ceeds theirs, he deems himself amply entitled to overreach or to plunder them. The deplorable and signal examples of commercial dishonesty, with which the last few years have made us familiar, indicate perhaps as much a defective commercial system as a blameable moral practice. But when we have made this admission, what heights and what depths of wickedness remain! Now we may talk as we choose of the thousand things that tempt a worldly soul to grow suddenly rich in these days, even at the expense of honour. The matter is supposed to be all explained when the long catalogue of those temptations has been given. But if manliness and probity were not held so cheap, myriad of temptations would have just as little influence as one. And why are manliness and probity held so cheap? Simply because the independent character of Morality is not acknowledged, not revered.-The Critic.

PROGRESSIVE CHANGE INEVITABLE.-There is nothing so revolutionary, because there is nothing so unnatural, and so convulsive to society, as the strain to keep things fixed, when all the world is, by the very law of its creation, in eternal progress; and the cause of all the evils of the world may be traced to that natural, but most deadly, error of human indolence and corruption, that our business is to preserve, and not to improve. It is the ruin of us all alike, individuals, schools, and nations. . . . . One would think that people who talk against change were literally, as well as metaphorically, blind, and did not see that everything in themselves, and around them, is changing every hour, by the necessary laws of its being. -Dr. Arnold.

THE COMFORTER.

(From the German of Novalis.)

WHO in his chamber sitteth lonely
And weepeth, heavy bitter tears,
While robed in hues of sadness only,

The outward world around appears;

Who on the dream of days departed
Gazeth, as on some deep abyss
To which down draws him, aching-hearted,
An agony of mournful bliss ;

For that a universe of treasures

He sees below, for him up-piled,

The depths with breathless longing measures,
In frantic heat, out-grasping wild;

The future stretching sere and sterile

A drear expanse, before, around,-
Who reckless strays, in lonely peril

And seeks himself, and hath not found-
Him clasp I close with tears down stealing:

"I too have suffer'd, stray'd, like thee,'
"But none have for my hurt found healing
"And where, for endless rest, to flee?"
"Thy comfort be, like mine, a Being

"Who inly loved, and lived, and died,
"Yea, even for those, His love who, seeing,
"Betray'd, died freely-crucified !"
"He died, and yet anew each morning

"They cross thy path His love and He;
"And still from this world's strife and scorning
"His arms thy gracious shelter be."
"Through thy dry bones and bosom pining
"His love new life-blood sheds, like wine;
"And once to Him thy heart resigning,
"Is all of His for ever thine."

Thy lost, He finds; thy loved ones never
"From His blest mansions missing be,

"And all thine own remaineth ever

"That which His hand gives back to thee."

Translated by M. C. H.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION AT LEAMINGTON.

We are indebted to the Leamington Spa Courier, for the following abridged Report of the recent discussion between the Rev. Dr. Bayley and Dr. Brindley; and for the facts out of which the discussion originated. In carrying out a suggestion of the late General Conference, a presentation of Swedenborg's works was recently made, by the Swedenborg Society to the Public Library at Leamington; the "Executive," however, were not unanimous in their approval of the gift; and one work in particular (Conjugial Love) was denounced in unqualified terms on the ground of the unfitness to be in a public library. The transactions and opinions of the committee becoming generally known, and a lecture on Swedenborg by Dr. Brindley at the Public Hall occurring soon after, speedily contributed to attract an unusual amount of public attention to the subject. "Well this," writes the Editor of the Courier, in one of his "Leaders" on the "Swedenborg Business," after all the lectures for and against had been delivered, and the discussion terminated,—“Well, this, after a fashion peculiarly local, has been done here;

and a chance suggestion thrown out by a worthy member of the Library Committee, to the effect that Swedenborg might be Ignatius Loyola, has drawn more than ordinary—perhaps more than necessary-attention to the whole subject. This is another illustration of

"What great events from little causes spring;"

for, we put it to our readers, whether they could ever have imagined that upon so slight a display of confused literary research, so great a foundation of dispute and excitement could have been built?

"Luckily, however, for the liveliness of Leamington, it possesses a most admirable Chrichton in matters polemic-a gentleman of whom it may be said—and we believe the appellation will not offend him—that he is the Caleb Quotem of the lecture-room. He is a scholar to whom nothing comes amiss, between the Alpha and Omega of human information. Were the sea-serpent to wriggle itself along the waters of the Leam to-morrow, this worthy, gentleman would be at its tail with a Lecture; were the man in the moon to make himself visible, Dr. Brindley would chalk him on a black board, point out his distinguishing features with a wand, and give us, in the twinkling of an eye, his entire lunar history. All things are fish that come to Dr., Brindley's net; his net is of the most capacious, the most comprehensive kind; and, for the good of Leamington, he hauls it with truly surprising vigour.

