measure. By every possible means in their power did they seek to blacken his character, hinder his labours, and harass and perplex his soul. Still his work prospered. The people knew the value of what he taught, and his principles advanced amongst them. He lived honoured and beloved by his followers till 1384, and then fell asleep in Jesus: being taken suddenly ill while administering the Lord's Supper, and removed in two short days to his rest and his reward. The rage of the enemy, however, was not to be checked by the death of its object. It was as much against the Bible and the grand principles of justification by faith it taught, as against John Wickliffe, that the enemy was set. Rome never could, and cannot yet, endure the Word of God. Her system cannot live where its light shines. Hence by all means she must put it down; and so in 1408 a law was issued against reading any version of holy scripture or treatise made either before or in Wickliffe's time, unless approved of by the diocesanand good care would he take to approve of no such thing. Now began a persecution against those who were bold enough to transgress the law; and the courts were soon filled with cases arising from the same. But of these persecutions we must speak another time. Our space requires us here to close this paper. The engraving refers to a later period in the history of translation than that we have been able to overtake, but it will come out in some following paper. We have, for convenience' sake, been guided in the above by the little work of the Religious Tract Society, called "The English Bible," and refer our readers to it with much pleasure, as giving more interesting information. N. Y. N. "I have been to Mr. Hyde's," the question should be put, his said Mr. Carter. B 2 mother entered the room. James the poor was, that he had a warm was not one of those boys that could say to a father, "What did you go there for?" He knew that it was not always proper to ask his father for the reasons of his conduct, and when it was, that he ought not to use a form of questioning which might be only proper to a companion. "My dear," said Mr. Carter, "old Mrs. Hyde is very sick, and has been so for several days; and I am afraid she has suffered a good deal from want of attention." "I had not heard of her being sick," said Mrs. Carter; "but I was thinking yesterday that I had not seen her for some time. Have you been to see her?" "Yes, I was in the village when I heard of her illness, and I went right up to see her. It began to rain pretty soon after I started." "You must change your clothes immediately." Mrs. Carter made the necessary arrangements, and he retired to do so. "Is old Hyde's wife one of your father's relations ?" said Robert Harris, a boy who had come to spend the day with James. 'No," replied James. and generous heart, and knew that it was God's pleasure that he should help the poor and afflicted. "My father," said Robert, "don't do any such thing. He sticks to his business, and that is the way he became so rich." This was spoken in a tone and manner which showed how much he valued himself on his father's riches. It was true that Mr. Harris never went on errands of mercy-that he gave all his time to business-and that he was quite rich. It was not true that he was happy, or that he made his family so. "My father is not rich," said James; "and does not expect to be." "I know what is the reason. He gives away too much, and does not attend to his business." "He does attend to his business, too, for it is a part of his business to do good; and giving to the poor, he says, is only lending to the Lord." "My father lends his money to those who can pay him." "I think the Lord is as able to pay my father as any of your father's debtors are to pay him." "I think it is likely he is; but "What did he go to see her for, whether he will do it or not is anthen?" "I suppose he went to carry her something, or to help her in some way." "What does he do that for?" "Because he always goes to see and help those who are in trouble." In saying this, James stated a fact, though he did not, as he supposed, give a reason. The reason why Mr. Carter visited and relieved other matter. My father never lends without a note or a mortgage." James might have said that his father had better security for what he had loaned, than any notes or mortgages; even the express promise of God: but there was something so unpleasant in the conversation, that he was not disposed to resume it: so he made no reply to Robert's last remark. After a moment's silence, Robert said, "Father says you will all come to want, if your father goes on as he does now." "I'm not afraid of it. I wish your father would mind his own business," said James, angrily. "He does, I can tell you; and that is the way he gets ahead so fast." "Let us talk about something else," said James, repenting of his anger: this won't do us any good." Agreed," said Robert; "let us go 66 66 out, and have a run in the rain. It is so dull to stay in the house all the time. If I had known it was going to rain, I should not have come. It had no business to rain to-day." James was a good deal shocked at this last remark, regarding it, as it was, a great insult offered to God. On the whole he thought it best not to reprove Robert, and simply answered, "We shall get very wet if we go out." "Well, what if we do? Who is afraid of the rain. What a soldier you would make, if you are afraid of a shower of rain! I don't mean to be afraid of a shower of bullets." "I'm not afraid of the rain, but my father will not let me go out in it unless it is necessary; that is, he will not think it best for me to go." "He goes out himself, and I should like to hear my father tell me I shouldn't do what he does himself." Robert did not say what he would do in such a case, but plainly intimated that it would be something fearful. "It was necessary for my father to go in the rain." "Necessary!" said Robert, in a tone of contempt; "what necessity was there for his seeing an old sick woman? You wouldn't catch my father doing it in any weather. Not he: he knows too much for that. If she owed him, he would see to her. He wouldn't go himself, but would send the constable. Such folks can't come it over him, no how." This was said in a boastful tone, as though he gloried in his father's shame. James was disgusted with him, and began to wish he had not come, when he exclaimed, "I'm not going to stay in the house all day; so if you won't go out, I'm off." Suiting the action to the word, he was off, greatly to James's relief. Twenty years after the above interview James and