Then are revivals a matter which you cannot, at the peril of your soul, treat either with opposition or indifference. Your most sacred duty, your most solemn interests, are concerned in yielding to their influence in your own hearts, and promoting their progress in the community around you.

Our Savior claimed for his miracles that they were wrought by the Spirit of God. The Pharisees attributed them to the agency of satan. What their sin was, the context tells us. "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." "Whosoever speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Revivals also claim to be wrought by the Spirit of God. If they are so, what the sin of speaking against them is, it is not for us to say-but plainly, it is deep and dreadful. It is in some sense at least, the sin of "speaking against the Holy Ghost." The degree of the guilt depends on the means of knowledge and malignity of purpose in the heart which conceives it. We would neither presume nor wish to say, that in any case it is unpardonable, but we do fear that if there is in our day a sin unto death, this is that sin-the sin of speaking maliciously of the work of the Spirit. "Beware therefore," says an apostle, we know not to whom if not to such as are here concerned-"lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets; behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish: for I work a work in your day, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." He that will speak either profanely or lightly of revivals, should ponder these words deeply, and remember that his eternal destiny may be suspended on his being able to prove at the bar of God, that those scenes of religious interest which are gladdening a thousand churches, are all of them a gross delusion.

For ourselves, we see in the revivals of the day, a heavenly influence which is falling like rain upon every part of our land; and which is soon to descend, we hope, upon all the earth. No scenes in our world affect us so deeply. To our apprehension, they are God's grand method, in the present and coming ages, of filling the world with the light and joy of the gospel. And in proportion as they are thus grand and solemn, we cannot but feel that those who disbelieve and oppose, or who regard them with indifference, are losing the more in not participating in so ennobling and soul-stirring a spirit, and hazarding the more in shutting their hearts to their renewing and sanctifying power.

VOL. IV.

5

ART. III.-REMAINS OF THE LATE REV. CHARLES WOLFE.

Remains of the late Rev. CHARLES WOLFE, A. B. Curate of Donoughmore, Diocese of Armagh. With a brief Memoir of his Life. By the Rev. JOHN A. RusSEL, M. A. Chaplain to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Curate of St. Werburgh's, Dublin. Hartford: H. & F. J. Huntington. 1828.

THE literary and christian public cannot be unacquainted with the character and writings of the Rev. Charles Wolfe. The book before us, which unfolds his character, and contains his writings, has been published three or four years in this country; and the lovers of taste and piety must have felt its attractions, in no ordinary degree. His remains though few in number, are sufficient to show the high intellectual culture and moral worth of their author, and what more he might have achieved, as a scholar and christian minister, had he been spared to the ordinary limits of human life. A mind possessing the native strength and elegance of Mr. Wolfe's, and stored with such rich acquisitions, has charms for almost every one; while his simple and fervent piety cannot but win the heart, that relishes the greater beauties of a soul assimilated to its Maker. It is indeed delightful in itself, to see such a combination of excellence, and especially to see it in a situation where its own modesty had placed it, far from the public view. Those talents and accomplishments which would have done honor to any station, were by Mr. W. cheerfully devoted to the patient and unostentatious performance of the duties of the ministry, in an obscure place, and under privations which few would think they could endure. It is cheering to know, that there have been such instances of christian fidelity and self-denial among a revolted race, and that the religion of the cross can stamp upon the loftiest understanding the impress of a childlike and humble spirit—that it can bring such an understanding to consecrate its energies to the glory of Jesus Christ. It is well for the church, when men whom nature and habit have formed for the refined pleasures of elegant literature, or the love of scientific research, and whose minds the rewards of fame are fitted powerfully to affect, can forget all that is so congenial to their feelings, in a benevolent devotion to their fellow-men, and in the strenuous cultivation of the strictest piety. Or rather we should say, when, instead of literally forgetting these pursuits, they can subordinate them to the higher objects of christian duty, and indulge in that chastened enjoyment of intellectual pleasures, which is compatible with eminent consecration to God. This we consider the most nearly perfect state of man, in the present world. It is when both the mind and the heart receive that culture, and participate in that refined gratification, of which they are suscep

tible, and for which they were evidently designed, in divine providence. In other words, it is sanctified talent-the union of learning and taste with evangelical religion, which constitutes man's highest excellence on earth.

That our readers may duly appreciate the application of the sentiment just expressed, to the name we have already announced, and may be prepared for the illustration which it may elicit in the sequel, we will present a brief view of the life of Mr. W., and venture a few criticisms on his productions, both in poetry and prose.

At the outset, we cannot but express our apprehensions, that the biographer of Mr. W., as is the fact in some other instances of eminent christians, has by no means revealed the full extent of this excellent man's religious feelings. It is apparent that he has kept back some of his friend's more spiritual exercises, probably for the reason, that they did not comport exactly with his own views of experimental religion. There are sufficient indications, here and there, that Mr. W. had a depth of evangelical feeling, such as we find in the most devoted servants of Christ; but it is no where so fully disclosed by the biographer, as it should have been. In view of the present case, it is perhaps needless to urge the suggestion, that when the lives of such men are given to the public, they should be given by writers, who clearly comprehend the religious exercises of the men whom they describe, and can fully sympathize in those exercises. The public has a right to know, if possible, the exact truth, respecting so important a part of the life and character of those distinguished persons, who are offered to its notice in biographical works.

