cause his time and talents were so peculiarly precious in the exercise of the Gospel ministry, that he could not stay at all times to perform the ceremony of baptism (a ceremony it became him, and every one, to enforce and undergo, "that all righteousness might thereby be fulfilled"); are we to conclude he meant to forbid or discountenance its use? Nothing of such a nature is, by any means, warranted by the passage in question. When St. Paul thanks God "he had baptized none but good men," he certainly thanked God he had baptized them: but he is "glad" to have "not" baptized such as were unfit to receive this holy sacrament. For why? Not (as the Quakers force their construction) that baptism is a matter of no im. portance, or was a thing which was better omitted; but LEST they should say," he had baptized in his own name; lest they whom he had baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, should say, he had baptized in the name of Paul." And can we wonder at such rejoicing in the mind of the holy Apostle? Would he not have rejoiced fourfold could he have said, "He thanked God he had baptized them all, as well as Gaius and Crispus." Let any one candidly peruse the different passages, and answer this question in the negative, if he can!

I could bring a whole host of facts from scripture of the divine institution and command of baptism; but I will only add one at this time, promising to continue the subject, and many others, particularly the "Lord's Supper," should I have encouragement by seeing this have a place in your very excellent Magazine.

The society of Quakers rest their defence for the disuse of water baptism, very strongly on the words of our Savior to his disciples: "John truly baptized you with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." Acts, i. 15. Likewise they quote the same language from the mouth of John: but are we, for a moment, to conclude, that because Christ had the superior power of baptizing with the Holy Ghost, which John had not, therefore baptizing with water was to be discontinued? Our Savior and John clearly allude to the superior power and efficacy of the baptism of the former, but by no means intend to supersede the baptism of the latter. John describes the grand and sublime effect of Christ's baptism with the Holy Ghost; this baptism was not in his power. He that was to come, was mightier than he, and was to be endued with much greater authority. John could minister the baptism with water only; the blessed gift of the Holy Ghost belonging to Christ the Messiah. And thus, when Christ himself addresses his disciples in the words I have transcribed, he intends merely to convey the idea I have mentioned, of his superior power and efficacy to John. Now were there any doubt remaining of such being the intention of our blessed Lord, I have only to shew that my explanation exactly accords with that of our Savior's immediate follower and disciple, Peter; and whoever will attentively and impartially examine the part I am about to bring forward, must be convinced, unless wilfully blind to conviction, that baptism with the Holy Ghost, and with water, are entirely distinct, and as such are spoken of in the scriptures. I wish to premise, we must all agree, Christ's immediate followers must have clearly understood his meaning and intention when he addressed them as I

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have already shown. Now we find Peter calling for water, elementary water, to baptize even such as had received the Holy Ghost; for "thus," thought he, no doubt, "it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that "as Peter was preaching before Cornelius and "his kinsmen and near friends," "while he yet spake, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word, and they "spake with tongues, and magnified God.”— "Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid WATER, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we?" "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." Now we find from Peter's own relation of his thus preaching before Cornelius, that "the Holy Ghost, which fell on them as on the apostles at the beginning," was the effect alluded to of Christ's superior power and efficacy, as conveying his word to his disciples; for, (continues Peter) " then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John, indeed, baptized with water, but ye shall be bap tized with the Holy Ghost." So then, those who heard Peter preach were completely endued with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, as spoken of by our Savior; and yet we find Peter baptized even such with water; proving, beyond all power of contradiction, that baptism of the Holy Ghost does not supercede that of water. I here take my leave for the present, as I am loth to take up more room in your publication than the present will occupy; but repeat, that should you be inclined to encourage me, I will, from time to time, trouble you on this and other subjects, intimately connected with the present. I close this letter on baptism in the words of the great and learned Bishop Taylor, who, speaking of baptism, says, "No tradition is more universal, no not of scripture itself; no words are plainer, no not the ten commandments; and if any suspicion can be super-induced by any jealous or less discerning person, it will need no other refutation but to turn his eyes to those lights, by which himself sees scripture to be the word of God, and the ten commandments to be the declaration of his will." I am yours, &c.

19th APRIL, 1806.

SCRUTATOR.

A Survey of the Seven Churches of Asia, as they now lie

in their ruins.

