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rests. The Britons had very generally embraced Christianity, so early as the year 150; whereas the Picts were obstinate Pagans. To what precise mode of superstition they were attached, cannot now be ascertained; though pretty evident that it was not heathenism, but a much darker creed, and gloomier mythology. Their Scottish captives they treated as slaves; and in all things -language, religion, dress, and manners,-kept themselves totally distinct. What their language was cannot be proved, although some have asserted it to have been Gothic; there is now no vestige of it remaining. They were always considered as interlopers, and hated as such by the other inhabitants of Scotland; and, at length, after their dynasty had existed for upwards of four hundred years, from the fifth to the ninth century, and the terror of their name had spread over more than one-half of the island, Kenneth MacAlpin, king of Scots, a man of great military prowess, waged war against them so successfully, that the whole nation was finally and for ever rooted out, either slaughtered in battle, or forced to fly the country.

The Scots, a Celtic tribe, in the opinion of Ritson, originally made their appearance in Ireland, some time during the third century. They were a very rude and savage people, and are accused by St Jerome of being cannibals. It was to a portion of Ireland that they first gave the name of Scotia, which they afterwards transferred to the southern districts of the more ancient Caledonia. Ritson is by no means inclined to go into the opinion, that the word Scotia has any connexion with Scythia, which he calls the "officina gentium, or manufactory of nations." Pinkerton and others, on the contrary, are clear that the Scots and Scythians are the same, the name being derived thus,-Scythia, Scytia, Sciticus, Scoticus, Scotia. There certainly have been etymologies much farther fetched; but Ritson will not allow it any weight, remarking that it only serves to remind him of the ludicrous etymology of Golden Pippin: -"Hooper, cooper, diaper, napkin, pipkin, king Pepin, golden Pippin." He appeals to their language as still to be found in fragments, or entire works, written from the fifth to the tenth centuries, to prove that the Scots are clearly a Celtic race; and it is very probable that he is right; nor would it be of very vast moment were he wrong. Argyleshire was the first territory which these Scots possessed in this country, and the district was then known by the name of Dalriada. They gradually extended themselves over the Hebrides, and along the northern shores of the Clyde. It was not, however, till the eleventh century, that the name of Scotia, or Scotland, was given to the country now so called. Their primitive dialect, which differed little from the Irish Gaelic, continued in use, with both prince and people, till the reign of Malcolm III., surnamed Canmore, in 1057. From that time, the Saxon or English, from a variety of causes, gradually usurped its place, till it became at length confined to the Hebrides, and those more remote districts of the west and north Highlands, which the Scots took possession of on their evacuation by the Picts. The Scots seem originally to have been held in great contempt by the English, who, there can be no doubt, advanced much more rapidly towards civilization than they did. It was in the year 496 that Fergus, the first king of the Scots, after their emigration from Ireland, ascended the petty throne of Argyleshire-the king of Scots, but certainly not of Scotland; and between that period, and the accession of Malcolm III., by which time the Picts had been expelled, the Scots and Caledonians been amalgamated, and the whole formed into one, comparatively powerful, nation, Ritson furnishes us with a list, and some historical Annals of forty-six intermediate Kings, whose characters and exploits are, of course, still involved in very great obscurity, though we believe he has thrown upon them all the light that can possibly be obtained.

The Annals of Strathclyde, of Cumberland, of Galloway, and of Murray, which occupy the latter half of the second volume, are of less general interest, though in many respects curious and well deserving of attention. On the whole, we cannot but consider this work an important addition to our national and antiquarian literature.

Letters addressed to a Young Person in India, calculated to afford instruction for his conduct in general, and more especially in his intercourse with the Natives. By Lieut.-Colonel John Briggs, late Resident at Satara. London. John Murray, 1828. Pp. 241.

