This does not look much like our English malice; in other places however we have the word in its commoner usage. In two passages we have the obsolete term ding, to throw or cast down. "He had yet the same wand to ding him that dang his father." From this obsolete present was clearly derived through its past participle our term dung.

Our graver readers may perhaps be amused by being informed that among the personal merits of the Earl of Lenox is mentioned that he "Vent verrie stretcht up in his passage ;" by which it is only meant that he walked very bold and upright.

There are some few instances of ignorance respecting English affairs which we should much wonder at, did we not consider how interrupted an intercourse existed in those times between the rival kingdoms. We are presented in one place with a long history of the exclusion of Edward Crookback, a son of Henry IIId. from the crown on account of his mishapen form, and other bodily infirmities, and in another place we are informed, that Edward the VIth. was shot.

Our readers will be much pleased with the relation of the death of Bishop Cameron.

"In this meane tyme fell ane horrible cace to John Cameron bischop of Glasgow, principall rueller of the prince, and his ruellaris; and to all mischeiffe and innocent slauchter, done in thir troublous tymes, ane marvellous example to all mortall man, to withdrave thameselffis from all vicked counsall, abuse, and vicked tyrannie. For he caused thame to exerce oppressioune ypoun the realme, as he had done himselff vpoun the poore tennentis of Glasgow, sua that quhen the power divyne of God had permitted him to scourge and overune the people on this wayes, for ane certain space, he thought to put ane end to his tyrannie. At last, vpoun Yuill evin, quhen he was lying sleiping in his bed, thair cam on thunderring voyce out of heavin, crying and summonding him to the extreame judgment of God, quhair he sould give an account of all his cruell offences, bot ony fardder delay. Throw this he wakened out of his sleip, and tuik great fear of this noviltie. Bott yitt he believed it to be nothing bot ane verie dreame, and no trew vairneing, for the amendement of his vicked lyfe; yitt he called for his chamber boy, and caused him to light candles, and to remaine ane whyll besyd him, till he had recovered the fear and dreadour that he had takin in his sleip. Be he had weill takin ane book and red ane little space thairupoun, the same voyce and wordis war heard with no lese fear and dreadour than befoir, quhilk maid thame affrayed that war about him for the present: so that non of thame had ane word to speak to another; thinkand no lese than suddene mischeife to befall tham all. And frae hand the same voyce and wordis war morre vgsumlie hard cry nor befoir. The bischop renderit the spirit haistilie at the pleasour of

& 2

God

God, and schew out his tongue most vyldlie as he had beine hanged vpoun ane gallous. Ane terrible sight to all murtheraris and oppressouris of the poore. Bot alase the vicked mynd of men, boldin with all conceived malice, dreadis nevir the terrible judgment of God, nor the good and godlie men ceass nevir to imbrace his good and godlie merceis. But to our history." P. 69.

The death of James the IId. is here given at a much greater length than by other historians. As the account is curious we shall extract it for the amusement of our readers.

