To Miss Farrington. Cogent hints on weighty matters. To Miss Farrington. A grave vindication of his sincerity; and a recapitulation of the qualities which, when united, constituted, in his acceptation, an agreeable woman. To Miss Farrington. Tenderly upbraids her silence, and relates the incident of having composed verses in a dream. To Miss Rebecca Roberts. Having been informed that ladies had resigned their claim to formal salutations on visits of ceremony, he advances some shrewd queries on the subject in general, and relates, as a casual incident, his introduction to Grace Freeman. To Miss Roberts. A secret!—reason and philosophy put to the rout. Tender and respectful. To Miss Freeman. Symptoms of anxiety, and a solemn appeal.' Such is the tempting bill of fare which Mr. Humphreys exposes to the reader; and those who feel particularly anxious to know how a young academic of twenty managed these matters' a hundred years ago, will purchase the volumes. The only matter for surprise is, how such letters came to be preserved. The ladies are not to be blamed. This portion of the correspondence, we are told, is printed from the Dr.'s short-hand copies, which were apparently taken from the originals, as soon as they were written, 'the Doctor having in some instances referred to this manu'script in corroboration of former statements.' As these letters are regularly numbered as well as dated, it would appear, that, at this period of his life, he scarcely transmitted a single line, a copy of which he did not preserve. Their being all contained in the same MS. book with letters of more permanent interest, and in a character not easily deciphered, will explain why, in after life, the Dr. did not commit to the flames these memorials of his tender friendships and unsuccessful courtships. He could not have entertained the suspicion that any member of his family, or any one who loved his memory, could be guilty of the gross indiscretion of exposing them to the world. Let every literary man henceforth take care how he leaves behind him any letters that may hereafter fall into the hands of some graceless descendant or mercenary autograph-hunter, since, in proportion as they are domestic, confidential, and unfit for the public eye, will be the inducement to print them. The circumstance, however, that these letters are printed from the Dr.'s short-hand, 'written so minutely as sometimes to require a lens to decipher it', very considerably lessens our confidence in the accuracy of the copies, and in the strict genuineness of the letters, as regards the turns of expression. The obscurities and ambiguities inevitably attaching to such a manuscript, must afford considerable scope for ingenuity of conjecture, if not for a discretionary use of the imagination in deciphering it; and there is no reason to suppose that, for the sake of rendering them more piquant, the fullest use would not be made of any latitude thus afforded. However this may be, the letters, though occasionally warm in their gallantry, could not easily be tortured, even by Mrs. Candour herself, into pruriency of meaning; nor do they in the least discredit the piety of the writer, of which other parts of the correspondence furnish some highly pleasing and instructive illustrations. Still, they exhibit an immature mind, an unformed character, the rawness of inexperience, without any scintillations of genius or wit; and though they ought not in fairness to detract any thing from Dr. Doddridge's reputation, the impression they leave on the reader is by no means that of increased veneration. They communicate no instruction; they furnish no illustration of character; and their publication is at once an insult to the dead, and an imposition upon the living. It is true, as above intimated, there are some few letters scattered through these two volumes, which are not altogether without interest; as the admirable letter to Miss Horseman (Vol. II., p. 386,) and some of those to Mr. Whittingham. It is sufficiently evident, however, that the Writer's theological opinions were by no means matured. We do not allude to the morbid dread of high orthodoxy' and 'bigotry', which is occasionally betrayed, indicating the school in which he had been trained, so much as to certain expressions and sentiments utterly irreconcileable with the divinity of his riper years. For example, in writing to Miss Jennings, Mr. Doddridge carries his complimentary strain so far as to say: 6 I am fully persuaded that you are daily addressing the throne of grace; and I hope that when you are mentioning your other friends, you do not entirely forget one, who prays for you as heartily as for his own soul. I question not but that so much innocence and so much goodness, is heard by Him with peculiar indulgence; and I hope I may in many respects be the better for your prayers.' Vol. II. p. 509. Of the state of his own feelings and attainments at this period of his life (A.D. 1727), the ingenuous confessions contained in the following extract from a letter to Mr. Saunders, furnish an instructive picture. I have this morning been humbling myself before God for the pride of my heart. It follows me whithersoever I go,-into my study, into the conversation of my friends, and, what is most dreadful of all, into the immediate presence of my Maker; of that God who is the fountain of all perfection, and from whose hands, I have received my all, and from whom I have deserved an aggravated condemnation. Such is the subtlety of this insinuating mischief, that I can recollect instances in which I have been proud of having exposed the deformity of pride with success, while perhaps it was only another instance of my degeneracy, to imagine that I had so succeeded! Why then must your complaisance add fuel to a fire, which I sometimes fear will burn up all my grace and my religion? How hard is it to keep Self in selfsubjection this you have taught me as well as man can teach it, but God alone can make the excellent lesson effectual. I cannot lay a scheme for the honour of my God, and the service of the world, but Self intrudes itself, and that sometimes to such a degree as to make me doubt whether the governing principle be not wrong, and whether many of my most valuable actions and designs be not splendida peccata. Alas, such is your "pious and excellent" friend !-You compliment me on the learning and accuracy of my views. How are you deceived! I have hardly looked into many of the most excellent treatises of the ancient and modern commentators, and have only dipped into some others so far as to see that there was a great deal that I was not capable of comprehending, at least without a long course of preparatory study! There is hardly a chapter in the Bible which does not puzzle me; nor, in short, any considerable subject of human inquiry in which I do not perceive both my ignorance and my weakness.