WITH the exception of their own, there is perhaps no country in which the British take so strong an interest as India. By far the most extensive and lucrative of all our colonial possessions, it has been the means of raising thousands to wealth and rank, who, had they remained at home, would never have been able to step out of that limited sphere to which their birth had consigned them. Nor has a reciprocity of benefits been wanting; for if we have extracted wealth from India, India is indebted to us for rapid advances in civilization, and all the arts of good government and social life. In this arrangement, one may almost trace the hand of retributive justice. At a much earlier period of the world's history, it was from and not to the East that civilization flowed. As if the sun had possessed an influence over the mind of man similar to that it maintains over the vegetable kingdom, the arts and With knowledge came power, sciences first sprang to maturity in those climes where As not units warmth is most felt.

and conquest strode on towards the west.
frequently happens, however, the pupil soon became
greater than the master; the infirmities of age fell upon
the latter, whilst the former walked forth rejoicing in his
new strength. The people of the East came to be ne-
glected amongst the more engrossing concerns that agi-
tated the occidental portions of the old world; and even
so early as the times of Alexander the Great, the Indus
was an almost unknown river, and the mighty monarchs
who came forth to meet the ambitious Macedonian with
their embattled host of elephants, and with a splendour
Centuries
that dazzled and astonished his poorer troops, were pre-
posterously treated by them as barbarians.
passed on, and the East was almost forgotten. The go-
vernments of Greece and Rome rose and fell; Constan-
tinople lorded it over the land of the Cæsars; the north
shook off its lethargy, and arose in rude strength, first
to overwhelm, and finally to re-invigorate the effeminate
south; the claims of any one country to universal do-
minion were overturned for ever; France had her Char-
lemagne-Germany her Otho-Spain her Caliphat
and England her Alfred. At first all was confusion,
war, bloodshed, and darkness; but the elements of what
is good are never thrown in a moment into exact har-
mony, either in the moral or physical world. Indepen-
dence, however, rapidly suggested new and nobler mo-
tives for exertion; the fragments of that ancient beauty
and refinement, which, in the stir of stronger passions,
had been trampled under foot, were again carefully col-
lected, and a new structure, less liable to decay, was
erected on their ruins. Enterprise succeeded; com-
merce began to flourish; peace was understood to be the
natural and the healthy condition of society, and the ut-
termost corners of the earth again communicated amica-
bly with each other.

The circumstances which in a particular manner directed the attention of the British to India, the measures they took to acquire a footing there, and the gradual extension of their conquests, it is not necessary at pre

sent to advert to. We found, however, that we had to a civil situation of responsibility, removed from the predo not with a raw and upstart nation, ignorant and pre-sidencies, who is ignorant of the language of the district suming; but with one which, though it had, no doubt, in which he resides. This acquisition, therefore, is by retrograded considerably from its pristine splendour, was no means a matter of choice; it is essential to your proproud of its antiquity, jealous of its hard-won honours, gress in the service; and it is probable, if after two or constant to its institutions, and more than sacramented in three years a young man should be found obstinate in its religious rites and superstitions. We had to do with a refusing to apply himself to that point, the government people, who, although their learning had little in com- would recommend his being altogether removed from a mon with that to which we laid claim, were, nevertheless, profession, the duty of which he persisted in remaining learned after a fashion of their own, and that fashion they incompetent to fulfil. I am sure you have too much believed the best. It was not a horde of slaves whom we pride and good sense to require to be urged on this subject; had to rule over; it was a powerful and enlightened and, indeed, I know of very, very few instances of young nation whose good-will we were called on to conciliate. men, so absurd as to neglect it, though, of course, all Of the Hindoos, or original inhabitants of India, little, it are not equally diligent, or equally capable of learning. is true, is known, previous to the invasion of the country I conceive six months of close application, in a country in the eleventh century by the Mahommedans; but the where the language is spoken, sufficient to acquire a toHindoo Empire had endured for ages before, and it was lerably competent acquaintance with the colloquial part; only then that it began to decline. Our own connexion and any young man, of ordinary capacity, ought to pass with India cannot be said to have existed for longer at a creditable examination, in a year from the time he bethe most than a hundred years; and for an account of gins; after which, the current business of his office, and the progress we have made during that time, unparallel- the intercourse he maintains with the people, will render ed as it is in the history of the world, we can now refer him, in another year, qualified to translate any docuto Orme's Transactions of the English in India, toge- ment with ease to himself, and to transact business with ther with the historical and valuable works of Colonel facility." P. 9, 10. Wilks, Captain Grant Duff, Sir John Malcolm, Sir Stamford Raffles, Crawford, and Prinsep.

