that, whether consistently or not with the theory they still profess to hold, they have dared to raise their voice against many prevailing disorders, and ought not therefore to be accused of aiding and abetting these particular disorders, except indirectly and unintentionally. It is true, if a man from a busy and meddlesome disposition, or from a desire of influence or notoriety, begins by countenancing licentious and disorganizing principles, he is responsible for the consequences, and even for those consequences which he does not foresee, nor wish; but his responsibility is considerably lessened in regard to those consequences, which, as soon as they appear, he is among the first to condemn and disown.

In the article referred to above we noticed briefly the origin of the great Western Revival in the summer and autumn of 1825, the steps which were taken to produce it, the character of the principal agents, and some of the unhappy excesses to which it had led, prior to the dispute about the 'new measures' as they are called. For a long time the whole movement was regarded by Dr Beecher and his friends with feelings of unmingled satisfaction and triumph, as exhibiting all the marks, ever found in such cases, of a signal work of God, 'the beginning of a new era in revivals in respect to rapidity and universality.' A paragraph which appeared in the Christian Register, toward the close of 1826, seems to have been the first to undeceive them as to the real tendency of these proceedings; at least it was the first to alarm them as to the effect which the excesses committed in New York might have on the success of similar attempts of their own in this quarter. Soon after this Dr Beecher addressed a long letter, bearing date January, 1827, to Mr Beman of Troy, on the subject of the extravagances which this gentleman was understood to have instigated; and about the same time a long letter, of the same general tenor, was written by Mr Nettleton, of Connecticut, to Mr Aikin of Utica, another of the disorganizers. These letters were not intended, they say, for publication, but only to be shown to a few persons immediately interested, in hopes that they would cure the evil complained of, without exposing the party to the

scandal of an open rupture. They are written with considerable spirit and ability, but not, we must think, in a style or temper likely to effect their object, if the declared object was the real one. To represent the 'new measures' as the machinations of the devil, or as the offspring of a crazed intellect, might do

VOL. VI.-N. S. VOL. I. NO. I.

14

very well for a pamphlet designed to act on the passions and prejudices of the multitude; but they were not precisely the suggestions to whisper into the ear of the authors of these measures with a view to conciliate and persuade. This remark holds true whether we suppose the authors of these measures to have been knaves, or fanatics, or both; and so it proved.

Accordingly these letters had hardly been received, when Mr Finney, the acknowledged head of the Western faction, preached at Utica, for the first time, his celebrated sermon on the text, Can two walk together except they be agreed?' which was afterwards preached at Troy, as the titlepage imports, and then published. This sermon is by no means very eloquent or very profound; but neither is it, assuming the principles avowed by all Revivalists, the weak and flimsy performance his Orthodox opponents would fain have it thought. The doctrine advanced is, that our walking together, that is, our union and harmony as Christians, does not depend on our being agreed in opinion or theory, but on our being agreed in temperament and tastes, and in the tone of our feelings at the

moment.

'We not only feel uninterested or displeased and disgusted when a subject different from that which at present engages our affections is introduced and crowded upon us, but if anything even upon the same subject, that is far above or below our tone of feeling, is presented, and if our affections remain the same and refuse to be enlisted and brought to that point, we must feel uninterested, and, perhaps, grieved and offended. If the subject be exhibited in a light that is below our present tone of feeling, we cannot be interested until it come up to our feelings; if this does not take place, we necessarily remain uninterested; and if the subject, in this cooling, and to us, degraded point of view, is held up before our mind, and our affections struggle to maintain their height, we feel displeased, because our affections are not fed, but opposed. If the subject be presented in a manner that strikes far above our tone of feeling, and our affections grovel, and refuse to rise, it does not fall in with and feed our affections, therefore we cannot be interested; it is enthusiasm to us, we are displeased with the warmth in which our affections refuse to participate, and the farther it is above our temperature, the more we are disgusted.' Sermon, p. 4.

This interpretation of the text is so much better than the common one, which supposes it to require a uniformity of faith,

at least in fundamentals, that we can almost forgive the wrong still done the prophet, who meant simply to ask the question, 'Can two walk together, unless they agree beforehand to do so; or, in other words, unless they meet by appointment?' Having satisfied himself, however, that the principal cause of difference among Christians is always to be found in the different tone of their feelings at the time, Mr Finney would have it inferred that the Eastern Revivalists objected to the new measures,' merely on account of the cold and grovelling state of their own affections. They were offended and disgusted with the 'new measures,' because, to use one of the cant phrases in this controversy, they were not up to them;' because they had not as yet reached that degree of fervor and spirituality with which their Western brethren had been blessed.

