was founded on it, to which allusion will hereafter be made. Lord B. found the passage, and we read the solemn declaration, "That unless a man is con verted, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."

I then said, "If your lordship will give me the bible, I will shew you the authority for the other point, indicating the necessity of prayer with a humble heart to enable any one to comprehend the truths of the Gospel." I then read to him part of the first chapter of the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, and part of the second, in which it is expressly declared that the cross of Christ is to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness. "God has confounded the wisdom of the wise, by means of the things which are low and foolish; no human wisdom can spiritually discern the truths of the Gospel; man must lay aside his own pride and wisdom, and submit to be taught by the Spirit of God. We can know nothing of God, nor his ways, except as he teaches us; we must not come forward with our own notions, to sit in judgment on what he reveals; and if he has revealed to us any part of his will, he demands from us that to which he is entitled; the submission which a child should pay to the instructions of a parent, and those who do not this, will

never understand his will; while, on the contrary, whoever does it, and prays for strength to God, will, for the same reason, be taught it. With respect to the other point-Since we are born, from the fall of our first parents, with affections and inclinations contrary to the will of God, and grow up in indulging those to a greater or less extent in defiance of his precepts, threats, and warnings, it follows that a change of heart and affections is equally necessary, before we can be disposed to obey the will of God, or take the smallest pleasure in doing it. Hence every one, whatever be his rank, must undergo this change, which is a thing as certain as any fact within the circle of human knowledge, supported by authority and reason; however much it has been ridiculed by many, in consequence of the epithets which have been applied to this change, namely, new birth, regeneration, conversion, and new light."

"Of the wickedness and depravity of human nature, I have no doubt," said Lord B.; "I have seen too much of it in all classes of society; and under the mask of politeness and patriotism I have found so much vileness and villany, that no one, except those who have witnessed it, can have any conception of; but these doctrines, which you mention, lead us back into all the difficulties of original sin, and to the stories in the Old Testament, which many who call themselves Christians reject. Bishop Watson, if I mistake not, rejected, or did not value the bible; the Waldenses, according to Gibbon, rejected it as being a mere history of the Jews, and you will acknowledge that these were good Christians; and the history of the creation and the fall is, by many doctors of the Church, believed to be a mythos, or at least an allegory. Nay, your favourite author, Scott, does not venture to say that it was the devil who spoke to Eve by means of the serpent."

I replied, "that I was sorry to say that much of what he had advanced was true. Whether or not Dr. Watson undervalued the bible, I did not know; if he did, it was evident, that he was not a real Christian, for the Old and New Testament must stand or fall together. I knew also that many of the German divines, some of them professors of divinity in the colleges, had professed their belief, that the history of these things was a fable or an allegory; but," I said, "this proves nothing, for we well know, that many of these men are Socinians, or deists in disguise, and the truth or falsehood of the thing cannot be decided on their authority. If your lordship had ever seen Dr. Moses Stewart's work, the Professor of Theology in Andover College, in America, on the Socinian controversy, which is at present under discussion in America, you would see some specimens of German divinity, which would astonish you, and shew you in what light you are to receive the authority of the German divines! I do not remember distinctly what Gibbon says of the Waldenses, as it is some time since I looked at him; but if he says they disbelieved the Scriptures, he must found his statement on the authority of the Roman Catholics against them; for the calumnies against this poor oppressed people were so many and great, that St. Bernard, who appears to have been a pious man, was led sincerely to believe them a set of heretics, and to wish for their conversion and suppression; though we know now from the most unexceptionable documents, that these poor people maintained the doctrines of Christianity in all their soundness and simplicity. With respect to Mr. Scott, your lordship must have cursorily observed what he says; for he has no doubt on the subject, and states, that the whole scope of Scripture, as well as particular passages, point out that it was the Devil; and you must have been misled by some faint recollection of his refuting Dr. Adam Clark, who entertains the idea, that the serpent was formerly a beautiful ape; an idea so fantastic, that it affords ground for ridicule and unbelief to those who cannot separate the errors of professing Christians from the clearness and truth of the Christian revelation."

Lord B. arose from the sofa, and went to a side-table to look at Gibbon, and we spent some time in talking about this insidious enemy of Christianity. The statement was found as his lordship had affirmed, but I pointed out that his authority was that of the church of Rome, the persecuting enemy of these poor Christians, and I said that Jones in his history had so completely settled the claim of these poor people to be considered as the true church of Christ, and the forerunners of the reformation, that Christians of all denominations agreed on the subject. In speaking of Gibbon, I admitted his claim as an eminent historian and fine writer, but I pointed out his gross want of candour and fairness in matters relating to Christianity; and I expressed wonder that any one should quote his authority on the subject, when he is known to be a cowardly and underhand enemy, injuring it, as far as he can, by hints and insinua