The work whose title we have given above, is of a different kind from those just named, is written in a more familiar style, and aims not so much at being historical, as at supplying useful information to those who are about to commence a career in India, regarding the manners and customs, the prejudices and opinions, of the people with whom they are to associate. We are disposed to speak both of the author and his production in very favourable terms. Colonel Briggs is evidently not only a soldier, but a scholar and a gentleman. He takes enlarged and philosophical views of the state of society in India; and we heartily recommend a perusal of these "Letters" to all young men who are desirous of divesting themselves of the false and distorted notions (unfortunately so prevalent) of the state of native society and manners, before attempting to achieve their fortune in that country. Our author seems to be well acquainted both with the civil and military departments of service in India; and we are satisfied, from the calm and judicious manner in which he states them, and the great stock of sound reasoning and accurate information which he brings to their support, that his opinions are, in both cases, equally deserving of attention. A few interesting and instructive extracts, which we purpose making, will enable our readers to judge upon this point for themselves. Colonel Briggs thus enforces the necessity of all young men intended for India, studying with diligence the Oriental languages :

"I shall be glad to hear what progress you made in your Oriental studies (of the languages, I mean,) at Hertford; and also, whether you followed my advice, by adopting the course of reading I recommended on board ship. With respect to the languages, you will soon find that nothing can be done without them; indeed, this point is now so well established, that one of the regulations of government expressly states, that no civilian shall be deemed eligible to fill any appointment, till he has passed an examination in at least one Indian language. The veil that exists between us and the natives can only be removed by mutual and kind intercourse. It has long been found inconvenient to trust to native interpreters for the transaction of business; and, indeed, it was impossible, as long as that system prevailed, that we could obtain any real acquaintance with the people and their character. The period to which I allude has, fortunately, long passed away; and I believe bardly an instance now exists, of any European holding

In "Letter VI." we find the following excellent advice to the young British Officer about to enter the Indian army, and, in all probability, as profoundly igno rant of the men with whom he is to associate, as he is of those whom he is to cominand :

"Young men who enter the Indian army as cadets are peculiarly situated. They at once join regiments composed of foreigners, to whose language and habits they are entire strangers; who form a class of men remarkable for superstitious attention to habits, and bigoted attachment to the manners and religious ceremonies of their ancestors. Among these people the European officer is probably destined to pass the greater part of his life; and one of the first objects of his duty, as regards himself individually, as well as the men to be placed under his command, must be to acquire their language, and to become familiar with their customs.

"Indian cadets are usually like yourself, youths from sixteen to eighteen years of age, who have seen very little of the world, and know nothing beyond what they have acquired at the schools in which they have been educated. It is not surprising, therefore, to find, that on their first arrival they are struck with astonishment at all they see, nor that they should at first dislike, and become even disgusted, with the habits of nations so essentially different from their own. In addition to these circumstances, there is another feeling, which, in India, tends to create a contempt towards the natives, and, however absurd the notion, it is, nevertheless, true, that their dark complexi ns convey to the mind of a European a sensation of inferiority. It is a well-known fact, that most of the barbarous nations in the universe, and the savages found on the several islands discovered by modern navigators, are dark. and that the unhappy and debased slaves conveyed from the western coast of Africa are also black. From this circumstance, which renders them the objects of commiseration, probably arises the contempt we feel for men of that colour, and which leads us to consider them as a degraded race, whose mi ds are incapable of energy, or of the nobler passions of mankind. This prejudice, so commonly prevalent among Europeans towards all dark men, makes us too apt to identify fairness of complexion with intellectual powers and civilization, and to associate with the term black man,' the idea of barbarism and brutality.

"These notions are usually brought to India by every cadet, and they frequently receive confirmation by an association with the officers of the ship, who see and know little of the natives of India in general. Their intercourse is confined to those interested and mercenary

individuals abounding at sea-ports in every part of the world, and who, feeding on the necessities and ignorance of seafaring men, make unfavourable impressions on Yet it would not be their minds of the whole nation. more unfair in a foreigner to judge of the whole English people by the casual communication he maintains with the boatmen and others concerned in clearing ships at Liverpool, Black wall, or Portsmouth, than to draw unfavourable conclusions of the Hindoo race from the specimens which an Englishman sees of the natives of Calcutta, Madras, or Bombay. There is, however, an additional reason why a person arriving from on shipboard should, on his first landing in this country, be more shocked with every strange object he sees, than a traveller would be in Europe. In the latter case, although he meets with great varieties of dress, of modes of worship, and of manners, yet there is a general similarity to what he has always been accustomed. For instance, though the costumes in Europe vary, still there is no absolute nakedness, such as strikes every person on arriving in India. This is observable at Madras in particular, where, with the exception of a small stripe of linen round his girdle, and a sharp-pointed skuil-cap, made of leaves, fitting the head, the men in the canoes are absolutely naked. To a European the sight is hardly human, to see a black animal kneeling on three bits of wood, connected only with the fibres of the cocoanut, paddling away, alone, several miles from land. Yet, strange to say, these men, on their rude skiffs, pass through a tremendous surf on the coast, into which no English seaman or English boat dare venture. The natives, however, fearlessly attend the country boats, filled frequently with European passengers, in order to save their lives; and they encounter, night and day, not only the risk of drowning, but the more serious chance of being carried away by sharks, to which animals many of them frequently fall victims. As rewards for their services, however, we see these naked Indians adorned with medals, presented by Government for their brave exertions in saving the lives of shipwrecked persons, of which they are justly as proud as any military and naval heroes who may have fought for their king and country.

