the table for communion was in front of the pulpit, and there was no font for baptism; and no bishop had ever come to administer the rite of confirmation before 1818.

In Guernsey, the Presbyterian system was in no wise interfered with, and continued there until after the passing of the Act of Uniformity of Charles II.; and some of those who did not like the new order of things in Jersey, went to Guernsey; among others, was one of the ministers named De La Place.

In July, 1663, an order of council was sent to Guernsey, announcing that they had been included in the Act of Uniformity, as one of the best means to keep them in due subjection to the throne, and requiring that the Liturgy of the Church of England should be read and used in all the churches, and also naming John De Saumarez, one of the King's chaplains, Dean of Guernsey. But if the order and the enforcing of the Act of Uniformity met with no violent resistance, they met with the real opposition of long-formed habits and convictions; and it required a number of orders of council to help the Dean and others in the change they were operating; and by the words of the order of October, 1671, "for the suppression of factions, conventicles, and other notorious and contumacious disturbances of the peace of the church," it is apparent that the Nonconformist party was strong, and that they held meetings for

worship. Among them was the Rev. Thomas Le Marchant, a learned man, and belonging to one of the best families in the island. He was formerly the minister of the parishes of St. Samson and Le Valle, but was ejected on account of his nonconformity.

I do not know how far persecution raged against the Nonconformists of Guernsey; but they were not suppressed immediately; for I find these words in an order of council of April, 1677;-" And lastly, our will and pleasure is, that our former orders for the suppression of conventicles and punishment of the disturbers of the peace of the church be duly executed; and that all our officers and ministers, as they shall be thereunto required, be aiding and assisting to the dean of that our island, or his deputy, in the maintenance of the discipline of our church and the Liturgy thereof."

I have not discussed any of the principles that were in question amidst the various religious movements that have been mentioned,they were the same that agitated England during the same period,and brevity being of consequence in this paper, I thought that the historical facts were enough to relate.

I shall only add, that since the glorious revival in the times of Wesley, Whitefield, and others, Dissenters have again appeared in the Channel Islands, and have accomplished there a glorious work.

E. LE BRUN.

answer:

was

The father of this child was a chairmaker, and could not give his son a good schooling. At ten years of age, this son, John A. Langford, went to work, and at fourteen was apprenticed to his father to learn the art of chairmaking. Though he never liked his trade, he carried it on till he was twenty-seven years of age. What did he do during these years? Did he idle his short leisure time, as many would have done? Let the following "He apprenticed to his father's tradethe regular hours of work at it being from five a.m. to seven p.m. But, like many other sons of genius in the same condition, he was, even at that early age, possessed with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge ; and he resolved, since he could not hope for assistance from others, to use his utmost efforts to educate himself. For this purpose he resolutely denied himself all the little luxuries which are so attractive to the young, and many of the necessaries of life as well, that he might gain the wherewithal to purchase the necessary books; and it hardly requires to be told that it was by no means so easy for a poor youth to purchase, or otherwise procure,

books twenty years ago as it is now. To enable him to do this more

effectually, it was his practice, during the whole period of his apprenticeship, to work overtime, from seven till eleven at night; after which he engaged in study till two in the morning, leaving himself only two or three hours for sleep. And so he went on for years with unfaltering perseverance and determination, making himself thoroughly acquainted with the English language and literature. As soon as this was accomplished, he turned his attention to languages, and after two or three years of the same hard toil and diligent and unremitting study, and still without any assistance but what was derived from books, succeeded in mastering Latin, French, and German.

.

Do we not blush when we think of all our opportunities in comparison with young Langford's? Undoubtedly we do! When twentyseven he began printing. He says, "I began at boy's work, rolling for the press, then press-work, and then compositor's." He worked at this trade for four or five years. Mr. Langford then was capable of undertaking the responsible post of subeditor to the Birmingham Daily Press, the first penny daily paper started in England, according to him.

After being occupied for a short

time on that paper, Mr. Langford became connected with the "Aston Hall and Park Company." He is now acting as secretary to the company, with a pretty good salary, and residence at the "Hall." This Hall is a noted building, and memorable as having endured a cannonading during the civil war.

Mr. Langford, besides his learning, is noted as an author. As a poet he is well spoken of. For my own part, I feel more pleasure in reading his lines than those of any other living poet. The reason is, that he is a poet of the heart-all that he says we feel, and take an interest in. "The Lamp of Life" is the title of Mr. Langford's first published volume.

