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You shall rarely find a man that is eminent in several faculties of mind, or in several manual trades. If his memory be excellent, his imagination is dull; if his imagination be lively, his judgment is shallow; if his judgment be deep, his utterance is harsh and if it happen that one man excel in various trades, and practise in them, you seldom find him thriving in his property. With spiritual gifts it is otherwise. The graces of the Spirit are so connected together, that he who excels in one has some eminence in them all. Look upon faith she is attended with a bevy of graces. He that believes, cannot but have hope; and if hope,

Soon after the surrender of Copenhagen to the English, in the year 1807, detachments of soldiers were for a time stationed in the surrounding villages. It happened one day that three soldiers, belonging to a Highland regiment, were sent to forage among the neighbouring farmhouses. They went to several, but found them stripped and deserted. At length they came to a large garden, or orchard, full of apple-trees, bending under the weight of fruit. They entered by a gate, and followed a path which brought them to a neat farm-house. Every thing without bespoke quietness and security; but as they entered by the front door, the mistress of the house and her children ran screaming out at the back. The interior of the house presented an appearance of order and comfort superior to what might be expected from people in that station, and from the habits of the country. A watch hung by the side of the fire-place, and a neat book-case, well filled, attracted the attention of the elder soldier. He took down a book it was written in a language unknown to him, but the name of Jesus Christ was legible on every page. At this moment the master of the house entered by the door through which his wife and children had just fled. One of the soldiers, by threatening signs, de

patience. He that believes and hopes, must needs find joy in God; and if joy, then love to God: and he that loves God cannot but love his brother. His love to God produces piety, and care to please him, sorrow for offending, and a fear lest he offend in future: his love to man produces fidelity, and Christian beneficence. Vices are seldom single; but virtues always go in troops. They go so thick, that some of them are occasionally hid in the crowd: they are nevertheless in the company, though they do not distinctly appear. They may be shut out from sight, but they cannot be severed from the rest. Bishop Hall.

FAMILY.

manded provisions; the man stood firm and undaunted, but shook his head. The soldier who held the book approached him, and pointing to the name of Jesus Christ, laid his hand upon his heart, and looked up to heaven. Instantly the farmer grasped his hand, shook it vehemently, and then ran out of the room. He soon returned with his wife and children, laden with milk, eggs, bacon, &c. which were freely tendered; and when money was offered in return, it was at first refused. But as two of the soldiers were pious men, they, much to the chagrin of their companion, (who swore grievously he would never forage with them again,) insisted upon paying for all they took. When taking leave, the pious soldiers intimated to the farmer, that it would be well for him to secrete his watch; but, by most significant signs, he gave them to understand, that he feared no evil, for his trust was in God; and that though his neighbours, on the right hand and on the left, had fled from their habitations, and, by foraging parties, had lost what they could not remove, not a hair of his head had been injured, nor had he even lost an apple from his trees." The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."

M. H.

Of all the blessings bestowed by the providence of God upon Great Britain, the Reformation of religion, which took place under the successive reigns of Henry the Eighth, Edward the Sixth, and Queen Elizabeth, is one of the most eminent, and calls for correspondent expressions of gratitude. By that great event, brought about in many instances by means and under circumstances of an exceedingly unpromising nature, Christianity was freed from an enormous mass of superstition, the most degrading to the human intellect, dishonourable to God, and ruinous to the souls of men; and-by it also, the dearest rights of Englishmen were recognized, and settled upon a safe and permanent foundation. To that event, however, the advocates of the Papacy never advert but with excited feelings; and from the time of its earliest commencement they have exerted themselves to the utmost to misrepresent the character of its principal agents, and the motives by which they were actuated. Nor is this at all surprising by the Reformation some of the most brilliant jewels in the triple crown were abstracted, and can never be replaced; the Papal throne was shaken to its centre; and principles and agencies were brought into operation, which must ultimately terminate the reign of the "man of sin," and leave him without a subject on whom to exercise his tyrannical and antichristian power. Of late, the Reformation has been assailed with more than usual rancour. The Romish Prelates, Doyle and Milner, Butler the Civilian, Lingard the Jesuitical historian, and the redoubtable importer of Paine's bones, have all attempted, within a short period, to persuade the people of England, that the objects gained by the labours and blood of the Protestant Reformers have been injuri

