ceed in their applications; and too many, in consequence of this obstacle, have sought the facility of public worship in Dissenting Chapels; not because they were dissatisfied with the service of the Established Church, or the manner in which it was performed, or with the doctrine and ability of the preacher, but solely because they had no opportunity of fulfilling their sabbath duty in their own parochial church for want of room. We do not know a more striking instance of this, than what the parish of St. Mary, Newington Butts, presents. The church is filled, even to overflow, every Sunday; and yet not more than one fourth of its population can be accommodated. The rector is in every respect unexceptionable, both in talent and pastoral faithfulnesss. He is beloved by his flock; and if his church were four times as large as it is, it would he fully occupied. To such a man, we are convinced, it must be the greatest mortification he can experience, to feel that he cannot meet the devout anxieties of the major part of his parishioners; and to know, also, that the larger portion of this majority, who are neither dissenters by principle nor inclination, are induced, by their unwillingness to absent themselves from public worship, to frequent the Dissenting Chapels in the neighbourhood. And it is a fact which we have also observed, that these chaples aud conJenticles are always found to be most numerous in every parish of which the population is the largest, and the church the most inadequate to contain it. We would, however, express our earnest hope, that when this difficulty shall be removed, and able ministers be appointed to officiate in the churches which are about to be erected, this involuntary secession will no longer be a cause of complaint, either to the flock or the shepherd; and that those who have so withdrawn themselves from the worship of the national church will gladly return to the faith of their forefathers, and to the regularly appointed guardians of their spiritual in sity itself was urged in strong terms in the Prince Regent's speech on the opening of the last session of Parliament, and the arrangement was made known to the House of Commons in a luminous speech and well digested plan, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Monday, the 10th of March last. la this communication, Mr. Vansittart acknowledged having received much valuable information from the very useful publication of Dr. Yates, and recommended the perusal of it to every gentleman who might wish to turn his attention to the subject, as containing accurate abstracts of the returns of the Privy Council, and other valuable documents, besides his own striking and useful observations." 66 The Right Hon. Gentleman followed up his speech by moving a resolution, that his Majesty might be enabled to direct Exchequer bills to the amount not exceeding one million, to be issued to Commissioners, to be by them advanced under certain regulations and restrictions, towards building and promoting the building of additional churches and chapels in England."-The resolution was passed and the sum specified voted; and although we are well aware that the subject had been for some time under the consideration of the ministry, and that nothing but the difficulties with which the State had to struggle, and the expensive wars in which it had been involved, had occasioned a delay in their bringing it before the House, still we must regard Dr. Yates as the chief originator of the question, and to his perspicuous digest of all its circumstances, his incontrovertible arguments, and the practicable nature of the plan that he proposed, we are confident we may fairly attribute the more immediate adoption of the design. And if but half the beneficial results ensue from it, which, without being too sanguine in our expectations, we are convinced we may anticipate, the name of Dr. Yates will stand high in the records of our Sion among those who are entitled to the gratitude and reverence of all who "love the Courts of our God," and “ worship him in the beauty of holiness." Besides these two memorable letters, Dr. Yates published, in the year 1805, The Monastic Remains of the Town and Abbey of St. Edmund's Bury, in one volume, 4to.-a work of much antiquarian remark and literary merit, and * B is the only complete account extant of the venerable remains of that celebrated monastery. In 1807, he preached the Anniversary Sermon of the Royal Humane Society, in St. Anne's Church, Westminster. This was printed by the Society, according to their usual custom; and is a discourse which breathes the purest sentiments of Christian love. 66 In 1813, the Doctor published a Visitation Sermon preached in the Parishchurch of Halstead, in Essex, on the 2d of June in the same year, before the Reverend George Owen Cambridge, M.A. Archdeacon of Middlesex, and the Clergy of the Deanery of Hedingham. -In this excellent discourse, which was printed at the request of his Reverend Auditors, the author has entered into a very interesting discussion of the Work of an Evangelist"-and among many very sensible and judicious observations, conveyed in a