Camden gazette. (Camden, S.C.) 1816-1818, March 21, 1818, Image 2
II&ligious Intelliuknc*.
Extract of a letter to a gentleman in
the city of JWic-York, dated
Westminster, Mag 17, 1817.
" Little (lid you aiul I think, when
we attended the tirst meeting of the
Missionary Society, that it would
have been the fruitful parent of so
rfianv Imviiig for their
tingle, but glorious design, to illu
minate the understanding of ofor fel
low creatures. We have jfcst con
cluded our yearly jubilee. Tj^e
month of May has at present higher
claims to bur praise than the charm
ing scenes of nature which are now
develop^dj and the nierry makings
tif thoughtless youngsters It is now
a month of religious enj6yibent, to
which tiie mind looks (orward with
i l'li ? ? ? a * ? >? . i
feeling and a glory about the grand
meetings of the Missionary ancl Bi
ble Societies; which must be witnes
sed to be understood. We have
been tins year peculiarly favored : a
luminary has appeared among us
that has eclipsed all his forerunners*
It seems a prognostic of remarkable
events in the religious world, that
the Lord has raised up a man, who
is pre-eminently fitted 1 6 vindicate his
cause, and to promote among all
rariks.the knowledge of his gospel.
44 Dr. Cii\LMER6, one of the pro
fessors in the University of Glasgow,
was, in early life, an Infidel ; biit,
no sooner did it please Ood to reveal
his 3on in him titan, like the Apos
tle Paul, he began " to preach that
faith which once hd destroyed ;w and
brfcgiug a great mass of human
learning into the field, the armies of
the aliad are touted befdre Hlxh ? he
commences a bold attack on the for
tresses of infidelity, and their walls
ct arable into dust before Mnl< He
has particularly bent his mitid to
consider the evidence of Christianity,
and has very lately, published a book
eatitled ,( A Review of tile evidence
Astron
omy |w which has met with so ra
pid a crtll*, that h went through four
tfdftioti* befoifc it wiis heard of in
London, and though ontv a small
octavo volume, JW booksellers in
London liavi jnat agreed to give
him Jbwt thousand pound* for the
copyrights 'V
? This truly great man boa beeh
brought to Lnndoh to preach one of
the Missionary Sermons, and has
created a sensation beyond whatl ev
er before witnessed. You know Sur
ry chapel? on the Wednesday morni
iug, thinking that my privilege as a
minister would procure me a seat if
I went early, I go t t^the chapel at
9 o'clock, an hour and a half before
the pfevera began toberead; but, in
stead# getting ,a comfortable plsce
hi the first or second Ufow of seats,
which outoMa o?vwasav%' awro
priated fexelusively to ?ml?*r/l
found the chapel quit* full, and
thought myself extremely happy to
squeeze lust within the door of the
the gallery,' where 1 stood with a
column of people prtxming me both
bel'ore autf tekmd for five hour a.
?"Dr. Chalmers has nothing to re
commend him as a preacher, out the
Intrinsic^ worth of thU matter, lie
y a small, pale man, with a feeble
indifferent voice, and a Scotch & ac
cent His text was t Co*. 14, 9S,
tt> ?9 i tbe chief drift of his argu
ment was to prove that the conver
sion of a sinner did not depend on
the weight of rationat evidence
brought before him, but rested alto
gether, upon the agency of the Holy
Spirit brining tbe man to compare
his conscience with the declaration of
God's wotd, whereupon " thf secret*
qf hi a heart are made manifest and
Jolting down on hie face, hetcitl tror
ahip Gvd and rejiort that God it in
yon of a truth.
" From' U?e confusion of so crowd
ed an assembly, it- was difficult to
hear him at first ; hut siu'.r a most lu
minous introduction, he came to the.
first grand period of his argument ;
Tim congregation went electrified ;
1 never witnessed such emotions be
fore. While he |>nu-<ed to take hi-.
breath exclamations of surprise were '
heard around. ? * Astonishing ! I ,
never heard a Scrfncn Before "! Ad- .
mirable beyond imagination ! " Such ;
were the universal expressions Of de
light aud surprise. It I was to tell
you tlie expressions 1 made use of,
when I came out, you wouM think
them truly extravagant Remem
her, that this universal admiration is
n6t the applause of an ignorant ruul
titude ; it is the general feeling of as
large and well informed an assembly
of diviaes, as perhaps, ever before
met together.
