rise above prosaic common-place. Still, as there are many readers who can neither understand nor relish genuine artistic elegance, and with whom respectable verse is good poetry, something must be allowed to gratify them. There are numbers to whom this will be an acceptable addition to their library; and not only will it do them no harm,-and when we recollect the purposes to which some of the most splendid poetry in our day has been devoted, this is no faint praise, but, if they read thoughtfully, it will do them much good, and good of the best sort. We wish we could say more, but we could not in justice say less, of a writer whose heart evidently is moved by a genuine sympathy with external nature; and his understanding and feelings are influenced by sacred and revealed truth.

Fanny and her Mamma; or, Easy Reading Lessons. In which it is attempted to bring Scriptural Principles into daily Practice; with Hints for Nursery Discipline. 16mo., pp. xiii, 218. Grant and Griffith.-A volume designed to instruct and remind Mamma of her paramount duties; and also to teach Fanny, by a simple and easy process, how she can in the best way improve by the instructions of her mother. It is an entertaining and edifying manual.

It

The Church in Earnest. By John Angell James. Foolscap 8vo., pp. xi, 352. Hamilton. We really find it difficult to describe this volume as it deserves, and as we ourselves wish. seems too high, too holy, for the mere common-place expressions of approval. To us it appears to be eminently a word in season, the book, the very book, that is now wanted. Taken altogether, never was the visible church more decided in its opposition to error, in its dauntless profession of truth, and in its zealous efforts for the advancement of the reign of Christ by means of Missionary exertion. What lacks it yet? Earnestness, -earnestness in all that it implies, and all that it produces; earnestness, not merely in defending and spreading Christianity, but in seeking to be Christian, personally, and in resolute, unswerving, uncompromising, unreserved, reference to the requirements of holy Scripture. To this great subject this work of Mr. James is devoted. It suggests the topics on which Ministers should preach, and individual professors meditate. We strongly recommend our readers to procure it, and, having done so, to read it, we will not say with the attention with

which they usually read works on religious subjects, but in decided reference to their own spiritual condition, as a help to self-examination, and with much prayer; to read it, in short, in connexion with their usual devotional exercises; to make it not so much a volume for the study as for the closet. Thus read, it would go far, by God's blessing, towards producing a well-principled, deep, and general revival of true, inward religion such a revival, perhaps, as might at first be almost unnoticed, and, in its earlie steps, gradual; but which would soon break forth with glorious power, and be manifested by a richer production of the "fruit of the Spirit" than has for som time been witnessed. We are satisfied that all who may be induced to obtain the volume by this present notice, will thank us for having directed their attention to it.

Sermons on Practical Subjects. By the Rev. Samuel Warren, LL.D., Incumbent of All Souls', Manchester. 12mo., pp. xii, 363. Blackwoods. This is a new edition of Sermons, first published several years ago, and noticed at the time in this Magazine with decided commendation. The melancholy circumstances which have since occurred, and to which we will not refer more particularly, would have prevented us, had we only seen the announcement of this volume in the usual mode, from procuring it for the purpose of notice; but as it has been sent to us, we cannot in justice refuse to mention it. Looking over the present issue of these Sermons, we see nothing in them to require any attenuation of the approval formerly given. They are sound in doctrine; and, in their style, plain without being commonplace, correct without being cold, and always earnest and impressive. We wish that from all the pulpits under the jurisdiction of the Primate of England at York, and the Primate of all England at Canterbury, such discourses were delivered.

Graham's-Town, South Africa, taken from the East: a Lithographic Print, from a Drawing by the Rev. Thornley Smith, late Wesleyan Missionary in Caffraria, &c. 18 in. by 12 in. Sold by John Mason.-Never having been on the spot, of course we cannot speak from personal knowledge; but the picture is one of those which at first view give the idea of naturalness. The beholder cannot help thinking that it is an accurate representation of what he should see, were he looking at the reality. To all who are interested in the South-African

HORRORS OF WAR-DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY-SACRILEGE JESUIT INFLUENCE AND ARBITRARY POWER VIENNA CONTINENTAL SURPRISE AT ENGLAND'S RECEPTION OF THE JESUITS INSTANCE OF MONASTIC DELINQUENCY IN THE STORY OF ROZZI

SUPERSTITION GIVING PLACE TO INFIDELITY.

Shores of the Baltic, May, 1848. By the mercy of God, we are still maintained in outward tranquillity, although the blockade proclamation, which has just been issued by the Copenhagen Cabinet, renders the direct transmission of even correspondence from these districts so far insecure, that I feel necessitated to send off my communication at an unusually early period of the month to secure its reaching you in time.

