"Our universities are the faithful depositaries of the prejudices of the middle ages; our teachers, doctors of the tenth century; beardless noviciates instruct us in the sublime mysteries of our faith; mendicant friars in the profound secrets of philosophy; while barbarous monks explain the nice distinctions of metaphysics; who goes into our streets without meeting cofradias (religious assemblies) processions, or rosaries; without hearing the shrill voice of eunuchs, the braying of sacristans, the confused sound of sacred music, entertaining and instructing the devout with compositions so exalted, and imagery so romantic, that devotion itself is forced into a smile? In the corners of our squares, at the doors of our houses, the mysterious truths of our religion are commented on by blind beggars to the discordant accompaniment of an untuned guitar; our walls are papered with records of authentic miracles,' compared to which, the Metamorphoses of Ovid are natural and credible. very abundantly in Spain, the author ish writer of the day, explains the mysneed hardly have told us. Mr. Bow- tery: ring attributes the disinclination on the part of the more enlightened clergy to aid in any system of religious reform, to motives of personal interest: the present profession of faith is a source of great profit, and long habit has induced them to regard it as beneficial to their flocks. "Would they look round them," says this eloquent writer, "they might see the melancholy effects which superstition and intolerance produced on their hapless country. What is Seville-the once renowned Seville, with its hundred and twenty-five churches and convents? The very shrine of ignorance. It was there that the Spanish charter was trampled under foot amidst ten thousand shouts of Live the Ling and Inquisition.'-'Perish the constitution! Or Cordova,so long the cradle of the arts, the favourite seat of retiring wisdom? It is become the chosen abode of vice and barbarism! How many a town and city once illustrious, has sunk into nothingness! what remains of their ancient glory? The ruins of palaces, of fabrics, of storehouses and dwellings: and undilapidated churches, and monasteries, and hospitals, outliving the misery of which they have been the cause! At every step one finds in Spain enough to excite the most melancholy recollections. I went to Alcala de Henares to visit the house in which Cervantes was born. (If I had undertaken a pilgrimage I could not have repaid the enjoyment, the delight I have received from the works of this wonderful genius.) It had been destroyed, that a herd of friars might enlarge their kitchen-garden! I enquired for the MSS. of Ximenes Cisneros: they had been cut up for sky-rockets to celebrate the arrival of some worthless grandee!" We think with Mr. B. that the statesmen and philosophers of Spain have a right to look for some benefits from the immense influence of the clergy, and their no less gigantic power of doing good; but the following picture, which he quotes from a popular Span 666 "And ignorance has been the parent, not of superstition alone, but of incredulity and infidelity. The Bible, the argument and evidence of our Christian faith, has been shamefully abandoned, or cautiously buried beneath piles of decretals, formularies, puerile meditations, and fabulous histories. Monkish influence has given to the dreams and deliriums of foolish women, or crafty men, the authority of revealed truth. Our friars have pretended to repair, with their rotten and barbarous scaffolding, the eternal edifice of the gospel. They have twisted and tortured the moral law into a thousand monstrous forms, to suit their passion and their interests. They have dared to obscure with their artful commentaries the beautiful simplicity of the word of God. They have darkened the plainest truths of revelation, and on the hallowed charter of Christian liberty they have even erected the altar of civil despotism. We have indeed much religion, but no Christian charity; we hurry with our pecuniary offerings to advance some pious work, but we do not scruple to defraud our fellow-men. We confess every month, but our vices last us our lives. We insist (almost exclusively) on the name of Christians, while our conduct is worse than that of infidels. In one concluding word, we fear the dark dungeon of the Inquisition, but not the awful-the tremendous tribunal of God!'"*—The author adds: "This is the representation of a Spaniard. Tho' the colouring is high, it is a copy from nature; and the shades might have been heightened had he witnessed the conduct of numbers of the monastic orders during the late convulsions of Spain." 66 Those members of the church who had apostatized on the return of Ferdinand, men who, after having exalted the constitution to the skies, and told the people they should think no sacrifice too great for its preservation, became the most irascible enemies of the patriots, when the profits and preferments held out by the restored monarch were before their eyes, are very justly apostrophised by the author, who is no less ardent in his tribute of applause and admiration, to the exiled and persecuted friends of their country. It is," says he, "consolatory to turn from the profligacy and vice so often prominent amidst extraordinary political revolutions, to the spirit of truth and liberty which they always elicit : and Spain has had a most triumphant list of patriots. Their names must not be recorded.... How wretched that country where no meed of applause may follow the track of talent and virtue-where knowledge and the love of freedom are pursued and persecuted as if they were curses and crime! Otherwise, with what delight should I speak of some who, buried in the obscurity of the cloister, or retiring into solitude from the noisy crowd, sigh in secret and silence over the wretched fate of the land of their birth, their admirable powers of body and mind fettered and frozen by the hand of despotism! All around them is slavery and igno The above passages are translated from a small tract called" Pan y Tores," attributed to Jovellanos. rance; to them remain alone the joy of holding converse with the wise and the good of departed time, and the ecstatic hope that their country will one day ́ burst from its death-like slumbers, and spring forth into liberty, and life, and light."