" Tills Sermon was an introduc
tion to the popularity, justly deser
ved, but of a degree beyond what I
have ever before witnessed. All
ranks and degrees of men are . crowd
ing to hear him. ? Ministers of State;
Members of Parliament; the Lord
Mayor; Aldermen of the City and
many Clergymen ; fearless of Queen
JBcss's Laws against non-conformity,
crowd to bear Oh Chalmers, lie
pleached last Sunday morning at the
Scots church, London all, and at
three in the afternoon at the large new
church in Swallow street, formerly
Dr. Trotter's ; and, altho' it had ndt
i been published, the throng was so
great by two c? dock , that tffey dared
not opeq the doors) but thfc place was
filled chiefly through the }'e*try
window ; and it was thought neces
sary for Dr. Nicholl and other minis
ters to harangue die people out At the
windows intreatingiliem notto attempt
- tti press in* c* there w*s not. room
for one person mure even to stand
the gallaries; ,-and thousand Went
away without obtaing admission.?
The carriages thronged the street,
as if they had been goiug to the Tbe
i atre*
" When 1 consider iheearnastness
of his delivery, & the mefrsfibtelcut
of his afgtiraents, he reminds trie of
Apollo*, " who mightily convinced
the Jews, And that publickly, prov
ing from the Scripture# that Jesus
was the Christ*^ The minds of men
cure irresistibly directed to religion
the most prejudiced & wofdly mind
ed fe?l constrained td inquire into the
doctrines of the gospgl, and, if a pe
culiar measure of divide power do
not speedily follow, it Will to me be
more extraordinary than these cir
cumstances themselves. , The Lord
will ha^en it in his time.
" I hope Dr. Chalmers book, as
well as bia Missionary Sermon,
soon be re-printed and widely circu
lated in Amcrica.'* y
ORATORY OF UJt. CHALMERS
In the Dum trie* courier of theUthof
December last, we find the following
extract from the last number of Black
woodV Magazine. How exalted
mnat Or. Chalmers be in the estima
tion of all who believe that the Ini
mitable character liere given of turn
is correct " ** A* Y. Ga%>
-i In every step of his progress he
seems to dissolve by the touch of his
magic wand that stony sleep of le*
tliafgy in which some noble feelings
of natuft had for a season been en
tranced. He gives tf? no new argu
ments, no iHew images, but he scat
ters the vivid rays of poetic dperulor,
over those which by the very fre
quency of repetition, have ceased to
have any power either upott* our *ea-'
son or our fancy. We a Aoi kfet in a
vague maze of wonder, bow &
, should happen thai all these things
seemed so trivial to us be^r o? how
arguments so convincing should have
appeared weak, or images so appalK
ing sheotd* have passed tamely add
f dimly before our eyes.
