upon them, contain, I conceive, all that is necessary to be remarked upon this subject: ON AN HOSTLER. This honest man, who died an hour ago, All words that in these lines with h commence, WISDOM is a fox, who, after long hunting, will at last cost you the pains to dig out. It is a cheese, which, by how much the richer, has the thicker, and whereof, to a judicious palate, the homelier, and the coarser coat; the maggots are the best. It is a sack posset, wherein the deeper you go, you Wisdom is a will find it the sweeter. hen, whose cackling we much value and consider, because it is attended with an egg. Lastly, it is a nut, which unless you choose with judgment, may cost you a tooth, and pay you with nothing but a worm. TALE OF A TUB. O hear a passive participle's case! Remarks upon Happiness in general. The great object of pursuit by all in this world, is Happiness. It is with this view that Philosophers have studied, and Christians written. Every one has his own particular idea concerning its attainment, and thus it is that one places it in glory,-another in riches and a third in almost a total seclusion from men; so that he who is entering upon the stage of life, not unfrequently pursues that object, until it becomes entirely lost in its own labyrinth. Does Happiness consist then in the pursuit of glory? What are the ultimate end and design of all the candidates for worldly honour? At most a sceptre and a crown. And what are they? In their widest range, and in their greatest influence, they Who knows what lengths in language may be stand "but living monuments of ran? splendid misery;" stations for which 897 Remarks on Happiness. 898 true pleasure has no enjoyment, and saith the Lord, "To this man will I where peace never dwelt: for if we look, even to him that is poor and of a call to mind the fate of kings and contrite spirit, and that trembleth at princes in all ages of the world, we my word." And again, for the consolashall find that they have been loaded tion of those who feel the hand of powith the greatest sorrows, and subject verty, the psalmist declares," The needy to the worst misfortunes. Sardana- shall not always be forgotten, the expalus burnt himself with all his trea-pectation of the poor shall not perish sures in his palace. Nebuchadnezzar for ever.' Thus honour, and wealth, believed himself to be a mere beast and power, and riches, are less than of the field, and Manasseh was fet- nothing, when put in comparison with tered with chains, and carried in cap- poverty, religion, and peace. tivity to Babylon. Generally, the greatest heroes have fallen victims to the most miserable deaths, and they who have been most fortunate in their enterprises, have left behind them nothing but a name-a perishable garland and a fading wreath. Time, the silent destroyer of all things earthly, undermines the towering hopes of men, and disappoints the expectations of the ambitious; shew-sphere of action, wherein the good ing to the world, at once, the weakness of power, and the fallacy of worldly honours. Thus it is, that he at whose name Where then is Happiness to be found? Does she dwell in the more retired scenes of life? In the humble cottage, and in the peaceful hamlet? It was the confession of Sir John Mason, when upon his death-bed, that could he live over his years again, he would exchange the court for a cloister, and all his honours for a hermit's retirement. The world is a and the bad alike play their parts; wherein merit is oftentimes neglected, and ignorance preferred. That man whose temper leads him to the bustle of a city, may feel no enjoyment in a landscape, be it ever so lovely; and reap no pleasure from a retreat, be it ever so fair. But to him who hath suffered in the world,-who hath passed through a series of trials, and felt The hand of ruin on his brow, retirement presents the only consolation. It is there he learns to despise those attractions that mislead the unwary, to meditate on the transient ex the world grew pale, Now points a moral and adorns a tale. Does Happiness consist in riches? When a person once said to Menedemus, that it was an excellent thing to have whatever we desire,—“ Ah, replied he," but it is a much greater happiness to desire nothing but what we have." It was this indifference to riches, that induced Socrates to declare, that he was the happiest who had the fewest wants. Riches in them-istence of all things, and to smile in selves, are like the "Dead Sea fruits," beautiful in their appearance, but which “turn to ashes on the lips." Hence, Cicero regarded them with contempt, and Milton called them "the toil of fools." If poverty hath evils, riches have many more, and it is often too late when we discover that a great fortune is a great burden. To be poor is the lot of many, and to be rich the fate of comparatively few; but in what does true riches consist? in outward magnificence-in houses-in gardens -in palaces, or in kingdoms? No, but rather in possessing that hope, blooming with immortality, and in gaining an habitation in that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." The wealth of this world has no attractions for one whose views are not bounded by this earthly dwelling, and cannot be regarded by him who looks beyond the grave. What undisturbed repose at the world's indignities. But retirement may sometimes be enjoyed in the most crowded cities: hence, Des Cartes says, that he could walk in the streets of Amsterdam, in as much seclusion as in the green fields around his country residence. A partial retirement, however, discovers a love of society, and society engenders a wish for retirement. The union of those feelings produces that which acts against melancholy. The man who retires from active life, and delights in the works of creation, feels more real satisfaction than any other, and though small be his competency, yet he is at rest from the evils of time, only fitting his days for eternity, having no care but the extension of