-Mr. Bowring, like many others, foretold what has come to pass. He tells those illustrious exiles, the martyrs of truth and freedom, to take heart, for a brighter and better day is about to dawn on Spain, without perhaps imagining that the emancipation of his friends was so near at hand. "A correct idea," This well-written and entertaining essay concludes with some very pertinents remarks on the state of Spanish literature, and those causes which have so powerfully operated against its progress of late years. he observes, " of the state of learning in Spain, might be formed from the general decline of the public colegios and universities, and the almost universal ignorance of those to whom the important business of education is entrusted. At Alcala de Henares, where there were formerly four or five thousand students, there are now less than three hundred, and the number is yearly declining. A similar decay may be observed elsewhere." That a change of some sort became absolutely necessary, might be proved by many other facts relative to the deplorable state of Spain, as connected with its civil polity, commerce, &c. in addition to those brought forward by Mr. Bowring. For by one of those fatalities which has led to the wellknown adage of-Quem deas vult perdere, prius dementat being applied so frequently to Ferdinand, since his restoration by a British army, he has been sedulously occupied, amongst other things, in shackling our commercial intercourse with Spain, and laying duties on imported articles, particularly our staples, cottons, and cloths, which amounted to a prohibition. Such is the return this country has been destined to receive from more than one European crowned head, whose existence was due to our generous sacrifices! I TAKE From the Monthly Magazine, May, 1820. ACCOUNT OF THE RANTERS. CAMP-MEETINGS. A large religious meeting, in the open air, and the first in England which bore the title of a Cump-Meeting, was held upon Mow,* on Sunday, May 31, 1807. It commenced about six o'clock in the morning, and continued without intermission till about half past eight in the evening. It began with one preaching-stand ouly; but three more were afterwards erected. preachings were intermingled with a diversity of pious exercises; such as singing, prayer, exhortations, speaking experience, relating anecdotes, &c. The up my pen to transmit ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH some account of the new Society of Methodists, denominated Ranters.Whether they are called Ranters, from any similarity they bear to the sect of Ranters that arose in 1645, who taught that they were come to restore the true church, ministry and ordinances, which they asserted were lost; or whether they are so denominated from their preaching and praying in the open air, and the general rant and noise of their assemblies, I am not able to ascertain. They are, in fact, methodists, and I do not learn that they differ at all in doctrine from the great sect of Wesleyan methodists. They seem, however, During a great part of the day, to think that the old methodists, on ac- the scene was interesting; a compacount of their great popularity and pat- ny wrestling in prayer ;-four preachronage, have in some measure deviated ers delivering the word of life;from the original spirit of methodism, thousands listening ;-tears flowing; and drunk in too much of the spirit, sinners trembling;-saints rejoicing. and conformed too much to the cus- Such was the first of the English Camp toms and practice of the world in their Meetings. religious concerns. The Ranters seem not to admire the modern polish of Methodism, the grandeur of its edifices, the splendour of its ordinances, the improved elocution and decent solemnity of its ministry, the comparative stillness of its worship, and the general order and decorum of its assemblies. They seem to think religion cannot well exist without noise, and bustle, and ferment, and that it consists of much more than quietly believing in Christ, and doing justly, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Their aim seems to be to revive the pains, and throes, and labours, and agitations, and horrid tremblings, and tumultuous joys which characterized methodism at her birth!! However I may disapprove of the extravagance of the Ranters, I would be last to misrepresent them, or their opinions. They shall now therefore, speak for themselves. They call their meetings Camp-Meetings; the following account of which is extracted from their hymn book: "A day's praying upon Mow," began first to be talked of in the year 1801. The thought rose simply from a zeal for praying, which had sprung up in that neighbourhood.-From the year 1802 to 1807, various accounts of the American camp meetings were published. These accounts strengthened the cause, and fanned the flame: and in the mean time, L. Dow, a native of America, preached in England, and gave some account of these meetings. He drew some attention to the subject, but never had a thought of attempting a camp-meeting in England; and when he left England, he had no thought of such a thing taking place. In 1807, by a peculiar direction of Providence, a camp meeting took place as above; and two more published to be held the same year. These were strangely opposed, and as wonderfully supported, and camp-meetings gained an establishment. fordshire and Cheshire; and about five miles distant Mow is a large mountain running between Staffrom the Staffordshire potteries. As matter of history perhaps, the following doggrel lines, taken from the Ranter's hymn book, may be admitted into your journal as illustrative of the spirit and doctrine of these religionists. CAMP-MEETING HYMN. When the Redeemer of mankind Thus proud men camp-meetings withstand, Tho' hirelings cry they must be stopp'd, The Lord a glorious work begun, Across the sea it flies; This