Mr Finney was immediately seconded in these views by the whole influence of the Western Recorder, a religious newspaper published at Utica, which, according to Honestus, has acquired the reputation of being a 'most intrepid advocate of fanaticism, and a most accomplished champion of ribaldry and vulgarity.'* All those who wrote or spoke against the prevailing abuses were denounced for their coldness and opposition, and for taking sides with the enemy; and Mr Nettleton, in particular, was roundly charged with uttering and circulating untruths, and precipitating a public discussion which might easily have been prevented by a private interview of the parties. An open rupture having now become inevitable, the following extract from a letter of Dr Beecher to the gentleman last named, which found its way into the newspapers about this time, indicates the course which the writer conceived it advisable to adopt.

'There must be immediately an extensive correspondence and concert formed; ministers must come together and consult, and churches must be instructed and prepared to resist the beginnings of evil,-the mask must be torn off from Satan coming among the sons of God, and transforming himself into an angel of light. In the mean time, no pains should be spared to save brothers Finney and Beman, both on account of the great evil they will not fail to do on lawless converts; and the great good they may do, if they are kept within their orbit. Should all these measures fail, then we must publish your letter to Aikin, and mine to Beman if it be thought best. We shall

*Revivals of Religion, &c. p. 18.

need both in New England as manifestos to stop the mouths of Socinians and others who would be glad to blast revivals by the evils arising from the West.'-'I would try silent measures first, by correspondence and forming public opinion, and putting ministers and churches on their guard, and publish only when it becomes manifest there is no hope of reformation— not however delay publishing too long, because the letters should "precede the storm.

The policy here recommended was sufficiently refined and subtle, but not sound, as the event has shown; which is almost always the case when ecclesiastics turn diplomatists. The people of the West do not appear to have felt themselves much flattered by this attempt on the part of two or three unauthorised individuals to bring over a whole community to their way of thinking and acting, by secret management; by writing private letters, despatching emissaries, sowing dissensions in churches, and tampering with the disaffected. A more open policy, considered merely as policy, would unquestionably have been wiser and more successful, as well as more honorable; for, in the first place, it was no easy thing to overreach adepts, like Finney and Beman, in trick and manoeuvre; and besides, they might have foreseen that their personal influence and reputation in that quarter, and among all parties, would be seriously impaired, and almost annihilated, by the detection and exposure of such practices. Secret and underhanded management having failed altogether, as ought to have been expected, the next step to be taken, according to the plan disclosed in Dr Beecher's letter, was to assemble several of the clergy on both sides, to consult on the unhappy differences which had arisen, and agree, if possible, by mutual consent or compromise, on the general principles by which revivals should be conducted. Such was the origin of the far famed New Lebanon Convention, of which Dr Beecher seems entitled to the credit of having been the first projector, though the letters of invitation which were sent out, were signed by him and Mr Beman, as representatives, we suppose, of the two parties. It is but justice to Mr Nettleton to say, that he appears from the beginning to have been thoroughly convinced of the impolicy of this measure, and so expressed himself in a note declining the honor of a seat in the assembly; though he was afterwards'

* Christian Register for March 24, 1827.

induced, at the earnest entreaty of his Eastern friends, to wave his objections, and attend. His objections however are so honest and sensible, and have been so completely verified by the event, that the insertion of two or three of them is necessary to throw light on this part of the narrative.

'Those who convoke the convention are making too much noise, without any prospect of lessening the evils, and, consequently, will give the subject a new importance. I should greatly prefer a silent convention, on some public occasion like that of a commencement, where the views of brethren who differ may be privately discussed; and in case they should come to any important results, they might be published to the world; otherwise the public mind need not be disturbed.' Letters on

theNew Measures.'

p. 103.

'I fear that settled ministers at the East and South have not yet felt enough of the evils, to appreciate what has already been done; and that these ministers will be obliged to experience more of these evils, before they will take a decisive stand; and the sooner I withdraw, and leave the whole responsibility on them, the better.' Id. p. 103.

'Finally. To prevent misunderstanding, I am willing that my friends should attend, and do all in their power to prevent the evils feared. But I have no evidence that the principles on which these men acted are in the least altered. On the contrary, I shall be disappointed if they do not attempt to vindicate them, and justify all they have done.' Id. p. 104.

The Convention met at New Lebanon, in the State of New York, July 18, 1827, and consisted in all of nineteen members; and after a busy session of eight days, in which they accomplished nothing, literally nothing, they voted to dissolve, leaving a direction that an account of such of their proceedings as they were willing to divulge, should be published in the New York Observer. This curious document was inserted entire in our number for July and August, 1827, of the former series, and a few brief remarks were prefixed, which make it less necessary for us here to dwell on this striking and highly characteristic passage in the history of modern Orthodoxy. We cannot refrain, however, from giving an extract from the Letters of an English Traveller* on this subject; a work which

*This work, as might have been expected, has caused a strong sensation among the Revivalists, and called forth several criticisms, and among the rest a long and foolish review in the Spirit of the Pilgrims. There are but two charges brought against these Letters which deserve notice. It is said