PORTRAIT GALLERY.

REV. JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

spring for the commonwealth of letters. All these individuals, along with many men of whom they are specimens, are and will be celebrated, because they were faithful to their calling, though that calling had no connection with It is a melancholy fact that Great Britain, a Christian literature; yet let a minister of Christ nobly discharge the country, has done more mischief abroad by her wars than solemn and important duties to which he has been vowed she has done good by her gospel; and that her mission- and consecrated, he will remain unnoticed by literary aries are few and uninfluential compared with her soldiers. journals unless he have also succeeded in a literary work, The harvest of death, on the single field of Waterloo, was or unless his pulpit services have been conducted in a litein itself more abundant than all the fruits which have rary manner. Is not this a most inexplicable and lamentblessed her peaceful labourers over the whole earth. Yet able fact? Has an entire devotion to war more to do with Birmingham, that prepares the horrid cutlery of slaughter literature than an entire devotion to the gospel? Is he, and arms the soldiery with the weapons of destruction, can who is nothing more than a soldier, to be eulogised by also boast of holding forth the olive-branch of peace; and literature, whilst he who separates himself' unto the gosin the person of Mr James-one of the warmest advocates pel of Jesus Christ, and has no ambition save to do good of union, civil, social, and religious-she possesses all that to the souls of others, must be left in obscurity? Unless, is amiable. The 'bane and antidote' are often together; therefore, literary men are prepared to be consistent and and in the large town in which swords and muskets are impartial in their exclusive dealings, and recall the soundmanufactured lives one who labours unceasingly for quieting praises which they have, day after day, bestowed on and love in the church universal and throughout the world, Wellington, Nelson, Howard, and Watt, we dare them to and whose energies are all consecrated to bring about that scorn us for introducing into our gallery the portraits of glorious consummation, when swords shall be turned into eminent pastors in the church of Christ. We tell them ploughshares, and men shall learn war no more. If our that a mere black-coat would be as great an ornament to national defences' (according to the present outcry) are their pages as a mere red-coat. We could understand to be increased, a large order will be sent to Birmingham; their reasons for slighting ministers, who do not happen and if on the other hand, the bulwarks of Zion' are to be to be literary men also, if they were likewise to slight built up, an equally large order will be sent to Birming- soldiers, who happen to be still less of literary men. Let ham for copies of James's Earnest Ministry.' literature magnify itself to any extent, let it look down Had our gallery been open only to literary, philosophical, with complacency or contempt upon all other pursuits, and theological princes, and had our plan been to com- and let it bestow its degrees of honour upon its own folmemorate and celebrate none save men of genius (in the lowers; but it acts with most outrageous inconsistency strict sense), Mr James, perhaps, could not have been ad- when it spurns mere clergymen and cherishes mere wared. But we desire to have other, broader, and more riors. We pity the late Mr Southey when, in his Life of varied views of human excellence; and as Coleridge was Wesley,' he betrays the conviction that the subject was unwent to maintain that all greatness is goodness, we are worthy of his literary pen; and we are led to ask, if a inclined occasionally to act upon the converse of this prin-Life of Nelson' was not at least as unworthy. We are ciple, viz, that remarkable goodness is greatness, and that justified in making these remarks, which are as true as the saint is a hero. As a man, a preacher, and a writer, they are new. The INSTRUCTOR will never scruple in the Mr James is distinguished by so much and such rare future, as it has never done in the past, to place distingoodness, that we may, without any apology, class him guished ministers, who have not cultivated literature, in with the illustrious, and present a hasty likeness of him to as honourable a rank as other journals assign to warriors, our readers. statesmen, philanthropists, and mechanicians, who, in their devotion to their peculiar calling, have been still more indifferent to literature.

