ianism," by the late Andrew Fuller, the conclusion of which is deserving the attention of that sect.

The Scotch Baptists, in many respects, bear, a resemblance to the Sandemanians; but the difference between them is accurately drawn by Mr. William Jones, in his "Memoirs of Archibald M'Clean," prefixed to his Sermons. His biographer has paid a merited tribute of respect to his memory.

HUTCHINSONIANS.

Hutchinsonians, the followers of John Hutchinson, born in Yorkshire, 1674, and who, in the early part of his life, served the Duke of Somerset in the capacity of steward. The Hebrew scriptures, he says, comprise a perfect system of natural philosophy, theology, and religion. In opposition to Dr. Woodward's "Natural History of the Earth," Mr. Hutchinson, in 1724, published the first part of his curious book, called "Moses principia.' Its second part was presented to the public in 1727, which contains, as he apprehends, the principles of the scripture philosophy, which are a plenum and the air. So high an opinion did he entertain of the Hebrew language, that he thought the Almighty must have employed it to communicate every species of knowledge, and that accordingly every species of knowledge is to be found in the Old Testament. Of his mode of philosophising, the following specimen is brought forward to the reader's attention: "The air (he supposes) exists in three conditions, fire, light, and spirit: the two latter are the finer and grosser parts of the air in motion; from the earth to the sun, the air is finer and finer till it becomes pure light near the confines of the sun, and fire in the orb of the sun, or solar focus. From the earth towards the circumference of this system, in which he includes the fixed stars, the air becomes grosser and grosser till it becomes stagnant, in which condition it is at the utmost verge of this system, from whence (in his opinion) the expression of outer darkness, and black

ness of darkness, used in the New Testament, seems to be taken."

The followers of Mr. Hutchinson are numerous, and among others the Rev. Mr. Romaine, Lord Duncan Forbes, of Culloden, and the late amiable Dr. Horne, Bishop of Norwich, who published an Abstract of Mr. Hutchinson's writings. See also the Preface to Bishop Horne's Life, second edition, by William Jones. They have never formed themselves into any distinct church or society.

SHAKERS.

An American gentlemen (into whose hands the Sketch was put by a worthy relative of mine) presented me with a volume, whence I have obtained certain interesting particulars respecting the Shakers. In the United States it is denominated the Shaker's Bible, because it contains a full account of their faith and practice. Their is reason to believe that it is the only copy that has reached this country. The accounts of the Shakers hitherto published on this side the water are very defective. The statement given in the Sketch is the only accurate delineation of this eccentric class of the Christian world.

The volume is closely printed, containing six hundred and sixty-six pages! It is entitled, "The Testimony of Christ's Second Appearing, containing a general statement of all Things pertaining to the Faith and Practice of the Church of God in this latter Day. Published by order of the Ministry in union with the Church. Second edition, corrected and improved. Printed at Albany, 1810." The Preface is dated, "Lebanon, Miami Country, State of Ohio." The work is neatly written, but fraught with a spirit of mystical obscurity. The characteristic opinions of the sect are wrapt up in a kind of technical phraseology, incomprehensible to plain understandings. It is remarked in the Preface, "As the unlearned cannot comprehend the learning of the learned, unless they are taught

by those that are learned, so neither can the learned or unlearned comprehend the work of God, unless they are taught by those who are in it." After an avowal of this sentiment, I expected to find some things hard to be understood, and there was no disappointment. Their history of Anti-christ is intellibible enough, drawn from Mosheim, Lardner, and Robinson's "Ecclesiastical Researches," ," which they pronounce "a very valuable production." I am happy to say, that their volume breathes and abhorrence of every kind of persecution. They reject marriage, alleging, that "in the resurrection there is neither marriage nor giving in marriage;" that is, on their conversion, or spiritual resurrection, they observe the strictest celibacy! Their shaking is founded on the Prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, where the coming of the Desire of the Messiah is to be accompanied by the shaking of the nations! Hence the appellation by which they are distinguished.

