us, and lead us in the path of righteousness. May his mighty intercession prevail with thee, that thou mayest deal well with us, and that the might of thy Spirit of life may clothe us with thine whole armour as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death: so shall we fear no evil, knowing that thou art with us, and wilt surely do us good. And Ọ thou blessed angel of the everlasting covenant, who ever livest to make intercession for us! O thou Lamb slain from the beginning of the world, by whose blood alone it is given us to overcome that wicked one who deceiveth all flesh! We worship thee, and wholly cast ourselves upon thy love and mercy: at noon and eve, in the nightwatches and at the breaking of the day, shall our spirits wrestle with thee, nor let thee go until thou bless us with thy strength and thy salvation, and give us the victory over sin and Satan, death and the grave. Even so bless us, Lord Jesus, bless us before we go hence and be no more seen. EVENING. "And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly."-ACTS xii. 7. Meditation.-"As there is no captivity more grievous than the captivity of sin, so there is no freedom more joyful than that which is procured for us by the Captain of our salvation; for, 'if Christ set us free, then are we free indeed'" (Brewster). "The soul of a sinner must burst its bonds; must have new affections of fear, and sorrow, and anguish, and perplexity ....Moses must hew the tables on which God will write repentance must first hew our hearts before Christ and his Spirit write his gospel upon them. The law must show us that we are vile, condemned, and captives; then Christ and his gospel will show us how we are purified, absolved, and made free. Fear must cry out, There is no salvation; who shall absolve us? Then faith will assure us, "There is no condemnation; who shall condemn us?" God first darts into us flashes of light, horrors, and perplexity; then he pours down upon us beams of comfort and gleams of glory" (Bp. Brownrig). Prayer. For thine infinite mercies' sake, O Lord, and for the merits of the Son of thy love, deliver us not over to the captivity of Satan, who delighteth in the persecution of thy people, and would slay every soul among us with the sword of spiritual death: O, let the prayers of the church be made unto thee, without ceasing, for our deliverance. And, when we are bound with the chain of our sins, vouchsafe that thine angel may come upon us, and the saving light of thy gospel shine into the dark prison of our perverse hearts. May we, as it were, hear thy gracious voice crying unto us, and saying, "Arise, thou that sleepest, arise up quickly! Come thou out from the bitterness of thy hard bondage. Repent thee of all thy iniquity; repent thee, and turn unto me, and be converted, that thou mayest walk before me in newness of life. Gird up the loins of thy mind; cast thy filthy garments away from thee, and follow me, and my mercy shall follow thee. Yea, then thou shalt know of a surety that I, the Lord, have sent mine angel to call thee, and redeem thee from the thick darkness of wickedness, to free thee from the bonds of thy spiritual enemy, and bring thee into the marvellous light, where is no shadow nor darkness at all, but the blood of my beloved shall cleanse thee from all sin." And O thou merciful Son of our most merciful Father, give us an hearing ear, when thou standest at the door of our prison-house of corruption and uncleanness, and knockest, that we may open, and thou mayest come in to us to proclaim liberty to the captives-the glorious liberty of thy children. Yea, let the Spirit of the Lord God be upon us; for, where his Spirit is, there is the liberty wherewith thou hast made us free; and then verily shall we that sit in darkness be delivered out of the mouth of the lion; and our souls shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness; and thou shalt bring every thought into captivity to thy obedience; and every stronghold of iniquity, and every proud imagination, and every high thing within us that exalteth itself against the will of the most high God, shall be cast down. so doth thy love make us free from sin, that we may become the servants of righteousness, and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with thee, O blessed Jesu! S. K. C. Boetry. THE ABBEY RUINS, LINCOLN. BY MRS. H. W. RICHTER. Even (For the Church of England Magazine.) SILENCE is here: the willow-bordered stream Sends not a murmur from the grassy vale; And spring, with breath of balm and sunny gleam, Crown'd with a budding wreath of blossoms pale, Comes with each vernal joy, that yet once more With nature's charm shall deck the mouldering ruins o'er. The breeze of May round thee shall whisper low, The rolling seasons bring their hues in vain ; For time hath mark'd thee with his signet deep: The past, the past alone, doth here dominion keep. Fancy is peering through the misty shroud That grey oblivion on thy records cast, To scan thy day of triumph high and proud, Ere, through dismantled walls, the winter's blast Met only answer from the raven's cry, When stars wax dim and mourning winds are high. Time was when, by the light of morning grey, Chimed here the matin bell of silver