commission of the crime, and that too of a kind which, whilst it punishes for the past, prevents the power of repetition for the future. This is followed by a second remedy, how to stop the mouth of a usurer when his covetous ness complaines of famine, and cannot be satisfied, which he calls "An Excellent Dyet for an Usurer, when his Conscience is starved."

This also is long, and we fear would be thought rather tedious and uninteresting, though the moral is excellent, and it possesses many witty and diverting passages: but our extracts have already been so long that we must hasten to a close, and we shall therefore briefly recapitulate the remainder of its contents, giving only one more extract as a specimen of his poetical vein. His next tale is "How in a Household of Civill Warre, a Woman may be safe from a cruell Husband," which possesses much caustic humour and good sense, with out any mixture of grossness, and is so favourable a specimen of his best manner that we are almost tempted to break through our resolution and transcribe the whole, we will, however, give one or two extracts.

* *

In the country of Devonshire, not farre from Exeter, there dwelled a Rope-maker whose name was Richard, &c. * This Rope-maker being a good propper man, and of a comely personage, became a suitor to a Widdowes Daughter, that was (also) a good propper Maide and well favoured, but of no great wealth, and therefore the easier to be wood and won of a stranger this Maide, whose name was Mary, was a Wench of a good bone and a lusty complexion, much like to Lancashire breed, who entring into consideration of her mother's estate, and her owne povertie, and seeing she had few suters, because the hope of her dowrie was but small, listened the rather to Richard's motion, who beeing of a smooth tongue, and could set out himselfe well in talke, as the Tiger when he meanes to prey, then ever hideth his clawes, and where the Foord runnes smoothest, there is it deepest: so as the old proverbe is, the still Sowe eates up all the Draffe; and he could use such civil behaviour, trickt out with such eloquence and

glorious tearmes, that in short time hee wonne the Wench and married her. Well, home they went, and being hony-moone, he seemed so chary over her that it grieved him the winde should blowe on her,-how ever she soon discovers his "untoward qualities," and he began to abuse her as he had done his former Wives so that she never went unbeaten to bed: the poore Wife living in this miserie by the space of some three or foore yeares, till one day being alone by herselfe, looking in a glasse and considering advisedly how her wonted countenance was blemisht by her Husbands unkindness, she fetcht a great sigh, and sware a mortall and fatall revenge, so that a deepe hate of his ill qualities entring into her thoughts, shee resolv'd to make him repent those manye yeares he had made her leade in such servile miserie.

In this determination she gathered her wits together and sought how to crie quittance with her husband, yet could shee find no certain meanes speedily to avoid the shrewish disposition of such an earthly Devil, but bearing the crosse with patience, rested the verie subject of distresse : to run away she would not, to withstand him she could not, she shamed to make complaint to the Justices, and thus everyway she was voide of any remedie, so that she brookt all and went about her buseness till on a time fortune smiling upon her, and intending to give truce to this poore Woman, it chanced that as she was gathering rushes to make the House cleanly, against the next Holy-day, sitting and sighing at her unhappiness, she heard one sing a merrie song, which she gave eare unto the effect whereof agreed greatly with her melancholy disposition, for it armed a salve for that sore that pincht her, and applide a medicine for her continuall malladie : the contentes of the song were these :A SONG, SUNG BY AN OLDE WOMAN IN A MEADOWE.

Of all the plagues which make poore Wights, Unhappy and accurst;

I

thinke a wicked Husband is (Next to the Devill) the worst, Ile shew them how they shall, But will young Women come to me With prettie sleights and privie tricks Streight rid them from such thrall.

Thus Men doe triumph like to Kings
And poore Wives must obey;
And though he be a very foole,
Yet must he beare the sway.
But will young Women come to me,
Ile shew them how they shal,
With prettie sleights and privie tricks
Straight rid them from such thrall.

