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fhew you, whether you was converted by free-will, or by free-grace alone. To this he gave little or no reply.

At my coming away, I faid: "I am going to mention a circumftance, of no importance in itself, but of some confequence to your own reputation as a man of integrity. I should have deemed it no fort of blot, had I been, what you have rafhly reprefented me in print, a native of Ireland. Thoufands have been born in that country, whofe fhoes latchet I am unworthy to loofe. With regard to myfelf, however, your conjecture was a mistaken

If you doubt it, confult the register-book at Farnham, in Surrey. My fole motive, for fetting you right in fo infignificant a particular, is, that you may, for the time to come, be more cautious of publishing uncertain anecdotes.

He very civilly attended me down ftairs, to the Foundery door. As we paft through the preachingplace, 1 obferved, "This, I prefume, is looked upon as your cathedral." He anfwered, "We have lately had it repaired. We are not without thoughts of building it anew." "A good fcheme," faid I:"new doctrines deserve a new place."-"Our's," he rejoined, "are the true old doctrines." I added, "There

we differ; but let it be our mutual prayer, that we may experience the efficacy of God's word in our hearts, and evidence the power of it by the holiness of our lives." On which, we hook hands, and parted.

Upon the whole, this was a curious interview. To fay the truth, I am glad I faw Mr. Oliver: for he appears to be a perfon of ftronger fenfe and better behaviour, than I imagined. Had his underftanding been cultivated by a liberal education, I believe / he would have made fome figure in life.

What pleased me moft, was that appearance of honefty, by which he is fo greatly diftinguished from the old fox, Mr. John Wefley.-In perfon, he is VOL. VI. (31.)

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rather low of ftature, of a full make, pale and broad faced, and confiderably disfigured by the small-pox. His wig was fitter for a bishop, than for a fhoe

maker.

I am not without hope, that God will lead him into the way of truth. He is, I believe, extremely fincere; and the promise runs," them that are upright will he learn his way." Not that 1 fuppofe man's uprightness, or fincerity, is conditional of divine guidance; but where God has given fincerity, I look upon it as a token for good, and am in hopes of his graciously giving fomething more. As I told Mr. Oliver, in the courfe of our chat, "I have known as stubborn freewillers as he brought to lick the duft at God's footftool."

The Wednesday after this converfation, his curiofity led him to hear me preach at Black-friars. My text was, Matth. xii. 21. I thought I glimpsed him; but, being near-fighted, was not certain.However, left it fhould be he, I threw out fome things, in the courfe of my fermon, which I should not have mentioned, if I had not thought him prefent. A friend of mine, Mr. Flower, of Cannonftreet, happened to fit in the fame pew with him. When fermon was ended, Oliver turned to Mr. Flower, and faid, with much rancorous emotion, "Believe this, and be damned." Mr. Flower anfwered, "No, fir; believe this, and be faved." Mr. Flower himfelf was the perfon, from whom I afterwards learned this particular. He added, that, during fermon-time, Oliver was in fuch uneafiness and agitation, that he feemed hardly able to contain his rage. Poor, dear man, if God has a fet time for opening his eyes, the enmity of his freewill fhall not be able to feel him against the gofpel, when the fet time comes.

Another intimate friend of mine went, fhortly after, to hear Mr. Oliver preach at one of Wesley's meeting-houfes. The preacher had not forgot the penance

