Now, as to the public exercife of religious worship; although a certain measure of them is reasonable enough, and though the office by which we have our bread, obliges us to be often engaged in them; yet a truly moderate man, without renouncing his calling, has it in his power to pare off a great many fuperfluities with which the orthodox clergy are apt to overload religion, and render it unpalatable to the polite world.

Being members of church-judicatures, and, we hope, the majority in most of them, the moderate party can difcourage and stiffe all motions for extraordinary fafts or thanksgivings; which experience has taught us ferve only to promote idleness, and difcourage industry. Upon the day that Henry V. fought at Agincourt, a folemn faft was kept in England for his fuccefs; and fome hiftorians are pleased to say, that the prayers of the nation had some share in procuring the victory; but later hiftories have difproved this; and now it can be demonftrated upon paper, that a faft-day in Scotland lofes 50,000l. to the nation, while no body can make any calculation what it wins. For this reason, it was very refreshing to hear, as we did lately, that even in the most diflant and northerly corners of this country, there is a fet of clergy of an heroic fpirit, who are refolved to reform

their

their people, and beat them out of that unpolite and barbarous inclination, which many of them still retain, of hearing fermons.

With a view to the fame good end, we can curtail our business at home, both as to the number and length of our pulpit performances. In our own families, though it would not perhaps yet be convenient to imitate the beau monde fo very quickly, in difcarding the worship of God altogether; yet we may, by degrees, fometimes omit it, through hurry of business, at other times be dropping, now and then at least, some parts of it and in gentlemens families, take care to give discreet intimations that we do not incline to put them out of their ordinary way, or occafion the leaft interruption to the mirth of the company.

Sometimes indeed it may happen, by a coneurrence of circumstances, that one of us may, at bed time, be unequally yoked with an orthodox brother, who may propofe a little unfeafonable devotion between ourselves, before we lie down to fleep but there are twenty ways of throwing cold water upon such a motion; or, if it fhould be infifted upon, I could recommend a moderate way of complying with it, from the example of one of our friends, who, on a like occafion, yielded fo far, that he ftood up at the back of a chair, and faid, “O Lord, we thank

"thee for Mr. Bayle's Dictionary. Amen." This was fo far from fpoiling good company, that it contributed wonderfully to promote focial mirth, and fweetened the young men in a most agreeable manner for their reft.- Whatever is forced is unnatural, and ought to be avoided; and therefore, what the Puritan faid of square caps, wẹ may apply to many modes of devotion, "That " he would not wear them, because his head was round."

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The neceffity of fuch a conduct cannot be denied, when it is confidered what effect the length and frequency of public devotion has had in driving most of the fafhionable gentry from our churches altogether; and that even fuch of them as ftill vouchsafe their company fometimes, are yet driven away from the facrament of the Lord's fupper, where the fervice is expected to be more tedious and tiresome. Now, the only way to regain them to the church, is to accommodate the worship, as much as may be, to their tafte the manner of doing which is fo well known, that I will not spend time in explaining it.

I confefs there has been fometimes an ugly objection thrown up against this part of my argument, viz. That this defertion of public worship by thofe in high life, feems, in fact, to be contemporary with, and to increase, in a pretty exact proportion, to the attempts that have been,

and

and are made to fuit it to their taste. It is alJedged, that they are led to fuch a conduct, not by the dictates of their reason, but by the depravation of their hearts; and therefore make use of the behaviour of the clergy, as an excufe and juftification of their conduct. In answer to this objection, I fhall not pretend to fay what use gentlemen may fometimes make of our conduct, for I have known them often very prepofterous in their judgment, condemning others for what they freely indulge in themfelves, and no lefs unthankful, rendering evil for good. But ftill I say, there remains no strength in the objection to a man of moderate principles: for it plainly comes, much to the fame thing at last, whether the mountain comes to the mouse, or the mouse to the mountain. If I fhould meet a friend half-way, that had got at a distance from me, though he fhould not move a foot, I am fure we should be nearer one another, than if I had kept my place as well as he.

But whatever be in this, I must acknowledge, that to be conftantly whining and praying, looks fo extremely orthodox-like, that I cannot help conceiving a prejudice at it, for this very reason; and I doubt not but every moderate man, will have the very fame fellow-feeling. In truth, a great abundance of devotion has fuch a tendency to inflame one with zeal, that any man who would

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would maintain his moderation, had beft keep out of the reach of fuch infnaring influence. Befides, it has been an old remark, and I begin to fufpect there is fome ground for it, that let one embrace what fyftem of divinity he will, it is impoffible to pray but according to the orthodox fyftem. And whatever laudable pains had been taken, by fome of our friends, to avoid this inconvenience; yet, from what I have obferved, in the moft fuccefsful of them, I must own, I can at prefent fee no other remedy but to deal as little that way as poffible.

MAXIM VIII.

In church fettlements, which are the principal caufes that come before minifters for judgment, the only thing to be regarded is, who the patron and the great and noble heritors are for; the inclinations of the common people are to be utterly despised.

That this maxim is invariably observed by all moderate men is certain, and may be attested by all that ever were prefent at a General Affembly of this national church. The cafe is not now as formerly, when prefentations were held a grieva ance; for a presentation is "all in all" to a moderate man; and when there is no presentation, the greatness and nobility of the heritors upon

one