[From Travels in the East, by THOMAS SMITH, B. D. Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. 8vo. 1678.]

THE curious surveys every where extant of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem, places so famous for the birth, education, and sufferings of our blessed Savior, (which are owing to the industry, and learning, and curiosity of devout pilgrims, who, from the first ages of christianity to this present, not without the design of Providence, as I verily believe, have visited Mount Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre) suffer us not to be unacquainted with their situation and state: every one who has but the least gust for antiquity, or history, or travel, or insight into books, greedily catching at such relations. But a sadder fate seemed to hang over the Seven Churches of Asia, founded by the Apostles, and to which the eternal Son of

God vouchsafed to send those epistles recorded in the book of the Revelation of St. John, which, by the unpardonable carelessness of the Greeks, (unless that horrid stupidity into which their slavery has cast them, may plead some excuse herein) have lain so long neglected; they giving us no account of their ruins; and the Western Christians either not caring or not daring to visit them. The English gentlemen who live in Smyrna, out of a pious zeal, and a justly commendable curiosity, some few years since were the first who made a voyage thither, to see the remainders of that magnificence, for which those cities were so renowned in the histories of ancient times.

During my stay at Smyrna, where I arrived about the middle of February, 1670, from Constantinople, in order to get a safe passage for Christendom in our fleet of merchant ships, then lading at that place, I was seized with the same curiosity. But an opportunity did not so easily present itself: the waters were not then quite down, and the plains in several places scarce passable; besides, I wanted company, which is highly necessary in those countries, both for security and convenience; having had sad experience by my travels in other parts of Turkey, of the difficulties and hazards of such voyages.

But our ships not departing till July following, the love and respect I had to antiquity, and to the memory of those churches, once so famous, made me not only forget, but despise danger and it happened very luckily that three worthy English gentlemen had taken up the same resolution, and would risk it too. The spring was now advanced, and we were to set out with all convenient speed, before the heats increased and grew excessive; and for our better safety we hired two stout and honest Janizaries, well known to our nation; two Armenian christians, a cook, and three grooms to look to our horses: in all, twelve of us. Which number was but necessary; for at that time of the year when there is grass in the fields for their horses, the roads are infested with robbers, in strong and numerous parties, well mounted and armed, who take all advantages of assaulting passengers, and kill first and rob afterwards: sometimes coming twenty or thirty days journey out of the mountains of Cilicia, and from Georgia, to the furthermost provinces of the Lesser Asia, lying toward the Archipelago, for this purpose.

April the third, 1671, we set out from Smyrna, and went about to the northern side of the bay, which runs in a good way to the northeast, riding for several hours near the shore, under the rocky mountains of Gordilen, which, with the opposite mountain, Mimas, there being high hills also to the east, makes the haven so secure for ships, which lie, as it were, land-lockt. Our way lay northward, and somewhat to the west. For that we might the better observe the turnings and windings of our journey, and the bearings of places, we took a sea compass with us. Leaving Menamen, which I suppose is the Temnos of the ancients, on the right hand, a town well situated, and considerable for the trade of dimity and scamity, we rode down to the river Hermus, not far distant from it (having in our way a very pleasant prospect of rich plains and meadows) where we arrived, after six hours and a half,

Hermus hath its rise in the greater Phrygia; and passing through Lydia and Æolis, pours its waters into the bay of Smyrna, over against Surlaw (famous for its hot waters, mentioned by Strabo under the name of thermà udata, and much frequented by Turks and Greeks, in the summer time) and not far from Foggia-Vecchia, the Phocca of the ancients, where the Athenians first settled a colony. The channel as wide as the Thames at Windsor, and deep withal, and not being fordable thereabouts, we were ferried over it, the cur rent being somewhat strong.

We rode along the banks of it towards Chiausky, situated about a mile from it, where we made our first conac or night's lodging, having travelled this day about eight hours.

On the 4th, our day's travel was almost ten hours; our way lying still northward.

On the 5th, having rode through a wood for half an hour, we got into the plain of Pergamus, a most delightful and fruitful plain, sev eral parts of it ploughed up; the rest yielding excellent pasturage. It extends itself to a very considerable length to the south-east; in some places about five miles over. On the north-west of the plain we left the river Cetius, which hath but a very small channel, and the Caicus to the southward of it; which we passed over at a mile distance from the city, on a stone bridge of thirteen arches, the city lying to the north-west of it, where we arrived after four hours.

