and the blessings in store for those who obediently live according

to the Spirit.

THE JEWS, in being rejected from continuing God's especial people, and constituting His Church, received the punishment due to their infidelity, and constant disobedience to the Divine precepts. This St. Panl speaks of in sorrow and great heaviness, for he was himself, a Jew and though now in spiritual things separated from them, yet he felt for them as for erring brethren, and prayed for their conversion and salvation. With a firm hope that in the end they would all be converted and live, and that Jews and Gentiles should alike share in the unknown blessings prepared for them, the Apostle exhorts all men to live as is well pleasing to God, in obedience to his commands, and in perfect love and charity among themselves.

TO THIS end, he gives them many practical directions, and judicious advice, with which, too, he closes this Epistle, reserving for his last words, greetings or salutations to his absent friends, and messages of kindness from those who were with him, to their absent fellow-Christians. Phebe, the bearer of this epistle, is the first mentioned. She is spoken of as a "sister," and servant of the Church, by which it is supposed that she held at Cenchres the office of a deaconess, a very important one in those days, and particularly in the East, where the women among whom their ministrations lay lived in considerable seclusion. Priscilla and Aquila are spoken of in the Acts; and their kindness and intimate acquaintance with St. Paul frequently are alluded to. The rest of the Saints, apparently Gentile converts, to whom his affectionate salutations are sent, are probably those of whose good report in the Church he had been informed by his brethren.

THE WRITER of this Epistle seems to have been Tertius or Silas, for by this name he is better known as the companion of St. Paul in his travels. (Acts xv. 40.) It was the usual practice of S. Paul to dictate his epistles to an amanuensis, or person ho wrote down his words as he uttered them, while he himself

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added a few lines at the end, which served to authenticate the letter to those to whom it was addressed. In the present instance these concluding words contain a solemn form of thanksgiving to God, and with them ends the Epistle to the Romans; writing which," (in the words of Dr. Macknight) " for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and strength of expression, but above all for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries. which it contains, stands unrivalled by any merely human com position."

PSALM LXVII.

Have mercy on Thy people, Lord,
And cause Thy face to shine

Upon Thy chosen heritage

With radiance divine.

That through the world Thy saving health

May far and wide be known;

And every nation of the earth

Thy Holy name may own.

Let all thy people praise Thee, LORD!
Let all give praise to Thee!
Because Thou rulest all the world,
And judgest righteously.

Yea, let Thy people praise Thee, Lord

Thy majesty extol!

So shall the earth her increase yield,

And blessings on us fall.

Blessings from Thee for ever true,—
Blessings which have no end,-
And all the earth before Thy throne

The humble knee shall bend.

January 28th, 1850.

F. C. H.

A JACOBITE RELIC.

THE following is the address of one hundred and two chief heritors and heads of Clans in the Highlands of Scotland, to George I., on his accession to the British throne in 1714; but which, by Court intrigue, was prevented from being presented to his Majesty. In consequence, the Clans resented the King's supposed rejection of their proffered allegiance; and they entered the following year, 1815, into the Earl of Mar's unsuccessful enterprise. The following is a faithful copy from the original document in the Museum of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Scotland:

"May it please your Majesty,

"We, the chief heritors and others in the Highlands of Scotland under subscribing, beg leave to express the joy of our hearts at your Majesty's happy accession to the crown of Great Britain. Your Majesty has the blood of our ancient monarchs in your veins and in your family; may that royal race ever continue to reign over us. Your Majesty's princely virtues, and the happy prospect we have in your family of an uninterrupted succession of Kings to sway the British sceptre, must extinguish those divisions and contests which in former times too much prevailed; and unite all who have the happiness to live under your Majesty into a firm obedience and loyalty to your Majesty's person, family, and government; and as our predecessors have for many ages had the honour to distinguish themselves by their loyalty, so we do most humbly assure your Majesty that we will reckon it our honour steadfastly to adhere to you; and with our lives and fortunes to support your crown and dignity against all opposers.

"Permit us, Great Sir, to implore your royal protection ainst any who labour to misrepresent us; and who rather use

their endeavours to create misunderstandings than to engage the hearts of your subjects to that loyalty and cheerful affectionate obedience which we owe, and are ready to testify to your Majesty. Under so excellent a King we are persuaded that we, and all your other peaceable and faithful subjects, shall enjoy their just rights and iberties; and that our enemies shall not be able to hurt us with your Majesty, for whose royal favour we presume humbly to hope, as our forefathers were honoured with that of your Majesty's ancestors. Our mountains, though undervalued by some, are nevertheless acknowleded to have in all times been fruitful in producing hardy and gallant men; and such, we hope, shall never be wanting amongst us, who shall be ready to undergo all dangers in defence of your Majesty's and your royal posterity's only rightful title to the crown of Great Britain. Our behaviour shall always witness for us, that with unalterable firmness and zeal we are, may it please your Majesty, your Majesty's most loyal, most obedient, and most dutiful subjects and servants."

SIGNED by one hundred and two Chiefs of Clans:

Among whom we see the name of A. Macdonald, of Glencoe; whose father, and nearly his whole clan, were massacred in cold blood, in the reign of William of Orange,

They intently persecuted the infancy of Christ; and so even before Christ be formed in us, in the very first stage of a religious life, their grand aim is to quench in us the Spirit, and to stifle at its very birth the life of righteousness.-St. Cyprian.

The robes of majesty and the rags of beggary, are equal preludes to the shroud; and the throne is only a precipice, from whence to fall with greater noise and more extensive ruin into the grave.-Davies.

CHAPTERS ON CHURCH ARCHITECTURE.

CHAPTER VII.

CAPITALS-BASES-MOULDINGS-ARCHES.

1. On Capitals.

ROMANESQUE Capitals are generally in the shape of a bowl, cut at the sides, so as to form a square at the top, moulded above and below. The capitals in the White Tower, London, are shaped off differently to this, and ornamented with crosses. The decorations carved on them vary considerably; uncouth animals, heads, &c. In the later instances, stiff foliage was used. There are good examples at Hereford Cathedral. First-pointed capitals are distinguished by the peculiar undercut abacus, by the bold rounds and deep hollows, often filled with the tooth ornament. The capitals are generally in the shape of a bell, the sides of which are often ornamented with elegant foliage, chiefly trefoil, with the fibres clearly marked. The abaci are mostly round, although octagonal and even square examples are by no means uncommon. There are good examples at York Minster. Middle-pointed capitals retained the bell-shaped form, and often consisted merely of plain mouldings, although in many instances they were adorned with beautiful foliage. The abaci were round or polygonal. The foliage with which the bell of the Capital is often surrounded is of a thick, luxuriant, knotty, and bulbous character; very different to the long, stiff, stem-work of the first-pointed style. The ivy, the oak, the lily, and the vine, spring in luxuriance around the bell of the capital, beneath the abacus, and many examples remaining are the most minute and exact representations of nature. Sometimes, as at Hampton Poyle, figures project from the sides f the capital; or, as at Cottingham, are twisted round it.