terse and energetic style, the following strikes us as too coincident with the substance of this Memoir not to be quoted. We should have gladly added farther extracts from this truly evangelical sermon, would the space of our pages usually allotted to the Memoir have allowed of the extension. : The Reverend Author, after enumerating the detached excellencies of our Liturgy, goes on to observe, that "The Evangelical instruction which the admirable and comprehensive Liturgy of the Church of England thus provides, by its justness of interpretation, propriety of diction, and scriptural sublimity, is fitted to satisfy the understanding, gratify the taste, and elevate the devotion of the learned and superior orders of society and considered as a luminous illustration and practical commentary on the Sacred Scriptures, is also peculiarly adapted to the wants of the poor and illiterate, by far the most numerous classes of mankind; and those classes, that in the most polished nations of antiquity were held in a state of the grossest ignorance; aud in some of them, of an abject personal slavery. But the Spirit of the Lord anointed the Saviour of mankind to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.* Luke iv. 18. "The Church of England, in conformity to the beneficent example of the author of our salvation, invites and exhorts ALL to a participation of gos pel knowledge; hath opened the doors of God's house to every human being, and hath accommodated the public instructions to the circumstances of that most numerous part of mankind, which was equally despised and neglected by the priests and the philoso phers of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. "We find, by a gratifying experience, that many of the poorest and most illiterate members of our Church, from a regular attendance upon the public service, with attentive and teach able dispositions, are better informed upon all the useful points of religion ;have juster notions of the perfections of the Deity,-of the propriety of worship that is due to him,-of the consequences of our present conduct,→→→→ and of the final destination of man,than were possessed by the wise and learned before the publication and establishment of Christianity. "This fact, which may, I am firmly persuaded, be substantiated by instances in every parish in these realms, satisfactorily proves that the Church of Eng. land, in its public and established liturgy, performs, in a most beneficial manner, the work of an Evangelist;" and that those only can be ignorant of the gospel doctrines and the gospel duties, who neglect or refuse to attend the public service of our church." We believe that the foregoing are the only works which the Reverend Doctor has hitherto given to the world; but we are anxious to express our hope, that he will not withhold from the pub. lic eye many of those Discourses which have rivetted the attention of his congregation at the Chapel of the Philan thropic. We have now only to place before our readers a short succession of dates, as they graduate the progress of Dr. Yates from his first entrance into life to his present station in his sacred profession. He was born at St. Edmund's Bury, in July 1769.-To this natal notifica. tion we cannot resist the impulse which we feel, from our own knowledge, of the filial reverence with which he ever regarded his most respectable father, to insert the following passage of tender reminiscence from the Preface to his History of Bury Abbey. "A residence of thirty-seven years within the walls of the Abbey, and a love of antiquarian enquiries, had rendered these awful ruins peculiarly interesting to him and he employed the few leisure intervals, which indefatigable exertions in discharge of his more important duties allowed, in forming an illustrative collection, which he was very desirous of having further extended. To gratify the wishes of an indulgent father was, therefore, the first occasion of undertaking this work, and adds another attestation to the numerous instances of the frailty of earthly hope. When it was far advanced in preparation for the press, the omnipotent Disposer of all Events was pleased to summon him to the reward of his piety and virtues, and his children to the solemn duty of following his mortal remains to an early grave. Those who, like me, have suffered so sudden and so irreparable a loss, and those who notice with sympathy the sigh of duteous sensibility, will readily pardon the sorrow of a son for intruding itself upon these pages, and joining in those public testimonies of respect that were its greatest consolation." Dr. Yates received his education at Bury school and at the early age of fifteen, entered upon the laborions employment of teacher at Linton school, in Cambridgeshire. This employ he left in 1789, for another of the same nature at the Grammar School of Chelmsford, in Essex, while under the successive direction of the late Rev. T. Naylor and the present respectable master, the Rev. T. Roberts. In 1792, be resided in Hammersmith in the same capacity. In September 1796, he was ordained Deacon by the Lord Bishop of Salisbury, and preached his first