"The worthy Doctor, too, is no lukewarm or feeble advocate. He enters the lists armed cap-à-pied, and hurls his defiance in right valiant fahsion. If he has but a butterfly to dispatch, he breaks it upon a wheel, and cries aloud for the company to look at its mangled remains. All his geese are swans, as the saying goes; and sometimes, so lofty is his aim, that he makes out even his swans to be eagles! To say that his indignation is always kept at the boiling-point, and that his declamatory powers seldom fail him, is, perhaps, to complete this little sketch of his high and distinguished advocacy.

'Well, Dr. Brindley, his nets ready as usual, of course caught the transcendental fish, Swedenborg, and prepared to give the unfortunate captive that experience of the coals which the Doctor has given to many other unfortunates. Seizing the mystic in his tenderest part, he hauled him to the platform, and, then and there, in one short evening, made, as he thought and as the town might have hoped, an end of him. But the Swedenborg Society scents the battle from afar off, and sends us Dr. Bayley as an antidote to the other Doctor of whom we are all so proud, and of whom Leamington stands seised and possessed.

"The learned Doctors naturally clash, and our Doctor accepts a challenge from the Doctor of the Swedenborg Society to a public discussion—offering, in his presence, to read such extracts from the works of Swedenborg as would at once settle the question. But the challenge is not to be immediately acted upon. Dr. Bayley wants-reasonably enough-his platform to himself, and declines to meet the Hotspur of debate till he has calmly and quietly stated his case with the freedom and ex parte ease of his opponent. After that he agrees to meet our local Paladin, and on three heavy nights during the past week did the war of words come off."

The object of one of the lectures above referred to, delivered by Dr. Brindley, was "to prove that the views contained in Conjugial Love were unfit to be laid before the wives and daughters of the men of Leamington." On this occasion the Chairman, the Rev. A. New, in introducing the lecturer, said—

"The circumstances under which we are met here this evening are of a very peculiar nature, and I think the recent proceedings which have taken place in this town, are quite sufficient to justify a meeting of this kind. You are well aware that Dr. Brindley delivered a lecture on Swedenborg, and that, as a professed reply to

that lecture, Dr. Bayley came down here announced to give some lectures, explaining the principles of Swedenborg. Of course it was expected then that persons would be allowed to reply to him. Such, however, appears not to be the case. Dr. Bayley wishes to have, as he expresses it, his 'full swing.' We shall allow him to have his full swing, with this explanation that we shall have our full swing, and we shall endeavour to unravel the mysteries which he would endeavour to keep from the eyes of the people, and explain and expound those sophistries by which he will seek to captivate those who are of weak intellect or imaginative character, and who are peculiarly liable to be made converts by the doctrines of Swedenborg."

Dr. Brindley was received with loud cheers. He referred to the circumstances which led him to deliver his lecture on Swedenborg, and gave a brief resumé of his former discourse. He was sure they would bear with him when they came to see what he should point out to them, and justify him in saying that it was, or ought to be, to a man of right feelings, moral and religious, a very painful duty to have to read through that which he should feel it his duty to read that night. He had selected one book in particular, but there was the same current and stream of impurity running through all. He then proceeded to read copious extracts from the Conjugial Love, Heaven and Hell, and the Arcana Celestia. In the course of some comments, as he proceeded, he observed, he wanted them to go on Friday night and insist on Dr. Bayley reading these passages. If they were fit for the Free Library they were fit for a lecture room. He could not understand how Dr. Bayley, an enlightened man, could stand forth, with his knowledge of these works, and say that these writings and doctrines were such as it would become them to instil into their wives and daughters-such as were calculated to lead them to goodness and virtue, and make them acceptable with God. He (Dr. Brindley) had no desire beyond the promotion of truth-he cared no more for one man than another. There he was, prepared to meet Dr. Bayley, at any moment, for any length of time, with any number of councillors, to sift these books thoroughly, and leave them to judge whether he was the ignoramus, and knew nothing about it, or whether Dr. Bayley was the learned man. The Dr. resumed his seat amidst prolonged cheering. "The extracts read, by Dr. Brindley," continues the Report, "evidently raised a strong anti-Swedenborgian feeling on the part of the audience—which was very numerous and they were loud in responding to his expressions of opinion, that the passages read were unfit to be submitted to their wives and daughters."

