A SERMON ON UNIVERSAL CHARITY,

AND WHAT WAS THE FRUIT IT BORE.

BY G. DE LYS.

A SHORT discourse was preached, at the parish church of by a young clergyman, on the first Sunday after his appointment, at £40 a year, as curate to a canon residentiary who held that living, with other preferment. He had never before addressed any congregation. The parish contained several families of great respectability; which term must always be understood to signify wealth, and those other adjuncts akin to wealth, that not only place the possessors above all necessity of conforming themselves in any respect to each other's tastes, pursuits, and habits, but make them also in a great measure independent of other men's favourable opinion and good will; which the poorer and meaner sort must cultivate, according to the same law by which they cultivate the ground, with toil and sweat, as giving them a title to the creature comforts of life, nay, oftener still, the only means of supplying its

merest wants.

It was a very orderly parish. Rich and poor, all within it, were regular church-goers; for our young curate's predecessor had, throughout a long residence there, always punctually and zealously discharged his high duties. Faithful to his Great Master, he was a tender and generous friend to the poor, a stay and comforter to the sick and desolate, a kind and able counsellor to the conscience-stricken and the doubtful, and an active minister of peace among all. Therefore all in the parish were of his congregation. But, at his death, some differences of opinion on polemical matters, which had been restrained from outbreak by his healing doctrines and example, broke forth among the more respectable of the communicants into, to say the least of it, an intense and peremptory desire to ascertain what might be the controversial bias of the new pastor. And none doubted but that somewhat in that sort might be to be gathered or inferred from the inaugural discourse. And each was hopeful of discovering therein, as in a chart laid open before a practised eye, the indication of some

strong holding ground, some snug and land-locked cove of shelter, for his own small dark privateer craft of warlike controversy to cast its biting anchor in.

But in this expectation all were disappointed. Of High or Low Church tendency-of a leaning to the Arminian or to the Calvinistic side of the Articles-of a preference for Evangelical or Tractarian interpretation of the sense, natural or non-natural, wherein points of Faith are to be rightly understood-of all this nothing indeed could therein be found, how jealously soever sought for. Even as the visionary water-springs and palm groves which mock the dreary wayfarer of the desert with promise of some loved shadow for repose or sparkling draught to slake his burning thirst, but vanish in succession as they rise before his dazzled and craving hope, so would a faint glimpse sometimes present itself to Fancy, a dreamy picture in the far-off distance of some blest oasis of refreshingly exclusive doctrine, where the contentious and weary might rest and banquet; and, ever and anon, an eager impulse beat quick and strong in answer to an opening sentence, which seemed to promise much, yet passed away, leaving what was most looked and longed for more vague and doubtful even than before, All was of the simple Catholick doctrine of Him who set the little child in the midst, and said of such is the kingdom of Heaven;" who preferred the worship of the Publican, before that of the Pharisee; who calleth to the heavy laden to come to Him, and He will give them rest; and whose voice was heard upon the waters of Galilee, saying, "It is I-be not afraid."

The text was from the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles"But the greatest of these is Charity." And the discourse was of the nature and obligations of Universal Charity. It appeared to some to be a text singularly chosen for the occasion. For how could it apply itself to the subject of an appointment to a laborious curacy at £40 a-year? Nevertheless, all left the Church highly pleased with the discourse. Several expressed their approbation in letters sent by the next post to their friends. A letter of con

gratulation, lastly, was addressed to the young curate himself by his far distant Rector, to whose ears the intelligence had come as a flattering tribute of praise for his considerate goodness in having vouchsafed to the parish a curate, who had made such early display of powers and disposition to serve God and his flock. These letters we will give, in order, as they were communicated to us :

The first was from a single lady, of respectable independence

in the parish, of much and long experience, and whose judgment was much deferred to by a large body of correspondents of her own sex, age, and condition, on all subjects of religious and social propriety.

LETTER I.-FROM MISS JUDITH SHARPE, OF STONE COTTAGE, TO MRS. JUSTUS CRAMPTON, OF EDGE-ON-THE-SOWER, SOWERBY, YORKSHIRE. MY BELOVED Friend,

I haste, according to promise, to send you an account of our young curate's first sermon. I can truly say that, as far as it went, it was, both in manner and substance, all that even you or I could desire. I say, as far as it went. There were, doubtless, topicks omitted which we should, both of us, be inclined to think most desirable in the introductory effort of a person to whom the requirements of his flock naturally turn for satisfaction, if not for confirmation, on some points of belief as well as discipline,—you know what I mean-on which you and I have so often conversed in such happy agreement, but on which, unhappily, so many divisions are to be found within the pale of our church. On these points, I lament to say it, absolutely nothing could be inferred, even as to the preacher's own impressions. But we must hope for the best. Nor was there in his manner that tone of authority, that confidence of stewardship, one so much wishes to see, particularly in those whose ministry is among a congregation containing within it so many of the lower, and vulgar, and grossly ignorant sort, as in this parish. But this may come, and I trust will, with more use of the pulpit.

