the highest state it can attain; henceforth, it extends and increases, brings out the lines of Divinity more boldly; but to a nobler state its cannot attain.

"Although some stray beams of his love, sublime burstings of his power, are to be discerned in his magnificent works, matter is far too coarse to receive even the shadow of Divinity's higher attributes.

"Finite mind, though infinitely expansive, is finite still, and can give us no conception of the intellectual glories of the Infinite, the only wise God.

"Man's polluted spirit has lost every trace of its Creator's moral attributes, so that we cannot look to him for any representation of his holiness.

"Angels, disgusted by the depravity of our nature, have long ceased to display their glories to us; their sacred communings terminated with Adam's purity."

PAPERS READ BEFORE YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETIES.

[We do not, by inserting these papers, bind ourselves to the opinions expressed in them. All we are answerable for is, that the subjects they treat on are discussed in a proper spirit.]

THE REVOLUTION OF 1688.

GENTLEMEN,-There appears to me to have been few more upright and conscientious sovereigns than James II.; and, perhaps, none who have so honestly acted out their convictions unfettered by state policy. We may turn to the history of the Commonwealth, but we shall not find even there greater liberty of conscience than was granted to the people by this popish king, notwithstanding the predominance of those who were the first-and justly so-to exclaim against the religious intolerance of their former rulers. The Nonconformists had been trampled upon and persecuted; and they, in their turn, forgetting the maxims of Him whom they professed to obey, seem to have enjoyed the revenge which the Protectorate of Cromwell afforded them. The principles of civil and religious liberty were not fully understood, or, at least, not acted upon by the Protector himself. And we may turn, too, to the reign of the second Charles, so enthusiastically received on his return to England, and so revered amid all his despotism. The established church, as the great bulwark of his throne, might stand for his security, although he agreed not with its doctrines, either at the commencement of his reign, when, with his lax deistical notions, he resigned himself to the full tide of dissipation, or at its close, when he received the sacrament, and died in the faith of the Romish church. His attachment to any system of faith did not over-balance his desire for personal security and ease, or Romanism would have been established ere his brother had ascended the throne, and the adherents of the Protestant church exposed to the like infamous persecution of the English Puritans and the Scotch Covenanters.

James II. had, doubtless, imbibed the prejudices of the Stuart family in favour of the Catholic faith; but it does not appear that these prejudices led him notoriously to disregard the religious liberties of his people. Unlike Cromwell, he did not degrade one dominant sect for the purpose of elevating another. Unlike Charles, he did not deprive of their civil liberties, and even persecute to the death, his nonconforming subjects. That his motives, in this general toleration, were not merely for the purpose of including the Catholics with the other sects, seems sufficiently evident from the fact, that his general policy did not accord with such motives. He did not hesitate, when he so desired it, to single out Roman Catholics for professorships in the universities, or for commissions in the army; and, surely, if this toleration had been given solely for the Catholics, he would have had sufficient courage to have granted it specially to them. Moreover, he ordered his Scottish parliament to tolerate the Catholics in their country, without including other sects; and this, not because he wished particularly to advance them, but because, as Presbyterianism universally obtained there, and toleration, as in England, to numerous small sects was, therefore. unnecessary; so, on this account, the Catholics in particular were subjected to great intolerance. And it cannot, certainly, be considered as bigoted, that he should desire to see, not merely a portion of his subjects, but these, too, his brethren in religious opinion, relieved from oppression, and permitted to worship their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences.

