eminent Wesleyan Ministers, do not unfrequently take Orders in the Church; The practice is also increasing in frequency. The body of the Wesleyans, viewed in its corporate capacity, as governed by the Conference and represented by the preachers, may be regarded as to a great degree conservative. It uniformly rejects the title " Dissenter," and upholds the civil rights of the Church. It is, however, in a false position. Free from heresy at least free from heresy of a dangerous character and possessed of a body of teachers second in learning, talent, and piety only to the clergy of the Church; active beyond all other sects in the propagation of the Gospel, and moved by an esprit de corps, which is at once the cause and the ratio of their success-the Wesleyan Methodists are by these very advantages made more conspicuously schismatic. While writers of the Church keep to doctrine, the Methodists will be their "very loving brothers and assured good friends;" but when they enter on the discussion of discipline, when they show that the church denounces schism as well as heresy, then the Wesleyan body takes the alarm, and forth starts a Powell, or some other such person, and the very body which suppressed Daniel Isaacs' Essays, praise to the skies by their organ, the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, the very inferior work of Mr. Powell.

In thus commenting on the false position of the Methodists, we would not be understood to speak unfairly or disrespectfully of them. They have in political, and politico-ecclesiastical questions, uniformly taken a line highly creditable at once to their candour and judgment; and we think it no small degree owing to their exertions that we owe the extinction of slavery. The well-informed among them would not thank us for suppressing our belief, that their theology is in some respects defective, and that their ideas of church government are greviously in the wrong.

Another subject of great importance is, what has been called the May Carnival -the anniversary meetings in Exeter-hall of the various religious bodies, coporate and non-corporate. The system of exitement, of which this annual exhibition forms a part, has its opponents as well as its supporters; and it must be acknowledged, that the arguments used by both parties are too weighty to be easily cast aside. The truth seems to be simply this: that much money is collected at and by means of these meetings, which would otherwise be lost; and thus many religious societies are carried on, which without such aid must be abandoned. When we consider also, that some bodies, which have a strong hold upon the feelings of the religious public, are, by these periodical fermentations, enabled to confirm that hold and to enlarge their influence, we shall perhaps be led, taking the evil with the good, to be satisfied with the "Carnival." Among the meetings which, with its corresponding sermon, have taken place, that of the Pastoral Aid Society deserves notice. The society itself is one of those which has been taken up by a section of the Church, and thereby invested in the minds of many with a character of partizanship, which does not really belong to it. Supported by a large number of Bishops, those of Ripon and Chester among the number; it cannot be considered other than an orthodox society; while the amount of the good effected by its aid, in the dioceses of the above-named prelates, is all but incalculable. The objections made to it are, that its committee are composed chiefly of laymen; and with all the disposition to speak highly of the society which we feel we much regret the fact stated above. In the earlier stage of its existence, the society allowed of lay-agency in parishes, and furnished sums of money for the support of such lay-agents. This was soon discovered to be against the wishes of the clergy at large, and the system was accordingly abandoned: not, however, before some of its best friends had been induced to decline taking any more an active part in the society's proceedings. Among those who then seceded, we believe the Rev. Sir Henry Dukinfield was one. Purged from this error, there remain the one which we have before noticed, and the fact, that before confirming a grant of money, the society require testimonials to be laid before them as to the fitness of the appointed curate ;— this also we regret. Our objections do not, however, hinder us from considering the Church Pastoral Aid Society as one of the most eminently useful societies

of the day; and fervently wishing it success, we rejoice in its progress, and would urge upon the wealthy the claims which it has to their support.

A very pleasing instance of the spirit which some of our religious meetings are carried on will be found in that of the Irish Society of London:-The Anuual Meeting of the Camberwell Branch of the above Society was held on Monday evening, the 18th of May, at the Grove House, Camberwell. The Rev. Henry Melvill took the chair. Appropriate speeches were made by the Rev. H. Melvill, Rev. Simeon Foote, from Ireland, the Rev. S. M. Morgan, the Rev. Edmund Lilley, and Mr. J. Fearn. The objects contemplated by this institution, are the giving the Holy Scriptures to the natives of the Sister island in their own language, and the training them in the paths of Christian scriptural knowledge. Mr. Joseph Fearn was appointed Secretary to the Camberwell Association. The meeting was numerously and respectably attended, and the sum of 1341. was collected.

