was," we are told, "attentive to every profit, and embraced opportunies of gain which may appear somewhat extraordinary." The direct taxes appear to have been small in amount, and by no means regularly levied, but there can be no doubt that this indirect and most uncertain mode of taxation, pressed with much greater weight on the community. It was in this reign, that the experiment, on an extended scale, was first made of a compulsory provision for the poor. To this the well-known distich alludes, said to have been composed on the occasion : "Hang sorrow and cast away care, The parish is bound to maintain us." Before this, and in the reign of her father, some steps had been taken in this direction, but its principal object, as that of many preceding statutes had been, was to prevent vagrancy, and the provisions partake of the extreme barbarity of the times: thus, "a sturdy beggar is to be whipped the first time, his right ear cropped the second time, and, if he again offend, on conviction at the sessions, he shall suffer death as a felon, and an enemy of the commonwealth." The occasion of the various enactments was the number of poor persons, fed by the various monasteries, and, on their dissolution, thrown neglected on the world; these appear, at least many of them, to have wandered over the land with various tales of distress, and not to have been scrupulous in their means of obtaining a living, hence the common appellation of sturdy beggars; many demanded and enforced by the strong hand, what had been denied to their whining and apparent wretchedness. Vagrancy is expressly prohibited by every statute, and such as were deemed vagrants were to be "grievously whipped, and burned through the gristle of the right ear with a hot iron, of the compass of an inch about;" and in the 39th Elizabeth, it was enacted that a beggar of this kind should," on his apprehension, be openly whipped until his body be bloody, and shall be forthwith sent from parish to parish, the next straight way to the parish where he was born." In all cases death is awarded as the punishment of the third offence. Sanguinary as our laws and manners were under the Tudors, the police of the kingdom was very imperfect, and crime of every sort abounded, it might be said, nearly unchecked. The streets of every large town, and especially of London, were every way unsafe by night, and hardly less so by day. They were paraded by bands of armed ruffians, often the retainers of some powerful nobleman, and they executed summary vengeance on all whom they imagined inimical to their patron. Housebreaking and highway rob-. bery were of every-day occurrence. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, seventy-two thousand "thieves and rogues, besides other malefactors," were executed. In Elizabeth's reign, we are told, "only between three and four hundred a year were hanged for theft and robbery." This severity was very far from abating the evil, for honest old Strype assures us that in the County of Somerset, a fair sample of the kingdom at large, "the fifth part of the felonies were not brought to a trial, the greater number [of felons] escaped, from superior cunning, the remissness of the magistrates, or the foolish lenity of the people." B. M. B. THE PARABLES OF CHRIST. LECTURE III. The Tares and the Wheat, MATT. XIII. 24-30; The Grain of Mustard Seed, MATT. XIII. 31, 32. (Concluded from page 300.) ANOTHER parable Jesus put forth on the same occasion. It is that of The Grain of Mustard Seed. Matt, xiii. 31, 32. "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." "A grain of Mustard seed," says Livermore, "is so small, as to be proverbial for its littleness. Matt. xvii. 20. This is not the plant known to us by that name, but the mustard tree, not annual, but living and growing several years." When it arrives at its full growth, it is said to be "the greatest among herbs." That is, comparatively of herbs proceeding "from so small a seed." It sometimes becomes a tree 66 so large," says the writer just mentioned, "that a man might climb it, as he would a fig tree; and it has been known to be "so tall and spreading, as to cover a tent with one of its branches." We may, therefore, see, according to the words of our Saviour, that "the birds of the air might come and lodge in the branches thereof." " The parable is an illustration of the commencement and progress of the Gospel. It began with a despised Individual, residing in a despised and insignificant place in Judea. It was embraced by a few other despised individuals, countrymen of its Founder. It gradually extended itself on every side, until at length it became the established religion of the Roman Empire. This was a sad circumstance, certainly, and contributed not to its honour or welfare. But it serves to show the fact, how widely it was then diffused. From that time to the present, it has spread more and more. And though Christians are not so numerous as some other denominations, yet where is there one other religion, that is so