That James desired the re-establishment of Popery, and that, for this purpose, he adopted harsh and despotic measures, cannot be denied; but he interfered in this matter only with the church of which he was the supreme ruler, and his high commission court was instituted for the control of that church alone. He may be condemned for his desire to place in the professorships of the universities men who were avowed Catholics, and, as a Protestant king, bound by oath to support a Protestant establishment, for his continued efforts to infuse the spirit of Popery into it; but there seems to be every reason to believe that the jealousy with which that establishment viewed the professed Catholicism of the King, and interfered with the exercise of his private devotions, rendered him anxious to secure in its ranks those who would show more sympathy for the faith to which he appears to have been so warmly attached. However illegal it might have been on the part of the King to order the proclamation of universal toleration to be read by the clergy, it was not certainly the desire of an illiberal mind, and we may safely conclude that it was not on account of its illegality that his request was refused, but because it was considered as an attempt to injure the church, by granting liberty of conscience to those who were opposed to it. The measure was decidedly an illegal one; but it speaks well for the liberality of the King; and reflects but little credit upon the seven bishops who, more especially. refused to tolerate their dissenting brethren. There can, in fact, be no doubt, that the church of England displayed far more intolerance in its contest with James, than it would have done, had it not viewed with suspicion all the measures that he adopted, thinking that the

THE REVOLUTION OF 1688.

most excellent of them was but a cloak under which he might more effectually establish his Popish schemes. And, on the other hand, James, in consequence of the strictness and jealousy with which he was continually watched, acted more rashly and unguardedly than either justice or policy would have dictated.

His appointment of the Earl of Castlemaine as ambassador to the Pope, seems to us a most flagrant act; but we must consider that the Parliament exercised very little control on the King's proceedings, and that the most absolute decrees, two centuries back, were not considered as a defiance to the wishes or interests of the people. The terms, too, of this embassy seem involved in mystery. It is not by any means clear that his object was to attach the kingdom to the Holy See. Such a statement seems to carry its own refutation. However absolute the kingly office might have been, the formal attachment of England to the dominions of the Pope, must have been ratified by the two houses. And indeed we may reasonably conclude that the Pope would have attached more importance to the embassy, had it been of such As it was, it appears to have been treated a nature and of real value. with the utmost contempt.

Much of James's unpopularity was doubtless owing to the savage cruelties of Colonel Kirk and the Chief Justice Jefferys; but we have the King's declaration of his ignorance of their atrocities, and his repudiation of them as committed by his sanction. His character does not, at all events, bear the impress of cruelty. The fact is, that, for the better accomplishment of their designs, his counsellors seem not merely to have avoided throwing obstacles in the King's way, but actually to have encouraged him in the adoption of his unpopular measures. Thus they were ripening the public mind in disaffection to the King, while they were plotting with the Prince of Orange for his accession to the throne. So that, when William made his appearance in England, we find the unfortunate sovereign not only deserted by those who had disapproved of his measures, but by his own ministers, who had advised and sanctioned them, among whom must be mentioned, with peculiar desecration, the Duke of Sunderland, It was not sufficient for the bitterness of his spirit that his kingdom should be taken from him, and even his life jeopardised by his own son-in-law; but his anguish must be increased by the desertion of his favourite child Anne, and the Prince of Denmark. God help me," cried he, "my own children have forsaken me!" And thus, loaded with execrations, and more sinned against than sinning, did he depart in poverty and exile from his native land: a melancholy example, truly, of the faithlessness of friends, and the instability of all human glory. And thus was the great revolution of 1688 brought about; truly remarkable for the peaceable manner in which the greatest nation in the world changed its ruler. For the absence of war and bloodshed we must again commend the determination of James. Did he show cowardice or want of spirit, that he would not aim even one blow for the recovery of a crown? His nearest and dearest friends were his opponents, the children of his affections—and shall we speak harshly of his dejection and sorrow?

God, who educes good from evil, has blessed this revolution to the welfare of England. It has gained an eminence under the illustrious

Houses of Hanover and Brunswick, which it had never before approached to. But we must not, in our sense of their blessings, blind our minds to the evil instrumentality by which the good was produced. A desirable end will never sanctify the unholy means by which it is caused.

Literary and Scientific Institutions.

