"Here pause: these graves are all too young as yet And then, as if the shadows of the grave he was approaching already rested on his spirit, he adds, If thou wouldst be with that which thou dost seek! The glory they transfuse with fitting truth to speak. "Why linger, why turn back, why shrink, my heart? And man, and woman; and what still is dear The soft sky smiles the low wind whispers near; 'Tis Adonais calls! O hasten hither, No more let life divide what death can join together." Near this declivity is another enclosure, not as beautifully situated as the first, but only a few yards distant. The grave of Keats is near the entrance. His monument is of white marble, bearing a lyre in basso relievo, and under it this inscription :— Poor Keats! his history is the most melancholy one written in the annals of literature. The early promise was most brilliant ; but he was poor and friendless; and as his opinions differed from those of the Quarterly, on the publication of his "Endymion," the Editor, Gifford, attacked him with all the savage bitterness in his power, pouring out his malice on his unoffending victim, because he knew the object of his cruelty could not retaliate. Having naturally a feeble constitution, and a mind keenly sensitive, the blow seemed to crush him, and he told a friend with tears that "his heart was breaking." He was persuaded to try the mild air of Italy; but he went there only to die. Some time before that event took place, he perceived its approach, and remarked that he "felt the flowers growing over him." We feel, when we think of his story, that Shelley's address to Gifford, in the preface to "Adonais," is not one whit too severe :-" Miserable man! you, one of the meanest, have wantonly defaced one of the noblest specimens of the workmanship of God. Nor shall it be your excuse, that, murderer as you are, you have spoken daggers, but used But Keats will never be forgotten while the English language exists. He was, indeed, like Koerner, of Germany, cut off too early to show any maturity of power; but "Endymion," and "Lamia," and "Isabella," are rich in gems of thought, and display on every page the wealth of genius. Shelley's splendid Dirge would alone be sufficient to preserve his memory; and the estimate he formed of his brother poet may be gathered from those noble stanzas, in which, in imitation of a sublime scene in the Prophet Isaiah, he represents the gifted of other days, rising to greet the spirit of the youthful bard : "The inheritors of unfulfill'd renown Rose from their thrones built beyond mortal thought, Rose pale, his solemn agony had not Yet faded from him; Sidney, as he fought Arose; and Lucan, by his death approved: "And many more, whose names on earth are dark, 'It was for thee yon kingless sphere has long Swung blind in unascended majesty, Silent alone amid a heaven of song: Assume thy winged throne, thou Vesper of our throng!'" Near the grave of Keats is that of Dr. Bell, whose Observations on the Fine Arts in Italy have long been a text-book for all who visit that country; and also the monument of the Rev. Augustus William Hare of Oxford, whose volume of Sermons, published since his death, has rendered his name well known to Churchmen in America as well as in England. He seems to have ended his life in the place where it was begun, having been born-the inscription tells us—in Rome in 1792, and having died there in 1834. There is but one American buried here,-Mr. Daniel Remson, of New-York. We lingered in this lovely place until the increasing dampness, showing that the dews of the evening were falling, warned us to return home. The sun had begun to sink in the west, and the massive tomb of Cestius threw its broad shadow over the burying-ground, as we turned away from it. How many hearts in distant lands are sorrowing for those who are so quietly sleeping here! Beautiful spot! which never knows the chill of winter, and where Nature herself is ever wreathing with living flowers the graves of those whose homes and friends are far away! Well may the heart yearn towards thee, and the living feel that thus they should like to rest! -Christmas Holidays in Rome. GRACE AND NATURE. EVERY intelligent man among you has been puzzled at one time or another by a seeming contradiction which runs through the whole of the Bible. It is written in one place, "No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him ;" and yet the whole Bible through bids every one of you come to Jesus. Again, it is written, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them;" and yet what are we continually urging upon you, but to receive the things of the Spirit of God? Again, God opened the heart of Lydia to attend to the things which were spoken of Paul, which makes it plain that no natural heart