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[Illustration: cover]




  THE

  SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON.

  [Illustration:

  DRAWN BY G. H. THOMAS.       ENGRAVED BY W. L. THOMAS.

  THE OLD SHEPHERD.

  Vol. i. page 2.]

  [Illustration:

  the
  Sheepfold
  and the
  Common
  OR
  WITHIN & WITHOUT.

  Blackie & Son Glasgow Edinburgh and London.]




  THE

  SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON:

  OR,

  WITHIN AND WITHOUT.


  VOL. I.

  "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
        me."--JOHN x. 27.

  "Them that are without God judgeth."--1 COR. v. 13.

  [Illustration: logo]

  BLACKIE AND SON:

  GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, LONDON, AND NEW YORK.

  MDCCCLXI.


  GLASGOW:

  W. G. BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS,

  VILLAFIELD.




PREFACE.


This Work was originally published, above thirty years ago,
under the title of the _Evangelical Rambler_. It has long been
out of print; and its republication at the present time has been
recommended, as calculated to assist in arresting the progress
of some popular errors and dangerous institutions, and in aiding
the advancement of truth and social happiness. This opinion was
strengthened by a knowledge of the fact, that, according to the most
accurate calculations, from sixty thousand to a hundred thousand
copies of the Work, under its original title, were issued from the
English press, whilst in America it obtained an equally extended
circulation; and from the still more important fact of the Author
having received, from a large number of persons, assurances, both by
letter and personal interviews, of their having derived their first
religious impressions and convictions from perusing its pages. A new
and thoroughly-revised Edition is, therefore, now issued, under the
title of "THE SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON," as being more descriptive
of the aim and intention of the Work than its former name.

The object of the Work is to afford instruction and amusement,
conveyed by a simple narration of the events of every-day life. In
constructing his story, the Author has availed himself occasionally
of the conceptions of his fancy, and at other times he has crowded
into a narrow compass facts and incidents culled from an extended
period of his history; but reality forms the basis of every
narrative and of every scene he has described. He has departed
from the common-place habit of presenting the grand truths of the
Christian faith in didactic and dogmatic statements, preferring the
dramatic form, as more likely to arrest the attention and interest
the feelings, especially of the youthful and imaginative portion
of the community. In adopting this style of composition, he has
thus endeavoured to follow the footsteps of the great Prophet of
Israel, who often spake in parables, veiling truth in a beauteous
external vehicle, to captivate and teach his hearers, while their
prejudices were lying dormant. In no book of human authorship can we
find specimens of imaginative composition that will compare with the
following examples from the New Testament, which the Author quotes,
in illustration and defence of the principle on which his Work is
based.

On no occasion during the ministry of Jesus Christ are we so
thoroughly convinced of the fatal danger of trusting in our own
attainments and doings for our salvation, and of the absolute
safety of reposing exclusive confidence in Him for this inestimable
blessing, as when he places us in imagination on the shore, after
the desolating storm has completed its work of destruction, leaving
us to gaze on the ruins of the one house erected on the sand; while
we see the other remaining secure on the unmoved and unshaken rock,
in stern and tranquil defiance of all tempests and hurricanes. _See_
Matt. vii. 24-28.

We have more definite and more vivid impressions of the invisible
world--of the calm repose and fraternal fellowship of the saved, and
of the privations and anguish of the lost, when reading our Lord's
description of the condition of Lazarus and the rich man, than is
produced on our minds by his announcement of the issue of the day of
judgment, when the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, and
the righteous into life eternal. Luke xvi. 19-26.

The Work, under its new title, "THE SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON," has
undergone a very careful revision; many portions of the original
have been re-written, and others omitted to make room for new
matter of more interest and importance at the present time. While
carrying out the main object of the Work, as already adverted
to--namely, to present the grand doctrines of the Christian faith in
a pleasing and attractive manner--the Author has also endeavoured to
elucidate various topics important to the church at large and to the
well-being of society in general; and though he has not plunged into
the mazes of controversy, with the obscure and often unintelligible
advocates of the theological heresies of the age, yet many of the
more prominent of these have been subjected to a severe and, he
trusts, an impartial examination.

If the re-issue of this Work should prove as successful in conveying
spiritual life to the spiritually dead--in relieving the anxious
inquirer from his misgivings and perplexities--and in administering
the consolations of faith and hope to the devout believer, while
passing through the varied seasons of his eventful history, as it
proved in its less perfect and less attractive form--then, whether
living or dying, the Author will indulge the hope of meeting many,
at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be to him a crown
of rejoicing for ever.

[Illustration: decoration]




CONTENTS.

VOL I.


