character of heathen worship, we subjoin the prayer entire, as translated by an able Platonist. 66 Approach! strong Fortune, with propitious mind, Placid and gentle Trivia, mighty-named, Mankind's unconquered, endless praise is thine, Be present, Goddess! to thy votary kind, And give abundance with benignant mind.” Allusions to the rites of heathen worship, occur frequently in the New Testament, and may derive some illustration from this brief notice, especially the incident which took place at Lystra, where Paul and Barnabas were regarded as avatars or manifestations of Mercury and Jupiter. (Acts xiv. 8-18.) The text in our authorised version is somewhat obscure and elliptical; but Doddridge appears to have better caught the spirit of the original, in his paraphrase of verse 13. "The priest of that Jupiter, who was esteemed the tutelar deity of the place, and whose image was therefore placed in a temple erected to him before their city, in the suburbs, not far from the place where the miracle was wrought, immediately brought oxen, crowned with garlands according to their usual manner, to the gates of the place where Paul and Barnabas were; and would, with the multitude, have offered sacrifice to them, to acknowledge the obligation they were under to them, for this condescending and beneficial visit, and to take this opportunity of imploring their continued protection in their public and private affairs." In our engraving, the altar, and portico of the temple, are decorated with garlands, a practice not unusual, though these chaplets were more commonly hung about the necks of the victim, or upon the statue of the deity thus propitiated. The preceding remarks may also tend to elucidate other passages of holy writ, such as Acts xvii. 24.; xix. 23, &c. &c. seq. OUR LIVING LETTERS. CHAP. IV. THE SERVANT OF THE LORD MUST NOT STRIVE. It so fell out that our day of meeting this month was on Maundy Thursday, or the Thursday before Easter, a day on which our forefathers were accustomed to cut and trim their hair and beards, and wash their faces, and "so made themselves honest against Easter day." Scarcely had we assembled in the parlour of the gentleman whom I have spoken of before, as the relator of the narrative of "The Father's Smile," than one of our party mentioned that it was the Thursday before Easter, and that he had heard it for the first time called 'Shere Thursday," and he wanted to know whence it had derived the name? " For a moment or more no one seemed inclined to answer: at length our host himself replied, prefacing his remark with an apology for what he was about to utter, should it not meet the approval of the listeners, "The word 'shere,'" he said, "is the same word we now use when speaking of cleansing and purifying sheep. It is depriving them of the wool and covering in which they prided themselves, and which had become foul and ragged, and washing them pure and white without spot or stain. Hence it has been said that when our ancestors cleansed themselves and trimmed their hair and beards against Easter week, they did so to intimate a desire of divesting themselves of their own works, and trusting alone in the washing of regeneration, and the purifying influences of the Great Shepherd." 'This washing and cleansing," replied Paternus, "corrupted and abused as it has been subsequently, is reported to have See our last Vol. p. 149. originated in the circumstance of our Saviour having washed the feet of his disciples before his crucifixion, and is still observed in Popish countries to the present day. Much, I fear, that the outside of the cup and platter has been regarded only, and the inside is left in all its original pollution. But have I not heard that the word " Mendicant" is derived from "Maundy;" and is not this a day when gifts and alms are bestowed upon the poor, a season most desirable for charity, as the summer blessings have not yet appeared, and the long winter months have drained deeply the pockets of the poor? Though the spirit in which alms are too frequently bestowed cannot call for a blessing upon the giver, yet our Heavenly Father in his mercy often brings good out of evil, by his wise disposition of events. How many a poor starving cottager has reason to rejoice that the religion of Christ has set the example of alms-giving and charity to all men; and so beautiful are its effects, that there is no religious sect, whether christian or pagan, that does not imitate such ennobling acts, though the holy motives which ought to guide those acts are frequently unknown." "Ah! how true it is," exclaimed our host, "that the religion of Christ is one of love, and not of war; reminding us of the man in the fable, who clasped his cloak the tighter round him when the wind would have forced it off. It opens the heart to the glad rays of the sun of righteousness, and its genial warmth bends all things to its will!" "That reminds me at this moment," said one of our party, "that where the ministers of our religion go in their official character as teachers of the gospel of good news,' they are often repulsed; that the door is closed against them, and they preach as if preaching