Is not this truthful and appropriate language?—

"We talk of LOVE, yet practise hate; Forgiveness ask, yet vengeance seek;

Sing peace's praise, yet strife create; And on our "brothers" malice wreak!

"On Sundays all men 'brothers' call, And through the week' war to the knife;'

In prayer, ask mercy unto all;

In deed, how merciless our strife!" "Lamp of Life," page 58.

The two following stanzas are very powerful :—

"What wretched cant fills most of

life;

What bowing to dead forms and creeds;

Repeating words that once were rife With glory, and with glorious deeds.

"But now are empty echoes, said As parrots say their meanless

words

O better to be wholly dead,

Than striking thus unanswering chords."

"Lamp of Life," pp. 58-59. Mr. Langford has also published two other poetical works, entitled "Poems of the Field and the Town," and "Shelley."

Here is a choice stanza in "Poems of the Field and Town," p. 18:"Now we are going home, Mary

The brighter home above;
Where angel Ellen waits, Mary,
To greet us with her love.
Nor grief, nor pain, nor care, nor

woe,

Can cross its sacred floor, There thou, and I, and she will dwell, At home for evermore."

Here is an "In memoriam." Was there ever penned a simpler, but a better?

"She's gone to her home in the skies, The young, the loving, and the fair;

Too good for earth, her spirit flies

To breathe its own celestial air."

"Poems of Field and Town," p. 95.

Besides poetry, Mr. Langford has written excellent prose. "Prison Books and their Authors," is a volume of great merit; it consists of biographies and criticism of some of the most famous prison writers Amongst others, it contains chapters on Boëthius, Cervantes, Wither, Bunyan, Dodd, James Montgomery, Hunt, &e.

In his preface the author says:— "Many a prison has become to us a shrine of glory, more worthy of a pilgrimage than most of the places to which our pious forefathers directed their steps.

glorifiers of the prison I have taken a few, given sketches of their lives, and analyses of their books." It is dated Birmingham, 1861.

The subjoined extract will give a good idea of Mr. Langford's prose. It is from the Introduction to Prison Books and their Authors."

"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth,' said the wise son of Israel; and the experience of all ages confirms the deep truthfulness of his words. The blessed and abiding influences of sorrow and suffering are pure and holy, and strengthen the soul for endurance, and prepare and fit it for final victory. The power of joy is of a light and transient nature compared with the perennial power of sorrow. Laughter, compared with tears, is as the light ripple on the face of some sweet lake, kissed by the slightest summer-breeze, to the glorious rollings of the tempest-tossed billows Mirth is bright and

of the sea.

beautiful, and lovely to look upon is the face radiant with smiles; but it has not the serene and ineffable divinity which beams from the countenance of the long and sorelytried child of sorrow. Nay, was not the Saviour the Man of sorrows? and by His life, and still more by His death, has sanctified the benign elements of grief, and made it celestial in its results."

Other prose works by our author will soon be published. Enough has been said to show that Mr. Langford is a 66 man who has risen." That his writings will have the power to turn the world I am not prepared to state; but this is certain, that no one can read his

natural and graceful effusions, both prose and verse, without gaining materially, not to mention the pleasure experienced. His poetry is, if studied thoroughly, admirably suited for thoughtful, conscientious, and quiet people. He leads us to see beauty in everything, and riches accorded to all. For instance:"Whole kingdoms I can call my own;

Possessions, too, beyond the earth; Above the stars my glories are;

And heaven was mine before my birth.

"I cannot count my treasures o'er, Can scarcely compass them in thought;

They lie around me everywhere;
And are from
every region
brought!"

Can any poet instil better thoughts in the hearts of his readers than those contained in the annexed lines ?

"The tree its glories spreads for me; The wood provides its slumbrous shade;

For me the flower is beautiful;

For me the change of hill and glade.

"I keep my choir of singers sweet,

And music greets me when I will; The lark, the thrush, the nightingale,

Attend me with their varied skill. "I am not poor: poor cannot be,

While treasures thus my hand await;

Compared with such possessions,

mean

Are the pride of rank, and pomp of state.

"Call me not poor; for poverty

Ne'er harboured in a heart like mine;

My riches never can be told,

And all my treasures are divine."