should be able to fathom it, and, aware of its depth, and of the powers and the knowledge requisite to that end, I have not made the attempt. The saying of an old Puritan, which I met with many years ago, had weight with me; When,' says he, 'I have been at the grammar-school of Faith and Holiness, I will go to the university of Election and Predestination.' I thought that was the order of things, and I have got but a little way in the first stage.

*

My reading, however, has been, from choice, chiefly among the Calvinistic divines, and my leaning has been generally to that side. I have thought the Calvinists in Britain, from the time of the Reformation, to have been the very first class of Christians; and I must confess that the plain language of the Scriptures, as well as the disposition of mind arising out of self-acquaintance, and the infinite, gratuitous mercy of God indisputably set forth in the Scriptures, all favour that system generally. I do not, by any means, say that they favour every dogma held by Calvinists. I was inclined, in short, to form something like a universal conclusion, as to sincere believers, from a particular remark made by the late Mr. Newton, in his facetious way, on being informed of the tenor of Mr. Wesley's prayers when he was in illness. Aye,' said he, 'John was always a Calvinist when he was sick.' But, after all, this is, with me, rather a disposition of mind, than doctrinal establishment, and I dare not venture to profess more.

6

"With respect to what are commonly called the doctrines of grace, there, I hope, my judgment is fixed, though the heart is too often recusant; but with respect to the higher points of election and predestination-there is, in this subject, an awful abyss, which makes me giddy when I venture to look at it; and it has seemed to me, that it must be left as we find it in the Scriptures, among the secret things which belong to God, without attempting to adjust it to human apprehension and reasonings. But still the mind is not uniformly willing to rest in this conclusion.

"I perused the discourses of Mr. F-, whom I take to be truly a pious man, but cursorily, and had no idea that he had not stated the argument fairly and fully on both sides. Your

remarks, cursory as they are, have completely satisfied me that this is not the case, and therefore I quite withdraw my confidence from him. They do more; for they give me some conception of the nature of your own opinions on these deep points, and certainly a curiosity to know more. But I do not say this by way of indirectly begging for further communications from you. It would be too much to labour in this abstruse mine for the satisfaction of an individual, who, as in the present letter, can only return his ignorance for your knowledge. What I mean to offer to your consideration is, whether you might not do a service to the world by a treatise on this deep subject, which would tend to lead men to rest where you rest, and thus guard them both against superficial views, and against intruding into things that are beyond the comprehension of man in his present state of being. I am sure the work would be a valuable gift to the public, and a memorial worthy of your acquisitions and your powers. I have written all this without having Mr. F- -'s volume by me to collate with your remarks; and I must, therefore, limit myself to this general answer."

وو

The remainder of this valuable letter, (occupying more space than the portion above inserted,) has reference to a previous communication from Dean Milner, respecting Mr. MALTHUS'S Doctrine of Population. Were that communi

cation before the reader, Mr. Grant's remarks in reply would be read with much interest; under the actual circumstances it is needless to insert more than the concluding sentences of his letter.

66* *

I am running on here, giving you, in fact,

your own opinions in less accurate terms.

"My drift, I confess, is to arrive at the same conclusion as in the other case,-the benefit which would result to the world from a good treatise on this subject, placing it on its right foundations, and clearing it from the errors of writers who have now much the possession of public opinion. I confess it seems unreasonable to propose to you two such undertakings; but this latter subject, I imagine, might be treated so as to establish all the great principles without following other writers in all their

details of facts, and be comprised in the size of a moderate essay. You have already gone a little into the subject, and when you call for the notes you have been so good as to send to me, they shall be forthcoming.

"It is time I should conclude this scrawl. You may think it well I don't often write to you from the country.

"I remain, my dear Sir,

"Sincerely and affectionately yours,

"CHARLES GRANT."

In the first week of October, 1817, Dean Milner left Carlisle, and left it, as it proved, never to return. Had he been aware of this at the time of his departure, his affectionate spirit would, doubtless, have been greatly moved; yet, even in that case, he could scarcely have looked back without solid satisfaction, upon season after season of devoted and zealous exertion, in what he himself called "the best of causes;" and upon the happy consequences-consequences stretching forward into the depths of eternity-which, as he had good reason to believe, had, by the blessing of God, attended his labours.

He arrived safely at Cambridge, and in better health than he had for some time past enjoyed. His spirits, as has been before observed, never flagged. On the 17th of November he preached in the chapel of Queen's College from the words, "Go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." He attended the December meeting of the Board of Longitude, and, in short, seemed to be almost restored to his pristine vigour. The following letter to his friend Mr. La Trobe, was written after his return from London.

"MY DEAR SIR,

"Queen's College Lodge, "December 13th, 1817.

"I received your very kind letter at Kensington Gore. It has pleased Almighty God to restore me from the condition of a miserable wreck, yet, in point of fact, I have escaped, yet so as by fire;' not fire, in the Roman Catholic sense of Purgatory, but in the plain and legitimate sense of great and imminent

danger; as a man escapes from a house, all the parts of which are on fire. Undoubtedly, I have abundant reason to be thankful! I hope, I am not altogether laid upon the shelf, yet my wings are clipped exceedingly, and very little is to be expected from me.

"I am sorry, you cannot come to this concert. I should rejoice to meet you once more, though, undoubtedly, I should shake your hand with grief flowing from my eyes, and still more from my heart, on the remembrance of our dear friend now no more*. * * *

"May God bless you.

"I am, dear Sir,

"Always yours,

"I. M."

Mr. La Trobe, shortly afterwards, paid a visit to Dr. Milner, who was well enough to have at his Lodge a musical party, or, in his own words, "a small exhibition of tweedling," thus proving, that his desire to promote the innocent gratifications of others was in no degree blunted by the protracted indisposition which, during so long a period, had "laid a cold hand" upon his own plans and enjoyments.

The year closed amid the usual college duties.

* Dr. Jowett.

672

CHAPTER XXIX.

Board of Longitude.-Chapter Business.-Friendship and Correspondence with the Rev. Robert Goodenough.-Dean Milner becomes President of the Carlisle Church Missionary Association.-Correspondence.-Modes of usefulness.—Conversation.-Family Prayer.—Private Religious Meditations.-Improvement of Health.-Attendance at the Board of Longitude. Sir Samuel Romilly.-Meeting with old Friends.-Letter to the Bishop of Carlisle.-Strong expression of satisfaction in the dispersion of the Bible.-State of the Country.—General tone of Newspapers.—Louis Dix-huit.-New Churches at Carlisle.-Conclusion of the Year.

A.D. 1818. ÆTAT. 68.

In addition to his usual employments, much extra business devolved, during this year, upon Dr. Milner. A memorial to the Government concerning the affairs of the Board of Longitude, occupied much of his time; and as he soon began to regard as exceedingly uncertain his prospects of again visiting his Deanery, he was induced to arrange by letter many affairs which, in the ordinary course of things, would have remained unsettled till the general meeting of the Chapter in the month of June. The epistolary intercourse thus occasioned, although frequently of an intricate and perplexing character, was, nevertheless, upon the whole, a source of comfort. The Dean's principal correspondent on chapter business, was the late Rev. Robert Goodenough, a man for whom, from the very commencement of his acquaintance with him, he had felt an increasing esteem and regard, and who entertained for him a reciprocal affection.

It is scarcely necessary to say, that the letters of such correspondents often branched off from the business which chanced to be in hand, to treat of more congenial topics; and among these, especially during the later years of their intimacy, religion occupied a prominent place. On this subject the Dean, when requested to do so by a sincere and earnest inquirer, was always ready to state his views; and such a correspondence has a natural tendency to cement the friendship