sermon as Curate of Chelsea Hospital on the 2d of October 1796. In January of the following year, he was ordained Priest by the Lord Bishop of Winchester; and in March 1798, he was appointed ChapJain of the above Hospital. From this time we find him wholly employed in the duties of his profes sion, and assisting in the conduct of various public charities. In the latter appropriation of his valuable services, he became one of the Committee, and Secretary of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb-an office which he has filled with the most unwearied attention, greatly to the advantage of the Institution and to his own credit. In the early part of his ministry, the Doctor laid the foundation for that high repute as a Preacher which he has maintained throughout in the public estimation-He has ever been esteemed in the best sense of the term "a Popu lar Preacher." By intrinsic merit both in his matter and manner, and above all by the spirituality of his ministra tion, he has given dignity to a denomi nation which is more frequently attached to the mere personal qualifi catious of a factitious oratory, than to that faithful earnestness, and those theological acquirements, which Dr. Yates possesses in an eminent degree. The acceptability of his talents as a Preacher placed him in the pulpits of Portman, Percy, and Green-street Chapels, where he was heard by crowded congregations, with a just apprecia tion of the acquisition they enjoyed. In May 1904, he was instituted to the rectory of Ashen. In the followyear ing, he took the degree of Bachelor in Divinity at Cambridge, from which he has now proceeded D.D. In the same year, he was elected one of the Treasurers of the Literary Fund; and in 1806, was chosen Alternate Preacher to the Philanthropic Society. In this situation he still continues, and, as far as any employ of this nature can be rendered pastoral, he has succeeded in making it so. And here we cannot omit to congratulate the frequenters of this Chapel, and the beneficent supporters of this Establishment, which may be truly designated as the Refuge of Mercy and Reform, upon their possession of two Preachers, in the subject of this Memoir and his worthy coadjutor the Rev. J. Jackman, than whom no two individuals among the whole Ministry of the Church of England could be found better calculated for the spiritual office which they hold; nor will it, we trust, be deemed an intrusive remark, if we add also, that in no place of our Church-Worship can the Liturgy be delivered with more impressive seriousness, and with more accuracy of judgment, than it is, we will not say read, but prayed (as we presume to think it always ought to be), by the Reverend W. Pace, the Reader. Indeed, the whole service is performed with so much effective attention to its holy importance, as may well be expected to impress upon the hearts of its hearers every spiritual conviction that can conciliate them to a generous support of the philanthropic views of the Institution, and to a willing adoption of the moral principles of Chris. tianity, as they are enjoined in the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST for the sanctification and peace of mankind. We now close this imperfect sketch of the professional life of a Clergyman of our National Church, whose principal aim in taking upon himself the minis terial office he has proved by his conduct to have been an ardent desire to render himself useful to his fellowcreatures, a faithful labourer in the vineyard of his Divine Master, and to preserve throughout his ministra tion 66 eas mensuras quas nobis per Legislatorem lex spiritualis enunciat."* If, as the learned Verulam has written, "praise is the reflection of virtue," we would conclude that it is impossible to speak of virtuous examples without commendation; and, as we as much contemn the language of adulation as the humble minded individual can pos sibly do its application to himself, whom we have taken upon us to introduce to our readers in this memoir, we would be understood as having "spoken the truth in love;" and as having traced the character of a faithful and wise steward" of the Christian household in the outline of an exemplar, which, in our consciences, we feel to be correct. To have done otherwise would have been to depart from biographical impartiality. Thus satisfied with the justice of our motive, we conclude by expressing our unfeigned wishes, that the church of our country may long reap the benefit of his able and sincere services; and that those consolations of pure and undefiled religion, which, with so much unwearied diligence, he strives to make the blessing of those who be long to his spiritual charge, may be the joy and recompense of a life well spent. and a ministry faithfully fulfilled; until a death full of peace and hope, shall consecrate his mortal labours to the possession of a happy immortality! W. Here lieth the body of Betty Bowden, In Kingsbridge church-yard, on a man who was too poor to be buried with his rich relations in the church. Here iie I at the chancel door; The following was put on the gravestoue of a tragedian at his desireExit