Nevir

"Bot at the last the thieves of Annerdaill cam in, schoutting and crying, and feard the king so, that he tuik purpose and raid his way, and thought to have win the toun of Stirling: bot he spurred his hors at the flight speid. Cuming throw the toun of Bannockburne, ane voman perceaved ane man cuming fast vpoun hors, shoe being carrieing in watter, cam fast away and left the pig behind her; so the kingis hors lap the burn and slak of friewill, quhairfra the voman cam. The king being evill sittin, fell aff his hors befoir the mylne doore of Bannockburne, and so was bruised with the fall, being heavie in armour, that he fell in ane deadlie sowne: And the miller and his wayff harled him into the mylne, and not knowing quhat he was, kest him vp in ane nuik, and covered him with ane cloath; quhill at the last the kingis hoast, knawing that he was fled, debaitted thameselffis manfullie, and knawing that they war bordereris and theivis that delt with thame, thairfoir they had the moir courage to defend thamselffis. theles they reteired and fled in guid ordour quhill they came to the Torwood, and thair debaitted long tyme till the night came, and fled away als quyetlie as they might, and pairt past to Stirling. Bot thair enemies, on the other side, followed thame verrie scharplie, so that thair was many takin, hurt, and slaine of thame. And be the kingis enemies war reteiring back, the king himselff overcame lying in the mylne, and cryed, if thair was ane priest to mak his confessioun. The miller and his wayff heiring thir wordis, inquyred of him quhat man he was, and what was his name. happened to say, vnhappilie, "This day at morne I was your king." Than the milleris wayff clapped hir handis, and ran furth and cryed for ane preist. In this meane tyme ane preist was cuming by; sum says he was my lord Grayes servand; quho answeired and said, "heir am I ane preist, quhair is the king?" Then the milleris wayff tuik the priest by the hand, and led him in at the mylne doore, and how soone the said preist saw the king, he knew him incontinent, and kneilled doun on his knies, and speired at the kingis grace if he might live if he had guid leichment: he answeired him he trowed he might, bot he wold have had a preist to tak his adwyce, and to give him his sacrament. The priest answeired, that sall I doe haistilie,-and pulled out ane whinger, and strak him four or fyve times evin to the heart, and syne gatt him on his back and had him away. Bot no man knew quhat he did

He

with him, nor quhair he buried him. Nor no tryall of the king was gotten ane moneth thairefter. Notwithstanding, the battellis war dissevered, as I have schowin befoir, the kingis battell fled to Stirling that night, and the other partie to thair tentis: and on the morne cam to Linlithgow. I cannot hear of any man of reputatioun that was slaine at this tyme, bot thair was many earles, lordis, and barronnes, that war takin and ransomed. This battell was strickin in the moneth of Junij the aucht day, in the yeir of God 1488 yeires.

"This may be ane example to all kingis that cumes heirefter, not to fall from God, and to grund thamselffis vpoun the vaine sayingis and illusiones of devillis and sorcereris, as this feible king did, quhilk pat him in suspitioun of his nobilitie, and to murther and exyll his awin native brother. For, if he had vsed the counsall of his wyse lordis and barrones, he had not cum to sick disparatioun, nor suspitione, quhilk he was moved to tak be vaine and vicked persones, quhilk brought him to ane mischeivous end. Thairfoir. we pray all godlie kingis to tak example by him, and to fear God, and to vse wyse and godlie counsall, having respect to thair high calling, and to doe justice to all men." P. 220.

In the beginning of this passage we have no doubt but that "slak of frie will," which is wholly unintelligible, ought to be written, slak ofer ye well, which is the sense that is wanted. With the banquet and grace of Bishop Forman, who went to Rome to confer with the Pope, our readers cannot fail of being entertained.

Then this bischope maid ane banquett to the Pope and all his cardinallis, in on of the Popes awin palaces, and when they wer all sett according to thair custome, that he who ought the hous for the tyme should say the grace; and he was not ane gude scholler, nor had not guid Latine, bot begane rudiie in the Scottise faschioun, saying Benedicite, beleivand that they schould have said Dominus, bot they answeired, Deus in the Italiane faschione, quhilk pat the bischope by his intendment, that he wist not weill how to proceid fordward, bot happened, in guid Scottis in this manner, sayand quhilk theyvnderstuid not, " The divill I give yow all false cardinallis to, in nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, Amen." Then all the bischope's men leugh, and all the cardinallis thamselffis; and the Pope inquyred quhairat they leugh, and the bischop schew that he was not ane guid clark, and that his cardinallis had put him by his text and intendment, thairfoir he gave thame all to the devill in guid Scottis, quhairat the Pope himselff leugh verrie earnestlie." P. 254.

We could give many more extracts from these curious and interesting volumes, from which our readers would receive much amusement. But the specimens already presented to them sufficiently intimate the nature of the entertainment and information which the work contains: we therefore refer them to it for further gratification.

ART.

ART. VIII. An Essay on the Character and Practical Writings of St. Paul. By Hannah More. Third Edition. 2 vols. Cadell and Davies.

1815.