work is now to us come near, The little cloud increases still, It spreads along the plain : Tho' men attempt to stop its course, And proves their efforts vain. Sinners at first an uproar made, Yet still these simple souls rejoice, They preach, exhort, and sweetly sing, And sound the Saviour's name. Some of these men are meanly drest, Their labours with success are crown'd, They preach and pray with all their might, Both seets and parties fall; Some of the old Methodists appear to dread the spread of Ranterism, as likely to be injurious to their cause, on account of its cheapness, it requiring much less subscription to support plain Ranterism, than adorned Methodism. A very intelligent Methodist seriously expressed this idea to me, saying, "He feared those who had little to spend, and those who wished to spend but little would prefer Ranterism on the score of economy, and that Methodism would be thereby retarded in its aspiration after universal empire." Thus far had I written, when a respectable periodical publication, (The Monthly Repository,) coming to hand, I was agreeably surprised to find it contained some account of the Ranters. The account there given, corroborates in general the above statement; but a few additional particulars I shall transcribe. The constitution of the Ranter's Society, is evidently intended to shame the hierarchy of the Wesleyan Methodists. It is declared, that "all members of the connection shall have equal rights, according to the station they fill in the church." The affairs of each circuit are managed by a quarter board, consisting of preachers, leaders, stewards, and delegates. These circuit boards are subordinate to the annual meeting, which is composed of two lay delegates and one preacher from each circuit. Those who long for a cheap religion, will surely at length be satisfied. The salary of an unmarried travelling preacher, is fixed at four pounds per quarter, together with board and lodging. For the maintenance of himself and his family, a married preacher is allowed fourteen shillings per week, and one shilling per week for one child, under the age of eight years. He is prohibited from carrying on any business, or from selling any goods or medicines. If, however, his wife be disposed to participate in the duties of the ministery, she is allowed to act as a travelling preacher, and is paid two pounds per quarter for her services. Why the female preacher should be stinted to half the allowance made to the male does not appear. Th love of minute regulation, is exemplified in the Ranters' minutes, by some whimsical questions, such as, "What shall be done in case of a travelling preacher's marrying?" "What shall the travelling preachers do in case of sickness?"" In what dress shall the travelling preachers appear in public?" The answer to this deserves insertion : "In a plain one; the men to wear single-breasted coats, single-breasted waistcoats, and their hair in its natural form; and not to be allowed to wear pantaloons, trowsers, nor white hats; and that our female preachers be patterns of plainness in all their dress." It appears that the circuits are four, of which the head quarters are, Tunstall, Nottingham, Loughborough, and Hull: In the Hull circuit, there are eighteen preachers and ten exhorters, whose exertions are extended to nearly thirty places, some of them above forty miles distant from Hull. The Ranters' Society, altogether, appears rapidly on the increase; these people are particularly distinguished by their ad op. tion of merry song tunes in their psal mody, for it is a maxim with them, that the devil shall no longer exclusive. ly possess all the most lively and most enchanting tunes. Indeed their psalmody in general is not calculated for serious tunes. I really was painfully amused by hearing them sing the following, Is there any body here that wants salvation? Glory be to God who rules on high. I am willing to endure the sneers of the unbeliever, when I assert it as my settled opinion, that any religion that inculcates belief in a God, and a future state of rewards and punishments, especially on Christian grounds, is better than no religion at all; yet I must acknowledge it is painful to reflect on the wanderings of the human intellect, on the subject of religion. It is important to distinguish between religion and superstition. Superstition is frantic, riotous, tumultuous, censorious, uncharitable. Religion is calm, sober, peaceful, orderly, and charitable. J. PLATTS. Doncaster, April 1. 1820. ON THE LIVING NOVELISTS. From the New Monthly Magazine. 66 THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY." "Here are we in a bright and breathing world." WE Wordsworth. E esteem the noble productions which the great novelist of Scotland has poured forth with startling speed from his rich treasury, not only as multiplying the sources of delight to thousands, but as shedding the most genial influences on the taste and feeling of the people. These, with their fresh spirit of health, have counteracted the workings of that blasting spell by which the genius of Lord Byron once threatened strangely to fascinate and debase the vast multitude of English readers. Men, seduced by their noble poet, had began to pay homage to mere energy, to regard virtue as low and mean compared with lofty crime, and to think that high passion carried in itself a justification for its most fearful excesses. He inspired them with a feeling of diseased curiosity to know the secrets of dark bosoms, while he opened his own perturbed spirit to their gaze. His works, and those imported from Germany, tended to give to our imagination an introspective cast, to perplex it with metaphysical subtleties, and to render our poetry" sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought." The genius of our country was thus in danger of being perverted from its purest uses to become the minister of vain philosophy, and the anatomist of polluted na tures. "The author of Waverley," (as he delights to be stiled) has gently weaned it from its idols, and restored to it its warm youthful blood and human |