                                         _Page_

  The Lonely Widow,                           1

  The Widow's Son,                           11

  The Widow's Son Reclaimed,                 21

  Fairmount,                                 32

  A Morning's Ramble,                        43

  The Horningsham Sailor,                    53

  The Rector of Broadhurst,                  65

  A Visit to the Rectory,                    76

  Saturday Evening at Fairmount,             92

  A Sabbath Morning at Fairmount,           107

  Sabbath Evening at Fairmount,             121

  The Bible Disdained,                      132

  The Bible Precious,                       149

  The Family of the Roscoes,                154

  The Social Party,                         164

  Miss Roscoe,                              174

  A Village Funeral,                        186

  Miss Roscoe withdraws from Gay Life,      197

  Fresh Perplexities,                       209

  The Religious Party,                      217

  Miss Roscoe,                              226

  The Family of the Lawsons,                235

  Calm Discussion,                          246

  Self-Delusion,                            257

  A Night Calamity,                         266

  A Surprise,                               276

  The Consultation,                         287

  The Dark Vale Illumined,                  297

  Intemperate Zeal,                         307

  Baptismal Regeneration a Fiction,         317

  The Retired Christian,                    328

  Spiritual Regeneration a Reality,         336

  The Evidences of Spiritual Regeneration,  346

  On Conversion,                            357

  The Tendency of Evangelical Preaching,    370

  On Attending an Evangelical Ministry,     383

  The Unhappy One,                          397

  The Scene Changes,                        410

  The Tractarian at Fault,                  421

  The Popular Delusion,                     443

  The Churchman's Lament,                   455

  Right at Last,                            478

  The Quakeress,                            495

  An Escape from a False Refuge,            518

  Christmas,                                544

  Winter Scenes,                            560

  On Apostolical Succession,                574




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. I.


                                                      _Page_

  THE OLD SHEPHERD,                          _Frontispiece_.

  WITHIN AND WITHOUT,                      _Engraved Title_.

  Return of the Widow's Son,                              22

  A Prospect of Fairmount,                                32

  First Interview with Farmer Pickford,                   47

  The Church of the Neglected Parish,                     66

  Mr. Guion's First Interview with the Misses Brownjohn,  82

  A Lamb of the Flock Borne to her Rest,                  87

  The Woodman's Family in Affliction,                    105

  "We Work on Sunday till Dinner-time,"                  110

  Mr. Tennent and the Tract-seller,                      151

  The House of Mourning,                                 187

  Evening Walk--Moonrise,                                261

  The Lost Child Restored,                               270

  The Dark Vale Illumined,                               300

  The Discussion in the Stage Coach,                     423

  Christmas Eve,                                         551

  The Death of the Woodman,                              570




THE

SHEEPFOLD AND THE COMMON.




THE LONELY WIDOW.


In the summer of the year 18--, I took an excursion through part
of the west of England; and after travelling on horseback several
days, I resolved to tarry at the beautiful village of Stanmoor.
Passing along, I stopped in front of a small but respectable looking
inn, whose honeysuckled porch and tidy exterior promised to afford
a tranquil and comfortable place of sojourn, and I made up my mind
to rest for a season beneath its humble roof. Having taken my
horse to the stable, and given the hostler instructions to take
good care of him, I was shown into a neat small back room, which
commanded a very beautiful view. As I stood gazing and musing while
the homely-looking landlady was preparing my coffee, the lines of
Milton's Morning Hymn recurred to my recollection; but never, till
that moment, had they produced such an exciting effect:--

    "These are thy glorious works, Parent of good:
     Almighty! Thine this universal frame:
     Thus wondrous fair! Thyself how wondrous then!
     Unspeakable: who sitt'st above these heav'ns,
     To us invisible, or dimly seen
     In these thy lowest works; yet these declare
     Thy goodness beyond thought, and pow'r divine."

My cogitations were interrupted by the landlady, who, as a mark of
respect, herself brought in my coffee, &c., put a small bell on the
table, and assured me, with a great deal of good-natured ease, that
she would endeavour to make me comfortable as long as I chose to
honour her house with my company. Having partaken of the provision
of the table, I resolved on taking a walk, and was told, that if I
turned short round to the right when past the clump of fir-trees, I
should soon come to a pleasant valley. This direction I followed;
and in about a quarter of an hour I entered one of the most romantic
vales I have ever visited. The sun was still gilding the tops of the
distant hills; the blue sky was enlivened by the song of the thrush,
and the responding notes of the yellow-hammer. As I walked on, my
attention was attracted by the bleating of a flock of sheep, which I
saw at a distance ascending a steep path, leading to a neighbouring
fold. I quickened my pace, that I might have some conversation with
the shepherd, who, with his dog, was bringing up the rear. He was an
old man of a swarthy complexion, and strongly marked features; his
gray hairs hung in locks over his shoulders, and his manners seemed
to indicate the presence of a superior mind. He made a courteous
bow; I saluted him, and remarked--"You are taking your flock home
to rest, which I hope sometimes reminds you of the approach of that
hour when you must rest from all your labours."