ous rather than beneficial; and that it would be our wisdom to adopt the usages of those times when the Scriptures were scarcely known,-when most of the pulpits, to use the language of honest Latimer, were like bells without clappers,-when crowds of idle monks and nuns lived in ease and sensuality, and practised the grossest impositions upon an ignorant populace,-when Kings trembled at the thunders of the Vatican, and laid their crowns at the feet of the Romish Prelate,-when men, women, and children, were burned alive for not believing that an insignificant wafer is the Almighty Creator of the universe,-when thousands of pilgrims were seen trudging from all parts of the kingdom to Canterbury, as a place of more than ordinary sanctity, and actually contributed larger sums at the altar of the Virgin Mary, and of Thomas a Becket, than at that of God himself. But the writings of these men, ingenious and imposing as they often are, can make no impression upon the minds of any, except those who are under the influence of prejudice, or who are greatly deficient in biblical and historical knowledge. To every thing which they have been able to advance, a perfect antidote is to be found in the standard and well authenticated writings of our old English historians and annalists. The industry of Fox, and Fuller, and Heylin, and Strype, and Collier, and Burnet, has supplied ample information concerning the eventful times already specified; and in their laborious compilations is to be found a complete refutation of Romish calumnies and insinuations, both ancient and modern. All the original documents relating to the Reformation that have been discovered of late years, bear testimony to the fidelity of John Fox; and the impartiality of Strype has been attested by

competent judges of every denomination. The immense folios of these eminent scholars, however, are only adapted to readers of leisure and of literary habits,-readers who seek for information for its own sake, and with whom the attractions of style are of a very minor consideration. A History of the Reformation, therefore, compressed into a moderate compass, authenticated in all its details by a reference to original authorities, drawn up in a lively and popular style, and adapted to the present state of literature, has long been greatly needed. Such a work should have a place in every private collection of any magnitude, and in all public and circulating libraries, and should especially be put into the hands of young people. Every Englishman ought to be acquainted with the history of the Reformation from Popery. It is that which led to the establishment of British liberty both civil and religious. Had not the authority of the Pope, and the peculiarities of the Romish Church, been discarded, the Revolution of 1688 would never have been effected; and Great Britain might at this day have been involved in all the anarchy, the superstition, the indolence, the poverty of modern Spain; under the degrading dominion of an infidel priesthood, who secretly blush at their own hypocrisy, and at the credulity of mankind.

Such a work as that which we have already described, is in a great measure supplied by the able Author whose name stands at the head of this article. In the compilation of this history, he has rendered an important service to the cause of Protestant Christianity; although his volumes, as we shall have occasion to show, are deficient on some points of considerable moment.

The Reformation of religion in the national Church, commenced under the reign of Henry the Eighth, but was left by him in a very incomplete state. Indeed his policy varied at different periods of his life, just as the Reformers or the Romanists were permitted to sway his councils. It was therefore reserved for his successors to finish what he had begun.

His was indeed a sort of mongrel religion. To a considerable extent he acquiesced in the views of the Reformers; and yet he adhered, with the most bigoted tenacity, to some of the worst parts of the Popish system. His public conduct was of the same inconsistent character. He alternately persecuted and caressed both parties; and at his death left in active operation statutes which consigned to the gibbet those who held the supremacy of the Pope, to the exclusion of his own, and which also doomed to the flames those Protestants who denied the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation: and on one occasion, during his reign, Protestants were actually burning on one side of Smithfield, whilst Romanists were suspended from the gallows on the other. Under his government, however, three great objects were gained, which led the way to the extinction of Popery, as the national religion:-The renunciation of the Pope's supremacy,-The subversion of the monastic ́institutions,-And the use of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue. Of each of these measures Mr. Soames has furnished an able and condensed account, deduced from the most unexceptionable sources. If the details on these subjects are not new, they are always interesting; their importance is incalculable; and they therefore cannot be too frequently pressed upon the attention of the British public.

