Richard Baxter."
Baxter's literary career was not the least extraordinary part of his history. Orme's life of him says, that the catalogue of his works contains nearly a hundred and sixty-eight distinct publications. A list of no less than one hundred and seven is given at the end of his Compassionate Counsel to all Young Men, 8vo., Lond. 1682.
Baxter's most popular treatises, as the world knows, were his Call to the Unconverted, and his Saint's Everlasting Rest.
H. E.
Registry of Dissenting Baptisms in Churches.—A fact came to my knowledge some time since, which seems worthy of having a note of it made, and recorded in your journal. On looking over the registry of baptisms administered in the meeting-house of an ancient city, I was struck by the occurrence of four names, which I had seen entered in a genealogy as from the baptismal registry of one of its parish churches. This appeared to me so strange, that I examined the parish registry in order to verify it; and I found that the baptisms were actually recorded as on the same days in both registries. Of course, the father, having had his child baptized by the dissenting minister, prevailed on the clergyman of his parish church to register it.
Whether this was a common custom at the time when it took place (1715-21) I have no means of knowing. As a fee was probably charged for the registration, it was not likely to be asked for in all instances; and, no doubt, when it was asked for, many clergymen would consider it inconsistent with their duty to grant it.
D. X.