Gallus,* the successor of Decius in the empire, began, in a short time, to exhibit the worst features in his predecessor's character, at least as regards his treatment of the Christians. During his reign a most destructive pestilence visited Africa, carrying off entire families together. It was on this occasion that Cyprian and his fellow-Christians astonished the Pagans by their noble benevolence, and the disinterestedness of their conduct, in their exertions for the afflicted, whether friends or enemies; but the pagan Priests took occasion, from the general calamity, to exasperate the feelings of the people and the Emperor against the friends of humanity, by persuading them that the pestilence was occasioned by the anger of the gods at the lenity shown to those who despised and abused them. The hostility of Gallus, however, was short-lived; for he reigned scarcely two years, being slain by his soldiers, in the year 253.

Æmilianus, the Lieutenant and murderer of Gallus, after a brief reign of four months, gave way to Valerian, whom Gallus had appointed to the long-neglected office of Censor,† and whom he had sent to oppose Æmilianus, on hearing of his Lieutenant's defection. Valerian failed in saving his master from his rival's sword, but he avenged his death. His name and character induced the soldiers of the new Emperor to despatch their General, and choose Valerian Emperor in his stead, A.d. 254.

For three or four years Valerian treated the Christians with the most distinguishing attention. They had free access to his palace, and could appeal to him, at all times, against their enemies. Unhappily, however, he allowed Macrianus, his Prætorian Prefect,‡ to gain a paramount influence over him; and this man, addicted to the dark superstitions of Egypt, contrived so to embitter his mind against the objects of his former patronage and esteem, that he at length converted him into their most relentless persecutor. This Macrianus is accused by Eusebius of practising magic arts, and using enchantments, in the prosecution of which he murdered infants, and searched into the intestines of new-born babes.§ No wonder, then, that such a child of the devil should be an enemy of all righteousness, and especially infuriated against the preachers and followers of "the Holy One of God."

At the instigation of his wicked officer, Valerian published an edict, in the year 257,—and, the year after, one still more severe,—against the Christians, prohibiting them to assemble themselves together,|| and sending their

* Caius Vibrius Trebonianus Gallus was an African by birth. After the death of Decius he was associated in the empire with Hostilianus, Decius's only-surviving

son.

+ Censors were officers of great dignity, appointed to preside over the numbers, estates, and goods of the people. They divided the population into its proper classes and centurions. They took care of the taxes, of roads, and of public buildings. They were likewise expected to suppress all immorality, and punish it, in whatever rank or order it was found, whether Senators, Knights, or commons. Their station was considered more honourable than the consulship, and the persons who had been Consuls were those chosen for the censorship. The office ceased with the Emperors, until revived by Gallus.

The Prætorian Prefect was an officer appointed by the Emperor Augustus to command the Prætorian Cohorts or Imperial Life-Guard. The name is derived from the word Prætorium, "the General's tent;" all Commanders-in-Chief being anciently styled "Prætors." This officer being generally a favourite with the army, the soldiers, when they came to choose their own Emperor, usually pitched upon him.

§ Eusebius, b. vii., c. xi.

Before this, Eusebius remarks, "All his house was filled with pious persons, and was, indeed, a congregation of the Lord."

Bishops and teachers into banishment. The effect of these edicts was fearful. The venerable Cyprian, among many others, now received the crown of martyrdom; and Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, was banished from his see. It is time we should say something of this faithful man, who, for his many shining virtues, and Christian integrity, during the most trying periods of the church's history, has sometimes received the appellation of 66 the Great."

Dionysius is generally supposed to have been a native of Alexandria. Of the time or manner of his conversion we have no account; but, in the year 232, he was appointed President of the celebrated school of Alexandria, in the place of Heraclas, the successor of Origen, who was chosen Bishop of that place. Here he continued for sixteen years, after which he succeeded Heraclas in the episcopal office.

In the Decian persecution, Dionysius was apprehended, but providentially escaped out of the hands of his captors, and retired to the deserts of Libya, from whence, on the death of Decius, he returned to his see, and continued undisturbed for five years. He appears to have taken an active part in the Novatian schism, and also in the controversy concerning the validity of infant baptism, acting, as Dr. Cave says, more as a mediator than a controversialist.

Shortly after the Valerian persecution commenced, he was brought before Emilian, the Prefect of Egypt, and ordered to recant, for his own good, and as an example to others. His reply was, with decision, "We ought to obey God rather than men : I worship God, who alone ought to be worshipped." "Hear the clemency of the Emperor," rejoined the Prefect: “you are all pardoned, provided you return to a natural duty : adore the gods who protect the empire, and forsake those things which are repugnant to nature." Dionysius answered: "All men do not worship the same gods, but merely such as they severally suppose to be gods. But we worship the one God, the Maker of all things, who gave the empire to the most clement Emperors, Valerian and Gallienus; and to him we pour incessant prayers for the prosperity and permanence of the empire." The Prefect did not understand this reasoning. The edict of the Emperor insisted on conformity with the established system. A kind of accommodation, however, suggested itself to the mind of Æmilian, who exclaimed, "What is the reason, then, why you cannot continue to adore that God of yours, supposing him to be a God, in conjunction with our gods?" To this the venerable Bishop answered, in the language of primitive Christianity, "We worship no other God."