"What, then, must be the feelings of a person, landing fresh from London, without having witnessed any intermediate state of society between the height of European civilization in the finest city in the universe, and that to which he is so suddenly brought!

"All the severa shades of similarity which exist in European society, are lost in this hemisphere. "The climate, as I have already observed, requires The middling the natives to use very little clothing; and the labouring classes, consequently, hardly use any. and upper classes, instead of being clad in close broadcloth garments, are habited in long flowing linen robes, giving them, in our eyes, an air of effeminacy. The men shave their heads, both for cleanliness and comfort, and use cotton turbans of various colours, instead of These it is rude to take off on any pretence; so hats. that what we do out of courtesy, must to them appear ill-bred.

The women have their heads uncovered, and wear their hair after the fashion of the Greeks. The eyelids of the Mahommedans are tinged with antimony, to give the eyes brilliancy, the complexions of the Hindoos are not unfrequently dyed yellow with saffron, and the teeth of the Mahommedan females are stained black as ebony after they marry.

"The dryness and the heat of the climate render it unnecessary to use chairs or couches, as in Europe. The floors of the rooms of the upper classes are covered with carpets, brocades, or fine linens. Upon these they sit, eat, and lie down; hence the custom throughout the East of taking off the shoes before entering on them, which, soiled by the dirt of the streets, would not only injure the furniture, but also pollute the linen garments in which they are clad. The custom of removing the shoes from off the feet, on coming into houses and temples, and on approaching superiors, is very ancient; and a stronger proof of the fact need not be adduced, than by consulting the third chapter of Exodus, when God commands Moses to put off his shoes, for he stands on holy ground;' and yet, till we become accustomed to this habit, it is extremely repugnant to our feelings to see men walking about our houses with naked feet; and it P. 23-9. is the more extraordinary, that we know it is done purely out of respect."

In corroboration of the high feeling which so often characterises the Hindoo, as described in the above extract, we cannot do better than subjoin the following anecdote :

"In Europe, the climate every where requires that the human body should be clothed, which is by no means necessary in India. Religion, too, though it assumes various forms among the numerous sects of Protestants, Roman Catholics, &c. and the disciples of the Greek Church; still none of these differences shock us by their "While on this subject, I will just relate a circumextravagances. We have, in some degree, become familiar with them by our education; and in the course of stance which happened some years ago, connected with passing from one country to another, a traveller in Eu- the epithet black fellow,' which ought to make you rope becomes gradually introduced to the novelties which blush. You are aware that the art of ship-building has occur on his journey. With regard to customs, too, attained, under the conduct of natives alone, a degree of though in some respects different, yet there is a general perfection which enables it to bear a fair comparison similarity preserved throughout the European and Chris- with the same art in England. The entire construction tian nations. The same habit every where prevails of sa- of vessels had been for many years conducted in Bomluting by uncovering the head; of sitting on chairs and bay under one Jemsejee, a native Parsee, who, from couches; of entering houses, and even palaces, with being a common ship-carpenter, rose to become master shoes; of eating all sorts of flesh, fish, and fowl, and of builder in the Company's dock-yard; and in the year using knives, forks, and spoons at our meals. All these 1800, the first frigate built of teak for his Majesty's sercustoms are so common, and so universal with us, that vice was launched into her proper element. The vessel when we find the whole of them neglected, we are natu- had been built solely by natives, and was a proud spe rally disposed to think such a people sunk into the low-cimen of the perfection they had attained in their art. est state of barbarism. Our surprise is not less than that of an Indian chief, who one day asked me if we had abundant rice crops in England; but was surprised to hear that neither rice, nor any other of the Indian grains, wheat excepted, grew in England. You will be equally astonished, no doubt, to learn, that a great part of a population of a hundred millions of inhabitants, exists, for the most part, without eating wheaten bread, flesh, fish, or fowl, or drinking fermented liquors of any sort. Both the Indian and the European would very naturally ask of each other, Then what is it you do subsist on ?'

