLEY, who predicted "the fall of the Turkish Empire," in a sermon delivered to the supporters of the New College at Hackney, at the Old Jewry, April 27, 1791. Arguing the necessity of theological learning, from the present state of the world, he says, 66 Another great event which I begin to flatter myself we may be looking forwards to, is the fall of the Turkish Empire, when an end will be put to a system of government the most unfriendly to human happiness, and to improvements of all kinds, that the world has ever groaned under a government, or rather a despotism, extending over the finest and first-civilized parts of the globe, at present in a state of misery and depopulation. "Should that empire fall, what a field will be immediately opened for men of spirit and of talents of all kinds, to explore the curious aud valuable remains of antiquity, perhaps to discover ancient and long-lost writings, to ascertain the geography and natural history of ancient places, by which much light will be thrown upon histories which will, to the end of the world, attract the attention of mankind, and especially that of the Scriptures! What a field will then be opened for the instruction of the Mahometans, and extending the salutary light of the Gospel to countries where at present little remains of it besides the name! The fall of this enormous power (and they are not the friends of mankind, of science, or religion, who wish its support) will probably be followed by other great events, with which the future happy state of the world is still more nearly connected; but on this subject, though with difficulty, I forbear to enlarge." The Doctor here adds the following note: "I mean the return of the Jews to Palestine, and the great events connected in prophecy with it. This will be the true era of the renovation of the world.". [On this curious subject, we should be glad to receive any hints and extracts which the reading of our correspondents may supply. ED.] LECTURES ON A CATECHISM IN A SUNDAY-SCHOOL. LECTURE III. IV. IVhat do you believe concerning God? I believe that he is an infinite and eternal spirit, most wise and powerful, holy, just, and good. DEAR CHILDREN, I have explained to you the reason why you ought to remember your Creator and Preserver, and have shewn you that the same being created you that created every thing besides I am now come to the most difficult question in your whole catechism, which declares the nature and perfections of God. Now we know so little of the real nature of ourselves, or of any thing about us, that it is no wonder we should be at a loss when we come to inquire into the nature of God. I will not promise, therefore, that every thing which I shall say to you will be intelligible to you all, but I will endeavour to make it as much so as I can. In the mean time, I would have those who hear me remember, that I am speaking on a subject upon which, however mean the speaker, or familiar his style and manner, it is not beneath the most dignified of them to attend. The question in your catechism is, "What do you be lieve concerning God?" To which this answer is given, “ I believe that he is an infinite and eternal spirit, most wise |