Dionysius was then banished to a village called Cephro, in one of the most desolate parts of the deserts of Libya, and ordered to depart instantly. An injunction was likewise laid upon him, that he should there hold no assemblies. His removal to Cephro, however, proved to be of God; for, finding the inhabitants in the most savage state, he set about reforming their manners, and instructing them in the religion of Christ, in which work and labour of love he was eminently successful, not only at Cephro, but in many neighbouring places, where many a flower of heavenly promise, planted by his hand, soon caused the wilderness and the solitary place to rejoice in the Lord. The following account of the Valerian persecution in Egypt, from his pen, will convey some idea of its character. He is writing to a friend :

"It is needless to specify by name our numerous martyrs, as you are not acquainted with them. It may suffice, therefore, to assure you, that per

sons of both sexes, and of every age and condition, have been crowned as conquerors in this combat: some having endured stripes, others fire, others the sword. You have heard how I, and Caius, and Faustus, and Peter, and Paul, when we were led bound by a Centurion and his soldiers, were seized by certain men of Mariota, and drawn away by violence. But at present I, and Caius, and Peter, being alone and separated from the rest of the brethren, are shut up in a dreary and uncomfortable part of Libya, being distant three days' journey from Parætorium." He adds, in another place :-"Some persons have hid themselves in the city, that they may secretly visit the brethren, as Maximus, Dioscorus, and Lucius, Presbyters; for Faustinus and Aquila, being more generally known, wander up and down in Egypt. All the Deacons died of the plague, except Faustinus, Eusebius, and Charamon. God empowered and strengthened Eusebius from the beginning, diligently to attend to the confessors* in prison, and to bury the bodies of the holy martyrs, not without imminent danger to himself, for the Governor to this day ceases not his cruelty towards those who are brought before him; killing some, and torturing others, or leaving them to pine away in prisons and fetters; at the same time he forbids any person to approach them, and strictly inquires whether any one has been seen to do so. God, however, still refreshes the afflicted, by the kind and assiduous attention of the brethren."

Valerian reigned for three years and a half, after he commenced his cruelties against the followers of Christ; when, having undertaken an expedition against Sapor, King of Persia, he was defeated, and carried in triumph to the Persian capital, where, invested with the imperial purple, he was exposed as an object of derision to the multitude. Sapor also, to degrade him further, compelled him to bend down whenever he mounted his horse, that he might use the neck of the fallen Emperor for a footstool; and at his death, to which grief and shame soon brought him, he caused his skin to be stuffed with straw, preserving as much of the human shape as possible, and placed it in the most celebrated temple of the kingdom, where it continued for ages a monument of Roman decline. "Valerian," Milner well remarks," had known and respected the Christians: his persecution must have been a sin against the light; and it is common with Divine Providence to punish such daring offences in a very exemplary manner."

From the deposition of Valerian until the commencement of the fourth century, a period of more than forty years, the African church had rest, and, we would willingly add, was edified; but, alas! tranquillity produced its usual results in the decay of vital godliness, and the growth of strifes and divisions within the Christian citadel, where union was the only strength of the defenders. The scourge, however, was being prepared; and when the season of its infliction arrived, it was applied with no weak or vacillating hand.

The name of confessors was given to those who, in spite of torture, and the threat of execution, and in contempt of life, honour, riches, and every earthly advantage, had confessed the faith of Christ crucified before the Roman tribunals. That of martyrs belonged to such as had actually died in the cause of the Redeemer. The respect which was paid to both was at length productive of great abuse. The superstitions of shrines, relics, and pilgrimages, grew out of it, and the worship of Christ became almost a matter of indifference compared with the veneration demanded for his departed creatures.

(To be concluded in our next.)

797

THE CLAIMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STEP-MOTHERS.*

THE position in which a second wife is placed, with respect to the children of her husband by a former marriage, is one of peculiar difficulty. It is deeply to be regretted that the relative claims of parties so circumstanced are not better understood, as, until this is the case, we cannot expect that the stigma, so often unjustly attached to step-mothers, will be entirely removed.

