u have done, in thus volunteering your advice to the
"Bishops, Elders, and other Ministers," of the Methodist Church. An old
political party hack, who is not now, and never was, a member of any
Church--an intriguing old sinner, who never even attends Church, and
who, in this respect, shows that he neither fears God, respects the
Christian Sabbath, nor "approves the creed" of any orthodox
denomination, to be lecturing a numerous body of Clergymen, as to what
they ought or ought not to do, it is the culmination of all that is
called effrontery! The "Bishops, Elders, and other Ministers" of the
Methodist Church, wish the _evidence_ of your conversion to God, before
they consent to obey you, as "having the rule over them." Your approval
of their "creed," and the "satisfaction" with which you have witnessed
their progress, is not sufficient to satisfy their doubting minds, as
long as you continue to ride into Nashville on Sabbath, and retail
political slang at the INN, or read Sag Nicht papers at the _Union
Office_, to the neglect of the house of God, and the evil example set
before young men, against the statute in such cases made and provided!
We must, as Ministers, hear you relate your experience, in a regular
class-meeting. Nay, more, knowing your _raising_, and your ability to
"deceive, even the very elect," we must see you down upon your
marrow-bones, surrounded by noisy and zealous officials, pounding you on
the back, and exclaiming, as in the days of your "sainted father," _Pray
on, Aaron_! We must hear you _groan_--we must see your sinful old bosom
_heave_--we must witness the falling of _big tears_, as you publicly
confess and manfully repent of your misdeeds--of the whole catalogue, of
all the inward and outward iniquities of your past life--your sins of
omission and commission, which God knows are more numerous than the
hairs upon your old sinful head! I say we must see all this, and even
more, before we can have faith in your teachings, as big as even a grain
of mustard seed!

But you are the "son of a now sainted father"--you derive great
"satisfaction" from the "growth and progress" of Methodism--you
"approve" the Methodist "creed"--and hence, a glorious future awaits the
Methodist Church: _provided_ always, that her "Bishops, Elders, and
other Ministers" hearken to and obey your teachings, a thing they are
very certain not to do, in the matter under consideration. It is a
melancholy fact, that many of the son