realized in middle life, yet was he always an able and accomplishedscholar, especially in the belles-lettres. In 1814 he published "Specimens of the British Poets," in three octavo volumes,-a selection that evinces much good taste, and a thorough acquaintance with that department of English literature. Ten years later, he published "Theodric, a Domestic Tale," a poem of greater extent than any other of his pieces except his two principal ones. Upon this he bestowed the most elaborate care, that it might make the nearest possible approach to absolute perfection in its kind; and as, in other cases, his excessive carefulness left its unfavourable impress upon his works, so, in this, the soul of poetry is sacrificed to the drapery of verse. Tried by the rules of rhetoric, and the art of poetry, "Theodric" is nearly faultless, and, at the same time, it is almost equally destitute of the positive qualities of poetry, a production as unlike the genuine inspiration of the muse as a wax figure is less beautiful than the living and breathing human form. Indeed, nearly all Campbell's later productions, of which there were many, are little better than lifeless forms, negatively faultless, but almost entirely destitute of poetical inspiration.

Campbell was for some years editor of the New Monthly Magazine; and afterward he conducted the Metropolitan for a short time. In 1827, and the two succeeding years, he was Lordrector of Glasgow University. During the latter portion of his life he devoted his pen to prose writings, and gave to the public in succession, biographies of Mrs. Siddons, Shakspeare, Frederick the Great, and Petrarch. His other prose works are, "A History of the Reign of George the Third," and "Lectures on Greek Poetry." None of these works add anything to his literary reputation, and most of them serve only as mementoes of the premature decay of his genius. His whole history presents the image of an early flowering plant, which in spring-time arrests the admiring gaze of every passer-by, but presently fades, and remains, through summer and autumn, an unsightly stock. The painful truth cannot, and indeed should not, be concealed, that Campbell fell a sacrifice to his evil habits, and his towering genius was balked in its midway flight by the undue indulgence of his grosser appetites. He died at Boulogne, in June, 1845, and his body reposes, with the ashes of kindred bards, in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Before dismissing this subject, as an act of mere justice, some notice should be taken of Campbell as a familiar correspond

His memoirs are chiefly made up of these spontaneous effu

sions from the soul; and through them, as it could not be done by any other means, do we gain the most complete acquaintance with the character of the man. His friendship was ardent, and his expressions wholly unreserved; and he possessed the rare faculty of throwing his whole soul into the epistolary sheet when addressing any of his numerous personal friends. His letters constitute an almost unbroken sketch of his life, and form the best literary history of his works; and if they often betray both his foibles and his faults, they also exhibit his human sympathies, and the unselfish generosity of a genuine poet's heart. These letters may be studied as models of that kind of composition in which it is least of all true, that words are designed to conceal the real sense of the soul. The most rigid moralist must concede great praise to Campbell as an author, however much he may condemn the waywardness of the man. Every line of his poetry may be read in a mixed company without exciting a blush upon the cheek of the most fastidiously modest; and every sentiment may be presented to the susceptible heart of youth without danger to the moral character. It was his own consolation, when the evening shades of life were upon him, that he had written no line that could inflict pain upon any but the enemies of mankind, nor seduce even the most wavering from the paths of virtue. We believe, indeed, that the perusal of Campbell's poems would in most cases be followed by decidedly favourable effects upon the moral character of young persons; while few compositions in our language are better adapted to develop a delicate and correct literary taste. We regret that we have no really good American edition of these poems. That of the Philadelphia press is the best, and, for the purposes of a plain edition, answers very well. But we need an edition in style and dress corresponding to the essential value of the matter, and we look to the publishers of these volumes of "Life and Letters" to follow up that publication with an illustrated edition of the poetical works of Thomas Campbell, as an appropriate companion to their own illustrated editions of Milton, Cowper, Thomson, and Goldsmith.

ART. IV. THE YOUNG MEN OF THE CHURCH.

THE Gospel demands of every human being an unreserved consecration of body and soul, with all their energies and capabilities, throughout the entire period of his probation. In thus claiming for God all the services which a mortal man, aided by Divine grace, can render, it puts forth a claim upon any peculiar powers, endowments, or faculties with which he may be providentially endowed or intrusted. In asserting its rightful dominion over our entire earthly career, it proclaims the Divine right to reign with an undivided and unrivalled authority over each period of life. Every talent is confided to us under the tacit condition that it shall be used and improved in accordance with the will and design of the great Giver. Days, and months, and years, are added to our existence here below, because they supply us with more opportunities and advantages for working out our own salvation, and promoting the well-being of others; for building up the kingdom of Christ, and making manifest the glory of God. For the attainment of these high ends, much reliance is placed upon human exertion, and the physical and intellectual resources of every age and station are tasked to the uttermost. Even the morning of existence, and the childhood of religious life, are pressed into this great enterprise. "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." The glow, and out-bursting, joyous gratitude of the new-born soul-the fervours of his "first love"-the fresh lustre of his "beautiful garments," become potent agencies for good, and no more pleasant incense than his ever rises up to Heaven.