UPON a work, that in the course of twelve months has reached a third edition, the public opinion is already formed, its beauties are already acknowledged, and its errors are already propagated, Sitting down to the examination of it under the impression that it is the opus palmarium, and probably ultimum of a writer, who for almost half a century, has amused, or instructed us, with dramas, or tracts, with novels, or strictures, it would have been grating to us to have passed upon it any very severe reprehension. We congratulate ourselves however, notwithstanding some surmises to the contrary, that this is not necessary. Yet, when first an Essay on the Life and Writings of St. Paul, by a lady, who has written so variously and so much, was advertised, we feared that it would be so defective in execution, or so erroneous in judgement, as to render praise impossible. The writings of this great apostle, indeed, afford a subject so intricate, so frequently discussed, viewed in such different lights by men of the deepest learning and most undoubted piety, that we were fearful lest Mrs. More should have overrated her powers, and totally failed in her arduous attempt. Our authoress, however, has so adroitly avoided the difficulties of her subject, and so well adapted her observations to Christians in general, that every reader may peruse the larger part of her Essay with satis faction and even with instruction.

The mode, indeed, which Mrs. H. More has adopted, might have extended both the volumes and their contents to any magnitude or number. For we have several chapters on certain religious duties, where St. Paul, indeed, furnishes the text, but the observations assume the form of a sermon. Many discourses of different divines might be produced in which St. Paul is brought forward quite as prominently as in chapters 14 and 19 of vol. 2d.-chapters excellent, indeed, in themselves, but which belong quite as much to a Life of St. John, or of St, Peter, as of St. Paul. But, perhaps, Mrs. More designedly adopted this mode of conveying to her readers that instruction, which could not have been so well introduced to general notice, in any other shape. And to execute this plan more completely, all attempts at a chronological account of the apostle's life and writings are omitted. We think this a very striking defect in a book which professedly treats upon the Life and Writings of St. Paul. For a due acquaintance with the times when these Epistles were written, materially conduces to a right understanding of

their contents. As they are certainly the most difficult part of scripture, and notwithstanding all the labours of Mrs. More, so continue to be, we should avail ourselves of every means which can tend toward their elucidation.

But in thus expressing ourselves, we scarcely know whether we do, or do not differ from our authoress. For in one passage she says,

"By the august simplicity and incontrovertible reasoning of this Epistle to the Romans, and by the supernatural power which accompanied it, he brought down the arrogance of human ability from its loftiest heights."

But soon we are informed,

"He is often abrupt, and sometimes obscure: his reasoning, though generally clear, is, as the best critics allow, sometimes involved, perhaps owing to the suddenness of his transitions, the rapidity of his ideas, the sensibility of his soul."

This is, indeed, truly the case; and that he has been misunderstood beyond any other writer of the New Testainent, must be unanimously allowed. We, therefore, are still persuaded, notwithstanding what Mrs. More may urge in her Preface to the contrary, that the attention of ordinary Christians, should be drawn by their spiritual teachers to the Gospels, rather than to the obscure and difficult portions of these Epistles.

We wonder, indeed, that Mrs. More has omitted to draw the attention of the reader to the great end, which the apostle aims at, in those of his Epistles, which are most the subject of controversy. The consummation of the Mosaic Covenant, and its consequent abolition, were facts most reluctantly received by many Christians of the first four centuries. That natives of Judea should be rigidly attached to the rights of their once glorious temple, none will be surprised at. But that Christians, 300 years after its destruction, should still persevere in following the Mosaic ritual, is so inconceivable, that we cannot refrain from giving our readers the following proof thereof. Chrysostom, whilst at Antioch, found it necessary, even in his time, to preach eight sermons consecutively against such practices, and this course of lectures, he begins in the following manner

"Again the Jews, wretched and most afflicted of all men, are preparing to fast, and again it is necessary to guard the flock of Christ. For as shepherds, whilst no beast disturbs the fold, stretching themselves under the shady oak or fir, play on their pipes, permitting their sheep to range at pleasure; but when they perceive the wolves to prepare an attack, they, throwing down the flutes, snatch up their slings, and instead of the pipe, arming

themselves