Robert were still living, but their fathers were in the grave. Both had pursued the course of life above indicated till summoned to the bar of God. Mr. Carter never became rich, but Mr. Harris continued to add to his property to the last. James was now a minister of the gospel-useful and respected. His mother had lived with him ever since the death of his father, and his younger brothers had been educated, and were well settled in life. Robert, the only heir of the once rich Mr. Harris, was now the tenant of a miserable house which had once belonged to his father. He was surrounded by a large family clothed in rags, and often suffering for want of food. He spent a large part of his time at a grocery shop where spirits | nobility. As the pretended blood is were sold. The riches of the rich man, notwithstanding his bonds and mortgages, had been scattered. The promise of God to those who feed the hungry and clothe the naked had not failed. THE BLOOD OF SAINT JANUARIUS. (FROM THE JOURNAL OF A RECENT TRAVELLER.) WHEN at Naples, a few days ago, I witnessed the great Neapolitan miracle of St. Januarius liquifying his blood, which they pretend he does twice a year, and continues it liquid for eight days. The blood of St. Stephen, in the church of St. Gaudioso, belonging to the Benedictine nuns, is said to liquify in the same manner but once a year, on the festival of the martyr. I saw also the blood of St. Bonifacio, at the chantrum of St. Martin, and that saint keeps his liquid the year round. There were some half-dozen of us, who went with a Neapolitan nobleman to the church of Santa Chiara (to which the head and pretended blood of St. Januarius was to be brought at eleven, A.M.), who took us to the church of St. Januarius, where the body, gold head (for the real head went on a mission to Russia some years ago, and is probably lost), and chemical blood of the saint is kept. Here in the treasury, which is said to contain great riches, we saw the guardians of the gods, chemicals, and jewels; they are among the most wealthy and respected of the Neapolitan considered not only as the most valuable of its deposits, but as the glory and protection of the cathedral and the city itself, the two vials containing it are kept in a tabernacle behind the altar, which has two keys, one kept by the city deputies and the other by the archbishop. The citizens have every confidence that it has the power to protect them from earthquakes, pestilence, &c., but they do not believe that it can protect itself from the hand of the thief, without all the guardian protection which the distinguished piety of the city can afford. In a short time the procession was formed, and the gold head and chemical blood were carried with magnificent pomp to the church of Santa Chiara, We also returned to the church of Santa Chiara, and were seated in the most favourable place, and treated as though we were persons of great distinction. Opposite to, and equally distant from, the main altar, was the throne for the king, in front of which were chairs and carpeting. In a few minutes, about a dozen large, coarse, roughlooking women, some old, some young, came in and knelt for a moment on the carpeting, and then arose and went forward and took their seats on the right of the altar. They were said to be the lineal descendants of St. Januarius. In a little while the procession, which was very large and splendid, entered, bearing the head, as they called it, of the god. Some said that his skull was encased in the gold, others, as I have stated, said that it was taken to Russia. This idol was a half-length bust, representing the god dressed in the richest manner in pontifical robes, with a bishop's mitre on his head, which was exceedingly rich and brilliant with precious stones, said to be worth £40,000. Every new sovereign who comes in makes this god a present of a few expensive stones. Murat, when crowned king of Naples, gave a rich necklace of jewels. The blood was also brought in the same procession. It was contained in two vials, one small and but little in it, and the other a little larger, both enclosed in the same glass box. At six in the evening we went again to the church, when an immense procession of priests, bearing lighted candles and banners, and fifty images of the patron saints of the country, came, each one borne on the shoulders of four or eight men, to pay their respects to the image of the great god Januarius. As the several images came up in front, the bearers halted, and a priest incensed the visiting god, and then he bowed and passed on. It was by far the grandest child's play that I had ever conceived of. After the procession had passed, and all the little gods had paid their respects to the great god, a cardinal, somewhat bloated with dignity, took the blood, and holding it up to show that it was not liquid, although some of our company said that it was, when it was brought in, turned his back upon the crowd, took it in both hands, and leaning upon the altar, commenced praying to it. The people crowded up around the altar. The women-the relatives of the golden and jewelled god-cried out, in a peculiar shrill, nasal-twanged voice, to their relative to liquify his blood; and for the space of nearly three hours they all prayed, first to one saint and then to another, until I suppose they must have gone over the calendar several times, saying all the pater-nosters and aves that man ever said; beseeching, entreating, threatening, scolding, imploring. I expected to see them leap upon the altar, and cut themselves and tear their hair, for when he delays to liquify they consider themselves privileged to waive all show of respect, and to abuse him. He was so slow in answering their demands, that I began to think that the god was otherwise engaged, "talking, or that he was pursuing, or that he was on a journey, or that he was asleep, and needed to be awaked," and so I excused their unearthly noises, feeling confident that they understood his character and habits. At last he condescended to liquify, when a little bell was rung, and the whole assembly of the faithful heathen rose into a perfect hubbub of joyous acclamation. The church bells rung merrily throughout the city, cannons roared, and the whole city was in ecstacy. I am satisfied that Burmah cannot beat the Neapolitans. It is the old orthodox worship of Baal. The chemicals were carried along between two files of soldiers, and as I was eagerly looking at it, I did not notice what was going on, and the priest who carried it put it to my lips, and then my forehead, and then again to my lips, but I did not kiss |