The old woman having thus ended her song, the poore Wife that with teares for joy heard some hope of her redresse, drew neere to finde out this olde Woman, who had sung such a pleasant Ditte, which having done, it is almost needless to say what followsshe relates her sorrowful tale under The Wives complaint of the conditions of an ill Husband," when the olde Woman discloses her remedy and cure, which terminates this very curious and rare Tract.

Before we conclude our notice of this clever and amusing writer and his work, we must remark, that it appears from Mr. Bliss' edition of Earle's Microcosmography, that Deckers work of the Belman of London, is little more than a re-print of a work of a similar nature, (though he has greatly enlarged upon it,) which was published nearly half a century before, (though he makes not the slightest mention of it,) under the title of, "A Caveat for common Cursetors vulgarly called Vagabones, set forth by Thomas Harman, Esq. impr. a. D. 1557," and of which there was also a second edition in 1575, which will be found described in the Brit. Biblio

grapher, vol. 2. p. 12, and was drawn up and communicated thereto, by Mr. Bliss, and in concluding his notice of this very rare work, he observes, “it may not be amiss to notice in this place, that a considerable part of the Belman of London is derived from Harman's Čaveat, and among the books bequeathed to the Bodleian, Burton, is a copy of the Belman, with the several passages so borrowed, marked in the hand-writing of the Author of the Anatomy of Melancholy."

Notwithstanding Mr. B. has given us a long notice of Harman's Caveat and also large extracts from it, yet, he does not afford us a single specimen of Deckers equally curious and entertaining work, though he makes more than one reference to it, and has many to his Gull's Hornebooke, which is rather an extraordinary omission, considering the great popularity in his own time of this coarse but powerful writer, and the high estimation in which his works are held to the present day both by the curious Collector and the Philologer; as the prodigious prices they bring, whenever they are to be met with, fully demonstrates the price of the latter work has been already mentione i at the Gordenstoun Sale, and at the celebrated Sale of Col. Townley's very curious and valuable Collection, his Belman of London, produced £8, and another of his works, his "Batchelor's Banquet" (of which hereafter we shall give some account) brought £6.-[See the Stanley Catal. Nos. 672 and 673.]

The preceding work may be considered an admirable Specimen, or rather parody of the style, as well as the matter of the "Almanacke-makers" of the days of ur good Queen Bess, which has been continued with little variation ever since, but with less cleverness and wit to compensate for the folly and knavery of these moon-struck calculators, which our Author has very successfully ridiculed with much humour and well merited severity.

OF

as

OF Conversion" I would say, certain also of your own Poets have said," "Blame not the word, rejoice rather that such a word, signifying such a thing, has come to light in our Modern Era, though hidden from the wisest Ancients. The Old World knew nothing of Conversion; instead of an Ecce Homo, they had only some Choice of Hercules. It was a new-attained progress in the Moral Developement of man hereby has the Highest come home to the bosoms of the most Limited; what to Plato was but a hallucination, and to Socrates a chimera, is now clear and certain to your Zinzendorfs, your Wesleys, and the poorest of their Pietists and Methodists."Sartor Resartus, by THOMAS CARLYLE.

A minister of the Church of Scotland who had experienced this transformation, writes thus:

"These things had not happened many days, when reflecting seriously on what had befallen me, I perceived that a great and amazing change had been wrought in me; that my mind was illuminated by a light that I had never seen before, and that my wishes and desires were become new also. Taught therefore by undoubted experience, I hence concluded that I had obtained by the incomprehensible and effectual grace of God, that new birth

without which no man can see or enter the kingdom of God, and of which, formerly, I had neither the desire nor even the thought. My ideas, now, of the infinite excellence and loveliness of God were lively and perspicuous. Such also were my apprehensions of my duty toward him, of my own excessive ingratitude and disobedience, and of God's powerful and unmerited grace by which he had quickened me! Fears of the divine wrath I had none; no dread of punishment. In such a state of mind, I could not doubt one moment concer ning my admittance to the divine favour and communion, for I had sensible experience of both; knowing myself, however, at the same time unworthy of them, and unable to account for the grant of them to me, otherwise than in virtue of the blood and spirit of Christ alone, the Son of God, and only Saviour of sinners.