The Caicus runs with a very smooth stream; the channel about half the breadth of Hermus, but very apt to overflow its low banks on the descent of rain, and the melting of the snow upon the moun tains, which makes those plains to be scarce passable for some time of the year. It runs into the bay not far from Elda, a city of Æolis, (from whence it hath its denomination) called by the Turks Ayasman, on the western side of it, the scale of Pergamus; from which it may be distant about twelve or fourteen miles: this river separating Mysia from Æolis.

PERGAMUS.

PERGAMUS, the chief city of Mysia Hellespontica, (called by the Turks with a very little variation, Bergamo,) is about sixty-four miles from Smyrna, N. N. W. It lies under a very high and steep hill, by which it is sufficiently secured from the cold northern blasts. On the top of it is a castle, built according to the old way of fortification, which the Turks in a manner neglect, it being without any manner of artillery, or other provisions of war; they being altogether free from the fears of having an enemy in those parts.

From the castle there runs down eastward a good part of the hill, a stone wall; at the end of which are some ruins of a fortification, that seems to have been built for the security of it that way. The ancient stone buildings, now the ordinary dwelling-houses of the Turks, still continue in several streets: the city, by this means, retaining somewhat of its former glory, amidst those many and vast ruins that lie about it, contrary to the fate of other churches; most of whose ancient structures are wholly ruined, and pitiful Turkish houses, built of earth baked in the sun, and beggarly cottages, raised upon their foundations.

We went first to see the ruins of a palace (as it is judged to be) which lie in a street to the east part of the city; where we found five pillars of polished marble, of about seven yards in length, the chapiters curiously wrought, in a line equally distant: and, further on, there being a larger space between two other pillars, all which serve now only as so many props to support a wall that is built close to them. They are confronted on the other side of the street with other pillars of the same make, but whose chapiters are broken; two lying along upon the ground.

More eastward, toward the plain, lie very famous ruins of a church dedicated to St. John, built of brick; about fifty-six paces in length, and in breadth thirty-two; the walls of a very great height, two rows of windows on each side. Several pillars fixed within the body of the church, but broken off, and wanting much of their due height; the Turks not willing to be at any pains to clear the earth where they are fixed, and the broken pieces serving their purpose as well; which is to place them at the extremities of their graves; abundance of which we found in their burying places in our travels wherever we came. Under the east end, a large vault. On each side of the church is a round building, the one exactly agreeing with the other. The doors very high; opposite to which is a great nichio, or cavity in the wall; a vault underneath, sustained by a great pillar; the foundation strengthened by several arches and pillars; it is eighteen of my paces in diameter within; the walls very thick.

In the upper part of the city is the rivulet Selinus, whose stream is very swift, running towards the south-east, into the Caicus; over which are built several stone bridges; some with two, some with three arches. By the stream, not far from the great church, part of a wall is yet standing of about ninety paces.

On the other side of Selinus is a very handsome and large church, formerly called Sancta Sophia, into which you ascend by several stone stairs; now polluted by the Turks, and made a mosque. We observed a passage under ground from the castle to the Selinus, by which they supplied themselves with water. Along the side of a hill from the south-west, are the remainders of an aqueduct,

On a hill, to the west of the city, we met with several vast ruins, with six great arches over a water, which seems to have been formerly a common sewer; and south of this another range of six arches more, with two large rooms. The former of these ruins the Turks call Kizserai, or the Women's Seraglio; telling us that anciently they were kept there: accommodating, according to their rude conception of things, who have not the least knowledge of antiquity, the customs of former ages to the practice of their Emperor at Constantinople, and fancying them to have been the very same. More southward is another great ruined building, with arches, situated pleasantly upon a hill; from whence we had a good prospect of the city and the neighboring plain; hard by which is a theatre that opens to the south; the marks of the steps still remaining. In the declivity of which, almost at the bottom, is a marble stone, about seven spans in length, and two in breadth, with this inscription, HERAKLES. On the opposite side a marble statue, about two or three feet in the rubbish, which we caused to be removed by