of the Churchwardens to do so. Of course, every Churchwarden ought to be a Communicant. The primitive Church said that "No man is a complete layman, but he that is in full communion with the Church;" surely then no man can be a complete lay officer of the Church who is not a Communicant! But all we urge may be summed up in the one word, "Heartiness."

And we earnestly and affectionately call on all Churchwardens, in whatever part of the world they may be, that, without delay, they endeavour, by the grace of God, prayerfully and wisely to promote everything which may render God's House on earth, and the services therein, warm, earnest, and congregational.

We say to them, Work heartily with your minister and your people. Do nothing rash. Do nothing rashly. But do something, yea, do much. Do all wisely, humbly, prayerfully, and thus begin this year with the grand work of the promotion, in the discharge of their many religious functions, of "Heartiness amongst Churchwardens."

The New Year.

TIME slips from under us.
And now-what comes?
Whose sudden cries shoot

The year is gone!

Hark to the headlong bells,
through the circling air,

Like lightning through the dark. What birth is next?
The year, the new-born year! Cold, weak and pale,
She enters on her round. No flowers awake

To herald her; no winds start forth to pipe
Their Bacchanalian welcomes in her ear:
But silence and inanimate Nature lie

In watch, awaiting her first look serene;

And, deep within her breast, what marvels sleep;
What deeds of good and ill; what dreams,-desires,
Flowers like the stars, and thoughts beyond the flowers;
Laughing delights, mute woes, passionate tears;
And kindness, human sunshine, softening all!

BARRY CORNWALL.

dignity.

Sir Thomas More in the Tower.

IR THOMAS MORE, who was made Chancellor in 1530, boldly opposed King Henry VIII.'s divorce from Catherine of Arragon, for which he was sent to the Tower, brought to trial, and condemned to lose his head, which sentence he endured with courage and

Whilst he was a prisoner in the Tower, he would not so much as suffer himself to be trimmed, saying, "That there was a controversy between the king and him for his head, and till that was at a happy end, he would be at no cost about it."

Upon which quaint saying an old writer makes this reflection: -"Certainly, all the cost we bestow on ourselves, to make our lives pleasurable and joyous to us, is but mere folly till it be decided what will become of the suit betwixt God and us, what

SIR THOMAS MORE IN THE TOWER.

will be the issue of the controversy that God hath against us, and that not for our heads, but for our souls, whether for heaven or hell. Were it not, then, the wisest course to begin with making our peace, and then we may soon lead a happy life."

13

BY DENHAM ROWE NORMAN, VICAR OF MIDDLETON BY WIRKSWORTH.

On the rock of Thy commandments
Fix me firmly lest I slide;
With the glory of Thy presence
Cover me on every side,
God, for ever glorified.

S. JOHN DAMASCENE, Hymns of the Eastern Church.

OT long since, the writer overheard in a public place a somewhat sharp passage of words between two earnest, intelligent, but not highly educated men. The lively, interesting discussion carried on with such eagerness and vigour quickly attracted several listeners. Almost at once there were two parties as well as two talkers. With no ordinary zeal each set of partizans attempted to aid its leader with apt quotations. Expressions of dissent or approval, as arguments adverse or favourable were advanced, became frequent and lusty. Even the most careless spectator must have observed an unusually strong desire to come at the right of the matter by some means or other. Each word appeared to be challenged -scrutinised-thoroughly sifted and discussed-before it was allowed to be taken as proved. Many were the minor alterations of phrases before statements made were conceded. Inch by inch, so to speak, was the ground gallantly contested, till at length the defender had to yield his position. It was a healthy and refreshing spectacle. Earnest, candid, thinking, yet untrained, men spending their leisure time in such a bracing and improving manner. Just freed from engrossing daily labour-these anxious and ardent controversialists were ready at once to enter with keenest zest on an intellectual contest about matters of great importance.

As it should seem, the occasion of this debate was a recent purchase which had been made by one of the disputants. Passing a book-shop, he observed a copy of the New Testament in English, published by Baron Tauchnitz, and edited by that celebrated German scholar, Constantine Tischendorf. To see it was to buy; and the preface of that edition, in its simple yet impressive diction, was read and read again! The man was resolved so far to master its conclusions and understand its terms as to be able to convey to others some faint idea of the importance of this new discovery in the region of Biblical knowledge; and he spent every moment of the brief intervals of leisure in perusing with unabating diligence, pencil in hand, chapter after chapter. Each search seemed to yield some fresh store of wisdom from the abundant harvest thus furnished by the casual investment in this unpretending little volume.

What patience, ability, acuteness, were manifested in the attempt to decipher the foot-notes, so as to be able to form some opinion upon the consequences of the alterations suggested! The outlook upon the Past, how strange it was! When, but as yesterday, the English Bible as in common use-as quoted from the pulpit-was held as the very words spoken by God to man-how quickly had this dream of life been dispelled! Well into middle life-the man had had the most vague and hazy notions-even if any notions at all as to how the Holy Scriptures came into existence. There was a guess, or suspicion, or idea, that somehow or other the

Origin and History of the English Bible.

book was found by the Reformers in the sixteenth century. This mist which had hung about the mind soon showed symptoms of departure on the arrival of this vivid, powerful, welcome beam of light. The elements of a sound, true and satisfactory knowledge having been thus introduced into the mind, there was a thirst and longing to obtain fresh additions to the present limited stock.