There is, perhaps, no situation in which woman can be placed, where she may so fully exhibit the peculiar excellencies of the female character, as in that of a step-mother; none where the delicacy and tact so characteristic of the sex are so especially needed. Placed over those who have no natural claims on her affection and sympathy, she must be guided in the faithful and self-denying discharge of her duties, by principles of a more elevated class, than the mere maternal instinct by which most mothers are governed. Here she has indeed an opportunity of exercising that influence for good, with which she has been so lavishly endowed by her Creator. Occupying a position in which she must rule by persuasion rather than by force, she must exhibit the apparently opposite virtues of firmness and gentleness, of patient endurance and persevering effort. She will require much of that charity which "suffereth long and is kind," which "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things." But let her not be cast down, either with a consciousness of the responsibility her situation involves, or with an apprehension that she is not competent to the efficient discharge of its duties.

It is but too true that there are women who take upon themselves the important duties of a second mother without any intention faithfully to discharge them; in truth, without considering that the situation involves any. They say by actions, if not in words, "We married the husband, not the children: if we do our duty to him, it is as much as can reasonably be expected of us." But can that wife perform her duty to her husband, who willingly neglects his children? Allow me to ask one of these fair cavillers, if any such should read these pages, whether she plainly told her intended husband, before marriage, that she should neglect his children: if so, let the blame rest on him.

That there are men so overpowered by passion, or stimulated by ambition, as to consent to part with their children in order to obtain the woman of their choice, we are compelled to admit :-would that they could all be treated as in the following instance :

A lady was requested to become second wife to a gentleman who had been left with three children; but she declined the offer, stating that she was not prepared to take upon herself the duties of a step-mother. The gentleman renewed his suit, and assured the fair object of his choice that the children should not be any obstruction to their union, as he would send them to school, and she should never see them in his house. Her reply was worthy of a woman. "Now, Sir, I am indeed decided: the man who

"The Mother's practical Guide in the physical, intellectual, and moral Training of her Children: with an additional Chapter on the Claims and Responsibilities of Step-Mothers. By Mrs. J. Bakewell. Third Edition, revised and enlarged." Foolscap 8vo. pp. xvi, 266. John Snow. An admirable family vade mecum, worthy of universal adoption.

is capable of banishing from his home the children of his first wife, is not likely to prove either a good husband to a second wife, or a kind father to her children. No more need be said, Sir, on the subject: your unnatural proposal speaks volumes."

It is the writer's opinion, that a woman more frequently acts unkindly or injudiciously in this situation from the pressure of circumstances, which she has not foreseen, than from premeditation. She probably enters on her new home with a wish to be happy, and to make all around her comfortable, but is received with coldness and suspicion where she expected cordiality and kindness. The children treat her with disrespect, if not with positive insult; and in self-defence she is tempted to retaliate, and in time may become the tyrant of those whom she was prepared to love. Had any one whispered to the smiling bride that she would behave unkindly to the children of her adoption, that she would alienate from them their father's love, and drive them from their father's home ;-how indignantly would she have repelled the insinuation, feeling at the time conscious of having very different intentions. But let us hope that instances such as we have just alluded to are rare, and let us turn our attention to the best means of preventing their recurrence.

A step-mother ought to consider that she has many prejudices to overcome, before she can secure the confidence and affection of her husband's children, unless they be mere infants. The world seems unwilling that the bereaved ones should find a substitute for their mother; and before a second wife is welcomed home, some busy whisperer has too frequently prejudiced the older children against her, and thus materially aggravated the difficulties which necessarily arise from her peculiar position.

A female who undertakes the training of children whose mother is living, is not always placed in an enviable position. It is her duty to curb the passions, to regulate the conduct, and to cultivate the minds of her youthful charge; no light task under the most favourable circumstances; especially as the mother reserves to herself the privilege of supplying the wants and gratifying the wishes of the children. But the mother feels that she is relieved from the most difficult part of her duty, by the conscientious substitute she has obtained, and considerately observes, that "the Governess may be rather strict about lessons and morals, but she does her duty, and she cannot be expected to feel exactly as a mother does." No; the Governess, with all her difficulties, and they are neither few nor small, is not expected "to feel exactly as a mother does." But is the same charity extended to the step-mother? Is not she expected both to feel and to act exactly like a mother?

The children of a former wife should be instructed by their father and the friends of their own mother, to receive with thankfulness the attention and the kindness bestowed on them by their new relative. They should be taught to regard her not as a mother, but as a valuable substitute for the beloved parent whom it has pleased Providence to remove; as one who is able and willing to increase the social and domestic happiness of the family circle; as their father's wife, worthy of respect and esteem; as their mother's representative, deserving of kindness and affection. Alas! we fear that but few families are thus prepared to receive among them her who ought to constitute their light, and life, and joy.

But is the young wife always reasonable in her expectations? Is she prepared to encounter the peculiar difficulties of her new relation, with that patient kindness, that gentle firmness, so essential to success? She must