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were his own personal feelings, with respect to the Supper of his Lord. He believed that that Christ, who had redeemed him by His blood from the power of sin and Satan to the hope of heaven and immortality -who had regenerated him by the Spirit in baptism, and whose promised coming again was the earnest hope of his life he believed, I say, that that Christ had appointed a Sacrament, in which the consecrated bread and wine were to represent, and to all intents and purposes to be, His Body and His Blood. He knew that the whole Church believed with him, that the Body and Blood of Christ (thus presented to Christian men, in the second great Sacrament of the Catholic Church) was the food of immortality to all who partook of it in faith; the food that was to repair and restore the decays and losses, that each day's weakness or sinfulness occasioned: that unless a man ate this Flesh of Christ, and drank this Blood, he could have no life in him: that this therefore was "that bread that came down from heaven," compared with which the manna which God's people ate in the wilderness-miraculous as its supply was- -did not deserve to be mentioned. No day passed away, in which he had not partaken of this holy Sacrament: had not shown forth, in this appointed way, his belief and trust in the Lord's death. Every day the recollection of his Lord's death, and of his absolute dependence upon that Lord, were brought back by this visible service to his mind; and the hope of his Lord's return renewed within his heart. What then, as I before asked, would be his feelings, when he was enabled to see, in some prophetic vision, the conduct of the English Church, after eighteen hundred years should have passed away; after Jerusalem had been lying desolate for nearly that space of time, and the unconverted, impenitent Israelites scattered amongst every nation of the world, a standing monument of Christ's wrath against all who would not receive Him as their Mes

siah? He would see this Holy Sacrament celebrated -not every day, but often four times a year:—very seldom-in very, very few places-more than once a month! But not only this: he would see that thousands and thousands of baptized Christians never partook of this sacrament:when the celebration of it was about to begin, he would see the greater part of the congregation leaving the Church!! "Alas!" he would say, 66 are these under the curse of the Church's displeasure? are so many cut off from the right of partaking of the Body and Blood of their Saviour? What a view does this present of the sinfulness of the age! for it is not in one congregation only, that this large number appears to be under sentence of exclusion from the Sacrament, but in every congregation, in every part of the land: in small hamlets, and in large and wealthy towns." I pass over, as not belonging to my present subject, much that would shock him in the look and order of that body of spectators, as he would think, mere lookerson, and not wORSHIPPERS; men that neither knelt, nor answered Amen, nor took any share in the congregation's part of the service:-but to go on with his feelings, when he saw the majority, perhaps the large majority, of the congregation pouring out of the Church before the celebration of the Sacrament. His first notion, as I said, would be, that they were persons under the Church's censure; cut off for a time from the privilege of partaking of the Holy Sacrament. Still he would be puzzled. "How is it," he would ask himself, " that these persons were allowed to join in the previous service of the Church so freely? There was nothing in the manner in which they were placed; nothing in the manner or looks of others towards them, and assuredly nothing in their own manner or looks, to show that they were performing penance: there was no particular allusion to them, no personal address or exhortation to them in the service they sat promiscuously, just appa

rently as it happened, with others they were not placed together: there was nothing in the language or form of the service, which conveyed any notion that they were persons suing penitently for restoration to their Church privileges; and there was nothing of sorrowful desire, nothing of visible contrition, nothing of deep humiliation in their own looks. And still stranger is their behaviour, if I follow them on their road from the church. Does any particle of contrite feeling show itself in their manner? They are greeting one another, and chatting cheerfully about indifferent things. There is one man, indeed, whose clouded brow holds out some promise, and who does appear to have some deep feeling: yet, alas! even that seems a feeling, not of sorrow and anxiety for himself, but of indignation against his appointed minister, for he is remarking, in the tone of contemptuous pity, that he does not preach the Gospel!"

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Alas! alas! when this Christian of old times was informed, that the vision indeed was true, but that his first interpretation was quite erroneous; this crowd which streamed from the Church, were not cut off from the Sacrament by Church censures, but had voluntarily cut themselves off; that they were pledged soldiers and servants of Christ thus refusing to show forth their faith in their Lord's death; that many of them had never yet ONCE eaten the Flesh and drunk the Blood of their crucified Lord, and yet freely mixed with their brethren every where, with no shame talked about the Church, criticized preachers and doctrines, and so on-what would, I : ask, be the surprise, the grief, the horrour, the righteous INDIGNATION of the holy man! With how sad a feeling would he think of his Lord's touching question: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" He would believe that Antichrist was let loose; and that the spirit of Antichrist was working deeply and fatally in every Christian congregation!

And this belief would assuredly be right. There is a spirit deeply and fatally opposed to Christian holiness and Christian truth, wherever the Holy Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood is despised, either by neglect, or by irreverent, fearless participation.

ANECDOTES OF ADMIRAL SIR ALEXANDER BALL.

In a large party in the island of Malta, of which Sir Alexander Ball was then the governor, I had observed a naval officer of distinguished merit listening to his words, whenever he joined in the conversation, with so marked a pleasure, that it seemed as if his very voice had been delightful to him and once, as he fixed his eyes on him, I could not but notice the mixed expression of awe and affection, which gave a more than common interest to so manly a countenance. During his stay in the island, this officer honoured me not unfrequently with his visits; and at the conclusion of my last conversation with him (in which I had dwelt on the wisdom of the governor's conduct on a late and difficult occasion), he told me that he considered himself as indebted to the same excellent person for that which was dearer to him than his life. "Sir Alexander Ball," said he, has, I dare say, forgotten the circumstance; but when he was Lieutenant Ball, he was the officer whom I accompanied in my first boat-expedition, being then a midshipman, and only my fourteenth year. As we were rowing up to the vessel which we were to attack, amid a discharge of musquetry, I was overpowered by fear, my knees trembled under me, and I seemed on the point of fainting away. Lieutenant Ball, who saw the condition I was in, placed himself close beside me, and still keeping his countenance directed towards the enemy, took hold of my hand, and pressing it in the most friendly manner, said in a low voice, Courage,

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my dear boy! don't be afraid of yourself! you will recover in a minute or so: I was just the same, when I first went out in this way.' "Sir," added the

officer to me, "it was as if an angel had put a new soul into me. With the feeling that I was not yet dishonoured, the whole burden of agony was removed; and from that moment I was as fearless and forward as the oldest of the boat's crew; and on our return the lieutenant spoke highly of me to our captain. I am scarcely less convinced of my own being, than that I should have been what I tremble to think of, if, instead of his humane encouragement, he had at that moment scoffed, threatened, or reviled me. And this was the more kind in him, because, as I afterwards understood, his own conduct in his first trial had evinced to all appearances the greatest fearlessness, and that he said this therefore only to give me heart, and restore me to my own good opinion."

II.

Shortly after the general peace was established, Captain Ball, who was now a married man, passed some time with his lady in France, and, if I mistake not, at Nantz. At the same time, and in the same town, among the other English visitors, Lord (then Captain) Nelson happened to be one. In conse

quence of some punctilio, as to whose business it was to pay the compliment of the first call, they never met; and this trifling affair occasioned a coldness between the two naval commanders, or, in truth, a mutual prejudice against each other. Some years after, both their ships being together close off Minorca, and near Port Mahon, a violent storm nearly disabled Lord Nelson's vessel; and in addition to the fury of the wind, it was night-time, and the thickest darkness. Captain Ball, however, brought his vessel at length to Nelson's assistance, took his ship in tow, and used his best endeavours to bring her and his own vessel into Port Mahon. The diffi

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