can attend; and yet we do nothing but press these things on your attention. By nature your hearts are as hard as adamant, and even demonstration will not make you flee from hell; yet "knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men.” By nature you cannot so much as comprehend the beauty and loveliness of the Lord Jesus; and yet 66 we are determined to know nothing among you but Christ, and him crucified." O, what a mass of contradiction there is here! and yet how easily it is solved! These bones were dead, dry, spiritless, lifeless, without flesh, without ears to hear; and yet God says, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." And while he prophesied there was a noise, and "behold a shaking; and the bones came together, bone to his bone: and when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above." Just so, my unconverted friends, your souls are like these dry bones; dead, dry, spiritless, lifeless, without ears to hear, without hearts to attend to the things which are spoken. You have such blunted consciences, that no words of mine can move you to flee from the wrath to come; you have such hard, wicked hearts, that no words of mine can persuade you to embrace the beseeching Saviour; and yet it is by the foolishness of preaching that it pleases God to save them that believe; and though our words have no power, yet God can work almightily through them; and this is his message unto you, "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." I earnestly beseech those of you who care little for the preaching of the word to attend to this. You may say, and say truly, that preaching seems a weak and foolish instrument for such a work: God himself has called it "the foolishness of preaching." You may say, and say truly, that Ministers are but earthen vessels, that they are men of like passions with yourselves: God himself has called them so before you. But you cannot say that it is not God's way of converting souls; and it is at the peril of your own souls if ye despise it. Keep away from the house of God, and lock up your Bible, and you put away from you the only instruments by which God can reach your dying souls.-Sermon by the late Rev. R. M. M'Cheyne. HORE BIBLICE. No. XXIII. THE HELMET, THE HOPE OF SALVATION. THE helmet is a kind of metal cap for protecting the head of the warrior. The salvation of his people is God's helmet: the deliverance he intends, and works for them, will appear conspicuous, as if on his head, and he will have the glory of it. Eternal salvation, and the hope of it, are their helmet they defend and render them bold and courageous in their spiritual warfare.* Of all kinds of armour, a strong defence for the head was, unquestionably, the most common, and, perhaps, the most early. The shield and helmet have, indeed, formed the only defensive armour of some nations. When men began to feel the need of a defence for the head in war, they seemed, Gurney.. in the first instance, merely to have given a stronger make to the caps which they usually wore. Such caps were at first quilted, or padded with wool; then they were formed with hard leather; and ultimately of metal; in which state they gradually acquired various additions and ornaments, such as embossed figures, ridges, crests of animal figures, horsehair, feathers, &c., and also flaps to protect the neck and cheeks, and even visors to guard the face. Visors do not, however, appear to have been used by the ancient orientals; nor do we know any helmet but that of the Phrygians, with a ridge, or crest. When the dress, or, at least, the war-dress, of ancient people consisted of skins, it was frequently the custom for the wearer to cover his head with the head-skin of the animal; and, long after other dress was adopted for the body, it remained the custom among several nations to wear as a war-cap, or helmet, the skin of an animal's head, with the hair on, and, in every other respect, as like life as possible. The headskins of lions, wolves, horses, and other animals, sufficiently grim in their appearance, and with hides of suitable strength, were preferred for this purpose; and the terrible effect of this head-dress was increased by the teeth being exposed, so as to appear grinning savagely at the enemy. Now, when such people began to find that more convenient war-caps might be invented, they were unwilling to forego the effect which their savage helmets produced, and, therefore, fixed the animal's head, and ultimately a representation of it, as conveniently as they could, to the top of their new war-cap. Count Caylus and Sir Samuel Meyrick concur in opinion, that this was the origin of crests, and the other annexations of helmets. Even the skins of large birds and fishes were employed in the same manner; and we have thus