ples of the Friends, thou wouldst not say she had departed from Christianity. But, waving that discussion for the present, I will take the liberty to observe, that she had undoubted right to examine and to change her educational tenets, whenever she supposed she had found them erroneous: as an accountable creature, it was her duty so to do.

Dr. J. Pshaw! Pshaw !-An accountable creature! Girls accountable creatures! It was her duty to remain with the church wherein she was educated; she had no business to leave it.

Mrs. K. What! not for that which she apprehended to be better? According to this rule, Doctor, hadst thou been born in Turkey, it had been thy duty to have remained a Mahometan, notwithstanding Christian evidence might have wrought in thy mind the clearest conviction; and, if so, then let me ask, how would thy conscience have answered for such obstinacy at the great and last tribunal ? Dr. J. My conscience would not have been answerable. Mrs. K. Whose then would?

Dr. J. Why the state, to be sure. In adhering to the religion of the state as by law established, our implicit obedience therein becomes our duty.

Mrs. K. A nation, or state, having a conscience, is a doctrine entirely new to me, and, indeed, a very curious piece of intelligence; for I have always understood that a government, or state, is a creature of time only; beyond which it dissolves, and becomes a non-entity. Now, gentlemen, can your imagination body forth this monstrous individual, or being, called a state, composed of millions of people? Can you behold it stalking forth into the next world, loaded with its mighty conscience, there to be rewarded or punished for the faith, opinions, and conduct of its constituent machines called men? Surely the teeming brain of poetry never held up to the fancy so wondrous a personage!

(When the laugh occasioned by the personification was subsided, the Doctor very angrily replied,)

Dr. J. I regard not what you say as to that matter. I hate the arrogance of the wench in supposing herself a more competent judge of religion than those who educated her. She imitated you, no doubt; but she ought not to

have presumed to determine for herself in so important an affair.

Mrs. K. True, Doctor, I grant it, if, as thou seemest to imply, a wench of twenty years be not a moral agent. Dr. J. I doubt it would be difficult to prove those deserve that character who turn Quakers.

Mrs. K. This severe retort, Doctor, induces me charitably to hope thou must be totally unacquainted with the principles of the people against whom thou art so exceedingly prejudiced, and that thou supposest us a set of infidels or Deists.

Dr. J. Certainly, I do think you little better than Deists.

Mrs. K. This is indeed strange; 'tis passing strange, that a man of such universal reading and research, has not thought it at least expedient to look into the cause of dissent of a society so long established and so conspicuously singular!

Dr. J. Not I, indeed! I have not read your Barclay's Apology; and for this plain reason-I never thought it worth my while. You are upstart sectaries, perhaps the best subdued by a silent contempt.

Mrs. K. This reminds me of the language of the rabbis of old, when their hierarchy was alarmed by the increasing influence, force, and simplicity of dawning truth, in their high day of worldly dominion. We meekly trust, our principles stand on the same solid foundation of simple truth; and we invite the acutest investigation. The reason thou givest for not having read Barclay's Apology, is surely a very improper one for a man whom the world looks up to as a moral philosopher of the first rank: a teacher, from whom they think they have a right to expect much information. To this expecting, inquiring world, how can Dr. Johnson acquit himself for remaining unac quainted with a book translated into five or six different languages, and which has been admitted into the libraries of almost every court and university in Christendom!

(Here the Doctor grew very angry, still more so at the space of time the gentlemen allowed his antagonist wherein to make her defence, and his impatience excited Mr. Boswell himself in a whisper "I never saw this mighty lion so chafed

to say, before !")

Dr. J. The Doctor again repeated, that he did not think the Quakers deserved the name of Christians.

Mrs. K. Give me leave then to endeavour to convince thee of thy error, which I will do by making before thee, and this respectable company, a confession of our faith. Creeds, or confessions of faith, are admitted by all to be the standard whereby we judge of every denomination of professors.

(To this every one present agreed; and even the

Doctor grumbled out his assent.)

Mrs. K. Well, then, I take upon me to declare, that the people called Quakers do verily believe in the Holy Scriptures, and rejoice with the most full and reverential acceptance of the divine history of facts as recorded in the New Testament. That we, consequently, fully believe those historical articles summed up in what is called the Apostles' Creed, with these two exceptions only, to wit, our Saviour's descent into hell, and the resurrection of the body. These mysteries we humbly leave just as they stand in the holy text; there being, from that ground, no authority for such assertion as is drawn up in the creed. And now, Doctor, canst thou still deny to us the honourable title of Christians?

