which words his Majesty intended to include the Communion-service, and all the other parts of the Liturgy used in the celebration of public worship.

"It was equally an affecting and instructive lesson to observe the devout humility of his Majesty, fervently dwelling, as could be perceived from his manner and the intonation of his voice, on every passage which bore even the most remote application to his own circumstances. His mind seemed quite absorbed in the duty in which he was engaged, and to rise for a time superior to his bodily infirmities: for, during the whole service, his attention was undisturbed, and he experienced none of those fits of coughing and oppression which for some days past had formed an almost uninterrupted characteristic of his complaint. As Mr. Wood withdrew, his Majesty graciously expressed his thanks, and afterwards said to the Queen, 'It has been a great comfort to me.' Nor was this a transitory feeling. To this pure and scriptural source of spiritual consolation his Majesty recurred with unfeigned gratitude; and on each day of the ensuing week did Lord Augustus Fitzclarence receive the King's commands to read to him the prayers either of the morning or evening service. On one of these occasions, when his Majesty was much reduced and exhausted, the Queen, fearful of causing any fatigue to him, inquired hesitatingly, whether, unwell as he was, he would still like to have the prayers read to him? He replied, 'O yes! beyond everything.' Though very languid, and disposed to sleep from the effects of medicine, his Majesty repeated all the prayers.

"The fatal progress of the King's complaint was very visible during the three following days, June 12th, 13th, and 14th. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the 13th, his Majesty gave audience to his Hanoverian minister, Barom Ompteda, whom, contrary to the suggestions of his attendants, he had specially summoned on business connected with that kingdom, in the welfare of which he had never ceased to feel a truly paternal interest. On Wednesday, the 14th, his Majesty received a visit from the Duke of Cumberland.

"The King's attention to his religious duties, and the great comfort which was inspired by their performance, have already been referred to. It will therefore create no surprise that his Majesty joyfully assented to the Queen's suggestion, that he should receive the sacrament: for that he at once named the Archbishop of Canterbury as the person whom he wished to administer that holy rite. Sunday was the day fixed by the King for the discharge of this solemn duty; and a message was accordingly sent to his Grace, desiring his presence at Windsor Castle on the ensuing Saturday.

*

*

"On the morning of Sunday, the 18th, though his Majesty's mental energies remained vigorous and unimpaired, a greater degree of bodily weakness was perceptible. He raised himself in his chair with greater difficulty than the day before, and required more aid and support in every movement. The expression of his countenance, however, was, perhaps, more satisfactory. He transacted business with Sir H. Taylor, and affixed his signature to four documents-the remission of a CourtMartial, two appointments of Colonial Judges, and a pardon to a condemned criminal. This was his Majesty's last act of sovereignty. Increasing debility prevented the repetition of a similar exertion; and thus, in the closing scene of his life, was beautifully and practically exemplified, by an act of mercy, that spirit of benevolence and forgiveness which shone with such peculiar lustre in his Majesty's character, and was so strongly reflected in the uniform tenour of his reign.

"It had been arranged, as has been already remarked, that the King should on this day receive the sacrament from the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury; and when Sir Herbert left the room, it appeared to the Queen that the most favourable time had arrived. The physicians, however, suggested to her Majesty the expediency of deferring the ceremony till the King should have in some degree recovered from his fatigue; but his Majesty had already experienced the blessed consolations of religion, and removed the doubts which his anxious attendants were entertaining by eagerly desiring the Queen to send for the Archbishop, seeming, as it were, anxious to ratify the discharge of his earthly by the performance of his spiritual duties. His Grace promptly attended, attired in his robes, and at a quarter to eleven administered the sacrament to his Majesty and the Queen, Lady Mary Fox communicating at the same time. The King was very calm and collectedhis faculties were quite clear, and he paid the greatest attention to the service, following it in the prayer book, which lay on the table before him. His voice, indeed,

failed, but his humble demeanour and uplifted eyes gave expression to the feeling of devotion and of gratitude to the Almighty which his faltering lips refused to

utter.

"The performance of this act of religion, and this public attestation of his communion with that church for the welfare and prosperity of which he had more than once during his illness ejaculated short and fervent prayers, was the source of great and manifest comfort to his Majesty.