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During the preparations for the launch, to which the
governor and all the naval officers of his Majesty's Ser-
vice were invited, it is said, Jemsejee having walked once
or twice around the vessel, and, elated at her completion
Having gone
in so good style, determined to commemorate the event,
which he did in the following manner.
quietly below into the ship's hold, he caused these re-
markable words to be carved on the inside of her kelson:

This ship was built by a d-d black feltow, A. D. 1800.' The circumstance was unknown for some years afterwards, until the vessel was brought into dock, and

Jemsejee mentioned the fact, and pointed out the inscrip- a notion were once to gain ground in India, it is difficult to say where the consequences might end. The very tion.' P. 16, 17. As to the religion and superstitious rites of the Hin-idea of prohibition would, probably, excite a vast number more to sacrifice themselves than before, not only as doos, Colonel Briggs seems justly to be of opinion, that devotees to the deity, but as martyrs to uphold their reany attempt on the part of the British government to put a stop, by means of legislative enactments, to what ligious prejudices; and where one victim is now occasionappears to be most obnoxious, would be attended with ally heard of, fifty would then take place. In case of any attempt to put it down by force, (and the only prac the very worst consequences. It has been invariably ticable way of doing so would be by prohibiting the profound, that violent measures in religious matters are much more apt to make martyrs than converts; and cession altogether, or by accompanying the car with armed men,) the cry of Religion is in danger!' would everyhowever shocking even the destruction of female infants, where be heard; advantage would be taken of the cirand the self-immolation of widows may appear to us, cumstance by designing people; disaffection to our gothese are old and deeply-founded sacred and civil privi-vernment would, perhaps, after spreading from one class leges, which the people would only cling to the more fondly as soon as they perceived the slightest symptoms of their being wrested from them. The gradual progress of civilization, of more enlightened views, and of a better faith, must be left to effect that which force need never hope to accomplish. Our last extract describes an Indian fair; and, in connexion with that subject, contains some remarks on Indian superstition, in which we heartily concur:

"Besides the markets, there are annual or half-yearly fairs, held in commemoration of some particular event connected with the town or city, or in honour of some local deity or shrine. These fairs present a very good sample of the manners of the lower orders, and will, I have no doubt, excite a good deal of interest. You will be equally surprised and entertained, I think, at witnessing, on these occasions, a spectacle so nearly resembling similar sights in England.

to another, communicate to our troops, and bring the ill-effects of our interference before us in a shape and at a time when it might be as dangerous to prosecute the measure of prevention, as it would then be difficult or impolitic to recede from it."

We should have been glad to have quoted still more copiously from this volume, but we think we have said enough to induce such of our readers as are personally interested in the subject, to peruse the book itself, which they will do both with profit and pleasure. There is added to the "Letters" a copy of the "Instructions" which Sir John Malcolm, when he left Central India, bestowed as a legacy upon all the officers who had acted under his orders. So highly did the different Indian governments think of these Instructions, that they ordered them to be printed and widely circulated among all their civil servants. It will be found, that the opinions of Sir John Malcolm, than whom no one had ever better opportunities of knowing the Asiatics, entirely coincide in all essential particulars with those of Colonel Briggs.

Virtue's Picturesque Beauties of Great Britain; in a Series of Views by the most celebrated Artists. Accompanied by Historical, Topographical, Critical, and Biographical Notices. Publishing in Numbers. London; G. Virtue.

ty. Kent has been selected to begin with; and in the
Numbers before us are views, among others, of Canter-
of Somersetshire are to appear early in January.
bury, Rochester, and Tunbridge Wells. The Beauties

