Dr. Milne has frequently preached the anniversary fermon for the benefit of the Humane Society, of which he is a perpetual director; and with great fuccefs has he recommended that benevolent plan, fo exprefsly calculated to preferve lives.

On Sunday, March 15, 1779, the doctor was called to preach at St. Sepulchre's, Snow-Hill, for the above excellent purpofe. Whilft he was delivering a moft animated, fenfible, and pathetic difcourfe, certain diforders arofe in the church, á numerous auditory were thrown into confufion, the preacher ended abruptly, and the grand end of the folemnity was unhappily defeated.

However, the fociety refumed their folicitation to the public, and a refpectable congregation met again; on the Saturday following, the doctor repeated his fermon, a handfome collection was made, and the fubfcription enlarged.

On July 26, the fame year, the doctor preached the affize-fermon before earl Mansfield, and Mr. Juftice Afhurst, at Maidstone in Kent, from Luke xix. 41. When he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. This excellent difcourfe, entitled The Chriftian Patriot, appears in a volume of fermons infcribed to the chief juftice of the court of King's Bench. They were printed last year, and have met a very hearty reception from the public. The language is elegant, natural, and engaging. The fentiments are fublime and affecting. The thoughts new and friking. The doctrines are evangelical, moral, and interesting. The two firft fermons are on the confolations of affliction ; the third on death; the fourth on the nature and extent of Chriftian charity; the fifth, the Chriflian Patriot,

No. 50.

before mentioned; the fixth and seventh on the deceitfulness of fin; the eighth proves piety the beft principle, and firmeft fupport of virtue; and the laft makes the conceffions of the enemies of the Gospel, a proof of its truth.

Let thefe little hiftoric anecdotes of the doctor, which were chiefly tranfmitted by a very refpectable correfpondent, ferve as a prelude to the investigation of the character of the preacher.

Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? faid the Scribes and Pharifees. Can a good orator come out of Scotland? lay the critics an d literati of London. It has often been faid, that it is impoffible for a native of North-Britain to forfake the broad accent of his mother tongue; or to caft off the provincial found fo peculiar to that country. The obfervation is ill.. grounded, injudicious, and untrue. There are many tradefmen and mechanics, who refided in Scotland for the first twenty years of their lives, whom the niceft critics could not discover to be its natives, from their accent. Who would fuppofe earl Mansfield, or lord Loughborough, to be of that country, but those who are acquainted with the fublimity and folemnity peculiar to the idiom of the Caledonian tongue?

Our orator is rather fhort in flature, but well proportioned in every part. He has very young appearance. His complexion is pale-intenfe ftudy has acquired that hue. His vilage. is thin. His features are expreffive. His eyes are ftrikingly brilliant and piercing. His voice is loud, folemn, tuneful, and amazingly delightful and various. He appears to poffels every power of utterance; and the bu 7 S

man

man mind can neither imagine or defire greater perfection in elocution. He is mafter of this art by nature, and feems to fpeak by infpiration. He commands the most profound filence in the church, and the people are almoft afraid to breathe left they fhould lofe a word. His memory is remarkably tenacious; and though he has recourfe to notes, he could preach better without them. His compo. fition is at once evangelical and fublime. He knows all the doctrines of Calvin without borrowing his blemishes. He poffeffes a thorough knowledge of the human heart; and no man knows better how to addrefs it. His difcourfes are rational as well as divine, and " he never courts the paffions without convincing the understanding."

With all these accomplishments of nature and grace; though he is raised to the fummit of knowledge, and poffeffes all that is engaging in elocution; though he ad

dreffes the heart with the tongue of an angel; and though the people flock impetuoufly to hear his truly beautiful and rational fer mons, yet fomething is wanting: he lacks due encouragement. The . common-place, unnatural, vociferating preacher can boaft a fuperiority in point of collection at charity fermons.

People, when they go elfewhere to be entertained, muft pay. Let none do violence to the feelings of their own minds, by neglecting to perform fo neceffary a duty as honouring the preacher they admire, by contributing to the charity he fo warmly recommends. Let us not force those parishes, for the future, to fhut the church doors against us, till we caft down our mites: for were that mode to be adopted, as it is at the mufic of the fons of the clergy, we should foon difcover who is the preacher beft calculated to infpire the minds of the people with charity.

BY

find

+ See a Portrait in No. 9. of Ditto.