It arises not from the weakness,
but the will of Cl?almers, that he
very seldom keeps us long at the
summit of this elevation, lie seems
to be insensible that the splendors
- which be has revealed to us arc either
new or dfezzling. His genius re
> gar da the universe as its birthright^
and lie hat no undue partiality for
tlie richer and moire magnificent re- j
gions of his domain. W itli the same j
overpowering sweep of , skill, be i
brings us at once from the heaven
to the earth, and from the earth to j
the heaven, and, however majestio
may have been his elevation, he has
not the air of feeling any degradation
from Iris descent. He compels u*,
indeed to follow his foots teps into the
basest texts of mortality, and lav#
open the infirmities, tlie frailties, a nd
the vileneia of <>nr Jiaiurc% uilli the
keen indignation of a Juvenal; no
less willingly than he has io tiftiued
and {unified our spirits with the an
gclic enthusiasm of a Milton. But
there is diffused over ilie humblest of
his representations a redeeming breath
of christian sublimity, a thousand
times more ennobRnc; tlian all tl>e
stern and unbending dignities of the
Porch. He does not like the philo
sophers of old, Cmfine all grandeur
to amtemplatioo? be clothes with,
majesty die most common offices of
life> and teaches that tiie meanest of
his hearers may exert, in the bosom,
of his family, and in the manly j per
severance of painful labor, virtues
more lofty and divine than were ever
called up by the pure spirit of the
Stagy rite, or ever floated upOu the
mystical and foreboding dreams oi
> Plato. These are things which fill
the walls of his church w itn crowds 1
tlte most mingled, yet the most har
monious, that were" ever collected
together for social enjoyment or for
social 'good. It is this makes the
wise and the great come to have their
sou la led like infants* i>v the liberal
band of his genius, and make the
l>our man and th4 ignorant steal from
the precious mouieuts of his week
day toil, that lua spirit may be sus
tained aud kindled by tne inspiring
voice of C uanncrs. He is not tne preach
cr of aay ooc class : be fa lac t ummo.) ora- ,
tor of man. :
W ere our hearts, indeed, as dead and asv
cpid as monumental marble* tney couid <
hot tail to vyttipattiise with such a preach*
er. He has giveri up hissoul to the luil
sway of Jus emotion*^ 4and he summons
from the depths of a convulsed spirit things
more awful, as well as moreHovety, uian
couid ever be dreiuicU by the ordinary
mind ot man. \> e need only to look
on i.im to see ttfat his heart is bursting
with thfcdCiuge of his zeal. His counten
ance glares with the feelinga o([ umittewfc
ble things : his Voice quivers, and his limV
?'* . . . i ? ?
a^ony of inspiration. ,
It ha*, we know, been said by tome,
that Charmer* has in his noble agronomi
cal discourses^ all along com batted a
phantom, and that tl?o*e ocjecti??ns o the
ti'Utn ol Christianity nave never been^ rais
ed, which it \i their- object to overthrow.
On thiinrfcry at count are lib discourse* in
valuable. The objectibns which he com
bats are not to much the ciear, distinct, and
decided averments of infidelity, a^tivcy are
the confused* gUmcring, and clb?uibiiH?
tears and apprehensions of noble souls Ite
wildered among the boundless rafcgnift
cer.ce of the universe. ^
Scotch pulpit. ? It fell to our lotto
witness the brilliant, atiecting, aud
admirably eloquent discourse of ? our
greut preacher the ilev. lir, Chal*
mors : several passages p? whk n
were spoked with sucn fervour, ch
' ergy aud p*tho6as have probably ne
ver been suri>a?sed if they have $v-l
er been eoualed in mocjjirn time*,
in particular when he Jointed the
death of theli>v?ty suiterer, and
sculptured ?ut w ith such fidelity to
nature, the bklt* and (Isolate con
ditioa of her surviviug husband, eve
Cjreye pished with tears.
|\ in the course of a long sermon he
was led to discuss some political
questions with a firmer tone of in
dependence than lie baa used sinqfc>
he tame to GIju^ow. He severely
reprimanded those who Complied
with the solemnities of the court
While they neglected the ordinance*
of Christianity. He signified the
strongest disapprobation towards
those creatures,?! ministers whose
servility was ready 00 revery doca
sion ; and who, provided peace and
obedience were maintained hy the
poor, were altogether reeklessof their
! temporal or eternal happiness. He
gave it as his opinion tlmt if ever a
revolution should occur in the Coun
try* could only be ascribed to these
" Whippers in to Administration."
f III the last division of his discourse
he enforced the arguments of the
.JSdlnborgh Review, concerning the
- nixessety of new churches ; and
'sfefltifiiied' SO as the uumber requi
?hhI for Glasgow.
' Ulafifow CTuoniotc.* ?
i fim: arts.
