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BAPTISTS. 
that in the divine mission of the founder ; 
happy day, when no man shall be excluded 
from the right-hand of fellowship, because 
he cannot believe in dogmas of self-created 
censors, and who cannot join in the cere- 
monies, for which there is no direct sanction 
in the New Testament. 
“ Not many years ago at Whittlesfbrd, 
seven miles from Cambridge, forty-eight 
persons were baptized in that ford of the 
river from which the village takes its name. 
At ten o’clock, of a very fine morning in 
May, about 1500 people of different ranks 
assembled together. At half past ten in 
the forenoon, the late Dr. Andrew Gifford, 
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Sub- 
librarian of the British Museum, and Tea- 
cher of a Baptist Congregation in Eagle- 
street, London, ascended a moveable pul- 
pit, in a large open court-yard, near the 
river, and adjoining to the house of the 
lord of the manor. Round him stood the 
congregation ; people on horseback, in 
coaches, and in carts, formed the outside 
semicircle; many other persons sitting in 
the rooms of the house, the sashes being 
open, all were uncovered, and there was a 
profound silence. The doctor first gave 
out a hymn, which the congregation sung. 
Then he prayed. Prayer ended, he took 
out a New Testament, and read his text. 
£ I indeed baptize you with water unto re- 
pentance’. He observed, that the force of 
the preposition had escaped the notice of 
the translators, and that the true reading 
w as — .< I indeed baptize, or dip you in water 
at, or upon repentance;’ which sense he 
confirmed by the 41st verse of the 12th of 
Matthew, and other passages. Then he 
spoke as most Baptists do on these occa- 
sions, concerning the nature, subject, mode, 
and end of this ordinance. He closed by 
contrasting the doctrine of infant sprinkling, 
with that of believers’ baptism, which being 
apart of Christian obedience, was supported 
by divine promises, on the accomplishment 
of which all good men might depend. Af- 
ter sermon, he read another hymn, and 
prayed, and then came down. Then the 
candidates for baptism retired to prepare 
themselves. About half an hour after, the 
administrator, who that day was a nephew 
of the doctor’s, and admirably qualified for 
the work, in a long black gown of fine baize, 
without a hat, with a small New Testament 
in his hand, came down to the river side, 
accompanied by several Baptist ministers 
and deacons of their churches, and the per- 
sons to be baptized. The men came first, 
two and two, without hats, and dressed as 
usual, except, that, instead of coats, each 
had on a long white baize gown, tied round 
the waist with a sash. Such as had no hair 
wore white cotton or linen caps. The wo- 
men followed the men, two and two, all 
dressed neat, clean, and plain, and their 
gowns white linen or dimity. It was said, 
the garments had knobs of lead at the bot- 
tom to make them sink. Each had a long 
light silk cloak hanging loosely over her 
shoulder, a broad ribband tied over her 
gown beneath the breast, and a hat on her 
head. They all ranged themselves around 
the administrator at the water side. A 
great number of spectators stood on the 
bank of the river on both sides ; some had 
climbed and sat on the trees ; many sat on 
horseback and in carriages, and all behaved 
with a decent seriousness, which did honour 
to the good sense and the good manners of 
the assembly, as well as to the free consti- 
tution of this country. First the admjnis- 
trator read an hymn, which the people 
sung ; then he read that portion of scrip- 
ture which is read in the Greek church 
on the same occasion, the history of the 
baptism of the eunuch, beginning at the 
23d verse, and ending with the 39th. About 
ten minutes he stood expounding the verses, 
and then taking one of the men by the 
hand, he led him into the water, saying as 
he went, ‘ see here is water, what doth 
hinder? If thou believest with all thine heart, 
thou mayest be baptized.’ When. he came 
to a sufficient depth, he stopped, and with 
the utmost composure, placing himself on 
the left hand of the man, his face being to- 
wards the man’s shoulder, he put his right 
hand between his shoulders behind, gather- 
ing into it a little of the gown for hold : the 
fingers of the left hand he thrasted under 
the sash before, and the man putting his 
two thumbs into that hand, he locked all 
together by closing his hand. Then he de- 
liberately said, ‘ I baptize thee in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost:’ and while he uttered these 
words, standing wide, he gently leaned him 
backward and dipped him once. As soon 
as he had raised him, a person in a boat 
fastened there for the purpose, took hold of 
the man’s hand, wiped his face with a nap- 
kin, and led him a few steps to another at- 
tendant, who then gave his arm, walked 
with him to the house, and assisted him to 
dress. There were many such in wailing, 
who like the primitive susceptors, assisted 
during the whole service. The rest of the 
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