It is pleasing to observe, that there is in these Shakers a love of good works, and a strain of fervent, though misguided piety. It is an unfortunate circumstance that a sect rejecting marriage should take up its abode in the United States of America-a large outline which wants filling up, and where population is one of its greatest blessings!

The Shakers are a compound of almost all the other sects. They are a kind of religious Eclectics-with this commendable trait, that they are enemies to every sort of coercion in matters of religion. They have chosen what appeared to them to be good out of every denomination, but there may be reason to question the soundness of their judgment. Never before was there a people so singularly characterized-so unnaturally embodied. Warmth of feeling has been known to ascend in devotion, and sink into sensuality; but here are a people who profess such a height of spiritual-mindedness, that they renounce the common passions of our nature. They sanction the entire separation of the sexes, a practice which, were it universally followed, would convert the world into a desert! Their religion is a kind of Upas tree, which suffers noth

ing to vegetate within its circumference. But I must check my pen-it is my province to state "things as they are," not to reason upon them.

Be it remembered, that the Shakers unite with the Quakers in an entire submission to the spirit, and in the rejection of baptism and the Lord's Supper: with the Calvinists and Methodists in laying great stress on conversion; with the Arminians in rejecting election and reprobation, as well as the imputation of Adam's guilt to his. posterity; with the Unitarians in exploding a Trinity of three persons in one God, together with the satisfaction of Christ; with the Roman Catholics in contending for the continuation of miracles in the church; with the Sandemanians in practising a sort of community of goods, and having no persons regularly educated for the ministry; with the followers of Joanna Southcott in believing that a woman is the instrument to bring on the glory of the latter day; with the Moravians and Methodists in encouraging missionary undertakings; with the Swedenborgians in denying the resurrection of the body, and asserting that the day of judgment is past; with the Jumpers in dancing and shouting during divine worship; and lastly, with the Universalists, in renouncing the eternity of hell torments! Such a mysterious compound the skill of the moral chemist cannot easily analyse. But to this heterogeneous mass they have added a tenet hitherto unthought of, unacknowledged by any body of Christians. The Catholics, indeed, led the way in enjoining the celibacy of the clergy, and in the institution of monachism. It was left to the Shakers to perfect this unnatural scheme, by altogether rejecting marriage, and thus expose it to the derision of the world !*

The account I have given of this most singular of all sects is replete with instruction, for it teaches the professors of Christianity this most important lesson, that in no instance they should give up the use of reason in matters of religion, and on no occasion, conceiving themselves to be the favourites of heaven, should they be found deficient in the exercise of universal gospel charity.

DUNKERS, OR TUNKERS.

So called from a German term, implying, their baptizing by immersion, a practice prevalent amongst them.

Conrad Peysal, a German Baptist, was the founder of the Dunkers about 1724, who, weary of the world, retired to an agreeable solitude, within fifty miles of Philadelphia, that he might give himself up to contemplation. Curiosity brought several of his countrymen to visit his retreat, and by degrees his pious, simple, and peaceable manners induced others to settle near him. They formed a little colony of German Baptists, which they call Euphrata, or Euprates, in allusion to the Hebrews, who used to sing psalms on the border of that river. This little city forms a triangle, the outsides of which are bordered with mulberry and apple trees, planted with great regularity. In the middle is a very large orchard, and between the orchard and these ranges of trees are houses built of wood, three stories high, where every Dunker is left to enjoy the pleasures of his meditations without disturbance. Their number in 1777 did not exceed five hundred, but since that period they have increased. They do not foolishly renounce marriage, but when married they detach themselves from the rest, and retire into another part of the country. The Dunkers lament the fall of Adam, but deny the imputation of his sin to posterity. They use trine immersion (dipping three times) in baptism, and use laying on of hands when the baptized are received into the church. They dress like Dominican friars, shaving neither head nor beard; have different apartments for the sexes, and live chiefly on roots and vegetables, except at their love-feast, when they eat mutton. It is said no bed is allowed them, except in case of sickness, having in their separate cells a bench to lie upon, and a block of wood for their pillow! They deny the eternity of future punishment-believe that the dead have the gospel preached to them by our Saviour, and that the souls of the just are employed to preach the gospel to those who have had no revelation in this life.