The mature piety and deep acquaintance with Divine things, which are the result of long experience and habitual communion with God, also have their special vocation under the Gospel economy. "I write unto you, fathers, because you know Him that is from the beginning." These "old disciples" constitute the link of connexion between the existing Christian church and the church of history, as well as between the church militant and the church triumphant. They are the channels through which the tide of spiritual life has flowed down upon us from the ages of the past. They are the depositaries of reverend traditions, and the conservators and models. of orthodoxy in opinion and purity of life. Without being conscious of exercising so high a function, they have made the church what it is. Our Christianity, with all its excellencies as well as its im

perfections, has been derived from theirs. It has, no doubt, undergone some modifications. It has, in some respects, deteriorated in our hands. In others, it has grown better; but, as a whole, it is a natural and fair derivation from the waning Christian age, to which a new and vigorous religious generation are rapidly succeeding. We sometimes unconsciously look upon the company of venerable disciples who move in the van of our heavenward march, as having really, and to all important ends, accomplished their warfare and won the victory. Should all others forsake the Saviour, they, we feel quite sure, will never participate in the crime, for they have lived unto God till religion has, through grace, become a sort of second nature, in which all their habits, and sentiments, and aspirations, and joys have their source and support. To turn them away from God and the heavenly inheritance must require some great moral convulsion. It would be like the annulment of the law of gravitation—like thrusting a rolling planet from its appointed orb. We do not subscribe to the inamissibility of grace, and the inevitable salvation of all souls once regenerated,-and yet we firmly believe that these fathers and mothers in Israel will never fall. They will abide in the old paths, whoever turns back. They remember the days of old. They "know Him that is from the beginning." So long, at least, as they live, there will be true witnesses. Their trumpet shall give a certain sound. They are living epistles of Christ, which shall continue to be read of all men. So long as they constitute a part of the life of the church, the church cannot lose its vitality. While their presence and prayers among us will certainly conciliate the Divine favour, and perpetuate a holy seed, they reprove our backslidings, and warn us of dangers, and recall us to the old landmarks of truth, and experience, and duty.

Let us thank God for so bright a manifestation of his grace in the fathers, who still bless and guide us by their counsels, and in the yet large company of mature, established Christians who still bear the burden and heat of the day. We may yet rejoice in their light for a season, and there will be days of mourning when these luminaries, so long our guides and exemplars, shall one after another be exalted to shed their radiance upon brighter, holier regions. It will, however, readily occur to the thoughtful reader, that the high qualities, in virtue of which aged, mature Christians fulfil for the church offices so conservative and salutary, are partially or wholly incompatible with the performance of other functions connected no less intimately with the spread and efficacy of the Gospel. Conservatism, which spontaneously clings to the past, is less

favourable to progress. Zeal for traditional or hereditary opinions or usages is often indiscriminate, and is prone to resist not rash innovations and pernicious novelties alone, but needful improvements. It is no slight calamity that befalls religion and human society, when venerable truths and ancient institutions are guarded with a morbid jealousy, which rejects new discoveries and salutary changes. The church, under such unpropitious circumstances, is in danger of losing its power and vitality, and of wasting its energies in idle contests for dogmas and forms, which, however true or Scriptural, are no longer of any special significance or utility, now that their life and spirit have departed from them. And here we have occasion to adore the infinite wisdom of the great Head of the Church, in employing for its edification such a variety of gifts and agencies. In His wonderful economy, men of all ranks and capacities co-operate harmoniously for the production of a common result, each fulfilling his own special and appropriate function, and, at the same time, supplying some deficiency, or checking some exaggerated action of his fellow-labourer. The rich and the poor have assigned to them their proper sphere, and they contribute not alike, but equally, it may be, to the general weal. The faith, and prayers, and spotless example of an illiterate or obscure man may contribute as successfully to the great designs of Christianity as the counsels of the sage or the eloquence of the learned. Thus it is that "the whole body, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying itself in love."

For the satisfaction of wants and liabilities which find no adequate provision in the fixed ideas and unyielding habits of veteran piety, the Gospel makes its appeal to the special endowments and adaptations of the young. "I have written to you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." In the economy of Divine Providence, youth is endowed with peculiar attributes, on which the success of all great moral and social interests and enterprises is made dependent.

1. This responsibility for the well-being of the race, which accrues to the young in virtue of their providential endowments, is devolved upon them by an inevitable destiny. They are the predestined successors of all who now wield moral influence, and all who occupy positions of authority and power. They are moving incessantly onward toward this great inheritance, and the flight of years makes haste to bring them into contact with burdens and respon