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Article CHURCH PREFERMENT. ← Page 2 of 2
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Church Preferment.
. Now , on- toat doctrine being laid down , I wish you , my - friend , a loophole to escape through . Going to church last Sundayas usual , I saw an unknown face in tiie pulpit ; and risitm- up to prayers , as others do on the like occasion , I began to look round the church to find out if there were any pretty girls there , when my attention was attracted by the foreign accent of the parson . I crave him attentionand had
my , my devotion awakened bv the mosUrithetic prayer I had ever heard . This made me all attention to the sermon ; a finer discourse never came front the li ps of man . I returned in the afternoon , aud heard the same preacher exceed his morning ' s work , by tiie finest chain of reasonings , conveyed by the most eloquent expressions . 1 immediately thought of what Felix said to Paul , " Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian " I sent to ask the man of God to honour my roof , and to dine with me . I asked him his country .
_ _ My name is Dishingtou , " says he , " I am assistant to a mad minister in the Orkneys , who enjoys a fruitful benefice of fifty pounds a year ; out of which I am allowed twenty pounds for preach- ' mgand instructing i 2 oo people , who live in the separate islands ^ out of which I pay one pound five shillings sterling to the boatman who transports me from the one to the other b y turns . I should be happy if I could continue in that terrestrial
paradise ; hut we have a great Lord , who has many little people soliciting him for many little- things that he can do , and cannot do ; and if my minister dies his succession is too great a prize not to raise up many powerful rivals to balk my hopes of preferment . " I asked him if he possessed any other wealth ; " " Yes , " said he married the
, " I prettiest girl in the island ; she has blest me with three children ; as we are both young , we may expect more ' besides , I am so . well beloved , that I have all my peat broiis'lit carriage-free . " *" " This is my story . Now to the prayer of the petition . I never hefore envied the possession of the Orkneyswhich I do
you , now , only to provide for this eloquent , innocent apostle . The sun has refused your barren isles his kindly influence ; do not rob them of so pleasant a preacher , but let not so great a treasure lie for eve > - locked up in that damned , inhdspitable country ; for I assure you if the archbishop of Canterbury was to hear him , or to hear of him , he ' would do no less than to make him an archdeacon ; the man has ' but weaknessthat of
one , preferring the Orkney s to all the earth . This way , and-no other , you have a chance for salvation . Do this mart good , and he will pray for you ; that will be a better purchase than your Irish estate , or the Orkney s ; and I think it will hel p me well forward too , since I am the man , who told you of the man so worthy and deserving , so pious , so eloquent , and whose prayers may do much good . Till I hear from you on this head I bid you farew ' ell
" yours , in all meekness , " Love and benevolence , « May 1774 . " .. 11 DALRYMPLE . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Church Preferment.
. Now , on- toat doctrine being laid down , I wish you , my - friend , a loophole to escape through . Going to church last Sundayas usual , I saw an unknown face in tiie pulpit ; and risitm- up to prayers , as others do on the like occasion , I began to look round the church to find out if there were any pretty girls there , when my attention was attracted by the foreign accent of the parson . I crave him attentionand had
my , my devotion awakened bv the mosUrithetic prayer I had ever heard . This made me all attention to the sermon ; a finer discourse never came front the li ps of man . I returned in the afternoon , aud heard the same preacher exceed his morning ' s work , by tiie finest chain of reasonings , conveyed by the most eloquent expressions . 1 immediately thought of what Felix said to Paul , " Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian " I sent to ask the man of God to honour my roof , and to dine with me . I asked him his country .
_ _ My name is Dishingtou , " says he , " I am assistant to a mad minister in the Orkneys , who enjoys a fruitful benefice of fifty pounds a year ; out of which I am allowed twenty pounds for preach- ' mgand instructing i 2 oo people , who live in the separate islands ^ out of which I pay one pound five shillings sterling to the boatman who transports me from the one to the other b y turns . I should be happy if I could continue in that terrestrial
paradise ; hut we have a great Lord , who has many little people soliciting him for many little- things that he can do , and cannot do ; and if my minister dies his succession is too great a prize not to raise up many powerful rivals to balk my hopes of preferment . " I asked him if he possessed any other wealth ; " " Yes , " said he married the
, " I prettiest girl in the island ; she has blest me with three children ; as we are both young , we may expect more ' besides , I am so . well beloved , that I have all my peat broiis'lit carriage-free . " *" " This is my story . Now to the prayer of the petition . I never hefore envied the possession of the Orkneyswhich I do
you , now , only to provide for this eloquent , innocent apostle . The sun has refused your barren isles his kindly influence ; do not rob them of so pleasant a preacher , but let not so great a treasure lie for eve > - locked up in that damned , inhdspitable country ; for I assure you if the archbishop of Canterbury was to hear him , or to hear of him , he ' would do no less than to make him an archdeacon ; the man has ' but weaknessthat of
one , preferring the Orkney s to all the earth . This way , and-no other , you have a chance for salvation . Do this mart good , and he will pray for you ; that will be a better purchase than your Irish estate , or the Orkney s ; and I think it will hel p me well forward too , since I am the man , who told you of the man so worthy and deserving , so pious , so eloquent , and whose prayers may do much good . Till I hear from you on this head I bid you farew ' ell
" yours , in all meekness , " Love and benevolence , « May 1774 . " .. 11 DALRYMPLE . "