but died soon after, in the fifty-eighth year of the Hegira, A. D. 672, aged 67.

LADY MARY ARMEYNE, was eminent for her piety and learning, as well as rank, in the seventeenth century. She was the wife of Sir William Armeyne, and daughter to Henry, fourth son of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. She was well read in the ancient and modern languages, and left behind her several monuments of her munificence in hospitals and other charitable foundations. Her death took place in 1675.

MARY ASTELL, was an English lady who attained considerable eminence as a public writer, in the early part of the last century. She was born at Newcastle, on Tyne, in 1668, and, instructed by her uncle, a clergyman, in Latin, French, philosophy, mathematics, and logic. When about twenty, she removed to London; where, and at Chelsea, she spent the remainder of her life, devoting her leisure to literary composition, Her first production was "A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, wherein a method is offered for the Improvement of their Minds." London, 1697; 12mo. The establishment of a seminary for female education on a large scale, was the object of this work, which attracted much notice. The rest of her works relate chiefly to the religious controversies of the times. She advocated high church principles, attacked the writings of Locke and Archbishop Tillotson, and was complimented by Dr. Waterland. She died in 1731.

MARGARET D'ATTENDOLE, wife of Michael de Catignola, and sister of the great Sforzas, founder of the house of Sforzas, dukes of Milan. Of obscure birth and education, this family seemed all to inherit the same heroic spirit. When James, count de la Marche, came to espouse the queen of Naples, Sforza, then grand constable, was sent to meet him; but that prince threw him, his relations, and suite into prison; thinking by this means to attain, with more ease, the tyrannic power, which he afterwards assumed. Margaret assembled an army, took the

command, and besieged the king in a castle, where the conditions proposed to him were, to be contented with the title of lieutenantgeneral of the kingdom, and give Sforza his liberty. Knowing the value of his hostage, he sent deputies to Margaret, menacing him with instant death, if Tricarica was not given up to him. Anxious for her brother, but indignant at the proposition, she instantly formed the resolution of imprisoning the deputies, whose families, alarmed for their safety, ceased not to intercede, till the count consented to set Sforza and his friends at liberty, and to reinstate him in his former situation.

ANNA THE PROPHETESS.-The character of this aged and holy woman, although barely mentioned by the Evangelists, is finely portrayed by Cox, in his Female Scripture Biography, and is at once a sample and a proof, how much a few satisfactory facts may be enlarged by an ingenious lover of his subject.

"Two illustrious women have already been presented to the reader as adorning the era of our Saviour's incarnation; the one, the mother of his humanity, the witness of his miracles, and the weeping attendant upon his crucifixion; the other, her venerable relative, the wife of Zacharias, and the parent of John, who was the destined precursor of the 'desire of all nations.' We are now to contemplate another female, whose age super-adds a charm to her excellences, and whose privilege also it was to witness the commencing brightness of the evangelical day. Like Elizabeth, her 'memorial' is short, but it does not perish with her.'* She has a place in the chronicles of the redeemed, a name before which that of heroes and heroines fade away, and which it requires no 'storied urn nor animated bust' to perpetuate.

"Anna is introduced to our notice on the memorable occasion which has been already mentioned, when the parents of Jesus took him after his circumcision to Jerusalem, to 'present him to the Lord.' Then it was that Simeon broke forth in eloquent and prophetic congratulations, expressive at once of his own

* Ps. ix. 6.

triumph over death, in consequence of having witnessed the accomplishment of those prophecies, which had so long and so often filled him with delightful anticipations, and of the 'glory,' which he foresaw would irradiate Israel and enlighten the Gentiles. Scarcely had he finished his address, when Anna, a prophetess, remarkable for her extreme age and exemplary piety, entered the temple, and not only united with Simeon and the rest of the interesting group in 'giving thanks unto the Lord,' but 'spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.'

"It was befitting the majesty of the event which had occurred, that the spirit of prophecy should revive after being dormant for about four hundred years. Since the days of Malachi no such inspiration had been afforded; but the new and glorious period, commencing with the incarnation, was marked by this, as well as other signs and wonders. When Simeon held the infant Saviour in his arms, the Spirit of God touched his tongue with a live coal from the altar; and when the aged 'daughter of Phanuel' approached, she caught the glow of kindling rapture, and blended with his her praises and predictions.