American 'Gtr]!ery tf 1'ortruii*.--;
Among the j>etitioiii5 presented in tLo
I House of Representatives on Tues
oae**f Jv3-ph Ji ia pt&hie,
I ofVhfthdelphin, asking the aid of
I C'oScrv%| to enable him to establish
I in this cuy a Gallery of Portraits t?f -
I distinguished Americans. I lis (ia.1
I lerY, commenced at Philadelphia, al
I ready consists of nearly two hun
I dred portraits, and is daily increas
I ing. Such a coUectiou could never
I have beer, made, if liot now, because
I some of the i>orti-aits are of those who
I have already departed from among
f ?V and of others who are too re
I mote, or loo near the grave^to sit for
I their Portraits again. We consider
I such a collection an object of nation
J al importance^ and should be glad to
| nee it, under the 4 ausptcies of the
I government, tainsplanted tb Wash- .
I ingtort, and receiving sucli pattonage
I as it is io the power of Congress to
I bestow. Whatever tends to cher
I isli the principles of the He volution,
I and of'flbse who have, during that
I period, and since, t distinguished
J .themselves by pre-feinuient ability
] ilbd conduct; V ought to be en
I con raged and supported, as the ail*.
1 meat of a pure national feeling?7~?f
I the#hnpression of lliis convictiotf on
I the mind of the National'' ' Legisla
1 hire, we have had, a decisive proof
I in the act directing the Executive to
I employ Colonel TtgnbUfl to v
I four pictuies of striking events of the
I Revolution, ft* the decoration of tifh^
1 Capital, Mil |ii iifeably thap qrcoiff
Lftarice, together with the recommeii
faation of tiiose public uien who have
I been his collection, that has induced
I M\\ Delaplaine to make the present
I application to Cengp-esiij with tSan
| guine hopes of success.
.From thr A. Y. Daily MvrrtUct.
Literary Notice* ? (i Mob lloip-^
s AVe have had opportunity hastily to
look over this long expected and sin
gular work; and We truly say it
Is a very entertairiui;* |tnvauction.
That it is uniformly a? ihrich $6 as
the story of* ? Old Mortality " in
<? '/W^s "f njLj/ Landlord, " may per
haps, be ilbubted. . But, take K to
.getiier, U dttka not discredit the ge
nius qnd talents of the unknown au
thor. Many things arc admirable ?
son|p uot irife??dr ,to higher
?? wrought passages in the moat eleva
ted Epic* towns. For Jfeciwfcf -m> *
curacy, mul flfc,of dcfetrpUott we
oousider this extraordinary novelist
to lie unrivalled in this department of
Ittttature. Theiefla, aW in Rob
Hoy, a good portion of that singu
uu tmmor iuI characteristic descrip
.ion, which u no tvhere so wett at
Uined as in the Scottish dialect.?
Vv e give the following account of. the
execution, by the order ufRob Rov'k
wife, of a man who. had betn left
Hi * hostage for Ins safety, after in
telligence h:ul reached lie? that lie
nad I teen taken i>riaouer by the toy
ul troop* utider the dofce ?f Argyle.
" It m impossible, to describe the
acorn, the loathing and contempt w ith
r winch he Wife of M'6rrtf>r [Bdk
K03 ) regarded thfc wretched petition- .
er tor the poor botn of existence. ^
" k cotiifi Ud you live," she said,
M had H k been to you the stfme yiti
ry and wartting- tmrthen that it hi <0
u)?v- hHt lb every noM^ and
genotou* irinrtP'JW !
you eouhl crei^p tbrovrgb thfc world
uuafiWted by ill vatfott disgrace*,
Its meiRibie miseries ft* constantly
acuminating massed bf crime and'
sorrow? -you rouH live and enioy
. yourself, white the noble minded
are I#t?ay6<?*'*wbile nameless and
birthless tflhurt* tread pn the neck of
the brave ami the long descended?1
you could enjoy yourself, UM ??
; butcher tr^og in the shambles, batten
ing on gArbage, w hile the slaughter
or the brave went on aronnd ynto I
' This enjoymerit you *hatt iwt live'
to partake of ; you Khali die, btae
dog, and that l>efore yon cloud Han
passed over the sini."
i u Khe gave a brief rotnmnnd in
Gaelic to her attendants, t\4o ??f
whom seizftci upon the prostrate sup
pliant, a ml hurried him to the brink
' of a ehd' vv hi* 1j overhung the flood.