-And this-is your Oracle! Were there any thing which could seem a just excuse for my vanity, it would indeed be, that you and some other such excellent persons profess not only to love, but to respect me; but I am persuaded, nay, I certainly know, it is only because a great portion of my ignorance and folly lies hid, otherwise you would all but pity or despise me! And when I consider your humility in admitting me to such an intimate friendship, and in thinking so honourably of me, I see the greater reason to be abashed at the reflection that I have learned no more of that amiable grace, with so bright an example before me, and in one whom I love so well, that it might be expected that I should imitate him with a peculiar pleasure. Let me beg your pity and your prayers; love me as well as you can! but pray that I may deserve your affection better; yet, whatever other imperfections attend my character, I am, with most sincere tenderness and grateful affection, Your Friend and Servant, PHILIP DODDRidge.' In a letter to Mrs. Hannah Clarke, occur the following pious remarks: We feel a very sensible concern when we have failed in any expression of tenderness and respect to human friends; but is there not an invisible friend, who deserves infinitely better of us both, than we do of each other, whose kindness ever attends upon us, yet whom, of all others, we are most ready to forget! Is not every day, and every moment, reminding us of his affection and care, by the rich variety of favours which surround us; and still has he not reason to complain that our hearts are estranged from him? Believe me, madam, when I think of my propensity to forget and offend my God, all the little instances of negligence with which others can charge me, are as nothing; and I am almost ashamed of that regret, which might otherwise appear reasonable and decent. And tell me freely, am I not opening a wound in your heart as well as in my own? I hope and believe that you find a more abiding sense of the Divine presence, and that the principles of holy gratitude and love govern more in your soul than in mine: but yet, is there not some room for complaint? We will not dwell on the question. It is much more important to consider how we may correct an irregularity of temper, which we are not so ignorant as not to perceive, or so stupid as not to lament. It is a long time that we have spent in thus blaming ourselves; let us then immediately endeavour to reform, lest our lamentations and acknowledgments serve only to render us so much the more criminal. I am well aware that this unhappy principle of forgetfulness to God is implanted so deeply in our degenerate hearts, that nothing but the Divine power is able to eradicate it: but, my dearest Clio, let us make the attempt, and let us see how far the Spirit of God will enable us to execute a resolution which he has inspired. We both know by experience,-I, by an experience too frequently repeated, the force of love!-and with what energy and rapidity it transports the mind to the dear object on whom it is engaged. Now I do really imagine, that, by the blessing of God on proper attempts, we might in a few days make it as natural, and as habitual to our thoughts, to centre themselves in God and a Redeemer, and in the important hopes of an Eternal Glory, as we ever found it to be with regard to that favourite creature whom our imagination had placed upon the throne of our affections, and with whom we had the agreeable prospect of spending our lives in the most endearing friendship. At least, let us not conclude the contrary, till we have tried the experiment with ardour; and can we say, that we have ever yet tried it? Can we say that we have ever maintained the resolution to exert our utmost command over our thoughts, so as to fix them upon divine objects for one single week! I have tried it for a day or two, with encouraging success, but never had the consistency to hold it out for a week! This evening, having concluded one quarter of the year, I have devoted part of it to the review of my own temper and conduct; and I find, that the numberless evils which have surrounded me, may be traced up to this unhappy source, a forgetfulness of God! I have therefore determined, by the Divine assistance, to attempt a reformation, by binding myself to a most resolute opposition against this ingratitude; and I communicate the resolution to you, madam, to engage the assistance of your prayers, and to recommend you to make a like attempt.' Our readers will judge, how far the publication of even these letters, can be productive of any very important advantage. Dr. Doddridge was a justly eminent man, whose talents and attainments commanded the respect, while his amiable and catholic spirit secured the warm esteem, of good men of all deno minations. His exemplary discharge of his public duties rendered him a model worthy of imitation. His Lectures and Family Expositor have procured him an extensive celebrity as an accomplished divine and Biblical critic; and his "Rise and Progress of Religion", has endeared his memory to thousands by its practical usefulness. In all these respects, his claims to be had in affectionate and grateful remembrance are too well established to be affected by this unworthy publication. It appears that Mr. Stedman had access to these very letters, when he published his selections from the Dr.'s correspondence; but his respect for his friend and for the public alike withheld him from printing any of the domestic letters.' Mr. Humphreys announces his intention to follow up these two volumes with we do not know how many more, transcribed from the remaining parts of the MS. document. We confess that our anticipations of the entertainment or instruction to be derived from them, are very moderate. We feel extremely reluctant to employ language that might seem to border on disparagement; but, threatened as we are with a further publication of the kind, we must be pardoned the observation, that no part of Dr. Doddridge's fame is derived from any peculiar elegance or nervousness of style, any brilliancy of genius, or commanding reach of thought. As a writer, he is not to be compared with Dr. Watts, to say nothing of Baxter and Howe and the theologians of the seventeenth century. Neither his criticisms nor his remarks display much originality, nor is he an expositor who can always be safely fol lowed. His Family Expositor has been of immense practical utility, in promoting very materially the study of Biblical criticism and the spirit of religious inquiry, as well as the profitable reading of the New Testament. But Dr. Doddridge's excessive candour and his educational bias have often led him to adopt criticisms of very doubtful propriety; and speaking for ourselves, we must say, that his judgement as a critic, has not seemed to us on a par with the respectability of his attainments. His lectures are an honourable monument of his literary industry and his liberal and philosophical spirit; although, against his mode of lecturing, there lie very serious objections; and it is a most painful reflection, how large a number of his pupils swerved from that faith which their venerated Tutor held, and taught, and adorned. Yet, his faults were allied to virtues. This excess of caution, while it might lead others to doubt, sprang not from indecision, but from unaffected modesty and humility. His indulgence towards error originated in no coldness of heart towards the truth, but in the tenderness and benignity of his temper. It would be absurd to speak of him as a great man in any usual sense of these words, but he was most emphatically a good man, and one who combined in a happy degree the saint and the |