sound; And, like a farewell to the closing day, The vesper call did, through the forest round, In melancholy cadence steal along, What time the bird of eve awoke her far-off song. On thee fair morning breaks in light serene, There, by the hillocks green and streamlet's marge, Thought loves on airy pinion to enlarge With "thickly-coming fancies ;" and, once more, Wander through times when superstition's shade In the bright track of truth a desolation made. The chains are cast aside; and heavenly light, Pure as the morn of spring, invites to all; And fled, like winter's gloom, the clouds of night That cast o'er pious hope a shadowy pall: Yet interest, undying, lingers still Round ivied arch and oriel worn and grey, Miscellaneous. THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. On the 24th inst. (Feb. 1844) whilst passing the holy sepulchre, I found the entrance guarded by the pasha's soldiers. The open square in front of the sepulchre was filled with soldiers, and armed soldiers occupied the gate of the church. On inquiring the reason of all this, I found that a few days since an Arnaut soldier had killed a Christian woman in the holy sepulchre. The convents represented this to the pasha, who gave strict orders that no Arnaut soldier should come near the church of the sepulchre. On entering the church, I found the front of the sepulchre most gorgeously adorned. There were one hundred and three lamps burning, all, with one exception, of silver: one, which was of larger size than the others, was of massive gold, and of great value. The Greeks, the Armenians, and the papists had all united to adorn the sepulchre thus: the right side of the front was allotted to the Greeks, the left to the Armenians, and the top to the papists; while the middle was occupied by all three to display their riches, and the riches of their convents. To-day (28th) is the first day of Lent, and with it the grand ceremony of anointing the stone of the sepulchre; upon which, tradition says, our Saviour had been laid when anointed. The papists are the first to perform the ceremony, next the Greeks, and then the Armenians. All these parties had armed soldiers around them during the performance of the service, that they might be free from molestation. The poor Syrians and Cepts are excluded from the privilege of joining in these services; in fact, the Greeks, the Latins, and the Armenians are the tenants of the holy sepulchre: they have all the holy places in their hands. The Cepts have a small chapel on the left sideof the sepulchre ; and the Syrians a small room within the church, which was given them by the Armenians, and they occasionally perform service there. THE CREEK INDIANS AND ARDENT SPIRITS. The lands had been surveyed, the chiefs who had deluded the nation into the treaty had been well provided for, and the rest, with very few exceptions, had transferred their rights to white men. I was now to be a witness, not of the ruins of a Palmyra or a Babylon, but of a nation of famous warriors degraded to From the rev. F. C. Ewald's "Report to the London Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge among the Jews," dated Feb. 28, 1844. the lowest pitch of drunkenness and despair, and surrounded in every direction by the least industrious and most dissolute white men on the continent of America. Everything, as we advanced into the Creek country, announced the total dissolution of order. Indians of all ages were wandering about listlessly, the poorest of them having taken to begging, and when we came in sight would come and importune us for money. Some of them, imitating the whites, were doing their best to prey upon each other; for we frequently saw squaws belonging to some of the chiefs seated by the roadside at a log or rude table, with a bottle of whisky and a glass to supply their unfortunate countrymen who had any thing to give in return, if it was only the skin of an animal. These women seemed to laugh at the distresses of the others, and gave us a great deal of their eloquence when we passed them; but fortunately we did not understand what they said, though by their lifting up the whiskybottle it was evident they wanted to make something out of us also. In other places we met young men in the flower of their age, dressed in ragged huntingshirts and turbans, staggering along, and often falling to the ground, with empty bottles in their hands: in this wretched state of things, with the game almost entirely destroyed, it is evident that nothing will soon be left to those who have beggared themselves but to die of want, or to emigrate; a step they are so very averse to take, that in their desperation they have already committed some murders Featherstonhaugh's "America." ROMAN CATHOLIC INTOLERANCE.