good, and no pleasure but that of seeing his prayers successful. Dwelling in the sunshine of perpetual happiness, he looks unmoved on the events which disturb this life, and silently watches the spirits of the age. To the poor man, if he be a man of intellect, a country life has every charm. To him, the winds and the rivers sing sweet music, and the valleys and hills pour unceasing joys; he looks upon all things with the eye of a lover, and feels that pleasure which no toil or care can diminish. If the glens and the caves bear flowers, for him do they blossom; if the woods and the breeze speak, comfort to him do they whisper. Fixed on the rock of unshaken peace, he looks on the past with satisfaction, and to the future with complacency. Do the evils of poverty more truly press upon him? He knows that this world is but a pilgrimage to a better, and he is content. Do the sorrows of persecution and misfortune surround him? He recollects that there is a land where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest. In every place, and in all circumstances, he can exclaim, Although the fig-tree should not blossom, neither shall there be fruit in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I I will joy in the God of my salvation. I am your's respectfully, &c. Derby, 1820. was circumcised: this godfather they called Baal-Berith, and Sandak, that is, the master of the covenant. Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, are thought to have been godfathers at the circumcision of Maher-shalal-hash-baz, (Isa. viii. 2.) and from them the custom of having godfathers in baptism to have taken its origin. 2.-When an infant proselyte, destitute of father, was admitted, by circumcision, baptism, and oblation, to the privileges of the Jewish Church, three witnesses were necessary, who were to act towards him the part of father. At the end of Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary on the gospel by Mark, among other observations on baptism, is the following account of this custom. "They (the Jews,) baptize a little proselyte according to the judgment of the Sanhedrim; that is, as the gloss renders it. If he be deprived of his father, and his mother bring him to be made a proselyte, they baptize him (because none becomes a proselyte without circumcision and baptism,) according to the judgment of the Sanhedrim; that is, that three men be present at the baptism, who are now instead of father to him.” 3.--Others think this custom originated in Africa, with one Fidus, in the third century of the Christian Church. This appears to have been the opinion of the late Mr. Robinson of Cambridge. (R. Robinson's posthumous volume of Sermons, serm. 8th, p. 170.) He says, “Every body knows that the Carthaginians were a colony from Tyre; that the Moloch of Tyre, was the Saturn of Carthage; that the barbarous worshippers of this demon, sacrificed children to him in flames of fire; that they purchased infants as the Jews did turtle-doves for sacrifice; that to supply the markets with sacrifices and slaves, parents sold their children; thieves stole them; and fighting parties subdued and carried off whole families; and that it was not in the power of the Roman emperors themselves, for several centuries, if at all, to put an end to this horrible practice of sacrificing human beings." "Among such monsters, one Fidus taught what little he knew of Christianity; and it is highly probable, for reasons not admissible here, that he hit on the method of saving the lives and liberties of the lambs of his flock, 901 Epitaphs.-Omega on the Catholic Claims. 902 really sorry that I cannot see any satisfactory proofs, even in his own statements, that popery is so far regene by prevailing on their parents to let him dedicate them to the one living and true God, by baptism, as the Jews had dedicated theirs by circum-rated, so far purged from its atrocious cision, and by putting them under the protection of some reputable Sponsors." EPITAPH IN GRANTHAM CHURCH-YARD. JOHN Palfreyman, which lyeth here, And near this place his Mother lies, EPITAPH, Written on a Tombstone, in the Church-yard at Folkstone, in Kent, in memory of Rebecca Rogers, who died August 22, 1688, Aged 44 years. A HOUSE she hath, it's made of such good fa shion, The tenant ne'er shall pay for reparation, TO THE EDITOR OF THE IMPERIAL 66 Reply, by Omega, to the Animadversions of A Member of the Established Church," inserted Čol. 425, on Omega's former Essay respecting the Catholic Claims. and blood-stained crimes, that it is become the duty of the British Government to admit its professors into the bosom of the Constitution; that Constitution which woeful experience taught our ancestors to frame upon the principle of the exclusion of these very people and their religion from all share in the formation and administration of the laws, and from all stations of honour, power, and influence, in the church and state, in the army and navy. It would be a libel upon the wisdom and piety of our ancestors, to dispute the grounds upon which that exclusion was founded; or to call in question the absolute propriety of its adoption. But were even this to be done, it would find a complete and satisfactory answer, in the civil and political tranquillity, and religious toleration, which the British dominions have enjoyed since the expulsion of popery from the councils and government of the nation; compared with the political feuds, and religious persecutions, which marked, in bloody characters, the calamitous reign of that religion in Britain. Let it be remarked, that the only important deviations from this state of harmony and tranquillity which have occurred in the British Islands, since its happy and providential exSIR,-Your correspondent at St. Aus-pulsion, have resulted exclusively from tell, who subscribes himself " A Member of the Established Church," has furnished you with some observations on the subject of what is termed the Catholic Claims, in reply to my letter on the same subject, which appeared in your Magazine for February last, under the signature of Omega. I certainly admire the spirit in which this gentleman writes, and the principle which appears to have dictated his letter. I have no doubt that he is a genuine philanthropist, and his charity induces him to believe and hope the best of every one. I am sure he must possess all the cardinal Christian virtues, of faith, hope, and charity, in a very abundant degree, as nothing else could either quality or incline him to become the apologist of Popery, and the advocate of Papists. But, although I admire his principle, I cannot agree with him in its application. am the struggles of popery to recover its power and authority in these realms.