The career of Mr. W., as was the case with Spencer and Summerfield, in the ministry, and of H. K. White, in another walk of life, though possessing a kindred spirit, was but too short. He was cut off by disease, as has been remarked concerning him, "in what should have been the bloom of life." He had just commenced his 32d year. The place of his birth was Dublin, though he spent several of his early years in England, whither the family removed after the death of his father. It was in the English schools, that he laid the foundation of his extensive classical knowledge, and displayed "the dawnings of a genius, which promised to set him amidst that bright constellation of British poets, which adorns the literature of the present age." He returned, however, to his native land, before he had completed his initiatory studies. At the age of eighteen, he entered the university of Dublin, and at the usual period obtained a scholarship with the highest honor, upon which he immediately became a resident in college. It was during the short period of his abode there, that

most of his poems were written. Several also of his prose pieces were then composed, for some of which he was rewarded with medals. Indeed, he obtained the highest distinction among his cotemporaries for his literary attainments; nor was he less admired for the amenity and benevolence of his disposition.

From the time in which he took his bachelor's degree, (1814) to the period of his ordination for the ministry, he was occupied, for the most part, in miscellaneous study. He began, indeed, to read for a fellowship, and it was a matter of regret with his friends, that having evinced so great a capacity for scientific attainments, he saw fit to abandon the object.

It does not appear, at what period his mind was particularly turned towards religion, and the concerns of his soul. No very definite account is given by his biographer concerning this matter; although he observes, that Mr. Wolfe's own family represented him as being from childhood impressed with religious feelings. Perhaps his spiritual change, or at least the resuscitation of his feelings on the subject of religion, is designed to be indicated in the following paragraph, which refers to a period immediately subsequent to his ordination. After mentioning the restraining influence which religion had upon him, the biographer remarks,

:

He was exemplary, I might say blameless, in his moral conduct, and scrupulous in the discharge of duty and though naturally impetuous in his feelings, habitually lively and even playful in his temper and manners, yet there was manifestly an influence in his heart and a guard upon his tongue, which never permitted him to violate the rules of strictest chastity or decorum. He was devout and regular in his habits of private prayer and in attendance upon public wor ship; and I have often seen him affected even to tears in reading the sacred word of inspiration. But when he came to preach the doctrines and duties of christianity to others, they burst upon his mind in their full magnitude, and in all their awful extent: he felt that he himself had not given up his whole heart to God,that the Gospel of Christ had held but a divided empire in his soul; and he looked back upon his earliest years with self-reproach and self-distrust, when he called to mind the subordinate place which the love of God had possessed in his heart. If such a man could feel reason to contemplate the days of his youth with emotions of this kind, what should be the feelings of him who has lived altogether "without God in the world?"-who has scarce ever known what to control a passion or regulate a desire, or perform a single action, with an exclusive reference to the divine will? p. 89.

was

Whatever we may be able to gather from this account, respecting the change in Mr. Wolfe's spiritual feelings, either as to the time, or the process of it, doubtless it was the strong and decided influence of religion, which induced him to remove "from the society he loved-from the center of science and literature to which he was so much devoted, to an obscure and remote country curacy in the north of Ireland, where he could not hope to meet one individual to enter into his feelings, or to hold communion with him upon the accustomed subjects of his former pursuits

-where he felt as if he had been transported into a totally new world as a missionary abandoning home, and friends, and cherished habits, for the awful and important work to which he had so solemnly devoted himself." The place which religion had in this determination was proved by the event-by the manner and spirit with which he engaged at once in the duties of his high and holy calling.

The term of Mr. Wolfe's ministerial life was only a little more than five years, as he was ordained in Nov. 1817, and died the 21st of Feb. 1823. His premature decease is to be attributed, as is too evident, to labors and exertions disproportioned to his constitution. The period we speak of, was, of course, the most important portion of his life, though very few incidents are noticed as having taken place. This was to have been expected, as well from the brevity of his ministry, as from the manner of life, which a retired country curate must necessarily lead. The few partiwhich are noticed, we find partly in the letters of Mr. W., and partly in the statements of the biographer. The substance of the information afforded is-that Mr. W. acted uniformly as one, who felt himself wholly consecrated to his work, having one single, undivided purpose to glorify God, and save the souls committed to his trust-that he preached, and performed pastoral duty, with the most exemplary diligence, frequently catechizing the children of the parish, maintaining a constant intercourse with the families and individuals-that he was incessantly engaged in plans designed for the temporal and spiritual benefit of his peoplethat in prosecuting these objects he encountered the difficulties arising from the dullness and profligacy of many of his parishioners, from the extent of his cure, the disagreeable locality of the parish, the badness of the roads, and from his own poor personal accommodations-that he succeeded in gaining the confidence of his flock, in conciliating their affections, and in influencing many of them to attend to their salvation, filling his church with attentive hearers and devout communicants-that in his work, he expended his strength with astonishing prodigality, and with an utter "disregard of all precaution and of the ordinary comforts of life to which he had been accustomed"-and that by his excessive labors, and severe privations, he confirmed a consumptive tendency in his constitution, of which some symptoms had appeared at an earlier age. While in health, he seems never to have left his parish, except to visit Dublin two or three times. The latter year or two of his life, however, was spent in journeying, and at different places, in fruitless efforts to regain his health.

The following paragraphs from the pen of his biographer, present a few details respecting his habits and manner of life, his dis