Burbridge. Hear lies body of Steevin Richman, dyed the 11th of Apr 11, 85. and the skies On Sir Philip Sidney; England hath his body, for she it fed ; The Arts have his fame, The Souldier his grief, The World his good name. In Stoke-Fleming Church. Devon, by Doctor Wolcot, alias Peter Pindar : In Memory of Margaret Southcotte, who died the 27th of August, 1786, aged 12 years and 9 months. Beneath this stone, in sweet repose, The friend of all, a fair one lies; Far hence let Pity pour her sighs. To call thee to a world of cares. From this dark scene removed to shine And virtue waits to welcome thine. An ill-natured critic wrote the following under these beautiful lines: Can a Southcotte be said to deserve all the EXTRACTS FROM A LAWYER'S residents in the neighbourhood, sup. PORTFOLIO. (Continued from Vol. LXXIII. page 478.) IT plied us with a pocket Virgil, and, as the newest guest, my chance had precedence. I opened the oracular my finger on this remarkable line of the Georgics, "Some days are fortunate-the fifth beware!" we of these memoirs, that my affairs sometimes called me to the Isle of Man. One of those unforeseen combinations of events which we are pleased to call chance carried me thither at that period of the year which Manxmen still distinThe company amused themselves with guish by a few of their ancient supersti- a few constrained jests, and prolonged tions. Then begin the operations of a the conversation till day-break, more certain familiar spirit, whose nightly through fear of retiring into solitude labours in the flower garden or field and darkness, than from the spirit of are repaid by a piece of silver depo- conviviality. If the Virgilian oracle sited on the threshold. I arrived on had made any impression on my mind, May eve, and found the good farmer it was effaced next day by my host's at whose house my stay was expected, clamorous complaints that he had lost a full of preparation for the mock battle silver ewer of rare antiquity, which his between summer and winter usually dame had persuaded him to lend the exhibited on the next morn. Lawyers May-damsels for the embellishment of are not celebrated for their readiness to their pole. Such an article, in a spot partake such pastoral and amicable com- like the Isle of Man, was not likely to bats; but there is a tradition extant be sold or converted into bullion withwhich ascribes to the may-pole the out detection, and the farmer was ad. dignity of a wand of justice, and in- vised to employ his strictest enquiries forms us that courts of law once assem- on the coast, from whence the felon bled round it. Perhaps this tradition would probably convey it. I went with gave new zest to the curiosity with him to the sea port town of Ramsey, which I awoke to attend the festival where we found opportunities to view of milk-maids and farmers' boys loaded the crews and consult the captains of with garlands and mock silver cups. several vessels, in one of which The latter were too often filled and noticed a man whose apparel was sinemptied to allow much order in the gularly loose and ill-suited. It would procession; but the mirthful carols and have been more accurate to have said, grotesque dances of the Manx girls drew I alone noticed this sailor, for I feared a train of spectators, including my ho to call my angry and revengeful compa nest old host, with all his family and nion's attention towards him, and he guests The day ended as convivially soon disappeared. The owner of the as it had begun; but as twelve hours' lost ewer returned home in a churlish unceasing exertion must exhaust the humour, having found no clue to guide best animal spirits, ours gradually sunk his search, and I availed myself gladly from clamorous jests into sad tales of an invitation to visit the deemster, of witchcraft, dreams, and omens. If whose distant residence would remove the Isle of Man deserves to be called me beyond the litigious farmer's reach. the heaven of lawyers, it is also the Like many discerning men, whose cirparadise of prophetesses and soothsayers. cumstances have secluded them in a The charming enchantress described by narrow circle, the deemster had exa modern bard must have visited it pended the vigour of his mind on ab. to form her garland of dreams. We struse and occult sciences. lle bewere all probably under the influence lieved in necromancy, and had stored of this enchantress, for every one of his library with all the judicial exathe company bad some striking dream minations of witches recorded by French or mysterious presentiment to relate. lawyers, to the disgrace of the sixteenth Our narratives suggested a proposal to century. I was too much fatigued in try that mode of divinaton called the body, and too incredulous in mind, to Sortes Virgilianæ, and celebrated in listen without many hints at the latemany authentic anecdotes of eminent ness of the hour, which the deemster seemed very unwilling to understand, and at length asked me, in a lowered tone, if I had ever read Burton's men. A young Gascon, who obtained bread by teaching a little French to the daughters of some fashionable Europ. Mag. Vol. LXXIV. July 1818. C |