fell into the sea as if they had been struck down with lightning, and signals of distress were displayed, but still no sound was heard.

The multitude suspended their breathing, convinced that the vision before them was the unsubstantial creation of the prestigious spirits. This belief entered all their minds simultaneously, and in the same moment the mighty spectre vanished.

The Noah's Dove was never heard of, and it was believed that in that hour, riven by the lightning and the tempest, she had foundered.

"Count me not," says the Rev. Dr Mather at the conclusion of his narration, " struck with the Livian superstition, in reporting prodigies for which I have such incontestible proofs." NANTUCKET.

INTO the two great councils of the realm, we have admitted those as legislators, who, if they be conscientious and religious men, must be decidedly anti-protestant. Such men must profess the doctrines of the Church of Rome in sincerity, and act upon them also, according to so much light of the understanding, as it is not heretical in them to possess. For not with them, as with us, is there allowed to be a charitable consideration for another's errors; they are coerced by a different principle. "If, while men believe that they are right, they admit that they are possibly wrong, they are naturally disposed to bear with religious opinions which differ from their own. But they who are persuaded, not only that they do not err, but even that they cannot err in matters of faith, are disposed to consider it as a duty to check the growth of all other opinions, which they must consider as dangerous heresy." With all good will to our brethren of the Roman Catholic profession, as individuals, we must look with a wary eye upon them collectedly, as churchmen. Never was it more needful to scour up our knowledge of that church,-of its faith and practice, of its sayings and doings in old times, of its charter, its pretensions and its proceedings,-of its validity in proving its lofty claim to universal sway,-and of the effects which those have felt, who have submissively bowed to it. And then it

will be incumbent on us, to consider whether it has foregone any of its usurped prerogatives, abated its swelling presumption,-corrected its abuses, and recanted its errors. If we find it yielding in nothing to the light of reason and truth; and, indeed, its adherents boast of nothing so much as its immutability,—it will be well for Protestants to keep upon their guard. We must not be taken by surprise, whether force or stratagem is used to get the better of us. When the grass and underwood are rustling, we ought not to wonder at a snake's appearance, whether it resemble the boa, whose spiral folds crush the opponent by irresistible muscular constriction, or the viper, whose deadly power is condensed in one venomous fang.

That the Romish Church will ever again possess fair England in fee, is perhaps more than its most sanguine votaries ever dream of. But they count wholly on Ireland; and in Great Britain they look for an accession of converts, for possessions and establishments, and room to display their imposing pomp and infatuated mummery; they hope for firmer dominion over those whom they can get under subjection, for the old hoodwinking command over conscience; for greater success in checking the progress of free inquiry; they count on establishing a sectarian censorship over that part of the press, with which their own people may have

to deal, whereby, if they cannot altogether withhold, they may neutralize, the genuine Scriptures; if they cannot distort, and falsify, and impugn the Bible, yet they may so prejudice and confound the minds of those who ought to read it, as that they shall be unable to comprehend its pure and holy doctrines, or perceive how true, and consistent, and solemn are its facts,-how consolatory to the heart and soul of man, are its representations of the dealings of his God and Saviour with him,-how sufficient it is, if duly obeyed, unto salvation. It is a sad truth to aver, -but what impartial inquirer can resist the conviction of it?-that the aim of the Church of Rome is, by fair means or foul, to be dominant; and all its battalions, from the Pope and his conclave in the Vatican, down to the lowest subaltern at their altars, who wears a shaven crown, are trained and sworn, consciously or unconsciously, to promote this one great business, as their primary object. It is not the "high mark of their calling," to press forward in "seeking first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," but the autocracy of the one true church, as they fancy it, or feign to do so.

Highly, then, does it concern all Protestants, who may be associated with members of that church, to be aware of its belief, its system, and its objects; for it is no harmless neigh bour, having shewn itself, according as circumstances have allowed, alternately insidious and overbearing. There seem to be two ways of exposing its deviations from true Christianity, the theological and the historical. At this time of day, there can be no real necessity to demonstrate anew the untenableness of the points in dispute, between Romanists and Protestants, as far as pure theology is concerned. It is, indeed, the mere embarrassment of riches, which prevents any one from naming a host of champions in this cause, belonging to our Church, from the Reformers, down to Bishop Marsh, whose "Comparative View of the Churches of England and Rome," will amply satisty any intelligent enquirer in this field. But the historical or popular mode of exhibiting the unsoundness of the Papal form of Christianity, cannot ever be dispensed with. It is al

ways, as time advances, susceptible of amplification and improvement. It may strike different investigators in different lights. It can be adapted to the various qualifications, acquirements, and conditions of the parties addressed. It may be made to combine with, or diverge from, the theological subject, so as to insinuate into the otiose reader more abstruse knowledge than he is prepared to encounter by direct application to a task, without departing from its character as an amusing branch of history. Satisfactory as a theological refutation of error may be, the historical exposure is never without its use. Indeed, we may almost call it an indispensable auxiliary to a statement of creeds and canons, articles of faith and liturgies, comments, interpretations, and glosses; for if any churches will not bear enquiry into their ordinary course of practice, their accustomed inculcations, and the consequent ongoings among their votaries, consecrated as well as laical, it is presumptive proof, that they will not endure the Gospel test of sincerity, that "by their fruits ye shall know them."