* Blood marks every footstep of its progress; while desolation and misery tread upon its heels! Your correspondent indeed cannot entirely resist the evidence of those historical facts, which exhibit the civil and religious principles of his present clients, as of too atrocious a nature to justify their admission into a Protestant state, and as being incompatible with its peace and safety; but he has persuaded himself, and would fain persuade the whole nation, that the present race of papists are grossly slandered and insulted, by the imputation of such principles and such con * Witness the Irish Rebellions of 1611, 1688, and 1798: and those of Scotland, for the restoration of Popery in the persons and government of the Stuarts, in 1715, and 1745. duct to them, as are on record in the faithful page of history, respecting their forefathers. He ascribes our hostility against popery, to the mere effects of prejudice, and the improper and unjust association of its crimes with its religion; from impressions received in the nursery, and which the reason and judgment of our maturer years have not been able to obliterate. And he insinuates, that so far are these prejudices from being well founded, that popery has in fact lately grown very good; that its nature is so far changed, that its professors are suddenly fallen in love with Protestant states and governments; and consequently have a fair claim upon a share of the loaves and fishes ;" and, " abstractedly, an indefeasible right to participate in all the privileges, the power, influence, and emoluments, of the state of which they are subjects, although a Protestant state." 66 The paucity of the proofs, and the imbecility of the arguments, which your correspondent adduces in support of this supposed regeneration of popery, lead me to suspect, that it exists only in his own imagination; and is the mere creature of his benevolent and unsuspicious heart. It would be a pity to see such a man fostering a serpent in his bosom, although in a delirium of charity he might imagine it was a dove! Let us therefore examine some of his arguments, and briefly reply to them. Your correspondent commences his defence of Popery, by asserting that "there are certain dogmas in the Creeds and Articles of most of the different denominations of Christians, that are irreconcileable with, and repugnant to, Christian charity." I presume the object of this assertion is, that inasmuch as the corruptions of Popery are too glaring to be concealed, and too atrocious to be cured, the only chance it can have of ranking with other Christian denominations, is by endeavouring to assimilate them as much as possible to it. For it seems to be a maxim with your correspondent, that the more corruption can be discovered in any Christian church, the more it resembles the church of Rome: and this appears to be his first, and indeed his best, apology for the horrible crimes with which Popery stands charged and convicted, in the annals of Europe, for ten or twelve centuries past! Just as though a notorious murderer, when receiving sentence of death from his judge, was to exclaim, with characteristic impudence,-" My Lord, I suspect there are several people in court, who have been occasionally guilty of crimes for which they are not punished-I therefore cannot be so guilty as you seem to think I am; and I assure you, it is quite unjust to hang me; I beg, nay, I insist, that you will restore me to my former rank in society!" But he proceeds, "The atrocious principles, with which they have been charged, are disclaimed by all classes of that community;" and hence he concludes they have, in fact, no more practical existence among them, than among any other body of Christians! Dear, innocent creatures! Not a soul among them would tell a lie for the world! Only let them exculpate themselves, and every man and woman of them is as immaculate as the Virgin Mary! Sure every body knows that Ireland was a land of Saints, till the heresy of Protestantism sprang up in it: and though oceans of blood were shed by the Holy Mother Church, to purge away the guilt of this pollution, yet it remains to the present day. Sir, let me tell your correspondent, what appears to be a secret to him, and perhaps even he may yet learn, without the demonstration of a pike in his heart, how much faith is due to the exculpatory declarations and oaths of Papists. Prior to the Irish rebellion in 1798, all classes of Papists flocked to the Quarter Sessions, and to individual magistrates, with anxious solicitude, to take the oath of allegiance to the king, and to have their names enrolled among his Majesty's most loyal and faithful subjects. I myself, holding an official situation, administered the oath to many hundreds. A few months, however, developed the real source of this superabundant loyalty; the plan of the rebellion was laid, and it was necessary to mask the first operations with the oath of allegiance! But no sooner was the rebellion actually commenced, than every man among them, who could procure a pike or a musket, hastened to join the standard, and give a practical and decisive proof how conscientiously they kept faith with heretics! If twenty or thirty of these fellows had been |