In critical periodicals there is a tendency which we should wish to see corrected, as it is greatly injurious to the esteem and veneration which ought to be cherished for In a paper, several months ago, on the character of the benefactors of their country or their race at large. Archbishop Whately, we took occasion to laud the vast That tendency is to exact from a laborious and zealous riches of theology which England gave to the world two clergyman that he also be a literary man, and have made or three centuries ago. It is an undeniable fact that then, some extra-professional achievement, or, at least, that his our own country, however fertile in piety, did not produce sacred works have been imbued with literary qualities, ere much theology. The treasures of our religious knowledge he be entitled to the meed of genuine renown. Fame is have all been imported from the sister-country; and Scotawarded cordially and fully to all other professional men, land, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, could not who have exercised successfully their proper functions, compete with England in point of theology. The most acwhether literature has been cultivated or not; but no complished, eloquent, and profound preachers and divines clergyman, however distinguished he may have been in the men who could most systematically unfold the prinhis endeavours to win souls unto Christ,' will receive ciples, most forcibly and vividly inculcate and illustrate enourable mention in our leading journals, unless he shall the doctrines, and most triumphantly establish and defend have also made, either directly or indirectly, some contri- the divine origin of Christianity-were unquestionably to brations to literature. Save for Pilgrim's Progress,' Bun- be found on the other side of the Tweed. The giants were Jan's would have been a name absolutely unknown and all in the south, and the theologians of Scotland were comunpraised by the world. Dr Hugh Blair is occasionally paratively dwarfish and feeble. We think, however, that mentioned, because he adorned his sermons with the graces in modern times the last has become first and the first last of his very superficial literature; but George Whitfield, in this respect. English theology has lost its masculine whose whole life was an impassioned and wonderfully suc- character, its rich learning, its mathematical clearness esful sermon, receives no honour. Wellington is ad- and precision, its sublime oratory, and its luxuriant poetry. mitted, without a question being put, to the ranks of fame; It has degenerated sadly in all the qualities in which the ratory and poetry have exhausted themselves in praising present mocks the past architecture of religious edifices. m; he fought well, though he never composed a song or On the other hand, Scotland has proportionally improved; 14 essay. Nelson is celebrated; he made the sea over- and the sermons and treatises now published amongst us, whelm our enemies, though he never proved himself a poet surpass those of our brethren, though they are still, in the a philosopher, and though his 'Despatches' are singu- best qualities, inferior to the works of such masters as arly awkward and ungrammatical. Howard will never Jeremy Taylor, Barrow, and Howe. Scottish divines are be forgotten; he helped the helpless, and was an angel less superficial and declamatory than English ones, and blessing even the prison, though his appearances in more given to research and reasoning. Of course we are authorship were anything but extraordinary. James speaking generally of the mass of preachers in the two Watt has won high and permanent reputation; he origi- countries. We suppose that Dr Hamilton of Leeds, as a nated a new mechanical agency, though he begat no off-scholar, a logician, and a philosopher, has few if any rivals

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in Scotland as well as in England. We know that his dis-
courses were too highly intellectual for the audiences which
he found here.
Mr James of Birmingham has long been noted as one of
the ablest ministers in England. When a very young man,
he gained a popularity which has been steadily increasing;
and wherever he is to be heard he attracts large crowds,
and sends them away enthusiastic admirers of an eloquence
which has not become either cold or feeble from the infirmi-
ties of old age. For nearly half a century, he has enjoyed
great reputation as a pulpit orator, and that reputation is
alike traditionary and living. Men have listened to his
praises from their fathers, and when they are favoured
with an opportunity of judging for themselves, they will
utter praises of him as warm to their children. He is said
to be as powerful in the pulpit now as he was in the fer-
vour of his youth. He has been equally famous as a re-
ligious writer. At an early age he ventured upon author-
ship; and if books may be reckoned successful from having
acquired a wide circulation and from having accomplished
a great amount of good, the compositions of Mr James
have been eminently so. They have found very many
readers, and have left a salutary impression upon various
minds; and, in the light of Christian principles, this is far
more desirable than to meet with many critics and to re-
ceive pleasant adulation. His books pass rapidly into
several editions, and the multiplication of these is ever fol-
lowed by practical results which must gratify his benevo-
lent heart. Perhaps, either as a preacher or a writer, his
business is not so much with the objective truth as with
the subjective mind. He has left theology where he found
it; he cannot state or illustrate truth worthily, so far as
truth itself is concerned; and if he were left alone in the
world with truth, he would be but a dull and slow student
of it; but then he can present the truth in a most efficacious
way to many minds. He does little justice to the truth
as truth in itself—an abstract thing; but as the truth for
many minds, there are few expounders, either from the
pulpit or the press, who can do it more justice. So far as
truth is either ideal or mathematical he is unable to see
it, and, of course, to show it; but so far as it is practical
he can discuss it admirably. Adopting Coleridge's just
and valuable distinction, he has the faculty of understand
ing but not of reason-the faculty of fancy but not of ima-
gination. In other words, genius is awanting. He fits
most skilfully the truth which he teaches to the mind, but
not the mind to the truth.

are not in looks the best favoured portion of the community; and, certainly, when testing this opinion in the presence of a large gathering of clergymen, we have imagined that it was more accurate than otherwise. The gentlemen were all either very fat or very lean, and we were led to muse on Daniel's 'pulse' and the king's meat.' Corpu lency and spareness were presented in startling contrast; and what surprised us most of all was the fact that almost all the Falstaffs were doctors of divinity, so that really learning must, in modern times, be no weariness of the flesh. We also fancied that the general physiognomy was, intellectually, vacant and dull, for all expression seemed to be smoothed out of the faces, which were as innocent-looking as the white neckcloths which girded up the loins of their mind.'

