ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, CORNWALL.

"Mountain, the curious muse might love to gaze
On the dim record of thy early days;

Oft fancying, that she heard, like the low blast,
The sound of mighty generations past.

Thou only, aged Mountain, dost remain,
Stern monument, amidst the deluged plain ;
And fruitless the big waves thy bulwarks beat,
And slow retire, and murmur at thy feet."

BOWLES.

THE monks of the dark ages were singularly adroit in selecting imposing situations for their religious houses—

A galléd rock,

Swill'd by the wild and wasteful ocean,"

was often chosen by them as the site of an ecclesiastical building; and seldom, perhaps, with more picturesque effect than in the instance of St. Michael's Mount.

This singular hill, supposed by many authors to be the island mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, and other ancient writers, as affording to the Gauls and other continental nations, the tin, which, even in very early ages, Cornwall was known to possess, rises from the extreme point of a long and narrow neck of land, which juts out from the southern coast of Cornwall, far into the Atlantic; and at high tide is completely surrounded by the vast waste of waters. Its elevation above the level of the sea is about two hundred and thirty-two feet; and in by-gone times it might have been said of it,

"Around his waist are the forests braced,"

for it is believed to have been formerly encircled by a dense wood; an opinion which is supported by the fact, that the remains of numerous trees have been discovered in its vicinity; and yet more strongly perhaps, by the circumstance, that its Cornish name, (Carakh-ludgh en luz,) signifies the Gray Rock in the Wood.

As early as the eleventh century, St. Michael's Mount was the site of a priory of Benedictine monks; and in the year 1070 it was bestowed

by the Norman conqueror upon Robert, Earl of Mortaigne, who constituted it a cell, (or chapel,) to the Abbey of St. Michael in Normandy.

In the early part of the fourteenth century, the priory of Mount St. Michael escaped suppression, on the condition that it should pay to the English crown the yearly tribute which it had before remitted to the parent-abbey in Normandy. Two centuries later, when the English monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII., this Cornish priory was bestowed upon Humphrey Arundel, Esq.; and subsequently, it came, by purchase, into the possession of the family of St. Aubyn; to which family, the buildings on the Mount now belong.

In common with the priory of Tynemouth, and other ecclesiastical structures, this religious house was, occasionally, during the early periods of English history, occupied as a military fortress. During the captivity of Richard I. in Austria, it was seized and fortified by Hugh de la Pomeroy, with the purpose of favouring the intended usurpation of Prince John; and during those sanguinary conflicts, which are mildly designated "the wars of the roses," John, Earl of Oxford, soon after the defeat of Edward IV. at Barnet, landed with his followers at St. Michael's Mount-he and they being disguised as pilgrimsand having obtained entrance, held the place against the forces of King Henry; and at length obtained honourable terms of capitulation.

And what is now the condition of this ancient priory?

It is simply occupied as a private country-seat; and though its apartments are small, its commanding position gives it advantages, as a summer-residence, scarcely to be equalled elsewhere. On the top of the tower of this ancient structure, in one of its angles, there are the remains of what apparently was once a rude lighthouse. The monks of St. Michael's had a tithe of the fishery; and, in all probability, they tended the light in this stone lantern, with a view to the direction of the fishermen in dark and stormy weather. This elevated lighthouse is popularly called St. Michael's Chair. The ascent to it is dangerous; but with ill-directed bravery, it is still sometimes attempted. According to a legend to which implicit faith was formerly yielded, and with regard to which, some, perhaps, of those who at the present day attempt this hazardous ascent, are but slightly scepticalWhichever of a married pair, whether husband or wife, shall first after marriage sit down in St. Michael's Chair, shall, ever afterwards, remain the supreme ruler in the domestic domain.

We have said enough to show, that ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT must be to tourists an object of great and varied interest. The student of history is attracted by its historical associations; the artist, and the lover of the picturesque, by its romantic situation and appearance; and we may add, the botanist, by the wild flowers with which it abounds. Its rich array of plants it probably owes to the mildness of its climate; the southern coast of Cornwall being, in this respect, unrivalled in England. The visitor from our northern counties, astonished, as he approaches the Land's End, to find the flowering-myrtle, and other delicate shrubs flourishing in the open air, and braving uninjured the temperature of winter, readily acknowledges, of the neighbourhood of ST MICHAEL'S MOUNT, that it deserves the title of "the Montpelier of England."

THE MISSIONARY JUBILEE, NOV. 1ST. 1848.

WITH solemn gladness let us keep our day of jubilee,
And rise with thankful hearts and light, its early dawn to see;
And praise the goodness of the Lord, who hath for fifty years
Bestow'd his blessing on our work, and heard his servants' prayers.

Few were their numbers at the first, and frail their efforts seem'd,
To tell of Jesus to a world his mercy had redeem'd;
But they had search'd the Scripture-page, and read its precepts plain;
The promise too was there; they knew, they should not toil in vain.

They sow'd the precious seed in hope, and water'd it with tears, They trusted not in feeble man, but faith o'ercame their fears; And while their numbers grew, and still their treasury enlarged, The Lord's ambassadors went forth with glorious tidings charged.

For they were strengthen'd from above with high enduring faith;
And reckon'd not their lives as dear, but constant unto death,
They strove to make the heathen know the God whom they believed,
And share the blessings and the hopes which they had first received.

But time would fail us here, their names and numbers to record, Who have for half a century till'd the vineyard of the Lord: God knoweth them, he knoweth too their weakness and their sin, Their trials and their hind'rances while seeking souls to win.

A nobler theme is ours to-day, than human praise to sing,
E'en to adore His love and power, their Leader and their King;
Who stirr'd their spirits, sent them forth, and granted them success,
And made the plants of grace to bloom in the waste wilderness.

But where are now those men, endued with burning love and zeal,
Desiring to be spent for God, and for their brethren's weal?
At rest are they who led the van, those steadfast hearts and true;
And still the harvest ready stands, but labourers are few.

And oh! 'tis not the feeble hand, 'tis the cold selfish heart,
That shrinks from sacrifice for Christ, and will not do its part;
Not poverty of means alone, but lack of faith and love,
That stays our progress and restrains the blessing from above.

For He whom we profess to serve, is ready to bestow,
More ready far than we to pray, for cold our hearts and slow,
To claim His promise, and devote ourselves to Him who gave
His well-beloved Son for us, our ruin'd souls to save.

But, could we know the worth of souls, as we shall one day know,
How vain would every object seem that hath its end below!
How should we bless the privilege now offer'd us by God,
Of labouring in his blessed cause, to spread his truth abroad.

Oh, for the zeal and holy love, that fired a Martyn's breast,
That animates their hearts who go upon their Lord's behest!
Oh, for His Spirit, who press'd on his sufferings to fulfil,
Whose meat and drink it ever was to do his Father's will.

A rest remaineth for His Saints, a glorious JUBILEE,
When nations shall be brought from far their Shepherd's face to see.
Oh may the Lord direct our course to that eternal shore,
With those who shall in glory shine, as stars for ever more.

E. M. B.