"This eminent woman is represented as 'of great age,' as having 'lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,' and as being 'a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers, night and day.'* This form of expression does not seem to furnish decisive evidence whether her entire age was eighty-four, or whether she was a widow during that period; if the latter, the seven years in which she lived with a husband, together with the probable number which constituted her age at the time of her marriage, must be added to the calculation, which would produce considerably more than a hundred years; in either case she must be allowed to occupy a conspicuous place in the records of longevity.

"It has been observed of the aged, that although existence, when extended beyond the usual period of 'threescore years and ten,' is nothing but labour and sorrow,' they still adhere to life

✦ Ļuke ii. 36, 37,

with the utmost tenacity, and are even less disposed to relinquish it than those whose more vigorous powers and undecayed youth capacitate them for its enjoyment. But however surprised we may be to witness this anxiety to live, in those who are bending beneath the pressure of years and the load of decrepitude, and to see that this anxiety rather increases than diminishes, there is something in it by no means unnatural. In addition to the love of life, which is implanted in every human bosom for the wisest purposes, the aged person cannot but feel that he is nearer than others to that hour of separation from all the connexions and interests of time, than the multitude around him; an hour at which nature instinctively shudders, and which is always regarded as painful, whatever may be the result: Corporeal suffering may be considerable; and that change of being which the mortal stroke produces has always something about it awful, mysterious, and terrific. There are few instances in which it can be approached without some degree of dread, some shrinking of mind, whatever be the state of detachment from the present world, and whatever pleasing anticipations may exist with regard to another: as the patient, however assured of the necessity of the measure, and the importance of the result, trembles while preparations are making to amputate his disordered limb. It may be observed also of the young, that while they compassionate their aged friends as the prey of a thousand imbecilities, both of body and mind, and lament over a state in which man is reduced to a second childhood, there is scarcely an individual who does not harbor in secret the wish to attain an age equal at least, if not superior, to any of his contemporaries. The reason is similar to that which influences persons at an advanced period of life; the thought of death, with all its concomitant evils, is unwelcome at any time, and consequently it is grateful to the mind to place it at the greatest conceivable distance; so that, were it now within the appointments of Providence, or the bounds of probability, little doubt can be entertained that the great proportion of mankind would readily accept as a blessing, a patriarchal or antediluvian age.

"Anna is particularly noticed as the daughter of Phanuel, of

whom we have no other information, and as belonging to the tribe of Asher, which was situated in Galilee. This, whether recorded for that purpose or not, might serve to refute the charge, that 'out of Galilee ariseth no prophet,' since from that quarter proceeded the very first inspirations upon the revival of the prophetic spirit. Asher was a very inferior tribe, and one of the ten, carried captive by the Assyrians, having departed from the worship of the true God, and from the house of David, under Jeroboam. But, notwithstanding this general defection, there were individuals who returned and reunited themselves with Judah, that they might enjoy the ancient privileges of the people of God. Thus, even in the worst of times, and amidst the least favorable circumstances, some portion of true religion has always been preserved in the earth. Though the watchful eye of Providence has occasionally suffered the flame of devotion to languish, and almost expire, yet its total extinction has been prevented, and unexpected coincidences have frequently excited it into new and more vigorous action.

"We have, in the history before us, a specimen of a pious old age, remarkable in itself, and calculated to suggest a variety of useful considerations. This holy woman probably lodged in the immediate vicinity, if not in some of the outward apartments of the temple, which gave her an opportunity of indulging in those constant devotions which accorded with her wishes and comported with her age. On every occasion she was present at appointed services; and so entire was her self-devotement to religion, that she was incessantly engaged in fasting and prayer. The world had no claims on her, being alike unfitted for any of its avocations, and indisposed to any of its pleasures. She had bid it a final farewell, and had withdrawn behind the scenes of this vast theatre, which are so artfully painted as to allure and deceive the imaginations of mankind, into the secrecy of devotion, and the sanctuary of her God. Peace was the companion of her retirement, and piety shed its serenest ray upon the evening of her mortal existence.

"It may be presumed that the religion of Anna was by no means of a recent date, but that the seeds of so rich a harvest