Mr James's personal appearance is not by any means prepossessing or attractive. He is of large bulk, though he is not in this material respect, any more than in the immaterial ones, equal to his friend Dr Hamilton of Leeds. In repose, his features are rather inexpressive. His figure is heavy, and he seems to have but little command over his limbs when he is not in full oratorical power. He carries himself like so much clay into the pulpit; he sinks gravely into the cushioned seat as if he could never rise from it; but when he proceeds with the service, the animation and vigour are truly astonishing: the clay perspires largely, and seems to pass into energetic spirit-the broad face is at once flushed with excitement-all its expressions are self-collected in power-whilst a smile of pure and genuine benevolence settles over all the features, indicating the affectionate heart of the preacher.

of

Our first opportunity of hearing Mr James was when he took part in a service which the late Dr M'All of Manchester conducted. He was entirely eclipsed by the most eloquent preacher of Manchester, who, in appearance, voice, manner, and matter was the greatest orator we have ever been privileged to listen to. We heartily set our seal to the truth of the criticism which Dr Wardlaw, his biographer, has given, that in the pulpit Dr M'All was unrivalled. Still, in spite of being placed in disadvantageous comparison with Dr M'All, Mr James, even then, was seen to be a powerful orator. Without some of the necessary external qualifications, he yet possesses others of these in a high degree. He has a finely melodious voice, and his delivery is warm and impassioned, whilst his diction is rich with popular beauties and attractions. His sermons display a more than ordinarily strong It is pleasant to be able to add, that not only is Mr intellect, with copious fancy and deep sentiment, all speJames a popular preacher and author, but he is also a cially and exclusively directed to the practical purpose most diligent and affectionate pastor. Well known as he doing good to his hearers. In his youth, his rhetoric was is in all the churches, his own people in Birmingham know florid and covered with gaudy ornaments, yet even then and love him still more. For their spiritual welfare, he his leading design was to impart spiritual benefit. His toils in season and out of season, and we have been told fancy did not overlay his piety though it did his intellect. that there are very few congregations in which such a full Its very luxuriance stirred and moved with the breath of and energetic scheme of ministerial labour is carried out. religious zeal. To quote the fine language of Robert Hall, His intercourse with his flock is not the undignified ex- he ever remembered that the end of all religious dischange of gossip, nor is it the stately assertion of his course is the salvation of souls; and that to a mind which bishopric; nor is it the formal and heartless acknowledg-justly estimates the weight of eternal things, it will appear ment of the relation between them; but, as in the pulpit, so he is in his visitations at their houses, most anxious to promote their well-being both for time and eternity. To the ignorant and the vicious, he acts as a missionary; to the saint, as an experienced and careful elder brother; to the young, as a tender father; and to the afflicted and the dying, as a wise servant of the Great Physician. He has composed and published most excellent directions to ministers and other office-bearers of the church concerning pastoral duties, and his own conduct furnishes as excellent a model. It is easy to see how that, from those mental characteristics, at which we have merely hinted, his private and colloquial statements of truth must be singularly impressive. Ideal or mathematical truth is sure to be badly brought out and represented in conversation, but not so with practical truth.

Before proceeding to say more of Mr James as a preacher and writer, we must notice his personal appearance. We have heard it often remarked that ministers, as a class,

a greater honour to have converted a sinner from the error of his way, than to have wielded the thunder of a Demosthenes, or to have kindled the flame of a Cicero.'

As an author, Mr James has produced some of the most eminently useful works of the age. As specimens of profound or original thinking, they do not deserve to be mentioned at all; but for their practical influence on the minds of thousands of readers they have never been equalled. His Anxious Inquirer' has been the means of arousing many men to attend to their religious concerns. As distributed by the London Tract Society, it has been of immense benefit to the poorer classes of our population in large towns. It is also reported to have had a most salutary effect on several individuals of the best educated class. It not unfrequently happens that even highly intellectual men, either sceptical or indifferent about Christianity, are aroused to a sense either of its urgent importance or its authentic truth, by the sermons and treatises of divines who are earnest but of commonplace talents; and what