War in its actual horrors not merely threatens, it now surrounds, us; and the claims of the wounded of both parties, which crowd the hospitals, and the necessity for an extraordinary amount of bandages, lint, &c., to supply the ambulatory surgeries which an army, ever on the advance, must carry with it, gives employment to every female hand among the upper classes: and it is a strange and affecting sight to behold little girls and even boys spending their play-hours in making charpie and arranging bandages to be sent off to the army! Would that such benevolent feelings were the only ones excited in young as well as old by this unhappy and useless contest! But, as is ever the case in civil war, a deplorable spirit of partisanship has been stirred up more especially, it must be owned, by the conduct of the Danes, who have indulged in a wanton destruction of private property, and evinced a readiness to adopt all means, however ruthless, for distressing and injuring

their opponents, which cannot but sow the seeds of long-continued enmity, Thus, the jointure-house of the aged and widowed Duchess of Glücksburg was lately (in revenge for her son having joined the Schleswig-Holstein army) entered by a party of Danish soldiery on Good Friday, and every part of the valuable furniture, mirrors, pictures, rare objects of art, and even books, totally destroyed. This outrage is not merely a specimen of the Vandalism practised by the Danes, (to which the conduct of the Prussians in Jutland presents a highly honourable contrast,) but offers a sadly expressive sign of the spirit of the times, to every one at all conversant with the state of feeling which was wont to prevail among Lutherans. In the midst of a lamentably lax observance of the Sabbath, and a greater or less indifference to other church festivals, Good Friday used to be universally observed throughout Germany with outward respect even by the irreligious, and with almost superstitious reverence by the more serious part of the population, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic. It formed, indeed, one still unbroken link of the ancient Catholic unity, as expressive of reverence for that Saviour, and that atonement, on which Christians of all denominations profess to rest their hopes. Any voluntary noisy demonstration on that day (expressively denominated in the German language, "Still Friday") marks an advance in rationalistic illumination which we did not look for in Danes. But when we read, in addition, the really appalling, and, though published, uncontradicted, statement, that the chapel belonging to the palace of the Duchess was entered; the altar-covering, after its golden fringe had been cut off and appropriated, used by the soldiers as a table-cloth; and even the eucharist chalice desecrated by being

used as a drinking-cup; and reflect that these scoffers belong to a nation which not only upholds the real presence (by consubstantiation) in the eucharist, but in its stern orthodoxy denies the right of private judgment to all who differ from it in articles of belief, or outward observances, we cannot but shudder at such palpable evidences of contempt, not only for the sign, but the thing signified. Under such circumstances, it ill becomes the Danes to make an outcry about the Prussian division of the allied army attacking them on Easter Sunday. The occurrence is doubtless to be deeply regretted; but it was neither premeditated on the part of General Wrangel, nor avoidable under the circumstances of the case, and was assuredly overruled by Providence for the prevention of much bloodshed, as the surprise tended to increase the confusion, and to precipitate the flight, of the Danes. A very interesting account of the battle of Schleswig and its immediate consequences has reached me from the pen of the Rev. Mr. Haack, Pastor of Haddebye, but resident in the village of Bustorf, where the fight began. As it may possibly interest a considerable number of your readers, especially those in foreign countries, I shall if possible transmit it to you at this time, leaving it to your discretion to decide on the propriety of inserting it in "Evangelical Christendom." One thing is evident from this Clergyman's account, that but very few of the Danish soldiery were disturbed in worship, although all were startled out of fancied security by the arrival of the Prussians.

In the state of disorder—and, I grieve to say it, in some places, of anarchyinto which the reform mania has plunged, or is plunging, the northern, no less than the southern, parts of Germany, political events press upon the mind with a force and vividness of interest, before which ecclesiastical questions naturally recede. When the very existence, too, of any order of things appears to be at stake, disputes about minor details, and who shall take the lead in them, naturally come to a stand-still. And when the very pillars of Christianity are assailed, questions respecting the style of their architraves, or the prevailing tone which should be given to the outward building, sink into comparative insignificance. And yet it is hardly possible to cast even

a cursory glance on the political state of Germany, without perceiving how invariably Roman Catholic, and particu larly Jesuit, influence, is found leagued with arbitrary power, and ever ready to originate, or to support, that reaction which is being made, again and again, to bring back the old abuses of cabinet cabal and bureaucracy. Would that the great ones of the earth could but see that, to whomsoever they subject themselves, "to him they are in bondage ;" and then they might perchance discover how small choice there is between democratic and priestly subjection! But, as yet, the Roman Catholic Governments do not, will not, see this: and so there has been very nearly another insurrection in Vienna, brought on by a mad attempt on the part of the Cabinet, instigated, as is believed, by the Empress Mother, to recall the Ligorians, whose unpopularity I mentioned in my last. Their very name is sufficient to stir up popular tumult in Vienna; and the unwise haste Iwith which their re-admission to the capital has been sought, has cost one Minister his place, and may, if again repeated, cost the imbecile but goodnatured Emperor his crown.

