was so amiable, that I cannot forbear to wish for some poet or biographer to display it more fully for the advantage of pcsterity. If he did not stand in the first rank of genius, he may claim a place in the second; and, whatever criticism. may object to his writings, censure could find very little to blame in his life." No man may, with truth, assail Johnson for want of heart; he had, in fact, a truly humane disposition. Eulogy of a man from whom he could expect nothing if living, and to whom, dead, he owed no debt of gratitude, bespeaks a generous nature. The only defect in Fenton (a most venial fault in him, though not in others) was a physical indolence, the effect of constitutional debility. He was tall and corpulent, sluggish, a late riser, and took little exercise. An attendant, where he once lodged, used to say he would "lie a-bed and be fed with a spoon." Pope said he died of indolence; but his distemper was the fruit of physical indolence the gout. A story is told much to his credit, that we ought not to omit repeating:-"At an entertainment, made for the family by his elder brother, he observed that one of his sisters, who had married unfortunately, was absent; and found, upon inquiry, that distress had made her thought unworthy of invitation. As she was at no great distance, he refused to sit at the table till she was called, and when she had taken her place was careful to show her particular attention."

Such was Elijah Fenton, a man who exhibited, in a private scene, and on a limited stage, the virtues of the philosopher and of the Christian hero; evincing, in his patient forbearance, his firm integrity and honorable poverty, a resolution and high tone of principle, that more ennobles human nature than the dazzling victories and gaudy triumphs of the conqueror. This excellent man had the tastes, the habits, the

acquisitions, the pure aspirations of the genuine scholar, united to the calmness, the sagacity and moderation of the philosopher. A better tribute to his memory than a polished and epigrammatic epitaph, may be read in the following letter of Pope to the Rev. Mr. Broome, the mutual friend of Pope and Fenton, and their associate in the translation of the Odyssey. We annex it entire, with the complete details:

"To the Rev. Mr. Broome,

"At Pulham, near Harlestone, Nor.,

"[By Beccles, Bag.]

Suffolke. "Dear Sir, I intended to write to you on this melancholy subject, the death of Mr. Fenton, before yrs came; but stay'd to have informed myself and you of ye circumstances of it. All I hear is, that he felt a gradual decay, tho' so early in life, & was declining for 5 or 6 months. It was not as I apprehended, the gout in his stomach, but I believe rather a complication first of gross humors, as he was naturally corpulent, not discharging themselves, as he used no sort of exercise. No man better bore ye approaches of his dissolution (as I am told) or with less ostentation yielded up his Being, The great modesty which you know was natural to him, and ye great contempt he had for all sorts of vanity and Parade, never appeared more than in his last moments; he had a conscious satisfaction (no doubt) in acting right, and feeling himself honest, true, and unpretending to more than was his own. So he dyed, as he lived, with that secret, yet sufficient,

contentment.

"As to any papers left behind him, I dare say they can be but few; for this reason, he never wrote out of vanity, or thought much of the applause of men. I know one instance where he did his utmost to conceal his own merit that way;

and if we join to this his natural love of ease, I fancy we must expect little of this sort; at least I hear of none except some few further remarks on Waller (which his cautious integrity made him leave an order to be given to Mr. Tonson), and perhaps, though 'tis many years since I saw it, a Translation of ye first Book of Oppian. He had begun a tragedy of Dion, but made small progress in it.

"As to his other affairs, he dyed poor, but honest, leaving no debts or legacies; except of a few pounds to Mr. Trumbull and my Lady, in token of respect, gratefulness, and mutual esteem.

"I shall, with pleasure, take upon me to draw this amiable, quiet, deserving, unpretending Christian and philosophical character, in his epitaph. There truth may be spoken in a few words: as for Flourish, and Oratory, and Poetry, I leave them to younger and more lively writers, such as love writing for writing sake, and wd rather shew their own Fine Parts, yn report the valuable ones of any other man. So the Elegy I renounce.

"I condole with you from my heart on the loss of so worthy a man, and a Friend to us both. Now he is gone, I must tell you he has done you many a good office, and set your character in ye fairest light to some who either mistook you, or know you not. I doubt not he has done the same for me.

"Adieu: Let us love his memory, and profit by his example-I am, very sincerely,

"Dr Sir,

Thus wrote, not the just censor, the keen satirist, the brilliant moral painter, the gay, elegant, courtly letter-writer, the arch critic of the artificial school of poetry and of criticism; but the humane, the affectionate, the friendly Pope, out of his very heart of hearts, with earnestness and undoubted zeal. To question the truth of this were to insult humanity.

XV.

SWEDENBORGIANISM.

WE have here two accredited expositions of the character and tenets of the Swedenborgian sect, by respectable clergymen of that denomination; and, in order to satisfy the minds of those inquiring into the truth and genuineness of these doctrines, in ever so slight a degree, we shall present a brief abstract of them; but first, it may be necessary to lay before the reader some account of that extraordinary man, Emmanuel Swedenborg; for such, all who study his life and system must allow him to have been, however they may refuse to admit his apostolical or prophetic character.

Swedenborg was the son of a Lutheran bishop, and educated with, perhaps, something of sectarian rigor. We conceive we see, in this fact, an explanation of those visionary theories, and that "largest liberty," which occupied the

"A Course of five Lectures on the fundamental Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church," by Richard De Charms. 92 pp., 12mo., Philadelphia. "Barrett's Lectures," 12mo. John Allen.

thoughts of his latter years. From a restricted bigotry to unbounded freedom of belief, the transition is neither uncommon nor unnatural. Yet, true to his early education, Swedenborg never left the communion of the Lutheran Church, but remained a member to the day of his death. Many of his sentiments, of a nobler morality, and much of the spiritual interpretation, which he vulgarized by its too frequent use, might safely be introduced into every sect, and into the bosom even of the true Church; but then, purely in an episodical manner, and not as the only saving truth. Though writing and teaching as a man sent down from the Lord," yet it is not until after his death that his followers united together to form, what they assumed to style (with sufficient humility to be sure) The New Church. Sectarian arrogance and spiritual conceit have rarely transcended this.

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Swedenborg was early distinguished for quickness, industry, memory and enthusiasm. He had a rich, luxuriant fancy, and some poetical talent. He was a chemist, linguist, and mathematician: understood metallurgy and anatomy, and possessed an inventive spirit, and an original vein, in all of these. He was more than this, a clear, exact, methodical man of business; drew up the best financial reports, succeeded in embassies, and made himself a useful statesman. Altogether, he was a man of rare natural abilities, with much and various culture. He filled numerous offices of high trust, was ennobled and honored with distinguished attentions; at one time the favorite of Charles XII.; and, if we are not in error, he converted a later sovereign to his peculiar views. Swedenborg, from all accounts, must have been an honest man, a pure man, a sincere Christian, but a religious enthusiast; and, as we cannot help thinking, possessed with a monomania, not fierce and turbulent, but gentle and spiritual. It has been