WALWORTH LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTION. ON Tuesday, the 31st of March, Mr. Henry Hersee delivered to the members and friends of the Institution assembled in the lecture-room, Newington Schools, a lecture on the Lyrical Compositions of the Poet Moore. He commenced by defining the expression " Lyrics," dwelt on the classical identity of poetry with song, and gave a slight chronological history of the bards of renown, from Homer, the father of the poets, down to the present time. He spoke of the orthography of the English language, rendering it far less adapted than the classic and the Italian languages for lyrical verse; and said he was, therefore, disposed to award the greater honour to those who had surmounted these difficulties, and rendered the English tongue illustrious, by making it the vehicle of the noblest poetry of conception and purity of thought, combined with flow of numbers and music of expression. Of this class was the gentleman whose compositions he was about to bring before the auditory, and who had in the kindest manner given his sanction to the subject of the lecture.

The lecturer, having occupied a few moments in exculpating Mr. Moore from charges which had been sometimes brought against him, proceeded to discuss seriatim the merits of his most celebrated Lyrics, frequently preluded by a glance at the circumstances which led to their being produced. Part of the songs he recited, and part he sang, accompanying himself on the piano-forte. He regretted, towards the conclusion, that so much time having been devoted to the consideration of the Irish melodies, he could only advert briefly to the sacred and miscellaneous lyrics.

Mr. Hersee took occasion to remind his audience that that day was the anniversary of opening the Walworth Literary and Scientific Institution, and he would, with their permission, substitute a song had been written for the occasion, by their honorary secretary, adapted to the Irish air, "Garryowen."

The song was as follows:

Let the great ones add lustre to royalty's feast,

Let the statesman's address win the voice of his foe;
Let the war-song of triumph speed o'er from the east,
A triumph in bloodshed, a pæan of woe-

which

No themes like these our hearts inspire,
But a purer joy awakes the lyre;

A joy, unsullied by passions of earth,
And boasting a brighter, a holier birth.
Ye friends! who encircle this platform around,
Endear'd to the Muses, to Science, and Art!
With a smile of approval from beauty thus crown'd,
What emotions of pleasure this day must impart!

"Tis sweet to retrace the events of the year,

How we counsell'd, and strove for the palm of success;
By frowns undismay'd, undiscourag'd by fear,

On the track of a Birkbeck delighting to press ;
To strew the path with flowers of lore,

The volume of Nature and Truth to explore,
The selfish, the prejudiced, thought to dispel,
And to rear up a temple where concord should dwell.
Now the sun-light from heaven this fabric illumes,
And the trophies of fortune its walls wave around;
Expanded dominion dear Friendship assumes,
And Charity's glow in each bosom is found.

While the social delights of the banquet we taste,
Drinking deeply of pleasures which never can pall;
See! guests in fresh numbers with sympathy haste,
And for welcome, for room, for extension, they call.
Let us seek to give the desir'd access,

And a larger, a loftier home to possess ;

Oh! slack not your efforts in brotherhood's cause,
"Tis the link of a hallow'd communion that draws.
Oft may scenes like the present grace Britain's fair isle;
May purity reign, and may Virtue approve,

To Order united, may Liberty smile;

May we merit the blessings pour'd down from above.

The thanks of the audience were given to the lecturer by the chairman, David Lyons, Esq., of the Audit-office, Somerset House, who called the attention of those present to the allusion in the latter part of the song, to the necessity for increased accommodation. He said, that the plan for a building, which had been accepted by the committee and members, was engraved, and impressions were struck off for distribution; he stated that subscription lists were opened, and collecting cards issued, and he must entreat all friends to the cause to give their pecuniary aid as early as possible; and by their influence and personal exertions, to induce others to follow their example.

DINNER OF THE ATHENIC INSTITUTE AT BIRMINGHAM. Ox Tuesday evening, April 14th, the members and friends of the above newly-formed institute met at their rooms, in Great Charles-street, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of their society. About four years ago the institute was first established by a few working young men, with a view to revive those ancient and manly exercises and sports, considered so conducive to the health and improvement of those who