Dr. J.. Well!-I must own I did not at all suppose you had so much to say for yourselves. However, I cannot forgive that little slut for presuming to take upon herself as she has done.

Mrs. K. I hope, Doctor, thou wilt not remain unfor giving; and that you will renew your friendship, and joyfully meet at last in those bright regions where pride and prejudice can never enter!

Dr. J. Meet her! I never desire to meet fools any where.

(This sarcastic turn of wit was so pleasantly received, that the Doctor joined in the laugh; his spleen was dissipated; he took his coffee, and became, for the remainder of the evening, very cheerful and entertaining.)

THE TROWBRIDGE CONGREGATIONAL COMMITTEE IN

eyes

REPLY TO MR. WRIGHT.

Audi alteram partem.

It is much to be regretted that Mr. Wright, in the letter which he wrote to the Unitarian congregation in Trowbridge, in the Christian Reformer for January last, (pp. 8 -13,) should have thought it best to make the statements therein contained a public communication, knowing" that the of other Christian denominations were upon them." The congregation, however greatly they lamented the step taken by Mr. Wright, thought it prudent to make no reply, hoping that "other denominations of Christians" would be ignorant of the charges brought by Mr. Wright against his late congregation; but as they find that not to be the case, and as Mr. Wright, in his "Retrospect of Five Years spent in Wiltshire," published in the Christian Reformer for March, (pp. 117–124,) has made similar accusations against the congregation the subject of another public communication, the Congregational Committee (mentioned by Mr. Wright in his "Retrospect" to have been appointed and in action) think it necessary that some reply should be given to them, desiring only to defend the congregation from what they conceive to be unjustly alleged against them.

The Committee fear that Mr. Wright, in his anxiety to account for his labours in Trowbridge having failed, has not acted with his usual discrimination; and, however "his mind revolted at the idea," he has not hesitated to accuse his brethren there with an unsparing hand, thereby making that "rank and rampant bigotry" which he speaks of in his "Retrospect," still worse against them, notwithstanding his stated conviction, that "prejudice and general feeling in Trowbridge already ran like a mighty torrent in opposition to their meeting-house, the congregation, and whoever officiated among them."

It is to be hoped, however, that whatever the faults and errors of the congregation may be, they are not the frequenters of public-houses and associates of drunkards, the brawling, quarrelsome and turbulent persons, the users of profane or indecent language, the lewd, dishonest, backbiters and revilers of others, or the biters and devourers one of another, whom Mr. Wright, by his exhortations in

his letter, seems to imply they are; if they were, then indeed would they bring a great scandal on their profession." There are, no doubt, some who are not altogether righteous (and where is the congregation in which such persons may not be found?); but that the congregation are such persons as are pointed out in Mr. Wright's "Letter," the Committee hesitate not to deny.

The Committee readily admit, that some of the congregation cannot but plead guilty to the charges of want of union, lukewarmness, indifference in religious matters, and irregular attendance on the public services.

Mr. Wright, in his "Brief Retrospect," has given to the public an account of the different states in which he found and left the congregation, but has omitted to state the exertions and means used, or the labours bestowed, which had effected the better state of the congregation at the time he left Trowbridge, so as to lead strangers to imagine that the congregation took no part in making any improvements during his ministry; whereas, in fact, they laboured, and that diligently, in whatever they believed to be for good.

Mr. Wright complains of the congregation, "that he found their number smaller than he had been taught to expect, and that many of those were very irregular in their attendance; that they were very illiterate; some not capable of reading, generally very little informed respecting the doctrines they professed, and destitute of scriptural knowledge, and very few inclined to serious conversation." The Committee, in acknowledging most of these to be facts, beg to observe, that with respect to the number of the congregation, they are totally ignorant of any representation having been made to Mr. Wright, and were not aware, until now, that he had ever been led to expect a greater number than he found. As regarded their illiterate state, surely the want of education ought not to be charged upon a congregation of poor people, bred up by equally poor parents, who, after toiling all the week, were scarcely enabled to earn a subsistence. That such people could neither read nor write is not surprising; and when it is considered, that through the melancholy affliction of their former pastor (Mr. Gisburne) they had been without a minister for many months, their want of knowledge on scriptural subjects is more to be lamented than wondered at. And as to their disinclination to serious conversation, the Committee