The supremacy claimed by the Bishop of Rome over the whole Christian world, and which was actually conceded to him for several centuries by the Western Churches, rests upon two assumptions, neither of which is supported by the slightest proof. It is said, that St. Peter was appointed by Jesus Christ to be the visible head of his church upon earth, or to sustain the office of his Vicegerent; and that the Pope is his successor. The supremacy of St. Peter is inferred from the words addressed to him by our Lord: "I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will

of whom it is farther said, "that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God." (2 Thess. ii. 3, 4.)

But were it admitted, that St. Peter did possess the supremacy in question; that he was the Vicegerent of Christ upon earth, and that the Scriptures abounded with demonstrations that he exercised this high prerogative with the full consent of his brethren; where is the proof that the Bishop of Rome is appointed his successor, and inherits the same authority and qualifications? Not the slightest intimation of this is given in the New Testament. The whole system therefore is of merely human invention. St. Peter, it is said, was the Bishop of Rome; and therefore the Prelates of that See are invested with his office and endowments. But where is the proof? The Scriptures no where inform us, that St. Peter was at Rome, much less do they assert, that he had there any bishopric, in the modern acceptation of that term. That he was at Jerusalem and at Antioch, we have the express testimony of inspiration; whereas all the evidence of his ever having been at Rome is derived only from tradition. Had it therefore been the design of Jesus Christ that there should remain upon earth an infallible successor of St Peter, the claim of the Bishop of Jerusalem, or of the Bishop of Antioch, might have been made with far greater plausibility, than that of the Romish Prelate, had the two former been sufficiently presumptuous and absurd to urge it. But the fact is, that St. Peter's supremacy had no existence it is a mere invention of later ages. If, therefore, the Pope possesses the authority in the church of God, to which he lays claim, it is an authority sui generis, and not in any way whatever derived from St. Peter, or the other Apostles. Let him then produce his patent. Let him show us the words of Jesus Christ, appointing him to his office, defining his powers, and enjoining the subjection of all Christian people. Till he is able to produce this document, let him not be surprised to be considered a daring and impious Impostor; and let his ad

VOL. V. Third Series. APRIL,

He

That the entire doctrine of the Pope's supremacy is a mere fiction, as destitute of authority as the legend of Bel and the Dragon, or of Tobit and his Dog, has been demonstrated a thousand times; yet it is lamentable to reflect upon the implicit credence which has been given to it by some persons, even as an article of faith; and of the prostration of the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities before the Papal throne. The Romish Prelate has been denominated, "The King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords; "The Vicar of Christ;" and has also been acknowledged as "Our Lord God, the Pope." has compelled Kings and Emperors to kneel before him, to hold his stirrup, and to wait barefooted at his gate; he has deposed one, and set up another, at his option; and, in many instances, he has absolved subjects from their allegiance to their rightful Sovereigns. So absolute has been his dominion, and so miserably has the world been enslaved by him, that the most exalted personages have deemed themselves happy, if he would only so far condescend as to allow them to kiss his foot. No authority was ever set up in the world, that for arrogance and presumption, for pomp and state, will bear the slightest comparison with that which the Roman Pontiff has assumed, and that in the name of Him who was meek and lowly in heart, who "had not where to lay his head," and who said, "My kingdom is not of this world." The personal character of many of the Popes has been the most base and depraved. Some of them have been convicted of Simony, of the grossest crimes, of Infidelity; and the power with which they have been invested, has been generally employed, not to ameliorate the condition of mankind, not to circulate the Bible, not to promote biblical literature, and advance sound scriptural religion; but to enrich and aggrandize the priesthood, to increase the wealth and influence of the Romish church, and to debase and enslave the minds of 1826.

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