fence, and assertion of all the doctrines, and especially of those metaphysical ones touching the will and grace; for which purpose his active mind, his learned education, and his Greek logic, made him pre-eminently fit.

June 7. 1830.

PRINCIPLES OF A REVIEW.-PARTY-
SPIRIT.

NOTWITHSTANDING what you say, I am persuaded that a review would amply succeed even now, which should be started upon a published code of principles, critical, moral, political, and religious; which should announce what sort of books it would review, namely, works of literature as contra-distinguished from all that offspring of the press, which in the present age supplies food for the craving caused by the extended ability of reading without any correspondent education of the mind, and which formerly was done by conversation, and which should

really give a fair account of what the author intended to do, and in his own words, if possible, and in addition, afford one or two fair specimens of the execution,-itself never descending for one moment to any personality. It should also be provided before the commencement with a dozen powerful articles upon fundamental topics to appear in succession. By such a plan, I raised the sale of the Morning Post from an inconsiderable number to 7000 a day, in the course of one year. You see the great reviewers are now ashamed of reviewing works in the old style, and have taken up essay writing instead. Hence arose such publications as the Literary Gazette, which are set up for the purpose not a useless one - of advertising new books of all sorts for the circulating libraries. A mean between the two extremes still remains to be taken. I profoundly revere Blanco White; his Doblado's Letters are exquisite; but his Review* was commenced

*The London Review, of which two numbers appeared in 1828, 1829.- Ed.

without a single apparent principle to direct it, and with the absurd disclaimer of certain public topics of discussion.

Party men always hate a slightly differing friend more than a downright enemy. I quite calculate on my being one day or other holden in worse repute by many Christians than the Unitarians and open infidels. It must be undergone by every one who loves the truth for its own sake beyond all other things.

Truth is a good dog; but beware of barking too close to the heels of an error, lest you get your brains kicked out.

June 10. 1830.

SOUTHEY'S LIFE OF BUNYAN. - LAUD. PURITANS AND CAVALIERS. PRESBY

TERIANS, INDEPENDENTS, AND BISHOPS.

SOUTHEY'S Life of Bunyan is beautiful. I wish he had illustrated that mood of mind

which exaggerates, and still more, mistakes, the inward depravation, as in Bunyan, Nelson, and others, by extracts from Baxter's Life of himself. What genuine superstition is exemplified in that bandying of texts and half texts, and demi-semi texts, just as memory happened to suggest them, or chance brought them before Bunyan's mind! His tract, entitled, "Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners *," is a study for a philosopher. Is it not, however, an historical error to call the Puritans dissenters? Before St. Bartholomew's day, they were essentially a part of the church, and had as determined opinions in favour of a church establishment as the bishops themselves.

Laud was not exactly a Papist, to be sure; but he was on the road with the church with him to a point, where declared popery would

* Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners, in a faithful Account of the Life and Death of John Bunyan, &c.

have been inevitable. A wise and vigorous Papist king would very soon, and very justifiably too, in that case, have effected a reconciliation between the churches of Rome and England, when the line of demarcation had become so very faint.

The faults of the Puritans were many; but surely their morality will, in general, bear comparison with that of the Cavaliers after the Restoration.

The Presbyterians hated the Independents much more than they did the bishops, which induced them to co-operate in effecting the Restoration.

The conduct of the bishops towards Charles, whilst at Breda, was wise and constitutional. They knew, however, that when. the forms of the constitution were once restored, all their power would revive again as of course.