"Certain it is, that I had as yet no spiritual knowledge of many truths the most important. The supernatural illumination of the mind, regeneration and the change consequent upon itthese I knew by clear and sure experience; but my views of the Lord Jesus were still very obscure.

"But more wonderful still it seems, that it should have pleased God, whose thoughts are not as our thoughts, who

is great and we comprehend him not, to give me the light of his own Spirit, to snatch me from the kingdom of Satan, and translate me into his own glorious kingdom, while I was reading a book, which, under a Christian title, contains much unchristian matter, and in which the divinity and satisfaction of Christ are both controverted !"VANLEER to NEWTON.

A young lady of the Church of England, who was eminent for great intellectual acquirements, fell into scepticism and atheism; finally, wading through metaphysical subtleties, was enabled to resort to her Bible, for a solution of her difficulties. She delivers her testimony in a remarkable narrative, whence the following passages are extracted :

"In this dilemma it occurred to me, as a last expedient, to turn my attention once more to that despised book, which had been long laid aside as incapable of affording me the least relief. How different was the temper of my mind in which I now addressed myself to its perusal, from that in which I had read it in the commencement of my disbelief of Christianity! I was no longer a proud sophist, triumphing in the strength and penetration of human reason, and in the comprehensiveness of human knowledge. The contemplation of my own ignorance, weakness, and wickedness, had laid my pride in the dust. My eyes were opened to view myself as I really was-depraved and blinded in my reason, judgment, and understanding. And this is the process, which must take place in the soul of every man, before he can pursue the search after truth in a right spirit. He must "become a fool, that he may be wise:" not that he must part with any portion of his rational faculties; but, having been a fool all his life long, he must be led to discover and acknowledge his foolishness, before he can so appreciate wisdom as to search for it with his whole heart.

"O my Redeemer ! the first breathings of my soul were not uttered in thy name: I rushed into the presence of my Judge, without a Mediator; but, doubtless, even then thy comeliness was thrown over the deformity of my soul, and the eye of my Father beheld me with pity for thy dear sake! My prayer ascend

ed up to heaven fragrant with the incense of thy merits-though the poor wretch who offered it thought to please God by leaving thee out of it! Let thy goodness and mercy to me encourage other poor ignorant souls, who are groping their way to God in the dark, not to desist from the search till they have found him; and having found him, they will find thee; and having found thee, they will hold thee fast; or rather, thou wilt hold them fast to all eternity!

"In this manner I gave myself wholly up to seeking for my Creator. For days and weeks I however sought him apparently in vain. My blindness and uncertainty seemed to increase daily. I was often on the point of abandoning, in despair, an effort so unpromising, and wished for death as the only thing which could terminate my afflicting suspense; but then it occurred to me that the Bible has no where promised an immediate answer to prayer. I therefore continued my entreaties, that God would graciously vouchsafe to open my understanding to know him, and my heart to love him as a rational creature ought to do.

"I waited not in vain. God at length revealed himself to my understanding in a way that abundantly surpassed my expectations-I say my understanding; for this was no rapturous trance of enthusiasm, but the sober and rational conviction of every faculty of my mind. I hope none of my readers will think that I attribute too much power, or too much benevolence to the Supreme Being, when I assert that he who first gave me understanding, did enlighten that understanding in a manner which I was sensible no efforts of my own could have done; and which yet was so clear, so consistent, so satisfactory, that every former act of my reason, in comparison with this, seemed like the incoherent ravings of delirium! If, however, they doubt, let them try the experiment for themselves: nor let them suppose that this was a sudden flash of conviction

no, it was a process as collected and deliberate as that by which the mind first scrutinizes and then embraces the propositions of mathematical science. My eyes were opened to discern the glory and excellence of the Scriptures, and their amazing superiority to every