We pass, however, to less pleasing themes. Two decisions have been lately made very important in their character, and very mischievous in their tendency. The one is, that of the judges concerning the Clergy Reserves in Canada; the other that of Lord Denman, in the celebrated Braintree case. There were certain lands in Canada set aside for the use and support of "the Protestant Clergy," the divisors having evidently in view the distinction between the Church of England and that of Rome; but this exceedingly lax and miserably deficient deed, having been lately examined by dissenters, it appeared to those pureminded and particularly disinterested persons, who despise endowments and consider establishments unscriptural,-it appeared to these "voluntary principle" supporters that, by designating their ministers "Protestant Clergy," they might obtain a part of the endowments and become "established" doubtless, with the benevolent object to relieve the Church from some of her sinful corruptions, by bearing them in her stead. The Church seems, however, to have objected thus vicariously to commit iniquity, or to allow the pure and scriptural dissenters to be weighed down by such a load of guilt, and accordingly the case has been debated in Parliament. The result has been as follows. The words, "Protestant Clergy" have been decided to signifiy persons lawfully called to exercise the ministerial office according to an established Protestant church ; an established church, because no other can give legal proof of ordination, and without this legal proof, the law must regard every man as a layman: but the Kirk of Scotland can bestow ordination valid in the eye of the law, and therefore she, as a Protestant establishment, has a claim to a proportion of the lands thus reserved. Thus, by a decision which it is impossible to overrule, and which is founded upon principles of established authority, the funds destined to support a Catholic and Apostolic Church are divided, and applied in part to the maintenance of a partial and Presbyterian establishment. The principle, too, lamentably holds good with regard to all colonies where such reserves exist.

The Braintree case was, as is well known, one of church-rates-whether a rate being refused by the parishioners, might be levied by the churchwardens. The decision of Lord Denman is, that the churchwardens have no such power; and therefore that a sufficient number of radicals are legally able to stop the progress of a church rate. This is voluntaryism indeed; but a decision so evidently absurd, will of course be appealed against, and we have no doubt reversed. While we say this, we would however express our convictions that a much better system could easily be devised than our present one of rates-a system needlessly unpopular in its mode of execution.

In our July number we hope to lay before our readers the results of the Exeter Hall Meetings.

217

Miscellanea.

ANCIENT AND MODERN LUXURY.-We hear much about the luxury of the present day, but it is positive abstinence compared with the luxury of the Augustan age. Let us look into a few old books, and see what the Romans did seventeen centuries ago in the way of eating:-" Old Æsop, the player, dressed up a dish of singing birds, which cost him 530,000 sesterces (4,1437) He had a son who did not degenerate. He was left with a great estate; and meaning to live well, he wished to try what was the flavor of a pearl dissolved in vinegar. Finding it very delicious, he invited two thousand friends, and each guest had a pearl given him to dissolve in the acid as the finest draught he could regale them with." Pearls and Vinegar! Modern chemistry tells us, after all, that they only swallowed in this precious combination, carbonate of lime and verjuice. But to proceed with our extracts :-" Apicius, a Roman of no mean genius, and born to an immense fortune, openly professed the culinary science, and made good eating the business of his life. He applied himself with the utmost assiduity (extremâ diligentiâ) to make experiments upon sauces, try mixtures, and examine relishes. All kinds of birds, beasts, and fishes, were brought to him from foreign parts, and he investigated their tastes with different sauces and different dressings. He gave 60,000 sesterces (nearly 5001.) for a dish of parrots and onion sauce (pavones sapibus condite)." "Vedius Pollio, originally a slave, but aftewards emancipated, and by dint of money made a Roman knight, carried luxury to its greatest height. He kept lampreys in a pond, where he fed them with human flesh; and the ordinary punishment inflicted upon his slaves, even for trivial faults, was to have them thrown, tied hands and legs together, into that pond to feed those voracious animals. Henry the Second died in Flanders after eating a hearty supper of lampreys. No wonder if he had read this anecdote.

LUXURY OF RUSSIA.-All over Russia, but particularly in the towns of Moscow and Petersburgh, the greatest luxury prevails. The rich nobles think nothing of destroying a field of barley to procure a single dish of green grain, of which they are very fond. At the commencement of the season they will sometimes give from fifty to one hundred rubles for a sterlet, or small sturgeon, about the size of a cod. Oysters will fetch, when they first arrive, a ruble, or 3s. 6d. per dozen; and it is said that the Prussians might establish a powerful interest at the court of Petersburgh, by contriving the means of supplying it earlier with that favorite article.

SWIFTNESS OF BIRDS.—A German paper, speaking of the various birds, says "A vulture can fly at the rate of 150 miles an hour. Observations made on the coast of Labrador, convinced Major Cartwright that wild geese could travel at the rate of 90 miles per hour. The common crow can fly at the rate of 25 miles, and swallows, according to Spallanzani, 92 miles an hour. It is said that a falcon was discovered at Malta 24 hours after the departure of Henry IV. from Fontainbleau. If true, this bird must have flown for 24 hours at the rate of 57 miles an hour, not allowing him to rest a moment during the whole time."