-In the middle of the nineteenth century, Austria is returning to the darkness of anti-reformation ages. While protestant countries are emulating each other in the effort to cement the bands of Christian love and unity, the bigotry of the Roman catholic priesthood is seeking to impose its iron yoke on the souls and consciences of men. In proof of this affirmation, we need but advert to the decree promulgated by his imperial majesty of Austria in the course of last year, which prohibits any Roman catholic to embrace the protestant faith, unless he shall first have presented an official representation of his desire to the superior authorities of the locality in which he is resident; and, after due inquiry on their part, shall receive from them a licence to quit his own church." And, subsequently to so unholy an interference with that liberty of conscience which is a vital principle of the gospel dispensation, the Austrian sovereign (on the 23rd of catholic lieges, desirous of contracting marriage with December last) further prohibited any of his Roman 66 a protestant, or any protestant desirous of intermar rying with a Roman catholic, to have their union sanctioned by rites performed in a protestant place of worship. Are these the proofs that the more rigid features of the papistical institutions have given way, as it is ever and anon affirmed, to the kindlier temper of modern times ?-S. K. C. HUGHES, 12, Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; J. BURNS, 17, London: Published for the Proprietors by EDWARDS and Portman Street; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country. PRINTED BY JOSEPH ROGERSON, 24 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON THE CATHEDRAL OF KILDARE. KILDARE, chief town of the county of that name, contains, according to the last census, 1,753 inhabitants. It is twenty-eight miles from Dublin, and is a borough, governed by a sovereign, a recorder, and two portreeves. It is pleasantly situated on a rising ground: the buildings form one street, and a few lanes leading therefrom; but the remains of the ancient religious edifices add much to the interest of the place. There is no trade, and the town or city is supported chiefly by the horse races, held on an extensive common (the Curragh) in the neighbourhood, famous in the sporting annals of the country. It is a large plain, formerly surrounded by a wood of oaks, which gave the name Chille-dara to the town, and was a place of druidical worship, until the time of St. Bridgid; or from Kill-darah, "the VOL. XVII. cell or church of the oaks," from the situation of the first Christian church founded here among trees of that kind. The cathedral-the greater part of which is in ruins, the choir only being fit for service-forms the principal object of notice. It owes its origin to St. Bridgid, the daughter of an Irish chieftain, born A.D. 458. In her fourteenth year she received the veil from the hands of St. Patrick, or one of his disciples. She afterwards visited the abbey of Glastonbury, and, before A.D. 484, founded a nunnery at Kildare. An abbey was formed under the same roof for monks, but separated from the nunnery by walls. The monks and nuns had but one church in common, but entered by different doors. St. Bridgid presided over both establishments, and the abbot of the house remained subject to the abbess for many years after the death of the foundress, Feb. 1, A.D. R 523. She was buried at Kildare, but her remains were afterwards conveyed to Down cathedral, and laid beside those of St. Patrick and St. Columb. She became the virgin saint of Ireland. The influence which St. Brigid acquired was very great. She founded not only the monastery but the see of Kildare, appointing as bishop a person called St. Conloeth, Conlaid, or Conlian, who, with her assistance, erected the cathedral, though some writers maintain that there were bishops of Kildare before this time. In the next century, Aed Dubh, "or Black Hugh," king of Leinster, resigned his sovereignty, and withdrew to the monastery of Kildare, of which he became abbot, and afterwards bishop of the see. Many other princes did the same. In 836, a Danish fleet arrived in the river Liffy, and another in the Boyne; and the church and abbey were plundered. The shrines of St. Brigid and St. Conloeth were carried away, and the town destroyed by fire. The diocese, which will be added to that of Dublin, contains 85 parishes, comprised in 41 benefices. Kildare, by the exchange of lands referred to, was left without sufficient maintenance for a bishop; when, on the restoration of Charles II., the church was again established. But soon after the prebend of Maynooth, in St. Patrick's cathedral, was annexed to it in commendam, when Thomas Price, chaplain to the marquis of Ormonde and archdeacon of Kildare, was consecrated to the bishopric by the archbishop of Dublin, March 6, 1661. Anthony Dopping, his successor, procured the addition of several rectories in Meath to the bishopric; and since 1681 the deanery of Christ church, Dublin, has been held with the see-bishop William Morton being the first who held them together. At Tully, or Coghlanstown, a parish in the neighbourhood, was a commandery of knights hospitallers, richly endowed: it continued until the reformation. The commandery is now held with the bishopric. The bishop ranks next in precendency to the bishop of Meath. A monastery was founded at Kildare by lord Offaly, in 1260; and a convent for carmelite friars by the same individual, in 1294. Of the castle built by the De Vescis in the thirteenth century, a portion is in tolerable repair. THE GUIDE OF YOUTH : The first Englishman who occupied the see was Ralph of Bristol, who died A.D. 1232. He repaired