"The festival seems to level much of the distinction Booths are of caste, and the separation of the sexes. erected on each side of a wide street, formed for the occasion on some common, or perhaps the dry part of the bed of a broad river, for the better display of the articles of sale. Here may be seen, exhibited at the same time, the silks of China and the broad cloth of Europe; the dried fruits and other productions of Cashmere and Persia, and the several manufactures of India. Here, as in England, may be seen, also, all sorts of amusements calculated to please youth, as well as toys of every description, from the squeaking penny trumpet, the tinsel sword THIS is a cheap and very prettily-executed work. and gun, down to dolls, and kings and queens, displayed Each Number contains four views, well drawn and enin gorgeous array, in cakes composed of sugar instead of gingerbread. At one place may be seen tigers and other graved, with appropriate letter-press descriptions; and wild beasts become domesticated, while the facetious and the price is only one shilling. There are to be five Nummischievous monkey, riding on a goat by way of a char-bers in each Part, and each Part is to illustrate a counger, is always present where fun is to be looked for. At another are jugglers, mountebanks, and stage-players in all directions, with puppet-shows, and the attractive ups and downs and roundabouts, at a halfpenny for twenty turns, filled with giggling girls and awkward clowns; at one moment laughing wildly, at another, screaming with affected apprehension, as they ascend the air in their little swinging boxes. On the outskirts of the crowd are the markets for corn, cattle, sheep, and horses; and last, though not the least important branch of the ceremony, is the approach of the gigantic Hindoo car, thirty feet in height, with wheels of proportionate dimensions. Within this vehicle is seated the idol, the object of the anniversary, which is seen advancing slowly through the main street, covered with gold cloths and flowers, and drawn by several hundred persons, who think it an act of devotion to put a hand to the labour of dragging this huge moving temple. On these occasions, decrepid old men and women, tired of life, voluntarily sacrifice themselves, by allowing the wheels to pass over them. The occurrence, however, is becoming more rare daily, and the march of intellect will, I have no doubt, in the course of time, tend altogether to do away the practice.

"It is sometimes asserted that our government should interpose to put a stop to this last proceeding. Bigotry is easily alarmed at the idea of persecution; and if such

MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE.

RECOLLECTIONS OF A PARSONAGE.

THE SETTLEMENT.

"THE settlement !" said an honest woman, as she stood in the door-way of her own cottage, inquiring of the passing crowd why they were all hurrying towards the parish-kirk;-"The settlement, indeed! Gude troth, -ye may place him, but it's out o' the power o' a' the presbyteries in the kirk o' Scotland to settle him, I trow." Whether or not the sage, though somewhat illiberal, observation of the said aged woman had any reference to my own particular case, I do not arrest my narrative to determine; but of this I am certain, that upon the 25th day of September 1813, and just in time for the halfyear's stipend, I was regularly ordained minister of a country parish. Previous, however, to this conclusive mea

sure, note of preparation had been given by what is termed the moderation of a call, held in my absence, and in the parish church; at which the moderator of the presbytery of the bounds presided, with a large folio sheet, inviting heritors, heads of families,-all and sundry, to subscribe a call, or parochial invitation, to their new pastor. This, as is well known, has long become a dead letter, and is understood, even by the people themselves, to imply no power whatever,-possessed or exercised by them, towards the procuring of a settlement for any particular presentee; it is, however, not entirely useless, or even meaningless, as it affords an opportunity to the more respectable and better disposed part of the congregation of strengthening their future pastor's hands, and of convincing him, that if he is willing and prepared to impart, they are every way favourably disposed to receive instruction. Hap-brance," The worthy man who has left us"-" The pily for the peace and comfort of the church, this is the moderate and peaceable view which is now taken of such proceedings; though the days have been, and that within the lapse of fifty years, when the moderation of a call would have occasioned the calling for, and the vigorous interposition of, the civil power, in the somewhat unhallowed muster of muskets and bayonets. My call was, however,"moderated in" with all possible decency, and every exhibition of kindly feeling on the part of the parish; and I glory to this time in the fact, that some individuals who were incapable of subscribing, actually affixed to it their sign, or mark.

pect from his flock. Before the blessing is pronounced, the congregation are informed that such amongst them as wish to welcome their pastor, will have an opportu nity of shaking hands with him at the east or west door of the church, as circumstances may be. Nor can any one, who has not experienced the attention, conceive any thing more impressive and delightful than this simple, but voluntary, act or movement on the part of a kindly and well-disposed people. The new minister takes his stand a few paces from the church door, and the elders of the congregation, together with the more aged and influential, generally advance the foremost to recognise and welcome their future pastor. Nor is this part of the ceremony usually unmixed with more serious recollections, and even tears of endeared rememgude auld man”—“ The faithful servant of a noble master"-" The poor man's friend, and the rich man's counsellor"-these are expressions which, coming from the heart, reach it, and which, breathing of the fragrance of the past, delightfully perfume, as it were, and hallow the future. He must be unfit not only for the most delightful, as well as the most hallowed of all offices, who can stand all this unmoved, and who can calmly look upon the wrinkled brow, and the hoary head thus stooping in all the generous outgoings of endeared recollection, without recalling those sabbaths, sermons, visits, and prayers, which, in all probability, lay at the foundation of the whole, and which will yet, at some future ordination, form a theme of similar recollections in regard to the present incumbent.

