and the State that is considered foremost in education. Out of 243
churches, 163 are situated in Massachusetts. I have never heard any
reason given for this curious fact; doubtless the great talents of
Channing tended to swell their numbers, but could hardly account for the
extraordinary proportion established in this State.

In proportion to its numbers, it will be seen that the Episcopal is the
wealthiest of all Churches; and yet we find complaint made of the
insufficiency of the support for their ministers. Bishop Eastburn, of
Massachusetts, in a pastoral letter, states that in his diocese
"respectable parents will not bring up their children to the clerical
profession, because the salaries hardly keep people from starving." How
far this is true generally, or whether confined to his own
neighbourhood, I cannot say. The Episcopal Church in America is free
from the violent factions that have distracted and thrown obloquy upon
the sister church in this country. The puerile struggle about surplices,
and candles, and steps up to altars, and Brussels lace offerings, appear
to have attracted little attention among those in America, whose
theological views assimilate with the extreme high party in England: and
I never heard, during my residence in the States, any of that violent
and uncharitable language with which discussions on religious topics too
frequently abound in this country; nor is the Episcopal community by any
means so divided as it is here. The Bishop of New Zealand is far nearer
their type than the controversial prelate of Exeter.

The Book of Common Prayer, as arranged by Convention in 1790, is well
worthy of notice, and, in many points, of imitation. These pages are not
the proper place for a theological discussion, and my only reason for
touching upon the subject at all is, that the public voice is constantly
calling for some modification of the great length of our present Sunday
services, and I therefore conclude that the following observations may
be interesting to some of my readers.

The leading points of retrenchment are--removing all repetitions, such
as the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Collect for the day; a portion
of the close of the Litany is omitted at the discretion of the minister.
The Communion Service is not read every Sunday. I suppose the Church
authorizes this omission at the discretion of the minister, as I have
attended service on more than one occasion when the Communion was not
r