"Yes, it does; and, blessed be God, there is a rest provided for his
people."

This pious expression sprang a mine of exquisite feeling in my
breast; and I instantaneously felt a profound veneration and respect
for the old man, whom I now looked upon as a son of God in the
disguise of lowly and lonely humanity.

"I presume you know something about Jesus Christ, who is the way to
that place of rest."

"Yes, he is now my Saviour, though for many years I lived without
knowing anything about him. I often feel sorry when I think of the
many precious hours I have wasted by reading ballads and foolish
books, which I ought to have spent in reading my Bible."

"Do you ever attend a place of worship?"

"No, I never leave my flock."

"How, then, did you come to know anything about Jesus Christ?"

He put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a tract, and said,
as the big tear dropped upon his cheek, "This is the blessed book
that made known to me a blessed Saviour; and I would not part with
it for all the world."

Feeling anxious to hold in my hand the instrument which had been
employed by the "Eternal Spirit" in turning this aged man from
darkness to light, I asked him to let me see the tract. It bore the
following title, which had become nearly obliterated by frequent
use:--"The Good Old Way; or the Religion of our Forefathers, as
explained in the Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies of the Church of
England." I said to him, "How did you get this tract?"

"A lady gave it me one day, about three years ago; I don't know her;
but I hope she will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

"How do you spend your leisure time now?"

"In reading my Bible, which tells me so much about that dear
Saviour, in whom, through grace, I have believed, and who is able to
keep that which I have committed to him against the great day."

"I suppose you are much more happy now than you were before you knew
him?"

This question brought over his countenance one of the finest
expressions of delight I ever beheld; and, after a short pause, he
said, "More happy, Sir! I never was happy till I obtained mercy; but
now I am happy, and expect before long to join that blessed company
we read of in the Revelation, who serve God day and night in his
temple."

Having made a few unimportant inquiries about his family, the state
of agriculture, and the population of the district, I wished him
a good night, and left him. As I passed along, I said to myself,
I should like to watch the countenance, and listen to the remarks
of this converted shepherd, while some philosophic sceptic, in
flippant style, or in graver tone and sarcastic sneer, says to
him, "Why, shepherd, you have been long living amidst visible and
splendid realities; but now, in your old age, you are living under
the spell of legendary delusions. The Deity whom you now adore
is nothing but the idol of your own creation. The reported facts
and doctrines of the Bible, which have had such an effect on your
imagination, are either fabulous tales or superstitious dogmas; and,
notwithstanding your airy flights into another world, you, like your
sheep, will cease to be, when death comes to release you from your
labours, for there is no other world."

With what indignant astonishment, blended with pity, would the old
shepherd look on such a man; doubting, for a few moments, whether
he was not some infernal spirit in the human form. I can easily
imagine he would reply: "It is odd, Sir, that such a poor ignorant
old man as I be, that has lived for more than sixty years without
thinking about God at all, should all at once, and without intending
to do it, create by the force of my fancy such a pure, benevolent,
and glorious Being, as I now believe God to be; who stoops from his
high and lofty throne to listen to my poor prayers, and to answer
them too. And it is mainly odd, Sir, methinks, that these tales of
the Bible, if they be fabulous, and these doctrines of the Bible,
if they be nothing but superstitious dogmas, as you call them,
should all at once, and without my thinking of such a thing being
done, work such a great and blessed change in my hard and wicked
heart, and should make me so happy as I now be. It is, methinks,
a main pity that they have not worked on your heart as they have
on mine, and then you would be about as unable and as unwilling to
doubt their truth as I be. You say, Sir, there is no other world;
I should like to know how you happen to know this? have you been
to the sun, and the moon, and all the stars, and every where else
to see? If you have not, according to my plain way of thinking, I
think it is a main act of presumption for you to say so. You tell me
that I shall cease to be at death, just as these sheep will cease
to be. I should like to know how you happen to know this. Has our
Maker spoken to you out of heaven, and told you so: or is it mere
guess-work with you? No, no, Sir; I am not going to take your random
guess-work sayings as true gospel; I like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John too well for that; and now, to let you know my mind, I tell
you plainly, you come too late to make a poor man disbelieve his
Bible, if you