In contemplating the utter disgust, not unmingled with fear, with which Jesuitism, in all its branches, is repudiated throughout the most Popish countries of continental Europe, it is no wonder that surprise should be felt and expressed, that Protestant England should form so strong a contrast, not only to them, but to her former self, by becoming the city of refuge, par excel lence, to Jesuits of every grade and every alias. When Mr. Shiel's laudatory peroration in their favour in the British House of Commons, and his triumphant comparison of their disinterested Missionary labours with those of the Church of England Missionaries in New-Zealand, was copied into German journals, the question not unnaturally arose, "Are the history of the Paraguay Mission, or the discoveries made in 1761, at Marseilles, concerning the disinterested trade of Father Lavalette in Martinique, altogether unknown in England? On any other supposition, the incredulity of Englishmen to the danger connected with a domiciliation of Jesuits appears incomprehensible!" To such questions and comments, I can but reply with a shrug or a sigh. And yet, fully con

vinced that, however indignantly Englishmen may repel the charge, ignorance is, after all, at the root of this presumptuous scepticism, I venture to bring before your readers a recent instance of monastic delinquency, and that, too, in a branch of evil practice in which the Jesuits have long taken the lead, but which serves to show, that though preeminent, they are not sole masters of the art of legacy-hunting; but that monastic rule possesses an inherent "root of bitterness," which cannot fail to produce fruits inimical to the social as well as spiritual well-being of mankind. The statement appeared in a respectable journal of Northern Germany, with an intimation from the editor that his correspondent vouched for the accuracy of the relation.

"A young man named Rozzi, a native of Leghorn, was the only son of a widow possessed of a house in that city, and of a small property in its immediate vicinity. The youth, by profession a painter, having one day got into some dispute with his mother, left Leghorn, in a fit of ill-humour, and betook himself to Naples, where he expected to be able to support himself by the exercise of his art. But finding little employment in a city boasting so many artists of established reputation, he listened to the advice of some friends, who suggested his trying his fortune in Constantinople. Arrived in Stamboul, he met other advisers, who recommended Persia as a more encouraging field. Being naturally of a facile disposition, Rozzi followed this advice, and fortunately reached Teheran, just at the moment when a palace was being erected for the late Fetti Ali Schah. The arrival of a European painter induced the Schah to commit several apartments of the new palace to his artistic decoration, while the greater proportion was left to the pencil of native artists. The performance of these latter fell so immeasurably short of that of Rozzi, that the Schah, in the first exuberance of his satisfaction, exclaimed to the Italian,Ask what thou wilt, I will give it thee!' This offer, as thoughtlessly imprudent as that of Herod, met an equally astonishing, though less cruel, answer; for, without much consideration, Rozzi replied, 'Give me one of thy daughters to be my wife!' The Schah was in a puzzling dilemma. His pledged word could not be recalled; and yet, to give a Princess to a hireling adventurer! It could not be thought of! At length, Persian subtilty discovered a way of escape, in the double meaning of the

Turkish word küz, used by Rozzi, which may be understood as signifying either daughter or maiden. The Schah accordingly bestowed, not indeed his daughter, but one of her Maids of Honour (who was, moreover, young, high-born, and entitled to a considerable dowry) on the bold suitor. The gift was, however, coupled with the strange and tyrannous condition, that Rozzi should content himself with the name of husband, and maintain toward his fair and youthful bride the forms of the most distant respect. To escape from so odious a restriction, the Italian fled with his wife, first to Georgia, and thence to Tiflis, where he obtained an engagement, as teacher of drawing, in the Gymnasium. There he lived several years in contentment and opulence. His wife had brought him successively six daughters; and when the youngest was presented at the baptismal font, the Persian mother, we must hope from conviction, voluntarily became a participator of the solemn rite.

