y? he is one of the most original writers of the day;
he's an American, and, I believe, a congregationalist. Oh, I assure you,
you should read Coventry, although he is wrong on the question of
Church-government: you are not well _au courant_ with the literature of
the day unless you do. He is no party man; he is a correspondent of the
first men of the day; he stopped with the Dean of Oxford when he was in
England, who has published an English edition of his 'Dissertations,'
with a Preface; and he and Lord Newlights were said to be the two most
witty men at the meeting of the British Association, two years ago."

"I don't like Lord Newlights," said Charles, "he seems to me to have no
principle; that is, no fixed, definite religious principle. You don't
know where to find him. This is what my father thinks; I have often
heard him speak of him."

"It's curious you should use the word _principle_," said Sheffield; "for
it is that which Coventry lays such stress on. He says that Christianity
has no creed; that this is the very point in which it is distinguished
from other religions; that you will search the New Testament in vain for
a creed; but that Scripture is full of _principles_. The view is very
ingenious, and seemed to me true, when I read the book. According to
him, then, Christianity is not a religion of doctrines or mysteries; and
if you are looking for dogmatism in Scripture, it's a mistake."

Charles was puzzled. "Certainly," he said, "at first sight there _is_ no
creed in Scripture.--No creed in Scripture," he said slowly, as if
thinking aloud; "no creed in Scripture, _therefore_ there is no creed.
But the Athanasian Creed," he added quickly, "is _that_ in Scripture? It
either _is_ in Scripture, or it is _not_. Let me see, it either is
there, or it is not.... What was it that Freeborn said last term?...
Tell me, Sheffield, would the Dean of Oxford say that the Creed was in
Scripture or not? perhaps you do not fairly explain Coventry's view;
what is your impression?"

"Why, I will tell you frankly, my impression is, judging from his
Preface, that he would not scruple to say that it is not in Scripture,
but a scholastic addition."

"My dear fellow," said Charles, "do you mean that he, a dignitary of the
Church, would say that the Athanasian Creed was a mistake, because it
represented Christianity as a revelation of doctrines or mysteries to be
received on faith?"

"Well, I may be wrong," said Sheffield, "but