penance he underwent at Black-friars, in hearing a whole fermon on free grace and finished falvation. "I went," faid he to his auditory, "laft Wednef- 1 day morning, to a famous Antinomian Church in the city, to hear one of the Antinomian clergymen. I expected to have feen but very few people there. But, alas! though it was on a week-day, and a rainy morning, and though the Church is large, the Church was quite full. What a fhame is it, my brethren, that an Antinomian preacher fhould have fo many people to hear him, when I, who preached the pure gofpel, was forced, but now, to wait a confiderable time for my congregation; and, after waiting long, to begin to eighteen or twenty people! I never talked to you about election, and perfeverance, and imputed righteoufnefs. I never tell you, of a finished falvation. I preach the pure gofpel. And yet, how backward are you to hear it! You difcourage your minifters. I cannot omit one paffage in the fermon, which was as follows: "My brethren, if man's free-will is nothing, there can be no room for praise or blame. If I ftick a candle into this focket" (pointing to the fconce at or near the preaching defk)" am I to thank the fconce for receiving and holding the candle; nay, verily, for the focket, not being a free agent, cannot help admitting the candle that is thrust into it and it is the fame with man and grace, if grace be given irrefiftibly."

And fo fay I. Man is no more to be thanked, for the grace which is given him of God, than a fconce is to be thanked for the taper which it holds. But here lies the difference; man in regeneration, is made willing to receive grace, and made happy by receiving it, neither of which can be faid of Oliver's fconce.

I wish, my dear fir, you may not be as tired, with reading this long letter, as the enraged fhoemaker was with hearing what he calls my Antinomian fermon. I muft, however, do myfelf the justice

to fay, that I have not written fo prolix an epiftle, these many years; nor are there many perfons, in the three kingdoms, to whom I would have written a letter of half this length. I wish you would make retaliation, and revenge yourself in kind.

Every bleffing be with you and your's.

Auguftus Toplady.

LETTER

To Mrs. MACAULAY.

XXI.

Broad-Hembury, June 11, 1773.

DEIGN to accept my beft acknowledgements, madam, for your very obliging letter, which, you told me, awaited me in Devonshire; and which I, accordingly, found on my return. You do me infinitely too much honour, in condescending to folicit my opinion of the merits of your laft publication. But, as my judgement is afked, I will give it, without referve. I think its merits are unfpeakable, both as to fubítance and compofition. That fedulous attention to truth, that undeviating zeal for the rights of mankind, and that nervous refinement of thought, which fo eminently mark and adorn your character and writings, fhine, with full force, in your fifth volume. Be it fo, that your political theory is too fublimely virtuous, to be univerfally adopted by an age, of fuch a caft as the prefent; yet are you fecure of the affections and the admiration of the honeft and difcerning: who, though they have, in all periods of times, conftituted far the fmaller part of fociety; yet is their efteem of more

weight and value, than the difgraceful applause of the weak or the interested multitude.

As greatly, madam, as I revere your uncommon talents; and as fincerely as I regard your public and private virtues, there are two or three minutiæ, on which I refpectfully diffent. It is not, for instance, clear to me, that the levellers were a brave and virtuous party:" nor that Cromwell was fo utterly deftitute of confcience and principle, as, to you, he feems to have been. That he was a traitor to the liberties of his country, can admit of very little difpute. Yet can I perceive, in various features of his mental character, fome ftriking fymptoms of magnanimity and virtue, which leave me in fufpenfe, as to the total corruption of his heart. You, who have penetrated into the receffes of hiftory, with more attention than I have had opportunity of applying, and with far greater judgement than I am capable of exerting, may wonder, perhaps, at the freedom, with which I venture to mention any thing relative to a province fo peculiarly your own. But you

muft place the liberty, madam, which I have prefumed to take, to the account of your own condefcenfion, which commanded me to prefent you with my genuine thoughts.

I with my honoured friend may, in her turn, prove as obedient to my requeft, as I have to her command. If fo, you will not fail to re-vifit Devonshire, in the course of this fummer. My neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Northcote, long, impatiently, for the happinefs of enjoying your company again. And, for myfelf, I hope I need not affure you, that I reap too much pleafure and improvement from the privilege of your converfation, to be diftanced, in the defire of feeing you, by the warmest of your admirers. Though this is a fpecies of avarice, which I deem it an honour to avow; I have ftill another argument to urge, infinitely fuperior to any motive deduced from my own felf-intereft as an individual.

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