and ornamented the cathedral. In the reign of Henry VII., having again fallen into decay, it was repaired by the bishop, Edward Lane, who died A.D. 1522. It was a fine gothic building, now mostly in ruins; the walls, however, still remain, with the south side of the steeple and the walls of the nave, which has on the south side six gothic arches and six buttresses. The north side of the steeple is said to have been beaten down, with other parts of the building, by a battery planted against AN ADDRESS TO THOSE it in the parliamentary war, 1641. The choir, in which the parochial church services are performed, is kept in repair. The south wing, formerly a chapel, is in ruins; but two statues in alto-relievo may still be seen-one of an ancient knight of the Fitzgerald family, clad in armour, and surrounded by heraldic escutcheons; and the other a bishop, with his pastoral staff and mitre, supposed to be bishop Lane. About thirty yards from the west door of the cathedral stands a very fine specimen of the round towers, one of the best in Ireland. It is built of white granite to above twelve feet above the ground: the superstructure is of common blue stone. It is about 130 feet in height, and battlemented at the top; and has, about fourteen feet from the foundation, a large arched aperture, apparently intended for a door. It is approached by steps from the outside. At no great distance is the pedestal of an ancient stone cross, the upper part of which still lies near it. Near the tower are the remains of the fire-house; a narrow stone cell, in which the "inextinguishable fire" was formerly kept by the nuns of St. Brigid. This fire was put out by Henry de Londres, archbishop of Dublin, A.D. 1220. What were his reasons does not exactly appear. It was afterwards rekindled and kept burning until the suppression of monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. William Meagh was created by that monarch bishop, in opposition to the pope. To him succeeded Alexander Craik, by whom the see was greatly impoverished by exchange with Patrick Sarsfield. The chapter consists of a dean, precentor, chancellor, and four canons. There are, besides, eight prebendaries and an archdeacon, who vote for the dean, but are not of the chapter. There is neither chapter-house nor episcopal palace, nor any house of residence for the dignitaries. WHO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN CONFIRMED. BY THE REV. WILLIAM BURDETT, M.A., Vicar of North Molton, Devon. "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?"-JER. iii. 4. THE remarks which I am about to make will be principally, though not exclusively, addressed to those who have lately taken upon themselves "the solemn vows, promises, and professions" which were made on their behalf and in their name at their baptism. I am desirous of impressing upon them the responsibilities of their situation. I would have each one seriously to consider the solemn nature of the ordinance in which they have so recently engaged, and to say "Thy vows are upon me, O God." I would remind them also of what is said by the wise man: "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed: better is it that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay." It is a pleasing thing to see many come forward and voluntarily confess themselves bound to believe and to do what their godfathers and godmothers promised for them; and well would it be if all of them were sincere in their professions: they would then be "a little leaven leavening the whole lump" of our population: they would rejoice their parents, their ministers, yea, and the holy angels in heaven, among whom our Lord has assured us there is joy over every sinner that truly turns to God. Whilst to you, then, my young friends, who have been thus engaged, I shall speak more particularly, yet to all I would hope to convey a word of instruction, and especially to all the young: I would plead Bp. Mant's History, i. 613. 80 with such on this occasion. Come now, my commenced their career. David, in the first psalm, friends, and let us reason together: to each of you describes the blessedness of the man "who walketh I have a question to propose, and, although I ask not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth not now for an audible answer, yet I entreat of in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the you seriously to resolve in your own minds, to re- scornful. He shall be like a tree planted by ply in the affirmative. The question is an im- rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in. portant one: it comes to you as from the throne his season: his leaf also shall not wither; and of heaven, and it seems to anticipate your imme-whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." diate acquiescence-" Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?" The Lord expects you to return to him when you are invited, and for this purpose he has furnished you with words with which to come: "Take with you words, then, and turn unto the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously:" say unto him, "My Father, thou art the guide of my youth." Turn it into a prayer: My Father, be thou the guide of my youth." We all require some one to direct us; but youth more especially needs a guide: it is the most dangerous season through which we have to pass it is the time when the great adversary of souls usually presents his temptations with the greatest success; when others are accustomed to make allowances for us, yea, when we make allowances for ourselves, whilst running into those excesses to which we are so prone. But, my friends, does the word of God make allowances for youthful excesses? Does it say that sin and folly may then be indulged in, and that God will overlook them? Let us refer to one passage upon this subject, to which many more might be added. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou" (mark this well)"that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment" (Eccles. xi. 9). Present gratifications will be dearly purchased, if the price is future misery and wretchedness. Such is the subtlety of Satan, that, when he tempts men to sin, and especially the young, he does not discover his whole design at once, lest he should affright those whom he would allure. If he should tell you plainly that "lust when it is conceived bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death," and that death and sin will bring forth hell, you would say, "Get thee behind me, Satan:" you would not for a moment entertain his suggestions. He therefore makes his approaches gradually, from little sins to greater, from what is doubtful to what is plainly forbidden, from venturing near the borders of sin to dwelling in the tents of wickedness. Excellent was the advice of the wise man: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men: avoid it pass not by it, turn from it and pass away" "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not: if they say, Come with us, we shall find precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil, cast in thy lot among us; my son, walk thou not in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:""He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." "Evil communications (says an apostle) corrupt good manners." By associating with those who "make a mock at sin," who make a practice of taking God's holy name in vain, and profaning the sabbath, many are drawn aside from those paths of rectitude and virtue in which they The scriptures furnish us with many examples, which not only shew us that it is possible to be religious in youth, but also point out to us the advantages resulting therefrom. The history of Joseph is so familiar to you that I need not relate it. He feared the Lord in his youth: when tempted to sin, he immediately resisted the temptation, and exclaimed, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" And Joseph's piety was so far from hindering his worldly prosperity, that it most effectually promoted it, for it is expressly left on record that "the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man." His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that whatsoever he did, the Lord made it to prosper. Samuel was dedicated to God even from his mother's womb. Obadiah "feared the Lord from his youth." Timothy "from a child knew the holy scriptures." Josiah is a striking example, and very appropriate to our present purpose. It is said of him, that "in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father." The eighth year of his reign was the sixteenth year of his age. When he began to seek God, therefore, he was just the age of many of those whom I am addressing, who have recently, in the presence of God, before his ministers and the assembled congregation, "renewed the solemn promise and vow made in their name at their baptism, ratifying and confirming the same in their own persons, and acknowledging themselves bound to believe and to do all those things which their godfathers and godmothers then undertook for them." He laboured under greater disadvantages than you, inasmuch as his exalted station exposed him to greater temptations; but he sought help from above: doubtless, if not in words, yet in substance, his continued prayer was, "My Father, be thou the guide of my youth." If you consult the history of our own country, you will find that we had a king (Edward the sixth) pre-eminently distinguished for early piety; like Josiah, "while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of his fathers." Although he died when about sixteen years of age, yet his piety was conspicuous, and his name stands recorded amongst the most illustrious of our monarchs. He is sometimes called "the English Josiah ;" exhibiting, like his prototype, a remarkable instance of devotedness to God in an exalted station. So great was his respect and reverence for the word of God, that it is recorded concerning him, that, when he one day wanted to reach down a book from an upper shelf in his library, and a large folio bible was placed by one of his attendants for him to stand upon for that purpose, he refused to tread upon the sacred volume, and to treat it with such disrespect. How illustrious is such an example! He sought the Lord in his youth: "My Father, be thou the guide of my youth." That holy book which he refused to trample under his feet, was his guide and his counsellor: "his delight was in the law of the |