widely extended in the world? Most others are confined to particular places, while the Gospel is professed in all the different quarters of the globe. The prophecy, therefore, contained in the parable, has, up to the present time, been remarkably fulfilled. The Gospel has been like a small seed, which has become a large tree, extending its branches widely on every side; so that the birds of the air may lodge therein. "Under the mighty power of the Christian kingdom," observes Livermore, "mul titudes have found refuge and protection." And, ultimately, "it will become a tree, whose branches will overshadow the whole earth, and the leaves of which will be for the healing of the nations." The past, hitherto remarkably fulfilled, gives promise, that, in the future, all will be fulfilled. "How sublime," says the writer above alluded to, was the faith of Christ in the power of his Gospel! For, though small, it contains the germs of a wondrous and mighty growth. It grew silently, but it grew rapidly. It was of God, therefore it flourished. Beginning in an origin so obscure, that the world looked with contempt upon its pretensions, coming from a mechanic's abode in the despised city of Nazareth, in the rude province of Galilee, in the conquered land of Palestine, and borne to other countries by men whose nation was the scoff of other nations, and who themselves held the lowest place of society among their countrymen, it spread, it prevailed, it won attention, admiration, obedience, till it became the greatest of the religions of the earth." And hence, we have a striking evidence of the truth of our holy Religion. The prediction of its Founder is thus far verified; and, therefore, the Founder himself must have been divinely commissioned, and his religion must be divine. See with what cool collectedness, and yet with what undoubting confidence, Jesus foretold that this would take place, notwithstanding the most formidable and mighty obstacles that were before him! See how remarkably it has thus far Think been accomplished, and by what humble means! of all this; ponder it well in your minds; and then say, if it is not "the Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes?" Thus the parable confirms and strengthens our faith. And it is an encouragement to us to persevere steadily in the good cause of truth and righteousness, in which we are engaged. What could be less likely to succeed, according to human probability, at the commencement, than the Gospel of Christ? It owed nothing to worldly influence and power. The world, in fact, was arrayed against it. Yet notwithstanding every opposition that could be brought to bear upon it, the wealth, the power, the persecution of the world, violence, suffering, and death, it braved all dangers, it rose superior to all difficulties, it spread in every direction, and triumphed over death and the grave. The cause was of God, and therefore it prospered and triumphed. And history abounds with instances to show, that the righteous cause, sooner or later, has been crowned with success. We have, therefore, only to ascertain that the cause is good, in order to be encouraged in our efforts to promote it, and to be inspired with the hope that it will finally prevail. For that which is good is of God. That which is of God will be blessed by him. And that which he blesses, will, in his own good time, and according to his own wise counsels, be fully accomplished. Let us then not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. CHURCH OF ENGLAND CATECHISM, AND CHILDHOOD. My little pupil, indeed, rewarded my attention to the utmost of her power, by her affectionate attachment, and by her innocent, playful vivacity, and she really was one of the most interesting children I ever knew. The Baron had desired, that during his absence, I would hear her the Church Catechism; and one morning, as she was repeating it, coming to the exposition there given of what is called the Apostle's Creed, namely, "First, I learn to believe in God the Father; secondly, in God the Son; thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost," she paused of her own accord, and counting with her little fingers "one, two, three; now how is this? my Bible says there is but one God, and my Catechism says there are three ?" "My dear, wherever they contradict each other you must depend upon your Bible." "Oh, very well," she replied, and seemed perfectly satisfied. This conversation I did not fail, after his return, to repeat to her father, commenting upon it as it appeared to deserve.-Mrs. Cappe's Memoirs. THE DAHLIA. THOU camest from distant lands, a beauteous flower, And delicate shades, to those which now adorn Which says, God sent his creature man on earth Of good, a sinner even before his birth. But is this all that man is framed to do, All the fair virtues that adorn this life, And which but reach their perfect bloom in heaven. For ages has the Great Creator sent Many brave spirits, to cast wide the seeds, Who strove to cultivate the God-given truths. |