Dr. Bayley, who was commissioned by the London Missionary and Tract Society (not by the "Swedenborg Society," as reported by the Leamington Papers, the business of the latter Society being exclusively to print and publish the writings of Swedenborg), to visit Leamington and reply to Dr. Brindley, delivered three lectures, to which that gentleman was invited, that he might have the opportunity of correcting any mistatement, or reply to the arguments advanced by Dr. Bayley in support of his views of the questions presented to the meeting. The subjects of the lectures were, the doctrine of the Divine Trinity, the doctrine of Life, and of the holy state of Marriage. A few minutes after Dr. Bayley had made his appearance, on the evening of the first of these lectures, Dr. Brindley mounted the platform amidst repeated rounds of applause, on the cessation of which he advanced to the lecturer, and introducing himself, shook hands with him, the applause being renewed. He said, after obtaining Dr. Bayley's permission to make a few observations, that in consequence of his (Dr. Bayley's) placards, in which his (Dr. Brindley's) name was mentioned, and rather prominently so, he had thought fit to take the opinion of the public, at a public meeting, as to whether they considered it desirable that a discussion of Swedenborg's views should be entered upon publicly. At the meeting held last evening, at which the Chairman of the Free Library Committee, had presided,

it was unanimously determined that such discussion was desirable. If he (Dr. Bayley) thought fit, therefore, to discuss on equal terms-equal time being allotted to each speaker, the expenses being shared, and each publicly and mutually appointing a Chairman-he (Dr. Brindley) would remain during the meeting. He believed that two gentlemen had waited on Dr. Bayley that day to name in substance what had taken place at the meeting he had alluded to; and his (Dr. Brindley's) object in attending that evening was to ascertain whether it would be agreeable to Dr. Bayley, that a discussion should commence from that evening, or whether he desired to have it deferred? (Cheers.)—Dr. Bayley said, that, both in justice to the public and in justice to the cause he had in hand-inasmuch as Dr. Brindley had had his entire lecture to himself, in which to give his views in extenso without any one interrupting him-he (Dr. Bayley) should have precisely the same opportunity of giving their view of the question in extenso and without interruption. (Cheers.) When that was done, at the end of those three lectures, at any convenient time that Dr. Brindley would appoint, next week or the week after, he would be bound to be present, and then they could discuss the matter upon equal terms and in equal time. After this, Dr. Brindley immediately wished the lecturer a good evening, and left the hall. The necessary preliminaries were subsequently arranged; and the following was the order of

THE DISCUSSION:-First Evening, "The General Character and Mission of Swedenborg, as evinced by his Teachings on God and Religion." Second Evening, "His Teachings respecting the Future Life and the Authority for the same." Third Evening, "The Religious Practice Inculcated by Swedenborg, and his Doctrine on Marriage."

[We intend giving the Discussion in our next, as the entire Article would occupy more space than our readers might wish to see devoted to it in one No.]

Correspondence.

REV. MR. FIELD's STRICTURES ON THE CHURCH.

DEAR SIR, I could wish to say a few words in reference to a letter which appeared in the miscellaneous department of the last number of the Repository. That letter is given as an answer to Mr. Field's strictures on the New Church in this country. I send this note to you because the Editor of the Repository has declared the discussion to be closed, and he probably might not be disposed to admit into his columns any thing further on the subject. But supposing he should, it is now too late to gain admission into next month's publication, and the idea of writing what I have thought on the topic did not present itself to me till this morning.

It is not, however, my intention to re-open the discussion, but only to offer a few words with the view of allaying any unpleasant feeling which may have been excited by the remarks of Mr. Field, in the minds of members of the Church in this country.

In the first place, I would remark, that we ought not to be unwilling to listen patiently to any strictures which an intelligent stranger or foreigner makes on our habits and institutions. We may not always be able, nor may we always think it necessary, "to see ourselves as others see us;" but it is always useful and refreshing to have the impression respecting us of an intelligent mind, that looks at us from a different point of view to that from which we are accustomed to regard ourselves. It, no doubt, very often happens that the point of view from which the members of one country look at those of another leads them to fasten upon conventional rather than upon essential differences. And it certainly is a great mistake to attach undue