CHRIST'S PRESENCE IN THE CHURCH.-In the first place, I observe how much we are all bound to acknowledge the goodness, to praise, magnify, and adore the name of the Most High God, in that we were born and bred, and still live in a Church, wherein the apostolical line, hath through all ages, been preserved entire; there having been a constant succession of such bishops in it, as were truly and properly successors to the Apostles, by virtue of that apostolical imposition of hands; which being begun by the Apostles, hath been continued from one to another, ever since their time, down to ours. By which means, the same spirit which was breathed by our Lord into his Apostles is, together with their office, transmitted to their lawful successors, the pastor and governors of our Church at this time; and acts, moves, and assists at the administration of the several parts of the apostolical office in our days, as much as ever. From

whence it follows, that the means of grace which we now enjoy, are in themselves as powerful and effectual as they were in the Apostles' days: and if they prove not always so successful now as they were then, that cannot be imputed to any want of efficacy in them, but to some defect or other in those who use them. For they who are duly prepared, cannot but always find the same effect from them, because there is always the same cause, even the Spirit of God moving upon his word and sacraments when administered by the Apostles, to whom it was first given.-Bishop Beveridge.

ANECDOTE OF GEORGE THE FIRST.-Before I quit George I., I will relate a story very expressive of his good-humoured presence of mind. On one of his journeys to Hanover, his coach broke; at a distance in view was a chateau of a considerable German nobleman. The King sent to borrow assistance: accordingly the possessor came, conveyed the King to his house, and begged the honour of his Majesty's accepting a dinner while his carriage was repairing; and while the dinner was preparing, begged leave to amuse his Majesty with a collection of pictures which he had formed in several tours to Italy. But what did the King see in one of the rooms but a portrait of a person unknown in the robes, and with the regalia of the sovereign of Great Britain. George asked whom it represented. The nobleman replied, with much diffidence, but decent respect, that in various journeys to Rome he had been acquainted with the Chevalier de St. George, who had done him the honour of sending him that picture. "Upon my word," said the King instantly, "it is very much like that family." It was impossible to remove the embarrassment of the proprietor with more good breeding.-Walpole's Letters (Bentley's Edition).

Her

DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH.— It was her temper that involved her in lawsuits with her own children. Her eldest grandson, Robert Earl of Sunderland, died before he had forfeited her favour. Charles was no sooner elevated to his father's dignity, than she openly quarrelled with, and in the Court of Chancery pleaded her own cause against him. She accused him of pawning one by one the diamonds in the famous baldric of the great Marlborough's sword, and his extravagance gave point to the charge: yet John, her youngest grandson, who was no less profligate, retained her favour in the midst of his excesses. grand-daughter, Lady Anne Egerton, was as proud as the Duchess herself, and no less fiery; on some quarrel between them, the Duchess of Marlborough had Lady Anne's picture daubed with black, and over it this inscription" She is much blacker within." With her the ruling passion was strong even against death. About four years before her demise, the Duchess was attacked by a dangerous disease, and had lain a great while ill, without speaking: her physician believing her case very bad, said, "she must be blistered or she will die." Her Grace, who had listened with attention called out, "I won't be blistered, and I wont die!" She kept her word.--Countess of Huntingdon's Life and Times.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Owing to the pressure of other matter, we have been compelled to delay our notice o several important works which have been sent to us for that purpose.

For the same reason we have been obliged to defer till our next Number, Dr. Rudge's Letter.

"P. C." will not suit us.

"A. Z. T." 66 THETA," and "MARGARET," under consideration.

We are aware of the fact communicated by " AN OLD SUBSCRIBER," but we do not consider it necessary to take any public notice of it.

We shall be much obliged to any of our readers who will furnish us with information for our "Ecclesiastical Report," which, it will be perceived, is to be carried on under a better form than in the past numbers.

WILLIAM EDWARD PAINTER STRAND, LONDON, PRINTER.

THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.

BY THE REV. A. W. H. ROSE, M.A. ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; And Curate of St. John's, Waterloo-road.

THERE is ordinarily a considerable degree of vagueness and indistinctness attached to our conceptions concerning angels, and more especially to the nature of their ministrations. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to the reader to investigate, so far as the subject is revealed to us in the Word of God, the nature and office of those glorious beings who

"With songs

And choral symphonies, day without night,
Circle the throne rejoicing."

We shall proceed to the examination of our subject under three heads:

I. The description given us of angels: "Are they not all ministering spirits?"

II. The nature of their ministration: "Sent forth to minister." III. The object of such ministration : "For them who shall be heirs of salvation."

There is ordinarily, we have observed, a considerable degree of vagueness and indistinctness attached to our conceptions with regard to angels. Nor does the subject ever receive a degree of consideration at all in proportion to that which it merits. They are considered as beings rather adapted to figure in poetry and in song-to lend loveliness and imagery, and add pleasing allusions to oratory, than as those with whose operations the welfare of our race is intimately connected-who bend upon us the gaze of an ever watchful interest, and protect us with the vigilance of a guardianship never ceasing. We are apt to think upon angels, if we think on them at all, as white-robed beings in some distant abode of brightness,

R