an easy explanation, not only of the crest, but of the erect ears, horns, wings, &c., which we see in ancient helmets. The horsehair, which was anciently, and is still, displayed on helmets, admits of the same explanation. It arose from the custom of wearing the head of a horse with the mane remaining either proper or cut short, so as to stand erect like a hog's bristles; the tail also being annexed. The Ethiopians and Libyans had horse-head helmets; their Egyptian neighbours gave up animal heads for helmets, but continued them as crests; the crest of the royal helmet among that people being, according to Diodorus, the heads of the horse, lion, or dragon. Now, Herodotus says, that the Greeks borrowed their helmets, as well as their shields, from the Egyptians. But those we have mentioned were far from being the only people who had animal-head helmets. Of the Hebrew helmets, called coba, or koba, we only know that they were generally of brass; and that the helmet of the King was distinguished by its crown. It is, however, interesting to learn that metallic helmets were, so far as appears, exclusively in use among them. Homer's heroes have also, generally, helmets of brass. Whether the Hebrews had crests to their helmets, or not, it is impossible to say distinctly. We do not think that the crest was a characteristic of oriental helmets; but as the royal helmet in Egypt had a crest, as the helmets of Asia Minor were sometimes crested, and as in the Trojan war a crested helmet was worn by the Trojans, and also, it would seem, by the Greeks, it is not unlikely that the crest was known to the Jews. Plumes we are not to expect: they were not used in the most ancient periods, and but sparingly in later antiquity.* It will be seen from the above description of the helmet of the ancients, VOL. III.-FOURTH SERIES. * Kitto. 3 I that the crest took its rise, in some measure, from the circumstance of retaining the horns of the animal when the head, &c., was worn on the warrior's cap. The horn was also worn on the head commonly by the Hebrews and other oriental nations, as an ornament; and symbolizes glory, honour, power, brightness, and rays. The face of Moses was encompassed with horns, that is, it was radiant; or, as it were, horns of light issued from it. The principal defence and strength of many beasts are in their horns; and hence the horn is often a symbol of strength. The Lord exalted the horn of David, and the horn of his people; he breaketh the horn of the ungodly; he cutteth off the horn of Moab; he cutteth off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel. He promiseth to make the horn of Israel to bud forth; to re-establish its honour, and to restore its vigour. There may be an allusion in these passages, however, to a very common part of the female dress, in some parts of the east. Mr. Buckingham, describing the ornaments of a female at Tyre, says, "She wore, also, on her head, a hollow silver horn, rearing itself upwards obliquely from her forehead, being four or five inches in diameter at the root, and pointed at its extreme; and her ears, her neck, and her arms, were laden with rings, chains, and bracelets. This peculiarity reminded me very forcibly of the expression of the Psalmist, 'Lift not up your horn on high; speak not with a stiff neck.' 'All the horns of the wicked will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted ;'” (Psalm lxxv. 5, 10 ;) similar illustrations of which Bruce had also found in Abyssinia, in the silver horns of warriors and distinguished men. 66 * The expression, “ Mine horn is exalted,” often occurs in the Bible; and, doubtless, the reference is to the horn as a general symbol of power and glory. It is, however, remarkable that, whether this were formerly the case or not, some of the women in Syria do wear a sort of horn upon their heads. This is particularly the case among the Druses of Lebanon ; speaking of whom, Dr. Carmichael observes, "One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head, in various positions, distinguishing their different conditions. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow on the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown; over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces, as rarely to have more than one eye visible." -Stowell's Divine Panoply. REVIEW. The Life and Correspondence of John Foster: edited by J. E. Ryland. With Notices of Mr. Foster as a Preacher and a Companion, by John Sheppard, Author of Thoughts on Devotion, &c. &c. Two Volumes, pp. xii, 468 ; viii, 590. Jackson & Walford. THE publication of the memoirs of the lives of those to whom general consent applies the epithet of "great," is always useful. We have seen and admired what they did: but so also have we admired some sublime |