It should be observed, then, that it was in the very early days of possession, when almost in a delirium of delight, that the controversy which has been mentioned took place. By the merest chance there was this meeting with a shrewd, sturdy, obstinate stickler for the belief that every single syllable of the English Bible is a special and direct inspiration of God. Then came this smart, prolonged combat of words. Though by far the abler man, and with much the strongest arguments in his favour, the man of new fangled notions was now and again made to feel extremely uncomfortable. The management of his new found weapons was a difficult task. He was now and then consciously aware that he was playing with edge tools without sufficient knowledge or practice. At intervals there was a break, an awkward pause, a hesitation, a wavering, a waiting for the right word, the correct date, which more than suggested, that, however strong the wish to become conqueror in the argument, the power to gain a decided advantage had yet to be acquired. Original language,' 'canon,' 'codex,' 'manuscript,' 'version,' 'translation,' recension,' 'interpolation,' 'omission,' 'text,' 'reading,' these were terms which as yet had no clear, definite meaning in his mind.

It was only of late that he could himself claim an acquaintance with these words, and so it was only likely that mistakes would occasionally occur. In such unpractised hands the wrong word would, as a matter of course, make its appearance. If a fact must be declared, instead of proving a formidable artillery against his opponent's position, the frequent misuse of terms delayed and protracted the struggle.

If

The end came, however, at length. The defender of the authorised English version could not answer this question. every English word in the English Bible is a special and direct inspiration of God, how is it that in the Prayer Book there are many words in the Psalms which are not the same as in the Bible?

Now, it may be, perhaps, that there are those of our readers who would consider it the greatest profanity to suspect the genuineness of even one English word within the covers of our English Bible, who would almost avoid the company of a doubter about a verse, and who still need more information than what they at present possess. They are unacquainted with certain facts which it is well to be aware of in these active days. Unacquainted, not willingly, yet actually so. Uninformed simply because the means of enlightenment have never been within their reach. Wherefore some modest instalments of information upon the Origin and History of the Old and New Testament may not be ill-timed now; when every tittle of reliable intelligence is eagerly sought after and received; and it is this, that the writer hopes to be able to give in succeeding papers, in as simple a form as he can use on what is a

ON A CHILD STOPPING HIS EARS WHILE BEING TAUGHT.

BY JAMES HILDYARD, B.D., RECTOR OF INGOLDSBY.

"Even like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ears; which refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely."-Psalm lviii. 4, 5.

N an old hall in the East Riding of Yorkshire, belonging to a branch of my family, hangs a very beautiful picture by a French artist-Greuze, I believe-of a little boy about five years of age being taught his letters by a young and interesting mother. He stands by her lap, leaning his elbows on her knees, with his forefingers in both his ears, while the archness of his look betrays a lively consciousness how utterly the lesson of his painstaking parent is thrown away upon him! She nevertheless appears bent on persevering; and, though doubtless aware of the little urchin's perverseness, hopes, almost against hope, that some seed of her instruction may slip in between whiles, and take root even in such unpromising ground.

This child, indeed, is partly excusable, for he hardly knows better; and the kind mother bears meekly with his natural averseness to learn, which seems part of our original birth-sin. But what shall we say of those who, being no longer babes, but fullgrown men and women, thus obstinately shut their ears against the truth, avoid to come within hearing of the preacher, or, if brought to Church against their will, shut their ears, and refuse to hear his voice, charm he never so wisely.

The charmer, in the case of this little boy, was one so fair and lovely, that one would have thought it scarcely possible for even a child not to listen to her winning accents. The charmer in our case is our blessed Saviour, speaking to us early and late, in the tenderness of love, through His appointed ministers, anxious to gather us together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, but we will not.

Who will not blame this child, young as he is, for making no other use of his ears than to put his fingers in them in order to block up this principal avenue of instruction? But naughty as he is, we are worse. He does but shut out the voice of his parent teaching him what it was high time and most needful that he should know. We, some of us at least, not only shut out the voice of Wisdom, but open the portals wide to the voice of Folly. We listen eagerly to the sly whisper of the serpent, while we are deaf to the louder but loving note of the dove.

Unlike the wise Ulysses, who stopped the ears of his crew with wax against the Sirens' song, and caused himself to be fast bound to the mast, in order, if by any means, to escape their fascinations; we rush headlong upon the ruin which we know awaits us from the deadly poison that entereth in at the ear, and even invite our comrades to partake with us of the baneful draught. But let an angel from heaven call upon us to walk still in the narrow path of duty and shun the broad highway of sin, he shall call to us in vain; he addresses himself to ears close stuffed with cotton. We are fast bound by the chains of our sins, and hug them with a willing mind.

This child, if he persisted long in his obstinacy, would grow up