hing for your flimsy network,
born of Plato and Schelling. You explain away and refine--Brock does
nothing of the kind: 'It is in the Bible--it is there!' he exclaims, and
that is sufficient for him. You may say it is absurd, it is opposed to
reason and common-sense. You can no more move Brock than you can the
Monument.

I take it, this is the secret of Brock's success: he is positive and
dogmatic, and people want something positive and dogmatic. It is only
one day in the week that Smithers can spare for theology; and, wearied
with the cares of six working days, he requires the theology he gets on
the seventh shall be positive and plain. With the monk in 'Anastasius,'
he feels that life is too short to hear both sides. The British public
does not like to be bothered. It likes everything settled for it, and
not by it. Hence it is Macaulay's 'History of England' is so popular.
Your popular preacher must be dogmatic: the more dogmatic he is, the more
popular he will be. Brock's earnest dogmatism does everything for him.
There is no great beauty in his style, there are no bursts of splendour
in his sermons, there is no speculation in his eye; but he has a vehement
tone, is plain, affectionate, practical, full of point and power.

Brock is one of the Catholic Baptists, and will admit to the table of
their common Lord all who believe in Christ as their common head. He has
not improved by his removal to London. He preached better sermons in
Norwich than here, and he has got a slight affectation which I don't
remember at Norwich. He mouths his a's as if he had, to use a common
phrase, an apple-dumpling in his mouth, and occasionally painfully
reminds you of a vulgar man trying to speak fine; but I believe this is
unconsciously done on his part. At Norwich he was an ardent politician,
advocated complete suffrage, defended the Anti-State-Church movement, and
is, I believe, one of the few leading London Dissenting ministers who
still fraternise with the Association now known as the Society for the
Liberation of Religion from State Patronage and Control. As a platform
orator, he is very effective: he is everywhere the same--everywhere you
see the same hearty dogmatism and genial sincerity. You may differ from
such a man, but you cannot dislike him; you would rather have him for a
friend than a foe. To his own denomination he is a tower of strength.
He is the first man who has made the Baptists popular at the West-en