to the dead; whilst on the other hand, a christian neighbour, a medical attendant, or a friend of high degree, may broach the same subject, and be heard with thanks and gratitude. Do we not sometimes forget, my brethren," he added, looking round upon us, "that when we are addressing those who know not the truth, it is our duty to speak to them in all humility? For if they do not acknowledge the Master whose tidings we bear, how can they receive our tidings? I can say for myself, I grieve to own that I have known instances where they would not listen to anything I could say, but afterwards have attended to the pleadings of another. It is God alone, we all know, who allows those pleadings to avail in any instance; but I would humbly ask of those who have experienced what I have experienced, is there not some fault in the first pleader?" “Your remark particularly reminds me," replied our host, "of one or two little adventures that have befallen me in my intercourse amongst my present parishioners, and as no one seems prepared for any narrative for this evening, and the time is wearing apace, I will, with your permission, illustrate your last remark, by the narration of some events of the kind in my own experience." He then looked round the apartment with an inquiring glance, and seeing none but approving countenances, thus began. "If was my fortunate lot to succeed a worthy and truly pious brother of our faith, to this house, parish, and church; and though no doubt there is still much left to be done, yet I found much had been admirably arranged before I came. There were already schools for the young, and the adult bible reading meetings, Dorcas and other societies, so that I am in fact in the situation of one who has more than enough to do, if he only follow as others lead. I have assistants too, of all sorts, of those rich in money, and rich in time, and I have every reason to be called one of those happy ones who have fallen into a rich heritage and goodly pasture. But notwithstanding all these blessings, I possess in my parish one great drawback, and one that is a sharp thorn in my side, and this bitter portion is a Roman Catholic family, exceedingly bigoted, and possessing in their own household, a priest or chaplain of their own, most zealously inclined. It happens that father Duval and myself have often met; sometimes, indeed, amicably; but too often, I fear, in a way that I grieve to recal. The poor in the neighbourhood are divided for the one side or the other; some perhaps from sincere motives, but in many instances they are swayed chiefly, I regret to say, by the comparative merits of the loaves and fishes we have to bestow, "But it is my intention to narrate how, in two cases especially, father Duval and myself met; and how we strove together as the herdsmen of old, both professing a desire to find the wells of clear and springing water. One morning a poor woman came to my house in great distress, saying that a young girl of whom she knew but little, but who was a next door neighbour, was seized with a most dangerous illness—some sort of inflammation, she thought, which she feared might carry her off suddenly, and 'Oh, sir,' added my humble friend, 'the poor girl has been brought up in vice, and it is most fearful now to hear her cries and expressions of terror at the change that is come over her.' "Wait but an instant," I said, "whilst I find my hat and gloves, and I will accompany you to see if I can be of any service to the afflicted family." "On my way, the good woman told me the short but melancholy history of Mary Barker. Her ignorant mother,' she said, "would allow her to die as she has lived, but nameless horrors had seized upon the young girl, and she was as one driven mad with fears and terror. In her agony she had implored a comforter, and Mrs. Barker had sent to father Duval to talk to her to quiet her. They do not expect you, sir,' she added; but I was anxious you I should see her.' 66 'Though I had made what haste I could, I found the popish priest had arrived before me, and was already with the poor girl; but though the mother would have withheld me, I listened not to her, but ascended the stairs to the sick chamber. The poor sufferer was in acute agonies of body, but what were they compared to the tortures of her mind? Her hair was hanging loosely about her, its bands having become unfastened in the paroxysms of pain; her cheeks were flushed with fever, and her eyes looked wild with anguish and terror. Those unhappy eyes were fixed upon father Duval with a gaze so intense and earnest that she knew not of my entrance. She seemed as if she would drink to her very soul the words that fell from him, as if she hoped they would prove as fresh and cool water to her parched lips. He was speaking of death, judgment, purgatory, and the grave a grave into which she seemed about to step; and as she went on, her countenance betokened more and more of horror; her eye flashed more wildly, and her whole frame seemed convulsed with mental and bodily anguish. "But He has mercy as well as judgment!' I exclaimed, unable to witness her anguish, ' He tempers the wind to the shorn lamb; |