"Though the shorter form had been adopted by the Archbishop, his Majesty was, nevertheless, rather exhausted by the duration and solemnity of the ceremony; but as his Grace retired, the King said, with that peculiar kindness of manner by which he was so much distinguished, and at the same time gently waving his hand and inclining his head, 'God bless you-a thousand, thousand thanks!' There cannot be more certain evidence of the inward strength and satisfaction which the King derived from this office of religion than that, in spite of great physical exertion, his Majesty, after the lapse of an hour, again requested the attendance of the Archbishop, who, in compliance with the wishes of the Queen, read the prayers for the evening service with the happiest effect on the King's spirits. This being done, the Archbishop, naturally fearing the consequences of so much mental exertion on his Majesty's debilitated frame, was about to retire, when the King motioned to him to sit down at the table, on the opposite side of which he himself was seated. His Majesty was too weak to hold any conversation, but his spirits seemed soothed and comforted by the presence of the Archbishop, on whose venerable and benign countenance his Majesty's eye reposed with real pleasure.

"The King at this interview stretched his hand across the table, and taking that of the Archbishop, pressed it fervently, saying, in a tone of voice which was audible only to the Queen, who was seated near his Majesty, 'I am sure the Archbishop is one of those persons who pray for me.' The afternoon of this day witnessed a still further diminution of his Majesty's strength, but in proportion to the decay of his bodily power was the increase of his spiritual hope and consolation. At nine o'clock in the evening the Archbishop was again summoned by his Majesty's desire. The King was now still less able to converse than on the last occasion; but his Grace remained more than three-quarters of an hour, supplying by his presence the same comfort to the King, and receiving from his Majesty the same silent though expressive proof of his satisfaction and gratitude. At length, on the suggestion of the Queen, that it was already late, and the Archbishop might become fatigued, the King immediately signified his assent that he should retire; and crossing his hands upon his breast, and, inclining his head, said, as his Grace left the room, 'God bless thee, dear, excellent, worthy man a thousand, thousand thanks.'

*

*

"His Majesty rose this morning with the recollection that this was the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. As early as half-past eight he alluded to the circumstance, and said to Dr. Chambers, 'Let me but live over this memorable day: I shall never live to see another sunset.' Dr. Chambers said, 'I hope your Majesty may live to see many.' To which his Majesty replied in a phrase which he commonly employed, but the peculiar force of which those only who had the honour of being frequently admitted into his Majesty's society can fully appreciate,* 'O that is quite another thing.'

"A splendid entertainment, as is well known, has been always given on this day to the officers engaged in that glorious action; and since his accession to the throne, his Majesty had himself honoured it with his presence.

"Under the present circumstances, the Duke, naturally feeling unwilling to promote any scene of festivity, had sent Mr. Greville to request the King's commands, or, at least, to ascertain the wishes and opinions of the Queen. Previous to the flag annually presented by his Grace being deposited in the Guard Chamber, it had been brought to his Majesty, who, laying his hand upon it, and touching the eagle, said, "I am glad to see it. Tell the Duke of Wellington that I desire his dinner may take place to-morrow; I hope it will be an agreeable one.'

"In the course of the night the Queen observed to his Majesty, that the Arch

It was usually employed by his Majesty to express his dissent or incredulity with regard to any subject under discussion.

bishop had only been invited to stay till the following day, that his Grace wished to be honoured with his commands, and that he had expressed himself not only willing but anxious to stay as long as his services could be acceptable or useful to him. The King immediately said, 'Yes; tell him to stay. It will be the greatest blessing of God to hear that beautiful service read by him once more;' alluding to the Liturgy of the Church of England, from the frequent use of the prayers of which his Majesty had been so much comforted and supported in his illness.

"At nine o'clock, by the desire of the Queen, who was naturally anxious that the hope so fervently expressed by the King on the preceding night might be gratified as soon as possible, the Archbishop entered the King's room, and was received, as at all other times, with the significant tokens of joy and thankfulness which his Grace's presence never failed to call forth.

"On this occasion, the Archbishop read the "Service for the Visitation of the sick." The King was seated, as usual, in his easy chair; the Queen affectionately kneeling by his side, making the responses and assisting him to turn over the leaves of the large prayer-book which was placed before him. His Majesty's demeanour was characterised by the most genuine spirit of devotion. Though unable to join audibly in the responses which occur in the service, yet when the Archbishop had rehearsed the articles of our creed, his Majesty, in the fulness of his faith, and labouring to collect all the energies of sinking nature, enunciated with distinct and solemn emphasis the words, All this I steadfastly believe.'

66

During the whole service his Majesty retained hold of the Queen's hand; and, in the absence of physical strength to give utterance to his feelings, signified by his fervent pressure of it not only his humble acquiescence in the doctrines of our holy faith, but his grateful acknowledgment of those promises of grace and succour which so many passages of this affecting portion of the Liturgy hold out to the dying Christian, and the belief of which his Majesty so thankfully appreciated in this

his hour of need.