We know of no book so well executed on this plan as Southey's "Vindicia." It does not, indeed, embrace every relative topic; for even what he intended was not completed, and it was a partial object which gave rise to it. But it is surprising that it seems to have met with so little comparative success, and to be found in so few hands, considering how thoroughly well he has done what he has attempted. The want of general acquaintance with the book probably results from its title. It looks as if it were written to serve a special purpose; namely, to confute that whining remonstrance against Southey's previous work, “The Book of the Church," which Mr Charles Butler published under the name of "The Book of the Roman Catholic Church," a production as sly as it is presumptuous, as full of the cant of gentlemanly appeal, apparent candour, and paraded reference to documents, as it is in reality of ungentlemanly imputation, pertinacious bigotry, and perilously hazarded assertion; for he has sent Southey to his books and papers, and here he and we have the fruits of it.

Now, probably, nine readers out of ten have fancied that the "Vindicia" is wholly occupied by a polemical tilting match between Southey and Butler-a war of words, aggressive and recriminatory. They never were more deceived in their lives. We allow that it is a pity that so admirable a work should be founded on a temporary controversy, as it thereby has lost some of its fair proportions. It is, however, one of large compass and had not Southey (according to his own expression) wrought in the quarries for years, he could not have constructed it. It would frighten any ordinary student to see what reading it must have taken to prepare it; and he must indeed be an extraordinary one who could hope to make such a mass of heterogeneous materials pass through his alembic, and issue forth in such a concentration of the spirit of entertainment and instruction. We should like to have it better appreciated than as a heap of justificatory vouchers,—as it were, mere memoires pour servir. Instead of this form, which, however valuable, is often very tiresome, these letters pursue each subject in lucid order, with a richness and felicity of illustration, a range of indisputable authorities, a tact in selection and quotation, and a power of copious, distinct, and spirited language, which those who are intimate with Southey's writings were well warranted in expecting.

We shall not pretend to give a regular synopsis of these letters. The more material of them contain the following subjects: There is an introduction, of much interest, as it exhibits some of the accidental reasons which have qualified Southey, both as an eye-witness and as the possesor of a wide extent of documents in various languages, to be a well-prepared writer on Romish affairs. The early state of Christianity, in Britain, among the Anglo-Saxons, is well sifted. The celibacy of the Clergy is treated at great length. The general character of the Popes, with their conduct towards the Jews, is stated in an interesting dissertation or two. The Papal system comes under review, particularly with reference to the devotion paid to the Virgin Mary, to the Saints and their relics, and to the Cross. There is a clear history

of the Rosary; and an excellent discourse on the Origin and Progress of the Hyperdulia. Incidentally, we have much amusing information and anecdote; on the English writers on Romish Ecclesiastical History; on the assumed extent of Roman Catholic converts; on mediæval and modern miracles; on pious frauds; the condition of the Protestant, in contradistinction to the Romish, clergy among their flocks; on the effect of the confessional upon general morals; and on the rivalry of monkish orders.

As a sample of the originality which the reader may expect to meet with, not only in the matter brought into view, but in the deductions from it, we cannot do better than point out what Southey writes concerning Venerable Bede. In the third letter he has compiled such a life of that true worthy of Anglo-Saxon times as no English biography possesses; it leads also to a most curious personal vindication of Bede; for since his authority is alleged for the false miracles of the early ages in England, he is claimed by the Papists as a witness of the assumed perpetual succession of miracles in their church. But hear the just demur of the present writer:

"Upon the nature and value of Bede's testimony, I have some observations to offer. There is a point of view in which I am not aware that it has hitherto been considered; and as that point appears to me of no trifling importance, (were it only as it respects the character of that most venerable person,) I thank you, sir, for having directed my attention to the subject.

"Bede's name is in our Kalendar, and I hope it may remain there when St Dunstan's, and one or two others which disgrace it, shall be expunged. He has the title of saint in yours, and it is laid down as a maxim by one of the most learned men (Ambrosio de Morales) that ever prostrated his intellect to the Romish superstition, (and in other respects also one of the most judicious and acute,) that whatever one saint relates of another, when he writes his life, is reverently to be believed. Unwilling as you might be to subscribe to this as a general rule, I am persuaded that in the case of Bede you will hesitate as little as I do to admit it. It is well known that he relates no miracles of his own performing; and this you may account for satisfactorily by his mo