After the morning star, arises the sun, and after the moderation of a call comes the still more luminous and impressive ceremony of ordination; and as some of my readers may be ignorant, or entertain but a very imper- I have enjoyed many days of what, in the ordinary fect notion of this ceremony, I shall give them the cir-language of life, is termed happiness. I have rolled, cumstances somewhat in detail. whilst a child, in the lee and sunny slope of a brae, from noon to eventide, in all the delirium of perfect idleness, eyeing for hours the thin cloud coursing over, and dimming the blue sky above, or watching the egressingress, and varied evolutions of all manner of green, crested, leather-backed, and long-legged insects. I have killed my first trout, and after pulling him out with the strength of a Sampson, have seen him sporting with the hook in his stomach, for minutes of ecstasy, on the green bank of a bonny muirland burn. I have spent my first sixpence in a village fair, and have even ventured, whilst yet a stripling, to request the acceptance of a fairing, of some country toast, who had bewitched half the young men of the neighbourhood. I have seen, felt, and fully appreciated those "golden hours" which fly away" on angel wings," and which bear along with them remembrances which neither time nor eternity, neither life nor death, will, I believe, ever be able to efface from the soul within me; but of all the happy days of my life, the day of my settlement was, perhaps, the most truly and overpoweringly delightful. It was as if all my feelings, under the pressure of a thousand atmospheres, had become inconceivably condensed and elastic. There was a glow, and a light, and an expansiveness within, like that which, in Professor Leslie's account of the earth's centre, fairly outshoulders and counteracts all incumbent gravitation. It was not a darkness visible, but a light invisible, which I carefully, but unsuccessfully, strove to cover and disguise, but which ever and anon emanated in countenance, manner, and movement. Nor am I ashamed to own it. The past was a past of varied and sometimes harassing incident; a morning and noonday of cloud-blast-sunshine-and fragrance;-exquisite happiness, relieved and shaded by consummate misery-all the extremes which can and do meet within the measurement of man's capability of suffering or enjoying. I now longed for a reduced scale of feelinga more equalized tenor of movement-an even, or merely undulating pathway of life, over which I might walk peaceably and peacefully in the faithful discharge of duty, and in the cherished but softened recollections of past

A lawful, or week-day, is always appointed by the presbytery for the ordination of a minister, and what is somewhat surprising, the last ordained minister of the bounds is appointed to the discharge of this solemn and important duty. The bell rings at the usual hour, and a sermon, with the customary accompaniments of psalms and prayers, is delivered before the members of presbytery, and usually in presence of a crowded congregation. This part of the service being concluded, the officiating clergyman proceeds to the ordination, which is preceded by a number of questions that are directly put from the pulpit, and to all of which the presentee, who is placed in the midst of the presbytery, and directly in front of the pulpit, assents, by an inclination of his head, with the exception of the question respecting simony, to which an audible and distinctly articulated negative is required. The officiating clergyman, who is at the same time moderator, then descends from the pulpit, and placing himself in a convenient situation with reference to the presentee, proceeds to set him apart, in a solemn and devotional prayer, to the sacred duties of the altar. All this while the presentee kneels, whilst the rest of the congregation stand; and towards the conclusion of the prayer, and in accordance with expressions then made use of, the officiating minister, in the first place, and then every member of presbytery present, place their hands slowly and reverentially upon the presentee's head. At this part of the ceremony the effect is at the deepest; the congregation is still and breathless, whilst the solemn words of ordination fall distinctly, deliberately, and devoutly, from the lips of the speaker. The ordination-prayer being finished, the brethren shake hands with their newly-admitted brother, and the congregation having resumed their seats, an address is made from the pulpit, in the first place to the ordained party, and next to the congregation over which he has been appointed to preside. The speaker usually insists, on this occasion, at some length, on the nature and importance of the clerical duties, as well as on that reciprocal forbearance, attention, and affection which a faithful pastor has a right to ex

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