"With the other hand his Majesty frequently covered his eyes and pressed his brow, as if to concentrate all his power of devotion, and to restrain the warmed emotions of his heart, which were so painfully excited by the distress of those who surrounded him. His Majesty did not allow the Archbishop to withdraw without the usual significant expression of his gratitude, ' A thousand, thousand thanks.'

"It was when the Archbishop pronounced the solemn and truly affecting form of blessing contained in the 'Service for the Visitation of the Sick,' that the Queen, for the first time in his Majesty's apartment, was overpowered by the weight of affliction.

"The King observed her emotion, and said, in a tone of kind encouragement, 'Bear up, bear up.'

"At the conclusion of the prayers, his Majesty saw all his children; and as they successively knelt to kiss his hand, gave them his blessing in the most affectionate terms, suitable to the character and circumstances of each. They had all manifested the most truly filial affection to his Majesty during his illness; but on Lady Mary Fox, the eldest of his Majesty's surviving daughters, had chiefly devolved the painful yet consolatory duty of assisting the Queen in her attendance on the King. "The extreme caution of his Majesty, and his anxiety to avoid causing any pain or alarm to the Queen, was very remarkable. He never alluded, in distinct terms, to death in her Majesty's presence. It was about this period of the day that he tenderly besought her Majesty not to make herself uneasy about him; but that he was already anticipating his speedy dissolution was evident from his expressions to several of his relatives.

66

During this afternoon, to such an extremity of weakness was the King reduced, that he scarcely opened his eyes, save to raise them in prayer to heaven, with a look expressive of the most perfect resignation. Once or twice, indeed, this feeling found expression in the words, Thy will be done!' and on one occasion he was heard to utter the words, The Church-The Church! and the name of the Archbishop. "It was about nine o'clock in the evening of this day that the Archbishop visited the King for the last time.

"His Majesty's state altogether incapacitated him from joining in any act or exercise of devotion; but, as at each preceding interview, his Grace's presence proved a source of joy and consolation to the dying Monarch, who strove in vain to

convey any audible acknowledgments of the blessings which he sensibly enjoyed; but when, on leaving the room, the Archbishop said, My best prayers are offered up for your Majesty,' the King replied, with slow and feeble, yet distinct utterance, Believe me, I am a religious man."

"After this exertion his Majesty gently moved his hand, in token of his last farewell; and the Archbishop withdrew.

"As the night advanced, a more rapid diminution of his Majesty's vital powers was perceptible.

"His weakness now rendered it impracticable to remove him into his usual bedroom, and a bed was accordingly prepared in the Royal closet, which communicates with the apartment in which his Majesty had passed the last ten days of his life. At half-past ten the King was seized with a fainting fit, the effects of which were mistaken by many for the stroke of death. However, his Majesty gradually, though imperfectly, revived, and was then removed into his bed.

"From this time his voice was not heard, except to pronounce the name of his valet. In less than an hour his Majesty expired, without a struggle and without a groan, the Queen kneeling at the bed-side, and still affectionately holding his hand, the comfortable warmth of which rendered her unwilling to believe the reality of the sad event.

"Thus expired, in the seventy-third year of his age, in firm reliance on the merits of his Redeemer, King William the Fourth, a just and upright king, a forgiving enemy, a sincere friend, and a most gracious and indulgent master."

This statement, which is intended to exhibit the late king in the closing scene of his life, as an excellent example of Christian piety and resignation, should not, considering the object for which it was published, be allowed to pass unnoticed; for whatever may have been the religious opinions of the affectionate and admiring narrator, it must be obvious to any one who understands the grounds of a sinner's acceptance with a just and a holy God, that the sentiments of the dying Monarch himself, as here described, and the actions of those who surrounded him, and especially of those who, by courtesy at least, might be considered religious instructors, betrays a sad ignorance of that faith in Christ which bringeth salvation.

66

The point in this narrative to which the eye of a Christian would be first directed, is the extreme reverence paid by all the parties mentioned to that erroneous work of man's hand, the Prayer-book of the Establishment. "To read the prayers for the morning service," "to read the prayers for the evening service," "to read the service as far as the prayers for the Church Militant," to read the Communion service," seems, as far as we can learn, to comprehend all that they knew of the method of approaching the throne of grace, "to obtain mercy, and to find grace to help in time of need." The effect of this ceremony is described by the narrator in strange language; "it had the happiest effect on the King's spirits," an effect which the comely presence of the prelate, though sitting in speechless silence, seems to have produced as powerfully as the Prayer-book. But what do the Scriptures tell us of "reading prayers with the happiest effect on the spirits ?" Alas! they that yield themselves to such imaginations, know not in what an illusion they are held. The consolations of a dying Christian depend not on printed forms of prayer, and the presence of mitred dignitaries, arrayed in pontifical attire, however venerable, meek, and benignant the countenance of the dignitary may be, but rather in the indwelling of the Spirit (Rom. viii. 11: 1 Cor. iii. 16), which does, to them that are in Christ, shew forth its choicest fruits,-"joy and peace' (Gal. v. 22); and which ever having been a seal of promise (Eph. i. 13), does ingeminate its evidences as the day of redemption draweth nigh.

