Southern Christian Advocate

PRESERVATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.
The narrative which follows is extracted from the life of Mr. Campbell, the African missionary traveller. It contains a fact, probably unknown to most of our readers, and will be as delightful to the Christian, and especially the theologian, as it is important and edifying:-
"Search the Scriptures." I remember distinctly an interesting anecdote referring to the late Sir David Dalrymple, better known to literary men abroad by his title of Lord Hailes, a Scottish Judge. I had it from the late Rev. W. Buchanan, one of the ministers of Edinburgh. I took such interest in it, that though it must be about fifty years ago since he told it, I think I can almost relate it in Mr. Buchanan's words:
" I was dining sometime ago with a literary party at old Mr. Abercrombie's, and we were spending the evening together. A gentleman present put a question which puzzled the whole company. It was this:—Supposing all the New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at the end of the third century, could their contents have been recovered from the writings of the first three centuries? The question was novel to all, and no one even hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry.
"About two months after this meeting, I received a note from Lord Hailes, inviting me to breakfast with him next morning. He had been one of the party. During breakfast he asked me if I recollected the curious question about the possibility of recovering the contents of the New Testament from the writings of the first three centuries? I remember it well, and have thought of it often, without being able to form any opinion or conjecture on the subject.'
Well, said Lord Hailes, ' that question quite accorded with the turn or taste of my antiquarian mind. On returning home as I knew I had all the writings of those centuries, I began immediately to collect them, that I might set to work on the arduous task as soon as possible." Pointing to a table covered with papers, he said, 'There have I been busy for these two months, searching for chapters, half-chapters and sentences of the New Testament, and have marked down what I have found, and where I found it; so that any person may examine and see for themselves. I have actually discovered the whole New Testament from those writings, except seven or eleven verses, which satisfied me that I could discover them also. Now,' said he, 'here was a way in which God concealed or hid the treasure of his Word, that Julian the apostate emperor, and other enemies of Christ who wished to extirpate the Gospel from the world, never would have thought of; and though they had, they never could have effected their destruction.'