"Up to that period, the pension, which was settled on her in lieu of dowry at the time of her marriage, had been regularly paid; but no sooner did the news of her apostasy reach Persia, than her family cast her off entirely, and Rozzi found himself all at once reduced, with a large family, from a position of affluence to one of comparative poverty. Ever since his residence in Tiflis, Rozzi had held occasional intercourse with the Monks of St. Lazarus, who have a monastery there, chiefly with a view to obtaining, through their means, news from Italy; being naturally anxious to receive intelligence of his mother, from whom he had never heard since his departure from Leghorn. A short time after his wife's baptism, he had been visited by some travellers from his native land; but, although they satisfied his curiosity as to public affairs, they either could not, or would not, throw any light on his own. Not long after, however, one of the Monks of St. Lazarus called to inform him that his mother had been seized with a dangerous illness, and advised him strenuously to return at once to Leghorn, and see after his inheritance, in case his mother's illness should terminate fatally. Rozzi expressed his gratitude for the kind interest shown him, as well as his entire coincidence in the view taken by the reverend Father, but frankly confessed his means to be too scanty to permit his entering on so long a journey with his large family; at the same time that he could not think of leaving them unprovided with any cer

tain means of support for an indefinite period. He ventured, therefore, to propose, that the St. Lazarus Order should advance him the necessary sum on loan, on the security of that inheritance, which, as the Monks well knew, must, as he was an only child, sooner or later, be his. The Monks consented with the most friendly alacrity: they said, however, they had no disposable funds at Tiflis, but if he would journey at his own expense as far as Trebisond, where their Superior then was, and to whom they would write to that effect, he should receive the sum agreed on. Full of sanguine anticipations, Rozzi procured leave of absence from the Gymnasium, and set out for Trebisond. Arrived there, he was told by the Lazarite Monks, to whom he had letters, that they had indeed been duly certified of his coming, and its purpose, but that, unfortunately, the money had not been transmitted to them from Constantinople; (where their Superior-General resided ;) and as, doubtless, the non-arrival of the stipulated arose from some mistake, his speediest remedy was to proceed thither. Armed with letters of introduction to the said Superior-General, poor Rozzi gathered together the last remains of his small savings, and set out for Constantinople, which he reached in June, 1845. Here he was again met by the same lament from the St. Lazarus Monks,they had no money! Their Superior was on a journey; but if he would proceed to Smyrna, he would most probably find both him and the money there. This was appalling intelligence; for his purse

sum

was

now completely empty, and what should he do? He might, it is true, apply to the Russian Ambassador for advice, or perhaps even aid; but he felt at once too abashed and dispirited to make the attempt. So he sold the few jewels of his wife and daughters, and proceeded to Smyrna. In breathless haste he hurried to the monastery; but the Monks dashed all his hopes by a repetition of the old refrain,—' No money!' And there he stood, a stranger in a strange land; stripped of his last shilling; far from his dwelling-place, his term of leave nearly expired; (no trifling misfortune for one in Russian service ;) and with a helpless wife and six daughters involved in his ruín! No wonder he was on the verge of despair!

"News, however, of his family in Leghorn, which reached him providentially in Smyrna, and by which he learned not only that his mother was already dead, but that, nothing being known of his

existence, a distant relative had laid claim to, and entered on, the widow's possessions, determined him to try the effect of an application to the Russian Consul, for sufficient money to carry him back to Tiflis. The application was not wholly successful; for he only obtained as much as enabled them to proceed to Constantinople, (as deck-passengers,) which they reached, for the second time, in November, 1845. Wayworn, woebegone, and almost in rags, Rozzi blushed to present himself at the Embassy for aid. Yet there was no other hope. The Secretary found, it is true, his papers in perfect order, but possessed no discretionary power to make money advances. At length, driven to extremity, Rozzi bethought him of a person then resident in Constantinople, whom he had known many years before in Tiflis. This generous individual not only advanced him five hundred piastres, but gave him a letter of recommendation to M. von Titoff, the Russian Ambassador at the Sublime Porte, who, after making minute inquiries concerning him, and being fully convinced of the extreme hardship of the case, at once supplied the wretched Rozzi with money to take him back to Tiflis. Scarcely, however, had he reached the city, when he was laid on a sick bed, and died eight days thereafter, leaving his family in the deepest wretchedness."

But what, it may be asked, had the St. Lazarus Order to do with this dismal affair? or what possible motive could the Monks have for driving a hapless family to ruin? Much every way for here, as in all other monkish machinery, there were wheels within wheels. The distant relative, who, failing Rozzi, was the sole heir to the widow's property, was unmarried, and had already bequeathed, by irrevocable deed, all he possessed or ever should possess to the St. Lazarus Order; and for the purpose of securing to itself the undisturbed succession to Rozzi's inheritance, it was necessary to inveigle him away from a place where he was known, and might legally have established his rightful claim, and at the same time reduce him to such a state of poverty as would render a journey to Leghorn an impossible attainment. The plan was formed on a knowledge of Rozzi's character, (which, it need scarcely be said, was weakly facile and confiding,) and succeeded but too well. Although, therefore, the principle that "the end sanctifies the means may not be inscribed in the St. Lazarus statute-books, there can be little doubt that, in this instance at least, they acted upon it; and