Did the Archbishop of Canterbury ever inform the royal invalid, "that if a man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ?" that to be a Christian according to the word of God, though not according to the Prayer-book, is, in intimate union with the Lord, to be "one spirit" with him (1 Cor. vi. 17), and "to be quickened together with Christ," having first received a full and free forgiveness of "all trespasses" (Col. ii. 13)? Did this high prelate ever inquire of the monarch if he knew himself, or ever had known himself to be a lost sinner, "dead in trespasses and sins ?" Did he endeavour to unveil the secret attestations of his conscience, and to set before his failing eyes the holiness of that God before whom the poor imperial son of Adam must soon be summoned, divested of his purple, unsceptered, un

not away

anointed, and uncrowned? Did he tell him that the unction which his own pontifical hands had poured upon his head, in the comedy of the coronation, was a mere act of child's play, communicating no holiness, imparting no grace, and conferring no benefit? but, that if he expected to wear that crown of righteousness which "fadeth amidst the innumerable society of kings and priests in the court of" the blessed and only Potentate;" he must first, by grace divine, be anointed unto the Church militant, "amongst the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people, to shew forth the praises of Him who had called him out of darkness into his marvellous light?" (1 Pet. ii. 9). Did the mitred preceptor essay to shew the deep, ingrained, ineradicable sin of unbelief in the human heart-ineradicable by human means and human priests, "for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. xii. 3); that the natural man is not solicitous to have an interest in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that he covets not the benefit of his sacrifice, and would not be washed in his blood; but rather seeks by a reformation of life, a bridling of the passions, a demure improvement of the disordered morals, a cold abstinence from evil deeds, a close observance of religious ceremonies, prayer-books, "sacraments," genuflexions, devout responses, reverential antiphonies, and holy prostrations, to set forth himself a propitiation through good works, rather than to accept " Him whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past......that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus ?" Did the prelate inquire if the king had ever been brought down low, in a sense of utter helplessness, before the crucified Lord of Life; and if at the foot of the cross he had seen Him who knew no sin to be made sin for believers, that they might become the righteousness of God in him; he taking the sin which they never could have borne, and they the righteousness which they never could have procured? What said the Archbishop about the Church of God, "chosen in Christ Jesus and called "? What pains did he take to draw a broad distinction between a church called in a parish and the Church called in grace; between the world and the Church, between the children of light and the sons of darkness, between the kingdom of Christ and the empire of Satan?

a

But how should the Archbishop ever touch on topics like these, or molest a monarch with these curious questions? for had he expatiated on the foundation of a sinner's hope through grace, the prayer-book would have contradicted all his statements, and contravened all his explanations. Had he insisted on justification by faith the prayer-book would have reproved him, and have reminded him of justification by baptism. The dying monarch had been sprinkled in his infancy; the prayer-book had declared that when the ceremony took place, he became member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." How then could justification by faith ever be introduced, or even be made a matter of allusion in such a system? Are not "the members of Christ, the children of God, and the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven" already justified? What more can be added in the way of privilege to them? for they are in Christ, and "there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." Not to be condemned is to be justified. Therefore, according to the doctrine of the Church of England, the members of Christ are justified by baptism in their infancy, and not by faith. All then that can be said to a dying sinner, according to this dark religion, is that by the sins of his after adult age he had tarnished the high privileges and prerogatives of his babyhood, and that, therefore, he must recover by repentance and righteousness the grace in which he once stood. In other words, justification by good works, broadly and clearly stated in the plainest terms, is the inevitable consequence of baptismal regeneration, unless indeed it be asserted that a baptised person cannot sin at all, and that what would be sin in another would not be sin in him: for who shall dare to tell a baptised sinner that he is to be justified by faith, when he had in his infancy been justified another way, had become "a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ?"

The Archbishop, therefore, as a Churchman, acted in a consistent and honourable manner in abstaining from the doctrines of the word of God, and in adhering to the religion prescribed for the clergy in the prayer book. But, alas! where is the consolation for a dying sinner in that melancholy collection of legal and distressing petitions? Justification by faith is not acknowledged anywhere in the liturgy of the Establishment: on the contrary, it is virtually denied; for, by its continually recur