His text was, on the whole, not ill chosen. Paul, 1st. Corinth., Chap. XIII., verse 13. "But the greatest of these is Charity." A doctrine much needed amongst us here, Heaven knows, to be specially recommended in the largest and most Christian sense. He told us all boldly of our faults. I say us;-for you know, my dear, I don't pretend to be better than my neighbours. I do believe, I may say it of myself, without arrogance, that if there be one perfection whose importance I have ever more specially acknowledged or humbly striven for with a more hopeful zeal than any other of the perfections necessary to a Christian calling, it is this very one of Charity, in its widest and universal influence, knowing how imperfect we all are; the best of us. To you, I will say it, dear Mrs. Justus, (for with you I have no reserve), I do not remember having ever heard anything that set me more a-thinking—more

perhaps, I am ready to admit, than ever before-on this great subject. He took the Apostle's definitions in their order; enforcing each with so much modesty and good sense, but at the same time with an under-current of shrewd and searching illustration, capable of being as clearly and particularly applied as if he had known those he was addressing as long and thoroughly as I have, and as if he had said to A, B, and C, (who shall be nameless,) “I appeal now to your consciences against yourselves." It was very remarkable, this; and gives me a high opinion of his discernment. I leave it to you, my dear, to judge,-for you know this unhappy parish almost as well as I do. If you had but heard the dauntless and missionary tone in which he gave out these words, and commented upon them :-"Charity suffereth long, and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up!" Fancy now the squire's pew, which you know, with its scarlet lining and fringed cushions, just under the pulpit which he spoke from; and in that pew the squire himself, and those awfully spoilt children, whom one could so whip; and his odious wife, with her French polka pelisse sticking out there! "Puffed up indeed! I'll be bound the Corinthians never saw anything like that! And he, from whom hardly a civility, so much as a dinner at the Hall, or even a bow at the church-door must be expected -except, indeed, near election-time-and then to be sure he is condescending enough! And she, who from sheer envy

cannot see one's name down for an annual 21. to our Christian-Fellowship-according-to-Church-of-England-Discipline Day School, but she must needs top one with her ostentatious 57.! And then, "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil!" I could not but take one peep over the corner of my pew into the next pew to me,you know it, to see how this was borne by no less a person than that Mrs. Joab Pierce, the rich salesman's widow there, who can't speak two words together of intelligible English, and is one of the life-patronesses of our school, and certainly not behaving herself very seemly among her betters, with that show of artificial flowers at church on herself and her two big daughters, and their eternal eye-glasses, and bustling going into church, and bustling going out, whilst other people would be collecting their thoughts for pious meditation, and she, the most violent-tempered, censorious, poor thing of any I can name in this quarrelsome censorious neighbourhood. Never happy but when she thinks she is inflicting a wound.

I wonder how she felt. At all events I was glad, for her sake, to see she looked as if she would not forget it; and I warrant our young clergyman will be no favourite of her's for the lecture he read her. In short, as I said before, the sermon was a most valuable one; though I fear its doctrines have fallen sadly by the wayside, where they will be trampled on. I am bound in charity to hope not.

But I must now leave you, dearest Mrs. Justus-I must attend the Charity Day School. For it is my week. And I am the more bound to go, as that Mrs. J. P. happens to be my colleague as weekly visitor. And I would not be five minutes late. For I could not trust the school for one minute of the five to her sole management, and answer for the consequences of her unspeakable vulgarity, ignorance, bad temper, and bad judgment. So I break off. But, knowing you will rejoice with me in all I have so imperfectly said of this excellent sermon, I remain, my beloved friend, as ever,

Yours most affectionately,

J. SHARPE.

LETTER II.-FROM MRS. JOAB WARLY PIERCE TO THE REV. GRISLEY SKINNER, HARDEN TYTHES, FLINT. CANON RESIDENTIARY OF

0 REVEREND SIR,

You laid me under an obligation, so to speak, that I should write you, at earliest convenience, my candid opinion of our new minister, as his first effort might have give it me. I hasten to take this opportunity by due course of post so to do, beholden as I am to your expressed wishes, according to the best of my poor abilities. And excuse all faults. I should do the young gentleman an injustice, which I hope I never may be found to do an injustice to any fellow-creature, knowing of the same,-if I did not say he made a great impression on us all. Not but there was, I am free to acknowledge, a many particulars on which in this benighted parish I will have the boldness to think he might have denounced, much to our instruction and comfort; which he didn't. Not that I intend any amputation on the young gentleman, or would presume it. Though I have heard doctrine, Reverend Sir, from them as shall be nameless to you, that I much wished might have borne fruit to edification and sound controversy on this favourable occasion. But, from beginning to end, though often led to hope he might have give us something on the points I have so often listened to with